A bit late, sorry. :(

XXXXX

"No way!" Haley exclaimed. The newly captured Mankey was fuming with anger, glaring at an exasperated Conan. "I'm not fighting with you guys! Jerks!"

"Look, I'm really sorry for attacking you," Conan said for the umpteenth time. "Now will you PLEASE cooperate?"

"Nope!" Haley folded her arms and sat in stubborn defiance.

Mozart glared at Haley. "Miss, I really don't like your attitude."

Haley retaliated by aiming a swipe at him, which Mozart dexterously dodged.

Sara sighed and knelt down by the fuming Mankey. "Hey there, I know you're really upset right now….."

"You BET I'm upset! I just got mobbed and captured, why shouldn't I be upset?"

"But can't you look on the bright side? You like fighting, don't you?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah."

Sara continued, ignoring the interruption. "Well, if you're gonna join us, you're gonna run into a LOT of fights. Right, Conan?" She nudged him with the heel of her shoe.

"Uh, yeah! Right!" Conan agreed hastily.

Haley looked skeptical.

"C'mon. It'll be fun!" Sara pressed.

Haley huffed. "Alright, fine. But whenever I wanna leave, I leave, deal?"

Sara frowned, unsure. Eventually, though, the idea of having a fighting-type on her team won over.

"Deal."

XxXxX

"I can FLY!" Robbie sang, fluttering around in the air as he tested his new wings.

Haley glanced up at the newly evolved Butterfree critically. "Evolved, huh? Geez, took ya long enough.

Robbie glared. "Hey!"

"Quiet down, guys," Sara called.

Conan bounced up and down in excitement. "Are we gonna fight Brock today?"

"I think so…"

Conan grinned. "This is going to be so awesome!"

Sara smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Conan, but you're not going to get to battle Brock."

Conan looked shell-shocked. "WHAT?"

Mozart huffed. "Well, fire won't be much use against a rock. And even though you have Metal Claw, but you're still weak to a rock-type move. You're at a disadvantage."

"Hey, s'okay," Sally comforted the crestfallen Conan. "I don't think me and Mozart are gonna get to fight, either."

Robbie blinked. "What about me?"

"Hang on, hang on…." Sara said in exasperation. "You'll see when we get there…."

XxXxX

The gym trainers were embarrassingly easy. Waves of Geodude and Sandshrew fell before the combined might of Robbie and Haley. Even Conan got a few attacks in.

As he finished off a Geodude, Robbie's sharp eyes spotted the last Sandshrew, determinedly blocking the way to Brock.

Robbie darted agilely towards the unlucky Sandshrew, which reared, swiping with sharp claws.

Robbie dodged, eyes glowing with psychic power as he directed a mental attack. The Sandshrew shuddered, then collapsed.

"And…..another one bites the dust!" Robbie gloated. He glanced around. "Aw, c'mon, is that all you've got?"

Sara grinned. "Up next is….."

Haley's eyes gleamed. "Brock!"

Sara nodded, stepping up to the pedestal where Brock waited.

Brock saw her coming. He raised an eyebrow.

"A tough challenger. Finally."

Sara smirked, excitement coursing through her. "Let's cut the talk."

Brock nodded and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Go, Geodude!"

Geodude appeared in a burst of light. It levitated off the ground, crossing its arms and glaring at Sara.

"Robbie!" Robbie darted forward, eyes already glowing.

The Geodude was knocked backward by the sheer force of the psychic attack. It reeled, confused. Robbie attacked again.

This time the Geodude's eyes closed and it fell to the ground with a thump.

Brock recalled his fallen Pokemon. "Not bad. Onix!"

The gigantic rock snake emerged, landing with a ground-shaking crash.

"Switch out, Robbie! Haley, you're up!" Sara called.

Haley bounded forward, eyes shining with fiendish delight. "C'mon, rock-for-brains. Let's see what you've got!"

The Onix roared. Haley dodged its clumsy tackles, then slammed into the hapless Onix with a Low Kick, knocking it over.

Haley watched impatiently as the Onix slowly got up, looking enormously weakened. She waited until the Onix was almost up, then lunged again.

Haley's fist slammed directly into the Onix's forehead. The Onix toppled over, unconscious.

Brock shook his head. "That was embarrassing….but you did well! Your Pokemon are quite well-trained."

Sara grinned, nearly giddy with happiness. "Thank you!"

Brock dug around in his pocket and fished out a shiny gray octagon. "Here, this is the Boulder Badge. Take it, you've earned it!"

Sara took the badge and pocketed it, feeling a rush of satisfaction as she did so. "Thank you!"

When she left the gym, she was practically skipping.

XxXxX

"Hm….." Sara muttered as she inspected her map. "Mt. Moon is right after this route."

"Moon, schmoon," Conan muttered. "I won't get to fight in the next gym, either!"

"Hey, cheer up!" Sally comforted. "There's a new route coming up! We'll get a new teammate!"

"Hopefully someone intelligent," Mozart muttered as he glared at Haley, who returned the glare. She had just pulled out three of Mozart's tail-feathers after he had called her barbaric. It had taken the combined force of Conan, Sally, and Sara to stop Mozart from attacking Haley.

Conan brightened up considerably. "Hey, you're right, Sally! What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Sara and her team set off. The trainers before them were easily brought down. Sara let Conan do most of the fighting—after all, he wouldn't get to fight in any 'major' battles for quite a while.

Finally, they came upon a patch of tall grass.

"If we get a Jigglypuff," Robbie stated, "I'm going to kill myself."

Sally glanced at him. "What?"

"I can't stand them! They're all pink and round and cutesy...oh, never mind."

"And Butterfree aren't cutesy?" Sally asked skeptically.

Robbie snorted. "Of course not! At least we can use Psychic attacks. I do NOT want a Jigglypuff as my teammate."

"Well, you don't need to worry," Sara said as she walked up behind them. "While you two were chatting, we caught our new teammate."

"What! I missed out?" Robbie complained.

"That's what happens when you dawdle," Mozart lectured.

Robbie's eyes narrowed as he prepared a stinging retort. Sara foresaw an argument brewing and hastily said as she pulled out a Poke Ball, "So, you guys wanna see our new friend?"

"Oh, yes, please!" Sally bounced up and down in excitement, nearly knocking Mozart over. Conan laughed. Haley snorted.

Mozart looked irritated, but stayed quiet.

Sara pressed the button.

In a flash of light, a male Nidoran appeared. He looked up at them with an irritated stare.

"Cool! A Nidoran!" Sally exclaimed. "That's so awesome! What's your name?"

The Nidoran stared at Sally, then flashed a rough grin.

"Nico."

(Nico, lv 4. Adamant nature)

XxXxX

-Mt. Moon

"It's so dark…" Conan complained, squinting.

"Not as dark as Rock Tunnel," Mozart said.

Haley was fuming. "I hate caves. They're dark and cramped and there're stupid Geodude everywhere and—"

"Just hope it doesn't cave in," Robbie muttered.

Sara tried to quiet him, but Sally had heard. "Cave-in? I'm scared!"

Nico, who had been silent for a while, spoke up. "Oi, it won't cave in. Mt. Moon has been around for ages, if it was gonna cave in it would've ages ago."

"He's right," Sara said quickly. "Don't worry."

Sally seemed to calm down. Sara gave Nico a thankful glance. Nico continued walking.

After a long series of ladders and tunnels, they came upon something unexpected.

Conan saw it first.

"Who're those people dressed up in black over there?"

XXXXX

Epic battles coming up! Well, not really...but you know what I mean. :V

Reviews would be greatly appreciated.