The incidents that happened at Dewford had successfully led to a rather deep nap in the cabin. I was only barely able to wake up from the P.A. system announcing the ship's arrival at the city filled with trees and rivers.

Petalburg City

Where people mingle with nature.

I didn't hesitate to waste any time as I entered the Petalburg City Gym, hoping for a quick registration after finally being able to fulfill the requirement from the Gym Leader. Luckily, the man was at the Gym, wearing his usual dark red, long jacket with a black collar, blue-gray trousers and black boots. The familiar stern look remained on his face, slightly fazing me.

I politely approached him anyway, "Hello, Leader Norman! I am here to register for a Gym Battle."

"...I remember you! You came here two months ago with no badges. Since you're back, I assume you have completed the task." He replied, to which I nodded in response to his assumption.

"I just received the fifth badge from Dewford." I showed him my badge case containing the five badges as concrete evidence.

"Not bad! Not only have you grown your number of badges, your demeanor also showed more determination and confidence compared to when you just started." He was impressed, "Very well, I accept your challenge."

The rest of the registration process went relatively smoothly, as the Gym Battle was scheduled to be in three days, at ten in the morning. Upon stepping out of the Gym, I heaved a sigh of relief, somewhat glad I was out of the somewhat tense atmosphere.

Perhaps one day, I will get used to this kind of situation…

At least that's out of the way now. Let's focus on training for the next three days.

I thought as I headed towards the PokéCentre, got myself a room to stay and started planning with my team members.

First thing to do was to determine our lineup for the Gym Battle.

"Since Norman specializes in Normal type Pokémon, Power being in the lineup seems like a no-brainer." Grace explained, and everyone nodded in agreement to this obvious suggestion.

…Well, everyone except for Power, the subject of attention.

He did not seem too happy with the idea, "I-I almost screwed up in the Slateport battle… What if it doesn't go well again?"

"You do seem like the best choice, though." I reassured him, "The mistakes you made before don't matter now. You've grown a lot since then, and we all believe that you can make a difference here."

"Yeah, Power! Break a leg out there!" Ziggs cheered along, receiving a hesitant nod from the Fighting type in exchange. I knew his lack of confidence was something still bothering him, but I still could not find a proper way to help him with that problem.

Luckily, the perfect event for that would soon come to us... That's a story for later, though.

I continued the lineup discussion with my Pokémon, "Since nobody has a type disadvantage, we actually have a lot of options. Anyone can play in the Gym Battle."

That sentence was supposed to spark interest in volunteering to join the lineup, but unfortunately, my Pokémon did not seem to get the message. After a brief moment of silence, though, Grace was the one to speak.

"Lows… I think me and Woody should step out of this battle." Receiving some confused looks from her teammates, she continued, "Woody and I were involved in the last Gym Battle, so we could use a short break for next time. That way, the others can also gain more battling experience, which is always welcomed for the Ever Grande League."
Woody nodded along to her suggestion. Deep down, he also had a similar thought, but he didn't have the courage to tell his trainer. Fortunately, Grace seemed to have understood his feelings again. He gratefully exchanged expressions with Grace, to which she responded with a slight smile.

"Can't argue with that." I said, "Everyone should get enough experience so we are all ready to help out our future sixth member when they join us."

Surfer and Ziggs did not seem to hate the suggestion as well. In fact, the two showed hints of excitement in their expressions when looked closely. All was decided as I concluded, "Looks like our lineup for the Petalburg Gym Battle will be Surfer, Ziggs and Power!"
My team cheered upon hearing the announcement, as Surfer boasted, "They better be ready for a wipeout!"

"Time to show them who we are!" Ziggs followed.

However, the third member included, Power, was obviously still nervous about battling Norman as he sat alone in the same position, quietly muttering to himself.

I obviously wanted to help, but I felt like this problem would not be something that plain words of encouragement could fix.

So until the perfect opportunity to tackle the issue strikes, we would have to wait patiently.

But do we have enough time?

There was no time to waste as we instantly got into training the next morning.

Training was going as usual, with noticeable improvements coming from all the members on the team. However, problems were evident when it came to battling practice.

The session was carried out just like any usual battle, with Woody and Power facing each other. The two stood still at their sides of the battlefield, which was an average-sized patch of grass.

I soon announced, "Battle begin!"

