“-at the protest of Gym Leader Roark, the Sinnoh Underground will be shut down and closed off to the public, at least for the time being. In other news, professional PokeGolfer Kahili has retired at the age of fifty-eight.”

The image of an aging woman with blue hair and eyes was shown on the TV.

Gary could feel the warmth and kindness just from her smile, one spreading slightly across his own face.

“After a couple of previous stints with retirement at quite a younger age, the foreign beauty is saying this is truly her Swanna song with PokeGolf,” a newsman was saying. “Having suffered-”

“Come on, Gary! You said you would come with me! Have you changed your mind? If so, I’m leaving!” June called out from the door of their room.

I’ve never heard sweeter words, Gary rolled his eyes and got up from the chair in the Pokemon Center.

The two had just finished lunch, and now, Gary was stuck fulfilling his promise to help her shop for stuff that didn’t concern him in any way because he had nothing better to do. Sure, he didn’t have to go with her, but he did. Which said a lot.

People in stands and booths on the walkway yelled out at the crowds walking by them, desperate for any attention at all.

“HEY! YOUS GUYS!! YOU TWO ARE ADORABLE!!”

“Huh?” June turned, but Gary kept walking, hearing the female but certain it wasn’t for him. She stopped.

“YEAH! YOUS TWO! I BET YOU TWO ARE DESTINED TO BE MARRIED!!”

“Us??” June gasped.

June’s reaction made Gary stop. What’s going on? He turned to the voice, his eyes stopping on June’s shocked face, and then on a little hut.

This hut was short and made out of perhaps twigs. The door to it was open, a little lady inside of it waving excitedly. She wore glasses, her top a white tank top, a lot of a black, lacy bra exposed under it. She also had on jeans that fit very snuggly.

Gary eyed her up.

“Come on in, you two! I’ll predict your fortune for yous two!” she insisted.

Gary rolled his eyes and looked away from her.

“You’ll predict our future? Are you a Psychic?” June asked.

Gary sucked his teeth. “Oh, please!”

“Yes! Call me Psychic Tiny!” she nodded, smiling huge. “Me and my Gastly will happily see your future and tell you what lies ahead!”

She’s cute, Gary thought to himself, looking at her again. Physically, she’s really, really cute. Like a doll. She’s probably eighteen but could pass, cuteness and height, for like, thirteen or so. But she’s also cute, like her personality. She’s adorable. Like a doll. “June, I’m not messing around with her. Let’s go shopping or I’m out of here. I don’t mess around with these type of things.”

“Oh, but, Gary! Can’t you humor her if you don’t believe?” June whined, facing him.

“NO! This is the Pokemon League! Scammers like this are everywhere!” he frowned at her. “And I don’t mess with Psychics! I don’t want to know my future, even if she could do it. It’s not right.”

“Oh, Gary...” June sighed.

“What?!” Gary threw his hands into the air.

“Nothing... Nothing...” She looked down.

“You should never try to change the past or future...” Gary shook his head slowly. “Even if you could. Everything happens for a reason. Even just knowing what will happen could potentially destroy it. No! Leave me out of it!”

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” June grumbled, walking away from Psychic Tiny.

“I’m not wrong, you know!” Gary followed her.

“HEY! YOUS TWO! WAIT! PLEASE!” Psychic Tiny called after them.

Booths were selling dolls, snacks, clothing, memorabilia, and a lot more, but June had her head down, a weary look on her face.

“June, what did I do?” Gary asked impatiently. “What did I say that was so wrong?”

June shook her head. “Nothing, okay?”

“Then why haven’t you responded to the calls of these freaking idiots out here trying to rip us off?”

“You want me to?”

“I mean, I just want you to act normal,” Gary replied.

“So you want me to piss you off?” June responded.

Gary tried to argue against that, but he found himself stuck.

“Yooooooo! Garaaay!!” a voice yelled.

June and Gary stopped and turned to the new voice.

Smiling, a familiar man with short black hair, a mohawk in the middle, and a goatee and glasses, approached. “Yo, what’s up dude?” He adjusted his little green satchel on his back and then held out his hand.

Gary smiled. “Gary!” He grabbed the little man’s hand and they shook. Gary wasn’t certain if the scientist was wearing the same clothes as the first time they had met, but it looked similar.

Scientist Gary smiled to June. “How are you?” They both held each other’s hand gently before letting go.

“It’s nice to meet you again, Scientist Gary,” June nodded.

“Yeah. So, you guys are still in the tournament?”

Gary hesitated. “No,” Gary finally spoke. “What’s going on with you?”

Scientist Gary looked shocked. “Oh, uh... not much,” he shrugged.

“Are you still out here selling that stuff?” June brought up harshly.

Scientist Gary sighed and looked down. He nodded and looked at June. “Yeah. I’ve sold pretty well, too. A lot of people here just want a little to boost their Pokemon up a tiny bit. No one is trying to jack up their Pokemon to crazy levels. They’re being cautious and just want a taste. It’s all been calm and easy. And I’ve only sold so far to the losers of the competition and maybe one random guy. But it’s been good people, I’m sure.”

June rolled her eyes.

“I’m telling you guys, it’s nothing abnormal. Nothing becomes overpowered. It’s all fair game. And most importantly, it doesn’t hurt the Pokemon in any way. It does nothing to them but make them a bit stronger. It’s just faster training! Like Rare Candies!”

“I just think, if your method is so legit, you should wait until it’s accepted and legal,” June tried. “Selling it like this is so suspicious, and you seem like you’re a noble guy, so I think you should play it by the book.”

Scientist Gary sighed again. “I respect your position. Please, don’t rat me out, guys. There’s so many people out there doing terrible shit to Pokemon. Don’t send the boys after me.”

Gary felt conflicted as he stared at Scientist Gary, the scientist staring back with pleading eyes.

