It was not long before the day of the second attempt in the Mauville Gym Challenge. Although being nervous, I knew I had to stay cheerful to keep the team spirits high. I prepared breakfast and called my Pokémon, "Time for breakfast!"

Shortly after the call, Ziggs and Surfer rushed towards the table and started indulging their meal hungrily, while Power slowly followed behind them and ate his meal. Woody then walked towards the table slowly after. Grace however, was nowhere to be seen.

Grace was usually punctual for occasions like these, so I was confused, "Anyone saw Grace?"

They shook their heads, as I decided to search for her myself. I looked through the room, and found Grace lying down on one of the couches with an unpleasant expression on her face.

Filled with worry, I went ahead and lightly tapped her before asking, "Grace?"

Grace slowly opened her eyes, her unpleasant expression remained, "Lows... it seems like the headache from yesterday still remained. I've been trying to cope with it... but rest wasn't enough, it seems."

"Let's go to the nurse. You need treatment." I quickly made my decision.

"But... the Gym Battle..."

"Your health is more important." I replied as I returned her to her Pokéball, told my Pokémon to continue with breakfast as I rushed out of the room to the nurse in the PokéCentre.

After a while, the nurse called my name and explained, "It seems like tiredness was the main issue for your Pokémon. Training too hard, it seems?"

"I think so. She did train hard last night." I recalled her trying to learn Shadow Ball for days but not making as much progress as she hoped for.

"We'll let her rest in one of the rooms here. She should be fully recovered tonight."

Although knowing that this would cause the Gym Battle to be harder, I understood the situation as I nodded and thanked the nurse. I went back to my room to find my Pokémon worried about their team member, "Is Grace alright?"

"She's going to be fine." I reassured them, "However, she can only return to the team tonight. That means she won't be taking part in the Gym Battle later."

Power gasped, "H-Huh?! What are we going to do later, then? We can't just give up..."

"Of course not! We worked hard for the Gym Battle. We gotta show Wattson our after training progress!" Ziggs agreed.

"I don't plan on doing that either." I thought for a little before asking Surfer, "Surfer... I know I said you won't be going against Electric types due to the type disadvantage. However... we don't have much choice."

Surfer didn't take too long to nod at my suggestion, "...I understand. The waves might be bigger this time, but I'll do my best to overcome them as always!"

I heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Surfer. I still believe that we can win this match. Let's work together and show Wattson we have gotten better!"

My Pokémon seemed to accept the situation and nodded in determination, the nervousness almost gone from the atmosphere. After being fully prepared and revising on what we should do for certain situations that could happen during the match, we walked to the Mauville Gym after meeting up with Cassie. This time, upon entering the gym, Wattson was already there waiting for me.

He chuckled, "Well, if it isn't Lows again! I'm more than ready to see you shine on the electrifying stage this time! Hahahahaha!"

"I'll try." I replied.

Wattson nodded as he led me to the battlefield through a safe path as Cassie went to the arena seat to watch the match. We went to two sides of the battlefield as the referee told us the usual rules and started the match, "The match between Trainer Lows and Leader Wattson will now begin! Trainers, please choose your first Pokémon."

I took out my first Pokéball, taking a deep breath...

Let's do this.

"Time to battle, Power!" I threw my Pokéball as my Fighting type appeared on the battlefield. Wattson nodded and threw his as well, "Bolt, shock the stage!"

Wattson's Electrike appeared on the battlefield, eager to battle as the referee announced, "The battle between Power and Bolt will now begin!"

"Power, use Focus Energy, then Karate Chop!" Power closed his eyes and then opened it, his eyes turning red as he dashed towards the Electrike to unleash his attack. However, at the last second, Bolt dodged the attack by dashing to the side, his high speed contributed in doing so.

"Bolt, Thundershock!" Bolt released a weak jolt of electricity towards Power, hitting the Fighting type. He gritted his teeth in pain but did not say a word as he continued battling.

