The morning of the match started much like any other. I nuzzled into Sabrina and enjoyed her warmth before shooting the alarm clock a glare. A sigh escaped Sabrina, and she prodded me into heading out into the reserve to run through my day's chores.
I grumbled, gave her a kiss, and got out of bed.When I was finished with my usual morning routine and dressed, I exited only to find Yolanda yawning and marching down the hallway. I shot her a nod. She hadn't committed to every morning, but more often than not she was up at the same hour as I was and spending time with the various pokemon around the reserve. Usually with Terra. Although these days she spent most of her time with Terra and Empress.I'd sat in on a few of their sessions. Having Empress relax on the reserve was a good thing. I made sure to ask if she wanted to leave every now and then, but she merely shook her head and continued to play around with Terra.Today I made a beeline straight for my Elite team. I woke them up and checked them over before signalling for Titan to begin the warm-up for my non-injured pokemon. As we ran I noticed that Terra had led Empress and Yolanda around to watch. Tirtouga and Cranidos were also present.Cranidos went from sleepy to instantly awake when it felt my pokemon rumbling along to the distant rock. It straightened and began to kick up some dirt as it glanced around.I was forced to watch, too far away to stop it as Terra made the mistake of approaching Cranidos.So Cranidos did as he always did and headbutted her.She fell on her backside, only for Empress to turn her gaze upon the tiny suicidal pokemon.I turned, fully prepared to intervene, only for Terra to snort, stand up and wrap her arms around Cranidos while he was still braying triumphantly. Then Terra threw him in an almost textbook judo throw.I blinked in surprise as Cranidos slammed into the ground. He stood up a moment later, still slightly stunned."Lar!" cheered Terra happily, like it was a fantastic game."Cran!" cheered the Cranidos right back at her. He then lowered his head and charged, only for Terra to happily start grappling and play fighting with him. Empress and Yolanda watched on. Yolanda cheered her little pokemon on."That's it girl! Just like I showed you! Trip him up and keep him off balance! Don't be afraid to use your horn either!" she cheered.I relaxed, once again, Yolanda had it under control. Empress merely huffed, content to let the baby pokemon play with each other, as much as pokemon weighing in at over thirty kilograms in Cranidos and seventy in Larvitar can play with each other.I darted off to catch up with the team, snatching up the lagging Teddiursa that was doggedly trying to keep up, but not yet having the ability. He whined but relaxed when I propped him on my back. "Hang on," I ordered as I picked up speed."Urrrrrrrrrsa!" he shouted before laughing as we started to overtake my team.I completed the lap and then ran through some stretches with everyone. Don whined and grumbled throughout the entire session. I frowned when I noticed how Bertha was strangely stoic.My injured pokemon stepped out of the training group after the stretches were done. I took the time to inspect their bandages and wounds before declaring them still in good order… apart from Betha who'd already gotten hers caked in mud.I shot her an unimpressed look and reminded myself to fix her up later.I deposited Teddiursa in front of her and she snatched him up to cuddle. "Teddiursa, you need to escape her grasp; that's your work out for today," I said, turning and leaving him to his fate.I then turned back to the rest of my pokemon that had been only lightly trading blows. "Switch it up, a bit of special attack training for ten minutes and then we'll call it in!" I shouted, making my pokemon shift how they'd been training. Tide blasted out some Hydro Pumps while Knight channeled Dark energy, I observed both for a little while before moving along to other pokemon. Shrek was working steadily and I was impressed with how he was firing off some tightly controlled shots that weren't costing him speed.After ten minutes of walking through my pokemon I finished the training session. "Alright, bring it in!" I said with a clap of my hands. Yolanda locked her eyes on my hands when the clap slammed out an echoing bang. I shot her a smirk, knowing that she'd noticed the noise being far too loud.Teddiursa took that moment to leap out of Bertha's grasp and put Clefairy between himself and Bertha. The small fairy pokemon patted him on the head, consoling him. Bertha huffed petulantly.My team settled in around me and I nodded. "Alright gang, we've had some setbacks with recent events as we all know." Bertha, Don, and Hypnotoad all slumped.Sanchez stood and clenched his fist. "Go go go lem! Le go!" he said enthusiastically. He then made an imploring gesture to me while his eyes watered slightly. I knew he was asking me to overlook his injury and let him fight.I grabbed up a rock from the ground and tossed it at his bandage. He flinched and leapt back. I shot him an unimpressed look. "If a pebble from me can cause that response you're not going to be able to deal with it when rocks are flying." I indicated the rest of the team. "Have some faith in the others today. As much as I'd love to have you out there, Sanchez, I'm not going to risk it, you're injured and sometimes that's life. You got to fight Lance and made an incredible showing. Now the spotlight is going to land on some other people."I spent some time looking into each pokemon in my team, including Clefairy."The team for today will be Gawain, Jormungandr, Shrek, Knight, Tide, and, of course, Titan."Gawain and Jormungandr perked up at hearing their names and beamed. Gawain vibrated in place. "Klea?" he said hopefully.I nodded. "This is your big debut as a Kleavor buddy. You'll go out there and knock 'em out, I have no doubt."I looked up at Jormungandr. There was a lot of potential there… that I just couldn't tap into. I'd spent a lot of time working with him and creating the bond. Sabrina and Alakazam had been surprised with how much progress we'd made… but it still wasn't enough. The potential was there though… could I just force it? I swallowed and decided against it."Jorm. I know we haven't gotten you as strong as you can go, not while the option of mega-evolution is still on the table." Yolanda shot me a confused look at this, but I didn't expand on my comment. Jormungandr gave a morose nod."Hey, we're working on it, and it's getting closer every day. It just isn't going to be our ace card yet. That being said, there are other options that will see you show your stuff today." I nodded at Tide and Shrek both of whom nodded back. They'd gone through tough matches with me before. Titan was likewise a rock I could lean on.Knight clenched his fists and nodded when I looked at him. I nodded back, pleased. With both him and Titan knowing Dark Pulse I planned to make things tough for Will."Alright team, with the focus on the Gym during the match, I still need a few of you to watch for any intruders!" I said to the rest of my team, making them perk up.Don, in particular, had a glint in his eye that promised extreme violence to anyone that intruded. "Anyone that can't patrol, remember that there is a projector for you to watch the match on the back of the gym." I pointed over my shoulder to where a pair of trainers were setting up said projector for the Gym's pokemon to watch and enjoy the match. A few trainers would sit with them and offer the various pokemon some healthy snacks to enjoy the experience more.With my decisions made, I departed, walking into the house to find Flint whipping up a batch of scrambled eggs and bacon on toast for me."Morning Brock! I made your favourite!" he said, smiling widely.I took in the frying