Our heroes arrived in Kyotsu City so that Ichigo can win his sixth badge. Upon their arrival, they ran across Renji and they soon met Shunsui, a fashion designer and the gym leader. Shunsui might be strong, but Ichigo will need to find a way to win.

Ichigo and the others arrived at the gym and Renji was outside waiting for them.

"Renji, came here to see me pull off another win?" Ichigo said.

"I might as well get a good show whether you win or lose." Renji said.

"Have you figured out some sort of plan to deal with that Shiftry? It's pretty strong." Rukia said.

"You don't need to worry about it." Ichigo said. "Absol, we're going to win that sixth badge, right?"

"Absol!"

Pokémon!
It's a battle, win or lose
It's the friends you make, it's the road you choose
You've got the right stuff
So make your mind up
Find the courage inside of you
If you're strong you'll survive
And you'll keep your dream alive
Let the battle begin
Pokémon!
Be the best you can be
And find your destiny
It's the master plan
The power's in your hand
Pokémon!

(Ichigo's voice) Nature's Dark Beauty

Ichigo and the others stepped inside the gym where Shunsui's girls were waiting for them.

"Welcome to the Kyotsu Gym. We've been waiting for you." All of them said. "Please step this way for the battle."

"Perfect." Ichigo said as they all walked down the hall. When they stepped through a door, the battlefield was similar to a geisha garden. Ichigo took his position with the others stepping to the side. "Hang on. Where's Shunsui?" Just as he asked that, petals were shot out through the other side and Shunsui walked through the entrance. His little entourage seemed to have enjoyed it.

"Was that entrance really necessary?" Rukia said.

"I welcome you to my gym." Shunsui said. "I hope you're ready for a fun battle. My battling is as skillful as my designing."

"The gym battle between Shunsui, the gym leader, and Ichigo, the challenger, will now begin." The referee said. "Each side will use three pokemon. The battle will be over when all three of one side is no longer able to battle. Only the challenger will allow to switch pokemon."

"Let the fun begin. Sneasel, you're first!" Shunsui said.

"Sneasel!" From the size of Sneasel's feather was an indication of a male.

"Awesome. Sneasel is an ice-type as well as a dark-type." Rukia said.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Renji said and Rukia snapped back to her senses.

"Tauros, let's do this!" Ichigo said.

"Roo!"

"Battle begin!" The referee said.

"Let's win this. Tauros use Take Down." Ichigo said and Tauros charged right at Sneasel, but neither Sneals nor Shunsui seemed concerned.

"Dodge it and use Ice Wind on the ground." Shunsui said. Sneasel jumped over Tauros and unleashed a cold breeze all around the field and it was causing it to freeze.

"Tauros use Horn Attack." Ichigo said. Tauros tried to attack, but the ice caused Tauros to slip and fall while Sneasel slide around very easily.

"Now use Metal Claw." Shunsui said. Sneasel slid around and slashed his claws made of metal against Tauros and Tauros was helpless.

"Alright!"

"He's going to win!"

"Tauros can't do anything."

"Geeze. They sound like Shunsui is there master or something. Since when can gym leaders have their own cheering squad?" Renji said.

"I see. He froze the battlefield so it would give Sneasel and advantage and Tauros can't do a thing about." Rukia said. "He's craftier than I thought."

"We've got to do something about the ice." Ichigo said. "I already know what to do. Tauros use Earthquake." Tauros slammed it's hooves on the ground and it was causing Sneasel to lose his balance and for the ice to break. "Now use Iron Head!"

"Roo!" Tauros charged right at Sneasel with the white aura and slammed into Sneasel. Sneasel was sent sliding against the ground and was beaten really easily. The girls were surprised and the referee was a little hesitant.

"Make the call." Shunsui said.

"Sneasel is unable to battle. Tauros is the winner." The referee said.

"Yes. That's one win." Orihime said.

"But it's only going to get tougher." Chad said.

"Not bad, but this battle isn't over." Shunsui said. "My dark-types are beautiful since the ones I use actually seem to utilize nature."

"Utilize nature?" Ichigo questioned.

"I'll show you. Mandibuzz, go my winged beauty." Shunsui said.

"Mandibuzz!"

"So he's going with a flying-type. Tauros, are you up to keep going?" Ichigo asked and Tauros was all set to go.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening. Mandibuzz, start out with Air Slash." Shunsui said. Mandibuzz flapped her wings and unleashed blades made out of air and blasted Tauros with them. "Now use Aerial Ace."

