A/N: Time for our first gym battle! I'm skipping the various challenges before the battle itself because I don't think it translates as well in text as it does in a video game, so as much fun as wrangling Wooloo would be, you're going to have to look to another fic for that. I deeply apologize and humbly offer an intense battle in its stead.

The locker room in the Turffield Stadium was visually not that much different than the one in Motostoke, but it still felt like we were on a completely different planet. Instead of dozens of us, crowded around tiny benches and leaning on whatever locker doors were not already occupied, there were just five people, counting Victor and me. Two of them also picked time slots in the noon hour, and they looked like they were about to vomit from the nerves. The first was a girl in a Poison-type jersey who looked younger than me, holding a Pokéball in her hands and staring at it intently while her leg shook like crazy. The other kept glancing over to us. He had introduced himself when we walked in with Hop, but I couldn't remember his name anymore, and he looked like he wouldn't be able to open his mouth at all either. He wore a Jersey with the Ghost type logo on it, but I was shocked he even had the ability to battle at all, let alone get enough recognition at a gym to earn him a qualification.

The third was a much calmer trainer, although he still looked a little nervous. It was his second time challenging the league, and as he had trained under Kabu so he could qualify, he seemed confident in his ability to secure a win against Milo. But even though he was in a much more relaxed mood, he was clearly in some sort of pre-battle ritual. His dark eyes were closed, and he sat on a bench, red sports towel draped across his neck. He was listening to some music that was just loud enough to hear the pounding drum track, and he breathed in four-beat counts to the rhythm that played. He was the first trainer to arrive for the 1:00 Gym session. I was impressed with his dedication to battling.

Victor and I, meanwhile, sat next to each other in our plain white challenger uniforms on the bench closest to a sliding door that led to the ground entrance of the stadium. A clock above me said 11:41. We had gone in with Hop, who was now currently battling Milo. The first three battles of his hour were over quickly, and when he finally was called to the field, he took most of the confidence our little trio had. I could feel my heart pounding in the middle of my throat. I knew that Scorbunny would be my ace in the hole should I need him, and I knew Stufful could take a hit, but I was worried about Yamper. Grass types resisted electricity as well, and while Yamper could get away with paralyzing an enemy, the grass type was notorious for doing all sorts of moves to change a Pokémon's constitution. If Yamper couldn't hack it, which she probably couldn't, I was afraid of what sort of trial we would have to overcome.

The sliding door skidded open and the five of us looked up expectantly. On the other side of the door, a man in a green security uniform greeted us coolly. "Are all the 12:00 battles here and accounted for?" he asked.

All of us except for the trainer wearing headphones nodded anxiously. "Excellent. Since the 11:00 battles have been going so quickly, we may be able to get you started a bit early. Is that alright?"

He did not check to see if it was alright with us, but instead pulled out a sheet of paper to read off. "Now the four of you have not completed any gym battles prior, but if you have in years previous, this will likely be familiar to you. You are welcome to use all the Pokémon you had upon signing up for your timeslot, but your opponent is only allowed two. If you have caught a Pokémon since your time slot was confirmed, you are not to use it in battle, and if you do, that will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Do you understand?"

We nodded. "Good. You have a ten-minute time limit to knock out your opponent's Pokémon. Since most teams are not fully developed at this time, you will likely not have to worry about that time limit, but if ten minutes go by and both you and your opponent have not done so, the trainer to knock out the most of their opponent's Pokémon wins." He lowered the piece of paper. "Which means if you knock out one of Milo's two, but he's knocked out three of your five, he wins. Even if you do still have more Pokémon left to battle with.

"If you have a Wishing Star or other Dynamax-related item, you will be allowed to use it. You can only Dynamax one Pokémon per battle and you can only Dynamax them once. The same goes for the gym leader.

"In between each battle there will be a five-minute break for the gym leader to rest, swap out, and heal his Pokémon. You may face slightly different teams upon challenging the gym leader on subsequent attempts; this is normal."

The younger girl gulped audibly, and the man looked at her with sudden softness. "Miss, Milo is a talented trainer, but he's not out to destroy you. I'm sure that as long as you keep your head clear and your Pokémon under your control, you can find—"

"VICTORY!" came a yelp from behind him, as Hop strode in, beaming confidently. "I knew that I could do it! Gloria, Vic, don't get me wrong, he's good, but you've got this in the bag!"

"Con—congratulations," said the official. "I guess I'll go check in with Milo. Gloria, you said your name was? Gloria Dixon?"

"Yes?"

