In our previous episode, Jax managed to beat Norman! The battle was a close call, but luckily, Valdez put on a fiery burst of energy and won Jax the badge. With everyone catching Pokémon and beating gyms, what will happen next?

Zeke's Group

Zeke was walking with his friends towards the next gym. They had taken a short detour to a place Falkner had pointed out after Zeke's gym battle.

"Hmm," said Zeke, lost in thought as usual. "Falkner said the Swablu should be around here."

"But it's clearly not," said Cyrus.

"Have patience Cyrus," said Camilla. "They'll turn up eventually."

"There!" shouted Zeke, "By the water!"

And indeed there was. By the water sat a Swablu, it was busy washing its wings and didn't notice Zeke. It fluffed its wings, glanced at them, and started washing them again.

"Alright then, I guess it's time for a battle. I choose you, Barry!"

Zeke's Wingull appeared in the air. The Swablu took no notice and continued cleaning its wings, washing them and inspecting them multiple times.

"This will get it to notice us, Water Pulse!"

Barry sprayed a ring of water at the Swablu. The water landed on its wings right when it was shaking them. It turned and gave Barry an annoyed look before taking off into the sky.

"Wing Attack!"

The Swablu dodged the attack and used Disarming Voice, knocking Barry backwards.

"Going to attack like that eh? Use Quick Attack!"

Barry flew forward and slammed into the Swablu, almost knocking it clear from the sky. The Swablu retaliated with Round, blasting a song at Barry.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a chorus to back you up! Water Pulse!"

Cyrus and Camilla groaned at his joke. Cyrus did a facepalm and shook his head.

"You need to have better taste than that."

"I'd like to see if you could come up with something better. Don't fly to high Barry, I'll lose sight of you! USe Quick Attack!"

Barry used Quick Attack and plummeted to the ground before swooping up slightly above the muddy ground. He turned around and slammed into the Swablu from the side as it tried to catch up. The Swablu was knocked to the ground and rolled into the muddy ground.

The Swablu was horrified. It got to its feet and ran to the water.

"It seems that it can't stand its wings getting dirty," mused Zeke. "In that case, Barry, lend a hand with Water Pulse."

Barry blasted a pulse of water directly on the running Swablu. The mud was easily washed off. The Swablu calmed down somewhat, and flew to the water.

"You're kidding me," said Zeke.

"It seems to enjoy cleaning itself," observed Camilla.

"Or maybe it's just insanely vain," said Cyrus.

"Either way, it doesn't seem to be interested in battling. Or anything else for that matter. Barry, return."

"You're going to leave it?" asked Cyrus.

"No, I'm going to take the Swablu out and catch it. Go, Abba!"

Abba appeared from her pokéball. She was still in her pom-pom form, so Revelation Dance was still electric.

"See that Swablu over there?" asked Zeke, pointing at the Pokémon that was still cleaning itself.

Abba pointed at the Swablu, mimicking Zeke.

"Can you just give it a quick Revelation Dance? It's completely ignoring a battle."

Abba shrugged. And used Revelation Dance, spinning around and shooting a huge jolt of electricity. Since the Swablu was in water, the move dealt extreme amounts of damage, fainting it.

Zeke tossed a pokéball at the Pokémon. There was no resistance as it was easily captured.

Zeke sighed. "That wasn't even a real battle."

Abba sighed as well. A gesture that made her seem humanlike.

"Maybe you should have looked for a different Swablu," said Cyrus.

Zeke showed him his pokédex. "They can be a nightmare to find."

"Unless they got their wings dirty," pointed out Camilla.

All of them laughed, including Abba. They all looked at the Pokémon.

"Are you sure that isn't a cleverly disguised Chatot?" Cyrus asked.

Jax's Group

Jax and his party were walking through the plains, heading towards the dark type gym. Jax had wanted to pick up the pace ever since Aaron told him how far behind he was.

He'd allowed his Pokémon outside of their pokéballs to enjoy the day, Camilla, Mack, and their cameraman had followed suit. Camilla's Vulpix and Mack's Tyrouge walked with them, as well as their cameraman's Herdier.

