"This is a battle between the Pokémon Master, 'The Champion' and Misty Waterflower. It is a test match, meaning nothing is riding on the outcome. Misty is the first trainer to want to challenge 'The Champion' and having seen how he destroyed opponents during the World League it isn't surprising nobody wants to face him."

"Don't remind me" Misty growled at the announcer, his voice carrying into the waiting room. The shock on the face of the receptionist a mere 2 hours before was still on her mind. She had expected to have to wait some time to face 'The Champion' but it seemed that nobody was willing to go up against him, fearing his power. As a result, she was able to face him almost immediately. The stadium wasn't particularly busy, but there was a reasonable crowd, hoping to be able to watch the Master battle once again. If Misty hadn't challenged him, it was highly possible that there wouldn't have been a challenge that day at all.

"And now, please welcome to the field the challenger, Misty Waterflower, and the Pokémon Master, 'The Champion!'

Misty took a deep breath and walked out, seeing a dark figure come to her from across the stadium. Meeting in the middle, she took the offered hand, and looked up into his face, only to realize that it was hidden by the shadow cast by a hat. As she pulled her hand back, she took another breath and launched into speech.

"You wanted people who think they are good to train. I think that I am strong enough, if you'll teach me."

A deep voice emanated from the shadowed face. "So that is why you wanted to challenge. Miss Waterflower, I believe you are a Water-Trainer? Then a Water field should give you the edge. Do your best."

As 'The Champion' spoke, the field began to split, and then a water field appeared in its place. There was a platform at either end for the trainers, and a series of platforms dotted around, but these were very small. Misty was reminded of the Cerulean Gym, just the platforms were far smaller. She looked into the stands where she saw all of her friends watching, as well as her sisters and the trainers from the Cerulean Gym. Her opponent started walking back to his end, and Misty hurried to do the same. As they faced each other across the pool, the referee stepped forward.

"This is a full battle between the challenger Misty Waterflower and the Pokémon Master on a water field. The Master shall choose his Pokémon first. Neither side may make substitutions. Trainers, choose your Pokémon."

Wordlessly, the figure across from Misty raised his arm. A Pokémon materialized in the water near him. Misty breathed a sigh of relief when she realized he wasn't using his Charizard, but then looking at it she wondered what she was facing. It was a torpedo shaped shark, with a cross on its head. Misty saw May pull out her Pokédex, and listened for what she had to fight.

"Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon. Nicknamed "the bully of the sea" Sharpedo is widely feared. Its cruel fangs grow back immediately if they snap off."

Misty gulped. This particular Water Pokémon wasn't cute at all. In fact, it looked ready to kill. For the first time, she thought that perhaps her younger self grandly stating that all water Pokémon are cute might have been wrong. Knowing she had to make a good impression, she pulled out a Pokéball, and shouted "Misty calls Gyarados!"

The Pokémon appeared with a roar and a huge splash, causing the few spectators to gasp, and with good reason. Anybody who hadn't seen Misty's Gyarados develop would have been impressed at the size and aura of power it projected. However, looking over to her opponent, Misty couldn't see any emotion on the visible part of his face. Glancing down she realized that Sharpedo, far from being intimidated was sizing up Gyarados to which the Atrocious Pokémon responded in kind. The referee stepped, forward and raised his flags above his head. "The first battle is between Sharpedo and Gyarados. Are both trainers ready?" Nods of assent from either end caused the referee to snap both flags down and call "Begin!"

"Ice Beam followed by Bite."
Before Misty could even call a command, Gyarados was caught by a beam of ice that sent him reeling backwards. The Atrocious Pokémon roared in pain, a roar that became painfully loud as Sharpedos teeth closed around his tail. Misty gasped in shock, the speed of Sharpedo was incredible. It moved through the water faster than anything she had ever seen.

"Poison Jab." came the next command

"Gyarados, throw it away now!"

As Sharpedo relaxed his teeth, Gyarados swung his tail around, causing the shark to be thrown across the pool. However, before Misty could do anything else, a curt command came from across the pool.

"Giga Impact."

