It's been ages I know, but I have had a lot of people ask if I was ever going to update this. I originally started this story as a more casual one for a change of pace when I got writer's block on my other stories. Especially FrodoFIghter, who hounds me on discord constantly about it. Though, sometimes I need a good kick to get started. I had some trouble finding a beta due to my two main ones being busy with the chaotic world we live in now. Either way, I'm still updating, though slower than I would like. I hope you enjoy the next round of the tournament.

G119: Is this a JoJo reference?

Acpeters: It's just the way Gunha is. Never be normal yet he loves fighting types. Misuzu is one of the best Misaka's. She's the only one who can get Mikoto to recognized her feelings so easily. Imouto and Last Order both exist, but Imouto is one year younger.

BlueJack22: As it should be.

Guest: It shall be glorious. Worst will make sure to embarrass Mikoto constantly.

Phoenix 749: Yeah. I might have to change her name though. Worst just isn't a good name for a person outside of Academy City.

WiliamZ0: That was the entire joke surrounding Gunha. I give him Pokémon that will have abnormal move sets that can't be explained. People who know Index understand why this is. Charmeleon is… unique and part of that will be revealed soon. Also, I'm not using the specific power from games. Some game stuff doesn't transfer well to actual Pokémon fights. Accelerator has his eyes on one person. No one else matters. Unless they summon Arceus or something I guess. The Gutsy Pokémon Adventure is the new spin off.

vietnamese guy: Gunha is just that awesome. With the power of guts, anything is possible.

Wiliamsusanto: Yeah. This one is more focused around what Mikoto observes. I've done global perspectives in other stories, so this one was more focused. It's a lot easier that way too.

Q-Guest: They can have six on them at once, so Touma needs a sixth. I have one in mind, but he needs to catch it. Rampardos shall have an epic battle. Gengar and Murkow are good choices. I had already toyed with the idea of Touma having a Zapdos and doesn't want to tell Mikoto about it because she really wants it.

0 Jordinio 0: It's part of the joke that surrounds Gunha from Index. No one knows how his powers work and he always has weird explanations. Like the power of Guts lets you do anything. Yeah, Touma's Pokémon are really strong but Mikoto won't find out why for a while.

Rexclone22: I actually considered Zeraora for a bit at a certain point. Mikoto would love him.

ChaosofTime: Sorry it takes so long to update this story.

Solaris: Ah, Gunha. Never makes sense.

Opera Neon: I plan to.

EternalKing: This is a Mikoto centric story. Touma just shows up a lot.

Cbustroyer: I'm updating. It's just on the back burner.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or Pokémon. I wish I did so I could retire rich.

"I still can't believe Sogiita-san actually taught his Hawlucha those abilities," Mikoto complained to Touma in the waiting room. They were up next and the previous round was going on longer than planned. A lot of teams were evenly matched. "Kuroko and I researched it over lunch and it shouldn't have been able to use those abilities."

Touma shrugged. "The world's a big place. Lots of weird stuff out there."

"You're pretty calm about this," Mikoto said, staring at him. "I would think you would at least be curious about weird stuff like this."

"Yeah… you see… weird stuff happens to me a lot." Touma laughed. "I learned to just roll with it. Questioning everything just hurts my head. Whether we believe something shouldn't happen, doesn't change the fact that it did. Being able to adapt is an important skill."

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Mikoto muttered, her voice slowly growing bolder with every passing word. "Have you been out on a journey before? I know not everyone does one, but it feels like you have."

"W-what makes you say that?" Touma stuttered in response, averting his eyes.

Got him, Mikoto thought triumphantly. Now, how do I get him to admit it?

Honesty might be the best policy here.

"I… want to go off on my own," Mikoto admitted after a moment's hesitation. "I always hear stories of champions and other strong trainers starting off that way. Academy City is great and all, but it doesn't allow me to experience everything the world has to offer. There's so much I could learn by doing, not sitting at a desk or in a controlled arena. So… if you've gone on an adventure, I really want to know what it's like. Not sugar coating the good and the bad."

"It's… not as glamorous as you might think." His tone was virtually unreadable, but it did answer her question, even if indirectly.

