The buzz that was left after Nando's thrilling contest victory at the exciting double performance didn't fade whatsoever, even days after the contest was finished.

If anything, it's been carried over, straight into the tag battle competition.

I'll admit, when I signed up for this, the day of my spanking at the Hearthome Gym, I didn't really read the rulebook. I assumed that Lucas and I could form a team and go for the win.

That would have been the best case scenario. We've fought as a duo before, even if it was only against Galactic Grunts and some random bug maniacs. I have a lot of confidence in Lucas's skill, and his Pokémon. Rockruff is really feisty, and has a surprising amount of versatility because she knows all the elemental fangs. Porygon is still an absolute bastard to take down, with the amount of utility moves it knows, plus its annoying habit of switching typings with Conversion, and Monferno is a match for my strongest Pokémon.

Instead, unless I really get lucky, he's competition. Because this is a random tag battle competition. As in, your partner is randomly selected by a computer.

This is going to be an absolute mess of a tournament, and I'm pretty sure the people of Hearthome City are going to devour it up, if their raucous reaction to the contest was any indication.

Regardless, I'm in it to win it. There's a massive, two-hundred thousand dollar prize pool for this thing, the winning team gets fifty percent of it. Rumor has it there's a secret prize being kept under lock and key that they're going to unveil today as well.

What I also want is some momentum and some confidence as I leave this place to help drive me forward into my gym challenges at Veilstone and Pastoria. Maybe it'll even help with my contest performance at Solaceon Town, so I don't look like a total moron.

The big open-air stadium in town is the venue for the battles. Lucas and I are about to head over there when the Pokémon Center door opens and slams shut, and Ursula walks out. She hasn't said much of anything to either of us since her, uh, unfortunate appeals performance.

She wordlessly flashes her own ticket at us, number thirty-one. Lucas is number nine, and I'm lucky, or unlucky, number thirteen.

"I didn't realize you were entering the tag battles, Ursula. I thought you were still drafting that letter to the contest committee telling them what an awful idea the double performance was."

She thrusts a document into my face and shakes it. I take it from her with a raised eyebrow.

It's like the ninety-five theses that Martin Luther once posted on the Catholic Church's door. Ursula has created a manifesto listing out all of her gripes and complaints about how the contest was changed to double performances. The entire thing is in cursive, and there isn't a single grammatical mistake. Wish I could write like that.

I try to tell Ursula how impressed I am, but she ignores me completely. "When making a case, it is best to make it impenetrable. I will be delivering this to the contest hall after I introduce myself to my tag partner. However, it has been made clear to me that this stupid double contest experiment may well be continued. I joined this competition for more double battle experience."

"Well, that increases our odds at least, that two of us will be paired up and we can win this whole thing, right?"

Ursula glares at me coldly. "As if I would want to be paired with you." She brushes by us and doesn't look back.

To think, I haven't even told her that I'm entering the contest in Solaceon Town. In my defense, she hasn't been much for conversation in the past few days. I'm debating whether to go through the whole contest then ask for forgiveness after the fact if her mood doesn't improve at all between now and then.

We eventually made it to the stadium, where some of the participants had already started to gather. I feel like the supposed host of this event would have been better off as a dubious insurance salesman, with his neon green suit and long twirling mustache. Still, I do my best to convince the man to make these random tag partners optional.

"What if two people have absolutely no compatibility? Wouldn't it be a bit cruel to force them to work together?"

He gives a booming laugh. "Why my dear, that is impossible in our wonderful city. Hearthome, the city where hearts are destined to meet! Why, just imagine it, two strangers coming together to win the tournament and each other's hearts! I could not bear denying beautiful souls such as yourselves this opportunity."

Oh, whatever. I'm losing brain cells listening to this guy. All I want is for someone decent to pair with. Not some brat who still picks his nose and eats the boogers afterwards. That's isn't too much to ask for, right?

The host gives a long-winded speech about the history of Hearthome and how the potential budding love between trainers brings a tear to his eye.

Sometimes, this city gets on my last damn nerve. When he finally finishes, he points an arm skyward, to the giant screen above of him, where they are going to reveal all tag partners.

We watch as a large bracket appears and the host explains how to look for your number and the one next to you to find your partner. "Come on," Lucas tries to cheer me up. "They had some criteria for entering this contest, right?"

Yeah, but it was a reverse criteria. No one with more than four gym badges was allowed to enter. In game terms, it would be like setting a level limit for a trainer's Pokémon.

"Always the optimist," I say dejectedly, as the numbers finally appear. "You're on the opposite side from me."

"If they do it in alphabetical order, I'm going to be the first to battle." We both hold up our numbers so people can see them. "We won't meet until the finals, at least. Assuming we both get there."

"I guess that's something," I reply neutrally. "Why don't you go find number twenty-eight, and discuss some strategy with them."

As if on cue, someone calls out to Lucas, and we both whirl around to see his fellow Twinleaf Town native excitedly holding up Lucas's paired number.

Dawn waves her number back and forth with a big smile on her face. "Hey Lucas!" she greets. Either she doesn't remember me, or I'm not important enough to remember, which is good. The less Ash and company know about me, the better. "I didn't expect to see you here, much less be my partner for his competition! Her face falls slightly, as she looks around. "Ursula isn't around, is she?"

I can't help but snort, and both their eyes turn to me. "Oh, she's around here somewhere. She's super mad about how the contest turned out, so we've been giving her plenty of personal space."

Her expression clears up. "That's probably for the best," she agrees. "What was your name again?"

Oh, me and my big mouth. "Luna. We met one time?"

She snaps her fingers. "Oh, you were the trainer that lost to Ash that one time before the Floaroma Contest! Maybe you'll have a chance to battle him again!"

