FSE

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So far, Mark's battle with the dragon master Lance, champion of Kanto, wasn't going how he had initially pictured it. He had entered the battle believing he had Lance's strategy figured out, but the unexpected appearance of a Goodra –a Pokémon Mark didn't even know Lance had, had stumbled him and forced him to lose the early lead he had gained, having lost Vitesse and Siren to Goodra and now, that dangerous slime dragon was back in its Poké Ball, awaiting when it would appear again.

Fortunately, Mark had turned the tables back to an even level; Lance had swapped Goodra for Haxorus, but despite its tremendous strength, Coal had successfully defeated it through agility, speed, and his ability to use Dragon Pulse, wearing down the larger, clumsier Pokémon until he finally collapsed, with Coal emerging victorious much to the surprise of Lance.

Now the next round was about to begin, with Coal still on the field as he and Mark awaited Lance's next Pokémon.

“Return to battle, Goodra!" Lance called. The ball was cast, and out of it emerged that slimy lavender dragon again, letting out its bubbly growl as it appeared.

'Alright... need a new plan here,' Mark began, calling Coal back to his side to let Lance know he wanted to switch the Pokémon he was using. 'Coal's not powerful enough to take down Goodra; that thing took a direct hit from Siren's Disarming Voice, and that was while she was powered up by her Competitive ability making her much more powerful than Coal is, and then it beat Vitesse as well with that Bide trick. My options are limited here; I need to weaken those defenses, and there's only one Pokémon I have who can do that.'

He reached into his vest, grasping his next choice. “Fang, you're up!" Mark called, throwing the ball forward to let out his Mightyena. Fang emerged from the ball with a deep growl, landing on all fours and facing Goodra with his teeth bared.

Lance narrowed his eyes slightly at Mark's choice, but made no comment about it, and ordered Goodra to make its first move. “Goodra, Power Whip!"

Goodra swung its head around to toss about its gooey horns somewhat, before it threw its head forward to send them stretching towards Fang before swinging down at him. Fang rolled to the side to avoid it, and Mark gave him his attack command. “Torment!"

Fang's eyes glowed brightly, and he unleashed a howl as a red aura poured out from his body all around him. The same aura appeared around Goodra, and though the dragon-type cringed as though it were in pain, the attack did no damage, leaving Goodra more confused than actually hurt, and thanks to the effect of Torment, Goodra couldn't use Power Whip again, forced to pull its horns back or that red energy would appear again.

“I see what you're up to," Lance stated. “Trying to stop Goodra from using her more powerful attacks."

“That Goodra's a female?" Randy, still recording the battle, asked.

Mark didn't add to that question, nor respond to Lance, keeping his attention entirely on the battle. “Now Fang, Shadow Ball!"

Fang opened his maw as a purple glow flowed out between his teeth, an ominous sphere of violet having formed between his jaws, which he launched at Goodra when it was fully charged. The attack scored a direct hit, but it did little to actually hurt Goodra; she grunted noticeably at the attack's impact but stood firm. But Mark didn't relent, ordering Fang to strafe away as it tried to use its horns to grab Fang for a Slam attack as ordered by Lance, but Fang was faster than Goodra, and at Mark's command attacked with another Shadow Ball.

The attack struck home; Goodra's lack of speed made her an easy target for a distance attack even for someone like Fang who was much more effective up close. To top it off, she was still weakened from the earlier hits she'd taken from Siren and Vitesse even though the attacks hadn't been all that effective. Not that the Shadow Ball attack was doing much better; Goodra was still standing firm, and yet Mark kept ordering the Shadow Ball attacks.

“Mark, what're you doing?" Randy asked. “Goodra's a Special Defense tank; Shadow Ball's not going to work!"

Mark didn't respond, and Fang was onto using a sixth Shadow Ball now. Unlike the previous times, this time Goodra actually reeled, surprising both Randy and Lance when the dragon staggered.

“What's going on here; how is Goodra taking more damage?" Lance asked.

“Seems both you and Randy forgot or didn't know about Shadow Ball's effect," Mark returned.

Lance jerked as if he'd been hit, suddenly understanding what Mark was saying. “Damn!" He cursed.

“That's right; it lowers Special Defense!" Mark returned.

“Then I will stop it from weakening her further! Goodra, Muddy Water!" Lance called.

“Snarl!" Mark returned.

As before, Fang was faster, unleashing the terrifying Snarl attack, striking Goodra with unseen force that staggered it. Thanks to its already weakened Special Defenses, the damage of the attack was stronger than it would be normally, but it did not stop Goodra from unleashing her own attack, conjuring a tsunami of dirty brown water to send hurtling towards Fang. Halfway to her target, Fang charged forward and jumped as high as he could, soaring straight at the top of the mini-tsunami. It caught his belly as he arched over it, dealing only minor damage –less thanks to Snarl also having an added effect.

When Fang touched down, only a short leap away from Goodra, Mark ordered him to use Crunch, and he pounced, launching himself at Goodra with his teeth bared, the terrifying look on his face making Goodra put up her arm in defense, only to howl loudly as Fang's teeth sank into her slimy limb. Using the nails on his paws he gripped Goodra's torso as best as he could as the slimy Dragon-type tried to throw him off of her.

Fang relentlessly continued biting, but eventually his teeth slipped free, falling off of Goodra's arm, but after dodging an attempt to slam him with her horns, Fang rushed back in, this time biting Goodra's leg and yanking hard, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor with a wet splatter, and that is when Fang jumped onto her back, this time biting her shoulder. The added effect of Crunch was to lower Defense, and with so many bites, Goodra was quickly succumbing to all of the damage.

“Goodra, you must get up!" Lance called, but try as she might, Goodra couldn't shake Fang off of her, and had no means to stop his final attack.

“Ice Fang!"

Fang reared back his head, icy mist pouring out between his jaws before he struck with one more bite, chomping onto Goodra's shoulder and sending a creeping cold through her. She could barely even shriek in pain before the attack finally sent blackness across her eyes and she collapsed, laying prone and slipping out of consciousness. Only then did Fang pull his teeth away and jump off of her, letting Lance recall her to her Poké Ball.

The act of struggling with Goodra had left Fang coated in slime from prolonged contact with Goodra. He spat out some of it, and then shook himself trying to get it off, but it stubbornly clung to his fur, leaving it wet and messy looking as a result, as though he had just been swimming in a vat full of oil.

“Going to need a bath after this, eh boy?" Mark asked Fang.

The Mightyena huffed in reply, and went back to trying to get the slime out of his fur, until he heard Fang calling out is next Pokémon, bringing him immediately back to his alert self as he knew the battle was about to continue. “Come forth, Garchomp!" Lance called as he threw the Poké Ball in his hand, releasing the Dragon-type Pokémon within.

