Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do own the characters Ash, Erynn, and the strange ones I've created. But nothing else. I do not own much, actually.

Now isn't that sad? Anyways, the next episode of Pokémon Go! is here… the four trainers take on the infinitely-tall-tower of random encounters! The idea was almost entirely original, but now I just remembered the random lift encounter in Final Fantasy VII… and maybe I got my inspiration subconsciously from there as well.

Anyways, I'm glad you like Gym Battles so much; sidetracks really are most of the story though… I mean, without the sidetracking, Ash and friends would've gone through the Pokémon League in approximately twenty episodes, and where would we be?

Anyways, next chapter, begin!

"Any ideas…?"

Ash turned around, watching as the Gastly approached hapless Oddish.

"Ditto! Confusion!"

A transformed Ditto turned, sending a psychic shockwave straight at the Gastly. The Ghost Pokémon howled as it fell to the ground, before shaking the shock off, regrouping.

"Forget that; you take the Phanpy."

Erynn nodded as they switched positions.

"Oddish…! Use Stun Spore on the Phanpy!"

Oddish nodded, releasing a burst of yellow spores at the Ground-type.

"Dodge it, Phanpy…!"

The diminutive Pokémon moved with a little more grace than a rusty lawnmower, but it managed to dodge the attack neatly.

"Rollout attack!"

Phanpy nodded, curling itself into a ball and thundering along towards them; the shockwaves the attack created were remarkably strong, coursing along the entire elevator. As Ditto and Oddish dove out of the way, stumbling, Gastly released a Night Shade attack from above.

"This… isn't working…" Erynn said through the confusion.

For a second Ash was afraid the glass was going to break under them; the Phanpy released its second successive shockwave.

"Ditto; get into the air with Oddish…!"

Ditto nodded, transforming into a Farfetch'd and sweeping Oddish onto its back.

"Your call, Erynn…"

Erynn nodded.

The Phanpy had already ceased its Rollout, and was now looking up at them as the trainer issued his next command.

"Take Down, Phanpy…!"

The small Pokémon curled itself into a ball again, this time launching itself into the air.

"Oddish; Stun Spore, now!"

"Ditto, send Phanpy and Stun Spore to a side with a Gust attack…!"

The attack worked perfectly, as Phanpy's attack was thrown off course. Crashing into the side of the elevator, it lay, unable to move. Its body was literally covered in Stun Spore.

"That's it…! Now, Ditto, let Oddish down."

Oddish jumped off the Farfetch'd's back as it de-transformed.

"Phanpy…!"

Erynn nodded decisively.

"Oddish; finish Phanpy off with an Absorb!"

The little Weed Pokémon hopped up toward Phanpy, draining its life from it. Its leaves seemed to glow as it absorbed the vital energy of the Pokémon.

"Ugh… Gastly; stop Ditto from interfering with a Curse…!"

The trainer seemed desperate now that his partner was out of the battle. Even as Ditto rushed toward it, transforming into an Espeon, it began to slow down, turning sluggish.

"Wha… what…?"

"It's a Curse attack…"

Ash turned to Erynn.

"What exactly does it do…?"

Erynn took off her dark glasses as she answered, looking directly at him.

"It'll lower the energy of your Pokémon substantially… doing damage to it every turn without fail. Lethal damage."

Ash looked from the Gastly to the Oddish.

"Can you handle it by yourself…?"

Erynn looked back toward the battle.

"Don't worry; you've done more than enough. If my knowledge serves me right, this won't take long."

Ash nodded, running up and pulling Ditto from the battle. He hadn't actually seen her handle herself in a Gym battle before, but she wasn't doing too badly.

"Oddish…! Razor Leaf…!"

The Grass Pokémon was still entirely healthy, while its opponent was already very weary.

"Curse… if a Ghost Pokémon uses it… even a weak attack…"

With a flourish, Oddish released two leaves, watching as they spun like knives toward Gastly. A soft sound, like that of metal on wood, and then the leaves were spinning back toward Oddish, like boomerangs.

The Ghost Pokémon sank to the ground, defeated.

As the trainers recalled their Pokémon, a light flashed green, reminiscent of the Trainer's Square. With a hiss, the doors slid closed again, and the lift resumed its upward motion.

"I wonder how the others are doing…?" Ash thought.

RJ looked thoughtfully at the display, which showed they were on the 23rd level. Apparently the elevator could go up to the 99th level, so, presuming the Gym Leaders were there, they weren't even halfway up yet.

