Plot-Scorbunny 3: Ruby vs. Nemona Part 2

Both dragons exchanged blows with each other, clawing furiously and kicking out at their opponents.

Soundwave blocked a swipe of Salamence's claws with his wing and clawed back in response. Salamence blocked the attack with its front leg and then lashed out at Soundwave with its tail. He walloped him hard in the face and sent him reeling backwards but the Noivern regained his balance and remained airborne. Soundwave retaliated by tail-whipping Salamence in the face himself. The Hoenn Dragon reeled to one side, surprised that Soundwave's tail had hit it that hard. Noivern weren't exactly the most muscular or robust looking Pokémon out there, especially compared to a Salamence and yet this one seemed to hit with all the strength and power of one! It was easy to tell this Noivern had been trained by a Champion! Even Nemona was impressed by the power of Soundwave.

"For a Noivern, that guy's got some power! I love it!" she said excitedly, "But we'll show them real power! Salamence, use Dragon Dance!"

Salamence tucked its limbs in and spun around on the spot. Orange energy flashed all around it as its speed and attack increased. Ruby narrowed her eyes with worry. This wasn't going to end well. She had to make sure Soundwave could finish the fight before Salamence could overwhelm him.

"Clever of you to teach it Dragon Dance. But power isn't everything." Ruby declared, "Use Dragon Pulse!"

Soundwave opened his jaws and blasted at Salamence with a powerful energy pulse in the shape of a dragon's head. Salamence had only just finished Dragon Dancing so it didn't have time to dodge and was blasted full on by the attack. Salamence cried out and was sent hurling into the ground below by the pulse. Nemona recoiled, impressed and astonished at the same time that Soundwave had scored a direct hit. Ruby wasted no time when calling an attack, that's for sure! Salamence picked itself up and shook off the pain. Despite the power of Soundwave's Dragon Pulse, Salamence was more than capable of carrying on. It flew back into the air and rushed towards Soundwave. Nemona ordered her Dragon/Flying Pokémon to use Outrage. Salamence coated itself in orange energy and rocketed towards Soundwave like a colossal draconian missile. Soundwave flew to one side to dodge the attack but Salamence didn't let him off that easily. It performed a U-turn and ploughed straight into the Noivern's back. With a guttural cry of pain, Soundwave was carried down to the ground by Salamence and the two dragons crashed down heavily, kicking up huge clouds of dust and nearly knocking both trainers off their feet. Emerald, Sapphire and Salma had to cover their eyes so they wouldn't get dust in them. They may not be battling right now but they could feel the tension of the two dragons brawling it out together on the field like so!

"At this rate, I'll be amazed if there's a battlefield left!" cried Emerald.

"That's Dragon-type Pokémon for you, always gotta show off their immense power!" Sapphire concurred.

"At this rate, anyone can win this battle!" Salma exclaimed.

The dust soon cleared and the spectators saw that in spite of that incredible hit, Soundwave was still conscious. Both he and Salamence were back in the air and circling each other, looking out for an opening on one another. Ruby made the first move by ordering Soundwave to use Air Slash next. Soundwave swiped the air with his wings and blades of wind cut into Salamence. They slashed at it multiple times as if someone was throwing multiple knives at it. Ruby wasn't aiming to just damage Salamence though. Air Slash could make the target flinch on occasion and Salamence did just that. It was currently unable to attack back so Soundwave was able to exploit that moment by firing another Dragon Pulse at his opponent. The multi-coloured energy pulse hit home and Salamence was sent reeling backwards from the blow once more. It crashed into a nearby tree and broke several branches. Amazingly, the tree had remained standing despite the size and weight of Salamence crashing into the top of it. Salamence pushed itself off the tree and back into the air, flapping its huge wings furiously.

"Flinching us are you? Well let's see how YOU like it!" Nemona cried hotly, "Use Iron Head!"

Salamence's head was covered in a protective metal sheet that made it look as if it was wearing a helmet of some kind. Salamence homed in on Soundwave and slammed straight into him with Iron Head. Thanks to Dragon Dance's earlier boost, it had been too fast for Soundwave to dodge. Soundwave crashed into another tree nearby and after he hit it, he held up his wings and hid his face, silently begging his opponent to stop attacking. Ruby wasn't surprised to see this. Of course Salamence knew Iron Head. It was practically an unwritten rule that all trainers must teach their Dragon-type Pokémon a Steel or Poison type move to deal with Fairy-types! She would've been shocked if Salamence DIDN'T know Iron Head! With Soundwave immobilized by flinching, Salamence seized its chance and used Outrage once again. It rocketed towards its opponent with energy surrounding its body. Soundwave wanted to dodge but his body wouldn't obey him. He was helpless! He screwed his eyes shut and braced for impact as Salamence closed in. Ruby looked away as Nemona's Pokémon collided heavily into her's. The impact was so powerful that Salamence knocked the tree over that Soundwave had crashed into. The tree came down with an enormous crash and it knocked down several other trees nearby. The sound of breaking wood and rustling leaves filled the air and the ground shook from the trees falling over. Nemona grimaced. She hadn't meant to cause that much of a mess with this fight! Luckily no Pokémon had been nearby so the trees hadn't crushed anyone when falling over.

"Soundwave! Are you OK?!" Ruby called out in worry.

She ran over to the chaotic scene and saw that Soundwave wasn't OK. Thankfully no serious damage had been caused but he was in no condition to fight any longer. He lay on top of the broken trees with his consciousness slipping away while Salamence stood to one side looking confused as a result of Outrage's side-effect.

"Salamence…superior…Soundwave…inferior!" Soundwave droned as he fell into unconsciousness.

Ruby patted his head softly and smiled sadly.

"You gave it your all mate. Take a good rest now." she said kindly.

She returned Soundwave to his Pokéball and returned to her position.

"Your Salamence is well-trained Nemona." Ruby complimented, "But you should be more careful when fighting in a place like this. You really could've hurt or killed someone by fighting so recklessly!"

"I know and I'm major sorry about that!" Nemona said, her voice racked with guilt, "I always get so carried away in my battles and don't think about this sort of thing! I'm just glad your Noivern's not too badly hurt after that!"

"I know, we were damn lucky those falling trees didn't do anything to him." Ruby muttered, "Just try to be a little more careful, OK? I'd hate to call off the match because I feel our Pokémon aren't safe."

"No arguments there, amigo!" Nemona agreed, "That'd be awful! Battles should be fun, not life-threatening!"

