> This story took waaay too long to write. But, I'll never give it up, because I'm bored. And, I like writing. IT IS ADDICTIVE! AAAAAAAAAGH

Hooray for cliff-hangers, once again. It gives me a chance for a break while thinking about what to write next. My break was about… 15 minutes. Oh well…

BTW, I don't own Pokemon, because if I did, I'd be suing you all for using my characters. >:D jk

I thought this might also come in handy- age guide for all major characters!

Ash, Misty, Gary: 14

Brock: 16

Jordan, Crystal, May, Layla: 13

Kevin: 15

Red: 35

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Part 10: Confused Emotions

Jordan checked his Pokenav.

"Vermillion City." he mumbled hoarsely. "The next Gym…"

He saw a town ahead of him, and he felt relieved- he hadn't eaten in ages. His stomach let out a loud rumble, and Jordan knew he needed something to eat, and fast.

"Gotta keep walking," he told himself, but his reactions were slowing.

His knees began to buckle, and he felt faint. The world began to spin, and then, suddenly, he fell to the ground, out cold.

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"So, May's just gone?" Ash asked.

Misty nodded as a sinking feeling arose in her stomach.

"She's gone to find Jordan." Misty confirmed. "I think she… you know…"

Ash laughed.

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May shivered, walking along a rather dusty road. It didn't help that it was getting late at night, either.

"Maybe I should rest in the next town." she muttered.

A feel of helplessness overwhelmed her as she kept walking- only to find that Saffron was in front of her.

"Here will do." she shrugged, running down the hill.

The Pokémon Center loomed over her, and she pushed through the double doors, smiling slightly at the temperature. She strolled over to the desk where Nurse Joy was situated.

"Are there any rooms left, Nurse Joy?" she asked politely.

"Yes, there is. Room 21 is open." Nurse Joy replied kindly. "Do you wish to have a wake-up call?"

Yawning slightly, May nodded, walking out of a door happily. Nurse Joy looked down, shuffling some papers. Suddenly, the double doors burst apart- a young adult burst into the room, carrying the limp form of a teenage boy.

"I found him in the bushes," she said breathlessly.

Joy ran over, helping the woman carry the adolescent to a bed.

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The first thing Jordan saw was a light shining through a gap in the curtains. He smiled briefly.

"I wonder who found me?" Jordan muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the doorknob began to turn. Jordan froze, unaware of who it might be.

"Are you awake?" a gentle voice muttered.

"L-layla?" Jordan stuttered- sure enough, the vivacious teen was standing in front of him, fully clothed.

"What were you doing, going out into the forest alone with no food?" Layla laughed.

Memories flooded back into Jordan's mind, reminding him of the toll the last few days had taken on him. His friends had been captured… towns had been destroyed… Crystal had been killed…

Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered her death… he had tried to save her, and still missed her. There was a terrible emptiness in his heart, a dark void.

"It was her…" Layla muttered, as the truth dawned on her. "I-I'm sorry…"

Jordan looked up at her- only to find Layla had gone out the door. Shrugging, he lay back in bed, trying to let sleep claim his angst-ridden mind. His eyes slowly shut, a black abyss facing him.

"So, he is..?"

Faint muttering… some people were talking outside.

"He's right through this door."

Opening his eyes, he looked around, confused. Who on earth were they?

"Thanks, Nurse."

A strangely familiar voice… it calmed him, in a way. He sat up in his bed, waiting for the visitor to arrive.

"Jordan?"

Jordan looked up- May had entered the room gingerly.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed happily, embracing him tightly.

Jordan coughed violently- his ribs had taken a severe beating from the crash.

"Oh, yeah… sorry," May mumbled, scratching the back of her head and sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"That's okay," Jordan replied quietly.

Within a second of saying it, Jordan realised how that sounded.

"Uh…" he finished.

May sniggered.

"I can tell you're really good at speaking." she commented.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them.

"Did you come out here to look for Crystal?" May inquired.

Jordan shook his head briefly, trying to stop the sadness from showing on his face in front of May. Whoa, he thought, did I just think what I thought I thought?

