Choco watched carefully as Honda's eyes narrowed s he fingered his next pokeball before letting it out,

"Take 'em down, Hitmonlee!"

"Crystal, start this off with a Blizzard!" shouted Choco, hoping to have the first advantage with a frozen Pokemon.

No such luck. Honda called out his next attack, as if anticipating her moves,

"Hitmonlee, Mega Kick!"

Jumping high in the air, Hitmonlee easily avoided the direct blast of the Blizzard, getting only its foot frozen. It then came crashing down at an extremely fast speed, landing the frozen foot on Crystal in a super critical hit.

"Shake it off! Then send it an Aurora Beam!"

The Dragonite shook its head a few times to clear the fatigue and sent a rainbow-colored blast towards the kicking Pokemon.

"Dodge it, and then send in a High-Jump Kick!" shouted Honda.

"When it jumps, send in a Wing Attack! Follow it up with a Steel Wing!"

As Hitmonlee jumped, ready to attack Crystal, the flying/dragon Pokemon let out a huge gust of wind, sending the kicking Pokemon flying. Then, taking advantage of the temporary paralysis, it dove in for a Steel Wing.

"Grab it, and then throw it off with a Seismic Toss!" commanded Honda.

"No way, is that even possible?" asked Sakura, noticing the condition in which the fighting Pokemon was in.

But despite her opinion, Hitmonlee opened its eyes, squaring up its body with the dragon, and grabbed onto the white shining wing that was directed towards it. In panic, Crystal tried to jerk away, but its attempt was futile as Hitmonlee flipped in mid air to send its foot crashing Crystal into the solid rock ground, indenting a huge crater into the flat ground.

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Please select your next Pokemon!" announced the referee.

Returning the Dragonite with a 'thanks', Choco drew her second pokeball of the three-on-three match.

"Let's go, Tsunami!"

The grand Milotic stood only inches from the large indent, glaring at the kicking Pokemon, who was not the least bit tired from its previous battle. Gritting her teeth, she waited for Honda to call his move,

"Hitmonlee, start this off with Mind Reader!"

Focusing its target, Hitmonlee mentally set a lock-on stage towards Tsunami.

"Don't let it get you! Use Attract!"

At once, the beautiful Pokemon seemed ever more gorgeous, batting its long lashes as it shyly waved its tail at Hitmonlee.

"Close your eyes, remain focused!" commanded Honda.

"Quickly, use Hypnosis!"

As the defending Pokemon's eyes closed, the Milotic wasted no time in letting out loops of sound waves, slowly luring the fighting Pokemon to sleep.

"Good, now charge for a Hyper Beam!"

"Hitmonlee, wake up, use Endure!"

"Choco's really going for the quick KO in this battle," stated Chris, slightly surprised at her tactics.

As the golden beam started to grow in the water Pokemon's mouth, Hitmonlee struggled in its sleep. At the last moment, before the attack could hit it, it woke up and crossed its arms across its chest, enduring the beam until Tsunami could no longer hold the attack.

"Go, Hitmonlee, use Dynamic Punch!"

Using its boasted accuracy, despite Tsunami's attempt to move, Hitmonlee had already sent a deadly punch straight into the center of its body, sending Tsunami flying back and crashing into the rocky floor.

"Tsunami, can you get up?"

As if nodding, the water Pokemon stood up, shaking the dizziness off. Honda grimaced at the stubborn Pokemon, growing slightly out of patience as he watched it get into its stance again. Suddenly, Choco, gaining a wonderful idea, called out,

"Tsunami, Hydro Pump!"

"What? Is she crazy?" asked Kari, "She can't expect to hit that agile Pokemon with such a slow attack! It's a plain waste of energy!"

"Hitmonlee, into the air!"

As if it could fly, the fighting Pokemon jumped swiftly into the air to avoid the blast of water. Choco, surprisingly, shouted,

"Don't chance your course, fill the hole with water!"

True enough, Hitmonlee's original position was at the middle of the crater, so when it had moved, Tsunami was free to fill the rest of the hole with water, thus creating a basin.

"Now, into the water!"

Hitmonlee landed next to the makeshift lake as Tsunami dove in, sending hardly any sprays of water into the air as it sunk to the bottom.

"Don't give in, use Earthquake!" directed Honda.

