A Dance Of Petals

She is reluctant to provide the assistance the anomaly's trainer wishes for.

She cares deeply for her friends.

That trait will take her far, though it may hinder their progress in their mission.

Noah had been terrified when he had been on the brink of losing his Pokemon. Before, Kyle could only imagine how that must have felt. Sure, he had once almost been bound by an agreement to hand Eve over to Jordan, but the chains that had held him into that pact had been rusted and worn, easy to break out of.

Now, however, he could say that he knew exactly how it felt.

Eve disappeared in a flash of light as its essence was contained in the Dominance ball thrown by Sandshrew. As soon as the ball closed itself, Sandshrew landed on the ground and darted towards it, scooping it up without breaking speed as it darted away from Kyle's group.

This is bad! Kyle thought. Before, it had been just one guy who was running away. But now it's a Pokemon. If it goes underground, it's all over.

Adrien was the first to react. "Quick Attack!" He called out. To Kyle, his voice sounded far away or as if he were underwater.

Chu sped across the ground towards the thieving Sandshrew. The mouse-like Pokemon noticed its pursuer and jumped into the air, pointing its head and hands toward the ground. It was going to try and escape through digging. Kyle could tell that Chu was too far away and that it wasn't going to make it.

A flash of light came from where Sandshrew was positioned in the air. It threw the sand-colored Pokemon off balance, causing it to fall on the ground and roll over its side a few times. An open Dominance ball fell to its side.

Eve materialized on the ground. Though its face might have usually been considered cute by many, it held rage. Eve opened its mouth and let out an angry cry as beams of light shot towards the Sandshrew, who managed to retrieve the now empty Dominance ball and avoid the attack just in time by digging underground.

Kyle let out a sigh of relief, though he was slightly confused.

Jordan voiced Kyle's thoughts. "Aren't Pokemon not supposed to be able to escape from those things?"

Kyle decided he was too grateful to care, and so he didn't respond to Jordan. All that mattered was that Eve was safe.

He felt another tremor beneath his feet. The Sandshrew was still there. Sure enough, it popped upward once more. This time it threw the Dominance ball toward Fireball. Fortunately, the fire-fighting hybrid was ready for it, dodging the Sandshrew's projectile.

"Alright, hit it with Mach Punch!" Jordan said.

Fireball moved quickly towards the airborne Snadshrew. Its closed fist began to glow as it leaped towards its foe. Sandshrew was helpless in its state.

A shadow above caught Kyle's eye. It was the shape of a large bird that blocked the sun out as it flew towards Sandshrew and Fireball. As it neared the two Pokemon, Kyle could see it had black feathered wings, red talons, a white belly, and a yellow beak. Kyle racked his brain to remember the name of the species. He believed it was a Swellow, the evolution of a Tailow. It was a normal-flying type.

Swellow's black wings began to glow similar to the way Fireball's fist glowed when it used Mach Punch. Before Fireball could land its attack on Sandshrew, Swellow slashed at Fireball with its wings. The Monferno took the hit and fell to the ground without hitting Sandshrew. Swellow then landed beside the ground type.

Kyle and Adrien called their Pokemon over. Fireball got to its feet and fell into a fighting stance. Carol extended her arm to allow her Dratini to slide off of her body and onto the ground. Four Pokemon with trainers against two Pokemon with no trainers in sight. Despite this, Kyle knew these two Pokemon must have had trainers. They weren't acting like wild Pokemon.

Kyle searched the rest of the park with his eyes. There weren't many other people there, and most were oblivious to the brief exchange of blows between Pokemon.

Kyle finally found what he was looking for. Across the park was a group of four kids around his age he didn't recognize. They were sitting at a park bench, talking to each other. They were also occasionally glancing over at them before turning back to talk to the others. It seemed like they knew what was going on but refused to openly show that they were taking notice.

Kyle pointed them out to his friends. One of the other kids saw Kyle's finger and sneered. He stood up from the table and began to head over to where Kyle and his friends stood. The boy's other friends stood up as well and began to follow him.

