Chloe trembled with nerves, excitement and just a touch of needing to pee. She really should have gone earlier, but she didn't know if the microphone was on and she didn't want to take it off or ask…

  She shook her head. That wasn't important. Battle now, pee later.

  Fiona had been, well, amazing. Bold, confident, offensive. Chloe couldn't match that. But she hoped she could at least win. She was prepared, her girls knew the stakes, they knew the plan. They were ready. It was show time.

  She walked down the tunnel, arriving at the edge of a buzzing arena, awaiting her cue.

  “Announcing our second challenger of the evening!” the Announcer began, the lights fading, the crowd growing quiet.

  “Hailing all the way from Kalos, making her gym battle debut. An Ace Trainer, blonde, pretty, and with no hope against our Queen of the Forest, give it up for Chloe Bellamy!”

  The lights flicked on, and Chloe skipped into the arena. She almost tripped, but she caught it, and was pretty sure no one else noticed, as she made her way to her spot. She spotted Troy and Eleanor, giving them a bright wave. Then she saw the cameras.

  “Hi Mum, Hi Calem!” she yelled, waving enthusiastically.

  She had messaged Mum before she came on, and Mum had replied that she was watching. The stage was set, all eyes were on Chloe, and thanks to Troy’s magic, her hair was somehow still perfect even after hours of stressed waiting. It was time.

  “You already know her, so let's welcome Gardenia back to the arena!” the Announcer said, the crowd breaking into cheers as the Gym Leader re-emerged. The woman posed, and pointed dramatically at Chloe.

  “If you think this will go anything like the battle with your friend,” Gardenia said, “Then you are surely mistaken!”

  Chloe shook her head, enormous dangly earrings and ponytail swinging with the motion.

  “No, no,” she said quickly, “I’m nowhere near as good as her. I’m just happy to be here!”

  Gardenia blinked at Chloe, so Chloe decided to fill the gap for her.

  “Thanks for letting me be here, I love your gym. Oh, and those shoes! Where did you get them? Is it a local store?”

  The crowd laughed, and Chloe realised she was babbling. She flushed.

  “No, they're a custom order,” Gardenia replied, laughing, “You look nice too. Let's have fun, shall we?”

  Chloe nodded, face still burning.

  “Focus Chloe,” she thought, “Shoes later”.

  “Well, we were expecting Trash Talk, but instead we got Girl Talk?” the Announcer said, “Either way, with that done, let's get to the battle! Three on three, with the Challenger allowed a single substitution. Trainers, are you ready?”

  Gardenia gave a small nod, while Chloe flashed a thumbs up and a smile,

  “Ready!” she said.

  “The Gym Leader is to release first, you may begin!”

  Chloe took a deep breath. It was battle time, she had this.

  “Roselia!” Gardenia declared, and Chloe cooed as the gorgeous Grass Type appeared. She would have been jealous, but she had Reinette, who was even prettier. Though Chloe was admittedly biased on that topic.

  “Mimi!” Chloe yelled, tossing the Pokeball out, “It's show time!”

  Mimi appeared in an explosion of sparkles, stars and love hearts. Chloe smiled, Fiona had grumbled when Chloe had bought them, saying it was tacky to use ball capsules when you weren't in a contest, but Chloe didn't care. Her princess deserved an entrance, and she was going to get it.

  “Plan A sweetheart!” Chloe called, as Gardenia commanded “Growth, Sunny Day.”

  Both Pokemon immediately began glowing, in a mirror of Fiona’s battle. Plan A was for Mimi to use both Swords Dance and Iron Defence, and the Mawile wasted no time doing so.

  “And we have another battle of the buffs!” the Announcer said, “With Roselia facing off against Mawile, who will blink first?”

  It was Gardenia who made the first move, the Gym Leader deciding that a buffed Mawile was more trouble than it was worth.

  “Leech Seed!” she commanded, with what Chloe had learnt was Gardenia's typical opener.

  “Double Team it!” Chloe called. Mimi finished her Swords Dance, complete with playful twirl, (Mimi had been inspired by Reinette to take the ‘Dance’ part of the move literally), and blurred, leaving a trio of afterimages.

  The Leech Seed hit one of the afterimages, which dissolved, the move missing the real Mimi, who dashed forward.

  “Bullet Seed!” Gardenia ordered, Roselia lifting an arm to fire off the move. The Grass Type was too slow however, Mimi suddenly accelerating to connect with a Sucker Punch. Roselia staggered, and Mimi followed up by grabbing them and tossing the Roselia at a wall.

  “Nice job!” Chloe yelled, “Now, Pass!”

  Chloe smiled with satisfaction as Mimi Baton Passed to Mochi. This was her plan. Mimi to open and buff. Buy an opening for a clean Pass to Mochi. She had one substitution to work with, and she had just traded it for a buffed out Jigglypuff.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Now Mochi would go until she needed to be withdrawn and Pass to Reinette who would do the rest of the work. With Mimi still in the back pocket to bring it home, Chloe was confident she would win. She trusted her girls to make it happen.

