Chapter 97 – Final Challenge

Chapter 97 – Final Challenge

The top of Mt. Chimney was a barren place with the top edges of the volcano collecting a copious amount of snow. However, further in the elevation plateaus and any snow which happens to land inside melts instantly. I was struck in awe watching the slowly boiling magma knowing that at any point the volcano could erupt and swallow Lavaridge Town whole.

Of course, the town had emergency measures in case such an event occurred. Every household came equipped with a volcano disaster kit and the ranger corps had plenty of ground types who could redirect the ensuing mud avalanches and lava flows into designated unoccupied districts. 

“That’s where Groundon sleeps right? Can I go say hi?”

‘Please don’t start Armageddon on a whim Tini.’

“Spoilsport! Can I at least go for a swim? There are all kinds of Pokémon living inside.”

‘That wouldn’t be too bad. Just make sure you don’t accidentally splash any of us humans with lava on your way out.’

Just like that Victini who had been lounging on top of my backpack the entire track floated off into the caldera. The rabbit cautiously dipped her toes inside the Lava and having suffered no ill effects plunged inside deep enough so that only her head was sticking out. Waving at our little group to let us know that she was doing fine. Mr. Moore didn’t seem the least concerned by Victini taking a soak in the molten rock and even Flannery took this strange development in strides.

“Tini, stay safe!”

As a non-mineral Pokémon diving down completely was an impossibility she still needed air to breathe but that didn’t mean Victini couldn’t go swimming for a couple of laps.

“Leader Moore, are the fire types living inside the volcano fine with strange Pokémon going on a lark in their territory?”

Even from here I could see multiple groupings of Slugma and Macargo crowding the basin just living their lives. Usually, these mollusk Pokémon acted slow and lethargic even at the gym but the ones here were active enough to take part in playful behavior. It was quite the sight, seeing them race each other across the magma lake. With no natural predators and an abundant source of food these Pokémon had enough free time to engage in numerous recreational activities. 

“Over the years I’ve captured the most aggressive ones, those who make for excellent battlers. The ones you see here are content and docile. The rangers also release retirees who wish to start family groups of their own. Those are off limits for capture. The association needs those retired Pokémon to bridge the gap between human society and wild Pokémon.”

“How would a trainer know the difference?”

“The usual, any that are exotic or abnormally strong. We’ve lined the inside of the cable car with pictures for the more slow-witted visitors.”

Volcanoes like Mt. Chimney are prime real estate for all sorts of fire types. If the ranger corps capitalized on that by relocating non-native previously trainer-owned Pokémon into the area we should be seeing more than just slugma and magcargo.

“Sir, where are the other Pokémon?”

“We are not here for that. Bring out Camerupt this won’t take long if the two of you are diligent enough.”

Numsy who had been biding his time inside his poké ball materialized right next to me on the plateau overlooking the basin as did Flannery’s Torkoal. 

“Came!”

“Koaaal!”

The two fire types, being around the same age and having spent three years together at the gym, were quite familiar with each other. I didn’t know what Numsy got up to whenever I was not present working as an intern, but he had developed an amicable relationship with most of Flannery’s personal Pokémon. 

The two fire types went on about inane subjects like the weather and how Torkoal’s beau was doing. The tortoise Pokémon had been crushing on one of the staffer’s Pokémon for a long time and finally managed to persuade the other party to go on moonlit walks with her.

“Pay attention! The Pokémon here do not mind being pelted by molten slag but it’s still better to avoid hitting them by accident.”

“Grandpa, what about us?”

“I’ve had my Pokémon dig out small person sized bunkers for situations like this. They’re visible from up here if you look very closely. ”

Following the man’s pointed finger I could indeed spot small burrows. Just big enough to cover one individual each. While I wasn’t looking forward to cramming myself inside and getting cooked like a stuffed potato, I liked running the risk of getting pelted by molten slag even less. With some trepidation I followed behind Mr. Moore and Flannery as they walked towards the open-faced drilburr hills with our Pokémon following closely behind us.

“Pay close attention to Mr. Moore’s lessons, okay?”

“Came?”

The next part I whispered quietly to avoid offending any nearby parties.

“Me too. Flannery’s grandfather… is a difficult man to work with but he’s better than most. Not just anyone can become part of the Elite Four. We’ll take what we learn from him here and make it our own.”