(A/N: Tongue twister! )

"May… Crystal… she… in the crash… she's dead." he said.

May looked terribly shaken by this news, only for the look on her face to be replaced with a look of determination.

"We shouldn't dwell on it forever. Crystal wouldn't have wanted that." she muttered firmly.

Jordan nodded in agreement, wiping away tears he didn't know had been running down his face.

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"Out travelling again," Jordan smiled to himself as they headed west.

It was a fine day, the trees casting shadows over the trio. Jordan, May and Gary were heading towards Celadon City so Jordan could earn his Rainbow Badge. Despite the unconventional order of his journey, the leader, Erika, supposedly had slightly weaker Pokémon than the Saffron Leader.

"Apparently, until Vermillion is fixed up, they're having a replacement Gym on Route 7. However, you need a Rainbow Badge to challenge there… it seems like that this is a fourth Gym." Gary explained, consulting his Pokenav.

Gazing to their left, they saw a tent set up there. A light from inside illuminated it. Jordan looked at it confidently.

"I'm going there next… right after the Rainbow Badge." he told himself.

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A/N: Well, if you haven't noticed, the last part happened a few hours after the part before it. Just giving you the heads up… anyway, I'm gonna skip right to the challenging part. Why? It's because it's late, I'm tired and lazy.

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Without hesitation, Jordan pushed through the Gym doors. To his surprise, the Leader was just in front of him, watering a plant.

"Hello, my name is Erika," she said simply, getting up.

She held out a hand, and Jordan shook it.

"Mine's Jordan." he replied.

"I assume you're here to challenge my Gym?" she asked.

Jordan nodded briefly, and she grinned.

"I hope you're ready, challenger, for the power of Grass Pokémon!" she cried. "…right after I finish watering these plants. Is it okay if you just look around Celadon for a while?"

Jordan sweatdropped, but nodded, retreating outside.

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"Time to find some challengers, Hitmonchan." A young trainer said eagerly.

"Chan! Hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan exclaimed eagerly.

It was about two in the afternoon, and a boy with his Hitmonchan was sitting on a bench.

"Hey, look! There's someone!" he laughed.

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A new park in Celadon was a lush green colour, bushes poking out from the sides of the footpath.

"Hey, kid! Wanna battle?" a young voice called.

Jordan's head turned- a ten-year old kid was running towards him, his Hitmonchan beside him.

"I'm older than you," he sighed, "but, sure."

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Jordan and the young trainer had placed themselves at both ends of the makeshift battle arena. Wind was blowing leaves in front of them. It was time to battle.

"Hitmonchan, go!" the kid screamed.

"Gyarados, come on out!" Jordan ordered, throwing a Pokeball.

Hitmonchan leapt into battle, waving its fists around. Gyarados then came out of its Pokeball, roaring loudly. This made Hitmonchan leap back a bit.

"Don't let that intimidate you! Thunder Punch Gyarados!" the kid said loudly.

"Gyarados… Fire Blast!" Jordan yelled.

Hitmonchan leapt at Gyarados, sparks playing about the Punching Pokémon's fist. However, the sea serpent moved away, firing a cross of fire at Hitmonchan, who was hit hard. Hitmonchan fell to the ground, weakened.

"Hey, that's unfair!" the boy wailed.

"It's battling!" Jordan shouted. "Now, Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"

The immobile Hitmonchan could only watch as Gyarados opened its expansive mouth and fired a Hyper Beam at it, knocking it out immediately in a display of light.

"I hate you!" the kid cried. "Elekid, Munchlax, go! Attack that Gyarados!"

"Huh?" Jordan exclaimed.

Elekid jumped at Gyarados, slamming its prongs into Gyarados' skin. The sea serpent roared in pain. Then, Munchlax smashed into Gyarados as well.

"Keep attacking that weakling!" the kid roared.

Elekid once again smashed into Gyarados, discharging its energy into it. Gyarados roared in pain, slamming to the ground.

"I win, loser." he sneered.

