A New Chance For Adventure

by ArcyAnderson

Sequel to A New Chance At Life. Finishing the Johto region while traveling with two Legendary Pokémon, Latias and Latios, was certainly a joyous experience for Ash. With that region behind him, Ash has now set his sights on a new tournament: The Hoenn League. A journey that promises new challenges, new friends and rivals to be met, and a powerful evil ready to rise…

17. Second Hoenn Gym Battle: Ash vs Roxanne!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"Telepathy."

Author Notes: Well, at long last, chapter 17 is here!

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Chapter 17 – Second Hoenn Gym Battle: Ash vs Roxanne!

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"Begin!"

As soon as the voice of the teacher posing as the match's referee echoed over the schoolyard's arena, the large crowd of students erupted into cheers and applause. Roxanne smiled at the support she was receiving and took the initiative for the battle. She reached down with her hand and grabbed a Pokéball from a bag in her dress. "Geodude, I choose you!" she shouted, hurling the red and white spherical device forward. In a burst of bright white light, the Rock Pokémon was released onto the field.

Ash's mouth briefly curled into a small smile, nostalgically looking at the familiar rock-type Pokémon in such a familiar-looking stony environment while recalling his very first gym battle with Brock back at Pewter City. "This sure brings back a lot of memories," he mused in a soft tone.

"It sure does," Pikachu admitted, relaxing and getting comfortable on Ash's shoulder. "We've come a very long way since then, haven't we? When we first battled Brock's gym we lost miserably. Then on the second try we had to cheat our way through the battle with its sprinklers, even though that was an accident." He laughed briefly. "This place has no sprinklers, so we have to actually win the hard way."

"Yeah, we've come such a long way." Ash's hands tightened into fists while a smirk formed on his face. "It's good there's no sprinklers here. We don't need them anymore," he said assuredly. He paused in thought while going over his options. His hand slowly moved down to his hip, where the Pokéballs rested on his belt. He knew the exact three Pokémon he wanted to use for this battle. Pikachu would be largely ineffective against a rock-type that was also part ground-type, so that ruled him out for this particular opponent. But, his other two Pokémon were very strong against Roxanne's Geodude. 'I'll open with Phanpy, he's the safer option and the one I'm more used to fighting with. That should help me build an early lead.' His hand moved across his belt until he reached the desired Pokéball. He took it and then hurled it forward onto the battlefield. "Go, Phanpy!" In a flash of white light, Ash's very energetic youngster was released from the red and white sphere.

"Hi, daddy!" Phanpy called happily, turning around to face his trainer and surrogate parent. He did a series of cute skips excitedly while flashing him a broad, enthusiastic grin under his long trunk.

"Hey!" Ash called back, waving at the young Pokémon in greeting. "It's another Gym Battle, so let's give it our best," the trainer added. Phanpy nodded eagerly and turned to face Geodude, a fierce and competitive look suddenly appearing on his face. He didn't want to disappoint his beloved parent.

"A pure ground-type to counter my rock-type is a very good selection for your first Pokémon," Roxanne acknowledged. "Selecting good type matchups is a very important part of Pokémon battling. But, young challenger, you're mistaken if you think that type advantage alone will be enough to secure your badge."

"Oh, he'll be more than enough!" Ash responded sharply. "You'll see, Roxanne!"

"You should have the lead here," Latios commented. "On top of the clear type advantage, Phanpy is also much faster."

"Yeah," Pikachu agreed. He started voicing enthusiastic cheers for Phanpy along with Latias.

"The first move is yours, challenger," Roxanne conceded while crossing her arms patiently. An overly analytic and focused look became prominent on her face. The crowd of students and a few teachers, which up to this point had been rather loud, suddenly quieted as they focused on watching the battle before them.

The young trainer grinned slightly. "With pleasure. Phanpy, let's start this off with a Rollout attack!" Ash ordered, dramatically pointing towards Geodude in an aggressive manner.

"Okay!" Phanpy squealed and then began to run towards the Rock Pokémon. Halfway on his dash towards Geodude he leaped forward and curled into a tight ball. The moment he landed on the dirt Phanpy began to roll towards Geodude in a violent manner, leaving small plumes of dirt and dust on his wake while easily avoiding any of the battlefield's large rocky obstacles that were in his path.

"Why would you select a not very effective rock-type attack against my Geodude when you definitely have more effective ground-type attacks at your disposal?" Roxanne questioned sharply. "Picking attacks is just as important." The gym leader narrowed her eyes. "Geodude, brace yourself and hold!" she commanded, opting for a defensive approach as she knew Geodude didn't have the mobility to dodge such a fast attack.

Geodude's rock body seemed to press even more to the ground as it braced itself, eyes tracking Phanpy's aggressive rolling movement carefully. At the right moment, both of Geodude's sturdy arms launched forward, perfectly catching Phanpy in their hold. Geodude grunted with effort as it's body was forcefully pushed back almost a dozen feet by Phanpy's potent Rollout. Despite the favorable initial struggle, it was clear Phanpy was losing a lot of speed and that Geodude was no longer being pushed back as much.

Ash's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "No way, Geodude's actually stopping Phanpy's move," he said in amazement just as Phanpy's rolling momentum stopped completely within Geodude's sturdy grasp.

"Well, those things are rather durable," Pikachu mumbled, rolling his eyes slightly. "But, I admit that stopping Phanpy's Rollout attack is quite impressive, the kiddo sure does pack a punch."

Roxanne smirked. "Geodude's going to do more than just stop Phanpy. Geodude, use Mega Punch!" she ordered sharply. Geodude reared one of its rocky arms back, a white glow surrounding its fist as it did so.

"Defense Curl!" Ash responded rapidly.

Phanpy curled into an even tighter ball while an almost invisible yellow gleam surrounded him, considerably raising his physical defense. With a mighty battle cry, Geodude thrust its brightly shining fist forward, smashing a potent punch right into Phanpy's unmoving form. The Mega Punch was so powerful the Long Nose Pokémon was sent flying back rapidly, crashing into a rock deep inside Ash's half of the battlefield. The rock cracked slightly upon impact, and Phanpy rolled down to the field while still curled up tightly.

"Phanpy, are you alright!?" Ash asked, clearly concerned.

"I'm sure he can take a lot more than that," Pikachu said in praise. "He's fine."

Much to the young trainer's relief, Phanpy energetically uncurled himself while letting out a mirthful response to his trainer. "Yes! I barely felt anything!"

Pikachu nodded once in approval. "Good going, kiddo. That's the power of Defense Curl."

Ash smirked, shifting his eyes to Roxanne. "Now that we got the Defense Curl in… Phanpy, use Rollout again!" Phanpy grinned and once again charged head-on towards Geodude. He repeated the motions he had done earlier, jumping forward while curling into a tight ball to begin rolling. However, it was immediately obvious that something was different. The rock terrain cracked under Phanpy's roll the instant he hit the ground. The spinning seemed faster, and the attack much more violent than before.

"Oh, no! Defense Curl drastically boosts the power of Rollout," Roxanne commented worryingly, eyes sharply narrowed. 'Geodude won't stop it simply with its arms this time around…' she added to herself in her thoughts. "Geodude, use Mega Punch again!" she countered, hoping the power of Mega Punch would be enough to stop the incoming attack.

Geodude reared its fist back once more, a white shine coating it as it did so. As Phanpy approached violently, the Rock Pokémon swung its fist at the ground-type. As powerful as Geodude's Mega Punch was, it was no match for Phanpy's boosted Rollout. Geodude was instantly blasted back as Phanpy collided against it, letting out a pained grunt as it did so.

"Geodude!" Roxanne cried out in a concerned tone. "Hang in there!"

"Phanpy, don't let Geodude recover. Swing back around and keep up your Rollout," Ash said, glad the momentum of the battle was clearly in his favor right now.

Roxanne let out a soft growl. She knew it was a dire situation, despite Rollout not being an effective move. It wasn't going to knock Geodude out anytime soon, but the damage would definitely be building up. 'The more Rollout goes on… the stronger it becomes…'

Phanpy spun in a wide circle to turn around just as Geodude painfully collided against a rock formation and roughly slid down from it towards its base. Mercilessly, Phanpy ran over his opponent yet again, hurling the Rock Pokémon further away than before from the boosted power of his Rollout attack. "Hit him again!" Ash ordered excitedly, clearly enjoying the favorable position of the battle so far.

Phanpy rolled destructively towards the spot Geodude would land, not letting up in his relentless assault in the slightest. Just as the rock and ground-type was about to land from the previous hit, Phanpy collided with him yet again, this time with even more power than the previous times due to Rollout's increasing momentum.

Geodude let out a pained cry as it was sent flying yet again, this time with so much strength that he was blasted through the top of one of the stone spikes sprouting out of the battlefield. Debris and rocks were hurled in every direction as Geodude crashed into a second rock further behind, leaving a deep indentation along with several deep cracks in it.

Roxanne winced. "I'll admit that I underestimated your Phanpy's Rollout," she grumbled. "Geodude, get ready, Phanpy is coming at you again!" she called out warningly to her Pokémon.

"Don't let up, Phanpy!" Ash shouted encouragingly. "Let's roll our way to victory and our badge!"

Roxanne growled in annoyance. "Not so easy… Geodude, use Rock Tomb." Geodude rapidly smashed its fist into the rocks underneath it hard, sending a soft tremor across the arena. Large pillars of rock suddenly began emerging from the ground under and in front of Phanpy.

"Phanpy, keep going, smash right through them!" Ash commanded, punching the air. At hearing the words of his trainer, Phanpy's rolling only seemed to get faster and more violent. As he came right up to the first of the Rock Tombs, he crashed into it with full force. The rock failed in stopping him, the Long Nose Pokémon cleanly smashing through it and turning it to bits. And then another rock, and then another, and then another. However, with each Rock Tomb that Phanpy smashed through, it clearly looked like it took him more effort than the previous one and it was obvious that he was being slowed down.

"Ash, Phanpy's losing a lot of power," Latias warned him. "You'll have to think of something else."

"Geodude, do a max power Rock Tomb," Roxanne said calmly. With a mighty war cry, the Rock Pokémon smashed both of its arms into the ground once more, this time focusing all its power into a single large stone pillar about a dozen feet in front of him. The rock-type Gym Leader smirked confidently. "Let's see you break through that one, Ash Ketchum!" she challenged him.

"I don't need to," Ash countered with a smirk. "Phanpy, roll on it!"

Roxanne gasped. "What!?" she questioned in disbelief. "You're not destroying it?"

"Nope," Ash answered assuredly. Instead of focusing his rolling energy to smash through the large Rock Tomb, Phanpy angled himself a bit to the side as he came into contact with it, effectively beginning to roll his way over it and towards the top. "Phanpy, when you reach the top stop rolling and then jump towards Geodude!"

