[ Let's get this next chapter started. Hope you all enjoy. Note: I do not own Pokémon. All rights to it's actual owners]

[Characters within this chapter:

Flara (Braxian)

Ema (Emolga)

Tony (Monferno)

Spark (Pikachu)

Dew (Dewott)

Snive (Servine)

Tepper (Pignite)

Sasha (Delphox)

Mr. Emboar (Emboar)

Cassidy Meowstic

New Character]

Chapter 22: "…We Got Ourselves a Cat Fight."

(Flara's POV)(Next Day)(Entrance to PokéPark in Cove Area)

"Alright everybody, one last check of our supplies." Spark stated.

"Another check? This is the fifth one today. I'm pretty sure we got everything." Tepper groaned, adjusting his pack on his back as well as the team treasure bag.

"We gotta make sure we got everything for our first, real mission." Spark said before looking at the list in his hands. "Food?"

"Check." Tepper said, shaking the treasure bag that had their food in it.

"Water?"

"Got it with me." Dew stated, thumb pointing to the bag on his back.

"Map?"

"Got it." Snive said, holding up the map.

"And Gold ranked explorer accompanying us on this mission?"

"Not here actually. Where is he?" Ema questioned, sitting next to me on a shared rock.

"Give him one sec, he said he's gonna teleport to us now." I stated. "Wanted to do some last minute preparations."

"Already got your hold on him huh? You two been texting quite a lot." Ema stated slyly.

"N-no, we just text to check up on each other. It's a mutual thing." I stuttered out.

"Lot of late night check ups Flara. Is that all you two are doing?" Snive joked, my face heating up further. Before any further laughter and teasing, a yellow pillar of light appeared in front of us, soon disappearing and revealing a late Tony.

"Woah, sorry I'm late y'all. Couldn't find my explorer stuff." Tony stated with a sheepish smile. I couldn't respond though as I ogled him. Currently, he was sporting a type of brown utility belt on his waist and across his chest. There were several pouches going around his waist and on his chest with a big pouch on the back of his waist and his explorer badge on his chest. He was also carrying his sleeping mat slung over his back. Finally, he wore his signature team scarf around his neck, the emblem displayed proudly as well as a pair of goggles hanging over it. Whilst the accessories were nothing special, seeing Tony wearing them and knowing he was going out on a real exploration gave him a sort of…rugged aura.

Woof~

I instinctively locked my legs together.

"Woah Tony, loving the belts. Where'd you get it from?" Spark asked.

"Thanks, I actually got it yesterday at some explorer store in the Cove Area. There were actually a lot of stores selling explorer gear now." Tony explained.

"That's not surprising. We got a recent surge in explorers ever since Mr. Emboar set up the guild and school so I guess the vendors are taking advantage of it." Dew explained.

"Makes sense." Tony stated simply.

"Well you look great dude, though I feel you should get her opinion on it." Snive smilied as she walked up to Tony and lightly pushed him towards me. Catching us both off guard, I could only stare up at him as we both blushed at each other.

"W-well, what do you think? I honestly don't think it's anything special." Tony stated modestly, doing a little spin to show off everything before shyly smiling down at me. I gave him a silent up and down look and spoke before thinking.

"Woof." I involuntarily said aloud, quickly slapping a hand to cover my mouth as my eyes widened. Ema laughed at my response as Tony also looked surprised.

"*laughs* Well, *tries and fails to hold back more laughter* that's one way of saying it." Ema laughed, further embarrassing me.

"E-Ema!" I stuttered out before turning to Tony. "I'm so sorry, I don't know where that came from. You look great in that."

"I-uh, wow. Thanks!" He smiled, blushing as I felt happiness radiating from him. This caused me to smile up at him, feeling like I didn't embarrass myself too badly in front of him. I soon started glaring at the four Pokémon behind him.

"It's not funny guys!" I yelled, only to cause Spark, Dew, and Snive to laugh out loud having failed to contain themselves. Tepper only grumbled a little and I could guess why.

"*still laughing a little* Alright guys, alright. Now that Tony's arrived, we gotta start making our way towards that mystery dungeon." Spark stated, getting everyone back on track.

"How far away is the dungeon?" I asked.

"If the intel Bandit gave us is correct, it should be about two weeks from here. Our thieves got a head start but maybe we'll get lucky and run into them along the way." Dew explained.

"Two weeks? Mon that's a while." Ema stated.

"When it comes to the life of an explorer, missions take quite a while. You all will have to get used to it." Tony stated. "It's not a bad thing though, the journey could bring its own little adventures during it."

"It sucks that we can't teleport there with our badges. It would've saved us the trouble." Snive sighed out.

"One of the team members has to have been there first in order for everyone to teleport. Sadly, that's not the case with either me or you guys." Tony explained. "I'm still new to this part of the continent so I don't know that many dungeons around here. The dungeon that got me close to PokéPark is further away from where we need to go."

"And from the looks of things, this is an unknown dungeon we're going to. It doesn't even have a name." Spark explained, looking over the mission information again.

"Ooooh, doesn't that mean this mission will double as an exploration and bounty mission?" I questioned.

"Oh, and does that mean we get to name the dungeon? Since we're the ones who are gonna explore it?" Tepper asked excitedly.

"There's some long process to doing that but I guess you could for now." Tony laughed a little.

"I already got the perfect name. How about…*pauses for dramatic effect before spreading his arms out wide* 'Thieves Den?'" Dew stated dramatically.

"Little on the nose, don't cha think?" Snive said.

"I think it fits, considering what we're doing." Spark said. "Alright team, it's time to make tracks. The thief has a big head start on us so we need to get moving if we're gonna catch them."

"Yeah, we can't let them get away, Detective Dew always catches his mark." Dew stated, earning a groan from Snive.

"Looks like we'll be off then." Tony stated before turning his attention to Ema and I. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Stay safe out there everyone. I can't wait to hear the full story when you all get back." I smiled.

