"Trainers! Are you ready?" called today's referee.
I nodded, my hand fixed on the pokeball.I'd analysed his team which consisted of Haunter, Dusclops, Mismagius, Sableye, Golbat, Vileplume, Cacturne, Crawduant, Shiftry, Parasect, Beedrill, Venomoth, Ninetails, and Scyther.I had dismissed most of the bug pokemon from contention. He'd have been mad to send them against me. The same was true for Golbat but he'd used that in his match yesterday along with Dusclops and Shiftry.I was expecting Vileplume or Cacturne as his opening options.To mix things up I was going for Link, Knight, and Jormungandr.His Ninetails might have been a threat against my steel type but I was confident they'd be able to deal with it should the need arise. It was also one pokemon against my own roster that was littered with rock or water types.He'd be mad to use it.Across from me, Han had his own pokeball in hand, idly tossing it up and down as if he wasn't bothered by being matched up against me.I pointedly didn't look to the side and ignored the flashing lights with practised ease.With Missy's choice of stress release and the subsequent feeding frenzy of the media, there was a lot more interest in this match from them. A lot of trainers, who had previously been tied up in their own matches, were also watching the match.With only thirty-two trainers still in the tournament right now, there was a need to pick and choose which matches you would watch on the fields. And with my ranking and status as a Gym leader, there was a lot of demand to get a good angle to watch it.I could see a few of the faces that my group had spoken about.Scarlet was here with a small group, a number of people holding up cameras themselves to catch different angles.Also of note was the face I couldn't see.Masked Owl stood alone, he had a circle of space around himself as no-one seemed willing to linger close to him."Release!" shouted the referee, their flag dropping.I hurled my pokeball forward as Han caught and flicked, his hand blurring with speed. Damn, he was quick.His pokeball hit the ground before mine and his pokemon appeared in the midfield.
"Craw!" roared a strong looking Crawdaunt.A water-dark type pokemon. That was a rather good selection for him. He'd reacted to my showing with Sanchez, knowing that I couldn't lead with my rock-electric type to take an early favourable match up.Sadly for him, I had other options."Fable!" chirped Link as he appeared with a cascade of light, hopping back and forth lightly before locking eyes with the Crawdaunt."Tch!" said Han, whipping his hand to catch the pokeball as it returned only to activate the recall instantly.I blinked, caught out by the speed of the reaction. He must have known that Link would tear through him with Link's fairy typing.Sadly, Link didn't have any moves that would allow him to buff up while Han pulled out another pokeball, with how fast he was being I was barely able to get out my order before he was whipping out another pokemon."Baton Pass," I said and Link vanished as I raised up another pokeball.For Han's part a pokeball disgorged another pokemon revealing a Haunter that blinked in surprise at the empty field only to lean back in mock fear when Knight took to the stage with a clack of metal plates."Bully it with Stone Edge!" I ordered."Nope!" said Han, as he made his Haunter soar to the side only to then withdraw it once again.I twitched.Was this guy seriously going to use only going to meet me if I gave him favourable matchups?He'd used two of his switches already! He only had one more allowed to him."Autotomize!" I said, Knight just barely got the order done before a Ninetails appeared.Damn it! That should have been a bad pick for him! I mentally goraned in annoyance but outwardly leaned forward, anticipating a hard fight ahead.Han watched me to see if I was going to withdraw my pokemon and when I didn't he stabbed his hands straight ahead. "Fire Blast!""Dig!" I responded. Knight burrowed quickly and easily evaded the attack.I made sure to watch Ninetails and when a shimmer appeared around it I reached out and pulsed a feeling of caution into the bond I shared with Knight.A long silence drew out and Han started to frown only for a section of earth to the side broke as Knight rose with a roar, lashing out and breaking the Substitute that Ninetails had been trying to get away with.I'd been careful to watch for it this time and knew that through some careful tremor sense, Knight should be able to find his way to the real threat and not where we thought Ninetails had been. It just required you to slow down a little."Fire Spin!" ordered Han as Ninetails skidded to a stop and glowered at Knight.Ninetails inhaled and then unleashed a huge gout of fire straight at Knight.I merely grinned. "Dig!" I said, knowing that it was an annoying strategy to have used against you, but it was still valid.Han scowled. If I was right, his— "Swift," said Han, revealing that he had done his own homework and come up with somewhat of an answer to my pokemon evading him.Knight was peppered by several stars that shot down into the ground only for the ground to buckle as Knight shot out of it, aiming for Ninetails.The fire type leapt back but Knight wasn't to be denied, not with his increased speed. He came on fast and grabbed Ninetails and hammered it into the ground."Damn! Baton Pass!" shouted Han, holding up a pokeball.Ninetails vanished, just barely conscious enough to pull the move off as a larger form appeared in Knight's grip."Craw!" roared the Crawdaunt once again."Take Down!" I barked straight away. I didn't want to give that pokemon time to go to work on Knight, so instead I went on the attack.Knight, with Crawdaunt still caught in his grasp, jumped, spinning as he did so only to reposition himself so that as he fell Crawdaunt was guaranteed to take the worst of the damage."Razor Shell!" ordered Han.His pokemon slammed its claws into Knight's body hammering for all it was worth despite being restricted. It wasn't enough to break Knight's grasp as he slammed into the ground atop Crawdaunt.The ground buckled with their combined weight but Knight stood without issue."Kip up and catch him!" snapped Han. Crawdaunt's tail kicked into the ground and caused it to rise up so that the smaller front legs could wrap around Knight.With this new position, Knight was locked and Crawdaunt had the room to start throwing serious hits into my pokemon.I mentally noted that Knight needed to learn to keep his foot on his opponent in such situations instead of backing off. That would have been enough to drop a weaker pokemon, but with the matches we were having these days, it wasn't going to be enough to hit them hard once.You needed more."Knight, use Stone Edge!" I said. If this hadn't been an open field with so many people around, I might have ordered Giga Impact, but with potential injuries if the much weaker barriers didn't hold up, I'd be at the centre of a tragedy of my own design.Knight hammered into Crawdaunt and Crawdaunt replied with its own claws glowing blue with water energy.Both of them tanked and blasted at each other but in the end, Crawdaunt's choice of attack was enough to edge out Knight. His defence fell off with the repeated strikes of Razor Shell despite his much higher defence and power.Knight fell and the crowd gasped, surprised that one of my pokemon was the first to drop. I didn't mind. I'd already weakened two of Han's team with this and created an openning to finish this match with my clutch pokemon."Return Knight, you stood up well out there, two pokemon are on their last legs thanks to your efforts and both times you were fighting from a disadvantage," I said to his pokeball as I clipped it back onto my belt.I then selected the last pokemon I had chosen for today's