Sharpedo instantly reversed its flight, and slammed into Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokémon was sent crashing down into the pool, sending a wave across it which soaked Misty. As she shook her now sodden hair out of her eyes, she saw Gyarados lying in the pool, not moving at all. The attack had been overkill. Sharpedo had settled down back where he started, not showing any signs of having fought at all. Misty shakily felt for Gyarados' Pokéball and recalled her serpent, rapidly revising the strength of her opponent. It did not make for pleasant thoughts. She pulled out another Pokéball, and threw it, not bothering to call the name of the released Pokémon. A large red fish appeared, with a powerful horn on its forehead. It looked across the pool to its opponent, and a look of fierce determination crossed its face.

Gary leaned back in his seat, whistling softly. Next to him Brock was nodding approvingly, but Max was struggling to see what they were all so impressed by. All he had seen was 'The Champion' think very quickly on his feet to save his Pokémon from an embarrassing landing. Looking at the older men, he mentioned this, causing Gary to chuckle. "Max, that wasn't luck. He knew that Misty, fearing for Gyarados would try to get Sharpedo as far away as possible, and with it biting on Gyarados' tail that means throwing it. However, as soon as Sharpedo was in the air, Giga Impact had the benefit of gravity driving it making it that much more powerful. I think he had that planned from the moment Misty released Gyarados. I hate to say it, but even if he had weak Pokémon Misty would struggle if he can think that far ahead. That was a strategy far beyond anything I've seen. Combine that with the sheer power of the Pokémon, I mean a Sharpedo that can destroy Gyarados that fast is unreal and you have a virtually unbeatable battler. No wonder Cynthia lost."

Max stared.

"There is no way that he planned that. That's impossible." Brock looked over at the young trainer before answering.

"Max, you are watching as close to a perfect battler as you will ever see. I'm not sure if he will ever lose." Gary then added in a teasing voice. "You've picked a good idol Max, too bad you'll never be as good as him."

Max was about to shout at Gary, but a voice in his ear stopped him. "Max, don't let him get to you. One day you'll be strong enough to get him to train you and then you will be able to destroy Gary."

Max spun around to see James moving away, although he looked back and smiled at the younger trainer. May then hushed everybody as the next round was about to begin.

"Seaking vs Sharpedo. Begin!" called the referee, snapping his flags down once again.

"Seaking, Horn Drill now!" called Misty, desperate to get an attack in before she was obliterated again.

"Sharpedo, Scary Face."

Seaking surged forwards, to be greeted by a face from her darkest nightmares. She shrunk back, her horn slowing down from its drilling, to return to normal. Misty clenched her fists in frustration, before shouting a new command.

"Seaking, Water Pulse!"

"dive, and use Crunch."

"Seaking Agility!"

Seaking fired a large ball of water at Sharpedo who dove under water before surging up over Seaking who was trying to obey her trainers desperate cry and dodge. Sharpedo missed on the way up, but then his jaws closed around Seaking on the descent.

"Sharpedo, take it for a ride."

The Brutal Pokémon dove back under water, Seaking still in its jaws. A few moments later a platform was suddenly sent flying into the air, before crashing into the water. Where the platform had been, Seaking lay, its body bruised, and unmoving. The referee raised his flag.

"Seaking is unable to battle. Sharpedo is victorious."

Misty quickly returned Seaking, and threw out another Pokéball.

"Dewgong, show time!"

A pearly white body appeared in the pool, causing many of the women in the audience to go glassy-eyed at its beauty. However, there was little opportunity to appreciate it as the referee's flags went up again. "Dewgong vs Sharpedo. Begin!" called the referee as he snapped his flags down.

"Dewgong, Ice Beam!"

"Copy"

Dewgong fired out a blue beam but Sharpedo retaliated and the sharks beam pushed straight through, sending Dewgong crashing into the water. Before Misty or her Pokémon could recover, Sharpedo tore through, smashing into Dewgong, throwing her out of the water and landing on a platform. Like the two Pokémon before her, Dewgong was clearly knocked out.

"Dewgong is unable to battle. Since Misty has lost 3 Pokémon, there shall be a 10 minute break" called the referee. Misty recalled Dewgong, thanking it, and watched as her opponent silently recalled Sharpedo, turning on his heel and striding into his room.