Jeez, what a title. Lucas and Dawn instantly strike up a conversation, as only old friends can, and I start to look around for my partner. My desire of not being around the twerps is at odds with my desire to win, so Ash wouldn't be a bad partner. His plot armor would come in handy for my hopes of claiming victory. I suppose Brock wouldn't be terrible either; even if he left his gym to follow Ash around, dude still knew his stuff.

The former gym leader was not meant to be my partner, instead having been matched with a lady with curly red hair, wearing an apron. She has a nametag that identifies her name as Wendy, though she's certainly not an old bag. She's very pretty, which Brock is super pleased about.

I cringe as he runs up to her and gives one of the worst pick-up lines I've ever heard, though Wendy takes it in stride and gives Brock a wink. "Sorry, partner. I'm only interested in older men."

Brock scrambles to pull out his Trainer ID. "Well, I'm almost an adult, if you round up a bit!"

"Oh, I like 'em around thirty." She points towards the sky. "And up!"

I snicker at the exchange and at his forlorn expression, as I move on further. People were starting to pair up, meaning that I should be close to finding him or her.

A couple of minutes later, and I hear the one of creepiest laughs known to mankind. Thankfully, it doesn't belong to my partner.

"I am Ursula. Name yourself," Ursula says to a boy with green hair and glasses. He looks the manifestation of the super-nerd trainer from the game.

"My, what a pretty little thing you are. Conway's the name. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Ursula mutters, not very convincingly. "If you will excuse me, I need to run an errand…"

She turns around but Conway isn't done yet. "Oh, I think getting to know each other is a much better use of our time, don't you? Heh, heh, heh." I do a double-take right as Ursula turns around and stops, because there's somehow a Slowking standing in front of her. Did this thing teleport in without any of us noticing? It has to be Conway's Pokémon, because it has an identical creepy expression to him.

I take the cowardly way out and decide to keep looking. Maybe this guy is acting like this to unnerve the competition. It's certainly working on me, after all.

Pikachu is on top of Ash's head, weirdly enough, holding up their number for all to see. He's not my partner, but Ash's actual partner seems less happy to see Ash than I do.

"Of course I get stuck with you," he says in disgust upon seeing Ash and Pikachu. Upon closer inspection, this guy is the trainer who released his Sandslash right after I beat them, way back after my first gym challenge.

"Hey, Paul," Ash says warily. The tension between these two could be cut with a knife. There's some serious animosity here.

Paul has no intention of being cordial like Ash is, though. "Of all the people to get partnered with, it has to be a loser like you. Don't get in my way, and we might be able to do something."

Brock and Dawn wander over, with their partners trailing a little behind. Both of them look concerned.

"Hey! That's no way to talk to your tag partner!" Ash fires back, though his Pikachu waves to him with not nearly such a furious expression on its face.

The electric mouse jumps off its trainer's trainer's shoulder and walks over to where Paul's Elekid was standing. It engages the other Electric-type in a short conversation. The Elekid seems to get the message, extending one of its arms for a handshake, but when Pikachu smiles and tries to reply in kind, Paul's Pokémon punches it in the gut instead, knocking it back toward Ash.

Heh. Who knew Elekid could learn Sucker Punch?

This is really interesting, because I don't remember Ash ever having a rival like this. Gary was the more the type to say 'smell you later' and make fun of Ash. Paul genuinely seems to despise him.

Unfortunately, I have more important things to do than investigate their relationship. Everyone has been paired except me, standing around with my unlucky number thirteen card, looking for this invisible person. I stomp back over to the idiot host, and wave the card in front of his face. "Can I compete with two of my Pokémon, since my partner doesn't seem to exist?"

"Of course not! Love is not constrained by the bounds of time! Why there was one fine cou-"

I leave before I can hear more of this moron's ridiculous drivel. The battle isn't starting until this afternoon, to give the trainers time to bond with their new partners, apparently, so I have time to find them. I decide to enlist some help widening my search radius.

"Come on out, Vivillon!"

As annoying as Hearthome has been for me, it's been equally as good for Vivillon. He's showing more confidence and more willingness to explore than I've ever seen from him, meaning I can ask him to do something like this.

"Hey, Vivillon. Can you look for someone lost? They should be holding up a number thirty." I block out the one on my card and then make an O with my hands to show him the shapes of the numbers.

He agrees very easily, and flits off in search of my wayward partner. For now, I'll wait here in case they turn up.

----------------------------------------

An hour later, and neither Vivillon nor my tag partner have turned up. The worst thing is, I'm so close to Ash and Paul in the bracket. Assuming my partner doesn't disqualify us before it even starts, if we both win in the first round, then I'd have to face them in the second.

This is probably the part where Ash and Paul learn about each other, and through their shared struggles in this competition, start to become friends. And I'm going to be caught smack in the middle of it.

I let out a sigh. I wanted to try and talk some strategy, and figure out my partner's battling style, but some things were not meant to be. Hopefully they show their faces when the battle actually starts. Right as I start to make my way down the tunnel, leading out of the arena, something moving at high speeds smacks straight into me, knocking my right onto my ass. I rub the sore area gingerly while getting to my feet, but my words leave me when I see who it is. Please don't tell me…

"Whoops! Hey, you must be my tag partner for the upcoming tourney! Sorry I was late, I kinda forgot my map of the city, and I got lost on the way here! Anyways, nice to meetcha! I'll see you here for the tourney, right? You better not be late, or else I'll fine you a million bucks! Later!" He spits out every single sentence rapidfire, in one whole breath. It's only when he finishes he sucks in a huge gulp of air, before turning on his heel to dash away.

The audacity of him to threaten to fine me for being late, when I've been the one waiting for him!

I make a grab for Barry's green scarf, but instead I latch on to the collar of his orange and white striped shirt, which is good, considering I didn't want to strangle my tag partner. Yet, anyways.

