The sun beamed strongly overhead, the air holding a calm temperature, cool enough that Gary had his jacket on.

“Hoothoot, use Dream Eater!”

Hoothoot’s eyes glowed red, and the Sleeping Ariados’ body also glowed red.

“Aria?” Ariados’ eyes opened, and the red from Hoothoot and around Ariados’ body went away! The Bug type looked around sharply and then spotted Hoothoot.

“Not so fast, Gary! Let’s go, Ariados! Cross Poison!”

“Ari!” Ariados crossed its arms in front of its face and they glowed purple. A purple X appeared in front of its arms, and when it released its arms, the X fired at Hoothoot.

“Hoooooooot!” Hoothoot wailed out, fluttering his wings as he soared backwards. He hit the ground and tumbled before sliding on his back.

“Hoothoot is unable to continue! This battle goes to Ariados!” June waved to Rog.

“Raichu!” Raichu pointed at Rog.

“Hoothoot, great effort! This is a well deserved rest!” Gary recalled his Hoothoot and smiled at Rog, nodding. “Your Ariados hasn’t got much left, though!”

“Enough to keep going! It’s your job to stop us!” Rog smiled back.

“Weepinbell, you’re next!” Gary threw his Poke Ball.

“Beeeell! Bell!” Weepinbell bobbed in place.

“Ariados, use Cross Poison again!” Rog ordered.

“Intercept it with Slam!” Gary decided.

Ariados crossed its arms and they glowed purple.

Weepinbell let out a long vine and wrapped it around Ariados, lifting it in the air.

Ariados cried out as its arms stopped glowing and it squirmed.

Gary looked away, shuddering at the squirming. “Do it!”

“BELL!” Weepinbell slammed Ariados down.

Ariados didn’t move.

Weepinbell’s vine let go of Ariados.

“Ariados is out! Weepinbell wins! This match goes to Gary!” June ruled.

“Rai!! Raichu!” Raichu jumped in the air with delight.

Gary and Rog approached each other and shook hands.

“Thanks for the battle, Gary,” Rog said. He sighed. “No wonder I lost the League. I’m no match for you guys.”

“Hey, I only had one more Pokemon left after Hoothoot. That’s not a bad score! Especially for a Full Battle! You were awesome!”

“I thought it was okay until Hoothoot wrecked me up, aha ha!” Rog laughed.

“Let’s not pretend Gyarados wasn’t putting me in a bind,” Gary responded. “You’ve really raised it so well.”

They finally released hands.

Rog nodded. “Nothing else for me to do now. Just know that, I’m rooting for someone who’s still in this tournament! He’s a good pal of mine! His name’s James! He’s doing well in this tournament, too. Good luck to you, but I’ve known him all my life, you know?”

“Hey, no sweat! Don’t even worry about that. I’m winning either way!” Gary smirked.

“You’ll see,” Rog laughed. “Great to see you. Keep going!” He turned to Ariados. “You okay to walk?”

Ariados got up shakily and gave a shake. “Aria!”

Rog nodded and together, they walked on their way.

Gary turned to June. “That was pretty good!”

June nodded. “You’re really working hard on rotating your Pokemon.”

“Yeah, but I’m conflicted about it, too. Like, I need everybody to be strong, but by raising everyone, I’m limiting just how much Experience everyone can get. It’s faster just raising a main six, but if I need a seventh guy or an eighth, I’m kind of screwed.”

“The Trainer’s qualm,” June smiled at him.

“Let’s take a break, I guess. Maybe we can find some more people to fight. You should join in, too!”

“You’re not wrong...” June looked down.

Raichu looked up at her, curious.

“Battling is such a great way to get to know your Pokemon. It may help you with your issue.”

June nodded. “Yeah. Can we battle later? Maybe after your match? Or tomorrow?”

Gary nodded. “Whenever you want. Let’s see how this match goes, and we can decide then.”

*

“The truth about a theory is coming closer to light with the Fossil Pokemon, Tyrantrum.” A newsman was speaking in a black suit with a white shirt under and an almost gleaming black tie. He looked of Hispanic descent. His black hair was wavy and greased back, and added with such a smooth, relaxed, yet alluring smile and a Spanish accent he didn’t try to hide, anyone could tell he was a hit with the ladies. “While the forms resurrected resemble the image shown now,” an image of Tyrantrum was shown in the upper right hand corner of the screen, and it began to grow, covering the entire screen, “researchers have suggested a more feather-like origin for the extinct species.”

The screen split, showing the original Tyrantrum picture on one half, and a feathery, rather cartoony version next to it.

Several people in the building either snickered or flat out busted out laughing.

“More evidence is coming to light claiming that the new image of Tyrantrum could have been how the Pokemon originally looked back then. If so, this opens the doors to discussion of how and why its resurrected form looks like it does, and studies can begin for how to keep it retained to how it ‘should’ look!”

Gary looked from the TV and turned in his adjusting chair to the computer he had taken up in the lobby of the building where his match would be, on the Ice Field. Just take it easy, man, Gary told himself. You’re gonna do just fine. I still don’t understand how he’s in the League, but apparently he didn’t clarify that he is a Pokemon Trainer! No big deal. He’s just another rival. An opponent with a Legendary Pokemon! And according to his info here, it’s his only Legendary, too. Not that I should be bothered if he had a full team of Legends! I’m here to beat all Pokemon! Be a true Pokemon Master! Only three Pokemon of his have been seen his entire time at the League! A Salazzle, Magneton, and Diancie. Salazzle... Gary recalled the name. The evolved form of Salandit, wasn’t it? Did his Salandit evolve?

“In other news, during a school trip to the Xanadu Nursery, meant to educate children about how Grass types live in the wild, which was being held by Kanto’s Grass type expert, previous Gym Leader Erika, things went terribly wrong as one by one, children started going missing,” a newswoman now spoke, sitting next to the newsman. The blonde in the blue suit that matched her eyes and brought out her red lipsticked lips stared sternly from the screen. “It was only after a child was heard screaming that it became clear what was going on. The Victreebel were using their Sweet Scent to lure children over to them and attempting to devour them. This wasn’t entirely successful, and while the child they did find was saved, she is listed in critical condition, but likely to survive. The other missing children were all found dead, melted by Acid. Erika insists that Victreebel are not like this and are actually very affectionate to people. While it would seem a pretty open-and-shut case, there is evidence being found that human activity that shouldn’t have been present may indeed have occurred and perhaps is why the Victreebel were acting so erratically. Some are even pointing to Team Solace as the cause of this in another despicable attempt by them to blame Pokemon for attacks that they are triggering.”

