Accelerock knocks out the row of empty soda cans Ace had carefully placed on the bench in his backyard. The boy finds himself satisfied with the result, out of 10 cans Rockruff didn't miss a single one, and his attack seemed to be getting faster. This way of training has been paying off. There was, however, one problem - he had lost to Lesley, again. Even after almost a week of training, even though Rockruff has improved, he still lost. Ace had spent his flight, and a good part of last night, trying to figure out what the problem in his strategy was. What everyone had told him, that he's battling too passively might've had some merit, but Ace decided it wasn't the main issue.

What was actually dragging him down, Ace concluded, was the lack of tools in his arsenal. Virtually, Rockruff only knew 2 moves. Accelerock and Double Team. Yes, Rockruff knew 4 moves, but only these 2 brought something into the battle. Sand Attack was somewhat similar to Double Team, both moves helping Rockruff not to take hits. Double Team, however, served Ace much better, so Sand Attack was just a dead weight. Rockruff also knew Quick Attack, which pretty much never came up in a battle, Ace realised. It was just the worst version of Accelerock anyways, one that was weaker and that required his partner to approach the target, whereas Accelerock was a mid-range attack.

He had thought about this throughly, analysing the tools others had. Lesley, for instance, had Protect, a foolproof way to block any attack, but one that could be easily predicted. He saw first hand that pretty much everyone in Old King's already started learning how to bait out the protect. Then there was Confuse Ray, an useful utility move, Confusion that was Lesley's main attack, and Snarl that was there to cover the field and weaken his opponents. So, compared to him, Lesley had more tools to work with and he could come up with more strategies. Wait no. That was not fully right. Spoink didn't use Confuse Ray in that battle in Canalave. And he didn't know Protect when they battled at the beach. Or Nasty Plot. Ace realises, Lesley had changed Spoink's moveset, exchanging Confuse Ray and Calm Mind for the 2 new moves.

Then there was Ves, who had Nasty Plot as well, a move that powers up his partner. A bit risky, but still a tool that allows him to strategise. Then, of course, there was Joe, who had Detect as his main way of coping with any issues, and two priority moves in Vacuum Wave and Bullet Punch. Stepping away from the joke that 'Joe loves his priority", Ace had realised one thing - those two moves allowed the guy to pretty much control the pace of a battle most of the times. And unfrotunately, Joe currently had the most similar tools to Ace, so the boy would have to take a few pages from his playbook. That said, what he needed to find was a move that would allow him to control the pace of the battle. Finding a solution was actually quite easy, Ace already knew what 2 new moves he wanted Rockruff to learn, but finding his way to those moves would be very hard. What he wanted was Sucker Punch and Taunt. The latter would be good at ridding people of their utility moves, he wouldn't have to look for the ways to bait out Protect and no one would set-up in front of him. A great way to rid others of their tools. Sucker Punch would help with setting the pace, especially when dealing with opponents faster than him. The big problem was that his partner could learn Taunt only by using the TM, and Taunt was not exactly a popular strategy, so the TM was impossible to find. Even online, he could find only a few copies, which were overpriced as hell. Sucker Punch was even worse. Not only could Rockruff not learn it on his own, but the TMs were of no use. No, in order to open up pathways necessary for utilising that move, his partner would need a specialised hypnotic therapy known as "Move Tutoring". It was an old way of teaching pokemon new moves, born much before the TMs came along, so not too many people knew how to do it, and Ace was certain those who did asked a good buck for their services. So, that was the case with Rockruff, but Ace's problems didn't stop there.

Private, the Charcadet was the whole other ball game. The small fire type was lively and nimble, which was a good thing, Ace knew his agility will make him a good battler. However, the second part of the 'good battler' was the problem here. Charcadet seemed to simply not care about battles. Mostly, he wanted to eat and play, Ace learned. Well, the newest addition to his team was definitely young, only knowing 3 moves was a great indicator of that. Out of those 3 moves, Leer was very much useless, and Emebr and Astonish were weak and slow. Ace had no idea where he would even start with Charcadet's training. Strengtening his existing moves or teaching him new ones wouldn't do much good when the pokemon didn't take the battles seriously. One thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to evolve Charcadet into a Ceruledge, because it looked cool as hell, and that would be a hard task. Evolving Charcadet required two things - Charcadet developing his strenght, which was still far out of reach, Ace knew, but it was doable, and finding an item known as Malicious Armor, which the boy concluded was a nearly impossible task. He searched all over the internet, only to realise the thing couldn't be purchased anywhere, and there are not too many sources explaining where it can be found.

Calculating all of this, Ace came to a simple conclusion - he was doomed.

A month was separating him from the tournament. Currently he had a Rockruff with an incomplete moveset, and a Charcadet who prefered playing around over battling. And everyone else around him was improving and growing. If he wanted any chance of passing the year, he needed to outgrow them within the next month. What he needed was a game plan. Unfortunately, outside of knowing what he wants to accomplish to some extent, he had no idea how to accomplish it.

"Okay Rocky, can you switch to Double Team practice now?", Ace says heavily, "I need you to create the clones faster". Double Team was simpler than an attack in a way, a pokemon released the energy from its body in order to create a clone in a certain spot. Though it sounded complicated, it wasn't that hard, basically just shedding excess energy that accumulates on pokemon's skin. A simple illusion basically, that was still classified as a normal type move, even though scientists have found strong evidence of it being a psychic type move. Regardless, in theory it was much simpler to practice than an attacking move. The only problem, Ace couldn't really come up with a fun way to do the training, so Rockruff would get bored quickly and start goofing around. At least, Rocky would put some work in, unlike a certain other pokemon.

"Private, please, just try using Ember", Ace says pleadingly. Charcadet is, however, preocupied with the magnolias Ace's mother grows in their backyard. "Okay, no, don't use Ember, not around the flowers", Ace thinks better of it, "mom would kill me". The fire child pokemon swiftly picks one of the flowers, stumbling towards Ace, and offering it as a present. It holds it up expectantly, and the boy figures out the pokemon is most likely trying to exchange it for food. He lived on a street for a while, so he must've seen people buying food, and thought he was supposed to pay up for a meal.

"Alright bud", Ace takes the flower defeatedly, "just don't pick any more flowers, please, or we'll both be killed". His mother did love her flowers.

He strolled into the house, filling up 2 food bowls as fast as he could. The clock showed 8:30AM. It was Saturday, so his parents should wake up soon. That would be all for his trsining anyways. Besides, he did have another important thing happening today. Gregory would be coming along with his family around noon. They were supposed to have lunch together, then go to the gym to watch his cousin's second attempt at getting a badge.

He walks outside, placing the food bowls onto the ground. Private immediately picks which one is his, and starts throwing the blocks in the air, just to catch them in his mouth. Rocky stops his training immediately as well, running to the other bowl and digging his face into it. He downs it in no time, leapimg at Ace the very next second.

"Alright, alright buddy", Ace creates the space with his arms as Rockruff energetically licks his face and rubs against him. When his partner finally calms down, Ace feels the itch on his cheek. Rubbing his hand against it, he realises his cheek is bloddied. Wipping out his phone and starting the cameraxhe can clearly see a fresh cut. "Hey, Rocky, maybe restrain from attacking my face in the future", Ace says, trying to wipe away the blood. Rockruff looks at him apologetically, stepping just a bit away. "Oh, it's fine, I'm fine, I'm not mad", Ace says with a smile. He truly wasn't, in reality, he was ecstatic that this had happened. It meant one thing - Rockruff is growing. The small dog's body was covered in rock particles that got firmer and sharper as the pokemon developed. His partner was improving, and it was great, with only a week of dedicated training. So maybe, if he kept it up for a month, he would have a chance. Only if Charcadet was willing to train as well.

He took another look at the fire kid, who was still leisurely throwing the pokeblocks into the air. The pokemon must've found it fun. A stupid idea forms in Ace's head. "Hey, Private", he stoops over closer to his new partner, "you know, those pokeblocks are much tastier when they are grilled".

Charcadet stops his little game in order to look at his trainer in confusion.

"Yeah, yeah, they are so much better when you grill them", Ace blatantly lies. He has no idea how pokemon food tastes. "You should use Ember on them before you catch them with your mouth", the boy points out.

