The Penguin Pokemon both use Bubblebeam on Team Rocket, leading to a large explosion and the notorious crooks blasting off into the sky, as per usual. Once Team Rocket are out sight, everybody is quick to congratulate Prinplup and Piplup, more so the latter for learning a brand new move in Whirlpool. Even though Whirlpool isn't the strongest move power-wise, Casey suspects that it'll be great for adapting into contest battles, which is exactly what Dawn needs for tomorrow and later contests.

In other words, Casey now feels that Dawn can win tomorrows contest without a shadow of doubt; she, Ash and Brock will be right there in the crowd, cheering their friend on the whole way through.


"Elekid, use Quick Attack!"

A bright trail of light follows the Electric Pokemon as he charges towards Monferno. The Playful Pokemon holds his defensive stance that Casey's been working on, which blocks the attack with ease. Her Pokemon have really got the technique down pat now, and it's so rewarding to witness.

Elekid's feet drag along the grass as Monferno repels him back to his starting position in front of Casey, who is already ready to give her next command, "Now use Hammer Arm!"

Elekid surges forward once again as his forearm glows brightly, signifying that he's ready to unleash the powerful Fighting-Type attack. His forearm collides with Monferno's arms, which are still in their defensive position in front of his body, and the force of the attack even sends Monferno tumbling back slightly, though the Playful Pokemon still manages to stay on his feet.

"That was great, you too!" Casey crosses the field and walks over to her Pokemon, kneeling down in front of them with a smile, "Keep this up and we'll win our second Gym Badge for sure!"

Both Pokemon cry out enthusiastically, showing their eagerness to get to Eterna City and challenge the Gym there. Casey smiles at her Pokemon and holds up their Pokeballs, "Thanks again, you too. Now return."

Casey doesn't know too much about the Gym in Eterna City other than the fact that the Gym Leader there specialises in Grass-Type Pokemon (although she really should know more), but she also knows that she might as well get in as much training with her Pokemon before her battle as possible. Dratini already had her training session earlier in the morning, where Casey focused on making her Draco Meteor attack even more powerful than it already is. The Dragon Pokemon's progress is rather impressive.

Following Dawn's successful triumph in the Floaroma Contest, the group determined that there next destination would be Eterna City for Ash and Casey's Gym Battles. However, in order to get to Eterna City, first the group have to pass through Eterna Forest, which just so happens to be where they are right now.

"Elekid sure is getting really strong." Ash says, walking up behind her with Turtwig and Pikachu, who he's been training with all morning himself, "That Hammer Arm attack is super powerful!"

"Thanks, Ash!" Casey smiles, "I was watching you train with Turtwig earlier on, and I've gotta admit that Turtwig's Razor Leaf is looking awesome! At this rate, we'll both have our second Gym Badges in no time!"

"Hey, you two!" Dawn rushes up to the two of them, Piplup sat up on top of her hat as per usual, "Brock says that lunch is ready. He's made stew with toasted bread."

That excites Casey. Brock's stew has quickly become her new favourite food, and she has been rather hungry for a little while now, "Let's go then! I'm starving!"

Casey rushes back to Brock at breakneck speed, Dawn and Ash running as fast as they can to try and keep up with her. They soon reach the Pokemon Breeder, who is sat at the table in waiting for them to arrive. He smiles over at them when they reach the table, "So, who's hungry?"

Casey can't sit down fast enough, and neither can Ash. The two of them are both eager to dig into Brock's freshly made stew. Both of them grab a slice of bread and dip them into their own individual bowls of soup over excitedly, Dawn sighing hopelessly at their reaction, "Honestly, you two. It's not going to disappear."

"Nuz!"

A brown body suddenly leaps in front of Casey's face, disappearing again as quickly as it arrived. Casey and the others look in the direction that it ran off, just catching sight of the green leaf atop its head before it disappears into a nearby bush.

"What was that all about?"

Casey shrugs, opting to turn back to her food instead of dwelling on whatever it was that just happened. In doing this, she comes to find that the piece of stew-dipped bread she was holding onto is now gone, and she wages a bet as to who the culprit is.

"I don't know what that thing was, but it stole my food!" Casey jumps up from her seat and screams in frustration, the others shrinking back slightly into their seats as she does, presumably because they know not to test her when she's angry. If there's one thing that you don't do, it's that you don't mess with Casey when she's hungry, under any circumstances.

"Nuzleaf! Oh, where did you go?!"

Casey pauses her enraged shouts momentarily at the sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from nearby. She and the others turn around as a young woman emerges from a nearby shrub, her clothing practically allowing her to blend in with the vegetation. She's wearing a dark green top that has a certain cloak like quality and a matching pair of hiking boots to accompany it. Her hair, which is of a very light brown colour, also matches with a article of clothing, being her shorts.

