Dislcaimer: I do not own Pokemon nor am I related to Game Freak/Nintendo in any way. I do own the OCs.

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"I must say, you're a very strong trainer," Wattson said. "You've gone through my elaborate gym full of traps, and have gotten me to my last Pokemon." He laughed. "Well, let's see how this turns out. Go, Magneton!"

A Pokeball was released, revealing a magnetic creature with three eyes. It buzzed.

"Magneton," the Pokemon said robotically.

On the opposite end of the battlefield, a boy stood silently. His eyes were covered by his shiny platinum hair which fell across his head in spikes. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a gleaming Ultra Ball. He tossed it into the air and a bright-haired Absol materialized.

"Flamethrower, Absol," the boy commanded.

Absol launched the powerful flame. Magneton found itself barely dodging a full-out focused beam of fire.

"Magneton, strike back with a Zap Cannon!" Wattson said.

After recovering from dodging the flame attack, Magneton set all of its magnets together and started discharging electricity in front of it. Soon the discharged electricity was centered into a ball. Magneton released the orb, and it was speeding toward the Absol.

"Detect."

Before the orb hit, Absol focused its eyes on it. Its paws glowed, and a quick swipe later, the zap cannon was countered.

"Now, Sucker Punch it!"

Running toward the Magneton, Absol concentrated energy into its paw. It leapt up, rammed its fist into Magneton's hard magnetic armor. Magneton fell backward onto the ground, dazed.

"Magneton, get back up with Magnet Rise and attack with Shock Wave!" Wattson yelled.

Slowly rising, the Magneton reached full height as it charged electricity. It released the wave

The boy watched the wave of electricity zigzag up and down the battlefield.

"Counter with your own Shock Wave, Absol," he said.

Absol's horn glowed yellow, and it released a similar-looking electric attack. The two waves zigzagged toward each other, and finally collided in the middle of the arena. An explosion occured, and the two trainers awaited to see the result.

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Xavier returned to town, new Pokeball in hand. He strode confidently with a smile plastered on his face. He made his way to a small field near Mauville city, and released the Pokeball. The red laser materialized into a Trapinch.

Trapinch did not feel very pleased about being under ownership of a trainer. It ran off, trying to free itself.

"No! Wait!" Xavier chased after it. Trapinch was still fast, even on normal terrain. Xavier couldn't catch up. Stopping to catch his breath, he noticed a shop. It read:

BIKES

Without stopping to think, Xavier rushed inside and saw a man cleaning some bikes with a rag.

"Why, hello there! Would it interest you purchasing a bike?"

Xavier nodded frantically.

"Good! Let's see... there's two types of bikes you can get. This one over here," the man pointed. "...is the Mach Bike. It's capable of going at extreme speeds-"

The store manager found the boy already taking the bike back out.

"This is what I need," the boy said. "Thanks!" He tossed some money over his shoulder and ran out of the shop, speeding.

Xavier pedaled as fast as he could as he chased Trapinch near the meadow.

This is like a repeat of the desert, Xavier thought. Fortunately, the Mach Bike was speedy enough to catch Trapinch. He returned the Trapinch to its ball. Training it wouldn't be easy. Xavier gave up for now.

Xavier got off the bike. Now he had a faster way to travel. Pretty soon he'll have to face Wattson. He still needed one more Pokemon to equal Wattson's four. He whipped out his map and scouted for a training area near Mauville.

Verdanturf seems nice...

Jumping on his bike, Xavier pedaled westward to Verdanturf Town. As he rode, he spotted some pretty scenery including flowers, shrubs, and trainers with their Pokemon. He reached town, set down his bike, and made his way around town.

There were the typical things: Mart, Center, and residents. However, Xavier spotted a strange building he never saw anywhere else. Approaching it, he figured out it was a Battle Tent. Wondering what it was, Xavier strolled inside.

He made a beeline for the information desk. There he learned that this specific Battle Tent was where Pokemon could battle without commands from their Trainers, and fight on their own. Xavier thought it was as great idea for training his Trapinch, who didn't like being told what to do anyway.