A sound went off.

Gary, June, and Scientist Gary looked around.

Gary looked to June, confused. “You hear that?”

June stared at Gary thoughtfully. “It’s some kind of music. From where?”

Gary found himself bobbing his head to the beat. Next, he was mumbling the tone, not quite sure of the words, though. And finally, “Bitch! The name is only, Mis-ter Elemenemopee.” Gary gasped. “It’s that rapper Elemenemopee!”

“Ugh. Seriously? I hate that guy!” June groaned. “Did you just recite his lyrics?”

“You guys have a phone?” Scientist Gary asked.

Gary gasped, looking to the scientist.

“From there!” June pointed and grabbed Gary’s bag. She unzipped it and pulled out the Flipbook Mini, the music getting even louder.

The image of a child Prof. Cozmo and his parents were on the screen.

June answered, and the two kids brought their faces closer to see.

A video appeared, showing Prof. Cozmo smiling. “Oh, it’s so good to see you two! It’s been too long!”

“Prof. Cozmo!” both kids exclaimed happily.

“I’m so sorry! I’ve been so busy lately! I’ve forgotten to call you two even when I had free time! I know you have tried to contact me. I’m so, so sorry for missing your call, and for leaving you the last time we were together, but we had business at Mt. Silver. Anyway, you two have some information for me, don’t you?”

Gary looked to Scientist Gary. “Yo, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. It was nice seeing you again. Maybe some other time.”

“Right,” Scientist Gary nodded. “You guys must lead a secret life I don’t know about, ha. Pokemon Trainers don’t just have cell phones like that.” He pulled out an object from his pocket, revealed to be a Pineapple brand phone, the shiny, diced, golden pineapple on the back of the black phone. “Y’all ain’t poor.”

“This isn’t our phone, but we’ll explain later. We’ll look for-” Gary stopped, looking behind Scientist Gary, and his jaw dropped.

June gasped. “Whoa! How am I only just seeing this?!”

Scientist Gary turned his back on the kids and walked to a cabin. He stopped at the door and looked behind him with a big, sneaky smile. “Oh, do you mean this?”

The cabin looked like half an amusement park! It was made of wood, but there were so many mechanical parts to it! It was too much for anyone to truly take in without wasting almost a quarter of their life just sitting in front of it to spot all of the features! Mechanical clowns slid out of the roof juggling balls before sliding away. Bright lights flashed all around it infrequently. The cabin itself would argue with reality as it bent in half before straightening up to normal again. Random, realistic Pokemon danced atop the building, disappearing and being replaced by a different Pokemon. Fire, explosions, lightning, all kinds of complete nonsense were displayed, changing seemingly uncontrollably from all parts of the cabin. It was ridiculous, stupid, and clearly made to attract people.

There was a long line of people leading to the door, as well.

“Come back when you finish with your phone call. I never did tell you about those videos I wanted y’all to watch,” Scientist Gary told them. “There’s this latest one by this Poketuber I watch. About that Kangaskhan that’s been rumored to have been seen? That Kangaskhan that’s not the baby found in the pouch, but a grown version? Not the adult, but not a baby? Have you heard of it?”

Gary just shook his head. Geez, does this guy just believe anything he sees online? Come on. He wanted to snicker, but he held it in.

“Yoooo, my nigg-” Scientist Gary paused. “Son, come back and I’ll show you the vid! Or give me your number if you're busy and I can send you the link!” He called out his number to Gary. “Text me and I’ll save you!” Suddenly, the flashlight on his phone went off, blinking repeatedly.

Gary squinted suspiciously at Scientist Gary as the man squinted at his phone. Is he taking a pic of me?? Gary questioned to himself, unsure if he should say something or not. He chose to say something else. “Gotchu! Text you soon!” Gary took off, eventually getting away from the crowds of people and finding a little patch of privacy in some grass close to other buildings. Did he just try to call me “nigga?” Gary wondered, replaying the moment with Scientist Gary cutting himself off. Why’d he choose to stop?

“Persistent, isn’t he? He seems to think fondly of you,” Prof. Cozmo said happily.

Gary took the phone from June’s hands and stared at the man, Prof. Cozmo staring right back. “Yeah,” he replied quickly. Too bad I don’t feel quite the same back. “Hey, so, listen! Sir! We were in Viridian City, and-”

“Yes, you were. I saw you on the news,” Prof. Cozmo nodded sternly. “Did you learn anything...?”

“You are so... ugly...” The creature’s face got closer to June’s.

A disgusted look came over June’s face. “Sister...” she managed to groan out. “Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

The creature bared her teeth and then screamed in June’s face, her fat tongue sliding along her bottom row of terrible teeth.

June can understand the species now, Gary remembered. He pondered on this fact, not saying a word.

“Gary?” Prof. Cozmo called out.

Gary didn’t move, staring at the old man. “We battled it, and were destroyed. We stood no chance.”

Prof. Cozmo nodded. “But did you learn anything new?”

Gary shook his head. “No. We didn’t get to learn anything about her...” I’m not lying, Gary told himself. We learned June heard the thing talk. We didn’t learn anything about that creature, though.

Prof. Cozmo was still staring at him. After a moment, he looked to June.

June turned to Gary, and then looked to Prof. Cozmo.

Prof. Cozmo nodded sternly at Gary.

Is he suspicious? Gary found himself wondering. He swallowed, wishing immediately that he hadn’t. I hope he didn’t see that, he worried.

The old man let out his breath. “Okay. Again, I apologize for not being available. But I do believe our research is coming to a close soon.”

“You and the Trick Master? Where is he? Has he learned anything?” Gary asked.

Prof. Cozmo closed his eyes. “The Trick Master and I have gone our separate ways. We do not quite see eye to eye anymore. By our research, I mean you, me, and June. So, please, we must keep each other in the loop.”

