FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As we exited the gate, a bit of commotion was happening outside the entrance to the city. The group had decided which ones of them would be staying outside during the visit to Nimbasa city. In the distance, we could see the signature of Team Plasma, with their uniforms that made them stand out amongst even the strangest Isshu crowd. After we got within earshot we managed to catch part of a conversation.

One of the grunts, shoved the old man and I was surprised that he didn't fall over and break something. After he shoved him, he began harassing him verbally again.

"Gramps! We know you run the Day Care! How do we know? Because we're Team Plasma!"

Another male grunt chipped in with a variation of the usual spiel. "We are taking Pokémon away from people. Since you work that the Day Care, we figure you must have a lot of Pokémon! Hand 'em over!" Of course, their logic was flawed, considering the fact that they would have no clear indication of what types of Pokémon Trainers left their Pokémon at the Day Care at all.

The Day-Care Man responded back incredulously, essentially saying exactly what was on my mind at the time. "What kind of Nonsense is this?!" After that he looked around. It was odd indeed, that there was no one around to help him at the time, considering the fact that we were in Nimbasa City. Though to be fair to the people of the city, it was just a little bit outside of the entrance to the city, and not really deep inside of it yet. Perhaps that was why. I honestly had no idea; it was my first time here after all. Eventually though his search pointed him towards me, considering that I was indeed standing around, and Tensa and the rest were beside me.

"Oh! A strong-looking Trainer! Please help me!" I chuckled inwardly. I was the only Trainer around, but there was literally no way to tell what someone's strength was by first glace. Judging a book by its cover. I guess that if I were younger like say, ten years old or so it would have been something of a confidence booster. I also had a feeling that in my case it was due to the fact that my Pokémon were outside of their Balls and that I was actually an adult.

Of course, I was rarin' to get a crack at them, as was Tensa. "Elder... you don't know how much I would love to." I folded my arms, and waited to at least let them talk. It always made for a much more interesting battle if they got their confidence up by figuring that they were doing the best for the Pokémon like the manipulated people they were. Perhaps I'd eventually find someone in Team Plasma besides N who actually had the ability to still think for themselves and not just spout out the same gibberish that they hear from their 'leaders'.

The first grunt spoke up again and I could tell that he they were already intending to try and battle me. "If you're going to get in our way, we'll take your Pokémon, too!"

I let out an incredibly maniacal chuckle. I'd had my fun for now, and it was time to get serious. "Team Plasma must not be very well organised if you don't know who I am." I wasn't really trying to brag but, by now, I had defeated plenty of their members and unless they were all working individually, which would take the team out of Team Plasma, then I couldn't really figure out why they wouldn't have a least warned their other members about the possibility of encountering me.

Once more the first grunt insisted upon digging his own grave further. "Why would it matter who some kid is?"

I glared at him, almost getting ready to actually physically assault him myself. No doubt they wouldn't be expecting it, considering that my Pokémon were around me. That was also another reason why I was curious about them continuing to sink themselves deeper and deeper. "It is because this 'some kid' has vowed to take down every single Team Plasma member, if necessary."

After much scrutinization of me, as well as Tensa in the matter one of them seemed to recognize me which did indeed surprise me. "Wait... wait... I've heard of this kid... This went downhill fast! So I think... We'd better... Ruuuun! Let's hide out at the amusement park!"

So they had chosen to retreat instead of battling me. I was fine with that, for the time being. "By all means, hide if it makes you feel better."

The grunts hastily retreated into the amusement park. It WOULD have been quite a strategic move considering that there would be hundreds of people there, if not for the fact that they were wearing those completely identifiable uniforms.

The Day-Care Man bowed to me deeply, and thanked me. "Thank you so much! Please take this as a token of my appreciation. It's a brand-new bike. I'd always planned on riding it around Nimbasa City... But I never got the chance to. I don't want it to go to waste, it is a pretty nice bike." It was odd but perhaps at the same time not so odd. I pictured it something along the lines of that maybe he was able to ride a bike but eventually he developed a severe case of debilitating Arthritis, which would account for why a perfectly new bicycle would not be able to be ridden at all by him. If that was the case then... he was being a complete trooper about it in the sense of not showing it in public. Instead of thinking too much on a topic that would probably depress me to think about what it would be like for me if it happened to me after I did retire.

It was something that was... quite interesting. It seemed to actually have the technology of minimization for Poké Balls integrated into it. My old bike was collapsible, and that was why it fit inside of a backpack, in addition to the fact that I was smaller back then. "This bicycle is the latest thing, is it? It's way more advanced than my old bike then. Not to mention that I'll be able to actually ride a bike around again. Thank you very much."

A sudden flash of remembrance came over Day-Care Man, upon really getting the chance to scrutinize me again, not that I was actually closer to him. "Come to think of it... I think I've seen you before, on Route 3! Yes... I'm sure of it."

