Ascendant

by Dragonridr21

To climb to the summit of Mt. Coronet, you have to start at the foothills. Follow the journey of the Platinum Hero as Dawn of Twinleaf Town sets out for the peak of the Pokémon battling world. Along the way she'll encounter amazing Pokémon, sinister plans and the mysteries hidden behind the legends of the Sinnoh region.

18. The Fire Within

Chapter 18: The Fire Within

Dawn's head rested on her arms, staring out across the plain gray table to the plain gray walls in the plain gray interrogation room. Only a few months into her journey and she'd seen far too many of these things. Her arms twinged with pain as she adjusted her head; the old wound from Salamence's talons had scabbed over thanks to Togepi and the days of running, but she now had a layer of light burns over her lower arms and a few on her face, with a couple more serious ones on her arms and legs where she'd run afoul of falling embers.

The Rangers who found her told her it was a miracle she was alive at all. She could barely remember them pulling her to her feet and escorting her to the city through the haze of exhaustion, but at least she'd been patched up before they stuck her in here. She'd given the police a basic overview but hadn't been thoroughly questioned yet. She knew it was coming. In the meantime, she'd see if she could sneak a nap in.

The door opened and three people walked in. Dawn blearily pulled her head off her arms and looked up. No, not three people; two people and an Infernape. It was quite large for its kind, standing the same height as the red-haired man who walked beside it. It carried the unmistakable air of power; the fiery crest on its head flared high and Dawn felt the temperature rise even a few feet away.

Dawn shook her head to clear it, then looked a little more closely at the red-haired man. Her eyes went wide and she sat up straight, restraining herself from gawking with effort. That was Flint, of the Elite Four! The Infernape must be his cornerstone! She'd seen so many recordings of this man's battles and watched him on television any chance she could get. Now he was here in front of her!

"Yo! Nice to meet you Dawn. I'm Flint, and this is Infernape and Chief Jenny," Flint said with a wide smile, gesturing to his companions. "Do you mind if we ask you about what happened today? You're the only person we've found who was anywhere near the area when the blaze started."

"T-that's good. Y-yes, I can tell you what happened," Dawn said, stifling both the stutter that wanted to manifest and the huge yawn building at the same time. They took seats opposite her, Chief Jenny taking out a small legal pad and pen to take notes, and Dawn started her tale: "It really started around four days ago, I think- I kinda lost track of time. But it started when I was attacked by a group of trainers at the start of Route 215…"

It was like talking to Looker after the Valley Windworks all over again. Flint and Chief Jenny were good listeners, only interrupting when they needed clarification or wanted extra detail, like who had known about Togepi before J attacked. Dawn talked and talked and talked; she was half-proud that she only had to stop and yawn twice. She'd thought it would be hard to talk about what she'd seen, what she'd been through. Maybe it was just the exhaustion, the fact that it hadn't had time to sink in, or that she was telling Flint of all people, but she made it through the story without any problems.

Eventually she made it to the part where J had fled: "I was hiding in the stream and J was yelling for me to come out, to give up Togepi or we'd all die for nothing, and suddenly there was this… beam, of orange light. Like compressed fire. It hit the airship-"

"That was my Magmortar," Flint said with a grin. "She doesn't take kindly to criminals. So she hit the airship and J decided to cut her losses? We shot at her a couple times after that, but that Salamence ducked down below the trees for a while, then managed to make it to the airship."

"Yeah, I heard her tell the ship to drop the failing engine and flee as soon as she got there."

"Too bad," Flint said, grin morphing into something harder, with a sharp edge of disdain. "I'd have liked to let Magmortar have her fun with that scum. What happened next?"

"She made it to the ship and it… vanished somehow, like light crawling across it. One moment it was there, then it was gone. I dragged myself out of the stream, then I think I must have collapsed. It's… been a long few days."

Chief Jenny cut in for the first time: "So you've told us. Thank you for your report, Miss Hikari. I assure you, the Veilstone Police Department will do everything in our power to bring these criminals to justice. You're free to go, but please stay near a phone in case we need follow up. I'd recommend staying in the city for a few days while we make sure J won't come after you again." She gathered up her notepad and pen, nodded once, then swept out the door, already calling out orders.

Flint stood up but lingered, looking at Dawn with a warm smile. "Sorry about Jenny, she's just got a lot to do. We've been searching for Hunter J for ages, but this is the clearest sighting we've had in a long time. I was already in the area, and they called as soon as they saw her Salamence. If they can track her down, I'll burn her and her operation to the ground." His smile became eager for a moment before softening again. "You did good kiddo, really good. No one's ever escaped J before to my knowledge. She didn't get the target even after chasing you for days, and after burning down a huge swath of Route 215 right outside of Veilstone? You beat her, fair and square! I'm impressed."

Dawn managed a smile at the praise, a warm flame lighting in her chest. "Thank you sir! It means a lot."

"One day when you've got that Fennekin trained up, let's have a battle. I wanna see what you two can do together; you've got determination in spades!" His grin was eager again, and his Infernape smashed one fist into its open palm, an identical smile visible on its simian face. Their enthusiasm was infectious; Dawn's grin became eager to match.

"I'd be honored!"

Flint nodded to her one last time and made to go, but Dawn's hesitant voice behind him made him look back: "Sir, what happened to those Pokémon that the Hunter shot with her arm cannon? I've never seen anything like that before."

Flint fully turned to face her, and there was a blazing spark of anger in his eyes. "J uses an older method of stasis to freeze and display her captures. It was invented around the same time as the Pokéball, but it was discarded and banned not long after. A Pokémon can't resist it at all, like they can a Pokéball; they're fully conscious but unable to see or move, and the freezing process is painful for the Pokémon. It's rare technology since it was never developed much to get rid of the issues; J is the only person known to use it." He wore a full-on scowl now. "She likes it since it's easily portable and the Pokémon can't fight back, though it's less effective on powerful Pokémon. If she tried to use it on Infernape here, or something like a huge Gyarados, it wouldn't take effect unless she knocked them out."

Infernape growled, the angry sound making the hairs on Dawn's neck rise; the ones on her arms had been burnt off. Flint patted his partner on the arm and turned back to Dawn. "Stay away from J, okay Dawn? You're a strong trainer, but you saw how ruthless she can be. She stole that airship and her other technology from the League years ago, and she's been attacking trainers for their rare Pokémon ever since. If you ever see her again, call for help immediately. I promise, we'll be there in a flash, if we haven't taken care of her already!" He graced her with one last grin before heading out, Infernape following in his wake. With the fire-type's departure, the temperature in the small room dropped at least ten degrees.

Dawn pulled herself to her feet, hands falling to the empty slots where her Pokéballs normally rested. She needed to check on them at the Pokémon Center, then get some sleep. As she dragged herself out the door and toward the entrance, all she could think was that this wasn't her last encounter with the Hunter. Not by a long shot.

Dawn was tired of being chased, being afraid, being prey. Going forward, she wanted to be the hunter.

#

Dawn stepped out of the Pokémon Center and flinched in the morning light, taking an involuntary step back into the doorway of the Center and raising a hand to shade her eyes. It felt wrong to be going out in the daylight. Her heart pounded at the idea of walking out there where everyone could see-

She shook herself, directionless fury welling up inside. Stupid. It was a beautiful early morning and there was no one here who wanted to hurt her. J was long gone, chased off by Flint. She could walk in the daylight just fine. She forced herself to take a step forward, then another, then to lower her hand and look up at the blue sky above. The only things above were a few Wingull enjoying the light breeze off the ocean.

She relaxed a little, turning left and heading towards the training fields south of the city. They'd lost so much training time during their flight down Route 215; her team needed a lot more training before Dawn would feel ready to challenge Maylene. They'd already spent yesterday sleeping, healing, and recovering from the chase. Today, she had plans.

The thought cheered her up and she started to look around at the city as she walked. Veilstone was truly the "City Hewn from Rock." It was a dense cityscape built on craters and rocky mountainside, the roads rising and falling constantly with only a few flat patches to be seen. The buildings loomed above, a mix of giant skyscrapers, warehouses, housing, and shops. In the distance she could see the ocean and a small port servicing a few cargo vessels. The seas were rough out here and the rocky shore didn't support beaches like Sunyshore City. Far in the distance to the west Dawn could see the famous meteor field and made a note to go visit soon.

The entire city was surrounded by hills and mountains, leading to an isolated, industrial feel, like Jubilife. This was a city proud of its independence and the living they eked out of a harsh landscape. Movie theaters, Contest halls, casinos, battlefields, stores, and more lined the streets as Dawn continued her trek through the city, a relic of the time before Pokétches and similar technology reduced Veilstone's isolation. When the people rarely left the city, myriad entertainment options were a priority.

The crush of people in the streets slowed her down, but Dawn eventually made it to the training fields… only to find them packed with trainers, the sounds of battle, moves, and explosions audible from several streets away. Was every trainer in Veilstone out here practicing? It wasn't like Hearthome, there weren't any contests coming up they had to prepare for!

Annoyed, Dawn searched around the edges of the expansive field for a spot where her team could train. It took half an hour before she got lucky and another trainer left, allowing her to seize a small area by the treeline. She grabbed at her Pokéballs and released everyone at once, smiling as they stretched and greeted her with myriad cries. Togepi immediately reached up with tiny arms, squeaking for Dawn to pick her up.

Dawn hoisted the little Fairy type into her arms, hugged her close for a moment, then looked out at the team. "Okay guys, we lost a lot of training time over the last week. I'd like to be out of here in a week's time so we don't fall too far behind my planned travel schedule, which means we've got a week or less to beat Maylene and earn our fourth Gym badge. What do you think? Think we can pull it off?"

They all nodded or cried out in assent, expressions eager. They were just as determined as Dawn to show that J couldn't slow them down. "We'll need to train hard then! Pair up for five-minute warm-up matches, best of three hits wins, then we're working on move training. You all know what you're working on. I'm going to do some research; come find me if you're having trouble with something or don't know what to work on. Zephyr, you come sit with me. No training for you today."

Zephyr squawked in outrage, but Dawn leaned over and lightly poked his left wing. He winced and Dawn gave him a Look. "And that's why. Nurse Joy said no battling for three days at least. Today and tomorrow you'll have to sit out, but the day after tomorrow we can start doing some light move training with Air Slash. Got it?"

Zephyr gave her a sullen look that didn't match his usual boisterous personality but hopped over to her while the others paired off. Dawn watched him with no small amount of worry; how in the world was she going to make him sit still and not overexert himself for two whole days? She shuddered, remembering the conversation she'd had with Nurse Joy the night before last:

It was close, but we think he'll recover. Staravia are hardy, but in this case it was nearly his undoing. The bone started healing wrong, and we had to re-break it so that it could set right before we started the accelerated healing process. He went through two Full Restores before it healed correctly. It'll be horribly sore for the next few days, and he shouldn't fly on it at all for at least a day or it might be weakened permanently. For two days after he should only do the lightest flying, absolutely nothing difficult; he'll probably tire quickly anyway. After that he can do light training, but if you can, keep him from hitting anything with his wings for at least a week.

Dawn shuddered again at the thought of Zephyr losing the use of one of his wings. He'd come far too close already. Only the miracles of modern medicine saved him from months of recovery or a permanently disabled wing.

Togepi poked at her with one arm, sending a pulse of pain through Dawn's healing burns, but it did give her an idea. "Hey Zephyr, can you play with Togepi for a little while? I need to do some research on Maylene," Dawn asked, turning to the Staravia. Zephyr cocked his head to the side for a moment, then shrugged and extended his uninjured wing. Dawn smiled, setting Togepi on the ground and letting her toddle towards her playmate for the day.

She left them to it, sitting down with her back to one of the trees, comfortably cool in the shadows of the forest. Even in Sinnoh the summer heat was relentless, so the shade was welcome. She pulled out her Pokédex and began to search for videos of Maylene's battles, pulling up whatever information she could on the gym leader. There wasn't much to find to her surprise; Maylene had only been Veilstone's gym leader for a little less than a year, taking over for her father, so there weren't as many videos or interviews publicly available as there were for other gym leaders with longer tenures. All she could find was some basic biographic information, that she trained Fighting-types, and a few short videos of challenges from at least seven months ago.

Dawn watched them with an analytical eye, taking notes on when and how she used her Pokémon. It looked like she often used a hulking Machoke to wear down powerful opponents before pulling out her powerful Lucario to finish them off. She'd have to plan for both Pokémon. If Zephyr recovered in time, he'd probably be the best one to deal with Machoke; he could stay out of range of those powerful punches. If she wanted to play to type advantage, Morgana might be the best for dealing with Lucario, especially if another team member wore it down first.

She looked over at where Morgana meditated in the middle of their area, the low whooping growls of her Lucky Chant audible under the sounds of the others training. A small flame burned in front of her, hanging unsupported in the air. Dawn could feel the heat from here, a sure sign she was getting stronger. Yes, Morgana would be a good choice to deal with Lucario, especially if they could nail down Psybeam before the battle.

Dawn glanced over at Aries next. He was working on Bulldoze; wherever he stomped, the ground rumbled and sank. It still wasn't enough to injure a Pokémon not sensitive to it yet, but she had faith he'd get it down before the gym battle. He would be on the roster too, as a backup for dealing with Lucario or to deal with an unknown teammate. His ability to trap opponents from afar could be very useful with the physically powerful Fighting types as opponents.

Crest stood beside him, spitting out waves of salty Brine, turning his area into a swampy mess. Brine looked almost complete; maybe their unintended firefighting practice had helped him, in a roundabout way. She'd pick up Ice Beam for him when she visited the Veilstone Department Store later today; he could use a good Ice type move.

Finally, she looked to Ion. He was practicing Thunder Fang on a thick log, leaving blackened bite marks behind. It wasn't considered a hard move to learn for an electric type, so she wasn't surprised he'd already gotten it down. Like Crest, he was waiting for the TM she'd get for him in the Department Store. She couldn't wait to see if he could pull off what she had in mind…

She did need to talk to him though. About what he'd nearly done in the dark and rain in the middle of their hellish chase. She wouldn't speak of it now, in the sunlight, with the excitement of an upcoming gym battle, while they were all still healing. But she did need to talk to him, sometime soon. Just… not now.

