The group was a bit confused by the layout of the gym wondering what the purpose of the pillars was. They saw a large man fixing one of them, he was hard to miss. Kenta’s words caused the girls to girls giggle, but Cero stayed silent. “Santa” talked about the pillars shocking people like it was no big deal and looked upset that he would have to shut the system on. He figured there was no regulations against this, just as long it didn’t kill anybody it was ok to do. However Cero wondered why anyone in their right mind would want to knowingly shock people. “Santa” kind of reminded him of Lt. Surge, who was known to be ruthless in battle.

Cero was determined to face the gym leader 1st, he realized he never faced the challenge head on always having Max or Kenta fight first then following them. Watching their battle tactics to see what worked and any flaws had become a crutch for him and he had to break that. Cero knew the gym leaders elemental specialty would be taken into consideration as to which Pokemon he would choose. He only had basic types not normal or psychic like the others, however he was confident he would win.

The guys in the group woke early and trained a bit before everyone else got ready and then they all continued on their way. After awhile of walking, the next city could be seen ahead. Some time later, they stepped through the city gates. The city seemed to be pretty large, but noticing a sign early on, the team was able to locate their main target, the next gym. 

Inside the gym, the group had already passed large metallic pillars, curious to what they were. They eventually came across an older, portly man who seemed to be working on one of the pillars. Kenta made a comment about Santa Clause being their next opponent. Max looked closely at the man, "Wow Santa, so this is where you stay the rest of the year." The gym leader stood, not seeming too fond of the comments, and went on to explain that he usually had barriers in place. 

Feeling a tension buildup, Kenta contemplated taking the first match, if only to relieve his stress. However, before he could volunteer, Cero stepped forward, looking nervous, but bold. Feeling's mutual, thought Kenta, allowing him to proceed. Good luck.

As Cero and Wattson moved to face off, Kenta went over the various possibilities of pokemon Wattson might possess. He was required by the rules to have electric-type traits in all of his pokemon, so that narrowed down the field. Considering the local pokemon, Wattson would likely have Electrike, Voltorb, Magnemite, and any of the secondary forms. Most likely, they WOULD mostly be second-stage, considering the badge level.

Elektrike and Manectric are like Miles: good at Speed and Special Attack. Voltorb are mostly Speed, but those things are also notoriously Islamic- they blow themselves up to vanquish enemies. The Magnet pokemon aren't nearly as fast, but they're defensive tanks, and even better Special Attackers. Victory in this gym will be won by finishing battles quickly, and not letting them drag on.

Kenta felt a bead of sweat slide down his temple. My team is designed for just that. It's going to be a Sudden Death sort of match when we're up. He glanced over at Max. On the other hand, he's got a Ground-type. Max has the highest chance of success in the group. Then Cero . . . then me.

Cero realized that the man they were all looking at was the gym leader. He stepped forward to challenge him getting his attention. Kenta nodded as he passed him. His heart was racing he didn’t even know what type of Pokemon Wattson favored. Cero was almost certain Kenta knew, despite the fact he was from Johto he was very knowledgeable about the Hoenn region.

Both of them picked the same Pokemon to battle with, Electrike. Cero figured she was his best option since Staryu would faint in a matter of seconds and Combusken needed a break from fighting. Electrical attacks would have little effect so physical and status moves would determine the victor. Both of the Pokemon paced from side to side sizing each other up. The battle continued on with multiple TACKLE and QUICK ATTACK being called. Cero saw the slight advantage Wattson’s Pokemon had. He had trained his Electrike well; it was pretty tough for a Level 1 Pokemon.

“What am I going to do!?” Cero thought, “At this rate Wattson will just tire Electrike out!!”

He called for his Electrike to use SPARK which distracted her opponent and gave an opening for a follow up attack with TACKLE. Though the attack hit Wattson’s Electrike managed to get back up. Cero tried to keep it cool despite that plan failing. The Gym Leader retaliated with a hard hitting QUICK ATTACK that sent Cero’s Electrike a few feet back.

“DAMN IT!!!” he yelled at himself as Electrike struggled to get up.

Cero chose to go first and stood off against the gym leader. In a flash they released their Pokemon, both using Electrike. Both Pokemon rushed each other, jumping around and ramming their bodies against the other. Both Electrikes traded equal blows, but after awhile, Cero's seemed to tire first. He called out a SPARK then charged his Electrike forward, catching the opponent off guard. The gym leaders Pokemon quickly regained it's footing and rushed at Electrike, sending the Pokemon to the ground. 

