Decision, and a heated battle

"That club thing was really weird," Laura commented the next morning. "I still don't understand what this was all about, honestly!"

The three friends were having a rather late breakfast at the Pokemon centre. They were planning on going to Katie's place right after, to hopefully reunite Phanpy with her rightful trainer and get the story behind their separation, and from there to go on to the Azalea gym to challenge Bugsy. Laura was spoon-feeding the little azurill a sort of mush recommended by Nurse Joy. The baby mouse seemed to enjoy it, babbling happily on her knees. They had learned that it actually was a little female, contrary to what Bonnie and Laura had understood the night before. Nurse Joy had huffed angrily when they told her the story of Azurill's abandonment, but had been disinclined to discuss the club.

"Yeah," Max agreed. "It felt like everyone was pulling a huge joke on us, only they actually were dead serious. But hey, you found out who Phanpy's trainer is, which was our goal, and you rescued that little one, so all in all it was a successful evening, I'd say!"

The black-haired boy was in high spirits, his long-awaited battle for his second badge finally within his reach. He turned towards Bonnie, who was picking rather disconsolately at her pancakes.

"Ok Bonnie, out with it!" He demanded. "You're not at all acting like yourself, and Laura doesn't want to tell me anything. What's wrong with you?"

Bonnie looked startled at the direct question.

"I didn't think I was that obvious," she said a bit sheepishly.

"Well, you are," retorted Max, exchanging a glance with Laura. "So stop beating around the bush already!"

"Oh, alright," Bonnie replied. "Yes, I have been thinking quite a lot ever since we left Violet City. Mostly, I have been wondering whether I should continue with challenging gyms here in Johto. And I've decided not to."

"What?" Max practically shouted, bewildered. "Of course you should continue, you're good at it! Why on earth would you want to stop?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Max. But I've discovered something that I want to do even more," Bonnie smiled. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Something that you're quite familiar with, I might add."

"What are you talking… Oh!" Max brain had caught up with his mouth. "You want to enter contests like my sister, don't you?"

"Got it in one!"

"But why? Don't you have fun with gym battles?" Max seemed rather disappointed.

"I do, I really do. But that's not all I want to do with my pokemon. Moreover, that's not all my pokemon want to do with me either, and I want to help them reach their full potential."

"What do you mean?" Max asked. Laura said nothing. The dark-haired girl had seemed unsurprised at her friend's announcement. But then, she had been to the Violet City contest with Bonnie and seen for herself the Kalos girl excitement at her first taste of that kind of competition.

"Well, when I was travelling around Kalos a few years ago, I had two kinds of trainers with me. My brother and Ash, who are first and foremost battlers, and Serena, who can fight pretty well when she needs to, but who mostly delights in performing. I liked aspects of both, and that's why it was so hard for me to decide what I wanted to do myself. So to discover that contests have elements of both, and that I didn't have to choose one over the other, that felt like a wish come true! I just wasn't sure what to do since I had already started collecting gym badges, so it felt like giving up on something in the middle, but then I realized that just because it took me a little longer to find my dream, it's not a valid reason not to pursue it!"

"And the part about helping your pokemon reach their full potential?"

"When I met Litleo, he had come a long way from home, on his own, because he wanted to perform in the Kalos Fireworks. It seems fitting to give him the opportunity to get better at performing. And Dedenne always loved watching showcases, so he's pretty excited as well. Chespin too but I'm not so sure about having him perform, we'll see. And Oddish is undecided but willing to give it a try."

"Oh, is that why you snuck out of the room with all your pokemon last night? You wanted to discuss it with them?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, it took me some time, but I finally realized they had just as much say in that decision as I did, and they're up for it, so contests here we come!"

"Well, I'm sorry you're not going to be competing in the Johto league with me," Max said, "you'd have been a great rival. But if you believe that contests are your thing, then more power to you!"

Bonnie smiled widely. She had not realized how much it had bothered her, to hover between the two options without quite being able to decide one way or another, and how much she had worried about what her friends would say. That both Laura and Max were on board with her project, that they were both supporting her, meant a lot.

xxx

A short while later, they were on their way. It would have been even quicker if not for a last-minute delay: the little azurill, seeing Laura preparing to leave the centre, had immediately started to scream, high-pitched, pitiful little cries that they (well, Laura anyway) had not been able to resist for very long. So the blue mouse was accompanying them, "just for today." Both Max and Bonnie had smirked when Laura said that, and an exchanged glance had confirmed that they were both on the same wavelength: another companion was going to join them when they left Azalea Town.