"You're up first. I will return for you when we're ready for you at the stadium."

I shuddered with anticipation. It didn't quite hit me just how close my first gym battle was. Was I prepared enough? Would I have good enough moves? Would I—?

"Gloria, take a load off," Hop soothed, resting his hand on my head and pulling it to face him. "I just said you two have got this in the bag. Besides, you and I have to have our first official trainer battle after this, and I won't accept one if you don't have that grass badge!"

"Thanks, Hop," I said, exhaling shakily. He was right. I can do this.

"Mum just texted," Victor said. "Says she's watching us with Hop's parents. She also says, 'good job' to you too, Hop."

"What did mine think?" he asked pointedly.

Victor shrugged. "She just said what she said. I bet your folks are waiting to call you up or something and have you tell 'em all about it."

"Right!" Hop said cheerily. "Sorry, still a little jumpy from that battle. Oh! Gloria, Milo is absolutely going to Dynamax one of his Pokémon. If you Dynamax your Scorbunny and hit it with one of those Max Flare moves they get, you'll be set."

"Miss Dixon? Come along?" The man had reappeared at the door. I stood up slowly and took a deep breath. Hop and Victor both clapped me on the back. As I walked forward, I glanced back at my brother. He looked almost as sick as the two other challengers in our hour, but my look back was cut short as the door slid shut behind me.

"You ready, Miss Dixon?" the man asked.

"Y-yeah."

"You'll do great."

"Thanks."

"You better, at least. My wife says the trainers Leon endorsed are going to fizzle and she was willing to put money on it."

"That's a lot of pressure."

"Don't be. She knows my credit card number anyway. Head on out. Milo will meet you at the center of the pitch." He gave me a firm pat on my shoulder, and I started to jog forward, hoping that all the buzzing of the crowd wouldn't completely distract me.

"And now for our next challenger, from Postwick, "GLORIA!"

The crowd cheered, even if a bit feebly as I came out the end of the tunnel and as soon as the light of the stadium and the sun washed over my face, my nerves vanished. I was doing it. I was really doing it. And I felt…calm. I felt…ready.

I looked up to see that the stadium was a little cozier from the inside, with as many seats as possible jammed together. The seats themselves were about a third full, which made sense. Most people didn't make events out of Gym Battles until closer to the end of the challenge. I looked around and waved to each general area, seeing if I could even recognize anyone from so far away. I thought I saw a shock of fiery hair near the end of the tunnel where I went out. The figure was shouting and waving their arms like crazy, so I returned the wave to the person I hoped was Sonia. As I turned back around, I saw that Milo was also jogging happily to the center of the pitch to meet me, joyfully waving at all his fans as well. In just a couple more seconds, we finally stood across from each other. The audience died down a little bit, but they were too far away for us to have to speak that much more loudly than usual.

"Welcome to the stadium, Gloria," Milo beamed. "I'm so happy you could make it. How are you feeling?"

"A little nervous," I said, scratching the back of my head. "First gym battle and all, y'know?"

"I do," he said. His voice was so calming despite the excitement that permeated the entire stadium. "Lots of first battles these past few days. It's so exciting getting to see all these new trainers getting excited for the gym challenge just like I did when I was your age, but you're one of the trainers I'm most excited about."

"…thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. This isn't going to be easy for you," he said, winking and offering his hand out. I took his hand and smiled. After our handshake, we cleared back to the end of the pitch. It was here that I finally got a good look and feel for it. Unlike the stadium at Motostoke, the ground was a thick and lushy grass, cut neatly at around an inch and a half. The terrain itself was completely flat save for some small bushes that dotted the edge of the battling arena, meaning there wouldn't be any obstacles in the way. The stadium itself was completely open, with the sun shining down brightly. There was no strong breeze, no intense heat, no nothing, as if it were the perfect condition to battle. In fact, it was almost too perfect, I thought to myself as my Dynamax Bracelet buzzed softly on my arm. It was only then that I noticed the bright pink strips of light that glowed right behind the bushes. This must be the synthetic Dynamax Energy Sonia was talking about. I gripped my hands into fists. Only Scorbunny, I told myself, and only if it's dire.

Another official in an all-white uniform not unlike my own jogged out to the center of the pitch, fifty feet away from the both of us. Her voice, boldened by a microphone that sat across her ear, rang out to the audience. "Gym Challenger Gloria! Are you ready to battle?"

"Yes!" I shouted, raising my hand in a fist, to the delight of the audience, whose cheers still seemed so far away.