match."Go! Jormungandr!" I shouted. As I did so I was very conscious of the bracer that was hidden under the shirt I had chosen to wear tonight.I might have had an easier time with Selene in this match, but I instead decided to use her in another match. I needed to consider not just my match today, but also my match tomorrow against Masked Owl.Jormungandr, for all that he has Mega-evolution, wasn't going to be as beneficial as Selene would be. After tomorrow the 'restrictions' of the 'three on three' matches would be lifted and I'd be able to use whoever I wanted, barring the three I'd used now.For tomorrow, I wanted as many options as possible and Selene offered me that.Jorm glowered at the fatigued Crawdaunt and Han pointed his hand at my towering pokemon. "Water Gun!""Dragon Breath," I countered. Jorm rose and fell before exhaling a torrent of purple flame that cut through the weaker water attack and slammed into Crawdaunt.Crawdaunt reeled back and toppled, falling to the side as it lost any energy to fight. Han sighed, and returned his pokemon only to grab up another pokeball. "Use your strengths!" he shouted, as he sent out Ninetails again who looked to barely be able to stand.The referee signalled a pause with a shrill blow of their whistle as they inspected Ninetails.Han twitched in surprise, only to scowl. "Ref! He can fight!" Ninetails stood a little taller and kept its gaze locked on Jorm who held his position.The referee hummed and nodded slowly. "You are very close to pushing beyond what would be considered good for your pokemon's health. It is my duty to make the call, for now… I agree," said the Referee, stepping back and raising his flags. He nodded to me and then Han and dropped them.Both of us reacted, not too thrown off by the interruption."Fire Blast!" Ninetails unleashed a powerful gout of flame that sailed towards Jorm."Dig Dip!" I countered, making Jorm dive under the ground only to pop up close to Ninetails.His giant tail whipped around and slammed into Ninetails ending the match before it could develop any further. Ninetails flew through the air and landed heavily.It twitched once, in an attempt to get up only to slump down. I had to give it credit for trying to get itself back into the fight after being brutalised by Knight and Jorm.Han sighed, and called back his pokemon. He then sent out his last pokemon, his Haunter.Haunter locked eyes with Jorm and stuck its tongue out mockingly, but Jorm didn't react beyond shifting into a better position to strike."Hypnosis!" ordered Han."Dig to point A!" I said having trained my pokemon for situations like this. Dig wouldn't work thanks to Haunter's habit of hovering off the ground, but I didn't want to hit him, I wanted to get in close."Argh! That's getting annoying! Shift away Haunter!" ordered Han, making his pokemon scurry away from where it had been. Jorm popped up out of the ground only to detonate a Dark Pulse when he appeared. He turned and found Haunter, just out of range, but I just waved a hand, signalling for Jorm to not attack.Han had just gotten his pokemon out of striking distance.Still, it didn't matter if that didn't work, there were other methods to win this match."Sandstorm," I said and Jorm dove into the topsoil before vibrating quickly. From him, a great wave of sand rose into the air and started to obscure visibility. Which would also make it harder for moves like Hypnotise to work.Han was just visible as he waved his hand and his voice carried over the winds. "Shadow Ball!" He ordered."Dig into zone A-one!" I shouted and once again Jorm dove into the ground.Han cursed and signalled for his pokemon to move, but they decided to go for something clever, and instead of moving about the field, they went to where Jorm had been moments before.I grinned as Jorm shot back up and locked eyes with the Haunter as it realised it had been baited and trapped."Dark Pulse," I said, happily causing Jorm to explode with Dark energy and crush Haunter.Haunter collapsed artfully and I was about to signal a halt only to recall some of Agatha's tricks. "Get ready in case they're faking out!" I called out, and Jorm grasped a boulder, preparing to hurl the rock into the down and out Haunter.Han sighed and raised his pokeball. "I'll call it there," he said, resigned to his defeat. "Brock is ready for my tricks a little too much for my liking to try and push them," he said.I nodded. He wasn't wrong, between my spars with Agatha, and Karen, I was used to being Sucker Punched, and Faked Out to know to be on the watch for them with certain pokemon.Both women were the sorts of people that you thought were down and out only for them to reverse their positions in an instant."Ace Trainer Han withdraws his Haunter from the match! The match is three to one! Brock is therefore the victor!" shouted the referee.I bowed in thanks and advanced. The match had been a bit scrappier than I'd hoped, Han had good enough pokemon to threaten me if things had played out differently but it would rely on small chance attacks or mistakes more than being a sure thing."Good match," I said, clasping Han's hand in mine.He squeezed it firmly, meeting my gaze with a small smirk. "Well, at least I get to claim I was the first to put down one of your pokemon in this Tournament. Along with making you use all three of your pokemon. You were on a bit of a streak there."I considered that for a moment before shrugging. "I wasn't trying for it, it just worked out that way. I think you had enough pokemon and tactics to force that sort of exchange."I decided to not point out that I could have forced things into my favour by trading out but that wasn't a style I was comfortable using. "You've got quick hands for the recall style of fighting. What made you get into that style of battling if you don't mind me asking?"Han shrugged. "Grew up with quick hands that I worked out could be converted into my battling. There aren't many that can get off such fast switches so it works more than it doesn't at my level of fighting. Wouldn't have minded fighting you when we were in the same bracket."I tilted my head. "Hundred and fifty? I was only in that bracket for a few days before I got enough Ace trainers beating down my door.""Hmmm, still, I have to wonder how I'd go with a full team of tricksters and switchers," he said, rubbing his chin.I shrugged. "I'd like to say that I'd be wise to your tricks now, but now that I've experienced your style I have to say I'm impressed." And didn't that feel weird.The switch out style was seen as a rather poor battling style but I suspected Han made it work thanks to his speed at recalling and getting another pokemon out. It spoke of not just his physical skills but mental agility to work out what he needed and react in an instant. He'd need to have a very good grounding, one which pokemon were which types and which pokemon could have certain moves for coverage of any weaknesses they possessed."I think I'd like that," I decided to say after a moment. "Talk with Rachel, I think an Ace match showcase would be a good idea." I considered the other styles I knew. "Might be interesting to showcase that there are more out there than people think of." I drummed my fingers. "Any chance I could hire you on as an instructor for a training camp I'm running towards the end of the circuit?"Han blinked. "Huh, I wasn't expecting to be offered a job from today, but that's… not a terrible thought."He nodded his head thoughtfully. "I would like a bit more respect for what I do. Sure, I'll have my people talk with your people," he said.I chuckled and shook his hand again, then I turned, collected my entourage and departed for the Nurse Joy tent.The reporters pounced straight away. "Brock! What did you think of Han's Switcher style? Did it give you trouble?""I