Indigo Stadium…

A.J couldn't believe what just happened. Right when Jeanette's Mega Scizor had his foe (a Torterra, the very same one from the Fuchsia Tournament finals he saw on TV months ago) against the ropes and about to win, the opposing trainer managed to turn the tide around with a desperate move. He was equally amazed at how it worked, and angry because it costed his girl her victory.

This Indigo League Conference seemed to be the year of surprises. Not only for the wide variety of trainers and Pokémon teams that took part, but also with many new ways to use moves that he'd never have imagined. For example, who'd have guessed that attacks such as Dig or Earthquake could be used without using the ground as middleman? He wished he'd thought of that; he and Sandslash could have practiced it a while ago.

But that didn't matter anymore; for now, as he walked towards the access corridor to intercept Jeanette on her way out, there was only one thing in his mind. He had to be careful if he didn't want to get knocked out of the tournament.

"Yo, Jeanette," he greeted, getting her attention. The girl looked up and smiled, always keeping that serene and elegant demeanor of hers. "That was a great fight; I can't believe that guy beat you."

"I made a mistake in the end," she said. "I took victory for granted, not even considering that my opponent would take a gamble with a last ditch move. And Scizor paid the prize; this defeat is my fault alone."

"Even then, you were awesome. I could see it in the guy's eyes; he was terrified because you were this close to beating him. I betcha he's really grateful the fight is over right now."

"He probably is." She smiled again. "Even so, I'm not upset that I lost. We gave everything we had until the end, so I have no regrets. And five rounds won, especially against the opponents we've had so far, is nothing to sneeze at in my first tournament."

A.J agreed on that. It'd been a tough tournament, but he was pretty satisfied so far. He'd won against opponents with two or three years under their belts, none of whom were pushovers in the least. But this year there was a golden generation of rookies, or so it seemed given how many had made it to this point. And that only made it the more exciting.

"For now, I must take my Pokémon to get some treatment, but I'll be back in time for your match."

"No need to rush. My match's on the B Block anyway, so there's still time. Guess I'll go do some last minute warmup until then," he said.

"As you say." The girl came closer, and softly planted a kiss on his cheek, giving him a faint blush. "For good luck."

Jeanette left calmly, as A.J touched his cheek with a smile. Even though they were sort-of-together-officially since that kiss on the Fishers' Christmas party, both were still a little awkward about showing affection, but he really liked her. She was a talented, strong, and beautiful girl, and he was very happy to call her his girlfriend.

That only stacked up motivation for his match. He had to win for both now, and if he made it to the finals to face the guy who beat her, all the better for him.

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

Meanwhile, in a different area…

Five rounds past, and he was about to enter the sixth. Red felt quite content with his performance so far; none of his opponents had felt excessively hard, but that was about to change. It was his final battle before starting the full battle rounds, so things were bound to get much harder from then on.

"Hey, Red!" Yellow called him out, as she played with Pikachu and Ratty. "You gonna spend the entire morning in front of that computer or what?"

"I'm almost done."

He was checking his opponent's file to get a read on him. The guy's name was Akira Jouda, who for some reason preferred to go by his initials. He'd gotten to see him in action as early as the Battle Dome Tournament, where he lost to Ash Ketchum, but in the little he saw, Red could tell he had skills, and the badges he'd won were a testament of it.

Five of the badges belonged to gyms among Kanto's top eight: Boulder, Thunder, Rainbow, Volcano, and Earth. The other three belonged do mid-to-upper tier gyms, particularly Matcha City's Martial Badge (which rose to the Top 8 after the Saffron Gym's shutdown), and the remaining two, Porta Vista's Bell Badge and Maiden's Peak Umbra Badge, also have some prestige of their own. Seeing his battles, this boy seemed to have trained his Pokémon to endure attacks they were usually weak to, so type advantage would probably not be of much help.

Since the tournament started, Red had decided to try and fight without relying too much on his Victory Sight. While that had been unthinkable before, his past experiences and the tournament's matches had given him a new perspective. Being so dependant on his ability had given him tunnel vision, strange as it sounded.

Sometimes a 30%, a 5%, or even 1% was enough for a scenario to occur, and just because it seemed highly unlikely, it didn't mean it couldn't happen. And that, admittedly, carried a factor of thrill and uncertainty that made the battles all the more enjoyable.

Aside from that, in a conversation between Yellow and Ash's friends, he overheard the latter saying that another reason he didn't use his own power in official battles, was because he fully trusted his Pokémon to win through their own efforts and strength. In that sense, he wanted them to feel they'd earned their victories.

And Red had to admit, that was an admirable trait. Maybe they weren't exactly close friends, but it felt nice to have regained that mutual respect they had. If anything, he now respected Ash even more than before their disagreement.

"Alright, that was all," he said, heading for the phone's room to dial a number quickly.

The screen came to life, showing the smiling face of a green-haired girl with mismatched brown and black eyes. She clearly was expecting his call.

"Oh, good morning, Red. What do I owe you the pleasure of your call?"

"You already know," he replied dryly. She'd always answer that way, even though he had called her on an almost daily basis since the tournament started.

"Boo, blunt as ever, huh?" she replied, pretending to feel hurt. "Just kidding. You're doing pretty well so far, keep it up and you may even have a shot become champion. So, who do you need me to send you?"

Red had already considered his options. He wanted to allow some of his regular members to rest after the last round, so he took five of his current Pokéballs and placed them on the teleporter next to the videophone.

It was time to bring a few new members to the stage, so they could debut in a real competition.

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

Hours later, Indigo Stadium…

"Today we've had plenty of amazing matches, folks! There are only four more battles to go in the B Block to conclude the Top 32, and excitement is still in the air! And here come our next participants!"

As he walked towards his platform, A.J could see how the stadium's battlefield opened wide, making way for a grassy terrain. Unlike the secondary stadium in the preliminaries, this one also had some trees and bushes for additional cover. He decided to make a note of that in case it came in handy.

"Now we're having another battle between promising rookies, both of whom have had exceptional participations thus far! Give it up for Red Tajiri and Akira "A.J" Jouda!"

Immediately, the crowd roared in enthusiasm. To battle in a stadium full of so many people could be overwhelming, but once one got past that initial fear, it was an incredible feeling. The feeling of all his hard work and efforts to make it here bearing fruit was priceless.

In the middle of the crowd, he spotted Jeanette, who flashed a smile as soon as he noticed her, and he replied in kind before facing back at his opponent, already standing on the red platform with a serious and stoic expression.

A.J. instantly acknowledged his opponent. He remembered having seen him in the Battle Dome Tournament, and that he defeated Ash Ketchum in the finals. Later, in an ironic twist, he saw them battle alongside one another in a Fuchsia Tag Tournament. And now that he could see him better on the giant screen, he noticed the physical resemblance between them more, particularly on the face and eye shape, the dark hair and their height. He hadn't noticed it before because Ash had tanner skin, and Red's eyes had a more scarlet tone than brown, and their default expressions couldn't be more opposite from one another.

