Titan and Empress leaned down to inspect the new Larvitar. Cruise stood ramrod straight as his much larger, much more powerful, final evolutions sniffed at him.

“Tar?” asked Empress, lowering her head so that she was level with him… or at least her fangs were.

“La!” he squeaked out, causing the older pokemon to sniff dismissively and snort. Cruise curled into himself, and Ritchie was instantly at his side.

“Hey buddy, are you alright?” He rounded on Empress, “Don’t you tease him because he’s weaker than you! He’ll be just as strong. No! He’ll be stronger one day!” Ritchie said to Empress.

Empress raised a scaly eyebrow of disbelief at that and snorted before huffing in Titan’s direction. Titan straightened up and rumbled something back to her before waving a claw between Ritchie and Cruise.

Empress gave another heavy snort, and Cruise looked incensed.

I rubbed my chin, trying to piece together what was happening.

Yolanda nudged me, “Can I get a translation?”

“Hmmm, something Cruise said initially had Empress being dismissive or… judgemental…” I looked to Titan, who nodded.

I continued to slowly work through it. “She asked him why he hadn’t evolved yet?” Titan nodded again.

“And he said something… something she found ridiculous?” I said, now eyeing Cruise. “So he knows he can evolve soon, but is holding off on doing it purposefully?” I said.

This made Ritchie perk up. “Huh? Is that true Cruise? You don’t want to evolve?” He knelt down. “I didn’t know! I thou—”

Cruise shook his head back and forth, and I tilted my head. “Okay this is a mystery, he wants to evolve… but not right now?”

Cruise nodded. I snapped my fingers. “Are you worried about being a Pupitar? They have a lot of difficulty in the wild due to their restrained linear mobility.”

“Huh?” Ritchie said, pulling out his Pokedex and cycling through to the entry on Pupitar. “They possess pods that release jets of gas that propel them in straight lines… Oh, that isn’t a problem. I can come up with strategies for us Cruise! Don’t worry about that.”

I hummed, interested that Ritchie had a pokedex, even if it was an older-looking model.

Cruise looked away and I decided to weigh in. “It might be an instinctual issue. Most Larvitar will make sure the area is safe as possible or link up with another Larvitar first before they evolve. Being a Pupitar is one of the most critical periods of their evolutionary line with how difficult gathering food, resources, or fending off predators can become.”

Ritchie put a hand on Cruise’s shoulder. “And he won’t have to worry about that with me and the team to back him up! Isn’t that right Sparky?”

“Pi-pikachu!” said the little mouse with a thumbs up.

Cruise gave them a hesitant smile before shifting back and forth. “... lar, vi, lar, tar, larvitar.”

“Ty?” said Titan with a tilt of his head. Cruise turned and addressed Titan, with them talking back and forth.

Yolanda expectantly looked at me while Ritchie raised his face in thought, trying to follow along himself.

I coughed. “The issue is not something instinctual. He feels that he is well looked after on the team, and he likes being on Ritchie’s team. Titan is trying to rule out other issues, such as the timing of upcoming matches and not having access to faster growth with moves, which Cruise is denying.”

Titan and Cruise continued their back and forth, and I continued to try and translate.

“Titan isn’t sure what the issue is but knows that there must be one as something is holding Cruise back. Cruise wants to evolve; he knows he can, but isn’t right at this moment.”

Titan looked at me and shrugged, while Cruise looked away, not meeting Ritchie’s gaze.

I rubbed my chin. I considered what I’d learned so far and decided I needed to probe deeper. “Ritchie… how did you get Cruise?”

Ritchie perked up. “Oh! I found him when I started my journey from Frodomar! I had Sparky and Zippo by that point, and both of them were training, and Zippo was getting frustrated cause Sparky was doing so much better! Zippo ran off into the woods and apparently made a friend with Cruise. I found them and discussed with Zippo that Sparky had been training for a lot longer, which helped him out. Zippo then mentioned feeling a lot better but he said it wasn’t just due to me. He introduced us and I stuck it out knowing that Cruise would be an amazing addition to my pokemon team.”

Ritchie put his hands on his hips. “And I was right! Cruise has been making great strides with his training!”

“I see,” I said, blinking and slowly processing what I had just heard. Ritchie had just unleashed a deluge on me. It took me a while, but I slowly began to get an idea of what might be the issue. “What about Zippo? How has he been doing? You already had the Soul and Cascade badge, no?” I said.

Ritchie nodded while Yolanda tilted her head, unsure where this was going.

I smiled. “Now, you haven’t been able to challenge Erika but have spent a fair amount of time around Fuchsia with your illness and Cerulean, I should assume? That or you’ve been on the road, and while there, you encountered a lot of trainers. Trainers that have come for this circuit and have some very strong pokemon.”

“Yeah! That’s pretty accurate!” Ritchie said with a quick nod.

“So, you’ve fought tough battles,” I said, drawing up my transceiver and toggling a Gym Leader access point on the pokenet to bring up Ritchie’s profile.

