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Description
Carpo exited his apartment building. The wind was more merciful today, but the heat was still causing him to break into a sweat. Castelia was never this humid, and as he walked towards the Challenger Island shopping centre he wondered what life would be like if they just allowed cars on the smaller thoroughfares. Upon entering the centre he proceeded straight to the bookstore. He was hoping to find a tell-all memoir by a former Team Rocket member, and he wanted it for his collection, in order to study and glean information he could use in the future.

The book was hidden well. Carpo searched all the shelves in the non-fiction section but could not find a single copy. It was then that he noticed a woman reaching well above her height, for a book perched in one of the top shelves.

"The book!" Carpo realised as he recognised the title written on the spine. He had to get that book! He made for her direction, but as he approached she lost balance and began to fall.

"Yai!" she said as her body tilted backwards, though she had grabbed hold of the book.

He dove in, and though his timing was perfect, his direction was not, and she landed on him instead. He felt a sharp pain on his back, but nothing that signified an injury.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry!" she said, quickly standing up to alleviate Carpo. "I'm terribly sorry, I was trying to get this book," she added, as her gaze moved to the book. Carpo patted his back and stood up, smug smile in. "That's okay," he said, "at least you're alright. Actually, I'm after that book as well."

His hand made for the book but she quickly swatted it off. "I got the book first," she replied, "and I think it's very un-gentlemanly for you to grab it from a lady."

This struck a nerve with Carpo. Un-gentlemanly? Where does she come from telling me that, he thought to himself. He managed to maintain his composure, and as usual tried to work his charms.

"I'm awfully sorry, I don't know what became of me there," he said, appearing every bit the lady-killer. "Look, that seems to be the only copy in the bookstore, and I would really like that book, so how about we battle for it instead? Fair's fair in battle, isn't it?"

She looked at him oddly. Then, with a sudden surge of recognition she pointed at him. "Hey, you're the trainer who arrived via that huge aircraft! The one Admin Kamata let in without so much as an application!"

Carpo kept the smile up, but that was a surprise. News travels fast on Challenger Island.

"Oh dear, yes, that's the case..." Carpo said, maintaining his smile. "So how about it? I'm a new trainer here and I don't quite know the places yet, but battles are something I know a bit about... Say, what's your name, anyway?"

"It's Charpie," she answered. "And if you want a battle for this book, you've got one. Double battle, outside, when you're ready."

---

A crowd was gathering. Many were already with Charpie's career on the island; a few wondered who the stranger was preparing to battle her.

"Don't hold back on me," Carpo yelled to Charpie. Charpie chuckled to herself. "Who do you think you're battling," she muttered.

Carpo's expression shifted. His eyebrows furrowed, but his smile didn't disappear. "Let's do this," he said as he dropped a ball from each hand. "Coated, Bloated, come on out!"

The balls opened suddenly, and the smirking Cincinno and massive Walrein made their appearance.

"Nice naming theme," Charpie said sarcastically as she threw both her Poke Balls towards the centre of the battlefield. "Verde, Gloria, go!"

At this command their Poke Balls opened and out came a Roselia and Ninetails. Gloria snarled at Carpo's team, but at this Coated yawned and Bloated failed to even acknowledge it.

Carpo folded his arms as Charpie pointed and yelled a command.

"Gloria, Fire Blast!", Charpie commanded. Gloria reared up and a massive flame character surged towards the defending team. Verde rushed to the side while Carpo yelled a response.

"Bloated, block it!", Carpo ordered, and with that Bloated suddenly rushed forward and took the full brunt of the move.

"Look, I don't know what you're planning," Charpie began, "but you're going to have to do more than rushing your Pokemon headlong-"

The sun was instantly gone, replaced in its entirety with storm clouds. Charpie immediately recognised this as Rain Dance, but on searching the field for the cause, she realised it wasn't Bloated, but Coated who had done the move. Bloated's rush was merely a distraction, and despite taking the full force of the hit, it wasn't any the worse for wear.

"Wh-what kind of Walrein is that?" Charpie exclaimed in confusion. Being a water-type meant fire-resistance, sure, but with Gloria's strength concentrated in a move like Fire Blast even resilient water-types would feel the force. "Verde, Leech Seed!" Charpie shouted, and a flurry of small seeds shot at Bloated.