'If I didn't know better, I'd almost assume they were brothers separated at birth, or something like that. But that would be crazy,' A.J thought to himself.

Putting the idea of a possible family relationship between them aside, A.J. focused on the important matters. He knew Red had to be a good trainer to have beaten Ash, and knowing the latter, he probably was pumped up for a rematch. But A.J had come to win as well, and Ash was the opponent he wanted to face the most in this tournament. And since they were on opposite blocks, the only way to do so was to make it all the way to the finals.

So with all due respect to Ash, that day he'd be the one to defeat Red.

"You already know the rules; this battle will be three-on-three with substitutions allowed!" the referee declared. "The match will be over when either trainer has lost his three Pokémon! Red Tajiri gets the first turn!"

A.J saw how, without sparing a word, Red nodded and grabbed his first Pokéball, throwing it towards the field. The Pokémon who appeared was one A.J knew only from books for studying a bit about Johto native species, but it could also be found on the Sevii Islands. Did Red take a trip there?

As soon as it appeared, it stood on guard showing off its sharp claws. "Sneasel!"

With that in mind, A.J decided to play it safe and use a type advantage. There was a Pokémon he'd still owed a proper debut, and now it seemed as good time as any for it.

"It is time! Let's go, Hitmontop!"

"Top, top!" The Fighting-type materialized upside down, and gave a few spins on the ground as an introduction of sorts, before standing upright and get on guard himself.

"Ready? Start!"

"Ice Shard!"

"Bullet Punch!"

By mere coincidence, both decided to start the match with a quick attack to get the first strike. Sneasel opened up by blowing from his mouth a barrage of icy darts, while Hitmontop's fists turned red and he ran forward, charging through his enemy's attack to get close and connect.

Hitmontop advanced forward, but the shrapnel managed to slow him down, enough for Sneasel and Red to mount a defense.

"Defend with Metal Claw!"

Right when Hitmontop was getting in range, Sneasel pulled back slightly to dodge the first punch, and his claws extended turning into metal blades. However, rather than use them for attacking, he crossed them over his face and shielded behind them, to endure the incoming barrage of fast punches.

"Keep up the assault, he won't be able to defend forever!" A.J. exclaimed.

Hitmontop continued attacking, and Sneasel was slowly stepping back. A.J however didn't get cocky; behind Red's stoic and inexpressive demeanor, he suspected he was up to something, so they couldn't let their guard down.

"Aerial Ace!"

And he was; when it seemed like Hitmontop would break through the defense, Sneasel pretended he was going to attack, only to move aside and sneak behind, doing a shoulder charge with a white energy covering him, adding up a Metal Claw strike as it was still activated.

Not many trainers could teach their Pokémon to shift so quickly from one move to another, let alone use another attack without deactivating the current one. He was impressed.

"And with a great combination, Sneasel gets the first solid hit on Hitmontop, delivering two strikes in succession and one of them supereffective!" the MC exclaimed. "Will they continue to capitalize on this advantage?!"

"We won't allow that! Hitmontop, use Gyro Ball!" A.J. called, and Hitmontop instantly began spinning in the air, flying back at his opponent like a saucer.

"Dodge with Agility!"

The Dark/Ice-type Pokémon leapt to dodge Hitmontop's flying charge, and immediately started running across the field with his arms outstretched backwards, accelerating by the second as he stepped on the grass. Hitmontop came for another go, but missed again, and on the third try, Sneasel stood in front of a tree to leap at the last second, making Hitmontop crash against the trunk.

"Hitmontop!" A.J. shouted.

"Ice Shard again," Red said in a dry tone.

Stunned after his crash, Hitmontop stopped spinning and was unable to recover in time, getting the full blast of the icy projectiles. However, once it stopped, he spun out again, shaking off the leftovers and glared at his foe.

For a moment, A.J wondered if he should switch out, but Hitmontop had endured even worse attacks. Besides, he wouldn't be happy to be pulled out before even landing a proper blow on his foe, so he decided to keep him out a little longer.

For now, they had to focus on getting close to connect some punches.

"Bullet Punch!"

"Metal Claw!"

The two Pokémon ran at each other to meet on the battlefield's center, starting a fist-versus-claw brawl. Unlike the previous time, Sneasel didn't limit himself to defense, instead trying to counter with claw strikes of his own whenever he found an opening. The fight seemed evenly matched in both speed and power, but neither seemed able to land a solid blow.

And a few seconds later, A.J realized Sneasel was gaining ground, trying to push Hitmontop back towards a tree, most likely to corner him.

'Oh no, you don't,' A.J thought, as he anticipated what they were about to do. "Hitmontop, escape underground with Dig!"

Hitmontop interrupted his attack and started spinning to drill into the ground and flee; in doing so, Sneasel missed the blow he was about to deliver, digging his claw into the trunk.

"Snee!" he shouted, trying to pull it back, but in the time he took to do so, Hitmontop leaped out from underground, right behind him.

"Bullet Punch, now!"

This time, Sneasel couldn't raise a defense or answer with his own strikes, and Hitmontop proceeded to deliver a ruthless barrage of quick punches all over the face, body and limbs, not giving him a second to breathe. He was milking the type advantage for everything it could, adding to it that Hitmontop's Technician gave his punches an additional power boost.

By the time it was over, the dark weasel was extremely battered, yet still seemed to want another go. And Red seemed to believe the same, as a few seconds later he delivered another order:

"Ice Shard!"

"Gyro Ball!"

Sneasel started blowing another barrage of ice darts, which Hitmontop repelled with his fast spinning as he flew again like a saucer.

"Looks like it's the year of spinning attacks being used to defend, folks! But no matter how repetitive it seems, there's no doubt they're very effective!" the MC declared.

"Dodge with Aerial Ace!" Red called.

"Keep on spinning and use Dig!" A.J. cried in turn.

From the look of it, Red's plan was to surprise them with Aerial Ace from above to catch them off-guard, but he anticipated it again, and had Hitmontop escape underground once more. Due to the thick grass covering the field, it was hard to tell where he would come out, but A.J knew exactly where he would, and he just had to go ahead and deliver a decisive blow.

"Brick Break, now!"

There was a rumbling blast right under Sneasel's feet, and he barely could look down when an orange flash violently erupted from underground, striking an uppercut to the jaw. As a result, Sneasel was knocked upwards and fell on the grass with his arms spread, motionless.

"Sneasel is unable to battle, Hitmontop is the winner!" the referee declared, as Sneasel's icon on the board turned off.

