April's Team: Mars; Burn (Charizard); Happy (Ludicolo); Thunder (Electabuzz); Sam (Riolu/Latios)

James' Team: Gardevoir; Nidoqueen; Ninetails; Grovyle; Corey (Mewvee)

Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Shade (Lucario); Bumble (Pichu); Bravo (Gallade); Thalia (Ninetails); Moltres

Red's Team: Mewtwo; Jake (Charizard); Volt (Pikachu)

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I really appreciate it. Thanks for your continued support, I wouldn't be doing this without it. And now, without further ado, on to the part you want; the next chapter.

POV: Mars

I covered my ears, trying to block out the incessant screaming from outside of the gym. Red had attracted quite a crowd, and was about as happy about it as I was. The gym leader, and older man named Blaine, stood on the other end of the arena, while Luna, Red, and James sat in the stands, along with a group of people that had managed to slip in before the doors were locked. Red was now beleaguered by said people, who were asking for autographs. Blaine was watching this with an amused smile, waiting to see what Red would do about it. Silently, Red adjusted his hat and let a Pokémon out of its ball. Jake roared ferociously, startling the crowd and causing them to recoil. Red spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"Please leave me alone. I'm trying to watch a friend's battle." He said. The crowd remained silent under the glare of Jake, silently turning towards the arena. Blaine chuckled and turned back towards April.

"Still hasn't changed a bit. April, was it? Let's get started, shall we? Don't want to keep Red's fans waiting." He said with a small smile. April nodded, and grabbed one of her pokeballs. "Oh, hold on now. I'm an old man. I need some time to get ready." Blaine said, stretching his back. Even across the gym, I could hear his back pop in multiple places. He cracked his neck, followed by his knuckles, and then stretched his back again. "Oh, that's better. This is my last year running this gym, you know. I'll be retiring next year. Anywho, let's get on with it, shall we? I'll begin with Magmar." Blaine said, tossing out his pokeball. Magmar appeared on the field, and smiled.

"Alright, then I choose Happy!" April said, tossing out Happy. Almost immediately, Happy broke out into a dance.

"Lively Ludicolo you've got there. Magmar, let's start off with a fire punch." Blaine said. Fire enveloped Magmar's fist, and he charged towards Happy.

"Bubblebeam!" April called. Happy, still dancing, turned and launched a stream of bubbles at Magmar, scoring a direct hit and knocking him backwards "Now use tickle!" Happy ran forwards as best she could while dancing, and began tickling Magmar, who fell to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Hohoho! Nice! Not only are you lowering Magmar's defense, but you're also lowering his attack, therefore taking some threat out of fire punch! Excellent! But he's still got his special attack. Flame burst!" Blaine called. Magmar open his mouth and rewarded Happy's tickling with a blast of fire to the face, causing her to stumble backwards.

"While you're close! Use hydro pump!" April called. Happy opened her mouth and fired an enormous blast of water at Magmar, who was struggling to get on his feet. Magmar took the water blast straight to his face, knocking him backwards and knocking him out. Blaine recalled him and nodded.

"Excellent. You used the close range to help make up for hydro pump's lack of accuracy. Good work. Now, I'm going to send out Rapidash." Blaine said, tossing out the Pokémon. The elegant fire type appeared on the field, tossing her head proudly.

"Use bubblebeam!" April called. The stream of bubbles shot towards Rapidash, who had already moved out of the way.

"Stomp, and then use bounce." Blaine said. Rapidash's hoof crashed into Happy, followed by another as Rapidash leapt into the air.

"Use hydro pump! Aim for Rapidash when she comes down!" April called. Happy nodded and charged the hydro pump, releasing it right as Rapidash crashed into her. Rapidash stumbled away from Happy, clearly disgruntled from the attack. Happy, on the other hand, didn't move. April recalled her and stared at Rapidash, who quickly got her feet back under her.

