"Pst, Jenny. Thanks." Koda gave the teal haired woman a thumbs up gesture after getting her attention. "I owe you one."

Jenny, who had a rather serious expression on her face, simply smiled when she looked at Koda, flashing a thumbs up in return, ignoring everyone else's reactions. By her returning Koda's gesture of good will, it was clear to everyone just whose side she was on despite the fact that as an officer, she was supposed to remain neutral.

"You owe me one after this whole charade is finished," Jenny said as she walked some distance away before turning around. "Just win the battle and I'll take you out to lunch."

Koda flashed a wide grin, actually feeling genuinely pleased about this. "Consider the battle won."

Koda reached into his pocket and pulled out his pokedex, aiming it at Cubone, a small pokemon with a skull covering its face. He wasn't going to miss the chance to gain some information on his opponents pokemon.

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Cubone- The Lonely Pokemon

It is called the Lonely Pokémon because of its tendency to keep to itself and avoid social situations, due to the trauma caused by the death of its mother. Cubone will often weep at night in mourning of its mother. When Cubone cries, the skull that it wears on its head vibrates and emits "a plaintive and mournful sound." The bone it wields allows it to learn both [Bone Club] and [Bonemerang], two moves exclusive to Cubone and its evolution Marowak.

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(("Interesting. It also seems that it's a ground type which is weak against water, grass, and ice.")) Koda smiled as he flipped the pokedex closed and slipped it into his pocket. "Looks like this'll be less difficult then I first thought."

"Pft, don't go writing me off kid. You're gonna have to pull off a miracle just to win." The middle man smiled. "Remember the name of the guy who kicked your ass. Names Mark. Cubone, use [Bonemerang]!!"

"Oi, the battle hasn't started yet!!"

Jenny spoke up too late as the bone Cubone was holding was thrown from his hand, rapidly spinning towards Squirtle with pinpoint accuracy.

(("Tch, how annoying. Squirtle, use [Water Gun] and aim it at your own feet.")) Koda was calm as he quickly relayed the orders. Such a preemptive strike wasn't a big deal as it was rather predictable, but it was still annoying.

The rotating bone covered the distance rapidly, curving slightly as it neared its target. Of course, even as fast as it was going, it still missed completely when Squirtle spat out a stream of water at the ground with enough force to rocket himself off the floor and into the air. The bone sailed harmlessly by as the surrounding area became soaked, the water spreading across the pavement and even slightly splashing the onlookers.

"Ha, you idiot!! Shoulda stayed on the ground!!" Mark shouted smugly. "[Bonemerang] strikes twice!!"

(("I mean....it's called Bonemerang for a reason. It was clear from the name itself.")) Koda sighed as he looked up at Squirtle who was falling back to the ground, the bone making its way back. "Squirtle, [Withdraw]."

(("No problem.")) Squirtle disappeared into his shell without any hesitation, completely trusting Koda as the spinning bone made its way back and slammed into the turtle shell. Squirtle hit the ground rather hard as the bone went swerving back into Cubone's hand, but he popped back out almost immediately.

(("Hmmm, I wonder what other moves he knows. Lets test the water a bit.")) Koda wasn't worried in the slightest as he had already gauged the attack of the Bonemerang and found it a bit underwhelming. He had the type advantage, that was clear, however he couldn't take the battle lightly just yet as he didn't know all of Cubone's moves.

"Squirtle, use [Water Gun]. Aim for the kill."

(("With pleasure!! Die you bastards!!")) Squirtle yelled out loud in his own tongue, which was translated in Koda's head. The blue turtle took a deep breath as he shifted his head back and took a stance, before shooting a blast of pressurized water towards Cubone. With this water type move, Koda was sure that if Mark didn't want a super effective hit, he would have to pull out other moves to avoid it.

"Cubone, [Protect]" Mark said quickly, clearly panicking a bit.

Just before the blast of water managed to hit the Cubone, a glowing screen appeared in front of him, not only blocking him but also causing the water to spray everywhere. The constant stream provided the whole area with a never ending flood that even reached the audience, making a small puddle underneath their feet. It even sprayed Jenny who, up until now, had been watching things unfold with bated breath.

While obviously not the most epic match ever, for some reason, she got the impression that Koda wasn't even trying and it wasn't because Koda had barely called out moves while Squirtle was doing things on his own. It was just that he looked so calm and collected and she wasn't sure why, but she had complete confidence in his ability to win. He gave off a confident vibe and seemed to be doing everything effortlessly.

