=Chapter 28, The Heat Badge!=

*Jacob to Arky*

*Dear Arky, in a few hours I'm going to be battling for my fourth badge, the Heat Badge.*

*From what I know of this gym, the leader here uses fire type Pokemon, the same as previous Gym Leaders of the Lavaridge Gym. This means Harold is going to have a really hard time, so I asked if he wanted to sit out this match. He did after all fight a Mega Pokemon the last gym battle we had. He agreed, though he was rather hesitant about sitting out this time, and I think I know why.*

*After what happened yesterday, I think he expected to be on the team that takes on the Gym Leader as well. But I'm hesitant to put him on because he still could get hurt badly. I wanted to put him on as well but… well I'm worried is all I'm saying.*

*Anyway, the team I have going into this is going to consist of Roran, Ivan, and finally Coral. Coral is extremely hyped at the chance to be in a Gym Match, not only is she on the team that takes on a Gym Leader, but she's also facing off against Pokemon she has an advantage over!*

*Kenna wants to watch the battle, saying she's never seen a real battle before and wanted to see what was so great about them. I'm all for her seeing me fight, I just hope she doesn't draw attention like always.*

(Jacob's PoV)

"Yes, I won my fourth badge!" Karen shouted as she stormed out of the Lavaridge Gym, waving a small red and orange badge in the shape of a flame while Lance held onto her shoulder.

"Nice Karen, so how hard was it?" Jacob asked as he, Sara, and Kenna watched her wave the badge excitedly, while also trying to avoid the onlookers that were eyeing Kenna's blue flames.

"Incredibly hard, that guy's team is really hard to get at!" Karen said with a sigh, looking suddenly exhausted. "His team were all fire types as we expected, he used four of them for our match, I was lucky I didn't have to use Shrew or he wouldn't have lasted!"

"Wait he used four, but the clerk said he normally uses three." Jacob said.

"I'm only saying what happened to me in my match." Karen said with another sigh. "Alright Jacob, I need to head over to the Pokemon Center, my team got really hammered this time around, Laura and Nora both got some bad burns and Ziggles didn't look too good at the end. I'll see you later on Jacob buddy, good luck!"

"Alright, see you…" Jacob said as Karen walked across the street to the Pokemon Center. "Sara, it looks like you'll have to go in as well."

Sara looked up at him with a confident smile and nodded in understanding. (Don't worry Jacob, I'm ready to battle!) She told him.

"Pbbt?" Kenna neighed curiously. "Are you going to battle now?"

"As soon as we go in yea." Jacob said as he picked up Sara and put her on his shoulder. "Alright Kenna come on, and try not to wander alright?"

Kenna nodded and followed closely behind him, her flames tickling him because she stayed right next to him the entire time as they entered the Lavaridge Gym, which also doubled as a huge Spa.

Inside Jacob felt the temperature skyrocket, and not just because he was standing next to a Ponyta, the entire building was completely filled with large rocks that circled the outer part of the room. The Gym had a vast open area that served as the Arena for the Lavaridge Gym, with the large rocks separating the various pools of water that acted as a spa for visitors and spectators. The space above them had a thin layer of steam from the hot spring water, where all around people and Pokemon were watching the arena, awaiting the start of the next battle.

(It's so hot in here…) Sara said as they looked around, Jacob agreeing with her that it was indeed hot in the Gym. Only Kenna was having no problems with the conditions.

"I know, but it IS the Lavaridge Gym, and they use Fire Types here so naturally it would be hot." Jacob said.

"Little slow to the battle aren't ya?" A cocky voice called out, drawing all of their attention.

Jacob looked over at the Gym Leader and saw him standing with his arms crossed across the room, wearing a pair of shorts and light shirt, with specially dyed hair so that it was orange and red, similar to how Jessy Garnet's hair had been dyed when they were younger. "The name's Blitz, and I'm the Gym Leader of the Lavaridge Gym, your Jacob Beryl I take it?" He asked with a wide grin.

"Uh yea, that's me!" Jacob said, taking off his jacket and hat so that he could deal with the heat better as well as putting Sara on the floor.

"Nice Ponyta, never saw one with blue flames for a while." He said with a big grin. "Your friend told me you were coming up after her, so I had to rush to get my team ready for a second match, are you ready?"