The clatter of wings nearby distracted her, and Dawn looked over at where Zephyr and Togepi were playing. Only to leap to her feet in alarm as Zephyr took off, ascending in a slow arc towards the blue sky above. Dawn's heart stopped for a moment as she saw Togepi clutched in his talons, giggling madly as they took off. "Zephyr! What are you doing?!"

Zephyr squawked something distinctly flippant, climbing higher and higher until he'd be out of earshot. Dawn was terrified that he'd drop Togepi, but he had the little Fairy type in a secure grip. Togepi herself appeared to be cheering, little arms held high and waving as Zephyr made a slow circle above. Dawn's fear began to fade as she saw how slow his flight was, how he checked on Togepi every few seconds, and how they didn't go too high until Togepi urged him on. He was being careful with their newest addition, and that meant he wouldn't be too hard on his own body. Dawn frown morphed into a smile as she watched them fly together, Zephyr sharing the joy of the sky with a Pokémon that would one day grow her own wings. Okay, maybe she'd forgive him for scaring her, just this once…

Dawn left them to it and set her notebook down, walking over to help Aries with Bulldoze. They only had a week before they had to leave for Pastoria. They'd earn their Gym Badge before then and continue getting stronger. No one would stand in their way this time.

#

Dawn basked in the cool air ushered in by the fading light as she walked back to the Pokémon Center at dusk. The darkening sky meant the streets were emptier than they were earlier in the day, which helped soothe her frayed nerves. Their long day of training had borne fruit, though they'd need a few more before she was ready to head to the Gym. The breeze off the ocean felt amazing after a long day spent toiling in the sun. Maybe she'd feed her friends outside tonight? The weather was good enough to warrant it.

She turned the corner to the Pokémon Center and stopped in shock. There was a veritable crowd flooding into the Center. Their worn clothes and Pokéballs indicated that these weren't civilians looking to get pets checked over, but trainers like her. Why were there so many, especially now the sun was down? Summer was the height of travel season in Sinnoh, with many trainers seizing the chance to progress and explore before the snows came, but she'd assumed the crowding at the training grounds was at least partly due to the city's trainer population taking advantage of good weather. With so many trainers here at the Center, she was reevaluating that assumption.

Dawn shook her head, dropped a hand to her Pokéballs and struggled through the crowd, immediately heading for the back doors that led out to the battlefield. That 'maybe' for feeding her team inside had become an 'absolutely;' she did not want to deal with this many people!

Sadly, the battlefield was even more crowded; someone had set up a set of small stands to one side and they already almost filled with chattering people. Another crowd gathered around a tall trainer who had some sort of program pulled up on his Pokétch; everyone around him was calling out names. Were they betting or something?

Dawn stuck close to the side of the Center to avoid the crowd heading for the man or the stands, squeezing around people until she located one person who wasn't already talking to someone else. "Excuse me," Dawn began politely, "but what's with all the crowds? What's going on?"

The woman, a trainer a few years older than Dawn, turned to face her. "Oh, you don't know? You must be new in town. Every evening we run an unofficial round-robin tournament for trainers staying in the Veilstone Pokémon Center. Josh over there is organizing it tonight; buy in is a hundred Poké and you can only enter one Pokémon. One vs. one battles, you're out when you withdraw, your Pokémon can't fight any longer, or have fought everyone in the tournament once. The person who wins the most battles wins the pot, but we all pay the standard fee to the winner when we lose. The tradition started years ago when traveling trainers kept battling one another every night to win some money to get TMs and such from the department store and kept doing so until they started the round-robin style. The locals like to come out and watch."

Dawn looked around at the watching crowd, now so large it had outgrown the stands, and the still-growing crowd around the trainer setting up the matches. "Are they always so… big?"

The other trainer shook her head. "You must be really new in town. No, it's so big tonight because Maylene isn't accepting challengers right now. I heard she lost hard to some hotshot new trainer and she's still sulking, so she won't accept any new challenges. That means that all of us who came here hoping for an easy badge from a new Gym Leader have to wait until she's over her sulks to get our turn. We're all trying to train and battle in the meantime, which means for the last week these things have gotten huge. You wanna hop in? Always good to have some fresh blood."

Dawn looked over at the group around the organizing trainer with fresh eyes, understanding finally setting in. That's why the training fields and Center were so packed. That understanding came with a new worry though; would she be able to get her Cobble Badge before she had to leave for Pastoria? If she had to come back here later it could mess up her entire schedule!

Well, she couldn't worry about that now. "Yeah, I think I'll throw my hat in. Extra spending money is never a bad thing, and my Pokémon could always use a bit more battle experience. Think you'll be a challenge?"

"Hah! Game on kid. Name's Dahlia; give me a good fight if we're paired up, 'kay flatlander?" Dawn scowled at the name, but Dahlia had already turned away and joined the group of trainers waiting to battle.

Flatlander. The name Eastern Sinnohans used for someone from Western Sinnoh. She didn't think her accent was that prevalent, but Veilstone was isolated enough that their accents were especially pronounced. The War of the Molten Mountain might be hundreds of years in the past, but people's memories were long.

She sighed and walked over to where Josh was still taking names from eager trainers, throwing her name into the hat, and paying the entry price. She fingered Ion's Pokéball; he was the least tired of her teammates, as his work with Thunder Fang wasn't as draining as most of the training the others were working on. That would change tomorrow, but for now he was the best choice.

Dawn moved to the side to wait for her name to be called. A stray thought led her to tap once on Togepi's Pokéball then release her with a flash of red light. The little Fairy type looked overwhelmed at the crowd, hiding behind Dawn's legs, but she grabbed the Spike Ball Pokémon and whisked her into her arms, whispering soothing nothings until Togepi relaxed into her arms. More than a few trainers looked astonished to see Togepi; she saw fingers pointing and whispers breaking out all over the field.

Maybe this was a bad idea. What if the news Dawn had a Togepi got out and someone told J or her goons-

Dawn shook herself, gripping Togepi tighter than strictly necessary. She couldn't live like that, unable to spend time with Togepi without worrying about who saw! Flint was after J. He was Elite Four, the best of the best. J wouldn't stand a chance, even with Salamence and her airship and her goons and whatever secrets or informants she had hidden up her sleeve-

Dawn shook herself again, angry at her fear. She couldn't give in to J. Togepi squeaked and Dawn relaxed her grip, trying to iron out the tension in her shoulders and proving mostly unsuccessful. It was a welcome distraction when Josh called out the first pair of names and two trainers took the field, releasing a Bibarel and a Mothim.

Dawn watched the battles closely, making mental notes on tactics and strategies and even interesting moves as she saw opponent after opponent battle it out. After a while she started whispering her observations to Togepi; even if she couldn't start training for another month or so, teaching her about battles early couldn't hurt.

"Look, she's forgotten about the spores that Roselia left lying around. If she doesn't do something about them, her Combee might be in for a nasty surprise."

"That Buneary has good physical strength, but its energy attacks aren't up to par. If the Cherubi's trainer is smart, they'll stay at a distance instead of trying to get close and finish the battle physically."

"See how that Buizel keeps slapping its tail on the ground? I think it's getting frustrated with its trainer. If you see a tell like that, do your best to make it angrier, you might be able to exploit an opening."

Finally, Josh called her name. "Dawn vs. Noah!" Dawn pulled herself to her feet from the spot she'd claimed near the Center's wall and took her place on the left side of the field, Ion's Pokéball in hand and Togepi standing at her feet to watch. A short trainer about her age took his place on the opposite side of the field.

The ref, a burly Trainer with a no-nonsense face, called for them to release. Dawn tapped twice on Ion's Pokéball to warn him that a battle was incoming then released him. Ion appeared on the field, already in a battle stance, eyes narrowed and tail sparking. Noah released a Shellos; it was the first East-Sea Shellos she'd seen in real life, its blue body startling something in her that expected all Shellos she saw to be pink.

Troublesome, but doable. Ion would need to be ready to jump.

The ref swept his hand down. "Battle, start!"

"Let's take them out quickly with Earth Power!" Noah yelled, punching a fist forward. Shellos gurgled and the ground began to shake.

Ion didn't need Dawn's yell to jump as the center of the battlefield erupted, shooting dirt into the air and leaving behind a shallow crater in the already scarred field. "Strobe, then Bite. Aim for the head or neck."

Ion's tail lit up with flashes of light, blinking on and off at random intervals. Shellos didn't have the best sense of sight, but the sky was getting darker and the floodlights the Pokémon Center stationed out here hadn't come on yet. So much light stunned eyes in the middle of adapting to the dark. Shellos cringed back and Ion shot forward, twisting around a wild Water Pulse to sink dark-stained teeth into the back of Shellos' neck. Thick fat and soft tissue safeguarded the spine and anything particularly fragile, but it was unprotected compared to Shellos' thick body.

Shellos howled and the ground shook again, but Ion jumped on top of Shellos itself. The Earth Power did more damage to Shellos than it did to Ion as he rode out desperate attempts to buck him off.

"Mud-Slap!" Noah called desperately, but Shellos couldn't turn enough to reach Ion with its small limbs as it threw mud about. Some mud hit his legs, but it wasn't enough to knock him off.

"Knock it out," Dawn called. There was nothing more Shellos could do; best to end it gracefully. Ion stepped off Shellos' body, planted his back feet on the ground and reared, dragging Shellos off the ground. He shook the squishy water type back and forth, digging his teeth in all the deeper, but after a few moments it slumped and stopped fighting, eyes closed.

The ref leaned in and called the match: "Shellos is unable to battle, Luxio wins! Dawn wins the match!" The crowd clapped and some money changed hands; betting on the contestants seemed just as traditional as watching them.

Dawn collected her winnings from Noah, gave Ion a congratulatory scratch behind the ears, picked up Togepi and retreated to her spot to continue watching. She was called up to battle twice more but won both matches easily. The average level of trainer here didn't appear to be all that high; Dahlia did say that they were waiting for an "easy badge" from Maylene.

Dawn thought back to the few videos she'd found. Those hadn't looked like easy battles, and Maylene had won more than one. These trainers might be disappointed when their turn came to battle Maylene and they found themselves at the other end of her Pokémon's fists. But why wasn't Maylene taking on challengers at the moment? That was very unusual, unless there was a badge requirement like in Sunyshore. Veilstone had no such rule, but maybe she was about to implement one?

Josh the organizer calling her name again shocked Dawn out of her thoughts and sent her scrambling to her feet. It was truly dark now; the floodlights attached to the Pokémon Center walls lit the battlefield and stands with even white light, but a few bright stars shone in the dark sky high above, almost drowned out by the city lights. Togepi had nearly fallen asleep in her lap as they watched and was quite miffed to be asked to walk again, but toddled along after Dawn as she took her place on the battlefield, Ion's Pokéball in her hand.

To her surprise, the opponent that stepped up to the other side of the field was Dahlia. The other woman looked surprised for a moment before a predatory grin appeared on her face. "There you are! Ready to give me that challenge you promised?"

Dawn grinned back. "You're on!"

The ref stepped forward. "Dawn vs. Dahlia. Trainers, release your Pokémon!"

Ion appeared on the field in a flash of light. He'd only taken light hits in the past two matches and was fine to continue. Some cheers greeted his appearance and money changed hands; he was getting good odds from the bookies after his string of victories.

On the other side of the field, a dragon appeared.

Dawn sucked in a sharp breath, blood going cold as a hulking dragon formed from the red light. It towered over its trainer, standing at more than six feet tall. Blue scales covered its thick, muscular body, with two small wings of a similar color sticking out from its back. Its burly arms tipped with gleaming white claws were longer than its body, giving it the appearance of a hunchback. Tall conical red spikes decorated its back, the backs of its arms, and the long red tail thrashing behind it. Its bright red head had crags like a rock, with a set of glaring, pale yellow irises fixed on Dawn, and a maw held open to reveal long white fangs.

Her mouth was dry. She- she was shaking. The- the red like- like wings spread wide, dripping with rain. The bl-blue scales, darker maybe- but close, so close to-

She didn't hear the ref call for the battle to start but she saw it rush for her. Yellow eyes fixed on her, drilling in, rife with savage delight, a rush of red and blue scales, red and blue red and blue scales coming for her-

Her breath was coming in short gaps but she couldn't get enough air- her heart was beating a million miles an hour but it didn't matter it was coming they were coming could she hear the wingbeats, see the red and blue blur-

She was on the ground, gasping, a babble of words echoing in her ears that made no sense, light blue and black fur in her face. I-ion. That was Ion, paws on her legs, worry in his gold eyes as he licked her face while she gasped for breath. Togepi was here too, tiny arms holding onto her right arm, uncertainty in her black eyes as she looked up at Dawn. A pulse of happiness washed into Dawn and her heartbeat slowed, still too fast, but no longer outracing a Crobat.

The ref was approaching. Dawn didn't look at the other side of the field, where- where the- She just focused on speaking, each word pushed out between gasps. "I- I f-forfeit."

The ref looked confused, and worried, but nodded and turned to the crowd. Dawn didn't wait to hear his words. She forced herself to take one slow breath in, then let it out, then another. She got her hands underneath her and pushed herself up onto shaky legs, Ion leaning against her for support.

Amid the murmurs of the crowd, and without looking at where the dragon and its trainer no doubt stood watching, Dawn turned and made for the Center doors, Ion and Togepi beside her. That was enough battling for tonight.

#

It was a bright and sunny morning and Dawn thought the good weather must be what made everyone and their uncle stuff themselves into Veilstone City's streets. It was packed, bodies pushing at her from every side as she forced her way towards the Department Store. Dawn gritted her teeth and bore it, marking every step closer as a victory.

