Blue had beaten another trainer I'd never heard of before today, this time with far less effort than he needed in the previous round.

We all went to get lunch together after that, and there was something I couldn't stop thinking about.

It was about just how powerful and quick Espeon was. It could clearly predict Electivire's movement, and its speed and reflexes were further enhanced by its psychic abilities as well. It had an unbelievable amount of psychic energy, possibly infinite from what I could tell.

Volkner's Electivire had enough power to send Leaf's Venusaur flying across the ring in a single punch, and it had taken three fully powered Psychics cleanly, with Espeon barely looking tired.

Just how could any Pokémon possess that much power if it wasn't a legendary? Was it just that well trained, or was Espeon that special?

I think it was a combination of the two.

"Tomorrow's the last of the qualifying rounds," said Blue after he finished his sandwich, everyone listening closely. "By the end of tomorrow, I should be in the quarter finals. They're letting us use three Pokémon instead of two now."

"Who are you facing?" I asked.

"Drake of the Elite Four. Top ranked trainer from Hoenn, no one's better from that whole region except for him." said Blue.

"Cynthia looks to be in great shape this year." Oak said.

"So does Leaf," I said. "I don't think there's anyone who can beat her Espeon, except for you."

"I've only done it once," Blue admitted. "Besides Red, I've been the only one able to do it at all."

That made too much sense.

"How'd he beat her?" I asked. "Let me guess, with his own Espeon."

"His Snorlax helped too," said Blue. "That was during the last World Championships before he disappeared."

If Espeon was this great, then I was glad it was a Pokémon I supposedly shared a spiritual connection with according to the monks.

Oak, Inoru, and Blue were still finishing their dinners while the rest of us were talking, already done. Crystal checked something on her Pokégear, all of us clearly ready to go.

Blue nodded. "You all can go on, I'll see you tomorrow by Ring Eleven for my next match."

Ash pushed his chair in, following me for some reason along with everyone else when I decided to walk off from the restaurant.

"So, do any of you think we can actually reach this level someday? Even the second strings on a lot of everyone's teams here are amazing." wondered Crystal. "I didn't think Pokémon could ever get this good at battling."

"I know I will, I don't know about the rest of you," Gary said proudly.

Crystal snorted loudly at this this, making Gold chuckle and Gary glare at her.

"What even makes everyone's teams here so good?" Ash asked. "I get they have a lot of experience, but that can't just be the key to everything."

I began to walk a bit aimlessly in the direction of the rings and back towards Jubilife Stadium.

"From what I understand, it's their strategy. Picking strong Pokémon and then grinding away years at tournaments isn't what makes them great. I think they know they have to choose Pokémon that really click with them." I said.

"That's kinda obvious I'm not going to lie." Gary laughed.

"No, it's deeper than just that," I responded. "It's like Blue said, your starter has to be a Pokémon you're destined to start with and build your whole team around. Your whole battling style, your strategy. Each of your Pokémon don't just need to be good, you need to intrinsically understand and improve them because you understand each other."

Ash smiled at Gary. "Not so obvious now is it?"

"Shut up."

I approached the rings used for the qualifying rounds approaching Jubilife Stadium. I recognized a few members of the team of trainers Cynthia brought with her.

A few teenagers, including a girl with blue hair, who obviously was Dawn, and a young Barry and Lucas.

They were practicing in the rings, likely because they had nothing better to do like us while waiting for their older coaches compete tomorrow.

Barry had chosen Turtwig for his starter, training with a Grotle, Lucas, Dawn's male counterpart from the video games with black hair and a red beret, was training with a Prinplup, sparring lightly with a Monferno.

"Sinnoh people." Gary scoffed. "They don't look that great."

They did honestly, Gary really had a penchant for acting tough when he knew he was around strong trainers.

Just judging by how Dawn's Monferno warmed up practicing basic drills with Lucas' Pokémon, I could tell their team was heavily skilled.

We neared the edge of the ring, a few of us leaning on the railing to get a better look, a few others chatting and using our Pokégear.

Suddenly, the blonde in the group turned towards us and spoke.

