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After my egg hatched into a Wynaut I knew I needed to head over to Petalburg and challenge Norman the gym leader. I'd done some research on Norman and knew he specialised in Normal Type Pokemon and in battle he used a Slakoth, Vigoroth and then his strongest Pokemon was a Slaking. Now, before I chose what Pokemon I was planning on using against those powerful Normal Types. I first travelled back through Hoenn and rematched several trainers with my new Pokemon in order to help them get stronger. I'd already been training Cacturne extensively and knew he was already very capable in battle. He'd helped me navigate the desert on Route 111. Then there was Baltoy and to train a Psychic Type as well as a Ground Type. I returned to the Jagged Path area where there were a few Fighting Type trainers.

Those trainers were more than happy to battle me over and over again and in return Baltoy had been growing exceptionally quick. Eventually after a few hours of extensive training, Baltoy began glowing signalling its evolution had been reached. When the light faded, Baltoy had been replaced with Claydol. "Claydol has been registered to your Pokedex. Claydol the Clay Doll Pokemon a Ground and Psychic Type. An ancient city figurine was exposed to a mysterious ray of light and it came to life as a Pokemon." I happily congratulated Claydol on evolving and continued training with him to help him understand his new body and increased power too.

Then there was the last Pokemon I'd caught in the desert and that was Trapinch. Trapinch was already a very powerful Pokemon and could easily hold his own against opponents which looked like they were way stronger than him. However, Trapinch pulled through and demonstrated to me and himself that he was a very capable battler. We trained and bonded together for another few hours and he too began evolving as a result of our training. "Vibrava has been registered to your Pokedex. Vibrava the Vibration Pokemon a Ground and Dragon Type. It violently shudders its wings, generating ultrasonic waves to induce headaches in people." Vibrava was extremely careful to avoid using any extreme shockwaves as to avoid giving me a headache. This I found to be rather endearing and I thanked Vibrava for his decision. He didn't have to but he did.

Wynaut had been slowly observing these battles, understanding what these battlers are and how important they were to trainers and Pokemon too. Wynaut even started to show that he wanted to get stronger as quick as possible. Understanding that he was behind everyone else, even though I told him, he was a baby Pokemon, only just hatched so it was to be expected that he would be nowhere near the level of say my starter Pokemon that had already fully evolved. It didn't mean Wynaut was a weak Pokemon, just inexperienced.

Still Wynaut showed me such fierce determination that I decided I had to give in so he could gain that necessary experience and gain knowledge. In the beginning much like when I trained Wobbuffet back in Johto, battles needed to be won differently with the Wynaut family. They relied on either using Counter to stop physical attacks, or by using Mirror Coat to send back special attacks. Safeguard protected Wynaut from status conditions and when he inevitably learned Destiny Bond, something I didn't use unless it was absolutely necessary. Destiny Bond would be used when Wynaut is about to be defeated, he would take his opponent down with him. Too me I disliked using the move, but I could understand the strategy behind utilising the move.

Eventually with some experience under his best, Wynaut had managed to evolve into a Wobbuffet. Since I already owned a Wobbuffet that I caught in Johto it wasn't a new entry for the Pokedex. Next were the Fossil Pokemon and first was Lileep and when we did begin battling together, I began to understand Lileep's personality. He was a rather shy Pokemon in the beginning. Whenever a nearby Pokemon ran through the grass nearby, Lileep would scuttled behind me and wanted me to protect him. I always knelt down and told him there was nothing to be frightened off and I would protect him from anything and anyone. Lileep took assurance from this and worked harder to get stronger and grow more confident.

In that respect Lileep was very similar towards Swampert, but when Swampert was actually a Mudkip and had been as we believed abandoned by a trainer early in their journey. For what reason I couldn't care less about. I did introduce Swampert to Lileep and he did me a favour and helped Lileep grow more confident. Lileep already trusted me immensely and knew I would never cause him any harm, or force him to do anything he didn't want to. As such Lileep would serve me for as long as he could. Then there was his friend, Anorith and Anorith was also shy, but perhaps even more so and I had a theory as to why that was. Though I should stress I am by no means an expert on Pokemon behaviour.

I had wondered whether the Bug Typing influenced Anorith's behaviour, Bug Types were generally shy and avoided people and other Pokemon to avoid being predated. I had seen it many a time, with Wurmple, less so when they evolved. But in previous regions, with Caterpie and Weedle too. I encouraged Anorith to do his absolute best and he responded to my encouragement the way any Pokemon did. He worked hard day and night, to grow stronger and catch up with my other Pokemon. I applauded his and Lileep's determination to grow stronger.