"I knew you've had to have gone on one!" Mikoto burst out excitedly. "What was it like? How long did it last? What cool Pokémon did you see?"

"One question at a time!" Touma interrupted before he would lose track of what she asked. "It wasn't a real journey, just one over the summer for a couple months. I actually returned earlier this year and during that time was when I met Rampardos." Touma scratched his head. "There's no harm in telling you what I saw. It's not like I saw anything really important. Truth is… I actually can't remember roughly a month of it."

"What?!" Mikoto's jaw fell open.

"I must have hit my head on something," Touma elaborated. "I'm fine and there's no long-lasting effects except I can't remember that month. Charmeleon helps out when he can, but I feel like he's been hiding something from me." He paused and his expression grew serious. "Going out and seeing the world can be rewarding, but it's also dangerous. Not all Pokémon are friendly. Some are violent. You can get into trouble real fast and won't have others to save you. I should have heeded my sensei's advice and went with someone else. You can watch each other's back then."

"I can see that," Mikoto conceded the point. "So can you tell me what you remember seeing at least?"

She was kind of sad he wouldn't be able to tell her everything. It wasn't often someone around her age would be experienced enough to actually have interesting stories. Accelerator theoretically would, but she would rather be stuck inside for the rest of her life than ask him. Touma was honest, even if a little reserved and required some prodding to get him to tell you things. Still, anything was better than nothing. The advice to bring someone along resonated within her. There was no doubt she should follow it. The problem was who to bring. Kuroko might be too young and Mikoto didn't fully trust sharing a tent with her. No one else she was close to…except…

The boy sitting on the bench before her.

Mikoto's face flushed and her heart started beating faster.

Could I ask him? Would a boy and a girl traveling together be okay? Alone… out in the wilderness.

Smoke could have been coming out of her ears due to her dirty mind.

"I'll tell you everything when we have time," Touma promised, oblivious to the embarrassed girl's predicament. "But right now, shouldn't we be focusing on our next match? I think they were both… Birdway? Probably sisters?"

"Ah!" Mikoto jumped to her feet at this welcome distraction. "Yeah, they are. They use a Solrock and Lunatone. Those sun and moon looking Pokémon. Both of them are rock and psychic-types."

"Daring of them to only use the same type in a two on two," Touma mused. "They must have a lot of confidence in their teamwork."

"Psychic-types are pretty strong. Their attacks can mess with ours, provide battlefield movement, and unleash a lot of damage. The bad news for you is their second types. Charmeleon doesn't have any good abilities to use against them. Dragon Claw only does normal damage. Aerial Ace and Flamethrower won't do much. Pikachu knows Iron Tail, which is good for us. Steel-type moves are super effective against rock-types. The problem is they probably know about it and will be expecting it."

"Did you get a chance to see their strategy?"

"It's pretty simple, but effective." She sat back down and started going over what she knew. "The sister that uses the Solrock seems to be more offensive-oriented. She likes to use Sunny Day before firing rapid successive Solar Beams."

"That's a strong combo," Touma admitted, worry creeping into his voice. "Usually it takes time to charge Solar Beam, but with Sunny Day, it's almost instant." He seemed to be thinking about something else as he continued. "It's going to power up Charmeleon's Flamethrower though. Sunny Day strengthens fire-type attacks."

"It's just one move though," Mikoto reminded him. "There's also the fact Solrock is a rock-type so fire-type moves still won't do much."

"Because type advantage is the only thing that matters?" Touma smirked, earning a punch in the shoulder. "Ow! I give, I give! What about the other sister?"

"She seems to be a lot more reserved." Mikoto continued, flexing her fingers on the hand that had punched the boy just a moment ago. "She usually has Lunatone in the back covering her sister. I won't deny the fact that their strategy works. If you try to bypass Solrock, you get blasted by its powerful attacks. If you try to fight it on directly, Lunatone has some powerful attacks, including Ice Beam. A frozen Pokémon is a sitting duck."

"I take it as rock-types, they both have good defense?" Touma questioned, trying to think logically. He wished he paid more attention in school.

"Decent." Mikoto wiggled her hand. "Solrock has better defense and Lunatone has better special defense." She frowned. "I'm worried about the Lunatone's Rock Tomb. It's super effective against Charmeleon and if Pikachu gets hit it's going to make her lose speed."