"Yes we are!" Jacob said, pulling out Roran's Pokeball in preparation for battle.

"Alright then kid, let's see if you have what it takes to overcome the heat in the middle of a battle!" Blitz said. "First thing's first though, the rules of this Gym! When I battle, it is going to be a four on four battle, no wild Pokemon are allowed to battle in my Gym, and we will decide the victor over the course of four rounds! The first to win three rounds is declared the victor."

"Wait no wild Pokemon are allowed?" Jacob said suddenly, both sounding and looking shocked at those words, a look matched by Sara.

"That's right, those are the rules!" Blitz said calmly. "If you can't take the heat of competition and the restrictions that come with it, you don't deserve to continue on in the Pokemon League! This is how it is for every trainer, they have to face new and unknown rules that will no doubt put them at a disadvantage. By the way you reacted, I assume one or both of the companions you have next to you are wild."

"Yea, Sara is technically wild…" Jacob said. *I guess that means I can't rely on Sara's psychic powers for this battle, and Kenna has absolutely no battle experience and doesn't like fighting to begin with so she can't help me out here either.*

(That only leaves Harold… you wanted to avoid using Harold didn't you?) She asked him nervously.

*Yea, I just hope that Roran, Ivan, and Coral can win without endangering Harold.* He thought to her, preparing Roran's Pokeball for battle. *I don't think we'll get a clean sweep, but we need it if I'm to avoid Harold fighting a type disadvantage battle.*

"Alright then are you ready Challenger?" Blitz called out, holding up his first Pokemon as Jacob nodded. "Then let's get this battle underway. Turn up the heat, Slugma!"

"Roran, you're up!" Jacob shouted, tossing out Roran right as Blitz tossed out Slugma's.

"Swelloooow!" Roran screeched, flexing his wings as he faced off his opponent, an orange and red Pokemon with the consistency of magma, with two eyes just seemingly appearing out of the molten body.

The Slugma simply stared and awaited Blitz' instructions for the battle. This gave Jacob time to strategize, since he had never faced a Slugma before, however he did look up the kind of Pokemon that the Gym Leader was most likely to run, and he had guessed right about Slugma being one of them.

He just wished that Roran didn't have to fight the fire type, it was not wise to fight a Slugma with physical attacks because of the molten body. Roran was a strong and fast flyer, but he had to fight with Physical attacks, it would not be easy for him to win.

Jacob's best hope for this first round was to go for the one hit knock out to avoid exposing his flyer to damage. "Alright Roran, let's start this off with Double Team!"

"Swellow!" Roran screeched, before taking off into the air and starting to speed up, creating after images to confuse their opponent.

"Slug…ma?" Slugma whispered, trying to keep an eye on the Swellow but unable to because of how fast the bird was flying.

"Don't be afraid of that bird Slugma, it's too chicken to take you head on, go for the Flame Burst!" Blitz said confidently.

"Slug… MAAAAAA" Slugma shouted, sending a burst of fire towards Roran, but missing him entirely because of the duplicates.

The burst of flame hit the rock and was absorbed by it. Now Jacob saw why it was so steamy and the reason for all of the large rocks. They provided protection for spectators and doubled as heating for the water because of the fire attacks. "Roran, Focus Energy!" Jacob said, going into the second part of their plan, it was risky to have him use Double Team first instead of Focus Energy, but he needed to know how Slugma was going to battle.

"Swellow!" Roran chirped, landing and instantly closing his eyes and focusing his energy.

"Now's your chance Slugma, hit it again with Flame Burst!" Blitz roared eagerly, and matched by his Slugma who instantly sent a jet of flames at Roran.

The flames hit Roran just as he finished his move, and quickly put the flames out by flapping madly to get into the air before they could spread across his feathery body. But still, it was a narrow miss, and Roran was feeling the effects of the attack as he looked slightly worried as he circled Slugma, knowing that they had to attack him physically to deal any damage.

"Alright Roran, stay calm… focus, and use Aerial Ace!" Jacob shouted, using the move that he had helped Roran learn after seeing the Snagem Girl's Pidgeot use.

Roran nodded and using his speed and wings, flew straight past Slugma and swiped at him so fast that it couldn't be seen.

