"Nidoran, go for Double Kick!"

I smile at the green-clad camper's mistake. "Dragon Rage!"

Charmeleon almost seems bored at the weaker Poison-type leaping at him. He huffs in disappointment, spitting a ball of blue fire that knocks the enemy out in one shot.

My opponent jumps up and down in frustration before recalling his fainted Poison-type. "What's the big idea, embarrassing me in front of my girlfriend and her Pokémon like that?!"

I accept my prize money before turning to said girlfriend. "Well, she can always try and win it back for you…"

The lass blanches at the thought, recalling her blue, female Nidoran as soon as the words leave my mouth, linking arms with her camper boyfriend and turning around. While she hitches in her step, and her free hand wanders towards her skirt pocket when Charmeleon makes a scoffing noise, she continues walking away with boyfriend in tow.

Charmeleon rolls his eyes at the two trainers walking away from him, and I look down at my Fire-type in concern.

It's a day before the Floaroma Town Pokémon contest, and we're out training. If it were totally up to me, and Charmeleon was still a Charmander, I would like to work on some new moves, and do some testing on our old ones, but Lucas's words have been echoing in my head and are quickly being proven correct. As soon as we got out onto the route south of the town, Charmeleon had insisted we wait and look for some trainers to battle. As such, I've turned into an NPC this morning, who just stands on the side of the road and waits for people to come along to challenge.

That camper and his Nidoran had been the fourth trainer we've beaten, and to Charmeleon's frustration, none of them had been much to speak of. The first had been a young bug catcher eager to show off his Kakuna, which only knew Harden. Not exactly a fearsome foe. The next had been a backpacker with an ordinary Sentret that was dispatched nearly as quickly. I had some high hopes for the third, a burly hiker who bragged about how he had toughened up from making his way here through a rough mountain cave.

I facepalmed internally when I heard that. I'd bet anything that we had a tougher time in Ravaged Pass than he did. Despite the type advantage, his Nosepass only lasted slightly longer, taking several Metal Claws before Dragon Rage finished it off as well.

"Let's get to training, Charmeleon," I tell him again, this time with more conviction. He looks down the road, as if hoping another trainer would appear but thankfully, no one does.

"Ok," I say, pulling my notebook and pen once he's finally agreed. Looking around, there's flowers all around us, some of them in white picket fences. "Launch all your attacks straight up so we don't destroy anything. Start with Ember!"

Immediately, the results of his newfound firepower are apparent. Ember's fiery coals have become larger, hotter, and have much improved range. Instead of a stream of coals, Charmeleon can fire a whole cone of them to make them even more difficult to dodge.

I scan him with the Pokédex to find out what the attack he had busted out against Mars is called. "That new move you used is known as Flame Burst, Charmeleon. Use that one next."

He launches Flame Burst into the sky and like last time, once the attack reaches its apex, it explodes like a firework, causing two jets of flame to flare off from the sides.

"Hmm. Is there any way you can control those, Charmeleon? Force them to go different directions?" He tries the attack again, concentrating right when Flame Burst starts to explode, but the attack is identical to the last. He shrugs at me and shakes his head.

Maybe a Psychic and Fire-type, like Delphox, or Darmanitan when it goes into its Zen Mode, would have better luck with that. Let me try one other thing. I step behind Charmeleon instead of to the side of him. "Use it where I was standing, Charmeleon."

He does, and the two jets of flame fly out parallel to the road, which confirms my concerns about this move. Charmeleon can't control it, and if I had moved to the left or right instead, I would still have been in the firing line.

One last test, then I'll give my verdict. "Now breathe as much fire as you can, as powerfully as possible. Don't worry about making it into an attack. I'm going to time it to see how long you can last it. Straight up like before."

He sends out an impressive stream of flame, ten feet tall, tail flame burning intensely with the amount of effort behind it. It's more like something a firebreather would do at the circus than an attack, though I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant to be on the receiving end of. He can only hold it for twenty seconds before it sputters out, and his tail flame returns to its normal size.

"Executive decision," I announce, crossing off Flame Burst on my paper. "I'm going to have you work on that until you're capable of a Flamethrower attack. We'll use Flame Burst until then, but Flamethrower is going to be our primary Fire-type attack, even when you eventually evolve into a Charizard."

I continue to explain at his questioning look, probably wondering why I wasn't enthused with his new move. "Flamethrower's a stronger attack. And I don't like how you don't have control over those flares. For a move that should be tailor made for double battles, it's way too imprecise." It might have worked on Purugly, who was happy to stand still and absorb the attack with its fire resistance, but I can imagine what Flame Burst would be like when aiming at a moving opponent. My own Pokémon would have to account for those flares as well, and the risk is too high for such a mediocre reward.

I'd seen how Metal Claw had gouged that Nosepass's stone body, and I felt pretty confident in that move. That left Dragon Rage to test, and I had noticed something about the move in the previous battles we had done today. Of course, I know exactly what the in-game description is, so I have my suspicions.

I reset the timer on the Pokétch. "Let's do that time to fire test again, now that you've evolved."

Charmeleon sends out ten blue fireballs, taking about three seconds to mold and fire off each one, half the time it took when he was a Charmander. There's just one issue. "Can you make a larger attack? Don't worry about how long it takes."

He takes ten seconds to flare his tail, but Charmeleon still produces the same old Dragon Rage. I hold out a hand to halt him before he tries again. "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the move, rather than with you, Charmeleon. Dragon Rage won't get any stronger even while you do."

A shame, really. The days of us dominating everyone with Dragon Rage are going to quickly come to an end. It's still a fine move to win battles against weaker Pokémon as fast as possible, but it's probably not really worth using against stronger opponents unless we're against a Water-type, and don't have any better options.

Starting with the next gym I am going to challenge, the one in Eterna City. In theory, while I should feel confident, considering that I have a Poison, Ice, and Fire-type, all of which match up great against a Grass-type gym, I now know for certain that gym leaders are not to be underestimated. Just because Gardenia is literally my mom's boss wouldn't mean that she'd go easy on me; if anything, it probably meant the opposite. I wasn't naïve enough to think that gym leaders didn't talk amongst themselves, and that Roark hadn't told her about my battle at the Oreburgh Gym, either.