"I'm sorry, don't you all have somewhere to be?" asked Barry.

Crystal was confused. "Sorry?" she asked.

"It's rude to stare, you guys are trying to steal all our moves!" Barry pointed towards us.

"Yeah we can just move on," I said.

Gary didn't appreciate this one bit. "We're not going anywhere, you can't just boss us around like that!"

"This isn't a private Gym, it's a public training area while the tournament is between rounds," Crystal said. "We're fine where we are, if you're uncomfortable, you have to go."

It was a rare occasion when Crystal agreed with Gary, so I could tell something was brewing.

"Just ignore them Barry," said Lucas, turning away.

"Nice hat." Gary laughed at Lucas' beret.

I didn't like the hat that much either but I didn't think it was worth making fun of.

"Nice hair," Barry muttered. "If it was any messier it would be like you had a Sandslash on your head."

A few people laughed, and Gary's hand instinctively went to his belt to reach towards his Pokéballs. "You're one to talk about hair. Wanna back that up in the ring you-"

"Excuse me," I heard a light voice say. "What's going on over here."

"Oh- Ch-Champion Cynthia." Ash stuttered.

Besides her status in competitive battling, I didn't blame Ash for his reaction. Cynthia had some of Clair's overwhelmingly intimidating beauty, but had a far kinder and softer appeal.

"These people just showed up and started spying on us, doing their best to get an edge over us in future competitions," Barry said.

"Now hold on, this is a public ring." muttered Cynthia. "However, it seems like things were escalating when I walked over."

"They made fun of Lucas." Dawn, who had been quiet until now said.

"Who's they?" Cynthia's expression changed, glaring over at us.

Everyone inched away from Gary, who smiled nervously.

"It's my fault Miss Cynthia," I said quickly.

Cynthia turned to me. "You must be Nico."

"You've heard about me?"

"Of course I have, the first monk from the order of the sprout sages to ever compete. The best Junior trainer from Johto and Kanto."

"Well I wouldn't say the best-"

"I would," Cynthia said strongly.

Cynthia looked over at the group of me, Crystal, Gary, Gold, and Ash. "I think the safest way to resolve this is with a battle."

"Heck yeah!" Gary laughed.

Barry nodded. "Let's go."

"Not you two." said Cynthia. "Dawn, how would you like to battle Nico?"

"It would be my pleasure." Dawn told her coach.

I heard Blue's voice. "I thought you lot might be over here."

Gary turned. "How'd you know we were here?"

Blue glanced at his little brother. "A few people saw you all walking back towards the Colosseum. Cynthia," he said stiffly. "How are you doing?"

"Just fine thank you. I was going to suggest a battle between your protege and my own." Cynthia looked towards me.

"Well Nico is actually mostly self taught." he said.

"His performance in the ring suggests otherwise, along with his line up." Cynthia crossed her arms, likely referencing my Growlithe. "Should we get this show on the road?"

"I don't know, Nico, do you need to warm up first? Or are you backing down from the challenge?"

"I don't need a warm up, I'm in."

Everybody began to prepare the ring for competition and Blue took me aside. "Whatever you do, don't lead with your starter. It'll all make sense later."

Then, he left without another word.

…

Gary spoke to me before I walked to the trainer's box. "You didn't have to stand up for me you know."

"I know, but I did it anyway."

Gary seemed to appreciate it as our friends spoke to me.

"Good luck Nico," said Gold.

"Yeah good luck." Ash said as Crystal then spoke too.

"Yeah you got this."

I turned towards the ring and they walked away.

Cynthia and Blue were both presiding as judges over the match.

Dawn fixed her white beanie throwing a Pokéball forward, releasing a Luxio.

"Come on, let's go Growlithe!"

"Begin!" said Cynthia.

There were a few cheers around the ring when the match started, and immediately it was evident that Luxio was quite solid.

I actually snuck out my PokéNav mid fight to get a look at its possible entry and stats by how impressed I was.

Growlithe was almost timed with a few simple Sparks right off the bat as he attempted Tackles, just barely dodging.

Growlithe landed the first hit of the match, a very solid Ember when Luxio drew a bit closer, wanting to use her Thunder Fang.

