Serena looks for Holly while walking in the direction of where the auburn-haired woman went. The honey blonde girl is still fuming with anger as she marches through the area, looking for her friend.

"I can't believe Brock did that," she grumbles to herself. "And to think I was supporting him and thinking he changed just like that. Ugh, he's lucky I'm not violent like Misty or I would have -"

But as she's walking, she stops talking in mid-sentence as she hears something. She looks around until she spots Holly sitting under a tree, hugging her legs and burying her face as she cries bitterly. Serena's angry face melts away into a look of pity as she walks over to her friend. She slowly places her hand on Holly's head, but Holly immediately knocks it away.

"Get away from me, Brock!" She chokes out.

"Holly, it's me," Serena says.

Holly lifts her head up to look at Serena. Her eyes are bloodshot red, and tears are still running down her face. Serena is heartbroken for her friend as Holly looks away from her and gestures her to sit next to her. The honey blonde girl sits down and puts her arm around Holly while Holly rests her head on her legs.

"I am so sorry," Serena says softly. "I feel like such a fool. I wish I never vouched for him at Neon City."

Holy sniffles and says, "Don't beat yourself up, Serena. You didn't know that he talked to this Lucy woman in secret."

"I know, but I still gave you hope," Serena says. "I just wish I knew that he did that or that she had any feelings for him at all. There gave no indication from her that she had any interest in Brock when I was in her house. I'm the one who said I was going to try to help Brock with his... issue."

Holly pats Serena on the shoulder and gives her a sad smile.

"Maybe this is something that should never have been your responsibility," she says. "Maybe, in the end, he needs to help himself."

Serena nods robotically, still feeling down about the situation. Holly wipes the tears from her eyes and sniffles again before she tries to force a smile on her face.

"I guess Brock and I were bound to hit a problem like this in our relationship at some point," she says with a forced laugh. "I mean, who says you get to have all the drama with trying to get through to Ash?"

The two of them chuckle quietly before silence overtakes them again. Holly lets out a big sigh, and Serena looks at her friend downhearted. Eventually, Holly looks down and sees the necklace still hanging around her neck. Anger starts to fill her eyes, and she grasps on the pearl attached to a rock getting ready to rip it out of her neck. Serena watches the action with a look of worry and horror in her eyes until Holly stands still and slowly loosens her grip on the necklace. The auburn-haired woman hangs her head in shame as she accepts that she cannot remove the necklace away from herself.

"Ugh, I'm so mad at him, and yet I can't even take off the necklace he gave me," she groans. "Have you ever felt so mad with Ash that you'd want to throw away your ribbon?"

"No, never," Serena says almost instantly while putting her hand on her ribbon defensively. "But Ash has also never hurt me like that either."

Holly whines and buries her face with her legs again. Serena rubs her back despite knowing that anything she does won't make her friend feel any better. They sit under the tree in silence for a few more minutes before Holly wipes the tears from her eyes again and stands up, trying to collect herself.

"I better get to the Pokemon Center," she says. "My Pokemon will need to rest up before my next match tomorrow."

"Good idea," Serena says, standing up.

*************************************************************

For the rest of the day, Holly has her Pokemon checked by Nurse Joy and spends the rest of the day thinking about what happened with Brock. Eventually, Dawn, Piplup, May, Misty, Bonnie, and Iris join in comforting her with Serena. They try to help her through her every need, but Holly just politely tells them no and that she needs time alone. Ash and Pikachu stayed with Brock, but don't say a word to him while the young man stays miserable over what he's done. Max, Cilan, and Clemont refuse to say a word to Brock even though the three of them and Ash and Pikachu are staying in the same room as him in the Pokemon Center. The next day, Brock found himself eating breakfast alone, with everyone still giving him the cold shoulder.

After breakfast, the rest of the group follows Holly, Ash, and Max to the main building for the Indigo League to find out who they are facing in the next round of the preliminaries. Holly still downcast, but she tries to stay focused on the competition. As everyone waits in line for the front desk, they notice Timothy, Electchu, and Coovers waiting in a different line and call over to them.

"Hey, Timothy," Ash calls out.

The two men and Electchu turn to the gang and smile at all of them.

"Hey, you guys," Timothy greets. "How did the first round go for you?"

"Holly and Max and I all won," Ash says proudly with a toothy grin.

"Sure did," Max says.

Holly just nods robotically, only half paying attention.

"And it looks like you clearly won your match too, Timothy," Dawn comments.

Timothy and Coovers chuckle before the latter says, "Yeah, you could say you were right on the money when you said Timothy's opponent was going to be easy compared to Alain, Dawn. Poliwrath wiped out all three Pokemon with ease."

"Raichu," Electchu says, nodding.

"Awesome," Ash says. "I used all of my Pokemon, but none of them fainted."

"Glad to hear it," Timothy says with a smile. "Let's keep it up so we can battle again."

"Agreed," Ash says with a nod.

Before long, everyone makes it to the end of the line with Ash going first. His next battle is revealed to be the third battle of the day at the ice field against a young boy named Bartamas. Timothy goes next around the same time as Ash and discovers he's going to face a man named Jeremy. Max comes next, and he finds out that he's competing in the ice field right after Ash against a girl named Stacy. Finally, Holly comes last and presses the red button at the front desk. The auburn-haired woman doesn't even look at the screen until she hears Ash and Serena gasp sharply, and she looks up and stares in horror.

"You will be battling against Abigail in the seventh battle at the rock field," the woman at the front desk says. "Best of luck."

