Ash and Daisy both took out their Poke Balls.

Eevee appeared on Ash's side of the battlefield. Initially on the very edge of the pool, she quickly realized where she was and swam to the nearest platform, still fairly close to Ash, but a bit of a distance away.

"This is it, Eevee!" Ash announced with cupped hands. "Let's win this!"

A determined growl escaped from Eevee's throat in response.

A bright flash of light appeared on Daisy's end of the battlefield, and Ash immediately recognized the large fish that floated in the water in front of the beautiful Gym Leader.

It was a Seaking.

It was a fairly commonly used Water Type species in Indigo, particularly in Kanto. They were known for their powerful swimming capabilities, even by Water Type Pokemon standards. They also possessed a very dangerous horn on their head, perfect for combat.

"Battling a Seaking certainly won't be easy in this environment." he grumbled irritably. He knew they'd be at a disadvantage, but if this first impression was anything to go by, Daisy really was going to do everything in her power to exploit the nature of this aquatic battlefield in her favor. Cupping his hands again, Ash called out to his friend. "Eevee, be careful! That Seaking is going to be a very strong swimmer!"

A bit nervous, Eevee nodded, but never took her eyes off of her opponent.

Violet's voice echoed across the pool.

"Aaaand… BEGIN!"

Seaking sprung into action immediately, almost as if it was an automatic, scripted reaction. Ash's brow furrowed as he and Eevee watched the fish tear through the water of the pool at speeds even greater than Ash had predicted. Eevee was already sweating as her aquatic opponent rapidly circled her platform.

Not wanting Daisy to get the first strike, Ash pushed his nerves aside and shouted out with the utmost determination, trying to mask his own tension both for Eevee's sake and his own.

"Jump up and use Swift!"

With the large fish's body half buried in the water, and the platform that Eevee was standing on slightly elevated, just enough to the point where she was left conveniently unable to get a clear view of her opponent without standing on the very edge (where she herself would also be in more danger of attacks), Ash knew that taking aim would be difficult, even with a move like Swift. Getting airborne could fix that, hopefully.

Springing off of the platform, Eevee opened her mouth as the golden stars erupted from her throat. Although she was aiming directly for Seaking, both she and Ash knew that the fish was moving too fast for her to hit her mark.

Which was where the homing nature of the attack came in. The stars trailed after their target, and although it wasn't perfect, Eevee had gotten much better at concentrating the attack.

Unfortunately, it wasn't absolute, but even worse, Seaking clearly wasn't willing to take the risk, opting to dip completely underwater and leave the stars to pound into the aquatic surface.

Ash and Eevee mutually grimaced as the Evolution Pokemon landed on all fours, splashes erupting in the sections where the Swift struck the water.

It was just as he thought, Daisy was going to play dirty, and so were her Pokemon.

No doubt many challengers would deem such a thing to be unfair. But Ash knew better.

Battles weren't about being fair. They were about adapting and winning with whatever strategy you could come up with. In order to make it as a trainer, you needed to accept that you were going to be on the receiving end of (and maybe even use yourself) tactics that were as frustratingly difficult to deal with as your opponent could come up with.

As if to taunt him, Daisy's voice sounded across the battlefield, the infuriatingly beautiful blonde standing on the other side of the pool with hands cupped to her mouth and fire in her eyes.

"Betcha Eevee's wishing to breathe underwater right about now, eh, Ash?" Eevee's eye twitched at the snarky comment.

Ash tried to ignore it. He's dealt with Gary before, he wasn't going to let this throw him off of his game.

"Eevee! Keep moving, hop from platform to platform!"

Ash's order was spoken immediately after the large fish resurfaced and set its sights on Eevee yet again. This time, the water type found its target galloping across the battlefield, moving at high speeds enhanced by Quick Attack as the Evolution Pokemon jumped between platforms.

But Seaking was fast enough to keep up, blitzing through the water and leaving small waves in its wake. Almost like a speedboat disguised as a fish. If Ash didn't know better, he would have insisted that there was an engine in that thing.

"Water Pulse!"

A sphere of glowing blue water shot out of Seaking's mouth just as Eevee neared the edge of the next platform. The startled quadruped was forced to take a backwards to narrowly avoid the attack that would have painfully blasted her into the pool, but now her momentum was gone, and Seaking was free to clear the modest distance that was currently left between them.

"Use Bounce!" Daisy had a prideful grin on her face as her partner sprang up from the waves of the pool and smacked its body into the yelping, much smaller Eevee. Ash mentally cursed as his friend was sent flying into the water, Seaking already making its way back into the pool as it sped in Eevee's direction with a glowing, purple horn at the ready.

Poison Jab. Now with Eevee's mobility greatly reduced, her opponent was already going in for the kill.

But Eevee was not helpless, and Ash grinned (but chose not yet to sigh in relief) as a second round of golden stars escaped from her mouth, this time traveling just over the water towards the rapidly approaching fish.

Not to Ash's surprise, Seaking ducked underwater once more. Theoretically, it could remain there to attack Eevee from underneath, where she was defenseless, but it would be harder to track her if its only lead was her flailing legs beneath the pool's waves.

In any case, however, the speedy advance of Eevee's opponent meant that Seaking was closer to the golden stars as he dove underwater. Splashes of water obscured the Evolution Pokemon's vision as the golden stars impacted the water in pursuit of their target.

Despite Seaking's speed, it was already too close to the stars to fully outmaneuver them. Ash and Eevee weren't underwater, and therefore didn't witness the Swift attack painfully pelting into the fish's body.

Eevee took the time to warily swim towards the nearest platform and climb onto it. Her body was mildly aching from Seaking's Bounce attack, but had suffered no damage that went beyond superficial in nature. She powered through the relatively minor pain to make her way up the platform as quickly as possible, in fear of Seaking erupting out of the water at any moment.

That moment came as she made her way to the top and turned her gaze back to the pool, a Shadow Ball forming in her jaws as she prepared to fire it at a moment's notice. She let loose as the large fish sprang up from under the water, some of its bruises hidden by the water itself as it looked around for its target.

Eevee had fired the orb of distorted, ghostly energy just before Seaking had found her, and despite Daisy's frantic warnings, it was too late to avoid a direct hit from the ghost type move.

A small grin of satisfaction (which Ash tried to keep modest) formed on the boy's face as a large splash of water was set off from the explosion of the attack's impact. Seaking was blasted into the depths of the pool as Eevee backed away to the middle of her platform for extra security.

As Seaking once again emerged from beneath the depths of the pool, this time with far more visible bruises, Eevee jumped into the air at let loose another series of golden stars, which Seaking sped around the battlefield to avoid, all the while attempting to make its way closer and closer to the platform occupied by the evolution Pokemon.

The Shadow Ball had hurt the fish considerably, but although its movement was slightly slower (which was just barely noticeable to Ash and Daisy, and unnoticed by the paranoid Eevee), most of the damage had been superficial. Nevertheless, the fish's body was aching as it skillfully weaved around the platforms, putting its knowledge of the battlefield and experience fighting in this pool to good use as natural instincts took over for the speedy water type.

Deciding that Eevee needed more security, Ash called out. "Eevee! Make your way to the middle platform!" The larger size of the platform would mean that Eevee could put more distance between herself and the water. Due to the platform's greater width, it would be a lot harder for Seaking to take aim at her without leaving the water as well.

Seaking may have had a massive advantage in the pool, but so did Eevee outside of it. Even if the larger platform wouldn't give her the same amount of space to move about as a traditional battlefield, Seaking would have no way of moving around reliably unless it was skilled with Surf, which Ash doubted that it was. Pokemon that used that move were quite rare in battles of this level. If he had a few more badges, however, Daisy most likely wouldn't have pulled that punch.

Seaking's Bounce attack wuld still prove to be a problem, but Ash would much rather deal with that than its speedy swimming.

Eevee complied, making her way across the battlefield as fast as she could. Although Seaking pursued, Daisy found herself biting her lip in mild agitation as Eevee reached her target, quickly hurrying over to the center of the pool's largest platform.

It's length and width were probably twice as much as any other platform on the battlefield, so standing in the center would make things significantly less convenient for her opponent.

Seaking seemed to know this, too, spending the next couple of moments simply speeding circles around the platform without doing anything.

Eevee warily turned her head, another Shadow Ball already forming in her jaws as she prepared to take aim at the first chance that she got.

A couple more direct, head-on hits from the attack should be enough to greatly injure the water type Pokemon, Ash theorized.

But that depended on whether or not Seaking ever came into view. Right now both present combatants were in a position where neither could conveniently attack the other, unless one of them made their way out of their own comfort zone. Which they would have to do deliberately.

It was frustrating and tense, but nowhere nearly as frantic as before.

Daisy's voice suddenly rose over the pool. "Use Bounce to get onto the platform! Rapid fire Water Pulse from above!"

Seaking sprang out of the water, and although Eevee fired her Shadow Ball the moment the fish was clearly in her view, a quick Water Pulse escaped from the fish's mouth the intercept the attack.

As it was better charged up, Eevee's attack broke through and ascended upwards towards the descending fish, however, the impact from Water Pulse had destabilized the sphere, and although the Ghost Type Move smashed into Seaking head on, it was no longer at full power.

Seaking was propelled upwards, but righted itself in midair as it opened its mouth and rained down small, but frequent, orbs of glowing water onto the platform, Eevee dashing in circles with Quick Attack to avoid them as they pelted the surface. As Seaking descended, golden stars shot out from Eevee's mouth, but even with the homing nature of the attack, she couldn't keep enough focus on her target in order to aim it properly.

Seaking landed on the platform, mildly close to the edge, and just as Eevee prepared to bolt forward with a Quick Attack, a Shadow Ball forming in her jaws as she hoped to strike the fish point blank, Daisy shouted out an order that made Ash's eyes widen in horror.

"Scald!"

Scald was a very strong water type move that was particularly nasty not just for its power, but for its nature. Although most water type moves stereotypically utilized cold, but not freezing, water, Scald was the opposite: its water was boiling hot.

Even as the frantic boy screamed "Out of the way, Eevee!" It was already too late. The Shadow Ball dissipated as Eevee let out a deafening scream of horrific pain, a surging stream of boiling water erupting from Seaking's wide-open mouth as the fish drenched its unsuspecting opponent.

Eevee was sent rolling across the platform as the the powerful blast pushed her away, left sprawled out near the center, her back exposed as she wriggled around desperately, as if the constant movement would somehow shake off the excruciating amount of pain that now relentlessly clinged to her.

She was suffering, and Ash was already reaching for his Poke Ball as Daisy let out her final, decisive command.

"Poison Jab!"

With another Bounce, Seaking propelled itself into the air, this time dipping its body even more blatantly downwards so that its horn, now glowing purple and dripping with toxic fluids, was now pointing straight down as it descended towards Eevee.

Although she attempted to roll out of the way, a quick Water Pulse was fired down towards the evolution Pokemon and exploded near her side, the shockwaves from the impact catapulting her backwards and into Seaking's range once again.

Although it wasn't perfect anymore, due to the Water Pulse not successfully sending Eevee back to her exact, original position, Seaking's attack still landed, the quadruped letting out an even worse scream than before as the large fish came down horn first onto her back. The combination of the water type Pokemon's weight, and the fall, only served to further the impact of the Poison Jab as the glowing, purple horn very easily sank into Eevee's body. The evolution Pokemon's breath caught in her throat even as the horrific pain greatly worsened tenfold, the quadruped suddenly finding herself unable to vent her pain as the poison took hold and assaulted her bloodstream. As Seaking pulled itself out of Eevee's back, its horn dripped with her blood, and the large, bleeding wound left behind from the attack was impossible to ignore.

One more Water Pulse sent the already helpless Evolution Pokemon into the water, and as Seaking flopped its way off of the platform and back into the pool, its opponent motionlessly floated on the surface of the aquatic battlefield, eyes still and mouth slightly hanging open.

Ash was suddenly unable to prevent his mind from flashing back to the brutal outcome of Nebula's battle with Brock's Geodude.

"Eevee is unable to battle!" Violet called out with raised arms. She then gestured one of those arms towards Daisy. "Seaking wins!"

Daisy's mood was the polar opposite of Ash's as she cupped her hands and shouted out to her partner.

"That's the spirit, Seaking! Now let's clean up three more, okay?"

Ash's face was pale as he silently aimed his Poke Ball at the unconscious evolution Pokemon, returning Eevee in a bright flash of red light.

"You did a good job." he whispered to the Poke Ball in the most soothing tone that he could muster, even as his voice shook from frustration and guilt. "We'll win this for you."

As he clipped Eevee's Poke Ball back onto his belt, once again did the boy lock eyes with Daisy, who was smirking knowingly.

"What's wrong, Ashy boy?" as Daisy fiddled around with a strand of her perfectly groomed hair, her tone of voice was both flirtatious and condescending. As though she were trying to seduce someone, yet also talk to a misbehaving child. "Can't handle the simplest of tasks? And here I thought that your plan was for Eevee to have the advantage on land."

