OK, the horizontal lines don't appear to be working anymore, and I still can't figure out how to get double line breaks to show up. So unfortunately, it's back to having the chapter in one big chunk instead of being divided up where it's meant to be. If anyone knows how to solve this, please tell me.

Chapter Twenty-Four - Round One, Fake Tears

It wasn't long before the day of the Rainbow Tournament arrived. I woke up early, got dressed and ate breakfast, then went out onto the balcony and sat down with one of the pokémon battling books I'd borrowed from the library. I knew it was too late to really learn anything more, but I had to occupy myself until my parents left for work, and at least this way I'd be refreshing my memory a bit for the tournament. I flicked idly through the pages, looking at the words without really reading them. Come on, hurry up and go to work so I can leave without having to come up with a stupid excuse!

'Good morning Kit!'

The cheerful voice cut off my thoughts, and I turned to see who it belonged to. I caught sight of a kecleon sitting on the railing of next door's balcony.

'Hi Cam,' I smiled, trying to keep myself in a good mood and not start worrying about him going into battle.

'Are you all ready for the tournament?' Cam asked.

'Yeah,' I nodded. I knew that I was nervous, but I couldn't let Cam see that. That would only make him worried. I had to stay confident so that Cam would stay confident too.

'How many times do I have to tell you, kid? It doesn't matter if you're ready! We're not your trained pokémon, we don't have to listen to a word you say. You're just an actor, nothing more.'

'Oh yeah!?' I turned to Taylor angrily as he stepped out onto his grandmother's balcony. 'Well maybe I don't want you to listen to me, I want you to go ahead and do your own thing so I can watch you get knocked out and prove how bad a battler you are!'

Taylor laughed. 'The only thing we'll be proving today is how little you know about pokémon battles.'

Mrs Taylor drove us to a neighbouring city called Aurous City, where the Rainbow Tournament was being held. The site of the tournament was a huge oval called Aurous Sports Ground, which I recognised as the one my school used for sports days. But today was a whole different kind of sport altogether. Tents lined the outskirts of the oval, and trainers, some with their pokémon outside their pokéballs, were gathering around the different stalls. As we walked through towards the registration desk, I looked around at the stalls. Some were selling souvenirs, but the most popular were selling items such as potions and revives. Why the competitors hadn't stocked up on items before arriving I wasn't sure, but the stores were certainly getting a lot of business. As the trainers went around to the various stalls, many of them greeted one another excitedly, like old friends. It seemed that a lot of the competitors knew each other, whether from previous tournaments or just through their daily training. This was probably why so many of them seemed to be looking at us suspiciously as we walked by; they were wondering where we'd come from, why they hadn't seen us before. No problem; they'd all know who we were once we won the tournament and took home that Rainbow Wing today. I grinned.

We soon reached the registration desk, where I gave my name and my trainer ID number (how Mrs Taylor had managed to get me a trainer ID number, I didn't even ask). The man behind the desk questioned why my pokémon weren't inside their balls, and I told him that I didn't like to keep them confined. From my own experience of being inside one of those things, I knew that if I ever had pokémon of my own, there's no way I'd ever keep them inside those nasty balls.

After signing in, we headed over to the battle roster to see who we'd be up against. In our first round, we were battling against someone called Fleur. Of course, a name wasn't much use when none of us knew any of the trainers competing. So instead I scanned my eyes over the roster for William and Katashi's names. Sure enough, they were there.

'Look at this,' said Mrs Taylor. 'As long as you and William both win your first round matches, you'll be battling each other in the second round.'

'Good,' I nodded. While I knew it would be more satisfying to knock out Katashi than William, I knew that William was our main concern as long as Connor was being held captive by him.

'But how are we going to rescue Prince Connor?' Cam asked, looking up at me. 'Beating William in the tournament won't get him back.'

'That's OK, I've got an idea,' I smiled.

'That's a first,' muttered Taylor.