Ruby nodded in agreement. She was sure that Nemona had gotten the message and would fight more carefully from now on. They'd make sure not to send their Pokémon flying into trees to avoid any more damage. Now what to do next? Ruby considered her options.

Salamence has a double weakness to ice so Chomps's Ice Fang would do the trick. But that Dragon Dance will make it stronger and faster so Chomps might not survive long enough to land the hit. she thought, I should soften it up some more and THEN have Chomps finish it off! Luckily I have just the Pokémon to do it…

"Now that's done with, let's continue." the Galar Champion declared, "Freddy, you're up next!"

Her singing Toxtricity appeared on the field next and as usual, he immediately broke into song to make his entrance as flashy as possible. Nemona and Salma were spellbound as Freddy strummed his chest organs and broke into another song by his biggest inspiration to be a showman.

Cause thooooose are the daaaaaays of our liiiiiives.

They've flooooown in the swiiiiiiftness of tiiiiiime.

These daaaaaaays are all gone nooooooow but…sooooome things remaaaaain.

When I look and I find…no chaaaaaange.

"I've always loved watching Freddy perform when watching your battles on TV, but hearing him sing in person makes it even better!" Nemona cried.

"He really does nail that Freddy Mercury impression!" Salma concurred.

"Oh don't stroke his ego anymore girls, he's full of himself enough as is." Ruby joked, "You've heard him sing, now you get to watch him fight. Freddy, let's kick it up a notch with Noble Roar!"

"You got it, darling." Freddy purred, "Hey dragon breath, wait til you hear this noise…"

"Oh no you don't! Salamence, use Outrage to stop him!" Nemona cried.

But Salamence was still confused from Outrage's side-effect so it failed to carry out the order and only tripped over itself in its confusion. Now Freddy was in the clear, he let fly a tremendous bellow that nearly made everyone's eardrums explode. Salamence grimaced in anguish and all the humans had to cover their ears so the noise was less intense for them. The noise was loud, but it wasn't a damaging move. Nemona knew all too well what Noble Roar did for Toxtricity and Pyroar were well-known species of Pokémon who used the move and she'd fought plenty of them in her time. Salamence's body flashed blue for a moment as its Attack and Special Attack stats dropped down. Now Salamence's attack had dropped back to normal as if Dragon Dance had never happened.

"Aye Carumba! I should've expected that!" Nemona muttered, "Ruby's trying to soften you up so you can't fight at your full strength! Well that's not gonna work for we'll just use Dragon Dance to boost our attack back up!"

"No Nemi, don't do that!" Salma protested, "Ruby will just get Freddy to use Noble Roar and lower it back down again! If you do that, you two will just be in an endless cycle where one boosts their stats but the other lowers them back down again!"

"She's right you know." Ruby muttered, "Some fool tried that on Freddy in one of my title defence battles a year ago and it got real boring real fast so I had to break the stalemate by attacking. So let's not do that here, I still have the rest of my holiday to enjoy before we go home."

Nemona nodded. Dragon Dance was a no-go then. She'd just have to attack and rely on Salamence's natural strength to win the match. It would take more than a single Noble Roar to ruin her match!

"So the offensive it shall be!" the Paldean teen declared, "Use Rock Slide!"

Salamence stood up on its hind legs and spread out its wings as it created rocks out of thin air and brought them crashing down on top of Freddy. Each rock that crashed down felt heavier than the rest and Freddy was amazed that he was still conscious after that bombardment of boulders. He fell on his hands and knees but he soon picked himself up again and retaliated by using Overdrive. Freddy strummed his chest organs again and unleashed an electrified soundwave that threatened to obliterate anything in its path. The soundwave hit Salamence and simultaneously electrocuted it while also making its ears hurt. It roared in agony and keeled over to one side. Overdrive was already a powerful move but Freddy's Punk Rock ability made it even more so as it boosted the power of sound-based attacks. Nemona was amazed Salamence was even able to stand up again after that onslaught. She could imagine Ruby and the Ghost Gym Leader Ryme in an epic rap battle with their Toxtricity competing to see who was the strongest! She was sure Freddy would win effortlessly!

Salamence shook its head to try and stop the ringing in its ears. It had managed to snap out of its earlier confusion but the pain from Overdrive was still there. While it was still recovering, Freddy tried to attack again with Sludge Bomb. He opened his mouth and blasted exploding sludge balls directly at Salamence but the dragon Pokémon flew out of the way at the last minute. Despite its attack boost being brought down to normal, it still had its earlier speed boost from Dragon Dance so it was still going to be a speedy opponent to deal with. Once Salamence was airborne, Nemona ordered her Pokémon to use Outrage. Salamence took aim and launched itself towards Freddy as if fired from a slingshot. Bathed in draconian energy, Salamence soared down towards its opponent. Freddy recoiled and tried to use Sludge Bomb again but the bombs just exploded harmlessly against Salamence. It was coming in too fast and powerfully for the attack to do anything. It crashed down on top of Freddy and flattened him against the ground. The punk rocking Pokémon grunted and lay ironed out in the dirt as Salamence's Outrage hit. Then Salamence took flight and flew back into the sky to come for a second round of Outrage. It banked to the left and came around once more. It homed in on Freddy, threatening to flatten him into the ground again. The Toxtricity stood back up and Ruby ordered him to use another Overdrive as quickly as possible. Freddy just had time to launch his attack and Salamence cringed heavily as the electrifying soundwave punched into it a second time. It didn't stop Outrage but the attack had thrown it off slightly so Salamence hit Freddy but not quite as hard as before. Freddy was thrown backwards but he didn't feel too hurt from the impact. If was as if Salamence had only hit him with half an Outrage this time. The draconian Pokémon was down on all fours again and it panted heavily, quite worn out from its attack. It was also confused again from Outrage's side effect, which gave Freddy the advantage again.

"It's wide open! Use Sludge Bomb before confusion wears off!" Ruby commanded.