pan and the man behind it. On the kitchen island, there was a lot of clutter, but I could just make out a note written in Yolanda's handwriting, detailing how I liked my eggs and even which bakery I liked to get my bread from.Flint put it down in front of me, and a half dozen responses tried to fight their way out first. I wanted to point out that this wouldn't be a good meal for the rest of the family. That I really should just have a normal meal. That I was on a diet. That he'd cooked it wrong…Instead, I sat and nodded. "Thanks Flint, it smells… great." I glanced around for—"Here's the pepper!" he said enthusiastically, handing it to me. I nodded again and cracked some of it before cutting up some bites to eat. When I took the first bite, I was both happy and annoyed that he'd gotten the flavour exactly right.He'd even gotten the right tuscan cheese, that I like grated and melted throughout the eggs. "Mmmm this is perfect!" I said, causing him to beam with joy. I pretended not to notice the thumbs up Yolanda and Flint shared.When the other kids trundled in, they had a different meal made up by Nanny Grav. I still fed a few of them some of my breakfast so they could enjoy it as well. Munchlax wiggled with joy at the flavours. Then he turned on Flint with Baby Doll Eyes, and Flint tried to look away."I ran out of eggs! I swear!" Flint said.This caused Timmy to look up. "So get some more then?" Then he tilted his head. "Where do eggs come from?" he asked cluelessly.I clapped my hands. "And on that note, I'm going to head over to the Gym! Flint can tell you where eggs come from!" I said tossing Flint under the herd of tauros without a hint of shame."Bye Brock! We're going to make a special sign for you!" said Suzie. Then Cindy leaned in and whispered furiously in her ear. Suzie nodded and then glared at me. "We are not making anything special for you!"Billy waved his hands about. "I drew Sanchez! Zap Zap!" he said happily. The other siblings groaned, and I chuckled, giving them each a rub on the head before I set out. I made sure to give Yolanda a kiss on the head for her effort this morning. When she wiggled with joy, she caused Terra to giggle in her lap.From there, it was business as usual, with Alexa slotting in at my side and reporting anything of interest for the day. When we were done listing off the pokemon trainers that were scheduled in I checked something. "You made sure to block out the space before the battle with Will for me?""Yes! That time is all yours! I'm surprised you're taking it, though. You usually book in all the slots. Are you feeling alright?" she asked, eyes flicking about my face."I usually just treat it as business as usual for those matches, as that's what it is for me. I'm not too bothered by the whole thing, usually." I paused. "Or I used to not care…" I said before shaking my head and continuing to walk."I normally do minimal prep work and just select a team off the cuff. With Will… It's been dragged out and hyped up enough that I know I'm going to need some time to get my mental state right. I'd like to treat it as just another match, but it really isn't."Alexa nodded, agreeing with me. "What are you going to do about the match wager?" she asked.I was half tempted to suggest that I would up the ante. Unlike Lance, I would have the right to set the pot. But that would see him possibly getting more prestige. I shook my head. "We'll set it as the usual amount. We're making money off the television rights, the ticket sales, and the snack carts set up.""Georgina is upset that you're not going with the exhibition format. With breaks, more people would buy food and drink that the gym could have supplied."I shrugged. "It's a proper Ace challenge. We've already got people set up outside for a good clip of money; there's no need to set something else up in the Gym. Let the locals make some money." I almost shivered. I was close to sounding like Mayor Jonathan just now."Alright, well, your first match is ten minutes away and is waiting for you so—"The rest of the day passed like a normal Saturday for me during the circuit… of late at least. A normal Gym circuit would see me being able to post the Saturdays as later starts with the chance to sleep in two days a week.As much as my siblings would let me anyway.When it came time for the break, Missy, Dennis, Jackson, and A.J. all came and sat with me in the area for Gym trainers. Missy fidgeted, her eyes glancing around, while A.J. settled in and watched quietly from his chair.Dennis coughed into his fist. "That last match was pretty straightforward, wasn't it?" he said to Jackson.Jackson shot him an amused look. "Yeah?"Dennis pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's not what... urgh!"I chuckled. "I know what you're trying to do Dennis, and I appreciate it, but it's not how I prepare."Dennis slumped like he'd failed me. "Sorry Brock, I know Rocko usually comes and hangs out with you before some matches like this." He fidgeted. "I'm just trying to fill in," he said.I shrugged. "We've never had matches like this though. Don't beat yourself up." I shot him a smirk. "Also, I fought the Champion with just Celia to chat with last time," I said, tilting my head. "Actually, the day before I spent some time with my friends Erika, Surge, and Sabrina.""Oh! Your girlfriend!" said Missy, nodding along. I considered pointing out that Sabrina wasn't my girlfriend back then before deciding it wasn't important."Most of the time, it doesn't really matter who I'm with. If you need to, you can assemble a group of friends or an entourage that helps you relax before matches. I just try to go with the flow. I used to listen to music or even work out." I shook my head. "Those didn't work for me, though.""So just hanging out with friends is what you do before a big match?" said A.J.I glanced in his direction and found he had a notepad out. I shook my head."It's not just about what you do during the immediate lead up. It's about knowing that you've come into the match with the best possible prep. You're not always going to have amazing preparation, so don't begrudge yourself that. I find that my mental state can start the night before. I make sure to go to bed early, drink lots of water, and then start the day with a normal, if light, work out.""By who's standard?" said Jackson. "Yours or Trixie's?" he said with a smirk. I snorted at him and glanced at A.J.'s clueless expression. Missy, Dennis, Jackson, and I shared a chuckle.I then outlined how I would usually play around with a pokeball spinning it over my hand and just focusing on the moment. When the crowd cheered and shouted, I made sure to focus on a few key things."This can get harder or easier during the big matches when crowds get excited. Just focus on keeping your eyes moving for signs of moves or even telltale signs from the other pokemon. This is something that comes with familiarity with certain pokemon.""How can you get that level of familiarity?" asked A.J."The Gym matches?" Missy suggested. I nodded, pointing at her like a prize pupil. Her eyes widened. "So when I face trainers, I should be looking at how their pokemon move?" she said thoughtfully."How they shift their weight, where their eyes track, sometimes even where certain pokemon moves will erupt. Knowing that Starmie's water attacks will come from the top limb is important when other pokemon moves will come from their center, where their mouth is."Alexa walked in and coughed. "I'm sorry, Brock but I have a trio of trainers from Hoenn that you know?""Oh, Brawly, Roxanne, and Flannery? Sure, bring them in!" I said with a grin. Alexa fetched them and I stood to check the clock. Another thirty minutes. I rolled my limbs and loosened up.Missy and A.J. watched my movements like Pidgeotto watching a caterpie moving about. I