Hey guys, it's me Akhil100. As usual, I present you with yet another new chapter. This chapter will have Aki facing against that mysterious guy from last chapter. I'm sure you all know who he is. If you still don't know that, find it out in this chapter. Let's see the main events of last chapter:

Main Events of Last Chapter

1. Aki enters the Normal Tournament.

2. Aki obtains an Aipom for the Normal Tournament.

3. Aki advances to the third round of the tournament.

Ok, now for the disclaimer.

Disclaimer - I do not own the Pokemon franchise

Ok, let's get to the chapter. Read and enjoy.

Chapter 4 - Slow as a Slaking!

Vermillion Stadium - Lobby

Aki and Flame stared at the screen in awe. Their next opponent was the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman! The one who gave them advices before was their next opponent. Aki also had heard that Norman had defeated Whitney, Goldenrod Gym Leader, in the previous round.

Realizing that they have a tough opponent ahead, Aki and Flame left the Pokémon Center to do some tough training. It was only 9'00 in the morning. They had 7 hours to train for the next battle.

Stadium – Morning

The stadium was full. Everyone was so excited to see two of their most favorite Gym Leaders from Unova battling each other. Some of them had papers with "CHEREN" or "LENORA" written on them.

In the battleground, two Gym Leaders stood on either side. On the right side stood a 15 or 16-year old boy in white shirt and blue jeans. In front of him was a Stoutland, his main Pokémon. He also had a red tie. On the left side stood a black-skinned woman in her thirties. A Watchog was battling for her, staring at its opponent.

"Since our Basic Badge gym leaders are down to their last Pokemon, this battle between Stoutland and Watchog will decide our winner!" the commendatory exclaimed.

"Stoutland, use Crunch!" Cheren commanded, tightening his tie.

"Counter it with Low Kick!" Lenora commanded calmly. She seemed to be just testing Cheren instead of a battling with him.

Stoutland ran towards Watchog with his teeth glowing white. When Stoutland was about to hit, Watchog moved to the side and swung one its leg around, tripping Stoutland and doing a lot of damage to due to Stoutland's weight and the move being a Fighting-type. Stoutland fell on its face on the ground.

"Now use Confuse Ray!" Lenora made her second command.

Watchog held its arms out. Several yellow orbs started circling around it. It then raised its arms, causing the orbs to fly towards Stoutland and explode on contact, confusing him.

"Stoultand, oh no! Snap out it, Stouland" Cheren called out. Stoutland didn't respond to it. It ran towards the wall of the battleground and crashed into it, hurting itself.

"Snap out of it!" Cheren cried out again.

This time Stoutland shook its head and regained its mind. It nodded at Cheren. A smile appeared on Cheren's face.

"Stoutland, use Giga Impact!" Cheren regained his coolness and tightened his then-loose tie.

"Watchog, use Hypnosis!" Lenora commanded.

Stoutland began charging for Giga Impact. Watchog closed its eyes and straightened its mind to send hypnotic waves at Stoutland. It opened its eyes... but it was too late. Stoutland had already finished charging the move and had executed it. Before Watchog even knew it, it was hit by a huge force, knocking it out.

"Watchog is unable to battle, Stoutland wins! So Cheren wins and advances to the finals!" The referee shouted.

"Here we have it viewers! Cheren defeats Lenora after a devastating battle!" the commendatory exclaimed.

"Good job Stoutland! You make me proud!" Cheren patted on Stoutland's head. Lenora came up to Cheren and shook his hand.

"You did well Cheren. It's good to see that you're getting stronger!" Lenora said. She stopped a second and continued. "But be warned. You might battle Norman in the finals. I heard that he is the greatest Normal-type specialist ever!"

"Hm... I know. Anyways, thanks for the tips!" He said with a smirk.

"Anyways, thats it folks! Return to this stadium in the evening to watch another amazing battle between the Normal Master Norman and inspiring trainer Akhil" the commendatory finished.

Everyone soon left the stadium. Only a few decided to sit there for a while. Aki and Flame were among them.

"Did you see that Flame? Cheren won. That means if we win against Norman, which is highly impossible, we can battle against Cheren!" Aki grinned.