"There you go." I said.

It wasn't too damaging, but forced Luxio to keep her distance for a bit.

Luxio caught Growlithe with a basic counter, stepping back to make Growlithe's rudimentary Flame Wheel, which was really a very explosive fiery Tackle, zapping Growlithe with a strong Spark, releasing electricity from its body and instantly changing angles in case Growlithe struck afterward.

Growlithe shook it off, barking and chasing Luxio around the ring attempting to tackle her again.

"Come on boy, use your Ember!" I said.

Luxio had side stepped Growlithe so widely that after kicking up a large dust cloud in the process, he almost smacked himself against the side of the ring.

Dawn coached Luxio calmly. "You're doing good, keep your distance, watch your timing."

Growlithe missed another Ember widely.

"Good, stay moving." I heard her say as Growlithe began to look a little nervous.

He wasn't used to Luxio's style, the Electric type was built heavily around counters and timing, he got hit so quickly with Spark that one time he was wondering what was going on.

Eventually, Growlithe began to fight a bit patiently and waited for Luxio to make the next move.

Growlithe managed to land another Ember directly on Luxio's chest at the same time as Luxio latched onto his back with Thunder Fang.

The two tussled for a bit, merely wrestling like a pair of puppies.

"Stop!" Cynthia shouted.

Dawn's Luxio wasn't anything special, it was simply very calm and relaxed. Growlithe's Embers merely didn't bother it despite them landing flush twice. For the rest of the match, something became very clear to me:

Luxio and Growlithe possessed a very equal amount of physical ability, it wasn't like one's attacks were better than the others, Luxio was just calmer. Had better timing, and understood the distance Growlithe needed to land his attacks, and for Luxio to land hers.

The reason why was simple, Luxio had excellent footwork, Dawn had likely spent a lot of time working around very simple traps. Drawing in a little closer, baiting an attack, making it miss, and immediately countering with the same attack, Spark, and moving aside.

Growlithe was being led around the ring like a bull and a matador.

"Growlithe, calm down! You're falling for the same trick." I said.

He was hit three separate times with the same attack, there was really nothing he could do despite my coaching. He knew he had to deal some sort of damage with how many hits he had taken, and Luxio was calmly just biding her time.

Luxio eventually finished off Growlithe with a simple but very powerful lower level version of Discharge.

Luxio used Charge to generate electricity within her body, and then smacked Growlithe away with Tackle, blowing through his own that he was trying to set up, drawing closer and closer slowly but surely.

Growlithe quickly rose back to his feet, but I could see small yellow shocks sparkle through his legs and flank starting up from his paws, wincing.

"Stop!"

Cynthia raised a hand to her right, towards the red Trainer's box, looking directly ahead at Blue.

Blue seemed to need a moment, thinking while he looked at Growlithe. After a few seconds, he raised a hand toward Dawn.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Winner." Cynthia said proudly as I heard Barry, Lucas, and a few of the Sinnoh trainer's cheer.

I recalled Growlithe. "Good effort buddy."

He certainly lost, but I think he could've kept fighting for a bit. But I agreed with Cynthia, risking a fight during Paralysis was dangerous.

I took a deep breath. This was going to be anything but easy.

"Do it Ursaring!"

Ursaring sharpened his claws when I sent him out.

He roared so loudly that all the static producing fur on Luxio shook with wind flowing through it, the Electric type not even flinching at the Roar.

Luxio charged with Electricity, starting to blur around the ring.

Ursaring's eyes began to dart around the arena, and I could see the size of the crowd grow out of the corner of my eye.

He growled, managing to time Luxio perfectly with Slash.

"No!" I heard Dawn shout in surprise.

I saw her grip the railing behind her Trainer's box raised slightly about the ring, her eyes widening.

Luxio shook her head, getting back onto her feet.

Ursaring bounced in place, still in his karate stance.

Luxio didn't make her next attack obvious, roaring loudly when sending Spark Ursaring's way. He merely sidestepped while spinning, and chucked a huge piece of the ground using the momentum of the dodge as Luxio began to charge at him.

