It was an ordinary day, and I was studying Pokémon Biology for an upcoming test.

"Nidoran is one of the few Pokémon to show sexual dimorphism; that is the female differs phenotypically from the male," I read aloud. "However, once it evolves the two genders separate completely; male Nidoran involving into Nidorino and the female into Nidorina. Conversely, the male and female gender of both Ralts and Kirlia are identical, until Kirlia evolves. Then the female evolves into Gardevoir and the male evolves into Gallade."

"Riveting stuff," I said to Bulbasaur, turning around to face him. He let out a colossal yawn. I laughed.

"Agreed," I said, closing my book.

"I'm not really in the mood for learning, anyway. I want to battle!" I pronounced emphatically, throwing my book across the room to prove my point – where it stopped in mid-air.

It spun slowly, taking no regard of gravity or any of the other natural forces that should have caused it to land.

"Hey, Bulbster," I whispered, using one of my many pet names for Bulbasaur, "d'you reckon it's a ghost-type playing pranks?"

He shook his head.

I slowly circled the book, eyeing it warily. I passed my hand experimentally under and over it a few times, but no change occurred whatsoever.

Suddenly, I lunged forward and touched it, expecting a great sizzling bolt of lightning or something. (I've been told that I have an overactive imagination, but I disagree.)

All that happened was my arm twinged and a brilliant flash of light filled my mind. The odd thing was that I didn't actually see a light; it only existed in my thoughts.

And, for some unfathomable reason, it seemed to be – green.

"Why would it be green?" I thought. "Unless…"

I leaned out of my window and looked down at the grass, one storey below. As I had guessed, Jondré, the Psychic, was sitting there, grinning up at me.

"Took you long enough to figure out," he noted.

"My brain is dead," I realized as I said it that it was probably the lamest excuse ever, but I continued regardless, "because of studying Bio."

"I know," he replied, "it is quite tedious.'

"Tell me about it."

"And that is why," he continued, "I have come up with the perfect idea to break the boredom."

That got my attention.

"A Pokémon battle!" he cried.

I was so excited that I almost jumped out of my window. Luckily, I realised that that could prove dangerous, and decided to use a more conventional method of travel – stairs.

"2-on-2," Jondré declared, "and no switching out."

"You're on!" I yelled excitedly.

I crouched down and a smile played upon my lips as I selected my two Pokéballs. I was so confident in myself that I really only paid attention to my first Pokémon; I just grabbed my second one without giving it any thought.

And then, just as I was about to turn around to start the battle, I froze and thought.

"Hang on… what if he can read my thoughts? Then he'd know what Pokémon I'd use and match his up accordingly. What if he won't use a Psychic-type this time? But… he always uses Psychic-types. Doesn't he?" I had neither battled him before nor seen him battle others; my whole strategy was based on the assumption that he would use Psychic-type Pokémon, based on the facts that: (A): Psychic-types were the only types he ever talked about, and (B): he was a psychic himself. But I didn't actually have any proof that he would use Psychic-types…

"Anyway, he can't be strong enough to read my mind… right? I mean, he was strong to cause my book to float from one storey down without seeing it, but surely…"

I realised that all this speculation wasn't helping, so I called over my shoulder, "Hey, Jondré?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you read people's minds?"

"No… why would you ask that?"

"Just wondering."

Jondré made the first move. Without saying a word, he chucked his Pokéball onto the battlefield, and an Alakazam emerged from it.

"YES!" I thought. "Time for me to win!"

I hurled my Pokéball into the air.

"Darkfyre! Do your thing!"

He landed on the ground with a thud, flames shooting out of his claws and dancing around his pitch-black legs.

"A Dark-type," Jondré hissed.

"Well. Actually Houndoom's a dual Dark-Fire-type."

"Whatever. Don't think I can't beat it!"

(Actually, I was pretty confident that he couldn't, as Houndoom is completely resistant to Psychic-type attacks.)

But then I saw that he was dead serious. His eyes started glowing a light shade of green, shortly followed by his skin. As the psychic energy zipped through the air and attached itself to Alakazam, forming the strong bond between a Psychic trainer and Pokémon, Jondré yelled, "Prepare to be crushed!"

