Hey readers - here we are with another new chapter, the first of 2024 : )

I hope that everyone had a lovely New Year, and Christmas too if you celebrate it. Now I don't actually have an awful lot to say this time, so let's just move right on over to the result of the latest voting topic. Well... unfortunately I'm unable to announce the winner just yet, because - you guessed it - the result ended up being a tie. A four-way tie to be specific, but I'll give more details about that in the footnote : )

Beyond that, I just want to say a HUMONGOUS thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support that has been shown to the story is amazing, and it means so much to me, so thank you : )

Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OC's are : )

I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

The Path to the Pokemon League - Part 4

The atmosphere felt slightly oppressive around A.J's unofficial Pokemon gym as the five young humans and their partner Pokemon all struggled to absorb what they had just witnessed, to really take it in in a way that it registered as true for them. The acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer in particular seemed to be having a hard time believing it, judging by the way his mouth was hanging open in a mildly undignified manner. That made an awful lot of sense though. If his partner truly had managed to go undefeated all this time, than it must have been pretty startling for A.J to see his beloved Sandshrew dealt such a crushing defeat when they had been so close to one hundred consecutive wins together. The battle may be far from over, and A.J had every intention of pulling it back, but there was no denying that Nolan would still be walking away from the unofficial Pokemon gym today with at least one victory under his belt. And to the best of A.J's memory, which was impeccable to say the least, that had never happened at his gym before. Needless to say, the whole experience had rather thrown the green haired boy for a loop, and as a result, he couldn't help but stare at the golden haired boy standing opposite him in sheer amazement.

"Okay..." the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer finally managed to say once the power of speech had returned to him, "I'll admit that I'm officially impressed. Nobody has ever managed to get past my first Pokemon after all, let alone when that first Pokemon is my Sandshrew. You're a lot better than I initially expected you to be Nolan".

From a trainer as highly skilled as A.J clearly was, the words of praise meant the absolute world to Nolan.

"Thanks a lot A.J" the golden haired boy beamed back across the battlefield at the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer, before he rubbed the back of his head modestly, "But it's Meadow that deserves the credit. She was the one out there putting in all the hard work. Plus I think we can both agree that that was our hardest battle to date, right Meadow?"

"Bulba!" the little Grass Type Pokemon vigorously nodded her head in agreement with her beloved human's assessment.

A.J's lips quirked into a smile.

So... not only was this Nolan kid talented, but he was also humble with it. The complete opposite of the company he kept, who A.J saw as mediocre at best and extremely arrogant. The green haired acclaimed expert trainer found himself liking his latest opponent more and more. It was almost a shame that he still had to defeat him. Almost.

"That's kind of you to say so kid" A.J replied with a genuine smile to Nolan's earlier compliment, before he quickly got serious again, "But I'm not gonna let you break my winning streak. Not without one heck of a fight first!"

And before Nolan had a chance to respond, the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer reached into the neck of his shirt, and pulled out something small and shiny hanging from a thin chain A.J wore there. It was only when the green haired boy raised the small silvery thing to his lips that Nolan realised it was a whistle. A.J let out a few short blasts on the whistle, playing a tune which sounded to Nolan as though it was highly specific.

The effect was instantaneous.

No sooner had the whistle parted company with A.J's lips did the flap of the huge gazebo-style tent off to the side rustle open, and a large blue and white blur came racing out, immediately making its way out onto the battlefield. It moved so quickly and so gracefully that Nolan was barely able to make any features while it was moving, and it was only when the creature came to a stop in front of A.J that the golden haired boy got his first good look at the Pokemon that was to be his latest opponent.

And what a Pokemon it was.

Big and blue, the creature that was to be A.J's latest combatant and Nolan's latest opponent was almost spherical in shape, with a powerful set of arms and legs, and two slightly protruding eyes. Its belly was a pure white colour with an almost hypnotic black swirl racing through it, but it was the creature's hands which intrigued Nolan the most. They looked like little white boxing gloves of all things. Nolan wasn't sure how much dexterity that would give the creature, but either way they certainly gave the impression that a great power was held there. It was certainly a good fit to an acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer as A.J was rumoured to be. A very good fit indeed.

"Whirl!" the large blue creature croaked out in a deep, bubbling voice, "Poliwhirl!"

"Aww! How cute is that?!" Nolan heard Misty immediately begin gushing with excitement over on the sidelines, obviously recognising the Pokemon that now stood opposite Nolan and Meadow, "It's a Poliwhirl!"

