"Shrek, Dig!" I ordered, eyeing the distance that divided Slowking and him. Trying to sprint across it wouldn't work, especially with Trick Room in effect. I could also have him do a dogged advance, but that wouldn't work as well for me.
Instead, I was going to bet on something else happening. "Calm Mind," said Will merrily, with his pokemon acting quickly under the Trick Room effect. Shrek burrowed down, slower than I'd ever seen him dig.Will flicked a finger. "Another!" he said, causing his pokemon to repeat the move. He then raised a pokeball. "Change!" he ordered, his pokemon vanishing in a red beam of energy as another pokemon popped forward to where Slowking had been."Exeggutor!" said the grass-psychic type.I frowned, Will had chosen a pokemon once again that was slower than my pokemon, allowing it to make the most of the Trick Room still in play. But that wasn't what had me worried.Slowking as a species should not know Baton Pass, and that wasn't how Ally Switch was supposed to work.I was certain of that. I had trained with Sabrina enough to know this. If this was a doubles battle, that would work, but it should have been a Baton Pass to get a pokemon out of a pokeball.Unless… I flicked my eyes around the field at the rectangular space that encompassed the battlefield. Was this a Psychic Terrain interaction?I had to shrug it off due to not knowing enough about how it worked, and instead focus on what was about to happen.Shrek emerged to meet an Exeggutor with his maw glowing with Bite. His Bite sank into Exeggutor's body, and the palm tree pokemon shouted in surprise at the attack. The Trick Room faltered and then collapsed into itself a moment later, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief."Exeggutor! Use Wood Hammer!" shouted Will, causing his pokemon to lunge forward with a glowing green leg seeking to kick Shrek in the face."Dip! Low Kick!" I shouted. Shrek crouched on all fours and had the attack sail over his head. He then lashed out with his own kick at Exeggutor's other leg, causing the pokemon to buckle and topple like a tree that had been cut by an expert woodsman.It wasn't down for long, however, as before it hit the ground, its heads glowed blue, and it levitated itself back up onto its feet. I clicked my tongue. Was this Psychic field coming into play and making it stronger?"Uppercut IP!" I barked out.Shrek surged up sending Exeggutor flying with an Ice Punch between the legs. Exeggutor got up with a shivering snarl, and Shrek responded with a loud ribbit that caused his neck to inflate.He'd just one-two'd Will's pokemon and obviously thrown down a taunt."Control yourself!" Will snapped before chopping down. "Use Leaf Storm!""Dig low!" I shouted, causing Shrek to dip into the ground underneath the attack before bobbing up quickly in another position just as Will started to give another order."Use Earth—" He cut himself off just in time. "No! Disable!" he shouted."Bulk Up!" I ordered quickly.Shrek started flexing, only for the move to be Disabled.Will clicked his tongue, and I smirked. He wasn't getting my pokemon's mobility move that easily. And even if he did, I had another option."Use Leaf Storm!" Will barked frustratedly, only for my pokemon to dip into the ground and then back out."Dig mid," I said, giving a slightly different order from last time."Tch! Use Future Sight!" he barked, causing his pokemon's eyes to all glow as Shrek popped back up."Seed Bomb!" Will said as his own eyes glowed slightly, making me know some sort of trick was afoot.Exeggutor unleashed a barrage of Seed Bombs but its attacks arced up high. They'd be very slow with an arc like that, I thought to myself."Ice Beam on him," I ordered, deciding to punish the slow attack. Shrek unleashed a powerful blast with a large white-blue beam of energy."Let the main head drive! Sidestep!!" Will ordered as most of his pokemon's heads looked up at the now-falling Seed Bombs. The front head, a dopey-looking face, smiled wider and seemed to focus on moving the main body."Arc the beam to the side!" I ordered Shrek, who did as commanded.Wil grasped a hand up at the falling Seed Bombs. "Use Psychic and hurl those at your foe!""Break off!" I said to Shrek, causing him to stop chasing the furiously sprinting Exeggutor and instead focus upwards. I considered blasting them out of the air for a moment before discarding that idea. "Protect!" I shouted, causing Shrek to hunker down as Seed Bombs dropped right on him.Or rather, around him. I blinked in surprise and shot a look at Will who was grinning."Boom!" he said theatrically as all the Seed Bombs detonated as one. Shrek's Protective shell was rocked back and forth, and I wasn't surprised when the smoke cleared to see him slightly dirty from being shaken about.While the attack didn't get through, it did rattle the cage.I opened my mouth to give an order, only for a final Seed bomb that Will must have been keeping in reserve to slam into Shrek and detonate.Shrek croaked in pain but stood strong, his gaze focused on the now smirking Exeggutor.I clicked my tongue; had that been his Future Sight coming into effect? "Surf!" I said much to the confusion of the crowd. I could hear more than a few people point out that water-type moves were not very good against grass-types.Will merely narrowed his eyes. "Use Seed Bomb again!"Shrek didn't hesitate, however, and instead leapt backwards onto a rapidly forming wave.He hunkered down as the wave built up. "Slide like Suzie and use Ice Beam!" I said cryptically.Shrek understood the reference and nodded. When the wave rose up high, he let himself slide back first over the wave, like Suzie would do at the playground, before firing off his Ice Beam directly into the wave. It froze, only for Will to hurl Seed Bombs at it."Ice Punch!" I said. Shrek slammed his fist into the now-frozen wave as it exploded across multiple points. The punch blasted a wave of ice blocks forward. Ice rained down and began to fall onto Exeggutor."Psychic!" Will ordered. His pokemon glared up at the threatening ice wave and grasped it telekinetically to catch it in the air. Then he shifted it to the sides. When it was out of danger, it let the ice blocks smash into the ground.When he did so, the field that had been glowing to signify Psychic Field flickered and collapsed.I couldn't help but frown. Damn, that move had hung around for a long time.I did not want to let Slowking set that up again.I considered ordering Shrek to repeat the Surf and Ice Beam combination but decided against it after a moment. He'd been working through a variety of moves and was now looking rather tired. I knew I could push on with him, but I wasn't sure that was the best move right now.I had a rather good option for Exeggutor on my team, however."Shrek return! You've done great! Rest for now!" I pulled him out quickly and mentally noted that I'd used three returns so far to Will's two, with his … Baton Pass?"Move side to side with one head! The rest of you! Use Sunny Day!" His pokemon began darting back and forth as a small orb of fire rose up and shone harshly down. The mud that had built up started to steam and dry up, forming odd pockets of restricted vision."Go Gawain!" I shouted, sending out my Kleavor once again. He buzzed angrily and shifted from foot to foot before locking eyes with Exeggutor."Solar Beam!" shouted Will"Agility!" I barked, causing my pokemon to leap into action."Teeter around!" ordered Will, making his pokemon stand on one leg and pirouette."Dart into the steam clouds!" I shouted. Gawain dropped out of sight even more as he sprinted into the steam and then around the teetering tree. I eyed Exeggutor for a moment before punching forward. "Now! X-Scissor!""Use Hypnosis! All heads!" Will ordered to counter. From all the heads, a small series of waves radiated out and caught Gawain as he sprinted in with his axes upraised.I grimaced. Will had really taken the multiple heads and stretched them for all it was worth, hadn't he?How had he done that with so many pokemon? That was a Jynx, a Slowking, and now an Exeggutor with specialised skills. That was insane. Part of me wanted to deny it; he must have gotten the pokemon from a backer with deep pockets. The only other option was that… he was a damn good trainer with the skills to train pokemon like that?It was much more palatable that he had a deep-pocketed backer. With the tactics he'd used so far, I felt like I'd spit blood if I were to ever acknowledge Will's abilities as a trainer.I was stunned at what happened next.Gawain, who'd run face-first into the Hynopsis thanks to my poor orders and Will's trap, leapt instead of allowing himself to fall asleep. His axes were held in front of him, with Bug energy crawling over them. He slammed into Exeggutor and sent the larger pokemon soaring