How expensive are funeral services?

Everyone was shocked at the revelation. Both at the novel use of moves and at the horrifying potency of the poison used. Erika was stunned speechless. She had been set up from the beginning. She was destined to lose. But she couldn't go down without taking at least one of his Pokémon down with her.

"Weepinbel use rapid spin!" she said quickly. Rex was surprised that Weepinbel had learned such a move. It effectively gets rid of all trap moves that had been recently placed down. A wave of air began to head in Weepinbels location as he spun and with it all the razor leaves that had been on the ground.

One by one, they were plucked out and destroyed under the razor-sharp leaves Weepinbel possessed. Once it was done, Weepinbel staggered and fell unconscious.

"Well done Weepinbel, you deserve a good rest." She said with a helpless smile.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

Rex's clapping echoed through the silent hall.

"Very well done. Even when taken by surprise and when the odds are against you, you still remained clear-headed." Rex praised truthfully. As someone who struggled to remain calm when things went wrong, he was awed by her calmness and how she effectively used the options available to her in order to still hold a fighting chance.

If she listened to his warning and called back her Pokémon, she would have lost the battle there and then. He had used his words to test her. and she proved to be better than he previously gave her credit for.

"Thank you." She nodded seriously. "Now, it's time for my last Pokémon." She said before throwing out a Pokeball.

With a pop, gloom materialized on the field. It immediately released a putrid stench into the air when it felt the piercing gaze of Victreebel. Everyone in the gym covered their nose while sporting a heavy frown.

Rex was no exception. Victreebel deflated a bit since its ability halved the stages he gain in his last fight. So, he was left with 3 stages added into his attack stat from his original 4.

"Victreebel use Swords dance," Rex said calmly. There was no point in chasing after the opponent. Erika stomped her foot angrily when she heard Rex's command. "Gloom use poison Jab!" she said quickly. Gloom waddled over at slow speed and stabbed forward towards Victreebel.

"Victreebel dodge and use leech seed." He said calmly. Victreebel faked left and went right while twisting his body into a reverse 'C' shape. The jab just missed and before Gloom could attempt again it was hit with a seed that sank just beneath the skin and began to sap its strength away.

"Use wrap," he said with a smile. Victreebel shot out vines from behind its back that slithered around Gloom's body before tightening incredibly hard. Gloom felt light of breath all of a sudden.

"Now use toxic." By now Rex knew it was over. Gloom could no longer move, its Hp was being drained and it was about to be poisoned. There was no way out for it.

After being Poisoned Gloom began to slow down as a sickly shade of purple began to stain its once vibrant red leaves atop its head. Erika was panicking she didn't know what to do.

"Gloom use solar beam!" she yelled. You didn't have to move to launch that attack. Gloom did as told and amassed massive amounts of sunlight in its mouth before shooting them at Victreebel at point-blank range. Everyone in the stands was sure that Victreebel was hit but when the dust cleared they were once again shocked.

The small head had used protect to stop the attack instantly. Everyone shook their heads, they felt pity for Erika. Who knew that she would be facing such a weird and terribly difficult opponent? It was simply her bad luck. Gloom couldn't hold on much longer and fainted soon after.

"The winner of the battle is Rex the challenger!" the woman yelled. Everyone gave a standing ovation. Even though it was only a few people in the gym Rex still got excited by the applause. He faced the audience and gave a bow before recalling Victreebel and walking towards Erika who had a dejected expression.

"You shouldn't be so down. You did very well. Nobody is perfect. You already have the level-headedness to be an excellent trainer. All you need is to keep improving your tactics and strengthen your Pokémon." Rex said as he took the Badge Erika had in her hand.

"Y-You think so?" she asked with a glint in her eye. Rex nodded silently and left the gym under the gaze of everyone present. Misty, Brock and Ash chased after him.

Rex couldn't even take a step out of the gym when he heard Ash's obnoxious voice.

"REEEEEX! Wait up," he shouted while running. Rex sighed in exhaustion before turning around to face Ash with a forced smile.

"Too bad you lost, you need to work harder," he said casually. Ash nodded but didn't seem to register it at all as he stared intently at Rex. He could only sigh again, the kid really was useless.

"What can I do for you Ash?" he asked reluctantly.

"A battle, I would like to challenge you to a battle." He said with excitement written all over his face. Suddenly an idea popped into Rex's mind. maybe beating him so severely will wake him up. Rex grin slightly as he looked down at Ash.

"Sure, let's battle." He said, his grin widening. Misty and Brock began to sweat profusely when they saw that smile. They had already prepared themselves for Ash's funeral.