Gabe sat in the stands of the Hearthome City Gym as Lucas finished up his battle. Dawn had arrived just as it began in order to support her friends. As Fantina presented him with the badge, Lucas took it gratefully and turned to show it to his friends. Gave smiled and gave him a thumbs up. After Fantina left, Lucas shuffled over to the bleachers and climbed into a seat just below them and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Man that was tough!" Lucas said in an exhausted tone. "I thought I was a goner for sure in that match."

"Relax," Dawn said, "you did great."

"Yeah, don't sweat it Lucas," Gabe chimed in. "Your battle's over. I'm the one who's gotta worry..."

Especially since she uses a similar strategy to the anime... but with a big twist. I have to find a way to counter that...

Time went by, and before long, Fantina returned to the gym, prepared to take on the next challenger... Gabe. The blond watched as the one know as "The Alluring, Soulful Dancer" lived up to her name with every graceful stride she took into the gym. With confidence in her step, she waltzed to the dance floor and turned her lavender gaze to the stands.

"À présent! Who shall be my next dance partner?" Fantina inquired with a hand on her hip.

Steeling his nerves, Gabe rose to the challenge and looked into Fantina's eyes, and with confidence, stepped down from the stands.

"So it is you, mon amie? très bon! Let us commence, tout de suite!" Fantina declared as she posed elehantly before sashaying over to her side of the field.

Gabe took a deep breath and readied himself for what he would face. He had mentally prepared for her tactics, but now that he had seen her battle Lucas, he would have to alter his strategy a little.

Okay... you've prepared for this. Sort of. I mean, I know most of her tactics, but I still need to remember that she's a gym leader and a darn good one at that. She developed a counter strategy to Ash over the course of their match...

Gabe tightened his focus and shifted his attention to Fantina.

But I'm not Ash. I won't give her the chance to do that to me!

"Are you ready, Barry?" Fantina asked, dawning a confident smile on her face as she locked eyes with Gabe.

"If by that you mean, am I ready to win that badge, then yeah... I'm ready," Gabe grinned, lowering his hand to ready his selection.

"Fantastique!" Fantina proclaimed with a smirk.

The judge, who had been waiting quietly in the stands, stood up and made his way to the center of the arena. Looking between the two competitors, he began the routine prebattle speech.

"The battle between the leader of the Hearthome City Gym and the challenger, Barry from Twinleaf Town, will now commence. This will be a three on three battle where only the challenger may make substitutions!" The judge prattled on, explaining the rules as he went.

"Trainers, send out your first Pokémon!" He declared.

"Gengar, center stage!" Fantina cried out, launching the spectral creature onto the battlefield with a fierce but elegant toss.

The grin with a body erupted from his spherical abode with a mischievous laugh. Hovering in place, the Shadow Pokémon looped the arena, awaiting his first victim.

Okay... Gengar is a tricky one to deal with. He's her strongest in terms of power output, but his defenses are sorely lacking. Since that's the case...

"Psyduck, you're on!" Shouted Gabe, launching the little duck into the fray.

"Both sides ready? Okay then! Barry has the first move. You may begin!" announced the judge.

"Okay Psyduck, let's kick things off with Water Pulse!" Gabe commanded.

"Gengar, use Shadow Sneak!" Fantina deflected.

Psyduck formed a sphere of water between his hands and prepared to launch it at his opposition, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of Gengar as he shot out of the ground, and nailed him on the bill with an ethereal uppercut, causing Psyduck to lose the energy he was forming.

Psyduck hit the ground only to be assailed from below and sent skyward.

"Psy-aye-aye!!" Psyduck wailed as he failed around in the air.

"Shadow Punch, tout de suite!" Fantina ordered.

"Use Scald, now!" Gabe hollered.

Gengar rocketed above Psyduck and clenched his fist, causing it to crackle with shadow aura as he prepared to strike. Just as Gengar swung, Psyduck loosed a thick stream of hot, pressurized water in his face, disrupting his concentration while simultaneously propelling Psyduck back to safety.

The blue duck landed on both feet and clutched his head while looking up at the disgruntled Ghost-type hovering above him. Gengar shook the hot water away and glared down at Psyduck.

"Gengar, use Shadow Ball!" Fantina called out.