Upon hearing that, Woody quickly rushed towards his Fighting-type opponent with the intention of releasing a Leaf Blade attack. Power, who read the situation well, wanted to counter with Karate Chop. Unfortunately, the Machop was still ways off compared to Woody's pace, which was honed sharper through the endless periods of speed training, as the sharp leaf shaped like a sword cut through its target.

Power fell onto the ground upon the impact, but soon got up and wanted to pay back with a Seismic Toss attack. However, he was stopped by a Rock Tomb attack, with the boulders instantly surrounding him. He broke the boulder in front of him in order to break through, but Woody, who readied his angle, fired a Bullet Seed attack. Power used Karate Chop to chop apart most of the seeds firing at him, but some seeds still managed to hit him and caused damage. There was a miserable look forming on his face, and I could tell it was a mix of disappointment and nervousness towards his current performance.

Woody, who seemingly read the situation as well, wanted to end the battle, along with his new teammate's sufferings quickly. Once again, he rushed towards the Machop with another Leaf Blade attack. Power, who did not want to suffer a complete defeat, was finally able to land a Low Kick attack on the Grass type, but it did not stop the sharp leaf from slashing right through him. Both Pokémon fell onto the ground, but Woody got up barely unscathed, while Power stayed lying on the ground, exhausted.

Woody and I ran towards the Fighting-type almost immediately as I took out two bottles of Potion and sprayed one at each of them. After both of them were healed, I wanted to give my comments, but Power just walked away from us while staring towards the ground.

I knew a conversation with Power was needed, as I told Woody, "You did a great job, Woody. Why don't you join the others for now? I'll go check on Power."

Woody, who trusted me, nodded and quietly walked towards the others. Afterwards, I caught up to Power, who fortunately did not walk far.

He had a dejected look on his face as I asked, "What's wrong, Power?"

He sadly replied, "L-Lows, I'm not sure if I should participate in the Gym Battle…"

"Why is that?"

"I-I struggled to even land a hit on Woody… With my performance right now, I'd just let the team down."

"I don't think it's fair to compare yourself with others on the team when you're the newest member here." I said, "In fact, I feel like your skills aren't far apart at all. You stepped up big time for us during the Gym Battle at Slateport, after all."

"T-That was a fluke… Without your encouragement, it would've been over for me back there. Next time, I'd just be a burden again."

I petted him, feeling compassion towards the Fighting-type, what kind of torture did you have to go through to have your confidence completely shattered like that…

"I'd still like you to be in the lineup for this upcoming Gym Battle." The tone in my voice became more serious, "Not just because of your type advantage, but also because I genuinely believe in your skills to do well for the team. You just need more confidence, and we'll all be here to help you with that."

"I-I guess…" Power replied, still looking away from me, "I'm really glad that everyone appreciates me here… I want to get on the level of everyone here as soon as possible. I-It's just… I still need some time."

Obviously, I knew his mindset would not be changed in just a conversation. I patted his shoulder and said, "You'll definitely get there, Power. We believe in you."

Power, who seemed slightly elated by my encouraging words, finally had a light smile returned on his face, as he later apologized for the trouble and walked back to the others and resumed training.

I knew I needed a way, an opportunity to make a big step in the road for Power to regain his confidence and reach his potential.

Little did I know, the golden opportunity would arise in just a few moments from there.

"Good work, everyone!" I said and clapped my hands, signaling the end of the training session as my Pokémon cheered along, ready to rejuvenate for the rest of the day.

On our way back to the PokéCentre, we were suddenly greeted by the sight of a small crowd gathering around what seemed like a booth recently established in the city. A man in sportswear at the center of attention, was speaking through a loudspeaker, "In commemoration of the once-in-four-years Pokélympics, the Pokélympics Celebration Festival is back once again in Petalburg City!"

...Oh yeah, the Pokélympics are happening soon.

Pokélympics as mentioned, is one of the biggest events happening in the Pokémon World once per four years, where Pokémon Trainers all around the world participate in multiple sports categories with their Pokémon for a spot in the most prestigious podiums. Winning a medal, or even being the Champion at any Pokélympics event is one of the most sought-after achievements that made Trainers work day and night to reach that point.

The person continued, "During the Pokélympics Celebration Festival, we would have friendly competitions of sports categories that will be held in the upcoming Pokélympics, where anyone can participate and win attractive prizes! If anyone is interested, be sure to ask people around the booth for more information and sign up. We hope to see you there tomorrow from two to nine!"