"I feel like Tony's gonna spoil it to you with the way you two have been talking." Snive joked, causing Tony and I to look away from each other with embarrassed looks on our faces, knowing that we couldn't deny that.

"I'll try not to tell her the exciting parts." Tony laughed a little.

"Boo." I playfully pouted. "Guess I'll just have to wait then."

"The wait'll make it better, trust me." Tony smile, earning a smile back from me.

"Alright you two, we gotta move on. My first official case has got to be a success." Dew stated, grabbing onto Tony's arm and pulling him towards the rest of PPD and the entrance. Looking a little reluctant, he still allowed himself to be pulled away. Sharing one last goodbye and good luck with him and everyone else, Team PPD and Tony left, leaving just Ema and I staring at their retreating figures.

"*sigh* Never thought I'd see our men head out so soon." Ema stated in faux sadness. "Gonna miss them."

"*sigh* Same here." I said before catching on to what she said, turning my attention down to her. "Hey…what did you mean by that..?"

"Oh I'm sure you know what I'm talking about~." Ema teased whilst moving away from me, looking back at me with an innocent smile. I only responded with an accusing stare before she pulled out her explorer badge. "Now come on, we still got classes to get to. And it's your favorite."

"*gasp* You're right! We can't be late, come on." I stated, pulling out my own explorer badge before we both teleported back to the school.

(Long-Range Attacks Classroom)

This classroom was very different to many others within the school. Similar to the close combat classroom, the main floor was covered in mats for students to sit on. Dissimilar to other classrooms, the room was quite big. There was also a large pit in the front of the room that was surrounded by a stone fence of sorts. The pit gave opponents plenty of space to launch long range attacks, obviously, while also giving protection to spectators who would watch from above behind the fence. Everyone was in attendance, making up a medium sized class, and sat on the mats waiting for the trainer to arrive. Everyone talked amongst themselves, including Ema and I whilst sitting in the back, though our topic had me somewhat regretting my choices…

"*loud laugh* Damn, you were that down bad? I didn't know you had it in you." Ema laughed loudly, drawing the attention of a few other Pokémon in class. I quickly shushed her with a massive blush on my face.

"Quiet down, this isn't exactly something I want broadcasted to everyone!" I yelled in a hushed tone. "Arceus, why did you have to ask me about that?"

"Cause I was curious, besides, it's only between us girls, no one else cares." Ema said with a wave off.

"But you're being loud about it." I stated.

"I'm not that loud, I'll tone it down though." Ema said before smirking and whispering. "With your new staff too?"

"Ugh, that was so wrong, I can't believe I did that." I said, groaning into my hands. "If he found out I did that thinking about him…"

"Tony's not gonna find out, and there's nothing wrong with doing that. You think I don't think about Tepper like that every few nights." Ema stated.

"First, ew, that's my brother. Second, you and Tepper are dating, happily dating. I don't think I got the right yet with Tony." I sighed.

"That can easily be rectified by just asking him out. One of you has got to take the first move at some point." Ema stated.

"I…" I started before cutting myself off. Deep down, I do want to ask him out but…

Mom's right, I do need to work on my self-confidence.

"Her asking the trainer out? Ha, that'll sure be a dumpster fire." A new, unwanted voice rang out. Both Ema and I turned to the voice, already annoyed since we knew who was speaking. Our attention soon came upon the female Meowstic of Team Royals, the only member in this class.

"Don't you have better things to do than listening in on our conversation." Ema stated in an annoyed tone.

"I do but you two are pretty loud about your conversation." Cassidy stated before smirking haughtily. "Something about you asking out a certain fire monkey that you have no chance with. By the way, mind letting me know where he's at? Need to give him my number and show him a good time, unlike what you could do."

I could only glare and growl as a response while she continued to smirk haughtily.

"Not happening." I spat, causing her to laugh.

"Last I checked, I don't need your permission, prude." Cassidy insulted back. At this point, a lot of the other students were seeing the tension build up, all of them ready and waiting to see a fight break out. I ignored them though as my focus was on the cat trying to steal Tony away from me.

Wait, what?

"Ugh, just ignore her girl. She's just looking for something to do since she's not with her team. She's basically irrelevant without them around." Ema stated, snapping me out of my thoughts and irking Cassidy in the process.

"Woah, yeah, you're right." I said, slowly coming to my senses and contemplating my thoughts.

I can't think like that, he's not mine…

"*scoffs* Please, I basically carry that team. Those boys are nothing without me." Cassidy stated, getting a laugh out of Ema.

"That would explain a lot actually." Ema laughed.

"Ema…" I warned, trying to stop Ema from falling into the same trap I did. Plus, I sensed that something was coming, not sure what though.

"Team Royals can beat your weak team any day of the week." Cassidy stated, standing up and taking a step towards us. This got the class riled up again. Ema and I stood up too, just in case Cassidy tried something.

"Wait a minute, whose team was it that passed their explorer test? Even though the other team cheated and nearly killed them." Ema stated, earning a few "ooo's" from the class as Cassidy got more pissed. While what Ema said was true, and whilst I still felt justifiably mad at Royals for what they did to Ema and I, things were starting to get too heated.

"Fucking bitch…" Cassidy spat darkly, ready to take another step towards Ema. Ema grinned, her cheeks sparking with electricity. Before anything could happen though, the classroom door began to open. With everyone knowing the only person who could be coming in at this time, everyone scrambled back to their seats, not wanting to incur the wrath of the teacher. When she opened the door, Mom strolled in, seemingly unaware of the events that transpired a few moments ago. The silence was a common thing in her class day one. Despite how sweet my mom is, as a trainer, respect was mandatory, and no one disrupted her class. This was still my favorite class though. She quietly made her way towards the head of the class, passing me and causing me to notice that she wasn't alone. Behind her walked an adult Leafeon, around Mom's age if not a bit younger and wearing a green scarf around her neck, who I had never seen before. I knew that we would probably get introduced to them soon so I just stayed quiet as Mom reached the front of the class and turned around to face us.