Misty shakily made her way into her own room. As soon as she was out of sight of the crowd she collapsed onto a bench, shaking. The first half of the battle had lasted a mere 5 minutes. The Sharpedo was deadly in the water, and its attacks were crushingly powerful. Whilst Dewgong was one of her weakest in terms of endurance, to have it taken out so quickly was terrifying. And Gyarados! It was her strongest, the only Pokémon who could match it in endurance was Golduck who hated to lose when she was watching. She knew the Duck Pokémon would fight to the point of exhaustion for her, and she knew he would this day because of what it meant to her. Misty felt her shaking increase, and felt something wet land on her knees. She rubbed her eyes and realized she was crying. She had spent years training for this moment, the chance to prove herself to a great trainer and be taught, but she hadn't even got a hit in yet. Half her team was down and each one was falling quicker than the next. She let the tears flow as she held the Pokéballs containing Gyarados, Seaking and Dewgong. Each of these Pokémon she had a bond with, and each of them had been ruthlessly destroyed by 'The Champion'. She now knew how well he had earned that title. She never thought she would be crushed so effortlessly. A buzzer snapped her out of her misery. She had 1 minute left. Standing up, she rubbed at her eyes to try to and hide the signs of her tears. With a new determination she strode out. She was going to make her opponent respect her.

As she took her place on her side of the pool, she watched her opponent throw his Pokéball before even ordered to. Sharpedo appeared once again, grinning at her, inviting her to face it once again. Misty pulled a new Pokéball from her belt.

"Misty calls Starmie!"

May leaned towards Dawn, before muttering into her ear. "She's been crying. This is hurting her."
Dawn nodded before bouncing to her feet and shouting "Come on Misty, you can do it! Beat this guy!"May just sunk back into her seat, thinking "why do I even bother..."

The referee stepped back up to his mark, before raising his flags. "Starmie vs Sharpedo. Are both trainers ready?" A quick nod from each side caused the flags to snap down. "Begin!"

"Starmie, psychic!"

"Crunch."

The gem at the centre of the purple star glowed, and blue light appeared around Sharpedo. The Brutal Pokémon ignored it, and charged towards the star, crunching down on it with its teeth.

"Again." Came the command from 'The Champion.'

The shark obeyed, before throwing the dtar into the sky. It flew into the air and crashed on to a platform, not moving.

"Starmie is unable to battle. Sharpedo is victorious!"

"I don't get it" said May. "How come psychic didn't do anything?"

"It isn't necessarily well-known, but Sharpedo is part dark. Therefore, any psychic attack is useless" answered Gary knowledgeably. "Misty clearly didn't know that. Also, crunch being a dark move is going to be even stronger against Starmie. That was perhaps the worst match-up she could have chosen."

"Don't be so cruel to her!" scolded Dawn. "She is doing her best. I'd like to see you fight the Pokémon Master!"

"Dawn, I'm not deliberately being mean. I'm merely pointing out that she had absolutely no chance of beating Sharpedo with Starmie. She needs to make the most of the one Pokémon she has that has a strength against that shark. She should use it now..."

"I choose you Poliwrath!" The muscled figure of Poliwrath appeared on the platform nearest Misty, flexing its muscles. It took one look at the scoreboard and then did a double take. It showed just one Pokémon on 'The Champions' side, whilst Misty was down four. "Poli, Poliwrath?" the Tadpole Pokémon questioned?

"Poliwrath, do not underestimate that Sharpedo, it's the strongest thing you'll have ever faced."

"Poliwrath vs Sharpedo. Begin!"

"Poliwrath, wait for it to come to you on the platform."

"Take Down"

As Poliwrath got into a defensive stance, Sharpedo raced across the pool, diving underneath and slamming the platform into the air. Poliwrath was thrown off-balance, but Misty was quick enough to save it.

"Bubblebeam into the pool slightly to the left." The surge of bubbles directed Poliwrath onto another platform, where he settled into another stance.

"Take down."

This sequence happened 3 more times, with Poliwrath becoming more adept at landing each time. As he landed again, a different command came from across the pool.

"Surf."

A huge wall of water raced at Poliwrath, but Misty finally moved to the offensive.

"Poliwrath, wait for it to come and then Karate Chop."

