Hunter looked a bit puzzled when his sister said that it was her last day at the Gym.

"I dunno," he said finally. He could tell his sister was confused and frustrated, and he didn't blame her. She'd put off finishing her Johto badge set when she was offered the job, and now it seemed like she was losing it. "There's another Psychic gym out there, isn't there? And can't you go to the Indigo Plateau and petition to be Will's apprentice?"

"I don't know..." Naomi replied. She sighed, and then glanced over to the door. She blinked, and almost did a double-take. "...Sayuri? Is that you?" She went over to her friend. "What are you doing here? How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!" She rounded on her brother. "Why didn't you say anything? You did that on purpose!"

Naomi nodded. She knew about the Mossdeep City gym, Sabrina actually talked to Liza and Tate fairly often. She was older than they were, and had been a Gym leader for longer, so they often called her for advice.

"You said you wanted to challenge the Gym, right?" she asked. She gestured to one of the yellow teleport pads behind her. "That one will take you straight to Sabrina," she said. "The other one will take you to another junior trainer." She had no problems letting Sayuri past without a battle; she knew her own team was strong, and she didn't want to take the chance of having to send her friend away for losing. "I mean, unless you want to battle me, I can go and get one or two of the Gym Pokemon to make it a fair fight." She didn't mind that, either.

Naomi nodded.

"Let me go and get a couple Gym pokemon," she said. She grinned a bit when Sayuri mentioned that she heard Sabrina had a mean streak. "Oh, you mean that thing with the doll, right?" she asked. She knew all about that. "She's a really powerful psychic herself, you know. When she was a kid, she got so strong so fast that it kind of split her personality in half, and the childlike side of her had no where to go but into the doll she always carried. She's not broken anymore, though, so she's a bit more normal."

"As normal as a person who can control someone's mind can be, anyways," Hunter muttered. Naomi shot him a Look, clearly telling him to Shut Up. It wasn't just an annoyed look, though... There was something else there. She shook her head a bit.

"Be right back," she said. Turning, she stepped on one of the teleport pads and vanished. In the back room, she paused and raised an eyebrow when she saw two Pokeballs set out on the table, with a slip of paper next to them with her name on it. Shrugging, she took them and left the room. She reappeared a few minutes later back in her own 'cell' with the pair of extra Pokeballs on her belt, each with a sticker of the Marsh Badge. "Alright, ready?" she asked. "The rules state that once you agree to battle me, you can move on to Sabrina if you defeat me. If you can't, though, you must keep trying until you do." She took one of the Gym Pokeballs from her belt. "Would you like to choose first, or should I?"

Naomi glanced at Hunter, who nodded and moved back out of the way so he could watch the battle. Then she looked back at Sayuri.

"Alright, then," she said. She tossed the Pokeball. "You're up!" There was a flash of light, and a Jynx appeared. Naomi grinned. She worked with Diva a lot, and she knew that the Pokemon knew a couple of off-type moves that would probably be useful. She also knew that Diva was one of the lower-level Pokemon kept at the gym. With that in mind, Naomi had a pretty good idea which Pokemon was in the other Pokeball. Whenever she worked with Diva, she tended to work with Echo as well, although the Chimecho was a little flighty sometimes.

She looked at Sayuri, waiting for her friend to choose. She wasn't sure if her friend had kept the Wooper or not, but from what she remembered of Sayuri's team, the Wooper would be the only one to stand a chance against a partial-Ice-type like Jynx. Wooper and Quagsire were part Ground, after all, which was the natural weakness to Ice.

Switching for nature types had really helped her in her journey and she thought about this for a second before deciding. "So a Jinx... Good." She pulled a ball from her bag and tossed it into the air. "You're up!" With a flash of light, a figure appeared from the flash of light and stood still for a minute before uttering it's name.

"Vul!" The small fox Pokemon looked so cute coming out then braced herself for battle, eying the Jinx with determination.

"Alright, Hinote. Ready for a gym battle? Now I know your speed is still being worked on, but you have your powerful fire attacks to back that up. I know you can do it!"

"Vul! Vul!" She started jumping up and down cutely then resumed her determined stance. "Vul!"

Sayuri thought she'd try her Vulpix now, not because she didn't trust her ground type, but because she'd left him at the lab... She hadn't thought that one through... But she had her confidence in Vulpix.