“Rupt!”

When we finally reached the manholes, Mr. Moore brought out his teaching assistant. At first, I believed that the gym leader would bring out his own Camerupt because of the similarities in both Pokémon’s biology but instead Mr. Moore chose the partner that he was most well known for.

“Blaze, let us show these two how to execute a proper eruption.”

“Wryyyy!”

This Typhlosion was near the same age as Mr. Moore himself denoted by the scruffs of graying fur 

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Two days later*

It didn’t take long for Numsy to master Eruption. My bovine friend could now control the radius of the affected area to be within the parameters of a standard league approved battlefield. At first it seemed that Flannery’s Torkoal would master the move in an even shorter time period, having the benefit of being under the direct tutelage of Mr. Moore before but the hard-shelled Pokémon was facing her own difficulties. Instead of technique it was power which she lacked something that could only be gained by actively participating in trainer battles. Mr. Moore had only recently allowed Flannery to stand in for first level badge challenges after deeming her Pokémon to be of sufficient skill.

I was still surprised by the fact that Mt. Chimney had a small but active magmar population which had been kept secret from the wider public for so long. The first time I caught a hint of their presence inside Mt. Chimney I had to suppress the urge to capture one. If the trainers living down below in Lavaridge Town came to find out that there were magmar within reach, I could only imagine the number of unlicensed starting trainers climbing atop the mountain looking to add them to their own teams.

Mr. Moore had warned me to refrain from spreading the word. It so happened that some of the magmar living here are ex gym Pokémon who had decided to retire and start families of their own. This caused the gym leader to be overly protective of them in addition to the fact that any magby born here would sooner or later end up as a gym Pokémon themself. Some part of me understood Mr. Moore’s need for free recruits but the other part was miffed that the fire-type gym leader was making the lives of other fire type specialists in Hoenn harder by denying them such a resource. Not many of them had the option of going abroad for their partner Pokémon needs like I did.

After sharing a pleasant luncheon together with my grandparents, me and the team returned to Petalburg City. I was nervous, in only a couple of hours the fate of my future career as a trainer would be decided. Having watched videos of leader Nelson’s performance during higher level gym battles I concluded that this would be a tough fight. The man would at least field one of his personal Pokémon if not two with his team’s standout being a battle hardened Exploud. 

‘Here’s to hoping that most of his Elite team are tuckered out from the barrage of challengers hoping to earn their final badge.’

“Mr. Juan is the toughest gym leader, right? We’ll get through this no problem!”

‘Nelson is no slouch either, he likes to keep his opponents on their toes by employing a wide range of strategies. However, when facing off against us the battles will most likely end up being a straightforward brawl.’

“Why?”

‘If we ourselves don’t make use of sneaky stratagems Mr. Nelson won’t either. Normal type trainers don’t tend to overcomplicate things if there is no reason for it.’

“Stereotyping?”

‘Call it a tentative observation.’

I was sipping my favorite drink, Sitrus flavored Soda pop, while observing the varying Pokémon walking down the streets of Petalburg with their trainers. People here seemed to favor bug, grass and normal types. The town’s proximity to the Petalburg Woods seemingly had a profound effect on Petalburgian preferences. Much like Lavaridge Town’s propinquity to the Fiery Path and Mt. Chimney causing our trainers to prefer Fire type Pokémon.

From where I was seated, I could see the gym’s activity still going strong despite reaching official closing hours. Nelson’s efforts to keep gym operations going in order to give trainers a chance to make it to the Ever Grande Conference had drawn in older spectators. Those who would otherwise not be able to attend the matches during working hours. It also helped that all of the challengers who came in at this point had at least seven badges making the battles all the more exciting.

“It is almost our turn. Let’s go.”

“Ninee!”

Ninetales who had been lying down next to me on the public bench elegantly jumped onto the pavement and followed me as I joined the line leading up to the Petalburg gym. I thanked Arceus for the fact that there was a separate marked door reserved only for challengers and personnel. Throughout my short career as a trainer, I’ve lost my appreciation for standing in line. Not that I minded having to go through the process but if one kept track of all the wasted time that we could have used to do something more productive the total amount would be mind boggling.

