Refight

Two weeks have now passed in the city of Corsocoast. Max and his team prepared like never before within that time frame. Bonny, Aurora, and May trained with a very rigorous training schedule almost all day long every day. However, they still offered themselves some quality time with their master Max. Blue, the sawk that was training them, didn't have any objections. On the contrary, he even told them that training is good, but the relationship is primordial. But unfortunately, they had to say their goodbyes to Blue after the fourth training day along with him wishing the group good luck and he strictly advised them to not slack off with their training routines. Scarlet and Luna didn't do much besides wandering around and doing as they pleased. For Scarlet, however, she made sure to keep an eye on Jade every time Max let her out and also made good use of the little bet she and Bonny made; nothing too extreme, but enough for Bonny to consider their bets more thoroughly next time. As for Jade, Max was happy to see that she was slowly getting less… introvert. She still doesn't engage willingly in conversations and preferred to not get involved in any sort of activity if possible, but at least she was speaking her mind a little more when spoken to. And as for Max, he did some requests for the trainer hand-land company almost every day for a regular income in the meantime. The jobs he did were less troublesome than the one with the nidoqueen but had to be taken care of nonetheless, allowing him to have a decent amount of pocket money in the end. He also talked to Aurora about the mega evolution and she quickly agreed on trying it out in her spare time. Unfortunately, every attempt resulted in failure. There was a time where Aurora would have blamed Max for their failures, but now, she instead theorized that it was not working because their bond wasn't strong enough, with what she tried to remedy that a couple of times with some intimate moments with him.

We are now on the day of the rematch against Dulshin. Max and his team are waiting in the challengers' room. It was the beginning of the afternoon since they were the ones that will start off the second half of the day matches.

Like agreed, Bonny, Aurora, and May took three days of rest before the impending rematch and the girls decided to spend that time at the beach once more to relax. He didn't see any problems with that but told them to take it easy as it was the condition. They did various things at the beach; some wanted to just relax in the sand while the rest played in the water for a while. And after that, May suggested having some good ol' competition with soft volleyball matches and crafting sandcastles. However, those moments weren't as relaxing as Max could have wished due to some male humans ogling and throwing flirts at Luna in her human illusion. Max didn't like it but knew that it was better to just ignore them and hoping they would get bored trying to seduce his zoroark. Unfortunately, some were very stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. Very few even went to the usual schtick of, "come on, babe, you'll be better off sticking with us strong men, abandon that weakling". That and a couple of other generic but lame flirts.

At some point, he had to calm Scarlet down a couple of times to prevent her from 'beating them to death' as she said. Luna was quite the very patient type of girl, but it eventually really started to irritate her quite a bit. Not due to them per se, but she was getting rather hostile towards those who had some animosity towards Max with their comments. So she decided to take action and put an end to that: she went towards two of the biggest of them and briefly feigned being interested. When at paws reach, she gently touched their cheeks before smashing brutally their heads against each other. When Max saw them dropping on the ground, he thought that she might have killed them. Fortunately, the sounds of groaning and their bodies gesticulating in horrible pain proved him otherwise. Some other guys came to their aid and helped them to stand, barely alive. After that, they were left alone for the rest of their stay, and Luna was then dubbed as the monster of the beach. But that didn't prevent some envious and angry glares when she had her back turned. Thanks to those three days, his three fighters were now looking pumped for the fight.

{We got this in the bag.} Bonny assured while doing some warm-ups.

"You sure do look very confident." Max pointed out.

{Well, you don't really ooze confidence yourself right now, so some of us need to.} Aurora teased, sitting next to him.

"Sorry. I gotta admit, girls, I've been feeling nervous with each passing hour since this morning."

{Hmphf. And here I thought you put trust in our strength.}

{I'm sure that's not the reason, Aurora.} May defended her trainer.

"Thanks, sweety. I guess the fact that I'm gonna be again in front of a crowd it's getting to me, not to mention we're only a few minutes away."

Scarlet, who was sitting on the other side of him, noticed how shaky one of his legs was, tapping repeatedly the floor.

{Relax, master.} Scarlet reassured while putting a hand on one of his. {Everything will be alright. We are more prepared now. Bonny, Aurora, and May became stronger and we have the mind command, so now you can think of strategies and change them if needed directly with the one currently fighting.}

"What's the distance you can cover with that?"

{Enough to stay out of sight and for a little while. Just try not to make it last for an hour.}

"It shouldn't take that long. If the girls are indeed stronger, it's gonna be fast, whoever wins."

{Or last forever if our strength is evenly matched.} Aurora pointed out, making Scarlet and Max glared at her. {What?}

{I'm afraid Aurora might have a point.} Luna said. {If both parties' strengths are equal and no one holds back, it could indeed take a while. If it's the case, it will be a battle of endurance.}

"Then we're gonna have to go up a notch."

{Well said.} Bonny praised. {In any case, no way they can withstand my mega form now.}

"True, so I was thinking of calling you in for last. You will be our trump card."

Max then heard Aurora scoff.

"Be patient, beautiful, we will get there eventually," Max reassured, hugging her while petting her head.

{Stop calling me that.} Aurora demanded with a blush, pushing him away.

"But you are beautiful."

{Grha. Not the point.} Aurora growled, looking away.

{It doesn't please me very much to be the last one, but you're right. The strongest fighters go last.}

"It's a common strategy. Rare are those who use them first."

Even though the room was at half capacity, Scarlet attracted some curious eyes, which brushed her the wrong side, like usual, but Max managed to convince her to ignore them. Fortunately for her, it was now time for the battle.

"Ready, girls?" Max asked, receiving a nod from Bonny, Aurora, and May.

Putting them in their pokeball, Max took a long, deep breath.

{You got this, master.} Scarlet encouraged, giving him a brief shoulder massage.

"We'll give it our best. Can't really do more than that."

{You can do it.} Dusk encouraged as well.

{I will now take my leave, but keep in mind that I won't be far.} Scarlet reassured, at which Max nodded.

Before teleporting away, Scarlet gave him a quick, good luck kiss. Max then left the room and went towards the arena entrance with his companions; Luna, Jade, and Dusk. Luckily, he only waited a minute more before Dulshin made her entrance. Shortly after, his name was called. Doing his best to look confident, he walked the path that was leading outside to the arena.

As soon as he was in the open, cheers raised from the spectator's benches. He didn't know if he was imagining things or not, but the cheers sounded louder than last time. He then got past the supporter benches, where his team wished him good luck before sitting. Jade also tried to wish him good luck, but he was already too far for him to hear her. With almost shaky legs, Max did a couple more steps before getting in the challenger zone.

"Oh, I think I remember you." Dulshin started upon seeing him. "You're the handsome boy with a mega lopunny, right?"

"That's right," Max replied. "And this time, it will be more difficult to beat me."

"Oh, the challenger seems quite confident. Let's see if it will be enough to overpower our champion!" The presenter said with enthusiasm.

(How come he always sounds happy all the time?) Max thought.

"My, my." Dulshin retorted. "You sure emit a more powerful aura. I can't wait to see the progress you've made."

Without any further ado, Dulshin took one of her pokeballs and let her cloyster come out of it.

(She's starting with the cloyster this time, huh?) Max thought while grabbing May's pokeball. (Alright, Max, try to not look like an idiot this time.)