was pleasantly surprised that it is a more nuanced style than I had considered. While Han seeks the advantage rather doggedly, I think it is a viable strategy and I'd like to see how far he and others that call it their own could take it."The reporters tilted their heads in surprise at my response, or perhaps it was that I was being so verbose after being taciturn with them for the last few exchanges where they'd ambushed me. I chuckled, I was in a good mood after the fight and more willing to endure them.I made some comments as to the fight, praising Han's fighting style and how he had come into the match. When I handed over my pokemon for healing the media backed off, content with their sound bites.At first, I thought they were going to depart, only to notice their attention shifting to the side and then back onto me.Something was up. I frowned only to tilt my head when a space opened up in the crowd to reveal Masked Owl marching towards me.A chorus of whispers broke out from the people around me and I caught snippets of them. "He'd almost been late to his match but it didn't matter! He wiped the floor with his opponent!""He's gone through the first few matches without losing a single pokemon!""Did you see that Pidgeot? It was huge!"I hummed, watching as Masked Owl deposited his pokeballs before raising his gaze to mine.Both of us were aware that we were set to face off in tomorrow's match. We locked gazes and a spark of tension shot between us.I narrowed my eyes as Masked Owl advanced on me. I straightened up, ready for any action from him."Gym Leader Brock," he said, his eyes still locked with mine. I could see the brown colour of said eyes through this mask, making it instantly a million times better than locking eyes with other masked individuals who were currently enjoying prison."... Masked Owl," I said eventually, deciding to play his game and acknowledge him by his nom-de plume rather than his actual name and give him away.He stilled, noticing my hesitation. "So, we will be doing battle tomorrow, I see you've kept your Electric type golem free for it.""It, and many of my other pokemon. I'm going to be going into it with quite the advantage, I should think.""Heh, is that what you think?" he said, his chin jutting out slightly.I narrowed my eyes. "I've faced stronger opponents before," I said with a shrug. I then smirked and remembered an old joke. "Some like to even attribute Lance as a pseudo flying type specialist. Do you think yourself at his level?" I said, deciding to go for a bit of a jab.Masked Owl, or rather, Walker, scowled, his mouth morphing into a snarl. "He is not a flying type specialist! That man has no grace! No skill! Flying Type pokemon are all about freedom and wonder! They don't seek to dominate the sky like dragons! They know that to be an idiots dream! No one can tame the winds! They instead become them! Carefree and light! They are not held down!" Masked Owl said heatedly.I blinked, having not expected such a response quite like that. "Ah, I suppose that would be true." Then I tilted my head. For a pokemon type that wasn't supposed to be held down… wasn't he being rather held to the idea of revenge?I nodded slowly. "I suppose you will have to show me what it means to be a true Flying Type specialist."I straightened and raised my fist towards him. "But don't expect me to hold back! I'm winning this tournament and you might be the next fight but I'm planning on going all the way!"Masked Owl stared at me for a long moment. "I will be ready for you. I am well versed in the weaknesses of my chosen pokemon type. You will not defeat me!" he said, turning and swishing his cape of feathers to theatrically march away.I stared after him—Nurse Joy, who'd been standing nearby waiting for the drama to finish coughed politely. "Both of your pokemon are ready for collection! Thank you for bringing them to us, we hope you have a nice day and come again!" she said with a winning smile.There was a long moment where everyone who had been watching, along with Masked Owl and myself felt like the world had just tilted slightly and we were suddenly off balance.I caught the flickers of a gleeful smirk twitching at Nurse Joy's lips up for a moment before it vanished. Another of the Nurse Joys facepalmed while the other giggled into her fist at how things had played out.Ah, she'd held back until we'd had our 'dramatic moment' before inserting herself deliberately.She must have been the type of person to create awkward situations to thrive on them.I chuckled ruefully, rubbing the back of my head as I blushed for being called out on our melodrama like this."Ah, thanks," I said, taking back my two pokemon.Masked Owl about-faced and marched back to claim his own two pokemon stiffly. "My thanks," he said formally. Then he nodded at me and made to leave.I was going to leave Masked Owl with what we'd said before I realised that there was one more thing that I felt needed to be said to him. "You shouldn't have ditched your responsibilities like you have." I whispered lowly.Masked Owl paused and looked at me in confusion."Your son, just because he's holding his own doesn't mean it is good for you to dump your duties on him," I said firmly, my gaze boring into him. He might be a flying type specialist, but I had the high ground with this.Masked Owl staggered back at that. His hand shooting up to his mask. "You know?" he asked.I nodded. "I put a few clues together," I said firmly. "Don't be a deadbeat, or rather, stop being a deadbeat."The man wavered before his mouth thinned into a hard line. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he said, stalking away properly."Tch!" said Nurse Joy. "I was trying to cool you trainers off but you're determined to have your drama aren't you?" she muttered under her breath.I stared at her and she twitched and adopted an innocent smile. "Is there anything else we can help with today sir?" she said loudly.I shook my head and backed away, much to her and the other Nurse Joys amusement.When I made it back to my group Yolanda was beaming at me. "What?" I asked.She just shook her head. "No, I was just happy you spoke to… Masked Owl like that, it was good!" she said.I hummed and decided to leave it at that, instead turning my attention towards the coming match up. On paper it would be an easy match for me with the pokemon I had available to me.Paper, and reality however were very different things.We set out our whiteboards and set ourselves up a number of different projections of Masked Owl's previous history of matches along with his known roster of pokemon.Names and teams were put together from the list we had.Pidgeot, Fearow, Butterfree, Dodrio, Noctowl, Crobat, Xatu, Delibird, Beautifly, Swellow, Skarmory, Masquerain, and Tropius."It's interesting that he doesn't seem to have any of the pokemon that Lance has such as Gyrados or Charizard. Both are great additions to a Flying type specialists roster," I said.Missy perked up but Rachel beat her to the punch. "Oh! I know this one! He's been asked this before and he's stated that he wants to embody a more purist approach!"I snorted. There were only a handful of pure flying-type pokemon in existence with the only one I could think of off the top of my head being Tornadus.And Walker, as skilled as he might be, wasn't going to have that pokemon.