The attack was hard, and fast, and thankfully it hit Slugma in just the right way that it achieved what Jacob had wanted. Slugma was motionless before his molten body started melting to the ground, becoming more and more like a blob than it originally was. "Slugma return!" Blitz said, recalling his first Pokemon into the safety of its first ball. "Not bad Challenger, but that was just a warmup, now let's see how you handle things when me and my team turns up the heat!"

Jacob waited for Roran to return to his side before checking on his friend's condition. Roran's wing had been slightly burned from the physical contact with the Slugma, and his chest feathers were singed from the Flame Burst, but otherwise he hadn't been injured badly. He looked ready for another round, but by the rules of the gym his battle was over and the first round had been won.

"Good job Roran, now return for now buddy." Jacob said, giving Roran a congratulatory scratch on the head before returning him to his Pokeball.

Next he reached for Ivan's Pokeball and released his Mightyena. "Alright Ivan, get ready!"

"Arf!" Ivan barked, fangs bared and ready for battle.

"Alright then, Camerupt, let's turn up the heat!" Blitz shouted as he released yet another fire type from its ball.

The Camerupt appeared from its ball, stood six foot tall and looked like it had two miniature volcanos protruding from its back. The Camerupt was nothing like the Slugma, it stomped its front legs into the ground and didn't seem at all intimidated by Ivan's piercing glare or his fangs.

*Crap, a Camerupt, that thing's immune to electrical attacks. Ivan's Thunder Fang will be useless!* Jacob thought.

(Yea, but it's slow, I don't think that Camerupt is going to be moving around too much!) Sara told him, using his own memories about the Pokemon to help him strategize.

"Alright then, Ivan Howl!" Jacob shouted.

Ivan closed his eyes for only a brief moment before he roared at the top of his voice. "AROOOOOOOOOOOOUR!" He howled, hyping himself up for battle.

"Camerupt, don't let that wolf get to you, use Focus Energy!" Blitz shouted eagerly.

"Camer… uuuupt…" Camerupt said calmly as he too focused his energy.

Both Pokemon were ready for the real battle now, and Jacob had to go on the attack, but without Ivan's signature Thunder Fang, he only had one other move to use against the Camerupt. "Ivan, Take Down attack!" Jacob shouted.

"Rarf!" Ivan barked as he ran into a sprint, rushing recklessly toward the Camerupt to hit it as hard as he could.

"Camerupt give that thing a taste of your Lava Plume!" Blitz said.

"Cameruuuuuupt!" Camerupt shouted as he adjusted his position to send two plumes of fire toward Ivan.

"Ivan dodge it quick!" Jacob shouted as he saw that if Ivan continued his attack he'd run into it.

Ivan obeyed and managed to avoid the plumes of fire, but this threw off his Take Down and forced him to slow down. "Alright Camerupt, now use your own Take Down!" Blitz shouted confidently.

"Cameruuupt!" Camerupt shouted as he broke into a heavy footed run, and because Ivan had shortened the distance as well as not broken off the direction of his run, he took the full brunt of the Take Down.

Ivan was a strong and brave wolf, but against Camerupt's sheer size, weight, and type, as well as the power of the attack he stood no chance of lasting the hit without using his signature move. Ivan received the brunt of the attack and was thrown backwards, landing in a crumpled heap right in front of Jacob. The Camerupt slowed down and looked back at him, Jacob, Sara and Kenna, looking very intimidating as he knocked out one of Jacob's strongest team members in a single attack.

*Whoa… we barely did anything that round…* Jacob thought as Ivan tried to get back up, but failed dismally.

Jacob checked on Ivan's condition to see how he was, but it was clear that the Mightyena was out of the fight, his legs were simply too shaky to support him properly. Jacob had no choice but to return him back to the safety of his ball to recuperate and rest. It was now even, one to one, meaning Jacob couldn't hope for the sweep according to the rules. He had to use Harold now, but first was Coral.

"Coral, you're up!" Jacob said, sending out his Luxury Ball containing his Milotic Coral.

Coral appeared and instantly made her presence known to everyone in the Gym, with several ooh's and aww's. Coral however, was focused on their opponent, this being her first actual Gym Battle and wanting to make a good first impression on both their opponent and Jacob. She merely sat there waiting for instructions.

