The white board nailed to the wall in front of her had the pictures of her classmates attached to the top rows. Under each picture was a list of their pokemon. What type they were, what attacks they had used during the two years they'd all been together and other information Lyn found relevant. Most importantly, a big question mark in each column, for things that they had kept secret or had learned since their last class a week ago.

These were going to be a few of her opponents today and she'd been staring at this board all night and most of the morning. Left out were the people she just didn't know who would also be taking the exam, bringing pokemon and tricks she had no real way of preparing herself for.

It was equal parts exciting and dreadful.

A quick, hot shower and hour earlier had been all the reprise she had granted herself. That had removed all traces of tiredness and feeling clean was always a nice feeling.

The current Saffron City gym had a reputation for being one of the toughest in the whole circuit. The leader had proved herself by obliterating the previous official gym of the city and claiming their position in the Pokemon League as her own, despite them having defended that title for decades in the face of a type disadvantage.

That didn't mean that it was any more difficult per se to get the trainers license there. In theory, at least, as technically speaking the requirements should be the same everywhere. That said, while the process itself didn't involve Sabrina until the end, it would still be her judgment that counted.

And Sabrina didn't suffer any fools. The gym leader was notorious for her low passing percentage. It made Lyn's stomach queasy to think about it, but she wouldn't want it any other way.

Browsing the Saffron City gym thread earlier hadn't helped. Once she had filtered through the incessant complaining and insults, the experiences the hundreds of posters had shared didn't paint the most promising picture for those who sought either the trainers license or the badge. Many were resentful and bitter on their losses and failures while that very same thing amused and delighted many others, which wasn't an environment to get much insight out of.

And all that said, the whiteboard with her classmates wasn't the only one in her room. She had a second one that had only three names on it, but instead those names were of trainers who would crush her as she was now. Trainers that she would have to beat at some point. After all, the license exam was only the first step on her journey, the starting line. Being champion was a long way off, but the Saffron Youth Tournament next month?

If she got her license, that was within her reach. A tournament for trainers under the age of twenty, for those who wanted to prove themselves and win both the prize money and the opportunity to get sponsored by either Surge, Whitney or Erika. Gym leaders who very rarely did such a thing and which was an opportunity that couldn't be missed.

Not Sabrina, unfortunately.

Winning the SYT would open a lot of doors. It would also draw strong, young trainers from all over. Trainers like Arianna or Pullo, trainers who probably could have won a badge or two by now if having one wouldn't have disqualified them from the tournament.

"When's your match?"

Lyn looked over from her white board to see her mother – step-mother - entering her room.

Elyse Winter was a tall, blonde woman with a homely face. She had gained some extra weight after Amy's birth, and stress had put wrinkles of worry on her face, but Lyn hoped to look half as good as her step-mother once she reached that point in her life and if the countless times their neighbor knocked on their door with some slapdash excuse were anything to go by, he most definitely agreed. Now in her early 40s, she had married Lyn's father three years after his divorce from Lyn's mother.

"Later in the day. The theoretical part comes first," Lyn said. She had turned around to face Elyse. "The tournament should be starting before noon."

Elyse glanced at the clock that hung over the door. "It's just after seven now," Lyn said.

"Would you mind if we watched?" Elyse was rubbing her left elbow but was still smiling. "Because I would love to be there and so would Amara." She paused for a bit. "Your father as well, but he said he'd be busy with writing."

Or drinking. Lyn shrugged. "Sure, if you want. It's not going to be that interesting though. Only a bunch of beginners fighting."

"Oh, don't say that, I'm sure you're going to be amazing!" Elyse said with a lot more vigor than Lyn thought the situation warranted.

"Cassie might be there as well, though, if the Bullet Train is on time," Lyn said.

Elyse didn't frown, but the smile fell from her face. "How nice, I haven't seen Cassandra for years." Her voice lowered, now more solemn. "Are you sure you can't stay a few more days? Tomorrow is so soon. Amara and I would love to spend a few days with her as well."