'Be quiet, Ninetales, or you'll go back in your pokéball!' I grinned. Taylor growled at me, and I just laughed. Man, this was fun already. He could show off as much as he liked about his battle skills, but that'd be nowhere near as much fun as I was gonna have acting as his trainer.

'Don't start arguing, you two,' said Mrs Taylor. 'You need to call a truce, at least for the length of the tournament. No trainer and pokémon team who argues is going to be able to win.'

'Yeah, and no disobedient pokémon is gonna win, so you'd better just do what I say, Ninetales,' I smiled.

'Kit, don't be cruel,' said Mrs Taylor. 'The reason trained pokémon listen to their trainers is that they share mutual respect, and even though you two aren't really a training pair, you still need to show respect for each other or you'll never win this tournament. Now come on, it's only half an hour until the tournament starts, and I don't want to get bad seats!'

We had to sit through four battles before it was our turn. Although it was good to watch some live battling to get an idea of what it would be like, it did get a little tedious, and the longer it went on, the more anxious I got. I just wanted to get our battle over with and move on to the next round so we could fight William, and once that was over with, I could concentrate on the rest of the tournament. We could win that Rainbow Wing, I was sure of it, but only if we managed to rescue Connor first.

Finally, it was our turn to battle. My hands were sweating as they called my name, but I swallowed down my nerves and marched into the arena, my battling team by my side. Unlike the big Kanto or Johto tournaments that I'd sometimes watched on TV, this little tournament didn't have elaborate trainer boxes for us to stand in, and instead the trainers just stood on either end of the grassy field. I watched my opponent step out onto her side of the field. She was a girl of around my age, with shoulder-length orange hair, and wore a loose blue dress. She certainly wasn't how I pictured an average trainer, but I couldn't let that mean I'd underestimate her; she was surely just as formidable as any other opponent.

'Aaaand here we are in the fifth battle of the first round of Aurous City's Rainbow Tournament, brought to you by Regice Refridgerators and Wonder Guard Security! Here we have two new trainers to the tournament scene, Kit from Spectrum City and Fleur from Lime Town! As you can see, Kit's pokémon are already out of their pokéballs, but who knows what battlers Fleur has ready to take them on! Will she be able to defeat Kit's team? We'll soon find out which of these two newcomers is worthy of continuing to the next round and moving one step closer to that Rainbow Wing! Three, two, one, battle!'

A buzzer sounded, and there we were, in the midst of our first tournament battle. I looked over at my opponent to see what pokémon she'd send out first . . . and all I was met with was an equally anticipatory stare.

'Doesn't look like she's gonna go first,' said Taylor. 'I'll just go.'

He stepped out in front of me onto the battle field, and I ground my teeth.

'Who said you were making the decisions, huh!?' I demanded.

'Well look at this folks, it seems that Kit's ninetales has taken it upon itself to start the battle! Kit doesn't seem too happy about her pokémon's decision. Could this disobedience cost them the match? We'll find out soon!'

Fleur smiled. 'Cute ninetales, but it's no match for my pokémon. Taillow, I choose you!'

She tossed her pokéball and out popped a small blue bird. "No match"? This thing was about a tenth the size of Taylor! I may not have been an experienced battler, but I knew an easy win when I saw one. And hey, if somehow this thing managed to be stronger, at least it'd be funny to see Taylor knocked out by a little taillow.

'OK Taillow, let's start things off with Focus Energy!'

'You got it!' The little bird stood deadly still and closed his eyes, almost as if meditating. Was there any point to this move? What a waste of a turn. Why didn't he just attack?

'Taylor!' I commanded, and couldn't help grinning wildly. This was so fun! 'Use . . .' Then the fun of the situation disintegrated as I belatedly realised I didn't actually know what moves Taylor knew.

'Say Agility,' said Taylor.

'Agility!?' I exclaimed. 'You've gotta be kidding! What kind of stupid move is that?'

