The Confidence Within.

All Aboard.

The four of us walked outside onto the sand and I clutched Nain's Pokeball in my shaking hand. "Brandon, why did you agree to it this?" I whispered to him.

Brandon shrugged. "I figure we can beat them and get a free meal. Plus it'll be fun."

The sailors both sent out their Pokémon. A Wingull and a Clamperl.

The Wingull flapped around, spreading its wide wings. The bird Pokémon seemed to glide in place without even moving once it got off of the ground. The sun shone off its white feathers and it cawed from its yellow beak.

The Clamperl rested in the sand. Its blue clam shell was opened enough to show off the tiny pink pearl resting inside of it.

I pressed the button on the Pokeball in my hand and Nian burst out. The Goomy looked back at me and grinned, then turned to face our opponents.

Brandon pitched a Pokeball into the air and it opened in the sky. In a flash of light, a Treecko appeared.

The small green Pokémon stood on two short legs. It had a large bushy dark green tail and a red chest. He had yellow eyes and two long arms.

The Treecko struck some sort of pose as he grinned at the Wingull and Clamperl.

"Alright, we'll all use one Pokémon. The winner is the last one standing. Let the battle, begin!" One of the sailors said. "Wingull use Wing Attack on the Treecko!"

The Wingull speed forward in the air at Treecko, ready to strike him with its wing.

"No worries, Treecko smack him with Pound before he can get close!" Brandon said. Treecko leaped into the air and slammed his tail down onto the Wingull, knocking it out of the air and into the sand.

Now would be a good time for me to attack. "Nian use Body Slam!" I tried to stand tall as I made my command to appear confident.

Nian leaped into the air and began to fall down toward Wingull.

The second sailor leaped into action. "Clamperl use Clamp and catch the Goomy!" The clam Pokémon suddenly leaped into the air and the shell closed on Nian, snatching him out of the air and trapped him in its grasp.

Nian struggled to break free but he couldn't seem to escape despite his slippery goo coating the shell. The clamp had caught too much of his body and the only direction he went when he would writhe was further into the Clamperl's clutches.

Meanwhile, Treecko landed to find Wingull ready to attack. "Use Peck!" The Wingull leaped at Treecko and began to rapidly peck at him with its beak. Treecko put up his hands to protect his face as he was bombarded with small attacks.

I looked to Brandon who didn't seem worried at all. "Soon as it's over I'll hit him back way harder than he hit me," Brandon told me.

I knew I had to think of something soon. Brandon's strategy could never work. The Wingull clearly wasn't tiring any time soon.

I recalled Nian's moveset and quickly formulated a plan. "Nian! Use Bide!" The Goomy began to glow white as the Clamperl continued to try and crush him.

"Clamperl! Let him go before the attack fires!" The sailor panicked. His Pokémon opened back up and freed Nian entirely. Nian perched on the bottom part of Clamperl's shell and turned to face the Pokémon.

I smiled to myself, he was completely exposed now. "Nian, fire!" Nian unleashed all of his energy in a blinding white light. When the light faded the enemy Pokémon had fainted from the blow.