Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Pokemon.

Character thoughts are italicized.

"A.J, you can have the first move!" Nick yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to sound louder. "I don't want this to be too easy."

A.J smirked at this remark. "I'm not that worried. Lickitung, use rollout!"

The licking pokemon rolled up into a ball and charged towards Kingler with all it's might. Kingler watched the incoming attack and jumped to avoid. Lickitung however continued it's attack and while spinning managed to bounce into the air, acting like a giant bouncy ball and striking Kingler before it could counter. The normal type collided right into Kingler's abdomen causing it to lose his breath. After the attack was a success, Lickitung performed a front flip and gracefully landed on it's two feet, ready to continue battling.

Kingler on the other hand was slow to get up, having a hard time breathing after the last attack. The pincer pokemon finally managed to catch it's breath before rising slowly. It was having a hard time keeping it's balance, rocking back and forth as it rose off the ground. Kingler actually needed to use it's giant claw to help it push itself up into a standing position.

"Kingler! Are you alright!" Nick yelled in concern, he could see the painful expression on Kingler's face. Nick hated seeing his pokemon this way. He knew that they would get hurt from battling, but he still hated to see them in extreme pain like how Eevee and Charmeleon were. That Lickitung isn't fast, but can change directions quickly. How are we going to beat something that can just change directions whenever? Nick thought to himself, starting to worry a little.

"Kokee." Kingler cried out slowly. It may have taken some damage, but it wasn't going down that easily. It had been through worse and it knew it could beat Lickitung. Kingler turned around and stared at Nick, waiting for a command. Instead it noticed Nick in deep thought. Kingler wasn't used to seeing this so it did the only thing it could think of, firing a water gun at Nick.

I've never faced something like this. What do I do? Nick thought to himself, sweat rolling down his face. Before he could think of anything else, he was met with a water gun attack to the face. He quickly wiped his face off and saw Kingler laughing. "You're right, Kingler. Use your water gun attack!"

Kingler fired off the water attack. Kingler was putting everything it had into this attack, and it showed. The stream of water picked up speed and grew in size, compared to how it was regularly. Kingler was not going to lose today. The attack was now close to Lickitung who still hadn't moved from it's spot.

What is he planning? Nick thought as he watched Lickitung stay still. Nick was expecting Lickitung to at least try and dodge the attack. Instead the licking pokemon took the attack head on, only letting out a slight grunt from the attack.

"Licki." It cried out as the water gun started pushing it backwards. Lickitung quickly replanted it's feet into the ground, making itself stop moving. Both Nick and Kingler were surprised to see the normal type take the full force of the attack and then keep itself sturdy enough to stay standing.

A.J smirked. "I've trained my Lickitung to overcome it's weaknesses through intense training. Instead of focusing on it's horrendous speed, I came up with a better solution." A.J said, bragging about his training methods. "Lickitung, use rollout!"

Lickitung rolled up into a ball quickly and sped off towards Kingler. They both watched as the speed of the attack had increased due to its multiple uses. Nick knew that the strength of the attack was also increased, so they couldn't risk allowing Lickitung to strike again.

Nick had to think fast, Lickitung was close to Kingler now. "Kingler, try your crabhammer attack."

The pincer pokemon pulled it's claw back, positioning it for it's signature attack. Kingler watched as Lickitung finally reached the area that crabhammer could reach. Kingler swung the claw forward and everyone watched as claw met Lickitung, sending the rampaging roller backwards. What very few noticed was how Kingler's claw seemed to sink into Lickitung instead of striking it completely.

Lickitung flew backwards as it spinned in the air. The normal type collided with a nearby tree and instead of crashing, it rebounded off of it and was heading straight back at Kingler with even more speed.

Nick didn't notice this however and was already praising Kingler. "That was a great hit, Kingler. There's no way Lickitung could keep battling after that last attack." Nick finished as he noticed a pink ball heading straight for Kingler. It can't be.. Nick thought, looking in disbelief at the incoming attack. Nick quickly snapped out of his shock to give Kingler a command. "Don't let that attack hit you. Jump over it when it's close to you."

Kingler waited for the ball to get closer. He watched and watched as the ball grew bigger. Finally Kingler knew that it had to jump and leaped as high as it could, managing to dodge the attack. However, just like before, Lickitung managed to change directions and was now heading into the air. Lickitung was now on a collision course with the falling Kingler and there was no way to avoid the attack.

Nick watched as Lickitung once again got the better of them. He didn't know how to counter this attack at all. They couldn't dodge as it only followed them, and they couldn't attack as Lickitung would only bounce back with more power behind it's attack. Nick finally figured a way to get kingler back on the ground. "Kingler! Calm yourself, then fire a water gun straight into the sky."

"Kokee." Kingler said, agreeing with the plan. It was the same one they used during the Fuchsia City gym battle. It helped them out then, and it would help them out now. Kingler raised it's claw as a stream of water shot out of it straight towards the sky. The force of the attack sent Kingler flying down to the Earth, managing to dodge Lickitung. Lickitung however flew into the water gun but seemed unfazed by it. Both Kingler and Nick let out a sigh of relief that they avoided that attack.