Seeing as Slugg was too slow to move with them at their pace, Jax carried her in his arms.

"Isn't Slugg a bit too heavy to hold for so long?" asked Camilla with concern.

"Shellos on average weigh fourteen pounds, I'll be fine."

Mack was flipping a deck of cards absentmindedly. He then turned to everyone else.

"Wanna see a card trick?"

"Sure," said Jax.

Everyone and their Pokémon crowded around Mack.

"Alright Jax, I'm going to read your mind," he fanned the cards and held it out to Jax. "Pick one."

Jax picked the card.

"Now memorize it, and put it back without telling me."

Jax did as he was told. Mack started shuffling the cards, but Virgil noticed he was doing it in a very particular way. Virgil leapt up and scattered the cards.

"Hey! Great, now I'm going to have to restart."

Virgil shook his head. Mack looked at him and was about to redo the trick when Virgil shook his head again.

"I don't think he wants you to try again. I'm pretty sure he figured out how you're doing the trick."

Mack said nothing and instead pulled out a card. "Is this your card?"

Jax looked at the card with astonishment. "Wow, you really can read minds!"

Virgil looked at Jax and Mack with a surprised look. He looked at the other Pokémon, but none of them seemed to be suspicious about Mack's trick at all.

"See Virgil, it isn't a trick."

Virgil huffed and walked off, taking the lead. Everyone laughed and followed him.

As they were walking, the Herdier turned around and started barking. When they turned around, they saw a boy walking towards them. The boy was dressed somewhat like the legendary trainer Red. He had a red cap with a black and white pokéball and a blue and white wavy shirt underneath his red jacket.

"Hello," said Jax. "Who are you?"

"The name's Alex. An aspiring trainer! Me and my Pokémon will defeat you!"

"Alright then! Let's battle! Three versus three!"

Alex sighed. "One versus one actually. I released all my Pokémon and only caught one."

Everyone was surprised by this. "Why would you do that?" asked Camilla.

Alex gave a bitter laugh. "I was a terrible trainer, I figured my Pokémon would be happier without me." He shook his head. "But in the short time since my last battle, I've learned what being a trainer means! I'm going to live up to my dad's legacy!"

"Okay then. Get ready Valdez!"

"I choose you, Oliver!"

A Combusken landed on the field. He gave Valdez a cocky look, bending his legs and flexing his arms.

"Use Flame Charge!"

"Valdez, dodge it!"

Oliver surrounded himself with fire and charged forward, flaring up the ground beneath him. Valdez narrowly avoided the attack.

"Mach Punch!"

"Double Kick!"

Oliver threw his legs upwards and countered Valdez's punch, knocking him back in the process.

"Flame Wheel!"

"Flame Charge!"

Oliver and Valdez crashed against each other, their fire type moves struggling to overcome the other. Oliver knocked Valdez back and immediately followed through.

"Quick Attack!"

Oliver put on an extra burst of speed as he slammed into Valdez. He flipped around quickly and slammed into him again.

"Mach Punch!"

"Dodge it with Flame Charge!"

Oliver raced forward and leapt to the side, dodging Valdez's attack.

"Slide tackle him!"

Oliver dug his feet into the ground and slid while using Flame Charge. The grass beneath him became charged as he tackled Valdez. Valdez fell to the ground and missed an Ember as Oliver leapt away. Jax realized with a start that the COmbusken had been speeding up over the course of the fight.

Mack walked next to Jax. "This is bad, Valdez has lost his biggest advantage."

"I know. The Combusken has more speed than him. Valdez, Fury Swipes!"

"Thunder Punch!"

Oliver's fist crackled with electricity as he punched Valdez in the chest, electricity spreading through him.

"Thunder Punch?" asked Jax. "As a Combusken?"

"Some Pokémon can get special moves at a young age, or based on their line of parentage. But that doesn't really matter. Quick Attack!"

"Mach Punch!"

Oliver dodged the Mach Punch and leapt backwards as he avoided another one. He flipped behind a third punch and kicked Valdez in the back.

"We have no choice, Valdez. All out offensive!"

"Flame Charge!"

Oliver ran at Valdez. Valdez didn;t bother to dodge and charged forward, throwing a barrage of punches.