"Hm, you're right. I stayed at your Day Care about a week or so back. I didn't really check anyone in so you didn't have to ID me and such. I hope your business is doing alright and that Team Plasma's propaganda isn't hurting it. Luckily they're so under the radar in terms of massive media attention. But you know how things are, right? Social media and all that. That's exactly what they're aiming for. Well anyway, enough of my one sided rambling... here. Let me give you my Xtransceiver number in case I'm in the area again, and they give you more trouble." I took out my Xtransceiver and then set it to Passerby mode, and he did the same. We touched the screens together, and after that all my contact information, and his information were shared.

"Really, thank you. I'm going to head back down south. I'm finished with Nimbasa City for a while and I feel that my heart can't handle the coasters like I used to. I'm definitely starting to feel my age..." With that he gave a wave, and then turned away and headed back through the gate that I'd just left.

Unbeknownst to me, Bianca just so happened to be heading UP from the gate. I headed further into the city, but she noticed Tensa and the others, and basically sprinted to get to me.

Bianca called out in her loudest, but still ladylike voice. "Yoo-Hoo! Hey, Kynexn!" I did turn around at being addressed, and then waited for her. At least she wasn't wearing those heel sandals that she first wore when we were about to set out for our first journey. I'd also advised Cheren on his choice of outfit. I had the feeling that he was trying to present himself an intelligent, well formed young man. For this reason I advised him to wear his traditional 'Eastern' outfit. Like me, Cheren wasn't an Isshu native. I was born in Hoenn, and Cheren was born in a region west of me, but not quite as far as Kalos* or Isshu itself.

"What's going on Bianca? Do you want something?" I said, turning around to face her. I really couldn't tell with Bianca but, it seemed like she would be the type that probably wouldn't go on any of the roller coasters, or really do much in the amusement part.

"Well, no, I just wanted to say hi to you, to let you know that I was here. After all there's lots of people here but if I do need something I'll be sure to call you so we can meet somewhere."

"Yeah, I can understand that. I'll more than likely be calling you if I need something as well. Why are you in Nimbasa city anyway? I thought you were stopping your badge collecting journey."

"Well, The professor told me that Nimbasa City has a lot of things to see and do--the amusement park, Big Stadium, Small Court, and the Battle Subway! I'm going to see the Pokémon Musical first! See you later!" She waved, and then headed off past me.

We headed off to the Pokémon Center after that to fulfill something that was long overdue. Once we were inside the Pokémon Center I started up a call with the Pokémon Professor that was currently taking care of Heji.

"Hello, Professor Birch. Would you please go get Heji?" I was actually looking forward to this. It had been many years since I'd seen Heji face-to-face and even longer since we'd been on a journey together. Plus, even though we were supposed to be keeping it a bit of a secret, the reaction to seeing me talking to Heji via the videophone was going to be quite humorous. But... then again, seeing as how it was Nimbasa city it may just be shrugged off.

After a little while Professor Birch returned with Heji in tow. On the screen, the camera shifted from him to Heji, and that was when I greeted him. "Hey. It's been a while. How you doin' Heji?"

His expression shifted to a bit of a cat frown. Of course, this proved to do the exact opposite of the effect which was intended. "That is so like you to say that it's been a while. Of course it's been a while. Anyway, I've been doing fine. The Hoenn region is quite interesting. How far into Isshu are you?"

"Not very. I'm only up to the the third badge. I've already filled my lineup."

Heji's frown turned into a coy smile. "I recognize that pattern. You're training them beyond League level." He placed his paws on the console carefully then rested his head in his paws. He basically was mimicking what could be considered a bored pose for human.

"You'd be right about that. Actually I am going to be bringing you to the Isshu region."

"Interesting. I suppose I'll get a chance to explore with you then. I'll let him know that I'm ready.."

"Right, see you soon."

Heji stepped down then Professor Birch kept the connection open while the call was shifted to the transfer room. He sent back into his ball, and was placed into the machine. The process was initiated and completed in less than a second.

It was quite a surprise to both Birch and myself, when Heji forced himself out of his ball, and immediately pounced me. I chucked, but he wasn't finished yet. He started nuzzling and licking me, something that was rather out of character for him.

"Well, I see you're still happy to see me." Of course I knew that one of the things he was doing in addition to showing affection was renewing his scent claim, with Tensa's. I didn't mind of course, it was only natural, considering that we were all part of his 'pack'. At this point I was sure I smelled more like a Pokémon than a human, but all but a few humans would be able to tell anyway.

"Hello again Heji. Let's show Elesa all about advantages and disadvantages eh?" Tensa grinned and gave Heji a few pats on the head affectionately, then turned towards the door.

Heji finally got off me and quickly headed towards the door. I was quickly back on my feet and headed towards the door as well. Of course with Heji out, that didn't leave many natives in a spot. I asked them to vote on it and they choose Stripes. Sally was also let out since she was a bird and could fly around anyway.

Stripes was chosen more or less because of the fact that he was from the desert. It would be his first time in a big city like this. I spent a few minutes explaining to him the basics of human settlements so that he'd get a basic sense of scale. He caught on rather quickly, and as such, I figured that he'd be rather quick to pick up my battling style.

