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"Um, alright," The Rocket said, a bit thrown off by Mike's Pokemon. "Tauros, don't waste any time, Horn Attack!" As commanded, the bull Pokemon began running forward, from a trot to an all out run. To gain speed it began to slap it's backside with it's many tails. Steam seemed to pour from its nostrils as the enraged Pokemon charged forward, it was truly a frightening sight.

While it was strangely memorizing, Mike was not about to let his Pokemon become mush on the wall. "Beacon, brace yourself, ready a Thunder Wave!"

As the bull approached, Beacon steadied himself as best he could (Which wasn't that great) and built up a weak charge in his body. Unfortunately for him, Tauros was not stopping, and crashed into the Ampharos with great force. Beacon let out a cry as he was struck by the Pokemon and subsequently carried for a distance backwards, but then clasped onto the Tauros' face, blasting it with the previously prepared Thunder Wave. Tauros stumbled and tripped, crashing downwards and sending Beacon tumbling backwards. He was hurt, but had alot left in him. The same went for his opponent, who seemed to be only more furious at the attack.

"Tauros, hit that sheep with your Take Down!" The Rocket thrust a fist forward, and his Pokemon took off towards Beacon once again.

"That bull is too fast, let's fix that, Cotton Spore!" Mike knew that with Beacon, raw force wasn't always the best way to win. Softening up his opponents with status ailments was something this little Pokemon was pretty good at.

Once more Beacon was faced with a pissed off Tauros throwing itself at him faster than he'd like, but at least this time he had something to tilt the odds in his favor. Shaking his body around, a small colony of cotton ball like things floated and traveled towards the approaching Pokemon, clinging to its feet. It slowed down quite a bit, enough to need to exert visible strain in order to keep up its top speed. Beacon readied himself for the strike, lowering his body in hopes of softening the damage.

The force of the attack was staggering, so much that even Tauros felt some of the shock. Beacon landed on his back, quickly scrambling to his feet to remove any vulnerability he had while on the ground.

"Well, it's fast, and can hit hard, but can it take what it can dish?" Mike taunted, throwing his hand forward and closing it into a fist. "Brick Break now!"

Now it was his turn to be on the offensive. The Ampharos ran forward, the usual bounce in his step. His flipper shone in a bright white light as he brought it down in the form of a karate chop on the bull's head. It cried out in pain, the move doing quite a bit of damage. Without wasting any time, the Rocket ordered for another Take Down and the Tauros readied himself for another lunge. However, his legs had other plans, and locked up before he was able to start his attack, canceling his action for that round.

"Yes!" Mike cheered, luck was on his side this match. "Okay, Beacon, blast it with a Thunderbolt!" If luck held out, he could end this fight within the next turn or so. That'd be nice, as he wanted the Ampharos to pull out a win, the last battle be participated in didn't go as well.

Taking advantage of his opponents immobile state, the miniature lighthouse built up a powerful current inside his body, leaping at the Tauros and doing just as his trainer said, blasting him with a Thunderbolt. The bull definitely felt the attack, it flailing on the ground in a fruitless attempt to get away from the pain.

Keegan remained in his seat after Kasiya ran out of the gym, which did nothing to add to the awkwardness of the moment. He was still fairly uncomfortable around Lt. Surge, even after besting him in a match, and it showed in the fidgeting he did with his hands, hoping that Kasiya would come back soon. But after a few more minutes, and she didn't come back, he began to wonder if she was coming back, and he stood up, stretching his cramped legs and walking around for a bit before he politely excused himself, and exited the gym, beckoning for Maven to follow him, if she wanted to.

He quickly passed by the wretched tree again, using his long legs to carry himself over it (not that the tree posed much of a challenge anyways), and ventured back into the city, looking around for any sign of Kasiya, or where she might have gone. Firstly, he checked the Pokemon Center; instead of entering, he looked in through the window, and indeed saw his beloved speaking with the nurse. She didn't look as upset as when she'd left, and he assumed that the nurse had given her good news, evident when she rose from the couch and followed the nurse into one of the back rooms. Shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his black overcoat, Keegan continued his wandering, finding himself heading north, where not too long ago, he'd first met Loki; the naughty Ekans who'd been after a meal of Spearow's eggs, and had used Keegan and his other Pokemon as a distraction to move in on his dinner. The redhead smiled at the memory, remembering how valiantly both Themis and Helios had protected the Spearow's nest, resulting in Loki's capture. He didn't regret a moment of it, even though the Arbok could be a bit overbearing, at times.

