The newly-identified gym leader grinned as a green sparkle revealed a tall creature. Its body was covered in thick blue vines, two eyes not unlike those of Shellder peering from behind the maze of plant life.

'What's that thing?' gawped Nick. He was now taken aback by two things; the appearance of this Pokémon that he had never seen before, and Olive having just revealed herself to be the Eterna Gym Leader, Gardenia.

'Tangrowth.' began the Pokédex as he lifted it out of his pocket. 'It ensnares prey and foes in its hide, rendering them immobile. In sunny weather, it is capable of moving much faster than usual.'

'Be careful, Elekid. Don't get too close.' nodded Nick, sending out the electric-type.

Several more lights burst into life around the arena, their obnoxious shine causing Nick to shield his eyes. Hanging from the ceiling were two large, glowing panels that seemed to give off heat too.

'These special solar-powered light panels help my grass-types battle at their optimum levels.' stated Olive, her hands on her hips. 'Let's see how you handle them! Tangrowth, Vine Whip!'

Tangrowth stretched out its powerful arm and slammed it down onto Elekid with ground-shaking force. The little creature clenched its teeth and growled in pain as the opponent raised its fists again.

'Elekid, use Thundershock!' yelled Nick. He had learned to try to remain calm when situations like this arose.

As Tangrowth's arms connected with Elekid again, a surge of power ran from the electric monster, along the plant creature's limb, shocking its body. It trembled slightly, but did not seem to be too affected by the attack; the mass of plants hanging from its frame seemed to defend its insides. Olive sighed.

'Oh, Nick. Grass Pokémon aren't hurt by electric attacks.'

'Try this then!' shot back Nick. Elekid sprang to its feet and leaped through the air, swinging a kick at Tangrowth.

'Bind!' cried his opponent.

Elekid's leg made contact with the vine creature's large frame, but ended up ensnared in its tangle. The vines grew tighter, squeezing the energy out of the little yellow creature.

'Elekid! Get out of there!' exclaimed Nick, beginning to panic at last. 'Try a Thundershock!'

Tangrowth was hit with another small bolt of lightning, but was still undamaged as it continued to crush his Pokémon.

'That's enough, Tangrowth.' announced Olive sternly. At first, Nick thought she was sensing compassion for his partner, but then she spoke again. 'Remember the status afflictions I mentioned yesterday, Nick? Let me show you one of them.'

Tangrowth dropped Elekid and it rolled along the grassy ground. Raising its arms once more, the grass-type released a cloud of purple spores that descended on the smaller Pokémon. Nick consulted the Pokédex.

'Poisonpowder. A poison-type attack that can be learned by many grass-types. It poisons the foe causing them to lose health until they fall in battle.'

'Poison? No!' he cried.

Elekid's eyes widened as it inhaled the venomous dust before starting to cough loudly.

'Tangrowth, Bullet Seed!' sang Olive, pointing forwards. Her Pokémon shot a series of large, hard seeds from its concealed mouth and knocked Elekid further back.

'Elekid, are you okay?' called Nick. He was considering recalling the Pokémon until it slowly got to its feet, its antennae crackling in an intimidating manner.

'Giving up yet?' smirked the Gym Leader from across the room. Nick gritted his teeth as he thought of a tactic. Then it came to him:

Its vines are protecting it from electricity… if we can hit the inside of its body, we could do more damage.

'Elekid! Quick Attack!'

Olive seemed to have understood his plan. Her eyes narrowed.

'Tangrowth, don't let it come near you! Vine Whip!'

Her Pokémon began hammering at Elekid, but the little creature was simply too fast, even while suffering from the effects of poison.

'Thunderpunch!' commanded Nick.

The little creature leapt up, having made it past the flailing arms of its opponent, and landed a powerful punch between its large eyes. The plant creature stumbled backwards, injured but still able to battle.

'You got lucky, but this is where it ends!' snarled Olive. 'Tangrowth, finish it!'

The panting Elekid was hit by a mighty swing from the enemy's arm and landed at it its trainers feet. It shivered and groaned, the fur of its hurt body still covered in sticky Poisonpowder.

