"Go Gyarados!" Ashley called out as she released her sea serpent pokemon.

Gyarados came out with a massive roar as she coiled herself in front of Ashley, anticipating a good battle. Torterra let out its own cry, eager for battle.

"That's a fine looking Gyarados. I'm impressed you can control it. I heard unless you were a skilled trainer, they could turn on you. This battle just got more fun!" Charles said as he prepared for battle.

"Gyarados and I are friends. We will show just how strong we are!" Ashley yelled out to her opponent, getting into a ready battle stance.

"Let's find out! Torterra use Razor Leaf!" Charles yelled as he started the battle.

"Water Pulse to defend yourself!" Ashley countered.

The pulsing blue ball of water collided with the razor sharp leaves and canceled the two attacks.

"Not too shabby at all." Charles complimented Ashley and her pokemon. "One attack doesn't make a battle. Use Energy Ball!"

"Dodge it! Then use Hydro Pump!" Ashley shouted out.

Gyarados slithered out of the way of the attack and shot out a huge stream of water at Torterra.

"Use Withdraw to minimize the damage!" Charles shouted.

Torterra quickly hid as much of its body as it could inside its shell and took the attack to the top of the shell instead of the face where Gyarados was aiming. Torterra shook itself after the Hydro Pump, and got ready to continue the battle.

"That pokemon has really good defenses." Ashley murmured to herself. "It was only raised by that Withdraw."

"I hope you weren't expecting that attack to finish the battle. Torterra is a lot stronger than that." Charles taunted.

"We'll see what happens. Gyarados use Water Pulse!"

"Dodge it!" Charles shouted.

Torterra moved as quickly as it could and barely dodged the attack.

"Sunny Day!" Charles called out.

Torterra gave a cry before launching a bright orange ball in the sky. Immediately the sunlight brightened and the temperature rose. Ashley quickly wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"Solar Beam!" Charles yelled out.

The attack launched very quickly, forgoing the usual charge due to the very sunny weather. Gyarados had no opportunity to dodge the attack, and let out a fearsome roar as she was stuck by the attack and engulfed in the following explosion.

"Gyarados are you okay?" Ashley frantically screamed as she tried to find her pokemon in the smoke filled battlefield.

Gyarados let out a roar that cleared the smoke, and showed while she was damaged, she could still battle.

"That a girl Gyarados!" Ashley cheered as her pokemon was still able to battle. "Let's show them what we can do! Use Flamethrower!"

Gyarados let out a torrent of flames that were made more powerful by the powerful sunlight.

"Shit! Withdraw!" Charles shouted cursing himself now for using Sunny Day so early.

Torterra quickly hid in its shell before it was engulfed by the flames. It shouted in pain the whole time it was covered by the supercharged attack.

When the attack ended, Torterra was left with a bad burn on its back, which looked red and very painful.

"Use Synthesis!" Charles shouted, hoping to heal a lot of the damage the Flamethrower had caused.

"Use Flamethrower again." Ashley called out hoping to negate the effect of the Synthesis.

The fire attack hit while Torterra was healing itself causing it to cry out in pain again, however, Torterra's Synthesis lasted longer than the Flamethrower did, and was able to recover some health.

"Use Stone Edge!" Charles called out to hopefully surprise Ashley and her Gyarados with the super effective attack.

"Dodge it!" Ashley called out hoping to avoid the dangerous attack.

Unfortunately Gyarados was unable to fully dodge the attack and took a lot of damage from the attack.

"Follow up with Solar Beam!"

Torterra launched the high powered energy beam that struck Gyarados and caused her to fall back down in front of Ashley.

"Gyarados are you alright? Can you continue?" Ashley asked worriedly.

Gyarados slowly rose and gave out a low growl, panting very hard and in obvious pain, but willing to continue battle.

The sunlight finally faded back to normal. Both Torterra and Gyarados were both panting, and in pain, and Torterra gave out a cry of pain as it was hurt by its burn.

"This is an awesome battle!" Charles called out. "But this battle is almost over, and I'm going to be the winner!"

"We'll see!" Ashley shot back. She knew Gyarados couldn't take another attack or else she would faint. She briefly thought about Mega Evolving Gyarados, but didn't know if she could take the strain, or if she would be knocked out after she finished evolving. Besides she didn't have a whole lot of experience with it.