After a night full of restless sleep and bad dreams, all she wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep the day away, but she'd promised her team she'd get them their TMs today. If her team could have joined her out here she might have enjoyed it more, but now that they'd evolved most were too big for this crowd. Only Togepi and Morgana were small enough and they wouldn't enjoy the mob any more than she did.

Finally, she made it to the entrance of the Department Store. Dawn had to take a second to stare up at it in awe. The building was huge, so wide it took up an entire city block and so tall it loomed over the surrounding buildings. People all over the region said that if you couldn't find what you wanted in the Veilstone Department Store, it didn't exist.

What she wanted did exist though, and they were waiting for her on the fifth floor. Dawn pushed her way through the crowd and into the thankfully air-conditioned building, marveling at both the wares and the hordes of people shopping. The first floor was for tourists; it had all the knickknacks, mementos, and other odd memorabilia anyone could want.

Dawn ignored the rows and rows of shelves, turning to the escalator and riding it up one floor. This next floor was almost as crowded, but the clientele was very different. The first floor had all the basic trainer supplies, like Pokémon food, camping supplies, Pokéballs, all the necessities, so trainers in worn travel clothing perused these stacks. She needed to restock after the desperate flight through Route 215 so Dawn joined them in wandering through the aisles.

She managed to grab everything she needed quickly, even grabbing a red-light flashlight that caught her eye. They were normally used for stargazing, but if she had to travel at night the red light wouldn't ruin her vision and would be harder to see from afar. She also grabbed some extra traveling clothes, to replace those left behind in the forest. The image of a Bidoof nibbling on her socks or a Burmy making a nest in her shirt brought a smile to her face as she waited in line for the cashier.

Her mind of course chose to pull up the image of the dragon from last night next. Dawn shuddered involuntarily before catching herself. It wasn't a Salamence, she knew it wasn't J's Salamence, but the sight of those red and blue scales…

She hesitated for a moment, but the line still had a few people in front of her before she reached the cashier. Dawn pulled out her Pokédex and looked up Dragon-types. It only took a moment to find the Pokémon they'd faced last night. Druddigon, a pure Dragon type from the Unova region. Dahlia hadn't had a Unovan accent, but she was a few years older than Dawn. Maybe she'd been able to travel there and catch the dragon.

She read on, trying to replace the abject fear hiding in the dark places in her mind with knowledge. Druddigon were reclusive, cave-dwelling dragons that rarely flew. They were known to be vicious and cunning, the apex predator of Unova's caves. She focused on the biology section- if she knew how to beat it, she might be less afraid of it. Druddigon had to sunbathe regularly to keep its body at the right temperature… a good ice attack, or maybe even a cold enough water attack, would make it lock up and shock its system, leaving it open-

A snap caught Dawn's attention and she looked up from her Pokédex. The line in front of her had disappeared and the customer behind her was snapping to get her attention. Dawn flushed, stuck her Pokédex back in her pocket and hurried up to the cashier.

Once she'd paid, she turned again to the escalator and rode up another floor. This floor was the grocery section, where she restocked her own food supplies. They weren't as decimated as her Pokémon food supplies, though she was clean out of snacks and other things it was easy to eat while moving. She grabbed a few packs of nutritious granola bars and a few other small items, paid, and moved on to the next floor.

The fourth floor was all technology. Devices that Dawn had never heard of and couldn't imagine the use of lined the shelves in all shapes and sizes. TVs blared news programs, game shows and all sorts of programming from every angle. Along one wall a series of glass shelves displayed specialty Pokéballs, like Ultra Balls and Great Balls that came with more catching power than the standard Pokéball, but also rarer varieties like the orange and yellow Fast Ball, built to move quickly through the air to catch fast Pokémon, or the Net Ball with its net pattern on the top, meant to catch Pokémon living in the water. It would be fun to have one of her future companions in a different ball, but Dawn passed by without reaching for her wallet. Her hard-earned cash had different priorities.

She almost passed straight through and continued up the escalator, but a counter near the back caught her eye, the sign over it reading "Pokétch". She unconsciously reached for her left wrist, stepping away from the escalator and walking back towards the counter. Ten minutes later she was riding the escalator up again, whistling a jaunty tune, minus one broken Pokétch. The man at the counter said they'd have it fixed in two days; she'd have to remember to come back here and pick it up before she left. Maybe she'd ask if they had protective cases or something, though they were already built to be tough. Not much could take a direct hit from a Salamence's talons.

That wiped the smile off Dawn's face, though it quickly returned when she reached the fifth floor. Glass shelves covered the area, each housing the same thing: TMs. Technical Machines in abundance, so many moves that could help take her team to the top and give them the diversity of moveset needed to win their hardest battles. Finally!

Dawn had a list of TMs in mind, but she still took the time to peruse the shelves and see what they had available. The more she passed, the more she added to her mental list of TMs she wanted to get in the future. Psychic, for when Morgana was fully evolved and come into her full psychic abilities, able to wield the power of her mind to do almost anything. Dark Pulse, to carve through ghosts and psychics with the power that was their antithesis. Protect, to guard against all but the strongest moves. Ugh, there were too many good choices!

It took effort to tear herself away from the expensive TMs that stood front and center, but Dawn eventually pulled out her list and began the hunt. Ice Beam was easy to find, located not far from where she'd been admiring Dark Pulse. Crest needed a good long-range attack that wasn't a Water type move, and Ice Beam would give him a weapon against Grass types. Plus, she thought they could use it to repeat his trick of freezing his bubbles so they crashed down on hapless opponents.

Next up was Steel Wing, only one shelf over. Zephyr was already a physical monster who loved to get in close; this would give his attacks even more power and give him the ability to carve into Rock types that could otherwise wall him. Crest could use it too, expanding on what he already did with Metal Claw. She had some ideas about how they could both use the move for combinations and defense, landing it near the top of her "to buy" list.

Dawn had to go hunting for the next TM on her list. After almost twenty minutes of searching she finally found it, hidden near the back on a shelf that hadn't seen much love from Trainers. There were only one or two TMs in the stack for this move but Dawn snagged Eerie Impulse the moment she found it. This was the move Ion needed to take his current electricity control practice to the next level. She couldn't wait to see what he would accomplish when he took the next step.

Returning to the main shelves, Dawn found Energy Ball and Aerial Ace in quick succession. Energy Ball would give Aries the long-range option he needed to take on agile or more physically powerful opponents. She'd debated between giving him Energy Ball or Rock Slide, but Energy Ball's lesser cost let it win out, this time. Zephyr already knew Aerial Ace, but Crest could only learn it via TM, as could Aries after he evolved. Dawn assumed it was because their body types didn't support it the same way Zephyr's did. Plus, she could teach it to Togepi once she evolved and grew wings.

Morgana wasn't getting a specific TM this time, but Dawn already had one that would work for her; she could learn Grass Knot, one of the TMs she'd picked up at the Twinleaf Festival. It would give her a surprise edge against Water types and would let her trap speedy opponents. Next time Dawn was here she'd get a TM specifically for Morgana. Togepi was too young to get a TM yet, so she too was on the list to get a specific TM next time.

Purchases in hand, Dawn made a beeline for the cashier. She winced as she saw the numbers in her account drop; she was almost cleaned out. No purchases for her for a while; she'd barely have enough to pay the Pokétch repairman as it was.

Oh well. This was what she'd been saving for, and the money she'd won from the Twinleaf Tournament made it possible. The road to Pastoria should be full of trainers she could battle to earn her money back.

Dawn turned and rode the escalator down to the entrance, smile fixed firmly on her face. She'd gotten her team the tools they needed to take the next step forward; now it was time to try them out.

#

Dawn met Paul on the south road as he left the city. She stopped in shock as she spotted his purple hair a few feet away, moving with the crowd. She hadn't seen him since their battle in Twinleaf Town; she hadn't honestly expected to run into him again unless it was at the Lily of the Valley Conference itself.

A savage smile cut its way across her face. She'd been expecting to spend the afternoon giving her team their new TMs and practicing their new moves; this was an unexpected opportunity that could lead to even more growth.

"Paul!" The purple-haired boy turned around, face as impassive as ever, but Dawn thought his eyes narrowed a little when he saw her. She pushed through the crowd to catch up to him and they moved to the side of the road to talk.

"You again. What do you want?" He certainly hadn't gotten any more polite since their last encounter.

"I wanted to ask if you're up for a battle."

Paul contemplated the request for a moment before nodding. "It's not as if I've found a good challenge in this city, not with that pathetic gym leader running the place. Your Pokémon are slackers, but they might provide a good workout."

"What do you mean they're slackers?! We beat you, didn't we?" Rudeness to her was one thing, Dawn wouldn't abide rudeness to her Pokémon.

"You coddle your Pokémon. Pokémon are only worth their strength in battle; they need to get stronger as fast as possible to be worth the effort of training them. Being nice and pampering them just makes them weaker," Paul said, waving his hand in the air in dismissal.

"What? That's not true! How can you possibly command your Pokémon well if you can't understand them, how they're thinking and feeling? They fight harder and get stronger faster when they care for you and you care for them in turn!" The more Paul spoke the more he acted like those Galactic goons, using Pokémon as tools instead of treating them like living beings with wills of their own.

Paul sneered and turned north, back toward the Pokémon Center and the battlefield behind it. "As if. Come on, I'll show you why your victory at the tournament was a fluke and show you what slackers your Pokémon have become."

"You're on!" They walked back to the Pokémon Center in silence, Dawn stewing, Paul impassive and dismissive as ever. They walked through the Center and back to the thankfully empty battlefield without a word, taking their places on opposite sides of the field.

Dawn plucked Morgana's Pokéball from her belt and tapped twice, warning the Fennekin to be ready for battle. Maybe she could put Paul off balance early by reminding him of his loss at the Twinleaf Tournament. Paul likewise plucked a Pokéball from his belt and held it ready.

As the challenged, Paul set the rules. "Three on three. We go until all Pokémon on one side are knocked out. No substitutions."

"Sounds good to me. Let's start!" Dawn called, then hit the release. Morgana appeared on the field, snout held high and ears already making the air around them waver as she released heat. Dawn had fed her a big meal of charcoal, sticks and other flammable material that morning in anticipation of training, and right now she was grateful for her foresight.

"Standby for battle!" Paul's Pokéball flashed and his Lairon appeared on the field. Dawn studied every inch of it, looking for strengths and weaknesses. The stocky, armored Pokémon looked rather larger than it had back at the Twinleaf Tournament; it must be closer to evolving. Its silver-white armor had a few darker marks scored into it; this Pokémon had taken on some tough opponents. From what Dawn remembered, it liked to use its near invulnerability to physical attacks to get close and overpower opponents with its oppressive weight and power. Morgana needed to stay far away from it if she could.

"Start!" Paul barked, and the battle began.

"Iron Head," Paul commanded. Lairon moved forward, slowly gaining speed as it charged for Morgana.

If there was an area where Morgana thoroughly outclassed Lairon, it was in speed. "Flame Charge to evade, then Fire Spin!" Morgana barked and her fur burst alight, flickering flames dancing around her as she took off, running along the edge of the battlefield and easily evading Lairon's straight-line charge. She stopped behind Lairon and breathed out a thin tongue of flame which moved into a huge spiral, enveloping Lairon in a spinning whirl of fire. Lairon growled uncomfortably, the steel shell on its back transmitting the searing heat to the sensitive skin underneath all too well.

"Rock Slide," Paul ordered.

"Dodge and keep up the Fire Spin! Try to get it in the chinks between the armor!" Dawn yelled, eyes tracking Morgana as she moved around the edges of the field.

Lairon's groan evolved into the metallic shriek of steel plates grinding together as it reared up, then stomped down hard on the ground, ignoring the searing whirls of fire that still surrounded it. Dirt all over the battlefield rose into the air, clumping together and hardening into pointed stones. Rock Slide was much bigger than Dawn had expected; no part of the battlefield was left unshaded by rocks as they hung in the air above. There was nowhere for Morgana to run!

"Psybeam! Blast through the rocks and get on top of Lairon with Flame Charge!" Getting on top had worked with Shellos, it might work here as well. Lairon couldn't easily turn to see or attack Morgana if she was standing on its back, her fiery aura burning into its steel shell.

The problem was Psybeam. Morgana let her Fire Spin fade as she turned her snout up, the whooping growls of her Lucky Chant echoing in Dawn's ears as the little vulpine tried to concentrate. Behind closed lids her eyes started to glow with the barest hints of blue power.

"Drop it!" Paul wasn't waiting for Morgana to concentrate. The air above the battlefield was now full of sharp stones and at Lairon's inaudible command they fell to the ground, faster than gravity could normally propel them. Dawn's hands clenched into fists and she leaned forward, watching the Rock Slide bear down on Morgana.

The Fennekin's eyes snapped open, and a thin beam of blue power manifested in front of her, piercing straight through one of the rocks coming for her, splintering it into harmless shards.

One of the rocks. The ten others hovering over her hit Morgana with all their force and Dawn flinched as Morgana let out a cry of pain, scrambling to her feet after the rocks knocked her down, blood visible along the sides of her body. She was limping and bruised but the fire around her still flared as she tried to charge for Lairon.

Paul's face was impassive as he stared down the little Fire type, Lairon's inexpressive face matching its trainer's. "Take it out. Rock Tomb." Lairon screeched again, wrenching rocks from the ground and making them hover by its face, taking aim at the Fire type changing at it. Morgana tried to Howl back a reply, but her voice was thin and wavering, weakened by pain. Her Flame Charge was losing steam even as she ran for Lairon, unwilling to give in.

Dawn recalled her before Lairon could launch the Rock Tomb, sighing as she clutched her Pokéball to her chest for a moment, then set it back on her belt. Psybeam was a new move for Morgana, and they'd only gotten it to manifest for the first time yesterday afternoon. Trying to use it in a battle so soon hadn't been her best idea. This loss was Dawn's fault, not Morgana's.