"Hold on there, bucko. Don't you want to talk about some strategy before we start battling?" The last time I had battled with Barry was at the summit of Mt. Coronet, against Mars and Jupiter, where he led with his Munchlax and was exceptionally useless throughout.

"Oh, I've got a great strategy for noob trainers!" he boasts. "Make sure all your Pokémon's attacks land! Then, make sure none of the opponent's attacks hit!" He mimes shooting down a few opponents with finger guns for emphasis.

I try my best to ignore him calling me a noob. "Alright then… what kind of moves do you use?"

"What kind of moves? Powerful ones!" The blonde says, waving his arms in the air. "Like a Pokémon Punch and a Pokémon Kick! Pokémon Slap! Pokémon Chop!" he elaborates, bringing his arm down in a chopping motion on the last one. I stare at him in incredulity, which he takes as his cue to leave, reminding me again, to not be late, lest I face a billion dollar fine.

Oh, boy.

----------------------------------------

The next time we're in the stadium, for the opening ceremony, it's packed to the brim with roaring fans. The host, who is quickly becoming my least favorite person in this entire city, gives a speech about how the first two winners of this competition were total strangers and eventually became husband and wife.

Unsurprisingly enough, the secret prize at the end is something that will result in a "special relationship and an eternal bond between the hearts of two strangers."

I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. Is the prize a hot date with one of Hearthome's most eligible bachelors or bachelorettes?

The mystery of it seems to get everyone excited, though. Except for Dawn, who looks a bit worried. "I don't know if I can handle another surprise. Taking care of a baby Pokémon is almost too much for me."

"You hatched a Pokémon recently?" Lucas asks her.

"A Togepi," Dawn confirms. "She's a total cutie, but she's still in the phase where she sleeps eighteen or more hours a day. I didn't want to bring her here because it might be too loud."

"You're doing great with Togepi, Dawn," Brock encourages her warmly. "We can figure it out if you win."

"Emphasis on the if," Ursula mutters under her breath.

Dawn ignores her. "Right!"

Barry, who cannot stand still for even thirty seconds before he starts jumping up and down, or spinning in circles, points a finger at Lucas. "You better get to the finals, or I'm fining you a million bucks, Lucas! We need to show these people what Twinleaf Town is all about!"

"I'll try my best," Lucas tells him.

Probably the one highlight of this day was seeing Lucas's face when I came to the arena. He was utterly flabbergasted that I had managed to find Barry. From what I could understand from Barry's word waterfall of a speech, they were neighbors and great friends growing up, though Barry left first on his Pokémon journey.

That much I remember from the beginnings of the Sinnoh games. Lucas eventually pulled me aside and told me his hyperactive friend had run off after receiving his first Pokémon, without a word to anyone back home, which I definitely could picture. Also, Barry's apparently a Paul fanboy. Of course, Paul says he has no idea who Barry is, which makes my tag partner declare that he needs to train even harder to get Paul to notice him.

I try my best to ignore the bouncing blonde ball of energy beside me, and turn my attention to the first match, which is Dawn and Lucas against a heavily muscled man and a much shorter girl. The order Pokémon were thrown out was like a snake draft. One team sends out one, then the other team sends out both, and the other member of the opposite team sends out their final Pokémon. It makes for some interesting matchups and volatile battles, where both teams could get a type-advantage on the other, if they wanted it.

Dawn is chosen to select her Pokémon first. She sends out her starter, the Pokémon probably most suited for regular battling. Piplup pops out, looking confident and proud and not showing any signs of being nearly electrocuted last time Dawn had called on it.

"Go, Electrode!"

"Go Nidorina!"

We'll see if Piplup can hold its nerve against another Electric-type, this one looking to hit it on purpose.

Ash and Brock walk up next to me, probably thinking that I wanted to watch our friends battle together. "Do you think Lucas will use Monferno for this battle? It was really strong in his and Dawn's dual training."

I'm not sure what I've done to give Ash the inclination that I want to be around him, but then again, every time I see him he's extending an olive branch to Paul that the other boy slaps away.

"Lucas has been raising his whole team really well," I reply politely. "I think he wants to show what they can all do." My friend sends out Porygon to confirm my words.

Ash gives me a big grin that I return with a fake one. "That sounds like a great idea!"

"Piplup and Porygon versus Nidorina and Electrode!" The announcer's voice booms over the speakers. "Battle begin!"

"Electrode, Thunderbolt!

"Nidorina, Poison Sting!"

Dawn looks very surprised that both attacks are instantly aimed for Piplup, and doesn't have a response prepared. Luckily, she's got a tag partner she can trust.

"Porygon, Conversion and defend Piplup!" The digital Pokémon quickly analyzes the situation and it flashes a different color before it floats into the way of the two attacks. Electrode's Thunderbolt hits first, and doesn't even get a reaction out of Porygon, which tells me that it's now a Ground-type. Poison Sting similarly clatters off Porygon's now resistant body without doing much damage at all.

Dawn reacts much better than their two opponents, who seem to have no clue what happened to their attacks. She immediately calls for a Bubblebeam, and Piplup jumps up to pepper the enemy Pokémon with its attack. Nidorina gets hit, though Electrode's insane speed means it easily rolls out of the way.

The opponents regain a bit of composure to launch another series of attacks.

"Electrode, use Rollout!"

"Nidorina, use Fury Swipes!"

Nidorina extends its claws before charging forward, while Electrode revs up like Vin Diesel before a race before it zooms in, but Lucas isn't worried. Again, there's a typing that resists both of these attacks.

"Stay in front of Piplup, and use Conversion!" Porygon flashes chrome, and Electrode pings off the now Steel-type like a pinball, before whirling around the track for another go at it. Nidorina's claws don't even leave a scratch even as she rakes them across Porygon.

"Now's our chance! Piplup, use Peck!"

