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"Erm, yes it is," Nina said, after paying for it at the desk. "You're quite the greedy little thing, I hope you know." Nina took her newly purchased disc, and pressed it against Anna's head. Anna absorbed the information that was stored on the disc. In her head, she saw countless Pokemon shooting a purple-colored ball of ghostly energy at their targets. She learned the types of Pokemon that it would be useless against, and the Pokemon that it could inflict heavy damage unto. When she had finished, the TM clattered to the floor, its contents used up.

"Well!" Anna said excitedly. "I feel educated now!"

Nina let out a snorting laugh as she picked up the TM and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. "Well. That's a first."

"Roselia, Magical Leaf!"
Roselia raised up its two flower arms, making them glow pink. Then it brought down the two arms, and let loose a giant whirlwind of sharp leafs.

"Poochy, dodge and use Tackle!"
Poochy was quick to dodge and them started at a run. He dashed toward Roselia, and ended up leaving a harsh blow on the flower Pokemon.

Keegan glanced distastefully at the Imitation Pokemon, then at the little Psyduck. "Say Althena, wanna make this one a record knockout?"

Althena gazed at Keegan for a second before nodding eagerly. "Psy aye aye!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" the girl scoffed, looking annoyed. "I bet your wimpy little Psyduck doesn't even know any water moves."

Althena gave a hurtful gasp, taking a few steps backward. She looked up at her trainer again, holding her head in her hands with a look on her face that clearly said "May I?"

Keegan nodded, returning the Psyduck's expression with a smile that read, "Yes, you may." The Psyduck rubbed her little hands together, and focused her gaze on the Sudowoodo. A bluish light outlined its entire body, and it was lifted off the ground as if it were made of paper. With a flick of her hands, the rocky Pokemon was hurled into the stony wall of the gym, leaving a vaguely Sudowoodo-shaped mark embedded in it. Sudowoodo slid down and landed on the ground, too dazed to get up.

The girl just stared at Althena for a moment, and then at Keegan. "That... that... that wasn't a water attack!" she yelled, trying to sound angry. However, her angry voice soon cracked, and she started to laugh hysterically.

Mike was eager to finish the battle, victory was so close he could almost taste it. "Beacon, Thunderbolt that Pokemon, put it out of commission!" He commanded, thrusting a fist forward as a visual aid of sorts.

The electric Pokemon bounced up and down, building up a charge and releasing it. The bolt of energy was slightly off however, striking the ground beside Kundo and detonating. The Hitmonlee rolled out of the explosion just in time to avoid damage.

"Keep at it Kundo, use Focus Energy!" Nicholas ground his teeth together, leaning over and watching the fight intently.

Mike saw a window of opportunity, hoping that his Pokemon would take it as such. "Quick, while he's immobile, use Brick Break again!" He ordered, Beacon was being surprisingly receptive today, and he hoped it would continue.

To his surprise, Beacon lurched forward slamming his glowing flipper into Kundo's shoulder. The attack broke the Hitmonlee's focus, but he retaliated with a spinning side kick, causing Beacon to tumble away once more. The Ampharos was mad now, and without word from his trainer, charged up a Thunderbolt attack and sending it towards Kundo.

The Fighting Pokemon didn't have the strength to move out of the way and took it head on, collapsing in a heap afterwards. Nicholas recalled his final Pokemon, giving a thumbs up to his opponent. "Great battle..."

"Mike, my name is Mike." He said shortly as he recalled Beacon. "That was an awesome battle, hope to see you around soon!" He released Nitro, causing Nicholas' eyes to widen. "I'm glad you didn't use him against me!" He chuckled.

"To Celadon Mart, I feel like shopping again!" Nitro bent down, lifting his powerful wings and taking off, a short flight ahead of them.

Kasiya watched the Crawdaunt falter a little; being leered at from all sides had to be intimidating. Without waiting for orders, Casimir reared back and jumped at the Crawdaunt, all four clones acting at once. The real one, however, attacked from behind, managing to catch a weakness in the tough shell-like armor that protected the crayfish's body. It howled something fierce, trying desperately to get the attacking Absol off his back. It finally succeeded, a wild Bubblebeam attack clipping Casimir in the side and causing him to let go almost instantly. Visibly shaken, the Crawdaunt stepped back, eyes fixed on the vicious Absol before him. It made a sudden move, snapping its claws at Casimir, who took a nasty hit to his leg. The attack left a cut, turning the silvery fur on his leg a reddish pink colour.