I see what's going on, thought Kenta, observing the battle with his usual stone-faced composure. Home field advantage. Wattson's Electrike has pounded dozens of challengers here before, on its own turf. I have no doubts that Wattson knew how to raise it, but being here makes for a stronger need to win. He considered his experiences in past gyms, frowning. My battles were always so fast that the opponent didn't have time to draw confidence from its surroundings. But we can't do that in this gym. Electric-types aren't built to last in battle, yet Wattson must've trained long hours to make his own pokemon an exception to the rule.

. . . How many pokemon were allowed to each side for this match, anyway? It wasn't declared. If Wattson assumes this to be a one-on-one "winner takes all" match, Cero's in trouble. But he'll be okay if Combusken is allowed to get in there. I don't care how much defensive training Wattson might have done- if Cero rolls out the big guns, that old man is in for a surprise.

The difference between their previous gym battles and no was obvious. The learning curve rose too quickly, Cero was doing his best to try to keep calm. However Watson though focused wasn’t breaking a sweat. After another clash of their Pokemon Cero’s Electrike was showing signs of fatigue, he could see though she had fought with all she had her past leg injuries were creeping back. He gave the signal to the referee to halt the match.

“Something wrong?” Watson asked.

“I can’t continue, the health of my Pokemon is more important than winning,” he replied, “You win.”

“The winner! Gym Leader Watson,” the referee called.

Cero kept grace, he could vent later. Acting out now would take Kenta and Max’s focus away, something that was greatly needed. He suspected Watson had a similar training to his; both Electrikes used physical attributes like speed and strength over special abilities. Both were evenly matched in the beginning, but it was shown who was stronger. Cero would have to see Watson’s training method to be sure.

Both Electrikes continued trading blows with each other. Both Pokemon seemed so similar, but slowly the difference was seen. Cero's Electrike began slowing, showing signs of fatigue, far before the gym leaders. Cero suddenly raised his hand, signaling the stop of the match, stating he was worried about Electrikes health. 

Max was surprised at how much stronger this gym leader seemed compared to the others they have faced so far, he also wondered if his and Kenta's match would be an all out one on one battle. He turned towards Kenta, he had seemed ready to go when they first got here, and Max signaled to him allowing him to have the next turn. 

"Wahahaha! Better luck next time, sonny!" Wattson called after Cero. Kenta didn't catch his eye. Losing a battle to another trainer was always humiliating, but it was salt in the wound when the foe was your exact same pokemon with better training. If Kenta were in his place, he'd want to be left alone for a while. But there wasn't time to think as Cero. Kenta would need to devote all concentration into the upcoming match, now.

Wattson raised another pokeball. "One on one again, if you don't mind. There's a lot of you." He sent the ball spinning, and it burst open to reveal the most artifical-looking pokemon Kenta had yet seen: a Magneton. His stomach dropped. An Electric-type alone was trouble enough, but Wattson's use of a Steel-type screwed up his advantage no matter what pokemon he chose. Slacker was still in a lower stage of growth, and unfit for a gym battle. Fidget had no attacks ready to dent the Steel trait (if only he knew Fire Punch, Kenta fumed). His newest team addition, the shiny Nincada Shinobu, had the only type advantage, but no power. One Sonicboom would take it out. That left the team leader, Miles. While the Grovyle only had low-effective moves against Magneton's steel, at least Miles's Grass-type traits would curb electrical return damage as well.

Kenta flicked his wrist, and his starter stood before him, brandishing a thorn whip. Pokemon with their own personal weapons were few and far between, but in an effort to speed-teach Miles his species' signature move, Kenta had engineered a prototype Leaf Blade. Kenta tensed as the referee raised a green flag to begin the match; the whip was unique to his Grovyle, but was it an edge, or a hindrance? Time would tell- he pointed at Magneton's eyes. "Blindness factor! Attack the sight!"

Miles whirled the whip madly and lashed it at Magneton's three eyes. The artificial attack, an incomplete Leaf Blade, was more of a Grass-type Cut attack at this point. Magneton, however, merely rotated its hovering, and avoided direct hits to its eyes. Wattson shouted a return cripple command: Thunder Wave. A moment later, Miles dropped to one knee, stunned as electrical air waves fried his nerves. The move was devastating, because it also drastically reduced Miles's speed: his most reliable stat. Magneton automatically got in the next move as well: Supersonic. Now petrified and confused, Miles swayed on spot, a sitting duck. Never had Kenta felt disarmed so quickly.