"Double Kick!"

Oliver hopped in the air and threw two kicks in rapid succession. Valdez blocked the kicks and used Flame Wheel, slamming into the Combusken and knocking him back.

"Quick Attack!"

"Now!"

Right as Oliver put on an insane burst of speed, Valdez leapt forward and used Mach Punch. Oliver was knocked backwards as Valdez leapt forward again.

"Flame Charge!"

The two Pokémon crashed into each other, Oliver overpowering Valdez. Valdez was knocked backwards and hit the ground hard.

Valdez pulled himself up as the fire on his tail flared, his Blaze ability activating.

"We can do this Valdez! Flame Wheel!"

"Fine then! We can fight fire with fire! Flame Charge!"

Oliver was not at all impressed with Valdez's fiery display. He surrounded himself with fire and rushed Valdez. The two Pokémon clashed, causing fire to spew into the air in a fiery inferno.

"Get back Valdez, Ember Barrage!"

Valdez leapt away, trying to avoid Oliver as he threw huge plumes of flame.

"Now, Mach Punch!"

"Double Kick!"

Valdez raced at Oliver. Instead of throwing a punch though, Valdez leapt forward and switched to Flame Wheel right before impact.

Unhindered by the opposing fire. Valdez's blaze boosted Flame Wheel washed over Oliver and fainted him.

Alex stared at his fallen Combusken, anger creeping on his face. He sighed and shook his head, putting on a smile.

"That was a good battle. I know Oliver did his best. I guess we're going to have to train more." Alex walked forward and shook Jax's hand. "It was nice battling you Jax. I need to get Oliver some rest, and some food."

With that, Alex turned and jogged off, leaving Jax and his team alone.

"That boy clearly must have been through a lot," said Mack. "Imagine, releasing all of your Pokémon."

"Well, how he acted in this battle shows a lot about him. I bet he's changed from something."

Mack nodded. "I wonder who his day is though."

Aaron's Group

Aaron and his party approached the dark type gym. Aaron stared at the building, lost in thought.

"Come on Aaron, aren't you going to go in?" asked Clara.

Aaron thought for a moment. "Probably not."

Both Clara and Thomas looked at him with astonishment.

"What do you mean probably not?" demanded Clara. "I thought you loved Pokémon battling, and had so much confidence."

"And your confidence is founded with your abilities," said Thomas.

"Yeah I know. It's just, last gym battle, I almost lost along with Seth. The battle was literally down to my Noctowl, and he almost fainted. Me and my Pokémon have skills no doubt, but I just feel that I should put in a bit more training."

"You have a point," said Thomas.

"But I thought you wanted to beat the gyms before everyone else," said Clara. "Wouldn't spending more time training only delay you further?"

"Maybe for now, but in the long run, it'll help. Did you see Jax's Pokémon? Especially his Monferno. He and his Pokemon had plenty of experience fighting a flock of Murkrow so many times. That's why he was able to beat me, which is why I'm going to have to train. So, I challenge both of you to a battle! You both have two Pokémon. I'll fight each of you one at a time in a double battle."

"Fine then," said Clara. "But I'm warning you, my electric types will shock the competition out of you! Go, Pachy! Go, Lux!"

A Pachurisu and a Luxio appeared from her pokéballs . Aaron smiled and took out two pokéballs himself.

"Go, Quilladin and Espurr!"

"Okay guys, double Quick Attack!"

"Espurr, Psybeam! Quilladin, use Needle Arm!"

Pachy raced at Espurr, using her small stature to dodge its Psybeam before slamming into it. Lux didn't have as much success, he instead was blocked and hurt by Quilladin's spiny arms.

"Lux, use Spark!"

"Rollout!"

Lux surrounded himself in electricity and rushed at Quilladin as he tucked himself into a ball and rolled forward. Meanwhile, Pachy fired an Electro Ball at Espurr, who countered it with another Psybeam.

"Nuzzle!"

"Don't let it touch you! Disarming Voice!"

Pachy didn't get much of a chance to try and paralyze Espurr. Sound waves blasted it backwards as soon as it left the ground.

