The atmosphere was tense in Teloiv Gym, as Heather stood at one end of the battlefield, still fuming at the implication that earning a badge from her was an easy feat, and on the other end there stood Joey, smirking confidently, his Rattata perched on his shoulder.
"Ready when you are," Joey called lazily.
"Rrrattata," added Rattata.
"OK, now prepare to eat your words!" declared Heather as she threw a Poké Ball. "Hoothoot! In the sky!" Hoothoot emerged from the ball in a flash of light, hooting menacingly and hovering in midair by flapping its stubby wings rapidly.
"The only thing we'll be tasting is the sweetness of victory," replied Joey. "Show them what I mean, Rattata."
"Rrrrattata!" said Rattata as it jumped off its trainer's shoulder, and glared up at the Normal/Flying-type.
"Hoothoot! Tackle attack!" ordered Heather.
"Evade it, Rattata!" Joey commanded.
Hoothoot dove down at Rattata, who was able to dodge by simply sidestepping at the last second, causing the Owl Pokémon to crash into the ground instead. As Hoothoot tried to shake it off and rise back into the air, however, Joey decided to go on the offensive.
"Now show them what a real Tackle attack looks like!" said Joey.
"Dodge it, Hoothoot!" called Heather.
Hoothoot made to rise higher into the air, but Rattata was too quick- it jumped up, ramming hard into Hoothoot, and sending it crashing right back down to the ground. Hoothoot managed to hop away from Rattata, however, and turned to face the Rat Pokémon, glaring with its large red eyes.
"OK, Hoothoot, try a Hypnosis attack!" Heather ordered.
"Heh, let's see Rattata get out of that one," smirked Grey.
Joey, however, did not seem fazed by this development. "Shut your eyes and give it a big smile," he ordered, causing Maggie and Ethan to exchange highly confused glances. Rattata, on the other hand, seemed to take no issue with these orders, for it slammed its eyes shut, and then grinned a large, wide grin, one which seemed to actually make its already prominent front teeth even more prominent, if that was even possible.
At that moment, Hoothoot's eyes glowed red, but nothing seemed to happen. Except, however, for the fact that Rattata's very prominent, very shiny front teeth seemed to be reflecting the red glow. As soon as this occurred to Ethan, Hoothoot's eyelids started to droop.
"What? What?!" Heather exclaimed, as her Hoothoot started snoring. "But how?!"
"Well, what kind of Trainer would I be if I didn't maintain my Rattata's dental hygiene? smirked Joey. "Keep its teeth nice and clean, shiny enough to, oh, I dunno, work like a mirror against that Hypnosis attack?"
"What?!" exclaimed Heather, Maggie, Ethan, and Grey simultaneously.
"Right, let's wrap this up," Joey said. "Rattata, Flame Wheel now!"
"Hoothoot! Wake up, come on!" Heather pleaded, but no good; Rattata, now rolling forward in a wheel made of fire, slammed into Hoothoot. Hoothoot's sudden, shrill hooting indicated that the attack had woken it up, but the way it lay motionless on the ground once the attack had finished indicated that it had fainted.
"That's one," grinned Joey. "Nice work, Rattata."
"Hoothoot, return!" said Heather as she called back the Owl Pokémon. "Not bad, I'll admit," she added, grabbing and enlarging another Poké Ball. "But let's see Rattata make it through... Natu! In the sky!" she exclaimed, throwing the ball.
In a flash of light, Heather's Natu materialized. "Tu tu Natu," it chirped.
"Rattata, Focus Energy," said Joey.
"Natu, use Curse!" commanded Heather.
Both combatants briefly took on a reddish aura, neither of them taking their eyes off each other. The auras faded away almost immediately.
"OK, Tackle it now, Rattata!" yelled Joey.
"Now, Natu, Quick Attack!" ordered Heather.
"Tuuuuuuu!" trilled Natu as it hopped forward with impossible speed, lunging at the oncoming Rattata. Both Pokémon collided at the center of the battlefield, each bouncing off the other.
"So that's your game, hmm?" smirked Joey. "Curse and Quick Attack. Not bad. Not bad. I'll have to remember that one. Rattata, use your own Quick Attack!"
"Rrrrrattata!" shrieked Rattata, the Normal-type charging forward yet again, this time even faster than before. As it slammed into Natu, the Tiny Bird Pokémon was knocked back- the move seemed to hit hard, much harder than Tackle.
"Wha- Natu? Are you OK?" Heather asked, worry and concern clear in her voice.
"Tuuu..." groaned Natu as it climbed back to its feet unsteadily. It was clear the Quick Attack had taken a toll on it.
"I don't get it," Ethan stated. "I thought Curse boosted Natu's Defense, so why'd Rattata's Quick Attack hit so hard?"
"Does this really need to be explained to you?" demanded Grey. "Focus Energy makes the user more likely for its attacks to score critical hits- that's when the attack strikes the opponent's weak point and not only does massive damage, but even gets past any defensive boosts it's gained. Idiot." This earned her a glare from Ethan, but he said nothing, seemingly more focused on the battle.