Charcadet tilts his head, still confused. He picks up the next pokeblock carefully, throws it into the air. The smallest Ember the world has ever seen hits the flying pokeblock, and Charcadet cathes it expertly in his mouth. It worked once, Ace thinks. Charcadet chews on the food for a moment, before swallowing it. His expression doesn't change as he pick up the next pokeblock, throwing it into the air. Ember comes again. He grills next one as well, causing Ace to breathe a sigh of relief. There was a way to train Charcadet after all. A very stupid way that relied on blatant lies and bribery, but a way nonetheless.

"Hey, Private, is it easier if I throw it for you", Ace inches in closer getting another idea. Why not train Charcadet's mobility at the same time. The pokemon looks at him strangely again, but doesn't seem to complain, so Ace picks one of the pokeblocks. "Fine, so I'll throw this, you hit it with Ember then catch it and eat it", the boy says. Charcadet stares blankly at him, so Ace adds: "it will be fun, like a little game, trust me".

Charcadet gives him a small nod, and Ace carefully throws the pokeblock away, making sure it doesn't go too far. Charcadet hits it with Ember, jumps forward and catches it. "Okay, here comes the next one", Ace says readily, throwing the next one a bit to his right. He wants Charcadet moving. His new partner hits Ember again, catching the pokeblock again. Their little game goes on for another half an hour, until the bowl is completely empty. Ace learns valuable information from this. First and foremost, food is a great way to motivate Charcadet, possibly the only way. Second, Charcadet can catch everything, the pokemon didn't miss out the single pokeblock, with his mouth, at least. Ember, however, would miss as soon as the pokeblock would be thrown at a higher speed or altitude. And even when it hit, Ace decided the attack wasn't nearly powerful enough. It would barely leave black marks on the pokeblocks, as far as Ace could tell. There was work to be done for sure, but at least he had a way to do it.

*****

"Cmooon, Ace, please, let me play with your pokemon", Valerie whined at the table, "pretty please, Greg never lets me play with his pokemon".

"Val, pokemon are dangerous, you can't play with them", Greg calmly says to his sister, "I don't let you play with my pokemon because of that".

"You can play with Charcadet", Ace says simply, not paying Gregory any attention. He likes to defy his cousin. And besides, Valerie is kind of his favourite.

"Really?", the seven year asks excitedly, "for real, Ace?".

"Yes, for real", Ace nods, "but eat your veggies first".

"Alright, you're the best", the girl says digging into her sweet potato salad, spilling most of it on her pink overalls.

"Val, sweetie, I don't think that's the best idea", aunt Celia says carefully, giving Ace a stern look, that he promptly ignores.

"Ace, you can't be irresponsible", his mother joins the conversation, on the side of her sister.

"It's fine", Ace waves them both away, "Private is young, basically a baby, he couldn't harm her even if he wanted to, besides, I'll have Rocky watch over them as they play".

"Private, Rocky?", Valerie says excitedly, "you gave nicknames to your pokemon, Gregy never does that". She sits down firmly in his chair, giving her brother a stern look: "why don't you nickname your pokemon, mister?".

"I... I don't know, guess I just don't do it", Greg finds himself at loss for words.

"It's cause you can't think of good names", Valerie rejects his explanation, "let me do it then, Squirtle will be named Leonardo, like a ninja turtle, and Pidgey, we'll call pidgey Sparrow, like captain Jack Sparrow from that movie".

"Wow, can't believe we have two of these in our family", uncle Tom shakes his head, looking at both Ace and Valerie.

"Ace, did you play her Pirates of the Carribean?", his mother sighs, "that's not a kid movie"

"Why not, it's by Disney", Ace shrugs.

"When I grow up, I will be a pokemon trainer and a pirate", Valerie says vigorously.

"Right, sweetie, you'll be a good pirate, helping people", aunt Celia laughs uncomfortably.

"No, pirates are not good", Valerie states, "I'll go around stealing other people's gold and sending sea monsters to destroy cities".

"This is what we're raising", uncle Tom sighs, sounding just a tiny bit proud of his daughter.

"Ace, you need to stop teaching her these things", Ace's mother scoffs.

"Hey, I'm not teaching her", Ace shrugs, "she asks questions and I answer them honestly".

"Ace, please", his father says sternly.

"Hey, Val, finish up eating so you can go and play", Ace says with a smile. He's going to teach his little cousin how to throw pokeblocks for Charcadet. Might as well use her playfulness to help his own case. It's not a sly move, she will have fun doing it, probably.

Valerie quickly downs her food, and starts expectantly jumping up and down. Ace stands up, motioning for Rockruff and Charcadet to follow them into the backyard. There, he quickly explains to Valerie how to throw the pokeblocks to Charcadet, making sure to warn her to throw them far away from herself. Instructing Rockruff to watch and intercept any attacks coming Valerie's way, he leaves them to it. Valerie definitely seems to have fun doing his little training regime, so it's a win-win.

"Ace, are you sure this is safe", his mother interrogates as soon as he sits down, "that thing shoots fire from its arms".

"Oh, calm down, it's completely safe", Ace sighs, "besides, Private is not a thing, he's a pokemon, and he doesn't shoot fire he shoots cinders, and not very strong ones".

"Ace, she'll hurt herself", his mother insists.

He looks over his shoulder to see Valerie hurling pokeblocks left and right while Charcadet tries to fry them before catching them. "Nah, she's doing good, besides, this helps Private grow stronger as well".

"Ace", his mother's voice turns judgy, "are you using your sister in order to train your pokemon?".

"The important thing here is, she's having fun", Ace points out.

"Ace!", his mother scolds him.

"I'll go watch over her", uncle Tom shoots up from his chair, "she'll be fine, no worries". He shuffles outside, definitely happy about the idea of getting playtime with his daughter.

"Oh my God, as always, Tom enables this kind of behaviour", aunt Celia says cinically, but Ace can spot a small smile across her face. He can say many things about this woman, but one thing he knew for certain is that she married well.

"They'll be fine", Ace reassures her, "really, Private is basically a baby, and I have Rocky watching out for any stray attacks".

"Next time, Ace, get a pokemon that can't set things on fire", his father sighs, "besides, why don't you let her play with Rockruff, he seems much safer?".

"Yeah, well, Rocky is not that safe, see, he cut me", Ace displays his scar proudly.

"What? He attacked you?", his mother almost screams.

"Well, no, he tried playing with me", Ace sighs, proceeding to give an explantion on the Rockruff line and how they develop.

The adults don't really get it, and his mother definitely doesn't seem satisfied with an explanation at first. Until Greg joins in.

"Oh, so Rockruff is leveling up?", his cousin nods an understanding, and suddenly every adult in the room breathes a sigh of relief.

"Well, no, I mean you can put it like that", Ace sighs, "leveling up is really a simulation thing, things are not that cut and dry in reality".

"Right, right", Greg clears his throat, "but hey, what would you say what level would Rockruff be at, if levels were a thing?". This is one thing Ace really hated about Greg, his willingness to stick to stupid concepts like this. "I think Squirtle must be around level 10 right now", his cousin points out proudly, "Pidgey might be around level 7 or 8".

Levels are a stupid concept, Ace thinks as he unwillingly whips out his phone and draws the simulation specifics on the internet. "Judging by the moves, Rocky was at least at level 10 when I recieved him", Ace says, "by know he should've gained some levels, maybe he's at 15".

"15?", Greg says, sounding only a little bit bitter, "and you recieved him at level 10".

Ace wants to scream that levels don't exist. "Private is definitely a baby, judging by the moveset, he'd be level 5 at best".

"You still haven't trained him up?", Greg says.

"I literally caught him yesterday", Ace retorts.

"Well, you'll need to level him up a bit", Greg nods along.

"Dude, levels are stupid, they do not exist, things are not as linear in the real world the way they are in the simulations".

"Hey, Ace, but the simulation is a good way to put things into perspective", Greg points out, "for instance, I know my Squirtle is only a few levels from evolving".

"I sincerely doubt it", Ace tries not to hiss at him.

"He's definitely at level 10, at least", Greg says decisevly, "and he evolves at level 16, so that's not far away".

Ace is not even about to start discussing the process of pokemon evolution with his cousin. It requiers so much more than just 'levels'. Dammit, people are constantly argue if 'evolution' is even a right term in this case. Pokemon changing their form and growing more powerful in that way is a process that hasn't been fully explained yet. It was so complicated, especially since so many pokemon could evolve into multiple things under differing circumstances.

