Mitzi and I arrived at the Gym uncharacteristically early, to find a waiting Sadie, who had arrived characteristically early. I nodded to her and fumbled with the key I always wore around my wrist, unlocking the door.
"How come you're waiting outside?" I said.
Sadie smiled.
"Today seems like a big day. I didn't want to interfere with your routine."
I snorted, and I eased the glass doors open. I gazed around the Gym; it was completely unrecognizable from the night before. All of the hardwood on the walls and the floors and the ceiling had been stripped away, leaving black and white tile exposed in its place. The dancefloor-cum-arena had been stripped away, and a ring of hard-packed soil dominated most of the Gym's square footage. Indeed, everything flammable had disappeared overnight, rolled into the basement for safekeeping. The room didn't have the same sort of character… but it was the sort of place you could really cut loose without fear.
I flashed a thumbs-up to my Vigaroth and my Diggersby, and they both grunted in satisfaction. I turned to Hilda, who sat cross-legged in the center of the arena, and I gestured to Sadie.
Sadie hopped into action; she ran over and produced a brush from her handbag, and she began carefully grooming the Ursaring. Hilda liked to be spoiled before important battles.
I went about my own chores- I had a few forms I had to fill out for official League use, and I made sure all of the Pokémon in the Gym were fed and watered, even the ones I didn't expect to fight. While Hilda was distracted with her breakfast, Sadie came over and sat down next to me.
"You're really taking this seriously, aren't you Krista?" she said.
"You could say that," I said. "How can you tell?"
"Well you're wearing a bra, for a start," said Sadie.
I sniffed, and adjusted myself... Sadie laughed as I did.
"Well, I am taking it seriously," I said. "It's been a while since Hilda and Mitzi have really flexed their muscles."
Sadie looked over at my two Pokémon, both warming up in the ring.
"Say, Krista. Are Hilda and Mitzi the only two Pokémon you'll use?"
I wrinkled my nose. Sadie raised a good question; I occasionally sent Vigaroth and Diggersby to battle young or inexperienced trainers, but those two were fundamentally better at laboring than they were at battling. But there was a third, one who could give Hilda and Mitzi a run for their money… I touched a hand to the third Ball at my waist, just to make sure it was still there.
It was a little cocky to assume my Umbreon and my Ursaring could defeat Chase's entire team by themselves… but I didn't want to send that third Pokémon out to battle unless there was no choice.
"Just leave that part to me," I said.
Sadie looked a little confused, but she didn't press. She giggled as I adjusted my bra again, uncomfortably, and the tension in the room was dispelled.
Chase walked into the Gym a short time later, just as Mitzi and Hilda were finishing their warm-ups.
"Yo, Krista. Am I early?" said Chase. As he raised a hand in greeting, I caught a glimpse of four distinct Poké Balls hanging from his belt.
"Nope, perfect timing. I was worried you were going to keep me waiting."
"I set three alarms, just for the occasion," said Chase. He took one of those Balls from his belt and released a Steelix onto the sand in the center of the Gym.
The giant serpentine Pokémon growled, and it coiled its body to wait.
I nodded in approval.
"Hilda, you're up first."
The Ursaring barked out her acknowledgement and trotted out into the ring, and Mitzi bounded over to stand at my side at the arena's edge.
"Chase, are you okay with the standard format? Three-on-three, elimination?"
"Yeah, that works for me," said Chase. "Do you even have three Pokémon?"
My mouth twisted.
"Sadie asked me the same thing. You just leave that to me, bucko."
I paused a second and sized up the Steelix in the ring- Chase had told me once that Spike, that Steelix in the ring, had been his first partner, and I knew from experience that it could probably rival Hilda in terms of raw power. The whole battle could be decided in the first few moments of this first matchup, if Hilda and I weren't careful…
"So… should we just get on with it?" said Chase.
"Come on, now," I said. "You still have a lot to learn about women, Chase. You can't just skip the foreplay. Isn't that right, Sadie?"
Sadie turned red, and I grinned.
"Alright, here we go! Leader, Krista Strauss! This will be a three-on-three, elimination battle for the Monochrome Badge, sanctioned by the Pokémon League! Trainer Chase Cambria, do you waive the monotype requirement?"
"I do," said Chase, and his Steelix growled.
"Good. Sadie, will you do the honors?"
Sadie gulped.
"Trainers, get ready… combatants, take your positions, and fight!" Sadie threw a hand in the air, and I did the same.
Hilda rushed into action, and the Steelix lashed out with its tail to meet her.
Hilda didn't need instructions; we had practiced this exact matchup many times before. Sure, it had been a few years, but if my Ursaring was rusty she didn't show it. She sidestepped the Steelix's tail and planted her feet, winding up for a Hammer Arm strike…
But Chase's Steelix knew exactly what was coming. It half-slithered and half-rolled to the side and brought that heavy tail around again, and Chase whooped as Hilda scrambled to duck under the sweeping blow.
"Spike, keep the pressure up!" said Chase. "Stick and move, she's stronger than she looks!"
I nodded.
"Hilda, he's right," I said. "Remember, that overgrown sidewinder is faster than it looks."
Hilda grunted out her agreement and ducked another wide-arcing Iron Tail, and I cursed under my breath as the Steelix again skidded just barely out of her reach. Hilda took a step forward, tentatively, and then leaped back as its tail twitched again.