"Use Ice Beam!" Ashley called hoping to surprise Charles with the ice attack.

"Dodge it and use Frenzy Plant!" Charles countered.

Gyarados was slow to get her attack off give Torterra enough time to dodge it and allowed it to slam its front feet on the ground causing massive vines to burst through the ground and smash into to Gyarados and knocking her out.

Ashley quickly ran over to Gyarados and pet her head and told her how well she battled. Gyarados just softly purred and rubbed her face against Ashley's.

"Return Gyarados. You were amazing." Ashley said softly as she recalled her battered pokemon.

Charles walked over after he praised and returned Torterra.

"That was a damn fine battle. Me and Torterra haven't been pushed like that since I was back home. You almost had us." Charles complimented as he put his hand out to shake.

"Thanks. That was awesome." Ashley said as she shook his hand.

"That was a great battle. Very exciting!" said May as she walked over carrying Pichu who jumped into Ashley's arm when May was close enough.

Ashley hugged Pichu and said, "It was an intense battle. It could have gone either way at the end."

"Yes it could have. That Gyarados is something else. To be honest that's the second one I have ever faced. I have to say, yours is probably stronger than Crasher Wake's. I beat his with Torterra as a Grotle. His Floatzel though, that was a beast. Took out two of my pokemon before I knocked it out." Charles stated.

"What is Sinnoh like?" May asked.

"It's a lot colder for one. We got huge mountains, and lots of snow. But we got swamps and stuff. There are some really old places there like Celestic Town, or some statues in Eterna City." Charles explained.

"Where are you from?" asked Ashley.

"I'm from Alamos Town. We got this huge tower in the center of town."

The small group walked in the Pokemon Center and gave Gyarados and Torterra to Nurse Joy to heal after their battle. After that they went over to a table in the lounge to talk some more.

"So what other Sinnoh pokemon do you have?" Ashley asked wondering what other foreign pokemon he might have.

"Well I have a Lopunny, Abomasnow, Stunky, Gabite, Mothim, and a Bibarel that are native to Sinnoh. I also have a Ponyta and a Luxray which are found in other places as well."

"Why are they back in a Sinnoh right now? Wouldn't it make things easier here?" asked May, curious why he didn't have stronger pokemon with him now.

"I did. As I caught pokemon here, I sent the older ones back home. That way I have more time to train my new pokemon. I rotate them in and out so I work with all of them." Charles explained.

"What have you caught here?" Ashley asked.

"That's a secret!" Charles said as he tapped his nose with one finger and laughed.

"Bummer." Ashley said laughing as well.

They talked about the differences between Sinnoh and Hoenn, and Ashley threw in some tidbits about Kanto. In another hour Gyarados were healed, and Charles said his goodbyes as he left to go get his other badges.

Ashley and May decided to take the rest of the day and spend it in the hot springs and relax the day away. They would train tomorrow. Today was for fun.

The next few days saw Ashley training all her pokemon to learn some new attacks. She had Gyarados work with Squirtle on Water Pulse. Lairon worked with Gible on Bulldoze. Ashley also had Lairon work on trying to learn Earthquake. Gible was teaching Grovyle and Charmeleon to use Dragon Claw. Pichu was working on Thunderbolt. Her other pokemon had mock battles and she worked on strategies with all of them.

May worked on combinations with her pokemon and had a lot of battles with Ashley. She realized that battling was her weakest skill, so she had battles with Ashley hoping to fix it.

They kept this up for 12 days, taking the last two days saw them take a break and let all their pokemon relax either in the pokemon hot spring, or the warm sands in front of them.

Both girls felt that they were better trainers at the end of their training, than when they started. Ashley had really helped May boost her confidence in battling, and she had even battled some trainers passing though the Pokemon Center. May lost more than she won, but she had felt that she had improved a lot. She felt she didn't get as nervous in her battles. That she felt, was holding her back from being a better battler.

Both girls also felt like they had become closer as a couple. Since they were in town so long they went on real dates. They enjoyed themselves immensely, but they did face some hateful looks from some older people because they were a same sex couple. While it hurt their feelings that some people looked down on them for being in a relationship with a member of the same sex, they held their heads high and did their best to ignore them.