The group two guys and two girls approached the Swellow and the Sandshrew. The boy who hadn't led the rest of the group knelt beside Sandshrew and patted it on the head. One of the girls approached the Swellow and began to stroke its beak.

Jordan growled. "Team Dominion?"

The boy in front laughed. "Of course. That's rather obvious." He took a few steps forward and reached down to pick up the Dominance ball that had missed Fireball. He straightened and held it up in his hand. "Do you know anyone else who would have something like this?" He turned to Kyle. "Honestly, Judgment, why do you make friends with such dull people?"

Kyle froze. They knew who he was.

Of course! He thought, connecting pieces of a puzzle in his mind. There are six Team Dominion members around here. Two of them include me and that thief. These four must be the others. They were the ones who were talking about us. If my Team Dominion account suddenly became registered with an Eevee, they would know about it because of the chat. And if I, Kyle, still had my Eevee, they would know something was wrong. They must have figured it all out already.

Something else bothered Kyle as well. These people had targeted him and his friends, which explained why they were attacked, but could they have overheard his plans as well?

The boy saw Kyle's expression and grinned even wider. "Yes, we know who you are," he said. "And we were wondering why you would use a Dominance ball on your own Pokemon. First of all, how would you even become one of us? You already had a Pokemon, didn't you?"

"He's not one of you," Carol said.

"Oh, so he's a mole, then," the boy said. Then he shrugged. "I guess I'll have to report this to the higher-ups, then."

If this kid reported Kyle, he would lose all ties he had to Team Dominion. His plan would definitely be finished then. Why would Carol just come out and say that he wasn't one of them? She was ruining-

Right. She didn't want him to try and take down Team Dominion. If he was discovered, it meant that he wouldn't be able to.

"However, I have a proposal for you," the boy said.

Kyle raised his eyebrows. "I'm listening."

"First of all, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Petal Dance."

Jordan snickered and Petal Dance glared at him. "You will regret mocking my name," he said. "When you see why I chose it." He pointed to the girl by the Swellow. "That's Aerial Ace." He pointed to the Sandshrew's owner. "And that's Dig."

"So you're all named after Pokemon moves?" Carol asked.

Petal Dance nodded. "That's correct. Though I'm sure it didn't take much for you to figure that out."

"I don't really give a damn what your made-up names are," Kyle said. "What's your proposal?"

"Well, you see," Petal Dance began, "you may have noticed I neglected to mention what her name was." He pointed to the girl standing off to the side. She hid a small smile behind her right hand. Her eyes encased a strong hunger.

"She doesn't have a name," Petal Dance explained, "Because she doesn't have a Pokemon yet. But she really, really, wants that Eevee of yours." He threw his hands in the air. "Unfortunately, it popped out of the Dominance ball. I can only guess that's because it's already been registered to one. Team Dominion must have made it so that Pokemon registered to Dominance balls can't be caught by other Dominance balls, however that works.

"So, since our first attempt at catching your Eevee failed, it will be much more difficult for us to obtain it. So I'm proposing that you make it easier for us and simply give us your Eevee. If you do so, I won't give the upper ranks any reason to think you're a rat."

Kyle relaxed slightly. They didn't hear us. They only attacked us because they want Eve. Still, it didn't make his situation much less stressful.

"He'd never do something like that!" Carol exclaimed.

Annoyance took its hold on Kyle. "Stop, Carol," he said forcefully. "I know what you're trying to do and I don't appreciate it."

Carol's looked down to hide her face in vain. Kyle saw it flush red.

"Anyway" Kyle said, returning to his conversation with Petal Dance. "Couldn't you just catch some other wild Pokemon instead of my Eevee?"

"You know as well a I do that wild Pokemon are rather difficult to come by," Petal Dance said. "Besides, by taking your Eevee, you're no longer as able to cause trouble for any of my fellow members."

It didn't take long for Kyle to consider. "Yeah, sorry. Can't give it to you."

Petal Dance shrugged. "Then I guess we'll have to take it by force."

"Try," Adrien said. Chu let off a few sparks.

"Yeah, its eight against seven," Jordan said. "Or four against two. Whichever you'd prefer."