Gary had his eyes on the screen, and then he noticed the time at the bottom. I can’t worry about this, he told himself. Damn Team Solace and their crap. How are they still just getting away with this? Children?? Gary felt sick to his stomach. I have to get stronger. For the League, and for the world. As a Pokemon Trainer, and soon-to-be Pokemon Master, I also have the duty to stop people like them who would do harm to the Pokemon world! So I have to keep battling, training, and winning! I can’t be stopped. Not today! Not ever! Gary stood up and balled his fists. I’ll destroy Team Solace and pay them back for all they’ve done to this world! They’ll get what they deserve one of these days. Gary made his way to where he had to wait for his battle to begin, which was any minute now.

*

“And here comes the Red Trainer, Pallet Town’s own Gary, no relation to Pokemon Professor Gary Oak, also from Pallet Town!!” the announcer shouted and then laughed.

Gary rolled his eyes and smiled at the crowd, waving to the screams and cheers and calls. Like I haven’t heard that joke before, he thought. He got on his platform and was surrounded on all fours by metal gates.

The platform ascended.

“And arriving now is Yishmael Blease, the Green Trainer from New Tork City all the way in Unova!!”

Ish came out with a large gray backpack on his back. He was wearing a navy blue polo with fit gray jeans and some blue sneakers Gary found really ugly. He waved at the crowd as he got to the platform and was lifted up in it. “You ready to lose, punk?” Ish called.

Gary raised an eyebrow and laughed lightly. “Uuhhh... Trying to play the tough role?”

“Man, I’m hyped, boyyyy! If you ain’t as hyped as me, you done!” Ish spoke. “You gotta believe you gonna win, or just go home! I’m gonna destroy your team!”

“I know you’re good, Ish. I’ve seen your track record. Haven’t had time to watch your battle videos, but you must be good to get here. I just can’t believe you’re really a Pokemon Trainer!”

“I graduated from the Pokemon Technical Institute. I qualify just as much as any Trainer who got their eight Badges.”

“Pokemon Tech... Pokemon Tech! That’s that special boarding school! I know of that place! I didn’t know you went there!!”

Ish nodded. “I was a top student. It was hard work. No one at this League can say they worked harder than me, and I’ve kicked ass to get this far using what I’ve learned at the school, and traveling on my own!”

Gary nodded. “Okay, fine.” He hasn’t even got a single Badge, yet he’s been doing great here at the League, and he owns a Legendary! Gary noted. He grabbed up a Poke Ball. This is only a three-on-three match. And one of his Pokemon is surely that Diancie. I might need the power of all of my Pokemon to drop a Legend! He shook his head angrily. I’ve gotta stop worrying about it being a Legend! A Pokemon is a Pokemon!

“Let the match begin!!” the referee called.

Ish grabbed a Poke Ball. “You haven’t seen my partner in a while. The culmination of all of our hard work! Hard On Thots movement at its finest!” He threw the Poke Ball.

The Pokemon he chose appeared, standing strong and intimidating.

The crowd went wild, stomping, screaming, and just losing control.

Gary squinted at the muscular creature.

“THERE IT IS, FOLKS!! THE STRANGE SALAZZLE THAT YISHMAEL HAS DEBUTED FOR US AT THE LEAGUE!! WITH STILL NO WORD ON WHAT EXACTLY THIS THING IS, OR HOW, IT’S THE SIGHT OF THE LEAGUE!!” the announcer blew up wildly over the thing. “While far from unstoppable, how will it affect this overall match?!?”

Pokemon unknown. No available data.

“No data...?” Gary repeated, stunned as he looked from his Pokedex to the Pokemon.

“I told you! Fuck these hoes! We stronger without ‘em!” Ish smiled proudly. “We eat, workout, pray, and train hard! Fuck being weak and staying a Salandit. We took things to the next level, and we’re leaders! We don’t need these bitches!” Both Ish and his Pokemon flexed. “Hard On Thots!”

“Saaaaaal!” the new Pokemon rasped out nastily.

“You...” Gary’s mouth was wide open, shaking his head, his eyes moving from Ish to the new Pokemon.

“Only the female Salandit evolves into Salazzle, but we did the impossible,” Ish said simply.

Gary could only smile and continue shaking his head. “Only you, Ish! You really evolved a male Salandit! Look at you go!”

“Not just me, mah nigga! Me and Salizzle!”

“Sa...lizzle...?”

“There’s no name for him, officially, so that’s what I’m calling him!” Ish nodded, beaming proudly.

Gary laughed. “Your data on the computer showed Salazzle’s image, but I guess something like this has never been seen before, so that was the best they came up with! You’re full of surprises, Ish!” Gary held up his Poke Ball. “Let’s begin! We’ll fight fire with fire! CHARIZARD!” He threw the Poke Ball.

Charizard appeared and landed on the ice. He stumbled repeatedly and slipped, landing on his butt. He bared his teeth at Salizzle.

Salizzle didn’t react, watching Charizard.

“So it’s two Fire types to begin this battle!” the announcer stated. “And on an ice field, at that! This might just turn into the Water Field in no time at all, which is bad news for both!”

He’s right, Gary admitted. Battling on this field with two Fire types is gonna make this really tough. But at least we can fly!

“Toxic, let’s get this started!” Ish started while Gary was still thinking.

“Whoa! Charizard, Smokescreen and get away!”

Both Pokemon attacked, Salizzle spraying purple liquid from his mouth, Charizard spraying black smoke.

The field was covered, everyone there blinded.

I hope that worked, Gary thought. Please. We can’t start off so badly!

Neither Trainer gave an order, waiting for the smoke to clear up.

It finally broke apart.

Charizard’s face was flushed purple! He was Badly Poisoned!

