"No, but tha' sounds like an interesting concept if yeh associate it wit' an obstacle course," a low, hoarse voice sounded out from my left. I turned to see an elderly man in green gardening gear, a brown tool belt, a giant pair of scissors on his back, and a weird pig-tail-esque white goatee. He was slightly crouched over as he walked over to me.

"Hmm," Ramos continued, "one minute an' 28 seconds. Yer quite the lively sprout, aren't yeh?"

"Well, I do feel quite energetic on a Sunny Day," I quipped.

"Ha! Maybe yeh whippersnappers do have some hope after all," he said with a grin. "Well then, yer here to challenge the Coumarine Gym?"

"Yessir."

"Good. I've seen yer previous battle wit' Clemont, and I've got to say. Yer quite the redwood sprout, but still a sprout. Let me show yeh how tough an aged and weathered tree actually is!"

With that, the plain area we were standing on began to change. A stadium began to rise up from the sides of the room. The middle of the room split open to reveal a reinforced arena full of plants and a small river. Ramos made his way over to the far side of the arena as I stood on the opposite end. A referee walked up the side.

"This is a battle between Gym Leader Ramos of the Coumarine City Gym and challenger Marco Pérez. This will be a 3v3 battle," the referee shouted once Ramos got to his side. "Only the challenger is allowed one substitution for each of his Pokémon. No items will be allowed. Are both Trainers ready?"

"Sure am." / "Yes."

"Ok, the battle will start in Three… Two… One, begin!" she shouted.

"Breeze, show the young sprout what yeh can do." / "Let's go, Tetsu!"

A Jumpluff appeared in front of Ramos, lightly landing on the ground. Meanwhile, Tetsu landed with a loud thump and slightly sunk into the dirt.

"Sunny Day!" / "Ingrain!"

The classic set-up phase. This was gonna be good. Jumpluff, in game, was not much of an attacker. This was going to be a good time to get Tetsu beefed up. However, ignoring Jumpluff's ability to support would be a mistake. Especially when it had Chlorophyll, Leaf Guard, or both.

"Cotton Guard!" / "Iron Defense!"

Jumpluff had four great moves: Cotton Guard, Synthesis, Swords Dance, and Baton Pass. I was very sure that Ramos would make use of three of those four, meaning all Jumpluff would do was max out its defense and attack before passing it on to either Weepinbell or Gogoat. Considering my own strength and my battle with Clemont, Victreebel was more likely than Weepinbell.

"Cotton Guard, again!" / "Iron Defense!"

However, Victreebel's movepool isn't very diverse. Gogoat would be the more likely Baton Pass target since it learns Brick Break and a few Ground-type moves. It doesn't matter though. Triple stacked Iron Defense, Ingrain, and Leech Seed, combined with a neutral Flash Cannon that's not affected by the Cotton Guard boost means Tetsu's chances of steamrolling go up the longer the battle takes.

"Swords Dance!" / "Iron Defense!"

"Swords Dance!" / "Leech Seed!"

I could see Ramos' face scrunch up a bit, meaning I had correctly predicted his plan. Now, it was either keep Jumpluff in and waste the boosts or switch to one of his other Pokémon and try to prevent a battle of attrition, which would result in his loss.

"Baton Pass!" / "Charge it up, sweetie!"

I had gone over a basic plan with Tetsu and Nautilus. Mudkip was obviously going to sit this one out. If Tetsu didn't win the three battles, Nautilus sure as hell would. They had an intrinsic understanding of how effective a plan could be, as well as how often a plan could go wrong. Still, with them knowing the goal of my plans, they could easily improvise without my input.

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"Gooaaaat!"

Gogoat came out with maxed out defense, boosted attack, and Leech Seeded. As soon as it was aware of the battle, it was hit by a nearly point-blank Flash Cannon to the face. I thought Ramos would've had Gogoat ready to dodge or counter it.

"Flash Cannon, all around you!"

I wasn't going to give Ramos a chance, not when I had been given time to plan. While Gogoat was recovering, I had Tetsu form a ring around her by destroying the ground with Flash Cannon. This way any Ground-type attacks, mainly Bulldoze and Earthquake, couldn't fully reach her.

"Yeh whippersnapper, looks like yer not as green a sprout as I thought. And yer Pokémon shows complete trust in yeh," Ramos nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll have to try my hardest if I wanna win."

"Rock Slide and run in!" / "Charge up that Flash Cannon!"

Gogoat slammed its foot and several massive rocks were flung over Tetsu and dropped on her head. She used her Flash Cannon to destroy the rocks, which provided Gogoat a distraction for getting in close. Gogoat was just outside the ring when it jumped over, barreling towards Tetsu.

"Start yer root dance, Capri!" / "Don't give her the chance!"

Gogoat fell with a hoof aimed at Tetsu's face. Tetsu used Flash Cannon, which Gogoat dodged with a quick movement to the side, during which her nose and horns glowed a light blue. Once she landed, she began stomping on the ground continuously, her erratic movements making her a difficult target. Rock Slide, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, and Stomping Tantrum made up her moveset for the battle.

Gogoat continued her dance, trying to hit Tetsu with a Brick Break in the middle of her stomping and using Aerial Ace to dodge. It was a good strategy because Tetsu was a sitting duck. Emphasis on 'was.' The Stomping Tantrum loosened the ground enough for the roots of Ingrain to no longer take hold.

