Courtney stepped into Maxie's office as she had been called to do so. He sat down, analyzing the documents from the training session that she had supervised. He glanced up at Courtney and nodded. Her face, he noticed, while still having the same sleepy and bored expression, had a little more light to it. Her eyes seemed to be filled with more life.

"You look well," Maxie said with a smile.

"I am. Today was a good day. I've no reason not to be," Courtney replied dryly.

"Indeed. It's easy to see things are going well. By the way, what is the status on Brendan?" Maxie questioned.

Courtney smirked. "He said he'd think about it. I made a few points that he seemed to like. They were all true as is our policy in diplomatic negotiations. I suspect that it won't be much longer."

"Excellent. I assume you will want him under your command, correct?" Maxie deduced.

"Naturally. My agent saw him first so it's only right that I stake my claim. He might as well have my name stamped on him," Courtney replied casually.

"Then by all means, he's your operative should we manage to recruit him. I have no qualms with that at all," Maxie informed her.

Courtney nodded. She knew that everything had to go through Maxie before being finalized. Since she and Miles had been keeping tabs on him, he was rightfully hers. That, and she had quite literally marked him as hers.

"Onto other matters. Miles has been excelling in his battles against his opponents. I do believe a pay raise is in order. After his battle with Shelly, he has more than earned it," Maxie stated as he made a note of it.

"I agree. He has had many  notable victories. Though he has yet to best me, he holds his own quite well," Courtney added.

"That he does. Now, there's one other thing I want to go over. The Magma Suit. How's that project coming along?" Maxie queried.

Courtney frowned at the question.

"Difficult. I am still working out the kinks and imperfections to the heat proof system. The acrobatic functions are on point and the impact reduction shields are in line with my specifications. I just need to tweak them before the suit's construction is complete," Courtney replied.

"I see. It sounds like quite a process. Might I make a suggestion?" Maxie proposed.

Courtney canted her head slightly. Maxie rarely offered to assist unless he had something planned. Courtney shrugged and allowed Maxie to give some input. Courtney pulled up the designs and Maxie began making suggestions.
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Brendan soared through the skies over Petalburg City. He had finally made it after the long morning he had. It was a lengthy flight, but he managed to arrive a little after three in the afternoon. Skarmory dove down at the ground and pulled up, spreading her wings to slow the descent before landing. Brendan stepped off his steel companion and stroked her beak.

"Thanks for the lift girl. Take a rest," Brendan said as he recalled her into her ball.

The time had come for him to face May's dad. This was a battle he was looking forward to. He anticipated a very tough battle from one of the toughest leaders around. He needed to step into the Pokémon Center and check in first.
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Archie stroked his beard as he looked over the information that Matt had given him. Apparently, there was an island not too far from where they were. It was hidden for the longest time, but Matt managed to discover its whereabouts. The picture he sent to Archie made him grin with pride.

In the picture were two bird-like, dragon Pokémon. They had aerodynamic bodies with glass-like feathers. Their bodies were streamlined and likened to that of a jet plane.

"Soon, you two. Very soon..." Archie grinned.
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Brendan walked put of the center and made his way to the gym. Tim had told him to be prepared for a fight. That was exactly what Brendan wanted. With confidence, he reached for the doors and pried them apart. Inside was a large, rustic looking arena. Very basic from what he could tell. There was nothing extravagant, just white lines and a ring in the center.

Well that's...normal. Huh. That actually makes sense, thought Brendan as he looked around.

There, against the back wall, was Norman. His eyes opened and a serious expression appeared on his features.

"So you've made it," Norman stated, standing up from his meditation. 

"Been a while, Norman," Brendan replied with a grin.

Norman nodded and met Brendan in the center of the gym floor. The leader looked into Brendan's face. He could see that Brendan had been through a lot. The eyes, after all, were the windows to the soul. There was no getting around it. He could see the determination in those hazel irises. This made Norman crack a smile.

"Shall we get right to the reason you're here?" Norman inquired.

Brendan chuckled. "I thought you would never ask."

Norman nodded and paged his judge. A man exited the room on the right side of the gym and walked to the center of the gym. He needed no instruction on what to do. He glanced at both battlers before speaking.

"This is an official gym battle between the Petalburg City Gym Leader; Norman and the Challenger from Littleroot Town; Brendan! This will be a three on three matchup. Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon. Brendan will have the first move. Trainers, send out your first Pokémon!" The judge announced.

"Skarmory, take flight!" Brendan commanded.

Brendan reached for Skarmory's ball and sent her soaring into battle. The Armored Bird screeched upon arrival, folding her wings upon landing.

"Exploud, time for battle!" Norman bellowed.

