Indigo Plateau, the night after Round 5…

Gary Oak could feel pretty satisfied with his performance so far. Considering it was his first official tournament, and with the opponents he had to face, he could even be proud of himself for making it to the sixth round. Once upon a time that now looked pretty far away (even if it was less than a year) he might even have gotten pretty cocky about it.

However, the trainer now competing in the Indigo League had come a long way, and he'd gained some wisdom the one who left Pallet Town nine months ago lacked. Before he began his journey, he'd been the big fish in a tiny pond, always number one in most things he did, and there was the fact of having behind a very successful lineage, with men of the caliber of Pallet and Samuel Oak. That evidently pumped his ego, giving him a sense of self-assurance that bordered in arrogance.

Until he finally was on his own, and reality hit him like a speeding truck. There were trainers just as good or even better than him, and what he thought would be an easy stroll, turned into an uphill struggle, forcing him to get much more serious and to never underestimate his opponents.

But it'd all been worth it. Thanks to those hurdles, he'd been able to learn more and develop skills he surely wouldn't have achieved otherwise. And he was grateful for it, especially with the man who helped him get back on his feet, when he hit rock bottom.

…

On the final day of training before the Indigo Conference, Gary was facing his final trial. Similar to his first encounter with Casey Snagem, Blastoise was now battling against that Chesnaught, again with that weird Bond Phenomenon transformation. It hadn't been easy; there were times he internally wished he had a Mega Evolution or something to match the power, but he then remembered those words. If his opponent was stronger, he had to be faster, smarter, or more unpredictable, and he'd taken this lesson very much to heart.

"Blastoise, Ice Beam!"

"Chesnaught, defend with Spiky Shield!"

Chesnaught curled up into a spiked ball, awaiting the incoming attack. Gary knew what they were doing: by defending using the spikes, they'd break through the ice to begin the counterattack. However, this time they'd do something different.

Instead of firing them separately, Blastoise pointed his cannons so both Ice Beams would intersect with each other, combining into a single, much stronger one. The attack hit home, encasing Chesnaught into a large ice block.

Just like previous times, cracks began to appear on the ice prison as Chesnaught sought to break free. However, the ice was much thicker and thus harder to break this time, which gave them more time to prepare their own attack.

"Get ready with Skull Bash, hurry!"

Blastoise retreated into his shell, getting in position as he was coated in a white aura. With their enemy still frozen, the charge-up delay wasn't an issue for them.

Sure enough, while Chesnaught still struggled to break through the icy prison, Blastoise saved him the job by shooting like a living missile, ramming him right into the stomach before he could raise another defense.

"Ugh, Chesnaught!" Casey cried, rubbing his own stomach.

"Blastoise, use a rain of Power-Up punches and finish him!" Gary exclaimed.

"Blastoise! Blast, blast, blast!"

The turtle raised both fists charged with energy, and began punching the now stunned Chesnaught, who was barely catching his breath. Two jabs to the face, a hook to the liver, and then an uppercut to the jaw, and the Grass-type Kalosian starter couldn't even give payback or defend himself.

He could also see how Casey Snagem winced in pain with each punch his Pokémon took. That was the other thing; the Bond Phenomenon causes huge mental and physical strain on the trainer, turning it into a double-edged sword. The key was to keep the assault so it'd be hard for them to keep up.

In the end, Blastoise connected a double hook to Chesnaught's chest, knocking him on his back, and then in a swirl of leaves, his transformation vanished. His trainer was gasping, and Mrs. Snagem, who was acting as judge, ran to verify it.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle! Blastoise and Gary are the winners!"

"Way to go, Blastoise!" Gary approached, bumping the back of his hand with his starter for a job well done. "We finally took down that overgrown hedgehog!"

Meanwhile, Casey had to catch his breath, and his wife asked if he felt bad. After assuring her that he was fine, he approached Gary and Blastoise, extending his hand to the Pallet trainer.

"Well, you finally made it. Congratulations."

"Oof, yeah, it wasn't easy, but we did it." Gary accepted the handshake. "It just took us… about twenty tries?"

Casey smiled. "Only eighteen, actually. What matters is that you learned from each defeat, bringing you closer every time until you made it. Your persistence bore its fruit."

Persistence. Yes, it was all about it. Despite how frustrating each defeat was, Gary didn't let his spirit get broken. In fact, every time he was able to get over them much better. Maybe getting used to it helped him deal with failure better.

"So, I guess this brings our training to an end," Gary said. "Really, I don't know how I can thank you, for everything you've done for me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Gabriela shrugged it off. "Just do your best, and make sure to give us a great show at Indigo. We'll be rooting for you from here."

"But what really matters, is that you never lose sight of what we taught you," Casey added. "Don't expect your victories to be perfect every time, just value and celebrate them. Keep your goals clear and you'll never stray from your path again."

Gary nodded. The Indigo Conference was less than two weeks away, and although he was done training with the Snagems, he still had a long way to go. He wouldn't stick only to what they taught him, he planned to go beyond. 'Plus Ultra', like his grandfather sometimes used to say.

"One last piece of advice. Don't forget to enjoy what you're doing. It's fine to take training seriously, but it's not bad to let yourself savor the thrill of the matches. That way, regardless of the result, you'll feel satisfied for leaving everything on the battlefield."

"I will."

…

The path to Indigo had been long and full of missteps, but he was already here. And despite the difficulties, and having his goal focused on the goals he'd set for himself (on the short term, improving a little himself every day, and on the long term becoming the champion), he'd had a great time in his first tournament. And he planned on keeping it that way a little longer, so he couldn't lose yet.

"Alright, time to get into serious mode, and plan the strategy for tomorrow's match."

And the first step was to learn who he would be fighting against. He would spend the breaks between battles to surf across the web and check out the info on his upcoming and possible future opponents.

"Now let's see. My next battle will be against this Melissa girl," he said as he watched on the monitor the available info about his next foe to face, a girl with short, turquoise hair and sharp-looking eyes, the kind of look of someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

One glance told him she wouldn't be an easy challenge.

Upon entering the profile, the available data showed all the badges she'd gotten and the Pokémon she'd used in official matches, including her performance in the League so far. While Melissa had quite a varied team for coverage, she seemed to favor Rock and Fighting-type Pokémon the most, and she'd managed to break through several of the most challenging Kanto Gyms, including Cinnabar, Celadon, Fuchsia and Viridian, just to name a few.

Watching her past round matches, he had to admit she reminded him a lot of Paul, since most of the Pokémon that earned her victories favored using their superior strength to overwhelm their foes. Unlike Paul, however, she didn't fully depend on them, and could switch tactics to adapt as needed. In that sense, coupled with the fact that he hadn't battled her before, that would make her a bigger challenge.

"If I can beat her tomorrow, and Paul wins the next match, we'll be meeting face to face in the next round."

Better said, he was certain of it, no matter who Paul's opponent was. So far he'd steamrolled his opponents one after another, never being against the ropes. At most, he'd lose only one Pokémon, and they'd always either take down their foe with them, or leaving them so injured that the next one would finish the job.

Just for once, Gary admitted to himself he'd like to see Paul cornered. Paul's expression was a perpetual scowl, smiling smugly only when he caught his opponents right before he crushed and humiliated them. He didn't want him to lose; he'd feel rather empty if he didn't have the pleasure to beat him personally. All he wanted was to see Paul on the verge of defeat, and so he could learn what could happen when he thought no one could beat him.

Just like it happened to himself before.

"Pokédex, show me the Pokémon available for exchange," he said, as he donned his H.O.P.E. Glove, and linked up the trading function.

"Affirmative, Master Gary," the device replied.

With the opponents he'd had so far, Gary guessed it was time to bring out the big guns. So far he hadn't had to use Blastoise, but he guessed it wouldn't hurt to keep him in reserve, just in case he needed some extra firepower.

