Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, only Pokémon owns me.

Author's Notes:

•Special Attack and Attack are fused into one stat.

•Special Defense and Defense are fused into one stat.

•Self-Destruct and Explosion only cause Pokémon to faint, not die. That would be way too dark otherwise and would serve no point in a trainer using those moves unless they're sadistic, which is not something that I'd want to write or talk about.

Now on with the fic!

Chapter 4 — Crush You Like a Bug:

When Tristan woke up in the room they had booked in the Pokémon Centre the next day, he was surprised to find that Gideon was missing. Quick to jump to conclusions, he hastily got changed into his usual attire and went down by elevator to the ground floor. He went into the battle court in the back garden of the Pokémon Centre, where Gideon was residing. Tristan could see that he had some of his Pokémon out with him, which were his Scizor, Krookodile and shiny Magnezone. Tristan could assume that these Pokémon were what Gideon would be using, but he knew that Gideon was far too clever and far too flexible with his repertoire of Pokémon to do that.

Gideon: "Mornin'. How you doin'?"

Tristan: "I'm good. Are you seriously training for our Gym Battle at half 8 in the morning of all times?"

Gideon: "Well, you know me. We could head over to the gym now if you'd like, seeing as you're already up and have your Pokémon with you. Also I'd rather start the battle than have someone eavesdropping on my training."

Tristan: "Good idea. Well, whatever you've got, I'm game."

The two started walking to where Gideon's Gym was. It was a rather hot day, so Tristan and Gideon were starting to sweat even from light walking. The former broke the silence between the two, which had been due to the two trainers being lost in thought, thinking about battle strategies.

Tristan: "How early did you wake up?"

Gideon: "I woke up at 6:00. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I decided to get dressed and start training with my Pokémon. It was something like 8:45 by the time you came."

Tristan: "Geez, do you have a sleep schedule at all?"

Gideon: "I usually go to sleep early and wake up early and yet everyone's always jumping to conclusions, thinkin' I'm an insomniac."

The tall Gym building suddenly appeared in front of their eyes, an elegant display of metals and metal alloys bent in a thousand different intricate shapes.

Gideon: "I suppose our battle would start sooner if you entered the Gym by now."

This flung Tristan out of his thoughts, and he instantly went through the automatic sliding doors, and stepped foot into the compound, and subsequently the battlefield.

The two trainers got onto the opposite ends of the battlefield, and the referee entered from above via a descending compact elevator that was normally hidden from view. The tech systems installed onto this Gym must've cost a fortune, not to mention the brainpower and skillset required to install them. Tristan knew that Gideon worked on such advanced systems in his spare time for fun, so it was inconceivable to think that it could've been installed by anyone other than him. He was almost sure that it was also designed by the Steel-type specialist as well.

The referee announced the rules just in case, clarifying the battle being three-on-three, which caused the two trainers put their hands on their Poké Ball.

"May the match begin!"

Tristan: "Come on out Ariados!"

Gideon: "Let's go Excadrill!"

Tristan: "Ariados, use Sticky Web on Excadrill!"

Gideon: "Use Dig to dodge it."

Gideon smirked at himself, with Tristan unaware with the reason being that his opponent had faced the same exact opening strategy several times before. Excadrill drilled herself into the ground before the web could land on the part of the ground where the Pokémon previously was, and by the time it had stuck to the ground, Excadrill had burst forth from the ground and directly hit Ariados, sending him flying.

Tristan: "It's like you're a psychic. How did you do all of that in less than ten seconds?"

Gideon: "Well let's just say that you're not the first person to have started a battle with me using that move."

Ariados suddenly dropped onto the ground, luckily managing to land on the Sticky Web he had fired onto the ground.

Tristan: "Well we'll just have to try harder then. Use Pounce and then switch into Giga Drain!"

Gideon: "Counter it with Drill Run!"

Ariados leaped into the air towards his target, but before Giga Drain could hit, Drill Run spun at him, sending him flying across the room. Ariados landed almost in front of Tristan and fell, forcing him to evaluate his battle strategies that he'd put in place yesterday when training.

Gideon: "Y' know, as a challenger you can substitute him for someone else on your team."

Tristan: "I trained with him after you guys went to bed yesterday for hours till he finally evolved. I'm not about to give up! Ariados, use Pyschic to send Excadrill forward!"

Excadrill was thrown forwards, causing Gideon to be taken by surprise. Man, Tristan was either an insomniac or selflessly dedicated, though in fact he was inclined to believe that it was both.