After the brief announcement, the man returned to the booth to help the other volunteers. His announcement clearly worked, as many people who were part of the commotion started approaching the booths, some even holding pens already while filling up the registration forms.

I personally was not super interested in the events, but I looked back and saw my Pokémon, who was following me back to the PokéCentre, having glimpses of excitement on their faces. I then remembered the numerous times they were watching varieties of sports events on the television during their free time.

I pointed towards the booth with an expression asking for confirmation from my Pokémon, which was answered by approval nods from the team.

Well, it'd serve as some productive training, anyway.

I walked towards the booth and asked for the registration form, discussed with my Pokémon on what to participate in, and filled up the form. All my Pokémon got to participate in an event so they each got to enjoy the fun.

And soon, I would be glad that I made that decision.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome… to the Pokélympics Celebration Festival for year 2004! Get a taste of the Pokélympics athletes, and potentially win big! Let the games begin!" In an atmosphere full of excitement and passion around the stadium, the festival started.

The swimming category was the first to begin. This is popularly known as one of the events in the Pokélympics where both the Trainer and Pokémon have to participate, completing a total of four laps in a relay fashion. Obviously, I chose Surfer for this category.

Along with many of the trainers who were doing pep talks with their Pokémon, I said, "Let's do our best, Surfer!"
"Of course, time to brave the wave!" Surfer cheered along.

After all participants were ready, the referee blew the whistle, and instantly, the Trainers and I dived into the pool and started swimming as fast as possible. I went with the common freestyle stroke, the technique I was most familiar with at the time. It was obvious my pace was just average at best, but in a non-professional setting like this, I thought it would do just fine.

In approximately one and a half minutes, I finished my lap and it was Surfer's time to shine. Pokémon's potential really is limitless, as the difference between humans and them were easily noticeable just in this category. Surfer was able to finish his lap in just less than a minute, as he gave me a light bump, signaling my time to continue the race.

As the competitiveness started setting in, I tried one-upping my pace as my movements became slightly off rhythm, resulting in me actually being in a less advantageous position as my energy slowly depleted. I quickly readjusted myself by controlling my breathing while continuing to swim forward, but when I finished my final lap, I could see some Trainers already done with their jobs.

Feeling slightly sorry about my performance, I could only watch Surfer giving his all as he completed his lap at monstrous pace. Unfortunately, the ending result was actually quite close between a few groups, so I could not tell the final results accurately at first glance.

I lightly apologized, "I made a few mistakes during my lap, Surfer. Sorry about that."

"No worries! What matters is that we all had good exercise." Surfer, as always, seemed carefree about the outcome. Feeling relieved, I quickly recovered as I knew this should not be something worth beating myself over for.

Shortly after, the host announced the results for the category, "First place in the swimming category… goes to Clark and his Sharpedo, Frostbite!"
As the two went up on stage, the host continued, "Second place goes to… Kelly and her Starmie, Sapphire!"

And lastly, to our surprise, our names were mentioned at the very end, "Third place is… Lows and his Wartortle, Surfer! Congratulations to the winners!"

We happily went up on stage and claimed our prizes. We each received a ribbon, which replicated the medals' designs from the Pokélympics, along with 3 Super Potions.

Hey, that's like three days of costs saved for healing items!

I gave a big high-five with my Water-type starter, before the two of us moved towards the spectator seats and joined the rest of our team to watch the upcoming categories.

After about two hours, Ziggs and Woody left the spectator area to prepare for their category: 100m sprint. There were a total of ten Pokémon participating in this event, and luckily, the Trainer did not have to be involved this time. I am not known to be a fast runner.

Grace was quite attentive towards this category in support of her teammates, notably Woody. She was especially lightly giggling before mentioning to us how shy Woody looked as we were shown his face close-up through a big screen in the stadium. Ziggs, on the other hand, remained his playful demeanor even towards the camera.

"The two must be glad that they had hours of speed training for this very moment right now." I joked.

"...Isn't that right." Grace smiled.

Soon, the referee blew the whistle and the race began. All Pokémon were dashing at full speed, it was a "look away and you miss it" moment as the race was going to end in just seconds.

