As the sun rose up and illuminated the little village on Gren Isle, Jaune started to wake up from a peaceful night's sleep. Since it was pretty early in the morning, Jaune figured he would head to the cafeteria and help Ren. He got dressed and went to the cafeteria and was surprised to see so many people in the village awake and eating breakfast. Jaune went into the kitchen where Ren was already wrapping up the cooking and was about to get started on the cleaning.

"Good morning Jaune," said Ren. "Sleep well?"

"Did you?" asked Jaune. "I could have sworn I went to sleep before you did. Do you actually sleep?"

"Only when I need to."

"Okay...well, anyway, I was going to ask if you needed help with anything."

"I'll be fine. I saved a plate for you and Nora; you just enjoy your meal."

"Thanks, but are you sure you don't need help? I mean, I feel kind of bad you have to do all this work by yourself."

"No need to. I'm used to working like this."

"If you say so..." Jaune took his plate and sat at one of the tables, where he was soon joined by Nora.

"Mornin' Jaune!" greeted Nora.

"Morning, Nora. Did Ren insist you not help as well?"

"That's Ren for ya! Always working hard by his lonesome!"

"No offense, but I think he might even be crazier than you. With all the work he does, I'm surprised he finds the time to train for the gym battles."

Nora sighed. "You'd be amazed how much time he spends in the day."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind," replied Nora. Nora ate her meal in silence; Jaune wasn't sure if he had made Nora mad with that last comment or if Nora just wanted to eat in peace.

#

After talking to Ren last night, Ruby went back to the Pokémon Center and made her decision on which three Pokémon she was going to use; she knew she couldn't choose her weakest Pokémon on purpose, but it still didn't feel right to choose three Pokémon that were strong enough to hand her an easy victory, so she assembled a team that felt was a perfect balance of the two. This was going to be Ruby's most difficult battle yet; not because of the strength of the opponent's Pokémon, but because of the opponent she had to defeat.

Ruby's stomach felt so wound up that she didn't even bother eating breakfast that morning, doubting whatever she ate would stay inside her for long. She headed straight for the village and walked at a fast pace to the Oum Temple. Nearly everyone from the village was entering the temple to watch the gym match while Jaune waited outside for her.

"Welcome back," said Jaune. "Ready for the gym match?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Ruby, heading up the steps of the temple.

"By the way, Ren wanted you to know that they like to hold a prayer ceremony before the start of a battle."

"How appropriate, because I could really use some praying right about now."

Ruby entered the temple and went to the gym area, which resembled a bare-minimum martial arts dojo. The entire floor was covered in blue safety mats, and off to one side were chairs and pillows for the spectators to sit. Everyone was lined up and conducting their prayer, with Ren and Nora sitting at the front of the room. Ruby took a spot in the back and went into her prayer stance.

"Please let this battle go without a hitch. Please let this battle be free of any melodrama."

As the prayer came to a close, everyone stood up and headed to the spectator section. As Ren and Nora were getting up, Ren started to wobble back and nearly fell into Nora.

"You okay?" asked Nora, grabbing Ren before he tripped over himself.

"My foot seems to have fallen asleep," said Ren. Ruby prayed that was really the case. Once Ren was good to go, Nora took her spot in the corner of the front row next to the village children.

"Now then," said Nora, "who's ready to see Ren's Pokémon fight?" All the children pumped their fists in the air and cheered for Ren.

"Because you have five badges, we will have a three on three battle," said Ren. "May this battle be fought with honor and integrity."

Ruby's eyes moved slightly to the right where Nora was sitting. Nora caught Ruby's gaze and returned one of her own.

"I assure you it will be," replied Ruby, as if she was talking to Nora.

Ren called out his Mienfoo to start the match. Ruby pulled out a Great Ball and called out her Electivire. The two Pokémon met near the center of the gym; one of Electivire's arms were nearly as big as the Mienfoo itself. The kids were worried that Mienfoo was going to be severely outclassed.

"How can Ren win when that thing is so big?" asked one of the kids.

"Size isn't everything!" said Nora. "It's not about the size of a Pokémon itself; it's the size of their fighting spirit that matters!"

"Electivire, attack with Thunder Punch!" said Ruby.

"Mienfoo, fall back and use Swift!" said Ren.

Electivire charged up his fist and lunged down at Mienfoo. Mienfoo quickly jumped back from Electivire and fired several energy stars at Electivire, dealing minor damage. Electivire got up and ran after Mienfoo. As fast as Electivire can punch, Mienfoo was able to jump around and avoid his attacks, continuing to fire Swift and constantly deal damage.

"Mienfoo, Jump Kick!" Mienfoo ran full bore at Electivire. Once it closed in, Mienfoo jumped into the air and struck Electivire with a kick to the jaw, powerful enough to send Electivire tumbling back a few steps.

"Electivire, counter with Discharge!" Electivire charged up and unleashed a wave of electricity around it, making it impossible for Mienfoo to avoid and taking serious damage, forcing Mienfoo to drop down on one knee. "Now Electivire, knock him out with Thunder Punch!"

Electivire electrified his fist and went in for the finishing blow.

