A/N: Hello everyone, I am back with chapter twenty-one of this story. Here, Stuart deals with the aftermath of his loss.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
Stuart recalled Ninetales and left. He glumly walked to the Nurse and who took his Pokémon. The Nurse healed Stuart's team back to full health.
"I know this is hard." said the Nurse.
"Yeah." muttered Stuart.
"How are you holding up?" asked the Nurse.
"It feels like my hearts been snapped in two." answered Stuart.
"That is common." mused the Nurse.
"Really?" asked Stuart.
"I'd say two thirds of trainers can't get passed Lorelei." answered the Nurse.
"Can you tell me about the others." requested Stuart.
"Only a quarter passed Bruno, only ten percent passed Agatha and nobody had beaten Lance." replied the Nurse.
Stuart felt his heart sink.
"But, so many people can't get passed it's not a shame." added the Nurse.
"Thanks for trying to help." sighed Stuart.
Stuart shook his head.
"My mom said the same thing." said Stuart.
"She's a good mom." replied the Nurse.
"I feel bad more me and my team." revealed Stuart.
"That is such great empathy." said the Nurse.
Stuart smiled a bit.
"My team." said Stuart.
Stuart took his Poke Balls.
"My Pokémon gave it their all." said Stuart.
Stuart ran his hand through his hair.
"I'm not sure what to do next." confessed Stuart.
"Well, that stinks." said Blue.
A cocky Blue walked up.
"So, you lost Stubben." said Blue.
"It's Stuart." grumbled Stuart.
"How far did you make it?" asked Blue.
"I lost to Lorelei." answered Stuart.
Blue laughed.
"You don't have to be a jerk." stated Stuart angrily.
"Hey, some of us born winners." shrugged Blue.
Stuart looked away.
"Now there's no need to be so rude." said the Nurse.
"I've won eight badges and made it this far by myself." stated Stuart.
"How many Pokémon do you have?" asked Blue.
"Six." answered Stuart.
"That's it!" laughed Blue.
Stuart felt himself shrinking.
"Did you battle Team Rocket?" asked Blue.
"Thats dangerous!" declared Stuart.
"What a baby." chuckled Blue.
Stuart hung his head.
"I'll admit you did better than I thought." admitted Blue.
Stuart smiled a bit.
"But, you're just not Champion material." said Blue.
Stuart frowned as Blue walked away.
"Smell ya later!" called Blue.
"Don't listen to him." said the Nurse.
Stuart walked away.
"Where are you going?" asked the Nurse concerned.
"I need to think." answered Stuart.
Stuart spent the rest of the day at his room in the Pokémon Center. The next day, he woke up and had trouble getting himself out of bed. He dragged himself out of bed eventually and went to eat. He hung around for a while with nothing to do. The Nurse noticed Stuart.
"Stuart, how are you?" asked the Nurse.
Stuart let out a mournful sigh.
"I'm feeling a bit better." answered Stuart.
"That's good to hear." replied the Nurse.
"I...just don't want to go home." revealed Stuart.
"Why is that?" asked Stuart concerned.
"I don't want to go home having lost." answered Stuart.
"I'm sure your mom would be fine with you." noted the Nurse.
"Of course." replied Stuart.
"Do you want to try again?" asked the Nurse.
"Yes...no...maybe." answered Stuart unsure.
Stuart shook his head.
"I'm worried about losing again." confessed Stuart.
"Then what?" asked the Nurse.
"I'd feel worse." answered Stuart.
"Then what?" asked the Nurse.
"I'd feel bad." answered Stuart.
"For how long?" asked the Nurse.
"I don't know." answered Stuart.
"Would it be forever?" asked the Nurse.
"Probably not." answered Stuart.
Stuart nodded his head.
"I see what you're doing." stated Stuart.
"So, are you giving it another shot?" asked the Nurse.
Stuart thought it over.
"I..." began Stuart.
Before he could finish, Blue stormed in.
"Jerk Red..." grumbled Blue.
Blue walked to the counter.
"Heal my Pokémon." said Blue.
"Um...okay." replied the Nurse.
"You could be polite." said Stuart.
"Not in the mood." replied Blue angrily.
The Nurse returned Blue's team.
"We've healed your Pokémon back to full health." noted the Nurse.
Blue took his team.
"What's wrong?" asked Stuart.
"I beat the Elite Four and became Champion..." began Blue.
"Congratulations." said Stuart.
"That jerk Red beat me after only a few minutes!" cried Blue.
"Red is Champion?" asked Stuart surprised.
"That jerk has always been one step ahead of me!" declared Blue.
"Oh." replied Stuart.
"You're lucky Steven." sighed Blue.
Stuart's eye twitched.
"It's Stuart." stated Stuart.
"Huh?" asked Blue.
"My name is Stuart. You've got it wrong every time and it annoys me." answered Blue.
"Whatever." shrugged Blue.
"No whatever, I'm sick of you messing up my name!" declared Stuart.
Blue smirked.
"Let's battle each other." proposed Blue.
Stuart smiled in response.
"Let's do it." agreed Stuart.
The two boys headed outside.
"It'll be a full six on six battle." said Blue.
"Fine." agreed Stuart.