"What a great opening bout, folks! Sneasel fought aggressively, but in the end Hitmontop uses double type advantage for a surprise knockout! How will Red respond to this?"

"Way to go, Hitmontop!" A.J. celebrated, while Hitmontop did a few victory spins and punches in turn for a show.

One down, two more to go. He was lucky that Kiyo allowed him to keep Hitmontop and continue training him, and his debut had been nothing short of brilliant. It was their first step to win this match.

…

After silently recalling Sneasel, Red gauged the situation. While it wasn't ideal to start the match with a loss, it hadn't been too bad. Despite facing a disadvantage, Sneasel had been able to draw out his opponent's skills, and he had a clear idea of how to face him after that bout.

That Hitmontop favored swift strikes and strong blows, and judging by their moves he also seemed to have some martial arts training (something he was familiar with, thanks to his mother having been a professional boxer). Sneasel was also a melee fighter for the most part, but in this case experience and specialized training was the determining factor.

So in this case, they had to take a different approach; long-ranged attacks, and use the mind to overpower the muscle.

"Go, Hypno!" he said, throwing his second Pokéball, and immediately his icon appeared on the board.

"And Red's second Pokémon is a Hypno, evidently seeking to use a type advantage over Hitmontop! Will A.J. take his chances to keep the winning streak, or play it safe?"

"Ha! Don't think we'll back down just for a type disadvantage! Hitmontop, Bullet Punch!"

"Teleport!"

Hitmontop charged to punch Hypno, who vanished in a flash of light and reappeared on the other side of the field. The Fighting-type immediately turned and charged again, but Hypno escaped again, this time reappearing on top of one of the trees.

"We've seen Hitmontop deliver fast and strong punches, but Hypno won't let him get close to connect them!"

If Red's guess was correct, this Hitmontop clearly was trained to be a melee fighter, just like martial artists, thus he probably lacked long-ranged attacks. So far at least, he hadn't used any.

"Use Psychic!" Red called.

"Dig, hide underground!" A.J. countered.

Without missing a beat, Hitmontop turned into a drill again and escaped underground as Hypno started to focus his mental energies to unleash his attack. Despite its power, they still had a problem with it having a slow start, and with the opponent out of sight, they had no target to focus.

But, those issues had a very easy solution.

"Trick Room!"

While Hitmontop was still buried underground, Hypno's eyes flashed, as a pattern of square tiles began to appear and expand all over the field, then forming walls and ceiling to close a huge transparent cube. He could see A.J. getting alarmed by this.

"Damn, this is gonna cripple us!" he shouted.

"Whoa, ladies and gentlemen! Hitmontop's attack speed was a great asset on the previous assault, but under the Trick Room's effect, it'll become his greatest handicap!"

Indeed. Hypno wasn't too fast with his attacks, so he chose to teach him this move as support to make up for that shortcoming, coming in pretty handy to face faster opponents like Hitmontop. Now, they just had to force him to come back out, or rather pull him out by force.

"Hypno, use Psychic and rip out the ground along with Hitmontop!"

Now with lightning speed, Hypno extended both arms, and a psychic energy line started to form around Hitmontop's hole. Next, a huge chunk of ground was scooped out like a slice of cake and floated up, causing the still drilling Hitmontop to come out and fall back to the hole.

Hypno then gave a look that Red acknowledged, understanding exactly what he wanted to do.

'Go ahead,' he mentally said as he nodded.

Throwing the piece of soil away, Hypno approached the hole where Hitmontop fell, still a bit battered by the fall. As he was barely recovering, the Psychic-type started swinging his pendulum, sending out the sleeping waves at his foe. Their eyes crossed each other, and then Hitmontop's eyelids started to close, dropping backwards and snoring. Even a snot bubble blew from his nose as he did.

"Use Dream Eater."

Hypno extended his free hand, sending out energy to engulf the sleeping Hitmontop completely. He was now completely helpless as Hypno sapped his life force in his sleep, while A.J. started screaming desperatedly, trying to wake him up.

"C'mon, Hitmontop, get up now!"

"Oh no, folks! Hitmontop has been sent to dream land as Hypno continues to suck out his energy, and if he doesn't wake up fast this could be his end! The worst part, Trick Room's effect will only speed up the process at this rate!"

Red remained silent for a moment, allowing Hypno to continue using Dream Eater a while longer. Some would say it was a cheap strategy, abusing that attack as the opponent slept, but it was as valid as any, and he'd rather avoid Hitmontop's powerful blows.

Thus, he'd finish the job in the most appropriate way.

"Now use Wake-Up Slap!"

After a minute or so of sucking out Hitmontop's energy, Hypno came over and raised him by the neck, extending a hand that flashed in orange energy before delivering repeated slaps in his face, before throwing him out of the hole. He was now awake, but not quite out of the battle, so they had to continue capitalizing on the attack.

"Psychic!"

He raised a hand again as he focused his psychic powers to lift the Fighting-type off the ground, while the latter started kicking and flailing while still in the air.

Next, Hypno violently swung his arm to the side, aiming towards one of the trees to crash Hitmontop against it, and then did it again in the opposite direction to launch him to another tree on the field's opposite corner, before releasing his psychic grip to let him drop.

Surprisingly, Hitmontop stood back up with a look of angry determination, as if trying to ignore the damage from that attack.

His trainer, on the other hand, couldn't do it, and raised his Pokéball.

"Hitmontop, better return and rest!" he said, but before he could activate the return button, Hitmontop turned around, and started yelling as he shook his head.

"Hitmontop, top, top!"

"What's up?" A.J asked. "You wanna take this to the very end?!"

"Top!"

Red saw how A.J. looked at his Pokémon, then at them, and then Hitmontop again. His worried expression changed to a defiant smirk, as he tucked the Pokéball away.

"Alright, as you wish! In that case, try and hold out as long as you can, I trust you!"

With a firm nod, Hitmontop faced back at the still unharmed Hypno. They seemed determined not to let them off so easily before going down.

"I don't speak Hitmontop like A.J seemingly does, but it's pretty much clear he won't go down just yet!" the MC said. "Is that because of a warrior spirit, or is he just too stubborn to give up?!"

Red also wondered the same. It was the first time he saw a Pokémon refusing to be recalled in the middle of a battle, and even more surprising that its trainer was willing to comply. Nevertheless, his experiences along the past few months had made him understand there were many kinds of trainers and Pokémon, and it was pointless to dwell on it.

Every Trainer-Pokémon team had their own dynamics and way to do things after all, and all that mattered was to understand each other to win the battles.

"Use Double Team!" A.J. called.

Immediately, Hitmontop split into multiple copies of himself, extending all over the battlefield. Curiously, even under the Trick Room's effect he could move fast enough to create a lot of them, filling up the field in just a few seconds.