Gary gasped. “NO!” he burst out.

“And the match begins badly for the Pallet Town Trainer! His Smokescreen was meant to get his Pokemon out of the way of Toxic, but the move hit anyway and Charizard will not have long in this fight!” the announcer was heard.

Standing, Charizard was breathing heavily, glaring at Salizzle.

“Use Return!” Ish continued.

Salizzle ran at Charizard, but called out in surprise as his footing was compromised on the ice.

“Focus, Salizzle!” Ish shouted.

We don’t have much of a choice here! We just have to stay out of the water! “Charizard!”

Salizzle caught his balance and was now galloping on all fours like a raging beast, moving swiftly at Charizard. He slammed into the opponent Fire type.

Charizard roared as he flew back.

“Yeah! Show ‘em our bond! Return again!” Ish said happily.

This time, Salizzle was moving really well on the ice, using it to move him along quicker than normal, and he tackled Charizard again.

Such a simple looking move seemed to be causing a lot of pain to Charizard. He roared upon the second impact and rested on his front, twitching from the Poison.

“It’s no mystery why Return, a move that's power depends on the love between Trainer and Pokemon, is hitting so hard!” the announcer explained. “I’d theorize that Yishmael worked very hard to obtain this new evolution of Salandit, which likely took a very long time to earn! The bond between these two must be as rare as the Pokemon itself, perhaps a showing of that connection! I’d say most Pokemon would be on their last leg taking two Returns from a Pokemon like that!”

“There’s no time left, Charizard! Blast the field with Fire Blast! Get in the air and burn it all down!!” And then what? Gary asked himself. You can’t use anything else but those who stay aboveground, in that case.

Charizard stood up and roared, raising his claws, and he shot up into the air. With another roar, he blasted at the ice beneath him, leaving a symbol burned through that matched how Fire Blast looked.

“Salizzle, just watch out and don’t get hit!” Ish warned his Pokemon. “Don’t panic!”

Don’t panic? Is he crazy? He’s done for if all the ice melts! “Fire Blast! Destroy everything!!” Gary continued.

Charizard went right on wrecking the field, melting everything, the heat from the Fire Blasts even melting remaining edges of the field, the top of the lasting ice shining and quivering as it was affected by the heat. He would stop on occasion as he struggled against the Poison, and then kept on attacking the field.

“This is it, folks! The threat I warned about, Gary seems fully committed to doing!” the announcer pointed out. “Perhaps he brought some Water types! Is Yishmael prepared for the inevitable??”

Charizard was breathing hard from the air, trying to hold on against the unstoppable effects of the Poison. He was even lowering a bit in the air, his body rocking.

“CHARIZARD!!” Gary’s eyes widened as he realized the mistake he’d just made. “CHARIZARD, STOP ATTACKING!! JUST STAY UP!!”

Even with Charizard no longer heating up the field, the damage was done. The heat continued melting the ice down, and the final bits of ice shrunk further.

“Now jump on his tail!” Ish instructed. “And hang on tight!”

Salizzle leaped up and wrapped his entire body around Charizard’s tail, landing just above the flaming tip.

Charizard whined in surprise as he was weighed down by Salizzle! He beat his wings hard but slowly, writhing his body to try and shake off Salizzle and keep himself in the air.

“Gary’s got himself in a bad place now! After burning down the field, Yishmael is going all out to not go down without Charizard, trying to drag the Pokemon down with it!” the announcer said in amazement. “Yishmael seems to be accepting his loss in the calmest way possible, and making sure he gets his as well! Charizard being Poisoned is not gonna help with its energy to hold both itself and this unique, powerful-looking Pokemon up!”

Gary couldn’t believe what was happening! If they both fall in, that’s one Pokemon down each! he panicked. Better than only Charizard going down, but this isn’t the way it was supposed to go! How do we get out of this? There is no way, Gary realized. Even if we beat that... thing, the Poison is gonna-

Suddenly, Charizard’s body was outlined in red, and the fire at the tip of his tail burst into a huge flame!

Salizzle screamed out, releasing Charizard! Wailing out, reaching up, he fell into the water!!

“Salizzlllllllle!! Noooooo!” Ish cried out.

Salizzle splashed big as he landed and continued splashing, trying to no avail to find some kind of land. But there was none. He went under.

“Salizzle, return!” Ish recalled Salizzle to his Poke Ball.

“The Pokemon has been withdrawn from the battle! Charizard is the winner!” The referee raised the red flag to Gary.

The crowd cheered.

“A startling win for Gary and Charizard, but a startling loss for Yishmael, and most of all, his poor partner Pokemon as Blaze Ability activates, powering up Charizard and scaring Yishmael’s Pokemon to the watery depths!” the announcer commented. “Knowing there was no way out of there, Yishmael forfeits the battle!”

“No way I was gonna get out of that one! And no way I was losing my buddy trying to think up something!” Ish smiled at Gary and then nodded to the Poke Ball in his hand. “That was great work. I was sure we had that one.” He looked to Gary as he grabbed his second Poke Ball. “But we’re far from out! Vanilluxe, I choose you next!” He threw a second Poke Ball and out came his second Pokemon. “Vanilluxe, let’s make a landing! Recreate the whole field with Blizzard!” Ish commanded.

“Wait!” Gary squinted and grabbed for his Pokedex. “What’s... wrong with... it?” Gary tried to ask gently, originally going to say, “What’s wrong with that thing?” but changing it at the last second.

“Vanilluxe!” Smiling and floating over the water, the frozen snack-looking Pokemon inhaled and then exhaled cold, icy air from its one head!

Vanilluxe. The Snowstorm Pokemon. Formed when two Vanillish on a hot day melt into each other in the sun, and then freeze in the night, this Pokemon typically has two heads and they battle best when both heads share the same behavior, happy or upset. Should one head of a Vanilluxe melt, however, this changes very little for the Pokemon and it can continue living as a Vanilluxe.

Gary stared at the two-headed Vanilluxe the Pokedex was showing him, and then at the single head of Ish’s Vanilluxe. He shook his head. Only you, Ish... He managed to smile small.

“Nothing’s wrong with my pal, here! We’re just as hard hitting as any Vanilluxe with three heads!” Ish pumped a fist.

