Cooper walked towards the entrance with a grin on his face already. This battle was going to be fun. Crushing Edward had been mildly entertaining but it hadn't done much to prove his status. Humiliating Murphy in front of the whole school would absolutely, undeniable show that he was, and always would be, the greatest trainer at this school.

He suddenly realised that he'd been staring at the Pokéball in his hand as he had walked so he looked up just in time to avoid making contact with a girl who was blocking his path. He vaguely recognised her but couldn't quite put a finger on a name.

"Hey." the redhead said, giving him a quizzical look.

"Do you mind getting out of my way? I've got a battle to get to."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that battle."

"Oh, I get it." Cooper laughed as he remembered when he'd seen the girl before. "You're part of Murph's entourage aren't you? Did he send you to try and get into my head and psych me out? Are those the kind of cheap tactics he uses?"

"First of all, my name is Megan and yes, I'm Alex's friend." she replied. "But we don't get along as well as we used to so no, he did not send me. I came of my own accord to warn you."

"Warn me?" Cooper scoffed.

"Yeah, I figured you might need it, for your own good." She was deadly serious. "You seem like a confident guy and you really think you've got this match in the bag but that's what everyone thinks when they battle Alex. I've seen so many people get an advantage against him before he utterly crushes them, sending them packing."

"That won't happen to-"

"It could do. If you've underestimated him, then you've already lost. And when that happens, I just want you to know, it's nothing personal. It's just what he does." Without any further warning, she grabbed the Pokéball in his hand, gripping it hard and staring at it as though her life depended on it.

"Hey!" Cooper cried, taking the precious ball back.

"With a Pokémon like that on your side, you may stand a chance. Good luck." Megan said before turning and walking towards the stands. Whatever kind of game Murphy was playing here, it wouldn't work. Cooper just needed an extra second to gain some composure before he'd walk out onto that field, pretending that the previous conversation had never happened.

*

The niceties never even took place. There was no need for an introduction. The battle simply began. Alex had chosen to lead with his latest edition to the team, Lampent whilst Cooper had opted for a Pokémon he'd never even seen before. It was large and incredibly muscular, holding two huge stone pillars. The mean look was spoiled only by its slightly comical spherical red nose.

The crowd roared at these first two Pokémon. Surprisingly, it looked as though the entire school had turned up to watch, despite the fact that they had used their new second year privilege to privately book the main arena. Somehow, word had got out and it had gotten the students buzzing to see an awesome spectacle. There was even a commentator.

"Flame Burst!" Alex ordered.

"Conkeldurr, block it!" Cooper responded confidently. The opening exchange of attacks didn't last long as Conkeldurr used its stone pillars to block every attack Lampent could throw at it. Every now and then, the fighting type went on the offensive to land several strikes with its weapons, knocking Lampent off balance. Even Alex could see the mismatch immediately.

"Come back!" he cried, pointing the Pokéball at the lamp. "Go, Slowking!" Alex's next Pokémon was his royal hippopotamus but as usual, it was slow off the mark.

"Thunder Punch!" Cooper yelled. Momentarily dropping its item, Conkeldurr's weapon became its fist that crackled with electricity as it made contact with the defenceless Slowking, dealing a lot of damage. However, Alex was ready.

"Fell right into that one! Psychic!" he grinned. Without its menhirs to protect itself, the fight soon became a losing battle for Cooper as Slowking was able to toss its foe around with ease, slamming it into the ground and walls, earning all sorts of remarks from the crowd.

"That's enough Conkeldurr." Cooper breathed as he returned his Pokémon. Alex could have been mistaken but he thought he saw a trace of worry etched on his arrogant face. The thought made Alex grin. A full battle may have been a new and somewhat daunting experience for him but, in the early stages at least, he was holding his own. "Heracross!"

With his horned beetle-like Pokémon on the field, Cooper's usual smirk returned. This was clearly a Pokémon he was confident with. Even so, Alex had a few tricks up his sleeve to nullify the threat in front of him.

