“What the hell was that?” Lt. Surge asks after a prolonged moment of silence.

  “Hmm? It’s a combination move. We call it Mystical Gleam, basically adding a Mystical Fire just as Hatteren fires Dazzling Gleam.”

  “… That combo’s pretty deadly, boy.”

  “Thank you!” said Gray, oblivious to the wary glances now being thrown at him and Hatterene.

  Unbeknownst to the trainer, the cameras had managed to capture the predatory grin on Hatterene’s face as she finished Manectric off.

  Her beautiful face had been reduced to an ugly smile as she brutalised her opponent, the contrast between her serene appearance and savagery taking everyone aback.

  “Gym Leader Lt. Surge has lost three pokemon. We will now move on to our first break.”

  Gray nods at the announcer’s words before turning around and stalking back to his assigned waiting wing. Now that he was facing the audience, he could see the nervousness of the crowd as they eyed Hatterene right beside her trainer, her face back to its usual serenity that resembled a beautiful maiden.

  They hesitated in meeting the pokemon’s eye, but somehow found it difficult to take their attention completely away from her. With her out of battle, it was difficult to imagine that this attractive pokemon had managed to reduce her opponent to a burning corpse.

  As he stood right by her side, Gray could feel the pleased aura she emitted, thriving under the attention and weariness the crowd gave her in equal parts. Gray guessed that she loved the chance to flaunt her combination move, something that was unique to her amongst all of Gray’s pokemon.

  Though Hatterene was shy and introverted, she adored being part of her trainer’s family. Here her moments to stay by her lonesome were respected, but she also found herself delighted at other times where she felt she was part of a family, doing what she could to feel included.

  During one of Gray’s training sessions, he had been going around instructing his pokemon how to use Moonblast, Clefable aiding him with imparting the knowledge thanks to his close ties to the moon. However, no matter how much she tried, Hatterene could never get the hang of it.

  Gray had been confused, for it was rare for Hatterene to be stumped by Special Moves, especially a Fairy type one. She was usually one of his top performers, something he partially credited to her species’ natural proclivity to Special Moves.

  He then remembered that Hatterene as a species was unable to learn Moonblast, a fact that Hatterene took hard for it separated her from the rest of her family. She sulked as she watched the rest of her tribe practice the move, feeling the loneliness and otherness that her species was known for.

  Feeling bad for her, Gray had made a point to train with her one-on-one, letting her set the pace and decide what to work on. It seemed like being unable to do a special move so well-known for fairies was a difficult conundrum for the Hatterene, so Gray had to talk with her and reassure her that being differentl wasn’t too bad of a thing.

  It took awhile, but Hatterene was eventually able to master her Mystical Gleam combination, her ability to burn an opponent to a crisp with a Fairy type move became a hit with Gray’s violent pokemon family, and Hatterene was able to feel included in everyone's shared fascination with violence.

  As their trainer, Gray had entertained a thought to worry about his pokemon’s violent proclivities, but he chose to shrug it off. He had a sneaking suspicion that it would be ultimately futile, and it wouldn’t have gone well considering Gray himself wasn’t fully opposed to it. Instead, he found himself cooing at the thought of his cute pokemon being badass when the situation called for it, and rationalised that perhaps this is just how fairy pokemon were meant to be.

  So Gray contented himself with watching Hatterene blush and sputter at the mixed attention she received from the crowd.

  Lt. Surge marched quickly into his position on the battlefield before impatiently eyeing the announcer to start the match proper.

  His blood was surging, heart thudding at a rapid pace. Battling Major Sammy’s protege was turning out to be more interesting than he had initially assumed.

  The boy’s foreign pokemon were clearly well trained, independent yet able to immediately execute their trainer’s occasional commands, their trust in being led in the right direction apparent. Battling them had scratched an itch in Lt. Surge that he rarely got to indulge in during peacetime, so he wanted to get this show on the road as soon as possible.

  “The battle will now commence. Trainers, release your pokemon!”

  Hatterene materialised on Gray’s side of the field, immediately setting up a Trick Room, faithful to her previous tactics.

  On Lt. Surge’s side, a hunkering metal landed on the ground with a thud, before a series of beeping sounds caused it to rise slowly up in the air. Its eyes blinked open slowly, as if its system was rebooting, before landing on his opponent.

  “Mag-nezone.”

  The showdown began anew with the two pokemon firing at each other, a Psybeam and Thunderbolt each to test the waters out. Just before the respective moves could land, Hatterene conjured a Light Screen to take the move while Magnezone did the same.