Nevertheless, he wouldn't rely on power alone. While he hadn't neglected that aspect, the past months he'd focused his training on making his Pokémon break through the four-move limit, and while not all of them had succeeded, he had enough to at least keep some surprises in store for his opponents.

With a little more of wit over strength, and a bit of luck, it'd be enough to move past this round.

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

The next day, Indigo Stadium…

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the first Top 32 match for this Indigo League Conference! So far, the battles had been amazing, and while many trainers have fallen behind over the course of the competition, we still have plenty of excitement ahead of us!"

Gary could hear the commentator and the crowd's roar as he walked quickly towards the stadium's entrance hallway. At any second his entrance would be announced, and he had to hurry.

"No more last minute warm-ups before the match," he said to himself.

While revving up the engines a little before the battles had given him pretty good results thus far, this time he was so caught up that he was running late, and he had to hurry back to the stadium, getting there right on time as his match was about to start.

Although on the way there he saw a familiar face. Leaning against a wall, arms crossed and with his usual expression, there was Paul. The purple haired boy's seemingly imperturbable demeanor told Gary that, either he was waiting there to mock him, or he just came earlier to wait for his turn (his match was right after Gary's after all) and he hid his surprise upon seeing him there.

Paul smirked with an air of smugness that was enough for Gary to know he was saying "I don't expect anything from you". He felt his own fists clenched for a brief moment, but he held back the urge to react like a child. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction, so he just looked away and moved forward.

And good thing he did so, as right then the MC was announcing his entrance.

"On the green corner, we have one of this year's rising rookies of Pallet Town! This youth carries the blood of illustrious men of the likes of the legendary Pallet Oak, and his grandson Professor Samuel Oak! Will he live up to his lineage? Give it up for Gary Oak!"

The crowd began cheering him, and he smiled and waved out of courtesy. Long ago he would have basked on the attention, especially at the mention of his connections with the Oak family, but now he was determined to forge his own name. In fact, he found it a bit ironic that they mentioned Pallet, as he'd been snooping around some of his family records, and he drew some parallels between himself, and Shade Oak, Pallet's younger brother. Despite not being related, he felt Ash was more the second coming of Pallet Oak, while he was the rival chasing after him.

But he wouldn't fall behind like his other ancestor, no sir.

"And on the red corner, let's welcome with pride a fighter who's also looking to make herself a name in her first competition! Just like Gary, she has broken through five rounds to make it here, Melissa Yoshiki!"

Once again there was cheering, and as she made her entrance and stood on her own platform, Gary could hear some drowned screams calling Melissa's name and cheering for her. As he turned around, Gary noticed how one of them waved a large flag with blue, pink and white stripes with the words "Go Melissa!" written on it.

"You can do this, Melissa, beat that guy!"

"You're number one, sis!"

"No pressure, but don't lose today or I'll disinherit you!"

"That's the thousandth time you said that, Dad!" Melissa yelled back, clearly amused at the joke.

Gary snickered too. His sister would sometimes say too "I'll tell Grandpa to disinherit you" if he failed at something he had to do, though it was never serious. He'd been cut from the will more than a thousand times if it was true.

"Well, good to see she has her support. Now where's mine?"

"GARY!" And as if answering his question, a familiar voice also made itself heard among the cheers.

He immediately recognized it, and there was his grandfather in the stands. Sometimes he'd come along with Ash's mother, as well as Ash himself and his female companions, but today the scientist seemingly came earlier than any of them.

"You've done it pretty well so far, but don't get too cocky! You know anything can happen in a tournament!"

"Worry not, Gramps!" Gary replied. "You just watch me, I'm not gonna stain on my family's name!"

He wasn't planning on riding on his surname's fame anymore, but neither did he plan to dishonor it. And losing before the full battle rounds was not an option. He stared at Melissa, and punched his palm as a gesture of challenge. She smirked and returned the gesture in the same fashion.

The referee took his place and raised both flags, as the stadium's floor opened up to make way for a rocky battlefield. He had to take note of the terrain to use it to his advantage, should it be necessary.

"This'll be a three on three battle, with full substitutions allowed! It'll be over when either side has lost three Pokémon, and the winner will advance to the Top 16! Are you guys ready?"

Both replied affirmatively, and the referee pointed his red flag at Melissa, giving her the first move. She grabbed her first Pokéball and without sparing a word, threw it on the battlefield.

"Hit, hit! Hitmonlee!"

The kicking Pokémon showed up on the battlefield, giving a little demonstration of said capabilities before taking a guard stance.

Gary weighed his options; if this was the same Hitmonlee she'd used a couple rounds back, it hadn't showcased more than four moves thus far, and all of them were of melee range barring one. Then again, Melissa could simply be saving some for the next rounds, so he couldn't let his guard down.

Type advantage and speed seemed the best choice in this case.

"Go, Pidgeot!"

After tossing the Pokéball, his bird came out over the field and took flight. The referee raised both flags and gave them the starting cue.

"Hitmonlee, use Stone Edge!" Melissa exclaimed.

The Fighting-type raised both hands, and instantly a series of stone pillars emerged from the ground, before launching upwards like missiles out of their silos. Gary had already seen Melissa's previous matches, and she'd always begin with a high-powered, supereffective attack against their foes.

This time was no exception, just as he hoped.

"Pidgeot, break through using Steel Wing!"

The bird squawked and extended his wings, coating them in a metallic sheen before flying forward through the barrage of stones. He maneuvered with an expert pilot's dexterity, dodging most of the sharp rocks while repelling the rest with metal wing flaps. Barring a few minor shrapnel grazes, he avoided almost all damage.

And in just a few seconds, he was in range to get the first strike.

"Aerial Ace!"

With a sharp cry, Pidgeot vanished in a blur before reappearing behind Hitmonlee, ramming him with a white flash that knocked him upwards. The Fighting-type was sent spinning, but managed to right himself to do a perfect three-point landing, before giving a defiant glare shared with his trainer.

"Way to go, Pidgeot!" the Pallet Town boy cheered.

"An excellent starting strike, folks! Gary's Pidgeot repels a supereffective attack, and comes closer to land a solid blow!"

Once upon a time, charging headfirst towards such an attack would have been crazy. However, the past few months he'd learned a lot on how to take advantage of his Pokémon's abilities, and how to use their moves beyond the obvious purpose.

…

"For some defense is the best offense, for others the reverse is true. I personally believe there are moves that apply both principles: that is, to defend and attack at the same time."

…

Those had been Casey Snagem's words. Steel Wing was an offensive move, but it also served as a defense. Not only did they avoid initial damage, but managed to land a solid initial blow.

"Let's keep going, use Air Cutter!"

Pidgeot took distance and began flapping, firing two pairs of spinning air blades against Hitmonlee. Naturally, neither him nor his trainer would stand and take them.

"Hitmonlee, destroy those blades with Blaze Kick!"

Said and done; as the Air Cutter blades approached, both of Hitmonlee's legs set on fire. He destroyed the first with a high right kick, the second with a left, and after dodging the next two with a somersault, he dived down with a double kick at Pidgeot. The bird managed to pull back, but the flames still grazed one of his wings.

"Build some speed and prepare to charge!"

Pidgeot wasn't able to use Tailwind, but he did know the next best thing: an open sky battlefield gave plenty of room to fly around doing loops to build momentum and gain speed. So he did it several times before ending with a 180° turn, folding his wings before diving again.

"Aerial Ace!"

"Blaze Kick!"

Both Pokémon charged against each other with their respective moves; the sharp beak met a burning leg, until they knocked one another back as they were evenly matched in power. However, Pidgeot recovered first from the clash, and charged a second time for another blow, forcing Hitmonlee to cover his face, stepping back.

