Only by refusing to believe in your limitations, and taking action to defy them, will you push yourself beyond them. -Orthros, 2016

-Third Person Omniscient-

"Terry… Terry, please wake up… TERRY!"

As if a bomb had gone off behind him, Terry yelled something unintelligible as he awoke to the words screamed inside his head. Flying out of bed, he got unbalanced on his cast and windmilled his arms hopelessly as he fell to the floor. Luckily it was carpet, as his head smacked pretty hard against it. Holding his heart with his hands and seeing double, he tried to slow his breathing. Blinking a couple times, he saw Angel, Alex and Nicky looking down at him, with concerned expressions on their faces. Finally having caught his breath, Terry sat up.

"Jeez, Angel, why the harsh wakeup call?" He asked, rubbing his face.

"You were thrashing around in your sleep, having a nightmare. It's past 10 in the morning anyway, the gym is open now…" She responds, sounding slightly nervous.

She may not have made any mention of the question, but Terry knew what she really wanted to know. "Alright, we can head over there in a few minutes. I'm fine, I can't remember the dream anyway," He said as he got up, sitting back on the couch and throwing on a shirt. Quickly he metered the bond between Angel and himself. In reality he wasn't ok. He had revisited Wellspring Cave in his sleep, and the tortured screams had found him no matter how hard he tried to leave. Shaking his head slightly, Terry grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the restrooms to freshen up.

He changed in one of the cubicles, then splashed cold tap water on his face. Looking in the mirror, he could visibly see his lack of sleep, the haunted look in his eyes. Waking up a bit, he composed himself, taking deep breaths. Feeling slightly calmer, and excited for their gym battle, he headed back to his room.

"You two will be great. Good luck!" Alex said to Terry and Angel, before waving a hand and walking to the stands, which were packed. Word had gotten out that a shiny pokemon, a strong one, would be fighting today. Everyone wanted a look. Angel rested in the backpack, but once Terry entered the hallway entrance to the Gym arena, she came out. Even from there, the crowd was loud and excited. Terry looked at her for a moment.

"Are you ok with them watching?" He asked. She nodded, determination burning in her eyes.

"Yes. Besides, a battle is different than regular crowds. You have your opponent to focus on, and the people have to stay off the arena floor, they can only be in the stands."

"Good point. Lets win this thing."

Angel stood on Terry's shoulder, her head held high and fire lighting her orange eyes. Terry followed her example and walked into the battle field with confidence. Waiting at midfield was a woman in her late 20s, with dark skin and a mountain of cyan colored hair, clothed in a simple pink and white dress. She raised her hands for silence from the ever loudening crowd, and they respected her wishes. She spoke.

"Well, this is interesting. My name is Lenora, and I'm the Nacrene Gym Leader. Are you here to win my badge? If so, I hope you aren't like the dozens of trainers that come here to be easily defeated." She smiled.

Terry wasn't sure how to respond, and to be honest he felt offended. He shifted his crutches slightly, sounding annoyed when he spoke. "Neither Angel nor I got shot by team plasma, took the Striaton City Gym Leaders on three to one, almost died multiple times, and traveled all the way here to get defeated by you. I sure as hell didn't walk all the way here from Straiton City on these damn crutches to get blown off by you. My name is Terry Collins, and I've come to take that badge." The crowd is stunned into silence. Lenora, on the other hand, smiles warmly.

"I like your spirit, Terry. Not many challengers are willing to offend me that much. Shall we get this started?" At his nod, a referee stands off to one side at midfield. Lenora moves to the other side of the arena. The ref speaks.

"The battle between Lenora, the Nacrene City Gym Leader vs. Terry Collins, the challenger is about to begin! Here are the rules. Each side is allowed two pokemon, and the battle is over when one side is unable to battle. Furthermore, only the challenger may substitute pokemon…"

During this speech, Lenora and Terry faced each other. Lenora could see the fire in Terry's eyes, it felt as if it were going to be more a battle of wills, of spirits, then a pokemon battle. His eyes tell me he wasn't lying about his adventures. This will be a tough battle. Lenora thought.

"Battle, begin!"

"Herdier, give me a hand!" Lenora throws a pokeball high in the air, and when it opens, a dog pokemon similar to Kelly, Alex's Lillipup, but bigger, joins them on the battlefield. Terry regards the pokemon for a moment, noting it's muscular body. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Ace, come on out!" Terry yells, as the Patrat joins them on the field. That Herdier will be slower than Ace, for sure. We can use the speed to our advantage. "Ace, use quick attack!"

One second Ace was crouching, the next he slammed into the Herdier at full force. To Terry's shock, though, the pokemon only stumbled. Lenora smiled. "Herdier, use bite!"

The dog bared its fangs and lashed out at Ace, but on instinct alone, Terry shouted, "JUMP!"