Pushing past the already unlocked door we came upon a hallway where a familiar face awaited us. Madeline Nelson’s granddaughter and also the one who graciously hosted us for a short period couldn’t hide her surprise seeing us walking through the reserved doorway.

“Egon?!”

“It’s nice seeing you too, Maddy. We have an appointment with your grandfather for a gym battle?”

“So, that’s why you had Uncle take you along to visit our place. You were looking to skip the waiting line, huh?”

“…Not exactly. Oh! This is Rena, the two of you haven’t met yet.”

“Nineee!”

“Hello darling. Where has your trainer been hiding you?”

“Ninee!”

“I’ve always wanted to professionally breed vulpix even as a kid. Too bad that the market is too prohibitive.”

“Prohibitive?” “Ninee?”

“The premium on spiritual property is too high. Even if grandfather used his entire pension, we would only be able to afford a small parcel of land. Breeding her kind is reserved for those old family lines with true generational wealth. Which is too bad. I think everyone would prefer having more of these beautiful Pokémon around.”

“Ninee!”

Rena seemed pleased but before she got completely distracted by Madeline’s flattery, I resolved to redirect the flow of conversation to address the goal at hand. 

“Are you here to show challengers the way to the battlefield?”

“Yes. I live here for free, so grandfather asks that I help out every now and then. The two of you will have to wait until the previous challenger has had his chance.”

“How long will that be?”

“Not that long. These walls are made to be soundproof, but the spectators get extra loud during the match’s climax. We will hear them all throughout the building when that happens. Say… is that cutie Victini still with you?”

‘This woman really has it bad for you, doesn’t she?’

“No way am I making eggs while still in my hundreds!”

“…Perhaps.”

“I’ll tell you which of my grandfather’s personal Pokémon are stuck at the center if the two of you are willing to become exclusive with me.”

“Secret information!? No! First off, what kind of exclusivity are you talking about?”

“That I will be the only Pokémon breeder you employ if in the future a Pokémon of yours needs a professional matchmaker. You can ask anybody! I am the best around at evaluating love compatibility.”

‘I guess it’s fine? It is not like any of this matters. None of my Pokémon are in a hurry to find mates.’

“Don’t forget about Halo!!”

Victini managed to prevent me from making a mistake. The propagation of Halo’s line is of some importance to the Unovan government. Promising exclusivity to a Hoenn breeder would land us into hot water.

“I’d have no problem with it but… one of my partners belongs to a rare species of Pokémon which the Unova League association takes great personal responsibility for. I am not saying I wouldn’t want to make use of your services in the future if any of my partners feel the inclination to do… that sort of stuff.”

“Oohh! What kind of Pokémon is it?”

“A Larvesta…”

“Hmm… I don’t know much about bug types, especially foreign ones. Those Pokémon make so many eggs at a time, that and their fertility never poses a problem. No one I know of hires breeders to help with their coupling.”

“Can you still tell me about Mr. Nelson’s Pokémon?”

“…I’ll cut you some slack and leave that Larvesta out of our deal. Grandpa’s Slaking and Zangoose are all tuckered out from battling. Those two are the ones he calls on for any decent battlers. If you prove to be not up for the challenge, he might let you off by only using his personal Kecleon or Linoone. However, if you do make the cut, the only Pokémon he’s got left right now is Exploud.”

‘Exploud… I didn’t bring any earplugs with me. This is going to suck…’

“Exploud can’t be that bad, can it?”

‘Their signature move Boomburst is strong enough to blow out the eardrums of any human nearby. At their loudest, people from the next town over can clearly hear them. It is a blessing that trained Exploud have a perfect pitch and can somewhat control the damage their sound-based attacks inflict on their direct surroundings.’

“Grandpa probably won’t bring out Exploud. Our paying audience gets put off by all the noise the big lug makes.”

“Thank Arceus! I don’t have any earplugs on me.”

“Our gym does provide free earplugs for visitors coming to see our whismur loudred and exploud in action.”

“They just hand those out to anyone?”

“They’re made out of cheap foam and work just well enough to keep most of the noise out. I wouldn’t recommend using them in a battle against my grandfather though. Our challengers need all their senses to eke out a win.”

It was at this point in our conversation that we could hear the crowd clamoring throughout the gym’s soundproofed halls.

“Are you ready for your most important battle yet, challenger?”