"Keep it up, Pidgeot, we need to push them harder!"

The third Aerial Ace hit true, but that seemed to be enough for Hitmonlee and Melissa, so they decided to raise a counterattack.

"Shield yourself with Stone Edge!"

The Fighting-type struck the ground with both hands, summoning the stone pillars. But this time, rather than firing them like missiles, he formed around himself a protective cage, ready to block Pidgeot's incoming attack from behind.

Gary could barely gasp when he saw his bird crashing headfirst against a stone wall. He even visibly winced in pain after the crash; that had to hurt.

"Awesome, fans! Melissa takes a page out of her opponent's book, and turns her own attack into a defense!" the MC said. "Pidgeot must be suffering a huge migraine right now!"

"Pidgeot, you alright?"

"Geot… Pidgeeoooooooooot!" the bird squawked, shaking his head like that crash had been nothing.

'Sorry commentator, you were wrong.'

Melissa, for her part, smirked at him with respect. "You're good, I'll give you that, but you're not the only one with some tricks here."

"I can see you and Hitmonlee are pretty tough yourselves. This is gonna be fun."

Oh yeah, this battle was getting pretty exciting, and he was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted. Not that he planned to extend it more than needed, of course.

Next, Gary saw Hitmonlee's shelter get shattered to pieces; seemingly by the Pokémon's own kicks to get out. Pidgeot had to cover his face with his wings from some shrapnel, before Melissa ordered Hitmonlee charge with a Double Kick barrage. Gary decided to counter with Aerial Aces, and immediately both Pokémon locked themselves in a duel of kicks versus pecks and talon slashes, where neither seemed to leave any breathing room to the other.

Hitmonlee gave fast and accurate kicks, while using his hands to shield himself from Pidgeot's assault. The brawl was quite even, though Pidgeot seemed to have a slight edge by making Hitmonlee step back with each hit he managed to land.

Gary, however, had the feeling that it was exactly what Hitmonlee and Melissa were hoping for.

'They're tanking the damage, and they'll try to use Reversal to turn the fight around in a single go.'

Indeed, Melissa's Hitmonlee endured the bird's attacks, until she finally gave the order.

"Reversal, now!"

Hitmonlee leapt backwards and after adopting a horseman stance, he launched a scream at the sky while an orange energy aura erupted around him. All that energy then concentrated on his right fist, and he was ready to lunge at Pidgeot.

But Gary was already anticipating that.

"Pull back and use Mirror Move!"

At Gary's command, the bird flew backwards to take momentum. A ghostly image of Hitmonlee briefly appeared in front of him, before he was engulfed in the same orange power aura. He then charged forwards, meeting Hitmonlee's Reversal with his own. The collision seemed a stalemate for a moment, but after a few seconds, the kicker was the one who faltered.

"What a power clash! Hitmonlee takes advantage of the damage endured for a counterattack, only for Pidgeot to copy and use it against him! How much more punishment can he take?"

Gary had to agree with the last part. Hitmonlee was clearly battered, but his eyes still glowed with determination, having taken all those hits like a true champion. He had his respect for that.

It looked like they'd have to deliver a very strong blow to make sure he couldn't get back up.

"Pidgeot, fly up and prepare a Sky Attack!"

With a hard flap, Pidgeot up, making sure to be above the Stone Edge's range, and spread his wings to prepare his strongest attack. A white aura built up around the bird as he charged up power, before charging for the final blow.

However, Melissa didn't seem worried in the least. Soon enough, he'd find out why.

"Hitmonlee, jump up using Bounce!"

The attack's name caught Gary off-guard, but not as much as seeing how Hitmonlee crouched over his legs before doing a big leap. No, it was a huge leap, even above Pidgeot, who was still in the middle of charging his attack, so he was helpless.

"Check that out, ladies and gentlemen! Hitmonlee may not be able to fly, but who needs it when you can jump that high?!"

"Use Reversal again!" Melissa called.

Still in the air, and before gravity took effect, Hitmonlee once more powered up with the orange aura from before, albeit this time he channeled the energy to his right leg as he descended with an axe kick against Pidgeot. The large bird was still charging up energy for his own attack, unable to defend himself when the Fighting-type's foot landed on his head, sending him back to the ground like a meteor.

"Pidgeot, no!" Gary exclaimed.

Too late; Pidgeot crashed on the field with a harsh thud, raising a huge dust cloud. With all the damage taken up to that moment, Hitmonlee's Reversal had surely been a hard blow, plus with the fall, it was no surprise Pidgeot lied motionless in the middle of a crater.

"Pidgeot is unable to battle, Hitmonlee is the winner!" the referee declared raising the green flag as people began screaming and cheering, while Pidgeot's icon on the board turned off.

"That was a Reversal if I ever saw one, folks!" the MC said. "Pidgeot fought fiercely, but in the end Hitmonlee turns the tide of the bout with a single kick! Melissa then takes the lead!"

…

The stadium was filling up by the minute, and that made it harder to find anybody among the mess of people. And of course, as the rounds moved forward in the tournament, the place would get even fuller.

Ash was a bit worried that his mom would have it difficult to find them, but she insisted they went ahead while she went to get some snacks for the match. He wondered if training his senses would help him find someone among that crowd.

"There he is!" Iris pointed a few rows above. "Hey, Professor Oak!"

Well, it wasn't necessary; Iris did it for them. They immediately headed where the scientist was, who at the sound of his name raised a hand and waved, as they walked up and took seats around him.

"Good morning, Ash, young ladies," the elderly man greeted them. "You're a bit late today."

"Sorry, we went a little further with the morning workout," Ash apologized. "What did we miss?"

"Not that much, actually." Oak pointed at the battlefield.

Ash took a look, just in time to see the partial result: a Pidgeot who, according to the scoreboard belonged to Gary, was facing a Hitmonlee. The bird seemed to have the upper hand at first, until Hitmonlee used Bounce to make a juge jump, and landed a Reversal kick, knocking him down to the ground and defeating him.

"Ow, that must have hurt," said Misty. "Doesn't seem like a good start for Gary, does it?"

"Well, it wasn't that bad, actually," Oak replied. "The first bout was quite even, and anything could happen right now."

In the past timeline, Ash was barely in time to see the final bout, of Gary's Nidoking versus Melissa's Golem, which resulted in the latter's victory. He recalled how Gary tried to wave off his defeat, even though Ash could see how much if afflicted him. Looking back, he actually took it much better than him, who just locked up and moped after he lost in the next round.

Back then, Gary was blinded by his own cockiness and got careless, getting knocked out in the preliminaries. Now he was facing the same opponent who knocked him out, and who was probably much stronger than before as well.

Would the current Gary be strong and skilled enough to surpass that hurdle?

…

"Pidgeot, return!" Gary exclaimed, recalling his bird. "Well done, buddy, now take a good rest!"

Gary stared at his opponent, who was smirking with satisfaction. It was to be expected: he thought he had control of the bout, but she took the chance and landed a decisive blow to take the lead.

Still, their gamble had a price attached: Hitmonlee tanked the hits, but the damage and fatigue were still visible. The match had just begun, and despite losing, Pidgeot didn't let his foe come out clean.

A loss was a loss, but as long as there was still a chance, he couldn't let it go. And he still had two Pokémon left.

He weighed his options: his current team had Blastoise, Exeggutor, Nidoking, Alakazam and Arcanine. He could play it safe using the strongest Pokémon he had, or he could try it a different way.

There were other ways to finish this Hitmonlee fast enough, since as far as he could see, Melissa had no intention to switch him out. Taking a deep breath, he threw the ball after making his choice.

"Arcanine, go!"

The great fire canine growled, getting battle ready and awaiting his orders. As expected, Melissa didn't not switch Pokémon, and threw the first obvious choice.

"Stone Edge!"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Use Dig, as we practiced!"

