I had no idea what was going on. I was stuck in my Poke Ball. The battle with Lance must've started by now, but I have no idea how Ash is doing. However, I do know Misty is in the stadium, supporting Ash. Before the battle, I did see Misty. Ash told me how she escaped the Gym. When Tracey told her about the big match after another hot night with Daisy, she wanted to see the match in the stadium and asked her sisters to let her go for just a few days, but they said no. Those meanies... They called themselves the Sensational Sisters, but I thought up a little nickname for them. To me, they were the Sensational B*tches.

Anyways, a few days ago, Tracey distracted the Sensational B*tches by showing them a drawing of the three together he made, so Misty could sneak away and travel to Indigo Plateau.

Obviously, Ash kept smiling and seemed much happier during the last few days with Misty around. He got even more passionate than usual when training for this fight. I'm so glad those two are back together. I just hope I get to shine too... What if Pikachu and Charizard can beat that Lance guy on their own, and I don't get to even beat one Pokemon? Then I won't be part of the victory at all...
Or even worse, what if Ash loses? Whatever happens, I'll be sent back to Professor Oak and never battle for Ash again after today, so this is my only chance to have one last nice moment with him! Or even better, win the battle for him and convince him he'll need me in other important battles in the future!

Not much later, I felt my Poke Ball move and heard Ash shouting. "Bayleef, you're my only hope! Everything depends on you!"

Suddenly, I stood on the battlefield of a giant arena, filled with numerous people. On the first row, I saw Tracey, Professor Oak, Ash's mother, Brock and Misty. I saw the scoreboard. After so many important battles, I know how to read scoreboards. Ash's Charizard, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Heracross and even Pikachu got defeated. This is great, Pikachu lost and I'm his last Pokemon! If I win this battle for Ash, I'll be the true hero of this battle!

I saw Pikachu was unconscious. He probably just lost against Aerodactyl. Brock held him in his hands on the stands. If I won, Ash couldn't celebrate the victory with that rat and would celebrate it with me! This was my chance to really make life worth living again!

Then, I saw a red-haired man wearing a cape. That must be Lance. When I look at the scoreboard, I see his Red Gyarados, Feraligatr, Tyranitar and Arcanine were already defeated.

I looked at my first opponent, a gray, reptile-like Pokemon with big wings and an arrow-liked, thin tail. Its fangs seemed sharp, this was not a pushover. However, the Pokemon was gasping for air. Charizard must've already tired it out. I can do this!

"Lance's Aerodactyl versus Ash's Bayleef, begin!" a man wearing a blue shirt and two flags shouted.

The exhausted Aerodactyl, who hovered in the air, started charging up something in his mouth, after the red-haired man told her to perform one last Hyper Beam. If that move would hit me, how would I be able to beat his last Pokemon? I had to think of something. I wasn't the fastest Pokemon, so running away wouldn't help.

Just before the yellow beam was about to strike me, I knew what to do. I used my Vine Whip. Not to attack Aerodactyl, but to jump. And so, I was soaring in the air, leaving Aerodactyl with little energy after its failed attack.

"Awesome, Bayleef! Now use your Razor Leaf!" Ash said. I obeyed my trainer's orders and hit the weird-looking Pokemon with sharp leaves, causing her to fall down on the ground. Then, I followed up with my Body Slam and made sure Aerodactyl couldn't get up anymore. A few seconds later, her head fell down on the ground.

"Aerodactyl is no longer able to battle! Bayleef is the winner!" the referee said. That was easy! I still felt full of energy, this didn't cost me any energy. I was ready to take on another Pokemon.

While Lance called the Pokemon back into its Poke Ball, Ash told me I did a great job. I couldn't help but blush a little. Did Ash see it? I don't know. But no matter how this battle would end, I achieved something again for the first time in fifteen years. I felt like I could take on the world and beat any opponent, even if it would be an Entei or Ho-Oh.

However, Lance had no Entei or Ho-Oh. Instead, he sent out a big, yellow dragon with green wings as his last Pokemon. If I defeated this guy, I would be Ash's hero. Ash told me this was the biggest battle of his life, I simply couldn't lose. Not today. But can I beat an opponent like that?

"Trainers ready? Begin!" I heard.

I started off with a Headbutt and slammed into the dragon, who didn't seem fazed. This was only a small scratch to this colossal opponent. Lance didn't save this one for the end of the battle for no reason. This must be his strongest Pokemon.

Then, Dragonite slammed me with his tail, smacking me against the wall of the stadium. Ouch. Of course I didn't enjoy the pain, but if Dragonite thought that was enough to defeat me, think again!

Lance told his dragon to give me a piece of his Wing Attack. However, I foiled that plan and used my Vine Whip on his left leg, causing him to fall down. I quickly had to hit him again, and Ash told me to use my Body Slam on his back.

Dragonite was screaming. Yes, this is what I wanted! Maybe I might stand a chance after all...

After that, I struck his head with a Razor Leaf. Maybe it wasn't as painful for Dragonite as that Body Slam, but it still did some damage.

However, when I got away from Dragonite to prevent a strong physical attack from hitting me, he flew at me and Tackled me.

I tried to get up, but before I could do so, I almost struck by a Hyper Beam. I was able to jump away just in time using my Vine Whip, just like I did against Aerodactyl. However, I felt the exhaustion was kicking in. That Tackle was a nasty strike...

But that wasn't the strongest blow that struck me. When I came down from my jump, another Hyper Beam smashed me against the wall of the stadium. This was it. I tried to get up, but my attempts were futile. Was I losing consciousness? Was this battle over? I closed my eyes.

"Bayleef, no! Get up, Bayleef! Please?"

A few seconds later, I regained consciousness. I heard a familiar voice. I opened my eyes and saw a red-haired girl on the stands talking to me. I must've hit the wall at the place she was sitting.

It was Misty. She understood how I felt more than anyone. I had to win this battle. For Ash. For myself. And that pesky Dragonite did not deserve to win. Today, it was MY time to take the glory!

And so, I tried to get up one last time, even though I could barely stand up. I tried, but just didn't have the power anymore.

The referee looked at me. "Bayleef is unable to..." he started his sentence.

I had to get up before he could finish that line. I just had to... I tried, but I couldn't. I had the willpower, but my body didn't cooperate.

"...battle. The victory goes to..."

I felt like I could stand up, if given enough time. Would I be able to get up before the referee officially declared Dragonite to be the winner? I had no idea.