[Josh Devlin]

It only took Josh a few days of wandering Birch's outskirts to learn how harsh the wilderness of Arciel was. Wild Pokémon in particular seemed far more aggressive than in other regions, and some even ignored trained Pokémon, going straight for their human allies. It was a miracle he was able to make it back from Route 7 in one piece - Liz's companionship during that journey was a big factor in his survival.

It was a gloomy day on the outskirts of town; overcast and windy, but not too cold. At least it wasn't raining. He thought about his battles both to and from the woods that morning. Perhaps he had gotten so invested in racing that he had forgotten battle fundamentals. He didn't want to believe it at first, but losing almost all of his battles could not have been coincidence. If he couldn't take down wild Pokémon with little cunning, let alone a random passerby Trainer, there was no way he would be obtaining even a single one of Arciel's badges.

There was, however, a ray of hope for him in Birch City. Not far from the Lab was Birch's Training Grounds, a massive facility dedicated to helping trainers advance with their Pokémon in almost any way conceivable. One of its most prominent attractions specifically for trainers of all skill levels was the Battle Gauntlet: a perfect way to help new Trainers hone their skills while allowing the Professor's many Pokémon to get exercise without too much supervision. Its challenge was doing battle with randomly selected Pokémon one after another, with highly customizable rules that could reflect almost any kind of battle possible.

After signing up for a session there, he summoned his entire team from their Poké Balls, Nitro included. The six huddled around him, Twilight breaking a smile for the first time since arriving in Arciel. "First off, I want to say I'm so sorry for all of the miscues in our battles so far. I feel like I've disappointed you all." Twilight put on her usual stoic glare again, the rest of them whimpering and gently patting Josh with hoof, paw, and feeler. "Thanks for the support - all of you." He couldn't help but shed a tear, watering up for a minute or so before shaking his head and snapping out of it. "I found us a place to...derust, if you will, our battle skills. All I can say is...go get 'em!" The five sounded confident cries in unison, Twilight the only one to not join in their rally. He recalled them one at a time before taking his team out back.

Two Poké Balls lay in the center, their red caps glazed to mask their contents so Josh could not formulate a battle plan based on knowledge of his opponent. "Saber and Aslan, you'll be up first!" He hurled the two front-most Poké Balls from his belt toward the center of the facility. Once they had landed, the two opposing Pokémon emerged from the idle Balls. There was a large monitor in the back, confirming his battle options and displaying his progress:

Mode: [Endless]
Format: [Double]
Party Size: [6]
Substitutions: [No]
Recovery between stages: [No]
Replace enemy Pokémon: [Immediate]

A wild Sewaddle has appeared!

What will you do?

	Sewaddle Lv6
		5 Energy
	Average	Careful
	Chlorophyll
MOVES
Silver Wind; Tackle; String Shot
NOTES
N/A

A wild Combee has appeared!

What will you do?

	Combee Lv9
		5 Energy
	Small	Serious
	Honey Gather
MOVES
Bug Bite, Sweet Scent; Gust
NOTES
N/A

{WC: 527 (527 total; SETTINGS table not counted)}
{PC: 1}

[Josh Devlin]

"Ah, bug-types," Josh thought. "Popular among new trainers for a reason." He quickly turned a smirk when the battle timer started running. "Alright boys, let's fry 'em! Aslan, light the Sewaddle on fire with your Ember!" He shouted, pointing toward the Combee. "Saber, clip its wings with--"

Too late. The Combee was very quick, already in Saber's face as he was building static for his Electro Ball attack. He nearly dropped the attack completely as the insect landed on him face-first, all three larvae composing its foe taking turns biting into its big, green schnoz. Josh's injured Pokémon re-centered the sphere of electricity on top of himself, blasting the Combee a safe distance away and destabilizing its flight. Well, not entirely safe from something so fast, but enough for Saber to catch his breath. He needed it - the end of his snout was filled with insect bites.

Meanwhile, Aslan was running circles around the mostly-stationary Sewaddle, misdirecting String Shot all around him. The grass-type took a moment to inhale, the moderate wind growing to a strong one and in the Litleo's face. His foe glowed a faint silver color as the wind strengthened. That moment to inhale was all he needed. The moment the Sewaddle dropped its guard, Aslan lowered his head and rammed it with his heated mane. A victory chime played from the direction of the monitor as a large check mark appeared on top of the Sewaddle image there. Surrendering, it managed to travel about to the arena's north out-of-bounds line before passing out. A third Poké Ball was launched toward the arena's center, the ambient sound of metal-on-metal filling the battlefield as the gears of a Klink turned in front of Josh's two Pokémon.

A wild Klink has appeared!

What will you do?