"Hey, have any of you seen a Nuzleaf?" She asks as she approaches the group.

That's what stole my food! A Nuzleaf!

"Is the Nuzleaf yours?" Casey asks accusingly. She meant it as a question, but she doesn't even give the woman a chance to answer. She really wants her food back, "Because if so, it stole my food, and that means that your responsible!"

"What?" The woman looks confused, "Oh, a Nuzleaf would never do such a thing! No Grass-Type Pokemon would ever do anything so cruel!"

"But you still haven't answered my-."

"Oh! What a cutie!" The woman drops down onto her knees in front of Turtwig, who stares back at her with bemusement. She studies the Tiny Leaf Pokemon momentarily, seemingly mesmerised by it, before looking up at Ash, "Is this your Turtwig?"

"Yep. I'm Ash, it's nice to meet ya!" Ash smiles, "You see, Turtwig and I are training hard to get ready for our Eterna Gym Battle, and boy, are we psyched!"

"My name's Gardenia. I'm really into getting myself Grass-Type Pokemon. That's why I came out here."

"Yeah, right. Okay, listen up, Gardenia!" Casey snaps. She doesn't mean to be rude, she simply gets really cranky when she's hungry. Gardenia's name also sounds awfully familiar to her, though she can't exactly pinpoint where she's heard it from. Regardless, she's too angry to really care about that, and instead chooses to press on with her 'interrogation', "Was that your Nuzleaf or wh-?!"

Casey's abruptly cut off when Brock shoves right past her, kneeling down in front of Gardenia and pulling the usual charade he does whenever he meets a girl he's even remotely attracted to. Of course, as always, Croagunk is there to set him straight with a good old Poison Jab, leaving Casey free to talk to Gardenia once again.

"As I was saying: was that your Nuzleaf who stole my food?"

"I wish it was my Nuzleaf." Gardenia sighs wistfully, "I've been chasing it for a while now. I really wanted to catch it."

Casey looks at Gardenia pitifully as she says that. Whilst she's still annoyed that her foods been stolen, her sympathy for Gardenia disminishes some of the anger the loss of her food caused. She knows what it's like to really want to catch a Pokemon, only for it to slip away from you. That happened to her in Johto once with a Flaafy, and it was thoroughly frustrating to say the least.

"I know what'll cheer you up." Casey smiles supportively over at Gardenia, "A good battle ought to do the trick! So, what do you say?"

Gardenia nods, "That sounds great!"

Casey cheers at her response. It's been a while since she battled somebody new. She suspects that her Pokemon will respond just as positively to the prospect of taking on a new opponent.

"So, Ash, how about a battle with that Turtwig of yours?"

"Oh, come on!" Casey groans, her head hanging low in defeat as Ash agrees with Gardenia's proposition, "First my food and now this! This is not my day!"

She hears Brock and Dawn laugh from behind her, the former of the two placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you win some, you lose some."


"Is it okay if we go with two Pokemon each?"

"Sure!"

Casey, Brock and Dawn watch Gardenia and Ash converse from the sidelines, and Casey's less than pleased about it, "I should be the one up there battling!" Casey grumbles sulkily, "I suggested it in the first place, so it should be me battling!"

Brock reminds her that even though she's not the one battling, she can still learn something from watching Ash and Gardenia battle. She knows that he's right (Cynthia basically told her the exact same thing back at the meadow, after all), it's just that she doesn't want to admit it. She just wants to battle.

"Cherubi, let's go!"

Gardenia throws her Pokeball out onto the battlefield and her first Pokemon appears in a flash of bright light, crying out eagerly as it does, "Cherubi!"

"Wow! It's so cute!"

Casey has to admit that it's a cute Pokemon, but she wonders how it will perform in battle. She reaches into her pocket and withdraws her Pokedex, her eyes still trained on the cherry-like Pokemon, "Lets check it out."

"Cherubi, the Cherry Pokémon. All of the nutrients needed for evolution are contained in its small ball. Cherubi becomes redder as it is exposed to sunlight, and is almost ready to evolve once the smaller ball buds."

"This will be interesting, to say the least." Brock remarks, the three trainers placing their undivided attention on the battlefield as Ash calls his first attack.

"Turtwig, let's start with Tackle! Go!"

The Tiny Leaf Pokemon rushes towards Cherubi at top speed, colliding with it effortlessly and sending it flying backwards without so much as a word from Gardenia. Ash doesn't spend long dwelling on the successful attack and instead gives his next order, "Way to go, Turtwig! Now, Razor Leaf!"

Turtwig swings its head and releases an onslaught of razor-sharp leaves towards Cherubi. The Cherry Pokemon goes into a state of panic, frantically dashing about in an attempt to dodge the powerful attack.

