"We have the Moon Stones, sir," Paige said, "We ran into the kids who had one, but we managed to take it from them, smoke them out, and get away before they could find us."

"Excellent work," Aaron said, "we can now begin pricing and get these things sold for major riches. Now, what is the status of the girl?"

"Still traveling with those boys," Alex said, "they were on their way to Cerulean as we suspected. We're still waiting for the appropriate moment to attack. So far these two boys have been too cautious for us to successfully do anything."

"That's ok," Aaron said, "we must be patient. Our time will come, and we can't force anything or we'll be in trouble."

"So where's our next assignment?" Alex asked.

"Take a break for now. I have some other things lined up but I need to make sure I'm ready to go ahead with them. Check back in two or three days."

Aaron ended the video call and immediately made another.

"Hello, Aaron."

"Hello Seamus. So the girl is probably in Cerulean by now. I say we go ahead with our plan once she reaches Vermillion. That's where the next badge will be, so they'll definitely be heading that way."

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll get everything ready in Vermillion. Anything else I should know."

"No, just let me know when you're ready and I'll send Alex and Paige your way. They currently are unassigned until you are ready."

"Fair enough, thanks for the help."

Aaron ended the phone call and grinned. He knew he had a good plan this time.

…

Pidgeotto flew up and hovered in the air, showing that it was still strong enough to battle. Gyarados continued to pant, but was not about to go down easily.

"Alright Pidgeotto," Vance called to his Pokémon, "it's getting tired. Let's finish this and get you some rest! Aerial Ace now!"

Pidgeotto gained speed and flew in at Gyarados, bracing itself for a finishing blow.

"Gyarados, get underwater and dodge!"

Misty's pleas would be in vein, for Gyarados was too tired and could not get away fast enough. Pidgeotto slammed into Gyarados at full power, knocking it down onto the platform. It struggled to right itself, but it could not gain its balance and was down for good.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner!"

Pidgeotto landed on Vance's shoulder and looked relieved. It was clearly in need of a rest after the fierce battle with Gyarados.

"Great battle, bud. Take a break, you deserve it. And if her next Pokémon is any good, you're gonna need it."

"So you got me down to my last one," Misty said, holding her final Pokéball, "but this one has been my companion for my entire career and will not go down easily. Now, Misty calls Starmie!"

Starmie appeared this time on the platform instead of in the water like her previous Pokémon. It was a purple colored double star Pokémon with a red gem in the center.

Starmie is really strong. Pidgeotto needs to rest before it can do anymore battling. Charmander and Sandshrew are both weak to water, and Sandshrew hasn't even seen a trainer battle yet. I guess I know where I'll start.

"Poliwhirl, you're up again!"

Poliwhirl appeared looking ready to battle once more. It didn't seem to be fatigued from its battle with Seadra, but after the rest, it would be difficult to tell at first glance.

"Back to Poliwhirl? Alright, Starmie, start it off with Rapid Spin!"

Starmie jumped and started spinning very rapidly and charged into Poliwhirl, knocking it over.

"Poliwhirl, Mud Shot!"

As Starmie was still spinning, Poliwhirl shot a mud stream at Starmie, knocking it off balance and into the water. It swam up and still looked ready to battle.

"Ice Beam, Starmie!"

Starmie shot a beam of ice from the tip of its top point. The attack hit Poliwhirl and slowed it down a bit.

If it slows Poliwhirl down, I'm in trouble. It moves really fast. "Poliwhirl, use your own Ice Beam!"

Poliwhirl jumped and returned the favor to Starmie, landing a direct hit on the red gem. Starmie felt the cold, but still kept moving at a decent speed.

"Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"

Not again…

Starmie shot bolts of lightning toward Poliwhirl, who desperately tried to dodge. Despite the effort, one of the bolts hit Poliwhirl, knocking it down into the water.

"Poliwhirl, can you get up?"

Poliwhirl swam to the surface and climbed on the platform. It was tired, but still willing to give it one last shot.

"Man, I have a team of gutsy Pokémon. Alright, Poliwhirl. Ice Beam again. We gotta slow it down!"

Poliwhirl used more ice and landed a hit on Starmie, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first hit. Starmie was still moving at a decent pace and looked to finish Poliwhirl.

"Thunderbolt one more time!"

Starmie's Thunderbolt hit its mark this time as Poliwhirl could not get away. It was down and not getting back up.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle, Starmie is the winner!"

"Poliwhirl, you battled with a lot of guts today. Good job beating Seadra. We'll get this win for you."

"So, Vance, starting to realize this battle is far from over?"

He was. With only a tired Pidgeotto and two Pokémon weak to water, he didn't see a pretty ending for this battle.

