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"Oh no you don't!" Shelly realized she was in a tight spot. Her last Pokemon up against two Pokemon strong against her Starmie. She was about to yell out an attack but couldn't find the attack to issue in her head. "Starmie, uh..." The woman stammered, gritting her teeth at the way the battle had turned out. She watched as her Pokemon was helplessly assaulted by the heavy hitting Giga Drain and drained of a vast amount of energy. Her eyes focused on the fatigued Ampharos. "Starmie!" She yelled, pointing at Beacon. Her blood red nails reflected the light of the room almost scarily. "Bubblebeam that Pokemon there, take it out!"

The Star Shape Pokemon's back 'legs' spun rapidly, and the beautiful jewel on its core began to glow. Just as before, it launched a volley of bubbles at the Ampharos.

"Beacon, dodge it!" Mike shouted, but he knew well enough that there was no way that Beacon, of all Pokemon, would be able to dodge a precise shot like that. He could only watch the inevitable.

Flannery's eye twitched at the sight of the Golduck, and she glared at Keegan in an annoyed fashion. "Traitor!" she yelled, shaking her fists at him. Keegan was probably the last person she ever thought who would capture a Water-type. The Water Pulse scored a direct hit on her Camerupt's forehead, and the large Pokemon bellowed out in pain, stomping around in an attempt to shake it off.

"Okay Camerupt," Flannery called, (feeling a little down as she was not at a severe disadvantage), use your Take Down!"

Camerupt bellowed and charged forward, its tremendous steps causing the gym to shake as though another Earthquake had been launched.

"Althena shouldn't have a problem now," Kasiya mumbled, feeling a bit better now that the Golduck was on the scene. Levi had scooted back and was leaning against the wall, both impressed and intimidated by the powerful Pokemons' various attacks. She could only hope that she too would be that powerful someday.

Keegan could only chuckle as his deduction was correct. "Hey, don't diss Althena," he said, waggling a finger at Flannery. "She's a pretty tough Pokemon, so you'd best not anger her." The Golduck eyed the charging Pokemon carefully, fully prepared to dodge its attack. However, her attempt to evade proved to be futile as the Camerupt, apparently more experienced in the ways of battle than she initially thought, moved with her, landed a solid blow to the Golduck's shoulder and sent her reeling. She landed hard on the ground, and scrambled to get back up before she could be attacked again.

"Okay Althena, use Psychic!" Keegan commanded. "Keep that Camerupt away from you!"

The Golduck clapped her hands together as a bluish aura began to form over her entire body, and she used the power of her mind to project it forward towards the Camerupt.

"Yes, it was a truly wonderful experience." Sasha's voice was so thick with sarcasm you could almost smell it in the air. "I'll have to sign up for the trip next year too." The girl wiped off fer bandanna, which was covered in her own spit. "Gross."

Mike let out a huge sigh of relief. "Man! That was intense!" Unlike Kilik, the Magma boy could do this sort of thing every day. The reward of saving someone's life was just too much of a joy to view it as a chore. "By the way Sasha, why did they even kidnap you anyway? You beat up some of their Grunts and they nabbed you for revenge?" It was a question that bugged him since they began the operation. There was really no motive for the whole incident.

"If I knew, I'd be telling you." The pink haired girl shrugged. "Honestly, it would have made it a little more boring though, half the time I was here I was wondering why they snatched me in the first place. Maybe they just really suck at pick up lines?" She chuckled, obviously trying to make light of the recent traumatic ordeal.

"Must be it." Mike joined in with the laughter. He was glad she was alright.

"Listen...Mike, Kilik...." Sasha began to say something but stopped. Her face turned a light shade of red as the girl slowly looked up at the two boys. Tears were trying their hardest to push there way out. "You two coming here, without any reason just to save me..." She sniffed, the tears were winning. "I just, ahhh!" The girl practically threw her self at the two boys, grabbing each of them and yanking Mike and Kilik into a strong hug. She began to sob loudly, occasionally able to choke out a 'thank you' or an 'oh my god'.

Mike looked to Kilik, and gave the boy a warmhearted smile. A tear of his own almost came out. "You tell me, is this not what life is all about?" He squeezed the two tightly. "Let's get out of here Sasha, alright? I bet you could use some fresh air." Mike walked over to the teleporter. He was certain this was the one that would take them to the last room before returning outside. Stepping onto the pad, the boy, girl and Pokemon disappeared in a flash of light.