I scrolled down to where the win-loss ratio was and clicked my tongue. “You’ve only won forty one percent of your matches?” I asked.

Ritchie shifted. “They were strong trainers…”

“And you’ve also spent a lot of time in areas with a high density of water-type trainers as well, haven’t you?” I said, pointing out one of the biggest issues that stood out to me.

“Yeah!” Ritchie said, his head bouncing up and down.

“And if I were to go through and selectively cut out a lot of your wins that came from Sparky against those water-type trainers, how many victories would you have?” I said.

Ritchie blinked. “Uhmmm I’m… not sure?” he said.

I keyed in a few search parameters on Ritchie’s profile, and a new number was shown that I showed him. “You’ve only won twenty-seven percent of the matches you fight when you don’t fight with Sparky.”

Yolanda and Ritchie gaped at the numbers on display. Yolanda spoke up first. “You can do that with the profile pages?”

I nodded slowly. “Indeed, this allows us good insight into pokemon that Ritchie, or indeed any trainer, can use well, or that are particularly strong.” To demonstrate, I brought up my own profile on the Ace circuit and toggled some features that saw pokemon such as Sanchez or Don not fighting.

I had a very good record this year with how hard I’d been blowing through several trainers that I’d faced. I toggled a different feature for a historical match list during the circuit and demonstrated how match wins dropped when I didn’t use Titan or Bertha. Yolanda and Ritchie watched this with intense expressions.

“So this feature doesn’t get talked about much but it allows a level of analysis that highlights the strength of certain pokemon with their win rates. This can be further analysed to show how certain pokemon we are more comfortable with compared to others. It can highlight our strengths and what we need to improve.”

Ritchie and Yolanda nodded, and I coughed slightly put off with how intense they were being. “Anyway… that’s something else, but it does help me point out the true issue. Cruise and Zippo have had a very rough time of your fights with which pokemon you can use against other trainers. Both would have weaknesses, but one of these pokemon would be more impacted.”

“... Zippo?” Ritchie said, with a blank look. I nodded, pleased that he understood which pokemon was struggling. Ritchie blinked in surprise at being told he was correct. “But… that… Why?” he asked.

“It’s sometimes not just a matter of strength that pokemon possess, but also their mental state. Zippo has had some tough fights, I’m certain, but he’s also had a number of losses.”

I then made a circling gesture and brought the group's attention back to Cruise who had been watching this. “Now, Cruise here is conscious that his very good friend, Zippo, is struggling and knows that if he were to evolve it would be causing a problem with him also moving past Zippo in strength or development you could say.”

I smiled at the wide-eyed Larvitar. “How’d I do? That about sum things up?”

Cruise shifted from side to side and then slumped. “Tar,” he said, defeated by my deductions.

Ritchie dropped to the side. “Is that really the problem, Cruise? You’re holding yourself back for Zippo’s sake?”

Cruise nodded glumly. “Tar, Larvitar,” he said.

Titan chuffed and grinned, while Empress merely snorted and turned her head away. Despite her dismissive attitude, I thought I detected a hint of mild approval in how she eyed Cruise.

Ritchie put his hand on Cruise’s shoulder. “Well, that’s a great sentiment, but I don’t think he’ll appreciate it buddy. I think… I think you should talk with him.”

I coughed and reinserted myself into the conversation. “That’s a good idea Ritchie, but make sure it happens in a controlled setting. I think it’s a good idea to have a solution or two in mind before you have the conversation. Remember that Charmander is a line that has draconic pride for all that they aren’t dragon-typed. Use this moment to deepen the bonds for your team but take a moment to think about it, alright?” I said, making sure that Ritchie didn’t just run headfirst into another issue.

Ritchie nodded slowly at that, and sat down on the ground right then and there.

I snorted. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. He rubbed his chin for a moment before releasing his Charmander.

Zippo appeared and looked around, eying his surroundings, only to blanche when he noticed Titan and Empress. “Char!?” he squeaked.

Ritchie put his hand on Zippo’s shoulder. “Hey buddy, don’t worry about those pokemon, they’re part of Gym Leader Brock’s pokemon team!”

Zippo eyed me and gave me a half-bow before straightening to continue to watch the Tyranitar. Smart little guy, I thought to myself. He understood they were the biggest threats around.

“So listen buddy, we were talking with Cruise trying to work out why he hasn’t been evolving and the problem is that he… is too good a friend,” Ritchie said as he started to explain to Zippo the issue.

Zippo looked stunned at the revelation of his friend holding back on account of himself.

Then he started to look frustrated. Ritchie was quick to cut that off before the idea could plant itself properly. “The issue stems from me however,” he said with a firm nod, causing Cruise and Zippo to both look up in shock.

“Lar!” “Char!” they both said in protest but Ritchie shook his head firmly.

“No, I’ve seen the same information and had my path spelled out. I was using you two in matches where you were literally having to fight an uphill battle against pokemon that had type advantages against you!” He made a gesture to me.

