I was not nervous. I was not nervous. My legs were shivering only due to sheer excitement. It was about to happen! We were going to challenge our first gym leader!

I closed my eyes to — not to calm myself down, since I wasn't nervous! — no, I closed them just to reminisce. Just to think back to the path that had brought us here. Although it wasn't so much a path as it was a moving box of steel. After we were done in Jester's Junction we all hopped on Mom's machine, and she brought us all the way here to Pike Port. From what I understand Jester's Junction is at the center of the region and Pike Port is on the northern side? Well, not that it matters.

We had spent six days here at Pike Port, enjoying what the city had to offer. And it was a lot! We first checked the pokémon centers, of course, but we also visited some restaurants and all kinds of shops. There was a bit of everything! We also went to see these big floating boxes of metal — boats — and I was surprised that something so big wouldn't sink down! I'm not a fire-type, but I'll admit the sight of the open ocean still makes me shiver. Mom also used many other big words to describe this port. Materials. Storage. Shipping. Import. Export. I don't know, I'm out of my breadth here. I heard her say that this was the second-largest city in the region after Jester's Junction, and that is easy enough to believe.

We had to wait six days for the gym guy to see us. He must have been busy. But we were finally here. We had entered the building! I looked to the Fennekin trembling by my side, and I couldn't help but smile. She was so scared!

"Oh? Are you scared, Valentine?" I said with a wide grin.

"U-Uh?" She almost jumped when I spoke to her. She held her tail between her legs and her ears were droopy. "N-No, I'm fine."

Her reaction got a giggle out of me. "Your face has gone super white! I didn't know you were secretly an ice-type!"

"I-I'm not scared…" she said, still trembling. I wondered if those words were more aimed at herself than at me. "But if we lost… um, do you think master would get angry at us?"

I couldn't help but giggle. As if losing was a possibility at all. "Oh, I'm sure Jarque would be fuming!" I circled around the fox, staring her down with a smirk. "Why, if we lose, he might just consider leaving you behind at the next pokémon center!"

"T-That's a lie!" she said, her voice cracking badly. "Take it back!" she cried out, sounding almost desperate as she hugged herself with one paw. Hey, c'mon now. Teasing you is no fun if you're gonna make me feel bad about it.

Mallet, my Litten half-brother, placed himself in between the two of us, looking at me with tired eyes. Ugh. What a wet blanket. "C'mon, Clover, there's no need to be cruel."

The last pokémon around, a Totodile, was quick to jump to Valentine's side. "Yeah! Don't you worry, Valentine! I'm sure you'll do great! I mean, it's only the first gym, so it cannot possibly be that hard, right…?" He looked to me and Mallet with begging eyes, which made me wonder if it wasn't just the Fennekin he was trying to soothe down.

Hah! I thought Glass was more the spunky type of pokémon, but I guess I had the Totodile pegged wrong. "It will be fine!" I said, walking ahead and not looking at them, in this totally cool and suave fashion. "It's just the first challenge as you said. It is supposed to be the easiest one!"

Mallet made a sound like a grunt. "I don't think we should be scared. But I don't think we should assume we have already won either, Clover. It is the first challenge, but it is a challenge."

"Worrywarts, the lot of you."

What were they so worried about? It was only the first step in the journey! The first real challenge! The first opportunity for defeat and failure and disappointment! Why, I was trembling mad with excitement just thinking about it!

I heard the voice of a human. Oh! Mom was speaking. "Are you two ready? You've had nearly a week to prepare."

"The wait was the worst part," Bera said, her eyes aimed down and tracking the Litten and the Totodile walking in front of her. "We arrived to this city six days ago. Did we really need to wait for that long, Euchre?"

"Hey, I don't like waiting either, but do you have any idea how long waiting lists are for this gym? Other gyms get fewer challengers, so they have it easier. But this one is Baraja's first gym! So it gets an absurd amount of rookie contenders with far more hope than skill. The point of this gym is to act as a bottleneck of sorts to filter out those who are excellent from those who are merely great. This ensures we don't have to deal with rookies who have no idea what they're doing at the rest of gyms. That's why the League forces challengers to take on this gym first, but then lets them tackle the next seven in any order they wish."

Jarque's eyes followed after me. And maybe also after Valentine, but that's just because she was close. "So this is meant to act like an introduction to the League's challenge?"

"For a lucky few, yes. But for most, this gym is meant to be a crash course on how harsh reality can be. I've checked the stats. Did you know than only around twelve percent of challengers earn this badge on their first try, and only around thirty get the badge at all? In fact, the only person to ever earn all badges without a single loss was the Haymaker, the champion — er, ex-champion of Baraja." She turned to the two younger humans and placed one hand on each of the twins' shoulders, stopping them in place, then looked into their faces. "You understand that there is no shame in losing. Most people lose. Most people are unable to earn even a single badge. Losing against a gym leader doesn't make you a bad trainer. Losing against a gym leader is expected of your average trainer."

Jarque and Bera traded an uncomfortable gaze, and I did the same with my brother. It was odd to see Mom so somber. After a short awkward pause, Jarque broke the silence with a timid laugh. "You are speaking as if you expected us to lose, Euchre."

Her grip on them tightened, and her mouth twisted into something nearing a frown. "Did you not listen that what I just said, Jarque? Yes, I expect the both of you to lose." She released them after giving their shoulders a weak tap. "And yet you still have to try."