continued my impromptu teaching moment. "It's not a bad idea to stand and move around, not just in the lead up to a major match but also when doing office work. Your body can become sedentary, and blood will start to pool. Do some little stretches and let yourself feel the physical stimulus of pressure and release.""Brock! My man!" said Brawly as he swaggered in with Roxanne and Flannery. Flannery grinned and shot me a wave, while Roxanne bowed with a blush."My thanks for allowing us entry! We're sorry to bother you like this; it's just that we didn't procure any tickets!" she said while I waved off her apologies."It's fine. You'll be able to get some of the best seats with my trainers anyway. Also, I imagine every season ticket holder the gym has will have cashed in their right to have a seat for this weekend, so there will have been limited spots regardless."The future Hoenn Gym leaders gave me clueless looks. I waved for them to take some seats and introduced them to my Gym trainers, and vice versa. When I mentioned that they were future Gym Leaders of Hoenn, they blushed happily while A.J. shot them hungry looks. I suspected he'd be challenging them soon to test himself."So what's this about season ticket holders?" Brawly said."So I sell a preset amount of tickets to locals that allows them to claim seats ahead of a set number of matches each year. There's been a lot of people cashing in with the trainer surge and getting to watch some of the Ace Trainer matches. It's a way to make some passive revenue for your gym, but you need to have a stand and a fairly dedicated fan base.""Which Pewter has!" Jackson crowed happily.I chuckled and nodded. "We certainly do, although we became a lot more popular this year, I have to say."Brawly laughed. "I'll say! Beating the Champ will do that!"I sighed. "Yeah, that, and a lot more," I said cryptically. When it got close to the starting time, Sabrina teleported in with Erika. Erika bowed and then blinked in surprise at the much fuller room."Wow, everyone's getting in on the action for the choice seats!" said Brawly.Erika flicked her eyes at me before bowing in greeting. "Greetings, I am Erika from Celadon City."Flannery hooted a laugh. "Like, we're not supposed to know you? Flannery from Lavaridge!" She leaned forward with a grin. "I'm disappointed you've forgotten me already!"Erika leaned back, flustered at how close Flannery was. "Ah! My apologies I was merely being polite by re-introducing myself outside of the Gym."Roxanne nudged her friend. "Apologies for my friend, she is fiery in more ways than her pokemon type. I am Roxanne of Rustboro."Brawly put a hand behind his head, accidentally causing his shirt to ride up and show off an expanse of tanned, muscular skin. "Brawly from Dewford! I'm actually coming to challenge you next week!"Before anything else could be said, Sabrina turned her head. "Rachel is about to come check on you. The crowd has mostly taken their seats. How did you want to introduce Will?""The normal way," I said standing and rolling my shoulders. Gawain's pokeball came out, and I rolled it over in my hand. "Alright, gang," I said with a wink. "Time to take our places."Sabrina leaned in and pecked me on the lips. I shot her a grateful smile.When we exited into the arena proper, I could see that it was a full house. Everywhere that I looked, people were seated. My own family had front-row seats, and I could see a banner held haphazardly between them saying 'Go Brock!' with different pokemon above each letter. It was homemade and adorable.I nodded to Dennis, and he walked down to the central referee's podium.He tapped away at a few buttons and performed a system check. The shimmer of the barriers caught everyone's attention, and a hush fell over the crowd as anticipation built. Dennis methodically ran through his task before setting his microphone on his collar. He tapped it once and nodded when the speaker captured the noise.Then he nodded to me before directing his attention to Rachel.Rachel nodded and stood.The lights in the Gym dimmed, and I stepped forward to my spot atop the stairs that would lead from the trainer section to the podium. It was a path I'd taken maybe a thousand times by now."Ladies, Gentlemen, Children, and pokemon of all ages! Welcome to the Pewter City Gym! I'm your host for this afternoon's match, Rachel Raul! Can I get a Pewter welcome from our regulars!"The regular people that attended stomped their feet twice and clapped."THANK YOU!" Rachel shouted, beaming around at the crowd at large. "That's the way we say hello in this stadium, and I'll be asking all of you to follow along as I introduce today's trainers!"She swept her hand to the side to indicate the eastern tunnel, which had taken on a pinkish tone."He's been hyped far and wide! He's the masked showman without a place to call home! Can you give a warm, Pewter welcome! To Will!"The crowd began to stomp-stomp clap, almost to a man they adopted huge grins as the air shook at the percussion it was forced to endure. Will entered and paused theatrically at the tunnel entrance as the light that was cast from behind him projected his shadow to make him seem larger.The short cape that he typically wore swept around him while he smiled and waved at the crowd. The people closest to his tunnel seemed to all be fans of his with how they broke off to cheer, but they were drowned out by the 'We will rock you' entrance.He sauntered forward to the edge of the stairs that would lead him to the podium that overlooked the battlefield. His people had petitioned for him to be allowed to teleport onto the podium, but I wasn't allowing him any leeway by lowering the dark emitters.Instead of teleporting or walking across the space like I thought he might, he lifted off, his cape flowing around him as he levitated himself over and onto the podium.He stood and waved about as the crowd faltered, impressed by the display of telekinesis.I held in a snort of contempt. I'd seen better.I noticed he directed a few nods to the side opposite my family, where Mayor Jonathan, Jonathan's wife, and a few other people were sitting. It looked like he had his entourage well situated. It also seemed like he had more peons than I'd assumed. That, or he had gained more with Jonathan's support.Rachel let the crowd make some noise before raising the microphone once more. "And now! Ladies and Gentlemen! Your homegrown hero! The Pillar of Pewter and Leader of your Gym! LET ME HEAR YOU MAKE SOME REAL NOISE FOR BROCK!" she shouted while punching the air.The lights boomed when they turned on, and I was lit up like a boxing champion walking up to the ring. The crowd threw themselves into making the stadium shake this time when they stomped twice, then slammed their hands together, following Rachel with her timing.The people along the stairway slapped me on the back as I passed them, screaming their encouragement. When I reached the edge, as I'd done hundreds of times before, I crouched slightly. I felt a pressure on my form that wasn't usual, and I narrowed my eyes at Will before drawing up my darkness to cloak my body.I saw his eyes widen as I leapt, unimpeded by him, to land on the podium. A wave of darkness radiated out from me, and I stood from my landing crouch to lock eyes with him.I flicked Gawain's pokeball over the back of my hand and clasped it in readiness.The crowd roared their approval, no longer holding to a pattern. They unleashed a torrent of noise that I felt, but didn't acknowledge.I only had eyes for Will.I saw Dennis raise flags in my periphery. "Trainers! Are you ready?" he said, his voice booming over the crowd.I nodded and enlarged Gawain's pokeball. Will did the same for his first pokemon."Release!" Dennis shouted.Will threw out his pokeball to reveal a Medicham that emerged in the