Freddy blasted his opponent once again and scored a direct hit. Every exploding sludge ball bombarded Salamence and knocked it to one side. The attack had failed to poison Salamence but the damage had still been done. It was beginning to look tired and that it might not be able to take many more hits. Nemona knew that Salamence was confused for now but she decided to take the risk and hope her Pokémon could land a hit. She ordered Salamence to use Iron Head. At first, the Dragon/Flying Pokémon didn't seem to have registered the hit and just giggled inanely. But then to everyone's amazement…it charged straight forwards and head-butted Freddy directly in the gut! Freddy coughed and spluttered from the hit and coiled up in fright as he flinched as a result of Iron Head. Now he couldn't move, Nemona commanded Salamence to use Rock Slide. Salamence blinked heavily…and its eyes returned to normal. Confusion had worn off and now it couldn't possibly fail. Salamence conjured up white orbs that transformed into rocks and sent them hurling down on top of Freddy once more. As a result of flinching in response to Iron Head, Freddy couldn't dodge them and was bombarded by the rocks. He was knocked down by the rocks and he didn't get back up again. He lay on the ground with a dopey grin on his face and his tongue hanging out.

"Toxtricity is unable to battle! Salamence wins!" Salma declared.

"That's a shame." Sapphire said solemnly, "Freddy put up such a hard fight. I really hoped he was going to win that."

"He's done his job though." Emerald noted, "Salamence is looking pretty tired right now. Maybe Ruby's next Pokémon can turn this around?"

The sisters watched Ruby as she returned Freddy to his Pokéball and drew out another one.

"Now for the next part of my plan." Ruby declared, "Chomps, time for you to return to the field!"

Nemona began to feel nervous. So Ruby had a plan this whole time? What kind of plan and had she fallen for it? Chomps the Drednaw reappeared on the field with no threat of an electric Pokémon to take her down this time. Despite the earlier damage from Pawmot, Chomps looked ready to fight again and didn't even seem all that hurt. The rest in her Pokéball had likely reenergized her.

"If you think my Salamence is scared of a Rock-type like Drednaw, you're wrong!" Nemona declared, "We have a contingency for that, remember?"

"I do, and you also remember that Drednaw isn't weak to Steel-types like other Rock-type Pokémon are, right?" Ruby retorted, "They're also half-Water too, you know."

Nemona slapped her forehead in annoyance. How could she have forgotten that?! She'd battled plenty of Drednaw over the years! So Iron Head wouldn't be super-effective against Chomps like she'd initially thought.

"OK so maybe we have no type-advantage here, but now your Toxtricity is gone, no Noble Roar and weaken us this time!" the Champion ranked trainer gloated, "Use Dragon Dance!"

Salamence obeyed and started spinning around through the air again with orange energy flashing around it. Ruby could see Nemona's plan. With Freddy gone, she was free to boost Salamence's attack and speed up with no Noble Roar to lower the attack back down again. But Chomps had the advantage in terms of type-coverage moves so this battle was still pretty even.

"Hit it with Stone Edge!" Ruby ordered.

Chomps roared loudly as she summoned a bunch of sharp rocks from nowhere and sent them rocketing towards Salamence as if they were missiles she was launching at an enemy fleet. Salamence was too late to dodge as it was just finishing Dragon Dancing so the stones hit their target. The sharp rocks cut into Salamence and left it with grazes and cuts all over its tough scaly body. Being half-Flying type made it weak to Rock attacks and Stone Edge was among the strongest of Rock-type attacks a Pokémon could learn. The last couple of rocks hit Salamence's wings, making them flare up in pain and causing it to descend back down on the ground as they were hurting too much to fly anymore. Salamence was back down on all fours but it wasn't down yet. Now Salamence was grounded, Ruby ordered Chomps to use Ice Fang. Chomps lumbered towards Salamence with her teeth coated in ice and an icy mist trailing out from her mouth. Nemona recoiled. Now she understood what Ruby's plan was! Chomps had an ice attack! If it connected, Salamence would go down for sure! Desperately, Nemona ordered Salamence to use Iron Head. Salamence's head was coated in metal again and it charged towards Chomps. It bashed her straight in the jaw with its iron-coated cranium and as ice wasn't effective against steel, Ice Fang did nothing against its metal head covering. Chomps skidded backwards, her mouth hurting from the impact. But this time, it failed to make her flinch for Ruby was able to order her to use Liquidation and she carried out the attack with no issue.

Chomps coated herself in water and then launched herself directly at Salamence. Nemona ordered Salamence to use Outrage in response. Both dragon and turtle Pokémon rapidly closed the gap between them and collided in a powerful charge of both Outrage and Liquidation. Both Pokémon were sent reeling back from the hits and the landed on their backs. Salamence was able to get up just fine but poor Chomps was struggling a little due to her shell. Thankfully, the shape of her shell prevented her from being stranded flat on her back but it still made it hard to get back up again. She flailed with her legs to try and push herself back over. Nemona was tempted to call an attack but something inside her rebelled against the idea. It just didn't seem fair to attack Chomps when she was stuck on her back for the moment. She respectfully stayed her hand and waited for Chomps to get back up. Eventually, the turtle Pokémon extended her neck and bit into the ground. Then she pulled as hard as she could to lever herself back onto her feet. It worked and Chomps was now back in action. Nemona resumed by ordering Salamence to use Outrage again. The dragon Pokémon charged towards Chomps in another mad rush that threatened to bash her out of the forest. But as Salamence closed in, Ruby ordered Chomps to use Ice Fang. With no Iron Head in play, Chomps would have no problem with this move. Salamence closed in and Chomps extended her neck so she could reach further and bite her opponent. Both attacks collided again and an explosion of energy and dust kicked up all around the battlefield. Everyone closed their eyes and looked away for the moment as the dust cloud swept over them.

Seconds later, the dust cleared and Ruby and Nemona saw the outcome of the battle. Salamence lay on the ground completely unconscious. Chomps remained standing despite panting heavily from the exhausting battle. Despite Salamence's great power, it had finally fallen in this battle.

"Salamence is unable to battle! Drednaw wins!" Salma declared, sounding surprised to be saying that.

"Just as I suggested!" Emerald exclaimed, "Yay, Ruby wins again!"

"It's Even Stevens for now." Sapphire noted, "Both sides have half their teams left. Chomps and Pawmot have both taken damage but both sides have two Pokémon each that haven't battled yet so this should still be interesting to see. It really could be anyone's game here."

"You got that right." Salma agreed, "And my sweet Nemi's really gonna be bringing in the big guns!"

The twins were surprised at this. They'd have said that SALAMENCE was already a case of "bringing in the big guns" and yet Salma had suggested Nemona had something more in mind! Nemona returned her Salamence.

"Rest well, amigo." she said softly as she put the ball away, "You know Ruby? Not many people manage to take my Salamence down. That thing's won me more battles than any other Pokémon I've collected over the years!"