After we exited the Pokemon Center Sally took flight and headed high into the air. Even though Stripes understood the concepts that were given to him, he still was a little bit nervous around so many humans.

"Calm down, Krok. You are with us. Stand closer to me, if you wish. Just know that at this point, you can take off one of their limbs with a single swipe of your claws. The same applies with your jaws. They have more reason to fear you then you do them. Especially if you use moves which can target multiple opponents. We'll get to that a bit later. I'd give them one warning. However, I can't be watching all the time." I tried to continue to reassure him that everything would be alright, even going as far as giving him one of what would be many hugs. Of course, as I suspected, he was surprised by the action.

"What are you doing?" I chuckled and answered him rather simply.

"It's called a hug. It's something humans and some Pokémon do for many reasons. One... is for comfort. The feeling of a loved one's heart, the sound of it... knowing they are near..." I knew it was only temporary, but he seemed to calm down enough that he wouldn't panic.

We spent a good portion of our time exploring the city, considering that there wasn't really much drive to stay in the amusement park. Being the food enthusiast that I was, I took them to a lot of restaurants.

One particular restaurant caught our attention though, due to the age of the restaurant as well as the distinguishing feature of seemingly bring catered more towards Pokémon than humans. It was also another opportunity for me to explain more about our culture.

"Most people don't expect Pokémon and humans to sit at the same table to eat. Of course there are still some cities and towns where there is still that cultural combination..." At about this time, our menus were brought out and laid out before us. The special difference between these menus and regular restaurant menus was the amount of detail put into the ingredients list, and the fact that there was an enlarged picture of the dishes as well as thumbnails of the ingredients of the dish.

Most restaurants give you a general idea of the ingredients, but not all of them. But, even if every were listed, people still wouldn't necessarily be able to make it at home.

Many reasons included things such as the cooking equipment itself,

A streak of green caught our attention amongst all of the hundreds of potential similar people. N was pretty distinct with his hat, his cube, and his long green hair, being easily recognizable. He wasn't moving towards us so we went to him. He looked particularly relaxed, almost as if he was expecting us.

N - You're looking for Team Plasma, right? They ran into the amusement park. Come with me.

Almost immediately I flared up at the notion that they hadn't retreated far away yet. "What?! Why are they still here?!"

I followed N, and he lead me to the Ferris wheel. Stripes also followed us to the Ferris Wheel as well, at my request, so that he could see Nimbasa City from a perspective that was similar to Sally's, like he'd never seen before. I was so glad that he wasn't afraid of heights. That is still a stereotype you know, not all Ground-types are afraid of heights.

N was really convincing with his approach, but it seemed as if there was more to what he was doing. "They're not here. Let's ride the Ferris wheel and see if we can spot them."

I was cooling down slightly. It wouldn't do to be frustrated, despite how annoyed I was at the two grunts. "This is a good idea. We can see the whole amusement park from there... and they really stand out, unless they're in a building, or something like that." Of course this also meant that Heji would be able to track them even inside that building, but I kept his presence just as hidden as for Elesa.

N started going off on a strange tangent, that wasn't related to Team Plasma at all, but I let him speak anyway. Might as well since we were just looking anyway, and I didn't have anything important to say either. "I love Ferris wheels The circular motion... The mechanics... They're like collections of elegant formulas."

He paused for a short bit, as we neared the top. "First, I must tell you... I am the King of Team Plasma."

His sentences were slow, and drawn out, which in a way was slightly annoying, but now that he'd mentioned Team Plasma again... my interest had piqued. "Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save the Pokémon." I sighed quietly to myself, but again, decided to let him talk. It was always better to let people talk without interruption, in terms of things like this. More information was gained that way.

"I wonder how many Pokémon exist in this world..."

With the purpose of making it even more clear why I was on this relative crusade against seemingly N, and actually Team Plasma, I began to try and instill a sort of.. friendship in him. "N I've got a secret for you, that I'm glad to give you. No other humans in this region know it."

N's eyebrows raised, and he shifted slightly in the seat. "Oh? What is it that you feel you can confide in me?"

I let out a deep sigh, and closed my eyes. I figured his reaction would be one of a negative one, considering his views on Pokémon Trainers and Poké Balls. "Tensa and I... are mates."

N was extremely surprised, his eyes clearly showing something that was a mix between disbelief, and incredible bewonderment.

N finally spoke after analysing what I said thoroughly. "Mates as in...?"

Again, I let out a sigh. Perhaps it was relief, but there was also slight dread that he would say that he didn't believe me. "Yes N, that."

N actually smiled really brightly. It seems he was analysing my vocal patterns, and face, to see if I was lying. "Interesting. I severely misjudged you. Perhaps

We talked for a short while, whilst the Ferris Wheel was slowly coming around. We never saw any sign of Team Plasma.

Two grunts came up to us as we exited the Ferris Wheel. The first grunt cried out almost as one would expect a dog that has been left only for a few minutes, but to it it seemed like an hour. "My lord N!"