[You won't.] Scarlet assured in his head.

Upon hearing her, he immediately felt slightly less nervous and released May onto the battlefield, the current field being the same one as the last time.

"Let's do a magnificent battle to inflame the afternoon, shall we?" Dulshin suggested.

"Alright folks, let the battle begin!" The presenter announced with excitement.

[Okay, May, can you hear me?] Max telepathically tried to talk to the mawile.

[I do. Scarlet did it.] May replied, a bit excited.

[Good. Start with Iron Defense.]

[Roger.] May acknowledged, charging up her move.

At first, Dulshin inspected her challenger, wondering when he will make his move. She then got slightly confused when she saw the mawile charging up a move.

"I see. You seem to have come up with a brand new tactic. The fight might be better than expected." Dulshin commented.

A couple of seconds later, May's Iron Defense build-up came to an end and boosted her defense greatly.

[Alright, she seems confused. Go for another one. We'll need as much defense as possible.]

Quickly, May got into position and prepared another Iron Defense.

"Not this time. Freeze her up."

Upon hearing its master, the cloyster used Ice Beam and aimed at May. Interrupting her move, the mawile dodged the attack, unable to get another boost of defense.

[She's not stupid. She will mainly use special attacks from now on. We'll need to close up the distance. Go for Pound.]

Immediately, May rushed to the cloyster and smashed it with Pound. Landing the hit, the move was strong enough to push the pokemon roughly one meter or two away. Unfortunately, she didn't do a lot of damage due to the cloyster's high defense.

"Damn. She got really strong." Max said to himself, impressed by his mawile's strength.

"My, my, she sure isn't the same mawile as before," Dulshin remarked. "Dear, figure two, please."

The cloyster immediately charged at May. The mawile was ready to dodge, but oddly, her opponent stopped midway to her. To her surprise, she got attacked by Spike Cannon. Luckily but barely, May dodged the move. Unfortunately, she didn't expect the cloyster to suddenly chain with Charge. Thanks to Iron Defense, the damage she received was minimal.

[Shit. That was a feint.] Max cursed.

[Sorry. Should have seen it coming.] May apologized.

[Don't be. Okay, there's not much we can do since all you have are physical moves.]

[I'm gonna get exhausted before my attacks can do significant damage.] May pointed out, dodging another Charge.

[Unless… if the cloyster is an ice type like I think, we still have a chance.]

[She is.]

[Then Steel Fang and Brick Break will be our main offense. Retreat and try another Iron Defense.]

May then used her new improved speed to back away as fast as possible. When close to the edge, which was rather far from her opponent, she quickly went for the move.

[What's the point of that if the cloyster has ranged, special attacks?] Scarlet asked to Max.

[I know, but we got to improve her defense as much as possible. Only then we can take full advantage of May's move pool.]

"Don't think I'll let you do as you please. Stop her." Dulshin commanded.

As May was midway to gather the energy for Iron Defense, the cloyster rushed towards her with another Charge.

[Dodge it now, M-.]

[I still have time.] May interrupted.

A few seconds later, May was hit by the water/ice pokemon. In extremis, she managed to improve her defense greatly before getting hit and then shrugged off the hit like it was almost nothing. She still had been propelled, but she quickly grabbed onto the ledge with her giant maw before pulling herself up.

[Great, now we can get all personal without fearing her physical moves. Go with Brick Break and keep the pressure, May.]

[Got it.] May replied, dashing forwards.

The mawile started with an onslaught of Brick Break attacks. The cloyster, being slower than May, endured the hits with her shell while dodging very few of them despite the pokemon's weakness to fighting type moves.

"She has become very troublesome." Dulshin shared when she understood that the mawile would leave no room for a counterattack. "She's moving too much, dear, can you take care of that problem?"

With a quick nod, the cloyster surprisingly moved backward rather quickly until she was now the one on the edge of the ring.

"Heh, your pokemon is pretty fast when it comes to fleeing."

With Dulshin only smiling, the cloyster began to attack May from afar with Ice Beam. Easily, May dodged the beam. However, the cloyster didn't stop there; she kept shooting Ice Beam multiple times, but May was able to dodge them all.

[Huhn, even her ranged attacks are slow. We got this, May, just wait until you find an opening. She can't keep doing that indefinitely.]

With May still dodging all the attacks, Max knew she also couldn't keep dodging forever, but he had faith in his mawile's endurance. Then, it happened. With both May and Max noticing too late, the floor was mostly covered in ice, making the mawile slip and fall.

{Damnit.} May cursed, on her back and trying to stand up.

May raised her head just in time to see and barely dodge another incoming Ice Beam, but since the ground was slippery, she didn't get the proper momentum and got one leg frozen.

[Shit! That ice ring is gonna be a pain in the ass.] Max exclaimed.

[Not all of the ring is covered in ice.] May pointed out while using Pound to shatter the ice on her leg.

[But even so, it's just gonna be a matter of time before everything is covered in ice. We could technically use Brick Break to get rid of it, but it would take an eternity. Fuck, what to do?]

[Not wanting to pressure you, but I hope you get an idea pretty soon.] May urged a little, barely managing to dodge another Ice Beam.

(This situation is critical for May. She doesn't have any projectiles and her special defense is not good enough to protect her. Think, Max, think.)

For a moment, Max thought deeply for a way to get around this issue, but couldn't find a way.

[I'm sorry, May, but I think this fight isn't adapted for you. I'll need to recall you and call you back later.]

[I wish I could say I can still keep going, but you're right. There's not much I can do.]

[You'll have your chance for the next opponent.]

[Yeah.] May agreed before being recalled in her pokeball.

"A switch from the challenger. Is he thinking about a better strategy, or is he already at Dulshin's mercy? Let's find out!" The presenter exclaimed in wonder.

"Alright, Aurora, time to shine," Max said before releasing the lucario on the battlefield.

Upon appearing, Aurora had her arms crossed and immediately glared at the cloyster. However, her badass-wannabe attitude got briefly interrupted by slippering on the ice, and did her best not to fall. When safe, she immediately got back to her previous attitude.

[Has May already been beaten?] She asked, acting like nothing happened.

[No, but as you can see, she had zero advantage here, so I'm counting on your projectiles.]

[Is that so? Well, let's takedown as many as we can, then.] She declared before getting ready.

Max didn't know what happened in those past two weeks, but he noticed that Aurora changed quite a lot.

~Two weeks earlier~

{Alright, everyone, you did very well today. I'll see you tomorrow.} Blue announced.

Feeling exhausted, Bonny, Aurora, and May were lying on the ground from the intense second day of training. With a weak response, they hardly got up before heading to the exit of the park.

{Miss Aurora? Can I talk to you for a moment?}

{...Okay. Catch you later.} Aurora said to the other two before getting near Blue.

{You're doing great, Miss Aurora. You have good potential and I can tell that this is not your first rodeo.}

{Hem… Thanks?} The lucario replied, wondering if he just wanted to say that.

{However...} Blue followed with a more severe tone. {In that state, you won't progress beyond that point. If you keep that up, it will be ever so slightly.}

Aurora wanted to ask why he was telling that to her, but Blue started before her.