The address the two girls had gotten the night before proved to be in the same neighbourhood as the gym. It was a nice part of town, with lots of gardens. Bug-type pokemon were buzzing around everywhere in the flower beds. Katie's place was a smallish house, at the end of a one-way street. Long before they actually reached it, the three companions noticed that Phanpy was getting more and more excited, proof enough that she knew this place. Nobody was outside on this fine morning, so Bonnie rang the bell, a bit anxiously. She had been very keen to reunite the little elephant with her rightful owner, but she had to confess that she was going to miss their little friend. Phanpy had proven to be a very sweet, even-tempered pokemon, and it was a shame that they would continue their journey without her. And then there was the mystery of how she had become separated from her trainer in the first place, and how she had happened to be in those mountains.

Slow footsteps could soon be heard from the other side of the door, which was opened with a creek. A little old lady stood on the threshold with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, children, what can I do for you?"

Before any of them could answer though, Phanpy practically jumped into her arms, almost bowling her over.

"Hmmpf!" The old woman beamed. "That's our phanpy! My goodness, but what is she doing here? My granddaughter is going to be overjoyed, she was besides herself when Phanpy got lost. Laney! Laney! Come downstairs quickly, there's a surprise for you!"

"What is it Grandma?" A young girl appeared at the top of the stairs, all red hair and freckles in a green dress that had certainly been used for gardening, judging by the smudges. She set eyes upon the blue elephant and screamed.

"Phanpy! Oh my god, I thought you were lost forever!" She burst into sobs while trying to fly down the stairs, Phanpy meeting her halfway with a joyful cry. The touching reunion left no one unmoved. There were tears in both Bonnie and Laura's eyes, while Max kept surreptitiously rubbing his face.

"Come in, come in, dears," the little grandmother said after a few minutes. "Can I offer you some cookies and a cup of tea? It's the least I can do after the great happiness you just caused. And I have to admit, I'm most curious to hear your story. Not that we're not happy that you brought us our phanpy back, mind, but the last we heard Katie and she were quite far away from here. My name is Martha, by the way."

"I'm Bonnie, and this is my partner, Dedenne, and my friends Laura and Max."

The three friends allowed themselves to be shepherded into a cheery, if small, living room, with bright red armchairs and fragrant flowers everywhere. Two minutes later, while the old lady was serving them some chocolate cookies ("Homemade, dears. And the best in Azalea, if I do say so myself."), Laney and Phanpy joined them. The red-haired girl was holding on tightly to her friend as if she would never let go again and had apparently not even noticed her weight. Bonnie, with frequent help from her friends, started to explain how they had found Phanpy, how they had rescued her, and their subsequent adventures with the little elephant.

"We're really lucky that you made all this effort to find Phanpy's family," Martha commented when Bonnie finally fell silent. "Laney has been besides herself ever since Katie admitted that she didn't have Phanpy anymore, I was at my wits' end to find out how to cheer her up."

"Katie is Phanpy's trainer then?" Laura asked with curiosity. "Is she also one of your grand-daughters?"

"Yes, Katie is Laney's big sister. She just started her journey as a Pokemon trainer. It was a real blow to Laney when Katie decided to go with Phanpy, there had always been a special bond between the two littles ones ever since their mum brought it home as an egg. But Katie didn't want a classic Johto starter, so that was that. I think, from what she didn't say in her phone calls as much as from what she did say, that she was having trouble establishing a real bond with Phanpy. Then she caught that pichu and obviously fell in love with it, and I'm afraid she was neglecting Phanpy a little. But I still don't understand how the two became separated."

"I'm just happy we could help," Bonnie said. "You will contact Katie and let her know her phanpy has been found then? I'm sure she must be very worried as well, even if there were some issues between Phanpy and her."

"She's never taking Phanpy from me again!" Laney shouted suddenly, the first words she had spoken since she had greeted her little friend. She looked upset and determined.

Martha pursed her lips.

"Indeed, I don't think that would be wise at all, and I'll tell your parents that, don't worry."

"Well then, thank you for your hospitality, but we should really get going," Max interjected rather anxiously.

"He's going directly to the gym to challenge your gym leader," Bonnie confided, "that's why he looks so stressed."

