EPISODE 29: Breaking the Laws of Friction!*

With the patient determination of the spider, something as intricate as a web can be fashioned again and again. Passion is my rocket fuel, but it is only when combined with determination that lift-off occurs. I want this battle to end with no blood spilled on the floor. Hopefully, before the sun sets Shelgon will be able to either evolve or learn a new move. I saw her passion when she looked at Salamence, her willpower is as those of a young chick determined to fly.

"Let the battle begin!" Cynthia proclaimed loudly, lifting her arms to the skies and signaling the commencing of the match.

I started off with my Mismagius, a ghost type that can surely haunt our opponents.

Logan sent out a Luxio, a fast-pace tiger-like Pokemon. It bears extreme speed, like Manectric.

Dawn sent out her Lopunny, a normal type with the capability of attracting masculine Pokemon.

Lastly, Lucas debuted his Staraptor, the king of the skies for its keen eyes exceeds any bird types.

So far, so good, Cynthia seems expressionless about our Pokemon. No signs of her planning to critique our Pokemon. Like what psychologists say, you can determine a Pokemon's bond through the look of their eyes. I'm pretty sure Cynthia, the strongest champion for me, knows a lot about this strategy.

"Let's start this match with an adrenaline rush, Agility!" Lucas commanded first, followed by Dawn who commanded her Lopunny to use Headbutt on Luxio.

"Luxio, keep a keen eye on Staraptor for me!"

<Lux!> Luxio slowly nodded.

"Mystical fire on Lopunny!" I instructed Mismagius. Wrong choice, if only I would've known that Dawn would send out her Lopunny, I'd choose something else. I read a book about this once, ghost types are completely ineffective against normal types. That is a big disadvantage for us.

Mystical Fire, the user sends out fireballs aplenty, lets it surround the foe and attack it afterward. This is what Mismagius did, and luckily it was able to extinguish Lopunny's Headbutt attack. Mismagius also knows thunderbolt, another move that I can use against both foes.

"Luxio, now proceed with Volt Tackle on Lopunny!"

"Thunderbolt of Staraptor, Mismagius!"

"Dodge the attack Staraptor and go for Giga Impact on Mismagius!"

<Star! Star! Star!>Staraptor dodged the thunderbolt thanks to its agility move in the first round. It then used Giga Impact on Mismagius who was unable to dodge the attack right on time. Meanwhile, Luxio was able to hit Lopunny who also failed to dodge. In return, recoil damage was dealt upon Luxio.

"Use attract, Lopunny, and gather Luxio's attention!" Dawn went for the guessing game, not knowing whether Luxio was a feminine or a masculine.

"Staraptor, now go for Quick Attack!"

"Mismagius, shadow ball on the ice!"

<Mis! Mis! Mis!> Mismagius targeted for the ice battlefield. It made a swirling storm of snow splatter to the sky, blinding Staraptor in the process or so I thought. It continued the attack and was able to detect my Mismagius. Then I remembered what the Pokedex stated, their eyes are keen and through snow or dust they can see through.

"One more round of Giga Impact!" Lucas commanded.

"Quick Luxio, Volt Switch on Staraptor!"

<Lux!>Luxio sent out an electrifying sphere and sent it towards the foe. It was super effective since Luxio was an electric type and at the same time, it allowed Luxio to be substituted with another Pokemon. Luxio took a break as Loudred took charge.

"Oh no." Lucas was panicking after his Staraptor was paralyzed. Staraptor flapped slower, it couldn't concentrate as electricity flowed through its body. Its whole body was shivering. A spectator could do nothing but sympathize with it.

"Staraptor, don't mind the pain, focus on the battlefield!" Lucas encouraged.

"This is your chance, Mismagius, thunderbolt towards it!"

<Lo! Lopunny!>Lopunny went in front of Staraptor as commanded by Dawn. Her attract did not work for Luxio switched and Loudred was a feminine so Dawn made the decision to let her Pokemon absorb the move.

"Hyper Voice, Loudred go!" Logan followed it up with hyper voice, a very irritating move to the ears. I was looking at Cynthia while Logan does his move and she seemed impressed with her mouth slightly opened.