Had Ace been any slower to react, he would have gotten fangs in the chest. As it was though, he jumped and managed to dodge the attack with the smallest amount of space. He quickly landed and put some space between him and his opponent. Herdier glared at Ace, who returned the stare with equal menace. Lenora's voice broke through the cheering crowds. "Herdier, use take down!"

With speed that just didn't seem possible to Terry, the Herdier took off, racing across the floor. "Ace! Dodge it with quick attack! Get it's side with hyper fang!"

Ace was gone in a flash, easily avoiding the Herdier's attack, before smashing his fangs down onto Herdier's back, right paw. The Dog Pokemon screeched in pain, but Lenora just shouted, "Throw it up in the air and use crunch!" Terry could only watch in horror as Herdier reared up, flinging Ace high into the air. It quickly crouched and jumped, biting the Patrat on the chest, causing Ace to scream in agony. As they landed, Herdier threw Ace from it's mouth. The mouse like pokemon landed in a heap at Terry's feet, unconscious.

"Ace the Patrat is unable to battle, the victor is Herdier!" The ref called as Terry knelt down, picking up the pokemon as it awoke. It looked sad about losing so quickly, but Terry assured him that he did well.

"Take a long rest, my friend. You earned it." He finishes, tapping Ace's pokeball on his head. Terry stands up, motioning for Angel to take to the battlefield.

The ref raises his flags. "Battle, begin!"

"Angel, use psychic." Terry says. Angels eyes glow blue, and suddenly the Herdier is lifted off it's feet and thrown into the wall, which cracks upon taking the impact. Herdier was unconscious before he even hit the ground. The crowd is silent for a moment, the turn in battle was so surprising that even the ref was dumbstruck. Lenora returns Herdier, whispering praise to him as she takes out another pokeball. The ref shakes off his shock and makes the call.

"Herdier is unable to battle! The victor is Angel!" he says, somewhat hesitantly. Lenora takes out another pokeball and throws it without a word. Suddenly a Watchog was standing in front of Angel, it's eyes wide and unblinking. The pair of pokemon stare defiantly at each other as the ref restarts the battle.

"Battle, Begin!" The words are barely out of his mouth before Watchog's arm glows white, and it sends a Brick Break flying at Angel. Without waiting for a command, Angel ducks, than cartwheels backwards, making some space between them.

"Angel, use Magical Leaf!" Terry shouts. Angel raises her arms and several scythe blade shaped leaves appear. Throwing her arms forward, she directs the attack at her opponent.

"Watchog, Light Screen!" Lenora shouts. Watchog doesn't move, but a yellowish colored wall appears, and blocks half the damage. The rest of the attack hits, but Watchog doesn't even try to block it, nor does he make any recognition that he felt the attack. "Now, Watchog! ThunderBolt!"

Electricity sparks from Watchog's tail, sending a bolt of lightning flying at Angel. It hits before she can react, her scream is immediate. She falls to one knee as the attack stops, breathing heavily. Lenora sighs. "Watchog, end this. Shadow Ball."

The dark, condensed energy strikes Angel in the chest, creating a huge explosion. When the dust clears, Angel is on her hands and knees, struggling to stay awake. Terry sees and feels the pain she is experiencing, he opens his mouth to speak.

"I forf-"

"NO!"

Terry stops talking as Angel screams the word into his head, watches as she struggles to her feet. Her legs are shaking and she's still short of breath, but the determination, the fire in her eyes can't be missed. The crowd roared their approval at the show of courage, but fall silent over the next event.

A white light swallows Angel's small form, growing brighter by the second. Her body grows taller, slightly skinnier. A gown develops and flows down, also covered in bright light. A spike jets out from her chest, while the horns disappear. Suddenly the light explodes, sending sparkles in all directions. Standing where Angel stood was a Gardevoir, whose blue hair and skin clashed with her white dress, and orange eyes and spike. Terry was so dumbstruck that he had to force his mouth closed and shake his head a couple times before he could really understand what had happened.

"Angel… You evolved." He said quietly, yet in the silence of the gym, the words bounced, echoed all around. The Gardevoir looks startled for a moment, raising her hands to her face, looking down at her new form. She breathes deeply, then levitates slightly, a smile on her face.

"I suppose I did," She says, and by the reaction of the crowd Terry knows that she said it to everyone, that her telekinetic powers just went through the roof.

Terry laughs. "I gotta admit, you look great. Something tells me that it's not just your looks that got a boost, though. Shall we try out that new power of yours?" She nods.

Lenora smiles at this. "It seems like the real battle starts now. Ref, call it!"

The ref nods, raises his flags and speaks. "Battle, Restart!"

"Angel, use Thunderbolt!" Terry shouts. She quickly charges the move, and even in the back of the stands you could feel the immense power she was creating. Lenora wasn't one to back down, and neither was Watchog, though.