“What happened to the Trick Master?” June questioned.

Prof. Cozmo’s eyes popped open. The coldness from them made June gasp, and Gary’s heart stopped. “We do not see eye to eye anymore! There is nothing more to say about him!” Prof. Cozmo said sharply. “We must figure this creature out as soon as possible!”

“Okay,” Gary nodded. He suddenly found himself not trusting Prof. Cozmo or the suspiciously absent Trick Master. He felt comfort in not telling Prof. Cozmo what little he knew, but he also felt maybe he was wrong, and that Prof. Cozmo was someone who should know. In the middle of these dividing thoughts, he remained silent.

“My apologies, Gary.” Prof. Cozmo’s eyebrows remained narrowed. His eyes closed. “I’m very stressed these days. As long as you keep me in the loop about this monster, the better off this world can be as we finally track her down.”

“Sir, have you learned anything about her?” Gary brought up.

Prof. Cozmo shook his head. “No. Not a single thing. But what can I do to even keep her still for a second?” He looked hard at Gary. “That’s why I’m depending on you, Gary!”

Gary nodded, swallowing. “I understand, sir. I will!”

Prof. Cozmo nodded. “Sorry about your loss, by the way. You did so well against that Diancie. Ex-treeeeeme-ly clever work. You’re a remarkable Pokemon Trainer.”

Gary could have teared up easily right there. He struggled to hold it back, hoping he wasn’t too late. “I didn’t even know you were watching! Thanks a lot!” he smiled. “I gave the League my all.”

“Next time, you’ll do even better. I know it.”

Gary nodded happily.

Prof. Cozmo’s face lightened up at the speed of light. “And do call that man back.” He told Gary what Scientist Gary’s phone number was.

Gary sighed, upset the old man had remembered it. “Uh, why do you care, anyway?”

Prof. Cozmo’s face hardened again. His eyes went down, away from Gary. “Gary,” his eyes lifted again, “maybe you two won’t stay friends after all.” He broke into a smile. “But I love me some PokeTubers! Anyone who is a fan of that kind of V-Utube content is a friend o’ mine!” The old man laughed heartily. “Oh, what an old man joke, eh? Anyway, we’ll speak again. Be safe.”

The call disconnected before Gary could respond, leaving him with his mouth open.

“Gary, I really think we oughta break up, babe?” June told him.

Gary jumped high and whipped around to June. “What??!!”

June covered her mouth and giggled. “Goodbye kiss?” She puckered her lips and reached out for Gary.

Gary’s eyes bulged out of his head. That was when he spotted, behind June, another June!

The two were dressed exactly the same, in matching, fitted blue jeans, red and white sneakers with red laces, and a red tank top Gary would never admit he had trouble keeping his eyes off of with how well it showed off June’s top half. The two Junes turned to each other, the one closer to Gary smiling widely, the other one staring back with a smirk, next to Aly!

Aly had a huge smile on her own face.

“ALY!!” Gary raged at her, walking past the June closest to him, and then past the second June. He stopped in front of Aly and his face softened. “Say, Aly, why haven’t I seen you use Ditto in any of your battles?”

Aly’s smile faded and her eyes squinted moodily. “Because, apparently, you haven’t watched all of my matches. I’ve used it.”

They all turned to the June furthest away.

It was gone, a floating Mew in her place!

The June closest to them raised an eyebrow at Aly, still smirking. “Funny.”

Aly burst out laughing. “Besides,” she stared at Gary, “using Ditto is hard. It requires me to know how to use different Pokemon I may know nothing about. I know how to use my own Pokemon, but not others’. I’m working on that so I can use Ditto more effectively.”

Gary nodded. “Your match is coming up soon. Are you ready?”

Aly nodded. “And I just beat Rob in a battle.”

“Rob is here?”

Aly nodded. “Come on!”

Together, Gary, June, and “Mew” followed Aly to meet up with Robin.

*

“Ladies aaaaand gentlemen! Welcome to the semi-finals of this year’s Pokemon League competitiooooon!!” the announcer started off.

The crowd was packed, ecstatic and impatient.

After this, it’s the finals! Gary thought, cheering with June, Robin and Raichu.

Kiwi wished to be there, but something had occurred at Prof. Oak’s place, and he asked if she’d return. She agreed, but promised to be there in person if Aly made it to the finals.

If Aly wins here, she’ll be in the finals! This is unbelievable! Gary continued. Heck, if she lost in the finals, just making it there would be wild!

Robin was laughing, unprovoked.

“This is crazy! The semi-finals! Can Aly really do it??” June was smiling and clapping.

“Aly’s gonna take it all the way!” Robin insisted. “She’s the future champ! WATCH!”

Gary and June smiled at him before looking back down at the battlefield.

“And here comes our two competitors!! One of these two will continue on to the finals of the Pokemon League, possibly becoming the new Pokemon League Champion!!” the announcer introduced the two incoming Trainers. “Today, it will be the Green Trainer, Alyssa Say from Pallet Town, versus the Red Trainer, Mario Fore from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region!”

Aly kept a hardened face as she approached the field. In tight black jeans and a black tank top, she stopped and closed her eyes as a pleasant breeze blew her hair around.

The opponent stopped in his spot and nodded at Aly, his thick, wavy brown hair ruffling in the wind.

Aly smiled at him and nodded back.

The referee raised his flags. “This match may now begin!” He swiped the flags down swiftly.

Mario grabbed up a Poke Ball and tossed it strongly. “Crawdaunt, you’re up fiiiirst!”

“Crawdaaauuunt!” Crawdaunt snapped its claws intimidatingly at Aly.

Aly frowned and nodded. “Then let’s begin strong! Salamence, let’s do this!” She sent out her Pokemon.

Salamence roared as it appeared.

Crawdaunt snapped at Salamence, and its body flashed white.