"Mienfoo, Drain Punch!" commanded Ren. Mienfoo quickly rolled aside to avoid the Thunder Punch, then punched Electivire right in the gut, absorbing some of Electivire's health away. Electivire tried to punch Mienfoo again but this time Mienfoo was healthy enough to jump back and avoid Electivire's attack.

"All right Electivire, keep using Discharge on Mienfoo!"

Electivire unleashed another burst of electricity, pushing Mienfoo back to the end of the arena. As Ren and Mienfoo thought of what to do next, Jaune was perplexed by Ruby's actions.

"Why is Ruby trying to use the same two moves?" thought Jaune. "Is she conserving Electivire's best moves for his stronger Pokémon? Yeah, that has to be it."

"One more time should do it, Electivire!" Electivire fired another wave at Mienfoo; with Mienfoo backed against the wall, he jumped up and then kicked off the wall to go flying in the air past Electivire.

"Mienfoo, Jump Kick!" Once Mienfoo landed back on the ground, he ran at Electivire for another kick to the face. This time Electivire turned around and nailed Mienfoo directly with a Thunder Punch. Mienfoo flopped to the ground, severely hurt by the attack and barely holding on.

"Electivire, Thunder Punch!"

"Mienfoo, U-Turn now!"

As Electivire threw one last Thunder Punch, Mienfoo jumped up to avoid the punch, then stomped on top of Electivire's head. Jumping off the Electivire, Mienfoo returned to Ren's Poké Ball, saving itself from elimination.

"Your Pokémon is quite strong Ruby, but let's see how well he can handle my next Pokémon."

Ren pulled out another Poké Ball and called out his Medicham. Rather than get into a fighting stance, Medicham sat down cross-legged and rested his hands on his knees.

"Medicham, begin your meditation!" Medicham took a deep breath and used its Meditate technique.

"What's Ren doing?" asked one of the kids. "His Pokémon will get hit if it just sits there like that!"

"That's what he wants you to think," said Nora. "His Medicham is actually getting stronger, and when the time is right, BAM! That Electivire won't know what hit him!"

"You picked a wrong time to meditate, Ren!" said Ruby. "Electivire, Thunder Punch!"

Electivire charged up its fist and headed for Medicham. After it was done meditating, Medicham simply stood up and waited for Electivire to come closer.

"Medicham, Force Palm!" said Ren. Medicham ducked under Electivire's arm and then thrust its palm into the stomach of Electivire. Electivire was suddenly frozen in place as if it was paralyzed.

"C'mon Electivire, throw another Thunder Punch!" Electivire tried to charge up for another attack, but its body wouldn't move a muscle.

"It's over Ruby," said Ren. "When hit at just the right spot, Force Palm can render paralysis on an opponent. Finish him, Medicham."

Medicham continued hitting Force Palm on Electivire until Electivire had fainted, leaving Ruby down to two Pokémon. The children cheered for Ren taking the lead; Nora looked over to Ruby and shot her a worried look.

"What are you doing, Ruby?" thought Nora. "I know you're better than this!"

"I bet Ren beats all of her Pokémon without losing once!" said one of the kids. "Right Nora?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, definitely! Ruby doesn't stand a chance!"

As Nora cheered with the children, Ruby was observing how Ren was reacting. She figured he had to be upset with Nora for pretending to cheer for him when he knew how Nora really felt, but instead he simply smiled and waved back to the village rallying behind him.

"So Ruby, who will you call next?" asked Ren. "A stronger Pokémon, I hope."

"Electivire was just the warm-up act!" said Ruby. "If you really want a challenge, try defeating this!"

Ruby called out her next Pokémon: Scyther. Some of the villagers were frightened at the sight of seeing Scyther's giant scythe arms.

"Quite a challenge indeed, but nothing my Mienfoo can't handle." Ren recalled his Medicham and replaced him with Mienfoo, who had regained some health thanks to its special ability.

"I get it," said Ruby. "You start with Mienfoo, then when the time is right, you tag in Medicham to finish the job while Mienfoo takes a time out to regenerate."

"You're a quick learner Ruby, but it means nothing if you don't have a solution. Mienfoo, Swift attack!"

"Scyther, get in there and Slash him!"

Mienfoo jumped away from Scyther and fired energy stars; Scyther ignored the stars and flew up to Mienfoo, swinging one of its scythe arms. Mienfoo dodged to the side, but Scyther was quick to turn around and Slash again with its other arm. Mienfoo kept using Swift as Scyther took the brunt of the attacks and continued attacking Mienfoo. As Ren tried to keep up with what was going on, he suddenly started to feel his head pounding. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, which were already hurting from the approximately three hours of sleep he had last night.

Meanwhile, Mienfoo kept trying to dodge Scyther, but Scyther proved to be too fast and was finally able to land a Slash attack on Mienfoo, knocking him down hard on the mat and leaving him with little health.

"Now's the part when Ren will try to either use Drain Punch or U-Turn," thought Ruby. "So I'll have Scyther use Swords Dance while he attacks."

"All right Scyther, time for Swords Dance!" Scyther's body glowed as he performed his ritual that would sharply increase his attack power.

