Unova region, Nimbasa City…

Style. Glamour. Beauty. An electrifying talent as a Pokémon trainer. All of these words described the Nimbasa Gym Leader, Elesa. A beautiful supermodel and one of the strongest Gym Leaders in Unova, always willing to share her beauty and talents with everyone.

Except perhaps…

"I don't care how much you raise the price," she said, speaking through her headphones. "My answer is and will always be no. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new Gym to inaugurate."

And without further words, she pressed the button to end the call, sighing in relief. It was the fourth time that persistent designer called her, and the fourth time she had to refuse. She didn't mind posing for a bikini calendar, but lingerie… that was a big no-no, no matter how much she was offered.

Right then, her dressing room's door opened. One of her models, a young brunette with short hair, made her entrance. She was wearing a skin-tight black bodysuit with orange lines going town her hips and around her thighs, a matching sleeveless top and white gloves.

"Five minutes, Elesa, we're all ready to go."

"Thank you, Blaire. It's time for everyone to see us shine," the Gym Leader replied.

Blaire took her leave, and Elesa glanced one last time at the mirror. As she finished fixing her blond hair, she gave her outfit one final check: her favorite sleeveless yellow jacket, her black top leaving her stomach exposed in two sections, her black skin-tight pants and her yellow stilettos, all check. Everything perfect to show off her figure. And of course, her signature headphones, white, red (on the right) and blue (on the left). Why deny it? A supermodel like her had to look and feel good at the same time.

"Let the show begin," she said to herself, stepping out of the dressing room and ready to take her stage.

As with most Gym Leaders, Elesa had another job aside from her usual duties with the Pokémon League. She was one of the most famous supermodels for the fashion industry in both Unova and abroad, and many designers, photographers and fashion magazines were always looking for her to pose for them, which she was always glad to accept (barring modeling underwear). So, for the past few months she had been doing some arrangements to combine both of her great passions: modelling and Pokémon battles.

The building where the former Nimbasa Gym had been was designed by the same architect in charge of the Nimbasa amusement park. While she enjoyed rollercoasters and other rides as much as the next girl, for a long time she had wanted to have a gym more akin to her own personality. It finally had been finished, so to celebrate, what better way than hosting a fashion show with a few exhibition battles?

As soon as she set foot on the stage, the neon lights turned on to illuminate the crowd as they cheered and clapped, blue on the left side and red on the right, and then the lights on the catwalk turned on as well, revealing a large battlefield on the center. All the while hearing the cheering and screaming from the crowd, Elesa strutted to the center of the battlefield, swinging her hips with style as she did so, and stopped to open her arms and greet her admirers (males and females alike) and send them some flying kisses.

"Elesa, I love you!"

"You're the greatest!"

"Elesa, whooooooooo! Dazzling as ever, gorgeous!"

"Thank you, thank you all!" the leader greeted after Blaire handed her a microphone, once the crowd calmed down. "Everybody, welcome to the opening ceremony of my new Gym. As you all know, fashion and Pokémon battles are two of my biggest passions in life. And it's my great pleasure to combine them both today for all of you to see. I will give you the show of your lives. Is everyone ready to see me shine tonight?"

The crowd replied with a loud "YEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" and a thunderous round of applause. The Nimbasa leader smiled: she could feel their enthusiasm in the air. Of course, she loved being the center of attention, but she never denied others the chance to shine as well.

Elesa walked off the stage to make way for her protégées. Blaire was the one to begin the show, this being her official debut as a model. While she seemed a little nervous off stage, at the moment of truth she could handle herself quite well.

One after another, the models paraded across the catwalk, dazzling the crowd with their great beauty and charm. There were not just young ones; much to everyone's surprise, a special guest showed up: the famous Elizabeth Snyder, also known as Electra, former beauty queen in Unova, and despite being old enough to be a mother, the years didn't take away any charm at all. If anything, she had gained an elegance and demeanor that could only be reached in maturity, making her stand out from the rest.

Of course, Elesa herself didn't waste the chance to parade across the catwalk a few times, showing off her newest outfits and trying out different images. Each one of them seemed to get more screaming and applause from the crowd. For the last round, however, she returned to her regular outfit, and once again stood on the center of the battlefield, calling the crowd for silence.

"And now, here's the moment you've all been waiting for. I know many of you wish to challenge me, and I'm pleased to announce that tonight, you can issue an official challenge!"

The crowd roared in excitement. She almost felt bad for what she was going to tell them next.

"But you'll have to prove yourselves first, against my best apprentices! Give a big hand to the Fleming Triplets!"

Immediately, a trio of young women, all of them wearing the same skintight bodysuit, electric blue with some details in black, including high-heeled boots, made their entrance on stage. They were all identical, having the same greenish blond hair, stylized in the shape of a lightning bolt pointing upwards, and they could only be told apart from each other by the colors of their lightning-shaped earrings (yellow, white and blue). They immediately proceeded to introduce themselves to the crowd.

"I am Nikola."

"I am Frémy."

"And I am Ampère. We all know how anxious you all are to fight our great Elesa."

"But we need to make sure you're ready to face her," said Nikola.

"So, who's going to be the brave one to face against us first?" Frémy challenged everyone.

The response was massive: obviously many wanted to go first. To sort it out, the neon reflectors began moving around the audience, stopping on three lucky trainers, who immediately jumped off their seats to face the triplets. In the meantime, Blaire took a position on the referee spot to be the judge during the matches.

The results, however, didn't favor the challengers. Elesa, watching all the while, couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed: she certainly hoped there was at least one strong enough to challenge her. Was it too much to ask for a worthy opponent on the inaugural night of her new Gym?

…

At the end of the day, the Fleming triplets made quite a show with their dazzling talent. While several challengers were able to put up a good fight, none of them were able to defeat the ladies' Pokémon. While Elesa felt happy for her girls' victories to an extent, it was kind of disappointing to be just a spectator instead of part of the show.

However, her long wait finally paid off when the last remaining challenger managed, albeit with difficulty, to defeat the triplets one by one, and thus earned the right to challenge her. Even better, he brought his own fashion sense to the stage: he was dressed like he going to a rock concert, with a yellow sleeveless shirt, black cargo pants and leather boots. His black hair was slicked upwards and had a yellow lightning-shaped streak in the middle, matching the golden chain pendant hanging from his neck. All he was missing was an electric guitar.

"So then, sweetie, what's your name, and how many Gym Badges do you have?" Elesa asked.

"You can call me Ricks, and I've come to rock this place!" The boy performed an air guitar riff, causing the model to smile. "I've just arrived in Unova, and this is my first badge here!"

"Well, you certainly seem full of energy, I like that." Elesa winked.

"It is official!" Blaire announced, still standing on her battle referee spot. "The match between the challenger Ricks and the Gym Leader Elesa begins now! It'll be a one-on-one battle and the one standing will be the winner!"

"Let's see whose star shines brightest tonight!" said Elesa grabbing her Pokéball. "Zebstrika, the spotlight is on you!"

"Zebstrika!" The electric zebra whinnied and stomped repeatedly, giving off sparks.

"Here we go buddy, let's rock!" Ricks called throwing his own.

"Raichu!" The final evolution of Kanto's electric rodent appeared on the field, and just like his trainer he performed an air guitar riff.

"Ready? START!" Blaire declared.

"Zebstrika, begin with Discharge!" Elesa called.

The electric equine reared on her hind legs as she continued to give off sparks. With a hard stomp, she launched her lightning bolts at her opponent's Raichu. Amazingly, the mouse stood still, drawing all the lightning at himself. He took the attack as if it was nothing, and smiled as if he was enjoying it. Once the attack ended, both Elesa and Zebstrika were left in shock.

"Rai!" Raichu shouted with a big grin as he opened his arms.

"Oh yeah, baby, we're supercharged! Signal Beam!" Ricks shouted punching forward.

Raichu raised both hands and began forming a multicolored energy between them, firing it in the form of a powerful beam. Zebstrika flinched at the blast, but she was otherwise unharmed, and quickly stomped repeatedly on her hooves, ready to take revenge.

"Wait, was that Lightning Rod?" Elesa asked as she contemplated her foe. The Pichu evolutionary line usually possessed the ability Static, but there were some who had Lightning Rod instead.

And that made her smile. "Oh… this is going to be interesting. Zebstrika, Flame Charge!"

Zebstrika whinnied, and rearing again she began stomping rapidly on the floor, bursting into flames before running at Raichu.