Xavier registered and the informant guided him to the battlefield. Xavier walked onto the bumpy field, spotting the ref and his opponent, who was all ready to fight. His Pokemon was already on the field, a blue-colored Illumise. Sending out his Pokeball, Xavier watched patiently for Trapinch to fight. Illumise made the first move by performing a Quick Attack, speeding toward the ant Pokemon.

Trapinch dodged quickly by sidestepping. The Illumise veered around and attempted to land another Quick Attack. This time, Trapinch swiftly performed a large Sand Tomb, which Illumise rammed right into. The bug Pokemon couldn't escape the sticky sand. Trapinch then Tackled the Illumise down.

Xavier realized Trapinch was a good fighter. He watched as Illumise released a Bug Buzz, releasing sound waves in Trapinch's direction. It dodged by burrowing into the ground.

Illumise looked around the battlefield, expecting its opponenet to pop out of the ground any time now. It didn't. The bug Pokemon waited quite a while before Trapinch burst through the floor, jaws wide open, ready to land a Bite on the bug.

Illumise countered quickly and ran out of the way while Trapinch slammed itself hard onto the floor. The blue insect conjured up a Silver Wind which it blew toward Trapinch's direction. It sent Trapinch spiraling upward, high above the battle zone. Illumise thought it had won, but Trapinch was falling down at full speed, teeth showing. It aimed itself straight toward its foe.

The unexpecting Illumise was flattened by the heavily powered attack. An eruption covered the battlefield, leaving Trapinch and a very dazed Illumise in a small crater.

"Trapinch wins!" the ref exclaimed.

* * * * *

On the way to the next battle, Xavier complimented Trapinch on its battling skills, which Trapinch took very nicely. It began warming up a bit. As the doors opened to the next battefield, Trapinch leapt out of Xavier's arms.

This time, the battlefield was a heavily densed rainforest. Trapinch found its opponent, an active Vigoroth. It took advantage of its surroundings, using its primate instincts to swing from vine to vine.

Trapinch decided to swing on a branch too; unfortunately, it was a bad idea. Trapinch ended up hanging for dear life on a vine with its teeth, swinging uncontrollably on the vine like a pendulum. Vigoroth swooped in an got an easy Slash on Trapinch, knocking it down from the vine. Trapinch easily recovered, trying to spot its opponent. It scurried back and forth, occasionally catching a glimpse of the monkey Pokemon swinging.

Vigoroth decided to leap off a vine and use its power in a Crush Claw attack. It swiped its claw and missed Trapinch by inches.

Trapinch was surprised, but struck back by Biting its opponent. The Vigoroth tried to shake it off, but Trapinch kept biting harder. Eventually Vigoroth swung on a vine, Trapinch still on hand. Vigoroth stuck its arm out while swinging. Trapinch found itself about to be struck by a tree. It let go, and fell down to the ground.

Trying to use a different tactic, Trapinch whipped up a violent Sandstorm, making it hard for Vigoroth to see. It fell off the vine onto the floor, where it stood face-to-face with Trapinch.

Trapinch made the first move, using an Earth Power to cause an ground-breaking explosion in front of Vigoroth. Vigoroth took the brunt of the attack, sending it sliding backward.

Vigoroth stood straight back up again, angrier than ever. It unleashed a powerful Fury Swipes, sending powerful claw attacks toward Trapinch in a blur. Trapinch was seriously injured, Vigoroth had left scratches all over its face. Trapinch slowly looked up to Vigoroth, eyes blazing.

It lashed forward, striking with all its teeth and chomping with all its might. It performed several Earth Powers, forming an explosive ring around Vigoroth, blasting it into the air. Trapinch then quickly burrowed underground, forming a deep pit that Vigoroth landed into. The monkey Pokemon couldn't get out and therefore lost the battle. The ref called Trapinch the winner.