Lickitung continued to fly through the air before landing back on the ground. Lickitung quickly prepared itself to continue battling, but it was starting to grow a little fatigued. Despite working with A.J on constantly using rollout, it still took a lot out of you from using it consistently.

Nick noticed the change in breathing and wasn't going to lose this opportunity. "Kingler, fire a mud shot at Lickitung. Quickly!"

Kingler opened it's claw once more, firing balls of mud straight at Lickitung. The mud balls collided with Lickitung. Both A.J and his pokemon were surprised by how fast Kingler could still move at. Lickitung dropped to one knee, it was showing signs of exhaustion but A.J knew that the normal type could go on.

"Kingler, charge at them with crabhammer!" Nick yelled. Both himself and Kingler were having to play defensively the whole battle, and they were not going to miss their chance at this offensive assault.

Perfect. A.J thought as he watched Kingler charge after Lickitung. I could use this to my advantage. Kingler was now closing in, so A.J had no time to waste. "Lickitung, use defense curl!"

Lickitung rolled it's whole body up into a ball just as Kingler's claw crashed into it's body, sending it flying backwards. The strength of the attack causing Lickitung to start spinning slowly before picking up momentum.

"Lickitung, use rollout now!" A.J yelled out. His plan was simple. Lickitung was too tired to get rollout up to it's max speed, so by using Kingler's attack to start the spinning it would just continue rolling instead of trying to stop.

Lickitung starting spinning in mid air. It's body was starting to move faster and faster until it was now even faster than last. Lickitung crashed into another tree as it bounced off of it and redirected itself towards Kingler. The pincer pokemon had no time to react and was struck directly, causing it to fly backwards and land in front of Nick.

"I think I've figured Lickitung out." Janine said, starting to explain everything to Ebony. "Lickitung's outside is soft, so instead of being real hard and stiff like when other pokemon use rollout, it's actually acting like a rubber ball. That's how it's changing directions so quickly. When it chases Kingler into the air, it's just bouncing into the sky."

Ebony was catching on now. "It makes sense. That's why it keeps bouncing off of the other objects. A.J wasn't kidding when he said Lickitung was trained to overcome it's weaknesses. It also makes sense on why crabhammer sunk into rollout instead of colliding with it." The two trainers then stood up from their spot on the cliff. "Let's head down there to get a better view." The duo then started to walk down and around the cliff, heading down towards the route.

Nick watched as Kingler was having a hard time getting back on it's feet. It wasn't defeated yet, but at this rate it wouldn't take much more. "Kingler, return." Nick said, surprising everyone. Nick rarely switched out midbattle. Who do I use? Nick thought to himself. Hitmonchan will only increase rollout's speed like crabhammer did. Charizard would be weak to a rock type attack like rollout. Plus who knows what other moves it might have. That leaves Eevee and Gastly. Nick was having a hard time deciding on who to use. "Okay, Gastly, I choose you!" Nick yelled as he tossed a pokeball. Gastly soon emerged from the ball, ready to battle.

Gastly can slow Lickitung down. Plus it can get away quickly from any attack. Nick thought, approving his own selection. "Gastly use dark pulse."

Gastly phased out of site before reappearing behind Lickitung. Gastly launched the black and purple beam of energy at the normal type, giving it no time to react. Before A.J could even say a word, the attack hit Lickitung right in the stomach sending it backwards a little.

Lickitung was starting to breath harder and it took a while to stand back up. Everyone could see how exhausted the licking pokemon was, yet A.J wouldn't switch it out. "Licki.." It panted as it readied itself to continue battling.

"That's right." A.J told his pokemon. "We've worked hard on your endurance and we won't go down easily. Trap Gastly with your lick attack."

"Lickitung!" The normal type launched it's incredible tongue in Gastly's direction at an outstanding speed. Gastly had no time to react before the tongue had already reached it. Gastly tried to evade it at the last second, but the tongue wrapped around Gastly's whole body making it impossible to move.

"Great! Now reel it in and once its close use zen headbut!" A.J commanded as he raised his hand, signaling a thumbs up to his pokemon.

Lickitung's tongue started to retract back inside of Lickitung, pulling Gastly alongside with it. The ghost type squirmed inside of the death grip it was receiving from Lickitung. If it could only get free, then it could finish off Lickitung. As the tongue started to shrink more and more, Lickitung's head started to glow blue.

Come on Nick! Think of something, you always figure out something. If you don't, Gastly's done for. Nick yelled at himself. He was right though, a direct hit would be awful right now. This Lickitung was proving to be an annoyance and Nick could only wonder what A.J's other pokemon were like. That's it! He thought as he noticed Gastly's eyes. "Gastly, use dark pulse again!"

Gastly's eyes started to glow once again as it launched the beam of energy at Lickitung. Lickitung however wasn't sitting around. The normal type had pulled Gastly in close enough and was charging at it. Lickitung ran directly into the oncoming attack causing an explosion to occur from the collision. Smoke filled the field as everyone's vision was blocked.