"Alright then, Torkoal turn up the heat!" Blitz said, sending out his third Pokemon, a short, stocky one foot tall tortoise Pokemon with a blackened shell and reddish brown body. It made a small snort of dissatisfaction as it looked up at Coral, and when it snorted steam came out of its nostrils and from the back of its shell. "Torkoal don't be intimidated, that water snake is big but she's got nothing on your flames!"

"Toooooorkoaaal!" Torkoal shouted, sending another plume of steam out.

*Torkoal is super slow but super defensive, as long as Coral keeps her distance she can easily outmaneuver that Torkoal and whatever it throws her way. Even on land she's still much faster than this turtle.* Jacob thought to himself but Sara listened as well, learning all she could about their opponent, but still he was cautious. "Coral, don't be fooled by that Torkoal's slow speed, I'm sure they have something prepared for us!"

"Milotic!" Coral said calmly, coiled and ready for battle.

"Alright then let's get round three turned up!" Blitz shouted eagerly. "Torkoal show them a taste of your Flamethrower!"

"Toooooooorkoaaaal!" Torkoal shouted as steam sprouted from his shell again as he sent a trail of flames toward Coral.

"Coral counter with Water Pulse!" Jacob ordered.

"Tiiiiiiiic!" Coral responded as she sent a jet of pure blue water toward the Torkoal's Flamethrower.

The two attacks connected and the flames evaporated along with the water to become steam, but Coral's water attack was the superior element in this case, and easily started pushing the flames back toward the Torkoal. "Torkoal switch to Rapid Spin!" Blitz shouted suddenly.

"Torkoal!" Torkoal said, ceasing his Flamethrower and tucking his body into his shell while also going into a very fast spin.

Torkoal's sudden change into Rapid Spin caught him off guard, Rapid Spin was a simple move in which the Pokemon went into a very rapid spin to not only deal damage, but also remove certain objects around it, like spikes or even leech seeds. Yet Torkoal was under no such effects, and the move was not at all damaging so as an offensive move it wasn't a threat. Jacob, unsure of what to do, had no choice but to allow Coral's attack to continue and smack into the Torkoal. Upon connecting with the spinning turtle, he saw what the plan had been, as the water started spraying everywhere and bouncing off the Torkoal's shell, unable to connect properly because of the speed it was spinning.

*Incredible, he turned a normally weak move except for specific circumstances, and turned it into an amazing defensive move to protect his Torkoal from water attacks!* Jacob thought as Coral ceased her attack, but the Torkoak was still spinning. *So this is why he told his Torkoal not to be afraid of Coral.*

"Coral, we need a change of strategy, Water Pulse isn't going to be enough to win this!" Jacob said as the Torkoal continued to spin, only now moving toward Coral.

"Milotic!" Coral replied, never taking her eyes off of the spinning Torkoal.

Blitz waited for only a few moments while his Torkoal slowly spun toward Coral, then he grinned and shouted, "Alright Torkoal, let's turn up the heat and show them just how fast you really are! Adjust your spinning angle and hit that pretty water snake!"

"Tor!" Torkoal shouted as he turned his shell at an angle, and went from a slow crawl to lightning fast, catching both Coral and Jacob off guard.

(Watch out!) Sara shouted, but it was too late, Torkoal smacked into Coral and bounced away safely.

"Coral are you alright?" He asked as she shook herself and glared at the turtle.

"Tic…" She said, nodding and only showing a small bruise on her tail from the impact.

Blitz however was grinning with absolute mirth. "Surprised by my Torkoal's speed?" He asked. "Torkoal is probably one of the slowest Pokemon around here that you'll ever meet, normally he's so slow that he has to rely on his special attacks to do any damage. But as you've seen, his Rapid Spin can be extremely versatile, not only can I use it to deal damage, but I can also deflect water attacks and even help him to move extremely fast for short periods of time. If you can't take the heat of my Torkoal's flames and speed you'll never win this battle!"

"We'll see about that, Coral use Aqua Ring!" Jacob shouted.

Coral nodded and opened her mouth to send out a thin, steady stream of purified crystal clear water onto herself, particularly the section of her tail where she had been hurt. After a few moments she was completely covered in the water that made her glitter like diamonds in the light of the room's numerous torches. The bruise she had received was slowly vanishing, the injured scales being healed and repaired by the healing effects of her purified water.