'Thanks, pal. You did your best.' he smiled, returning Elekid to its ball. He lifted another one from his pocket.

'I'm counting on you now… so good luck, Shellder!'

He threw the ball and his newest companion appeared on the battlefield. Olive began to laugh.

'Just as I expected. Our grass-type attacks will finish your water-type before it can even use an ice move!'

Nick frowned in worry; was he hoping for too much from Shellder?

'Tangrowth, Stun Spore!' chimed the Leader.

The Pokémon released a gust of golden powder into the air, which fell towards his inexperienced partner.

'Dodge it, Shellder!'

But Shellder did not move, and continued to gaze forwards, its expression blank. The dangerous spores came closer.

'Listen to me!' he spat. This Pokémon seemed to be void of the innate obedience that Mona had informed him of. Suddenly, however, its shell snapped shut, its oversized tongue being pulled inside. The Stun Spore landed on top of its shell, but with several small jumps, it dissipated. Nick smiled at his friend's unexpected defensive tactic, and inquired with the Pokédex:

'Withdraw. By closing its hard shell over its face, Shellder protects itself from most attacks.'

'Great work!'

'Hiding in a shell won't save you from Tangrowth!' cackled Olive.

Her Pokémon lifted its arms again, and began to pound Shellder's outer surface repeatedly. Nick knew this was the moment they had been waiting for:

'Icicle Spear, now!'

He watched as the freezing-cold spikes formed above Shellder and were launched forward. His facial expression changed from that of hopeful to that of horrified as the spears sliced through Tangrowth's arms, severing them completely.

'Oh my gosh! What have I done!' he screamed, trying not to look at the horrible sight.

Olive, however, continued to grin.

'Tangrowth's arms will grow back. But not before we defeat you!'

As she pointed forward to state her next move, Shellder suddenly opened its shell again. Its tongue began to gleam a silver-white colour before a thin but fast ray of colours shone from its mouth. The beam hit the foe's centre and pushed it backwards, its front covered in a layer of burning frost. Olive's smile faded. A confused Nick lifted his Pokédex again.

'Aurora Beam, Shellder's special attack. It is a moderately-powerful ice-type move.' it commented.

'Wow, I didn't know you could do that, Shellder!' he beamed. He had not ordered his partner to attack, suggesting it was still battling on its own terms to an extent, but he was glad that it had had the foresight to use such a manoeuvre. Olive recalled Tangrowth with a frown.

'You got lucky, Nick. But now you'll feel the true power of grass-types!' she growled, throwing another Pokéball. 'Here's a Pokémon you may have seen before!'

The ball opened and the challenger found himself looking into the piercing, yellow eyes of Shiftry. It snarled from behind its pointed nose and thick white fur.

'That… That was your Pokémon?' he stuttered.

'Of course it was. A wild Shiftry would never defend a stranger in its forest. And do you think a Leader like me would fall victim to a hive of Beedrill? I just wanted to see if you could handle the situation.'

'But… I didn't… I couldn't…' he mumbled, looking at the ground.

'You didn't give up though!' she cried, noticing his dismay. 'You battled until the end, and stayed to defend me. That's what makes you an admirable trainer and person, even if you didn't win the battle.'

He looked up to her and smiled. She was being strangely supportive of someone she was trying to defeat. She reciprocated, but then adopted a harsher face.

'But admirable as you may be, I will do my best to defend my badge! Shiftry, Razor Leaf!'

The intimidating Pokémon flapped its arms, sending some rigid, jagged leaves spiralling towards Shellder.

'Withdraw!' shouted Nick.

The shell monster closed itself off once again, but the grass attack sliced into its shell with such force than it was sent flying backwards, its shell open, its face a picture of agony.

'Not good enough!' giggled Olive. Nick gritted his teeth.

'Use Aurora Beam again!'

Shellder, shaking off the pain from the last blow it received, shot another cold ray at its opponent.

'Whirlwind!' commanded the opponent, her cape billowing as she spread her arms out, as though physically showing her partner what to do. As though following this instruction, Shiftry threw its arms and moved them in a rapid windmill motion. A visible tornado appeared round it, and Nick's attack was caught in the gust, the glistening beam freezing solid and circling the grass-type. With another motion, it shattered the ice cyclone, sending shards flying in every direction across the room. Shellder was hit by one of the chunks, damaged by the warped effect of its own attack.