The moment Phanpy reached the top of the stone slab he had been rolling over, he uncurled himself and used his enormous built-up momentum to take a mighty leap, clearing the entirety of the Rock Tomb.

Roxanne's hands tightened into fists. "Geodude, Phanpy can't dodge in midair, use Rock Throw."

Geodude smashed its hands on either side of it, breaking the ground at the point of impact into several stones. Grabbing two particularly large and sturdy rocks, it carefully took aim and then hurled them with all its might at the airborne Phanpy.

"Phanpy, keep going! Brace yourself and use Earthquake right on Geodude!" Ash countered.

Roxanne gasped. "Oh no, here comes the super effective hit…" she mumbled nervously.

"Oh, yes here it comes," Ash said with a grin. As the airborne Phanpy fell rapidly towards Geodude, he braced himself. The double rocks Geodude had hurled hit him with full power in the chest and disintegrated into dust upon impact from the sheer strength they were thrown at, causing Phanpy to wince at each hit.

The Long Nose Pokémon's eyes narrowed as he closed in on the immobile rock-type. Curling slightly and pulling his legs back, he pushed them down the moment he collided with Geodude's face, sinking the Rock Pokémon at least a foot deep into a decently-sized crater on the ground. Phanpy's smash triggered a potent tremor that made the entire battlefield shake, with the epicenter and point of impact focusing completely on the hapless Geodude.

"Geodude!" Roxanne cried out as Phanpy expertly leaped away, rocks and debris all around the two Pokémon shaking violently from the potent shockwaves of the Earthquake. Phanpy landed behind Geodude, a smirk under his long trunk.

As the quake died down, everyone could clearly see that Geodude was now stuck at the center of the crater, unmoving and clearly unconscious. "Geodude is unable to continue battling!" the teacher serving as the referee called, raising his hand in Ash's direction.

"Yes!" Ash called out enthusiastically. "That's the way to go, Phanpy!"

Phanpy grinned happily and ran towards Ash just as he crouched down, receiving the young ground-type in a hug. "You did very good. Congratulations, Phanpy."

"Thanks, daddy!" Phanpy answered, happily nuzzling Ash's chest. "I won!"

"That you did. Very well done, Phanpy," Latias praised in a cheerful tone.

"Thank you, auntie!" Phanpy responded with a silly grin, not entirely sure where to look at for the invisible dragoness.

The crowd of students and teachers began to clap, showing respect as Roxanne returned her downed Pokémon back into its Pokéball. "Good battle, Geodude," she whispered softly to the device before tucking it away. She turned to look at Ash, admitting that the child looked adorable in the way he cuddled with his Pokémon after the victory. Trainers as devoted to their Pokémon as he brought a smile to her face. "That was astute. You saved your Earthquake until the end on purpose, didn't you?" she questioned, her mind going over the previous battle and playing it over in her mind to see what she could have done better.

Ash smirked, looking away from Phanpy and towards her. "Yeah. I didn't want to start with Earthquake right away because you could find a way to counter it. That's why I waited until I was certain you and Geodude were trapped and had no way to dodge, block, or counter before revealing my Phanpy has Earthquake."

Roxanne nodded slowly, humming softly to herself. "That was quite smart. You pulled me into a false sense of security by continuously attacking with a not very effective attack, using it to trap my Geodude so you could strike with your effective move at the perfect moment." She smiled slightly. "Just like in the Silver Conference. You're a very unorthodox but very effective battler. I was beginning to think you were being irresponsible in your move selection, but I'm glad I was proven wrong."

Back in the stands, Brock chuckled softly. He always enjoyed seeing the reactions of Ash's opponents to his unusual strategies. "That was an interesting idea. He kept Earthquake hidden until he could guarantee a devastating blow to Roxanne's Geodude."

"That was indeed a very good tactic by Ash," Bianca agreed with a nod. "He's got this gym battle firmly under control now."

"I agree, but let's not write Roxanne off just yet," Brock said, looking towards the battlefield as Phanpy ran back and Roxanne began to reach for her next Pokéball.

"Oh please, Ash destroyed Norman," Bianca said with a shrug. "He's got this. I'm starting to become a fan of his battling."

"I've always been," Brock confessed, looking on as Roxanne hurled her next Pokéball onto the field.

With a flash of white light, a small and grey-colored metallic Pokémon appeared on the field, causing Ash to grin in excitement. "Oh, that's a pretty cute Pokémon, what is it?" the young trainer asked curiously as he reached for his pocket and took out his trusty Pokédex.

The moment Ash pointed the machine towards the Pokémon, it beeped to life and began speaking in a feminine and robotic voice. "Aron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Aron has an impressive defense power and eats iron ore in order to build up the metal in its body. Occasionally, it causes major trouble by eating bridges and rails."

"An Aron huh…" Ash began with a low tone, his eyes focusing on the diminutive Pokémon on the opposing side of the field with great interest. He always enjoyed seeing and battling new Pokémon. "Steel and rock-type with impressive defensive power. That's a very interesting Pokémon."

"Shouldn't be a problem for Phanpy," Latias said telepathically. "Aron are quadruple weak to ground-type attacks. Phanpy's earthquake is going to be very valuable here."

"And Roxanne now knows Phanpy has Earthquake anyway, so no point in hiding it as a trump card," Latios added. "Good luck, Phanpy. Get the two-zero lead!"

"Thanks, uncle Latios!" Phanpy responded happily. He glared at Aron and Roxanne aggressively, blowing some air out of his nose and picking up some dust from the rocks in front of him.

"Aron, charge towards Phanpy and use Take Down!" Roxanne ordered, pointing towards Ash's ground-type as she did so. Aron let out a growl and then began to run towards Phanpy, its heavy footsteps letting out metallic clanking sounds as it charged forward.

"Let's go, Phanpy. We're taking our second win of the day right here!" Ash shouted encouragingly. "Use Earthquake!"

"Yes!" Phanpy cheered as he reared his front legs back and rose high. Mustering as much strength as he could the Long Nose Pokémon slammed them into the ground, triggering a potent earth-shaking shockwave that rattled all the rocks around the field ominously. Several of the weakened rock formations broke apart and collapsed under the sheer power of the Earthquake.

Roxanne sighed. "Here it comes… Aron, use Iron Defense," she ordered sharply as she saw the tremor approaching her Pokémon. She knew Aron was too heavy to try and leap over the Earthquake as an improvised way of dodging. As such, tanking it despite the massive type disadvantage was her best option. Aron stopped in its tracks and then braced for the incoming super effective impact. Aron's body was covered in a gleaming blue metallic sheen as its Iron Defense activated, raising its already high defensive power to astonishing levels.

The shockwave reached the defensive Iron Armor Pokémon and smashed into it in all its earthshaking power, causing the steel and rock-type to cringe visibly and close its eyes in pain as the waves of energy passed on the ground under it, making numerous cracks appear on the shaking ground as the Pokémon was rattled in an agonizing manner. A particularly strong shockwave tore the ground under Aron, with the strong impact hurling rocks in all directions with enough strength to blast Aron back at least a dozen feet despite its great weight. Aron landed in a heap and skidded briefly along the ground, leaving a long fissure in its path. Aron gritted its teeth as it struggled to regain its footing in the violent tremors that kept rattling it and its surroundings. As the Earthquake died down, Aron panted heavily, numerous scratches and dents marring its once shining metal armor.

Roxanne winced, even with the use of Iron Defense, it was clear that the quadruple weakness had made Aron sustain heavy damage. "That was a powerful attack, Ash," the gym leader congratulated, crossing her arms as she analyzed her weakened Pokémon. While the damage taken was massive and something to worry about, it was a good thing she had the perfect attack to take advantage of that. "Aron, use Metal Burst!" she commanded. Aron growled, slowly rising up from the rocky debris it was standing on. The grey metallic armor on its body began to glow in a soft white light as it began to prepare the counter move.

"Metal what?" Ash asked, confused. "I've never heard of that attack before."

"That's a counter move, Ash," Latios explained. "Based on how much damage was taken, Aron will blast even more damage back at Phanpy."

Ash growled, not liking the sound of that at all. "We've got to stop it! Phanpy, use Rollout!" he commanded.

"Right!" Phanpy responded, nodding. He ran and then jumped forward, curling into a tight ball as he did so. As soon as his rounded form touched the ground, he began to violently roll towards the Iron Armor Pokémon.

The pulses of light emanating from Aron's steel body began to get brighter and brighter with every passing second, to the point that a pulsing sound could now be heard in the arena every time the light shined brighter. "Release the attack, Aron," Roxanne called out calmly.

Ash gasped. Phanpy was only halfway to Aron. It was clear that he would not make it in time. "Phanpy, cancel your Rollout and shield yourself with the rocks!" Ash shouted quickly.

Phanpy immediately uncurled, effectively ending his rollout. He skidded across the ground a few feet while his momentum faded away. The ground-type quickly turned around and ran for a large rock formation just as Aron's shining body reached peak intensity.

Aron let out a mighty cry as the light around it splintered into dozens of white metallic daggers that blasted outwards in all directions. The attack mercilessly shattered all the rocks unfortunate enough to be in its path, hurling wreckage all over the battlefield. The attack easily tore through the rock the Long Nose Pokémon had been hiding behind and hit him dead center. A large number of gleaming metallic shards painfully crashed into Phanpy's body, igniting dozens of white blasts of light that inflicted even more damage than what he had inflicted with his Earthquake attack.

Phanpy let out a very loud and shrill cry of pain and was hurled back with a lot of strength, colliding roughly with another rock further down the battlefield with enough strength to slightly crack it. He skidded down the rock's side and landed rather roughly at its base. "Ooowww…"

"Phanpy!" Ash called out worriedly. "Are you alright!?"

"I don't think he looks alright," Pikachu said while wincing. "At least those rocks he used as cover softened up the impact."

Roxanne's eyes widened slightly when she noticed that Phanpy was not unconscious. "That Phanpy isn't down yet. Aron, before it recovers, use Iron Head!" she commanded.

Aron winced, taking such a heavy hit and then doing such a massive retaliatory attack had taken its toll on it. However, there was still fight left in it. Despite the effort it took, Aron began to charge towards the downed Phanpy. A powerful grey metallic luster enveloped the Iron Armor Pokémon, with the shine's highest intensity focusing on its head.

"Come on, Phanpy, get up!" Ash encouraged the young ground-type Pokémon as Aron rapidly approached him. "You can do this!" Phanpy grimaced, his head spinning from the potent Metal Burst attack and pain making itself present in most of his body. His eyes widened just in time to see Aron's potent charge rapidly closing in on him, causing him to let out a gasp. "Phanpy, use Rollout to dodge!" Ash yelled abruptly.