But instead of saying thank you, Holly just runs to the exit with everyone, including Timothy, Electchu, and Coovers, running behind. Holly bursts out of the building and runs until she's several yards away and panting for breath with her hands on her knees. Eventually, everyone catches up with her, and Iris is the first person to ask what is on everybody but Ash and Serena's mind.

"Holly, what is the matter?" The girl with the large purple hair asks.

Holly takes a few deep breaths from running before she answers.

"I've faced that woman before at Neon City," she says without looking at anyone. "She humiliated me in battle with her Nidoqueen, and it was right in front of Brock just when he found me here in Kanto."

"Is she really that strong?" May asks.

"Strong and arrogant," Serena answers, for her friend. "She was always boasting about how powerful she was. I faced her at the Pokemon contest there, and I was all too happy to beat her for Holly."

Ash nods while Holly gives Serena a brief appreciative look, remembering that day.

"So it sounds like you're worried that you're going to lose again against this Abigail," Coovers says.

"That's right," Holly says. "I don't know how I'm going to stand a better chance against her than I did before."

"But you can't lose hope just like that," Bonnie protests.

"Bonnie is right," Max says. "You need to stay strong."

"Yeah, don't let your worries get the better of you," Dawn says.

"Piplup!" Piplup says, trying to sound confident.

Clemont nods in agreement, and Holly briefly smiles at everyone before her face is filled with dread again. Timothy grows concerned for the auburn-haired woman and decides to speak too.

"Okay, let's take this in little steps," he says. "What other Pokemon does this Abigail have apart from a Nidoqueen?"

Ash and Serena scratch their chins in thought before the former says, "I do remember her using a Dewgong, but that's about it."

"Okay, so that supposedly means we know two of the three Pokemon she might use for the match," Timothy says. "With the Nidoqueen, your best bet is ground, water, ice, and Psychic attacks. With Dewgong, fighting, rock, electric, and grass attacks are the most effective. I wish I knew what's her other Pokemon are. Otherwise, I would straight out tell you what Pokemon you should use for that."

"I understand," Holly says quietly. "Thanks for the advice. That does give me a couple of ideas."

"No problem," Timothy says with a friendly smile.

"Hey, wait a minute," Coovers says in realization. "Where's Brock?"

Holly winces sharply and looks away while the rest of the gang becomes uncomfortable.

"Hey, that's right. Where is he?" Timothy asks. "Shouldn't he be cheering you up and giving you advice just like the rest of us?"

Holly tries to fight the urge to cry again before she answers the two men.

"We're not speaking to him right now," she says.

Timothy, Electchu, and Coovers frown and give Holly sympathetic looks.

"I see," Timothy says. "Well, whatever is the problem, I hope you two can figure it out."

"Thanks," Holly says bluntly.

"Hey, I know," Bonnie says. "We could look up whatever other Pokemon Abigail has using one it the computers at the Pokemon Center."

"Good idea, Bonnie," Ash says. "We should be doing that to prepare for Max's, Timothy's, and my battles anyway."

"Agreed," Max says. "So let's go do that while we still have time before all of our battles."

Everyone says words of agreement before they all head back to the Pokemon Center, with Holly feeling slightly better with all of her friends here to support her.

******************************************************************

Everyone starts getting on a couple of computers to look up what Pokemon Ash, Max, Holly, and Timothy might be facing in their upcoming battles. After finding out what Pokemon his opponent has, Ash decides to switch Pokemon with Professor Oak again so that he has his Donphan, Sceptile, and Scraggy on his team. Timothy and Max decide they are satisfied with the Pokemon they have while Holly becomes more uneasy after she discovers the rest of Abigail's team. Thankfully for her, Serena, Clemont, Cilan, Timothy, and Coovers are quick to encourage her and help her come up with more strategies with the Pokemon she has.

Eventually, the next round in the preliminaries start. Ash takes down Jeremy's Abra with Scraggy before Jeremy's Graveler takes Scraggy down. Ash's Sceptile defeats Graveler, and he switches Pokemon so that his Donphan can take down Jeremy's Machamp with Rollout and Hyper Beam, thus winning the match. Not long after that, Max comes up next, and things start off ugly with Stacy's Rapidash taking out his Pinser and Rhydon. But then he chooses Gallade as his last Pokemon, and the blade Pokemon cuts down Rapidash and wipes out Stacy's Staryu and Skarmory, winning the match. Timothy wins another perfect match with just Odyssey, but unbeknownst to everyone else, his victory gives Ash new ideas to try to beat him for Serena.

Finally, it's late in the afternoon, and everyone is heading to the rock field for Holly's match. Despite everyone having her back, however, the auburn-haired woman's mind is still focused on Brock. Secretly, she tries to reason in her mind how she should never speak to him again, but at the same time, her heart is trying to reason with the idea to find it deep inside to give him a chance. Both arguments inside her are driving her crazy, and she gives it everything she has to hide it from everyone as they make it to the entrance.

"How about Cilan and I sit on the bench behind Holly so we can give her advice," Serena suggests.

"I think that is a good idea," Clemont says. "What do you say, Cilan?"

"It would be my honor," Cilan says with a graceful bow.

Holly smiles at her friends until she feels a bump on her shoulder. She turns around and feels a pain in her heart as she sees Lucy and her sister's. The Battle Pike Queen looks down as if the ground in front of Holly is the most interesting thing in the world.

"Sorry," Lucy says quietly.

"It's okay," Holly says awkwardly.

