As Micheal escaped the gym, he saw the young girl trudging toward the Andesite Caverns. "Katie, wait!" he called.

The trainer stopped in her tracks, wiping away a tear. "Micheal?" She turned around to face him. "What are you doing here? Weren't you planning on battling Cole?"

"Yeah, but what you're dealing with is far more important. I can battle him another time. What's wrong?"

Katie shook her head and gripped the poké ball tighter. "I'm a horrible trainer and an even worse friend. You saw. I couldn't land a single hit against Cole! He took out my Pokémon in two hits. And I didn't even notice I was hurting Beldum!" she screamed. Micheal stood in silence before she sighed and continued. "I'm sorry for screaming. You didn't deserve that. And I don't deserve them. I'm on my way to the Andesite Caverns to release Beldum."

When she turned to walk away, Micheal placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a horrible trainer, I promise."

"What makes you say that?"

"You messed up, sure. But you shouldn't treat it as just a loss. Every battle is just another lesson on the road to greatness. You can lose, time and time again, and learn from each one. The fact you're here tells me you're stronger and braver than you know."

"But I hurt Beldum."

"You didn't know. And that's okay. Not everyone knows everything there is. If I started my journey back in Johto, I wouldn't have known either. But you're not a bad trainer or friend for not knowing. The fact you care at all about hurting your Pokémon tells me you're a good person. A bad person wouldn't care. They would scream at Beldum for not trying hard enough or not knowing how to do anything else. You're willing to go out of your way to release it because of your mistake. You have a good heart. And they wouldn't be by your side if they didn't see that too."

Katie looked back at Micheal, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you, Micheal. If Beldum can only learn Take Down, how am I supposed to help it grow?"

"I think I can help with that," Micheal said, placing his hand across his chest. "Normally, you need a move tutor to teach special moves like Zen Headbutt or Iron Head. Now, I'm not a licensed move tutor, but I just taught a Beldum how to use Iron Head yesterday. Not only is it a strong move, but it also doesn't hurt the user the same way Take Down does. Plus, it's super effective against Cole's rock types. If you'd like, I can help teach your Pokémon."

"You would?" Her eyes lit up like the night sky. "But you barely know me!"

"I know enough. You want to be strong enough to face Cole and care deeply about your friends. That's all I need to know to know you're worth helping."

Katie nearly began crying, opting instead to laugh happily as she tackled Micheal to the ground with a hug. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" she cheered.

"Of course! But before that happens, I'd like to take a crack at battling Cole," he said, slowly pushing himself up. Katie blushed as she let go of the trainer. When the two stood up, they patted down their clothes.

"Come on,. There's no time to lose!" Kaite grabbed Micheal's arm and dragged him to the gym. Matching her excitement, Micheal joined in running.

Within a few minutes, the two found themselves on the battlefield again. "So, you're both back. How are you feeling, Katie?" asked Cole, his voice filling with genuine concern.

Katie nodded in response. "A lot better, thanks to Micheal." She smiled. "Are you ready for another match?" she asked.

"I am if Micheal is!"

"Alright, let's do this!" Katie ran to the sidelines and faced the battlefield. "This'll be a two-v-two battle between Cole and Micheal for the Andesite Badge. Only Micheal can substitute. Ready? Begin!"

Micheal reached for a poké ball and tossed it. "Go, Wooper!" he called. The Water Fish Pookémon came out with a battle cry.

"Go, Geodude!" called Cole, sending out his rock type. "You know the drill: you get the first move."

"Wooper, use Water Gun!" Micheal called. Wooper didn't hesitate to release a beam of water at his opponent.

"Geodude, dodge with Tackle!" Cole ordered. Geodude jumped over the Water Gun and launched itself at Wooper.

"Dodge it!" Wooper jumped to the side just before Geodude crashed into the ground. The challenger noticed the stone shards from the impact coming from the battlefield. Geodude slams its arms into the ground to jump. What if we made that harder to do? Micheal thought. "Wooper, spin and use Water Gun on the battlefield!"