But of course, Greg would not think nor know much about it. The thing with people who earned their training licesnses through government tests is - they are not the brightest. Well, that might be an overstatement. But the governemts tests consisted of a few things. Written test that requiers knowledge of basic things - type chart, safety measures, some taming techinques and similar, literal basics. The other part was first aid test, and the last part was passing the series simulation tests, or rather, doing battles within the simulation. So yeah, not the toughest test in the world.

"Well, that's great, can't wait for your Squirtle to evolve", Ace says deciding to give it up, "I'm sure I'll hear about it".

"Oh, and I'll evolve Pidgey as well", Greg points out confidently, "I'm hoping to have them both at second stage before I go for my second badge".

"Maybe get your first badge first", Ace points out.

"Well, that's what I'm doing today", Greg says confidently.

"Getting an electric type gym badge? With a Squirtle and the Pidgey?", Ace says, not hiding his doubts.

"Type match-ups are not end all be all", Greg states.

"They are when you're a beginner", Ace points out, "I mean, at least they are a big part of it all".

Greg laughs at the idea: "well, it's fine Ace, you're still a kid, not that you would understand it to that level, but there are ways to work around type distvantage, like coverage moves".

Ace kind of wants to strangle him. "Oh, and your Pidgey and Squirtle have coverage moves for electric types at this point?", Ace dryly questions.

"Oh, no, but that was just an example", Greg says defensively, "there are other things as well".

"Yeah, like strategy, or knowing what the fuck you're doing", Ace's voice cracks, "I doubt you have either of those".

"Ace!", his mother's voice raises.

"What, I mean, if this twat knew shit, he would've made it into Old King's", Ace rolls his eyes.

"Watch your language", his mother says sharply.

"Right, sorry", Ace clears his throat. He realises, he's gotten a habbit of throwing insults like these around, which was an unexpected good thing about his teammtes back at Old King's - freedom of speech.

"You know Ace, my year was just tough to get in, that's all", Greg sighs, "besides, just because you got in doesn't make you an expert".

"Yeah, right, the golden generation", Ace rolls his eyes, he's had this argument enough times already.

"The what?", Greg raises his eyebrow.

"The golden generation", Ace says, realising he had made a terrible mistake. "That's what they call your generation, they are pretty strong", Ace admits.

"See, that's what I'm talking about", Greg points out, "my generation was just super tough".

"Yeah, I sincerely doubt you'd make it in with my generation, though", Ace rolls his eyes, realising he has some really monstrous classmates as well.

From what he has seen, Ace was pretty sure Lesley, Joe and Natasha would all beat Greg into the pulp. He was certain he could crush his cousin in battle easily as well.

His mother and aunt took over the conversation, trying to make Greg feel better about himself. Ace played a little game in his head, called 'where would Gregory rank'. It consisted of trying to figure out what spot his cousin would take if he was one of his classmates. With confidence that the afore mentioned three would beat him, he knew Greg wouldn't be in the top 20. From what he had seen, Mai was pretty good too, so both her and Ace could beat Greg as well. Henry was ranked similarly to the two of them, and Ace had been told how the fight with Vinnie and the gang went, so that was another case where Greg would lose. Therefore, his cousin would miss out on the top 100. Following that, Ves would crush Greg too, so that placed Greg under Ves, ranking wise. So, under the 170th place. He couldn't really remember everyone's ranking, and taking out his phone to check would be rude. 4 people he knew were under Ves for certain were Teo, Leah, Sam and Andrei. And he knew full well that Sam and Andrei were dead last. The problem was, Ace had no idea how Greg would fare against the 4 of them. He had seen Leah battle, only twice, but he was confident she could beat Greg. The trouble was, he didn't know her exact spot, and if she was above Teo in rankings or not. More importantly, was she in the bottom 50?

The big problem was - he never saw Teo battle. Joe did tell them Teo was good, that he had potential, but Ace had no idea how far that potential went. He wanted to place Greg as low as possible. Putting him in the bottom 50 would be great, but confidently saying Greg wouldn't even make it into his generation would be the best. He couldn't resist it, taking out hid phone he checked for Leah and Teo's rankings. Leah was, unfortunately, ranked 211th. So she wasn't enough to put his cousin into the bottom 50.

Teo was 255th, and Tea was 249th. The problem with the lower ranked people was that Ace had no idea what to think of them, they were all too unstable. Tea did beat him, but she did so with a very fucked up strategy. Teo, again, had Joe's endorsment, but was that enough to say he could beat Greg? As far as Ace knew, Absol still wouldn't listen to him, and Totdile only ever used Aqua Jet. In the end, Ace decided to say Teo would most likely beat Greg. Joe saying he's good was enough, and besides, Ace really wanted to be true.

Another thing, Andrei was there. Altough the guy was ranked super low, and he refused to battle, he was pretty damn good that one time he fought Joe and Ves in a double battle with Lesley. Ace tried to recall it all, and thinking about it, he concluded Andrei was not that bad after all. Perhaps he could beat Greg.

In the end, there was Sam, whose record was unfortunate. Ace tried to remember it. There was their first battle where Ves, Sam and himself went against Joe. Sam did nothing in that one. Then, there was the next battle, where Sam and Joe took on Henry and Marc in a double battle. Joe actually knocked Sam out in both of those. Then, Sam battled Leah and Mai in a double with Dean. Where he lost again. But he did knock out Leah in that one. Oh, and there was his little 'falling into the trap' battle with that Bo guy, where he also lost. Ace thought about it. The first two, Joe knocked him out. Joe was ranked 4th. Bo knocked him out as well, and Bo was 10th. Come to think of it, Mai was 60th, and she was the one who knocked him out. Sam had pretty nasty opponents. Really, if he battled Tea, Marc or Andrei, maybe things would play out differently. He did beat Leah, and in a 2v1 scenario, for the most part. So, maybe, Sam could hold his owm against people who were similar in strenght to him. Perhaps he could beat Greg as well. That's what Ace wanted to believe anyways. Greg wouldn't make it into his year.

"The point is", Ace's mother's voice tugs him out of his analysis, "Ace should realise how lucky he is to have been accepted, and not use it to bring others down".

"Lucky?", Ace's voice turns sharp, almost a yell, "I'm in the top 100, you know?". Luck had nothing to do with it, he had studied his ass off to pass the entrance exam, and he had spent 2 whole weeks surviving the hellscape that is Old King's.

"Ace, calm down", his mother says sharply.

"Why?", Ace's voice cracks, "I mean, if mister golden child has an ego problem, that's on him".

"Ace", his mother says in warning.

"What? You know, even if he did make it into the Old King's with his scores, he wouldn't make it through the year", Ace tries not to yell.

"And what is that supposed to mean?", Greg raises his eyebrow.

"It means that you're so used to everyone shielding you from the truth, and telling you how great you are, your ego is so fragile, you wouldn't last a day", Ace scoffs, "do you even know what my classmates are like, everyone at Old King's is a competetive as living hell, you'd be the first to go".

"Calm down Ace", his mother tries, while aunt Celia looks offended.

"No, no, he has no idea how weak he is", Ace says firmly, "pretty much everyone in my year would trash him on the spot".

"Well, now, I'm sure I could take a few 14 year olds", Greg laughs.

"You sure", Ace stands up, "battle me then".

"Ace don't embarrass yourself", Greg raises his eyebrow.

"We're both trainers now, so let's battle", Ace feels his own blood boilng, "I'll fucking crush you, you twat". Unfortunately throwing insults and threats around feels rejuvenating.

"Gregory can't battle, he has a gym battle scheduled in less than two hours", aunt Celia says firmly, "both of you should stop acting childish, you're brothers, no fighting".

"Oh, it will take me like 5 minutes to beat him, it leaves more than enough time to visit a pokemon center", Ace locks his eyes with Greg, offering the challenge. He's seen enough in the past 2 weeks, how relentless his classmates are in battle. Against Greg, at least, Ace was sure he could battle like that. The same way Joe and Ves do.

"Alright", Greg says simply. Aunt Celia protests again, but the boy is quick to quell her: "it will be like a warm up, practice battle".

"Yeah, it's good for both of them to get some training in", Ace's father offers, "since they are both trainers, no sense in not letting them train together". Ace's father is not famous for liking conflict and confrontation, but he does like watching mathes every now and again.

"Fine", Celia gives in, "if it's to train, then okay, but no more fighting".