The twins stared at her in silence, as I did, as did everyone. Bera was the first to gather the courage to speak, although only after a false start. "You're not good at cheering people up. No wonder you cannot get a man."

"Cute." Mom turned around and kept walking. "You guys know I work at a gym, right? We see this everyday, young rookies filled with hopes and dreams and very little in the way of grounded reality. Then they lose, as they are statistically meant to, and feel demolished like their whole world was crumbling down and they were the most worthless scum. But, you know? There are guys working at my gym that never earned a single badge when they were younger. All I'm saying is that winning is not as important as you might think. So just focus on having a good time there, all right?"

Jarque was the first to start walking after her, soon followed by his sister. "We can have a good time and win. That was kind of the plan."

"Yeah. Yeah. Don't say I didn't warn you."

That was… kind of awkward. I didn't feel like uttering a word, and none of the other pokémon seemed in the mood to say anything either. We pokémon were very tuned to the emotions of our humans, so if they felt down we usually followed.

"It will be alright," the Totodile said. "It's just the first challenge… It's just the first challenge…"

"R-Right," Valentine managed to utter in between her shivering sessions. It looked like she wanted to say something else, but no words came out.

On my part, I didn't feel like adding anything, and a quick glance at my brother confirmed that he was in a similar camp. I guess we wanted to focus on what was about to come, his gaze one of introspection.

Following after our trainers, we all stopped in front of a sharply dressed gentleman managing one of those electronic boxes — computers? He stood up to meet us, although he showed no haste in doing so.

"Welcome to Pike Port's gym. I am the gym's administrator. Are you challengers? Do you have an appointment with us?"

Mom answered before anyone else got a chance to. "We've got two appointments for Bera and Jarque Montecarlo." The man began to look into his electronic box as he handled a weird mouse-like device with his hand. He stared at the box for a long time, making Mom grow antsy. "I arranged for a double appointment months ago, specifically for this day and hour. I know how long your waiting lists get."

"Please give me just one second," the gentleman said in a rough voice as he kept glaring at his box, growing annoyed at the same speed Mom was growing impatient. "Oh. Found it. Two consecutive entries for Montecarlo. You are twins, uh? The leader will be free to receive you in just fifteen minutes. Who will go first?"

The twins shared a brief glance. Uh, maybe this is the kind of thing they should have agreed on beforehand? Not wanting to make the man wait as he tapped his fingers on the table, Bera figured she might as well. "Me…?"

The man kept staring into his computer, not even turning towards them. "Sure thing. You will challenge Tute first, and the boy can go after you. I take it the long-haired lady is here as a spectator?" He glanced at them only for as long as it took Mom to nod. "That is fine. It might be for the best that the three of you enter at once, so that the referee doesn't have to explain the rules twice."

The humans followed his directions, and we followed after them. Valentine had her stare fixed on the floor, and Glass was glancing in all directions, perhaps not nervous but at least fidgety. Only Mallet was facing ahead, his face displaying an odd frown of determination. It was rare seeing my brother like that, and it made the fur on the tip of my tail feel cold for some reason. Why was everyone so nervous? This was just a dance of skill. A battle. We have fought hundreds, if not thousands of times. Why be afraid?

We were soon led into what the gentleman called a waiting room, and we did indeed wait in that room. He said we had to wait for fifteen minutes, but he must have been wrong. At least, it felt to me like nearly an hour passed and no one was coming to see us, and it's not like I was growing restless or anything, but I kind of wanted the wait to end already. Mallet told me once that when you are particularly stressed it might feel like time passes slower, but I wasn't the slightest bit scared, so clearly the gentleman was just wrong and we were waiting for more than fifteen minutes.

Finally, someone came into the room. It was another gentleman dressed in a way similar to the previous one. "Ms. and Mr. Montecarlo?" he asked, looking at the twins, who both nodded to him after standing up. "Good morning, and welcome to our humble gym. I will be the supervisor, arbiter, and referee for the battles you are about to hold against our gym leader. Since this will be your first time facing a leader, I will explain the rules of the League's challenge. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the goal is to earn all eight badges by defeating the gym leaders all over the region. Jester's Junction rests at the center of our humble region, and each of the eight locations that houses a gym is located at each of the eight cardinal and intercardinal points. For instance, our own Pike Port is far to the north, while the neighboring Chalice Coastline is to the northeast."

The man began to rattle on and on about things that escaped my interest, but my trainer listened attentively. Whoa! He looked so mature! But when were we getting to the fun part where we fight?

"…as such, challengers are permitted a maximum of four defeats across all our gyms. If you lose a total five matches, you will be considered to have failed the League's challenge and will not be able to earn any more badges. The same is true if you lose against the same gym leader three times. In other words, you are only allowed to lose up to twice against any given leader, and only up to four times total."

Whatever. We were never losing anyway so that was a moot point. Really, when were we fighting?

"All official battles take the form of two-on-two combat, that is to say, each trainer sends out two of their pokémon at once and gives them commands simultaneously. In most gyms both the challenger and the leader would fight with a roster of three pokémon of their choice. But since this is meant to be the first gym new trainers face against, here each trainer will use a roster of two pokémon instead. May I know the species of the two pokémon you will be competing alongside with, miss?"