"Good morning class, I hope everyone is well this morning." Mom said in a soft but serious tone.

"Good morning ma'am." The class responded in various, respectful tones. Mom looked around for a second before her eyes landed on me.

"Before coming in, I could sense a bit of heated tension coming from the room." She stated, still staring right at me.

I knew I sensed something outside. She knows. I thought, shuddering a bit. I could sense similar shudders from the two Pokémon on either side of me.

"I'm not gonna call them out because I feel today's lesson will help in relieving that tension." Mom explained. "Today, we will be having our one on one fights."

The class's energy grew, everyone voicing out whispered excitement, Ema and me included. I also notice Mom and the mysterious Leafeon also gave small smiles to each other before Mom brought the class back to attention.

"I will be letting our guest choose the matchups. Speaking of our guest…" Mom stated, motioning to the Leafeon who gave us a warm smile and a wave. "Her name is Cierra and she will be an observer for today. That is all you need to know for now. Stand up."

With that command, everyone stood up from their seats and awaited further instructions.

"Whilst Cierra picks the pairs, we'll head over to the target practice area to practice moves, make sure you all are warmed up for your fights." Mom stated, everyone soon heading off to the other side of the room where the targets laid.

(Half an hour of target practice later)

Everyone had been giving it their all in this practice. Ema had been a highlight of the class, firing off her Thundershocks with ease, blowing the smoke off her fingertips when she was finished. She even managed to pull off another move that she had been practicing; Air Slash, though it looked a bit rough as she had only just learned the move recently. We still shared a double high five to congratulate her progress. I even saw Mom crack a smile towards her. When it was my turn, I took my spot a bit away from the target painted on the wall. Next to me was Cassidy, yawning and looking like this was beneath her. She fired off with some halfhearted Shadow Balls. Even though she didn't seem to care, her attacks still did decent damage to the wall. She looked towards me, smirking haughtily at me. I glared at her but turned to ignore her, readying my staff as I pointed it with both hands towards the target wall. I focused hard, charging up a Psybeam at the end of my staff with my eyes glowing pink. I couldn't see them but the class stared in awe with how bright the energy was becoming. Mom cracked a smile of praise, Ema smiled brightly with excitement, and even Cassidy raised an eyebrow in surprise. Once the pink energy was bright enough, I launched the attack, a beam of psychic energy quickly making its way to the target. I strained a bit, bending down at the knees to try and control the amount of power I was putting out. As usual though, it was too much for me, and I yelped as the force caused me to slip and fall onto my butt. My attack stopped soon after, but not before hitting the side of the target.

"Ow." I voiced out to myself whilst recovering. I soon heard snickering from behind, knowing full well that it was a few classmates behind me, including Cassidy whose laugh I know all too well. I blushed and hung my head a bit in embarrassment.

Is it too late to crawl away and hide somewhere?

"Flara." Mom called out simply. I looked up at her and saw her giving a sympathetic and encouraging small smile. "Try again, little less power this time."

I nodded and shook my head a little to calm my nerves. I then stood up and focused back on the target, again gripping both hands onto my staff. I thought for a second on how to lower the power of my moves.

I never really had to regulate my power before. I only ever fired out my max power with my old wand. So how…wait.

I then thought back to my fight with that Sandslash, remembering how my power became more manageable.

Granted, Fire Spin is my weakest move initially but it's worth a shot.

I let go of my staff to hold it with one hand, charging up another Psybeam soon after. The power became more manageable than last time, though there was understandably less output. The end of my staff glowed again and once I felt it was right, I fired again. The attack came out in a single, short burst and it quickly made its mark on the target wall, hitting it dead center. I smiled a little. Even though it wasn't as powerful as using both hands, I was happy that I was at least able to control the power of the attack this time.

And soon, maybe I'll be able to control the power with both hands. That still feels like it's a long way off though.

I looked back at my Mom to see her giving me a small smile, one that I returned. I also saw Ema giving me a brighter smile and a thumbs up. I heard a scoff from Cassidy and looked over to see her looking away looking unimpressed, probably hating the fact that she wasn't the current center of attention.

"Alright everyone, listen in." Mom stated, gaining everyone's attention. "Our guest Cierra has made her picks on the one on ones so let's move over to the dueling pit."

With that said, everyone followed Mom to the pit, soon surrounding it in a circle.

"Cierra, if you would." Mom said with a respectful smile, giving our guest the floor.

"Yes ma'am. Hello everyone, hope you're all pumped and ready for your duels." The Leafeon stated in a bubbly and infectious tone, getting everyone a little excited whilst greeting her. "Awesome! So first…let's have the Lileep and Emolga."

"Woah, I'm first up? That's a lot of pressure." Ema stated next to me. "He's got the type advantage too…"

"Give it your all girl. Just stay calm and you'll beat this guy." I encouraged her.

"Trust me, I'm gonna give it my all, gotta do Team ElectricFire good. I may not be a long range specialist like you but I think I can hold my own." Ema smirked whilst stretching one of her arms across her chest.

"I-I wouldn't say I'm a specialist." I blushed a little sheepishly, not expecting the comment.

"Wish me luck." Ema stated before hopping over the stone fence and floating down. At the same time, her Lileep opponent had also hopped down into the pit. Both of them were already opposite each in the pit.

"Opponents, state your names and Teams for our guest." Mom voiced out.

"The name's Ema of Team ElectricFire ma'am. Nice to meet ya." Ema greeted happily with a wave, Cierra nodding back with a smile.

"My name is Lionel of Team Jurassic ma'am. It is a pleasure." The Lileep, now known as Lionel, stated in a serious tone with a respectful bow, Cierra returning one of her own.

