Practice Makes Perfect
When they returned to New Bark Town, Emily and her friends went to the Pokémon Center. After verifying her credentials and gym badges, Emily was now qualified to enter the Silver Conference. The next stop was Silver Town on Mt. Silver.
Although the Silver Conference was several weeks away, Emily had plenty of time to get her Pokémon warmed up with some special training. So before heading to Mt. Silver, she decided to have a few Pokémon battles with her friends. The first match would be against her and Joey. The blonde lad tossed his Pokéball and called on Feraligatr. Emily called on Sylphid as her first Pokémon. Feraligatr ran up to Sylphid and tried to attack with Slash, but Sylphid was too fast and dodged the attack. He bit down on Feraligatr's tail and attacked with Thunder Fang. Feraligatr turned around and bit Syplhid back using Crunch. Sylphid attacked with Discharge and landed a direct hit.
Joey called Feraligatr back and called on Phanpy. Sylphid's electric attacks wouldn't work against Phanpy because he was a ground-type Pokémon, but he could still rely on his speed. Phanpy used Rollout and tried to keep up with Sylphid, but the electric Pokémon was too fast. But Phanpy was picking up speed and managed to land a hit on Sylphid. Phanpy also began kicking up sand in Sylphid's face. As Sylphid was trying to rub the sand from his eyes, Phanpy used Take Down and pushed him against a tree.
Emily called Sylphid back and sent Undine into battle. Joey withdrew Phanpy and sent Flaaffy to take his place. Undine made the first move by attacking with Water Pulse. Not only did Flaaffy get soaked, but she also got confused. Undine launched her Aurora Beam at Flaaffy and froze her lower body to the ground. Joey kept calling out to Flaaffy. She came to her senses and as she saw Undine coming, she used Thunder Punch to knock her away. And when Flaaffy used Thunder Shock, not only did she break free from the ice, but she also defeated Undine. As if that wasn't enough, Flaaffy began glowing. She was evolving into Ampharos. Joey laughed and cheered as he ran up to Ampharos and hugged her.
Emily called Undine back into her Pokéball. "Thanks, guys. Have a good rest." She turns her attention to Joey and congratulates him. "That's two out of three victories, Joey. Way to go. And congratualtions to you too, Ampharos."
In answer, the yellow Pokémon bleats. Joey thanks Emily as well. Then he gets an idea. "Now that you're an Ampharos, I can give you this." He shows her a gauntlet containing the Mega Stone that will allow her to Mega Evolve and secures it around her arm. Joey started to become excited. "This is so cool. Now you can Mega Evolve. Come on, let's try it out." He was about to touch his Keystone, but Kaiba grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Don't be stupid," he scolded. "You know it doesn't work that way."
Yugi agreed. "You need to be patient, Joey. It's true that you've got the Keystone and Ampharos has a Mega Stone, but it may not be enough."
Emily nods and says, "Joey, what if you hastily tap into the power of Mega Evolution and something bad happens? Did you think about that?"
Joey relaxed himself. "I didn't think of that at all."
"Ampharos doesn't know her own strength yet," continued Yugi. "She just evolved. Let her get used to being an Ampharos before you think about tapping into the power of Mega Evolution. And remember, your hearts must connect in order for the true power of Mega Evolution to be released."
Joey remembered and he removed his hand from his wrist. He also began thinking about what he could do to decide whether or not he was one with his Pokémon and if their hearts were connected. He's taken good care of his Pokémon. He's remembered to play with them and teach them as well as train them to get stronger. They've worked together to achieve their goals. Since Joey became a Pokémon trainer, he's been doing his best to make sure his Pokémon would be happy and healthy. And in times when Joey was sad or upset, his Pokémon were there to listen and try to make him feel better. Joey was close with his Pokémon, but only time would tell if it would determine the weight of their bond. It would also determine if Ampharos would be able to Mega Evolve.
Emily was ready for another Pokémon battle. This time, her opponent would be Kaiba. "I know our last battle didn't go very well, but this time, I'm ready," Emily promised.
"Before we begin, I have some words of advice," the brunette tells her. "I know this is practice and special training, but don't hold back. The trainers at the Silver Conference are going to fight with everything they have. I want you to do that in our battle. Don't hold back because I won't."
The blonde girl agreed to his terms. "All right. Let's go." For her first Pokémon, she chooses Shade. Kaiba calls on Zubat as his first Pokémon. Zubat makes the first move by attacking with Supersonic. Shade becomes dazed and confused. Unfortunately, his special ability didn't work against the status of confusion. Zubat dives down and uses Wing Attack, but before he can land a hit, Shade strikes first. He had learned to use the move Sucker Punch. He leaps in the air and tries to attack with Bite, but Zubat is too far to reach. He comes down again and latches his teeth in his back and begins to use Leech Life. Zubat attacks with Wing Attack again and Shade is knocked out. After the battle, Zubat begins glowing. He grows larger and has eyes now. He was now a Golbat.
Emily withdrew Shade and called on Salamando. Kaiba called on Onix. Salamando and Onix battled each other before and hoped that things would end differently this time. Their trainers hoped so too. Salamando engulfed himself in his flames and used Flare Blitz. Onix dug a tunnel and burrowed underground. Feeling it in her heels, Emily guides Salamando away from Onix. As Onix emerges from the ground, he sees that Salamando is nowhere in sight. Salamando comes up from behind Onix and attacks with Flamethrower. Onix turns around and tries to grab Salamando in his mouth, but Salamando launches his flames into his mouth. With a burnt mouth, Onix begins thrashing around in pain. Salamando uses Flare Blitz again and knocks Onix down. Onix pulls himself together and attacks with Rock Throw. To avoid getting crushed by the rocks, Salamando hides in the tunnel Onix dug. Onix slams his tail against the ground to make it shake, forcing Salamando to come out. Onix coils himself around Salamando and keeps a tight grip on him. Emily pleads for Salamando to open his eyes. But he doesn't want to because he's scared of what's happening. She continues pleading for Salamando to open his eyes. Finally, he does so and launches his Flamethrower at Onix. The rock snake loosens his grip and Salamando breaks free. He engulfs himself in his flames again and defeats Onix with Flare Blitz.
Kaiba was impressed. "Well done," he told Emily. "I knew you could do it this time; you and Salamando."
Emily appreciated what Kaiba was telling her. "Thanks, Kaiba. I owe it to you for not giving up on me. You pushed us to fight with everything we had no matter what obstacles there would be."
The brunette nods in agreement. "You kept calm and your Pokémon were able to also. Because of that, you were able to adapt and so were your Pokémon. Despite the trouble Salamado was in, you found a way to get him out of it and turn the match around." He places his hand on Emily's shoulder and rubs it. He also gets down and pets Salamando.
To show her appreciation, Emily presents Kaiba with a small object. He takes it and asks, "What's this?"
"It's a Metal Coat," she answers. "I found it on Silver Rock Isle as I was looking for interesting things to collect and carry. If you let your Onix hold it, he'll evolve into Steelix. But that's only if you want him to. I don't want you to make him evolve because I gave it to you."
Kaiba appreciates her kindness and takes the Metal Coat. "Thanks. I'll give it some thought." He places it in his bag to keep it safe.
After all this excitement, Emily decided to return to the Pokémon Center and let her team rest up and recover. Afterwards, the team would head out to Mt. Silver.