She's going to bring something crazy and unexpected to our battle. I just know it.

That just leaves one thing to test, that I noticed on the Pokédex when I was checking Flame Burst. "The Pokédex says you know how to use Fire Fang as well, Charmeleon."

He looks utterly confused, and I elaborate. "It's just like it sounds like. Remember, a long time ago, when I was talking about Fire Punch, and I said it's when you punch with a fiery fist? This is the same. It's when you bite down with fire in your mouth."

He opens his mouth, expelling a puff of fire before chomping down, and then does it again, to no effect. He questions me again.

I gotta get used to that deeper voice. "You're overthinking this. Start breathing fire and open your mouth wide so I can see what's going on." I peer into his mouth, though at an angle, just to make sure I don't get a faceful of fire. "Slowly now. Start bringing fire to your mouth like you are going to breathe it…"

It's quite a cool process, watching him create fire. I can almost imagine the combustion sac in his body igniting the air coming through his nostrils into flames, and then like a train coming through a tunnel, the dark of his throat turns a bright orange as it flows to his mouth.

"Stop!" I shout, backing up a few steps as fire washes over his mouth and teeth. "Hold the flames right there. Close your mouth if you need to." He does, though he can't contain all of them, and some fire spills out of the corners of his mouth, cascading on his cheeks until it looks like he has three horns instead of one.

I smile. That's even better than I was expecting. "Now chomp down," I instruct him. This time, when he chomps down, his mouth is full of flames, and Charmeleon can feel the difference. He does it once more for good measure, to really sear the attack into his memory, and lets it fade, though not before giving me a fiery grin and a knowing look.

Of course he wants to test Fire Fang out on an opponent. "Or we could finish working on your moves. We still have Smokescreen to test, after all."

He snorts, causing a puff of steam escapes his nose, and goes to the nearest tree, slashing the bark with a Metal Claw and biting down with his new Fire Fang. Charmeleon grimaces and spits out a few pieces of burnt bark distastefully, as I try to hide a chuckle behind my arm. He then breathes fire on his fist before punching it into the trunk. My Fire-type looks at me, gesturing to all the damage he has just inflicted on the poor tree.

I survey his handiwork and come to a very unwelcome conclusion. "You want to fight up close now?" That brings an eager nod, and a mental sigh from me. He's been hanging out with Monferno too much. Don't tell me he's finished standing back and pelting his enemies with fire from afar.

He has more bulk, strength, and agility to do that, so it's not a bad option, but I need to put my foot down. "Even if you want that to be your new fighting style, we're still going to practice ranged attacks." He opens his mouth, and I quickly continue so he can't protest. "There could be situations where we need them. That means Smokescreen is still going to be used as well. Got it?" I say firmly, relaxing when he agrees.

"For fun then. Use Smo-"

My Pokémon turns his head, and his fanged grin tells me that he must have heard something that I hadn't yet.

I want to shake my first at the sky. Come on, universe! Of all the times to have a trainer coming down the road, you pick now?

Sigh. Someone's sprinting down the road, and as the person gets closer, I can tell she's a girl and looking eager, judging by the wide grin on her face.

"Wow! You two must be the coordinator and Pokémon practicing for the contest. We saw those fireballs and I knew we must be getting close to Floaroma! I've never seen that Pokémon before!"

She finishes her whirlwind of a greeting and whips out her Pokédex, which looks identical to mine, right down to the bright pink color.

She points the camera at Charmeleon and scans my Pokémon. The machine speaks out a female monotone. "Charmeleon. The Flame Pokémon. It can be very hot headed by nature, so it seeks out strong opponents to challenge. It calms down only if it is victorious."

Well, I can confirm that, even after only a couple of days since Charmander had evolved. We haven't quite discovered a true challenge for him, though. Maybe it's time to start sparring against Glaceon?

"There sure are coordinators from everywhere, huh. Did you come all the way from Kanto to participate this year?" the girl asks me.

I'm getting the weirdest sense of deja vu, because this is the second time someone has mistaken me for a coordinator. Not to mention this girl is wearing a scarf, which is significant because I'm one hundred percent sure scarves aren't the new hit fashion, considering the only other I've ever met who wears one is Lucas.

I take in her appearance, from her blue hair partially covered by white cap, to her black and pink outfit, and her pink rain boots. Please, let this be a doppelganger. Don't let this be who I think it is…

She's looking at me expectantly for an answer. "I'm not a coordinator, and I'm not from Kanto either."

I don't know which answer she is more surprised by. "Really? I could have sworn… where did you get such a rare Fire-type that I haven't seen before then?"

It's hard for me to consider Charmeleon a rarely seen Pokémon, considering it's part of one of the most iconic evolutionary trees ever. Partly because its pre-evolution was one of the three starters in the first ever Pokémon game, and partly because it was a certain someone's strongest Pokémon for a while.

I hear another voice from further down the road. "Hey Dawn, wait up!"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. That sprinkler trick I pulled versus Mars had to be some sort of dark, summoning ritual. I know it was wishful thinking to think Dawn wouldn't show up for a major contest like this with Ash in tow, but I guess I've been holding out hope that we somehow wouldn't cross paths.

Two boys jog up to us, slightly out of breath, one taller and older than the other, who has a Pikachu on his shoulder.

Brock really doesn't look all that different from what he normally does, though I think he might have swapped his color scheme. He used to wear a green vest and an orange shirt, but now it's the inverse.

Ash has ditched the jacket that he used to pin all his badges on for a black and yellow vest over a white T-shirt, but he also looks mostly similar to what I remember. He still has the red accented hat, his green backpack and his blue pants, though all you really need to recognize the guy is obviously Pikachu. Supposedly, he starts every season at ten-years old, but he sure looks older than that. If a league cup is held every year, and he's already done with Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, then he should be thirteen-ish? That seems about right.

Once Ash sees the Fire-type standing by my side, both he and Pikachu break out into identical smiles. "Wow, a Chameleon! We sure had a tough time with ours, right Pikachu?" His Pokémon agrees with him as the eyes of both Pokémon and trainer both mist over in nostalgia.