The second grunt was a bit less of a hopeless case. "You're safe, sire!"

N seemed like his purpose was renewed, one way or another, to the point that he seemingly tuned out the grunts. "...Now then, Kynexn, do you follow my logic?'

I nodded, before replying simply. "Yes I do."

N let out yet another gracious smile. "Ah. Then... The future I envision..."

"...It's not going to happen, N," I quickly interrupted him, "but that doesn't mean that your quest will go unrewarded. I can't help but feel, despite your clear genius, you are also a bit naive."

"Regardless... there's no problem." Addressing the two grunts that were nearby, he added, "You're part of the people we brought in to help us save the Pokémon. So, you're under my protection, as well. You two, go, quickly, and let my battle cover your retreat. Perhaps I can't beat you here and now, but I'll battle you to buy time for these members of Team Plasma to flee."

We were faced with a Sandile, Darumaka, Sigilyph, and Scraggy. Needless to say, we came out victorious, with Tensa even contributing this time with a tail Slam of his.

N grunted in frustration, before muttering, "The result was the same but... you... who are you? You are interesting. But I have a future that I must change. And, for that future... I'll defeat the Champion and become unbeatable, unlike any other! I'll make all Trainers free their Pokémon! Just try and stop me! If you want to be together with Pokémon, your only hope is to collect the Badges from each area and head for the Pokémon League."

I folded my arms together and let out a huge sigh, thinking on how best to phrase this so that he would be able to see how serious I was about this sort of thing. "N... you and I share some ideals, but we just can't let you do that. Like I told them, even if I have to tear down every... single... member... of Team Plasma.... I WILL stop you. I'm sure there are a few good men who joined because they really do feel like you seem to do with Pokémon, if not as direct, but at the same time, some are just blatantly abusing their position under that guise. How do you think that Munna that was kicked by one of your grunts felt? Well, I can tell you that she was crying out for her companion the whole time, begging for them to stop. The reason why... they wanted Dream Mist. As for the matter of who I am... that's another reason why you will never beat me. I'm the former champion of two regions. Now, hurry off to your Castle, N."

N recoiled in surprise at the revelation that I knew about his apparently secret castle, seemingly even moreso at the fact that I would dare imply that any member of Team Plasma could act that way, let alone do what I described, despite seeing it with my own eyes. "But... you shouldn't know about that... perhaps it is good that I distracted you, since I can only imagine what you would have done to those men..."

With emphasis, I stretched out the single letter that was what I knew to be his name. "Heji still can track them down regardless, even through buildings. You did exactly that, buying them time."

N finally retreated, after being thoroughly defeated. I couldn't tell a damn bit what was going on in that head of his, but it seemed like every turn I was proving something wrong about the world he knew and grew up in. It made me want to learn more about his past. He was such a strange human, not like any I'd ever met before, and a bit more like myself than I would care to admit.

After that encounter, we'd thrashed the Team Plasma members still in the area, accepted N'S admission, and finally made our way to the gym. Luckily we'd finished eating and our stomachs had settled. All of us were excited, and Stripes would be getting to see his first Gym battle. Considering that Elesa likely dealt with Ground-types on a regular basis, I figured it would be a great surprise for Heji to be the one to battle Elesa to first see Stripes, then to bring out Heji. Elesa was probably close to being a near fanatic of Electric types as I was of Fire-types.

For the surprise, Heji had to be returned to his ball. The situation was explained and so Heji went back in his ball temporarily. Stripes was accompanied by Tensa on the roller coaster, which was quite an experience for him as well. I did congratulate him on his strong stomach, and sense of balance. Being able to quickly recover from a balance issue was something that was rather key to my overall strategy.

It may seem a bit silly to have a roller coaster as part of my training but, many of the elements of combat can be found in a roller coaster ride. Sure it was unconventional, but it also was a clever way of disguising training as fun. Since the roller coaster was high up, Stripes was able to get an appreciation for the view from higher than he'd ever been able to before in his life. This particular roller coaster was an interesting one due to the fact that it went even higher than the Ferris wheel, giving not only a complete view of the park, but a good portion of the surrounding area as well. Not that there was much besides forest and desert anyway. It was also fun seeing his reactions to the various loop de loops, since there was no reason why in his regular before life he would have been upside down like that. Seeing Stripes get excited like this gave me a certain sense of satisfactions. Of course, this also still doubled as a way to keep an eye out for errant Team Plasma members while waiting for the appointment with Elesa.

Once the allotted time arrived, we all started discussing strategy, and going over various counter-strategies. Stripes was a quick learner, something that I figured could be attested to his base survival instincts and overall personality. Going over strategies ahead of time allowed for near instant adaptation to many different scenarios. Considering that Elesa was actually a celebrity and thus what I am starting to call part time Gym Leaders, one could see how it would be easy to underestimate them. One of the many things I've learned in my seven years of training is to never underestimate my opponents, no matter how weak they may appear to be.

It was decided that Stripes would lead this particular round until changes were deemed necessary. It would have been clear that using Stripes was an obvious strategy, and I expected her to act accordingly. However, when we finally arrived, we were met with an assistant.