Brendan was familiar with this Pokémon. He had fought against one before. This one, however, would be on a completely different level. Brendan grinned at the sight of Exploud.

"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!" Brendan commanded.

Skarmory screeched a challenge and shot off the ground, arming her wings with reinforced steel. She bolted forward. Exploud planted his feet and unhinged his jaws.

"Fire Blast!" Norman riposted.

Intense flames gathered within Exploud's mouth, forming a flaming five pointed symbol which he fired towards Skarmory. The Armored Bird pulled up to avoid the blast and loosed a Whirlwind which was met with a Boomburst to cancel it out.

"Aerial Ace!" Brendan shouted.

"Ice Beam!" Norman countered.

Skarmory banked right to avoid the subzero beam that was aimed her way. She dove under and around the assault and clipped Exploud's left flank on the fly, turning to dive in again. Exploud roared angrily and whirled around, firing off a bolt of electricity that punched into Skarmory, sending her sprawling.
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Katrina sat down in a small Café in Fortree City. She glanced down at the badge she had previously won and then up at the TV screen where Brendan's battle was being played. Beside the blond was another young woman who had red hair and green eyes. She wore a simple white t-shirt and jean shorts.

Katrina wore a light blue sleeveless top and white capris with a sunhat. She stared intently at the battle between Brendan and Norman.

"Isn't he the guy you tied with?" The girl inquired, watching the screen as well.

"Yes. That is Brendan Birch, Stacey. He's proven to be a very talented trainer and a worthy opponent," Katrina grinned.

"If he managed to force you to go all out, he must be good," Stacey added.

Katrina nodded as her attention shifted back to the fight.
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"Skarmory, Drill Peck!" Brendan shouted fiercely.

"Boomburst!" Norman countered.

Skarmory exploded forward just as Exploud was opening his mouth. She sped up using Agility and converged on him before he could shout. Skarmory landed a multitude of peck attacks before being batted into the ground and pinned. Exploud loosed a hasty Fire Blast at close range, burning the Armored Bird into the arena floor, unconscious.

"Skarmory is unable to battle! Exploud wins!" The judge announced.

Brendan narrowed his eyes and returned Skarmory to his ball. The next choice was a tough one. He needed to put Exploud away quickly. Making the decision, Brendan reached down and grabbed Milotic's ball.

"Milotic, battle's on!" Brendan hollered, firing Milotic onto the arena floor.

The serpentine Pokémon's call echoed majestically as materialized onto the field. Her lilac eyes opened slowly to face her foe. Norman sweat-dropped as the towering serpent loomed over Exploud. Still, he had an advantage.

"Milotic, let's show Norman how hard we've been working. Ice Beam!" Brendan commanded.

"Counter with Fire Blast!" Norman instructed.

Milotic reared her head back and lurched forward, firing a powerful beam of freezing energy towards Exploud who dispersed it with a blast of flames. Seemingly in the clear, he prepared another attack only to be wrapped and lifted high by Milotic and then slung across the arena into the far wall. Exploud rebounded off the wall onto his face.

He pushed himself up and narrowly avoided a Hydro Pump that would have put him in a desperate situation. Exploud opened his jaws and released a blast of electricity towards Milotic only for it to be met with a force field that absorbed the attack and sent it back with a double dose. The beam crashed into Exploud causing him to cry out in agony as he crashed into the wall, unconscious.

"Exploud is unable to battle! Milotic wins!" The judge proclaimed.

"That is one powerful Milotic. I am guessing that Feebas recently evolved huh," Norman stated, returning Exploud to his ball.

"Yep! She's new, and still needs a bit of work, but she's doing very well," Brendan replied, reaching up to stroke Milotic's face as she lowered it to nuzzle him.

"Well she shows a lot of promise. But it will take more than that. Bouffalant, time for battle!" Norman shouted.

The Bash Buffalo Pokémon immerged and snorted, stomping his front hoof in a threatening manner.
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"Yikes, the Bouffalant," Tim said as he sat down in the same Café Katrina was in. He had just walked in.

The sister of the Sinnoh Champion nodded in acknowledgment of her other worthy rival.

"Norman isn't playing around here. He's not going to chance getting hit by Mirror Coat again," Katrina stated.

Tim whistled as he saw Milotic. "What I wanna know is, when did Brendan get ahold of that?" Tim queried.

"That Milotic was the egg he hatched. It was a prize in the tournament," Katrina responded.

"This makes me wish I had entered. The lucky punk has quite a gem there," Tim laughed.

Katrina shrugged and returned to watching the match.
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"Milotic, Scald!" Brendan commanded.

"Megahorn!" Norman bellowed.

Milotic inhaled before launching a stream of boiling hot water towards the charging buffalo. The large buffalo dodged around it, his large horns flashing green as he charged. His head met with a swiftly erected protect barrier followed by a tail swipe that sent him stumbling back a bit.