Lucas's voice interrupts them as Piplup runs forward with a glowing beak. "Don't!" he warns.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Dawn and her Pokémon drop their attack in confusion. "Why?"

"Physical contact with either of those Pokémon might get Piplup paralyzed or poisoned," Lucas warns her.

"OK, but Electrode is too fast for us to hit! We can't risk it getting an Electric-attack through on Piplup," Dawn says, frowning at their conundrum.

"I'll make sure you two can," Lucas promises, before raising his voice. "Trick Room!"

A glass box appears around the four Pokémon for a second before it vanishes, but the effects are extremely apparent. In Porygon's domain, Electrode is moving more like a bowling ball thrown by a grandma than a racecar. Which makes it a very easy target.

Dawn has a massive smile. "Piplup, Whirlpool!" The little penguin hurls a funnel of water at Electrode, effectively trapping the now snail paced Pokémon in a cage.

"Help me out here!" the muscle man says to his younger partner, who nods.

"Right! Nidorina, use Double Kick!"

"Conversion, Porygon."

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

Lucas's Pokémon once again gets in the way, as Nidorina, whose speed has improved thanks to Trick Room, jumps into the air for a double-footed kick. This time, it passes straight through Porygon, as it goes Ghost-type, right into Piplup's attack.

"What is this?!" Nidorina's trainer wails, as Lucas calls for Psybeam. The super-effective attack puts them out of their misery, and both Lucas and Dawn turn their attention to the still trapped Electrode.

"Tri Attack!"

"Bubblebeam again!"

"Electrode, Thunderbolt!" its trainer roars. Electrode is used to blowing itself up, I'm sure, but the combined might of the two attacks sent its way and the electrifying of the Whirlpool it's trapped in creates a monstrous explosion that knocks the upside-down Pokéball out in one glorious hit.

Great teamwork from those two. I can't help but be a little jealous. Their opponents recall their Pokémon, faces utterly confused to what happened, as Lucas and Dawn get a well earned round of applause.

To be fair to these two, quite a few people in our little observer box can't figure out Porygon's trick either. Wendy asks Brock, who can't come up with an answer, as knowledgeable as he is. Ash asks Paul, which goes about as well as you might expect, with Paul dismissing Ash as a moron who doesn't know anything.

It's the super nerd himself, Conway, who actually sees what's going on. "The only typing that would stand up to an Electric and a Poison-type attack is the Ground-type," he lectures. "Porygon changed its typing to do so. Ground-types have a lot of value defensively. I plan to make my Gligar here into an enduring stalwart."

It doesn't look like a defensive behemoth. Conway's Gligar seems a bit dopey, in all honesty. "He may not look like much now, but I've been searching for a Gligar that's unable to be poisoned. Once I train him up some, and he evolves, Gligar's going to be an integral part of my battle strategy."

The next battle is about to start, because we've got eight to get through by the evening. I'm distracted by something just as the first trainer, who looks like he's come straight from the farm, sends out a Dugtrio.

"Popcorn! Get your popcorn here!"

"We've got ice-cold drinks! Water, soda, and lemonade to quench your thirst!'

"Foist one to buy a hot dog gets a free one for their friend!"

I actually could use an ice-cold drink, but it's no doubt going to be overpriced, and I need to be stingy with my money. I refrain from buying anything, but the vendors are persistent. One of them decides to nudge my leg with something soft and furry.

"Oi, how's about you buy some food from me?"

"I'll pass, thanks." I say it with finality, but this vendor is extremely persistent. His voice is rather familiar, too.

"Come on twoirp, don't be so cheap! We gots a commission to meet!"

I turn around and look down, and sure enough, I'm being sold to by a talking Pokémon. A criminal talking Pokémon, to be more precise.

Meowth and I meet each other's eyes. "What are you doing here?" I finally ask.

"What'chu mean?" Meowth replies, playing like I somehow don't recognize him. Like there's more than one talking Meowth in the world. "I'm here selling food to hungry customers."

A quick glance around confirms everyone has been drawn into the battle, so I squat down. "I know it's you. Where are Jessie and James?"

"Partner, we went over this! If they don't buy the first time, move on and come back later!" James comes to stand next to us, his tray full of the drinks, plus all the bottlecaps and can tabs that he apparently keeps from when he sells them. He starts sweating as soon as I start staring at him.

James is easily intimidated. "You two want to find your third and explain yourselves? Or should I tell everyone here Team Rocket is around?"

He holds up his hands. "Why don't we talk over there?" James points to the tunnel exit of the arena. I follow Meowth there while James goes to grab Jessie.

She's not very happy when they do finally arrive, with Wobbuffet as well, holding his own tray of snacks. "What's the meaning of this, James? I had those two eating out of the palm of my hand!"

He points to me. "She recognizes us!"

Jessie looks dumbfounded. "She does? But how?"

How anyone else doesn't is the real question. I think about flicking Jessie's hair, considering she hasn't bothered hiding it, but then I remember what happened to Seviper, and decide against it.

"What are you three up to? It better not be any funny business. I don't want this tournament canceled or anything like that."

"Not right now," Meowth says glumly. "Jessie blew our budget out of the water 'cus she did her hair and nails and had a spa day."

"Excuse me! I was maintaining my devilish good looks! I have to look my absolute best before I can go to the, um…"

Contest, my brain supplies, as she tries to come up with something. I guess that's a reasonable enough explanation. I turn to James. "How's Golett!"

His face lights up. "Great! We almost caught Pikachu! Having a Ground-type really worked wonders against it, until we, uh, lost. But it was really close! And, Golett performed amazingly during Jessie's- ow!"

She unsubtly stomps on his foot before he can say contest. "Alright, I believe you," I tell them. "But I'm serious. No shenanigans, or I'll let everyone know you're here, and you'll get the beatdown of a lifetime!"

