My first double battle went better than I could have ever hoped. Shinx and Roisel were up against a Ducklett and Murkrow and even before the five minutes were up my opponents had fainted from the battle. It had been thrilling to implement some of the battle strategies that Bree had taught me, and after the intense conditioning that she had put Shinx and Roisel through they didn't even look winded after their first battle. An immense feeling of pride rushed through me as I watched them celebrate our win, and it wasn't long before our next opponent was announced.

As I took my spot on the opposite side of the battlefield I felt a little bit starstruck to see Norio facing off against me. Since he was the one that won the Floaroma Ribbon at my first-ever contest experience, he seemed almost like a celebrity to me. Getting the chance to go up against him in a battle was making me fangirl inside, and I laughed at my own silliness. Even though I was excited to go up against him and his adorable pokemon, I wasn't about to let that affect my focus. I had Bree and Aryan watching me, I really really wanted to win.

Glancing over at Norio though, I couldn't help but want to know more about him and why he chose to be a coordinator. His blue-tipped spiky hair and punk-style clothes made him seem like the cool type, but as he released his darling Oshawott and an absolutely ADORABLE pokemon that reminded me of a Ponyta without the flaming mane I couldn't help but think his pokemon didn't match his style choice. His new pokemon's face, legs, and belly were all a soft tan color while its forehead down to its back was a vibrant green color and a yellow flower seemed to be growing at the base of one of its pointy ears.

"What pokemon is that?! It's so cute!" I squealed, not able to contain my emotions as I stared at the adorable pokemon. She blinked her large eyes at me and smiled, causing my heart to flip in response, but I noticed that Norio's cheeks had turned slightly pink and he frowned slightly.

"Don't underestimate Deerling just because she's a little cutie!" he called out to me, striking a pose that Oshawott copied, but Deerling didn't seem at all bothered by her trainers' words. She continued to blink up at me happily and I saw a small cloud of pollen come from the flower by her ear and I grinned happily at her.

"I would never," I called over to Norio, gesturing to my own insanely cute pokemon who were standing in front of me looking excited about the next battle. Marian chose that moment to start the clock and both Norio and I blinked at each other before he sprang into action.

"Let's start this off right! Deerling, use Take Down, and Oshawott, use Aqua Jet!"

I blinked in surprise as Deerling's body was encased in white light and she streaked forward at the same time as his Oshawott encased himself in water and shot off the floor of the stage. I watched for a second as the two raced over to our side of the stage, taking the time to weave around each other so that Deerling's light trail illuminated Oshawott's Aqua Jet and made it sparkle. I was impressed, but there was no way I was letting my cute pokemon get hit with physical attacks like that.

"Roisel, Fairy Wind twister, please," I requested, remaining calm and composed as Bree had taught me. Roisel raced forward without fear towards the oncoming pokemon, then took a deep breath and released her most powerful Fairy Wind attack that she could create.

The sparkling wind spun in a funnel, picking up Deerling effortlessly and catching Oshawott's Aqua Jet in mid-air. I watched as the two were sent spinning in the air for a few seconds and I could see out of the corner of my eye that Norio's points had taken a hit. Deerling seemed powerless within Roisel's funnel of incessant Fairy Wind, but Oshawott somehow got his wits about him so that he could force himself out of the twister. He turned his Aqua Jet towards Roisel, but his previous control was obviously lost as he leaned back and forth in the air and finally came to a spinning crash to the ground, his eyes swirling dizzily.

Roisel was starting to tire and I didn't want to lose this chance. Taking a breath I saw Shinx looking over his shoulder at me and I nodded at him.

"Shinx, use Spark on Oshawott. Roisel, let Deerling go and use Sweet Kiss." 

At the same time as Shinx sprang towards the incredibly dizzy Oshawott, Roisel stopped her Fairy Wind. Deerling let out a heart-wrenching mewl of surprise as she fell to the battleground. My eyes were going in two directions at once as I watched my brave Shinx charge directly at Oshawott (which was quite a feat since the water type was staggering around crazily) with electricity crackling along his blue and black fur. At the last second, Oshawott managed to spin away from Shinx, so instead of a direct hit he only rammed into Oshawott's side. It still sent the little water type sprawling to the ground though, and at the same time, Roisel's large Sweet Kiss attack broke against Deerling's face, causing her to instantly become confused.