"Char-Charmi!" Flame jumped up in joy.

Stadium 2 - Evening

"Here we are folks, about to watch the third match of the third round. On the left side we have Akhil Palissery, a young Trainer from Unova region!" The announcer exclaimed. The large screen showed Aki's face. Flame was standing beside Aki as usual.

"On the right side, we have the powerful Gym Leader from Hoenn region, Norman!" The screen showed Norman's face. Cheers and whistles rose from the gallery.

"Let the battle begin!" The referee shouted.

"Go, Spinda!" Norman threw his Pokeball into the air. A cream-colored Pokemon came out of the Pokeball. It had orange spots on the tip of its ears, one on its left cheek and one on its forehead.

"Spin-Spinda-Da!" Spinda cried out as it jumped up and down. His Spinda was unsually small for its size, only being about the size of a Pikachu.

"I choose you, Aipom!" Aki's Aipom came out of its Pokeball. "Aip-Aip-Aipom!" Aipom stared at her foe before grinning at it.

"Aipom, use Swift!" Aki commanded. Aipom released several yellow stars at Spinda from its tail.

"Spinda, use Rapid Spin!" Norman said in a cool tune.

Spinda spun around like a tornado, deflecting the stars as they hit it.

"Spinda, use Dizzy Punch!" Norman commanded.

Spinda stopped spinning and charged at Aipom with its right arm covered in a rainbow colored aura. It hit Aipom right in the face. Aipom flew across the battlefield and hit the wall.

"Aipom, no!" Aki cried out. Aipom stood up with a lot of damage. Stars spun around her head.

"Aipom, get to your feet and use Focus Punch" Aki exclaimed.

Aipom shook her head and the stars disappeared. She then jumped up and her tail-hand glowed white. She then came down on Spinda and punched it in the face as a revenge for what it did to her before. Just like Aipom, Spinda flew across the battlefield and crashed into the wall.

"Spi-Inda..." Spinda said weakly.

"Spinda is unable to battle, Aipom wins!" The referee held the red flag towards Aki's side.

"So the first win goes to Akhil" the announcer said.

"Take a good rest Spinda" Norman said as he returned Spinda to its Pokeball.

"So you seem like a tough Trainer. How about you deal with my Vigoroth?" Norman threw his Pokeball into the air. His second Pokémon was a white colored, sloth-like Pokémon. "Vigg-Goro!" The Pokemon started to jump and down like a monkey.

"Vigoroth, use Slash!" Norman commanded.

"Aipom, use Double Team" Aki made a quick command.

Just a Vigoroth was about to hit her, Aipom made several copies of itself. Vigoroth slashed the wrong copy, causing it to break. The other copies circled Vigoroth.

"Now, use Swift!" All the copies released yellow stars from their tails. They all hit Vigoroth from all directions. The copies then merged into the real Aipom.

"Focus Punch!" Norman shouted. "Use your own Focus Punch!" Aki also commanded.

Both Vigoroth and Aipom charged at each other and hit each other in the faces. Both fell to the ground after taking a huge hit from the other. Both tried their best to get up, but only Aipom succeeded.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle. Aipom wins!" The referee held flags at Norman's side again. The crowd was astonished to see that two of the great Gym Leader's Pokémon was defeated by a little Aipom.

"Good work Vigoroth, return!" Norman recalled Vigoroth. He took the last Pokeball from his belt.

"What's this? Will this Aipom defeat all of Norman's Pokemon?" the announcer was also amazed.

"The battle is not over yet. Meet my Slaking!" Norman said as he threw his final Pokeball in to the air. A large, gorilla-like Pokemon came out. Unlike the others, this one wasn't very energetic. It laid on the ground the moment it came out.

"SLAA-KING!" The Pokemon roared. It's roar shook the entire battlefield.

Aki took out his Pokedex and scanned the fearsome Pokemon.

"Slaking, the Lazy Pokémon. Slaking lives most of its life asleep, eating only grasses that grow within its reach" the Pokedex explained.

"That's Norman's Slaking, folks. Although it's a bit lazy, it can pack a powerful punch!" the announcer commented.