Petal dance grinned and reached into his coat pocket. He took out a Dominance ball and opened it. A rather large Pokemon was released onto the ground. A Venusaur.

Kyle felt his mouth grow a little dry. Venusaur was a powerful Pokemon to have at your disposal. Not only that, but its level of evolution suggested that it was a much higher level than any of the Pokemon Kyle and his friends had.

"Let's sweep them all," Petal Dance told his friends. Aerial Ace and Dig readied themselves and their Pokemon.

"Still four against three," Jordan muttered.

Kyle turned back to his friends. "How do you guys want to do this?" He asked.

"Right," Jordan said, rubbing his palms together. "I want the bird."

Kyle turned toward him. "What? You'd be at a disadvantage. It'd be better if Adrien took Swellow. Electric is strong against Flying, while Fighting is weak against it."

"Well, it's not any fun if I don't have a disadvantage, now is it?" Jordan said. He turned to Adrien. "Am I wrong?"

Adrien shook his head sideways.

"There, that settles it then," Jordan said. "Besides, I want to get her back for landing that hit on Fireball."

"This is Eve we're talking about!" Kyle exclaimed. "You're talking about having fun?"

"Pft, relax, I'm sure we can take them," Jordan said with a wave of his hand. "We're pretty good at this too, you know."

"I can take the Sandshrew," Carol offered. Kyle, Adrien, and Jordan all turned to face her. "Since it's supposed to evolve into Sandslash around level twenty-two, it's probably their weakest," she explained. "Since Scarf is our weakest, it seems appropriate."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. Carol had been trying to hinder them earlier, so he was a little reluctant to trust her.

"Don't worry," Carol said as if she were reading his thoughts. "I won't be letting you guys commit suicide, but I definitely won't let anybody steal Eve away from you."

Kyle nodded. "Fair enough." He turned back around to face the four members of Team Dominion. Adrien stepped up beside Kyle.

"You and I will team up on this one," he said, indicating Venusaur. Petal Dance had his arms crossed as he waited expectantly.

"Sure," Kyle said. He'd never teamed up with anyone in a battle before, but he was sure it would be an interesting experience.

The trainers readied themselves. The Pokemon-less girl stood off to the side, her desire still apparent.

The trainers called their attacks out in unison.

This was one of the most exciting moments Adrien had ever experienced in his life.

The thrill of battle was something that had taken its hold on him ever since his first Pokemon battle. It had, for once, made him forget all about his head case. His mind had been clear of all pain and darkness. It had been perfect.

Battling was more than his hobby. It was his escape. He loved it more than many other things he knew, and he could barely get enough of it. It was even better when he was fighting a particularly strong opponent, something that was hard for him to come by.

This Venusaur was one such thing. It was probably more powerful than any other Pokemon he had encountered before. And he would've liked to have the opportunity to fight it one-on-one, but fighting as a team was more than tolerable. Fighting with Kyle at his side reminded Adrien that he now had people he could rely on, people he could trust. It was, in a way, better than fighting one-on-one.

Not only that, but he and Kyle made an outstanding team, even though it was their first time working together like this. Since they had been hanging out with each other for a good portion of time, they knew each other's preferences and battle style. They could merge their battling styles to make a strong combo, which was exactly what they were doing.

Venusaur was immensely powerful compared to their Pokemon. To compensate for this, Adrien and Kyle placed disadvantages on the grass-poison hybrid. Chu used Thunder Wave to paralyze Venusaur and Eve used Sand Attack in the hopes of making the Venusaur unable to see well. The paralysis condition allowed Chu to pull off a fast move like Quick Attack with little risk. Eve, on the other hand, could attack from a distance with Judgment or Sand Attack.

"Quick Attack," Adrien called for the third time. Chu darted towards Venusaur and slammed into it with its body, causing the larger Pokemon to stagger a bit. Venusaur looked like it wanted to move, then stopped, wincing. It was only because of this small hindrance that Chu was able to get away before a vine sprouted from Venusaur's back and struck the ground where the Pikachu had been only moments before.