"Ehe - I forgot that Roselia was on the field," Carpo said, admitting his error.

Bloated howled at Verde, and as he did so the field began to drop in temperature. Shortly after a whooshing and terrible storm of snow surrounded all the Pokemon, and the crowd began to retreat to somewhere safe. Gloria gritted her teeth at the duo in front of her.

"Gloria, Flamethrower! They're up to something!" Charpie yelled to her Ninetails. It obeyed immediately, spewing fire at Bloated. Again, it took the brunt of the attack. Charpie realised Carpo was deliberately using Bloated as a defensive wall to protect the more vulnerable Coated. "Change targets!" she yelled. At once the roaring pillar of flame twisted, and bore down on the Cinccino. As the smoke and dust cleared, a clear sheen could be discerned. Protect, Charpie muttered. On the other end of the field, Carpo remained calm. This was just the first salvo.

Bloated suddenly moved into action, slightly hurt but not greatly weakened. Gloria attempted to dodge it, but was caught off guard by how quickly Bloated turned.

"He can't be!" Charpie said in disbelief. "He can't be a high-speed Walrein!"

"He is," Carpo responded as a massive spout of water slammed into Gloria from below. At this, Verde's petals started glowing as they separated from each other and went straight for Bloated. Bloated finally collapsed, but not before completely incapacitating Gloria in the process.

Carpo smirked just a bit more than usual. Bloated was down, sure, but he had also taken down Charpie's offensive striker. 1-1 was hardly his favourite position after a round of battling, but he had to draw out a victory somehow.

Charpie withdrew Gloria. "You're not bad for a beginner trainer," she yelled back, "you clearly have been training your Pokemon a bit! Maybell, go!"

As the Chimecho emerged from its Poke Ball and struck a pose with its team-mate, Carpo smiled a bit more. "I have been training, lady, but I am no beginner trainer!"

The clouds rapidly cleared and the full effulgence of the sun was again on display. Charpie recognised the move and realised that Coated was once again in the background, acting in a full support role.

Carpo reached behind him, and his hand emerged holding a Poké Ball. He dropped it and it clicked open on contact with the ground, revealing the massive Golurk contained within. "Stony, go," he said.

Charpie stared quizzically. "Is that another bruiser?" she asked.

Carpo's smiled grew almost too wide for his lips to contain. The Golurk sped off into the sky, the updraft catching Verda and Maybell by surprise. Just then, the spot in the sky from which Stony disappeared coalesced into dark clouds, and without warning a bolt of charged electricity sped down, hitting Verde square centre.

"Verde!" Charpie yelled at her Pokémon as the faint flickers of the bolt dissipated into the atmosphere. When the dust had cleared, Verde was still standing, albeit just barely. Carpo winced. That Roselia wasn't meant to withstand that hit.

"Okay!" Charpie continued, as Maybell got into position, "take that Cinccino down!"

The Chimecho held back and a beam of purple warped energy shot at Coated. Coated took the hit and tumbled from the impact. Verde rushed in to finish Coated but as it got to within striking range a blur sped down from the rapidly clearing cloud cover and hit the ground at terminal velocity, leaving a crater and a fully unconscious Roselia within. Its teammate the Chimecho looked in disbelief as the Golurk moved back to a standing position and faced its foe, eyes glowing.

Charpie held her arm out with a Poké Ball to return Verde to safety, and held out yet another ball. "Here we go. Go, Louie!"

Again, the Chimecho launched a beam of energy at Coated but Stony stepped in, absorbing the full brunt of the hit. As Charpie's Feraligatr Louie came out of its Poké Ball charging towards Stony, Coated climbed atop her teammate and chanted.

The Feraligatr slammed against the Golurk so strongly that a cloud of smoke billowed out of the impact zone. Charpie looked in amazement as the smoke cleared and both Golurk and Cincinno stood unaffected. The faint white glow of Protect once more dissipated, and as it phased out a large bright beam of solid energy launched forward from Stony's chest and struck Louie point blank.