"Hah!" Meowth says with a grin. "Getting beatdown is nothing for us. We's the ultimate losers! If ya really want us to keep our paws clean, you need to offer us something."

"Like what?" I ask suspiciously.

Meowth hops on top of Wobbuffet and they put their heads together and mutter for several seconds, ignoring the fact that I'm still here.

Eventually Jessie pulls away. "We can't decide," she states. "So, you'll have to do us a favor in the future.

"Sure. Whatever's in my power."

Deal made, she turns back to her team. "I'm taking a break," she informs them. "Which means you three need to sell even more to make up for it!"

They all slump sadly as I take my leave, snickering the whole way. I'm not too worried about this favor I owe Team Rocket. I can always take a page from their book and double-cross them, after all.

As I head back to the spectator area, Vivillon comes flying in to see me. "Welcome back," I say. "I ended up finding the guy, but thanks for all of your hard work, since you've been searching this whole time."

For whatever reason, he looks somewhat guilty. Not sure why. It's not Vivillon's fault Barry is a moron. He speaks up as a bring up the Safari Ball to recall him.

"What's up?"

Vivillon gestures to the battle, and creates a couple of wind balls, like he does when using Air Cutter. "You want to battle? Really? What brought this on?"

My Pokémon's gaze wanders to somewhere to my right, but when I turn in that direction, nothing is there, other than some pristinely cut green bushes. Vivillon looks nervous, but determined, and I can't help but smile.

"All right, Vivillon. I'll see what I can do to get you in there."

I hear an excited squeak from behind me, but I dismiss it as some fangirl, and recall my pleased Pokémon.

I make it back in time for Ursula's match, where she and Conway are facing off against a bug catching lad and a girl in the pinkest outfit I've ever seen, and that includes Dawn's contest dress.

Ursula sends out Gible, which is immediately countered by a Wormadam and an Azumarill. I think Wormadam is terrible, personally, but I'll admit this Steel-type one would normally be a good match against Gible, considering it resists Dragon and isn't weak to Ground. Fire Fang will be a nasty surprise for it, though.

Conways adjusts his glasses before sending out his Pokémon. It must pick a Pokémon that looks like a Pokéball day, because Conway's selection is a giant mushroom with a Pokéball pattern on its heads and two arms.

I don't know why Amoonguss has a Pokéball pattern, actually. Wouldn't it be more effective to lure prey with, I dunno, something edible?

Regardless, it's an interesting choice. While Amoonguss obviously dominates Azumarill, it can't really touch Wormadam. It's also extremely slow, so covering for Gible might be a challenge.

"Azumarill, Play Rough on Gible!"

"Wormadam, Flash Cannon on Amoonguss!"

I'm instantly proven wrong. The Water-type bounds towards Gible, looking as menacing as a bunny rabbit can be, but Conway has other plans.

"Rage Powder!"

Amoonguss scatters a sinister red powder throughout the opponent's side of the battlefield. As soon as Azumarill takes a breath of it, it changes directions mid hop, and goes for the wrong Pokémon.

Ursula takes advantage. "Sand Tomb on Azumarill!'

That means that Amoonguss takes the hit from Flash Cannon as well as Azumarill's Play Rough. It's knocked back twice, but when Azumarill hits the ground, it's wrapped in tendrils of sand and struggles to move.

"Well done, Ursula. This battle is as good as over. Poison Powder, Amoonguss."

The mushroom spits a cloud of poison at the trapped Pokémon, and Azumarill can do nothing except breathe it in. Its struggles weaken instantly as the poison starts to take its toll.

"Wormadam, help Azumarill! Use Gyro Ball!"

"Gible, Crunch!"

"Come on, Azumarill," its trainer urges. Use Water Gun to free yourself. Then use Ice Punch!"

A new resolve appears in Azumarill's eyes, and Gible's Sand Tomb falls to the ground once it's soaking wet. Azumarill charges forward with an icy fist, though Conway gives his creepy signature laugh.

"Synthesis."

Amoonguss heals through all of the damage inflicted on it, as Gible and Wormadam are essentially evenly matched. The bug catcher and pink-clad girl look at Azumarill nervously, knowing that time is not on their side. They nod at each other, and then call out attacks in unison.

"Ice Punch, again!"

"Flash Cannon!"

Both are targeted at Amoonguss, because any attack on Gible would be redirected onto it anyways. I assume they're at least trying to take it down; that way, it's a one-on-one when Azumarill also goes down from the poison.

This is a tag battle, though, and you always need to account for the other tag partner. "Fire Fang on Wormadam!"

The bug catcher flinches, and interrupts his Pokémon while it's gathering the beam of energy. "Cancel, and use Protect!"

His partner glares at him and complains, for good reason. Now they definitely don't have enough power to out damage Amoonguss's Synthesis.

I'm not sure if I'd call Conway's battle style methodical, because it's even slower than that. It doesn't make fans of the audience, watching Azumarill slowly being whittled away, and then seeing the same process happen to Wormadam when it gets hit by a Leech Seed. It manages to not get knocked out by Fire Fang thanks to Protect, but it doesn't put up much of a fight when its partner does go down.

No one can deny how effective his strategy is, though. He's managed to drill Ursula really well in what she needs to do, despite her difficulties in double battles. Now that I think of it, I don't remember him using an actual attack during that whole battle either.

Brock and Wendy are up next, against two boys that are arguing even as they take their places on the battlefield. That's not a good omen, and their Yanma and Ferroseed look super ordinary.

A Steel-type is at least a good matchup against Brock's Sudowoodo, and what looks like a Fairy-type from Wendy. She confirms that she's some sort of pastry chef, or at least a baker, by using an Alcremie, which looks like a pile of whipped cream.

It's very cute, though. Unfortunately, Ferroseed's supposed type advantage is quickly rendered useless because it can barely move from where it digs itself into the ground, while Yanma is too busy flitting around in the air. A reflection of their trainers inability to work together, I suppose.