  Mochi appeared, immediately launching into a Rollout. Roselia had just enough time to struggle to its feet when six kilograms of angry puffball smashed into them. Mochi grabbed Roselia, who was stunned by the impact.

  “Puff, puff puff!”

  Mochi slapped Roselia back and forth until the other Pokemon slumped, fainted.

  “Roselia is unable to battle! The Challenger takes the lead with a One Two Baton Pass Fairy Combo!

  “Yes!” Chloe punched the air, perfectly in sync with Mochi was doing the same.

  A good start, but this was where it got real.

  Gardenia took a moment to think, recalling her fallen Roselia.

  “Ferroseed,” she said, after a moment, sending out a Grass Steel type.

  “Good match up for her,” Chloe thought to herself, examining the Ferroseed. She briefly wondered what it would be like to hug. Probably pointy.

  “Do your best!” Chloe shouted, focusing back onto the battle.

  “Iron Defence,” Gardenia said, strategy clear. She intended to outlast Mochi. Chloe grinned. Big mistake. Mochi was nothing but stubborn.

  “Blast it!” Chloe called, and Mochi immediately inflated herself.

  “Puff!”

  A Hyper Voice crashed into Ferroseed, sending it careening into a wall.

  “Ingrain, Pin Missile,” Gardenia ordered. Ferroseed hit the wall and stuck, anchoring itself and returning fire.

  Clever.

  Stuck to the wall, with just the hardened exterior showing. Gardenia was bunkering down. But that was okay, it just gave Mochi a static target.

  “Round!” Chloe called, and Mochi began to fire off increasingly powerful sonic blasts, the two Pokemon trading fire.

  The difference was that Mochi was able to dodge, Ferroseed couldn't. Still, with Ingrain healing Ferroseed, it was going to be a slogging match. Unless…

  “Smash that wall! Get it loose!” Chloe called, and she swore she saw Mochi’s eyes light up at being given permission to break something before the Jigglypuff launched into a Rollout.

  “Protect!” Gardenia called, Ferroseed intercepting the Rollout with a shimmering barrier. Mochi bounced off the barrier, landing heavily. She recovered quickly, springing forward as the Protect faded, into the wall with Brick Break. A piece crumbled to the ground, bringing Ferroseed with it.

  “Gyro Ball,” Gardenia called. Ferroseed smashed into Mochi, sending her bouncing backwards like a loose beach ball.

  Mochi ended her tumble and responded by bouncing forward, hitting Ferroseed with a Headbutt, ignoring the bite of the Steel type’s thorns entirely.

  Chloe watched carefully. Mochi would be getting tired, at this rate, she would need to switch her after this battle against Ferroseed.

  That was when Mochi decided to mimic Thistle and reveal a fiery surprise of her own. Recoiling off of Ferroseed, Mochi opened her little mouth and spewed forth a Flamethrower. Heat streamed forward, engulfing Ferroseed. The double weakness to flames meant the Grass Steel type was absolutely devastated by the attack. As was Gardenia’s lovely grass, the field left black and smoking.

  There was silence. Mochi posed proudly.

  “Mochi,” Chloe called, “When the hell did you learn that?”

  More silence.

  Mochi shrugged. "Jiggly?"

  The crowd erupted into laughter.

  Chloe blushed. She could make out Fiona's distinctive howls. The other girl was not going to let her live this one down.

  “Ferroseed is unable to battle,” the Announcer pitched in, “Following a surprise from the Power Puff, Gardenia is down to her final Pokemon.”

  Chloe glared at her little gremlin. They would be having words about hiding secret finishing moves from her later. But that would have to wait. She was up by two. She needed to finish this.

  “Mochi!” Chloe called, “You good to stay in?”

  “Puff!” Mochi called, with a nod. Chloe decided to believe her for now. She could afford to give her a little leeway with Reinette still waiting in the wings. Reinette would probably pout if she missed her debut, but Chloe decided to stick with Mochi for the time being. After all, if Fiona could win with two, why couldn't Chloe? Besides, Mochi was having fun.

  Gardenia took her time again, thinking hard about her next choice.

  “Bayleef,” she called, releasing a large Bayleef into the arena.

  Chloe’s eyes widened. Gardenia was not fooling around. Chloe was not expecting that. Still, that's what made it exciting.

  The thrum of the crowd, the glare of the lights, the glint of the camera. This was it. This is what battling was all about. Chloe smiled, jumping into a pose, hand on hip, finger pointed forward dramatically.

  “One more Mochi,” she called, “show them what you’ve got!”

  Fiona couldn't take her eyes off of Chloe. The girl was positively radiant. Fiona had not been joking when she told Gardenia she had expected to be upstaged. Chloe was simply ridiculous.