What mattered though, was the reason behind using that move. They'd probably sought to hold on until the Trick Room ran out. A rather sound tactic if they believed they couldn't win this bout and sought to extend it, to learn as much as they could and tire them out (and in the best case scenario, maybe get one or two hits in).

"Hypno, store up your energy for a Psychic."

Hypno nodded, and shutting his eyes started emitting a psychic energy aura around him. A.J was smart by using Double Team to hide; Psychic required the user to focus on the target, and by staying out of sight it would make it harder. That was the reason they pulled Hitmontop out with the soil: even if they couldn't see him, they could still see the ground around him and that was enough.

"As Hitmontop multiplies all over the field, Hypno readies a Psychic attack! What's gonna happen now, folks?"

Red kept his sight on the field. Using Double Team seemed the go-to tactic to hide in plain sight; as they couldn't pinpoint the real one to target him. Only problem, it'd be useless against an attack with a wide effect radius. All they had to do was wait a few seconds and then…

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Unleash, now!"

Hypno opened his eyes, launching an expansive wave to wash all over the field, like a scanner of sorts. The wave cleared out all clones in the area, and naturally also struck the real Hitmontop, leaving him exposed and in a brief daze. Now they had a lock on him.

"Use Hypnosis!"

"Gyro Ball!"

Hypno sent out the sleeping waves to put his foe to sleep again, but these failed when they didn't make it to his eyes, as when he started spinning the metal energy coating around the Fighting-type Pokémon repelled them. Once again a spinning defense deflected an attack, and this time close enough to strike Hypno, who didn't get to dodge in time as he was focused on his own move.

However, that was one single blow against all the damage they'd inflicted so far, so Red saw pertinent to end the assault as soon as possible, if only to capitalize the Trick Room for as long as they could.

"Psychic!" Red called again when Hitmontop seemed to come for a second Gyro Ball strike, only to stop in midair and stop spinning.

Hypno then started moving his hands, making him spin in the opposite direction.

'Round and round, you can't escape, victory is now ours to take…'

And so it was. Hitmontop was launched again towards one of the trees, this time slamming backwards against it so hard, the trunk was left with a huge dent. He slid down to a sitting position, and despite that he still tried to get back on his feet, but he finally succumbed to the racked up damage.

"Hitmontop is unable to battle, Hypno wins!"

…

"Now Hypno evens up the tables, and the match is one all! After an incredible start, Hitmontop goes down barely hitting his foe! What will A.J. do now?"

As he recalled Hitmontop, A.J. sighed and congratulated the Fighting-type for his efforts. Fortunately for them, the Trick Room had started flickering right then and there, clueing them in that its effect would soon dispel. A.J. grabbed two of his remaining Pokéballs, trying to decide who he would send out. The rules in official competitions prevented him from taking more than a minute to send out his next Pokémon, lest he wanted to suffer a penalty, so he would choose a course of action within the time limit.

"Green trainer, send your Pokémon now or you'll be penalized!" the referee ordered.

"I'm ready!" A.J grabbed Beedrill's ball. After some internal deliberation, and following his gut feeling, he finally decided what to do.

He was taking a little gamble to regain his advantage, as his plan involved using both of his remaining Pokémon. While that would bring him another trouble (by revealing them earlier), he still had one last trump card in wait, albeit he saved it as a last resort.

"Go, Beedrill!" he exclaimed, throwing the Pokéball to the field. The bee started buzzing around, right when the Trick Room shattered, and the referee gave the clue to resume the battle.

"Double Team, Beedrill!"

Not wasting a second, Beedrill started multiplying just like Hitmontop did before him. Despite Red's stoic demeanor, A.J. had the feeling he wasn't expecting this, especially with how easily they dispelled the move the last time.

Maybe he was thinking he could do the same again, using the same strategy.

"Activate Trick Room again!"

And just as A.J. expected, the hypnotic Pokémon started setting up the field to invert their speeds. They had to disrupt it before that, so A.J. shut his eyes tightly before giving out his next order.

"Use Flash!"

Even with the eyes closed, he still got a glimpse of the bright light, and heard clearly how Hypno, Red, and great part of the crowd screamed upon getting blinded. In the meantime, he had to take the chance to do a quick strike.

"Attack with U-Turn!"

Once he dared reopen his eyes, he saw how Beedrill charged quickly against Hypno, giving him a swift and strong blow with the stinger. He quickly turned into a red light before going back to his Pokéball, and A.J had the next Pokémon at hand to continue the bout.

"Tag, Sandslash, trap him in a Rock Tomb!"

"Slash!" The Ground-type immediately stabbed both arms hard on the ground, sending out a seismic wave that raised stone mounds on both sides of Hypno, who barely regained his eyesight to realize both of his arms were trapped.

"Destroy those rocks with Psychic!"

Hypno focused his mental energies in trying to destroy the stones to attack again. They started to crack slowly, but A.J. wouldn't allow it so easily.

"Reinforce the Tomb, go!"

Right when it seemed Hypno was about to break free, Sandslash summoned more stone pillars around, catching him again. They seemed to be throwing Red off, as they tried to force him to escape in a different way.

"Teleport!"

There was a flash of light under the rock prison, and Hypno vanished out of it, making it crumble. But before reappearing again, A.J. preemptively returned Sandslash, and threw Beedrill's ball once more.

"This is unexpected, ladies and gentlemen! After immobilizing Hypno, A.J. switches Sandslash again for his Beedrill! Is he trying to turn this into a two-pronged attack?"

That was exactly what he hoped to do. Keep both Pokémon with minimal damage as possible for the final bout, and at the same time, turn this battle into a two-versus-one for bigger advantage. Just like in tag-team wrestling; even though battles were technically one on one, it was completely fair to call a partner for assist, so long as there wasn't more than one on the ring.

"Hypno, use Psychic to throw those stone shards!

Hypno instantly obliged, and focused his energies to levitate the remnants of the Rock Tomb he was previously trapped under. He flailed his arms to throw them at Beedrill, who was flying fast, and while A.J. thought it wasn't a bad call, he knew how to counter it.

"Pierce through with Brick Break, don't stop!"

Rather than dodge the flying shrapnel, Beedrill struck them with his stingers, coated in an orange energy. He kept going unstoppably until he reached Hypno, landing a hard double cross blow.

"Good, now hit him further with Poison Jab!"

As Hypno was still stunned by the last blow, the energy in Beedrill's stingers changed from orange to purple, and he sent out swift blows trying to poke his foe with them. Hypno first tried to dodge, then shield himself with his arms, but after several attempts, the effect was finally seen; his face turned a shade of purple, and started giving off bubbles of poisoning.

"Time to switch again, U-Turn!"