It's funny that he said that. I always assumed Charmeleon not obeying Ash was reflecting that mechanic in-game where you can't overtrain a Pokémon that you traded for, unless you had enough gym badges. Ash wasn't the original trainer of his eventual Charizard, and while he eventually got eight Kanto badges, they were earned in some… interesting ways.

But now, after learning more about the species, I'm wondering if Charmeleon and then Charizard were just bored of their opponents. There're only so many times you can tolerate taking on Arbok and Weezing, after all.

Ash shakes his head slightly to clear it. "Sorry about that. Your Pokémon brought back some memories for me. I'm Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu. Looks like you've already met our friend Dawn. She's a coordinator looking to enter the upcoming Floaroma Pokémon contest." He then gestures to the older teen. "And this is my longtime friend Brock. He's good at pretty much anything he puts his mind to, and right now, that's being a Pokémon breeder."

I know all this already, since Professor Rowan had told me, but I just nod along. "My name is Luna, and this is Charmeleon. Nice to meet you all," I reply, trying to work out how to exit without seeming utterly rude.

Damn you, Brock, for only being interested in older women. A love confession would have been a perfect excuse to hightail it out of here as fast as I can.

"So, if you aren't a coordinator, does that mean you're a trainer?" Dawn picks up on where our conversation left off. "It seemed like you two were doing some intense training, because we saw it from all the way back there!"

I briefly consider lying, but my mind is drawing a total blank. "Yeah, I'm a trainer. We were just practicing some of our moves."

"Well, I always think the best way to practice your moves is with a battle! What do you say!"

Quite the forward guy, Ash Ketchum. I don't think anything good can come of battling him, so I'm going to have to refuse this one.

"Sorry. Charmeleon and I have been training all morning, and he's pretty tired out," I lie. "Maybe another time." My Pokémon looks up at me in surprise, and I do my best to try and nonverbally convey that this battle will just be another one-sided beatdown, so he doesn't show interest.

Brock finally speaks, though only to contradict me. "It doesn't look to me that your Pokémon is worn out or tired at all. In fact, I think Charmeleon is more than ready for a battle."

"That's just your opinion," I retort, pulling out my Pokéball to return my Pokémon. "And besides, we can't just have a battle out here. What if something gets lit on fire?"

"I have a Piplup," Dawn pipes up unhelpfully. "He can put out anything with his Water-type attacks."

Now I'm grasping for straws. "Well, I uh, need to go to the bathroom!"

"What, you don't think we'd be much of a match for your Pokémon?" Ash challenges me. "You're the second trainer to think that, and both of you are wrong about me and my Pokémon. I'll have you know I just beat the Oreburgh Gym, and Roark's own Rampardos in the process."

I can feel the temperature around me rise as those words stoke Charmeleon's fire. Rampardos was the last Pokémon he had lost to, so the prospect of potentially battling a trainer and Pokémon that beat Roark's best is too tempting for him to ignore.

"Fine," I mutter. "Let's battle."

We mark out a decent-sized battlefield with some sticks, while Brock and Dawn watch nearby. Former gym leader that he is, Brock offers to referee our battle, being very familiar with the process, but I wave him off. I do insist that he, Dawn, and Dawn's Piplup watch the battle from behind Ash, not on the side of the battlefield.

They sure do like talking. "What Pokémon do you think Ash is going to use, Brock? He doesn't have any Water-types that would do well against a Fire-type."

The older teen just laughs. "You'll learn about Ash quickly enough Dawn. There's only one Pokémon he'd use when his pride as a trainer is on the line like this."

Apparently, I'm going to get the full Ash Ketchum experience. But why'd Brock have to say it like that? I kept my opinions to myself. I didn't say anything about Ash's talent or lack thereof as a trainer!

I already know that Pikachu is going to be battling, but I may as well play along and pretend like I'm surprised by his choice. "Charmeleon, let's go," I tell my Fire-type, as if he needs any encouragement.

Ash looks at his starter. "You ready, Pikachu?"

"Pi-ka!"

The Pokémon mascot leaps onto the field, landing on four legs, electricity sparking from its red cheeks.

I suppose this is the day that the truth will be revealed. Is Ash Ketchum a moron that gets by with plot armor and luck, or does he actually have some skill?

"Waiting for us to make the first move?" he says, pumping his fist. "That's fine with us! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-chuuuuu!"

The Electric-type charges up for just a second, and throws its main attack at my Pokémon. Along with a bunch of rocks, because Pikachu's Thunderbolt has so much monstrous power behind it that it's chewing up the ground at the point of release.

"Dodge that and use Metal Claw to defend against those rocks!"

Charmeleon scrambles out of the way of the Thunderbolt, and slashes through a few stray rocks with his Steel infused claws.

"Now use Flame Burst!"

He sends an explosive fireball at our adversary, and Ash just grins.

"Dodge it!"

Pikachu easily sidesteps our explosive fireball, and now I'm starting to have some begrudging respect. I still think that Raichu is way stronger than Pikachu just based on being evolved, but it's no wonder neither of them felt the need to evolve if Ash's starter had his much power and speed already.

Ash's eyes grow wide as he sees the second half of Flame Burst just in the nick of time; he interrupts his next command to yell a warning. "Pikachu, look out!" Ash's starter has absolute trust in its trainer. Pikachu doesn't even look for a second for an incoming attack, instead throwing itself straight to the ground so that the flare barely brushes Pikachu's back.

Damn. There goes the chance of surprising them. As I'm considering what to do next, I'm distracted by Dawn's loud voice, after her Piplup sends out some bubbles to put out a nearby bush. "What kind of attack was that?"

Brock holds his index finger up while explaining. "Flame Burst has a bit of an aftershock effect, where a part of the attack splits off and goes in another direction after the fireball explodes. It's quite popular in double battles, since you can aim for one Pokémon and still hit the other."

"Guess we gotta be extra careful then, right buddy?"

Maybe I should have taken his offer and let Brock referee, so that he wouldn't be able to divulge all my strategies mid-battle. Ah well.

Ash thrusts a finger out. "Use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu surges forward like lightning, moving too fast to do anything but block. "Block it, and then go for Dragon Rage!"