"Dodge with Magnet Rise and use Knock Off!" Ricks cried out.

Raichu surrounded himself by a yellow aura and levitated inches from the floor. He floated to the side to dodge Zebstrika's Flame Charge as he raised his right hand, covering it in dark energy sparks, delivering a straight punch from behind.

"Way to go, Raichu, keep up with Knock Off!" said Ricks.

"Double Kick, Zebstrika!" Elesa countered.

Just as Raichu was ready for a second punch, Zebstrika turned around and raised her hind legs to kick the floating mouse's stomach. The double strike caused him to lose his focus and the Magnet Rise's effect, causing him to fall back down. When he managed to get back on his feet, he was surprised to see two circular marks on his belly.

"Ouch! Even I felt that!" said Ricks. "But no matter! Raichu, Thunder!"

"Rai-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Raichu summoned a huge lightning bolt over Zebstrika, but just like him with the Discharge attack, the equine remained still, absorbing the full electric charge, much to the rocker boy's consternation. The zebra then reared again and snorted as she stomped, feeling charged and faster than before.

"Oh, don't you know?" said Elesa. "My darling Zebstrika's ability is Motor Drive. And now, we're about to dazzle you with our superior speed! Flame Charge!"

"Use Magnet Rise to get away, hurry!" Ricks shouted. Raichu once again glowed with the yellow aura and levitated, managing to dodge Zebstrika's stampede by flying up.

"That won't work! Zebstrika, jump and Double Kick!" Elesa called.

With a little running start, Zebstrika jumped up, surprising everyone as she got right to the same level as Raichu, enough to stomp him from above with her forelegs and send him back to crash on the floor.

"And that's what we call falling in style!" said Elesa as she posed with a V-sign.

The battle continued as an exchange of Knock Off and Double Kick blows. The two seemed to be evenly matched, but with each Flame Charge Zebstrika boosted her speed even further, and the only edge Raichu had to compensate was using Magnet Rise to circle around and attack from the air. Until then, neither had been able to land a decisive blow to tip the match to their favor, until…

"Raichu, let's show them how we rock! Use Thunder on yourself and then Signal Beam!"

"Rai-CHUUUUUUUU!"

Raichu summoned his attack on himself, using it to power up. Once he was fully charged, he started focusing his next move.

"Zebstrika, Flame Charge, at full power!" said Elesa.

"Strika!"

The zebra once again stomped furiously as she flamed on, and when Raichu fired his beam attack, she charged against it head on. Once the Flame Charge met the Signal Beam, she pushed herself to try and power through it to get to Raichu, trying to boost her fire and focusing her full power on it. Raichu did the same, trying to keep the energy beam and managing to push her back as she got closer, until the collision point was unable to maintain itself anymore, and a huge explosion blasted both Pokémon away.

"Raichu, no!"

"Zebstrika!"

The two Electric-types fell before their trainers' feet. Refusing to give up, they both tried to get back up, exchanging defying glances with each other for a brief moment, but they finally succumbed and slumped into unconsciousness at exact the same time.

"Double KO!" Blaire declared as she raised both arms. "The battle ends in a draw!"

"Draw? So what does that mean?" asked Ricks.

"In the event of an official Gym battle ending in a draw, it's the Gym Leader's call whether the challenger fought well enough to deserve the badge or not." Blaire then turned to the other side of the arena. "Elesa?"

Elesa smiled. "There's not even a need to ask. Ricks, you and your partner more than deserve the Bolt Badge. Congratulations!"

Elesa extended her hand, showing the yellow and orange lightning bolt-shaped badge. The challenger grabbed it and made an air guitar riff to celebrate his victory, as the crowd exploded in cheering and applause all over the place. Elesa immediately grabbed his hand and raised it.

"I couldn't have wished for a better battle to inaugurate my new Gym. Now come with me! Tonight we both shine together!"

In the middle of the excitement, the challenger joined the leader and they both waved at the crowd. When it came to Pokémon battles, Elesa loved to show off, but she also liked that her challengers did the same. More than a draw, she felt it like a victory for both of them.

The inaugural night for the new Nimbasa Gym couldn't have ended better.

…

At the end of the night, Elesa and her girls took their Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to give them a well-earned break. When Zebstrika left the infirmary, the leader took to groom her, as her reward for a job well done and for giving such a great show.

"You were wonderful, Zebstrika darling," she said as she brushed her fur. The zebra relaxed and stretched so Elesa could reach behind her head and her back, right where she liked it the most.

"Hey Elesa," Blaire called out to her. "Since we've revamped the gym, don't you think it's also a good time to revamp our teams?"

"Revamp our teams?" The blonde tilted her head.

"What I mean is… don't you think we've used the same Pokémon for a bit too long?" the referee said. "It's like we could use an image change, but in Pokémon battling, if you get what I mean."

"But what's wrong with our current teams?" Elesa asked with confusion. "A wise friend from Johto once told me that 'truly skilled trainers should try to win with their favorite Pokémon', and that's what I do."

"Yeah, that much is true." Blaire nodded. "What I'm saying is that we could try to diversify with our Pokémon. We've all used at least once every available Electric-type species in Unova, but seeing that Raichu the challenger used against you… I don't know, I think I'd like a Pokémon like that for me."

Elesa pondered on it. She could understand the reasoning: sure, she loved Unovan Electric-types, but she wasn't adverse to the possibility of using species from other regions. However, her Emolga and Zebstrika had been her team aces practically since the dawn of her trainer career, and there was also her Electric Queen Tynamo, for those who underestimated her unevolved Pokémon. They had never failed her, and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of relieving them of their well-earned positions.

The model's thoughts were interrupted by a beeping in her headphones. Someone was calling and she had to press the button to answer. She was in for a nasty surprise when she recognized the voice.

"You again? Hold on a minute." She left the call in standby and spoke to Blaire. "Sorry, darling, can we talk about this later? I need to get a really stubborn designer to understand that I have my standards as a model."

As she left to engage in another debate more privately, Elesa pondered on Blaire's words. Since the start of her Gym Leader career she had used an exclusively Unovan team, and given that she had moved the Nimbasa Gym to a new building, would it do any harm to update and include Pokémon from other regions?

She didn't want to replace her darling aces, but on the other hand… using them so often might eventually lead to a burnout and make her somewhat predictable. That could be bad for her shows. What could be the best course of action?

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

A couple months later…

The work as a Gym Leader and a supermodel never had a moment's rest, but for a woman as full of energy as Elesa, that was never an issue.

Apart from the daily challengers in her Gym, Elesa had to deal with the usual activities in the world of fashion: photo-shoot sessions, interviews in TV shows, meetings with fashion designers, press conferences, and everything else. That day, she was at an autograph sign event.

For many celebrities, that could be boring and repetitive, but Elesa had her own way to make it interesting. Aside from the autograph itself, each fan was allowed to ask her a question of any kind, and in exchange Elesa could ask them something too. It was a way to know them better and feel closer to them. The kinds of questions she would get asked included a variety of topics, such as her choice of career.

"What inspired you to be both a model and a Gym Leader?"

"I love being the center of attention, so what better way to be under the spotlight than combining two of the things I love the most in the world?"

Others about her training methods.

"How do you make your Pokémon to be that strong?"

"With a hard training regime, a healthy diet, and more importantly, taking care of them with plenty of love."

And others a bit more… personal.

"Do you have a boyfriend? Would you agree to have a date with me?"

"Haha, just one question at a time, please. In order: no, I don't, and unfortunately I have no time for dates, sweetie. My schedule is always tight."

Many coming in behind ended up dismayed to hear those words, while others still tried, even going as far as offering her gifts, like flowers and chocolates, and although she gracefully accepted them, she still felt bad for breaking so many hearts in a single day.

After several hours, the last fan in the line came in, for the locale closed the doors as they were approaching the ending hour of the event, despite the complains of the fans that were left outside. It was a young woman who seemed of be of trainer age, with light blond hair and bright green eyes. She wore an orange and white outfit, complemented with a green beret. Elesa could see se was quite nervous as she approached, especially since she clutched that poster of hers so tightly she was starting to crumple the corners without noticing.

"Come on over, darling, don't be afraid," Elesa said, trying to snap her out of it.

"Huh? Oh, I'm so sorry!" She quickly walked up to the table, and almost dove in nose first as she left the poster on it. "I'm just so excited to meet you in person, really! I'm your biggest fan!"