"Pathetic," Paul sneered from across the field. "If you hadn't recalled it, it could have done more damage before it was knocked out. You'll lose more battles if you keep sparing it pain. I should have expected it though. You don't have the spine to make them fight on."

Dawn glared at him, grabbing Crest's Pokéball from her belt. "Morgana's not weak, and she doesn't need to take unnecessary damage to become strong! I'll let Crest show you how strong we are!" Her starter appeared on the field in a flash of red light, standing tall and regal under the noonday sun.

Paul smiled. The expression was so incongruous with Dawn's boiling rage that she recoiled, fully taking a step back in surprise. "I knew you'd do that." He didn't elaborate, just waved for the battle to begin.

"Mist!" Dawn ordered immediately. Crest's beak opened and he spat a cloud of thick white mist. The summer sun burned through it quickly, but Crest made enough that it spread across the battlefield in a white wave, leaving nothing visible but a roiling cloud. "Bubblebeam!"

"Rock Slide to locate it, then Iron Head." Lairon's metallic screech echoed over the battlefield again as rocks rose through the mist, hovering above the battlefield. Dawn couldn't see Crest in there but she knew he was waiting to make his move. The rocks reached the peak of their ascent, then plummeted to the ground. Dawn could hear Lairon's heavy steps and the creaking of metal as a line of rocks exploded above, destroyed by a focused line of Bubblebeam that reached all the way across the battlefield. Crest couldn't hide his position totally when destroying the Rock Slide, but he destroyed enough that Lairon would have to search for him.

Lairon's passing made the Mist swirl behind him, and Dawn thought she heard him connect with something. She heard Crest's screech, and Lairon's deep growls. The high-pitched shriek of metal on metal, different than when Lairon moved. Dawn waited, tense, her fists clenched, for the results.

The Mist cloud burst apart, dispersed in moments. Lairon was unconscious in a muddy crater in the center of the arena, soaking wet, new scores from Crest's Metal Claw carved into the sections of armor around his face. Crest hadn't come out unwounded though; he was gasping for breath and the feathers on his back were mussed, a wing held so that it covered a section of his stomach. Lairon's Iron Head must have knocked him to the ground before he knocked it out.

Paul recalled Lairon, unsettling smile still fixed on his face. He didn't hesitate to choose another Pokéball from his belt and throw it, releasing his second Pokémon. "Ursaring, standby for battle!"

For a moment the huge Pokémon blotted out the sun as it stretched to its full height. It had a broad, tall body with thick, muscular limbs, covered with light brown fur that was long enough to hang down in strands at the shoulders. Five thick claws tipped the overlong forelimbs, while only three tipped the feet at the end of short, stocky legs. A large tan ring like the new moon covered its huge belly, covering a thick layer of fat that protected it from most attacks. Ursaring, the terror of Coronet's forests. It looked strong.

Crest wasn't even half its size, but he stood before the monster of a Pokémon with all the arrogance of a king. It towered over Dawn, and she fought down the urge to gulp. This wouldn't be an easy battle.

"Ursaring, Hammer Arm."

They would beat it anyway! "Crest, Mist then Metal Claw! Aim for the ankles or try to get around it!" Scratching at that mighty belly wouldn't do much with the layers of thick fat in the way. It would hardly feel Bubblebeam and Whirlpool couldn't wash it away, removing most of their ranged options. They needed to wear it down.

Crest spat Mist over the battlefield again, already running before it had covered the battlefield. Ursaring in contrast stayed right where it was, right arm glowing brightly with the contained power of Hammer Arm. It was so tall the Mist cloud didn't quite cover its narrow eyes, so Dawn could see them roaming the battlefield, watching the Mist for signs of Crest.

Out of nowhere it roared in pain, the sound so loud Dawn took another step back, almost straying from the trainer's box. It whirled with speed that belied its enormous size, Hammer Arm sweeping down to catch Crest where he'd slashed at it from behind.

Crest couldn't move out of the way fast enough. It caught him directly in the chest. Dawn could hear the strangled squawk cut off halfway through as all the air was forced out of his lungs and he went flying. Crest soared all the way back to Paul's side of the field, carving a trench in the hard-packed earth of the battlefield as he landed. He lay splayed out in defeat at Paul's feet, beak open in desperate gasps, unable to continue.

Dawn was aware her mouth was hanging open but didn't care. Ursaring took out Crest with one hit?! How stupidly powerful was that thing? Crest hadn't been all that injured before he took the Hammer Arm!

She forcibly closed her mouth and recalled Crest, hand moving slowly as she replaced his Pokéball on her belt. Paul's smile was still there, that damned smile. What was he planning?

She couldn't use Zephyr due to his healing injuries. Aries could dance around Ursaring but couldn't hurt it much. Togepi was absolutely not a choice. That left her with Ion. She grabbed her Electric type's Pokéball and released him onto the field.

Ion howled as he formed from red light, claws digging into the battlefield, tail thrashing, throwing off sparks from his blue and black coat. Ursaring didn't react to the display, standing impassively where it had been released. It hadn't moved an inch for entire battle with Crest, short as it was. She could see drops of blood on the ground behind it, from where Crest had carved into its backside, but she didn't know how bad the injury was. Ursaring sure didn't seem to notice it.

"Avoid its strikes at all costs, it can hit like a freight train," Dawn told Ion, who flicked his ear in acknowledgement. "Stun it with Thunder Wave and Discharge, then close in and tear at where Crest made an opening with Spark and Thunder Fang."

Ion howled an acknowledgment and raced across the field towards his opponent.

"Bulk Up, then Focus Blast." Paul was clearly making good use of the Department Store's TM selection with all those Fighting-type moves. Ursaring closed its eyes and Dawn saw muscles tense and pulse as it boosted its attack and defense, but Ion shot a Thunder Wave at it to disrupt the attempt.

Ursaring took the Thunder Wave with no more than a grunt, ignoring the lines of electricity that danced over its skin and the way its muscles tensed up and wouldn't relax. It opened narrow eyes again and Dawn saw the new power in the way it flexed its claws. It might be paralyzed, but there was no doubt it could hit harder than ever. Ion's coat sparked and a Discharge exploded from the star shape at the end of his tail. Ursaring roared, pulsing blue energy forming between its hands as it held them in front of its face. The energy blast grew to the size of its head in an instant before the huge ursine threw it.

Ion dodged it easily, long hours of training paying off. It didn't matter. Focus Blast exploded as it hit the ground and the entire battlefield shuddered. Ion was thrown off his feet by a wave of displaced earth, hitting the ground hard, his electricity dispersed.

"I've been planning how to defeat you ever since the tournament," Paul's toneless voice cut in, making Dawn's eyes snap to him. "I studied your team, your moves, your strategies. I knew you'd want to show me up with Fennekin, so I sent in Lairon to crush it with stone. You don't have good counters for a Steel type, so you'd need your Prinplup. Once your Prinplup was on the field, all I had to do to win was release Ursaring. Your Prinplup doesn't have good defense and couldn't damage Ursaring enough before it got too close and finished it. You don't have a Fighting type, so you'd need to overpower Ursaring to beat it, which left your Luxio."

Paul's smile was a full-on satisfied smirk now. "Ursaring's ability is Guts, which means the more it's suffering, the stronger it gets. Status conditions, like paralysis, especially piss him off. I've specifically trained it to increase the power it gets from pain. He could knock out a Steelix in a single blow right now. Give up. You're beaten."

Ursaring looked up, meeting Dawn's eyes so she could see the glowing red cast that Guts caused. She wanted to take another step back, but that would be as good as giving in. Paul had outthought her; he'd planned every step of this battle.

But they wouldn't get in just because they were overpowered. Strategy and speed could beat brawn any day of the week. "Make it mad and stay out of range!" Let it come after you Dawn pleaded internally as Ion pulled himself to his feet and took off running again. She couldn't say that out loud, not with Paul watching her every move, but hopefully Ion was thinking the same thing.

Ion shot Thunder Wave after Thunder Wave at Ursaring, making muscles seize and tense up, but Ursaring didn't care. It roared, the air trembling with the power of its berserker strength, charging after Ion with pounding footsteps, charging another Focus Blast between its claws. Ion leapt and rolled when it came smashing into the earth, managing to keep his momentum as Ursaring emerged from the dirt cloud like an avenging Legend. Ion turned and ran back towards Dawn, narrowly dodging a Hammer Arm that smashed into the battlefield and sent up another cloud of dust.

It took all of Dawn's willpower to hold herself in place as Ursaring charged right at her, Ion barely staying ahead of it, tail lighting up with Discharges that didn't seem to do a thing. Ursaring shrugged off all damage and just. Kept. Coming.

Another Focus Blast struck the ground in front of Dawn and the shaking ground forced her to take a knee to ride it out, raising a hand to block the falling debris. "Come on Ion, you can do it!" she called, unable to see through the dirt cloud and find her friend. "Get behind it and finish this!"

"How can you honestly think encouragement will do anything?" Paul shook his head with disdain.

The cloud finally cleared but Dawn couldn't see Ion. Ursaring was turning back and forth, Hammer Arm loaded on both arms, searching amid the craters and dirt piles for where her electric type was hiding. Dawn searched the field frantically but couldn't find him either. Where could he be? There wasn't anywhere to hide!

The seconds stretched on, tension thick enough Dawn could cut it with a knife, before one of the dirt piles a foot or two from Ursaring exploded when it turned its back. Her Luxio leapt from the pile, trailing dirt from when he'd buried himself but eyes alight with savage delight. He'd found a way to take Ursaring off guard, and if he could get his fangs into the open wounds on Ursaring's back-

Ursaring whirled around and clotheslined Ion with Hammer Arm, catching him square across the body and slamming him to the dirt. The ground shook and dirt and dust plumed in the air, the impact so strong it caused a shockwave. Dawn fell to her knees, hands braced against the ground to stabilize herself. Paul appeared a little more used to the shaking earth as he managed to keep his feet.

When the dust cleared Ursaring was standing over the broken, bruised form of Ion, unconscious in the center of a huge crater. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest she would have worried he was…

Dawn shot to her feet and sprinted over, falling to her knees and pulling Ion's body to her, ignoring the huge Normal type towering over them. She didn't notice Paul walk over, but she heard his words.

"Pathetic," Paul sneered, recalling his Ursaring and turning away, hurling his words over his shoulder as he walked back into the Center. "As long as you keep coddling yourself and your Pokémon, that's all you'll ever be. Pathetic." He didn't look back as the Center doors closed behind him, leaving Dawn kneeling in the dirt of the ruined battlefield, hands cradling Ion's unconscious body.

#

Dawn sighed and sat up, throwing the covers off. Morgana looked up from where she slept on the pillow beside Dawn, eyes half lidded with drowsiness.

"It's fine Morgana, I just can't sleep," Dawn whispered, glaring at the pillow as though it had personally wronged her. That was unfair though. She should have known that after three straight nights of restless sleep and nightmares, memories plaguing her every time she closed her eyes, she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She'd wanted to get to bed early, catch up on the sleep she'd missed. She'd been trying for hours, but the attempt just left her restless and miserable.

She needed to walk. The Pokémon Center here in Veilstone only had some smaller rooms on the very top floor available when she arrived, so there wasn't enough room to release her whole team to sleep at night. Crest, Aries, Ion, and Zephyr were all safe in their Pokéballs, resting after a long day of training and battling. Morgana and Togepi were the only ones small enough to stay in bed with her, so they took one side while Dawn took the other side of the bed. Togepi was still snoozing away, dreaming of flight if the way she occasionally flapped her little arms said anything.

Dawn turned to Morgana. "You up for a late-night stroll girl, or do you want to stay here?" Morgana considered for a moment before standing up, stretching and yawning at the same time, then hopping off the bed. Dawn nodded and scooped Togepi up in her arms. The Spike Ball Pokémon didn't wake up, snoring away in Dawn's arms. With some careful juggling, Dawn got her shoes on without waking the Fairy type, and they all made it out the door.

It was after 10pm and the sun was down, but Veilstone City was almost as bright at night as it was during the daytime. Skyscrapers and streetlamps cast lots of light on the streets, and while they weren't as crowded as they were during the day there were plenty of people walking around downtown, loudly enjoying themselves. Dawn winced as they stepped out of the Center lobby. Too loud, too bright, too many people. Where could she go to get some quiet and darkness?

She turned towards the west, where she could see the meteor field far in the distance, dark but for the occasional lamp along the path. That would do. She slowly made her way through the city, lost in thought, but staying aware of her surroundings. Morgana was out and walking by her side; an unknown Pokémon would probably deter most thieves and gangs, but if someone recognized her as a valuable Starter Pokémon it might cause trouble.

They made it to the meteor field without any issues and Dawn set off at a leisurely walk on the dirt path that wound between the meteor craters. Some were as small as ten, twenty or thirty feet across but there were a few that were far larger, stretching fifty, sixty, or in the largest case a hundred feet across. Most didn't have their original meteors in the center of the craters, the meteoroids having burnt up or melted or exploded to bits on impact, but in the craters that were roped off she could see where the remains of the meteors still stood in the centers of the craters they created. They'd been worn down by time and the elements before psychic protections were placed by the city, but they were still an impressive sight.

Where did they come from? Dawn wondered as she walked. Are these the remains of alien planets, alien worlds, come to visit us here, or just lonely space rocks with the grand luck or misfortune to run into us somewhere along their lonesome paths? It was fun to imagine all the places they might have come from, all the wonders they might have passed by on their flight to this planet. Scientists thought some Pokémon species might not originate on this planet; had one of these meteors carried the ancestor of one of those species?

Dawn looked up at the velvet black sky and the stars twinkling above, most hidden by the light pollution from the city, but not all. Right now, she felt rather like those stars. A haze of expectations, memories, fears, and worries clouding her while she desperately tried to break though, without much success.

It wasn't a perfect metaphor, but she wasn't up to a perfect metaphor right now. She was too… drained, for lack of a better word. Depressed her mind whispered, but she pushed it away. No, she wasn't, just dealing with bad memories. She'd get over it. But what if you don't? Her mind whispered again. Dawn didn't have a good answer for it this time.