Before, he had seemed a bit silly and unreliable, not to mention slightly immature. However, when he was battling, his face became serious and his heterochromatic eyes seemed to analyze every single bit of information on the fight, as if he could miss nothing that happened. It was an odd experience coming from someone who was young and barely starting out as a trainer, yet here he was facing an adult like it was another day at the park, though the men themselves were actually idiots. She hadn't said anything earlier but this trio just happened to be complete morons with strong pokemon.

Coincidentally, these were the exact thoughts that Caitlin was having from her spot on the opposite of the battle. She had also noticed Koda's confident attitude, though instead of wondering why, she was quite aware of the reason.

This was just how he was.

During the full two weeks Koda had been training, the white haired youth had had the serious yet confident look on his face whenever he partook in any form of combat. Even if he was guaranteed to lose, he still had the same air of authority, as if nothing could touch him or affect him. It was a strange thing and when Caitlin had asked about it, he had given a very interesting response.

"Each and every fight makes me and my partners stronger and more knowledgeable. Even if I lose, it's a learning experience. Going into battle with a winning mentality and a strong resolve is, in my opinion, the first step to potentially winning battles."

From then on, Caitlin had pushed Koda and his pokemon harder then before, seeking to help the young man get better. She understood the desire to get better as she too had gone through it when she was young, though she had progressed rapidly past it, and now she wanted to assist this boy. Not only because it was her duty to, but also because she wanted to genuinely see what he could become and what kinda heights he could achieve.

Now, looking at his eyes constantly analyzing the battle, she 'felt' that he was truly growing, far faster than she had initially thought.

As Caitlin and Jenny looked on with varying thoughts and emotions, Mark was feeling superbly confused. It had been a good half minute since Squirtle had used his [Water Gun] and even now, it didn't look as if the blue turtle was going to stop any time soon.The stream of water had already formed a rather large puddle that had spread all the way to the edge of the crowd created circle, causing every step Mark made to splash around the H2O and soak into his socks.

(("Just how long is this gonna last?")) Mark thought as he watched his Cubone continue to hold the [Water Gun] at bay. He couldn't fight back until the stream had been cut off as it was impossible for him to use more then one move. (("I'm sure my [Protect] can last another minute at most but it's still so weird. I've never heard of a Squirtle holding a move this long. Maybe if it was a Wartortle or Blastoise, but not the weakest form."))

"I got a question for you."

Koda's voice interrupted Mark's thoughts, causing the man to instinctively put on a confident charade. "What? You wanna surrender?! I don't blame you. Go ahead. I'll allow it."

"No no no," Koda responded, flashing a smile. "Nothing like that. I just wanted to know what you know about pressure washers. Do you know what happens when you switch to a zero degree nozzle?"

"A zero degree nozzle?" Mark repeated, at a loss for where the kid was going.

Koda tilted his head, eyes flickering from Mark, to Cubone, to Squirtle. (("Squirtle. Use Nozzle Zero."))

This was something that Koda had created on his own, utilizing the idea of a pressure washer to further enhance the power of Squirtle's [Water Gun]. By narrowing the opening of his mouth and, for a short period of time, increasing the water flow, Squirtle could mimic the penetrative power of a top class spray gun.

Squirtle stopped his initial [Water Gun], cutting it off as he pulled his head back, getting ready for another round with a much more powerful round then before. It took a full five seconds for Squirtle to recharge, and in that time, Mark attempted to reset Cubones [Protect].

"Cubone, use-"

"Too late. Next time don't be so cocky."

Squirtle fired, a deadly and much more narrow blast of water rushing forward and, quite easily, blasting through the barrier before slamming into Cubone. The pokemon took a direct hit to the chest as he was flung backwards, straight into the crowd. It was quite clear that he wasn't going to be getting back up anytime soon.

"Tch, that was actually pretty easy. Though it helps that you were overly confident and underestimated me." Koda knelt down and fist bumped Squirtle, congratulating him on a job well done. "If you had used a stronger pokemon and took me seriously, it might have been a different story. Better luck next time bro."

(("Nah, he'll still lose no matter what. We just built different.")) Squirtle said as he flexed towards Mark.

"The winner is, Koda Johnson." Jenny said, making sure everyone watching could hear it.

People actually began clapping, clearly having enjoyed the brief battle that had taken place. A few even let out whistles and some even shouted to have their voices heard, making Koda feel some sense of achievement as he touched the pokeball against Squirtle's head.