{Why, you may ask? Like I told you yesterday, you're way too impulsive and easily blinded by your anger. It's good to have confidence, it's a must, even. But overconfidence in the strength you still don't have is very wrong. While sparring, you tried a lot of times doing the same thing that didn't work over and over again. I don't know why, but my guess would be that you're too stubborn to admit your mistakes, which was apparent when I tried to point them out for you. If you really want to grow stronger, you will first have to understand that you may not win every single time. In short, and I'm sorry for my bluntness... If you keep being cocky and stubborn, you will always fall behind from the rest.}

Upon hearing him, Aurora remembered what Scarlet had told her on the beach. However, this time, she felt even more ashamed.

{My goal is not to belittle you. On the contrary, I really want to see you progress, but some habits of yours will slow you down.}

Aurora was speechless. Everyone had been telling her that she had an attitude problem, but she remained skeptical about it and in denial. But now, if even someone as patient as Blue called her out on that, maybe she was the problem after all and was in need of some introspection.

{I… I don't know what to do.} Aurora expressed, unable to retort anything.

Blue then noticed how bad Aurora was feeling about herself.

{Can I tell you a little secret?} Blue proposed.

{Hem… S-sure.}

{When I was younger, I wasn't really better than you. It's not something I'm really proud of, but I learned from my mistakes. I was always questioning my trainers, thinking I could do better without any help. Then, when I saw that my comrades and friends were quickly progressing, I realized that I was falling behind.}

{It's really hard to imagine you were like that.} Aurora admitted.

{Yet I was. You know, a pokemon is never born the strongest in the world. We all work hard for it, even if it means being bashed on for your flaws.}

{Bashed on?} Aurora repeated.

Blue then went thoughtful a moment.

{Let's just say that I'm not training you in the way I used to do.}

Aurora then theorized that if Blue was so strong, it was at the cost of tough and unforgiving training.

{In that case, I guess I can share with you one of mine. If I were, to be honest, I'm just… angry.}

The lucario didn't hear a sound from Blue but saw that he was listening to her intently.

{When I got abandoned by my first trainer, I was so angry and frustrated that I convinced myself that I was better off on my own. For years, it worked quite well for me, but I suppose it made me… bitter. I never liked being bossed around in the first place, but because of him…}

{I see.}

Blue was lost in his thoughts for a short moment.

{You must probably know this already, but there are three ways someone can react to pain: the first one, they don't learn and they keep on holding onto false hope, repeating the same mistakes again and again; then, you have those who more or less learn from it, but in the wrong way. They get angry, isolate themselves from everything around them, and project their frustration on their next encounter, blaming everyone for their own mistakes. I'm afraid to tell you that you fall down in that category.} Blue explained.

Ashamed that he was right, Aurora looked away.

{And finally, you have those who learn from it without thinking over the fact that everyone can make mistakes. They can grow distrustful for sure, but over time, they finally open their eyes to see if someone is trustworthy or not.}

{...Let me guess, you are in the third one?}

Blue sighed.

{Not initially. If it wasn't for my friend Charle, maybe I would still not be.}

{How did you manage to change yourself?}

{Hard to say exactly how, but I traveled; I made new encounters whilst also gaining more experience. Sadly, I experienced more pain as well sometimes.}

{So I have to suffer more to get better?}

Blue then sighed desperately but not in a contemptuous way.

{You're really quite hard to deal with.} Blue said without any trace of malice. {It may happen, yes. But in the end, you can only work for a better future. I haven't seen your trainer yet, but if you managed to trust a human once more, maybe you sensed that he was indeed trustworthy.}

Aurora rubbed her neck, a bit uncomfortable.

{I guess.}

{What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to stay in one category. If you hadn't encountered anyone else that is kind enough for you, maybe it would have been really hard for you, impossible even for those who have a fiery temper such as yourself. Think about what you have now and ask yourself if you still have a reason to stay in your said category. Ask yourself if it's still worth it to remain angry and bitter at everything despite having friends who care about you.}

For once, Aurora wasn't frustrated by remarks of someone else for her wrongdoings. In fact, she felt almost inspired by it. She then briefly thought of Max.

{Sorry for keeping you here. With that, I bid you goodnight and I'll see you tomorrow.}

{Y-yeah. You too.}

With a small bow, Blue then walked past Aurora and left.

(He's right. Why should Max pay the price just because one human was the worst asshole ever?)

If she ever had any doubt left in her about Max, they all disappeared in this very moment. He may be an idiot, but he was her idiot.

{...I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I'm lucky that-... No. I'm... grateful that he became my friend… and much more.} She whispered to herself, a faint smile adorning her muzzle.

~Present~

[I'm guessing that you're ready to kick some asses.] Max exclaimed.

[You bet.] Aurora grinned.

"I'm glad to see your lucario back. She looks… different, though." Dulshin commented.

[Alright, Aurora, care to show me how much you've improved?]

[If it makes you happy.]

[Then let's start by using Force Palm on the ice under you.]

Immediately, Aurora obeyed and used Force Palm to shatter the ice after a short jump. To Max's astonishment, the shockwave of the hit was strong enough the break a decent amount of ice around her, sending shards flying. Her space was now clear.

[Whoa! You must have been through hell to progress that fast.]

[Hell would be an understatement.]

[Careful, she's about to attack.]

Upon seeing the lucario breaking the ice, the cloyster immediately countered with an Ice Beam. With improved reflexes, Aurora easily dodged the beam by jumping.

[Now show me a nice Aura Sphere.]

[With pleasure.]

Still midair, Aurora charged an Aura Sphere. The ball of energy was the biggest one Max ever saw her doing before she tossed it at the cloyster. The speed of the projectile was significantly faster than what he already experienced too and it landed on her target, who shielded herself with her shell, though the impact of the projectile was able to push the cloyster a decent distance. Revealing her face afterward, the cloyster looked unfazed. Before landing, Aurora once again used Force Palm to free a wider zone from ice.

[Did it even tickle her?] Aurora complained, seeing how unaffected the cloyster seemed to be.

[Don't let her fool you. With a defense like that, her special defense has to be weaker by now.] Max assured.

[So in short, Aura Sphere will be the only move I'll use?]

[Mostly, but we'll mix it up with combos.]

"Oh my, you two are way more coordinated than before. Heh, it doesn't look good for me." Dulshin shared, almost amused by that.

[We'll have to do something about the rest of the ice first. Throw your fastest Aura Spheres all across the field.]

[Good thinking.]

Aurora then did something that impressed him even more. She used Force Palm before jumping to add extra momentum to the jump without him telling her.

(Is she becoming smarter than me?) Max thought, quite flabbergasted.

With a faint smile, Aurora then began to charge weak but fast Aura Spheres. Without taking time to charge them up fully, Aurora was able to launch a lot of Aura Spheres to cover a large zone with them. Since they were just strong enough, the field was almost completely cleared of ice.

"Gotta have to do better than that." Max shouted a bit cockily.

"Looks like it," Dulshin answered back with a smile. "Okay, girl, let's cool the atmosphere a little."

{Roger.} The cloyster acknowledged before moving backward as much as possible.

[Get ready, Aurora.] Max warned.

[They can try anything they want, I'm unbeatable.]

[Ahem.]

[Tsk, we are unbeatable.] Aurora corrected.

Suddenly, an intense cold wind with big snowflakes and ice shards were blown towards the lucario.

"Oh shit! Is that Blizzard?" Max asked.

"Never seen it?" Dulshin questioned.

"Not really."