"Then I guess we don't get hit by it." Touma shrugged and she let out an unwilling giggle.

"So you want to take Lunatone out first?" She asked.

"I think that's what they expect us to do." Touma rubbed his chin.

"I noticed Lunatone's trainer seems to get flustered if the battle suddenly goes in a direction she wasn't expecting," Mikoto recalled. "A sudden and decisive strike might work to our advantage."

"Which they will expect," Touma muttered and nodded slowly. "I think I have an idea."

"What is it?"

It didn't take long for Touma to explain his plan to Mikoto. Her eyes widened at the sheer audacity of his strategy. If it worked, they were bound to take an early lead. Failure could easily lead to defeat. They would have to be quick, coordinated, and not give the other team even the slightest hint of their strategy. It was a bold plan. She wouldn't have thought of it. This was something Misaki might have thought up. It was worth a try and it had a good chance of succeeding.

"Okay," She finally agreed. "It's worth a shot."

"Are you two ready?"

They both jumped when the referee entered the waiting room. Neither of them had heard him come in, being too involved in their discussion. Not wanting to cause any more delays, they followed him outside and stopped right before entering the battlefield. The crowd cheered as they stepped forward amid the announcer's words echoing across the stadium.

"Let's give a warm welcome for the next teams to compete in the third round in this doubles tournament! Touma Kamijou and Mikoto Misaka of Team Zapdos!" He paused while people clapped and cheered. "Their opponents are twin sisters, Leivinia and Patricia Birdway of Team Dawn!"

Across the field from Mikoto, two petite blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls walked forward. One wore a white dress with black stockings that gave her a grand piano-like impression. The way she walked and her posture just exuded confidence. In contrast, her sister was a lot more reserved, with her arms tightly pressed against her body while her hands were rubbing each other nervously. Her outfit consisted of a light blue jersey with slacks and a white vest. Headphones hung around her shoulders. As they got closer, Mikoto realized something.

"Wait, I thought you had to have at least a high school student participating to join?" Mikoto asked.

"Heh, not if you know people." The older sister, Leivinia, replied. "I just asked for an exemption."

"You could do that?" Mikoto's mouth fell open. "I could have partnered with Kuroko then."

"Standing right here." Touma muttered, and Mikoto's cheeks flushed in embarrassment while Leivinia laughed. His eyes fell onto Patricia, who was just sort of standing there, shifting her weight on each foot awkwardly. "Let me, guess. You got forced to participate by your sister because she needed a partner?"

"H-how did you know?" She gasped, eyes widening in surprise.

"That seems to be a common trend. Misaka here forced me too."

"N-no I didn't!" Mikoto stammered, amusing the older sister.

"Well, good luck to you two, you'll need it," Leivinia told them after she stopped laughing. "It's a bad match-up for you."

"We'll just see about that." Mikoto huffed, finding her confidence. They all shook hands and went back to their side of the field. "She's so haughty. Reminds me of Accelerator."

"I think she's just showing off for her sister, honestly," Touma commented.

"Are both teams ready?" The referee asked, as he took his position on the side of the field between both teams. Touma and Mikoto gave him a thumbs up and the sisters nodded. "Then release your Pokémon!" The two of them grabbed their pokeballs and hurled them into the arena.

"Charmeleon!"

"Pikachu!"

Both of their Pokémon appeared at the same time in a flash of red light. Pikachu pawed the ground and its cheeks sparked up eagerly. Charmeleon yawned and flicked its tail. Across the field, Leivinia and Patricia unleashed their own.

Levinia's confidence was reflected in her Solrock's bright nature. Solrock was a primarily orange, spherical Pokémon with eight yellow, rocky spines extending from the sides of its body, and multiple small, yellow stony bumps running vertically along its center. Its large eyes consisted of thick, semicircular yellow eyelids through which black sclera and red pupils could be seen. A black ring with six extensions surrounded each eye.

Lunatone was a cream-colored, rock Pokémon with a crescent moon shape. In the center of the crescent was a pointed, beak-like structure. Its eyes were red and deep-set on the side of its head. It floated in front of Patricia, who was encouraging it. Her voice was too soft for Mikoto to hear over the cheering.