"Mienfoo, hit him with Jump Kick!" said Ren, barely looking at what was going on. Everyone watching on the sidelines were confused by Ren's command, but Mienfoo did exactly what it was told. Mienfoo got up and attempted to hit Scyther with a Jump Kick; Scyther stepped to the side as Mienfoo crash landed back on the ground and hurt itself further, leaving it wide open for an attack.

"Darn it!" thought Ruby. "Now I have to attack him or else they'll know!"

"Scyther, X-Scissor!" Scyther crossed its arms and slashed Mienfoo, easily taking him out of the match. It was the children moaning that made Ren suddenly realize what he did.

"Why didn't you call Mienfoo back, Ren?" asked one of the kids.

"That was a careless mistake on my part," said Ren, recalling his Pokémon. "I may have lost Mienfoo, but my Medicham alone is capable of handling that Scyther."

Ren called out his Medicham, who just like earlier, already went into a meditation position and used Meditate to power up.

"Scyther, Swords Dance!" Scyther went back to powering up as well. Ren figured Ruby was not going to attack head-on as that was what cost her to lose Electivire, so he had to start attacking before Scyther's strength would reach its peak.

"Medicham, Force Palm!" Medicham stood up and jumped towards Scyther, thrusting its palm forward to strike Scyther's abdomen; Scyther stopped dancing and used its wings to jump over Medicham and land behind him.

"Continue your Swords Dance, Scyther!" Scyther went back to using its technique without missing a beat.

"Not even attempting to attack this time?"

"Oh I'll attack soon enough! I'm just getting my Scyther ready to knock you out in one hit!"

Some of the villagers gasped at Ruby's bold proclamation. While the villagers were hoping Ruby wouldn't land that one hit, Jaune was trying to figure out Ruby's strategy.

"She doesn't usually spend so much time trying to power up her Pokémon. Is she really going to try and knock out Ren's Pokémon in one hit? Ah well, I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"In that case," said Ren, "I'll be powering up my Medicham as well. Medicham, continue your meditation and get ready to attack on my signal!"

Medicham nodded to Ren and went back to meditating. The audience was starting to get excited to see who was going to land their big attack first. After about a minute of prepping, both Pokémon had reached their peak strength. Scyther and Medicham stood in place, ready for their masters to give the command.

"Well Ruby?" asked Ren. "Ready to finish off Medicham in one hit?"

"You bet I am!" said Ruby. "Scyther, Fury Cutter!"

Scyther flapped its wings at a rapid pace, then leapt forward and quickly appeared in front of Medicham to strike.

"Medicham, Zen Headbutt!" Medicham reared its head back; before Scyther can swing one of its arms and defeat Medicham, Medicham rammed its head onto Scyther's. The force of the headbutt was so strong that it caused Scyther to flinch and cease the attack.

"Force Palm now!" commanded Ren. As Scyther stumbled back from the headbutt, Medicham quickly followed up with a Force Palm to Scyther's thorax and paralyzed him.

"Don't let some paralysis stop you, Scyther!" said Ruby. "Slash him!"

Scyther tried to lift an arm and attack Medicham, but was too slow and was avoided easily. Medicham used another Zen Headbutt that did enough damage to knock out Scyther.

"Sorry Scyther," thought Ruby as she recalled her fainted Pokémon. "I knew you could have defeated Medicham easily if I let you, but I just couldn't."

"All right Ren!" shouted a child. "I knew you had a plan to defeat that Scyther!"

"She's only down to one Pokémon! She doesn't stand a chance!"

"Ren is going to beat her without even using all of his Pokémon!"

"As if!" replied Jaune. "Trainers always save their best Pokémon for last! Show'em, Ruby!"

"I hope so," thought Nora. "You had better chosen the right Pokémon for this, Ruby!"

"He's right," said Ruby. "I did save the best for last. You kids love Fighting type Pokémon? Then you're going to love this!"

Ruby tossed out her Poké Ball and called out her last Pokémon remaining: Hitmonchan. The children were shocked that Ruby had a Pokémon very similar to Ren's Hitmonlee. Jaune was shocked to see Hitmonchan as well.

"She chose Hitmonchan?" thought Jaune. "I mean he's strong, but I would think she would have used Talonflame because it's a Flying type. Ruby's been fighting in such a weird way this whole match. It almost feels like she's holding back. No, that can't be it! Ruby would never hold back in a gym battle...would she?"

"Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"

"Medicham, Force Palm!"

Hitmonchan quickly threw a series of punches at Medicham; Medicham used his Force Palm to block the punches. No matter how fast Hitmonchan tried to punch, Medicham was able to keep up without a problem.

"Fall back and defend, Hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan ceased punching and jumped back. Hitmonchan looked back to Ruby and saw Ruby give the nod for his next attack. Hitmonchan got into a defensive stance, planning to dodge Medicham's attack with Detect.

"That stance," thought Ren. "So she's planning to use that attack, is she? She's going to be in for a surprise."

"Medicham, Feint!" Medicham ran up to Hitmonchan, striking with a thrust of his left palm. A second before the palm was going to connect, Hitmonchan ducked to the left.

"Now Hitmonchan, counter with-" Before Ruby could even finish, Medicham suddenly pulled back his arm and then thrust his right palm forward, throwing Hitmonchan off guard and getting smacked in the head. Ruby was dumbfounded as to how Hitmonchan got hit.