Daisy wasn't aware of the nerve that the "Ashy Boy" nickname had conveniently struck, but Ash tried to push that aside as neither Gym Leader nor challenger proved willing to remove their gazes from one another.

/

Misty had looked like she had wanted to vomit as Seaking's horn pierced Eevee's back, and as Ash returned his partner, she could only imagine how her timid friend must be feeling at this moment.

Noticing Tyrunt's distressed expression at Eevee's fate, she cautiously raised a hand to rub the infant's head, which seemed to improve his mood, if only just a little bit. It probably would have been more comforting if it had been Ash and Valiant doing it.

"She'll be okay." she whispered as softly as possible. She hated comforting people, but this Pokemon was a baby that had just seen a friend get brutalized by one of her older sister's partners. Who knows what kind of effect that would have? "These things happen, but the Pokemon Center can fix anything, I promise. She'll be back to normal soon, and then you can tell her how happy you are to see that she is okay."

Tyrunt smiled at that and chattered in a somewhat more enthusiastic tone of voice. But even as her hand left the top of his head, Misty's face was somber as she returned her gaze to the pool, Daisy's back to her.

"Come on Ash, use your head." Misty bit her lip as the frown refused to leave her face.

/

"Will the challenger please send out his next Pokemon?" Violet's voice snapped Ash out of his guilt driven stupor as the boy realized that he had gotten lost in analyzing Daisy.

"Sorry!" he quickly called out as his hand made its way to his belt.

Seaking had taken a fair bit of damage against Eevee, but was still battle ready. Pikachu had electricity on his side, and could move even faster than Eevee could. On a surface level, fighting Pikachu would be a more difficult version of fighting Eevee for the large fish.

Nebula would be in a peculiar position. Her position from the air would make her a difficult target, but she had no reliable ways of luring in the large fish unless it willingly bounced up towards her.

Valiant's barriers could defend against that Poison Jab, and that pesky Water Pulse and deadly Scald, but the Kirlia wasn't nearly fast enough to keep up with the speedy water type Pokemon, and Ash didn't want his friend to tax himself out by abusing Teleport too much.

Making up his mind, Ash took out a Poke Ball and watched Pikachu materialize in front of him.

Kneeling down to look his starter in the eyes, Ash's face was serious.

"Eevee's down." he said, trying to keep his voice even. "Avenge her." Ash neglected to bring up just how badly that finishing blow had been. It would rile Pikachu up for sure, but there was no reason for both of them to be plagued by emotions. Pikachu would likely be furious, and Ash was already disturbed and shaken. Just hearing that Eevee had been defeated should be motivation enough for the mouse, without the anger that could potentially cloud the young mouse's judgment.

It wouldn't be nearly as bad as if Nebula had been the victim, but that was besides the point. Pikachu would be enraged at the prospect of any of his teammates being defeated in such a manner.

The electric rodent's initially nervous face hardened at the news of Eevee's loss, and the young boy's starter Pokemon nodded boldly. Ash grinned a bit at his first partner's determination.

As Pikachu made his way to the nearest platform, Violet gave the signal, and the match had officially resumed, Seaking immediately speeding towards the rodent's platform.

Unlike Eevee, however, Pikachu had been in a Gym battle before. He had been the sole survivor of one. His facial expression was not nearly as vexxed as his friend's had been.

That's certainly not to say that he wasn't tense, of course, but he had been in a high stakes battle before.

What's more, he was an electric type Pokemon in a water type Gym, in an arena that was filled with and made of water.

But as Seaking took to circling around Pikachu's platform, Ash knew that it would not be that simple.

Sure, he could attack the water with a Thunderbolt or Electro Ball and score a fatal hit, but that would just make the water hazardous for everybody. Even Pikachu himself wasn't immune to electricity, and if he was knocked into the water it wouldn't spell good news for him.

It would certainly spell certain doom for Seaking, but Ash doubted that everybody on Daisy's selected team was incapable of properly maneuvering on land. Many water type Pokemon were suited for land too, of course. And the battle with Eevee had already proven that Daisy and Seaking weren't willing to let land-based combat stop them…

In the long run, it might not be worth it.

Daisy probably realized that herself. But she had no way of knowing if he had come to the same conclusion or not. If she didn't want Seaking to get zapped, she might not be as hesitant to order the fish to leave the water.

That didn't mean the match was a guarantee, however. One wrong move and Pikachu himself would fall victim to Scald and Poison Jab. A deadly combo.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out with cupped hands. He pointed forward as he took note of the young mouse's ears jolting upwards. "The center platform!"

Pikachu complied, and it immediately became clear to both Daisy and just how much faster that this rodent was than Eevee. Pikachu blitzed across the battlefield, expertly hopping from platform to platform as Quick Attack did its work.

What's more, Seaking still wasn't quite at top speed anymore thanks to Eevee's efforts.

To Daisy's dismay, Pikachu was in the middle of the central platform in no time, but she glared ahead as her face tightened.

"Bounce and Mud Shot!"

As the pursuing Seaking neared the center platform, it sprang out of the water and took aim at Pikachu with a large glob of mud that rocketed out of its mouth. As Pikachu carefully (and swiftly) sidestepped the attack, Seaking landed on the platform and rocketed upwards once more, and once again fired down yet another Mud Shot, this time directly downwards.

As Pikachu rolled to the side, Seaking began firing down a barrage of Water Pulse after Water Pulse on Daisy's command, and its horn was glowing again.

But Ash had already predicted that this would happen. "Double Team!" a frustrated Daisy was left cursing under her breath as Seaking was suddenly left with two Pikachus dashing about the platform. The barrage of Water Pulse struck neither of them, both targets moving around masterfully and at quick speeds as Seaking was forced into dividing its attention between the two of them on its way down. Both Pikachu and his clone ran around the platform and performed abrupt, sharp turns as frequently as possible. All without losing an ounce of momentum.

Eevee could learn a lot from Pikachu's incredible mobility, as good as she already was at it herself, and although Ash knew that she was determined to catch up, it was pretty clear that among the runners of the young boy's team, Pikachu was the undisputed champion.

Pikachu couldn't take aim at his target, but his frantic movements and use of Double Team also meant that Seaking couldn't hit its mark as the large fish came down on the platform with Poison Jab.

But Daisy was relentless. "Scald!"

Ash screamed for Pikachu to get out of the way, and thankfully, he mostly did, the young rodent winced in great pain as some of the boiling water brushed against his side during his attempt to weave his way away from the blast.

"Knock it upwards!" Ash pressed the opportunity. Seaking was on their turf now, and like Hell that damned fish was ever going to outmaneuver Pikachu on land.

Ignoring the pain, Pikachu kept on running, slipping into a Quick Attack as a powerful Zap Tail collided with the side of Seaking's body. The fish's loud shout of pain echoed across the pool as it was sent flying upwards, Ash already ready with a follow-up command.

Time to end this quickly.

"Thunderbolt!" the full force of a Quick Attack carried Zap Tail had already been a massive blow to the fish's body, and bathing Seaking's body in lightning before he could recover from the blunt force of the previous hit that it had received from Pikachu would be a surefire way to put the Water Type Pokemon down as quickly as possible.

"Mud Shot!" Daisy seemed to realize this herself, as her voice was frantic and panicky.

Unfortunately for her, Seaking was too busy reeling from the pain of Zap Tail as the bright bolt of lightning erupted from Pikachu's body, the large fish screaming in pain even more horrifically than Eevee ever had as the electricity enveloped it.

And as Seaking landed on the platform with a THUD, its body still sparking from the static that rolled across its body as a reminder of the tremendous blow from the electrical blast, Pikachu, as if to further ensure this was the end, rushed forward and expertly performed a small flip as he drove an Iron Tail downwards onto the large fish's head.

Seaking was as motionless as Eevee had been just a few moments prior.

"Seaking is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" Ash grinned and gave Pikachu a thumbs up (which his Starter joyfully and triumphantly returned to him) as Violet gestured her outstretched arm towards the direction of the younger trainer.

As a sullen Daisy returned her partner and muttered soothing words to its Poke Ball, a certain hothead sitting on the bleachers behind her had a devilish smirk dominating her face.

"What's the matter, Daisy?" Misty's voice was toned with a mocking mimicry. "Can't handle the simplest of tasks?" she sighed dramatically, a hand on her forehead as she closed her eyes, Tyrunt curiously observing her blatantly exaggerated theatrics. "Such a shame. And here I thought battling on land wasn't supposed to be a problem for the big, bad, Seaking!"

"Can it, runt." Daisy's voice was an abrupt growl, and Ash almost had to do a double take at how different the tone was, too far away to see the dark expression in the blonde woman's eyes. But as Misty smirked victoriously while her merciless gaze bore into her eldest sister's back, Daisy must have realized the tone of voice that she had spoken in, as she was suddenly shaking her head rapidly before struggling to return her gaze at Ash to an even expression.

The boy had no idea if his hotheaded friend had been sticking up for him, or if she had just taken the obvious opportunity to jab away at her sister…

... Who was he kidding? It was probably the latter.

Pikachu paced around the center platform as Daisy took out a second Poke Ball. The mouse stopped on all fours as a bright flash of light revealed his second opponent.

Ash recognized the bulky, blue Pokemon as a Poliwhirl. The evolution line that it was part of was probably the most widely used in Indigo. Ash wasn't sure if there had ever been an Indigo Conference without at least a few Poliwrath making an appearance, and Politoed were decently common as well.

Ash knew a decent bit about this particular Pokemon, and as he ran through its potential abilities in his head, his stomach suddenly sank.

Of the three abilities that it was known to have, two of them especially worried Ash, due to the aquatic arena: Water Absorb and Swift Swim.

Water Absorb not only made it immune to water, but allowed it to use the water that its body made contact with, in order to heal wounds. That would mean that the pool that served as their battlefield would essentially be a fancy, aquatic healing chamber that Poliwhirl could use whenever it wanted, assuming it had the ability. It wasn't perfect, as the Water Type could still be tired out, and from what he knew, frequent utilization of the ability could also be tiring eventually, but even wearing it down would be significantly more difficult if it didn't have any injuries to further weaken its body.

Swift Swim would provide an astronomical speed boost when exposed to high amounts of water, most typically a body of water, or in the rain. If Poliwhirl had this ability, then Ash and his team would have yet another aquatic speed demon to deal with. All the water type would have to do is take a dive into the water and start moving.

Either ability would make for a tough fight…

As Poliwhirl swam its way to the nearest platform (it wasn't moving as fast as Seaking, but it could be holding back for now), Daisy's composure seemed to have been fully regained as she leveled a confident grin in Ash's direction. Ash did his best to respond with his own.

"Hope you're ready for this one." she chirped as her fists pressed firmly against her hips. "He loves fighting."

Looking over to the water type, Ash could see Daisy's point proven as Poliwhirl absentmindedly smacked his fists together.

"Begin!" Violet's voice sounded across the battlefield.

"Get to Pikachu!" Daisy's order was immediate as Poliwhirl dove back into the water and started swimming towards the central platform housing the young rodent.

Ash paid attention to the water type's speed. Pretty fast, for sure, but so far nothing out of the ordinary…

"Stay in the center of the platform!" Ash commanded. Pikachu's ears twitched in acknowledgment as he planted himself firmly in the middle of the platform, but stood on his hind legs in an attempt to get a better view.

It didn't take long for Poliwhirl to reach the platform, and climbing up was an even quicker process.

It occurred to Ash that Poliwhirl's body being soaked in water could actually work to Pikachu's benefit. Perhaps the reason why Pikachu's electricity was so effective on Seaking wasn't just because of the type matchup, but because of the water covering the large fish's body.

Theoretically, the same would hold true for Poliwhirl, but it also meant that Poliwhirl's potential Water Absorb ability would be in constant effect. It certainly wouldn't be the same thing as the water type's body being completely submerged in the pool but the healing factor would still be at least somewhat effective.

Deciding that he didn't want Daisy and Poliwhirl to get the first strike, Ash cupped his hands and shouted over the pool.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Mud Guard!" Ash's eyes widened at Daisy's counter-order.

Pikachu roared with determination as the powerful bolt of lightning erupted from the young mouse's body. Even as it blitzed towards its target, however, Poliwhirl raised his clenched fists, which suddenly became coated with mud, along with his arms as well. The young boy winced in frustration as the bulky water type Pokemon crossed his arms and intercepted the electrical blast. The water covering his body still invited some of the sparks from the bolt to mildly singe his skin, but the majority of Pikachu's attack had been effectively blocked.

Daisy was smirking, and it seemed as if she just couldn't help herself as the beautiful Gym Leader allowed herself to gloat to the young challenger.

"We get electric types in here every other day, kiddo!" she smirked even harder through her hands, which were now cupped to her lips. "Maybe you should try harder!"

Ash snarled at that, but quickly caught himself, rapidly shaking his head to get the frustration out of his thoughts.