"Alright, let's go right now then", Ace heads for the backyard immediately, where Valerie and uncle Tom are still playing with Charcadet.

"Oh my, just don't ruin my flowers", Ace's mother wails behind him, "Ace, do you hear me?!".

"No worries, your flowers will be fine", Ace waves her off as he makes his way outside.

Greg follows right behind him, informing uncle Tom what's about to happen.

"Oh, a battle, great", Valerie jumps up immediately, "I'm sure Private will do good". Uncle Tom has to catch her mid-jump to calm her down.

"I think Private will sit this one out", Ace winks at her, "Rocky can take this".

"So, each of us uses 1 pokemon then?", Greg says decisively.

"No, we both use 2", Ace informs him, "I'm just pretty sure I only need Rocky to beat you".

"Sounds awfully overconfident", Greg sighs.

"It's not overconfident if I'm right", Ace offers.

"What do you do when I knock your Rockruff out?", Greg questions, taking his spot in the backyard.

"If you do, I'll use Private", Ace ignores his cousin's remark.

"Alright then, but you know both your pokemon are weak to water types, and I have a Squirtle", Greg smiles, "I mean, you were on and on about type matchups just a moment ago".

"Yeah, well, that's only trouble if your attacks can hit", Ace shrugs it off.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Greg laughs.

Ace wants to tell him that he's about to Double Team the shit out of him, but settles for a simple: "you'll see". Truthfully, Greg starting the battle with Squirtle would make things harder, but Ace was pretty sure he wouldn't.

"Rocky", Ace calls for his partner as he takes his spot on their impromptu battlefield. "You ready to battle?", the boy crouches down next to his partner who barks in confirmation. "Alright, great, just make sure you don't send the Accelerock into my mom's flowers, or anyone who's watching the battle, alright?". Yet again, Rockruff barks in understanding. Ace looks around, realising the backyard is kind of small, and their spectators were standing way to close for comfort. He gestures for them to move further back. It should be fine, he thinks, they've practiced Accelerock's accuracy, so Rockruff should be able to avoid hurting anyone. Besides, this was one battle where he wanted to throw caution out of the window. Beating Greg was not enough, he wanted his cousin to know that he would never, ever, in a million years, make it into Old King's. Ace wanted them all to see who the better one was. For that, he had to battle in a different way.

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Surprisingly, he was calm. His heart was racing, but his head was clear. Maybe that's how it was, when you knew there was a skill gap between you and your opponent, and you knew you had an upper hand. Ace knew Greg for his whole life, he could read him, and he knew what he should expect.

Firstly, he knew his cousin would never start with a Squirtle, not after he tried convincing Ace he could win without type advntage in front of their family.

"Alright, let's go then", Greg says, realeasing his Pidgey out of the pokeball. As expected.

The flying type hung low in the air, and Ace realised there was one problem. Winning would be easy, but if Rockruff missed with Accelerock even once, the windows would be gone instead of his mother's flowers. Well, he only had to bet on his partner not missing.

"Oh, oh, can I announce the battle", Valerie says excitedly, still holding on to Charcadet.

"Sure honey", uncle Tom gives her permission.

"Alright, are you both ready to go?", Valerie yells.

"Ready", Greg says with a smile.

"Yeah", Ace says, not taking his eyes off of the Pidgey.

"Battle, start", Valerie almost screams.

"Double Team, now", Ace says readily.

"Starting already", Greg laughs, "okay then, no wasting time, Tackle, Pidgey".

His cousin is apparently the type that likes giving his own commentary during the battle. Put that under 'dumb ways to die'.

"Again, Rocky, Double Team", Ace promptly ignores the incoming attack. Does he need two double teams to deal with Pidgey? No. It's called 'Squirtle safety measures'.

Tackle misses as Rockruff creates the second energy clone. The bird cirlcles back in the air, staying higher this time around. Ace really doesn't want to attack now, even though he promised to himslef he'd fight more agressively. Hitting a flying target that moves was hard, and a miss would guarantee him a yelling match with his mother. He decides he doesn't have to risk it, after all. Accelerock is a priority move, he just needs to wait a bit.

"Well, creating clones is not really a winning strategy", Greg scratches his head, "you've watched too much of of that orange dude again?".

"You mean Naruto?", Ace rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, that guy has the magic to create clones, right?", Greg keeps on chatting.

"It's a ninja technique", Ace scoffs, "and it's called Shadow Clone Jutsu, you've watched the show, you should know this".

"Well, I know that you should attack if you want to win in a pokemon battle", Greg offers, "why are you just standing there?".

"Just being a good cousin, giving you some time to think things through", Ace shrugs, but internally he's screaming for Greg to attack already. He hates everyone constantly telling him he needs to attack, as if he doesn't know that. He just needs to put himself in a position to do that, one that doesn't risk breaking any windows.

"Well, you know, you're not really good at this, then", Greg scratches his head.

Ace absolutely hates it. If Ves or Joe were in his place, they'd attack, neither of them would let Greg stand there and have a chat session mid-battle. Joe would gladly break any window to win a battle, and Ves would have no problem setting the garden on fire. Maybe that was the difference between the two of them and Ace.

"You know, in the simulation...", Greg goes goes to explain something.

"Accelerock", Ace cuts him off. He's not sure why he switched up, but his head feels heavy. Ace sees Greg step back in surprise as the flying rocks hit into Pidgey, and he hears himself saying: "Again". Right, Accelerock had priority, but it was a bit weak.

"Ace, stop it", he hears his mother yell, but it's a bit too late. Pidgey's alredy knocked out.

"Hey, cous, this was not fair", Greg protests loudly, "we were talking".

"We were battling", Ace says sharply. His hands are trembling, but it feels good.

"Dude, that was cheap", Greg scoffs, returning his Pidgey.

"Well, if you want to talk during a battle, try being a commentator, not a trainer", Ace infroms him.

"So that's how you wanna do it, huh? Alright.", Greg says chucking his second pokeball out into the air, and releasing Squirtle. "Let me show you then", Greg sounds determined.

"Accelerok, Rocky", Ace orders immdiately. No use wasting time on Greg's little ego boosting show.

"Really, again?", Greg says as the rocks dig into Squirtle.

"Again", Ace orders, not noticing his hand flies through the air.

"Ace, slow down", his mother says firmly, but Ace ignores her. Why would he slow down? It's a battle. The Accelerock hits again. Ace needs 1 more hit, and this will be over.

"Counter with Water Gun", Greg says hastily, finally realising Ace has no intentions of letting up.

"Accelerock, end it, Rocky", Ace says carelessly. It's over already, Greg has no way of recovering. As one of the clones gets in the way of Water Gun, dispersing after taking a hit, Rockruff shoots the final round of rocks.

Hitting into Squirtle, the projectiles send the water type flying back, knocking it out.

"And, Ace is the winner!", Valerie exclaims vigourously.

"Dude, that was not fair at all", Greg yells out, "you should stop attacking".

"Didn't you say I needed to attack to win?", Ace scoffs.

"That was not fair, I mean, you shouldn't attack when I'm talking", Greg protests.

"You shouldn't talk when I'm attacking", Ace grins at him, rage pulsing in his hands.

"Oh, come on, you know that was a bitch move", Greg rolls his eyes.

"It's a battle, you moron", Ace yells.

"Ace, stop it this instant, apologise", his mother decides to join the scuffle.

"What for?", Ace retorts, "for beating him? It's not my fault he doesn't know what a battle is".

"Ace", his mother warns.

"And you know what a battle is, huh?", Greg hisses.

"Well, I just beat you 2v1 without taking a hit, so I'd say that puts me a few leagues above you", Ace crosses his arms.

"Ace, that was too much", his mother says firmly, "aplogise".

To his surprise, Ace finds himself wishing his teammates were there right now. They would understand.

"No, I'm not apologising to anyone", Ace scoffs, "it was a battle, and I won fair and square, there are no rules that say I'm obliged to have a chat with him mid-battle".

"Fine", Greg gestures for everyone to calm down, "if you're satisfied with a win like this".

"Yeah, I am, it was a clean kill", Ace says, "and I think it proves one thing".

"Oh, and that is?", Greg raises his eyebrow.

"I'm better than you", Ace says calmly.

"Oh, just cause you won one battle and made it into some school doesn't instantly make you better", Greg rolls his eyes.