My Pokémon holds his arms over his chest in a guarded stance, but he's still knocked back a few feet because of the sheer speed of Pikachu's attack. As our opponent rebounds to their side of the field, Charmeleon blasts him with a ball of blue fire.

"Iron Tail!"

The Electric-type whips around, bringing its glowing tail down like a sword and smashes right through our attack.

Charmeleon looks back at me impatiently, opening his mouth to reveal a few flames inside it. His message is clear. He wants to get in there.

I'm trying to hold back Fire Fang for now, because I have an idea about how to best use it; I just wish we had something more effective. "Go for Metal Claw!" He's pleased enough with that order, and Charmeleon races forwards, ready to rip into Pikachu.

"Use Thunderbolt!"

It's extremely difficult not to call for Charmeleon to abort and dodge another monstrous Thunderbolt, but my Pokémon wants this. Steel-types are known for their defense, so maybe Steel-type moves have defensive properties?

"Deflect it with your Metal Claw, Charmeleon!"

He rushes forward into the onslaught without fear, holding up his claws to take the brunt of the attack. It doesn't totally redirect it as I wanted, so Charmeleon grunts in pain as the electricity crackles across his skin. But my Fire-type presses forward, slashing through a few flying rocks until he reaches Pikachu. He strikes downwards with his now electrified claws, with explosive results, as they rake across Pikachu's body.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Get out of there Pikachu!" Ash yells in concern. His Pokémon darts out of range with a Quick Attack, and Charmeleon slides his claws back in.

"Charmeleon countered Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack!" Dawn exclaims.

"Not quite," Brock corrects. "It still took damage; it just used a Steel-type move to defend itself. That's certainly a clever strategy."

That's surprisingly unbiased analysis, but I try to tune out their chattering and focus on the battle. Pikachu looks somewhat worse for wear, bearing claw marks all over its back. Hopefully, they would slow it down some. "Try Flame Burst again!"

Ash looks around in concern. "We can't dodge right or left… oh! Dodge it by going in the air!"

I was expecting Pikachu to simply jump over the attack, but instead it jumps several meters into the air, letting the fireball explode harmlessly below. "Great! Now use Thunderbolt from up there!" Even as Pikachu ascends, it charges up and sends a bolt of lightning back to the ground.

But what goes up must come down. "Dodge this one and scatter the area under Pikachu with Ember so it can't land!"

This time, a medium sized crater is left smoldering by the force of the electric attack, but Charmeleon manages to get out of the way, covering Pikachu's side of the field in hot coals.

Ash notices quickly what our plan is. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail from above!"

Instead of falling straight back down, Pikachu does a somersault midair so that it has forward momentum. Its tail lights up and Pikachu twists so that its Iron Tail is leading.

"Ready Fire Fang and wait for my command!" I order, watching Pikachu descend, tail first. Charmeleon's face lights up with the fire flowing on his cheeks.

"Now, grab Pikachu's tail with your Fire Fang!" Chameleon lunges out like a Seviper, chomping down with a superheated, flaming bite onto the Electric-type's extended tail.

"Pikachu!" Ash wails, as Charmeleon begins to whip his head around, causing Ash's starter to flail around painfully by its burned tail. "Get out of there! Thunderbolt!"

I jerk my head violently, and Charmeleon gets the message, flinging the electric mouse back to its side of the field, interrupting the Thunderbolt by causing Pikachu to skip and tumble over the packed dirt like a stone on a lake, until it skids to a stop a few feet in front of its trainer.

The product of Pallet town looks like he's worried now. "Can you keep going buddy?" He asks, concern in this tone.

As Pikachu struggles on the ground, our audience, unsurprisingly, has much to say. "That was really impressive how Charmeleon grabbed Pikachu right out of the air," Dawn thinks out loud.

"It really was," Brock agrees with his blue-haired companion. "Fire Fang has a good matchup against a Steel-type move like Iron Tail. But Charmeleon must be really well trained to have the timing for that."

This is too much. Not only does Ash have people behind him that help him with moves and matchups, but they also butter up the opposition with compliments! I think it's working too; I don't have any of that killer instinct that I had a couple of days ago against Team Galactic. I'm just waiting for this Pikachu to get back up instead of attacking while it's down.

I watch as Ash and Dawn encourage Pikachu to its feet with some amusement. Something about Ash is making me lose my edge. Superpowered Pikachu or not, I'm not sure my opinion of Ash has changed any. He's not bad, per se, but for a guy that supposedly has three years and three regions worth of battle experience, I haven't anything spectacular as of yet.

Pikachu has just about recovered, enough to discharge a shower of electric sparks, and it gives us a fierce look. "Alright!" Its trainer cheers, giving another fist pump. "They're tough, but so are we. Use Volt Tackle!"

The mouse Pokémon encases its whole body in a ball of lightning and starts running towards my Fire-type on four legs chanting its name louder again and again, with each one becoming louder in volume.

It seems like Ash really prefers to be straightforward with his approach. I suppose that's fine when your Pokémon is as strong as Pikachu is, though it isn't my preferred style. An explosive fireball should deal with this nicely. "Use Flame Burst!"

Only Charmeleon didn't open his mouth to attack, or make a move to get out of the way. Of all the times for him to start disobeying me, now is not a good one! "Come on, use Flame Burst!" I order more forcefully. It's only when he again doesn't move that I understand what's going on.

It's not that he won't move, it's that he can't. His whole body is locked up, and I can see the faintest electric current traveling across his red fur. Paralyzed? Now? Pikachu's almost halfway to us!

"That must be Pikachu's Static ability," comes Dawn's confident voice.

"Charmeleon looks like it's fully paralyzed. It must be beause it made contact with a physical move earlier," Brock adds on.

No, no, NO! What kind of bullshit anime power is this!? We get paralyzed right at the critical moment in the battle? Is this my comeuppance for underestimating Ash?

It appears so. Because unlike me, Ash has no problem pushing his advantage.

"Do it Pikachu! Use Lightning Strike!"

Lightning what?! Whatever this does, it sure sounds powerful! Pikachu's form starts to glow with white energy, as it blitzes towards us.

"Charmeleon, listen!" I try to keep calm, but my voice sounds pleading. "You have to break through! Use Metal Claw to defend yourself! Or blast it with an attack! ANYTHING!"