Despite the win, Watson seemed disappointed with how the match ended. If Kenta and Max didn’t have better luck, it was obvious they would be staying here until they could defeat Watson. Kenta was up next and chose Grovyle against the Gym Leader’s Magneton. Cero noticed that the green pokemon had a whip; it reminded him of Farfetched and the leek it uses as a sword. His companion had a good tactic planned to blind the Magneton yet it was unsuccessful. A quick combo of THUNDER WAVE and SUPERSONIC ended the match quickly. His heart sank. Kenta was the most knowledgeable about statistics and battle planning so for him to lose so quickly was slim to none. Watson had proved he was cut above the rest without even showing the full strengthens of his Pokemon.

“This man is serious about winning,” Cero thought, “we’re going to have train like our very lives depend on it. If Watson can beat us without much effort now . . . does that mean the future Gym Leaders are even more difficult!?”

The gym leader sent out his Magneton, stating that the next matches, like the first, would be one on one. Kenta walked up to face him, calling on his trusty companion, Grovyle. The green Pokemon stood before the hovering Magneton, growing a long, thorned vine in it's hand. 

Grovyle was quick to strike, lashing out at it's opponent. Magneton simply turned different parts of it's body, causing the whip to only hit solid metal pieces of it's form. A large static wave pulsed from Magneton's body at it's trainer's command, causing Grovyle to drop a little. This was quickly followed up by a supersonic, hitting the already stunned Grovyle. Max wondered if this was already the end for Kenta's gym battle. 

I didn't take sufficient time to prepare, Kenta thought angrily, while trying to keep a frosty outer composure. Wattson likes using cripple tactics, but the only berry we have is Chesto, which cures sleep status. In the limbo-time of his racing thoughts, Kenta wondered how he could have made such an obvious mistake in his foresight. While it was true that he didn't have a Cheri Berry or a Persim Berry to counteract the status damage anyway, it wasn't an acceptable excuse. He could have searched for them while on the road- or hell, he could've asked his companions for one. The problem was, he had overestimated his chances of winning before walking into the gym. Grass-types trumped Electric-types, and Miles was his team's captain: the best trained. So when did things go wrong?

First, Cero had lost. Actually seeing his companion go under shook Kenta, because Cero often went into battles that seemed unwinnable, and always managed a victory. Over time, Cero's track record had become a sort of security blanket for Kenta. And now it was ripped away. Second, in spite of all the training, Miles had never gained powerful moves. His best attack barely scraped 50 base damage, which was why Kenta had to constantly rely on Screech and type advantage. And that led to the third reason: Magneton's Steel-type trumped the Grovyle's Grass attribute. None of his moves were effective against the floating metallic juggernaut. Wattson's uses of paralysis and confusion, while strategic, weren't necessary. There was nothing Miles could do, even with a status immunity, that would bring down Magneton before the steel monster destroyed him.

As if to prove the point, Miles charged forward, then tripped over his own grass whip in confusion. Magneton beamed him with a Sonicboom attack, which did a guaranteed 20 damage- in this case, more than a third of Miles's health. He could take one more of those, but not two. Feeling hopeless, knowing that he wouldn't recover at this point, Kenta dropped to one knee and raised his arm in submission. He would have preferred to view this as a tactical withdrawal, but if this were a real battlefield, he would have been dead. He never should have stepped into this building.

"Enough. I surrender."

Miles pushed himself past the paralysis, but tripped and fell do to it's confusion. Magneton shot a sonic attack at the collapsed Pokemon, causing Kenta to take a knee and end his battle. Watson grumbled to himself as he returned his Pokemon, instantly calling out another, the evolved Electrode, calling for the final challenger to step up. Max hesitated, his Marshtomp was his best bet against an electric Pokemon such as Electrode, but he only knew of one ground move, and his was the lowest level out of the groups starters. Max debated retracting his challenge and trying after some training. 