"Don't be afraid Aipom. Use Focus Punch!" Aki said. Aipom jumped up and landed a critical hit on Slaking's head. Slaking cried out in pain. But it wasn't enough it take down the Lazy Pokemon.

"Finish it off with Blizzard" Norman said, regaining his coolness.

Slaking took a deep breath and exhaled a large blizzard from its mouth, without moving an inch from its position. The blizzard hit Aipom, freezing it solid.

"Aipom, oh no!" Aki said, gritting his teeth.

The ice then broke and Aipom fell to the ground, with its swirly.

"Aipom is unable to battle, Slaking wins!" The referee held the green flag at Norman's side.

"Good work Aipom, you did your best. Now take a long rest!" Aki returned Aipom to its Pokeball. He then looked at Flame.

"Are you ready Flame?" He asked the Charmander. It replied with a grin and ran to the battlefield.

"Okay Flame, use Ember!" Aki said. Flame shot out several fireballs at Slaking. They hit it and exploded, but didn't do much damage to Slaking.

"Slaking, Earthquake!" Norman commanded.

Slaking, who as lying for all that time, got up and raised its arms. It then smashed the ground with its heavy arms, creating an earthquake. The earthquake shook the entire battlefield, including Flame. When the earthquake stopped, Flame stood for a while before falling to the ground, knocked out.

"Charmander is unable to battle, Slaking wins! Akhil, please send out your last Pokémon" The referee said holding the green flag at Norman's side.

Aki ran to the battlefield at took Flame in his arms. "Don't worry Flame, you'll heal up very quickly!" He said. Flame gave him a weak smile. Aki placed Flame on his shoulder and took out his final Pokeball.

"Go, Charmander!" Aki thew his final Pokeball into the air. Charmander came out of it and breathe fire into the sky.

"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Aki said. Charmander took a deep breath and did a powerful Flamethrower with all his strength. Unlike Flame's Ember, this move did a lot of damage to Slaking. It also burned the Lazy Pokémon.

"SLAAKI..." The Pokémon cried in pain. Its body was burning.

"Oh no, Slaking!" Norman cried out. He couldn't call for an attack due to Slaking's Truant ability. After using Earthquake, Slaking had to rest for a while.

"Charmander, show them your Dig!" Aki commanded.

Charmander quickly dug into the ground. A smile appeared on Norman's face. "Slaking, use Earthquake!" He commanded.

Aki's face turned pale. He knew that this move will knockout Charmander. He commanded fast. "Charmander, come out!" He cried out.

Charmander came out behind Slaking. He saw Slaking raising its arms. "Charmander, dodge that Earthquake by clinging onto Slaking" Aki's brain started to work at last.

Charmander quickly jumped onto Slaking just as it used Earthquake. This action saved him from Slaking's tremendous Earthquake.

"SLAA-KING!" The Lazy Pokemon cried out in pain. Its body was still burning. Norman quickly called out a move.

"Slaking, use Rest" He said calmly. Slaking let out a yarn and started to sleep. Its burned mark started heal slowly. Although he knew that Slaking would be fully healed, Aki smirked as Slaking would sleep for a while. He decided to try a new strategy.

"Charmander, use Dig!" Aki called out. "What's this? Doesn't Akhil know that Dig is risky?" The announcer said.

Charmander jumped down from Slaking and dug into the ground. "Now, run around!" Aki made his next command. Norman nor the viewers didn't understand what that meant.

Underground, Charmander started to make tunnels below Slaking. After a few seconds, a huge network of tunnels was formed below Slaking.

"Now, use Flamethrower!" Aki commanded. Charmander breathe out a powerful Flamethrower underground, which erupted below Slaking. The Lazy Pokémon was once again scorched, but not BURNED. It suddenly awoke and cried out in pain.

"Slaking, use Hammer Arm!" Norman commanded. "Charmander dodge it!" Aki said in a hurry.

Slaking got up and swung its arm at Charmander with great force. Charmander tried to dodge it, but failed and was flying towards wall after taking the hit.

"Yes!" Norman smirked. But his smirk disappeared seeing that there was something wrong with Slaking. The ground below Slaking started to crumble.