My Pokémon is frozen in place like a statue. All he can do is open his mouth and send a blue fireball out at our speeding opponent.

I'm almost paralyzed myself, watching the Dragon Rage spiral towards Pikachu. Ash's starter tenses mid-stride, and then vanishes, with only some electric currents in the air indicating that it was once there. Dragon Rage smashes into the ground harmlessly, and my eyes search in every direction frantically.

Where'd it-"

I can't even finish the thought before Pikachu smashes into him with a thunderous clap, causing a point-blank explosion that, startles me. Judging by the resulting shockwave that had my hair whipping and me stumbling back, is even more powerful than it sounds. Charmeleon is blasted back twenty feet, ten of them carving a trench in the ground until he finally comes to a stop.

My words die on my lips when I try to call out for him. It's clear as day to all of us that Charmeleon is unmoving and unconscious.

On the other hand, Pikachu does look somewhat weakened. It's panting heavily, with a tail that is all burnt and bent out of place. The Electric-type is also exuding red sparks, probably the recoil after effect of Volt Tackle and whatever that last move was. If I really try and look for a silver lining, I could say that had this been a longer battle, like a three-on-three, Pikachu might not be able to contribute much more, and I might have pulled out a win.

Assuming, you know, that Ash doesn't have his Charizard and Snorlax with him here in Sinnoh. This is Team Rocket's fault, if you ask me. Beating them over and over must essentially be the equivalent of over leveling your Pokémon by grinding out battles. I bet he gets bonus experience for destroying their giant robots, too.

All that being said, I deserved better! I just underestimated his ability to luck me, that's all! That battle was going fairly even, if not in my favor, and would have stayed that way had he not gotten saved by that Static paralysis, and then of course Charmeleon had to get fully paralyzed when I was trying to counter their Volt Tackle. I could have won! I, I…

I sound like Mars, whining and complaining about how victory was snatched from me. Team Rocket must have iron wills, if they somehow endure this everyday and manage to pick themselves up and keep trying with their futile quest to one day beat Ash and steal Pikachu.

What happened was I just fucking lost. This was a one-on-one battle, and that last attack just blew us away. To be completely honest, it had been coming, seeing as how Lucas bailed me out versus those first two grunts in Jubilife City, and me barely scraping together a victory over Mars. I didn't have to like it, but things like paralysis were part of battles, and they took advantage to claim victory today. What's important is taking this as a learning experience and motivation, and using this loss as a way to get better.

…Starting tomorrow. I'm allowed to sulk for a day.

I sigh morosely, holding out Charmeleon's Pokéball. "Return," I mutter, though I notice Ash, Dawn, Brock, and even Pikachu and Piplup are leaning in suspiciously, like they were waiting to hear what my next words would be.

Why can't these guys let me be? Isn't a win over me enough? "Charmeleon, thank you. You were great out there." For some reason, those simple words instantly get them to relax. Ash drops down, pulling out a potion to start tending to Pikachu's injuries.

I shrink and stuff Charmeleon's Pokéball into my belt, swapping it for the money the camper had given me earlier to give to Ash, but even after he's done patching up Pikachu, he starts chatting animatedly with his Pokémon, no doubt reliving his victory over me. I start to get irritated watching them. Come on dude, take your money and let me leave. Surely Ash didn't think all his supplies grew on the side of the road?

Brock comes up to me, looking sheepish. I know he's a former gym leader and all, but does that mean he does all the adulting, like handling finances?

It appears so. Next, I'm going to be told that Ash doesn't even know how to cook. I try to wipe off any bitterness that is threatening to rise up within me from my face about the loss when Brock starts to speak. "Sorry about that," he says. "Ash has had some less than friendly interactions with trainers in Sinnoh, so we got a bit upset when it looked like you were dismissing him as well. For what it's worth, I can tell you've been raising your Charmeleon really well by the way it battled. I can heal up your Pokémon before you head back into town, if you'd like."

I hand him the money and shake my head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll just go straight to the Pokémon Center," I reply, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. It might not be the safest thing to do, traveling without a healthy Pokémon, but I really wasn't in the mood for talking with Ash and friends. Besides, if they were here, Team Rocket surely isn't far behind, and I don't feel like falling into a hole or being trapped in a cage or being a part of whatever else they were undoubtedly cooking up.

Trying my best not to run, I spin around and start trying to speed walk back to Floaroma without looking back. The only confrontation I get is at the Pokémon center, where the Nurse Joy on duty lectures me about being too rough with my Pokémon. I can't really defend myself, considering all of my Pokémon are currently under her care, but surely saving the town from Team Galactic's nefarious schemes counts for something, right?

Maybe it would have, if I had said anything about that. Instead, I just bow my head and accept the dressing down, and her diagnosis that she would release all of my Pokémon after the contest was over, although she doesn't give me an exact day. I go get lunch with Lucas after that, and though he tries his best to draw me into a conversation, perhaps understanding that I'm in a bad mood, he doesn't question me when I tell him I'm going to go take a nap in my room, and to wake me up if needed.

I may have said that I just wanted to sleep, and I honestly tried to, but what I end up doing instead is staring at the ceiling while thoughts just ping-pong around in my skull. Everything is just turning into a mess, from my first official loss, which was dealt by the anime protagonist no less, to what Team Galactic might be scheming, to my worries about my Charmeleon going the way of Ash's, where he would start disobeying me. It's almost a relief that Gardenia would probably go really tough on me. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass myself because Charmeleon deemed his opponents too weak to take seriously. I must have laid there for hours, and it's a relief when Lucas pounds on my door because he wants to show me something.

It quickly becomes very apparent what that something is. When he takes me back to the Pokémon Center to retrieve my Pokémon, it's like I've teleported to a different place. The whole place is absolutely jam-packed with people and a stunning variety of Pokémon, from Sinnoh and elsewhere. All of them are mingling in a very friendly manner, including two coordinators with a Kricketune and a Chimecho that started up an impromptu street music session. There are some oddities too, the most glaring being a girl my age introducing everyone to her Weezing, which is not exactly the Pokémon I would use to make a good first impression. I will concede that this one, with its top hats and mustaches, looked quite a bit more gentlemanly than the regular purple Weezing. It's kinda making me wish I had my Pokémon with me, so I can participate in this Pokémon meet and greet.

