Ed's Pokémon on Team:

Squirtle (male) Level 26: Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Bite, Withdraw, Protect

Pidgeotto (male) Level 26: Gust, Quick Attack, Twister, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind

Beedrill (male) Level 25: String Shot, Twineedle, Rage, Fury Attack, Bug Bite

Houndour (male) Level 25: Dark Pulse, Thunder Fang, Ember, Bite, Roar

Electabuzz (male) Level 27: Shock Wave, Iron Tail, Electro Ball, Light Screen, Thunder Wave

Chapter 25: The Psychic Showdown

"Ah!" shouted Ed, stretching his arms. He was a little sore from being out last night after being at the arcade, eating pizza, and just being an insane person. Getting out of bed, he went to go brush his teeth. He yawned as he was cracking his back a little bit. Getting dressed, Ed was looking at the map.

"So, if we leave tomorrow… we could get to Celadon City by nightfall," said Ed, "That's not bad."

"What?"

Ed turned around as Kevin slowly was getting up from his bed.

"I said that if we left tomorrow morning from here, Route 7 is literally a 10 mile walk. We could get to Celadon City by nightfall," said Ed.

"True," said Kevin.

"Ah," said Ed, "Well, get dressed. We have a gym match today."

"Uh, mine is not till 1. You have yours in fifteen minutes," said Kevin.

Ed looked at his watch. It was 9:45 on his watch, "Shit… well I better get going."

As he left, Kevin lay on the sheets. He looked at the ceiling and shook his head, "Told him we should have been back at 1:30 in the morning. But, no we got back at 3 in the morning."

He sighed as he looked at the calendar. He smiled as he looked at the date. It was already August 10th. They have been running around for the past two months. So, for Kevin to sit and relax for once, he deserved it.

Fifteen minutes later…

Ed barged into the Saffron Gym, breathing heavily. Sabrina smiled as she looked at him, "Three seconds late."

"I know," said Ed, sighing, "I woke up…"

"You partied too hardy last night," said Sabrina, smiling, "Really, getting back at 3 in the morning?"

"Stop reading my thoughts," said Ed, raising an eyebrow. Sabrina laughed, "Just saying."

Sabrina giggled a little bit, "Well, let's get on to business."

"Okay," said Ed, cracking a smile.

Sabrina walked down the stairs toward the battlefield. Snapping her fingers, the white lights emerged from the ceiling. Looking to her right, a girl wearing all black stood to the right of them as she looked at them.

"This is an official Pokémon Gym match between Edward Fireheart of Pallet Town and Sabrina for the Marsh Badge. Each trainer is allowed to use three Pokémon. Only the challenger can make substitutions and there is no time limit!" the judge said.

"Three? Well, that's different than the last two gyms," Ed thought.

"Let the battle begin!" shouted the judge.

"For my first Pokémon," said Sabrina, "I choose Venomoth!"

Throwing the ball out, a purple insectoid creature came out of the ball. He had black eyes and two pairs of wings that were purple with scales. His thorax was pale with black zigzag lines.

"Alright…," said Ed, taking out his Poké Ball, "Go, Pidgeotto!"

The ball opened up. Pidgeotto flew out of his ball and landed on the ground.

"Venomoth, use Psybeam!" shouted Sabrina.

Venomoth charged in. Rainbow beams were shooting out of his eyes.

"Quick!" said Ed, "Dodge! Use Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto dodged the Psybeam attacks and then charged forward toward Venomoth.

"Psychic…," said Sabrina.

Venomoth's eyes began to glow bright blue. Pidgeotto stopped in motion, just a centimeter away from touching Venomoth.

"Pidgeotto, break out! Use Gust!" yelled Ed.

"No one can get away from Psychic…," said Sabrina, "Send Pidgeotto flying."

Venomoth raised his eyebrows. Pidgeotto was sent back flying into the wall, landing on the ground. Pidgeotto shook his head as he got up from the ground.

"Let's try Special Attacks…," thought Ed. He then cleared his throat, "Pidgeotto, use Gust and Twister and aim them directly at Venomoth!'

Pidgeotto flapped his wings. A wave of wind was coming toward his left while a green twister-like funnel emerged from his right. They combined to become like a tornado.

"Venomoth… Quick!" said Sabrina.

Venomoth raised his eyebrows. Trying to stop the funnel, Venomoth used Psychic. However, the funnel caught Venomoth. As the funnel disappeared, Venomoth was on the ground, screaming.

"Now, Quick Attack!" yelled Ed.

