AN: Sorry for all the Brock lovers out there. Also, trying out a new way to post. See if this looks better. R&R.

Chapter 7: The Beginning of the End

The crowd roared. Brock waved at the cheering crowd, excited, but nervous. May screamed from the sidelines at him, waving and yelling. He put his two index fingers and thumbs together to form a heart at her, and some of the crowd swooned. The tournament had begun with flying colors. A few battles had already been fought, but it was still the first round. Brock's opponent hadn't arrived yet, but it was getting close to the deadline. If they didn't show up at the specified battle time they would be disqualified at the judge's discretion.

Unfortunately for Brock, that would not be the case today. A figure walked out of the tunnel slowly, but with purpose. He squinted his eyes even more than usual, trying to see who the silhouette was.

"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice echoed, as an even more familiar face was revealed. The Sinnoh champion, Cynthia, stood across from Brock in the opponent's square. Brock's jaw slackened in disbelief as his eyes met his first round opponent's, and all his dreams of impressing May were destroyed in a microsecond.

"CHALLENGERS! GET READY FOR BATTLE!" The announcer screamed.

"CYN-THI-A, CYN-THI-A, CYN-THI-A-" The crowd chanted. In the midst of all the frenzied screaming, Brock could hear one small, forlorn voice chanting something different.

"BROCK, BROCK, BROCK, BROCK, BROCK." It was his girlfriend's voice. Some of Brock's courage flowed back into him, as he straightened himself.

"Alright, guys. We can do this," He spoke to himself, selecting a Pokeball from his belt. "No sweat. She's only the champion, right? How hard could it be?"

"GO!" The announcer bellowed, and the crowd roared.

Brock hucked the Pokeball with all of his might. "GO! GEODUDE!" The Pokeball opened and a flash of light emerged, and Brock's faithful, trusty geodude floated in a battle ready position, facing off against Cynthia.

Brock nodded smartly, but noticed a strange absence of noise. Looking around, he realized that the crowd had gone deathly quiet, save for a few crunches of popcorn.

"...why isn't Brock using his onyx?" Cilan asked slowly. "Is it perhaps he needs to add some of his own unique seasoning to this blend of a battle? I am quite intrigued on what flavors will come out of this battle."

Cynthia raised an eyebrow, dumbfounded at what looked like incompetence in battling, but could very well be a trap to make her let her guard down. She decided to quickly nip that in the bud, and go all out. That settled, she whipped her hair back and grabbed one of her Pokeballs.

"MILOTIC! USE HYDRO CANNON!" Cynthia hollered as she whipped a fastball towards Geodude.

Brock's eyes widened as much as they could as the Pokeball started to open.

"What the-"

Sobbing echoed through the hotel room. May sat next him on the bed, awkwardly patting Brock's back.

"It's okay, Brock. She is a Champion after all." She said comforting him.

"I… didn't… even hit… her." He managed to choke out in between sobs.

"Yeah… maybe if you didn't use Geodude…" she said in a low voice. Brock's cries redoubled. "I mean, you always use him!" She quickly amended. "Why don't you use someone else for once? Like Onyx!"

"B...but I like Geodude." Brock looked at her. At least, she thought he did. It was sometimes hard to tell with Brock's eyes. Hell, he slept like the dead and never made a noise, so she didn't even know when he was asleep half the time. It was a little weird to be looking at someone you thought was asleep but then they suddenly start talking to you. She had to get used to that. Brock's cries tripling in volume returned May to her senses and she began patting his back again. Max had the right idea leaving early to train. It was going to be a long night.

Gray stalked out of his hotel room and headed down the elevator. He seemed to be talking to someone that no one else could see.

"No. I am not going to use him. Did he put you up to this?" He seemed to get a reply because he growled under his breath and muttered something inaudibly. The last thing he said before he rounded the corner was: "That would ruin the surprise. I'll use you against the Master. Maybe."

Paul snickered to himself as he finished off the last of his jelly donut. He was looking forward to crushing the weakling trainers that would be in the first round. Scoffing to the air and laughing, thinking about hearing the crowd chant his name, he brushed his hands off and walked confidently into the arena to take on his first opponent.

The heat was intense. It was an absolute scorcher. Paul was from Sinnoh, where the temperatures regularly hit under thirty degrees. He was panting simply standing in the sun, waiting for his opponent. He didn't have to wait long. Five minutes to the dot before the round started, his opponent appeared across from him in the tunnel, making his way out into the arena.