back."Yes! Nicely done, Gawain!" I shouted. That had been entirely due to his good instincts and the weapons training he'd practised. He'd kept his axes up, and that had made all the difference to allow him one move before he fell asleep."Synthesis! Now!" shrieked Will in surprise as his pokemon struggled.I could see a few heads of the Exeggutor shutting their eyes only for one to flinch slightly and glow green. I grimaced as, under the Sunny Day effect, Exeggutor regained a serious part of his health.Gawain staggered and snored, his eyes falling shut as his Axes fell to the ground. "Damn it! WAKE UP BUDDY!" I shouted feeling a small hope for him to die.Gawain shook himself then and opened his eyes, stunning me. He raised his Axes and brandished them."Klea! Vor!!" he shouted."Yes!" I shouted in glee and I thought I heard a good number of younger voices also take up the cry with me. I could imagine a swarm of Bug Catchers trainers had joined in shouting for Gawain to wake up.Will clicked his tongue and eyed the now ready-to-fight Kleavor before him. "Exeggutor! Return!" shouted Will, not willing to back himself."Swords Dance!" I ordered for Gawain, making the most of the pause for my pokemon to buff himself up. He nodded and flicked his axes about in readiness for his next opponent as I assessed him. He was still a bit tired, but he seemed nothing but determined right now. Three returns to three nowI nodded, deciding to keep him out and fighting."Go Jynx!" Will called as he released a pokemon I was looking forward to putting in the ground."Future Sight," was the first move he called for. I knew that would take a while to work, so I punched forward."Finish her with X-Scissor!" Kleavor leapt to the side, only for Jynx's eyes to glow and for her to perform a fast hop to the side."Ha! Nice try Brock! My pokemon is forewarned of your pokemon's strongest moves!" Will crowed.I held back the urge to point out how cliche it was for a villain to spout lines like that. Will was obviously feeling pretty strong in himself with how his pokemon had evaded my attack.I tilted my head. "In that case, Stone Axe. Get close and hit her in her—" I was going to say mouth but Kleavor accelerated forward and slammed an axe into her throat.If Jynx was weaker, I expect there would have been another emergency call out for Chansey with a critical case. Instead, it lifted Jynx off the ground and threw her backwards.She landed and rose up gasping and wheezing with her hand clutching her throat."Yeah! Right in her throat!" cheered what I suspected was Flannery once again. "Hit her again!" she cried before the crowd could overwhelm her voice with their own noise."Finish he—" I cried out only for Will to make a gesture and for Jynx to vanish. And another pokemon to take her place.Jynx once again escaped her fate, clinging on as she vanished in a flash of red with another pokemon that Will had the pokeball raised up for. He must have used… I tilted my head and scowled.How the hell had he done that? It wasn't like I could call him out on a move that shouldn't work, because it obviously had worked.Something fishy was going down here.I huffed in annoyance; this trend of Will just barely hanging on with his pokemon was getting frustrating.I was whittling down at Will's pokemon but he was just clinging in there to stop me from getting that knockout blow. I'd been able to surprise him more than a few times, but apart from Starmie, he hadn't allowed me that same solid hit on any of his pokemon.Some of the blows my pokemon had dished out should have landed or hit a bit harder, I felt, but it might again be a sign of how good the pokemon I was facing actually were.I was honestly surprised that Gawain hadn't finished Jynx. Still, I shook it off. Now was not the time to focus on that.In Jynx's place, Medicham appeared and had to throw itself out of the way of Gawain's axes, only to then take a barrage of Stealth Rocks.As it flinched, I pushed for more, smelling blood. "X-scissor!" I barked, causing Gawain to shoot forward and slam both axes into Medicham.Medicham was thrown back, only to bounce back into the fight. My eyes narrowed as I noticed that its left arm was hanging limply.That last hit had done some serious damage, but Will was not going to recall his pokemon?"Again X-scissor!" Gawain blurred into action again. By now, all the puddles had dried up, and the field was looking arid as the Sunny Day started to flicker and die."Hold for it!" ordered Will, his hand upraised. Medicham didn't bounce so much as sway drunkenly from foot to foot, its eyes darting about as it waited for Gawain to close."Close i—" I started to order, only for Gawain to cry out as he stumbled and had to catch himself.I scowled. Was that Jynx's earlier Future Sight coming into play or something else?"Recover!" Will said gleefully, making the most of the flinch from Gawain to see his pokemon back to better health."Close again!" I ordered.Gawain leapt forward and repeated the start of the match with himself and Medicham trading attacks; both weaved and dodged but it was slower now, both pokemon were tired.A Stone Axe slammed into Medicham and I leaned forward, knowing the moment was close."Take Down!" Will barked, making his pokemon throw itself into a reckless charge, slamming itself forward into Gawain.Gawain was thrown back but it wasn't that effective. Gawain heaved in air and glared standing straight as his opponent stumbled.Gawain started to step forward, anticipating the finish of this extended exchange."Force Palm!" screamed Will."Protect!" I shouted to Gawain, only for him to struggle to raise his axes. He took the Force Palm head-on and was tossed back, resulting in my third pokemon going down.I exhaled in annoyance. That had been damn close.Will exhaled shakily in relief. He knew it as well; if Gawain's Protect hadn't failed… I'd have been able to take that match. Instead, I was raising Gawain's pokeball and recalling him."That was damn well fought, Gawain. I think you won a lot of fans today," I said as I returned him to his pokeball.I checked the field, considered it for a moment, and replayed how this exchange had gone the last time I'd replaced a pokemon against Medicham. He'd had to back down against Knight.I smirked and selected my next big metal pokemon.Gary chewed his lip as, next to him, Mia bounced in her seat."I'm not liking this, Gary!" she said. She then shot to her feet. "Come on BROCK!" she shouted along with over half the stadium.All around the stands, people were cheering Brock and Gawain on. Gary watched, taking it all in. He was amazed at how strong these pokemon were, what's more, they were so precise in their movements. That first thirty seconds of the fight alone had been incredible!He'd never seen a technical fight that had him on the edge of his seat like that!"He's gonna be fine!" Gary said coolly, arms crossed and not at all twitching as he resisted the urge to join Mia in standing and cheering. He instead flicked his gaze over the others he found himself sitting with. Mia had pulled some strings by being a sponsored trainer, and walked up to the front desk only to get ushered through by some old woman while others watched on enviously.They had no tickets, and yet they found themselves sitting in the trainer box with the true VIPs."Well said, Gary," Gym Leader Erika said from her seat along the row."It's not fine!" wailed Mia. "Why couldn't Jackson, or Missy, or Rocko or anyone else but Dennis be the ref! They wouldn't have allowed the baloney that Will is pulling off!""Dennis made the right call," Gym Leader Sabrina said from next to Erika. "It is a technical gap in the rules that has never been documented before. I suspect the League will be closing that gap. This is the first time a high profile match has ever exhibited it. It has very negative connotations if you need to use it… but it does nothing for us here and now, sadly.""Urgh! Sabrina! You're supposed to be more angry!" Mia said with a whine.Sabrina glanced at them, and Gary shivered at the intensity of her gaze. "I am quite furious, I assure you."Mia hastily nodded and cuddled up to Silly Mouse, who had rolled onto his back, his feet in the air, in a clear sign of supplication to Sabrina.Sabrina shut her eyes and exhaled before opening her eyes, her expression softened. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intimidate you.""N-no worries," said Mia quickly. Gary nodded along before tilting his head as he replayed the match so far in his head."Go Jormungandr!" shouted Brock on the field as he released his fourth pokemon.Gary chewed his lip. "Does it seem like Will still has a plan for that Jynx, Slowking, and Exeggutor? He pulled them out pretty fast when they got threatened…"Erika frowned. "He obviously doesn't want to lose them; they're strong pokemon with good type advantages. Especially Exeggutor with his grass-typing. He did well to stall out Brock's Swampert."The battlefield rumbled as Brock and Will's pokemon exchanged blows.Sabrina shook her head. "If anything, Brock stalled out Exeggutor. He was wearing it down and forcing it to use a lot of its moves. It will be very tired when it returns to the field."Erika nodded. "I suppose. Exeggutor is a strong pokemon. Those Seed Bombs with Psychic are rather devastating." She tapped her fingers together. "I hadn't considered using them together like that."Mia scoffed, annoyed that they were praising Will.Gary kept his ears open though; if Gym leaders were praising the combination, it had to be good. Exeggutor was proving to be a pokemon he was suddenly much more interested in looking into. He'd need to plan a trip to the Safari Zone soon, if he wanted it ready for the end of the circuit.Sabrina narrowed her eyes and gestured at the field "The choice of using his… penalty move," oh, and how she spat that word, "on Psychic Terrain itself is an interesting tactic. If he hadn't been allowed a free move, I believe that Slowking would have to be sacrificed to achieve the same effect," murmured Sabrina.She stared down. "He has also used moves such as Ally Switch in a manner that is not how it traditionally works…"Greta perked up. "That was Ally Switch? I thought it was Baton Pass?"Sabrina shook her head. "That was not Baton Pass. It was very similar, but also wrong with how it felt to my senses… but it still worked." Sabrina narrowed her eyes at the match. "Which is extremely vexing as I can't put my finger on why it is working." Sabrina shook her head. "Regardless, Baton Pass isn't something those pokemon can learn…""So…" Flannery said. "He's cheating?"Sabrina twitched. "I can't find anything that proves that he is. His moves are working despite themselves, which isn't cheating. His pokemon's moves simply raise questions. Lots of questions.""Like that Mean Look," Roxanne said."Indeed," Sabrina said, her head bobbing up and down. "Mean Look typically stops impacting pokemon once they are passed out. Their energy paths become placid, and Mean Look shouldn't impact a pokeball's return. Will must have trained his pokemon to cause that effect.""The pokeball company isn't going to like Will," Erika said.Gary blinked and turned his head toward the Celadon Gym Leader. He wasn't alone in his confusion."What do you mean by that?" asked Roxanne.Erika indicated the field. "Brock's pokeballs look faulty. Something that usually never occurs on live television unless they are poorly maintained. Lots of people got a very good look at Brock's pokeballs and they were well-maintained without any scuffs. It will look like an error that they have in their pokeballs which Will is exploiting, resulting in Brock losing those pokemon like he did."That caused a stir among the listening trainers. Gary swallowed. "Is it that big a deal that he trained his Jynx specifically to cause that?"Erika bobbed her head up and down. "Oh certainly; people are already talking about it on the pokenet," Erika said, raising up her transceiver and showing what looked like a pokenet forum discussing the match so far.Sabrina smiled at Erika and opened her mouth to speak, only to stiffen. She stood, her head snapping back and forth around the area. Her expression caused Gary the most concern so far. She looked worried. It made him wonder, what could make a Gym Leader worried?Erika glanced back at her. "Sabrina?" When Sabrina didn't answer, she shot Jackson and the others a worried look.Sabrina's eyes glowed, and she began to slowly look around. "Something is wrong… I…" She looked worried. "I'm not sure now."Jackson hummed and stood. "I'll do a sweep with some others." He tapped two other Gym trainers and nodded. "Check the crowd for any Psychic or Ghost pokemon that are out of their pokeballs," he ordered the trainers.Brawly stood and said, "Can I help out? I might specialise in Fighting types, but I have some tricks for Ghost and Psychic pokemon."Jackson nodded. "Walk with me; two sets of eyes are better than one."Mia jostled Gary, and he shot her a surprised look as she stood up. "We'll help as well!"Jackson nodded. "Stay here and keep an eye from this angle. Missy, you've got a radio. If Sabrina detects anything else, radio us."The purple-haired older girl nodded thoughtfully, her eyes sweeping the arena.Gary watched them go with a frown. They were taking Sabrina's comment awfully seriously. Scarily seriously. He glanced at the Saffron Gym Leader. She seemed like a no-nonsense type. She was known as one of the best Psychic trainers around. For both training pokemon, and personal prowess.Gary had checked the pokenet forum about her, and it was littered with people debating her skills. Trainers that worked at her Gym raved about her insight and skills at leading them with even the smallest gesture, or being an extremely powerful psychic.Rumour had it that she could lift a Snorlax with her mind!So, perhaps a small comment from her was actually a huge deal?Gary swept his eyes over the crowd before snapping back to the battlefield as another pokemon hit the ground, causing Mia and everyone in the arena to shoot to their feet and shout.Gary inspected both of the trainers on the field. They no longer smiled. Both of them bore serious expressions that merely showed how close this match had become.Johnny of Chapter House Six lit a candle.He and the rest of the boys that made up Chapter House Six of the Bug Catcher Club clapped their hands in thanks.Brock might be a Rockie, one of the natural enemies of Johnny's kind, but with his newest pokemon, he'd shown the entire world the strength of Bug Types.No longer would other kids mock them in school! Their parents would stop badgering them to look into proper pokemon.Girls might even… Johnny coughed.Yeah, that was a bit of a stretch. Most of the girls hated bugs. Or at least the ones he talked to about it did.They always had a look on their faces when he talked about the cool pinchers and beady eyes that bugs had."All those in favour of inviting Gym Leader Brock to our Chapter house?" he said to the other members of Chapter House Six."Aye!" the other five club members said.One boy raised his hand. Johnny drew himself up and nodded seriously. "Yes, visiting member Bugsy?" he said, making sure to emphasise that the boy wasn't part of their clubhouse.Johnny wouldn't deny him entry to the clubhouse; he was a sworn-in member of the International Bug Catcher Club. He was also whispered about as a possible Gym Trainer of Azalea Town! Johnny didn't believe that!It sort of sounded like Wallace's claim of having a girlfriend who liked bugs but lived in Cerulean. If that wasn't a lie, Johnny was a Mankey's uncle!Bugsy coughed into his fist. "Ah! Chapter Leader Johnny! Can we not… just go up to talk to Brock?"Johnny shook his head and adopted his 'kind boss' pose number six as he crossed his legs and raised his Caterpie up to scratch behind its antennae as she liked. "Ah, one does not simply walk into the Pewter Gym!" he said.Bugsy tilted his head. "But… I did that last week to book a match?" he said.Johnny blanched but recovered quickly "For non-gym purposes! You can't just walk up to him about his Elite pokemon!"Bugsy nodded slowly, understanding Johnny's true brilliance. "Right! I'll ask him after our match!" he said, clenching his fists. Bugsy then levelled a megawatt smile at the rest of the group. "Want to come to watch my match? Then we can see it together if he says yes!"This caused a stir, and Johnny had to force down a scowl. Damn trainers from Johto! Coming around and stealing his cool points!He accepted, as leader of the group, and then directed their attention back to the match. Maybe Will might use something like a Venomoth. They were cool bug pokemon that had strong Psychic powers.It was a shame that Brock didn't have another bug-rock pokemon… that would be cool. But there were no chances of that. Nope! Zero!Johnny was about to suggest that Venomoth might be one of Will's pokemon but before he could, the door to the Clubhouse opened."Hello boys! Enjoying the match?" said his mother with a cheery smile.Johnny slumped. "Muuuuuuuuuuum! We're having a Clubhouse meeting; you can't just come in!""Oh," said his mother, obviously stumped at being called out on entering the baseme—Clubhouse! The other boys nodded firmly at this, while Bugsy smiled sheepishly and waved at his mother.His mother shifted. "Does that mean you don't want any snacks?" She proffered a tray of snacks that had been arranged into a Beedrill arrangement.Oh wow, it smelled amazing, and were those chocolate chip cookies? His mother beamed as the other members betrayed their leader and invited her in.She happily