"Come on, Oshawott! Snap out of it and use Razor Shell to keep Shinx away! And Deerling, try to use Aromatherapy!"

"Dodge Oshawott while using Charge, Shinx. And go in for a pound on Deerling, Roisel!" I call out a split second later. Oshawott seemed to have regained his balance and was desperately trying to swing his shell that had elongated into a watery knife at Shinx. Shinx was too quick for him though, flipping and twirling easily out of Oshawott's reach all while glittering cutely from his Charge.

Deerling, on the other hand, was completely out of it and as Rosiel ran up to her and brought her glowing forepaw to smash against her leg she fell over with another mewling sound. I frowned, feeling my heart break for the sweet little thing.

"Roisel, come over and send a Sweet Kiss at Oshawott," I called out. Roisel instantly left Deerling behind and bounded over to where Oshawott and Shinx were still in their cute little dodging dance.

"Come on, Oshawott, go for a Water Pulse!"

Before Roisel had made it to them, Oshawott shrunk his shell back to normal, placed it on his chest, and then flipped backward to get some distance between himself and my pokemon. A sphere of water began to form on the tip of his outstretched hands and I chewed on my lip briefly before coming up with a plan.

"Roisel, use Fairy Wind to knock it off course, then Shinx, burst it apart while using Spark!"

Norio's mouth fell open, watching as Oshawott released the large ball of water that he had created that was bigger than his own head and shot it directly towards Roisel and Shinx. Roisel whistled happily, calling up a Fairy Wind, and even I was surprised when the sparkling wind began to spin in a corkscrew pattern. The wind met the Water Pulse and even though the ball of water was more powerful than Roisel's delicate attack, it slowly began to veer off course.

Shinx then charged forward, moving towards the pulsing orb that was now traveling up and to the left at a slightly slower pace. Judging the timing perfectly, Shinx jumped and flipped in the air. Flexing his paws and unfurling his claws. First with his back paws and then his front, he raked the pulsating orb, breaking apart its perfect circular shape and causing the water to explode out and drop down onto Shinx, who was crackling and sparkling from the electricity racing through his fur. He shook his head proudly as he landed back on his feet and then continued rushing directly towards Oshawott, crashing into the unsuspecting pokemon with the ends of his Spark attack and sending him tumbling across the stage.

A buzzer rang out suddenly and I blinked, looking over to the scoreboard to see that I still had half of my points and Norio's had been almost completely gone. Feeling a sense of relief go through me I ran onto the battlefield, first checking on Roisel and Shinx before rushing over to Norio's Deerling. I beat him to her and gently placed one hand on the base of her neck and the other on her back as she stumbled around with swirling eyes, still under the influence of Roisel's Sweet Kiss.

"Shhhh, I'm so sorry, little one," I whispered sadly to Deerling. The sweet fawn shook her head slowly, still not coming out of her confusion, but at least she was standing still so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Hey, you should head to the nurse's station to get your pokemon all healed for the next battle," a male voice called from above me. Looking up, I smiled sadly at Norio and nodded.

"I'm sorry. I wish I had a Persim Berry to give your Deerling," I said wistfully, thinking back to when Johanna had given Shinx a Cherri berry to heal his paralysis after the Jezin Town Contest. Norio blinked down at me, and I was surprised when he cracked a smile and chuckled at me.

"Don't worry about it. It was a good battle. I should have expected your Roisel to use your Fairy Wind like that after seeing your performance, but I didn't so that threw me off. I definitely won't let you beat me next time," Norio declared with a cheeky grin. 

I smiled up at him and he offered me a hand. I took it, allowing him to help me stand before shaking his hand in a show of sportsmanship, then we both left the battle area to allow the next set of trainers to battle it out.

After giving Norio a friendly wave, I hurried over to the Nurse's station where a Chancey was able to completely heal my exhausted pokemon with a Heal Bell. Just as I had bowed and turned away from the station, my eyes met a familiar pair of reddish-brown ones filled with an even more familiar arrogance. I felt myself stiffen as Ursula smirked and flounced past me.

"You won't last a minute," she proclaimed snootily as she brushed past me.