It took Bera a moment to react. Her mind must have been busy thinking of a lot of things. "I only have the two of them. A Litten and a Totodile."

"Thank you," the man said as he noted something down, before turning to face Jarque. "Then I assume the mister will fight with the Fennekin and the… sorry, I don't recognize the feline's species."

My trainer nodded. "The Fennekin and the Sprigatito, yes."

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, but when I looked down I found nothing there. Why had Jarque mentioned Valentine's species first? I have been with him the longest, and I'm the one he loves the most, so clearly he should have said my name first. Unless — oh, true! He was responding to the referee guy, who had mentioned the Fennekin first because he wasn't acquainted with my species. I guess my kind must be particularly rare in this region. Right, that's why Jarque said it as 'the Fennekin and the Sprigatito' and not the other why around. That was it. I'm still his favorite.

"Very well… Next, the only items allowed during battle are held items. You must register those before the match begins, but I don't see any of your pokémon wearing any, so we can disregard that for now, although you might want to consider outfitting your pokémon properly in the future. Switch-outs are not allowed during gym battles, although since we are using a roster of only two pokémon for this gym that's a bit of moot point here. Most other gyms have specific extra rules to follow, but our gym has no further gimmicks. You are almost ready to challenge Tute. The last step is to register three moves per pokémon. Other regions may allow four different moves per battle, but that's how we roll here. Additionally, all chosen moves must be different to each other, such that two pokémon are not allowed to use the same move."

Oh, dear Uxie, I had forgotten about that! Mallet did explain to me that humans in this region had developed a rule that each pokémon was only allowed to use three distinct moves per battle. He said they did this to keep dances of skill more interesting and to add a strategic angle to it. Oh well, I will leave this one to my trainer. He's pretty smart, so he will know what to do, plus all of my moves are amazing anyway, so there are no wrong choices! And it's not like we pokémon are limited only to moves when it comes to offense and defense. 'Move' is just a fancy term for a specific stratagem or maneuver that is particularly reliable. I can still slam my body against opponents or grow vines around them without those been considered moves, although they would be weaker than, say, a Tackle or a Vine Whip.

It took Bera only a moment to determine what three moves she should register for Mallet and for Glass for this fight. She had probably thought about it and made the decision during these last six days. Honestly, I wasn't paying much attention. I just wanted the fight to start, since ours would come right next after they won.

After a few more minutes of waiting for no apparent reason as the man talked about more stuff that no one cared about, he finally invited us to follow him out of the waiting room and into the sand-covered arena. We were finally there! And it was so big! It was so much bigger than the playground back at Home where we used to play all the time! Me, Jarque, Mom and the Fennekin were guided to some rows of seats on the sides of the arena from which we could watch the battle that was about to ensue. There were a lot of other people watching too, cheering. Although I noticed that their cheers were not aimed at Bera.

Instead, their attention seemed focused on the man that stood like a tower before Bera, my brother, and Glass. He must have been Mom's age, or maybe a bit older, and he was a colossus of a man! We didn't need to be told that this was the leader guy. The big honcho! He was the tallest human I had ever seen — I didn't know humans could grow that big! — and he was very muscular too, a far call from the two frail, well-dressed gentlemen from before. Speaking of which, the referee was also present, standing by the sidelines.

The referee cleared his throat out loud in a very apparent fashion, presumably to call attention to him. "May the challenger introduce herself?"

There was a slight trembling in Bera's legs, perhaps, although she was far so I couldn't quite tell. "Bera. I hail from Dagger's Dockyard. Uh, although I was born in the region of Holon, but anyway."

"Thank you. May now the leader introduce himself?"

I took a more detailed look at the big leader man. He was super tall, that was the most obvious thing that jumped out to you when you first saw him. He wore simple clothes of white, gray and black colors. Nothing too gaudy. His clothes were kind of boring, honestly. He began to brush his hair with a hand. His hair was neither short nor long, black but graying.

He took a single heavy step towards Bera. Although he was all the way on the other side of the arena, Bera took a step back. The entire room fell silent. "I am Tute, leader of Pike Port's gym, dragon-type specialist, and the first hurdle in your path towards stardom."

Dragons. Dragon-type pokémon were often considered some of the rarest and strongest kinds, so I heard from Mallet that in most other regions you would face the dragon specialists last. According to him, Baraja had its first leader be a dragon specialist as a 'tourist bait'. I have no idea what that means, but it must be something related to battle. Maybe he wants to bait you into a false sense of security or something?

The referee raised a hand, with drama guiding his actions. "You already know the rules. Each combatant will bring two pokémon for a simultaneous two-on-two battle. The victor will be the one to take down the opposition. A pokémon will be considered unable to battle if it faints, its trainer recalls it, or it sustains significant wounds that would put its well-being at risk. I will determine when a pokémon is unfit for battle. Now, with that out of the way, may the best team win!"

The referee raised a green flag. Oh. Oooooh. It was happening! They were actually starting the dance!

Bera, of course, send out Mallet and Glass. The dragon guy sent out what I assume were two small dragons, although only one of them looked the part. I would later learn that their species names were Tyrunt and Applin. The cool dinosaur-looking guy I could understand. The weird apple girl, that one I was a bit more confused about.