Just in time for Daisy's next order. "Mud Fist, Poliwhirl!"

Despite his bulky appearance, Poliwhirl was decently quick as he dashed towards his significantly smaller target, arms still coated in mud. As he raised one of his fists, Ash could see a faint glow through the mud.

This must have been a combination of some sort of punching move (Mega Punch, perhaps?) and a mud-based move that Poliwhirl had used to coat his arms.

It was clever use of a ground type move to defend against electricity, and equally clever to fight against electric type Pokemon. The likely force of the blow, combined with the ground typing of whatever mud-based attack was being used, would certainly spell significantly bad news for Pikachu. Especially since durability wasn't the young mouse's specialty. Ash didn't doubt Pikachu's capability of taking hits, but he certainly wasn't capable of tanking strong attacks, or powering through seemingly endless punishment.

Pikachu reacted fast, however, and although Poliwhirl was quick for his appearance, he still paled in comparison to the blazing speed that the young mouse exhibited (That was Pikachu's specialty). What's more, even as Pikachu darted to the side in an attempt to get around the water type, he immediately activated Double Team, sending a clone running in the opposite direction.

As Poliwhirl turned around, both Pikachu were already finished circling around to the other side, now charging at him simultaneously. Poliwhirl raised his arms to block both of them, the clone fizzling out as the real Pikachu struck his opponent's left arm with Iron Tail. Poliwhirl was clearly strong, but was only using one arm to block, not wanting to risk committing both arms to the wrong Pikachu. This, coupled with the momentum from Pikachu's Quick Attack, allowed the electric rodent to send the bulky water type staggering backwards, pushing Poliwhirl's arm away as the young mouse sprang off of his feet once more to drive a well-placed Brick Break into his opponent's gut.

Although Poliwhirl winced in pain as he staggered back from the blow, he shook it off pretty quickly. The bulky body of the water type no doubt served as a cushion to soften such blows.

"Scald!" Daisy commanded. Ash's heart skipped a bit at the order, but it was thankfully followed by temporary relief as Pikachu dodged the attack.

As Poliwhirl began to turn his body to redirect the attack to Pikachu, the young mouse saw his chance, charging forward with Quick Attack to slam a powerful Zap Tail into the bulky Pokemon's side. The Scald attack immediately ceased as Poliwhirl cried out in pain, the water type Pokemon sent rolling to the side of the platform by Pikachu's merciless blow.

Ash's earlier fears, however, were confirmed as Daisy's face twisted into a nasty smirk. For such a beautiful woman, it was a fairly dissonant facial expression, even moreso than her prior aggression towards Misty after Seaking had been defeated.

"In the water!"

Already on the platform's edge, Poliwhirl rolled over just enough to allow himself to fall straight down into the pool. Ash couldn't see it, but he knew that the large bruise on the water type's side was being healed by the second as the water made contact with it.

Water Absorb. The ability to heal wounds by exposing them to water, while also granting the user complete immunity from water type attacks. And in such an aquatic battlefield, Poliwhirl had constant regeneration on his side.

Ash snarled in distaste. This was worse than Seaking. Daisy really was a pragmatic woman, for as odd as Misty's sisters all seemed to be. They were Gym Leaders for a reason, after all.

As Poliwhirl made his way back to the platform, body now fully rejuvenated, Daisy thrusted her arm forward with newfound vigor.

"Mud Bomb!"

Curving his body back a bit, Poliwhirl released a barrage of sizable balls of mud that diagonally flew upwards before descending downwards towards their target. The mud exploded against the surface of the platform (coating the parts that were impacted) as Pikachu bolted away from the attack, charging towards his opponent in an effort to ram into Poliwhirl head first with a Quick Attack.

But Poliwhirl had already fired a deadly Scald at the advancing mouse, and although Pikachu successfully avoided the attack, he was forced to halt his advance completely to lessen the risk of being hit, rolling onto his belly and quickly making his way back to his feet, just as Poliwhirl advanced on him with another Mud Fist.

With no time to dodge, Pikachu swung a metallic tail at the mud-coated fist. Although the two attacks met one another perfectly, Pikachu quickly found that his opponent had much more strength behind his own attack than he himself did. Although the metallic coating from the Iron Tail protected Pikachu from harm, the force of Poliwhirl's blow sent the electric type rolling off of the platform, and Ash grimaced as Pikachu quickly found himself in the water.

As Pikachu descended towards the pool, Ash blinked as the mouse uselessly swung an Iron Tail down onto the water, creating a massive splash as he landed in the pool.

A force of habit, Ash realized. Pikachu was so used to using Iron Tail to catch himself on solid ground after a fall. Such a tactic would be useless in the water, but Pikachu's reflexes and muscle memory had taken over.

Ash mentally cursed at himself for that. It should have occurred to him sooner that they would have to work on that. Why did he always realize these things when it was too late?!

Daisy's smirk was vicious as she immediately followed up with another command. "Mud Bomb again!" Making his way to the edge of the platform, Poliwhirl fired a barrage of mud at the young mouse as Pikachu desperately attempted to swim away.

Although the training prior had certainly given the young mouse decent maneuverability in the water, it still left a lot to be desired. As the mud struck the water beside Pikachu, the resulting splash knocked the electric type off balance as the mud dirtied the nearby areas of the pool.

Thankfully, however, Pikachu quickly regained his balance before Poliwhirl could land a direct hit on him, and just in time to respond to Ash's next order.

"Double Team, hurry!"

The Move was a lifesaver, and as Pikachu split into two separate Pikachu's that both swam in opposite directions, Poliwhirl thankfully made the wrong choice, as the target he went after first ended up being the clone. Although the clone fizzled out as Poliwhirl struck with a second barrage of mud (which caused even more splashes to erupt and dirtied the water even further than before), the ordeal had thankfully given the real Pikachu just enough time to climb onto another platform.

By now, Daisy must have realized that Ash was too nervous to have Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the pool, because her next order wasn't lacking in any confident tone of voice.

"Back in the water! Chase after Pikachu!"

Poliwhirl did just that, and if he wasn't already completely healed before, he certainly was once he dove into the water again, swimming rapidly in Pikachu's direction.

Ash considered his options. Thunderbolt would certainly cause serious harm to poliwhirl while in the water, but the water would become hazardous to anyone who was knocked into the pool at that point. And Nebula was vulnerable to electricity…

Not to mention, Poliwhirl would be constantly regenerating while in the water, so although he would certainly take a tremendous amount of damage, the constant healing factor at work would cushion things for him at least a little bit.

Biting his lip a bit, Ash made his choice. They'll hold off on zapping the water for now.

"Pikachu! Back on the central platform!" The center platform had more space to fight on, and Pikachu needed to engage Poliwhirl without knocking him into the water. Not to mention, they needed to find a way to prevent Poliwhirl from retreating into the pool every single time he took damage, which was easier said than done.

Ash snarled through his teeth. Why, oh why did Daisy have to pick a Pokemon with Water Absorb?!

Daisy must have picked up on the young boy's frustration, as the attractive Gym Leader's face was laced with a satisfied smirk. She had full control over what circumstances the battle continued under, and both trainer's knew it.

As long as she had the advantage in terrain and Ash didn't, the only thing the young rookie could do was make the best with what he had. There was no way to put an end to the disadvantageous nature of his position. Or Pikachu's.

"Follow Pikachu to the platform, Poliwhirl!" As Pikachu arrived at the platform, Poliwhirl swam towards it, and quickly climbed back up.

A Thunderbolt from Pikachu was once again blocked by two Mud Fists that intercepted the attack, the drenched Poliwhirl still receiving singed marks on other parts of his body, but not receiving serious damage.

And his drenched body would probably be slowly healed by the water already covering him… Damn it!

"Double Team and Iron Tail! Don't know him into the water!" Ash took the opportunity as Poliwhirl advanced towards the mouse with raised fists.

Pikachu complied, splitting into two as he bolted towards his target.

Poliwhirl was smart, however, firing a barrage of bubbles at one of the Pikachu to determine if it was the real one.

And it turns out that it was, as Pikachu curved to the side and avoided the attack. The other Pikachu must have been the clone.

That clone fizzled out as it struck against Poliwhirl, who now used both of his fists to intercept Pikachu's attack.

The exchange gave Ash an idea, however. If he could get Pikachu to have the clone avoid attacks if targeted in those situations, then the opponent would have no way of knowing which Pikachu was actually the clone…

A topic for another time, however, as right now, Pikachu, despite his high momentum, was struggling against the combined force of both of Poliwhirl's fists.

The young rodent surprised Ash, however. As Poliwhirl's two Mud Fists pushed away Pikachu's Iron Tail, Pikachu repositioned himself into standing on his two front paws, swinging his body to curve his still metallic coated tail underneath the bulky water type Pokemon's mud-covered arms, taking aim at the lower part of Poliwhirl's body.

A satisfying SLAM! sounded as the blue Pokemon was struck in the stomach, staggering backwards while holding his belly in pain from the sudden impact.

"Zap Tail!" Ash saw his chance.

"Water Pulse, downwards!" Unfortunately, so did Daisy.

As Pikachu dashed forward to deal a major blow to his opponent, he was knocked away by the shockwaves of a bright, blue sphere made out of water exploding right down in front of him. As Pikachu rolled away, Poliwhirl recovered and stood upright, having powered through the pain from iron Tail to launch the quick counterattack.

"Mud Bomb, while charging forward! Poliwhirl advanced upon Pikachu as the young rodent was forced to roll to the side to avoid the barrage of mud that was sent his way. The shockwaves were still too close to the electric mouse, however, and Pikachu was sent rolling to the side far more than he had been trying to, and was no longer on balance or in control of his movements.

"Steady yourself, Pikachu!" Ash tried to order. This was getting bad.

"Scald!" Daisy shouted triumphantly. There it was.

Pikachu screamed as the powerful blast of boiling water bathed his body just as his body's rolling began to slow. It wasn't too long before he had been left in the same helpless state as Eevee had been, and Poliwhirl was already towering over him-

"Mud Fist!"

SMASH!

It was all she wrote as Poliwhirl's clenched fist came down on Pikachu's head, coated in mud. Having just begun to rise up (trying to power through the pain from Scald) the moment before his bulky opponent's attack brought him back down, Pikachu now lay motionless on the platform as Poliwhirl backed away from his now unconscious target.

A super-effective hit aimed right for the head was not a pretty outcome for the young electric type.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Poliwhirl wins!"

Ash was bitter as he recalled his dedicated starter. He didn't even look at Pikachu, for fear of seeing whatever monstrous bruise had been left on the electric type's head. Even worse, this wasn't even the first time that Pikachu had lost in such a manner, as Ash suddenly found himself recalling the time that Paul's Elekid had quite literally punched the young mouse face-first into the ground. This outcome brought back bad memories.

Now he definitely didn't care how pretty Daisy was. She could be the most smoking hot woman on the fucking planet, for all he cared. She and Poliwhirl were going to pay for this.

"You did good." Ash tried to keep his frustration down as he whispered into Pikachu's Poke Ball. "Just rest for now."

As he clipped Pikachu's Poke Ball back on his belt, Ash eyed Poliwhirl with a great deal of scrutiny.

In addition to his obvious brute strength, the bulky Pokemon also had surprisingly good reaction times, enough to reliably keep up with Pikachu's movements and block his attacks. And then, of course, there was the Donphan in the room: That damned Water Absorb ability. As long as that was in place, there was no limit to how much the Water type could heal itself. And it still wasn't tired out just yet.

Ash weighed his options carefully.

Nebula was certainly strong, but that wasn't the issue here. Even with enough strength and momentum to keep up with Poliwhirl's own considerable power, she still had the regenerative capabilities to contend with. She would have to either knock him out quickly or find a way to keep him out of the water while hammering away at him. Same with Valiant, who was also powerful.

But which one was better suited for that?

Valiant did have access to thunderbolt and Magical Leaf, both of which would be huge against water types, but Thunderbolt could be easily blocked, given that Poliwhirl had Mud Guard, and Valiant couldn't fire off the attack as quickly as Pikachu could.

At the same time, however, Nebula ahd the aerial advantage, but it would be hard to properly utilize such a thing while simultaneously trying to keep Poliwhirl out of the water.

The boy thought very frustratingly about his options, quickly realizing that there was no miracle cure.

Nevertheless, he supposed that Valiant's Teleportation and Confusion could hopefully be effective at intercepting poliwhirl's attempts at entering the water. Not to mention that the Kirlia seemed to be the best at thinking on his feet among everybody on the team.

Valiant appeared in front of him with a determined stare, immediately picking out Poliwhirl, who was still standing on the central platform.

"Valiant." Ash spoke quickly as he got the young Kirlia's attention. "That Poliwhirl has the Water Absorb ability. He can heal himself by exposing himself to water. Get yourself to the central platform and do not let him into the pool!"