That means Alcremie has all the time in the world to use this move called Decorate on Sudowoodo, which gives the fake tree a massive power boost. It clips Yanma out of the sky with an incredibly strong Rock Tomb, and brings down the hammer (arm) on the immobile Ferroseed, taking a very easy win.

To top it all off, Wendy is very impressed with Brock and his Pokémon. She compliments him profusely, to which Brock stands there with a dreamy lovesick look in his eyes. Maybe the host of this tournament was right about it after all. Brock's record with women is terrible, but even he managed to find someone that likes him here.

The two boys argue over whose fault it is that they lost, and eventually challenge each other to a Pokémon battle when they can't come to an agreement. They run off in different directions.

"I'd say the award for the worst tag-team combination goes to those two," Conway suggests.

Most of us agree, though Dawn and Brock look worried. "I think Ash and Paul might challenge for that title," Brock mutters under his breath.

"As long as Ash stays out of my way, we'll be fine," Paul says, not exactly refuting Brock's words.

"Why did you even enter this competition in the first place?" Ash asks his partner. "You aren't willing to work with me."

"I'm here because of Chimchar," Paul answers bluntly, holding up the Pokéball that I assume contains the Sinnoh starter.

"Because of Chimchar?" Ash repeats.

"Chimchar still hasn't come anywhere near to mastering its power. If it can't do that, and it can't measure up against other Fire-types, then it's time for me to move on."

I tune out the rest of their argument. Brock and Wendy's quick victory means there's only one more battle until mine. I try to settle my nerves as I watch a canine duo of a Boltund and Mightyena defeat a Furret and a Hitmonchan.

Barry has no such problem. He bounds right up to his spot. I take my time, trying not to look at the image of myself on the jumbotron.

This is going to be fine. You aren't battling some five time Kalos Queen, Top Coordinator, Marchioness of the Battle Chateau of a Gym Leader. They're ordinary trainers.

One of our adversaries is one of these martial arts guys who seem to go everywhere in their dojo uniform. The other has slicked hair and is wearing all purple, which reminds me of the psychic specialist trainers. They're both barefoot. Does that mean they have coordination?

My partner, as eager as he is to battle, throws out his Pokémon first. "Go, Snover!"

I would have stuck with Roselia, personally. Why'd he have to lead with this? Yeah, Snover's a cute little christmas tree, but its Ice/Grass typing is weak to everything!

It creates a dark cloud at the top of the tall psychic bubble that's around the battlefield. Barry asks me if I want snow or hail, and I tell him hail.

There's no way either of them use an Ice-type. The odds of them not having a Pokémon that matches up well against Snover is zero. The two opponents send out their Pokémon together.

"Come forth, Metang!"

"Zangoose, ready yourself!"

Hopefully, Team Rocket is done selling snacks and is out of the stadium. I'd hate for Seviper to interrupt our battle for a grudge match. Still, I have the final choice. Absol beats Metang, but since this is a karate man I'm facing, I would be very surprised if Zangoose doesn't know a Fighting-type move. Its claws look like they're made for X-Scissor as well.

That leaves one option, really. "Don't go overboard, do you hear me?" I mutter to his Pokéball. "Our partner is really weak to fire. You need to be in control."

The Pokéball quivers before I finally send Charmeleon out.

"Zangoose and Metang against Charmeleon and Snover! Battle begin!" The host shouts.

"Bullet Punch!" the psychic shouts.

"Slash!" his partner adds.

"Match Zangoose with Metal Claw!" I order, though Barry for once is actually taking the back foot.

"Avalanche!"

Zangoose's expression tells me that it lives for hand-to-hand combat. It leaps in towards Charmeleon with its wicked claws, even as it's being struck by small pellets of hail. Luckily, my Pokémon is much the same way, meeting Zangoose's attacks with his iron-hard claws. They both get their fare share of shallow scratches, but neither seems to have the advantage.

Metang takes off like a missile at Snover, punching the icy tree back with its metal fist. All Snover could do was build another dark cloud over its head, but icy rocks tumble out of it and crash down on Metang even as Snover tumbles backwards.

"Break off and use X-Scissor on Snover!" Charmeleon whiffs on his final Metal Claw as Zangoose leaps back and charges Snover instead of engaging with us further.

"Metang, Zen Headbutt!" The Steel-type tucks in its arms and glows blue as it also charges at Snover.

I curse internally, but I try to cover Snover the best I can, without risking Flame Burst hitting our partner by accident. "Brace yourself, and use Fire Punch on Metang!"

"Snover, Grass Knot!"

Thankfully, Snover's not as helpless as I thought. It grows some plants that manage to trip up Zangoose before it gets in range, and while Charmeleon's fist doesn't appreciate punching a hunk of metal, Metang appreciates our Fire Punch way less. We knock it off course to make sure Snover is ok.

"Nice defense," I compliment Barry.

"Thanks! That Fire Punch power was awesome!"

We're holding strong for now, anyways. Hail continues to pelt all the Pokémon, but that's in our favor. Our opponent's strategy seems to be to target Snover with extreme prejudice. "Metang, Bullet Punch!"

"Fire Blast, Zangoose!"

My eyes widen, because that will be a oneshot, even if Barry calls for an Avalanche again, which he does. Zangoose takes a deep breath in, preparing for the attack.

I could call for Dragon Rage, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to try this particular move, and this is the perfect scenario. It's much stronger, too. "Weather Ball!"

The ordinary orb of energy Charmeleon creates absorbs the hail to become a giant swirly ball of frost. It smashes into Zangoose, interrupting the Normal-type before it can torch our partner. Snover still takes another Bullet Punch, but Metang takes another Avalanche in return.

"Don't worry about us!" Barry tells me, giving me a thumbs up for emphasis. "if they're going to focus all their efforts on us, that means you two can take them out!"