Finally after checking with Nurse Joy, after two weeks, the Lavaridge Gym was open. Ashley was definitely excited to finally get her fourth badge. She practically dragged May down to the Gym so she would be the very first challenger.

When they got there Ashley and May saw that trainers were leaving the Gym, which was housed in what appeared to be a hot springs resort.

"Excuse me." Ashley asked a male trainer who was leaving the Gym, "is the Gym not open yet? Nurse Joy said it was."

"Oh the Gym is open alright. But the old man is the Gym Leader right now. Apparently the new Leader is still out with a family emergency. There is no way in hell I'm battling that guy." He said as he walked off.

"Damn. Oh well. Let's go May! I have a badge to win!" Ashley said as she dragged May inside the Gym.

May reluctantly followed, hoping Ashley didn't get in over her head again. They heard rumors about how powerful the old Gym Leader was.

They went up to the receptionist and asked about a Gym Battle, she seemed surprised after her informing them that while Flannery was out her grandfather Mr. Moore would be acting Gym Leader, and she still wanted to battle. After getting over her shock she led them out to the battlefield and told them to wait while she retrieved the Gym Leader.

Ashley noted the battlefield was outside and on a plain dirt field. There would be nothing to hide behind to escape fire attacks.

May and Pichu were settled on the bleachers to the side to cheer Ashley on. Ashley wasn't be going to use Pichu in battle today.

May and Ashley both saw the Gym Leader come out and were surprised on how short he was. He was about the same height as May, and had fluffy white hair and wore a simple purple pants and shirt.

"Hello girls!" he said cheerfully! "I hear someone is here for a battle."

"That would be me Mr. Moore." Ashley said as he walked up to her.

"Excellent. I don't get many challengers these days." he said as he laughed. "People are scared I'm too strong! Like I would use my strongest pokemon for a Gym Battle! We Gym Leaders have rules too you know."

"You can't use your strongest pokemon?" asked Ashley confused. She thought they all used their best pokemon.

"Heavens no! Many Gym Leaders are former winners of Pokemon Leagues! That certainly wouldn't be fair to new trainers. We have a guideline where we should have our Gym battlers to be at, when they go over, we need to train new ones. That's why Gym Leaders have so many pokemon. We always have to switch them."

"So no Charizard?" asked Ashley hoping she didn't let how happy she was to not face that monster.

"That lazy butt? He hasn't worked hard in ages. I can show you him if you like. See the 'monster' up close." he said with air quotes at the end.

Ashley getting a nod from May agreed and they went to see his Charizard. What they saw was not what they were expecting. They went behind the hot springs where the warm sand area was and saw this very large Charizard sprawled on its back sleeping, with drool escaping its mouth.

"Hey you lay about!" Mr. Moore yelled out. Causing the Charizard to open one eye and look at its trainer. "These fine young ladies want to see how powerful you are! Show them a Flamethrower!"

The Charizard stood up, looked at the three trainers, and walked over to another part of the sands and laid down and went back to sleep.

"See girls? That lazy lizard is no monster, it's just a lazy slob who sleeps all day!" Mr. Moore said as he quickly had to duck to avoid a small fireball aimed at him from said lazy slob. "He can't take a joke." He muttered as he stood up.

"Do all Charizards shoot fire at their trainers?" asked Ashley a little fearfully. She had a Charmeleon that looked like it was ready to evolve based on how big the fire on its tail was getting.

Mr. Moore leaned in close to Ashley and whispered, "Only if they like you."

Causing Ashley to hang her head with dread. Her Charmeleon was very affectionate, even as a Charmander. She was dreading what would happen when she finally evolved.

"Not to worry though! The fire won't hurt you. It's like a very hot breeze that passes over you." he reassured Ashley. "I take it you have a Charmander or a Charmeleon by your reaction to the fire shooting."

"A Charmeleon. Her tail flame is getting larger, so she's close to evolving." Ashley said as she agreed with his statement.

"Do you mind if I see her? I'm a huge fan of the Charmander line?" Mr. Moore asked.

"Sure! I'm not using her in our battle anyway." Ashely said as she released her Charmeleon to Mr. Moore's shock.

"By Arceus! Its gold colored! I've never seen a shiny one before!" he said in awe as he looked over Ashley's Charmeleon. "Do you mind if I take a picture with her? I might never see one again!" he pleaded.