“Vanilluxe!” In that time, the entire Ice Field was rebuilt, looking better than ever, all smooth and fresh.

“And Yishmael’s second Pokemon, another very different looking Pokemon, has recreated the Ice Field!” the announcer said. “And look! Charizard is succumbing to its Poisoning, dropping down to a seated position! It can’t have much more left in it!”

Charizard had dropped down to his feet and sat, breathing hard, barely able to keep his head up.

“Charizard!! Toughen up, man!! We’re almost done here! Use your Fire Blast!!”

Charizard growled, struggling to stand. He extended his wings and roared, sending out Fire Blast at Vanilluxe. He leaned forward, forcing the attack out with all his might.

Vanilluxe screamed out as it was consumed.

Charizard continued forward and fell out on his face. The red around his body went away and his tail flame died down significantly.

Vanilluxe was breathing hard but still up.

“Charizard is unable to battle! Vanilluxe is the winner!” The referee raised the green flag to Ish.

“Charizard couldn’t take it anymore, dropping out of the battle, and Vanilluxe, who withstood such a blaze, remains! The score is even with two Pokemon each!” the announcer stated.

“Charizard! Thank you so much! This is almost over! You were a huge help!” Gary recalled his Charizard and stared at his belt. Considering this is a fully evolved Pokemon, and the final Pokemon just has to be that Legendary, I’m gonna need the best I’ve got, he considered and grabbed a Poke Ball. But is this really it? It’s not bad, but... He looked to Ish and then down to Vanilluxe. “I’m counting on you, man! GO!” He threw the Poke Ball.

The creature that was sent out floated above the ice. Its body flinched and jumped a bit as it took in the crowd.

“Porygon-Z, let’s do this!” Gary balled his fists and smiled at his Pokemon.

“Broooooo! You never told me you had a Porygon-Z!!” Ish stared at the Pokemon in amazement. “Dude, this is like, the coolest Pokemon!”

The announcer was going on about the new Pokemon Gary had sent out while Gary and Ish spoke.

“I mean, I’ve seen you’ve got a Diancie now,” Gary chuckled. “That’s not a bad thing to have, either, ha.”

“Dude, it’s crazy! I’ll tell you all about it after the match.”

“We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

“Yeah, after I beat you here! Blizzard, Vanilluxe!”

“Porygon-Z, let’s start with-!”

A loud screech filled the air. The sound was ear-shredding, skin shivering, heart erupting, brain dissolving pain.

Gary covered his ears and screamed to the skies as he fell to his knees. He struggled to even open his eyes, managing to just get them apart a slit, and he saw that Ish was also screaming out, trying to block the noise out with his hands.

Porygon-Z was at an angle, its head down, screeching away in the middle of the stadium.

Vanilluxe wasn’t attacking, too agitated by the sound Porygon-Z was choosing to make.

The audience was too far away to be too seriously affected, but many of them in the lower rows did have their ears covered, visibly complaining. Some people were even getting up and making their way out of the stands.

The referee was against the wall of the stands, covering his ears and yelling out.

“I’m not close enough to the sound to be too bothered, but there is a very annoying screech going on that’s made its way all the way up here, but it doesn’t seem to be a Screech attack!” the announcer yelled out. “Either way, it’s not making the fans or the referee too happy right now!”

“PORYGON-ZEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Gary bellowed.

Porygon-Z suddenly straightened up and flew right for Ish!

“Huh?” Gary’s ears were still ringing, but it didn’t seem like Porygon-Z was screeching anymore.

Porygon-Z stopped over Ish, who was still screaming out, sitting. He didn’t notice the Pokemon yet.

“What the...?” Gary muttered, digging his fingers in his pained ears, trying to stop the ringing in them while his head continued throbbing.

Porygon-Z’s body flashed, surrounded by electricity.

“Porygon-Z!” Gary got to his feet.

A beam of electricity flew from Porygon-Z and hit Ish.

The young man screamed like he was strapped to the electric chair.

“PORYGON-Z!!” Gary raged out, not believing what he was seeing as he removed his fingers from his ears.

When Porygon-Z stopped its attack, Ish was on the ground, twitching helplessly, his body giving off sparks.

“Porygon-Z seems to have gone completely mad!” the announcer said in shock. “The opponent Yishmael has himself been taken down and-wait, where’s this Pokemon running off to now?!”

Vanilluxe kept its wide, stunned eyes on Porygon-Z, along with Gary and everyone else in the stadium, as the bizarre Pokemon flew over to the referee... and hit him with a beam of electricity, too!

The crowd let out a series of loud gasps.

“WHAT THE FFUUUUUUUUUCK?!!!” Gary exploded, horrified. MY TIME AT THE LEAGUE!! IT’S ALL OVER! I’M DISQUALIFIED!! MY POKEMON JUST ATTACKED A JUDGE!!! Gary let out a horrified howl from his mouth.

Porygon-Z stopped attacking the judge and turned to Gary. It let out a buzzing noise until Gary went quiet.

He stared at his Pokemon warily.

It then floated over to the middle of the field and stopped in front of Vanilluxe, facing it.

Both Ish and the referee started getting back to their feet shakily.

“SIR!! ISH!! I’M SO SORRY!!” Gary yelled. “PLEASE!!” He held up a Poke Ball. “I CAN CALL THIS THING BACK! HE JUST GETS A LITTLE EXCITED! PLEASE DON’T DISQUALIFY ME!!”

The referee shook his head and glared at Gary. “The match may continue, with your only warning!” he allowed.

Gary nodded quickly, gratefully, smiling wide. He could have cried with joy. “Yes, sir! Thank you so much!!” He turned to Ish. “Ish, please forgive me! I’m so sorry about that!” Gary pleaded.

Ish smiled shakily, his body flinching as more sparks came off of him. “Just don’t th-think you’ll be winning with that cheap shot! That’s just a baby jolt. Nothing but a little static shock! That’s not gonna throw me off. I’m fully functioning and thinking better than ever, if anything.” He shook his head, his body giving off a small volt, and a more determined smile came over his face. He raised a fist and nodded. “That’s the spark I needed. Vanilluxe, let’s get this started with Flash Cannon!”