… I gave the sky outside a glance in consideration.Was it overkill to have Empress ready to rumble along with Titan? They'd been able to stand up to Mewtwo…No, that's not required.I clapped my hands and directed everyone to list out their observations so far.I quickly learned that Walker was a fan of taking a high position and raining down powerful attacks or doing divebomb runs on his opponents. When that wasn't viable he could close with a number of different attacks and his pokemon had quite a number of different moves to their names. His Fearow especially.He knew about using Steel Wing to negate electric attacks along with how to use aerial Ace to a degree that was uncanny.The blurring of his pokemon allowing close range dodges that I was used to attributing to martial arts fights rather than flying type pokemon.There was also a rather handy combination move that he had which had to be U-Turn, mixed with Aerial Ace. It was a nifty trick to have.There wasn't a lot of information on him facing off against a Rock specialist however and for that, I was more confident than ever going into tomorrow's match up.I checked the watch and nodded. "Right, I think we're starting to retread old ground. I say we call it here, have some time off for the next three hours and meet up for dinner to go over any final thoughts."The others perked up for this and Yolanda bounded in her seat. "Is it time to go to the Department store?" she said excitedly.I snorted. "Sure, today will be the first trip," I said."First trip?" Yolanda said with a tilt of her head, only for her eyes to widen. "How big is the department store?""Huge," I said, leading her towards Celadon. "I hope you saved up enough cause there are tons of shops there," I said, knowing that by taking Yolanda, I was resigning myself to hours of shopping trips in future.When we reached the department store Sabrina appeared next to me, Ralts in her hand and a purse in the other. "I foresaw this," she said preemptively to Yolanda. She shifted her handbag and patted my hand. "Brock only knows how to do autumnal colours well, he doesn't know about shapewear, or buying fluctuating sizes."I opened my mouth, about to correct her that I knew precisely what she was talking about, only to shut my mouth after I considered it for a moment. Hmmm, no, I don't think I wanted to broach that topic in fact. Yolanda would be better suited to get this talk from someone like Sabrina, as strange as that was.Sabrina nodded. "We're meeting my friends."I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not carrying all your bags," I said, knowing who she meant.Sabrina shook her head. "I'll just Teleport them to your hotel room," she said.I nodded, glad I wasn't playing into that particular trope today. Having a psychic girlfriend was so useful at times like this."Sabrina!" called a familiar voice.I turned and found Erika with a group of girls, I vaguely recognised all of them having seen them about the Celadon Gym. also with them was Janine and Sophia.Yolanda grinned. "Oh this is going to be fun!" she said.A few hours later, once she'd gotten a crash course on searching for bargains, timing your shopping for certain items for set points of the year and other things such as styling choices. Yolanda happily collapsed on her bed.I lay on mine with Sabrina sitting next to me as I browsed through my pokemon roster for tomorrow.I stencilled in two names. Titan and Empress.Yolanda glanced over and her eyes bulged. "Brock! You don't need to use both of them!" Yolanda said in shock.I chewed my lip. "I really want to beat him," I said.Sabrina glanced at the names and merely nodded seriously. "Empress does need some experience in a match like this," she said neutrally.Yolanda gave me a flat stare. "It feels like overkill."I shrugged. "Yeah, maybe, or maybe not. I kind of want to send a message. And also? Sometimes I want to show off alright?" I said adding Sanchez to the list.With three spots chosen, I needed three others to fill in…Which wasn't hard. Selene was a guarantee, as was Shin, which left a spot for… Hmmm… who to pick? With both of my Tyranitar's on the line, I could afford to test myself. I selected Don's pokeball and nodded to myself.There, six strong pokemon for my lineup that offered unique benefits to me. Now I just needed to work out who Walker would use and thanks to the work we'd put in earlier. I had a decent idea of who would have the highest chance of being on his team.It just depended on how confident he was. That night I traded out some pokemon and got Empress sent over. I then explained to her what I was looking to do.She gained a savage grin of delight and nodded her head, more than happy with my proposed plan.If Walker wanted to throw down challenges like he had, he better be ready for me to throw my best punches.Later, after Yolanda had left I spent a bit of time watching my match against Han, or specifically one part of it.How had he gotten that flick off of his pokeball so quick? I watched it a few times and eventually picked up how he was twisting his wrist. I then went up and tried practising it a few times only to conclude it was very hard and would require a lot more practise. My estimate of Han went up a little more.The next day saw me standing on the podium in Celadon's main stadium. Unlike with Erika's match against Will, the stadium was far less decorated but it still held a certain charm. It was amazing to see that instead of leaning towards the Grass type speciality they were known for they instead had a number of concession stands dotted throughout the walk areas.The city of commerce indeed.Across from me Masked Owl stood with his pokeball raised, ready for the referee.I relaxed on my podium, certain of my choice."Trainers, are you ready?!" called the referee.We both nodded.The flags rose and I reached up for my necklace grabbing the Greatball there.I could see the crowd standing up in shock and even the referee was reacting, reaching for the buttons on his podium to power up the barriers more.Masked Owl was committed though and he released his pokemon first to reveal a powerful-looking Pidgeot whose screech carried throughout the stands.It was silenced a moment later as Titan merged from his pokeball and roared for all he was worth. I grinned darkly and felt for the bond.This was going to be as one-sided as I could possibly make it.
182
Titan skidded from the back of the field to the front, roaring as he did so. His passing caused the field to be torn up and dust and rock shards to be hurled into the air.He twisted about, making sure the entire stadium knew he was present and staking his claim.Masked Owl faltered, and I grinned. "Titan!" I barked while urging him through our bond for Rock Throw. Titan's tail swung around and a wave of rock soared into the air at the stunned Pidgeot."Move!" screamed Masked Owl, as he regathered himself.Sadly he did so quickly enough to evade the strike, his Pidgeot tucking a wing and swinging wide before arcing around Titan.Titan turned his head, locking on to the target even as Pidgeot rose back to where it had been. The wind howled for a moment as the powerful Pidgeot's passing caused a shockwave of air.I leaned into it, ignoring the annoyance of dust and grit flying into my face.The turbulent winds merely helped me.A moment later, the dust continued to spiral and with but a moment's warning a sandstorm rose with Titan grinning as the stadium was obscured.Pidgeot was taken into the sandstorm and I was close enough to see it flinch as sand grated at it."