Adrien was making a list in his head of the moves Venusaur knew. So far, he knew two for sure. One of them, Petal Dance, was a given, even though it hadn't been used yet. The other was Take Down. Venusaur had tried hitting Eve with it earlier only to miss, most likely because of the dirt in its eyes. Adrien wasn't sure about the third. He had thought it was Vine Whip at first, but he was starting to think it was something else. Vine Whip didn't have as much power as what Venusaur was doing. As for the fourth move, Adrien didn't have a clue as to what it was.

Adrien looked around to see how Jordan and Carol were doing. They had spread out across the park after their battles had started. This made it so that there was no room to help a teammate if something went wrong in someone else's battle. It was both a benefit and a deficit for both sides.

The battles of the others seemed fairly even, for now, so Adrien turned back to his own.

White beams of light struck Venusaur's side, causing it to slide along the ground as it struggled to stay standing. It had taken a lot of damage since the beginning of the fight, yet it didn't seem like it was affected at all. Such was the strength of a fully evolved Pokemon. Adrien hoped Chu would be like that someday.

"You guys must think you have it in the bag," Petal Dance said. He hadn't look concerned at any point in the fight. Not when Eve used Judgment, nor when Chu used Thunder Wave to paralyze it. "You're wrong."

"Yeah?" Kyle asked. "Well, maybe if you actually managed to hit an attack you'd give us a reason not to think that."

Petal Dance grinned. "Very well," he said. "Olsen! Petal Dance!"

Venusaur let out a deep roar as leaves and petals began to shoot from its back in every direction, most of them heading straight for Eve and Chu.

A Pikachu was a fast Pokemon, and so Adrien wasn't surprised when it managed to avoid most of the petals that flew its way. Of course, there were a few here and there that struck it, but they wouldn't do much depending on how long the flurry would last.

While Eve was quick, it wasn't as fast as a Pikachu. Therefore, it was hit by many more leaves and petals than Chu was as it tried to dodge. However, it should still manage to stay conscious until the move was over.

Eve and Chu couldn't take the time to attack. Doing so would be a free hit for Petal Dance and his Venusaur. It was a dodging game until the move ran its course.

Woah. That's a lot of leaves and petals.

Jordan and Fireball were locked into battle with Wing Attack and her Swellow.

No, wait. That's not right. Was it Aerial Ace? Yeah, I think that was it. Such a stupid naming system.

The two Pokemon were almost identical in power, skill, and experience, it seemed. This made it so that Fireball ultimately had the poorer odds in this fight due to the type disadvantage.

Even more unfortunate was the move that Jordan's opponent was named for. She just wouldn't quit using it and no matter what it did, Fireball couldn't manage to dodge out of the way when Swellow used Aerial Ace. Blocking decreased the damage Fireball received, though not by much. They wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. Jordan needed a way to win.

"Flame Wheel!" Jordan ordered.

The flame at the end of Fireball's tail flared as fire enveloped the Monferno's body. It jumped forward and began to roll along the ground towards Swellow, who was hovering in the air, flapping its wings.

"Get out of the way!" Aerial Ace shouted.

Swellow tried to move out of Fireball's path, but every time it did the wheel of fire simply switched directions until it finally leaped into the air and hit Swellow directly on its side. Swellow cried out and fell to the ground. Some of the white feathers on its belly had turned black from being burnt slightly.

"Hit it again with Fury Swipes while it's down!" Jordan said.

Fireball wasted no time as all the flames except for the one on its tail were extinguished. Its claws glowed as it jumped towards the grounded Swellow, scratching at it furiously.

"Use Wing Attack and get out of there!" Aerial Ace said.

Swellow's left wing glowed before it smacked Fireball in an uppercut motion. Fireball was thrown into the air before it crashed back into the ground. Both Pokemon steadily returned to their feet, readying themselves.

"Mach Punch!" Jordan called out.

"Supersonic!" Aerial Ace countered.

Fireball moved toward Swellow, pulling its glowing fist back in preparation for its punch. Swellow began to emit sound waves from its body, causing Fireball to stop in its tracks.

"What?" Jordan exclaimed. He saw Aerial Ace smirk as the sound waves ceased. "Alright, just use Mach Punch again!"