Aqua Ring was one of Coral's newest moves that she learned to create while they were traveling, she learned it by watching a Dewgong battling while on the road. As long as she had water inside her body, she could continue to heal herself from most damages with this move, but the more severe the injury the longer it will take. Plus Jacob knew she couldn't keep up her Aqua Ring for long and use her Water Pulse attacks together, she only had so much water stored inside of her body, and the fact that this was a Fire Type Gym that served as a Spa also meant that the heat would be ebbing away at her healing water, slowly weakening it and draining it away, forcing her to use more water to replace it. They had to win this quickly or she'd have no more water left to fight with.

*Why some people believe that all Water Pokemon can simply create vast oceans of water from nothing I do not understand!* He thought as he tried to come up with a plan.

"Well don't keep us waiting, if you don't move then Torkoal will!" Blitz shouted as Torkoal went into another Flamethrower.

"Coral counter with Water Pulse!" Jacob ordered, and Coral responded instantly.

As Coral's Water Pulse pushed Torkoal's Flamethrower, eventually resulting in Blitz ordering Torkoal to go into Rapid Spin, an idea came to Jacob. Coral had only one physical move that she had never used, not because she didn't know how to but because she wasn't one for physical battles. It was a move he learned she demonstrated once before, but it was only because she was desperate to save him and her instincts had taken control. Still if it worked, he might have found a way to turn this Torkoal's advantage into a disadvantage.

"Torkoal, angle yourself and full speed ahead!" Blitz shouted eagerly at Coral's attack bounced off his Torkoal's shell once again.

"Tooork…" Torkoal called out, angling his shell so that he started spinning toward Coral at the alarming speed he had done before, but this time Coral and Jacob were ready for it.

"Coral use Dragon Tail!" Jacob shouted.

"Milooooooo…" Coral screamed as she timed the distance between her attack and the Torkoal, just as her tailfins started glowing slightly. "Tiiiiiiiic!"

Coral swung her tail forward and with the same ferocity and force that she had used to smack the Tentacruel that had held Jacob, and smacked the spinning blur that was Blitz's Torkoal.

"Toooooooooooor…" Torkoal yelled as he was flung backward, unable to control himself now as his own Rapid Spin made it impossible to control the direction he was going. He had no choice but to wait until he smacked into one of the large rocks that protected and insulated the water where spectators were cheering with applause for the battle.

"Now Coral use Water Pulse!" Jacob said as the Torkoal finally stopped spinning.

"Milotic!" Coral shouted as she blasted Torkoal once again with her Water Pulse, and this time there was no defensive Rapid Spin to protect the fire turtle.

Hit with the full blast of both her Dragon Tail and Water Pulse, Torkoal could not take anymore, and the fact that the steam coming from his shell had diminished significantly, told them he was down for the count. "Good try Torkoal, return for now!" Blitz said, still grinning as he returned the exhausted Torkoal to its ball to rest.

"Way to go Coral!" Jacob shouted enthusiastically as Coral herself was beaming at him proudly.

Coral coiled herself around Jacob to give him an affectionate nuzzle on his cheek while Sara danced in circles around them and Kenna neighed and pranced in congratulations. However the victory hug was short lived because they still had one round to go, and it was going to be their hardest battle now.

Harold was the last one in line for the Gym Badge, and no doubt Blitz had saved his best for last.

"Alright Coral, nicely done but for now return and let Harold finish this up." He said as he recalled Coral back into her Luxury Ball.

Jacob returned her ball to his belt before replacing it with Harold's, and he took a long look at it. Harold was his most trusted team member, he trusted Harold with everything, but how could Jacob send him against a fire type that he didn't even know if he could beat.

(Jacob, we have to try.) Sara whispered to him, knowing what he was thinking.

"I know but… what if we can't win with Harold?" He asked Sara.

(Then we'll try again, it's not like one defeat will end us!) She said confidently, trying to give him just a bit of her courage.

He nodded and took a deep breath before sending out Harold.

"Grovyle!" Harold shouted, looking around to see where he was before glancing back at Jacob, a questioning look in his eyes.

"We needed four Pokemon to battle the Gym Leader buddy, Sara can't battle because she's wild and Kenna has absolutely no experience." He said, answering the question without Sara needing to tell him. "It's up to you buddy, two victories to one, another win and the badge is ours."