"Water Pulse!" Gabe countered swiftly.

Gengar slammed his hands together and pulled them apart, creating a sphere of dark energy that expanded as his hands were spread. Raising it above his head, he thrust the sphere downward once it had reached a considerably large size. Psyduck responded in kind by hurling a ball of aquatic force at Gengar's assault. The two spheres collided with a bang! putting up a smokescreen in the process.

Psyduck held his head and looked around in confusion as he heard the mischievous chortle of Gengar as he popped up in various places around him as if taunting him.

Okay Gabe... think. There has to be a way to tip this battle in our favor. Gengar's too fast right now and I don't think I'll be able to slow him down unless I can stop him somehow. 

As the smoke faded, Gengar was out of sight, causing Psyduck to panic on the spot. Gabe gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. He nearly forgot that Ghost-types loved to hide. Before he knew it, a ghostly fist shot out and nailed Psyduck in the gut and sent him sprawling through the air.

Materializing above him, Gengar began to formulate a ball of crimson and black aura.

"Hypnosis!" Fantina commanded.

Now or never!

"Psyduck, use Psybeam!" Gabe hollered hastily.

Just as Gengar had fired off the Hypnosis assault, Psyduck loosed a blast of powerful psychic energy that pushed hard against Gengar's assault. While Psyduck's attack was strong, Gengar's power proved more than capable of handling it, and punched through, instantly putting Psyduck to sleep.

Psyduck plummeted to the floor while being chased by Gengar. The Shadow Pokémon reached the ground and utilized a Psychic attack to catch Psyduck before he fell.

"I think it's time Psyduck retired, no? Gengar, use Dream Eater!" Fantina belted out while performing an elegant dance motion.

Gengar grinned devilishly and opened his mouth wide. An eerie glow surrounded Psyduck, causing him to writhe in pain as his energy was sapped, empowering Gengar in the process. Gengar then proceeded to throw Psyduck into the wall behind Gabe, watching as he bounced off and landed on his face.

"Psyduck is unable to battle! Gengar wins the round!" the judge declared.

From the stands, Lucas and Dawn could be seen wincing a bit at the results.

Gabe returned Psyduck and took a deep breath.

It's okay... you knew that Gengar was going to be tough. He may have paper thin defenses, but he's a Gym Leader Pokémon, and was never meant to be easy to get around... I need some firepower.

I need Jamie...

Making his decision, Gabe reached down and snatched up Jamie's ball and primed it.

"Your Psyduck fought bravely mon amie, but it looked like he couldn't keep up with the tempo," Fantina stated with a smirk.

She's right. If Psyduck had some water to work with, it would have been a much different fight. However... Gabe thought as he looked down at Jamie's ball, thanks to Psyduck, I know her strategy with Gengar...

"Jamie, I need you!" Gabe cried out fiercely, firing the young lion into the fray.

With a roar, Jamie exploded from her sphere and crouched low, swishing her startipped tail as she laid eyes on her foe. Sparks of electricity flew from her frame as she prepared for battle.

"Très bon! a Luxio! I do believe this will be quite interesting. But tell me, how do you plan to handle my Gengar's stealthy attacks?" Fantina grinned.

A smirk crept onto Gabe's face as he watched Gengar vanish from view. If it were any other Pokémon, Gengar would easily get the jump on them. But this was a Luxio. Their entire line was known for their highly developed senses and impeccable vision and perception. Virtually nothing could hide from them. Gengar was not as safe as he thought.

Jamie flicked her tail to and fro, her ears twitching as she listened for any sound or indication that the enemy would be near. Catching wind of something, Jamie laced her fangs with an icy aura and snapped at the air. A pained shriek echoed through the air as the once hidden Gengar was yanked from hiding with his hand caught in the jaws of his adversary.

"Light him up! Thunderbolt!" Gabe shouted.

Clamping down harder, Jamie drew power from her body through her frame and expelled it outwards, jolting Gengar with a powerful electrical discharge that punctured his frail defenses and stunned him.

After having been fried to a crisp, as well as having his hand frozen, Gengar was nailed with a harsh Iron Tail, knocking him over and out.

"Gengar is unable to battle! Luxio wins the round!" declared the judge as his hand went up.