"Solar Beam", Charpie remarked, "but how-"

It was then that the significance of Cincinno's earlier move made sense. Sunny Day had been into place to prepare for Stony's arrival. For that the Cinccino fell down, exhausted and fainted. Carpo held out Coated's Poké Ball, smiling, as she returned and he prepared his final Pokémon for battle. Again, he nonchalantly dropped the fourth ball from which emerged a Haxorus, snarling and roaring.

Louie was no longer in shape to battle either. Somehow the damage from Solar Beam was stronger, much stronger than was anticipated, and he had been knocked out almost as quickly as he came in. Charpie returned him to his Poké Ball and drew breath. Exhaling, she looked at Carpo's fourth Pokémon, then ordered Maybell to attack. The Chimecho attacked with a full blast beam and the Golurk took the hit once more, being forced to one knee as it felt the desperate strength firing forward at it.

Carpo closed his eyes, maintaining his smile. "Thank you for a wonderful match, Charpie," he said calmly as the Haxorus charged forward, striking Chimecho down conclusively with a strong x-shaped motion. As the motion ended he withdrew Stony, and proceeded to recall his Haxorus once smoke had cleared and Charpie had returned Maybell back to her Poké Ball.

Charpie sighed. "Well, that settles it. The book's yours."

She reached over to hand him the book but he shook his head. "I think I can wait for a new copy to arrive at the bookstore."

"Then why did we battle?" she protested.

"I changed my mind mid-way," he answered, the smile staying there the whole time. "You look like the type who can glean great information from that book - perhaps I should just talk the book over with you - over lunch sometime, maybe? My treat."

"Well, if you're offering... but just a one-off, and I'll let you know when."

They took the time to exchange numbers, then bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Some time later, Carpo's phone rang.

"Hello," he answered with his casual phone voice.

Kamata's voice came calmly through the other line. "How's life on the island, Carpo?"

"It's going well; I think I'm going to enjoy the calibre of trainers you have here."

"You met a few?"

"You have cute bookish types."

There was an awkward pause, and then the sound of the line going dead. Carpo smiled, smugly, wondering if he'd actually end up taking Charpie out to lunch.

Description
Carpo exited his apartment building. The wind was more merciful today, but the heat was still causing him to break into a sweat. Castelia was never this humid, and as he walked towards the Challenger Island shopping centre he wondered what life would be like if they just allowed cars on the smaller thoroughfares. Upon entering the centre he proceeded straight to the bookstore. He was hoping to find a tell-all memoir by a former Team Rocket member, and he wanted it for his collection, in order to study and glean information he could use in the future.

The book was hidden well. Carpo searched all the shelves in the non-fiction section but could not find a single copy. It was then that he noticed a woman reaching well above her height, for a book perched in one of the top shelves.

"The book!" Carpo realised as he recognised the title written on the spine. He had to get that book! He made for her direction, but as he approached she lost balance and began to fall.

"Yai!" she said as her body tilted backwards, though she had grabbed hold of the book.

He dove in, and though his timing was perfect, his direction was not, and she landed on him instead. He felt a sharp pain on his back, but nothing that signified an injury.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry!" she said, quickly standing up to alleviate Carpo. "I'm terribly sorry, I was trying to get this book," she added, as her gaze moved to the book. Carpo patted his back and stood up, smug smile in. "That's okay," he said, "at least you're alright. Actually, I'm after that book as well."

His hand made for the book but she quickly swatted it off. "I got the book first," she replied, "and I think it's very un-gentlemanly for you to grab it from a lady."

This struck a nerve with Carpo. Un-gentlemanly? Where does she come from telling me that, he thought to himself. He managed to maintain his composure, and as usual tried to work his charms.

"I'm awfully sorry, I don't know what became of me there," he said, appearing every bit the lady-killer. "Look, that seems to be the only copy in the bookstore, and I would really like that book, so how about we battle for it instead? Fair's fair in battle, isn't it?"

She looked at him oddly. Then, with a sudden surge of recognition she pointed at him. "Hey, you're the trainer who arrived via that huge aircraft! The one Admin Kamata let in without so much as an application!"

Carpo kept the smile up, but that was a surprise. News travels fast on Challenger Island.