"Easy, sweetie," the model said, trying to get her to relax as she grabbed the poster, trying to un-crumple it a little. "So, what's your name?"

"B-B-Bianca! Bianca from Nuvema Town!"

Elesa grabbed her pen and began signing the poster. She wrote on the lower right corner "For Bianca from Nuvema Town, with love from your friend Elesa" and handed it to her. The girl shook before grabbing it back, and then she bowed to thank her.

Fortunately (or not), it wasn't a glass table.

"Ouch…" The poor girl rubbed her pained forehead after that violent smack.

"You okay?" Elesa asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," the younger blonde assured, smiling nervously. "Happens all the time, I'm always excited when I meet my idols."

Elesa glanced at the girl for a bit and then at the digital clock on the wall. Legally speaking, she still had ten more minutes before having to leave the building on the day's contract clauses. More than enough time to do something for the poor girl's nerves.

"Well, you still haven't told me if you have a question," said Elesa. "I can grant you one or two extra ones if you wish."

"Really?!" The girl's smile turned from nervous to excited in the blink of an eye, and her eyes sparkled dreamily. "Are you serious, do you mean that?!"

"Yes, I mean it, but please calm down. Relax, breathe…" Elesa couldn't finally hold it anymore and stood up from her chair, gently grabbing the girl's shoulders.

"Oof…" After tensing for a second, the girl finally obliged and followed the Gym Leader's advice.

After a few deep breaths, she could finally get her thoughts in order.

"There, thank you. I needed that." She panted a couple of times more, but now seemed far calmer than before.

"So?" Elesa inquired again.

"So… well, more than a question, I… I wanted to ask you for some advice."

"Oh, this is unusual, but go ahead," Elesa replied. "If it's in my power, I'll gladly help you."

"Well you see… I'm about to be of age to become a Pokémon trainer, but my dad won't let me. He thinks it's too dangerous out there and that I can't take care of myself. But my dream is to become a trainer as amazing as you. What can I do?"

Elesa contemplated the teenager in front of her. Now that she had calmed down, she looked less like a nervous fan, and more like someone who genuinely needed help. She could see it in her eyes: the girl was talking with full sincerity.

She could sympathize with the girl somewhat: she had her own family issues about trying to balance out modeling and Pokémon battles, but she proved she could handle it all.

"I know how that feels. Parents can be hard on you sometimes."

"Really?" Bianca asked.

"Most of the time they just want what they think is the best for you, but that doesn't mean they're always right," said Elesa. "Look, if you have a dream, keep your sights on it. Work hard, and never let anyone –and especially not your family– stop you from reaching it."

"Is that all?" asked Bianca.

"Only you can choose your life. You have a dream; make it into a passion, a motivation, and keep your eyes on it. And if you can't make it one way, just find another. There are always other ways, even if they're not as obvious at first glance."

"Other ways…" Bianca suddenly grinned widely. "Thank you. Thank you so much, really!"

"Always glad to help a fan. And when you become a trainer, I'll be waiting for you to come and challenge me, alright?"

"You bet I will!"

Bianca grabbed the supermodel's hands and began shaking them in a friendly, if a bit over-excited manner. Elesa had to stop the security staff when they tried to jump on the poor girl, and requested that they just escorted her to the exit and not to be too harsh on her.

Admittedly, she thought Bianca was rather nice, and while in many events she had similar encounters, that one in particular would be hard to forget. She was looking forward to see her at her Gym as a challenger in the future.

…

The event concluded, Elesa left the premises and asked Blaire to bring her schedule for the next week. Always diligent, the young referee did as she was asked and a bit more… though that wasn't always mean good news, at least for the Gym Leader.

"What does this mean?" asked Elesa.

"Your victory percentage as of this year so far," said Blaire, showing her a statistics graph on her tablet.

The curve was drawn over the months on the horizontal axis, while the vertical one had the percentage of trainers against which Elesa had won her gym battles. A separate chart also showed the exact number of trainers who had challenged the Nimbasa Gym over the course of each month, as well as how many had won their badges on after certain number of tries, or abandoned in favor of going to an easier gym. But, none of that was important to her.

What got the gym leader's attention was how the graph had shot up to 85% during the first trimester of the year, but it slowly went down during the second. Not counting the one-month skip during which the Gym's relocation had been underway, there was a 6% drop during the first month afterwards, and another 4% during the following one.

For an average leader, those numbers might not be as alarming. But when one was among the Top 8 of strongest gyms in the region, a drop below 80% of victories was a sign of being at risk of losing said ranking. That would be bad for her prestige and her career, and she had to do something while she still could.

"Maybe… it is time to make some changes to fix this," said Elesa trying to keep her cool. "In the meantime, let's see what's on our agenda for this week."

The Nimbasa Gym leader flipped through the pages checking one by one her appointments. Monday, interview with Giovanna Gibelli at the Unova Late Night Show. Tuesday, photo-shoot session for the Vogue magazine. And Wednesday… a flight she had to take for the Sinnoh region.

"Of course, the Pokémon World Tournament," she said as she saw that part of the schedule. "Time to socialize with my fellow Gym Leaders."

The Pokémon World Tournament, hosted every four years, was the most important even for Pokémon League-associated trainers on an international level. She had gotten an invitation to participate in the Gym Leader's Cup, and those were always a chance for the leaders of all regions to get to know each other, form friendships and (why not?) rivalries.

And sure enough, she loved being under the spotlight, not just in her own home region. She was prepared to go there with everything, and win. Plus, she could forget about her statistics issues for a while, and solve them after she returned.

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

Sinnoh region, Hearthome City Stadium…

The Pokémon World Tournament turned out to be more eventful than she would have expected. Battling against high-caliber trainers was always exciting, though in order to make things more interesting, that year they added a new rule.

Over the course of the tournament, at the beginning of each battle a roulette was spun to determine the type of battle the competitors would have. They included one-on-one, double battles, best two out of three, full battles, and several others. This would add a factor of luck in the matches as it forced the competitors to choose much more carefully, and depending on their battling styles, they could be at an advantage or disadvantage.

For Elesa, her advance through the tournament's A-Block was quite the experience. Her highest points were her opening battle, against Erika from Celadon (who for some reason seemed to stare at her with an appreciative eye, different from her usual fans) and the Top 16, where she had a full battle against Norman from Petalburg, who almost got her into the ropes with several Facade strikes whenever she paralyzed his Pokémon. Then again, a properly dramatic victory required a dash of danger and pinch of peril. With so many strong opponents, victory was uncertain, but there was the excitement.

However, the semifinal to win her block left the Nimbasa model with a rather bitter taste in her mouth. The match was a very intense one-on-one match between her Zebstrika and a Weavile belonging to Pryce from Mahogany Town, which ended in a victory for her after a harsh struggle. But when she approached to congratulate him for a good battle, the old man simply snorted and left giving her an almost literal cold shoulder. What a grump.

Afterwards, she had nothing else to do but wait for the other block's results, to determine who would be her opponent for the Gym Leaders' Cup. By the time she arrived the battle was halfway through, between her fellow Unovan Gym Leader Clay, and a Sinnohan named Volkner.

An Electric-type specialist like her, and a pretty good-looking one at that.

"Why, hello there, handsome," she said with a smile as she watched the fight.

Maybe he wasn't the dark type, but he was definitely tall and handsome, with his spiky dark blond hair, the long bangs framing his temples, electric blue eyes matching his jacket and contrasting his black shirt and pants. She had to admit it: he had a good sense of clothing as well.

She pulled out her tablet and checked her tournament data. Clay had been a leader for quite a while and she knew for the most part what to expect of him, so she focused on his opponent.

"Well, well, isn't this interesting?" Her eyebrows arched in fascination.

According to her data, Volkner was not only one of the strongest Gym Leaders in Sinnoh (holding an average of 95% victories according to the current records), but also an accomplished electric engineer, and he had helped renovate Sunyshore's power system.

Elesa watched the battle and while Clay had a clear type advantage, Volkner was able to hold his own pretty well. She couldn't help but notice that he had a rather varied team: while Clay used his regular strongest team composed entirely of Unovan Pokémon, Volkner's team included the likes of Raichu, Jolteon, Luxray, Manectric and Lanturn.