"No kidding!" Ruby exclaimed, "I practically exhausted some of my resources just trying to beat it! I'm just wondering what else you've got left after that work out!"

"Then wonder no more!" Nemona said with an eager grin on her face, "Tauros, vamos!"

Her next Pokémon appeared on the field with a thunderous bellow and a loud snort of excitement. Ruby knew very well about Tauros for they could be found on the Isle of Armour back in Galar. But this Tauros looked different. It was completely black instead of brown and its horns seemed shorter, straighter and blunter compared to the Kantonian breed. Ruby remembered that this was the Paldean variant of Tauros. Over the course of their holiday, the Silverlock sisters had watched them running through the fields and fighting each other. It was an amazing sight for them to see a whole new version of Tauros. They'd also learned that Paldean Tauros were Fighting-types instead of Normal and two other breeds could be found with one being half-Fire and the other being half-Water. Nemona's was the pure Fighting breed. As Tauros eyed up Chomps, it made a threatening face at the Water/ Rock Pokémon and Chomps shuddered nervously. Just like Kantonian Tauros, Paldean Tauros had the Intimidate ability as well. Chomps would only be fighting at a fraction of her strength now her Attack had fallen.

"So it's Paldean Tauros next." Ruby muttered, "This'll be a tough one I'm sure. But if I play my cards right, I should still win this fight…"

She ordered Chomps to use Liquidation. She hoped that its additional effect of lowering Defence would soften Tauros up and allow her to win the fight. Chomps covered herself in water once again and charged towards Tauros. Simultaneously, Nemona ordered Tauros to use Raging Bull. It was the signature move of Paldean Tauros and the type of attack it was depended on the breed. Tauros lowered its head and charged forwards, its hooves creating a thunderous noise as it stampeded towards Chomps. Both opponents collided with each other but as Tauros was fighting fit and its attack was super-effective, Tauros kept on going and pushed Chomps away while Chomps's attack barely even slowed it down. The Water/Rock Pokémon was knocked back and she skidded to a painful halt on her stomach. Tauros then pawed at the ground and charged a second time. Chomps couldn't even stand up in time as the charging bull slammed into her with its horned head again. Chomps was thrown backwards and she crashed down onto her side and grimaced. Ruby would see that Tauros was much too strong for Chomps and Chomps had been weakened from her previous battles. But she didn't want to swap in just yet. She had to soften Tauros up for her next Pokémon.

"We gotta make this count old girl!" Ruby cried, "Use Earthquake!"

Chomps picked herself up and stomped down on the ground. At least this attack allowed her to fight from a distance so she wouldn't have to get up close and personal with Tauros. The massive shockwave hit Tauros and the ground seemed to explode under its feet, throwing it up into the air a few feet. Tauros mooed wildly as it found itself suddenly airborne. It crashed down heavily and grunted, wondering if it had broken any bones from that fall. Tauros stood back up and shook off the pain, only to get hurt all over again as Chomps suddenly collided into it with Liquidation. She ploughed straight into her opponent and sent it skidding back. Tauros shook itself dry as the attack had drenched it and Nemona retaliated with Tauros's most powerful move.

"Time for the finisher my charging companion!" she declared, "Use Close Combat!"

Tauros stampeded towards Chomps with its eyes glowing red. The ground seemed to shake as it charged towards its opponent. Seeing no way she could dodge the attack, Ruby ordered Chomps to retreat into her shell and spin around. Hopefully the spinning manoeuvre would deflect some of the impact and lessen the damage. Chomps did so and spun around on the spot as fast as she could. Tauros crashed straight into her and lashed out with a flurry of scraping hooves, head butts and kicks. Chomps's spinning barely did anything to stop the blows from coming but there was one moment where Tauros kicked Chomps so hard that she spun away, ricocheted off a nearby tree and crashed back into Tauros. Both Ruby and Nemona were surprised that had happened and they watched as Tauros skidded to a halt on its side and Chomps landed back in the arena. She came back out of her shell…but she was no longer conscious. She'd been knocked out completely before she'd even been sent spinning away and off the tree. Her crashing into Tauros came off as revenge for knocking her out as a result.

"Drednaw's unable to battle! Tauros wins!" Salma announced.

"Whew. I thought we'd never beat her!" Nemona gasped, wiping her forehead, "That Drednaw's such a tank!"

"That's my darling Chomps for you, she bites hard and takes hits in return." Ruby said affectionately as she returned her to her Pokéball.

She smiled softly at Chomps's ball and thanked her for a well thought battle. The stage had been set now. Tauros had taken some damage and the side-effect of Close Combat now left it with lower defences than before so it wouldn't be able to take many hits. And she had just the Pokémon to finish the job…

"I like to save him for last but here goes." Ruby declared, "Bugs, you're up next!"

To everyone's surprise, Ruby's starter Pokémon and ace-in-the-hole was now on the field. This was especially unusual as Ruby often saved Bugs for last when in battle. But Emerald and Sapphire knew straight away that there was a good reason for it. Ruby's only other Pokémon she had left was Lancelot, a very foolish decision to use against a Fighting-type like Paldean Tauros and Bugs at least had type-coverage for Fighting-types so in this case, Bugs was literally her only option. If Bugs couldn't win this fight then Nemona would have the match wrapped up in a neat little bow.

"Alright! Now we're talking!" Nemona cried excitedly, "Fantástica! Now I get to fight your ace Pokémon! And I bet it's gonna be epic!"

"Oh any fight with Bugs is guaranteed to be epic." Ruby declared, "Especially as he often tends to win them for me! Bugs, use Zen Headbutt!"

"Comin' right up, Ruby!" Bugs declared, "Get a load of dis for a charge!"

His head glowing pink to signify his Libero ability changing his type from Fire to Psychic and he charged towards Tauros, sprinting at top speed and moving so fast that Tauros barely had time to blink. Bugs charged straight into Tauros and scored a direct hit. Tauros was thrown off its hooves and it crashed down onto its side. The psychic energy from Zen Headbutt disoriented it slightly but it shook itself off and charged into Bugs with Raging Bull. Tauros charged into Bugs but because his type had changed to Psychic, the attack barely even scratched him. He was hit but the most he did was stagger backwards rather than get thrown off his feet. Nemona was puzzled as to why Bugs seemed to withstand the hit but Ruby quickly filled her in on his Libero ability.