Bowing my head to keep myself from retorting, I tried to stay calm as I walked away from her and towards the backstage area. Only a few minutes passed before I was given my cue to enter the battle stage again. I was still feeling angry at Ursula's poor attitude, but as I stepped onto the stage I once again heard Bree's loud voice clearly cheering me on and I felt my shoulders relax. I knew that Ursula had way more experience than I did... but after Bree's intensive training I also knew that if any of my pokemon stood a chance against her, it would be Shinx and Roisel.

"And here we are at the final battle to determine the winner of this special Doubles Contest! Will it be Ursula, a veteran of the Sinnoh League Grand Festival? Or our newcomer Serena from the Kalos region?" Marian called out excitedly, sparking a round of cheering from the audience. Ursula turned her nose up at me from the other side of the battlefield and I pointedly ignored her, turning to scan the crowds to see if I could spot Bree and Aryan.

At Marian's prompting, I released Shinx and Roisel, now refreshed and ready for a battle, and then waited to see who Ursula had chosen. I bit the inside of my lip when I saw her choices. An incredibly fluffy Flareon was released along with a massive Wigglytuff. I didn't want to show my discomfort on my face, but after all that Bree had told me I knew I was not at an advantage with this typing. Especially since these were both fully evolved pokemon that Ursula had probably been working with for years.

Shaking myself mentally I buckled down on my resolve. Even if her pokemon were more powerful, this was a contest battle. So as long as I could use her moves to make my pokemon shine, then I just needed them to last the five minutes and I could pull off the win. The battle started and before I could even open my mouth Ursula was already giving her first command.

"Flareon, use Sand Attack!" she called out. Her Flareon immediately began swiping at the battlefield, kicking non-existent sand up into a wave that rushed towards my pokemon.

"Quick, use Fairy Wind to disperse it, Roisel!" I called out.

With a happy whistle, Roisel stood on her hind legs and a gust of Fairy Wind raced towards the oncoming wave of sand. The two attacks met in the middle of the battlefield and swirled together, creating a mini twister for a moment before both of the moves disappeared. As the sand and sparkles disappeared I saw a look of smug satisfaction on Ursula's face that made my blood run cold.

"Wigglytuff, use Disable."

I blinked rapidly in shock as a gleam sparked in Wigglytuff's large eye and then expanded, coming out like a cross from Wigglytuff's eye and shooting at the speed of light over towards Roisel. A purple light swirled around Roisel then disappeared just as quickly. Roisel's fur poofed out like crazy as she turned in circles, looking at herself from all angles to see what had just happened to her. A feeling of acute dread made my throat dry.

"Roisel... use Fairy Wind," I said quietly. Roisel calmed down at my voice and whistled, but just as I had feared, nothing happened.

"Hmph. You shouldn't rely so much on one move, Serena. It makes it all too easy to beat you," Ursula crowed triumphantly, a cruel glint flashing in her eyes as she looked at me. My mind was spinning at this sudden change in plans, but Bree had pounded it into my head that no matter what happened in a battle, I must never show my uneasiness to my pokemon. So I squared my shoulders and forced myself to smile.

"Don't underestimate us, Ursula. Shinx, use Attract and Roisel mix in some rapid-fire Sweet Kiss," I called out confidently. Shinx and Roisel stood side by side and let loose their barrage of red and pink hearts, striking adorable poses as they did so.

"Flareon, use Smog, and Wigglytuff use Hyper Voice!" Ursula called out just a beat behind me. The debilitating hearts had nearly reached their targets when a noxious purple mist streamed out of Flareon's mouth and Wigglytuff opened her large mouth and released a bellowing screech that sent sound waves racing towards our attacks. The sound waves propelled the smog forward, sweeping past the Attract and Sweet Kiss hearts and causing them to shower down in dozens of mini explosions.

Dang it, this isn't good! I thought to myself, desperately trying to stay positive.

"Don't give up! Swing around the smog and get in close! Roisel, use Sweet Kiss on Wigglytuff, and Shinx, use Spark on Flareon!" I called out, trying to ignore the unpleasant odor released from Flareon's smog.

Without fear, Shinx and Roisel turned their backs on each other and bolted swiftly around the edge of the Smog and Hyper Voice attack. I could feel the palms of my hands getting sweaty from my nerves and I clenched fistfuls of my skirt into my hands as I resolutely watched my pokemon.