The Pokémon that emerged was yet another bipedal dragon with a dark purple body and red undertones, with a yellow pentagonal shape on its belly and a six-pointed star of a matching colour on its snout, that looked like a cross between a hammerhead shark and a horned lizard, with a body covered in rough skin and sharp spikes. It had bright yellow eyes with black scilera, dark as night and making the eyes stand out all the more. It had short, skinny arms, both ending in downward curving 'fins' –adding more to its shark-like appearance- and tipped with one sharp, curved claw. Its tail ended in a dorsal fin, and its legs, were lean and muscular like a runner, with spiked thighs.

“So that's a Garchomp," Mark wondered aloud. 'Dragon/Ground-type just like Flygon, so I'll need to use Ice-type to take it down. And I've only got one left who can use an Ice-type attack.'

_ _ “Alright then, I'm sticking with Fang," Mark informed Lance.

“Very well," Lance returned.

Both Fang and Garchomp took their positions, growling ferally at one another as their eyes met, and Lance gave the first command. “Dragon Claw!" Garchomp's left claw glowed, and it charged at Fang, striding across the ground with speed rival even to Vitesse; Fang tried to jump away, but he was too late, and suffered a slash right to his flank, sending white-hot pain through him.

“Ice Fang!" Mark called.

Fang lunged forward, attempting to bite Garchomp, but the shark-like Dragon Pokémon stepped back before Fang even got close, and at Lance's command, it then swung around with its tail glowing a steely gray, landing a punishing Iron Tail on his cheek and making Fang yelp in pain as he was sent sprawling onto his side.

Mark stared in confusion at Fang. 'Something's wrong; Fang's usually faster than that,' he said, wondering what could be slowing him down. Garchomp hadn't used any attacks for decreasing speed like Rock Tomb or Bulldoze...

Unless it wasn't Garchomp's doing. Mark's eyes fell upon Fang's underside, noticing the goop still clinging to him from when he had attacked Goodra. That had to be what was doing it; Goodra's sticky slime coating was all over the MIghtyena and was gumming him up! Unfortunately, Mark hadn't taught Fang any moves for raising or restoring speed; he'd trained Fang mostly to hinder other Pokémon, and now the tables had turned on him.

“Garchomp, Dragon Claw again!"

Thinking fast, Mark had to change up his strategy if he was going to take down Garchomp. “Fang, duck low!" Mark called out.

Since Fang couldn't run out of the way of Garchomp's attack, he dropped onto his belly, flattening his ears to avoid having them sheared off as Garchomp's deadly claw whooshed over his head. Seeing his chance, Fang lunged forward, still slowed by the slime by Garchomp was so close now, even it wasn't fast enough to get away. He struck with another Ice Fang, biting down on Garchomp's arm; the shark-like dragon roared in anguish, trying to pull his arm free, but Fang held on tight, his lips curled back and growling in challenge as he wrestled Garchomp for control, throwing himself side-to-side trying to pull it off balance.

Garchomp proved to be too stubborn though, managing to stay on its feet, and Fang's choice of attack was coming back on him as he felt his gums being cut up by Garchomp's rough skin, but he fought his base instinct to let go and held on. Mark wasn't yet aware of the harm Fang was taking, and didn't give him another command, letting Garchomp take the Ice Fang attack until the dragon Pokémon finally managed to throw Fang off. Only then did Mark see the trauma Fang had endured.

His mouth was bloodied, somewhat, and it wasn't Garchomp's blood either, it was his. Looking closer, Mark saw how Fang's mouth had been cut up, causing him to hesitate with concern for his Pokémon and giving Garchomp its opportunity when Lance called out for another Dragon Claw. Fang once more tried to dodge, but Garchomp was much too quick, and cut across Fang's exposed chest. The cut was shallow, but still sent some fur flying after the swinging of the claw.

Mark couldn't let this continue; Fang was hurt, and he couldn't let it continue any further than it had already. “Stop!" Mark called.

“Garchomp, desist!" Lance added in when he heard Mark call out.

Both Pokémon halted in their tracks, turning to their trainers with questioning looks, until Mark called out to Fang. “That's enough, boy; come here," Mark bade.

Fang compliantly left the battle, and Garchomp, after watching him leave, stepped off to return to his trainer's side as the Mightyena did. Mark knelt down by his Pokémon as the Mightyena returned to him, seeing more blood trickling out from his lip and cringing at the sight of it. He still went on to check his Pokémon, seeing the cuts in his mouth were the worst; the one on his chest wasn't too bad and would heal itself fine.

He turned to look at Lance. “Short break; I need to treat Fang's injuries," he said.

“Of course," replied Lance, nodding.

Bruises and scrapes were one thing, but cuts in the mouth could not be left alone, Mark stated in his mind. They were at the most risk of becoming infected if not treated immediately. “Randy, can you bring me the first aid kit and the soup bowl in my bag?" Mark asked.

“Sure," Randy replied, pausing his camcorder and turning to the knapsack Mark had left next to him. “Which pockets?"

“Turn the back towards you; first aid's the pocket on the upper half," Mark replied, “and the bowl is in the big pocket on the bottom half, covered in bubble wrap."

Randy did as instructed, unzipping the indicated pockets and finding the items, bringing them over to Mark as the trainer ordered Fang to open his mouth, showing how much damage had been done. One of Garchomp's scales had even been left lodged between his teeth, but Mark saw that was removed before he got started.

“You okay boy?" Mark asked, earning a whine in response from Fang, knowing his mouth had to be sore after what he had endured. “I didn't expect Lance's Garchomp to have the Rough Skin ability; should've guessed something was out of place when Lance didn't use Sandstorm."

“Why Sandstorm?" Randy asked as he opened the first aid kit, handing over everything Mark asked for.

“Sand Veil; it's an ability that makes Garchomp practically invisible in a sandstorm and therefore, combined with its natural speed makes it almost impossible to hit. But it seems this one didn't have that ability," Mark explained, giving Fang some water as he spoke, but telling him not to swallow, and instead rinse his mouth with it. Fang compliantly did as he was told, and spat the water out into the soup bowl.

“Ugh, dude; you eat out of that you know," Randy reminded.

“Bowls can be washed, Randy," Mark returned, taking a cotton swap from the kit and asking Fang to keep his mouth open as he coated the fuzzy end in an antiseptic. “This isn't going to taste very good, boy," Mark warned Fang as he sought the areas where the blood was coming from, applying the disinfectant to those spots, always watching Fang's reaction as he worked.

“Man those are some sharp teeth," Randy commented. “I'm surprised Fang lets you do this without being under an anesthetic."

“I know he trusts me," Mark returned, staying focused on his work. “Most Pokémon, especially canine and feline ones, hate having their mouths invaded by foreign objects. That's why it's important that he knows I can be trusted." He patted Fang's side briefly. “Right boy?"