The two women look away from each other, feeling uneasy while everyone else is uncomfortable with the entire situation. Just then, everyone hears the sound of panting, and they turn to see Brock running towards them. Lucy and Holly sadly look away from him while Barbara and Lucy's other sisters, as well as Misty, give the tan-skinned man hard glares while everyone else just looks at him disapprovingly.

"You have some nerve showing your face here," Barabra growls.

"No kidding," Misty agrees, cracking her knuckles. "Seems like you want another knuckle sandwich."

The two of them storm toward Brock, and he quickly waves his hands at them in panic.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" He exclaims. "I'm here to apologize!"

"It's a little late for that, Brock," Max says.

"I know," Brock says, turning to Lucy and Holly. "But please just give me a chance to explain myself."

"What's there to explain?" One of Lucy's other sisters ridicules.

"I'd like to speak with Holly and Lucy alone before the battle if I could," Brock says.

May, Max, Misty, Dawn, Iris, Barabra, and Lucy's other sisters look at Brock in disbelief.

"You want to speak with them?" Iris rebukes. "You're pretty gutsy for -"

"Let him speak,"

Everyone turns to Lucy, confused. She turns around to look at Brock with a serious look on her face. Lucy's sisters are feeling fidgety over the idea while everyone else is wondering why she would allow Brock to apologize. Holy hesitates until she reluctantly decides to also hear out what Brock has to say.

"Fine, let him speak," she grumbles.

Everyone turns to Holly, even more surprised.

"Are you sure?" Dawn asks.

"No," Holly answers honestly. "But, I want to hear him out, at least."

Ash and the others look at each other worriedly before they silently decide to respect her wishes.

"Serena and I will be on the field waiting for you," Cilan says with Serena nodding.

"Thanks," Holly says silently.

Barbara and Lucy's other sisters are still acting uneasy as they turn to Lucy.

"Are you really sure about this?" Barabra questions.

Lucy turns to Barabra and, with a wooden face, says, "Your queen has spoken."

Barbara and the other women are taken aback by Lucy's final word, and they reluctantly obey her. With that, Serena and Cilan go inside while the rest of the gang and Lucy's sisters find the main entrance to look for a place to sit in the stands. Once Brock, Holly, and Lucy are alone, the two women glare at Brock as the tension between them grows.

"Well?" Holly asks harshly.

Brock squirms before he sighs and looks at Lucy and Holly with a penitent expression on his face.

"Look, I can't defend myself for what I've done," he starts. "I made a promise to each of you without thinking about the consequences, without thinking about how I would seriously hurt both of you."

Both women are completely silent, looking at Brock skeptically as he continues.

"I have only told this to Holly, but the thing is, I have a horrible habit of chasing a lot of women," he says. "Other women have never really thought of me as someone to like romantically apart from you two. There may have some other to a small degree, but you two have been the most heartfelt and sincere out of anyone I've ever known. And you are both amazing people to me. Lucy, you're a strong person, and you speak your mind without a doubt. Holly, you keep finding ways to improve yourself and get stronger no matter what the odds."

Lucy and Holly try to hide the fact that they are not slightly flattered by the way Brock complimented them.

"I care for both of you, and I wish I knew how else to make this up to you, but I can't," Brock answers honestly. "I don't know how to handle something like this, and I wish I could undo the hurt I've brought to both of you. All I can say is I've caused you pain because of my problem, and I'm sorry."

Lucy and Holly's skeptical faces fade slowly, feeling unsure of how to take Brock's apology. Brock stares at both of them for a moment until he remembers something and reaches into his backpack. He takes out two different flowers, one a purple Crane's Bill and the other an orange begonia. Both women are taken aback as Brock gives Lucy the Crane's Bill and Holly the begonia. They both hold the flower they are given in surprise before they sniff their flowers and smile slightly.

"Brock, how did you know this is my favorite flower?" Lucy asks.

"And mine too?" Holly asks.

Brock scratches the back of his head one looks way from the two of them with a chuckle.

"I didn't," he answers truthfully. "I just browsed at the flower shop and picked the flowers that make me think of each of you the most."

Lucy looks away from Brock and tries to keep a wooden face despite a small blush emerging from her cheeks. Holly fights the urge to crack a smile, feeling her heart skip a beat from Brock's openness. Brock gets on his knees and humbly bows his head at both women.

"All I ask is a chance to redeem myself," he says. "If you give me that one chance, I swear to both of you I will give it everything I have to make it up to you."

Neither Holly nor Lucy are sure of how to answer to Brock's request. In their minds, they find his request to be clunky at best, but their hearts seem to feel otherwise. After a couple of minutes, Lucy walks over to Brock, and he lifts his head to look at her with a pleading look in his eyes. The Battle Pike Queen looks deep into the eyes that she is so fond of and sighs.

"Brock, I cannot say I'm not disappointed by what you have done," she says. "That said, I believe you when you say you're sorry. I can see how deep down you still are the caring person that I grew to like, but it's clear that you have a problem that you need help with. I want to aid you out or hope that you will change for the better."

Brock smiles, and he stands up with a hint of hope in his eyes. He turns to Holly, who is still hesitating with her emotions. Before she could think of an answer, an attendant walks over to the three of them from the entrance.

"Holly!" He calls out. "The match starts in four minutes!"

Holly's eyes widen, realizing she's forgotten about her battle against Abigail.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" She replies.

The attendant nods and walks back inside the building, and Holly turns to Brock, who are still waiting for her to answer.

"I...I...I can't think about this right now," she says. "I need to focus on my battle. I'm against Abigail, and I really want to beat her this time."

Brock's mouth hangs open, shocked to learn that the arrogant woman that Holly faced at Neon City is her next opponent. His face then turns serious, and he nods at the auburn-haired woman.

