Chapter 6: Against The Swarm

Rika trained her Pokémon a bit longer at Everchrome Forest before entering Landridge Town, home to the famous (or infamous) Insect Conservatory that also doubled as the local Bug-type Gym.

Inside, quite a few people were already in the conservatory, some of them budding Bug Catchers and the others there to admire the plethora of Pokémon contained within the Gym. Rika looked around for a sign that could lead her to the battle arena, catching the attention of a tour guide. "Do you need help looking for some place?"

"Yeah - the Gym is here, right?" Rika replied. "Oh, you're looking for the battle arena? Just pass the Observatory Dome and you should see the entrance," the guide said. Nodding in thanks, Rika practically dragged Kaito along with her as she brisk-walked to the Conservatory's battle arena.

The spider webs that suddenly swung into view when Rika opened the doors was quite a jumpscare for the trainer and Kirlia, making both of them freeze on the spot before they determined that there was actually no giant Ariados about to pounce on them. "Greetings, random trainer! How'd you like our early Halloween decorations?" Herbert, a green-haired guy in either his twenties or thirties said cheerfully. 'Yeah...make sure that they don't give anyone a heart attack and you're good to go,' Kaito muttered. "They definitely did their job! I'm Rika and we're here for a battle, you know who the Leader is?" Rika asked brightly. "Is that so? Then I'm the one you're looking for," Herbert said, taking his place at the far end of the field. "The name's Herbert, and I'm proud to present to you: a full-fledged Landridge Gym showdown! Now, let's get things started!"

A Poké Ball flew through the air, releasing the Gym Leader's first Pokémon: a Larvesta. "Hmm, what's this?" Rika mused, scanning the Bug-type with her Pokédex. It read:

"Larvesta, the Torch Pokémon. A Bug/Fire type. When battling opponents, it sprays fire from its five horns. The max temperature of the flames can reach nearly 5,500 degrees Fahrenheit."

'My, this moth larva literally has firepower!' Kaito commented. Rika nodded, choosing to send out Akane as her first Pokémon.

One of the conservatory's caretakers took her place as the referee of the match. "This is a one-on-one match between the Gym Leader, Herbert and the challenger, Rika. Each trainer can use up to two Pokémon, with the battle concluding once both of a trainer's Pokémon have fainted. Now..."

"Battle Begin!"


Cue Music: Pokémon XY Trainer Battle Theme

"Start with Rock Throw!" Rika commanded. Akane leaped high into the air, the rocks around her collar glowing white before a stream of rocks was blasted straight at the Larvesta.

"Dodge, and wrap that Rockruff up with String Shot!" With surprising agility for a fat larva with stubby limbs, Larvesta evaded the rock shower and jumped in the air, firing off some kind of silk that tied up Akane, slowing down her movements. She tried to shake the silk off, but it clung rather tightly to her fur. "Get up close with Tackle!" Rika said next, with her Rockruff charging at the Larvesta.

With Akane's lowered speed, it was pretty easy for Herbert to time Larvesta's dodges so that Akane couldn't get a hit in. We really need some way to get these webs off- "Now, Larvesta! Use Ember!" Herbert commanded, giving Rika the idea she needed. "Akane, stay and take it, then get up close!" She commanded. The flames made contact, but left the Rockruff mainly unharmed, burning the webs instead. Akane could put the pieces together rather quickly, and got up close to the Larvesta.

"And...now! Use Tackle!" The Puppy Pokémon crashed into the Torch Pokémon, her attack boosted by the heat from the burning String Shot. A minor explosion occurred, blasting the Larvesta backwards. When the dust settled, the Bug/Fire type was still up, but had definitely taken a ton of damage, due to it having piss-weak physical bulk and no resistance to Fire.

"Larvesta, keep it together! String Shot once more!" Herbert said, knowing that his Pokémon still had the spirit and strength to stay up. "Counter it with Rock Throw!" Rika shouted, with the String Shot and the rocks meeting each other in the middle of the field. Eventually, the rocks prevailed and broke through the silk, and Herbert's Larvesta was peppered with stones.

When the dust settled again, it was clear that Larvesta had fainted. "Larvesta is unable to battle! The winner of this match goes to the challenger, Rika! Now, for the Gym Leader's next Pokémon!" The referee announced as Herbert returned his Pokémon to its ball. "Yes! One Pokémon down, one more to go!" Rika cheered, with Akane barking happily at their first victory.