"Aaw, to be young and innocent. I hope you have an idea to get out of there. It isn't known as the strongest ice-type move for nothing."

[Damn. There is not really a place for you to dodge it.]

[Better think of something and quick.] Aurora exclaimed, shielding her face with her arms while slowly taking damage over time. [Or else I'm gonna freeze to death.]

Quickly, Max aligned ideas in his head. The entire battlefield was being cryogenized and escaping into the water was out of the question.

[We don't have much choice, Aurora. Rush towards her and go for your strongest Force Palm.]

[What? I'm gonna faint before I can even get close to her.]

[Please go before it's too late.]

[Goddamnit.] Aurora cursed.

She then proceeds to dash to the cloyster as fast as she could. Unfortunately, her progress was severely slowed down by the strong wind of Blizzard. Every meter she was doing, she felt her energy leaving her. After a short while, she was only a couple of meters away and was about to faint.

[Alright, it's do or die now.]

She draws in her inner strength and energy and then unleashed a moderately strong Force Palm behind her to add extra power and speed to a small jump, just enough to suppress the gap between them. Then, only a few inches away from the cloyster, Aurora gathered everything she could use and prepared another Force Palm. A second before Aurora attacked her, the cloyster again withdraws herself inside her shell.

(That won't save you this time.) Aurora thought.

Half a second after making contact, Aurora unleashed her move with a rather loud, distorted noise. A huge amount of aura energy residue could be seen escaping from the back of the cloyster. Then, without even opening her shell up, the cloyster fell to her side, knocked out.

"Amazing! Our challenger has taken out Dulshin's first pokemon. But he still has a long way to go, folks!" The presenter exclaimed to the enthralled crowd.

[Yes!] Max exclaimed.

[Gha.] Aurora growled, dropping on one knee. [Not so loud… please.]

[Sorry.]

"Oh no. I thought my pretty girl had a good defense." Dulshin expressed with a half-sad and amused face before calling the cloyster back in her pokeball.

"I think she does, but Force Palm ignores physical defense."

"Ah, silly me. You got me there."

Dulshin then reached for her second pokeball.

[Do you need a rest?] Max asked to the tired lucario.

[Yes, but if you don't mind, I'll stay out here and tire out the next one as much as I can to give the others a better chance.]

[Normally, I wouldn't agree that you push yourself too hard, but I don't really want to… well…]

[No need to say more, I get it. Thanks.] Aurora replied, standing up with a bit of difficulty.

[Let's make the most of it, then.]

[Will do.]

Pretty much at the same time that Aurora got ready to fight again, Dulshin put her dewgong on the center of the field.

"Using the same pokemon as the last time?" Max pondered loudly.

"I owe you revenge with those who pummeled you."

Max was a bit surprised by her crudeness, but she was right and was thankful for that.

"Time to commence our entrance, dear." Dulshin commanded.

[Watch out, it will-]

As Max was warning Aurora, the dewgong jumped outside the field.

[...Go in the water.] Max finished before sighing.

[A bit too late, don't you think?] Aurora complained playfully.

[If she uses the same strategy as last time, be wary of your surroundings. It can pop out from anywhere.]

[Great. Always wanted to be trapped like a seaking inside a tyrantrum's maw.]

[Focus and get ready for a quick counter attack.]

[Not much more I can do.] Aurora pointed out while preparing Bone Rush in a defensive position.

Through the loud cheers of the spectators, Aurora tried her best to focus on her opponent. Normally, a lucario can easily track the aura of an invisible or hiding foe, but Aurora had trouble with growing her aura power and wasn't that good with it. However, in a short radius, she was quite decent. Then, as Aurora was about to reach a high state of concentration, a couple of water pillars erupted from the lower surface.

[There it is. It will attack from those streams, Aurora, so be ready to either dodge a projectile or counter attack physical ones.]

[If I were to guess, he will do his best to attack me on a blind spot.]

[I'll try to help you.]

A few seconds after the appearance of the water pillars, the dewgong attacked from behind Aurora with an Ice Shard move.

[Behind you!] Max quickly warned.

Dodging without even turning her head, Aurora managed to dodge the attack, minus two or three shards making contact, doing insignificant damage.

[Do you still have some energy stored within you?]

[Not for long. The very little I have left is from the few seconds of rest I had before that dewgong started attacking me.]

As soon as the attack was done, the pillars subsided and then disappeared.

[Damn, those attacks are annoying.] Max complained.

[You tell me.]

[If only we could anticipate where he will appear.]

Aurora knew he wasn't miffed at her, but hearing him say that hurt her a little, knowing it was her mediocre aura sense that was at fault. Soon enough, the pillars emerged again.

[We don't have much of a choice here. You'll have to attack every one of them in hopes of damaging him, even if it's just a little bit.]

[Aura Sphere?]

[As many and as fast as you can.]

[Alright. Here we go.] Aurora replied before starting to launch multiple Aura Spheres at every pillar insight.

A little while later, the pillars disappeared again, without the dewgong attacking. On the verge of exhaustion, Aurora dropped on one knee again.

[I think we scared it.] Max said, glad that his strategy worked out well.

[I really hope that even one got him.]

[Me too. Get ready for another attack.]

Then, Max heard the crowd gasp and gaze in awe at the sky. Following their gazes, Max's eyes then widened.

[Fuck! Move, Aurora!]

In a fraction of a second, Aurora was hit from above by an Aurora Beam.

[Ghaa!] Aurora growled, dropping on her second knee.

The dewgong then landed on the field in front of Aurora and chained with Aqua Jet, propelling the lucario a couple of meters away and landing on her belly.

[Aurora! You okay?]

For a few seconds, Max was worried that it might have been it for her. As the presenter was about to announce the lucario's incapacity to fight anymore, Aurora moved her shaky arms and pulled up her torso from the ground.

[Holy shit. You holding on there?]

Not responding, Aurora slowly got up, one shaky limb at a time.

[I… I'm not done… yet.]

Then, as Aurora was slowly getting up, Max saw barely a visible translucent blue fire emanating from the lucario.

[What the...?]

After a long and painful moment, Aurora was up and glaring at the dewgong.

{Time to get crushed.} Aurora declared with conviction.

Without receiving any order, Aurora used Bone Rush and created a big, large bone, looking like a great maul and charged at the dewgong. Obviously, something that big was slow to move around, so the dewgong could very easily dodge it. However, the dewgong was astonished by the power when the giant bone landed where he was standing a second ago, breaking a tiny portion of the field with a loud boom.

"Holy fuck!" Max shouted in astonishment.

"Oh my. Don't stay there, dear, it's not safe." Dulshin commanded to her dewgong.

Too absorbed by the display of sheer strength he just witnessed, Max didn't notice that Dulshin now seemed to recognize Aurora as a real threat and got more serious. Max then shook his head.

[Don't attack on your own, Aurora, you know how bad it ends up.]

[Sorry… But I wanted… to take him by surprise.] She said, withdrawing her maul.

Even her inner voice sounded exhausted.

[It's okay, but… what's with that raw power? Your weapon looked even bigger than I remember.]

[I don't know… but now I feel like… I can do much more. I can almost… sense him.]

[You do?]

[I think so. If I can just land one hit on him…]

Max then thought for a brief moment.

[Then we're gonna give it everything we have. It's do or die now.]