"Let's try for close quarters, Quick Attack! Lux, use Bite!"

"Espurr, Scratch! Quilladen, Leech Seed!"

Espurr batted Pachy away with her claws as Quilladin fired a barrage of seeds at Lux. Lux dodged the seeds and rushed at Quilladin.

"Needle Arm!"

Quilladin readied his arms with sharp spines as Lux leapt forward. Lux bit down on Quilladin's arm and was thrown backwards with a powerful swing.

"Leech Seed!"

This time, Lux couldn't recover fast enough. The seeds grew around his body as he thrashed on the ground.

"Lux, use Bite on the vines before they drain you! Pachy, use Charm!"

Pachy fluffed up her tail and put on a cutesy appearance. Espurr relaxed a bit, its aggression fading slightly. Her eyes then glowed as she straightened, giving Pachy a blank look as she radiated a challenging aura.

"You've played yourself! Psybeam!"

"Counter it with Electro Ball!"

Pachy ran in a circle, using its speed to charge up a ball of electricity before launching it at Espurr. Espurr fired a beam of psychic energy which plowed through the attack and slammed into Pachy with increased power.

"Competitive!" declared Aaron. "Boost special attack when any other stat gets lowered! Psybeam!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack!"

"Hit it with a spread attack! Disarming Voice!"

Pachy wasn't fast enough to avoid the spread move. The waves of fairy sound blasted Pachy and caused her to faint.

It was also a losing battle for Lux. He'd torn himself free from the vines, only to get hit over the head with a Needle Arm.

"Quick Attack!"

"Quilladin, trap it with Pin Missile! Espurr, ready Psybeam!"

Quilladin fired a series of sharp quills at Lux as he raced away. Lux found himself being forced backwards by the rapid fire attack when Espurr launched Psybeam. The attack plowed into the Luxio and fainted it.

"We win!" shouted Aaron, giving Quilladin a high hive. Espurr simply stood there.

"Not like it was unexpected," muttered Clara.

"Alright guys, ready to fight Thomas?" asked Aaron.

Quilladin shook his head and instead pointed at Thomas' bag, making an eating motion.

Thomas laughed. "Hungry little fella eh? What say you Aaron?"

Aaron shrugged. "You've deserved it, Quilladin. I need to train Noctowl a bit more anyways."

Thomas stepped up. "You're on Aaron. I choose you, Krokorok and Growlithe!"

"Go, Noctowl! Espurr, you're up!"

Noctowl burst out of his pokéball and took flight. Thomas's two Pokémon had dark purple auras around them, giving off intimidating glares. Espurr's eyes flashed as her Competitive ability activated in reaction to Thomas' Pokémon's Intimidate.

"You've gotta be kidding me," said Thomas.

"This will be an easy fight! Noctowl, take care of the Growlithe with Air Slash! Espurr, Fake Out!"

"Krokorok, use Crunch! Growlithe, attack the Espurr with Fire Fang!"

Espurr flashed forward and swiped at the Krokorok, catching it off guard and stunning it. The Growlithe leapt forward, its jaws blazing. Noctowl swooped in and beat his wings at the Pokémon, sending blades of concentrated air.

"Krokorok, Bulldoze! Growlithe, get ready with Reversal!"

"Disarming Voice!"

Espurr gave a loud cry as sound waves blasted the two Pokémon. The Krokorok fell over instantly while the Growlithe got to its feet unsteadily.

"Now!"

"Watch out Noctowl! Espurr, Psybeam!"

The Growlithe glowed a bright orange, energy pulsating around it. The Growlithe ran forward and dodged Espurr's Psybeam before leaping into the air and slamming into Noctowl.

"Extrasensory!"

Noctowl blasted the Growlithe with waves of psychic energy. The Growlithe landed on the ground and slumper over, fainted.

Aaron clapped his hands. "Sparring session is over. Two wins for me. Let's get you guys healed, and then enter the dark gym."

Seth's Group

"Have I ever told you I don't like caves," said Connor.

"About five times already," answered Seth as they approached the cave Connor was talking about. "But there's no other way to get to the rock gym."

"That's only because you haven't looked! And it's getting dark soon."