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At the battlefield*

There I was standing in front of a large crowd about to face off against the Petalburg gym leader. Nelson, who I had just now realized I was never properly introduced to, is a portly gentleman his most defining feature being a very well maintained ‘walrein’ moustache. Madeline and surprisingly enough Mr. Briney had opted to join the spectating crowd sitting on the bleachers. I always figured that Mr. Briney’s retirement left him with too much free time and coming all this way to the city just to watch an eleven-year-old face off against his old-time friend affirmed my suspicions.

‘That old man’s adventurous spirit can’t be quenched by the mundanity of retirement. We should take him spelunking one of these days.’

“Did you forget Egon? He’s already taking us to Regice’s Island Cave after the conference is over.”

‘Oh! I almost forgot about that. Let’s just focus on this battle, I am getting all fired up!’

The audience seemed to be mostly made up of working professionals. With some of them deigning to bring their children along to watch today’s battles. The children themselves were as excited as ever getting to witness larger evolved Pokémon duke it out was not an everyday occurrence. Seeing as we were strapping for time the gym’s battle judge wasted no time initiating the battle.

“This Petalburg gym battle will begin now! Each trainer will use five Pokémon when all of the challenger’s or the gym leader’s Pokémon are unable to battle this match will be over! During the battle only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokémon.”

There I was standing inside the confines of the challenger’s box facing off against leader Nelson. 

“For my first Pokémon, I will choose Kecleon!”

What materialized on the field was a Pokémon we knew all too well. This green chameleon Pokémon with the red zig zag pattern around its midsection. This particular individual looked tougher than your standard variety with a more pronounced musculature and a fiercer look in its eyes.

“That’s Jerry! Don’t you go embarrassing us in front of my business associate Egon!”

‘I won’t, just let me do my thing.’

“Go! Glove!”

“Nitan!!”

My own competitor appeared on our end of the battlefield. Glove’s unfamiliar appearance stoked the excitement levels of the crowd and forced the more experienced viewers to explain to their seat neighbors what kind of Pokémon a Darmanitan was.

The reason I picked Glove was simple. My simian friend was the only one among my team who could perform fighting type moves, making him one of the more important pieces of my winning stratagem. Bringing him out this early was a bit of a gamble but I had recently felt the need to get my other partners more accustomed to the lead experience instead of relying on Rena all the time.

Kecleon’s main advantage in battle was their ability to blend into the surroundings. Something that couldn’t be used effectively on a battlefield with no coverage like this one. I myself had researched the common tactics their trainers employed in preparation for this battle. Disrupting the flow of the match and putting a halt to the opposing trainer’s flow.

“So… battle begin!”

“Fake out!”

Kecleon leapt forward with a surprising burst of speed ready to discombobulate Glove without giving us a chance to fight back but I had anticipated this. In every match Nelson uses a kecleon he always commands his Pokémon to flinch his opponents directly upon switching in. 

“Protect!”

With us being prepared there was no way I was going to let things play out that way. A turquoise shield made of normal type energy stopped Kecleon in its tracks.

“Slash!”

“Hammer Arm!”

Our two Pokémon clashed, my Darmanitan’s arm won out against Kecleon’s claws, as a result the smaller chameleon Pokémon let itself be pushed back making use of Glove’s strength to create some distance between themselves. I couldn’t help but notice a change in Kecleon’s physiology as it did so. 

The zigzag pattern on its mid-riff changed colors turning from a bright red into a burnished orange, a clear indicator that its ability had been triggered. Color Change had changed its normal typing into that of a fighting type. This Kecleon didn’t possess its much more formidable ability Protean, allowing us to control what typing it changed into at all times.

“Stealth Rock!”

“It can’t be…!”

“Stop it! Psychic!”

In it’s current form Glove lacked the mental acuity to properly utilize the move but I had decided then and there that Kecleon had to be stopped. My great ape’s eyes glowed as he put in effort to arrest Kecleon’s movements. The bipedal chameleon was grabbed ahold of by Glove’s move and was arrested midair its change in typing allowing us to put their plans to a temporary halt but soon enough Glove’s concentration broke loosening Kecleon’s bonds but not without being slammed onto the ground with considerable force. 

“Leon!”