The referee looked at each team and then raised the flag.

"Begin!"

"Sunny Day!" Leivinia shouted, pointing up to the sky.

"Cosmic Power!" Patricia followed.

Solrock began to glow with a bright white light. The clouds above the ring dissolved unusually fast as the sunlight beating down on everyone intensified. Mikoto could feel the temperature rise. Lunatone began to glow purple as its defenses increased due to Cosmic Power.

"Pikachu!" Mikoto ordered, "use Thunder Shock on Lunatone!"

Electricity flew from Pikachu and hit the moon-shaped Pokémon, but the attack didn't seem to do much and Lunatone was still floating.

"Hah!" Leivinia laughed. "Cosmic Power increases defenses. Don't tell me you forgot."

Nope, Mikoto thought to herself and then glanced over at Touma, who gave a very curt nod to let her know the plan was on point.

"Careful, Misaka!" Touma warned, his voice carrying much further than was necessary. "Charmeleon, Smokescreen!" Charmeleon spun around and swiped its tail in an arc. A cloud of thick black smoke rose from the flame and began to obscure the field, specifically covering Solrock.

"Umm, Lunatone, Ice Beam!" Patricia called out.

Lunatone cried out and a blue orb appeared in the space between the points of the crescent. A bright blue beam shot out, going through the smoke and hitting where Pikachu had been moments before the Smokescreen. However, Pikachu wasn't there anymore. Mikoto was far too used to fighting with Touma to just have her Pokémon stay in one spot. Pikachu was already moving as per their plan.

"Clear the Smokescreen!" Leivinia shouted at her sister urgently. "Hurry!"

"How?" Patricia asked.

"Use Psychic!" Leivinia turned back to the battle. "Solrock, get out of the Smokescreen so you can use Solar Beam!"

The second that Solrock levitated out of the Smokescreen, Touma and Mikoto reacted.

"Dragon Claw!

"Iron Tail!"

Pikachu bolted out of the smoke, its tail glowing white. Solrock didn't have time to dodge as Pikachu jumped, spun around in midair, and struck the now as hard-as- steel tail against its body. The force threw it down toward the smoke cloud. Instead of crashing into the ground inside the cloud, Charmeleon jumped out, its claws glowing green and slammed Solrock back at Pikachu. Pikachu was prepared to smack it again with Iron Tail.

The two Pokémon were playing tennis with Solrock as the ball.

That was their entire plan they came up within the locker room. The trainers who faced the twins focused on Lunatone due to its support abilities over the pure offensive Solrock. Touma and Mikoto went the other way. They only pretended to use the Smokescreen to keep Solrock out of the way while they took down Lunatone. Instead, Mikoto only used the Thunder Shock to fortify that belief in her opponents. Thanks to that trick, Pikachu was able to hit Solrock with a super-effective steel attack along with Charmeleon's Dragon Claws.

"Use Psychic to save Solrock!" Patricia ordered Lunatone frantically. Lunatone's eyes glowed purple. The same color glowed around Pikachu before it was slammed against the ground. This gave Solrock the opportunity to right itself in midair and levitate.

"Stone Edge on Pikachu!" Patricia yelled angrily.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack to dodge!" Mikoto countered.

Solrock's body became surrounded in white. The white energy then broke off its body and formed two rings of white pointed energy orbs that orbit around it. The white light on those rings then faded and revealed multiple gray rocks, which propelled forward at high speeds toward Pikachu. Pikachu managed to right itself and dash forward, leaving a trail of white light behind it. The stone shards shattered against the ground, but Pikachu managed to escape unscathed.

"Ice Beam!" Patricia called out. "Stop Pikachu from moving!"

"Cover Pikachu with Flamethrower!" Touma yelled toward Charmeleon.

Lunatone fired another blue beam at Pikachu, but the fiery torrent unleashed from Charmeleon collided with it in midair. What they all had forgotten was that Sunny Day was still in effect and Charmeleon's fire attacks were empowered. The Flamethrower didn't just explode against the Ice Beam, but engulfed it before moving toward Lunatone. The Pokémon may have been a rock-type, but still it took some damage as it was covered in fire.