Instantly, Hitmonlee began summoning sharp stone pillars, moving dangerously close to Arcanine. But Gary, having anticipated to it, gave his order almost at the same time, and Arcanine complied by jumping up in the air before spinning like a giant drill and burrowing his way underground, right before the sharp stones reached him.

The quick and surprising move took both Hitmonlee and Melissa off-guard, and they both looked around trying to see where he would emerge. The most obvious choice seemed to come from behind, and for that same reason, they'd practiced it a different way.

"RAAAAAAWWWRRRR!"

Rather than coming from below, or behind Hitmonlee's back, Arcanine emerged brusquely right in front of the Fighting-type letting out a loud roar, with the goal of spooking the foe.

"Use Fire Fang and hold onto him!"

Still roaring, Arcanine's maw turned ablaze, creating a set of giant fire jaws that closed violently over Hitmonlee, while the dog sank his fangs on what should be his head.

"Hitmonlee, look out!" Melissa exclaimed, but the warning came too late.

"Don't let go, Arcanine! Now drag him with Extreme Speed all across the field!"

Groaning, Arcanine jumped over his hind legs, before running while dragging Hitmonlee all over, mashing him against the rocks spread across the battlefield. Hitmonlee fought, kicking around and flailing his arms trying to break free, but Arcanine's jaws were much stronger. Melissa cried out and tried to encourage him, but her cries went unheard, apparently.

After a minute or so of dragging him like an old rag, Arcanine finally let go of Hitmonlee, leaving him unconscious on the battlefield.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle! Arcanine is the winner!" the referee declared.

"And now, Gary's Arcanine evens up the score! The match is back to square one, and both trainers still have two Pokémon!"

Gary felt some relief upon seeing the board, when Hitmonlee's icon turned off. Now the match was even, and Arcanine had sustained no damage. The tables were even, but he couldn't get overconfident. He couldn't predict what Melissa might be able to do, and he had to stay attentive.

Meanwhile, Melissa returned her fallen Hitmonlee, and upon throwing her second Pokéball, Gary saw she'd brought a new Pokémon for the tournament. A Nidoqueen, which Gary noticed looked quite big and burly, even for her species' standards, and it had a defiant expression in her face.

That told him he had to be careful, and moved by a hunch, he decided it was better to withdraw Arcanine for now and leave him for the final assault.

"Arcanine, return!" he called, pulling the fire canine out of the battlefield. "Go, Nidoking!"

The Poison/Ground-type Pokémon, male counterpart to Melissa's, landed with a loud thud on the field, slamming his tail on the ground to shake it, as a gesture of challenge. Even though type advantage had helped them before, Gary decided to take a different approach this time around: to fight fire with fire, or in this case, poison with poison.

…

Back in the stands, Professor Oak, Ash and the girls continued to watch the match attentively. Right then, Ash noticed his mother coming up with a huge tray full of snacks including bags of popcorn, chips, chocolate bars and some drinks, among other stuff.

"Excuse me, I beg your pardon," said Delia trying too hard not to drop anything she carried. "Sorry for the wait, too much people in line."

"Don't worry, Mom; the match's just beginning," Ash said. "Knowing Gary, right now is when the good stuff begins."

The woman glanced at the battlefield as she handed over some popcorn and chip bags among everyone. Her eyes fixated on the board, showing Gary's three Pokémon, Pidgeot already defeated and Arcanine in wait, while Melissa still had one unknown.

"Nidoking versus Nidoqueen," Delia commented. "Never thought I'd see a matchup like that."

"That's the magic of League Conferences. You never know what kind of matchups you'll see," the Professor said.

"My, I wish I brought my camera to get some good photos."

"Worry not, Mom; we have this." Ash raised his Pokédex and handed it to her.

"High definition camera function activated. Press the lower button in the touch screen to activate the snap button. Press the upper left button to switch to inside camera, and the upper right button to switch to video recording mode. All files saved can be transferred to other devices via wireless connection."

"Thanks, honey." Delia smiled as she held up the device to focus the battlefield.

Ash didn't mind leaving the device to his mom for now; he knew how much she liked to take photos of the battles, plus it'd keep the Pokédex busy being useful. And like he'd said, the best part of the battle was about to start.

…

"And in a strange turn of events, Gary Oak chooses to pull back his Arcanine, revealing his third Pokémon! Does the trainer from Pallet Town have something in mind?"

Of course he had. Judging by Melissa's previous battles, it was highly likely that she'd try to overpower them using a powerful Rock-type for the final assault, capitalizing on type advantage. If that was the case, Arcanine had a few aces in the hole to face it. The point of bringing Nidoking now was to face an unknown opponent on equal grounds, as he hadn't been used in the tournament so far, thus leaving both in the dark as to what the other would attempt.

"Nidoking, use Hone Claws!" Gary called.

"Nido!" Nidoking flexed his arms, and his claws extended momentarily in a red light, which quickly spread out in a battle aura around him to boost his attack power and accuracy.

Melissa and Nidoqueen seemed unimpressed, as both kept the same defiant and confident smirk from before. That told Gary it'd be better to play defensive first and see what they were capable of.

"Nidoqueen, use Mud Shot!"

"Nidoking, Drill Run defense!"

Nidoqueen took a deep breath and fired out a high-pressure mud stream. Nidoking for his part crossed his arms in a defensive position, and then leaned his head forward as his horn charged up a spiraling energy, forming a drill. The Mud Shot hit its mark, but it did little more than splash around the drill, and Nidoking held firm in position with no apparent damage, until the attack finally ceased.

"Amazing, folks! Nidoking holds firmly in place, taking Nidoqueen's attack head on without problems! What a great defense!"

"Let's see how you defend from this," Melissa quipped. "Nidoqueen, use Earthquake!"

"Queen!"

Raising one of her legs high up, the poisonous queen stomped hard, making the ground rumble. Fortunately, Nidoking had more defenses aside from the Drill Run.

"Protect!"

Once again, Nidoking closed his arms in defensive position, this time summoning a huge multicolored dome around himself. The entire field continued to shake, even cracking several of the rocks surrounding them, but Nidoking remained imperturbable inside the barrier until it finally stopped.

Gary saw that as his cue to begin the offensive.

"Charge, Nidoking, Shadow Claw!"

As soon as the Earthquake stopped, Nidoking extended his claws once more, this time turning them into huge dark blades, and immediately began pushing forward towards his opponent, who just remained firm in her position.

"Nidoqueen, defend yourself and imitate him!"

When Nidoking was about to get in range, Nidoqueen raised her own arms and stopped him on his tracks, holding him by the wrists. During the struggle, Gary could see a small purple flash crossing Nidoqueen's eyes before she, with great effort, managed to push Nidoking away from her. Next, she also extended her own claws, emitting the same ghostly energy as Nidoking's.

"Wha?!"

Nidoking barely managed to shield himself from a slash coming from above, but he occupied both hands on it, leaving Nidoqueen another to hit him in the belly. The poisonous king stumbled backwards for a bit, as Gary pulled out his Pokédex, to figure out what just happened.

"What the heck was that?"

"Master Gary, that Nidoqueen had just used Mimic. Mimic, as its name indicates, allows the user to imitate an opponent's move and use it temporarily," the device explained.

Gary knew exactly what that move did. Unlike Mirror Move, which only used the opponent's last move once, Mimic allowed it to keep it a while longer, until the effect wore off.

"This is incredible, ladies and gentlemen! Nidoqueen is able to stop Nidoking with her own strength, then mimics Nidoking's own attack against him!" the MC cried out.

"Use Mud Shot!"

Melissa and Nidoqueen weren't done yet; as Nidoking was barely getting over the shock, the poisonous queen prepared to spill a new mud stream.

Gary knew he couldn't waste a second. "Use Drill Run again, but to attack!"