The battle went by really fast. It felt very short, in part because it was very fun to watch and cheer on my brother and Bera. They did really well! Mallet and Glass hadn't known each other for long, nor had Glass spent that long with Bera for that matter, but they worked together pretty well! Under Bera's directions, Mallet focused on taking down the Applin while Glass kept the Tyrunt busy, and once apple-girl was down the two of them ganged up on the poor dinosaur. They never stood a chance!

Hah. Those two dragons didn't even look that strong, so what gives? They barely moved at all during the dance. They mostly stood still, really. This whole gym is a joke. Maybe this first fight was meant to be a freebie? That must be it!

The battle over, Bera's two pokémon ran to her as she showered them in pats and kisses. "Great job there, guys! I knew we had this one in the bag!" Glass seemed a bit embarrassed by such an open display of affection in public, but he didn't fight it. Cute! And Mallet, of course, kept his head high and had the stupidest of smiles as he basked in the glory of victory and in Bera's caresses. Heh! So much for mister cool guy! I guess he liked Bera as much as I liked Jarque. Well, perhaps a little less. No one liked anyone else as much as I liked Jarque.

Which made me think… that would be me in a few minutes! It was my trainer's turn to fight next, wasn't it? I could imagine it already. I would win easily against foes that weak — maybe even faster than Mallet! — and then Jarque would swoon over me and pat my head and rub my chin! Oh, I guess he might also drop an offhand 'you did well' in Valentine's general direction, and maybe even pat her back once or twice if she was lucky. And she better be happy with those scraps! But I was the star of his team, so most of his appreciation and gushing words would go towards me. I was gonna make him so proud!

The tall dragon guy approached Bera with slow steps, and when she noticed she stood at attention with her body stiff. I couldn't blame her! He might have been a human, but he was far scarier than any of his pokémon! His pokémon were tiny, but he nearly doubled Bera in height, although to be fair Bera wasn't particularly tall.

The boringly dressed man extended his arm and revealed a strange shiny bauble inside, gleaming in a silvery black. "Congratulations, challenger. I entrust you with the Spade Badge, proof that you took down the first and plainest of many obstacles in your path to glory. Also, a TM for your efforts. You are promising as far as greenhorns go, but here's to hoping your luck doesn't run out."

"Luck, sir…?"

"Luck, miss." Tute eyed her in a… I don't even know how to describe it. They were pretty far from us, so it was hard to tell. The leader guy had just been defeated, so why didn't he look the slightest bit affected or surprised? Maybe he had gotten used to it. "I take it you have not noticed your fortune during our skirmish? I see." He turned around in this very dramatic fashion. "Your pokémon are strong, miss."

Oh dear, Bera looked very awkward. She usually had a lot more moxie than that, but I would be scared in front of such a large man too. "Oh. Thank you." She was trying real hard to be polite.

"That was not flattery, miss." Tute turned his head to the side, but didn't look at her. "Here is actual flattery: I can recognize that you have a strong bond with your Litten. Don't falter, improve, and think back to our battle." He turned towards the referee and made a gesture with his head. "Please, let the next challenger in."

"The next challenger is already here, Tute." The referee turned towards us — towards my trainer. "It's your turn next, boy!" he shouted as he waved at us to approach.

Finally! It was time! I looked to my side to find Valentine there, her legs shivering worse than I had ever seen them shiver! Hah! What a silly thing! Why was she so nervous? She should learn from me and Jarque. I turned to him and — oh. He kept his arms tense, close to his body, and I noticed a subtle quivering in his lips. He… must have been so eager to finally fight! Clearly. No other explanation came to mind.

And I was discovering new things too. For instance, I was just learning that excitement and anticipation could force your tail between your legs. I even felt a bit of nausea. Excitement was such a funny thing!

When I realized it Jarque was walking towards the arena with Valentine following right behind, the fire-type looking back at me with a concerned expression. Wait, was she worried about me? H-How did she dare? Who did she think she was? I ran after them. Darn, it was tricky running on all fours when your tail was stuck between your legs, but I caught up to them just fine.

"Good luck, Jarque," Bera said as she passed him on her way to the seats where Mom waited. I guess we were swapping places, and now it was her turn to watch us fight.

"Thanks," he said, tapping at her shoulder. Um. I expected him to utter something like 'I won't need it', but that was fine too. So mature! I really had the greatest trainer.

"Clover," Mallet said as he crossed our path. "Those dragons are formidable opponents, but not invincible. Best of luck, sis."

"I-I won't need it." I said, only barely stuttering. Hah! I bet that sounded so cool. The Litten cocked his head as he narrowed his eyes, so he must have been very impressed.

And soon we found ourselves on one end of the arena, with the dragon guy on the other. The referee was once again the one to break the ice. "May the challenger introduce himself?"

Jarque was quick to respond, as if he had anticipated the question and was now parroting a memorized answer. "Jarque. I also hail from Dagger's Dockyard."

"Now, may the leader… Well, although I suppose the challenger was present when Tute last introduced himself."

"It doesn't hurt to be polite," the dragon guy said as he fixed the collar of his expensive-looking suit. "Tute, dragon-type specialist and leader of this gym. So you two are twins?" The corners of the leader's mouth threatened to twist into a smile, but that threat never came to fruition. "Let's hope you give us a better spectacle, mister."