(Harold's PoV)

Harold nodded and returned his attention to the Gym Leader, knowing that even if Jacob had picked him because he had no choice, his trainer still had faith in his capabilities. Jacob wouldn't have sent him out against a Fire Type he had foreknowledge of if he didn't have believe he could win. So with that in mind he didn't flinch when the opposing Gym Leader sent out a Houndoom.

The Dark Pokemon growled lightly before speaking to Harold in their language. "Hmpf, so this is what I'm reduced to fighting?" He barked before the battle began. "A grass type, are you really the best your trainer has?"

Harold glared at the Houndoom, flexing his claws and showing how sharp the leaves on his arms were to intimidate and make himself look more dangerous. "Don't insult my trainer!" Harold replied as the trainer's gave their first battle instructions.

"Alright Houndoom, let's teach this kid how hot the Pokemon League gets from here on out!" The Gym Leader shouted. "Start off with your Ember!"

The Houndoom only had to hear the first few words before he started sending burst after burst of flames toward Harold, who nimbly dodged them without having to rely on Jacob to tell him. He knew how to battle, he only needed Jacob to guide him with the strategy and tactics. This was how the Trainer and Pokemon relation should be in Harold's mind, trust between the two, and faith in each other's ability. Just like that strange female trainer they saw in their dreams said.

"Harold move in with Quick Attack!" Jacob called out, and Harold nodded before sprinting forward, using his more powerful legs to propel him quickly toward the Houndoom, who still was sending burst after burst of flames toward him.

"Houndoom counter with Fire Fang!" His trainer shouted, and instantly Houndoom opened his mouth to reveal strings of fire wrapping his fangs.

However Harold had no choice but to keep going, he could tell that neither Jacob nor he wanted him to keep going, but his speed wouldn't allow him to stop quickly enough. All he could do was aim for the Houndoom and do whatever damage he could manage.

His Quick Attack connected and the force of the attack threw Houndoom back only a little, but he countered just as easily with his Fire Fang.

The pain was excruciating, the heat alone was enough to hurt him but the teeth digging into his arm only intensified it. Harold kicked Houndoom away and jumped back towards Jacob's side of the battlefield, though he landed heavily and flinched slightly as his weight shifted to the injured leg.

*Not good… if I can't move at full speed, I can't dodge!* Harold thought as he tentatively tested his leg, and felt sharp pains each time he tried to move it. *The pain's nothing I can't endure, but that really hurt my leg… I can't move as fast now because of it…*

He didn't need to look at his trainer or see Sara looking worried to guess what was going on through their psychic link, he could feel it. Somehow he could feel the worry and fear from Jacob. His trainer was worried, afraid that Harold might get more injured as the fight continued. He knew about the injury as well, and had already guessed its impact on his speed.

"I have to admit Jacob, it takes a great deal of courage to pit your last Pokemon against a type disadvantage." The Houndoom's trainer said with an enormous grin, matched by the Houndoom as well. "However I have to wonder what your plan was, is the heat getting to you, because if it is you might want to consider going on with this battle!"

"Harold, can you keep going buddy?" Jacob asked.

Harold looked back and nodded confidently, not needing to speak to send the message to Jacob. As he turned back to look at the Houndoom, he only had one thought cross his mind.

*Have faith in me, just have faith in me Jacob, I can still win this so believe in me!*

(Jacob's PoV)

*Alright, so how do we win this, Harold's injured and can't run at full speed and we're facing a Pokemon that's got the type advantage against us.* Jacob asked himself as he tried to come up with a strategy. *Grass moves aren't effective against fire types, and this Houndoom has the range and speed advantage now. But not the physical advantage, Harold is still strong enough to take it on. The only trick is getting close enough without exposing him to that Fire Fang.*

While he tried to think Harold continued to take deep breathes while he tried to avoid putting too much weight on his injured leg. However he knew that Harold wouldn't win a running match against Houndoom, it was more than content to stay at range now. Harold's Quick Attack had done quite a bit before he was forced to disengage, and while he figured Blitz didn't notice, he had seen the way the Houndoom had shifted his weight after recovering. If he and Harold could just land one more hit, one well timed strike could end it.

The key factor though, was getting Harold in striking range to do that. Somehow he had to get Houndoom and Blitz to go on the attack, get close enough for Harold to get that one good attack in.