"What the...how did he hit Hitmonchan?"

"I was able to tell from the way your Hitmonchan was standing, it was getting ready to use Detect. Most trainers would not see it coming, but as an expert in Fighting types, I'm prepared for such an occasion thanks to the Feint technique."

"Oh no!" thought Nora. "If Ruby can't defend herself, then she has no choice but to attack! But attacking is nearly useless against Medicham! Unless Ruby pulls some kind of miracle, Ren is going to win! Please Ruby...please find a way to beat Ren!"

"So there's no point in defending, huh?" asked Ruby nonchalantly. "They do say that the best defense is a good offense. We'll just have to keep attacking as much as we can! Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"

Hitmonchan shrugged off the hit and went back to throwing his flurry of Mach Punches. As before, Medicham blocked the punches with his palms. As the villagers were eagerly awaiting to see Hitmonchan fall, Nora was squirming around in her seat, feeling uneasy about what was surely going to happen any moment now.

"Ren knows that attacking now would be pointless with the speed of Hitmonchan's punches, so he'll wait until Hitmonchan is exhausted until he fights back and wins. Most trainers wouldn't have the patience to wait that long to strike, but Ren has an infinite amount of patience! It's all over!"

A few minutes later, Hitmonchan was starting to slow down his punches, while Medicham was still active enough to block without much effort. While Ruby was pacing around panicking that Hitmonchan was going to fall, Ren simply stood where he was, arms folded and biding his time.

"Hitmonchan is starting to get tired," thought Ren. "Once his punches grind to a halt, Medicham will use Zen Headbutt and...knock him..." Ren started to lose his train of thought and suddenly felt his eyelids trying to shut his eyes. He tried to reopen his eyes, but his eyelids seemed to refuse staying in place and kept drooping down.

Meanwhile, Hitmonchan had exhausted himself and needed to stop punching to take a break, leaving him wide open for an attack. Everyone expected Ren to give the final order and end the match, but Ren was not saying anything. It was then that everyone looked over to Ren and noticed he was standing there with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep standing up.

"WAKE UP REN!" shouted the children. As Ren continued to snooze on his feet, his Medicham stood there confused, unsure of what he should be doing next. Even Ruby was confused about what she should be doing. All the time wasted by Ren taking an impromptu nap was giving Hitmonchan the time needed to rest from his Mach Punch exhibition.

"Now's your chance, Ruby!" said Jaune. "Attack now!"

"Uh...right!" said Ruby. "Hitmonchan, Fire Punch!"

Hitmonchan lit his gloves on fire and moved in on Medicham. Without any commands, Medicham tried to dodge the attack until Ren came back to his senses. Unfortunately, he was only able to dodge for so long until Hitmonchan was able to score a direct hit to his abdomen and then another to the face, causing Medicham to suffer severe burns. It was then that Ren started to come back around and realized he dozed off.

"Sorry about that," said Ren. "Medicham, Zen Headbutt!"

Medicham focused his aura and attacked Hitmonchan with a headbutt, but the burns had taken such a toll that Medicham barely had the strength to put much force into his attack and barely damaged Hitmonchan. The villagers were in disbelief that Ren was going from cinching his victory to blowing his lead.

"Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!" With Medicham slowing down, Hitmonchan threw another flurry of Mach Punches that Medicham was unable to defend itself from.

"That's enough!" said Ren, recalling his Medicham before it took any more damage. Ren was frustrated with himself for letting everyone down because he had fallen asleep in the middle of the match. Even Ruby wasn't happy with herself for having to win by taking advantage of an exhausted Ren. Nora on the other hand was secretly relieved that Ruby still had an outside chance of defeating Ren.

"I'm so sorry everyone," said Ren. "If I wasn't so careless, I would have won by now."

"Don't give up now Ren!" shouted a child. "You can still win this! We all believe in you! Right, Nora?"

"Yeah!" said Nora, putting on her facade. "We're here for you Ren! It isn't over 'till the fat Pokémon sings! Now win one for Gren Isle!"

Nora got the villagers to start chanting for Ren to psych him up. Hearing the crowd by his side started to renew his vigor.

"All right," said Ren. "It all comes down to this. Let's do it, Hitmonlee!"

As soon as Hitmonlee was called out, the children cheered loudly. The first thing Ruby noticed about Hitmonlee was the Focus Band he was wearing around his head, much like Hitmonchan wore his. Hitmonlee turned to the crowd and kicked the air a few times, showing he was ready for a fight. He turned to see who his opponent was; as soon as the two fighters caught a glimpse of each others eyes, the two of them stared fiercely at the other.

"This is going to be awesome!" said Nora. "Hitmonchan vs Hitmonlee! Show them who's the master of fighting, Hitmonlee!"

"You've faced tougher challenges than this, Hitmonchan!" shouted Jaune. "Show them what true fighting spirit is!"

"You heard him, Hitmonchan!" said Ruby. "Let's start off-"

Instead of waiting for Ruby's command, Hitmonchan walked over to Hitmonlee, as Hitmonlee was doing the same. The two Pokémon stopped at the center of the arena and met face to face, eye to eye.

"Hitmonlee," said Hitmonlee.

"Hitmonchan," replied the Hitmonchan.