The final battle ended up being between Volkner's Electivire versus Clay's Seismitoad. The two were powerhouses in their own right, and the battle ended up mostly as a close range fistfight. Victory remained uncertain until Electivire dodged a right Ice Punch hook from Seismitoad and countered with a left Fire Punch uppercut that inflicted him a burn. Electivire then got behind him when he was flaring up, and one Cross Chop later, Seismitoad was down for the count.

"Seismitoad is unable to battle!" the referee called. "The winner of the B-Block is the Sunyshore Gym Leader, Volkner!"

"And it's over, ladies and gentlemen! Volkner defeats Clay and moves to the finals! CONGRATULATIONS!"

The crowd erupted in applause and cheering. Elesa felt conflicted inside: on one hand she was supposed to root for her Unovan colleague (grumpy as he was, even if not more so than the old winter guy she fought before). On the other hand… the prospect of fighting a fellow Electric-type specialist in the finals, and one as strong as Volkner, it made her feel pretty excited.

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She felt the urge to approach him before that, though.

…

It wasn't too hard to find him: all the tournament contestants always stopped by the stadium's nursery after their matches to get their Pokémon treated. All she had to do was walk up to the desk and get close to him.

"We'll bring them back shortly," the pink-haired nurse said as she placed Volkner's Pokéballs in a tray.

"Oh, Nurse Joy. If it's not a bother, could you please take mine too?" Elesa asked as she held up her own Pokéballs.

"Of course, gladly."

As the nurse placed Elesa's Pokémon in another tray and then took both in a trolley, Elesa was left alone with Volkner. She took a few seconds to give him a good look: up close he looked even taller, at least two or three inches over her, even considering her stilettos.

"So…" she said to break the ice. "It seems we're going to be up against each other in the finals."

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "Your name is… Elesa, right?"

"That's me alright, handsome," she replied with a wink. "I must say, I didn't imagine I'd find myself fighting a fellow Electric-type specialist. I was even more surprised to see that you managed to beat Clay of all people. He's never an easy opponent, I would know myself."

"Yeah, no kidding." Volkner nodded. "I hadn't had to pull out all the stops in a very long time."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed, seeing your current victory record."

"I'm not sure those numbers are accurate." Volkner's demeanor suddenly turned dimmer. "Actually, don't know if it's just me, but I feel the challengers at my gym lately seem… well, not as strong as before. I actually came to this tournament hoping to get some good battles."

"Is that so? Well, here's hoping that I don't disappoint you in the finals. Let's both do our best, shall we?"

She extended her hand and smiled at him. Volkner hesitated for a second, but he smiled too and shook it. Now she was feeling more pumped for the finals: she was going up against an opponent as strong as the old winter guy if not more so, and from the looks of it much nicer than him.

Maybe she could even ask him for advice to up her own winning rates after the tournament.

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

The following day…

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the grand finale of our Pokémon World Tournament! This year we're having a duel that's going to leave us all shocked for sure! On the red corner, the winner from the A-Block, straight from Unova, give it up for the stunning supermodel, the Shinning Beauty from Nimbasa, Elesa!"

That was her cue: Elesa went through the corridor and appeared below the spotlights, waving at the crowd and striking a few poses as she sent them flying kisses, before taking her spot on the red side of the battlefield.

"And on the blue corner, representing the Sinnoh region, let's all give a big welcome to the Shinning, Shocking Star from Sunyshore, Volkner!"

Elesa didn't miss that the applause for Volkner was slightly louder than the one she got. Possibly because her opponent was from the region hosting the tournament, although after seeing his battle against Clay, as well as the data she read before, she could get an idea as to why he was so popular. The fact that he was good-looking didn't hurt either.

Still, there was also the winning percentage to consider. She had to admit she was a bit worried, considering that she had gone below the eighties in her own record, yet Volkner was above the nineties. Statistically speaking, a percentage that high could be potentially considered for Elite Four level.

But then again, those were just numbers. Most of her opponents had winning records higher than hers. In the end, it'd all be decided on the battlefield.

"It's time to determine the champion! Will the Gym Leaders' Cup stay in Sinnoh, or will it leave to Unova? It's time to find out, folks! Let the roulette spin!"

Everybody glanced at the board above the stadium. The electronic roulette began spinning fast, going through all the icons to determine the battle rules.

Elesa had brought her strongest team for this match, so whatever it was, she was sure she could handle it. Then again, while she had fought her fair share of other Electric-type specialists, it would be the first time she did it against another Gym Leader. She was looking forward to experience his battling style firsthand.

The roulette slowly but surely came to a stop, passing over the icons of 6vs6, 1vs1, double battle… and it finally stopped on the icon showing three double arrows forming a circle.

"It's going to be a Rotation Battle, folks!" the commentator shouted, and the crowd erupted in applause.

"Rotation Battle, huh? Well, this is unusual." She smiled. This would be an interesting match.

Even in Unova, Rotation Battles were a rarity, as they required a very special arena to be carried out. Indeed, the stadium's floor opened to make way for a new battle arena, which had on each side a circular platform split in three sections, and the scoreboard added a timer set for thirty seconds under the faces of both participants. The referee for the match stepped up with both flags, ready to explain the rules.

"The final match of the Pokémon World Tournament's Gym Leader Cup is about to begin. Each combatant will use three Pokémon simultaneously, but only one will remain active. The other two will remain on standby until rotation is called. You can only call for rotation once the timer has reached zero or the active Pokémon is knocked out. The first who defeats the opponent's three Pokémon will be the winner."

The board made one last choice: which of the two would choose his or her Pokémon first. On a coin toss, luck fell on Volkner. The Sunyshore leader took a deep breath and grabbed his three chosen Pokéballs.

"We're ready to go. Come on, you guys!" he called. The three chosen Pokémon materialized on his side of the field.

"Vire, electivire!"

"Luxray!"

"Rai, rai!"

Elesa raised an eyebrow. An interesting trio of choices: Electivire, Luxray and Raichu. It was her turn to reply in the same manner.

"It's time. Emolga, Zebstrika and Eelektross, the spotlight is on you!" she called as she summoned her own team. The flying squirrel, the zebra and the eel took their positions, ready to stand against their rivals.

The board then displayed the icons of the three Pokémon beneath the faces of each of the Gym Leaders. Elesa set Emolga on the active zone and Volkner did the same with Raichu, leaving the others on standby. In an instant, the standby zones were covered with transparent energy barriers to prevent any attacks to the Pokémon in them, and also bathing them in energy to heal their fatigue (though not their injuries). The key to win was to know when to switch.

"Ready? FIGHT!"

"Emolga, it's time to dazzle everyone with your Discharge! Go!" Elesa shouted.

"Emo!" The flying squirrel performed a loop in the air before unleashing her lightning bolts, though instead of spreading them across the area, she was able to direct them forward and focus them on her opponent, to increase the attack's power.

"Raichu, Light Screen!" Volkner called, stretching his hand forward.

"Rai!"

The evolved electric rodent raised both hands and a transparent yellow energy wall materialized around him, filtering the electric attack. Obviously that first attack had been just a test: she needed to know whether her opponent's Raichu was ordinary or 'special' in regards to his ability.

"Emolga, show them your charming Attraction!" Elesa shouted as she winked and sent a flying kiss to emphasize her command.

Some guys (like Clay) would call that a cheap tactic, but there were no rules against it. Emolga performed some air pirouettes and with her own wink sent forward a barrage of pink hearts at Raichu. Both he and his trainer remained unfazed, and Elesa caught that the Sinnoh trainer's lips had slightly curved upwards in a smile.

"Raichu, Thunder Wave defense!"

Raichu clenched his fists and performed the electrostatic attack. Just like Emolga, he showed a superb control of the electric waves, keeping them orbiting around his own body instead of sending them towards an external target. In doing so, he created an electric shield that protected him against the heart barrage.

"Oh, so they want to play hard to get with our charms?" Elesa said, though inside she admitted it was a good defense and made a note to remember it. "We'll keep chasing you! Emolga, use Pursuit!"

Emolga once again executed a loop to gain momentum and charged at Raichu with great skill and grace. Volkner for his part attempted to respond with a physical attack, calling for Raichu to deliver a Mega Punch. Thanks to her small size and greater speed, the squirrel maneuvered around the glowing fist and slammed on the mouse's belly, knocking the air out of him and making him fall on his back.

"Switch!" Volkner exclaimed, taking his chance and his timer immediately lit up. "Luxray, get ready!"

As soon as he got up, Raichu jumped backwards and stood on the blue platform. The rotation left Raichu on standby and placed Luxray to take over. The electric feline jumped on the field and faced the smaller foe, as she gave a U-turn (not the move) to charge again.