"You do realise everyone at Old King's fights like this?", Ace informs him, "no one there would stand around and chat with you during a battle, you wouldn't last 2 days".

"Okay, okay, hold your horses", aunt Celia decides to intervene, "you battled, it's over now, you were both good".

"Right, no more fighting", Ace's mother joins her sister's efforts, "we should get ready and go to the pokemon center".

"Right, Greg, you should calm down and get ready for your gym battle", aunt Celia says calmly.

"Alright", Greg says, recalling Squirtle.

"Okay, let's all go inside now", Ace's mother claps her hands, hurrying imside in order to avoid any more fighting.

"Let's go, Rocky", Ace says, picking up his partner. His skin feels firm and sharp in Ace's hands, but he's goddamn going to carry Rockruff around just to rub more salt into Greg's wounded ego.

The rest of them get ready quietly, all avoiding to look at Ace, except for Valerie, who's now trying to carry Charcadet around. If they knew how things were at Old King's, would they act the same, Ace wonders. Damn, if they saw Houndour attacking Joe, and Riolu attacking Ves, they'd probably be grateful Rockruff didn't cause any damage to anyone.

He sees them all whispering away to Greg, and he aboslutely hates it. His cousin lost beacuse he was weak. That was all. So why are they all acting as if Ace has done something he shouldn't? It's like they've never seen a pokemon battle in their lives. No one stands around and talk. And Ace could bet Greg would lose his gym battle as well. He had no strategy, and no tools to build one, on top of the fact that both of his pokemon were weak to electric types. But everyone's acting as if Greg lost due to Ace doing something wrong, and not his own shortcomings.

In the end, Ace decides he wants none of that. Convincing Valerie to let go of Charcadet, he recalls him into the pokeball. With that, he informs the rest of the family he'll go ahead of them to the gym. He doesn't need an uncomfortable drive to the pokemon center. And besides, Joe gave him the healing capsule for Rockruff's pokeball, so his partner would recover strenght anyways. Just for fun, Ace thinks, he'll challenge the gym just for fun. Look, this is not him trying to prove anything to his family. He's already beat Greg, and if that wasn't enough for them to realise some things, then nothing else will convince them. No, he wanted to challenge the gym for his own sake. Regardless of his family's reaction, he was riding the adrenaline thrill from his victory, and he wanted another one.

Not to many people knew, but carrying the provisional license allowed you to challenge the gym leader. You couldn't win a badge though, or rather, the gym leader could give you one, but it would serve no purpose. Nevertheless, Ace could challenge the gym leader, and he was about to.

Hurrying over to the gym, he tried to make sure to arrive there before his family. He needed to see the gym leader, Bryan, in action. Bryan was new, only starting in this position at the start of this circuit, which was 2 weeks ago. Therefore, even though Ace had frequented the gym during his middle school days, he had never seen the new gym leader battle. He did, however, check the official result boards for all the gyms, seeing that during his 2 weeks of active duty, Bryan had given out only 27 badges. Considering how many challengers usually are during the circuit, and the fact that gym leader would usually take at least 7 challengers per day, that was a a pretty good number. Still, within the current ranking of Kantonian gyms, Bryan was the weakest, perhaps because he was the newest. So, if Ace was to take on any gym leader, it would have to be Brian.

He makes his way into the gym, expertly finding the route to the stadium. Not to mention, he's walked these hallways countless times. He takes a seat in the stands, near the fence, noting that there's a bunch of kids spectating as well.

On the battlefield, the battoe is in progress. Spotting Bryan out is easy, because the guy has spiky blond hair and is wearing a t-shirt with lightning strikes. That's called dedication to the type. His Pikachu is swiftly moving across the field, fighting a Vulpix some girl had brought around. It reminded Ace of Natasha, but only for a moment. This girl was far inferior, and barely able to call any shots. It was dissapointing, since the battle didn't let him see any of Bryan's tricks. The only thing Ace could conclude was that gym leader liked taking it easy and playing around when he knew he could take the opponent.

Anyways, the girl goes down after her Vulpix fails to hit a single attack for 5 minutes straight. Very slow, Ace thinks, he's not going to allow Bryan the luxury of playing around like this. Pikachu seemed to have enjoyed the dodging exercise, though.

Once the battle is over, Bryan merrily strolls over to the challenger, offering advice. Ace doesn't waste too much time, jumping the fence and heading towards the pair.

"Oh, hey buddy", the gym leader notices him, "don't do that, please, I can sign autographs later, alright".

"I did not come for the autograph", Ace notes shortly, "I'm here to issue a challenge".

"Oh, issuing a challenge?", Brayan exchanges confused looks with the girl he had just beaten.

"I'm a student at Old King's, so I have my provisional license", Ace explains, producing his e-permit, "I'm allowed to issue an official challenge to a gym leader".

"Oh, right, right", Bryan scratches his head, "high school, huh, no offense, you jus look a bit too young, that's all".

"Well, I'm not lying", Ace crosses his arms.

"Not saying that you are, just saying, you didn't have to jump onto the battlefield", Bryan smiles as he waves his hands around, "I'm always up for a battle, and my next challenger shouldn't be around for the next 30 minutes, so we could go at it right now".

"Oh, sorry, I was just excited", Ace admits.

"Oh, that's what I like to hear", Bryan laughs.

"Well, is it okay if I go after your next challenger?", Ace questions.

"Nervous?", Bryan winks at him.

"Not at the slightest", Ace admits, "your next challenger is my cousin, I want him to watch me beat you, that's all".

"Oh, you're that confident, huh, alright...", Bryan says giving him a weird squint.

"Um, Ace, name's Ace", the boy says.

"Okay, Ace, then, let me catch my breath, then I'll be there to beat both you and your cousin", Bryan smiles. "Oh, just one question", the gym adds.

"I'm listening", Ace nods.

"You made it into Old King's, so you're supposed to be good, right?", Bryan says.

"Well, yeah, I'm good", Ace tries to sound confident.

"Good, you don't mind me testing out my pridogy?", Bryan notes. Quickly adding: "no worries, I take it you're a first year, I won't go full out on you, it's just that my Elekid rarely gets to battle, since everyone challenging me is either a begginer or someone who's already pretty far ahead in the gym challenge".

"Oh, use whatever pokemon you want", Ace says simply, "just don't go easy on me".

"Wasn't planning to", Bryan nods, "we'll make this a regular gym battle, I'll adjust my level to yours, but no hand-outs buddy".

"That's perfect", Ace agrees.

"Good, then, I'll go get ready", Bryan says excitedly, "Elekid's gonna be happy when he hears I found an opponent for him".

"Right, well, thanks for accepting my challenge", Ace laughs. He definitely likes Bryan. At least the gym leader is not underestimating him.

He decides to hang back at the benches to pass the time before his family arrives. Taking out his pokedex, Ace quickly searches around for Elekid. He figured out a few immediate problems as soon as Bryan had told him about his choice of pokemon. Unlike Pikachu that he had seen battle earlier, Elekid was a slow and bulky pokemon, that could pack a punch. By Ace's calculations, he'd have to get at least 5 hits in to knock it out. And he couldn't allow Rockruff to take more than 2. Well, those were his estimates, of course it depended on how strong Elekid was. One hit from that thing could very well be enough to knock Rockruff out. Good thing is, Bryan didn't know what pokemon Ace would use.

Well, it would ultimately come down to getting in as many hits as he could, while not taking any in return. That meant one thing. With his usual Double Team strategy, Ace had an advantage. He just needed to ensure he isn't hit in the beginning. But he had plan for that. Watching that girl with Vulpix gave him an idea. Well, it didn't, but it did remind him of Natasha's battle against Joe. Looks like Ace will be taking a page out of her playbook as well.

By the time his family arrives, he already has a hefty little plan in his head, with a few variations.

"Ace, I hope you've calmed down a bit", his mother whispers firmly at him.

"Not at all", Ace says loudly, "actually, I've challenged Bryan as well".

"You challenged the gym leader?", Greg falls for the bait.

"Yeah, I'll battle him as soon as you lose to him", Ace laughs.

"I just think you're in over your head here", Greg ignores him.

"Oh, we'll see about that, I guess", Ace says.

"Ace, calm down", his mother warns again.

"I am calm, very calm", Ace rasies his eyebrow, "I'm not sure what you have against your own kid being confident".

"My God, I can't with you", his mother weils, "so this is my fault now".

"Not what I said", Ace says sharply, "but you seem to have something against me believing in myslef".