...!" shouted Masked Owl, his voice lost in the howling winds.I knew what was coming though, and so I leaned forward, and pulled up my rock energy as Pidgeot called forth a Hurricane.I matched it with Stone Edge into the heart of the storm, causing the Hurricane to only get half the strength that it should have as Pidgeot suddenly had to drop the move and dodge.Pidgeot glowered at Titan.Titan for his part shook his head and let some of the sand that was still blowing slip from his joints. The ground around him only had the sparsest tips of grass poking through thanks to the earlier Sandstorm."Keep up the pressure!" I ordered. Titan snorted and swept his tail around, and once again Rock Slide shot forth unleashing a wave of rocks that forced Pidgeot to dodge. Each dodge however had to be done at speed, causing more and more wind that carried the sand up into the air.The more Titan disrupted the ground the more sand particles there were being tossed around.By controlling the ground, we'd be able to control the air and therefore the match.Masked Owl must have realised that though as he clicked his tongue. "Adjust your wings to break up the disruption! Mimic Noctowl!" he shouted.If I hadn't lived two lives, along with owning my own Noctowl, I might not have known what Masked Owl was talking about.A gleam shot through Pidgeot's wings and tail. A moment later the torrent of wind that billowed as Pidgeot evaded Titan's Rock Slide lessened until it was barely stirring the air.I resisted the urge to gape just barely.Damn, that was impressive. He'd somehow trained his Pidgeot to alter its feather structure so that it had a comb-like serration that broke up the turbulent wind of wing beats.It came at a cost, however.With Pidgeot's wings having to soften slightly, I knew that speed would drop. This right here was one of the reasons Noctowl weren't as fast as Fearow or Pidgeot.It was still damn impressive that Walker/Masked Owl had thought to do things like that. I had to give it to him, he knew his business.I just smirked. I had known that fighting Masked Owl was going to happen. Some people would say they felt it in their waters.I'd… well I'd just known that there was a very high chance of him and I clashing. I'd come up with some strategies for this match. One of which had always involved Titan."Do it," I said and Titan stopped throwing rocks with his tail and feet scooping them up and instead twisted and pointed two claws straight at Pidgeot.This time rocks rose around him and gained a slightly prismatic look to them. Then they shot forward like a shotgun blast, scattering in a wide spread that Pidgeot couldn't dodge.Not with how it had slowed down.Maybe not even while it had been at its normal pace.The Power Gem move was wonderful like that.Much faster than the purely physical Rock Slide. It might not play to Titan's strengths as a physical powerhouse, but that didn't mean it didn't add something sorely lacking to Titan's movepool.A ranged attack that was terrifyingly fast.Pidgeot spiralled as it took a sudden, super-effective hit. It had been fine when nothing was hitting it, but now that wasn't the case. Now it had taken a hit and was going to suffer."Pidgeot! Turn this around!" Masked Owl called.I leaned forward in anticipation. This was one of the moves that our research had picked up on. Masked Owl had very specific commands for some of his shared set moves, and this was one of them.Pidgeot dove towards Titan, for all intents and purposes looking like it was going to commit to a Kamikaze attack."Wait for it!" I ordered, as Pidgeot blitzed down. If I committed to a Stone Edge I knew Pidgeot would simply dodge.Pidgeot swept in and Titan feinted with his tail, spinning as if about to slap a rock into Pidgeot's face.Pidgeot vanished in a blur as Aerial Ace activated. Masked Owl raised two pokeballs in preparation for the U-turn being pulled off.I didn't want to give him the chance. Instead of slapping a rock, Titan exploded into a Dark Pulse making Pidgeot's strike miss and for the powerful flying type to take a shock hit just as it was about to withdraw itself from the field.Pidgeot screeched even as it broke up into red energy, the secondary effect of U-turn coming into play despite the miss. I had to give it to Walker, his Pidgeot was strong as it vanished without fainting despite taking two solid hits, one of which was super effective.The other pokeball in Masked Owl's hand broke open revealing a Skarmory that screeched angrily as it found itself in very close to Titan before it beat its wings to get clear.I snapped my hand after it, not willing to let it get clear. "Blast it down!" I said giving Titan the cue to go for another Power Gem.Titan shot his fingers up like he was in an old western, his draw was good and the bejewelled rocks slammed into the tail feathers of the Skarmory but only elicited a screech of pain before Skarmory tucked and rolled, turning as it did so to face us.It beat its metal wings frantically and keened angrily. I instantly could see how things might be different with this pokemon on the field. Honestly, I was surprised that Masked Owl hadn't led with Skarmory.It had fewer type disadvantages and minimised a lot of what I could bring to bear, but that didn't make it a one pokemon solution to my team."Titan… Power em," I said after considering it again."Stir up the winds! Agility!" said Masked Owl, and I had to scowl. So he wanted the Sandstorm this time, did he? He wouldn't have to worry about the damage from a Sandstorm.But it would boost my pokemon and hinder him.That was, unless he wanted to make use of the low visibility to slip in a move, like Spikes.I considered the state of the field for half a moment and made a snap call. "Titan, return!" I said returning my starter and snapping my hand down to Sanchez's pokeball."Spikes!" said Masked Owl, proving me right straight as I got Sanchez on the field.Sanchez appeared before the Spikes were properly out and I had to sigh in relief. That… might have been deadly if Masked Owl had gotten to pull it off.Sanchez, ignorant of the danger he'd been close to enduring, made a show of dusting himself off. "Go lem!" he said.When he noticed the crowd he perked up and his smile grew wider."Traps on the field! Play it smart!" I called. Sanchez snapped his attention onto the threat and a moment later he unleashed a Discharge."Earth yourself and unleash another Spikes onto the field!" Masked Owl said firmly.Skarmory dropped like an ingot and slammed its wings into the ground tips first as it gleamed with Steel energy. It cackled balefully as Sanchez lit it up even as it shot out yet more Spikes onto the field.I was not liking having my field control method used against me like this. I glowered at Masked Owl and pointed at his grounded pokemon. If he was going to oblige me like this, I was going to make it cost him."Thunder," I said.Sanchez slammed his hands together as a bolt of lightning shot off him causing a thunderclap as he discharged his Thunder.The crowd gasped in shock and even I shot him a surprised look for a moment. He must have been training that in secret.The thunder shot up, and then arced down straight onto the metal rod that had earthed itself in Skarmory. It fried the flying-steel type and despite negating some of it, Skarmory still took damage.It was barely hanging on after the Thunder dissipated and I waved a hand. "Discharge," I said, settling for the more guaranteed strike."Rest," said Masked Owl snidely. Skarmory shut its eyes and fell asleep, just as Sanchez unleashed Discharge.The move zapped the stunned bird and I shot Masked Owl an annoyed look only to drop it a moment later as I realised he'd just given me an avenue to use."Stealth Rock," I said firmly. This time it was Masked Owl's turn to grimace.He'd overplayed his hand by trying to make me pay for a slip.While Skarmory had moves like Sleep Talk available to it, I knew from yesterday's review that it didn't as it instead focussed on other moves like Spikes, Steel wing, Brave Bird, Agility, Rest, and Dark Pulse."Skarmory! I need you to wake up!" shouted the man."Stealth Rock," I said firmly, doubling down on getting myself an advantage. Then I snapped my hand into a gun and directed it right at the slumbering pokemon."Then finish it with Thunder," I said, not a hint of remorse in my tone.Sanchez grinned viciously as he once again slammed his hands together above his head and unleashed the Thunder. Surge would be proud of him