I slammed my wallet down against the desk of the Pokemon centre as I stormed up the stairs.

"Y-Young Sir? What is this for?" The nurse at the desk looked up at me with confusion in her brown eyes, lightning shaped earrings jangling from her lobes.

"The damages I'm about to incur."

"Young Sir!?"

I ignored the panicking staff members and made directly for room 205, waltzing up the stairs to the second floor and checking the doors again.

201, 202, 203, 204… Aha. 205.

I stopped by the door, straightening my posture and tucking my hands behind my back. I took a deep sucking breath, summoning every ounce of mental strength the army gave me-To go into drill sergeant mode.

Yeller stiffened at my side.

"BLUE!" I bellowed. "You've been inside long enough, it's time come out!"

I stared straight ahead at the door for a moment, when there was no response I stiffly raised my fist and rapped it on the door forcefully.

"Up and at 'em soldier!"

I craned my ears, hearing shifting and a groan from inside. A few footsteps approached, then turned aside. Finally, a quiet voice penetrated the door.

"Go away Cyan…"

Blue's voice was softer than usual, more reserved. Instead of his usual arrogance, the voice portrayed an uncomfortable sense of sadness.

"No. Come Out."

And I didn't allow myself to care.

There was a long silence, then I heard the telltale shuffles as Blue left the door, not bothering to argue with me. I nodded at my partner, who started flashing blue with the signature charge of Focus Energy.

"You have to the count of five! One…"

I watched my partner, until there was a second flash. "Two…"

"Three,"

"Four,"

A fifth flash with no response. "Five. Last Chance."

I waited until the sixth flash.

I shook my head in dismay. Only one way to motivate soldiers like this.

"Yeller."

The rodent jolted to attention, brimming with the blue energy of Focus Energy barely contained across his golden body. I gestured at the lock on the door.

"Quick Attack."

With the same power Yeller had been using to bore through tree bark, the Rattata barrelled directly into the door's handle and lock, which jolted in disagreement. The attack wasn't enough to break through, but it didn't matter.

The six orbs of blue energy flew away from Yeller, spiralling out in a circle pattern, before spinning and converging back towards the handle like yo-yos being drawn back to their holder's hand. I leaned back and raised my foot high, waiting for the perfect timing.

If you landed a blow at the exact same time as a Focus Energy ball…

The balls converged and I slammed my foot against the door, in one deafening crash the door was ripped off it's hinges and slammed deformed against the floor of Blue's room.

A true critical hit.

"C-Cyan!? What the hell are you-"

Blue was in a clear state of disarray. Familiar dark circles shadowed his eyes, and he wore nothing but a singlet and pyjama shorts. A far cry from the nobility he usually portrayed. Regardless, I hadn't come to hear him yap.

Even when he was clearly out of sorts, Blue wasn't an idiot. He must have immediately caught on to my intentions, as he scrambled for his partner's Pokeball and threw it at me defensively. The blue turtle Pokemon that came out as a result looked around in confusion, and Blue thrust a finger at me.

"S-Squirt! Water Gun!"

The Wartortle seemed confused but, to it's credit, immediately balled up a sphere of water and fired it at me. Unfortunately both trainer and Pokemon were too startled to aim well, so as I sharply bent forward and broke into a sprint, the blast went clear over my right shoulder, flooding the carpet on the room behind me.

I burst forward and rammed my knee into Blue's lower chest, he doubled over wheezing breathlessly. He looked up at me in confusion. While he was still disabled, I grabbed his Pokeball.

"Return Squirt."

A flash of red light, and the wartortle was returned to containment. I stuffed the Pokeball in my pocket then grabbed Blue by his arm and dragged him out of the room.

"W-" Blue coughed fiercely. "What on-?"

"First things first, you stink. Hit the showers. After that we'll get you ready to fight."

…

Blue had given me a particularly foul glare when I'd dragged him all the way to the showers and refused to move from the entrance until he returned, but he did come back looking a little better than before.

Now we stood together on one of the Pokemon Centre's battlefields. I held my arms crossed and stared back at an uncharacteristically spaced out Blue. His gaze was averted and he looked almost lifeless.

His silver eyes, typically glowing with energy, appeared almost dull. He held his side with his hands, apparently still feeling my knee to his chest.

"I think you broke something…" He grumbled. "Why is everyone out to hurt me these days…?"

"Enough stalling, Blue. You asked me to help you beat Surge, it's time you tell me the truth. We both know the specialisation test isn't the reason you're hiding."

He winced in response to that.

"You've been to the Gym already, then?"

I didn't respond, only fixing the boy with a glare.

"I still don't know how to beat him…"

"Blue."

Hesitantly, the boy shot me a half-hearted glare.

"Tell me exactly how your Gym Battle with Lt. Surge went."

Blue moved as if to complain, but eventually bit his tongue.

