The New League

[{Swan}]

Fen - Actually, Aron's part rock type would have done the electricity blocking thing, not his steel type.

DAMNIT, I'm on a Pokemon forum, I can't feel like a completely awesome loser here, cause we all are completely awesome losers.

Congratulations, Shiny Rock grew to lv. 19 and learned Iron Defence!

 

[Wolfwhispers]

For the first time in his journey, Shaun was taking it slow. He was walking through a beautiful grassy plain, the sky a dark gray but the sun was shining hard enough for the area to not be dark. To be honest it looked like rain clouds.

Shaun had enjoyed watching an aerial battle a ways back where two trainers battles it out on a bridge. It was quite the spectacle, what with the female trainer's Pidgeot dive bombing her opponents Gabite. Despite the fact that the Gabite was known for being a very powerful pokemon, Shaun had no doubt that the Pidgeot would win. He had left before the end of the battle, the urge to do battle himself growing too strong.

"Meeow," the white cat meowed, bounding ahead of Shaun and glancing up at the dark clouds every now and then, his fur standing on end in agitation. "Meo--eow!" Meowth broke off with a hiss, literally jumping a whole foot in the air.

From out of nowhere, a black blur shot with a joyous howl that sent Shaun's Meowth into hysterics. Shaun was unable to hide his grin as a giant black dog landed in front of Meowth with a loud bark. Slobber dripped from a toothy muzzle as the Mightyena stared down at the spitting and hissing Meowth with a joyful glint.

"A Mightyena," Shaun murmered appreciatively, already fingering a pokeball, but a harsh, "Mightyena!" stopped him from starting a battle. Shaun turned toward the cry and watching a brown haired boy run forward and yank back the dark type by the back of his neck with an exaggerated pant.

"Sorry," he said, slightly out of breath as very bright blue eyes glance from his lazy tongued dog to Shaun. "I just caught this guy and he's been quite the trouble maker." He shot Shaun an easy grin. "Are you a trainer as well?"

"I am," Shaun responded, "and no harm done." Meowth seemingly disagrees as he slinks behind Shaun's legs and hisses up at the taller pokemon, yellow eyes narrowed in rage. Shaun matches the boys grin. "Up for a battle?"

"Sure am! Oh, and the name is Blake. You wanna make the rules?"

Shaun pursed his lips, realizing that this was the first time he had made the rules to a battle. Usually it was others that challenged him. "Four on four, double battle," he replied, pokeball sliding easily into his grasp.

Blake grabbed his apriball, grin widening. "Accepted." Both watching each other, they both shouted, "Go!"

With a loud bellow and the sound of something heavy falling to earth, Tauros appeared on the field, and as he did so, the clouds above began to darken even more. "Tauroo!"

With Blake's pokemon, a low hissing filled the air and, with a burst of white light, a long, snake pokemon with battle armor appeared. "Svip!"

With a grin, the two began. "Meowth, Fake Out! Tauros, Tackle!"

With a bellow from both his normal types, the two charged, already picking out their opponents. With Meowth's still enraged growls, Shaun had no need to point out who to target.

"Seviper, Poison Tail! Mightyena, Howl!" Blake had barked out at nearly exactly the same time as Shaun, but those few seconds behind the command was obvious as the raging bull and cat already charged.

"Seevip!" The lethal snake snarled, tongue flicking out and teeth glistening with venom as his natural saliva/venom began to pulse. The snake's body shot into immediate action, its lithe body swerving in and out as Tauros bellowed his battle cry that was filled with anger and fright. Being a herd pokemon, Tauros was well aware of the danger of this poison pokemon. He had lost several young ones in his old herd from such poisonous fangs, and so it was with anger and determination that Tauros slammed his hooves down countless times.

"Taaur!" Tauros roared in anger, shaking his head furiously, barely hearing the command of "Rage!" from his trainer. No matter how much he huffed and puffed and slammed his hooves down on Seviper, the sly snake continuosly slinked out of the way thanks to his very lithe body.

"Sev! Sev! Sev!" the snake cackled with each leap as he dodged the stone hard hooves. "Seeviper!" Seviper finally snarled, taking Tauros' Rage in stride before making his move. Rearing back, he struck, long body wrapping tightly around the bull, though it was easy to say that the snake was having hard time staying on.

"Tooros!" Tauros mooed in agony, bucking and jerking his body about as the Seviper lowered his head to his hind leg, fangs glistening. With a savage growl, Tauros used Tail Whip on the fiend, finding a savage glee rising in his chest as his three tails slammed into Seviper's head.

"Viper!" the Seviper snarled, head jerking back before, with mouth wide open, Seviper finally struck and sunk his fangs into Tauros's hind leg that created a yell that literally echoed throughout the route.

Back with Meowth, he had his back arched up, fur on end as he gazed with hate at the flinching black dog. His Fake Out had been successful. Mightyena hadn't even had a chance to open his mouth to let out the bellowing Howl before Meowth made it to him and slapped his muzzle; anger making his speed much more than normal.

"Ty," the dark type scoffed, body still shaking as it fought to overcome the flinch.

"Come on, Mightyena, shake it off and use Bite!" the opposing trainer called, trying to encourage his pokemon with his cheerful voice. The sound was enough to make Meowth flatten his ears in distaste.

"Meowth, Screech," Shaun commanded with his cool voice that almost instantly calmed Meowth's frazzled nerves.

With a grunt, Meowth opened his mouth wide, ears flat and whiskers twitching before the worst kind of high pitched scream echoed throughout the area. It was deafening, and even worse with Meowth's anger, both Blake and Shaun slammed their hands to their ears and hunched over, but it was even worse for Mightyena. The hounds ears were trained for hearing out prey and thus were extra sensitive to the high pitched sound.

"Yit!" Mightyena yelped, hunching his body, tail tucked between his legs and body shivering as he shook with pain.

Unfortunately, with both trainers out of comission for the moment since they were both affected by the horrible sound, there were no commands to be issued, but that didn't bother Meowth. Yellow eyes barely glanced at Tauros and Seviper, not at all bothered that his partner was limping on his hind leg. The bull pokemon was pulling his own, what with ramming those horns of his into Seviper's head. With Tauros still within his own Rage, it was all too easy to attack the snake pokemon -especially since it was a being that relied on listening to sound waves - and continued to beat at the pained pokemon.

"Meoww," Meowth meowed, licking his claws once before flying at the shaking Mightyena with a savage roar. Oh, what he would give to fight this mutt as a Persian, a cougar of the wild, but as he wasn't, he would still Fury Swipe this poor excuse for a hunter with the pride, fury and power of a Persian. "Meeoww!" Meowth snarled, claws raking deeply into Mightyena's chest.

With a painful howl, Mightyena finally shook off all affects and dove his fangs just as deeply into Meowth's paws. WIth a savage roar that promised revenge, Mightyena began to slam Meowth into the ground.

"Tauros, Horn Attack on Mightyena!" Shaun yelled at his pokemon, wincing a bit as his ears stung. He would need to wear earplugs during those Screeches. "Ignore the snake and help out Meowth!" he barked, noting that the bull pokemon was huffing and snorting at the snake, trying to keep it back as it made the occasional lung with its fangs and sword like tail.

"Seviper, keep Tauros away and use Glare! Mightyena, keep that up!"

"Tyena!" came Mightyena's happy, but very muffled, bark at his trainer.

With each slam, Meowth let out a bellow of pain and managed to use his free paw to continue to Scratch at Mightyena's chest, but the dark type wasn't paying it any mind, even as his health dwindled down.

Shaun was aware of the growl making its way from deep within his throat as Seviper's nasty glare startled Tauros into action. Tauros was a pokemon that relied on instinct, not brains, and that fear might be enough to get the bull running at the enemy, but he was not smart enough to avoid the actual effects of the Glare, and Shaun could already see the sluggish movements in his bull pokemon.

Meowth looked up with blurry eyes as he heard the pounding of hooves, only to let out a loud yelp of pain as he was wrenched from Mightyena's jaws and freed in a painful way. Mighteyan went sailing, and Meowth's ears twitched happily as he thought he heard the cracking of jerking bones.

"Tyen!" the dark type howled, feet scrambling to right himself as he tumbled forward thanks to bash of horns to his body.

"Mightyena!" his trainer -Blake- called out worriedly. His face was scrunched up in concern, but he wasted no time with the next command to try and gain the upper hand. "Mighteyna, Payback! Seviper, Sludge Bomb!"

With those commands issued, the two jumped high, purple and black power swirling about them as they aimed at the two normal types below. Mouths wide, they prepared to strike.

"Water Pulse!" came the sharp command that snapped Meowth back into focus.

Fighting down his distress for the water that he knew he had to throw up, Meowth took a deep breath and just let loose. A jet of water, surely as wide as his mouth, if not wider, shot out and immediately began to form various rings. The two pokemon, who were side by side, yowled in pain as the water blasted into their skin. The power behind it was enough to actually hurt, but then again, this was an attack, not a fast stream coming at them.

"Tennam!" Mightyena howled, dark energy finally unleashing exactly as Seviper spat a giant goop of purple poison, but their bodies had twisted and their aim was off.

With a terrified cry, Tauros barely heard his trainer yell "Dodge" before the two attacks tore at his body and brought him to his knees. His tails fluttered in agitation and pain, but that seemed to be the only thing that was moving. His horns suddely felt so very heavy as the pain tore at his mind.

Meowth turned to his partner, eyes wide and teeth bared. He had no connection to this pokemon other than the fact that they both belonged to Shaun, but at the moment, they were brothers in battle, and when Meowth saw the bull pokemon go down, rage overtook. He didn't even hear his trainer make commands. All he saw was Mightyena and Seviper fall to the ground, eyes unfocused from the Confusion.

"Me," Meowth spat, feeling water dribbling down his chin, but he sucked it up. His ear twitched in agitation as he felt a drop on his ear. Looking up, Meowth scowled, noting that it had begun to rain. Water still dribbling, Meowth took a deep breath and fired, not knowing that with this rain, his water move had now doubled in attack.

Shaun watched, slightly slack jawed as the Water Pulse seemed to double in size as it blasted into the two opposing pokemon. Blake gapped, unable to believe that his two pokemon gave out dispairing moans and faded into unconciousness. His mouth opened and closed before, with a defeated grin, he recalled his two pokemon.

"Meo... Meo... Meo," Meowth panted, body drooping as his fur began to cling tightly to his body thanks to the rain. Already the two trainers were becoming drenched. Meowth glanced at Tauros, noticing the deep breathing of the bull. He could continue to battle, but it seemed like Tauros would be out with one more hit.

"Nice," Blake complemented, rubbing his hair away from his forehead, uncomfortable with the way it was beginning to stick. He glanced at the rain clouds and grinned before he glanced at Tauros. "Look's like Tauros is almost out."

"Don't get so cocky," Shaun snapped. "You're already down two pokemon."

Blake grinned. "Yea, but now you're at my strongest," he boasted. With wide and excited eyes, Blake threw his pokeballs. With a flash of bright light, two strong looking pokemon appeared with loud bellows.

The two stared at one another before, as one, they shouted, "Go!"

 

[Charzeon]

Sara just looked at her feet as she continued to walk down the Route. Angela on her shoulder with Lee and Flare behind her. The girl sighed to herself and rubbed her eyes, wondering when she would get into trouble for her Pokemon's actions. Not that she thought it was unfair, a trainer should have complete control over their Pokemon. They shouldn't really do anything, least of all use actual moves, with out their trainers telling them to do so. Maybe she was just lazy, maybe that was why she had liked it at first. It was easier to just have the Pokemon decide what to do, and not her. She would have to change that attitude if she would want to stay out side of a prison cell…not that she was a stranger to those cells.

Sara sighed and was about to stop to have a chat with her Pokemon, when a voice called out to her.

"Hey, you there," it was a female voice and the age seemed to be the same as her own. "I want to challenge you to a battle. Single."

Sara sighed and turned to face, indeed, a girl who was maybe a year older then her. The other girl wore a red, long sleeved shirt, short jeans, black sneakers and a black bandana on her head. The girl grunted at Sara. "Well, do you accept my challenge or not?"

"I accept it," Sara said, then looked to the fox. "Flare, you're in this first battle."

"Vulpix," Flare said with a nod and jumped in front of her trainer, glaring at the other girl in front of her.

"Interesting," the girl said mildly, then took out a purple Apri ball and threw it into the are. "Ekans, come out!"

The ball opened up and, in a flash of light, a long, purple snake appeared. It raised itself so that it was a few feet taller then the fox and hissed at her.

Sara scanned the Pokemon and nodded at the information she was given. She then placed the 'dex away and focused on the battle. "Alright Flare, start things off with a Will-o-Wisp!"

"Vul!" Flare said with a nod and a ball of fire appeared on each of her six tails.

"Dodge it Ekans!" The girl shouted.

The fire balls shot from Flare's tails and launched themselves at the snake, who twisted elegantly to avoid some of the fire balls. But a couple of them still hit it and that was enough to give the snake the burn effect, making it hiss in pain.

"Ekans, fight back with Wrap!" The other girl shouted.

The Ekans nodded before charging at the fox. Flare tried to dodge the snake, but it proved to be useless as it was quick and flexible enough to wrap itself around her and start to squeeze the life out of her.

"Flare!" Sara shouted. "Quick, use Ominious Wind!"

"Vul…" Flare squeaked and, despite the pain, concentrated on the attack. Soon a powerful and evil feeling wind whipped past the trainers and Pokemon, affecting the Ekans the most. The snake hissed loudly and quickly let go of the fox and move away from her. It flinched as the burn affected it.

"Alright Ekans, now use Bite on the Vulpix!" The girl shouted.

"Ekans!" The snake hissed and once again charged at the fox. It neared Flare and was about to clamp its jaws on her, but she was able to jump out of the way just in time.

"Flare, use Ember!" Sara shouted.

Flare nodded before opening her mouth and shooting many little fire balls at the snake, making it hiss loudly in pain, especially where the balls hit the already burnt areas. After the attack, the snake once again flinched as a burn damaged it.

"Ekans, use another Bite!" The girl shouted.

The snake grunted and once again lunged at the fox. This time, it did a fake bite, to catch Flare off of her guard, then lunged again and clamped it's jaws onto Flare's foot.

"Flare! Another Ember!" Sara shouted.

"Vulpix!" Flare shouted and once again lunched the little balls of fire at the snake. It didn't take much at all for the Ekans to let go.

"Okay, then used a Quick Attack!" Sara called out. The fox nodded before charging in a blur of speed at the snake, knocking it away. When the snake settled on the ground, it was clear to see that it was out.

The girl sighed and returned the snake to it's ball. She put that ball away and then took out another, white one. "Alright, lets see how well you do against this," she said, then threw the ball into the air, "come out, Gligar!"

The ball opened up and in another flash of light, a small, bat like Pokemon appeared. It titled it's head at Sara and Flare as it flapped it's wings to stay in the air. It then smiled and waved at them as if they were old friends who had not seen each other in a long while.

"Alright, Flare, use Ember!" Sara shouted at her Pokemon.

"Gligar, counter with Quick Attack!" The other girl shouted.

"Gli!" The bat like Pokemon shouted and flew quickly at Flare who shot the little fire balls once more at it. The Ember hit the Gligar, but it didn't seem to do as much damage as would had been done if it had been just floating in the air. What's more, it slammed into the fox and knocked her back.

"Quick, use Energy Ball!" Sara shouted. She knew that it wouldn't do as good as it would to a normal Ground type, but it was still Flare's strongest move thus far and it would do more then to a Flying type.

Flare nodded and opened her mouth, soon shooting out a green ball of energy that hit the Gligar right now, making it crash onto the ground.

"Gligar," the Flyscorpion grunted as it got back up.

"Gligar, now, use Wing Attack!" The girl shouted.

"Flare, another Energy Ball!" Sara shouted.

The fox nodded and launched another ball of energy at the bat as it flew at her with it's wings glowing. The Gligar saw the ball and tried to get out of the dive but couldn't and the green ball of natural energy hit it once more. This time when the Gligar slammed into the ground, it didn't get back up.

The girl gritted her teeth together before returning the Gligar and taking out yet another Apri ball. "Alright…this is my last Pokemon." With that said, the girl threw the ball up into the air. The ball opened up and a strange, white canine who seemed to have a scythe on it's head appeared in a flash of light.