Pidgeotto charged in and smacked Venomoth in the stomach. Venomoth yelled as he landed on the ground, fainting.

"Venomoth is unable to battle. The winner is Pidgeotto!" the judge exclaimed.

"That was a close call…," said Ed.

"Not bad…," said Sabrina, recalling, "I go by levels of ESP when I battle. Usually, most people manage to pass this level because I only focus on straight attack and defense. However, this Pokémon is a little bit harder."

Raising an eyebrow, Ed wanted to know what Sabrina meant. Sabrina smiled as she took out another Poké Ball, "Espeon, I choose you!"

The ball popped out. A Pokémon appeared on four legs with lilac fur. She had black eyes with a red gem in between the eyes with very long ears and a long tail.

"I just wanted to say that I've always wanted an Espeon," said Ed, looking at the Pokémon.

"Good… but, now you get to see my true power," said Sabrina.

"Alright… well, then Pidgeotto, let's warm up with a Sand-Attack. Cover the whole field!"

Pidgeotto nodded and flapped his wings. Bursts of sand emerged from his body as it was covering the battlefield. Espeon closed her eyes as she was covered in sand.

"Now, Quick Attack!" yelled Ed.

Pidgeotto charged through the sand into Espeon. Espeon jumped up and dodged the attack. Turning around, Espeon shot a rainbow beam from her gem, hitting Pidgeotto.

Ed turned around, "Since when can Espeon do that without orders?"

Sabrina smiled, "The best thing about being a psychic is having a strong connection with your Psychic Pokémon. Therefore, I don't have to give orders… Espeon can predict very well."

Ed swallowed hard. He wasn't sure how this battle was going to play out. It seemed that Espeon is excellent in battle. No wonder many trainers have saved this gym until they were a lot stronger. Ed raised his eyebrow as he turned to Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto started flapping his wings. Espeon smiled as she released stars from her mouth.

"Dodge them!" yelled Ed.

Pidgeotto dodged each star. That is, until one star hit Pidgeotto in the face.

"Swift…," said Sabrina, "Hits every time."

Ed grumbled a little bit. Pidgeotto screamed, landing on the ground.

"Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto carefully lifted himself up from the ground.

"Now, Espeon… use Psybeam!" said Sabrina.

Espeon's gem began to glow bright red. Rainbow beams emerged from Espeon's face. Ed looked up and turned to Pidgeotto, "Quick, Pidgeotto! Use Sand-Attack!"

Pidgeotto raised its wings and released sand. Flying away, the beam missed.

"Quick Attack!"

Charging into attack, Pidgeotto smacked into Espeon. Espeon smiled as it was being tackled into the wall. Espeon jumped up and used her own Quick Attack.

"Quick, Twister!"

Pidgeotto released blue funnel tornadoes. Espeon looked at the dark tornado. The twister stopped in motion. Ed nodded as Pidgeotto flapped his wings to release another one. As one funnel headed toward Pidgeotto with the use of Psychic, one tornado hit Espeon. Espeon yelled as she landed on the ground. Espeon was breathing heavily as she fainted on the spot.

"Espeon!" shouted Sabrina.

SMASH! Ed turned around. Pidgeotto landed on the ground. Pidgeotto was weak from the heavy battling.

"Espeon is unable to battle. Pidgeotto is the winner!" said the judge.

"Good job," said Sabrina, raising her Poké Ball, "Now, for my new warrior… Kadabra, you're up!"

Kadabra popped out of his Poké Ball. Sabrina's eyes began to glow bright red. Ed knew it. They were in synch. He could automatically feel tension. He really doesn't know how this battle's going to play out. Ed, however, knew that Pidgeotto was too weak to battle. Ed grabbed his Poké Ball.

"Pidgeotto, return," said Ed.

A red beam shot out of his Poké Ball and Pidgeotto was brought back. He then took out his next Pokémon, "Houndour, come on out!"

Houndour popped out and landed on the ground. As he snarled, the door opened behind him. Kevin, Rachel, and El walked into the battlefield and stood at the sidelines.

"About time you got here," said Ed.

"Yeah," said Kevin.

"…," said Sabrina, "You chose wisely. Houndour are very hard to find in Kanto. They are more in the Johto Region. However, I won't allow you to win."

Ed clenched his fists, "Houndour, use Dark Pulse!"

Houndour opened his mouth. As a black beam emerged from his mouth, Sabrina raised her eyes, "Disable!"