"Counter that with Take Down." Ichigo said. Both pokemon went at each other and caused a collision. Both of them tried to push the other back and it ended up in a draw.

"Now use Brave Bird." Shunsui said.

"Iron Head!" Ichigo said. Both of them charged at each other in a cyan and white aura. The two of them crashed into each other and caused an explosion. Mandibuzz was able to fly out, but Tauros was down.

"Tauros is unable to battle. Mandibuzz is the winner." The referee said.

"Tauros, return. You did your best." Ichigo said as he brought Tauros back. "Golbat, you're up next!"

"Kwia!"

"This should be fun. A battle in the air." Shunsui said.

"Golbat, start out with Air Cutter." Ichigo said and Golbat shot out some slashes.

"Mandibuzz use Air Slash." Shunsui said. Mandibuzz unleashed the blades and they were able to push through Golbat's attack and blasted Golbat with them. "Now use Fury Attack." Mandibuzz flew right at Golbat and pecked at it multiple times.

"Push it away with Wing Attack." Ichigo said.

"Counter that with Knock Off." Shunsui said. Both of them had glowing wings and tried to attack the other. "That's quite the amusing dance they have going."

"You call that a dance?" Ichigo said.

"Of course. After all, the main point of battle is to have fun." Shunsui said. "The harder we push, the more fun we get out of it. Let me show you. Mandibuzz use Fury Attack." Mandibuzz pushed Golbat back and tried pecking at it again.

"Dodge it and use Wing Attack again." Ichigo said. Golbat avoided all of Mandibuzz's attacks and hit Mandibuzz.

"It looks like an even match so far." Chad said.

"It will change as soon as one of them makes a game changer." Renji said. "That Shunsui guy is tough and that calm and playful attitude of his has me thinking he has an ace or two up his sleeve."

"Golbat use Air Cutter." Ichigo said. Golbat used the attack again and was able to blast Mandibuzz. "That's the way to go."

"He's a tough one, but we can be too. Brave Bird!" Shunsui said. Mandibuzz charged at Golbat in a cyan aura.

"Golbat use Supersonic." Ichigo said. Golbat unleashed the sonic attack and Mandibuzz got caught in it. She acted loopy and ended up crashing into the ground.

"Oh boy. I really fell for that one." Shunsui said.

"I knew for Supersonic to work, I needed Mandibuzz to get in close enough." Ichigo said.

"I see. You're also very interesting." Shunsui said.

"Golbat use Poison Fang." Ichigo said. Golbat flew at Mandibuzz with its fangs glowing. Golbat bit down on Mandibuzz and Mandibuzz felt her body going numb and she passed out. The ref didn't want to say it, but she needed to.

"Mandibuzz is unable to battle. Golbat is the winner." The referee said.

"Yay! One more win and he'll win his sixth badge." Orihime said.

"Careful on that statement, Orihime." Rukia said. "We all know who that last pokemon might be."

"Shiftry, let's go my friend!" Shunsui said.

"Shiftry!"

"I be careful Shiftry is the guardian of my gym and is really in tune with nature." Shunsui said. "All my pokemon have utilize the power of nature. Sneasel, ice and Mandibuzz, air. So what do you think Shiftry's is?"

"Grass!" Ichigo said.

"Exactly." Shunsui said.

"I get it now." Ichigo said. "His battling style is where his pokemon's best attacks are the same type. So it's Shiftry's grass-type attacks we need to watch out for."

"Correct and the fact that they're dark-types adds to their fun and beauty." Shunsui said. "No one would ever expect that in either matters."

"I see." Rukia said as all of them looked impressed she understood. "Basically, he's using the fact that their dark-types to aid in their appeal of their power. It's like using a form of irony."

"One more thing. It's not just Shiftry's grass-type attacks you need to be careful about. Now use Hurricane." Shunsui said. Shiftry flapped his arms around and created a strong gust of wind and Golbat got caught in it.

"Don't give up, Golbat. Give them a taste of your Air Cutter." Ichigo said. Golbat resisted the strong winds and used its attack, but Shiftry jumped out of the way and was able to avoid it. "Try again."

"But which one. Now use Double Team." Shunsui said. Shiftry made copies of itself and confused Golbat. "Use Hurricane one more time." All the Shiftry made copies of the move and there was no escape for Golbat. Golbat was blown to the ceiling and crashed into it with it crashing into the ground.