"Stop!"

Rock Slide landed flush, Luxio actually flinched. Glad we'd been able to work on that.

Again, Luxio shook it off.

I was too into the fight to show any shock on my face.

"Continue!" Cynthia shouted without hesitation.

Dawn's team had it all, good training, trust in her words, adaptability, speed, strength, timing, skill, everything. A part of me wondered if I could win this thing.

Ursaring began to track Luxio around the ring, bouncing on the balls of his paws, his claws up and his guard prepared.

And then, Luxio hit Ursaring so hard the crowd gasped.

Luxio timed Ursaring just as well as she timed Growlithe earlier, except this time, she was far more ferocious in her strike, putting everything behind it.

Ursaring got in range to hit Luxio with a Slash combination, explosively dashing forward, almost leaping forward so hard he broke apart the earth beneath him, as he attempted fully powered punches to Luxio's head and body.

Interrupting the combination in its tracks, Luxio blurred forward, and it looked like a thunder bolt hit Ursaring directly in the stomach.

Paralyzed, with the wind knocked clean out of him, Ursaring actually took a knee, which had only been done before against the toughest of opponents.

"Stop!" Cynthia said as Luxio was still recovering from landing the strike, shifting so quickly around the ring she kicked up a dust cloud.

"You stay on him the second he gets up!" Dawn said as Luxio chirped and nodded.

"Luxiii!" she howled proudly.

I had a decision to make quickly.

How badly did I want to win this fight?

Ursaring could actually get hurt if he went on, and I still held a bit of pride that my team, for as many hits as they have taken and given, never had gotten injured. Did I risk it, even if it meant defeat?

The crowd was watching and growing, cheering, all of my friends, all of Dawn's watching too.

"Ursaring, fight like today is your last chance ever! Use Earthquake!"

Cynthia nodded, looking forward at the middle of the ring. "Continue fighting!" she said loudly.

Luxio was about to do her best to interrupt the attack again with her own but Ursaring actually leapt over the charging Spark Pokémon. When he hit the ground, the bellow Ursaring released was almost deafening.

"Raaaaa!"

Ursaring's claws almost glinted in the early afternoon sun, and when he struck the ground, trying to blast the ground apart as if he was trying to destroy it with everything he had, he erupted the earth apart like a ripple effect.

I had to grab ahold of the railing from my blue side Trainer's box, wincing through the tiny bits of earth and dust released into the air.

I guess the crowd never had to deal with that, always being too far away from the battles and protected by force fields, but up close, man, it felt like I took that hit.

I was so proud of Ursaring, even if he didn't win, he toughed it out, fought through a bit of possible Paralysis, and having the wind knocked out of him, to perfectly execute a move we'd barely practiced until now.

Through the dust cloud, I saw Luxio step forward.

When the dust settled, Luxio was on very shaky legs, struggling to stay standing at all. Eventually, she collapsed.

"Come on, you can push through!" said Dawn. "I know it!"

When Luxio began to draw back onto her feet beginning to charge up with electricity again, and Ursaring was about to strike, Cynthia shouted.

"Stop!"

She turned to Dawn. "Recall Luxio, concede the round."

Technically, judges couldn't say things like that, but it was an unofficial match that was more or less a practice fight. Cynthia was using her pull as Dawn's coach to, from what I can tell in her eyes, consider Luxio's safety.

The girl actually took a moment, but withdrew Luxio.

There was a beat.

Cynthia stopped the entire match to discuss something with Blue, I was too far away to hear what they were saying.

When Cynthia went back to her post at the main referee's box, she spoke. "Blue and I are permitting the match to continue. The remaining two Pokémon on either team will proceed without the normal reservations for Trainers under the age of seventeen."

I turned to Dawn, knowing what that meant.

The only rule during the match was don't get knocked out, all out.

I'd only technically fought that way once before, but it was in a cave, to prevent Silver from covering up Team Rocket's abuse and murder of SlowPoké for his own profit.

"We shall not stop the match in case we believe one of the Pokémon are under threat of injury. Until a Pokémon or Trainer themselves no longer wish or are able to continue, the match will not be stopped. Do you two accept?"