"Megahorn!" Cooper yelled. Heracross lined up its horn with its opponent before charging recklessly into the path of an attack.

"Psychic!" Alex responded. Slowking obeyed faster than expected, its eyes glowing as psychic energy grabbed Heracross, throwing it off course so that it slammed into a wall. "Follow up with Scald!" With Heracross still recovering, it was unable to avoid the incoming jet of hot water, severely burning it.

"It burned!" Cooper exclaimed.

"Yes!" Alex cried out in triumph.

*

"Oh Alex, you idiot!" Bella cried. She and the rest of the gang had front row seats and were all watching the fast paced battle intently. A full battle brought about the fresh new dynamic of a lot of switches but it made the battle very difficult to follow at times. Even the commentator was struggling to keep up.

"What do you mean by that?" Lenny asked. "Isn't burning Heracross a good thing?"

"For Cooper it is." she replied grimly. Down on the battlefield, Cooper had begun to explain it before Bella had the chance.

"You seem pretty happy about that burn there, Murph." he smirked.

"That's because when a Pokémon is burned, any attack it makes is reduced in power dramatically, effectively crippling your Heracross." Alex said, a huge grin on his face.

"Well, I'm somewhat impressed." Cooper nodded. "That's normally true. However, Heracross has the Guts ability so that decrease, starts to look a lot more like an increase."

"Oh." Alex gasped, his smile now well and truly gone.

"In other words, you just made my Pokémon even stronger!" Cooper laughed. Bella realised just how bad this was. Not only had Cooper gained the upper hand in the short run, but this was clear evidence that he had gotten some kind of measure of Alex. He'd baited the Scald just to get the Guts boost, knowing that Alex would lack the knowledge of Heracross' potential abilities. The score may have been even for the moment but Bella could see that changing in the blink of an eye.

"We'll still take you on! Psychic!" Alex yelled, clearly frustrated with his foolish mistake.

"Too slow! Megahorn!" Slowking stood no chance as Heracross rammed its horn into its foe's stomach, knocking it out with ease. Cooper had taken the early lead.

Fortunately for Alex, he had the perfect Pokémon to immediately threaten Heracross out. Bella breathed a sigh of relief as he chose wisely, opting for Lampent. Its bursts of fire scared the bug away but Cooper soon made a smart switch into the long-legged Hitmonlee, yet another fighting type. Before Alex had even registered the switch, Cooper executed with an impressive manoeuvre, using Hitmonlee's powerful feet to fling rocks at Lampent, trapping it. Powerless to respond, Alex could only watch as Hitmonlee extended a poisonous foot, making contact with Lampent, earning Cooper another KO.

*

Cooper wondered if Alex's next choice would be as easy to take down. He'd made it relatively tough at first, but as always, Cooper got the upper hand. It was just a simple case of figuring out his opponent before they could figure him out. Still, Megan's words echoed in his mind, telling him to be wary. He didn't want to listen to her but he was going to take her advice. He wasn't going to let his guard down for a moment.

"Tangrowth!" Alex cried, revealing his next Pokémon to be a pile of vines.

"Another slow Pokémon?" Cooper taunted. "Easy pickings for-"

"Grab it!" Alex interrupted. Tangrowth was a lot faster than Cooper had anticipated, shooting its arms forwards. In a flash, Hitmonlee's legs were tangled up in a mess of vines, rendering it incapable of moving, before it was raised high in the air and smashed hard into the ground several times until it was unconscious.

"No!" Cooper moaned as he recalled the fainted Pokémon.

"What was that about being too slow?" Alex mocked. Cooper hated it when his Pokémon got knocked out. It felt like failure.

"I guess you're not as terrible as I thought." Cooper shrugged.

"Thanks... I think."

"Don't worry; it wasn't a compliment. Now go, Hitmontop!" The idea behind this choice was to hopefully get caught within Tangrowth's vines and then spin, which would hopefully fling the monster across the room. Unfortunately, the handstand Pokémon proved to be ineffective as a strong Power Whip took out its legs, knocking it off balance, leaving it exposed to the same strategy that beat Hitmonlee, first becoming tangled in a sea of vines and then proceeding to be slammed into the ground.