"You're up next, Cupra!" Herbert called out, sending out his final Pokémon - another moth larva, but this time with shell-like copper wings. Again, Rika grabbed her Pokédex and scanned it:

"Cupra, the Copper Specie Pokémon. A Bug/Psychic type. It lives in the hollow of a tree. If disturbed, it vibrates its wings and scatters metal flecks."

"Good. Akane, you wanna stay in?" Rika queried, and the Rockruff nodded in response.

"Three, two, one...Battle Begin!"

"Use Rock Throw!" Rika started, with Akane firing off the white glowing rocks at Cupra. "Hit back with Psyshock!" A violet orb appeared in front of the Bug-type, before a purple beam was fired at the rocks, overpowering them and knocking Akane to the ground.

"We need to end this quickly - Akane, get up and use Bite!" Rika commanded next, with the Rockruff charging at the Cupra, fangs bared and ready for action. "Dodge!" Herbert said, but the Cupra couldn't react in time and got hit with the super-effective attack. However, it wasn't finished just yet, even though the Copper Specie Pokémon's physical defenses are even lower than a wet tissue.

For Herbert, this was the time to strike. "Zen Headbutt, go!" He ordered, the attack catching Akane by surprise, knocking the Puppy Pokémon to the ground. "Quick! Rock Throw!" "Charge through it with Zen Headbutt!" Not even the stream of rocks could stop Cupra's rampage with Zen Headbutt, which made contact and knocked out the Rockruff in a mini explosion. "Akane, no!" Rika cried, only being able to look on at the unconscious Pokémon once the dust had settled.

"Rockruff is unable to battle!The winner of this match goes to the Gym Leader! Now, challenger, choose your next Pokémon!" The referee announced as Rika returned Akane to her ball, thanking her for her efforts. "Alright - Kath, wrap this up!" Rika shouted, sending out the fire pony as her next Pokémon. The Fire-type's mane blazed as she let out a battle cry. 'Yeah! Go get 'em, Kath!' Kaito cheered. "You're so optimistic that it's contagious," Rika commented. "Now, let's win this!"

"Three, two, one...Battle Begin!"

"Cupra, Hidden Power!" Herbert started this time. Three light blue orbs appeared around Cupra's head before being fired directly at Kath. "Dodge and finish this with Tackle!" The Coallit managed to maneuver around Hidden Power before closing the distance with Tackle. "Dodge, and use Psyshock!" Herbert ordered, watching as his Cupra evaded the attack and retaliated with a close-range Psyshock, blasting Kath back some distance. "Kath! You okay?" Rika shouted, and was relieved to know that her Pokémon was still up, even though it was somewhat weakened. "Follow up with Hidden Power!" Herbert commanded, with the attack making contact this time when Rika ordered Kath to get close with Tackle. However, it seemed that Hidden Power was super-effective against Kath; another attack like that might finish her off for good.

"Told you that Bug-types aren't complete pushovers! Now, let's finish this with Hidden Power!" Herbert said, the three light blue orbs closing in on the fire pony. "Dodge!" Rika commanded. Instead of avoiding the attack, Kath decided to retaliate instead. All of a sudden, a stream of flames burst from the pony's mouth with far more firepower than a normal Ember attack would have, colliding with the orbs in mid-air and soon overpowering them, covering the final distance to roast Herbert's Cupra into oblivion. When the fires extinguished, what was left was an unconscious Bug-type, visible proof that Rika had finally beaten the Landridge Gym.

"Cupra is unable to battle! The winner of this match goes to the challenger, Rika, and marks her victory against the Landridge Town Gym!" The referee concluded. Herbert returned the fainted Cupra to its ball, and walked over to a celebrating Rika & Co. with a tropical green Z-Crystal and a ladybird-shaped Gym badge. "As Gym Leader, it's kinda my duty to give these to you as proof that you beat the Gym. Congrats, Rika," Herbert said, watching as the victor eagerly took both prizes, keeping the badge and crystal in their own pouches and showing off her collection to her Pokémon. "Thank you for that battle," Rika said to the Gym Leader. "No problem. Feel free to take a look at all the other bugs in the conservatory, and good luck on your journey!" Herbert replied, bidding the young trainer and her Kirlia farewell as they left the arena.


Rika stopped at the town's Pokémon Center to heal Kath and Akane before heading off to lunch at the local restaurant, letting her Pokémon fiddle around with her new Gym Badge and get a well-deserved break before they went off to the next town. Kath and Akane has tons of fun scaring the Bug-types in the Conservatory, while Kaito was particularly interested in the town's library (and was somewhat disappointed when Rika turned down his request to loan twenty books).

At the end of the day, Rika decided to stay overnight at Landridge's Pokémon Center, and made plans to head out to Route 2 the next day.