Taylor shook his head. 'Fine, I'll just do what I want and make you look like a bad trainer.'

'What's going on?' Taillow asked. 'Your trainer can understand you?'

'She isn't my trainer,' said Taylor. 'But this isn't the time for chit-chat, we're in a battle here!'

With that, he began darting around the field in an attempt to increase his speed or whatever stupid effect that move had. What a waste! He could have made a good attack by now!

'Well look at the situation we've got here!' The announcer said excitedly. 'Kit's just told her ninetales that Agility is a stupid move, but it's gone ahead and used it! Could this disobedience cost her the match? Keep watching, folks!'

'Kit, Agility means that Taylor should be faster than Taillow now,' said Elsie.

'I know that!' I snapped. 'But that's so stupid.' I raised my voice. 'Well if you're so fast now, why don't you hurry up and attack? Use Flamethrower, you moron!'

'I just want you to know, I'm not doing this because you told me to,' said Taylor, before throwing his head forward and blasting a stream of fire at Taillow. The bird cried out as he was caught in the flames. When the fire dispersed, he clutched at his wing.

'Ow! Ow!' he cried.

'Burned, are you?' Taylor smiled. The taillow shot him a nasty glare.

'Don't think yourself lucky yet,' he said. 'I've got plenty more tricks up my wing!'

'Is that so?' Taylor asked. 'Let's see 'em, then.'

I turned and looked at Taillow's trainer, who just smiled over at me.

'Burning my taillow wasn't as smart as you think, you know,' she smiled. I just glared at her. She could act cocky all she wanted, but everyone knew that a burn put a pokémon at a disadvantage; it would lose health gradually even if it wasn't hit by any attacks. 'But I wouldn't have expected you to know that a status condition only makes a gutsy pokémon like Taillow stronger. Now Taillow, show it the power of Guts! Use Wing Attack!'

'Take this!' Taillow shot through the air towards Taylor, and slapped him hard with his wings. Taylor cringed and stumbled back, almost falling over. I blinked. How could an attack from a little bird like that be so powerful?

'I'm sure that was a critical hit,' said Elsie. 'Taylor, are you OK?'

'I'm fine.' Taylor forced himself to get up and face his opponent, but I could see the pain in his face. 'Even with Focus Energy, you won't get a critical hit like that every turn, and I can tell you're a much lower level than me. My Flamethrower's still more powerful than that Wing Attack.'

'Whatever you say,' shrugged the taillow. Taylor narrowed his eyes, then opened his mouth and shot out another flamethrower.

'Hey!' I called. 'I never told you to do that!' What did he think he was doing, taking all the credit for thinking of what attack to use?

'So what?' Taylor asked, stepping back as his flames slammed into the taillow and knocked it back. 'I don't know how many times I have to tell you, you're not my trainer!'

I ground my teeth. I wasn't gonna put up with this. He was making me look bad. Even if we managed to win this tournament, everyone was gonna remember me as the bad trainer who couldn't control her disobedient ninetales. But what could I do? I could tell him to swap with Elsie, who would probably co-operate with me more, but Taylor probably wouldn't even listen to my order to return.

I looked over at my opponent. The little taillow was cringing and holding his wing desperately. He probably couldn't hold on much longer. If Taylor used one more Flamethrower, he could finish him off.

'Taillow, don't let that ninetales get too cocky! Time for Endeavour!'

The taillow took a deep breath, then puffed out his chest and flew at Taylor. I blinked as he managed to knock Taylor down, and the ninetales struggled to get to his feet, then coughed and fell back down.

'Taylor!' Elsie cried.

'What the heck?' I asked. 'This is Taylor we're talking about, but I would've thought even he'd be able to handle an attack from some stupid little bird!'

'Now you know how it feels,' said Taillow, then puffed and stumbled back a few steps.

'Don't you know anything?' Fleur asked. 'Endeavour reduces the opponent's HP to the same level as the user's. You may have done a lot of damage to my taillow, but your ninetales is done for!'