"Yup." I said in a voice as tough as I could make it.

Dawn nodded without a hint of emotion.

"Continue!"

Dawn sent out a Floatzel in a flash.

"Watch out for those claws at all costs, give it everything you got." said Dawn. "Everything!"

Floatzel appeared to nod.

Ursaring and Floatzel proceeded to try to maul each other, I hadn't seen Pokémon spar this hard during one of my own matches in my whole life.

Ursaring was warmed up from taking down Luxio, and it appeared to have fully recovered from whatever damage Luxio dealt, at least mentally.

While Floatzel more or less moved as fast as Luxio, this time using water type moves to enhance her mobility, evasion, and speed, she certainly hit much harder. Which was fine, because in one exchange, Ursaring proved he could take it.

Floatzel's Aqua Jet was really a jab, a Quick Attack except Floatzel was able to blur across the ring creating a water slide beneath her feet with the water she could release.

Ursaring was starting to move around the ring when he got caught flush, right in the chin, he reeled, slipping his head off angle from the next blow.

Floatzel chittered, sliding along the edge of the wall as she slipped a Rock Slide.

Ursaring didn't appreciate the strike at all and missed where Floatzel stood with his claw by a mile. But it didn't matter, the intention was to create an Earthquake.

"Perfect!" I shouted.

The earth again erupted like an egg smacking against concrete, and the resulting yolk was an unstoppable wave of earth spilling in all directions.

Ursaring's power was outmatched by Floatzel's speed, she activated Aqua Tail, and hyper powered water covered her tail. Floatzel struck the ground so fast and hard that she blew right through the Earthquake, preventing any damage furiously.

She proceeded to combine it with Aqua Jet again, this time flying at Ursaring with a flying kick with her tail.

Ursaring side stepped, grabbing Floatzel by the arm and hurling her aside.

Mid air, Floatzel was unable to reposition properly, but Ursaring smacked her from long range already with Rock Slide, my bear Pokémon quick enough to actually see and use the opening.

Floatzel and Ursaring traded blow after blow, both landing flush, Slash, Aqua Tail, even Surf.

Ursaring was strong enough to block and take the Surf head on, but the sheer amount of water Floatzel summoned knocked him off his feet, sending him right into the barrier around the edge of the ring behind him.

He was staggered, dodging Floatzel's Quick Attack by the skin of his teeth, barely rolling aside in time to let Floatzel hit the wall with her white glowing fist.

She hissed, drenching Ursaring again with a Water Gun this time. He blocked, raising his hands to avoid the attack, but Floatzel was running towards him the whole time.

Ursaring saw the building Aqua Tail through his guard, slipping his head off angle as he spun into a counter. It was a kick I had seen in my past life doing karate, a spinning hook kick, catching Floatzel directly on the chin.

"Nice work Ursaring! Perfect."

Floatzel blinked repeatedly, hissing after she landed and going right back into the fight.

"Let's go Dawn!" I heard someone shout when Floatzel and Ursaring traded four consecutive attacks, all missing by a hair.

Ursaring attempted to sweep Floatzel's leg as I had taught him but was countered, walking directly into Aqua Jet while doing so.

I then heard a crack. And the crowd gasped, a few groaning.

I thought Floatzel had broken Ursaring's jaw, my Pokémon was not getting up. I was a bit worried, and I drew my Pokédex.

"Ursaring is unable to battle." it said he was fine without any injury, and I sighed, drawing my Great Ball. "Floatzel is the winner!"

Many in the crowd cheered as I withdrew Ursaring.

"That was your best round ever, you might have won this for us."

I looked at the Pokéball in my hand holding Vigoroth, and then I looked forward across the ring at Floatzel. It looked warmed up, not winded, but still, I could tell that it was only a hit or two away from being knocked out.

I sent out Vigoroth already giving advice.

"No room for error! You still have another round ahead of you though."

Vigoroth silently wiped his claws together, getting into his fighting stance.

Floatzel versus Vigoroth was a competitive match, but Vigoroth held a clear edge.