"Gastly!" Nick yelled out, only to get no response.

A.J did the same as he yelled out for his pokemon. "Lickitung, I know you have more in you." But even he received no response.

The two trainers waited until the smoke finally cleared, showing the two pokemon holding their spots. Neither one backing down despite fatigue setting in. Before anyone could issue another command however, Lickitung collapsed to the ground. The normal type fainted from it's two lengthy battles.

"Lickitung is unable to battle. The winner is Gastly!" Samurai declared as he pointed to Gastly.

A.J frowned at this. He believed that Lickitung should be able to withstand at least a few more attacks. They had trained extremely hard. "Return." He said, recalling the normal type. A.J wasted no time on his next selection, having already made up his mind during the battle. "Dodrio!" He yelled, tossing the pokeball to reveal the three headed bird.

"Gastly, be extremely careful. Dodrio can attack from each of their heads." Nick called out. He could see Gastly had taken some damage from Lickitung's last attack, but he didn't want to switch out again. Kingler was already pretty exhausted so that left Nick with three fresh pokemon to A.J's four.

"Dodrio, start things off with your feint attack." A.J called out, he was not someone to sit back and wait.

Dodrio was immediately off and running. Nick was impressed with it's speed and was a little surprised to see it appear before Gastly so soon. Dodrio stopped running and was now on Gastly's left. Gastly turned to face Dodrio only for it to have vanished. Gastly immediately felt pain throughout it's whole body as a stabbing sensation ran through it's back. Gastly turned around and saw Dodrio standing behind it now.

"Gastly, use venoshock!" Nick told the ghost type. With Dodrio this close Nick was not wasting this opportunity.

Gastly opened it's mouth as it fired off the poisonous substance. The purple slime flew towards Dodrio and Nick was starting to feel confident about the attack. He then looked over to A.J and didn't see any sign of emotion at all.

A.J, remaining calm, called out an attack. "Use agility to dodge."

Dodrio began running at an amazing speed. If Nick thought Dodrio was fast before, he should watch it closely now. Despite the close proximity it had to Gastly, the triple bird pokemon avoided the slime with ease. In the blink of an eye it was now standing in front of it's trainer, waiting for an attack.

"Gastly?" The ghost type asked. It was surprised that it's attack missed. Gastly thought for sure it was going to strike Dodrio directly, but instead the attack just landed on the ground harmlessly.

This gave Nick an idea however. Dodrio isn't like other flying types. It lacks wings to fly. So if we cover the ground in venoshock, it'll have no where to run. Then it won't matter how fast Dodrio is. Nick thought to himself, creating the perfect plan to counter Dodrio's speed. "Gastly!" Nick called out. "Start spinning as fast as you can, then launch venoshock!"

Gastly started to twirl in a circle, not once losing it's balance since it was just floating gas. Once Gastly picked up enough speed, the ghost type opened it's mouth and fired off the attack. Nick watched as Gastly shot the purple slime all over the field, very soon Dodrio would have no where to run to. Once the entire field was covered Gastly stopped spinning and prepared itself to continue battling.

"Now that we have Dodrio trapped, use dark pulse!"

Gastly fired the attack straight at Dodrio. Everyone was expecting a direct hit since Dodrio couldn't run anywhere. Then the unthinkable happened. Dodrio twisted it's heads together, creating a propeller and lifting itself into the air. It flew right over the dark pulse, avoiding any damage.

"But... how?" Nick asked, unsure of the answer himself. He heard of overcoming weaknesses, but this was taking it to the extreme. He had never seen a flightless bird fly, in fact he was still surprised when A.J launched a counter attack.

"Dodrio, sky attack, now!" A.J yelled. He saw an opportunity and he was taking it.

Dodrio stopped twisting it's heads and instead dive bombed straight towards Gastly. As it was falling, Dodrio continued to pick up speed to the point that it's entire body gained a white outline.

"Gastly don't let it hit you. Fire your dark pulse to make it lose it's aim."

Gastly fired the beam again, but by this time A.J had seen it enough to know what it would do. He also could tell Gastly was still weak from the earlier battle with Lickitung. Dodrio knew that if it didn't hear any new orders then it was to continue the attack. Dodrio leveled off once it was eye level with Gastly and glided towards it. Dodrio saw the oncoming attack, but continued forward. A.J was right, the attack was a weakened version as Dodrio dove right through it and collided with Gastly.

The force of the attack sent Gastly flying backwards in pain. Nick knew this wouldn't be good, but was holding out hope that Gastly could continue fighting. Luck would not be on Nick's side however as Gastly fainted from the attack.

"Gastly is unable to battle, the winner is Dodrio!" Samurai declared, pointing towards Dodrio.

Nick held up a pokeball as he recalled Gastly. "You did great today, take a nice rest." Nick pondered over his next choice. Its either Charizard, or I try and go with a double knockout with Kingler. His Dodrio must have taken some damage during the match, it just isn't showing any signs of it. Nick thought to himself.