Still holding on despite the supereffective move the opposing Pokémon spun around conjuring a swirl of sand and jagged rocks. The rocks themselves floated in the air briefly before disappearing underneath our half of the battlefield. Ready to explode upwards with the slightest change in pressure. Our efforts to prevent the move going off failed disastrously. 

‘Stealth Rocks… none of my current team members know how to safely remove those. With our part of the field seeded like this we’ll have our work cut out for us.’

“Let’s finish this up, Flare Blitz!”

Kecleon was flailing about obviously dangerously close to fainting after taking two super effective moves like that. The zigzag pattern on its midriff changed colors once more from a burnished orange to a deep purple denoting its current psychic typing. 

“Psybeam!”

Enveloped in flames hot enough that they actually burned blue instead of the usual red coloring, my partner dive bombed the now sputtering kecleon. The chameleon Pokémon did its best to fend off the flaming gorilla by firing off two frail looking rays that impacted but had little to no effect. The force of the eventual collision was powerful enough to fling Nelson’s Pokémon right outside the demarcated battlefield line. The referee was quick to call the result after that.

Kecleon is unable to battle! Darmanitan wins! 

Nelson wasted no time recalling the passed out Pokémon before quickly choosing his next competitor.

“Slaking front and center!”

The gym leader’s second Pokémon appeared on the field in a bright flash of light. This particular Pokémon’s first action was to lay prone on the ground in a continued effort to expend as little energy as possible even when called out during a high stakes battle like this one.

Slaking as a species are one of the most powerful Pokémon around, but nature is fair in all things. To even the scales this species of Pokémon had developed to become quite lazy and that in tandem with having a very slow metabolism. If this weren’t the case I suspect they would have eventually destroyed the ecosystem that housed them. As it stands, a slaking can survive off of eating grass and the occasional ripened berry that fell off the ground. Trainer-owned ones like this individual could afford to be a bit more energetic having access to all the nutritious food without having to go foraging.

‘Glove is still in good fighting shape. Let’s start off strong!’

“Superpower!”

Unlike Hammer Arm this move would weaken Glove’s body by quite a bit but that was all part of my strategy. I needed Glove to enter its Zen Mode so we could distance ourselves from the lazy behemoth.

Glove’s muscles bulged and while surrounded by a light blue aura he clasped both fists, smashing the other Pokémon with a double axe handle. Slaking didn’t even seem to register the attack still lying prone, but it was quick to react to its trainer’s next command.

“Counter!”

“Stop!”

It was too late to call off the attack. Slaking briefly, glowed covered in a multicolored aura and stood tall for the first time this match. All of this happened in the split second it took for Glove’s fists to make contact. The sloth Pokémon took the fighting type move head on and retaliated with a punch so powerful it blew Glove back all the way to my side of the field where he passed out immediately not even getting the chance to shift forms.   

‘To think I fell for my own strategy! I should have realized that Counter is the perfect move to use on an immobile Pokémon like Slaking!’

“Darmanitan is unable to battle, Slaking wins! Challenger, release your next Pokémon!”

‘This guy…! Stealth Rock, Counter he’s not acting like your typical normal type specialist at all. He is acting nothing like the man we watched videos of back at the center’s PC booth. Well… two can play that game!’

“Rena, I choose you!”

The fox Pokémon appeared on my side of the battlefield but as soon as she did so the trap that had been laid by that devious Kecleon sprang into action. My fox was waylaid by pelting jagged rocks scuffing her shiny coat turning her into a sorry state.

“Nineee!”

“I am sorry! Can you hold on?”

“Nine!”

“Begin!”

“Encore!”

While Slaking’s Counter had managed to catch us by surprise Nelson wasn’t the only one with a bag of tricks at his disposal. While the lazy Pokémon was still unable to retaliate, I had Rena lock it up using the move Encore. Depending on how long it took for Slaking to shrug off this move we would have free reign to take our revenge on them in the interim. 

Our surroundings had finished heating from my Ninetales’ ability kicking in. For a fire specialist like myself the intense sunlight felt pleasant and invigorating but not so for the audience watching. Every standard battlefield had to have open access to the sky to make things fair for flying types and Pokémon teams who relied on weather like mine so that wasn’t an issue even for an indoor battlefield like this.

“If we don’t get close, Slaking will be forced to come to us. Fire Blast!”