She kept walking, not talking or really thinking, just moving, as though to outrun the thought of her bed waiting for her back at the Center. Morgana sensed her mood and remained quiet, occasionally snagging a fallen twig to snack on. Togepi snoozed on in her arms.

Dawn didn't know how far they walked before she saw a pair of people-shaped shadows in the distance, sitting on the top of a nearby hill looking back at the city. She didn't want to disturb anyone else, so she gestured for Morgana to follow her as they left the path and ducked around the base of the hill, keeping out of sight. Without meaning to she fell into the slow, measured pace she'd used to move silently in the forest, making sure there was always cover between herself and the figures atop the hill.

They were almost past when one of the shadowed figures stood up; outlined against the city lights, it didn't look human anymore, standing shorter than an adult would with long, pointed ears. The other shadow next to it stood up as well, standing taller than its companion but not by much. "Who's there?" demanded a female voice. Dawn stopped, debating if she should keep going or speak.

"I know you're there, show yourself!" They clearly weren't going to leave her be.

"I'm just passing by," Dawn called, stepping out to where one of the light posts along the path would illuminate her.

"Why are you sneaking around out here?" The voice tickled something in the back of her brain; it was faintly familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"I couldn't sleep and went out for a walk. I saw you two up there and was trying not to disturb you. I'll move on now."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse!" The figure who had spoken walked down the hill toward Dawn and Morgana, trailed by her inhuman companion. "Lucario sensed you and I… guess I jumped to conclusions. Sorry." The figure came into the light now, and Dawn recognized her. "Too many people have been trying to follow me around lately," Gym Leader Maylene continued, dragging a hand through her distinctive pink hair, a tired note in her voice. "I've gotten used to running them off."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dawn said, words as polite as possible to suppress her shock. What was Maylene doing out here so late at night? The other shadow entered the light and Dawn could see it was indeed a Lucario, probably Maylene's cornerstone from the videos. "Reporters? Or trainers?"

"Both," Maylene sighed, settling down on a nearby bench, shoulders slumped and head bowed. Lucario stood to the side, arms crossed, eyes never wavering from Dawn, Maylene's silent sentinel. "Ever since I stopped accepting challengers they won't stop hounding me. The League politely inquiring when I'll open up challenges again, reporters yelling questions day and night, and even trainers stalking me hoping that I'll accept their challenge. I came out here with Lucario to meditate and get a little quiet, but I don't think it's working."

Dawn wanted to leave, continue her silent walk, but hesitated. This woman seemed like she could use a friend right now. Dawn wasn't a friend, but she didn't have many options at the moment. Dawn walked over and sat down next to Maylene, Togepi still snoozing in her lap. Morgana gave Lucario a wary look but jumped up and curled up into a ball next to Dawn on the part of the bench left empty. "I'm sorry," Dawn told Maylene, and she meant it. "That sounds awful. Can you ask the police to intervene, or the reporters to back off?"

"I've done both! They don't listen. I've only been Gym Leader here nine months, and no one respects me yet." Lucario snorted and Maylene glared at him. "They don't! Nine months since I took over for my father, and they still look at me like they did when I was following him around as a little girl. They patronize me, nod along then do whatever the hell they want. You know it!"

Lucario snorted again and looked away. Maylene sighed and hung her head. "I've done my best, tried to lead, trained and battled my hardest, but nothing I do seems to make any difference." The words had poured out of her but now she clammed up, staring down at her hands and letting the silence drag on.

Dawn tried to think, but her mind was blank. She'd only been here for a week, how was she supposed to change what Veilstone City thought of their Gym Leader? How could she help Maylene? It wasn't as if she was doing the best job keeping a lid on her own issues.

Togepi yawned and turned a little in Dawn's lap, snuggling in closer. Dawn stroked the smooth shell with absent fingers, thinking. She didn't know what it was like to be a Gym Leader, but she could sure empathize with that last part. "I don't know what it's like to be a Gym Leader, to lead an entire city, but I… think I feel the same way you do right now, about what I do not making a difference. I keep… trying to get stronger, to win, to make a difference, but every time I do, it's like a Legend reaches from the heavens and tries to take it away."

Maylene looked up but didn't speak, so Dawn forced herself to keep talking. She didn't know if the words made sense, but it was all she could do. "I don't know what to do. I… walked in somewhere I shouldn't have, and only barely escaped. I told myself and my Pokémon we'd get stronger, so it wouldn't happen again. But it does. Time after time, no matter how strong we get, they keep coming back, and I can't escape them. Last week…" She couldn't go on. She wrapped her arms around Togepi, clutching her close to her chest. If she'd lost her…

Maylene looked at Togepi sleeping in Dawn's arms, then back at Dawn. "You're the trainer Hunter J was after, right? They told me about that." Her face twisted for a moment with self-disgust. "They had to call in Flint to deal with her. It should have been my job, as the Veilstone Gym Leader, but no one trusts me to get the job done. I'm such a failure they had to call in one of the Elite Four instead!"

Dawn flinched as the memories of J flickered through her mind, of Salamence's mighty fangs and hot breath on her face, muscles dripping with rain, lunging-

She cut off the memory with a gasp of effort, turning her face away so Maylene wouldn't see. "I don't think they called in Flint because they couldn't rely on you," Dawn whispered, unable to meet the other woman's gaze. "J is just… too strong."

"I'm sorry." Maylene said, that note of self-disgust back in her voice. "Here you are dealing with… all that, and I have to make it all about me." Her voice softened as she continued, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But like you told me, you can't blame yourself for not being able to beat J. She's too strong."

Dawn couldn't find an answer to that, but… "It's not even just J. I… battled an old rival the other day and lost. Lost hard. He'd been preparing to beat me her since I beat him last time we met and- I know it's stupid. I know it doesn't make sense, and I shouldn't get worked up about it, I can train more and beat Paul next time, but that loss feels almost as bad as J or the other bad things that have happened to me. It's like… I keep training and trying to get stronger, keep pushing forward, but how is it worth it if I keep falling behind, keep getting beaten down?"

Her final words pushed their way past her lips without consulting her brain for permission first: "What if I can't ever get strong enough? If I'm not good enough, and I'm failing my team?" Her most secret fears, the ones you couldn't speak in the light of day but couldn't be held back in the silence and darkness of this park beneath the stars. It was… easier, somehow, to talk to Maylene about those fears than it was to speak to her friends or her mother. People who knew her, expected her to act a certain way. The people she couldn't disappoint.

Here, there were no expectations, no illusions. Just the stark truth, from them both.

"Did you say Paul?" Maylene asked, an odd catch in her voice at the name.

Dawn raised her head in surprise; that hadn't been the reaction she was expecting. "Yes?" she said uncertainly. "Why, do you know him?"

Lucario growled and Maylene laughed, a harsh bark that made Morgana raise her head. She'd somehow migrated to cuddling right next to Dawn instead of at the end of the bench, the heat rising from her fluffy body a comfort in the cooling night air. "Yeah, I sure do." Dawn cocked her head in confusion and Maylene took the cue to elaborate: "Trainer about your age with purple hair and a constant scowl, right? He challenged the Gym a week and a half before you arrived. That battle was what made me stop accepting challenges."

Dawn stayed quiet, not wanting for ask but hoping she'd continue. After a moment's pause, she did so. "I don't know if they've been spreading the story around the Pokémon Center or not. Probably some twisted version of it…. He came to the Gym around two weeks ago, like I said. I'd been… struggling, for a little while before that, but with him it all came to a head. I did my best, my Pokémon did their best, but we couldn't get in sync. He came at us with his newly evolved Honchkrow, you could see its hat wasn't too big yet, and it picked us apart like we were newborn Bidoof. Machoke finally took it out with a good Thunder Punch, but then he sent out this beast of a Magmar. It had Machoke down in a minute flat, but I thought, Lucario and I have dealt with worse. We can beat it, we just gotta trust one another!"

Lucario full-on snarled at the memory, and Maylene flinched at the sound. Just that one movement spoke volumes and Dawn winced in sympathy. "Magmar burnt Lucario so badly I was worried he wouldn't be able to fight again for weeks. Then… the battle was over, and I had to suck it up and give the kid his badge even though I could hear the crowd whispering, the gossip, the laughter… You know what he said? When he took the badge."

Dawn shook her head even though the question was clearly rhetorical.

Maylene laughed humorlessly, looking up at the light above them. "He said, 'You're the weakest. The weakest leader I ever fought, and this lightweight Badge is just like you.'"

Dawn's jaw dropped. Yes, Paul was abrasive and rude and absolutely the type of person who would say that, but to say it to a Gym Leader at a public match? How rude was it possible to get?

Maylene gave the same humorless laugh, eyes falling from the light to meet Dawn's. "So yeah. I get how you're feeling. You're not the only one who's struggling with a loss to that guy."

They sat in silence for a while; Dawn couldn't say how long. Lucario stood still as a statue, eyes fixed on his trainer, while Morgana chose to migrate from the hard park bench to Dawn's lap, ears still generating pleasant heat that kept the cooling air away from their vulnerable bodies.

"So… where do we go from here?" Dawn asked after a while, looking over at Maylene. Here in the dark, after sharing secrets and fears, it was hard to think of her as a Gym Leader of a major city, one of the Eight Protectors of Sinnoh. She was just another trainer, like Dawn herself, struggling with worries and fears that were all too human.

Maylene shrugged, looking down at the ground again. "Heck if I know. If I knew, the Gym would already be open again and I'd be doing that instead of coming here to meditate every night and hoping it helps."

They fell silent again, and Dawn looked up at the stars. She thought back to the beginning of her journey, to telling stories on starry nights. Before Floaroma Town and the Windworks, before Eterna and the hideout. Before the fear. When things had been simple. Meeting Crest, catching Zephyr and Ion, teaching them their first new moves… she remembered teaching Crest Bubblebeam. They'd been trying, and trying, and trying, and had nearly given up… then he'd done it, to save her life in Floaroma. More recently, when he first started learning Brine he could only cough up a little water. They kept working, and he could use it to put out fires, but it wasn't powerful enough to use as an attack. Then yesterday during sparring, he'd washed Aries away with a powerful blast of salty water, Brine perfected.

Maybe she could take lessons from him. It wouldn't be the first time. "I guess… we keep pushing forward. Maybe it's like Pokémon learning new moves. Sometimes, or even a lot of the time, your progress is pretty visible. How you're winning more battles, or the police listen to your suggestions more. But sometimes, you keep trying and working hard but you're not making any visible progress. You keep bashing your head against the wall, doing everything you can, but nothing's working. In that case, you can either change your approach to the problem, or if that's not an option, you just have to keep trying. And when you do, eventually you get that moment when everything changes, and you can see how much progress you've made, how much stronger you've become."

Maylene was quiet but turned her face up to look at the stars alongside Dawn. "So… keep going, no matter how tough, or try changing what I'm doing? That's what you're suggesting?"

"I'm not an expert. But… that's all I can think to do. And it's better than sitting here, hoping everything will work itself out, isn't it?"

Maylene snorted. "You're right about that." More silence, but for Morgana reaching up and scratching at an itch. Togepi gave a little snore where she slept in Dawn's arms. Maybe Dawn should recall her, but she didn't want to let go. "So, just reopen my Gym again, keep doing my best, and ignore the whispers? I tried that. Didn't work so well. Now I just have to hope they go away eventually?"

Well, there was one option she hadn't suggested. Asking for help. But who would Maylene ask? Or accept help from?

An idea struck Dawn. "How about this? I came to Veilstone to challenge your Gym. I can be your first challenger. You can battle someone you know, even if barely, who you know is rooting for you. A battle to get you back in the swing of things. You know that I won't judge you. I can't promise you a battle with no one judging you, since the public can come watch any Gym battle, but for your first one back, you can battle knowing at least one person is rooting for you, wants to help you, won't judge you no matter what happens. I know you'll do the same for me. It's not much, but it can be a fresh start, for both of us. Maybe this way, we can move past our failures." She didn't know if her rambles had made sense, but she wasn't a therapist. She knew how to battle. Maybe in this case, a battle could help both of them.

Maylene looked at Dawn, eyes searching her face as though looking for something. "A gym battle, with you as my first challenger when I come back… huh. You know, my father used to say something to me, when he was first teaching me about being a Gym Leader, hoping I'd take his place one day. He said, 'Maylene, you can learn something from every challenger, if you look hard enough.'" She smiled, for the first time that night. "I want to know if I can learn your strength from our battle."

Strength? Was that really what she saw in Dawn? Dawn sure didn't, not tonight of all nights, but she wasn't going to argue. "I'd like to see if I can learn yours! So, a Gym battle? Tomorrow afternoon maybe?"

"Yeah. We'll have out battle, and I'll use it to decide if I'm ready to start accepting challengers again. Tomorrow afternoon sounds good, let's plan for 2 o'clock. But you better be ready to bring your all, don't you dare go easy on me! We won't learn anything if you pull your punches, right Lucario?" Maylene stood as Lucario growled an assent, both Trainer and Pokémon pumping their fists.

"Right back at you," Dawn said with a relieved smile, tucking Togepi in the crook of her arm and standing as well, stretching out her hand. Maylene took it, and they shook on their promise.

Maylene suddenly blushed, the color visible even through the washed-out effect the lamplight gave their faces. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just realized I don't even know your name!"

Dawn laughed, then tension and solemnity of their talk and promises fading for a moment. "I'm Dawn, of Twinleaf Town."

"Well Dawn, I'm glad I met you tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at two for our battle!" Maylene pumped their joined hands one last time then let go.

"Count on it," Dawn said, waving goodbye and walking off with Morgana and Togepi, heading back into the city. Somehow, her steps were far lighter leaving the park then entering.