Gideon: "Hit him with Drill Run!"

Tristan: "Counter with Sucker Punch!"

Ariados rapidly clawed back before Drill Run could activate, sending Excadrill backwards in the air. With all of this happening at a low height in mid-air, Excadrill crashed onto the ground and partially through it, creating an imprint, while Ariados landed back on his claws with a new form of confidence apparent in his flair. He moved his pincers against each other, as if smiling.

Gideon: "Nice move. But we still have a long way to go. Use Sandstorm and then Earthquake!"

Tristan: "Bounce onto the Sticky Web while using Pounce to go upwards and use Sticky Web on the ceiling to attach yourself onto to dodge Earthquake."

Ariados wasted not a single second, catapulting himself onto the ceiling and attaching himself onto it. He was entirely safe here, and Excadrill, being a heavy Pokémon with few options in her movepool to cover much distance in the air, could not attack him head on. Tristan was aware that a projectile could hit, and that Sandstorm would slowly chip away Ariados' health, but nonetheless it was still easy to dodge moves from up here and fairly easy to hit back with projectile-based moves in return.

Tristan: "Use Pin Missile!"

Gideon: "Rock Blast!"

The two moves collided with each other mid-air, creating an explosion which masked the battlefield entirely. Now it wasn't just Sandstorm obscuring his vision, but the large amounts of smoke as well. Both Tristan and Gideon, as well as the referee, started to cough slightly.

Gideon: "Use Rapid Spin to clear the smoke."

Tristan: "Use Psychic to hold and slam Excadrill onto the ground!"

Excadrill started floating mid-air from the purple telekinetic aura, being unable to activate Rapid Spin, before being momentarily let go and then being slammed into the ground. In that momentary edn to the attack, Rapid Spin had been activated, making the slam have more momentum when connecting with the ground. Tristan's plan was working. Just then, the smoke cleared up.

Gideon: "Nice one. Now try beating Scorching Sands, especially with Excadrill's Sand Rush ability now activated."

Before Tristan could even reply, Scorching Sands hit, causing Ariados to fall down onto the ground from the considerable height that was between the battlefield and the ceiling, evident that Sand Rush had activated, causing Excadrill's speed to be doubled.

Gideon: "NOW USE EARTHQUAKE!"

Gideon's sudden confident battle roar echoed through the battle venue before the attack shook the battlefield and hit the Long Leg Pokémon, flinging the Bug-type onto the wall behind Tristan, with Ariados then colliding off of the wall onto the ground.

Tristan: "Please get up!"

Ariados used Pounce to get up and then attack without being commanded, but Gideon then commanded his Excadrill to use Earth Power, which was flung straight at the Bug-type, sending him flying once more. This time, however, Ariados could not get up.

Referee: "Ariados is unable to battle. Gym Leader Gideon wins the round. Challenger Tristan, please send out your second Pokémon."

Tristan: "You did really well, I'm so proud of you! You deserve a nice long rest, Ariados. Now, let's go, Skiddo!"

Gideon was impressed by the bond between the two, and was also intrigued not just at Tristan's choice for his next Pokémon, but by the fact that said chosen Pokémon sparkled once it came out of the Poké Ball and had irregular colouring. Tristan clearly had lots to him considering he owned a shiny Skiddo, which was now jumping excitedly around his trainer. He almost seemed hyper.

Gideon: "Nice work with Ariados, you put up a good fight even when using a Pokémon with a clear disadvantage against Excadrill on almost all levels. Let's start this off with Drill Run!"

Tristan: "Counter with Rollout, and then use Brick Break!"

Rollout collided with Drill Run, and broke through the piercing bullet-shaped stance that Excadrill had been in. The Mount Pokémon then hit the Subterrene Pokémon with a Brick Break using his hind legs, which was super-effective.

Gideon: "Fight back with Metal Claw!"

Tristan: "Use several Energy Balls in rapid succession to stop Excadrill and then fight back with Horn Leech!"

The first Energy Ball was cleanly sliced through by Metal Claw, creating a small, light cloud of smoke around Excadrill. However, this proved to be an issue, as Excadrill could not time her next reactive Metal Claw attack right, with Energy Ball hitting her across the face. Then another came, and then yet another, creating the opening needed for Skiddo to use Horn Leech, which forced Excadrill backwards. The Pokémon's size meant that neither the momentum nor the power was quite there, but Gideon could tell that Skiddo was really strong. Really, really strong. He even seemed unusally quick for his species, and not just hyperactive either, like he'd assumed earlier. In fact, the attention of the Pokémon was clearly there, and clearly one of his exceptional traits. Gideon would have to rethink his strategies on the fly.