Sara frowned slightly and opened her 'dex once more. She scanned the canine Pokemon and read it's information.

"Absol, the Disaster Pokemon. Rumored to sense danger with its horn, it became targeted. It fled deep into the mountains."

"Huh…interesting…" Sara said as she put her 'dex away and took out Flare's Apri ball. "Alright Flare, that's good enough for now, take a rest."

"Vul…" Flare said, as if in agreement, as she disappeared into the ball.

Sara then took out the deep blue ball and grinned at the girl. "Alright, come out now, Merric!" She said as she threw the ball up. It opened and in a bright flash of light, the Gyarados appeared slightly curled around his trainer.

The girl and her Absol's eyes grew and their jaws dropped. The Absol recovered first, shaking it's head and barked at the very large Pokemon. This shook his trainer out of her shock and glare at Sara.

"What the heck!?" The girl yelled. "You really expect me to fight…that!?"

Sara sighed. "Look, you're the one who called the challenge. If you want to quit you can." She said.

"Who said I wanted to quit!?" The girl shouted.

"I didn't say anything like that!" Sara shouted back. "Heck, your Absol is fully evolved, if what I read on my 'dex is right, and it should be able to put up some kind of battle."

The girl grunted, then sighed. "Alright…lets just get this over with…Absol, Razor Wind!"

The canine nodded and then glared at the Gyarados as the wind started to move around it.

"Merric, use Water Pulse!" Sara called out. The Atrocious Pokemon smiled before sending out a large circle of blue at the Absol. The circle landed near the canine and sent a large wave at it, knocking it backs a ways. The Absol growled and got back up, the wind still swirling around him.

Then suddenly the wind around the Absol seemed to turn into blades and were thrown at Merric, making him roar in pain as they slashed through him. The almost dragon-like Pokemon glared at the canine and was about to lung at it, but a quick call from his trainer stopped him.

Taking a deep breath, Sara calmed herself down and said, "Okay, an Icy Wind this time, Merric!"

Merric nodded before sending taking in a deep breath and letting out a gust of freezing wind that actually made some snow, causing the Absol to dig into the ground.

"Absol, use Slash!" The girl called out.

"Ab!" The Absol said and charged at the very large Pokemon before slashing at him. Merric roared again in pain and whacked the Absol away from him with his tail. Sara gritted her teeth slightly, but though the Absol landed on it's feet and didn't seem much worse for the ware.

"Okay Merric, another Water Pulse!" Sara shouted.

Merric nodded again and launched another blue circle that turned into a wave at the Absol, once again hitting it. The Disaster Pokemon panted as it recovered from the attack.

"Okay Absol, use another Slash!" The girl shouted.

The Absol nodded before once again charging at the Atrocious Pokemon. However, Merric had leaned and whacked the Absol away from him before it could connect the attack. This time, the Absol hit the tree and feel to the ground, knocked right out.

The girl sighed and returned the Absol. She then met up with Sara, doing her best to ignore Merric's glare, and handed Sara some money and another potion.

"Well…it was a good battle…" the girl said, before spinning around just walking around.

Sara sighed slightly as she watched the other girl walk away. Merric bent his head and nudged his trainer. The girl trainer smiled before patting his ripped fins. "Good job there Merric but…next time, please don't hit them so hard unless I tell you to."

Merric grunted and nodded before nuzzling his trainer, nearly making her fall. Angela grinned and floated around her trainer. Lee just watched, seeming to feel out of it. Sara returned Merric to his ball, then started to walk down the route again, Angela on her shoulder and Lee making sure to always keep her in his sights.

 

[{Swan}]

Wolfwhispers - Holy battle, Batman! Seriously though, that was one hell of a battle, or half of it anyway, I'll look forward to the conclusion!

Congratulations, Tauros grew to lv. 23!
Congratulations, Meowth grew to lv. 28!
Meowth wants to evolve, will you let him?

Charzeon - I suppose Gyarados' can be quite intimidating. Awesome battle I enjoyed it.

Congratulations, Flare grew to lv. 19 and learned Confusion Ray!
Flare can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Merric grew to lv. 24 and learned Dragon Rage!

 

[rockman0]

Bryce and his new travel companion, Todd, headed down Route 215. After a little while, the two could hear a loud grumbling noise.

"Hey, what's that?" Todd asked, looking around.

"I don't know." Bryce looked around to see that Munchlax was looking pretty tired. "What's wrong?"

"Lax!" Munchlax said, rubbing its stomach.

"Don't tell me you're hungry again. Didn't you just eat five minutes ago?"

"Laaaaaaax!" Munchlax said again, still rubbing its stomach.

"Oh, no. I'm not giving you anything this time." Bryce turned around and walked away.

"Lax!" Munchlax exclaimed out loud. His eyes started to glow red.

"Alright, fine! Just this once, but afterwards that's it!"

"Lax!" Munchlax said one final time. This time he looked happy. Bryce and Todd sat down as Munchlax ate another quick lunch. They heard some noise as they waited.

"Now what?" Bryce asked. A Drowsee jumped from behind the bush.

"Drowsee. Drowsee!" The Pokémon chanted. It emitted circular waves from its hands as it chanted. In seconds, Munchlax was asleep. Then, a kid jumped from behind the bush.

"Great work, Drowsee! Now, to capture it." He pulled out a Pokeball from his backpack and threw it Munchlax. A ray of light emitted from the Pokeball and engulfed Munchlax. When the light cleared, only a Pokeball sat there, shaking from side to side.

"Hey!" Todd yelled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm capturing a Munchlax. Isn't it great!?" The trainer grinned from ear to ear. "I've been looking for one of these for forever! Now, I've finally got one!"

"That's my Pokémon, you idiot!" Bryce could've sworn that he saw Todd foaming at the mouth.

"Oh!" The trainer said. "Too bad." The Pokeball stopped shaking. "I've got a Munchlax!"

"Hey, you jerk! Give me back my Pokémon!"

"Sorry, kid. Finders keepers!" He picked up the Pokeball. It started to shake again. "Wha!?" Munchlax popped out of the Pokeball. It looked pretty angry.

"Munch!" It yelled in an angry voice.

"Hey you! You stay in the Pokeball!" He threw the Pokeball at Munchlax again. This time, Munchlax knocked the Pokeball out of the way. "Ahhh!"

"Hey, I told you, that's my Pokémon!" Todd yelled again.

"Hmm, I'll battle you for it."

"There's no way I'm gonna battle you for my Pokémon," Todd started. He was cut off when Bryce cut in.

"Don't worry. We can beat him."

"What? How do you expect me to put my own Pokémon on the line?"

"Don't worry. There's no way this loser can win against us." Bryce looked back up at the trainer. "We'll battle you on one condition."

"Yeah, what's that?" The trainer looked pretty confident.

"If we win, you have to buy my friend and me a meal at the next town." Bryce was pretty hungry from giving all of his food to the greedy Munchlax. His stomach growled. So did Todd's, who spoke up.

"Yeah, a meal at the next town."

"What? That's all. Fine! It's not like I'll lose anyways." The trainer said. He threw a custom Apri Ball out beside Drowsee. Out popped a Kadabra. "Ha! Now you'll see how strong I am. If I win, I'll take your little Mankey there too."

"Fine by me. Todd, you take Drowsee, I'll take Kadabra." Bryce said as he threw out a Pokeball. "It's not like you're gonna win anyway." The Pokeball released his Surskit. The boy laughed as Surskit got ready for the battle.

"You expect to beat me with THAT! That little BUG!" He laughed until it felt like he would bust a gut. Then he got serious. "I'm offended. Kadabra, end this quickly with Psychic! Drowsee, I want you to use Pound on Munchlax!" The two psychic Pokémon followed the orders they were just given. Drowsee ran up to Munchlax and pounded it on the head.

"Kadabra!" the psychic Pokémon said as its eyes started to glow. A blue aura surrounded it as it used its telekinetic powers to life Surskit into the air.

"Don't flatter yourself," Bryce said. "Hang on Surskit and use Signal Beam!" Surskit fired a rainbow-colored beam at the Kadabra. The attack hit the Pokémon between the eyes.

"Kadabra!" the Pokémon cried out as it winced in pain. His eyes started to swirl around in their sockets.

"Ha, Kadabra's confused!" Bryce yelled. "Surskit, another Signal Beam!" Surskit shot another beam at the Pokémon.

"Ugh! You won't win that easily," the trainer said. "Use Recover now!" Kadabra started to glow again. All of a sudden, he started to run around in circles and ran right into a tree. "Kadabra! What are you doing?" The boy yelled at the Pokémon. The Pokémon got up. By the look on its face, Bryce could tell it had snapped out of confusion. "Good job, now use Recover!"

"Quick Surskit! Hit it with another Signal Beam before it can recover!" Surskit shot another beam at the Pokémon. The attack hit the Pokémon harder than ever and knocked it unconscious.

"No! Kadabra!" He returned the Pokémon. "You'll pay for that! Drowsee, finish them both!" The Pokémon released nauseous gases from its mouth. The gas enveloped both Pokémon, poisoning them. It seemed to do a lot more damage on Surskit because of its low level.

"Alright Surskit, sit the next one out," Bryce said, recalling the Pokémon. "Let Munchlax handle itself."

"What?" Todd looked confused. "You expect me to win this on my own."

"Sure you can," Bryce said. "Besides, I'm not officially out of the match. I'll jump in if I have to." Todd nodded his head.

"Alright, the little pep talk is over, Confusion now!" The Pokémon emitted more waves from its hands. The attack knocked Munchlax into a nearby tree.

"Munchlax, hang in there! Lick the Drowsee." Munchlax regained its composure and licked Drowsee, paralyzing it. Drowsee tried to move but couldn't. "Now use Metronome!" Todd ordered. Munchlax performed the usual ritual of waving his hands back and forth. Then, he bounced high into the air.

"What the" Todd said. "How did it do that?" Everyone looked around, dazed. How did Munchlax jump that high!? Then, they saw a small speck falling from the sky. It grew bigger and bigger as it approached the battle field.

"Ahhh!" The trainer said. "Do something Drowsee, use Confusion or something!" Drowsee started to use Confusion but the paralysis status caused him to move in a sluggish manner. A few seconds later, Munchlax landed right on top of Drowsee! There was a loud BOOM! as Munchlax hit the ground. When the Pokémon got up, Drowsee lie there unconscious.

"Well, that was unexpected," Todd said.

"I guess that's why happens when you're crushed by 232 pounds of dead weight." Bryce and Todd couldn't help but laugh at the comment. The trainer just started at his Drowsee as if in a daze.

"I-lost?" He said to himself. "How could I lose? You cheated!" He yelled at Todd. "I'm not giving you anything, you, you, cheater!" He recalled his flattened Pokémon and stormed off in the opposite direction, mumbling along the way. Todd ran over to Munchlax.

"Munchlax! You won! I knew you could do it!" He patted the Pokémon head. The Pokémon laughed happily.

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job," Bryce said. Then Munchlax started to glow white. The white silhouette started to grow bigger and bigger until only a Snorlax remained.

"Zzzzzzz," the Snorlax was sleeping.

"What in the world?" Bryce said as he pointed his Pokedex at the Pokémon. The description on the screen said:

Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. Snorlax's typical day consists of nothing more than eating and sleeping. It is such a docile Pokémon that there are children who use its expansive belly as a place to play.

"Oh great," Bryce said. He looked up to see the Todd jumping up and down on Snorlax's belly, chanting "Munchlax evolved! Munchlax evolved!" He looked over to Mankey. "Will my luck ever change?"

"Mankey?" The Pokémon said.

 

[{Swan}]

Rockman0 - Great post, I definitely like Todd :D

Congratulations, Surskit grew to lv. 12!

 

[{Swan}]

Chapter Fourteen
Veilstone City
Gym Battle
Number of Posts: 1​

Veilstone City is one of the more modern cities in Sinnoh. Most of the buildings are built on a rocky field with artificially flattened tops to build on. Veilstone is full of stairs and slopes and the city might very well give you a thorough workout. All of the houses are made out of a sturdy dark stone and so are most of the other buildings and a few wooden storage warehouses are lines by the sea, many more are in construction still and the city is swarming with construction workers and their Pokémon. Veilstone doesn't have a harbor but it does look out over the sea from high cliffs and there's a viewing platform that lets you look out at the ocean.


Pokémon Center:

Pokemon Centers provide you with a warm bed. Rest for the night or heal up your Pokémon here. They also have a lobby with chairs and tables and a coffee/tea machine for waiting while the Nurses revitalize your Pokémon.

Inside the Pokémon Center there is a bulletin board with many notes on it from residential trainers challenging travelers, an ad for the new Pokémon League and an ad for the Daycare in Solaceon and some notes from people offering services such as Pokémon massages or herbal lore.
There is also a note pressed to the very side, almost invisible, with a small handwritten message on it. It reads:

'Unown wanted, will trade a rare Pokémon'

Under this are several strips to be ripped off with an address on it, only 3 strips are left of what must have once been about 10.


Department Store:

The Veilstone Department Store is a two-storey building that looks quite old in contrast with the surrounding houses. It's small and quite crowded with merchandize, good luck with finding what you need.

First Storey: Pokémon Related Items

Poké Ball
Assorment of Mails
Super Potion
Awakening
Burn Heal
Paralyz Heal
Antidote
Teal Apri Ball*

Teal Apri Balls are bigger sized Apri Balls of a darker teal colour with several blue dots on the sides. They do their work for Pokémon who are considerably heavier, also providing a bigger and more comfortable stay in the Apri Ball for them. These special Apri Balls have been equipped with a catch-feature which allows you to open the Balls when pushing at the button in the middle, which loosens the catch inside and makes the Ball spring open. Close them by snapping the shut quickly.


TM16: Light Screen
TM17: Protect
TM33: Reflect
TM70: Flash

Second Storey: Human Related Items

This story is where you would shop for clothing or bags or for books and the like. There's a small section for electronics such as the recently invented Walkman, which is a grey and square machine where you can put cassettes in and they would play music. Comes with a set of big headphones that you would put over your ears. You could also buy a big portable phone but it would be quite heavy to carry and it would only receive signal in towns.


Unown Woman

If you follow the address on the advertisement you will find a small house crammed in the corner of the City with a view of the sea. The house belongs to a kind woman who lets you in. She explains that her husband is a researcher and they have a lot of a specific kind of Pokémon, but her brother told her that there is someone who wants to pay dearly for any Unown coming from her, and that she will trade it for the Pokémon her husband leaves behind.

Porygon

Level: 25
Gender: Genderless
Type: Normal
Ability: Download
Moves: Tackle, Conversion, Conversion 2, Psybeam, Recover, Magnet Rise, Gravity


Veilstone City Gym

Veilstone's Gym is lead by a girl that is maybe around 17-18 years old, going by the name Elysia. Elysia has always been a residence in Veilstone City and she's the pride and joy of the town. She may be young, but don't underestimate her, Elysia can deliver a punch. Elysia tends to fight with quick moves, valuing speed above everything else. Her offense is amazing and her maneuvers are cunning, but she lacks in defense. Elysia is confident about her abilities, thought not overly cocky about it, and she should prove quite the opponent for you.


There are two ways you could battle Elysia. The first is an ordinary battle inside the large dome that she calls her arena. The arena's roof is very high to allow her birds maximum movement and the battlefield itself is completely bare, blueish white concrete. The battles will be standing on opposite sides of the arena on a slightly raised podium.


The second way would be a one on one aerial battle. For this she will take you to a battlefield just outside the other one. There are two huge podiums raised on opposite sides, but no battlefield below it. The rules are simply, flyer vs. flyer, the first one to touch ground is the one to lose. Do you dare take her on in her own field?


Normal battle:

Doduo

Level: 25
Type: Normal/Flying
Ability: Early Bird
Moves: Peck, Quick Attack, Rage, Fury Attack, Pursuit, Mirror Move, Aerial Ace


Crobat

Level: 26
Type: Poison/Flying
Ability: Inner Focus
Moves: Screech, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack, Air Cutter, Tailwind, Cross Poison


Yanmega

Level: 28
Type: Bug/Flying
Ability: Speed Boost
Moves: Foresight, Quick Attack, Double Team, Sonic Boom, Bug Bite, Whirlwind, Ancient Power


Aerial Battle:

Fearow

Level: 30
Type: Normal/Flying
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves: Peck, Fury Attack, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, Mirror Move, Agility, Heat Wave


NOTE: Yes, Gastly could be used in an Aerial Battle, and so could Drifloon and Shuppet, since both of them float.