As Nick was thinking, Janine and Ebony finally reached the others.

"How's it going, what have we missed?" Ebony asked impatiently. She was curious how these two were battling. Ebony knew she might have to face them at the league, but she couldn't really get a good view as they made their way over to them.

"Its close. A.J just knocked Gastly out with an amazing technique. Nick really has his hands full this time." Samurai said, filling the two trainers in on what they missed. He then added. "Kingler is also tired and A.J has lost his Lickitung. Nick has to keep his confidence in check or else it could be his undoing."

"So you noticed it also?" Janine asked. She didn't know if Samurai had picked up on that yet. "I had noticed it during his gym match with Sabrina and his battle with Zach. Both times he seemed overconfident, but he still did fine. I don't know how he'll do in the league if it continues."

"Well, if it goes like his match with Lt. Surge, he'll lose. Some trainers try and mess with you, they want you to not think clearly. Then they'll have the advantage." Ebony said. "Erika explained how I just have to drown them out while I battle. I think Nick also needs to drown out any compliments he receives. They might only hurt him."

"You really learned a lot from Erika, didn't you?" Samurai asked. "More than you are letting on, right?" He inquired, trying to see if she learned anything new that could be applied to her battling style.

"Maybe." She replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "Hey, Nick decided finally." Ebony said, pointing to Nick.

"Kingler, I choose you." Nick said, deciding to use the pincer pokemon for the second time today. Kingler wasn't breathing as hard, but it was still pretty tired.

Ebony, Janine and Samurai were confused. "Why would he use Kingler?" Janine wondered.

"He's not thinking straight." Samurai thought. "He's too stubborn. If we try and give him advice he'll only ignore us."

"Samurai is right. If he really wants to win, he should have used someone fresh." Ebony said, picking up on what Samurai was saying. Nick had to switch Kingler out midbattle and now he went right back to it, allowing it a chance to win.

"This isn't like Nick. He usually thinks things out." Janine said, wondering what was going on in Nick's head. "Did A.J say anything to Nick before the match?"

"Well, I remember him saying how Nick wasn't a good trainer. That comment set Nick off and he challenged A.J to a battle." Samurai explained, retelling the events from earlier.

"So he's letting what others say get to him again." Ebony said before looking at Janine, the duo both thought that the plan was working.

"Kingler use your water gun attack!" Nick commanded of the pincer pokemon.

Kingler lifted it's claw and fired at the flying type. The stream of water was slower than usual, a sign that Kingler was still tired from it's earlier match. A.J watched as the attack drew near, not showing any signs of nervousness.

"Dodrio, dodge and then counter with drill peck!"

Dodrio ran to its left, dodging the attack rather easily. The flying type then picked up its speed as it charged toward Kingler. As it drew closer the three beaks started to spin, followed by Dodrio lunging its three heads at Kingler.

Kingler managed to dodge the attack at first, but the difference in stamina was obvious. Dodrio continued to come at Kingler at full speed while Kingler began slowing down. Eventually one of Dodrio's heads landed at hit, causing the water type to lose its balance. Seeing an opening, Dodrio continued striking, causing Kingler to fall over.

A.J, growing tired of the match, decided to end it. "Dodrio, put everything you have into one more drill peck!"

"Drioooo!" The three heads yelled in agreement. The bird then continued its assault on Kingler. Its beaks began spinning once more, Dodrio reared its heads back ready to provide the finishing blow.

This is bad. We've got to try something, if not then Kingler is finished. Nick thought to himself, he was starting to sweat from the situation. Finally, right as Dodrio was about to strike, an idea came to him. "Kingler! Use crabhammer with both of your claws!"

"This should be interesting." Samurai said to himself, he too was getting into this match. Part of him wished he was battling, while another part was glad he wasn't.

Ebony, who happened to overhear him, wanted to know why this is interesting. "What makes you say that? Its just a normal attack."

"No." Janine said, she had picked up on the same thing as Samurai. "Kingler is tired so its movements will be slower. Even though Nick's attacking with two claws, Dodrio is charging at them with three heads." She explained while using her fingers to help give a picture. "Nick is hoping that Kingler can knock back all three heads in a short amount of time, he isn't thinking about Kingler's fatigue." Janine finished, showing how her two fingers on one hand blocked two of the three on the opposite only to be hit by the third finger.

Both Samurai and Ebony sweat dropped at the explanation. "I just meant that this could be a finishing move for both of them and it would be fun to watch." Samurai explained, he never thought of it that complexed.

As Samurai finished his statement, the two pokemon began their clash. Kingler's first claw crashed into Dodrio's left head. Then his second claw blocked the right head, but the pincer pokemon was too tired to be able to block the center head. Kingler was then struck right in the middle of it's face.

"Alright, Dodrio! Finish it with one more drill peck."