"Gym Leader Milo! Are you ready to battle?"

Milo raised his arm and shouted as well, and I could just barely hear him over the crowd.

"Trainers! Pick your first Pokémon!"

I hesitated over my belt and decided to try Yamper first. Much like Victor, it would benefit me to try and keep his Pokémon weakened as much as possible. I grabbed her Pokéball and held it to my lips.

"Alright, Yamper," I said softly, "This is the first big one. Let's show 'em what you're made of."

"Trainers! At my whistle, toss your Pokéballs and begin the battle! Three! Two! One!"

She put a whistle in her mouth and blew, and despite its high pitch and volume, it was almost immediately drowned out by the roar of the crowd. I threw Yamper's Pokéball with all my might, as Milo sent out his Pokémon; a Gossifleur.

"Okay, Yamper! We've seen one of these before, they're not so scary! Start right off with Nuzzle!"

Yamper barked and sprang into action, launching herself at the flowering Pokémon and sending small yellow sparks flying in her wake.

"Stay rooted to the ground and use Rapid Spin!" Milo called, and Gossifleur immediately twirled around, faster and faster as Yamper closed in. By the time Yamper finally rammed into Gossifleur, she was shot in a completely different direction. Yamper was not seriously hurt, but the sudden change in direction made her lose a little bit more of her footing than she was expecting. Gossifleur, meanwhile, hardly looked damaged at all. It was so small, so I couldn't quite figure out if Yamper's attack had managed to paralyze it or not. The two Pokémon stared at each other, as if they were rivals on a cowboy movie.

"Yamper! Use Quick Attack!"

"Rapid Spin again! Same plan!"

"No!" Yamper shot at Gossifleur again, who started spinning in place again, and once again, upon collision, she skidded in a completely different direction. Gossifleur stopped spinning and once again, the two Pokémon stared each other down again. Neither attack seemed to be doing much damage.

"Yamper! Use Bite!"

"One more rapid spin!"

Yamper rushed at Gossifleur and launched at it as the flowering Pokémon spun around a third time. Was it me, or was that Gossifleur getting faster? Surely, we paralyzed it, didn't we? I didn't have time to question how good my moves were though, as Yamper pounced, readying her bite.

"Now hang on!" I yelled. Yamper managed to bite down on Gossifleur. Gossifleur was dragged to a halt as Yamper dug her teeth in to a petal on her head. "Fantastic! Bring her to a stop and use Spark!"

"Now, Gossifleur! Magical Leaf!"

Yamper's fur bristled as it started to build electricity, but it couldn't release it in time as a huge gust of leaves appeared, seemingly out of Gossifleur itself, and sliced into Yamper. Her jaw released Gossifleur, who then sped off to another end of the field. Yamper pulled herself up and stood ready to fight still, but I knew she couldn't handle another attack like that.

"Use Bite again!"

"Magical Leaf!"

Yamper had gone only a few steps toward Gossifleur when another lightning-fast barrage of leaves crashed into her. She slumped over, unconscious.

"Yamper is unable to battle!" cried the official, to the delight of the crowd. Gossifleur zipped back with that unreal speed to Milo, who patted it lovingly on the head.

I grimaced as I returned Yamper to her Pokéball. "I should have done better, Yamper, and I'm sorry. Take a good long rest, girl. Now, go! Stufful!" I yelled, and Stufful took his place where Yamper stood, eyes bright and limbs limber. He looked like he was ready to go.

"You're doing great!" Milo called to me from across the pitch. "She's still got a couple more, so be on your edge Gossifleur! Rapid Spin again!"

"Oh, no you don't! Stufful, use tackle!" Stufful lumbered forward while Gossifleur made to spin again, but it seemed frozen in place, allowing Stufful to ram into it hard, finally dealing the first truly good move in the battle. I didn't know whether to be excited that Yamper had managed to paralyze Gossifleur, or horrified that somehow, unlike every other Pokémon, it managed to move faster when paralyzed. Stufful seemed happy enough, but I knew I couldn't rely on Gossifleur's lasting paralysis.

"Okay then, why don't we try to take the offensive?" Milo called. "Magical Leaf!"

"Payback!" I cried, but the leaves were on Stufful before it got a chance to attack. The panda managed to hold on, lumbering toward Gossifleur yet again, crashing directly into it for another, much stronger collision, but neither Pokémon looked like they'd be able to take much more of this. I

"Come on, I believe in you! Tackle!"

"Magical Leaf!"

Once again, leaves shot out towards Stufful, who never stood a chance, lay on the ground, also unconscious.