As the wall of water crashed into the Tadpole, it went with the impact leaving the platform but then lunged at Sharpedo who was in the wave, crashing his arm into the shark. Unfortunately, Sharpedos skin hurt the Tadpole Pokémon, which was rapidly exacerbated when he glowed purple and fell to a knee, poisoned from a Poison Jab covered by Surf. Before Sharpedo could get away, Poliwrath reached out and grabbed him, enduring the pain from his skin.

"Poliwrath, get it onto the platform" Misty called, seeing a chance to really damage the Brutal Pokémon. Poliwrath heaved its prey onto the platform and then leaped after it.

"Now Poliwrath, it can't dodge, use Submission!"

"Dodge."

Poliwrath reached for Sharpedo, but the shark had managed to move away with staggering speed. Misty gasped as she saw the fish managing to use its fins to run on land. Its two side fins had managed to bend down and propel it away from the Tadpole Pokémon and across the platform. Poliwrath looked stunned and was momentarily exposed.

"Giga Impact."

The shark streaked across the platform, smashing into Poliwrath sending him flying until his passage was stopped by the wall. Misty cringed, knowing that her fighting Pokémon had fallen. She turned and extended a Pokéball, returning Poliwrath. She reached for her final ball, and threw it. "Golduck, your up!"

A blue duck appeared with a yellow bill, flexing its muscles. He glared across the water at Sharpedo who merely smirked back. Golduck then turned to hear its trainer calling to him.

"Golduck, you know how important this is to us. You are the last one, he has beaten everybody else. Do your best for all of us"

Golduck nodded, then adopted a fighting stance. The referee stepped forwards with both of his flags raised. "Golduck vs Sharpedo. Begin!"

"Golduck, water gun"

"Crunch"

"Dodge and get into the water"

Golduck fired a stream of water at the shark,but Sharpedo charged straight through it, barely seeming to notice. He threw himself at Golduck, but the Duck Pokémon dived into the pool, swimming away as quickly as possible.

"Ice Beam"

Before Golduck could dodge, he was trapped in a block of ice that bobbed to the surface of the pool. Sharpedo then charged in once again and smashed through the ice, biting down on Golduck. The duck screamed in pain and flailed out, trying to dislodge Sharpedo, but without success.

"Throw and use Giga Impact."

Misty was powerless to watch her Pokémon get crushed as Golduck was thrown into the air before Sharpedo smashed into him from below. Golduck rose into the air once again and crashed down onto a platform, causing smoke to appear. Sharpedo returned to settle in front of his trainer. However, as the smoke cleared, Golduck was slowly clambering to his feet. His blue body as covered in bruises, yet he refused to lie down when his trainer needed him. Misty could see that Golduck was beyond the end of his tether, but had a chance to impress her opponent with her Pokémons endurance and didn't want to forfeit.

"Golduck, Hydro Pump"

"Take down"

Golduck fired a torrent of water at Sharpedo who slipped to the side before sending Golduck flying with another powerful attack. Again, the stadium thought the battle was over, but again Golduck was able to climb to his feet, although barely able to stand. He simply refused to lie down, despite the crushing power of his opponents attacks.

"Again"

With Golduck too tired to even attempt to dodge, Sharpedo used Take Down, sending the duck back to the ground, where he crawled to his feet, no longer even able to move. At this point, no more commands were forthcoming from 'The Champion', and Misty watched her Pokémon try to regain some sort of battle posture.

In the stands the gang was in awe of Golducks endurance. They had seen the power of Sharpedos attacks as he dispatched the rest of Misty's team, but this Pokémon seemed was refusing to give up.

"What's he waiting for?" May asked as 'The Champions' inaction lengthened.. "Golduck is finished, he needs to just hit it again."

Brock and Gary looked at each other, as realization sank in. Brock turned to May and explained.

"He is waiting for Misty to recall Golduck. She should know he can't win, and is in no state to fight, so to stop her Pokémon being harmed she should recall it. However, I don't think she is thinking straight anymore. Her team has been decimated, but she has one Pokémon that is refusing to give up. I think she will be trying to show him that her team has endurance. She will be driven by anger to try and get revenge."

"But if he's waiting for her to recall Golduck, shouldn't she do that?" May persisted.