"Cherubi, return!" The petrified Grass-Type returns to its Pokeball in a flash of red light, Gardenia smiling over at Ash after she pockets its Pokeball, "Your Turtwig's one of the best I've ever seen!"

"What is she up to?" Casey mumbles. She feels Dawn and Brock's eyes on her, but she still keeps her own eyes trained on the battlefield, "Why return Cherubi to its Pokeball so early on? Cherubi could've easily pulled out a win, so why make it return?"

Casey's question is soon answered when Gardenia sends her next Pokemon out to battle, which just so happens to be a Turtwig, "No way! She's got a Turtwig too!"

"Now it makes sense." Brock says, "Gardenia probably wants to see how her Turtwig compares to Ash's."

I suppose that make sense.

"Tackle, go!"

Casey watches as Ash's Turtwig rushes forwards, still maintaining its incredible speed from before. However, this time around, the attack ends up being futile, as Gardenia's Turtwig dodges it with ease just before Ash's Turtwig reaches it.

"No way!" Casey gasps, she and the others surprised at the speed of Gardenia's Turtwig. It's even faster than Ash's, and that's saying something, "That was some impressive speed!"

"Turtwig, use Tackle one more time!"

Ash's Turtwig rushes forward once again, clearly determined to land the attack this time around. It doesn't play out the way it wants though, as Gardenia's Turtwig simply dodges it once again, and due to its already intense speed, Ash's Turtwig loses the ability to stop itself suddenly, which results in it slamming right into a nearby tree.

Casey glances over at Ash, who's clearly frustrated that Turtwig's strongest attribute, its speed, isn't working on Gardenia's Turtwig. Casey doesn't blame him. It's frustrating when your best tactic doesn't work, but there's always a way around it. The trainer just has to figure out what that way is.

"Now, use Leech Seed!"

Gardenia's Turtwig lowers its head and launches a small brown seed out of the top of it. The seed lands on Ash's Turtwig and digs inside of its scalp, sprouting vines that fully ensnare the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. At first nothing happens, but that all changes when Ash's Turtwig glows a bright red and cries out in pain. It looks like its being shocked.

"Turtwigs power's being drained!"

Gardenia orders her Turtwig to use Tackle next. The Tiny Leaf Pokemon obeys and slams directly into Ash's Turtwig who, due to the overwhelming power of Leech Seed, is unable to fight back. Ash's Turtwig goes flying back into that same tree as before, the pain rendering it unable to battle.

Ash looks crestfallen at the sudden turn of events, clearly surprised out how the battle's turned out. He returns Turtwig to its Pokeball and reaches for the next; Casey already knows who he's going to pick.

"Okay, Staravia, I choose you!"

Staravia appears on the battlefield just as Casey suspected. Ash should have the advantage now, what with Flying-Type attacks being super effective against Grass-Type Pokemon, but then again, there's more than one way to win a battle. It's not all down to type advantages and disadvantages.

Come on, Ash. You've got this.

"Alright, Wing Attack, go!" Ash orders, Casey smiling at his choice. He's starting out right away with a super effective attack, which in her eyes is the best way forward.

Staravia swoops down, its glowing wing angled downwards towards Turtwig, who simply dodges the attack as Staravia flies down. Ash falters slightly at this, clearly confused as to how Gardenia's Turtwig can out speed a Flying-Type like Staravia, but he responds as quickly and calmly as he can, "Come back around and use Wing Attack!"

Staravia does just that. It uses Wing Attack over and over again, and every time Gardenia's Turtwig dodges the attack with ease. It's as if it's not even trying; it doesn't need to because it's so fast. Ash eventually orders Staravia to stop, the worn out Starling Pokemon breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"You know, my Turtwig may even be a good match for your Staravia's speed!"

Gardenia's right. Her Turtwig is incredibly fast. Its clearly been trained very well.

"Is she serious?!" Ash yells. He's clearly not taking his current disposition in the battle very well, "Okay, lets give 'em Aerial Ace, right now!"

Staravia obeys his command. It dives down sharply before levelling itself out, charging towards Turtwig down on its level. Turtwig, as fast as ever, dodges the attack; Staravia continues speeding forwards and ends up rushing straight into a nearby shrub, crying out as it is buffered by the numerous brambles amongst the vegetation.

"Staravia, no!"

Staravia manages to come back out of the shrubbery, looking relatively unbuffered excluding a few leaves that have been caught up amongst its feathers. Ash looks relieved at the sight of his Pokemon.

"Now, Turtwig! Leaf Storm!"

Ash's relief quickly fades away as a tornado of high-speed leaves collide with Staravia. Despite the attack being not very effective against a Flying-Type Pokemon like Staravia, it still manages to send the Starling Pokemon flying backwards into a nearby tree. This, combined with the damage that Staravia's already sustained from the intense battle, is what secures Gardenia the win, Staravia now unable to battle just like Turtwig.

