S.R: I AM NOT THE ONE AT FAULT FOR THIS DELAY!

M.R: Shouting doesn't change anything dear.

S.R: I know. I just wanted to make sure people knew I'm blameless on this taking so long to come out.

PhoenixWyvern: But didn't you tell me that you got her hooked on Fire Emblem? If it took this long for her to be ready because she was playing Fire Emblem then it is your fault. At least in a roundabout way.

S.R: *nervous sweating* I don't recall saying such a thing.

Cazzidy: Just make it up by making sure this chapter is epic.

M.R: But of course. We've got to finish the battle with Blaine after all.

Carly: As punishment for making us wait, and driving big brother up the wall, I demand all the cookies!

S.R: We don't have any cookies right now. Would head-pats suffice?

Carly: I'm a loli, not a child. Though yes, I'll take head-pats.

M.R: Okay enough of the crazy. It's time to tell a story.

ASH'S POV

"Blastoise, use Earthquake again!"

"Stay on your feet and steadily get close enough to use Stomp Rapidash."

"Use Protect!"

I called out just before the extremely fast Fire type Pokemon could hit Blastoise.

'His Rapidash really is a monster. It's fast, and has managed to tank a few Earthquakes too. I don't know how to beat it at this point.' I thought to myself as Blastoise and Rapidash clashed with each other wile Blaine and I looked on.

"Rapidash, use Flame Wheel."

"Put that fire out with Hydro Pump"

We ordered our Pokemon. After canceling out Rapidash's attack Blastoise took the chance to back off and try to get some breathing room again. Blaine didn't give any attack orders, and Rapidash just stood there, likely waiting to see what else Blastoise and I had up our sleeve.

It helped that the battlefield was also pretty torn up, and shredded thanks to the three Earthquakes that Blastoise had gotten off during the battle. Unsure of what to do I just looked at the ground, contemplating my options. But I noticed something that gave me an idea. Despite the heat in the air, there were still a few patches of wet muddy ground from Blastoise's Hydro Pumps.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump, but this time don't aim it at Rapidash. Use it to make the smoother, and less torn up parts of the ground muddy."

I could tell she didn't know what I had planned, but Blastoise went along with my order without hesitation. Blaine smirked, but didn't give a command to his Rapidash.

"I see. You're going to force us to come to haphazardly. Pretty clever."

The man praised me. I could see that he already had a counter for the muddy ground, but he didn't do anything other than order Rapidash to use stomp one last time. 'Wait. One last time? Does that mean his Rapidash is close to going down?' I wondered. Shaking it off I told Blastoise to finish the fight with her Hydro Pump.

"Rapidash is unable to battle. Blastoise wins Gym leader Blaine please select your next Pokemon!"

The referee called out as Blaine smiled.

"Rapidash was already weak, but then you made sure he couldn't take your Blastoise out first by making the ground a mess. His fire doesn't quite get as hot as my last two Pokemon. But these two will easily get rid of that mud. You're up Ninetails!"

Blaine explained to me, still smiling. But I was smiling too, despite the chill that ran up my spine when he let out his Ninetails. After all it was a fantastic battle that we were having.

'I've got a bad feeling about this.'

Pikachu told me through our Aura bond. His thoughts were echoed by Charmeleon who I was sharing my sight with through an Aura technique I'd learned from Phoenix while we were traveling to the Sea foam Islands.

"I think we'll start this round off. Ninetails use Solar Beam."

Blaine commented, while pointing up to remind me of the fact that his gym didn't have a complete roof. The area where the referee stood, and the bleachers that had been set up for people to watch the battles that go on inside the gym (which were empty since Brock was still helping the professors) were protected from the elements, but the arena was not. Meaning the direct sunlight streamed over our Pokemon. Which meant Ninetails was quickly ready to unleash it's attack.

"Blastoise use Protect!"

I screamed, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to take the hit. But Blaine's Ninetails fired its attack off in time to partially connect before her barrier was completed. Crying out in pain Blastoise stood strong, but she used our bond to tell me 'I won't be able to take another hit. Period. I got lucky in preventing all of that Solar Beam from hitting me. But right now, even a Tackle or a Scratch attack would knock me out.'

