"Okay…" I said slowly, staring at the giant pink cow Pokemon standing in front of me. It returned my gaze with an almost lazy stare. I bit my lip worriedly. Miltank, like most of the Pokemon Whitney seemed to like, were renowned for their defence. I'd need something immensely powerful to even hope to do any damage. I swallowed back my agitation, cast a look in Monty's direction and centred myself once again. A voice rose up at the back of my head. I can't let myself be intimidated all the time! "Monty! Try another Power Gem… thing!"

"Mrrow!"

But the Power Gem attack, even as powerful as it seemed and perfectly aimed as it was, merely bounced off the Miltank's blubbery mass, reverberating off in the opposite direction. In a moment of blind panic, Monty had to leap straight into the air to avoid his own attack!

"That won't work against my Miltank!" Whitney cheered gleefully.

"Dammit!" I cursed to myself. The novelty of Monty's new move had completely dissipated in front of my very eyes. If something like that couldn't damage that giant cow Pokemon, there were no way his claws or teeth, as sharp as they were, could do any good either. I consulted my options desperately, before coming to a saddening conclusion. I had no other options. Monty couldn't win here.

It was with a heavy heart that I decided to make a tactical substitution. I wasn't normally one for substituting Pokemon; I preferred to battle it out until I had no other option. I hated to give in, hated to admit to both me and my Pokemon that a strategy wasn't working. But at the same time, I couldn't leave Monty at the mercy of this thing. There was no way he could win…

I held up his Pokeball, immediately causing worried whispering from the stands where my friends say. "Monty, switch out!"

However, before I could press the button to return him, he had turned on his heel and started hissing and spitting at me, fur bristling until every single strand was standing on end. He looked so fierce I almost dropped his Pokeball.

"Monty?" I flustered. "What are you doing? Get back in your Pokeball! You can't beat this thing!"

"Mrrow! Mrrrrow!" he hissed back.

"Get back in your Pokeball!"

"MRRROW!"

"You can't beat—"

"MRRRROWWWW!"

I sighed. I'm not someone who understands Pokemon-speak, but there was no mistaking what Monty was trying to tell me. That cat was as stereotypical of his species as you could get; stubborn and proud to the point of irritation. "Okay, fine." I gave up, replacing the Pokeball back on my belt. "Damn you Monty. You're too proud to just give up, aren't you?"

"Mrr!"

I grinned. "Okay, try a Faint Attack!"

"Miltank, use Rollout!"

Miltank immediately balled its giant body up and began charging towards Monty. With the giant pink mass advancing on him, Monty had no choice but to propel himself up into the air away from it. He landed perfectly on his feet, but no sooner had his lithe paws touched the ground; the Miltank was on him again! Monty, with no other option, broke into a speedy run, taking advantage of his speed to run ahead.

But the Miltank was picking up speed. Within a few seconds, it was right on his heels.

"Run, Monty! Come on!"

It was no use. Eventually, after charging after Monty in the most glorified version of cat-and-mouse I had ever seen, Miltank caught up. It steamrolled straight into poor Monty, sending the Classy Cat flying. He slammed into a wall, fell down its side and landed in a heap on the floor. He pitifully tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't support his weight. I ran over to him, my heart pounding.

"You poor thing," I murmured. "See, that's what happens, Monty. You should have come back when I said…"

"Mrrow…"

"You're too proud," I said, recalling him. He didn't struggle this time, which I was thankful for. "But hey." I murmured, as the Pokeball closed around him. "Pride isn't always a bad thing…"

The referee's voice bellowed out across the arena, making me jump. "Challenger has one Pokemon remaining!"

It didn't take me long to pick my next Pokemon. I won't deny I had my favourites back when I was training. Meloi, Aurora and Kiba…my powerhouses, the ones with the most wicked, strong and powerful attacks. I could rely on those three. I knew they would give me the win if I needed it. I felt awful knowing that I always neglected Monty, Cairo and Indigo. But not any more. I knew exactly who I could rely on to win against that Miltank.

"I choose Indigo!"

My Girafarig bayed proudly as she was left out. She started pawing the ground and snorting, staring down at the giant Miltank in front of her. A burst of excitement coursed through me. Indigo wasn't intimidated at all! In fact, she looked eager to battle!