"Nido!"

This time, Nidoking was forced to cover himself and flinch under his enemy's attack. His horn once again flared up with energy that spun out like a drill, and he placed it forward to repel the mud stream, as he ran forward towards Nidoqueen, who in response increased her attack's power, albeit unable to stop the advance, only slow it down as he came closer.

Gary hoped Nidoking could charge through the Mud Shot, but that short distance didn't give room to gain enough momentum, and Nidoqueen stopped Nidoking on his tracks, holding him by the arms and locking into a close-range strength combat.

"Pull him in and use Submission!" Melissa explained.

"Nidoqueen!"

While they were still pushing, Nidoqueen swatted Nidoking's arms away, before grabbing him and roll backwards holding tightly onto him. After rolling several laps around the battlefield to build momentum, the poisonous queen lifted the king over her head and tossed him backwards, slamming him against a huge boulder.

"Nidoking, look out!" Gary shouted.

But the warning didn't work; Nidoking fell heavily on the boulder, smashing it to bits. Nidoqueen stepped away, but her opponent still wasn't out of the fight. He then stood up and dusted off the gravel remains on him before glaring at his opponent defiantly.

"This is getting good, folks! Nidoking seemed about to connect a solid blow, but Nidoqueen turns it around, quite literally! Melissa really knows how to use her opponent's own strength!"

"No kidding," Gary said. That Nidoqueen had strong attacks, and Mimic would allow her to use Nidoking's own moves against him.

Staying on the defensive wouldn't help them win, and trying to attack head on could play against him. But there were other ways to damage the opponent, and seeing around the terrain, an idea came to his mind.

…

"In the middle of a battle, you must use every resource you have around. Sometimes the terrain itself can provide what you need. Trees, rocks, anything can be a weapon in the right hands."

…

"Nidoqueen, use Shadow Claw!" Melissa exclaimed, and instantly her queen charged her right hand with spectral energy, before running at Nidoking.

Gary gave another quick glance at the terrain. There were several loose boulders around, several of which belonged to Hitmonlee's Stone Edge before. They looked quite solid, and some even were big enough to be thrown or used as bludgeons.

Or maybe, as shields.

"Nidoking, shield yourself with one of those rocks!" Gary shouted, pointing at them.

Nidoking roared and grabbed one of the aforementioned rocks, placing it between himself and the charging Nidoqueen. The poisonous queen buried her hand in the rock, but didn't manage to pierce through it with the attack, and her limb got stuck in it.

"What the?!" Melissa gasped.

Casey Snagem was right; anything could be a weapon in the right hands, and the rock served a great shield. While Melissa was in shock at their defensive maneuver, and Nidoqueen shook her arm trying to free it, Gary and Nidoking had their opening for the counterattack.

"Drill Run!"

Without missing a beat, Nidoking activated the drill on his head once more and then rammed into Nidoqueen, right on the chest and forcing her to step back. As she stumbled, Gary wanted to capitalize more on the attack, and try out another new technique they'd been practicing.

"Shadow Claw, 1-2 Combo!"

Once in striking range, Nidoking lunged with both spectral claws, landing a left jab on Nidoqueen's face, followed by a right cross that briefly stunned her. They still had the chance to keep attacking, though.

"Now, 2-3-2!"

Nidoking gave a step ahead, and this time around opened with a right cross, followed by a left hook and ending with another right cross. Nidoqueen flinched again, even though this time she was recovering enough to cover her face with her own arms.

"End with 1-2-3!"

Nidoking again opened the attack with a jab followed by a cross, which Nidoqueen was able to block this time, but she clearly didn't expect to be punched with a left hook to the ribs, with enough force to knock the air out of her, and she lowered her head enough for another devastating blow.

"Finish with an uppercut!" Gary yelled.

Channeling the attack's remaining energy into his left hand, Nidoking gave a rising punch straight to his female counterpart's jaw, knocking her backwards. The poisonous queen fell heavily, but managed to get back on her feet with difficulty.

"Wow, folks! Correct me if I'm wrong, but Gary's Nidoking was punching like a pro boxer! Even using the combo numbers!"

Gary smirked, as the MC was quite correct. After teaching Blastoise to use Power-Up Punch, Gary put him to spar regularly with Nidoking in order to refine their punching technique. Watching some boxing videos came in quite handy, although they'd only managed to learn those three specific combos.

But they worked out quite well, and even more adding the Hone Claws effect, as Nidoqueen started showing tiredness.

"Nidoqueen, use Earthquake!"

"Nidoking, Protect!"

This time Nidoqueen gave not one, but two stomps to make her attack even stronger. Nidoking once again shielded himself under his protective barrier until it stopped. The tremor even spread slightly towards the stands, as people began screaming at it.

…

"Whoa, careful!"

Ash felt his body tremble slightly for reasons outside the Earthquake. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Misty and Anabel held onto him out of reflex, when their seats began shaking. Not that he was bothered by that in any way.

"Wow, that Earthquake attack must have been really strong, for us to feel it up here," Delia commented. "Do you think Nidoking may be shaking too?"

"Hardly," Oak replied. "The shield formed by Protect is immune to just almost everything, including waves caused by an Earthquake."

"That is true, but even Protect isn't a fully infallible defense," the Pokédex added. "For example, it can't be maintained forever, and consecutive use makes it much weaker and easy to break."

"When Mother Earth roars, even the toughest rock cracks."

"I don't know what's that supposed to mean, but whatever you say, Professor," Misty quipped.

…

"What a powerful Earthquake, folks!" the MC exclaimed. "It almost made me spill my drink!"

"Sorry about that!" Melissa shouted back apologetically. "But we're here to win! Keep it up Nidoqueen!"

Indeed, Nidoqueen continued to stomp around to keep the Earthquake active. Despite Nidoking staying safe within the Protect dome, Gary knew it wouldn't last forever, and they'd have to lower the barrier to move again and go back to the fight.

After a few seconds, Nidoking was unable to maintain the Protect active anymore, and it gradually started to crack before shattering in a punch of pieces, and then, he felt the full brunt of the Earthquake.

"Nidoking!" Gary yelled.

"Mud Shot at full power!" Melissa exclaimed.

While Nidoking was immobilized by the tremor, Nidoqueen spewed the strongest mud stream she'd shot up to that point during the battle. It was strong enough to send Nidoking crashing against one of the still standing boulders, destroying it completely and burying Nidoking under a pile of rubble.

"Ouch, even I felt that!" the MC exclaimed. "Is this the end for Nidoking? After a consecutive combo of Earthquake and Mud Shot, I see it hard for him to get back up!"

For a moment, Gary was worried that was the case, but fortunately Nidoking rose back up. Their endurance training had paid off, as despite taking both attacks head on, still had plenty of energy to fight.

Even so, they couldn't risk taking more hits like that. They still didn't know if Nidoqueen was able to use more than four moves, but they still had one in reserve yet to use. And Gary was waiting for the chance to use it.

"Shadow Claw!" both trainers yelled simultaneously.

Both the poison king and queen activated the spectral claws, and ran towards each other meeting on the middle of the battlefield, locking in a close-range fight as they tried to land hits on the other while deflecting their opponent's blows.

The brawl was quite even; although Nidoking had a slight advantage in raw strength every time he landed a blow, Nidoqueen made sure to pay back with two for each one she took, and neither seemed to flinch one bit.

Finally, after a long and tortuous minute, Nidoking missed a right cross, right when Nidoqueen ducked to land him a dual claw strike on the lower torso, and it was a chance Melissa wouldn't pass up.

"Finish him, use Submission!"

Gary was almost paralyzed; if that attack was completed, it may mean the end of the fight for Nidoking. But he quickly calmed down; having taken it once, the boy had an idea as to how to counter it, right as they started rolling around the field.