His thoughts were then interrupted by shouts from a few older children, both of whom were running towards him, Pokeballs clasped in their hands. "Hey Mister!" one of them called; a boy, roughly thirteen years of age with tangled, black hair. The other was a girl, presumably his sister, and perhaps a bit younger. She also sported dark hair, although hers wasn't nearly as messy as her brother's. "Wanna battle?" the boy asked earnestly, to which Keegan could only grin.

Kasiya looked around the empty gym, a little confused. There wasn't any sign of anybody, not even Keegan or Maven. Where had they gone? "Dad?" she called finally, stepping further inside to have a better look around. Rosemary stuck right beside her trainer, nearly tripping her a few times in the process. "This is odd," the girl sighed, kneeling down to pet the Bayleef. "I wonder where they went?"

"Some of us need to have our Pokemon healed as well," Surge's voice came from within his office. "Your friends headed out not long after you did. I guessed they went after you." The large man came out from the small room with Raichu perched on his shoulder.

"I just went to the Pokemon Center, that's all," Kasiya said, standing up.

"Of course," Surge nodded, studying the Bayleef for a moment or two. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I think I should continue training," Kasiya said rather quickly. "I'm not going to let you bask in that win forever, you know," she added.

"That's what I thought," her father chuckled, looking at the ground. "So where are you going to train?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "Maybe I'll go back to Hoenn or Johto, earn a few badges from some other regions or something."

"You could go to Cinnabar Island," the man suggested. "There's an abandoned mansion there, and it's overrun with wild Pokemon. Perhaps you could do some training there, and then challenge Blaine?"

"That's a good idea," Kasiya blinked, but then shook her head. "I don't know how I'd get there though," she said.

"There's a ferry that leaves here every afternoon. They pass by the Seafoam Islands, if you wanted to have a look around there."

Father and daughter talked for a bit longer before they said their goodbyes, and Kasiya left the gym in a significantly better mood than before. Having recalled Rosemary before leaving, she headed back into town to look for her two friends.

Even though she'd practiced and practiced with it the night before, Keegan thought that Flamethrower would be a bit over the top at this particular time. Instead, he crossed his arms and nodded to Mori. "Tackle it again, Mori!" he commanded.

With a whinny, Mori reared back and then charged forward once again, preparing to tackle her opponent as she had before. "Not this time," Mason smiled, seemingly having a trick up his own sleeve. "Doduo, dodge with Quick Attack and hit Ponyta on the way back around!"

And that's what happened. Moving nearly too fast for the human eye to see, Doduo avoided Mori's oncoming attack, and as the Pokemon turned, he managed to land a quick strike, catching Mori off guard. The Ponyta quickly retaliated on her own, slamming her hooves hard into the ground and growling sharply at the Doduo, causing it to falter slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keegan saw Maven and the sister begin a battle of their own. As Maven sent out Vixy, he suddenly wanted to stop and watch how she handled the young Vulpix, but he soon remembered that he was in a battle as well, and Morgan needed him. Before he knew it, Mason's Doduo was coming at her again, its two beaks aiming to connect for another Peck attack. Unable to think of pretty much anything, Keegan called for Mori to dodge, which was the first thing that came to mind. Rather nimbly, the lean Ponyta moved with the striking Pokemon, keeping enough distance to avoid being hit, but at the same time, she stayed close enough to be able to attack back. "Now use your Double Kick," commanded the redhead firmly. Turning sharply, Mori took aim and kicked with her powerful hind legs, landing a firm blow to the stomach of the twin-headed bird. It staggered back, gasping for air yet keeping both pairs of eyes fixed on the Ponyta, not wanting to get caught off guard again.

"I didn't know Ponyta could learn Double Kick," Mason said, impressed by the young fire pony. "Is that a special move?"

"Yes," Keegan replied. "It's a special move known as an egg move. She got it from her father, and was born with it."

"You must be a Pokemon breeder then," Mason grinned. "That's so cool! Okay Doduo, Quick Attack again! Hit hard and fast!" And that's just what Doduo did. Moving unbelievably fast, the bird aimed carefully and struck Mori on the left side, managing to retreat before she could do anything in return.