'That's what you think,' Taylor panted, then opened his mouth and shot out another Flamethrower. When the fire hit Taillow, the little bird collapsed in defeat.

'And Fleur's taillow has fainted!' The announcer called. 'Looks like Kit's managed to get the lead, but her ninetales has suffered a lot in the effort! Will she be able to stay ahead, or will Fleur's next pokémon turn the tables?'

Well, that was one down, but if Taylor couldn't handle the other two . . . I turned to Elsie, but to my surprise, she'd disappeared.

'Are you OK, Taylor?'

At the sound of her voice, I turned to see Elsie over on the battlefield beside Taylor, nudging him softly. I rolled my eyes.

'I'm fine,' Taylor said, forcing himself to his feet.

'Don't push yourself too hard,' said Elsie. 'I'll take it from here.'

Taylor shook his head. 'I can handle it.'

'No you can't, you moron!' I called. 'Hurry up and get back here! Elsie's clearly better than you are, I can't believe you nearly lost to a little taillow!'

Taylor turned and glared at me, but before he could snap at me, the announcer spoke.

'This is a warning to the trainer Kit. You have one minute to take one of your pokémon off the field or you will be disqualified! The rules of single battles clearly state that a trainer may only have one pokémon on the field at a time, even during changeover. You have one minute, staring now.'

Taylor sighed. 'I'm listening to Elsie, not you.'

With that, he loped back over to Cam and me.

'Good ninetales,' I said, and he snarled at me.

'Are you all right?' Cam asked.

'Yeah,' said Taylor. 'I'll just take a moment to rest. Elsie can take down the next one, but I'll be back for the third.'

'Only if I say so!' I smiled, and looked back over to Elsie. I saw that the fainted taillow had been returned to his pokéball, and Fleur had her next one ready.

'Don't think you're gonna be able to take my next one down that easily,' she said. 'I choose Plusle!'

She tossed her pokéball into the arena and a small yellow mouse with long ears appeared. What was with this girl? First that little bird and now a rodent? Did she really expect to be able to beat us with these pokémon?

'Well it looks like both trainers have fresh pokémon on the field,' said the announcer. 'Now let's see how Kit's espeon shapes up against Fleur's plusle!'

'Yeah, like that plusle's gonna be able to do anything to Elsie,' I rolled my eyes.

'You'll see!' Fleur smiled. 'Plusle, start off with Thunder Wave!'

'See how you like this!' Plusle smiled, as electricity shot out from the plus signs on her cheeks. The sparks hit Elsie, and although I could clearly see that they'd done no damage to her HP, her body completely stiffened up, paralysed. I'd felt triumphant when Taillow had been burned, but it was something different altogether to be on the receiving end of a status condition. Hopefully Elsie's battling skills would let her win this even while paralysed.

'That wasn't as smart as you think,' Elsie raised her head to look at Plusle, and her eyes glowed briefly. Suddenly Plusle cried out as her own body stiffened up.

'What!?' Fleur exclaimed. 'What happened, Plusle?'

'I'm . . . I'm paralysed too . . .' Plusle stammered.

I grinned as I belatedly remembered what I'd read about espeons. They had an ability called Synchronise, which meant that if they were affected by a status condition, the opponent was subjected the same condition.

'Kit, I'm going to use Calm Mind,' said Elsie. 'You can call it out.'

'Calm Mind!?' I exclaimed. 'What is wrong with you people? Just use Psychic!'

'I will, but I think it's more important to increase my stats first,' said Elsie. 'Plusles have quite high special attack strength, and-'

'I don't care, just use Psychic!' I told her.

Elsie sighed. 'All right, if that's what you think is best.'

I smiled as she turned to Plusle and concentrated her psychic energy on her. She was much more co-operative than that annoying Taylor. This was gonna be an easy win!