Kasiya glared over at her 'rival' and yawned, the day's events starting to catch up with her. "Bored now," she said, and pointed at the Crawdaunt. "Use Rock Smash!" The girl still didn't know that Crawdaunt was a dual Dark/Water-type, and Casimir's brutal attack sent the crayfish reeling. It collapsed in a heap, twitching slightly. "Great job, Casimir," Kasiya said, looking proudly at the Absol, who walked over to her and sat next to her, a respectful gleam in his crimson eyes. "That's it, you lose," Kasiya said smugly, folding her arms across her chest. "I believe you have something to say to me now?"

The nameless trainer recalled his Crawdaunt, and glared at Kasiya. "I'll get you next time," he said between clenched teeth. "Just you wait."

"Empty threats," Kasiya murmured, recalling Casimir and stretching. Feeling rather good after such a tenacious win, she headed over to the Pokemon Center where she handed over all her Pokemon before collapsing on a nearby couch, and was soon sound asleep.

Mike smiled as his vision was suddenly blocked and a sweet voice was heard from behind him. "I don't have to be a mind reader to know that it's Nina!" He whipped around, happy to see her again. "What's up? I just came here to shop for Felsic and Xanthos, but they're all out of Ice Beam TMs." He hung his head slightly.

Kasiya awoke bright and early the next morning, her chest feeling a little heavier than she remembered. Upon opening her eyes, she realized that this was because Flash was asleep on top of her, snoring peacefully. An Ultra Ball and five Pokeballs, one empty, were resting in tray next to her, and Kasiya smiled, reaching for the empty one and pulling the sleepy Jolteon inside so she could sit up. She went through her morning routine, breakfast, and a shower, and was surprised to find more clothes in her backpack. "Mom's sneaky," she muttered, holding up a cute green miniskirt that matched her vest and bandanna. "Whoa," she blinked, looking over it a few times before she tried it on. It was a good fit, albeit a little shorter than she would have preferred. She shrugged it off and put on a pair of grey legwarmers and black running shoes, feeling eager to face the day.

"Master Koga, you're mine!" she said cheerfully as she left the Vermilion City Pokemon Center, after giving her thanks to the kindly nurse she'd known for years now. Once outside, she unfolded her bike and climbed on. "The next time I see you, Vermilion City, will be when I have all eight Kanto gym badges!"

"How about you give me back my keys then, so I don't have to follow you to Fuchsia?" A voice said from behind her.

Kasiya turned, startled to see Lt. Surge. Her face lit up at the sight of her dad, standing before her, dressed as he normally would. His face was still bandaged, but his demeanor was almost normal again. "Daddy!" she said happily. "I'm glad you're looking better this morning!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the gym's keys. "I really did almost forget. Glad you caught me."

"Me too. I'm glad I caught ya." He gladly pocketed his keys. "So yer goin’ for a Soul Badge, eh? Well, good luck. Koga's tough, so don't let yer guard down."

"I promise I won't," Kasiya said, nodding. "I'm going to make you proud of me, Daddy." She hopped off her bike to give her father a gentle hug.

"Too late for that," Surge chuckled. "I'm already proud of you, Kassie. Now go get 'em."

"Okay," Kasiya nodded, pushing back a happy tear. "I'll see you soon. Take care!" She climbed back up onto her bike, and waved.

"I will. And Kass??" he called, as Kasiya had started to pedal away. She turned, and he smiled at her. "Love ya."

Kasiya winked at him. "Love ya more." With a final wave, she was off, heading north towards Saffron's gates once more. With any luck, she'd be able to get through them easier this time.

Mike was already going over a battle plan in his head, running statistics and strategies all inside his mind. He gave Nurse Joy Felsic, Xanthos and Beacon's Pokeballs. "Thank you." He said in advance, darting over to the PC. He held up Napalm's Pokeball, giving it a small kiss before placing it inside the slot for pending transfers. It was warm, and caused him to smile. Typing in his login and password, he connected with his home network. He dragged his cursor over an all too familiar icon and dragged it to the transfer menu.

"Ding."

After hitting the OK button, he watched as Napalm was sent to his home, and another Pokeball was sent in its place. He snatched the ball and logged out, happy to hear his Pokemon were already healed. Mike thanked the Nurse once more, clipping the Pokeballs to his strap, all but the one he just got from home. He walked outside, and turned towards the Gym. He looked at the Pokeball, a smile on his face.

"It's been a while...Titanium." He said as he broke out into a run for the Saffron City Gym.