"All these people are here for the contest?" I ask Lucas, as we slowly walk through the courtyard of the Pokémon center, taking in all these immaculately looking Pokémon.

He nods slightly. "Yeah," he says as we pass a lady feeding honey to her Beautifly, which is perched on her head. "Contests have become much more popular in recent years, especially in other regions, but Sinnoh and Hoenn are especially known for them. It's no surprise that people from other regions come to compete here. This is also a good opportunity to scout out the competition a little bit, considering a lot of these people will be in Hearthome City for the next major contest as well."

It makes sense. There had been a large investment to build a contest hall in Nimbasa City back in Unova, since it was the center of all types of games and competitions, but that was a solitary, stand-alone contest hall, and while it did hold a contest tournament every week or so, Sinnoh had an extremely well developed contest circuit, not just in major cities, but in smaller towns such as this one, and a major end of season tournament, with both enormous prize money and great prestige as the rewards. If Unova was any example of how contests were thought of in other regions, that explained why there was such a variety of coordinators and Pokémon would rather come here.

And to his second point, that must be what our resident coordinator is up to. There's no way she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to show off her Pokémon, considering the meticulous care she puts into them, and I'm sure she wasn't above spying on these other competitors.

For all the people here, it seems that there isn't actually much preparation going on for the contest. Everyone must have already solidified their strategies prior to arriving. That's what makes the blue electricity coming from the training grounds so glaringly out of place. Every minute or so, several bolts of blue are being discharged to the sky, leaving a shower of sparks in their wake as the attack fades. Lucas and I are found drawn to the source of the attack, as we observe the last-minute practice besides a nearby tree.

I should have known that it's Dawn, seeing as she's a coordinator, and that they had just arrived in town today. While I watch her electric squirrel store up energy, and release it as the blue lightning, I wonder why they took so long to get here. If she had participated in the Jubilife contest, Ash and company would have been at the same pace as us. Team Rocket shenanigans, perhaps?

Finally, after a spectacular display, Dawn claps her hands together happily. "Pachirisu, that was amazing!" Her Piplup and Buneary that are watching the training session, along with Ash's Pikachu, all offer their praise as well.

Her Pokémon chatters excitedly at the compliments but is clearly looking for something more than words.

The Sinnoh native seems to understand exactly what the Electric-type wants. "I think you deserve a treat for all the hard work you've been putting in." She pulls out a wrapped poffin from her bag and bends over to hand it to the much shorter Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Pachirisu gets a little too excited, jumping up in an effort to reach the treat, bumping its trainer's forearm and causing Dawn to fumble it into the air instead. The squirrel Pokémon doesn't seem to mind a little dirt on its food, scampering over to eat the poffin anyways. Right before it can pick it up, an increasingly familiar cat Pokémon gets in the way.

Uh oh. This isn't going to end well. Meowth is quite the clever species, and ones from Alola are Dark-types, which means they have a bit of a nasty streak in them as well. Eh, what am I saying? It's not a bit of a nasty streak; they're just plain mean.

Pachirisu is fooled when the feline, taking in the scene, picks up the treat, dusts it off and offers it to Dawn's Pokémon with a coy smile. I know better than to trust that face, and I'm not surprised at all when as soon as Pachirisu holds out its paws to accept the treat, Meowth throws the poffin up into the air and slashes it to shreds with a Fury Swipes, clearly enjoying himself. Meowth then stomps all over the remains, staring Pachirisu right in the face as he glows slightly with black-colored energy, in what I recognize as Taunt.

Pachirisu looks stunned for a second, but then its entire complexion changes to pure rage. The contrast from cute and innocent to "I'm going to rip you in half" is startling. Except for Meowth, who's obviously looking to make some mayhem.

It appears Dawn's Pachirisu isn't totally in sync with its trainer, because it immediately screeches a battle cry as Dawn tries to calm the squirrel down. Before it can do anything, Meowth claps its paws right in front of the squirrel's face, releasing a small shockwave that causes Pachirisu to flinch back. The Electric-type doesn't back down, opening its mouth and charging its long buck teeth with electricity before launching itself at its opponent.

"Whoa, that looks like a brand new move!" Ash exclaims.

"Sure is!" Brock says, looking surprised himself. "That's Thunder Fang! Not getting that Poffin must have made Pachirisu really mad!"

Meowth lets his claws extend on one paw, absolutely oozing with malevolent dark energy. But instead of attacking with that, he just pretends to make a swipe, instead using his other paw to smack the underside of Pachirisu's chin, sending the smaller Pokémon tumbling back. He sneers at Pachirisu, unsheathing his other set of claws and letting them glow dark as well.

The claw attack is Night Slash, but what's that other one? "Is that Sucker Punch?"

Lucas looks torn between being impressed and being aghast. "Feint, actually."

I know Ursula is adamant that Meowth was not going to be a participant in any battles, and to be fair, he certainly enjoyed being pampered and babied. Meowth sure looked like he'd be good at them, though, especially since he already knew how to fight dirty. He'd have great potential in double battles as a support Pokémon, with moves like Fake Out, Taunt and Feint.

Ursula finally shows her face, dressed up in the same Barbie doll outfit that I had first met her in, complete with what I now know is called a parasol. She stops a few feet away from the glowering squirrel and her cocky cat with a confused look on her face. "Meowth, what have you been up to?" Her Pokémon immediately sheaths his claws and starts spinning around, chasing his tail like some kind of innocent Skitty.

What a farce. Too bad Ursula has Quagsire levels of unawareness when it comes to Meowth.

Dawn takes advantage of the lull in the action, diving forward and grabbing her Pokémon, holding it to her stomach as it tries to squirm out of her grip. "Pachirisu, play nice," she pleads, but the squirrel is having none of it, letting loose a weak electric shock that causes the girl's blue hair to frizz up with static and stand up in all sorts of different directions.

"What an ill-mannered and poorly trained Pokémon! Did that nasty little thing attack you, Meowth? Of course you felt the need to defend yourself," she coos, holding out an arm for her Pokémon to jump into.