'Amazing, Shiftry!' beamed Olive, her cheeks glowing as red as her hair.

'Shiff!' it growled, finally breaking its silence.

'That thing is tough…' mumbled Nick. He decided to change tactics. 'Shellder, try Water Gun!'

No sooner had the words left his lips than Olive announced her counter-move.

'Faint Attack!'

Seconds before Shellder's jet of water hit, her Pokémon's entire body seemed to turn to shadow, before vanishing completely.

Where did it go? he wondered.

Shellder, ceasing its attack, looked from left to right, confused. Its opponent was nowhere to be seen.

'Hmm…' smirked Olive.

Moments later, Shiftry suddenly reappeared from out of nowhere, towering over the water-type, standing only inches from it. Its glowing arm hammered down on Shellder's exposed body, knocking it into the air.

'Oh!' yelped Nick, watching his partner fall victim to such a terrifying move. 'How did it do that?'

'Shiftry is also a dark-type Pokémon, so it's capable of using haunting moves like that too!' boasted Olive. 'Now, finish it with another Razor Leaf!'

More leaves sliced into Shellder, and it crashed back into the ground at Nick's feet, unconscious. Nick looked down forlornly at it, before withdrawing it into its Pokéball.

'That's okay, Shellder. It was your first time.' he whispered.

'Looks like you only have Nosepass left, Nicky.' came Olive's giggling voice from across the room. 'And rock-types are just as weak to grass-types!' she added, a tone of competitive devilment in her voice.

'I won't give up!' shot back Nick, releasing Nosepass into the field.

'Nuuu…' it growled in determination, eyeing its snarling opponent.

The battle resumed immediately. Nosepass threw rocks at Shiftry, who knocked them all away with another cyclone. Its subsequent Faint Attack was met by a Stone Edge, making it retreat but scarcely hurting it. The grass-type released another gust of razor leaves that damaged Nosepass until it whipped up a Sandstorm, blowing the attack off course and defending itself from Shiftry. However, while the rock-type could see its foe through the sand, when it vanished into the shadows again, neither side had any means of attacking.

'We can't go on like this…' he thought aloud. But there was no way of winning or moving the battle on. He took out his Pokédex and scanned Nosepass for ideas. He listened to its electronic voice, losing hope as it listed the Pokémon's biological data and diet. Then, however, it listed an attack that he was unaware of:

'Thunder Wave,' it started, 'The electromagnetism of Nosepass' body can be converted into a weak electrical attack that can paralyse opponents and prey if successful.'

Nick looked up at the blurred figure of his Pokémon as it stood within the storm of sand, his face lit up, his brain rushing with ideas. Olive seemed to have not heard the Pokédex's statement.

'Shiftry, stop Faint Attack,' she spluttered as sand flew past her, 'And get rid of this Sandstorm with Whirlwind!'

The sand began to blow away to the sides of the room, revealing the corporeal Shiftry once more.

'Nosepass, can you use Thunder Wave?' he asked.

'Nu-paa!' it replied, turning to him. A small, visible spark of electricity shot from its nose, and Nick smiled. Looking back at his opponent, however, he found her grinning too.

'Time to end this. Shiftry, Solarbeam!'

On her words, the panels above the battlefield began to shine harshly, and the Pokémon's body started to glow. It joined its leafy hands and a ball of energy began to crackle between its palms. Nick had seen this attack in the forest, and knew that he could not afford to let Nosepass be hit by such a blast.

'Nosepass, dodge and defend!'

The rock creature leapt to the side and hardened its body as the burning-hot beam shot past it, hitting the wall beside Nick and leaving a large scorch mark.

This is bad, he thought. If Nosepass gets hit by a Solarbeam, we're finished.

Then, however, he noticed the behaviour of Shiftry; it was panting, as though the attack had taken a lot out of it. He lifted his Pokédex again.

'Solarbeam requires several minutes of charging if used in succession.'