"Power, Low Kick!" Power rushed towards the Electrike with faster speed than his last attack as he finally managed to land a hit. However, the damage dealt did not seem to be as much due to Bolt's light weight.

"Bolt, Quick Attack!" Bolt dashed around the battlefield with lightning speed before finally heading towards Power, hitting the vulnerable Fighting type in succession. Wattson quickly followed up, "Bolt, finish him off with Tackle!"

As Bolt started rushing towards Power, I knew it was the time, "Power, Fling!"

Upon hearing my command, Power closed his eyes and summoned a somewhat heavy boulder by his side. Then, he quickly lifted the boulder and launched it towards the Electric type. The Electrike noticed the object coming towards him and tried to back off, but his speed made him unable to do a quick brake. The heavy boulder hit the Electrike head on as Bolt fell onto the ground in pain.

"Power, Karate Chop!" Power quickly followed up by dashing towards the Electric type who was struggling to recover from the Fling attack, and chopped his opponent four times. This seemed to be enough to win us the battle as Bolt's energy ran out and became unconscious on the ground.

"Bolt is unable to battle! Power wins!"

"You definitely became better from last time!" Wattson chimed, "That might have caught me off guard just a little bit! Hahaha!"

He then returned Bolt and took out his second Pokéball, summoning his Pokémon almost immediately, "Let's do this, Fuse!"

The familiar Ball Pokémon appeared in front of us, as I made the decision to switch out Power, "Power, why don't you take a short rest?"

Power nodded as I returned him and took out another Pokéball, "I believe in you, Ziggs!"

Ziggs appeared in the battlefield and slightly shivered in nerves. I could sense his determination to prove that he got better, but I could tell he was also scared that his hopes to win could get easily shattered. I lightly patted him, trying to calm him down.

"The battle between Ziggs and Fuse will now begin!"

"Fuse, use Rollout!"

Not again! "Ziggs, counter with Swift!"

Ziggs spun around in an attempt to form the star rays but only to no avail. I quickly changed my plan, "Ziggs, use Dig!"

A hole was immediately made by my Tiny Raccoon Pokémon as he rushed into the hole, barely dodging the attack from Fuse. Fuse continued to roll around, but Ziggs fortunately hit the Ball Pokémon from underground, stopping Fuse from continuing the Rollout.

"Fuse, Sonicboom!" Fuse released the wave of white energy as it hit Ziggs without fail. Ziggs seemed to be getting more tired, but he did not want to give up just yet.

"Ziggs, use Headbutt, full power!"

"Fuse, counter with Shock Wave!"

Ziggs lowered his head and rushed towards the Electric type, headbutting the Voltorb. However, Fuse released the light blue electricity at my Normal type just on time. As Ziggs felt the electricity entering him, the pain was too much for him to handle as both Pokémon collapsed from that attacks in exhaustion.

"Both Ziggs and Fuse are unable to battle! This battle is a tie!"

I quietly accepted the results as I was about to return Ziggs, but I heard weeping coming from him as tears were in his eyes.

He definitely wasn't satisfied with his performance.

But... I know he tried his hardest.

I hugged Ziggs, surprising the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon slightly before I gave him a reassuring smile. Ziggs finally nodded lightly as I thanked him and returned him back to the Pokéball.

Wattson returned Fuse and sent out his third Pokémon, Radar. I immediately followed suit as well, sending out my Water type starter, Surfer.

"Oh, this is different!" Wattson noticed the lineup change and exclaimed, "This should be interesting!"

"The battle between Surfer and Radar will now begin!"

"Surfer, use Water Pulse!" Surfer quickly released the blue ball of energy towards Radar, but the Magneton was barely able to dodge it.

"Hahaha! Radar, use Metal Sound!" Obeying its trainer's command, the Electric and Steel type released an irritating screeching sound. Surfer and I closed our ears as Wattson continued, "Magnet Bomb!"

As Radar was surrounded by sparks of light blue electricity, I quickly thought of a counter as both of us uncovered our ears, "Surfer, counter with Mud Slap, then follow up with Water Pulse!"