"Darkfyre! Dark Pulse!"

Darkfyre reared up on his hind legs, his pearly silver horns glinting in the sunlight. As his paws slammed into the ground, it released a wave of dark energy that directly hit Alakazam, and even hit Jondré, who dropped to his knees and clutched his head in pain.

As his Alakazam staggered around the battlefield, the glow in Jondré's eyes intensified and he glared at me. "You'll pay for that."

He straightened up and as he did so, Alakazam recovered.

Suddenly, without any warning, Psychic energy filled the air around us, taking the form of a green mist. The air was so full of the stuff that I could actually feel it on my skin.

Darkfyre turned to me, quite confused. So was I.

"Why would he use a Psychic-type attack?" I thought.

"You know nothing. This is Future Sight, a move that doesn't take types into account."

"Oh, ok… wait a second… How were you able to know what I was thinking? I thought you said you can't read other's minds?"

"Under normal circumstances, I can't. However, Alakazam is boosting my power right now, and so I can. And I will instantly foil any complicated plan you might have."

The green mist thinned slightly, but it was still present and I somehow knew that, as long as that mist was around, Future Sight would strike.

"Luckily for me, then, I don't have a complicated plan. I'm relying on Darkfyre's brute strength and FIRE FANG!"

Flames licked around Darkfyre's mouth, and he pounced on Alakazam, biting hard into his shoulder. As he lifted his jaws, I saw blood dripping and… wow. Even Alakazam's blood was glowing green!

Jondré flinched and grabbed his own shoulder in a reflex reaction. "Why," he asked, utterly perplexed, "why didn't you use Dark Pulse again? Surely you know that that move is super-effective, and this one wasn't?"

"I make it a point to never use the same move consecutively," I smiled. "It makes thing more interesting."

"Anyway," Jondré continued, "you are going to pay for that. Alakazam, use Psychic!"

I couldn't help laughing. "Did you forget already," I asked, as Darkfyre shook of the attack effortlessly, "that you are fighting against the awesome Houndoom?"

Much to my surprise, Jondré smiled. "And did you already forget that I used Future Sight? I'm just playing for time."

I decided to go all out, "Crunch that Alakazam, Darkfyre. Hold nothing back!"

Darkfyre leapt into the air, his back arched gracefully, and ran around to Alakazam's back. Before Alakazam had time to turn around or react in any way, Darkfyre had pinned him to the ground with a paw and bit deeply into his neck.

The move was aptly named. I clearly heard Alakazam's bones crunch, even though I was standing on the other side of the battlefield. (A regular Pokémon arena is 25 metres [82 feet] long and 17 metres [55 feet, 9 inches] wide. Since we were battling in my back yard, it was slightly smaller – 19 metres [62 feet and 4 inches] and 8 metres [26 feet, 2 inches], to be precise. Which isn't actually that far, but you get the idea. It was a loud crunch.)

Alakazam staggered and dropped to the ground. The green mist started clearing and I jumped in the air in triumph, "Yes, we won…"

"ALAKAZAM!" Jondré yelled, "Hang in there just a little while longer!"

Alakazam attempted to get up – then dropped again.

"No…" Jondré groaned.

By this time, I was doing a full-blown victory dance. In fact, I didn't even notice Alakazam raise his hand. The spoon bent slightly as he concentrated all of his Psychic power on Darkfyre.

Suddenly, the green mist condensed around Darkfyre, so thick that I couldn't see through it. I only heard him yelp in pain. It felt like an eternity passed before the mist finally cleared (even though Jondré said afterwards that it was only 4 minutes). Alakazam had fainted, but not without dealing considerable damage to Darkfyre. He lay on the grass, panting hard.

"All right, Alakazam," Jondré declared, returning him to his Pokéball, "You put up a good fight. But now it's time for –"

"LEAVE MY BOYFRIEND ALONE!" We both heard a voice yell.

I raised an eyebrow, "Amy, I presume?"

She came running round my house, skidding onto the lawn and almost fell over. She was only prevented from doing so by a Psychic barrier that Jondré had thoughtfully put up.

"Thanks," Amy said gratefully, adjusting her white lacy ribbon that she always wore.

