"In this corner..." Drake began as the crowd grew silent. Trainers from around the Sunnyshore/Pastoria area have come out to watch the final battle between Gary Oak and Rae Song. "Rae Song from Eterna City!" Shouts came out from the Sinnoh natives, Rae blushed and gave them a small wave. "In the other corner, we have the trainer from far away Pallet Town in the Kanto region, Gary Oak!" Gary smiled and waved at the crowd, Rae could hear girls screaming her name. She looked over to where Misty, May, Dawn and them sat and got a thumbs up from the four girls.

"Three Pokemon with no substitutions will be used in this battle. During a coin toss backstage, it seems like Rae will make the first move!" Drake shouted to the cheering fans as he walked off the floor. Rae tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she grabbed her second Pokeball. "C'mon out, Haunter!" She yelled as she threw the Pokeball.

Out popped a purple gaseous ghost with no feet. It stuck its tongue out at Gary and cackled. Gary cracked a smile as he reached for a Pokeball. "Come on out, Alakazam!"

Rae paled at the giant psychic Pokemon, but her face showed one of determination. She brushed her bangs out of her hair. "Haunter, Shadow ball!"

"Dodge!" Gary yelled as the ball of shadow approached his Pokemon.

Alakazam deftly moved out of the way. "Kazam!" It spoke as it bared its spoons at Haunter. Haunter just rolled its eyes and stuck its tongue out.

"Interesting match up." Drew stated as he watched the two battle it out below them. "Gary could have gone with Umbreon with a better result."

May nodded, but Brock spoke up. "He wanted an even playing field at the beginning, I bet. Alakazam's attacks will still hit pretty hard, but Haunter has a pretty good advantage over him too."

"Alakazam, Psybeam!" Gary yelled as he pointed to Haunter.

Rae grinned. "Haunter, dodge and use confuse ray!"

Her Haunter dodged a direct hit from Alakazam and launched its own Confuse Ray towards the Psychic Pokemon, hitting it straight in the head. Alakazam furrowed its eyebrows as the crowd watched Alakazam let off a series of Psybeams nowhere near hitting Haunter. Rae grinned. "Now, Haunter use Dark Pulse!"

"Haunnnter." It said as a black wave emanated from its body. Gary yelled for his Pokemon to dodge its attack, but Alakazam was so confused it got hit in the process. It was barely standing as it snapped out of it.

"Now, Alakazam, use Psybeam once more!"

"Haunter, Shadow ball!" Rae yelled as Alakazam launched its attack. The two attacks met in air, then were returned back to the sender. Rae and Gary both brought their arms to cover their faces from all of the dust and rocks that sprung up. When they removed their arms, they looked to see that both Pokemon had fainted in the process.

"Neither Pokemon is able to battle. This is a draw!" The referee yelled, raising both of his flags as the two trainers recalled and praised their Pokemon. The crowd was going wild.

"Ampharos, c'mon out!" Rae yelled as Gary sent out his Blastoise. "Use thunderbolt!"

"Rapid spin, let's go." Blastoise retreated into its shell as it began to spin rapidly. It kicked up dirt, clouding the field once more and blocking the Thunderbolt. Rae cursed under her breath as she examined the field.

"Thunder Wave, Ampharos!" She yelled as Ampharos generated a yellow wave from its hands. Gary told his Pokemon to dodge, but Blastoise wasn't quick enough to stop spinning. It crashed into the ground, head still inside its shell, unable to move.

"Now, Ampharos use thunderbolt again on Blastoise!" Rae yelled. Her Ampharos obeyed, lightening emanating from the red ball on top of its head, making its way towards Blastoise.

"Direct hit!" Drake yelled into the microphone. "So far, we've got Rae with three of her Pokemon left, and Gary with only of two of them. Will she be able to keep up her lead?" He leaned back into the chair and turned off the microphone. He looked to the guy behind him and nodded.

"Prepare everything as we planned. Either of them will do."

Gary studied the girl's Ampharos. "Come on out, Scizor."