"Lunatone!" Patricia cried out in panic.

"Don't worry, he's fine," Leivinia assured her. "Fire versus rock, remember? Focus on slowing them down and I'll take care of that Charmeleon."

"R-right." Patricia turned back to the battlefield. "Rock Tomb on Pikachu!"

"Stone Edge on Charmeleon!" Leivinia followed up.

"Hurry and use Quick Attack again to escape!" Mikoto yelled. "Don't get caught in the rocks!"

"Use Dragon Claw to deflect the rocks!" Touma ordered.

Large jagged rocks encased in white light exploded from the ground near Pikachu. The purpose was to trap it so it couldn't move, and getting hit by one of those rapidly growing rocks would cause tremendous damage. The little yellow mouse was zipping around at high speeds, suddenly changing direction to avoid the surprise attacks. Meanwhile, Charmeleon was using its glowing green claws to bat away the Stone Edge, though a couple shards did make contact with it.

"Group them up," Leivinia said to her sister. "Let's end this quickly."

"R-right." Patricia took a deep breath. "Psychic on Pikachu!"

The rocks stopped erupting from the ground, but Pikachu wasn't safe yet. A purple glow appeared around it again and lifted the helpless mouse into the air. It struggled but without touching anything, it couldn't move.

"Pikachu!" Mikoto shouted. "Try to break free. Use Thunder-…"

"Slam her into Charmeleon!" Patricia ordered slightly faster.

Before Pikachu could get the electrical build-up to fire an attack at Lunatone, the psychic Pokémon threw Pikachu into Charmeleon with a mere thought. The collision knocked Charmeleon over and they landed in a pile.

"Solrock, Solar Beam!" Patricia ordered, triumph etched in every word.

The top spike on Solrock's head glowed bright white a moment before a powerful laser shot out. With Charmeleon and Pikachu getting up, they weren't able to dodge in time. The Solar Beam made direct contact with them and created a large explosion. Charmeleon and Pikachu were blown backwards with smoke and debris. Pikachu slid along the ground, but Charmeleon shoved his claws into the ground to steady himself.

"Char." Charmeleon grunted, scraping the ground with his foot. Narrowed eyes glared at Solrock.

"Pika," Pikachu said, pushing itself up as the pain was getting to it. That Solar Beam did a lot of damage. "Pikachu!" it walked up and stood near Charmeleon.

"Keep it up!" Mikoto cheered. "You're the best, Pikachu!"

"We need to take down Solrock," Touma muttered. "The problem is Lunatone keeps interfering with any combos we try."

"Then we hit it hard and fast." Mikoto clenched her hand. "Solrock should be pretty beaten already. One or two well-placed hits should end it."

"I'll give us an opening then," Touma said, turning back to the field. "Charmeleon! Smokescreen one more time!"

Charmeleon swung his tail and caused another pitch-black smoke cloud to obscure the battlefield.

"Not this time," Patricia said, growing bolder as the fight was in their favor. "Lunatone, Psychic to clear the smoke!"

"Solrock, use Psyshock the moment the smoke's clear." Leivinia ordered. A huge grin appeared on her face as she anticipated the end of the match. "Fly above the smoke so they can't sneak up on you."

Solrock floated above the battlefield and a purple, blue, and black orb of psychic energy appeared on top of its head. Lunatone's eyes began to glow and the smoke began to disperse as an invisible force pushed it away. Mikoto glanced at Touma and gave a curt nod.

"Pikachu, Springboard!"

"What?!" Leivinia thought she heard wrong. She'd never heard of a move like that.

The thing was, it wasn't really a move, but a team skill Mikoto developed with her partner. As the smoke vanished, Pikachu was already standing in the middle of Charmeleon's tail.

"Now!" Touma and Leivinia yelled in unintentional sync.

Three dark purple beams fired from the orb on Solrock's head at Charmeleon and Pikachu. Because of the distance, there was a slight delay. The two Pokémon should have easily been able to dodge said attack by moving out of the way, but that wasn't the plan. Well, at the very least, for both of them to move. Charmeleon swung his tail like it was trying to slap an enemy away. Because of the power of its tail, it flung Pikachu high into the air, past the Psyshock. The psychic energy only collided with Charmeleon, making a small explosion.

