Jason Creight awoke to the beeping sound of his PokeGear.

He pushed himself up in bed and looked around. He was in the room that he and Kelly had reserved aboard the Colossal.

And it was 4:30 in the morning.

*Second day in a row,* he thought, as he began his waking up routine.

Today was the day.

Jason had set the battle time for 5:30 this morning. He'd known the night before that he would need an hour of lead time to get himself ready. Once he was up for an hour, he wasn't likely to go back to bed for a while.

He turned on the small lamp on the right side of his bed, the one Kelly was less likely to wake up to. He didn't want her to wake up this early.

Jason reached down to the floor and grabbed the change of clothes he'd arranged for himself the night before, reflecting on the events of that night as he did so.

After they'd gotten back to the cabin, Jason had told Kelly what Adam had revealed and proposed. He'd tried to adequately describe the feelings and thoughts that had gone through his mind during that rather one-sided conversation, and even though it seemed as though Kelly had understood perfectly, Jason still felt he'd failed miserably at his description.

*How can he possibly understand what he's getting himself into?* Jason asked himself, as he pulled on his blue T-shirt.

*He can't.

That's why I have to beat him.*

Jason had turned it over and over in his mind which Pokemon he would use for the battle. Adam had told him that he had his best team of Pokemon to battle with, and Jason had little doubt of that; one look in those gray eyes had told him Adam was telling the truth.

Jason had gotten very little sleep, as a matter of fact, because he was so tentative about choosing his team. Since he'd never encountered Adam before, much less in battle, he had no idea what to expect, other than a hard fight. That much was guaranteed. He'd used a notepad to write out the names of the Pokemon he'd wanted on his team, and he'd finally narrowed it down to six.

He would use Gyarados, Gengar, Charizard, Chansey, Steelix, and Ampharos. Steelix, as a Pokemon that had belonged to Tommy to the end, would understand the implications of losing the match better than any of his other Pokemon, though the others had seen their share of what the circumstances of Jason's life had done to him.

Jason finished getting dressed and equipped, and got himself into his wheelchair. He needed to get to the on-board Pokemon center quickly, if he was going to make it to the battlefield he'd selected on time.

He took one last look at Kelly. She was sleeping peacefully, no hint of tension in that beautiful face.

*Sleep well.*

He left the cabin.

***

Jason had donned his leather jacket before leaving the cabin. As it turned out, it was a wise move; the early mornings here could get blisteringly cold, despite the warm and infinitely more pleasant weather that came only an hour or two later.

As he approached the starboard battlefield, he saw that he was not the only one wearing heavier protection from the elements; Adam, on the other side of the field, was wearing a long, dark blue overcoat whose tails clung to his legs in the breeze.

Both of them knew that there was no need for words now. They'd exhausted that need the night before.

The time was now.

Jason and Adam both chose their first Pokemon and tossed the capture balls into the field.

On Jason's side, Gyarados emerged from its Poke ball.

On Adam's side, a Jolteon appeared.

*Damn,* Jason thought, *major disadvantage... take it down as far as I can...* "Gyarados, Dragon Rage attack!"

"Jolteon, Agility!"

Gyarados was a fast Pokemon, but Jolteon was faster with its agility. It raced circles around Gyarados as the dragon type Pokemon sprayed bursts of blue-green fire over the field. Not one of those bursts hit their target.

"Jolteon, Thunder!"

Jason had seen this coming; he was prepared. "Gyarados, Mirror Coat!"

Gyarados put up the coat just in time; the crackling lightning bolt that was called down from the heavens was absorbed by the coat and refocused toward Jolteon, which took the full brunt of the attack.

It got back up, but it shuddered as it did so; it was paralyzed by its own attack.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam attack!" Jason was deadly serious, and he wasn't going to beat aorund the bush.

The roiling energies of Hyper Beam did their job; Jolteon was blasted backward, and it hit the deck limply.

But it still got back up.