trotted in and sat with them, with Caterpie leaping out of his hands to cuddle with his mother. The traitor!Johnny sighed and bit into his snack, his eyes turning back to watch the next exchange of blows."Go Jormungandr!" I shouted as I released my Steelix. Jorm came out with a roar, and he swept his gaze around to lock it onto his foe. When he spotted the Medicham, he snarled from deep within his throat, causing the ground to rumble.Will leaned back to assess the new threat. "You can take him Medicham," he said.I narrowed my eyes. "Rock Slide," I said Jorm responded by whipping his tail about, dragging it through the ground, and hurling the broken rocks like a rolling avalanche towards Medicham."Dance over it!" was the reply, with Medicham sprinting towards the attack.Then it jumped, dancing with light feet over the top of the Rock Slide like it was merely a wobble on the floor rather than an actual threat."Crunch straight forward," I said, making sure to enunciate the command clearly. Jormungandr heard me and leapt forward with fangs glowing with darkness, just like we'd practised."Force Palm!" ordered Will as his pokemon closed. Just as it was about to land, a hand cocked back to fire off, only for Jorm to not shoot straight at him but rather right in front of the Medicham.The earth cratered at the impact as Jorm dug his head straight into the ground, anchoring himself. Then he shook himself like a wet Growlithe, causing the earth to tremble underneath him and shake. It wasn't a true earthquake, but it was enough to make Medicham stumble instead of landing cleanly.The third part of the attack sequence then came into effect. With Jorm's head stuck in the ground, his tail could become a whip. He swept it around in a tightly controlled arc, glowing with silvery steel energy."Jump!" barked Will, only for his pokemon to not be able to leap as high as he normally would. In most scenarios, a fighting type closing with a Steelix would see them taking the advantage, but I'd seen how Medciham reacted when he didn't have good footing. It might have even been why Will didn't bring Medicham out while the ground was slick with mud.With that weakness revealed, it became all too clear what I needed to do with Will's pokemon.With its leap not as strong as usual, Jormungandr's tail whipped around and swatted Medicham out of the air. Medicham tumbled when he landed and struggled to rise up."Recover now!" Will ordered quickly.Jorm raised his head and, in doing so, broke off a large chunk of rock from the battlefield, causing craters to form from where he'd gouged with his head. With the rock blocking his field of view, he couldn't tell where Medicham was. Thankfully, this was where I came in."Stone Edge, two o'clock!" I said. Jorm reacted instantly, his rock energy grasping the easiest rock and launching it straight at Medicham, who was still sinking into a meditative pose. Its eyes widened as the boulder slammed into it.When the dust settled, it revealed Medicham slumped against the back wall as the barriers that protected the crowd flickered and strained.Dennis raised a flag. "Medicham is unable to battle!"I nodded. Two down. That left Jynx, Slowking, Exeggutor, and one other to play.The first three pokemon were all worn down as well. I eyed Jormungandr and noticed how he rippled and flexed his segments. Of my pokemon Titan and Jormungandr were still fresh, while Shrek was winded but by no means fatigued.I nodded. I could do this. I had setbacks, but now I had the chance to claw this back.Will returned his pokemon and drummed his fingers on his pokebelt. Then he clasped a pokeball at the front and nodded at me."Go Alakazam!" he shouted.I leaned forward, knowing he'd just sent out his ace.I once again relaxed when I noted the lack of jewellery about the Alakazam's body. With this pokemon sent out, Will had revealed his last pokemon.Now things were locked in, and we were in the endgame.The few Stealth Rocks I had around once again lashed out and peppered Alakazam's form, only for it to shake its head in annoyance."Stone Edge!" I said, giving the order and trying to make the most of the momentary lapse that came with every new pokemon Will sent out."Psychic!" Will barked. His pokemon raised its spoons and grabbed the Stone Edge before it could cross half the distance. It then rocketed back at Jorm, only for him to bend his body out of danger. The Stone Edge slammed into a barrier, making it glow orange for a moment, highlighting just how powerful that attack had been.I clicked my tongue. Alright, I needed something more. That Alakazam was no joke.I raised Jormungandr's ball as I detached Titan's. I wasn't going to play games or try to have him hold out against what I knew would be a very powerful pokemon.So instead, I returned him and whipped out Titan. I didn't announce it or make a big show of it.I needed my strongest to come out and fight now.Will chopped his hand forward, and Alakazam clashed his spoons together, unleashing a cube that expanded from the spoons. The move had barely started to expand as Titan landed on the field in the central position.I could see that despite Will's hurried usage of yet another Psychic Terrain, it seemed to have a larger impact as small rocks rose upwards, like gravity was being reversed enough to cause them to rise.A stacking effect from the earlier Psychic terrain? Another oddity.Titan hit the ground and snarled as his eyes locked on his foe, just as the Psychic terrain engulfed him. The crowd rose and roared in approval of Titan taking to the field.I once more channelled my reserves of aura into the latest pokemon on the field, causing Titan to shift as he felt his own energy levels rise.Will swiped his hand and left the Psychic field half-formed. It wavered horribly, and I knew it wouldn't last anywhere near as long as the previous Psychic Field. Will smirked and waved his hand forward.Alakazam vanished into a Teleport. I had to blink in surprise when he teleported right into Titan's grasp."DP!" I shouted, knowing that this either had to be a trap or a mistake on his part.Will didn't say anything as his Alakazam suddenly faded into an all too familiar red energy, only to be swapped out with a much larger form.Exeggutor formed up and took the blast of Dark Pulse face first, causing it to stagger backwards.It even started to topple.The various heads slumped, with one coconut-like head hanging on as it glared at Titan. I could see Stealth Rocks coming in even as Exeggutor's single head tried to raise its body.If Will thought he could get away with—"Self Destruct!" shouted Will, his smirk firmly in place.Oh fuck this asshole, I thought to myself as the battlefield erupted.
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The explosion happened so quickly that I only had time to shout "Pr—" before it engulfed Titan and the battlefield.In front of me, the barriers that protected the trainers flared into life before glowing red ominously. The stadium barriers then glowed orange before slowly filtering back. The crowd gasped and screamed in shock before calming down. Then people began to shout their outrage.I scowled in Will's direction but couldn't see him due to the smoke that still wafted over the battlefield."Boo that man!" shouted someone in the crowd, which made me crack a smile as people stood and booed Will.He merely huffed. "Is turn about not fair play? Gym Leader Brock used a similar tactic against Champion Lance's Charizard."This line of logic didn't win him any fans from the crowd. His own loyalists seemed to be getting into a few scuffles with others around them, but I could see Jackson was already racing to break up the fight. Oddly, Brawly was at his side, and the pair quickly calmed things down as I turned my attention to the field.While the dust was fading away, a sandstorm was building. I smirked as a rumbling growl echoed, heralding that my Ace wasn't out of the fight. If anything he was committed and deadly serious now.The storm grew again, and then a large body tumbled out as though it had been tossed. Exeggutor flopped like a rag doll, its fronds singed, and its heads all lolled limply on short necks.Dennis raised his flag. "Exeggutor is unable to battle! The match is now three to three!"That got the crowd to stop booing. They took up a cheer quickly. "Ti-tan! Ti-tan!"Rachel stood at the front of the crowd with a megaphone raised to her mouth leading the cheers.I gave them a nod of appreciation and turned my attention back to Will.Alright, he had Slowking, Alakazam, and Jynx left; who would he send out next? I noted that the Psychic Terrain had dissipated. Apparently, explosions were able to destroy terrain moves like that.It also got rid of the Stealth Rocks Gawain had left behind. As Will considered his best option, a Sandstorm built