Aurora couldn't help but grin slightly at how alike they were thinking.

[Charge up an Aura Sphere and destroy him.]

Closing her eyes, Aurora slowly got into position and began charging an Aura Sphere. As soon as it appeared, the ball was already pretty big and kept growing bigger. When the pillars of water appeared, the sphere was bigger than it ever was. Max could almost feel its power from where he stood.

[Wait until he's about to attack.] Max told Aurora, doing his best to keep his cool.

Staying still and eyes still closed, Aurora was shaking a little from all the energy she was holding in her paws while focusing on her aura.

[...Over there!]

Turning to her left, Aurora tossed her powerful Aura Sphere directly into one of them. In an instant, the ball exploded inside, propelling drops of water in a wide area alongside the dewgong smashing on the wall of the protection dome.

[Bullseye!] Max exclaimed.

"Oh! That gotta hurt!" The presenter exclaimed as well.

On the center of the ring, Aurora was panting heavily. A few seconds later, the dewgong jumped out of the water. His condition wasn't looking as bad as Aurora, but it was noticeable that the hit did significant damage.

"Goddamnit." Max cursed. [Aurora, can you-]

Mid-sentence, Aurora dropped on her belly, her energy completely depleted.

"Unfortunately, the lucario is finally down for the count. But what a fight they put on, though." The announcer commented.

"Good job, Aurora." Max praised before calling her back.

"Looks like you're a more serious threat than last time," Dulshin remarked.

"We didn't sit on our asses these past weeks. We trained and thought of strategies to beat you."

"It's paying off pretty well, it seems."

Without further comment, Max took out May again.

[How do you feel?] Max asked the mawile.

[That break helped me a little.]

[Great. Aurora has beaten the cloyster and also managed to hurt the dewgong a bit.]

[So it's up to me to beat this one, huh?]

[If possible, yes. That would be nice.]

[Alrighty then. No more Ms. Nice May.]

[Hehe. No need to upgrade your defense again, so go straight to the offensive. Go for Pound.]

May then immediately dashed to the dewgong and went for the commanded Pound.

[Again.] Max commanded after May missed.

After another dodge, the dewgong briefly looked at his master and counter attacked with Headbutt, which May blocked, barely feeling it.

[Let's go for Charge and Steel Fang as soon as it dodges.]

[I love doing that.] May pointed out before rushing forward.

She started with Charge like told and chained with Steel Fang immediately after the dewgong dodged it to the side. Unfortunately, the dewgong's reaction was on point and barely evaded the attack before jumping into the water.

[Ugh, come on! Again with that?] May complained.

Max then quickly came up with a plan.

[Follow it, May.]

[...In the water?] May asked, wanting to confirm what she heard.

[I know it may sound very risky, but since you don't have any projectile moves, our only option is to go hand-to-hand on his territory. Plus, they surely won't expect that.]

[...Alright. I hope you know what you're doing.] May agreed before following her opponent into its own terrain.

(Me too.) Max thought to himself. [Okay, May, what do you see?]

[Nothing for now.] May answered, looking around the depths of the water.

[Don't stay there for too long.]

[Don't worry, my apnea prowess is better than you think.]

May then noticed some movement not far from her.

[I spotted him.]

[Great. Unfortunately, most of your moves will inflict half the damage because of the water, but I believe Steel Fang should still work decently.]

[The only thing I can really do here is Pound, Steel Fang or Brick Break, indeed.]

[Okay. But just as a precaution, use Iron Defense. Surely he will think you're at a disadvantage down there, which honestly you are, so he probably will carelessly try to charge you or do physical attacks.]

[Good thinking.] May praised before gathering her energy to enhance her defense a lot.

Oddly enough, the dewgong didn't attempt anything and May had the time to complete the Iron Defense move.

[Done.]

[He didn't try to attack you in the meantime?]

[Nope.]

[Hmm. Let's bait him. Do it again.]

For the next couple of seconds, May went for another Iron Defense, increasing her physical defense even more.

[I'm done again, but still didn't get attacked.]

[Shit. What is he up to?]

[Master, I feel like it's starting to get difficult for me to swim because of Iron Defense.]

[Really? Darn it. Alright, get out, then. We'll think of something else.]

Complying, May began to swim back to the surface. Suddenly, she quickly got hit from behind. Thanks to her previous moves, she barely felt it, the attack feeling like a tickle actually.

[He's here. He's trying to prevent me from surfacing.]

[Damnit! Is he trying to drown you? How much longer can you still hold your breath?]

[A little bit more, but you gotta hurry.]

Max went thoughtful for a few seconds.

[Okay. Let's play his game. Try to surface again and feign that you're about to lack air while panicking.]

[Okay.] May said while doing so, but not without finding the order weird.

[As soon as he's close to you, greet him with a Steel Fang.] Max mentally grinned.

May was glad to see that there was a strategy behind this. However, it was easier said than done. She couldn't really tell when or where he will attack from. Her guess was from behind her again so to prevent himself from being counterattacked. Roughly a meter later, May sensed something from the water. A slight change of current.

[Gotcha!]

Instinctively, May went for a Steel Fang right behind her and struck her opponent. The hit was strong enough to paralyze him for a few seconds, letting May have the time to resurface and move back onto the battlefield.

[How did it go?] Max asked when he saw her.

[I got him.] The mawile replied, shaking her body a little to remove the surplus of water on her.

[Nice. That must have hurt.]

[By the look of his face when I swam back, I can confirm.]

As May was almost dry, the dewgong jumped out from the water, facing May and heavily panting.

[Heh, he won't last long.] Max pointed out.

[With what should I finish him?]

[Hmm…]

"I must admit, I didn't expect you and your team to be that good after only two weeks. You impress me." Dulshin told Max.

Not responding, Max felt flustered and looked briefly away.

"But it doesn't mean we won't respond in kind. Alright, Sebas, don't let her breathe." Dulshin commanded.

(Sebas? Weird name for a pokemon.) Max thought.

Once again, the dewgong jumped into the water. However, what was coming next had nothing to do with his previous attacks. In a matter of seconds, a giant wave of water formed and went towards May with the dewgong floating above it.

"What the hell?!" Max exclaimed.

Having nowhere to dodge or run, May took the entire hit and was pushed against the dome wall.

"Surf may not be extremely powerful, but it's almost impossible to dodge it without flying," Dulshin explained.

Not damaged that much, May swam back to the field, coughing out water a few times.

[You okay, May?]

[Yeah. Some water just went straight for my lungs.]

[Well, we won't let that go unpunished, will we?]

[Of course not.] May agreed with a menacing grin.

[He's very weak now, so it will be hard for him to dodge. Go for Brick Break.]

With a quick nod, May ran directly towards the panting dewgong. Too tired, the dewgong wasn't able to dodge and got hit by May.

[Now go for a few Pounds!]

Immediately turning around, May chained with five Pounds, all of them getting their target.

[Let's finish him off with a Steel Fang!] Max commanded while tightening his fist.

The dewgong tried to at least defend himself, but May left him no breathing room, now taking a critical hit from the Steel Fang. The crowd and the trainers didn't wait long to see the dewgong fainting behind May.

[Another one down! We can do it!] Max exclaimed.

[Definitely!] May agreed.

"You know…" Dulshin started, recalling her pokemon. "It's not every day that someone corners me that much. I'm really enjoying this battle."