“The Pewter Gym is a perfect example! I might have a strong team in you guys, but I’m failing you. I have created this idea in you that you’re weaker than you are, but that’s not the case! You're strong, I know that, and soon enough you will know it yourselves and believe it!” he said clenching his fist.

He stood and offered a fist for them to bump. “Trust in me, and I’ll correct this. I want both of you to be strong and not fall over each other to avoid damaging our team. We need to do better!”

Cruise and Zippo stared at their trainer like they’d never seen him before but then they cheered and both headbutted his outstretched fist, causing Ritchie to yelp in pain and pull it back. I chuckled and clapped Ritchie on the shoulder.

“I think that was well handled. I think you’ll do alright this year from here on out.”

Ritchie laughed. “Yeah? Just alright? I’m aiming to win the whole thing!” he said proudly.

I paused, as a thought occurred to me. “Hmmm, yeah I doubt that.” I gave his pokemon a blatantly obvious look of dismissal before shaking my head. “I’ve seen the strongest trainers that have come around,” I then looked over Ritchie, “and you, Ritchie, are not among them.” I gave him a sad shake of the head and raised my hands in a what can you do gesture. “Maybe in a couple of years,” I said.

Yolanda gaped at me and my words, only to blink when I shot her a wink.

Ritchie vibrated, and as I expected, his reaction didn’t leave me wanting.

“You! I’ll show you! My pokemon team and I aren’t going to bow down! We had a rough start but we’re going the distance! We’re going to win this year’s circuit!” He all but roared. His pokemon joined him in growling at me.

I crossed my arms and smirked at him. “Excellent! That’s the fire I want to see when you make your run.” I reached out and tapped him on the forehead. “Make sure to use your mind and listen to your pokemon when you can.”

Ritchie blinked, and an expression of understanding dawned before he coughed. “Hah, thanks for today. I think I got a lot out of it. Way more than just how help to evolve Cruise,” he said, shooting his Larvitar a fond look.

I glanced down and chuckled when I saw that Cruise was giving me a dark side-eye.

Ritchie coughed. “Could you show me how to do that search function on trainers pokenet profiles?” he said. Yolanda inched forward, and I rolled my eyes and waved for them to follow me towards a computer where we could do it easier.

Just as we sat down, A.J. turned up.

“Perfect! You and me kid! Let’s have a proper match outside on the courts!” A.J. growled.

Ritchie grinned, and I knew he was thinking how perfect this was. I chuckled as Ritchie turned from following me, ready to throw down, only for Yolanda to cough. “So you don’t want to learn about the profile search feature? A.J. you might find this interesting!” she prompted.

A.J. twitched, and I watched him shift goals, knowing that Yolanda was a great source of useful information. “Search feature?” he said carefully.

I snorted and decided to show the kids the neat search feature I’d found on trainers' profiles.

Whoever thought it up was a very smart individual who didn’t get enough praise.

In the depths of the accounting department of the Indigo Plateau, Auditor Timothy sneezed and glanced around for a tissue.

I showed the kids how to narrow down search features on trainer profiles for a bit, before letting them have a go at it themselves. A.J. and Ritchie slammed into each other in a bid to sit in the chair, only to stop and glare at each other. Yolanda merely slipped in and started tapping away at the keys.

I was rather amused when she brought up Ash, Misty, and then Forrest’s win records.

“Oh! Forrest has a Growlithe now!” she said with interest.

I leaned forward myself; he hadn’t told me about that.

Yolanda crossed her arms. “He didn’t tell me about that!” she said, causing me to snort at how similar our thoughts were.

“Yeah, maybe he wants to surprise us?” I said, before realising that it was potentially true. I checked my watch and clapped Yolanda on the shoulder. “Can I trust you to take charge here with these two?” I said, gesturing at A.J. and Ritchie, who were on either side of her.

Yolanda rolled her eyes at me but waved me off to enjoy my lunch. I trotted back up and settled down on the couch in the trainer lounge.

Greta and the other girls were all there, and they waved. “You seen Yolanda around, Brock?”

I pulled out the riceballs I’d made up earlier while waving a hand towards the computers in the back. “She’s learning about the search feature on Trainer profiles and how to use that with A.J. and Ritchie,” I said. I took a bite of my riceballs and held in a chuckle.

Mmmmm Jelly donuts.

“What search feature?” said Missy.

I paused in taking another bite and looked up to see nothing but confusion.

I sighed and shook my head. “I’ll… do a training session on it for everyone, alright?” I said while mentally making a note that this might be something I’d need to teach trainers during the group rounds at the end of the circuit about. That mollified the girls, but Crystal and Greta still trooped out to find Yolanda.

I watched them go in thought. Software literacy wasn’t something I would have considered as a benefit from my past life, but it certainly was a useful tool to know existed. I started mentally formulating how the lesson would go, and I had the framework of the lesson jotted down by the end of lunch.