I frowned at that news. It was real bad. Because of how strong Blaine's Pokemon were, we knew she wouldn't be able to take Ninetails down. Pikachu and Charmeleon were all I had left, and given how strong I'd been warned his Magmar was, I wasn't sure we could pull it off.

'Stay strong Ash. I won't let you down.'

Charmeleon told me in a confident tone. As if he could sense my emotions. Looking to Pikachu, my ever present partner, I had to smile when he nodded as well.

"Are you done contemplating the rest of this battle?"

Blaine's voice reached me. When I turned to face him I noticed Ninetails and Blastoise hadn't moved.

"We were waiting for you to bring your attention back to the battle. Next time I won't be so polite though."

The gym leader told me. I nodded grateful that he didn't completely demolish Blastoise while I wasn't paying any attention.

"Alright then. It's a game of keep away Blastoise. I know you can do it."

She nodded her head at me, showing her trust in our bond and her strength.

"Ninetails use Flamethrower and dry up the ground please."

"Blastoise dodge it and use Earthquake."

"Jump up into the air and use Will-O-Wisp."

Knowing that would be the end if it connected I had Blastoise use Protect once more.

"I wonder just how long you can keep up. Solar Beam, again Ninetails."

"We can't use Protect again so jump to the side as quick as you can!"

I cried out, praying Blastoise could avoid it. We really needed to get some damage on Ninetails, and fast. Anything to slow Blaine down and keep Blastoise in the game just a little longer.

"And there's the end. Agility and Quick Attack, together please."

Blaine commanded his Ninetails. Before I could even open my mouth it was in Blastoise's face, headbutting her with enough force to push Blastoise to the ground. The referee was quick to call out.

"Blastoise is unable to battle. Ninetails wins. Challenger please select your next Pokemon!"

Despite the fact she had lost I smiled while recalling Blastoise.

"You did great. This was just some bad luck. We'll get them next time."

'Ash. Let me out. I'll win this for Blastoise'

I heard Charmeleon tell me through our bond. He sounded absolutely furious. Which was strange since he was normally one of my more level headed Pokemon. 'If you're sure' I asked, getting a confirmation.

"Alright then, I'll trust this fight to you Charmeleon!"

I confidently stated while letting him out of his Poke-ball. To my surprise the moment he came out, Charmeleon was surrounded by a bright light.

"Is your Pokemon evolving right now?"

Blaine asked with a curious smile on his face. Rather than respond I smiled as a loud roar echoed through the gym. The light began to dye down showing the final evolution of the Charmander line. Charizard.

"I think you made him mad."

I said as my newly evolved Charizard took the field while glaring harshly at Blaine's Ninetails.

"It seems so. Let's see how well your Charizard does. Ninetails use Flamethrower."

"Dodge it and use Mud Slap!"

"Will-O-Wisp"

"Use Mud Slap again!"

"Dodge it and use Agility and Quick Attack together."

"Counter with Fire Fang!"

Biting into Ninetails with flames pouring from the sides of his mouth, Charizard shook his head, roughly making the Ninetails flail about, before tossing it into the wall.

"Ninetails use Solar Beam."

Blaine ordered, which confused me. Charizard was far faster than Blastoise and would be able to dodge a lot better.

"Dodge it by using Dig!"

Blaine looked surprised to see Charizard disappear underground.

"Well now, I wasn't expecting this."

Blaine commented as his Ninetails went on alert for the lightest tremble of the ground. But on top of being far stronger as a Charizard than as Charmeleon, he was also a lot faster too. Bursting up from directly below Ninetails, Charizard knocked the other Pokemon off balance.

"Charizard use Thunder Punch."

I commanded, trying to take advantage of the situation.

"Take the hit and counter with Foul Play."

But Charzard's attack temporarily stunned the Ninetails preventing it's attack.

"Nice job Charizard! Now use Thunder Punch again!"

Once more Charizard's arm smashed into Ninetails side with electricity raging around his clenched clawed hands. But the power behind the attack this time made Ninetails slid back a few feet. A weak cry came out of Ninetails mouth as it's body started to tremble.

"Don't push yourself too much Ninetails. Return!"

Blaine called out. Because Ninetails could have kept battling the referee called over to Blaine.