Fang couldn't exactly reply with his mouth wide open, so he just blinked.

“You sure know a lot about this sort of thing," Randy commented. “Like a veterinarian."

Mark laughed lightly. “Not even close to a vet –to even call me an assistant would be generous. What I know is... more like Pokémon first-aid at most," he stated. “Nah, mom's the vet. Everything I know, she taught me, and I practiced on the Miltank we keep back home on the farm."

“Your mom taught you the basics of being a Pokémon Trainer and the basics of a vet?" Randy asked. “Is there anything she didn't teach you?"

“Well, I still don't know how to keep Coal from making a fuss over this whenever he gets hurt."

“A fuss about having his gums poked or about the taste of the antiseptic?"

“About sitting still."

Minutes later, Mark finished treating Fang's cut-up mouth, he removed the swab from Fang's mouth, the Mightyena smacking his lips together, face souring as he felt the antiseptic substance touch his tongue. Mark gave him more water to wash the taste and any excess blood out, once more spitting into the bowl, and then a final drink to quench his dry mouth.

“There you go, boy," Mark said. “We'll get you more thorough treatment at the Pokémon Center but this should stop any infections. Now, you take a rest here; you can watch the rest of the battle with Randy, okay?"

Fang nodded his head, and made himself comfortable on the floor as he watched Mark return to his position on the battlefield. Lance, patiently waiting all of this time, stood with Garchomp at the other end of the battlefield until he saw Mark return.

“Are you finished?"

Mark nodded. “Yes," he replied.

“Is Fang alright?"

Mark nodded again. “Yep; nothing too severe. Just wanted to make sure he didn't get an infection."

“Good. Then we are ready to resume whenever you are, Mark," Lance bade, and nodded to Garchomp, who stepped back out onto the field to return to its starting position.

Mark now had a moment to think over his next strategy. Garchomp was fast and strong, and had taken some harm from Fang but not enough that Coal or Palm Tree might be able to finish him off –besides the fact Coal was weak to Ground-type moves, if Garchomp knew any Rock-type attacks he could knock either Palm Tree out of the sky too. With that in mind, he really only had one option left...

“Alright, Tanker," Mark stated, reaching in and taking out the Poké Ball for his Steelix. “Let's see if we can make up for that battle against Rhydon, shall we?" He asked before he threw the ball forward. “Come on out!"

The ball opened, and out of the sphere emerged the gigantic Steelix, rising up from his starting position and casting a shadow over Garchomp as he blocked out the overhead lights, roaring loudly in challenge at the Dragon-type Pokémon he would be facing.

“A Steelix, huh?" Lance asked, staring up at the massive, metal snake. “Aside from your Charmeleon, I've only seen you using Pokémon native to the Hoenn region –for obvious reasons, but you have two that're native to this continent. Have you been to Kanto before?"

Mark shook his head. “Coal is kind of a long story, but Tanker here, I caught on Dewford Island, in the cave at the north end," he explained. “I don't know how any Onix got out there, but he was the only one I saw at the time."

“I see," Lance returned. “Well, I hate to say it but you've rendered most of my Garchomp's known attacks ineffective. However, you are aware Steel is vulnerable to Ground-type, aren't you?"

“We'll see just how much of an edge that gives you," Mark returned. “Nearly all Ground-type attacks are Physical attacks, and Tanker can take any direct hit."

If only he were as confident as he actually sounded; the last battle Tanker had was also against another Ground-type, but one that also had a weakness to Steel-types, so at least there both sides had an advantage. That wasn't the case with Garchomp, and Mark suddenly cursed himself for not having Fang use Torment on Garchomp when he had the chance. It might've swung this battle in Tanker's favour, depending on just how many Ground-type moves Garchomp knew. It was just fortunate that Garchomp couldn't learn one-hit knock out moves like the Horn Drill Rhydon had used to win before.

'I should try and lower Garchomp's speed if I can,' Mark thought. 'As long as he moves as fast as he does I won't be able to take him down.' He looked down at the tiling under them. 'Can't use Dig or Earthquake on this stone floor –the same goes for Garchomp at that- so I'll have to rely on defense again.'

“Garchomp, use Bulldoze!" Lance ordered.

Garchomp stomped the floor, sending a tremor rippling through the stone that shook up Tanker from below, causing him to grind his jaws together as his body was rattled by the attack.

'Buuuut apparently that still works; that's nice,' Mark thought in exasperation. “Tanker, Rock Tomb!" Mark called.

Large boulders materialized out of thin air around Tanker, and with a roar, they were all lobbed by unseen force towards Garchomp, multiplying even as they arched towards the land shark. Garchomp darted to the side to avoid the first boulder, and then zig-zagged around the battlefield, trying to avoid them, but Tanker's onslaught was relentless, conjuring more boulders to shower Garchomp with. Eventually, one found its mark as Garchomp rapidly ran out of places to maneuver, and finally was hit directly, knocked off of his feet and to the paved floor.

“Garchomp!"

“Now, Tanker, Iron Head!"

The Steelix surged forth, lowering his head as he pushed himself towards Garchomp, smashing through the boulders in the process before they began to dematerialize. Garchomp returned to its feet just as Tanker reached him, and narrowly got out of the way as Tanker swung his head at him. Garchomp retaliated with a Dragon Claw across Tanker's face, sending sparks scattering as claw met metal, leaving little more than a scratch in Tanker's literal iron body. Tanker tried to strike him again, but Garchomp dodged once more.

'Rock Tomb didn't slow it enough, and that Bulldoze made Tanker slower too,' Mark thought. 'I can't beat Garchomp's speed if they both keep slowing each other down... okay, need a new plan.'

But what? That was the question; what could Mark do differently here? He couldn't make Tanker any faster –he didn't know Autonomize or Rock Polish. 'Might have to look into teaching him one of those,' he thought before going back to planning.

There was only one thing left he could do. He looked the keystone on his wrist; he hadn't gotten the chance to use it Vitesse, but Tanker still had his stone to use its power on. But would it even help? He'd never used Tanker's Mega form in battle before; he didn't even know what its ability was! And it wasn't as though he could just pause the battle and look it up; it wasn't like playing a video game and could get an edge with strategy guides or online walkthroughs.

“Well, it's sink or swim now," Mark mumbled to himself.

“Are you having difficulty, Mark?" Lance called, curiously. Their Pokémon had been staring each other down for the past few seconds. “If you aren't going to attack, then I am."

“Oh I'm going to attack," Mark returned, raising his arm and showing his key stone. “I'm just going to give my Pokémon a little boost."

Lance narrowed his eyes “What's that?" He asked.

“The key to my victory," Mark returned, placing his hand over the stone and clenching his fingers around it. “Tanker, let's turn it up! Mega Evolve!"