Nobody in the room understood what Micheal was trying to do, but Wooper trusted him. The Water Fish Pokémon spewed water like a sprinkler, drenching the field. "Use a boulder as a shield!" ordered Cole. Geodude hovered behind a nearby stone to avoid the hit. Micheal smirked as the terrain became muddied.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw!" The rock type grabbed a nearby stone that was somewhat unaffected by the blast and chucked it at the water type.

"Push it back with Water Gun!" Wooper inhaled greatly before firing another beam of water. Upon impact, the stone shattered into pieces and continued toward the Geodude.

"Jump over it!" Cole called. When Geodude tried to launch itself into the air, the muddied ground prevented it from jumping high. Instead, the Water Gun impacted it perfectly. The attack sent Geodude flying before it hit the ground unconscious.

Katie looked at Cole, who nodded. "Geodude is unable to battle! The winner is Wooper!" she called, gesturing at the water type.

"Alright, great job, Wooper!" Micheal cheered.

"You did great, Geodude. Return!" Cole called his Pokémon back. "Very observant of you to realize you could do something like that. Brilliant tactics that'll have lasting effects on this battle! But it might not be in your favor much. Go, Aron!" Cole sent out a steel type.

"Your move, Cole!"

"You'll regret that. Aron, use Mud Slap!" Cole ordered. Micheal's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. With the damp terrain, Mud Slap would likely be more effective.

"Wooper, get out of there!" Micheal insisted. While the terrain was better for Wooper than Aron, the mud slowed Wooper down decently. When the attack hit Wooper in the face, some mud persisted.

"Good luck seeing through the mud! Without this terrain, you'd just have dust on your face, but this'll last!"

"Wooper, aim straight up and use Water Gun to clean off the mud!" Micheal cried. While the water type followed his trainer's request, Micheal explained, "You're forgetting Wooper's ability is Water Absorb!" However, when Wooper's Water Gun hit itself, the mud didn't move.

"Your wooper may be feeling better, but mud is mud. You'll be dealing with that for a while!"

Micheal grunted under his breath. "You're right. Wooper, return!" Micheal grabbed his poké ball and called back Wooper. "Growlithe, you're up!" Micheal pointed at the battlefield. Growlithe barked and jumped into the mud.

"I have an enhanced Mud Slap with this terrain. You're at a disadvantage!" called Cole. "How will you deal with this?"

"Growlithe, you saw what Wooper did. Right? I want you to target the battlefield with Ember!" Growlithe barked as he released many embers onto the battlefield. While not perfectly effective, he turned most of the mud back to stone.

"Now, aim it at Aron!" Micheal called. When Growltihe did so, Aron dodged.

"Your options were to deal with the mud and my powered-up attack but keep my speed low or turn the terrain to stone and make both our Pokémon faster. I don't know what I would have done. But this does make it more fun!" Cole laughed.

The battle became much more fast-paced following Micheal's heating of the battlefield. With Aron needing much more close-range combat due to its less effective Mud Slap and Growlithe's ability to use Ember, the fire-type Pokémon would eventually come out victorious. "Aron fainted, and so the winner is Growlithe. All of Cole's Pokémon have been eliminated, so Micheal is the winner!"

"We did it! You did amazing, Growlithe!" Micheal extended his arms, and Growlithe jumped into them. Micheal hugged his Pokémon as he spun around a few times. "Wooper, come out!" Micheal held Growlithe in his left arm as he took out the water type's poké ball.

"You and your Pokémon are talented," Cole said, walking to the team. "Your strategy to deal with my Geodude's Tackle was incredible. In my years as a gym leader, I've never seen that tactic before. We'll just have to plan for it next time. And your Growlithe was able to keep up with my Aron. You did just fine! As the Cavret City gym leader, I hereby grant you the Andesite Badge. Congratulations, Micheal."