"Jolteon, one more Thunder!"

At the same time, Jason ordered, "Gyarados, Dragon Rage again!"

Another lightning bolt streaked down, and Gyarados took this one head- on.

It didn't even try to avoid the bolt.

It was too busy blowing fire at its opponent.

And both Pokemon went down.

Neither one got up.

Jason and Adam recalled their Pokemon and quickly made their next choice.

Ampharos vs. Vaporeon.

Jason didn't grin, although he felt a great swell of satisfaction. *The advantage is mine this time.*

Adam was already dispensing orders. "Vaporeon, Quick Attack!"

"Ampharos, Thunder Punch!"

Vaporeon's attack was strong. It headbutted Ampharos right under the chin.

Ampharos's was stronger. It caught Vaporeon in the belly with a spark-empowered blow.

Both gave each other ground as they awaited further orders.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Thunderbolt, while not nearly as potent as Thunder, was still a devastating attack, and Jason had chosen it over Thunder for a reason. While Thunder was cast directly from the sky, Thunderbolt was emitted from the Pokemon, and with a Hydro Pump attack on the way, it was the perfect opportunity to disrupt the attack.

And disrupt the attack it did; the powerful blast of water sent forth by Vaporeon became tempered with electricity, and the shock had an immediate effect on the water type Pokemon. The charged water also splashed Ampharos, but it was far from finished off.

"Now use Thunder!"

"Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!"

Yet another white flash of lightning fell from the sky and wrapped around Vaporeon.

But not before it pulled off its Aurora Beam attack and caught Ampharos in a daze.

Vaporeon hit the deck; it was finished for this match.

"Vaporeon, return! Let's take it to 'em, Flareon!"

Jason was beginning to see Adam's pattern. If he kept this up, he might very well display an entire team of Eevee evolutions. He'd exposed three; the only three remaining were Eevee, Umbreon, and Espeon.

*And if that's the case,* Jason thought, *Espeon is the only Pokemon that Gengar would have a chance against.* He knew very well the weaknesses and resistances of the types of Pokemon.

*Oh, well. Don't worry about it; Ampharos is still up.* "Ampharos, Thunder Punch!"

"Flareon, Flamethrower!"

Flareon's fire breath hit it's target long before Ampharos's curled claws hit theirs, but the effect on both was about the same. Still, Ampharos wasn't fresh out of the ball, whereas Flareon was; it was losing HP faster than its opponent.

Adam kept pressing. "Flareon, Quick Attack!"

Jason knew that at this rate, Ampharos wouldn't last long. Finally, Jason used Ampharos's fourth and final attack. "Ampharos, Solarbeam!"

The red light atop Ampharos's head began to glow vibrantly as his Pokemon gathered sunlight for the attack.

But this gave Adam an advantage; Ampharos couldn't attack on this turn. "Flareon, Fire Spin!"

Flareon complied, breathing flame at its opponent. Immediately, a hollow column of red fire engulfed Ampharos within its intense heat. Its coarse fur became singed, and Jason could see even thorugh the fire that Ampharos was about to go down.

But then Ampharos's entire body began to glow gold.

And a gargantuan energy beam split the distance between the two battling Pokemon.

It caught Flareon and sent it tumbling.

Flareon landed limply and didn't rise.

The Fire Spin ended, but Ampharos was clearly down to its final HP.

*I'll have to give it a defense TM of some sort,* Jason thought, as Adam returned Flareon.

Sure enough, the next one to come out was Espeon. It didn't come out of the ball in "battle stance"; rather, it simply sat down on the deck and waited patiently for Adam's first command.

"Espeon, Quick Attack!"

Jason didn't even bother dispensing an attack order; Quick Attack was always the first move in a turn when used.

Espeon didn't even seem to move at first, so fast was the attack; first it was sitting there on the deck, and then the next instant it was right in front of Ampharos, apparently having already executed the attack.

Ampharos pitched back and fell heavily to the ground.