Beat Elysia and receiver the Brick Badge.

 

[Underoos]

They were all three under the tree now. Beau was sitting in Tim's lap, still going on about the amazing battle with the wild Lickitung. Tim would 'hmm' and act all surprised in all the right places, though he didn't seem to actually be paying attention to Beau's story. Selene wasn't really paying much attention herself, because she was fussing slightly over Aron. Aron was all paralyzed, and that would do no good for her the rest of the way. She was trying to concentrate on him, but that Tim guy kept looking at her and smirking, and then zoning back into what Beau was saying. Selene didn't know whether she should feel flattered or just plain old creeped out.

"And then you showed up and it was AWESOME!" Beau exclaimed.

"Yeah, thanks for using an attack that wouldn't hurt Aron," Selene grumbled reluctantly.

"Actually, that wasn't it," Tim said in his drawling voice. "Thanks to squirt's jacket, your Pokemon was saved from bein' fried. The band down there is made of rubber. That's why."

Selene frowned. Alright, so she wasn't the smartest person when it came to typing and ****, but so what? The important thing was that Aron hadn't gotten hurt, even though really Tim probably wouldn't have cared if he had. Selene glared at Tim, who raised an eyebrow curiously.

"So you meant to kill my Pokemon?"

"Well, it was either that or that Lickitung would've beat'cha. You didn't stand a chance."

Selene glowered. She did not like being told that she didn't stand a chance. "Oh yeah?! I have tons of Pokemon that can kick your butt. Aron is just one of them."

"Well if they're all trained as good as that Aron, then I think you're gonna loose, miss."

"Miss?! Who're you calling miss you country accented jerk?" Selene snapped.

Beau stayed quiet. Selene wasn't really sure if he got the fact that they were arguing, because he looked amused and confused all in one. Just as Tim opened his mouth to come back with some (most likely) smart ass retort, Beau stepped in. "You act like mom and dad! Always yelling and stuff at each other. Is this the part where you guys make out?"

Selene's eyes bugged. Her face went pink, and she then decided that Aron needed to be looked at some more. The steel type peered up at her, looking rather amused himself. Selene glared at him, but Aron didn't seem to be phased. She spared a glance at Tim and saw he seemed pretty satisfied with himself. That was roughly when Selene realized he was. He was one of those womanizing jerks. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he simply gave her an innocent grin. Beau was still staring back and forth between them with wide eyes, like he actually expected them to kiss or something. Selene's nose wrinkled. That was just disgusting.

"Hey, how 'bout I make you a deal?"

"What kind?" Selene questioned, very suspiciously. She didn't trust this dude.

"We battle. If I win, I get to tag along on your little Pokemon adventure. If you win, well...then you can go right on ahead and I'll stay here with Beau." Tim looked pretty confident.

Normally Selene wouldn't have taken a bet like that, mostly because she didn't want a random creep going with her on her Pokemon journey. The only problem was her pride. He was acting very cocky and confident, and that made her think that he thought she couldn't do anything. Her pride refused to let anyone think that about her, so she rushed into an agreement. It wasn't like she was going to lose anyway. She'd beaten plenty of people on her journey, and this guy wasn't going to be any different.

"Three on three," Tim said lazily. He stood up and walked back over to the path. Selene groaned; time to get wet again. She stalked on after him, grumbling under her breath about annoying rain. She glanced at his feet. What the hell? she wondered. He was wearing cowboy boots. Selene had to admit, it did sort of go with his whole...country attitude and look. Selene rubbed the pack of her neck, let out a heavy sigh, and looked at Aron. He had trotted out into the rain after her. Aron looked up at her with sad eyes. The blue sapphires glistened. Selene looked at him apologetically. Aron trundled out in front of her, and Tim snorted.

"What?" Selene snapped.

"You're honestly gonna fight with Aron?" Tim questioned. "It's gonna lose. Might wanna reconsider that."

"Oh shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Selene shouted, glaring at him.

Tim shrugged, almost as if to say it was her loss. Then he carefully fixed the collar of his button-up shirt before resuming his carefree stance. He brought his Jolteon back out, and Selene had a bad feeling she was screwed over. Completely and one hundred percent screwed over. Aron glanced back at Selene. She gave him a bit of a smile. Aron could do it. ...Right?

"Why do you want to come with me anyway?"

"I dunno. You're just interestin'. Now can we begin, or are we gonna talk all day?" Tim questioned, arching his eyebrow. Selene shrugged and glared off towards a random tree. Tim's lips twitched upwards into a smirk. "Ladies first."

Selene glared at him again, but she knew she needed the edge of the first attack. "Alright buddy, attack Jolteon with mud slap! If that doesn't work well, go in for a headbutt." Selene figured that the mud slap would do well against Jolteon, and headbutt would do some good extra damage. Well, if it hit of course. Selene figured that she could only hope.

Aron was slow, and Selene (being a little slow herself) had dumbly forgotten to factor that in when she had her Pokemon attack. So, when Aron ran in to attack and fling the mud, Jolteon sprang aside with ease. Soon Aron seemed to figure this wasn't going to work, so he went about with the headbutting. Well, that didn't exactly work either. Jolteon easily dodged the attacks. Aron, in the meantime, had to skid to a halt and right himself several times, and Selene soon realized that Jolteon was just playing with Aron. Selene's eyes narrowed. She thought of what she could have Aron do, which Tim finally sighed and shrugged.

"I thought you were smarter 'n this, but whatever. Alright Jolteon, let's show them how a real pro does it. Use thundershock!" Tim called, nodding with his head towards Aron.

Jolteon barked once, and then gave Aron a rather creepy look. Selene told Aron to use harden, which he did. The little iron Pokemon curled into a ball, but when Jolteon unleashed the shocking attack it slammed into Aron with a rather harsh impact. Selene winced, and waited for the smoke produced from the lightning to disappear. Aron was still curled into a ball. Selene called out his name, but all Aron did was give a little twitch. Selene bit her lip. Tim snorted and told Jolteon to finish it off with quick attack. Selene began to think about which Pokemon she could bring out next (because obviously Aron didn't seem too keen on moving). Jolteon charged in, and was about to slam into Aron when suddenly he uncurled and slashed his metal coated claws across Jolteon's face. The Pokemon howled and shook itself, backing away from Aron.

Selene perked up. "Alright! Way to go! Attack with headbutt before it can recover!" she said quickly. She didn't want to lose any time.

Aron dashed in as fast as he could, but Jolteon was just too fast for him. The Pokemon leaped aside and Aron slammed into a tree. Moments later Jolteon unleashed another stream of electricity. Selene clenched her teeth and glared as Aron fell to the ground, smoke floating off of him. The attack had finished him off, and now Selene was left to two Pokemon while Tim still had three. She really, really didn't like those odds. Selene thought carefully, and in the end grabbed Tanana's Pokeball. She wanted to save her "secret weapon" for last.

Tanana began to float about happily almost as soon as she appeared from the Pokeball. Selene groaned and smacked her forehead. Tim's eyebrow arched. Selene sort of was beginning to think that she was making something of an ass out of herself.

"Really? A playful ghost this time?" Tim chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, but I'm tellin' you that you ain't gonna win that way. Jolteon let's finish this one quick. Attack with thundershock!" Tim's voice got louder and less accented towards the end.

"Tanana watch out!" Selene called. Tanana managed to vanish moments before the attack struck the ground. Tim's eyes narrowed but he said nothing. "Good job," Selene complimented quickly. "Now attack with confuse ray!"

Tanana suddenly appeared in front of Jolteon. She smirked, and then her eyes began to glow blue. Jolteon was surrounded in a blue light, but within seconds it disappeared. Jolteon began to teeter around, looking rather goofy. Tim's eyes narrowed, and he told Jolteon to use a sand attack. Jolteon turned towards Tanana, and Selene cursed. But then she began to dig, throwing bouts of sand right towards Tim's face. Selene laughed as it smacked into him. Tim didn't look amused.

"So who's the smart one now, huh?" Selene snipped. "We've got him this time. Tanana, use night shade!"

The ghost's eyes went red this time. Jolteon shuddered harshly, and fell to the ground. Selene smirked when Tim cursed under his breath. Jolteon began to get up again, but it still looked pretty confused and unsure. Tim himself looked a bit unsure, but in the end he ordered for Jolteon to go ahead with a quick attack. Jolteon tottered, but righted itself and dashed in. Selene cursed, but then realized she had no reason to. Quick attack wouldn't work on Tanana, even she knew that much. She was about to mention this when Tim smirked and then called for a thundershock. Jolteon unleashed the attack, and before Selene could call for Tanana to do anything it struck. The only thing was, it hit Jolteon. Selene blinked, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. Tim began to cuss again.

"Who's the smart one now, huh?" Selene retorted. "Finish off Jolteon with night shade!"

Tanana nodded and then proceeded to do her thing. Her eyes glowed, Jolteon glowed, and then bam. Jolteon gave another violent shudder and sank to the ground, eyes closed and limbs limp. Selene glanced at Tim and stuck her tongue out at him. Tim brushed it off and recalled Jolteon, then summoned another Pokemon without missing a beat. A Sandslash was standing in place of Jolteon, and Selene wasn't sure how exactly she felt about that. She liked that ground attacks wouldn't work, but had a bad feeling that Sandslash knew a few more moves than just some ground typed attacks.

"Sandslash attack with rollout!" Tim shouted.

"What happened to lady's first?" Selene squeaked.

Tim shrugged as Sandslash curled itself into a ball. Selene tried to tell Tanana to dodge, but before she could get a full sentence out Sandslash slammed into Tanana's side, knocking her to the ground. Tanana slowly floated back up, looking a bit peeved about the attack. Selene called for a hypnosis attack, knowing that Tanana couldn't do a curse combination because she was too weak. Her health would be gone if Selene had her do that, so hypnosis was the next best thing. Tanana used the attack, and instantly Sandslash was asleep. It began to snore lightly, and Tim didn't look too pleased. Tanana moved in, and then glanced at Selene. Selene nodded, and Tim could only watch as Sandslash's health was sucked away by the night shade.

"Good job Tanana," Selene said softly. "Go for a lick attack, and then wrap it up with night shade!"

Tim didn't seem to be having any of it. "Sandslash!" he shouted, sounding rather like some ungodly coach. His voice was harsh and loud, and it startled Selene at first. "Get up, NOW!" Tim continued shouting, still sounding like a coach. Selene narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn't going to make a difference, no matter how loud he shouted...right? Of course she was wrong. Sandslash slowly began to rouse, blinking its beady eyes and looking about. Selene cursed under her breath, but was glad to see that Tanana had moved in quickly. She licked Sandslash right on the face, causing the ground type to twitch and shudder. Tanana was about to go in for the second attack when Sandslash suddenly curled into a ball and launched at Tanana, slamming into her with a harsh force.

"Well that's annoying," Selene grumbled under her breath. "Alright, change of plans. Tanana, use another hypnosis to put Sandslash back to sleep. Then use night shade!"

Tanana was about to move in again, but before she could Sandslash launched itself at her. Tanana didn't have time to dodge, so she fell towards the ground and then slowly floated back up. Selene saw that Tanana was nearly done. Biting her lip, she debated on what to do. Finally she had Tanana use night shade once more. The ghost type used the attack, but at the same time Sandslash came around for round two. It slammed into Tanana, and Selene couldn't tell if the night shade had actually hit or not. Sandslash slammed into the ground, sending mud and grass flying into the air. Moments later, Selene was able to see and figure out what happened. Tanana was down for the count, but so was Sandslash. The force had propelled it enough to hit Tanana, even though the Pokemon was already knocked out.

Tim whistled, "Well. I guess you're better than you look, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe," Selene called. The rain had gotten heavier and was now pounding against her skin. Selene shivered lightly, and growled inwardly at herself. She was showing a sign of weakness to the pompous fathead, and that was just not acceptable. Selene recalled Tanana in silence, and really hoped that his last Pokemon wasn't a water type. She grabbed Kenai's Pokeball, and then glanced at the rain. She was already at a harsh disadvantage anyway. "You ready to go, Timmy boy?" she shot, trying to sound confident even though her confidence was a bit damp. Tim glanced at her.

"Ready when you are," he replied. His lips twitched into a smirk, and then he brought out his next Pokemon.

Selene threw Kenai's Pokeball, and almost squealed for joy when she saw the Sneasel standing opposite of Kenai. An ice type against a fire type. Selene sort of thought it was almost too perfect, but she couldn't help herself. She grinned widely. Tim had a small frown on his face, but otherwise didn't look too disturbed. Selene didn't like that, but she decided to just brush it off and focus on the battle at hand.

"Kenai start off with ember!" Selene shouted. She'd wait until Sneasel was down in health just to be sure, and then finish it off with a good flame wheel. Selene smirked. Her plan seemed like it would work pretty well, and Kenai was just as fast as Sneasel so there wouldn't be too many opportunities for it to dodge easily.

Kenai let out a burst of fire, but Sneasel managed to roll away from the attack and come up with sharp looking claws. Sneasel moved in to attack, but Kenai held the ice type at bay with his fire. Tim told Sneasel to switch tactics, so Sneasel suddenly leaped away and crouched. Kenai barked confidently and let out another burst of fire in a stream this time, but suddenly Sneasel was on the move faster than before. It weaved through the attack and slashed its claws down across Kenai's muzzle. Kenai howled in pain and shook himself, pawing at his muzzle. Sneasel continued with the attack, and then backed off rapidly. Selene glared at the Pokemon.

"Agility's a beautiful thing, huh?" Tim drawled. There was a little smirk on his face. Selene grumbled under her breath.

"Alright Kenai use leer and follow it up with flame wheel!" Selene ordered, trying to keep her hopes up.

"Use icy wind," Tim ordered quickly.

Selene wondered why he would be doing that. Kenai used his leer, and then began to charge in with his fire attack when Sneasel unleashed the attack. The funny thing was, it didn't go for Kenai. No, the Pokemon instead went for the air. Selene watched in a mystified way, until she realized what was happening. The little icy wind was going to become a form of an ice storm if Kenai didn't stop it. Kenai barked sharply and slammed into Sneasel, but the pellets of ice left over from the snow attack slammed into Kenai with a harsh force. Kenai winced as he was pelted, but finally there was only rain left. The rain fell down on him much lighter than the ice.

"I guess you aren't too stupid, huh?" Selene shot across their little battlefield.

Tim glanced up from the battle and at her. "I guess not. Sneasel, let's end this. Use faint attack!"

Sneasel suddenly disappeared, and reappeared behind Kenai before Selene could blink. Somehow Kenai had known though, because he let off a short flame of ember. This held Sneasel at bay, knocking the Pokemon away and giving Kenai time to get away from the impending attack. Kenai was panting now, and Selene realized that the rain was doing more damage than Sneasel was. She growled under her breath. This, of course, was one battle she couldn't afford to loose...and it looked like she was going to.

"Ah, that's annoyin'," Tim commented dryly. "How about this then. Use agility! Follow with faint attack and, if you have to, fury swipes!"

Selene couldn't even begin to fathom how Tim could keep shouting over the rain without his voice getting all hoarse, but she shook it off. She told Kenai to use flame wheel again. Kenai paused and tried, but something went wrong. Sneasel dashed in, ready to take it home. Selene shouted Kenai's name, but the attack was like a campfire trying to be lit with a match in the rain. Kenai's fur was too wet. Hell, he was even shivering a bit. He just couldn't do it. When Sneasel slammed into him from behind, Kenai went down. Selene called for a bite, but before he could do anything Sneasel slashed its claws across him in a quick fury swipes again, and then moved away. Kenai didn't get up from his spot in the mud.

"You shoulda known that wouldn't work," Tim said idly. He recalled Sneasel. "You best recall that pup before it dies." Tim turned to Beau. "You get your butt home." Beau nodded swiftly, and then scrambled out from under the tree and towards the path Selene had come down. He shot a fleeting look at her as he passed, but then he was gone. Tim turned to Selene next. "C'mon. I'll show you where the Pokemon Center is in Veilstone. You look like you could use it."