"Well don't keep me and Houndoom waiting Jacob, if you won't turn up the heat we will!" Blitz shouted, which was his Houndoom's cue to send out more Ember Attacks.

It was as Harold dodged one Ember attack, which just so happened to narrowly miss Jacob because he had to duck as well to avoid being singed, that he got the idea. He just had to have faith in Harold's ability to dodge, and frustrate Blitz and Houndoom enough so that they were forced to attack on his and Harold's terms.

"Harold!" He shouted to get his Grovyle's attention, which worked as he only turned his head slightly to see what he wanted. "I have faith in you!"

Harold nodded in understanding, and returned his attention to the Houndoom, before closing his eyes, just as Jacob closed his eyes.

(Jacob, what are you doing?) Sara asked him privately, thoroughly confused.

*Just believe in me Sara, just believe in me.* He thought back to her.

He didn't have to worry about being attacked, but he had to put his faith in Harold's ability to avoid the Ember attacks.

(Harold's PoV)

He couldn't see anything because he closed his eyes, but he didn't need to see to sense the danger to his Trainer as well as himself. He could feel the Ember Attacks approaching him, and as each one got within striking range, he dodged it, making sure the next one wasn't aimed for Jacob.

He moved to the left as his senses told him to, then to the right, leaned slightly when he had to, and occasionally ducked to avoid every single Ember attack sent his way. He knew it must be infuriating and frustrating to the Houndoom, knowing that none of his attacks were connecting and knowing he was expending wasted energy on a task that was going nowhere fast.

"Are you going to dodge the entire battle?" The Houndoom's trainer yelled as he heard a very satisfying growl of frustration from the very Pokemon.

"Depends on if you're going to spend the entire battle throwing Ember Attacks at Harold!" Jacob replied.

"Alright kid, you want me to turn up the temperature, you got it!" The man shouted enthusiastically. "Houndoom Fire Fang!"

Harold knew what was coming, and knew he had only one chance to win this battle. He had to strike with whatever Attack Jacob had planned, and he had to do this without seeing the Houndoom charging him. "Harold use Leaf Blade!" Jacob shouted.

Instantly Harold pulled his arm back, raced forward and swiped upward with the leaves on his shoulders, slicing into his opponent. The tough hide of the Houndoom protected him from being injured, but the sheer force definitely was felt, and despite having little effect against a fire type, the attack's force was enough. He heard a loud thud behind him, and sensing that the danger had passed, opened his eyes to see the Houndoom lying on the floor, dazed and clearly out of the fight.

"How's that for being the best my trainer has?" He whispered to the Houndoom.

(Jacob's PoV)

"We did it!" Jacob shouted as Blitz recalled his exhausted Houndoom, a look of surprise evident on his face.

"Kirlia!" Sara shouted happily as she and Jacob ran over to Harold to pull him into a congratulatory hug, Kenna following behind him and prancing as well.

Shortly after Coral, Ivan, and Roran popped out of their balls to join in the group hug as well. Ivan limping slightly but still beaming proudly at their victory, Roran chirping madly at the sight of Harold grinning and hugging their trainer, and finally Coral who was coiling around all of them, nuzzling Jacob affectionately and humming slightly. Sara was busying herself with dancing around them all like she always did, unable to control herself.

He knew they were all happy and extremely proud of themselves, despite how difficult the odds were, yet again they found a way to win.

After a brief moment to allow them a chance to bask in their victory, Blitz walked over with a huge grin on his face. "Well Jacob, I guess you and your team have what it takes to survive the heat of the Pokemon League." He said. "I'm pleased to present you with the Heat Badge, as proof of your victory over me!"

He handed Jacob the badge, which looked like a ball of fire with a flaming tail, and showed it to his team.

"I have to say Jacob, I was not expecting you to bring out a Grass type for your last battler." Blitz said as he looked between Jacob and Harold. "Any particular reason you picked him over your Milotic?"

Jacob shook his head as he scratched Harold behind the leaf on his head, electing a sigh of contentment from him. "Nope, I just had faith he could win." He said, knowing that was the truth despite his reluctance earlier.

He had faith in Harold, and his faith had been rewarded. Even against the odds his Grovyle had won the final battle in a Fire Type Gym.

Four badges down and only four more to go before he qualified for the championship, and only two more for whatever it was Suicune wanted of him.