for his shock and awe.It dropped on a just awakening pokemon only for Masked Owl to whip out his pokeball and return his pokemon. "I withdraw my pokemon, it wouldn't have lasted under that onslaught," he said contritely as people tried to boo him.I nodded in solidarity. He'd made the right call. As I waited for his next pokemon I rolled my head around to loosen up a little.The referee merely nodded and raised a flag. "Skarmory is unable to battle, the match is now one nil!"I hummed. Alright, that confirmed it, despite the solid hits Titan had gotten in, it hadn't been enough to put down that Pidgeot.I found I wasn't surprised. Pidgeot was probably one of my foe's original pokemon and therefore his strongest.My opponent took a moment to pause and consider his options. With Skarmory out, he was lacking a serious advantage with STAB bonus, but I knew a lot of his other pokemon also had Steel Wing in their movepool so it wasn't the end.It was more annoying that he'd gotten off three rounds of Spikes.I'd need to do something about those. Sadly they were hidden within the sand piles that had formed up which would make targeting them to wipe them off the field difficult, not unless I had Sanchez go for broke with an Explosion to sweep the field but I was hoping it wouldn't get that far.Although there was another option…"Go Tropius!" said Masked Owl as he revealed his third pokemon of the match and another that had some arguments for its inclusion. I chalked this up as the third correct pokemon that we'd selected from his roster that he'd use against me.Tropius fluttered in the air a good distance from the ground. That was another thing, Walker never started his pokemon on the ground.Stealth Rocks shot up and slammed into the Flying type making it squeal and giving me an option to one-two this exchange."Stone Edge!" I barked, punching my fist forward."Drop to the ground and regain your strength!" Masked Owl said. Tropius dutifully obeyed and in doing so, just barely dodged Snachez's attack. I was surprised when I saw one of the banab-like fruits that rested underneath Tropius' chin fold up into its mouth.Tropius squirmed with delight and a sparkle ran down its form.I clicked my tongue but didn't let the miss deter me. Debates on what this pokemon was doing were all over the pokenet, but I'd asked Erika about it and she'd determined that it was an interesting use of Synthesis boosted by the natural fruits Tropius produces.I also suspected it had something to do with an ability and I was proven correct as the fruit on Tropius' chin regrew even as Sanchez smashed another Stone Edge into it.Tropius' wings buzzed angrily and it began juking left and right to make it harder to hit."Leaf Storm!" called Masked Owl. His pokemon swept its wings down faster again and a droning noise erupted through the stadium as glittering leaves formed up around Tropius. Then with a swing of its neck, the leaves shot forward."Dig!" I countered.Sanchez dove into the ground and evaded the strike but Masked Owl used the drop in tension to get off another Synthesis with his pokemon, keeping it in the fight.I clicked my tongue as Sanchez poked his head out of the ground.It was looking more and more like I might not be able to win this fight as cleanly as I was hoping for. No matter what I did I was going to have a lot of issues with those Spikes. Shin would be able to wipe the field with a Surf, but wouldn't do so well with Tropius on the field.I clenched my jaw. It seemed like Masked Owl was determined to drag this into an endurance slog unless I was willing to throw away Sanchez, potentially for no payout.An Explosion, for all that it was a powerful move, didn't mean there weren't counters to it such as Protect."Sanchez, fill the sky," I ordered firmly. Sanchez popped out of the ground with a gleam in his eyes. He then proceeded to show just how fast he could fire off Stone Edge, Rock Throw, and Rock Slide at his opponent.He tumbled and turned, using his round body to get himself into new positions to hurl rock after rock.Tropius had to dodge a wave of potentially match-ending rocks. It flitted and flapped, juking and throwing itself. At one point it dove hard into the ground, landed with its knees buckling before it kicked off the ground to launch itself back into the sky, all while evading rock after rock.The crowd cheered for the display of skill both pokemon were putting on.Sanchez was a one-man fusion of an artillery piece blended with a tumbling acrobat, while Tropius was grace and speed as it danced on a knife's edge.It buzzed in and out of attacks while Sanchez kept on the pressure.Both pokemon had eyes only for the other with micromovements being read and acted upon to lead shot or dodge before they could be launched leading to tiny moments as each fought for control of the battle.Eventually, something had to give though and the damage and constant energy used in recovery from earlier were enough to tip things in our favour.Tropius faltered and was a hair too slow dodging a Rock Throw. It took a bad tumble in the air and Sanchez saw his chance, unleashing a Stone Edge at the falling pokemon.Tropius displayed surprising skill by beating its wings backwards to halt its fall but the boulder Sanchez threw was large enough that it still wasn't enough.The boulder slammed into the other pokemon and with a faint cry, it finally tumbled to the ground without a chance of arresting its fall. Before it hit the ground Masked Owl recalled it.The crowd, being a Celadon crowd, applauded politely with a few out-of-towners rising to their feet to cheer and shout their praise for Tropius. A moment later they cheered for Sanchez who gave Masked Owl a formal bow to show his respect and then again to Tropius.I grinned. He'd obviously taken notes of how I'd praised Link after his show of respect during the Ace match I'd had in Goldenrod. I was surprised when he didn't turn and give a goofy smile.Huh, he'd taken in how important it was to actually mean respect? I decided to mimic my pokemon's lead on this."That was a hell of a flying type," I said aloud. "You've done an amazing job as their trainer."Masked Owl blinked at this having not expected me to praise him mid-fight. The crowd quietened at this and I chuckled as I realised what it would mean to have a Rock-type specialist complement a Flying-type specialist.Masked Owl swallowed and inclined his head. "A-ah, and you, while you have had me at a disadvantage you have not been lax, nor have your pokemon disappointed."This got another round of applause and I noted that the referee seemed happy to stop the countdown for this moment to have the proper weight. I found myself not begrudging the decision. The referee jolted when they noticed me watching them quietly.A moment later the referee coughed politely and reactivated the timer. "Thirty-second warning!"Masked Owl swallowed and gave the field a look before clicking his tongue. Then he plucked his fourth pokeball of the match and hurled it onto the field."Go Crobat!" he commanded.The top pocket on my vest twitched in surprise and I put a hand to it so that Zubat would calm down. She'd done marvellously the last few days with being calm but seeing her fully evolved form had gotten a reaction out of her.The small purple bat on the field flitted back and forth only to take a barrage of Stealth Rocks making it falter."Discharge!" I shouted, going for the kill straight away.Sanchez jumped forward and unleashed a blast of electricity. Crobat snapped all four of its wings and shot back and away to the highest point at the top of the stadium. It was barely within the confines of the arena and I could only glower up at the flitting pokemon."Stone Edge," I said, having Sanchez unleash another boulder at the pokemon only for it to