Selene glared at him and opened her mouth to protest, but Tim tossed her a sweatshirt and nodded his head. She sighed, and quickly recalled Kenai before trailing along behind the tall guy.

 

[{Swan}]

Fen - Looks like Selene's got herself (Unwillingly) a partner in crime. Nice post, I liked it.

Congratulations, Aron grew to lv. 21!
Congratulations, Tanana grew to lv. 22 and learned Sucker Punch!
Tanana can't learn any move moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Kenai grew to lv. 27 and learned Reversal!
Kenai cannot learn any move moves, will you delete one?

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Shaun couldn't help but grin widely as he removed his clumped hair out of his face. He tilted his head, allowing more heavy raindrops to fall upon his face, but their really was no need for such movement, for he, as well as the others, were already sopping wet. This was exactly how a battle was supposed to be. The battle not only brutal, but the environment for both the pokemon and trainers as well.

"Good job, Tauros," Shaun said with a respectful nod towards his bull. The great horned pokemon had done a marvelous job in battle, but it seemed like he would be out for the remainder, what with him already near unconsciousness.

"Tor," Tauros breathed out in thanks as he was enveloped in red light.

"What about you?" he asked his feisty cat. His grin only widened as the normal feline hissed and turned gleaming eyes toward his opponents. Despite being in his hated element, Meowth wasn't doing so bad.

"Meow," Meowth purred, grinning at the Ivysaur and Huntail before, to everyone's shock, he was enveloped in a white light. Shaun faltered, unsure of what was going on before the small white cat began to grow in length.

"He's evolving," Blake said unneeded, seeming just as excited to witness this event as Shaun was.

When Meowth had finished glowing, in his place stood a large cat... no, this wasn't a cat, this was a beast. Cream white fur glistened even in the rain and enormous paws with very obvious sharp claws pounded softly into the mud as the new beast got used to his new body. Black ears twitched a red gem atop its head caught Shaun's eye before he glanced into his pokemon's cocky yellow eyes. "Persian," the new beast purred with a fiendish delight. The simple purr sounded like a cross between a snarl and yowl, proving that this pokemon was much different, and very much stronger, than what Meowth had been. This is what Meowth had been waiting for his entire life.

Unable to contain it anymore, Shaun quickly released his next pokemon, Gastly, and stood at the ready, eager to start this battle. Blake obviously felt the same as he readied his pokemon.

"Fake Out on Ivysaur and Thunderpunch on Huntail!"

"Vine Whip and Protect!"

With these blasting commands, the pokemon took action. Gastly, with barely a glance or care at the newly evolved Persian, flew at the blue eel with a devious cackle, electrical hands already forming beside his body. "Gaas!"
"Hunn," Huntail growled, teeth clacking as a bright, see-through blue surrounded its body just before gastly hit, thus causing the ghost type to run directly into the shield.

"Ga!" Gastly snarled, slamming the ghostly fists over the shield until it wore out. "Gastly!" the ghost moaned as the shield didn't let up.

"Keep at it," Shaun quickly ordered as he saw the protective shield begin to falter. With a brief nod, Gastly once again launched his ghostly hide at Huntail.

"Dive!" Blake called quickly before switching his attention to Persian and Ivysaur. "Ivysaur, try a Magical Leaf!" he commanded once he realized that with Meowth's new evolution, he gained much more than strength.

"Per. Per. Per," Persian laughed mockingly as he effortlessly moved around each frantic whip with a quick leap of his giant paws. "Sian," Persian moaned though as soon as the attack was issued, lowering his ears and covering his face with a paw as pink flowered leaves sprang at him from the bulb on the grass type's back.

"Saur!" Ivysaur grunted, pleased he had finally managed to land a hit on the quick footed pokemon. Without bothering to await orders, he charged, head lowered. "Ivys!" he called, whole body slamming into Persian's body with a good ole' Tackle attack.

Persian yowled, feet finally losing their footing in the slippery mud. Snarling as he leapt to his feet - for he didn't want the Ivysaur to take advantage of his fallen position - Persian lowered his ears in anger. Mouth wide open in a snarl to show off the much larger fangs, Persian unleashed a large torrent of water. "Sian!"

"Fool!" Shaun hissed. "Water does almost nothing! After it with Fury Swipes," he ordered as he watch the grass type get blasted back from the force, looking a bit shaken. Looks like the rain was providing an extra boost in water attacks.

"Defend with Razor Leaf!" Blake ordered quickly.

"Sau!" Ivysaur growled, aiming his bulb at the incoming feline, shooting off a barrage of sharp green leaves.

Persian growled in discomfort, but that didn't mean he slowed down his pace. Despite the onslought, the large cat ran forward, strength still strong as he ragarded himself with pride. He was a true warrior now! "Siian!" Persian yowled, pouncing upon the spooked grass type, claws raking across its body as it screamed in pain. "Sian!" Persian snarled, giving a final swipe that sent it tumbling toward Gastly.

Gastly, who was pretty much playing whack-a-mole with Huntail, was yowling in frustration. Each Thunderpunch was met with failure as the Huntail continued to Dive into the murky ground, only to reappear a moment later and use a swift Water Gun on him. When Ivysaur slid over to him, though, Gastly's nasty grin finally appeared as he set his sight on his new prey.

"Ly!" Gastly screamed, ghostly hands once again appearing, but instead of electrical claws, an icy blue surrounded the claws and slammed into Ivysaur's body. Gastly gave one of his haunting laughs as Ivysaur gave a depressed squeel, body beginning to freeze.

"Ivysaur!" Blake cried. "Huntail, help Ivysaur with Water Gun!"

"Hunt!" the blue eel snarled, reappearing to avenge his frozen friend. Jaws wide, a blast of water sent Gastly reeling back. The wisps of gas that constantly surrounded Gastly faltered for a moment, and Huntail used that moment to slither to his friend in an effort to free him.

"Persian!" Shaun barked at his pokemon, but it was completely unneeded. With a yowl and powerful jump, Persian slammed his paw down on Ivysaur's head.

With a defeated groan, the grass type finally gave way to unconciousness. "Saa..."

"Return," Blake said with a grimace, but without missing a beat, he called, "Surf!"

Shaun actually blanched as the large wave appeared, seemingly more powerful thanks to the rain. "Defend yourselves!" he called uselessly.

With annoyed grunts at his useless command, both Persian and Gastly tried to make a run for it, but the wave rose like a goliath and slammed down with a heavy sound that echoed throughout the area, completely bringing the area into a large puddle. Shaun and Blake were just far enough away to not be in the ankle deep puddle, but just barely.

"Sii," Persian moaned, lying still on the ground, face in the mud and a displeased look on its face.

"Lyy," Gastly hissed, face scrunched up in agony and fury, but it was still floating, ready for battle.

Shaun glanced at the Huntail, eyes widening as he realized it had finally revealed itself. With a somewhat guilty snarl, Shaun bellowed, "Thundrepunch the ground!"

Blake looked startled at the command, hardly believing that his opponent would be willing to sacrafice his own pokemon - or in this case, cause even more damage to a fallen pokemon. "Try a Protect!" he hollowered, but he had called too late in his shock. With another haunting laugh, Gastly slammed his electrical fist into the puddle that surrounded the area.

The reaction was instantaneous. Persian yowled in pain and his fur stood in on end as he slipped away into darkness, but it was really Huntail that got to Blake. His scream of agony echoed horribly in both the area and in his mind. The attack was double the power thanks to the rain, just like with water attacks, and with Huntail being a water type, it was an easy knock out.

"Tai...l." Huntail gasped, mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish, body twitching from the aftershocks.

"Return," Shaun and Blake said at the same time, recalling Persian and Huntail respectively.

"Gaas," Gastly hissed lowly, body seeming to slump as it finally lost its strength to continue, but despite that it looked pleased.

"Nice battle," Blake said, striding over to shake Shaun's hand. "I certainly wasn't expecting that, especially since your own pokemon was..."

"I do anything to win," Shaun said bluntly.

Blake gave an uncomfortable laugh. "You heading to Veilstone City now?"

"Yes. I don't think my pokemon can handle it if I were to stay here any longer," Shaun said, ignoring the glare Gastly was giving him.

"I was just there," Blake said with a grin. "The gym leader is really strong, but since you got an electrical ghost there and a giant cat, you'll be fine against her birds."

"A flying gym, huh?" Shaun mused.

Blake nodded. "Yea. Good luck, man."

Shaun nodded in thanks, already turning away toward the next town, Gastly floating along beside him.

 

[{Swan}]

Wolfwhispers - As the epic battle comes to an end, I really like your tactics, great post.

Congratulations, Persian grew to lv. 30!
Congratulations, Gastly grew to lv. 25!

 

[Broadway]

Mackie had never had his heart in his throat so badly before. His face was hot and his heart was pounding and things seemed to be moving too fast for him to keep up.

Elysia was a darn pretty girl, right near his own age, he'd bet on that, but he'd forgotten that just about the same time she'd let loose her three pokemon. If they hadn't been pitted against his own team, he'd probably have fallen in love—three flying types, great big strong and beautiful... and all attacking his very own team.

The Doduo was fast as anything, and the Crobat was too, and its screech shot right into Mackie's spine, making him shiver, very, very daunted. The Yanmega was a sight to behold, a glimpse of what Luster could turn into, he realized quickly, that similarity couldn't be a coincidence, and it was huge and primal-looking, the cuteness Luster had gone in exchange for a look that was pure fierceness.

And against those three he had Bonnie, Luster, and Ziggy.

Ziggy had never looked smaller, Bonnie looked like she could get blown away by the Crobat's massive wingspan and Luster was dwarfed by her more-evolved counterpart.

And Mackie had no idea where to look. A double battle was one thing, but this?

"Aerial Ace!" He bellowed over the sound of wingbeats and buzzing, and saw Luster strike the Yanmega straight on. Super-effective type matchup or not, the damage was nowhere near what Mackie might have hoped, and just as she hit, the Crobat was on her, wings snapping out rigid as it bit her, Cross Poison bowling her back and making her shiver with the effects of poisoning. "Bonnie, Feather Dance!" he said next, and in the corner of his eye he could see the Doduo running flat out after Ziggy, its own Aerial Ace landing as assuredly as Luster's. The type matchup wasn't in its favour but its strength was enough to send Ziggy sprawling.

Mackie scanned overhead, and found Bonnie sending feathers out against the Yanmega, the fuzz and fluff sticking to it, hindering its attacks. "Again!" he told her, then flinched as the Crobat struck her with a Wing Attack. She retaliated with feathers in its face, but the Yanmega came for her next, glowing with strange power, until rocks rained down over her. Ancientpower—wasn't it? Rock type and... and...

Bonnie was holding on, only just. "Supersonic! The Crobat!" he gasped, and Luster followed suit. "Keep going until it works!" he ordered her, but there was no need. The twisting screeching sound reached its target and the Crobat whirled in midair, confusion taking over.

"SWIIIIIIII!" came a bawl of urgency and Mackie's gaze was dragged down again to Ziggy, who was evading the Doduo even now. "Powder Snow, girl!!" She was so tiny compared to them, but she did have one advantage. The air cooled around her, a draft from the wingbeats overhead sending a chilly gust Mackie's way, and a puff of snow coalesced in the air, driving forward over the Doduo and it shrank back, away from the frigid cold.

Then a SMACK on the ground next to him and Mackie swiveled to stare at Bonnie, down, now, the Yanmega overhead still glowing from another Ancientpower rock blast. The Crobat was swerving in circles beyond, but even though Luster was still in the game, Bonnie most definitely wasn't. "Come back, pretty girl," he said, barely loud enough to hear himself, and he recalled her.

What now? Not Turvy, not against three flyers.

"Munchlax!!" he said, feeling a press of guilt. Like Ziggy, the Munchlax was weak in comparison, but unlike Ziggy, he had no way to offset that. Maybe it was time to hope for luck again. "Defense curl!" he ordered immediately, and even as the Munchlax appeared on the field, he curled into a ball. "Luster! Hit the Yanmega! Aerial Ace! Don't stop until it's down!" he told her, ignoring the Crobat for as long as he could.

The Doduo, distracted by the new ground-bound combatant, missed its next move, a Pursuit, and Ziggy shot away, turning with a skid when Mackie called for another Powder Snow.

"YAAAAAN!!" Mackie heard, a deeper, far more resonant voice than Luster's, as the giant bug finally turned its attention to her, now that Bonnie was down. Luster was arrowing down towards it, right on target. Aerial Ace wouldn't miss, and nor did it, but the bigger bug was glowing again, and she was too near. Ancientpower blasted over her, and she dropped to the floor. He recalled her before she hit.

Bonnie's Feather Dance had held it off for a little while, but rock was four times as bad for Luster. And now he had to send Turvy out. There was no choice.

"Turvy, go with Ziggy. Helping Hand!!" he cried, at a loss for what else to do. "Munchlax... Metronome, the Doduo! Ziggy! Icy Wind! Up in the air!"

Turvy didn't even bother to pose, not now, he just sprinted for Ziggy, tripping and stumbling into a cartwheel before grabbing his little friend and flinging her upward. She squawked in protest for a moment, but then scrunched herself into a ball as she shot higher. The air suddenly twinkled with icy crystals and a great wind swept through, blasting the Crobat and the Yanmega at once. Turvy ran along below, catching Ziggy safely, even as the impact sent them both into a sprawling tumble on the far side of the ring.

Closer to Mackie, the Doduo had the Munchlax pinned under one large foot, and was nailing him with a Peck. Mackie saw his arm reach out, though, his finger rise, and...

Sparks skittered along the floor, like static electricity multiplied over and over, all heading for the Munchlax until he was swathed in electricity. Jerking out from under the Doduo's foot, he planted his own feet against the gym floor. "LAX!" he barked, and rammed the Doduo with a vicious electrified tackle.

"Volt Tackle?!" he heard the shriek of surprise from across the ring. Elysia sounded shocked. Mackie just stared at the Munchlax. The Doduo tripped over its own feet and then suddenly vanished as it was recalled. The Munchlax was staggering itself. Not out yet, but that attack had hurt it too.

The Crobat descended in a perfect line, no more confusion there, and hit the Munchlax with wide-open jaws, catching him in a hard Bite. The Crobat shook him and then tossed him aside. He got up again, but he was trembling now, almost nothing left.

"Helping Hand! Icy wind!" Mackie called again, feeling desperation dig deeper into him. But the Yanmega struck first. Quick Attack, and Turvy was knocked over, and knocked out, before he reached Ziggy. She charged forward on her own, leaping the tiny amount her little legs would carry her, and ice crystals formed again, the wind catching Mackie just a little as it gusted up, and he rubbed his arms as it raked the Yanmega and the Crobat together.

And the Yanmega shuddered in the air, wings going still. It managed a furious buzz before it started to drop, and then it was recalled.

Mackie took the briefest time to look across the ring now, staring at Elysia. He couldn't make out her expression, but her crossed arms and tense pose heartened him just a little. If nothing else, he was making a good showing.

He recalled Turvy, his hand tight around the ball, like maybe Turvy could feel the pride Mackie had for his grand effort against those odd. Like he had for all of them.

"There's only one, only one, guys. Come on, keep fighting," he said, not shouting but pitching his voice to carry. "Powder Snow, Ziggy. Munchlax... Tackle!" No Metronome now, Mackie wanted that barest chance that one more physical attack would give him. The Crobat couldn't hit them both, and just maybe it was weakened enough now...

It went for the Munchlax, even as he was gathering himself for a run, the Crobat swept down, then snapped its wings out and back, forth, Cross Poison. Then the Munchlax wasn't poisoned—he was out.

"SWINUB!" Ziggy spat, squinty eyes wrinkled in intense concentration, and snow was collecting around her so fast it rose past her height even as Mackie watched. "SWIIII," she squealed, and the snow blasted forth like a blizzard wind was driving it, the soft flakes driving the Crobat wings over tail-wings, back and back until it was flattened against the floor.

It raised its head weakly, gathering its wings shakily under itself just enough to push its face up from the floor, but did nothing more.