Jondré smiled and embraced her. I immediately looked at my watch to time the duration of their hug.

"47 seconds. Not bad, but you didn't beat your record."

"What is our record?" Amy asked inquisitively.

"1 minute, 14 seconds."

Jondré sighed. "I really wish you would stop timing us."

"Than you shouldn't hug for absurdly long periods of time in my vicinity."

"Anyway, we have to get back to our battle –"

"Noyoudonot! I remembered why I came rushing here!"

"There was a reason? I thought you were just longing after me too much," Jondré grinned.

"I came to stop this battle."

Jondré was speechless. "Wh-wh-what? Why?"

"You're getting pummelled over here. Can't you see that? You against a Houndoom – the chances of you winning are the chances of you finding a snowflake in hell."

"Nice to see you're so confident in me," Jondré muttered.

I listened to this conversation, utterly perplexed, for I couldn't figure out whether Amy was being jealous or overprotective. After seeing her bodily grab Jondré and shove him out of the battlefield, I decided both.

"Just for the record," Jondré yelled, "I don't think you'll win either. You're also at a disadvantage here."

"Yes; but at least my hits actually do damage. Unlike yours."

That shut him up pretty quickly.

My mind was racing, trying to figure out what type she would use. What's weak against Dark-types? Psychic, but she's not using that. Ghost? Yeah, but… I looked at Amy, yellow flowers in her hair. Somehow, I couldn't imagine her using Ghost-type Pokémon. My rumination was suddenly cut short by Amy smoothly throwing her Pokéball onto the grass. Darkfyre jumped up, eager for battle.

It wasn't what I was expecting at all. Leafeon. Grass-type. Weak to Darkfyre's second typing, namely Fire.

"Hah! This is too easy! Darkfyre, use Fire Fang!"

Darkfyre charged at Leafeon with all his might, flames circling his teeth. However, just as he prepared to sink his teeth into her, she jumped sideways and his attack missed.

"Leafeon! Magical Leaf!" Amy yelled.

The sprouts growing on Leafeon's cream-coloured legs lengthened and leaves flew through the air towards Darkfyre.

"Darkfyre! Get out of there!"

He tried. He really did. But, like Swift, Magical Leaf never misses. Ever.

As the leaves sliced through his skin, leaving thin lines of blood, Darkfyre yipped in pain and collapsed onto the floor. He was down and out.

"Wow," I murmured.

"Darkfyre, return!"

"You may have won this round," I said, "but I still have…" I racked my brain to try and remember what was in my second Pokéball. I failed. "I still have this Pokémon!"

So saying, I threw my Pokéball down. I closed my eyes and thought fervently, "Please not Killer please not Killer please not Killer…" (In case you were wondering, Killer is the name of my Raichu.)

I opened my eyes – and my jaw dropped. "BULBASAUR? How'd you get in your Pokéball? I expressly remember you following me down the stairs, and I clearly remember not putting you in your Pokéball."

"He went in himself," Jondré helpfully pointed out, "I saw it with my own eyes."

"Well, could be worse," I thought. "He's not effective against Leafeon, but at least she's not effective against him either."

"Alright! Bulby, lets do this!"

"Saur!"

Amy made the first move. "Magical Leaf!"

I saw Bulbasaur bunch his leg muscles, getting ready to jump.

"Don't even try. Just let it hit you," I advised.

"Bul?" Bulbasaur asked. But he obeyed me.

The attack hit him head-on. It left him slightly scarred, a small amount of blood trickling onto the grass, but his only reaction was to blink.

"Is that all you've got? Pathetic."

Amy clenched her fists in anger, "You'll pay for insulting us like that."

I shrugged "Whatever. Now, Bulbasaur, use our trump card! Use – Razor Whip!"

"What the hell?" Amy asked as Bulbasaur leapt into action. Four vines emerged from the base of his bulb. Two of those vines zoomed towards Leafeon and wrapped around her, pinning her legs to her body and leaving her helpless. As they other two vines started cutting her skin (vines can do a lot of damage when travelling at high speeds), many razor-sharp leaves travelled towards her at incredible speeds. Leafeon yelped as they sliced through her furry skin like paper.