Vigoroth's claws were simply too quick and struck too hard for Floatzel to get close at all to land with Aqua Tail or Quick Attack. Using Water Gun also was mostly ineffective, Vigoroth could block it for days, and had the reflexes to avoid Floatzel's attacks to his knees since she knew aiming high would block his view of her.

Vigoroth still fought cleanly, and he only needed to land one blow.

It was Counter, a reverse punch to the body, or really, a Slash to the body just as Floatzel began to strike with Aqua Tail at midrange. Vigoroth's claw glowed red so I knew he had activated the Fighting Type move perfectly.

Floatzel did not get up from that in fact, I was mostly sure that her rib had been seriously injured, she was sputtering up water and slumped over on the ground.

"Winner of this round, is the blue Trainer, Nico!" said Cynthia raising a hand amidst cheers to her left.

Dawn was a bit pale, not knowing what to say when she withdrew Floatzel. I don't think she was used to anyone hitting Floatzel as cleanly or as hard.

If it was any consolation, even after fighting Silver, neither was I with my own team getting hit like this.

It took a moment, but Dawn released what I guessed was her main.

"Go Monferno! Wrap this up!"

I could finally face Dawn starter to starter, this was what Blue probably wanted to tell me. Vigoroth would've wasted energy fighting her first few Pokémon.

Which meant Monferno was a Pokémon he needed every ounce of energy to fight.

"You're fighting Bayleef here." I said, making Vigoroth take notice. "Bayleef, at close range, and better."

Vigoroth looked back at me, almost worried. I merely nodded to him.

"Oro!" he said, nodding and then the crowd roared.

Monferno began to fight Vigoroth so well that I almost longed for the days we fought Bayleef. Vigoroth had certainly improved since then, but Monferno was the most versatile and creative Pokémon in the ring I'd faced.

Again, I wish I was against Bayleef.

I couldn't tell if it was using Mach Punch or Close Combat from how fast it was hitting Vigoroth with super effective fighting moves. However, it only took being hit once for Vigoroth to realize the pace and severity of the match.

Monferno was basically like a moving fireball with fists. In fact, because he was so dextrous, he could strike upside down, using his legs like they were flaming fists during a very powerful Flame Wheel.

However, Vigoroth countered with Endure, taking the blow head on before instantly transitioning to a haphazard Body Slam. It wasn't pretty, but the shoulder tackle was furious enough to send Monferno flying.

I realized that the best way for my Pokémon to learn blows we'd only practiced moderately in training was to battle. To battle and battle and battle like they were battling now:

All out.

Sure it was a whole lot more dangerous, but besides Bayleef, Dawn's Monferno was the first Pokémon I met that could actually beat Vigoroth.

But Vigoroth wasn't making it easy, he and Monferno were going toe to toe seconds after their last exchange right in the center of the ring.

The crowd was cheering, I could hear Ash and Gold with them.

They'd trade hits as if it were a phone booth fight, dash to a different area of the ring, Monferno would disengage with Flame Wheel, a fiery flying spinning kick, just barely avoiding Vigoroth's jab of a Slash by an inch.

Monferno had Ember, but he only used it once to realize that Vigoroth was more than skilled enough to avoid being hit with special long range Fire type attacks.

Not that it mattered, Monferno was a heavy physical attack, based in Normal, Fighting, and Fire type moves, which was right up Vigoroth's alley since the day he stepped into the ring.

But I started to notice something between the exchanges. Monferno was the first Pokémon I'd ever seen to outfight Vigoroth at close range, just at trading strikes. Sure Vigoroth wasn't outright losing, but he was not getting the best out of the majority of the times they tried to hit each other with all out claws.

"Close combat!" shouted Dawn.

Monferno roared, still lit aflame from head to toe.

"Take it head on, hang in there," I said.

Vigoroth tucked his chin in, protecting both his head and body with his arms and using Endure again.

Monferno blurred up to Vigoroth and proceeded to hit him four straight times with two punches, a round kick, and a punch.