"Don't tell me you came all this way just to back out in the end," a voice called out from behind the group. Max quickly turned around, standing behind them was a tall man, looking to be in his mid forties, with shoulder length solid white hair. The man's clothes were covered in assorted cuts and tears, with the occasional scorch mark dotting them. Next to him stood an Electabuzz, it's arms crossed and it's body slouched, apparently bored. "Surely your Pokemon came prepared for a fight," the man continued, "Your letting more than yourself down if you don't even attempt. I'm very disappointed in you nephew." 

Max was shocked to see his uncle here, but turned and stepped towards the gym leader, knowing he had to at least try to win. Pulling a Pokeball out, Max called on Marshtomp. The blue Pokemon stood before Electrode, ready to fight. The moment Marshtomp appeared, Wattson called his attack, "TAKE DOWN." The Electrode began rolling full speed towards Marshtomp. Max was barely able to call his attack, a MUD SHOT, before Electrode came hurling through the attack and struck Marshtomp hard in the front. The attack knocked Marshtomp to the ground and Electrode stopped inches from it's body and turned to face him as it's trainer called his next attack, a SONICBOOM. 

The close range attack bounced Marshtomp several feet away. Max was a little worried despite his Pokemon jumping right back up, it's body seemed to be shaking slightly. Max quickly called another MUD SHOT, not wanting to give his opponent another attack. The attack hit Electrode dead on, who didn't seem to try to avoid at all. Wasting no time, Wattson called out another SONICBOOM, which Marshtomp crossed his arms to block, but was still knocked backwards. 

Max began reaching for his Pokeball, but stopped once he saw Marshtomp moving. He slowly made his way to his feet, his body shaking noticeably. He stared at Electrode, seeming not ready to quit just yet. Max smiled slightly, "Alright buddy, once more, MUD SHOT." Marshtomp opened his mouth and sent another blob of mud towards Electrode. Wattson's voice was heard and his Pokemon sent out another SONICBOOM, tearing through Marshtomp's attack and striking the open Pokemon, slamming it to the ground, knocked out. 

It looked liked Max had a chance to win the battle after the mysterious man made his entrance. What was even more amazing was that his Pokemon was a water type and going toe to toe with an electric type! Cero realized that all their Pokemon had reached level 2 of the evolution meaning that the 3 of them were more or less even in terms of training. Despite Max’s brave effort, he lost as well. Cero was in disbelief that all 3 of them had been defeated. Watson didn’t even break a sweat; he and his Pokemon were on another level.

He would have to sort through this later; the appearance of man was a more pressing matter. The group made their way to the PokeCenter finding out what they could about the man, who turned out to be Max’s uncle. Though he kept his composure the loss broke him a little. Sarah glanced over at him, and he smiled like nothing was wrong. He stopped for a moment playing the last scenes of Max’s battle; Electrode was an electric type yet didn’t use any electrical attacks. That would’ve ended the battle in mere seconds.

“What is wrong with these Gym Leaders!” he thought as he gripped his fists tightly, “either they don’t try, are over confident or handicap themselves!”

Cero turned back and raced towards the Gym. The doors flung open startling Watson who was repairing one of the pillars.

“Gym Leader Watson, I request a rematch,” his tone was serious and direct.

“So soon?” he asked. Cero said nothing as he held one of his Pokeballs ready to battle, “. . . very well . . .” it was obvious to Watson that something had sparked Cero’s resolve, “It’s not that often trainers come back in the same day for rematch.”

“Epiphany,” he replied.

Mid-morning at the Mauville Pokemon Center was quiet, since most trainers bunking there had left by now, and nobody at this hour had pokemon injured enough for healing yet. Therefore, when Cero burst out the door to Wattson's gym, the noise startled all remaining occupants. Kenta, however, gave no reaction other than a slight jump at the sudden sound. Nearby at the vending machine, Megan glanced up, half bent-over from picking up a melon bread pack. She and Kenta exchanged glances.

"Where's he going? Back to the gym?"

"Dunno." Kenta shrugged, then put his head back down on the couch he was lying upon. He had no motivation to do anything. He'd messed up his match with Wattson, only to find out during Max's battle that it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Electrode had taken direct hits from its only weakness- Ground-type moves- and didn't even slow down, which was supposed to be Mud Shot's side effect. Wattson had to be using pokemon with levels in the upper thirties, at least. It was like facing Yuka's Magikarp all over again. He wouldn't attempt another round at this gym until he had a stage 3 pokemon . . . or at least, another badge from somewhere else.