I blinked when both Shinx and Roisel ducked UNDER the smog, disappearing completely from view. Worry gnawed at me and I wanted to yell at them to get out of there, especially Roisel! But as Flareon and Wigglytuff paced nervously, waiting for the impending attack, I gasped when yellow sparks began to zoom through the dissipating smog, lighting it up beautifully, and then Shinx and Roisel both burst from the smog, looking full of energy.

They must have been holding their breaths, I thought with relief and I watched as Shinx and Roisel neared their targets.

"Fire Fang and Wake-up Slap, quick!" Ursula called out, scowling slightly at me. Before Flareon had a chance to move, Shinx had already slammed into his side with a crackle of electricity. Flareon let out a cry of pain, but I gasped when ghostly flames sprouted from his open mouth, clamping onto Shinx's paw before he could avoid it completely.

"Shinx!" I cried out, and then my attention turned to Wigglytuff and Roisel. Roisel looked like a baby next to the massive fairy type, and even though she let out a Sweet Kiss at the perfect opportunity, Wigglytuff leaped up, avoiding the confusion-inducing heart, and then whacked her glowing hand against Roisel's cheek. I gasped in horror as Roisel was knocked completely off her feet and sent careening towards Shinx. Since he was still trapped by Flareon's Fire Fang, they ended up crashing into each other and tumbling across the stage together.

"Flareon, use Lava Plume!" Ursula called out with a triumphant grin. I felt tears coming to my eyes as I watched the battlefield underneath my poor pokemon turn a violent red color and then they both were shot up into the air, being propelled by a column of what looked like lava.

"Roisel! Shinx!" I called out, not being able to mask the worry in my voice. Their small bodies tumbled back to the ground, their fur steaming from the intensity of the move and I waited for the match to be called off... but then, to my astonishment, they both stirred.

"What?!" Ursula cried out, looking flabbergasted as both of my small pokemon shakily got back to their feet.

"You guys," I breathed out, feeling the moisture in my eyes collecting even more. Swiping the back of my arm against my eyes, I reset myself and clenched my hands into fists. I saw Ursula clench her jaws and look up at the scoreboard. There were still three minutes to go and I had lost ⅔ of my points, while she had only lost ⅓ of hers. With a humph, she turned back and pointed towards Roisel.

"Use Disable again! Flareon, use Smog!" I gritted my teeth, trying to come up with something to help this horrible situation. But as Wigglytuff's disable began racing towards Roisel in order to disable her Sweet Kiss this time, Roisel let out the angriest and deepest whistle I had ever heard come from her. Just as the Disable was about to touch her, her little body began glowing a vibrant blue color.

My mouth dropped open in shock and I heard a collective gasp coming from the audience watching us. Time seemed to stand still as I watched Roisel's body glow even brighter and begin to elongate right in front of my eyes. Her stubby tail grew thicker and three times as long, and through the glowing, I could see her body grow a little less than double her previous size. Her ears became more pointed and I could see her claws thickening and lengthening on the ends of each of her paws. The plate embedded at her neck also grew, wrapping around her whole neck like a large metallic necklace. 

Suddenly the blue glow exploded, revealing Roisel in her newly evolved form and all her splendor. I marveled at the sparkling blue crystals that her claws had turned into, as well as some crystal spikes that were growing out from her shoulder blades and down the top of her back. And to top everything else off, a small tiara with a blue gem now decorated her forehead, and what looked like a metal earring dangled from her right ear with a blue teardrop gem at the end.

"Majestoat!" Roisel called out in a voice much louder than I was used to. Ursula let out an outraged whimper and when I looked at her she was looking up at the scoreboard. To my shock, she had just dropped a large chunk of her points and I felt a rush of hope go through me.

"Don't just stand there, Flareon! Use Smog!" Ursula growled out angrily. 

Flareon, who seemed to have been as shocked by Roisel's transformation as I had, startled slightly before releasing another foul-smelling wave of purple mist. Before I could say or do anything though, Roisel, or "Majestoat" as she had called herself, sprang forward fearlessly. I gasped in shock as I watched the poisonous mist coming towards my fairy type, but just before the smog was about to reach her, Roisel jumped up and whistled, calling up a Fairy Wind. I gasped in shock and delight, realizing her evolution must have broken Wigglytuff's disable on her moves, and she flipped beautifully through the air while parting the smog with her Fairy Wind.