"Now!" I said as Vigoroth lowered his guard and grabbed Monferno before he could move away in time, rushing forward in a combination attack with Fury Swipes. It didn't matter that Monferno was quick enough to sneak in a Mach Punch to the body, he was already overwhelmed by the sheer number of punches Vigoroth sent his way to commit, forcing him to angle out directly into the hardest hit I've ever seen Vigoroth strike any Pokémon with.

Vigoroth's Slash was a round kick, a hard one, with his rear leg, landing directly on Monferno's head.

"Ooh!" I heard someone in the crowd say as several gasped.

Monferno collapsed, stumbling backward, falling onto his back.

"Finish him now!" I said, knowing Vigoroth might not have another chance.

I blinked and somehow, Monferno had grabbed onto Vigoroth.

He was clutching onto Vigoroth's arm, slipping his head out of the way of a punch. I could tell Monferno's vision was probably still blurry, but he was grabbing onto Vigoroth at all costs. Hitting him with Scratch multiple times, Vigoroth roared.

"Perfect!" shouted Dawn, gripping the railing with both hands. "Keep that up! Try Flare Blitz!"

Monferno had lit Vigoroth on fire, and to make matters worse, he was digging deeply enough into his chest with both claws that he had Scratched aside a large portion of Vigoroth's fur.

I knew this was obviously bad, Vigoroth didn't know how to pull him off, "Get him off of you-"

Monferno's roar seemed to be louder than every sound in the ring, the cheers, my coaching to Vigoroth, Monferno's flames glowed hotter, and the Playful Pokémon's face even seemed to sprout fire through its war cry.

Monferno spun mid air, planting his feet directly next to Vigoroth as he struggled, swiping aimlessly around him to try to pull, Scratch, or Slash at anything to get Monferno off of him. Monferno then twisted holding Vigoroth with both hands, using all of his strength to toss Vigoroth over his hip, slamming the bigger Pokémon into the ground next to him so hard he cracked the ground apart.

So hard that a few rocks were raised into the air afterward.

The earth was already choppy from the earthquakes previously in the match, but now there was a Vigoroth-shaped hole directly into the ground.

Monferno didn't need to finish him off after that, Vigoroth wasn't moving.

I blinked, gulping, slowly pulling my Pokédex out.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle. The winner of the match," Cynthia raised a hand to her right and the red side. "Dawn!"

My Pokédex told me that Vigoroth was knocked out, just looking at him could've told me that, but more importantly, it told me the only real injury Vigoroth sustained was a fractured shoulder bone. He'd need to rest after he visited a healing station, but he'd be fine.

Monferno wasn't injured on the other hand, but damn near it. His head was bruised from how hard of a kick he took to the head, and he had taken Slash multiple times all over his body judging from the state of his fur. He was panting, nursing what looked like a deep cut on his arm from one strike in particular Vigoroth hit him with.

I recalled Vigoroth, unable to think or say anything for a moment.

My first real loss. There was no bad judging, it wasn't like Cynthia or Blue were stopping the match at decisive moments right when I could strike, and then claiming my Pokémon couldn't fight anymore when it could.

I had actually lost.

The crowd cheered after I crossed the edge of the ring and shook hands with Dawn.

"Great fight," Dawn said.

I said nothing, merely shaking her hand.

It was hard to know what to feel after losing to an opponent that was as pretty as she was.

"You okay?" Ash asked as I stepped out of the ring.

"Yeah," I said blankly. "Vigoroth barely chipped his shoulder, he'll be fine."

"No I mean," said Ash. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I shrugged.

I was not.

…

There were a few more matches people had while practicing, and I asked myself.

How?

It wasn't my team, they had gone well beyond what I expected from them today. While Dawn's team was certainly good, I don't think they were particularly more experienced than mine. I hadn't won based on a matchup, it wasn't like I got out special attacked and couldn't compensate with more physical based attacking.

I was in the bleachers, far from the action, it was already nightfall a few hours later and I had already healed up my team. Blue and Gary had returned to their hotel room, and everyone was able to give me some space.

As I was expecting, Dawn was top ranked. What I wasn't expecting, was that she was ranked first, higher than any person in the Sinnoh region who wasn't a Gym leader, Elite Four member, or Champion like Cynthia, who was World Champion, and her coach.