up on the battlefield, forcing Will to act quickly."Go Alakazam!" shouted Will, interrupting the celebrations.The Ace of Will's team once again appeared, but this time he did so in the middle section. With Titan standing in the rear section of Will's side of the field, that was the widest space that Will could get for his pokemon when sending him out.Not unless he wanted to give me a close engagement. It was either that or give me time that I would use to have Titan slowly walk back to my side of the field. All while he passively created a proper Sandstorm."Miracle Eye!" said Will, getting off the much-needed move to allow direct damage with Psychic moves."Stone Edge!" I replied. A huge slab of rock rose and launched itself at Alakazam at ballistic speeds. Just before it could hit, Alakazam used Teleport.I huffed in annoyance as Alakazam appeared before me, increasing the distance that Titan had to cross. Will was giving his pokemon as much space as he could, obviously leery of Titan's Dark Pulse.I glowered down at Alakazam as it waved a spoon cheekily at Titan.Titan snarled as I considered my options. I needed to saturate the field to stop Alakazam from escaping with Teleport. A taller task than usual thanks to Will getting off another Psychic Terrain with his Slowking's sacrifice play.I'd need to break the field with another Sandstorm, which would take time, or I'd need to use Dark Pulse a lot."Walk forward and hold the DP Titan!" I said. He nodded and marched forward, his form building up dark energy to the point where it started flickering off him like dancing flames as he advanced. His steps left black footprints that burned into the Psychic Terrain."Use Psybeam," Will said.I blinked in surprise; that move would see Alakazam commit to a stationary attack and… I narrowed my eyes. Will hadn't shown himself to be a fool. He had set trap after trap with his moves. He was setting up for a Disable I was sure of it. Perhaps to trip Titan up if he tried for Giga Impact."Discharge your Dark Pulse into it," I ordered, causing Titan to erupt.His Dark Pulse slammed into the oncoming attack and washed it away.Titan snorted in contempt at the Alakazam, and the Alakazam bristled."Again!" ordered Will, now more confident in his option to hit from afar with his pokemon, having it fire off another Psybeam."Dig dip," I said. Titan responded to the order by sinking shallowly into the ground and popping up slightly to the side."Telekinesis," Will said, only instead of having the move target his own pokemon a glow appeared around Titan."Dark Pulse!" I ordered, breaking the telekinetic grip on Titan instantly."Rock Throw," I said quickly, looking to capitalise on the failed move from Alakazam.Titan didn't flinch with having the much weaker move called for. Typically it was merely a step stone for a pokemon to learn that usually built up until a pokemon learnt Stone Edge. It was also faster to send out with Titan used to the heavier strain of Stone Edge.Almost a hundred small-sized rocks rose up and fired off at the now levitating Alakazam.I wasn't surprised when a Psychic was the answer to deny it. It raised its spoons and its entire body gained a blue glow before the entire barrage of rocks slowed before stopping. During the time it took for Alakazam to control the rocks, however, there was an opportunity."Rock Tomb!" I barked at Titan. Titan smirked and stomped his foot."Avoid it!" Will barked, making Alakazam drop the hundreds of rocks about the battlefield as his pokemon instead focused on hovering up.It barely avoided having its leg locked into the ground, as instead a trio of stones snapped onto its leg. It cried out before clashing its spoons together in annoyance.My eyes locked onto the three stones that formed a small trailing link, like a chain that dragged on the ground despite Alakazam's levitation trick.Perfect."Sandstorm," I ordered, knowing fully what was about to play out.Will straightened, gaining a look of anticipation. "Recover," he ordered as the sands whipped up properly and began to cloud the battlefield.I didn't say anything, instead, I focused on the energy I was sharing with Titan. I wasn't able to give orders through our bond just yet, but I knew Titan could be trusted to know what to do now.His large form vanished into the Sandstorm, at home in the whipping winds and low visibility. I continued to remain silent."Alakazam! Use Psychic Terrain!" Will ordered. He must have been hoping to clear the field from Titan's Sandstorm.Long seconds ticked by, and then a box of psychic energy erupted, sweeping away the Sandstorm. Will's smirk flashed toward me, only to falter when he realised Titan wasn't in sight."What? No!" he said, right as Titan erupted from beneath Alakazam to Crunch into Alakazam's leg.Titan rose up with a feral grin that matched my own. Then, without prompting, he whipped his head back and forth to slam Alakazam into the ground repeatedly."Nooo!" Will screamed. "Focus Blast! NOW!" he roared in desperation.Alakazam glowed blue for a moment, and Titan paused at the tension only to growl and bite down harder.I thought I heard a crack for a moment, only for Alakazam's hand to shoot out and into Titan's face.From point-blank range, Alakazam unleashed a powerful blast of energy that slammed into Titan causing him to buckle and groan.In doing so, he released Alakazam, and the pokemon scrambled back fearfully to escape Titan.I grimaced. That had been a super-effective move, and it had rattled Titan."DP!" I ordered, knowing that Alakazam was still within range."Tel- Focus Blast again!" Will said, almost retreating before deciding to commit.Titan erupted in a blast of dark energy, only to be met by a pulse of fighting-type energy that blew through the Dark Pulse and knocked Titan back. Titan tottered, and my heart sank.He'd taken a Self Destruct to the face and two Focus Blasts, and it was just enough to see him fall.He hit the ground, and it hurt watching him fight to keep his eyes open. I could feel the energy I was feeding him flickering, as the connection faltered before fading as his energy dimmed and his eyes shut in defeat.I raised his greatball and returned him, feeling a self-consuming darkness start to take over.Will had come into this match prepared to face me. He'd had a multitude of strategies; horrible, no good, cheap strategies perhaps, but strategies nonetheless. And he was wearing me down.I looked at his Alakazam only to realise it wasn't standing properly. I frowned as I saw blood trickling down its leg. I flicked my gaze up to Will, but he merely glared back, unwilling to recall the rather obviously injured pokemon.Ah, right. He'd ordered that with some of his scouting trainers, hadn't he?I selected my next pokeball as Dennis called out the score as three to four.I tried pulling on my rock energy, only to find myself scraping the bottom of a proverbial barrel.Shit. I'd been pushing it with all the pokemon I'd been empowering, hadn't I?Dark energy came easily, but right now it was threatening to take hold and have me give up.I worked my jaw back and forth, I hadn't been able to finish up the link that would allow Jorm to mega evolve, but in the future, if I planned to use it, I would either need to use it earlier or be very sparing in linking and empowering my pokemon.Still, using that energy kept a lot of my pokemon in the fight longer than they would have otherwise lasted.No, stop.I needed to reset.I slammed my hands together and closed out the world.Forget the score.Forget everything that Will had done.Forget the world and just focus on my hands and the space in front of me.I broke my hands apart and inhaled.And clarity returned to me. The world expanded, and I knew I needed to pick myself up and fight."Let's go Brock!" shouted Yolanda from the stands."Come on!" "You can do it!" "Bring it home!" The crowd started to chant their own support, and I felt myself buoyed upward as Will scowled.I selected my next pokeball and hurled it out. "Go Jormungandr!" I said releasing my second last pokemon, but also the best option I had against Alakazam. Especially with how damaged Shrek must have been holding back the Exeggutor until Gawain could fight it off.I ran through a number of methods in my head and considered the field. It was torn up in a lot of different areas and loosened. That would help with how much easier moves like Stone Edge could be."Alakazam! Recover!" shouted Will gleefully. The crowd found something new to boo Will over, and I held in a scowl."Stone Edge," I ordered in reply, not allowing myself to stop and fall into despair.Alakazam shone slightly as energy swept through him to recover the damage from the earlier match with Titan. Alakazam stood only to wince as its left leg touched the ground.Jorm slapped his tail, and a few large stones