Upon hearing Ash's command, the Long Nose Pokémon didn't think twice. He rapidly curled into a ball and then rolled to the side, barely dodging Aron's blazing white charge by mere inches. Aron continued its path before colliding with another rock, smashing it to pebbles from the force of the steel-type attack's force.

"What!?" Roxanne questioned. "You used an offensive attack to actually dodge!?"

"And we're about to do more than just that! You have Aron now, Phanpy! Use Earthquake again!" Ash added with a victorious undertone in his voice. Phanpy stopped rolling and skidded to a halt just as Aron's missed Iron Head attack died down and it emerged from the rubble it caused, shaking its head slowly.

Phanpy reared back and potently smashed his front legs into the ground, sending a ferocious tremor that immediately tore the ground under Aron and caused it to explode out in a myriad of dust and rocks, blasting the Iron Armor Pokémon backwards while tearing at its body violently as it was smacked by each pulsing earth shockwave. As Aron landed on the ground, its eyes turned to swirls.

"Aron!" a preoccupied Roxanne called out in alarm.

"Aron is unable to continue battling," the teacher at the sidelines called, raising his hand in Ash's direction. The crowd of students and teachers once again began to clap, showing respect for the two trainers as Roxanne returned her downed Aron back to her Pokéball.

"That was fast," Bianca commented in amusement, clapping along with the crowd. "Ash and Phanpy are doing an amazing job at sweeping this gym."

"To be fair, Aron has a four times weakness to ground-type attacks," Brock said, joining her and the crowd in clapping. "That's sometimes the downside of being a gym leader. You condemn yourself to using a set of Pokémon in a specific order, without substitutions, and the challenger usually knows your dominant type. We can prepare to handle our weaknesses, but sometimes, things just don't work out."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Bianca agreed, nodding. "Roxanne had no choice but to send Aron out to a losing matchup. I wonder if Phanpy can seal the deal and do a three-zero sweep."

"I doubt it. He's tired, and we gym leaders usually save our best Pokémon for last," Brock responded. "Anyway, Ash still has all three of his Pokémon left. You were right, he should have this."

Back in the battlefield, Roxanne smiled at her opponent. "Congratulations, Ash. I'm surprised, you said these were your 'younger' and 'inexperienced' Pokémon, right?" she questioned.

Ash nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, Phanpy hatched a couple months ago. And another of the Pokémon I plan to use I caught just a few days ago. I only have the intention of using one strong Pokémon, just in case."

Roxanne clapped slowly. "Oh, that's very impressive indeed. You are certainly an astonishing trainer. I can't wait to battle your Latios if these are your weaker Pokémon. But, you still have to best my strongest Pokémon for gym battles, and that will not be easy." She grabbed a final Pokéball from the bag in her dress and then tossed it forward. "She's going to put a stop to your Phanpy's sweep and then your entire team. Go, Nosepass!" she shouted. With a flash of white light, the Pokéball opened and sent the hulking blue and red rock-type Pokémon on the field. As soon as Nosepass came out, large sections of the crowd began to cheer loudly in approval, clearly denoting the Nosepass as a fan favorite of the locals.

"Oh, wow. What is that?" Ash asked curiously as he took out his Pokédex.

"Nosepass, the Compass Pokémon. Nosepass has a nose that functions as an electromagnet and determines its location by moving its nose about," the Pokédex said in its robotic feminine voice while displaying an image of Nosepass as well as its most noteworthy stats on the screen.

"So, a pure rock-type Pokémon this time, eh," Ash commented, closing the Pokédex and putting it back into the pocket of his pants. He stared at Nosepass for several long instants, feeling slightly unnerved by her complete lack of any response. The rock-type just… stayed there, completely unmoving as if nothing was happening. "I must admit, she looks strong."

"She is," Roxanne said assuredly. "Come and find out."

"Be careful Ash…" Latias advised. "I can feel a great deal of confidence and strength from that Nosepass. She's powerful and experienced."

"I will be," Ash responded to the dragoness. "Let's attack from a distance for now." He gazed at the unmoving rock-type before going on with his own attack. "Phanpy, use Earthquake," Ash commanded. Phanpy grinned and leaped forward. He smashed his front legs into the ground, initiating another potent tremor that shook the entire field and the rock formations that were still intact at this point.

Roxanne grinned triumphantly, making Ash look at her nervously. "Nosepass, use Magnet Rise." Nosepass stared at the incoming shockwaves without moving at all, but her big red nose began to emit a series of soft blue pulses of light, creating powerful electromagnetic pulsations that surrounded her and made her slowly begin to levitate off the ground.

"What!?" Ash asked, shocked. "How can Nosepass do that? I mean, she looks very heavy."

"Yeah, they're quite heavy, but that's the power of Magnet Rise," Latias responded. "That means Earthquake is pretty much useless against her."

The Earthquake passed under Nosepass harmlessly. The ground was shaken violently, rock formations were torn, cracks were made all over, but the rock-type was completely safe. As the quake died down, she gently lowered herself back onto the field. "You'll have to think of something else, Ash," Roxanne chided with a smirk.

Ash growled. 'That takes out Phanpy's best attack, and he's tired after taking out two Pokémon already…' he thought to himself while looking over at the Long Nose Pokémon. He had a few scratches on his body from the damage he had taken in the battles against Geodude and Aron, and he was visibly exhausted.

"I'd suggest you sub Phanpy out, Ash," Latios commented in his trainer's head telepathically. "He's done his part and Nosepass can make herself immune to Earthquake. He's very tired and damaged. At this point, leaving him in will just make him get attacked and knocked out."

'I agree,' Ash thought, knowing it'd be picked up by the psychic dragon. He took out the corresponding Pokéball and pointed it at the blue ground-type Pokémon. "Phanpy, return!" A red beam of energy shot out from the sphere, dematerializing Phanpy upon contact and returning him to the safe confines of the sphere quickly in a dazzling display of red light.

"He took out two Pokémon all on his own, that's a very good effort from him," Latias commented with a soft and cheerful undertone in her mental voice. "I'm very proud, he's very strong. You've trained him well."

Ash nodded in agreement, holding Phanpy's Pokéball close to his face. "You did an amazing job and I'm very proud of you, Phanpy. Take a good rest for now," he whispered to the electronic sphere before taking it back to its place on his belt. Ash gave a nervous laugh when he heard some whistles and boos coming from the stands at his decision to retreat.

"So, what now, Brock?" Bianca asked. "That Nosepass looks very tough."

"I told you us gym leaders saved our best for last. With Phanpy as tired as he is, he's pretty much out unless Ash is desperate. That means he effectively has two Pokémon to take Nosepass down," Brock responded. "I wonder in which order he'll decide to use them. That decision will be key to Ash's success."

The young Pallet Town trainer looked up and then gazed at Nosepass fixedly for several long moments, pondering his next move. He knew he had two options left, Pikachu and Treecko. However, with Treecko not fully fit yet, he didn't want to leave the burden of taking on Roxanne's Nosepass at full health completely on him. "Pikachu, it's your turn buddy," Ash said, turning his head around to look at the yellow Mouse Pokémon currently sitting on his shoulder.

Pikachu smirked excitedly and nodded, sparks flying out of the red circular spots on his cheeks from the enthusiasm of taking part in the battle. "Oh, with pleasure." He leaped from Ash's shoulder and deftly landed on the ground, leering at the opposing rock-type before running into the arena.

"That Nosepass looks like it's got a lot of electricity stuff going on with it, so, let's fight electricity with electricity," Ash declared determinately. "Get ready, Pikachu!"

"I'm always ready," Pikachu responded confidently, the sparks flying off his cheeks only intensifying with his eagerness to fight.

"It's good you're ready. It's also good that Nosepass is only a rock-type. If it was also a ground-type, you'd be in trouble. It doesn't have a horn you guys can aim at," Latios said sarcastically in their minds.

Ash let out an anxious laugh. "About that…"

The sparks coming out of Pikachu's cheeks abruptly stopped as he paused to try and think of a good comeback. "Well, if Nosepass was part ground-type, I could aim for the nose. I mean, it's quite big, protrudes out prominently and should be easy to hit just like a horn," Pikachu babbled uneasily, suppressing an uneasy laugh.

"I like that idea," Ash said rapidly.

"Really?" Latias quipped in, the teasing undertone in her voice almost painful to them.

"Yeah, right. Aim for the nose," Latios said incredulously, rolling his eyes at the pair.

"We shouldn't have told you of that anecdote," Pikachu hissed in annoyance. Latias giggled in amusement while high-fiving with her brother behind the two.

Roxanne hummed in interest at the Pokémon she was set to face, completely unaware of the banter Ash was currently having with his Pokémon. "An electric-type for a rock-type gym? That is not a very good decision. Admittedly my only dual rock and ground-type is already out, but still, an electric-type?" she questioned confusedly. "You're an odd trainer indeed." She frowned, thoughtful. 'It's a shame I don't have any super-efective moves for an electric-type. I'll have to make due with Zap Cannon and rock-type moves.'

"Rock is neutral to electric-type attacks. So, it's not that big of a deal," Ash countered. "Let's see how you handle those electric attacks you're criticizing! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu's cheeks sparkled with violent bolts as a powerful yellow aura suddenly engulfed him.

"Nosepass, counter that with Zap Cannon!" Roxanne ordered sharply, extending an arm forward as she gave her command. Nosepass' large red nose began to spark ominously, a soft pulsing blue gleam beginning to appear around it. Slowly a concentrated yellow and green colored orb of crackling electrical energy began to form in front of her nose.

Pikachu let out a loud battle cry and then launched a large blast of yellow electricity straight at the Compass Pokémon. The electric attack collided with Nosepass head on, with the distinct sound of crackling static loudly resonating all over the arena as bolts and sparks flew off in all directions. The Compass Pokémon braced against the stone surface of the battlefield, holding strong against the recoil and remaining exactly where she was as the electrical blast was completely torn and dissipated by her Zap Cannon. With the bulk of Pikachu's electric attack colliding with the Zap Cannon in front of her, Nosepass was completely unharmed. If anything, Pikachu's electric attack seemed to cause Nosepass' own attack to grow in size and power from the leftover electricity.

Pikachu growled and cancelled out his attack. The electric discharge fizzled out near instantly as Pikachu sharply cut the flow of electricity coming from his cheeks. "Damn," he said in annoyance, glaring at the rock-type Pokémon.

"Well, that's not working at all," Ash pointed out, a worried and thoughtful tone in his voice.

Latias frowned. "Not at all. You'll have to change your approach."

"Seems like," Ash said, narrowing his eyes.