"We've been planning this for a while, I'm not going to change the plan that drastically on the fly."

This time, she did frown. "Oh. Well, if that's what you want, of course. I can prepare some snacks for you two then, for the road. You girls need proper nutrition"

"You don't need to bother, Elyse."

"It's never a bother and I want to." She smiled, which didn't hide the sadness in her face. "And come down for breakfast, dear. Amara was rather hungry earlier, and she desperately wants her older sister. It's all she has been talking about, really."

Lyn had forgotten about breakfast and Elyse insisted on all three of them being present before they began eating.

It'll be only the two of them from now on. She should feel a bit bad about that, but she needed to go. This would be for their sake as well. "I'm sorry, be down in a minute."

Elyse nodded and left the room to go downstairs. Someone had to keep an eye on Amara and the pokemon downstairs weren't always up to the task. Lyn wasn't too worried though. Amara - or Amy - was usually well behaved in that regard, especially for a six-year-old. Too bad she had charmed Lyn's team.

Jolt will miss her a lot.

She turned her PC off and went downstairs to find that breakfast was ready on the table. Amy was in her seat with Jolt hovering next to her and they were playing their usual weird game of tag. Amy tried to poke the magnemite, but it floated out of reach at the last second every time, its hollow hum of amusement and silly expression, alongside the spinning of its magnets making her giggle. Empy, the nidoran, was already digging into her bowl with pokefood alongside Bella, the sunflora. Carrie was nowhere in sight, which led to one conclusion.

Can't forget to feed her before we go. Abras may not do much outside of sleeping but they did need regular meals nonetheless. "Hey Amy," she greeted her younger half-sister who turned to her with a big smile.

"Morning Lyn!" she yelled. Jolt used the momentary distraction to float to the small electric station in the far end of the kitchen. Magnemites and a few other electric types preferred electrical currents as nourishment. Some could consume food, but Jolt needed to recharge at stations like these.

She had already packed the portable one alongside everything else she needed for her journey. Her backpack was ready to go.

"How are you feeling?" Elyse asked between pouring everyone some orange juice.

"Okay."

"Lyn is going to win against everyone today!" The one person more confident than Elyse seemed to be her little sister.

Elyse smiled at Amy and then at Lyn. "Yes, I'm sure she'll do great today. We'll be cheering you on extra hard, dear."

Lyn nodded and forced a smile on her face. "Thanks. I'm a bit a nervous but I should be able to pass the exam."

"Do your best, and I have no doubt that you will pass," said Elyse. "We know you can do it."

It was a relief that from then on Elyse steered the breakfast conversation back to Amy. The six-year old immediately began to gush about what had happened in kindergarten yesterday. One of the caretakers had brought in a new marill which had in return captured the hearts of the kids on the spot. With marills being the adorable critters that they were, Lyn wasn't surprised.

She finished her meal in a hurry, thanked Elyse and left the room. It didn't take her long to find Carrie. She had teleported herself into Elyse's wardrobe. It was one of her three favorite spots in the house to sleep in. Luckily for all of them, Lyn knew her step-mom didn't mind and was rather fond of the abra.

I need to make things easier for her, once I come back.

Waking her up wasn't difficult. Carrie had long gotten used to her presence. It takes a while for abras to do that and not teleport away immediately, even after getting captured. Lyn was lucky in that regard. Receiving her education in Saffron with its extensive focus on psychic pokemon had helped. They had a lot of tips to give with regards to training a psychic pokemon. For people who didn't know what to do, trying to take care of a freshly captured abra was a nightmare. If you weren't prepared, the abra would just teleport away when it was first released. Good luck getting that pokemon back.

With a grunt, Lyn carried Carrie to her room and gave her a few snacks, watching her eat them on her bed. She let out a small sigh and shook her arms. Carrie wasn't exactly a lightweight.