Tanker reared back, showing the Mega Stone worn around his neck, which began to shine brightly and bathed him in light, engulfing him in a brilliant glow that blinded all of the trainers in the room. Randy had to duck behind his camera and darken the image a little to try and keep from being blinded while both Lance and Mark shadowed their eyes with their forearms, Garchomp lowering its head and waiting to see his opponent's ascension to a whole new level.

Tanker began to reappear, taking on the form that Mark hadn't seen since that day at Sycamore's temporary lab. The metal giant, with the massive half-moon shaped head, blue eyes and a body of metal sections with huge diamond spikes growing out of them, including the sharp point at the end of the tail. Encircling him, a ring of metal and mineral fragments, orbiting Tanker like an asteroid belt around a planet.

“So this is Mega Evolution," Lance said, awestruck by his first sight of a Mega Evolved Pokémon –even as the Champion of Kanto, he had never actually seen it before, and for one who had never witnessed it, it was a sight to behold. “Such power. Such magnificence!"

“Glad you like him," Mark stated. “Now get ready, because he's about to smash you like a hammer."

Tanker growled low in acknowledgement.

“We shall see about that!" Lance called. “Garchomp, Bulldoze!"

“Defense Curl!"

As Garchomp raised its foot to attack, the Mega Steelix coiled himself into a pile, a metallic blue sheen flashing across his body as the attack raised his Defense; Bulldoze struck, and Tanker barely moved an inch, clearly still suffering some discomfort, but not enough to stop him. “Now, Iron Head; low swing!"

With that command, Tanker surged forth, winding his head back swinging his upper body like a wrecking ball to strike out at Garchomp with his wide-berthing head sweeping across the floor, the fin jutting from his lower left jaw generating sparks as it dug into the stonework. The dragon reacted by jumping up into the air, clearing Tanker's attack safely.

But both Lance and Garchomp realized that was a mistake when Tanker twisted his tail about, spiking the end into the floor to anchor himself, and swung around in a full circle, bringing himself around for a second attack, this time slamming Garchomp full-force with his massive head. The shark-like dragon let out of sharp wheeze of air as it was struck, the wind knocked out of him, before it was sent flying across the room to strike the wall with bone-jarring force.

Garchomp lay there, partially inside of the wall and mouth agape with a stunned look on its face. And then, slowly, it fell away from the wall, collapsing to the floor and becoming still, not responding even when Lance called out to it and ran to its side.

“Is Garchomp alright?" Mark asked.

“Yes," replied Lance. “He'll be fine; he's just knocked out." He produced Garchomp's Poké Ball, recalling him, and then returned the ball to its holster hidden within his cape. Slowly, Lance stood up, and turned to look at Mark. “And that was quite creative of Tanker, to use the momentum of his own attack to carry into the next one while Garchomp was still in midair and vulnerable."

“We practiced that maneuver for months," Mark explained. “Tanker's my toughest Pokémon without question but a heavyweight Pokémon is easily beaten by opponents they can't catch."

“So you create a maneuver that prompts them to react poorly, such as when Garchomp jumped instead of ran because he thought you were aiming for his legs when you swung low," Lance analyzed, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Actually, that wasn't the only intent for the maneuver," Mark stated. “Be you a human or a Pokémon, one rule stays the same in battle; you're most vulnerable when you attack, right?"

“Right," agreed Lance, narrowing his eyes curiously.

“If Garchomp had run backward instead of jumping, and moved in to counter-attack while Tanker was supposedly vulnerable, he would've carried into that second swing and still struck Garchomp as it was closing in," Mark explained. “That's the idea behind that maneuver; to make up for lack of speed by covering the blind spot."

“Brilliant, Mark," complimented Lance. “Your prowess as a strategist appears to be shining forth again; you're regaining your strength as a trainer."

Mark felt a warmth in his chest at the compliment, but he forced himself to stay focused. Lance hadn't lost that fierce look in his eye; even though he was praising Mark now, the Dragon Master still had one Pokémon left.

“This will be the final test, then," Lance stated, drawing out his final Poké Ball; an Ultra Ball to be exact, recognized by the black top and yellow 'U' that marked it. Only the strongest Pokémon required such a ball to be used to catch them, and just seeing that –without even knowing what Pokémon was inside, Mark felt himself tense. Whatever was in that ball was going to be strong.

“Your Mega Steelix is mighty, but let us see how it fares against my strongest Pokémon," Lance continued, his words surprising Mark.

“Wait, your strongest?" He asked. “But everything I've read says that Dragonite is your strongest."

“With three Dragonite at my command it's hard to say which one is actually the strongest," Lance stated. “While they are certainly the ones who have been with me the longest, there is one Pokémon I possess that is more powerful than any one of them, and it is the one I hold in my hand right now."

Lance drew back his arm. “The time is now, Mark," he stated. “Where you know the true power of Dragon Pokémon!" And with that, he hurled the ball forward. “Come forth, Hydreigon!"

From the ball, the Pokémon emerged; Mark had known and expected Lance to have Hydreigon but not to hear it was actually his strongest Pokémon, and after having such difficulty against Goodra before, it made his heartrate increase in tempo. Tanker shifted uneasily, sensing his trainer's worry; the grinding of his body alerted Mark that he needed to stay focused –if his Pokémon could sense his fear, it would disrupt them.

And right now, there was no room for error. Not against what was coming.

As Hydreigon materialized, Mark got a full view of its terrifying glory. A flying monstrosity with six black wings growing from its back hovered in the air across the battlefield, with a matching upper body that covered it like a long-sleeve shirt, reaching the end of its arms that instead of having hands, held two blue heads with black eyes, followed by a third one in the middle at the end of a long neck. A blue face with black eyes, fuschia iris and a fuschia collar around its head, splayed out like flower petals. The rest of its body was blue, with two fuschia streaks running down its front and along the bottom of its tail.

“Now I'm in trouble," Mark said in a low tone.

“No worries, Mark!" Randy called out. “You said so yourself; you've got Pokémon who can handle Hydreigon just fine, right?"

“Except Lance has already beaten the ones I was referring to," Mark returned, darkly.

“Oh..."

Mark cursed under his breath. 'Without Vitesse or Siren I'm at a disadvantage; Hydreigon's a Special Attacker, not a physical. Tanker's defense against Special Attacks is too low, even Mega Evolved; he won't be able to withstand repeated hits.' He scowled, eyes falling to the floor. 'But Coal and Palm Tree aren't powerful enough to take on a Pseudo-Legendary like Hydreigon! I shouldn't have used Siren to take on Flygon; now I've backed myself into a corner I can't get out of! Maybe I should have used Scyther after all; he'd have a chance...'

He growled. 'But I have no idea what Scyther was capable of; there was no time to train with him! Hell, I don't even know what the hell Tanker's new power is while he's mega evolved! Damn it, I was too impatient; I was so eager for my battle with Lance I didn't think things through enough!'