"I understand," he says. "Give it everything you've got."

"Believe me, I intend to," Holly says.

"Good luck, Holly," Lucy says.

Holly turns to the woman with the black and red hair, taken aback by her brief encouragement. She looks at Lucy skeptically, wondering if she's trying to impress Brock in some way by acting like a good sport even though Holly hasn't given him an answer yet.

"Thanks," Holly says out of politeness before she goes inside.

As Holly goes down the hall leading to the rock field, she tries to focus on the task at hand, but her mind and heart are still debating on what she should do with Brock. Her mind says she should never speak to him again, but at the same time, her heart is trying to reason with the idea to find it deep inside herself to give him a chance. Both arguments inside her drive her crazy again, and she gives it everything she has to suppress her feelings as she enters the field.

By the time she is walking toward the green platform, Serena and Cilan are already sitting on the bench behind the platform while Abigail is on the red platform. The crowd is roaring with applause, and Abigail is blowing kisses left and right with men in benches trying to catch them. Holly grumbles incoherent words, annoyed that Abigail's fans clearly came all the way here from Neon City to cheer her on. Serena and Cilan notice Holly coming and stand up from their bench to face her.

"So, what happened?" Serena asks.

"He apologized and asked to give him a chance to make it up to both that other woman and me," Holly answers plainly without looking at her friends.

Cilan frowns skeptically and says, "And what did you say to that?"

"Nothing yet," Holly says. "And I'm not going to until I put Abigail in her place, so can we just focus on my match for right now?"

Serena and Cilan look at each other, and after a couple of seconds, nod and smile at their friend.

"Of course," Cilan says. "We're with you all the way."

"Thanks," Holly says before realizing she's still holding her flower. "Oh yeah, could you hold this for me, Serena?"

Serena is taken aback as Holly hands her the flower and says, "Sure," despite feeling uneasy, figuring who gave it to her friend. Holly takes a deep breath and glares at Abigail. As she gets on the green platform, the woman with shiny brown hair gives Holly a smug look while showing off her white dress to the audience.

"I have to hand it to you, I didn't expect you to qualify for the Pokemon League in time," she mocks. "Doesn't change the fact that you're going to be humiliated again."

"I'm going to make you eat those words!" Holly barks. "I am much stronger than before. I even went against a member of the Elite Four and held my own very well against her!"

"Well, bully for you," Abigail says with a wave of her hand

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the seventh battle on the rock field!" The announcer shouts. "In the green corner, it's Holly from the Sinnoh Region and the beloved Abigail from Neon City in the red corner!"

The audience roars with thunderous applause, but Abigail's fans shout even louder, screaming her name as they cheer.

"So, without further ado, let's get this battle started!" The announcer continues.

The referee walks over to the sideline and raises both of his flags, announcing, "This will be a three-on-three battle between Abigail and Holly! The battle will be all over when all three Pokemon from either side are unable to continue! Furthermore, both sides are allowed substitutions! Are the contestants ready?"

"Ready!" Holly and Abigail reply.

"Then battle begin!" The referee shouts.

"Wigglytuff, let's go!" Holly shouts.

"Dodrio, come out!" Abigail shouts.

Both women throw their respective Pokeballs, and Wigglytuff, and Dodrio both come out.

"Wigglytuff, use Headbutt!" Holly shouts.

Abigail scoffs and bluntly shouts, "Quick Attack!"

Wigglytuff charges at Dodrio head first, but Dodrio is so fast that it rams into the balloon Pokemon before Wigglytuff could realize it.

"All too easy," Abigail says with a grin. "Now, Dodrio, use Tri Attack!"

Dodrio opens its beak and positions its heads so that it looks like a triangle. An orb of energy appears from each of the beaks with one green, one indigo, and another red. Holly becomes uneasy with the attack until Cilan calls out to her.

"Stay calm, Holly!" He shouts from the bench behind Holly. "Remember what we planned with Wigglytuff!"

Holly tries to think of what he's talking about until it hits her.

"Of course," she says. "Wigglytuff, use Sing!"

Wigglytuff smiles cheerfully and takes a large breath before it sings a loud but soothing tune. Dodrio keeps preparing its attack until its eyelids start to grow heavy, and the orbs forming on each of its beaks begin to fade. The triple bird Pokemon wobbles until it falls down face-first on the ground, shocking Abigail.

"Dodrio, what are you doing?" She snaps. "Get back up!"

"Oh, I don't think it's getting up," Holly says in a mocking tone that mimics Abigail's. "Wigglytuff, use Pound multiple times!"

Wigglytuff makes a cute but serious, angry face, and charges at its opponent before punching it multiple times. Abigail grinds her teeth in irritation as Wigglytuff violently punches her Dodrio left and right senselessly, making the triple bird Pokemon helplessly weaker with every punch. After one more punch, Dodrio takes several steps back, barely standing up while still asleep, and Holly grins.

"Now, use Headbutt one more time!" She commands.

Wigglytuff lowers its head and charges at Dodrio. This time, the balloon Pokemon successfully hits its target, knocking Dodrio off its feet. The triple bird Pokemon falls down on its back with swirly eyes on all three heads.

"Dodrio is out of the match," the referee declares, causing his green flag. "Wigglytuff is the winner!"