The assistant was very apologetic, due to how long we'd waited, and so he introduced us to something interesting.

"It's called a complimentary battle, sir. Instead of standard league rules, you can have your battle, but if you lose, you don't have to forfeit any prize money. In addition, if you so choose you can also have your opponent call out their Pok'emon ahead of time, and, whew, what a list, also time-out to use any healing items that you might have." With the way he sounded, complimentary battles were a thing that happened often at this gym.

"I think that that sounds like a battle that I would be interested in. Am I going to be battling you or... or is it going to be like a few others in which the typical trainers line up in droves?" Giving Stripes some extra practice ahead of time, with no setbacks, couldn't hurt at all.

"I used to be a trainer a long time ago, but that is something that has left me. Instead, I take a joy in seeing the spark in upcoming trainers. For this, you will be battling said upcoming trainers. Or maybe even just one, it depends on... how late our dear Elesa is." It seemed as if barely anybody could resist Elesa's 'charm', and if she were a Pokémon one could definitely say that her "attract" worked on more than just males.

"Well, then I'm going to be upfront with you, in terms of things like a spark, I've already ignited, but I'm not above thinking that that ignition can't be (snuffed out). So, I look forward to seeing both Stripes' and these trainer's potential. Of course, he's a Ground type so there's going to be an advantage over everyone except... what was that yellow squirrel... Emolga? I think you're going to see an interesting show."

The assistant didn't reply except, perhaps, a light 'Hm.' to himself. Our first trainer came to us soon after. From his style of dress, it was apparent that he was of a certain appearance of class, being in a fully white suit, fully pressed, and completely flawless shoes, shined and polished so thoroughly that they almost looked fake, or that he was literally so rich that every day he put on a different pair of shoes, and had a shoe closet of one hundred or more shoes.

"You don't get dizzy on the roller coaster do you? Well I'm about to dazzle and dizzy you with my Pokémon's blinding speed!" The boy's challenge rang out excitedly, but at the same time, there was a different sort of energy that came from it. Something to definitely investigate later.

"Mmm I look forward to it! So, kid..., what's your name? I am one who goes by the name of Kynexn." It wasn't a lie, I definitely was looking forward to seeing how Stripes handled the situation, as well as whether or not I might find someone that had a different strategy than the simple ones I'd seen so far, with the exception of Burgh, and his associated trainers.

"They call me Rolan, but I like Rol more, nice short, sweet, and to the point, easy to remember." He dusted himself off in a seemingly show-offy manner. Other than that, it was the only pretentious thing that I'd seen or heard from him. Even still though, that wasn't going to stop me.

In the meanwhile of waiting, I went over the strategy one final time, in my head, and asked Stripes to do the same. For this particular bout..... I was going to definitely throw people off because I would be not revealing the special surprise for Elesa, or the battle 'style' that I had developed.

"My first Pokémon is going is going to be Zebstrika." Rolan said, taking a Poké Ball of of his belt. Surprisingly it was not a Luxury Ball, as one might have expected for someone wanting to flaunt their riches.

"Well as you might be aware, I'm not going to not take advantage of a type advantage that I have so my choice is going to be my Krokorok, Stripes." I said, after nodding to him. He walked into view and gave his arms a slight rotation, as well as pounding his fists together.

"I'm all ready to go. It's my first time, so be gentle alright?" Of course, Stripes was overconfident, that was something that he likely inherited from the fact that he'd already beaten so many trainers in the Resort Desert. It wouldn't be very good for him to win all of his battles effortlessness, because then he would get cocky and overconfident. A trap that I was often tempted to fall into due to the fact that very few people could counteract my semi-unique battle style.

The Blitzle made a rather snarky comment, that just exuded cockiness, which was a complete opposite to its Trainer. From what I could at least pick up from Cilan, they were a bit of an odd match up.

"Ohho, it is so on... you're going down hard." Stripes readied his battle pose, and prepared for the call of the battle to start.

"Are the participants ready?" We both gave our approval. "Then... begin!" The floor judge raised and lowered his arm signaling that the battle had officially begun.

"Stripes, show them your Crunch!" I ordered. It always felt odd when I reverted back to using this battle style, but I explained to them that it was necessary in some situations, and they understood. It made it that much more freeing when they were allowed to be themselves in battle after a certain point.

I was immediately surprised by the fat that a Quick Attack didn't come our way, since it was one of the most common ways to lead a battle. Stripes rushed at the Blitzle straightforward, not making any effort to maintain a pattern at al.

Of course, to no surprise, the other Trainer ordered the Blitzle to dodge, but with an added bit about Nitrous Charge. Nitrous Charge..... a bit of an interesting move, but now I was getting to see it with my own eyes. The Blitzle began stomping in place, and just for a brief moment, so quick that it was literally at the speed of light, a series of sparks of electricity surrounded the zebra, before the air around it seemingly combusted.