Dodrio lunged once again at Kingler , who was still recovering from the last attack. The water type tried to block the oncoming attack, but was too slow from it's fatigue and was hit every time. The strength and amount of hits causing it to faint.

"Kingler is unable to battle, the winner is Dodrio!" Samurai called out.

"Kingler return!" Nick called out as he recalled it to it's pokeball. Nick started to think about his next pokemon, but was pulled out of his thoughts by A.J.

"That was pretty dumb." He said, A.J waited a few seconds before continuing. "You knew Kingler was already exhausted, but you used it anyway. If you ever think you'll win a league championship, you're mistaken. You make too many mistakes."

"I hate to say it, but A.J is right." Samurai said, receiving stares from his two friends. "Nick lets people get to him, they cloud his judgement. He needs to stop worrying about how others see him as a trainer and worry about how he thinks of himself."

Who does he think he is? Nick thought to himself as he reached for his next pokeball. "Charizard, I choose you!"

"Rawwrr!" The fire and flying type yelled upon being sent out. It was ready to start battling, no matter who the opponent was.

Dodrio is getting tired. It did just battle twice in a row, a good rest should do it well. A.J thought, raising Dodrio's pokeball. "Dodrio, return! Go, Rhyhorn!" The two pokemon switched places as Dodrio returned to it's pokeball and Rhyhorn appeared from it's.

"This isn't a good match up for Nick." Janine pointed out. She was right, a rock type like Rhyhorn had a 4x advantage over Charizard.

"If he saved Kingler, he could have used it now." Ebony said, criticizing the way Nick has battled. "Out of the pokemon he has remaining, none are really good against Rhyhorn. Maybe Hitmonchan, but only if it could get in close enough to land a punch."

"Nick really put himself at a disadvantage now." Samurai said, agreeing with Ebony. "He did it, so he'll get himself out of it. He needs to learn this won't work in the league."

"Charizard start off by getting into the air, that way Rhyhorn can't hit you." Nick explained to his pokemon. Charizard took off into the sky with no complaints. After it's last battle, it wasn't in a rush to get into close quarter battles. "Okay, now use flamethrower!"

"Rawwr!" Charizard yelled as flames shot out of it's mouth. The size of the fire was amazing, in fact Samurai, Janine and Ebony could feel the heat coming off of it from where they were.

"Rhyhorn counter with your flamethrower!" A.J called out, to everyone's surprise.

"Rhy!" It cried out. Rhyhorn then produced it's own set of flames. The attack wasn't as strong as Charizard's, but managed to weaken the blow. The two flamethrowers met in mid air, hitting against each other. Charizard's flame overpowered Rhyhorn's rather easily, engulfing the rock type in fire.

Nick watched as Rhyhorn sat there, taking the flames head on. The attack had to weaken Rhyhorn somewhat, there was no way it could take that big of a hit and still be perfectly fine.

Rhyhorn was still covered in flames when it decided to break free. "Rhyhorn!" It yelled, creating wind with just it's voice. The very strength of the cry was enough to put out the flames.

"Perfect, Rhyhorn. Now use stealth rock!" A.J was enjoying himself with this battle. It wasn't everyday he had to try. He was invested in this match and he was going to make sure he would win.

Rhyhorn didn't move at all. Nick was wondering how the attack would work, having never seen a stealth rock attack in person. Out of nowhere, rocks started to shoot out of Rhyhorn's backside. The stones however didn't attack Charizard, instead the stones were spread around the field.

I don't know what A.J has planned, but Charizard can handle whatever it is. Nick thought to himself, wondering what his next move should be.

A.J wasn't waiting around for Nick to counter and instead launched another attack. "Rock blast, Rhyhorn. Attack before they can counter!"

"Rhy." The spikes pokemon said, agreeing with A.J's plan. The rock type opened it's mouth, firing off multiple boulders at Charizard. One after another the boulders were shot into the air at Charizard, who continued dodging them thanks to it's aerial mobility. Charizard weaved around each boulder as they approached the fire type, exhibiting it's great flying skills.

Despite how well Charizard was doing, Nick knew that it couldn't keep this up forever. Dodging forever is only going to tire Charizard out, we have to come up with a plan. Nick watched as Charizard continued dodging, the way it's tail was moving gave Nick an idea.

"Charizard! Use dragon tail to knock those boulders back at Rhyhorn."

Charizard nodded in agreement it's tail changed, it turned green and was covered in dragon scales. The fire type managed to knock the first few away before getting struck by one in the stomach. Charizard wasn't fazed by the attack, even after getting hit it continued to knock the boulders back. A few of the boulders were now hitting Rhyhorn. To everyone's surprise, one of the boulders got lodged in Rhyhorn's mouth causing it to be unable to attack.

"Great job at stopping the attack." Nick said, giving Charizard a thumbs up. The fire type responded back by flexing it's right arm while giving off a mighty roar. "Now isn't the time to celebrate just yet, attack Rhyhorn with dragon tail!"