She knew she'd be at a certain disadvantage later today. She'd have only two pokemon to fight with whereas most participants would have one more to choose from. Until she evolved, Carrie was only able to eat, sleep and teleport.

Still, it will have to be enough.

It should be, Lyn had faith in Empy and especially in Jolt. Magnemites weren't super-rare or anything but not that many people used them for some reason. As such, fewer people had experience dealing with them. That and the fact that they were solid fighters was an advantage of sorts.

Another quick check on the clock showed that it was almost eight. She still had more than an hour, but she wanted to be there on time and it was a bit of a walk.

Satisfied that Carrie had eaten up, she returned her to her ball. She grabbed her backpack and left her room. Empy and Jolt were still lounging in the kitchen, while Elyse was doing the dishes. On a normal day, she would have long since dropped off Amy at the kindergarten before going to work herself. For today though, it seemed she had already taken the day off. Her boss was fickle when it came to giving employees a day off and Elyse had still gone ahead and done just that. Just for the chance that Lyn would be okay with Elyse watching her match.

Lyn didn't quite know how to feel about that. She wasn't too psyched about spectators, least of all to have Elyse and Amy possibly see her fail. But it was…nice, she supposed. They were doing what no one else in her family was going to do. That deserved more than the awkwardness that Lyn was giving them.

"I'm going out now." Empy and Jolt had perked up at that and hurried to her. She returned Jolt to its pokeball. Empy squeaked at her, happy that she could remain outside. She and Jolt took turns but nidorans needed more movement than magnemites. It was important that Empy got to walk as much as she could. It would also be somewhat of a warm-up for the later fights.

Wish I could have more than one pokemon out in the city.

That had to wait a while, though. One needed a good reason to have two of them out, and because you felt like it unfortunately didn't count unless one was a gym leader. Few people got the permission for that.

"Okay, honey," Elyse said, coming over and giving Lyn a quick, heartfelt hug. The younger girl hesitated for a few seconds before returning it, harder than she had wanted but she found herself holding onto Elyse for a good five seconds before she let go. "Good luck and do your best."

"Sure," mumbled Lyn and with a quick good-bye to Amy, she rushed out of the door, glad to be out of the house.

She took a deep breath once outside and started to walk. She passed the lone oak tree in the Winter family garden which housed Fred the forretress. Elyse had owned him for years and all he did was hang in the tree, not doing anything. Both seemed content with their dynamic and neither Lyn nor Amy could understand why. It seemed so boring.

Soon, she had left their property behind. She had walked this path hundreds of times in the last few years, ever since she started studying at the Gym for her trainer's license when she had turned fifteen. That was the same day she'd gotten Empy as her starter.

Truth to be told, she hadn't been too psyched at first. While nidoqueen wasn't a pushover by any means, she hadn't been in any of the line-ups for her future pokemon teams she had played around with. However, she had found a partner in Empy that had quickly turned out to be a like-minded soul.

The city was full of people as always. Countless humans of all walks of life hurried to work. Many had their pokemon at their side, filling the streets in-between the large buildings. One of the interesting things about Saffron City was the variety of pokemon on its streets. As the capital and the biggest city of Kanto, they got people and pokemon from all over the continent. So, one was just as likely to meet those pokemon most common to Kanto as one was some of the more exotic species. You didn't see a ribombee every day, for example, like that one guy had following him down the street.

Many of them came for Sliph Co., a veritable titan of commerce and innovation in the world. It was an economic and political heavy weight in Saffron and had a lot of people under its employ. While it was the biggest firm by a good margin, it was not the only one present in Saffron. Where it really stood out from the rest was in the tall, black and chrome headquarters at the center of the city. Cutting edge technology had gone into constructing a gargantuan skyscraper towering above all others, with the company name proudly visible in giant letters from anywhere you stood bellow.

Lyn got to pass it on her way and it was always buzzing with busy employees skittering in and out of its big entrance, with doors large enough to classify as gate of glass, steel and velvet.