rose up before launching themselves straight at Alakazam as he groaned with pain. The pokemon brandished his spoons, and I watched as the boulders were controlled with Psychic once more."Dig dip into the ground and come up with Rock Tomb," I said, deciding to hammer at Alakazam's weak point.Jorm buried himself instead of enduring or attempting another exchange of attacks.Thanks to the Recover and the Psychic against the Stone Edge, Will hadn't yet moved his pokemon.More notably, he hadn't moved his Alakazam out of the region that Titan had blown up with his last Dark Pulse.Jorm popped up and glared at Alakazam as rocks shot up from the ground and snapped around Alakazam's legs.Alakazam cried out in pain as the same leg Titan had brutalised earlier was struck. I allowed myself a small smile."Use Psychic! Lift that giant snake!" Will ordered.His Alakazam raised its spoons angrily, and psychic energy built up around Jormungandr, lifting him slowly into the air. I could see him writhing in pain as Alakazam applied pressure to him.He wouldn't have been able to do this with Knight or Titan, thanks to their Dark Pulse. I chomped my teeth together before deciding to bet on Jorm."Jorm! Call up your dark energy like you want to use Crunch, but hold it!" Jorm growled through the pain and dark energy building up around his head. "Hold it!" I shouted, "Hold it! Now Roar and release it!" I shouted.Jormungandr roared, and a small pulse of dark energy rippled out of him, causing the Psychic hold to fade.I punched the air as he landed to glower across at Alakazam, who was annoyed with Jorm having escaped his clutches. I nodded. It was an ad-hoc way to teach Dark Pulse; I had barely gotten started on it with Jorm in the lead-up to this match as special attacks weren't as strong for him as physical moves like Crunch and his new combination move."Dragonsbreath!" I shouted, causing Jorm to unleash a torrent of blue fire."Teleport!" shouted Will only to hiss as the move failed due to the Rock Tomb and the Dark Pulse from earlier in the match.I blinked in surprise at Will not using Psychic for this.I'd been expecting him to try and control it like I'd seen Sabrina do a number of times with her pokemon. Yes, she found it tougher to manage than Flamethrower or Thunder but she could still do it… Perhaps Will couldn't? Dragonsbreath washed over Alakazam.By now it was starting to be glaringly obvious that Sabrina and Will were very different in how they practised and used their Psychic prowess."Again!" I said to Jorm, more than happy to punish Alakazam."Focus Blast!" Will screamed, making my pokemon break off his own attack to weave his body like a snake, avoiding the attack perfectly.This gave Will time to break off the Rock Tomb trapping his pokemon; once again, however, an anklet of rock surrounded his pokemon's leg weighing it down and occasionally crumbling…"Close in and end it Alakazam!" Will shouted, leaning forward with a flourish."Iron Tail!" I said as his pokemon charged forward in close, fist reared back, only for Jorm to meet him with a rising Iron Tail that caught him in the side and slammed him, sending him sailing away.He still got off the Focus Blast however, causing Jorm to fall back as the super-effective move seemed to put him down."Yes!" Will cried, raising his hands for applause only for most of the crowd to boo him.I crossed my arms and eyed Jorm. He cracked open his eye and sneakily glanced at me. I eyed the distance between Jorm and Alakazam. It was too far to make a sneak strike, but I had other options.I nodded. "Dig down and lick your wounds," I said, cutting through Will's early celebration as Jorm hurled himself into the ground."Shit!" Will cried out. "Focus Blast into the ground!" he ordered to his Alakazam, only for it to do nothing but crater the ground.Will cursed and furrowed his brow in thought, only to hiss in annoyance as his eyes caught sight of the trailing chain of Rock underneath his pokemon. "Alakazam hover!" When that caused some of the rock to break off, Will clicked his tongue in annoyance."Tch! Return!" he ordered, returning his Alakazam to his pokeball after inspecting the ground and not seeing Jormungandr coming up.There was a short pause as Will waited, but nothing popped back up. Will scowled at me, but I merely smiled enigmatically."Go… Slowking," Will said, sending out his pokemon."Slooooooooooooooooooow," said the pokemon as it yawned. I frowned, noticing straight away that it was, if anything, slightly better off than it had been when it was sent into the pokeball.That drew a frown. Had Will used a potion, or was this an ability of Slowking at play?"Sleep Talk," I said, not willing to wait and give Will any more time.Will twitched; he must have known what that move meant, as in the next moment Jormungandr shot out of the ground and loomed over Slowking, only to then disgorge a huge gout of blue flame.I grinned. Damn, it was nice getting to pull off that combination! I could see why Lance wanted to copy that flaming chicken so much now.Slowking barely got a barrier raised in time to block the attack, while Will scowled.Jormungandr blinked and shook himself, returning to being fully awake. Its eyes shot to its foe, and he growled as he realised that Alakazam was no longer before him.I didn't let it bother me. "Dark Pulse," I said with relish, knowing my pokemon was fully capable of it now."Water Gun!" Will ordered, even as Jorm ignited dark energy. I could feel everyone in the crowd draw in a breath of anticipation as they leaned forward. Jormungandr exploded into his Dark Pulse, roaring as he'd learned to explode the darkness out.Slowking stumbled, only to yawn and fire out a final blast of water that splashed over Jorm, knocking him back and causing him to groan and fall back. He shook himself off, however, and rose. On the other side, Slowking toppled, and I punched the air."That's it, Jorm! Let's go!" I shouted, causing the rest of the crowd to rise up with me and cheer. The air surged with the sudden lift in mood and I felt my dark mood vanish as I saw the way forward.I could do this.I felt my own heart pounding furiously as everyone realised that with that, I'd reclaimed the lead with two pokemon left to Will's final,Jynx.Will didn't let me rest, though, as he returned his pokemon quickly and sent out Jynx. "Focus Blast!" he snapped out, causing his Jynx to raise its webbed hand and punch forward."Protect!" I shouted. Jorm barely got off the Protect. The cheers that had started to come vanished in the face of the rapid exchange of moves. I felt myself leaning forward, trying to anticipate what would happen next.My heart thundered as I inspected the battlefield. Both pokemon must have been on their last legs."Future Sight!" Will ordered as his pokemon waited. I swallowed and watched as the Protect began to break apart.Just as Jorm's large, rocky head was visible, I punched a fist forward. "Rock Throw!" I cried out, hoping to get out a fast, if weaker, move against Jynx."Psychic!" Will screamed as the rocks shot forward. Jynx raised its hands, and I scowled as the entire wave of rocks was held in place. Jynx leered and swept her hand back, hammering Jorm with his own rocks."Di—" I started to say, only for a lash of psychic energy to come into play and hammer Jorm into the ground. He toppled with a low groan before falling silent.I exhaled and shook my head. Damn it, we'd been close there. Will shifted, and I saw his throat bobble. He must have known how close it was, given how nervous he looked.I returned Jorm, and looked at his pokeball. "You did great out there, buddy," I said to him before putting his pokeball away.I then raised my last hope with Shrek's ultraball.Five to five. Both of us had used all of our pokemon.Both pokemon were on their last legs with what they'd had to face.I was frankly amazed that Jynx had been able to last as long as it had with Gawain hammering it earlier. I hadn't been expecting it to be strong enough to defend itself with Psychic like it had.All I needed was a final push."Go Shrek!" I bellowed, hurling out my last pokemon."Swampert!" Shrek bellowed as he landed; unlike with Jorm, there was still a sizeable gap between the two pokemon.I drew what I had from my own energy reserves, struggling to keep them neutrally aligned. Swampert perked up at the minuscule amount of energy and croaked aggressively. It must have helped a little, as he seemed ready to throw down.Jynx raised her hand in readiness, and I decided to force the issue."Surf!" I ordered, knowing that I needed to get Shrek in close where he was strongest."Future Sight!" Will ordered. His pokemon put a hand to its forehead.I clenched my teeth, wondering if I couldn't have made the most of that hesitation on his part. I shook off my dark thoughts and instead