Jarque took a deep breath in. He never released it before he extended an arm forwards. "Clover! Valentine! Go forth!"

Yes! He said my name first! See? I knew last time was just a fluke! I hopped forward, although when I did the Fennekin was already in position. Oh, it was fine. Maybe she could even contribute a little, even if only as a distraction. I fired a quick look back to Jarque. His right hand was closed into a rigid fist, but his facial expression revealed more serenity than moments ago. I have known him for years, so I only needed the briefest of looks back to perfectly read his emotional state. It's almost as if I knew what he was thinking! Almost.

"Let us not make the spectators wait any longer." Tute took two of the spheres of red and white that were held in his belt and sent them out at the same time. In front of me, a Tyrunt. In front of Valentine, an Applin. It was the same two from before, I could tell. The leader had taken a moment before the fight to place their spheres of red and white in one of those weird healing machines that the humans could build. But even then, it was still impressive that they were back to full form so fast.

"I don't recognize these pokémon…" Valentine said in a weak voice.

"Uh? Yeah, they must be rare species."

"No, I mean… Never mind."

Then, a rough chuckle. "So what do you think?" Oh. That was the Tyrunt. His scary maw had — I mean, his scaly maw had a sinister expression of self-sufficiency to it.

The apple… worm… thing emitted a sound akin to a giggle. "Adorable, the both of them. But not much of a threat when it comes to dances of skill. If I had to guess I would say the yellow one is perhaps the most experienced dancer of the two, but not by a wide margin."

They were awful at gauging strength if they thought the fox was anywhere near close to my level. I stared straight at the dinosaur with my fiercest expression. Then I turned to instead stare at the Applin, not because the Tyrunt made me panicky because he didn't, but simply to make it clear I feared neither of them. Now I just needed to await orders from my trainer!

But it was the other, uglier human that spoke first. Or rather shouted. "Do the usual! Curse! Withdraw!"

He was fast giving orders! I waited with bated breath for the two dragons to do something. The Tyrunt closed his eyes and looked down, unmoving, and the Applin jumped in front of him and hid into her apple because that's apparently something her kind could do. Not fair! And so we waited for them to do something… but they just glowed blue. They both began to emit a faint blue gleam. Not the same exact shade, mind you. The Tyrunt gleamed in more of a violet tone. But still, gleam they did.

Jarque must have been mighty confused, since it took him longer than usual to give orders. "Clover, Leafage on the dinosaur!" Nice! I was getting my orders first! I began to dash towards the Tyrunt that was still gleaming menacingly, circling around the also static Applin and wondering why Jarque was not yet giving orders to the Fennekin. Like, it's not like I needed her help of anything. I could totally solo this battle. But still. "Uh, Valentine, use Ember against the… apple thing!" What took him so long? Had he forgotten he was supposed to lead two pokémon at once? The Fennekin had joined the team less than two weeks ago and Jarque hadn't really taken part in many double battles other than some sparring against Bera and Mom. Maybe he still had to get a bit more used to this form of combat, but it would be fine!

Now that the Tyrunt was finally in range, I began to grow sharp leaves from my foliage and hurled them at him from up close! Take this! And… yeah, take it he did. Like, he made no effort whatsoever to dodge my Leafage, he just took it like a champ, which I couldn't help but respect. He just kept shining purple as dinosaurs are wont to do.

"Not bad," the Tyrunt said, still not opening his eyes, "but not that great either. You will need a lot more of those if you want to take me down."

"T-There's more where that one came from!" I said to sound super cool.

But the rock dragon was the king of killjoys, because he didn't even react to my amazing one-liner. "I wonder what your trainer is thinking. The move Curse puts my muscles in overdrive, boosting my physical strength and endurance at the cost of making me more sluggish. So why ask you to use a physical move like Leafage on me?"

"It's a super smart strat and you wouldn't get it!" It was so smart that not even I got it! That's how wise and learned my dear trainer was!

I glanced aside for just a second to see how things were going on Valentine's end. She spurted out a small and short flurry of flames from her mouth, hitting the motionless fruit-worm creature but only doing mediocre damage. The heat at least forced her to come out of her apple.

"Not bad, girl!" she praised the small vixen, although it was hard to tell from her tone if she was sincere. "Withdraw reinforces my outer layer, but that's not going to be stopping magical flames. But this just might!"

The Applin lowered her… head? And as if on cue, her trainer uttered a command right immediately afterward. "Pounce!" The gym leader's instructions were short and to the point. There was no need to specify the user, as only one of his pokémon knew that move, and there was no need to specify the target, as there was only one opposing pokémon in range.

"Figured that one was coming." The Applin's eyes narrowed — somehow — and she threw her small body against the nearby Fennekin. Not even a second passed between the trainer issuing the command and the pokémon executing it. Goodness! That was some coordination! I couldn't help but cringe as Valentine was struck by the Applin's round body. The flora-dragon was small and couldn't possibly weigh too much, but that still looked like it had to hurt.

Valentine screamed in pain and I winced. We might not have gotten along, but that didn't mean I wanted her to get hurt. The Applin had twirled around her tiny body during the attack such that the impact would target the Fennekin's upper thigh specifically. Was that on purpose? Her wounded hind leg shivered ever so slightly, and there was a red patch of fur right above her knee.