"Ampharos, return." Jason knew precisely which Pokemon to use now. "Let's go, Gengar!"

Gengar appeared in the air, all glistening body and dark spikes and savage grin.

If Adam was fazed by this revelation, he didn't show it. "Espeon, Psybeam!"

"Gengar, Night Shade!"

Gengar conjured the Night Shade attack, surrounding Espeon with a dark cloud of impenetrable fog, just as the Psybeam cut across the field and caught Gengar fully in the body. Gengar was thrown back and cried out in pain.

Jason winced, suddenly wishing he'd sent out another Pokemon. But he knew, as Adam apparently did, that psychic Pokemon were weak against each other. And that meant this pairing would be catastrophic for both.

The Night Shade took effect, which stunned Espeon enough that it stumbled backward a few steps. Suddenly, it wasn't so calmly situated. It had no expression on its purple, whiskered face, but the battle readiness it had so suddenly adopted was clear to all who saw; it now meant business.

"Gengar, Hypnosis!"

Adam didn't have time to respond to this; Gengar was on the move instantly, screaming on a frequency humans were unable to hear, but that was very much audible to psychics such as Espeon.

Espeon suddenly fell over on its side, and didn't get up.

"Quickly, Dream Eater!"

Gengar flew in, took the full measure of Espeon's head into its mouth, and chomped. Espeon shuddered as Gengar retreated to its neutral position; the Dream Eater had clearly had an effect.

Adam reached into his coat and pulled out a device Jason immediately recognized as a Poke flute. He played a short tune on the flute, and suddenly Espeon was waking up from its nap.

*I ought to get one of those while I'm getting the TM,* Jason thought. "Psybeam!"

"Espeon, use your own Psybeam!"

*Uh-oh...* Jason knew what could happen and what was very likely to happen next. The attacks, if fired on the same plane, would meet in midair and cause a massive sphere of uncontrolled psychic energy to form.

Jason recalled the last time such a thing had happened, and what he'd done to stop it.

Sure enough, the beams hit each other and began to swirl around in that chaotic concoction that Jason knew all too well.

He let the attack continue for a few seconds, then said, "Gengar, stop firing and focus on containing the energy!"

Gengar complied, and Jason could see the strain it was under as it attempted to retain the power.

But after only a moment or so, it could do so no longer, and the sphere's contents exploded...

...all in Espeon's direction.

There was nowhere Espeon could go to avoid the energy; it was everywhere.

It was blasted full-on with everything the sphere had contained.

But it still stood.

Jason watched Gengar carefully. It was no longer it the air; it was standing on the deck, and it was panting. Jason found this almost amusing, since Gengar, as a ghost, shouldn't even have lungs to pant with.

Espeon was in much the same condition. Its huge ears were flipping back and forth and its coarse purple fur was bristling.

Jason held out Gengar's capture ball. "Gengar, return!"

And then he tossed out Gengar's replacement.

From the recesses of an Ultra ball came the one Pokemon in Jason's arsenal that could resist psychic attacks.

Chansey.

"Chansey, Blizzard attack!"

The chubby pink Pokemon, as useful as it was for medical purposes, was not usually used for battle. But Jason had trained this one specifically for that purpose, and it was ready for anything thrown at it.

The short tentacles on its head whipped about, and its expression became one of defiant determination as it called forth a freezing storm.

Espeon shivered in the sudden cold, slapped backward by the blast.

"Espeon, Quick Attack!"

*He's catching on,* Jason thought, as Espeon's hard head knocked the wind out of Chansey.

"Chansey, Fire Blast!"

The infamous "stick figure" of fire conjured by Chansey roared forward and engulfed Espeon, which by this time had gone to its final HP.

Down it went.

And out came the next one.

Eevee.

*So,* Jason thought, *he's saving Umbreon for last. Smart move. No weaknesses, and resistance to psychics.*

Adam wasted no time. "Eevee, Skull Bash attack!"

"Chansey, Thunder!"