Vanilluxe inhaled, white particles appearing and being pulled in its mouth. With a shout, it expelled a white and light blue energy at Porygon-Z.

Porygon-Z whined mechanically and flew backwards, tumbling in the air.

Flash Cannon. This Steel type move damages the opponent with a low chance of also lowering the target’s Special Defense.

Steel... Gary thought. “This might be good enough! Conversion 2!”

Porygon-Z glowed brightly, all white. Its body broke apart, becoming several separated square blocks, and they all came back together. The glow went away and Porygon-Z was back, but with a gleaming gray coat over its body, like a fresh coat of paint on a car!

“Bro! What was that?!” Ish looked stunned.

“Conversion 2!” Gary started.

“With the battle finally being under control here, Gary pulls a slick one on Yishmael with the signature move Conversion 2! It lets Porygon-Z change its type to whatever will make it immune or resistant to the type of move it last was hit by!” the announcer explained. “This makes Porygon-Z a Steel type, now!”

“What?!” Ish’s wide eyes rose, looking around, trying to spot where the announcer was. “Nah, nah, nah, that’s hacks!” Ish burst out laughing, looking to Gary who smiled back at him proudly. “Nah, I’m just joking, that’s waaaaavy though! Damn! Now I gotta think of Porygon-Z as a Steel type now?”

Gary nodded. “Ha.”

“Damn, bro! You just complicated shit big time!” Ish was laughing wildly.

Gary shook his head, still smiling. I’m counting on his last Pokemon being Diancie, and if that’s the case, we just might have the time to use... “HYPER BEAM!”

Porygon-Z charged an orange ball in front of its beak. From that ball, a much larger blast shot out, taking down Vanilluxe.

“Vaniiiiill...” Vanilluxe remained still.

“Vanilluxe is unable to battle! Porygon-Z is the winner,” the referee said, waving the red flag to Gary.

Gary noticed the changed, unpleasant tone when the judge said his Pokemon’s name, but he was just grateful he was allowed to keep battling. I can’t bring this thing to another League match, Gary decided.

While the crowd was cheering, they weren’t as loud as they had been before.

Gary wondered if they weren’t as big of fans of his after what Porygon-Z had done to them.

“And Gary puts the game in his favor, taking out Vanilluxe to leave himself in the lead by one Pokemon, and Yishmael must resort to his last! The talk of the town, dare I say?” the announcer said eagerly.

So it is it, Gary understood. Diancie.

“Yo, that was awesome work, Vanilluxe. Return.” Ish recalled his Pokemon and grabbed his last Poke Ball. “This was fun, but your time is up, now, Gary. Sorry!” Ish threw the Poke Ball and sent out the Pokemon within.

A beautiful creature glittered under the sun, hovering low over the ground. She raised her hands high to increased shrieks of support that were let out upon her arrival.

“AND THERE SHE IS!!” the announcer blew up. “DIANCIE IS OUT!! Gary still has two Pokemon to keep himself in this, but if he doesn’t battle smart, this match will be over in no time!”

Wow, it really is beautiful. She, Gary thought. Diancie. I can’t help but feel like this is... Tobias. This is my purpose. My point. This is what I’ve argued countless times over. If I lose here, I can’t complain about losing to a Legend. And if I can win, I can prove my point. This is the biggest moment of my life so far. Because, yeah, this is the furthest I’ve made it at the League so far, but this is a Legend! My... everything... is on the line here! I can’t lose! But for now, we have to wait!

Porygon-Z hovered in the air, twitching somewhat, bobbing at two beats per second, recharging its energy after using Hyper Beam.

“You gotta recover after using Hyper Beam, so we’re gonna take advantage of that! Stealth Rock!” Ish ordered.

“Diancie!” Diancie cried as her body glittered gorgeously.

The glitters grew larger and then flew around the field, missing Porygon-Z and crashing into the icy ground around it. The glitters continued growing and then turned into pointed gray boulders.

“Yishmael takes advantage of the fact that Hyper Beam requires time to recover, and uses Stealth Rock!” the announcer repeated. “This is actually a genius, though obvious move to prepare for Gary’s final Pokemon Yishmael is clearly intending to reach!”

Ish burst out laughing. “Yo, I’m weak!”

Porygon-Z let out a whine and shuddered in the air.

“Alright, we’re back!” Gary said happily.

“Diancie, Light Screen!”

Diancie held out her arms and a pink, curved forcefield surrounded her, putting her into a ball.

“Porygon-Z, use...” Gary hesitated. “Thunderbolt!”

Porygon-Z charged up its Electric attack and attacked Diancie.

Diancie didn’t budge, protected by Light Screen. She looked just fine when it was over!

“More power! I know that did something to her! Use Thunder this time!” We shoulda done that to begin with! Gary yelled at himself.

Porygon-Z twitched hard in the air and pointed its beak at the sky. It fired a thick blast of lightning into the air.

The sky darkened and lightning flashed throughout it. Before long, lightning dropped down around Diancie, one bolt colliding with Light Screen.

Diancie shut her eyes as she withstood the hit in silence. When Thunder ended, the sky returning back to normal, she shook her head and smiled challengingly at Porygon-Z.

It’s like she’s not even feeling it! Gary stared in shock. Is this the best we’ve got?

“Our turn, now! Diamond Storm!” Ish chose.

“We’ve gotta hit harder! Nasty Plot, Porygon-Z!!” Gary chose.

Porygon-Z started vibrating and humming like a cell phone on vibrate. Its body went completely black briefly before returning back to its metallic color.

Diancie brought her hands closer to her head and a pink energy was formed. As she brought her hands away, the pink energy transformed into hundreds of thousands of glittering little diamonds!

The diamonds then shot out at Porygon-Z.

Porygon-Z was pummeled and it cried out as it rapidly jittered backwards. It ended up tumbling as the onslaught of diamonds overwhelmed it and it nearly hit the ice ground. The attack ended before it fully dropped and it rose up in the air, staring at Diancie.

Gary’s mouth was wide open, his eyes even wider, taken aback by how amazing and breathtaking Diamond Storm looked.