After training the newer team members I began training Pokemon who I knew could be evolving soon, as they were showing signs of it. Two who couldn't evolve yet, were my Nuzleaf and Lombre who could only evolve through the use of a Leaf Stone and when I spoke to the two Pokemon they did feel as though they were falling behind and not living up to my expectations. I disagreed completely and knew they were exceptional and stronger than any other of their species. Lombre and Nuzleaf smiled at the praise they received from their trainer. But in return they wanted to live up to their trainers expectations and evolving would allow them to do that. As such I promised that I would be on the look out for Leaf Stones to evolve them both. That made them both very happy as they jumped on me and tackled me to the ground.

Kirlia too, the elder brother specifically did feel like he was in the same boat. He kept comparing himself to Gardevoir, who had been winning battles left right and centre. That's not too say that Kirlia wasn't winning battles and he also mentioned he wasn't jealous of Gardevoir either. He just felt like he was falling short of expectations. When I asked just to be sure, whether he wanted to evolve into a Gardevoir like his elder brother. Kirlia shook his head vehemently he was determined to evolve into a Gallade and be my knight in shining armour. Again like with Nuzleaf and Lombre I assured him I would begin searching high and low for a Dawn Stone.

I'd been training with Vigoroth and knew that if he evolved I would have an understanding of Slaking a Pokemon that Norman himself owned. In fact I understood a lot about Slakoth and knew that as a species they were slower and somewhat lazy to some people. Vigoroth however, lost that laziness and became extremely energetic. Vigoroth sometimes travelled outside his Pokeball with me and enjoyed walking through the routes and protecting me from wild Pokemon that occasionally attacked us. So you could imagine my surprise when Vigoroth began evolving and instead of an energetic Pokemon, Slaking was just like a Slakoth, but I didn't mind.

"Slaking has been registered to your Pokedex. Slaking the Lazy Pokemon a Normal Type. Its the worlds laziest Pokemon. When it is lounging, it is actually saving energy for striking back." That entry showed me that Slaking wasn't lazy he was just a slow Pokemon and as such took more time charging his attacks and making sure they were extremely powerful. When I hugged Slaking congratulating him on evolving, I understood that he had increased size and therefore extreme power. Slaking wrapped me up in his much larger arms and pressed me tight. Very tight and soon he almost fell asleep with me stuck in his arms. Eventually he released me and I got back to work.

I'd been training Loudred and knew he still had a ways to go before he began evolving, so in order to help him along we trained together and he was getting stronger. Specifically attacks that involved his voice were getting stronger and louder but he hated using them too loud less he ended up hurting me in the process. Lairon was much the same he wasn't going to evolve yet, but he had been getting stronger thanks to our extensive training sessions. Lairon was really looking forward to evolving, simply because he knew, as a Aggron, he'd have hands and could therefore interact with his trainer like the other Pokemon could. Roselia like Nuzleaf, Lombre and my younger male Ralts needed a Shiny Stone in order to evolve into a Roserade so I resolved myself to searching or buying for those respective stones.

Swablu had been getting stronger too, his strategy had at first been using Sing and putting the opponent to sleep and then unleashing a barrage of attacks before the opponent could retaliate. As a result of those victories he had been getting stronger and stronger and as a result he began evolving. "Altaria has been registered to your Pokedex. Altaria the Humming Pokemon a Dragon and Flying Type. It looks like a fluffy cloud when it is in flight. It hums with its soprano voice." Altaria was now just a little too big to act as a hat on my head. However, that didn't stop him from trying at all. Altaria instead draped his wings over my shoulders and in a way he almost now resembled a scarf of sorts. Though I must admit, the climate of Hoenn doesn't really seem to require a scarf. Perhaps another region like Sinnoh perhaps.

With these new evolutions and still training the other Pokemon that were already fully evolved. I eventually reached Petalburg City and decided to figure out what Pokemon I would use against Norman and his team of Slakoth, Vigoroth and Slaking. The Pokemon I had that had a type advantage were, Blaziken, Breloom, Shedinja though because he was immune to Normal Type moves, Hariyama, Sableye for the same reason as Shedinja, Eventually I decided that based on the rumours of how powerful Norman was I decided I would use, Blaziken, Breloom and Hariyama. Hariyama would likely take on Slaking since they were both heavyweight Pokemon.

With the Pokemon figured out I headed into the Petalburg Gym and was surprised when a young kid wearing glasses approached me. "Who are you?" The kid asked me his glasses gleaming. "I'm Leo and I'm here to challenge the gym leader Norman!" The child laughed haughtily, "I'm the gym leader!" I stared down at him with a deadpan impression. "Your the gym leader? Aren't you too young to even be a trainer?" The child laughed again and was about to respond when a women and man approached.