Valiant nodded enthusiastically, and Ash almost grinned. As frustrated as the young boy was, the Emotion Pokemon's obvious determination was infectious.

"And watch out for his Scald attack." Ash quickly remembered to point out. "He'll try to spray you with boiling water, so be ready to use your barriers whenever you need to. His punches are also incredibly strong. He brought Pikachu down with one after hitting him with Scald."

Valiant absorbed his trainer's words, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as potential strategies formed in the young emotion Pokemon's mind.

On the central platform, Poliwhirl was back to smacking his fists together, this time excitedly.

"Begin!"

At the sound of Violet's voice, Valiant immediately sprang into action.

It only took a couple of Teleports for Poliwhirl to suddenly find himself staring down the young Kirlia, who leveled an even glare at his bulky opponent.

Ash nodded in approval as he went over his options for attack.

Thunderbolt wouldn't work. Poliwhirl would just block it like he had with Pikachu. Although Valiant's Thunderbolt was strong, Pikachu's was still more potent, so if Poliwhirl's Mud Guard could tank most of Pikachu's attack, it could do the same with Valiant. Poliwhirl could also react fast enough to stop Pikachu's blast, and Valiant couldn't fire the electric type move quite as fast as the young mouse could.

But if Ash was right about Mud Guard being partially made up of some kind of ground type move, then a grass type move should have a better chance at breaking through.

"Magical Leaf!" Ash commanded, but Daisy immediately shut him down.

"Icy Wind!"

Even as Valiant formed the bright green orb that fired off the glowing leaves in Poliwhirl's direction, the water type released a surge of frozen air that stopped the leaves in their tracks, ice covering their exteriors as they fell harmlessly onto the platform. Some of the frigid air made its way over to Valiant, and would have given him a painful chill had he not erected a quick Light Screen to protect him from the cold. The golden cube that he had enclosed himself in was faint and limited, nowhere near his full power, in order to conserve energy. But it still managed to do its job by keeping him warm in the face of the portion of the Icy Wind that had reached him.

Ash bit his lip once more. He should have known that they'd have a counter to this as well. They probably got just as many grass types among their challengers as they did Electric Types.

Daisy didn't gloat this time, however, simply taking to pressing on further.

"Rapid-fire Mud Fist!"

As Valiant dropped his Light Screen, he immediately raised up a Reflect (and this one was indeed at full power this time) as Poliwhirl lunged forward, arms coated in mud as the bulky water type unleashed a barrage of strikes. The opposing Pokemon's arms moved quite fast as he hammered away at the glass cube that Valiant had shut himself within, tiny bits of mud scattering about on impact.

Had Valiant still been a Ralts, the glass barrier would not have lasted long. Poliwhirl was not lacking in brute strength and would have easily made quick work of the shield that Valiant had raised up for himself. However, since evolving, the young Kirlia now had a far greater amount of energy to put into his moves, and that included his barrier techniques. What would have easily crumbled from the bulky water type Pokemon's merciless barrage of punches now absorbed far more blows than it could have in the past.

Poliwhirl didn't give up after the first few attacks failed to break through the young Kirlia's defenses, however, and a war of attrition began, one Pokemon putting all of his energy into keeping his shield up, and the other putting all of his own energy into shattering that shield.

Valiant grimaced as small cracks began to form on the glass cube, the young emotion Pokemon bracing himself for the shockwaves as Poliwhirl's attack began to progressively break through more and more, making faster progress as the barrier continued to weaken.

SMASH!

One final strike shattered Valiant's shield completely, the wind force pushing against the young Kirlia as the Psychic stood as firmly as he could.

It had been a good moment of offense against defense as Poliwhirl had gone to work breaking through Valiant's barrier, and Ash just hoped that the ordeal had taken more out of the water type than it had Valiant himself. Then it would be worth it.

As the Reflect broke, Poliwhirl pulled back a now-glowing leg, bathed in white light. A Mega Kick. But Valiant had already put Telepathy to work, hyper analysing the Water Type's body language to telegraph his next move, predicting just how (or where) the bulky Pokemon would strike at him.

So when Poliwhirl launched his powerful foot with the intent on bashing the young Kirlia in the side of the head, Valiant had already ducked under the blow, moving in to execute a counteroffensive now that his opponent was open.

As Valiant charged right for Poliwhirl in order to close what miniscule distance was now left between them, a rainbow-colored beam was fired from his hands, the point-blank Psybeam scoring a direct hit on the wailing Poliwhirl's stomach.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Although it was a quick assault, with not enough time to put in his full power, Valiant's raw power had received an exponential spike after his recent evolution, and Poliwhirl was finding it to be entirely at his expense as Valiant drove the blast into his opponent.

"Keep it up, Valiant!" Ash quickly encouraged as Poliwhirl staggered backwards, struggling not to fall onto his back as he clutched his belly in pain. "Hit him with Magical Leaf next!" They might've had enough time to get away with a Thunderbolt now that Poliwhirl was still reeling from Valiant's previous attack, but Ash didn't want to press his luck in that department. After all, Poliwhirl had still been able to fight back even after getting struck by Pikachu. It was resilient enough to power through the pain, and Valiant was capable of using Magical Leaf a decent bit more quickly than he was capable of using Thunderbolt.

Valiant complied in an instant, already firing off the barrage of bright, glowing leaves. At the last second, Poliwhirl unleashed an Icy Wind to intercept them, but the first few leaves in the front still struck him, even as his own attack began to coat them with ice.

As Poliwhirl flinched from the blow, Valiant had already teleported behind him, a large, pink ball of glowing energy in his hands as the Psychic prepared a Dazzling Gleam. The sphere suddenly extended into a bright, pink blast that hammered its way into Poliwhirl's back. This time, Valiant had charged up to full power, and the young Kirlia immediately saw the fruits of his labor as Poliwhirl was launched forward with a cry of pain, the area of his back that had been hit by the attack singed and bruised as the impact carried him across a decent portion of the large platform.

To Ash and Valiant's surprise, however, Poliwhirl caught himself on his hands, flipping himself around to send a blast of boiling water Valiant's way. The Kirlia had just enough time to raise a Light Screen and stop the Scald in its tracks, but not enough time to put everything that he had into the barrier. Even as the golden cube stopped the water itself, Valiant could feel the heat against his skin.

Ignoring the steam, Valiant kept the barrier up just long enough for the Scald to dissipate, but the steamy air itself was still present as Poliwhirl rushed the slightly frazzled Kirlia.

"Body Slam!" Daisy called out.

Using both his hands and feet to flip himself in the air, Poliwhirl soared high above Valiant, performing a quick midair somersault as he prepared to propel himself down stomach-first on top of the Psychic's head.

Thankfully, Ash didn't need to tell his partner to get out of the way as Valiant teleported to another part of the platform. Ash took notice, however, that Valiant didn't create too much distance between himself and his opponent.

It took a split second for the young boy to realize that Valiant was purposefully staying close to Poliwhirl so that he could prevent his opponent from retreating into the water. The good bit of damage done to the bulky water type by Valiant's Dazzling Gleam understandably wasn't something that the younger psychic wished to see go to waste.

Daisy and Poliwhirl surprised the duo yet again, however, as the bulky water type immediately used the impact and shockwaves from his initial fall to launch himself back upwards again, taking aim at Valiant once more. As the young emotion Pokemon once again teleported away from his path, this time bringing himself to the middle of the platform, Poliwhirl repeated the process, soaring above Valiant's head for a third time.

But as Poliwhirl was launched into the air yet again, Daisy called out a surprise order with cupped hands.

"Icy Wind!"

As Poliwhirl soared above the platform, a powerful blast of frozen wind assaulted the areas that he found himself above, making its way to Valiant as the parts of the platform that were in the path of the blast slowly began to freeze over.

Poliwhirl had already dirtied some of the pool, and now he was going to try and make the platform more difficult to maintain footing on. And as Valiant teleported over to a different area of the platform, one not covered in ice, Ash suddenly realised the plan:

Valiant was further away this time. Which meant Poliwhirl could more easily make his way back into the water and heal himself.

The boy grimaced at that. Daisy was counting on Valiant's concern for the newly iced terrain to distract from his apparent strategy to stay near Poliwhirl's current location. She must have picked up on the Kirlia's strategy just as he had!

She was good, Ash had to admit. An outward aura not nearly as intimidating as Brock, but still a Gym Leader at heart.

Indeed, the moment Poliwhirl landed, Daisy had switched up orders.

"Stop Bouncing! In the pool!"

Valiant's eyes widened as he zeroed in on the water type making his way to the edge of the platform. The icy terrain had minimal effect in inhibiting his movements, Ash realizing that the bulky Pokemon had probably done something like this before, or at least been trained to do it.

Poliwhirl was just nearing the edge when Valiant abruptly teleported in front of him, erecting a sudden glass barrier that his bulky opponent collided with. Although not at full power, due to the haste in which Valiant had created it, it was still enough to halt Poliwhril's advance. However, Valiant was not prepared for the sudden change in terrain, and as Poliwhirl stumbled backwards, gripping his now-bruised face with mild irritation, Valiant felt his hold on

The Reflect rapidly slipping as he suddenly slipped on the ice that he had teleported himself onto.

Valiant attempted to catch himself with his hands, but they too slipped onto the ice, leaving him to fall face-first into the frozen terrain, his face bruised and cold as Poliwhirl regained his bearings.

Daisy saw her chance. "Scald!"

It was all Valiant could do to roll out of the way from the blast of boiling water, and although he avoided the brunt of the attack, he still screamed as his arm was struck. Some of the ice melted from the heat of the attack, but that was hardly Ash's concern as Poliwhirl rushed over to the fallen, wailing Kirlia, a mud-coated arm already raised to strike.

The Mud Fist was intercepted by a weak Reflect that Valiant had hastily erected as the young Kirlia sprang to his feet as quickly as possible. Still dealing with the pain, and with the ferocity of Poliwhirl's all-out assault, the young emotion Pokémon did not have enough time to fully stand up as he erected the glass barrier, and his defenses were immediately shattered by the bulky water type's powerful punch. The impact and wind force of the strike sent Valiant staggering backwards, the bruise on his head from his earlier fall onto the icy floor of the platform now worsening from the force of the shockwaves.

The Kirlia successfully stopped himself just at the edge of the platform, and Ash felt his breath catch in his throat as Valiant teetered backwards, waving his arms as he tried to stop himself from falling.

Even as Valiant successfully righted himself, Ash's relief was only for a split-second, as a nastily smirking Daisy prepared to close out the clash.

"Poliwhirl! Finish this up with Scald!"

Ash could only pathetically shout "Look out!" As the blast of boiling water made its way to Valiant, just as the young Kirlia had successfully regained his balance.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the young emotion Pokemon, the advancing blast of steaming hot liquid threatening to mercilessly burn away at his skin and blast him into the pool.

Ash had already reached for Valiant's Poke Ball, knowing full well that this attack would likely spell the ambitious Kirlia's end. If the emotion Pokemon wasn't done in by the Scald, he would be helpless against whatever follow-up attack Daisy and Poliwhirl had in mind, given that he'd be both agonizing from the boiling water of Scald, and stuck in the pool.

But just as Ash had found himself frightfully wondering how he could ever turn this battle around with just Nebula to battle three Pokemon back-to-back, Valiant had vanished.

And reappeared directly behind Poliwhirl.

The next few moments left both Ash and Daisy feeling as though their minds had turned to jelly.

Valiant flung himself onto Poliwhirl's back, and before any of the spectators could comprehend just what he was about to do, a golden cube of light suddenly encased both combatants.

"What?!" Daisy flinched backwards at Valiant's tactic, and then…

The inside of the golden cube erupted with electricity.

Clinging onto the startled water type's back, Valiant charged up a Thunderbolt and fired it point-blank, with all the power that he could muster. With the Light Screen trapping both him and his opponent inside, Valiant's lightning filled the golden cube, leaving the young Kirlia to scream through grinding, clenched teeth as the electricity burned away at his skin. Tears leaked their way through the emotion Pokemon's tightly shut eyes as he poured everything that he had into the assault.

Poliwhirl wished that was all that was happening to him. On the receiving end of the point-blank blast, which was, along with both combatants, completely enclosed within the golden cube prison that Valiant had willingly created for the both of them, Poliwhirl helplessly screamed in greater agony than any combastant throughout the whole entire battle thus far, as his entire body was bathed in merciless electricity. Making things worse for him was that his body was still wet.

It had to have lasted for at least ten seconds, and as the electricity died down, and the cube fizzled out, everyone was greeted with the sight of Poliwhirl's scorched, almost blackened skin, as a slightly less scorched Valiant stood behind him.

Although Valiant was breathing hard, it was Poliwhirl who had very clearly gotten the worst out of the attack, standing somewhat limp as his body lightly swayed from side to side.

Ash's mouth was agape as sweat dripped down his face.

Had… Valiant… really done that? It was such a genius idea, and to come up with it on his own… and yet he had put himself through so much punishment by doing so.

