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Flygon flapped her mighty wings once and was lifted into the air. A few more beats of her wings brought her over the cliff. Much higher than was necessary, it seemed, as she received a light kick in the side from her trainer. The Dragon-type flew a little lower and aimed for the spot right in front of the red-roofed building. She didn't carry the three trainers for long. The flight was two minutes, tops.

When she landed, Kilik hopped off with Mike and Sasha and recalled her. "Man. It's been a long day..." he yawned, clipping the ball back to his belt. Taking a step into the Pokemon Center and being blasted by the air conditioning was a welcome relief as well. The nurse standing behind the counter gave him a welcoming smile. "Weren't you here this morning?" she asked, tilitng her head. The boy nodded and handed over all six of his Pokeballs.

"Typical trainer stuff," he said. Kilik walked over to the couches and plopped down on one, resting on his back and staring up at the ceiling. His arm dangled loosely off the side, and another sigh burst from his lungs. "This feels soooo good...." he stretched with a laugh. Part of him really wanted to battle and especially train Lairon: the behemoth was starting to listen to him a little better and perhaps with more training, he'd be a powerful (and obedient) Aggron. He smiled at the thought.

"You said it." Agreed the boy as he handed off his Pokemon. "You guys deserve a long rest after that."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Nurse Joy was acting strange, looking back at Mike every few seconds as if he was going to steal something.

The boy raised an eyebrow at the woman's odd behavior. "What?" He looked around. Maybe there was something on his face? He walked over to the PC, the unlit screen made for a decent makeshift mirror. It was then he realized he was still wearing his Magma uniform. A wave of utter embarrassment washed over the boy as he quickly disrobed, leaving him in only the undershirt and boxers. "Sorry Nurse Joy, it's just me." Red in the face, Mike ran to the washroom before she could respond.

Sasha shook her head at the boy's impulsiveness, smiling and handing over Prickles Great Ball to the Nurse. "Long story. Him and Kilik just saved me from Team Aqua. I was tied up and everything." The girl laughed it off, the whole incident almost transforming into a sort of demented field trip.

"Oh my." gasped the Nurse. "That must have been awful!"

"Yeah, it's was pretty bad." Sasha glanced over at Kilik, a light shade of red showing on her face. "But I had two heroic guys to save me, so I'll be alright. I just need a shower." With another short laugh, the pink haired trainer walked off to the girl's washroom, eager to wipe the dried blood off her face.

Mike winced as Kilik's hand collided with his back. Mike had a pretty small frame, and while his friend's hands were far from mammoth, they were still big enough to hurt. "Haa-ey Kilik." He said through grit teeth. "Sure, but I'll have to put it on cold so your clothes don't turn red." Removing the metal admin pin from his Magma uniform, Mike stuffed it in along with his usual clothes and Kilik's. He looked around and while no one was looking quickly ripped his boxers (flame adorned of course) off and threw them in as well, wrapping a towel around his waist.

"I don't really have a major game plan for where I'm going after this." said the boy as he climbed into the shower stall, tossing the towel over the door and starting the water. After the initial ice cold water warmed up to an acceptable boiling hot temperature Mike dove right in, soap suds going everywhere. "I'm thinking of running to the store tomorrow to pick up a move for Portabello, and after that I'm gonna train Napalm. You?" Before Kilik could answer, Mike squeezed a near gallon of shampoo onto his head and scrubbed viciously, the oceanic air wrecked his hair like nothing else.

Sasha's trip to the washroom was a much lonelier one. The fact that she could hear muffled voices from the boy's room only made the experience that much more depressing. The shower filled the silence as she washed her self clean from the day's events. "I have got to be more careful." She said under her breath.

It was Keegan's turn to be frantic when he saw the large Camerupt emerge from the Surf attack unscathed, and he clenched both his fists to his sides, growling slightly. How did she do that?! he thought desperately, having not heard the order for a Protect, nor had he seen the familiar green glow of its shield. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of having dreamt that he ordered a Surf attack, but he shook the thought away, clearly seeing the remains of the water draining away through the cracks in the gym.