"Poliwhirl?" Nolan repeated under his breath, recognising the name but unable to recall any further facts about that particular species of Pokemon. The golden haired boy quickly set about getting himself some more information, and in a matter of moments, he had fished his pokedex out of his back pocket and pointed it in the direction of his latest opponent.

"Poliwhirl - the Tadpole Pokemon" Dexi announced in her smooth robotic tone after correctly identifying the creature, "Poliwhirl is the evolved form of Poliwag. Its highly developed muscles allow Poliwhirl to move efficiently on land, but it is even more agile in water".

Nolan suddenly found himself feeling slightly confused the more information in the pokedex he read. He even went so far as to rub his eyes before double checking. But no. They weren't playing tricks on him. He had read Poliwhirl Elemental Type correct. But that led him to a rather puzzling question, namely - Why on earth would A.J send a Water Type Pokemon out to face his Grass Type Pokemon?

The golden haired boy glanced across the battlefield at the other human, only to feel even more bewildered when he realised that A.J was smirking back at him. Not a mistake then. A.J had made this decision deliberately, which only unnerved the blonde haired boy even further. Whatever it was that A.J was planning, he was confident that it would work, and unfortunately Nolan didn't even have the faintest idea as to what that plan could possibly be. It made it almost impossible to defend against.

"Meadow, I'm not sure what their game is, so stay on your guard. We'll have to play this one carefully" the golden haired boy called out to his beloved partner Pokemon.

"Bulba!" Meadow nodded her understanding, narrowing her ruby red eyes at the Poliwhirl standing across from her warily.

The large blue creature looked back at the small green Pokemon with an air of contempt. It was clear that it was just as sure of its dominant strength as its trainer was.

"Since I took the first move in the first round, you may have the first move this time" the green haired boy graciously offered the boy that was a visitor to his unofficial Pokemon gym. Again, Nolan found himself narrowing his icy blue eyes in confusion.

Just what was this guy playing at?!

Offering up the starting move to a Pokemon that had such a glaringly obvious type advantage... it was nothing such of a suicidal move. And considering that A.J had much more riding on the outcome of this battle than Nolan himself did, it seemed like complete madness. The golden haired boy simply couldn't make heads nor tails of the other boy's behaviour, so he decided to take this next step cautiously.

"Meadow, let's play this nice and safe" Nolan called out to his beloved Pokemon partner, who listened with rapt attention, "So start out with a long-range Leech Seed!".

And like that, the battle quickly got underway again.

Just as wary as her trainer was about this unusual situation, Meadow hastened to follow through with Nolan's command. Raising her hind legs so that the bulb on her back was slightly tilted, Meadow took careful aim before firing off her Leech Seed attack. Everyone watched with baited breath as the ethereal glowing projectile cannoned through the air in the direction of A.J's Poliwhirl. It seemed to be dead-set on course for a direct hit. Nolan's hopes quickly deflated and his nerves skyrocketed however when he saw the confidence smirk lining his opponents' faces. It was clear that the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer, along with his strong Water Type Pokemon, had been expecting such a strategy.

"Dodge that" the green haired boy said lazily, sounding rather off-handed about the whole situation.

"Whirl!" Poliwhirl's whole body bobbed in what only be described as a nod of acknowledgement.

And then, much to Nolan and Meadow's immense horror, A.J's nonchalant command was exactly what Poliwhirl did. Immediately becoming precious little more than a large blue and white blur, Poliwhirl's whole body seemed to sort of... well, flicker for a moment. Then, faster than Nolan's human eyes were able to process, the Tadpole Pokemon disappeared from its spot on the battlefield completely.

"Huh?!" the golden haired boy, his eyes growing almost comically wide with disbelief, exclaimed in surprised horror.

"Bulba!" Meadow was shocked as well.

The stunned duo could do nothing more than look on in disappointment as Meadow's earlier Leech Seed attack finally landed, missing its target entirely and falling harmlessly to the ground where Poliwhirl had stood just nanoseconds prior. A moment passed, and then Poliwhirl seemed to phase back into existence, now standing directly behind Meadow.

"Behind you!" Nolan yelled out a warning to his beloved partner.

Too late.

"Poliwhirl, let's make this nice and quick! Use your Hypnosis attack!" A.J commanded smugly, an expression which was matched perfectly upon the face of his large blue Water Type Pokemon.

"WWWWWWHHHHHHIIIIIIRRRRRRLLLLLL!"