“Right off the bat, both Pokemon have activated their Abilities!” the announcer shouted. “Salamence has Intimidate to lower the opponent’s Attack stat, but Crawdaunt’s Hyper Cutter prevents that reduction! Not a single order has been spoken, but already things are looking tough!”

Crawdaunt. The Rogue Pokemon. The evolved form of Corphish. They tend to live alone, being highly territorial and taking everything as a challenge to battle. If its pincers break off, it becomes cowardly and flees.

Gary lowered his Pokedex.

Both Trainers waited, eyeing each other determinedly.

“Salamence, Thunder Fang right now!” Aly went first.

Salamence’s fangs were coated in electricity and it dove from the air for Crawdaunt.

“Endeavor!” Mario responded.

Crawdaunt howled, bitten by Salamence. It then smacked the Dragon away with both pincers.

Salamence roared out and tumbled, remaining still on the ground.

“What happened??” Gary gasped.

“And Salamence’s great strength is smartly used against it by Crawdaunt’s Endeavor! A move that leaves the opponent’s health matching the user of the move!” the announcer explained.

“That’s crazy!!” Gary said loudly.

“Wow, he knew what would happen, didn’t he?” Robin stated.

“Yeah. He knows Salamence isn’t a joke. He knew she’d leave big damage, and turned that around to weaken Salamence!” June pointed out.

“End that thing with Rock Slide for sure!” Mario smiled.

“Thunder Fang again, then!” Aly repeated.

Salamence got up and flew at Crawdaunt, biting down on it before it could even start its second move.

“Craaaaawwwdauuuuunt!” Crawdaunt groaned. After Salamence let go of it, it dropped.

The referee raised the green flag. “Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Salamence is the winner!”

Gary and his three friends jumped up together, cheering with the crowd.

“Alyssa pulled no punches here, sticking with a simple strategy to get an easy first win in this Full Battle! Mario has weakened Salamence significantly, though, so he has a good chance of getting around the powerful Dragon type at some point!” the announcer was heard.

Mario recalled his Pokemon and grabbed a second choice quickly, tossing it. “Dusclops, let’s finish it off! Ice Punch!”

“Dusclops!” Dusclops said calmly. At once, a fist glowed light blue and it charged for Salamence, stomping across the field.

Weird, Gary thought. He can’t just float?

“Salamence, use Crunch!” Aly ordered.

“Say, isn’t that an Eviolite that Dusclops is wearing?” Robin pointed out.

“Eviolite?” Gary questioned. “What’s that?” He stared at Dusclops and finally spotted the purple necklace swinging across its neck.

“Eviolite is a rare hold item. Like Raichu’s Dark Glasses,” June explained softly. “Eviolite raises the Defense and Special Defense for Pokemon still able to evolve.”

“Whoa! It has one of those?” Gary gasped.

The battle was still going while they were talking, Salamence’s teeth flashing white and Crunching her teeth into Dusclops.

Dusclops yelled out, writhing in pain before slugging Salamence in the face.

Ice started to form on Salamence.

“Fire Fang, now!”

Salamence’s jaws burst into flames, getting rid of the Ice as she bit at her own body! She then bit into Dusclops!

“DUSCLOOOOOOOPS!!” Dusclops wailed out. It stumbled backwards, out of Salamence’s bite, and then screamed as it erupted into flames. Dusclops was Burned!

“After it with Crunch!” Aly pressed on.

When the fire died out, Salamence relentlessly pursued with another Crunch attack.

“Dusclops, get out of there! Stop getting pummeled!” Mario begged.

“Dusclops,” the Pokemon groaned, and it cowered before dropping down.

“Dusclops is out of the match! Salamence wins!” the referee ruled with the green flag raised.

“And Mario is already out two Pokemon!” the announcer reported to the screaming fans. “Mario still has a way to go before losing, but with Alyssa having this strong of a lead, it’s gonna be interesting to see him turn this thing around!”

That same strat was used on me, but with Hydreigon, Gary remembered when he had faced Aly and his Kingdra’s Ice Beam was foiled by Hydreigon’s Sunny Day and Fire Blast combination. She got rid of the Ice from Ice Punch using Fire Fang.

“Aly’s really cooking with gas,” June mentioned. “Salamence’s gotta be on her way out, but she’s started off great.”

“Salamence may be out, but she’s still got others. I can’t believe I’m here to witness the rise of a Champ, live! Ha ha hah!” Robin cackled.

“Raaaaichuuuu! Raaichuuuuu!” Raichu clapped.

Aly called out happily to her Pokemon, but Salamence didn’t respond, eyeing the opponent Trainer.

Mario looked very upset, recalling his Dusclops. “Okay.” He decided on his next one and grabbed up the Poke Ball, enlarging it. “I know we’ve got this one down!” He tossed the Poke Ball. “Electrode, go!”

Gary’s eyes widened. He hesitated, wanting to be sure he would see what he heard.

“Electrrrrode!” An Electrode appeared, smiling big! It then sneered at Salamence.

June gasped.

Gary turned to her. “June...”

June closed her eyes and shook her head, lowering it.

“June? Are you alright?” Robin asked.

June let out her breath and nodded, but she kept her head down. “Excuse me. I’m sorry.” She got up, excusing herself to several people on her way out of the aisle.

“Rai, Chu?” His ears down, Raichu looked after his Trainer.

Robin also stared after her. “Is she okay?” He stood up. “Should I-we go after her? HEY!”

“We can stay right here,” Gary assured him, pulling him back down hard.

“Next up is Electrode! Electrode holds an interesting position that is neither bad nor good, as Electric type damage is great against Flying types like Salamence, but weak on Dragons like Salamence,” the announcer said. “I guess when facing a powerful opponent, it’s best to hit somewhere in the middle, though. Perhaps he has a different strategy, though!”

