Orange and violet collided as Jupiter and Gabe met each other's gaze. Jupiter held a single Poké Ball in her hand, tossing it up and catching it before priming it for battle. Gabe snatched Shinx's ball off his belt and enlarged the sphere, signaling that he too, was prepared. Recalling the words of his mother, he resolved to be a gentleman in this battle.

"Ladies first," he said politely.

"How kind of you," Jupiter replied, tossing the ball with a practiced hand onto the pavement. "Tangela, to battle!"

Appearing onto the chosen battlefield was a small mass of blue vines, complete with two large eyes peering out from the darkness between the vines. The creature had red, bootlike feet as well.

Huh. I... don't have much to counter that. Well, I mean... Shinx does have Ice Fang. I guess I can still go with her, Gabe thought as he cocked his hand back.

"Shinx, you're up girl!" Gabe called out, launching his new companion onto the battlefield.

The feline stretched as she immerged onto the pavement. Her bright yellow eyes focused forward as she spotted Tangela, her opposition, in front of her. Glancing up at her trainer, she could see the focus in his eyes, leading her to believe that this was indeed a battle to be invested in. Turning her attention back to Tangela, she crouched low and swished her tail to and fro in anticipation of a command.

"Tangela, let's begin with Sunny Day!" Jupiter commanded.

Tangela's vines began to glow brightly, and soon, the cloudy skies above parted and the sun pierced through the break in them.

If she's doing that, then that can only mean one of two things. Faster Solar Beams...or Chlorophyll. Maybe both? Gabe mused, knitting his brows as he contemplated strategy.

Better start off simple, Gabe thought, thrusting a hand out to issue a command.

"Shinx, Iron Tail!" Gabe shouted.

"Counter with Vine Whip!" Jupiter cried out.

Shinx tore off after Tangela, coating her tail with a thick metallic coat as she ran. Upon converging, several vines lashed out at her, forcing the cub to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck by the fast-moving vines. Shinx jinked to the right of a pair of vines as the came slamming down onto the ground with a loud crack! Leaping forward, she swung her body to the side in attempts to strike the first blow.

Her attempt, however, was thwarted by a set of vines entangling her mid-jump. Tangela whipped the vines upward and slammed them down harshly, causing Shinx to cry out in pain as she hit the pavement with a crash. Tangela then raised her up again and took aim while gathering in power.

"Energy Ball!" Jupiter commanded.

"Ice Fang!" Gabe countered hastily.

Opening her jaws, Shinx channeled icy aura into her fangs and bit down onto Tangela's vines, causing it to yelp in pain and drop Shinx to the ground while simultaneously misfiring his Energy Ball into the air.

Shinx landed softly and scrambled back to a battle ready stance, her eyes locked onto her opposition. Tangela retracted his vines and glared at Shinx.

Huh. It seems he's not a complete novice to battle. Knowing Tangela is resistant to electrical attacks and still using an Electric-type, would normally be considered idiotic. But in this day and age, type advantage means almost nothing, Jupiter mused, her eyes fixed on Shinx as she crouched in anticipation. Still, his Shinx may have gotten a good hit in, but it's still got a long way to go before it can win against me.

"Shinx, move in with Ice Fang!" Gabe instructed.

"That's cute," Jupiter mused, watching with a smirk as Shinx coated her fangs with ice energy before charging. "Double Team!"

As Shinx neared Tangela, he began rapidly producing afterimages of himself, causing Shinx to skid to a halt. Due to Tangela's ability, the images were moving even faster than they normally would.

"Vine Whip!" Jupiter called out.

"Double Team!" Gabe riposted.

What seemed like hundreds of vines shot forth, only to smack the ground as Shinx replicated the same technique that Tangela had done, only her copies weren't nearly as fast. In a swift motion, Tangela continued his momentum and swung all of his vines out and spun, thrashing every Shinx duplicate until it smacked into the one that was approaching with an Ice Fang at the ready.