"A reminder to both opponents and the class, you may only use long range attacks when attacking, the match will end if one side hits the other with the equivalent of a close quarters attack. One side should also not be actively trying to get in close to force the other to use one of those moves for the former will be disqualified. Another thing, these matches aren't about winning or losing. I will not tolerate unnecessary violence. We're here to practice, not to brutally hurt other Pokemon. The match will end if one side is attacking out of line, one side faints, or one side concedes defeat. Do I make myself clear?" Mom explained.

"Yes ma'am." The class responded.

"Are both fighters ready?" Mom asked.

"Ready!" Ema and Lionel said in different tones, Ema cheeks sparking up as she began charging electricity while Lionel glared at her with his glowing eyes. I could sense the excitement from Ema and determination from Lionel.

"Fighters, you may…" Mom paused for a second. I knew that it was mainly for dramatic effect as I saw her smirk a little. "Begin!"

As soon as the command was given, Lionel's eyes glowed blue as several rocks burst from the ground. They all had the same blue glow surrounding them as they floated for a second around Lionel before flying towards Ema.

"Woah!" Ema yelped in surprise, quickly and frantically flapping her wings as she took flight to dodge the first rock that crashed into her former spot on the ground. She then began to rapidly dodge the rest coming at her as they seemed to be coming nonstop.

That must be Ancient Power. Crud. I thought as I looked at the battle with worry, Ema still dodging whilst Lionel suddenly had a rainbow-esque aura surrounding his body before disappearing. Despite how bad things looked for Ema, I still had hope. You got this girl.

"Hello miss." Someone suddenly greeted me, making me jump a little as she had quietly come up to me. I quickly turned to the voice and found that it was Cierra, our Leafeon guest. "Oh, sorry to startle you there, you must have been focused."

"Oh, it's okay, I'm a bit jumpy at times." I smiled sheepishly.

"You don't mind me taking up this spot next to ya right? It gives a pretty good view of the battle." Cierra said.

"Oh uh, I don't mind. Go ahead." I stated, not understanding how this spot was better than the others but that didn't matter as we both continued to watch the match. Despite her best efforts, Ema was still nailed in the back by the last rock, earning several winces from the crowd, including me and Cierra.

"Fuck!" Ema yelled as she crashed to the floor on her front. From the looks of things, that attack did quite a bit of damage to her as she struggled to push herself back up, still managing to do so. She rubbed her hands against her cheeks in order to calm herself and charge up a bit. I also looked and saw Lionel panting a little, probably from the continuous use of a move with little PP.

"Resilient one, isn't she?" Cierra stated.

"Definitely, she's always been like that. Though I think she's taking after her boyfriend/my brother in that regard." I stated truthfully.

"Tell me more about her, what's she like as an explorer?" Cierra asked, catching me a bit off guard.

"Uh, well I'm a bit of a biased source, we're on the same team and she's my best friend after all. Plus, we're not explorers yet. We're only a rescue team." I stated truthfully.

"Teammate and best friend? That means I'll be getting the info from the source then. Plus, I like the honesty." Cierra stated, confusing me again. There was more commotion happening in the battle that gained our attention. Lionel seemed to continue his Ancient Power attack. Despite the second power boost he got, his attack seemed to be getting slower as time went on. Another thing we noticed was Ema's body was covered in a bright white aura as she continued to dodge the flying rocks, having a seemingly easier time than last time.

"Huh, what's that she's using?" Cierra questioned.

"Oh, she must be using Acrobatics." I quickly realized.

"Acrobatics? But isn't that a close-range attacking move?" Cierra asked.

"It is, but she's using it as a way to dodge. As long as she doesn't hit him with it, it should be fine. She's pretty adaptable like that." I stated.

"You don't say." Cierra said.

"Yeah, she's always been like that. There's no one I'd rather have as a partner. She covers what I'm weak in and is great in a tense situation. Lucky to have her." I praised, continuing to watch the battle. Unknown to me, Cierra had smiled again softly. Lionel launched one final rock at Ema who placed both hands on the top of it as it came to her and vaulted over it. She dropped to the ground, ending her Acrobatics and began using Charge. When she landed, her body crackled with electricity and a light blue aura shined on her body before disappearing. With a smile, she pointed a "finger gun" at Lionel.

"Thundershock!" Ema yelled, a small but fast bolt of electricity firing from her finger tip. It hit dead on, Lionel grunting out loud as he was hit.

"*grunts* Those shocks won't work on me in the long run Ema!" Lionel yelled, implanting his for feet-stubs into the ground. Confusion hit me at first before a green aura began shining along his body, starting from his "feet" all the way up to the tips of his head leaves, healing his recent damage.

"Oh no, that must be…" I started.

"Ingrain." Cierra finished. "Let's see how Ema handles this."

"Wha? Ingrain? That's cheap." Ema complained, beginning to use Charge again.

"It's not cheap as long as it keeps you alive." Lionel stated seriously.

"True that Lionel. But that move makes you a sitting Ducklett, it locks you in that one spot for a while." Ema explained with a confident smirk.

"Trust me, I know the disadvantages of it. But it has its advantages as well." Lionel stated, pointing his head down towards Ema with his glowing eyes having disappeared. "Brine!"

Suddenly, deadly, rapid fire raindrops began firing out of Lionel's head, quickly making their way towards.

"Crap!" Ema yelled, lunging to the side to dodge and landing on all fours. Barely missing her, the attack hit the wall, quickly cracking it up with the endless assault. Soon, the attack began moving to the side towards Ema position.

"Oh no, Ema! You gotta keep moving!" I yelled out.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Ema yelled while running away from the attack on all fours. After getting a head start, she leaped and began gliding close to the ground, finding it faster than running, continuing to keep ahead of Lionel's attack.

"Pretty powerful attack." Cierra stated.

"No kidding, and he seems to be using his Ingrain to hold his body in place, allowing him to fire his attack at full-power without the recoil." I stated, earning a smile from Cierra.

"Very insightful." Cierra praised, catching me off-guard.