Paul's eyes bulged as he saw that the trainer standing across from him was wearing a trench coat in this heat.

"How are you wearing that in this heat?" Paul sputtered. The trainer across from him didn't move or react in any way. Paul waited a beat before speaking up again.

"Hello? I asked you a question." Again, the figure did not give any indication that he heard Paul whatsoever. In fact, he raised his wrist a second later, and Paul thought he had finally heard him, but he flipped his wrist and revealed a small watch that he checked the time on.

"Hey!" Paul practically shouted at the cloaked figure, not used to being ignored, "are you braindead!? I'm talking to you!"

"I will be if you keep flapping those lips of yours. Shut up." The figure finally responded in a deep, gruff voice. Paul was stunned into silence. No one had ever given him a response like that. He finally found his voice and opened his mouth to retort-

"ALRIGHT. CHALLENGERS, PLEASE PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR BATTLE!" The announcer boomed, startling Paul. His eyes narrowed.

This guy thinks he's smart, eh? Paul thought to himself. I'll show him my strength, and then I'll…

"...GO!" The announcer's voice was accompanied by a loud buzzer, signaling the start of the intense dual. Paul's thoughts were cut off and the thrill of battle filled him. He realized that the referee had been talking to them both, probably stating the rules, but Paul, nor his opponent cared, as they had already read the rule book. Confidence rising and old spirit returning, he selected his Pokeball and planted his foot. Whipping the Pokeball around at a speed that would rival major league pitchers, he hurtled the ball into the center of the arena with confidence. Electivire, an electrical behemoth, rushed out of the pokeball and landed with a powerful thump.

Paul had made it a personal goal of his to make sure he always threw the Pokeball harder and faster than his opponents, so he felt a little cheated when Gray made no effort to throw the Pokeball at all, but merely flicked it off his belt.

The pokeball rolled a few inches and expanded, then opened with a familiar sound. A magnezone popped out of the pokeball and instantly rolled its magnets into a guarded position.

Paul grinned. "Alright, Electivire! Use screech!"

Electivire bellowed out a horrible grating sound that made everyone in the audience clasp their hands over their ears as the screech washed over them.

Gray was unfazed, however, and stood calmly with his arms crossed as magnezone took the screech.

"GRAY'S MAGNEZONE SEEMS TO BE WHOLLY UNCONCERNED WITH ELECTIVIRE'S SCREECH, FOLKS!" The announcer's voice blared over the speakers.

Paul's eyes narrowed. Did this trainer think he was a joke? Or perhaps he was just stupid. Either way, he wasn't holding back. "Fire punch!"

Electivire rushed forward, flames beginning to gather around his hand. He charged towards the magnezone as it still hadn't bothered moving from its original position.

"Full power!" Paul called.

The hit was deafening. Electivire's hand slammed into the immobile target at full force, flames dancing around his fist. A large explosion from the intensity of the blow obscured the crowd's view of the arena.

"...OOOOHHHH! AND MAGNEZONE TAKES THE POWERFUL ELECTIVIRE'S HIT AT FULL FORCE! THAT WAS A HARD BLOW, FOLKS! HOW WILL MAGNEZONE COME BACK FROM THIS?!" The announcer continued to shout. How his throat was holding up was anyone's guess.

The smoke cleared. Paul gasped. The magnezone hadn't moved, and neither had Gray. Both stood completely uninterested at one of Electivire's strongest attacks, still unmoving.

"Hey, is this some sort of joke?" Paul angrily asked, looking around for prank cameras.

Electivire's fist sizzled as he took it off Magnezone's steel chassis. Now it was Gray's turn to grin, although Gray's was much more malicious.

"Magnezone… flash cannon."

It was instantaneous. One moment Electivire stood in front of Magnezone, still recovering from the force of his own attack. The next, Electivire was buried in the wall in the opposite side of the arena, a loud crash echoing throughout the stadium. Paul's jaw went slack and his mouth dry as a giant burst of light was slowly fading. "W-what…?" Paul incredulously thought.

"LOOKS LIKE ELECTIVIRE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! PAUL HAS TWO POKEMON LEFT!"

"SHUT UP!" Paul screamed at the opaque window that hid the announcer from the contestants. "I'M TRYING TO THINK HERE!"

Paul became aware of Gray cooly staring at him from across the battlefield, and he became flustered at his outburst.

"What are you looking at?!" he seethed at Gray.

"Your incompetence." came the level reply.