air. Instead of falling gracefully, it floated, its face serene as it held its hands in a meditative position. It hovered for a moment before it lowered its legs. It then shifted back and forth rapidly in a ready position.It was extremely light on its feet, from what I could tell. I also couldn't see a megastone on its body in any way, which allowed me to relax. That would have been an unpleasant surprise.I grinned as my own pokeball landed and released Gawain.People were just starting to applaud Medicham's entrance when Gawain emerged in all his rock armoured brilliance. He landed on his toes and bounced lightly back and forth. Then he swept his axes through the air and relaxed into a combat stance that we'd worked into him."Kleavor!" he bellowed.There was a moment of stunned silence, and I was pleased to see Will's lips shift into a frown.Then the crowd recovered, and a roar of disbelief escaped a number of throats. I could hear a lot of people shouting. "Who is that?" "Is that another ancient pokemon?" "Since when did he have that pokemon?"Gawain sliced the air once more and shouted his name loud and proud. "KLEAVOR!"I grinned, if they didn't already like me, I was pretty sure the local bugcatcher's club would be idolising me with this reveal.Dennis inspected both pokemon and dropped his flags. "BEGIN!""Close in!" I shouted, just as Will's eyes glowed. He flicked his hand, signalling Medicham forward and Medicham responded without a word being said.Both pokemon exploded into close range and stabbed, chopped, punched, and kicked at each other. Both of them were able to dance through the blows, weaving a deadly dance of powerful blows against scything blades. Neither pokemon seemed to gain the advantage, however, with how tightly controlled their forms were."Lean left!" I said, before a kick could slam home into Kleavor's skull, quickly followed by a command to sweep him back."Don't forget your elbows and shoulders! Don't be afraid to body him if he tries getting too close!" I called. Gawain tightened up his form, and I felt a cool satisfaction settle over me. This was what I'd trained Gawain to do, to be a close-range fighter and trade strikes with an opponent.I barked a few more orders as I saw some avenues that Medicham could deliver some hits, drawing Kleavor out and avoiding the baits.Throughout the exchange, Will didn't say a word. So instead, I had to read and react to the intentions of his Medicham. Low Kicks and Jump Kicks had to be dodged before ordering Kleavoer in to punish any overextensions."Hop back!" I barked as Medicham's arm rose up.Gawain skipped backwards and avoided the Brick Break Will had ordered his pokemon to pull off. I nodded, as Gawain didn't wait for my order to close in.He'd fought with Shin, Hypnotoad, and all the other pokemon in my Gym and learned how to apply himself. Then he'd gotten to fight other contenders before he'd evolved, and I'd only let him fight Sabrina's pokemon outside our team.His earlier showing had been a tease of his potential. Today was his proper debut. A day that would show everything he could do.He used the extended range of his axe-like limbs to force Medicham to stay further out than it would like, while facing a wall of sharp rock.Whenever Medicham got through, he dropped his body and shifted, making it so that Medicham either had to abort the hit or lash out into one of the sharp edges that were all over his body.I was impressed that, so far, Medicham had been able to match Gawain. No hits had landed cleanly, forcing both of them to dance around each other.The crowd leaned forward, enthralled by this high-paced start to the match. It must seem strange to them to hear me barking orders while Will remained silent.If I hadn't fought Sabrina as much as I had, I might have found it unnerving. Instead, I'd known to expect it."Commit!" I said, leaning forward in readiness. I'd need to be careful here.Gawain did as ordered, committing himself to harder chops and swings of his axes.Each time he did so, he forced Medicham to dance back as rocks exploded out of the impact points like shrapnel."Drag them and flick the blades up!" I said making Gawain commit a weak variant of Rock Throw that had Medicham ducking to the side before it charged in to lock Gawain up.I pointedly didn't look at the slivers of rock that were being left at the impact points from Gawain's Stone Axe. It didn't matter that we weren't hitting and injuring Medicham. Gawain was setting the stage.My set up of tiny Stealth Rocks all over the field might be smaller and take longer, but it was well worth it. You had to know that it was a possibility to be on guard for it, after all.Medicham and Gawain could trade blows for another few moments , but I planned to up the ante soon.It might not be a one-and-done like Sanchez against Lance's Gyarados, but I was pleased.It was all going according to plan. I pulled on my rock energy and linked it with Gawain. And just like that, Gawain began to move faster, his attacks containing more power while his defenses rose incrementally.It was time to make a push.
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While the plan was working for Gawain and myself, I knew I had to be on the lookout for Will pulling off his own plan. If I could work it out, I could disrupt it.So far, I was suspicious of how Gawain had been overextending himself to hack and slash his axes at Medicham, only for nothing to hit.That shouldn't be too surprising, but my instincts were warning me about it.Gawain was strong; he wasn't as fast as Shin, but he had weight in his blows. Every hit sent shards of rock slicing through the air as shrapnel.On the next impact, I watched as Medicham not only weaved away from the threat of Gawain's axe but also through the shrapnel.So far, Will had yet to give a verbal command. He'd obviously linked himself with his pokemon and I'd be making good use of that if he didn't know when to drop the link. Until then, I needed to keep my eyes glued for what he was obviously building towards. If anything the lack of solid hits his pokemon had landed was making me more suspicious. He had to be luring me in.I suspected he might have his pokemon using Future Sight, and the slight glow in Medicham's eyes let me know something was happening."Break off and go fast!" I ordered Gawain. He feinted forward and then juked to the left, allowing him to gain room to move.When Medicham didn't preempt him, I knew Will was doing something other than Mind Reader, Future Sight, or, as Medicham has historically been noted to achieve, Aura reading.Gawain blurred into motion, his speed increasing as Agility took hold. Like Scyther, he left images in his wake, but only a few instead of the ten or even twenty that a Scyther was capable of.Will twitched his head left and right. "Force Palm afternoon!" he said, forced to speak for the first time since the match had begun. I narrowed my eyes. Why had he needed to speak now, but not earlier?Instantly, both of Medicham's hands snapped outward, and the air boomed outward as Force Palm detonated outwards from Medicham's two hands.Thankfully, Gawain was already behind Medicham, axes raised. "X-Scissor!" I barked as Gawain's axes descended, taking on bug energy as they slashed.Medicham dropped low and kicked to launch itself parallel to the ground.I whistled, impressed despite myself. That had been a clean dodge. This Medicham was limber and very strong. The ground had gained a divot where Medicham had kicked off.I eyed the slightly bulbous legs that looked like harem pants; there must be some serious muscle hidden there but it was deliberately hard to judge.Or was it a sign that he'd been boosting his strength while Gawain had been slyly setting up the Stealth Rocks around the field?Medicham rose and swivelled around on Gawain."Move!" I