"Stufful is unable to battle!" cried the official. The audience's delight waned a bit. Of course, they were expecting both Championed-endorsed trainers to win easily, but now I was down to Scorbunny, and Milo still had his two Pokémon left. I glanced at the clock. Four of the ten minutes had passed. Even if Scorbunny managed to hang on and take out Gossifleur, he would need to take out whoever else Milo had planned if I still wanted to salvage this battle. I returned Stufful to his ball, and I felt tears of frustration welling in my eyes. Looking around me, I could see cameras zooming in on my face. No doubt my mum was worried. Victor, of course, would have no idea what was going on, and wherever Hop was, he would never let me live it down. Maybe Bede was right.

No, I told myself. I was saving Scorbunny for the end because I trusted Scorbunny could handle it. And I knew he could. I tossed out his ball and he hopped out excitedly, running around on the pitch as the audience started to cheer again. They were still cheering for me! They wanted this battle to be good.

"You alright over there?" Milo called.

"You just wait!" I said with a new resolve. "Scorbunny, light those damn leaves up! Ember!"

"Magical Leaf!" Milo called again. The leaves came at a blistering speed, as Scorbunny shot a few fireballs toward Gossifleur. Most of the leaves disintegrated in the heat, curling and crisping before falling to the ground or turning to ash in the air. One of the blasts of fire managed to just barely hit Gossifleur as well, causing it to get startled and stop the leafy onslaught.

"Now's your chance! Quick attack!"

"Magical Leaf!" Milo called again. Really? He should have known that wouldn't work with us, right? Still the leaves shot themselves at Scorbunny, and while he managed to get a direct hit, a lot of blades of grass had sliced into him as well.

"Alright then, hang back and keep using Ember until that Gossifleur doesn't have any more leaves!"

"Stall tactics won't work in a timed battle! Magical Leaf again!"

The dance went on for almost a minute more, with Scorbunny scorching most of the leaves, but still getting scratched by what few it couldn't. He wasn't taking enough damage to seriously get hurt, but I could see in his eyes that his frustration was reaching a breaking point. And as the clock hit four minutes, I could tell that there was no more time to spare. Meanwhile, Milo seemed perfectly content to keep us out of his way. Gossifleur was still moving so fast despite its paralysis, and any time it had to slow down, it was shooting leaves again until it got close.

"Scorbunny! I know it's gonna hurt, but we don't have a choice! You gotta hit it with everything you got! Tackle!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Scorbunny looked at me and blinked, and in his eyes, I could see a fire. It was a fire I couldn't recognize before, but one I only knew would see me through to the end, and with a quick nod, he charged.

"Magical Leaf! This one ought to do it!" Milo cried triumphantly, but then something shifted. The leaves shot out of Gossifleur, same as always, but right before they made contact with Scorbunny, the rabbit burst into flame. Bright white and red flames covered its body as it still sped down toward Gossifleur, and not only was the flame moving fast, but it was also starting to grow. I couldn't even make Scorbunny's shape out of the bright red and white light as he charged, and with a dull thud, he crashed into Gossifleur, sending it flying directly into Milo before the flames finally dissipated and Scorbunny stood, watching his handiwork.

Only he wasn't Scorbunny. Not anymore. His long white ears now fell back behind his head and his fur had grown in strange new tufts and colors, including a yellow stripe across his head and a strange red and black pattern across his chest and legs. His bright and energetic eyes were larger but hid under hooded and skewering eyelids. He looked like, for lack of a better word, a teenager.

"Scor…Raboot?!" I cried. The audience erupted, louder than ever, shocking Raboot, who immediately lost his cool stature as it hopped back to me excitedly. He jumped up in my arms and I hugged him tightly.

"Okay, that was the coolest damn thing I have ever seen in my life, but please, next time just don't put me on edge like that?" Raboot smiled under its thick coat of neck fur. I looked back up at the clock. Three minutes and thirty seconds remained.

"We gotta make this quick buddy. Milo's still got one more up his sleeve and we need to take it down before that clock runs out. Dynamax time?" I held out my hand, and instead of his usual enthusiastic kick with his feet, Scorbunny instead pressed his front paw against mine.