Jason was running out of surprises. While he still outnumbered Adam for active Pokemon, Adam clearly had a strategy, and that strategy had yet to make its full potential realized.

The Thunder attack had smaller effect on Eevee, withdrawn as it was for the first turn. But it made up for that withdrawal in the second turn; it used everything it had to put Chansey on the deck.

Chansey was knocked back, and Jason could see how winded it was from the attack. Chanseys, no matter how much HP they had at high levels, were still among the weakest existing Pokemon in defense.

"Now use Extremespeed, Eevee!"

Again, neither trainer nor Pokemon wasted time; Eevee was all over Chansey in a second.

And Chansey fell to the deck, never to get up again during this match.

Despite having his third fainted Pokemon in this match, Jason felt confidence swell in his chest as he chose his next Pokemon. It was obvious, now, what his choice should be.

"Let's go, Charizard!"

It looked like a bad mismatch, a gigantic, fire-breathing, flying lizard against something that looked more akin to a puppy.

Still, Jason knew to be cautious. Just because Charizard seemed to have the advantage didn't mean it couldn't get hurt.

And with that thought in mind, he made his move. "Fly, Charizard!"

Adam's response was immediate. "Skull Bash!"

*Great, just great. I fell into a trap. Fly better have an effect.*

Charizard dove in and swept Eevee off its small feet, but Eevee landed on those same feet and returned the favor by ramming its hard head into the pit of Charizard's stomach.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Eevee, Quick Attack!"

*Come on, Charizard. You can take that little thing.* Eevee hit first, again targeting Charizard's gut. But the intense return fire singed Eevee's fur, and Jason could tell by the way it licked furiously at its wounds that it was burned.

"Eevee, Extremespeed!"

"Charizard, Fire Blast!"

Again, Eevee's ferocious power was demonstrated; it actually managed to knock Charizard off-balance with its attack. And, as if to claim total victory over the turn, Eevee barely paid attention to the return attack.

"Eevee, Quick Attack one more time!"

Charizard got another bellyful of Eevee.

And it keeled over.

*Impossible!* Jason thought, not believing what he was seeing. *How could Eevee have that kind of power?*

He shook his head. It didn't matter now. They were even in active Pokemon count, and Adam's seemed more vitalized that Jason's.

Jason resolved to change that with his next choice.

Out came Steelix.

*Steelix, you're just about my last hope for winning this match.* "Steelix, Rock Throw!"

There were no rocks, much less boulders, to be found aboard a boat. Steelix changed that, calling forth the stones littering the ocean floor and hurling them at the little Pokemon.

Eevee, with its weakness to ground attacks, dropped as quickly as the rocks thrown.

And then Adam revealed his final Pokemon.

The energy beam resolved...

*As I suspected,* Jason thought, and he sighed as he looked into the red eyes of Adam's Umbreon. *This will be down to the wire.*

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!"

"Steelix, Dig!"

The platform was self-sealing, able to heal any hole within it. It was with this knowledge that Jason had ordered this attack; as Steelix began burrowing into the deck, Umbreon completely disappeared from view, only to reappear as a black and yellow blur as it struck its opponent. The *clang* of Umbreon's head against Steelix's body resounded across the sea.

Steelix disappeared below the deck, and Umbreon waited for instructions.

Adam shrugged. "Agility!"

*Ooh, good one.* Umbreon danced about, ready for the attack that would inevitably come.

A moment later, Steelix blew through the deck...

...and struck nothing but air.

"Crunch!"

Umbreon came back around and clamped down hard on Steelix's metal body. The screech was horrendous, and Jason felt goosebumps rising all over.

He was determined not to lose. "Steelix, Iron Tail!"

Steelix flung Umbreon off its tail with one casual flip, and then, as if to emphasize its point, it brought its tail down on Umbreon to nearly grind it into pulp on the deck. Steelix didn't display any indications, other than small indentations on one of its sections, that it was hurt.