Surfer nodded and formed a pile of mud on his palm before launching it towards Radar. Radar, who was still charging for its attack, could do nothing but take the attack head on. It tried shaking it off as Surfer formed the blue ball of energy and released it towards his strong opponent.

However, the Magneton still had barely enough time to charge its attack as Its magnets flashed light blue and started firing multiple light blue orbs of energy at Surfer. Both of them were hit by each other's respective attacks as they slightly panted.

"One more shot, Surfer! Use Water Gun!"

"Radar, don't underestimate Surfer! Finish him off with Shock Wave!"

As Surfer released the spiral of water towards the Magneton, Radar also released the light blue electricity from its body. The attacks went right past each other as they hit their targets in succession. Radar took the attack head on and shook it off, but Surfer on the other hand was unable to withstand the powerful, super effective attack and collapsed.

"Surfer is unable to battle! Radar wins!" I expected the outcome, but Surfer definitely did more than enough for this battle. I nodded at Surfer, acknowledging his efforts and returned him back to the Pokéball.

I sent out my next Pokémon, "Avenge Surfer, Power!"

My Fighting type returned to the battlefield as he examined the bigger opponent in front of him.

"The battle between Power and Radar will now begin!"

"Power, let's not waste any time! Finish this with Low Kick!"

Radar, who was emitting cries of exhaustion, tried to dodge the attack only to no avail due to its almost non-existent energy. Power was able to land a kick on the Electric and Steel type attack, as the super effective attack finally took down this beast. This battle ended in only one move, which surprised but relieved me, knowing that we needed as much manpower for the next opponent, who would definitely be the strongest throughout the whole battle.

"Radar is unable to battle! Power wins!"

Wattson returned Radar, his smile still remained, "Wahahaha! Looks like it has come down to this once again! Dazzle them, Sparks!"

The strong-looking Manectric appeared in the battlefield, seemingly ready to stop his contenders from their attempts of winning the match. Power seemed to gulp in nervousness, but I told him, "Do the best you can, Power."

"The battle between Power and Sparks will now begin!'

I quickly commanded, "Power, use Focus Energy, then Low Kick!"

Power's eyes turned red once again as he ran towards Sparks for his attack. However, Wattson remained confident, "Not on our watch! Sparks, dodge and use Electro Ball!"

Sparks dodged the attack easily with his lightning speed and quickly followed up by forming an orb of yellow and orange electricity with yellow electric sparks and two yellow rings of electricity around it in front of him. Then, Sparks quickly fired the orb at Power, hitting him with success. Power winced in pain from the power of the move.

"Power, you good?" I asked, concerned.

"I-I'm okay..." Power replied, "I know I won't win against Sparks.. but I have to help Woody win as much as possible!"

Noticing his determination, I commanded, "Power, let's finish up with Karate Chop, max power!"

"We won't be holding back either! Sparks, Quick Attack!"

The two Pokémon went against each other head on with their physical attacks, Sparks slamming his opponent with his body while Power endured the pain and chopped Sparks three times. After the attacks, the last bit of energy escaped from Power as he collapsed on the battlefield.

"Power is unable to battle! Sparks wins!"

I thanked Power and returned him back to his Pokéball, taking a deep breath as I took out my last Pokéball.

It's a one on one now.

I threw my last Pokéball, "Woody, you got this!"

"It's all up to Woody now... Sparks is such a powerful opponent, though." Cassie said.

"Woody definitely got this. I can see his determination to burn up the stage in his eyes! No problem at all." Cassie's Charmeleon, Flare replied, looking relaxed.

"Are you sure? I can't really notice the 'determination' you're talking about from this far away-"

"Of course! You're not Pokémon, so you wouldn't notice." Flare replied, "Just stay calm, Lows and Woody are a great pair! They will win."

Cassie shook her head as she said to her Relaxed nature starter, "Eh, I'm not sure whether what you said is true, but I guess I can't worry too much."