After getting Charmeleon's permission, Ashley agreed.

Mr. Moore squealed with delight as he ran to the gym to get his camera.

"He seems like a nice guy." May said as she stood next to Ashley who was petting Charmeleon.

"Of course! He recognizes the awesomeness of my pokemon!" Ashley said pompously while Charmeleon puffed out her chest in pride.

"I certainly do!" Mr. Moore said as he snuck up on the girls causing them to jump.

He handed the camera to May to take the photo because he wanted Ashley in the shot as well. May took the photos and they walked back to the battlefield.

"Thank you girls so much for making my day! Now I believe we have a battle to get to?" he said as he hit a button that summoned a referee to the field.

"Yes we do." Ashley said as she went to her side of the battlefield.

"This will be a battle for the Lavaridge Gym Badge between the challenger Ashley Ketchum, and Mr. Moore the Gym Leader. It will be a 3-on-3 battle. Only the challenger may substitute. When all 3 pokemon are defeated, the battle will end. Are the battlers ready?" the referee asked. After getting nods from both trainers, he shouted, "Begin!"

"Come on out Slugma!" Mr. Moore called out the lava slug pokemon.

"Go Squirtle!" Ashley called out releasing her tiny turtle pokemon.

"Use Flamethrower Slugma!" he ordered.

"Dodge and use Water Pulse! Ashley countered.

Squirtle dodged the attack and sent out a small pulsing ball of water at Slugma who was too slow to dodge the attack.

"Use Harden!" Mr. Moore ordered.

Slugma stopped moving as a light sheen covered its body before it was impacted by the attack, which caused steam to billow off the lava slug pokemon as it evaporated.

When the steam cleared, Slugma was still ready to battle.

"Good job Slugma, let's turn it up! Use Sunny Day!"

"Crap." Ashley muttered as the sun got very bright. She knew that her waters attacks would start to evaporate before reaching the target, weakening them.

"You didn't think I would make it easy on you right? I happened to be a good trainer back in the day." He taunted light heartedly.

"I knew you wouldn't. Squirtle use Scald!" Ashley called out.

Squirtle took a deep breath before unleashing a small torrent of very hot water at Slugma.

"Harden!"

Slugma glowed again before being struck by the hot water. This time there was a noticeable difference in damage between the Water Pulse and Scald. Slugma looked visibly hurt, and pars of its body had been cooled to the point it started to turn to rock.

"Slugma use Smog!"

"Use Scald to blast it away!" Ashley frantically called out to her pokemon to avoid the sickly colored toxic cloud.

Squirtle shot out attacks hoping to drive the cloud away, but only punched holes in it, that quickly filled with more gas.

"Use Protect!" Ashley called out when it was shown her tactic wasn't working to disperse the cloud.

Squirtle successfully raised the green shield before being covered by the gas. The Protect lasted until the cloud passed.

"Yawn!" Mr. Moore called out.

The small white cloud released by Slugma caught Ashley and Squirtle unaware, and hit Squirtle, causing it to yawn and look sleepy.

"Return Squirtle!" Ashley called out before her pokemon could fall asleep, knowing the effect would only wear off in the pokeball if Squirtle was awake going into it.

"A smart move. Knowing a sleeping pokemon is an easy target." Mr. Moore complimented.

"Go Tyrunt!" Ashley called out her small t-rex pokemon.

"I don't believe I have ever seen this pokemon before." he said while looking closely at Tyrunt.

"She is from the Kalos region."

"That explains it. I've never been there."

"Use Dark Pulse!" Ashley called out.

"Tyrunt let out a beam of black energy at Slugma, too quick for Slugma to mount any defense to, and was knocked out by the powerful dark attack.

"Slugma is unable to battle." he referee called out. "Leader, send out your next pokemon."

"Go Houndoom!" Mr. Moore released his second pokemon.

Ashley quickly scanned his new pokemon in her pokedex.

"I believe you like dark attacks, so we will use one ourselves. Use Crunch!" he shouted.

Houndoom took off very quickly at Tyrunt, its teeth gaining a white glow as it readied its attack.

"Wait for it to get closer!" Ashley called out. When Houndoom was almost on Tyrunt when Ashley screamed, "Use Rock Smash!"