Fire Blast is an easy to dodge move, I would never have my Pokémon use it against regular opponents but because Slaking’s ability had already started hindering it, I gave the command in short order. Ninetales unleashed a gout of flame which formed into a star shaped seal midflight flying right into the direction of the lackadaisical Pokémon. Because Slaking had become stuck performing the same move it could do nothing but get barbecued by Rena.

“Kingggg!”

“Shake it off! Use Rain Dance!”

“Energy Ball!”

When Slaking finally found the wherewithal to break free from Encore’s effects He got hit by a translucent green sphere. The ball had hit him square in the face but in a last act of defiance Slaking managed to execute its trainer’s last instructions. The sun’s rays which had been warming up the battlefield stopped and in its place darkened rain clouds started forming. I figured it would only take a brief moment before the rain started setting in. Before the battle judge even had the chance to call this round of exchanges in our favor Nelson had already returned his extra singed Slaking back into its poké ball.

“Slaking is unable to battle, Ninetales is the winner! Gym leader Nelson please select your next Pokémon!”

“My next Pokémon will be… Spinda!”

The panda like Pokémon materialized on the field. Unlike Madeline’s Spinda this one sported a set of non-unique markings, its spots forming a goatee and eye patch pattern. Its appearance caused a certain psychic type Pokémon on my team to experience a visceral reaction.

“Let me out! I’ll be the one fighting that pirate Spinda!”

‘I know you don’t like Spinda but you are our ace in the hole when we make it to the top sixteen at the conference. Me and the team will beat that Spinda for your sake, okay?’

“Don’t let its innocent looks fool you. These Giratina spawn are not to be trusted!”

“”

“Rena Return! Go Raven!”

“Aaarf!!”

Just like Rena, my other canine Pokémon was experiencing her first Stealth Rock bombardment. Unlike the fox Raven quickly shrugged off the loose mud and debris instead giving all her attention to our opponents. Having lived most of her life in the safari zone she was used to hazardous terrain and the occasional rain bath.

“Begin!”

Nelson didn’t waste any time going for Spinda’s signature move. Too bad for him Raven knew how to deal with tricky opponents.

“Teeter Dance!”

We had collectively learned from Victini’s first encounter with these panda Pokémon. Knowing that their strength lay in utilizing underhanded tactics I opted to put a stop to it before this one could get going.

“Taunt!”

The Panda Pokémon initiated its creepy dance but was quickly halted by Raven’s provocation. Her taunts had always proved to be wildly effective. Having been pelted by the stealth rocks that were seeded across the ground, the canine Pokémon was in an especially vindictive mood. Cursing Spinda out in the vilest language she could think of. Which caused the Panda Pokémon to forget her trainers command and focus entirely on taking the fight to my houndoom in a more direct approach. Before things devolved into an all-out paws on brawl Nelson channeled that aggressiveness 

“Splendid counter! How about this? Water Pulse!”

I was hoping that Spinda wouldn’t know of any water type moves but that pipedream was shattered as the water pulse formed between Spinda’s paws. The rain made it considerably easier for the panda Pokémon to form said water ball before firing it off in Raven’s direction.

“Comeuppance!”

Raven had mastered this new move all on her own. Unlike Counter, this move was able to reflect even ranged attacks and in exchange was only a bit weaker than counter. Raven was able to learn this particular move because I had put such an emphasis on the strategic use of Counter during our training sessions. 

As the super effective Water Pulse collided into her form she stood her ground and swiftly retaliated firing off a wave of red tinged darkness far more powerful than a regular Dark Pulse. The strength of this move clearly showing that the damage she received from that Water Pulse was quite significant. Spinda’s staggering which all of them do to make their opponent drop their guard was actually real this time.

“Finish it! Dark Pulse!”

“Water Pulse again!”

Nelson realizing that Spinda was not in the frame of mind to do anything other than go on the offensive called for this last exchange in moves. Knowing that Raven couldn’t handle blocking another Water Pulse after the damage she had already received, I was also of a mind to finish this quickly. 

 Both moves went off at the same time. Waves of black and purple rings coalesced against the Water pulse resulting in a large build up of typed energy which eventually exploded outwards. The blast area was large enough for both Pokémon to be affected. 

“Awoooo!!”

“Leoonn!”