Naomi grinned and started the battle. She figured it would be a fairly even match between the Jynx and the Vulpix, and to be honest, she was a bit surprised. Most trainers came to the gym geared up for Abras and the like, so bringing out a Jynx tended to trip them up. More than being surprised, though, Naomi was pleased. Sayuri was prepared.

The battle was surprisingly evenly matched, but eventually the Vulpix got the better of Diva. It was inevitable; Diva didn't know any moves for taking down a Fire-type. Naomi recalled the Jynx, and pulled out the other Pokeball. Time to see who else she was given.

"Your turn!"

There was a flash of light, and she grinned. She had been right, it was Echo. The Chimecho crooned a bit as it floated on the air.

"Chimecho, huh?" She'd heard of them, but never really saw one before this close up. "...it's cute!" She was easily fascinated with cute things. She loved them, but right now... 'Focus. Focus... Uh...' She figured out her next move after the Pokemon was called out. "Okay. Hinote! Use Will-o-wisp then Faint Attack!" She was hoping at least one of those would hit the cute Pokemon before her. Even if she didn't want to hurt it, she was still determined enough to win this battle, despite her shyness at first. "If your Will-o-wisp misses, use it again till it hits!" It would be really helpful later on.

The Vulpix sent a circle of purple flames toward the chime-like Pokemon then prepared to use Faint Attack the best she could without missing.

Sayuri was planning her next move in the meantime in case it did as a back up. Good trainers, she was taught, always needed some kind of back up plan.

"Echo, use Safeguard!" Naomi called. Immediately, a shimmering white veil seemed to materialize around Echo, protecting it from the Will-O-Wisp attack, at least for the time being. It wouldn't hold forever, though, but it gave Naomi time to think. Her time to think was cut short, however, when Echo was hit by the Faint Attack. Echo was a pure Psychic-type, so the attack did incredible damage. The Safeguard veil dissipated, and Echo fell to the floor.

"That's enough!" Naomi said as she recalled the Pokemon. She grinned. "That was really impressive, not many people know how to react to rare pokemon like that. Anyways, you've earned the right to continue on and try to challenge the leader." She winked. "Don't forget which teleport pad I told you to use. It goes straight to Sabrina. And watch out for her Espeon, the thing is crazy fast and has a mean Shadow Ball." She bent down and picked up her own Espeon, scratching her ears affectionately. "Mine has been learning from hers."

"I won?" She was slightly confused. The battle had gone so quickly she wasn't sure what happened. She saw the Chimecho fall from the last attack, but Jinx... She wasn't sure... She might have fallen or had taken a lot of damage anyway...

Vulpix in the mean time was jumping up and down again after her victory as she was happy to have won her first gym battle even if it wasn't against the leader. And she knew that, but was still quite happy.

Sayuri shook the confusion off like a Pokemon would during battle and also felt happy and relieved, but also nervous about what was to come next as she nodded. "Yeah. I remember. Thank you. I've trained really hard since the last time I saw you. Even if you weren't using your own Pokemon it was still a fun battle. I'll be careful of that, too..." Referring to the Espeon. Maybe someday she could battle her friend again. But now... As she approached the correct teleport pad... Sayuri didn't show her nervousness as she turned around to face them. "Wish me luck..." She stepped on the pad and got teleported to a bigger room with only one teleport pad. The exit pad... "Uh... Is anyone here?" She saw no one there as she stepped off the pad, looking around. She was getting more nervous by the second.

"Ah, welcome, trainer," Sabrina's voice said. The Gym Leader seemed to melt out of the shadows, stepping into the light in the middle of the room. "You are to be commended for making it this far. Although," she added with a slight smile, "my apprentice may not have battled as hard as she ought. But no matter. You are here, and have earned the right to challenge the Gym and earn its Badge." Although she could have done it completely with her mind, Sabrina reached down physically with her hand and took one of the three Pokeballs from her belt. "When you are ready, we can begin the battle."

Sabrina gave her that same small, mysterious smile. She was used to people not understanding why she did things sometimes, and she always knew what went in within the walls of her Gym. She knew that Naomi hadn't put all the effort she could into the battle.

"I have known for quite some time that my apprentice would be leaving, even if she has not realized before today," she said. "It will be a pity to lose her, as she is one of my best, but answer me something: you will be moving on to another Gym city once you are done here, correct?"