This time however, Cooper was ready and he managed to withdraw his Pokémon before it was too late. Perhaps a quick boxing session would be the answer. He sent out the Pokémon to round out the trio and called for its signature triple punch combination. Hitmonchan's red gloves made exceptionally fast work, creating ice, fire and electricity in the space of a second but Tangrowth simply wouldn't let up, blocking and batting away the strikes before they even landed. Before Hitmonchan could retreat, it found its hands tied by those annoying vines and it was then subjected to the same brutal attack as before. Not wanting to needlessly lose another Pokémon, Cooper swiftly recalled Hitmonchan and went back to Heracross for the answer.

"Heracross, whatever happens, don't get caught in those vines!" Cooper warned. His trusted bug gave a nod of understanding, bracing itself for an attack.

"What's that? Are you scared?" Alex taunted.

"Murph, Murph, Murph." Cooper tutted. "Need I remind you that I still have five Pokémon remaining whilst you only have four?"

"Actually, I can count." Alex pointed out, as if that were supposed to be unexpected of a seventeen year old. "Tangrowth, use Earthquake!"

"Use your wings!" Tangrowth raised its long arms high before thrusting them into the ground, causing an immense tremor. Luckily for Heracross, it had a pair of buzzing wings to evade the attack with ease, before following up by jabbing its long horn into Tangrowth, finally knocking it out.

"Tangrowth!" Alex cried as the Pokémon fell to ground, unable to battle. It had put up a fierce fight, but just as always, Cooper had found a way through.

"So Murph, when does the real battle start?" Cooper taunted. Somehow, Alex gave a huge grin.

"Man, what is your problem?" he laughed.

"My problem? You're the one just laughing when you're staring defeat in the face!"

"Dude, we're fighting a great battle here - probably the best I've ever had. Why don't you just lighten up a bit? Or have you forgotten that at its very core battling is supposed to be fun?"

"Fun doesn't win." Cooper said firmly. He couldn't understand this guy. He was putting up a fight but at the end of the day, this battle was turning into a thrashing. His title of being the best was at stake and all he could do was talk about fun? Who was this guy?

"Maybe not." Alex admitted. "But I wouldn't go counting Torchic just yet because I think you've made a serious tactical error."

"Says the one who's three one down."

"Says the one who knows your entire team." Alex pointed out. "I've seen everything you've got to offer and put a pretty big dent into most of your team. You may think you've got me all figured out but I've only used half of my team. You couldn't even guess what I've got in store for you."

Cooper felt a wave of panic rush over him as he saw a certain look in Alex's eyes. Something about his grin told him to be running scared. He tried to control it but that was easier said than done. Could this be what Megan had warned him of? Was this when the battle would take a dramatic turn? Cooper genuinely didn't know the answers. He could merely try and keep his tough guy act up.

"You've got nothing!"

"Here's what I've got. The mighty, Garchomp!"

*

Alex started to feel slightly giddy inside. Despite the score line, he had Cooper extremely worried. The great Cooper McDonald, was running scared and Alex was loving every minute of it. He sensed an opportunity to grab some offensive momentum so he took it with both hands and went in all guns blazing.

Even with the power boost from Guts, Heracross' Close Combat attack was brushed aside like it was nothing as Garchomp dealt swift, effective blows to the bug, before finally stamping it into the ground with its foot, knocking it out. Next up on the agenda was Hitmontop. After shaking the ground so much the arena felt like it was going to break apart, Hitmontop was so off balance, it couldn't have been any easier for Garchomp to rush in and slice its razor sharp claws at the Pokémon. Swiping left, right and down, the dragon dealt far too much damage for the spinning top to handle and thus levelled the scores.