"So he's down to his tired bird and two water weaknesses," Scarlett said, "and this Starmie is certainly no joke."

"He has to come up with a plan," Isaac replied, "he'll just have to out smart her, even if it does mean giving her a type advantage."

Pidgeotto has to come out, but I don't know if it can survive long after that fierce battle with Gyarados. So that leaves this question: Who stands a better chance, Charmander or Sandshrew?

Vance then made a decision that surprised everyone.

"Go, Sandshrew!"

Isaac and Scarlett stood in shock at his decision. Misty was confused, but looked confident that she would knock it out quick due to its disadvantage.

"Vance," Isaac called, "is there a reason you're sending a Pokémon you just caught into a battle against a much stronger Pokémon with a type disadvantage?"

"Sometimes, you have to take some risks," Vance lied.

I'm just buying time, but she can't know that. I need this battle to draw out as long as possible, and I think Sandshrew has the speed to keep up for a while to get Pidgeotto some more rest.

Vance took out his Pokédex to check on Sandshrew's moves, and saw something that made his eyes widen. He then grinned and put his Pokédex away.

"Sandshrew, show me what you're made of!"

"Starmie, use Water Pulse!"

Starmie shot a stream of water with what looked like sonic waves at Sandshrew.

"Sandshrew, dodge it if you can!"

Sandshrew ran and jumped very swiftly, getting out of the way without trouble.

I knew I made the right choice.

"Now, use Slash!"

Sandshrew lunged at Starmie, who was now closer since it attacked, and slashed it straight on. Starmie attempted to dodge, but Sandshrew was too fast for it to react.

"Starmie, Ice Beam now!"

Starmie shot a stream of ice at Sandshrew, who managed to dodge, but Starmie fired again and landed a hit on Sandshrew's foot. Sandshrew was in some noticeable pain, but insisted on continuing on.

"Sandshrew, let's go! Iron Tail!"

Sandshrew jumped a considerable height despite its recent foot hindrance, and slammed its shiny tail into Starmie, knocking it down.

"Starmie, use another Water Pulse!"

Starmie shot its water, but Vance was ready.

"Dodge it Sandshrew, and use X-scissor!"

"X-scissor?!"

Both Isaac and Scarlett were astonished as Sandshrew managed to dodge the water and with its glowing claws, slash Starmie dead center in an X formation. Starmie stumbled and was clearly hurt by this attack.

"Bug-type attacks do well against Psychic-type Pokémon," Vance said with a smirk, "the tables have turned, Misty."

"Starmie, let's finish this little rat. Ice Beam now!"

Starmie used all of its strength to get after Sandshrew, and when it caught up to it, fired ice straight at it, knocking it into the water. It swam to the surface frantically and managed to get to the platform, but as it tried to get its strength, it collapsed and was unable to stand back up.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle, Starmie is the winner!"

Vance walked over and picked Sandshrew up, smiling. "You were amazing. I had no idea what to expect, and even though it wasn't a victory in the books you still won the real fight: you gave it your all and fought valiantly. If we beat this Starmie, its because of you."

"That was quite a battle, Vance. I never thought a Sandshrew would be able to hurt my Starmie as much as it has."

I didn't either, but that's what I needed. "Alright Pidgeotto, it's time to finish this battle!"

Pidgeotto appeared and hovered over the water, looking much better after a long rest. Starmie was panting, at least whatever it looked like for a starfish to be panting.

"Alright Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"

Of course, start off with me having to flee.

Starmie was shooting lightning all over the field, leaving Pidgeotto desperately dodging to stay alive.

"Pidgeotto, knock off balance with a Gust!"

Pidgeotto flapped its wings and with a powerful gust, knocked Starmie off balance from using its attack.

"Ice Beam!"

Starmie was clearly getting tired, especially after the X-scissor. It shot an Ice Beam at Pidgeotto, but it failed to hit its mark.

"Finish this up with Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto used all of its remaining strength to gain speed and catch up to Starmie. It then charged into it head first, knocking it down into the water. When it floated up, it wasn't moving, and its red gem was flashing on and off, indicating that it could no longer battle.

"Starmie is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner. The match goes to Vance!"

Vance fell to his knees in amazement at his victory. He was still in shock of his newly acquired Sandshrew's performance.

"Vance, you battled amazingly today. I haven't seen such a good strategy in quite a long time. You also have some of the gutsiest Pokémon I've ever seen. As a result, I award you with this Cascadebadge."

Misty presented him with a badge that looked just like a raindrop.

"Thank you Misty. You were definitely a worthy opponent. That Starmie of yours is extremely strong."

Though this was the toughest battle he had been in yet, Vance knew he was only dipping his feet in the water. Literally.