Houndoom was bashed in the face hard by Tyrunt's glowing claws and sent across the field towards Mr. Moore.

"Well that didn't work." He chuckled. Houndoom gave him an evil stare.

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it!"

Tyrunt barely managed to dodge the very fast approaching flames

"Solar Beam!"

The attack, not needed to be charge from the still active Sunny Day, struck Tyrunt full on in the face causing her to be sent barreling end over end till she landed in front of Ashley. Tyrunt got up slowly and growled at the damage she took.

"Nice shot Houndoom!" he said as he complimented his pokemon.

"Dark Pulse Tyrunt!" Ashley called out.

"In the air!"

Houndoom jumped high in the air to avoid the attack, which exploded underneath where it was.

"Ancient Power!" Ashley called out.

Quickly forming a rock made out of energy, Tyrunt shot the attack out and struck Houndoom very hard, causing it to land in a heap on the ground. Houndoom Shakily got up and growled in anger.

After checking to see if the Sunny Day was still working, Mr. Moore yelled for another Solar Beam.

It came to fast for Tyrunt to dodge and was again blasted back and struggled to get up.

"Come on Tyrunt! You can do it!" Ashley yelled out encouragement to her pokemon, who successfully stood up, although it was on wobbly legs.

Houndoom didn't look much better.

The heavy sunlight finally faded back to normal and Mr. Moore cursed.

"Alright Tyrunt. One more attack! Use Ancient Power!"

Dodge! Then use Hyper Beam!"

Houndoom was able to successfully dodge the rock and then launched its most powerful attack at Tyrunt.

"Dodge! Then Rock Slide!" Ashley called out.

Tyrunt was able to dodge the slower moving Hyper Beam, and stomped her foot on the ground causing rocks to rise up around Houndoom, before crashing down on it while it was unable to move after launching its attack. Houndoom was knocked out and declared unable to battle by the referee.

Tyrunt was in bad shape. She could barely stand, and Ashley knew recalling her would do nothing to help her. Hopefully she would be able to get an attack in before she was knocked out.

"Go Typhlosion!" he called out his last pokemon. "You have done very well getting this far. You should be proud of what you have accomplished."

"I am. My pokemon and I have worked so hard to get here. We are going to win!" Ashley shouted out confidently.

"Let's see you do it then. Typhlosion use Gyro Ball!"

Typhlosion jumped and started spinning in a silvery ball and shot out and very high speeds at Tyrunt, who was too tired and injured to dodge and was knocked out.

After being prompted by the referee, Ashley called out Squirtle again.

"Use Scald!" Ashley ordered.

"Dodge!"

Typhlosion ran around the torrents of hot water, never letting it get to close to itself.

"Multiple Water Pulse!" Ashley called out, hoping it would by having so many, it wouldn't be able to outrun them all.

Ashley was seriously disappointed when it did in fact, outrun them all.

"Use Wild Charge!"

Typhlosion covered itself with a cloak of electricity and shot off like a cannon at Squirtle.

"Protect! Then Scald!"

Typhlosion bounced off the green shield and was disoriented enough to take an almost point blank Scald from Squirtle, which did a lot of damage.

"Flamethrower!"

Typhlosion launched a gout of flames at the turtle who was way too close to dodge. Squirtle screamed in pain as he was engulfed in fire.

"Wild Charge!"

Squirtle was struck by Typhlosion and sent bouncing across the field until it hit a retaining wall and was knock out. Typhlosion grunted in pain as it took recoil damage from the attack.

Ashley recalled Squirtle with her congratulations for doing so well. She was stuck. She was planning on using Gyarados if things got bad in her battle, but with Typhlosion able to use electric attacks, she couldn't take the risk with her four times weakness to them.

"Challenger, send out your next pokemon!" the referee yelled.

"Go Gible!" Ashley called out after making her decision.

Gible let out a cry as she was released with a sparkle.

"You have a shiny Gible as well. You are very lucky to have such rare pokemon." Mr. Moore complimented.

"They aren't just for looks! Use Sandstorm!"

Gible spun in circles and soon a massive sandstorm erupted on the field. Typhlosion was grunting as it was struck by debris picked up by the storm.

Visibility was poor, Mr. Moore having a harder time seeing things than Ashley, as she had practiced with Gible for just this situation.