"My my, your Luxio is quite strong n'est-ce pas? it appeared as though she had no difficulty handling Gengar at all. But I wonder what she will do when she is up against a trickier opponent? Mismagius, battle position!" Fantina declared as she poised herself to throw, releasing said Ghost-type from her ball.

Okay, no worries about Hypnosis here. However... Mismagius is more of a challenge because of her tougher defenses. Her power output might not be as strong as Gengar's, but the won't matter if she can outlast her opponent.

"Heads up Jamie, keep an eye on her, she'll definitely try to pull something here," Gabe assured Jamie, getting an affirmative nod from her in response.

Fantina chuckled beneath her breath.

"Don't think that it will be so easy Barry. I can sense that you are planning to use your Luxio's superb vision to your advantage again. However, while that does give you an edge, it is useless if you cannot catch your prey," Fantina disclosed.

"Yeah? and what's that supposed to mean?" Gabe asked with a raised brow.

"You will have to wait and see, oui? Show me what you can do, Barry," Fantina grinned.

"Alright, you wanna dance? fine by me. Jamie, use Thunderbolt!" Gabe commanded.

"Phantom Force!" Fantina deflected.

Jamie prepared to light Mismagius up with a few volts of electricity, when she suddenly vanished, masking her presence as she moved about undetected.

"You tried this on me with Gengar last time, but it'll have the same result," Gabe stated firmly. "Find her, Jamie."

Jamie began her search, tuning her senses to her surroundings to pick up on the presence of the Magical Pokémon. With eyes aglow, she caught sight of the flitting spectre, however, she was moving too fast to track properly, ducking in and out of the shadows with erratic patterns of movement as of to keep Jamie guessing.

Gabe watched as Jamie followed Mismagius with her eyes, and saw the struggle painted on her visage as she tried to pin her prey. Just then, Mismagius flickered into view and hammered home a blow to Jamie's left flank that sent her skidding sideways. Jamie rolled and leapt up to avoid a Shadow Sneak that narrowly missed.

Man... talk about fast! Jamie was able to see her, but catching her was out of the question...

Gabe watched as Jamie leapt back to avoid the flames of a Mystical Fire that scorched the ground where she once stood. Jamie snapped off a Thunderbolt that was met with adversity in the form of a Psywave, dispersing her assault.

"Do you see now Barry? The truth is, I know full well how good of a tracker Luxio are capable of being. However, they are still fledglings in that regard until they fully realize their potentials upon evolving," Fantina explained.

"So in other words..." Lucas began, sitting forward to observe what Fantina meant.

"Jamie can track well, but it won't matter if she can't catch her opponent..." Dawn finished.

Gabe knit his brow and cracked the knuckles on one of his hands. Fantina, and his friends, had it right. Jamie could track no problem, but she was nowhere near as fast as Mismagius.

"Okay then, if we can't beat you in speed, let's go for accuracy then! Shock Wave!" Gabe commanded.

"Mismagius, Dark Pulse, tout de suite!" Fantina countered.

The two blasts connected with a loud crackathoom! Several more bolts of lightning snapped off of Jamie's body, each one deflected by Mismagius and her Psywave, save for one Shock Wave that powered into her.

"Keep it up! use Ice Fang!" Gabe blurted out.

"Phantom Force, S'il vous plaît!" Fantina shouted powerfully.

With dizzying speed, Mismagius flickered from view as the blast of lightning tore the air asunder where she once floated. In the same fashion as before, Mismagius delivered a strong blow to Jamie's right flank and followed it up with a crushing Dark Pulse that drove Jamie into the ground.

Jamie struggled to her feet, took one step, and fell over. Gabe looked away and sucked in air. It was a difficult loss for him to handle this time around.

"Luxio is unable to battle! Mismagius wins the round!" was the judge's proclamation.

"You did well Jamie," Gabe said softly as he walked up to her and took out her ball to return her.

With a sigh, Gabe withdrew Jamie and silently thanked her for her hard work. Putting her back on his belt, he reached for his next and final partner.

I had a feeling I would need you here. I was just hoping to save you for the final fight, not give you two battles. But I know you can do it...

