Having decided to wait until the morning to challenge the gym, Gabe spent the night in one of the Pokémon Center rooms. After the previous day's events, he needed some time to gather his thoughts and think about how he was going to handle the gym. Lucas had already gone ahead and challenged it before him and was currently staying in a room down the hall. Hovering beside him was Mokusei who, as Gabe found out, now had a habit of popping out of her ball at her leisure. Her eyes were fixed on the device in Gabe's hand where a picture of her was showing.

Curious, she lowered her body down and peered over his shoulder to look at the information that was on display. A smile curved onto her face as she saw what the data showed after she was registered in the dex.

"So you're a Poison and Fairy-type huh?" Gabe said aloud, turning his head too look at Mokusei who grinned and nodded in reply. "I didn't think there was a typing like that out there. I guess that makes you one of a kind then."

"I suppose you could say that!"

"Yeah, I mean-wait... what!?" Gabe exclaimed, his eyes widening as he looked up at Mokusei, who met his gaze with a quizzical look. "Did... did you just say something?"

"Nope! It must be your imagination acting up," Mokusei said smirking, her giggles echoing into his mind as she watched him become slackjawed and wide-eyed.

"You can talk..."

"Oh, is that what this is?"

"Very funny. Stop it, I know what you're doing."

"Stop what?" Mokusei inquired, floating in front of him, her body flat as though she were lying on her stomach in mid-air with her legs kicking up and down.

"Messing with me. You've been doing that since we met."

"Why would I wanna do that? It's fun!"

"You dropped me, head first into a snowbank!" Gabe exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny wasn't it?"

"Why would you do that!?" Gabe asked in an exasperated tone.

"That's easy. Because I like you silly!" Mokusei giggled.

Gabe took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that it was her way of showing him that she liked him. Now that he thought of it, Mokusei never really did anything that put him in danger. All of her antics were fairly harmless, and while he didn't enjoy being flipped upside down, he couldn't argue with the fact that it was somewhat amusing. In her own weird way, she was hinting that she wanted to travel with him as his Pokémon and friend, even if she was somewhat of a pain in the butt.

Looking down at his Pokétch, Gabe saw that it was nine o'clock, which meant that it was time for him to head to the gym. Standing up, he grabbed his scarf and put on his boots before heading out of his room, Mokusei hovering out the door behind him. As he walked down the hall, his gear beeped. Looking down, he saw that it was a message from Jupiter.

Jupiter: Hey, good luck in your gym match today. I'd be there if I could but work has me busy. Thankfully I'll be off at a decent time. See you tonight!

Barry swallowed as he read the end of the message.

That's right, I did say that I'd come over tonight, Gabe thought nervously as he remembered their short conversation at the end of the festival.

"Don't forget about our little playdate tomorrow night..."

Gabe shuddered at the thought. It was as if he could still feel her hot breath on his ear, long after everything was over. She was dangerous. He knew that, and yet he was still going over, like a child who was told one too many times to not touch a hot stove. She had a hold on him, and for whatever ridiculous reason, he wouldn't fight it. Then again, now that he thought of it, Jupiter reminded him of Jamie in a few ways with how persistant she could be. Once Jamie saw something she wanted, she would go after it.

Jamie didn't take crap from anyone either, despite how sweet she could be. From what he could remember, she was a bit of a "bad girl" herself in some ways. She was very atheletic, highly intelligent, and wasn't afraid to call anyone on their bull. He even remembered her punching the daylights out of Warren when she caught him grabbing Gabe by the collar while threatening to knock his teeth in. She'd gotten detention for it, but she didn't seem to have any regrets.

The only difference between Jamie and Jupiter was the fact that Jamie wasn't a sadist. Other than that, the two had a lot in common which was probably part of the reason why Gabe didn't want to avoid her entirely. After all, he was given an opportunity he'd have to be crazy to pass up. Taking a deep breath, Barry typed in his reply, confirming that he'd meet up with her that night. Moments later, Jupiter replied.

Jupiter: Excellent! Just message me when you're on your way. I'll have everything set up for tonight.

Gabe smiled, sending one last reply before making his way out of the center into the cool morning air. Adjusting his scarf, Gabe walked along the snowladen path and made his way toward the bridge that led to the gym. Beneath the bridge was a river where he could see several Magikarp and Remoraid swimming. Mokusei floated down to the water and looked down curiously into the water as two Shellos poked their heads out of the water. The Sea Slug Pokémon tilted their heads curiously at Mokusei, and watched as she flew back to Gabe's side before turning to wave at them over her shoulder.