"Nidoking, if you can hear me, use Iron Tail right at the end of the attack!"

Gary caught on the crowd's murmurs saying "What's he up to?", "What's that gonna do?" and similar stuff. It was a risky gamble, but if he could make it work…

It was pointless to just surrender before showing everything they could do. They had to leave everything on the battlefield to have no regrets.

Like before, Nidoqueen rolled backwards as she held tightly onto Nidoking, building up momentum and speed. But this time, just like Gary said, when the king was hoisted over by his opponent to be slammed, his tail began flashing metallic white, and it was the first of his limbs to touch the ground.

And not only did it touch the ground; it nailed deeply into it, giving him a support point to land safely, and revert Nidoqueen's own throw, using the momentum she'd gained with the rolling before.

Nidoqueen crashing on the ground drowned the shocked gasps coming from Melissa and her supporters on the stands. Gary felt sorry for them, but he had to take the chance to win now, seeing his idea did work after all.

Melissa wasn't the only one to know how to use the foe's own attack against them, after all.

"Shadow Claw!"

"Stop it!"

Nidoking was ready to use his spectral claws again. Nidoqueen barely managed to hold him by the wrists, in a last ditch effort to oppose, leaning firmly with both her feet and heady tail.

"Wow, aren't they persistent?" Gary muttered. "Those guts earned my respect, really. But well, even if she got the hands, we can still use the head. Drill Run!"

Not wasting a second, Nidoking started spinning the drill on his horn. Having both hands occupied. Nidoqueen was unable to defend when she felt the drill on her torso. That also made her lose her footing on the ground, allowing Nidoking to push her back and crash her against one of the (still standing) boulders, echoing all over the stadium.

After that crash, the poisonous queen finally stopped shrieking in pain. Nidoking ceased his attack, hoisted her over his head like a wrestler and threw her on the battlefield's central circle, where she was left motionless after exhaling a couple of pained moans.

"Nidoqueen is unable to battle, the winner is Nidoking!" the judge declared, as Nidoqueen's icon on the board turned off.

"What a battle, ladies and gentlemen! In the duel of king vs. queen, the king prevails in the end! Now Gary Oak takes the lead, leaving Melissa with only one Pokémon!"

"The lead, suuuuuure," Gary said.

Despite having won, he could see Nidoking's current state. Nidoqueen hadn't made things easy for them, and he was certain they wouldn't hold on much on the next bout. Fortunately, Arcanine was still in wait, and if the Pokémon Melissa brought out now was the one he expected…

"Return, Nidoqueen," Melissa declared, holding up the Ball and recalling her second Pokémon. "Good job, now take a rest. Alright, it's all or nothing now, all up to you!"

Melissa threw what Gary recognized by the color as a Heavy Ball. He'd only seen one of those in the videos of her previous battles, and if his hunch was correct…

"Golem!"

"Yeah, just like I figured," Gary muttered with a smirk.

After meticulously checking Melissa's information, Gary had the feeling this would be her trump card. For starters, he saw her using it on the third and fifth rounds of the tournament (both times when she was cornered), and according to the available data on her gym battles, it'd also been decisive on her Volcano, Rainbow and Soul Badges. She'd call it whenever she was in a pinch and had to turn around a particularly hard match.

And precisely for that, he'd been preparing Arcanine for this match, and kept him in reserve for the final bout.

"Golem, start with Rollout!" Melissa exclaimed.

"Stop it with Iron Tail!" Gary countered.

In the blink of an eye, the Rock Pokémon withdrew his limbs and head into his body, before rolling across the battlefield. Nidoking extended his heavy tail, coating it on the metallic flash, and as soon as Golem got in range, he spun violently to hit him.

The tail strike sent Golem backwards a considerable distance, forcing him to stop rolling and bring back his limbs to right himself up.

"What a swing, folks! Considering Golem's size and weight, I can compare it to Joe Gibson Jr.'s homerun on the playoffs yesterday!"

There were some boos on the crowd due to that comment, and Gary guessed there were probably a huge amount of Electabuzz fans. Right yesterday, the Electabuzz baseball team lost their winning streak, due to the aforementioned homerun that resulted in the opposite team's victory. Truth be told, the comparison made him flattered, Gary thought.

"Drill Run!"

"Rock Blast!"

Nidoking once again activated the drill on his horn as he charged at Golem, who fired rock shards at him like a mini-gun. Despite getting hit by the shrapnel, the drill managed to deflect most of the damage without slowing down, and it seemed the impact was imminent.

"Defense Curl!"

Golem retracted his limbs again, and his stone shell glowed briefly. The poisonous king rammed with all his body weight and drill on the Rock Pokémon, but it seemingly didn't do much more than rolling him backwards a little bit.

And that, as they quickly found out, was a grave mistake.

"Rollout, again!" Melissa called.

Golem wasted no time and got into steamroller mode. This time, though, the initial acceleration was higher, giving him a quicker startup and leaving Gary without chances to give orders, or Nidoking to step aside, and ended up immediately rolled over.

And the attack didn't stop there: Golem immediately made a full 180° drift for a second strike, and then a third, never giving the Poison-type a break. It didn't look good for them.

"Nidoking, try and raise Protect!" Gary shouted.

"Nido!"

Right when Golem came out of the fourth strike and rolled away to get momentum, Nidoking managed to get back on his feet, getting in defensive stance and raising the protective The living steamroller stopped dead on his tracks, bouncing off against an impenetrable wall and getting knocked backwards.

"Wow, the tension! Nidoking finally stops Golem's fierce Rollout assault, but not before getting rolled over several times! I wouldn't like to be in his place right now, especially with the additional boost from Defense Curl!"

"Again, not kidding," Gary muttered.

He had to recognize Melissa was clever; she first used Defense curl to mitigate the Drill Run's damage, and immediately followed it up with Rollout. One of the simplest and best known combos, but it's effectivity was undeniable. It came great for Golem, a Pokémon normally heavy and slow, allowing it to move across the field quite fast and compensate for that shortcoming.

"Golem, Rock Blast!" Melissa shouted.

"Nidoking, bat them back with Iron Tail!"

Golem was ready to launch his attack once again. Nidoking for his part readied his metallic tail, turning around to deliver tail strikes and break the stones flying at him. It worked at first, but Golem began shortening the distance and increase his firing rate, making it more difficult for Nidoking to deflect them and pushing him into a rather complicated position.

"Use the rocks as a shield again!" Gary called.

Nidoking picked up another of the big rock shards to use it as a shield, but this time Melissa and Golem concentrated all the fire into the same spot, making it slowly crack until it finally broke apart. This forced Nidoking to shield himself with the arms, and each impact made him go one step backwards, while Melissa was smirking at how they were gaining ground.

Gary, for his part, even though he was trying hard not to smile, knew perfectly the match hadn't been decided yet, and Melissa was doing exactly what he expected. While he did consider it a somewhat dishonorable tactic, sacrificing Nidoking that way to wear Golem out, another of Casey Snagem's lessons resounded in his mind to alleviate his worries.

…

"If you know a Pokémon can't defeat its opponent, to wear them out as much as possible to facilitate the job for the next is a valid strategy. Obviously, some don't like it because it implies letting your Pokémon get hurt, but sometimes you need to lose a round in order to win the match."

…

Indeed, Gary knew Nidoking couldn't beat Golem in his current state, so his only role was to hold on as much as possible to tire him out, and let Arcanine finish the job. Just like he did with Pidgeot against Hitmonlee, though that was just due to the surprise turnaround.

"Golem, use Rollout again!"

"Protect, Nidoking!"

Golem rolled forward again, but Nidoking managed to raise the protective dome. The unstoppable force met the unmovable object, but continued to stubbornly try and bring it down, probably knowing they couldn't hold it forever. Finally, after a third failed try, they seemingly gave up on that.