"I am afraid you misunderstand," Sabrina said. "I said my apprentice was leaving, not that I was sending her away. I am sure it will all become clear soon. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to try for my Badge." As well as Sayuri understood Naomi, Sabrina understood her just as well, if in a different way. Sayuri was right in assuming that Naomi enjoyed Gym work, but Sabrina knew that Naomi enjoyed traveling, and there was nothing more she could learn from remaining an apprentice in the Saffron Gym. There was only so much anyone could learn in one place, even with different people coming through every day. It would do the twins good to get out of their home city, even Hunter. And, Sabrina would admit, she would be pleased to get Hunter out of her Gym. He had a tendency to terrorize her mediums with his Scizor, and they didn't appreciate it.

Sabrina observed Sayuri for a moment, and then released her Kadabra from its Pokeball. It was her first Pokemon, and they still had an incredibly close bond, so she always tended to lead with him.

"Huh?" She was more confused now, but figured she'd forget about the issue now as she had to focus more on battling. Which Pokemon to use... Not much of a selection she had on her yet... There was one she could start with though...

Out came her Pidgeot, knowing helpful moves that could work against a psychic type. "I'm counting on you to help me with this."

The Pidgeot nodded and prepared for battle as he fly upwards a bit like he always did before a battle. It felt better up there for him to start off with. "Pidgeot!"

Sabrina didn't need to give Kadabra any sort of command. They shared a close psychic bond, similar to the one she suspected was forming between Naomi and the girl's Espeon at the moment. But now she had a battle to focus on, and she had to concentrate. It was hard to suppress her psychic skills long enough to battle, but according to League rules, she wasn't allowed to look into the future in order to win. Distantly, she was fairly sure that Sayuri's Pidgeot knew Ominous Wind, but there was nothing she could do about that but brace Kadabra for the attack. Even as she thought it, Kadabra put up a Light Screen, and was already gathering energy for a Recover.

Sayuri had a feeling Sabrina knew something or had a thought about something... She wouldn't get nervous though even after her Kadabra used a move without her saying anything. She'd read about this technique, but wouldn't fall for it as she commanded her Pidgeot to use Agility then brace for Pursuit.
Pidgeot understood and braced himself to use both attacks at the right moments.

Even as the Pidgeot started to use Agility, Kadabra used Calm Mind, flowing from that into a Thunderpunch. The Pidgeot was too fast, however, which seemed to take both Sabrina and Kadabra by surprise. The Pursuit hit Kadabra, punching through his Light Screen and knocking him out. Even as she recalled him, Sabrina smiled slightly. This girl would give her a good match. She considered for a moment before sending out her Espeon. Her Espeon was older and larger than Naomi's, and far more experienced in battle. Even though he was a pure psychic-type, Sabrina had worked with him as an Eevee, and he knew a few Dark moves and a Ghost move as a result.

Sayuri knew her Pidgeot was really strong. She'd raised him as a newly hatched Pidgey which was pretty much from level 1 according to computers. She watched the Espeon come out of its Pokeball and noticed the difference right away between Sabrina's and Naomi's. Made her think this one was possibly male, considering most males are bigger or taller than females. Stronger, too. It was a hunch, but probably a good one.

With Aglilty already in play for a while Sayuri figured another move would work just as well as she commanded Pidgeot to use U-turn this time.

Again he nodded and got ready as he continued to flap his wings in the air.

If that didn't work she'd have to try something else. All his moves had been spoke of already by this point, but they could still work in other combinations.

((We can have them use more than 4 moves if you want. Makes it more fun. Sorry this one is so short~))

The Espeon used Agility as well, disappearing from view as he darted around the arena. At some point between appearances, he switched over to Faint Attack, melting in and out of the shadows until it was close enough to land a solid hit on the Pidgeot. Then he danced backwards again, out of reach. He was fast, and he was going to use that to his advantage as long as he could.

((Thought the moves, even in the show, were limited to only four... It only seems like more each episode a new move is learned when really the Pokemon just forgets previous moves... That's how I noticed it anyway. Though... Having more than four could work in this case with a higher limit... 6 maybe... Otherwise it could get confusing...))

Pigdeot was taken aback from the speed and was soon crashing to the ground from the Faint Attack. He was able to regain himself though and used Agility again to boost his speed more before using Pursuit again toward the Espeon as commanded by Sayuri after she coaxed him to get up again, slightly worried.

After some quick dodging of the speed before him, the attack barely hit the Espeon as its speed was way faster. Pidgeot continued to fly after the attack was sent.