Once more, Beedrill gave another blow, hitting Hypno square on the jaw to knock him back, before retreating to his Pokéball and let A.J. send out Sandslash to take over. The assault was on and they couldn't stop now.

"Rollout at full blast!"

As soon as he came out, Sandslash began to roll over the field like a living steamroller towards Hypno. Red could barely react in time to give out an order; their assault was pushing them against the ropes.

"Stop it with Psychic!"

Hypno managed to raise both hands, stopping the quilled rolling sphere Sandslash turned into, right before he could crash against him, by levitating him in the air so he'd roll without going nowhere. However, Sandslash still kept rolling despite that, which only made their work harder.

And then, Hypno winced due to the poison, losing his focus and dropping Sandslash, who as soon as he touched the ground skidded a bit but continued, and struck head on.

"Don't stop now, Sandslash, keep rolling!"

Sandslash did a tight turn to roll over Hypno again, this time crushing him from behind. Then again when he tried to get up, and once more, making him flail around the grass.

He finally stopped rolling, and the Psychic Pokémon was lying on his back, in the middle of a lot of furrow trails Sandslash left on the grassy field. The referee ran to check on him, and indeed, he was out of the fight.

"Hypno is unable to battle, Sandslash is the winner!"

"Wow, look at that, folks! A.J. decides to turn this into a two-on-one match, switching between Beedrill and Sandslash to take Hypno down! Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he just use the same tactic as the Rookie Crusher back in the second round?"

"Hah, that guy was despicable, but it was handy to learn that small trick," A.J. said with a hint of pride. Lucky for him he'd been following Ash's matches closely.

Of course, that last comment earned him many cheers, albeit also a few comments that tried to make themselves heard over the general support.

"No fair, that's shameless appropriation!"

"It's bad enough that a rookie beat him! How does another dare to steal his strategies!"

"Referee, disqualify him! That's a clear infringement of the Crusher's rights!"

It seemed there were still some fans of the guy who got mad about it. What was their problem?

He for his part wasn't intimidated, so he figured he could answer in kind.

"You got a problem with me, we can settle it outside after the match! My other Pokémon could use some workout too, you know!"

"Why don't we settle it here and now, kiddo?! Come up 'ere so we can school ya!"

"Better yet, we should go down there for ya!"

"Enough!" Right then, the security detail, along with a very angry Officer Jenny, showed up to put a stop to the Crusher's loony fans. "Spectators aren't allowed to sabotage trainers' matches! You keep up that ruckus, we'll be forced to kick you out of the stadium! Even arrest you, if you resist!"

The threat of being arrested apparently was enough to dissuade them, and the ruckus slowly calmed down. A.J then could focus back on the match, as he faced Red once more.

"Sorry about that. Shall we continue?"

Red for his part nodded, and before returning Hypno, also took a few seconds to consider his options. Seeing his Pokémon so far, A.J knew he had many powerful or potentially dangerous in wait.

Would he use the Snorlax from the first round? Or maybe the Charizard that evolved back in the Fuchsia Tag Tournament? It would probably be much stronger since then.

'No matter what you come up with, I'm not going to lose against you.'

His main goal now was to face Ash, and with that, to win the tournament. Red was nothing but an obstacle to overcome, but whatever came, he was confident they could handle it.

…

Red returned Hypno and silently congratulated him for his efforts. He admitted to himself, he wasn't expecting his opponent to pull of something like that. Normally, switching Pokémon was done as a strategic retreat, or to avoid getting them hurt more than necessary. But it was the first time he faced an opponent who intentionally weaponized it, effectively turning the battle into a two-on-one.

And it paid off; A.J's two Pokémon hadn't suffered any damage during the past bout, leaving him with only one to fight them both. Even if he was using Victory Sight, that strategy would have certainly thrown him off.

Once he weighed his options, he narrowed it down to two choices: either turn the battle into an endurance match to outlast his foes, or gamble into high-powered attacks to try and knock them as fast as possible. Even when they avoided damage from enemy attacks, using two Pokémon in the past bout implied both would suffer some fatigue to an extent.

That being the case, the best choice for the job was quite glaring.

"Go, Gyarados!" He threw the last Pokéball, and the marine serpent appeared and let out a loud roar, intimidating everyone around.

"And Red's final Pokémon is a Gyarados! And whoa, does it look particularly vicious! I'd hate to be on the receiving end of its anger!"

No kidding; Red didn't have it any easy to tame Gyarados, whose aggressive nature stayed true to his species. Following Siebold's advice, he went for a different approach, and rather than threaten him with electric shocks into obedience, he used Hypno as a translator to learn what he wanted, and how to earn his respect.

It turned out to be very simple; Gyarados had a drive to become much stronger, and Red promised to teach him new moves to do that. He also offered some other rewards for a job well done, every time they won battles. It took time, but he ultimately succeeded.

Today was the trial by fire; their first official match. Would Gyarados trust his judgement to direct him now?

"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Red began. The marine serpent roared before spewing a powerful water torrent.

"Sandslash, go forward with Rollout!"

Meanwhile, A.J's Sandslash jumped forward and started rolling, going pretty fast and repelling the water without stopping, making his way through until hitting Gyarados in the midsection, making him roar in pain. Though it was very short-lived, and he quickly rose back up.

"Look at that, folks! A.J's Sandslash uses the technique of rolling out fast to repel a Water-type attack! I bet many Johto natives suffered with it back at Goldenrod City, am I wrong?"

"Don't joke with that, Mr. MC!"

"That's right, that pinkette and her dairy cows rolled over us with no mercy!"

"I still have nightmares with Miltank!"

Red was weirded out by those comments. He had no clue as to why so many people seemed so terrified about it, but whatever it was, he could see the merit of using that move to attack and defend at the same time.

"Dodge and use Dragon Dance!"

When Sandslash turned around and came for another strike, Gyarados coiled his body and jumped up in the air, swiveling around as a bright blue aura surrounded him everywhere. Gyarados had told him he wished to become stronger, so teaching him a move that boosted his attack and speed simultaneously seemed the best way to earn his trust.

Not to mention that, being in the air, he could stay out of range of Sandslash's ground-bound attacks, as he continued to roll around the field directed by his trainer, as if looking to build momentum for the time they came back down. It was time to put a stop to it.

"Gyarados, use Ice Fang!"

Once more, the Atrocious Pokémon roared furiously, as his jaws became coated in a cold energy layer, before charging at the rolling Sandslash. The latter was stopped abruptly and after uncurling, he was now trying to fight against Gyarados' frozen teeth, threatening to crush him.

"Wow, ladies and gentlemen! Sandslash is literally trapped by the beast's jaws!"

"Jump out of there, Sandslash, hurry!"

"Don't let it go, Gyarados!"