"Use Swift Typhlosion!"

"Dig!" Ashley countered.

The spiraling stars of energy impacted the ground after Gible had already dug its way to safety.

"See if you can hear it Typhlosion. Then dodge where it will come up!" Mr. Moore called out worriedly.

Typhlosion did its best, but with the noise from the sandstorm it could hear Gible and was hit under the chin by the surfacing Gible.

"Use Dragon Claw while its dazed!"

"Dodge it!"

Typhlosion was a little slow on the uptake and was slashed with Gible's glowing claws across the face causing it to scream out with pain.

"Use Eruption!"

"Shit! Dodge" Ashley yelled out as Typhlosion released an explosion of power.

Gible did her very best to dodge all the falling fiery rock that fell from the sky, but she was struck by a few. Thankfully being a dragon type reduced the amount of damage she had taken, and she was only left with a few bruises for Typhlosion's effort.

Typhlosion was left panting, taking two direct attacks from Gible, with one being super effective had taken it out of Typhlosion, along with the attack at the hands of Squirtle, and the recoil damage from Wild Charge. Typhlosion was running close to empty.

The one good thing about the Eruption, is that it blew the Sandstorm apart. Now both trainers could see their pokemon clearly.

"You have used some very good strategies in this battle. You have me and Typhlosion and I on the ropes." He chuckled. "But don't count us out of this battle yet! We still have some moves left!"

"So do we! Dragon Rage!"

Gible launched a beam of draconic energy at Typhlosion.

"Dodge it and use Overheat!"

Typhlosion was able to sidestep the Dragon Rage and launched a very concentrated blast of fire at Gible, who was order to Dig to dodge it, but the attack was so strong it blasted Gible out of her hole with the strength of the attack.

"Are you alright Gible?" Ashley screamed.

Gible stood up with a wobble before nodding to Ashley that she was okay.

"Good girl Gible! We can do this. We can win our badge here. Let's use Dragon Pulse!"

"Overheat!" Mr. Moore called out.

The two attacks sped towards each other and met, the Dragon Pulse pushing back the Overheat, until they exploded spreading smoke across the field.

May who was watching the battle in awe, was wondering why that second overheat was weaker than the first one. She was hoping Ashley could pull this off. They had worked so hard for the last few weeks for this one battle.

"Dragon Pulse again!"

"Use Overheat!" he called out to his panting pokemon.

This time there was no explosion when the attacks met. The Dragon Pulse broke apart the Overheat and smashed into a very tired Typhlosion. Following the explosion when the attack hit, Typhlosion was still standing to Ashley and May's shock, before toppling forward unconscious.

Ashley ran out and scooped her little shark pokemon and spun her around in joy, as the referee declared her and Gible the winners.

Mr. Moore had a smile on his face as he recalled his Typhlosion. He was very happy he got to have such an enjoyable battle. These days he received very few challengers when he took over the Gym, and the few he did battle, lacked the spark that this girl had for battling. He knew he would be seeing big things out of her in the future.

After celebrating with Gible and May who brought an excited Pichu, they went to talk with Mr. Moore for Ashley to get her fourth badge.

"You were fantastic. One of the best battles I have had in a while. You truly deserve this Heat Badge." Mr. Moore said as he handed over the flame shaped badge to a very happy Ashley.

"Thank you so much! Woo! I got myself a Heat Badge!" Ashley screamed as Pichu and Gible posed behind her.

"Congratulations Ashley!" May said as she gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you!" Ashley said as she returned the hug.

"What Gym will you challenge now? Fortree City or Petalburg City would be your best bet for your next badge if you don't have them yet." Mr. Moore suggested.

"I think we will hit up Petalburg before we go to Fortree. That way you can see your folks May." Ashley said looking at her girlfriend.

"That sounds good to me. We can stay at my house while we are there." May told Ashley.

"Excellent!" Ashley said as she rubbed her hands together. "We are off to Petalburg City!"

They thanked Mr. Moore before leaving the gym to go heal Ashley's pokemon from their very hard fought battle, and to take one more dip in the hot springs while they wait.

After a two hour relaxing dip they collected Ashley's pokemon and headed out of Lavaridge. If they were lucky, they would be sleeping in the Pokemon Center in Mauville tonight.