Tristan: "Now use Leech Seed and then use Leaf Storm!"

Leech Seed hit the ground, forming flexible yet strong and durable vines that held Excadrill in place while slowly sapping away at her health, and then Leaf Storm hit, cutting off the vines and sending the heavy Pokémon flying back in the air for the first time during this match. Excadrill got up, visibly hurt but still able to battle.

Gideon: "Use Drill Run to move forward quickly and then switch into Poison Jab!"

Tristan said nothing to his Pokémon, and had an illegible poker face. Not that it would've been easy to notice at this distance from his opponent. Just moments before Excadrill was about to strike, the teen finally gave a command.

Tristan: "Now use Rock Slide on all sides facing you and use Bulk Up!"

Rock Slide created rocks falling from the sky that quickly obscured Skiddo from view, with the Pokémon now using Bulk Up. That's when it hit Gideon that the whole purpose here was to protect Skiddo whilst he raised his attack and defense, and the rocks had piled up enough that Poison Jab was not breaking through them fast enough. Worse, the Sandstorm had just subsided, turning off Sand Rush and decreasing the power of Ground-type moves back to normal. As if on cue, that's when Tristan announced another set of moves.

Tristan: "Use Dig to move as far away from Excadrill as possible and then use Grassy Terrain!"

Skiddo swiftly used Dig, resurfacing moments later far away from the slow Excadrill, and then used Grassy Terrain. Unbeknownst to Gideon, Grassy Terrain not only was slowly healing Skiddo and had decreased the power of Excadrill's Ground type-moves while increasing the power of Skiddo's Grass-type moves, but it also raised Skiddo's Defense due to his ability, Grass Pelt. Tristan had never imagined how he could've bested someone as strong as Gideon, but now here he was, making up strategies that synergised with the battle extremely well while taking an extremely powerful and extremely experienced trainer by complete surprise.

Gideon meanwhile was kind of scared to think just how lopsided this Gym Battle had started to be for him. He had thought at the start of the whole Gym Battle that Excadrill would've eliminated Ariados rather easily, but Tristan's Pokémon had instead somewhat worn down his Excadrill before being knocked out. It had gone even worse when Tristan had sent out Skiddo, who had so far not taken even a single hit whilst continuously wearing down Excadrill. On the more positive side, though, Tristan was certainly a really interesting person, who seemed to be a very competent battler that had very close bonds with all of his Pokémon. It was almost like quality over quantity when it came to Tristan's Pokémon, seeing that Jackson had tonnes of Pokémon that he owned, whilst seeming somewhat clumsy at times with his battling.

Gideon: "Use Rapid Spin to build up speed and then Metal Claw back-to-back against Skiddo!"

Tristan: "Use Rollout against Rapid Spin and then Brick Break back-to-back!"

Man, Tristan was always full of surprises. That's what made this battle so fun for Gideon, despite being so surprisingly one-sided.

The two attacks collided, breaking Excadrill's stance, and before she could hit back with Metal Claw, Skiddo hit back with his horns, with Brick Break hitting its intended target over and over again. Excadrill looked like she couldn't take this much longer. That's when Gideon had a plan.

Gideon: "Use Earth Power!"

Before either Skiddo or Tristan could respond, Earth Power launched literally centimetres away from Skiddo's face at him, sending him slightly back though still on the ground.

Gideon: "Now try Scorching Sands!"

Tristan: "Jump to dodge it and then finish it off with Solar Beam!"

Skiddo quickly jumped away from the danger and started emitting a short green beam above his head, building up power and momentum for the attack. Tristan knew that this was risky, but considering the fact that Skiddo was only hit once so far and that Excadrill was really tired and extremely close to fainting, he figured that she couldn't respond in time.

Gideon: "Use Scorching Sands once more!"

Unfortunately for Gideon and Excadrill, when the latter began firing Scorching Sands, Solar Beam launched, cleanly slicing through the Subterrene Pokémon's move and dissipating it before it hit Excadrill with an impact so powerful that it echoed throughout the large battling room. The large Ground- and Steel-type beast fainted, falling to the floor with a loud thud that shook off some of the earth from the ground, turning it into dust.