After a short, leisurely walk, Gabe and Mokusei reached the gym and stared up at the structure in unison. It was a huge, cylindrical structure with a pokéball symbol high above the door. Snow covered the trees around the building.

"This is it, my chance to get my fifth gym badge!" Gabe exclaimed, fire burning in his eyes as he looked up at the doors to the gym.

"Gym badge?"

"Oh, right... you probably don't know what this is do you?" Gabe asked, a smile forming as Mokusei shook her head. "Here, take a look at these!" Gabe said as he fished around in his bag for his badge case.

Opening it up, he revealed four badges to Mokusei whose eyes widened at how shiny they were.

"Inside this gym is one of the eight gym leaders of this region. Remember the man who wore the mask at the temple in the Great Marsh?"

"You mean the big, tubby, musclely guy?"

Gabe chuckled at her description of him and nodded. "Yes, that guy. Well, he's really strong and he's the gym leader here. If we beat him, we get his badge," Gabe explained.

"But..." Mokusei paused, looking Gabe over as she thought about what he'd said. "Isn't he like... three times your size? Wouldn't he squish you like an oran berry?"

At this, Gabe burst out laughing. Mokusei tilted her head, unable to comprehend what was so funny. After Gabe managed to calm down he said, "yes, he would, however I'm not going to physically fight him. We are going to battle his Pokémon! That's how gym battles work. The challenger faces the gym leader in a Pokémon battle and if the challenger wins, they get the badge. Sometimes, they lose and have to try again, but that's not always the case," Gabe added, recalling how he'd lost to Fantina despite the match being a tie.

"That sounds like fun! Can I try?" Mokusei asked, her eyes wide with excitement as she floated close to his face, an expectant look on her face as she waited for answer.

"I don't see why not. I've been curious to see how you battle anyway so this works out nicely," Gabe replied.

"Yippee!" Mokusei exclaimed, teleporting around Gabe excitedly before giving him a tight hug. "Don't worry, I'll do my best!"

Gabe smiled and patted her on the head, an affection she leaned into and smiled at. "I know you will, Mokusei, and that's all I ask of you. Now let's win this together!"

Walking through the automatic doors, Gabe was greeted by the sight of a massive pool with several white, circular platforms floating in the water. A trainer's box was seen on either side of the pool, indicating that the pool was the battlefield.

"Hello there, Barry!" boomed Wake's voice from across the arena.

Gabe looked across the gym to see Wake walking through a set of doors from the other side. The massive man made his way around the pool to meet him.

"Crasher Wake, it's good to see you again," Gabe said, reaching out to shake his hand as it was offered. "I'm here for my badge!"

"You sound confident. And judging by the look in your eyes, I'd say you've come prepared," Wake replied grinning, his eyes shifting up to see Mokusei who was still hovering beside Gabe. "I also see you've caught the city's mischief-maker. She must have had a real interest in you if she's with you now."

Gabe looked over at Mokusei, who blushed and rubbed the back of her head at Wake's words.

"So I guess I'm not the only one she's caused trouble for huh?" Gabe replied, giving Mokusei a sidelong glance.

"She was a bit troublesome but she never did anything to hurt anyone. You might even say that some of her antics were amusing!" Wake laughed. "But anyway, it's good to see that she's found a trainer. Now, while we're on the subject, what do you say we get started?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Gabe said smirking, turning to head to the trainer's box while Wake assumed his post at the opposite end of the pool.

The judge for the round made their way to their post and waited for Wake and Gabe to show that they were ready. Clearing his throat, the judge announced the start of the gym battle.

"This is an official gym battle between the Pastoria City gym leader, Crasher Wake, and the challenger, Barry! This will be a three on three match. Only the challenger will be able to make substitutions. The first move will go to Barry, the challenger. Both sides may now send out their first Pokémon!"

"Quagsire, step into the ring!" Wake shouted enthusiastically as he hurled his first choice into battle.

Gabe smirked upon seeing Wake's first teammate materialize onto the platform in the pool. Reaching for his belt, Gabe snapped off his choice and primed the sphere before launching it into the air.

"Tropius, you're up!"

In a blinding flash of light, the towering sauropod materialized onto one of the disk-shaped platforms that floated on the surface of the olympic-sized pool. Rearing his long neck, Tropius took note of his surroundings. Wake could only grin as he sized up Gabe's Tropius. After a brief moment, the judge raised his hand and signaled the start of the match.