Sometimes, as a Gym Leader, you had days like that; where you realised you possess a piece of knowledge that would help others. It then became about how to teach it to people, or sometimes to a pokemon. I doubted it would remain unknown for long; it was too useful.

When I wrapped up the challenges for the day I spent some time in the office typing up my notes, only for Yolanda to knock on the door. “Hey Brock,” she said.

“Hey,” I said, waving for her to come in. “I had some other trainers ask about the search feature, so I'm typing up a lesson. Any issues you had with using it that you would want in there?” I said. She offered a few suggestions, and I showed her how to do it while including it in the lesson plans.

“Something you want to talk about?” I asked as I typed that up.

“I can wait,” she said. I shot her a look and she smiled to show she didn’t have anything urgent. Instead, she pulled out some homework herself and started making notes. Terra interrupted her a few times and Yolanda distracted her by giving her a pen and some blank paper.

When I was done, I was amused to find that it was my turn to wait as she completed her work. I moved to sit next to Terra and watched her scribble furiously with her pencil. When she was done, I nodded and made appreciative noises before putting it up on the wall of artwork next to one of Suzie’s drawings.

Terra beamed with pride, and Yolanda giggled.

I looked up and found her ready to talk. “So? What’s on your mind.”

“I just… I guess I wanted to talk to you more about team dynamics. I never thought of how one pokemon’s bond with another pokemon might impact their evolution or growth like it did for Ritchie.”

“Ah, that was a bit of a niche situation. But It showed that Cruise had a good understanding of his friend Zippo, I think. But in working how he did, he set himself back. Honestly, I don’t think things would have worked out this way if Ritchie hadn’t been slogging through stronger trainers or fighting against trainers with type advantages to start things off. It also had to do with issues of Charmander’s pride.”

I wobbled my hand around. “I wouldn’t expect it to come up much, but it can. Usually, it would have been a reverse situation with Larvitar, due to evolving later development of inadequacy issues compared to Charmander, who usually evolve rather quickly.”

I rubbed my chin. “Honestly, Ritchie did the right thing but he also could have solved it himself if he’d sat down and talked and listened to his pokemon. Allowing yourself to be open can help, and that doesn’t just mean being strong but also allowing yourself to be vulnerable.”

“Like you and Sabrina after your match with Will?”

I made a face but nodded. She wasn’t wrong, despite me not liking the example she’d used. “Well I was more talking about my pokemon and the situation in general but sure, me and Sabrina.”

She giggled and cheekily poked her tongue out to show she was just teasing. I huffed at her but then tilted my head to give it some thought. “Hmmm, another point I hadn’t thought about at the time was that Zippo was comparing himself originally to Sparky who had evolved from Pichu… so there was already a discrepancy in strength at play…” It hadn’t been something realised during the original cartoons, with Pichu being a later addition.

“I wonder if issues result when the starter doesn’t want to evolve? Some pokemon might decide they too should avoid it…” That… sounded a little like Ritchie in the future as I only knew him to have a Charmeleon and a Pupitar in the cartoons.

I frowned. Actually, that description also suited early cartoon Ash as a good number of his pokemon always avoided evolving themselves. Bulbasaur and Squirtle being key examples. He worked with them, but he never was shown to discuss if they wanted to evolve.

“Talk with your pokemon, see if they want to or don’t want to. Sometimes it’s assumed it will just happen. I think Ritchie did the right thing by approaching me and he’ll be better off now.”

“He’s certainly been fired up. His draw with A.J. has both of them motivated,” Yolanda said.

“A.J. drew with him?” I asked, surprised by this information.

“Yup, Sandshrew got off a powerful Fissure before being taken out by Sparky, only to then have them both trade-off with their Butterfree.”

“Huh,” I said. “Well I hope that rivalry stays positive for them.”

“Unlike you and Will?” Yolanda said, tilting her head.

“That man has never been and will never be my rival,” I said firmly. “I merely want to crush him.”

Yolanda nodded before squirming. “You did have to adjust how you work and fight though, no?”

I snorted and grumbled before giving her a look. “I think I preferred you when you were cute and innocent. Who taught you to talk back?” I said with mock seriousness.

Yolanda cupped her chin. “I’m still adorable, and mostly you,” she said shamelessly.

I huffed and poked her on the nose. Terra giggled at Yolanda’s affronted look, so I reached down and booped her on the nose as well.

Yolanda looked over the office. “Anything else you need to do today?”

I shook my head and logged off my computer. “Nope! Family time now, I think.”

Yolanda smiled widely and followed me home. “You were pretty cool today by the way!” she said, skipping along.

I grinned. “Thanks!”

Yolanda then grinned in a manner that let me know she was about to say something cheeky. “Sabrina would have worked it out way quicker!” she said as she dashed away.

I gave chase. “You didn’t need to add that last part!” No matter how true it was, I added privately to myself.

The next few days were fairly smooth sailing with Gym operations. I ran a lesson for all the trainers we hosted, and sponsored, or those who paid to be included. Forrest, and by extension Misty and Ash, were also able to attend the lesson through Forrest’s transceiver.