“Diancie used the single most beautiful move I’ve ever seen!” the announcer shouted, sounding blown back by what had happened. “But it seems beauty and power wasn’t enough to take out Gary’s Porygon-Z in its new Steel typing!”

“Man! That move you used to go Steel is really messing me up! I don’t have any moves to take a Steel type out easily!” Ish complained. “That was smart. Real smart. But we’ve still got power on our side! You can’t beat this Legend! Diancie, let’s use Trick Room to turn things around!”

“Trick Room!” Gary vaguely remembered that move.

Diancie’s eyes glowed pink.

The field was suddenly filled with a humongous, light blue rectangle. The light blue room went invisible.

What does that do again? Gary struggled to recall.

“Now you’re the slower Pokemon in this battle!” Ish said seriously. “Power and Speed! You’re done here! Diamond Storm again! Hit it as hard as you can!”

“Use Zap Cannon this time!” Gary told his Pokemon.

Diancie repeated her move, moving a whole lot faster now, and she took Porygon-Z out of the air.

Porygon-Z slid along the ice but ascended back up easily.

Diancie’s body glowed blue for a moment.

Porygon-Z let out a call and its body began twitching rapidly as a dark, sparking ball formed in front of it.

The ball flew out at Diancie.

Diancie floated over the move and it dropped down, exploding.

“Yishmael has taken complete control over this battle, which wasn’t hard to see coming when he sent out the Mythical Pokemon!” the announcer commented. “But with Trick Room active, it seems that Gary is having difficulty just landing hits now! This might be the deciding factor of this battle!”

We need to keep that thing still! Gary thought angrily. Tri Attack might be a good move for creating a Status effect, but it’s a Normal type move and won’t do much! “THUNDER!”

Porygon-Z darkened the skies again and then sent a blast of lightning to the sky.

Bolts of lightning crashed to the ice, but Diancie flew around them all, too difficult to catch.

DAMN IT! Gary bared his teeth. What else can we do?? Gary watched the two Pokemon eye each other silently. We’ve got this Steel typing advantage, but if we can’t catch this thing, what’s it matter? Gary squinted. His eyes moved to the left and down, thinking. Say... His eyes raised to the sky, still thinking. I wonder...

“Diamond Storm again! I know you can take it out!”

“This is it! RETURN!!”

Gary recalled Porygon-Z to its Poke Ball!

The diamonds of Diamond Storm crashed into the ice, leaving a hole in it where water was revealed.

“GO!!” Gary threw his final Poke Ball.

“Nooooooose!” Nosepass landed on the ice sturdily.

The light blue Room reappeared, showing it was still present.

After that, the stones on the ice on Nosepass’ side of the field rose into the air, glowing white, and crashed into Nosepass.

“Paaaaaaaaass!” Nosepass groaned, but he remained standing, taking the Stealth Rock.

There was silence in the area. There was nothing anyone could say about what had just happened.

The referee raised the green flag to Yishmael. “Due to a retreat, Porygon-Z is out, and Diancie is the winner!”

“I’m not sure Gary knew that retreating in this League is a defeated Pokemon, but Gary just forfeited his Porygon-Z!” the announcer said cautiously. “That being said, Gary doesn’t seem surprised by this ruling and is actually smirking right now! Not to mention, he’s only sent out a Nosepass as his final Pokemon! I hope, for his sake, that he has some kind of an absolutely genius plan!”

“Gary, you must have sent out the wroooooooong Pokemon!” Ish laughed. “It was nice battling you, man! End this with Diamond Storm!”

Gary smiled even wider. “Use Toxic!”

Nosepass’ entire body glowed purple, and the color came off, gathering on his nose before shooting off of that and hitting Diancie!

Diancie cried out and slammed into the ice. Her face flushed purple as she squirmed in pain.

“DIANCIIIIIE!!” Ish called loudly. “NOOOOOOO!!! USE DIAMOND STORM!!”

“Use Taunt and move!!” Gary ordered Nosepass.

“Noooooooose!” Nosepass called out to Diancie.

The pink ball around Diancie finally went away, the Light Screen over.

Diancie didn’t attack. Instead, fury came over her face. “Dianciiiiie!!”

“Diancie! What are you doing?! Use Diamond Storm!!” Ish had wide eyes, confused by what was going on.

“DIAN-CIIIIE!!” Diancie flew at Nosepass and slammed down, trying to attack.

Nosepass got out of the way as Diancie destroyed the ice where he had just stood.

“Keep going, Nosepass! Keep dodging!” Gary urged. “Mooooooooooooove!!”

“Diancie, stop using Rock Throw and use your special move!!” Ish couldn’t believe what he was seeing!

“I wouldn’t believe it if I weren't here to see it myself, folks!! It looks like Gary has turned everything around on Yishmael!!” the announcer yelled wildly. “Nosepass is definitely slower than the Mythical, Diancie, and that becomes a strength for it and Gary, whereas it had been a weakness when the faster Porygon-Z was on the field!! Now, with Nosepass being faster thanks to Trick Room, Diancie is the one having trouble catching Nosepass! Added to that, Taunt has made Diancie completely unruly and she is not taking the wiser advice of her Trainer!”

Even the audience was getting amped over this, screaming and cheering and being as loud as they possibly could be in the unprecedented situation.

Nosepass jumped all over the field, sliding on the ice, easily avoiding the slower, enraged, and Badly Poisoned Diancie! At times, Nosepass would slip on the ice and fall, sliding along. This was fine and still kept him away from the Mythical opponent.

Diancie finally stopped attacking and sat on the ice, breathing hard, suffering her Poisoning.

“Here’s our chance! Rock Polish!” Gary’s heart was leaping with excitement.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!” Nosepass’ body sparked with blue electricity.

“DIANCIE GET UP!! USE MOONBLAST!!!” Ish bellowed.

Diancie glared at Nosepass, breathing heavily. She floated up a couple of inches, looking weary.

The light blue Trick Room flicked, appearing and disappearing repeatedly before fading for good.

“That’s it!” Gary gasped. “But we should be just fine! Rock Polish one last time!”

More blue sparks bounced around Nosepass’ body.