"Use Attract once again!" Elesa called.

Emolga once again fired the heart barrage, but Volkner didn't respond with an order, neither did Luxray use any move to counter it. And soon it became evident why, for the heart hurricane dissolved into nothingness as it made contact.

"I see, so Luxray is a girl." Elesa smiled as she understood. Hard to tell at first glance, but she had to try. "Emolga, Quick Attack!"

"Luxray, Double Team and Night Slash!" Volkner countered.

Luxray jumped up and began splitting in multiple clones. Despite her speed, Emolga passed through one of the fakes and crashed against the ground. Just as that happened, the real Luxray jumped from behind, her left forepaw coated in a shadowy, three-pronged energy, ready to deliver a quick slash while Emolga was still on the ground.

"Emolga!" Elesa shouted with worry.

"Ice Fang!" Volkner called, pressing on the offensive.

"Ray!" Luxray roared and opened her mouth to bare her fangs, coating them in a white-blue icy energy. More than that: her fangs enlarged until they were almost as big as her face. She then bit down, and the chomp froze one of Emolga's wings.

"Emolga, switch!" Elesa shouted. "Eelektross, you're on!"

It was a desperate move, but Emolga managed to stand on the platform right before Luxray delivered a second frosty bite. Like with Volkner before, the red platform moved to put the electric eel on the game while the squirrel took a breather for the time being.

'He might not realize it, but he's not lacking in the flashy side himself,' Elesa thought. After all, she had never seen an Ice Fang work like that, as in enlarging the teeth that much for a longer reach.

Volkner didn't seem unfazed by the switch. "Luxray, keep up with Night Slash!"

"Eelektross, use Dragon Claw!"

Green draconic energy coated the claws at the edge of Eelektross tentacles, and they clashed against Luxray's Dark-type attack. Both Pokémon engaged in a close range fight, with Luxray trying to jump on Eelektross and the latter trying to parry the strikes.

"Luxray, step back and use Charge Beam!"

After one last foiled attempt to slash at Eelektross' face, Luxray jumped back and kneeled over her forelegs, charging up power before firing a concentrated yellow electric beam. Eelektross was unable to dodge, but fortunately she didn't seem too affected other than being pushed back a little bit. On the other hand, Luxray roared and gave off some sparks, meaning that the additional power boost had kicked in.

'This guy is certainly more than a pretty face,' the Nimbasa model thought. "Eelektross, use Coil to charm up!"

Eelektross jumped back and coiled her body to raise her powers, glowing with a powerful purple light that exploded in sparkles shortly after. That would have made quite a show for a Pokémon Musical, should she had chosen to go into that instead.

"Luxray, use Ice Fang!" Volkner called. Once again, the black and blue lynx jumped over the eel baring her teeth and coating them in ice, but Elesa was ready to counter.

"Dragon Claw!"

Right before Luxray could chomp on her, Eelektross smacked her in the jaw, and used the other claw to strike her in the stomach and knock her away. The feline quickly jumped back to her feet.

"Zap Cannon!"

"Charge Beam!"

While Luxray began giving off sparks, Eelektross began charging an electric sphere in her mouth, making it unusually big before it compressed to a smaller size. Luxray fired her electric beam, slightly wider and faster than the previous one, and Eelektross retaliated with her orb. Despite the power boost, the Zap Cannon was stronger and powered through the Charge Beam hitting Luxray in the face and creating an explosion of sparks that sent her flying, almost crashing against the rotation barrier.

"Now, use Flamethrower!" Elesa called.

Volkner was unable to call for a counterattack, and the Flamethrower hit Luxray while she was trying to get back up, if still somewhat weakened by the Light Screen. Elesa could see that he was struggling to decide whether he should switch or not, and she had to press on the offensive.

"Dragon Claw!"

"Double Team!"

Volkner's call came at the last second, and Luxray managed to leave a doppelganger behind just in time to avoid getting slashed. She began to multiply around the field trying to confuse Eelektross.

Too bad Elesa and Eelektross had the perfect counter for that kind of maneuver.

"Eelektross, get in the center! Use Coil and Flamethrower!"

Eelektross did so, and she coiled her body once more as she readied her fire attack. She smiled as she saw Volkner's confused expression, and even more when it was replaced by shock: her plan was to have Eelektross coil and then uncoil to send the flame torrent all around her, thus dispelling the Double Team clones until she hit the real one.

"There it is! Zap Cannon!" she shouted.

Eelektross charged once again the electric orb for another go. Luxray held her ground awaiting for her trainer's command. Volkner however remained still, leaving Elesa to wonder what he was up to until Eelektross fired the Zap Cannon orb.

"Ice Fang, now!" he called out at the last second.

Rather than trying to dodge, Luxray jumped straight to the attack, her fangs baring and enlarging as they coated in ice energy once more. It was a tricky move, with little-to-no margin of error, but the chomp dissipated the Zap Cannon with no ill effects on Luxray (barring a slightly bad taste in the mouth, judging by her reaction afterwards).

"Charge Beam, go!" Volkner called again.

Elesa couldn't react fast enough and the beam pushed Eelektross back, more than the last time. Volkner immediately called for another switch to bring back Raichu, and sent Luxray to take a rest, quickly taking the offensive.

"Mega Punch!"

"Dragon Claw!"

Raichu jumped with both fists glowing, clashing against Eelektross' claws. The mouse managed to get a lucky blow to the eel's midsection and quickly followed with another to the head, leaving Eelektross open for a point-blank Thunder attack.

Elesa bit her lower lip. Eelektross was tough and certainly could take a lot of punishment, but Volkner's Pokémon were pushing her to the limits. Emolga was still trying to break the ice on her wing and Zebstrika seemed pumped to go, but she didn't want to call her so early. Volkner had yet to get Electivire on the field too, and she didn't want to be the first to call her third Pokémon.

"Eelektross, use Zap Cannon!"

The best she could do was try to hold out and press for offensive, even if the Light Screen was still on. Eelektross charged up the electric orb once more and fired it.

Volkner however replied immediately. "Iron Tail and send it back!"

"Rai!" Raichu coated his tail in metallic energy and swung it to swat the Zap Cannon orb back to where it came from.

"Dodge!" Elesa called.

The orb passed dangerously close to Eelektross' body and impacted against the rotation barrier. On the bright side, the Light Screen effect shattered in that very moment, meaning that her special attacks once again could go full effect.

"Eelektross, Flamethrower!"

"Tross!" Eelektross inhaled and prepared to shoot her fire attack once again.

"Dodge and continue with Iron Tail!" Volkner countered.

Still with his metallic tail active, Raichu began running on all fours to dodge the fire stream. However, while he could avoid the Flamethrower directly, his tail wasn't so lucky and the fire energy mixed with the Iron Tail caused it to heat up more than he could handle.

"RAAAAAAAIII!" Raichu stopped his run and screamed. He started to swing his tail violently until he smacked Eelektross with it. He quickly grabbed it and started blowing on it.

Elesa covered her mouth. She wondered whether she should apologize: she never meant for that to happen. Even if she sought to win, she'd never do so by making her opponent look undignified in any way.

Once Raichu was fine, he turned around and glared at Eelektross.

"Raichu, don't get distracted! Continue using Iron Tail!" Volkner called.

"Eelektross, get in close with Dragon Claw!" Elesa countered.

Once again there was another clash as Raichu used his tail as a sword-whip of sorts to strike Eelektross, who parried the swings with her draconic claws as she tried to get close enough to hit him. She delivered a couple of slashes and knocked the mouse away, and when Elesa noticed Emolga's wing seemed to have defrosted enough, she decided to send her back to the field.

"Switch! Emolga, you're up!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Volkner shouted. "Raichu, grab Eelektross with your tail!"

There was a rule during Rotation Battles: when it was called, the active Pokémon had to return to the platform. However, the rules didn't forbid attacking them or otherwise preventing them from reaching the platform before they could switch out, thus Raichu used his tail to get a hold of Eelektross and pulled her back.

"Mega Punch, go!" Volkner called.

Raichu delivered a right uppercut at Eelektross, using the pull's momentum to inflict more damage. And since he still held the eel by the tail, Volkner ordered him to mash Eelektross around, over and over again, until she stopped moving.

"Eelektross is unable to battle!" the referee declared. Eelektross' icon on the scoreboard dimmed down.