"How about a real battle?" Jordan replied angrily- they had agreed to a one-on-one match.

"Sore loser!" the child taunted.

"How old are you, anyway?" Jordan asked, doubtful.

"Seven, and you're like twice my age and I beat you!" the kid laughed.

Suddenly, another, older kid hit the younger kid from behind.

"Try-hard… gimme back my Elekid and Munchlax." he ordered, grabbing their Pokeballs. "And, also… I'd like my Hitmonchan back."

Jordan looked at the kid, confused.

"Um… what just happened? Did he just say he was seven? That's way underage." May asked Jordan.

He shrugged.

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"I see you're back!" Erika smiled.

Jordan went into a combat pose- a Gym referee was standing between them.

"Ready for battle?" she asked.

"You bet," Jordan replied eagerly.

"Prepare to face the might of Mother Nature!" Erika exclaimed, raising her arms.

A gust of wind picked up some stray leaves, tossing them into the air. May and Gary gasped, but neither Jordan nor Erika were fazed.

"This is a four versus four battle between Jordan Arotto from Viridian City and the Celadon Gym Leader, Erika! The terrain is deep grass… begin!"

Erika and Jordan each picked a Pokeball.

"Tangela, I choose you!" Erika cried, lofting Tangela's Pokeball into the air.

"Take them down, Gyarados!" Jordan exclaimed, throwing Gyarados' Pokeball into the grass.

There was a stunned silence, then the Pokémon leapt into battle. Gyarados roared, making Tangela stumble a bit.

"Take advantage of it, Gyarados! Fire Blast!" Jordan announced.

"Tangela, recover your stance and then use Vine Whip to leap over the attack!" Erika cried.

Gyarados loomed over Tangela, aiming the attack downwards. It roared, firing a huge fiery cross at Tangela. However, the Vine Pokémon let loose two long vines, and aimed that at the ground, lifting it into the air.

"Gyarados, now use Hyper Beam on Tangela!" Jordan yelled.

Erika gasped.

"It was all distraction… Tangela, Vine Whip, quickly!" Erika muttered in desperation.

Gyarados once again drew itself up to its full height, abandoning its old attack and firing a new attack. The brightly-coloured beam zoomed at Tangela, who merely tried to slap Gyarados with one of its vines. The Hyper Beam absorbed the attack easily, smashing into Tangela.

"No, Tangela!" Erika shouted.

The little Pokémon flipped for a bit, eventually coming to rest against a wall.

"Huh?" Jordan said loudly, shocked.

Erika smirked.

"Tangela has a very high Defence stat… you'll have to do better than that! Tangela, Ingrain!"

Tangela kneeled down, letting the vines dig into the soil. They absorbed energy in spurts.

"That's Ingrain, Jordan! It enables the user to regain health every turn!" Gyarados informed him.

"Right," Jordan mumbled to himself- now, instead of winning, he was under pressure. "Gyarados… just recharge, then use Fire Blast!"

The two Pokémon stood immobile for a while- then, Gyarados roared, firing another fiery cross at the immobile Pokémon. Until-

"Tangela, Protect!" Erika yelled.

Tangela suddenly shook, sending a screen of light in front of it. The fiery attack slammed into it, but the screen held, until Gyarados eventually tired.

"Man… this Tangela is tougher than I thought," Jordan told himself.

Suddenly, he noticed that some steam was rising off a small puddle- caused by the Fire Blast. Jordan smirked.

"Gyarados, Surf!" Jordan yelled.

May and Gary looked at each other nervously.

"Have you lost your mind?" Gary called.

Gyarados, however, did not disobey, instead preferring to save comments for later. It summoned a wall of water, and rose to the top of it, crashing into the Tangela.

"That was stupid," Erika remarked. "Okay, Tangela, Solar Beam!"

Jordan grinned- this was turning out quicker than he had expected.

"Gyarados, get low to the ground!" Jordan shouted.

Out of the blackness arrived a bright beam, and it shot directly at the Gyarados. However, along its trip across the ground, it came into contact with some water left over from Gyarados' surf. The results were huge clouds of steam, obscuring everyone's view.