"I'm not stressed, that's just anticipation!" Max protested, and both Martha and Laney smiled.

"Then good luck to you, young trainer, we wouldn't dream of standing between a trainer and a gym battle! Why don't you all come back for dinner tonight? We'll celebrate Phanpy's return, and hopefully your victory…"

"Sure, that would be great!" Bonnie immediately replied with a big smile. Laura and Max also voiced their thanks and agreement, and – finally, thought Max –, they took momentary leave of their hosts.

xxx

"They're getting away, catch them!"

The outcry was all the louder since the street was very quiet. The three friends looked around, nonplussed, trying to locate its source.

"Over there!" Laura pointed.

A teenager had just rounded the corner, chasing a group of fluttering bug pokemon which they recognized as ledybas and ledians.

"Right, let's do this!" Max said, grabbing a pokeball. "Poliwag, I need your help! Use attract on those!"

The tadpole reacted instantly, and her sweet attack drew a good half of the bugs to her. But four of them, obviously females, continued their flight.

"Thanks!" The teenager shouted as he came towards the friends. "I'll collect them when I come back!"

"Chespin, come out and use your vine whip on that ledian! Dedenne, use thunder shock on the ledybas!" Bonnie cried, unwilling to let the bug pokemon fly past without doing her best to stop them.

The little green hedgehog was fast, and he deftly plucked his target out of mid-air. Meanwhile, the electric attack had quite an effect on the part flying types, not quite stopping them but slowing them enough for the youth to capture them in the big net he was carrying. He beamed at Bonnie and Max.

"That was great, thanks a lot! I thought I'd be chasing those little scamps for half a day at least, full of energy and mischief as they were!"

Chespin handed over his prisoner, and Max had Poliwag bring her temporary suitors to the net. She looked relieved when they stopped buzzing around her.

"Happy to help. What happened?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Apparently one of my helpers left the door to one of the greenhouses open, just a fraction, and this bunch wasted no time in sneaking out. Luckily I spotted them directly, but they're really fast! Hey, that one is not one of mine!"

Amongst the ledybas and ledians which had been attracted by Poliwag's attack was a yanma.

"Must be a wild one, and your pokemon attracted it along with mine. Go away now little one, you're free, and I have enough of your kind already."

The yanma did not want to leave Poliwag's side, evading Bugsy's efforts to shoo it away. Poliwag, obviously fed up with its antics, sent a well-aimed water jet at it, and it fell back, hovering behind the group. Max recalled Poliwag into her pokeball.

"You were talking about greenhouses?" Laura asked the teenager with some curiosity.

"Yeah, come and have a look, all of you, you definitely earned it! I specialize in bug pokemon, they're really amazing, you know. I'm researching everything about them, so I had these huge greenhouses build so that they can feel at home, and I can observe them all I want. My name is Bugsy by the way, I'm the Azalea Town gym leader."

xxx

"Really?" Bonnie laughed, delighted. At Bugsy's frown, she apologized. "I wasn't making fun of you, honest. But we were actually on our way to the gym, so that's a pretty funny coincidence! I'm Bonnie, and this is my partner Dedenne, and my friends Laura and Max."

Bugsy smiled and shook their hands, being careful of keeping the huge net out of reach.

"Happy coincidence, I would say. So, are you three thinking of challenging me then? You spared me a long chase, and my time is yours, if you want."

"I came to challenge you, yes," Max acquiesced, finally finding his voice after the shock of finding himself suddenly in front of the very person he had come to battle.

He looked at his future adversary. Bugsy was a slender youth with unkempt hair half falling down his face. He looked to be around sixteen, give or take a year. His baggy pants and expedition shirt made him look like an outdoorsy kind of person, which, by all accounts, he really was. With his yellow scarf around his neck, he seemed to be coming back from a scout meeting. He had a friendly, infectious smile, and Max found himself smiling back.

"Good thing we came at the right time, I'd have been really disappointed to have to wait for your return to the gym!"

"Well, come on then, I'll release my little friends here into their greenhouse, and then I'll accept your challenge."

The gym was not far. Seeing the girls' interest in the greenhouses, Bugsy took the time to give them the promised tour, despite Max's impatience. They all were quite impressed by the set up: it felt like a forested glen inside, very lush and green and with colourful flowers everywhere. The third, and biggest, greenhouse also contained a surprise, an arena.