The purple beams flew under Pikachu, who was now above Solrock.

"What!?" Leivinia and Patricia gasped in shock. Patricia was frozen and the thought of using Lunatone to defend never crossed her mind.

"Iron Tail!" Mikoto yelled triumphantly. "Knock it out of the sky!"

"Pi… ka… CHUUU!" Pikachu's tail glowed whited and slammed down vertically against the top of Solrock's head. The force sent it plummeting to the ground. It never got a chance to collide with the dirt though.

"Dragon Claw!"

At Touma's orders, Charmeleon dashed out of the smoke left from the Psyshock and slammed its glowing green claws into Solrock.

"Lunatone…" Patricia finally found her voice to help her sister. "Use Psychic!"

Lunatone never got a chance to defend.

The force of Charmeleon's Dragon Claw sent Solrock flying into Lunatone, slamming into it with a loud bang. The force sent them tumbling backwards and crashing into the ground. Both of them were now stuck together and dazed for a moment. This was the perfect opportunity for Mikoto and Touma to get ahead. Of course, after all their training, they recognized the chance and immediately took action.

"Flamethrower!"

"Thunder Shock!"

A torrent of flames and a crackle of electricity washed over the two psychic Pokémon. Fire attacks wouldn't normally do much, but Sunny Day was still active, which helped negate their resistance due to empowering fire. Electricity also did normal damage to rock-types and because they were together, it was easier to use a ranged attack that could hit both of them, rather than risk getting in close.

A massive explosion followed, sending dust and rocks into the air. Solrock and Lunatone slammed into each other, sending the both of them flying back, and while Lunatone managed to float back up, Solrock stayed down, its eyes spinning.

"Solrock is unable to battle!" The referee called out.

"Gah, return." Leivinia growled irritated, holding a pokeball in her outstretched hand. "It's up to you Patricia."

"B-but…" It was obvious with her stammering, Patricia didn't think she could do it.

"No buts!" Leivinia told her. "You can do this, but you have to stand firm and try." Her harsh glare softened. "I believe in you." Patricia stiffened up at her sister's words and looked back at the battlefield.

"Rock Tomb!"

Finding her confidence with her sister believing in her, she didn't hesitate. Lunatone picked up its trainer's determination and immediately unleashed glowing white rocks from the ground. Pikachu managed to dodge it, already used to the attack, but Charmeleon was not. It was immediately surrounded by rocks and several made direct contact against it, slamming into it with force.

"Is Charmeleon okay?" Mikoto asked, her voice laden with concern.

"He's fine, worry about Lunatone." Touma assured her. "Break out with Dragon Claw!"

Rocks exploded as Charmeleon smashed its way out of the tomb.

"Iron Tail!" Mikoto told Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu dashed forward and jumped up, swinging its glowing white tail once more.

"Dodge up!" Patricia countered and Lunatone floated straight up. Pikachu's attack swiped through the air before the mouse began to fall back down to the ground.

"This is bad!" Mikoto cried out. "Pikachu can't dodge!"

"Ice Beam!" Patricia was finally about to take down Pikachu with a direct attack, but due to her inexperience, she forgot about her opponent for a second.

That one second was enough.

"Flamethrower."

An enormous inferno erupted out of Charmeleon's mouth toward Lunatone, whose Ice Beam orb had just formed. The sheer power astounded many of the audience as they settled down to watch in stunned silence. The flames not only overpowered the Ice Beam without problems, but it also caused serious damage to Lunatone. Ironically, the power of the attack was because of Charmeleon itself.

Blaze.

Charmeleon's special ability. When its health went below half, the power of its fire-type moves increased by fifty percent. The Rock Tomb that Lunatone had used dropped it below that threshold. Then add in the fact that Sunny Day was still active above the field for another fifty percent increase. Even with Lunatone being a rock-type, it still took significant damage. The sheer power of it caused Lunatone to stagger and sink down in the air, the fire still burning it. It also caught the status condition Burn, but it wouldn't last very long.