"Scizor." The bug pokemon in red armour said as it came into focus.

"Metal Claw, Scizor." Gary said as he smirked. He knew that almost no one could out speed his Scizor.

"Quick, Ampharos, counter with Fire Punch." Rae pleaded as the Scizor quickly approached. Her Pokemon lifted its red hand and made contact with Scizor's armor as Scizor made contact with Ampharos' head. The two Pokemon flew back, but only Scizor was seen standing, barely standing, but still standing.

"Ampharos is unable to battle. Scizor is the winner!" The referee declared as he raised Gary's flag.

They were tied now. She could send out Charizard, that was what Gary was expecting, and almost wanting her to do. Her fingers lingered over Charizard's Pokeball, but then moved to her sixth and final Pokemon. She slowly unclipped it and brought it up to her face. "Make me proud." She whispered gently and she threw the Pokeball. "Salamence, time for you to shine!" She yelled as the giant blue dragon with red wings appeared.

"Amazing." Brock said as he looked at Rae's Salamence. "Who would have known that was the Pokemon she was saving for the finals." He stated. Paul just hmmphed. He never took his eyes off the battle, and only spoke to call Dawn troublesome.

"Interesting Pokemon you've got there, Rae." Gary called from across the stage. She grinned.

"You bet it, Oak!" She replied as she looked at his tired Scizor. "Now, Salamence, use Flamethrower!"

"Scizor, dodge and then Metal Claw!" Gary watched as his Scizor jumped away from the column of flames that shot out of Salamence's mouth. His face was one of confusion as Rae just let Scizor come towards them, calling off her Salamence's attack. When Scizor was less than ten yards away, she yelled again.

"Protect!" Scizor slammed into a blue-green wall and flew backwards towards Gary, slamming onto the ground. "Flamethrower, one more time!" She called out as Salamence stood over his Scizor. He yelled at him to move, but Scizor wasn't quick enough and was engulfed in flames.

Gary could barely hear the referee telling the crowd his Scizor was unable to battle. He could barely hear Rae praising her Salamence while petting it on its head. He looked down at the three Pokemon he had used and smiled at their Pokeballs. "You guys all did your best, that's all that matters."

Talking to his Pokemon, he didn't notice Rae walking up towards him until she started giggling. "What?" He snapped, furrowing his eyebrows in the process. She looked taken aback, but it was quickly brushed from her face.

"I.. I wanted to tell you it was a great battle." She said quietly as she hung her head. Salamence glared at Gary, who quickly found his voice.

"Sorry, Rae, I was in the middle of a conversation with my Pokemon, no harm done!" He said with a smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You were pretty amazing, you know."

She looked back up at him, her brown hair covering half her face. He instinctively reached out and pushed it out of her face and behind her ear, then quickly retracting his hand, fully realizing what he had down. Suddenly, Rae was picked up from behind and twirled around through the air. She was set down with two arms twisting her body so her back was to Gary. Gary took two steps forward and found himself face to face with a guy of around nineteen with electric blue eyes and spiky blond hair.

"Rae, seems like all that training your Ampharos got from me, paid off!" The guy in front of her said as he gave her another hug. He glanced behind her to see Gary then let go. "Oh... I seem to be interrupting something." Gary noticed his voice growing colder as he looked at Gary. Gary shrugged.

"Whatever..." He muttered.

Rae did not seem to pick up on the secret conversation of glares that the two boys were having. "Gary, this is Volkner, the Gym Leader from Sunnyshore. Volkner, this is Gary Oak, grandson to Professor Oak." She said, pointing to each guy respectively. They both just nodded at each other, hints of glaring still etched on their faces. She recalled Salamence to its Pokeball as she saw Ash and Co. approaching the three of them.

"Rae... you were amazing!" Dawn squealed as she ran to give the girl a hug.

Rae shook her head. "If it wasn't for Salamence, Gary would have kicked my butt." She said with a smile as she reintroduced everyone to Volkner. As they made their pleasantries, Gary noticed Drake come up to the two of them.