The guards and their pokemon - an arcanine, an alakazam and a venosaur - were observing everyone entering with keen senses. There had been a break-in a few years back and ever since then, the security had increased.

Now and then, you could see a police officer wandering the streets. Once or twice, the occasional ranger would rush through, always in a hurry. The cars, buses and bikes were loud and obnoxious in a lot of ways. Their smell, their noise, their speed and frequency. Thanks to the years of living in the city, Empy, and most other pokemon, had long since gotten used to that.

She would also quite often see flyers and posters pinned to various walls, telephone poles and shopping windows, proclaiming the date for the SYT. DJ Mary, the radio show host from Goldenrod, was apparently going to be the announcer.

Saffron City had stricter rules on releasing pokemon on its streets because of that. There were a few that normal people and even licensed trainers just weren't allowed to release. One had to have the appropriate license for it. You couldn't release an onix in any city, for example. You needed to be a gym leader to do it or a company that was building something.

Otherwise, you had to be mindful of the people and property around you.

In about twenty minutes, they reached the gym. Standing in front of its doors, it was steadfastly progressive, a huge dome made from inter-lapping segments the color of soft lilac. Twelve tapering spikes extended from the dome down into the ground, six to each side of the entrance, serving as both support and foreboding warning. It was one of the largest buildings in the city, dwarfing the surrounding housing and companies. Extensive renovations had been made starting fifteen years ago.

It had been the most modern gym in Kanto ever since. The Fighting Dojo, the previous city gym, wasn't even a third of its size. An older building, almost antique, it had been a temple with a shrine in the back, stemming to over a hundred years ago. It was a relic of older times.

The gym teachers had claimed that the reason the Saffron City gym was rebuilt there, right next to the Dojo, wasn't to shame anyone. Rather, it was a reminder to never get complacent with your training. A rival was always waiting for you to slip up. Winning once wasn't enough, as anyone could fluke into a victory. You had to keep winning, again, and again, until there was no doubt remaining. So far, they had.

As such, the rivalry between those two institutions had never waned.

"This is it. How are you feeling?" she asked her pokemon and she saw Empy give a strong nod, meeting her eyes. The squeak she let out was energetic and Lyn knew that her partner was ready for the battles ahead. Some would be opponents they had beaten and a few they had previously lost to. Some they would fight for the first time.

But it wouldn't matter. They would win.

"Remember our training, as long as you stay in motion, and get closer, that pressure will make them nervous."

Empy's nose twitched and she lightly bumped her head against Lyn's leg, impatience showing.

It was bad form to roam a gym with pokemon out of their pokeballs, so Lyn recalled Empy with a smile. People were working with all kinds of pokemon in there. Since one never knew which, it was best to be careful and not cause any complications.

With that thought in mind, she opened the gym gates. The reception hall was large, with a tired, balding man sitting in front of his computer. Albert was the longest working person in the gym; he had seen three leaders during his time. He'd been here before this had even been the official gym of Saffron City, before Sabrina.

Lyn gave him a quick nod and hurried through the many halls to the classroom.

The theoretical part, answering a bunch of questions for an hour and a half, wasn't difficult. Lyn knew that anyone taking the training business seriously had better be able to answer those. There had been two questions to stump the candidates on meaningless details, though. Lyn hadn't wasted any more time on them than she had to. Generally speaking, few people who had stuck to this for years failed this part.

Those who did deserved to fail.

No, the difficult part came with the mini-tournament afterwards, between all sixteen hopeful trainers taking the exam today.

"You don't have to win to get the trainer's license and the pokedex," said Florence. She was a gym official and one of Sabrina's top trainers. In her late twenties, she was also one of the tallest people working in the gym. She wore her long brown hair tied back in a casual ponytail, and the standard gym uniform stretched over her muscular, darkly tanned figure.

Sabrina rarely talked with the budding trainers, leaving that to her staff. She was watching, though, right now, of that Lyn had no doubt.