"Nuts. So Fighting moves won't even scratch him now." she muttered, "Pity my Tauros hasn't got any Dark moves it could use. No matter, I have other powerful attacks at least! Use Earthquake instead!"

Tauros stomped the ground with its hooves and sent a huge shockwave thundering towards Bugs. With his current typing, Earthquake as Tauros's best option as it was the strongest move it currently knew. But Ruby was ready for that as she ordered Bugs to avoid it with Acrobatics. The soccer bunny Pokémon performed multiple flips and somersaults through the air, dodging the Earthquake and his head glowed bluish white to signify that he'd now changed into a Flying-type. Nemona groaned in annoyance. Now he not only resisted Tauros's Fighting moves, he was immune to Earthquake because of this! Her options had become severely limited.

"Guess I only have one attack left that I can actually use…" she muttered, "Use Iron Head!"

Tauros charged towards Bugs with its next attack. Ruby anticipated such a move. Of course Nemona would teach Tauros a Steel attack just in case it was up against a Fairy-type! But as Tauros closed in, Ruby ordered Bugs to use Acrobatics a second time. The lapin Pokémon Performed his acrobatic feats again and jumped all around Tauros, dodging its Iron Head no matter how many times it tried to hit him. Every time it charged, he flipped over it and landed behind it. Then Bugs roundhouse kicked the bovine Pokémon in the legs, tripped it up with said kick, then drew his arms back and delivered a double flat-palmed strike to the back that sent it hurling through the air and crashing into some nearby bushes. Tauros flattened the bushes and sent leaves scattering everywhere. It lay still and didn't get back up again. Bugs just grinned conceitedly and chewed on a carrot to celebrate his victory.

"Gosh, ain't I a stinker?" he sneered.

"Tauros is unable to battle! Cinderace wins!" Salma declared.

"You did it again Bugs! Great work!" Emerald cheered.

"That Libero ability really makes Bugs such an unpredictable opponent." Sapphire complimented, "Tauros didn't stand a chance!"

Nemona returned Tauros to its Pokéball and thanked it for its hard work.

"That Cinderace is tricky, I can see that much." Nemona observed, "But this next Pokémon's even trickier! Clodsire, vamos!"

She threw her sixth Pokéball and brought out the last Pokémon that Ruby hadn't seen yet. This was especially unusual for her for this Pokémon bore a heavy resemblance to Quagsire back in Galar, but it was clearly a different Pokémon altogether. Clodsire was the evolved form of Paldean Wooper, a Poison/Ground variant of the regular Wooper species. Clodsire looked like a big bulbous salamander with stubby limbs and a tail and a large mouth. It had six spots on its back that could stick out large spines whenever it was attacked. Clodsire weren't the strongest Pokémon ever but they were very good at taking hits. Clodsire grinned at Bugs with a blank, dopey smile on its face.

"So it appears we're against Quagsire's Paldean cousin or something like that." Ruby joked, "It looks like a Ground-type so if I keep you as a Flying type, we'll be safe."

"Is that so…?" Nemona purred cryptically.

Ruby soon saw how wrong she was when Nemona ordered Clodsire to use Stone Edge. Clodsire tensed its body up and caused a bunch of sharp rocks to rise up from the dirt around it and then shoot towards Bugs. Bugs tried to dodge them with Acrobatics but he could only dodge so many at once before some of them started to cut into him. Some of the rocks hit and he was sent reeling backwards from the impact. He landed on his feet but he briefly stumbled onto his knees, grunting in pain. Ruby's mouth formed a straight line as she took in the situation. So Clodsire could cover Flying-types that would often be used to avoid its Ground attacks. Remaining Flying-type was a no-go for this battle. She instead told Bugs to use Zen Headbutt. Bugs's head changed to pink as Libero changed his type to Psychic once more. He ran straight into Clodsire and head-butted it as hard as he could. Despite the power of the super-effective move, Clodsire seemed to tank the blow with no issue. It skidded backwards but otherwise had barely moved from its spot as Bugs hit it. It was even still smiling dopily at him as if to say, "That tickled! Ha, ha, ha!" Ruby weighed up her options.

She's still got Pawmot left and I don't want to wear Bugs out. I need him to fight that thing or else I'm toast! Lancelot won't be any good against a Fighting-type! I best switch out and have Lancelot take out Clodsire. At least I know Lancelot can take a hit… she thought.

And so she did just that. Bugs was recalled for the time being to be saved for later and Lancelot the newly evolved Kingambit was sent out next. This got everybody excited. Now they'd get to see what Lancelot could do now he was a Kingambit. Nemona frowned. While Lancelot's half-Steel typing would nullify her Clodsire's Poison attacks and make its Stone Edge useless as Rock attacks weren't very effective, it did mean Lancelot was weak against Clodsire's Ground attacks. So why had Ruby sent him out? She was sure Kingambit had no coverage against Ground-types. But Ruby wasn't in it to exploit a weakness to Ground-types…

"Given it's half Poison, this'll be the perfect time for you to show off your powerful Psycho Cut!" Ruby shouted.

Lancelot jumped to his feet and sprinted towards Clodsire with the blade on his head glowing pink. He then swiped at the air with it and sent a blade of psychic energy whooshing towards his opponent. Clodsire was a bulky, heavy Pokémon with tiny stubby limbs so it couldn't even attempt to dodge the attack. The Psycho Cut sliced into it and left Clodsire wincing in pain. Nemona was puzzled by this.

"Hang on a sec! How can Lancelot do that? The Bisharp line can't learn Psycho Cut!" she protested.

"They can in Galar." Ruby informed her, "I don't know if it's any different here in Paldea but we Galarians can teach the Bisharp line Psycho Cut. I guess Pawniard and Bisharp in Galar have a different biology to Bisharp in Paldea?"

"They must do because no Pawniard, Bisharp or Kingambit can learn that here." Nemona confirmed, "If we want type-coverage for Fighting-types, we have to teach them Zen Headbutt. I know that Top Champion Geeta did that for her Kingambit, as did my sweet Salma."