  The pair conducted their artillery-like exchange, doing their best to snipe at each other from afar. Hatterene, under the influence of Trick Room, was much more at ease with dodging Magnezone’s attacks, her movement speed being the faster of the two.

  Magnezone grunted as more and more hits landed on it, wearing it down more and more as it struggled to dodge as easily as Hatterene.

  Hatterene, sensing her opponent being more susceptible the more damage it took, capitalised on the opportunity by teleporting near Magnezone and dousing him with Magic Powder, teleporting away before it could retaliate.

  Magnezone, unable to respond, froze for a bit before its entire body shuddered. It blinked at Hatterene before going back to their exchange, a bit more cautious now that Hatterene had revealed her ability to Teleport so easily.

  Lt. Surge observed his pokemon, trying to determine what exactly that powder move did. Other than the shudder, he couldn’t detect immediate differences in his pokemon, but the more he watched the more apparent the issue was. Somehow, Magnezone’s Thunderbolts had lost its usual luster, reduced to a mere zap rather than the electrocution Lt. Surge had drilled into his team.

  Frowning, he chances a question at Gray. “What did you do, boy?”

  Feeling a bit magnanimous considering things were going his way rather smoothly, add to the fact that Uncle Surge was technically close friends with Grandpa Sammy, Gray decided to explain.

  “Hatterene used Magic Powder. It’s the signature move of her species.”

  “So? Why’re Magnezone moves weaker looking?”

  “Well…”

  At her trainer’s words, Hatterene managed to thread a quick teleport to her opponent, timing it in between the electric type’s attacks. Her tentacle took on a Dark tint before a Brutal Swing smacked against Magnezone.

  “Mag!”

  Magnezone cries out before being forced away violently, needing to take a few seconds to steady its levitation.

  “It changes the pokemon’s type to Psychic.”

  Lt. Surge remained quiet as he observed the match closely, throwing Gray off. He had expected the man to react to Gray’s words, at the very least complaining about the choice to weaken Magnezone’s STAB moves. The fairy trainer suddenly got a bad feeling, as if he had handed in the keys to his own defeat with his yapping.

  Thanks to Hatterene’s Magic Powder, Magnezone’s Thunderbolt’s power was drastically reduced, and Hatterene was able to confidently take a hit without too much damage to herself.

  Magnezone suffered slowly, its flight flagging the more hits it had to take when its Light Screens were insufficient to keep Hatterene at bay.

  When its levitation height was now half-way from when it first started, Hatterene deemed it sufficiently weak enough to eliminate with one shot.

  She teleported into Magnezone’s space, body shimmering and getting ready to take him out with her combination move. When her body reached the maximum light it could emit, she began to weave Mystical Fire to supplement the Dazzling Gleam.

  But just before she could attack, Magnezone perked up, its sluggishness disappearing in a single moment. Lt. Surge’s brutal smile returned, predatory and blood thirsty for the violence he was about to inflict.

  “Mirror Coat!”

  White engulfs Magnezone’s body just as it did Hatterene’s. The fairy’s explosive move was followed up by a second explosion twice as powerful as the first.

  It was isolated, however, as the explosion caused the Barriers discretely set up by Magnezone to reveal themself. During the battle, Magnezone had been discreetly setting them up for this one moment, and it limited the damage to a compact cube that contained both pokemon.

  The Barrier collapsed, releasing wisps of smoke and a wall of heat that could be felt by the entire stadium.

  The smoke clears and Hatterene is shown to be fainted in the ground, unable to withstand the doubled power of her own combination together with the increased mastery of Mirror Coat now that Magnezone was a Psychic type. Magnezone looks to be in his last ropes, barely hanging on to a thread of consciousness.

  “Hatterene is unable to battle. Magnezone wins! With this, Gray has lost three pokemon. The next match will begin after a short interval.”

  “Why take a break now? Let’s continue with the match!”

  Lt. Surge suggested, eager to keep fighting now that momentum was on his side.

  “Hmmm? Not willing to give me a break to regroup, Uncle Surge?”

  “You’re a healthy young man in his prime! If this old man can do it, surely you can keep up!”

  Gray pointedly looks at the gym leader’s thick biceps, but he only continued to grin, unrepentant.