Plusle cried out and held her head with her tiny paws, but there was no escaping the psychic attack. As a purple glow appeared around her body, she was thrown back, and landed in the dirt with a thump. She pulled herself to her feet and waited for her trainer's command.

'Plusle, you know what to do! Fake Tears!'

Plusle nodded determinedly, and then suddenly her expression totally changed, her mouth shaking, her eyes swelling up, and then suddenly she burst into tears.

'What . . . what's wrong?' Elsie asked uncertainly.

'You're kidding me Elsie, don't tell me you're gonna fall for that!' I shook my head. 'Were you even listening? The attack's freaking called Fake Tears! It's just an act!'

'It doesn't look like an act . . .' Elsie said uncertainly.

'Aren't you supposed to be psychic?' I asked. 'As if you can't see through that! Come on, just ignore it and use Psychic!'

'I'll do my best,' said Elsie. She narrowed her eyes at Plusle and unleashed another attack, and I smiled as Plusle was thrown back again, the attack dealing a lot of damage to her.

'Hang in there, Plusle!' Fleur called. 'Use Charge!'

Plusle's tearful expression changed, and she shut her eyes and clenched her fists, concentrating her energy as sparks started forming around her cheeks.

'Jeez, is this thing even gonna attack anytime soon?' I asked. 'Come on Elsie, another Psychic! You might be able to finish it off!'

'I . . . I can't . . .' Elsie stuttered.

'You can't!?' I exclaimed. 'What are you talking about?'

'I can't move . . .' The espeon cringed, and I could see the strain on her face as she tried to force her body into motion, but to no avail.

'Well try harder!' I yelled at her. 'You can't give in to some stupid little plusle! Just keep trying!'

'I . . . I'm sorry, Kit . . .' Elsie sighed.

'Sorry's not gonna win any battles!' I yelled. 'I mean, come on, you're supposed to be psychic, how can you let a physical ailment stop you from attacking anyway?'

'I'm sorry.' Though her body couldn't move, Elsie's ears and tail still drooped.

'That's just the chance we need!' Fleur smiled. 'Now Plusle, use Spark!'

'See how you like this!' Plusle gathered the energy that had been forming around her cheeks, and blasted it out at Elsie. The espeon cried out in pain and fell to the ground, waves of electricity still bouncing around her fur.

'Elsie!' Taylor exclaimed, then turned to me with a glare. 'How could you have been so stupid? If you'd only listened to her and let her use Calm Mind, that attack wouldn't have been so harsh!'

I rolled my eyes. 'Moves like Calm Mind are just a waste of time. A few more Psychics and that plusle will faint anyway.'

'One more Spark and Elsie could faint!' Taylor snarled. 'Stop acting like you know about pokémon battles because you obviously know nothing! Spark isn't even a very powerful attack, you know! But because of Fake Tears and Charge, it did really huge damage!'

'I know that, you moron. But in the time it took to use those moves, she could've used two more Sparks!'

'Who cares? They wouldn't have been anywhere near as powerful as that one.' Taylor sighed. 'You'll never learn. But thanks to you, it's too late to use Calm Mind effectively now. Elsie, you'll have to use Psychic!'

'Look who's talking, Mr Stat-Moves-Are-So-Cool.'

Taylor just snarled at me and turned back to Elsie. 'Can you keep battling, Elsie?'

'Yes,' Elsie pulled herself up, then turned to Plusle and used another Psychic attack. I could see the pain in the rodent's face. She was getting weak. Maybe one more Psychic could take her down . . . if Elsie managed to survive the next Spark, that was.

'Plusle, finish it off with another Spark!'

'Got it,' Plusle nodded, and went to take a step towards Elsie, but stopped. She ground her teeth and tried to push her short legs forward, but they wouldn't budge.

I broke into a smile. I'd forgotten that Plusle was paralysed! And it was about time her paralysis kicked in, too! Now Elsie had the chance to attack again.

'Elsie, hit it with another Psychic!' I called. Elsie nodded, and threw Plusle back again with her psychic powers. The little electric pokémon tried to get up, but fell back down to the ground.