"What's going on?" asked Ruby. "Why are they confronting each other like this?"

"It's not a confrontation," said Ren. "The two are showing mutual respect to each other."

"Mutual respect?"

"The two have never met until now, but one look into each others eyes and they realize they are Pokémon cut from the same cloth. You can almost say they're like brothers."

"They do kind of look like brothers with those Focus Bands on," said Ruby.

"Hitmonlee?" asked the Hitmonlee.

"Chan," said Hitmonchan, pointing to Eevee standing next to Jaune. "Hitmonchan?"

"Lee," said Hitmonlee, turning to the village children.

"Your Hitmonchan's eyes," said Ren, "they give off the essence of a fighter who overcame great struggle and fights for a cause bigger than them. My Hitmonlee is the same way."

When Hitmonchan pointed over to Eevee, Ruby knew that Hitmonchan was explaining how he fought for Pokémon like Eevee and himself who were abandoned or mistreated because of how weak they were perceived. When Hitmonlee turned to the children, Ruby assumed that Hitmonlee was dedicating himself to the village much like Ren was. Hitmonlee lifted his leg and held his foot out to Hitmonchan; Hitmonchan lightly patted the sole of Hitmonlee's foot with one of his hands.

"Hitmonchan!"

"Hitmonlee!"

"With that said," said Ren, "the two of them will not hold back on their attacks. They will give it everything they've got, for giving any less would be a sign of disrespect."

The two Fighting Pokémon nodded to each other and proceeded to walk back to their starting positions, ready to begin the fight.

"Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"

"Hitmonlee, Double Kick!"

The two quickly charged into each other; Hitmonchan threw a quick punch at Hitmonlee, who blocked it with a forward kick. Hitmonchan tried to throw a punch with his other arm, so Hitmonlee quickly blocked that punch as well. No matter how fast Hitmonchan can punch, Hitmonlee was able to block with just one foot. Once Hitmonchan slowed down, Hitmonlee switched legs and went on the offensive, attacking with a flurry of kicks. Hitmonchan went into a blocking stance and guarded himself from Hitmonlee's kicks. With the two evenly matched on speed, both of them quickly backed off waiting for their masters' next command.

"Hitmonchan, Fire Punch!"

"Hitmonlee, Blaze Kick!"

Hitmonlee lit its left leg on fire and swung a roundhouse kick at Hitmonchan; Hitmonchan lit its right glove on fire and punched towards Hitmonlee's incoming foreleg. The two limbs clashed and emitted a huge ball of flame as the two Pokémon tried to push with all their might, but were too evenly matched. With Hitmonlee unable to lift its other leg, Hitmonchan lit its other arm on fire and went for a left hook on Hitmonlee. Seeing the punch coming, Hitmonlee bent its right leg and sprung into the air to avoid the Fire Punch. While in the air, Hitmonlee somersaulted forward and came down on Hitmonchan with a flaming axe kick. Hitmonchan jumped back to avoid the attack; Hitmonlee landed on his feet and lit both of his legs on fire, then attacked Hitmonchan with roundhouse kicks. Hitmonchan avoid the fiery kicks and retaliated with his lunging fists; Hitmonlee was able to duck any punch that came his way.

"Hitmonlee, Double Team!" As Hitmonchan threw another punch at Hitmonlee, Hitmonlee suddenly appeared to split into two and avoided the attack. Hitmonchan looked around and noticed he appeared to be surrounded by several Hitmonlees; it was impossible to tell which one was the real one.

"Only one way out of this situation!" said Ruby. "Hitmonchan, Mach Punch every one of them!"

Hitmonchan launched a quick jab at every Hitmonlee he could, only for the illusion to break apart the moment he made contact. Once there were only two Hitmonlees remaining, they each had set a leg on fire, ready to nail Hitmonchan with another Blaze Kick. Hitmonchan needed to decide which one he was going to hit.

"Hitmonchan, Fire Punch the one behind you!" Hitmonchan turned around and attacked the Hitmonlee coming at him from behind; the punch went through the illusion as the real one forward kicked into Hitmonchan's spine, dealing some critical damage and knocking Hitmonchan flat on his face. As Hitmonchan tried to get up, Hitmonlee attacked with a Double Kick, nailing two strong kicks in succession and knocking him back down.

"C'mon Hitmonchan, get up!" Hitmonchan slowly got up, but was now down to one knee; it appeared one more strong kick like that was going to end the fight. The children started calling for Ren to hit the final move and win.

"Hitmonlee, finish him with Blaze Kick!" Hitmonlee ran at Hitmonchan and jumped forward with an all-out Blaze Kick. Just before the kick can connect, Hitmonchan suddenly stood up and dodged to the right, causing Hitmonlee to fly past him.

"Fire Punch now!" Just as Hitmonlee landed back on his feet, Hitmonchan already homed in and nailed him with a Fire Punch, knocking Hitmonlee down to the mat. The villagers were shocked at Hitmonchan suddenly able to get back up.

"How did he do that?" asked one of the children.

"He used Detect," said Ren. "Him and Ruby have such a strong bond with each other, she doesn't even need to tell him when to use the move."