Chase's Steelix reared up back into its most natural position and its uncanny grin widened; an eerie metallic rumble reverberated from the serpentine Pokémon, almost as if it were laughing at Hilda.
"Hilda, steady now…" I said.
Hilda roared her frustration, but she remained at the edge of the arena, pacing, keeping her distance.
"Alright, Spike. Show her that new trick you learned," said Chase.
The Steelix roared, but it remained in place, grinning. I frowned, but I saw Hilda's nose twitching as she sniffed the air. I put two and two together and yelled out to her, but she was already in motion; a cloud of acrid breath spewed from the Steelix's mouth and singed the ground where Hilda had been standing a moment before.
"Hilda, that's Dragon Breath!" I said. "Don't get hit, that's a neurotoxin. It's game over if it catches you."
I realized I was clenching my fists and I forced myself to relax, but I clenched them all over again as Hilda leaped out of the way of another Iron Tail attack.
It was an effective strategy, I had to give it to them. The sheer bulk of that Steelix was a huge advantage at close-range, and the threat of that Dragon Breath attack would prevent any long-range mix-ups…
"There's no way around it, Hilda. You know what you have to do," I said.
Hilda grunted, and again she rushed towards the Steelix. This time the Iron Tail came at her straight on, like the thrust of a spear; I held my breath as she sidestepped it and grabbed with both hands. The Steelix roared in surprise and anger as it realized Hilda had its tail gripped in a bear hug (no pun intended), and Hilda roared as she tried to overpower the Steelix and throw it off balance. But then…
"Hilda, stop!" I yelled! But not fast enough.
Hilda looked up in time to see all seven hundred pounds of the Steelix careening straight down on top of her. She tried to leap back but she couldn't clear out in time, and she yelped as she was driven straight into the dirt.
"Woohoo! Spike, great Heavy Slam!" yelled Chase. "Now show her what comes next!"
"Come on, Hilda, shake it off," I said, and I watched warily as the Steelix began to coil its body.
Hilda rolled out from underneath the Steelix and shakily got to her feet, and she growled as the iron snake Pokémon drove its head into the sand.
"Careful, now…" I crossed my arms and thanked y blessings I had solid ground to stand on. The sand under the arena went deceptively deep; it was specifically designed to allow Ground-type Pokémon to maneuver below the surface.
The matchup looked worse and worse for Hilda with each passing minute.
Hilda growled again- the Steelix had now burrowed completely under the ground. Chase stood across from me, looking smug, and he smiled cheerfully when he caught my eye. I ignored him and turned my attention to the arena; I squinted, looking for any sign of disturbance in the sand.
I caught one, but it happened too fast for me to react. The Steelix's tail lanced out of the ground, like a stake to impale Hilda, who just barely sidled out of the way. The tail retracted underground, and shot out again from a different angle. This time it just barely clipped Hilda on the shoulder, but it was enough to send her tumbling end-over-end.
"No!" I yelled, uselessly.
I saw it happen in slow motion; Hilda in midair, reeling from the blow. The Steelix's tail, lancing out a third time from below, for a finishing strike. I watched as Hilda reached out her arms, caught the tail, and somehow landed on her feet, all in one motion. She roared and wrenched the Steelix's tail over her back, and I cheered as all seven hundred pounds of the Steel-type serpent emerged from the earth and hit the ground with a crash.
The Steelix coiled itself and lunged at Hilda, headfirst, jaws gaping, and I tried not to grin as Hilda set her feet.
"Spike, stop!" yelled Chase, but the Steelix was too furious to listen even if it could have stopped its own momentum. It flew headlong into Hilda's arcing fist, and it made a horrible noise as it was driven back into the floor.
"Finish it!" I yelled, and Hilda hopped on top of the fallen Steelix.
The Steel-type Pokémon tried to pull itself upright, but I grimaced as I caught the faint scent of sulfur. Standing on top of the struggling Steelix, Hilda brought her fist down again, and as she did it burst into flames. She drove her flaming fist into the Steelix again and again until it moved no more, and when she was certain her opponent was incapable of fighting, she hopped to the floor and trotted back to my side.
I scratched her under the chin as Chase fumbled for a Ball with which he could call back his Steelix…
"Hilda, are you alright?" I said.
Hilda grunted, but I could tell she was putting on a brave face. She was covered in bumps and bruised and scrapes… but she didn't get to be the toughest Pokémon in Unova by giving up easily.
I nodded to her and she took her place back in the ring as Chase sent out his second Pokémon… and I caught a flash of beige and green as a Chesnaught hopped into the arena and yipped happily.
"Great," I muttered.
Hilda sized up her new opponent warily, and Mitzi tugged at my pant leg. I looked down at the Umbreon and then crouched down to speak.
"I know," I said quietly. "That Chesnaught was never a good matchup… for you or for Hilda."
Mitzi growled in agreement.
"Say, Mitzi. If I send out that Pokémon… you know the one I mean. If I send it out, are you ready?"
Mitzi growled again, and her black hair bristled.
"I know, I feel the same way. But we might not have a choice. There's no way I'm losing to Chase."
I stood up and fingered the third Ball at my waist, and I prayed that Hilda and Mitzi could pull off a miracle so I wouldn't need to use the Pokémon inside…