"Watchog, use ThunderBolt as well!" Watchog charges his own bolt, and when the pair of pokemon fire, the attacks meet at midfield, causing the ref to run for cover as a massive ball of energy expands there. It moves back and forth as the struggle for the upper hand creates a stalemate. After a few seconds, but seems like an eternity, the ball of lightning slams into Watchdog, whose scream of agony is clearly heard. The explosion shakes the arena, as if Arceus had slammed his thousand hands repeatedly into the floor, shaking and swirling. When it finally dies down and the dust clears, Watchog is unconscious in a giant, smoking crater. Angel is no longer levitating, but standing, breathing heavily. Then the ref makes the call and the arena explodes in sound.

"Watchog is unable to battle! The winners are Angel and Terry!" The crowd goes absolutely nuts as they cheer for the winners, chanting their names. Lenora shakes her head, a smile on her face as she returns Watchog. She gives the pokeballs to an assistant for healing, then meets Terry in midfield.

"Terry… I gotta say, that was one of the most impressive battles I've ever had. You two are something else." She turns her gaze on Angel, then smiles. "I'm not supposed to make a rivalry with a challenger, strictly speaking, but to hell with that. Don't you dare lose to anyone before you lose to me. I expect you to give us another great battle when we meet again." She holds out her hand to Terry. Resting in her palm is the Basic Badge. Terry takes it, then nods to Lenora.

"I agree with your terms. It was a great battle." He says, shaking hands with Lenora. The crowd screams their approval of sportsmanship as Angel and Terry walk out of the arena. As they come out of the hall, cameras swarm them, but Angel creates a telekinetic bubble around the pair, which absorbs Alex and Nicky when they approach. They walk calmly through the sea of reporters, the bubble gently pushing them away as they walk through the streets.

Angel keeps the bubble up until they get to the dorm at the Pokemon Center that was allowed for them. All the other pokemon had been dropped off with Nurse Joy's assistants, while the lady herself agreed to check on Angel separately. The boys stood guard outside while the girls went in, and answered questions that were given to them. When Nurse Joy opened the door, the trainers quickly disappeared inside, locking the door behind them. Angel could be seen under the bed covers, sleeping soundly. Nurse Joy addressed Terry and Alex.

"She's ok, just drained from the battle and making that bubble. Now, I don't think I need to explain this, but I will, just in case... Angel is a fully grown Gardevoir now, and she's got… Areas that need to be kept to herself…" She stops talking as both Terry's and Alex's faces redden like tomatoes

"Nurse Joy… we get it… And really, that's embarrassing. Even in private." Terry said, getting redder still.

Nurse Joy just shrugs. "Some people need a reminder, although I suppose you two aren't those people. Anyway, just let her sleep. Have a nice day." Nurse Joy leaves the room, herding the cameras that remained, hoping for a last glimpse, along with her. Alex speaks up.

"That battle… That was incredible…" He sounds dumbstruck even now. Terry just nods, then lays on one of the two couches and gets a random book out of his backpack. He is just opening it when a knock sounds at the door.

"Terry? Alex? Open up, it's Callen." Terry and Alex exchanged looks before quietly stepping outside. Callen looks nervous, but hopeful.

"Hey, Callen. What can we do for you?" Alex says in greeting.

"I wanted to congratulate you guys on your win… And I was wondering if I could join you on your journey." Terry and Alex glance at each other, but Callen is on a roll now. "Back in Wellspring cave, Terry, you came up with a plan so quickly. And Alex, I saw some of the battles you and Kelly were doing. You guys are great. You're fearless. I want to join you so I can push myself farther than I ever have before. Please."

Terry stays silent for a moment, deep in thought. Than he speaks. "Sure."

Callen looks surprised. "For real? No arguments, just 'sure?'"

Alex speaks up. "What, you expected a million and one reasons why you can't? I'm not that kinda guy." He smiles. "The more the merrier. We are going to stay here for the rest of today and set out tomorrow. Sound good with you?"

Callen nods, smiling. The three trainers went to their rooms, doing as they wished.

Terry made a quick call to his father, who had even seen the battle on TV. "You kids are bringing a lot of attention to yourselves. Just be careful. So, Angel evolved. Any ideas on new PR positions?" He asked.

"None yet, I'll discuss it with her tomorrow," Terry said. In truth he was kind of worried, Physical Reassurance didn't work well if the situation felt awkward, so it was going to take some time to adjust. Nonetheless, he would cross that bridge soon enough.

"All right. Stay safe, son. Good Night." his father said in farewell. Terry returned the goodbye and signed off. As he layed on the couch, he wondered what new surprises the next day would bring. His journey had certainly been filled with ups and downs, but whether or not tomorrow was good or bad, today marked a new chapter in his life. Tomorrow could be tackled with renewed energy.

Without further thought, Terry allowed himself to fall into a dreamless sleep.

Note: So, Angel has finally evolved! Tomorrow brings new challenges, new surprises. The quote at the beginning was made by yours truly, and I think it works well as the theme for this chapter. Please R&R, and thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Have a great day, and Happy Reading! -Orthros