Maybe I underestimated this man. Even though he loses to you every single time, Barry does get all eight gym badges, and makes it through Victory Road. That's a very impressive resume.

"Alright," I say back. I've been wanting to try out this move as well. "Use Dragon Dance!"

Charmeleon's first dance lesson did not go well at all. He basically sat in the corner and refused to partake. The instructor Feraligatr, well versed in bringing unruly Pokémon in line, challenged Charmeleon to a battle, where it ignored Charmeleon for the first few minutes to use Dragon Dance a couple of times. The fully-evolved Pokémon then rushed Charmeleon with a monstrously fast and powerful Ice Punch, that both he and I knew would have knocked Charmeleon out, despite him being a Fire-type.

That sort of demonstration was the motivation my Pokémon needed. He starts the movements, letting energy wash over his body, before ending it with a piercing, draconic roar.

The enemies haven't stopped their assault on Snover. This time, Zangoose leaps in the air for a Crush Claw, while Metang charges forward with Take Down. We aren't there to cover, so Barry has to resort to something else.

"Aurora Veil!"

A gleaming crystal ice barrier appears around both our Pokémon as Snover waves its hands, calling upon the hailstorm to protect us. Both Metang and Zangoose slam into Snover's barrier, which takes a ton of the speed and power of their attacks away before they finally connect.

I may as well get greedy. "Dragon Dance again!" Charmeleon starts dancing again, and now our opponents look over at my Pokémon nervously, as his power level soars.

"Iron Defense!" the psychic calls. Metang reinforces its armor, to better stand up to Charmeleon's assault, while its partner moves to make this a two-on-one.

"Fire Blast! Finish Snover off now!"

"Block that!" Charmeleon is in front of Snover in an instant, and what would have been a knockout blow barely tickles him, with Aurora Veil and his resistance to his own type. In fact, it fuels his tail flame to make it burn even more intensely.

This might be the moment. "You don't need any extra power, Charmeleon. You've got plenty," I remind him. "Flamethrower attack!"

He takes a couple of seconds to ready himself, and breathes out a glorious river of fire. Zangoose manages to duck in time to only get a somewhat burnt tail, but Metang gets clipped out of the sky as it tries to get out of the way of our attack.

"Nice!" I cheer. "One more to finish it off!"

Metang is struggling to lift itself into the air. The psychic urges his Pokémon to rise, but his partner takes matters into his own hands. "Zangoose, defend Metang with Fire Blast!"

But I have a partner too. "Ice Shard, Snover!" Barry takes a page out of my playbook, hitting Zangoose as it prepares for the powerful Fire-type attack to match ours. Eventually, its trainer makes the tough choice.

"Get out of there!" Zangoose gets out of the way, but now there's nothing preventing Metang from getting roasted. I can't help but grin as the host declares Metang unable to battle.

All that leaves is the karate man, who isn't about to lose quietly. "Leave it all out there, Zangoose! Close Combat!"

The Normal-type turns into an all offense, no defense whirlwind of savage slashes. "Wait for an opening, Charmeleon, and take it out!"

Charmeleon's speed, enhanced so much by Dragon Dance, means he's more than a match. He ducks and dodges and deflects until Zangoose finally takes a swing at him that's a tad too wild, and Charmeleon chomps down on its claws with Fire Fang. He follows up with two quick Fire Punches, then a massive uppercut in Zangoose's gut that sends the enemy Pokémon several feet into the air. It lands unconscious next to the already defeated Metang.

Barry's exuberant as we get serenaded with applause from every angle. "That was great! I'll admit, I wasn't too sure about you when we first started, but you're a really strong trainer!"

I chuckle at the irony, and congratulate him back. I then look at Charmeleon, who's looking for some praise as well. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Using Flamethrower a couple times in the heat of the moment doesn't mean it wasn't a fluke."

He can tell there's a 'but' coming, so I oblige him. "That said, you were amazing today, Charmeleon. That was a flawless performance."

I recall him for some well-deserved rest, and make my way back to the observing area. Barry promptly declares that Paul has to win, so he can earn his respect, which the other boy ignores. Lucas comes to stand next to me.

"I thought you said you were teaching your Pokémon how to dance," he asks, slightly accusing.

"That's right."

"Dragon Dance?! What other stuff did you all learn?"

I smile slyly. "You'll have to wait and see. In the finals, perhaps."

Of course, the best way to get there is to have Ash and Paul lose here. Nothing personal against them. I'd rather not be a casualty of their budding camaraderie and friendship that's no doubt the result of this tournament.

Obviously, it's a super longshot, but a girl can hope. Seeing the way Paul and Ash are standing there, as far away from each other as possible, it's not hard to imagine that they won't work well together.

One of their opponents sends out a Magmar to lead. I suppose Paul will get to see how Chimchar stacks up against another Fire-type after all.

He sends it out, as after a moment of discussion, Pikachu jumps off Ash's shoulder to join Chimchar. A bit risky, though. Ground beats electric, and it beats fire too.

"Go, Rhydon!"

Yes! This is what I like to see.

"This will be very one sided," Conway says nasally. "Rhydon counters both Pikachu and Chimchar."

"Paul can't lose here," Barry insists.

"Don't count Ash out either," Brock warns. "He's gotten around Ground-types with Pikachu before." Clearly, he's speaking from experience.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" As usual, Pikachu launches a ludicrously large Thunderbolt. Thankfully, it veers off course halfway to Magmar and goes to Rhydon instead, doing nothing.

"Don't you know Ground-types aren't affected by Electric-attacks?" Paul asks disgustedly.

"We went for Magmar!"

Conway chuckles. "A better partner would have told Ash about Rhydon's Lightning Rod Ability. This is going to end faster than I thought."

"Magmar, Flamethrower!"