"Quagsire, dive into the pool and then use Haze!"

Gabe watched as Quagsire submerged himself, his body almost indistinguishable from the water itself. With just one command, Gabe's job had become a bit more difficult. Soon, a thick fog covered the battlefield, making it even more difficult to see anything. Everything was quiet until Gabe heard a splashing sound, making it evident that Quagsire had surfaced and was most likely preparing something. That's when Wake gave his command.

"Ice Beam now!"

"Tropius, get in the air now!"

A faint blue glow could be made out through all that thick fog. In an instant, that glow shot through the haze like a laser and barely missed Tropius who soared upward to avoid the blast. Soon, multiple beams were carving through the fog, making sure that Tropius had no room to recover or form any sort of counterattack.

Dammit this isn't good! Gabe thought as he watched Tropius narrowly avoid another assault. If even one of those hits, Tropius will be in major trouble. Looks like I'll have to pull him back for now...

"Tropius, return now!" Gabe shouted, retracting Tropius into his ball before another attack could be launched.

Placing Tropius back onto his belt, Gabe looked over at Mokusei.

"You're up," he said, causing the little fairy's eyes to light up with excitement.

"Yay, my turn!" Mokusei chirped as she hovered over to the platform.

"Changing tactics already? Fine with me! Let's see how big of a splash she can make shall we!?" Wake exclaimed with a grin. "Quagsire, use Scald!"

"Mokusei, Dazzling Gleam!" Gabe countered hastily.

Mokusei's eyes lit up and her tiny frame began to glow with a myriad of colors. Crossing her arms, she gathered in energy and then forced her arms outward, expelling the light from her body in all directions, neutralizing the stream of superhot water that shot toward her in an instant. At the same time, Quagsire couldn't help but stare at the brightness of the light and was suddenly blasted out of the water by the force of the attack and sent crashing onto one of the platforms.

Finally, it's- "Quagsire, back in the water!" Wake shouted, interrupting Gabe's thought process.

"Oh no you don't!" Mokusei growled, releasing a wave of psychic force and stopping Quagsire just as he was about to reach the water.

"Great work Mokusei! Now use Disarming Voice!"

Mokusei took a deep breath and then blasted the air with a high-pitched soundwaves. The blast tore across the pool and crashed into Quagsire, the impact creating large ripples as Mokusei's foe slammed onto one of the platforms. Moments later, the judge's hand shot up to make the knockout declaration.

"Quagsire is unable to battle! Kirlia wins!"

"That was sooooo fun!" Mokusei exclaimed as she twirled about in the air and teleported back to Gabe's side, hovering in front of him with excitement shining in her eyes. "Can I go again? Can I? Can I?"

Someone's an eager Bidoof. She did really well against Quagsire, but that's honestly not saying much considering that Quagsire was what Wake used to test the waters with his opponents. His next two are going to be way harder to deal with and probably won't be as slow as Quagsire. Still... I guess it won't hurt to see how she stacks up against the next opponent.

"Alright, you can have another battle. I still want to see what else you're able to do," Gabe replied, recalling the attacks that Mokusei had in her arsenal.

"Well, well, well! It appears our little town's prankster is quite the battler as well! I'm really surging with excitement now. Gyarados, let's turn the tide of this battle!" Wake roared as he hurled the next sphere toward the water.

A vicious roar echoed toward the ceiling of the gym, causing ripples in the water as the massive water serpant reared his head. Gyarados glared downward at the pint-sized opponent that he'd be facing and snarled menacingly. Sweat slid down Gabe's face as he stared up at the beast. If there was one thing that Gabe was aware of, it was the fact that Gyarados was a problematic powerhouse that was going to be absurdly difficult to defeat.

"Oooo... he's big isn't he?" Mokusei said nervously as she stared into the menacing eyes of her serpantine foe.

"Do you still wanna keep going, or do you want to tag out?"

Mokusei shrank back a little from the imposing monstrosity that was looming over her. Gabe could see that she was trembling. Heck, he was trembling a little as well. He wouldn't blame her if she wanted to go back into her ball and avoid fighting what was essentially a water dragon.

Man... it's one thing to see how intimidating this thing is in the games, but it's a completely different thing to experience it for yourself. I'm so nervous I'm starting to sweat. Take it easy Gabe, you can do this. Mokusei might not be able to win this battle, but she can definitely soften it up for Jamie. Yeah, we'll go with that!