"Sir, are you removing Ninetails from the battle?"

Because the rules stated that Gym leaders aren't allowed to substitute their Pokemon, the Referee wanted to make sure that Ninetails was finished.

"Yes. Ninetails is getting old, I don't want to push him too much."

"I see. Ninetails has been removed from the battle. Gym leader Blaine please send out your final Pokemon!"

The referee replied, his tone telling me he was surprised that Blaine had been pushed this far for our battle. But I didn't say anything to him, instead choosing to communicate with Charizard.

'Congrats on evolving like you wanted. And for beating Ninetails. Think you can keep it up?'

'I'm ready for anything he throws at us. I won't loose now!'

He answered, his confidence seemingly oozing out of him.

"Alright then. Because your Charizard was able to win against Ninetails I can tell it's truly a powerhouse. So I won't hold back anymore. Come on out Magmar."

Blaine told me as he finally sent out his last Pokemon.

"Let's do this Charizard! Seismic Toss!"

"Take the hit and counter with Thunder Punch."

"You can do it Charizard, power through it and use Metal Claw."

Despite the pain from the electricity arcing around Magmar's fist, Charizard stood strong and raked his claws downward towards Magmar's face.

"Push it back with Flamethrower."

Blaine ordered, and I didn't have to say anything, Charizard was already moving to dodge.

"Nice job Charizard. Quick let's get in close with Dig, and when you're ready to pop up from underground come up with your claws ready to tear into that Magmar with Metal Claw!"

As Charizard began to dig his hole once more, Blaine clapped as he complemented us.

"I must say this battle has been fantastic so far Ash. Quick thinking, calm level headed judgment, powerful Pokemon… You've got most of the things necessary to win this battle. But there is one thing you're lacking."

Somehow I had a feeling Blaine was going to say I still needed a bit more experience before I was fully ready to claim his badge. But I was ready to prove him wrong. Since he clearly had an idea for how to counter Charizard when he finally came up from underground I decided to tweak my commands just a little.

"You think we're still lacking in experience huh… Charizard let's remedy that. Instead of coming up with Metal Claw, let's try this."

I called out before switching over to our Aura Bond, to finish explaining my plan.

'Pop up briefly to throw them off, then go back underground. When you come up again grab onto Magmar with Seismic Toss, but don't actually throw it. Jump up into the air and fly in a circle making it dizzy before tossing Magmar back to the ground.'

Raising his eyebrow, Blaine watched the battlefield carefully, already knowing that I had somehow communicated my plan to Charizard without speaking out loud. A moment later Charizard's head was seen coming up from the ground.

"Quick Magmar use Flamethrower."

But the moment he finished speaking Charizard had gone back underground. Because he wasn't that far away from Magmar, he was able to do as I suggested before Blaine could come up with a new order for his Pokemon.

I was amazed to see Charizard going a step further than my instructions. I had only planned on making Magmar dizzy, but he was being even more clever. Rather than just making a circle in the air, Charizard did a fully vertical loop, letting the momentum add force to his throw.

"I see. That was quite the move there… Magmar recover as best you can before using Smokescreen."

"Don't worry about getting close Charizard, use Flamethrower and force that Magmar out of his cover!"

"Charge forward with Iron Tail."

"Counter that with Mud Slap."

Waiting until the last moment, Charizard caught Magmar's tail and held it tight inside his clawed grip. With his free hand Charizard smacked it harshly in the side with an extremely muddy and dirty hand. But Magmar didn't even flinch.

"Let's keep the pressure on. Use Thunder Punch."

"Mud Slap again Charizard!"

"Once more, Thunder Punch."

Charizard roared out in pain this time, before putting a bit of distance between them.

"I see. Your Charizard is very well rounded. But it's not quite enough. Just look at him. He's panting heavily. If my guess is right he can only take two or three more Thunder Punches before going down."

But Charizard narrowed it's eyes before letting out a disagreeing roar. The flame burning at the end of his tail grew stronger and stronger becoming extremely intense.

"Oh? Looks like he activated his ability Blaze."

"Let's make good use of it then Charizard. Use Flamethrower."