But instead of loud cheering, most of the audience is silent, clearly shocked that Abigail's Pokemon fainted. The only people cheering from the stands are several people who are neutral and Ash, Pikachu, Clement, Bonnie, Dawn, Piplup, Iris, Axew, and Misty. Serena and Cilan stand up and cheer from the bench behind Holly. But out of all of them, Brock is cheering the loudest while sitting with Lucy and her sisters. Holly smiles secretly at Brock, appreciative that he's been staying loyal to supporting her, but her smile quickly disappears when she keeps in mind that he is sitting beside Lucy. Eventually, Abigail snaps out of her shock and returns Dodrio to its Pokeball before taking out another one.

"You got lucky that time, but this is where your luck runs out," she growls. "Dewgong, come out now!"

Her Dewgong comes out of its Pokeball with a cheerful grin. Holly thinks for a moment before she turns to Cilan and Holly.

"I know the plan is I switch to Farfetch'd since it knows Razor Leaf, but I want to keep using Wigglytuff," she says

"Okay, but be careful," Cilan advises. "Wigglytuff isn't strong or weak against Dewgong and vice versa."

"Got it," Holly says.

"Dewgong, Aurora Beam!" Abigail yells.

"Use Defense Curl, Wigglytuff!" Holly shouts.

Wigglytuff deflates the air out of its body and rolls itself into a ball. Dewgong fires Aurora Beam, but the multicolored beam bounces off Wigglytuff.

"Now, use Sing!" Holly commands.

"Oh, no, you don't," Abigail snaps through her teeth. "Dewgong, use Ice Beam on that stupid balloon's mouth!"

Dewgong fires an Ice Beam from its mouth, and it hits Wigglytuff's mouth before it could open it. The poor Pokemon tries to get the ice off its mouth, but its little arms can't reach it.

"Oh no, Wigglytuff!" Holly cried out.

"That's better," Abigail says. "Now, use Aqua Jet!"

Dewgong surrounds itself with water and shoots at self toward Wigglytuff like a rocket. Holly grinds her teeth angrily at her opponent before she makes the next call.

"Wigglytuff, use Defense Curl, followed by Pound!" She instructs.

Wigglytuff rolls into a ball again, and Dewgong rams into it with no effect. Before it could move away, Wigglytuff unrolls itself and slaps Dewgong multiple times with both hands.

"Dewgong, use Ice Beam again at full power!" Abigail shouts.

"Wigglytuff, use Defense Curl again!" Holly commands.

"No! Don't use Defense Curl!" Cilan shouts.

Before Holly can ask the green-haired connoisseur, Wigglytuff rolls into a ball, and Dewgong easily hits it with Ice Beam. The sea lion Pokemon's attack hits Wigglytuff and it covers its opponent in ice. Holi cries out desperately, "Use Pound or Headbutt or something!" But it is no use. Even if Wigglytuff wanted to do what its trainer is asking, it's still stuck as a ball inside the block of ice. The referee waits for a moment until he raises his red flag.

"Wigglytuff cannot continue the fight! Dewgong wins!" He declares.

This time, the crowd goes wild and starts chanting Abigail's name again. The pompous woman with the shiny black hair smiles proudly while Serena and Cilan and all of their friends on the stands frown sadly. Holly frowns as she robotically takes out Wigglytuff's Pokeball and puts it back in before taking out another.

"Let's go, Farfetch'd!" She calls out as she throws it toward the field.

Farfetch'd comes out of the Pokeball and flies in the air while holding its leek stalk. Abigail sneers before she turns to her Pokemon.

"Just use Ice Beam again," she commands plainly.

"Farfetch'd, dodge it!" Holly shouts seriously.

Dewgong fires another Ice Beam, but Farfetch'd just flies away from its line of fire. The sea lion Pokemon frowns and fires Ice Beam again only for Farfetch'd to easily dodge again. The two of them continue this process until Dewgong grows weak from constantly using its attack.

"Now, use Razor Leaf!" Holly shouts.

"What?!" Abigail shouts, shocked.

Farfetch'd swings its stalk at Dewgong from a distance, and razor-sharp leaves emerge from the stalk and hit its opponent. Dewgong lets out a painful howl, and Abigail grows waspish.

"That's not fair!" She barks. "Farfetch'd can't learn that attack."

"It can, and it has," Holly counters. "Now use Peck, followed by Fury Attack!"

Farfetch'd dives down in front of Dewgong and pecks it hard with its back. Before its opponent can react, Farfetch'd starts swatting Dewgong repeatedly with its stalk. Abigail's Pokemon stands there and takes all the hits until she gets an idea.

"Dewgong, use Ice Shard quick!" She shouts.

Dewgong takes one more hit from Farfetch'd before it opens its mouth, and several shards come out of its mouth. Farfetch'd begins deflecting the shards with its stalk, but some of them hit its wings, and it gets down on one knee massaging its injured wings.

"Now, use Aurora Beam!" Abigail orders.

Holly grows nervous and tries to think of something with Farfetch'd unable to fly away.

"Uh...uh...Farfetch'd, cut it down with Air Slash!" She shouts desperately.

Farfetch'd makes a stance with its stalk glowing white. Dewgong fires its multicolored beam, and Farfetch'd slashes at it just as it's about to hit it. The attack splits apart and destroys two giant boulders behind Farfetch'd. Holly lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding and laughs in relief.

"Alright, Razor Leaf, pronto!" She chortles.

Farfetch'd swings its stalk again, and two leaves hit Dewgong again. The sea lion Pokemon struggles to stay standing with serious scratches on its body.

"Alright, let's finish it, Razor Leaf, one more time!" Holly shouts.

Abigail grinds her teeth and screams, "Dodge that irritating attack with Aqua Jet!"