"Alright, then I'll go with Burn." April said. Burn emerged on the arena with a roar, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. He turned his gaze towards Rapidash and grinned, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Blaine chuckled.

"Fighting fire with fire, eh? Not a bad choice. Rapidash, use stomp." Blaine said.

"Stop her with dragon pulse!" April called. I blinked in surprise. When did he learn that? Burn reared back and fired, the bluish/purple flames slamming into Rapidash. She grunted and kept running, slamming her hoof into Burn's stomach. "Now use slash!" Burn brought his fist back and slammed his claws into Rapidash's side, knocking her out. Blaine nodded and recalled Rapidash.

"Impressive Charizard. Not yet on the same level as Red's but he's got potential. Let's see how he does against Houndoom, then. I got this guy from my granddaughter about four years ago." Blaine said, tossing out the black, bone adorned hound. I growled. Houndoom had always pissed me off. They were cocky and arrogant, and had the temper of an Ursaring.

"Use dragon pulse!" April called. Burn roared and fired the blue and purple flames, which scored a direct hit on Houndoom.

"Use flamethrower to counter, and then use crunch." Blaine commanded. Houndoom howled and fired the flamethrower, the intense flames breaking through Burn's attack. Houndoom raced forwards, jaws prepared to latch onto Burn.

"Use slash!" April called. Burn brought his claws down to strike Houndoom, but miscalculated and instead ended up having a Houndoom stuck on his arm. Burn roared in pain. "Use dragon pulse! Get him off!" April called. Burn charged his attack, and Houndoom growled.

"Yes, yes. I'm getting to it. Use flamethrower while still attached to Charizard's arm. Then let go and use crunch once more." Blaine said with a sigh. Houndoom launched his flamethrower, scorching Burn's arm. Burn roared and launched his attack, directly hitting Houndoom, but also hitting his arm. Houndoom let go of Burn and jumped free of dragon pulse, biting Burn once more. Burn let out one final roar and collapsed to the ground, KO'd. April recalled him and smiled, nodding appreciatively at his pokeball.

"Good work, Burn. You wore him down." She said. I nodded in agreement, Houndoom was breathing hard. Taking two dragon pulses must've taken a toll on him. "Now I'll choose Thunder! Don't give him any breathing room! Use brick break!" Thunder appeared on the field, already swinging. His arm slammed into Houndoom, who barely had enough energy to stand, let alone dodge.

"Hit him with a flamethrower." Blaine commanded. Houndoom raised his head and fired right as another brick break slammed into him. Houndoom's head slammed into the ground, KO'd, while Thunder took a step back, cringing from the flamethrower.

"Dang, that was hot. Worse than Burn's." Thunder said, shaking himself. He yawned and looked at Blaine. "So then who you going to use next? Use someone easy, I'm not feeling like fighting today." Blaine chuckled.

"Once again, good work. Now, I think you deserve to meet my oldest friend. He hasn't fought in a while, so give him a bit of slack would you? I'm not the only old one around here." Blaine said, and let out an Arcanine. The giant dog looked old and grand, with a long flowing tail, and a great mane of fur. His canines were long and sharp, and his once bright red fur was now faded and graying.

"Hey now. I may be old, but I'm still strong enough to beat anyone you put in front of me. Minus Red's Pokémon, of course." The great Arcanine said, yawning and performing the same stretching that Blaine had done in the beginning. "Now, you're my opponent, eh, Electabuzz? Hm, let's see what a young 'un like you can do." Arcanine said, smiling.

"Use thunderbolt!" April commanded.

"Extremespeed." Blaine said. Just as Thunder fired, Arcanine disappeared. Thunder was sent flying backwards, and Arcanine reappeared where Thunder had once stood.

"Are you ok, Thunder?" April asked. Thunder didn't respond, he just lay there, KO'd. April recalled him and looked at me. "Then it's up to you, Mars." She said. I nodded and stood up, walking out into the field and stretching my back in the same manner Arcanine had.