Charizard flew towards Rhyhorn while it's tail changed into it's draconic state. As Charizard drew closer it started to perform a front flip making it look like it's whole body was green. Rhyhorn tried to free the boulder from it's mouth, but was unsuccessful in every attempt. It could only watch as Charizard's tail slammed down on it's head, freeing the boulder and forcing Rhyhorn back into it's pokeball.

"What did you do to Rhyhorn?" A.J demanded, he never told Rhyhorn to return but it did so anyway. Before an answer could be given, Sandslash appeared on the field. The ground type was confused by the situation. "Sandslash? I never called you out."

"Dragon tail is a move where if the opponent is hit, it is returned to it's pokeball and replaced in battle with a different pokemon." Nick explained to his confused opponent. "Now, Charizard use flamethrower!"

Charizard roared in approval before unleashing his signature move. Fire collided with Sandslash causing mild damage to the ground type, but not enough for A.J to worry.

"A direct hit, Charizard. Sandslash must have felt that one." Nick told his pokemon. He knew that out of all his pokemon, Charizard was probably his strongest at this point.

A.J watched on without any sense of worry. When the flames died down, Sandslash appeared to be slightly hurt from the attack. "Sandslash, use stone edge!"

"Sandslash!" The mouse pokemon cried as it summoned sharpened stones all around it's body. Sandslash then fired them all at Charizard.

Nick wasted no time and immediately used the same strategy he used with rock blast. "Block those stones with dragon tail, Charizard!"

Charizard's tail turned green with scales once more as the fire type redirected the flying stones away from itself. Unfortunately, Charizard couldn't force what direction it wanted the stones to be sent in due to the amount of them.

By the time the attack was finished, both pokemon looked a little tired. "Sandslash!" A.J yelled out towards his pokemon. "You can't be tired yet, we've trained to increase your stamina and toughness. Use another stone edge!"

"Sand.." The mouse pokemon panted, it dug deep down within itself and fired off another round of stones. This time they traveled faster, catching Charizard by surprise and hitting him directly.

The fire type fell to the ground with a thud, tired from all the damage it had taken. Charizard managed to stand back up however and to show that it wasn't ready to quit, it fired off a flamethrower into the sky.

"That's the spirit, Charizard. We both know you can beat Sandslash!" Nick yelled out, trying not to pay attention to Charizard's fatigue. "Lets show them a real flamethrower!"

"Rawwrr!" Charizard yelled as it aimed it's flamethrower right at Sandslash. A blast of flames flew right towards Sandslash, who seemed unfazed by the attack.

"Sandstorm, Sandslash!" A.J called out, not missing a beat.

Sandslash kicked up sand and dirt all around it's body, causing a horrible storm to form. The thickness made it impossible to see and the strength of the wind caused Charizard to land. It wouldn't be able to fly in these conditions. Nick watched as the flamethrower was weakened by the battering of the sand and wind, leaving it with almost none of the original ferocity. No one could tell if Sandslash was hit or not, they could only sit there and listen to any noise that was louder than the storm.

"Charizard, Sandslash could come from any direction. Be prepared by launching a flamethrower while spinning." Nick was still playing defensively despite everything he tried. Even when he thought he gained the advantage, it was still used against him.

Charizard started spinning as fast as it's legs would allow it to. Eventually a flame appeared, engulfing the entire storm in fire. Charizard's flamethrower ate away at the sand, destroying the storm and making it easy to see again.

With visibility back, it would be easy to target Sandslash or at least Nick thought. "Where's Sandslash?" He asked, seeing no trace of the ground type at all.

"Now, Sandslash!" A.J commanded as the ground beneath Charizard started to break, showing that Sandslash burrowed underground. "Now use stone edge!"

Sandslash fired off the rock move for the third time, but this one seemed the strongest. With no space between the two pokemon, every stone from the attack hit Charizard head on inflicting major damage. As a defense mechanism, Charizard swatted Sandslash with it's tail once it was struck with stone edge.

Sandslash crashed down into the ground a few feet away from Charizard. Both pokemon took their time rising. They were both at their max, both trainers didn't know how much strength they had left. They both decided to end it now.

"Sandslash, hyper beam!"

"Charizard, flamethrower!"

The two pokemon charged up their attacks, with Charizard firing it's first. Sandslash on the other hand was having trouble charging the attack, it had the energy forming in it's mouth but not at the rate it wanted. Sandslash noticed that Charizard launched it's attack and fired away as well. The two attacks collided mid-field, creating an explosion. Both pokemon were launched backwards from this assult, leaving both of them unable to battle.

"Both Charizard and Sandslash are unable to battle, both trainers please choose their next pokemon!" Samurai declared, signaling that neither pokemon was in any condition to continue.

Now what? I was sure Charizard could withstand that attack. If I send Hitmonchan out, A.J will use Dodrio. But if I use Eevee, who knows what pokemon he'll use. Nick thought to himself, it was a lose-lose situation. A.J had this battle in his favor. He still had Dodrio, Rhyhorn and a third unused pokemon. "Hitmonchan, I choose you!" He yelled, tossing the pokeball.