"…Fine. But it won't make a difference."

…

"So all I have to do to win is hit you once?"

I pushed back a lock of my brown hair, appraising the muscular man in front of me with confusion. His powerful smile did not falter.

"It's not that simple! You lose if either you or your partner is knocked unconscious."

I nodded.

"No problem."

The burly man clasped his hands together firmly.

"Okay. As soon as you step on the field your test begins, so keep that in mind! I'll see you there!"

With a surprising amount of speed, the blonde soldier waved at me and darted away.

"This will be easy, just like the last two."

I'd heard a few nasty things about this Gym, but apparently it was just more talentless trainers making excuses. I'd prepared more thoroughly than needed, getting a map of the battlefield.

Still, no point letting the preparation go to waste.

The map showed a starting position and an end position, both situated on a populated forest terrain with three paths between each position and intersecting routes. The middle path seemed the fastest, but also the most obvious, so I elected to take the path on the right.

The end point would probably be where Surge was, but I would keep my eyes open and see.

When I arrived at the field, it was beginning to get dark. I stepped onto the field and summoned my pokemon.

The battlefield wasn't quite as I'd expected. Although the map had been accurate, it hadn't sufficiently portrayed just how high up the end position was relative to the rest of the field. Annoying, but nothing unsurmountable.

I pushed through the brush as rain began to softly patter against my body. I firmly pushed forward, keep an eye in all directions.

The blast of yellow light was almost blinding. From the heights of the end position, it shot into the stormy sky. Then an instant later, thunder fell from the heavens, striking both Squirt and myself.

The moment I regained consciousness, I found myself laying outside the field, badly singed with hairs standing on end. I couldn't believe it was anything other than a fluke, so I immediately gathered my tired Wartortle and stepped onto the field again.

Less than a minute later, the lightning struck me again. I awoke outside the field.

'What the hell… That's impossible!'

…

Blue rubbed his arm sheepishly.

"See? I never even got close to him."

I stood still for a moment, processing the information I'd gathered.

"…Blue, Surge taught you about specialisations before that battle right?"

The brown-haired boy nodded softly. "Judging by the way he acts, he's a close ranger specialist. I'm supposed to be the same, but I couldn't even get near him…"

"No. I'm sure now that I've heard your story."

Blue raised an eyebrow at me, curiosity in his gaze.

"Surge is a long-ranged specialist. A Sniper."

The best way to deal with a skilled sniper was to not be spotted in the first place. Walking boldly onto the field was an easy route to your own death.

I leaned back with a sigh.

"If that's the case, you should already know how to beat him. That's why you came to me for help in the first place, right?"

Blue huffed slightly and turned away from me, keeping his eyes cast at the ground.

"…I understand him a little better thanks to our training, I suppose." Blue grumbled, poking at the soft ground with his pointer finger. "But I still don't see a way I can beat him."

"Seriously? I know your smart enough to-"

"No."

Even as I started to voice my objections, he cut me off. He shot me a glare, some of his characteristic strength back behind his eyes.

"I can see ways you might be able to beat him, underhanded tricks, taking advantage of the knowledge I've given you. Dishonourable tactics."

Blue kicked the ground in frustration, standing back up straight and tucking his hands into his short's pockets.

"I don't see a way for me to win. I can't do things the way you do Cyan, I can tolerate that you do, barely. But in an honourable duel, I won't cheat."

I raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Well, at least he's acting more like himself.

But I couldn't let that comment be.

"It's not a fair match, Blue. He gives himself the high ground so he can spot you and shoot you down from above. The test is probably even designed to knock you from that honourable duel mindset."

"Doesn't matter if it's fair. I won't cheat."

"It's clearly within the bounds of the test to-"

"Cyan."

Blue shot me a stern look, and my objections fell short in my throat. Out of sorts though he was, Blue still had a faint determination behind his eyes.

"If I can't win the right way, that just means I'm not strong enough."

Foolish. Soldiers who think that way are the first to die.

"Who cares as long as you win?"

"I CARE!"

Blue sauntered towards me, anger bubbling to the surface.

"Your tricks are smart, I can understand why you like them. I can acknowledge the benefits of confusing your enemy, of using moves in different ways, I can handle that. It works for you."

His fist grappled my shirt collar, his knuckles whitening. I retaliated by balling up the neck of his singlet in my own fist. We pulled aggressively at each other, scowling faces close.

"But I will not cheat. I will not hide. I won't cower in front of the enemy. I tried your tactics, and they made me feel sick to my stomach! Throwing sand in someone's eyes, surprise attacks, stealing a Pokemon?! It's all the same!"

"Would it be better to let the people you love get hurt to maintain some 'moral code'? Will that 'moral code' put food on the table? Will it bring dead friends back to life!?"