"Natu, Confuse Ray now!" ordered Heather.
"Eyes shut, big smile, Rattata," smirked Joey.
"Oh, no!"gasped Heather, instantly realizing her mistake. "Wait, Natu!" she pleaded, but too late- Natu had already fired off a multicolored ray of light from its eyes, only for the light to bounce off its opponent's exceptionally shiny teeth. Almost instantly, Natu's eyes became unfocused, and it started to stumble around.
"Finish it!" exclaimed Joey. "Flame Wheel attack!"
"Rrrrrrrattata!" screeched Rattata in response as a fiery wheel formed around its body, and it proceeded to roll over the confused Natu at high speeds, and almost immediately, the Psychic/Flying-type fell to the ground, unconscious.
"I don't believe it," Grey said flatly as Heather withdrew Natu. "How did that even happen just there? One Rattata takes out a Gym Leader's entire lineup?"
"Grey, you're right," nodded Ethan. Then, he blinked, a look of surprise coming over his face. "Did I say that?" he added, his tone matching the look on his face.
"It's like I've said," Joey grinned as Rattata resumed its usual position on his shoulder. "My Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata. And it looks like I was right- that was easy, wasn't it, Rattata?"
"Rattata, Rattata," nodded Rattata.
Heather looked downcast at this. Sighing, she walked across the battlefield, and handed a badge and TM to Joey. "Here," she said quietly. "The official Pokémon League Sky Badge, and a TM for Curse." She turned around and walked back to the back of the Gym, not saying another word.
"Curse, hmm?" Joey said, regarding the Technical Machine with interest. "Alright, Rattata, looks like we can get in on that strategy she used after all. Here you are-" and he placed the disc on Rattata's forehead. Both TM and Rattata started to glow a dazzling white. This lasted a few seconds, but after this, the glow faded away, and the disc was gone, seemingly absorbed into the Rattata's body. Smirking in a satisfied way, Joey strolled out of the Gym. Once he was gone, the trio walked across the battlefield, approaching Heather, whose back was still turned to them.
"You alright?" Ethan asked.
"...Yeah, yeah, I guess... I... No," sighed Heather, her head hung low. "Beaten by a single Rattata... And I didn't even take it easy on him, either. I mean, I know losing to Trainers is in the job description, but it's not supposed to be so easy for them! I... I'm a failure as a Gym Leader..."
"Hey, c'mon, that's not true," argued Ethan. "You think it was easy for me to beat you? You got some tough Pokémon with amazing strategies. It just happened that Joey also has a tough Pokémon. I've gone up against his Rattata before, too, and lost to it."
"Well... I mean, I guess I did put up kind of a good fight," conceded Heather.
"You guess?" snorted Grey. "You made me think fast in our battle. Tentacool might have gone down if I hadn't thought to tell it to stop using Bubble Beam when I did. Now suck it up and quit whining just because some jerk who just happened to somehow acquire an absurdly strong Rattata beat you."
"Besides," Maggie added, "Recall that you inspired him to teach his Rattata Curse. Being a Gym Leader myself, I know one of the greatest joys is when one of my strategies has inspired a challenger, regardless of whether I won or lost."
After several silent seconds, Heather looked back up, a small smile on her face. "Thanks, you three," she said gratefully. "I'm feeling a lot better about this now."
"Glad we could help," replied Ethan. "Alright," he added, turning to face Grey and Maggie (mostly Maggie). "I'm thinking we head back to the Pokémon Center, then learn where the next Gym's at."
"The next Gym?" repeated Heather. "Well, there's a Pokémon Gym in Aelaza Town. It's about a day's walk south, and it'll take you through Noinu Cave. In fact, you might even be able to make it there by nightfall."
"Sounds like a plan to me," smiled Maggie.
"Alright yeah," shrugged Grey.
With that, the trio said their goodbyes to Heather, and then Ethan led the way out of the Gym and back to the Pokémon Center, at which point he and Grey gave their Pokémon to the nurse to treat.
"Don't worry," smiled the nurse as she accepted the Poké Balls. "This won't take very long at all."
"Thanks," grinned Ethan. Grey merely shrugged, and walked over to a seat in the waiting area, just as Maggie was sitting down in another seat nearby. She was holding the Egg in her arms yet again, which caught Ethan's attention. A look of interest on his face, he sat down next to Maggie. "Ooh," he said, as the Egg shook slightly in Maggie's arms. "Can I hold it, Maggie?"
"Sure," smiled Maggie. "I don't see why not-"
CRACK.
A small yet sudden cracking noise interrupted Maggie, causing her and Ethan to glance around in confusion, before Grey finally spoke up.
"Idiots," she sighed. "I suggest you take another look at that Egg."
Pausing only to scowl at Grey for a moment, Ethan looked back at the Egg- only to spot a few freshly-formed cracks on the shell!
"Oh my Mew," breathed Maggie. "It's hatching!"