"Yes, but I doubt she will. Her will to prove herself and the stubbornness of that duck will make it hard for her to withdraw it."

Back on the field, Golduck has regained its feet, and Misty called for another Water Gun attack. Sharpedo looked back at his trainer who nodded. A gold beam formed in front of its mouth, before firing at Golduck. The hyper beam smashed straight through the Water Gun and sent the duck flying backwards once more. Golduck skidded to the ground, immobile for a moment, but then with one hand began to haul itself to its feet once again. There were gasps from around the stadium, to take two of the most powerful attacks around and to still get up was unbelievable.

"Sharpedo, end it."

Before Golduck had finished regaining its feet, Sharpedo darted forwards and tackled it to the ground. Again Golduck began climbing to its feet, but as it tried again, Sharpedo tackled it once more. After three more tackles, Sharpedo returned to its trainer, as Golduck was barely able to even more an arm. However, unbelievably, he then slowly pushed itself to its knees, and then to its feet. Facing Sharpedo once again, it glared across the pool at the shark that it refused to let defeat it.

Misty took a deep breath. "Golduck, can you still fight?"

Golduck didn't respond, but a golden beam appeared in front of the gem on his head, before firing across the pool at Sharpedo, who dived under water. As the shark surfaced, preparing to attack once more, Golduck toppled forwards into the pool. Sharpedo dived after it, and pulled it to the surface, pushing it onto the platform. The duck lay there, not moving.

"Golduck!" Misty screamed. "Golduck, are you ok?"

The referee stepped forward, for the last time. "Golduck is unable to battle. Misty is out of Pokémon, so the victory goes to 'The Champion'!"

Misty watched her opponent recall his Pokémon, and she reached out to do so herself. Holding out the Pokéball, a red beam came out, but stopped just short of Golduck. She tried again, and the same thing happened. Suddenly Golduck lifted off the platform and began to float away from Misty, towards her opponent. She looked up at him, as Golduck came to rest beside him. He knelt next to the stricken Pokémon and put a hand on the side of its head. A team of Nurse Joys and Chanseys ran onto the field with a stretcher, where they lifted Golduck, 'The Champion' never moving his hand from the side of the Pokémon. As the stretcher moved away, Golducks Pokéball suddenly flew out of Mistys hand and was caught by her opponent. Misty felt sick, she hadn't realized how hard she had pushed her Pokémon. She hurried after the stretcher as it rapidly moved away down a tunnel at the side of the stadium.

"What just happened?" Drew asked. "What was he doing to Golduck?"

"I have absolutely no idea" came Brocks response. "Gary, any clues?"

"Only one. He is a psychic" was the researchers suggestion.

"Like Sabrina? Could be..." Brock mused. "Although from what I remember about Sabrina, she is one of the most powerful psychics around and she would struggle to move a Pokémon like that whilst moving. Usually she stands still when working."

"Yeah, but it would explain how Golduck was moved away if he was a strong psychic." Gary argued.

Dawn was listening, but finally butted in. "Guys, does it matter? Our friend was just crushed, one of her Pokémon just been taken away and your arguing over whether he is a psychic?"

"Sorry" they muttered quietly. As they looked up, they saw May, Max, Dawn, Jessie, James and Meowth all heading down the stairs to try to find Misty.

"Get it on the operating table, I need to see if it has any internal injuries." Nurse Joy commanded her Chanseys. Ash kept his hand on the side of Golducks head, with his eyes shut. Nurse Joy turned to him. "Sir, I'm afraid your going to have to wait outside."

Under his hat, Ashs eyes snapped open, although Joy couldn't see. "No. I'll heal him." His tone left no room for argument, and it never occured to the Nurse that she should try to overrule him.

