DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon is published and owned by Japanese video game company Nintendo, and was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996.
The following is a loose novelization of the events of the video games Pokémon X & Y. Several events, lines of dialogue, and Pokémon owned by the characters will therefore be different.
Serena gasped in awe as the group entered the Santalune City Gym. The main lobby was a simple white room with a number of portraits hanging from the walls, all photos of various Bug-type Pokémon in their natural habitats. The group was breathless at the sight of them all, though Calem was particularly drawn to one of several Vivillon, all with different patterns on their wings.
"Wow, I wonder what mine'll look like when he evolves," Calem wondered aloud.
"Well, I checked the Pokédex during supper, and it looks like there are more kinds of Vivillon being spotted all the time," Shauna replied. "It could be any one of these, or none of them."
Calem smiled. "Well, I guess the most important thing is that he's strong and healthy, right?"
Shauna nodded. "Yeah, but there's nothing that says he can't be pretty, too."
Eventually moving on, the five Trainers and Trevor's Pikachu found themselves entering the central room of the Gym. The battlefield was built in the middle of a greenhouse of sorts, with tall trees standing around it with webs connecting them. The skylight was opened, the sun's rays pouring in on the trees. Peering around, the group eventually caught sight of Viola. She seemed to be helping a younger blonde girl in a black schoolgirl's outfit feed an orange-brown worm Pokémon with violet-red nose and a horn on its head. As the friends drew closer, Viola spotted them, smiling warmly at the gang.
"Oh, Trevor, Pikachu, Shauna, welcome!" she greeted as the team approached her. "I suppose these must be your friends?"
Serena extended a hand. "My name is Serena, and I'm actually here to challenge you to a Gym Battle, if you don't mind."
Viola smirked, shaking Serena's hand. "Oh, a new challenger, huh? Sounds like fun. And your two friends are?"
"Hi, I'm Calem!" Calem greeted. "I'm just getting started being a Pokémon Trainer, but I've been learning a lot from my mom and my friends."
"I'm Tierno, and I'm trying to raise a team of Pokémon with lots of unique moves!" Tierno exclaimed, doing a quick spin that got a giggle out of Viola.
"Say, who is this Pokémon?" Shauna asked, taking out her Pokédex and scanning the schoolgirl's Bug-type as Pikachu greeted it.
"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon," the Pokédex described. "Often found in forests and grasslands, its brightly coloured body and poison stinger are meant to frighten larger predators away."
"Part of my job as a Bug-type Gym Leader is to impart my knowledge of Bug-type Pokémon to other Trainers, like Charlotte here," Viola explained.
The schoolgirl, Charlotte, nodded as she stood up. "Viola's a wonderful teacher! She even lets me referee her Gym Battles!"
Trevor scratched the back of his head, spotting the camera hung from Viola's shoulder. "Say, Viola? Did you take all of those pictures in the main lobby?"
Viola smiled. "You bet! One of my passions is Pokémon photography! I wanna share all the most beautiful sights and sides of Pokémon with the whole world!"
"That's amazing!" Serena exclaimed. "Maybe when our battle's over, you could show me some more of your work?"
Viola winked at the honey-haired girl. "Well then, we better fit the battle in right away! Just so you know, though, I won't go easy on you!"
Within a few minutes, the group was assembled in the centre of the Gym. Calem, Trevor, Pikachu, Tierno, and Shauna were all seated in some stands, along with a few other Trainers from around the Gym. Serena was standing at one end of the battlefield, while Viola was standing at the other, and Charlotte was on the sidelines with a pair of flags, a blue one and a red one. A big screen on the wall behind her came on, with the two Trainers' faces on it, and the image of two transparent Poké Balls under each portrait.
"The following is a 2-on-2 Singles Battle!" Charlotte declared. "During this battle, the challenger, Serena Yvonne of Vaniville Town, will be allowed to substitute Pokémon! The Gym Leader, Viola, will not! Victory against the Gym Leader will award the challenger the Bug Badge! Viola, as Gym Leader, the first choice of Pokémon is yours!"
"Right!" Viola called, pulling a Poké Ball. "Surskit, c'mon out!" The Gym Leader tossed the Poké Ball, which released Surskit to the field.
Surskit, Serena though. Based on what Shauna told me, it's a super fast Bug/Water-type that knows Bubble Beam, so Fennekin's not a good choice. That leaves...
"Fletchling, time to battle!" Serena shouted, unleashing her Tiny Robin Pokémon from her Poké Ball. The screen quickly cut a line between the two, with Viola on the blue side and Serena on the red side. One of their Poké Balls each were filled, the image of their first choices overlapping the ball.
"Let the battle begin!" Charlotte exclaimed, throwing her flags up.
"Surskit, Quick Attack!" Viola ordered, Surskit speeding across the field with a white light peeling off her body.
"You use Quick Attack too, Fletchling!" Serena yelled, the Normal/Flying-type zooming at Surskit.
"Hmm, in a head-to-head confrontation using the same Normal-type move, Fletchling's should have more power backing it," Trevor suggested as the two Pokémon rushed each other, colliding hard. However, despite Trevor's prediction, Fletchling was knocked back a bit more than Surskit, causing him to sweatdrop. "...Then again, if Surskit is better trained than Fletchling, that could more than make up the difference!"