Rather than running, Fireball stumbled forwards as it pulled its fist back this time. Jordan's eyes widened as Swellow easily moved out of the way and Fireball punched open air. The motion and momentum caused Fireball to fall to the ground. When it got up, Jordan managed to get a look at its face.

Fireball wore a strange expression. Its eyes seemed to be looking everywhere as if it were impossible to focus on any one thing. Its mouth was hanging open slightly.

"It's confused," Aerial Ace explained. "You've got no hope of winning now. Hell, you never did."

Jordan gritted his teeth.

I would think that's pretty if I knew it wasn't causing Kyle and Adrien problems, Carol thought as she watched the storm of leaves and petals that Eve and Chu were struggling to deal with.

She turned back to her own battle. Though her opponent wasn't as strong as the ones the others were facing off against, it was certainly a difficult match. Dig really lived up to his name as Sandshrew continuously dug underneath the ground and popped out to deliver a quick attack, leaving only a tiny window for Scarf to counter.

Scarf didn't know any major attacks. Its best ones were Twister and Dragon Rage, which were both fairly decent, but as mentioned before, not too powerful. Dragon rage might be her best option, however. She had managed to sweep a few lower-level Pokemon with that move, as it always dealt forty damage, which was much more than most Pokemon can deliver at low levels. Still, it wouldn't be much against higher level Pokemon. It made Carol wonder why Kyle would want her to back him up while he was trying to take down Team Dominion.

What made Carol wonder even more was why all of them were so willing to go through with something like that. It was almost as if they all wanted to die. What were they going to do, anyway? What could they do?

Carol simply didn't want any of them to get hurt. She cared about Kyle and Adrien, and she had enjoyed hanging out with the new Jordan. She had let her emotions get the better of her when she had snapped at him earlier. She would do anything to make sure they wouldn't get killed.

Carol's focus returned to the battle as she saw Sandshrew come up from underground and attack before heading back down again. She took her thoughts away from the other matter to pay attention to the task at hand.

Carol simply needed a plan to stop Sandshrew from going underground. Scarf's other two moves could accomplish that, but it would need to be timed well. Carol needed to find where Sandshrew would sprout up next.

As Carol finished forming a plan in her head, she saw a small mountain of dirt rising behind Scarf.

"Scarf!" Carol shouted. "Wrap at six o'clock!"

Scaf turned on a dime and shot its tail/body out in front as Sandshrew appeared from underneath the ground. The Dratini caught Sandshrew where it was and wrapped its body around the ground-type.

Sandshrew struggled against Scarf's hold as it was squeezed tighter. Wrap dealt damage over time as the Pokemon used its long body to squeeze.

Now, we just need to keep it there…

"Poison Sting!" Dig ordered.

Sandshrew opened its mouth and sank its teeth into Scarf's body. This caused the dragon-type to loosen its hold on its opponent enough for Sandshrew to escape. As soon as it was free, it made its way back underground.

"Scarf! Are you alright?" Carol asked.

Scarf didn't look so good. Its eyes were droopy and it had sunk in posture. Sandshrew's attack had poisoned it.

Dig laughed. "Well, now I can just keep my distance and wait for your Dratini to faint from the poison. This battle has been won."

No, not yet, Carol thought. There was more to her plan. Doing as much damage as she could with Wrap had only been the first part.

"Scarf, climb into the hole!" Carol said.

Scarf obliged, slowly moving its way towards the opening in the ground Sandshrew had made during its escape.

Dig laughed again. "You do realize I have an extreme advantage underground, don't you? Alright, well, I guess I'll just finish it. Go for it, Leo!"

Carol felt a tremor underneath the ground. Wait for it. Carol counted out a few seconds, hoping her plan would work.

"Now, Thunder Wave!" She called out.

Dig's smile faded. "Wait!" He shouted. "No!"

A tiny spark of electricity came from the hole Scarf had entered. A few moments later, a paralyzed Sandshrew was thrown from the hole. Scarf slid out soon afterward. It looked very worn out from the poison, but it still had enough energy left to finish the fight.

It was Carol's turn to smile. "Your confidence caused you to lose," she said. "Alright then, Scarf, wrap this up with Dragon Rage!"