Was this… really worth it?

Regardless of the risk factor, the overall concept of the strategy had Ash floored. It was almost as though Valiant had come up with that at the last second. A last resort tactic to turn the tide of the battle in his favor. And for as reckless as it was, its effectiveness was showing itself to everyone present.

Regaining his bearings as quickly as possible, Valiant wiped the tiniest of drops of blood from his chin, and fired a quick Psybeam into the bulky water type's back, and Poliwhirl was sent staggering forward as he finally lost his balance and face-planted down onto the platform.

Poliwhirl lay motionless for the next few moments, but nobody present spoke.

Violet must have realised how long she had been staring at the display in bewilderment, because when she finally regained her bearings, her face was colored with the redness of a cherry.

"OHHH-UH-UH-" she stuttered pathetically as she waved a single arm around. Doing her best to stand tall, she seemingly regained her bearings and stature, but the blush on her face did not go away as she raised both of her arms. "Poliwhirl is unable to battle! Kirlia wins!" she gestured towards Ash.

That must have snapped Daisy out of her stupor, as the shocked gym Leader frantically grabbed at her Poke Balls before returning her fallen partner, muttering soothing, yet somewhat hasty words to the orb as she stared at it for a few brief moments, before finally clipping it back onto her belt.

Ash had done his best to regain his composure as well, a grin making its way to his face as he called out to his own partner.

"Great work Valiant! That was amazing!" A smiling Valiant had a small, bashful blush on his face as he turned in his trainer's direction, rubbing the back of his head.

Ash frowned next, however. "Just… don't act too crazy from now on, okay? That could have done a lot worse to you."

It was saying a decent deal, too. Although Valiant was still battle ready, he certainly no longer was at full strength. His deep breaths, and burnt body both gave that away.

Valiant's blush gradually disappeared, his feet shuffling at that as his eyes sank to the platform. He seemed somewhat guilty… although… Was it really his place to feel bad? If anything, Ash felt a bit guilty. After all, Valiant's strategy had been at his own expense. Ash wasn't sure if there was really any need for the young Kirlia to feel remorse. And at the end of the day, he had outplayed Poliwhirl and remained standing proudly afterwards. And the bulky water type had seemed to be fairly strategic. Competent in a subtle manner at the very least.

Nevertheless, Ash's frown didn't stay on his face for too long, a reassuring grin appearing on his face as he and Valiant continued to eye each other. As if he was trying to cheer his partner up, which he was.

Thankfully, it seemed to be working, as Valiant's grin slowly reformed onto his face, the young emotion Pokemon locking eyes with his trainer as the duo exchanged nods.

"Again…" said Ash, giving his friend an approving look. "Great job."

As Valiant turned his attention back to Daisy, so did Ash, the boy locking eyes with the visibly frustrated Gym Leader.

It was almost… satisfying to see the blatant look of irritation in her eyes, but as satisfied as he was to see Poliwhirl finally be beaten, Ash knew that he couldn't credit himself for the accomplishment. After all, that had been Valiant's strategy, not his.

Nevertheless, Ash tried not to take any sense of personal joy from Daisy's annoyance. Her aggravation could be considered her own karma for the tactics that she had been using up to this point, but Ash wouldn't let himself adopt such a petty mindset.

This was a battle. It wasn't always meant to be fair. That didn't mean he wasn't going to be proud of Valiant for overcoming Daisy's "unfair" tactics. And with one of his own, no less.

Daisy finally spoke up after a few moments of gazing into the younger challenger's eyes. Her lips twitched upwards into a smirk, but the look in her eyes remained unchanged.

"Heh…" she grumbled. "That's… eh… some Kirlia…"

On the bleachers, Misty was patting Tyrunt's head as the small infant cheered, pumping up a tiny claw. It was just loud enough for Valiant to pick up on, and the Kirlia's face slightly reddened once again, a feeling of pride building up in his chest as he took on a battle stance.

Raising a Poke Ball, Daisy's face evened out.

"We're both down to half of our teams now, Ashy boy." Ash ignored the nickname. Now the look in her eyes was gradually beginning to match her smirk. "Who's going to run out of steam first, I wonder."

Ash didn't respond, just trying his best to keep his expression even and concentrated, prompting her to scoff after a few moments of silence.

"You're no fun." she exhaled with a sigh. She shrugged with a light smile. "Oh well. I think it's time for a change of pace…"

She lightly tossed the ball upwards with an underhanded throw, and Ash did not even remotely recognize the creature that emerged from the light.

It floated in the water with a happy-go-lucky expression on its face. Its back was a dark-blue, while its underside was a light-blue. The body of the Pokemon was rather round, and the fins were wide enough to almost resemble wings.

All he knew was that this was a foreign Pokemon. It was not native to Indigo, and he had never seen it before.

Daisy's signature lax smile was back, burying her previous aggravation. "Never seen a Mantyke before, have you?" As Ash gave her a confirming shake of the head, she shrugged. "Well, I guess she'll be able to teach you a few things."

Mantyke happily splashed about in the pool, her fins playfully slapping away at the water and sending droplets flying around her as a cheerful cry escaped her mouth. She was certainly a lively one.

"Mantyke," Daisy addressed the peculiar Pokemon in an almost motherly tone of voice (which made Misty recoil in disgust). "Some of the pool near the central platform is dirtied and muddy, and parts of the central platform are frozen. Watch out for that stuff, okay?" As if to confirm, Mantyke began to splash around even more passionately.

"Valiant!" Ash called out, briefly earning the young Kirlia's attention. Ash frowned a bit. "Can you fight?"

At Valiant's confident (but not arrogant) nod, Ash bit his lip a bit, but nodded back all the same.

Valiant may not be at full strength, but he certainly wasn't defenseless. It was a shame they didn't know anything about this species, however. Who knew what they should expect?

"Begin!"

At the sound of Violet's voice, Daisy cupped her hands and yelled out her first order.

"Get to the central platform and use Tailwind!"

"Stay put for now, Valiant!" Ash ordered in turn.

Mantyke blitzed forward through the water, and both Ash and Valiant's jaws almost collectively dropped at the sheer speed of the Pokemon.

She was probably even faster than Daisy's Seaking had been, churning through the water as though she were powered by an engine. As the waves rippled in her wake, Valiant's body tensed, the young Krilia bracing himself for combat.

As she quickly neared the platform, Mantyke began flapping her fins as if they were wings. A gust of wind erupted from her efforts, and she was suddenly propelled forward even more, diagonally upwards as she practically rode the wind in her flight. As the breeze from Tailwind lifted her upwards, the momentum from her speed in the water carried her, allowing her to take off into the air, using the wind that she had created as a vehicle to let her glide through the air. She lost no speed as she left the water, going from swimming faster than Ash and Valiant had ever seen from a Water type Pokemon in person, to maintaining her momentum in the air via use of the wind.

Beneath her, the water in the pool was kicked up into waves as the winds hammered against it, almost serving as a miniature backdrop for her ascension into the air.

She was grinning giddily the entire time, as she rose high above Valiant, letting out a cheerful cry in greeting as he backed away with clenched teeth, sinking into a defensive stance.

"Frostbite Bomb!" Commanded Daisy.

As a blue sphere of water (a Water Pulse) formed within her mouth, it was immediately frozen solid by a simultaneous Icy Wind. The now large and frozen, cannonball sized sphere was sent firing down towards Valiant, who encased himself in Light Screen in hopes of absorbing the impact.

Although the Light Screen wasn't quite at full strength, due to Valiant's somewhat tired out state, it was still close to it. Nevertheless, the impact of the Frostbite Bomb was relentless, and Valiant could feel the impact even as the golden cube shielded him from harm.

As the Frostbite Bomb left a notable crack in the Light Screen, Mantyke soared above it, landing in the water on the other side of the central platform and resuming her swimming, still not losing any momentum as she speedily looped around and advanced towards Valiant's position once more.

Ash knew that their current position would get them nowhere. They needed to halt Mantyke's absurd amount of momentum, and fast.

As Mantyke repeated her earlier tactic and rose above the platform with Tailwind, Ash called out to Valiant with cupped hands.

"Knock her out of the air with Dazzling Gleam!" Thunderbolt wouldn't be fired nearly quick enough, and Magical Leaf cloud just be blocked with Icy Wind the same way Poliwhirl had previously, as the nature of that Frostbite Bomb meant that Mantyke either knew Icy Wind or some other ice type move.

Icy Wind or not, it would likely render Magical Leaf borderline useless. That did away with both of Valiant's moves that were super-effective against water types, which left them with both Dazzling Gleam and Psybeam.

"Scald, Manytke!"

Ash felt his blood run cold. Figures Mantyke would know that move too.

As Valiant fired the bright, pink blast upwards in Mantyke's direction (doing his best to predict where she'll be with her speed), Mantyke opened her mouth and let loose a swift blast of boiling water that collided with the Dazzling Gleam.

As the two attacks clashed, the shockwaves pushed back against Valiant, almost causing him to lose his balance. In comparison, Mantyke was simply propelled upwards a bit more. The resulting explosion from the attacks sent droplets of steaming water raining down towards the platform, and although they weren't nearly as bad as getting hit by the full blast, Valiant gritted his teeth in frustration at his own attack being blocked.

"Aerial Ace, and Frozen Wing!"

Mantyke suddenly propelled herself downwards as her body glowed with a bright, white outline, all the while her wings not only glowed white, but became encased with solid ice.

Ash quickly called out "Reflect, Valiant!" but Mantyke was too quick. Before Valiant could even raise his glass, cube-shaped barrier, the energetic water type was already upon him.

SMASH!

"Valiant!" Ash screamed out loud as Mantyke's ice-armored wing slammed into the young Kirlia's head. The speedy momentum that carried Mantyke's attack, coupled with the hard layer of ice covering Mantyke's wing, both worked to ensure a devastating impact unlike any other.

Valiant dropped down without a single sound, his body propelled downwards onto his side as he smacked head-first against the platform. Blood gushed from the large bruise left behind from where Mantyke had struck him, and a horrified Ash wasn't the least bit surprised when the now motionless Kirlia did not make a single move.

"Kirlia is unable to battle! Mantyke wins!"

"Way to go, Mantyke!" Daisy happily congratulated her chirpy Pokemon as Mantyke thawed out both of her wings with a low-powered Scald.

As Ash returned Valiant to his poke Ball, his facial expression somber, he mentally cursed at himself.

'Damn it…' he thought to himself. 'That Mantyke…' he eyed the water type creature playfully beating her wings against the platform, without a care in the world as she began to sing with nothing but the utmost possible amount of cheer. 'She's… so fast… And her fighting style seems to directly take advantage of all of her momentum… which she can build up in record time…' he sighed to himself in disappointment. 'It was a mistake leaving Valiant out on the battlefield. Nebula would have been a better matchup for her. I should have saved him for whoever Daisy's last Pokemon might be.'

It was too late to correct that mistake, however. In order to win the Cascade Badge today…

He and Nebula would have to defeat the remaining half of Daisy's team… all by themselves.

/

Misty eyed Tyrunt in concern. The baby dinosaur had moaned out loud in distress as Valiant had been knocked out. No doubt concerned for his secondary caretaker, the royal heir Pokemon had reached one of his two claws outwards as Valiant was recalled back into his Poke Ball.

Turning her attention back to Ash, Misty's eyes narrowed into slits.

'Backed into a corner, huh?' her frowning face observed the energetic Mantyke playing around on the platform while waiting for her next opponent. She gritted her teeth. 'Come on, Ash. Don't let Daisy of all people beat you!'

Her sister was a great trainer for certain. All of them were. And what Ash didn't know was that that Mantyke probably had the Swift Swim ability. Seaking probably did, too. So far, Daisy had been using Pokemon who's abilities automatically made them absolute monsters on this aquatic battlefield.

But there was one silver lining to Ash's situation.

Turning her attention back to Tyrunt, Misty shot him what was hopefully a soothing grin. She had nothing against the young, infant dinosaur, but she was terrible at comforting people. Ash was going to owe her after this one.

"Don't worry," she said reassuringly (she hoped). Catching Tyrunt's attention, she gave him a quick thumbs up. "Ash only has one Pokemon left, but that Pokemon is Nebula. Daisy won't know what hit her."

Misty obviously didn't know Ash's own team nearly as well as he himself did, but she had seen enough of them to know what a monster that Nebula was on the battlefield. If anybody on Ash's team could turn this around, it was hopefully her.

"And Valiant will be fine," she quickly added with a brief, light pat to the infant dinosaur's head. "A rest at the Pokemon Center, just like the others."

Tyrunt seemed to ease up at that reassurance, thankfully. However…

"How's it going, runt?"

Misty flinched as she and Tyrunt quickly turned their gazes behind them, neither of them noticing Lily until now. The pink-haired beauty sat just above them, leaning downwards with a playful (but very condescending) grin adorning her features.