"We just don't want you to end up dissapointed", his father chimmes in.

"Well, I won't", Ace says, "I've lost quite a few times at Old King's, and my ego's still in-tact, you see".

"Look Ace, it's just that pokemon training is not for everyone", his mother sighs, "and we're scared that you'll hit the ground".

"So you keep me down on it, huh?", Ace raises his eyebrows.

"You don't get it Ace", his father says quietly, "things don't always go the way we hope they will".

"No, no, you don't get it", Ace's vocie cracks. "So let's make this clear, I worked my ass off, and I made it into Old King's, it wasn't luck, it was me", Ace says, "and mind you, none of you know how that school really is, I've been losing left and right for 2 weeks, but I've grown and became stronger, so you know, hitting the fucking groumd over and over again might be better than staying on it forever".

Looking over at Greg: "and you, you wouldn't last a day at Old King's, not in golden generation, not in my generation. And it's not because you're a bad trainer, everyone can grow and become stronger, but you're too stubborn in the wrong direction, you're so used to everyone telling you how great you are that you can't even phantom the reality, and the reality is that you are bellow mediocrity at this point".

"Ace, that's enough", his mother hisses.

"No, no it's not, he's a beginner, but he goes into the battle behaving like he's in Master's division going against a beginner, cause he thinks so highly of himself", Ace keeps his gaze on his cousin, "newsflash, type matchups are overcome through training, skills, developing strategies and learning coverage moves, and you have none of that, your pokemon are not only weak to this gym's type, but they are not properly trained, their strenghts are underdeveloped and their moves are lackluster, but that's your fault, Gregory, it's your job as a trainer to help prepare your pokemon for battles and everything they entail".

"Ace, calm down", his father places his hand on the boy's shoulder. Ace didn't even notice how much he had gotten into this monologue, but it felt good. His heart was racing in the best way possible.

"Anyways, after you lose this match, give some thought to what I have said", Ace manages to keep his voice flat.

"Huh", Greg says, trying to remain calm, but visibly shaken, "you say you've been losing left and right, but you're here, giving out advice".

"Well, I've picked up a few things from my losses", Ace rolls his eyes, "first being that a battle isn't a time to have a chat".

"So, that's what they teach you at Old King's", Greg looks away, "glad I didn't make it then".

Ace wants to tell him that's a part of a special class called 'watching a sociopath with a Riolu kick everyone's ass, repeatedly'. Instead, he settles for a simple: "good you didn't, then".

Thankfully, Bryan walks into the stadium the very next moment, looking increasingly cheerful, blissfully umaware of the ideological clash that had just taken place in his gym. He strolls towards them gleefuly, immediately sidelining for Ace.

"Hey, kiddo, Elekid's roaring to go, so you better be ready", he says, finger-gunning Ace.

"Oh, I'm ready", Ace says, shakimg off the remaining tension from his little outburst. He wanted his head to be clear for the battle ahead.

"You're taking me on first, though", Greg says, stepping out.

"Of course, that was the deal", Bryan takes a curious look at Greg. "You look determined, we can start immediately", he notes, probably noticing Greg's on the edge.

"Good, then we can go", Greg says, taking firm steps towards his side of the field.

"Alright, I'm right behind you", Bryan says, giving a quick nod to Ace and the family before he goes to take his spot.

Ace notices the way everyone's eyes are flying from Greg, to him, then back to Greg again. He's definitely managed to shake everyone up. Good, let them all face their own bullshit. And when he wins against Bryan, everything he had said will cement itself. He did his training, and his strategy was good. Admittedly, his moveset wasn't what he wanted it to be at the moment, but it was good enough in this occasion. Even more importantly, this battle would prove to Ace once and for all that the work he's put in so far was worth it. That's what the gym battles were, after all, the culmination of one's own efforts put into training.

But first he needed watch Greg's battle. Frankly, he didn't care how it went, Greg could win for all he cared, although he was certain his cousin wouldn't be able to do it.

"Alright, both participants, send out your pokemon", the ref says, and both Greg and Bryan throw their pokeballs respectively.

Greg sends out Squirtle, which was to be expected. On Bryan's side of the field, a Voltorb appears, which is a bit of a strange choice. Besides being pretty fast, Voltorb lacked attacking capacities, and was easy to knock out. Mixed with its non-existent charms, it was not a pokemon many trainers gravitated towards. This was probably Bryan adjusting his battling level to match Greg better, since the gym leader knew this was Greg's second battle.

"Alright, battle beging", the announcer notes as sure as he's certain both participants are ready to go.

"Water Gun, now", Greg wastes no time in calling out an attack.

"Dodge it", Bryan commands with a smile.

If his family was sitting down, they'd be on the edge of their seats, as they watch Squirtle's Water Gun miss its marks. The attack is weak and slow, Ace notices, Bryan could've countered right then and there if he wanted to. Well, if he was battling at full power.

"Go on Squirtle, again, Water Gun", Ace can hear the determination in Greg's voice. But pure determination doesn't win any battles.

The attack misses again, and Ace can hear aunt Celia gasp audiably. He's not sure why, Voltorb already dodged the water gun once, if nothing changes about the attack, it's only logical the same scenario will repeat.

"Again, Squirtle", Greg orders up, and Ace barely holds in a sigh. His cousin has no plan, he's attacking blindly.

"Yes, hold on Gregy", aunt Celia cheers next to him, not realising her son's efforts will end up being futile. She growls in dissatisfaction as the Water Gun misses yet again.

"Water Gun, now, keep it up", Greg yells out.

"Alright, Voltorb, dodge into Thunder Wave", Bryan says with a smile. Spinning out of the way of the pressured water, the orb-like pokemon sends an electrifying wave into the Squirtle. Electricity curling around the water type's body makes him paralysed.

"Oh, no, hang in there, sweetie", aunt Celia squeals from the sidelines.

"Oh, it's only one attack, and it doesn't do damage", uncle Tom reassures her, before yelling out, "go ahead son, give him hell".

"You're right, Gregy's been holding out well so far", aunt Celia nods, "the gym leader only landed one attack, and it took him this long".

"You do realise Bryan was waiting to see if he'll change his attack, he could've done this immediately, he's just testing to see his abilities", Ace notes in disinterest. He knew well enough that Voltorb had an electric move on it, and Bryan could've won by now if he wanted to.

Ace hears his mother mutter something, but he doesn't pay attention. Instead, he focuses on the battle in front of him. Bryan does go easy on the beginners, way too easy. Ace wonders if he'll keep the same level when he battles him. Or if he'll up his game in case Ace corners him. Since he did call Elekid his pridogy, Ace was pretty sure the gym leader wouldn't play around this much during their battle, especially if Ace proves to be a good opponent.

Meanwhile, the gym leader seems to find enjoyment in toying with Greg. He lets him get off a few more Water Guns, just so Voltorb can dodge them. With paralysis taking its tool, Squirtle's attacks are even slower. When he figures out Greg will just keep going for the same atttack, Bryan orders tackle. Probably wants to see if Greg can come up with a way to counter a simple attack. The boy orders his partner to dodge, but with paralysis, that doesn't fly, and Squirlte ends up being knocked back. Ace is on the verge of starting to pray for this battle to end.

"Tackle, Squirtle, get them", Greg orders, visibly irritated that none of his attacks are hitting the mark.

Voltorb proceeds to casually roll away from the incoming attack. Next Tackle on Greg's side meets the same face.

"It's fine, you'll get him, just keep going", aunt Celia offers some terrible advice.

The thing is, Greg was losing this one from the beginning, and Ace was the only one who knew that. Greg simply had no tools to hit Voltorb. Bryan couldn't know that. He's a gym leader, his job is to test each challenger during the battle. That assumed going into the battle thinking that the challenger had come up with the way to deal with the said challenge. And Greg had no way to do that.

Aunt Celia and the rest of his family simply couldn't wrap their heads around the concept.

Bryan, on the other hand, realised it after Tackle number 5.

"Okay, ShockWave, Voltorb", the gym leader says decisevly, and, within a moment, the electric energy hits Squirtle cleanly knocking the water type out of his misery.

"Battle's over", the ref quickly says, "the win goes to Bryan, the gym leader".

"Oh, no, sweetie", aunt Celia swiftly goes to comfort her son. Greg shoves her away, looking livid at the loss.