After Bulbasaur had stopped his attack, Amy stared at me. "What kind of move was that?"

"Razor Whip. A special move Bulbster and I came up with. It's basically a combination of Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, and is insanely powerful."

"I can see that," Amy said, looking at Leafeon, who was struggling to her feet. Blood poured from lacerations all over her body, and those trademark Eeveelution ears were completely mutilated.

"No matter, I've got a move that's even stronger than that! Sunny Day!"

Immediately, the sun appeared to grow brighter and I had to cover my eyes.

"Hah! Sunny Day's not power– oh."

In an instant, I realised what she was planning, and I realised that I would have to act fast.

However she hadn't taken into account one crucial factor…

"Bulbasaur! Use Solar Beam!"

Solar energy started gathering on top of his bulb. "WHAT?!" Amy all but screamed. "Your Bulbasaur knows So–"

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," I pointed out. "You're just wasting precious time."

"LeafeonuseSolarBeam!" she yelled, speaking very quickly.

Leafeon opened her mouth wide and lifted her head up to the sunlight. Being the one that originally use the move Sunny Day, she had a slight advantage over Bulbasaur in the amount of time taken to absorb sunlight. However, Bulbasaur had used Solar Beam first, so he had the upper hand there. It was truly nerve-wracking stuff.

In the end, somehow, they both managed to unleash the move at the exact same time. The two attacks clashed, causing a huge shock wave. It slammed into me, sending me flying.

"Ouch," I said emphatically. I got up slowly, and was stunned by the amount of pure energy that was being released. I was standing a good 10 metres away from the action, but I could still feel the heat from the concentrated solar energy burning my skin. I moved back a little into the shade of my house – or rather, what would have been the shade of my house, but the brilliant blazing light caused by the clashing Solar Beams obliterated all shadows. Still, at least the wall was cool.

As I leant against it, watching the battle from a safe distance, I tried to pick out the forms of Bulbasaur and Leafeon. I found that, if I squinted, I could slightly see their silhouettes. However it wasn't enough to tell me who was winning or losing.

Then, as abruptly as it began, the fight ended. There were no obvious scars on either of them, though both looked rather the worse for wear. Leafeon was panting hard, her chest heaving up and down with every breath. Bulbasaur wasn't much better off. He was visibly swaying, and looked like he would topple over any second. Leafeon shakily put one paw in front of the other, trying to regain her balance. She failed spectacularly and collapsed to the ground with a thud, sending up a mini dust cloud. At the same time, Bulbasaur fell onto his side.

Neither had dealt enough damage to cause the other to faint; both had fainted simply because of exhaustion.

"Well," Amy said, surveying the damage, "I reckon that it's a tie."

She looked at me and gasped, "Jade! What happened to you?!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're all bruised and injured."

"Oh, that," I said, realising that she was right – my arms were covered in bruises. "That happened when I was bowled over by that blast of energy. You know? When the attacks collided?"

I glanced at her, and noticed for the first time that she was unscathed. So was Jondré. "How are you not injured?"

Amy smiled. "It's all 'cause of Jondré here," she said, gesturing to her boyfriend. "He came and grabbed me with one hand, and put a Psychic shield up with the other. He's the best." After stating so, she threw her arms around her neck and they kissed. Utterly embarrassed, and without anything else to do. I walked forward and picked Bulbasaur up. (Of course, I could have just returned him to his Pokéball, but I had decided that his act of bravery merited more than that.)

"It's ok, Bulbster," I whispered, feeling his blood trickle onto my fingers, "you put up a good fight."

I stood up. "I guess you need to go to the Pokémon Centre."

"Saur." I heard Bulbasaur feebly agree.

I stared at him, "You came to!"

"Bul. Bulbasaur."

"You are amazing." He winked at me in agreement.

"Guess that means you won, huh?"

Bulbasaur stuck one vine in the air in triumph, basically the Bulbasaurian equivalent of a thumbs-up.

I looked at Amy and Jondré, who were still kissing.

"Guess they're too busy to tell them the news?"

"Bulb. Saur. Bulbasaur."

I laughed as I started walking towards the Pokémon centre, "well, one thing's for sure."

"Bulba?"

"They definitely beat their record this time."