It would be her decision, after all. Few people had the authorization to grant a trainer license.

"But you'll have to put on a show worth watching. You've gotta prove to us that you understand what it means to train and lead a pokemon in battle. That said, if we find that your actions are unacceptable, then even a win won't give you the license. There's no such thing as room for trash or idiots in the battling world. That's true for all battles. Whether it's here for the license, in tournaments or much later for the badge. If you screw up, you're out, and generally I'll do the throwing unless you've got shit luck and Sabrina does it herself."

Florence was sort of an anomaly in the gym. The trainers employed tended to favor psychic pokemon, for obvious reasons and yet despite her personal focus on a more physical based combat, she had managed to impress Sabrina long ago and had been working as one of her top people for years now, effectively serving as her right-hand woman. Her metagross was a beast.

Besides, everyone had a healthy respect for the woman who could lift her own larvitar.

It wasn't anything they hadn't heard before though. Florence or whoever taught for that day had delivered a lecture like this a few times in the last three months. Usually whenever an instructor felt the class needed to hear this again, which was more often than anyone had liked.

That said, not everyone in this exam had been a student here. Besides Lyn, there were eight others who had been in the same class. The other seven had either taken private lessons or had moved to Saffron recently, or else had come today just for the exam.

While most exams were happening on this day, not all gyms had them. Some were a week later. Not everyone was the same age either. While Lyn was eighteen and so were five of her classmates and one of the outsiders, the rest were a few years older. One of the candidates, Bryce, was nearing thirty.

Just as Florence was going to continue, the sound an obnoxious popsong interrupted her. Annoyed, she reached for her pokecom and checked the caller ID. "Of course, it's Marjane. I've got to take this, wait a minute guys." With that, she turned around and walked a bit to the side before accepting the call.

"Oh man, that guy looks tough," said Nigel to Vyle, both of them Lyn's classmates, loud enough for her to hear him. Nigel was tall, with short black hair and dark skin, and a fondness for flying pokemon. Vyle was short, not even coming to Nigel's shoulders, with long, wavy brown hair, a pale complexion and glasses. They'd been dating for a few weeks and if Lyn had understood things correctly they'd be traveling together if things went well. He wasn't wrong though. The boy, one of those whose name she didn't know, looked to be the same age as them and dressed in particularly high-quality clothes.

That wasn't what was remarkable though. That would be the fact that one of the three poke balls on his belt was blue with red dots. A great ball, rather than three regular ones that beginners like them usually had.

Whatever he had inside that thing was likely to be stronger than anything else here today.

Vyle seemed to agree. She was looking annoyed as she nodded. Her eyes were still glued to his great ball. "Heard about guys like that. Could've taken the exam at whatever private big shot thing they studied at until now. Instead they take part in exams like this to make a big splash by beating the idiots there."

"Why not graduate with his other big shot friends?" Nigel asked, a frown on his face.

"Because the assumption is that his chances to win against his big shot friends is less than his chances against us," Lyn said before Vyle could. She looked surprised and nodded.

"Probably. A bit cowardly, if you ask me."

"A gamble," Lyn answered, a frown on her face.

"What do you mean?" asked Vyle.

Nigel seemed to have understood though. "I'm guessing people at those schools have better pokemon, yeah? But aren't really better at using them, right? That's what you want to say?"

Lyn nodded.

"Richer folk can get the pokemon that need a higher upkeep. Which beginner could afford to feed a snorlax for example?"

"I barely make ends meet as it is," lamented Vyle. "Imagine having to feed that."

"Man, that's bumming me out." Nigel groaned as he ran both of his hands through his hair. "Still, no reason to give up though."

"Of course not," Vyle agreed, crossing her arms. "A pokemon is only as good as the trainer. For all we know, he simply didn't have the chops to graduate where he was and had to come here."

"Or wherever he was before doesn't have the authority to grant licenses, since few places can do so besides an official Gym." Nigel's voice wasn't that confident but Lyn and Vyle nodded.