"Okay, let's go." I returned him to his Pokéball and pressed the button on my wristband, feeling the Dynamax energy start to flow and collect itself in Raboot's Pokéball. I looked up and saw Milo had the same exact idea. The two of us tossed our enlarged Pokémon out, and they rose twenty, thirty, even forty feet up. Raboot looked ready to take on the world, and by the world, I mean he was ready to take on what looked like a cotton ball that wasn't too much smaller than the world. I pulled my phone out and scanned it with my Pokédex app as the two stood and roared menacingly at each other. Eldegoss, it said after a quick scan. The evolved form of Gossifleur. I glanced at the clock again. Three minutes.

"He's just a bigger and stronger version of the last one you knocked out, Raboot!" I cried, wondering if he could even hear me. "But you're the bigger and stronger version of yourself too, in two ways! Hit 'em with all the firepower you have!"

"Max Overgrowth!" called Milo, but Eldegoss was not as quick as its pre-evolution had become, and before it could even make any attacks, Raboot had launched a massive ball of fire at it, landing square upon its face. The giant cotton ball shuttered and stumbled back, causing Milo to run to the side to avoid being crushed, but Eldegoss managed to pull itself together before reaching the end of the arena. It then launched a barrage of seeds directly at the ground where Scorbunny stood, causing the entire ground to quake and a giant green aura spread across the entire stadium, blasting Raboot with the same energy that Raboot had sent Eldegoss's way just a few seconds ago. The green energy then seeped into both our Pokémon, rejuvenating them, but both Raboot and Eldegoss looked shaky. The next move could be our last. The clock read 2:30. Either way, the battle would be over after one move.

Fortunately for me, Raboot could handle being hit with a few blades of grass. "Do it again! Max Flare!" Raboot launched another ball of fire at Eldegoss!"

"Max Overgrowth!"

Green and red auras combined and exploded in pure white as the two Dynamax Pokémon fired off their strongest attacks, but when the light dissipated, only Raboot stood tall. Eldegoss fell to the ground and began to shrink as all the Dynamax energy escaped its body, like its soul itself was escaping. Raboot also began to shrink as the Dynamax energy began to disappear from the battlefield, and within a couple seconds, I could see that Raboot stood tall and Eldegoss lay unconscious on the grass.

"Eldegoss is una—" The official was cut off as the stadium erupted, even louder than ever. Scorbunny coolly walked back over to me and nuzzled into my hip warmly. I just smiled, in shock. I had done it. I had come from a 2-0 deficit and won my first gym battle.

"Scorbunny—Raboot, sorry, you were so incredible!" I cried, feeling my eyes water in pride. I fell to my knees and pulled him in for a big hug. He wriggled around a bit uncomfortably but ultimately embraced the affection. When I looked back up, I saw Milo standing back in the center of the pitch next to his Eldegoss. He beckoned me over. Raboot and I jogged over.

"What a battle," he said, beaming. "I thought I had it for a second there, but that partner of yours has got quite a second wind, it seems.

I laughed. "I really thought you had us for a second too. That Gossifleur was amazing."

"You know, it's funny, but most people tend to knock her out before she gets a chance to get off a single Rapid Spin."

"How? She's so fast!"

"Rapid Spin is sort of like a warm-up technique. It's got a whole array of uses, but one of them is that it limbers up the muscles of your Pokémon and makes them move a bit faster. You know, if you would have just sent out Scorbunny first, you never would have that issue."

"I guess I just have a flair for the dramatic."

"Either way, you really have a flair for battling," he congratulated, pulling a small green badge out of his pocket and handing it to me. "This is going to sound stuffy, but I have to say it as an official gym leader: I, Milo of the Grass-type Gym, present to you the grass badge, for your outstanding battle and your even more outstanding Pokémon." He tossed a green badge shaped like a leaf to me and raised his hand up for another handshake.

"Thanks, Milo," I said, taking it eagerly.

"The more of those badges you have, the harder your gym battles will be," Milo warned. "But just remember this. Moves don't just do damage of a specific type. Some can do other things that will put you at an advantage or a disadvantage. For example, you had that Stufful use Payback, right? Strong move, but it's even stronger if the Pokémon using it has just been hit. Keep that kind of stuff in mind, and even Leon will get nervous going up against you."

"O-of course," I said. "Thank you for the advice."

"Happy to give it. Now wave to everyone. I think you made a lot of fans today, Gloria. And you've earned every single one." And the two of us waved at the crowd, who were all still screaming their heads off, until the man who sent me out came to collect me.

A/N: One down, seven to go! This was such a fun chapter to write. It was a nice little challenge to make Milo a threat; when I first played, I had a Growlithe and she roasted every Pokemon inside and outside the Turffield Gym, lol

NEXT WEEK: BATTLE ON THE BIG BRIDGE