Meowth does so, with one last parting shot, giving a taunting yowl to Pachirisu before leaping into Ursula's arms, snuggling in and purring up a storm as his trainer fawns over him.

Still grappling with her Pokémon, who is sent into another fit upon seeing Meowth's actions with one hand, Dawn frantically tries to flatten her hair with the other as she stands up. She manages to get most of it back into place, though a few strands still evade her. "That's not what happened!" she contests hotly. "That funny-looking Meowth started it! He tore up Pachirisu's poffin when it fell on the ground!"

"You let your Pokémon eat off the floor? No wonder it lacks manners," Ursula snipes. "And besides, you have no proof of what you claim."

"Actually, we do," Ash interjects. "If you look under Meowth's foot, then you'll see what he did!"

The pink-haired coordinator looks dubious, but agrees nonetheless. "Very well." She sticks the point of her parasol in the ground, delicately lifting Meowth's legs to inspect his hind paws, one after the other.

Pachirisu glares at Meowth, thinking that the cat was going to get caught red-handed, but Meowth just replies with a smug expression, as Ursula finally finds the remains of the poffin.

"How dare you!" Ursula screeches in rage. "Is this how your uncouth Pokémon eats! Drooling food everywhere like some sort of ingrate!" She procures a brush from nowhere, immediately moving to scrape the remains of the treat from the Dark-types foot, as if he had stepped in something far worse.

Dawn is somewhat stunned about how Ursula manages to find an excuse for every dirty deed Meowth manages to commit. Perhaps realizing that using logic is futile, she tries to make peace. "Sorry about your Meowth getting dirty," she mutters, not sounding very apologetic. She then asks Pachirisu to say sorry as well, but the squirrel, still miffed, and perhaps knowing it was in the right, turns its nose up instead.

Ash tries to step in and mend the situation. "See, that's Pachirisu's favorite food, so when Meowth stepped on it…"

"Hmm," Ursula says, having calmed down slightly. "If that is what all this foolishness is about, then allow me to assist you. No Pokémon can resist a Poffin made by yours truly, after all. This one is made with some rare Figy berries," she finishes while recalling her Meowth to pull out a poffin and hold it in front of Pachirisu, neatly leaving out that they were gifted to us.

Her bold claim, predictably, is instantly proven false. The electric squirrel sniffs the Poffin a few times, and once again turns up its nose in refusal.

Ursula's eye twitches in anger. "I should've expected that a Pokémon that eats food off the ground would have no proper sense of taste!"

Realizing that Pachirisu was not helping diffuse the situation whatsoever, Dawn also returns her Pokémon to its ball, where it would no longer offend anyone. "Please, I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea…" she trails off, clearly not knowing how to explain away her Pokémon's unwillingness to accept the treat.

Luckily for her, Brock does know how to explain it away. "I'm sure you know that Poffin recipes vary based on a Pokémon's taste." Dawn's Piplup, which up until this point had stayed silent, chirps in agreement to Brock's statement.

The pink-haired girl looked a bit mollified by that statement, until Piplup got her attention. Looking between Pokémon and trainer, her brain quickly connects some dots. "That Piplup… are you Dawn? You competed at the Jubilife Pokémon Contest, correct?"

Dawn looks relieved at the change of topic. "That's me! And I did! Well, we did!" She amends, looking down at her two Pokémon.

Her opposite had a dark sneer on her face, identical to that of her Meowth's. "Thought so. Just so you know, it was a complete accident that you made it through to the finals."

Up until this point, Dawn had tried to play nice, despite Ursula's grating tendencies. But now she's starting to get angry. "What was that?" she growls.

"You heard me."

"Wait, I remember you! Ash bursts out, pointing a finger to come to the defense of his friend. "You were one of the contestants in Jubilife, but you must have gotten knocked out in the appeals round!"

"As I just informed you, that was a product of luck. Bad luck on my part, and exceedingly good luck in the case of Dawn here."

She is traveling with Ash, so maybe his perpetual good fortune extends to Dawn? Why didn't she win the whole thing though?

"Hey! Dawn's skills are why she did so well in that contest!" Ash retorts. "And it definitely didn't have anything to do with luck, because Dawn won the very next contest she entered, in Applegate Town! That's a final and a victory in the first two contests she's ever entered!"

Ignoring the fact that I've never heard of that place, if Ash thought his words would settle this matter, he was sorely mistaken. Telling Ursula how well Dawn had done right off the bat when Ursula must have been struggling in the appeals phase for years is going to have the complete opposite effect.

"Is that so," she spits, acid dripping from every word. "Well, I suppose that I was in fact mistaken. This is an even worse offense than blind luck. You're getting these results based on favoritism."

That gets three confused sounds, and Ursula's more than willing to elaborate.

"All you are is the daughter of a famous coordinator, living off her mother's prestige. No doubt your mother must have asked the judges to let you through, over more deserving individuals such as myself." Ursula puts one hand over the other, making like she was going around, cap in hand, begging for coins on the street. She stands on her tiptoes to imitate a taller person, changing her voice to sound desperate. "Oh judges! Please let my daughter do well in her first few contests! It would absolutely crush her dreams for her not to succeed!"

Her voice returns to normal. "You are nothing but a naïve imitation of a proper coordinator, staying afloat simply because of charity." Dawn at this point looks like a boiling pot of water ready to overflow. "Remember this: charity only takes you so far. The further you go, the more and more you and the rest of your kind will be exposed for what you all are. Frauds, destined to be replaced by someone far more deserving. Namely, me."

Well, that escalated quickly. I don't think Dawn's mom is actually influencing the contest judges to help her daughter on her journey, but strangely enough, it's not the most outlandish theory I've ever heard.

Dawn is having absolutely none of this slander. "If you think you're so much better than I am, why don't we settle this with a battle, right here!" She challenges Ursula, waving a threatening fist right under the other coordinator's nose.

"Why would I want to defeat you here, with no one to witness your utter failure? If you manage to be given an entry to the knockout stages again, I can demonstrate exactly how much of a sham you are to the entire town!" Ursula taunts.