"This bout has gone longer than it should have," Melissa declared. "Time to end it, and seal the next too. Stealth Rock!"

Taking advantage of Nidoking still being inside his Protect dome and thus unable to attack, Golem spread out several shiny rock shards to the battlefield's corners to set up the entry hazard. The intent was clear; by setting up the Stealth Rock, Arcanine would take a massive starting damage that may knock him out, or at least cripple him, leaving him with a huge handicap for the final bout.

Or at least, that probably what Melissa thought, in any case. He knew how he'd cross that bridge when the time came.

After lowering the Protect, Gary decided Nidoking had done enough, and if they were going down, they'd do so in style. The Poison-type seemed to interpret it this way, as he looked at him, and sent him the message with a nod.

Gary himself replied in kind, knowing what they had to do. "Nidoking, Drill Run!"

The king roared loudly, activating his drill and lunging in what they both knew was a suicidal charge, but they didn't care. Melissa for her part smirked, surely thinking they already had won the match.

"Stop him and use Seismic Toss!"

Golem held firmly where he was, waiting until the last second to duck under the drill, stopping Nidoking's charge by striking his chest with both hands to stumble. His horn stopped spinning, and Golem immediately held him to jump in the air and then toss him back to the ground.

There was a tense moment of silence after the rumbling, and the referee approached to give his verdict.

"Nidoking is unable to battle, Golem is the winner!"

The cheers erupted, and Melissa's section even went "Just one more to go!". As if they already assumed she'd be the winner. Gary would have liked to tell them they were wrong, but if there was something he'd learned in the past months, was that taking a victory for granted was practically asking out loud to be humiliated and/or get beaten up badly.

If you were going to brag, better do it after winning, not before. Not that he planned to do that anyway; he was long past that phase of himself.

"It all comes down to this, folks! Gary only has his Arcanine to finish this match, but he'll be in a serious disadvantage when the last bout begins? Will he win despite that?"

Gary knew exactly what the MC was talking about; as soon as Arcanine came out, he'd get pelted by the Stealth Rock. Melissa's Golem had used that tactic successfully in their previous match, even though their opponents had tried to (unsuccessfully) remove it.

He wouldn't even bother; that wasn't the right tactic before.

"Arcanine, use Dig!"

He threw the Pokéball high up so it would open in the air. As soon as he came out of the flash, Arcanine started spinning his body like a drill, right when the Stealth Rock shot at him. The spinning effect deflected them, and he instantly went underground. There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and Gary saw Melissa's face briefly losing its color at what they'd just done.

"What?!"

"Incredible, ladies and gentlemen! Arcanine uses the Dig spin to protect from the Stealth Rock! The entry hazard springs but fails to do any damage!"

"Clever, but that doesn't mean you've won," Melissa said. "Golem, get ready with Defense Curl when he comes out!"

Instantly, Golem retracted into his stone shell to defend himself. To Gary's knowledge from their previous matches, the Rock-type didn't have attacks like Earthquake or Magnitude who affected opponents underground, and that was an advantage to them. Their strategy was mostly focused on rolling across the field at high speed to run over their opponents, and if that failed, they'd hold out on enduring damage to use Bide at full power in the end. That was how Melissa won her last match.

Arcanine erupted right under Golem still spinning like a drill, knocking him up into the air. And just as Gary anticipated, Melissa was about to use the classic combo, ordering Golem to start the Rollout while still in the air to gain starting momentum.

Gary however was already onto this. "Jump with Extreme Speed!"

"Raaawwrrr!" Arcanine groaned, and as soon as his legs touched the gound, shot upwards in a burst of speed, dodging the living steamroller. Naturally Golem didn't stop at this and got ready to turn around and come back for another go.

"Shoot Dragon Rage all over the field!" Gary shouted.

As he was starting to fall down, Arcanine opened his jaws to fire a blue draconian fireball. Not at Golem himself, but at the point he was about to pass by on the battlefield's center. The blast opened a crater and Golem fell right into it, abruptly stopping his run.

"Oh no!"

"Keep firing, Dragon Rage again!" Gary exclaimed.

Arcanine landed on the ground and while Golem was trying to get out of the crater, he fired one, two, three Dragon Rage spheres one after another. Golem winced as he took each of them, and the third even did him a favor by knocking him out of the crater.

Neither he nor his trainer seemed happy about it, though.

"Golem, use Rock Blast!"

"Dodge with Extreme Speed, Arcanine! And keep firing at the field!"

Golem started firing again barrages of stone. Arcanine just dodged them by jumping and running swiftly across the field, but for now they weren't counterattacking. Instead, the canine continued to shoot blue fireballs at Golem without aiming directly, as if he wasn't trying to damage them more.

That wasn't necessary for now. Those last hits with Dig and Dragon Rage had been quite solid, stacking up with the ones Nidoking managed to connect, and they started taking their toll on Golem. His defenses were formidable to endure so much punishment, but even that had a limit. The cracks on his shell were starting to show.

"If you don't come at us, we're going after you! Golem, use Rollout again!"

Golem got ready to roll at Arcanine, but this time, his startup was interrupted when, upon turning around to chase after the starting attack, went straight to a crater.

One of the multiple ones Arcanine had left with his Dragon Rage blasts.

"Golem!" Melissa screamed.

"How do you like that, folks?! Golem's Rollout is stopped barely as it starts! The terrain is too full of craters to use that attack with the same liberty now!"

"Your Golem has a good Rollout attack, but it's not that good to use on irregular terrain," Gary said.

"I see you've done your homework," Melissa replied. "Guess I shouldn't expect any less from Professor Oak's grandson, after all."

Gary tried not to get too annoyed at that comment. This being his first tournament, he guessed that shadow would still follow him around for a bit, until he could earn some merits of his own.

He wasn't just Samuel Oak's grandson. He was Gary, a Pokémon trainer in rising, and he wanted to be acknowledged as such. And the first step for that was to win this match.

"Golem, Rock Blast!"

"Arcanine, Dragon Rage!"

The next minute was mostly a jump-fire-dodge for Arcanine. Unlike Golem, who know wasn't favored by the terrain, he could now move with great liberty jumping from rock to rock, to fire from different angles. Now they were just trying to goad Melissa into using her final card.

"Hang in there, Golem, and get ready for Bide!"

"Golem!" The megaton Pokémon retracted into his shell to take the attacks as he was covered in a red aura. Once again he showed off his impressive defense as he endured the impacts, albeit refusing to budge to them. All to launch one all-or-nothing final attack.

"Arcanine keeps firing nonstop, while Golem charges up a Bide attack! Folks, I have the feeling this match is about to decide! This is gonna be intense!"

Gary agreed; the match had reached its decisive point. To him, it was a matter of timing exactly to dodge Golem's attack, and then deliver the coup de grace. Especially as he knew what Melissa would attempt for her final move.

…

The night before, Gary watched attentively Melissa's previous matches. He took a special interest in the girl's Golem, and how it defeated her last opponent, a trainer named Tim. He'd paused the image right on the final bout, facing against a Victreebel on a grassy battlefield with a few forest patches.

"Now let's see, what did you do here?"

Victreebel was mercilessly Power Whipping Golem. The latter for his part only endured the lashes without response, waiting for the exact moment until he finally unleashed the Bide's power. Victreebel's trainer ordered it to use the whip to grab onto one of the trees, and swing out of the incoming beam's trajectory.

Except it wasn't: Golem pretended he'd fire his attack, unleashing a small energy burst right when Victreebel swung itself to a side. Then, the Rock-type turned in its direction, and then yes, he fired the white energy beam with all he had, leaving Victreebel out of the battle and winning the match.

"Pretty clever, they did a small burst so the opponent gets out to dodge, and once they do, they turn around to launch the real attack when they let their guard down. Duly noted."