Referee: "Excadrill is unable to battle. Challenger Tristan wins this round. Gym Leader Gideon, please send out your second Pokémon."

Gideon: "It's your turn, Magnezone!"

The Magnezone appeared with a flash of sparkling stars and had a lighter-coloured gray body with brown magnets and a blue eye instead of red. This was an interesting situation to Tristan. Shiny Pokémon versus shiny Pokémon. He could get behind that.

Gideon: "Start off with Discharge!"

Tristan: "Use Dig to dodge the attack!"

Skiddo burrowed himself underground, with Discharge unable to hit him at all, and then he reappeared away from Magnezone, facing its back.

Tristan: "Use Energy Ball!"

Gideon: "Electro Ball!"

The two spheres of energy collided with each other, cancelling out both attacks, with the resulting explosion causing a momentary puff of smoke to appear.

Gideon: "Thunderbolt!"

Tristan nodded to his Skiddo, pointing out that he should use Dig again. The Mount Pokémon complied, once again easily dodging the attack and appearing far away from Magnezone. Gideon realised that Skiddo's Dig was part of the entire problem he'd faced with the last round, with Rollout also proving tricky to deal with. At least Magnezone's Gyro Ball could deal with the latter. But what to do with the former? He quickly formulated an answer. This plan was perfect.

Gideon: "Use Electro Ball again!"

Tristan didn't even raise his brow this time, with Skiddo immediately burrowing into the ground for what was now the third time in a row. Unfortunately for Tristan, that proved to be his undoing.

Gideon: "Slam onto the ground repeatedly using Gyro Ball!"

Before Skiddo could come out of the ground, Gyro Ball hit with great speed, forming cracks on the ground that caused the earth to collapse onto Skiddo. Another Gyro Ball hit, shaking the whole earth around him. Then another one hit. As did another hit, and so did yet another. With a penulltimate slam, Skiddo was launched completely out of the ground, before a final Gyro Ball hit, sending him flying backwards.

Tristan: "I should've known that you were bluffing with that second Electro Ball."

Gideon: "Well, using someone's own false sense of security against them is a great weapon. But another great weapon is this: use Body Press!"

Before Tristan could reply with anything of his own, Magnezone swiftly appeared, and slammed itself down onto Skiddo, repeatedly crushing him.

Gideon: "Well this'll do nicely at close range: use Discharge!"

Tristan: "Counter with Wild Charge!"

Despite being stuck under the Magnet Area Pokémon, Skiddo mustered the strength to use the move, pushing the Pokémon back enough to get away. Discharge still hit, but it was nowhere nearly as strong as it would've been otherwise, and only a small part of the wave struck the Mount Pokémon.

Gideon: "Nice one. Let's try Flash Cannon!"

The attack hit in an instant, with Tristan unable to issue a command in time. This was certainly proving to be more difficult.

Gideon: "Again!"

This time Tristan was prepared. He shouted, "Use Rollout!" just in time, with Skiddo immediately using the move. The Flash Cannon bounced off the moving rocky sphere arround Skiddo, deflecting it back at Magnezone, who was wholly unprepared for such a scenario. Man, Tristan was full of surprises.

Skiddo continued the Rollout, coming closer and closer to Magnezone, until-

Tristan: "Now use Brick Break!"

Skiddo swiped his horns at the still-recovering Magnezone, hitting it with great force.

Gideon: "Use Discharge!"

Discharge sparked all around the magnetic Pokémon, hitting Skiddo quite roughly. Magnezone would not stop, and Skiddo was being repeatedly struck, until Tristan had a plan.

Tristan: "Use Rollout again!"

This time Discharge only partially reflected back off of Skiddo, owing to the move being a wave, but nonetheless it forced Magnezone to halt its attack. Tristan was now able to do basically anything as Skiddo was literally next to Magnezone, meaning that by the time Gideon could say anything Skiddo would've already struck Magnezone.

Tristan: "Use Leech Seed and then Horn Leech!"

True to his thoughts, everything panned out accordingly. Magnezone was pulled down onto the ground violently, with Leech Seed now slowly draining its health while pinning it down. Skiddo then started to attack with Horn Leech, repeatedly striking the exposed parts of Magnezone not covered by the parasitic vines.

Gideon: "Use Gyro Ball and then Electroweb!"