"I have another arena within the gym building proper, for the more official tournaments and this kind of stuff, but I personally prefer to battle on this one. What do you think Max, shall we stay here?"

"Sure, I'm up for it!"

Bugsy motioned to a pale youth toiling on one side. He appeared to be carefully pruning some of the bushes.

"Brian, leave your shears for a minute and come here, we need a referee!"

"Ok Bugsy, I'm coming!"

Max and Bugsy shook hands, then took place on each side of the arena. Brian placed himself at the middle point on the left side and motioned to Bonnie and Laura that they should grab chairs and sit behind him. Both girls obeyed, each with their favourite mouse on their lap, and grinned in anticipation: the fight promised to be interesting.

"This is an official gym battle between gym leader Bugsy of Azalea Town and challenger Max of Petalburg City. Each opponent can use up to three pokemon. Only the challenger is allowed to switch pokemon. The battle starts… now!"

xxx

"Shuckle, you're up, buddy."

"Then, Poliwag, I choose you!"

Both adversaries looked at each other for a few seconds, then:

"Poliwag, water jet!" "Shuckle, struggle bug!"

Max and Bugsy had shouted almost simultaneously. Shuckle fired several blasts of green energy towards Poliwag, which collided with the jet of water launched by the tadpole. The two attacks cancelled each other.

"Poliwag, water jet again!" "Protect!"

The bug and rock pokemon was not as fast as its opponent, but Bugsy had clearly worked out a strategy for this case, and the water jet splashed harmlessly against Shuckle's wall of protection. Max clenched his fists in frustration. He needed to get past that wall, but how?

"Shuckle, struggle bug!" Bugsy had captured the initiative. On Max's indication, Poliwag dodged the first attack, but then Shuckle repeated its moves again and again, and the third one reached the tadpole, sending her flying a few feet away.

"Poliwag, are you alright?"

"Poli!" The little pokemon answered with determination, getting back on her feet.

"Careful, here they come again. Use water jet in a circular motion!"

The jets of water enveloped Poliwag like a shield, reflecting the blasts of energy from the struggle bug.

"So, you found a defense, hey?" Bugsy smiled. "Well then, we'll have to try something else. Shuckle, rock slide!"

Shuckle's body briefly glowed white, and multiple white rings of energy appeared above the arena. Then, several large grey boulders came out of the ripples of energy and started to fall down over Poliwag.

"Poliwag, dodge them, you can do it!" At Max's cry, Poliwag sprinted all over the place, zigzagging left and right to avoid the boulders. She was successful, but the last ones fell all around her, effectively trapping her in one spot. The gym leader shook his head with a grin.

"Too bad your pokemon can't move anymore, hey? Shuckle, rock slide again!"

The white circles started to appear again. Max thought very quickly. "Poliwag, use ice beam to smash those rocks and free yourself!"

The move was successful beyond his hopes, as Poliwag quickly reduced the rocks to flying shards. Many of them flew in Shuckle's direction, who had to stop its attack and use protect to avoid being damaged by its own rocks.

"Yeah, now use attract!" Max yelled in the brief lull that followed. Unfortunately, the attack appeared to have no effect.

"Sorry Max, my shuckle is also a female. Though that was a good try!"

Before Bugsy could call out the next move, Max took the lead: "Then use double slap and punch that shuckle into the air!"

Poliwag was fast, and Shuckle had not time to defend herself. She was projected over the arena, looking somewhat dizzy.

"Now use water jet!" Too confused to protect herself, Shuckle took the full force of the water jet. When she landed on the ground, she was knocked out.

"Shuckle is unable to battle, Poliwag wins." The referee commented.

"Well done, Shuckle," Bugsy said, recalling her. "And well done you two, but it's far from over yet. Ariados, my beauty, your turn!"

The big spider looked strong, and Poliwag cast an apprehensive glance at Max.

"Don't let it take the initiative, use ice beam!"

The attack was successful and forced Ariados to take a step back. It reared defiantly afterwards, showing an undaunted combative spirit.

"Ariados, use string shot!" "Dodge it!"

But Poliwag, tired from the previous fight, was just a bit too slow, and found herself caught in the sticky strings.

"Now use absorb!" The grass-type attack was quite effective, and Poliwag screamed as she felt her energy leeched away from her.