"Return," said Elesa as she recalled her fallen Pokémon. "Well done, darling, now take a rest."

Elesa stopped to look at his opponent's Pokémon. The Pichu line from the Kanto region had a very split opinion among trainers: they were rather popular as pets, especially for girls, but on the other hand, they could be pretty strong if trained well. Volkner's Raichu was a clear example of that, as was that rocker boy's Raichu from a couple months before.

And that was the reason why Blaire had expressed interest in getting one of them.

'Focus now, you can think about that later.'

Since Eelektross didn't make it to the rotation platform, it automatically moved Emolga to the field, as Elesa had called it before. The Nimbasa supermodel glanced at her opponent. He had gained the upper hand and still had to use one of his Pokémon, but she could still have a chance if she played her cards right.

After all, Emolga and Zebstrika were particularly good at tag-team battles together.

"Switch," said Volkner. "Luxray, let's go again!"

The feline and the flying squirrel were once again on the field. The referee restarted the battle and the two Pokémon charged against one another, ready to strike.

"Luxray, use Double Team!"

"Lux!" Luxray quickly summoned lots of clones all over the field. Elesa quickly realized Volkner would try to confuse Emolga to get close and probably go for an Ice Fang attack, but she wouldn't allow that. Or rather, not yet.

"Emolga, fly to the center and use Discharge all over!"

"Emo!"

Before any of the clones could get to her, Emolga fluttered over the center of the field and unleashed her Discharge, this time going for the usual field area. Not only that, but she also started spinning to get the lightning bolts to circle around and fizzle out the decoys, until only the real one remained.

"Quick Attack!"

"Ice Fang!"

While both Gym Leaders called their attacks at the same time, Emolga was faster and she struck Luxray right before she could open her maw and coat her fangs in ice, leaving a white trail in her wake.

"Let's dance, Emolga, continue with Quick Attack and Pursuit!"

Emolga turned around and flew back at Luxray to strike again. She continued to perform loops alternating between a white and dark trail between attacks, leaving Luxray virtually no room for breathing. On top of that, Emolga actually performed a few loops to create a show of shapes, stars, hearts, diamonds and more all over the field with each strike, quickly gaining the crowd's support.

"Luxray, Charge Beam!"

Luxray jumped back and tried to charge up her attack. The power boost became evident, so Elesa decided to take a huge gamble to try and even up the score.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!"

Emolga flew under the powered up Charge Beam, leaving a white streak in her wake as she moved to strike Luxray from one side. No matter the attack's power, it meant nothing if it couldn't hit the target.

"Switch!" Elesa called. It was time for Zebstrika to take the stage.

The squirrel quickly flew back to the platform and Zebstrika stepped up to continue the battle. By then, Luxray had been quite beaten up and seemed about to reach her limit, and Volkner seemed to be hesitating on whether he should switch or not. Well, she has to strike before he could choose.

"Flame Charge!"

Furiously stomping on the ground, Zebstrika set herself ablaze and charged at the tired Luxray, who was still trying to catch her breath after her failed Charge Beam. Luxray was knocked back, but she managed to get back up.

"Ice Fang!" Volkner called.

"Double Kick!" Elesa countered.

Luxray jumped with her teeth coated in ice, but Zebstrika reared and kicked her in the face and stomach leaving clear hoof marks on her. Before Volkner could call for a switch, one more Flame Charge was enough to leave her out of the game.

"Luxray is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

Volkner returned his fallen Luxray. After thanking her for a job well done, he seemingly considered his options, while Elesa waited.

'So, what will you do, handsome?'

Admittedly, though, the Charge Beam Luxray had used before had been pretty impressive by itself. She doubted that Emolga could have survived it.

Could that line be raised to perform attacks that powerful? She could certainly put quite a show with them.

After a while, Volkner finally made his choice. "Electivire, you're up!"

Elesa smiled. She had finally forced him to pull out the big guns. If his battle with Clay was any indication, Electivire was probably Volkner's strongest Pokémon. Thus her priority was trying to take him out, and Zebstrika was the right girl for the job.

"Zebstrika, Double Kick!"

"Electivire, Fire Punch!"

Both Pokémon charged against each other: Zebstrika reared up while Electivire coated both of his fists in flames. Hooves clashed against punches sending out flaming waves with every impact. Electivire managed to land a punch on Zebstrika's face, but she retaliated with a double stomp on his head that left him dazed, and she turned around to deliver one last Double Kick with her hind legs, knocking him away.

"Now, Flame Charge!" Elesa shouted as she snapped her fingers. Zebstrika once again burst into flames and launched herself at Electivire at full gallop.

"Jump and use Cross Chop from above!" Volkner called.

Electivire waited until the last second and jumped just as Zebstrika ran past him. He turned downwards and descended with his arms crossed in front of him as they glowed with power. Elesa quickly saw the intent and called for the counterattack as soon as the flames dissipated.

"Zebstrika, hold firm and use Double Kick!"

Without turning around, Zebstrika lifted her hind legs and sent a powerful kick at the incoming Electivire. The Double Kick overpowered the Cross Chop and knocked Electivire away. He rolled around a little bit before getting back on his feet, balling his fists to continue the battle as Zebstrika turned around to face him.

"Flame Charge!"

"Double Ice Punch!" Volkner called.

"Vire!"

At his trainer's command, Electivire clenched both fists and they became coated in white-blue ice energy. Zebstrika charged at him coated in flames at full gallop, running faster by the second, but Electivire managed to land a lucky blow in her face just before she rammed into him. The double punch left her in a daze, and Volkner was quick to capitalize on it calling for another Cross Chop.

Zebstrika was struck hard and landed right on the rotating platform, though she was still in the game prompting Elesa to make her choice. "Switch! Emolga, get ready!"

Trying to give Zebstrika some time to regain her breath, Emolga once again took over and started flying over Electivire. In direct combat she stood no chance against Electivire's raw power, not to mention his move arsenal was rather varied and versatile to exploit said advantage. But there was a way to restrict it.

"Thunderbolt!" Volkner called. Just what she needed to call.

"Emolga, dodge and let's give them an Encore!"

Right when Electivire unleashed his electric attack, Emolga began clapping as she performed what could only be described as an aerial dance. She dodged one, two, three, four attacks, and in the middle of the lightning, neither Volkner nor Electivire noticed the white energy ball she had formed in her hands and threw at them while focused on the electric blasts.

Emolga continued to dodge until Elesa noticed that Zebstrika seemed to be recovering enough, so she called for another switch. The zebra stepped up to the field.

"Cross Chop!" Volkner called. Elesa smiled: her plan would take effect right away.

Electivire attempted to raise his fists, but then he glowed white and fired a Thunderbolt instead. As expected, the attack flew towards Zebstrika, and she absorbed the energy to convert it into speed, leaving both Electivire and Volkner shocked at what just had happened.

"What the-"

"Oh, sorry, handsome, didn't you hear me when I said 'Encore'?" Elesa replied with a wink. "I've trained my darling Emolga so the effect doesn't become as obvious when we use it."

"Quick Electivire, switch!"

"Oh, no you don't! Stop him with Flame Charge, Zebstrika!"

Taking advantage of the last speed boost, Zebstrika ran in front of Electivire, blocking his way to the rotating platform, and ramming him in the stomach. To make it worse, he flared up as he sustained a burn, and Elesa quickly called for another rotation to get Emolga again into the field with a series of Quick Attack/Pursuit combos, not giving him any chance to counterattack or run to the rotating platform.

'Sorry darling, but I'm not breaking any rules,' Elesa thought as she watched Emolga continuously striking Electivire from above, from the left, from the right, from the front and from the back, almost at once.

"Electivire, try and catch Emolga with your tails!" Volkner shouted in desperation.

"Emolga, use Quick Attack backwards and switch!" Elesa countered. "Zebstrika, get ready!"

Unable to use any proper attacks, Volkner attempted to resort to try and stop Emolga in a different way. However, Emolga being a small and speedy target didn't make it any easier, and she was able to get away and stand on the platform to rotate. Volkner tried to call for rotation too, but Electivire was too far away and when he was halfway across the field, his burn flared up and delayed him a couple of seconds.

Enough for Zebstrika to ram him with another Flame Charge from the back and send him flying. Volkner's Pokémon crashed against the wall and slid down. He couldn't move anymore.