It was already much too late for Nolan to try and call out another warning to his beloved Grass Type partner Pokemon, and now the golden haired boy could do nothing but watch on helplessly as he waited for the inevitable. Meadow, having spun around upon hearing his earlier, now rather redundant warning, was already face to face with AJ's Poliwhirl, who was arrogantly smirking down at her. As the adorable little green creature looked on, the black spiral on her opponent's stomach seemed to start spinning, lulling her into a state of total relaxation. Meadow quickly found herself unable to break her stare away, but she honestly couldn't care less about that. All she wanted to do was look on as the spiral continued spinning and dancing and twirling. Nothing else in the whole wide world mattered in that moment. She just had to keep watching that spiral.

She had to.

"Bulba..." Meadow whispered in a tone of sudden exhausted as she lightly began to sway on her feet, "Saur... Bulbasaur..."

"No! Meadow! Stop looking at it!" Nolan tried desperately from his end of the battlefield, but his attempts were futile, and what's worse, he knew they were. The golden haired boy quickly started wracking his brains, frantically trying to think of a way out of this mess, but it was already much too late for that. The ruby red eyes of his trusty companion were already drifting closed, and soon enough, light snores began to fill the battlefield of the unofficial Pokemon gym.

Meadow was out to the world.

"No! Meadow! Wake up!" Nolan groaned despairingly, but deep down he already knew it was hopeless. The unyielding spell of Poliwhirl's Hypnosis attack already had too great of a grip on his partner's mind. There was no way that she would be waking up in time to fight what, at this point in the rather one-sided battle, was no doubt inevitable.

From his position at the opposite end of the battlefield, A.J beamed in delight.

"Excellent execution of your Hypnosis attack Poliwhirl" the green haired boy complimented his combatant who happily soaked up the rare but well-deserved praise, "Now let's finish this one up! Put your best fist forward and use your Ice Punch attack!"

No sooner had the words left A.J's lips did Nolan blanch in horror.

"Poliwhirl!" Before the horrified golden haired boy's icy blue eyes, A.J's powerful Water Type Pokemon began charging up what - there was little doubt amongst any of them - would be the final attack of this match. Having never felt quite so helpless before in his entire life, Nolan could only look on but do nothing as Poliwhirl began sprinting towards its sleeping opponent, whilst to the amazement of everyone in its audience, the little white boxing glove that made up its right fist began to glow with an ethereal light which strongly resembled an aurora. Soon enough, Poliwhirl's whole fist was coated in a thin layer of frost, as the powerful Water Type Pokemon closed the distance between the unsuspecting Meadow and itself.

"POLI..." the Tadpole Pokemon reared back it arm as it drew in close, its fist poised to deliver what would undoubtedly be a devastating blow, "WHIRL!"

CRUNCH!

Nolan couldn't help but involuntarily wince in sympathy for his sleeping and therefore unsuspecting partner, when the large blue and white creature that was her opponent slammed its frost cover fist into her jaw, without so much as a single split-second of mercy or hesitation. There was immediately an intense flash of dazzlingly blue white light as a blast of frigid power exploded out of Poliwhirl's Ice Punch attack, its force so great that poor Meadow was propelled through the air like a cannonball. It was only when the little Grass Type Pokemon began her descent back down to earth that Nolan caught wind of the full scale of the damage she taken.

She was frozen solid.

Literally, before the stunned icy blue eyes of her beloved human, Meadow had become encased in a huge shard of ice. Knowing that the battle was definitely over for her by this point and therefore his actions wouldn't invalidate the match, the golden haired boy wasted no time in running out on to the field, in order to assist his beloved Grass Type Pokemon. Gasping in fear, his handsome features contorted into an expression of pure and unadulterated horror, the young boy all-but collapsed to his knees by the chunk of solid frigid water his best Pokemon friend was currently trapped in.

"Oh Meadow!" Nolan groaned in despair, immediately scooping the block of ice into his arms and clawing at it, not caring about the sting in his fingers as his skin was immediately rubbed red-raw from the effort, "I'm so sorry! I should have seen a tactic like that coming but I didn't!"

Unsurprisingly, Meadow was unable to respond.

Nolan cried out again, but not from the pain which was steadily working its way up his already numb fingers. No, it was from sheer desperation of the need to see his beloved Pokemon partner alright again. The golden haired boy let out a short hiss through clenched teeth when he sustained a particularly nasty cut to his hand, but he didn't let that slow him down. He had to free Meadow from her icy tomb.

He had to.

So distracted by the perilous task in hand, Nolan didn't even register the sound of gentle footsteps approaching him, and therefore he couldn't help silently jump in slight surprise when A.J suddenly knelt down next to him. The green haired acclaimed expert trainer had an intense look on his face as he frowned down at the frozen over creature in Nolan's arms. He reached out and caught a hold on the golden haired boy's wrist when Nolan moved to claw at the ice once again.