He still had a ways to go, but now that he was much more confident in his team and himself, it didn't seem like an impossibility now.

=Meanwhile, Elsewhere in Hoenn=

(Viridian's PoV)

[So let me get this straight… not only did you fail to capture not one, but two legendaries that were both in perfect capturing positions…] The voice said over the audio only, video feed. "[But you also let this happen because of one single trainer that you could have EASILY defeated by yourselves yet didn't? You'd both better have a good explanation for this Viridian and Masquerade!]

Viridian remained as cool as ever as he spoke to his boss, never once breaking the calculating image he wore as he composed his answer to the best of his abilities. "Yes sir, well, the first time it was because the idiots we had working under Masquerade failed to achieve their job properly, and this time was because I miscalculated and did not anticipate the very same Suicune rescuing the day to repay its debt to that trainer. A mistake I assure you, will not happen again."

[It better not, we can't afford to have any failures with what we're planning with Project: Dark Aura. Now Masquerade, report on how far the operation is coming along!]

Masquerade cleared his voice before reciting from the piece of paper he was holding. "Everything is going swimmingly sir, our operations in Kanto, Johto, Unova and other regions have sent us a vast amount of specimens and test subjects to use. Thanks to these Pokemon we've been able to conduct our research with fairly minimal losses to the test subjects and maximizing the research we get out of the specimens. Our Hoenn operations have been slightly delayed but nevertheless we are proceeding on schedule. "

Masquerade flipped the paper over and began to read the report on the back of it. "As per your advice, we made sure to keep the number of Pokemon we capture or steal to an absolute minimal, taking plenty for our research but just enough so that the population loss isn't noticeable to the local trainers and humans in each area. Most particularly we made sure to capture those which have huge populations, in particular those that nearly every trainer encounters in vast quantities such as the Zubats in Kanto and Wurmples of Hoenn. After completing their tasks I ordered those groups who were in the other regions back to Hoenn and we began to pick up the pace, but once again because of recent events the delays occurred but rest assured, we are still on schedule."

[Very good, we have already achieved success with stage two and now we need to move up to stage three, and before we reach stage four we need a legendary to test on. Or else we will have no choice but to use that particular Pokemon.]

"With all due respect sir, if we use him then there is no way to guarantee the success of our project." Viridian said. "I'd rather experiment on another legendary before we attempt it on that particular Pokemon. If we make even one error, it may cost us the entire operation."

[Then I suggest you get down to tracking and capturing a legendary for us to experiment on!] The voice growled.

"This would go so much smoother if we knew the location of that particular island." Viridian said, glancing over at Masquerade. "It was his job to find the information so we could go there, but alas he has yet to find anything concrete."

"Finding the location of the island is easy, it's getting to the island that's the trick!" Masquerade snapped back, still sounding just as snide as he usually did. "Everyone knows the island's general whereabouts, but getting to it is nearly impossible for any Pokemon and human. Only a select few humans have ever been to the island in person, and they are all dead! Any other humans that have visited it recently will never willingly share its location or how to get to it. The only others who can find and get to it are the island's inhabitants. If we could find one then there'd be no reason to go to the island in the first place!"

[Enough of your quarrelling.] The voice yelled, causing both to stop and pay attention. [You leave finding the information of the island to me, just make sure you have a means to reach it, by air or by sea I do not care. Just be ready to move out when I tell you, and do not fail this time, capture the legendary, and bring it back to one of our facilities. Am I clear?]

"Crystal sir." Viridian said instantly.

"Transparently clear sir." Masquerade said, though a few seconds after.

The screen vanished and went black, and both Viridian and Masquerade eased up slightly. "One of these days Masquerade, I will see that smarmy smirk of yours and snide voice you have go silent." He said. "Putting all the blame on me and pretending you have done nothing wrong."

"Oh you're one to talk Viridian, tell me, how did you like losing Articuno to both Suicune, and through it, the boy who rescued it?" Masquerade asked with a sly smile behind that mask of his. "At least if I were there, I wouldn't have made the mistake to underestimate the situation. I warned you to hurry up and capture the Articuno, and look what happened, I also assure you that I wouldn't have failed had I been present."

"We'll see about that Masquerade, next time the boss calls, you are coming with me on the operation." Viridian said, turning to leave the room. "And this time, you won't have any excuses to hide behind."