Mike could feel his heart drop as he heard that familiar deep voice rise up from the sea. "Archie." The boss of Team Aqua himself had presented himself to them. This is bad. The boy thought. He only had three Pokemon left with enough endurance to battle, and two of them were Fire Pokemon! He once again kicked himself for his lack of proper planning. No matter! Despite the type disadvantages, he could count the number of times Nitro had lost on one hand. He'd just have to play it smart. "Stay back Sasha, we'll take care of this." He reached for his Charizard's Poke ball. "Consider this one on the house too."

Sasha stepped a few feet behind the two boys. She was in no condition to battle, and clashing head on with a man this frightening was not on her to do list either. "Be careful Mike, Kilik!" Prickles stood in front of his trainer, ready to step in should he be needed.

Mike tossed up his Pokeball, releasing his most powerful Pokemon: Nitro. The Charizard hit the ground with a crash and roared loudly at the opposition. He looked around, spotting Kilik and Bahamut. The Fire Pokemon nodded in salutation, then returned his focus to the battle ahead of him. "Okay Nitro, I need you to be careful in this battle! We're at a huge disadvantage here and this isn't some random sparring match. This is the real deal!" Mike was there when Nitro was born, there was not a day that went by when the two had been apart since that day two years ago. There was no person, Pokemon or otherwise he trusted more. "I'm not with Team Magma anymore Archie. I realized that Maxie is just as power hungry and foolhardy as you! I only wore this to help infiltrate your base." He couldn't wait to get out of the outfit too, it was a little too hot for a summer day with humid.

"Alright Kilik, let's bring this party to an end! Don't be stupid!" The Lavaridge boy pointed dramatically towards the two opposing Pokemon. "Nitro, use your Sunny Day. Make this place hot!"

The Charizard let out a loud bellow, agreeing that a spike in temperature would be nice. Nitro opened his wings, his body giving off tremendous heat. The sunlight that was once just peeking through the glass roof began to pour through with intensity. The sunlight reflected off the tile floor, making the entire room light up. Heat waves began to slowly ripple up from the floor. This was Nitro's battlefield now.

A shiver ran up the boy's spine at the sight of those poison tipped fangs connect with Nitro's neck. That's a little rough isn't it? He was not going to enjoy watching his Pokemon slowly lose all his health to a creeping toxin, either. He would just have to crash on through with pure brute force! "I no not like Poison Archie, it's one of my least favorite things." Mike replied, shaking his head. "However, I'm sure your Mighteyena won't enjoy this. Nitro, Flamethrower!"

His Fire attacks amplified by the extreme sunlight and powered even more by the Charcoal in his hands, the Charizard took in a deep breath of the clean ocean air. A loud rumble could be heard from his stomach as the Pokemon prepared for his attack.. The fire sac in his body filled with flames, and his flaming tail began to flare up immensely. Nitro leaned his head back, thrusting forward and exhaling a large stream of fire from his mouth. The attack traveled towards the Dark Pokemon with due speed. The tiles underneath the fiery attack became black and charred. The Charizard roared defiantly, then winched as the poison began to take its toll

Mike laughed at the intensity of the attack. "Ha! Take that!" He cheered. All the training he spent with him was certainly worth it.

"Little Guy!" Ky called out as the vortex of sand consumed both of the Pokemon. About to order his next command, Ky's voice died as he heard an ear-piercing screech suddenly echo over the roar of the Sandstorm. To Ky's horror, he watched as small green feathers flew out from the mini-tornado. Ky's arms began to shake as he fought back his panic. Almost everything in Ky's head cried to have Little Guy retreat and Teleport back to safety, but Ky knew better. Up until now, Little Guy hadn't even received a scratch, which is why Ky ordered the risky maneuver in the first place. Ky had an idea for a possible finishing move, but it would be pointless to attempt with the Larvitar at its current health. He needed to sap the Larvitar's strength, now. "Little Guy! Hold on!" Ky called out. "Use Night Shade!" Unable to see into the vortex himself, Ky could only hope Little Guy hadn't lost his grip.

Still holding on to the Larvitar's horn, Little Guy found himself being cut and scraped more and more often as they fell deeper into the vortex. Closing his eyes, he could barely make out Ky's voice over the howling of the winds, but it was enough. Focusing his mind away from the pain, he quickly formed a black cloak of energy around his body. Then, opening his eyes slightly, he shot it straight into his rocky host.