Diancie fell to the ice and let out a loud, furious cry. Her body was outlined in white and she slammed her fists onto the ice!

Jagged gray rocks outlined in white jutted up from the ice in a row, heading for Nosepass!

With a grunt, Nosepass moved out of the way at the last moment, avoiding the damage.

Gary watched his Pokemon move, and he stared at the destroyed ice that was caused by Diancie’s Stone Edge, revealing water beneath.

“Diiiiian!” Diancie struggled with her Poisoning.

“Yeah! Nosepass, LISTEN UP!!” Gary called. This is crazy! he told himself, trying to suggest a different plan to himself. Any other plan!! But there was nothing else!! “Get closer to Diancie!”

Nosepass started stomping and sliding his way over to Diancie.

“DIANCIE!!” Ish urged frantically. “LISTEN TO ME!! JUST RELAX AND USE MOONBLAST!! NOSEPASS DON’T HAVE A SPECIAL DEFENSE!! ONE BLAST FROM YOU AND THIS MATCH IS WON!!!”

Nosepass got closer to Diancie.

The moon appeared in the sky, shining in the bright day, and pink energy formed into a pink ball in front of an angry Diancie.

“FIYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Ish exploded.

“CHARGE FORWARD WITH SPARK AND JUMP IN THE WATER!!!” Gary let out.

Diancie shot Moonblast at Nosepass.

Nosepass’ body sparked with electricity as he leaped at Diancie and was hit by Moonblast! Shouting out angrily, he kept moving forward, flying over the hole with water in it, and as his feet collided with the water, drenching the both of them, his head also slammed into Diancie, electrifying her. He wailed out while Diancie screamed, both surrounded in electricity. Nosepass’ body fell on top of Diancie, his feet rising out of the water as he forced himself onto land. The sparks around both Pokemon went away.

“Diancie!!” She shoved Nosepass off of her with a hard groan and got up, hovering, looking down at Nosepass. “Diiiii!” She flinched from her Poisoning and fell on top of Nosepass.

The referee stared at the two downed Pokemon. He didn’t say a word.

Finally.

He raised both the red and the green flag to the two Trainers.

A huge gasp rose from nearly everyone in attendance, from Gary, to Ish, to the crowd, to even the announcer.

The green flag fell, the red flag still pointing at Gary. “Diancie is unable to battle! Nosepass is the winner!! This match goes to Gary and Nosepaaaaass!!” the referee ruled.

Nosepass broke free from under Diancie and stood up. He shook his head and looked to Gary.

“NOSEPAAAAAAAASS!!” Gary erupted happily.

The crowd followed, cheering louder than anything heard that entire match.

Once he was set free from the platform, Gary ran and stopped short of the ice, right at the edge, while the announcer explained his delighted feelings for the match with a passion.

Nosepass was also heading over to Gary, sliding quickly, and he slipped and started speeding up as he shot at Gary like a bullet!

“Wait wait wait waaaaait!!” Gary waved both hands frantically. At the last moment, he leaped out of the way and recalled Nosepass, catching him from behind as he flew by. Gary let out a happy sigh. “We really won it!” He smiled at the supportive audience and then turned to Ish.

He was on the other side of the ice field, retreating his Diancie. “I can’t believe it, yo. We’re done here,” he said to the Poke Ball, smiling small, a disappointed look in his eyes. “But you did amazing, girl. Our opponent was a real one.” He looked up to Gary and nodded solemnly. Then he walked around the field, over to him, and held out a hand.

Gary took the hand and they shook, the crowd erupting into further cheers.

“And these two show no hard feelings for the turnout of this match! True sportsmanship and respect!!” the announcer’s voice boomed. “This is what Pokemon battles are all about, ladies and gentlemen!!”

“So, I think you owe me some explanations for a couple things,” Gary smiled broadly.

“I definitely do, man. Let’s go heal up our Pokemon and I’ll explain,” Ish agreed.

*

“So the Beginner Class is the same as having two Badges, Intermediate Class would be four Badges, the Advance Class is six Badges, and graduating is what gets you into the League,” Gary summarized everything he’d heard from Ish.

“Yeah. It’s crazy how hard that school is, but you can do anything when you put your mind to it,” Ish said.

“I didn’t know it took that long to complete that school. I thought it was just an exam and some battling to qualify to get that special Badge for the League,” June inquired.

The three kids and Raichu entered the registration building and stopped by the door.

“You must be thinking about the Pokemon League Admissions Exam,” Ish shook his head. “Totally different. I never took that. That’s definitely a lot faster, but it’s also crazy difficult to pass.”

“Oh...” June looked back down, going quiet like she had been when she first saw Ish and Gary after the match.

“You sure do have the coolest Pokemon, Ish, I’ve gotta say,” Gary told him. “You keep running into the most amazing creatures that most people may not care for. That your Carbink just transformed, or mutated, whatever, into Diancie is like, just so fitting for you. Of all people to run into a rare anomaly of a Pokemon species, it’d be you. That’s gotta be the most beneficial one ever!” Gary laughed, hoping Ish wouldn’t be offended. He’d have been surprised if anything offended someone like Ish, though.

Ish let out a big laugh. “Dead ass!! But, maaaaan, you just lucky I couldn’t get Diancie’s Mega Stone to Mega Evolve her!”

“Mega Evolve? Hey, I heard about that! She can get even stronger?!”

Ish nodded. “That’s right. You just lucky, boyyy! You woulda got smoked if I could Mega Evolve her!”

Gary wanted to deny this, but logically, he couldn’t see a way around that point and stayed quiet, pouting, his eyes moving around the room randomly.

“Anyway, you finished the preliminaries. You’re in the clear, now,” Ish brought up.

“But it’s still a three-on-three. After that, you get to compete in Full Battles,” June added. “But all your matches from here on are on a regular grass field. No more gimmick fields.”

A man was trying to light up his cigarette with his lighter, the kids and June’s Raichu moving out of the way to let him leave.

“I’ve gotta say, that little princess of yours must really not like you much after all if she wasn’t down there with all those fans of yours after your win just now,” June smirked. “Here I thought she had something for you. I guess Hitmonchan really was trying to keep you from making a big mistake.”