"I fight with honour, Cyan! If I have to sacrifice my morals to achieve my goals, I haven't achieved anything! If I do 'whatever it takes', I'll be no better than her!"

Blue seemed to freeze after that, and my own anger was bubbling. But his eyes had regained their former vigour. Instead of a dull silver, they'd gradually tinted into a firm sapphire glow.

We released each other and backed a few paces away. I took a moment to calm my nerves, taking a few deep breaths.

"Alright."

I dusted myself off with a sigh. "So you're saying you want to beat Surge fair and square?"

Blue was turned away from me now, but he nodded curtly.

I sat on the ground crosslegged for a moment, still a little upset, but considering his words. He was painfully set on this point, and those unwilling to bend their views would die in the chaos of war. But he wouldn't understand that even if I explained it to him.

"Preparation doesn't have to be dirty."

Blue let out a huff, but I ignored his indignant display.

"If we have a battle, I know you're going to use Wartortle. If I brought a Pokemon and strategy specifically designed to counter that, am I cheating?"

There was a brief pause, then Blue sighed.

"No… That's fine."

"Then let's find a way for you to prepare for the fight. Something that isn't cheating."

"…I suppose."

I could tell Blue needed some time to think on it, so I decided to drop the subject for now.

"Anyway, if you're feeling better now, I want your help with something."

…

Once again I found myself staring at the wall of weapons, now with Blue sulking behind me. I lifted a shield contemplatively, the weight wasn't too much, but I felt that going purely defensive did not suit our combat style.

And truthfully, I was only half paying attention. Because Blue's explanation of Surge's fighting style had reminded me I had in fact heard his name before. Not as a Lieutenant, but rather a war hero who died defending Kanto from Johto.

The legendary Storm Sniper Surge, no less. To think he was hiding away down here…

Back during the war with Johto, there were stories of a single sniper taking down entire legions of the Johto army singlehandedly. Alone he defended a frontier for months before being defeated by Gold's 'Johto Invaders'. The body was never recovered, and he wasn't officially stationed, so information about him was limited. All the stories told of two things. It would start to rain, then lightning would fall from the heavens and smite the army. It was like a powerful storm, thus he earned the nickname 'Storm Sniper'.

Allegedly, despite the distance, his attacks were incredibly powerful and terrifyingly accurate. I'd only heard of him offhandedly, I wasn't in the army at the time. But his story made it's rounds in the barracks every once in a while. Usually as simply the 'Legendary Storm Sniper'.

I only remembered because Blue's explanation was so similar. Rain, a flash of light, then thunder striking true…

Thunder.

Thunder was a notoriously hard to control and inaccurate move. It was a beam of concentrated electricity. The move was legendary for the amount of damage it could deal, but every trainer who used it said the same thing.

It's a last resort. Too risky for regular use.

It was so powerful that actually aiming it properly was said to be impossible. It would always try to break free of it's user's control. Even if you were mere feet from your opponent, there was no guarantee you'd hit them.

Being able to accurately land the attack with the precision and distance required of a sniper was a terrifying concept. I shuddered to think how much time Surge and his Raichu must have spent training the technique.

No-Maybe the Gym Challenge itself is their training…?

And now I had to figure out a way for Blue to evade that technique without hiding or cheating.

"How about this?"

Blue handed me a long curved blade, it had no proper guard and was only sharpened on one side. I grasped it with two hands, and found it to be rather heavy and hard to swing. The size made it ill-suited for indoor combat, too.

"Too sluggish… Plus, it doesn't seem to be very good for defending."

I handed the blade back to Blue, who clicked his tongue judgementally and set the sword back on the wall.

"What are you even after?" He grumbled.

"A weapon I can keep hidden, and use to take the pressure off of Yeller."

A flash of red resurged in my memories, but I pushed the memory back down before I could properly picture it.

I won't let that happen this time.

"Hidden? Isn't that what the knife is for?"

I frowned at Blue. He raised an eyebrow back at me and continued, running a hand along a few weapons the wall appraisingly.

"What? I saw you fiddling with it, I thought that was your backup weapon."

"No, I just picked it up on a whim… It's not threatening enough."

"You can have more than one weapon, you know."

Blue lifted a tall and straight sword from the wall, along with a wooden shield.

"Technically I use two. A sword and a shield. One defends, one attacks, it's silly to try and make a single weapon do everything."

"I suppose…"

I let out a sigh, then a poke on my back alerted me to the presence of the young black-haired girl we were also travelling with.

Look look! I'm gonna do the trial now!

She did a little spin, her skirt fluttering slightly at the motion. On top of her usual attire, there was a short sword sheath on her back, nearly hidden by her waist. A little lower near the top of the skirt I spied a pouch fasted to the left hip, which appeared to contain a few throwing items.

Chee beamed a smile at me, then grabbed my arm with her gloved hand, tugging me away. Come watch!