"Rhydon, Take Down!"

"Chimchar, match it!"

"Get behind it, Pikachu!"

It seems Paul really is here only to see what his Chimchar can do. Its Flamethrower is slowly overpowered by the stronger Fire-types. Pikachu tries for a spinning dodge around the much larger Pokémon, but Rhydon swings an arm at it and manages to send Pikachu flying, though it lands fairly comfortably on its feet.

Rhydon dude. Forget your partner for this battle, and spam Earthquake until you win. It's not that hard, is it?

Apparently, it is. It's the Magmar man who uses a move that impacts the whole battlefield. Not a good one, either. "Lava Plume!"

Magmar spits out a massive cloud of ash and fire that envelops Rhydon and quickly moves towards Chimchar and Pikachu. Paul orders Chimchar to go straight into it and use the heat to power up its Flame Wheel.

"He doesn't look all that mad that his Pokémon got hit," Lucas notes, watching Rhydon's trainer.

"They must have planned it beforehand, since Lava Plume wouldn't do much to a Rock-type," Brock thinks aloud. "That's teamwork."

Not good teamwork. Dude risked burning his partner for barely any reward. They get a not-very effective hit on Chimchar, and Ash has Pikachu use Iron Tail on the ground, which shoots it upward like a rocket, way above the smoke and flame.

Lava Plume clears and it seems that Chimchar's Flame Wheel actually has powered up from going through the Fire-type attack. It races towards Rhydon. Not that it's going to do anything.

"Use Rock Blast!"

"Break through them!" Paul orders.

The first massive boulder Rhydon fires from its maw knocks Chimchar straight to the ground, and puts out its Flame Wheel. Paul grumbles something not very kind to Chimchar, and commands it to use Dig to dodge the second one.

Alright, now he'll go for Earthquake, right? It does double damage if the Pokémon is underground!

Whatever Rhydon's trainer is going to say, it's interrupted by Pikachu dropping out of the sky, and slamming on the Rock-type's head with Iron Tail for a direct hit that sends Rhydon stumbling back. That prompts a quick conversation between the two trainers, discussing their next move.

It's not Earthquake. It's not even Magnitude.

"Magmar, Protect!"

"Rhydon, Rock Slide!"

They must be scared of Pikachu dodging again by going into the air, but now they know what's going to happen. But what is Magmar standing around for? Have it cover Rhydon with Flamethrower, or use Lava Plume again so Pikachu lands in a fiery cloud. Even now, it's covering for itself for no reason when Ash and Paul have to deal with this powerful attack.

Maybe these two simply aren't very good. Paul has them looking like geniuses though, with how recklessly he's battling. He orders yet another Flame Wheel, even though the last one couldn't get through a Rock Blast, and now he's expecting Chimchar to run this gauntlet of boulders.

"Paul, stop! Chimchar isn't going to get through! We're going to lose!" Ash pleads with his partner.

"If Chimchar can't find the power to get through, it's not worth anything to me at all," Paul tells him coldly, as Chimchar obediently fires up Flame Wheel again and throws itself into the rockalanche.

Is he trying to get Chimchar to evolve, and break through with a Fighting-type move? I don't understand his mindset.

Ash doesn't get it either, but he's not one to bow out quietly. "Fine! We'll do it the hard way! Pikachu, Thunder! Clear a path!"

I thought Pikachu's Thunderbolt was insane. But the Thunder attack Pikachu unleashes on the boulder barrage probably is fit for a Zapdos, a Raikou, or a Zekrom. It lights up the entire battlefield in yellow and eviscerates the Rock Slide into dust in a matter of seconds.

The two opposing trainers are as stunned as we are, and they don't react in time when Paul and Ash press their offensive.

Paul doesn't even say thank you, as Chimchar's path is now suddenly clear. "Go for the eyes!" is what he shouts instead. Rhydon's eyes are the only part of it not covered in its stone hide, but it still puts up its arms to block the Flame Wheel.

Pikachu and Ash take it upon themselves to follow-up with another vicious Iron Tail, as Rhydon's more worried about the other attack.

"Use Dig!" Paul orders, as Magmar's trainer finally regains his wits.

"Flamethrower!"

"Iron Tail into the air, again!"

Pikachu bounces into the air using the power of Iron Tail yet again, dodging Magmar's fire stream. Ash isn't done.

"Volt Tackle!" Pikachu covers itself with electricity and dives straight downward, threatening to do frightening damage.

"Magmar, Fire Punch!" The Fire-type jumps into the air, not backing down, but Ash has one trick left.

"Do it!" Pikachu's falling speed increases dramatically, and it disappears for a split second before crashing into Magmar like a bolt of lightning, knocking the enemy Pokémon out instantly.

Ash called that move Lightning Strike when he used it against Charmeleon and me. I guess we know how it was named.

Dawn and Brock are the only ones who've seen the move before, and they're happy to explain. "Back when they were developing it," Brock says proudly, "The easiest way to reach the speeds necessary to use it was by having Pikachu fall through the air while using Volt Tackle. The first time they pulled it off successfully was against a few crooks trying to steal some Pokémon."

I can guess who the test dummies were. Back on the battlefield, Chimchar's managed to take out the severely weakened Rhydon with Dig into one last Flamethrower. The Fire-type walks over to Pikachu and says something to the Electric-type who looks like it spent every volt of electricity in its body pulling that battle back. Pikachu pats Chimchar on the back.

They certainly get along much better than their trainers, who are refusing to speak to each other.

The results of the day are posted on the jumbotron, and I take them in as everyone makes comments about Ash and Paul's teamwork, or lack thereof. It doesn't really matter, in the end. Even if they mix like oil and water, they're inevitably going to win. That's how it is.

My good mood about having won earlier disappears. Because my reward is that tomorrow, I'm the one who gets to face off against Ash and Paul.

Hurray.