"You need to stop that before you hurt yourself anymore, Kid" A.J told the boy that was still his opponent in a tone that was understanding but also firm, using his free hand to rummage around in the pockets of his shorts, "Here. Let me help".

Beyond desperate at this point, Nolan didn't even hesitate before he was nodding his head. The golden haired boy watched with an air of curiosity as A.J eventually pulled a small vial of medicine from his pocket, a faded red concoction sloshing about inside. Even though his mind was currently racing with panic for his beloved Pokemon partner, Nolan was still able to easily recognise the heal item that A.J was using on sight.

"An Ice Heal?" he questioned. A.J didn't look up from his work of spraying the frozen Meadow as he nodded.

"That's right" the green haired boy seemed a little surprised that Nolan knew that, but chose not to comment on it, "I never allow my Poliwhirl to use any of his Ice Type attacks without making sure I have plenty of these on hand. Freezing is an unusual status affliction to deal with, so it catches a lot of my challengers by surprise. I make sure that their Pokemon are okay afterwards whenever I'm forced to use such a strategy".

Nolan nodded his understanding, and fell back into silence as he allowed A.J to continue his work.

It took a good couple of minutes, which naturally were painstaking and nerve-wracking for poor Nolan as he anxiously waited off to the side, but at long last A.J finally got the job done. With the Ice Heal applied to every square inch of her small body, the thick block of ice encasing her slowly melted away, and soon enough, Meadow was set free. The golden haired boy couldn't help but cringe as he took her in his arms. The little Grass Type Pokemon was in a right state. Hugging her tightly, Nolan noted how cold she was to the touch, and so he quickly shrugged off his hoodie and wrapped it around her.

"Saur..." the little Grass Type Pokemon groaned weakly, barely rousing to a state of semi-consciousness. Nolan just sighed sympathetically and hugged her tighter to her chest.

Needless to say, there was no way that Meadow could continue the fight.

"There you go. Your Bulbasaur should be fine once she's warmed up a bit" A.J announced, not unkindly but still curtly, as he stood up to his full height and brushed himself down, "As for our battle, I believe that round goes to me and Poliwhirl".

"Poli!" Poliwhirl cheered in the background.

Nolan just sighed deeply once again. In all his panic, not to mention the almost frantic need he felt to ensure that his beloved Pokemon partner would be okay, the golden haired boy had almost forgotten that he and his team were in the middle of a battle. A battle, the young boy realised, he quickly looked set to lose.

None of his remaining Pokemon stood even a chance against A.J's Poliwhirl.

The realisation hit Nolan like a tonne of bricks, but the golden haired boy immediately recognised it as true. He couldn't believe that he had never spotted it before, but he was quickly coming to realise just how serious of a disadvantage his team was at when it came to dealing with Ice Type Pokemon and attacks of that element. And whilst Poliwhirl may not be an Ice Type Pokemon itself, if it had more elemental attacks that fell into the Ice type category, it might as well have been as far as this fight was concerned. The golden haired boy hastily began thinking through the options available to him, before his face immediately set into a worried frown.

Even after just a few short moments, they weren't looking good.

Xanthite, for what Nolan considered obvious reasons, was out straight away. Not only was she at a significant weakness to any Ice Type attacks thanks to her secondary typing of the Ground Type, but her primary Rock Type element was also weak to Poliwhirl's actual typing of the Water element. And Nolan had no doubt that if A.J had successfully taught his large blue combatant how to use Ice Type attacks, that he had almost certainly taught it a variety of strong Water Type attacks as well. In either scenario, there was just no way that Xanthite would be able to pull off a victory for their team. Not until Nolan had had the chance to do a lot more training with her at least.

That left Welkin and Iris, neither of whom were great match-ups against Poliwhirl either.

Welkin, despite having the advantage of flight which would make him incredibly difficult for the large blue and white creature that was their opponent to land a hit on, was just as vulnerable against Ice Type attacks as both Meadow and Xanthite were. The Tiny Bird Pokemon might be plucky, but even his extreme levels of determination wouldn't help him last against more than one of the super-effective elemental attacks. And considering just how swiftly that Poliwhirl could move on land as well, Nolan doubted that even his feathered friend's newly mastered Quick Attack would be enough to turn the battle in their favour this time. No. The golden haired boy quickly decided that Welkin was out as well.

That just left Iris.

Nolan bit his lip worriedly. Whilst his beloved Bug Type Pokemon didn't share in the same weakness to Ice Type attacks that the rest of his little Pokemon family did, the golden haired boy still had some serious doubts as to whether she was strong enough to actually pull this off. He knew that if he went with Iris as his chosen Pokemon for this final battle, he would be relying heavily upon her status inflicting moves to hopefully swing things into their favour, which was not ideal, but the best chance their side had of levelling the playing field. Allowing a deep sigh that was filled with trepidation to slip his lips, the golden haired boy stood up whilst still cuddling Meadow to his chest, his decision made.