"Hey, that actually helps. I should do this more often." I said, cracking my neck. Arcanine grinned and nodded.

"See? Us old folk don't just do it because we're old." He said. I nodded, and lowered myself, preparing to fight.

"I don't know how I'm going to compete with your speed. That's pretty impressive." I said. Arcanine grinned and raised his head proudly.

"There once was a time when I was considered the strongest fire type in both Johto and Kanto. No one could match me in terms of speed. Ah, but you don't want to listen to an old man reminiscing the glory days." Arcanine said. I grinned and shook my head.

"No, I don't mind it, actually. I used to listen to my grandfather's storytelling for hours on end as a pup." I said.

"Mars, use razor wind!" April called. I sighed.

"Sorry, but duty calls." I charged the attack and fired, only to find that Arcanine had moved out of the way at blinding speed. He slammed into my side and sent me tumbling. I groaned and stood up, grinning at Arcanine. "That's some speed." I repeated.

"Ice beam! Freeze the field!" April commanded. I was already halfway through the attack when she said this. She read my mind. Blaine chuckled, and Arcanine laughed.

"So you're going to stall Arcanine's speed with ice, huh? Melt the ice with flamethrower." Blaine commanded. I was waiting for this. I could feel his attack welling up inside, and I raced forwards, halting my ice beam attack, and slammed into Arcanine before he could fire. Arcanine stumbled backwards, and I grinned at him.

"Just thought I'd return the favor." I said. Blaine laughed.

"It seems your Absol knows sucker punch! That is tricky indeed!" Blaine said. April stared at me for a moment before grinning and nodding. Right. She didn't know that I had learned sucker punch.

"Alright, now use razor wind!" April commanded. I launched my attack, once again finding that Arcanine was gone. He slammed into my side and I groaned, stumbling a little bit away. "Fine. Counter his extreme speed with sucker punch!" April commanded. I nodded and raced forwards, slamming into Arcanine's side.

"Only use extreme speed, Arcanine. Wear him down." Blaine commanded. He grinned at me and charged. I barely dodged with sucker punch, and found myself chasing him around the gym. This went on for about five minutes. Back and forth, back and forth, hitting each other and then running away. I was breathing hard, and so was Arcanine, but neither of us were going to give. This could last forever. The only way it would end would be if one of us made a decisive move. I growled and searched inside for that….Mega evolution power-up thing. I growled and found it, a deep reserve of power. I grinned.

"Time to end this." I said, and began to glow.

"What…?" April and Blaine said in unison. In a flash, I leapt forwards, slashing at Arcanine with the horn that had regrown on my head. The dark blade slammed into him, sending him tumbling. Arcanine didn't get up from that one. I grinned and looked at April, trotting over to her. Silence rang out through the stadium, and Blaine recalled Arcanine.

"Mars…you….That's awesome!" April said, running up and hugging me. I felt her brush something, and I looked back to see that my fur had grown to resemble a pair of wings. Weird.

"Well I'll be. I never would've thought that you could use Mega Evolution. Without a mega ring, to boot. Guess there are some things that can surprise an old man like me. Here, you earned the volcano badge." Blaine said, handing April the badge. April stood up and took it, grinning at me.

"Yeah. Mars is pretty amazing, isn't he?" April asked. Blaine chuckled and nodded, walking towards his side of the gym.

"Oh, and just a piece of advice, your Charizard would've won against Houndoom had he started flying. Remember that he has wings." Blaine said. April nodded and looked at the ground sheepishly. "Oh, and come see me again before you leave the island. Tell an old man some stories about your adventures." Blaine said. April nodded.

"I'll make sure to do that. Thanks!" She said, and turned towards the bleachers. "Come on, Mars."