"Could also be that those big-shot institutions are not as prestigious as getting a license from someone like Sabrina. Certainly worth a lot more coming from here than some league washout, right?" Vyle suggested.

"Well, either way, we'll see if his gamble pays off. Should be fun," Lyn stated.

Vyle seemed amused. "What's got you so chatty today? Usually you don't gossip with us like this."

"Usually, you two don't talk about anything interesting."

Nigel laughed as Vyle rolled her eyes. "Harsh, Raine. Harsh. I can't believe I'll miss you," she said.

"I can't believe it either. You're more masochistic than you led me to believe, Vyle," said Lyn, "if you're truly going to miss your regular defeats."

Vyle laughed and lightly bumped her shoulder against Lyn. "I'm going to somewhat miss you," she corrected, grinning, something that made Nigel chortle harder.

Vyle and Nigel were solid enough trainers but Lyn didn't have the impression that either one of them truly pursued the same path as her. Nigel had a bigger interest in studying pokemon, flying pokemon in particular and was probably hoping to get a spot in Falkner's gym. Vyle did like battling, but she hadn't said a word about the SYT.

One of the few people of her class that Lyn knew had set her eyes on the same goal as her would be Mara. Her charmander was well trained and strong and there was no such thing as a guaranteed win against her. She was standing with her own group of friends, shooting the occasional glance at the trainer with the great ball, until she looked over and their eyes met. Mara gave her a slow nod, which Lyn returned.

I hope I fight her.

Florence, until now distracted with a phone call, focused her attention back on the group.

"Okay, people. You know the rules. Two pokemon each." She looked at the screen in her hand that was the size of a book. "We even got our first pair. First ones up are Lyn and Faze. Go through the door and give us a good fight."

The trainer they had been talking about started moving.

Speak of the devil.

"Good luck," said Nigel and patted her lightly on the shoulder. "Do your best."

"Have fun," Vyle said, a small smile on her lips, no doubt remembering Lyn's earlier words.

"Oh, I will."

Lyn nodded at Florence and followed Faze, walking through the door. After entering the indoor arena, she stepped forward to the fighting field. The arena they were fighting in was one of the smaller ones at the gym. It was a mixed field. It had several smaller, connected pockets of water, each the size of a kiddie pool. Around it was plenty of land with sand, grass, trees and rocks covering it. That way, it allowed for a multitude of pokemon to fight at their best. All around the fighting field, there were seats for roughly only a hundred spectators. They had designed this room for either training or fights of low importance such as this.

The big gym battles happened in the arena that could host thousands. It even had expensive cameras fixed all over. The fan remixes of some of these battles had become popular over the years.

The audience for this was already present. Not even twenty people. There wouldn't be any cameras here today. It was rare for something spectacular to happen at one of these qualification tournaments.

Most of the time, such as today, only family members cared about this. Lyn knew that at times scouts from big firms like Silph Co. came to look for some promising talent. Sponsors and news could find their way here, but they needed to already have an interest in someone. Today, it was just two bored looking reporters sitting in their designated seats. Each one had a smart phone ready, just in case.

Lyn hoped to give them something to see.

She also saw Elyse and Amy in the stands who were waving their hands at her, but she didn't bother waving back. Instead, she settled for a quick smile and a nod of her head.

The contestants took their spots on opposing sides. They nodded to each other and grabbed their first pokeballs and released their pokemon.

Empy and an horsea materialized on the field, Empy on the land, immediately shuffling around, whereas the horsea found itself in the water.

That was an unfortunate matchup.

How annoying that I can't switch out Empy for Jolt.

Still, it was winnable.

The horsea was quick and agile but not that strong. It also wasn't the most durable of pokemon. Then again, neither was Empy. Not yet. Still, Lyn would reckon that she could take more damage than the enemy for now but while both pokemon got more and more impressive with each evolution, at the end of horsea's evolutionary tree waited a dragon type.