Later, Vigoroth was still in the pit and Trapinch scurried over to the edge of it. It looked down.

If a Trapinch had a tongue, it would have definitely stuck it out at Vigoroth.

* * * * *

The third and final match was the toughest was a special double battle. Two Pokemon were allowed to compete and work with the other without assistance of the trainer. Xavier decided to choose Milotic ; it was best suited with Trapinch to fight against the opponents, which were an Aron and a Swalot.

The battle began with Aron performing a Take Down while Trapinch used an Earthquake. The ground-type attack was super-effective against both Swalot and Aron; both took massive damage. Milotic followed up by spraying bursts of Bubblebeam to its enemies. Aron managed to dodge, while Swalot wasn't so lucky.

So far so good. Trapinch had a two type advantages, while Milotic had one. If Trapinch and Milotic kept this up, they would win with ease.

Just then, Swalot began jiggling uncontrollably. It looked like it was going to explode, but instead it released a large, purple Gunk Shot from its mouth, aiming it toward Xavier's two Pokemon. The duo managed to get out of the way, though barely. Swalot continued Gunk Shot-ing, while Aron (being immune to Poison-type attacks) rammed through the attack and started tackling its foes.

If one were to dodge the Gunk Shot, they would get hit with a powerful Take Down. If one dodged the Take Down, they got took down by the Gunk Shot. It seemed like Trapinch and Milotic were getting a major beating.

Swalot and Aron continued their barrage of attacks until Milotic decided to end this by releasing a mulit-colored Dragon Pulse at Swalot. Swalot's bulginess easily absorbed the attack, but it stopped attacking for a moment, then resumed.

Trapinch took the small window of an opportunity and released an Earth Power around Swalot, hitting it mulitple times with fragments of the earth. Swalot got repeatedly struck until it had little health left.

Aron, fearing for its partner, jumped in front of it and opened its mouth wide. It let out a horrifying, high-pitched Metal Sound that pierced the air in the battlefield. Milotic and Trapinch squirmed, and Xavier held his ears tightly to stop the sound. Eventually Aron stopped, leaving two very startled Pokemon.

Milotic and Trapinch were still recovering from the attack (which looked like it affected Pokemon more than humans) and were stunned. Aron seized the chance and tackled both of them with a powerful Double-Edge attack.

Trapinch escaped underground to avoid any more damage, while Milotic remained sturdy on the top. Aron didn't pay attention to Milotic as it consciously looked around for Trapinch.

During this time, Swalot had been gathering energy in its gaping stomach, storing Stockpile after Stockpile, and released the stored power in one go. Opening its mouth, Swalot regurgitated a huge Spit Up attack, which hit Milotic with full power. Luckily, Trapinch avoided the move and popped out behind Swalot, striking it with a powerful Dig attack. Swalot, little on health, fainted after the super-effective move.

Milotic had also fainted due to Swalot's Spit Up attack. Aron was left, and Trapinch seemed to lazily pick it off with one last Earthquake.

"Yeah!" Xavier exclaimed. They had won the Battle Tent! He eagerly picked up Trapinch and went back to the entry hall

* * * *

"What?! No prize?!" Xavier yelled questioningly.

"Yes. The Battle Tents do not offer money or prizes as an award."

"..."

Oh well. At least I got some experience out of it, and Trapinch did too.

Xavier left the Battle Tent, still in Verdanturf. He explored the town some more.

He stumbled upon a cave, which he eagerly ran into. It was pretty foggy, so it took quite a bit for Xavier to make a clear path. He ventured more inside the cave, eager to see what would unfold.

After a short time, Xavier came across a path that was blocked by huge boulders. Seeing as nor he or his Pokemon could get past it, he ran back outside the cave.

Picking up his back, he pedaled back toward Mauville, feeling content. He had one more Pokemon he had bonded with (to an extent, anyway) and that feeling was a reward any Trainer could enjoy.

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This was more of a filler chapter than anything else, really. Sorry if it was not very good. As always, reviews and comments well appreciated!