The Gym Finale Fraud

Amelia gave her pokeball a quick kiss. "Three pokemon each. Go, Seadra!" The horned-fish pokemon appeared in the water arena.

"It�s yours, Gloom!" Gloom phased from the red light onto one of the mats.

"Gloom-gloom!"

"Horn Attack!" Seadra�s horn spun like a drill as it swam at Gloom.

"Gloom hit it with Absorb!" The grass attack would, no doubt, severely hurt Seadra. Gloom�s flower pod glowed eerily as little beads of energy floated out of Seadra and into the pod. Gloom smiled, just gaining more energy than it really needed.

"Now that you�re charged up, hit it with a super Acid attack!" The pod flower quivered, then shot a blast of purple acid at Seadra, who was toast as soon as it hit. "Amelia, are you sure that this is a fair match? I should wait until Oceana gets back�"

"No! I�m not done yet! Seel!"

"Seel, seeeel!"

"Head Butt!"

Cass watched as Gloom was knocked into the water and climbed back onto the mat. She shook her head with pity; Amelia was nothing compared to other opponents. "Sleep Powder."

The flower pod shook and a blue dust settled on Seel, who didn�t even try to retaliate. It started snoozing right away.

"Return! You�re up, Kingler! Vicegrip!"

Kingler snatched up Gloom in a claw and began to squeeze. Cass called it back; Gloom hadn�t been defeated yet, but she knew she could spare it the pain. "Pikamie!"

"Chuuuu!" This Pikachu was certainly not one to bother. Her electric sacks flashed dangerously. Her violet eyes narrowed. She was just waiting to charge.

"Alright! This match is ours. Thundershock!"

"Pika!" The anxious Pikachu leapt into the water. She clenched her fists and burst with the most powerful Thundershock ever. The Kingler blinked, and began to sink under the water.

Amelia called it back. "My water pokemon skills have never been very good�"

"Can I have my badge? What�s going on?"

Amelia began laughing. To Cass�s surprise, Oceana dashed up behind her and stood with her at the edge of the pool.

Oceana started. "To be the bearers of devastation."

Amelia followed up, "To destroy all life in every nation."

"To obliterate the evils of love and light!"

"To bring absolute chaos to the heavens bright!"

In a flash, Oceana was wearing a Shadow Gang uniform and was�"Myuka!"

Amelia was in one too, but was a guy and�"Kain!"

"Shadow Gang, destruction-"

"Enough! Where�s Oceana?!"

Kaumi ran up behind Cass carying an unconscious girl. She looked younger and more happy than Myuka�s impersonation, only she would have had she been awake. "Cass! Oh. I see you�ve found out." He looked down at the young gym leader. "She was locked in the closet out back."

Cass scowled at her foes. "How dare you�"

Kaumi growled, "Why�re you here, anyway?"

Kain held out a hand to silence the two. "That�s not your business, but�"

"We heard you were on your way." Myuka grinned.

Cass took an angry step forward and Pikamie scowled at the two as well. "Why do you care about us? Can�t you leave Kaumi alone?!"

Myuka looked around and seemed a bit puzzled. "Where�s that dark girl? We want that Kadabra!"

"You haven�t seen the half of what it can do though!"

"Yes, but Kabaras are rare indeed and the boss would be glad to have one."

"Too bad! Pikamie," Cass glanced at the ready Pikachu, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pi�Chuuuu!" The electricity tore through the calm water, sending it in every direction. It reached the opposite end of the pool and blasted Myuka and Kain into the air.

"We�re vanishing again�!"

Cass called back Pikamie and walked to a bleacher that Kaumi had laid Oceana on. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Wha�?"

Kaumi crossed his arms. "The Shadow Gang knocked you out and hid you so they could battle us. I�m sorry."

Cass sighed. "And I thought I�d get a Cascade Badge�"

"Oh, like, you can have it!" Cass blinked and looked down at the girl. "Really. You totally saved my gym! It�s still in one piece isn�t it?"

"Huh?" She looked around. There was a little hole in the roof where the Shadow Gang had exited, but besides that, all was in perfect order. "Oh, you must really love your gym..."

"Yeah! I try my hardest to take care of it, it�s my pride right along with my pokemon!"

Cass cringed at the valley-girl tone, but thought higher of this Oceana. She was a nice girl. "Here then." She fished in her pocket and withdrew a blue drop-shaped badge. "The Cascade Badge."

"I can�t thank you enough." Cass smiled. Kaumi stood and nodded. Oceana sat up right.

"Yeah, well we�d better get going. We have things to do."

As they left the gym, Cass stopped Kaumi. They were on the sidewalk now. "Kaumi�?"

"Hm?"

"If the first Oceana was Myuka, then why did she tell us where to find the Primeape Stone? Was she lying?"

Kaumi grinned. "I know her too well. No, of course not, but I bet they�re gonna see us there."

"Are you saying�you knew that that was Myuka the whole time?!"

He nodded with a grin. "Yeah! Why do you think I left instead of watching the match? I wanted to find Oceana before something�But I didn�t, still, everything�s in order now."

"You really like her, don�t you?"

Kaumi sweatdropped. "I did. But I just don�t know anymore." He looked off dreamily. "�After meeting Shiki�"

"Ah!" Cass grinned devilishly and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You�re crushing on Dark?!"

He blushed a bit and grinned sheepishly. "Don�t say anything�I trust that you won�t even if you still don�t trust me."

Still laughing, Cass continued down the street. Their next objective: Finding a mode of transportation to Cinnabar Island.