He clenched his fist and brought it up, staring at it while his mind struggled for answers. He had the clear advantage here; there was no way he would let it fall away now. "Althena!" he shouted, fist trembling with adrenalin. "Ice Beam, now!"

Althena concentrated, sending the frigid beam of ice towards her opponent, frost and steam coming off of it the entire time. We can do this! he thought, clenching his other hand into a tight fist. We can win this one!

In all his time, Keegan had never witnessed a fire attack so powerful before. The overwhelming heat had brought him down to a knee, and he remained in that position, squinting at the battlefield. The flames covered so much of the gym's area that Althena had no where to go, and the Golduck huddled on the ground, screeching loudly as even the water type found herself pained by the fierce attack. When it was over, Althena was still able to continue, but at a price - it had been a critical hit. Althena pulled herself to her feet, refusing to show how much she was hurting, and she turned to Keegan, waving at him as if to say 'what are you waiting for? Let's go!'

Keegan grit his teeth and punched the ground, feeling the heat exhaustion start to get to him. He silently cursed himself for not bringing a bottle of water with him, and he felt a slight wave of dizziness wash over him. It was then he glanced up at Kasiya, and he came to the realization she was watching him. There was something different about the way she was looking at him, and he too felt something stir in his heart. He wore a lopsided grin as he pulled himself to his feet, and looked to Althena. "Water Pulse!" he shouted, as though he'd never felt weakened at all. "Full power, Althena!"

Nodding, the Golduck jumped high into the air, forming the watery ring between her webbed hands. Throwing everything she could into it, she then hurled it down towards the Camerupt, letting out an ear-shattering cry as she did so.

Mike's eyebrow raised at the mention of the Beach Party. "Yes," He replied. "Yes I know so much about it, that I feel the need to quiz you on your knowledge of the subject. Such as the time and place." He smiled to himself, happy Kilik couldn't see. Oh, you're one smooth operator, Kyoka. A beach party would be fun. He could invite his lovely ladyfriend and get the chance to see her in a swimsuit again, that'd be nice. Mmm... He had a wide smile just thinking about it.

The Cherrygrove festival came to mind. Those comfortable flowing kimonos and the tasty food, he even got Felsic there. He sighed a little sigh remembering the adorable Cyndaquil popping out from his egg. It seemed like only yesterday that the little guy was hanging off his shoulder, being all cute. "They grow up fast..." the boy said under his breath, smiling once more.

"I'm sure she'll be alright." replied the boy. "I've only known her for a little while, but she's a tough girl. Cute too. She'll be fine."

In the next room, Sasha had pressed herself up against the wall leading to the boy's washroom to listen in on their conversation. "Beach Party eh?" Some time to flaunt her good looks would be nice. Upon being mentioned her heart jumped a bit. He thinks I'm tough? A giggle escaped the girl as she continued to listen.

Keegan couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw Camerupt finally fall, and he let out a tremendous sigh, wiping his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. Two down, one to go, he thought, already knowing that he'd be seeing Flannery's Torkoal next. He knew it was her toughest gym Pokemon, but on the bright side, he still had one fully healthy Pokemon left as well. If Althena could land some damage before she got taken out, then it could be a cakewalk from there...

The Torkoal came spiraling towards Althena at a surprisingly fast rate, and the Golduck jumped up and over to nimbly avoid the oncoming Body Slam. However, neither she nor her trainer anticipated Torkoal to pivot and come back the other way, hitting her from behind instead. Althena was knocked face-first to the ground, and try as she may, she could not find the strength to get back up again.

"Althena..." Keegan sighed, holding up the Pokeball to recall the fainted Golduck. "You were great, I couldn't have asked for a better effort." He smiled as he clipped the Pokeball back onto the strap and reached for his final Pokemon. "It's do or die," he murmured as he threw the Great Ball. Come on Tierra, don't let me down! he thought, watching the Golem emerge from the sphere. As usual, however, the Pokemon was pretty much asleep, the hot, humid atmosphere of the gym doing little to affect the rock type. "All right Tierra! It's time for action! Use your Magnitude!" he shouted. Tierra didn't respond though; only continued to sleep soundly. Keegan sighed, shaking his head. I should have went with Themis, he thought sadly.