When the smoke cloud subsided both Pokémon were lying on the ground no longer able to move. Raven especially seemed worse for wear being drenched by rain and covered in mud. Seeing her like this I already knew that once we got back to the center dorm rooms, I’d be stuck pampering my trusted pooch the entire evening.

“Spinda and Houndoom are unable to battle making this a draw! Both trainers please bring out your next Pokémon.”

“Raven good job! Return!”

I did as the battle judge instructed. However, before doing so I took this opportunity to whisper some warm-hearted wishes to my brave pooch who weathered through the rain and debris for me.  

“Once we’re done here, I am buying you a nice big juicy fillet paired with the tastiest berries on the market.”

My first steps towards appeasing the team had already begun. None of them appreciated being forced to get down and dirty. My next pick however should clear up this deluge of bad weather the field is experiencing.

“Rena you’re up!”

Reintroducing a familiar face to the crowd I had Rena return to the field for a singular reason. Hoping that she wouldn’t fry me for messing up her coat a second time. Her appearance triggered the hidden Stealth Rocks once again. Wet jagged stones pelted her from all sides having already undergone this before, she now looked even more of a mess.

“Ninee!?!!”

“Sorry! Just for a little bit, okay? We need you to clear this weather.”

“Ninee…”

“Zangoose it’s your turn!”

Leader Nelson’s own choice of Pokémon appeared on the field.  Zangoose looked like a peculiar crossbreed between a mongoose and cat with distinct scar-like markings. I was hoping that no one in the audience had brought along their seviper to come and watch. The two Pokémon’s species blood feud was bitter enough that any Zangoose would disregard its trainer’s instructions to duke it out with the fang snake Pokémon.

“Begin!”

Rena’s ability had begun taking effect; the unnatural rain cloud up above had dispersed and in its stead the sun’s rays had intensified once again. Even the audience could appreciate the current improved visibility. Still the field was slippery it would take a while before conditions would become optimal for my fire type Pokémon.

“Quick Attack!”

Nelson took advantage of the fact that Rena was already on her last legs. Being pelted by Stealth Rocks twice in a row had done a number on the fox Pokémon. Dashing forward with startling speed Zangoose made a lunging attack with its claws smacking Rena right in the face. 

“Ninee!!”

“Hold it down! Will-O-Wisp!”

The training she underwent to strengthen her tails was paying for itself right now. Individually each tails’ grip strength wasn’t much but together they were enough to hold down any medium sized Pokémon for a split few seconds. Rena’s tails lit up ghostly blue as streams of purple fire enveloped the trapped Pokémon. 

‘Perfect! With this Zangoose’s physical ability is greatly reduced.’ 

“Facade!”

Zangoose’s body shined with an orange aura turning the debilitating effects of being burned into strength. The Pokémon’s single loose appendage battered into Rena’s body causing her to faint on the spot, freeing the mongoose Pokémon in the process.

“Ninetales is unable to battle, Zangoose wins! Challenger, select your next Pokémon!”

“Return!”

‘Facade is still a normal type move completely ineffective against ghost types. It is time to bring out my ace in the hole.’ 

“Go Orin!”

Materializing in the space above the battlefield was my recently evolved spectral companion. Just like before the Stealth Rocks activated as soon as a new Pokémon’s presence was detected. However, strangely enough something outside of anyone’s expectations happened.

The happy little ghost was making pirouettes overjoyed at being called out for a major gym battle. It’s spontaneous movement causing the launched rocks to miss their target. Even the crowd got into a festive mood seeing the little guy in action. Being one of my Unovan Pokémon the audience showed little bias against a lampent like Orin. Even though the ghost types living in Hoenn had gotten themselves a bad reputation for beleaguering wary travelers.

“Look at it go!” “How cute! What kind of Pokémon is that mommy?” 

‘Orin’s got the X-factor, that’s for sure.’

I was snapped out of the revelry by the sidelined battle judge who gave me a pointy glare. A brief moment of non-verbal communication was all that it took to get his point across.

“Orin, let's do our best!”

“Laaaamp!”

The ghost type stopped lollygagging and took his position on my side of the field ready for some serious battling. By this point the sun’s effects had fully taken hold giving Lampent an even larger advantage.

“Begin!”

“Fire Spin!”