Misty's face scrunched up into a snarl. "Tch, what do you want?" she almost spat.

Lily was certainly entertained by that response. "Is the reason you sound so spiteful because your bodyguard is getting beat up by sis?"

Reminding herself that there was a baby present was the only thing keeping Misty from tearing her older sister's throat out for the "bodyguard" comment. Instead, she simply evened a glare at the narcissistic beauty.

'You three love to go back and forth between your good-girl routines and your bratty phases whenever you think it's convenient.' Misty thought to herself spitefully. It was always like this. Her siblings transitioned between behaviors whenever they either wanted to play nice or push Misty's buttons, it all depended on the mood. She had had enough of it a long time ago.

"Are you blind, sister?" Misty's voice nearly dripped with venom. "The match isn't over yet. Now get back to your seat if you're just gonna bother us. Don't worry, I'll just beat you up later."

Lily tilted her head as a more obvious smirk appeared on her face (the fact that she managed to be so beautiful even while being so smug was probably what Misty hated the most). "I mean, with the pace things have been going at right now, it's pretty clear that he's going to lose. Maybe he'll find a way past Mantyke, but…"

Misty cut her off with a smirk. "Oh, I so hope that you three are this overconfident when it's my turn. You'll practically just be handing me that badge!" her gaze returned to the battlefield. "Now then, let's see if Ash can shut you up, so I don't have to."

/

A deep breath, as Ash tried to relax his nerves.

Two wins in a row. That's what they needed. As daunting as the odds were, given Manytke's ridiculous speed, Ash had faith in Nebula. They just needed to find a way around Mantyke's momentum and be strong enough to beat whoever the final Pokemon from Daisy's roster was.

Gripping Nebula's Poke Ball and removing it from his belt, Ash stared at the small orb for a few seconds before returning his gaze to Daisy.

Her fists were pressed against her hips again as she eyed the boy with confidence to spare.

"We finishing this up or what?" her tone of voice was final, indicating that she wasn't waiting any longer.

Ash nodded at that.

'Just you wait, Daisy.' He thought to himself.

They were going to turn this around.

Nebula appeared in front of him, flapping her wings as she hovered just above the pool. At her arrival, mantyke ceased her playing and shot the Staravia a curious glance, offering the feathered newcomer a slight tilt of her head.

"Nebula," Ash said evenly, keeping his tone of voice calm. Maybe if he presented their current circumstances with a cool composure, she'll take it better? "You're the last one left, and our opponent still has two Pokemon, including that Mantyke over there." he pointed over to the energetic Water Type as Nebula took in his words, her face slowly forming into a glare. Ash kept his gaze on Nebula as he sent her a reassuring smile. "Listen, just be careful, and we can win this." at her nod, he nodded back. "Watch out for Mantyke's Scald. It'll seriously burn you, and the others have all had to deal with that move today." It really had been a thorn in their side throughout the entire battle. "And don't underestimate Mantyke in general. She is fast." He emphasized that last part as best he could.

Nebula soaked up Ash's words and offered her trainer another nod as she kept her gaze on their opponent. Now aware of the full stakes of the battle, she wasted no time staring down the Mantyke resting on the central platform, who locked eyes with her and met her determined expression with a friendly gaze, a blissfully innocent grin plastered on the cheerful water type's face.

As the two combatants exchanged looks, Violet raised a hand in signal.

"Begin!"

"In the water!" Daisy shouted in an instant.

"Don't lose track of her, Nebula!" Ash called out.

Mantyke was back in the pool in a flash, immediately blitzing through the water just as quickly as before. She weaved around every platform she came across, her movement expert and flawless.

Nebula rose somewhat higher than she was before, in order to more easily keep track of the aquatic speed demon without having to fly at top speed herself.

'Good.' Ash thought to himself. 'She's trying to conserve her energy as best she can.' They would certainly need that, given that they had yet another Pokemon to go up against if they managed to win this.

Mantyke's swimming continued for a few more moments, Nebula's eyes darting around the pool as she did her best to keep a decent track of where the speedy Water Type Pokemon was.

"Frozen Wing!"

At Daisy's order, Mantyke erupted out of the water, her wings flapping to create Tailwind again. As she rose above the pool, she advanced towards Nebula, not losing an ounce of speed or momentum as she bolted through the air.

Ash had a counter command ready the moment Mantyke had taken action, however. "Steel Wing to block!"

Mantyke froze her wings as she approached her target, the Tailwind doing the rest as the breeze carried her for the remaining short distance between her and her feathered opponent. As Nebula raised a metallic-coated wing in defense, Mantyke struck at her with an ice-covered wing, a small shockwave generating from the impact as Nebula was pushed away and knocked through the air. She felt no pain from the blow, nor did her body suffer any damage due to the metal wing shielding her from harm, but her balance had been compromised as she rolled through the air, just barely blocking the blast of boiling water fired from Mantyke's mouth with a well-timed raise of that same metallic-coated wing. Even so, some of the water sprayed onto her chest, prompting a frustrated cry of pain as she fell towards the pool.

Just as she caught herself with a mighty flap of her wings, breaking her fall with a gust of wind towards the water that pushed her slightly upwards, she looked up towards her attacker as the water from the pool splashed onto the bird's face from the impact of the wind. Nebula ducked under Mantyke's Frozen Wing as the Water type descended downwards on her, just barely missing her mark and landing back into the water, large ripples left in her wake as she resumed her speedy swimming.

Ash breathed a deep sigh of relief, but didn't allow his mind to wander.

It had been a close call, for sure, but their troubles were not over just yet.

On the other side of the pool, Daisy's lips continued to confidently twitch upwards.

'Mantyke's Swift Swim ability exponentially increases her speed in the water. And thanks to the way that we have utilized Tailwind, she is able to maintain all of that speed in the air. Hit and run tactics, big hits that use the momentum to bolster their strength, being such a hard target to hit.' a satisfied smirk formed on her face as she watched the water type speed across the pool. 'That Staravia is helpless.'

As Mantyke circled back to once again advance towards Nebula, Ash called out to his friend.

"Wind Blast!"

The bird took aim at the speedily swimming Mantyke, firing a torpedo of air towards the pool as she rapidly flapped her wings.

Mantyke swerved to the side to avoid the blast, an enormous splash erupted from the water as the Wind Blast struck the pool. As Mantyke turned yet again and prepared to use Tailwind, Ash bit his lip as Mantyke got ready to repeat the same tactic from before.

"Double Team, one clone!"

Daisy's grin fell as Nebula split into two different Staravia that flew in opposite but parallel directions. Not knowing which bird to target, the bewildered Mantyke aborted her tactic and continued to swim around the pool at top speeds.

"Stay in line with Mantyke!" Ash called out as both Staravia kept pace with the quick water type, the real Nebula doing her best to keep track of her opponent without being too obvious about it, for fear of revealing which one was real and which one was the clone.

The next minute or so was a subtle game of chase, Mantyke trying to shake her pursuers as both Staravia stayed on her trail from opposite sides. Ash didn't know how long Nebula could keep Double Team going, even with just one copy, before it started to strain her, so they would have to do this as quickly as possible.

Thankfully Nebula had the same idea, and as both Staravia slowly descended as she finally managed to keep Mantyke in her view, Ash called out to her.

"Wing Attack, don't use any move to boost your speed!" He wanted to use Aerial Ace, or Quick Attack, but the boost in speed would reveal the real Nebula. Even with little time to react, it was possible that Mantyke would be able to counter at just the right moment.

Unfortunately, Daisy had an easy way around all of that. "Underwater, Mantyke!"

As both Staravia dove downwards towards their target, Ash mentally cursed under his breath as Mantyke dove beneath the surface of the pool, leaving Nebula to slap nothing but water as the feathered flier struck the area of the pool where Mantyke had been just mere instants prior.

He should have remembered that Daisy could just have Mantyke do that. They would have to change their strategy.

Even as Ash mentally kicked himself for such an obvious oversight, he paid close attention to the battlefield, not knowing where Mantyke could spring up from.

"Stay alert, Nebula! She can attack from anywhere! Try to confuse her with your clone while you fly!"

Nodding at Ash's command, Nebula kept her eyes on the pool as she and the clone flew circles around one another, leaving it virtually impossible for all but the most observant of people to distinguish who was the real Nebula and who was the clone.

A frustrated Daisy bit her lip at the display, knowing full well that there would be no way of striking the real opponent as long as she was in such sync with the copy.

She grinned a bit, however. Mantyke still had her overwhelming speed going for her. Even if they chose wrong, the risks were minimal.

Cupping her hands to her mouth, she called out as loudly as possible to ensure that Mantyke would hear her from underwater.

"Aerial Ace, out of the water!"

A split second later, a glowing Mantyke erupted out of the pool and rocketed towards Nebula, bathed in white light.

Unfortunately, the target she aimed for was indeed the real Nebula, who attempted to bolt out of the way with Quick Attack. She reacted a moment too late, however, and found herself on the receiving end of the flying type move. Although it wasn't a direct hit, as she had been decently in the process of dodging when the blow connected, she still found herself momentarily losing her balance as Mantyke rammed into her headfirst.

As Mantyke soared away from the Staravia, the water type began to flap her wings yet again, her Tailwind forming beneath her to carry her forward through the air. A Move like Aerial Ace could already give her decent flight ability, but perhaps her experience with the move hadn't reached the point where she could reliably depend on that just yet.

"Frozen Wing!"

Nebula had briefly begun to fall towards the pool as Mantyke struck her, but stopped herself far more easily this time. Nevertheless, her balance was still imperfect as Mantyke began to circle around back to the Staravia in hopes of capitalising on the advantage.

Frantic, Ash quickly called out a counterorder as Mantyke prepared to free her wings.

"Wind Blast!"

Nebula's lack of balance had ironically worked to her advantage, as by the time she had fully regained her stance in the air and executed her attack, Mantyke was just barely too close to dodge properly. The Wind Blast struck one of Mantyke's wings as the water type swerved to the side, and although the speedy adversary felt no pain due to the icy coating acting as a shield (very similar to Steel Wing in that regard), some of the ice did still get chipped off from the impact, and the force of the attack now knocked Mantyke off balance, disrupting her flight as she began to spin in midair, descending towards the pool.

Nebula pressed her newfound advantage immediately. Allowing her clone to fizzle out, the Staravia coated herself in the glowing light of Aerial Ace as she bolted in pursuit of the falling Mantyke, ramming beak-first into the water type's back. Shrieking in pain, Mantyke rocketed downwards in the pool as blood leaked from her newfound wound.

A large splash of water bathed Nebula as Mantyke's rapid descent brought the speedy water type underwater. As the feathered flier scanned the pool with her eyes for a few seconds, waiting to see where her formidable opponent would resurface from, Daisy shouted out another order.

"Acrobatics, and Air Slash!"

Not even a moment later, Mantyke burst out from beneath the water of the pool, carrying herself upwards with Tailwind as she spun towards the Staravia. Caught off guard, and too close to the speed demon to dodge her assault, Nebula wheezed in agony as one of the water type's wing was driven into the bird's stomach, the impact further bolstered by the speedy momentum that Mantyke had long since made herself well known for at this point. As Nebula was sent flying in a slightly upwards, diagonal direction from the powerful blow, another swipe from Mantyke's wings sent a blast of razor sharp air in pursuit of the Staravia.

Nebula regained some of her bearings just in time to intercept the attack with a well-placed Steel Wing, but she hadn't fully regained her balance yet, and the recoil from her metallic wing being struck by a direct hit from the Air Slash sent her in free fall towards the pool.

"Icy Wind!"

Although Nebula caught herself just in time to prevent herself from hitting the water, once again flapping her wings to generate windforce that pushed her upwards, Mantyke was already charging forward with her next attack as droplets of water bathed Nebula's face, the gusts of wind that she had created from her wing flaps pounding against the water of the pool and splashing it towards her.

Nebula slipped into Quick Attack to avoid the blast of frozen air that escaped from Mantyke's mouth, a part of the pool freezing as the icy air struck the water. However, a small portion of the attack brushed against Nebula's wing, the feathered bird snarling in pain through her tightly clenched beak.

Ash's eyes widened as the Staravia approached him and his side of the pool. Her flight was off, and he could have sworn he saw a tiny bit of ice on her wing…

"Break it off with Steel Wing, Nebula!" he thought as quickly as possible.

Immediately complying, Nebula continued advancing in her trainer's direction, wings coated in metal as she struck the barriers, deliberately making sure that the frozen part of her wing made contact with them. Thanks to the metallic coating, her wings were shielded from any harm or pain, and the ice shattered.

"Frozen Wing!" Daisy attempted to capitalise on the distraction.

"Strike back, Nebula!" Ash countered.

As Mantyke blitzed towards the bird with her wings coated in solid ice, Nebula propelled herself off of the barriers, using the metal wing that was currently pressing against them, and slipped into Quick Attack, charging forward at top speeds to meet her opponent's ice-covered wing with her own metal-covered one.