"Follow her, Shinx, and use Charge" I said quietly.

Shinx nodded before dashing forward, heedless of his singed fur. Shinx followed directly behind Roisel in the open corridor of free air through the smog, glittering beautifully while using his Charge.

A sudden horrible sound ripped through the serene moment and Majestoat and Shinx were both bombarded with the sound waves of Wigglytuff's Hyper Voice attack. They stood firm though, and once it was over they were standing shoulder to shoulder, Roisel nearly the same size as Shinx with her beautiful tail swishing against the floor, and I noticed for the first time that there was a metallic ring a few inches from the tip of her tail where her fur turned from white to brown. Seeing them standing side by side I knew exactly what attack to call.

"Alright, you two. Use Round!" I called out.

Shinx took a deep breath and then began to let out a loud, sweet purring that followed an energetic rhythm. Yellow musical notes began to form in front of Shinx and began meandering calmly towards Flareon and Wigglytuff. Seconds later, Majestoat lifted her head towards the ceiling and began whistling the same tune in a strong voice just a few beats after Shinx. Glimmering blue musical notes appeared in front of Majestoat, then began following after Shinx's towards their opponents.

"Smack them away with Wake-up Slap and Fire Fang," Ursula ordered, seeming irritated that the battle wasn't over already. 

Her Wigglytuff and Flareon at first were able to keep up easily with the floating musical notes, but as the song continued both Shinx and Majestoat's voices became louder and the musical notes became larger and started moving faster and faster. I could see Ursula's unease as her pokemon were suddenly surrounded by dozens of massive musical notes, so many that they couldn't break them apart fast enough and soon they were being buffeted left and right by the notes.

"Use Spark on Flareon, Shinx! And Majestoat, use pound on Wigglytuff!" I called out as their double Round attack was reaching its crescendo. They broke off their song immediately and both dashed forward as the last of their musical notes smacked against their opponents. As one, they sprang into the air, the electricity along Shinx's body sparking even more intensely than usual, and I watched in shock as the crystal blue claws on Majestoat's forepaw suddenly elongated and her whole paw took on a metallic glint to it.

"What?" I muttered to myself in shock. 

Shinx and Majestoat descended from the air, slamming into Ursula's pokemon just as the last of their musical notes had finished exploding. Flareon flew through the air, tumbling across the ground from the powerful electrified tackle that Shinx had delivered to him.

But the truly impressive sight was Majestoat's elongated metallic claws raking powerfully against Wigglytuff's shoulder. The blow sent her face-first into the battleground and sent tremors through her body, making her look like jello in the middle of an earthquake.

At that precise moment, the buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the battle. Almost too afraid to look, I bit my lip and slowly raised my eyes up to the screen. My points had lowered to only 1/4 of the bar, but as I looked at Ursula's points to my shock there was only a sliver of points left visible. A feeling of disbelief enveloped me and I heard a strange laugh bubble up through my throat that I had no control over. After a moment Ursula's picture faded away and only my face was left on the screen.

I heard a familiar happy whistle and I tore my eyes away from the screen to look down at my pokemon. Majestoat was romping around in tight circles around Shinx, whistling gleefully. Shinx, on the other hand, was watching her with an exhausted but proud expression. I rushed over to both of them and gathered them into my arms. Ursula had already disappeared from the stage by the time I looked over to her side, but I didn't particularly care. All I wanted was to bathe my wonderful pokemon with all the love and affection that I could possibly give.

A/N Well... that's kind of an awkward spot to stop a chapter, but I'm not sure how else I would do it :P Sorry it's a little long! I love writing about pokemon battles XD Hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Also, quick question: I ALMOST made both Roisel and Shinx evolve in this battle but honestly I am not sure if I even want Shinx to evolve >.< What do you think? Should Shinx evolve or should he stay a Shinx?

Also, just wanted to send a HUGE shout-out to @Wizard-mon for the newest version of the cover picture!! It looks amazing ^_^ Thank you!!