"Fire!" Roxanne shouted once the attack in front of her Pokémon had reached peaked intensity. Nosepass took aim as best as she could and then released the potent attack, recoiling a few steps back from the sheer recoil of the huge Zap Cannon attack. The green and yellow orb of tightly concentrated electrical power flew speedily across the field, picking up some dust from the ground while emitting a loud static noise.

Pikachu growled and crouched low to the ground, prepared to dodge the attack. "Huh?" he said after he noticed the attack had gone badly off course. The Zap Cannon collided with the ground at least a dozen feet away from Pikachu, exploding spectacularly in a large blast of electricity that harmed absolutely no one. A large plume of dust was picked up afterwards, with cracks forming in the rocky surface all around the area from the sheer power of the detonation.

"What was that about?" Ash wondered while scratching his head in confusion, looking as the dust settled and revealed a large crater where the Zap Cannon had hit. Some of the spectators in the crowd couldn't hold back a few chuckles.

"While immensely powerful, Zap Cannon is also infamous for being an extremely inaccurate attack," Latios clarified on his mind. "It was a good defensive trick I'll admit. But for that thing to hit a Pokémon as small and nimble as Pikachu? That's impossible."

Roxanne sighed, but didn't appear too surprised. "Oh well."

"You'll need a better attack than that to hit us, right Pikachu?" Ash asked, smirking.

"Yeah, totally," Pikachu agreed with a nod.

"Let's see you defend yourself from this, Roxanne. Pikachu, use Quick Attack to get close!" Ash commanded. Pikachu began sprinting towards Nosepass, white streaks of wind and light surging around him as Quick Attack dramatically boosted his speed.

"Stop Pikachu with Rock Slide!" Roxanne countered rapidly. Nosepass reared both of her powerful and thick stone arms backwards before thrusting them towards the ground with as much strength as she could muster. The ground in front of her shattered completely from the power behind the thrust of her arms, sending a large and violent barrage of rocks of all sizes upwards that then quickly began plummeting towards the electric-type rodent.

"Pikachu, dodge them all and keep going," Ash dictated confidently.

"Are you sure?" Latias questioned in worry. "That's a lot of rocks."

"I'm sure Pikachu can handle it," Ash responded assuredly. Pikachu smirked, his ears twitching slightly as his sensitive hearing easily picked up Ash's compliment of him. Not wanting to let his trainer down, Pikachu only sped up and headed straight for the incoming rocks. With amazing expertise, Pikachu deftly dodged to the side and went past two large rocks that hit where he had just been. As soon as his feet touched the rock-strewn floor, he used his momentum to leap above another boulder just as it hit the ground with a forceful crash. Using the same rock that he had just jumped over as leverage, the Mouse Pokémon jumped down quickly and skidded briefly along the ground while crouching to avoid another large rock which overshot him by an inch and then collided with the previous one, causing both of them to shatter into pebbles. Unabated, Pikachu kept going forward, sidestepping to his right several times to avoid another series of rocks before leaping over another particularly large rock. As soon as he landed, he twisted to the side to dodge another rock before rapidly speeding ahead. Pikachu kept dodging every single rock that went his way with amazingly precise and skillful movements as he rapidly closed the distance between him and the Compass Pokémon.

Roxanne gasped. "He's actually moving through a Rock Slide!?" she cried out, deeply shocked. "How!?" she questioned in disbelief while shaking her head.

"Oh, damn," Latios commented incredulously, begrudgingly admitting that Pikachu had really impressed him this time.

"Wow! That's pretty awesome!" Latias excitedly called, clapping her claws together. "Keep going Pikachu!" she cheered.

"That's easy, Roxanne. He's my Pikachu," Ash responded to the gym leader. "Now, use your Quick Attack's momentum and switch into a full power Iron Tail!"

"Nosepass, defend yourself with Zap Cannon!" Roxanne countered in panic. Nosepass lowered her face at the incoming electric-type Pokémon, aiming her prominent red nose at him just as it began to hum and glow in a soft blue hue.

"Too late!" Pikachu shouted as a greyish glow enveloped his lightning-shaped tail, hardening it to steel-like quality. Using the large speed previously generated by the Quick Attack, Pikachu took a final leap towards Nosepass and spun his body around in midair, sending his glowing tail forward in a wide arc. Pikachu collided with Nosepass rather violently, causing her to let out a pained cry as the Iron Tail tore a large cleave into her rock body, making her stumble backwards several steps. Pikachu smirked and back-flipped off her body, landing deftly in the ground in front of her.

The crowd began to clap slowly, showing respect and appreciation for Pikachu's incredible show of skill. Roxanne frowned. "Are you okay, Nosepass?" At Nosepass' single assertive nod, Roxanne glanced up to look at Ash. "Your Pokémon just never cease to amaze me, Ash Ketchum. You have raised both your Phanpy and Pikachu well. However, you still are far from defeating my Nosepass. She can take that and much more. Now, use Rock Tomb!" Nosepass spread both of her stone arms sideways, the ground all around her beginning to tremble.

"Pikachu, get back!" Ash called out. Pikachu nodded and dropped an all fours. The moment he felt the ground underneath him give away, he quickly dashed to the side. The electric-type escaped not a moment too soon, as four rock spikes split the ground and emerged from where he had been standing with the intention of trapping him.

"Don't let him escape, Nosepass!" Roxanne shouted in follow up of the Compass Pokémon's earlier attack. Nosepass didn't let up, using another Rock Tomb on the spot where she predicted Pikachu would be based on his current movements.

"Watch out, Pikachu!" Ash advised. "Be sure to dodge it, here it comes again!"

"I'm okay!" Pikachu responded. He suddenly skidded to a halt and stepped back before sprinting again, changing his movement direction and speed so abruptly that Nosepass had no way of predicting it and causing her second Rock Tomb to completely miss, with the rock pillar emerging in a spot Pikachu was not even close to.

"Fine, you want to play like that? I'm game," Roxanne said in annoyance. "Nosepass, Lock-On that Pikachu!"

Nosepass let out a long soft cry as a red ring of energy appeared in front of her magnetic nose. The red ring suddenly shot towards Pikachu at near untraceable speeds, colliding into his forehead and embedding a bright red target mark into it.

"Huh, what's that?" Ash asked, confused. "I've never seen that attack before."

"Lock-On is a non-damaging move, Ash. It basically guarantees that Nosepass' next attack will not miss, no matter what," Latios explained.

Latias laughed. "Wow, Roxanne must be really annoyed with Pikachu's dodging."

Pikachu laughed and glared competitively at Nosepass. "Yeah, right. I'm so good you need a crappy set up attack to even hit me." Much to Pikachu's chagrin, Nosepass kept her stoic attitude and didn't make any sort of response to his taunts.

Ash frowned. "Though, can Lock-On be overridden? Like, with insane speed or something?" the trainer asked curiously. "I could try to have Pikachu Quick Attack his way out of any attack."

"Nope. Don't even bother telling Pikachu to dodge," Latios answered. "Even if you dodge, attacks tend to do freaky acrobatic twists and movements just to guarantee a hit when influenced by Lock-On." The dragon paused and smirked. "However, you can still block or intercept them."

Ash hummed softly, thinking over the Eon Pokémon's words. He then locked eyes with the gym leader at the other end of the arena. "Well, we're ready, Roxanne. We can't dodge now. So throw your best attack at us," the trainer challenged her confidently, with Pikachu echoing his challenge with a nod and sparkling cheeks.

"You asked for it. Nosepass, use Rock Tomb," Roxanne commanded calmly. Nosepass spread her heavy arms once again, the ground all around the arena softly vibrating.

Pikachu crouched down on all fours, his cheeks sparking wildly as he braced to take the attack. "Hey, Ash! I'm pretty sure that whatever you have in mind doesn't just involve me taking the attack without retaliating. So, what now?" he asked. True to what Latios had told them, Pikachu didn't bother trying to dodge as it was essentially pointless.

"Of course not. Pikachu, use Iron Tail. Smash the rocks away with it," Ash countered.

Pikachu smirked. "Oh, I like that." The electric-type's tail rapidly hardened to steel, a bright greyish shine coating it. The ground all around Pikachu suddenly gave away, large stone pillars splitting it as they emerged upwards before closing in on the Mouse Pokémon. Pikachu growled and swung his tail backwards, hitting the rock spike directly behind him with so much power that it completely shattered. He didn't waste a single second, rapidly spinning counterclockwise with as much strength as he could. The rock to his side and in front of him immediately split in half under the power of Pikachu's tail as it cut through them, with the last rock cracking badly and breaking down upon impact.

"Don't let up, Nosepass!" Roxanne shouted energetically. "Keep that Rock Tomb going!" Nosepass slammed one of her large arms into the ground, shaking the entire arena with a light tremor as she exerted as much power as she could. This time, stone pillars easily twice the size of the earlier ones emerged all around the Mouse Pokémon.

Pikachu growled in annoyance, spinning once more towards the nearest stone pillar. However, unlike the previous one, this one did not split or break, merely denting and cracking badly upon the Iron Tail's Impact. "Uh-oh!" Pikachu shouted in alarm as the rocks closed in on him and trapped him in a gigantic tomb of stone, which is probably how the attack got its name.

"Pikachu! Hang in there!" Ash shouted in worry. "Try to smash those rocks away!"

"I'm… trying…" Pikachu wheezed in effort as the rocks all around him contracted and kept crushing him into a tighter and tighter space. "Aaah!" he screamed in pain. To further add on to Pikachu's woes, yet another series of thick stones cracked and then tore the ground apart as they prominently rose to the air before collapsing and closing down on him. "Oh… for-"

"Ash, the Iron Tail idea is busted, quick, do something before Pikachu is crushed!" Latias said urgently in his mind.

Ash narrowed his eyes, thinking quickly of a way out before suddenly opening his eyes wide as an idea struck him. "Pikachu, let's stop playing around and show Roxanne just what you're made of! Use a full power Thunder! Just… blast everything away!" Ash ordered, shouting as loud as he could so Pikachu could hear him underneath the gigantic pile of rocks he was trapped under.

Pikachu screeched in pain as what little sunlight was getting through the cracks of the stones was blocked completely by a fresh layer of rocks from Nosepass' Rock Tomb. The weight he was trapped under was nearly unbearable, and he could feel his body aching badly as the pressure kept increasing mercilessly. However, he had heard Ash loud and clear. His cheeks began to release jolts and sparks aggressively, a gigantic flow of electricity beginning to build up within him to the point a bright yellow aura of light surrounded his body.