  Starting now would leave Gray with a disadvantage, considering he wouldn’t make use of the breaks that are his to utilise by right. But thinking about it rationally, Gray believed that the outcome of this match was inevitable, whether he took the break or not. Plus, even a break at this point would serve to give Magnezone time to rest too.

  “Fine, let’s go on.”

  Even the audience breathes a sigh of relief, the idea of a break so quickly after the previous one off-putting.

  Gray lifts up a pokeball in one hand, but it never unclasps to release the pokemon within. Instead, the shadows from beneath Gray’s feet ripples, darkening and shifting as Flutter Mane floats out of it.

  The Misdreavus lookalike causes a shift in the crowd, many recognising the familiar-looking body.

  “And what’s this? You have a ghost type?”

  “Meet Flutter Mane. He’s a Ghost-Fairy type.”

  “A different evolution to Misdreavus? Branches off of Mismagius?”

  “Nope.”

  Lt. Surge waits for Gray to elaborate, but all he gets in reply is the younger man’s shit eating grin. The gym leader grumbles, deciding he’d pester Major Sammy about it after the match or something. Gray may have his secrets, but Lt. Surge was not above utilising his connection with his grandpa to unearth them.

  “Get out of there!”

  Magnezone readies a Volt Switch, desperate for a break after its intense fight with Hatterene, but just as the yellow energy materialised to surround him, the move fails with a comical pop.

  Shocked, Magnezone looks up, only for an involuntary shudder to overtake its entire body.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  A detached eye was above Flutter Mane’s head, its Mean Look firmly fixed on Magnezone. Magnezone felt a strong urge to flee, but somewhere deep down it knew that escape was not just improbable, but an impossibility.

  Lt. Surge frowned Magnezone’s failed move, as its inability to Volt Switch spelled certain doom for his steel type.

  Trying to pivot, he instructs Magnezone one more time, “Rest!”

  Just as sleep was about to overtake its body, Magnezone found himself wide-awake once more, the field now surrounded by a light layer of fairy mists that curled upwards alluringly thanks to Misty Terrain.

  Lt. Surge’s frowned deeper now, his brows furrowed at Magnezone’s paths to salvation being firmly blocked. The Misdreavus lookalike swayed to and fro dreamily, the moves he used to deal with Magnezone barely taking anything from him.

  Now that he was paying more attention to the opponent, Lt. Surge could feel the beginnings of a frosty layer forming on his newly clammy skin. It was bizarre, how much of a difference this pokemon’s appearance was causing. The idea that Gray nearly always had him hiding just within his shadows caused goosebumps on the gym leader’s arm.

  Whatever it was, this pokemon was dangerous in a way Gray’s previous pokemon weren’t.

  “Knock it out.”

  Flutter Mane disappears before appearing above Magnezone’s head like a grim reaper, the afterimage of his path the only indicator that he had not teleported but instead moved so fast he might as well have.

  Flutter Mane’s eyes completely blacken, causing the audience to shiver when it was caught on the big screen. A ghostly ball forms in front of his mouth before he smashes it directly at Magnezone’s head, the Shadow Ball wielded like a claymore rather than a ranged attack.

  Magnezone smashes downwards, the impact hits the ground resulting in a crater perfectly contoured to its body.

  Flutter Mane silently floats back to his trainer’s side.

  “Magnezone is unable to battle. Flutter Mane wins!”

  Lt. Surge withdraws Magnezone, worrying for the first time in this match.

  Growing tired of the back and forth he and Gray had had from the beginning, he suggests something daring.

  “Let’s duke it out properly, boy. No more tricks and games, just pure power.”

  Gray considered the older man’s request. His best guess was that the gym leader was growing tired of his own reliance on deception to win battles.

  From the little research Gray had done, Lt. Surge usually relied on power to overwhelm his gym challengers. From his lower badge tiers to the higher, he would strike at his opponents using the destructive power of electric types, acting like a power check to challengers and indirectly telling them that to move up further they would need to scale over the wall of power in front of them.

  Of course, there would be occasions where he would shock his opponent with something unexpected, an Exploding Electrode or something of the like.

  That’s why Gray was a bit taken aback by the excessive Volt Switching, baits and unexpected moves. He had chalked it up to Lt. Surge’s battling style being like this when he was at his best.

  But now, the old man was suggesting a slug fest? Gray was more than willing — what better way to prove to Indigo the mettle of Fairy types than by smashing at each other?

  In the back of his mind he could hear Gardevoir scoff at her trainer’s thoughts, the disdain she felt for something so stereotypically male.