Interestingly, this fight was also one of the most exciting ones he ever had.

"However…" Dulshin continued, glaring at Max with fiery eyes. "The match still isn't yours yet, so try your best against her."

Wondering what she was talking about, Max saw Dulshin calling out her best pokemon, her milotic. A slight chill then traveled across Max's spine. Her mere presence was intimidating, almost breathing confidence in her power, especially when the milotic briefly looked at him.

"The first one to strike is the winner. Start with Headbutt." Max commanded.

Not wasting a second, May rushed to the milotic and charged with Headbutt. Not understanding how, the milotic just vanished, making her strike a now empty spot.

[What the...?] May pondered, confused.

[Behind you, May!] Max called out.

Turning her head, she indeed saw the milotic, just staring at her without even attacking.

(Master said Headbutt, I will land a Headbutt.) May told to herself before doing the same move again.

May then understood what was happening; the milotic's speed was so great that she barely saw her moving backward.

[Hem, master? I think we have a problem here.]

"Let's start the festivity, shall we, Miley?"

With a tiny smile, the milotic began by attacking May with a few Aqua Tail moves. Immediately after she was done, she quickly chained by using Water Gun, pushing the mawile close to the edge.

[May, you should-]

Before Max could finish his sentence, the milotic jumped in the air and then hit May with an Ice Beam, freezing her into a block of ice.

[No!] Max exclaimed.

Not wanting to let her stay like that, the milotic used Aqua Tail to free her. However, all it did was to allow the mawile to fall on her back, defeated.

"What an overwhelming display of speed and power!" The announcer said enthusiastically. "The two trainers are now down to one pokemon each with full health."

"Sorry, May," Max muttered while recalling her back.

At this moment, Max started to doubt himself. Sure, they didn't make it this far last time, but that milotic was on a whole 'nother level.

[Calm down, master.] Scarlet said in his head. [If you panic now, it will be a sure defeat. You can do it.]

[How? Did you see how fast that thing was? No way we can beat that.]

[You should be more confident in your team. You still have Bonny, right? If she mega evolves, you'll even the odds.]

Max then remembered the last time he saw Bonny mega evolve. A faint excitement feeling got into him, but was quickly replaced by a soothing sensation.

[You're right. They didn't see the full potential of my team.]

[Atta boy. Now wreck that bitch!]

Slightly sighing at Scarlet's comment, Max picked his last allowed pokeball.

"Alright, Bonny. I'm counting on you." Max whispered to the device before releasing a pumped-up lopunny as usual into the battlefield.

However, something seemed a bit different about the energy she was emanating. It was confidence, that was for sure. But it was more like a calm and collected confidence as if Bonny grew a little more mature.

[What's the situation?] She asked, glaring at the milotic.

[We are both at our last pokemon. That milotic is still at full health.]

[Great. The fight will be more fair that way.] Bonny replied, doing some light stretching. [Ready when you are.]

With a nod, Max then touched his mega stone and so did Bonny, transforming her into her mega form right off the bat. Obviously, her mega form was more aggressive and was glaring at the milotic with teeth slightly bared.

[Ready to crush skulls.] Bonny growled.

[Easy now. Try to not kill anyone.]

[That's a promise I can't make and you know it.] Bonny retorted while looking behind one shoulder, mischievously grinning at Max.

Because of that, both failed to notice that Dulshin gave an order to her milotic and dashed towards Bonny with Aqua Tail. Looking at Max till the last second, Bonny quickly moved away from the attack by jumping sideways into the air.

[Tell me what you want me to use to destroy her already!] Bonny commanded.

[R-right. Start with a Jump Kick.]

[With pleasure.] Bonny said with a grin while diving fast on the milotic with Jump Kick.

Even with a newly acquired and amazing speed Bonny displayed, the milotic dodged the hit, making the lopunny land on where she was a second ago. However, she didn't receive any damage since her move destroyed a chunk of the edge of the field, making her pass through it and land in the water. She then casually swam back and moved back on the field.

[Well, looks like she's gonna be a pain in the ass.] Bonny calmly pointed out while shaking her body to dry herself.

[Whoa. That power was incredible.] Max praised, astonished.

[I appreciate that but if you don't mind, we need to focus on the fight.]

[Y-yeah, of course.] Max conceded, shaking his head. [Unfortunately, your move pool is rather limited too, so we'll have to outsmart her with that speed. I knew you should have learned a fast move.]

[No need to get on me for your own negligence.] Bonny retorted. [Anyhow, we just have to strike at the right time, then.] She added, cracking her knuckles.

[I wish I had your optimism.]

[You don't have to. Mine is plenty enough.]

Not paying enough attention, Bonny got caught by Wrap from the milotic.

{You bitch.} Bonny growled, struggling to get free.

{You sure are strong, but not enough to match me.} The milotic provoked.

{Release me and we'll see who's stronger.} Bonny threatened, making the milotic giggle.

The snake pokemon then briefly looked at Max before smiling.

{You have a quite handsome master. Mind if I have fun with him after this?} She whispered into Bonny's ear.

{Hrrr.} Bonny snarled. {Over my dead body.}

Using all of her might, Bonny managed to get free from the milotic and immediately attacked her with an Ear Punch, which missed, hitting the ground again. However, the force of the strike was so strong that a couple of chunks of rubble were sent up into the air. Bonny then got creative and kicked them towards her opponent. They almost all missed their target, but with the amount that were flying, one managed to hit her.

[Calm down, Bonny.]

[Ghr. Sorry. Lost my cool for a bit.] Bonny apologized, still snarling at the milotic.

[That was good thinking, though, but I don't think it will work twice.]

[Any suggestions, then?]

Max then went on thinking.

[For now, no. But can you keep dodging her until I come up with something?]

[Why can't I attack her in the meantime instead?]

[We need to save your energy.]

[Fine, but make it quick. I'm not sure I will manage to dodge her attacks for a long time.]

For a moment, Max dove into his mind trying to find an idea while observing Bonny's opponent. She was so fast but must have a weakness somehow. Max then noticed something.

[I think I may have an idea.]

[Thinking you may? Pretty lacking for support.]

[Have you noticed how careless and a bit slower she is when she attacks?]

[Now that you mention it, I have noticed a few openings when she attacks, but I'm a bit too busy to dodge and she's too fast for me to be able to do anything.]

[Then don't dodge.]

[And take the hit?] Bonny questioned while dodging a move from the milotic.

[And counter-attack instantly. She will be too close to properly evade any attack from you.]

[Well, it'll increase the risk of me being hit in the face, but it's worth a try.]

[I'll keep an eye on her and I'll tell you the good moment for the counter attack.]

For the next couple of attacks from the milotic, Bonny kept dodging her. After a little while, it was getting slightly harder for Bonny as tiredness started to kick in.

[Now! Use Pound!] Max commanded at the sight of the snake pokemon using Iron Head.

Instead of dodging, Bonny attacked on a rather exposed part of the milotic and pushed her away with Pound.

[Follow it up with Return.]

Before the water pokemon could retaliate, Bonny chained with Return with tremendous power. The milotic was quickly propelled against the dome, creating some sparks due to the strong impact before falling into the water.

[Ouch! That definitely gotta hurt.] Max commented.

[Obviously.]

After a moment, the milotic swam back onto the battlefield.