"Huh?" Erika cried.

"Now, Gyarados, Fire Blast," Jordan whispered to Gyarados, who obeyed, meekly sliding through the grass.

There was a sudden blast of light, and a slight squeaking sound. The smoke cleared slowly- Gyarados was still standing, but Tangela had fainted.

"Tangela is unable to battle! Gyarados wins!" the referee announced.

"Tangela, return." Erika muttered dully.

She held out a Pokeball, and, in a flash of red light, Tangela was sucked back into the ball.

"Hmm… you're actually quite good. Go… Vileplume! Solar Beam!"

Jordan looked surprised- he'd barely had enough time to do anything. The attack flew at Gyarados, and hit it hard, knocking it out.

"Ouch… it's three against three now." Gary observed.

Without hesitation, Jordan pulled the next Pokeball out.

"Eve, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing the ball.

The Pokeball landed, and Eve appeared, not afraid of the Vileplume.

"Vileplume, be on guard!" Erika ordered.

"Eve, attack with Take Down!" Jordan said loudly.

Eve ran at Vileplume, smashing into it easily with a crunch. Vileplume fell backwards, weakened.

"Vileplume, Sleep Powder!" Erika cried.

"Eve… use Sand Attack!" Jordan bellowed.

The battlers went into action, as Vileplume shook its flower, spreading a fine powder.

"Eve, stay alert!" Jordan warned.

Eve's eyelids began to close, but, sure enough, she kicked sand towards the Flower, negating the Sleep Powder and flying into Vileplume's miniscule eyes. It screeched for a moment, its vision slightly impaired by the sand.

"Agh… Vileplume, keep it going!" Erika pleaded.

"Eve, now's your chance! Hit it with Take Down!" Jordan yelled.

Vileplume continued to shake around, dispelling its fine powder. It began to sink to the earth as Eve dashed towards her rival, eventually smashing into Vileplume. Both Pokémon went flying in a sickening crunch.

"Vee!" Eve cried.

"Plume!" Vileplume screamed.

Both of the Pokémon landed on the ground, but got back up- it was an intense battle.

"Double-edge, Vileplume!" Erika cried.

"Take Down, Eve!" Jordan shouted.

Once again, Eve leapt into the air, towards Vileplume- however, the Flower Pokémon also jumped at Eve, and the two fighters smashed into each other with a painful sound.

"Eve, hang on!" Jordan mumbled.

"Vileplume, now's your chance! Mega Drain!" Erika shouted.

"Oh, no… Eve, Focus Energy!" Jordan roared.

Vileplume leapt forward, releasing a seed at Eve, who immediately hissed, summoning a ring of fire around it. The seed was immediately burnt to a crisp.

"Agh; Vileplume, Petal Dance!" Erika ordered.

"Pluume!" Vileplume cried, spinning around and screaming- suddenly, leaves shot past Vileplume, and towards Eve.

"Dodge it!" Jordan said desperately.

The leaves still continued to dart at the little fox, who was hit hard.

"Try to stay standing!" Jordan encouraged, his heart pounding.

Suddenly, the gust subsided- it was now time to attack.

"Eve, Bite!" Jordan yelled.

Eve suddenly dashed at Vileplume, who once again began to spin, causing another gust of leaves to fly at Eve. However, this time, Eve latched its sharp yet small teeth into Vileplume's flower, which caused the Pokémon to scream.

"Eve… dodge the leaves!" Jordan warned, as Gary and May cheered.

"Vileplume, try Mega Drain!" Erika cried desperately.

Finally, the Petal Dance subsided, and Vileplume shot a seed into the air.

"Watch out!" Jordan shouted.

The seed came back down quickly, hitting Vileplume in the head. It fell backwards, squealing.

"Hang on," Jordan remembered, "it hit itself! That means… it must be confused!"

"Snap out of it, Vileplume!" Erika shouted.

Vileplume stumbled a bit, while Eve stared it down, not at all intimidated.

"Okay, Eve… run around Vileplume!" Jordan yelled.