It was a smart move, but if you saw it coming, it'd be of little help. And it could be easily countered with a fast Pokémon who could switch directions instantly.

…

And that was the reason to bring Arcanine. Melissa thought she was setting a trap for them, but in reality, she was the one about to fall in theirs.

"Now Golem, fire!"

"Arcanine, jump as we practiced!"

Just as they anticipated, Golem did a false attack, just when Arcanine jumped to the side. What they didn't expect, and probably neither did the crowd, was that Arcanine would jump towards one of the still standing boulders, and use it as a spring to activate Extreme Speed for a second jump. Thus, when Golem fired the beam for real, not only did the attack miss, but his foe was now above them, completely out of their range.

"Let's go for the final blow, Arcanine! Dig, right above Golem!"

Arcanine aimed his body downwards, and just like a drill, he descended vertically towards Golem who, after using too much energy to fire that attack, had almost nothing to defend himself. Gravity only added extra oomph to the attack, burying Golem into the ground as it kicked up a huge dust cloud.

Again, the entire stadium was left in deadly silence for a moment, with the only noise being the last impact's echo. Arcanine jumped out of the dust cloud, and while he was panting over the effort, he looked none the worse for wear. There was no move, and while Gary called that one the final blow, he was ready for another go if it wasn't enough.

"Golem is unable to battle, Arcanine wins! Victory in this match goes to Gary Oak from Pallet Town!"

"Incredible, ladies and gentlemen! It was a close match from beginning to end and victory could have gone to either, but in the end, it's Gary Oak who advances to the seventh round! What a great start we have for this day of the Indigo Conference!"

Gary ignored the cheers and applauses from the crowd for a moment, and jumped off his platform to the field, to congratulate Arcanine as he should.

"Good job, buddy, you were incredible."

"Arrrr…" The big canine lowered his head to rub it against his trainer, growling happily.

Today victory wasn't only thanks to him. The others had played their part in enduring punishment so he wouldn't have to. All had gone as good as he could have expected, and all of his Pokémon had earned a good reward later.

Gary heard the noise of a Pokéball recalling its Pokémon, and saw Melissa had jumped down to the battlefield as well. Now she was walking towards him with a rather serious expression. The Pallet Town boy felt a little tense for a moment.

Was she upset that she lost?

No, that wasn't the case; she immediately smirked and extended a hand. Gary raised an eyebrow, but caught the message and immediately accepted the handshake. She'd been a worthy opponent and deserved his respect.

"You have quite a firm grip," Gary mentioned.

"So I have been told," she replied. "Well done, you were… much stronger than I expected."

"So were you. I'd say I lucked out a bit at the end."

"No you didn't," she quipped. "You knew exactly what I'd do with Golem and planned accordingly. That's why you showed your Arcanine early, didn't you?"

Gary exchanged glances with his fire dog. His plan had worked alright, maybe not 100%, but the end result was still a victory. It may not have been a clean sweep, but the fact that Arcanine managed to pull through the whole battle almost unscathed still made it somewhat impressive, if he said so himself.

"I… had a hunch and followed it. Guess I was right," he replied modestly. "Still, you didn't make it any easy for me; you're no pushover."

"Thank you. Good luck in the next round."

He could hear the cries on both sides, both on Melissa's bar ("Don't feel bad, you still made it to the Top 32!"), and his own ("That's my grandson, great work!"). Gary briefly glanced at the stands, specifically where his childhood friend and rival was sitting.

He made a note to thank Ash later; after all, the finishing blow came from one of his ideas, so he deserved credit for it. And Casey Snagem did say there was nothing wrong with borrowing other trainer's ideas if they adjusted to your own style, and in this case, it came in rather handy to seal the math.

"And that's the end for now! The A-Block's second match will begin shortly, then we'll take a break before the B-Block's first match! Stay tuned, folks!"

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

A few minutes later…

With the thrill of victory being replaced by the relief of the battle already being over, Gary headed for the exit. At the time, the only things on his mind were going to grab a snack and maybe a cold drink, then head for the Pokémon Center to treat Arcanine, Nidoking and Pidgeot, and give them some treats for their hard work today.

As he walked across the access hallway to leave the stadium, he ran into Paul again. A quick glance told him he was walking down the stairs leading to the stands, which he found a little strange. Did he actually bother to see his match?

He had plenty of things he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure where to start. At the same time, judging by the look in his eyes, the purple-haired boy seemed to have something to say himself. After a bit of glaring at one another for too long, Gary ultimately decided it wasn't worth it, and kept heading for the exit.

"You've improved."

And those words made him stop. Or rather, not the words themselves, but the tone they carried. There wasn't a shred of mockery or sarcasm on them.

"Say what?" Gary asked, even knowing he hadn't misheard it.

"You've gotten better since our last match," he answered. "I was sure that girl would overpower you, but I was wrong."

Gary held back the urge to twitch his tongue. The comment, while it sounded like a grudging praise, still carried a vibe of "You're still not good enough to beat me", and he knew. Paul still looked down on him, and that would hardly change.

"Guess that means we'll be seeing each other tomorrow," Paul continued when Gary didn't reply. "You should be proud of yourself, for coming this far."

"You're one to talk," Gary replied. "At least I can say I won my match today, and you haven't even begun yours. Don't count your Pidgeys before they hatch; you don't know what could happen."

Paul just made a disdain gesture and headed to the hallway to the battlefield. Gary followed suit and continued on his own way to the exit.

There was so much else he wanted to say, but Paul being Paul, Gary doubted he would listen. It was weird to see him in that moment and, despite how much he disliked him, to be wishing wholeheartedly that he'd win his match. Because, as much as he'd love to see him in trouble, cornered and with victory about to slip out of his hands, he'd hate to see him lose because he dropped his guard and underestimated his opponent.

And also, because at the moment he didn't want anybody else to have the pleasure to knock him out of the tournament.

"Gary!"

A familiar, more welcoming voice, caught his attention. Right then, Ash was running towards him, followed by his female companions, Ms. Ketchum, and Professor Oak, who smiled pleasantly.

"Oof, I almost didn't catch you. Hey, congratulations, that was an awesome battle."

Ash raised his fist for a bump. Gary accepted the gesture as the others approached.

"You said it," Profesor Oak intervened. "The way you got Arcanine to defeat that Golem, and without a single scratch, was truly exceptional. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, Grandpa. You too Ash." Gary rubbed his nose slightly. "Well, I couldn't afford to lose with you guys watching me, right? Now, if you excuse me…"

"Are you not staying for the next match?" Iris asked. "If Paul wins, you will face him next, right?""

"Don't worry, I'll check it on video later," Gary assured. "Now I have other stuff to do, like taking my Pokémon to the Center so they can rest. Smell y'all later!"

Even though the last part was true, the real reason was that, for now, Gary wanted to keep as far away as possible from Paul. Running into him before and after his match wasn't exactly pleasant, and after that little exchange, he was getting fired up inside, waiting for tomorrow to come soon to face him.

The tournament itself didn't matter much for Gary now. If he could beat Paul tomorrow, he'd feel satisfied with himself. Months ago, he lost because Paul was much stronger than him, and the gap in power would have increased, since he doubted Paul would have rested on his laurels. He couldn't be stronger, so he had to be faster, smarter, or anything that gave him an edge. That was a fact.

Tomorrow was the day. He would put all his training in the past months to the ultimate test. If he could win, it would mean it was worth it, that he was a better trainer than he was when Paul beat him. If he couldn't… well, that meant there was still plenty of margin to improve.

Besides, winning against Paul meant he'd be a step closer to fighting Ash and Red, and that would serve to cap it off, regardless of the result. They still had a lot ahead in that tournament, so he couldn't afford to lose yet.

FIN.