"Finish it with poison sting!" Poliwag was still caught in the web and weakened from the previous attack. The poisoned darts proved too much for her, and she fainted.

"Poliwag is unable to battle, Ariados wins!"

xxx

"That was great Poliwag, now get some rest," Max said as he recalled her in her ball. "Okay Treecko, your turn now!"

"An interesting choice," Bugsy commented, eyebrows raised. "I'm curious to see what you imagine you can do against my Ariados. She's one of my strongest pokemon, you know."

"Treecko?" Laura whispered to Bonnie. "Isn't he at a great disadvantage? Why did Max choose him?"

"Against a bug and poison type? He is, especially since he doesn't know many attacks that are not grass-type. But Treecko was going to have a difficult time in this gym anyway. I think Max is hoping Treecko can at least weaken or finish Ariados, and that Ralts won't be at a disadvantage against Bugsy's last pokemon."

"Oh! That's good strategy, I guess, but it could be quite rough on Treecko…" Laura pursed her lips, not sure if she approved of Max being so ruthless. But really, what else could he do in a bug-type gym?

"Ariados, let's go for string shot again!"

"Avoid them by using your quick attack!" Treecko was instantly responsive, and try as she might, Ariados did not manage to pin him down.

"Very well, then use poison sting!" "Counter it with bullet seeds, don't let the darts touch you!"

It took at least two or three seeds to stop one single dart, but Treecko managed to evade the attack. Bugsy frowned in frustration: his little adversary was proving very elusive. But on the other side of the battlefield, Max was equally frustrated. They had a good defense, but how to weaken Ariados?

"Treecko use energy ball, several of them, keep Ariados from attacking!" The green lizard obeyed immediately. The green spheres were particularly bright, as Treecko and Max had perfected the attack during their intense training sessions, and several of them hit their target point-blank, but they apparently did little damage. Ariados shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.

"Quickly, use quick attack, before she recovers! Great, now do it again! And again…"

The third quick attack was one too many. While Ariados was clearly destabilized, she was fast enough to shoot some more sticky string as Treecko tried to get away. It was not enough to stop her green opponent completely, but more than enough to slow him down considerably.

"Now use poison sting again!" Treecko tried to counter the darts with more bullet seeds, and he did stop a lot of them, but he was no longer fast enough to dodge the ones that remained.

"Treecko!" He cried out with some despair, just before they landed. He was still standing as the attack ceased, but obviously very weakened.

"Now use absorb!" Treecko tried, and managed, to fire a last energy ball at Ariados, stopping her from using her attack and regaining some of her lost energy. But then the poison proved too much, and he stumbled to the ground.

"Treecko is unable to battle, Ariados wins!" Brian announced.

"Treecko, you were great!" Max said, gathering his little friend in his arms. "We knew it would be hard for you, this battle, but you really did good, and you weakened Ariados significantly. Now rest, and we'll do the rest, alright?"

"So, what will be your last pokemon, Max?" Bugsy asked in a carrying voice.

Max smiled. "Let me present my oldest buddy and partner. Go, Ralts!"

Upon getting out of his pokeball, the child-like pokemon looked intently at the arena and his adversary.

"Two opponents to go, but I know you can do it, Ralts! WE can do it, together!"

"Ralts!"

xxx

"Another interesting choice," Bugsy commented. "Ariados, let's start with string shot again!" By using psychic on the strings, Ralts was able to make them fall harmlessly on the side.

"Then poison sting!"

"Safeguard!" Ralts' erected protection stopped the darts. "Now it's your turn, use psychic on Ariados!" The attack was very effective, and coming on top on the damage Treecko had dealt, it made the big spider stumble. But she regained her footing quickly.

"Pin missile!"

"Right, Ralts, you know what to do with this one!" Reacting as usual to the attack he had had to face so many times while training with Bonnie, Ralts used psychic on the missiles themselves, bending them to his will… until they turned around, aiming right at Ariados. The spider was not expecting that and took her own attack frontally, stumbling again.

"Follow with another psychic, quickly!"

That last attack proved too much for Ariados, and she fell to the ground, conceding the fight.

"Ariados is unable to battle, Ralts wins!"

"Thanks Ariados, good fight. And good strategy from you two!" Bugsy added to Max and Ralts. "That thing with pin missile, that was clever. But this battle is far from over yet, and I'm wondering how you're going to cope against my own oldest buddy. Scizor, it's your turn!"