The Ace trainer that I’d been able to get for my Tuesday match was actually lower than me in the rankings, and I had decided to use a different team than normal with Shin, Hypnotoad, Tide, Shrek, Gawain, and Titan.

I’d won with a one to six score and gained a handful of points for my Ace ranking.

The biggest event for the week was on Thursday, when the second Ace match arrived just before lunch. Once more, the stands in the Gym were full to the brim with supporters that had come from near and far to see the match.

I leaned on the railing, happy to see that so many were coming, although the recent match against Gavin had probably helped out a lot.

Rachel had some banners made for both myself and Gertrude and a few people were happily flying the flags for her. Along the edges of the battlefield, on electronic advertising boards, Rough Housing ”The Camping Equipment for Pros!” was on display proudly.

I could see one of their representatives sitting in the middle of the reserved seating for Gertrude with a megawatt smile on their face.

I was sure that, as far as they were concerned, Gertrude had just paid out big time.

Rachel walked to the front, her outfit and hair both now rainbow in colouration. She waved her hands about. “Hey oh!” she shouted to the crowd.

“Hey Oh!” chanted back the regulars.

“Heeeeeeeeeey Oh!” Rachel chanted again.

Once more, she was met with a loud cheer that copied her.

The new members of the crowd quickly caught on and soon the entire stands were chanting and copying her like she was Freddie Mercury at a sold-out super stadium.

I grinned as the feeling in the crowd continued to grow until Rachel finished with a Mexican wave. Then she sliced her hands together. “Welcome! To the Pewter City Gym! I’m your host Rachel, and we are in for an incredible show today, I can tell!” She smiled as she received a huge wave of cheers.

“Do a flip!” someone yelled.

Rachel pointed straight at the man. “Yes!” she shouted. She then ran along the walkway and flipped, causing a roar of approval to surge out once more as she landed on her feet. I chuckled and clapped along.

“Thank you!” she cheered before waving a hand to get things to calm down a little. “As I said, it’s going to be a great show today and I’m so glad you’re all here today! I hope you’ve got your drinks and your food cause there’s going to be no intermission! No breaks! This ladies and gentlemen, is an Ace battle!”

“Today’s challenged! Is in fact a member of the top Thirty and one of the strongest official matches that we’ve had the pleasure of hosting! Standing at one metre fifty this pocket rocket is the epitome of not judging someone by their appearance. She’s powerful, she’s bold! She’s Gertrude Goody!”

Rachel waved her hand and Gertrude trotted out, only to suddenly levitate up. I hissed in surprise, only to whistle in appreciation of the trick when Gengar revealed itself behind Gertrude holding her aloft. Gertrude waved as she was deposited on her podium.

I moved to the top of the stairs.

“And now, the challenger for today’s match and our host! Can you give a Pewter welcome to Brock!”

The crowd stomp-stomp-clapped and slowly built themselves up until their clap brought a thunderous boom that filled the stadium.

In the middle of the arena, Gertrude grinned upward, undaunted as I began my descent.

When I leapt, she watched me. I landed and the crowd cheered only to fall quiet as I spoke up. “Ready?” I asked in a gravelly tone.

Gertrude shot me a thumbs up.

I nodded back and prepared myself for the first exchange as Gertrude returned her Gengar before selecting another pokeball and holding it in her hand while keeping the Gengar in the other. She toyed with both, a smirk on her lips as she did so.

I merely grinned. Mind games already, hmmm? I spun my pokeball over my fingers, allowing my nervous energy to play out.

In the middle, Dennis served as today’s referee. He got some people shouting when he raised his flags. “Trainers! Are you ready?”

Both of us nodded, and then he dropped the flags. “Release!” he ordered. I hurled my first pokemon onto the field. Shrek landed and croaked loudly.

Across from him, Gertrude’s starter appeared and levelled its cannons onto Shrek. “Blastoise!” it cried.

I grinned, knowing this would be a great match up.

“Withdraw special!” Gertrude shouted, getting the better of me with the first order.

“Bulk Up!” I shouted to Swampert. He flexed and his shoulders and arms swelled up before he pounded them into the ground “Swamp!” he roared as Blastoise withdrew into its shell.

Then it began to spin rapidly, with water gushing out the side as it surged towards us. Hmm, I’d thought of this combination for a while. It was a strong Blastoise move and one of the known openers that were tough to deal with.

“Surf!” I said.

Shrek leapt back onto a rising wave to outright avoid the attack as he rose above the move.

Blastoise slammed into the move and his head popped out of his shell to glower at Shrek as they both rode the wave back toward Gertrude’s side of the battlefield.

“Blastoise! Use Rain Dance!” Gertrude said as both pokemon landed without the Surf really impacting them.

“Bulk Up!” I ordered again. This time when Swampert flexed, his muscles strained and his arms became huge. This time he didn’t slam his fists into the ground in a threat display.

Gertrude clicked her tongue. “Return! Go Victreebel!” Gertrude returned her starter quickly and pulled out another pokemon.