"Well done man. You did great." Koda smiled as the blue turtle saluted before disappearing into the pokeball. "Now just sit back and let Pikachu handle things from here."

(("Don't forget to call me again Boss,")) Squirtle said before disappearing.

(("Don't worry. I won't.")) Koda said as he rose up off the ground and pressed Squirtle's pokeball twice, causing it to shrink as he clipped it back on the belt around his waist. The turtle pokemon had already played his role and the young man felt that he deserved a good rest.

Not only did Squirtle win the round, but he had already set up the field for Koda to take the next one with relative ease.

Koda wasn't an idiot. After seeing his partner get thrashed without much effort, there was no way the next guy was going to underestimate him. In fact, Koda was almost positive that he would send out an even stronger pokemon then Mark had had in an attempt to decrease the chances of him taking an L. However, Koda had set it up so not only did his Pikachu have the advantage, but also so his opponent would be mislead about what he would do.

Grabbing the second pokeball on his belt, Koda pressed the button twice, causing the capsule to expand to normal size. Pushing the button again, the ball opened and a light escaped out, gathering on the ground to form Pikachu, the electric mouse standing at the ready with cheeks sparking.

"Oh, so that's what he's going to do." Caitlin muttered as she watched Koda carefully. "Quite clever even if it's pretty obvious."

"Oh, I see." Serena seemed to also have noticed what Caitlin was referring to. "He's going to use the now soaked surroundings to increase the damage Pikachu's [Thundershock] can do."

Brock touched his chin as he gazed towards the field and then at Pikachu. "He must've been planning this from the start. First he used [Water Gun] to launch Squirtle in the air to dodge [Bonemerang] which he could've easily stopped by launching the former move directly at Cubone. By constantly using [Water Gun], both launching and holding it longer then he needed to, he created his own field that would grant him the upper hand in his next fight."

"That's so smart," Serena said with a smile. "Now he has the upper hand."

"Not if his opponent sees it as well." Caitlin shook her head. "Come on, let's back up a bit. Being next to the water when electricity hits would have a less than desirable outcome."

While Caitlin, Brock, and Serena retreated back, it seemed other people also had the same idea as the circle of people grew bigger. As the blonde elite four member had put it, it was quite easy to see Koda's plan when you were watching from afar and in the interest of not getting caught up in the fight, many onlookers, with Jenny included, took the time to put some more distance between themselves and the Pikachu.

"Oi, Gera, watch out for his electricity." The third companion shouted over to his friend. "He can really do some damage with the wet ground."

Gera, the one who was now facing off against Koda, merely smiled. "Not a problem Onar. He's as good as done. I don't plan on going easy just cause he's a kid."

The man picked off one of the six pokeballs clipped to his belt and threw it. "Let's do this Krokorok!"

The pokeball opened up the moment it impacted the ground. There was a brief flash as the pokemon inside rose up from the light before taking the form of a large crocodile on two legs, his eyes flashing with intelligence. It

"Krokorok. Interesting choice." Caitlin murmured. "Never thought I'd see that pokemon here in Kanto."

"That pokemon looks familiar," Brock said as he gave Krokorok a once over glance. "I think I saw it in a book once, though I don't really know much about it."

"It makes sense for you to be relatively clueless as this pokemon is more commonly found in the Unova region." Caitlin shook her head. "It's a ground type that is exceptionally strong against electric types, almost completely nullifying standard electric attacks. With how weak Pikachu's [Thundershock] currently is, they'll have to find another way to win."

Gera sneered as he stood tall, his feet sloshing in the puddle he was standing in. "Meet Krokorok. He's my weakest and newest Pokemon. This'll be the first time I use him in battle. You should be honored!!"

Koda dug into his pocket and pulled out his pokedex, holding it up to Krokorok. "I like it. Seems pretty strong."

The pokedex, though having been pointed at Krokorok, remained silent, no voice of any sort bothering to tell him the information that he wanted to know. As this had never happened before, the young man was afraid he had broken it and even became a tad worried, at least until Gera was actually kind enough to say something.

"Don't bother kids. The pokedex you have only covers native pokemon." Gera shook his head as he crossed his arms. "This beauty is from a totally different region. There's no point in using that device."

The youth made a sound with his teeth as he shoved the item back into his pocket. He didn't really need the pokedex to battle, but he liked to know the general data so he could plan for any eventualities that might occur. To put it simply, having even the smallest bit of info was much better than having none at all. As he had only studied pokemon and their respective abilities in the region of Kanto, he had yet to study what other regions had to offer, save for the basic geography and overall customs.

