Characters in this chapter (and Pokémon):

Melly Sparks

-Charmander

-Vulpix

Zane Norton

-Magikarp

Alex(andra) Soarhire

-Combusken

-Cyndaquil

Michelle Tiora

-Umbreon

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Chapter Nine

"Your Pokémon aren't really trained, are they?" Alex asked. I frowned again, I didn't like this girl but I didn't want to say anything. Michelle was nice enough but Alex probably didn't even know that she was irking me. "Cyndaquil, Combusken!"

I pointed my Pokédex at the two new Pokémon and discovered that these two were also from the Hoenn—Combusken—and Kanto—Cyndaquil—region.

"They look… really strong," I grudgingly admitted.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Alex grinned and I had a suspicious feeling that she did not just have the idea. "Let's have a double battle!"

"What are double battles?" I turned to Zane.

"Mostly Hoenn trainers have double battles but they're really rare here," Zane explained. "It's just like a battle but instead of just one trainer battling another trainer, there are two trainers on each side. The two trainers have to work together to win the battle."

"Why don't we mix it up a little?" Alex had a sparkle in her eyes. "Michelle and Melly can be a team. And Zane and I will be on a team."

I opened my mouth to protest but Michelle beat me to it.

"Oh, no, you don't! They've both known each other longer than we know them; we'll be better off battling together, Alex."

"I know a place where we can battle," Zane recalled all of his Pokémon and started to walk away.

I followed, waving my Pokémon over to follow me. Behind me, I could hear Michelle scolding Alex. "Don't you do this again, Alex!"

I caught up with Zane and asked him, "Where are we going?"

He winked at me and simply said, "You'll see."

In a few moments, they reached a wide clearing with a large lake to their right side and Zane set his stuff down and I followed suit. The two other trainers arrived with their two Pokémon trailing.

"How about everyone has one Pokémon each?" Michelle shouted.

"That's fine with us!" Zane shouted back. He turned to me. "Which Pokémon are you going to use?"

"I think… Charmander. What about you?" I recalled all of my Pokémon except for Charmander and Vulpix.

Zane said nothing as he recalled back his Pokémon as well.

I rolled my eyes. "Last time I checked, I couldn't read minds, Zane." I grinned.

At that moment, Zane looked very uncomfortable. His body was stiff and he looked at me, confused and pained. I was confused about what was going on with him when he suddenly smiled back stiffly and noticed that Michelle and Alex were ready.

"Ready?" I shouted.

"Ready!" They both answered back.

"Let the double battle begin," I said through gritted teeth.

"Go! Umbreon!" Michelle called.

"Let's fight, Cyndaquil!" Alex shouted.

"Kick butt, Charmander!" I pointed my finger at Umbreon and Charmander ran towards the field.

"Go! Magikarp!" Zane said.

Alex burst out laughing. "Magikarp?"

Zane nodded and Magikarp stared at Cyndaquil with a fierce look.

She stopped laughing and looked back at the Magikarp. She nudged Michelle, "Hey, are Magikarp's supposed to look like that? Aren't they… you know, dumb?"

Michelle shrugged and focused back on Umbreon.

"Tackle!" she shouted.

"Dodge it, Charmander, and use Scratch," I commanded.

"Dodge it, Umbreon and use Tackle," Michelle said calmly.

Shadow let out a small "Um" and quickly and powerfully rammed Colm.

Damn, I thought, If that's her Tackle, I'd hate to see her Quick Attack!

"This is an unfair fight," I murmured to Zane. He said nothing and I looked over at Zane and saw that he was struggling against Cyndaquil. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

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Author's Note: Ha! That battle is a little unfair because Michelle and Alex are way stronger than Melly. They did defeat the Elite Four of the Hoenn region. Luckily though, Cyndaquil is the same level as Charmander. Unluckily, Umbreon is a veteran at fighting. Hopefully Melly and Zane can keep their wits together!