"Oh dear, yes, that's the case..." Carpo said, maintaining his smile. "So how about it? I'm a new trainer here and I don't quite know the places yet, but battles are something I know a bit about... Say, what's your name, anyway?"

"It's Charpie," she answered. "And if you want a battle for this book, you've got one. Double battle, outside, when you're ready."

---

A crowd was gathering. Many were already with Charpie's career on the island; a few wondered who the stranger was preparing to battle her.

"Don't hold back on me," Carpo yelled to Charpie. Charpie chuckled to herself. "Who do you think you're battling," she muttered.

Carpo's expression shifted. His eyebrows furrowed, but his smile didn't disappear. "Let's do this," he said as he dropped a ball from each hand. "Coated, Bloated, come on out!"

The balls opened suddenly, and the smirking Cincinno and massive Walrein made their appearance.

"Nice naming theme," Charpie said sarcastically as she threw both her Poke Balls towards the centre of the battlefield. "Verde, Gloria, go!"

At this command their Poke Balls opened and out came a Roselia and Ninetails. Gloria snarled at Carpo's team, but at this Coated yawned and Bloated failed to even acknowledge it.

Carpo folded his arms as Charpie pointed and yelled a command.

"Gloria, Fire Blast!", Charpie commanded. Gloria reared up and a massive flame character surged towards the defending team. Verde rushed to the side while Carpo yelled a response.

"Bloated, block it!", Carpo ordered, and with that Bloated suddenly rushed forward and took the full brunt of the move.

"Look, I don't know what you're planning," Charpie began, "but you're going to have to do more than rushing your Pokemon headlong-"

The sun was instantly gone, replaced in its entirety with storm clouds. Charpie immediately recognised this as Rain Dance, but on searching the field for the cause, she realised it wasn't Bloated, but Coated who had done the move. Bloated's rush was merely a distraction, and despite taking the full force of the hit, it wasn't any the worse for wear.

"Wh-what kind of Walrein is that?" Charpie exclaimed in confusion. Being a water-type meant fire-resistance, sure, but with Gloria's strength concentrated in a move like Fire Blast even resilient water-types would feel the force. "Verde, Leech Seed!" Charpie shouted, and a flurry of small seeds shot at Bloated.

"Ehe - I forgot that Roselia was on the field," Carpo said, admitting his error.

Bloated howled at Verde, and as he did so the field began to drop in temperature. Shortly after a whooshing and terrible storm of snow surrounded all the Pokemon, and the crowd began to retreat to somewhere safe. Gloria gritted her teeth at the duo in front of her.

"Gloria, Flamethrower! They're up to something!" Charpie yelled to her Ninetails. It obeyed immediately, spewing fire at Bloated. Again, it took the brunt of the attack. Charpie realised Carpo was deliberately using Bloated as a defensive wall to protect the more vulnerable Coated. "Change targets!" she yelled. At once the roaring pillar of flame twisted, and bore down on the Cinccino. As the smoke and dust cleared, a clear sheen could be discerned. Protect, Charpie muttered. On the other end of the field, Carpo remained calm. This was just the first salvo.

Bloated suddenly moved into action, slightly hurt but not greatly weakened. Gloria attempted to dodge it, but was caught off guard by how quickly Bloated turned.

"He can't be!" Charpie said in disbelief. "He can't be a high-speed Walrein!"

"He is," Carpo responded as a massive spout of water slammed into Gloria from below. At this, Verde's petals started glowing as they separated from each other and went straight for Bloated. Bloated finally collapsed, but not before completely incapacitating Gloria in the process.

Carpo smirked just a bit more than usual. Bloated was down, sure, but he had also taken down Charpie's offensive striker. 1-1 was hardly his favourite position after a round of battling, but he had to draw out a victory somehow.

Charpie withdrew Gloria. "You're not bad for a beginner trainer," she yelled back, "you clearly have been training your Pokemon a bit! Maybell, go!"

As the Chimecho emerged from its Poke Ball and struck a pose with its team-mate, Carpo smiled a bit more. "I have been training, lady, but I am no beginner trainer!"

The clouds rapidly cleared and the full effulgence of the sun was again on display. Charpie recognised the move and realised that Coated was once again in the background, acting in a full support role.