“Electrode, Hyper Beam now! This has gone on long enough!” Mario shouted.

“Salamence, use Outrage!” Aly yelled back.

“OUTRAGE??!” Robin and Gary uttered out at once.

Salamence’s eyes glowed red, the body outlined in the same color.

A white orb with a pale pink center appeared in front of Electrode, charging. From the orb, a pale pink beam with bright white energy around it fired out at Salamence.

Salamence roared and moved away from the blast, and the Hyper Beam flew off into the sun. She then dove at Electrode and swiped at it, sending it rolling backwards uncontrollably. She then fired a red beam.

Electrode cried out as it flew through the air and slammed into the wall of the bleachers, beneath the fans. It dropped easily, like a ball.

Gary covered his ears out of fear. He hated sudden, loud noises...

“Electrode is unable to battle! Salamence wins!” the referee declared.

“Whoa! No way! Already? Again??” Robin clapped, stunned.

Gary hesitantly lowered his hands and started clapping with him. “You’re right!” he shouted over the crowd. “Aly’s got this match! This guy is having a bad day! Bad luck! Aly’s destroying him right now!” Just return that damn thing already, will ya? Gary begged Mario in his head.

“Of course I’m right! I hope you weren’t rooting for the dude!” Robin laughed.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised by how easily this is going!”

Raichu was clapping, but he kept looking for June.

Mario recalled Electrode. He gripped the Poke Ball tightly, fuming at Salamence. He never took his eyes off of her as he grabbed for his fourth Poke Ball.

“It’s difficult fighting Dragon types, as they have access to too many different varieties of attacks!” the announcer mentioned. “This is what makes the type arguably the most difficult to defeat, much of the time.”

Aly continued to praise Salamence.

Mario sighed, impatience and nervousness on his face. “Skarmory, come out!” He hurled the Poke Ball like he was trying to capture Salamence.

“Skaaaaaarr!” Skarmory cawed.

“A Skarmory...” Gary muttered, remembering Courtney’s.

“Hm,” Robin mumbled.

Mario’s mouth opened, but he seemed unsure of what to do.

Gary’s eyes widened. “Oh, shoot.”

“GO SALAMENCE!” Aly put on a hard face, continuing on strongly.

Salamence attacked with a red beam.

“UH! Skarmory, DODGE!” Mario burst out. “Use Spikes!”

Skarmory moved around the Outrage and then spun in a sharp circle, becoming a blur. Red spikes flew off of the blur and hit the ground around Salamence’s side of the field, disappearing. Salamence then flew into Skarmory.

“Skaaaarrr!” Skarmory cried.

“Spikes again!”

Skarmory used Spikes and was then slashed at by the rampaging Salamence.

“Spikes again!”

Skarmory was blasted by a red beam of energy before using Spikes. When it was done, Salamence blasted it again. The Steel bird crashed down.

Salamence flew around and the red outline around her was gone, but her eyes remained red with Confusion.

“Skarmory is unable to battle! Salamence wins again!” the referee held out the green flag to Aly.

Both Gary and Robin leaped up and stomped their feet, holding each other’s arms, screaming with joy with the audience.

Raichu was clapping again, but still couldn’t stop his concern for June.

Aly was shrieking out now, unable to restrain herself.

“Two more to go, Gary, and she hasn’t dropped one Pokemon!!” Robin gushed to Gary.

“I KNOW! I KNOW!! THIS IS CRAZY!!” Gary’s eyes were watering as he stared back at him. “And Kiwi said this would be Aly’s toughest fight, HA!”

Mario couldn’t have looked more disappointed as he recalled Skarmory, his head down while the announcer spoke out.

“You oughta congratulate your Pokemon, you know!” Aly called out to Mario. “They’ve fought so hard today, and to get you here! You’re so cold for losing, but that’s probably why you’re losing!”

Robin and Gary released each other, sitting again.

Mario didn’t seem to react to Aly. Instead, he grabbed yet another Poke Ball. His head lifted, a smirk on his face.

“How can he be smiling at a time like this?” Gary questioned.

“He must be panicking. Slight lunacy in a dire situation type of thing?” Robin suggested as Mario threw the Poke Ball.

A pretty tall monster came out. It had a stern face, staring at Salamence, standing on one long tail.

“And up next-!” the announcer started, interrupted as Salamence roared and flew into the Pokemon!

The creature shouted out and hopped back up. It kept its eyes on Salamence.

“Gliscor, use your Swords Dance right now! I’m depending on you to stay strong!” Mario urged.

“Gli!” Gliscor’s pincers glowed purple. It let out several cries, swiping in Salamence’s direction, but not actually trying to hit her.

Gliscor. The Fang Scorpion Pokemon. The evolved form of Gligar. A typically rare Pokemon. It is popular in some regions’ folktales as being the original vampire. When gliding by at night in forests, it can be mistaken for the famed bloodsucker, though the end results may not differ too much.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Robin looked to Gary’s Pokedex.

Aly was scanning Gliscor with her Pokedex, too.

Gliscor. The Fang Scorpion Pokemon. Gligar’s evolved form. This Pokemon does not fly, but its gliding talents excuse this, using winds and updrafts to get from place to place. It uses soundwaves in order to detect future obstacles to better plan to get around them.

“Swords Dance!” Mario repeated quickly, Gliscor obeying.

Aly put the Pokedex away and brushed aside her hair. “Salamence, Ice Beam!”

“Gliscor, get high!” Mario instructed.

Gliscor bent on its tail and leaped into the air.

Salamence attacked quickly with Ice Beam, still Confused.

Gliscor swiped for the sky above as half of its body was coated in Ice and it came back down to the ground. The Ice remained on it while it squirmed on its back and called out.

“You know what to do! Swords Dance! Move it!!” Mario told his Pokemon.

Gliscor used Swords Dance.