"Crobat, come back!" Elysia's voice sounded suddenly clear in the gym, the noise of wingbeats and competing pokemon now gone.

Mackie's legs felt weak, and he let them give out, sitting with a thump on the platform. He was breathing hard, like he was the one who'd done all the work. Oh, but not even. "Ziggy," he called, feeling dazed. "Ziggy." And he watched her without moving as she shook the last snowflakes from her shaggy fur and then turned to trot over to him. She scrambled up the platform steps, and then snuggled up to his side, flopping against him with her chin on his thigh. He put a hand on her back, feeling a few pinpricks of ice melt under his palm and seep into her snow-dampened fur.

In the same daze, he watched Elysia get down from her platform and cross the ring towards him, and he shook his head slightly to clear it. Still, when she reached him, he couldn't find the mental organization to return the smile she had for him.

"That was some fight, mister Keeler," she said, making a mild pout at her own loss before smiling again.

"Uh. It, uh. Five versus three," he offered, kinda feeling like he had to apologize for winning.

"Fair's fair," she shook her head. "And even then, yours aren't on even strength. So just take the compliment, silly," she told him.

"Uh. Yes. 'Kay." He nodded. "Miss Elysia, your flyers are somethin' else," he said, "they're just, I mean..." he stared upward at the huge dome of the gym. "They ain't like other pokemon, flyers."

"It's nice to see someone appreciate it," she said, sounding suddenly a little shy, and if Mackie needed reminding that she was a kid his age, as well as a gym leader, well, there it was, as she got all starry-eyed about her pokemon just like he did. He grinned properly now, feeling like he was maybe getting a little bit back to normal again. She held out her hand, and he saw the Brick Badge there for him to take. "I don't mind handing this over," she said. "Well... not that much," she said, with a little shrug, and they both laughed.

"C'n I ask you," Mackie started, putting a hand on his bag, where all but Ziggy were now in their pokeballs. "That Yanmega, it really is what my Luster's gonna turn into?"

*

After having a real flyer fan to talk too, Mackie was too jittery to rest. He left his pokemon at the Pokemon Center to recover, and walked around Veilstone instead of staying in his room twitching around and waiting. He felt a bit lonely, without even one pokemon with him. The egg didn't really count, no matter how curious he was about whatever was in it. Part of his was still pretty well sure it was just a Starly or something... but maybe not.

Mackie wandered into the Veilstone Department Store, hoping to burn off at least some energy hunting down a few useful things, and it worked better than he expected. The place was cramped with stuff, and organized kinda like Caden's room, which was pretty much not at all. He found a Teal Apri Ball, though, without even looking for it, so he counted it a success. One of those, just in case, a couple of Super Potions, four Paralyze Heals, and he was done rummaging through the downstairs.

Right when he was leaving, though, he saw a rack of postcards. Some were pictures of the city, during the day or at night with all the lights. There were a couple of the gym, too, but then Mackie turned the display rack to see the next row, and he grinned. These ones were Elysia and her pokemon, one with her and a whole bunch of flyers—more than the ones Mackie had seen, and some were just of each single one. Mackie took one of each, and then an extra Yanmega one, and bought a stamp for that one along with the cards themselves.

He stuck the stamp on the spare Yanmega card as soon as he was outside, and dug a pen out of his bag to use while he was leaning against the mailbox, and put his home's address on it. DEAR EVERYONE, he wrote, VIELVEILSTONE CITY IS GREAT! THE GYM LEEDER IS THE BEST ONE I EVER SAW YET. LOOK AT THIS FLYER SHE HAS, DOES IT REMIND YOU OF ONE A MINE? LOVE MACKIE.

 

[{Swan}]

Broadway - Aw, Mackie has a crush! You weren't really supposed to have a triple battle, but it was quite refreshing to read anyway, awesome job.

Congratulations, Bonnie grew to lv. 25 and learned Mist!
Bonnie can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Luster grew to lv. 27 and learned Uproar!
Luster can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Ziggie grew to lv. 20 and learned Mud Bomb!
Congratulations, Turvy grew to lv. 20!
Turvy want to evolve into a Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan or Hitmontop, will you let him?
Congratulations, Munchlax grew to lv. 20 and learned Screech!
Muchlax can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?

 

[Underoos]

They arrived pretty quickly, and Selene was glad. She was glad that the city was close, but she was especially glad because now there would be no more standing in the rain. She didn't even look at the city, but kept her eyes trained on the Pokemon Center instead. Tim opened the door for her (being the stupid courteous country guy he was) and then followed her in. He slipped the hood of his jacket off of his head and ran a hand through his dripping locks. Selene spared him a quick look before heading straight up to the counter. She was going to heal her Pokemon, get some rest, and do more crap she had to in the morning.

Nurse Joy gave her a rather sympathetic look. "Did you come from Route 215?" she questioned knowingly. Selene nodded, her entire body suddenly feeling heavy and tired. "Alright, I'll get you a room and then heal your Pokemon." She looked past Selene and to Tim. "Just one moment please." Nurse Joy did some stuff, and then produced a room key for Selene and one for Tim. She set two trays on the desk. Selene dropped all four Pokeballs onto the tray. Tim ended up dropping off six. They looked at each other.

"You have more Pokemon?" Selene hissed to him as Nurse Joy gathered their trays and then took them away.

"Yeah, that shoulda been obvious. But you have more Pokemon too?!" Tim snapped back, equally quiet.

Selene opened her mouth to reply when Nurse Joy came back. "Your Pokemon will be delivered to you later tonight, or tomorrow morning."

They both thanked her and then headed towards their rooms. Selene glanced at Tim several times, but he wasn't even looking at her now. He had this funny thinking face on. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning. Selene almost asked him, but decided that she shouldn't. Instead, she stopped at her door. She muttered a good bye to him, which he didn't return. Selene opened her door and stared at his retreating back, thinking dryly, so much for courtesy, I guess. Then she walked in her room, shut the door, and went about getting ready for a good long sleep.

She woke up pretty late the next day. A look at her clock told her that it was eleven in the morning. Selene stared up at the ceiling silently for a few moments, not really wanting to leave the bed. She hadn't really made it that far anyway, and now she was just so tired. With a groan, Selene pushed up from the bed and grabbed some clean clothes from her backpack. She was about to head to the bathroom when she checked over her clothes again. Figures, Selene thought in annoyance. Her clothes were still slightly damp. She sighed and spread them out on the counter, hoping that they'd dry by the time she got done with her shower.

Selene stepped out about half an hour later, feeling much better than she had the previous night. Her clothes were even dry too, so she slipped them on and then picked the others off the floor. Her stomach practically snarled at her, so Selene figured that it would be a good idea to go get a bite to eat once she had gotten her Pokemon back. Selene crouched near her backpack, and quickly began to check the contents before she set out again. When she was satisfied that nothing had been ruined by the rain, Selene stuffed her dirty clothes in a separate bag and then put them inside her backpack. Then she stood and surveyed the room. Nothing was left, so she exited, taking the key with her.

The first thing Selene noticed was that Tim was standing in front of a wall, reading some board. It was most likely a bulletin board, seeing as all the other Pokemon Centers had them. She didn't go up to him, however. Instead, Selene went right up to the counter and handed Nurse Joy her key.

"Leaving so soon?" Nurse Joy questioned. Selene nodded vaguely. "Alright dear, but be careful." She stole a glance at Tim, and for once Selene wasn't sure Nurse Joy was just talking about her and her Pokemon's health. "I'll go get your Pokemon for you," she declared. Then she stood up from her chair and walked off to the back room.

Tim, who had apparently noticed Selene, had wandered away from the bulletin board and was now leaning against the counter. Selene noticed that his Pokeballs were strapped at his belt once more. She vaguely wondered what time he had gotten up, when Nurse Joy popped back out of the back and handed her Pokemon over. She bade them both a good day, stole another uneasy glance at Tim, and then went back to whatever she had been doing. Selene put her Pokeballs back where she normally had them, and finally made eye contact with Tim. She was trying to see if there was something to be scared of, but she honestly couldn't find anything in his eyes that hinted at it.

"There's a board over there saying something about an Unown. You got one?" Tim questioned.

"Good morning to you, too," Selene retorted. She then headed over to the board and tugged off one of the pieces of paper. She read it quickly, and then glanced at Tim. "Yeah, I have one though. I suppose it won't hurt to trade it for whatever this one is," Selene commented idly. Tim nodded, staring out the glass window. Selene's stomach growled, and Selene made a face.

"After breakfast," Tim declared.

"...After breakfast," Selene agreed reluctantly. She was just too hungry to disagree.

Tim grinned widely and they exited the Pokemon Center. Selene grabbed one of the slips of paper before they did, however, just so she could be sure to get a spot. Tim was looking all about the rocky city, seemingly looking for a good place to eat. Selene figured she'd let him do the picking, so she just observed the city.

"That one," Tim stated finally.

He was pointing to one about a road away. It looked pretty much like a sandwich shop, but Selene shrugged and agreed. She had let him pick, after all. They walked into the small cafe like restaurant and slid into an empty booth. Selene struggled a bit, but finally got Tim to agree to sit on the other side. A waitress came up, handed them menus, took their drink order, and then walked off. Selene wasn't really sure if she was going to like this or not. Tim was staring out the window, his hands laced in the air with his elbows on the table. Selene was trying not to look at him, which made her want to all the more.

"So," Tim began, apparently wanting to break the silence, "you goin' on a journey or somethin'?"

"You could say that," Selene muttered. She then cleared her throat to make herself sound a bit louder. "I mean, I'm going after the gym badges and stuff like that."

Tim nodded vaguely. The waitress came back and set their drinks down, then shot a wink at Tim. He smirked at her and watched when she walked away with their orders. Selene resisted the urge to roll her eyes and fake vomit into her drink. Tim finally caught the grossed out look on Selene's face. He rolled his eyes and then looked at her innocently. Selene scoffed and took a sip of her chocolate milk. Tim sighed huffily and drank some of his...whatever the heck it was. The waitress came back with their orders (bacon and eggs for Selene, ham and toast and an omelette for Tim) and once more she made some weird suggestive gesture towards him.

"Will you stop flirting with her?" Selene hissed. "It's pretty annoying."

"Hey, I can flirt with whoever I wanna," Tim retorted. He buttered his toast and put strawberry jam on it. "Why should it matter to you?" Tim took a bite from his toast and chewed slowly.

"I matters to me because if I let you come with me..."

"Nuh uh." Tim waggled his eyebrows. "I won."

Selene's eyes narrowed at him. "Whatever. It's just annoying to have you hit on everything you see."

"First of all, it's everyone. Second of all, I don't. And finally, this is the first girl I've hit on since I've been in the same area as you!" Tim stated, clearly indignant.

Selene shook her head and looked away from him, staring off out the window. Tim stabbed into his omelette with his fork, clearly ticked off. Selene vaguely hoped that he was pissed, because then he might stop going with her. Selene didn't look at him the rest of the time while she ate, but on occasion she did feel his gaze burning into her forehead or cheek. It was a bit unnerving, but Selene ignored it as best as she could and focused on the food. When the waitress came back, Tim was stiff and cool. The waitress was seemingly startled and annoyed, because she turned her nose as she took the plates away.

"So are you goin' to the gym then?" Tim asked, finally breaking the silence once they exited.

"Yeah," Selene grumbled.

"Hmm...well, I s'pose. I'll hang around town for a bit. See if I can't stir up some trouble. I'll meet you outside the gym later, alright?"

"Sure."

With that, they separated. Tim went off to do whatever, and Selene headed in the direction of the gym. She was already beginning to plan everything out, even though she honestly wasn't too sure what was going to happen. She had forgotten to call Sahib and get the inside information this time, so her advantages were limited. Just as she was about up to the gym, Selene paused. The paper in her pocket was burning a hole into her side, and she sighed. She'd forgotten about the Unown exchange deal. Grumbling under her breath, Selene turned away from the gym and followed the address.

Then Selene remembered something else. Unown was in that little storage thing. Selene smacked her forehead and groaned. She really, really needed to stop forgetting these things. She stopped in her walking and shifted her bag, then dug around for that little whistle thing. She blew the whistle and waited, looking around expectantly. Nothing. Selene's eyebrows pulled together, and she sort of began to wonder if it was just a scam and someone had stolen her Pokemon. Selene thought as hard as she could, and finally cursed when she remembered that the birds coming back might take a while. She growled under her breath and stalked off towards the gym again, apparently deciding to take on the gym leader and then get the Unown.

Selene walked in the gym, and saw the teenager sitting opposite of her. Selene blinked a couple of times. She glanced around, but then finally realized that this girl was the gym leader. She tried to remember what her name was, but it sort of escaped her, so Selene finally stopped trying and instead walked into the gym further. The girl stood up, and Selene inwardly cringed. She reeked of girly girl-ness. Selene didn't let the funky look show on her face though. Instead, she stepped up to the field and said,

"I'm here to challenge you."

"Welcome, challenger," the gym leader said. "What's your name?"

"Selene." She was short, and decided against giving her a last name.

"Well, if you didn't already know, I'm Elysia. What type of battle would you prefer?" Selene must have given her a dumb look, because Elysia shook her head with a smile on her face. "One on one in the sky, or three on three in my gym?"

"Three on three," Selene finally decided, figuring that it would be best not to fight in the sky, because apparently this gym leader was a flier. Fighting her in her own domain with Gastly? No, Selene thought not.

"Then get ready, challenger." Elysia grabbed a Pokeball, and Selene could only hope it was something weak when she snatched Aron's Pokeball and got ready to release him. "Now follow me."

Selene blinked, a bit confused. She did as she was told, however, and soon they were out of the (small, apparently) main room and into a larger battlefield. Selene looked around in awe. The roof was high, the floor was completely bare (and really friggin' cold), and it looked perfect for the gym leader. Selene frowned, realizing her Pokemon's traction would be down in here. She watched Elysia walk to the opposite end, and then get up in a podium. Selene noticed she had one for herself as well, so she walked up the short bit of stairs and then took her position opposite of Elysia.

They threw their Pokeballs once Elysia nodded, seeing that Selene was at her podium. Selene was a bit unsure, but she tossed Aron's anyway. In a exhale of steam, the steel type appeared. Standing opposite from it was a Pokemon with two heads. Selene recognized it as a Doduo. She had never liked those things much. Aron glanced back at Selene, sort of giving her a help me look, but Selene grinned in an attempt to encourage her Pokemon. Aron hung his head and looked forward. Elysia's eyebrow raised, but she didn't comment.

"Challengers first," she said politely.

"Aron start off with iron defense," Selene stated, deciding to give him some major defense boosting. She figured it would help in the battle, though she wasn't quite sure why. Maybe I have a sixth...or is it seventh? Or wait, maybe it's like eighth...oh whatever. Maybe I have an extra sense like in that movie...Selene shook her head. She didn't figure that was a good time to be musing about movies.

"Doduo, move in quick attack to get close, and then attack with rage!" Elysia called.

Aron quickly curled in on himself, just as Doduo charged. Selene had to admit that Doduo was fast, but (though she would never admit it to his face) Tim's Sneasel was faster. Doduo skidded to a halt in front of Aron, and then began to peck and scratch at him with both heads, clearly enraged. Aron took the attacks, and Selene tried to think of what she could have him do. She ordered another iron defense, and Aron simply stayed crouched tightly together in his little ball. Selene bit her lip, and then figured it was time for him to go offensive. She wouldn't win if she didn't have him attack.

"Aron quick, attack with metal claw!" Selene ordered.

Luckily for her, Aron was in a bit better shape than when he had last battled. He snapped out of the defense, and his claws suddenly became sharp and shinier than normal. He slashed them across Doduo's incoming beak, causing the one head to cry out and the other to begin to panic. Selene smirked, and then had Aron use headbutt. Aron slammed his hard head into the Doduo's leg, causing the Pokemon to buckle and nearly fall down. Selene figured she'd have a pretty easy win with this Doduo.

"Good job Aron. Now attack it again with metal claw!"