'Kit has managed to take down another of Fleur's pokémon!' The announcer called. 'Now Fleur is down to her last pokémon while none of Kit's have fainted yet! Let's see if Fleur has a pokémon that can take them down!'

'Hmph,' said Fleur, as she held out her pokéball and recalled her plusle. 'You may have beaten two of my pokémon, but your ninetales and espeon are as good as beat too.'

I glanced at Elsie and then at Taylor. She was right. I couldn't get ahead of myself and think we'd won this. Having three pokémon left when she only had one wasn't as great an advantage as it sounded. Elsie and Taylor could drop with one good hit, and that would leave me with Cam . . . I swallowed. No, Elsie and Taylor would just have to try harder. There was no way I was gonna let Cam battle out there.

'Now, let's see if they can handle this!' Fleur smiled. 'I choose you, Bulbasaur!'

She threw her third pokéball, and a small green reptile with a plant growing on his back appeared. I smiled. A bulbasaur? This wasn't so bad after all. Taylor's Flamethrower would be super-effective against it.

'OK Taylor,' I said. 'Go switch with Elsie!'

'For once you've made a good decision,' muttered Taylor, getting to his feet.

'No,' Elsie shook her head. 'You need to rest, Taylor. I can handle it.'

'Sure you're way better than Taylor and all,' I said. 'But his Flamethrower's super-effective against Bulbasaur, it'll knock him out easily.'

'Yes,' said Elsie. 'But my psychic attacks are super-effective against him too.'

I paused. What was she talking about? I'd stared at that type match-up table for hours on end, and I was sure I'd memorised it. Psychic attacks weren't super-effective against grass-types! Jeez, it was a good thing these guys had me for a trainer. They may have had some powerful attacks, but they obviously needed me for the theory part of battling.

'No they're not,' I said. 'Only fire, ice, bug, poison and flying are super-effective against grass-types!'

'This is exactly why you'd never make it as a trainer,' said Taylor, shaking his head. 'Bulbasaur is a dual-type. It's got characteristics of both grass and poison types.'

I blinked, then narrowed my eyes. 'I know that, you moron! I was just testing you!'

'Yeah, whatever, kid,' said Taylor. 'You keep fooling yourself.'

I glared at him. So I'd made one little mistake. Big deal. He'd been battling for years. I bet he couldn't have learnt all the stuff I had in a time period as short as what I'd been given.

'I'll battle this one,' said Elsie. 'You keep resting for the next round.'

'All right,' said Taylor. 'But if you want me to take over, just say so.'

'I'll be fine,' said Elsie, and turned to face the bulbasaur.

'How touching,' he said. 'Too bad neither of you will be able to beat me!'

'We'll see,' said Elsie, getting ready in a battle stance.

'Bulbasaur, it's still paralysed, so you should be faster than it,' said Fleur. 'Start off with Leech Seed!'

Bulbasaur nodded, then lowered its head and raised the bulb on his back. He shot a seed out of the bulb's opening, and it hit Elsie, implanting itself on her fur. Elsie quickly turned to Bulbasaur and used another Psychic attack, sending him flying back. He puffed and got firmly to his feet, but I could see how painful the super-effective attack had been. We could win this, I was sure of it.

The seed on Elsie's fur suddenly sprouted, and small vines wrapped around her body, squeezing the energy out of her. She winced but stayed on her feet, determined.

'Your espeon's tough, but it won't last much longer against Bulbasaur!' said Fleur. 'Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!'

'Take that!' Bulbasaur shot two vines out from underneath the bulb on his back, slapping Elsie with them. The espeon cried out and fell to the ground. She was nearly out of energy. But her Psychic attack was both powerful and super-effective . . . maybe it could even knock Bulbasaur out.

'Come on Elsie, use Psychic again!' I called.