It was time to resume the battle.

He glanced over at A.J and the two boys nodded at each other, a show of mutual respect passing between them. They had both managed to claim at least one victory over the other after all. They each began walking in opposite directions until they were each stood back in their original positions at either end of the battlefield. Nolan shifted the slightly disheartened and definitely exhausted Meadow into the crook of his arm, still hugging her tightly to provide the warmth she so desperately needed right now, whilst using his free hand to remove one of the pokeballs he had clipped to his belt. He levelled A.J and his Poliwhirl, both of whom were smirking at him with an air of smugness, with an even look.

"I have to admit that I'm really impressed by how strong your Poliwhirl is A.J" Nolan complimented the opposing team, deciding to pay credit where it was due, "Not many Pokemon we've met have been able to defeat Meadow, let alone after only two different moves. You've clearly trained it very well".

A.J looked slightly taken aback by the words of praise for a brief moment, before his face split into a smile.

"Well it's nice to see that you're not a sore loser like your friend the chump over there" the green haired acclaimed expert trainer replied, earning a 'Hey!' of protest from the raven haired boy in question over on the sidelines. The seething trainer was completely ignored however, as A.J continued speaking, "But now we're both down to our final Pokemon each, meaning that the winner of this round will decide the whole match. I hope you've chosen wisely".

This time around it was Nolan that smiled.

"I think I have" the golden haired boy said softly, fondly caressing the metal surface of the pokeball in his hand with his thumb, before he tossed it into the air without any further ado, "Come on out Iris!"

The red and white sphere arched high through the air above the battlefield, snapping open only when it began its descent to release an orb of crimson coloured light. The light quickly began to shift and contort until finally the familiar shape of Iris the Venonat materialised on the ground in front of Nolan. She rustled her long violet coloured fur, and her antenna twitched as she looked around at her surroundings curiously.

"Veno!" Nolan's beloved Bug Type Pokemon squeaked as she realised where she was and quickly deduced that Nolan wanted her to battle. She glanced over at Poliwhirl, gulping nervously when he leered down at her, but she stood her ground. If Nolan wanted her to fight, then that's exactly what she'd do.

"Iris! You can't let your guard down even for a second!" Nolan called out a warning to his chosen Pokemon, "That Poliwhirl was able to take Meadow out in just two attacks, and only one of them was even in direct contact with her! Make sure you stay focused!"

"Venonat!" Iris, surprised by the information that arguably the strongest member of their little Pokemon team had fallen so easily, quickly nodded her understanding.

"Poliwhirl" Poliwhirl gurgled out what could only be construed as a snort of amusement.

Iris just glared back at him icily, not impressed by the mocking behaviour. There was a brief moment in which both Pokemon just stared each other down, Neither one of them wanted to be the one to lose the battle for their respective trainers, who were each loved so much.

Nolan, immensely proud of the fact that his chosen Pokemon refused to back down in the face of such adversity, smiled down at her before hearing his attention back to A.J

"Even though it never got the opportunity to land, you still let us have the first move in the last round" the golden haired boy reminded his opponent graciously, knowing that in order for any potential victory to be meaningful he had to play fairly, "So it's only fair that you can have the first move this time".

Again finding himself slightly surprised by the other boy's good sportsmanship, A.J smiled and nodded. He wasn't about to turn down such a courteous offer after all.

"You might find yourself regretting that kindness later on Nolan, but I accept" the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer exclaimed to the golden haired boy that was his latest opponent, before he quickly turned his attention back to the large blue and white creature obediently standing and ready for action by his side, "Poliwhirl, let's finish this one quickly and claim our Ninety-Ninth win! Use your Bubblebeam attack!"

And just like that, the battle got underway again, the stakes all or nothing.

The command had barely passed by A.J's lips before Poliwhirl crouched down low, immediately taking on a defensive stance, its round blue body glistening with sweat under the harsh rays of the sun. Opposite the large hulking Water Type Pokemon on the battlefield, Iris watched on in growing anxiety, tracking her opponent's every move with her sharp, radar-like eyes. Only with the gift of time would she learn whether or not her powerful eyesight would offer her any assistance in the inevitable brawl.

"WWWWWWHHHHHHIIIIIIRRRRRRLLLLLL!"