Aron trotted over to where Doduo was righting itself (and it was still fighting), and then went in for the attack. Selene glanced at Elysia, but was a bit unnerved to find the gym leader looked calm and sure. Suddenly the claws slammed into Doduo, but something odd happened. Doduo took the attack perfectly fine, and then slashed his feet across Aron in a metal claw. Selene's eyebrows shot up when Aron cried out and staggered back, rubbing at his face. Aron and Selene both looked pretty startled, but Elysia looked rather smug about the attack. Selene finally realized what had happened, and mentally cursed herself. Elysia knew that Doduo could take the attacks, so she was just biding her time.

"Aron go back to iron defense!" Selene shouted.

"Pretty soon you're going to make him invulnerable," Elysia commented. "But I won't let that happen. Doduo attack with aerial ace!"

While Aron was centering himself, as Selene called it in amusement, Doduo's heads snapped straight and it screeched. Then it charged in for the attack, both beaks glowing bright blue. Selene was a bit worried, and she had reason to be. Moments later, they slashed across Aron's back, but this time Aron didn't even cry out. Selene had a fleeting moment of panic where she wondered if Aron was down for the count, but when she ordered a hesitant headbutt Aron sprang out of his little ball and slammed his head into Doduo's chest, using the ground to propel him as best as he could manage. Doduo cried out and fell over this time, and Selene knew she had a chance to get it while it was down.

"Nice one, Aron! Now finish it off with metal claw!"

Aron nodded swiftly and then his claws grew and glowed. He slashed across Doduo's chest, and the bird cried out but attempted to peck Aron away. Aron finished the attack, and moved away before Doduo could counter. The bird slowly got to its feet, looking haggard and rather weary of Aron and his claws.

"We have them where we want them. Good job, Doduo," Elysia commented, still keeping her calm composure. Selene glared at her, feeling her temper begin to bubble underneath her skin. What the hell was the gym leader talking about anyway? Selene was winning, it was obvious. "Use mirror move!"

Doduo charged towards Aron at a rapid speed, its claws glowing and getting sharper. Selene called for an iron defense. Aron curled into a ball just as Doduo's claws slashed across its body, so Selene couldn't be sure if the attack had worked or not. Aron slowly pulled out of the iron defense, wincing slightly but looking moderately alright otherwise. Selene saw a few scratches and dents on his tough body, but she'd seen him take worse. She had faith in her Pokemon. They just had to win this battle; there wasn't much of another option. She doubted Tim would...Selene rolled her eyes, banishing the boy from her head.

"Aron, finish it off with headbutt!"

"Don't let it win, Doduo! Use aerial ace!"

Aron lowered his head and charged. Doduo moved in faster, beaks glowing. Aron somehow managed to leap from the ground, head positioned straight for Doduo's face. Doduo's beaks slammed into Aron, but Aron shifted. His claws glowed and stretched, and then he raked them once more across Doduo's chest as he was coming down. Doduo cried out in pain, twitching and pecking at itself. Finally the bird fell to the ground, down for the count. Selene let out a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding. One down, two to go. Selene figured she was a bit lucky she still had three Pokemon left.

"You battle well," Elysia stated as she recalled her Doduo. Then she grabbed another Pokeball. "But not as well as you might wish."

Selene frowned, and waited as Elysia chose her next battler. The girl finally picked, and moments later a large...thing was hovering opposite of Aron. It was beating its wings rapidly. Selene squinted her eyes at the oversized dragonfly, and brought out her Pokedex. It was finally recognized as a Yanmega. Selene wasn't sure if she'd do very well against this thing with Aron, but figured she'd let him have a go. Kenai could come out and have his fun later.

"Aron use iron defense!" Selene called, figuring it would be the best way to start off again. She had no idea how Aron could manage a ground battle when that oversized bug kept flying about, but Selene knew she'd have to try.

Aron curled into a ball, and Elysia simply nodded towards him. Yanmega suddenly began to beat his wings at an amazingly harsh speed, and then whipped his tail downward and toward Aron. The sonic boom was something that Selene hadn't seen coming, and she mentally cursed herself. It slammed into Aron, blowing him completely out of his iron defense and sending him flying across the gym floor. Selene's eyes went almost impossibly wide as she heard her Pokemon slam into the wall behind her. When she turned around to look, she couldn't believe what had just happened. Aron had just been KOed by a single move, not even five minutes after the opponent had been released.

"See? You still have much room to improve, trainer," Elysia commented.

Selene ground her teeth together and recalled Aron in silence. Selene grabbed Kenai's Pokeball without even thinking about her other options, because she knew that Kenai most needed the experience. If she had to, she could bring out Denahi instead of Tanana as a last resort move, though she really hoped she wouldn't do that. Instead, Selene tossed Kenai's Pokeball and watched her little fire type appear in a puff of steam. Selene remembered what had happened the last time he had faced something of lesser type, and decided to be a bit more weary with Yanmega. Stupid Tim, Selene thought, then remembered that she wasn't supposed to be thinking about him so she stopped.

"Alright Kenai, be careful. That thing's got major power," Selene said carefully. "Warm up with ember!"

Kenai barked the affirmative and then let out a stream of flame right towards Yanmega. Elysia called for a whirlwind, and Selene frowned. She had no idea what was going to happen, but didn't think it would be very good. The whirlwind hurtled for the ember, and completely blocked the fire attack so Yanmega could slip back to a safer spot. Selene bit her lip and thought. Kenai would have to get in close, that was just that. Otherwise Elysia would keep using the whirlwind to disengage the fire, or most of the damage from it anyway.

"I see how it is," Selene grumbled. "Kenai, looks like we'll have to get physical. Just watch out for Yanmega's attacks. Start this time with a nice flame wheel!" Selene called, this time ordering her Pokemon instead of talking to herself.

"Use double team," Elysia declared calmly. She seemed to have things all under control and in her hands, and Selene didn't like that. She wanted the gym leader to panic, lose her head, and make this easier, dammit!

Kenai lit up bright and ready to go, but suddenly Yanmega surrounded him from all sides. Selene suddenly remembered a trick Sahib had taught her when they were playing hide and go seek and she had hidden in the trees. She wasn't quite sure if it would work in this particular scenario, but she figured it would be worth a short. "Kenai find the shadow!" she called. Kenai glanced at her and then looked around, then suddenly charged. Lucky for Selene, he was amazingly fast. Bad for Yanmega, because seconds later it was being knocked out of the sky and all of its doubles were disappearing. Selene let out a sigh of relief, glad that she had managed to get by that little snag.

"Good job," Elysia commented. "Yanmega, use ancient power!"

Yanmega suddenly began to glow. Selene wasn't really sure what was coming, but she had a bad feeling. Kenai whined softly and his ears flattened against his head. He glanced about, looking rather nervous. Suddenly the ground began to shift, and almost out of nowhere rocks and boulders formed. They came hurtling towards Kenai, who was sadly only able to dodge a couple before he got trapped in a tomb. Selene called his name, but there wasn't a response. Elysia's lips had twitched into a small smile. Selene clenched her fists and looked down, her face burning with shame. She was going to lose. Kenai was gone, and even Denahi would have problems with two more Pokemon of that kind of strength and ability. It was over.

Selene had a fleeting thought of giving up, but shoved that aside. Just as she was about to get Kenai's Pokeball, something really odd happened. The rocks began to glow a bright orange, and then something equally bright burst from the rocks. They went flying, and Selene had to duck just to dodge one. She peered back up, and saw the orange-red blur slam into Yanmega and send it right to the ground, creating a big hole. Selene's eyes went wide. Suddenly the brightness died down, and Kenai was left standing there panting in the middle of it all. Selene couldn't believe it. She checked her Pokedex, trying to figure out what had just happened, when she saw a new move; Flare Blitz.

When Selene looked back up, Elysia was recalling Yanmega. Selene surveyed Kenai, and frowned when she saw that he looked near to collapsing. She read the information, and frowned harder when she saw that Kenai got 1/3 of the damage. He looked rather wobbly, almost like another good hit would polish him off. Selene wasn't going to recall him though, mostly because she knew that Kenai had some pride issues and would take it personally.

Elysia sent out her next Pokemon silently. Selene looked her over carefully, and found that the gym leader seemed to be analyzing the situation. Selene wasn't sure she liked that, and definitely didn't want Elysia to get the upper hand and come back and kick her ass. Selene stared at Kenai. Kenai, apparently feeling her gaze, glanced back at her and barked. He nodded once, a curt nod that was full of meaning. Selene knew what he meant. She knew what he wanted. The only thing was, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to go through with that apparent "plan" or not. Crobat was flapping opposite of Kenai now, so there wasn't much time.

"Crobat, finish off Growlithe. Use cross poison!" Elysia called, ready to make this battle end.

"Do it, Kenai!" Selene shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. She regretted it the moment the agreement left her lips, but had a feeling that Kenai would've done it with or without her blessing. The stupid self-sacrificing Pokemon.

Kenai snarled and began to glow again. He burst into the red orange light, and met Crobat's attack head on. Elysia looked concerned, because she had seemingly figured that Selene wouldn't have Kenai use a move that would end himself. They met in a loud thud and a horrible smashing sound when they both hit the ground, and when Kenai's light faded it was obvious he was down for the count. Crobat, however, was back to hovering in the air. He didn't look completely horrible, just maybe a third or fourth of his health was gone. Selene grabbed Kenai's Pokeball, silently thanked him, then got Tanana's. She could only hope it would go well from there.

"Use hypnosis!" Selene shouted, almost right as Tanana materialized.

Tanana used the attack, but Crobat was able to beat the beams away with its wings. Elysia called for a screech and then a bite. Selene knew that couldn't happen, otherwise it would be done right there. She called for another hypnosis, but again it didn't work. The sonic waves from screech reached her ears, and Tanana shuddered and winced. Selene clenched her teeth as Crobat moved in, and luckily happened to look at her Pokedex. Seeing the move sucker punch, Selene thought 'what the hell' and ordered it. Her Gastly moved with blinding speed, slamming an invisible fist into Crobat and knocking it away.

Crobat quickly righted itself, looking rather startled. Selene blinked too. She didn't know that attack could do that, but she was sure as heck glad that it did.

"Nice try Crobat," Elysia said. "Go in with astonish!"

Crobat did something that mirrored what Gastly had. Suddenly Gastly was on the ground, looking rather hurt. She floated up, panting lightly. Selene figured she didn't have a whole lot left, but looking at Crobat it didn't seem that it did either. She mentally thanked Kenai again, and then figured sucker punch would be the way to go. A hypnosis would be even better, but...

"Hypnosis!" Selene shouted, without even really realizing why.

Gastly disappeared, apparently using a different tactic this time. She appeared directly in front of Crobat, and luckily for them both because the Pokemon wasn't expecting it the attack worked. Selene grinned, and then nodded at Tanana. She used a quick night shade attack, and then went in and followed it up with a nice solid sucker punch. Crobat flinched, but other than that didn't give much indication that it was still alive. Selene licked her lips, and watched anxiously. Elysia was attempting to get Crobat to wake, but it didn't seem to want to.

"Finish it off with a final sucker punch!" Selene called, ready for this battle to be over with.

"Cross poison!"

Oh, but of course Crobat decides to wake up. Selene inwardly cursed as the Pokemon collided, and looked around wildly when Tanana didn't appear. Crobat was in the ground, down and out. But...where was Tanana? Elysia was looking around too, when suddenly Tanana appeared right in front of her. Tanana stuck out her tongue at the gym leader. Selene's eyes bulged, and she quickly recalled her Pokemon and began to apologize (even though she did think it was pretty funny).

"Well," Elysia began as they walked off the platforms and back to the smaller room. Crobat was back inside its ball. "You battled well, though Growlithe's sacrifice was almost unnecessary. You should have found a way to prevent it."

Selene resisted the urge to glare, so instead she nodded stiffly. "Thanks," she said when Elysia handed her the badge. Selene didn't like that girl, not one bit.

As soon as she stepped out of the gym, Selene was persistently pecked on the shoulder by something. She looked to her left (where the pecking was coming from) and then blinked. A Pidgey was there, with a Pokeball hanging off of its foot. Selene grinned widely and took the ball from the Pidgey, asking if it could just hang around for a little bit. Pidgey seemed to agree, because it followed Selene on her journey to the person's house.

She came to a rather small house, and Selene checked about twice to make sure it was the right one. Selene could see the sea from her spot, and figured that it was a pretty nice place to live, even though the house was smallish. Selene walked up to the door and then knocked. She then stepped away from the door and waited for someone to open it. Moments later a woman pulled open the door, first peeking at Selene and then opening it wider upon noticing the slip of paper.

"Hello there," she said in a apparently joyous tone. "Have you come with an Unown?"

Selene nodded, and then handed the woman the Pokeball. The woman brightened, walked in the house, and then came back with a different Pokeball. "It's a Porygon," she explained. "Thank you so much!" And that was the end of that.

Selene looked at the Pidgey that was still hovering close to her, and then attached the Pokeball to it. She did what she was supposed to, just to make sure poor Porygon didn't get lost, and then watched Pidgey fly off into the distance. Selene grinned, feeling pretty good about herself. She was finally super happy, for the first time in a while.

"So did'ja win?"

She winced. Curse that man, he ruined everything. Selene looked at Tim grudgingly. "Yes," she said. "Where did you come from?"

He shrugged. "Can we go now."

Selene sighed, but nodded. "But we have to get my Pokemon back to full health first. Then we'll go."

"Whatever, kiddo."

"And will you decide what you want to call me?!" Selene snapped.

Tim shrugged. Selene sighed and hung her head, but didn't say anything more.

 

[{Swan}]

Fen - that was.... a very long post indeed. Good, very good, but long O_O

Congratulations, Aron grew to lv. 26 and learned Roar and Take Down!
Kenai can't learn anymore moves, will you delete two?
Congratulations, Kenai grew to lv. 32 and learned fire Fang and Take Down!
Kenai can't learn anymore moves, will you delete two?
Congratulations, Tanana grew to lv. 27 and learned Payback!
Tanana can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Tanana wants to evolve, will you let her?

 

[Charzeon]

Sara smiled to herself as she entered Veilstone City, happy to at least enter the next town with a Gym in it. She was ready to take on the next challenge in her life and get the badge that would bring her that much closer to the League. Angela sensed her trainer's excitement and nuzzled against her. Lee, who could sense his trainer's emotions even more then anyone else, smiled widely.

Sara looked over at her Gallade and sighed to herself. "Hey Lee, I want to talk to you about something," Sara said, continuing despite the Blade's Pokemon's frowning face. "I know that you seem to be very worried about me and you want to make sure I'm safe, but I want you to stay in your Pokeball from now until we leave the city. I understand that you are loyal and everything, but you're also very rare. Any wannabe Pokemon thief will take any change they can get to try to steal you. Trust me, I just want to protect you. I don't know what we would do if something were to happen…"

Lee all but glared at his trainer, but then sighed. He knew that his trainer was speaking sense. He didn't like it, but it was the right thing to do. The Gallade walked closer to his trainer, who smiled and took out his ball. Sara then sent out the red beam and, with it, Lee disappeared into the red and white ball.

Sara smiled to herself as she placed the ball back in the bag. Then walked deeper into the city. It didn't take long for the girl to notice the large shopping center and walked in there. The girl was amazed at the amount of things that were sold. She bought a few Super Potions and a Teal Apriballs. She didn't think that she would be catching anything soon, but figured that she could at least trade them if she came across another Move Tutor.

The next stop was the Pokemon Center. Sara quickly returned Angela back to her ball and gave that and the other Pokemon to the Nurse Joy. When the nurse had placed the balls in the healing machine, Sara leaned against the counter and said, "Hey, do you know anything about the Gym Leader of this town?"

"Well," the Nurse Joy said as she turned to face the trainer, "the Leader's name is Elysia and she uses Flying Types. There are two ways to fight her, either by a regular one-on-one battle with three Pokemon each, or an aerial one-on-one battle, in which each person can only use one Pokemon. Of course, you need a flying type to do that." She looked at the list of Sara's Pokemon. "Well, what do you know, you can do the aerial battle with that Togekiss of yours. Of course, you could probably take out her three Pokemon with a few of the others, like this Gyarados you have."

"Yeah, I'm sure Merric could take on all three," Sara said with a chuckle, then pushed herself away from the counter. "Anyways, call me back up when my Pokemon are healed. I'll just be over there."