"Fine. Lets just get this started then." Koda turned to look at Jenny, who had retreated a relatively safe distance away from the trainers. "Just say when Jenny."

Jenny nodded and held out her hand. "Let the battle between Koda Johnson and Gera commence. It'll be a one versus one and the battle will end when one side is unable to continue. Start."

(("Pikachu. What are your thoughts on this?")) Koda had a strategy in mind but he wanted to get his partners opinion first. Odds were, this pokemon was a ground type, an element strong against electric types.

(("If the outside of his body is resistant, then why not hit him with as much power as possible. Deliver a built up shock that can bypass resistance.")) Pikachu wiggled his tail a little as he bounced around, waiting for an order. (("We just got to get into a position where I can give him a good shock."))

Koda couldn't help but picture a male with black hair and an orange gi just saying "We can try hitting him reallllllllyyyy hard."

(("Alright, then begin charging up.")) Koda smiled confidently as he waved his hand. "Pikachu, use [Quick Attack]."

"Krokorok, [Bite]."

The white glow, the signal for Pikachu's Quick Attack, surrounded him as he blasted forward, launching straight into battle with his cheeks sparking. The small yellow mouse's primary stat was speed, something that was clearly obvious as, instead of attacking Krokorok as others would've thought, he merely ran around. Each time Krokorok would get close to the mouse and attempt to bite him, Pikachu would either evade him or flick water at the crocodile's face using his crooked tail.

(("He's so fast!!")) Gera was a bit surprised by the sheer speed as he watched Pikachu run full circles around Krokorok. He had expected the croc pokemon to at least be keeping up with the mouse as he was already at his second evolution, but this wasn't the case. Once again, just like the Squirtle incident, the pokemon was completely abnormal compared to other pokemon. "What the hell kinda training have they been through?"

"That's an easy question," Koda smiled as he tapped the side of his head. "They went through my own personal training. A session designed to strengthen what they have while covering for various weaknesses. In this instance, Pikachu has been training to be faster by constantly sparring against someone MUCH faster then himself."

"Pikachu, use [Iron Tail]"

(("With pleasure")) Pikachu skidded across the slippery pavement as he switched course, leaping off the ground. His yellow tail became a shiny grey with a soft glow as he swung his tail towards Krokorok.

"As if. Krokorok, [Crunch]." Gera refused to be treated as if he was a new trainer. He had been doing this for years and, though he wasn't the smartest trainer around, he wasn't about to have his reputation undermined by a rookie. "Bite his tail off if you have to."

(("Shall I continue?")) Pikachu asked quickly as he was in mid tail swing. (("There's still time to change"))

(("Go with plan S. It'll be a great chance to test the theory.")) Koda crossed his arms as Pikachu continued the attack and slashed the tail downwards.

As Koda expected, Krokorok opened his jaw and grabbed onto Pikachu's tail made of iron, putting all his jaw strength into it. It had been such a predictable move which is why Koda had ordered Pikachu to attack head on. Biting the small mouse's tail would prevent him from moving so there was no chance Gera would pass up the chance.

"Quick question Gera." Koda said with a smile. "Did you know that the inside of a Pokemon is inherently different from its outside. It wasn't made to take the damage that the outside can take. To put it simply, while the insides might still be resistant, it's a lot less effective."

Gera seemed to pause for a bit before it finally clicked. "Krokorok, let him-"

"[Thundershock]"

Pikachu released his [Iron Tail], causing his tail to get crushed in Krokorok's inescapable jaws. Though the pain was no doubt immense, Pikachu stayed calm and focused all the power he had been charging up and released it into the crocodile's mouth. So much electricity filled the croc that a small bubble encircled both Pikachu and Krokorok as the small yellow mouse kept on releasing a continuous stream of pent up static.

(("Aaaaaaaannnndddddd scene.)) Koda nodded his head after ten seconds. (("You can stop now Pikachu."))

With those words, Pikachu quickly cut off his electricity and dropped to the ground after Krokorok opened up his mouth. The small yellow mouse scurried a safe distance away before stopping to take a quick breather. Releasing so much electricity was bound to take a toll, not to mention the pain from having his tail nearly torn apart by Krokorok. It was lucky that the crocodile pokemon wasn't moving, otherwise things would turn for the worst. Koda took note of the time Pikachu would need to recover after using up almost all of his charged up electricity.