The problem was, Ashley had scouted ahead a bit earlier, and reported back with some bad news. The road north, which was their destination onward, was blocked by two large, fractured boulders. To get past them, the team would need either a jackhammer or a pokemon that knew Rock Smash- and THAT required at least one of them to have Wattson's gym badge. It was a catch-22. Kenta had to get to another gym to beat Mauville Gym, but to do it, he needed Mauville's Dynamo Badge to blast through the rocks in the path. And if Max's Ground-type Marshtomp couldn't stand up to Wattson, who could? And so Kenta lay hopelessly on his couch, a juggernaut forced to a halt, with nothing but clouds of depression floating over his head.

Max returned his Pokemon and stepped towards the others. His uncle stood there with a large grin on his face, clapping as he walked up, "Great match Max." Max kinda forced a smile at him and said thanks. Having all three lost, the group began to leave the gym. Max turned towards his uncle, who seemed to not be moving. He smiled down at him, "Go on ahead Max, I'll catch up." 

They stepped out of the gym and headed towards the Pokemon Center, none of them saying anything. Upon entering, they all stepped up to the counter and healed their fallen Pokemon. Max glanced around the almost empty center, and noticed a familiar Pokemon sitting cross legged on the floor. He smiled and ran up to the Pokemon, "Lee, it's great to see you, how have you been?" The Hitmonlee opened it's eyes and glanced at Max, a somewhat joyful expression came across it's face, hard to tell without a visible mouth to smile with. The Pokemon slowly raised itself up, which Max then noticed one of its legs was bandaged all the way up. Max's smile lessened a little, "I see you two are as reckless as ever." 

Moments later, Max's uncle and Electabuzz walked through the Center. Everyone went about their own business, visiting a little with everyone. Cero suddenly bolted from the Center, catching everyone off guard. One of the girls suggested that maybe he went to challenge the gym again. Max was amazed that Cero already felt confident in winning, he knew that Marshtomp would still need additional training before he would be ready. His uncle suddenly interrupted his thoughts, "Max! It's time to train," he said with a grin, "Grab that big blue guy of yours and meet me outside." Before he could reply, Electabuzz grabbed Max and pulled him towards and out the Center's doors. 

Chase (Max's uncle, kinda late but I figured I'd give his name) slide his hands in his pocket and casually walked across the floor. He stepped up to Kenta, who was laying on the couch, and said, "Well hey there, don't you look awfully down. Why not take this time to practice your faults from the match? Here," he said, tossing a Pokeball onto Kenta's lap. "If you decide to, Amp (An Electrode) should be able to assist. Careful though, she has an explosive temper," he continued with a smile. Chase then turned and walked out the Center's doors. 

The man who identified as Max's uncle reminded Kenta somewhat of his master, Shatu. Same mentor role, same difference in strength, even the same shade of white hair, almost. However, as he stared at the pokeball Chase had tossed to him, he couldn't help wondering: what would the Master say?

"Why not take this time to practice your faults from the match?"

His primary fault had been unfamiliarity. He had failed to scope out the match ahead of time, and it had cost him his first loss at a gym. Using an Electrode that he didn't even own was a fool's folly. And Chase had hinted that it could explode- literally. Electrode were notorious for that. No- Kenta would not fail this test. If he were to win a victory against Wattson, it had to be done on established teamwork, and a closer bond to his pokemon. That's how it was done in the military.

Kenta's eyes drifted to the map, where a flamboyant "YOU ARE HERE" marker established Mauville City. He moved his eyes towards the left, to the location just west of the city. There: objective spotted. He rose from the couch with a new resolve, and marched out.

***

"Oh, hey," said Sarah, noticing as Kenta sauntered quietly into Mauville Gym and came up beside her, eyes focused on the match. "You here to try again, too?"

"Negative. Not even if Cero wins this time." Kenta forced himself to smile. "We'll give it a second go when my pokemon aren't so watered down in level from that Exp. Share. Until then, I'm here to cheer."

His eyes never left the battle in the center. "We need at least one win, if we want to move on."