Dewgong shoots itself like a rocket again with its body surrounded in water and dodges the sharp leaves thrown by Farfetch'd before ramming into the wild duck Pokemon into a boulder. Farfetch'd falls to the ground and struggles to get up, using its stalk like a cane.

"Now use Ice Beam again!" Abigail commands.

Dewgong takes a deep breath and fires another powerful ice being. Before Holly can say a word, Farfetch'd is hit and is pinned to the boulder in a block of ice. The referee checks on Farfetch'd before he raises his red flag.

"Farfetch'd is unable to continue! Dewgong wins!" He announces.

The majority of the crowd roars in applause once again, with the only exception of all of Holly's friends. She sadly returns her wild duck Pokemon back into its Pokeball and thinks carefully about who to send next. She racks her brain thinking about what Pokemon to choose out of the four she has left. Cilan and Serena hesitate with what advice to give her since Farfetch'd was the only one strong against Dewgong with Razor Leaf, and they can only assume what Abigail's third and final Pokemon will be even if Holly takes down Dewgong with her last Pokemon. Holly keeps thinking hard for a moment before she grumbles and takes out a Pokeball.

"Toxicroak, let's do this!" She shouts, throwing the Pokeball.

Toxicroak comes out of the ball and stares at Dewgong with an angry glare, and Dewgong stares back menacingly. Cilan and Serena frown, uneasy with Holly's decision.

"Holly, do you even have a plan with how to finish off Dewgong?" Cilan questions.

"Mostly," Holly answers. "Dewgong is weak against fighting attacks, so between getting hit by Razor Leaf twice and Toxicroak's Brick Break attack, I should be able to take it down."

"Yeah, but you don't know what Pokemon Abigail will choose if you do defeat Dewgong," Serena says worriedly. "For all you know, she'll pick Nidoqueen, which is resistant to all of Toxicroak's moves."

"I'm aware of that. And if she does, I'll just trust my Pokemon and give it everything I've got," Holly says. "Besides, Nidoqueen is not resistant to all of Toxicroak's attacks."

Cilan and Serena looks at each other unconvinced while Abigail grins mischievously.

"Let's finish this," she says proudly. "Use Ice Shard, Dewgong!"

"Toxicroak, use one of the boulders to take cover!" Holly instructs.

Toxicroak jumps out of the way of Dewgong's line of fire and hides behind a boulder as ice shards pass by it.

"Ha!" That's a sloppy move!" Holly rebukes. "Dewgong, use Aqua Jet to take Toxicroak out of its hiding place!"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Holly mutters before she shouts," Toxicroak, climb up!"

Toxicroak climbs to the top of the boulder just before Dewgong uses Aqua Jet to project itself and circle around the boulder in an attempt to flank its opponent. Dewgong stops using its move and looks around curiously until Holly makes her next move.

"Now, use Brick Break multiple times!" She commands.

"Dewgong, get out of there!" Abigail screams.

Dewgong is confused with its trainer's command, while Toxicroak jumps from the top of the boulder and lands behind Dewgong. Before the sea lion Pokemon knows it, Toxicroak's hands glow white, and it karate chops Dewgong three times before it karate chops its side, sending it crashing into another boulder. Toxicroak grins as it watches its opponent fall down motionless.

"Dewgong is unable to battle! Toxicroak wins!" The referee shouts.

Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Cilan, Dawn, Piplup, Clemont, Bonnie, Misty, Max, and May all cheer for their friend while the majority of the audience stays silent and glares daggers at Holly. But once again, Brock is cheering the loudest, chanting her name and clapping loudly while Lucy and her sisters clap modestly. Holly tries to resist the urge to smile from Brock cheering proudly for her, but deep down, she feels like she misses hearing him do that even though he did it before with defeating Dodrio and after winning her first match. She shakes off the feeling and brings back her determined face while Abigail growls in irritation again as she returns Dewgong to its Pokeball and takes out another one with an evil grin.

"Alright, I'll admit that that was a little clever," she says. "But there's no way you can avoid losing to me with that toad. Nidoqueen, let's get them!"

Holly frowns seriously as her opponent, as Abigail throws her Pokeball and Nidoqueen, appears. All of Holly's friends both behind her and on the stands become uneasy with Serena, Brock, and Ash the most worried.

"Just as I was afraid of," Serena groans.

"This is a real predicament," Cilan agrees.

Holly takes a huge breath to calm her nerves and turns to her Pokemon.

"Toxicroak!" She calls out. "I know we didn't do so well last time with her Nidoqueen, but we've learned a lot since then. So I need you to trust me, and we might win this match!"

"Crock," Toxicroak bellows bluntly.

Abigail sneers again and says, "Well, aren't we foolishly optimistic? Nidoqueen, use Scratch!

"Dodge and use Poison Jab!" Holly shouts.

Nidoqueen charges at Toxicroak with its claws glowing white, but Toxicroak doges and jabs Nidoqueen on the side with its poison attack. Abigail laughs out loud and holds on to her gut before looking at Holly.

"Have you learned nothing from our last battle?" She asks, wiping tears from her eyes. "Nidoqueen is resistant to poison attacks."

"But it can still take some damage," Holly points out.

Abigail scoffs in amusement and says, "Yeah, sure. Nidoqueen, use Earthquake!"

Holly becomes nervous and tries to think of a way to avoid the attack until she sees the boulders and gets an idea.

"That's it," she says. "Toxicroak, climb on top of a boulder quick!"

Toxicroak runs to the nearest boulder and climbs up before Nidoqueen stomps on its feet. The ground shakes violently, but the move does not affect Toxicroak while it's standing on its boulder.