"Now Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!" Hitmonchan ran up to the staggered Hitmonlee and nailed him with punch after punch, draining his health at a rapid pace. Hitmonlee appeared to be just taking the hits rather than trying to defend itself, almost as if he was giving up.

"Hitmonchan, knock him out with a Fire Punch!" Hitmonchan wound back, then lunged forward with everything he had.

"Hitmonlee, Reversal attack!" Hitmonlee stood up and blocked Hitmonchan's punch with his bare hand, then suddenly struck Hitmonchan in the jaw with a jumping knee strike. Because Hitmonlee's health was nearing its end, the strength of Reversal was greatly increased; the strike was powerful enough to knock Hitmonchan several feet into the air. Hitmonchan landed on the ground flat on his back. Everyone was holding their breath to see if Hitmonchan was knocked out; slowly but surely, Hitmonchan lifted himself up and back to his feet, although he was down to less than one percent of his health.

"This is it!" said Nora. "Both Pokémon are down to their last possible bit of health! Whoever lands the next attack is sure to be the winner!"

Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan slowly walked towards the center and stood about six feet apart from each other. Both had the same look of determination in their eyes as they waited for their respective masters to give the final command to end the fight.

"Just one more attack," thought Ren. "If I can land just one attack, I'll...I'll have..." Ren's eyelids suddenly felt like they were ten times heavier as Ren struggled to keep them open.

"Okay Hitmonlee, time to...use the..." Ren tried to give his next command but had to stop himself from yawning. His head also began to feel lighter than usual.

"Is he okay?" asked Jaune.

"Of course he's okay!" said Nora. "Just a little tired, right Ren?"

"Ijus...huuu..." Ren tried to respond to Nora, but could barely speak a coherent word and just muttered gibberish.

Suddenly, Ren's legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"REN!" shouted Nora, rushing over to Ren's side; Jaune also ran over to check on Ren. Hitmonlee turned to see if his master was all right. Seeing Ren fall caused the entire village to panic; everyone was stunned silent. Ruby felt like her heart was going to rip out of her chest; she was begging for Ren to open his eyes. Thankfully, as Nora was checking on Ren, he started to wake up.

"Are you okay Ren?" asked Nora, helping Ren get back to his feet.

"I'm fine," said Ren. "Just a bit sore from that fall."

"I'm not a medical expert," said Jaune, "but I'm not sure you should be battling right now."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay. I just need a minute to collect myself."

That was it, thought Ruby. It was bad enough when Ren was falling asleep and not paying attention to what was going on, but now the man could barely stand on his own two feet. She had to stop this match and stop enabling Ren from having to fight.

"Hitmonchan, return!" commanded Ruby. Hitmonchan was baffled by Ruby's command, but walked back to her regardless.

"What are you doing Ruby?" asked Ren. "The match isn't over!"

"This isn't right," said Ruby. "I can't fight you in the shape that you're in. Consider this a forfeit."

"You can't quit now!" said Nora. "Ren said he's fine! You can finish this match!"

"No he's not! Ren is exhausted and needs medical help! Nora, if you really cared about your friend, you would be taking him to a doctor, not asking him to continue battling!"

"Of course I care about him! That's why I want you to end this match legit!"

"No way. I refuse to be part of this anymore, Nora. I'm not going to earn a badge at the expense of Ren's livelihood just because you don't approve of it."

"Wait a minute," said Ren. "Ruby...are you trying to insult me?"

"Insult you?" asked Ruby.

"You refuse to earn my badge just because of what I do here?"

"I'm sorry, but I just don't have the heart to beat someone who does so much for this village."

Ren suddenly broke free of Nora's grip, causing him to fall on one knee; for the first time that anyone has witnessed, Ren was angry.

"Ruby Rose! I didn't become a gym leader so my opponents can pity me! By leaving this battle, you think I'm not capable of fighting!"

"Because you're not!" replied Ruby. "How do you expect me to believe you can think straight when you can barely stand on your feet?"

"If I can't stand up, then I'll fight sitting down! If I can't sit down, I'll fight flat on my back! As long as I can breathe, and as long as these people need me, I will keep fighting!"

Unsure of what to do, Jaune tried to pick Ren back up, but Ren knocked Jaune's arms away and slowly got back to his feet, gesturing for Ruby to attack.

"Now come...we have a match to finish!" Just like his master, Hitmonlee gestured for Hitmonchan to come back and finish the fight. Hitmonchan turned to Ruby, waiting for her approval. Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was going to regret what she was about to do next.

"Eevee!" said Ruby. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Eevee ran up from the crowd and stood in front of Ruby.

"I need to borrow this," said Ruby, bending down and taking Eevee's Silk Scarf. Ruby tied the scarf tightly around her eyes, making sure she couldn't see a thing.

"Hitmonchan...Fire Punch!" Hitmonchan turned back to Hitmonlee and lit his glove on fire.

"Hitmonlee, Blaze Kick!" Hitmonlee lit its leg on fire; with both Pokémon ready to strike, the two charged at each other with whatever energy they had remaining and threw their strikes at the same time. Hitmonlee's foreleg crashed into Hitmonchan's fist. This time, Hitmonlee's leg was not strong enough to withstand the blow, causing Hitmonlee to fall to one knee. With one leg out of commission, it wasn't able to keep fighting. As Hitmonlee was moaning in pain, Hitmonchan walked over and looked down on him.