	Klink Lv8
		5 Energy
	Large	Impish
	Minus
MOVES
Shock Wave; Vice Grip; Charge
NOTES
N/A

{WC: 290; 817 total}
{PC: 2}

Josh's party:
NAME              HP           SP
Saber               21/  63     20/ 30
Aslan               90/  90     18/ 22
Nitro               81/  81     18/ 18
Illumina            89/  89     21/ 21
Blitz              123/ 123     30/ 30
Twilight           170/ 170     44/ 44

[Josh Devlin]

Josh's smile grew as he saw the Klink - another Pokémon that would easily fall to his fire-type and electric-type speedsters. Saber was on the defensive, trying to prevent the Combee from landing on him again. "Aslan, help Saber! Roast that Combee!" Aslan's aim was true, but by the time the Ember shower landed, it was already too late. The heat from the fire attack agitated Saber's existing wounds, forcing Josh to take him out of the battle before anything untoward were to happen to him. A dummy buzzer-like tone sounded from the scoreboard, a red "X" covering the Electrike's image. The next Pokémon in the trainer's queue was Nitro the Skiddo. As soon as he emerged from Josh's Poké Ball, he looked excited to see his first battle...even if it was just practice. The steel-type's gears accelerated, sparks flying all around them.

With no way to predict what Pokémon would come out next, as well as having to establish the order of his Pokémon before battle began, it was often up to luck whether his Pokémon would win or not. Luck was clearly not on his side, the battered Combee diving down to feed on Nitro's leafy neck. Not agile enough to shift out of the way, the Skiddo bucked and kicked to try to shake the bug-type off. It was to no avail - Nitro sounded a desperate shriek as the three larvae crunched into its soft, leaf-like neck fur. He staggered back and forth for a moment, his legs shaking in a failed effort to mount a counterattack. His Skiddo felled in a single hit, Josh's heart pumped heavily and nervously as he replaced the grass-type with a Chinchou. Down two Pokémon, just like that. And this was just the first level. Maybe he really was so far out of practice that going after Badges would be a fool's errand?

"No," he thought. "There is no room for those kind of thoughts. These experiences are how you learn." Aslan covered for his battle partner a second time, the Combee forced to retreat to its Poké Ball from a second shower of Embers. Josh's fourth opponent revealed itself to be a Bonsly, the juvenile form of Sudowoodo and a Pokémon known to block highways in his homeland.

A wild Bonsly has appeared!

What will you do?

	Bonsly Lv7
		5 Energy
	Average	Relaxed
	Sturdy
MOVES
Stealth Rock; Fake Tears; Copycat; Flail
NOTES
N/A

{WC: 385; 1,202 total}
{PC: 3}

Josh's party:
NAME              HP           SP
Saber                0/  63     16/ 30
Aslan               90/  90     10/ 22
Nitro                0/  81     18/ 18
Illumina            89/  89     21/ 21
Blitz              123/ 123     30/ 30
Twilight           170/ 170     44/ 44

[Josh Devlin]

Josh saw the havoc Klink was capable of wreaking on his team - a highly accurate and devastating pulse of electricity that Aslan would likely not be able to withstand. "Illumina, Aslan, tag team the--" Josh shouted, his Litleo turning around and shaking his head. The fire-type lifted a paw and smiled. "You sure you got this?" With a nod, the eager fire-type turned around. "If you say so!" He turned toward the rock-type. "Illumina, pop that Bonsly with your Bubble attack!" The trainer didn't feel like he was fighting a true Doubles match - it felt more like two concurrent Singles matches.

Aslan let loose a cute roar before lowering his head and charging into the Steel-type with burning mane. After only a couple seconds of contact, the Klink's gears turned red from overheating and started spinning faster, the young cat letting out a yelp from a few of his burning hairs being caught in the gears and being forcefully pulled out. The rapidly-shifting gears generated enough electricity for the Klink to periodically fire back with a Shock Wave of its own. The two exchanged two more sets of blows, Aslan just barely coming out on top. His normally bright-red tuft was a smoldering brown, giving off enough smoke that, if it weren't a known Pokémon battle site, would probably have attracted the attention of the local fire department.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Bonsly had planted itself in the ground, multiplying the green rock spheres on top of its head before sharpening them and launching them toward Josh's side of the battlefield. Listening to Josh's command, Illumina blew highly unstable bubbles of water toward the scheming Bonsly, only one of them reaching the target. The Bonsly let out an obnoxiously loud cry that forced Josh to cover his ears. The Chinchou wasn't so fortunate, the scream driving both her and Asian into madness and confusion. Not wanting the young fire-type to be hurt any more than necessary, Josh recalled him and took him out of the battle, replacing him with Blitz. The Shinx looked just as eager as his fire-type counterpart. A mild klaxon sounded from the scoreboard, accompanied by large, flashing red text: "WARNING! AREA01 ENEMY APPROACHING!!" The final Pokémon of the battle rush floated upward from its Ball - a Lunatone.

Illumina immediately shielded her eyes against her new foe, shaking. Even Blitz looked a little intimidated. "Come on! You two can do it!" Josh encouraged. "And remember, you have Twilight as backup!" He paused for a couple of seconds. "Though I'm sure she's tired of having to save the day," he couldn't help but mumble.

A wild Lunatone has appeared!

What will you do?