"Uh, yeah, well when you find yourself knocked on your butt as much as me thanks to recoil, you pick up on certain things." I blushed sheepishly, scratching the back of my head before turning back to the fight. Lionel had halted his attack for a second to see where Ema was, allowing her to charge up again mid-flight. Finding her location, his eyes disappeared again before another Brine was launched, this time heading right in front of the path Ema was taking. Surprised, Ema flew up a bit, barely dodging it as she did a loop in the air. At the apex of the loop, she pointed a finger at her opponent, charging it with electricity and closing one eye to focus her shot. She fired another Thunder Shock, hitting Lionel dead on, only for the Ingrain to heal him once again. As she landed, Ema clicked her teeth in frustration, already charging up another Thunder shock. Lionel had also stopped her attack to look towards Ema.

"You should know by now that a move like that is gonna do nothing in the long run. It's better to save everyone the trouble and concede." Lionel stated, earning an eye twitch in anger from Ema.

"Oh now I'm definitely not giving up!" Ema yelled, firing off another Thunder shock. It hit again, causing another grunt out of the Lileep, but he still healed himself. Lionel responded with another Brine attack, Ema roughly dodging out of the way and falling on her front. She took another shot at Lionel, causing the same result.

"Not many options to overpower that Ingrain huh?" Cierra questioned.

"Sadly yeah. She's more of the physical fighter between us. I'm sure if it was Mr. Sars class, it would have been a different story." I stated, Lionel taking another Thunder shock hit. "Although, I think she's trying to accomplish something."

"One more! Hopefully…" Ema yelled, charging up another Thunder shock. Lionel didn't respond, only firing off another Brine attack. Ema fired off her attack before dodging to the side again, letting out a cry in pain as her foot was hit, causing her to tumble roughly onto her back. Her attack though had managed to ride the Brine attack raindrops and strike Lionel, causing more damage than usual.

"*grunts* Alright, that's not gonna happen agai-" He suddenly cut himself off as electricity shot through his body, leaving him frozen and paralyzed. "What the?"

"She did it!" I yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

"Ow, ha! Finally!" Ema yelled out, struggling slightly to stand back up before flapping her wings to gain height. Whilst going into the air, her wings began to glow a bright white. "Let's end this! Air Slash!"

Ema flapped her forward, a barrage of Air Slashes flying towards her paralyzed opponent. It hit him dead on, and while the move still looked a bit rough given her lack of practice with it, it still did enough damage to overpower the Ingrain. In fact, after a few more hits and given how long the move lasted, Lionel's legs were pulled out from the ground, forcing him back and to fall onto the ground.

"Enough!" Mom yelled out. Ema quickly halted her attack, floating to the floor and stumbling a bit on her hurt foot. Mom quickly walked down into the pit and next to the paralyzed Lileep. After kneeling down and checking his condition, she spoke up. "Lionel of Team Jurassic is unable to battle. The match goes to Ema of Team ElectricFire."

"Alright!" Ema yelled out, jumping up a little before wincing a little as she landed on her bad leg again. The class had cheered, not including Cassidy or the other two members of Team Jurassic; a Tyrunt and Archen, who were in the class as well. The latter two were busy making their way to their fallen teammate, both looking a bit worried. Mom, Ema, who had made her way to her fallen opponent, and Team Jurassic all talked for a second before the team teleported away, presumably to the nurse. Ema began making her way to Cierra and I, a huge smile on her face despite limping. I made my way down to meet her halfway and let her lean into me as we walked back to our spot.

"That was awesome Ema. Knew that Air Slash would come in handy." I praised. "How's your leg?"

"Stings a bit but it'll be alright. That Brine attack hurt like hell." Ema stated, wincing as we began walking up the stairs.

"You don't want to go to the nurse to get that checked out?" I asked but she waved me off.

"And miss your match? As if. I'll be fine, nothing a bit of resting won't fix." Ema stated as we got back to our spot and were greeted by Cierra.

"Welcome back ladies. Ema, that was an awesome match. You and Lionel really gave it your all." Cierra stated, the next match beginning in the background.

"Thank you ma'am. It was touch and go for a second. I honestly got lucky in the end." Ema stated sheepishly.

"So that move firing your Thunder shock into Lionel's Brine wasn't intentional?" Cierra asked.

"Heh heh, nope." Ema stated simply with an embarrassed laugh.

"Intentional or not, that was pretty awesome. You gave it your all out there, you and Lionel." I stated with a smile. "I hope he's doing okay though."

"Mrs. Delphox said he'll be fine. An Oran berry and Cheri berry and he'll be healed up in no time." Ema stated. "Plus, I had to give it my all and I know you will too. Gotta show everyone what Team ElectricFire is made of."

"And you certainly showed us." Cierra stated sincerely before turning to me and nudging my side. "Can't wait to see what you're made of."

"M-me? I-I doubt it's gonna be as good as what Ema did." I stated hesitantly. I then shook my head to get rid of those negative thoughts that came up. "But I'll try my best."

"That's the spirit." Ema stated with a smile, one that I returned.

"That's all we ask for." Cierra said, standing up to place a comforting paw on my shoulder. "You're not here to impress anyone, just to practice and do your best."

"Right." I agreed, feeling a bit warmed by the Leafeon. The three of us continued to talk whilst watching more matches. Some matches were close, some were pretty one sided, and some led to forfeits, whether it be for one Pokémon using a close quarters attack or conceding defeat. I have yet to battle myself and the longer class went on, the more nervous I got. I even took out my staff in order to keep my hands from fidgeting. What added onto the nervousness was the fact that a certain cat has also not fought yet.

That would just be my luck.

I looked over to Cassidy's direction and Ema and Cierra continued talking with each other. She wasn't bothering paying attention to the fights, the whole time she had been checking her badge or her nails she must've sensed me looking in her direction and looked up towards me. She glared and I responded back with my own before turning away. Us battling isn't anything new, we've battled a few times in the past over every issue under that sun. Much like her stealing all my crushes, I was always on the losing end of these battles. No matter what I tried, she always seemed to overpower me.