Roxanne smirked as she examined her Nosepass' handiwork, gazing at the gigantic mound of rocks that protruded from the center of the arena like an imposing pyramid. "Seems like your Pikachu is-" She paused and had her smirk turn into a frown the moment she focused back to Ash, noting he did not seem the least bit concerned. "Wait, you're not-"

"Worried? Nope," Ash interrupted her confidently, and then proceeded to return a smirk to Roxanne. "In fact, here he comes!" Not a moment later, the distinct sound of crackling electricity began to loudly boom over the arena, with yellow light shining through the cracks of Nosepass' stone pyramid.

Roxanne's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Don't tell me…"

"Oh yes," Ash shot back. The rocks that formed the Rock Tomb kept cracking and crumbling down as they struggled to contain the mass of electric energy Pikachu was releasing from deep within it. In a matter of seconds, the entire structure gave away. The whole top was blasted off and completely pulverized by Pikachu's Thunder attack, with the rest of the structure being pushed outwards violently by a gigantic column of bright yellow electricity that forced everyone to cover their eyes from the sheer intensity.

"No way…" Roxanne whispered as she used an arm to shield her eyes from the yellow blast of painfully bright light. Nosepass unsurprisingly remained completely unmoving and stoic to the entire show and didn't even move or seem to react in any way.

As fast as it had come, Pikachu's attack died down, with the light receding and letting the gentle blue of the sky take over once more. Pikachu panted, slightly exhausted from releasing such a potent explosion of electricity. That move had definitely taken a considerable dent in his electrical reserves. He was now standing in a clean circular crater in the middle of the arena, with large rocks and debris framing it. "Good try, but it'll take more than that to beat my Pikachu," Ash told Roxanne with a grin.

Roxanne stared at Pikachu dumbfounded. "I've never been this surprised by a challenger's Pokémon."

"He can keep surprising you even more. Pikachu, run towards Nosepass and use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded, pointing towards Nosepass. Pikachu nodded, dropped on all fours, and then proceeded to sprint towards Nosepass as fast as he could. With his immense speed, he rapidly closed in on the very stationary Pokémon.

"Nosepass, Lock-On!" Roxanne countered. "Then use Zap Cannon!"

Nosepass hummed as magnetic energy gathered in her nose, forming a red ring of light in front of her. Like before, the red ring shot out towards Pikachu faster than the electric-type was moving and branded him on his forehead with a ringed target mark. As soon as it was done, the electricity gathering in her red nose began to form a potent green and yellow orb of condensed lightning.

"Pikachu, keep going! I have an idea!" Ash shouted in encouragement. Pikachu's ears twitched as he listened to Ash's command. With a nod, the electric-type kept going and only seemed to speed up in his charge at the Compass Pokémon despite the fact she was still charging up her next attack.

"I am very much concerned about that," Latios quipped in after taking a quick peek in his trainer's thoughts to see what he was up to.

"Hush!" Latias' telepathic reply sounded immediately, silencing the blue dragon.

"Fire!" Roxanne ordered. Nosepass lowered her face slightly and then with a particularly potent discharge of magnetism from her big red nose, she fired the powerful Zap Cannon attack at the incoming electric rodent with perfect aim due to the assistance of Lock-On.

Ash smirked, causing Roxanne to gasp. "Well, here goes nothing… Pikachu, use Thunderbolt and intercept that Zap Cannon with your tail!"

Pikachu's cheeks began to spark vividly before releasing a potent discharge of yellow electricity in all directions, coating him entirely in a dazzling veil of lightning. As his trainer had ordered, Pikachu kept going towards the incoming Zap Cannon. His electrified silver-shining tail was held high. The moment the Zap Cannon was about to hit him, Pikachu spun around and smashed his electrified Iron Tail into the Zap Cannon at full power.

A wave of static spread over the field as a myriad of jolts and sparks flew off in all directions from the collision point of the two attacks. Pikachu winced and gritted his teeth as he was pushed back a couple feet from the sheer power of the Zap Cannon. The attack's electrical waves painfully stung at him as his Thunderbolt-boosted Iron Tail held strong. Arcs of lightning continued to flow freely, crackling and lashing out at nearby rocks and destroying them easily. As Pikachu held, the orb of electrical power seemed to get larger as it fed from Pikachu's ongoing Thunderbolt. "Pikachu, hurry and finish your Iron Tail attack before that Zap Cannon explodes!" Ash shouted quickly.

"R-r-right," Pikachu stuttered through gritted teeth. He was used to handling electricity quite well but holding off the Zap Cannon while focusing on keeping his Iron Tail and Thunderbolt going on at the same time was proving to be a larger challenge than he expected. With a lot of effort, Pikachu began to slowly move forward, wincing as the powerful electrical energies rippled all around him.

"No way…" Roxanne whispered in pure shock, resisting the urge to pull at her large ponytails. "Your Pikachu is simply out of this world!" she cried out as Pikachu began to gain speed in his run towards Nosepass, still carrying the Zap Cannon on his tail. "Nosepass, use Rock Tomb right in front of you!" she countered swiftly. Nosepass raised her arms and made the ground in front of her tremble and crack. Shortly after, a large stone spike emerged from it. "Use Zap Cannon again!" she added. Nosepass' magnetic nose hummed, another concentrated orb of electrical energy forming in front of it.

"Pikachu, smash right through that. Let's go!" Ash ordered energetically. "Hit Nosepass with full power!"

"Nosepass, don't fire that Zap Cannon, let Pikachu come to you!" Roxanne countered. She hoped her double layer shield of Rock Tomb and Zap Cannon would be enough to protect Nosepass from the imminent hit. "Hold your head high!" Nosepass let out a humming reply, the attack building up in front of her increasing in power.

Pikachu cringed as he approached the Compass Pokémon. The Zap Cannon he was dragging along in his tail was now shining brightly, clearly looking like it was going to blow up at any moment. The painful static mashing against his continuous Thunderbolt was also beginning to get very irritating to handle. With all the strength he could muster, he gave a single powerful leap just as he reached Nosepass' position and then swung his Thunderbolt-boosted Zap Cannon-carrying Iron Tail towards her.

Pikachu's attack completely pulverized the rock barrier Nosepass had erected, cleanly smashing through it and disintegrating it into a million pieces before colliding with the Zap Cannon Nosepass was holding. The effects of the collision of the numerous attacks was immediate, as both Zap Cannons detonated instantly. A gigantic blast of yellow light engulfed the two Pokémon, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the sheer intensity. The light then expanded into a potent explosion that sent a powerful tremor across the entire area and left a powerful boom resonating through the air.

"Nosepass!" a worried Roxanne cried out as she shielded her face with her arms, plumes of dust and dirt blowing past her.

"Pikachu!" a concerned Ash shouted. Unlike Roxanne, he was perfectly protected from the billowing blast of dirt and dust that emerged from the battlefield by a thin psychic shield courtesy of Latias.

Roxanne gasped as she spotted Nosepass flying back from the explosion, the sheer force of the blast having actually lifted her off from the ground and hurled her backwards a considerable height. "No! Nosepass!" The rock-type Pokémon landed on the ground on her back, skidding at least two dozen feet before stopping almost in front of Roxanne. A long and rather deep indentation was left on the ground where Nosepass had crashed. Arcs of static electricity slowly flowed through her body, signifying she was now paralyzed.

As the large amount of dust slowly cleared, Ash sighed in relief when he saw Pikachu was still standing. The electric-type hadn't been blown back as much as Nosepass had been due to the fact the energy and momentum had been in his favor. However, the resulting explosion had been potent enough to hurl him back into a rather large rock behind him with enough strength to heavily crack it. Pikachu was covered in numerous scratches and was very dirty. Pikachu collapsed on all fours, panting heavily with his eyes closed. "I'm… okay… Ash…" he wheezed slowly through labored breathing.

"I'm surprised that worked," Latios commented. "Pikachu managed to keep the Zap Cannon from blowing up just long enough."

"Pikachu's given one awesome battle," Latias admitted. She smirked at her brother. "It's not going to be easy for you to top this one." Latios rolled his eyes but didn't voice any form of disagreement.

"Well," Ash began, a smirk forming on his features. "I think I win, Roxanne."

Roxanne chuckled in amusement. "That's what you think."

Ash frowned. "Wait, why?" he questioned incredulously.

"If there's one thing rock-type Pokémon are known for… it's durability," Roxanne responded. "Nosepass is badly damaged, but she's not out yet!" Not a moment too late, Nosepass slowly began to move from her spot at the end of the large ravine she had carved into the ground. Using her large stone arms, she slowly pushed herself to a standing position. Her body was covered in cracks and torn-off bits of rock. She was also now sporting a second large gash of torn rock on her side, clearly the spot where Pikachu's final Iron Tail had slashed at her. All in all, Nosepass looked badly worn. But there was no doubt that she was still capable of fighting. Just like she had done throughout the battle she remained standing still on the spot she stood at, close to Roxanne. Like always, a completely expressionless and stoic look was evident in her.

"Oh… wow…" Ash said slowly with widened eyes, clearly impressed. "That's one very tough Pokémon." He worriedly glanced at Pikachu to assess his status. The electric-type was clearly very damaged and tired, with numerous scratches and cuts all over his diminutive body. He was panting heavily and leaning against a rock for support. Unlike the Compass Pokémon, Pikachu as a species were definitely not known for being resilient Pokémon. "Pikachu, return!" the trainer said suddenly, causing Roxanne to look at him in curiosity.

Pikachu sighed, not quite enjoying Ash's command. He would have loved to continue the battle, but he admitted that withdrawing was an acceptable option as he was hurt and exhausted. "Okay…" He turned around and slowly made his way back to his best friend. As Pikachu departed the battlefield, he felt a prideful feeling creep up in him when he heard the crowd of students watching the battle cheer and applaud him. It felt even better with the fact that his ears easily picked up that some of the claps were coming directly from behind him, and the only human there was Roxanne.

"It's completely deserved," Latios said in his mind. "You did very well."

Latias nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Bianca and Brock also send you congratulatory comments, Pikachu."

'Thanks,' Pikachu thought, knowing his thoughts would be picked up by the psychic twins. 'After fighting like that, that's the least I'd expect. Now, I really want to rest. Keep this battle in your mind so you don't screw up when it's your turn, Latios.' A single low chuckle was his reply.

Ash smiled and picked Pikachu up when he reached him, hugging him close to his chest. "You did amazing out there. Congratulations, buddy." Very gently, Ash lifted the electric rodent to his shoulder. Pikachu gladly climbed onto it and quickly accommodated himself in a comfortable position. Ash gazed at Roxanne respectfully. "Your Nosepass deserves a lot of recognition too. She's put up an amazing battle so far. It's not every day that someone pushes Pikachu this far."

"Thank you," Roxanne responded appreciatively. "She's very strong, yes. And she's awaiting your next Pokémon."

Ash reached down and grabbed another Pokéball from his belt, holding it forward. "Go, Treecko!" As soon as he called the Pokémon, the spherical device activated and opened, releasing the small grass-type in a flash of white light onto the battlefield.