"Oh, come on!" Abigail barks. "Nidoqueen, use Supersonic!"

"Use the boulders for cover again and use Poison Jab once more!" Holly instructs.

Toxicroak jumps off from its boulder and hides behind another one before Nidoqueen releases blue circles from its mouth, the circles hit the boulder, but Toxicroak is unaffected by the normal-type attack. Before Abigail can make another command, Toxicroak runs to flank Nidoqueen, using the boulders as cover. Once again, the toxic mouth Pokemon jabs Nidoqueen's side and moves away while its opponent frowns, slightly hurt from the attack.

"Oh, come on, Poison Jab again?" Abigail rebukes. "At least try to use more than one attack you. Nidoqueen, use Scratch!"

Before Holly can react, Nidoqueen takes advantage that Toxicroak is close to it and scratches her Pokemon.

"Oh yeah? Toxicroak, use Revenge!" She shouts.

Toxicroak quickly recovers from its scratch, and an orange aura appears on the stinger on the back or its right hand. It slashes at Nidoqueen angrily, and the drill Pokemon takes a couple steps back, distracted from the attack.

"Now, let's hurt it bad with Mud Shot!" Holly commands.

Toxicroak takes a deep breath and belches out a large ball of mud. The ball hits Nidoqueen hard, and it squeals in pain as serious scratches appear on its body.

"What in the world just happened?" Abigail says in disbelief.

"I'll tell you what happened," Holly announces. "Toxicroak hit Nidoqueen bad with a ground attack! You see, Nidoqueen may be resistant to poison attacks, but it's also weak to ground attacks because it's a poison type. I just waited for the right moment to take you off guard before I -"

"Supersonic now!" Abigail screams.

Holly's eyes widen, and before she could react, Nidoqueen fires rings from its mouth, and they hit Toxicroak. Holly's heart sinks as Toxicroak wobbles in a daze.

"Toxicroak is confused," Cilan says.

"Oh, no!" Serena says worriedly.

Abigail grins and says, "I know Nidoqueen is weak to ground attacks. I just waited until your guard was down, so it won't miss its next move."

Holly is horrified by the extent of what she has done. Abigail smiles evilly before turning to Nidoqueen.

"Let's make this defeat as slow as possible," she says. "Hit it with Scratch!"

"Toxicroak, snap out of it!" Holly cries out. "You got to dodge that attack!"

But Toxicroak is still in a daze while Nidoqueen scratches it aggressively. The drill Pokemon scratches again and again while Holly keeps calling out to it.

"Toxicroak, please!" She pleads. "You need to dodge. We're so close!"

"Holly!" Brock cries out from the stands. "You need to trust your Pokemon! I know you have a close bond with Toxicroak, so just keep calling out to it and believe that it will snap out of it!"

Holly turns to Brock, who is looking at her seriously. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and puts her hand on her necklace, using her memory of the times she had with her Pokemon ever since it was a Croagunk. Then her eyes snap open, and she turns to Toxicroak.

"Toxicroak!" She shouts. "You need to snap out of your confusion right now! I know you can do it! We can still win this no matter what Abigail says! So snap out of it and fight!"

Abigail lights out a cruel, high-pitched laugh.

"My, you certainly are a silly woman," she mocks. "No Pokemon can snap out of Nidoqueen's Supersonic. You are wasting your time with your boyfriend's worthless cheering."

Holly grows angrily and scowls at the woman with the shiny brown hair.

"Brock is not worthless!" She screams. "Sure, he can be goofy, and sometimes his weakness for women gets the better of him, but his intentions are good. He just wants to love and be loved in return, whether it's his friends or me. No matter what his problems are, the best of him is more valuable than what you could ever gain with hundreds or even tens of thousands of men fawning if not drooling over you just because of your outer beauty!"

Serena and Cilan are taking it back by how Holly is defending Brock so sporadically. Abigail, on the other hand, just scoffs in disinterest with a wave of her hand.

"Whatever, your Pokemon is still helpless," she says. "Nidoqueen, let's finish this with Earthquake!"

Nidoqueen raises its foot to use Earthquake while Holly tries to reach out to her Pokemon again.

"Toxicroak, you can do it!" She calls out.

"Oh, no, it can't," Abigail claims. "Nidoqueen, use Earthquake, and get it right this time!"

Holly grows worried and grabs her necklace again before she screams at the top of her lungs.

"TOXICROAK, DODGE NOW!!!"

Toxicroak keeps wobbling for a moment before it blinks and shakes its head. It comes to just in time to see Nidoqueen get ready to use Earthquake again, and it quickly jumps into a boulder and climbs on top of it. Nidoqueen stomps on the ground, and the ground shakes, but Toxicroak is once again too high above to get hit.

"Augh, knock it off with using the boulders to dodge my attacks!" Abigail screams. "And how in the world did your Pokemon stops being confused?!"

"Because I've developed a bond with my Toxicroak that can reach out to it even when it's confused," Holly answers. "Now, Toxicroak, use Brick Break!"

Toxicroak once again hops from boulder to boulder before it pounces on Nidoqueen, and karate chops it on the head. It takes a couple steps back to keep at a distance before Nidoqueen shakes its head, hardly affected, and glares daggers at its opponent.

"Pathetic," Abigail mocks. "Nidoqueen, use Body Slam!"

"Dodge it and use Mud Shot!" Holly commands.