And if we were to fight again today…

The negative thoughts started to creep in again, self-doubt quickly filling my mind as I looked down at the floor, eyes strained shut.

No, can't think like this anymore.

I opened my eyes again and looked at my new staff, feeling slight psychic power and heat running through it and me. A flash of a smiling Monferno also popped into my mind, bringing a warm smile back to my face before it turned into a determined one. I clenched my hands tight around my staff.

I believe in myself. My expression soon changed into a carefree one with my eyes closed. I'm probably just overthinking things again. It's not like she actually put the two of us against each. With a class this big, what are the chances?

"Next match Cierra, if you would." Mom called out.

"Of course. Next up will be Flara here and that Meowstic over there." Cierra stated, causing me to stiffen and snapped my eyes wide open, feeling my carefree attitude shatter. I then deflated a little and sighed.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have thought about it." I sighed in defeat.

"Hell yeah, it's finally your time to shine. Go kick her butt girl!" Ema yelled out before talking to Cierra directly. "Looks like we got ourselves a cat fight."

"Oh boy." I stated nervously, gripping my staff as I walked past Ema and Cierra.

"I got a good feeling about this girl, just give it your all." Ema encouraged me.

"You remember my track record with her, right?" I stated, thoughts just spewing out without thinking.

"Yeah…but that was before you got your new staff and power boost. Knowing her, she's probably barely trained since your last fight. Just get in there and do your thing." Ema stated.

"And like I said before, you're not here to impress anyone. We're just doing our best and practicing." Cierra stated. I thought for a second before giving them both a smile.

"Thanks you two, sorry about that doubt. I'm ready." I stated before walking down the stairs into the pit. I looked over to the other side and saw that Cassidy had just gotten down as well. She gave a fake yawn before smirking haughtily at me. I glared at her as I felt the heat and psychic energy rise in my staff. As soon as I got down to my spot, she spoke.

"Well this might be the easiest lesson I'm gonna pass in this school." Cassidy laughed. "You ready for another beatdown, prude? Or do you want to just forfeit now and save yourself the embarrassment?"

I didn't respond, only glaring at her with rising determination as I aimed my staff at her.

"Opponents, state your names and Teams for our guest." Mom voiced out.

"My name is Flara of Team ElectricFire. It's a pleasure." I stated sincerely with a slight bow, smiling towards Cierra. She smiled and nodded back.

"Cassidy of the one and only Team Royals. Don't worry, I'll make this quick. She won't last long." Cassidy snidely laughed, getting a couple of inciting "oooo's" from the class. This only raised my anger and I could sense a bit of anger coming off Mom and Ema.

"Right…" Cierra said awkwardly, seemingly not expecting such a response.

"Are both fighters ready?" Mom asked.

"Ready!" I yelled out whilst Cassidy said it lazily with a fake yawn.

"Fighters, you may…" Mom paused for a second, this time without the smirk. "Begin!"

(No One's POV)

With the signal, Flara's eyes glowed pink as the end of her staff charged up with psychic energy with gritted teeth. On the other side of the pit, Cassidy's left hand began charging a black orb of ghostly energy as she smirked.

"Psybeam!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Both ladies launched their attacks, a fast Psybeam meeting a strong Shadow Ball in the pit's center, a large cloud of smoke appearing and obscuring the fighters' views of each other. Like usual, the power of her attack had pushed her back a little but this time Flara managed to keep her footing after backpedaling a few steps. She looked towards the cloud in hopes to find a trace of her opponent. She heard crackling coming from the smoke, soon becoming confused as she squinted her eyes when she saw faint, small flashes of light. Suddenly, a beam of electricity shot through the cloud, catching her off guard as she took the hit to the shoulder, crying out in pain as she was brought to the floor.

"Ow." Flara groaned, propping herself up on an arm as she looked towards the now clearing smoke cloud. She saw Cassidy's right arm crackling with electricity as she laughed at her.

"Too easy." Cassidy smirked, a light red aura glowing across her body before disappearing. "Ready to give up?"

"Come on girl! Fire back at her! The battle has only just begun." Ema yelled out. Flara gritted her teeth as she quickly got back up, eyes glowing red as she charged up an Ember through her staff.

"Gonna take more than that to take me down Cassidy!" Flara yelled, pointing her staff at her with one hand to fire out an Ember attack.

"Oh yeah, there was definitely some tension between the two." Cierra stated to Ema as Flara and Cassidy continued to fight.

"*pfft* That obvious huh?" Ema joked rhetorically.

"It's why I chose them to fight. They seemed to need to release that tension before they brought it outside." Cierra stated.

"Sadly with them, clashing is inevitable. It's always been like that." Ema shrugged, causing Cierra to frown at the implication. Meanwhile in the battle, Cassidy launched another Shadow Ball at Flara. Thinking quickly, a small ball of fire was charged on the staff. Flara swirled the flame on the floor in front of her, a spiraling fire wall quickly rising into the air. The Fire Spin made contact with the Shadow Ball just in time to block it. Another smoke cloud appeared, Flara quickly pointing her staff to the floor beside her.

Not gonna let her hit me like that again. Time to get a little reckless. Flara thought with eyes glowing pink. A quick Psybeam sent her flying to the right into the air. At the same time, Cassidy fired off another Charge Beam in front of her, this time in a waving motion just in case Flara had moved. Cassidy's smirk turned into shock, a shock that everyone in the class except for Sasha who let out a small smile, as Cassidy saw Flara flying in the air whilst charging up another Ember.

"Ember!" Flara yelled, firing one handed at the Meowstic. The attack came too fast for Cassidy to dodge, forcing her to shield herself with her arms and take the attack full force. Once the attack was done, Flara landed a bit shakily on the ground but was still smiling now that she got a hit on her.

"Ugh, you fucking bitch! You did not just do that! Do you know how long it's gonna take to get burns out of my fur?!" Cassidy yelled, looking pissed while patting down on her arms where she mostly got hit.