barked at Gawain, causing him to blur into movement. "Reposition!" I said telling him to once more make a dash and attack from another angle."Force Palm! Evening!" Will barked.His pokemon's arms snapped behind it and fired off the Force Palm once more. This time it caught Gawain, and he flipped backwards. He landed on his feet and dug his axes in to halt his momentum.Then he stood and brandished his axes like he was ready to keep fighting. I considered him. He'd taken a hit just now, the first solid connection Will had been able to land all match, but he wasn't by any means down.It helped that Force Palm was only normally effective against him. I held in a chuckle when I noticed that the gouges he'd dug up with his axes to stop himself now had shards of rock pointing upwards.Heh, he really had taken his orders to heart and was setting the field up nicely.There were numerous points that would work as traps that I could have Gawain lead Medicham into, but I didn't need to match technique to technique. I suspected that as a technical fighter, Gawain would be lacking. So instead, I decided to switch it up."Gawain! Return!" I said, raising his pokeball and toggling the return feature. Gawain had fought well; he'd done exactly what I wanted him to do by setting up the battlefield for me. He'd pressured Will's Medicham who I could see was a serious threat.I made a mental note that Gawain and Sanchez's set-up tactics would work wonderfully once I had Clefairy properly trained up."Medicham, Future Sight!" ordered Will instantly as my pokemon vanished. I once again noted he'd been forced to speak instead of projecting his commands. Was Will just not as good at telepathy as Sabrina? It made sense to me.Will started to smile before schooling his features. Ah, he wanted to set himself up, did he? I channelled a bit of dark energy around myself to help obscure any information he might get from me.Still, with a new pokemon coming out, I felt it was time to change the script properly. "Go Knight!" I said, hurling out my Aggron.Knight landed and growled fiercely at Medicham."DP straight off!" I growled. Knight clenched his fists, and dark energy exploded off his form, radiating the area around him.Medicham ran backwards on light feet. "Quake," I said, causing Knight to lift his foot and slam it into the ground.The battlefield rocked, and Medicham was caught off guard, tripping over itself before flipping and springing back onto its feet with swaying steps."Quake again!" I said, eyeing the distance Medicham had put between itself and Knight with that little sprint."Telekinesis!" shouted Will causing his pokemon to raise its arms and hover up over the shaking earth. I narrowed my eyes as Will sighed in relief. "Rest up there for the moment Medicham," he said casually.If I didn't have as good eyesight as I do, I might not have noticed the tiny beady eyes of Medicham glow."Stone Edge," I said straight away, more than happy to take advantage of the potential lapse.Boulders shot forward with extreme prejudice, and Medicham wafted from side to side, evading the blows.I narrowed my eyes at the display. It was becoming far too often that people were able to evade while using moves like Rest.Had Will taken Lance's trick as inspiration? It must have been an order to use something like Rest or Recover it seemed."Automize," I said instead of forcing the issue. A sheen and clacking went through Knight's body and he shook his head slightly as he gleamed in the light."Take Down," I said, more than happy to send Knight forward at a sprint. I watched for it and wasn't surprised to see Medicham dodge the attack despite the speed of the oncoming attack.This saw Knight slamming head first into the ground and seemingly taking damage. Thankfully, with his Hard Head ability, he wasn't actually in danger with that move.It had also placed us right next to Medicham as its eyes fluttered open."Iron Tail," I said, causing my now much faster pokemon to whip around from his position and slap his tail into the still-rousing Medicham. It landed lightly, but when it tested the weight on its legs, I could see it wince in pain. Good, it had felt that blow.Will clicked his tongue and raised a pokeball. "Return," he said."Automize," I said as Dennis raised flags and called that both of us had now returned one pokemon with all our pokemon available. On the big screen, the image showing Medicham dimmed."Go Starmie!" shouted Will, tossing out his next pokemon. It landed and swept its limbs out with a gleaming jewel in the middle.Will opened his mouth to give the first order, only to have rocks all over the battlefield that had been lying in wait rise up and slam into Starmie."Eh! What trickery is this? Did you lace the field beforehand? I expected better from you than cheating!" Will said, rearing back as though struck.I glared at him. "I did no such thing. I had my pokemon lay those Stealth Rocks during our match; in fact, I'm sure a sharp-eyed trainer would have noticed them. For everyone else there will be replays."Will's jaw worked side to side for a moment before clicking his tongue. He knew he had the right to the replay but doing so was only to be used if you were certain the other person had cheated. This was not like the circuit where people challenged for Gym battles or an Exhibition match where replays could be used without consequences.With my words and conviction, he suddenly didn't look so sure of himself. It wasn't going to be a move mechanic known to anyone but to people that had witnessed me sparring with Sabrina closely. Something that was too small a group for Gawain's special Stoneaxe trick to have been spread around. In future, it would be something people knew to look for, but today it was an unknown.I raised a hand deciding to get the full benefit. "Seeing as the accusation has been levelled. Let's run the replay so you can see when the Stealth Rock's came into effect.""That!..." Will clicked his tongue again; by even hinting at cheating occurring, he'd delayed and allowed his pokemon to recover and given himself time. I may as well allow the replay and get the extra pokemon move.I gestured to the side and folded my arms over my chest. On the screen, Gawain and Medicham were shown in close combat, but thanks to the slow motion, it was clearly highlighted that when Gawain's axe hit the ground the strike had caused rocks to become spiked up with Stealth Rock, albeit much smaller than usual.The crowd oohed in surprise.I nodded at Dennis, and he lowered a flag in my direction. "As an allegation was made that resulted in a beneficial delay for the challenger, Brock is allowed a one move start."He then raised and began to lower his five fingers. On the big screen, a similar countdown began."Automize," I said quickly to Knight, causing him to go through his process of both increasing his speed and lowering his weight once more.If I'd attacked Will's pokemon, he would have been able to dodge, but by instead buffing my Aggron I'd netted another significant boost. I'd never had Knight this fast except in training.It was a hell of an edge to find myself the beneficiary of."Surf!" Will called as soon as Dennis' count had finished. Knight was still just finalizing his Automize as the wave surged upwards. I wasn't worried though.I had a tried and true method of dealing with this. "Dig," I said casually, waiting for his response. He had to know I could evade this.The wave surged forward, and Starmie rose to the top of the wave.When it swept over the hole Knight had left and left a space on the other side of the field, Knight popped out and rolled to the side before the water could surge out of the tunnel after him."Rain Dance," said Will as his pokemon landed on the other side of the field, causing more water to fall from a quickly formed number