Nick watched as Hitmonchan appeared on the field as his calm, collected self. "Chan!" It cried out in pain, surprising Nick. At one moment it was fine and then out of nowhere, he was in pain. Nick looked around and quickly noticed the stealth rocks from before were jabbing into Hitmonchan.

"Hitmonchan, are you alright?" Nick asked in concern, he had never faced a stealth rock attack before and never knew how powerful it could be.

"You enjoying my stealth rocks?" A.J asked sarcastically. Before Nick could answer, he was already tossing his next pokeball. "Dodrio! Use your drill peck attack!"

Dodrio appeared from the pokeball and immediately charged at Hitmonchan, it's three beaks spinning at an alarming speed.

Just like I thought. Nick told himself. He had a feeling that it would be Dodrio. "Hitmonchan, counter with mach punch!"

"Hitmon!" The punching pokemon cried as he charged at Dodrio. With it's amazing speed, Hitmonchan reached the flying type in no time. Dodrio tried to strike down on Hitmonchan with it's drill peck attack, but Hitmonchan was too fast. He dodged the attack by jumping over Dodrio and landing behind it. It then delivered a hard jab right to it's back, causing the bird to stop running and cry out in pain.

"Now, comet punch, Hitmonchan!"

Hitmonchan delivered a flurry of punches to Dodrio. For Hitmonchan, Dodrio was nothing but a punching back. Unable to dodge as it was out sped, A.J could only watch as his Dodrio took hit after hit. On the final punch however, Hitmonchan launched it into the sky with an uppercut.

"Perfect." A.J said to himself as he watched Dodrio head into the sky. He watched as Dodrio recovered from the onslaught of attacks and fixed it's body position as it fell back towards the ground. It knew exactly what A.J was thinking. "Dodrio, sky attack!"

Dodrio straightened it's body out as it was now picking up speed. Once again A.J used an attack from Nick to strengthen his own. As Dodrio came down to the field, it had it's body become parallel to the ground as it's body started to glow white.

"Hitmonchan, counter with thunderpunch!" Nick demanded. There was no way he was letting Hitmonchan lose.

Hitmonchan's fists started to spark with electricity as he thrusted them forward, connecting with two of Dodrio's three heads. Two of the heads cried out in pain as the thrid one struck Hitmonchan in the chest, the force being strong enough to send it flying backwards.

The two pokemon were panting hard now. It was expected of Dodrio, this was it's third battle, but Hitmonchan couldn't have taken that much damage. The punching pokemon raised it's fists, ready for round two as Dodrio was soon charging at him.

"Dodrio, use your agility to gain a speed boost." A.J called out, this match was getting close and he wanted to end it soon.

Dodrio ran towards Hitmonchan gaining speed the longer it ran, it eventually became so fast you could see a trail of a white line behind it. The flying type circled Hitmonchan, awaiting the next command to attack.

"Now, drill peck!"

As Dodrio ran circles around Hitmonchan, it constantly poked it's heads at the fighting type. The barrage of attacks were becoming too much for Hitmonchan as he dropped to one knee from the pain. Hitmonchan was starting to become too tired to stand now and Nick needed a plan. He needed to find a way to slow down Dodrio.

Nick then came up with a plan once he saw how Dodrio's heads were attacking. "Hitmonchan!" Nick yelled to get his pokemon's attention. "Put your arms out to your sides, fully extended like a board. Then use thunderpunch!"

"Hitmon.. chan." It said softly. It started to lift it's arms like Nick explained while his fists filled with an electrical current. After a short amount of time, Hitmonchan had his arms in the right position and noticed what Nick noticed. As Dodrio was running, Hitmonchan's fists were hitting the sides of the bird causing damage to it. All Hitmonchan had to do was hold out long enough. The punching pokemon visualized all the other pokemon on Nick's team, right now he was fighting for them. Hitmonchan was using every ounce of energy to stay from fainting, but all the damage from those super effective moves were too much as he felt himself collapse on the ground unable to continue to fight.

"Hitmonchan, no!" Nick called out to his fallen pokemon.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, the winner is Dodrio!" Samurai declared as he pointed in Dodrio's direction.

"Thank you Hitmonchan, I know this was a tough match up, but you did great." Nick said, praising his pokemon as he recalled it to it's pokeball. Nick now only had one pokemon left, Eevee. Nick's closest friend, his starting pokemon on his journey. They had gone through so much together, overcoming challenges along the way and they weren't ready to throw in the towel yet. "Eevee, I choose you!"

"Eevee." It cried out, before yelling out in pain because of the stealth rocks. Both Nick and Eevee knew this was going to be hard, Dodrio wasn't effected by half of Eevee's moves.

"Eevee, use swift!"

Eevee swung it's tail around as a group of stars were created. The stars chased after Dodrio, who merely jumped over them. However, the stars changed direction and hit Dodrio in the back.

"Dodrio, stop messing around and end this. Use drill peck!"

Dodrio rushed at Eevee, hoping to end the match in one hit. Nick and Eevee had a different idea however.