  From a Baton Pass strategy of all things to her disgustingly sparkly entrance, Chloe was completely owning the stage.

  And Mochi… Fiona needed to know where Chloe had found her. The Jigglypuff was simply insane. Sure, Fiona had Tank. But Tank made sense. He was just strong. Mochi was… a monster. Chloe’s other Pokemon were just as crazy. What made it worse was how accidental it all was. Chloe didn't even know that Mochi could use Flamethrower. It was stupid. It was amazing. Fiona was enthralled.

  She had fought her whole life to be the best, only for Chloe to skip in and just make it look effortless. Fiona knew that was an illusion of course, she saw how hard the other girl worked, but to an outsider? Chloe appeared to just be stumbling into success.

  Fiona felt the contentment she had felt at her victory from earlier burn away. She had to be better, she couldn't let Chloe outshine her. She needed to win. Chloe wasn't just pretty, she wasn't just talented. She was phenomenal, and Fiona? She couldn't stop staring.

  “Last push!” Chloe yelled, “Get in there Mochi!”

  “Magical Leaf!” Gardenia ordered. Bayleef swung its head, flinging a hail of leaves at Mochi.

  “Puff!” Mochi responded with a Hyper Voice, blasting the leaves from the air.

  “Vine Whip!”

  Bayleef extended two tendrils from the knobs on its neck, grabbing Mochi and slamming her into the ground.

  “Don't let it recover!” Gardenia called.

  Mochi was slammed into the ground repeatedly, unable to respond. Chloe thought frantically, trying to come up with a solution.

  “Now Energy Ball!” Gardenia ordered, Bayleef beginning to charge up a blast of power.

  Chloe stared with horror, then it clicked. TJ’s battle with Tangela!

  “Grab a vine and pull!” Chloe shouted. Mochi did just that, yanking on a vine. Instead of pulling Bayleef towards her as TJ had done, Mochi pulled herself towards Bayleef, using the vines to rocket herself directly into the large Grass Type’s face.

  “Grab on!” Chloe yelled. Mochi latched onto Bayleef’s head, the Energy Ball dispersing as Mochi began to slap the hell out of the Bayleef.

  “Throw it off!” Gardenia ordered, and Bayleef frantically threw its head back and forth, eventually shaking Mochi free, sending the Jigglypuff soaring into the air.

  “Flamethrower!” Chloe yelled, hoping that Mochi could actually repeat the move, rather than it being a one off, in the moment thing.

  Mochi opened her mouth and let loose with a spray of fire. Bayleef cried out as it was engulfed.

  “Get back in there, Play Rough!” Chloe shouted.

  “Vine Whip!” Gardenia ordered, trying to get Bayleef to avoid the falling Jigglypuff, but with flames in its eyes, Bayleef couldn't see to respond. Mochi landed on Bayleef, and unleashed with a vicious series of punches, kicks and headbutts.

  “Finish this!” Chloe yelled.

  Mochi leapt back, drew in a breath, inflating herself to her absolute max.

  “Prot…” Gardenia began, but was drowned out as Mochi released her attack.

  “PUFF!!!”

  The Hyper Voice blasted Bayleef off of its feet, sending it toppling into the grass.

  It didn't move.

  Neither did Chloe.

  “Bayleef is unable to battle, victory goes to the Challenger.”

  “YESSSSSS!” Chloe screamed. Punching the air. On the field, Mochi did the same.

  She did it! She earned a badge!

  Chloe fought back tears.

  She had done it. They had done it. Her and Mimi, and Mochi. Reinette as well, even if she hadn't gotten a chance to battle.

  Chloe couldn't help it. She cried, but she didn't care.

  “Congratulations,” Gardenia said, approaching. Chloe looked up, wiping her eyes to see the Gym Leader smiling down at her.

  “Take a moment,” Gardenia said gently, “that was a great battle, well done.”

  “T-thanks,” Chloe sniffled, “It was a lot of fun.”

  Gardenia nodded, “It was. Don't lose sight of that. Battling should be fun, for us, and our Pokemon. Keep that in mind, and I’ll look forward to watching you in the finals.”

  Chloe nodded, then, overcome, hugged Gardenia.

  Gardenia chuckled, patting Chloe gently on the back.

  “Take this badge,” Gardenia said, placing a badge in Chloe’s hand, “then go celebrate. You and your friends all did a great job today.”

  Chloe dried her eyes, then straightened.

  “Okay!” she said, then she waved at the crowd, and recalled Mochi, who was in the middle of showboating.

  Chloe had won her first badge, but the work wasn't over. She had seven more to go.

  ...after she went to the bathroom, of course.

  Anyways, I really want to thank everyone that has gotten this far. Chapters have been up and down in quality, and I'm sorry about that. Here's hoping that it's only up from here!

  Thanks for reading, I love you!