That was the final straw. "Listen here, you nasty, insulting, spoiled brat!" Dawn loses whatever cool she may have had left and lunges at the pink-haired girl, but Brock quickly grabs her by the arms, urging her to calm down, though Dawn still tries to kick out at her new rival.

Ursula's maddening laughter only serves to increase Dawn's rage, and the two girls had basically taken the exact places of their Pokémon. In the middle of all of this, I notice that my compatriot has left me. Of course he would go to interrupt this. He plays peacemaker one time and now he's suddenly a conflict resolution professional.

"Are you alright, Dawn?"

Upon recognizing a familiar voice, all of Dawn's rage leaves her, and she looks to her fellow Twinleaf citizen in surprise. "Lucas? I thought you were still interning with Professor Rowan as his assistant?"

Ash and Brock look between the two. "You guys know each other?"

"Oh, I still work for Professor Rowan, I'm just doing some independent research that involves me traveling the region,'' Lucas answers vaguely, clearly not wanting to divulge the details of how his project wasn't going exactly as planned. "But to answer your question, yes. Dawn and I are both from Twinleaf, and although we are a few years apart, we attended the same schools while growing up."

"Are you two a couple or something?" Dawn asks suspiciously from Brock's grip, realizing that Lucas and Ursula knew each other.

They both categorically deny that, with Lucas vigorously waving his hands in front of him, while Ursula simply turns up her nose at the very thought.

"It's always more fun traveling in numbers, right? We have a third, she's hiding right over there…" He glances pointedly at the tree I'm currently peeking around.

Why do you gotta sell me out like this? I shuffle slowly out from behind the tree, hoping that they perhaps didn't recognize me, considering Team Rocket fools them every episode.

If only I had a decent disguise. Or even a terrible one, knowing this lot. "Hey, you're the trainer that I battled against this morning!" Ash exclaims upon seeing me.

"Won against," Dawn adds, finally having been released, seeing that I was associated with Ursula and looking to one-up her new rival in any way she could.

Lucas and Ursula turn to me in surprise. "You lost?" Ursula questions. I'm not sure if she's more upset that I lost to her new mortal enemy, or surprised that my winstreak has finally come to an end.

I shrug in response, sliding my gaze over to where Ash and Pikachu were. "That Pikachu is really strong." That much I can say with certainty.

Maybe he was expecting me to call his victory lucky like Ursula had just done to Dawn, which part of me still wanted too, but the Kanto native breaks out in a wide smile. "Hey, thanks! Your Charmeleon was awesome too! It had us on the ropes for a while."

"Oh? You only battled Charmeleon? Well, that is hardly an accomplishment. My friend here let you off easy."

Ash's smile evaporates. "She did?"

"I did?" My prior opinions of Ash certainly led me to underestimate the guy, but I think I battled alright regardless. I look at Lucas, but he just raises a questioning eyebrow, as if wondering how I hadn't figured this out yet.

"You know you always like to take it easy on the everyday rabble, Luna. The only trainers that I have really seen you truly try your best for were the Oreburgh Gym Leader and that one trainer we met on the road back from Jubilife. What was his name again? Paul?"

What have you done, Ursula? I honestly haven't given that guy much though since we met him, with my whole avoidance policy, but just the dude's name causes some intense emotion I can't identify to cross Ash's face, and it's something that definitely doesn't belong with this seemingly always cheerful guy. "You battled Paul?" he demands, to which I can only numbly nod.

"And what did you think of him?"

Somehow this whole argument had shifted over to me! What did I do? I cast my mind back to that intense purple-haired guy. "Uh. He's… different." Different than any trainer I'd ever met, that's for sure. "He released his Pokémon right after I defeated it, so…"

"That sure sounds like Paul," Ash says to himself. "You defeated him in a battle? What made you take him seriously, and not me?"

He asks this question like it's the axle on which his entire world revolves around, which is making me kinda nervous. I can't exactly tell Ash that the vast majority of what I know about him is from his Kanto days, where he didn't exactly distinguish himself. "Today was just something different, that's all. Charmeleon just evolved a couple days ago, and I was just testing some things."

"Testing?" Ash repeats slowly.

I glance at his companions for some indication of what Ash is thinking, but Dawn is still glaring at Ursula and me suspiciously, while Brock's expression is as stony as any Geodude or Onix. Maybe I need to explain myself better. "Yeah, testing some of his new moves, his new strength, a new battle style… is something wrong?"

Ash just shakes his head in disgust and fixes me with a glare that Pikachu matches. "That's not the way to raise your Pokémon," he informs me. "Every Pokémon has the potential to be strong if you train them the right way. It's not right to test Pokémon to see which one is the best."

What is going on out here? What the fuck did I say to earn a lecture like this? Ash has one last piece of advice for me before he turns to leave. "Hopefully, today showed you what we're capable of. I came to Sinnoh to try and be the best trainer here, but I guess I first need to show that me and my Pokémon can beat anyone, including you and Paul, by training Pokémon the right way and believing in them." Dawn, Brock, and Dawn's Pokémon follow them, though the blue-haired coordinator still gives a fiery glare at Ursula, a clear challenge that this would be settled in the arena.

Lucas clears his throat. "I'm going to go catch up with Dawn," he says awkwardly. I let him go. Hopefully he can solve the mystery of what I managed to say to make Ash so mad.

Ursula clamps onto my arm and drags me away. "If that runt thinks she is going to defeat me tomorrow, then she is even denser than she appears. Obviously, you need some practice as well, if you are starting to lose to people like that."

She pulls me straight to an empty training field, summons her Surskit and commands the water skater to use Bubblebeam followed by Icy Wind. A few seconds later, the ground is covered in beach ball sized bubbles of ice.

I give my honest evaluation. "I don't know what you want from me, Ursula. You and Surskit have clearly mastered this. I just don't know how appealing this all is."

"You have already received a preview of what I am going to do for the appeals. I will not leave a smidgen of doubt in the thick heads of those judges about whether I deserve to be in the knockout round. Then, I will teach that half-baked excuse for a coordinator…"

I tune her out as my mind is still distracted by what just happened. Ursula basically insulted Dawn's Pokémon, her dreams, and even her mother. It's no wonder they've become rivals.

But how did my master plan of getting Ash to not notice me at all fail so miserably?!