Ace would love to revel in this, but has an even better idea. He quickly makes it onto the battlefield, trying his best to ignore Greg. He notices though, everyone patting his shoulder when he stands back at the sidelines.

Bryan is stood on his side of the field, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey", Ace gets his attention, "I'm ready to go, if that's alright with you".

"Oh, right now?", Bryan snaps back to reality.

"Yeah, if it's okay with you, you can bring Elekid in", Ace nods.

He sees Bryan looking at the sidelines, but doesn't follow his gaze. He wants to fully focus on the battle in front of him. "I can stay in with Voltorb, if you want", Bryan says carefully.

"No, I'm excited to take on Elekid", Ace reassures him.

"Alright, then", the gym leader quickly recalls Voltorb, letting Elekid hit the field. Seeing his pridogy on the battlefield quickly gets the gym leader back into the groove.

"Let's go, Rocky", Ace says, letting Rockruff hit the field as well. "Ready when you are", Ace says in determination.

"Ready", Bryan nods over to the ref.

"Alright, then", the ref waves flag down, "battle, begin".

"Double Team, now", Ace says immediately.

"Thunder Punch", Bryan counters.

Rockruff creates the clone, only for it to quickly disperse from Elekid's attack. If Bryan was going full out, he'd take this opportunity to connect another attack, but he doesn't.

That only leaves space for Ace to set the pace.

"Sand Attack, now", Ace orders up immediately.

The attack connects, but Bryan is quick to counter: "Thunder Punch". No missing from that distance.

But Ace is not aiming at the miss right now. "Dodge with Quick Attack", the boy orders as Rockruff quickly gets out of the way, and Elekid's attack hits into the ground. If Bryan's not going to connect attacks, Ace definitely will: "Now, Accelerock, fast".

"Get back, Elekid", Bryan orders, but Ace had worked on the speed of his attack, and Rockruff hit his mark without the issue. Sure, it was a weak attack, but it landed.

"Again, Rocky", Ace says, wanting to get another attack in now that he has an opening.

"Protect", Bryan orders.

That's a switch up, Ace thinks. He's upping the level. As the Protect stops the attack, the boy takes the opportunity: "Double Team".

"Thunder Punch", Bryan orders.

This time however, Elekid has less time to attack since he's coming off of Protect, so Double Team goes through. And Ace has time to order a Quick Attack dodge.

As his partner drops back, dodging the attack, Ace's not sure what the right move is. Setting another Double Team. But Elekid's on the attack, it would be a waste.

"Accelerock", the boy decides he needs to take over the pace again.

"Protect", Bryan orders readily, and Ace can tell he's fired up. Not good.

"Double Team", Ace takes a chance to get an advantage. Thunder Punch can't hurt if it doesn't hit.

"Elekid, jump up, use Electroweb", Bryan orders with a smirk.

"No, dodge it", Ace says hastily. He didn't realise. Elekid knew that move, or that Bryan would switch up again this fast.

Electroweb is a field-wide attack, and coming from the air, the chances it would miss were low. Just like that, both clones Rockruff had created dispersed. Electroweb wasn't particularly strong, thankfully, but it would slow Ace's partner down.

However, if he could get Elekid to use that attack from the air again, it would create an opening.

"Rocky, Quick Attack", Ace said swiftly.

"Protect", Bryan orders, as Ace had expected.

"Now, move away, and get ready for Accelerock", Ace says readily. He needed to divert attention, and he wants Bryan thinking he didn't have a way to deal with aerial Electroweb.

"Take the attack, hit back with Trailblaze", Bryan orders up.

"Use Quick Attack to get away", Ace says as Elekid breaks throught the Accelerock, trying to hit the Trailblaze.

He got another hit in, which is good. And he baited out Elekid's 4th attack, also good. Bad news, it was Trailblaze. So Bryan had multiple tools ways of speed control. And speed was the main thing Ace had going for him here. If he allowed that Elekid to become faster, this would be over quickly. Even worse, Trailblaze would probably knock out Rockruff with only 2 attacks.

"Go into the attack again, Trailblaze", Bryan doesn't give him much time to think.

"Quick Attack, dodge it", Ace says, trying to figure out the way of this. He needs to regain control.

"Don't let up, Trailblaze again", Bryan persists. This was his way of testing if Ace can counter him. The gym leader not giving him time to breathe made him feel proud and terrified at the same time.

"Just dodge it, Rocky", Ace says, realising he had gotten a Sand Attack off. He had a way to get out of this. "Go for Sand Attack", he said. Lowering Elekid's accuracy was good, but it wasn't the main goal.

"Hit the Trailblaze, Elekid", Bryan says. He's definitely decided he wants to get a hit in on Ace, even if it meant taking another Sand Attack.

However, sticking a Sand Attack in his pattern was there just so Ace could switch up the pace.

"Quick Attack, get away, then Accelerock", Ace instructs swiftly, and Rockruff obliges, getting out of the Elekid's way, before sending rock projectiles into the elctric type.

"Protect, now", Bryan orders.

"Good, Double Team", Ace says readily.

With two Sand Attacks off and a Double Team up, there's just one thing for Bryan to do.

"Jump up, Electroweb", the gym leader orders, ready to cover the whole field.

It's all about the timing, Ace realises, so he waits for Protect to go down. As soon as Elekid leaps up, Ace orders: "Accelerock, hit his legs".

Rockruff quickly obliges, sending the array of rocks into flying Elekid, ruining his balance.

Ace doesn't wait for Bryan to recover. "Again, Rocky, Accelerock", he says quickly, and his partner sends another round of rocks at the electric type. That's 4 hits in. "Again", Ace says, realising he's going to need at least 2 more hits to win this, and this was his ideal oportunity.

"Protect, get up Elekid", Bryan says swiftly, and Elekid manages to comply, stopping the next attack.

"Double Team", Ace wastes no time. That Elekid might've been able to stand back up, but he's not leaving the ground anytime soon.

"Electroweb, from the ground", Bryan says readily.

"Accelerock, now", Ace says, deducing he can trade taking a hit for getting one in.

Electroweb disperses the clone, hitting Rockruff as well, but Accelerock hits in return. Elekid looks as if he's barely hanging on, and Ace knows he needs just one more hit to finish this. Meanwhile, with two Sand Attacks off, it would be too risky for Bryan to try Thunder Punch or Trailblaze again.

"Again, Rocky, Accelerock", Ace wants to keep the pressure coming, even though he knows where this leads to.

"Dodge it, Trailblaze", Bryan surprises him. He expected Protect there.

Seeing Elekid move away from his Aattack Ace quickly orders: "Quick Attack, get away, then Accelerock".

"Catch up to him, Trailblaze", Bryan persists, with an almost manic smile on his face. He's pretty much throwing caution through the window and going full out.

"Rocky", Ace yells out as Elekid surges in, grass energy enveloping his arm. Rockruff fires the Accelerock, hitting into Elekid's incoming attack, but the electric type manages to pull through somehow.

Then, to Ace's surprise, Elekid misses.

"Accelerock", Ace seizes the opportunity, "end it, Rocky".

With switness, his partner fires of the final round of rocks, hitting into the Elekid, and knocking out the electric type for good.

"Oh, God", Ace breathes the sigh of relief. It was over. He won, he realises. He won. And Bryan wasn't going easy on him. "Rocky, get over here", the boy extends his arms, letting his partner jump up and lick his face. He's pretty sure he had earned a few scratches thanks to that but it doesn't matter. What matters is that he won this. "You're a champ", he says to his partner, "that was amazing, I'm getting you some treats after this, maybe even a few chewing toys". Rockruff barks happily at the idea.

"Hey, Ace", the boy doesn't even notice when Bryan appears next to him. "That was great, kid", the gym leader places his hand on Ace's shoulder, "kinda went a bit berserker at the end there, sorry for that".

"Yeah, I've noticed", Ace laughs, "you really know how to put on a pressure".

"Well, sorry, I mean, I shouldn't really battle against beginners like that", Bryan admits.

"Oh, no worries", Ace waves it off, "honestly, I'm glad you took me seriously at the end there, I mean, I prefer it over that thing you did at the beginning of the match, you gave me quite a bit of breathing space".

"Eh, well, that's what I'm supposed to do", Bryan scratches his head, "well, anyways, that was real fun, and for the record, I would've won if I didn't let you get those two Sand Attacks off".