Flare chuckled slightly upon hearing Cassie as they continued to watch the final battle of the match.

"The battle between Woody and Sparks will now begin!"

"Woody, use Quick Attack, then Bullet Seed!"

"Woody will not match Thunder's speed!" Wattson smiled and commanded, "Sparks, counter with Quick Attack, then Electro Ball!"

Here we go again...

"Woody, halt the plan. Counter with Bullet Seed!" Woody released five seeds from his mouth towards the Manectric dashing towards him. Luckily, the seeds hit the Manectric, slowing down his speed as Woody dodged the Quick Attack.

Wattson still remained unfazed as he commanded, "Sparks, run around and use Shock Wave!"

Upon hearing that, Sparks charged up light blue electricity around him as he dashed around the battlefield, making it hard for Woody to detect his location. As he did so, he released the light blue electricity bolt by bolt towards my Wood Gecko Pokémon.

"Woody, dodge!" Woody tried to move away from the electric bolts as they neared them, but two electric bolts successfully hit Woody, the pain caused him to collapse on the battlefield. However, he was not intending to give up, trying to get up and ignore the pain.

I felt bad for Woody clearly being at a disadvantage, the intention to forfeit the match before he suffered further appearing in my head. As I was about to raise my hand to call the referee, Woody's voice caught my attention, "Lows... don't give up. We're not going to lose."

"But... I don't want what happened last time to happen again. The Self-Destruction already gave you so much trauma." I recalled the incident, still feeling bad that I was unable to protect him from that attack.

"I'm not going to call it quits!" He unusually shouted, before taking a deep breath and continued, "Before I met you... I gave up thinking that I would have another chance to be with another trainer. But you proved me wrong, and gave me so many opportunities to battle and meet new friends."

He took another deep breath before slowly getting up, "I may not be as good with words... but I'll prove my gratefulness by fighting till the end."

I looked at him, surprised.

I thought I was not doing as well at being a responsible trainer despite doing my very best. However... it seemed like actions that seemed small for me, could be bigger than I thought when it came to my Pokémon.

"T-Thank you." I replied as I put my hand on his shoulder, "You're right. Together, we will defeat Leader Wattson and get that badge."

Woody smiled with a blush on his face, not used to expressing too much of his thoughts. Suddenly, a white light surrounded my Grass type as I happily watched him evolve. After the evolution, Woody became a bipedal Pokémon primarily green with a red underside. He had three long leaves on his wrists, a large leaf on top of his head, and two tails that had a leafy appearance.

[Grovyle, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Treecko. The leaves growing out of Grovyle's body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This Pokémon is a master at climbing trees in jungles.]

He also seemed to learn new moves that could give us a better advantage. Heaving a sigh of happiness, I heard Wattson saying, "Seems like you two are finally done! Hahahaha!"

My mind went back to the battle as I apologized, "Sorry, Leader Wattson! I got too into the conversation with Woody."

"That's alright, consider this as a short break, because I expect you to electrify the stage with me right here, right now!" Wattson said, "Sparks, Thunderbolt!"

"Woody, use Rock Throw!"

All the Pokémon released the attacks and dodged them immediately after, non of them landing onto their targets. I realized although having the evolution buff, Woody still was slightly tired. However, the Manectric seemed to slow down as well after so many battles.

I decided to take advantage of the evolutionary move, "Leaf Blade, max power!"

"One last shot, Sparks! Finish with Electro Ball!"

The three leaves on my Grovyle's forearm glowed green as they combined into one long sharp blade. At the same time, Sparks started forming the orb of yellow and orange electricity as well.

Woody rushed towards the Electric type and started slashing the Manectric with the blade, as Sparks endured the pain and released the Electro Ball right at Woody.

After the attacks, the victor was determined.

"Nurse, I would like to visit and take back my Kirlia, Grace." I told the nurse working at the reception area of the PokéCentre.

"Grace the Kirlia..." She checked the data before handing me Grace's Pokéball, "She's at Room 4B. Just return her back to her Pokéball and it should be all good!"