"Ice Beam!" Brendan ordered.

"Wild Charge!" Norman countered hastily.

The beam of ice missed its target by a narrow margin. The electrically charged buffalo sprang forward and rammed into the coiling body of Milotic, sending a shock through her body. Bouffalant winced from the recoil damage but the result was worth it. Milotic was on the ground, struggling to raise her head. Bouffalant stomped his hooves and charged again.

"Recover!" Brendan shouted quickly.

Milotic began to glow bright gold and the damage that had been done began to fade. She was knocked down again, before she could finish recovering,  and managed to loose a Hydro Pump causing Bouffalant to be forced back into the opposite wall. Milotic passed out after the second blow and Bouffalant was out of commission.

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! This round is a draw!" The judge declared.

Brendan smiled faintly and walked over to Milotic and gently stroked her hair-like fins.

"You did well, Milotic. Rest up, your friend will take it from here," Brendan smiled.

Milotic cooed at his touch and was soon returned to her ball. Brendan reached for Grovyle and faced Norman.

"This is it. The final fight. Let's do this Grovyle! Battle's on!" Brendan shouted confidently, releasing his first partner onto the arena floor.

"I've been waiting for this. Slaking, you know what to do!" Norman bellowed, releasing the lazy giant sloth onto the field.

"Grovyle, Leaf Blade!" Brendan ordered.

"Retaliate!" Norman countered.

Slaking waited for Grovyle to close the distance before cocking his arm back and swatting at Grovyle with incredible force. The reptilian Pokémon had to dart away with Quick Attack to avoid the initial strike only to be met with a Hammer Arm that punched him across the room.

Grovyle pushed himself up, wincing as he stood. Slaking yawned and sat there simply waiting on a counter strike. Grovyle formed his blades and rushed in, making a solid one-two connection. The attack, however, seemed to be of little effect.

"Seed Bomb!" Brendan commanded calmly.

Grovyle launched a volley of glowing orbs towards Slaking who was slightly battered by the attack but otherwise still lazily on his side, until Grovyle got in close. Through the smoke, a fist shot out and barely missed knocking Grovyle into next week. Grovyle jumped up, only to be grabbed and slammed down, swung around and flung.

Grovyle hit the ground with a thud and struggled to rise. He was wreck now. Brendan frowned as be watched his companion struggle to get up. Grovyle managed to shakily stand on his legs. A bright green aura erupted around his frame and his battle cry filled the air as power coursed through him.

It was time for the haymaker. Brendan knew that Grovyle couldn't physically compete with Slaking. He was too strong. However, he had one fatal weakness that would cost him dearly. He was too lazy to finish the job.

"It's been fun Norman, but I'm afraid I have bad news. Pointing out the obvious, Slaking was sloppy on that last attack. He missed his chance and now he's gonna pay!" Brendan stated with a determined look. "Grass knot!"

Grovyle's claws slammed onto the arena, his body lighting up even brighter in the process. The ground beneath Slaking trembled and out shot elongated blades of grass that wrapped around Slaking and raised him up only to slam him back down into the ground with incredible force.

When it was all said and done, Slaking was down for the count.

"Slaking is unable to battle! Gro-I mean...Sceptile wins! Which means the victory goes to Brendan!" The judge declared.

"Wait...Sceptile? I don't have a-SCEPTILE!?" Brendan exclaimed in surprise.

Sure enough, a very exausted, much larger reptile, stood where Grovyle used to be. He was breathing heavily and trying to remain standing.

"Well I'll be. I've heard of evolving in battle, but right in the middle of executing an attack? That's a new one on me," Norman laughed as he walked over to Brendan, who was returning Sceptile to his ball.

"Yeah, that was shocking alright. I wasn't sure when he would evolve. Still, that was a hard fight. No wonder other trainers have a tough time here," Brendan replied.

"You managed just fine. And I commend you for it. Here, this is the Balance Badge. You've more than earned it," Norman affirmed.
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Courtney let out a sigh of relief after watching the battle all the way through. It was at the end of the day and she was fortunate to catch it as it aired. She was exhausted and happy at the same time. Brendan had his fifth badge, and now he had a Sceptile.

Good work Brendan. You certainly earned that win. Your threat level to Team Aqua has increased even more now...
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Brendan wins! Woot! And Sceptile is on the scene! Now, I know it was during a battle, but notice, he is the only Pokémon that Brendan has that did that. Arcanine didn't do it. Milotic either. Mightyena presumably evolved during training and Sandslash was caught evolved. Also, Sceptile evolved mid attack.

So, now we know that a Mega is just around the corner! How 'bout them apples!? See you next chapter!