"Hitmonchan?" said Hitmonchan, asking if Hitmonlee was ready to surrender. Hitmonlee looked up to Hitmonchan and nodded, ready to accept his fate. Although Ruby couldn't see, she could tell by the commotion in the crowd that the fight was going to end now.

"Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!" Hitmonchan gave one last nod to Hitmonlee before delivering the knockout punch. Hitmonlee's Focus Band flew off his head as he fainted to the ground, ending the match.

The moment Hitmonlee was defeated, Ren fell to his knees, losing the strength to get back up. Nora and several of the villagers came to Ren's aid; Ruby on the other hand simply turned around, took off her blindfold, and walked out of the gym. Noticing Ruby leaving, Jaune followed Ruby to see where she was going. He found Ruby sitting next to one of the Raikou statues outside, balled up with her knees up to her face and closing her eyes tight. Jaune recognized that look as a sign Ruby was not in the mood for talking, and decided to leave Ruby alone until things had settled down.

#

About an hour after the gym match was over, Ren was taken to the village hospital to check on his condition. The hospital consisted of merely two beds and cabinets full of medicines. Despite the limited resources, the doctor they had was very knowledgeable, and without the help of Ren providing funds, the village wouldn't have a hospital period. Nora, Jaune, and Ruby were sitting on a bench outside; Ruby had not said a word since the match was over, Nora was a nervous wreck wondering how Ren was going to react to everything that happened, and Jaune was at a lost on what to do or say to cheer either of them up. The doctor came out to provide an update on Ren.

"The good news is that it's nothing serious," said the doctor. "Ren simply suffered fatigue from all the work he's been doing. My advice is that he takes it easy for a day or two to regain his strength."

"Thank you doctor," said Nora. "Can we see him now?"

"Actually, he requested that he talk to you privately, Miss Nora."

Nora can feel her chest aching at the thought of having to talk to Ren alone; she had no doubt this was going to be the end of their lifelong friendship. Nora took a deep breath, put on a fake smile, and went inside fearing the worst. While Nora would be talking to Ren, Jaune tried to talk to Ruby.

"You hear that Ruby? Ren's okay," said Jaune. "You can stop feeling guilty now."

"How can I stop feeling guilty when I'm the one who put him here in the first place?" asked Ruby.

"It wasn't your fault, Ruby. Ren and Nora kept insisting to continue the fight. You were just doing what they wanted."

"But I could have easily just left instead! I allowed this to happen! I feel like I just beat up the nicest guy in the world who couldn't defend himself!"

"It was a gym battle and you won it fair and square."

"Except I didn't. I allowed Ren so many opportunities to win because my heart wasn't in it! This whole battle has been nothing but a farce! I don't deserve the badge after that embarrassment." Ruby got up, picked up her backpack, and started walking away.

"Ruby, where are you going?"

"I'm heading to the airport and getting off this island ASAP. I'll have to find a new city to earn my sixth badge."

Upon hearing that Ruby was going to leave, Jaune and Eevee ran up and got in front of Ruby to stop her.

"Ruby, you've already earned your sixth badge! What happened to Ren was terrible, but don't punish yourself over it!"

"Eevee!" shouted Eevee, hating to see Ruby so upset.

"I'm sorry," said Ruby, "but if I accept that badge, it goes against everything I stand for as a trainer."

"Well then, at least talk to Ren before you leave!" said Jaune. "I'm sure he'll say the same thing!"

"That's exactly why I need to go. He'll blame himself for what happened and award me the badge, even though neither of us were fighting at our best. If you're going to stay and talk to Ren, tell him I'm sorry for what I've done. Otherwise, we need to get going."

Ruby walked past Jaune, with Eevee reluctantly following behind. Jaune made a promise to not slow Ruby down on her quest, but he couldn't let Ruby cheat herself out of a badge. He decided he needed to see the one person that can convince Ruby otherwise.

#

Ren was laying down and staring up at the ceiling. With his usual stoic face, it was hard for Nora to tell just how exactly Ren was feeling; he always looked the same whether he was calm or livid. Nora took a seat beside Ren.

"Hey Ren," said Nora. "Feeling all right?"

"Not entirely," said Ren. "I did lose the gym match after all. I hope the village isn't upset with the loss."

"I think they're more upset with the fact you're in here. You gave it your best Ren; they'll always be a next time."

"Funny you should say that, because from what I've been hearing...you don't want there to be a next time."

Nora felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart, and rightfully so.

"So Ruby told you, huh?"

"Ruby told me about how much you hated seeing me 'throw my life away' as you called it. I always had a hunch you felt this way, but I wasn't sure until now. Nora, if that's what you were really feeling, why didn't you come tell me yourself?"

"Because I was scared!" said Nora, the tears already starting to form in her eyes. "I didn't want to lose the only person in my life I can call family. I was afraid if I told you the truth, you would never forgive me for stabbing you in the back after everything you've done for me all these years."

Ren got up and sat on the edge of the bed, taking hold of Nora's hands and looking her in the eyes.