Gabe looked over at Mokusei and flashed her a grin before turning and fixing Gyarados with a determined look. Seeing Gabe's confidence, Mokusei followed his lead and took a more confident stance herself.

"It looks like they're ready for round two! Let's not keep them waiting Gyarados, use Hydro Pump!"

"Counter with Sludge Bomb!"

A stream of high-pressure water cannoned out of the gaping mouth of the water behemoth, forcing Mokusei to abandon her post, a wise move on her part as the platform she was previously standing on shattered from the force of the blast. As she flew around avoiding the cannon blasts, she prepared to execute her orders again when a vortex of water shot up around her and carried her helplessly along with it into the air. As she was thrown from the whirlpool, Gyarados brought his tail up from the depths and batted her across the battlefield, her body skipping like a rock a few times before coming to a sliding halt on a platform. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up and staggered to her feet. Seconds later, she collapsed, unable to continue.

"Kirlia is unable to battle! Gyarados wins the round!"

Gabe sighed and recalled the little dancer back into her ball.

"That was pretty tough, but you did well," Gabe muttered as he placed her onto his belt.

Gripping his next teammate's sphere, Gabe detached the ball from his waist, primed it and then threw it while shouting, "Jamie, let's light'em up!"

The thunder cat exploded from her ball with a roar and landed in a crouched, ready position, her star-tipped tail swaying with anticipation while she stared up at her opposition in a challenging manner. Sparks crackled along her fur, showing she was riled up and ready to rumble.

"You're really making some waves here aren't you Barry!? I hope you're ready for the next round. Gyarados, let's give our new opponent a greeting shall we? Use Aqua Tail!" Wake bellowed.

Gyarados' tail rose up from the depths and came crashing down toward the platform where the electric feline was lying in wait. Jamie watched as the tail descended and leaped high into the air just as it slammed onto where she was standing. While in the air, the mighty sea dragon launched a Hydro Pump in her direction. In seconds, she duplicated herself rapidly at the call of her trainer, effectively avoiding the cannon blast that smashed into the ceiling above her. As Jamie came down, with her dopplegangers trailing alongside her, she opened her mouth wide and charged her teeth with lightning and bit down onto one of the spikes on top of Gyarados' head.

Electricity jolted the serpant's body, causing him to jerk himself around, trying desperately to throw Jamie off. Gyarados heaved one more time and managed to send her flying upwards and backwards. Landing on all fours, Jamie regained her footing on the platform she landed on and waited for whatever order came next. Gyarados growled fiercely and roared at Jamie who hissed back in return, electricity sparking across her fur as it stood on end. Gabe arched a brow at her behavior.

She was usually much more calm than this, even though she was highly competitive. Electricity crackled along the platform on which she stood, causing it to crack from the pressure. Gyarados opened fire once more at Jamie whose body suddenly erupted with blue lightning. Launching herself off the platform, she collided with the stream of high pressure water and pushed against it with all her might. Much to Wake's surprise, Gyarados' attack was being forced back. A loud crash signaled that Jamie's attack had forced its way through, resulting in Gyarados toppling over and submerging while Jamie's body hit the water and sank as well.

All was silent until both sides could see something bubbling to the surface near one of the platforms. Bursting from the depths was a single paw that latched onto the side of the circular platform, pulling with it a massive, soaked, feline. Gabe's mouth dropped as he looked at Jamie. She'd gotten bigger. Much bigger. Rising to the surface on the other side was the serpentine body of her defeated foe, static running along his body after having taken a critical blow.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, Luxray wins the round!"

The lioness had just finished shaking the water from her fur when she heard the ruling from the judge. Did she hear him correctly? She blinked as she looked down at her paws and then at her reflection in the water. What she saw made her jump in surprise. She had definitely evolved. She looked back at her star-tipped tail to see that it had grown longer and thicker. Her body felt more muscular and her senses felt sharper than ever. The only downside she could see to this was that she wouldn't be able to ride on her trainer's shoulder anymore.

"Way to go Jamie!" Gabe shouted excitedly.

Jamie looked back at Gabe and flashed him a toothy grin. It did her heart good to see her trainer smile like that. The sound of the return beam from a ball reached her ears, returning her attention to the battle at hand. Wake couldn't help but grin widely with excitement.

"That was quite the splash your Luxray made there Barry! Makes me even more pumped for the third round of our match!" Wake exclaimed, reaching down and grabbing his final teammate from his belt.