And as expected, Woody and Ziggs were neck and neck as they outspeed the other Pokémon by a sizable margin, perhaps a result of their efforts during training. We were excited to see who would be the one claiming victory, until Ziggs suddenly tripped onto the ground at the worst possible moment right in front of the finish line. Woody, who was slightly ahead, noticed the incident and looked back, before instantly helping Ziggs back to his feet and continuing the race together, though the first place spot was unfortunately already claimed by a Minun.

As the results were announced, with Woody and Ziggs receiving second and third place respectively, the huge round of applause was given to Woody, who showed classy sportsmanship and Ziggs, who never gave up and finished the race. Besides the ribbons, they also received a total of 3 Pokéballs and 1 Great Ball.

Some reporters at the event wanted to interview Woody for his heartwarming move on the racing track, even having their Pokétalks prepared for instant translations. However, my Grovyle, who preferred to be left alone, instantly fled the scene before the opportunity closed. He then rejoined the group with Ziggs, which resulted in a few laughs from us. Grace happily gave a light hug to Woody for his efforts and actions, which was enough to make Woody's face become as red as a Tamato Berry.

Not too long after, it was time for Grace's event. It was the discus throw category, where Pokémon attempt to throw a heavy, round-shaped disc as far as possible. Obviously, it would be unfair for Grace to be competing against Pokémon tossing the disc with sheer strength, so she was grouped together with Pokémon that only would be using Psychic powers to do so. This category is apparently quite popular, as due to the number of participants in this fan event, each Pokémon would only get one try, making the stakes even higher.

After a mix of successful and failed attempts by the participants, it was time for Grace to throw her disc. Grace, who remained calm, floated towards her designated spot before closing her eyes to unleash her psychic powers. The disc on the ground shortly floated, fully in the Kirlia's control, as she focused all her powers and tossed the disc as far as possible. The audience were in awe as the disc traveled further and further away from its original spot, before finally landing around the 60 meters mark.

Her performance netted her a solid 60.4m result, which helped her secure her first place spot for a while, before finally getting overtaken by a Kadabra by just two meters. The second place finish secured her a second-place ribbon along with a Twisted Spoon. But shortly after, she made an agreement with the Kadabra to exchange their prizes, and the spoon was quickly replaced with two Rare Candies.

"She seemed quite obsessed with the Twisted Spoon." Grace lightly chuckled, "It's fine by me. I don't exactly prefer holding items during battles, anyway."

"Glad it all worked out in the end, Grace." I replied, "And congratulations, you did really well!"

She politely smiled, and while the rest of the team was focused on the next event, she lightly tucked Woody's shoulder before quietly handing the Grass type one of the Rare Candies she had on her hands.

Woody seemed surprised before whispering a few words towards Grace. Grace quietly replied, seemingly with her usual calm smile, but I could still notice a hint of blush in her face. I could not fully decipher their conversation, but in the end, Woody accepted the Rare Candy from Grace before thanking her with a light bow. The smile from the Psychic type seemed to have grown wider as well.

I smirked at the interaction between the two, maybe they do have a thing for each other.

What was left was just Power's event, the "Test of Strength" category. It is a test of strength for the Pokémon, using a machine similar to the Boxing Machine commonly seen in arcades. Participants would give their best punch at the punching-bag-lookalike before the scores would be accurately calculated and shown at the machine's screen.

It was not exactly my initial intention, but after the registration, I soon realized this could potentially serve as a catalyst to build up his confidence moving forward.

And I wanted to support him with all I could.

Right before Power's event began, I told my team I was going to check on him and left them at the spectator area. I found the Fighting-type shortly after, who looked nervous prior to the event.

I patted his shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down.

"Power, I know you got this. Do your best, okay?"

"I-I don't know about that, Lows…" The unsureness was evident from his voice.

"I can't exactly follow you on stage, so I'll teach you a way I use to feel more confident about the event!" I said.

"H-How so?"

"I just focus on the object in front of you… and imagine it as your worst enemy, your worst nightmare, but shrunk into something so small that you can easily punch out of this world!" Looking back, this was absolute childish advice, but it was the best I could have done. Besides, the silliness made Power laugh, so I would say it served its purpose.

"I'll try to think of that, Lows. Thank you."

"Give it your best shot!" I petted him before Power's name was called, signaling his show time on the stage.

The score to beat at the time was 798 points out of 1000, which I fully believed Power could surpass if he delivered his usual performance.