"Nora, there's few things you can do that would cause me to never forgive you, but being upfront and honest isn't one of them. I know how much you hate me dedicating so much time and energy to this village, but this is the life I choose to live. I'm going to keep the gym open here, Nora. I'm not going to let this village suffer any more hardships as long as I live."

Nora closed her eyes and bent her head down, trying not to burst out crying. Even though Ren wasn't mad at Nora, Nora didn't feel relieved. Hearing Ren confirm that was he going to keep working as usual meant she was never going to get to spend the kind of time with him like she wanted to. Their relationship was going to remain long distance and strained possibly for the rest of their lives.

"But you're right," said Ren. "I shouldn't have to spend every waking second worried about this place. That's why I decided to take a small vacation."

Hearing those words caused Nora to suddenly look up again.

"A vacation?" said Nora. "As in...leaving the island?"

"Yes. I'm going to take exactly two days off away from the island and return renewed and ready to go. I'll inform the villagers of my plan and work out a way for them to survive without me."

"Two days? I wouldn't call that a vacation...but it's a start!" Nora smiled and wiped away her tears. "So what should we do in those two days?"

"I was thinking we would go to Roseus City. After all, I'd love to see one of your gym battles you always brag about."

"You...you really mean it?"

"Unless of course you had other ideas."

Nora formed the biggest smile she could and tackled Ren onto the bed, putting him in the tightest hug possible.

"There's nothing I'd rather do!"

Before Nora could thank Ren, Jaune suddenly came running into the room, causing Nora to let go of Ren.

"Guys, Ruby is leaving the island!" said Jaune.

"Leaving the island?" asked Ren.

"But she hasn't gotten her badge yet!" said Nora.

"I know, but she insisted on not accepting it!" said Jaune. "Ren, I know you're not 100%, but is there-"

"Say no more!" said Ren, getting out of bed. He nearly fell over trying to stand up, but Nora caught him and held him up. Together the three of them headed for the trolley leading out of the village.

#

Ruby stood by the tracks, waiting for the trolley to make its way to them. Eevee was trying to paw at Ruby to go back for her badge, but Ruby refused.

"It'll be okay, Eevee," said Ruby. "It's going to put me in a time crunch, but it's for the best."

"There she is!" shouted someone from behind. Ruby turned around and saw some of the kids from the village.

"Can I help you?"

"Miss Ruby, you can't leave now! You haven't even said goodbye to Ren!"

"I'm sorry; I really am. After what I did to Ren, I don't deserve to-"

"Don't deserve what?" said Ren, suddenly appearing behind the kids with Nora and Jaune beside him. "You did nothing wrong Ruby. In fact, we're the ones who should be apologizing to you."

"Actually," said Nora, "I should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who dragged you into this because of my personal issues. I put you in a compromising position that could have cost you a league badge, and I was the one who encouraged Ren to fight despite his health."

"There is one thing I am sorry for," said Ruby. "Ren, you expected me to fight you at my best, but I purposely held back what I was fully capable of."

"Be that as it may," said Ren, "you still put up an honorable effort in our match, therefore I see no reason to not honor you with the Stormflower badge."

Ren reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a badge that was shaped like a magenta lotus flower. Ruby took the badge and pondered if she should really accept it.

"Do you kids think I deserve this badge?" asked Ruby.

"If Ren says you deserve it, then you deserve it!" said one of the kids. Everyone agreed in unison and shouted for her to put it on.

"Then it's settled. Ren, I humbly accept this badge!" Ruby pinned the badge on her backpack along with her five other badges. As everyone applauded for Ruby's victory, Ruby shook Ren's hand.

"Thank you Ren. So, guess it's back to working in the village, huh?"

"Actually Ruby," said Nora, "I have awesome news! Ren and I are going on vacation!"

"Just for two days," added Ren.

"Really?" said Ruby. "You'll actually be leaving the village?"

"After the proper arrangements have been made. I'm sure with the right guidance, this village can handle things for at least that amount of time."

"Wow; I'm really happy to hear that."

"And it wouldn't have happened without your help!" said Nora, pulling Ruby into a tight hug. "Thank you Ruby. I really owe you for this."

Before Ruby suffocated from Nora's hugging, the trolley arrived to take them to the airport terminal.

"Time we headed out," said Ruby. "So long everyone; take care of yourselves."

Everyone said their goodbyes as Jaune and Ruby boarded the trolley and left the village. On the way to the airport, Ruby was looking over her expanded collection of badges. She was getting excited that her dream of getting into the league was quickly approaching.

"Just two more badges and I'm in!" said Ruby.

"But you know it's going to get harder," said Jaune. "The last two gym battles will be fought four on four, and that's when the gym leaders use their very best Pokémon!"

"Then I say bring it on! Nothing's going to stop me from reaching the championship!"

A/N: Right now there's a lot of drama going around involving "Shane's Letter." I'm not sure if other RWBY fans are going to cancel their fics because of Shane's Letter, but in case anyone is wondering about the status of this fic, I will finish this story. I had already laid out the basic structure beginning to end before Volume 3, and because this is an AU, things are radically different from the show anyway.

Personally, I'm very saddened by this turn of events and feel awful for Sheena. Regardless, I'm keeping this fic alive to honor Monty Oum, because it was his creativity that made me want to write fanfics again.