#

Dawn didn't think she'd ever been so nervous about a Gym battle. She stood outside the red-roofed Veilstone Gym, a rock around which the crowd broke as they streamed into the Gym like a wave, doing her best to not throw up. A torrent of thoughts whirled in her head, moving too fast to comprehend. The nerves she'd felt waiting for Roark in Orebrugh, knowing the battle might be her last chance to win Crest over, hadn't been nearly this bad. Facing Fantina again after her first loss, a piece of cake in comparison to taking another step forward right now.

The news that Maylene had accepted a challenge had spread through the city like wildfire that morning. Dawn had awoken late to find the Pokémon Center's lounge packed with chattering trainers, all gossiping about the news, wondering who the challenger was, and what their chances of being the next challenger might be. It seemed like every trainer in the city was flooding into the open doors of the Gym, eager to watch the battle with the challenger that "broke Maylene out of her funk," as she'd heard one trainer phrase it.

Dawn had battled in front of crowds before. The Twinleaf Tournament had hundreds if not thousands watching, especially for the final match. She didn't like it, not with all the noise and distractions and pressure a crowd presented, but she could deal with it. She had to, if she ever wanted to be able to battle at the Conference where hundreds of thousands watched and cheered from the stands.

What had her frozen outside the gym now was the uncertainty and the expectations. Those people expected her to be strong, to be amazing, the trainer that made Maylene accept her challenge after weeks of denying all comers. They didn't know that she'd halfway broken down in front of the Gym Leader last night instead of stunning Maylene with skill or battle prowess.

That promise and the conversation before it also fueled her nerves. She'd suggested this match as a way for Maylene to get her confidence back, to get back in sync with her Pokémon and become the Gym Leader Dawn knew she could be. What if Dawn battled too hard, beat her badly and she never got her confidence back? But… she'd asked Dawn to come at her full force, and it wasn't as if Dawn's victory was assured. She'd been training all week because she knew Maylene was tough. She might not win if she didn't go all out. Heck, she might lose even if she did go all out. What to do?

Dawn shook her head to try to clear it of spinning thoughts, hand falling to her Pokéballs. She wasn't going to get any answers standing out here. She'd find them in there, doing her best with what the battle threw at her and Maylene both. One hesitant step, then another, and Dawn was moving with the crowd again, walking into the Veilstone Gym.

The Gym was built like a traditional dojo, with a padded floor, hanging sandbags, and other trappings of martial arts. There were even a few boxing rings for humans set at the back of the main room. A free-standing desk stood a few feet away from the door, seeming out of place amid the rest of the decor. A harried-looking man wearing a gi sat behind the desk, directing the spectators toward a door on the right that led deeper into the building; that door probably led to the stands. Dawn half-wondered if the stands could fit this many people; the Veilstone Gym was big, but it wasn't enormous.

She walked up to the main desk and receptionist, who didn't even bother to look at her. "Take the door on the right to reach the stands. If you're a reporter you'll have to sit with the rest, no exceptions, and no interviews."

"I'm the challenger," Dawn said, trying to keep her voice down. Even so, she saw a few people turn their heads to look at her as they passed. The receptionist finally looked at her, surprised. "Oh, you must be Dawn! Maylene mentioned- well, thank you, whatever you did to get her to accept challengers again. She's been raring to go all morning, it's been amazing, she's almost back to her old self before- well, thank you again. You'll take the door on the left and follow the hallway to the end, it'll take you straight to the battlefield. Maylene's already down there waiting."

Dawn thanked the man and walked over to the door on the right, setting her shoulders and doing her best to ignore the following eyes and whispered words of the crowd as they all went left. "Good luck!" the receptionist called after her as she vanished through the door.

The hallway wasn't long, and Dawn soon found herself emerging into a hall packed with people. It was built in the same style as the first room, with the traditional wood and paper paneling and a large dirt battlefield in the middle. Like Fantina's it was missing any extra terrain like rocks or plants to spice it up; Maylene's fighters appreciated the good footing plain dirt would provide. To either side of the battlefield were stands, both sides packed to overflowing with crowds milling about the edges. Some of Maylene's Gym Trainers, recognizable because of the gi they wore, were working to corral the crowds and keep them back from the battlefield.

Maylene stood at the opposite end of the battlefield. She looked so different now than she had last night, half in shadow sitting on the park bench. She had a white bandage covering her nose and worse loose athletic clothing instead of the gi her Gym Trainers wore. She was barefoot, something Dawn' hadn't noticed in the darkness last night but was plainly visible in the bright light coming in through the windows and from the overhead lights. Her pink hair stood out starkly against the wood of the wall behind her.

Dawn did recognize those tense shoulders, her apprehensive expression, and the way Maylene looked down at the ground instead of looking up, as though trying to hide from the eyes of the crowd. Dawn felt the urge to copy her as every head in the room swung towards her as she entered, and the crowd roared, a nearly visible wall of sound hitting her like a Boomburst. Maylene's head snapped up and Dawn saw relief and apprehension in the Gym Leader's eyes at the sight of Dawn.

She could do this. For Maylene, for herself, she could do this. She nodded to Maylene and managed a weak smile, which Maylene returned with more strength than Dawn could muster. Dawn removed her shoes, leaving them by the door she'd entered from, and took her place at the end of the battlefield.

"Are you ready Dawn?" Maylene called over the screaming crowd as her Gym Trainers did their best to calm them, to little avail. She kept glancing at the crowd even as she spoke to Dawn.

Maylene wouldn't get anywhere worrying about the watchers. Dawn needed to keep her attention. "Of course! Are you? I want to see what you're made of!" Dawn yelled back, trying to project bravado.

Maylene smiled, plucking a Pokéball off her belt. "You might not be so happy when we're done with you! Remember our promise- All out, no matter what! I want to see what you've got too!"

"You're on!"

A tall, bulky man who towered over both Maylene and Dawn stepped up to referee, and the crowd finally hushed. "The battle between Challenger Dawn of Twinleaf Town and Gym Leader Maylene for the Cobble Badge will now begin! The battle will be four-on-four with no substitutions. Trainers, release your Pokémon!"

Four on four? She'd been expecting a three on three. One of the Pokémon she hadn't been intending to use would get a chance to fight today. Dawn plucked her first choice from her belt and released him into the air.

Zephyr appeared five feet above them, wings outstretched and head held high as he soared in a lazy arc over the crowd. They cheered as the Staravia swooped above, raring for the battle to begin.

On Maylene's side of the field a Medicham appeared. The humanoid Pokémon had a very short top bulb, a sign that it was both female and had evolved recently. Her face was calm and measured, her body falling into a battle stance, one hand extended towards Dawn, the other held in a close guard. She was ready for battle. The crowd cheered Medicham as well, causing Maylene to glance over anxiously though her Pokémon didn't seem at all perturbed.

The ref raised his flag and swept it down. "Medicham vs. Staravia. Battle, begin!"

Zephyr shot towards Medicham, a blur in the air as he increased his speed with Agility, but Medicham took a single step to the side to avoid him before Dawn could call him off. She internally breathed a sigh of relief; hitting something with that much force this early in the fight wouldn't be good.

She hadn't planned on a Gym Battle today until her conversation with Maylene last night came around. Zephyr's wings were still healing from the beating he'd taken from Salamence, and he shouldn't be hitting anything with his wings for at least another day if he could help it. She'd warned him before coming that she would let him fight, but Wing Attack was off limits, and he was to stay at a range if they could help it. In the middle of an actual battle, it appeared her warning had gone in one ear and out the other.

"Whirlwind!" Dawn called, her voice a little sharper than normal. "It can dodge with Detect if you get close!" Medicham were famous for being nearly impossible to hit without some way to disrupt their precognitive psychic powers; their mixture of fighting and psychic abilities gave them incredible control of their own bodies that few Pokémon could match.

"Medicham, Acupressure-D and Calm Mind!" Maylene called. Medicham hesitated briefly; her finger was already hovering above a pressure point on the shoulder, but the Meditate Pokémon moved the finger to a point on the chest, poking three points in sequence before closing her eyes, a gentle pink light glowing behind her eyelids as she focused her psychic abilities after strengthening her defense. She ignored the wind as it picked up and began to spin, the Whirlwind growing stronger with each passing second.

Medicham opened her eyes, calmly waiting for orders as she stood in the eye of the storm. Dawn got there before Maylene could open her mouth: "Feather Dance!"

Zephyr squawked an approximation of a laugh and shook his whole body. Puffs of downy feathers fell from him and joined the Whirlwind, turning the whole thing into a feathery tornado. Medicham made a noise closer to a squeak than Dawn expected as the feathers covered her whole body, stuck to her with the light paralytic Zephyr coated them in. Those feathers would slow down and weaken blows, plus all the feathers flying about made it hard for Medicham to find Zephyr visually.

Dawn was more used to Zephyr's flight patterns and was able to pinpoint him on the opposite side of the Whirlwind as it raged. He hovered in the air, body beginning to glow with white light…

"Air Slash!" Dawn yelled before he could start Take Down in earnest. Zephyr's glow faded and he took off in a swooping dive, wind gathering around his wings before he swept them towards Medicham in unison. A thick blade of air exploded from his wings, heading right for Medicham. Predictably, she stepped neatly out of the way and waited for an order. Zephyr kept going, throwing Air Slashes from every angle, but Medicham stepped around them all with little effort, only getting clipped by the edge of one when Zephyr shot two at once, leaving it nowhere to go.

Maylene didn't say anything, even though Medicham was clearly waiting for an order. When Dawn caught a glimpse of her past the whirling tornado of feathers, she saw the tightness around Maylene's eyes, the way her fists were clenched, and above all the way she kept looking over at the crowd.

Dawn gritted her teeth. She didn't want to do this, for Zephyr and Maylene both, but if it would get Maylene into the battle… She gave Zephyr his wish. "Zephyr, Take Down and Reverse! Keep at it until you get a hit in!"

Zephyr screeched in joy and dove in at once. That got Maylene's attention- Medicham might be able to dodge, but she would have to go into the feather tornado to dodge all of Zephyr's bulk at once. He'd gotten a lot bigger in the months since he'd evolved.

"Medicham, Fake Out!" Medicham stood still as Zephyr dove at her, not moving a muscle. When Zephyr was a foot away, she took a deliberate step to the right. That was a mistake- Zephyr could still correct at that distance. A twitch of the feathers on his right wing let him adjust and he crashed into Medicham with the force of a falling meteor-

Medicham appeared on his left and drove a deliberate fist right into the spot beneath his beak, knocking his head up and sending him spinning wildly. It was a miracle that he managed to stay in the air, but as he pumped his wings to get away Medicham's other fist lit with blue light and she drove an Ice Punch into his tail feathers.

Zephyr screeched in pain and outrage as three feathers fully froze over and a coating of frost stretched over the rest of his tail feathers, but he managed to pull up out of range again. "Yeah, that's it Medicham!" Maylene yelled, punching the air. The crowd screamed with her, eager at the sight of real damage.

Dawn grinned at her opponent's enthusiasm. "Let's see you try that again! Zephyr, make the Whirlwind close in, then Air Slash!" Maylene had to have a strategy for long-range opponents; Dawn wanted to draw it out.

Zephyr's caw made the Whirlwind reduce its radius; it closed in on Medicham, strong enough at that range to upset Medicham's footing even thought by now it had lost most of the flying feathers it held suspended. Zephyr stayed outside the Whirlwind, peppering Medicham with Air Slashes to keep her moving. Medicham danced between them all, rendered untouchable by Detect even as the space she had to move in was reduced.

Maylene looked nervous for a second, eyes beginning to slide towards the crowd, but she shook her head and focused on the battle. "Medicham, you know what to do! Rock Barrage!"

Oh, Dawn did not like the sound of that. She was right to worry; Medicham stomped once and rocks pushed out of the dirt of the battleground, huge boulders larger than Medicham was. Dawn only had a half-second to wonder how Medicham could possibly throw the Rock Tomb when it was that big before Medicham leapt five feet in the air, one foot extended and glowing with bright red light as she fell to earth. One of the rocks exploded as Medicham's Hi-Jump Kick reduced it to shrapnel. Rocks flew about the battlefield, more than a few impacting the psychic shields in front of Dawn and making them flare up.

Whirlwind caught some of the shards, but it was too close to Medicham to catch them all. Zephyr screeched in pain as shards of rock tore out feathers and carved gashes into still-sensitive skin. He wobbled in midair, Whirlwind collapsing as he lost control of it, and Medicham capitalized. She rushed for him, eyes glowing pink for a moment. Zephyr crashed to the ground, his eyes carrying just a hint of that pink glow as well. She had used Confusion to bring him to earth.

Medicham leapt up above Zephyr, leg extended as she came down for another Hi-Jump Kick-

"Air Slash!" Zephyr rolled over onto his back and threw his wings forward, a swirling wind-blade barreling through the air.

In midair, Medicham had nowhere to go. The Air Slash caught her in the belly and sent her sprawling to the ground. Zephyr was on his feet in a heartbeat, and Medicham didn't have enough time to recover before he slammed his head into her, glowing with Take Down. Medicham slumped to the ground and moved no more.

The crowd roared its approval as Dawn called out congratulations to Zephyr. Maylene recalled her fallen psychic type, shaking her head but smiling all the while. Dawn smiled herself when she noticed Maylene didn't even look at the crowd once as they cheered.

"Good job Dawn! I thought we had you there for a moment. That Staravia's got some guts. Let's see how it deals with my next Pokémon though!"

Maylene threw her next Pokéball, releasing a towering Machoke. Dawn had fought Machoke before and they normally stood only a little bit taller than Dawn herself. This one had to be at least a head taller than Dawn, standing at least six feet tall if not taller. Its well-developed muscles twitched and flexed as it prepared for battle, fangs poking out past its reptilian snout.

Zephyr was undeterred by his enormous opponent. He spread his wings and screeched a battle cry, but Dawn could see the slight shiver in his body and the way he was still breathing hard. Those Ice Punches, the Rock Barrage and the recoil from Take Down wore at him.

The ref raised his flag. "Machoke vs. Staravia, begin!"

