The next day, once they woke up (in separate beds. Get your mind out of the gutter) and got ready, Flannery looked over the matches of the day. As Johnny walked out of the bathroom, she nodded, and he asked, "Found one?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and I think it's a Gym match."

"Gym match?"

"A battle between Gym Leaders. They come here to relax and train. Well, except me…too lonely."

Johnny nodded. "Makes sense. Who?"

"Looks like…Winona versus Liza and Tate."

Johnny whistled. "That should be a good match. When?"

"Uh…half an hour."

"Stadium?"

"Central."

"Perfect. We should head over now to get good seats."

She nodded and stood. "Good idea."

As they walked towards the stadium, Johnny admired the wonderful weather, perfect for battling. "Flannery, do the other leaders know you're here?"

She shrugged. "Don't think so. Why?"

He chuckled. "It'd be awesome to see you battle."

She smiled. "It'd be fun to see you battle, too."

He looked at her. "I've gone through more training since we left off. I think I could take on even Wallace."

"What, no Steven?"

Johnny shrugged. "I don't think so. I'm decent…but not that good."

"I understand. Hey, let's go! I wanna see battle!"

She began to drag him (again), and he sighed, still going along fine.

They got seated comfortably in the stadium, close to the action. Flannery hugged Johnny excitedly, and he chuckled. "Yeah, I'm excited, too."

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Ever Grande City!"

A cheer went up from the large crowd, and the announcer continued, "It's my pleasure today to introduce a great Gym match today! In this corner, we have the aerial master, the beauty of the skies, Winona!"

A woman in a light-blue flight suit walked out, her lavender hair blowing in the wind. The crowd cheered, and she waved gracefully to them as she walked to her position.

"Now, her opponent today, or should I say opponents, are masters of the mind, the telepathic terror twins! Liza and Tate!"

Two individuals walked out, a boy and a girl, both in blue robes, and they waved to the crowd. They went nuts, and the two walked to their position.

The ref looked at the two teams. "Alright, two-on-two Double Battle. Standard rules. Any questions?"

They shook their heads, and the ref said, "Begin!"

They each threw out two Balls, and on Winona's side appeared a large pelican named Pelipper and a cloud-like blue dragon named Altaria. On Liza and Tate's side appeared a floating rock shaped like a sun named Solrock and a floating rock shaped like a crescent moon named Lunatone.

"Pelipper, Water Pulse! Altaria, Dragon Breath!"

"Solrock, Lunatone, dual Psychic!"

Pelipper launched a blue ball that changed into rings and flew at Solrock, Altaria fired purple flames from its mouth at Lunatone, and those two Pokémon were suddenly lifted, throwing the moves off course. Liza and Tate smirked, and the two Pokémon were slammed over and over again until they were finally thrown out of the stadium. Everyone, especially Winona, looked after them, and the ref gave a low whistle. "They're going…going…gone! The winners are Liza and Tate!"

The two high fived, and Winona went up to them and shook their hands. Johnny muttered to Flannery, "They're not that tough…I could beat them easy."

Tate looked in his direction and pointed at him. "You. Come here."

Johnny blinked. "Me?"

Tate nodded, and Johnny jumped the wall and went over to him. "Good match, Mr. Tate, sir."

Tate chuckled. "No need for formalities. So, you think you could beat us?"

Liza turned to face Johnny, and he gulped and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. Every Pokémon can be beaten."

Liza and Tate looked at each other, sharing a conversation, it seemed. They turned back to Johnny, and Liza said, "You have your chance. We challenge you."

Johnny blinked. "I don't have enough Badges…"

Tate scoffed. "If you say something like that, you'd better back it up. Or are you chicken?"

Liza looked at him sharply. "That is not becoming of a Gym Leader to taunt a challenger! Tate."

He looked at her. "He said he could beat us!"

"And I plan to follow through."

Tate looked at him, and Johnny continued. "You want to see me battle, fine. You've got yourselves a match."

Tate and Liza smirked. "Two-on-two Double Battle. You up for that?"

Johnny nodded. "Let's do this!"

The two teams assumed the position, and the announcer said, "Well, it seems we have a surprise challenger! Johnny Grisim of Lavaridge Town has declared a challenge against Liza and Tate! Let's see if he can hold out."

The ref looked at both teams. "Begin!"

Liza and Tate sent out their Solrock and Lunatone, and Johnny sent out Iusoru and Pilopis. "Just two on two, correct? No substitutions?"

The ref shook his head, and Johnny smirked. "Pay attention, twins! You just might learn something."

Johnny hit the multi-colored stone on his wrist, and Pilopis went through its transformation. Liza and Tate gawked, and Johnny called out, "Iusoru, Waterfall! Pilopis, Leaf Blade!"

The two charged at Lunatone and Solrock, and Liza and Tate snapped out of it. "Double Psychic!"

Pilopis and Iusoru froze in place, and Johnny gritted his teeth. "One of you has to shove the other out! Pick!"

Without hesitation, Iusoru shoved Pilopis out and went flying. Pilopis chuckled and charged at Lunatone and Solrock, dodging every Psychic sent its way. It got to Lunatone and slashed it with a Leaf Blade, following quickly with an X-Scissor and a Night Slash. Needless to say, it was KO'd, and Pilopis turned to Solrock, who looked at it with fear. Pilopis charged at Solrock, and it sent a Fire Spin at Pilopis, who was caught in it. Johnny gulped and called out, "Iusoru, put out the Fire Spin with a Water Spout!"

Iusoru shot water from the hole on its head and doused the fire, also hitting Solrock, who recoiled enough for Pilopis to finish it off with a Leaf Blade. Liza and Tate recalled their Pokémon, and Tate hung his head. "Whoops."

Johnny went over to them and extended his hand. "You two really are good battlers. Nice match, really."

Tate took a breath and shook it. "I'm sorry for taunting you."

Liza smiled and shook Johnny's hand. "He speaks out of turn sometimes."

Johnny nodded, listening to the applause until it died down. Except for one.

Johnny turned to the audience, expecting Flannery to be the one clapper. Oh, if only he were that lucky…

A man with light blue hair stood. He had on a black suit, of sorts, and he looked at Johnny with rapt interest. "You just handled Liza and Tate like they were no big deal. Exactly how powerful are you?"

Johnny took a breath. "How about you come and find out?"

The man chuckled and leapt down to the battle area, walking over to Johnny and looking him in the eyes. "Very well. I, Steven Stone, Champion of the Hoenn League, challenge you to a battle!"