Ruby raised her eyebrows with interest. She recalled Nemona mentioning just yesterday that Geeta had a Kingambit of her own. Should they face each other, it would be interesting to see how her's battled compared to her own. The teens put all thoughts of Psycho Cut and Geeta aside and returned to the battle. Clodsire had managed to shake off the pain from Lancelot's earlier Psycho Cut and it retaliated by using Earthquake. At least it could actually use it now Lancelot wasn't a Flying-type because of Libero like Bugs earlier! Clodsire lifted its tail up in a slow lazy manner. But it brought it down with a heavy crash, showing that its slow, ponderous movements didn't mean it wasn't packing a lot of strength. The tail slammed the ground and the Earthquake punched through the terrain towards Lancelot. Lancelot braced himself for impact and cried out as he was thrown upwards by the power of Earthquake. It felt as if some powerful force had erupted under his feet and was trying to break him apart. As he was airborne, Ruby commanded Lancelot to spin around and use Psycho Cut. Lancelot tucked his knees up to his chest and spun forwards, becoming a red, black and silver ball in the air that had a pink glowing spike protruding from it. The blades of psychic energy whooshed from Lancelot and hit Clodsire. Due to him spinning, it caused multiple blades of psychic energy to emerge at once and they hit Clodsire over and over again. The Poison/Ground type Pokémon tried to take the hits but every psychic blade that hit it drained more of its energy and endurance. Nemona could tell that Clodsire wouldn't last much longer but she had just the idea to make its time on the field count.

"We may not beat Lancelot, but we can hopefully give Pawmot a chance against Bugs!" Nemona cried, "Set up Toxic Spikes!"

Clodsire tensed its body and arched its back. Purple poisonous spikes shot up from its back and planted themselves on Ruby's side of the arena. Lancelot landed back on the ground. Of course, the Toxic Spikes would do absolutely nothing to him but the spikes weren't for him. Ruby could see Nemona's strategy. She was hoping to weaken Bugs when she sent him out next by poisoning him with Toxic Spikes so Pawmot would have an easier time defeating him. The spikes would also make Ruby think twice about switching Lancelot for Bugs when Pawmot came out as Bugs would only get poisoned anyway. Clodsire was still active both sides could see it wasn't going to last much longer. Determined to weaken him further, Nemona ordered Clodsire to use another Earthquake. Simultaneously, Ruby ordered Lancelot to use Psycho Cut again. Both attacks hit their opponents and they were knocked off their feet. Lancelot landed just in front of Ruby and skidded to a halt. Clodsire stumbled backwards and slumped on its stomach. Lancelot got back up. Clodsire didn't. Another battle had been won for Ruby and Nemona was down to her last Pokémon. The Paldean teen returned Clodsire to its ball and she thanked it for a hard fought battle. She drew out her last remaining Pokémon.

"I'm counting on you amigo. I know you'll win this for me." she said softly, "Time to wrap it up Pawmot!"

Her Electric/Fighting Pokémon returned to the field looking refreshed and ready to fight again despite the damage he'd taken from Chomps and Soundwave. Ruby considered her options for the moment. Logically, she should return Lancelot straight away and just send Bugs out again. But Clodsire's Toxic Spikes would poison Bugs and the poison would likelier sap away his health and make it easier for Pawmot to beat him. And had Soundwave and Chomps's earlier efforts softened it up enough for Bugs to win? No, it was best to keep Lancelot in action. He had no chance of actually winning, but he could weaken Pawmot for Bugs so even if he was poisoned he would still win the fight.

"It's risky, but I'll have to keep you for the time being." Ruby acknowledged, "With your Psycho Cut, I'm sure you can hold your own well enough."

"Oh Psycho Cut won't do anything to Pawmot anymore." Nemona declared, "Not after I do this…"

She whipped out her Tera Orb. Salma's eyes twinkled excitedly.

"Oh boy! It's that time again!" she exclaimed, "Time to Terastilize!"

"Now we'll get to see how it works…" Sapphire murmured.

Nemona held out the Tera Orb. She closed her eyes for the moment as if tapping into the orb's power. Then it happened. Energy built up in the Tera Orb and streams of stars spiralled seemingly from nowhere into the orb. Nemona's arm seemed to shake as if the power was so intense that she had to use every muscle in her arm to keep it steady.

"By the power invested in me and all of Paldea! It's time to TERASTILIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZE!" Nemona shouted.

She threw the orb and it landed on top of Pawmot. As it did so, it seemed to form a crystalline coating that covered his entire body and radiate a yellow glow. Pawmot flexed his muscles and cried out with ecstasy, enjoying the power boost he'd gotten from his Terastilization. His crystal armour sparkled in the light.

"Look at him! He's so sparkly and shiny!" Emerald exclaimed with awe.

"True that Em, but I doubt Nemona did that just to make him look pretty." Ruby muttered, "It'll give all his electric moves a power boost since from the looks of things, its Tera Type is Electric." she added, taking in the yellow glow Pawmot radiated.

"Correct!" Nemona confirmed, "And as of now, he's no longer half-Fighting! He's pure Electric now so Psycho Cut won't be super-effective anymore!"

"Maybe not, but Lancelot still hits like a truck anyway so Pawmot's not in the clear yet!" Ruby declared, "Use Kowtow Cleave!"

Lancelot threw himself down on his hands and knees and sent a huge blade of dark energy sweeping towards Pawmot. Nemona didn't even bother telling him to dodge for it was pointless. Kowtow Cleave never missed. Pawmot was hit by the attack and he reeled backwards as Kowtow Cleave cut into him. He brushed himself off and retaliated by using Arm Thrust. Pawmot scampered towards Lancelot and drew both his arms back. Lancelot turned around and let his large metallic hair take the punishment for him. Pawmot struck him several times with a flat-palmed strike, each one feeling like being hit by a sack of rocks. Kingambit may have a double weakness to Fighting attacks but they were also quite endurable so even a Fighting attack wasn't guaranteed to one-hit KO them. Lancelot's hair also cushioned the blows quite well so Pawmot wasn't doing as much damage as Nemona hoped for. In response, Lancelot spun around and hit Pawmot side on with Brick Break. Pawmot cried out from the hit, almost winded by the blow. He was knocked aside and as he lay on the ground, still stunned from the hit, Ruby ordered Lancelot to use Iron Head next.