"It's going to be dark in the caves anyways," Theo pointed out.

Connor groaned. "That's not helping."

"If you want, you can climb back down and stay with Darreth," said Seth.

Connor turned around, and then looked back at the cave.

"I think I'll go. Can Isabelle and Peter come too?"

Theo looked at Seth, and they both shrugged, looking at the two Phantumps. Isabelle nodded, but Peter remained next to Seth and Theon. They said bye to Connor and Isabelle before heading into the cave.

"Honestly," said Theo, pulling out two flashlights and activating one of them. "I think it's a good thing Connor left. Last thing he wants is to be fighting a dangerous thing in a cave."

"True. I wonder what this Pokémon is though. It has to be extremely strong if it drove Vex away into the forest."

"All the more reason to be-"

A loud crash echoed through the cave, Theo and Seth froze, looking towards the source of the crash.

"That sounds powerful," said Seth, switching on his flashlight.

"No doubt, let's be careful. Fortunately, most Pokémon here are rock type. My Machamp will be very helpful."

"I think my Pokémon will be able to handle it."

Another crash sounded throughout the cave. Theo and Seth tensed up as the crashes became more frequent and louder.

"Still think-"

A loud roar filled the cave room as a Barbaracle appeared. The Pokémon had many chips and scars in its body, most likely a result from other Pokémon.

"Shoot! Go, Machamp!"

"Out, Saigon!"

The two Pokémon landed in front of the Barbaracle. Saigon skittered back, intimidated by the huge, four armed Pokémon, but Theo's Machap charged forward.

"Saigon, Sand Attack!"

"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!"

The Barbaracle charged forward as Saigon threw sand in its eyes, temporarily blinded, the Barbaracle failed to see the Machamp's four fists come together to deliver a powerful punch. As the Barbaracle was reeling from the impact of the punch, the Machamp locked the Barbaracle's arm with his own.

"Saigon, return!"

Saigon, having done his job of stunning the Barbaracle, returned to his ball. Seth then sent out Arianna.

"Bubble Beam!"

Arianna breathed a stream of bubbles at the Barbaracle, it gave a roar and used Clamp, reversing Machamp's grip and pinning his arms.

"Come Machamp! Don't let this thing beat you!"

"Arianna, Sing!"

Arianna sang a stream of music as a pulse of waves. The waves washed around the Barbaracle and caused it to droop.

"Vital Throw!"

Machamp freed himself from the Bararacle and gripped it, he hefted the Pokémon over his head and threw him. The Bararacle slammed into a wall and snapped awake.

"Dynamic Punch!"

The Babaracle slammed its hands into the ground, creating a pillar of stone with Stone Edge. Machamp punched through the stone, and then another stone before slamming his fists into the Barbaracle.

"Bubble Beam!"

"Vital Throw!"

Machamp picked up the Barbaracle and held it in front of Arianna, who used Bubble Beam on it over and over again. The Barbaracle struggled to break free, but the Machamp was too strong. The Machamp then slammed the Barbaracle into the ground before unleashing a barrage of punches.

"Alright Vex, finish it!" shouted Seth, sending out his Tyrunt.

The Pokémon burst out of its pokéball and gave an angry roar as he charged at the Barbaracle. He slammed into the Pokémon and used Stomp on it, the Machamp holding it down. It then used Bite, scraping and chipping the body. Vex slammed his foot onto the ground and fired Ancient Power, finishing the Pokémon.

They returned their Pokémon, Vex giving a roar with his revenge complete.

"That was surprisingly easy," said Seth.

"To be fair, it was a wild Pokémon. And my Machamp is extremely strong as well. Considering the type advantage, it makes sense why this battle wasn't too difficult."

"It was also a two versus one. If only we had a grass type… wait, where's Peter?"

Seth and Theo looked around, but they didn't see the Phantump at all.

"He must've gotten scared and ran. But he's a wild Pokémon in a cave full of rock types, he should be fine."

"But we should still look for him. He's practically a member of the team."

"Right, let's go."

And that's the end of the episode! Sorry for taking so long, I had to redo a battle after realizing I broke the no Galarian Pokémon rule.