"Stripes, quickly, counter with Dig!" It was an interesting command, as there was no dirt, sand, or anything to really give the attack and added elemental bonus. Stripes didn't stop at all, keeping his moment, but what he did do, was change what he did once the Blitzle was in range. Instead of essentially diving right into the flames, he dived under the flames, going under the Blitzle, with a slight degree of difficulty, due to their size difference, and essentially knocked it up into the air with the motions of a normal emergence from the exit hole that Dig would normally produce. Not only was the damage already minimal due to his ground typing, but going under the flames essentially negated very much all of the heat effects.

Since the move was essentially a Normal type move, the Blitzle was merely affect by the strength difference between the two of them. There was no clear indication that a lot of damage was done, but damage was done nonetheless. "Stripes, try a Crunch again." I wasn't concerned with Stripes missing agains, as the first move was cut short on purpose. What we were actually doing was adapting to the Blitzle's movements so that we would be able to land hits easier in the future. The main way this was achieved was by watching the Blitzle's hooves and legs.

This time, the order to dodge was given again, but this time, no attack was given in return. Again Stripes missed, but already we were starting to see a pattern.

With the next set of Crunches, Heji managed to really weaken the Blitzle, causing a great deal of bleeding. The moves Nitrous Charge, was rendered useless, as well as a great deal of its motion being inhibited.

"Not feeling so cocky now, are you? Looks like all that blood is ruining your perfect coat, heheh..." Stripes called out, taunting the injured Zebra. He responded quite hastily, essentially going a bit into a rage, but, due to the nature of his... conditioning, it was restrained enough that he didn't fly off the handle without listening to his trainer's commands.

"Stripes let's see if you can finish him off with Assurance." The order came and was executed flawlessly. With very little ability to dodge, the only thing that could be done was try and attack during the contact phase. Since Stripes was in far healtheir a condition there was no question that he would be the one to make it out of the encounter still conscious.

"Blitzle is unable to battle, Stripes is declared the winner!" The floor judge announced upon the assessment that the Blitzle was unconscious and that there was no risk of death at this point. He would likely have scars from the encounter, unless I was allowed to simply treat him on the spot, but as was quite the common occurrence, after their Pokémon went down, the trainer returned them to their Poké Ball, to have them treated at the Pokémon Center later.

"I suppose it's not that much of a surprise but, my final Pokémon is a Blitzle as well. I'm still going to do my best, so don't count me out just yet!" Rolan said, sending out his Blitzle.

"I'm ready and on a roll, but the lack of real digging is starting to get to me, I'm getting antsy here!" Stripes said, and it was understandable. After all, he was first and foremost a sand crocodile. In a way, it was brilliant, since it would be a sort of counter to people always coming in with ground types to counteract the Electricity. They would be able to resist it, but not really damage them too heavily. Having an Emolga which also added a Flying aspect to combat the ground made it even more brilliant.

The next battle proceded much as the previous one did, though Stripes wasn't without damage, due to my 'choosing' to continue using the same strategy essentially, as it as just another Blitzle. After the battle, I healed Stripes, though I explained to him that he wouldn't be participating in the next battle. He reluctantly agreed, and so Tensa took his place for the time being.

"I just received a message that Elesa is on her way. Would you like to participate in another battle, or do you wish to wait since it won't be too long?" The floor judge queried.

"I think we're good for now. We can wait. In the meantime, I can get myself acquainted with the Blitzle that we just defeated. Provided that this Rolan takes them out for us to do so in the meantime while we wait." I said, pointing to the boy's belt.

He looked at me with a sense of curiosity. It was a rather unusual request, seeing as how most trainers apparently just won their battles and moved on. I also shook his hand as a sign of sportsmanship.

"I don't see why not, but of course, they're still injured so there's that." He let his Pokémon out of their Poké Balls. They had managed to get a slight rest inside their Poké Balls, but still showed the evidence of being in battle, with slight blemishes.

"Hm, hey there Blitzle... Well, the first one anyway. So, is there any particular reason why you figured that you would be able to overcome a Krokorok, when even a Zebstrika has trouble with a Sandile sometimes?" I found it odd that he would seem so confident, but that was part of the reason why I let Stripes showcase his strength in the first place. By the same token though, I had to prevent Stripes from getting overconfident as well.

"Hmph. I feel like I'm close to evolving anyway, and how was I supposed to know how strong he was? I think he just got lucky is all." The Blitzle let out a sort of snort and stamped his hooves. Clearly, he wasn't a fan of losing, and was used to defeating a lot of Trainers. From what I could tell of the scan, it seemed that he wasn't too far off in level from Stripes.

Blitzle and Sandile evolved at around the same time in general. Unfortunately, there was no way to know exactly what 'level' they evolved at due to it not being documented just yet.

For Stripes though, the Pokédex recorded his evolution around 'level' twenty-nine. The Blitzle was currently registering as a twenty-four. The only way to establish a comparison would be to scan Elesa's Zebstrika.