As Gyarados continued to try and close his jaws on Sandslash, the latter struggled against the pressure. He managed to hold on for a bit, but the icy cold at melee range began to make its effect, freezing his limbs. A.J attempted to recall him into the Pokéball to pull him out of there, but Gyarados had put his own body in the way to prevent him from doing so.

They wouldn't use that attack-and-tag strategy anymore.

"Toss Sandslash up, and trap him into a Whirlpool!"

Gyarados roared, and tossing his foe up in the air, created between his jaws a giant aquatic vortex, catching him in the fall. Sandslash became trapped in the current, going laps and laps around, until the serpent finally shook his head and hurled him back down, sending out a huge splash after they crashed on the middle of the field.

The Ground-type tried to get back on his feet, but he was too dizzy from those laps in the whirlpool. It was the right moment to finish him off, before they could pull him back.

"Hydro Pump!"

With another roar, Gyarados fired off the water torrent, and this time Sandslash couldn't roll to defend himself. The stream hit him straight on the belly, slamming him against one of the trees. This time around he did slump down, not getting back up again.

"Sandslash is unable to battle, Gyarados wins!" the referee declared, and his icon instantly turned off on the board.

Gyarados roared triumphantly, before giving his trainer a look. Red for his part crossed his arms and smiled at him, giving him a nod of acknowledgement. Words were unnecessary; the trial of trust had been passed with flying colors. Although they still had one last bout to win, he didn't want to spoil his Pokémon's enthusiasm one bit. Better keep up that momentum and use it as a boost.

"And with a quick sequence of Ice and Water-type attacks, Gyarados eliminates Sandslash! Now A.J. has only his Beedrill to end this match! Have they already shown everything they had?"

"In your dreams! Sandslash, return!" the green-haired teen declared, recalling him to his ball and grabbing Beedrill's once more. "We may not be able to do tag-team anymore, but we still have one last card to play."

And as Beedrill came back to take the field, Red saw how A.J. pulled out of his shirt what looked like a medallion of sorts. And he immediately recognized what it was.

It was a Key Stone, just like the one he received back at the Battle Dome. And that could only mean...

"It's time to do or die, Beedrill! Show them your true power! Mega Evolution!"

Luminous streams came out of the medallion, and some more came out from the back of Beedrill's abdomen. It was then Red noticed something else: Beedrill was wearing a black band on the abdomen, which he hadn't seen before as it easily mixed with the bee's natural black stripes, and moving so fast, he hadn't seen it holding the Mega Stone on the backside, of which more streams came out and intertwined with the ones coming from A.J.

Amidst the crowd's astonished screams, Red and Gyarados watched how Beedrill began to change form, increasing slightly in size, gaining two additional stingers on his lower limbs, and another pair of wings on the back. His eyes also changed shape, turning much sharper and threatening.

"Incredible, folks! It's the second Mega Evolution we see today! But will it come victorious, unlike its predecessor?!"

"Hell yeah it will! Beedrill, Poison Jab!"

"Dodge and use Dragon Dance!"

With jet-like speed, Beedrill flew forward, pointing his five stingers coated in purple toxic energy. Gyarados dodged, rising up again as he danced to power up his attack and speed with the blue aura. And good thing he did, as the Mega Evolution gave Beedrill a boost in speed, buzzing past him without scratching, albeit quickly turning around to charge again.

"Stone Edge!" Red called, and without missing a beat Gyarados stabbed his tail on the ground, creating a series of stone pillars. He roared and the pillars shot at Beedrill like missiles.

"Pierce through them with Brick Break!" A.J exclaimed.

Beedrill's upper stingers shifted their glow from purple to orange, as the bee maneuvered through the stone barrage, dodging most of them while destroying the ones that came from the front with the stingers. He struck Gyarados' midsection, before once more taking distance to gain momentum and charge again.

"Ice Fang!"

"Double Team!"

As soon as Gyarados opened his jaws and the icy dentures formed, Beedrill began splitting again into multiple clones, and the bite only destroyed one of the dupes. Red immediately got alarmed; if they were doing that, they'd surely use the amplified Flash to leave them helpless against quick sneak attacks.

"Cover your eyes!" he yelled, as he covered his own.

And sure enough, a second later he heard A.J yell out his order. "Flash!"

He caught a glimpse of the light, having to wait for a few seconds before risking to look again. Gyarados had managed to cover his own face with his tailfin, right when Beedrill flew at him again with his stingers ready. The serpent quickly swatted him away with his tail, but the bee quickly came back for another charge.

The assault continued fiercely for several minutes. Beedrill moved so fast Gyarados was forced to dodge, while boosting himself with Dragon Dance just to be able to keep up. But he was still a bigger target, and despite enduring the strikes when they landed, he couldn't dish any other in exchange.

And things got even more complicated when Beedrill dodged another Stone Edge barrage, coming in closer and landing a Poison Jab from behind, sinking both his stingers on the nape. Gyarados roared and his face turned a purple hue, evidencing poisoning.

That was troublesome as by itself, but upon hearing A.J's next order, it became even more pressing:

"Venoshock!"

Beedrill took some distance and aimed with his abdomen stinger, firing off a stream of toxic green fluid. If that landed, damage would be devastating, so he did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

"Block it with Whirlpool!"

Despite wincing due to the poison, Gyarados summoned the aquatic vortex in front of himself. The Whirlpool turned green after absorbing the Venoshock spray, but fortunately didn't make direct contact, and with one head shake sent it back at Beedrill, forcing him to veer aside.

"Wow, that was close, folks!" the commentator yelled. "Venoshock does double damage if the target's been poisoned! If Gyarados hadn't blocked that stream, he'd now be in serious trouble!"

"Maybe we can't tag team on you, but we still had an ace in the hole!" A.J declared. "Now you're against the clock, as long as the poison's in effect!"

Red involuntarily clenched his fists. He seemed to take his victory for granted, but from the look of things, it didn't seem too far from reality. That poison meant trouble, and if they landed a Venoshock it would only speed it up more.

Of course, A.J wasn't the only one who had an ace in the hole. Gyarados still had one last unrevealed move, and while he hoped he wouldn't have to use it, they were running out of options.

"Beedrill, circle around and keep firing Venoshock!"

"Gyarados, keep them at bay with Hydro Pump!"

Beedrill fired the toxic stream from his stinger, which met the Gyarados' water current head on. There was a brief competition, but the water won by pressure, pushing the bee a little further. The marine serpent winced by the poison, but he wouldn't let that stop them.

"We need to get closer! Use Double Team to approach!"

The bee started to multiply all over the field. Red wasn't sure whether A.J wanted to maximize the Flash's effect, or just confuse them in order to get closer, but he was about to gamble with his secret weapon. Even without the Victory Sight, he'd learned enough about his opponent to do an estimation of the most likely scenario.