SMASH!

The two attacks slammed into one another, a powerful shockwave radiating from the impact that would have been felt by Ash had the barriers not been in place in front of him. Although Mantyke found a good deal of ice breaking off of her wing, she had more speed behind her blow than her opponent, and successfully pushed Nebula back, sending the feathered bird flying back towards the barriers.

Nebula wasn't hurt, however, still having her metal wing to shield her body from harm. And as the Staravia rocketed towards the barriers, seemingly about to slam head first into them, Daisy's eyes widened as the bird lashed out with one of her metal wings, slamming it into the barriers to stop her flight and absorb the impact that would have otherwise seriously hurt her, or maybe even knocked her out.

Ash smiled pridefully at that. Pikachu's Iron Tail trick may not work on the pool, but on the barriers? It was just fine.

As Mantyke continued to advance towards her opponent, Nebula rocketed off of the barriers with Quick Attack yet again, Steel Wing still at the ready. Not expecting her opponent to catch herself the way that she did, Mantyke was not prepared to block her strike, and was sent flying through the air with a surprised cry of pain as the metal-coated wing bashed her in the face.

Nebula allowed the metallic coating on her wings to disappear as mantyke landed back in the water, not able to pick up speed right away as she attempted to shake off the pain from her now notably bruised face.

Even as the speedy Water Type did finally manage to regain her composure, Ash could have sworn that she wasn't swimming quite as fast as before. Either she was faking it, or she was beginning to lose strength…

The same could be said for Nebula, however, he quickly realized, and as the Staravia hovered in front of him, Ash caught note of her somewhat deep breaths. Her physical capabilities were really being put to the test in this fight, for all the strength that she possessed. No doubt her stomach was also sore from Mantyke's Acrobatics attack.

"You okay, Nebula?" he questioned quickly, concern evident in his voice. At her insistent nod, he bit his lip with a frown, but still nodded back.

She was in this until the end, so he would be too.

As Mantyke circled back around, Ash had an idea.

Mantyke didn't lose any momentum after leaving the water, so they would just have to break off that momentum themselves. Instead of using Wind Blast…

"Whirlwind, down on the pool!" Ash commanded as he pointed towards the rapidly advancing Mantyke.

Although Wind Blast had more force behind it due to being far more concentrated and condensed, Whirlwind would still hit a much broader area, which was what they needed to prevent a target as speedy as Mantyke from avoiding them.

"Underwater, Mantyke!" a somewhat nervous Daisy quickly commanded.

Mantyke complied, but it didn't quite help. Nebula was already flapping her wings with as much ferocity as she could muster, having descended downwards closer to the water to get a better aim. Even as Mantyke retreated beneath the surface of the pool, the immense gust of wind born from Nebula's efforts surged against the water, creating a sizable wave that rapidly advanced forwards. Underwater, Mantyke felt the water of the pool pushing against her as her momentum slowed. Although she was able to resist for a few moments, continuing to push herself forward, her advancements progressively began to mildly decrease in speed, and fatigue was starting to kick in as her face continued to ache from Nebuka's previous Steel Wing.

A few moments later, Ash's grime as wide as a yelping Mantyke forcibly emerged from underwater, the waves kicked up in the pool from Nebula's Whirlwind attack flipping her over somewhat as she was carried backwards and slightly into the air.

"Knock her into the air with Wing Attack!" Ash shouted through cupped hands.

Ceasing her rapid wing flaps, Nebula slipped into Quick Attack as her wings glowed a bright white, swinging upwards and driving one of her glowing wings right into Mantyke's abdomen as the energetic water type wheezed in pain. The impact of the blow sent her soaring into the air, drops of water raining down towards the pool from her drenched body, and this time, she was not in control of her flight.

Nebula was already advancing in pursuit of her target, ready to press her advantage as Ash gave the next order.

"Aerial Ace, drive her into the barriers!"

"Aerial Ace to dodge!' Daisy shouted desperately, the realization of the stakes suddenly hitting her full stop.

Mantyke's body was just beginning to glow in the familiar aura of Aerial Ace as Nebula rammed beak first into her stomach. Mantyke's body immediately ceased glowing as she screamed in pain, blood spraying out from her belly as Nebula continued to push forward, flying at full speed towards the barriers on Daisy's side of the pool.

SMASH!

Mantyke wheezed in desperate agony as her back painfully crashed into the barriers a few meters above Daisy's head, Nebula pulling away at the last second to ensure that she wouldn't injure her own head or beak from the impact, but quickly advancing back to her opponent as Ash gave the final order.

"Smack her down with Wing Attack!"

"Scald, Mantyke!" Daisy's desperation was on full display now, and behind her, Misty's grin was one of malicious catharsis.

Mantyke couldn't execute the attack, out of breath and with no time to catch it, as her body slowly slumped forward just in time for Nebula to slam a glowing wing down on the back of her head. The speedy water type rocketed downwards and smashed face-first onto a platform. Whether her consciousness had been lost from the Wing Attack or the impact with the platform, nobody knew, but after a few moments of silence and no movement, it was clear to all that she would not be getting back up.

"Mantyke is unable to battle!" Violet gestured towards Ash. "Staravia wins!"

"Excellent work, Nebula!" an overjoyed Ash called out with cupped hands as the Staravia victoriously flew back to his side of the pool, Daisy aiming her Poke Ball at Mantyke as the now unconscious speed demon was sucke dinto the orb with a flash of red light.

As Nebula hovered over Ash, it was pretty clear to him that she was tired out. She was breathing a bit more heavily than she already was the last time that he had observed her, and not that she was facing him in full, he could see the bruise on her stomach. His frown was serious.

"Nebula…" he asked cautiously. "There is still one more opponent left, and we don't know who it is. Are you still-"

A determined chirp cut him off, Nebula's gaze on him serious and the look in her eyes steel.

He got the message.

Ash's expression relaxed a bit, offering his feathered friend a caring grin. He was suddenly tempted to reach out and pat her on the head.

"Mantyke alone took a lot out of you." he pointed out somewhat somberly. "But if you're sure, we'll have to end this quickly. I might have a plan. That strategy with Whirlwind just gave me an idea, but it depends on who we're fighting next, and it could hurt you a lot. Are you sure-"

Another chirp. Nebula wasn't letting anything discouraged her.

Even as he anxiously sighed, Ash still found himself smiling, looking back up at the bird with pride and some awe.

"Thank you, Nebula. We're going to win this. That way, it'll be worth it."

Eevee, Pikachu, and Valiant had all suffered painful injuries when they lost. Now Nebula was willing to put her own body at risk, continuing to push forward despite nearly reaching her limit.

Pokemon battling was brutal, but those who could find the strength to forge ahead, even as the odds made themselves more and more known, had already possessed one of the many aspects required for a future Champion.

Nebula grinned at Ash with a nod. A combination of affection and determination. Affection for her trainer. Determination to claim victory for all who have fallen before her. Those too, were traits that a future Champion possessed.

As Nebula turned her attention back to Daisy, the Gym Leader seemed like she was struggling to maintain her lax grin, her lips twitching unevenly a bit as she gripped her Poke Ball and silently released her final Pokemon. The creature appeared in a flash of light as it fell into the pool with a splash.

Bluish-white fur covered its thick hide as it waded in the waters of the pool. The creature had four flippers, two on its chest, and two more on the end of its tail. A small horn could also be noted on its forehead. The newcomer slapped its fins together repeatedly, as if it were clapping.

After looking over the newcomer for a moment, Ash's eyes lit up with mild recognition.

Specifically, it was a Seel.

Mostly known of its evolution, Dewgong, which had received a notable spike in popularity and attention ever since Lorelei's ascension, Seel were not quite as commonly known as Indigo's most typically encountered water types, but unlike most foreigner Pokemon which were often taught about considerably less, there weren't many Pokemon specifically native to Indigo that Ash didn't recognize. Unfortunately, his knowledge on Seel was still a bit limited, mostly centered around the popular Dewgong, which had a fairly decent presence in tournaments. Last Season's Indigo Conference even saw two of the trainers who made it to the six-on-six rounds with a Dewgong on each of their teams, although neither made it to the semifinals.

Crossing her arms, Daisy's composure was improving a bit as she gazed up at Nebula, eying the feathered flier with a good deal of scrutiny. No doubt, she was picking up on the Staravia's fatigue.

Ash's suspicions were confirmed as Daisy's lips fully twitched upwards, her confidence suddenly back in (almost) full swing as she called out to him, albeit not taking her eyes off of Nebula.

"Your friend looks tired, kid."

Ash flinched at how… final her tone of voice had been. As though it wasn't up for debate. But he simply shook his head.

"Not tired enough." he stated with a steel tone, remembering his exchange with his feathered friend. "She's in this until the end, so I am too."

As if to back her trainer up, Nebula nodded at the sentiment, keeping her gaze locked on her newest opponent.

This was it. Just one more. Just one more victory. It had been a really rough battle up until this point. None of Ash's team had been suited for a battlefield like this, even with preparation. Meanwhile, Daisy's team was practically built for such a place. The disadvantage was astronomical. Something that could be denied, even if the reassurance would have been nice.

But, somehow, they had reached the end. Seaking's speed and deadly horn. Poliwhirl's brute strength and regeneration. Mantyke's momentum and ability to take herself to the air. In the end, none of it had stopped them from reaching this point, for all of the astronomical trouble that those attributes to Daisy's team had put Ash's team through.

This was a Gym battle. A brutal test of attrition and overall capability to determine who was worthy of the Indigo Plateau. To determine who the best trainers of the Season were. To determine who would be blessed with the privilege of entering Indigo's greatest tournament: The Indigo Conference.

And just like with Brock before, Ash's team had all risen to the occasion.

That wouldn't go to waste now.

Ash could have sworn that Daisy's grin briefly seemed a little less smug, almost genuine, for just a split second or so, but it was gone almost the moment that it had shown up, and she was too far away for him to get the best look at her expressions as it was.

In any case, it was pretty clear that she had no concerns going into the last bout of the match, as she spoke up in response.

"So that's how you really feel, isn't it? Maybe we should just get it over with." Once again, her tone of voice was final.

Violet raised her arms high into the air. "This is it everybody! Aaaaaaaaaaaaand… BEGIN!"

Daisy sprung into action immediately.

"Seel! That Staravia is worn out from the last round! Rapid-fire Aurora Beam!"

Ash blinked. Aurora Beam? He knew the technique, but had never actually seen it before.

Seel clapped its fins energetically as it opened its mouth, forming a rainbow-colored orb that extended into a full-on beam of light that Nebula flew to the side of.

As the beam passed by next to her, the young Staravia could feel the cold air radiating from it.

More beams were sent flying in Nebula's direction, Seel swimming after its target at decent speeds in order to keep pace with her as it continued the assault.

Not nearly as fast as Seaking or Mantyke, but faster than Poliwhirl, and its aim was on point. Nebula was usually only able to just barely dodge, and Ash realized that they wouldn't even be able to rely on close calls if she exhausted herself too much more.

Nebula's expression was tense as she continued to fly around the pool, splitting into two Staravia to throw of Seel's aim, but Ash knew it was only a matter of time until either she got hit, or the clone got hit and she was exposed.

But that didn't matter. Because he had a plan.

"How much longer do you think this is going to continue, Ashy boy?" Daisy taunted from the other side of the pool.

To her surprise, however, Ash's own lips twitched upwards.

"Not much longer, because it ends now!" The young boy cupped his hands. "It's time, Nebula!" he hollered at full volume. "Use Reckless!"

Ash didn't notice Daisy's startled expression, his eyes fully on his feathered friend as she offered a quick nod of acknowledgment, before allowing her clone to fizzle out as she let out a loud, ear-splitting shriek of determination and aggression.

Red sparks outlined her body as her eyes turned crimson, her tone of voice growing more and more violent as her body took on a blood-red glow.

Seel was already preparing to strike again, and Ash knew that Nebula could never successfully avoid another Aurora Beam in her Reckless state, if she was already just barely able to avoid it in her normal state. After all, her self-preservation was a thing of the past as long as this Ability was activated.

They needed to act quickly, before Seel did.

"Nebula! Use Whirlwind straight down on the pool, and give it everything you've got!"

Daisy's eyes nearly popped out of her head as Nebula nodded with a dark, bloodlusted smirk, her wings flapping madly as the windforce generated from her movements transformed into a violent gale.

The powerful gust of wind pounded against the surface of the pool, the force of the impact immediately disrupting the water and sending a violent wave in Seel's direction. The Water Type's normally impressive aim was abruptly thrown off as the wave slammed into it, Seel letting out a loud, startled cry as the rainbow-colored beam sailed off in a different direction, nowhere close to Nebula, who continued to assault the waters of the pool with her violent gusts of wind.