"That barely hurt!" Jarque said, although I didn't perceive much confidence in his voice. It was true that Valentine didn't look too much hurt. What type of move was Pounce? Grass? Bug? Whatever type it was, it must have been one that a fire-type resisted. Although I really didn't like the look of her hind leg.

Meh. It's as I thought. They spoke big, but we could barely feel their attacks! They must have been very weak, as we had observed when Mallet and Glass danced with them before. Still, there was something odd about the overly passive way they were acting. I already assumed this would be easy, but this was a little too on the nose.

"Why Pounce?" Valentine asked. I noticed she was keeping her wounded leg bent in a way where it wouldn't touch the floor. "That felt like a bug-type move. Why target an obvious fire-type like me with that?"

"Don't got a choice, honey," the Applin said. Her enigmatic gaze betrayed a smile that she didn't show, what with the lack of mouth and all. "The moves Tute usually chooses for me against noobies like your human are Withdraw, Attract and Pounce. Most starter species are predominantly male, so the combination of Withdraw and Attract typically stalls rookies long enough for my partner to get prepared for action. You are lucky you two happen to be females, as that renders one of my moves useless."

I grinned to myself. Really? A move as weak as Pounce was her only offensive option? This supposedly super strong gym guy really placed a pokémon in our path that only knew one offensive move? Hah! He should learn from Jarque, who was much smarter and had given each of us three different attacking moves, without a single status move in sight! We were so winning this! So then, why is it that both Jarque and Valentine looked pale in the face? Were they amazed by how good I am, maybe? Heavens, Jarque, this is not the time for that! We're in the middle of a dance of skill! You can gush over my greatness and tell me how good of a girl I am later!

I turned my attention to the Tyrunt next. He was still gleaming purple — Curse, was it? Even if that strengthened his offense and defense, that was made irrelevant by the accompanying reduction in speed! I was a little speed demon! He wouldn't even touch me! No, seriously, what kind of stupid strategy was this?

"Let's bring this to a close! Dragon Dance!" It was the rough voice of the gym leader guy. Dragon Dance…? I had completely forgotten this was supposed to be dragon-type gym. The Applin had already revealed all her moves and she didn't know any dragon-type ones, so that order must have been aimed at the Tyrunt. He was clearly the largest threat of the two, both literally and figuratively.

"L-Leafage, Clover!" Jarque's voice. I could tell it apart among millions. Although I normally only heard that kind of strain in his voice when Mom caught him in some mischief. I was supposed to attack the Tyrunt, right? He didn't specify a target, but the little rock-dragon was right in front of me. The Tyrunt was doing a hypnotic dance that had no business being that cool, but I still released a flurry of cutting-sharp leaves against him. That didn't make him stop. He could at least pretend to feel hurt! How rude!

"Swap, then attack!" came the large man's orders. Seriously, what kind of orders were those? How is attack a command? How could they tell what move they were supposed to use? All of a sudden, the Applin began to roll in my direction while the Tyrunt dashed mad towards Valentine. Oh. So that's what he meant by swap. I would have a harder type dealing with the fellow grass-type, and Valentine would be in a disadvantage against a rock-type. That was a bad matchup for the both of us. But why in the world was the Tyrunt so fast? He said Curse would lower his speed! Did he lie?

"G-Get away!" Gee, thanks, Jarque! But how were we supposed to dodge when we didn't even know what moves they were using? When I realized it the Applin was in front of me, and I could only assume the Tyrunt had also reached his new target.

Wait. I just realized why the gym leader didn't need to specify any attack names. I couldn't believe this, but he had assigned a single offensive move to each of them for this dance. The Applin could use Withdraw and Attract, plus Pounce as her only damaging move. The Tyrunt had already used Curse and Dragon Dance, so whatever last third move he had at his disposal must have been his only actual attack. Of course the leader guy didn't need any orders more specific than attack.

"Bite and Scratch!" Jarque said, apparently recovering his calm. I could tell there was still anxiety hidden in his voice, as well as he was hiding it.

Valentine began to dash away from the Tyrunt for safety… or tried to, but her run soon shifted into a walk that shifted into limping. I understood now. Pounce must have been one of those weak moves that specifically hurt the target's leg muscles to lower their speed and coordination. Was that their big plan? To overcome the Tyrunt's lowered speed due to Curse with a combination of Dragon Dance plus having the Applin lower our speed with Bounce? I hated to admit it, but that was half-clever.

R-Right, Jarque's orders! I couldn't just stay here doing nothing! He ordered us to use Bite and Scratch… uh, but who was supposed to do which? I had learned both of those moves because I'm great like that, but the gym's stupid rules said we were only allowed to use the three moves Jarque had chosen for us. Ugh… Was I Bite or was I Scratch? Why didn't I memorize it? I began to approach the apple monster, a little slower than usual as I thought of what to do. Memory, don't fail me now! I didn't want us to be disqualified for using the wrong move!

Wait! Jarque ordered us to use 'Bite and Scratch' in that order! He said Bite first, and I'm his favorite so that command must have been targeted at me! Yeah, Valentine was Scratch. Hah! I don't imagine a dainty flower like her going fangs-deep into someone anyway! Leave that one to a strong girl like me!