"Thank you." I smiled as I received the Pokéball and went to the room, seeing Grace lying on the bed, her consciousness returning to her after the rest. I sent out my other Pokémon, who were worried about their team member as well.

"Grace, you okay?" I asked.

"I'm feeling better now. Did the Gym Challenge go okay?"

"Well..." I sighed and told her, "We lost again."

"Oh..." Grace appeared to be disappointed, but she tried to keep her calm and said, "I apologize for not being able to help out for this match."

"It's okay! We can always try again next time." Surfer replied. Grace looked towards him, noticing him struggling to keep a stern look on his face.

"Surfer, did something funny happen?" Grace asked.

"Huh?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but you seem like you were struggling to contain your laughter."

Surfer finally let out his laughter, the others chuckling slightly as well. I jokingly hit Surfer's head lightly before telling Grace the truth, "I'm just kidding, Grace. We won the match."

I showed Grace the Dynamo Badge as she responded with a smile, "I know that all of you can do this. How did the match exactly go?"

"I'll tell you all about it, Grace!" Ziggs started to explain how the Gym Challenge went happily. Although some parts might be more exaggerated than intended, especially when he talked about his battle with Fuse, I just assumed he was excited.

I chuckled, before recalling what happened for the past few hours myself.

As the attacks were over, both Pokémon were exhausted. However, it was obvious who the victor was when Sparks fell face first while Woody barely stood on the battlefield.

"Sparks is unable to battle! Woody wins! The winner is Lows Landerson from Pallet Town!"

I heaved a sigh mixed with happiness and relief as I saw Woody finally collapsed upon hearing the announcement. I ran to him and patted him, "You've done well, Woody. Thank you."

He managed to give me a slight smile as his response. After returning Woody, Wattson walked towards me with a smile on his face, "Wahaha! It seems like you definitely have gotten better from last time. You and your Pokémon's determination and perseverance to win earned you this Dynamo Badge!"

He took out a coiled wire-like badge and handed it to me. I thanked him, received the badge and carefully put it in the badge case.

"This is definitely what I call an electrifying battle! Youngsters like you make me look forward to a bright future! Let's exchange Pokégear numbers so we can have another rematch again." Wattson laughed.

I accepted his suggestion and exchanged Pokégear numbers with him. After bidding farewell, I was about to exit the Gym from the safe path before a feminine voice was heard, "What's up, Wattson!"

"Hey, glad to see you here! What's the matter?" Wattson smiled.

"Just some Gym Leader problems I need some help with! I'm kinda new, so this is complicated to me, even more complicated than the electric fence maze you set up!"

"Hahahaha! Well, good thing I just finished with my match. This trainer actually reminded me of you when you battled me for the first time!"

"Oh? That's kinda cool." She eventually saw me as we locked eyes.

I... I knew it.

The teenage girl was just as surprised as I was. Silence surrounded the atmosphere for a while, before the girl finally said, "Lows... You did come here, after all."

"Y-Yeah..." I was struggling to let my words out. All those words that I longed to say upon meeting her again suddenly struggled to get out of my mouth at that very moment.

"H-Hello there, sis."

"Little bro... don't be sad! You won't be staying at home forever either. Once you grow up, you can come and challenge me in Hoenn once I become a Gym Leader!"

"That's true... I'll defeat you when that happens, big sis!"

That day, I made a promise with you.

I held on to it...

And now, I finally got to see you again.

Lows' Pokémon Team:

Surfer (Wartortle, Male) Jolly Nature, moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Mud Slap

Ziggs (Zigzagoon, Male) Naive Nature, moves: Dig, Growl, Headbutt, Rock Smash; learning-Swift

Grace (Kirlia, Female) Calm Nature, moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Double Team, Psybeam; learning-Shadow Ball

Woody (Grovyle, Male) Lonely Nature, moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Throw

Power (Machop, Male) Timid Nature, moves: Fling, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Low Kick