  “By all means, Uncle Surge. After you? Just don’t throw your walking cane at me when you lose face.”

  Gray recalls Flutter Mane, and the cold that had seeped into the air vanished just as she disappeared into her trainer’s shadow.

  Lt. Surge could feel himself breathe a little easier now that the strange pokemon was gone, and he could feel his blood pumping a bit more as he held a pokeball in one hand.

  Gray did the same from his side of the court, and two pokemon suddenly materialised on the field.

  One was a yellow humanoid beast with a flat head and dark stripes all around his furry body. From his back two tendrils emerged that sparked with electricity on occasion.

  The other’s appearance gave everyone pause, the strange foreign pokemon rather off-putting at first glance, a stark contrast to the effortless beauty Hatterene had exerted earlier. He had an impish face pasted on a muscular frame made mostly of hair, though the entire body rose and fell with each breath the pokemon took, proving that it was indeed its main body.

  Electivire roared to announce his presence, his fists colliding with each other to produce a thunderclap, electricity bursting out of him, tendrils of electricity dancing all around him like a miniature storm.

  Grimmsnarl gave no reaction, his face blank as he looked over his opponent. Only when Electivire finished his intimidation tactic did his head bend down sideways, one hand raised to cover his face as he sniggered out loud.

  Electivire caught the undisguised amusement in his opponent's eyes as Grimmsnarl looked back up and kept fighting to keep a straight face, as if Electivire’s display was a childish attempt at trying to appear stronger than he actually was.

  Irritated at not being taken seriously by a far younger opponent, Electivire roared again before sprinting towards Grimmsnarl, not even waiting for instruction from his trainer.

  Stunned, Lt. Surge could do nothing but helplessly watch his pokemon engage battle in a bloodlust completely unlike him.

  He looked to his opponent, and had to doubletake at Gray’s relaxed pose, both hands behind his back, legs straight and slightly bent shoulder width apart, looking so much like Major Sammy in his prime that Lt. Surge had to blink rapidly to bring himself back to the present.

  “Electivire!” came his stern command, but his pokemon did not react at all, so hyperfocused on trying to clobber Grimmsnarl.

  “Oh dear… Looks like your pokemon’s a bit hot headed, Uncle Surge. Like pokemon like trainer, I guess. To think all it took to get him going was a tiny Taunt.”

  Understanding dawns on Lt. Surge before he pivots. “Beat him down with Power-Up Punches!”

  More willing to listen when it involved clobbering his opponent, an orange aura surrounded Electivire’s fists as he tried to jab at his opponent who irritatingly kept dodging with fluid grace.

  Unlike Electivire who was overcome with a wound to his dignity, Grimmsnarl remained calm and collected, content to keep dodging his opponent’s attacks, riling him up even further in the process.

  “Sucker Punch.”

  Grimmsnarl patiently waited for Electivire to exhaust himself into needing to take a slight breather before he reengaging with a Sucker Punch, never letting Electivire stop to take a breath, driving up his energy expenditure further.

  Lt. Surge had been banking on the minor increases in Attack to pose a deadlier threat to his opponent, but at the rate this matchup was going, Electivire would faint before his opponent.

  “Fry him with Thunder!”

  Electivire abruptly crouched with both hands on the ground to release a surge of Thunder, a quick decisive move that took Grimmsnarl by surprise.

  The fairy was forced to withstand a few seconds of shock before he could summon up a Light Screen to block his opponent's move, leaving him slightly winded from the intensity of Electivire’s attack.

  Just as Electivire’s Thunder subsided, Grimmsnarl dashed ahead to cross punch Electivire across the face, arms imbued with fairy energy in Play Rough. Electivire was once again forced to keep up without a breather, tiring him out even further.

  Both pokemon continued their dance, this time attacking and defending equally. Grimmsnarl, no longer fully focused on defending, had to tank a few hits from his opponent, though he would subtly rely on his Prankster ability to create screens that would absorb some of Electivire’s punches, ensuring he never took the full brunt of an attack.

  Electivire launched a series of boxing hits, ending in an Uppercut that forced Grimmsnarl to the air. He had a smug smirk on his face, satisfied that his practiced moves had caught his opponent off guard.

  Only, Grimmsnarl followed through with the hit, backspringing himself back upright in a graceful move so unexpected of his appearance. He smirked lightly before rushing at his opponent again, taking advantage of the momentary shock his quick recovery caused.