The Applin tried to Pounce on me, but I was just too fast for a stupid animated fruit! I circled around her at dazing speeds, and once I found a safe angle of attack I went in for the hit! I sunk my fangs into that apple much like I did with a Leppa berry earlier this morning, except it tasted nowhere near as juicy. She managed to escape my grasp at the end, but only after sustaining significant damage. My bite marks remained visible on her glossy surface, although they would wear off with time.

She made a low sound. I figured it must have been a pained grunt at first, but on second inspection it sounded closer to a creepy laugh. "Not too shabby, kitty! But too little, too late. Your tiny cute fangs are nothing compared to his."

I performed a little hop to turn my head and attention towards the small Tyrunt towering over the much smaller Fennekin. She was a fire-type! She was screwed. Her delicate claws were doing nothing against his hardened scales, and it's not like her fire would be of much use against a rock-type either. And due to the Applin's previous Pounce, Valentine's leg was hurt and she was in no position to run away.

"Flame Charge!" Jarque was quick to react, but his options were limited. Neither fire nor normal moves would have much of an effect on what I presumed to be a dragon / rock pokémon, but those were the only types of moves a young inexperienced Fennekin would know how to use.

For the first time, the gym leader let out a soft laugh. And also for the first time, his expression didn't seem coated in malice. "Flame Charge? You might not yet be a lost cause."

Gritting her teeth and bearing a pain that I could only begin to imagine, Valentine enveloped herself in a curtain of topaz flames and jumped at the Tyrunt at a speed that would rival mine any good day. Oh, it was that move! The one she learned a mere few days ago! Flame Charge generated flames in a specific pattern that resulted in a 'wind gradient' that pushed her forth and improved her speed. None of us had any idea what a 'wind gradient' even was, but it was much welcomed! That would allow her to mitigate the effects of the Pounce to some extent. To some extent.

Valentine smashed her fire-coated head against the Tyrunt at a stupid speed. He didn't even flinch. Instead, he lowered his head low enough to bring his fangs over the fox's neck, and I then realized that the Applin was completely right. My tiny cute fangs are indeed nothing compared to that. It was the same move I had just used, I could tell as much. So now we knew the Tyrunt's full moveset too: Curse, Dragon Dance, and now, Bite. Valentine screamed in agony and I averted my eyes. I didn't want to watch. There was that nausea coming up again. But I knew she could take it. We had known each other for just a few weeks, but I knew she was stronger than that, much as it pained me to admit it. Even if she was weakened, a single Bite would not take her down.

"Enough!" I heard the voice of a male human, but it took me a moment to realize who was the owner. It wasn't Jarque, as it sounded older. My initial thought was that it was Tute's, but as he kept speaking I realized this was the referee, and my heart felt all the heavier. "The Fennekin is out of commission! Challenger, recall your pokémon!"

I dared to look at Valentine. My regret was immediate as I lowered my head, feeling a sudden urge to puke. I didn't remember her soft coat being that red. What kind of dance of skill was this? This was not fun anymore. I looked back to Jarque for comfort. I really needed him to tell me that everything was going to be okay, that he had everything under control, that this was all part of his master plan. He had an extended trembling hand that held a small item in it, and it took me a moment to realize it was one of the human-made spheres of red and white. Jarque wasn't too fond of them. He only used mine when I was too hurt to walk by myself.

Valentine disappeared into a beam of light. I knew she would be fine, at least. We pokémon were very durable, much more so than humans, so that was nothing that a bit of rest wouldn't heal. Human technology was incredible in that regard.

I turned to the Tyrunt, now alone, eyeing me like a predator would scan their surroundings for their next victim. How did he take her down in a single attack? Why was his Bite so much stronger than mine? Neither of us was a dark-type!

"How are you guys suddenly so strong? Mallet defeated you so easily earlier…"

"The previous challenger?" the Applin asked. I had forgotten she was by my side. "That girl was a lucky bastard, that's how. And I bet she didn't even realize how damn lucky she was. First, she brings out a pokémon with Intimidate. Does she know that her pokémon has one of the best abilities for double battling?"

My eyes went wide. Mallet had Intimidate as his ability. It threatens all foes present, making them more reticent on a subconscious level when using close contact moves. That's why the Tyrunt had needed extra time using Curse during Bera's match, to counteract the effects of Intimidate.

"Then the red kitten used Fire Fang," the Applin continued, "and he was lucky enough to burn my partner and make him flinch! How can someone be so blessed with luck? The first-degree burns he sustained made it even harder for him to use Bite properly. And then that stupid blue crocodile just happened to know ice moves to use against me! How rare is it for a young starter to know an ice move? I bet their trainer isn't even aware of how much luck was involved in that encounter."

Oh, dear. I understood now. Their entire battle plan seemed to be built around making the Tyrunt's attacks hit as hard as possible by combining Curse and Dragon Dance. By mixing Intimidate with an opportune burn, Bera had countered their strategy without even being aware of it. In retrospect, is it that surprising that he could take down the Fennekin in a single attack, after having buffed himself up so much?

And I was now alone against the two of them, and they were only barely hurt at best. I awaited orders. I knew I could always trust Jarque. We would make it somehow, as we always do.