As the gust grew in size, more and more of the water from the pool began to be on the receiving end of the sudden assault, and Seel quickly found itself almost helplessly swept up in the waves as the waters of the pool spun out of control, carrying the water type forcibly in its waves as the Pokemon attempted to fight against the aggressive currents. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the water itself working against Seel, but the winds from nebula's Whirlwind as well, and Seel quickly found itself being temporarily pushed underwater as the wind pounded against its body, the waves finally taking complete control of the Water Types movements as Daisy's hands shot up to her mouth, her Pokemon being rapidly carried across the pool in no particular, set direction, and with no apparent pattern to speak of. A few times, Seel found itself slamming into the platforms, even headfirst at once point. But even as it tried to leave the water, the winds and the current fought against it. It even succeeded at one point, but was quickly swept off of the platform by the powerful Gale.

As a particularly large wave enveloped Seel and briefly obscured the now dazed and disoriented water type from view, Ash called out to Daisy.

"You've spent this entire battle using the pool to your advantage!" he shouted matter-of-factly through cupped hands. "Even without any water types on our team, we can still do the same!"

Daisy grinded her teeth, an uncharacteristically ugly snarl escaping her lips at the young challenger's declaration as Seel slammed headfirst into yet another platform.

The look in Ash's eyes was determined as he gave the final order.

This was it. The possibility of victory was threatening to fill him with excitement, and it took him all of the willpower in his system to push it aside. He needed to focus.

It was very likely that Nebula's Reckless ability wouldn't last that long in her weakened state. They would end this in one attack.

"Double-Edge!"

Ash's order was shouted at the top of his lungs in order to ensure that his feathered friend could hear him clearly enough.

The bright, white light that enveloped Nebula's body mixed in with the young Staravia's blood-red aura. The bird let out a powerful cry of determination as she rocketed downwards towards the pool, closing in on her target at breakneck speeds.

Seeing Nebula coming in fast, Seel desperately shot out one final Aurora Beam. It was all for naught, however. The water type didn't have enough focus to attack at full power, and the waves hadn't died down right away, even after Nebula had ceased her use of Whirlwind in order to go for her final attack. This disoriented Seel further as it desperately attempted to take aim at its charging target, still being carried by the waves against its own will as the Water Type attempted to fire the rainbow-colored blast.

Unfortunately, its aim was off, and although Nebula still would have been clipped by the beam, a rising wave of water ended up getting hit instead, freezing into solid ice that the advancing Staravia effortlessly smashed through, sending fragments of the ice scattering as she closed in on her opponent, nothing standing between the two combatants any longer.

SMASH!

The impact was cruel and merciless as Nebula barreled into her opponent, Seel wheezing desperately as Nebula pushed him along the waters of the pool. A large ripple of water was left in their wake as they made their way to the central platform.

SMASH!

A sickening crunch could be heard as Seel was left sandwiched in between the central platform and Nebula's relentless attack, the Staravia pushing the water type against the central platform without mercy before finally letting up.

Wounded by the recoil that came with Double-Edge, and exhausted from the use of her ability, Nebula was left with half her body in the pool gripping onto the edge of the central platform with her wings, preventing herself from sinking completely into the pool, the blood-red glow around her body disappearing as her now unconscious opponent drifted away in the water with its mouth hanging half open. Seel's ribs were shattered by the final attack.

As the exhausted Nebula struggled to climb onto the central platform, Ash's breath caught in his throat, as his heart skipped a beat.

Had they…?! He dared not hope until the declaration was made out loud.

Violet was left bewildered by the display, suddenly doing her best to regain her composure as she raised her arms high into the air.

"Seel is unable to battle! Staravia wins!" the woman gestured towards Ash. "That means the winner of this battle is our challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Even as he saw it all in front of him, Ash couldn't prevent his eyes from widening in disbelief at the statement.

Two Gym battles. So early in the Season. And they had… won…!

The ecstasy suddenly surging through his blood would have overwhelmed him if it weren't for Nebula's condition, the only thing keeping him from childishly shouting to the heavens in joy. As Daisy silently returned the wounded Seel, her expression one of complete disappointment, Ash took out Nebula's Poke Ball and quickly returned her, sparing her from the exhaustion that had consumed her body after both the use of Reckless and the recoil from Double-Edge.

Three of his teammates brought down in particularly brutal fashion. The final one overtaken by massive fatigue. It had been one Hell of a fight for all four of them, but Ash couldn't be more proud.

"Nebula…" Ash whispered soothingly to the Poke Ball, trying to calm his excitement. Victory was great, but he needed to maintain self-control. "Thank you. That was incredible."

As he looked back over to Daisy, who was still standing on the other side of the pool, Ash found it a bit hard to stop the wide grin from forming on his face. He didn't want to get caught up in his win too much, but it was hard not to get excited. For a fight that put them in such a disadvantageous position, they had actually managed to win.

Most importantly, however, it was another Gym badge. Their second Gym badge. Every victory at a Gym was an incredible milestone for any trainer's journey. And although it didn't have quite the same feel to it as a winning trainer winning their first badge ever, today had at least proved once and for all that that victory over Brock had not been a fluke.

Ash still remembered the satisfaction that he had felt as he held the Boulder Badge. How the moment had changed him. How he hadn't let Gary's words discourage him anymore. It had been an unrivaled feeling, and had certainly encouraged him to keep forging ahead with his teammates.

And this was almost like… a reminder of that. A confirmation that he was indeed right to feel the way that he did after defeating Brock.

The road to the Indigo Plateau was still an incredibly long one. Consisting of six more Gyms and a Hell of a lot more traveling and encounters with other trainers along the way. Not to mention the terrain that they could find themselves having to deal with.

But it wasn't impossible. They'd already cleared two Gyms, and they were definitely going to clear the rest, no matter what the unpredictability of adventure threw at them.

Over on the other side of the pool, Daisy was pulling at her hair, moaning in an almost childish manner.

"Darn it, darn it, darn it, darn it, darn it! I was so sure about that one! Ugh, whyyyyyy?" her tone of voice couldn't seem to decide if she was frustrated or disappointed with herself.

"Hey!"

Somewhat startled, Ash quickly glanced to the side as Misty and Tyrunt made their way to him, Tyrunt lagging a bit behind as Misty kept a quick pace. He blinked, realizing that he hadn't noticed them leave the bleachers.

Ash was greeted with a slap on the back and subsequent pat on the shoulder as Misty reached him, a vicarious smile on her face.

"Wow, pal, you had me worried for a moment there." she offered him a brief wink as her face twisted into a confident smirk. "I'd have felt really guilty if I had been the only one leaving here with a badge today!"

Paying her arrogance no mind, Ash simply grinned back at her, not even bothering to contain his excitement.

"Right, I got you." he rubbed the back of his head before turning his gaze to Tyrunt, who was chattering excitedly from the floor. He knelt down and patted the dinosaur's head, holding his palm onto the rough exterior of the Royal Heir Pokemon's skin for a few seconds. "What did you think, buddy?"

He had to pull his hand away quickly as Tyrunt jumped up and ecstatically rambled good-naturedly. Despite his concern for his teammates, the infant really had enjoyed the action of the battle, and the look in his eyes almost seemed inspired.

As Ash rose to his feet, Misty arms were crossed confidently as she eyed the young boy with her lips still twitched upwards in a wide smile. "I suppose congratulations are in order." she nodded towards him. "Betcha you're feeling really good about yourself right now."

He was, but Ash rolled her eyes at that statement. "And I'll bet you're just happy to see one of your sisters lose." he jabbed back, not even bothering with caution.

Misty slapped his back at that, but her grin remained. "Damn right, I am! I can only kick one of their asses today, after all. Thanks for helping me out there, even if one of them still gets away unscathed, two out of three isn't that bad."

She really had no shame, which Ash further reminded himself of as he lightly shook his head at her in amusement. But he supposed that was part of what made her who she was.

The sound of footsteps caught the trio's attention as the three sisters all approached them, Daisy leading the way in the middle. Violet was also carrying some sort of box.

As she reached him, Daisy sighed exasperatedly before making eye contact with Ash, her lax expression mostly back on her face, although the disappointment was still somewhat evident in her eyes, especially since she was right in front of him right now.

"Welp, guess I really blew that one, kid." she reached her hand out. "Good work."

His grin evening out a bit (but still not leaving his face) Ash accepted the gesture as the two shook. Daisy's grip was still fairly firm, even if her touch was a lot more delicate on the surface. Her outward aspects, after all, did nothing to change her status in the League.

As Gym Leader and challenger separated, Daisy reached into her pocket, pulling out a small, blue object as Ash's heart once again skipped a beat.

A badge, in the shape of a raindrop.

The Cascade Badge.

"This is proof of your victory here at this Gym today." she said evenly, her tone suddenly becoming slightly more professional than usual. She reached out her hand again, as Ash reached out his own in acceptance.

Her fingers lightly brushed against his palm as she comfortably placed the badge in his hand.

"You've been making pretty good pace so far." she commented as she rested the badge in his palm. "Get six more of these and all of Indigo will know what your name is."

Just six more. Not nearly as simple as it sounded, but…

The brutal road ahead was just another challenge to overcome. His team could do anything. So as long as he had them, so could he.

Staring down at the Cascade Badge in his hand once again caused his mind to suddenly flashback to when he held the Boulder Badge. Is this what every trainer felt when they held a badge? It wasn't just a symbol of victory, or a requirement for the Conference. It was a reminder of what you were capable of. An encouragement to keep on pushing forward, and achieve your true potential.

'No matter where you started from.' Ash suddenly found himself thinking to himself as he remembered his conversation with Professor Oak, just before leaving Pallet Town.

It may have only been over a month ago, but with everything that had changed since then… he had almost forgotten just how recent he was in the grand scheme of things.

And that just encouraged him even further. If he could achieve this much in such a short amount of time… if he and his team could grow this much in such a short amount of time...

It was true. Anything really was possible in the world of Pokemon training. He didn't even need anyone to remind him of that anymore. It all spoke for itself.

Closing his hand up, and confidently looking back up at Daisy to meet her gaze, Ash simply nodded, his smile remaining.

"Thank you." he said, keeping a professional tone. "I'll remember this."

As Daisy nodded, Violet approached him, opening up the box that she was holding so that Lily could take something out.

"We have something else to give you." she stated simply as she handed a glass case to the boy. Taking it in his other hand, Ash's eyes lit up as he suddenly realized that there was a TM encased in the glass container.

"It's the TM for the move Scald." Violet explained cheerfully. "A blast of boiling water to wreak havoc on your opponent. It's sort of our favorite move. Especially Daisy's."

Scald… the move that had given them so much trouble throughout the match. Right now, he didn't have any Pokemon that could use such a technique. But when he did…

It would be pretty cathartic being on the distributing end of the Move next time.

"Alright!" Daisy got everybody's attention with a quick clap of her hands. "Day's not over yet. We still got another battle ahead. We'll take a quick break to clean the pool." she looked down at Ash again. "Ash, we have a machine that can transfer your team to the Pokemon Center if you're planning to stay for Misty's match. Come on, I'll show ya. I have to use it too."

Ash nodded at that, giving Misty a quick wave, which she returned, as he and Tyrunt followed the blonde woman.

/

It didn't take too long to clean away the mud and the ice that Ash's battle with Daisy had left behind. Pretty soon, Lily had Violet engaged in another game of rock paper scissors (thankfully not lasting nearly as long as the previous one had been). A triumphantly grinning Lily came out the winner, leaving a somewhat grumpy Violet to once again act as referee.

As Misty and Violet took their places at the pool, Ash sat on the bleachers with Tyrunt, Daisy sitting high above them at the top.

Ash was still holding the Cascade Badge, a smile on his face as he observed the symbol of their adventure's second milestone.

And a preview of the future.

A cheerful, yet curious noise from Tyrunt caught Ash's attention as the infant dinosaur leaned forward to get a better look at the badge. Ash grinned at him, shifting a bit in his seat in order to give his newest friend a better view of the small object.

"You like it? He asked happily. "We'll be getting more of these before we're done." Tyrunt nodded happily at that, his adorable grin widening. Ash nodded back at him. "We're all new to this, Tyrunt, but… I think we've earned the right to be confident." He'd never allow himself to turn into Gary, but confidence alone certainly wasn't a bad thing.

He wouldn't push his own goals onto Tyrunt if the baby dinosaur didn't want that, but the enthusiasm in the Royal Heir Pokemon's eyes conveyed a clear interest. He was still too young to fight, but if he wanted to in the future, Ash would be ready to help him.

"The goal our team is shooting for is a near impossible one." Ash admitted to the infant. "It will never stop being as unlikely as it is, either." There was a new kind of fire in Ash's eyes. And in his heart. One that had never really been lit until today. "But that doesn't mean we have to be scared of it. We're taking Indigo by storm, now." Excitement filled his tone. Almost like a tranquil form of adrenaline.

Reaching out to pet the baby, Ash allowed his eyes to wander to the pool where Misty and Lily were already taking out their Poke Balls. Violet was raising her arms to start the match up.

"And we're just getting started."