_ “GROWR!!"_

_ _ Mark jumped at least a foot into the air at the growl, his arms flailing slightly as he fell again. He looked behind him, finding Fang back up on all fours and leering at him. Or... not so much of a leer as a scolding stare from the Mightyena. On a whim, Mark looked towards Tanker, to see the Steelix was looking back at him as well; Tanker couldn't exactly show expression due to his physiology but that look in his eye was just like Fang's; he was scolding Mark for losing his head when they were still in the middle of a battle, letting his emotions run away from the again.

Now it was Mark's turn to curse himself. 'Damn it... did I learn nothing from what Lance said?' He wondered. 'Or what my mom's been saying to me for years? I have to be patient –have to adapt. I was able to do that at the League when I battled Steven and I will do it again here.' His fists clenched. 'I'm a strategist, for crying out loud; time to man up and act like one.'

_ _ “Mark, are you alright?" Lance called as Mark finally snapped out of his trance.

“Sorry, Lance," Mark replied, shaking his head. “I was... kind of lost in my head for a second there."

“Your Pokémon were looking rather worried about you there," the dragon master stated. “Are you going to change out your Steelix or are you staying with him?"

“Just... give me another minute, okay?" Mark asked.

“Do hurry; my dragon doesn't like to be kept waiting," Lance warned Mark, followed by a feral growl from Hydreigon, who was staring rather hungrily at Steelix.

'Okay. Planning time; go over every detail this time, consider every angle, and analyze the battle as it's progressed,' thought Mark, shutting his eyes and letting the gears in his mind turn, running through everything he knew and had seen about this battle so far.

He thought about Hydreigon, and what he knew of them from past experiences, and then he thought about Lance and his battle-style.; focused on making his Pokémon play to their strengths and overwhelm his opponents with raw power, all while maintaining a cool head and steadfast determination to keep his dragons –and himself- under control at all times, and therefore control the battle as he saw fit...

He thought about the battle thus far, against Dragonite, Goodra, Flygon, Haxorus and Garchomp, how they had all proceeded and if there were any details he could make use of that revealed themselves throughout the battles...

He thought about Tanker, all of his moves he knew. 'Iron Head, Dig, Earthquake, Rock Tomb, Defense Curl and...'

_ _ His eyes flashed open, remembering the sixth and final move he had taught Tanker –it was the only one he hadn't used yet since coming to Kanto, and it was now his only chance.

'I've got it!' He exclaimed in his mind; he knew what to do.

“I'm staying with Tanker," Mark informed Lance. “I appreciate your patience, and from here on I promise there won't be any more delays." He clenched his hands into fists. “I'm in this to the finish, now." He looked back at Fang, smiling at the Mightyena and nodding to him. “Thanks, boy."

Fang's lips curled back a little, as if he were trying to smile as well. Of course, his face wasn't exactly built for showing expression.

“And thank you too, Tanker; got my head on straight now," he said to his Steelix. “Let's win this thing, eh?"

Tanker nodded his large head without looking back at Mark, keeping his attention focused on Hydreigon. The next battle was finally about to begin, with a Mega Steelix versus a Hydreigon, and this time, Mark knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. Twice in this battle, he'd lost his head; if he let it happen a third time or hesitated even once, it was all over.

“Hydreigon, go!" Lance called. “Unleash your fury with Fire Blast!"

'Of course it knows a Fire-type move!' Mark screamed in his head

Hydreigon reared back its middle head, a fireball appearing in its mouth. Mark acted quickly. “Tanker, Sandstorm!"

And there it was; Tanker unleashed his sixth attack –the last one Mark had taught him. He reared up, standing upright on his tail, and roared as his upper body began to spin in place, generating a powerful wind and conjuring a cloud of dust all around himself, creating the whirlwind of sand just as Hydreigon unleashed its attack. The star-shaped blast of fire soared into the whirling sand, but was quickly choked out by it as it intensified, having no effect.

“Draco Meteor!" Lance commanded.

Hydreigon began to power up its attack, but was buffeted by the sandstorm, causing it to hesitate. It suffered some minor scratches from the blowing sand, but it shook it off and then unleashed the attack, rearing back its middle head and roaring into the air as several lights appeared on the ceiling above, staying there only briefly before transforming into flaming projectiles, falling upon the sandstorm and showering the area where Tanker had been prior to conjuring the storm, but they could no longer see him or Mark, and could not be certain of their target.

Several explosive impacts, but no roars of pain from the Steelix.

Lance, forced to bring up his cape to duck behind as the sandstorm intensified, sneered with a suspicious glare as he stared into the sandstorm. “Where did it go?" He wondered aloud. “It must be in there!" He looked up. “Hydreigon! Be alert; it could come from anywhere!"

Lance was confident that Hydreigon would be safe from attack from below, as his levitate ability made him immune to attacks like Earthquake. Sooner or later, Tanker would have to emerge from the Sandstorm to attack, or it would clear and reveal him first, or Hydreigon would land a lucky shot; either way, he couldn't simply wait for the attack itself to wear him down.

But it appeared that Lance had been deceived.

He felt the tremor below his feet, instinctively looking down at his boots to see what was causing the ground to quake, only to be startled as the ground in front of him suddenly exploded, and a humongous form erupted from the ground, bringing out with it dirt and sand as it emerged and rose up into the air, like a Sharpedo attacking its prey from below. Lance looked up in shock, Hydreigon looked behind it with a start, but was too late to react; Tanker plunged straight at him, throwing all of his weight into Hydreigon head-first with the strongest Iron Head he had ever unleashed.

Hydreigon hit the ground like one of the very meteors he had unleashed only a moment before, sent skidding across the floor like a hockey puck on ice, growling as the blowing sand stung his eyes and angered him further.

“What?!" Lance demanded. “When did he use Dig?!"

“Rock Tomb!" Mark's voice called from beyond the Sandstorm. Barely audible, but enough that Tanker received the command.

Tanker reared back once again, and as before with Garchomp, stones appeared above him and began to bombard the grounded Hydreigon. But the Dark/Dragon-type Pokémon was quick, evading the first volley of stones that would have otherwise crushed him, and turning to face Tanker, attacking with another Fire Blast at Lance's command.

Tanker ducked, narrowly avoiding the attack, and retaliated with yet another Rock Tomb, resuming the bombardment of stones that had Hydreigon ducking and dodging, weaving side-to-side to avoid getting smacked out of the air. One stone had its mark, though, falling towards him from above, but he caught it in the mouths at the end of his arms, shattering it with the force of their bite. Without even awaiting Lance's order, Hydreigon launched Fire Blast again, and Tanker could not avoid a third time, taking the attack to his flank and making him cringe.