[Damn, she's tough.] Max remarked, seeing Bonny's opponent being moderately hurt.

[A quality punching bag is one that doesn't break after one hit.]

"Your lopunny is a lot stronger than before, it's almost scary." Dulshin said with a half-serious tone. "But now it's our turn. Miley, get ready for the grand finale."

With a war cry, the milotic rushed at Bonny with Iron Head and hit her with tremendous speed, sending her flying a few meters away from the ground. She immediately chained with a few Aqua Tail attacks so to raise Bonny in the air even further. She then followed it up with Iron Tail and tossed Bonny in the water.

[Bonny-]

Before Max could even say anything, the milotic concluded with a powerful Ice Beam, freezing the entire pool of water, trapping Bonny within.

"Bonny! No!" Max exclaimed.

"Okay, my pretty Miley, you know I don't like letting them stay like that. Can you quickly free her, please?" Dulshin commanded.

With a quick nod, the milotic jumped and charged up a Hyper Beam and aimed at where Bonny was under the ice.

*Crack* *Crack*

Suddenly, the stage went silent, alongside with the two trainers. Curious, the milotic stopped her attack and scanned where the noise was coming from. Max was the first one to notice. On the ice surface, right above Bonny, cracks were forming, growing in size and number. When the surface was looking like a huge spider web, it stopped.

"What's going on?" Max muttered.

Then, all of a sudden, a huge portion of ice shattered all around Bonny, freeing her.

"Did she… break free from just sheer willpower?" Max wondered in bewilderment.

{Rhrraa…} Bonny growled after surfacing, her arms and head dropped. {Now you've done it, bitch.} She added, a dark tone to her whisper.

"Oh shit," Max mumbled.

He recognized that behavior all too well. She was going to…

{I'm gonna rip you in half!}

In a blink of an eye, Bonny jumped out of the little ice crater, breaking even more ice from the jump, and rushed to the milotic.

"Here we go again," Max complained, facepalming.

[You don't really need my help anymore at this point.] Scarlet remarked with an unsurprised voice.

[When she goes berserk like this, there is no point in trying to reason with her, indeed.]

[I hope she doesn't screw things up.]

[...Actually, it might be the opposite. She may have gone crazy, but she's now become a lot more relentless. She doesn't feel pain and got a strength and energy boost thanks to her ability. In fact, I'm scared that she might punch and kick that milotic to death.]

[Well, if you want to prevent that from happening, just recall her back as soon as she wins.]

[Mhm. Anyway, keep the connection. Maybe I can direct her even in the slightest.]

[Okay.]

A few times, Bonny tried to hit the milotic with Jump Kick. Even though she was destroying a part of the platform every time, she was damaging herself a bit.

[Please, Bonny, you have to hear me.] Max said, focusing on the lopunny's mind as much as possible. [I'm not asking you to stop attacking, but refrain from using Jump Kick. You're just hurting yourself. At this rate, we're gonna lose.]

Even though she didn't answer and opted to growl and snarl instead, Bonny momentarily stopped attacking and kept glaring at the milotic.

(Did she actually hear me?) Max thought to himself.

[I think she's fighting against herself to be able to consider your order.] Scarlet commented.

Seeing it as an opportunity, the milotic used Ice beam and froze Bonny into a block of ice. Bonny immediately broke free by sheer strength and charged at the milotic. Max didn't know if she actually heard him or she just came up with a semblance of a plan but she attacked with Pound instead. With the power boost, even a missed Pound was strong enough to break the battlefield a bit.

"I think it's time to calm her down a little," Dulshin ordered.

The milotic's next move was to use Wrap to immobilize the lopunny. Coiled around by the snake pokemon, Bonny growled in anger and immediately began to struggle to break free. Bonny's strength was unrelenting as she was able to very slowly loosen her opponent's grasp. Surprised by how strong she was, the milotic quickly reacted and used more of her body to tighten the grasp, risking exposing her head to Bonny. She however believed that there was no danger since all of her limbs were wrapped. Or so she thought. The milotic was a bit focused on trying to contain Bonny's strength that she neglected her ears. Before she could even ponder about it, Bonny used that moment to strike her face with an Ear Punch with all of her might. Her head was propelled so far that the rest of her body instinctively released Bonny in fear that it might not follow. Max didn't have to give an order as Bonny already went for her strongest move: Return.

"Finish her!" Dulshin commanded loudly.

The milotic also went for her strongest move and used Giga Impact on Bonny. The collision had so much force that the ground beneath them exploded into a million pieces while raising a cloud of dust. After a little while, the cloud dropped down and both of them were trying to push each other with the very little energy they had left. At this point, the fight was about a battle of will with both of them glaring at each other ferociously, not leaving ground to the other. With everyone holding their breath, the suspense was heavy and thrilling with the entire stadium wondering who will fall first. Soon enough, Bonny was the first one to cave, dropping a knee down and panting heavily, barely able to keep her eyes open. Since a mega evolved pokemon shared a part of their energy with their master, Max was also growing tired, feeling his legs getting a bit weaker. On the same state as Bonny, the milotic slowly crawled towards the lopunny, wanting to give the final blow. All three of Max's pokemon behind him were impatiently waiting for the outcome. Dusk was hiding half of her face, scared that Bonny might lose; Luna had her arms crossed and was looking unfazed but was getting a bit anxious, and Jade was discreetly praying for Bonny's success. Then, the snake pokemon dropped unconscious beside Bonny.

"And we have a winner!" The announcer bellowed, creating a thunderous bang of applause and cheers.

"Fuck yes." Max sighed heavily, dropping on his ass.

A short moment later, Bonny dropped on her belly as well before reverting back to her normal form.

"You're the best, Bonny." Max mumbled, calling her back into her pokeball.

[Congrats, master.] Scarlet wished. [I told you you could do it.]

[Eh, being able to do something and actually accomplishing it are two different things.]

[Stop being a smart-ass and get up, I believe you have something to take.]

Moving his eyesight forward, Max saw an empty battlefield with Dulshin walking towards him through the debris. Standing up, Max did the same and walked forward to meet the gym leader at the center.

"Not many are able to create such tension. Most of the time, I win too easily and quickly; and in rare cases, I lose too quickly myself. You pretty much ignited back an already big flame of passion! You put up one hell of a show and I thank you for that! That's why I couldn't be more glad to give you the Water Badge." Dulshin congratulated while giving Max a blue badge in the form of a tiny whirlpool.

"Thanks. My team had to go through hell just to give me this moment." Max replied, grabbing the badge with a slightly shaky hand.

"Then I have to ask you to thank them properly when they get on their feet again."

"Will do."

With a smile, Dulshin took Max's wrist and raised it in the air, making the crowd cheer loudly one more time. With a silly smile, Max looked all around, seeing people happy for his victory.

"I wish you farewell and good luck for your future." Dulshin wished, releasing his arm. "Oh, and one more thing. Here." She remembered, giving him a little ticket of sorts. "Just give this to the one in charge and you'll also receive your bonus earnings. My way of thanking you for giving the crowd a spectacular match."

"Thank you very much, Dulshin."

With a small bow, the gym leader turned around and left the arena. Doing the same, Max walked back to the challenger's entrance with the crowd slowly calming down.

{That was quite spectacular.} Luna praised. {You do know how to put a girl on edge.} She added with a slightly lewd smile.

