Disclaimer: *Wakes up in Disclaimer Land* Oh no, not this place AGAIN! AGHHHH! *Mysterious voice: It's that time again! It's time to play, THE WEAKEST LINK!* What? I don't even like the Weakest Link! MV: How dare you insult my favorite show! ME: TOUCHY! Can I just choose a disclaimer and leave? MV: Not if you insulted my favorite show! Me: *sigh* Ok, ok, anything relating to Pokemon doesn't belong to me. I only own the Elite idea. And the Weakest Link is the best show ever......……………………………………........not

MV: I HEARD THAT!

My apologizes: Once again, sorry for the screwy spacing.



ALWAYS COMPETING

BY: MizuFaia

CHAPTER 7: Hello Team Rocket, Goodbye Competition

~ Pummelo Arena ~

"Maria, double kick!"

"Marill, water gun!"

Emily and Tracey watched as Maria and Marill's attacks slammed into Sarah and Jeremy's Raichu and Onix.

"The battle is over!" Drake declared. "Emily and Tracey have won the match!"

"Yes!" Emily squealed, whipping around and hi-fived Tracey.

"Good job guys!" Jeremy called out as the platforms descended towards the ground.

Emily beamed again. " Thanks! You guys were tough too!"

"Yeah, for a minute there I thought that we were gonna lose," Tracey added.

Sarah smiled genuinely. "Thanks guys."

Ralph watched as the four group of friends walked together, laughing and comparing battle strategies. He blushed as he watched Emily toss her hair and engage in a conversation with Sarah.

Mary growled silently as she watched Ralph stare at Emily. How could he fall for her when they had battled together? Although Mary didn't want to admit it, she knew she had no chance of getting Ralph. It was the only thing that irritated her, because she ALWAYS got what she wanted. And she wanted Ralph. He was polite and a good Pokemon trainer. He didn't do so bad in the looks department either

As he watched Emily approach, he gave her a smile. "Great job Emmie. Good luck on the next round," he said.

Emily gave him a dazzling smile. "Thanks Ralph, you too."

Mary jumped in. "We won't need it," she spat out. "But you certainly will."

After resting their Pokemon, Emily, Tracey, Mary, and Ralph proceeded towards the battle area, where the battle would take place. Emily and Ralph both realized, a little too late, that Tony and Maria would never battle each other.

In the shadows, Cassidy and Butch were discussing when they would attack.

"Let's attack now! That way we can get all of their Pokemon strong and ready for the Boss," Cassidy whispered.

"No way. We should wait until they're both down to their last Pokemons. That way, their Pokemon will be weak and not ready for battle," Butch argued back.

Cassidy looked surprised. "You know Butch, sometimes I think you really do have a brain."

~ Battle Area ~

"6 on 6, no time limit, no substitutions. Full straight-on battle. Mean eye and any Pokemon attack, regardless of what it does, is allowed. At stake is the Level 1 position of the Orange Elite. Begin!" Drake announced.

Mary and Ralph sent out their Pokemon first. (A/N: The girls always sent out their Pokemon and attack first, and the first pair is usually Mary and Ralph)

"Dragonair, I choose you!"

"Go, Ninetales!"

"Butterfree, let's get ready to battle!"

"Let's go Scyther!"

"Dragonair, show them why I'm the best! Wrap attack!"

"Butterfree, dodge it and use Psywave!"

"Ninetales, burn up that Scyther!"

"Scyther, you're tougher than that! Use Rapid Spin!"

~ An half hour later ~

"All four trainers are down to their last Pokemons," Drake announced.

Mary silently recalled her Hitmontop, frowning. Tracey's Electrode had used Self-Destruct, not only wiping out her Hitmontop and Ralph's Rapidash, but Emily's Ninetales also. It was odd that Ralph and Emily had used the exact same Pokemon, just in different rounds. Sighing, Mary threw out a Pokeball.

Ralph recalled his Rapidash, his heart pounding furiously. Emily and him had already used Ninetales, Butterfree, Growlithe, Vileplume, and Sandslash. That meant that it was time to bring out their best and favorite Pokemon. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Ralph's hand tightened around the smooth Pokeball as he sent it flying through the air.