On the other hand, Umbreon looked as if it was feeling it.

"Another Rock Throw!"

"Umbreon, Quick Attack!"

Again, Adam's Pokemon got in the first attack; again, a *clang* reverbrated off the boat's walls.

And again, Steelix called the stones on the ocean floor to come to its aid.

But Umbreon's Agility was taking definite effect; it avoided nearly all of the rocks deftly. Three or four smaller stones grazed it, but for the most part, it came out unharmed.

"Faint Attack again!"

"Steelix, Slam!"

Steelix was ready for the Faint Attack this time and swatted its tail in the direction he'd last seen Umbreon. Sure enough, it caught Umbreon squarely on the top of its lowered skull.

But Umbreon's attack was still more than it expected, and both Pokemon were reeling from the attacks.

"Crunch one more time!"

Umbreon shook its dizziness off and chomped down on Steelix once more.

And this time, Steelix responded in pain with a metallic shriek.

*Uh-oh, I'm losing it,* Jason thought. "Hang in there, Steelix! Iron Tail!"

But it was looking bleaker by the second. Steelix's tail swung around clumsily and only managed to nick Umbreon in the shoulder.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack! Follow up with Quick Attack!"

The *clang*ing of Steelix's body rang out across the water, as did its roars of protest.

Umbreon was also beginning to lose it, Jason noted; its breathing was heavy and it was beginning to droop its shoulders.

Jason took his last opportunity. "Steelix, Slam!"

"One more Quick Attack!"

But Umbreon was no longer so quick about its Quick Attack. It charged forward, but was slow in making its move.

Slow enough that Steelix managed to bring its tail around one last time, just as Umbreon struck.

The force of the attacks was just as unbearable for Steelix as for Umbreon.

Steelix and Umbreon faced each other for a long moment after the attack.

No heart dared beat.

And then...

Slowly...

Steelix hit the deck.

And stayed there.

Jason sat for a moment, stunned.

Adam had won the match.

Jason numbly recalled Steelix, and stared across the field.

His opponent had not a trace of smugness, arrogance, or even triumph or victory on his face. Only a steady gaze that revealed a serious, dedicated mind behind the eyes that held it. Quiet confidence flashed in those eyes.

Jason nodded to Adam. "Congratulations. You win."

"I hope it turns out that we both won."

"We'll see what kind of company you keep. But if what you've displayed so far is any indication, then I look forward to getting to know you."

Adam nodded, then turned to stare at the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to show itself. "I imagine you'll want some more sleep, to make up for the hours you likely lost last night."

Jason raised an eyebrow. Adam was correct, there. However, it was a bit annoying to hear him say it. "What about you?"

"I like watching sunrises. They've always provided great inspiration for me."

Jason moved his wheelchair toward Adam. He wanted the sleep, but he figured that if they were going to be traveling together from now on, he might as well get to know the guy. "Inspiration for what?"

"Poetry. I write amateur poetry in my spare time. I've even been honored enough to be published a time or two in compilations."

Jason nodded approvingly. "And what does your poetry usually include?"

"My mainstay is what I call 'picture' poetry. I'll look at something and memorize it like a picture, then not look at it again until I write a poem describing everything I can remember about it. Sometimes the details are subtle, sometimes exaggerated. But it always comes out the way I like it." Adam glanced down; Jason had pulled up next to him. "Not sleepy?"

"How am I going to get to know you if I don't talk to you, or share your experiences?"

Adam half-smiled. "Strange that you ask that, just after you were battling to suppress a question so similar."

Jason shrugged. "I lost. I'll deal with it. And I'll have the privilege to get to know someone who's been here." He slapped the arms of his wheelchair.

"Indeed." Adam turned to face Jason. "And now, since we've shared interests and an experience of mine, maybe you could tell me a bit more about *your*self."

Jason smiled.

Adam was going to be a very interesting friend to have around.

Jason Creight spoke on.

To Be Continued