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Rala groaned and stepped back when the Payback hit her, the move draining more than a little of her strength due to the power the move had. I wanted to keep Rala fighting, to keep pushing the offensive, but I started to get the feeling that Stoutland's moveset was primarily built around his physical strength, and Rala's physical defenses were not very significant. If we kept going like this, Rala might lose. "I don't like it, but a change of tactics is in order. Rala use Double Team."

Rala sighed in relief at that order, and began teleporting around the battlefield repeatedly, each time leaving a clone of herself comprised entirely of energy. Before long, the battlefield was littered with these clones, and Rala tried to be as unpredictable as she could be in where she'd teleport to next. Where as the real Rala in the sea of clones?

I shook my head at myself. I should have known a defensive strategy wouldn't work. Still, it was a small blessing that Stoutland was ordered to use a Flying-type move. "I guess I can still learn something from you. Shock Wave, Rala!"

What I meant was I could follow his lead and use a move that can't miss. Rala happily charged herself with Electric-type energy, focusing it at one point and waiting for Stoutland to get close with Aerial Ace before letting it erupt from her, reaching out to Stoutland in an arc.

My first instinct was to use Hyper Voice to push Stoutland back, but he would likely use the backwards momentum to create another advantage, and on top of that, I didn't want to further damage the hearing of his students. Then it struck me - While Stoutland was primarily a physical attacker and Rala didn't have the defences to hold him back, her training in physical attacks could be implemented to use Stoutland's strength against him.

"Alright, Rala, time to make use of your training. Ice Punch," I ordered.

Rala gathered Ice-type energy into her right hand, creating freezing temperatures around it. When Stoutland charged for her, looking to score a hit with what was basically a Ground-type tackle, she lunged at him with her frozen fist, hoping to encase him in ice to create an advantage for herself.

Or maybe not. Rala couldn't take that much punishment, try as she might. She fainted, and I had to bring her back to her ball.

I sighed letting Haku back out. "I know you're worn out, but I have to rely on you. Try to regain some of your strength by taking it from Stoutland. Use Drain Punch."

Haku had more powerful Fighting-type moves than that, but hopefully the energy gained from Drain Punch would give him the strength to finish Stoutland off. Haku charged at Stoutland, charging energy in his claw before swinging on his enemy.

I held my breath a bit when I heard Cheren call for a Ice Fang. The energy Haku took via Drain Punch would help soften the blow, but he'd lose that energy and then some from the super-effective move. My first instinct was to use Stoutland's close proximity to Haku to catch him in a Close Combat, but a second before the command left my lips, a better plan began forming in my mind.

"Show them your multiplication skills, Haku. Use Counter!" I ordered. Haku roared, Fighting-type energy emanating from his entire body before he concentrated it into his arms, at which point he swung with both paws, aiming to catch the opponent while dealing out damage at the same time.

I managed to avoid sighing in relief when Stoutland fell. He put up a good fight, and I felt he deserved more respect than would be offered by showing how worried I was that he'd somehow still have energy after taking it or worse - somehow avoid it. I also made a mental note to not put Rala up against physically strong opponents without having two or more moves with type advantages. Relying on Focus Blast didn't help her inability to keep fighting in the end, though neither did Double Team against a Pokemon with Odor Sleuth. If I was going to keep getting wins in the badge circuit, I had to keep my enemy's strengths in mind, as well. I couldn't keeping thinking of battles in terms of my Pokemon's abilities alone.

Nevertheless, Samurai, Rala, and Haku fought hard, and it was through their power that we found victory today. I stepped forward, turning my tie around to show the Trio Badge and Basic Badge I got from the Stiration Triplets and Lenora, respectively. I fastened Cheren's Basic Badge to my time before turning it back, thus freeing me hands to shake his. "It was an honor to battle with you today," I said simply, showing my gratitude to him for accepting my challenge.

Keiko followed me out, and seemed confused when I didn't immediately call for GRAY, instead seemingly fiddling with my SNAG. After a while, I did ask for a ride from GRAY, getting the usual levels of butthurt from the AI. It was only after I put my SNAG away and Claydol warped us to Virbank that I noticed her concern. "Had to swap my team up temporarily for the next gym," I explained. "Swapped Sauron for Odo and Samurai for Brunor."

"I really don't get the six Pokemon at a time thing," Keiko spoke up, looking a mix of concerned and slightly annoyed.

"There are various reasons," I said calmly, remembering being asked that by an academic professor back in Pokemon Tech as we made the walk to the local gym. "On the competitive side of things, not having a limit would mean that battles would be decided by the number of Pokemon a trainer has caught, and battles would take days if not weeks to determine a decisive victor. There's also the problem of memory. The more you have, the harder it is to keep track and take care of them - especially for younger Trainers - and the easier it is to not notice when one or more get lost or stolen."

"Fair point," Keiko sighed, cringing a bit at the thought. "Why six, though?"

To this, I shrugged. "Beats me. I assume it's the number that the league decided on after discussing it, but beyond that, I don't really know." Fortunately, it didn't take us long to get to said Gym, and I knocked on the door once we did before letting myself in, with Keiko following suit.

"I think I'm gonna stay outside until the music dies down," Keiko said loudly, holding her ears against her head. I nodded, understanding how painful this must be for her to hear with the advanced sense of hearing her Lopunny ears provided her. I entered, regretted it instantly, and trudged on anyway, staying behind the crowd for the time being. I was sure that there would be an opening for me to challenge the gym leader at some point.