Yet somehow, he withstood it, determined not to lose and lunging forth at Hydreigon with another Iron Head. Hydreigon was too focused on dodging the falling rocks to see Tanker coming, bringing his arms up in defense and catching Tanker by his lower jaw in his three mouths.

“Crunch!" Lance ordered.

Hydreigon applied pressure with his three mouths, but Tanker did not even react to the attack; his body was so hard, Crunch did practically nothing despite Steel-types having no resistance to Dark-type moves, and moved to plunge his head straight into the ground with Hydreigon still latched on. “Get away!" Lance ordered, prompting Hydreigon to let go of Tanker and narrowly avoid getting flattened by the diving Steelix. “Now, Fire Blast again!"

Tanker dropped flat to avoid the Fire Blast this time, waiting until it soared over him before he retreated back into the sandstorm he had conjured, once more hiding himself from view as it raged on. More of the blowing sand assailed Hydreigon, irritating him all the more as it bit into his flesh –he swiped his arm at the air as if trying to attack the sand itself, which of course was futile.

“Hydreigon! Keep yourself under control!" Lance ordered his dragon. “We must stay level-headed if we are to win this!"

Hydreigon seemed to calm down a little at Lance's words, but even so, this battle was escalating too quickly; Hydreigon were violent Pokémon by nature, perceiving everything that moves as their enemy, and even one tamed by Lance was at risk of giving in to its battle instincts. He had to end this battle quickly before it came to that.

“Hydreigon; we need to expose that Steelix somehow!" Lance informed. “Use Tailwind to try and blow away the sandstorm!"

Following Lance's instructions, Hydreigon splayed out its six wings, flying higher to get a better angle from above, and thrust its arms forward, unleashing a powerful windstorm from seemingly nowhere, blowing into the whirling sandstorm filling up the room and concealing Tanker from sight, all the while Lance kept watch for anymore attempts to get the drop on Hydreigon with another Rock Tomb or to come at him from below with Dig.

The Tailwind blew into the Sandstorm, and soon the two weather forces collided, the visible sand become distorted and blowing apart in places as it raged on against the Sandstorm. It seemed to be working, though; the Sandstorm was clearing, slowly being blown apart by the windstorm, until finally Tanker was unveiled, waiting in the middle of the storm along with Mark, still right where he had been before.

“Tanker, Rock Tomb!" Mark called to his Steelix, once more bringing on the onslaught of falling stones for Hydreigon to try and avoid.

Unlike before, however, Hydreigon wasn't successful; the battle was starting to wear him down, and he had become slower. One of the falling boulders struck him and knocked him out of the air. Tanker then rushed forward and tried to land an Iron Head on him, but even slowed the Hydreigon still dodged just in time to avoid damage.

“Now, Fire Blast, one more time!" Lance called out.

“Dig!"

Tanker plunged into the ground before Hydreigon could launch the attack, tunneling to safety just in time as the fire blast exploded where he had been standing a second before. Tanker was heard burrowing below the ground as Hydreigon caught its breath, drained from using Fire Blast so many times. Seizing the opportunity, Tanker erupted from directly below Hydreigon, launching itself up at him; he banked away just in time, but then Tanker arched himself to fall over Hydreigon, and this time the dragon could not get away as he was smacked by Tanker's jaw in one last Iron Head attack.

Hydreigon was sent hurting to the ground like a spiked tennis ball, even bouncing like one too before he slid to a stop on the stone floor. The dragon growled ferally, trying to push himself up to resume fighting, but he collapsed, and lay still on the stone floor.

“Hydreigon?" Lance called, but his dragon didn't respond.

The battle was over.

“You did it!" Randy exclaimed. “You won, man!"

Mark released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, calming his nerves. In the meantime, Lance recalled Hydreigon to his Poké Ball and Tanker devolved back to the form of a regular Steelix. Only then did Lance let the shock of the defeat set in, dropping to one knee as he felt suddenly weak in one knee, eyes falling to the floor.

“My dragons..." He whispered. “We lost."

“Lance?" Mark called. “Are you okay?"

He watched, waiting for the Dragon Master to reply. For a moment, Lance was silent, his mind swimming, searching for some answer as to where he went wrong. But after a while, he stood up, his expression softened as he looked across the room to Mark. “I'm fine," he assured, smiling gently as he and Mark crossed the battlefield to meet each other. “Well done, Mark; that was an amazing battle."

“Well done yourself," Mark returned, smiling back as he and Lance shook hands. “I don't think I've had a match that exciting since my battle with Randy for the Hoenn Championship title."

“Indeed?" Lance asked, looking past Mark at the other trainer. “Perhaps next time I should battle him, to see how we compare."

Randy laughed light-heartedly, grinning. “Anytime you want, dragon man."

Lance laughed as well, before he looked at Mark again. “I want to go over that battle with you a little bit, but first, how about we all get some lunch? And since you won, it'll be my treat."

“Sounds great!" Mark agreed, nodding and looking back at Tanker and Fang. “What do you think, guys?"

Both elicited growls of agreement; Fang was even wagging his tail at the idea, quite famished from the battle himself, although Mark suddenly stiffened as he remembered how hurt Fang's mouth was; it was doubtful that it'd be safe for him to eat anything too solid with his mouth all torn up from his battle with Garchomp.

“Er... but first, I'd say a visit to the Pokémon Center is in order."