A great ball and a dragon type right at the start, how much luck can one person have?

"Water gun," ordered Faze and the horsea shot out a stream of water from its mouth. Empy was able to dodge by jumping to the side without needing to wait for an instruction.

Never get hit was a command in play at all times. Horsea fired a few more in rapid succession and Empy was able to avoid all but the last one, which hit her in the side.

She winced, and the force of the impact pushed her back a few inches. Empy had avoided a head shot though.

"Growl!" Lyn said, her eyes darting between the pokemon and her enemy. Empy belted out a loud, piercing cry. Given her size, it came out as more of a hiss, but it did its job and intimidated the horsea, making it flinch.

It looked wary now, swimming on the spot, its focus on Empy, who was trotting nearer, making use of horseas temporary weakness.

This was something they had practiced. Always try to get close to the enemy. Long range was bad for them.

While there were no type advantages and disadvantages in this match, it was still in favor of the horsea. It was fast and could dart in-between the pools and take shots at Empy from a distance. Sooner or later, it would get a few more hits in. In turn, it'd be difficult for Empy to attack horsea back. She was lacking any and all long-distance attacks for now and it was hard to reach something in the water with her short legs.

It wasn't impossible though. A small smile found its way on her face. She looked at Faze, to see he was looking confident, his arms crossed and he was looking intently at the pokemon.

"Dash forward!"

Empy obeyed and closed the distance with surprising speed.

But not fast enough.

"Dive and water gun!" came the order to horsea from Faze the next beat and it disappeared from view.

That wasn't unexpected. But there was always a drawback with this tactic. While it did shield the pokemon from enemy attacks, it also stopped any and all communication between trainer and pokemon.

In a lot of ways, it was a double-edged sword, and Lyn knew how to exploit it. She didn't bother looking at the pools themselves to look for the horsea. The movement of bigger water pokemon might stir the surface and betray their location, but small ones like horsea didn't. Lyn knew that trainers liked to give instructions on where to emerge beforehand, for exactly situations like this. Preplanned strategies. It was the sensible thing to do, and Lyn had done the same.

But sometimes, the trainers forgot that they themselves were a part of the match as well. Lyn saw that Faze was looking at the pool to the left of Empy.

It wasn't guaranteed. It might well be the case that Faze was trying to trick her by looking at the wrong pool. She didn't know enough about him to tell.

Overestimating an enemy can be just as dangerous as underestimating them.

She had to take the gamble.

Either it paid off here and they got a few important hits in or they had bared their back to a water gun. It was better than getting whittled down without ever being able to fight back.

"Empy, turn left and rush to the edge of the pool. Double kick the second it breaches the surface."

Faze flinched, a frown appearing on his face. He watched as Empy positioned herself, waiting for the horsea to come out.

It didn't take too long. A few seconds later, the horsea burst through the surface. Its cheeks were already bulging and ready to fire its water gun. To its and Faze's dismay it found itself face to rear as a stubby leg smashed into its face. Empy, her head turned to watch for movement, had reacted before the horsea could.

Faze's desperate order had no chance of reaching his pokemon in time. Horsea's were fast but they weren't that fast, least of all when the kick was coming at point blank range.

It was lucky for Lyn and Empy that it had come up so close to the edge. It made sense, the closer the distance, the higher the chances of hitting.

We have to finish this with this attack though. We might not get another chance to close the distance like this.

The first kick slammed right in the middle of its forehead. The kick was strong. Horsea released a high-pitched howl, but the blow also pushed it back a few inches from Empy, and the second kick only grazed the trunk

Lyn had an idea that was as risky as it was stupid.

"Jump backwards!"

Empy didn't hesitate for a second and leaped. Horsea, still dazed from the first kick, was unable to react to this unexpected move and Empy slammed into it. Her toxic spines dug themselves into horsea's small body before Empy landed in the water with a small splash.

"Get out now."