Conkeldurr proved to be more challenging. Its sturdy stone pillars were an excellent defence mechanism and if Alex wasn't careful and left Garchomp exposed, they could also deal crushing blows. After several blocks, Cooper must have seen an opening as Conkeldurr launched a powerful Drain Punch which would have broken Garchomp's cheekbone but the fighting type's speed let it down. Alex's dragon was able evade by diving underground and emerging with an uppercut, landing a solid hit on its foe's lower jaw. Using its tail to bat aside a potential block from the menhirs, Garchomp had managed to leave Conkeldurr defenceless so it proceeded to viciously hack at its body, rendering it unconscious.

"Yeah! Another one bites the dust!" Alex yelled in triumph, punching the air as he took the lead. It wasn't really surprising when you thought about it. Alex may have only just got Garchomp to listen to him at the end of last year but he'd just had a whole summer of training the beast, teaching it how to balance speed and power. This was just the result of hard work. Garchomp roared as it glared Cooper down, daring him to even continuing trying. Cooper couldn't match the stare. The fearsome dragon had almost broken him.

"Hitmonchan." he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Garchomp buddy, you've done your job, now have a rest."

*

"Why would he switch Garchomp out now?" Lenny asked.

"Actually, that was a smart move?" Bella admitted, a smile forming on her face. "Alex already saw Ice Punch on Hitmonchan which could very well knock Garchomp out in one hit. He knows that losing Garchomp unnecessarily would be a stupid move and could potentially cost him the game."

"Are you impressed?" Lenny grinned. Bella nodded.

"And a little turned on." Thankfully, everybody's focus was on the battle so nobody noticed the reddening of her cheeks. Down on the battlefield, Alex had sent out a Pokémon she knew all too well. It was his bone wielding warrior, Marowak, the Pokémon that Alex had used to defeat her more times than she cared to remember last year. Bella knew all of its tricks but Cooper didn't, which meant he was in for a world of hurt.

"Triple punch combo!" Cooper commanded, attempting to show some signs of resilience.

"Block it with Bone Club!" Alex retorted. Bella imagined Cooper's shocked face as her own, his mouth left gaping as Marowak swiped its weapon in all directions, deflecting all three punches. Even better for Alex, the final blow Hitmonchan failed to land was Fire Punch which ended up igniting Marowak's bone, giving it a new way to attack.

"What the-" Cooper stuttered, stunned at the speed at which Marowak could handle the object that now sported flames. Alex gave a confident snap as he ordered his next attack and Marowak obeyed, thrusting the flaming bone into Hitmonchan's neck, dealing a heavy blow and then pinning it to the ground. Unable to move, it wasn't long before several strikes knocked the boxer out, leaving Cooper with only one Pokémon remaining.

"Yeah! Go Alex!" Lenny roared, along with the majority of the crowd. They'd been given quite the spectacle so far and it wasn't over just yet.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here." Bella said, keeping as calm as ever. "Cooper's still got one Pokémon left and it's the one that completely destroyed Edward. I'd guess that it's his strongest Pokémon."

"But still, Alex has his three most experienced and arguably strongest Pokémon left." Lenny argued. "He can't lose this."

*

Alex wore the largest grin in the world. He was absolutely buzzing. Just one more KO and he'd really have triumphed over Cooper who had been so cocky, so arrogant and so confident of his abilities, even Alex hadn't been sure which way the battle would swing. Standing before him was Machamp, the four armed, muscular monster that had crushed Edward's hopes in a matter of seconds. Alex just had to make sure it didn't do the same to him.

"Earthquake!" the trainers yelled simultaneously. The tremor was immense, reverberating around the arena, shaking it with incredible force. The Pokémon appeared to be matched in strength but that was only at a distance. Alex decided to take a chance and go on the offensive.

"Bone Club!" Marowak rushed its foe before using its bone like a pole vault to flip over Machamp and strike it from behind. If the fighting type took any damage, it didn't show as it turned to face Marowak and then launched several punches. Even as well trained as Marowak was, the blows came too fast, too often and were just too strong. Marowak desperately defended, blocking one, two, three before one broke through, then another until its only salvation, the bone, was knocked clean from its hand.

"Dynamic Punch!" Cooper cried, his smirk beginning to return as Marowak was struck in the gut, blasting it all the way across the room. It hadn't stood a chance.