I didn't wait to give the courtesy of the first move to Whitney. "Right, Indigo! Start off with Agility!"

Within seconds, a whole circle of Girafarigs were surrounding the giant Miltank. It mooed uncomfortably, worriedly surveying the group of snorting Pokemon.

"Don't be afraid, Miltank! Use Rollout!"

"Use Confusion to stop it!"

The Confusion from every corner of the Miltank was combined enough to halt it in its tracks. That thing was so powerful I knew that simply attacking it from the front wasn't going to be enough to stop it. If I attacked the Miltank from all angles, there was no way it could break free.

Whitney looked shocked as her Miltank struggled against the psychic force of the Confusion, unable to get away. Her mouth gaped open and shut like a floundering Magikarp, and I could see her trying to devise a strategy.

But I was quicker.

"Now, Indigo! Psychic!"

Psychic was a move that Indigo had only picked up right at the end of my training with Wallace. It was spectacularly powerful, its multicoloured waves slamming straight into the Miltank's girth, knocking it back. It looked like it had sustained quite a considerable amount of damage!

I took another chance as the Agility worse off and all the Girafarigs merged into a single one. "Confusion again! Head on this time!"

Another powerful blast of Psychic energy slammed straight into the thick hide of the Miltank. While it didn't seem to damage the cow Pokemon, it did Confuse it. A glazed, vacant look came over its eyes and it mooed slowly, as if trying to figure out where it was. When Whitney gave the order for her Miltank to use Rollout again, the Pokemon responded by slamming straight into a wall.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Damn, I love that move! Well done Indigo!"

"You haven't won yet!" Whitney cried out. "Miltank, use Milk Drink!"

My cheers immediately devolved into curses. Milk Drink was a move that was special to Pokemon like Miltank. It was kind of similar to Recover, Moonlight or Softboiled, where the Pokemon would replenish some health. That thing didn't need to recover more health! It was already enough of a powerhouse as it was. I had to stop it somehow!

But as luck would have it, the Miltank was still confused. It blinked vacantly at its trainer's instructions and mooed lazily. Whitney looked ready to burst into tears and started hopping up and down on the spot in her agitation, screaming instructions at the Miltank, which it ignored.

A surge of excitement coursed through me. "Indigo! Finish this! Psybeam!"

It was over. The concentrated beam of Psychic energy was too much for the giant Pokemon to take. The attack hit the Pokemon straight on. It wobbled precariously on its feet, before falling face first onto the ground, sending a massive tremor through the arena. Indigo stood proudly over her opponent, bucking and cheering happily.

Whitney on the other hand looked like she'd been slapped in the face.

"I… I lost? No… I can't lose!"

"Winner, Challenger Sienna!" the gym proctor called out.

Whitney's lip started to wobble precariously, and as I approached her, I definitely wasn't expecting her to burst into tears. "You meanie!" She suddenly burst out, making me jump backwards at her outburst. "How could you do that?"

From up in the bleachers I could have sworn I heard Elliot sigh. "Whitney never changes."

"Umm, Whitney…?" I offered slowly. "That is kinda the point of a Gym Battle…"

She ignored me, the tears slipping down her face and sobs penetrating her every breath. I approached her warily again, daring to get closer this time. "Whitney?"

"What? What do you want?" she hiccupped mournfully.

"My… my badge?" I suggested slowly.

"What badge?" she demanded.

"Your badge!"

"My badge?" she sounded confused.

"Yes! The one I won for beating you!"

And then, miraculously as if it had never happened, Whitney's tears melted away as quickly as they came. From out of nowhere, she produced a wad of bills and a Badge set in the shape of a plain diamond and pressed them into my hands. "Aaaah! That was a good cry!" she said, sounding refreshed. "And a good battle too! So, who's next?"

I almost fell over. What was with this girl?

"Umm…" I heard Bailey's voice come from up in the bleachers. "If it's okay with all of you, I'd like to challenge Whitney next."

"Go for it," Elliot said kindly.

"Do your best!" Nikki cried.

"Break a leg." Jasmine deadpanned and Scott said nothing. He, up until this point, had been leaning forward expectantly in his seat, as if itching to get up and challenge Whitney. He wasn't quick enough to protest when Bailey asked to go next, however and I saw him sink back into his seat, a hint of disappointment marring his face.