I hummed, knowing I had a moment to buff up again. “Muddy Water into IP,” I said, delaying my move until Gertrude had released her pokemon so that Shrek was already swinging his fist back to send a small tidal wave of Muddy Water straight into Victreebel’s face.

“Leaf Blade! Cut through the attack!” Gertrude ordered instantly, and her pokemon didn’t disappoint.

Twin blades of Green energy slashed through the Muddy Water, allowing Victreebel to avoid the drop in accuracy while only taking minor damage to itself.

“Ice Punch,” I said as Shrek revealed himself. He launched from behind the wave with his fists reared back with bluish-white energy before hammering his fist into Victreebel. Victreebel slammed into the back wall and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

“Shrek! Back now!” I said. Gertrude stiffened, as she realised that I didn’t want my Swampert on her side for the next matchup. She flicked her wrist and returned her pokemon even as she ran her other over her belt. Then she paused.

“You’re trying to fluster me, aren’t you?” she said. She straightened and sniffed, allowing Shrek to return to his side of the field and for the Rain Dance to splutter out.

I smiled. She’d been right, if she had sent out a pokemon to catch Shrek in retreat I would have had him pounce on whatever was sent out.

Instead, Gertrude kept her cool. She reached for another pokeball. “Go! Ninetails!” she said releasing a gorgeous pokemon onto the field.

Ninetails landed and its tails immediately waved from side to side in a hypnotic fashion that almost lulled you into sleep… a wave of heat ran across the battlefield and in some patches the ground steamed from the heat. Some areas around Ninetails were already firming and drying out.

Hmmm, that would be the Drought ability in play perhaps? A natural fire response when intimidated? This pokemon was strong.

“Surf!” I said, not willing to allow Ninetails time for the tricks that their species were synonymous with.

“Disable!” snapped Gertrude. A flash of pink energy washed out and stopped the wave Shrek that had been building up instantly.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “Hydro Pump!” I barked. Shrek followed through with a trio of high-powered blasts of water.

“Double Team!” Gertrude shouted as her pokemon blurred into a score of Ninetails. Damn it, illusions were a Ninetails specialty.

“Earthquake!” I ordered. If Gertrude wasn’t going to let me have Surf, she could have another area of effect attack.

The illusions vanished as the ground rumbled, only for one of them to fall to the ground crying out in horrendous pain. I grimaced for a moment as it struggled. “Finish it,” I barked to Shrek when Gertrude made no move to return her pokemon.

Shrek lined up and fired off a Hydro Pump attack only for the downed Ninetails to vanish in another illusion causing me to hiss in surprise.

“Now!” barked Gertrude revealing her Ninetails, just as injured as it had appeared moments ago, with a green energy ball in its maw.

It unleashed the ball of energy and I reacted. “Protect!” I said instantly.

Shrek raised his fists and a shell appeared around him making me exhale in relief. I flicked a glance over where Ninetails had been and saw a destroyed Substitute doll. Something that was usually created to anchor the illusion of Substitute onto.

So, she’d taken the hit… No, she’d used Fake Tears to get me to lower my guard, then used Substitute.

Then, while her pokemon was illusioned, she’d had it move to the side to fire off an Energy Ball. If that had landed it would have been super-effective.

I nodded, respecting the play. She’d utilised her pokemon’s skills and abilities well.

As the Energy ball detonated against the Protect, Gertrude raised her pokeball smoothly. “Return Ninetails!” She then grabbed up another pokeball and hurled it out before I could make the most of the withdraw.

“Go Gengar!” she barked, releasing her fourth pokemon. The crowd gasped as Gengar loomed large. I whistled, that was a big Gengar.

Shrek’s Protect dropped away and he narrowed his eyes at the hovering Ghost pokemon.

“Big one isn’t he?” I shouted across to Gertrude.

Gertrude grinned. “One of the biggest! Agatha complimented him!”

I nodded at that and then slashed my hand straight forward. “Hydro Pump!”

“Dodge and Spite!” Gertrude ordered. Her pokemon shifted to the side to avoid the blasts of water while reaching forward with his hands to clench them in Shrek’s direction. Shrek grimaced and I clicked my tongue.

Spite, a move that reduced how often you could use a move. At least that’s how it had worked in the games. In reality, it hampered the energy level your pokemon could draw on for a little while. Gertrude was going to have to move quick if she wanted to make the most of it.

“Hypnosis!” said Gertrude. Her Gengar’s eyes glowed.

“Shrek mov… and you’re asleep,” I said with a grimace. I didn’t hesitate as I raised his pokeball and returned him instantly.

“Sunny Day!” said Gertrude as I pulled out my next pokemon.

“Go! Selene!” I shouted. Selene hovered onto the battlefield and her eyes locked with Gengar.

“Solar Beam!” Gertrude shouted quickly.

“Teleport!” I shouted with a grin.

Selene began to glow.