Treecko blinked and glanced around him, analyzing his surroundings with interest. He had never been in a human-controlled battle nor had he ever battled following someone else's orders, so this was an entirely new experience for him. He glanced at the crowd warily, not quite comfortable with so many humans surrounding him. "This is odd…" he mumbled to himself. He looked at what he suspected was his opponent at the other side of the battlefield. He vaguely recognized the Pokémon, a Nosepass, from what he knew. Admittedly, he felt a bit anxious. But after a couple years of fighting out in the cruel wilderness of Petalburg Woods, he knew he was more than capable of handling anything thrown his way, even that Nosepass. Slowly, that anxiety turned into determination. He would show just how strong nature had made him.

"Hey Treecko, how are you feeling?" Ash asked just to be on the safe side. He had already inquired about Treecko's status earlier that morning, but there was no harm done checking once more right before the battle. "You up for the battle?"

Treecko turned around and nodded assertively at Ash. "I'm okay and I'm ready," he said calmly before turning to look at his opponent while idly twirling the twig in his mouth. One of his hands moved down to his chest to trace the wound that Seviper had left on him, as if checking to see if it didn't hurt anymore. Thanks to the medical wonders of Professor Oak and Nurse Joy, it was mostly closed and healed. However, he did not want to push it.

"A Treecko, huh," Roxanne said calmly, narrowing her eyes at the Wood Gecko Pokémon. "A grass-type Pokémon is a more traditional pick for a rock-type gym," she said informatively. "I applaud that selection."

Ash chuckled in amusement at her specific word selection. "You can't say you weren't impressed by my Pikachu, Roxanne."

"I definitely can't say that," Roxanne agreed with a firm clap. "But that doesn't mean a grass-type isn't a better choice. That Treecko looks quite strong as well."

"I just caught Treecko a couple days ago, so this is his very first battle with me," Ash responded and then smiled. He reached up turned his hat backwards. "And we're going to win, Roxanne!"

Roxanne smiled back at the young trainer. "I like your confidence. You're indeed a strong and unique trainer. You clearly have a fantastic way of connecting with your Pokémon and raising them. Thanks for letting me know this is your first battle with that Treecko. I'll take note of how it does in this battle and I'll definitely be paying attention in the Hoenn League to see how strong it has become by then. I know you'll be there."

Ash smirked. "He's going to be there when I win the League! Alright, Treecko, use Pound!" he ordered, pointing towards Nosepass. Treecko nodded and immediately dropped on all fours, rearing his hind legs back. With surprising speed, he bolted forward and ran towards Nosepass.

Roxanne narrowed her eyes. 'There he goes again… starting with a not very effective move when he should have far better super effective options at his disposal.' She hummed slightly, pondering the best way to approach this. 'It's probably another tactic to throw me off and get me to spend my more valuable resources to counterattack now, so he has a clear path to attack us when using his actual effective move… I'll save the Lock-On and Zap Cannon combo for then, in the meantime…' Roxanne thought to herself. "Nosepass, that Treecko is very fast. Stop him with Rock Tomb!" Roxanne countered. Nosepass hit the ground with one of her bulky arms, sending a slight tremor across the mostly destroyed battlefield.

"Dodge any that come your way and keep going," Ash responded. Treecko nodded and as soon as he felt the ground beneath him shake, he rapidly leaped and changed directions. The Rock Tomb that emerged from the ground had no effect, as Treecko was long gone from the spot the rocks had come out of. Using a particularly large rock as leverage, Treecko leaped high and then swung his thick bushy tail at Nosepass. His instincts naturally told him to aim at a weak spot, and a rather large crack in the Compass Pokémon's prominent red nose was the preferred target.

Treecko smashed his tail into her with as much strength as he could, hitting Nosepass with enough force to actually cause her to stumble back a step and let out a slight pained cry while making the cracks on her nose widen slightly. Treecko then backflipped and landed on the ground in front of Nosepass skillfully, rapidly taking several steps back instinctually to put some distance between them to give him more time to answer Nosepass' next move.

"Nosepass, use Rock Slide!" Roxanne exclaimed. "Treecko's wide open!" Nosepass slowly reared an arm back to attack, but then froze on the spot as sparks of electricity danced across her body and completely held her on the spot. "Oh, no!" she cried in alarm.

"Ash, now's your chance! She must have gotten paralyzed either from Pikachu's Static ability when he hit her with Iron Tail or the blast from the two Zap Cannons!" Latias said rapidly.

Ash nodded. "Right! Treecko, use Bullet Seed!" he commanded. Treecko took a deep breath while rearing his head back. He then thrust his head forward while spitting a series of golden-colored seeds surrounded by a light green veil of natural energy. The high velocity projectiles hit Nosepass with a lot of intensity, causing her to wince repeatedly as each individual seed painfully dug into her rocky hide before exploding in a bright green flash. Treecko didn't let up, continuously firing the projectiles like a machine gun, spreading damage across the entirety of the weakened rock-type Pokémon.

"Nosepass, try Rock Slide once more, and please don't be paralyzed again!" Roxanne said once the bombardment ended. Nosepass made a sideways slashing motion at the ground with as much strength as she could, sending a large barrage of rocks towards the grass-type.

"Treecko, prepare yourself and be careful," Ash warned him, causing the grass-type to tense. "Use Bullet Seed to destroy those rocks!"

Treecko narrowed his eyes, eyeing the incoming attack while taking note of which rocks would be dangerous to him and which were harmlessly off course. Once he had determined that, he took another deep breath and then began firing a continuous stream of green-veiled golden seeds at the incoming Rock Slide. With incredible precision, the Bullet Seed attack began to tear through some of the rocks, shattering them into rubble with bright blasts of green-colored energy. "Keep it up!" Ash encouraged. Like a machine gun, Treecko kept spitting the seeds rapidly, tearing rock after rock before they managed to get close to him. The rocks that Treecko ignored harmlessly landed at his sides or behind him, noting he was selecting his targets carefully.

"He's got very good aim," Latias commented. "And very good awareness, too."

"Yeah," Latios admitted, impressed. "He's very skilled."

"Alright, now hit Nosepass," Ash calmly said once Treecko had finished tearing through the Rock Slide. Treecko aimed lower and resumed firing his Bullet Seed at the Compass Pokémon. Streaks of green light flashed through the air as the continuous bullets streamed towards her. Nosepass let out a cry and was pushed back further as she was bombarded yet again, with countless small blasts of green energy blasting at her body ferociously.

"Nosepass, use Lock-On!" Roxanne shouted. Nosepass cringed, struggling to focus amid the painful stings each Bullet Seed caused. Through the swift detonations of green light coating the entirety of her body, a Red ring of light appeared in front of her bulky nose. The red ring then rapidly shot out to brand Treecko's forehead with a bright red target mark.

"Here we go again…" Latios commented uneasily. "That's no doubt going to be followed by a Zap Cannon. It's not very effective against Treecko, but it's still a brutal attack nonetheless."

'It's a good thing I have a good idea as to what to do about it,' Ash thought back at the dragon.

"Nosepass, Zap Cannon!" Roxanne responded. Nosepass nodded and began to let electromagnetic energy gather in her nose, making it glow as she prepared to begin charging the potent attack. Slowly, the green and yellow colored electrical orb began to form in front of her nose.

"Treecko, run and jump on top of Nosepass!" Ash shouted suddenly.

"What!?" Roxanne cried out. "Why!?" she questioned in disbelief.

Ash smirked. "Treecko can't dodge Zap Cannon now. Well, might as well have Nosepass join in on the hit, then," he explained. Treecko quickly ran towards Nosepass and with a very spectacular and agile leap, jumped up and landed on top of her head.

"Oh… no, no, no!" Roxanne babbled. "Nosepass, try to cancel that Zap Cannon!" she called out desperately.

"Oh, yes!" Ash said back, his voice exuberant. "Treecko, you're about to take a very painful hit, so use Mega Drain!" he added for good measure.

Nosepass, unable to cancel her attack as it was mostly finished charging, had no choice but to fire it forward. The spherical blast flew out for at least a dozen feet before awkwardly making an overhead arc, redirecting itself towards where Treecko was, right on top of her head.

Treecko extended both of his arms to the sides, a bright green aura engulfing his body. The aura spread all around the Wood Gecko Pokémon while also engulfing the immobile Nosepass. The rock-type let out a cringe as she felt what little energy she had left being sapped away by the draining attack, while also painfully stinging at every part of her body and further damaging it.

Moreover, the worst part was yet to come. Treecko growled, seeing the incoming orb of electricity rapidly approaching him. He amplified the power to his Mega Drain as much as he could and then braced himself. The Zap Cannon collided with Treecko dead center, igniting a potent electrical explosion that also badly damaged Nosepass herself. The explosion sent sparks and jolts in all directions alongside a large cloud of dust.

As the dust slowly cleared, it revealed a panting Treecko standing on top of the Compass Pokémon. Arcs of static electricity emanated from the pair, dancing along their bodies and painfully paralyzing their movements. "Nosepass!" Roxanne cried out. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Nosepass did not respond for several long awkward moments and instead slowly began to sway back and forth before suddenly falling backwards. Treecko jumped off her and then landed on the ground beside her, watching her topple over out the corner of his eye. Nosepass landed roughly on the ground, kicking up some dust as she did so. She remained unmoving for several long seconds before the referee raised his hand in Ash's direction. "Nosepass is unable to continue battling! The winner of the first part of this gym battle is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town with a three-zero sweep!" he called out.

"Yes!" Ash shouted victoriously, pumping a fist up in the air. "We did it!"

"That took a while," Latios said in surprise. "That Nosepass was really durable."

Latias lightly nudged her brother's side. "I'd be worried if I were you. That's not even Roxanne's strongest Pokémon. You're going to be fighting that next."

"Yeah… about that," Latios began nervously. "I'm now actually worried."

"I had a lot of issues fighting Nosepass," Pikachu admitted. "So, I'd definitely be worried if I were you. Try not to mess up our gym victory, Latios." In response, Latios laughed very apprehensively.

"I'm impressed, Roxanne," Ash praised the gym leader once more, flashing her a smile. "That Nosepass of yours is extremely tough. I greatly enjoyed battling her."

Roxanne nodded in acknowledgement as she returned her fallen Nosepass back to her Pokéball. "Thank you," she said gratefully to Ash. She held the sphere in front of her face, whispering, "You did fantastic, Nosepass. Take a long rest now." Calmly, she shrunk the Pokéball down to its diminutive size and pocketed it.