“An excellent suggestion," agreed Lance.

~~~~~

The front yard outside of the league was alive with activity as eighteen Pokémon enjoyed a meal together in the sun. Mark, Lance and Randy had let out their partners to treat them to lunch, and for them all to meet one another while their trainers went over the details of the battle, sitting at the top of the stairway leading up to the main doors as they conversed, where they could watch their Pokémon from closeby, and still have the quiet they needed for their conversation, while enjoying sandwiches and lemonade bought from the store.

They had just reached the discussion of Mark's final battle plan for taking on Hydreigon, and how he had come up with the strategy. Lance listened attentively, and waited until Mark was finished before he tried to narrow down the details. “So at first, you thought the floor we were on was solid stone?"

“I did," Mark replied. “And that was a miscalculation on my part, particularly after I saw Garchomp use Bulldoze and even that didn't tell me immediately. It wasn't until I snapped out of my little panic episode that I finally realized it. I saw how the ground seemingly bent upwards, and only then it dawned on me, stone doesn't bend, therefore the floor couldn't have been entirely stone."

Lance chuckled. “Indeed, it's an honest mistake, and one of the challenges of the League –to understand your surroundings. I had the room renovated after I caught Garchomp and Flygon, knowing that if they couldn't use their ground-type moves I'd be denying them an array of possible attacks. So I hired an expert engineering crew to rework the floor of the champion's room without causing any problems to the foundation."

“I see," Mark returned. “Anyway, once I had that figured out, I knew I could use Dig to get Tanker out of danger. The biggest obstacle I had to work around was having only two attacks that would actually affect Hydreigon; such limitations would get predictable after a while, and when that happens you need to get a little unconventional."

“Like the way Steelix used Iron Head, and his repeated barrages with Rock Tomb to keep the pressure on Hydreigon even from afar."

“Bingo. Furthermore, Sandstorm also allowed Tanker to stay hidden until he could attack, which was really handy when I found out Hydreigon could use Fire Blast. Two shots from that and Tanker would've been toast. Another thing I came up with was the hopes I could force Hydreigon into melee combat; at that range, Tanker would've had every edge."

“In the end your tactics prevailed over my team," Lance commented. “That was very well done. I'm impressed you figured out my opening strategy with Dragonite, to gauge my opponents and their fighting style."

“Usually, the only reason a trainer would use such a powerful Pokémon on the first round would be to get an early advantage on their opponent," Mark explained, taking a sip from his can of lemonade before he continued. “It's a simple but effective approach, and one I've seen many trainers adopt. But you have a near-perfect battle record and have been the Kanto Champion for seven years –there's no way your strategy could have been that simple.

“And sure enough, it wasn't. You had taken a simple strategy and transformed it into something far more advanced; by switching up your Dragonites you never have the same one twice, so a returning opponent who thinks they know how to beat it would get caught completely off-guard when they're faced with a completely different Pokémon. Alternatively, you also increase your chances of choosing the right Pokémon first to gain the early advantage a power team like yours depends on. Even then you had a backup plan, bringing along a highly balanced and diverse team, including a defensive tank like Gooda and speedy Pokémon like Flygon and Garchomp."

Lance clapped his hands at Mark's analysis. “Very good, Mark," he said, chuckling light-heartedly. “It is fortunate for me that you aren't a trainer from Kanto, else I think I'd be passing on the mantle of Champion right about now!"

Mark shared the laugh. “Maybe so," he said.

“Now, I would like to ask you something," began Lance.

“Yes?"

“Mega Evolution," Lance began. “I have not seen it before; heard of it, and I know Red himself has a Pokémon that can use it. I feel it may be the next step to raising my Pokémon to the next level." He looked squarely at Mark. “What else can you tell me about it? And do I have any Pokémon that are capable of it?"

Mark considered Lance's question briefly, thinking back before answering Lance. “As a matter of fact, you do," he replied. “One of whom you used in our battle. Garchomp."

“Garchomp can Mega Evolve?"

Mark nodded. “Yep. You need two things though, before you can do it. Let me show you." Mark looked up, peering into the crowd of Pokémon and spotting Vitesse among them, calling out to her and asking her to come over. Randy did the same, calling for the three Pokémon he had that were capable of Mega Evolution, namely Skyclaw, Thorn and Cairo. All four Pokémon approached at their trainer's call, lining up at the bottom of the stairs as the three stood up and descended to meet them.

“See this here?" Mark asked, reaching over to Vitesse's shoulder and tapping the harness she wore across her chest, in which her mega stone was housed. “This stone here is a Blazikenite –it's the Mega Stone for Blaziken. While Vitesse has it on her, she can Mega Evolve whenever I need her to, and she becomes a Mega Blaziken."

“Is it really as simple as that?" Lance asked.

“Not quite," Mark continued. “Notice the stones on Randy's Pokémon?"

Lance turned to look where Mark pointed, first to Cairo, who wore his stone like a necklace, noting the amber colour of the stone's exterior, and the shape inside of it which was curling and twisting like a DNA strand, and was blue and red. He then moved onto Thorn, to the gladiator-style harness he wore on his chest that housed his own stone, which was a light green on the outside, with a darker green and red on the inside with its inside shape. Finally, he looked at the stone Skyclaw wore as a choker on her neck, which was white on the outside, and red and blue inside. At first he was excited to know that a Salamence could Mega Evolve, but the difference between the stones suddenly dawned on him.

“They're all different colours," he said. “So... each stone is specific to a certain Pokémon?"

“That's correct," Mark explained. “You can't just find any Mega Stone and stick it onto any Pokémon that you know is capable of Mega Evolution –if it's not the specific stone for their species, it won't do a thing." He gestured to Vitesse. “if I were to put her stone on another Blaziken, it could work, provided I have the other requirements. But if I stuck that onto Cairo, or gave it to a Blaziken's pre-evolved form, Combusken, it'd just be a paperweight to them. Basically useless."

“And it gets even more complicated from there," Randy went on, fishing into his shirt to pull out the amulet that housed his keystone. “See this here?"

“Just like the one Mark has," commented Lance.

“Yep. This is a keystone," Randy explained. “Think of having the mega stone as step one; having this is step two. It works in sync with any mega stone so you don't need to have more than one, but it's through this stone that you can prompt a Pokémon to Mega Evolve."

“And is there are third step?" Lance inquired.

“Yes," Mark began. “A Pokémon will only Mega Evolve for a trainer it has a close bond with. You see, Mega Evolution is triggered by the trainer, not the Pokémon itself, and it draws upon their power to evolve further. But if the trainer doesn't care about their Pokémon or vice versa, they won't Mega Evolve no matter how many times you touch the keystone."

“I think I understand," Lance stated, putting a hand to his chin in thought. “So if I wanted Garchomp to Mega Evolve, I need to find a Mega Stone for him and a keystone for myself, and I need to be certain that Garchomp trusts me enough that he'll mega evolve."

“That's right," Mark explained. “But there's one last thing you need to consider."

“What's that?"

“Mega Evolution is not without risk," Mark explained. “When a Pokémon undergoes it for the first time, it can have adverse side effects."

Lance's expression turned from curious to concerned as Mark explained. “Side effects? Like what?"

“For some, their new power is hard to master," Mark explained. “Some Pokémon gain special abilities that change the whole way they can battle, but going into battle without practicing these abilities could be catastrophic." He looked at Vitesse. “When Vitesse Mega Evolves, she gains a power called 'Speed Boost'; her speed continues to increase as the battle continues, until she becomes faster than the blink of an eye.