A shockwave was released from Scarf's body. Sandshrew's petrified body shook as the wave made its impact.

Kyle was sweating. It had surprised him when he had first noticed it, mostly because it wasn't just sweaty palms. He could feel droplets running down his neck and collarbone. He supposed it was just from the tension of the battle.

Not only was he sweating, but his body was beginning to feel tired. This was also surprising to Kyle. It wasn't as if he were actually doing anything; Eve was doing all the real work. Kyle couldn't come up with an explanation as to why his muscles felt worn.

Kyle had noticed that Adrien was in a similar state, though he hadn't shown any signs of it as quickly as Kyle had.

Petal Dance had been in effect for a little while. Kyle figured it would be nearing the end of its course. Eve and Chu were holding up well, but they had still taken a lot of damage. Petal Dance was a powerful move on its own, not to mention the added strength of a superior Pokemon.

Still, they only had to hold out long enough until the move ended. Then, the Venusaur would become confused if, Kyle remembered correctly. They would have an easy time defeating it after that.

The leaves and petals stopped suddenly as Venusaur cringed. Volts of yellow electricity ran the length of its body for a moment. Eve and Chu stopped jumping around as they no longer needed to avoid any attacks.

"Now, use Bite!" Kyle said. Eve only ten uses of Judgment in between rests. Kyle didn't want to use them all up right away. It had already used the attack many times in this one battle.

"Quick Attack!" Adrien said.

The two Pokemon rushed towards Venusaur, Chu moving at twice the speed of Eve. Venusaur grunted as the Pikachu closed the distance between them and charged into its side. Chu then re-established the distance between them as it darted away.

Eve came up next and bit the Venusaur in the leg, causing the grass-poison hybrid to growl.

Kyle saw Petal Dance smile.

What?

"Sleep Powder!"

Kyle felt a pit form in his stomach. Oh, shit.

A huge cloud of white powder burst from the plant on Venusaur's back and fell on top of Eve. The normal-type began to move sluggishly before stumbling and falling to the ground. Eve was fast asleep.

How? Kyle thought. Shouldn't it be confused? Then he realized. The paralysis interrupted it while it was using Petal Dance! Since it didn't finish the move, it didn't become confused.

"You know, I have a theory," Petal Dance said as he removed a Dominance ball from his pocket. "The Dominance ball didn't just bounce off as a regular Poke ball would. It actually encased your Eevee for a few solid moments." He paused as he pulled his arm back, preparing to throw the Dominance ball. "That leads me to believe that while your Pokemon is registered to a Dominance ball, I can still catch it if it's weak enough." He threw the Dominance ball toward Eve.

Adrien reacted quickly. "Thunderbolt!" He shouted.

Chu charged itself off then shot a bolt of lightning at the Dominance ball, causing it to miss. It flew back towards Petal Dance and landed at his feet. He frowned and picked it up off the ground. He turned to Venusaur.

"Deal with that one," he ordered. "It's been annoying me this whole match."

Venusaur sprouted vines from its back and the dirt from its eyes with them. Then the girl who was standing of too the side rushed over and produced a spray bottle from the bag she was wearing. She sprayed it over Venusaur, and the sparks running over its body stopped. Petal Dance's Pokemon was no longer paralyzed.

"Use Thunder Wave again!" Adrien said.

Chu rushed over to get close enough to hit Venusaur with a weak jolt of electricity. Adrien was trying to paralyze it again.

The girl who had healed Venusaur of its status effect backed away as Vnusaur readied its vines.

"Power Whip!" Petal Dance shouted.

Though Chu was very fast, it was growing tired. It was barely able to avoid the first two strikes. The third hit it across its body with a resounding crack. Chu was thrown to the side from the force of the impact.

Chu struggled to stand. It began to slowly limp over to where Eve was.

"We're still in this," Adrien said. "Try Thunderbolt!"

Kyle knew from this that their situation had grown desperate. Electric-type attacks didn't do much to grass-types like Venusaur. However, it was the only ranged attack Chu had.

Chu released a streak of lightning at Venusaur, who barely showed any signs of pain at all from the attack.