"SLAAKKIN..." The Lazy Pokémon looked below. The ground below it suddenly crashed and it fell into a large pit with great force. The pain was like taking 5 Dig attacks at once. Everyone stared at it in awe.

"Can you believe that folks? I just don't understand what has happened" the announcer said. "Just like in my plan" Aki smirked. The camera zoomed in, showing his face on the big screen.

"When I commanded Charmander to 'run around' underground, he made a network of tunnels beneath Slaking. It decreased the ground strength and it crashed. Simple" Aki explained to the viewers.

Slaking and Charmander got up after taking a lot of damage. Both stared at each other and then fell to the ground.

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle, which means that this battle is draw!" The referee said holding both flags up.

"This battle is not a tie" Norman said suddenly. The camera zoomed towards him. His face filled the large screen. "A trainer powerful enough to defeat my Slaking shall proceed to the finals. I'm declaring Akhil as the winner!" Norman said. Pride and dignity was everything to him. He believed in fair play.

Aki couldn't believe this. He had just defeated the almighty Norman. It was then he remembered about his Pokemon. He ran towards Charmander and took it in his arms. "Charmander, are you ok?" He asked. Charmander didn't answer. It only made weak sounds as a reply.

"Char-Mimander" Flame told Aki. Aki nodded and held Charmander to his chest. He then went straight towards the Pokémon Center.

Pokemon Center

"Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy!" Aki ran towards counter with Flame on his shoulder and Charmander held to his chest.

"Nurse Joy, he was badly hurt in our last battle!" He said.

"I saw that battle. Give me his Pokeball!" Nurse Joy said. She had watched Aki and Norman's battle. Aki took out Charmander's Pokeball and recalled him. He then handed her the Pokeball.

"Please give me a minute!" She said leaving, followed by her Chansey.

Aki and Flame waited desperately in the Pokémon Center. After hour, Nurse Joy returned with a tray with Charmander sitting on it. He had bandages tied around his head and tail. His left hand was plastered and tied to his neck. He smiled at Aki. Nurse Joy placed the tray on the counter.

"He's fine... but his hand is a bit fractured" Nurse Joy said slowly. Flame jumped down from Aki's shoulder on to the counter. He touched Charmander's fractured arm.

"Be careful... You should not use him in battle for a few weeks. He should recover by then" She said. She then left.

Aki's eyes started to water. He asked softly, "Does it hurt?" Charmander shook its head no. "Can you return to your Pokeball?" He asked. Charmander nodded. Aki took out his Pokeball and recalled him, feeling it was the safest place for him.

"Now you have only two Pokémon for the finals" a voice told him. Aki turned around to see Norman again. Norman was watching the entire scene.

"You should recruit another Pokémon from Nurse Joy" He said. "Isn't that against the rules? I mean, shouldn't a Trainer battle with the Pokémon he registered?" Aki asked.

"Don't worry. I'll tell the authorities about this. You carry on!" Norman said. He had started to respect Aki after their battle.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Norman!" Aki bowed before Norman in gratitude.

"Don't mention it! You're strong. Prove your strength against Cheren too!" Norman said. "I will!" Aki assured him.

TO BE CONTINUED!

That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it. So, Charmander is hurt and won't battle till Chapter 10 or so. For the finals, Aki is going to loan a new Pokemon. If you want to see who that is, wait till the next chapter.

Aki's team

Flame (Lv. 22) – Male – Ember, Scratch, Incinerate

Charmander (Lv. 24) – Male - Ember, Flamethrower, Dig

Aipom (Lv. 22) – Female – Swift, Focus Punch, Attract, Double Team (newly revealed)

Norman's team

Slaking (Lv. 38) – Blizzard, Earthquake, Hammer Arm

Vigoroth (Lv. 22) – Slash, Focus Punch

Spinda (Lv. 20) – Rapid Spin, Dizzy Punch

Lenora's team

Watchog (Lv. 30) – Low Kick, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis

And now for the trivia –

Pokémon Trivia

The Nidorino that appears in Professor Oak's introduction in Red and Blue has the cry of a Nidorina.

So, this chapter comes to an end. Don't worry, I will upload the next chapter as soon as I can. So long guys. This is akhil100, signing out!