of clouds.I ignored the water splashing down on me and leaned forward, considering my options quickly."Stone Edge," I said causing Knight to stomp his foot and fire off a large rock."Hydro Pump," Will countered, resulting in both attacks slamming into each other, with the Hydro Pump just winning out but not having the power to reach Knight as it splashed down ineffectively.I cocked my head slightly. That should have overpowered the rock-type move… unless Knight was so much stronger than Starmie that it ended up being balanced out."Surf again! Clear the field!" said Will with a dramatic flourish of his hand."Dig again," I said, causing Knight to vanish once more.Instantly, I noticed a difference in this wave with it being wider and thicker. It didn't stop Knight from successfully escaping the move though.Starmie, however, was not riding the top of the wave. Instead, it popped out the back already facing towards Knight."Disable!" said Will, causing a pink beam to fire off and hit Knight. He shuddered, and I clicked my tongue. So he wanted to use that for Knight, did he? I considered the muddy field.I no longer had any Stealth Rocks that I could see, but that didn't mean I didn't have options. I could use a muddy field just as well, if not better, than Will. If Bertha was fit and able, she'd have thrived in a mud brawl."Return Knight," I said neutrally before instantly whipping out another pokemon."Reflect," said Will as he quickly got in a move of his own while my pokeball disgorged my next pokemon. The red light formed a large body, that then bulged and grew even bigger, revealing Tide, my Lapras, in all his glory.He shifted his head and crooned happily at the water falling down upon him.Will smirked. "Thun—"I punched my hand forward and the air cracked at the speed and power of a rock-enhanced punch. "Hyperbeam," I said, cutting over what Will was saying.His Starmie blazed with electricity a moment later, revealing he'd ordered Thunder.In another setting, that might have been a good move against one of my pokemon, but with him committed to a powerful move he couldn't dodge.Tide built up the energy beam and unleashed it just as the Thunder came down on him slamming into him. He sparked and twitched in pain at the super-effective move.It didn't effect the Hyper Beam that tore through the Reflect and swept aside the Starmie like the fist of an angry god against a defiant mortal.Stamrie was slammed into the back wall, where it twitched before sliding down and slumping in place.Dennis observed the Starmie for a moment before raising his flags. "Starmie is unable to battle! You must recall it, Challenger, and send out your next pokemon within a minute!"I grinned happily while Tide shook his head and snorted in contempt.Will blinked in surprise. He must have been expecting his move to do a lot more damage. But Tide was a pokemon that epitomized vitality. He didn't have Sturdy as his ability—as far as I could tell, he had Hydration—but he was a beast of a Lapras. His size did more than just make him a large target. He could hit hard and keep going.I locked eyes with Will and smiled. One nil, to me.Will returned his pokemon just as the rain from the earlier Rain Dance stopped. He drew out another pokemon and levitated it up before flicking his fingers forward making the pokeball zip forward to disgorge his pokemon. "Go Jynx!" he said quickly, intent on not giving Tide any more time to recover.Part of my mind zeroed in on the Jynx. A Psychic-ice type would be something that I could punish hard."Attract!" he said, causing me to click my tongue.Tide was perhaps the worst of my team to have that occur, having been a stud for a solid stint of time. He gained hearts in his eyes and clapped his flippers like a giant simp. I glowered at Will and raised my pokeball to return Tide. Will must have been expecting it as his grin turned into an outright leer."Mean Look!" he said even as my pokeball's red beam of energy was streaking towards Tide. The beam was swept aside by the Mean Look causing my pokeball to blart a warning."Shit!" I swore, knowing this had to be a preplanned sequence of moves for Will. Jynx was a direct counter for Tide. I hissed as Tide's prior showings flashed through my mind. It would seem that not all of the scouting was done within my Gym. I could just see him looking through my pokemon with any contacts he had at the League, learning my pokemon's histories, and highlighting this weakness.With most of the other pokemon I would have brought from my Elites, Jynx would be a terrible matchup with its Ice typing.Against Tide? It was an insidious masterstroke."TIDE! SNAP OUT OF IT BUDDY!" I shouted, causing him to twitch, only to coo and clap his flippers again.Urgh, he had it bad. I shot a look up at the rain clouds that had been dropping rain. If he'd been attracted while it was raining would his Hydration ability have solved his attraction? I seemed to recall Attract working through methods of pheromones. Would the rain have stopped it, or was I misremembering how that dynamic would have played out?It didn't matter. Jynx sauntered up to Tide all smiles."Tide use Hydro Pump! She's not interested in mating with you!" I urged, only for him to lower his head and make a barking noise that I knew was a mating call.Jynx reached him with a vapid smile on her face, raising a hand to his cheek. Right as she touched him, I saw awareness return to his eyes just in time for her to sneer and lash out."Focus Blast!" Will ordered, causing the super effective move to slam right into Tide's head and send his head bouncing into the dirt, where he wailed in surprise only to slump back. His head wobbled back and forth and I didn't like what I was seeing."I withdraw him!" I shouted not willing to keep him out there, dazed from the hit to the head. That had to have been a critical hit and if I gave Will the chance, I knew he was going to punish Tide.Will lowered his hand. "Jynx, return to our side, and perform Calm Mind!" He really was going to take any advantage he could get. I huffed in annoyance as I tried to recall my pokemon only for it to not work. I clicked the pokeball again only to growl as the pokeball gave another warning blart. It was damaged?Will smiled at me. "Looks like the feedback from my Mean Look caused your pokeball to be damaged…" He tilted his head coyly. "So sorry about that!~" he turned his head to the side. "Oh just to remind you, you only have a minute to replace your pokemon!" he said.Dennis coughed. "Challenger Will, please leave that to me. I will have begun the count down!" he said sternly before shooting me an apologetic look. I merely snorted, having already toggled a button on the podium."Medical attention to the battlefield, medical attention to the battlefield," I said, causing the doors that opened to the medical bay to slam open and for Chansey to sprint out looking deadly serious.She eyed Jynx and sniffed pointedly. Jynx reeled as though slapped. Chansey then swept onto the battlefield and dragged Tide's head down to her height, where she could quickly look him over."Chansey!" she said, slapping him with healing energy. While he shook his head, she darted around the side and gave him a hard shove. He cried out in surprise as he skidded off the battlefield, causing me to chuckle. Strength was the perfect move for Chansey to learn."Don't let it get to you buddy," I said gesturing for him to follow Chansey to the medical bay. He did so limply, obviously ashamed at his showing. He narrowed his eyes as he passed Jynx, who blew him a cheeky kiss. Tide didn't rise to the bait and cause any more trouble, despite the provocation, instead leaving with his head down.I watched him go with a sour taste in my mouth and a pain in my chest.Nothing about the last minute and a half was what I would expect