"Whirlpool, Spectropus…!"

Dave started the battle off as his sudden attack caught the Sandslash off guard. Spectropus' tendrils reached out in front of its snout as a stream of water was manipulated into a dazzling display of water manipulation.

"Sandslash… Defense Curl!"

The Pokémon curled itself into a ball, surviving the brunt of the attack. Dave wasn't letting up, though.

"Keep the attack going…!"

"Murkrow; help Sandslash by attacking that Spectropus with a Wing Attack…!"

The Murkrow swooped down on the other Pokémon, disrupting its attack with a wing to its outer body. The Spectropus staggered back, unharmed, but stunned.

"Now, Sandslash! Attack with a Slash attack…!"

The Sandslash sped towards Machop, recovering from its initial shock to attack.

"Machop; Counter it…!"

Machop pressed his feet into the glass, bracing itself for the attack. A swift flash of claw; and Machop paused, surprised.

Just inches before impact, the Sandslash had plunged its claws into the glass. RJ and Dave instinctively clapped their hands to their ears to stifle the horrible screeching.

In a swift movement, the Sandslash lifted itself into the air, using its single claw as a pivot to drive itself claw-first into Machop. The two Pokémon tumbled, Sandslash wounding Machop as the latter kicked it off him.

Meanwhile, Spectropus had managed to Bind Murkrow.

"Now; use Whirlpool!"

Spectropus released a stream of water directly at Murkrow, causing it to squawk in surprise and pain as the jet hit it directly, sending it flying back against the side of the elevator.

Machop winced, cuts along his arm and back. He turned as Murkrow recovered, just feet from him.

"Machop; finish the job with a Karate Chop!"

Machop rushed forward, leaping into the air to deliver the final blow.

"Sandslash; Poison Sting attack…! Stop that Machop!"

As Sandslash released the poison quills from its back, RJ tensed; he couldn't do anything now. Dave turned and shouted a command.

"Spectropus…! Stop the attack…!"

In a manoeuvre that was still fresh in Dave's memory, a ghostly tendril whipped out, stretching past Machop. The stings slowed to almost a standstill as they plunged straight into the ghostly matter; they clattered to the ground uselessly.

"There you go…"

Machop struck, and his aim was true.

"One more to go…"

RJ turned to Machop.

"Let's finish this. Seismic Toss!"

"Spectropus; join in with a Whirlpool!"

Sandslash barely had time to recover before Machop had tackled it, gripping it firmly in a hand as he swung it in a wide arc around himself. Once the centrifugal force had peaked, he released the throw.

"Now Whirlpool!"

Sandslash flew straight at Spectropus as it released its final attack. Unable to take the damage, Sandslash wiped out, crashing to the ground. Dave and RJ high-fived.

"That did it."

The now-familiar green light washed over them once more. They watched as the lift doors slid closed, tensing as the lift began to move upward once more.

If you intend to switch Pokémon, please do so now.

Dave turned to RJ.

"Let's give these two a rest first…"

RJ nodded at him, recalling Machop.

"It's time for Stalac to shine…"

The Rock and Ice Pokémon emerged from the Pokéball; its luminous fluorescence the perfect pun to the statement.

"And for me… Espeon, it's time…"

He released the Pokémon from her Pokéball, yelping as she whipped him with her tail.

"Hey… I'm sorry for not letting you out already…"

Espeon gave an imperceptible nod of the head and strolled over to the platform in front of them.

RJ watched as the numbers slowly rose.

34…35…36…

"I wonder what the next challenge will be…"

Erynn pouted as Ash shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, you brought Oddish out in the last battle; I don't see why I can't let Hoppip out as well…"

"At least Oddish was good for something… I mean, what else can your Hoppip do besides Splash…?"

"You're forgetting Synthesis… and Tail Whip…"

Ash didn't sound very sure of himself now.

"Fine… then I'll use Griven."

Erynn released the fiery dog from its Pokéball, watching it bark happily at her.

"So… now we have our two Pokémon…"

She watched as the numbers rose.

37…38…39…

Ash gulped as the lift began to slow again.

"I was hoping we'd get to the Gym Leaders in a single fight… but no…"

A/N: I really hate having to do this. I've got to cut off a perfectly good chapter simply because my father wants me to go to sleep.

I'm so sorry… I'll try and write a longer chapter tomorrow… I can't stop apologizing but my father's getting really mad so…