"Electivire is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

As the crowd began cheering for her, and Volkner recalled his fallen Electivire, Elesa smiled. They were two against one now, and she had taken Volkner's strongest Pokémon out of the game. There was no way she could lose.

Then again, he had put up quite a fight, and the idea of trying to use his tails to grab the airborne Emolga would have probably worked, had he not used a similar trick with Raichu against Eelektross before.

"Well done, Electivire. Okay Raichu, it's all up to us now!"

The rotating platform moved one last time and placed Raichu back on the field, the lights turning off to indicate it was fully disabled. Elesa called for another rotation and placed Emolga. Zebstrika could do the job by herself, but it wouldn't be fair if she didn't give Emolga her chance to shine and get some payback from the beginning of the match.

"Raichu, use Iron Tail!" Volkner called.

"Emolga, stay high and remain out of his reach!" Elesa countered.

Rather than trying to attack, Emolga flew up over the field, while Raichu coated his tail in metallic energy. The mouse began delivering a series of quick thrusts with his tail, trying to hit Emolga to no avail. The squirrel just kept moving and moving around to dodge, all the while giggling and making Raichu madder the more he kept failing.

"We have no choice. Use Charge Beam!" he called. That was just what Elesa needed.

"Let's go for another Encore!" She snapped her fingers and Emolga began clapping as she fired the white orb at Raichu, at the same time dodging the electric blast. "Switch!"

"Fire another at the platform!" Volkner called.

"Rai!"

Raichu managed fire one last Charge Beam and hit Emolga with it right as she touched the platform's ground. She crashed against the barrier and was left down but not out, although the blast clearly had hurt her. However, she had done her duty: Raichu was stuck with Charge Beam as his only move for a while.

"Zebstrika, it's time to show them our true electric power! Wild Charge!"

"Zeb!" Zebstrika charged up with electricity and galloped towards Raichu.

"Raichu, dodge and keep firing your Charge Beams elsewhere!"

Stuck with that one attack, Raichu did as Volkner called and fired his attacks everywhere except at Zebstrika herself. Other than powering up the blasts, nothing good would come out of it, and if Zebstrika happened to get hit by one, it would just work to her benefit.

To their credit, Volkner's Raichu had pretty good endurance, and decent dodging skills despite not being as fast as Zebstrika, which allowed him to avoid the brunt of the attacks. Yet unless he was able to inflict damage somehow, there was no way they could beat them.

"Zebstrika, use Quick Attack!" Elesa shouted. It was time to end the match.

"Use your tail to trip her over!" Volkner countered.

In what clearly was a desperate move, Raichu sent his tail at Zebstrika's feet to try and tangle her up. For once, her running speed played against her and she tripped over, falling over her left foreleg.

Elesa could almost swear that she heard a crack as Zebstrika fell, and it was confirmed when she tried to get back up and cringed in pain. Tripping over had injured her knee.

"Zebstrika!" Elesa shouted.

"Raichu, turn around and fire Charge Beam at full power!"

Elesa didn't know what they were up to as Raichu turned his back at Zebstrika and fired his attack. It quickly became clear: the blast was so powerful it sent the mouse propelling in the opposite direction like a living projectile, while the injured Zebstrika couldn't do anything to dodge.

Right then, Raichu briefly glowed white again, indicating that he was finally free from the Encore's effect. That and the injured leg had sealed the round, there was no point in trying to call for rotation.

"Mega Punch!" Volkner called.

Said and done: Raichu lunged at Zebstrika with a glowing fist and delivered an uppercut at full strength. Zebstrika stumbled a bit and was left in a daze for a bit, but that punch was the last straw to leave her out cold.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

The final round. Both trainers were down to one Pokémon. Raichu was clearly tired from his previous fights, but Emolga had recharged from her last rest, although the last attack she took had done quite a number on her.

'That Charge Beam could bring Emolga down with one hit. But then again, maybe it's just one hit that we have left anyway.'

Elesa looked over to the other side of the field, and saw Volkner's serious expression. He was most likely thinking the same: Raichu only had enough energy for one last attack. Their stares matched each other: they both knew there was only one way to end the battle and decide the winner.

"Emolga, use Discharge with everything you have!"

"Raichu, one last Charge Beam!"

Both Pokémon began charging up the last volts of electricity they still had in them. That final clash would decide the match once and for all. But it wasn't that simple: whoever fired their attack first would be left without energy to dodge. Raichu and Emolga locked their gazes on one another in defiance, trying to provoke the other to let it go first. Raichu was keeping the Charge Beam's energy focused in a sphere between his hands, while Emolga held back her own energy before letting go.

Raichu stepped back and prepared to push his hands forward. Emolga immediately reacted by flying up unleashing her focused Discharge attack. Big mistake.

"RAI!" Raichu jumped out of the way of the Discharge and launched his fully-powered Charge Beam at Emolga.

Elesa couldn't do anything but watch how Emolga got struck by the Charge Beam, crashed against the rotation barrier, and then slumped, spreading her wings over the floor. The battle was over.

"Emolga is unable to battle! Elesa has run out of Pokémon, and thus Volkner wins the match and the tournament!"

"What a battle, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted. "It certainly kept us all at the edge of our seats the whole time! Give it a big hand to these two amazing trainers! Victory was uncertain the whole time, but it looks like the Gym Leader Cup stays in Sinnoh this year!"

As the crowd erupted in applause, cheering, and even some disappointment for some fans, Elesa returned Emolga and congratulated her for a job well done. She sighed, but did her best to keep smiling. Volkner had beaten her fair and square, and she had to be graceful about it. Besides, it had been an amazing battle, so she couldn't feel bad for losing to him.

She had to contact him later, after the award ceremony.

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Later that night…

Elesa didn't want to come off as a stalker, but it was hard to approach Volkner when his friend with the red afro didn't seem to leave him alone for a second. Was it too much to ask to talk to him in private just for a few minutes?

When he finally left, the Nimbasa Gym leader could finally catch up and properly approach her colleague. There was no hurry; her flight back to Nimbasa was the next day in the afternoon, but the sooner she talked to him, the better.

"Do you need something?" Volkner asked as he turned around, noticing that she was following him.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you before I left," she said. "By the way, congratulations on your victory. I haven't had a match that exciting in a very long time, let alone against another Electric-type specialist."

Volkner smiled. "I agree, that was a very good battle. It's the first time in quite a while that I fell into a corner like that. You're an amazing trainer."

"I'm flattered." She smiled too, though her smile dimmed down a little as she thought about her issues. "Although my current winning percentage might be saying otherwise. I'm worried I might be losing my touch."

"Why is that?" Volkner asked.

"For the past two months, my victories have gone down quite a few points. I don't know why, because I always try to keep my teams in good shape and renew them whenever it's needed, but… maybe is it that the challengers have gotten stronger lately?"

"Hmm…" Volkner rubbed his chin in thought. "If I may say something?"

"Sure."

"Actually, there's a particular reason I chose to use a female Luxray in our battle today. My regular one is male, but I noticed that you were fond of using Attract with your Emolga, so a fully male team would put me at a disadvantage."

"Oh yeah. She's a real charmer, and she loves using that move. You also developed a nice defense against Attract with your Raichu, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Volkner nodded. "Actually, I've studied your battle style thoroughly during your matches. You still kept a few aces up your sleeve, like your Emolga's Encore, and you managed to back me into a corner, but… there were a couple of things I noticed."

"Like what?" she asked.

"First, your Pokémon's moves, while powerful, end up being quite flashy sometimes. Maybe not as much as in a Pokémon trained for contests, but… sometimes they were easy to predict."

"Oh…" Elesa gave it some thought as the words sank in. "Well, that much is true, I admit it. But I like it that they can win and shine as they do so."

"That I can understand, but sometimes, it's better not to show off that much," Volkner replied. "Otherwise your opponent might quickly catch on what you might be up to, and counter accordingly."

Elesa wanted to reply, but found herself unable to. Blunt as the remark had been, she had been so focused on trying to make her Pokémon shine, perhaps they shone too brightly they blinded her from what really mattered: the battle itself.

"Well, you said you had noticed a couple of things about me and my battling style," she said after a few seconds of silence. "That was the first, what's the second?"

"Well, have you considered using Pokémon from other regions aside from Unova?" Volkner asked directly. "It gives you bigger variety, and helps surprise your opponents."

"I guess it does, but…" Elesa hesitated before answering. She needed to be honest about it. "I've grown very fond of my Pokémon. I've trained them hard to get up to this point, and I know they always do their best for me. So I wouldn't want to replace them."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Volkner asked. "Then could I offer you a suggestion? Would you be interested in doing some temporary trades?"