from a battle between two trainers of skill.Instead, it stunk of low, toxic cunning.With Tide out of sight, I flicked my eyes up and noted I had ten seconds left. That had been closer than I'd like… still, it was an eternity in a fight.I considered my next option.Will had struck back rather effectively just now, and he'd shown this tactic in the past. I thought I would have scared him off with Don being such a savage.I considered the pokemon I had on my roster. They all potentially had that weakness to this Jynx with all of them being male. If I'd chosen Selene, I would have a strong counter. But she'd been tired and I wasn't confident she could bring her best.Right about now I was regretting that decision.Hindsight truly was twenty-twenty.If Bertha was healthy, she'd have filled the gap and been an instant response. I hummed before grasping a pokeball."Go Knight!" I said, sending back out my Aggron. He appeared and shook his head causing a clacking of metal plates to rattle out."Attract!" Will said causing his Jynx to once again blow a kiss at my pokemon."Skip to the side and Stone Edge!" I countered quickly, causing Jynx to break off the smooch as Knight hopped to the side evading the kiss and unleashing a powerful Stone Edge at his foe."Focus Blast!" Will called making his pokemon punch forward and destroy the rock."Again," I said more than happy to throw rocks at this problem."Psychic! Toss it back!" Will ordered with a chop of his hand.Jynx raised a hand and put the other to her head as pink energy built up around her, only to latch around the boulder hurtling towards her.The boulder slowed and then blew straight backward towards Knight."Leap to the side and sprint in close," I ordered. Once again the attack from Jynx whiffed and I felt a spark of anticipation rising at how well Knight was doing."Mean Look, keep it on the field!" snapped Will as my pokemon began sprinting towards Jynx.Jynx shot a fierce look straight at Knight, but he merely growled and came on faster. With Jynx staring my pokemon down, I punched forward."DP while we're in close!" Knight once more exploded with dark energy that quickly expanded.Just as it was about to impact Jynx, Will shouted "Icey retreat!"His Jynx then did an odd hop back, with an Ice Beam launching out of her hands and sending her sliding back over the muddy field. The Ice Beam didn't hit Knight, but rather allowed Jynx to toss herself out of the danger zone of Knight's Dark Pulse. It still clipped her and caused her to stumble when she landed.I frowned. Had he used a combo move there with Ice Beam and Telekinesis? I hadn't thought Jynx could learn that move.I shrugged the oddity off as just that, and reassessed the space between Knight and Jynx."Jynx! Sing for us!" Will said with a dramatic flourish."Metal Sound! Cancel it out!" I shouted at Knight.Knight opened his mouth in time with Jynx putting a hand on her breast. Jynx raised both hands like she was about to sing to the crowd, only to grin evilly and clap her hands together.Around Knight, a wave of mud shot from both sides and slammed into his face causing his eyes to be blinded and force him to spit out a wad of mud. I clicked my teeth in annoyance.Knight gagged slightly and then shook himself to get rid of as much mud as he could."Now give us a proper rendition of your song Jynx!" Will said delightedly."Stone Edge Two O'clock!" I said, prompting Knight where to fire his move. He stopped trying to get the mud out of his eyes and fired off another powerful attack only for it to be slightly off-centre.Jynx swayed out of the way, her grin growing at the dodge even as she continued to sing.At first, I was afraid Knight was going to curl up and fall asleep after he got his eyes clear of the mud. It was only when the small hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up that I realised just how dangerous this trap was.This wasn't a simple Sing, but rather a Perish Song."Knight! Cut her off fast! Metal Sound again!" I said, cursing myself out for falling into Will's trap. He'd set up another sequence of moves with that Mean Look of his. Only this time he'd gone for something much more morbid and final.Knight screeched out his rage, but I suspected it would be too late. Will had suckered me into this, and I could only grimace. I hadn't been prepared for this sequence of events. I'd gotten used to fighting Sabrina, and she didn't use these tricks like this.Will raised his pokeball grinning. "Return Jynx," he then hefted his pokeball for a moment. I scowled, really? He was going to weaken Knight through using the full minute he had?A number of people in the crowd worked out what he was doing and booed. I could only shoot Knight worried looks."Automize again, Knight," I said, deciding to commit to speed. Will chuckled and shook his head like he knew something I didn't.I narrowed my eyes, assessing Knight as he shifted, waiting for the next pokemon to come out. I toyed with the return feature on the pokeball only for it to notHe swayed a little at first, but when the minute came close to running out, he was swaying like a drunkard. I wanted to recall him then and there, but I wanted to give him one last shot to do some damage to Will. I needed to eke out everything I could from Knight. I could tell Knight felt the same way as there was a primal frustration in his glare while he watched the pokeball rise and fall as Will toyed with it.By this stage, most of the crowd were shouting at Will for his cheap tactics. I couldn't help but agree with them. I'd underestimated Will's willingness to find a new level of low tactics."Five!" Dennis announced, giving Will a warning, raising a hand with fingers spread wide. He counted down, but when he reached two, Will tossed out his next pokemon."Go Slowking!" I blinked in surprise. Slowking? Will owned a Slowking? That was a truly rare pokemon!Sabrina and I had gotten her one thanks to my knowing to seek out the King's Rock and then escort her Slowpoke across the waters like the anime had done. Thanks to my family's knowledge and my investigations of Mt Silver I'd been able to remember the lake that featured both the King's Rock and the shellder needed to evolve Slowpoke.I hadn't expected to see this from Will. None of Will's profiled matches registered him as owning this pokemon. I wanted to glare in Mayor Jonathan's direction. Perhaps some strings had been pulled for him to get this pokemon?I shook it off, if anything, this worked in my favour. Slowking was strong but notoriously slow to react."Knight! GO!" I shouted unleashing him upon the unwary Slowking.The crowd, knowing this call, roared their approval as Knight lurched forward a single step. Then he took another, almost an instant later. Then he was sprinting and in almost the blink of an eye, he was lunging head first at Slowking who blinked slowly."Rest, then Sleep Talk," Will shouted just as his pokemon was launched across the field. Slowking slammed into the barrier behind Will, only to slide to the ground. Knight buckled to one knee and heaved in huge lungfuls of air as the Perish Song took its toll on him.Slowking idly trotted from where it'd been knocked. It reached the battlefield and stepped over the line before its eyes glowed and it floated up into a restful slumber. The sleeping pokemon then convulsed as though it was only just registering the impact from Knight's Giga Impact.I could only stare. That had to be a highly specialised move set up and trained into Slowking. It used Slowking's natural… slow reactions and flipped them into an advantage.It was brilliant but I could only wonder at how many times it would have needed to be knocked out to learn it. It was similar to the sort of training I was having Clefairy endure to learn Healing Wish without fainting.Only Slowking would have to be subjected