"Vileplume… Sleep Powder!" Erika said desperately.

Eve immediately started to circle Vileplume, gaining speed steadily. The vulpine Pokémon knew Jordan had a plan. Meanwhile, Vileplume began to shake. Until-

"Eve, now! Sand Attack!" Jordan roared.

Eve suddenly stopped, kicking her hind legs furiously. A fine layer of dust spread over Vileplume, reducing its vision again. At the same time, Vileplume shot the sleep powder up into the air- too high.

"Hmm… I think I know the rest of this plan…" Eve muttered to Jordan.

Erika winced.

"Agh… Vileplume… try Petal Dance!"

Jordan grinned- it was just what he'd been waiting for.

"Eve, another Sand Attack!" Jordan yelled.

"Yes, I do know this strategy," she mumbled, but she quickly turned around again, kicking sand into Vileplume's face.

The Pokémon then summoned a shower of leaves which zoomed at Eve- but, hit Vileplume on the way past.

"Plume," Vileplume stuttered, beginning to fall.

"Now, Eve, Take Down!" Jordan bellowed.

"Aye aye, captain!" she cried dramatically, dashing at Vileplume.

In a hard tackle, Eve slammed into Vileplume, knocking it to the floor, and out cold.

"Plume…" Vileplume mumbled weakly.

"Vileplume, return." Erika said dully.

She held out Vileplume's Pokeball, and, in a crackle of red light, it disappeared back into the ball.

"Hmm… you've got good strategy… but not good enough! Victreebel, I choose you!"

Erika threw the Pokeball, and it landed in front of Eve. It opened, revealing Victreebel, which cried loudly.

"Hmm… Victreebel," Jordan muttered to himself, consulting his Pokedex.

"Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon." the Pokedex informed him dully. "This horrifying plant Pokemon attracts prey with aromatic honey, and then melts them in its mouth. Once ingested into this Pokemon's body, even the hardest object will melt into nothing."

"Nice Pokémon," Jordan remarked sarcastically. "Eve, try Bite!"

Eve jumped at Victreebel, and bared its teeth, growling slightly.

"Stun Spore, Victreebel!" Erika yelled.

Victreebel suddenly shook, discharging a mysterious spore. It spread across the arena, and hit Eve as well, who spasmed slightly.

"No," Jordan gasped.

Eve managed to sink her teeth into Victreebel, but the nasty plant Pokémon shook her off.

"Now, Victreebel, finish it off with Sludge Bomb!" Erika cried.

Victreebel stood tall, towering over Eve. It spat a lump of purple liquid, which struck Eve hard, flipping her over. She lay there, eyes tightly shut.

"Eve, get up…" Jordan said through gritted teeth.

"Victreebel…" Erika began.

"Eve, please…" Jordan pleaded.

Clearly struggling, Eve got up, standing on shaky legs. Inside him, Jordan cheered.

"Okay, Eve, try Take Down… you've got enough health…" Jordan whispered, and Eve nodded.

"Victreebel, another Sludge Bomb!" Erika screamed.

Eve leapt into the air, zooming towards Victreebel. However, Victreebel opened its cavernous mouth, preparing to attack.

"Now, Eve, Focus Energy!" Jordan shouted.

As Victreebel spat the toxic substance, Eve summoned a ring of fire around her. The fire and poison collided, releasing purple clouds of poison. Eve continued in her relentless attack.

"Victreebel, try and dodge!" Erika called desperately.

Victreebel tried to move to the right, but Eve hit it hard, sending both Pokémon to the ground.

"Victreebel, return!" Erika groaned. "Go, Ludicolo!"

Erika lofted a Pokeball into the air, and it landed in front of Eve. Out of it appeared Ludicolo, dancing around.

"Hmm… I don't remember Erika ever having more than three Pokémon," Gary told May.

"Well, now I do." Erika sneered. "Ludicolo, Brick Break!"

Ludicolo stopped dancing, waddling over to Eve. Drawing a fist back, he thrust it forward.

"Eve, return!" Jordan said quickly, holding out a Pokeball.

