BA024

==Synopsis==
Yazmyne and Dante cross Route 8 on their way to Lavender Town. Naturally, Yazmyne wants to train and she finds herself battling a set of four talented trainers.
==Summary==
===Lavender Path===
Yazmyne and Dante are walking along the fixed path to Lavender Town, and Yazmyne checks her Pokenav to realize they are on Route 8. As they walk, Dante asks Yazmyne if she really wants to pursue Contests. Yazmyne admits that she still doesn't have passion for it. She wants to appease her Pokemon, but she is at risk of doing it half-heartedly. Yazmyne also recalls her loss to Joshua, calling it humiliating. Contests are different from Gym Battles in that with Contests, all victories and defeats are televised and written about. With gyms, if a trainer earns a new badge, it is noted at a Pokemon Center and posted online casually without any fanfare. Yazmyne clarifies saying that if she loses in a gym battle, she doesn't have to be reminded of it and no one will know.
The conversation of competition makes Yazmyne angry as she shouts she needs an opponent to make up for this loss. After Yazmyne shouts this, she sees a small explosion and Yazmyne immediate guesses that a trainer battle is happening. She runs after toward it with Dante needing to follow after her.
===Meeting Megan===
Yazmyne and Dante reach the site of the explosion, which was from a Shadow Ball from a Koffing. Koffing is battling a girl's Buizel, and Buizel wins the battle with an Aqua Jet. The boy, Leslie is upset at defeat. Yazmyne interrupts and introduces herself and Dante to what is a group of trainers. Doane introduces himself as does his opponent Megan, and two other trainers Henry, who has a Gulpin, and Will, who has a Voltorb. Dante asks what is going on, and Megan says that she's beaten all three boys. She notes that when the eyes of two trainers meet, a battle begins, and Megan adds that she's locked eyes with Dante.
Yazmyne, however, interrupts and insists that she'll be battling Megan. Yazmyne shows her two badges, saying that she's going after the Indigo Plateau Conference. Megan in intrigues as she shows her two badges, the Cascade Badge and the Insight Badge. Yazmyne is curious about the latter, and Megan explains that the Insight Badge comes from the gym leader of Lavender Town, which is where Yazmyne is headed. Leslie, Jaren, and Aiden are also trainers aiming for the Indigo Conference, and when asked Dante insists he is just Yazmyne's travel buddy with an interest in Bug-Type Pokemon.
Hoping they are done with formalities, Yazmyne is insistent on a battle. Jaren suddenly recognizes the name and checks his Pokegear and he learns that Yaznyne lost in the Saffron City Contest two days ago. Yazmyne is irritated as she confirms. Megan finds it interesting that Yazmyne is pursuing Gyms and Contests, but she doesn't think anything of it. Actually it means Yazmyne must be that talented if she can pursue both and she agrees to a battle.
The boys watch from the sidelines with Will agreeing to officiate the match. Yazmyne asks how many Pokemon Megan has, and she replies that she has five. Yazmyne says she does as well, so they both agree to a five on five battle.
===5-on-5===
Yazmyne makes Pidgey her first choice and Megan sends out a Rattata. Megan makes the first move and orders Ratatta to use Focus Energy. However, Pidgey strikes first pushing Rattata back with Quick Attack. Rattata remains strong and begins to glow red hot. Rattata then lunges for Pidgey with Crunch. Pidgey remains aerial and blows Rattata back to the ground with Twister. Rattata gets back up and goes for another Crunch, but Pidgey flies around Rattata and blows Rattata back to the ground with Steel Wing. Rattata is knocked out, winning Pidgey the round.
Megan recalls Rattata and Yazmyne asks if Megan is ready to get serious. She knows that in longer battles, gauging the opponent's battle strategy is a common tactic, which is why Megan isn't visually upset by the early loss of her Pokemon. Megan responds with a smirk and offers her second Pokemon, a Grimer. Yazmyne mentally notes that her Butterfree will be perfect against Grimer should Pidgey lose.
Pidgey started the battle with a Twister. Nidorino seems to flinch, but he begins to glow with Harden. Grimer proceeds to fire a Sludge Bomb. Pidgey remains fast in the air and dodges the poison needles. Pidgey then dives in with Wing Attack, but when she gets close, Grimer readily defends with Harden nad absorbs the attack. Grimer then poisons an exposed Pidgey with Toxic. Pidgey begins to take damage from poison. 
Grimer fires a Sludge Bomb. Pidgey deflects the attack with Steel Wing and consumes Grimer in a Twister. Pidgey then dives in with Quick Attack. Grimer builds his defenses with Harden to absorb the attack. Pidgey continues to suffer from poison. Grimer uses Minimize to shrink and fires Sludge Bomb, which lands. Yazmyne commands Steel Wing, and Pidgey immediately spots Grimer, surprising Megan. Pidgey lands her Steel Wing, which knocks Grimer into the air, rendering him helpless and exposed while it returns to normal side. Pidgey consumes Grimer in a Twiser, which renders Grimer unable to battle.
Megan is a little frustrated, asking how Pidgey could see her Grimer. Yazmyne reveals her Pidgey has the Keen Eye ability, which improves her accuracy in battle. Megan groans and calls out her third choice, Buizel. The battle begins and Buizel attacks with Aqua Jet. Pidgey fires a Twister, which causes Buizel to flinch. Yazmyne orders Pidgey to strike with Quick Attack. Buizel performs Aqua Jet again and rams into Pidgey. Though both sides shake off the others' attacks, poison finally catches up to Pidgey. She collapses, unable to battle.