I commented, telling Charizard to use the strongest Fire type move he knows. Or at least that he can use, since we hadn't yet managed to learn his egg move Flare Blitz. But Blaine and I both were surprised to see the immense power being built up.

"Don't tell me, you figured out how to use your egg move?"

I questioned, curious as to how he finally managed to do it. But Charizard shook his head as the fire grew even more intense.

"As a Fire type expert, I can safely say that is a Blast Burn your Charizard is attempted to use. That's one of the strongest Fire type attacks, yet he already has the potential to use it within fifteen minutes of evolving into a Charizard? You've got one talented Pokemon there Ash."

The gym leader complemented us. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't going to do anything. Likely because he wanted to see if we could actually pull it off. His Magmar was even looking at Charizard with respect. Either because it's was impressed by the fact Charizard could already learn the new move, or because it had come to respect him, through their battle.

A moment later Charizard unleashed his fiery attack on Magmar. When it impacted there was an intense bright light that temporarily blinded me. Even after it faded I had to blink multiple times to see clearly. There was a large chunk of the ground missing, as if it was destroyed by Charizard's attack.

Magmar was struggling to stay standing, and Charizard was almost on the ground exhausted. But they were staring each other down, neither one wanting to admit defeat just yet.

"It seems we've come to the end of the battle. Magmar let's finish it with Thunder Punch."

"Charizard, I know you've got this. Flamethrower."

Magmar charged through the fire, flinching heavily but still moving in order to hit Charizard. Crying out in pain Charizard fell to the ground, and a second later Magmar did as well.

"It seems neither Pokemon are able to battle. This fight ends in a draw. The battle is over, the challenger Ash, of Pallet Town wins!"

The referee called out as Blaine and I both returned our Pokemon to their Poke-balls.

"Wow, that's the first time in a long while I've been burned out by a battle. You've more than earned this badge."

I heard before turning to face Blaine once more. He had one hand extended out towards me, and sitting in his palm was the badge. Thanking him for the amazing battle and the badge I smiled happily.

"You may have quelled my fire, but the next challenge shall be much harder. Giovanni awaits, and only those who have the strength to shatter the earth can best him… Though It might help if you drown his team with those Water types you've got."

Blaine commented before chuckling.

"I've got a few things in mind to help prepare for that battle. Besides I still have some time to train."

"Very true. I can just see the fiery determination in you. So long as you keep stoking that flame, you'll go far."

With our conversation over I turned towards the gym doors and made my way back to the Pokemon Center. While Nurse Joy looked over my Pokemon, Pikachu and I made a call home.

"Hey mom, I've got some great news!"

"Oh, Ash! I know it's only been a few days since you last called to check in. But still, I miss you."

I had to resist rolling my eyes at her playful pouting. Especially since it the background I could see Growlithe, Artemis, and Apollo. I knew she liked to head over to the Professor's ranch and help out in her spare time, so I wasn't surprised to see that she had gotten along with my Pokemon well enough to take them home. Ignoring her for a moment I called out to my Pokemon in greeting.

"Oh these are some of your Pokemon?! I didn't realize that."

"Yeah they're my Pokemon. They're the greatest aren't they?"

"Oh, we can talk about your Pokemon later you said you had good news?"

Mom interrupted.

"I just beat Blaine. Since my next goal, Giovanni, is in Viridian, I'll be passing through Pallet Town on the way. Since it's been a while I wanted to stop and spend a few days with you guys before moving on."

S.R: Seventh Badge!

M.R: Is there anything else we need to say?

S.R: Not that I can think of. Anyway here's the list of Pokemon Locations.

ON HAND:

1. Pikachu (m) 2. Conan: Riolu (m) 3. Charizard (m) 4. Gyarados (f) 5. Gengar (f) 6. Blastoise (f)

TRAINEE FIELD RESEARCHER SLOT ADDITIONS:

7. Ivysaur (f) 8. Albus: Amaura (m) 9. Eira: Alolan Vulpix (f)

AT THE RANCH:

1. Pidgeot (f) 2. Beedrill (m) 3. Nidorino (m) 4. Muk (m) 5. Growlithe (f) 6. Golbat (m) 7. Apollo: Espeon (m) 8. Artemis: Umbreon (f) 9. Scyther (m)