Ash shut his eyes again and focused on Golduck. He sent out his aura into the duck Pokémon, looking for any internal injuries. As he found them he pushed power into the tissue around them, healing them before moving on. Nurse Joy had set up an x-ray, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The Pokémon shouldn't have survived the journey with injuries like these, and now they were being healed in front of her eyes. As the last of the internal injuries was sealed, Ash pulled a Pokéball from his belt, releasing Meganium. Not moving his hand, he caused all the lights in the room to snap on, and then turned to his Pokémon. "Heal." The Leaf Pokémon wrapped its vines around Golduck and then began to absorb energy from the lights, to transfer to the wounded duck. Meganiums eyes widened as it realised how badly wounded the Pokémon was, and looked questioningly at its trainer. Ash just shrugged. As the bruises on Golducks body began to heal, Ash placed his hand the duck once again and began transfering energy. After nearly 5 minutes of transfering energy, Ash and Meganium withdrew. Ash then turned to the stunned nurse who had watched him heal a Pokémon that she had thought would take her hours.

"Let him rest. I can't restore his full energy, but he will be fine. Nobody can see him, not even his trainer. I'll collect him tomorrow morning."

Ash then recalled his Meganium and walked out. Nurse Joy ran after him, and called for him to stop which he did, but didn't turn around.

"Champion, what did you do?"

"I just saved a Pokémons life. How is irrelevant."

"Why can't his trainer see him? She'll be worried."

"She is the reason he was hurt. Her license will be reviewed." Still having not turned at all, Ash strode out the door, and back towards the stadium which the center was next to and where his office was.

A few minutes later Misty dashed through the doors. Nurse Joy looked up from where she was behind the desk, trying to analyse what had happened.

"Nurse Joy, where is my Golduck? I have to see him!"

Nurse Joy frowned. This was the trainer who had caused her Pokémon to nearly die. She had analysed the injuries whilst they were healed. It was very possible without 'The Champions' aid she wouldn't have been able to do anything. She stood up, frowning at the women in front of her.

"Miss Waterflower, I cannot allow this. Pokémon Master left clear instructions that nobody was permitted to visit, even explicitly stating that you in particular could not. Perhaps you should appeal and see what he thinks about the state you let your Pokémon get into. If it wasn't for his intervention I would have struggled to save your Pokémon."

Misty faltered. This was unexpected. She couldn't see her friend? And the Masters intervention? What had happened here? She felt her eyes filling with tears. "But Nurse Joy, I want to…"

"No. Do not make me have to throw you out. You may wait here if you wish, but you will not be allowed to see him. The Pokémon will rest here until the Pokémon Master deems otherwise. As his right with a Pokémon he feels to have been mistreated."

At this moment the rest of the gang came into the Pokémon Centre. Gary was the first to reach Misty, and seeing her state he instantly took her into a hug.

"Misty, what is happening? Where's Golduck?"

"I can't see him. Nobody can apparently. He thinks I mistreat my Pokémon"

Dawn turned to Nurse Joy, a furious expression on her face. "How can you stop a trainer from seeing her own injured Pokémon? It's her responsibility; she should be allowed to see it! Misty would never mistreat any of her Pokémon!"

Nurse Joy bridled at this. "If she was so worried about it, she shouldn't have let it get in such a state. I am only obeying orders. The Pokémon Master has the right to protect a Pokémon he believes to have been mistreated. Given the state of Golduck, and the level of injuries, I have to concur with his view, and cannot therefore overrule him."

"But it was the Master that caused him to get so badly injured!" Dawn exclaimed. Nurse Joy was about to answer, but Misty cut across Dawn, her voice sad and tearful.

"Dawn, she is right. I let Golduck go too far. 'The Champion' was trying to prevent it getting hurt at the end, all he used was tackle. I should have recalled Golduck. Nurse Joy, can you please heal the rest of my Pokémon? We'll go and get some rooms, and I'll come back to collect them in the morning." Misty held out 5 Pokéballs, which Nurse Joy accepted. Misty then turned and walked slowly away, with the rest of the gang watching in disbelief. Gary turned and chased after her. The rest of the group looked at each other.

"So" said Drew. "I think Garys got that. Nurse Joy, do you have any rooms we can stay in?"

Ash walked upstairs to where his office was and entered, settling himself behind his desk. He felt exhausted, having poured most of his energy into Mistys Pokémon trying to save him. He moved to his computer and searched through trainer profiles. He located Misty Waterflower and marked her license as under review, suspending it in the process. He then looked towards the door where he sensed a familiar person approaching. The door swung open of its own accord and Cynthia walked in, hesitating as she passed the threshold. The door shut itself behind her and she sat down in the chair in front of the desk once again.