Lancelot lowered his head and charged into Pawmot. He hit him full on and sent the small electric marmot flying backwards. Pawmot crashed down at Nemona's feet, making the Paldean teen leap back in fear of being knocked over by him. Pawmot stopped before he could trip her over. Despite the powerful blow, he wasn't down yet. He got back up again and scampered back into action. Nemona ordered him to use Double Shock next. Pawmot pounced on Lancelot with his crystal armour crackling with electricity. He punched Lancelot once and then twice with his Tera-boosted Double Shock causing more damage than it would've done before. Lancelot might've withstood the blow had Pawmot been fighting normally, but this was a terastilized Pawmot. Its Double Shock was strong enough to take out the remainder of Lancelot's health. The mighty Kingambit crashed down onto his back and passed out. It was now all down to Bugs to finish the fight. Ruby returned Lancelot to his Pokéball and looked down at him.

"You've set a fantastic first impression, mate." she complimented, "I'm already enjoying your new form. You take a good rest now. Bugs will take it from here…"

"This is it everyone!" Emerald piped eagerly, "Both trainers down to their first Pokémon! Starter vs. Starter! This is gonna be so cool!"

"And maybe Ruby will Terastilize Bugs to even the odds…" Sapphire mused.

"She'll have to if she has a hope of defeating Pawmot." Salma insisted.

Ruby sent Bugs out to conclude the battle. The fire rabbit appeared once more on the battlefield but his entrance was ruined as the Toxic Spikes infected him instantly and poisoned him. Nemona grinned excitedly. This was the advantage she was hoping for! Hopefully now, the poison would make Bugs easier for Pawmot to take down. Bugs winced from the poison but he refused to show any signs of weakness. He would win this battle no matter what! Ruby fished out the Tera Orb that Salma had lent to her and looked at it.

"OK…let's see if this works." she murmured, "Bugs…prepare to Terastilize!" Ruby declared, holding the orb up high.

The orb absorbed Tera energy and filled up rapidly, so much so that Ruby nearly dropped the Tera Orb in surprise. She forced herself to keep a hold as the orb filled with energy. Once it was done, she threw the orb at Bugs just as Nemona had done it to Pawmot. The orb hit Bugs and coated him in crystalline armour that glowed a bright crimson colour that only made him look even hotter than he already was. Bugs was amazed at this transformation. This was nothing like Gigantamaxing back home!

"Criminitly! I'm all crystal-y and sparkly!" he exclaimed, "And I suddenly feel as if my fires are burning hotter than ever!"

"It's no Dynamax or Gigantamax, but I'll admit…this is really fucking cool!" Ruby gasped, "Wow, this is what you Paldeans do to spice up your battles!"

"You bet and it never gets old no matter how often we do it!" Nemona cried, "Let us have ourselves one final fruitful battle to finish up! Tera Electric vs. Tera Fire! What do you say?!"

"I say let's have a Champion time!" Ruby shot back, "Bugs, let's see what a Tera boosted Pyro Ball is like!"

Bugs kicked up a pebble and kicked it from one foot to the next until it grew into a football-sized orb of flames. He launched it straight towards Pawmot and scored a direct hit. The Tera boosted attack felt as if Pawmot had been hit by a runaway boulder and he was thrown off his feet by the hit. He crashed down onto his back and skidded to a halt. He jumped back to his feet and fought back with Double Shock. Ruby recoiled. Hang on, Double Shock could only be used once because the user was no longer an electric type when it was used! How could Pawmot be using it again? Then she realized. Pawmot's Terastilization likely prevented him from losing his typing because a Pokémon that terastilized became whatever its Tera typing was. So in this form, Pawmot could use Double Shock more than once, which was no doubt very handy for it. She also imagined this would nullify Bugs's Libero ability as well. Pawmot scampered towards Bugs and punched at him twice with electricity exploding from his body. Bugs grunted from both blows and staggered backwards but he refused to go down. Even the poison from Toxic Spikes kicking in and sapping away some more of his health didn't make him want to give up.

Ruby ordered Bugs to use Pyro Ball again. The terastilized Pokémon kicked another Pyro Ball towards Pawmot and blasted him off his feet once again. But as Pawmot was knocked backwards, her somersaulted and aimed straight downwards as Nemona ordered him to use Dig next. Pawmot dug down into the ground and shortly afterwards, he erupted from underneath Bugs and uppercut him in the face. Pawmot were fast diggers, much too fast for any Pokémon to listen out for so Bugs couldn't have avoided the move if he'd tried. Bugs crashed down onto his back and Pawmot tried to use another Double Shock on him but as he closed in, Bugs retaliated with High Jump Kick. He swung his knee straight up and hit Pawmot in the gut. The resulting hit knocked him backwards and he landed on his back again. Both opponents stood up again and Nemona ordered Pawmot to use Arm Thrust. Ruby ordered Bugs to fight back with Zen Headbutt. The electric marmot landed heavy flat-palmed punched on Bugs but Bugs fought back with a psychic powered head butt. This cycle went on for about a minute with one punching and the other striking back with his head. At one point, Bugs's Zen Headbutt collided with Pawmot's Arm Thrust and they staggered backwards from the resulting clash. Nemona commanded Pawmot to use another Dig. Pawmot dug down into the ground again but unlike the first time, Bugs was more prepared for him. Ruby ordered him to use Acrobatics so that when Pawmot emerged from the ground, he'd be safely out of the way. Bugs did so and as Pawmot shot back up from underground, he missed as Bugs was currently somersaulting through the air. Both sides landed back on their side of the arena and turned back to face each other.

Bugs and Pawmot were clearly at the last reserves of their strength at this point. They were panting heavily and looking quite exhausted. The poison in Bugs was sapping away more of his strength but even without it, he still would've been looking tired. Ruby and Nemona could sense the battle was going to be decided right here and right now.

"Stay strong Bugs! We can do this!" Ruby cried in support.

"Keep it up Pawmot! We've got this! Just one more move!" Nemona shouted encouragingly.

Both Pokémon nodded to their trainers and turned back to each other. They braced themselves for the epic finish that they would no doubt be ordered to carry out.

"One more time Bugs! Use Pyro Ball!" Ruby screeched.

"Finish it up with Double Shock! Let's goooooooooo!" Nemona shrieked.

Bugs and Pawmot launched their attacks at each other, both boosted by their Tera Types. Pyro Ball and Double Shock collided together. The resulting collision of electricity and fire created a massive explosion of energy that threatened to consume the forest. Everybody had to look away and shield themselves from the explosion. Nobody could see anything for the time being as smoke and dust blanketed everything. The girls were all covered in dust from the explosion but they were otherwise unharmed. Ruby and Nemona brushed the dust away and looked ahead worriedly.

"Bugs? Are you OK?" Ruby called out.

"Pawmot? Speak to me buddy!" Nemona cried.