"Gyarados, close your eyes and prepare your last move! Hold it until I tell you!"

Gyarados groaned and nodded, before doing as he was told. He caught A.J smirking confidently after seeing that, albeit this time they didn't use Flash. No matter; whatever it was, Red simply waited until they made their move.

Even against an opponent with his eyes closes, he doubted they'd be reckless enough to try attacking them head on. Indeed, the clones started crowding around Gyarados' back, and looking at the ground, he could catch glimpses of the real Beedrill's shadow moving around, albeit only a few seconds. They just had to wait for the right timing.

"Venoshock!"

"Turn around and fire!"

Almost right when Beedrill pointed his stinger to fire the stream, Gyarados turned around and roared. Much to the surprise of everyone, it was not a Water, Ice-type or similar move. No, the attack they were saving generated a fireball that exploded, forming a shape similar to a five-point star. Red couldn't have seen the terror in the enemy Pokémon's eyes, but the explosion it generated spoke by itself.

"WOAH! Folks, that had to burn hot! Red and Gyarados were still saving one last attack, and it turns out to be Fire Blast! One of the worst attacks a Bug-type can take at point-blank range!"

Sure enough, after taking the fiery explosion right in his face, Beedrill was left with scorching marks all over the body. That was the first solid blow they could land, and while it was risky to do, it worked.

The reason why they didn't want to use that attack was to avoid causing a wildfire, spreading across the field in minutes. That could annoy Beedrill, but also would make Gyarados uncomfortable, turning it into a double-edged sword.

"Alright, I wasn't expecting that," A.J said. "Beedrill, stay away and keep firing!"

"Block it with Whirlpool, don't let it hit you!"

Just like before, Gyarados stopped the green stream with a water vortex, and that gave Red some time to think on how to turn things around. That Fire Blast was good, but not enough to put him out of the fight on its own, and with each passing second, Gyarados was weakened by the poison. They had to hurry, and they couldn't stay defending forever.

He could shoot more Fire Blasts against Beedrill, but if he set the field on fire, it'd be uncomfortable for Gyarados to be in the middle of the grass burning almost as it'd be for Beedrill.

At least, until Red saw something: the hole, the piece of dirt Hypno had ripped out.

Almost the entire field was covered in grass, barring the patch where Hypno had forcibly unburied Hitmontop, leaving a huge section of brown dirt, big enough for Gyarados to fit.

Would it serve as a firebreak?

"Gyarados, get on the dirt patch and use Fire Blast!"

Gyarados obliged instantly, and launched a fire explosion against the bee. The flying insect dodged, causing it to impact on the tree by the corner, setting it on fire. Without stopping, Gyarados fired another, which Beedrill dodged again, and this time he set on fire the patch of bushels. A third one, and upon missing the tree on the other corner was also set ablaze.

"Looks like Red and Gyarados are gambling everything on Fire Blast attacks! But they won't do any good if they can't hit the target! Are they up to something?"

"Keep firing!" Red called.

The interval between Fire Blasts was of a few seconds, but they kept Beedrill occupied as he tried to dodge. A few times they managed to graze him despite dodging the direct impact, but little by little, the came closer to their goal. Heat was rising by the second, and Beedrill's moves started to turn sloppier along with it.

"Oof, things are starting to heat up here!" A.J complained, pulling his shirt to try and get some air.

Red for his part remained imperturbable. One of his Bloodline's perks was that he could take the heat, especially from fire, much easier, and Gyarados being a Water-type also gave him some natural endurance to it. Flames had spread quickly all over the field, now forming a pseudo-wall around him, and Beedrill would forcibly have to go through it.

"Now this is called to heat up, ladies and gentlemen! Can A.J and Beedrill take it?!"

Even though Gyarados was afflicted by poison in intervals, Red could see that the battlefield on fire was having a bigger effect on Beedrill, doing so constantly. He was having a harder time dodging the Fire Blasts, and they finally managed to land one. While not as devastating as the first one, damage continued to rack up.

"Stone Edge!"

Stabbing his tail on the ground, Gyarados once more produced the pseudo-missiles, firing them at Beedrill. Like before, the bee tried to defend destroying them with Brick Break, but the heat started to afflict him more, and this time he only successfully destroyed two, while the rest of the sharp stones struck and cut his wings a bit, making it hard to stay in the air.

He saw A.J clenching his fists and teeth, probably trying to think how to get out of that pinch.

"Beedrill, fly above Gyarados and get ready to spray Venoshock from above!"

At long last, in what seemed like a desperate move, they finally went for the only apparently sound choice. Beedrill flew up high and hovered right above Gyarados, pointing his stingers downwards ready to fire the toxic stream and away from the heat of flames.

That however turned them into an easy target. As it was, they'd both gamble everything on the next attack. The time to settle the match was now.

"Venoshock!"

"Fire Blast!"

Beedrill shot out the toxic scream, while Gyarados roared launching the fire kanji upwards. Seconds later, there was a huge explosion, and while some of the fluid splashed Gyarados causing him to wince, shortly after something was blasted out of the sky, falling down like a meteor on the fiery field.

Red was certain that was the end, but they still had one last thing to do.

"Gyarados, put out the fire with Hydro Pump!"

Said and done, Gyarados shot out streams like a firefighting turret, filling up the field with a thick layer of steam. After finishing, the once green and vibrant battlefield was completely scorched. And in the middle, Beedrill laid back on his normal form. His eyes had dimmed down and was full of burn wounds all over.

"Beedrill's unable to battle, the winner is Gyarados! The match is won by Red Tajiri!" the referee declared, and the board immediately turned off Beedrill's icon as the crowd erupted in cheers.

"What a great battle, ladies and gentlemen! Despite their efforts, Beedrill and his Mega Evolution were beaten by Gyarados' burning ferocity! And with this, Red moves on to the next round leaving A.J. among the Top 32!"

"Aw, drat! I can't believe we were so close!"

Red could see A.J. was quite frustrated with his defeat, but was content by venting banging the platform's handrail with his fists a couple times. Afterwards, he returned his Beedrill and congratulated him for a job well done. He, for his part, followed suit with Gyarados, as the platforms were lowered along with the burned battlefield. All that was left was to go and congratulate his opponent.

Both walked up to the center of the stadium, staring at each other for a few seconds. A.J sighed deeply, before extending his hand.

"Good job. You were a lot stronger than I expected."

Red did his best to return the smile. "So were you. Thank you... for a good battle."

The crowd started cheering for them. After the handshake, both went their own ways. As much as he'd love to stay, now he needed to head for the Pokémon Center to give his team proper treatment, especially Gyarados.

"We'll take a few minutes before the next match, ladies and gentlemen! Stay tuned, because this day of the competition still has plenty of fun ahead!"