"Well, I have no idea. This Pokédex of mine is actually quite special. It's a prototype, given to a small group of about six thousand people, two of which are my current, shall we call them, rivals? It has a few rather advanced features compared to most Pokédexes." I found it slightly odd how Rolan didn't make a big deal over the fact that I was seemingly conversing with his Blitzle. From this I was led to conclude that Elesa herself also at least on a basic level, had some form of conversation with it.

Our conversations continued, with me eventually revealing to the zebra that I was a visitor that was looking to assess the local Pokémon, Gym Leaders, and Trainers. Despite the obvious personality clash, we still seemed to at least be able to hold a conversation after he realized that I was able to understand him more than most that entered the Gym, and even his trainer, if you could call him that. From what I could tell, he only begrudgingly listened to Rolan's orders, but he was mainly trained by someone else.

About five minutes later, Elesa showed up in a manner that one might expect from a celebrity Gym Leader. The lights dimmed and she came around from the back. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the future if the entire gym was converted to a full area stage instead of a roller coaster.

"Well, I hope you're ready to be dazzled. But of course I am terribly sorry for keeping you waiting. Let's have a good battle, alright?" Elesa said with a bit of a flirtatious wink, but I figured there was no way that she could be honestly flirting with me.

"We've been waiting for a completely different reason. There's a surprise in store for you, that I think that you'll really enjoy," I said with a chuckle. One of the first things I would do would be to scan her Zebstrika when it came to the battle. There was also the issue of dealing with her Emolga, because Stripes would be at a clear disadvantage, he needed to be exposed to that, so that he would be able to learn from it.

"Is that so? Well I believe my beloved Pokémon will be the ones to make your head spin! Everyone. Are you ready to be delighted?!" Elesa spun around in circles, and I'm sure that if it had been a cartoon or something similar she would have had sparkles coming off of her with a somewhat blinding background.

"The battle between Gym Leader Elesa, and Trainer Kynexn is about to begin!" The floor judge announced, and with a bit of background music, which was a first for me, the call to begin was given.

Elesa sent out an Emolga as should be expected, since I had already essentially made a 'profile' for her. As Cilan would say, her Zebstrika was likely 'her vintage'. Like fine wine, her Zebstrika was the strongest showcase in her arsenal.

"Stripes, you're up for a short bit again. I don't think any of the previous trainers used this Pokémon on you before. Although it is a partial Electric-type, it also has Flying-type moves in its arsenal. Which, I don't know, guess we'll have to found out, won't we? Alright Stripes, go ahead and start with an Epsilon two." Immediately, to those observing me, the change in my strategy was apparent.

"Alright Emolga, use Aerial Ace!" Elesa ordered, and almost immediately it was clear that this Emolga was going to be fast. I was very interested in how Stripes was going to react.

Stripes did his best to follow the Emolga with his eyes, but was clearly having a bit of difficulty. It would be something that we'd be working on with Sally, seeing as how she was also being trained to fly incredibly fast, as well as being trained to be able to carry me. Quickly the Emolga took to the air, and began flying all around him. When the fit finally connected, Stripes brushed it off rather simply.

"Is that what you call an attack? I barely felt that!" It seemed as if he was slightly bluffing, since what I read from the Pokédex's health sensor was that if he didn't doge hits like that, he would probably actually go down in about four hits. However, part of the dodging process involved first figuring out their attack patterns. How fast he caught on would determine how many more hits he had to take. Either way, I'm fairly certain that if he'd still been a Sandile this Emolga would have done a lot more damage with that Aerial Ace.

"Keep it up with the Epsilon two." I said, giving yet another 'order'. This time he watched the Emolga more carefully, waiting for an attack.

"Another Aerial Ace! Then use Quick Attack!" Elesa called out, with a flourish of her arms. The order was quickly carried out, with it taking off again, and rushing towards Stripes.

This time around Stripes slightly dodged, but did take another bit of damage. Of course since the damage was already so miniscule in the first place, this one truly was one that barely affect him despite the type disadvantage.

"Hm, I see, this is becoming quite predictable..." Stripes commented. I found it odd how the Emolga didn't speak much though. Perhaps the next one would speak more.

"Quickly Stripes, shift to Delta two, combined with Epsilon two." I said. From my observation, Stripes had already analysed the attack pattern and would be able to effectively dodge, unless Elesa specifically order something different. Even then, he would be able to take that into account, as well as the fact that I would be acting as a second pair of eyes like I normally did.

When the Quick Attack came, Stripes graciously dodged it, in a manner that I'd imagine if we were in a Pokémon Contest, would have caused her to lose more than a few points. Now that Stripes had fully analyzed the attack pattern for certain, it seemed to be smooth sailing from that point on.

As a bit of a surprise, but not the big surprise, Stripes began to chip away at the Emolga's health as he dodged, by channeling his Dark-type Energy into his claws, and striking after the other's attack missed.

Eventually after a long series of exchanges lead to the eventual downfall of the Emolga, with Stripes taking a moderate amount of damage. It didn't much matter though, because Heji was going to finish off the battle.