"Max are you going on saying that your the gym leader? You know you shouldn't be doing that." The women said to the kid who was called Max. Max looked sheepish and apologised to his apparent mother. "I apologise for my sons behaviour. My name is Norman and I'm the gym leader here at Petalburg. Did you say you were here for a gym battle?" I nodded my head and Norman happily headed over to the battlefield where a referee announced the rules.

"This will be a gym battle between Norman the gym leader and Leo the challenger. This will be a three on three battle and the battle will be over when one sides Pokemon are unable to continue battling. Incidentally, the challenger may only substitute their Pokemon. Trainers please send out your Pokemon!" At that Norman chose his first Pokemon.

"Come out Slakoth!" Slakoth appeared slowly swinging his arms around as he observed the challenger. "Good luck Slakoth! You can do it!" Max cheered his fathers Slakoth who turned and smiled at the young fan. "I need your help, come out Breloom!" Breloom appeared and began rapidly punching showing his energy at battling. "Battle start!"

"Breloom use Force Palm!" Breloom dashed toward Slakoth his arm extended. "Slakoth counter by using Blizzard!" Slakoth unleashed a powerful and super effective Blizzard against Breloom. "Breloom are you alright?" Breloom had been stopped by the cold but at hearing my words he shrugged off the Blizazrd and kept going to Slakoth. "That's the way, keep going Breloom!" Norman was impressed by Breloom's tenacity. "That Breloom, you've raised it well." I thanked him and watched as Breloom powered through Blizzard before he just barely missed Slakoth who ducked down lazily dodging the attack.

"What just happened? Slakoth dodged, just like that." Breloom was shocked too but also slightly angry at how he had failed his master. "Breloom this time that won't happen, use Mind Reader!" Breloom focused on Slakoth and concentrated on him. "What's Mind Reader?" Max asked and just as I was about to respond, Norman informed his son. "Mind Reader is a move which will allow the user to strike the opponent with certainty. The move cannot be dodged."

Max's eyes gleamed with curiosity as he watched the battle carefully and I was beginning to understand that he really enjoyed Pokemon battles and understanding Pokemon themselves. "Now Breloom use Force Palm!" Breloom ran again right to Slakoth who lounged around waiting for a command. "Slakoth another Blizzard, give it all you've got!" Slakoth unleashed another Blizzaed, but Breloom powered through unfazed from the cold and struck down Slakoth. Slakoth did attempt to duck down once more, but thanks to Mind Reader Force Palm managed to strike Slakoth with no problems.

"Slakoth is unable to battle, Breloom is the winner!" The referee announced as Norman returned his Slakoth to his Pokeball. "You did well, Slakoth take a well deserved rest." While Norman grabbed his next Pokeball I congratulated Breloom. "Good work out there Breloom! Lets keep going at full power!" Breloom nodded and repeatedly punched in my direction showing he was still standing strong and apparently unfazed from the super effective Blizzard.

"Here's my next Pokemon, come out Vigoroth!" Vigoroth appeared and compared to Slakoth showed incredible energy. Firstly because this Vigoroth didn't have the ability Truant and therefore could keep attacking every turn. "Vigoroth start things out by using Slash!" Vigoroth rapidly darted towards Breloom. "Breloom counter with Force Palm!" Breloom and Vigoroth clashed together in a rapid clash of claws versus fists.

"Such speed and power!" Max murmured as he watched his father battle with even more power than he had when he watched in the past. "Breloom use Stun Spore!" Breloom dodged a powerful Slash and quickly released Stun Spore and thanks to the close range, Vigoroth had been paralysed. "Vigoroth no!" Norman hadn't expected such a strategy. "I see your not an all out battler are you? I'm beginning to understand your battle strategy. You battle with power, but can adapt to change your strategy when it suits you." Norman spoke as he had been trying to gain an understanding of my battle strategy.

I smiled and decided to change things up, "that's right, now that Vigoroth has been paralysed, it's speed has been decreased. Already Vigoroth was your fastest Pokemon and now it is much slower." I grabbed Breloom's Pokeball, "return for now Breloom!" Breloom grinned returning to his Pokeball and allowed whoever was next to continue battling against his weakened opponent.

"Your up next Blaziken!" Blaziken appeared his fists shrouded in flames as he looked down at his weakened opponent. Vigoroth attempted to keep moving, but his body began sparking signalling the paralysis. "Vigoroth use Slash!" Vigoroth much slower than usual began running towards Blaziken who didn't even need a command and began dodging with relaxed speed. "Blaziken use Hi Jump Kick!" Blaziken jumped over Vigoroth's Slash and rapidly descended with his foot extended ready to unleash a powerful super effective attack.