"Gary, Rae, a word please?" He asked quietly as he grabbed both their arms. Rae stared down at her arm, puzzled. She tugged her arm away from Drake, but as she did he clamped down harder. She looked at Gary with fear in her eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile, different than what he felt inside. She looked at Volkner and mouthed for him to wait there for her, she saw Gary do the same to Ash. Both boys nodded as the two followed Drake out of the stadium. He first watched them carefully as they healed their Pokemon, then he herded them through the door they were told never to go through.

Misty watched Drake forcefully drag her friends through the door. "Ash, somethings not right." She said as she grabbed for his hand. He squeezed it reassuringly, and gave her a smile.

"They'll be fine." He replied to her. Letting go of her hand, he threw his arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring half hug, letting his arm hang there.

"Suppose they aren't though?" May asked quietly. "You saw the way Drake had Rae. It was like a death grip." She looked up. "There has to be a way for us to open the hatch up above us." When everyone gave her a weird look, she shrugged. "Just in case something actually is wrong. We need a way to get out of here."

"But... Drake's the one who put us here!" Dawn said. "You know, may be we shouldn't worry..." She dropped off, deep in thought. Paul took out a Pokeball.

He tossed it on the ground and out popped his Frosslass. "Frosslass, find out where the lever is, then pull it so the ceiling opens." He ordered as Frosslass nodded, floating through the air towards where Drake had sat earlier.

"June, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" Drew asked the brunette as they waited for Frosslass to return.

"For the last time, Drew Hayden, my name is MAY." She erupted and launched at Drew. Luckily for Drew, Brock caught her just in time and held onto her hood.

He let go after May glared daggers at him. She stepped away from him, crossing her arms in the process. "Misty and May are probably right..." He said drifting off in thought. Everyone was silent for a couple of minutes, letting everything sink in. "Drake's been acting weird as soon as we all got here. I watched him watch Gary and Ash's battle, and he was taking notes about the both of you and your Pokemon, most likely." They could hear the clock ticking behind them. Fifteen minutes had past before anyone had anything to say.

"Maybe-" Volkner started, but he never got to finish. The double doors slammed open revealing Gary, having one arm up to protect his face, the other holding onto Rae as she ran after him. "Guys, out of here, now!" He ordered as five grunts with various Pokemon followed after the two of them.

CRUNK. The sky above them screeched as the roof began to pull apart. Everyone quickly reached to grab their flying Pokemon as Paul returned his Frosslass. Rae reached into her pocket and grabbed the Pokeball for Charizard and handed it to Volkner as she released Salamence from the Pokeball once again, putting it between Gary, her and the rest of the gang. She clambered onto its back and yelled Gary to do the same. Everyone boarded as quickly as possible with May riding on Drew's Flygon with him, Misty and Ash both riding on her Gyrados, Brock being carried by Ash's Swellow, Dawn by her Togekiss and Paul by his Gliscor. They rose into the sky, barely missing the various Grunts dressed in black and yellow.

They flew for five minutes in silence. Gary had wrapped his arms around Rae to protect her from falling off. It was a surprise she hadn't already because he could feel her shaking as soon as they both had gotten out of Drake's room. Both were oblivious from the glares Volkner was shooting at Gary. Rae had her eyes closed, trying to make sense of what had happened.

Drake; the name was on his tongue like acid now. He wanted to desperately go back to that room and battle him, but he knew he couldn't. He had to watch over Rae, the one they wanted the most.

Misty, fed up with not knowing, finally broke the silence. "What the HELL did you two DO?" She screeched from her Gyrados. Gary rolled his eyes.

"Yes, it's all our fault that Team Thunder had already taken over the school." He spat back at her. The vein in her head got bigger, pounding with her heart beat. Rae rested a hand over Gary's and spoke.

"You guys were never protecting the school from Team Thunder." She said quietly; everyone could barely hear her. "It was a ruse to get the toughest trainers there, for Team Thunder to capture, brainwash, and set upon the whole Sinnoh region."