"Both sides are in perfect sync. Thunderbolt was absorbed by Lopunny, this gives Logan an opportunity to attack by using a move that affects both." the champion said to herself, observing our match precisely.

Now that both Pokemon are paralyzed, this gave me and Logan to proceed with our attacks. Loudred used stomp, and lastly, Mismagius used Mystical Fire. The results showed we were on the upper hand with two Pokemon remaining for both Lucas and Dawn.

I went for a substitute, switching Mismagius with Shelgon. I thought of this moment as the perfect opportunity for her to learn Aerial Ace or much better, evolve into a Salamence. Meanwhile, Logan stuck with Loudred.

"Staraptor return, come out now Snover!"

"Ponyta, flame on!"

"Let the battle continue!" Cynthia declared.

Snover is an advantage against my Shelgon but little does it know I have some moves up my sleeves that are also weak against it. Ember, a fire type move. This will surely melt Snover's passion and self-esteem when it loses.

"Snover use powder snow on Shelgon!"

"Dodge it right now, Shelgon!" I instructed. This was the moment to see if Shelgon still has her will for training. She first glares at the attack heading towards her. She then bent her body, and like a Ponyta, she galloped her legs, two at a time. The front, followed by the back as proposed by her new mentor Salamence.

Two seconds past and the attack is still incoming. She was already sweating which made her stop for a moment. Because of her pause, Shelgon received the attack. Seeing her in a dilemma, I wiped off my sweat and encouraged her to stand. Powder Snow was a super effective move!

"Logan, Dawn, let Lucas and Luna have the match." Cynthia paused the battle for a moment, making the other two trainers as spectators of my match against Lucas. This made the two of us worried for as competitors, we earnestly wanted to impress Cynthia to prove how strong and close we are to our Pokemon.

In the background, sitting on the bench, Logan and Dawn cheered for both of us to keep things equal. My heart kept on throbbing when suddenly the idea came in. Enough focusing on the formulas I've tried to memorize, it's time to make my own.

"What can I do? Observe the surroundings, that is number one in Pokemon battling." I told myself, examining the battlefield and ding! I think I know how to handle a Pokemon which is a disadvantage against mine. The spotlight was on me and Lucas, everyone else was in goosebumps to see who would win.

"Snover, repeat! Powder Snow!" Lucas stayed with the same tactic.

"Don't run, glide! Glide behind that rock!"

<Shelgon! Shel!> Shelgon glided and because of the slippery ice, it made her fast no matter how heavy she was. She used the stone as a shield against the frosty attack. I was filled with pride when this plan of mine worked. More ideas came in, and this thought me, perhaps running is not always necessary. Perhaps, I and Shelgon can do more?

"Razor Leaf now!" Lucas proceeded.

"Roll around to dodge!"

<Shel!>Shelgon followed with a nod. She rolled her body through the ice which made her fast. This technique also made Shelgon dodge the attack.

"Ah?! Keep it up with Razor Leaf again and again!" Lucas encouraged and I for one know that he's running out of ideas while my brain is filled with plans aplenty.

"Keep on rolling to dodge, as you do so, go nearer to the foe!"

<Shelgon!> Shelgon agreed and continued rolling. Through dodging by my new technique, I noticed, Shelgon's pace was increasing. She kept on bumping through the icy stones making this match seem more like an extreme pinball game. I was getting pumped up, her speed was finally increasing by rolling her body. Lucas was getting triggered that his plans were all getting dodged right in front of his eyes.

"Now go for it!" I told Shelgon. With the energy she gained from rolling, Shelgon dashed at Snover and hits it like a bowling ball punching down a pin to the ground. It turned out to be a success. Snover never saw that coming and Shelgon continuously damaged it by rolling. Her body was glowing in white, and there I knew she learned a new move.

Not Aerial Ace but rather a move that is worth the training. It was known as Roll-Out, a rock type move. She hasn't evolved but a new move is worth smiling for. Shelgon persistently went with Roll-Out, giving no opportunity for Snover to escape until it fainted.

She was like a car, moving back and forth to crush the body of a cat. She was the wheel who made me win a match against an official trainer. This time, it is an official win unlike my match with Brendan which was only a technical win...