Cynthia knew exactly what she wanted. The job she had been offered was perfect for her, and would perhaps allow her to be a moderating influence on the man in front of her. It had surprised her when she realized it, but she actually agreed with what he was doing. She knew that the majority of gym leaders were powerful, but there were a few weaker ones. She also knew that many of them were bad at training upcoming trainers. If she became the overseer for this she could focus on what she loved, Pokémon and teaching. However, before she accepted she wanted to clarify a few things.

"Champion" she started haltingly, before realizing how uncharacteristic this was and took a breath to calm herself. "What did you do with Golduck?"

"His wounds are healed, and he is regaining energy. I couldn't restore it all."

"You couldn't... Wait, what did you do?"

"Healed him."

"How?"

"Does it matter?"

"To me, yes. As well as a battler, I'm a..."

"A researcher. Yes, I know about your passion for research Cynthia. Your wondering how a human is possibly able to heal a Pokémon when you know that the amount of energy a Pokémon has is far greater to that of a human. Suffice it to say, I have my ways. Golduck is fine."

Cynthia blinked. She did not expect him to see through her that easily. Realizing that this question was probably not going to get answered, she moved on.

"The job you offered. I assume its available?"`

"Yes."

"Then I would like to accept on a few conditions. Firstly, I would need full access to the trainer database, for obvious reasons. I would also expect a way of contacting you at any time. Equally, if I am to do this properly, I expect you to trust my judgement. If I say a trainer is good enough, it means you would have to give them a fair assessment, and if they are good enough, you will have to train them."

"This seems reasonable."

"When it comes to training, I would like to be able to use the facilities given over to you here at Indigo. Not all the time, but I would want to run camps here for promising trainers. You could even attend these to watch promising trainers."

"I will not use them all the time. If your demands for their use aren't excessive, this is acceptable."

"And I would like to know your name."

"That Cynthia, is something I can't give you."

"Why not? Surely you know, and if I'm going to work this closely for you, I expect you to trust me."

"My name is a closely guarded secret. Its not that I don't trust you, but I am always cautious. You will not be allowed to know it. However, if you wish to know my extent of trust for you, try entering the island a few miles from here. I believe it has been called Mystery Island? You are welcome there, although I do suggest you pick a time I am home for your first visit."

Cynthia leaned back in her chair, breathing out. She had gained far more than she expected, the only thing missing was a name. And the revelation about Mystery Island was intriguing. She knew she couldn't reveal anything from the island if she wished to get closer to any of his other secrets, but to be able to get onto the island that had frustrated people for nearly 3 years was a very tempting offer. She remembered when it first appeared, a road appearing overnight, and a gate that was never open. Anybody who tried to fly over found themselves being diverted away. Nobody had managed to get onto it, ever. And she now could. Before she could say anything else however, the man across the desk spoke once again.

"My criteria. Your main role is to help promising trainers who have potential. Much like you did as Master, so you can do this as you see fit. However, you will also be my deputy. You may not divulge anything that passes between us, under any circumstances. And whilst I will listen to your advice, ultimately, decisions are mine alone. Agreed?"

As he spoke, he extended a hand over the desk. Cynthia thought a moment, then realised that this was what she wanted. She took the offered hand and shook it.

"Welcome back to the Pokémon League Cynthia. Your appointment will be announced tomorrow."

A/N

I feel I should probably write something here. Firstly, thank you to all of you who have reviewed this so far. Gives me some sort of inclination to keep writing. Though please feel free to criticize, if I don't get any I'll be worried!
Oh and thank you for reading!

To answer a couple questions from the reviews:

Dragonfire97 - When I wrote the bit about Meganium leaning on a wall, I kinda had a vision of it resting its head on a wall, so having its neck lean. I didn't really make it very clear though, its a good point!

Grassy Nol - I understand that some people just don't like some characters, but given the time gap (7 years in the future) I intend to have the characters somewhat more mature. Misty you should come to find will be slightly less brutal in her ways.

The two of you who wanted to know the other team members - I will reveal them in due course. Basically as we get to a point where they actually need to be revealed, they will be. Should be fairly soon.