Ash smiled as Treecko came over to him. He reached down and picked the grass-type up in his arms. "You're a very good battler!" he praised energetically. "You're not even fully fit and you still battled amazingly. Congratulations on your first win." He grinned, but then winced once the static coming off Treecko's paralysis carried over to him. "Welcome to the team," he added as he recovered slightly.

"No fair, I did most of the work," Pikachu grumbled in annoyance.

"Phanpy took out two Pokémon," Latios corrected teasingly, making Pikachu pout. "Technically, he did most of the work. You took out half a Pokémon. Three quarters tops."

"Mind you, I fought Roxanne's strongest Pokémon out of those three," Pikachu stated as a matter of fact, wondering where the invisible Latios was so he could glare at him.

"Quiet you two," Ash said with a slight laugh. "It was thanks to all three of you that we got this win."

Treecko blinked in confusion, taken aback slightly by the affection displayed by his trainer and by the rather good-natured banter between the group. "Uuhhh…" he said uneasily, not quite sure what to think. He quietly admitted their friendly dynamic was very welcoming and catchy.

"Relax," Pikachu said, smiling. "That's our little group for you. You'll get used to it eventually."

"We're all family here, Treecko," Ash added. "It was a wonderful battle." Ash gently set Treecko down, crouching down afterwards. "How do you feel? Are you hurt? Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Treecko stared at the trainer for several long and awkward seconds, unsure how to respond to his affectionate and very caring nature. Idly he ran a hand over his stomach, wincing slightly. "I'm okay. The Mega Drain was a good idea," the grass-type complimented. "It helped ease the damage from Nosepass' final move."

Ash nodded in response. "That's great." He gently ran his hand over the grass-type's head. "You'll feel right at home with us, you'll see."

Treecko blinked up at the trainer, looking at him fixedly. So far, everything was going very well. The thrill of battle definitely lifted his spirits greatly. After leaving his home of several years… maybe a fresh start would do him wonders, like he had suspected when he first made the decision of joining this particular group of trainers and Pokémon. So far, they seemed like a fantastic pick. "I hope so."

Latias tilted her head, not entirely sure why Treecko appeared so sentimental. It was like his decision to leave Petalburg Woods both felt like something very sad but also very positive for the grass-type, and he was struggling to decide how to feel over it. But, for the time being, she felt it was not the best of ideas to press on the matter. Eventually, she figured, he'd open up to them all on his own.

"Alright," Ash said, reaching down and grabbing a Pokéball from his belt. "Take a good, long rest for now." The red and white sphere shot a red laser from its midsection, quickly dematerializing Treecko and pulling him inside.

Ash stood up and faced Roxanne. "So, ready for the second part of our battle?" he asked. "If you thought my first three Pokémon were impressive, you haven't seen anything yet."

"I know, that's why I specifically requested this," Roxanne responded. The teacher turned to look at the crowd. "I hope you all paid attention to this battle and learned from it. One day many of you will challenge gyms, so it's important you take note of how it went. There were many important things at play here that led to my three-zero defeat, and you all must comprehend them. All teachers of battle classes, use this battle for constructive purposes. All students, pay attention to this next battle, as it'll be completely different from the previous one, be sure to enjoy it."

"Yes, miss Roxanne!" a large portion of the seated students replied obediently. A lot of them were clearly eager, most of them knew what was coming.

"Well…" Roxanne whispered. "Here it goes." She glanced at the referee and gave a curt nod.

The teacher posing as the referee nodded back at her and raised both hands. "The second stage of this gym battle will commence now. It will be a single one on one battle!" he declared.

Latios gulped nervously. "I wonder what kind of terrifying rock-type Pokémon she's going to send out. Considering how strong that Nosepass was… what if she sends a Rhyperior as her next Pokémon? Or an Aggron? Or a Tyranitar? Or-"

"Relax, it's going to be something funny like a Probopass, you'll see," Latias said calmly. Ash blinked, not quite recognizing the Pokémon names Latios was saying except for Tyranitar.

Roxanne reached into a different Pocket and took out a distinct Pokéball that was black on the upper half and white on the lower half, with four blue-colored orbs adorning the upper segment. Full of confidence, Roxanne threw it out to the battlefield. "Ash, meet my strongest Pokémon. Probopass, I choose you!" she shouted as the Heavy Ball flew ahead. The Pokéball hit the arena and opened with a hexagon-shaped pattern of bright grey metallic bursts of light, sending out her strongest Pokémon onto the field.

Ash blinked, rather dumbfounded. "That's basically Nosepass with a bushy moustache on," he stated.

Pikachu face-palmed and just barely contained his laughter. "Sorta. I mean, it ditched the arms and legs for those three silly noses on its sides and back…"

Latios blinked. "I should have been prepared for a Probopass. It only makes sense."

"Told you so," Latias said, sticking her tongue out at him. Latios rolled his eyes at her.

Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it at Probopass. The machine beeped once and then promptly displayed a blank image. "Pokémon unknown. No information available," it said in a monotone feminine voice.

Ash frowned. "Hey, what gives?" he questioned in mild exasperation.

"Your little machine broke," Latios commented with a chuckle. "Anyway, since that thing isn't helping. I'll do it for you. That's a Probopass, it's Nosepass' evolution. It's now a rock and steel-type. They're known for being extremely durable."

"Hmm, even if it looks silly that's a very interesting Pokémon," Ash said, noting that it was also levitating. "It's also on the air."

"They can levitate through electromagnetism," Latios told him. "So, while still very slow. They're much more mobile than Nosepass."

Ash grinned excitedly. "Oh, I'm so eager to battle it." He looked over at Roxanne on the other end of the field. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

Roxanne gave a brief nod. "Go ahead."

"If Probopass is your strongest Pokémon, why don't you use it for every gym battle?" Ash asked inquisitively. "Wouldn't that make your gym tougher and better?"

Roxanne shook her head. "A gym isn't better just for being difficult. You see, I only use Probopass for special gym battles, like ours. Most gyms, believe it or not, have some quite… complex setups."

Ash blinked. "Complex setups? Why?" he asked. "Wouldn't you just use the same Pokémon over and over again? I thought that's what gym leaders did."

"No, we can't do that. Let me explain, gym leaders often have to adjust their difficulty depending on the trainer that comes to challenge them. Sometimes, we're challenged by strong and veteran trainers. Sometimes, we're the first gym leader that new trainers challenge. We have to give both an equal test according to their level or else we'd discourage new trainers from actually beginning their journeys," Roxanne explained calmly. "You actually fought against my strongest Geodude, Aron and Nosepass. But, I also have a much weaker Geodude and Nosepass in my reserves that I use to fight trainers who just started their journeys in a two on two battle. I purposely keep them at low level to give those trainers a fair challenge," she clarified coolly. "Probopass is my first Pokémon ever, but he's far outgrown the typical difficulty I try to maintain for my gym. Like I said, I only use him for special challengers."

Ash hummed in thought, thinking to his first gym battles in every region. "Oh, I see. That makes sense."

"Sometimes gyms that are close to the league cities, which usually stand as the last gyms most trainers fight at, tend to always be at their highest difficulty for any trainer that challenges them," Roxanne finished.

"Thanks, I was curious," Ash said gratefully. "I've always wondered how being a Gym Leader works."

"You could ask Brock," Pikachu commented. "He's bound to be in a similar spot with Pewter City being so close to Pallet Town."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Ash responded. "So, are you ready to impress everyone here, Latios?" the trainer asked.

Latios smirked. "I'm ready."

"In that case… Latios, I choose you," Ash said calmly. Latios slowly flew onto the field, still cloaked in his invisibility. Roxanne's eyes widened slightly, she had seen the invisibility act before on television. She did her best to keep a cool and professional look, but on the inside, she was definitely bursting with excitement. The crowd was also silent, all eyes on the field expectantly.

"Latios really does have a flare for dramatics at times," Bianca joked, laughing slightly. She leaned in, watching expectantly. She always enjoyed seeing the blue dragon battle.

Brock chuckled. "He does at times, yes."

"Watch this," Latios said telepathically. The blue dragon's eyes flashed briefly in a bright shade of white, making Roxanne jump slightly in fright at the sudden appearance of two glowing eyes in the middle of the field.

Latias laughed loudly. "That was a good one, Latios," she praised in amusement.

"Show off," Pikachu grumbled.

Deciding he had enough teasing, Latios then proceeded to slowly drop his invisibility. Pure blue and light silver colored feathers began to appear out of thin air, starting with his head and neck before trailing downwards to his body and wings.

"Show off," Bianca said, clapping slightly. "That's so Latios."

"If Nosepass was any indication, I imagine Roxanne's Probopass is also very powerful," Brock said with an excited smile. "This will be a very good battle."

"And Latios will win it," Bianca said positively, not taking her eyes off the psychic dragon.

"Oh… wow…" Roxanne said slowly, not realizing she had been holding her breath until she began speaking and that her hands were trembling. "This is amazing." Back in the crowd, dozens upon dozens of students had taken out mobile phones to snap pictures of the Legendary dragon, while others began to clap and cheer in awe.

"This feels like the Silver Conference all over again," Ash said in amusement. "I hope he's what you expected, Roxanne."

"He's that and much more," Roxanne responded. "But, don't think I'll be giving my badge up easily. Probopass, get ready!"

"Latios, get ready as well," Ash ordered with his voice full of trust and expectation, making the dragon levitate higher to make himself more threatening and imposing.

"Begin!" the referee shouted, admittedly also very excited at the upcoming battle.

"Latios, use Dragon Breath," Ash commanded rapidly, taking initiative. The blue dragon inhaled deeply before exhaling a very potent stream of intense green flames from his mouth.

"Probopass, respond with a Flash Cannon!" Roxanne countered quickly. Probopass' magnetic nose began to glow with an intense white gleam as an orb of bright white light formed in front of it. Suddenly, a beam of metallic luminous energy was fired directly ahead.

Both Ash and Roxanne watched with bated breath as the two attacks rapidly cruised at each other, heading for a direct clash at the center of the battlefield…

…

From the distance of several miles out towards the open sea, the city of Rustboro looked simply stunning. A majestic beach and a sparkling blue sea gave way to a densely populated massive metropolis spanning vastly across the land. Dozens upon dozens of incredibly tall buildings marked the city's spectacular skyline.

Far out in the sea, too distant to be seen from the city, a periscope broke the calm waves of the surface. The metallic device extended a few feet over the surface of the sea, with a high definition camera inside of it adjusting its lenses as it gazed into the city. The calm waters of the sea surface hid the submerged monstrous Team Aqua warship from which the periscope had come from.

Several dozen feet underwater, on the ship's main bridge, a large screen turned on and proceeded to show the footage feed from the camera. "Soon, Rustboro City, soon…" a masculine voice said as he looked at the video. All around the man, about a dozen or so men and women all dressed in the same attire operated the complex controls of the vessel.