That being said, Sara walked over to the chairs and sat down, picking up a magazine and flipping through the pages. The girl looked up at the boards but didn't take much of an interest in them. She scanned something about a woman who wanted 'Unkowns' but, since she didn't even know what that Pokemon was, the trainer just let her eyes move over it before having them rest back on the magazine she was reading.

An hour or so later…

Sara stood out side of the Gym, looking up at the high roofed building. The trainer sighed to herself and once again went over her plan in her head. She didn't know exactly what Pokemon she would be facing, but she already knew which Pokemon she was going to use. The battle probably wouldn't be easy, but she probably would be able to win.

"Alright, here we go," Sara said and entered the Gym. Just as she thought, the Gym was quite large and had a high ceiling. It seemed to be empty but as Sara approached the arena, a woman with long, brown hair in a pony tail wearing a white coat, jeans and boots came out of the side. The woman looked at Sara and gave a smile.

"Welcome challenger, I'm going to guess you want to try to take my badge?" Elysia, the Flying Gym leader, asked.

"Of course, I am a trainer after all," Sara said with a smile.

"That you are," Elysia said with a chuckle. "So, do you know of the two ways I battle? The first way-"

"Is an ordinary three-on-three while the other is an aerial one-on-one," Sara, then grinned. "I asked the Nurse Joy about this when I had her heal my Pokemon."

"Ah, so you did your research," Elysia said with a smirk. "Great, nice to know that. So, which battle do you want to do?"

"If it's all the same to you, I would like to do the three on three," Sara answered.

"Very well," Elysia said, then gestured to the slightly raised podiums on either side of the arena. "Then get up on one of those podiums and we'll get ready."

Sara just nodded and walked onto the podium closet to her. Elysia took the other one and the Leader and trainer faced each other. Elysia smiled at Sara before taking out a white Pokeball.

"Alright, lets get this battle started!" Elysia called out as she threw the ball up into the air. "Come out, Doduo!"

The ball opened out and in a flash of light the two headed bird appeared. Sara smiled to herself, glad that she knew what this Pokemon was. She then took out her green Apriball and threw it up into the air.

"Come out, Destiny!" Sara shouted and, in another flash of light, the Togekiss appeared. She let out a happy cry and did a small back flip in the air.

Elysia raised an eyebrow at the Togekiss, but didn't say anything. "Alright Doduo, use Aerial Ace!"

"Do!" Both heads called out before kicking off of the ground and slashing at the Togekiss with their beaks, causing Destiny to cry out in pain.

"Quick, Destiny, counter with Shock Wave!" Sara shouted to her Pokemon, making the Gym Leader's eyes widen.

"Togekiss!" The Jubilee Pokemon called out happily before gathering up some electricity around her body. When she had gathered enough, Destiny let out a loud cry and unleashed a wave of electric power. The Doduo's eyes widen and it tried to get away but, of course, could not avoid the wave and let out a loud squawk of pain. The Doduo fell to the ground, but slowly pushed itself back up.

"Damn…why didn't you pick the aerial battle?" Elysia asked, honestly curious. "I mean, that Togetic can fly and with that move you'd think it would be a lot easier then fighting three different Pokemon."

"Your right, it would had been," Sara said with a small smile. "But I want to train up my Pokemon more, they really need it."

"Well, I guess that's what these Gyms are for," Elysia said with a grin of her own. "Anyways, back to the battle. Doduo, use Mirror Move!"

"What the-" Sara began to say but couldn't finish before the double headed bird gathered the electricity around it's body and launched it at the Togekiss, making it scream in pain.

The trainer gritted her teeth together as she watched Destiny fall and hit the ground. But, luckily for her, the Togekiss slowly floated back up and, though worse for the wear, seemed ready to continue.

"Alright, this is it," Sara growled, "Destiny, use Sweet Kiss!"

"Kiss!" Destiny said before quickly flying over to the Doduo and giving it a quick kiss on both heads. Both of the heads blushed before they started to wobble back and forth.

Elysia grunted before ordering, "Doduo, use Quick Attack!"

The twin headed bird didn't seem to hear and just continued to wobble about. Sara grinned when she saw that and gave another order, "Okay Destiny, use another Shock Wave!"

Elysia could only grit her teeth together as the wave hit her Pokemon. This time, when the Doduo hit the ground, it stayed down. The Gym Leader sighed as she returned her Pokemon to it's Apriball. She saw that Sara did the same with her's and tilted her head.

"She was hurt pretty badly with that Shock Wave and Aerial Ace attacks," Sara explained as she took out another Apriball, "It's better for her if she just rests up."

"Very well," Elysia said as she took out her own Apriball, then throw it up into the air. "Alright, come on out, Crobat!"

"Come out, Angela!" Sara shouted.

Both Apriballs opened and in a flash of light, Angela and a pink bat with four wings appeared in the arena. Sara quickly scanned the bat with her 'dex and nodded at the information it gave. She then placed the 'dex away and concentrated at the battle.

"Alright Angela, start off with Will-o-Wisp!" Sara called out.

"Shup!" Angela said with a nod before little blue balls of fire appeared around her body. The flames then launched themselves at the bat. The Crobat tried to fly higher to get away from the flames, but they just followed after it and encircled the Bat Pokemon. Once they did that, they closed in on the Crobat, making it cry out in pain. No real damage was done, but the bat now had a bad burn on it's body.

"Forget about it Crobat!" Elysia shouted. "Use Bite!"

"Angela, use Screech!" Sara cried out.

The Crobat was quick to launch itself at the ghost, large mouth open for the attack. But when it got close enough, Angela let out a loud cry. The bat winced but, because of it's ability, it continued to fly at the ghost and bit the ghost. Angela cried out in pain did a Shadow Sneak attack to get away from the bat.

"Quick, Angela, use Payback!" Sara shouted.

Angela grunted before flying at the Crobat and hitting it with her darkness covered horn. The bat let out it's own screech of pain and flew away from the ghost.

"Crobat, use Wing Attack!" Elysia shouted.

"Angela, use Shadow Sneak!" Sara shouted back.

The Crobat flew at Angela, all of it's wings glowing. But Angela was a bit faster and before the bat could hit her, she melted into the ground. The bat flew over the place where she disappeared and looked around, trying to find the ghost. Angela suddenly popped out of the ground slammed her horn into the bat, knocking it back.

"Alright Angela, finish this off with a Night Shade!" Sara called out.

"Shuppet!" Angela said before launching the purple aura at the Bat Pokemon. The Crobat let out a cry of pain, which turned into a whimper as it felt the effects of the burn. It then fell to the ground, knocked out.

Elysia sighed again and returned her Pokemon to it's ball at the same time Sara did. The Gym Leader just simply nodded as she took out her third and last ball of the battle.

"Well, here goes nothing," Elysia said as she threw the ball up. "You're my last chance, Yanmega!"

The ball opened and in yet another flash of light, a very large dragonfly-like Pokemon appeared. Sara blinked at the strange Pokemon and quickly took out her Pokedex once more to scan the newest Pokemon.

"By churning it's wings, it creates a shock wave that deals serious internal damage to foes."

"Great, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Sara said, then grinned as she took out her blue Apriball. "Well, it's up to you know, Merric!"

She threw the ball up and in a very bright flash of light, the Gyarados appeared. He glared down at the Gym Leader and her Yanmega and growled lowly at them. Elysia let out a low whistle when she saw the very large Pokemon.

"Damn…you've been doing quite a bit, huh?" The Flying Leader asked, then grinned. "Well, this is going to be the battle of a life time! Yanmega, use Quick Attack!"

"Yan!" The giant dragonfly called out before moving in a blurr of speed and slamming it's body into the Gyarados, making him move back slightly.

"Quick, Merric, use Icy Wind!" Sara ordered.

Merric nodded and let out a blast of very cold wind from his mouth. The Yanmega got caught up in the wind and let out a surprised and painful gasp.

"Yanmega, use Bug Bite!"

"Merric, use Water Pulse!"

Both Pokemon nodded at their orders. The Yanmega was the first to respond, flying at high speed it clamped its jaws on the giant Water type Pokemon. Merric roared in pain and threw the bug off of himself. He then launched a circle of water that hit the dragonfly, knocking it back more.

"Yanmega, use Ancient Power!" Elysia shoted.

The Yanmega nodded before parts of the ground slowly rose up around it. With a loud cry, the dragonfly launched the rocks at the Atrocious Pokemon, making him roar with pain. The dragon-like Pokemon glared at the dragonfly but before he could do anything, Sara shouted quickly, making him stop what ever he was going to do.

"Alright Merric, lets finish this," Sara said. "Use Icy Wind, then follow up with Bite!"

Merric nodded and took in a deep breath. He then launched the very cold and icy wind that was slammed onto the dragonfly. He then threw himself forward before the Yanmega could recover and clamped his large jaws onto it. The Yanmega let out a screech of pain and struggled with in the Atrocious Pokemon's grip. Merric threw the Yanmega against the ground, knocking it out.

"Well…that's it," Elysia said with a small smile as she returned the bug to it's Apriball.

Both trainer and leader stepped off of their podium and they started to meet up in the middle of the arena. Merric growled lowly but a sigh from his trainer made him stop.

"Protective, isn't he?" Elysia asked with a chuckle, then reached into her pocket and took out an orange and silver badge. "Well, here it is. The thing you worked so hard to get and, quite possibly, the reason you got that Gyarados of yours; the Brick Badge."

"Thank you very much," Sara said with a smile as she took the badge. "Although…it was actually by complete accident that I got Merric…"

Merric grunted, as if disagree with his trainer, or at least trying to say that he was glad it happened.

"Well, then I guess things worked out for you, huh?" Elysia said with a chuckle, then continued to say after Sara returned Merric to his ball. "Anyways, good luck with the rest of your journey, you're getting there."

"That I am," Sara said with a grin, then walked out of the Gym, ready to take on her next challenge.

 

[{Swan}]

Charzeon - Great post, quite the battle!

Congratulations, Destiny grew to lv. 26!
Congratulations, Angela grew to lv. 29 and learned Faint Attack!
Angela can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Merric grew to lv. 26 and learned Dragon Rage!

 

[Wolfwhispers]

Shaun all but tumbled into the pokemon center in Velstone city, his body completely soaked and covered in mud. He had a sour expression on his face, but upon entering the warm building his face began to relax as he staggered over to the nurse at the desk, thankful there were few trainers milling about.

Nurse Joy fixed him with a pitiful stare. "Just came out of the path, huh?" Shaun grunted in reply and handed over his pokeballs. "Why don't you take a key and go to your room, wash up and get some rest," the nurse suggested.

"Read my mind," Shaun said as he took the key and staggered off into the direction of the rooms, trainers moving out of the way in disgust as thy took in his poor state. What, had they never been tromping through the mud? What kind of trainers were they?

All too soon upon entering his room, Shaun had showered thoroughly and all but collapsed onto the bed, his eyes shut and conciousness fading quickly. Tommorow, gym, Shaun thought before he finally lost himself to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning had Shaun completely refreshed and eagerly browsing through the large shopping mall that literally was the pinpoint of the town. He had heard from some of the citizens that there were some interesting pokemon items, and it seemed they had been right.

A few clothing for pokemon, as well as pokemon dolls, were easily ignored, and he passed the pokemon food, for he had enough food for his pokemon, so he went straight to the TMs. His eyes browsed up and down greedily, slightly disappointed that there weren't any interesting ones like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt, but one in particular caught his eye.

"I'd like to purchase the TM Protect," Shaun told the attendent.

With a hearty smile and a few suggestions about the pokemon items, the attendent had the TM out of the glass case and wrapped up for Shaun. Paying quickly, he pocketed the item and thanked the man. With a grin, Shaun exited the mall and made his way to the gym. His shopping was done... wait.

A bulletin board caught his eye, and he noticed a sign saying that someone wanted an Unown and would trade a Porygon for it. Shaun licked his lips in thought before brushing the idea away. He already had two normal type pokemon on his team, there was no need for a third.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I take it your here for a gym battle?" the gym leader sighed, causing Shaun to frown.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he drawled.

"No, no... I just lost to several others today..."

"So I'm guessing you're an easy win."

Elysia the gym leader glared. "I assure you it will not! Now, do you want a three on three or one on one in the sky?"

"Three on three," Shaun grunted with a sigh, wanting to get this over with. She seemed pretty weak, so maybe it would be fast, especially with her attitude.

Elysia, seemingly knowing what he was thinking, growled in anger and unleashed her first pokemon. "Go, Yanmega!"

With a bright flash of light, a giant green bug appeared with a loud buzz. "Yann!"

"Tauros, go!" Shaun snapped, unleashing the large bull pokemon that landed with a thunderous thud. Both Shaun and Elysia glared at each other before bellowing their attacks. "Horn Attack!"

"Yanmega, Bug Bite!"

With an angry buzz that sounded like a screech in Shaun's ears, Yanmega blurred down to the stampeding bull pokemon. It's mouth, which was wide open and disgusting looking, the bug pokemon bit down hard on Tauros's behind.

"Totor!" Tauros bellowed, completely startled, but Shaun was expecting this. After all, herd pokemon were easily startled, and Shaun had been hoping for that, especially since the giant bug was by Tauros's hind quarters. "Roos!" Tauros mooed, buck back with his legs that caught the bug type right in the face. As tauros hooves were harder than stone, and Tauros was frightened, that had to have hurt like hell.

"Yanmega!" Elysia cried as her pokemon skidded to the ground, only to get pounded into the ground by the bull pokemon's horns. "Quick, Ancient Power!"

Shaun grit his teeth as large, powerful stones rose from the ground and pounded harshly into his pokemon's hide. He grimaced, feeling sympathy for his pokemon, for he knew that was one powerful attack, especially when he saw his pokemon tumbled away, rocks sliding across the ground.

"Sonic Boom!" Elysia cried, her cocky grin making Shaun's blood boil. She was thinking that he was some weakling even though he had thought the same of her.

"Horn Attack!" Shaun barked again.

"Toro!" Tauros cried, ccringing as harsh winds slashed down on his body, preventing any movement.

"Let's do a Double Team to pick up the entertainment," Elysia said with a laugh.

Shaun really felt the urge to spit. "Pursuit," he ordered coldly.

With an eager grin and bellow, Tauros erupted into a dark energy, easily pinpointing Yanmega's real body. "Ros!" the bull snarled, startling the bug pokemon. With a powerful thrust, Tauros had the pokemon on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Finish it with Rage!" Shaun snarled.

"Yanmega, try a Quick Attack to get away!"

The order was unneeded since it couldn't be done. Tauros was ontop of the bug type, easily ramming his head and horns into the poor pokemon. "Yan!" Yanmega cried in pain.

"Yanmega return!" Elysia gasped, quickly recalling her pokemon. SHe gave Shaun a hard stare. "There are limits in battling," she said coldly. "I could report you."

"Please," Shaun drawled as he recalling his roaring pokemon that was still suffering from Rage. "Pokemon can take more than that, and I didn't see any blood."

If anything, Elysia's face turned even colder. "Do, Doduo!" she snarled, releasing a double headed bird with long beaks that looked like they could take a good bite out of anything.

"A little birdie, hmm?" Shaun said with a grin as he released Persian.

With a long and dramatic stretch, Persian got into a battle stance, though somehow making himself look both dangerous and lazy. "Persian," he purred, licking a paw as he eyed the nervous bird.

Shaun grinned. "Why don't you just go at it?" he said calmly.

Elysia started as Persian bounded forward with a loud Screech that echoed throughout the whole gym. She attempted to glare at the young trainer she was battling, hating his cheap tricks. Something like that was perfectly legal, but it was still startling to see a pokemon attack on their own, and a surprise Screech attack was enough to make anybody falter.

"Sian!" Persian yowled, leaping onto of Doduo and clawing the poor bird, mouth clamped firmly down on Doduo's body as the two feet flailed before the bird seemed to understand what was happening and began to Peck furiously at Persian. "Si!" Persian hissed after a particularly hard Peck and jumped off the bird.

"Do do," Doduo panted, looking quite ruffled as it glanced unsurely at its trainer.

"Doduo, Pursuit!" Elysia called. "After it and show that overgrown housecat what you're made out of!"

Persian hissed at the phrase, but he was hissing up an even bigger storm as the large bird struck him hard in the gut with some dark energy. "Do!" Doduo cawed as it jumped back, looking proud of itself.