Yazmyne recalls Pidgey for her excellent fight. Megan admits that Pidgey certainly is talented and awaits Yazmyne's next choice. Yazmyne chooses her Staryu. Staryu and Buizel open their encounter colliding with both firing Water Gun, and Staryu's attack proves more powerful as it has more special power. Staryu then darts into the air with Rapid Spin and Buizel dodges each time it tries to attack. Buizel then strikes Staryu twice with Double Hit to disrupt its spinning. Buizel then rams Staryu with Aqua Jet. Staryu recovers fires a Bubble Beam that does not strike Buizel but surround him, preventing him from moving effectively. Staryu blasts Buizel with Water Gun. Buizel endures and attacks Staryu with Aqua Jet. Staryu dodges with Rapid Spin and swerves from strike Buizel from behind. Buizel slams into the ground, and Staryu knocks him out direct Bubble Beam.
Megan recalls Buizel for her favorite Pokemon, a Pichu who is eager to battle. The battle begins with Staryu firing a Water Gun, and Pichu dodges the attack. Pichu sprays with field with hearts of Sweet Kiss. Staryu focuses on dodging the hearts to avoid confusion, but Pichu sneaks up on Staryu and paralyzes it with Nuzzle. Staryu becomes unable to move and prey to Pichu's supereffective Charge Beam that knocks it out. Megan notes that when it comes to Yazmyne's battle strategy, she is consistent. Dante further acknowledges that Yazmyne prefers to start a battle with a long range opening attack followed by close combat. Yazmyne recalls Staryu and send out Spinarak to be her third Pokemon.
As Spinarak emerges, Pichu begins to glow, building power from the effects of Charge Beam. Spinarak and Pichu open their matchup with a collision of Night Shade and Charge Beam, respectively. Pichu then fills the field with Sweet Kiss hearts. Spinarak destroys the hearts with Poison Sting that continue to strike Pichu. Pichu then debuts his now mastered Spider Web to completely trap and restrict Pichu. Spinarak then blasts Pichu with Night Shade. While Pichu takes the hit, Megan orders Volt Tackle. Pichu glows and tears through the webbing with massive electrical power. She charges Spinarak for a massive blow. Pichu feels recoil and Spinarak survives the attack. Spinarak fires another Night Shade and Pichu matches the attack with Charge Beam. Pichu's Charge Beam has grown even more powerful and overwhelms Night Shade to explode on Spinarak, rendering her unable to continue. 
Yazmyne recalls Spinarak and calls on Bulbasaur, instead of saving him as her last choice. Yazmyne decides to change her tactic and orders Tackle. Bulbasaur charges in, and Megan orders Nuzzle. When Bulbasaur and Pichu are about to collide, Bulbasaur uses his vines to jump over Pichu then strike from behind with Leech Seed to slowly drain its energy. Pichu fires a barrage of Sweet Kiss, and Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip to destroy all of the hearts. Bulbasaur then lands a Razor Leaf. Pichu fires an enhanced Chrarge Beam, but Bulbasaur survives. Energy from Leech Seed begins to restore his health. Desparate, Megan has Pichu attack with Volt Tackle. Bulbasaur uses his vines to jump and dodge. He recovers more health from Leech Seed and knocks out Pichu with Razor Leaf.
Megan recalls Pichu and can tell that Bulbasaur has been trained much more than Yazmyne's other Pokemon as they were in great sync. However, she says her final Pokemon is as well. Megan calls on a Nidorino, her first and strongest Pokemon. Yazmyne records Nidorino into her dex, which do not exist in Hoenn. Megan shares that Nidorino is her first and strongest Pokemon. 
Megan plans to have Nidorino to win this easily with a direct attack from Poison Jab. However, Bulbasaur captures Nidorino with Vine Whip and infects him with Leech Seed to drain Nidorino's energy and restore his own. Nidorino takes advantage of the connection and shocks Bulbasaur with Thunderbolt, which also paralyzes the Grass-Type. Bulbsaur releases Nidorino, unable to move, and is struck by a Poison Jab. Nidorino uses Focus Energy to build critical attacking power. Nidorino lunges for another Poison Jab, but Bulbasaur fights through paralyzes to dodge Nidorino's attacks then restrict it again with Vine Whip. Nidorino performs another Thunderbolt, which Bulbasaur endures. Bulbaasaur also uses their connection to land direct Razor Leaf attacks. Meanwhile, Nidorino continues to lose energy via Leech Seed and Bulbasaur slowly heals. Nidorino cannot handle the consistent energy loss and collapses, unable to battle. 
Yazmyne wins the battle, and she and Megan shake hands. Megan is still very upset to lose and intends to heal her Pokemon and immediately win another battle to make up for this loss. She also intends to have a rematch against Yazmyne when they meet again, and Yazmyne enthusiastically agrees. Dante privately notes that Megan and Yazmyne are very similar.
==Major Events==
*Yazmyne meets Megan, a new rival
*Yazmyne's Spinarak masters Spider Web
*Yazmyne battles and defeats Megan
For a list of all major events in this anime, please see Major Events/Battles Ablaze. 
==Characters==
===People===
*Yazmyne
*Dante
*Megan
*Henry
*Leslie
*Aiden
===Pokemon===
*Bulbasaur (Yazmyne's)
*Pidgey (Yazmyne's)
*Spinarak (Yazmyne's)
*Butterfree (Yazmyne's)
*Staryu (Yazmyne's)
*Ratatta (Megan's)
*Nidorino (Megan's)
*Rattata (Megan's)
*Pichu (Megan's)
*Buizel (Megan's)
*Grimer (Doane's)
*Muk
*Grimer
*Vulpix
*Voltorb
*Lotad
*Seedot
Category:Episodes
Category:Battles Ablaze