Kadabra released a beam of energy from his spoon. Immediately, the beam dispersed and Houndour was caught in the midst of the attack. He struggled to get out.

"Focus Punch!"

Kadabra started raising his left hand. Energy was charging up. Ed looked at Houndour as he was still trying to break out of being disabled.

"Houndour, use Roar!"

Houndour released a howl. It didn't cause Kadabra to return because he was the last Pokémon. But, the howl was so intense that Houndour was free of being disabled.

"Signal Beam!" said Sabrina.

Kadabra released a red, blue, and yellow beam of energy. Ed turned to Houndour.

"Houndour, Dark Pulse!" yelled Ed.

Houndour released a blast of black energy. The two beams hit. Kadabra aimed at a precise point. The beam went all over the place and hit Houndour. Houndour yelled as he landed on the ground.

"Houndour… come on!" yelled Ed.

"Bug attacks are strong against Dark types…," said Sabrina, "It's a bit powerful."

"Understandable," said Ed, looking at Sabrina, "But, he's a fire type too."

Sabrina looked at him as Houndour jumped up to battle.

"Bite!" yelled Ed.

Houndour opened his jaws.

"Use Disable!" shouted Sabrina.

Kadabra stretched his spoon, disabling Houndour. Houndour struggled to get up.

"Use Focus Punch!" yelled Sabrina.

Kadabra raised his fist as he charged with focus. As he headed toward Houndour, Ed smiled as he looked at her.

"Just wait… Knowing you though, you probably already read my thoughts," said Ed.

As Kadabra went to strike, Ed raised his mouth, "Dark Pulse!"

A black beam hit Kadabra. Kadabra yelled as he landed on the ground. Kadabra flipped backwards.

"Bite!" yelled Ed.

Houndour jumped up and nibbled all over Kadabra. Kadabra yelled as there were bite marks surrounding his body. Landing on the ground, Sabrina looked at him, "Recover!"

Ed turned around as Kadabra was revived.

"What?" asked Ed.

Sabrina smiled, "Do you really think I was going to give up easily?"

Ed grumbled, "Houndour, use Dark Pulse!"

Houndour started shooting bursts of dark energy. Kadabra kept levitating back and forth, dodging the attacks. Kadabra released another Signal Beam.

"Dodge, Thunder Fang!" yelled Ed.

Houndour jumped up and opened his jaws. As Kadabra went to levitate, Houndour bit Kadabra's spoon. An electric charge surrounded Kadabra as he stood there paralyzed.

"Now, Dark Pulse!" yelled Ed.

"Quick, Recover!" said Sabrina.

A green aura surrounded Kadabra as he was recovering. A black beam shot Kadabra while recovering. As Kadabra landed on the ground, Houndour charged toward the Pokémon.

"Bite!"

CHOMP! Kadabra yelled as he felt his energy drain. Landing on the ground, Sabrina stood there with a surprise.

"Kadabra is unable to battle. The winner is Houndour and the victory goes to Edward Fireheart!"

"Sweet!" shouted Ed. Houndour jumped up in his arms. As Ed started petting him, Sabrina walked down toward him.

"You had me cornered. Not many people can easily defeat me. I guess… I was taking it easy on you because of your experience. I made a mistake and I apologize," said Sabrina.

"We're all human," said Ed.

Sabrina smiled, "That is true. Anyway…"

Sabrina took out a red chest, "By the Pokémon League, I give you the Marsh Badge."

Ed looked at the opened chest. It was a golden circle badge. Ed smiled as he took the badge and placed the badge in his case.

"Great!" shouted Rachel.

"Yeah," said Kevin.

Turning around, Sabrina smiled as she looked at him, "I should be ready… however, I plan on changing the strategy."

"I'm always ready," said Kevin.

"Good," she said, walking outside toward the PokémonCenter. Ed walked toward the three trainers.

"So, five more to go?" asked El.

"Yep," said Ed, "I thought I would never get my third badge at this point. And that was close."

"True," said Rachel, smiling.

"Well," said Kevin, "I can't wait to challenge her to a match."

Ed and Rachel nodded as Kevin looked at Sabrina, heading to the Pokémon Center as fast as possible so Kevin can start his battle…

A/N: Alright, so Ed received the Marsh Badge! Surprisingly, for two badges, I give him respect. Plus, it makes more sense to go to Saffron first then Vermillion, but I digress. So, next chapter… well, wait and see.

Also, now accepting OCs for the Great Pokémon Race coming soon… So far I only have one person interested, inbox me for more information.