Pikachu finally landed on the ground and jumped back up, swinging its glowing-white tail. Distracted by the last attack, Lunatone was unable to dodge and the super effective Iron Tail made direct contact with the Pokémon, sending it flying out of the ring. It crashed into the wall and sank down to the ground.

"Lunatone is unable to battle!" The referee declared. "Team Zapdos is the winner!"

"Yes!" Mikoto exclaimed happily, double high-fiving Touma. "Great work Pikachu!" Pikachu raced back over to her and jumped in her arms. "You're amazing."

"You did well too," Touma told Charmeleon, as it strutted back over to them. "We can give you a nice rest at the Pokémon Center. We have one more battle today."

"Char." Charmeleon yawned and let Touma recall it into its ball.

"That was an impressive battle." Patricia said, as she and her sister walked over to them. "Your teamwork is amazing."

"You two were good too." Mikoto replied. "We sort of improvised a couple strategies after seeing your battle."

"Hmmph." Leivinia glared at her while crossing her arms.

"Be nice," Patricia warned her and turned to Touma. "Charmeleon is really powerful. I got to watch him against the Hawlucha and it's just as strong as I witnessed."

"Thanks," Touma told her, shaking her hand. "We've been through a lot together." Patricia smiled at him and Mikoto began to grow suspicious.

Leivinia, however, couldn't resist the opportunity.

"Oh? Are you crushing on him, sis?" She asked. "Didn't think you went for his type. Don't you like intellectuals?"

"W-w-what are you saying!?" Patricia gasped, waving her arms. "Stop that!" Leivinia clutched her side as she laughed at her sister's reddening face.

"Your reaction is priceless."

"Let's go." Mikoto whispered, tugging at Touma's shirt. He wasn't going to argue and was happy for an excuse to get away from the awkward sibling teasing. Once they were back in the waiting room, she sighed. "Phew, I was worried there for a moment. One or two hits on their side and we could have gone down."

"They went for powerful single attacks, rather than constantly barrage of weaker ones," Touma said. "It was easier for us since we knew their strategy."

"Yeah, but implementing a new one for us on the fly was the challenge, and we did it!" Mikoto fist pumped. "We are totally going all the way to the finals!"

"We have several more battles left," Touma reminded her. "But… I suppose we can pat ourselves on the back this once."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed from Mikoto's arms.

They just exited the room when Mikoto's friends showed up.

"You did it, Onee-sama!" Kuroko cheered, running forward and giving Mikoto a hug.

"I was worried there for a moment," Kazari said, walking up behind Kuroko. "You both did a great job and your teamwork was perfect."

"It seemed like Lunatone's trainer was a little slow on reacting," Ruiko commented. "Because of that, you were able to launch attack after attack."

"She was dragged along with her sister," Touma explained. "I don't think she's had a lot of experience. Lunatone was strong though, so this was a good experience for her. I bet her sister is going to make her battle more now."

"Like you were dragged along?" Ruiko asked, amusement etched on her face.

"Seems to be a common trend in this tournament…ow!"

Mikoto elbowed him in the side.

"Touma-kuuuun!"

"Great." Mikoto groaned as she heard the familiar cry. Touma turned and found himself hugged by the blonde girl.

"You were awesome!" Misaki told him. "I never doubted for a moment you would win."

"Weren't you yelling about all those close calls while holding onto Sylveon?" Kazari asked, slightly bemused.

"Shush, you."

"Where is Sylveon?" Touma asked. "She's normally with you."

"She was right here." Misaki spun around. "Sylveon?! Where are you?!"

"Umm, Kuroko." Mikoto asked. "I left Jolteon with you. Where is she?"

"She was right… here…" Kuroko trailed off as she realized Jolteon was nowhere to be seen either. "Saten-san? Uiharu?"

"She was with us when we left our seats," Ruiko recalled. "And if she got lost, she would have made some kind of notice, right?"

"Let's retrace our steps just in case." Kazari suggested.

"I'll help." Touma offered. "Which way did you come?"