"Here it comes," Gabe said, his eyes fixed on the sphere in Wake's hand.

"Floatzel, get in the ring!"

There it was, the sea weasel itself. Given what Wake had battled with earlier, one would never suspect that this would be his ace in the the hole. But Gabe knew better. Gabe knew exactly how good Floatzel could be because he'd used one himself back when Pokémon was just a game instead of real life like it was now. Even though he knew he had an advantage, there was one thing Floatzel had that Jamie couldn't hope to match on this battlefield.

"Why don't we kick things up a notch with Aqua Jet!" Wake shouted loudly.

In a flash, Floatzel blurred forward, over the water like a jet ski at full throttle and crashed right into Jamie. The lioness dug her claws in as slid back along the platform, nearly falling into the water again. This was where things would get very tricky for her. Floatzel was faster in the water and had no problems out of the water either. Digging her claws in for more support, she braced herself as Floatzel darted across the water again. Her eyes focused on the water that was being kicked up from how fast Floatzel was moving. As he closed in, Jamie swayed out of the way, Floatzel's body just barely missing her as he dove by her.

"Jamie, strike back with Thunderbolt!" Gabe countered.

Floatzel, though assailed with several bolts of lightning, was not deterred in the slightest as he was able to avoid them with his incredible speed on the water. Each time a bolt of lightning was released, he would leap up so as to not be caught in the aftermath of electricity contacting the water. It was beginning to frustrate Jamie as it was all she could do to keep the water weasel at bay.

Gabe frowned as he saw the predicament that Jamie was in. She had no real way of countering what Floatzel was doing. While she was using the water as best she could to her advantage, Floatzel was a step ahead of her, managing to get a hit in on occasion whenever he got close enough. What good was her power and type advantage if she wasn't able to keep up with how fast the enemy was moving? The second Gabe thought it, he slapped his forehead and shook his head.

"How did I not think of this sooner?" Gabe muttered to himself. "I swear if this was a show and I was watching... I'd be yelling at me right now," Gabe said under his breath. "Since aiming isn't doing any good, we're just going to have to give up on that and do the only thing that makes sense... Jamie, light this place up with Discharge!"

Wake heard it clear as day, but he knew that there wasn't much he'd be able to do if Jamie managed to succeed.

"Don't let her do it! Knock her off the platform quickly!"

Floatzel charged in, and in that moment something didn't feel quite right to Wake. He looked at his opponent only to see him smirking confidently. It was in that moment that he realized he'd fallen right into a trap. Everything that transpired after Wake's command happened in rapid succession, from the Double Team that Gabe commanded to the widespread explosion of electricity that expelled from Jamie's body that blasted Floatzel high into the air only to come crashing down into the water below.

Moments later, the judge raised a hand and called the match.

"Floatzel is unable to battle, which means that the match goes to Barry!"

Gabe couldn't contain his excitement. He pumped his fist in the air and gave a joyous shout of victory only to be tackled moments later by his feline friend who nuzzled her face against his. Moments later, Gabe was shaking hands with Wake who congratulated him on his victory. Not long after leaving the gym, Gabe had healed his team at the center and was now looking at the five gleaming badges staring back at him from inside their case.

"Five down and only three left to go," Gabe said aloud with a grin.

"What happens after that?" Mokusei asked curiously.

"Well, after that I get to compete in the Pokémon League!" Gabe said excitedly.

Mokusei tilted her head at his words and asked, "what's that?"

"It's the biggest event of any trainer's life. Hundreds of strong trainers will be there to battle it out to determine the strongest among them. The winner will get the chance to face the most powerful trainers in Sinnoh, the Elite Four and if they manage to defeat them they can face the champion in an attempt to hopefully dethrone them which is a lot easier said than done... especially when it comes to our region's champion," Gabe explained, shuddering at the very thought of facing Cynthia in a match.

"That sounds like so much fun!" Mokusei exclaimed. "So all we need to do is get three more right?"

Gabe nodded.

"Well what are we doing sitting around here for, let's go get them!" Mokusei shouted enthusiastically.

"Oh, we will, but there's something I need to do first," Gabe said with a nervous laugh as he took out his communication gear.

After sending a message to Jupiter, he reached for Tropius's ball and thrust it high into the air. The massive sauropod unfurled his leafy wings and lowered his body so that Gabe could hop on. With a single flap of his wings, Tropius took off with Mokusei flying close behind.