"Attack!" was the only word that the gym leader uttered, since further words would add nothing. The Applin nearby prepared to Pounce at me, and I noticed in the corner of my eye the Tyrunt dashing towards me with heavy, terrifying steps. I wanted out. I just wanted Jarque to hold me in a hug and tell me that everything is okay and that it didn't matter that we lost as he scratched my ears. Please. M-Maybe he would call the dance off? Maybe he would throw the towel because he didn't want to see me hurt.

"M-Magical Leaf!" No. No, what was I thinking? We were winning this! We didn't need that stupid Fennekin anyway! She was only getting in our way! I would prove that he didn't need anyone but me, and then I would get all the caresses and all the cuddles!

But who was I supposed to target with Magical Leaf? He didn't specify. Was it the Applin? But she would resist my attack easily. No, the Tyrunt made more sense. I turned to him and — ouch! I had forgotten the Applin was just in the process of attacking me. I couldn't deal with two opponents at once!

The Tyrunt was now right in front of me and I was ready to attack…! But he proved to be faster. I couldn't even tell what was happening. He twisted his whole body around me with splendid speed and plunged his big, sharp fangs into my grassy coat. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. I could feel nothing but sharp spikes piercing into my skin as a warm liquid flowed down my back. He soon released me, fearing I would counterattack. His teeth were coated crimson, but I couldn't tell how much of that blood was mine versus Valentine's.

More scared than I had ever been in my life, I raised my panting head to meet their gazes. But the expressions I found on their faces were ones I was not expecting. I might have been reading them wrong, but they looked… surprised?

"How?" the Tyrunt asked. "How are you still standing?" His question seemed genuine. I detected no hostility in it.

I wanted to say 'I would tell you if I knew'. That would make me sound cool, as if I didn't care about it. But I found it difficult to speak at all.

The Applin mirrored her partner's expression. "His Bite is boosted by Curse, Dragon Dance, and his ability Strong Jaw, that — well, you can guess what it does from its name. You look like a grass-type, so you shouldn't resist dark moves either. How are you still standing, really?"

I was wondering the same. That Bite had hurt immensely, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't the end of the world or anything. I could still walk around, even if it hurt my sides whenever I did so. I would rather not run, though.

"Magical Leaf!" My trainer insisted.

I wanted to win. I wanted to win this for you, really, I did. But it hurt. Not the Tyrunt's fangs. Well, those hurt too, but those wounds would heal. No, what hurt the most was knowing that I was losing this and I was going to fail you and disappoint you. I'm sorry.

But if I am going to dance, I will dance until the end.

Crying out loud to pump myself up, and making a mockery of any pain this body was feeling, I began to release a few dozen leaves from my coat.

This one was yellow, because no one brightens my life like you do.

This one was blue, because you're always there for me when I'm at my lowest.

This one was pink, because there was no better sensation in this world than your hands gently caressing my tummy.

This one was green, because being with you makes me feel like even a reject like me can be normal.

This one was red, for my desire for my deep affections to one day reach you.

And so one by one they grazed at the Tyrunt's scales, projected as a beautiful rainbow of emotions. One step back. Two steps back. He was not immune. He was no immortal god. Curse might bolster his muscles as if they were steel, but magical attacks were of a different nature. It was working. I was going to make it work. I was going to make Jarque proud, and then he would love me even more.

"Too little, too late." I couldn't even tell who that voice belonged too anymore. It came from Tute's direction, so it must have been him. "So for your Sprigatito you chose Leafage, Magical Leaf, and Bite. And for your Fennekin, Ember, Flame Charge, and Scratch. Not a single supporting move, and two moves of the same type in each combatant. There might be some merit in picking both physical and special moves, and I understand both you and your pokémon are young and your options are limited, but surely you could do better than this. Oh, well. Better luck next time. Bite."

I-I could take it. There was no way I was dodging the Tyrunt's next attack since he was right in front of me, but I'm sure I could endure another hit. I hoped. His mouth was already around my body. A-Already? I was not mentally prepared for this. Okay. I was hitting him with another Magical Leaf so soon as this was over. Please let this be over fast.

"I concede!" Aw. Thank you. But it was a tad too late. Right as Jarque began to say those words, the Tyrunt was already sinking his pointed fangs into my flesh. I could feel how they punctured my skin, inch by inch, as the terrible sounds burrowed into my ears. I could taste my own dry saliva. What a terrible flavor. And, oh god, the smell of the blood. That was the worst part. Why did I have such a good sense of smell? And why did it hurt so bad this time? It hadn't hurt half as bad before, so why was it now just…

I was scared. Not scared of the pain. That part was endurable. This probably looked worse than it actually was, from outside. Humans were so squeamish! I could tell this would leave a nasty bite mark that would wear off in a few days, but little else. So it wasn't the pain that scared me.

I was about to lose my consciousness. I could tell as much. And as I closed my eyes, I wondered if this was all just — Of course! That explains it. This was a nightmare! That's all it was. That's all it had ever been. Of course I wouldn't lose in our first gym battle and disappoint my trainer. What a stupid thing to believe. Why did I ever think this was anything other than a bad dream?

I could see nothing anymore, but it was okay because I could hear my trainer's voice. I don't know what he was saying. But I could hear him. I knew I would soon wake up and I would feel silly for believing this was ever real. Now I just wanted to wake up in his warm arms again, and feel a sweet kiss on my forehead as he rubbed my cheeks and told me it had all been a nightmare. Any second now…