"I think it's a good look for you." Flara snidely replied, raising Cassidy's anger more.

"Oooh it's over for you now, bitch." Cassidy stated venomously, charging a Charge Beam and Shadow Ball in each hand.

"So their animosity is a common thing?" Cierra asked.

"Yep, been that way since we were kids." Ema explained. Another Charge Beam was fired, forcing Flara to fire off a full power Psybeam to her side to dodge. She tumbled and rolled on the floor, quickly getting back up only to take a Shadow Ball to the face. Flara groaned as she got back up, a light blue aura appearing on her body before shattering like glass. Another laugh sounded from Cassidy as a light red aura glowing across her body before disappearing again. Gritting her teeth, Flara got back up again and continued fighting.

"Flara seems like such a sweet girl though. I can't imagine her holding a grudge or having an enemy like this." Cierra stated as the two fighters continued to trade blows with each other, looking more and more angry as Cassidy's stats continued to rise while Flara continued to inflict burns onto her opponent. "Especially with this much intensity."

"Flara is a great Pokémon! It's all Cassidy's fault. She's one of the few Pokémon that can get Flara like that and I don't blame her, Cassidy's a fucking bitch." Ema stated venomously before quickly controlling herself. "S-sorry ma'am."

"*giggles* It's alright Ema, I'd be lying if I didn't get heated like that from time to time, especially in this line of work." Cierra laughed before turning back to the battle. Cassidy let off another Charge Beam, forcing Flara to quickly tumble and roll out the way to avoid being hit. Flara came up onto a knee before her eyes glowed red again, with the front of her staff igniting and pointing at Cassidy.

Maybe I can use this position to better control my power, kind of like what Lionel did. "Ember!" Flara began firing a full powered Ember at Cassidy. Caught off guard by the speed and power of it, Cassidy was slow to react, only side stepping and getting a few steps in before getting hit by the barrage of fire balls, letting out a loud cry in pain that got a lot of Pokémon wincing as she was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. Whilst a bit more controllable, Flara still couldn't hold the continued fire for long as she was forced onto her butt and halted her attack.

"Hell yeah Flara! Direct hit!" Ema cheered, getting a tired smile from Flara and a thumbs up.

"Tell me more about her, what's she like as an explorer?" Cierra asked Ema.

"About Flara? Girl, I got nothing but good things to say about my bestie." Ema stated with a proud smile as Flara began getting up, the fatigue starting to get to her. "Well…while she has a bit of a self-esteem problem, there's no one I'd rather follow into a mystery dungeon. She's a great thinker and extremely supportive. And that goes both ways too, I'll happily back her up when she needs it. Now all she needs to do is remember her strengths."

"Hmm…that's good to know." Cierra stated with a smile as both turned back to the battle. The cloud of Smoke was still covering Cassidy's position, a bunch of Pokémon starting to grow concerned by the lack of movement within it.

"Uh, Cassidy? You okay over there?" Flara asked instinctually, lowering her guard a bit.

"Cassidy?" Sasha questioned, about to call the battle. It was silent for a second before sobbing was heard within the cloud. As it disappeared, everyone was shocked to see that Cassidy was crying.

"*sob* Why would you use that attack on me? *louder sob* That really hurt you know. This is just a practice match and y-you're *sniffle* taking it so seriously." Cassidy cried out, tears rapidly rolling down her face.

"…Huh?" Both Ema and Flara said simultaneously, Cierra and Sasha being confused as well. A lot of the boys in the crowd saw this and immediately felt sympathy for the cat girl, quickly booing Flara.

"W-what? But it's a battle! That's what I'm supposed to do." Flara stated but the boos still continued, bringing doubt into her mind. The boys booing felt something glare at them and they all soon realized that it was Sasha doing it, immediately causing them to keep quiet.

"Oh come on! She's just exaggerating!" Ema stated, annoyed. This had caused Cassidy to cry harder and cover her eyes and face, making Ema recoil a little.

She must be over-exaggerating. Did my Ember really hit her that har- Flara's thought process was cut as she suddenly felt herself grow weaker again. Looking at her body, she saw a light blue aura glow on her body before loudly shattering like glass. This had also been the case for those in the audience who happen to be in front of Cassidy, including Ema and Cierra.

What? But how…*gasp* Fake Tears! Flara thought in panic, looking towards Cassidy to see her move a paw away from her face to show that she was smirking. Flara quickly tried to point her staff towards Cassidy to launch another attack but with a flash of red from Cassidy's eye, Flara found herself unable to move her body as it was stuck in place. Only her eyes were able to move as she began to frantically look around.

"What? What happened? Why isn't she moving?" Ema said in a panic.

"Mean Look, Flara must be immobilized." Cierra stated, looking a bit worried.

"What!? She never used that move before." Ema stated worriedly. "Flara! You gotta move!"

I'm trying! Flara thought to herself as she was also unable to speak. She desperately tried to find some movement in her body but it seemed to be in vain.

"Oh. My. Arceus! You made me work today and I don't like that!" Cassidy stated tiredly, irritated. Despite having the upper hand, it was clear to see that she had taken quite a bit of damage as was on her last legs as she struggled to stay standing. "You really must have thought that with that new stick of yours you could beat me. Now it's time to remind you of how weak you still are."

With that said, Cassidy's eyes glowed pink as she began charging up psychic energy in one hand. A ball of dense, pink energy appeared in her paw and she smirked evilly towards her helpless opponent. Sasha's eyes widened upon seeing the move, knowing full well what it was.

"Cassidy! That's enough! The battle is over!" Sasha yelled out authoritatively.

"Huh? What? Sorry! My attack must be too loud!" Cassidy haughtily said before quickly pointing her paw at Flara and releasing her attack. "Stored Power!"

In an instant, the ball turned into a large beam that rapidly flew forward, hitting Flara before anyone could do anything about it. The force of the move knocked her out of the Mean Look's effect but sent her flying hard into the wall in back of her.