committed myself as Shrek rode the wave."Ice Beam!" Will ordered as the wave surged forth.The beam lanced out and froze the front wave at the halfway point, causing it to buckle and collapse under its own weight. It wouldn't reach Jynx.But that hadn't been the goal; it was merely to close with her."Leap!" I shouted to Shrek, causing him to hurl himself up a fist raised in readiness."Psychic! Catch it!" Will bellowed, his hand upraised, and his eyes glowing as his pokemon copied him. Psychic force grasped Shrek and held him in the air, where he struggled.Part of me wanted to cry foul, but I knew if I hesitated and waited for an official ruling, the match would be lost.Instead, I decided to act. I'd just have to trust that Hypnotoad would have shown off enough against her mate that Shrek would have picked up a few things."Darkest Lariat!" I roared, trying to will it into being."SWAMPERT!" shouted Shrek as the psychic energy built up around him only to unravel as dark energy blew out of him. He began to spin through the air, his fists circling as he continued his descent onto Jynx.Jynx reared back and tried to hop out of danger. Shrek landed and cried out as a psychic bolt of energy slammed into his side, causing him to falter.Despite this, he twisted limply, and I could only watch as he used the momentum from Future Sight to throw himself into Jynx, his fist slamming home into her throat once again.Jynx squawked in shock and pain before being knocked flying as the Darkest Lariat carried through, hurling her out of the field.She tumbled end over end before falling to the ground limp."GET UP!" screamed Will to his pokemon.I looked at Shrek and found him face down and out of energy."Get up!" roared Will, but his pokemon remained unresponsive. Will put one hand to his forehead and held the other out."Challenger Will! The pokemon can only return to the field and stand under its own power to be considered battle ready!" Dennis suddenly said sternly.Will twitched in annoyance and shot him what appeared to be a murderous look, but he dropped his hands.Dennis inspected both pokemon. Then he licked his lips and swallowed as he raised his hand and made a chopping action with his fingers spread wide. At the end of each chop, another finger dropped. Behind him, a countdown flashed out on the screen.I licked my lips, knowing in my heart that Shrek had nothing left in the tank. I felt at my own reserves, knowing that I too had nothing else to commit.I felt my vision darken, and I clenched my teeth and inhaled sharply, knowing I'd dug deeper than I ever had to etch out what I could.I could only watch as Will cried for his pokemon to stand as Dennis counted down.Three. The Jynx twitched and shuddered.Two. It rolled onto its face and glared up at Shrek, who lay on his side.One. Jynx collapsed fully."Both pokemon are unable to battle! This match between Will and Brock is therefore ruled a draw!" Dennis shouted.I felt a wave of exhaustion run through me. I wanted to growl at the end result. Instead, I focused on something small. Instead of raging at the result, I smiled at the aghast look on Will's face. It was something small, but it helped.If this hadn't been a draw, I might have enjoyed it more, but as it was I wasn't sure I could even enjoy that result. That match lacked so much of what I enjoyed about pokemon matches.It wasn't a loss but… I couldn't help but feel like it was, in my heart.A draw.That hadn't been the result I wanted. I wanted to crush Will, smash him with my team and show the world that he was nothing more than an up-jumped thug.Instead, the world would consider us equals on technicalities and rules lawyering.The podiums descended, and I felt myself shudder at the movement. I raised Shrek's Ultraball and returned him.I then looked over to Will and found him staring at me. He didn't move from his podium.This was supposed to be the part where we walked across and shook each other's hands.Neither of us made a move to do so.A stir went through the crowd. They weren't surprised; they knew something was going on here.They knew there would be bad blood with this fight playing out like it had, but I don't think one of them realised the depth of how much I loathed Will in that moment. Movement from my family made me grimace. I saw Suzie lowering her banner and looking at me, trying to understand what was going on.I held in a sigh, straightening my back. I would need to be the bigger man and show my family the right way to do things.I'd just have to ignore the overwhelming urge to sucker punch Will.I marched across the ruined battlefield, ignoring the various points where my pokemon had fallen to cheap tricks. I raised a hand, and he stared at it for a long moment.Then he clasped his hand in mine.I clenched his hand as hard as I could and was pleased to see him flinch and whimper.I leaned in close. "You're a cheap piece of work, you know that? I want you to know that you will never belong, as one of the best in the League," I whispered to him."That isn't up to you!" he hissed. "And I might not have won, but I've shown that I'm just as good!" He snarled as he straightened."You call this a win?" I said, with a raised eyebrow.Will's lips twitched downward before he sniffed. "I will make it work for me. It isn't a loss, Gym Leader." He ripped his hand out of my grasp and turned to storm off.I glared at his back, I wasn't done with him, not by half. Some part of me knew I couldn't simply let him walk away."I'm going to want a rematch!" I said loudly. My words carried through the entire arena.He faltered, and I felt a warmth in my heart knowing he was scared.The crowd stirred, having heard my declaration. This wasn't the Gym circuit after all, and I wasn't just bound here despite the perception of being locked to Pewter. I could leave.Will remained quiet for a long moment.He sniffed and flicked his cape theatrically. "We'll have to see about that! You might not be worth my time soon enough!" he said, readopting his aloof persona. He walked towards the group of people that had been cheering for him the entire match.They welcomed him like he'd just won instead of being fought to a draw.I turned to my own fans. I shot them a weak smile, and they rose as one to roar their approval. It washed over me. I didn't feel like their champion. I felt like a guy who had just barely not lost. That might have been enough for them, but it sickened me. Still, I had to be an example.I licked my lips and straightened my spine. I then noticed that a number of people were eyeing the group that had welcomed Will. With the looks and gestures being exchanged, there was a risk a fight might break out—not an orderly, sanctioned fight, but a melee.I turned and glanced over at the group closest to Will. If this wasn't my gym, I might just let the feelings fester. It looked like the crowd was one spark away from hurling more than just abuse at Will.I gestured to Dennis, and he tossed me a microphone that I fumbled before raising to my mouth. I waved to get the crowd's attention and then tapped the microphone. "Uhh testing, testing one-two? This thing on?" I said playing up the clueless teen as the speakers boomed. The crowd focused on me."Well, that certainly wasn't how we expected this match to go! But it was a tough battle, that was for sure wasn't it?" I said, rubbing the back of my head and forcing myself to keep smiling."I'd like to thank everyone for their support here today! We've come a long way since I began as Gym Leader and much of that progress starts from people like yourselves that help support us!"I made a show of clapping my hands. I wanted to rage or throw up. Or just lay down and have a nap. I was that tired. I just wanted today to be over. Maybe tomorrow I'd wake up and I'd learn today was just a dream?Sadly, that wasn't how life worked. I knew I just wanted distance from this event. Time and space were the usual answers, and with this being my home, time would be my only option.Despite my feelings on the matter, I couldn't act out. Not here, not now. I had to be an adult. My eyes landed on Flint, who was watching me with the rest of my family, and I felt old feelings and memories stirring within me.I needed to do what was right.This moment felt so similar to back then… When I'd worked out that despite all my efforts, he'd still walked out on us. All my expectations and efforts… only to come up short.I shook my head and considered what else I needed to do."I'd also like to extend a round of thanks to my staff; they put in a lot of work. Rachel, thanks for hyping up the match!" This got some heartfelt cheers, with Rachel waving to the crowd and shooting me a nod. Understanding what I was doing, she flicked her eyes to the referee's podium, and I nodded."I'd also like to thank Dennis. His job today was much