Not wasting so much as even a single moment, Poliwhirl swiftly leapt into action, launching its strong and efficient Bubblebeam attack towards the Venonat that was his latest opponent. The colourful array of bubbles all soared through the air, sparkling and shimmering in the bright sunshine, heading straight towards the spot where Iris stood.

"Veno..." Iris squeaked in mild alarm as the cascade of explosive bubbles closed in on her.

"Iris! Poliwhirl is too fast so don't try to outrun or dodge it!" Nolan advised the small fluffy purple Pokemon from his position a few feet behind her, "Instead try blocking it! Use your Psybeam attack!"

The adorable Bug Type Pokemon didn't need telling twice.

Watching on with an air of hope, Nolan crossed his fingers that this would actually work the way he wanted it to. His eyes grew wide as before him, Iris' own large red eyes began to glow with a vast aurora of beautiful colours. A sense of great power seemed to shift around the small purple Pokemon, before Iris quickly focused the brewing power in her mind into a concentrated beam of energy.

"VENO!" Iris screamed when she could contain the energy no more, and unleashed her powerful Psychic Type attack.

Thankfully she followed Nolan's instructions to the letter, and rather than use the beam of mental energy to attack her opponent directly, Iris managed to manipulate it into creating a psychic forcefield around herself to intercept the oncoming bubbles. The bubbles that were just seconds away from reaching her.

WHAM!

Poliwhirl's Bubblebeam attacked finally reached the protective barrier that Iris had hastily erected around herself just moments prior, and to nobody's surprise, the bubbles exploded on impact. Nolan, much like all of the other young Pokemon trainers that were in audience of this battle, waited with baited breath to see if his latest strategy had been successful. As they watched, they saw the Bubblebeam attack end just nanoseconds before the forcefield shattered, dispersing like a burst of shimmering stardust and leaving Iris perfectly unscathed. It would appear that it had served its purpose well. Poliwhirl's initial assault has been successfully thwarted.

"YAY!" Nolan couldn't help but cheer brightly, feeling as though for the first time since Meadow's unfortunate defeat that maybe they still stood a chance of winning this battle after all, "Nice one Iris!"

"VENO! NAT!" Iris beamed at his words, the small Bug Type Pokemon hopping up and down on the spot excitedly.

Across the battlefield from them, A.J and his Poliwhirl weren't quite so thrilled.

"Grr... that was a clever use of Psybeam" A.J grumbled, begrudgingly admitting that he was impressed once again by Nolan's quick-thinking, "I've never seen a trainer use that move as a defensive strategy before. Still, we can work around it Poliwhirl, so let's give it another try. Use your Water Pulse attack!"

"Poli!" Poliwhirl, undeterred by the failure that its last attack had been, quickly shook it off and jumped straight back into action.

This time all eyes fell upon the large blue and white creature as it began to charge up energy for what would no doubt be a devastating Water Pulse attack. A swirling sphere of liquid power formed around its fists, growing larger and more intimidating with each passing second. Suddenly, and with a small grunt of exertion, Poliwhirl hurled its rippling Water Pulse attack in the direction of Iris at amazing speed. Nolan swallowed anxiously. That Water Pulse looked a lot stronger than Poliwhirl's Bubblebeam had looked, leaving the young golden haired boy with doubts that Iris' little trick with her Psybeam would work as effectively a second time around. He quickly made the decision that they ought to try a different tactic.

"Psybeam again! This time straight down!" Nolan commanded, and even thought she wasn't entirely sure what her beloved human was planning, Iris trusted him so much that she didn't even hesitate.

Just as they had a few scant minutes earlier, Iris' large crimson coloured eyes began to glow again, shining with every colour of the rainbow. Iris quickly concentrated the building power into another focused beam of energy, tilting her entire body downwards at the last second, before firing her Psybeam into the dirt battlefield that made up the ground beneath her feet.

BOOM!

The effect was instantaneous.

In a thick plume of inky black smoke, Iris' Psybeam attack collided with Mother Earth so forcefully that it caused a minor explosion. And thankfully, just as Nolan had planned it, his fluffy purple Bug Type Pokemon wasn't injured by the blast, but instead was propelled skywards from the force of it, her whole body being swept up into the air. The end result was that Iris ended up hanging in the sky above all of their heads for a few moments, long enough so that Poliwhirl's Water Pulse attack missed her entirely, much to the surprise of said Water Type Pokemon and its acclaimed expert trainer. Both the golden haired boy and his own Pokemon teammate smirked as Iris slowly started her descent, gravity taking over. Their thoughts were so in sync with each other that they both knew what action of course they ought to take with the opportunity that Nolan's strategy had provided to them.

"POISON POWDER!"

"VENO!"