"Go Pidgeot!" cried Blue, sending out his first Pokemon.
"If I send out Poliwrath, I will have Ice Beam. However, it'll be super weak to Flying type moves." thought Stuart.
"Go Golem!" cried Stuart, sending out his Pokemon.
"Use Whirlwind!" ordered Blue.
"Use Rock Blast!" ordered Stuart.
Pidgeot used Whirlwind. Golem was sent back to Stuart and Poliwrath was dragged out.
"This will be easy." scoffed Blue.
"Here goes nothing." sighed Stuart.
"Use Aerial Ace!" ordered Blue.
"Use Ice Beam!" ordered Stuart.
Pidgeot hit Aerial Ace, but Poliwrath managed to hang on. Poliwrath hit Ice Beam and Pidgeot fainted.
"Go Alakazam!" cried Blue, sending out his second Pokémon.
"Go Beedrill!" cried Stuart, sending out his second Pokémon.
"Use Reflect!" ordered Blue.
"Use Pin Missile!" ordered Stuart.
Alakazam used Reflect and this allowed it to survive Pin Missile.
"Use Psychic!" ordered Blue.
"Use Pin Missile!" ordered Stuart.
Alakazam hit Psychic taking out Beedrill.
"Go Ninetales!" cried Stuart, sending out his next Pokémon.
"Use Psychic!" ordered Blue.
"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Stuart.
Ninetales hit Quick Attack taking out Alakazam.
"Go Rhydon!" cried Blue, sending out his third Pokémon.
"Go Venusaur!" cried Stuart, sending out his next Pokémon.
"Use Earthquake!" ordered Blue.
"Use Razor Leaf!" ordered Stuart.
Venusaur used Razor Leaf taking out Rhydon.
"Go Arcanine" cried Blue, sending out his fourth Pokémon.
"Go Golem!" cried Stuart, sending his next Pokémon.
Golem was subject to Arcanine's Intimidate.
"Intimidate has cut physical moves." thought Stuart.
Stuart had an idea.
"Use Bite!" ordered Blue.
"Use Rollout!" ordered Stuart.
Arcanine used Bite and Golem hit Rollout.
"Use Bite!" ordered Blue.
Arcanine hit Bite and Golem did more damage with Rollout.
"Use Roar!" ordered Blue.
Arcanine used Roar sending Golem back to Blue. It dragged Poliwrath out.
"Nice move with Rollout to build strength getting around Intimidate." said Blue.
"Thanks." replied Blue surprised.
"Use Extreme Speed!" ordered Blue.
"Use Water Pulse!" ordered Stuart.
Arcanine hit Extreme Speed and Poliwrath took it out Water Pulse.
"Go Exeggutor!" cried Blue, sending out his fifth Pokémon.
Stuart was missing Beedrill.
"I'm sticking with Exeggutor." said Stuart cautiously.
"Use Ice Beam!" ordered Stuart.
"Use Giga Drain!" ordered Blue.
Poliwrath hit Ice Beam. Exeggutor hung on and regain health with Giga Drain which took out Poliwrath.
"Go Ninetales!" cried Stuart, sending out his Pokémon.
"Use Sleep Powder!" ordered Blue.
"Use Flamethrower!" ordered Stuart.
Ninetales hit Flamethrower taking out Exeggutor.
"Go Blastoise!" cried Blue, sending out his last Pokémon.
"Go Venusaur!" cried Stuart, sending his Pokémon out.
"Use Skull Bash!" ordered Blue.
"Use Razor Leaf!" ordered Stuart.
Blastoise readied Skull Bash and Venusaur hit with Razor Leaf for critical damage.
"Venusaur is going to do bad damage." thought Stuart.
Stuart had an idea.
"Use Giga Drain!" ordered Stuart.
Blastoise hit Skull Bash. Venusaur used Giga Drain taking out Blastoise.
"I won! I won! I won!" cried Stuart excitedly.
"You actually beat me." said Blue surprised.
Both trainers recalled their Pokémon.
"Using Rollout could be helpful against Lorelei." said Blue.
"Really?" asked Stuart.
"Bruno has two Onix which should be easy. His Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee are dangerous. But, his Machamp is the big threat. Especially with his Cross Chop." continued Blue.
Blue nodded his head.
"Your Golem can take out Agatha's Arbok and Golbat. Her Haunter isn't too bad but, her Gengar are dangerous. One has Hypnosis and Dream Eater. Be wary of poison whittling you down." said Blue.
Stuart gulped.
"Lance has a strong Gyarados and Aerodactyl. He has two Dragonair. One Dragonair has Thunder Wave and that is the one to watch out for. His Dragonite needs to go down quick." said Blue.
"What about Red?" asked Stuart.
"Your Golem is your best bet against Charizard." answered Blue.
"Thanks." replied Stuart.
"If you have the Earthquake TM you get from Giovanni and you haven't used it then you should teach it to Poliwrath." said Blue.
Blue walked away.
"Smell ya later Stuart!" called Blue.
"He got my name right." noted Stuart happily.
A/N: That's where we'll end things for now. So, Stuart has bounced back beating Blue and ready to try again. Next time, Stuart tackles the Elite Four again. Please review.