The Solar Beam closed in only for Selene to vanish causing the attack to whiff. Selene appeared behind Gengar, her eyes glinting ominously and Gengar stiffened.

“Psybeam,” I said, instructing Selene to unleash a powerful burst into Gengar’s back, throwing him out of the battlefield and knocking him out.

Gertrude raised her pokeball and returned him with a scowl. “I would call soooo much bullshit if you weren’t dating Sabrina!” she called.

“Yeah? And what do you say knowing that?” I was curious if she was going to demand a review. It wouldn’t end well for her.

“It’s ultra bullshit, and your girlfriend is ridiculous!” she called as she selected another pokeball. In the crowd, people laughed and some catcalled and whistled.

Selene wiggled as she made her way back to me.

“Come back out, Blastoise!” she said, tossing out her starter once more.

Selene glowered with intent, and I hummed before raising my own pokeball. “Return!” I barked. Selene shot me a betrayed look, like she wanted to try and solo Gertrude’s entire team.

I wasn’t game to try that, as I didn’t want to give Gertrude a chance to take control of the match I switched out. Sanchez landed with a laugh as Gertrude had Blastoise perform Rain Dance.

“Shit!” she swore, instantly whipping out her pokeball and returning her Blastoise.

I chuckled, shame, she wasn’t going to let me get off the classic Rain Dance-Thunder Combo.

“Stealth Rock,” I said to Sanchez. He stomped his foot, laughing as the rain poured down over him. A trio of rocks shot up as Gertrude selected her next pokemon. “Go Dugtrio!” she said, causing me to hum in thought. That was a good pokemon on paper.

Dugtrio appeared and it was instantly sinking into the mud, its trio of heads glowering out as it was peppered with Stealth Rock.

“Fissure!” barked Gertrude.

“Leap!” I said instantly as the Dugtrio shot into the ground.

I usually would have scoffed if a trainer used fissure in these sorts of muddy conditions.

Against a pokemon that was known for always being submerged in earth? I wasn’t game to bet against it, as a rumble shook the field and a few sections of the mud roiled before being overturned.

I exhaled in relief. Good, it hadn’t triggered properly.

“Heavy Slam!” I barked as Dugtrio started to emerge from the turned over earth.

“Protect!” Gertrude shouted straight away, causing the attack to crash down without hurting Dugtrio.

“Heavy Slam again!” I said, resulting in Sanchez spinning up for another attack.

Just as the Protect dropped, Gertrude punched forward. “Bulldoze!” snarled Gertrude.

Dugtrio surged forward, and both pokemon slammed into each other, resulting in a boom upon their impact.

I knew Sanchez would have the advantage with Heavy Slam, thanks to grossly outweighing Dugtrio, while Dugtrio would have a super effective move.

Both pokemon staggered away from the hit only to glower.

“Again!” barked Gertrude, very happy about the exchange and willing to trade off again.

I smirked and decided to match her. “Sanchez! Go!” I shouted.

Sanchez perked up and then with a maniacal laugh, threw himself into a roll that saw him accelerate into a furious tumble.

Around his body, a corona of energy built up just in time for Dugtrio and Sanchez to slam into each other.

If the battlefield wasn’t as wet as it was, there would have been rolling clouds of dust. Instead everyone got to watch as Sanchez and Dugtrio stood, locked at the point of impact where they glared at each other, both trying to overpower the other.

Dugtrio blinked first, staggering back and slumping over, only for Sanchez to stagger back as well. He stumbled around. “Go! Go Gooooooooooo!” he shouted painfully, only to teeter almost all the way over.

Then he snapped back upright and raised his arms up. “Golem!” he cheered revealing he’d just been playing.

The crowd cheered and I saw a few kids wipe their brows in relief. I chuckled and inspected him. His legs quivered and shook even as he tried to stand. He was attempting to portray himself as stoic and cool.

Despite his antics, he really was on his last legs here.

As Gertrude returned her pokemon I did the same for Sanchez. “Time to share the limelight buddy!” I shouted, causing him to take a bow as the red beam hit him.

Gertrude eyed me, considering her options as I selected another pokeball off my belt. I didn’t hesitate to send out another pokemon.

Jormungandr appeared with a mighty bellow of power that shook the field.

Gertrude stiffened, and I could see her thinking she had the answer straight away, as she ripped out her next choice. “Go Blastoise!” she said, sending out her starter once more.

Blastoise landed with a growl and I hummed. This… was not a great match up… But I could make it work. Blastoise shrugged off the Stealth Rock that peppered it.

“Dig!” I shouted.

“Surf!” said Gertrude in response. Both pokemon moved with Blastoise throwing itself into a forming wave while Jorm dove into the earth.

The wave shot forth and swept across the arena. I crossed my arms, not that worried about it, and I was soon proven correct as Jorm reappeared, in close proximity to Blastoise.

“TF!” I barked even as Blastoise whipped around and sprayed Jorm with a heavy blast of water.

He endured the blow and carried on to bite down on Blastoise, causing an arc of electricity to lance out of his foe.