The smoke cleared and they could see that both Pokémon were lying on their backs. Their crystal coverings had gone, meaning their Terastilization had ended. But could any of them get back up again? It looked as if the fight would be ending in a draw. Salma decided to give both sides two minutes to get back up just to give them a chance to recover. If Bugs and Pawmot remained as they were, the match would be declared a tie. Salma watched her phone as the seconds ticked by. Emerald and Sapphire watched with baited breath. The silence that followed this tense wait to see who had won was so much that everyone swore they could hear their own hearts pounding. Just as time ticked down with fifteen seconds to go before two minutes as up, Bugs suddenly twitched and everyone watched as he slowly started to sit up. Then he pushed himself up onto his feet. He couldn't stand up all the way as he was too worn out but the fact he could stand up at all was enough for Salma. Pawmot still didn't move so it was clear who the winner was.

"And that's the match!" she declared, "The winner is Ruby! Many congratulations to her for such an epic battle!"

"Gosh, we actually did it?!" Ruby exclaimed, "I was sure we'd lost this one!"

"And yet…we haven't!" Bugs grunted.

Emerald and Sapphire threw themselves at Ruby and grasped her into a big congratulatory hug. They were so proud of their big sister for winning the battle.

"You did it again Ruby! Is there anything you can't do?!" Emerald exclaimed.

"How did it feel using Terastilization?" Sapphire asked, "It sure looked amazing, that's for sure!"

Nemona just picked up Pawmot and stroked his head affectionately. Pawmot gave an apologetic smile to her in return.

"Hey, don't sweat it. You fought awesomely out there." Nemona said kindly, "You rest up now."

She returned Pawmot to his Pokéball. As she did so, Salma came up to her and hugged her in support.

"Hey Nemi, you're still a winner to me." she said kindly.

"Heh…I know." Nemona said graciously, "Thanks Salli. You make all my losses feel much less crushing whenever you're around."

She approached Ruby and shook her hand in congratulations.

"Absolutamente fantástica amigo!" Nemona complimented, "That was the most exciting match I've had since the day Salma become Champion of Paldea! Holy frijoles, I'm still buzzing with excitement over all that! All the epic action and the counter strategies and…Gah I want another battle!"

"Maybe some other time." Ruby said sheepishly, "My Pokémon could do with a rest after that work out and remember, we're still on holiday right now. Who knows, maybe you could come to Galar and battle me on my home turf, so to speak." she suggested.

"I'll take you up on that!" Nemona accepted, "I'd love to see what it'd be like to Dynamax my Pokémon. At the same time, are you still open to the idea I suggested of you battling La Primera?"

"Oh definitely." Ruby said brightly, "If your Top Champion's anywhere near as touch as you claim she is, I'm up for it. But we'd rather carry out the rest of our holiday in peace, if you don't mind. If we ever come again, I'll challenge Geeta. Or maybe she can come to us and challenge me then."

"We'll suggest those options to her." Salma offered, "In the meantime, you enjoy the rest of your holiday. If you want, we can wave you off when you go home."

"Sure thing." Ruby said happily, "And maybe in the future, I could battle you, Salma. I'd love to see what your team can do."

"I'd be up for that too." Salma agreed.

The girls all shook hands with each other and parted ways. The Silverlock sisters went back to their holiday to make the most of it before it was over and Salma and Nemona went back to Cabo Poco to enjoy a nice rest together.

The second week went by and now it was time for the Silverlock sisters to go home. As promised, Nemona and Salma came to the airport to wave them off. The sisters waved back to them as their plane took off and headed on back to Galar. They'd had a lovely time in Paldea and were already planning to come back in the future. That time would come sooner than expected. After they'd left, Nemona and Salma came to Geeta and proposed an exhibition battle between the two to take place in the future. The chairwoman of Uva Academy's board took this in with interest.

"A most interesting offer, fellow students." she purred, "I'd happily challenge Miss Silverlock to a battle. Let's see…" she checked her schedule for the best date to host the match, "I'll be able to arrange the match to take place a couple of months from now. She proved herself a powerful Champion against you, Nemona, but she hasn't seen anything until she faces the Top Champion…"


It was a tough fight but Ruby is the winner! She's gotten a taste of a Champion ranked trainer, but can she handle the Top Champion herself? Tune in to Pokémon Plot-Scorbunny 4 in where Ruby will battle Geeta next time...and yes, her team won't suck this time around. XD

Trivia: As mentioned last time, Nemona uses a Pladean Tauros here. It's a reference to the game's opening in where we do indeed see her using one to battle another trainer's Muk. It sucks she doesn't ever use one when fighting us and I wonder why she'd ever pick Pokemon like Orthworm or Dudunsparce over it. Hopefully the DLC will let us see Nemona use one and maybe also show us what her previous Champion winning team was so we have canon confirmation instead of me just speculating as I am here. ^^

The battle also had a different outcome originally in where Nemona was going to use Salamence last and the battle would've ended with Chomps vs. Salamence but I felt this outcome was more satisfying and logical to play out with Ruby and Nemona battling with their starters and all, so Bugs vs. Pawmot had to be the final clash.

Also, I just realized how funny it is that Ruby uses her Cinderace which she nicknamed "Bugs" to fight against Tauros, a Pokémon based on a bull. If you don't get it, there's a cartoon titled "Bully for Bugs" which sees Bugs Bunny go up against a bull. Accidental Looney Tunes reference for the win! XD

Also Nemona is correct here in how the Bisharp line can't learn Psycho Cut in the Scarlet and Violet games while Ruby is correct in how they CAN learn that move in Sword and Shield, hence how she is probably the only trainer in the world to have a Kingambit that can use Psycho Cut. I have no idea why GameFreak has made it so the Bisharp line can't learn that move in Scarlet and Violet, not even through breeding. Psycho Cut gave it great coverage for Fighting-types and it's more useful than Zen Headbutt thanks to an increased critical hit ratio and perfect accuracy so why would they nerf the line by making them unable to learn it anymore? It's so dumb. X( The Weavile line also can't learn it in Scarlet and Violet anymore either, which sucks because that line REALLY needs it!

I also feel that the Terastallize phenomenon looks...well, kinda goofy with those big head pieces so in this universe, my depiction of Terastallization involves crystal armour with no head piece and that it ups the defence stats of your Pokémon as well as making their STAB moves stronger. You ask me, that's the REAL way they should've done it!