"Sure!" Whitney cheered, before turning to me. "Thanks for the battle! Bye!"

And with that I was officially dismissed. My mouth gaped open for a few moments before I realised I had been asked to leave and I made my way back to my seat. It still hadn't quite sunk in that I had actually won, so bizarre was the reaction Whitney had taken. But I wasn't going to complain. I was one badge down and three to go. Only three more to get until I could battle my father and be done with the whole thing.

I passed Bailey on the way up to the bleachers. I stopped, and so did he. He looked horribly nervous, his normally red rosy cheeks pale. His hands were shaking and he was gripping a Pokeball in his hands. I spied only four Pokeballs hanging around his waist.

"Great battle, Sienna." He commented as we stopped.

I smiled. "Thanks. And… good luck. I'm… I'm sure you'll do great."

I felt a little mean saying that. I wasn't sure Bailey would do great. Normally I wasn't one for lying. I hated giving people false hope. Probably because I hated getting false hope. Whitney had been tough, and I was an experienced trainer with Pokemon probably a lot stronger than Bailey's. I mean, if I hadn't Confused that Miltank, stopping it from using Milk Drink, I probably would have never won. And Bailey still reeked of rookie trainer, even though he was probably the same age as Elliot. I found myself seriously doubting he could win. At the same time though, I didn't want him to be too disillusioned. You had to go into a Gym Battle believing in yourself, otherwise you were practically defeated before you even started.

I took my place between Elliot and Nikki on the bleachers. They all congratulated me for winning and then we focused our attention on Bailey.

"Think he's gonna win?" I asked around.

Scott and Jasmine with a resounding "no", Nikki mumbled something incoherently and Elliot just looked a little pained.

"Poor Bailey…" I found myself thinking as he introduced himself to Whitney. "He's not going to win this, is he?"

Whitney's first choice of Pokemon was a Jigglypuff. Sweet, pink and cute. I was starting to notice a theme here. Poor Bailey looked intimidated even by a Jigglypuff of all things.

"They look kind of alike, don't they?" Jasmine commented idly. "Apart from how Jigglypuff is pink… and cute."

"Jasmine, shut up and watch the match!" I hissed angrily. Why the hell was she so fixated on the fact Bailey was fat? "Look, he's about to pick his Pokemon."

Even as I said that, Bailey unhooked a Pokeball and rather clumsily tossed it into the arena. "Leafy, go!"

"Leafy?" I thought in disgust. "What the hell is this going to be?"

"Chika! Chika!"

As one of the official Johto league starter Pokemon burst from the Pokeball, we were all in shock. How on earth did Bailey manage to get that Pokemon? It was normally only reserved for ten year olds setting out on their journeys! Bailey lived in Goldenrod, far too far away from New Bark Town to get one, and he had told us he was too poor to afford something anything expensive and rare. And Chikorita was about as expensive and rare as you could get…

That meant, the only way he could have gotten it was from my Dad.

"Your father must have some powerful connections," Scott said in what I could have sworn was marvel.

"Must do…" I said, sitting back in my seat to watch the match.

Bailey started out well. His Chikorita dispatched its Jigglypuff opponent within only a few moves. Elliot was enraptured by the battle, admiring the Chikorita for being a Grass type. Bailey also seemed to favour a similar battling style as Elliot, choosing to shoot attacks from afar, and getting in with a nasty PoisonPowder straight off the bat to continually sap the Pokemon's health. The Jigglypuff fell to its defeat without much trouble, or effort, on Bailey's part. This surprised anyone and we all exchanged awed looks. Bailey seemed to be better than we had anticipated. Indeed, better than he had led us to believe…

"Huh…" I said slowly as Bailey celebrated with his Chikorita. "That was a surprise."

"It's luck, it won't last…" Jasmine said, folding her arms as if she was the authority on the subject.

I could hear Whitney saying something about "not being able to beat her next Pokemon so easily". I wholly wished she wasn't going to spring another Miltank on the poor boy. That would be disastrous.

She didn't release another Milktank, thank God. But it was something almost as bad. She released a Wigglytuff. I groaned. There was no way he could beat her now.