"So Barry, exactly how do you plan to deal with my strategy?" Fantina inquired with a graceful twirl, her finger pointing imperiously at him.

"Like this! Houndoom, battle station!" Gabe roared, sending forth the hellhound into battle.

Smoke curled from the canine's nostrils as he materialized into view. A high-pitched howl echoed from his throat, sending a quiver of fear through his adversary, instilling a degree of doubt and uncertainty in her mind. The haunting cry died down and graduated into a growl with bared fangs.

"A Houndoom? trés magnifique! I am so excited to see what you have planned now!" Fantina beamed.

"You want it, you've got it! Houndoom, Flame Charge, go!" Gabe ordered firmly.

"Power Gem, tout de suite!"

Houndoom's body burst into flames as he exploded forward at an accerated pace. Closing the distance, Houndoom leapt, jaws ablaze with fire, only to be evaded and pelted with a well placed barrage of stones, sending him tumbling along the ground. Houndoom managed to pull himself to his feet in time to speed out of the way of another Power Gem.

Gabe bit his lip. It was enough that Mismagius outsped Houndoom by a slight margin... now she had him on the run with his weakness. Sweat trickled down his face as he met the eyes of Fantina.

"It helps to be prepared for all possible encounters, oui?" Fantina smirked. "I wonder how long Houndoom will last. Let us see! Mismagius, Power Gem!"

"Snarl!" Gabe countered.

Houndoom planted his feet and opened his jaws, gathering dark aura inside before releasing a ball of black lightning towards the assault of rocks, blowing it apart. In that instant, Houndoom used the distraction to close the gap between them with the boost in speed he had been given via Flame Charge.

"Beat Up!" Gabe shouted fiercely.

Houndoom snarled and drew in dark energy from within, forming four other shadowy figures in the shapes of his comrades. With little to no time to react, Mismagius felt the wrath of five consecutive strikes from different directions. The power behind the assault knocked her around before she was doused in flames due to a stream of fire that punched into her frame, knocking her unconscious.

"Mismagius is unable to battle! Houndoom wins the round!" proclaimed the judge.

"Yes! Way to go you two!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly.

"Keep it up and that badge is yours man!" Lucas called out. "Just one more win!"

Gabe closed his eyes and took a deep, relaxing breath. The battle was proving to be more troublesome than he first though. While Ghost-types were not known for having the best defenses, save for a few, Fantina's Pokémon were definitely outfitted to overcome such a weakness.

"I commend you on getting this far Barry. I've never had such fun! But I wonder how you will prevail against, Drifblim! to the stage s'il vous plaît!" Fantina bellowed.

The Blimp Pokémon emerged from her sphere with a flourish and spread her arm-like appendages outward as she hovered.

And there it is... Fantina's most worrisome Pokémon. This is gonna be rough... thought Gabe as he kept his eyes trained on the bulky floating menace.

Just focus Gabe, you can do this. It may be bulky, but it's just like every other Ghost-type out there... lackluster defenses.

"Alright Fantina, get ready because here we come! Houndoom, Flamethrower let's go!" Gabe commanded.

"Haze mon amie!" Fantina countered swiftly.

Drifblim's eyes lit up as an icy aura radiated from her body. A thick fog blanketed the battlefield, making it difficult for anyone to see what was going on. As the haze spread, the flamethrower punched through and hit... nothing. Drifblim had vanished.

Gabe narrowed his eyes. He did not like this. This meant that all of Houndoom's boosts were eliminated, and Drifblim was now concealed.

"Houndoom, try to sniff her out!" Gabe called to his companion.

"Je suis désolé, but I cannot allow you to do that! Drifblim, Phantom Force!" Fantina shouted out.

Hearing the command, Houndoom braced himself and set to searching. But before he could make any headway, Drifblim powered into him from the fog and slammed him onto the ground harshly before vanishing once more. The fiery canine snarled and pushed himself back up, sniffing the air with intent to find his foe.

Man... Houndoom can't do much here with all that fog in the way. On top of that, even if he could do something... Fantina isn't just gonna let me pull something without consequences. I still don't know what her ability is...

"Shadow Ball!" Fantina directed.

"Houndoom, keep moving and use Dark Pulse to try to find it!" Gabe called out.