"Is that so?" Max raised an eyebrow.

{Geez, master, you made my heart beat so hard that I thought it was about to explode.} Dusk scolded.

"Eh, sorry about that, but she was really tough to overcome." Max apologized before looking at Jade.

{C-Congratulations.} The gardevoir shyly said.

"Thanks," Max replied, giving a thumbs-up.

Feeling tired, Max exited the building with his three companions after taking his winning rewards.

{You look tired. You should go and rest a little.} Luna remarked.

"Later. My main priority is going to the pokemon center to heal May, Aurora, and Bonny."

The girls didn't really agree with him but decided to let it slide this time, not wanting to sour his devotion. After all, they also wanted their friends to be back on their feet. After a little while, Max entered the pokemon center of the city.

"A quick heal, please." Max requested before the nurse could even speak while giving her three pokeballs.

"Alright. Be right back in a moment."

After Max nodded, the nurse put his pokemon on the revitalizer machine.

{Again, that was a really good fight.} Luna praised.

{Yeah. You really showed them what for.} Dusk followed.

"It was really close, though. If we want to win the other badges, we'll have to keep training."

{You can count on me.} Dusk assured.

"Even though you don't really want to battle?"

{I already told you, master. I'm not into fighting, but I'll keep training and get stronger for when you'll need me.}

"Heh, what a golden heart you have," Max replied, slowly petting her.

A minute later, the nurse was back with his pokeballs.

"There you go. They should be good as new."

"Thanks."

Grabbing his pokeballs, Max left the building.

{Do you want to let them out so as to tell them that you won?} Dusk proposed.

"Later. They deserve a good rest."

Behind him, Luna stretched and yawned.

{For me, I think I'll leave you here.}

"Right. You must be tired as well."

{Indeed. I'll be back later in the evening after a good sleep.}

"See ya, then." Max wished before Luna left them.

{What are you gonna do now?} Dusk asked.

"Don't know." Max yawned, the tiredness getting to him. "You know what, I'll do the same as Luna and go take a quick nap before the surprise."

{The surprise?...} Dusk repeated.

"Don't tell the others, but I planned on rewarding the big winning girls with some restaurant meal."

{That's a great idea.} Dusk said, waving her tail.

"You're all invited too, by the way." Max pointed out, quickly glancing at Jade.

While Dusk was jumping in joy, Jade looked away with a faint blush.

{D-Don't worry about me. I won't take much, so you can focus on the others more.} Jade told him.

"Nonsense. With the jobs I did and some extra pocket money Luna managed to get me, which I'm still wondering how she does it, plus the winnings of our battle, I have plenty enough to spoil all of my companions and celebrate our victory."

{...}

"We'll be ready as soon as Luna wakes up."

{Do you mind if I… stay a bit alone in the meantime?}

"Not at all," Max reassured.

As soon as she was back in her pokeball, Max and Dusk headed towards the hotel. Shortly after and sensing that no one was around, Scarlet appeared next to him.

{That's very nice of you.}

"Can I count on you to be secretive until then?"

{Of course, you can.} Scarlet replied, rolling her eyes. {By the way, I'm very happy for your win.} She added while hugging his arm.

"Thanks." Max shyly replied.

{It wasn't that hard, was it?}

"Nope. It's all thanks to the girls' resilience."

{It pains me a little to admit it, but that Blue guy really did well. I never saw them progress that fast.}

"You were doing well too, I'm sure," Max assured, petting her head.

{Master is right. You made me progress real good.} Dusk reassured as well.

{Not wanting to argue, but it's not really the same with you. I mean, you're a special attacker, just like me. However, the others are all physical ones. You're the only one that I can really help.}

"Don'-"

{It's the truth. I'm smart enough to see that physical teachers are best suited for hand-to-hand combatants rather than pokemon using special attacks.}

"I… That's, unfortunately, a good point." Max admitted with a sting in his heart.

{Don't worry, I'm not feeling worthless. I know that we can't be good at everything.}

"That's very mature of you. Kind of surprising, actually." Max jested.

{Tss. You're not really one to talk in that matter. If I'm not the mature one, who will?}

"I am really mature, you know, and if you don't believe me, I won't be your friend anymore and I'll tattle on you with the teacher."

{Jokes on you, I'm the teacher.}

"Nuh-uh. No, you're not."

{Yes, I am. And do you know the subject I teach?} Scarlet teased while putting images of them having sex in his mind.

"I have a pretty wild guess," Max replied, rolling his eyes.

{Wild is the appropriate word, and if you're a nice, little student, I can take you out for a field trip.}

"Sounds awesome. I hope I'll pass the exam."

{Pretty sure you will.}

Dusk couldn't help but giggle a little at their innuendo game. Sometimes, she wishes to be as experienced and confident as Scarlet so she could do it too.

{What are your plans now?} Scarlet asked.

"Gonna take a nap before celebrating our victory. It's a little weird, but I'm gonna miss this place."

{From my perspective, I don't see why, but for you, I guess it's because you spent too much time around here.}

"Probably. I'm not eager to go camping in the wild again, but at least we will be able to save up a bit of money."

{Aah, away from humans. Nothing could soothe me more than that.}

"In any case, if I want to participate in a pokemon trainer championship, I have to gather badges as fast as possible."

{Not sure it's a good idea.}

"Why?"

{Other strong pokemon will participate, so you might wanna take your time to train ours.}

"Good point. If I want to have a chance to even win the first battle, I shouldn't rush things, indeed."

{Not only that, but the move pool of your team is very lacking. Even I should work in that. Training takes time, but move learning and mastering can take even more.}

"Damn. I wasn't seeing things that way. In the end, I guess it's not that bad to lose from time to time."

{Glad to see you thinking that way.}

"But I'll admit that I don't dislike the idea of being surrounded by strong girls."

After a moment, Max realized what he said and turned to Scarlet, who was looking at him funnily and with a grin.

"Did I said that out loud?" Max demanded, going red.

{Yes, you did, you little pervert.} Scarlet coaxed. {Irredeemable, little pervert.}

"Okay, I get it." Max urged, wanting to change the subject as fast as possible.

{See, Dusk? I told you that this human sees us as nothing more than pieces of meat.} The gardevoir kept teasing, making the braixen giggle.

"I said I get it. Geez."

{No need to be embarrassed. We all have our little fetishes.} Scarlet reassured, hugging his arm tighter.

*sigh* "Yep, I really need a nap now."

After a little while of walking and trivial talk, the three of them arrived at the hotel.

"Last night we sleep here." Max pointed out while entering.

{I'm gonna miss the pool.} Dusk commented, feeling a bit sad.

"Why don't you girls go there one last time this evening before sleep?"

{That's a good idea.}

"Bring all the team. A little girly time between you all will be quite the morale booster."

{So caring.} Scarlet praised.

The instant he entered the room, Max dropped himself face-first on the couch.

{Why not the bed?} Scarlet inquired.

"The couch was closer."

Both pokemon looked at each other with desperate expressions. Quickly, they heard Max breathing, out like a light bulb.

{I'm gonna take a walk outside. You wanna come?} Scarlet said to Dusk.

{S-sure.}

Dusk was really happy to be asked that but was taken by surprise too that Scarlet wanted to spend time with her. Grabbing one of her paws, Scarlet teleported away with the braixen.