'I . . .' Elsie puffed. I saw her struggling to pull her legs up, but it was no use. Stuck on the ground, she turned her head to Bulbasaur and narrowed her eyes. They began to glow, but after just a second or two the glow faded, and she dropped her head down. 'I'm sorry . . . the paralysis . . ..'

The vines from the seed on her back squeezed her tightly, and she sighed as she collapsed on the ground, the last of her energy exhausted.

'Fleur has managed to knock Kit's espeon out!' The announcer called. 'Let's see what move Kit will make next. Will she send out her kecleon, or will her injured ninetales be enough to beat Bulbasaur?'

'I'll never forgive you for that,' Taylor said coldly, staring over at Elsie's motionless body.

'Me!?' I exclaimed. 'It's her fault for giving in to that stupid plusle's paralysis!' I shook my head and stepped into the arena, walking over to Elsie. I bent down to her and touched her softly. I swallowed. Of course it was her fault. I'd told her to switch with Taylor. It should have been him out there getting beaten up, not her.

But the sight of her still body filled me with hybrid feelings. Sympathy for the pain she'd gone through, admiration for the way she'd forced herself to keep battling, and although I found it hard to admit to myself, even a touch of guilt, that maybe it had been my fault, that maybe I should have listened to her suggestions of what move to use instead of blindly ordering her to keep attacking with Psychic.

I shook my head as I scooped her into my arms and headed back. It didn't matter now anyway. We still had a battle to win.

When I got back to my position, Taylor walked past me onto the battlefield. I laid Elsie on the ground and turned to the ninetales. He was still heavily injured from his battle with Taillow, but there he was, willing to fight on.

'Wouldn't it be better for me to battle?' Cam asked uncertainly.

Maybe he was right, but I couldn't let him. It was too much of a risk, and besides, Taylor did have the type advantage . . ..

'No,' I said. 'If he's stupid enough to want to battle, that's his own fault.'

But I knew that it wasn't really stupidity that had made him go out there. I knew that it was benevolence, determination, and bravery. Deep down, behind all the insults and jibes, I knew that Taylor was brave. And I also knew that he was strong, and that even in his injured state, he had a good chance to win this.

'Bulbasaur, it's weak, we should be able to finish it off!' Fleur called. 'Use Vine Whip!'

Bulbasaur shot his vines out at Taylor and hit him with them, and although it still must have hurt, the attack was weak compared to how it had been against Elsie. Taylor stood firm and blasted a huge Flamethrower at the grass pokémon. The bulb on his back caught alight, and he cried out as the flames spread over his body, until he fell down, charred and defeated.

'No!' Fleur exclaimed. 'Bulbasaur!'

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. We'd gotten through the battle, and although Elsie and Taylor had put themselves through a lot, Cam was safe.

'Well folks, it looks like Kit has managed to take down Fleur's third and final pokémon!' The announcer called, and I nearly jumped as a cheer arose from the crowd. I looked around at the spectators and couldn't help but break into a smile. All these people had seen our win. This wasn't just a personal victory. All those people out there had gained respect for us. 'Despite a few mishaps with her pokémon, Kit has proven to be a worthy trainer, and she'll move on to the second round to test her skills further! We'll see what else she has in store for us later, but for now, we've got the next battle of the first round to look forward to, so don't go away!'

Fleur walked over to me to shake my hand, as was the custom after pokémon battles, but I could tell she was upset about her loss.

'You got lucky,' she muttered. 'You won't get through the next round with disobedient pokémon like that.'

'Oh yeah?' I challenged her. Hearing something like that only made me more determined to win.

'Speaking of the next round, William's battle is next,' said Taylor. 'Hurry up and get Elsie healed so we can be ready to watch it. He's gotta win so we can battle him in the next round.'

He was right. In the heat of the battle, I'd totally forgotten about William. As long as he made it through his first round battle, we'd be up against him in the next round. We had to really start getting serious. This wasn't just a battle, it wasn't just a tournament, it was a quest to save the vulpix prince.