"Temporary trades?" Elesa tilted her head in confusion. What was he getting at?

"You know, I have a few other Electric-type Gym Leaders in my contact list. Sometimes we temporarily trade Pokémon to add to our regular teams as a bit of a training program. That helps in seeing how well we can adapt to each other, to our battling styles, and helps us see the strengths and weaknesses of the Pokémon from other regions. It also adds more variety to our teams and makes us less predictable. You know how it is; if something doesn't work one way, you just need to find another to make it work, right?"

Elesa froze for a moment. That sounded eerily similar to the advice she herself had given to that girl not long ago. How ironic that she was receiving it now from a fellow Gym Leader.

She placed a finger on her mouth as she pondered on it. She could see some merit on the idea. And doing it 'temporarily' as opposed to 'permanently' trading her Pokémon sounded good: that way it wouldn't feel like she was replacing them.

And it was a golden opportunity to get Volkner's number.

"Say… would you like to add me to that contact list of yours? I'd love to do one of those temporary trades sometime."

"Well… if you want."

Elesa had to hold back a few chuckles. She intentionally said it with a tone sounding like someone who had enjoyed the first date and wanted a second sometime, and she could see he was a bit flustered. That expression went well with that handsome face of his, it was priceless.

"Hey, relax, it's not like I'm trying to suggest something else," she said. "Though I wouldn't mind if we kept in touch not just for that. I think I like you, and we can be very good friends."

"I guess so…" Volkner smiled sheepishly, and he pulled out his cellphone.

Both Gym Leaders quickly exchanged their contact info, and Elesa smiled all the while. Perhaps she had lost the tournament, but having won a new friend, that didn't matter much.

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Two months later…

A new battle was underway at the Nimbasa Gym. More specifically a double battle, with the challenger using a Palpitoad and an Excadrill, while Elesa used Zebstrika and the Luxray she had gotten from her friend back in Sinnoh.

"Palpitoad, Mud Shot on Luxray! Excadrill, Drill Run on Zebstrika!"

Both Ground-types quickly followed their commands, with Palpitoad sticking out its tongue to fire brown globs of earth to the feline, while Excadrill launched himself like a torpedo at Zebstrika.

"Luxray, Zebstrika use Double Team together!"

Both Electric-types quickly moved around the field leaving a multitude of clones all over the place. The Mud Shots simply fizzled out some of the fake ones, while Excadrill continued going forward until he crashed.

"Palpitoad, use your tongue to find the real ones!"

Still with its tongue out, Palpitoad tried to hit as many clones as possible, fizzling them out as they tried to find the real Zebstrika and Luxray. Elesa didn't give any commands; they'd be in for a little surprise if they managed to get the real Luxray.

*CRUNCH!*

As soon as Palpitoad's tongue was about to hit Luxray she sank her fangs on it, causing the Water/Ground-type to yelp in pain, and Luxray took advantage of it to slam her foe around the field a few times.

"Zebstrika, finish Palpitoad with Double Kick!"

Zebstrika neighed and ran at Palpitoad, whose tongue was still held by Luxray, and reared before stomping on her opponent a few times, kicking up plenty of dust and leaving a few marks on its body.

"Palpitoad is unable to battle!" Blaire declared. That only left Excadrill to go.

"We're not done yet! Excadrill use Earthquake!" the challenger yelled.

"Luxray, Zebstrika, jump! And Luxray, use Charge Beam on Zebstrika!"

As soon as Excadrill slammed its clawed hands on the floor to create the tremor, Luxray and Zebstrika jumped out of the way to avoid the seismic wave. Still in the air, Luxray fired her attack at Zebstrika, who absorbed the energy and converted it to speed, and when they landed again…

"Flame Charge, Zebstrika!"

Zebstrika coated herself in flames and charged at Excadrill at full speed. The boost she had gotten before meant he didn't even see what hit him. By a miracle, he managed to get back up, although a burn flared up shortly after.

"Still persisting, aren't you? Well, I'm afraid the show is over! Luxray, hold Excadrill with Fire Fang, and Zebstrika, finish with Double Kick!"

Before the challenger could issue any last command, Luxray coated her fangs on fire and bit Excadrill on the shoulder, holding it in place. Zebstrika came over and like she did Palpitoad, began mercilessly stomping her hooves all over it. The result was obvious from the get-go; there was no way it'd get back up after that.

"Excadrill is unable to battle! The challenger has run out of usable Pokémon, so victory is for the Gym Leader!"

"Elesa, you're the greatest!"

"You need more than that to beat her!"

As the crowd roared and cheered in excitement, Elesa came over and congratulated both of her Pokémon. That had been quite a display of teamwork, if she ever saw one.

…

"So, your winning rate has jumped to 87% in the last month," Blaire explained as she checked the last statistics of her matches. "That more than makes up for the losses of the previous trimester."

"That's great to know." Elesa smiled. It was nice to see the graph going back up instead of down.

"I'd say the Sinnoh Pokémon have definitely helped on that," Blaire continued. "Challengers are more often than not thrown off when you bring out one of them, since they mostly expect Unovan Electric-types."

"Well, that means I have to properly thank my friend over there for it," said Elesa as she smiled. "I wonder, what could I do for him?"

"You can think about it later. In the meantime, here's our schedule."

Elesa grabbed the tablet. She had a lot of work to do: a photoshoot session that night, and a fashion show the next day. While she checked it out, she thought about how much her performance had improved. In no small part thanks to Volkner's Pokémon. They easily adapted to her own battling style and worked pretty well along with hers.

She finally realized: using different Pokémon didn't make her usual ones shine less. If anything, by working together they could shine in new, wonderful ways.

"Say, Blaire, do you think I'd look good with black hair? I might be due for an image change."

FIN.

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OMAKE (canon): With love from Undella Bay.

The day ended at the Sunyshore Gym, and once they dispatched the last challenger, the leader Volkner and his apprentice Sho shut the doors, ready to go take a well-earned break after a long and exhausting, yet exciting week of work and training.

"We'll take the weekend off," said Volkner. "If you can, though, keep practicing those Charge Beam attacks."

"Gotcha," Sho replied, and then looked at the sky as he heard some wings flapping. "Hey, look."

The local post office's Pelipper came flying towards them, and landed on their mailbox to deposit the load from its beak. Volkner gave it a pair of bills as a tip and it took off to fly back where it came from. Before leaving, Gym Leader and apprentice took a peek into the mailbox. Nothing out of the norm: some bills, magazine subscriptions, a postcard from Sho's Auntie Agnes in Hoenn… and another for Volkner from Undella Bay, Unova.

"What do we have here?" Volkner opened the card, and his jaw dropped for a moment.

The postcard included a full-body photo of Elesa, resting sideways on the sand of the bay's beachside, wearing a yellow and light blue bikini that didn't hide her slim figure at all. She seemed to have deliberately chosen that pose to show off her long and shapely legs. If that wasn't enough, she lifted her red sunshades to wink at the camera and with the other hand she sent a flying kiss. From this one there was a stylized handwriting with the following message:

*Only for you, with love from Undella Bay

Wish you were here, handsome!*

"Wow, would you look at that," said Sho, with his eyes widened. "I'd love if my girlfriend sent me photos like that."

"She's not my girlfriend," Volkner replied, folding the card and stashing it in his jacket pocket.

"Come on, Volkner, who are you kidding?" Sho gave him a little nudge. "She's a supermodel, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Shouldn't you go back home?" The Gym Leader tried to change the topic. "Rest as much as you can, I want you here first thing on Monday for our training."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say. See you then." The blue-haired boy left, still snickering as he walked away.

Volkner rolled his eyes as he walked to his apartment. How many times did he have to say it? Elesa wasn't his girlfriend; she was just a good friend, a fellow Gym Leader and a rival he deeply respected… and also happened to be a very attractive woman, with stunning curves worthy of a supermodel, and unafraid to show them off.

Why did she have to send him those provocative photos? Last time it had been the Christmas postcard, and now this one. Not to mention the copy of that other photo from the Pokémon League Swimsuit Calendar, of which she managed to save a copy for herself (or him, as she later pointed out). The last thing he wanted was for others to misunderstand their relationship, but she wasn't helping.

At that rate, the album where he kept those 'Just for you' photos would probably be full by the end of the year.