According to her record, Dawn had been training since she was twelve, taking medals since she was thirteen, and winning her third ever Gym badge a few months ago at fourteen. Her profile I found on my PokéNav, had so many medals, meaning she was heavily experienced in battling, and winning battles for years.

The rankings, like mine back home in Johto and Kanto, did take into account the speed of when you won medals, and how early in your career you could win them.

However, she'd been in Pokémon battling related schooling and events since ten, meaning she didn't qualify for a lottery system like most other Youngsters. She had proven above and beyond in her younger years she had what it took to be a Pokémon trainer, the Sinnoh sect of the Pokémon League knew she deserved a starter.

She won her first ever tournament with a very young Chimchar just last year, and later, an event that was technically the equivalent of Youngster World Championships, making me feel a lot better about a 3-2 loss.

As close as the loss would seem on the scoreboard, she knocked out three Pokémon of my Pokémon against myself who knocked out two of hers, this loss was decisive. All said and done, our best Pokémon were out on the field against each other, hers was scratched up, a bit tired, but not injured, and mine knocked out completely cold.

The loss told me two things.

Mainly that it might take past two years for Vigoroth to evolve to Slaking, at least one more and a few months from where I'm at right now considering how many months I'd trained Vigoroth, and that Flare Blitz and Counter shared something in common. They both needed to be that perfectly timed strike with perfect technique, in order to reach maximum effectiveness. And Flare Blitz didn't have an exact technique behind it, it could be a strike, or a throw like Monferno pulled off on Vigoroth, which was more or less tackling it to the ground or almost headbutting it.

I put my PokéNav away.

I was upset for several reasons.

I was mad that I lost.

I was mad that I lost with so many people watching. Sure we weren't part of the real World Championships of course, but it happened with two actual World Champions officiating the match as judges.

With tons of people and teams around who were competing, including our friends from our respective regions.

And I was mad, because I know this loss was completely my fault. Dawn's Pokémon had lots of experience, plenty more than mine, but I couldn't tell during the match because I was too focused on my Pokémon, but I had watched the footage later and it was clear:

Dawn's Pokémon deeply trusted her.

Floatzel was in trouble a couple times against Ursaring, and Dawn made several decisions with her coaching that combined with the trust Floatzel placed in her, brought her the win.

I was sure my Pokémon trusted me too, but I don't think I coached them enough, or as well as Dawn coached hers.

I simply did not do enough research on Dawn's team, or strategize well enough prior to the match. Regardless if I didn't have time since the battle was impromptu, I should've been able to on the spot.

The floodlights to the rings outside Jubilife Stadium began to be shut off.

"All coaches and teams still practicing or sparring, exit the competition area immediately. The tournament will resume at 9:00 tomorrow. All competitors, please leave the competition area immediately. Thank you." I heard a WCPL official say over the intercom.

I began to walk down the bleachers, shaking my head as I walked back to my hotel.

I needed to work more with Growlithe, even if he did above and beyond how he realistically should've against a team like Dawn's, he needed a stronger special arsenal for high end ranged combat. His Ember was great, but I think he was getting mature enough to start trying Flame Burst.

He had gotten bigger, his reflexes better, and his body quicker and more agile. His Ember had been getting hotter, the flames wider and bigger.

I had researched how exactly a Growlithe became an Arcanine, and it wasn't just putting a Fire Stone on a Growlithe's forehead and it just evolved. It was a process that still involved a Fire Stone, but was much more complex than that.

This loss today really woke me up to just how little experience I had at the end of the day when it came to battles.

Dawn might've had one fewer badge than me all said and done, but still had a stronger strategy I think, she had tested her team through more, and her starter simply fought better than mine.

Dawn's Monferno knew Close Combat, Flare Blitz, Flame Wheel, and Mach Punch, and more importantly, he knew how to use them extremely well.

Blue was right, I was going to hit a wall unless I figured out special attackers, and I felt like I was already hitting it.

I still had a long way to go when it came to learning Pokémon, but now I had a goal. To beat Dawn someday, because I don't think she would sit idly by after I came a single Pokémon away from beating her.

…