	Lunatone Lv13
		5 Energy
	Average	Careful
	Levitate
MOVES
Power Gem; Hypnosis; Confusion; Rock Polish
NOTES
N/A

{WC: 442; 1,644 total}
{PC: 4}


Josh's party:
NAME              HP           SP
Saber                0/  63     16/ 30
Aslan               36/  90      0/ 22
Nitro                0/  81     18/ 18
Illumina            89/  89     18/ 21   CNF
Blitz              123/ 123     30/ 30
Twilight           170/ 170     44/ 44

[Josh Devlin]

Josh's Pokémon were sweating as the rock-type's eyes glowed, their foe levitating farther up. It turned directly toward Blitz, warping the very ground beneath which the feline stood and pinching him between the ground and the Lunatone's own psychic force. The wounded Pokémon let out a loud and angry purr directed toward its attacker. "You won't be able to harm the Lunatone, Blitz!" Josh shouted. "Just ignore it and focus on the Bonsly!" Reluctant to obey orders, the Shinx let out another angry growl before ramming down Bonsly. Tink! Its hard, green, rock-like pods were able to repel the tackle easily.

Illumina was swaying back and forth like a midnight drunk, blowing a Bubble attack far too large to control. The sphere of water shattered in her face instead, getting Blitz harmlessly wet as well. Bonsly continued to wail loudly at being covered with water from Illumina's last attack, the water finding gaps in its rocky body and freezing under the pressure. Josh's Chinchou was far too delirious to notice it in her current state, but when she came to her senses...the Trainer didn't want to think about it.

Sparks flying from Blitz's legs, the speedster ran another lap around Bonsly before suddenly swerving in for a second high-speed tackle. With remarkable awareness, the Lunatone warped the ground underneath him a second time with its Confusion, causing him to trip and go tumbling into the edge of his foe's sharp crescent. He stood up, on twitchy legs...then fell back down. With Illumina still delirious, Twilight would have to come to the rescue for Josh's entire team...again. After jumping out of her Poké Ball and into the makeshift arena, she shot her trainer a blank stare before directing her gaze at the Lunatone. Bonsly's floating, green shards of rock homed in on Twilight's location, leaving shallow but still painful scratches across all four of her upper legs.

The battle quickly spiraling out of control, it was now or never for the Absol. She pounced the Lunatone and sliced into it with enshadowed claws, the psychic-type no longer having the strength to levitate. Illumina, finally snapping out of her confusion, floated closer to the Bonsly and started shooting point-blank water bubbles at it.

Both of Josh's Pokémon raised their natural weapons up for the finishing blows, but each eas just a bit too slow. Twilight let out a screech unlike anything Josh had heard from her before. The Lunatone she was about to maul the core of protected itself by surrounding its core with a Power Gem, repelling the attack and sending its attacker flying far across the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Illumina was able to anticipate the Bonsly's desperate attempt to unpin itself the first time, but not the second; as the final barrage of bubbles popped in its face, the Bonsly started shaking violently in almost seizure-like Flailing, dislodging the Chinchou at very high speeds. Josh winced upon hearing the loud squish of his Pokémon impacting the battlefield's wall marking out-of-bounds. The Bonsly twirled and collapsed, as did Illumina. It was a double KO.

The entire battle came down to who could stand up and get one more attack off. Twilight and the foe Lunatone were both on the ground, shaken up quite badly. Both of them stirred a few times before ultimately the Lunatone was the first to get up. When Josh saw Power Gems on the tips of the Lunatone's crescent, he recalled the Absol and yielded the battle. All six of his Pokémon were withdrawn or downed.

STAGE FAILED.

Not even the superstar Absol was able to save him from this one. According to the Battle Gauntlet's specifications, a Trainer ready to claim their first Gym badge should be able to defeat all the opponents at this level without issues. "Perhaps I'm not ready after all," he mumbled to himself, making sure to end his session before leaving with his head hanging slightly down. "We'll be back later to try this again."

As he was checking out from the facility, he perked his head back up. He detached from his belt all six of his Poké Balls, setting them down on the window-sill of a south-facing window overlooking the road back to town. Aslan and Twilight were the only ones peering back at him from inside their Poké Balls; the rest of them were fast asleep. "I know all of you can't hear me, but I'm proud of your heroic efforts today," the trainer began addressing his team as a whole. "You're all great - we just have some tactics problems to work around. And that's mostly on me." Aslan looked like he was whimpering, but the noise was too faint for his trainer to hear. "It's not your fault, Aslan. It's no one's fault. We'll get there next time. And Twilight?" The Absol's tilting head was the only response he got. "There's no 'I' in the word 'team'. Let your buddies shine every once in a while, okay?" She closed her eyes, turned around, and fell asleep. Hopefully the line at the Pokémon Center by the Lab wasn't too long...

Mod note: Training thread complete.
{WC: 860; 2,504 total]
{PC: 5}

[Elayne]

Congratulations!

Your thread is complete and now locked.

Josh Devlin

Your thread has been locked. Because it was 2500 words, you receive 10 levels, 100 Pen, 5 Rare Candy, 1 Pink Apricorn, 1 Lum Berry, 2 Awakening, 1 Nest Ball, 1 Timer Ball, and 1 Repeat Ball,.