Wow! Gardenia sure is strong!

Casey, Brock and Dawn walk onto the battlefield as Gardenia approaches alongside her Turtwig. Ash returns Staravia to its Pokeball, not forgetting to praise it for its performance before pocketing the Pokeball once again. He smiles at Gardenia, though Casey can tell that he's still rather upset about his loss.

"Thanks for the battle, Gardenia."

Gardenia opens her mouth to respond when a large mechanical arm seemingly appears out of nowhere. It latches onto Gardenia's Turtwig and pulls it up high in its tight grip, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon crying out in fear as its pulled away from its trainer. Casey and the others turn to look in the direction that Turtwig was pulled and find the culprits of such a cruel and unexpected act, and honestly, Casey's not too surprised when she sees who it is.

"Team Rocket!"

Team Rocket smirk down at them from up in their hot air balloon, Turtwig squirming around frantically in the retractable arm that appears to usually be held just inside of the base of the vehicles basket.

"Listen, is that a twerpish voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me loud and clear?"

"Alright, that does it!" Casey screams. Team Rocket stop their repetitive motto instantly, seemingly terrified by Casey's rage, "You three picked the wrong day for this! First, my lunch got stolen by a wild Nuzleaf! Then, I didn't get the chance to battle, and now you three clowns do this! You three chose the wrong day to mess with me!"

Casey should probably calm down, but she's too enraged to even try. Besides, its not like any of the others are going to stop her. She reaches for one of the Pokeballs on her belt and throws it out in front of her, Elekid emerging from it with a battle cry.

"Elekid, jump up and use Hammer Arm on that mechanical arm!"

Elekid leaps up into the air as its forearm glows brightly, signalling the charging up of its Hammer Arm attack. He slams it down on the end of mechanical arm and snaps it with ease. Elekid's power makes the mechanical arm look like a piece of cooked spaghetti with how easily it snaps.

"Oh! Turtwig!" Gardenia rushes over to catch her Turtwig before it can hit the ground, hugging it tightly when she finally has it in her arms, "Oh, I'm so glad that you're okay!"

Casey looks back over at Team Rocket as Elekid lands in front of her, the electricity at the top of its head crackling in anticipation to battle. Team Rocket have panicked expressions on their faces. They know exactly what's coming.

"Elekid, use Thunderbolt, let's go!"

Elekid spins its arms at top speed to charge up its power before releasing the powerful Electric-Type attack from the horns on the top of its head. The bolt of yellow lightning surges towards Team Rockets balloon, completely and utterly obliterating it in a loud explosion. Team Rocket scream as they shoot up high into the air, soon disappearing from sight amongst a small twinkle in the distance. They've blasted off once again.

"Hey, Casey." Gardenia rushes over to Casey, a look of gratitude on her face, "Thanks so much for saving Turtwig!"

"Yeah! That was awesome!" Ash adds, "You totally rocked!"

"Pikachu-chu!"

Casey smiles over at them, but she's quick to clarify who they should actually be thanking, "Thanks, but it was all down to Elekid, not me!" Casey turns around to face her Electric-Type companion, holding its Pokeball up ready to return it, "You were great, Elekid. You deserve a good rest."

Elekid nods back and, much to Casey's surprise, begins to glow brightly. It's similar to how his arm glows when he's charging up his Hammer Arm attack, except its much more vivid. The Pokeball ends up becoming completely forgotten in her hands. She knows exactly what's going on.

Elekid's evolving!

The Electric Pokemon emerges from the flash of light in his new and improved form, roaring out victoriously and thrusting his much larger fists into air, "Electa-buzz!"

Casey smiles excitedly over at her newly evolved Pokemon, who looks just as excited to be in its evolved state, "This is so great, Elekid! You evolved into an Electabuzz!"

Electabuzz yells out proudly. It's almost as if its letting out a battle cry, which is just totally awesome! All of that hard work and training paid off, and Casey couldn't be happier about it. Casey hears Ash reach for his Pokedex from behind her, holding it up and scanning Electabuzz into it.

"Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon. An evolved form of Elekid. It appears near power generators, and because it eats electricity, it can cause blackouts."

"Electabuzz! That's awesome!" Ash cheers, his partner Pokemon on his shoulder adding a noise of approval himself. Ash gives Casey a confident smile, "At this rate of training, you and your Pokemon will win your second Gym Badge without a doubt!"

"Thanks, Ash, but don't forget, that goes for the both of us!" Casey smiles. Elekid's evolution has given her a new streak of confidence, similar to that she's felt during her past travels when her previous Pokemon evolved. Using that confidence, she feels that she can easily take down the Eterna City Gym Leader. As long as she has faith in herself and her Pokemon, she can't lose.

And she knows that for a fact.