Shinx felt a second set of vines latch onto her while another set wrapped around her mouth, keeping it firmly shut. Tangela raised her high once more and sent a surge of energy up the vines. The energy zapped Shinx and forced a muffled cry of distress from her as her stamina was being drained. Struggle as she might, her mouth was shut and her legs were bound as well as her tail.

Shoot! Shinx can't take much more of this. I have to call it, Gabe thought, clenching his fists tightly as Tangela ceased his draining of Shinx's energy.

"Solar-"

"Shinx, return!" Gabe called out before Jupiter could finish the command.

Tangela's vines retracted and Jupiter returned him soon after. Placing his ball back on her hip, she looked up at Gabe and crossed her arms.

"I suppose I expected too much, too early," Jupiter stated, shaking her head. "A valiant effort, but you have a long way to go still..."

Gabe hitched Shinx's ball to his belt and looked back at Jupiter with a determined gaze.

"Shinx still has room to grow. Just you wait, she'll be stronger the next time we meet," Gabe replied fiercely.

Jupiter tapped her chin.

"Next time huh? I usually don't do second dates but," she paused, staring into his fiery depths with passionate determination lingering in her own eyes, "this battle showed promise. For a beginner, you are fairly decent and your strategies are sound for the most part. I'm fond of strategists, so I suppose a second meeting wouldn't be out of the question..."

Did she just say "date?" I mean... she seems nice, and not gonna lie... she's attractive but-no. NO. Don't go there right now Gabe! Gabe thought, shaking his head vigorously at the images that came to mind.

"I'll be looking forward to it then," Gabe replied, quickly regaining his composure.

Jupiter chuckled and turned to depart.

"That settles it then. Next we meet, we battle. Until then, train hard," she replied as she looked over her shoulder, offering a wave before making her exit and disappearing into the sea of people as they hurried back to their jobs.

Gabe remained where he was for a moment or two before something dawned on him.

I-I forgot to ask her name! He deadpanned, palming his face and dragging it down to his chin.

With a sigh, he turned in the opposite direction of where Jupiter had gone and headed towards the Pokémon Center so that he could restore his friend's health.

Meanwhile, Jupiter mulled over the battle in her mind.

Palmer's son. He wasn't half bad. His tactics were good, but he lacks the power needed to fully make use of such strategies, she mused.

Still, to his credit, he did show some guts, and made some intelligent maneuvers that, if not for my superior strategy, would have given Tangela a more difficult time, Jupiter thought with a smirk.

I suppose I will have to wait to battle him again. Next time however, I won't show any mercy, grinned Jupiter, a sinister chuckle escaping her lips as she made her way towards the hotel she had booked, hoping to take a load off for a while before proceeding to go about her other duties.

Gabe sat inside a room he had booked in the Pokémon Center for the night. Evening had come quickly upon Jubilife City and Gabe was certainly happy to be out of the cold. Shinx and Aron were out of their spheres and playing together on the floor.

Gabe lay on the bed, his eyes focused on the ceiling as the battle he had just hours prior, ran through his mind.

She really did a number on us, Gabe sighed, biting his lip slightly. I mean...that Tangela, if levels were a thing, and this were a game, would have been in the thirties. Shinx barely scratched him, Gabe frowned, replaying the attack Shinx managed to pull off before she was defeated.

But this isn't a game. Which means that Tangela just has a hell of a lot more battling experience than Shinx, Gabe sighed, looking over at his little cub as she and Aron talked to each other.

I'll have to train harder if I want her to win a rematch with that Tangela, Gabe determined, scooting to the edge of the bed so he could address his Pokémon.

"Alright you two. Let's get some rest. It's been a long day for us, so let's get some sleep okay?" Gabe stated with a soft smile.

"Ar! Aron!" The ironclad Pokémon replied happily.

"Shinx!" Echoed the cub as she hopped onto the bed and curled up.

With a contented sigh, Gabe flipped off the light on the lamp beside his bed and pulled the covers over himself and drifted off to sleep.