to outside damage.Knight slid further into the ground, staring in disbelief at his foe. "DP now!" I shouted at Knight.I could see Knight was trying; a flicker of dark energy built up but having just used Giga Impact, he was too exhausted to act quickly.Instead, he slumped onto the ground, his energy spent from the Perish song as Slowking yawned and a blue cube of psychic energy built up in its hands. A moment later, the cube expanded to encapsulate all of the battlefield.I could only shake my head. Will had just weaponised Slowking's notoriously slow responses to being hit and registering pain to preload Rest into a Sleep Talk, into a Trick Room. I'd have applauded him if he wasn't a scum sucker.I raised my pokeball to return him but the Mean Look was still stopping the pokeball from allowing it to occur.I stared dumbly, pressing the button to recall Knight. It didn't even blart a warning instead the button limply triggered without responding.That… shouldn't have been the case? I hadn't had Knight's recall disrupted as I had with Tide. It shouldn't be broken at all. Pokeballs were incredibly sturdy things.I'd never considered how dangerous a move like Mean Look really could be until now.I hit the button to call out Chansey again only to look up. Will watched me, and despite the mask, I couldn't help but think he was watching me hungrily.I felt my mind speed up as the implications suddenly piled up. He'd planned for this too. He knew I would try to eke out everything I could after Tide's poor showing. He'd sent out Slowking with my pokemon having to commit an all-or-nothing gambit with how Knight was on his last legs due to Perish Song.It hadn't just been my pokemon he was scoping out, but also me. Knowing how I might react to certain situations. I felt unclean knowing a person like Will had pored over everything he could find about me.I didn't need Future Sight to know that he expected me to be penalised for not sending out my next pokemon within a minute.A minute should have been an eternity in a pokemon match.I don't think the League had ever considered that a specialised Mean Look and Trick Room would impact the minute restriction when they'd written the rule.Every thirty seconds after the initial sixty caused increased penalties to the offending trainer.I found a new depth of hate for Will at that moment.I knew what Will was expecting to happen, his eyes turning to Chansey, a pokemon that would be impacted by the Trick Room, making it slower than Slowking. I wasn't going to let it play out that way however."Chansey! Stop!" I said. She skidded to a halt on the side of the battlefield and glanced at the Trick Room. A murmur of confusion went through the crowd at my actions. They'd seen what was going on and knew I had to get Knight off the field.Instead of relying on Chansey though, I leapt onto the battlefield.I felt the Trick Room settle about me, and I made sure to move slowly but inexorably forward.I was not a pokemon, and while I had aura, it was nothing compared to a pokemon. The Trick room just couldn't settle on me to make me slower. That didn't mean I could rush, much to my annoyance.It was all too easy to call up my dark energy. All I had to do was think about all the cheap, outright dirty methods that Will had used. This was merely the latest indignity he'd laid at my feet. My darkness rose higher as I remembered his appearance at the police station.I moved quickly through the Trick Room with my dark energies cutting through it.Will said something mockingly to me, but I didn't register it. I focused on getting Knight to help.I stepped up to Knight, making doubly sure to be careful as I put my arms underneath his frame. I knelt and drew on my Rock energy, then, in one mighty heave, I lifted.The crowd gasped in shock as Knight was cradled in my arms like a giant sleeping babe. He was probably lighter than normal thanks to Automize, but that wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't going to leave him out here.I felt his horn dig into my shoulder as he settled, but I ignored it beyond noting that his head was somewhat supported. I carried him off the field and deposited him on a trolley that Chansey had brought out. She shot me a nod with a lookover. Then she turned and wheeled Knight away.The crowd rose and clapped, cheering how I'd carried my pokemon off the battlefield. I turned my head and glared at Will.He swallowed, stepping back slightly only to shake his head and glance at the clock which was now red and counting upwards. He turned his gaze to Dennis. "I note that it is now over s-sixty seconds?"The crowd that had been applauding me stopped in shock."You cheating fuck!" someone screamed, I suspected Flannery but her voice was lost in the sudden tidal wave of shouts and screams that rose from the crowd. A cacophony of disbelief joined in. Disbelief quickly turned into hate.Part of me delighted in how Mayor Jonathan sank into his seat.He'd burnt bridges with how he'd acted before but now Will was making sure the roads and towns that the bridges had used were being vandalised, salted and signed in his name. The public were being roused into action by how this match was playing out, and I could see Jonathan's goodwill evaporate before my eyes. He'd never be able to recover from this.Dennis shifted and his eye twitched before he croaked out his response. "The rules… are clear despite this being a highly unprecedented situation. Gym Leader Brock is to allow Will to perform a single move uncontested."I nodded to him. I knew it killed him, but he was making the correct call. This was a match being televised, and that meant that while Will's antics were being broadcast, so too was our following of the rules.I nodded to Dennis, respecting that he was being forced to make an insanely tough call. I knew I could trust Dennis to be fair. The world would know it now.Fairness sadly meant that sometimes he couldn't side with me despite the morality of the situation. I ran my hands over my pokebelt and checked the countdown. I was now fifteen seconds over my limit due to picking up Knight myself and handing him to Chansey.If it had reached a minute and a half, I would have had to forfeit an entire pokemon. I grunted and marched towards my podium, on the way I tossed Shrek into the middle of the field.With this being a muddy field, he'd be in his element.Will drummed his fingers on his chin in faux thought as I jumped atop my podium to glower at him. "Psychic field," Will ordered to his now awake Slowking.It quickly set about covering the entire field in psychic energy. Shrek shifted back and forth. The move itself was extremely slow in establishing itself, and I had to scoff.There was no way he'd have been able to use this normally.If Will hadn't been able to set up that sequence of moves, allowing him to make the free move without reprisal, I'd have punished him heavily. I flicked my eyes over his Slowking. Unless he'd been planning to sacrifice Slowking from the start? What had been his plan, the sequence of moves or the sacrifice play?I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck as Dennis raised flags in readiness to restart the match.Tide and Knight were now down, mostly thanks to a Jynx that Will could still bring out as he desired. That was a looming threat, and I didn't doubt he had more.On my side of the equation, I'd only taken out his Starmie.He knew about Gawain now, which left Titan, Jormungandr, and Shrek to carry the day. The match was very much not going to plan, but that wasn't unusual.You couldn't be a pokemon trainer and not get tripped up occasionally.I cracked my neck from side to side.If Will wanted a match, I'd damn well give him one.Dennis dropped the flags, and the match was back on, my dark energy rising without a thought.Time to make Will bleed.