"Eevee, use dig to dodge." Nick commanded. Right now they were desperate enough to try anything.

Eevee faced the ground as it started to claw away at the earth underneath it's body. It managed to create a tunnel thick enough for it to escape into, dodging the drill peck. Eevee waited underground for Nick to signal when to attack.

Nick watched Dodrio continue running even after missing. He needed Dodrio to stand still for one moment or the plan wouldn't work. Finally Dodrio stopped to catch it's breath, giving Nick his opportunity. "Eevee, use quick attack!"

Eevee quickly flew up through the ground at a fast speed. Eevee had been listening for Dodrio so it could pinpoint it's location when it attacked. Eevee crashed right into Dodrio's stomach, causing it to shoot into the sky from the momentum.

A.J didn't mind this turn of events, thinking that if he used the same idea three times it would work. "Use sky attack!"

Dodrio dive bombed straight for Eevee, picking up speed as it launched it's finishing attack. As Dodrio reached the ground it leveled off, becoming parallel with the ground before charging at Eevee.

Nick however had seen this move twice today and knew what to expect. He waited until Dodrio got close to Eevee before countering. "Eevee! Jump now!" Nick demanded. Eevee jumped just like Nick said, landing on Dodrio's back. "Now use swift!"

Eevee launched the star attack at it's opponent, causing some nice damage due to the proximity. Dodrio then lost it's balance because of the attack, falling and sending Eevee flying off it's back. By the time Dodrio recovered, A.J was already getting an attack ready.

"Dodrio, use agility followed by sky attack on the ground." A.J said, he knew it was impossible to get into the sky now, but needed Dodrio's strongest move.

"Driooo!" The three heads cried in unison as they raced toward Eevee. Thanks to the speed boost it was easier to power up sky attack despite the fatigue. Dodrio then charged forward, placing all of it's energy into this last attack.

"Eevee, use swift!"

Eevee started to fire off it's stars in a rapid fire like approach, however, Dodrio managed to crash right through them with ease. It then collided with Eevee right as it fired off one more swift. An explosion occured and both pokemon were caught in it. Smoke blocked out everyone's view, leaving the outcome in question.

When the smoke cleared everyone saw Eevee still standing, but panting. Dodrio however had fainted from the attack and the fact that this was it's fourth battle. "Eevee, you did it. Great job!" Nick called out, but as Nick was saying this, Eevee collapsed from it's exhaustion.

"Both Dodrio and Eevee are unable to battle. Since Nick has had all five of his pokemon defeated, A.J is the winner!" Samurai declared, signaling to A.J that he won.

"I lost... again." Nick muttered to himself, he didn't know how he lost. Nick then walked out to Eevee, picking up his exhausted pokemon. "My strategies never fail, but A.J still won." He looked across the field to notice A.J recalling Dodrio before walking towards Nick.

"I hope this was a wake up call." A.J said, you could tell he was disappointed with the battle by both his body language and the tone of his voice. "You worry about what other's think. Tell me, if I didn't say anything about your skills, would you have still acted the same way. Trying to show that your pokemon can overcome any situation."

"Well, yes and no." Nick answered, he was seeing where A.J was headed. Nick was too busy trying to show how great he was as a trainer by using the wrong pokemon in certain situations. Nick realized a few of his mistakes. Kingler was still exhausted when I sent him out a second time. And Charizard had bad matchups twice. I overestimated myself both times, never taking my pokemon into consideration.

A.J could see Nick was starting to realize his mistakes. "You need to stop worrying about everything. Who cares what people think of you, let your battles do your talking and right now that battle didn't tell me how good you can be." He said, telling Nick everything he realized. He then turned around and started walking away. "I expect you to work on this. Battle with a clear mind, determined to overcome anything, but wise enough to know when you're in a losing situation. I'll be waiting at the league for our rematch!" He yelled out over his shoulder as he continued to walk out of view.

Team:

Nick- 6 badges:

Eevee- swift, quick attack, dig, shadow ball

Kingler- water gun, crabhammer, stomp, mud shot

Charizard- flamethrower, ember, dragon tail, brick break

Gastly- night shade, venoshock, hypnosis, dark pulse

Hitmonchan- mach punch, agility, comet punch, thunderpunch

At Oak's:

Beedrill- poison sting, fury attack, twinneedle, hyper beam

Shellder

Samurai- league exam badge:

Pinsir- x-scissor, bulldoze, harden, revenge

Venonat- supersonic, poison fang, confusion, signal beam

Parasect- energy ball, stun spore, fury cutter, slash

At home:

Butterfree- aerial ace, sleep powder

Janine- league exam badge:

Venonat- psybeam

Zubat- wing attack, supersonic, venoshock

Grimer- sludge bomb, poison jab

Vulpix- ember, flame charge, attract.

Ebony- 8 Badges:

Chameleon- fire spin, overheat, rock slide, protect

Meowth- thunderbolt, fury swipes

Magneton- electro ball, thunder wave

Seel