But at the moment, all I could do was stare at him from the backstage, and endlessly pray for his success.

Power slowly walked up on stage before facing the machine in front of him, which made him feel even smaller than he already was. He then looked to his left, and was greeted with the enthusiastic crowd cheering for him. He knew his teammates were definitely there too, but he failed to notice their presence, which made them slightly more nervous.

I-I wish I could go home right now.

He stared at the machine, the punching-bag-lookalike looking this much more terrifying. He was scared of messing up, but he closed his eyes, encouraging himself to be less afraid before reopening them.

At that moment, he thought of the memories back when he was in Harry's team. It was an experience full of sadness, frustration and desperation. Obviously, things had changed since then, and he assumed that Harry was making improvements thanks to Lows' influence, but scars would not just heal in just a day or two.

However, they can see the sad memories in front of him shrinking smaller and smaller, replaced by memories of recent times, where most was him spending time with his new teammates and Lows. He appreciated everyone: Surfer's carefreeness and natural leadership, Ziggs' playfulness and seriousness in his training, Grace's calm demeanor and her unconditional care towards her teammates, and Woody, who looked cold on the outside but was actually warm-hearted inside.

But most importantly, Lows, who got him out of what seemed to be a hellhole, and never once considered him a reject, outlier or burden. Instead, his new Trainer always tried lifting him up when he was distraught.

T-The past I had wasn't pretty… But it was what led me into the wonderful group I have now.

He was ready to punch these bad memories away, and embrace the present and future.

The bright future he will have with Lows and his teammates.

He was ready to give his best shot.

He ran towards the machine while charging up his punch with all his strength.

Then, at the perfect moment, he released the powerful attack.

...G-Goodbye, all the sad memories that made me lose myself.

From now on, I-I will pick myself back up…

For the sake of my team and myself!

The loud thud was deafening for the audience throughout the stadium.

Perhaps the organizers were glad they used sturdy material to build the machine, too.

My eyes never left Power as he released that powerful punch. It was at that moment, I knew the result did not matter anymore.

He had made peace with himself, and was ready to regain his long-lost confidence again.

As my smile grew wider upon seeing Power's growth, the score shown on the screen also went higher and higher. From 400… 500… 700… and eventually, the gasps from the audience followed as the score surpassed the 900 mark.

And eventually, the score stopped at the number 953. The thundering cheers and claps took no time to follow, along with shouts of Power's name.

Power looked around the stadium before finally looking at me, as happy tears fell from his face.

Back in our room in the PokéCentre, our excitement from the Pokélympics Celebration Festival had not died down yet, as we ended up displaying all the prizes we had won in a row before taking a group photo with them, commemorating the occasion for years to come.

Personally, I was also a little exhausted. Power's 953 points in the category was apparently a new record in the Pokélympics Celebration Event, and my Machop received quite a commotion as a result of that. Naturally, the reporters approached us, and this time, it was definitely not something that can be easily avoided like Woody's.

Power and I were both a little reserved towards crowds and strangers, but we politely answered some formal questions from the reporters, anyway. While it was certainly nice that Power managed such a grand achievement, the post-event reactions were also something we preferred not experiencing again for a long time to come.

I remembered near the end of the session, one of the reporters actually enthusiastically asked, "Seeing your Machop's fine potential in the 'Test of Strength' category, do you perhaps feel inspired to give a push for Power to reach the real Pokélympics stage eventually?"

…To which both of us shook our heads and instantly replied with a firm "No."

Screw the Pokélympics fame, we would rather just stick to Pokémon battling with our friends.

But looking at the overall cheerful atmosphere around the team post-event, along with Power's reserved smile, I knew the decision to join the event was more than worth it.

Sometimes, these experiences are just more impactful than normal training.

Now, this will serve as a new page for Power to start rebuilding his confidence, along with our progress to go one step further together as a team.

And we will prove that against Leader Norman tomorrow.

Let's do this.

Lows' Pokémon Team:

Surfer (Wartortle, Male) Jolly Nature

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb

Ziggs (Linoone, Male) Naive Nature

Ability: Quick Feet

Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade

Grace (Kirlia, Female) Calm Nature

Ability: Synchronize

Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam

Woody (Grovyle, Male) Lonely Nature

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Tomb

Power (Machop, Male) Timid Nature

Ability: Guts

Moves: Fling, Karate Chop, Low Kick, Seismic Toss