Empy paddled hastily towards the land and it was lucky that it was not far. Unfortunately, the horsea, while poisoned, had now recovered enough to attack. And while the distance was short, Empy wasn't a fast swimmer.

"Water gun!" its trainer roared, and the water attack slammed against the back of Empy's head. Lyn winced. That had hurt. Empy yowled in agony but the attack had also given her the necessary push to climb out of the water.

Wincing, she turned around, waiting for the next attack, and Lyn was relieved to see that it was still good to battle and more importantly, enthusiastic to.

"Smokescreen and then water gun," Faze gave the next order. A stoic look had replaced his frown.

The small pokemon covered the pool it was in with white smoke in seconds. While it made it a bit more difficult to aim, it didn't make it impossible. It did make it a lot harder for Empy to dodge though. Not to mention that it could dive and emerge from another pool and attack from there. This time Lyn didn't think she would get a convenient forewarning. Only an idiot would make the same mistake twice.

A stream of water shot out of the white smoke and grazed Empy as she was able to avoid the worst of it. The second shot hit her right in the cheek, tough, making her let out another painful squeak.

"Leap right!" Lyn ordered and Empy obeyed, dodging the third shot by a narrow margin. Lyn shot out a torrent of orders, alternating in which direction to jump, allowing the nidoran to avoid the next few shots. She barely managed and she was grazed once or twice but she did avoid the worst.

The training is paying off.

There was one thing Lyn noticed, however. The water gun is getting weaker.

So the reckless jump had paid off and the poison was doing its job. Lyn's lips curved into a satisfied smile. Now, the ball was in Faze's court. Lyn was content to run down the clock, to wait until the poison knocked out the water pokemon. The scanners scattered over the battlefield were analyzing the whole time to make sure no pokemon took permanent damage. Besides, a small, light body like horsea couldn't take that much poison to begin with.

The bad thing was, Lyn could see that Empy wasn't doing that hot either. The first water gun had nailed her good in the ribs and all the movement since then hadn't done her any favors. Not to mention the other hit to her head.

However, she had faith in Empy and she knew her partner enough that she would hate to be pulled out right now. And between the two right now, Empy had the advantage.

The smoke screen was clearing up by now, revealing a panting horsea, its eyelids half closed. The noises it made were mewls of pain. Florence took one look at her and stopped the fight.

"Round's over, this is Lyn's win."

Faze winced. "Thanks, little guy," he said after he had the horsea return into his pokeball. Florence, meanwhile, was giving Empy a critical look and checked something on the electronic pad in her hand.

"Well, nidoran can continue but I'll be keeping an eye on her in the next round," she said after a few seconds.

That is unfortunate.

Lyn had seen that Empy was not in a good condition anymore. She hoped she'd at least get a few hits in on the next pokemon. Best case, she'd be able to poison whatever Faze was sending out before going down herself. Empy still had a bit of fuel in her tank, so they would at least face the new pokemon.

"Do you keep your nidoran in?"

Lyn looked at Empy, who had turned around and squeaked in determination and scratched the ground with one of her hindlegs.

Atta, girl. "Yeah."

"Okay." She turned to Faze. "Round two begins now, choose your next pokemon."

Lyn was observing Faze. His hand had reached first to the normal pokeball on his belt. It hovered over it for a second or two before he grimaced and reached for the great ball right next to it.

Here it comes. The smile had returned on Lyn's face, the excitement of facing whatever was in there was racing through her veins. She could feel her blood pumping. Maybe it was a second evolution? With his uncertainty over what to send out, Empy might actually have a chance here. But it was better to be prepared in either case. "Brace yourself," she told her pokemon.

She watched as Empy's muscles tensed, lowering her center of gravity, ready to dash at any second.

Lyn was concentrating on Faze, and to her surprise, he still had a bitter expression on his face. He looked as if he had swallowed a lemon. For a second Lyn thought she would actually have the type advantage. That notion lasted as long as it took for the red energy materializing from the great ball to reveal a magmar.

Fuck.