"Surskit, Bubble Beam!" Viola commanded, Surskit firing a barrage of light blue bubbles at Fletchling.
"Dodge, and use Peck!" Serena shouted, Fletchling speeding around the bubbles and pecking at Surskit, knocking her off her feet for a moment.
"Awesome move, Serena!" Calem cheered. "That Peck was Super-Effective!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu called out cheerfully.
Viola smiled. "So, your Fletchling's Ability must be Gale Wings, meaning you never needed to use Quick Attack to keep up with Surskit."
Serena smiled back confidently. "I just wanted to see how the two compared right off the bat."
"Well, keep up with this: Ice Beam!" Viola yelled as the Pond Skater Pokémon launched an ice-blue beam at Fletchling, clipping the edge of her wing and freezing it, causing her to fly slower.
"That's not good!" Tierno cried. "If that move had made direct contact, it could've frozen Fletchling completely!"
"Follow it up with Bubble Beam!" Viola commanded, Surskit leveling the Tiny Robin Pokémon with rapid-fire bubbles.
"Fletchling, heal up with Roost!" Serena ordered. Fletchling immediately landed on the ground, her body shimmering gently as her health was partially restored.
"Surskit, how's about showing them what REAL speed is all about?" Viola suggested. "Use Rain Dance!" Surskit nodded, dancing around the field like a figure skater as the clouds over the Gym started to darken, rain dripping down on the field.
"Wow, a move that makes it rain by dancing?!" Tierno demanded, smiling widely. "That's AWESOME!"
"Not for Serena," Trevor noted, Pikachu huddling into his bag as rain dripped onto his nose. "Surskit gains additional speed in the rain with her Swift Swim Ability."
"Now, Quick Attack!" Viola shouted, Surskit speeding across the field like a blue blur and slamming past Fletchling. Then, as if one wasn't bad enough, Surskit bounced off the webbing between the trees and smacked into Fletchling again, and again, Fletchling unable to keep up.
"Fletchling, return!" Serena cried, recalling her Pokémon to her Poké Ball before she could be knocked out, the ball onscreen turning gray behind Fletchling's image. "Rest up for now, okay?"
Serena looked back to the battlefield, examining it. With those webs hanging around, Surskit can bounce around like a hockey puck strapped to a rocket. The only way to put a stop to this is to take them out!
"Fennekin, time for battle!" Serena called, releasing her Fox Pokémon to the field. "Use Ember on the webs!" Fennekin nodded, leaping up and spitting fireballs at the webbing. Despite being slightly hampered by the rain, the fire was able to ruin the webs before being doused.
"Smart move!" Viola commented. "But not smart enough! Surskit, use Bubble Beam!"
"Fennekin, Light Screen!" Serena commanded as the Pond Skater Pokémon began to fire her light blue bubbles. Fennekin's eyes glowed as she projected a yellow energy field around herself, halving the damage from Bubble Beam. Despite this, the rain caused the bubbles to be far more powerful than normal, thus inflicting severe damage.
"Anything else you can think of to hang in there?" Viola asked with a grin.
Serena grinned back as she saw Fennekin start to burn with a fiery aura. "I can think of one: My Fennekin's Blaze Ability! When she's low on health, her Fire-type attacks do a lot more damage, and I know just the one to use: OVERHEAT!" Fennekin took in a deep breath, her body glowing bright red, before unleashing a massive orange-yellow stream of fire that engulfed Surskit. As the flames died down, Surskit fell to her side, coughing out a puff of smoke as she was knocked loopy.
"Surskit is unable to battle!" Charlotte declared, raising the red flag as Surskit's image onscreen faded to black. "Victory in this round goes to Fennekin!"
"You battled well, Surskit," Viola complimented her Pokémon as she recalled her, "now take a well-deserved rest."
Viola observed Fennekin, who was left nearly breathless from the last exchange. Doesn't look like Fennekin will have much strength. Still, it's 2-on-1, so I better play it careful. Good thing for me, my last Pokémon excels at that.
"Vivillon, let's go!" Viola yelled, tossing a Poké Ball that summoned her Bug/Flying-type to the field.
"So, that's her Vivillon," Calem said, releasing his Spewpa from his Poké Ball and sitting him in his lap. "Spewpa, I want you to pay close attention to this battle, okay?"
Spewpa nodded as Serena called for the next attack. "Fennekin, let's finish this before she can get a single hit in! Overheat!" Fennekin gave a small howl, her body glowing red before letting loose another stream of flames. However, not only did this one look far less impressive than the last one, but Vivillon was able to dodge it almost effortlessly. "...Wh-What?!"
"Sorry, Serena, but you forgot an important rule when it comes to Overheat!" Viola called across the field. "It reduces the user's Special Attack, so every time you use it, Fennekin's special moves become less powerful!"
Serena's eyes went wide. Oh crap! All of my Fennekin's best moves make use of her Special Attack!
