A/N: Not much to be added here, just read it, I guess.

"Suck on that!" Laughed Natasha as she caught the biggest corphish either her or Elise had seen. "Now I'm sure I'll win that fishing contest!"

"You probably beat me, agreed Elise, showing the comparatively lackluster barboach she'd snagged herself, the winners'll be announced pretty soon here, so let's get to the podium."

"And the grand prize goes to Youngster Chris with his amazing magikarp!" Declared the announcer.

"What the hell!?" Demanded Natasha, who, like Elise had won nothing. "My-my pokemon was bigger!"

"It's a rip off, I guess..." Sighed Elise, who had also come up empty handed.

"It kind of serves you right, any idiot could see that a contest based around catching nonspecific pokemon is rigged to get your admissions money; those winners are probably in on the scam." Reprimanded Jeanne, who'd just entered the cave, and had noticed the pokemon fishing contest in progress.

"Now you tell us!" Sighed Elise, annoyed at her friend's attitude.

"It's your own fault." Groaned Jeanne.

"So it's my fault because I did it one time!?" Protested Natasha.

"That's it, I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Shouted Elise, as she drew a pokeball.

"Fair enough, 3 versus 3." Agreed Jeanne, as she drew a pokeball of her own.

"Drowzee!"

"Trapinch!"

The elephant-like psychic and earth ant both emerged in a flash of light and began squaring off, judging the other as best as either could.

"Trapinch, use fury cutter!" Ordered Jeanne. Trapinch charged at drowzee and hit it with a good swipe from its right claw, sending Drowzee a good deal back.

"Confusion!" Countered Elise. Trapinch was shocked by a brief jolt of psychic energy, which did nominal damage, but not as much as trapinch had done.

"Follow up with another fury cutter!" Declared Jeanne. Trapinch complied, and hit drowzee with a yet stronger strike, bringing Drowzee down further.

"Drowzee, disable." Decided Elise. Drowzee shot mysterious energy from its hand that enveloped the opposing pokemon, and stayed on it as a sort of residue.

"Bite." Sighed Jeanne, as trapinch sank its fangs into drowzee's legs, dowing its target.

"Shit! Marshtomp!" Elise sent out the catfish pokemon, who struck a cocky pose. "Scald!" Marshtomp made quick work of trapinch, one hit and it was over.

"Roselia." Said Jeanne, the grass pokemon took the field. "Toxic." Roselia shot a glob of poison from its mouth, which struck marshtomp dead on.

"Bide." Commanded Elise. Marshtomp began glowing with a white aura.

"Magical leaf!" Declared Jeanne, hoping to end it there. No such luck, marshtomp survived the storm, and unleashed the bide energy. Roselia fainted, but the toxic took its toll, and marshtomp went down in the same move. "It seems to be tied up, one more on each of our parts." Noted Jeanne. "Let's see here... Ponyta."

"Gibble." Decided Elise, with her shark like dragon taking the field. "Sandstorm." Gibble strained as a torrent of sand escaped from its body, and the field was blanketed with the sand, pelting ponyta all the while. "Now sand tomb." Ponyta was surrounded by further sand, preventing an attempted ember all the while. "Keep using dragon rage!" Finished Elise. Gibble's continued blasts of draco energy proved too much, and Ponyta fell unconscious.

A black haired, gray eyed, muscular man about Elise's age, wearing a leather jacket, a black tank top, spiked spaulders on his shoulders, and loose black jeans, stood in front of them in line, he said nothing, but the expression on his face seemed to tell the nurse at the counter everything she needed to know.

"Atlas-chaaaaaaan!" Shouted a feminine and unsettling voice, as its owner came into the room, she was a shorter woman, with braided hair that appeared to be painted black, but white underneath (the dye wasn't applied properly). Her uniform, despite its poor condition, identified her as a member of Team Ubermensch, and her mismatched eyes, one blue, and one gray, seemed to betray pure insanity, but what stood out most about her was her general look of malnourishment. She looked like she needed to eat more.

"I can't fight her. My pokemon are too tired." Sighed the man at the counter, whom Elise guessed was Atlas.

"I'll do it then." Resolved Elise.

"But you only have half your team!" Protested Natasha.

"You can't always be the hero!" Agreed Jeanne.

"I'll take it!" Laughed the woman. "But I assure you, you'll regret the time you fucked with Ubermensch Overwoman Desdemona! That is, if you live!" She threatened, as she drew a pokeball. "That bastard took down all my others, but I know this'll be enough." She threw the ball, which contained a Deino.

"Aron." Decided Elise.

"Dragonbreath!" Ordered Desdemona. Deino's breath of blue fire hit aron, but did little at all, leaving aron mostly as it had been at the beginning of the fight.

"Metal claw!" Countered Elise, aron raking at deino with an energized claw, doing some fair damage, though it was helped in that regard by the damage Atlas had already caused.

"Head Smash!" Shouted Desdemona, angry now. Aron took the blow, and got up with only moderate damage. Deino, on the other hand, was out on the floor, defeated.

"Well fuck, I'd better... RUN AWAY!" Shouted Desdemona as she did just that.

"She got away..." Muttered Atlas. "Well at least you stopped her from massacring the town..." He continued, motioning to Elise.

"How do you know?" Asked Natasha, still worried.

"Desdemona Lewis is a high profile Ubermensch admin, and she'll never retread somewhere she's been, it seems to make her nervous." Explained Atlas. Helps keep track of her, though she'll run out of new land sooner or later... In any event, thanks for the assist. Miss..."

"Maynard, Elise Maynard."

"Well, Miss Elise Maynard, you ought to consider challenging me for the Golem, Badge. I am, after all, the town's gym leader.

"Thanks, that was the plan!" Laughed Elise.

"Perhaps afterward I could buy you lunch." Laughed Atlas, interested in the trainer.

"Sorry, you aren't my type."

"How do you know?" Asked Atlas, bewildered by the immediate rejection.

"How do I put this... Men aren't my type." Explained Elise.

"Never tell Ben that." Muttered Jeanne.

"I understand." Sighed Atlas, as he left the Pokemon Center to return to his gym.

"Here goes nothing!" Cheered Elise, as she entered the Caveside City gym, noting the sign as she entered: Caveside City Gym. Leader: Atlas: The Demure Daredevil.

A/N: Once again, I apologize for the length, but once again, I'm balancing a lot of stories here, so there's my excuse, I suppose... Really sorry... Until next time!