'It needs to recharge!' he cheered, jumping into action. 'Nosepass, Sandstorm!'

'Huh?' squealed Olive as her foe disappeared into a cloud of dust, leaving her own creature tired and vulnerable.

'Give it your best shot!' bellowed Nick, 'Thunder Wave!'

Nosepass appeared from the sand and a whip of electrical energy twisted its fizzling way around Shiftry's body. The dark- and grass-type monster's eyes opened wide, and it fell to its knees, incapable of moving.

'Shiftry!' panicked Olive, before straightening herself. 'Ha, electric-type attacks aren't super-effective against grass-types!'

'No, but they can still leave afflictions!' grinned Nick. 'I thought you would have known about those, since you were so interested in demonstrating them to me!'

He felt slightly rude talking in this manner, but he thought that he had started to earn some credit and the right to speak to his superiors in the way that they had spoken to him until now. Olive grimaced.

'Razor Leaf…' she moaned.

Her Pokémon slowly pulled itself to its feet, its eyes still half-closed and its body writhing in pain from the paralysing attack. It spread its arms to throw out more leaves, but its attack was countered by several pointed rocks slamming into it; Nosepass had landed the defeating blow. The sinister creature fell face-down in the sand, groaning, and Olive, with a lump in her throat, called it back into its Pokéball.

'Nosepass… we did it!' exclaimed Nick, literally jumping for joy. The same Pokémon had won the last two gym battles for him; he was becoming fiercly proud of this being, the first one he had ever captured and started raising all by himself. He stroked its stony, bulbous head in thanks, before it re-entered its Pokéball. He smiled at the trio of creatures within the spheres in his hand: Elekid had tried its best, and helped defeat Tangrowth; Shellder, for its first battle, had managed to take down an experienced, evolved creature; Nosepass had finished the opponent in a brave, tactical manner.

'Thanks guys.' he said under his breath.

Olive approached him, a small smile on her lips. He did not know what to say, and ended up apologising.

'Don't be silly!' she giggled. 'That was the most fun I've had in a long time – I should be thanking you.'

'Your Pokémon are awesome.' he smiled, shaking her hand.

'Oh, don't be so patronising,' she laughed in reply, 'And take your badge.'

Withdrawing his hand from hers, he found it to contain a small green item, made up of three joined diamonds.

'The Forest Badge is yours.' she congratulated him.

He gazed lovingly at the badge and then gave Olive a sincere, appreciative nod.

'Thank you.'

'You're becoming a fantastic trainer, Nick,' she began, clasping her hands in front of her waist, 'You show the enthusiasm and potential that many great trainers have had. I would say you could become a leader one day.'

'Whoa, slow down!' he chuckled, embarrassed. 'I'm still a beginner!'

'And for a beginner,' she continued, 'For someone who is still learning about the monsters and is still new to the human-Pokémon world, your dedication and spirit is incredible.'

He was blushing so much that he looked back to the badge in his still-outstretched hand. Deep down, however, he knew that Olive meant every word.

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In a dimly-lit room with walls and floors of grimy steel, a black-clad man and purple-clad young woman approached a tall, imposing man in a long, black coat. His blood-coloured hair was sleeked back and hung to his shoulders, his eyes a similar shade of red, lined with scars and sitting above gaunt but not unhealthy clean-shaven cheeks. He looked up from the table he was standing at, diverting his attention from the assortment of paperwork in front of him.

'What?' he said, his voice formal but sinister.

'W-We… We got it.' stuttered the shorter man.

'I heard.' replied the red-haired man, closing his eyes as though feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

'We've given it to Professor Synn.' said the woman, angling for evaluation and praise.

'Good.' muttered the man, and her smile faded. 'The others have almost finished the prototype of the cloning machine. Soon… the rarest of all Pokémon will be ours.'

He looked back to the sheets on the desk. Scribbled over them were countless notes and numbers, as well as images of a small feline creature.

'Its abilities and elusiveness…' he continued, 'Will bring Team Obsidia the fortune and power that we have always deserved.'

He started to laugh gruffly, and the other man and girl both took a step back, wary and slightly afraid of what they were involved in.