"Scizor!"

The bug-steel type was quite impressive, all gleaming red armor and big claws. Max frowned, disappointed. He had really hoped that Ralts would have a good chance against their last opponent, but that was going to be a tough fight. Hopefully the scizor would not know too many steel-type attacks.

"Scizor, sword dance!"

Max gritted his teeth as he realized that all of Scizor's attacks would be more effective from now on.

"Now fury cutter!" Scizor's claws seemed to elongate, like short swords, and he rushed at Ralts.

"Safeguard!" Max cried out, just in time. The protection offered diminished the damage Ralts was taking, but it did not cancel it completely. When Scizor fell back, Max took the initiative.

"Use psychic!"

"Double team!" Suddenly confronted by a dozen scizors, Ralts faltered, and his attack did not land.

"It doesn't matter Ralts, use psychic on them all!"

"Oh no my friends, that won't work! Scizor use bullet punch!" All scizors started running towards Ralts, claws glowing.

"Double team!" As Ralts also multiplied his image a dozen times and the scizors stopped, confused as to which was their real target, Max smiled, but it was a bit grim. Ralts was good and his defense was top-notch, but if his attacks did not land, what good would that be? Sooner or later one of Scizor's attacks would get through, and it would be over.

"Psychic!" He still called out, unwilling to let Bugsy dictate the pace of the battle. Rays of energy flew out of all the ralts' images, and though only one ray was dangerous, the scizors still had to avoid them all. In a few seconds all the false images had dissipated and Ralt's attack did land on Scizor. But the big bug shook himself and regained his stance with little visible damage.

"Use fury cutter on the ralts!"

Scizor was fast, and he made all the ralts disappear in next to no time. Ralts had no time to dodge, and he took the attack frontally. It sent him flying away, and he landed heavily. But there was no respite: Scizor was already at the landing point with a bullet punch, and the child-like pokemon cried out at the super-effective move. For the second time in a matter of seconds, he went flying away, landing right in front of Max.

"Ralts! Are you alright?" The black-haired boy yelled, as his pokemon stuggled to get back to his feet. "Can you still fight, or shall we concede? You've done a great job so far, nothing to be ashamed of."

At these words Ralts turned to face his trainer. He had managed to find his balance again, though it was obvious that the fight had taken a heavy toll on him. But his spirit was clearly undaunted, and he raised both arms in a fighting stance.

"Ralts!" He said with determination. And suddenly, he began to glow white all over. He was rapidly engulfed in a ball of white light, bright enough that all spectators had to shield their eyes for a few seconds. When it disappeared, Ralts had morphed into a bigger version of himself, though still child-like and dainty, floating lightly over the arena.

"Kir!"

Max laughed, delighted, as Laura turned to Bonnie with big eyes.

"Was that…"

"Yeah, Ralts just evolved into Kirlia," Bonnie replied. "What a fighting spirit!"

"Well, that was unexpected," Bugsy commented. "I love it when battles are full of surprises. But that still won't be enough for you to vanquish my scizor, I'm afraid. Scizor, bullet punch again!"

"Kirlia, avoid it and use psychic!"

But instead of heading Max's words, the little pokemon turned towards his opponent with fire in his eyes. And fire suddenly erupted from both his arms. As Scizor connected with Kirlia, it was he who flinch first.

Max was flabbergasted: he had recognized fire punch, a fire-type move that the ralts line could in theory learn, but which was almost never seen. But he recovered quickly: they had to keep Scizor on the defensive.

"That's great Kirlia, keep it up!"

Kirlia did not need the advice: he had continued to pummel Scizor with his fiery hands, and though the punches were small, their impact was far greater.

"Protect yourself with swords dance!" But as Scizor started to turn on himself, the swords acting as shield, Max called out:

"Don't let him escape you, use psychic to pin him in place and then the biggest fire punches you can muster!"

The combination sent Scizor reeling away. He landed on the ground, took one hesitant step forward, and slowly fell over.

"Scizor is unable to battle, Kirlia wins. Max from Petalburg City is the winner!"

END OF CHAPTER

Hi everyone, apologies for the long gap. I realized earlier this year that it was going to be difficult for me to follow any kind of publication schedule. I thought about stopping, but in the end I couldn't do it. So I'm going to publish when I can, even if it's irregular. Keep checking from time to time…