harder than a lot of others today. He had to remain impartial in a situation that I'm sure many of us would have struggled with. Dennis showed that he is a man of integrity, and I salute him for that. Please give him a round of applause." I led the clap and was glad to hear that the applause drowned out the few people still annoyed enough to shout at him.He smiled weakly at me and nodded in thanks. I thumped my chest twice with a fist and pointed at him, causing him to smile a bit easier. I turned back to the crowd and made some other comments."Thank you once again for your support today! I'll turn it over to our MC Rachel, to see you home! Good night, folks!" I said, switching off the microphone and walking away."Gym Leader Brock! Do you think this match was a valid reflection of your skill!?" shouted one reporter who had raced to the edge of the fencing. Others were quickly at their side, microphones poised in attack position.Questions were being hurled out so quickly that it became a wave of undecipherable noise.I waved my hand and shook my head. "No comment; I need to see to my pokemon," I said, delaying the issue of giving a press conference to future Brock. Instead, I marched into the medical bay.It felt like I was retreating to lick my wounds, and in a way, I was.I stared at the injured forms of Tide and Knight. I handed off the other pokeballs to Chansey, just barely avoiding her grabbing me. I waved her off and instead marched out the back to the reserve.I marched up to the closest boulder that was free of any pokemon and put my fist to it. I wanted to punch it to smithereens.But I was just too damn tired.I instead sat against it, feeling old in a way I hadn't for years. Not since that punk kid came in and challenged me with extremely powerful pokemon. I'd lost my starting Onix that day. I rubbed my face and sighed.When I finished rubbing my face, I wasn't surprised to find Sabrina standing close. "Hey Sabrina," I said tiredly.She nodded. "You did well, Brock. Despite Will's tactics, scouting, and extremely dishonourable methods, you clawed your way back into the fight."I nodded, intellectually able to accept the words even as my heart rejected them. "Yeah..." I said.Sabrina tilted her head. "You don't feel that way, though, do you?"I smiled, pleased, despite myself, that she understood me.I shook my head. "No, I don't think I can feel that way." I ran a hand through my hair, dislodging some rocks and dust that I hadn't noticed had gotten into it during the fight. "I should have won… I should have been better. I had so many chances."She stepped closer. "You were incredible out there." She knelt down and cupped my face."For all intents and purposes, I lost. Will's not going to—" I said, looking away from her only to be cut off."No!" she said, forcing me to look at her. "He is not going to slip away from you. You are not going to let him. You said it yourself! He will have to have a rematch with you! The crowd will expect it with you saying it how you did."I blinked. Right, I had said that. Hadn't I? I blinked, I must be more tired than I thought. Damn, my head was feeling slow.Sabrina tapped my cheek to restore my focus. "And this battle didn't just end as a win or a loss, Brock. It has not cast you down. There is no question in the minds of the people that matter who is the better trainer. The manner in which you fight matters, you told me that years ago, remember?"I chuckled. "It's hard dating a girl so smart she remembers everything you say well enough to use it against you," I said in mock defeat.Sabrina giggled, "It helps that you sometimes said very wise things." She held my gaze. "Brock. Everyone knows what Will is like now. And that is thanks to you.""I think I would have rather beaten him… I could have.""And everyone that matters will know that. They are also warned of Will because you went first," she said patiently.She put a hand on my chest. "The first Gym has been wrongly considered the weakest because the idea is not considered properly. The ones who go first are often the best of us all, and you proved that today," she said with such honest conviction that I had to stop feeling so down.I chuckled. "You really have gotten better at people.""I was always better at you," she said earnestly. I leaned forward and kissed her.She kissed me back, and for a moment, I forgot all about what had happened or why I was there. I was simply a boy giving the girl he loved a heartfelt kiss.When we broke apart, I smiled at her. "Love you," I said."And I, you," she said.She then flicked her eyes at the back door and sighed. "I kept them back while you got the anger out of your system. The others want to check in on you." Her eyes flicked to the stone at my back, and she frowned. "But perhaps I should have them take you to bed if you're this tired…"I glanced at the door and, in doing so, caused it to swing wide, with my family spilling out with my friends and colleagues. Yolanda reached me first and led with her shoulder; she hugged me so hard. I braced myself with rock energy but made sure to take a step back lest she hurt herself on me."You were amazing!" she said up to me with watery eyes, only for the next sibling to hit me and repeat the words. Then the rest of my family hit me, and I allowed myself to tumble to the ground with a laugh as they all desperately tried to hug and comfort me.I chuckled and smiled as they pointed out the tense or cool moments. This was new for me.Before… If I had lost in a meaningful manner, I'd never had my friends and family around me like this. It was new, and rather nice.Sabrina alone had seen me at my worst. During the early days, as I assumed the mantle of Gym Leader and caretaker, the feeling of failure had sometimes mounted high and threatened to crush me.I shot my hand out and dragged her into the hug, and she came willingly.When I eventually disentangled myself, I shared smiles and handshakes with the others. Brawly clapped me on the shoulder and offered commiserations and congratulations in equal part.Gary even siddled up to me. "That guy was a piece of work; I'm sure Gramps will have more than a thing or two to say about him, but when I'm Champion, I'll make sure to stop punks like that!" he said haughtily.I chuckled and bumped fists with him, which seemed to work for him, allowing him to keep his cool guy image.I was just about to talk with Erika when Dennis stepped up and offered me a letter. "Brock, I think I should—" I glanced at the letter, saw the first line, and tore it up."Nah, screw losing you to another Gym. What, are you looking to start a bidding war?" I said to Dennis, gesturing to Sabrina, Erika, and the Hoenn crew in Roxanne, Flannery, and Brawly.Dennis blinked at me. "Buwhat?" he said cluelessly."Dennis," I said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "I meant what I said in there. I respect the tough decisions you had to make. Your integrity was paramount. When I have you standing in the referee podium, that's what you need to be. You stuck it out and made this less of a drama than it could have been if you faltered. Instead, you acted like a referee and saw it out."I couldn't grin as I should have, but I managed a soft curl of the lips. "Take a few days off and spend time with Nike and your family. You have nothing to be ashamed of," I said seriously.The others agreed loudly, and Rachel appeared at Dennis' elbow as I let him be. I knew she'd stay with him until he got home and make sure he was in a better headspace.I glanced around at all the people who had otherwise come out to check on me and knew that this was only a small number of the people who cared. I glanced down at my angrily buzzing transceiver. Lance, Claire, Lorelei, Surge, and Forrest were all trying to call me.It is a strange situation to know that friends will reveal themselves in your toughest times, not your best.It felt good to know so many cared."Golem!" said Sanchez, reminding me that it wasn't just humans that cared. I smiled and found my entire healthy pokemon team watching me. Sanchez thumped his chest and then punched his fist into his other hand. Bertha mirrored him, snorting heavily to show she also supported this idea.I blinked in surprise as a new thought occurred to me. "How soon can I have a rematch?"Sabrina giggled, and I felt a lightness take hold where only a weight had been present minutes ago.I'd lost… No, I needed to stop thinking that way. I'd forced a draw, and that wasn't the end of the world. If the way my pokemon were eying me was any indicator, they were now more motivated than ever to grow stronger.Another thought occurred to me as I was led back to my room, yawning and nodding as Salvadore gushed about the fight. Sabrina supported me while Yolanda walked on my other side.How far could I take that motivation?