"Golbat is unable to battle. Shiftry is the winner." The referee said.

"Yay, Shunsui!"

"Just one more win!"

"He's doing great!"

"Shiftry's really strong." Chad said.

"I could have told you that." Renji said. Ichigo brought Golbat back and turned to Absol.

"Are you all set to go?" Ichigo asked.

"Absol." Absol agreed and stepped on the field.

"Absol! I'll admit that white coat of Absol is beautiful. I wonder how it does in battle." Shunsui said.

"Absol is number one. Let me show you. Absol use Night Slash." Ichigo said. Absol charged right at Shiftry.

"Shiftry use Leaf Blade." Shunsui said. The two of them charged at each other with their attacks and tried to push the other back.

"Now use Dark Pulse." Ichigo said. Absol aimed at Shiftry at close range and blastedShiftry and pushed him back. "Now use Razor Wind." Absol powered up the attack and shot it out. Shiftry got hit and was blasted against the wall.

"Shiftry use Leaf Blade again." Shunsui said. Shiftry jumped off against the wall with his leaves turning to blades and slashed against Absol.

"That Shiftry is fast. I need to do something about that speed." Ichigo said.

"Now use Leaf Tornado." Shunsui said. Shiftry generated the tornado of leaves and shot it towards Absol.

"Absol use Swords Dance." Ichigo said. Absol generated the swords and they were able to block Shiftry's attack and raise power. "Now use Razor Wind." Absol pulled his head back and launched it out with Shiftry getting hit again.

"Shiftry, surround Absol with Double Team." Shunsui said. Shiftry made copies of itself and all the copies had Absol surrounded. "Now use Hurricane." All of them used the same attack and Absol got blasted by all that wind power. "Let's give them a taste of your Leaf Blade." All of them flew at Absol, but only one was able to make contact with Absol.

"That's the real one. Now use Night Slash." Ichigo said. Absol was able to find the strength inside it and slashed against Shiftry.

"You've done well to survive this long, but I'm afraid our enjoyable is going to need to end soon." Shunsui said.

'He's right, but what can we do?' Ichigo thought. 'That Shiftry is so fast and we got nothing to increase our speed. How can we use it against them?' He tried to think of a solution and it didn't take long for an idea to come to him. "Absol use Dark Pulse all around the field.

"Absol!" Absol did what he was told and unleashed Dark Pulse all throughout the battlefield. All of them were curious as to what they were doing and Shunsui seemed impressed with Absol's power.

'Marvelous. He really knows how to bring out the best of his Absol, but what are they up to?' Shunsui wondered. The dust flowed through the entire field and covered up Absol that they couldn't even see Absol silhouette anymore.

"You can't avoid us if you can't see us." Ichigo said. "Absol use Swords Dance." They heard Absol power-up, but they couldn't see where Absol was. "Now use Razor Wind!" Absol emerged through the dust and appeared right in front of Shiftry. Absol unleashed the attack and blasted Shiftry. Shiftry was sliding against the ground and ended up hitting the wall. It was a shocking end to Shunsui's fans.

"Shiftry is unable to battle. Absol is the winner. Victory goes to the challenger." The referee said.

"Yeah!" Ichigo said as Absol ran to him. "We did it, Absol. We won again."

"He's amazing!" Orihime said.

"He really is." Rukia said. With Ichigo's win, the time came for him to be rewarded with his badge.

"That was a gat battle, Ichigo. You truly know how to bring out the best of your pokemon." Shunsui said and handed him his badge. "Here's proof that you won. This is the Darkened Badge." The badge was a black stream with a mischievous looking skull on it.

"Thanks a lot, Shunsui." Ichigo said as he gladly accepted the badge. "That makes six. I only need two more."

"I'll admit it. You're stronger than before, but don't think that means you're better than me." Renji said.

"We'll see about that." Ichigo said.

"Say, if you're really looking for another gym, go try the Tachikaze Gym in Tachikaze City." Renji said. "The flying-types in that gym are fierce ones."

"A flying-type gym?! Sounds good to me? What about the rest of you?" Ichigo asked.

"Sounds good to me." Rukia said and Chad was in agreement.

"Of course." Orihime said.

"That's great. Lookout because I'm going for number seven." Ichigo declared.

Ichigo has made another successful battle and victory that allowed him to get his sixth badge. Now, he's only two badges away from entering the Unova League and his dream. So you don't want to miss any of it.

To Be Continued…..