By this point, Horn Leech had hit at least a dozen times, and had been partially healing Skiddo. Gyro Ball cleanly cut through the vines, allowing for Magnezone to levitate again and dodge Skiddo's moves, and it then launched Electroweb, covering Skiddo. Worse, Grassy Terrain's effect had just worn out, with the green aura disappearing from the battlefield, with only the new blades of grass any sign to suggest that someone had used the move previously.

Tristan: "Get out using Rollout!"

Rollout had turned the Electroweb to only the front-facing hemisphere of Skiddo, but then Gideon motioned at Magnezone to fire another, causing the Mount Pokémon to be trapped inside the electric webs, which were damaging Skiddo. It started firing more and more around Skiddo, trapping him and causing further and further damage. There seemed to be nothing that he could do, as ending Rollout would mean that the webs would get even more entangled and would wrap around him even more.

Gideon: "Use Discharge!"

Skiddo was losing his health from the Electrowebs so rapidly that Discharge fully penetrated through the Rollout, damaging him even further. If nothing could break through the webs, Skiddo would definitely faint in several more moves' time. Tristan was so wrapped in his thoughts that his mood was clearly visible, with a worried, sour expression lining his face.

Just then, a flash of light started to appear from inside the Electrowebs, and Skiddo stopped using Rollout. Tristan was at first scared, but then realised something else. Skiddo was growing, his legs were broadening and becoming stronger, and his horns started lengthening and becoming pointier and more laid back. Skiddo was evolving into Gogoat!

Suddenly, Skiddo, no, Gogoat leaped out of his electrified cage, tearing apart the webs and causing them to explode. The webs were way too small to capture and confine Gogoat, who broke through them with all of his strength and might. Before Tristan could issue a command, Gogoat used Leech Seed on Magnezone, lowering and confining it to the ground, and then launched Earthquake, which really seemed to damage Magnezone.

Gideon: "Congrats on your Skiddo evolving into a Gogoat, but I still have one trick left up my sleeve. USE EXPLOSION!"

Magnezone brought about a huge explosion, tearing apart the vines holding it in place and making it faint. When the clouds of smoke that were created from the move disappeared, both Magnezone and Gogoat appeared to have fainted.

Referee: "Both Gogoat and Magnezone are unable to battle. This round is a draw. Challenger Tristan and Gym Leader Gideon, please both send out your third and final Pokémon."

Tristan: "I choose you, Mothim!"

Gideon: "In that case, I'll choose you, Skarmory!"

Tristan: "Start off with Air Slash!"
Gideon: "Start off with Air Slash!"

Gideon: "We'll just have to see whose Air Slash is better then."

Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for the two of them, the two pairs of Air Slashes collided with each other and were cancelled out, creating a momentary smoke that also gave Gideon a momentary opportunity.

Gideon: "Use Steel Wing and then Drill Peck!"

Skarmory swooped in from the smoke with great speed and hit Mothim with his wings, creating an audible metallic slash. He then latched onto the Moth Pokémon's wings using his clawed feet, and began an assault of repeated Drill Pecks.

Tristan: "Use Psychic to launch Skarmory backwards and then use Shadow Ball!"

Skarmory was not ready enough to dodge Psychic, and so being close enough, he was flung back slightly, and then a second or so later, Shadow Ball hit, further sending the mettalic bird backwards.

Gideon: "Flash Cannon!"
Tristan: "Psybeam!"

The two moves collided in the air, once again fizzling out, and this time creating a much bigger and much more long-lasting cloud of smoke. Not keen on letting the same scenario happen again, Tristan commanded Mothim to go through it to cloak Mothim.

Tristan: "Use Flash!"

Now normally Flash would be uised to lower an opposing Pokémon's vision to decrease their accuracy, but with this cloud of smoke in place, Flash would only be bright enough to be noticeable, and not at all blinding. But like a moth gets drawn to the light, Tristan was using the move to lure Skarmory into a trap, making Tristan's clever move look like a rookie mistake to give Gideon a false sense of confidence.

Gideon: "Use Brave Bird towards Mothim!"

Gideon smiled, looking confidently sure of what was to come. Sure, Tristan proved to be a very capable battler, but he also at times made mistakes. To Gideon, this was another one of those. That proved to be his undoing.

Gideon: "Now use Psychic to throw Skarmory to his side and slam him to the ground!"