Red light snaked out towards Eve, dragging the vulpine Pokémon back into its Pokeball.

"Take a good rest." Jordan whispered to Eve, pulling out another Pokeball.

"Go, Treeky!" he bellowed, throwing the ball in front of Ludicolo.

A confident Grovyle appeared, growling and battle-ready. It posed with its sharp-razor like leaves, swiping at air.

"Ludicolo, Ice Beam!" Erika said loudly.

"Treeky, dodge it and use Leaf Blade!" shouted Jordan.

Ludicolo opened its wide mouth. A blue ball of energy gathered, and then fired at Treeky, who leapt into the air, prepping its Leaf Blade.

"Attack now!" Jordan yelled.

Treeky nodded, moving through the air like a dart. It slashed with its leaf, hitting Ludicolo and sending it backwards.

"Now, Pursuit!" Jordan said confidently.

Once again, the Grovyle moved, this time dashing towards Ludicolo with high speed. Black sparks started to gather, eventually becoming a full-on blaze.

"Agh! Dodge it…" Erika trailed off, under pressure.

In a dark explosion, Grovyle slammed into Ludicolo, damaging Ludicolo and sending it to the ground, sliding until it hit a wall.

"Ludicolo, no, don't faint!" Erika pleaded- and, to her delight, Ludicolo got up slowly.

"Okay, Treeky, try another Pursuit!" Jordan bellowed.

"Ludicolo, Rain Dance!" Erika cried.

Treeky once again began to dash, darting forwards in a blaze of black and purple. Ludicolo simply began dancing as a slight drizzle covered the arena. This, however, did not faze Treeky.

"Jordan, watch out!" Gary yelled.

Surprised and caught off guard, Jordan looked over at Gary and May.

"Huh?" he called.

"Ludicolo's ability is Rain Dish… it recovers health in rain!" May cried.

Swearing, Jordan turned around.

"Treeky, quickly use Pursuit!" Jordan shouted.

The large gecko began to run, a black flame again igniting around it. Treeky slammed into Ludicolo, and the Pokémon yelled in agony, falling to the ground.

"Ludicolo, no! Try Ice Beam!" Erika yelled.

Jordan gasped- he was about to tell Treeky to dodge, but the attack had already struck- Treeky had been hit hard, slamming into a wall as icicles flew everywhere. As the mist cleared, Jordan gasped… Treeky had been frozen against the wall.

"Treeky, try and recover, and use Leaf Blade to break the ice!" Jordan pleaded.

Treeky began to struggle, its blade trying to crack the ice. Several fractures appeared, and, suddenly, Treeky jolted his leaf upwards, smashing the ice apart.

"What?" Erika yelled.

"Treeky, Pursuit!" Jordan bellowed.

Breathing heavily, Treeky dashed at Ludicolo, snarling. A sonic boom was heard as the darkness gathered. The gecko jumped, and darted downwards, slamming into Ludicolo at a high speed.

"Ludicolo, no!" Erika gasped.

The dancing Pokémon let out a final cry. It span around on the spot, falling to the ground. Its eyes were turned into spirals.

"All right, Treeky!" Jordan roared- but, Treeky had also fallen.

He let out an audible gasp- it was hard to see how he could beat Victreebel with a weak Eevee and a Geodude.

"Interesting…" Erika muttered. "Victreebel, go!"

"Treeky, good job! Okay… Eve, go! Use Take Down, quickly!" Jordan shouted, aware that Victreebel had a slight advantage.

"Victreebel, Sleep Powder..!" Erika ordered- Jordan was proving a better trainer than anticipated.

Jordan threw the Pokeball- it landed near Victreebel, and out came Eve, growling. She then backed up a bit, sprinting forwards again- but, unfortunately, running into the powder. She inhaled, her eyes drooping slightly. Crashing to the ground, she began to snore quietly.

"Eve, please wake up…" Jordan pleaded.

"Okay, Victreebel, finish it with Sludge Bomb!" Erika cried.