The five of them raced down the hallway and called out for Jolteon and Sylveon. Since the intermission was just about over, most people were heading back to their seats for the next fight. Despite their best efforts, they were having no luck and decided to split up. Kazari and Ruiko went to ask the security guards if anyone reported seeing a lost Jolteon or Sylveon. Kuroko went back to check their seats in case they returned there. Mikoto, Misaki, and Touma kept looking. Realizing they weren't there, Misaki took out her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Mikoto asked.

"No one," Misaki replied, hitting several buttons on her smartphone. I have a tracking device located on Sylveon's collar for situations like this where we get separated. It's not super accurate, but it gets me close." She hit another button and held the phone up as it gathered a signal.

"Smart." Touma complimented. "Better than running around blindly."

"I hope Jolteon followed Sylveon." Mikoto mumbled worriedly. She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled upon seeing Touma, happy for the small gesture that alleviated her worries even slightly.

"What is this!?" Misaki cried out suddenly, causing Mikoto and Touma to jump.

"What is it?!" They asked simultaneously.

"I'm showing Sylveon is leaving the arena and heading west rapidly, like she's in a vehicle."

"You don't think…" Touma trailed off.

"She's been kidnapped?!" Mikoto finished.

A few minutes earlier, when the girls had left the bleachers and were heading to meet up with their friends, Sylveon and Jolteon had been trailing behind them. Both of them were excited to congratulate their friends about their recent hard-fought victory. Of course, they couldn't seem too anxious to meet up with Charmeleon, or they would be annoying to him. Sylveon learned that quickly since Charmeleon didn't like super clingy Pokémon. She still had to stay ahead of Jolteon, who didn't seem to understand Sylveon had dibs.

A pleasant smell wafted into the air and both of them stopped.

"Syl?" Sylveon sniffed the air and looked down the hall to their left.

"Jolt." Jolteon had smelled it too and really enjoyed the aroma.

Neither of them had smelled anything as delicious as that, with some of Ruiko's cooking a close second. It had been a long day and both of them were hungry. They knew where they were going, having been there before, and they figured it would be okay to just peek at what was generating that smell. If they happened to get a little bit of it, that was just a bonus. The two of them, in a rare sense of unity, quietly trotted over.

This was a mistake and they should have notified their trainers.

"Got you!"

A bag was thrown over them and a pungent odor filled it. Both of them immediately struggled by reflex. But before Jolteon or Sylveon had a chance to shout out for help, they grew dizzy. Their muscles weakened, their voices died in their throats, and their brains grew fuzzy. It made using any move impossible. Darkness enveloped them and their struggles ceased.

"Phew," Shiage muttered, hoisting the two captives in the bags over his shoulder. "This should please the boss." He had a bandana wrapped around most of his face.

"Just be glad all Eevee evolutions love this formula," a girl with her arms crossed told him. "They always want to check it out." She had a bandana covering her face too.

"Let's just get going," Shiage said, ignoring her sarcastic tone. "The last thing we need is someone to see us. Is the car still outside?"

"No one bothers a van parked outside of a stadium."

The two of them left, with Shiage carrying the Pokémon. The girl just made sure the way was clear. Only one person saw them, but that student just figured they were working. The thieves then slipped out the back door into the street. A large unmarked van was waiting for them. The moment they approached it, the back opened up and revealed two more men with bandanas covering their faces. Several cages were set up behind them. Shiage climbed up into the back while the girl went up to the front. The door closed behind them and the engine roared to life.

"Two of them, nice."

"Awesome job, Hamazura."

Shiage grinned, as Jolteon and Sylveon were pushed into reinforced cages in case they woke up early.

"I'm just that great. Maybe the boss will finally give me some respect."

"Is her Furret coming?"

"No, she's having it scout out other possible targets." Shiage shrugged. "Least I don't have to do it anymore." The van jerked to life and they all stumbled before catching their balance. "Time to head to the drop off point."

Healthcare: Certainly took you a while, but I think it's worth the wait. What do you think, Dark?

DB: I think it's time for us to hear from the Pokémon.

Lucario: It seems as if things are taking a turn for the worst.

Shinx: Let's go and take those kidnappers out!

Rampardos: They shall learn to fear the mighty Headbutt!

Pikachu: If it was anyone else, I would say they wouldn't, but you're… Rampardos.

Rampardos: What does that mean?"

Charmeleon: You know exactly what that means.