Carpo reached behind him, and his hand emerged holding a Poké Ball. He dropped it and it clicked open on contact with the ground, revealing the massive Golurk contained within. "Stony, go," he said.

Charpie stared quizzically. "Is that another bruiser?" she asked.

Carpo's smiled grew almost too wide for his lips to contain. The Golurk sped off into the sky, the updraft catching Verda and Maybell by surprise. Just then, the spot in the sky from which Stony disappeared coalesced into dark clouds, and without warning a bolt of charged electricity sped down, hitting Verde square centre.

"Verde!" Charpie yelled at her Pokémon as the faint flickers of the bolt dissipated into the atmosphere. When the dust had cleared, Verde was still standing, albeit just barely. Carpo winced. That Roselia wasn't meant to withstand that hit.

"Okay!" Charpie continued, as Maybell got into position, "take that Cinccino down!"

The Chimecho held back and a beam of purple warped energy shot at Coated. Coated took the hit and tumbled from the impact. Verde rushed in to finish Coated but as it got to within striking range a blur sped down from the rapidly clearing cloud cover and hit the ground at terminal velocity, leaving a crater and a fully unconscious Roselia within. Its teammate the Chimecho looked in disbelief as the Golurk moved back to a standing position and faced its foe, eyes glowing.

Charpie held her arm out with a Poké Ball to return Verde to safety, and held out yet another ball. "Here we go. Go, Louie!"

Again, the Chimecho launched a beam of energy at Coated but Stony stepped in, absorbing the full brunt of the hit. As Charpie's Feraligatr Louie came out of its Poké Ball charging towards Stony, Coated climbed atop her teammate and chanted.

The Feraligatr slammed against the Golurk so strongly that a cloud of smoke billowed out of the impact zone. Charpie looked in amazement as the smoke cleared and both Golurk and Cincinno stood unaffected. The faint white glow of Protect once more dissipated, and as it phased out a large bright beam of solid energy launched forward from Stony's chest and struck Louie point blank.

"Solar Beam", Charpie remarked, "but how-"

It was then that the significance of Cincinno's earlier move made sense. Sunny Day had been into place to prepare for Stony's arrival. For that the Cinccino fell down, exhausted and fainted. Carpo held out Coated's Poké Ball, smiling, as she returned and he prepared his final Pokémon for battle. Again, he nonchalantly dropped the fourth ball from which emerged a Haxorus, snarling and roaring.

Louie was no longer in shape to battle either. Somehow the damage from Solar Beam was stronger, much stronger than was anticipated, and he had been knocked out almost as quickly as he came in. Charpie returned him to his Poké Ball and drew breath. Exhaling, she looked at Carpo's fourth Pokémon, then ordered Maybell to attack. The Chimecho attacked with a full blast beam and the Golurk took the hit once more, being forced to one knee as it felt the desperate strength firing forward at it.

Carpo closed his eyes, maintaining his smile. "Thank you for a wonderful match, Charpie," he said calmly as the Haxorus charged forward, striking Chimecho down conclusively with a strong x-shaped motion. As the motion ended he withdrew Stony, and proceeded to recall his Haxorus once smoke had cleared and Charpie had returned Maybell back to her Poké Ball.

Charpie sighed. "Well, that settles it. The book's yours."

She reached over to hand him the book but he shook his head. "I think I can wait for a new copy to arrive at the bookstore."

"Then why did we battle?" she protested.

"I changed my mind mid-way," he answered, the smile staying there the whole time. "You look like the type who can glean great information from that book - perhaps I should just talk the book over with you - over lunch sometime, maybe? My treat."

"Well, if you're offering... but just a one-off, and I'll let you know when."

They took the time to exchange numbers, then bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Some time later, Carpo's phone rang.

"Hello," he answered with his casual phone voice.

Kamata's voice came calmly through the other line. "How's life on the island, Carpo?"

"It's going well; I think I'm going to enjoy the calibre of trainers you have here."

"You met a few?"

"You have cute bookish types."

There was an awkward pause, and then the sound of the line going dead. Carpo smiled, smugly, wondering if he'd actually end up taking Charpie out to lunch.