“BB!” barked Gertrude with her Blastoise raising a fist and slamming it down into Jorm, causing him to buckle under the blow as he was forced to release Blastoise.

“Dig deep,” I said, deciding to go for a stall and recover for Jormungandr. He threw himself into the ground, only for Blastoise to snatch for his tail and catch it with two hands.

Jorm started to pull Blastoise off his feet, but before he could escape the twin water cannons on Blastoise's back reoriented and unleashed a close range Hydro Pump.

I clicked my tongue. Perhaps I should have gone for a quick and dirty Mud Slap with how close I was?

I raised Jormungandr’s pokeball and returned him before his body could hit the ground.

Hmmm, that made it one to the three in my favour, with Sanchez in a delicate state… as well as Shrek being asleep.

I eyed Blastoise. It was also weak.

“Go Sanchez!” I shouted, deciding the gambit would be worth it if I could pull it off.

Sanchez reappeared with a loud cackle. He flicked two fingers from his eyes to Blastoise and then clapped above his head. “Thunder!” I ordered.

Sanchez’s grin grew.

“Surf!” Gertrude ordered. A quick reaction from her Blastoise caused the Thunder to miss.

“Dig!” I said in response, making Sanchez avoid the wave with a dip into the dirt before popping out behind it. “Thunderbolt!” I said.

Blastoise landed and pivoted to line up its cannons. It fired off another blast of water at Sanchez and both attacks slammed into their targets.

Sanchez was blown off his feet with a gasp and Blastoise groaned in pain before falling to the ground.

I returned Sanchez, happy that he’d gotten off a better combination against Blastoise this time.

Gertrude clicked her tongue. “Excellent work Blastoise!” she said as she selected another pokeball. She had Ninetails, who was on its last legs, and one, as yet unknown, pokemon.

“Go Exploud!” she shouted releasing her pokemon.

I hummed and unclipped Titan’s Greatball off my necklace. “Go! Titan!” I shouted.

Titan landed and locked eyes with Exploud.

Both pokemon inhaled and roared, and for once, Titan’s roar was overpowered as Exploud used it’s natural ability with sound to almost deafen us. I clutched at my ears as I felt a stabbing pain lancing through them and directly into my brain.

I grit my teeth and pushed through the pain.

This had to be an opening move, Hyper Voice perhaps. Titan was certainly reeling as though he’d been hit. Worse, I couldn’t give any verbal commands. That would be a game breaker for many trainers.

I had already linked my aura to Titan. We were more than ready to mess up her plan.

I saw Gertrude’s lips move but I couldn’t hear anything over the deafening ringing in my ears. I pushed what I wanted Titan to do into our bond and he responded by twisting on the spot and kicking up a Sandstorm.

He vanished, and the roaring voice of Exploud was swept away by the roar of the winds. I could make out Titan however.

I eyed the slowly drying out land under Titan’s feet. Damn, too many water moves have been tossed around to get a proper Sandstorm off. Still, it stopped Exploud being so loud, so that was a plus.

I searched the other side only to see a vague shape of Exploud along with a glow that appeared to be where his mouth…was it a she? I thought, before I saw the glow shift as a beam was unleashed.

“Protect!” I shouted, unsure if I was even speaking properly while pushing an urgent warning through our bond.

Titan clenched up and a Protect formed up in front of him to take the Hyper Beam.

When the beam broke off I glared across at Gertrude. She shrugged, and her mouth moved. I could just make out that there were some words but not what they were. Good, my hearing was slowly coming back.

I snorted. “It wouldn’t have worked on Titan,” I said and noticed that Gertrude reacted. Hmmm so she could still hear fine? I noted that down as an interesting quirk.

As the Protect died away, Titan locked eyes on Exploud.

I raised my hand and pointed. “Titan! Go!” I shouted, this time projecting a hunger and immediacy to a counter attack.

Titan happily threw himself into a sprint to show Gertrude how to get off a proper alpha-strike.

Titan’s footsteps rumbled as he hurtled across the battlefield to a spent Exploud. When Titan slammed into Exploud, Exploud crumbled and was tossed like a rag doll by an angry child.

It slammed into the back wall and Gertrude sighed as she saw that yet another pokemon was knocked out. She returned her pokemon and then raised her hands to signal her withdrawal. I rubbed at my ears and got them to pop in time to catch the last of whatever Gertrude was saying

“—not going to send out my Ninetails to be battered like that. She’d get off an Energy Ball but I’m not so sure it would be worth it.”

Dennis nodded at that and raised his flags. “Ace Trainer Gertrude has withdrawn from the match! Brock is the victor!”

The crowd rose to their feet with a roar, and I grinned.

Now that had been a better match, if a bit scrappy in parts. Still, it was much better to be in the fight and enjoying it.

Today was a win in more ways than one.

Now I just needed to share that good vibe around, I thought to myself as I eyed Gertrude. I had a few questions for her, foremost was how she’d escaped being deafened by her Exploud.