"Vivillon, Gust!" Viola ordered, Vivillon beating her wings hard to create a breeze so strong that it sent Fennekin into a tree, knocking her out.
"Fennekin is unable to battle!" Charlotte shouted, raising her blue flag as Fennekin's image onscreen faded to black. "Vivillon wins the round!"
"Fennekin, return!" Serena called, pulling the Fox Pokémon back into her ball. "You did great, Fennekin."
"Holy crap, that Vivillon of Viola's is really well trained," Calem noted, Spewpa squirming a little.
"And both were quick to capitalize on Serena's single mistake," Trevor added.
"And now, Serena's down to just Fletchling, and she's already taken some damage in battle," Shauna observed. "I dunno if she can pull off a win here."
"Well, she's still got a type advantage, so I'm thinking it's all gonna come down to who can get the first good move in," Tierno replied.
Serena took in a deep breath, trying to clear her mind. As she did, though, she noticed the rain finally stop, replaced by the sun's warm rays again. Getting an idea, she quickly grabbed hold of Fletchling's Poké Ball and sent her back out. "Okay, Fletchling, let's do this! Flame Charge!"
Fletchling nodded, beating her wings hard as her body glowed red. Within moments, she was encased in an orb of red and yellow flames, which flew along with her as she swooped for Vivillon. The Scale Pokémon tried to dodge, but Fletchling was flying too fast, and while direct contact wasn't made, the Normal/Flying-type was able to catch plenty of wing.
"Vivillon, Sleep Powder!" Viola ordered, the Scale Pokémon still able to beat her wings enough to send out green dust into Fletchling's face, causing her to collapse to the field as she drifted asleep.
"Fletchling, wake up!" Serena shouted.
"Time for the finish!" Viola called. "Vivillon, Dream Eater!" Vivillon's eyes glowed crimson as she released a shadow-like copy of herself that swooped down and passed through Fletchling, draining the last of her health and knocking her out.
"Fletchling is unable to battle!" Charlotte declared, throwing the blue flag up once again as Fletchling's image onscreen faded to black, and a 'WINNER' logo appeared under Viola's portrait. "Vivillon wins the round! The winner of this battle is the Gym Leader, Viola!"
Serena smiled sadly, recalling Fletchling. "You did great, Fletchling. I'm very proud of you."
Viola walked across the battlefield, Vivillon landing on her arm and nuzzling against her. "You battled well, Serena. Using Flame Charge once the rain stopped was a good idea."
Serena nodded. "Yeah, but I totally messed up that Overheat combo. I should've switched out immediately after the first one, so Fennekin would've recovered from losing her Special Attack. Plus, by the time she would've come back out, the rain would've stopped, so Overheat would have had even more power to it."
Viola grinned, putting a hand to the honey-haired girl's shoulder. "That's the way, Serena: Don't let defeat get you down, learn from it and grow smarter as a result."
Serena smiled back. "Right!"
"That was an awesome battle, Serena!" Shauna cheered as she and the others came over, the pigtailed girl giving her friend a hug.
"Thanks, you guys," Serena replied, blushing a little.
"Some kickass moves in that battle, too!" Tierno added. "Viola, you've GOTTA show my Corphish how to use Rain Dance!"
Viola sweatdropped. "Well, I'm more used to teaching Bug-type Pokémon, but sure, I think I could manage it."
Trevor sighed in relief. "Then once that's done, we can FINALLY keep going to Lumiose City."
"Hold it!" Calem exclaimed, getting everyone's attention, as suddenly both Spewpa AND Chespin were both out of their Poké Balls. "Tierno, you can learn to use Rain Dance if you want, but after that, I'M challenging Viola to a Gym Battle!"
"HUH?!" everyone asked, their jaws a bit slack.
"I realized it, watching this battle," Calem explained. "Shauna, you asked me back in the forest what I wanted to do on this journey, and now I know: I wanna take the Pokémon League Gym Challenge!"
Viola smiled. "So, aiming high, huh? Sounds good to me. Then tomorrow, we have our battle at high noon!"
"Wow, so it's your turn tomorrow, huh?" Shauna asked Calem. "That's gonna be a great battle. I can't wait to see what you and your Pokémon come up with."
Trevor just looked from one person to the next, jaw hanging open as he tried to fathom the situation, before his shoulders dropped and he just stared down at the ground. "...We're never getting back to the lab again, I swear..."
Pokémon Spotlight!
Serena's Fennekin
Ability: Blaze
Gender: Female
Nature: Lonely
Characteristic: Likes to relax
Attacks: Ember, Light Screen, Overheat
AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, kind of a short chapter this time, but that's only because there wasn't really much to tell with this one. It was just Serena's battle with Viola, and it was a simple 2-on-2 Singles Battle, so not much length to go into that. Also, for those that are bothered by the fact that Serena didn't win the Bug Badge, just keep in mind that her goals aren't to become Champion or the like. She'll have other goals and accomplishments, this was just to show off her skills at this stage since we hadn't really seen much of her battling.
Anyway, check in next time as Calem gets a turn at bat, and we'll see if he can hit a homer and win the Bug Badge or not! Ja né!