flit to the side deftly."Boost!" called Masked Owl, and I could only click my teeth in annoyance as Crobat, an already dangerously fast pokemon became even faster.I continued to try and blow it out of the sky but Crobat merely became faster and faster, resulting in it becoming a streak that shot from point to point."Now! Close and drain!" barked Masked Owl.I sighed. I could see the writing on the table, and it wasn't in Sanchez' favour. This could be a turning point where Masked Owl used his Spikes to get control of the match.If I let it play out that way."Sanchez, big solo," I said with a smile as I braced for impact.Sanchez cackled as Crobat shot in, a green glowing orb shooting from it to Sanchez.Ah, Absorb. A super effective move for sure.It didn't change anything as Sanchez used Explosion and the arena was rocked by the sudden upheaval. Electric and kinetic energy swept over me as the barriers barely blocked the attack.Around the arena, people screamed in sudden fear only to calm down as the barriers around the stands kicked in and stopped them from feeling anything but the lightest tremor.When the dust settled two pokemon were shown face down. Sanchez had a huge grin on his face while Crobat looked charred and beaten. A jolt of electricity arced from it and made the little bat twitch once before it lay still.Masked Owl glared at me. "Really?"I nodded. "I did that because I respected your decision. You were getting control of the match. I decided to disrupt that and reset the playing field," I said returning Sanchez. "Great work buddy. You were incredible out there.""The score is three to one in favour of Brock!" announced the referee.I shot Masked Owl a smile. We both knew that wasn't true. His Pidgeot was on its last legs, or rather feathers in this case.I selected another pokeball and tossed it up and down in thought. "Hmmmm, let's see what you make of this," I said aloud.I tossed out Don's pokeball.He emerged with a loud screech as his eyes darted around searching for his foe. When he locked eyes on Masked Owl he glared and growled, his wings beating furiously."You have much nerve to send out a flying type against me!" Masked Owl said."Yeah, yeah I do," I said shamelessly. I really wanted to see how he matched up. If I'd been more daring, I might have even sent Don out first. But this also worked in case Spikes hadn't been properly wiped from the board. I could test the waters so to speak first and push Masked Owl before sending in other pokemon to clean things up.Masked Owl snatched his next pokeball and tossed it out. This time, unlike the others, when it formed up it did so on the ground. I raised an eyebrow.Huh, he'd gone with his Dodrio? Interesting."Go for speed!" Masked owl ordered.I jerked my hand up to the sky. "Ascend," I said. Don flapped hard, wiggling and jolting from side to side as he went, quietly getting off Dragon Dance.Both Masked Owl and I locked eyes as our pokemon began to circle the field, one in the skies and one on the ground. It was amusing that people's expectations would have been reversed as to which of us were in what position.Eventually, neither pokemon could push themselves any further and when they moved they did so with speed that caused the wind to howl.Don's circles created wind currents that caused the stadium to howl as he swept around and around, whereas Dodrio was starting to kick up a dust cloud that was making visibility hard.I pointed down and like a sprinter that had been waiting for the gun, Don accelerated.From standing to damn near terminal velocity in an instant.He swept low and came on at Dorio with rocks picked up in his wake. He swept in and slashed with his wings only for the Dodrio to vanish in a mirage.A moment later a trio of heads were launched out of the dust from behind Don. Instead of their beaks slamming into Don, their foot rose and stomped into him causing him to stagger into the ground."Crunch! Catch them while they're close!" I shouted."Dodge back!" called Masked Owl, his pokemon leaping back only to be caught out as Don kicked off the ground, displaying his own speed to catch the fleeing Dodrio in his grasp.I grinned just as savagely as Don did. "Wail on them!" I shouted and Don gave everything he had, whipping his head back and forth to slam Dodrio into the rock-strewn field."Curl up and go for Fury Attack!" shouted Masked Owl. I had to frown. Such a weak move?I quickly realised that it wasn't, by any means weak, as Dodrio curled its entire body up so that it was face to faces with Don.Don blinked in surprise. Then Dodrio started stabbing their sharp beaks into Don's face with fury.Each of them slamming into the nose, the eyes, the ears.All of them are sensitive spots on any pokemon.Once, twice, three times, four times… five times, each of the three heads slammed their beaks into Don's face causing him to yowl with pain and slam Dodrio into the ground once more.They'd gotten off fifteen attacks. Negligible they should have been, if it wasn't for the number or the locations of the hits.Dodrio kicked once only to go still.Don growled and a feral expression took hold.I felt my heart lurch as I understood he'd taken too much damage and was now reacting.I shot my fingers into my mouth and whistled as harshly as I could. I'd had to couple this whistle with some rather harsh training in the past to link it into his subconscious for him to go absolutely still lest I come down on him.Usually, that meant dominance displays where I held him by the scruff of the neck while making a show of growling.When I'd first captured Don, this had been an almost hourly occurrence.Dragon typed he might not be, but he still had his pride and his wild instincts from years of living alone from but for others like him. Integrating him had been some of the harshest and toughest training I'd ever done with it requiring a completely different style than I was used to.Don stiffened and his eyes dilated as his memories took hold and his training kicked in."Good boy! No savaging that Dodrio because it got you good. It was strong, but you beat it. Back away from it and get some height," I called.Don shuffled back and I had to wince as his shuffle was more of a lurch. That specialised Fury Attack had done a number on him.It might have been luck to get five attacks in, but I got the impression it would have been at least six, if not more, so regardless of the result Don was going to take some damage. Some of which had to have been considered critical.Don rose into the air on wobbly wings as Dodrio was withdrawn. I hummed considering Don as he gained back some of his more typical energy. He squirmed in the air, his body obviously hurting.He turned and shot me a look that promised trouble if he didn't get a shot at the next pokemon. I hummed and considered him for a long moment before nodding."Go for it Don," I said pointedly.Don stared at me for a long moment only to grin savagely. Good, he'd caught the message I'd given."Go Noctowl!" Masked Owl shouted, sending out his sixth and probably final pokemon.Don didn't hesitate. He had his order, and he was going for it. He inhaled built-up energy and then with barely any warning fired off a Hyper Beam straight at Noctowl."Defend!" screamed Masked Owl in surprise.Noctowl's wings snapped up and a Protect formed which took the oncoming attack causing another explosion to rock the field. What didn't get absorbed by the Protect continued on and slammed into the barriers causing them to glow yellow for a moment.When the Hyper Beam dissipated it revealed a slightly ruffled Noctowl but it was otherwise unharmed."Show them your strength!" ordered Masked Owl. His Noctowl swept its wings down and it surged up into the sky only to then plummet a moment later, a huge wave of energy taking over the Noctowl."Sky