While Eve snored away cutely, the weakened Victreebel towered over her, gathering poison in its cavern-like mouth. It then spat, covering Eve in the purple goo as it struck hard. Eve woke up, letting out a cry- only to sink to the ground again.

"Grr… Eve, return…" Jordan mumbled- only his Geodude was left, and, while it was tough, he didn't know whether it would listen to him. "Geodude, come on out!"

Jordan threw the Great Ball, and it landed within the grass, opening. Out of it appeared Geodude, screeching and posing with its rocky fists.

"Okay, Geodude… try… Rollout!" Jordan said quickly, thinking hard.

"Victreebel, Razor Leaf." Erika replied, apparently not thinking a Geodude would be much of a threat.

Victreebel suddenly moved forward, firing several sharp leaves in a scattered pattern- to Erika's shock, Geodude rolled under the leaves, slamming into Victreebel with force. Geodude rolled back again, preparing to attack.

"Victreebel… come on, Razor Leaf again!" Erika shouted.

"Geodude, trick it into false firing!" Jordan yelled- victory suddenly didn't seem too impossible.

Victreebel once again used its Razor Leaf attack- more leaves flew at Geodude, who pushed hard with its rocky arms, propelling itself into the air. The flying rock Pokémon seemed to hover for a moment before slamming into Victreebel, who landed, very still.

"Victreebel, no…" Erika pleaded, and she let out a victorious cry as Victreebel slowly got up. "Okay, Victreebel… Razor Leaf!"

Jordan did not reply, instead looking at his Geodude confidently. It span back, preparing to attack again- however, it was hit hard by a stray leaf, causing it to roll backwards.

"Geodude, NO!" Jordan yelled, and Geodude struggled up, despite the power of Victreebel's attack as Jordan cheered and May, Gary and Erika gasped. "Geodude, finish it with Fire Punch!"

"Victreebel… Stun Spore…" Erika uttered, shocked by the willpower that Geodude possessed.

Victreebel began to shake, discharging a powder that quickly spread over the whole arena. This, however, did not faze Geodude. As the powder slowly descended to the ground, Geodude continued to charge at Victreebel, fiery energy gathering around his fist as he brought it upwards, slamming it into Victreebel, hard. Victreebel cried in pain as Geodude raised a rocky fist in victory, the giant form of Erika's last Pokemon crashing to the ground behind him.

"Geodude, great job, I--" Jordan suddenly stopped as Geodude began to glow.

Everyone watched in mute amazement as Geodude's form began to grow, flashing and glowing simultaneously. Eventually, a shower of white sparks greeted the fact that Geodude had just evolved, and in his place stood a gigantic Graveller.

"Graveller." Graveller said in awe.

"Graveller, you evolved!" Jordan exclaimed happily.

"Ler, Graveller!" Graveller cried, pleased.

Gary and May stood next to Jordan in looking at Geodude, and Erika stood behind them, grinning.

"That was an excellent battle, Jordan." Erika smiled, as Jordan, May and Gary turned around. "You truly deserve this badge."

Erika pulled something out of her pocket, pressing it into Jordan's hand.

"That was a really, really good match, Jordan!" May exclaimed.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" Gary agreed.

Jordan blushed slightly as Erika continued to smile.

"Say… the Celadon sea festival will be on tonight… heaps of seafood, fun, rides, and stuff like that... even a Pokémon contest!" Erika informed them.

"A Pokémon contest?" May asked, excited at the prospect of competing.

"Yes, I will be competing. I suppose you do as well?" Erika said eagerly.

May nodded, smiling- she enjoyed participating in contests with her Pokémon.

"That means I might be able to battle both you and your boyfriend!" Erika smiled, laughing.

A moment of stunned silence fell over them as both Jordan and May blushed a matching scarlet colour.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jordan shouted.

"And he's not my boyfriend!" May exclaimed.

Gary coughed suspiciously- it sounded somewhat like the word 'denial'. Erika smirked.

"Okay… anyway, looking forward to seeing you there!" she said cheerfully.

All three of them nodded as they began to exit the Gym, cold wind blowing dust in front of them as they prepared for the festival.