"Now, let's try this again," Petal Dance said. He pulled his arm back to throw the Dominance ball again.

Damn, damn, damn!

Jordan's fight was not going well. Fireball was still confused, and Swellow was hitting it again and again. A few more attacks and it would be over. Not only that, but Jordan had noticed everything happening over where Adrien and Kyle's fight was taking place. They were in bad shape and needed help.

Jordan turned to look the other way where Carol's fight was taking place. She seemed to almost have things in the bag, but she was still finishing things up. She needed a little more time.

Carol turned to look at the Venusaur as well and noticed the rough situation. She turned to look at Jordan. The two of them needed to do something, or else Eve would be in the hands of these punks.

Carol nodded without any context to Jordan. It seemed to him that she had a plan in mind.

"Hold out for just a little bit longer!" She shouted over to him.

"Hey, your fight's over here!" Jordan heard Aerial Ace say.

Jordan turned back around to watch as Fireball was hit once more with Wing Attack. He clenched his fist.

"Fireball, try as best you can to hit it out of the air with Mach Punch!" He shouted.

Fireball's fist began to glow. Jordan exhaled. It could understand him through its confusion. That was one barrier down.

Swellow went in for another use of Aerial Ace. As soon as it was within arms reach of Fireball, the Monferno turned on the flying type and punched it in the neck. Unfortunately, Swellow's attack also hit Fireball. Both Pokemon fell to the ground.

Both trainers began encouraging their Pokemon to stand back up. Swellow rose first and lifted itself off the ground with its wings. Jordan frantically shouted at Fireball, telling him to get up fast.

"Use Wing Attack!" Aerial Ace commanded. "Finish it off!"

Swellow swooped in, left wing glowing. As it did, however, a tornado came from Jordan's right and knocked the bird Pokemon out of the air. Its wing stopped glowing as it fell onto a pile of snow.

Aerial Ace's eyes widened. "What?!"

Jordan turned and saw Carol's Dratini slithering over to his battle, Carol following close behind. Jordan examined her Pokemon's condition from a distance and decided that it was a wonder it could still fight. An unconscious Sandshrew was being tended to by its trainer.

"Thanks," Jordan said as Carol stopped next to him. He didn't like that he had needed help, but it had been required.

"Sure," Carol said. "Let's just win this so we can help them."

"Right," Jordan said. Then he raised his voice. "Mach Punch!"

"Twister!"

Carol's Dratini launched a powerful tornado at Swellow. It tore up grass, snow, and dirt from the ground and launched them in all directions.

"Move!" Aerial Ace screamed.

Swellow managed to fly a few feet off the ground and get out of the way of the Twister before it hit. The attack passed by the Pokemon harmlessly, though it did throw some snow into its face.

But Fireball was there before Swellow knew it. The debris from the Twister had distracted the flying-type. The Monferno, no longer confused, punched Swellow in the gut. The force of the punch sent Swellow flying straight into the Twister attack. The tornado cut at Swellow's wings and body and threw it to the ground. The bird Pokemon didn't get back up.

"Now go! Quickly!" Carol said.

"Right!" Jordan responded, turning towards the Venusaur that was around fifty feet away. "Flame Wheel! Now! Go, Fireball!"

Fireball wasted no time as it enveloped itself in its own flames and rushed towards Venusaur as Petal Dance was getting ready to throw the Dominance ball.

"You too, Scarf!" Carol shouted. "Don't let Eve get captured!"

Scarf moved into action as well, sliding to wear Eve lay asleep on the ground.

Petal Dance's eyes widened as he saw the two Pokemon rushing over. "No!" he shouted as he threw the Dominance ball at Eve.

Fireball made it first, barreling into Venusaur's side. The massive Pokemon let out a groan as it was thrown onto its back, knocked unconscious by the super-effective attack. Venusaur was defeated.

Scarf followed shortly after, going as fast its poisoned body allowed. As soon as it reached Eve's sleeping form, it wrapped its body around Eve's own and yanked it out of the way moments before the Dominance ball hit the grass where Kyle's Pokemon had just been.

Carol dropped to her knees while Jordan and Kyle let out sighs of relief.