Give him his due though, in the face of such overwhelming opponents, he tried. I could see his face marred with concern and worry as he tried to figure out some way to get around the Wigglytuff's impossibly high defence. What little damage the little Chikorita had done to the Wigglytuff's health was recovered with its Moonlight attack and then returned tenfold. Even the PoisonPowder didn't seem to be having much of an effect. The poor Chikorita was getting absolutely battered.

And then, just as things started to look really hopeless, the Chikorita started to glow with a white light. Moments later, Leafy the Chikorita became Leafy the Bayleef. The look on Bailey's face as he looked at his new rejuvenated Pokemon was priceless. Almost heart-warming, even. It kind of reminded me of what I had been like the first time one of my Pokemon evolved.

With his new rejuvenated Bayleef, and to our immense surprise and awe, Bailey had little trouble fighting off the Wigglytuff. He simply barraged it with attack after attack, not even giving it a chance to use Moonlight to recover health. Finally the poison got the better of the giant pink Pokemon and it too fell to the ground defeated. Bailey had won!

We cheered for him of course, but poor Bailey looked like he'd been slapped in the face when Whitney burst into tears again at her loss. She relinquished the badge after a short struggle, and Bailey, beaming from ear to ear jogged back up to us. After congratulations and a full five minutes of him gushing about how he'd never expected to win, it was Jasmine's turn to battle.

I found it strange that Scott had let Jasmine go ahead of him. He had been practically at the edge of his seat when Whitney had first asked who was next, and had looked more than a little annoyed when Bailey had gone first. But after Bailey's battle when Whitney had asked who was next, both Jasmine and Scott had risen to their feet expectantly. As they met each other's eyes, I had sworn a tiny blush had appeared on Scott's face. Seconds later he had swept his hand in the direction of the battlefield and sat firmly back down, letting Jasmine go first.

"What's with that boy…?" I found myself thinking. "He acts nasty to everyone else. Why's he being so… courteous to Jasmine? Weird…"

An explosion of flame erupting from the battlefield distracted me from my thoughts and I quickly turned my attention to Jasmine. She was battling a Clefairy with her Quilava, Sulphur. The powerful beams and rings of fire spread across the battlefield, engulfing everything with its intense heat. And Jasmine stood calmly in the middle of it, unflinching and totally at ease, giving instructions.

"Wow," I heard Bailey breathe out from nearby. He sounded totally impressed, marvelling at the displays of strength from her Quilava. "She's good."

I smiled across at him. "That's nothing. You don't wanna piss her off, that's for sure. Her Pokemon are wicked strong, but so is she. I swear, the girl's part Machoke!"

Bailey looked worried. I started to wonder if I'd maybe said the wrong thing…

Jasmine handled the battle superbly, winning her own Plain Badge in a fraction of the time Bailey had taken. She relied solely on Sulphur to take out the Clefairy and subsequent Clefable that Whitney sent out. She practically grabbed the badge from Whitney, completely ignoring the girl's tears, and clambered up to the bleachers.

Whitney announced that she had to heal her Pokemon before the final challenger could compete against her. I expected Scott to cause a fuss, but he sat there calmly and saying nothing. I leant across to congratulate Jasmine when she joined us, and to my surprise, both Scott and Bailey cut in over me.

"That was an excellent battle Jasmine! Your Quilava is really powerful." Bailey gushed.

"You did a good job," Scott's voice was monotonous as always, but there was a strange light in his eyes. He was looking at Jasmine when he spoke to her, which was definitely unusual for him.

I sighed. They hadn't been this animated when I had won. "Hey, that's no fair. What about my congratulations?"

Scott turned to me. "What about them? Bailey beat the Gym Leader with one Pokemon. Jasmine beat the Gym Leader with one Pokemon. You had to use two."

"I had to use two Pokemon when I beat her!" Elliot tried to offer helpfully, but he was immediately shot down.

The boys started to argue, albeit in a good-natured way. I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. Nikki offered me a sweet smile. "I think you did really well, Sienna."

"Thanks Nik," I groaned.

Scott's battle couldn't come quick enough. It was over quick enough too. I was on tenterhooks, desperate for him to release a Pokemon that wasn't Marowak, Rhydon, Pidgeot or Quagsire, but I was disappointed. Scott's Rhydon took down the Jigglypuff and Miltank almost as soon as they were released and the battle was over within minutes. Bailey's mouth was gaping open and as we all squeezed out down into the main arena to meet up with Scott, I heard him muttering to himself.