But Gray's response only added fuel to Paul's fire, and he selected another Pokeball with his face burning. He hurled the ball as hard as he could towards Gray's completely neutral face.
You will not embarrass me. Paul thought to himself.

The ball exploded outwards and a shape emerged from the light. A purple scorpion called Drapion.

"DRAAAAAAA." It gave a battle cry, getting into position. It didn't typically get to battle, except in high profile fights like these. It was brimming with energy and fresh for battle.

"BEGIN!" The referee called. Instantly, Drapion was already moving, knowing that Paul would call for toxic spikes. He was right.

"Drapion, toxic spikes, then into swords dance!" The large scorpion quickly threw toxic spikes around Magnezone, poison tips clattering to the ground and becoming a deadly trap for any pokemon sent out. Magnezone surveyed the metaphorical minefield as Drapion ground his claws together, sharpening them into gleaming weapons.

"Now, use cross poison!" Drapion leaped forward, his arms crossed, glowing with a deadly purple sheen. Gray and Magnezone had yet to move throughout the whole ordeal. Paul smirked, some confidence regained.

The poisonous scorpion slammed into the steel pokemon with the force of a dump truck. If possible, the magnezone looked even less affected by the powered up move then by the fire punch from the previous pokemon.

"You do realize that poison doesn't affect steel… right?" Gray asked patronizingly. "You know, I would have assumed a trainer who had the audacity to enter a league for the best of the best would have known something basic like that." It was the longest sentence Gray had uttered since arriving to the tournament.

Paul's eye twitched as he mentally face palmed. I forgot. Damn. Now I look like a fool. He grit his teeth.

"Fire fang followed up by rock throw." The drapion opened its mouth to reveal long rows of sharp teeth that were starting to catch on fire. Leaping forward, Drapion clamped his jaw shut on the magnezone's face. Paul gave a mental cheer.

That had to do something! However, one look at Gray's face and his euphoria wavered. Before Drapion could leap back and perform the second command his trainer had given him, Gray opened his mouth.

"Lock-on. Zap Cannon." Paul's eyes widened.

"BACK!" Paul shouted, a rushed command to save Drapion from the same fate as Electivire.

Drapion hurled itself back in an attempt to get away from Magnezone as a red target appeared on Drapion before fading into his body. Paul realized Drapion's fate was sealed a second too late. He opened his mouth to warn Drapion and use protect, but a beam shot from Magnezone's body so fast it made Paul dizzy, and struck him in the torso. He flew towards Paul, tail and claws waving. Paul athletically leaped out of the way of his incoming pokemon, barely dodging many deadly parts on his pokemon. A loud crash came from behind Paul as he gingerly got up.

Damn. He looked behind him to see his drapion imbedded in the wall. The sinnoh native looked back to see his opponent's magnezone hovering without a scratch on him.

Am I in some sort of dream? Paul wondered, having doubts in his abilities for the first time in his life. There was no way two of his pokemon had just got knocked out in one hit from a scrub's magnezone. It just wasn't possible. It was inconceivable. Did someone drug his jelly donut? Paul wasn't sure anymore.

Gray smiled, but it wasn't at all friendly. Paul slowly grabbed Drapion's pokeball and returned him, before choosing a new one. He knew there was no hope of winning this battle. All he could do was at least take down one of Gray's pokemon and attempt to save his dignity from any further tarnish.

"Go! Ursaring!" Paul shouted, his last hope leaving his hand just as fast as the other two pokemon. But Gray had tired of the charade.

"Gyro ball." He spoke, never once raising his voice the entire battle. Magnezone finally moved, and move it did. Flashing as fast as Ursaring did out of the pokeball, Ursaring didn't even have time to see daylight before Magnezone slammed a spinning ball of energy straight into its stomach. It never stood a chance.

AN: Did you enjoy the chapter? Also, we don't hate Brock, but it was funny. Review please.

Also, an alternate outcome to the first meeting:

Paul had made it a personal goal of his to make sure he always threw the Pokeball harder and faster than his opponents, so he felt a little cheated when Gray made no effort to throw the Pokeball at all, but merely flicked it off his belt.

"Listen, Paul." Gray said, taking out a cigarette. "My mom always told me when I was young never to smoke. 'Don't eat artificial sweeteners' and other bullcrap. I've always been very careful with my health, Paul. Very very careful. I've never vaped. I've never smoked weed. This is my first cigarette I've ever had in my entire life. And you know why? Because after all these years of taking care of my health… looking at your face gave me cancer anyway."