Gary growled, wanting to push her head down her own throat. Tiffany... he thought, squinting at the ground.

“Say, Ish, it just hit me,” June spoke. “Where’s your Bonsly Egg?”

“Oh, mah son hatched. He’s right here.“ He held up a Poke Ball.

“Aaaaaaaww!!” June gushed. “Can I seeeeee???”

Even Raichu was smiling eagerly at Ish, influenced by June’s desire.

“Maybe later. He won’t go in the Poke Ball unless he’s sleeping, and that was a hassle. Babies are hard work. Don’t have kids, you two.”

Gary looked at Ish as if something gross had been said and he cringed.

“Seriously, Ish??” June snapped.

Raichu just looked back and forth between Gary and June with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Ish shrugged. “Just sayin’.”

“Let’s find out when the next match is, and with who!” Gary spoke loudly, trying to toss the conversation in the trash, and he turned to the booths.

There were four people to choose from today, and all of them were women.

Gary smiled to himself, trying to pick the best one of them. Okay, the second girl with that startling red hair! Gary chose. Winner! He smiled bigger and took a step towards her. Suddenly, he froze, his smile going away. Shock came over his face instead.

Something was floating through the air above him. It was small, pink, and adorable. Its tail hung high above it in the air, the tip curved. It twirled in the air and looked down at Gary with its big blue eyes, its eyebrows narrowed sternly, but not taking away from how cute it was.

“Mew!” Gary gasped. “A Mew!!” He grabbed at his belt, not sure what he was going to actually do. Throw a Poke Ball?? Use the Pokedex?? Battle it??

Mew lowered itself in front of Gary, freezing the amazed child. “Looks like it’s you and me battling next, Gary!” it spoke to him in a light, airy voice. The Pokemon covered its mouth and giggled as it closed its eyes and backed up in the air.

Gary blinked repeatedly with his eyes now the size of frisbees, not believing his ears. “What??!”

“You and Aly, to be specific!” Mew suddenly glowed in multiple bright colors. It lowered itself to the ground and the lights went away, revealing a Ditto! “Surpriiiise!” it smiled, raising its arms.

Gary screamed and jumped back.

“I mean... Ditto!” Ditto tried.

“What??” Gary was freaking out now.

“You sure do fool easily, Gary.”

Gary turned quickly to the voice. “ALY!!” It all started to make sense now. He managed to smile and walked over to the girl who stood by his friends.

Ish started laughing, Raichu joining with him while June just shook her head, smiling.

“Aly, what are you doing here?” Gary asked.

Her mouth dropped open, staring at Gary through squinted eyes. “Geez, Gary! You know, they do have makeup for Pokemon Trainers who look like you. My goodness you look exactly like the models they use in the before pics! I thought they were just overexaggerating but you oughta be their number one buyer!! I’m sure they have some free samples if you go to their store looking like you do.”

“PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!” Ish sputtered out before busting out laughing.

Raichu laughed along with Ish again, holding his stomach. His voice was louder than the last time.

June raised an eyebrow at her Pokemon, staring at him suspiciously.

Gary clenched his teeth and spoke through them, frowning at Aly. “Keep it up and you’re gonna be needing some!”

“Oh, now you’re tough, huh? I bet you think you’re Mister Big Shot now, huh? Beating a Mythical Legendary Pokemon, huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Think you’re gonna make it to the top and meet your lover, Tobias?”

“ALY!!!” Gary blew up.

“I’M WEEEEEEAK!!! HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA!!!” Ish cackled, tilting his head back.

Raichu joined in the laughter, oddly louder than ever.

“Raichu!” June snapped at him.

“Rai?” His ears lowered as he looked up at her innocently.

“Aly, were you watching my match? Were you at the stadium?” Gary questioned.

She shook her head. “I saw it from the TV here. I assume you came here to find out who you’re fighting next.”

“That’s right,” he nodded.

“And I can see you don’t pay much attention, either, Gary.” Before Gary could open his mouth to ask what she meant, his friend continued. “As Ditto only just kindly told you, I’m your opponent, in two days, Gary!” Aly beamed.

Gary inhaled sharply through his nose. “Wait, what?? No way!! That can’t be!” He shook his head frantically.

“I came here after my own victory, and I almost went to see who my opponent was, but you were battling, so I waited ‘til it was done. Lucky you, I’ll be your final match at the League!” Aly had a playful smile, but her words were confident and strong. “You’ve got a whole day to practice and get ready for a major loss in front of millions, Gary,” she winked at him.

“B-but, we were supposed to make it to the finals! The top three! You, me, and Rob!”

“Well, the odds of that were pretty unlikely, Gary.” Aly slanted her lips.

“But you-!”

“She’s right. Everybody at the League intends to win,” Ish agreed. “It’s good to dream big, but you can’t expect things to work out exactly how you planned. Especially thinking you and your friends would reach the top of a tournament. I believed I could win.” He shrugged.

“Who is this guy and why do you know Gary?” Aly leaned over to Ish, staring up at the tall guy and squinting at him. “You seem way too cool to be hanging around with him, but I guess that goes for June, too. Are you two like, loser magnets or something?”

“DDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMN!!” Ish was dying with laughter.

Raichu ended up on his back, rolling out in hysterics.

“RAICHU!!” June raged.

Gary was too disturbed by the news Aly had given him to care about the other stuff going on. “But this is still a three-on-three! It’s not even a Full Battle! We can’t be battling so soon!”

Aly turned to Gary and rolled her eyes. “Geez, Gary, are you sure you’re even ten the way you’re acting right now? Toughen up!” she sneered at him.

Ish was laughing hard once again, finding Aly hilarious. “Yo, she’s funny. You gettin’ roasted out here!”

Raichu was on his feet, bent over a little and holding his stomach with one arm, pointing at Gary with the other.

June looked ready to stomp her Mouse flat and leave it as roadkill.

Gary was still unable to reply to Aly’s criticism, just looking at her in disbelief.

Stunned he’d be facing her so early in the League, resulting in one of them being eliminated.

And even though he’d beaten a Mythical Pokemon, Gary knew he’d have to take full advantage of a free day tomorrow.

When it came to battling, he knew Aly was no joke.