  Moving forward, Grimmsnarl adapted to fighting with gymnastic-like movements, using his slightly shorter stature to move around with a fluidity Electivire would never be able to achieve due to his bulk. He would somersault to avoid a hit, using the momentum of his move to kick against Electivire before flipping away again.

  Electivire was forced to keep a wary eye out against his increasingly mobile opponent, careful to block hits against him with forearms and crossed arms.

  Gray watched on, proud of how far Grimmsnarl had come. His species wasn’t well known for its speed, unlike Gray’s other pokemon like Fluttermane and Whimsicott who were biologically built to be fast where he wasn’t. It had taken trial, error and persistence to get where he was today.

  While Gray could have easily dismissed the biological limitation as an unassailable wall, he instead focused on the opportunity. Grimmsnarl were strong due to the density of their hair, where adding more layers would naturally result in more strength. But what was often neglected in his species was that his hair was elastic, and since it was capable of being manipulated into thicker bunches with ease, the reverse could also be done.

  By creating less hair and streamlining them, Grimmsnarl could create for himself a sleeker, lighter and more flexible body, so it was only a matter of intense training to cultivate a speed comparable to a ‘faster’ species. Plus…

  Grimmsnarl leaped into the air with a twist to avoid a Low Sweep from Electivire. As he turned round back, he briefly increased the density of hair around his leg to increase its strength. He kicked out with the momentum of his spin, leg noticeably thicker than the rest of his body, striking at Electivire and causing him to fly back, the sudden unexpected strength catching him by surprise.

  By the time Grimmsnarl was back on the ground, his leg had returned to become proportional to the rest of his body, and he dashed towards Electivire to allow him no rest.

  “Stompin’ Tantrum, Grimmsnarl!”

  A weak, brown and earthy energy gathers around Grimmsnarl’s limbs as he keeps striking at Electivire. The electric type had managed to recover, and managed to hold his ground against the mobile fairy.

  As they exchanged blows, the brown energy on Grimmsnarl’s limbs began to darken and thicken. It was a steady, trickling increase, unnoticeable at first glance, but as time passed, the effect became more and more apparent.

  By the time the ground energy was a thick layer, Grimmsnarl had switched gears, body also denser with hair as he punched and kicked Electivire. Each blow would cause Electivire to stumble, to the shock of the crowd.

  Grimmsnarl used his hair to wrap around Electivire before throwing him out. Before the electric type could land on the ground, Grimmsnarl leaped into the air in an arc, his legs extended out and forward as he went back down feetfirst.

  He collided against Electivire midair, forcing him back into the ground with a culminated Stomping Tantrum which had increased in power the more his previous attacks missed. The floor cracked and collapsed in a circle of devastation as they landed, Electivire letting out a shout of pain as the super effective hit compounded with him being forced into the ground.

  Grimmsnarl tumbled away and back to Gray’s side, content to watch on as Electivire stayed on the ground. A flicker of respect goes through him when the electric type manages to stumble upright, chest heaving with the effort he exerted to get back on his feet.

  Lt. Surge watched his powerhouse struggle to stand, knowing that Electivire had reached the end of his strength. It was surreal that one of his strongest pokemon had been reduced to this while his opponent’s wits was still about himself. The Grimmsnarl across the field was breathing heavily with the effort, but he was clearly in better shape than his opponent.

  Itty Bitty Oaky was truly a different beast now, and it made Lt. Surge respect the boy even more. His relationship with Major Sammy made him privy to the boy’s decision to leave Kanto, but who would have thought that the boy could push a war veteran to such an extent upon his return?

  While the earlier matches were more even, Lt. Surge was ashamed to admit that it was largely thanks to his own tricks managing to take Gray by surprise. With his more powerful strategies out in the open, he severely doubted his ability to recreate similar results in a rematch.

  But more than anything, Lt. Surge felt relief. The next generation had talents beyond comprehension, starting with Red and Blue, but both men had let their influence stagnate over time, allowing for that dragon master scum to regain his hold over the region. But now, Gray Oak had returned, and he was slowly proving to the world that he was part of the conversation too when talking about powerhouses of the next generation.

  Lt. Surge was confident that, with Major Sammy’s influence, Kanto could regain its standing with Gray back home.

  But for now, he had a match to fight. He vowed to push the fairy trainer further and further, to really drive home to everyone the fact that Itty Bitty Oaky was here to play.

  “Electivire, you good? Ready to end?”