On my command Orin conjured up a small fire tornado to entrap Zangoose and itself. This variation of the move is only possible when the sun is up leaving the opposing Pokémon no room to dodge. It also served to dry up the field in case we couldn’t end the match on our own against Nelson’s final two competitors.

“Sword Dance!”

Zangoose’s movement became erratic as the Pokémon flitted about in the fiery tornado. At the same time the Pokémon was trying to avoid getting singed by the flames its sharp claws elongated its very aura becoming concentrated in Zangoose’s claws..

“Inferno!”

Inferno was a very powerful move but slow to charge up. Now with both Pokémon trapped there was nowhere for Zangoose to dodge. Slow streams of violet colored fire started to inch closer and closer to Zangoose until…

“Fend it off, Protect!”

An all-too-familiar impenetrable shield coalesced around the cat-like Pokémon protecting it from further harm. 

“Keep going! That shield won’t last for long!”

“Pent!”

One of the advantages of Orin’s Inferno was that he could keep the stream going far longer than all his other moves. We had come to find out during our training sessions that the output required was at least half of other fire type moves. 

“Find the weak point! Night Slash!”

“Zaaaann!!”

At some point Nelson must have realized that playing for time was a losing game. Zangoose dropping the shield sped forwards into the coming fire, its dominant claw pointing forwards in an effort to cleave apart the incoming tide. Zangoose’s efforts could have proven effective if not for already being hampered by its perpetual burns. The spectators held their breath and as the battlefield cleared of the smoke and flames we could all see the charred form of Zangoose laying prone on the ground. 

“Zangoose has become unable to battle, Lampent wins!”

Leader Nelson was quick to return Zangoose to the stasis of its poké ball. The device would keep the worst of its burns from worsening until it was transferred over to a Pokémon center.

“A fantastic performance, Egon of Lavaridge Town. Let’s see how you manage against one of my personal Pokémon. Exploud, let yourself be heard!”

My sense of foreboding proved justified as I watched a large bipedal hippo-like Pokémon appear on Nelson’s side of the battlefield. Your average exploud stood at the height of a near adult teenager but this one was of a larger variety. Standing near six feet tall with scars crisscrossed all around its body denoting its advanced age and experience of many battles.

I had a sneaking suspicion that this one was old enough to have experienced the latter stages of the war and was of compatible seniority as Juan’s Kingdra. Meaning that we would be in for a tough battle.

“Begin!”

“Restrict it! Rock Tomb!”

Lacking access to its sound based moves because of their common normal typing didn’t seem to slow down this Pokémon at all. The Rock Tomb it conjured out of thin air was more akin to a Rock Slide, the number and size of those stones were comparable to when an actual rock type Pokémon utilized the move.

“Protect!”

Panicking I had Orin summon forth its own shield to protect itself from the barrage of rocks giving me time to plan ahead.

‘Orin is not ready for this level of battling, we’ll have to go with a scorched earth retreat. This will be the first time I will have Orin actually use this move in a serious battle.’

“Curse!”

Seeing Lampent impale itself with that ghostly nail was still a harrowing sight, but the effects couldn’t be argued. Sacrificing half its current vitality was a small price to pay to see the eventual defeat of Nelson’s personal Pokémon. Unlike Phoebe sacrificial moves were not my cup of tea but it helps overcome Pokémon one normally wouldn’t be able to defeat in battle. While this was happening Nelson didn’t just sit on his laurels.

“Crunch!”

Before Exploud’s giant mouth could grab ahold of my ghost type I made the decision to get Orin out of harms’ way.

“Return!”

‘Orin has already done his job. Now it was up to the rest of the team to face this challenge.’

“The challenger has chosen to substitute his Pokémon while in the midst of an exchange in moves. Lampent is now considered retired from this match! Trainer Egon has five seconds to call out his replacement or he forfeits the match!”

I didn’t begrudge the battle judge’s ruling. Now that Exploud has been put under the effects of Curse speedy switch outs are a must to keep this battle fair and honest.

‘Who can finish this? Exploud is near or in the same league as Wallace’s Kingdra.’

“Me! Me!”

‘You know I can’t. It is not the time for you to make your debut just yet. We’ll need a brawler, someone who can take a hit.’

Having made the decision in my mind I grabbed the ball containing my longtime partner. If any on my team had a shot at ending this battle it was him.

“Numsy come on out!”

“Ruupt!”