Cero decided to use Combusken this time while Watson had Electrode aiding him. That Pokemon was most likely Watson's strongest considering he used it against Max and now to battle him. Wasting no time Cero called for an EMBER while Watson countered with a ROLLOUT. Combusken dodged the attack, but Electrode kept rolling speeding towards the fire bird pokemon. Thinking fast Cero called for hearty EMBER attack on the projected path Electrode was on. The heat from the attack raised the temperature of the ground greatly. Comnusken was hit dead on, but managed to get back up. Electrode looked had some black strikes on its body. Now things would be a bit more even with Electrode being burned. The friction from the ROLLOUT paired with EMBER attack generated a lot of heat which Electrode constantly rolled over in its attempt to hit Combusken.
"Impressive," Watson thought, "sadly I don't have burn heal. . . Electrode will have to fight though the pain."

"FOCUS ENERGY followed by EMBER! Don't let up," Cero called.

“THUNDER,” Watson commanded.

Electrode’s attack had an early lead since Combuksen centering itself before spewing fire. The attacks meet about 5 feet away from Cero’s pokemon. That was a close call! Just when EMBER began to die down, a new round of the attack started stronger than the last. This pushed the THUNDER attack back. Watson called for another THUNDER surging the previous one forward. This tug of war warped the attacks and created an explosion. White steam covered the battle area, blocking both trainers view.

“Combusken, FOCUS ENERGY!” Cero commanded as the steam cleared.

“ROLLOUT,” Watson called.

Combusken started to move, but Cero against it as Electrode drew closer and closer. It looked like he was planning for his pokemon to take the hit. Suddenly he called for Combusken to perform a back flip with a DOUBLE KICK. This sent Electrode straight up into the air still spinning.

“EMBER WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!” he yelled.

The flames erupted from its beck like a volcano fighting to keep Electrode in the air. A critical moment happened when the Pokemon began to glow white coupled with a high pitched screech. Watson’s pokemon exploded midair and fell to the ground unconscious. Cero fell to his knees and Combusken chirped with triumph.

Max and Marshtomp began following his uncle and Electabuzz outside the city. "Couldn't we wait just a bit," he asked, "I wanted to see Cero's second match." "There's no time," Chase answered, "I don't know how much longer I can stay around here, and we need to get some training in first." Max continued talking with his uncle, not getting much out of him about the last few years. "So why do you want to train me so suddenly," Max suddenly brought up, "I didn't expect to see you, let alone you actually staying around." 

"This looks like a good spot," Chase said, seeming to avoid the question. Max glanced around and noticed they had left the trail and now were standing in an open area. "Well...," Max started, before Chase spoke up, "I noticed you used a water Pokemon against an electric user, and he didn't use a single electrical attack, so I stayed behind and asked him about it after I defeated him. Turns out that big blue guy of yours is also a ground type, and Electabuzz and I have never faced that particular dual type." 

"Wait a second," Max said, confused, "Who is this training for exactly?" "Match set!" Chase yelled out, tossing two Pokeballs between him and Max. They released two Voltorb, who quickly shot away from each other, then squared around Max and Chase, before coming back together in front of the trainers. Max noticed they dug a large rectangle around them. Chase recalled his two Voltorb and called out, "Begin!" 

As I thought, mused Kenta, Combusken came through. Just barely, but we ARE talking Electrode, here. Wattson had been a crafty weasel all the way to the end, risking nothing and using a pokemon with the Rock-type move Rollout to counter fire. That one fortuitous Ember attack had burned Electrode, however, and the side effect of the burn status was a gross decrease in attack power. Wattson might have still knocked Combusken out with one good Thunder, but the martial artist bird proved nimble enough to avoid a direct attack. The last Ember might have sealed the match, but Kenta was most impressed by the Double Kick prior to it. Electrode was infamous as a speed demon because its circular shape allowed for minimal friction. Kicking it into the air, like Combusken had, took away its contact with the ground, making the ball pokemon unable to alter its direction. If you were fast enough, it was a sitting target in that window of opportunity.

He realized he'd been holding his breath. Kenta let it out with a whoosh of air, and allowed himself a small smile. Cero had broken through this barrier for the team. Now all they needed was to find the Pokemon League official in the area, and have him give them HM06 (Rock Smash). Those boulders blocking the way north would be history.

"Wahahaha! You got me, sonny!" Wattson laughed from the other side of the room, and Kenta was taken aback at how pleased the old man suddenly seemed, despite having lost. Maybe he was genuinely impressed at having actually been beaten by someone. "Fine, the Dynamo badge is yours! And if you want it, I'll let you have this TM34, Shock Wave. It's the electrical version of Swift; it never misses!"

Well done, dude, Kenta thought, inclining his head to Cero and Combusken approvingly. You're back in the game.