  “E-Elect…” the pokemon sighed at this trainer, before meeting Grimmsnarl’s eye and nodding.

  Grimmsnarl blinked back at the older pokemon before nodding back.

  “Grim-Grim,”

  “E-Electivire,”

  Grimmsnarl stiffened before he crouched down, eyes never leaving his opponent.

  Electivire bent one knee and kept his head forward, the beginning of a charge. The tentacles behind his back kept spinning, generating a charge of electricity as a white aura gathered around the electric type’s body.

  The ground around Electivire cracks and shakes, the powerful aura he was exerting affecting his immediate surroundings.

  Just as the energy had reached its zenith, Electivire sprinted forwards, headfirst. The white around him was supplemented by the electricity he produced from the back, creating an intimidating white and yellow electric-infused Giga Impact that was heading towards Grimmsnarl.

  Grimmsnarl, in an effort to stop the charge, began creating layers of Reflect down Electivire’s path, only for them to shatter uselessly. Still, the fairy pressed on, relying on his Prankster ability, and persevered with making his screens. He braced one foot back and thickened all the hair he could to his front.

  He grumbled when Electivire crashed into him, causing his backfoot to skid backwards with the force of the Giga Impact. He used his hair to hold on to Electivire, his freed hands smashing repeatedly into the electric type while clad in dark energy.

  Gray watched on as Grimmsnarl attempted to use Assurance to fight back against Electivire’s electric-infused Giga Impact, the dark type move managing to simultaneously absorb some of the energy from the attack while clashing against it.

  Over time, the white aura around Electivire lessened, as if Grimmsnarl’s Assurances managed to slowly neutralise the white with his black, dark type energy.

  By the time the move had ended, Electivire was breathingly deeply in Grimmsnarl’s embrace, energy completely depleted, body completely spent.

  Grimmsnarl awkwardly shifted, not knowing what to do in the situation now that they were no longer attacking each. He considers punching Electivire one more time to knock him out and end the match, but as if he could read his opponent’s thoughts, Electivire met his eyes and glared like an old man chastising the ridiculousness of the previous generation.

  The tentacles on Electivire’s back stabbed into the hair in Grimmsnarl’s body, sending a shock that had Grimmsnarl yelping in surprise rather than pain.

  Electivire shifted his body just enough to meet the eye of the announcer. He glared at the man, forcing him to open his mouth.

  “Uhm.. Electivire is unable to battle?” He looks to Lt. Surge who made no protest. Gaining confidence, he announces, “Grimmsnarl is the winner.”

  Electivire sighs out loud, content that the match was finally over and he didn’t faint ridiculously.

  “Elect-tivire,”

  Grimmsnarl blinked back at him again, but the fairy only moved when another shock of electricity hit him, courtesy of the tentacles still within the hair on his chest.

  Grimmsnarl placed Electivire’s arm around his neck and helped the electric type hobble back towards his trainer with the audience applauding the duo in the background.

  Amused, Gray couldn’t help but chuckle at the Lt. Surge’s pokemon acting exactly like an old man at the end of his tether, taking advantage of his seniority to force someone younger to help.

  Electivire refused his trainer when Lt. Surge held out his pokeball to return, forcing Grimmsnarl to help him to Lt. Surge’s side. He sat down on the floor with a sigh, patting Grimmsnarl on the shoulder in thanks before he settled down himself, content to watch the next match.

  The fairy-dark type grinned cheekily before heading back towards his trainer. He didn’t protest when Gray recalled him back to his pokeball to rest.

  The announcer turned to Gray then in confusion, forcing Gray to explain. “I’m making a switch.”

  Lt. Surge grinned at that. “Not confident your Grimmsnarl can take it?”

  “I’m not taking my chances with you and your trigger happy starter, old man.”

  “Trainers, release your pokemon!”

  Both the pokeballs in the trainers’ hands unclasped to release Altaria and Raichu.

  Unsurprised, Gray grasped at his keystone earrings to mega evolve Altaria.

  Raichu was Lt. Surge’s closest companion, his starter pokemon that was never far away from the man even during the bloody war. The old man may have had powerful pokemon the likes of Electivire in his pocket, but nothing could quite catch up to the legend that he and his Raichu had become. He was practically synonymous with Raichu, both in Gray’s past life and in this life, so it wasn’t a surprise that his final pokemon for this battle was him — it was completely expected.

  What caught Gray off guard was the dog tag Lt. Surge brought out from his tank top, and the keystone hanging beside it.