Hitmonlee jumped into the air, but before it could stomp on the land, Choco had given her command,

"Now, use Iron Tail!"

Following Hitmonlee into the air, Tsunami came up into a beautiful arc, slamming its now hardened tail into the fighting Pokemon's check.

"Hitmonlee, use Reversal!"

During the airborne fight, Hitmonlee used its last ounce of energy to exert the attack. It hit full on, and the attack knocked out the water Pokemon, but the awkward angle sent the fighting Pokemon landing harshly on the stony pavement. When neither Pokemon moved, the referee raised both flags,

"This battle is considered a tie, please let out your last Pokemon."

"Nice try, Tsunami," said Choco, clasping her hand around her Pokemon's pokeball, "Let's take this battle, Sky!"

"Win this for me, Hitmontop!" shouted Honda, releasing his last pokeball.

After a graceful dive through the air, the blue and white dragon landed perfectly at the edge of the basin, facing its opponent, a small but strong Hitmontop.

"Start this off with Dragon Dance!" shouted Choco.

"Quick, use Mach Punch, distract it!"

"Counter with Aerial Ace!"

As the fighting Pokemon dashed forwards with inhuman speed, Sky took its fasted attack, disappearing into the skies as it locked onto its target.

"Match it with Hi Jump Kick!"

Just as the Altaria was about to make a dive, it was met face first by the foot of Hitmontop, and it let out a sharp cry of pain, taking the skies again.

"Before it lands, launch a Sky Attack!"

Shaking away the pain, the Altaria turned its rise into a steep dive, beautiful red flames surrounding its body.

"Rapid Spin, Hitmontop!" called Honda, hoping for the attack to deflect off.

Though falling, Hitmontop turned upside down, spinning itself at high speeds. Sky, however, swept past, sending the fighting Pokémon off towards the ends of the field. Satisfied, the Altaria landed, resting its tired body.

"Hitmontop, use Dig!"

Standing up with much effort, the Pokémon again spun quickly, burying itself deep in the grounds. Choco frowned, unsure of whether to tell her Pokémon to take flight. Of course, if it did, it would rid the last of its energy, but if it didn't, there was a good chance of being knocked out by the Dig attack.

"Sky, look for movement! Watch the water currents!"

The flying/dragon Pokémon obeyed, its sensitive feathers pressed against the hard ground as its sharp eyes watched for the slightest twitch in the peaceful lake. Sean nodded in admiration,

"That was smart. If Hitmontop comes to the top of the ground, the lake would definitely show movement. Sky could just take flight during that time."

He was suddenly interrupted when Sky rose with a swift lap of its wings. It wasn't fast enough, however, as Hitmontop came spinning from the ground and jumped into the air after it, still drilling the invisible soil.

"Flip over Sky!"

Using the air to its advantage, Sky easily made a quickly flip in the air, allowing Hitmontop's attack to hit an empty target. Honda, finding his Pokémon in trouble, called out his next attack.

"Rapid Spin again!" he commanded, "Then use Dig when you hit the ground!"

Again turning in mid-air, the fighting Pokémon's agility proved its worth, allowing it to spin at high speeds as it made a straight dive towards the ground.

"Follow it Sky!"

The dragon bird made a steep stoop, reaching ground level seconds after Hitmontop disappeared into the dirt.

"Use your gravitation!" called Choco quickly, "Send a strong Earthquake!"

Using its weight as an extra boast, Sky dropped to the ground with a strong force, causing even some rocks posted as landscape to crumble and the new-formed basin to launch out tidal waves.

"Get out of there, Hitmontop!" shouted Honda.

It was too late, however, and as Hitmontop climbed out of the hole, it tottered before falling backwards. The referee waited for it stand up, then finding it unable to, raised a flag in Choco's direction.

"Hitmontop is unable to battle; this match goes to Choco Ketchum!"

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Choco gave a soft smile as she pressed the return button on her pokeball to give her Pokémon a long deserved rest.

"That was a good battle," she said, shaking her opponent's hand.

Honda gave a grim smile, "You have potential, kid. Good luck the rest of the way."

The stands filled with cheers at the close battle, and Choco smiled as she followed Honda towards the exit for the next battles to continue. If there was anything she'd learned today, it'd be the fact the road to become Kanto Champion wouldn't be an easy one, but with her Pokémon, she would try her best.