While Gogoat was in the middle of continuing her Stomping Tantrum, Tetsu moved forward and used one of her feelers to trip Gogoat. Tetsu then used Flash Cannon to send Gogoat crashing away from her. She then rolled away and set up another Ingrain and charged up Flash Cannon.

Gogoat got up, panting heavily. Though Ferrothorn didn't have a great special attack in games, all the training she did manipulating energy for Gravity, Ingrain, and Leech Seed, plus all the time spent using Flash Cannon, had increased the density and power of her energy attacks. Her ability Iron Barbs also contributed a lot of damage when she was hit, while Leech Seed was draining Gogoat's stamina and health and replenishing Tetsu's.

A silver beam of energy shot across the arena, hitting Gogoat and sending her limply crashing and rolling. Tetsu hummed loudly, Ingrain restoring more of her health and energy.

"Gogoat is unable to battle. Gym Leader Ramos, please send out your next Pokémon," the referee called out.

"Hmm. Yer name is Marco, right?" Ramos asked as he released Jumpluff.

"Yep, and this tank right here is Tetsu," I replied with a cordial smile.

"Ha, yeh and yer Pokémon have the same o' spirit," Ramos pointed out mirthfully. "Let's finish this, eh?"

"Let's."

"Begin!"

"Sunny Day!" / "Leech Seed!"

As Jumpluff once again set up Sunny Day, Tetsu sent a wave of Leech Seed. From here, it was Flash Cannon until everyone was down and out. And that's what she did. She gave Jumpluff no room to breathe. Every Flash Cannon was timed to either interrupt her boosting moves or get hit directly. There was no way Tetsu was going down now.

"Jumpluff is unable to battle! Gym Leader Ramos, please send out your last Pokémon."

Victreebel came out, ready to go.

"Begin!"

"Victr-" / "Light 'em up, sweetie!"

Before Ramos could give out his command, I barked out my order as loud as I could. This surprised Ramos enough for Tetsu to once again spam Flash Cannon. This time, however, the slower-moving Victreebel couldn't dodge as easily, taking most of the beams of Steel-type energy directly.

Tetsu didn't even need Leech Seed to drain Victreebel for its energy. Within moments of constant Flash Cannon firing, to the point that it seemed like it was one continuous beam constantly fluctuating in width, Victreebel was unconscious.

"Victreebel is unable to battle! The victor is Marco Pérez."

I walked over to Tetsu and gave her a hug, picking her up off the floor to her delight. I congratulated her and returned her to her Pokéball. As soon as I did, I noticed Ramos walking over.

"Hmm, that was very fun, yeh rowdy whippersnapper. But yeh proved yeh are capable and yer Pokémon have been well-cared fer," Ramos nodded with a wide smile plastered on his face. "It's nice to see such good bonds. Mighty oaks from acorns grow."

He shuffled his hands around his belt before opening a pocket and grabbing something out.

"Yeh've earned it. Here's yer own Plant Badge, sprout," he continued as he handed me a green badge that was shaped like a leaf and QR code. "Tha' code is fer Grass Knot. I'm sure yeh know how to use it already. I've also wired yeh 6,000$. Hmm, it's time for the mints and herbs to be watered. Have fun on yer journey, sprout."

With that, he walked towards the back of the tree, grabbing a vine and then disappearing as he slid down. That was low-key kinda cool. I walked out, opting to just jump down. I landed with a loud THUD, scaring the receptionist and hurting my knees a bit. I definitely could've landed better. I walked back to through the forest, letting Nautilus and Mudkip join me while Tetsu rested.

She fought hard, pushing herself to her limits with those Flash Cannons. She deserved a reward, something I would research tonight. In the meantime, I recounted the exciting battle to Mudkip and Nautilus. I exaggerated some parts for Mudkip's enjoyment, something Nautilus almost ruined.

As we enjoyed the sunset walk, Mudkip told me she wanted a nickname and had already picked two for herself. She asked me which I preferred: Nessie or Kippie.

"I think Kippie has a really nice ring to it," I answered her truthfully. I already had the names Laguna and Amphitrite for her to choose, but Kippie was a much simpler and cuter name than either of those.

Her face radiated pure happiness as she furiously nodded her head in acceptance. I think I made the right choice. Kippie bounced left and right the entire way back, earning the ire of some people once we got back into town. I had Nurse Joy heal up Tetsu, grabbed some food from the canteen for all of us, and then we made our way back to our room.

While we were eating, I decided to look into some items for Tetsu. I currently had a total of 54,957$, though 30,000$ of that was in savings. I had quite a bit of wiggle room for a nice gift. I spent my time looking through things like Miracle Seeds, Rose Incenses, and Leaf Stones.

Miracle Seeds and Rose Incenses could be used as a held item that boosted the strength of Grass-type, though how it was held could prove difficult for most Pokémon. Necklaces and bracelets were the most common methods. I found out a Pokémon could also absorb the energy of the item for a lower, but more even, distribution of enhancements.

For example, Miracle Seeds could be used to increase the overall ability of a Pokémon to learn and use Grass-type moves, including combination moves, while making all of their attacks slightly more potent. The Rose Incense increased the general stats, like strength, speed, health, and stamina. The Leaf Stone always induced an evolution if possible, while generating massive boosts to those already evolved. Guess I found the item.