Despite the incredibly powerful attack from Skarmory, Psychic was enough to disorient him, and allow for the move to gain full control of the Armour Bird Pokémon, hurling him away and onto the ground with a sharp thud. No doubt the recoil of Brave Bird had done some significant additional damage to Skarmory. Now that Skarmory was far enough from Mothim and unable to attack in time, Tristan could follow through with the second part of his plan.

Tristan: "Use Sunny Day and then Quiver Dance!"

Sunny Day was set up in about five seconds, creating artificial sunlight, and there was enough time in between Gideon's motions and words for Skarmory to get up that Mothim could use Quiver Dance to boost his attack, defense and speed. The last of the smoke cleared just in time for Gideon's comeback.

Gideon: "Fly towards Mothim while using Icy Wind!"

Skarmory chased after Mothim, with Tristan motioning for his Pokémon to fly away to dodge the cold air generated by the metallic bird. A chase between the two part-Flying-types was ensuing.

Tristan: "Use String Shot while spinning around and aim it behind you!"

Mothim started to barrel roll mid-air, and began aiming String Shot behind himself while flying forward. With no time to react at such a high-speed chase, the look on Skarmory's face was palpable, with the Moth Pokémon's move quickly covering him up and tying him around like strings of spaghetti. All of this caused the Armoured Bird Pokémon to slow down to a halt and fall downwards. With only 2 centimetres and 0.2 seconds to spare, the metallic bird finally broke free from his confines, slicing the string with his sharp sword-like wings. However, he quickly produced the same expression he'd given only moments earlier, as another, altogether different attack hit him this time.

Tristan had called out in the midst of his opponent's Pokémon's struggle for Mothim to use Solar Beam, which thanks to the Sunny Day that had been set up earlier immediately charged up and was swiftly fired at Skarmory, connecting with the Pokémon and hurtling him backwards. It was powerful enough to have caused Skarmory to be thrown to the ground and cause his head to hit the earth several times in quick succession before being sent backwards in such a way that the Armoured Bird Pokémon's entire body continuously scraped the ground. All of this, ironically, made Skarmory look like a squashed bug lying on the ground.

The referee checked to see Skarmory's status, and was honestly surprised to see that the Pokémon was still able to continue. Skarmory got up, but was visibly almost incapacitated, with his eyes only half-open and bruises visible everywhere. Even the glossiness of the metallic body and especially around the wings was becoming muted, with patches of matte covering more than half of the area with an additional set of patches composed of dirt and scratches lining up the Pokémon.

Gideon: "Use Rock Slide on Mothim!"

Tristan: "Use String Shot to tie up the rocks and throw them back at Skarmory!"

Mothim caught the rocks that had been intended to fall onto him and wrapped them up with String Shot, and then catapulted them back towards Skarmory, who by now was so tired that he could not move out of the way. The rocks hit him and further damaged him, opening up an opportunity for Mothim to use a final move.

Tristan: "Finish it off with Solar Beam!"

The beam once again instantly charged up and fired at Skarmory, this time sending him back far enough to hit the wall with full force. It was definitely over now. Tristan had won. He had immobilised Skarmory.

Referee: "Skarmory is unable to battle. Challenger Tristan wins the round and the Gym Battle, winning the Stilisthorn Gym Badge."

Tristan: "Let's go, I did it! I do have to ask though, how did you get so good at this? You've really tired my brain for the day, and yet it's only 9:30? This was so much fun."

Gideon: "Likewise, that was an amazing match to battle in. You're really talented at this, you know. Don't let Jackson put you down as being less experienced just because he's taller than you and is a September kid while you're born in February."

Tristan: "Thank you so much."

Gideon: "You too. I have to say this easily belongs to one of my top ten favourite battles I've ever had. And just so you know, when I say that to you about age, I mean it. Consider yourself endorsed by someone who's 3 years older than your friend. That'll teach him to emasculate you next time."

Tristan: "Wait, you're 19? I thought you were our age considering you look like you're 5'5"."

Gideon: "5'6" actually, but yes, people do mistake my age sometimes. I've been this height since 16, so I'm not surprised you said that."

Tristan had so many questions to ask now, considering that his friend's age meant that he had a considerable amount of experience behind him. He couldn't wait to discuss all of them while going back to the Pokémon Centre. After remembering to give the Stilisthorn Gym Badge to Tristan, the two of them started walking away from the battlefield, with the sliding doors opening to let them out. Gideon knew he'd opened a whole can of worms, but he was in fact glad to do so as they'd have lots to talk about when going back.