"Alright Stripes, that's enough for now. It's time for the big surprise that I've been saving up until now." I didn't return him to his Poké Ball, but told him to join the stands or somewhere similar, such as the area where Elesa entered, or the roller coaster cart. The next thing I did was take out Heji's Luxury Ball.

"Everyone... I'd like you to meet... Heji the Luxray." With a brilliant display of golden and white sparkles, as well as jolts of electricity, Heji emerged from his Luxury Ball. I never removed the Ball Capsule from his ball, and so all the effects left over from our delvings into Pokémon Contests came into play here.

"Oh... my.. goodness... what a magnificently brilliant entrance! Bravo, Bravo! But we still have a match to finish! Emolga, you're on stage!" Elesa was definitely starstruck, or the electrical equivalent thereof, but she recovered quickly, at least on the outside. I could tell from her initial reaction, as well as that spark of joy in her eyes that she was absolutely not expect a Luxray to appear in her Gym.

"I want to see your Zebstrika, and in addition to that, for research purpose as well, I need to see it. So, we're going to have to be quick about this. Quick as lightning." Heji's strength was going to be showcased as well as his speed. I was slightly impressed to see a decent amount of speed from the little squirrel, but no 'mon that I'd encountered yet could match Heji, or Striker.

"Very well, then let's start things off with a Quick Attack!" Elesa announced, and the Emolga took charge. However, it's no surprise that Heji easily avoided the attack.

"Why don't you show them your Iron Tail?" I said with a grin, and Heji seemed to feel the excitement coming from me. There was a reason for my overconfidence and in this case it was justified. I did however, look forward to facing Elesa's real team with Heji and the others sometime.

Heji gladly obliged, waiting for the right opportunity to strike, before he poised his tail, it glowed a silvery sheen, and also literally taking on a metallic appearance, then he whipped it lightning fast speed at the Emolga.

The result was near instantaneous; the Emolga slammed into the wall with such force, that it managed to crack the wall itself. Of course, this was a Gym, so obviously the idea of the arena taking damage was very common.

Elesa was speechless for a whole minute. She did recover, with a bit of flair that definitely showed that she had spent a lot of time in the spotlight. "A properly dramatic victory requires a dash of danger and a pinch of peril."

"Well, we'll see, but I doubt either of us is going to have a dramatic victory. I believe it is time for your Zebstrika to make its debut." I was definitely awaiting scanning the Zebstrika, for the purpose of figuring out a good estimate for the evolution from Blitzle.

"You're certainly right about that... here comes my last Pokémon, Zebstrika!" Elesa tossed her Poké Ball into the air and her Zebstrika appeared. At that point, I took out my Pokedex and scanned the Zebstrika,. it's estimated combat level was reading at somewhere around twenty-seven. Compared to the Blitzle from earlier, at twenty-four, its internal feelings of being close to evolution, seemed to be proven true.

Taking the average of the two yielded twenty-five and a half, but of course, half levels aren't really a thing, so I just figure I can round up to twenty-six. At the very least, it's level twenty-six or level twenty-seven.

"Quite interesting. Let's finish this off, shall we? There is something I'm curious about, perhaps your Pokémon still has the opportunity to dazzle me." I highly doubted it, considering that Heji was both fast, and strong.

"Well then, we'll just have to lead off with something special. Zebstrika, Flame Charge!" Elesa ordered. What happened next surprised me, for a number of reasons.

The zebra began stomping its hooves over and over again, before a very quick and fast spark appeared, with an incredible blaze of fire surrounding it. Its speed increased, but it didn't seem like it was much to be worried about.

With a quick zip, that was pretty much a miniature explosion, the zebra was left momentarily confused, as its present target was no longer in front of it.

"Zebstrika, behind you!" Elesa quickly called out. I had no problem with this either, as I too often acted as a second pair of eyes for my Pokémon during battle, so I was quite familiar with the idea.

The zebra turned around, and attempted another charge, but again, Heji dodged, and nothing connected.

"That is... an interesting thing. Heji, I think you know exactly what I'm thinking... Let's show them," with a bit of a dramatic pause, I promptly thought of how best to phrase it, "let's show them a Nitro Charge!"

In a manner similar to the Zebstrika, Heji gathered electricity. Unlike the Zebstrika however, Heji took it one step further, and put way more Electricity into it. It wasn't really my favorite move, considering that the recoil was enough to even hurt Heji, but at the same time, he was strong enough that it wouldn't cause a major loss in his health, compared to what the Zebra would take.

Heji slammed into the Zebstrika repeatedly, and without much fanfare after that, the Zebstrika promptly collapsed. Heji didn't come out of it unscathed either, but the Zebstrika's hair was definitely singed in all over, as was his own.

"Zebstrika is no longer able to battle! Victory goes to the Challenger Kynexn, Elesa is defeated!" The floor judge announced. The crowd that was previously stunned into silence, now went into a huge roar of applause and cheers.

"That... was... amazing..." Elesa said, almost at a loss for words.

* Note: At the time this was written the Kalos region didn't exist. Just like Cheren's home region of the Pokémon equivalent of China.