Emily's mind spun as she recalled Ninetales. Unbelievably, she had managed to keep her cool during the battle, even sending Ralph a competitive gaze once in a while. Now, it was down to this. Although she was confident that she and Tracey would win, there was a nagging feeling in her brain telling her that neither team would. Shrugging it off, she sent out her last Pokemon, thankful that she could battle either Mary or Ralph's Pokemon.

Tracey calmly recalled Electrode, only glancing at Emily's face for a couple of seconds. The shock of Electrode's Self Destruct was evident on both Emily and Mary's faces. Biting on his lip, he wondered why he had bothered to battle with Emily in the first place. He couldn't have a permanent place in the Orange Elite, or else all his dreams would go out the window. Allowing his thoughts to linger about becoming a great Pokemon watcher, Tracey dreamily threw the Pokeball with one of his best Pokemon.

From the shadows, Cassidy and Butch watched as a Hypno, a Nidorino, a Nidorina, and a Azumarill (Marill had evolved after the battle with Sarah and Jeremy) appear. "Those are good Pokemon," Cassidy remarked.

"Hypno, knock them all down! Hypnosis!"

"Start things off with your Horn Drill Tony!"

"Be careful Maria, they're tough! Use Swift attack on the Hypno!"

"Azumarill, dodge Tony's Horn Drill and hit it with a Surf attack!"

Sarah and Jeremy watched intently as the Pokemon struggled against one another's power.

Suddenly, the stadium filled up with smoke.

"Maria, return!" Emily cried, fearful of what might happen.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The stadium crackled with laughter.

"Shut up Cassidy you sound like a maniac who just choked on a piece of food," a voice said distantly.

As the smoke cleared, Mary, Ralph, Emily, and Tracey could see two people arguing over a net of Pokemon. Tracey's glance fell on Cassidy and Butch's faces as a memory clicked into his head. "Emily, Ralph! Watch out, it's Team Rocket!" he cried, fumbling for his Pokeball.

"Too late little sketcher boy," Butch said, recognizing Tracey. "You can't stop us now!"

Cassidy threw out some smoke bombs as she drew out her Hypno. "Hypno, use Teleport!" she cried hastily.

"Hurry Maria, use Horn Drill!"

"You little brat," Cassidy snarled.

"Takes one to know one," Emily replied. "Maria, use Poison Sting!"

Cassidy screeched with rage as she saw Hypno fall over, obviously poisoned. "You'll pay for this later, but for now,"

"Say good-bye," Butch finished.

Emily gasped as she fumbled for Maria's Pokeball.

The center of the stadium exploded as Butch and Cassidy disappeared. The blast hit Emily by surprise, and as she dimly saw a piece of rubble zoom at her, she was thrown down by a person.

As the smoke cleared, Drake called out for the four teenagers.

Tracey, looking bewildered, came out first, followed by Ralph carrying Emily. "Are you all ok?" Drake questioned.

"As long as Azumarill is," Tracey replied.

"They're fine. It's lucky Emily was a quick thinker and stopped Hypno from teleporting. They were thrown in the stands by the blast."

"I'm ok, and I think Emmie is too," Ralph said quietly.

Emily stirred as she heard someone call out her name. She tried to open her eyes as she struggled to sit up from the strong arms supporting her. "I'm fine, but what about the battle?"

"Well, Team Rocket pretty much destroyed the stadium. Plus, I've lost all the official records and documents needed. So I guess we need to start the Orange Elite Pokemon Competition over again. Besides, we're short a person," Drake said.

"What do you mean?" Emily said sleepily, drifting off again. Suddenly, she shot up, her eyes wide.

"Oh my gosh, where's Mary?!?!?!"

A/N: And the plot really does thicken this time. Don't worry dear fans, Mary doesn't die. I'm not…that cruel. Well yes I am, but Mary doesn't die. After this fic ends (which I'm rapidly calculating) after….3? 4? more chapters, I'm going to do a special chapter in Tony and Maria's POV on their ever so stubborn trainers. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Send questions, comments, flames, whatever, to misty102588@yahoo.com .