"Nice try buddy." Alex smiled as he returned the poor creature to its ball. "Go, Garchomp!" Both creatures on the field stared each other down for a moment with a look of burning hatred. This was going to be a battle of sheer power.

"Earthquake!" Cooper ordered. This smart move shook the ground, forcing Garchomp to stay on top of the field as going for Dig would be a fatal mistake. Fortunately for Alex, he was more than happy to keep things simple.

"Dragon Claw!" he yelled. Garchomp gave an almighty roar as it recklessly charged towards Machamp, swinging its dangerous claws. Unbelievably, Machamp was able to sidestep and grab the land shark with two hands whilst punching it with the other two. If it wasn't for Rough Skin, it could've been the end there and then but Machamp couldn't hold on forever, dropping Garchomp with a yelp of pain. Wasting no time, Alex's dragon picked the sparring session back up, slicing at the knees and swiping at the face.

"Grab it!"

"Flip out!" Alex grinned. The next move made Alex feel proud. Garchomp performed an elegant back flip, kicking Machamp in the teeth on the way through and even flicking the lower jaw with its tail. Alex's moment was cut short however, as Machamp somehow managed to make a grab with all fours, latching on to Garchomp's tail. Alex cursed as his monster was subjected to a move called the 'head-banger', spinning it around and then flinging it far away, landing in the far wall with a sickening crunch. The crowd went wild as it was confirmed that Alex's most powerful creature had been knocked out.

"Hey, this whole comeback thing is pretty fun." Cooper smirked as Alex recalled his fallen Pokémon. "I can see why you like it so much."

"Well you're having fun. That's the main thing." Alex grinned as he tossed his final Pokémon from hand to hand.

"I'll have even more fun when I finish you off."

"Yeah, well here's the thing. I don't lose."

"Me neither." Cooper replied. "The difference is, you've used your best Pokémon. Without that Garchomp, you've got nothing left to take on my Machamp."

"Correction; I've used my strongest Pokémon." Alex grinned. "Whoever said it was my best?"

"Strongest is best." Cooper said firmly.

"Not necessarily." Alex shook his head. "Sometimes, it's the Pokémon we love the most that are the most dependable. They're the ones that always pull through no matter what. So just try getting past this one: Butterfree!"

Cooper laughed at the seemingly harmless insect. He'd beaten a similar Pokémon just last week and probably wasn't expecting anything much but this wasn't an ordinary Butterfree. This was Alex's trusted partner Pokémon and it had won countless battles that it never should have won, including beating the likes of Regirock and Hydreigon. If Cooper underestimated this Pokémon, the battle was as good as over.

"Rock Slide!"

"Quiver Dance!" Machamp tore chunks of rock out of the ground and hurled them at its opponent but none hit their mark thanks to a series of 'dabs' that greatly increased Butterfree's speed among other things. "Follow it up with Sleep Powder!"

"Dodge it!" Cooper urged. Butterfree made it look easy, like a routine it had practised too many times, sprinkling a green powder over the fighting type, putting it into a deep sleep. With its opponent completely unmoving, it was even easy for Butterfree to launch an incredible offensive, using its psychic powers to throw Machamp all around the arena, dishing out a brutal beating.

"Finish it with Bug Buzz!" Alex ordered, ready to take his victory.

"Wake up and go for Dynamic Punch!" Cooper screamed. As if by magic, Machamp awoke. It gave a blood curdling battle cry before raising its four arms and charging straight through the high pitched buzzing noise that Butterfree was emitting as if it didn't even exist. When in range, Machamp thrust its fists forwards with unimaginable power, hitting Butterfree square in the chest and sending it flying. Alex barely had time to gasp as he saw the limp insect hurtle towards him, hitting him in the face with a horrifying thud.

Well, I think I can honestly say this may be my favourite chapter I've ever written. If you loved reading this as much as I loved writing it, make sure you hit the vote button, it means a lot, and also please leave a comment telling me what you thought. Thanks for reading!