Zephyr needed recovery time, which meant getting him as far away from Machoke as possible. "Up!" Dawn commanded and Zephyr once again took to the sky, riding the wind dozens of feet above Machoke. Machoke, like Medicham, didn't move, waiting for orders.

Maylene didn't hesitate this time like she did with Medicham. "Give it a Rock Barrage Machoke!" Maylene ordered. Dawn sighed as Machoke copied Medicham's trick from before; it pulled up huge rocks using Rock Tomb and broke them into pieces. Unlike Medicham it didn't smash the rock so hard that it sent shards flying; a quick Rock Smash made a nice pile of fist-sized rocks for Machoke to palm and hurl at Zephyr.

Machoke's immense physical strength meant the rocks zipped through the air; Zephyr only barely managed to dodge the first volley, squawking in shock at its speed. Machoke didn't let up, hurling barrage after barrage with impressive accuracy.

But it needed to see Zephyr to hit him. Zephyr's body flickered and split into seven different clones, each flying in a different direction. Machoke now had to throw volleys at all seven, reducing the number any one clone had to dodge. He managed to catch two of the clones, the rock volleys tearing them apart, but neither was the true Zephyr.

"Air Slash!" Dawn called. Each of the clones threw a wind blade, but the one that came at Machoke's back was the one that connected. Machoke winced and was nearly thrown off its feet by the unexpected blow, blood dripping from a thin gash on its back. The crowd screamed and Maylene winced right alongside her Pokémon, hands clenching into fists at her side. Dawn saw her shoulders hunch and eyes begin to slide towards the crowd, but Dawn ordered another Air Slash and Maylene's eyes snapped back to the battle, shoulders straightening.

"Rock Shield Machoke! Don't let it blindside you!" Maylene called. Machoke nodded and ducked another set of Air Slashes, a well-timed volley of rocks bringing down another clone. It used the brief moment of calm to punch the ground with both fists, leaving small craters. Rocks grew from the ground again, but they weren't the monstrously huge rocks Machoke used earlier. These were thinner, growing straight up… still growing… above Machoke's head…

Dawn cursed internally as the rocks grew into a shield around Machoke, enclosing the fighting-type in a rocky tomb, even covering the top of its head. Zephyr's clones faded as he circled the rock enclosure. Zephyr couldn't get through that easily; she'd held off giving him the Steel Wing TM while he healed and was regretting it now. They'd have to wait for whatever Machoke was planning.

They didn't have to wait long. Rock shards went flying, leaving Zephyr with more grazes as Machoke pulverized one side of the enclosure of rock, opening a window in the structure and attacking at the same time. Zephyr zipped over to the other side, wincing as he flapped, but Machoke sent another barrage of shards from that side too, even as another rock pushed up from the battlefield to hide the opening Machoke made first. It was using Rock Tomb to protect itself from counterattack at the same time it made itself more ammo. Dawn admired the technique at the same time as she plotted ways to get around it.

With Zephyr's current moves, their best asset was speed. "Agility to avoid the shards, then strike with Air Slash in the openings!" Agility would let him strike before the openings could close. He would wear Machoke down-

Zephyr screeched, a blurred line in the air as he dove for the opening in the Rock Tomb-

"Zephyr no!" Dawn yelled, but she was much too late. The Rock Tomb enclosure exploded and for a moment Dawn could see nothing but rocks and dust. The air filtration systems all indoor Gyms had kicked in and after a moment Dawn could see the result.

She sighed and palmed Zephyr's Pokéball as she saw her flying type lying unconscious in the dirt, Machoke standing over it with one hand still clenched into a fist. Zephyr should have known he'd stand no chance in close combat, but he hadn't been able to resist. Once this was over, they'd be having a long talk about that.

Dawn recalled Zephyr amidst the cheers of the crowd. Maylene smiled and waved to them, throwing a thumbs up to her Pokémon. Surprisingly, Machoke returned it, fangs glinting in the light, making Maylene grin harder and the crowd scream.

Dawn grabbed the oldest Pokéball on her belt and tapped it twice, feeling the gentle coolness that always emanated from it. At the ref's wave, she released Crest onto the field. Crest emerged and raised his beak arrogantly, wings flapping once as he prepared himself for battle.

"Machoke vs. Prinplup, begin!"

Maylene took the first move this time. "Vital Throw! Get in close!" Machoke barreled forward, heavy steps giving it impressive acceleration. Crest had to throw himself out of the way to avoid Machoke's reaching arms, and Dawn noticed Maylene reaching out at the same time as her Pokémon.

"Brine then Bubblebeam!" Dawn called. Crest spun behind Machoke and spat a thick stream of salty water. It impacted Machoke's back and Machoke seized up for a second, the pain of salt water in the open wound Zephyr's Air Slash left behind shocking it. Crest's Bubblebeam hit it a moment later and sent it stumbling forward, opening up a gap between them.

"Whirlpool!" Dawn shouted, leaping on the opportunity. Crest's beak rose high and water gathered there, spinning into a cone that grew larger with each passing second. He needed at least five seconds uninterrupted to make a Whirlpool.

That was a long time in a fight. Machoke regained its footing and spun around, sprinting back towards Crest. Crest had to throw it early, but while the modestly sized-Whirlpool wasn't strong enough to do damage against Machoke's tough skin, it was enough to disrupt Machoke's footing. Machoke stumbled for the second time and Crest once again slipped behind it, hitting it with Brine once more.

Machoke roared, a primal sound that made something in Dawn shiver in fear. It whirled, one leg lashing out and catching Crest's side with Low Sweep. Crest went flying, slamming into the remains of Rock Tomb. He struggled to stand, but Machoke was bearing down on him again. It reached Crest before he finished rising, one fist coming down for a Rock Smash-

Crest spat a stream of milky white Bubblebeam into its face. Machoke's head snapped back and it blinked madly, quickly recovering only to be met with a cloud of Mist. The Mist Bombs broke and released their contents when they smashed into Machoke's face, allowing Crest to vanish. Dawn watched with pride as Crest hit Machoke with Bubblebeam multiple times in quick succession, always vanishing into the mist before the Fighting-type could find him. Maylene tried to order another Rock Barrage, but Crest broke the rocks shards into sand with focused Bubblebeams before Machoke could throw.

Finally Crest landed another Brine to Machoke's back and the Superpower Pokémon groaned, falling to its knees, then slumping to the ground. Maylene recalled it before it could be fully knocked out, and the ref called the match. "Machoke is unable to battle! Prinplup wins the round!"

The crowd screamed again, but Dawn only had eyes for Maylene. Maylene's grin was crooked as she took a Pokéball off the very back of her belt, hefting it up to eye level for Dawn to see. "You've done well countering my expected threats Dawn, but let's see how you like this partner of mine!" She threw the Pokéball, and a Pokémon Dawn had never seen before appeared.

It was a bipedal Pokémon with a green mushroom-like hat on its heat and a long tail tipped with four round green structures. Red claws tipped two short arms and two long green legs, with a frill of tan fur at the base of its long neck where it met the green body. A Grass type?

The ref raised his flag, not giving Dawn enough time to ask. "Breloom vs. Prinplup, begin!"

Maylene once again took the first move, smiling widely as she raised her hands above her head. "Leech Seed and Force Palm Breloom!" Breloom raised its claws in a similar manner, seeds spitting from red openings on its mushroom-like head, spraying out over the battlefield.

"Mist!" Dawn yelled. They needed caution to deal with an unknown opponent.

Crest spat another cloud of Mist and vanished. Breloom ran right into the Mist after him, apparently not caring about the obstruction. Swirling mist was all Dawn could see as both she and Maylene searched for any hint of conflict, the crowd becoming quiet as they too waited. It took a full minute before any sign of the battle within pierced the mist cloud.

A cry of pain, Crest's shrill squawk, pierced the air and Dawn yelled a command without thinking: "Peck!" A different cry of pain came a moment later and Dawn sighed with relief, only to tense as Crest burst from the fog. One wing hung limp at his side, still covered with the remains of Leech Seed. It looked like he'd Pecked through them to get free.

Breloom burst from the Mist after Crest, the short arms stretching to reach Crest and slap him with a Force Palm when it was still two feet away. Crest reeled back and a Leech Seed burst to life under his feet, twining up around his body to catch his other wing in a harsh grip. Crest struggled to pull away, but Breloom jumped forward, avoiding Crest's reflexive Peck with nimble footwork. It slapped Crest's beak away with another Force Palm, then grabbed the sides of Crest's head with claws glowing green. Crest sagged in its grip as Mega Drain took his energy.

"Metal Claw!" Dawn yelled, heart beating harshly in her ears. He needed to get away!

Crest's wings shone with silver light at the edges and he sliced through the Leech Seed, swinging his wing around and carving a line into Breloom's upper arm and catching the edge of the mushroom hat. Breloom didn't let go, continuing the Mega Drain, so Crest kicked it.

Crest wasn't built for kicking and his flippers weren't sharp, so the kick didn't do any damage, but it did force Breloom to let go for a moment. Crest spat a Brine as he regained his footing, making Breloom cry out and back up even more as it tried to wipe the salty water from its eyes.

Crest didn't take the chance to run. Instead he lowered his head and lunged, beak glowing blue with the power of Peck. One Peck landed to Breloom's belly, then another to the arm, then one to the shoulder before Breloom recovered and slapped Crest away with a hard blow from its tail. The end of its tail shone purple as it did so, and Dawn saw a cloud of purple powder land on Crest as he spun away from the Grass type. He'd been poisoned.

Breloom wasn't playing around anymore. It used its long legs to leap atop Crest before he could rise from his unintended flight.

"Drain Punch!" Maylene cried.

"Ice Beam!" Dawn yelled desperately. A low boom sounded as Breloom drove a devastating punch into Crest's midsection, at the same moment Crest spat a thin beam of icy blue-white light into Breloom's face. A crater formed beneath Crest's body, sending up a small wave of dust. When it cleared, Crest was unconscious on the floor, Breloom stumbling off his body and using its claws to tear at the icicles that hung from its mushroom-like head.

Dawn whispered congratulations to Crest as she recalled him, warmth filling her chest. Crest hadn't been able to win, but he'd gone out fighting. Breloom looked distinctly annoyed as it clawed icicles off its head, stretching and rotating its upper arm where Metal Claw and Peck had both landed. The wounds looked better than Dawn expected; Drain Punch and Mega Drain must have drained enough energy to let Breloom heal faster than usual. It was injured but had plenty of energy left to burn.

Dawn reached for Morgana's Pokéball. It was time for her first Gym Battle. The little Fire type appeared on the field in a burst of red, tail wagging and ears emitting a blast of heat as she emerged. Dawn had fed her a feast of twigs, sticks and even some coal for fuel this morning in preparation for this battle. She'd burn Breloom, and maybe even Lucario, to ash if she could.

The ref once again raised his flag as whispers and cheers both emanated from the stands. Dawn could hear many Pokédexes firing up as the spectators watched two unfamiliar, foreign Pokémon square off. "Breloom vs. Fennekin, begin!"

"Flame Charge!" Dawn was determined to get Morgana ahead early. Morgana took off, leaving flaming tracks behind as she circled Breloom; unlike the others, she didn't appreciate a physical battle. Breloom looked on warily at the flames she wore like a cloak, waiting in the center of her circle. Maylene watched Morgana as well, eyes sharp as she searched for a strategy.

"Stone Edge!" Her voice cracked like a whip and Breloom responded instantly. Sharp-edged stones burst from the ground in a circle as it dragged its claws into the air with a quick gesture, mirrored by Maylene on the sidelines. Flame Charge saved Morgana, giving her the speed to avoid the Stone Edges and in one case, leap off before it damaged her when it came up right below her feet. Morgana yipped and raced around one of the Stone Edges, heading right for Breloom's back.

"Ember!" The flames of Morgana's coat flared and she opened her mouth, spitting a cloud of Embers right for Breloom. Breloom ducked and spun to the side without looking, avoiding the Embers and placing it right to Morgana's side in an eye blink. It stretched an arm out and pushed, impossibly quick-

Both Pokémon howled with pain as Morgana took the Mach Punch to the side and Breloom's back burned from the redirected Embers, Morgana's pyrokinesis training paying off at a pivotal moment. They both backed away to nurse their wounds, panting and growling almost in unison. Maylene and Dawn locked eyes across the battlefield as their Pokémon did the same. It was a standoff. Who would move first?

Maylene leapt on the chance. "Seed Bomb and Mach Punch!" Maylene cried, punching out with her right fist. Breloom barked and punched out, seeds flying from the openings on its head. They fell on Morgana as she dodged Mach Punch, so she reactivated Flame Charge to burn through. She did not expect the Seed Bombs to explode as they burned, knocking the small Pokémon off her feet as they burst above her. Breloom was behind her in a half-second, nailing her with another Mach Punch that sent her sprawling.

Morgana had had enough. She rolled to her feet and Howled, the human-like scream making many in the audience shout with surprise. Her cloak of flames burst into renewed life and she took a deep breath in, then breathed out a thick stream of flame that swirled in a spiral pattern in the air, trapping Breloom within a spinning ribbon of flame. It barked again and tried to back away, but the flames pursued it, twisting through the air to burn Breloom anew wherever it tried to jump. Breloom survived the heat for a while, but eventually the burns overcame its impressive resolve. It slumped to the ground, burns peppered all over its body, and the ref swept his flag down.

Maylene recalled Breloom amidst the cheers of the crowd. "I knew you could do it!" Dawn yelled to Morgana, who herself was howling and barking with glee at her victory, tail wagging frantically.

Maylene hefted her final Pokéball, a relaxed, excited smile on her face. "I'm impressed Dawn, truly. You've done so well, but this isn't the end, my friend. Lucario, let's do this!"

The Lucario she'd met last night appeared on the field, noble blue eyes meeting Dawn's as it unfolded from the kneeling position it had emerged in. It nodded to her, the four black appendages on its head rising until they stood horizontal to the ground, paws held up in a fighting position that mirrored the one Maylene now held. Trainer and Pokémon, once again in perfect sync, ready to fight.