“However, when she first Mega Evolved and tried it out, she couldn't control her speed; we underestimated how fast she'd become and how quickly the ability kicked in. She lost control of her sprint; I lost sight of her and I guess she ended up in a nearby copse of trees; when Palm Tree and I found her she had collided with one of them and knocked herself senseless. I was worried a worse injury could've happened if we weren't careful, so we spent two months training to master it after that."

“There have also been incidents where a Lucario Mega Evolved and its new power had an unfortunate effect on its mind," Randy continued, looking at Cairo. “When they become a Mega Lucario their Aura becomes really powerful, so much so that without proper training they can't control it, and it overwhelms their senses, causing them to go into a blind rage –almost like a berserker. That almost happened to Cairo when I first evolved him; he struggled to stay in focused and then forcefully devolved himself to get it under control." Randy visibly shuddered, reliving that memory. “That... was one really scary time."

Lance narrowed his eyes, humming in thought as he considered everything the two trainers told him, before he let out a sigh. “It seems there is much to Mega Evolution I will need to understand before I attempt to utilize it myself."

“If you want sound advice from a real expert in the field, you'll want to speak to Professor Sycamore of Kalos," Mark advised. “He's the world's leading authority on Mega Evolution; everything that there is to know, he'll be able to tell you. Kalos is also the ideal place to look for a lot of Mega Stones; most I think are actually found there."

“Then I suppose I will have to make a trip over to Kalos sometime in the near future," Lance stated, and smiled and nodded at the two trainers. “Thank you all for sharing this information with me. If I ever find a Mega Stone, Mark, I hope you will come back and challenge me again, so that I may test my Pokémon against you once more."

Mark smiled and nodded back to Lance. “I would welcome a rematch with you, Lance."

“I suppose you will be on your way then, soon, to find and challenge Kanto's greatest trainer?" Lance inquired.

Mark's smiled faded somewhat, and he once again nodded his head. “Yes. There's still one trainer I need to battle here in Kanto before I take my journey to new places."

With a final nod to Mark, Lance held out his hand to the former Hoenn Champion. “Then I wish you the best of luck, my friend," he stated, meeting Mark's gaze as he grasped Lance's hand. “I truly think you have the potential to succeed in your journey; you have great strength. But your next opponent is a living legend among Pokémon Trainers the world over. You will need to bring everything you have if you are to have a chance. There will be no room for error against Red."

“I understand," Mark returned. “I will face Red only when I'm prepared."

They pulled back their hands, and Lance called out to his Pokémon, telling them it was time to head back. They quickly rallied to his side, bidding goodbye to their new friends among Mark and Randy's Pokémon, who parted to let them get to the stairs and accompany Lance back to the main terminal building, leaving Mark and Randy to stare after him until he disappeared through the doors, and left the two to consider their next move.

“So, where we heading to next; on to Pewter to find Red?" Randy asked.

“No... not yet," Mark replied.

“Why not?" Randy inquired.

“Because I'm not ready to take on Red yet," Mark replied, turning to look at Vitesse, who shared his uncertainty. “Our battle today proved that."

“You beat the freaking Champion of Kanto, and Red's rival, Blue; how much more proof do you need that you're ready?"

“We're just not," Mark stated firmly. “My battles... first with Blue, and with Lance. I may have won them both, but looking back on them now I could have done so much better, and I can finally see where I've been going all wrong. Against Blue, my primary tactic –to save Palm Tree to take on Blastoise, worked like a charm. But that strategy did not work against Lance; I knew he had a Hydreigon and I was pretty sure he was bringing it for this battle, but I wasn't able to save either of the Pokémon I intended to use for it, relying on Tanker to win the battle, but even after that I still don't even know what Mega Steelix's power is! At this point I'm wondering how the hell I even won."

Mark shook his head. “I can't keep going like this, not against the competition I'm facing. Especially not how I went today; I should've had another contingency –I even had the means to do so in the form of Scyther but I was so eager to battle Lance I didn't bother taking the time to do so. Scyther would've had more of a chance against Hydreigon than even Tanker did. But even before that, the way I battle Goodra is further sign of my blundering; I knew nothing about Goodra and assumed Siren's increased attack strength would be enough, but it wasn't, and then I bumbled Vitesse right into a trap, losing her too."

Mark looked squarely at Randy. “Blue was right about them needing more training, but I do too. I need to get back into practicing with them –properly this time, and start studying again; I'm going to finally learn what Tanker and Scyther are capable of so that the next time I battle with them, I'll be ready. Furthermore, both Lance and my mom showed me that I've been way too impulsive, and refused to acknowledge it, not to mention my worst mistake today, when I started panicking when Hydreigon showed up. If it wasn't for Fang snapping me out of it, and prompting me to take the time to analyze the situation, we'd have lost."

Randy listened to Mark's long, drawn-out speech about his imperfections, clearly having trouble piecing together how Mark could be so distraught even though he had won. “Why isn't it just enough for you that you beat Lance?"

“A strategist learns from their battles, in victory and especially from defeat, and ascertains where he can find improvement," Mark stated. “Besides..." His gaze fell somewhat. “Lance gave me a handicap when he told me where I went wrong after Vitesse lost to Goodra –he wanted the battle to be fair, and it was only by pointing out my mistake that it remained such. Any other trainer would've taken advantage of my blundering; it's pretty unlikely all of my opponents are as going to be as generous as he was. I didn't want to say it to him, but I don't consider this battle a full win, not knowing that my own opponent had to help me fix my errors."

Randy let out a long, exasperated sigh. “You have got to be the only guy I've met who will pick apart his victories to find all of the details –good and bad," he commented, sighing. “I'd tell you nobody's perfect, but I don't think that'd be enough to convince you otherwise. Maybe you're right; maybe there is more you can do." He smiled at Mark. “So why the hell not? I'll even help you train if you want."

“You will?" Mark asked.

“Sure. I really want to see you take on Red, but these past few days I think I also really want to see you win," he said. “Besides, this journey you're on is going to take you places, and I'd be stupid not to hang around to see how it goes –I might as well earn my keep by helping you see it through."

Mark smiled at Randy, feeling quite humbled by his generosity and that he was so eager to see this journey through –even if it was not his journey. He nodded gratefully to him. “Thanks man."

“Let's use the rest of the time we have this week for training," said Randy. “And then, we should go to the convention; take a little break, then get back to it. Soon as you're all set, we'll find Red, and you can have your epic clash with Kanto's living legend."

Mark's smiled broadened. “Now there is a good plan," he said.

Their Pokémon elicited cries of agreement, motivated by Randy's words. Thus, it was official; the journey about to rise to a whole new level, and it would be up to them, working together as a team, to be prepared for it. The entire adventure had been started by Mark, but it was Randy's adventure now too.

With their plan set, the two trainers gathered up their Pokémon, mounted up onto their fliers, and left the Indigo Plateau behind, to find a place where they could train in peace, and prepare for the greater challenges that still lay ahead...

Note to Readers:

Some of you may have noticed Tanker suddenly knowing Defense Curl instead of Iron Defense as he was using in a previous chapter. Well it turns out Steelix actually can't learn Iron Defense –which, even now to me makes no sense, but even if I'm breaking the rule of Pokémon only knowing four moves, I'm not going to break the rule of what attacks they can and cannot learn –with the exception of Thorn having 'Tree Missile' which, isn't a real attack, but should have been in my honest opinion.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear that up; I made I mistake and I'll probably go back to the last chapter where Tanker used Iron Defense to make corrections. We're now in the final stretch of this arc with only a few chapters left!