POV CHANGE: Lucien

I peered through the binoculars, watching as a squad of Rockets loaded cages of Pokémon onto a truck. I grunted and handed the binoculars off to Looker, who was lying next to me. We were on the top of a hill, the dense jungle of Six Island hiding us from view. Looker was still in his standard brown trench coat, whereas I had put on a green ghille suit, camouflaging me perfectly in the surrounding environment. Chatot twittered in the trees. If I remembered right, the population of Chatot on Six Island was from a ship wreck of illegally immigrated Pokémon a few years back. They had flourished in the humid jungle environment.

"Illegal trafficking of Pokémon. That's nothing we haven't seen before." Looker said. I nodded in agreement. But something was strange about it. The past two times that Team Rocket had risen in the criminal underworld, there'd been a flux of Pokémon in the black market. We hadn't seen that this time around.

"Sure, but the data points that they're keeping the Pokémon rather than selling them. If that's the case, then where are they getting their funding? Silph?" I mused. Looker glanced at me.

"It is possible. If we could find evidence of that, then it would concrete your theory that the two are in cahoots. Unfortunately, all data you have gathered so far is insufficient to investigate a corporate behemoth such as Silph. Hmm. This requires further investigation. How should we proceed?" Looker asked. I grunted and grabbed the long leather case that lay next to me. I unzipped it and pulled out a long, black, sleek rifle.

"This shoots trackers. If I can get one on the truck without anyone noticing, we're golden. Keep watch on the binoculars, while I find a place to stick this thing." I said, laying the rifle in front of me. I peered through the scope and found the truck. The Rockets still had about fifteen crated Pokémon to load, so I wasn't too worried about time. I located a spot that would be hard enough to detect the small, pin-sized tracer.

"Guards are all looking away. Wait until they are loading a crate to fire." Looker said. I nodded. I know the drill. Four Rockets slowly picked up a crate and carried it to the truck. A Persian prowled around inside, glaring at the Rockets. 3….2…1…fire. I squeezed the trigger, and with a slight pop the tracer shot off, embedding itself into the truck.

"Bulls eye." I muttered. "Alright, we're green. I'll just set up the tracking system, and then we'll follow them back to their base." I said. Looker nodded, and I pulled out a small black box from the gun case, turning it on and activating the tracking system to tracker 1. I glanced up at the truck, and watched them load another Pokémon. What the hell were they up to?

POV CHANGE: Red

I sighed and pushed my way through the crowd, ignoring the screaming people and flinching at the camera flashes. Questions were being pressed on me from the local news reporters, all of which I ignored. April, James, and Luna all struggled behind me, while Jake sat comfortably inside his pokeball. This crowd was too much for him to scare off. We had even taken the back door out of the gym, but I guess they expected that, as the majority of them were waiting out back for me. I groaned and rubbed my temples, trying to think of a way out of this. I could use Mewtwo….no, that's a bit drastic.

"Red, what do you think of the newest attacks by Team Rocket, and what is the League doing about it?" A reporter asked. I muttered a curse under my breath before answering.

"We're doing the best we can, and I know that the police are investigating it as we speak. Now please leave me alone." I said. The reporter nodded and jotted something down before looking back up at me, ignoring my plea.

"Who are they? Are they studying under you?" The reporter asked. I blinked in surprise at the question. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for a Champion to tutor trainers, but it wasn't very common.

"They're just friends, and no, they're not my students. Can you give me a piece of paper and a pen?" I asked. The reporter jotted down what I said and handed me the paper and pen. I scribbled a quick note on a clean sheet of paper, and then tore it free, handing it to Luna. Silently, I let Jake out of his ball and leapt onto his back, taking off into the sky without another word. This, at least, would draw the crowd away. I angled Jake towards Two Island and took a deep breath, calming my jittery nerves. I hated crowds. Sometimes I wished I would've stayed on top of that mountain.

And there you go. A nice Gym Battle chapter.

Oh, and don't forget to check out my other two stories; After the Fall and Toxic Opposition. Don't worry, they won't interfere with my updating on this story. After all, I love this story just as much as you do.