" Ow! Kris let go of my ear." Gold complained as Kris was dragging him out of the Game Room using a technique that she saw Misty do to Brock when he was getting a bit too weird with his flirting. "I was about to win big time!"

"You've been gambling for the last few days, there's more to life than that Ethan." Kris told him, letting go of the ear with Gold rubbing it in pain, giving an irritated glare at his friend while Ataro was snickering on his shoulder.

"But I won a lot of money, look with this much I'll be able to get all the best items for our journey when we start." Gold protested clutching the case where he had the money.

"We need to have a talk about your addiction." Kris deadpanned while Gold stubbornly looked away, not wanting to admit that he had a problem.

But then he blinked when he saw Austin walking past them. "Hey Ash."

Austin blinked and turned looking surprised as he was lost in thought and didn't see them. "Oh hey Gold." He said before pausing. "Or do you prefer Ethan? I'm not too sure what to call you."

"Gold's fine." Gold said waving his hand to show he didn't mind. "Same with Kris being called that or Crystal."

Kris just glared at him. "I usually prefer my real name thank you very much." She said crossing her arms.

Austin chuckled while Pikachu gave a small cry out to Ataro who snickered.

"You two enjoying the ship?" Austin asked curiously.

"Of course I cleaned out the Game Corner until somebody dragged me out right before I could win big." Gold jerked his head to Kris who smirked.

"Or before you get cocky and lose it all… Again."

"That never happened." Gold protested pretty quickly.

Austin just chuckled at seeing them interact.

One would think they were siblings from how they spoke.

"What about you?" Kris asked.

"I am taking a break before the tournament tonight plus being on a cruise ship is amazing ," Austin admitted as back in his world he never been on one. "But it's quite an interesting experience."

' And it's definitely going a lot better than last time.' Austin thought with a grin.

Gold then grinned. "Hey how about a battle?" He asked wanting to test himself against Ash, he did hear about some of his matches when they all ate dinner together that one night and he was really excited about the thought.

Austin blinked before grinning. "Sure but maybe we will see each other in the tournament tonight ."

Gold looked away while Kris sighed and explained .

" We aren't fully registered trainers so Gold couldn't enter the tournament ."

" Ah ! so how many?"

"Two on Two." Gold said twirling his Pool Cue, looking like he was about to fight.

Kris just rolled her eyes, knowing how Gold was with his battles.

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"That's great." Brock said talking to Forrest back in Pewter City. "So you finally got your first Pokemon?"

"Yeah, it's a Geodude but I can't wait to train him up, I want to be a Gym Leader like you were bro." Forrest said an excited grin on his face.

"Being a Gym Leader is harder than it looks." Brock warned his younger sibling. "You really have to commit to it."

"I know but you were amazing as a Gym Leader, I really want to do this." Forrest said with conviction in his tone before looking down. "Hey when are you going to visit?"

"Hm?" Brock looked surprised. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just we miss you," Forrest said turning away. "We watched your win in the Breeder Contest on TV and we're happy you're on a journey but we can't help but miss you."

Brock hummed in thought. "Next time I'm in the area I'll drop by, we'll be in Celadon after this boat ride," He said to Forrest. "I can introduce you to Zubat and maybe my Egg will hatch by then."

Forrest grew excited. "Oh man I wonder what Alolan Pokemon it'll be." He said with Brock chuckling.

"You'll have to wait and see." Brock teased before a serious look came across his face. "What about Flint?"

Just like that Forrest looked a bit awkward. "I know you haven't forgiven Dad yet but he's trying." He said wishing that Flint and Brock would patch things up soon. "He nearly collapsed one day without saying anything with trying to make things right."

Brock twitched a little worried but he didn't say anything.

Maybe it was petty for him to still hold a bit of a grudge on his father but after he practically abandoned everyone he had a right to be angry, especially after Mom's death.

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Moments later the two were ready as Austin used the Pokedex to make a switch.

He sent Butterfree and Krabby back for Bulbasaur and Squirtle.

It's been a bit since he used the two of them for a battle and while he was sure that Gold was strong he didn't want to use Pikachu, Pidgeot or any of his strongest for this battle, as he was saving them for the tournament.

Gold grinned and placed a Pokeball down before he surprised everyone watching by using his Pool Cue to hit the ball where it bounced around, releasing a Poliwag that landed with ease showing how much they practiced that.

'Just like the Manga.' Austin absently thought remembering how in the Manga, Gold did that to get his Pokemon behind various Team Rocket members for a surprise attack.

While not good to use in an official match as that would be considered cheating, it was a smart one for a battle of survival. Although Austin had a feeling that Gold was just showing off here.

"Let's do this Politaro." Gold said to one of the Pokemon he grew up with.

Giving a grin, Austin decided to send Squirtle out.

Sure he could use Bulbasaur for a Type Advantage but this was a battle for fun and he was eager to see how this match-up would go.

'Okay there's a slight chance that Poliwag has the skill Water Absorb so water type moves are a no go.' Austin thought .'He did in the Manga but that could be different here so we can't let our guard down.'

"Rapid Spin " Austin ordered going on the offensive with Squirtle using rapid spin to attack at Politaro while Gold grinned.

"Use Water Gun to launch yourself into the air and use Body Slam!"

Politaro listened with no hesitation as the attack flew past him .

" Protect, follow up with Aura Sphere!"

"Tle!" Squirtle barely threw up the force field right as Politaro slammed into it, using the time to prepare the blue orb.

"Aura what?" Gold asked not hearing of that attack but decided he didn't want that to hit. "Quick Hypnosis!"

Politaro listened as he made eye contact to put Squirtle to sleep but was surprised when it had no effect on Squirtle who threw the Aura Sphere sending the tadpole flying.

"Huh?! How come that didn't work." Gold asked dumbfounded with Austin blinking just as surprised.

"It's the Sunglasses." Kris shouted earning a surprised look from Gold. "Blackglasses power up Dark-Type Moves but they also have the side effect of resisting Psychic Energy due to that."

"Is that legal?" Gold asked incredulously.

"I'm not sure." Austin said bewildered.

If it's legal it would make a great addition to Sabrina's Gym Battle.