Dawn raised her own fist into the air and Morgana held her head high and howled a challenge.

Then froze. The battlefield seemed to darken for a split second before Morgana burst into intense, rippling blue-white light.

Dawn's eyes widened and the audience fell silent in awe as Morgana's small form surged with light, growing and changing, swelling and folding in on itself with each moment that passed. She grew and grew and grew until she stood as tall as Lucario, the fur inside her ears lengthening, her back legs growing until she stood on two feet instead of four, her tail doubling, no quadrupling in size. An instant later the light burst away and a new Pokémon stood in Morgana's place, with Morgana's familiar features sculpted into a new form. Morgana the Braixen howled, her voice a little deeper and much more powerful. She spread her arms wide and the air around her burst aflame, roaring high with her new power.

Her movement broke the spell and the crowd roared and screamed, applause and shouts filling the air as they celebrated Morgana's evolution. The ref was smiling brightly as he raised his flag high above his head, words booming above the crowd's cries: "Lucario vs. Braixen, battle begin!"

"Let's start this off with a bang! Lucario, Bone Rush!" Maylene cried. She and Lucario held their hands out in unison, and a glowing blue bone-like structure appeared in Lucario's hands. It twirled the bone one and rushed forward, nothing more than a blue-black blur to Dawn's eyes.

Morgana was faster. Her fiery aura flared brighter, gaining a core of white as she Howled again, thrusting both hands forward. Streamers of flame reached out, converging on Lucario as it closed in. Lucario darted between them, too fast to track and gaining ground with every step. Morgana did her best to keep the flames going after it, but Dawn could see the way her hands shook and her eyes narrowed. The power of her evolution came with a cost; she had little control right now compared to the power she could use, and she needed control more than power at this moment.

"Lucky Chant!" Dawn called. Morgana needed focus, and lacking a physical one she might be able to use a mental one. Morgana's eyes closed and her hands clasped in front of her, the strange wow sounds that was her mantra barely audible above the sound of crackling flames and the crowd's cheers. Dawn flinched as the flame cloak flared again, so strong the heat leaked through the psychic barriers in front of her, the crackle awakening dark memories.

She pushed them aside with effort and focused on the battle. Lucario wasn't moving forward anymore; the sheer heat of Morgana's flame cloak kept it from coming too close, and the flaming streamers extending from her fiery aura were too dense to get through at the front. Lucario looked like it was dancing as it spun and leapt, ducked, and swept out with its Bone Rush, dispelling the flames before they reached its vulnerable body. Only one or two got close enough to touch Lucario, leaving behind only the lightest of burns before Lucario swung Bone Rush around to sweep them away.

"If we can't get close, we'll take it out from here! Aura Sphere!" Maylene held her hands out in front of herself in a stance Dawn didn't recognize. Lucario obeyed, leaping back a good ten feet and extending both paws in front of itself. It matched Maylene's stance, ignoring the streamers of fire that shot towards it. Blue power gathered in front of its paws, with core of intense white that danced like a flame. Dawn didn't like the look of that.

"Psybeam! Spear it!" Morgana's eyes squeezed shut and she extended her arms, the Lucky Chant taking on a strained edge. Reddish-pink light lit behind her eyelids and condensed into a tiny sphere where her hands extended, like a mirror of Lucario's Aura Sphere.

Lucario eyes widened and it threw the Aura Sphere right for Morgana. Morgana's eyes snapped open, and the tiny globe of psychic power flattened into a beam heading right for the Aura Sphere. The two moves met in the center of the battlefield and exploded in a burst of power. Dawn threw up an arm to block the wind and light, but the psychic barriers flared to life and caught most of the destructive power before it could get to Dawn.

When the light faded Dawn saw the crater left behind that consumed a huge portion of the battlefield. Lucario had a few burn and char marks and Morgana's flaming aura was greatly reduced; she was panting hard. She couldn't go on much longer.

Best to go out in a blaze of glory, literally. "Fire Spin!" Morgana shut her eyes again, chant resuming and the streamers of fire extending from her body began to condense. They became a focused, swirling tornado of flame, aimed right at Lucario.

"That's it! Lucario, Bone Rush then Force Palm! Knock it out!" Maylene was almost hopping from foot to foot in excitement, hands punching at the air. Lucario's lips pulled up into something like a grin that exposed its upper fangs. It produced the Bone Rush again and raced forward, dodging streams of flame, diving right through the flaming spiral with little more than a wince as it raced for Morgana.

"Focused burst!" Morgana got the message; her fiery aura pulled away from her body and stopped feeding the Fire Spin, condensing into a ball of fire that hovered in front of her. When it was all consumed, the ball of fire was nearly half Morgana's height. With a cry she loosed it, and the flaming sphere flew for Lucario.

To its credit, the Steel and Fighting type didn't hesitate or change course. It charged into the path of the ball of flame, Bone Rush extended before it. With a mighty cry of its own it smashed the Bone Rush down on the ball of flame, shattering the energy construct and flaming orb both. White-hot fire washed over the battlefield, and when it was gone Morgana was unconscious on the field, Lucario standing over her with one palm extended, burnt and breathing hard but still able to go on.

Dawn sighed but smiled, recalling her Fire type. That had been a spectacular battle and evolution to boot! Maylene and the crowd seemed to agree, as they were shouting themselves senseless. Dawn couldn't hear what Maylene said over the crowd's yells, so she just grabbed Aries' Pokéball from her belt and waited for the ref.

Finally the crowd calmed, the ref nodded to her and she released her last teammate. Aries appeared on the ruined field, looking around with calm eyes and stamping a hoof to check the stability of the ground when he saw the destruction they'd already wrought. Lucario faced him with stern, focused eyes, not moving its gaze for even a second. Its burns had to hurt, but it didn't seem to notice them in the slightest; Dawn couldn't see any evidence of labored breathing or twitches of pain.

Maylene spoke again, and this time Dawn could hear her. "I'm in a bit of a bind, aren't I? But like I said, this isn't the end, not by a long shot. Lucario, you never gave up on me; I'm not about to give up on you! Let's show them what we can do!" Lucario raised its head and roared, the first cry she'd ever heard the stoic Pokémon make.

The ref raised his flag for the final time. "Skiddo vs. Lucario, battle begin!"

Lucario didn't wait for an order this time. It raced for Aries, Bone Rush manifesting in its paws. Aries likewise didn't need an order; he and Dawn had strategized for this match for days. He took off, putting the speed he'd learned to use as he evaded Lucario's swipes and the occasional punch with agility and nimble footwork. After a minute of chasing the fleet-footed Mount Pokémon around the arena Lucario tried an Aura Sphere, only to see Aries knock it to the side with his vines. Aries winced as the Aura Sphere burned away the tips of the vines, but it exploded far enough away that he wasn't hurt by the backlash.

Maylene's eyes narrowed and she thrust a hand forward. "The ground Lucario! Disrupt its footing!" Lucario growled and threw another Aura Sphere; this one detonated a few feet in front of Aries, tearing up the battlefield and disrupting his path and footing. She'd underestimated Aries' balance though; he ran right through the torn-up section, hooves taking advantages of footholds and ledges most would have thought impossible, dancing through the treacherous landscape with the same grace he used to climb cliffs with Dawn on his back.

Dawn grinned. Two could play at that game. "Variate Quake!" If Aries could grin, she was sure he'd be doing so as he landed from his last leap with unusual force. The ground near him rumbled then settled, rumbled then settled, rumbling and shaking at irregular intervals, small sections turning to sand. Lucario pitched and stumbled, the first show of something other than immaculate balance she'd seen from the Fighting type since it emerged from its Pokéball. It soon regained its balance and had no other visible issues as it raced for Aries once again, but Dawn knew it had to be working harder than usual to stay upright. The vibrations wouldn't be good for its steel-laced bones either, though it wouldn't hurt it as much as it might other steel-types with more metal.

"Keep it up! Tangle!" Lucario bore down on Aries, glowing fist raised for a powerful blow. Aries danced backward and the seeds he'd dropped in the brief moment standing there sprouted, vines crawling up Lucario's legs and arms to bind them and steal power, giving Aries the moment he needed to strike.

Lucario was too strong. It ripped right through the vines, silvery claws appearing on its paws and the spike on the back of its paws gleaming as it tore through the restraints. Now free, it buried a glowing fist in the side of Aries' head below his horns.

Aries head snapped back and he bleated in pain, a quick kick to the midsection driving Lucario off for a moment. Lucario was back in less than an eyeblink, driving another glowing fist into Aries' side. The bleat became a near-scream as Aries stumbled back. Lucario's burns didn't look so bad now, and it moved with more speed than before as it came after Aries with yet another glowing fist. It was stealing Aries' trick, using Drain Punch to steal his power like Aries had tried with Leech Seed! Maylene grinned at Dawn from the trainer's box, matching Lucario's sequence of punches with her own body.

"Bli-" Aries got there first. He used his mouth to pluck a seed from his coat and spat it into Lucario's eye. The unexpected attack actually made Lucario step back a moment, allowing Aries to run away. The Leech Seed glowed green and grew at Aries' command, vine tendrils wrapping around Lucario's eyes and head once, twice, three times. Lucario clawed at it but couldn't use Metal Claw at the risk of carving into its own head.

Aries darted around the back, head lowering to expose sturdy horns, charging for Lucario-

The appendages on Lucario's head rose to horizontal and it spun, blindfold still in place, Aura Sphere generating too fast to believe. It shot from Lucario's paws and took Aries in the chest, sending him sprawling. Lucario ripped the blindfold from its eyes as Aries struggled back to his feet. They stared each other down; they'd each taken hits, and they could sense the end approaching.

Dawn and Maylene yelled commands in the same moment: "Tangle!" "Drain Punch!"

Aries whole body glowed green as the seeds he'd scattered during his initial flight from Lucario leapt to life, reaching for Lucario, using Grass Knot to reach where the Leech Seed couldn't. Lucario's fists lit, one with the silvery claws of Metal Claw, the other with the red light of Drain Punch. It charged Aries, using Metal Claw to tear away the Tangle as it reached for him, Drain Punch held ready.

Tangle wouldn't be enough. That was fine. "Bulldoze! Full Bulldoze, bury it!"

Aries reared up on his hind legs and drove his legs into the ground. Before him the battlefield shook and turned to soft sand in a wave; Lucario jumped as it reached the area, but Tangle lashed out from the sides and caught the legs, dragging Lucario down until it stood waist-deep in the sand. Aries' vines extended, their tips still burnt from Aura Sphere, grabbing Lucario's wrists below the Metal Claw. Lucario tried to wrestle free, but grass and vines reached from the sides of the Bulldoze pit to grab every bit of Lucario they could reach. The Leech Seed vines began to glow green, sucking Lucario's energy away greedily as it wrestled and writhed, trying desperately to escape.

Aries wouldn't let it. He backed up, retracting his vine-arms and giving himself a good five feet of land before the pit. He stomped his hoof once, then charged, horns down, body glowing with the white light of Take Down as he put everything he had into one final attack.

Lucario's eyes were wide and it struggled for all it was worth to escape the Bulldoze and Tangle, but there were too many vines and the sand pit too loose to give him anything to push on. Maylene's eyes were wide as well as she saw Aries bearing down on her partner. "Dragon Pulse! Come on, one last hit!"

"You can do it Aries!" Dawn yelled, fist raised into the air.

Lucario's mouth opened and swirling purple energy, too familiar, gathered there. Aries leapt over the sand pit, aiming at Lucario, and Lucario fired-

Sand went flying, as did burnt remains of vines and grass. When it was over, there were two bodies in the sand pit. The crowd held its breath-

One of the bodies shook itself and pulled itself to its feet, climbing stiffly out of the sand pit on Dawn's side. Aries shook off the remaining sand and held his head high, a satisfied bleat echoing around the silent room.

The crowd went insane. In the enclosed space, they made a hundred people feel like a thousand, all shouting and cheering, yelling questions and comments and expressions of joy and enthusiasm. Their stomping feet made a rhythm as they celebrated Dawn's victory. For her part, all she could do was grab Aries in a hug when he came running over, rubbing the soft moss on his back and scratching the place at the base of his horns that he loved as she congratulated him on his victory.

Maylene approached, walking over the ruined battlefield with the easy grace of someone who'd done it a thousand times before. She stopped a few feet from Dawn and extended a hand. In the palm of her hand lay the Cobble Badge, polished and gleaming.

"You win Dawn. That was a tough loss, but I learned a lot from it. I learned a lot from you. Please, accept this Gym Badge."

Dawn stood, her left hand still buried in Aries' ruff. She delicately plucked the badge from Maylene's palm with her right hand and held it up to the light, heart swelling fit to burst with pride and accomplishment.

Maylene smiled a soft, contemplative smile. "I can't explain what it means to be strong, or what it means to be a Gym Leader, not yet. I don't know how much effort it'll take to get there… but being with my team, meeting, battling, and learning from people like you, it makes it all worth it. I'm going to put every ounce of energy and dedication I have into becoming strong, being the best Gym Leader I can be, no matter what I have to do or what anyone else thinks." Maylene stretched out her hand and Dawn shook it, Maylene's grip almost strong enough to crush Dawn's hand.

Maylene's stomach rumbled and she blushed, hand falling to her stomach. "Gee, I'm hungry. That battle wiped out all my energy! What do you say we go get some food?"

Dawn smiled at her. "I'd love to." They turned to the door, Aries walking beside them, ignoring the chattering crowd and the reporters running over as they left to enjoy themselves after a hard-fought battle with a new friend.

#

Happy posting anniversary, have a chapter! Not quite as action packed this time, but hopefully still impactful. We meet some very important people and Dawn gets to destress with some fun and some not-so-fun battles. Next time we're off to Pastoria City and get to meet someone even more important. I did my best to build up a backlog in July so I can get the next chapter out in September, but starting grad school might interfere.

See you next time!