Nidoqueen jumps toward Toxicroak, but the toxic mouth Pokemon just steps away, and Nidoqueen slams into the ground with a thud. With its opponent lying on its stomach, Toxicroak uses Mud Shot, and the ball of mud comes out of its mouth and hits Nidoqueen. The drill Pokemon squeals in agony and quickly gets up with more scratches on its body.

"I've had enough of this!" Abigail yells. "Use Earthquake again!"

"Toxicroak, finish this with Mud Shot one more time, on the double!" Holly yells.

Nidoqueen raises its foot again, but before it can stomp on the ground, a ball of mud flies toward it and hits it in the face. Abigail watches in disbelief as her Pokemon let out one last cry of pain before it falls to the ground with swirly eyes.

"Nidoqueen is out of the match!" The referee declares. "Toxicroak wins, and so the victory goes to Holly!"

"Yes!" Holly screams happily.

"Alright!" Serena shouts.

"Well done!" Cilan praises.

Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Dawn, Piplup, Iris, Clemont, Bonnie, May, Max, and Brock cheer loudly, and Lucy and her sisters smile and politely applaud. Other audience members who aren't on either side cheer as well, but the majority of them who were supporting Abigail boo and hiss loudly. Holly grins and mockingly takes several bows in front of Abigail's fans as if she's a prima donna who just finished a spectacular performance in an opera. Abigail lets out an ear-piercing scream before returning Nidoqueen to its Pokeball and stomps out of the field like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

When Holly is finished mockingly bowing to the audience, she walks out of the field with Serena and Cilan walking behind her. As she walks down the hall, however, she thinks about how she acted when Abigail insulted Brock, and thus, her mind goes back to what to do with his desperate plea.

********************************************************************

Within seconds after Holly, Serena, and Cilan exit the building, the entire gang runs over to meet them. Dawn and Bonnie joyfully praise Holly for her victory while everyone else just congratulates her. She smiles warmly, thanking each and every one of them. But while everyone is talking, Brock and Lucy walk over to them with Lucy still holding her flower and her sisters walking far behind. The talking dies down almost instantly, and awkward silence fills the air. Misty, May, and Dawn do not hesitate to glare daggers at the tan-skinned man, but Holly clears her throat and speaks calmly.

"Everyone, I'd like another moment with Brock and Lucy," she announces.

Everyone in the group turns to her, and Ash asks, "You sure, Holly?"

"I am," she states. "I think I know what I need to do."

Everyone hesitates before they silently respect her wishes. They head in the direction of the Pokemon Center, but Serena stops walking for a moment and turns to Holly and give her back her flower

"I hope you know what you're doing whatever it is," she says.

Holly smiles at her appreciatively and says, 'I'm pretty sure I do. I'll see you later."

The honey blonde girl hesitates before she nods and catches up with the rest of the group. Once Holly, Lucy, and Brock are alone, silence fills the air for a few seconds before Brock clears his throat.

"So...what do you want to say?" He asks with a hint of hope in his voice.

Holly grimaces sadly and takes a deep breath through her nose before she speaks her mind.

"Brock, I won't sugar coat it. I am devastated that you promised to be with another woman," she says calmly.

Brock winces and hangs his head in shame. Lucy frowns, feeling equally betrayed by what the man she likes has done.

"That being said, I know when we were traveling, you were true to your word by never fawning over another woman since Neon City," Holly continues. "And in that time, you have done all you could to make me happy, whether it was helping me grow as a trainer or when you gave me my necklace. I also believe you when you said you want to do everything you can to make it up to this woman standing beside you and me."

Brock smiles slightly, feeling a little hopefully before Holly speaks again.

"After considering what you have asked and seeing how you cheered me on with my battle, I have decided to take you up on your plea to make up for what you did to me," Holly says before she speaks sharply. "But that in no way means you are forgiven. You will need to give it your all and then some to even have a chance. Understand as well that there is a good possibility that you might lose us both then and there, and you will have no one to blame but yourself."

"I understand," Brock says seriously. "Thank you, Holly."

Holly nods with a wooden face before turning to Lucy.

"So, how do you suggest we do this?" She asks.

Lucy thinks about it for a minute before she gets an idea.

"I say we take turns with him making things up to us," she says. "Perhaps we take turns eating meals together or spending time when we're not watching our friends battle at the tournament. Brock may cheer you on to whatever end, but he must spend time with me afterward, depending on how long your battles are. Do you agree?"

"That sounds acceptable," Holly says. "In fact, I'll even add that during each turn, we will not discuss his mistake. This is about him devoting time to each of us regardless of how we feel."

"Agreed," Lucy says before turning to Brock. "What say you, Brock? These are our terms. Take them or leave them."

"I will take them without a doubt," Brock says without hesitation. "Whatever you ask of me, I will do it no matter how difficult it might be. I swear to both of you."

"Good," Holly says plainly. "Now, I know you were beside him during my match, but since it's one of our rules, you may spend time with him first for as long as I have battled Abigail."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asks, confused.

"I am," Holly says. "My Pokemon need healing anyway."

Lucy nods in understanding and turns to Brock she offers him is arm and Brock is quick to wrap his arm around it. Thus, the two of them walk away to think of something to do with the time they are given while Holly heads back to the Pokemon Center.

But as she walks, she can't help but turn around and watch Lucy and Brock at a distance. Her heart grows heavy as she hears Lucy ordering Brock to take her sightseeing at once. Her mouth quivers and her mind instantly goes to the time she went sightseeing together with Brock, and she begins to regret giving Lucy permission to have anything to do with him, let alone time. She puts her hand on her necklace and runs her fingers through it gently before she walks to the Pokemon Center again and feels a tear coming out of her eye.