"Dodge that Vigoroth!" Vigoroth attempted to dodge but had no time to react. The Hi Jump Kick scored a direct hit and created a massive shockwave and a dust cloud to form. Blaziken jumped from the cloud and landed on my side as he observed the cloud. When the smoke cleared, Vigoroth was slumped down unconscious. "Vigoroth is unable to battle, Blaziken is the winner!" Blaziken simply nodded at the victory as I congratulated him on his victory.

"Return Vigoroth you did a great job, take a well deserved break." Norman recalled his Vigoroth and grabbed his final Pokeball. "Your quite strong, but can you handle this one. Slaking your up last!" Slaking emerged from his Pokeball and created a shockwave when he landed on the field. "Slaking Retaliate!" Slaking moved with surprising speed from a Pokemon of his size and it even caught Blaziken off guard momentarily.

"Blaziken counter that with Hi Jump Kick!" Blaziken jumped into the air before landing and clashing against Slaking's Retaliate. "Retaliate gets stronger when it has been used right after one of my Pokemon has fainted. Lets see whether your Blaziken can handle that increased power." Norman said as he observed the powerful Pokemon as they struggled against one another.

Slaking began gaining more and more momentum as he slowly began pushing Blaziken backwards. "Blaziken hold on and use Flamethrower!" Blaziken smirked, happy at his trainer for coming up with such a effective counter. From his current position, Blaziken flipped on over Slaking and landed right behind the behemoth. Blaziken then unleashed a powerful Flamethrower which struck Slaking hard. "Your Slaking is very powerful and surprisingly agile for one of its species. Very impressive." I spoke as I observed Slaking and my Blaziken who seemed to be running out of steam.

"I can say the same thing about your Blaziken. Its reflexes and battle abilities are phenomenal. That and your Blaziken seems to share a deep bond of understanding with you. Its clear to see as a gym leader." Blaziken proudly nodded in agreement, knowing that his trainer was extremely talented and raised each and every one of his Pokemon to be the absolute best they could be. "I thank you for that!" At that I grabbed Blaziken's Pokeball. "Get some rest Blaziken, I might need you later." Blaziken nodded and it seemed to confuse Max.

"I figured he would have kept battling with Blaziken. He had a type advantage and was winning. Why swap out?" His mother however, smiled, "Blaziken was very powerful, but that Retaliate from earlier was stronger than he had expected. Leo was wise too swap out his Pokemon and not too mention he still has one Pokemon that hasn't even battled yet." Max understood his eyes sparkling with curiosity as he eagerly waited to see what would happen in the trainers final bout.

"Your up next, Hariyama!" Hariyama appeared and eyed his opponent interested. "Hariyama. careful of Slaking, it's surprisingly fast and agile. Not too mention very strong too." Hariyama nodded in agreement, but he knew he would win for his trainer no matter what. "So your last Pokemon is a Hariyama. I see, first Breloom, then Blaziken and now Hariyama. Your strategy was too come blazing in with my weakness Fighting Types." I nodded at Norman's understanding and smiled.

"Slaking Focus Punch!" Slaking again rushed towards Hariyama, his steps slow and thundering. "Hariyama, stop that attack!" Hariyama positioned himself and when Slaking brought his fist down to slam into Hariyama. Hariyama caught his fist and blocked the attack. Slaking and Norman were shocked, while Hariyama and I smiled with confidence. "Hariyama time to end it use Force Palm!"

Hariyama smirked and brought his free fist down and right on Slaking's chest. Slaking tumbled down to the ground with a powerful smash before the referee declared the outcome. "Slaking is unable to battle, Hariyama is the winner. As such the winner of the battle is Leo from Viridian City!" At that I happily ran toward Hariyama and congratulated him on finishing Slaking. Hariyama happily carried me before releasing me when I practically begged him too.

At that me, Hariyama, Breloom and Blaziken approached Norman and he happily handed me the Balance Badge. "This here is the Balance Badge, proof that you and your Pokemon have bested me in combat. Battling you was a real thrill and I feel like I've learned a lot from this battle. I hope you and your Pokemon will keep on growing to more powerful heights." I thanked Norman before Max came running over and inspected each and every one of my Pokemon.

Max inspected Breloom's fists and Breloom awkwardly observed the child before deciding their was no need to be concerned. Blaziken wasn't too bothered by Max's advances and simply showed his skills by jumping away from Max and behind me with incredible grace. Hariyama was more than happy to show Max his strength when they carefully played together. Unfortunately for Max that was the end and I decided to leave and heal my Pokemon and continue my journey.

I knew my next destination was Fortree City, but before that, there were some Water Pokemon that I hadn't yet caught because I didn't have the time or opportunity to catch them. As such that would be my plan before I headed on over to Fortree City.