"I can't believe how strong all these people are…"

Scott collected his Plain Badge and we all thanked Whitney. She still looked a little upset at losing to so many people in one day, but Elliot assured me that that was just her way. We exited the Goldenrod City Gym and took a few moments to collect ourselves.

The topic of the next badge was an inevitable one. We all turned to Elliot for the answer to this one. He was the only one who had any experience with the region of Johto after all.

"Well," he said, trying to look official. "We've got two choices, I guess. As far as the closest Gyms go, we can either head south from here to Azalea Town, or north up to Ecruteak."

"What kind of Gyms are they?"

"The one in Azalea is run by Bugsy. It's a Bug type Gym. And the one in Ecruteak is run by Morty. He's a Ghost type trainer."

"That doesn't make the decision any easier…" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. I was about to turn around and ask the others for their opinion when a cheesy, jingly tune interrupted me.

All of us, including Scott and Bailey, looked accusingly at Nikki. Normally whenever anyone's phone rang, Nikki was the culprit. She was the only one, after all, who had someone outside of the group who regularly called for her. She was blushing this time, frantically shaking her head. "No! It's not me!"

"Then who—?"

"It's me!" Elliot sounded as surprised as he fished out his phone.

"Who's phoning you?" I asked indignantly. Normally the only phone calls Elliot got were the very rare check in with his mum or dad, or me when I want something. I knew it couldn't be his parents because they spoke to him only the other day, and it obviously couldn't have been me.

Looking slightly worried, Elliot consulted the caller ID and his eyes bulged. He stared at the ringing phone, not doing anything, just looking shocked.

"What? Who is it?" I pressed him.

He looked up at me, open-mouthed. "It's Lance!" he said in surprise.

Author's Note

Hey guys! Me again! I've been working hard over the weekend on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!

I have a couple of questions though that I need you to answer honestly. What do you think of Bailey as a character? Do you think he and Jasmine would be a good pair? And, am I neglecting any characters, human or Pokemon, of late?

I'd also like to apologise if any of the canon characters are OOC. I mean, I haven't watched the anime in years, and I go by what I can pick up from games and wikis. I know that I take some creative liscence with them, Lance especially, and you'll see a lot more of that in the next chapters. Where I attempt to write comedy. Yay!

Something Dictionary Related: I don't know, sometimes I think people don't want to read all my pointless ramblings! haha! :)

WarriorSwift: Yeah, Bailey is just the epitome of innocence and naivety :)

Manser77: I'm sure I can fit the name in somewhere :)

Sniper Mudkip: Yep! You were right! Sienna relied on Indigo! A lot of people guessed that actually...

KRDiva1: Wish granted! Indigo finally got some screen time :)

TwewyReaperGirl: CAAAAAKE! SUGGAAAR! NOM NOM NOM! Oh man, I love sugar. :)

Zoeten: I don't think so, I mean I let people submit OCs for the tournament, but I wouldn't feel right messing with such intricate characters that weren't mine, if you know what I mean? Even if I did get permission, I wouldn't want to cos I would feel I wouldn't do it justice. Besides, this isn't a crossover fic anyway...

ArchXDeath: I will wait patiently for whenever you can update, don't worry :) I have a vague idea how the OC tournament is going to go, so don't worry about that either. :) Thank you!

Aeroga: I actually really like Miltank even though beating Whitney in Silver was a nightmare. I'm going to try and show more of Cairo and Indigo. Obviously they came along relatively late in the game, so Sienna doesn't rely on them as much as she SHOULD. Bad girl.

Immabeemee: Again, so sorry to hear about your account being hacked! :/ If i ever find the person who did it... BAM! :( You ship Bailey and Sienna? O.o I never thought of that... I cant' imagine Elliot being too pleased.

So yes, I shall leave you with a preview of later chapters! Just so you know the vague order of things.

Elliot and Lance enjoy a Monty Python moment!
Sienna takes on another Gym!
OC TOURNAMENT!
Sienna has a run in with a face from Meloi's past
More Gym battles.
THE PLOT BEGINS TO UNFOLD!

So, yeah. OceanSpiral out!