"Alright, alright…"

Blue and I both followed Chee over to one of the squares filled with figures, which was a mix of distant and close enemies. Twenty-five targets in total, and in order to pass you would have to defeat 15 of them within a minute.

Even if it weren't for the battle with Surge after, I have a feeling many trainers would drop out here.

I doubted that every hopeful trainer undertaking the Gym Challenge would be so amenable to the idea of attacking humanoid targets and fighting alongside their Pokemon as Blue, Chee and myself. Chee and I had been practicing with something similar even back at the lab, but most kids wouldn't even consider the idea of running alongside their Pokemon.

Mother would probably have a heart attack…

I shook the thoughts from my head as Chee and her Bulbasaur walked up to the platform, and the targets buzzed to life. The targets, wooden dolls with bullseyes painted on them, took up aim and started approaching, the ones at the distant back shifting back and forth to be harder to hit.

Chee surged forward, hand diving into her pouch and coming out with a handful of wooden stars. She swung her hand forward and the stars spun out, arcing past the close targets and landing directly into the heads of two dolls. The dolls flipped over, signifying they had been defeated.

The girl didn't wait even a moment, she shoulder tackled one target, flipping it over as her arm arched behind her back and drew the sheathed wooden blade. With a slash she 'beheaded' two more targets and kicked off their torsos as they flipped to unusable.

While all this was happening, her slower Bulbasaur tackled a target or two, wrapping vines around any others that got closer to it's master.

Although the targets almost seemed to reach for her, Chee weaved through all of the targets like a beautiful Roselia dancing in the spring sunlight, throwing weapons covering any nearby targets foolish enough to give her a moment to breathe.

Sometimes the shots looked like they were going to miss, but then Bulbasaur would hold a doll steady by a leg or arm, and the projectile would land true.

In less than a minute, all 25 targets lay in their 'defeated' poses. Honestly, I was fairly certain she would have passed even if Bulbasaur hadn't lifted a paw.

With a satisfied sigh, she slid her wooden short blade back into it's sheath and smiled at me.

Did I do good?!

"Yeah, great job!"

I shot Chee an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but her silver eyes glittered begging for more praise. I took a moment to think…

"…Your aggressive attacking style is complimented by Bulbasaur's slower more defensive style, leading to a well-rounded method of taking care of both close and distant opponents. Bulbasaur's attacks keep you out of danger while you keep the pressure on!"

"Oh!"

Blue suddenly snapped his fingers and jogged off. Chee shot me a glance as if she expected me to know what he was up to, but I just shrugged my shoulders.

"She took to the weapons in no time!" Surge waltzed over, slapping Chee on the back enthusiastically. The same slap that caused me to wince before seemed to not even bother her.

"Never seen someone so accurate with throwing stars right after picking them up, I'll tell ya! I'm sure she'll have no problem with the final challenge."

Chee was all smiles, her silver eyes glimmering with more joy than I could properly read. I figured she liked the praise.

"Cyan." Blue was back, now holding a strange spear-like weapon, but with a different tip. "Try this one."

He tossed the polearm at me, and I caught it by the pole. It was heavier than the spear I'd tried to use before, but still relatively light. The shaft was a bit shorter than the spear, and the head of the weapon had three distinct pieces. One like the typical spearhead extruded from the tip, but a curved blade pulled out to one side like a hook. On the opposite side a long and thin axe-head extended out, making the tool significantly more effective as a swinging weapon.

"You like having options, right Cyan?" Blue's eyes were shining sapphire again, and he placed his hands on his hips proudly. "That's a Halberd. It has range like a spear, but it's more aggressive. If you're good with it, you can pull off all sorts nasty tricks, just like you always do."

I spun the weapon in my hands a few times. It felt awkward, but I could feel potential. The weapon had enough reach to cover for Yeller safely, it had enough threat to actually distract, it could be used effectively for thrusts, swings, and pulling attacks just by rotating the rod…

It wouldn't excel in either area as much as spears or axes would, but Blue was right. I liked having options. Plus while it had defensive ability, it was still a predominately aggressive weapon unlike a shield.

…Aggressive.

I glanced at Blue, then across at Surge. An idea forming in the back of my mind-A way to meet Blue's conditions and conquer Surge's battle without needing to resort to dirty tricks or hiding, just like he wanted. All it would need…

"Surge, sir. Can Blue and I attempt your battle as a team?"

"Wh-" Blue blustered in surprise, but I ignored him.

Surge crossed his arms, glanced at both of us and grinned.

"Well, it's not unprecedented. But I'll raise the difficulty in turn. You sure about that?"

I nodded, resting the halberd onto my shoulder.

"What do you say Blue, ready to get your third badge?"

He glanced at Surge for a moment, then at me, before placing his hands back on his hips with a sigh.

"Ahhhh whatever! Let's do it."