"That's the way! Fury Attack!"

Persian snorted and felt his tail twitch in agitation before a dark grin spread across his face. Well, his trainer had said to attack on his own. So, taking a deep breath as the two headed pokemon bounded over, Persian released a huge blast of water just as soon as the two beaks were nearly a foot away.

Startled, Doduo cried out in agony as the Water Pulse blasted it back where it landed in a painful heap. "Dodo!" Doduo cried in pain before the two heads began to fight with one another.

"Doduo, not now!" Elysia barked as she sent a glare at Shaun who was busy laughing.

"Oh, this is too much," he said with a mean grin. "Persian, finish it off with another Water Pulse."

"Doduo, Mirror Move!" Elysia finally snapped.

Hearing their trainer's anger, Doduo stopped fighting with itself and glared at Persian and the approaching water attack. Taking a deep breath, the two heads unleashed their own Water Pulse. The attacks met and for a moment there was a battle of wills. "Do," Doduo coughed, eyes glowing as it used its Mirror Move before it faded as the two water attacks finally came to an end, and Persian was once again ontop of a startled Doduo. "Duo!"

"Siian," Persian purred, looking innocent for just a brief moment his fangs were revealed in a devilish grin and claws were swiping away at Doduo's conciousness.

"Two down," Shaun said, voice almost a deep, sarcastic purr like his Persian.

Elysia grimaced as she returned her pokemon, eyes drifting to a snooty looking cream colored cat. "Go, Crobat!"

Shaun blinked as he took in this new pokemon. That was cool looking. "Return," he said boredly to his cat before unleashing Gastly.

With a bright burst of white, the toxic pokemon appeared with a haunting laugh. "Gaa!"

Elysia grinned. "Crobat, Bite!"

Shaun swore at that. "Thunderpunch, and quick!"

Gastly hissed, electric hands forming, but Crobat was truly like a blur. One moment he was there, and then the next he was beside the ghost type, big teeth slamming down on the pokemon. Gastly howled in pain before electricity shot out, shocking the large bat pokemon.

"Cro!" Crobat shrieked, flapping his four wings to get away.

"Slly," Gaslty hissed lowly, white eyes narrowed in hate and anger. "Gastly!" Gastly roared, body erupting in a white light that startled Shaun.

"He's evolving too?" Shaun gapped, unable to believe that two pokemon in two days were evolving. He watched the light show, blinking when it was done and took in his ghostly feline.

"Haunter haunt!" the newly evolved Haunter laughed, looking at his hands in wonder. With a wide grin at a startled Crobat, Haunter placed his newly developed electrical hands on Crobat.

"Baabt bat!" Crobat shrieked, wings flapping and mouth gapping as its body sizzled with power.

"Tail Wind to get away!" Elysia cried in horror.

"Bat!" Crobat barked, a huge wind literally throwing it away, but Haunter was made out of gas, and where wind blew that's where Haunter went.

"Haunt haunt!" Haunter cackled, attempting to slam another Thunderpunch Crobat's way, but this time the large bat swerved out of the way just in time.

The two hissed at each other.

"Cross Poison!"

"Meet it head on with Ice Punch!" Shaun snarled.

"Bat cor! Crobat grunted, diving forward, larger wings folded into an X as a dark purple enshouded the wings and hit Haunter's icy cold hands. "Baa," Crobat grimacd, trying to push against the cold fists, but ice began to form on his wings.

"You do realize Haunter is part poison, right?" Shaun asked as he watched his pokemon calmly take the poison attack as Crobat faltered and began to fall. "And that flying types aren't just weak against electricity, but ice as well?"

"I don't need a lesson," the gym leader snapped.

Shaun just smiled sweetly. "Temper, temper," he crooned, knowing he was getting on the gym leader's last nerves. "Haunter, Thunderpunch!"

"No, Crobat!" Elysia cried. "Quick, try an Astonish!"

"Baa," Crobat hacked, trying to muster up the energy, but two electricial attacks and one ice move was too much. He glared into Haunter's mocking eyes and screamed as the Thunderpunch slammed into him, taking away the last of his strength.

"Haun haun haunt!" Haunter cackled, swooping down and around Shaun, looking extremely pleased.

Shaun's grin matched Haunter's as he tooked in his new pokemon before turning to the gym leader. "My badge?"

With a grimace, the gym leader handed over the badge. "Take it and leave."

Shaun chuckled. "Is this how you treat everybody that beats you?" He didn't allow the frazzled gym leader to answer. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked straight out of the gym.

 

[{Swan}]

Wolfwhispers - Hm, Shaun is definitely not making friends, is he? Great post, great battle, I enjoyed reading it.

Congratulations, Tauros grew to lv. 26 and learned Payback!
Tauros can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Persian grew to lv. 33 and learned Power Gem!
Persian can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Congratulations, Haunter grew to lv. 28 and learned Payback!
Haunter can't learn anymore moves, will you delete one?
Saun received the Brick Badge!

 

[rockman0]

"ARGGH! RECALL YOUR POKEMON AND LET'S GO!" Bryce was losing his patient. He walked as the young boy got off of the newly evolved Snorlax and tried to recall. The light from the Pokeball engulfed the Snorlax and sucked the Sleeping Pokémon in, only to release it again after a few seconds. After several tries, Bryce and Todd knew that something wasn't right.

"Something's not right," Todd said as he continued trying to recall the Pokémon. "Aw, it won't work!" He grew frustrated. "Why won't it work!?"

"I don't know, maybe the Pokémon is too fat. Or maybe the Pokeball is bugged."

"Well, Snorlax, I guess you'll have to walk the rest of the way," Todd told the Pokémon. The Pokémon got up off of its back and started to walk down the forest. The ground shook as it walked. Trees were uprooted. Pokémon ran away from the homes in attempts to prevent being squashed under its feet.

"On second thought, maybe you should stay here." Bryce suggested, much to the dismay of Todd.

"Here, alone?"

"OH, he won't be alone. You're gonna stay with him."

"M-me?"

"Yeah. It'll give you some time to bond with it." And not with me, Bryce thought. Todd reluctantly agreed. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out for you." Bryce said in an attempt to cheer up the boy. He headed towards Veilstone City. Upon arrival, he noticed that Veilstone City was different from other cities. Everything was made of stone! The houses, the streets. The city was bursting with construction. New buildings were being put up. But what stuck out the most was an old antique building. It was the largest and oldest-looking of buildings in Veilstone City.

"Oh hi, young man," said a voice. Bryce turned around to see that it was an old man, who may have been there since before the construction started. "You must be interested in visiting the Veilstone Department Store."

"Excuse me?"

"That old building there. It's the pride and joy of Veilstone City. This is the largest Shopping Center in Sinnoh."

"Oh, so that's what it is." Bryce looked at the building in amazement. What could they be selling that took up that much space?

"Do you know what else would be of interest for you?" The old man hinted. After a brief moment of no response, he decided that he would continue talking on his own. "Veilstone Gym." He smirked when he saw that he had finally got Bryce's attention.

"A gym?"

"Yeah! See that building over there with the big dome-shaped roof. That's the Veilstone Gym. It's led by Elysia. She's the other pride and joy of this town and she's only 16 years old. It may have been 17 years old or maybe 18. I forget." The man pondered, frustrated that his memory was getting old along with him. "Anyways, she uses flying type Pokémon."

"Flying types?" Bryce said. His excitement quickly faded when he realized that his Pokémon were at a disadvantage, except for Luxio and Ponyta. He turned away from the old man walked towards the dome-shaped building.

"Why, I remember when I was just a little whippersnapper, just like you! They had just--" The old man was still going about the city and the gym when he saw Bryce walking towards the Gym. "Darn kids! Always in a hurry!" The old man said as he walked away.

The gym was huge! He looked up. The ceiling seemed to go on forever. He got dizzy just by looking at it. He was walking towards the door when someone holding a Raichu walked out of the gym. The trainer was talking to his Pokémon, who'd been knocked out cold by the gym leader's Pokémon. "Don't worry Raichu, we'll win next time." The trainer said, comforting the fainted the Pokémon. Bryce could feel a chill go up his spine. If a bird Pokémon could do that to Raichu, he wondered. What would it do to his Pokémon? Hey Bryce, man up, he thought. You can do this. Before he knew it, he was in front of the gym leader. He looked up at the young girl and saw his stomach drop. She looked almost the same age as he did! He couldn't believe it. He'd thought the old man was a bit senile, but apparently he was telling the truth.

"Hi, are you the next challenger?" the gym leader asked. Bryce shook his head. He still couldn't believe this was the gym leader. "Alright then, let's get this on." She said as she led him to the battling area in the middle of the gym. Bryce looked around. There were bird Pokémon flying around everywhere. Trainers were there learning how to train bird Pokémon. When Elysia waved her hand, the trainers recalled their Pokémon and took a seat. "So, I can see that you're impressed." Bryce shook his head. Impressed was an understatement. Shocked was more like it. "Well then. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Elysia. My specialty is training with Bird Pokémon. Do you want to take the Veilstone City challenge?" Bryce shook his head again. "Well then, be warned, I won't go easy on you." She said as she called out her first Pokémon. "This is a 3-on-3 battle. Choose wisely!" She said as a Doduo burst from the Pokeball. Bryce called out his Ponyta. "Alright! Let the battle begin! Doduo, Quick Attack now!" Doduo sped towards Ponyta and landed a quick hit on the Fire Horse. Ponyta quickly shook off the attack and waited for a command.

"Alright Ponyta! Let's show them how it's really done. Ember!" Ponyta shot flames at the Pokémon, which easily moved out of the way. Bryce was confused. He pointed his Pokedex at the Pokémon:

Doduo, the Twin Bird Pokémon. Its short wings make flying difficult. Instead, this Pokémon runs at high speed on developed legs.

Hmm, Bryce thought. He was at a loss of how to compete with such a fast Pokémon. Then he got an idea. He recalled his Ponyta, and pulled out the old-fashioned Apri Ball. There was a brief silence as gasps went up around the entire gym.

"I'd have to say that I'm kinda offended." Elysia said. "What do you think you're doing? If you're not going to be serious about this battle, then consider it over."

"Oh no, trust me. You won't like the results." Brock replied with a smirk on his face. This had to work. It just had to. "Stun Spore now!

"Alright then. Doduo, hurry and finish this up! Use Aerial Ace!" Doduo ran towards Roselia at almost an instant. Before Roselia could finish her attack Doduo had hit it. Roselia fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Looks like Doduo won this round." Elysia said.

"Look again." Bryce said with an even wider grin on his face. The Stun Spore had succeeded in hitting the Doduo.

"How could this happen? I saw the attack hit before Roselia finished!" Elysia was confused.

"Well, I knew that your Pokémon would hit before the attack could finish, but I also knew that it only takes a little to paralyze."

"What are you saying?"

"Roselia managed to finish some of her attack before it was hit. The result, your Doduo is paralyzed!" Everyone looked at Doduo, who was struggling to get up. Bryce recalled Roselia, and released Ponyta again. "Now, Ponyta. Finish it off! Flame Wheel!" Ponyta started running towards the Doduo. Its body became engulfed in flames as it ran. The attack hit Doduo head on, fainting the Pokémon. Elysia recalled Doduo.

"I have to hand it to you. You won but you also risked one of your Pokémon in the process. This next Pokémon won't be so easy. Yanmega! Come on out!" She released the next Pokémon. It is a large menacing dragonfly. The Pokémon was dark green. "This Pokémon is even faster than Doduo. How will you handle this?" Bryce gulped. He knew she was right. He had no way of winning this match. Then he realized, it was a bug type!

"Ponyta! Use Flame Wheel again!" Ponyta repeated the attack, rushing at full speed. Yanmega effortlessly floated out of the way. It body started to glow green for a moment.

"Ha! That won't work. You see Yanmega's ability is Speedboost! It gets faster after each attack!" She said. "Now, use Sonic Boom!" Yanmega started to flap its wings rapidly. Shockwaves headed towards Ponyta, knocking it back. The Pokémon glowed green again. It speed was rising again! Bryce gritted his teeth. What to do? He thought. Maybe I can, no that won't work. He was thinking about what his next move would be when the Pokémon hit Ponyta again. "Well, aren't you gonna give your Pokémon a command?" Elysia said impatiently. After a while, she ordered Yanmega to do another attack. This time, there was no impact. Ponyta was attacking on its own!

"What? Ponyta, don't!" Bryce yelled, to no avail. The Pokémon was running around. The Yanmega was starting to grow tired from chasing after Ponyta. When it started to slow down, Ponyta used Flame Wheel again. The attack didn't knock it out, but it did burn the Pokémon. "Alright Ponyta!" Bryce yelled.

"What kind of trainer are you? Your Pokémon won't even listen to you." Bryce agreed. He thought that problem had been taken care of.

"I guess she got tired of waiting on me." Bryce said with a grin. "Now, Ponyta! Use Flame Wheel!" Ponyta sped towards the tired Yanmega and hit it. After the Pokémon took the hit, it was hurt by the burn. Elysia recalled the Pokémon.

"You lucked your way out of that one." She said, annoyed. "Crobat, your turn!" The Pokémon came out, fluttering frantically. Its teeth looked menacing. "Alright, Crobat! Cross Poison!" Crobat slashed its wings in an X. The poison from the attack rushed towards Ponyta, hitting it and poisoning it.

"Ponyta, get up and attack!" Ponyta got up and ran towards the Crobat, but stopped dead in her tracks. The poisoning was taking effect. Ponyta laid down. "Ponyta get up!" The Pokémon won't respond to him, so he recalled it. "Well, I guess I'll have to use Luxio!" The Pokémon came out from its ball. Its fur lit up.

"I don't know why you didn't use that in the first place. But it'll only be any good if you manage to hit it." Crobat went in for another Cross Poison attack. Luxio jumped out of the way.

"Alright Luxio, use Charge!" Luxio started to collect electricity. Her fur rose up and started to glow. "Now, use Spark." The Pokémon dodged another attack and started to charge at the Pokémon. The attack hit the Crobat hard, knocking it to the ground unconscious.

"Well, I have to applaud you. You're doing well. This battle is actually pretty good. But you forget, Yanmega is still in the game." She put the Pokémon back into the battle. The burn had seemingly disappeared. "Now that Yanmega is healed from the attack, can you land a hit?" Bryce tried to think of a strategy. Unlike most Electric-type Pokémon, Luxio was lacking in speed. It would take a miracle to actually land an attack. "So, you're not going to attack. Fine then. I'll attack first." Yanmega started to form a white energy ball in front of it and released it. Luxio dodged the attack. Bryce looked up the attack on his Pokedex.

AncientPower, a damage-dealing Rock-type attack. The user attacks with a prehistoric power. It may also raise all the user's stats at once.

Bryce made sure to steer clear of the attack, because Luxio was weak against Rock type attacks. What can I do? He thought. He watched as Luxio dodged another attack.

"Luxio, use Leer!" He yelled. The Pokémon glared at the Yanmega. It stopped dead in its tracks. "Now, use Spark!" Luxio charged at the Pokémon. Elysia ordered Yanmega to use another AncientPower attack. The resulting aftershock was tremendous. When the smoke cleared, both Luxio and Yanmega were unconscious.

"The match ends in a draw!" The referee declared. The trainers on the sidelines were silent for a little while, then they started to cheer wildly. After everyone calmed down, Elysia walked up to Bryce.

"Well then, you didn't win the match."

"Yea, I know," Bryce said with his head down. He was disappointed. He wanted that badge.

"But you did win this." Elysia held a badge in her hand. "This is the Brick Badge. You deserve it." She put the badge in his hand. "Although you didn't win, you still gave me an impressive match, no matter how reckless you are. I think you are worthy of it." Bryce took the badge and thanked Elysia. It was as good as winning the match, but a badge was still good, right? "Come back some time when you've improved your skills." Elysia said with a smile on her face.

"You can be sure of it." Bryce said, walking out of the gym. Another badge earned, another step closer to the new Pokémon League, he thought. Now on to the next town. He was about to start on the next route when he remembered something. He'd forgotten all about Todd! He ran to the Pokémon Center. Maybe he could get some help there while he healed his Pokémon.