"We're still in position and ready, Admin Amber," one of the many grunts said, briefly turning to look at the bald man before returning to look at the screen of his controls.

"Good," Amber responded. "So, when do we begin our assault, Shelly?" he asked, turning to look at the tall woman that was standing at the center of the room, right behind the helmsman. "We've been standing by for almost an hour now."

Shelly looked at the video feed from the periscope with a bored expression on her face. One of her hands was idly playing with some locks of her bright red curly hair. "Not yet. We're awaiting the report from the spies before moving in."

Amber narrowed her eyes at her. "You seem way too careful," he said in annoyance. "We've got this massive battleship and an entire army. Let's just steamroll the place and get on with our objectives."

"One can never be too careful when you're about to attack the headquarters of one of the biggest and richest companies in the world, located at the city that stands as the economic heart of the Hoenn Region," Shelly responded sharply.

Amber scoffed. "We could easily-"

"Besides," Shelly began with a stern voice, interrupting the other admin sharply. "Our objective is not to cause senseless damage or destroy anything. It's just to steal some things from the Devon Corporation."

"I still think we should just get on with it," Amber said impatiently. "We have more than enough firepower to get this done right now. I'm sick of waiting."

"Shut up, bro," Matt said abruptly, scowling at the short and bald Admin. "Shelly is in command of the mission."

"Thanks, Matt," Shelly said appreciatively. "Also, what our spies report will vastly shape the approach we're going to take here. That's why their report is very important."

Amber let out an annoyed sigh and briefly glared at the hulking dark-skinned admin before resuming his gazing at the video feed from the periscope. "Focus on the Devon headquarters," he directed to one of the many grunts at the bridge.

"Yes sir," the grunt responded immediately. After imputing some commands into his console, the screen shifted a bit to the right before zooming in. The large screen focused on the two largest and tallest towers in the Rustboro City skyline, a pair of wide and very futuristic-looking arched golden-colored buildings. At the top of each tower, the company's logo was proudly displayed.

Amber stared at the screen for several long moments before the buzzing of an alarm suddenly blared across the bridge, catching the attention of the three admins of the villainous Team Aqua. "Tactical commander Shelly," one of the grunts situated at the controls called out. "We're receiving an encrypted messaged from our spies."

Shelly nodded and then smirked. "About time. Put it on the main screen," she directed firmly. The grunt returned to typing several commands into the complex communications console he was seated in front of, causing the bridge's main screen to stop displaying the periscope's video and instead show a random string of letters and numbers, which the computer rapidly decoded with the appropriate decryption keys. Shelly's breath caught up for a split second as soon as she read the message displayed on the screen.

Steven Stone is present at the target site.

"So?" Amber questioned, glancing at the other two admins. "No big deal. We can take the guy. We're the admins for fu-"

"Quiet," Shelly hissed, causing Amber to growl in annoyance. Matt glared at him, and he immediately looked the other way. Shelly stared at the screen in thought for several long moments before speaking up. "We begin our assault now."

Matt nodded. "Yes, ma'am!" He smashed a fist into his open palm roughly, broadly displaying his bulging muscles. "About time."

"Amber," Shelly said sharply, glaring at the Admin. "You know your role. Stay here and coordinate the diversion forces. Matt, come with me. We're going to the main hangar," Shelly commanded firmly, turning around and heading for the bridge's exit. Matt grinned savagely and followed her wordlessly.

Amber watched as the other two admins left for the hangar before turning around. "Empty the ballast tanks, we're going to surface!" he ordered. "Once we're above the water, unseal the hull and open the hangar bays. Tell the pilots to prepare for take-off."

"Yes sir!" came the chorus of the grunts on the bridge as they complied with their superior's orders.

…

"How bad is it that Steven Stone is present at the Devon headquarters?" Matt asked the much smaller woman at his side as they walked together across a long and narrow metallic hallway.

"It's very bad," Shelly responded immediately, a worried look on her face. "This makes our mission so much harder."

"Hoohahahaha!" Matt laughed raucously, startling Shelly slightly. "I love challenges!" he proclaimed. "I want to have a no-holds-barred match against him and pummel him to nothingness," he added adamantly, smashing his fist into an open palm with enough strength to create a very audible echo across the hallway.

"No," Shelly said immediately, making Matt give her a disappointed look. "I'm going to be quite blunt. He's going to destroy you. If you see Steven, my order is to abort immediately and flee. Or else you will be captured and we cannot afford to have an admin captured."

Matt paused for a moment, then glared at her. "And what about you? What would you do if you came across that Steven guy? Fight him off so you get all the fun of roughing him up?"

"No. I'm going to abort and escape just like you. I'm no match for him," Shelly said simply. "I'd be confident to say even Archie isn't a match for Steven. He's too powerful. But, our goal is not to beat him. We just need to keep him busy long enough until we accomplish our objectives."

"What? No way! The boss?" Matt asked in disbelief. "The boss is too hardcore to lose!"

"Do not underestimate Steven Stone, Matt," Shelly advised him sternly. "He spent over a decade as the Hoenn League Champion and went undefeated. And, we're about to attack him at his home turf."

"You know a lot about what's going on," Matt stated calmly.

"It's my job as Tactical Commander and Admin," Shelly responded. "Knowledge is power. And, knowing exactly what you're going up against and what can oppose you at every single moment is vital for success. I prepare for everything."

"Well, if we have no choice, how are we going to keep him busy?" Matt asked, looking down at her. "After all, you don't want either of us to fight him."

Shelly smirked. "With this." As soon as they reached the end of the hallway, she opened the door leading to the hangar bay of their gigantic battleship. As soon as they stepped out, they were greeted by the entire first division of Team Aqua. Ten squadrons of ten grunts, each with their commander, were all standing in front of their respective helicopters.

"Impressive," Matt admitted, grinning savagely. "I'm look forward to this."

"Tactical commander Shelly on deck!" One of the squad commanders shouted, causing all grunts, men and woman alike, to stop lounging around and stand firmly at attention.

"Listen up, everyone. The attack begins now!" Shelly shouted loudly, causing all the grunts to cheer and pump their fists up in the air while roaring in approval. "If we are successful with our objectives today, we shall be one step closer to fulfilling our goals of creating a better and more beautiful world!" she announced, stretching her arms at either side of her. "Today we will find out important clues that will aid us in our quest towards the Blue Orb and Lady Goddess Kyogre!"

Shelly smiled and let the grunts cheer loudly and enthusiastically. High morale was always important for a successful mission. She waited for a few moments before the roaring cheers died down to continue. "Alright, listen up! Squad one, you are coming with me. Squad two, you are going with Matt. We shall be carrying out the main objectives of this entire operation."

"Understood!" the head grunts of the squads responded instantly.

"We will wait ten minutes after the remaining squads have started their fake attacks before beginning our own strikes." Shelly turned to look at another section of grunts. "Squads three, four and five. You will head to your assigned destinations and attack them. The Pokémon Trainer's School, the Rustboro City government hall and the main harbor. Remember, your goal is not to kill or cause needless destruction. It's merely to cause a diversion and draw all law enforcement to your positions. Engage them and keep them occupied. However, as soon as you feel you might lose, retreat."

"Yes ma'am!" the commanders of the mentioned squads shouted firmly.

"Good," Shelly said, before turning to face the squads to her right. "Squads six, seven, eight, nine and ten. You will all converge in the main courtyard of the Devon Corporation building complex. Attack the lobby and the surrounding areas, draw their security and cause havoc. Your goal is to draw Steven Stone out and then engage him in battle. Keep him busy while Matt and I infiltrate the buildings from the rooftops."

"Yes ma'am!" the other commanders shouted firmly, acknowledging her orders.

"Okay, we will be fully resurfacing any moment now. Board your airships and as soon as the hangar doors are open, fire up your engines and move out!" Shelly shouted commandingly. As soon as she finished speaking, the army of grunts turned and began heading towards their respective gunships, chatting eagerly amongst themselves. Each of the aforementioned gunships was a large tiltrotor helicopter painted with Team Aqua motifs, with the team's skull-shaped alpha letter logo broadly painted at their side.

As the squads boarded their respective aircraft, Matt leaned down to talk to the other admin in a hushed voice. "Five squads just to take on Steven Stone? Each grunt has four Pokémon and the squad commanders have six. That's… a lot."

Shelly nodded and began walking towards her own helicopter. "Yes, it should be enough to take him out. Remember, your objective is kidnapping Mr. Stone. Get it done and get out as fast as you can. I'll take care of hacking the database and stealing their fossil machine."

Matt grinned, crackling his knuckles eagerly. "Understood. I've been bored sick. It's time to see some action at long last." With that, Matt entered his respective helicopter.

Shelly turned around and glanced at the Hallway she had come from, waiting for a few scientists and engineers to arrive. She nodded to them when they did, motioning them to follow her to the helicopter. Shelly knew this mission would be difficult, but she would not fail Archie. Ever.

---

Chapter 17 End

---

Author Notes: Due to some idea changes that occurred in the writing of this chapter, as well as some important changes that occurred to the story as a whole, I had to edit a small number of things in the story as it stands. In case any of you realize there might be a few small contradictions in this chapter to things previously written, don't worry! Those have most likely already been fixed.

Most notably for Chapter 16's edits, I admit that I made the trade/registration process of trainer Pokémon in my AU a bit too complex, as several readers pointed out as criticism towards me. Because of that, I've decided to rewrite it into a much simpler version while still keeping the general idea of what I have in mind for official Pokémon Competitions in my AU. Thanks for the fair constructive criticism of all involved. I heard you. You all win this one.

Next up, ever since I started writing this story and up to the current point, several things regarding the villainous teams of the region, Team Aqua and Team Magma, have changed. For all of those who wonder, I use the main series anime as the main point of reference, but to make the teams more interesting I decided to include the game-only and the manga-only admins for each team. When I originally starting writing this, I only had Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald as reference for the game-only admins. However, with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, that has changed. As such, only the game-only admins, Matt and Courtney, have been updated in all their appearances in the story to reflect their updated looks and personalities. The rest (except for the manga-only admins, whom I've taken some artistic liberty with) remain the same with their main series anime looks and personalities.

By the way, if you guys want to check it out because you don't remember, the segment where Team Aqua plots their upcoming attack to Rustboro City is in Chapter 9, at the end.

Again, I want to give a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who sticks with me to the end. Like I said, this story is never being abandoned as long as I'm breathing!

Important: So, see you all in Chapter 18, because the dreadful Team Aqua is looming. Please, let me know what you think of this chapter, despite the delays, I am very pleased with the quality and final result. Be sure to cheer for Latios! So, leave your thoughts of this chapter in the review box! Thanks everyone.