Attack!" shouted Masked Owl as his pokemon slammed into Don, sending my tired Aerodactyl into the ground despite his own attempts to dodge. He was far too tired, but that was alright.He lay there heaving desperately. "Calm yourself Don, you did great," I said soothingly. "You'll get a lot of treats tonight, don't worry. Your Daughter should be proud," I said raising his pokeball to withdraw him. His eyes slid shut as he allowed himself to fall unconscious."Aerodactyl is unable to battle, the score is now four to two!" shouted the referee.I hummed. It could have been better but for a better result, I'd have required a number of things to have gone my way.I'd also, I had to admit, let pride get the better of me. Don had outlasted Dodrio, but it had some serious tricks to make it worth featuring on my foe's strongest team. It was also a move, that he'd never revealed.I looked over his Noctowl in consideration. I wonder what other tricks he had up his sleeve."You know, I think I've gained a new respect for Flying types from this fight. You were right. Lance doesn't have half the skill with flying types that you've shown here.""Heh, you sense the turning of the winds now eh?" he said.I blinked and shot him a look only to quickly come to the conclusion that he was serious. He actually thought that he could still win this!"Ah, no, no. I was just giving props where they are due," I said enlarging another Greatball. "I'll give you the respect you're due," I said, throwing out the greatball.A red light disgorged and built up a huge form.Masked Owl nodded as a Tyranitar took to the field only to blink in surprise. "Wait! That's not your… starter," he said slowly.I grinned. "For you, I will show some of my hidden aces," I said pointing. "Empress! GO!" I shouted.Empress smirked, and then without warning she unleashed a Hyper Beam that caused the entire arena to fill with light."Protect!" screamed Masked Owl once more.I smiled, knowing it wasn't going to be enough even if the move worked.The world vanished with only Empress being visible as she disgorged one of the most powerful Hyper Beams ever seen publicly.When she was done she leaned back and shook her head in agitation, taking a huge breath before exhaling once.Across from me, the field had a huge gouge through it as though someone had taken the world's largest Steelix and used it as a line marker.The ground was torn up and thrown about in a straight line.Noctowl was face down, the Protect that it had formed falling to pieces around it. It looked beaten and broken but it still drew breath. Masked Owl could only stare at the scene of devastation.A shrill warning beep made everyone lift their eyes up to the section of barriers behind where Noctowl had been.Where before the barriers had flashed yellow for Don, for Empress, they were gone.In their place, a quartet of psychic pokemon stood shivering and shaking with hands raised to reveal an overlapping barrier that they'd formed in haste. Sabrina stood behind them, just in front of the first row of seats that held white-faced occupants."Oh damn, Empress blew through the barriers?" I said. That… could have been very bad. "Thanks for the save Sabrina!" I called.Masked Owl didn't say anything, merely staring as the barrier failed to reform. The four psychic pokemon slowly regathered themselves and walked back to Sabrina.Sabrina turned her head and said something to the people behind her. They knelt and bowed their heads, so I got the impression they were extremely thankful for her intervention."N-n-Noctowl is unable to battle!" stuttered the referee. "That makes it five to two in favour of Brock… I'm afraid we must call for an intermission for safety concerns… To repair… and reinforce the barriers before the match can continue."Masked Owl turned his head. "Eh? Oh, don't bother. Pidgeot was too injured for me to think about sending him out again… not against this beast anyway," he said. "I concede the match to Brock," he said.I bowed in thanks as the referee nodded and then raised his flags to announce me the winner.The applause came in drips and drabs, causing Empress to tilt her head.For her first appearance the praise she was getting was kind of lack—"Lar! Larvitar!" called a small voice. Empress and I zeroed our gazes onto a section of the stands to find Yolanda standing with Terra held up. The little pokemon was waving its arms frantically in delight.Empress relaxed, and for lack of a better term went soft.A few people cooed at the reaction causing a round of proper applause to break out for her. I chuckled as the podiums were lowered."Nice work girl, you did great for your first showing, wander around and just wave at the people. They'll want to get a good look at you," I said.I then shot the broken barriers a thoughtful look. She'd perhaps done a little too well in truth.I was going to have to insist on all my matches with her having up-to-date barriers and if not, a ready team of psychic pokemon should I use her again.I scratched the back of my head. I couldn't recall that having ever occurred in another match.Masked Owl stood on his lowered podium, his gaze still turned towards the broken barrier."Hey!" I called as I approached. "Good fight, I meant what I said earlier when I said you were a hell of a flying type trainer. I learnt a lot from that fight.""Ah, yes, to you as well. I… wasn't expecting you to have another Tyranitar like that…" he said."Heh," I said, glancing around and watching the media frenzy as they caught picture after picture of Empress. "No one but a select few knew before today. She's a bit green but she comes with a lot of power to her name.""I noticed," he commented. Then he sighed. "I suppose I was fooling myself by thinking that I would defeat you." He shook his head. "With this loss, I will be slipping further down the Ace rankings and my goal is further from me than ever," he said dejectedly."About that, didn't you say that Flying types were all about freedom and such? Not being held down by earthly emotions or some such?" I said, trying to paraphrase what he'd said yesterday.Masked Owl shot me a frown. "You're beef with Lance, it's kind of getting in the way of you being the best you can be, you know? I think you have a great team and you're a great trainer but if your style needs you to be free, you're tripping over your own feet with your goal, or at least you're going about it the wrong way," I said.Masked Owl stared. "You… you really did know who I was, didn't you?"I shrugged. "It was kind of obvious." I then hardened my gaze. "And I can't agree with what you're doing. I get the whole family pride, but you've run off from one of the only things that should be tying you down. Falkner doesn't deserve that," I said. "You should be the wind in his sails, you're not doing that with this," I said waving at his mask.Walker blinked and sighed again. Then he reached up and unclasped his mask, taking it from his head. When he revealed himself he did so with a sigh of relief and a shake of his head."I think I needed that loss more than I knew. I… think you're right Brock. I think I need to go home and talk with my son," said Walker.A flurry of flashes made us both look up. The media, already going nuts over Empress, were now at a fever pitch with Walker's reveal.Walker snorted. "What a pack of Carvannah, They're having a field day. I'm already not looking forward to what tomorrow's papers will say," he said.I snorted. "I think I can guess," I said amused.With Walker out of the running, now it was going to be much easier. I glanced around and noted the trainers who were critically eying Empress.With her reveal, I'd just fired a serious warning shot over a lot of different bows.I shot Walker a look. "I think we might get a fifty-fifty split between us," I said.