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

A bit later…

While his Pokémon were being healed, A.J headed for a small lake outside the stadium. Having already been eliminated, and since there was nobody he knew taking part in the remaining battles, it was pointless to stay and watch them.

Still, rather than throw a tantrum like a sore loser would, he preferred to vent his frustration throwing stones and making them skip over the water. Much more relaxing and less hurtful.

"So here you are," Jeanette's voice called out behind him.

He was just a little bit startled before turning. The girl was smiling, albeit giving him a somewhat stern look. She made him feel a little nervous when she approached more to talk to him.

"Were you trying to avoid me because you lost?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Come on, A.J. You didn't want to stay and watch the rest of the matches. Is it that bad that you lost now?"

The girl wasn't talking in a lecturing tone. In fact, he could see some concern in her eyes. Maybe she had realized why he was so upset over his defeat. Or rather, for not being able to fulfill his promise, of winning for the two of them, not to mention losing his chance for a rematch with Ash.

"Hey, it's okay. You gave it your all, and it could have gone to either of you. One defeat doesn't make you look bad."

"Yeah, but…"

"Shhh." The girl hushed him with her fingers, still smiling. "To me, you're a winner for everything you've done, and that's what matters. It's our first tournament after all, we'll have plenty more. We can continue to improve, together."

The girl's smile, along with the sweetness in her words, were enough to get rid of the rest of his frustration. She wasn't feeling self-pity over losing, so why should he? She was right; they both gave their best and despite being defeated, neither went down without a good fight.

"And since we're at it, I've been talking to my parents," the girl continued. "They told me they're willing to make the arrangements, for our trip to Galar."

"Really?"

Since the competition started, they had been discussing their future plans once the tournament was over. Both wanted to keep traveling together, but they were having trouble choosing a common destination. A.J wanted to head for Johto and participate in the Silver Conference, while Jeanette was interested in heading for Hoenn. However, after the curry-eating contest, the idea of going to Galar became enticing to both. The gift basket they won actually included plenty of hotel vouchers, and shopping coupons for many stores, and since neither of them wanted to waste them, it easily solved their disagreement.

"It doesn't have to be immediately, right?" he asked. "After the tournament's over, I'd like to rest at home one month or two. You know, to spend some time with the family and all that."

"That's fine with me," the girl replied. "Besides, with all this training we've done… we haven't had much chance to have real dates."

A.J smiled, blushing slightly. He would like that too; after all, she was still his girlfriend, yet they hadn't spared much time to do some couple stuff. Training and traveling with her was great, but they did need a change of pace.

"Well, this may not be the most romantic thing, but… do you want to take a walk around the lake?"

"I'd love to." The girl held onto his arm, and they both started walking.

It didn't seem that much, especially with her being so used to more luxurious stuff. But if she was happy with that, so was he. There were many places where they could have fun and do couple's stuff together, either now or after the competition was over.

Their experience in the tournament may have come to an end, and while they could just walk away, he had other reasons to stay. One being enjoying some dates with his girl, and another, rooting for his friend/rival as long as he was still in the competition. With some luck, he may be the one to avenge his defeat.

And if that wasn't the case, he could always ask him for a friendly match after the tournament. He doubted Ash would refuse after all.

…

With the matches ending for that day, Red spent the rest of the afternoon at the Pokémon Center. Today's match had been a hard one, and after seeing the matchups for tomorrow, he knew the next one would be even tougher. His opponent would be that Alexander Silph guy.

From what he learned thanks to Ash, the guy had been researching not only them, but practically all of his possible opponents. He would gauge scenarios, calculating probabilities, though instead used his own intelligence and his company's resources to get the information he needed, as opposed to Bloodliner powers.

The only bright side was that, at the very least, his memories of their encounter back on New Island had been wiped. He didn't want to think how hard it'd be had he seen all of his Pokémon there, and everything they could do. That would make his next match unnecessarily hard, period.

His PokéGear started going off, signaling a text message from Naty: "Another round down. You're a step closer, congratulations."

He smiled slightly, and quickly typed a quick answer, straight to the point. "Thanks."

A few seconds passed, and Naty sent back another: "Even so, that kid seemed to give you more trouble than he should. I expected you to win much easier, you know?"

Red arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Again, she took a few seconds before sending her answer. "Come on, you know what I mean. You could have faced his Beedrill with his Kangaskhan. Mega Evolution versus Mega Evolution. Get it?"

Ah, so it was that. In hindsight, she did suggest sending Kangaskhan for this round, but he refused, arguing that he didn't think she'd be needed now. And he was ultimately proven right.

"I didn't need her in the end."

"But you could have won with less difficulties. We not only want you to win, but that you do it well, you know?"

The last part added a pouty face emoticon. She seemed to be playing hurt to guilt-trip him. He really didn't get why she did that, knowing he'd never fall for it.

"There are may rounds to go. I can still use her."

"If you say so. Just remember, resources are to be used, not saved forever. It'll be pointless if you lose without using everything you had, get it?"

Red simply typed back a quick "Yeah, got it",before turning off the gadget, and exhaled. Truth be told, there was more than one reason for him not having used Kangaskhan yet. The first one, obviously, was because he didn't think he actually needed her, but he almost rethought that opinion with how hard Gyarados had it to beat that Mega Beedrill. That said, there was a shred of truth on him saving her for later rounds.

Although there was another, much deeper one. While Yellow now referred to Naty and her friends' place as "The trap" more as a joke than anything, the truth was that, over time, he'd begun taking it a bit more seriously. So far, they hadn't given him any reasons to distrust them, and fulfilled everything they promised. They didn't even mention what they wanted of him, or when they would need it, and whenever he asked, they just said "Don't worry, you'll know in due time".

And that, admittedly, gave him suspicions. Months before, the determination to get any possible advantage, fueled by his disagreement with Ash Ketchum, had made him ignore the obvious red flags, even when Yellow practically screamed them in his face. There was that saying of "Watch out for deals that look too good to be true" or something like that.

Which was why he kept some distance with them; he didn't want to contract debts he couldn't pay later.

"Hey, Red!" Yellow's voice called out.

His companion, or better, his adorable little sister (he still wouldn't dare call her that way out loud) came over running with Ratty. Behind her, two of Ash's friends, Misty and Iris, followed quickly.

"Congrats, another match down! How about we go eat something to celebrate? There's a special cheesecake today, we should try it!"

"Just us?" Red asked.

"Ash and Anabel are having a… well, a date, if you will," Misty explained. "So they said we can go without them."

Red was a bit surprised at hearing the word "date", but didn't pry any further, since it was none of his business. For now, going for something to eat sounded good; that battle really made him hungry and a good dinner sounded like a fair prize after how hard it was.

Six rounds won and four more to go ahead. The tournament was turning a lot more exciting than he thought it'd be.

FIN