A Confused Salamence used Ice Beam again, Aly having not said a word.

The move was sloppy due to the Confusion Salamence was under, but it did catch Gliscor.

“Gliscoooooor!” Gliscor was breathing heavily now.

“That’s it again?!” Gary was smiling with a big, open mouth. “Rob! ROB! I think it’s down!”

“It’s down!! It’s down!!” Robin jumped up, and Gary stood afterwards.

“Gliscor, do not give in!! This is it!” Mario was actually smiling! He let out a short laugh. “DO IT! BATON PASS!!!”

Gliscor struggled to raise even one pincer, but it got its head up, smiling for the first time the whole match, and winked at Salamence.

The Confusion in Salamence’s eyes was actually gone by now. She looked back at Gliscor, squinting in a different kind of confusion.

“Gliiiiii.” A piece of wood, or something like it, appeared in Gliscor’s pincer. It tossed it into the air, and then the Pokemon glowed red and was returned back to its Poke Ball!

Right away, a white beam from a different Poke Ball sent out another Pokemon! This new one caught the stick! The stick, and the Pokemon’s body, glowed red for a moment, and then the red vanished along with the stick!

The referee waved the green flag to Aly. “Baton Pass results in a switch, so it is ruled that Salamence wins this battle, and Gliscor is out!”

The crowd applauded this, but they mostly seemed to be confused by the call.

“Isn’t Baton Pass a real move? That seems a little unfair,” Robin stated.

“I mean, I get it, I guess... I dunno...” Gary shrugged. “At least Aly is winning. And that Gliscor stood no chance, anyway!”

Robin let out his breath. “Yeah, sure. But, I don’t want her to win like that!”

“Better than stuff I’ve seen...” Gary muttered, remembering when his opponent forfeited their match due to a supposed psychic prediction he had that he would lose anyway.

“And after using Baton Pass, which, in the Indigo League, does count as a retreat, Gliscor is out of the fight, and it is all of Alyssa’s Pokemon versus only Infernape! However, that Baton Pass took all the Attack increases and passed them on to Infernape, an already powerful fighter! But will this turn the entire match around, or merely make the score a lot less embarrassing?”

“Infernape!” the monkey cried out, smiling. It bounced around eagerly, full of energy.

Infernape. The Flame Pokemon. The final stage of the Sinnoh Starter, Chimchar. Its style of fighting is a unique style known by this species that involves the use of all of its limbs. When it comes to the balance of speed, and quality fighting, this Pokemon is second to none.

Infernape. The Flame Pokemon. The evolved form of Monferno. It defeats opponents using a unique style of combat that involves fiery punches and kicks. Its agility is unmatched, and it uses this to toss enemies around helplessly.

“So that’s his plan? Why not do that earlier? Why wait so late?” Robin asked.

“Come on, Aly. One more to go! No sweat!” Gary said, putting away his Pokedex.

Putting away her Pokedex with one hand, Aly pointed with her other one. “Salamence, this is the last one, and then we’re off to the finals! Dragon Pulse!”

Salamence attacked, blasting at Infernape.

“Use Nasty Plot! Take that hit!” Mario crossed his arms, smiling big.

Infernape was hit, screaming out. It landed hard on its back. After a moment, it sat up and leered at Salamence. Then, it got a sinister smile. Its body flashed red as it stood up.

“Good!! Now, let’s see what else she’s got! Stone Edge!” Mario chose to have Infernape use.

“Infernaaaaaape!!” Its body was surrounded in white energy.

“Salamence, one more Dragon Pulse!” Aly demanded.

The white energy removed itself from Infernape, becoming two circles of glowing white orbs orbiting its body. The white vanished and revealed sharp, gray Rocks. They all flew out for Salamence.

Salamence blasted at Infernape.

Infernape’s Rocks chipped away at the purple energy sent by Salamence and destroyed it, continuing on to collide with Salamence!

Salamence screamed out.

Aly called out shrilly.

Salamence hit the ground.

The referee looked over to Salamence. “Salamence is out! Infernape takes the win!!”

“And FINALLY Salamence is out!! To make it to the semi-finals and be completely eliminated by one Pokemon would have to be the most embarrassing thing to go through, questioning your position to begin with!!” the announcer’s voice boomed. “Not that that kind of thing has never happened, but what a lasting, haunting way to lose this far in!”

Gary, Raichu, and Robin clapped, noticeably and reasonably less enthusiastic.

Gary was nodding. “Honestly, it’s about time. I mean, how do you lose that bad?? Right?”

Robin nodded. “Yeah, but, man! I was hoping she could do it!”

“That woulda been too much!” Gary shook his head, smiling.

“Salamence, you did the absolute most! Tonight, we’ll celebrate in honor of all your extraordinary work!” Aly gushed. “Time to rest, finally!” She recalled her and grabbed up her second Poke Ball. The ball flew from her hand, revealing her second Pokemon.

“HYYYYYDREIGOOOOOONN!!” Hydreigon roared out.

“Oh, yeah. Game over,” Gary commented.

“Mmmm... But Hydreigon is half Dark type,” Robin responded.

Gary’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

“Use Dragon Rush!” Aly had Hydreigon do.

“Close Combat!” Mario nodded.

Surrounded in a blue, dragon-shaped energy, Hydreigon flew at Infernape.

Infernape flew for Hydreigon with a raised knee.

They both met midair.

The blue energy around Hydreigon was cleared out immediately, Hydreigon roaring in pain! It hit the ground hard.

“IT TORE THROUGH DRAGON RUSH??!” Gary couldn’t believe it!

“HYDREIGON!!!” Aly screamed.

Infernape continued abusing Hydreigon with kicks and punches nonstop. “Infernape! Ape!!” It did a backflip, returning to its position. Its body glowed blue for a moment, its Defenses dropping.