Krokorok didn't look like he would be able to continue as he stood there twitching, struggling to remain on his feet. Koda could only imagine the pain shooting through the poor guy and he took a moment of silence to hope that Gera wouldn't make him keep fighting.

Gera, the very trainer in question, looked pissed off, the same way Mark had looked when he had lost. The fight had barely started when he had made the same mistake of falling for this kids odd way of fighting. The kid utilized different tactics and move adjustments to catch the opponent off guard, completely throwing away any game plan Gera had previously had. He was sure Krokorok could still fight, but he wasn't sure for how long.

"Krokorok, snap out of it!!"

It took a few seconds but the crocodile pokemon shook its head and slammed one foot on the ground, letting out a snarling chomp. His previously black eyes flashed red as he locked eyes on Pikachu.

"Haha!! Its ability activated!!! Now you're gonna get it kid." Gera smiled widely as Krokorok snarled again. "Krokoroks ability is Anger Point. Whenever it gets hit by a critical attack, its attack maxes out. Now watch as the table turns. Use [Dark Pulse]."

(("Tch, Pikachu hasn't recovered enough to use [Thundershock again.")) Koda thought as a blast of black energy erupted from Krokoroks palms.

The blast was enormous and looked pretty dangerous from where Koda was standing. If Pikachu or himself took any of that, even a little, things would look hairy and would cost most of the momentum Koda had gotten from the [Thundershock].

(("Use [Quick Attack] to dodge."))

Though still recovering, Pikachu activated the move and just barely managed to dodge the swirling energy. What Koda and Pikachu hadn't seen coming was the second [Dark Pulse] hidden behind the first one as it slammed into Pikachu head on. The blast knocked Pikachu backwards and into the air and Koda caught him before he hit the ground, easily holding him up.

It looked like Pikachu was unable to battle and the winner was Krokorok who, despite looking like he had been okay, had fainted after the second [Dark Pulse]. It seemed that the full power [Thundershock] had done more damage then Koda had thought.

"Pikachu fainted before Krokorok and was unable to battle. The match goes to Gera." Jenny said as she came forward. Even she had been caught up in the sheer tension of the fight despite it having been so short.

"Looks like they still need training," Caitlin muttered. "However, as weak as Pikachu currently is, Koda did very well in finding a way to cover for it."

Brock seemed to understand what Caitlin was saying as he gazed at the crumpled Krokorok. "He let Pikachu charge up the electricity while keeping away from Krokorok with the speed of [Quick Attack]. He may have planned this after figuring out that he couldn't use his initial plan. It appears the intense training he put his pokemon through to increase the time usage of each move was effective."

Serena clenched her fists together as she looked on. "He came up with a countermeasure so fast even as the type advantage was against him. I guess he's a genius."

Caitlin snorted at Serena's words. "Being a genius can only get you so far. He put in so much time into his training and studying in those short two weeks that he was able to catch up from being more useless than a toddler to something of worth. Call it what you want but he's barely scratched the surface of being a trainer. Though even I have to admit, his theoretical battle knowledge really is amazing. Probably because he lacks the preconceived notions of pokemon that we were all raised on."

"Meaning that he would make decisions on battling that most of us would find laughable." Brock touched his chin. "This actually makes me curious. Perhaps we can learn something from him from time to time."

Back on the field, Koda was putting Pikachu back into the pokeball.

"You did good buddy." Koda said as he tapped the button against the small mouse's head. "I promise you'll eat well tonight. Take a rest until I can get you to a Pokemon Center."

As Pikachu disappeared into the pokeball, Koda shrank the capsule down and reattached it onto his belt, unclipping the third and final pokeball. Koda stared at Onar, the last guy Koda was supposed to fight before losing.

"I have a proposition." Koda double tapped the button on the pokeball. "Best 2 out of 3. One more match. Winner takes all."

"Forget it kid," Gera said with a shake of his head. "We already one. What would be the point of fighting you again?"

"Because the winner will receive a premium date from the lovely Officer Jenny," Koda said, ignoring an immediate complaint from Jenny herself.

Koda threw his pokeball forward, allowing it to smack into the ground. A single flash escaped before coalescing into the shape of a four legged Pokemon.

"Wait, is that..."

"That's right," Koda said with a smile as the image of a fish grabbing a hook flashed across his mind.

Standing in front of them, as proud as can be with glistening fur, was a dark black Vulpix, a variant of the regular Vulpix.