"We'll never know", Ace laughs, knowing full well that if that last Trailblaze hit, he would've been toast.

"Huh, anyways, looks like Elekid needs a bit more training as well", Bryan notes, "thanks for battling with us".

"Hey, thanks for letting me battle", Ace nods.

"Well, since you won", Bryan says digging through his pocket, "I think you deserve this". He digs out the gym badge, offering it to Ace.

"Um, thanks, but it's really no use to me", Ace says only slightly confused, "I'm not taking on the gym challenge, remember?".

"I know, but you won fair and square, so I want you to have it", Bryan says enthusiastically, "I mean, I hope this battle helped you grow in some way, you know, that's the point of the gym challenge, and badges are reminders of your accomplishments".

"Right", Ace says, taking the badge, "I'll hold on to this then".

"Amazing, oh, and if you ever want to battle again, feel free to challenge me, alright?", Bryan offers, "or you know, if you need training, if you ever get yourself an electric type, oh, or if you ever want to get yourself an electric type, you know what, I have quite a few Magnemites, I could give one to you so can raise it".

Ace finds the gym leaders offer-vomiting endearing. "Thanks for the offer, but I have my hands full with training Rocky already, and Private as well", Ace ultimately decides. "Though, I'll definitely come around for another battle when I'm back home", he quickly adds.

"Glad to hear that", Bryan nods, sounding only slightly dissapointed.

"Hey, Ace, Ace", Valerie runs up to him, quickly taking hold of his leg, "that was great".

"Thanks, Val", Ace says, softly separating her from his leg. The rest of his family approaches them, and he's not too interested in what they have to say just yet.

"And who's this little one", Bryan kneels down next to the little girl, "are you going to be a trainer as well, battle me someday, huh?".

"Yes", Valerie says sweetly, "and I'll be so good, I'll crush you twat".

Bryan looks a bit taken back, as Ace's father mutters to him: "she learned this from you".

"Well, anyways", Bryan tries to recover from the toddler's insult, "Ace, that was good, just keep on training, and, just a warning, next time you come around, I'm raising the level even more, so be prepared".

"Roger that", Ace says, satisfied that his family has gotten to hear that.

"And what about Greg, he was good as well", aunt Celia insists.

"Um, yeah, he was fine", Bryan says a bit uncomfortably. "Well, here's a thing buddy", the gym leader adresses Greg, "you need to read the situation better".

"What do you mean by that?", aunt Celia sounds insulted on his behalf.

"Mom, stop", Greg places his hand on here shoulder. "Okay, how do I do that?", he says, locking eyes with the gym leader.

"Well, for instance, you kept using Water Gun at the beginning there", Bryan points out, "but you kept using it from the same distance, even though Voltorb managed to avoide it, you should've noticed that and tried coming closer in for an attack, or switching the attack alltogether".

"Right", Greg nods, not sounding satisfied.

"Then I paralysed your Squirtle to see what you'll come up with, but you held on to your water guns", Bryan notes, "only then did you go for Tackle, an attack that would've been better before your pokemon was struck with paralysis".

"Right, so what was I supposed to do then?", Greg questions.

"Well, you saw how Ace used Quick Attack to get away from me, you should've tried using Tackle to get closer in, so your Water Gun would actually hit", Bryan offers, "and besides, you're just starting your journey, so you should think of not using a water type against me, do you have any other pokemon on you?".

"Yeah, a Pidgey", Greg admits.

"Well", Bryan says, "that's rough".

"Pidgey would've been a better choice here, though", Ace quickly notes.

"Ace", his mother says.

"Yeah, probably", Bryan thinks about it, "I mean, again, not the best pick for an electric type gym, but at least it can fly, so it's more mobile than Squirtle and harder to predict".

"Right, of course", Greg looks away.

"Well, this is just one loss", Bryan shrugs, "you'll do better next time".

"This is my second loss to you", Greg reminds him.

"Yeah, I know", Bryan says, "but it's fine, you know, beginnings can be rough".

"Right", Greg nods slowly.

"I'm sure you'll do better next time, champ", uncle Tom places his arm around his son. "By the way, Ace, that was fun to watch", he adds, winking at his nephew.

"Thanks", Ace says with satisfaction. Victory does taste sweet, especially after he that monologue he had gave to Greg. It definitely struck a cord, and Ace for once couldn't wait to see the aftermath.

"Well, until next time, I guess", Bryan nods, "to both of you".

"Yeah, until next time", Ace says happily. One thing he knows for certain, he's leaving for Old King's tomorrow, and he's more ready for it than ever.

*****

The fallout of everything falls short of Ace's expectations. Very short.

His parents keep quiet on their way to the pokemon center, and aunt Celia and Greg ignore him all together. His father congratulates him, and his mother keeps the conversation on what they should have for dinner. Uncle Tom and Valerie refuse to let the gym battles go, though. They were thrilled to spectate, and they enjoyed both battles equally somehow, even though Ace is pretty sure his battle was superior.

Even when they get back home, the tension is palpable. Ace does enjoy it. None of them can say anything anymore. Bryan had proved one thing - Ace didn't do anything wrong in his battle against Greg, it was, instead the latter who could not match Ace's pace.

Although he'd much prefer to have everyone admit that he was by far better than his cousin, the silence of defeat was more than sufficant. He proudly filled Rockruff and Charcadet's food bowls with the chocolate-peacha flavoured pokeblocks, making sure to loudly congratulate both of them for their efforts, and to Rockruff for battling so damn well and winning a gym battle.

He even made an entire show of getting Valerie to take a picture of him and Rockruff, where he was showcasing his newly earned badge, so he could send it to Lesley. Because, why not showboast to him as well, while getting on Greg's nerves even more in the process. Hell, Ace even decided to take it a step further, making sure to tell everyone how great of a battler Lesley was, and proposing Greg should battle him when the boy comes back to Vermilion.

"Doubt that will happen anytime soon", Greg coughes up.

"Oh, I'm sure Lesley will come sooner or later", Ace notes.

"I'm setting off on Monday", Greg blurts out.

"What?", aunt Celia reacts in immediate shock, "but, honey, why?".

"I need to go", Greg doesn't move his gaze from the wall, "I'm not sticking around here for another week just to lose in this gym again".

"Greg, it's fine, I'm sure you'll earn your badge eventually", Ace's mother says calmly, "failure is a part of life, you'll do it eventually".

"Oh, too bad that same sentiment doesn't apply to your own son", Ace rolls his eyes.

"Of course it does, Ace", his mother says firmly.

"We just don't want to see you fail", his father adds. "You know, we don't want you to feel like this", he nods over to Greg, "of course failure is normal, we just hate to see our children go through it".

"So, you'd rather knock me down yourself, huh", Ace scoffs.

"No, we just don't want you getting your hopes too high, Ace", his mother says, "so you wouldn't crash and burn".

"Oh, but that only goes for me, huh", Ace says.

"Oh, son", his father sighs, "it's not about that, you know, Tom and Celia have their own way of doing things, we don't meddle in that".

"Right, what does that have to do with anything?", Ace rolls his eyes.

"Well, you see, I wanted to be a pilot, and I've chased that dream, and now I work at the harbour", his father offers, "so I know a thing or two about failure, and I don't want you to ever go through that".

"Right, and besides, you and Greg aren't the same person, honey", his mother adds, "you were always much... softer, and, I don't know, you used to bruise much more easily when you were a kid, so you know, we just want to protect you from failure".

"Well, you're doing it wrong", Ace says sharply.

"Ace", his father locks his eyes with him, and Ace is ready for another nonsensical hurtful thing. "That was a good battle", the man says simply. Ace eases up a bit. "However, things can always turn around, so don't fly too high". Ace wants to say something in return, but he remembers he's 500 points behind, effectively failing the year. He's definitley not admitting to that, not right now.

"Anyways, I'm setting off on Monday, I'm going to earn the badges that I can", Greg says, his eyes finding Ace. "Next time I see you, I want a rematch", he says flatly, "and I will beat you".

"Oh, we've got a rivarly within the family, great", uncle Tom's the only one who seems happy about it.

"Alright, so if the dust is settled then", Ace says dryly, "do tell me, what do you all think who the better trainer is here?". The silence falls over the room, having everyone shuffle in their seats uncomfortably, save for Valerie who immediately points to him.

"That's what I thought", Ace scoffs, looking at his parents. After this entire ordeal, they can't even proudly say their son was better.