“Hydreigon is unable to continue! Infernape wins!” the referee determined, waving with the red flag.

“NO WAY!! THAT FAST??!!” Gary bellowed.

“ALY!” Robin gasped.

“And that’s it for Alyssa’s Hydreigon! That Attack boost from Gliscor is seriously making this last Pokemon a deadly threat! I can’t imagine it handling four more Pokemon, but that boosted power Infernape has, and considering this Infernape’s experience at this League previously, leaves things up in the air. It really all depends on what Alyssa can do!”

“Aly’s not gonna lose like that!” Gary argued.

“There’s no way! Four Pokemon to a weakened final one? Come on!” Robin added.

“Hydreigon, please stay still and rest up! We’ve got this. Thank you, sweetie.” Aly recalled Hydreigon and chose her next Poke Ball, sending out another Pokemon.

“Ivy!” Ivysaur was chosen. She growled and crouched down, ready to attack.

“IVYSAUR???!!” Gary couldn’t believe his eyes!

“IVYSAUR????” Robin followed up.

“She... Why would...? She must be trying...” Gary couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse for this. “Well, at this point, maybe it doesn’t matter if-”

An explosion erupted under Ivysaur, tossing the Pokemon back.

“SPIKES!!” Gary and Robin burst out together.

“And Alyssa decides, interestingly, on the Grass type, Ivysaur! Perhaps she’s trying to prove her strength, by choosing a Pokemon with a poor advantage, to win!” the announcer suggested. “She does have four Pokemon, counting Ivysaur, left. She has room to goof around with decisions like that! But she better play smart, as Spikes is still in effect for her side, and at maximum power!”

“I’M NOT GOOFING OFF YOU - YOU - YOU FREAK!!” Aly barked to the sky. “WHEREVER AND WHOEVER YOU ARE, I TREAT ALL MY POKEMON THE SAME!! SCREW TYPING!! I MADE IT THIS FAR KNOWING WHAT I’M DOING!! BUTT OUT!!!”

There was silence in the stadium for the first time.

“Hmph!” Aly glared at the field. “Mighty Ivy, this is it! Let’s end this! Use your Leech Seed!!”

Ivysaur ran at Infernape.

Infernape and its Trainer watched her.

She leaped into the air and vines came out.

“Ivysaur!” Aly shouted angrily.

The Vine Whip wrapped around Infernape’s arms.

It grunted painfully, looking at its arms.

Ivysaur’s body started to glow gold.

“IT’S DOUBLE-EDGE!!” Gary pointed down at the field.

“DOUBLE-EDGE!!” Aly also reacted.

Infernape was taken down, sliding in the dirt.

Ivysaur landed and then flinched, her body sparking from recoil damage.

“We’ll use Fire Blast,” Mario said casually.

Kicking its feet out, Infernape was up swiftly.

“Ivy!” Ivysaur gasped at how quickly Infernape leaped up. She had just finished getting over the recoil.

Infernape inhaled, puffing out its chest, and then sent a big, flaming attack at Ivysaur.

“IVYYYYYYYYYY!!!!” Ivysaur wailed, pain thick in her voice. Her body burned, simmering in the flames before they finally faded away. She was sprawled out on the ground.

“Ivysaur is out! Infernape wins the battle!” The red flag was waved to Infernape.

Aly was frozen, looking horrified at such a quick defeat.

As the crowd lost it and the announcer yelled out, Gary and Robin spoke to each other.

“She’s down to half!” Gary couldn’t believe it. “I’m sure that Nasty Plot helped, because that Ivysaur can take a LOT!”

“Plus the recoil damage from Double-Edge...” Robin said, “along with Spikes.”

“Oh, right! I forgot about those!” Gary remembered.

“Spikes was used three times. That’s a quarter of damage of the Pokemon’s max health, right away before the fight begins!”

“What?!” Gary looked at him with wide eyes.

“She was crazy bringing an Ivysaur to this match!” a loud voice laughed from behind the three.

Robin, Gary and Raichu looked back to see a very fat man watching the match.

He looked down at them, smiling at the two kids and the Pokemon. He had a large cup with a straw in it in one hand, his other hand holding two hot dogs, each one overflowing with varying condiments.

The kids sneered at him, Raichu just staring with wide eyes, and then the three quickly looked away.

“She’s still got three whole Pokemon left. Boosted or not, Infernape can’t handle all that,” Gary said.

“There’s no doubt, there!” Robin agreed. “GO GET HIM, ALY!! NO HOLDING BACK!!”

“Ivysaur, even you...? This is insane! Why-?” She stopped and lowered her head, shaking it. “Thank you for your work. You’ve contributed. Just a little more.” She retreated Ivysaur to go for another choice, sending out her fourth Pokemon.

“Ditto!” Ditto appeared, stretching and flexing healthily. “Dittooooo!”

Spikes triggered again, flinging back Ditto.

The Pokemon got back up, shaking off the damage.

“TRANSFORM AND MOVE!!” Aly begged.

Ditto’s body glowed brightly in multiple colors. It got a few feet taller and the bright colors vanished. “INFERNAPE!” An Infernape now stood there!

“Alyssa is thinking smart, now! Sending out Ditto to copy not only Infernape, but also the stat increases, is going to really push Mario’s Infernape’s limit!” the announcer was saying. “Not to mention, Infernape is already weakened, and while Ditto has taken Spikes damage, it’s still in a lot better condition!”

“Use Slack Off!” Mario grinned.

Infernape yawned and dropped into a sitting position, relaxing. Its body began to sparkle with white energy, and its body was covered in a light green aura.

Both Infernape stared at each other, Mario’s calmly, Aly’s viciously.

“Mario’s Infernape has used Slack Off to recover damage! Using that move after Ditto’s Transform was a free chance opening!” the announcer pointed out.

“Now back to battle! Close Combat!” Mario said.