Without hesitation, Houndoom began taking evasive maneuvers as the attacks came his way. A ball of ethereal energy whizzed by his head, prompting him to fire off a Dark Pulse in the direction it came from. For a short duration of time, several blasts were shot, but nothing hit its target, until Drifblim flickered into view and grabbed Houndoom by the face.

Not good!

"Hypnosis!" Fantina ordered.

"Drive her back with Flamethrower!" Gabe commanded.

As Drifblim prepared to put Houndoom to sleep, the feisty hound loosed a stream of fire that pushed her off of him, prompting her to hide once more in the fog, but not without consequence.

Gabe breathed a relieved sigh. He narrowly escaped that trap.

"You are quite the challenger redoutable, Barry," Fantina complimented. "But I am afraid things do not look good for you. Especially not after you burned my Drifblim..."

"Crap... that means-"

"Oui! Drifblim has gotten even stronger! Allow me to demonstrate. Alors! Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Fantina exclaimed.

An intense ghostly wind suddenly blasted Houndoom off his feet, sending him bouncing along the ground and rolling over onto his side. The Dark Pokémon struggled to get back up and braced himself properly, making certain not to falter again. He scowled into the haze at his adversary.

"Drifblim's gotten a lot stronger now! Be on guard and don't let her get you! Keep moving!" Gabe commanded.

"Phantom Force!" Fantina commanded.

Houndoom began moving once more, his stamina nearly drained from the punishment he had taken. His senses twitched as he felt something behind him. In a swift motion, he leapt aside as Drifblim burst forth, swiping at the air with her arm like appendage, only to pelt Houndoom with a well placed Shadow Ball before he could retaliate.

Houndoom went down hard and struggled to bring himself to a stand. That was when Drifblim moved in and began producing a large ball of ethereal energy.

"It's been fun mon amie. But I think this is the end of the road! Shadow Ball!" Fantina commanded.

"I guess it's now or never... Houndoom use Beat Up quick!" Gabe hastily countered.

Houndoom lunged and Drifblim fired her attack point blank, creating a massive explosion that shook the ring and added to the sight complications of the battle. When the smoke began to clear, the judges hand rose up.

"Houndoom is unable to battle!" He declared, turning to see that Drifblim had also passed out. "And Drifblim is also unable to battle! However, in the event of a draw, the victory goes to Fantina as per rules of the League!"

Fantina wiped her brow in relief and sighed.

"That was quite a challenge Barry. Your Pokémon were trés magnifique!" Fantina stated with a bright smile.

Returning Houndoom, Gabe let out a deep sigh and smiled faintly.

"Yeah... but I still lost. Guess I'll need to come back huh?" Gabe chuckled nervously.

"Au contraire mon amie! This battle showed that you are worthy of this badge!" Fantina beamed, twirling about before holding her hands to her chest.

"The passion you showed me was wonderful. The way your Pokémon danced with mine was something so beautiful I can't find the words to describe it," she declared, waltzing up to Barry with a smile as she took the badge from the judge on the way by.

"And so, it brings me great pleasure to bestow upon you, the Relic Badge!" Fantina proclaimed, placing the badge in his hand.

Before he could say anything, Lucas and Dawn were at his side, congratulating him on a job well done. Gabe beamed as he looked down at his new badge. It was his hardest battle yet, but he managed to pull through.

Three down... and still a long way to go...

Hey guys, how's it goin'? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I decided to show that the gym battles were getting progressively more difficult, and who better to start with than my favorite Ghost-type Gym Leader? Fantina had some good strategy in the anime, and I was tempted to replicate the Will-O-Wisp counter shield, but then I'm like... oh, duh. Houndoom eats that for breakfast... that would make things too easy.

So this battle was a tie for various reasons, one being that he needed to struggle, and two, to highlight Fantina's ability, not often spoken of, to grant a badge based on her observation of the challenger, and his or her ability to comprehend battle mechanics as well as the Pokémon's obedience to their trainer.

Any violation of those would not yield satisfactory results. It is at the discretion of the Gym Leader to award the badge as they see fit. So yeah, though he tied, he technically lost as per rules of engagement. It's the "tie goes to the runner" concept, or in this case, the Gym Leader. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the read!

Ciao!