"Flara!" Ema, Sasha, and Cierra yelled. The beam continued for a few seconds before Cassidy called it off. Everyone stared in shock and silence as they saw Flara plastered on the wall, eyes swirled as she had obviously been knocked out. Soon, gravity took over as Flara's body fell face first into the dirt below her.

"Flara!" Ema yelled, ignoring her bad leg and quickly flying down to check on her leader and best friend. Cierra followed down as well to see if she could help out. The two quickly went to her and turned her over onto her back, both confirming that she had been knocked out cold.

"Hah!" Cassidy yelled, getting the two's as Ema glared and growled at her, her cheeks crackling with electricity. "Serves her right! Looks like things haven't cha-"

Sasha had been charging up a Flamethrower this whole time, her face showing that she was clearly pissed off, but before she could launch it, Cassidy's eyes rolled up and she suddenly fell forward, shocking everyone as well. She hit the ground face first, Cierra quickly moving over to check her condition before speaking out.

"Cassidy has fainted as well!" Cierra yelled out.

(Few hours later, Infirmary)(Flara's Pov)

Ugh, my head, and my body too. Everything feels fuzzy. What the heck happened to me? Okay, think back…I was in Mom's class…she set up fights…I was fighting…

As soon as the thought came into my head, I quickly sat up whilst hyperventilating, rapidly looking around for Cassidy.

"Woah woah, Flara! Calm down!" Someone yelled. I felt a small hand on my right arm and looked down to see Ema standing on a small stool next to me, looking concerned. Ema then spoke in a softer tone once she got my attention. "It's over, girl. Take a breath and relax."

"Over..?" I questioned, looking around to actually take in my surroundings, quickly seeing that I was in the infirmary and sitting in one of the beds that filled the one large room. The fuzziness in my head began acting up again, making me bury my face in my hands as I lent my elbows on my knees. "Ugh, what happened?"

"Well you got into a fight with Cassidy…" Ema started.

"That I got. I'm more wondering why my head feels so fuzzy and why my body feels like it was hit by an angry Tauros." I said, falling back into my bed and groaning.

"It wasn't a Tauros, more like an angry Meowstic and a full powered Stored Power…" Ema stated awkwardly with a smile while looking away from me. After saying this, the memories of the battle flooded back in. The Fake Tears, then the Mean Look, and finally…I sighed and laid back down.

"So I lost, again." I said, downtrodden as I looked up at the ceiling. So the past is just repeating itself again.

"*sigh* I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Yes, you did lose…technically." Ema stated, making me feel a bit worse until I fully read into what she just said.

"Wait, technically?" I questioned, sitting up a bit and looking towards her.

"OMA girl, that fight was super close! Like, a few seconds after you got knocked out, Cassidy fell immediately afterwards. The burns must've finally got to her. Your mom was getting ready to take her down but you technically beat her to it. If only a few things went differently, mon." Ema stated in annoyed excitement, making me speechless. She noticed my silence and continued with a bright smile. "That was the best you've done in all your years of fighting each other! And yeah, she got stronger too but that gap y'all had is closing rapidly. That fight was so awesome. We gotta tell the others about this when we can."

Ema continued excitedly gushing about the moves I did whilst I just let her talk, a bright smile on my face as I felt my self-esteem and determination grow. I'll keep training to get stronger and I had a feeling that next time, things'll be different.

I believe in myself.

"So what happened to Cassidy then? She already checked out?" I questioned, looking around for her.

"Team Royals already came and got her after she woke up. They talked their crap but I could tell that deep down, Cassidy was pissed that she almost lost. Again, you did great." Ema stated with a smile, one that I returned.

"So this is where all the noise has been coming from." Someone stated from afar. Both Ema and I turned to see a Chansey walking over to us with a warm smile on her face. "How are you both doing?"

"Hey doc, I'm feeling great, my leg is already healed up too." Ema stated.

"I'm feeling alright Miss, I think I just needed the rest. Thanks for the help." I stated sincerely.

"That's good to hear from the both of you. Are you able to move?" The nurse asked me specifically. I nodded as I slowly stood up out of bed and grabbed my staff standing next to it on the wall. "Good, cause Mr. Emboar wanted me to relay to you two to meet him in his office once you recovered. If you feel any problems just head back to me."

"We will, thank you." I responded, Ema giving her a thanks of her own. The nurse nodded before moving on to help the other few patients in the room as Ema and I made our way out of the room and into the hallway.

"What do you think your dad wants with us?" Ema asked, arms resting on the back of her head as we continued towards his office.

"No clue…think it could have something to do with Mom's class?" I asked.

"That would make sense, but it can't be anything too bad." Ema stated.

"I hope so." I sighed as we continued our walk. It only took us a few minutes to get to Daddy's office. We knocked first before entering and once inside, we were surprised to find not only Dad but Cierra as well. "Uh, hey Daddy. Hello again Cierra. You wanted to see us sir?"

"Yes I did honey. I have a surprise for Team ElectricFire." Daddy said happily.

"Oooh, another surprise? Whatcha got for us?" Ema asked excitedly, excitement that I also shared.

"Cierra, you have the floor." Daddy stated. Cierra nodded and hopped out of the seat she was in before turning to us with a confident smile.

"I think it's time I properly introduced myself." She started, presenting the logo on her scarf and badge for us to see. It consisted of a red circle with a picture of a Mudkip and Eevee running across a grassland with a bright blue sky. Going through the back of the circle was a flag, sticking up on the right side with the initials "GG" on it. Her badge had a different color to ours, with it being black as opposed to our white. The gem in the center also appeared to be a dark blue. "My name is Cierra, co-leader of Rescue Team Go-Getters and assistant of the soon to be founded Mudkip Guild. And I got a job for you ladies."

[ Make sure to check out my other stories. I'll be posting another part to my anthology story real soon Anyway, onto the outro

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