“Infernape, do it right back! Close Combat!” Aly cried.

Infernape leaped up and ran up to Ditto, but then stood still! It seemed to be waiting for something.

Ditto swung a punch to Infernape’s face.

Infernape ducked it, as if predicting it had been coming, and then it uppercut Ditto, tossing it back. Before Ditto could land, Infernape was already punching and kicking at it in a seemingly purposeful, controlled manner.

Ditto slid on the ground after the beat up, and its body glowed in several colors as it shrunk in size. When the glow faded, the fake Infernape was gone, and just Ditto remained, motionless.

“Ditto is out! Infernape wins!” the referee said.

“And this has quickly changed in flavor, ladies and gentlemen! I can’t believe it, but somehow, Mario is flipping the entire script around and is handling Alyssa’s team with ease!” the announcer was saying. “Alyssa, now down to two Pokemon, still does hold a great advantage over Infernape, but with such a fast and nimble opponent dead set on landing its hits, Alyssa is barely being given the chance to strike!”

“Oh, Ditto...” Aly said sadly, retreating it. She stared at the ball with worry.

“She’s breaking! She’s getting nervous! She can’t!!” Robin himself was freaking out now.

“It’s like the ‘Dex said; Infernape have their own style of fighting,” Gary recalled, frowning towards Aly. “Ditto was just imitating Infernape. It can’t fight as well as a real one, and Infernape knew it and made a mockery of it. Even Aly said she doesn’t use Ditto much because she knows how to use her own Pokemon better than someone else’s.”

Aly took a deep breath, staring at Infernape and its Trainer. “Okay, okay! No sweat, here! Time for my baby!” She scooped up a Poke Ball and tossed it. “Persian, come on!”

Persian landed and stretched. It let out a dramatic, loud meow, smiling at Infernape.

Spikes reacted, knocking down Persian as it screeched.

“Fake Out, right away!” Aly started.

Persian managed to get back up but sat down and raised its front paws which glowed orange. It clapped them once.

Transparent energy came off of them and hit Infernape.

“Inferrrrrnnn...” Infernape Flinched, turning its back on Persian, cowering.

Still smirking, Mario just nodded.

“Now go on with Power Gem!” Aly insisted.

“Close Combat! Whenever you’re ready!” Mario was glowing with happiness.

The jewel on Persian’s forehead glowed red.

“INFERRRRRNAAAAAAPE!!” Infernape was done with the Flinching and leaped over the pale pink beam with the white energy around it that Persian launched. Once it landed, Infernape was doing flips as it neared Persian.

Looking uncomfortable and angry, Persian took a step back, raising one claw and hissing sharply.

Infernape kicked Persian across the face, punched it in the stomach, and brutalized the Normal type Pokemon.

Persian meowed loudly as it slid on its side.

“Persian is unable to battle! Infernape wins!!” the referee told everyone, raising the red flag.

“She must be out of Pokemon, now, resorting to a Persian!” the loudmouth spoke out, laughing.

Neither child looked back, frowning.

Raichu did silently gaze at the man for a moment.

He might be right, Gary kept to himself. And he wondered if Robin was thinking the same thing. She only has one thing left... But what will it be?

“ALYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!” Robin yelled at the top of his lungs, standing and cupping his hands around his mouth. His voice didn’t make much way fighting against the noisy crowd and the announcer.

This has really gotten bad, Gary continued in his head. One-on-one, against a powerhouse with a healing move... What happened out here so quickly to change everything??

“I must say, I didn’t expect to have to use this strategy at this time, in this way, to turn a match around!” Mario beamed at Aly.

“I admit, your strategy is pretty crazy,” Aly admitted humbly, closing her eyes.

“They say the gods usually are,” Mario said with cockiness.

Aly’s eyes opened and then tightened on her opponent, but she didn’t say another word. “Persian, my love... Thank you and return!” Her last Poke Ball was soon in her hand. “This is all up to you, Breloom! Please! Give it that real Fighting type spirit!” She sent out the Pokemon with a shout.

Breloom appeared, glaring at Infernape. Its left eye was looking a lot better now, but was still swollen.

Infernape had a dark smile on its face, matching Mario’s.

Breloom yelled out as it was dropped hard from Spikes.

Gary covered his face, now afraid to continue watching.

Breloom stood back up, closing its eyes and shaking its head. As it opened its eyes, it was suddenly slugged by Infernape.

The flaming monkey’s arms were glowing light blue as it knocked Breloom down at a blinding speed.

Breloom got back up easily.

“Tie it up with Leech Seed, Breloom!!”

“FIRE PUNCH!” Mario had a maniacal smile now.

Breloom launched a Seed from a hole in the red growth of the green mushroom cap atop its head.

Infernape’s fists burst into flames and it punched the Seed, destroying it, and continued forward, punching Breloom right in the face with its other fist.

Breloom dropped, and Gary could hear a bell ringing.

It was like a knockout in a boxing match.

Gary was on his feet with eyes unable to keep in water.

Robin was screaming.

Raichu was watching in shock, his hands to his cheeks, right at the yellow dots.

The crowd rooted for their favorites.

“BRELOOOOOOOOM!! DRAIN PUUUUUUNCH!!” Aly begged her Pokemon.

Breloom got itself back up!!

Gary gasped loudly.

“YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!” Robin raised his fists, jumping to his feet.

Breloom made a fist that became covered by a green orb of energy and it punched Infernape. Sparkling green orbs of energy came off of Infernape and into Breloom.

“THAT’S IT, ALY!!” Robin cheered. “MORE!! MORE!!!”

“Drain Punch!!” Aly repeated.

“Fire punch!!” Mario chose.

Both moves swung out and met.

Breloom was taken down wearily, the Fire type move taking over completely, and it collapsed wearily.

The red flag was waved.