In almost perfect synchronisation, the voices of both trainer and Pokemon alike screamed out to the heavens above. With an air of triumph about him, Nolan gleefully took in the stunned expressions of A.J and his Poliwhirl, both of whom were still thoroughly gobsmacked by the little manoeuvre that Iris had pulled off to render herself airborne. Before the amazed eyes of everybody watching, Iris' whole body began trembling slightly as she tumbled back down to Earth, the long violet coloured hairs that covered her small figure releasing glistening spores of the same colour. Soon enough, a large cloud of the poisonous dust had formed in the air above the battlefield, and it began falling towards where Poliwhirl stood like a deadly, toxic rain. Nolan grinned gleefully, confident that it was only a matter of time before the countdown to the end of this battle started now. But then he glanced over at his opponent, and his face fell.

A.J was smiling in what could only be described as dry amusement.

"Oh... nice try, but sadly for you, me and my Poliwhirl are ready for tricks like that!" the green haired boy exclaimed cockily, gesturing at the descending purple cloud for a brief moment, before he turned his attention back to his large hulking Water Type Pokemon, "Poliwhirl, you know what to do!"

"Whirl!" Poliwhirl's whole body bobbed up and down in what could only be construed as a affirmative.

And then, in a display that left both Nolan and Iris with their mouths hanging open, their latest opponent's whole body began to shine. The glow that Poliwhirl took on didn't take a particular colour, and instead was a dazzlingly bright white, one that made Nolan feel more dizzy the longer he looked on in astonishment. Wondering what was going on, Nolan wasn't kept on tenterhooks for very long.

"POLI... WWWWWHHHHHIIIIIRRRRRLLLLL!"

With a fierce scream that almost sounded like a full-blown war-cry, the large hulking blue and white creature finally let loose all the power that had been building in its body. Nolan wasn't entirely sure what aspect of what happened next he noticed first. Perhaps it was the fine silvery mist that seemed to descend across the battlefield. Perhaps it was the rapid reduction of temperature. Either way, the golden haired boy was left shivering where he stood as an honest to God, full on snow storm formed around them, in the middle of summer to boot.

Blizzard.

It almost seemed inexplicable, but A.J's Poliwhirl somehow knew the move Blizzard.

The young boy's icy blue eyes widened to almost comical proportions as he watched the Blizzard attack not only disperse and destroy the cloud of toxic dust from Iris' Poison Powder attack before it could take effect on their opponent, but it was also enough to knock Nolan's beloved Bug Type Pokemon down as well, effectively halting her in her tracks. She just barely managed to stagger back to her feet as the artificial snow storm raged around her, her twin antenna quivering from the cold.

"Veno..." Iris managed to gasp out, shivering violently as Poliwhirl's latest Ice Type attack finally ended just a few moments later.

Nolan was quick to survey the damage.

It was strange, but the golden haired boy quickly found himself feeling both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved because the powerful Ice Type move had had little effect on his chosen combatant, and therefore she was able to continue the fight, but disappointed because her Poison Powder attack had been totally negated and swept away by the Blizzard, ruining their chances of imposing a countdown on AJ's Poliwhirl as he had initially hoped for. He glanced over the battlefield at his green haired opponent, and found the boy smirking back at him.

"You're not the only one that can use what's traditionally used as an attacking move as a defensive one, you know" the acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer taunted him smugly, before he turned to address the Tadpole Pokemon, "Poliwhirl! It's time to finish this! Strike out with your Double Slap attack!"

Nolan couldn't help but look on in wonder upon hearing A.J's words. Just how many different attacks had this guy managed to take to his large hulking blue and white Pokemon? The golden haired boy was about to call out new instructions to his fluffy purple combatant, but before he could utter so much as a single syllable, the Tadpole Pokemon was already upon Iris, it's little white boxing gloves like fists raised. There was no way that the adorable little Bug Type Pokemon could dodge in time.

WHAM!

CRACK!

THUD!

SLAP!

Four hits. Poliwhirl was able to land four hits, all in a rapid blur of motion too quick for the human eye to see, before Iris was able to shove the larger Pokemon away. The small Bug Type Pokemon staggered backwards a few metres, her eyes watering with pain as her cheeks stung from what could only be described as an almost brutal assault.

"Nat! Venonat!" Iris squeaked, clutching at her swollen and reddening cheeks with her tiny stubby paws, trying to soothe the sore spots. No doubt there'd be bruises there tomorrow.

"Oh Iris!" Nolan exclaimed in sympathy, his blue eyes practically alight with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Veno..." Iris just whimpered in pain once more.

The golden haired boy opened his mouth again, no doubt to either issue her with new instructions or offer the small Bug Type Pokemon the chance to withdraw entirely, despite meaning that they'd have to forfeit the whole match. Before so much as a single syllable could pass by his lips however, A.J quickly interceded. Now that the green haired acclaimed expert Pokemon trainer had his opponents on the ropes, he fully intended on keeping them there.

"Quick Poliwhirl, before they can counterstrike!" A.J called out to the Tadpole Pokemon, who by this point looked to be a certainty to win, and both of them wore smirks to show that they knew it, "End this now! Use Hydro Pump!"

Once again, Nolan found himself blanching as yet another new attack was called for by his opponent.

It was hard for the golden haired boy to initially tell where the watery attack came from, when Poliwhirl followed through with its latest instruction just a few short seconds later. There was no visible mouth for the intense spray to come from, but come it did. Gallon upon gallon of crystal clear blue water was produced, compressed by Poliwhirl's mastery of the element until a massive torrent of water surged towards where the already exhausted Iris stood. Nolan began calling out for her to attempt to block the attack, or to at least try and dodge it, but it was already too late for that. Far too late.

SPLASH!

"VVVVVVEEEEEENNNNNNOOOOOO!"

The scream from Iris, one filled with both clear surprise and what must have been utterly agonising pain, was quickly cut short. It became precious little more than a watery gurgle as the small Bug Type Pokemon was immediately engulfed in a cloak of swirling liquid. The jet of high-pressured water reduced Iris to nothing but a blur, a shadow in the water, obscuring her from sight and leaving her beloved human waiting on tenterhooks to see what her ultimate fate in this battle would be. The boy could freely admit that his hopes were not high, a sentiment that he quickly discovered would be bang on the money when finally, after what felt like an eternity but in reality was just a few short scant seconds, Poliwhirl's powerful Hydro Pump at last began to lessen, before it died away into a trickle.

"Veno... nat... Venonat..."

Soaked all the way down to the bone and swaying on her feet from the intensity of the high-powered watery blast, Iris had been left in a shambolic condition. Shivering violently from the sudden chill she felt despite the warmth of the summer's day, the drenched Bug Type Pokemon teetered on the spot for a moment, before she managed to pivot herself around so that she was looking back at her worried and concerned trainer. Her ruby red eyes met his, and Nolan's heart threatened to break when he saw such sorrow and apology in them, almost as if she was disappointed with herself for letting him down. The golden haired boy made to call out to her, wanting to assure Iris that everything was alright and that he was proud of her, not to mention that he greatly appreciated all the effort she'd put into that match. Sadly, he never got the chance to utter so much as a single syllable. For at that exact moment, and much to the astonishment of the small audience of Nolan's friends watching the battle, Iris suddenly lurched forwards. She was unconscious before she even hit the floor.

After all the hardships, the battle was officially over.

Nolan had been defeated.

And that's the end of another chapter : )

So yeah, I decided to give A.J a Poliwhirl since I needed him to have a Pokemon that could take down two of Nolan's, and I just didn't think any of his canon Pokemon would be able to do that. Plus, I thought it would be a nice little reference to the adventures manga series, as a particular expert trainer has one in those comics ; ) But yeah, Nolan lost his battle against A.J just like everyone else. I really wanted to keep that part of canon intact, but I also wanted it to be a very close fight, so hopefully I struck a nice balance here : ) Also, I just want to clarify something really quick, something that I mentioned when I first began this story in terms of what an in-story defeat for Nolan means. I know he's had Pokemon go down before, but this is the first actual in-story example of him losing the entire battle. I just wanted to reiterate that doesn't mean that the Pokemon he used in the battle are necessarily going to be written out of the story now. Only those that fainted in the actual game get that treatment. It's just, I think it would make for a really boring story if Nolan won every time, so there will be times when he loses, but that's purely in the interest of realistic story-telling, and doesn't mean he'll have to say goodbye to his Pokemon each time it happens : )

But that's enough about the contents of this chapter for now, so instead let's delve into the result of the last voting topic. Now to be honest, I was fully expecting this one to end up in a tie, considering just how many options I presented to you guys. Thankfully however, your votes have now narrowed it down to four potential options, those being Gyarados, Lapras, Aerodactyl and Jynx. To be honest, there's one that I'm really hoping for over the others, however it's not up to me, it's up to you, so please go leave your vote for one of these four Pokemon in a review and help to break this latest tie ; )

And I think that's just about everything from me for this time, so thank you so much for reading this chapter and my story in general. I hope you are enjoying it all so far, and please consider leaving a review because I'd love to hear your comments and feedback : )

Until the next time, keep on reading : )