A/N: Finally, here's the next chapter and for the people who've been waiting for this, this chapter is three times longer than what I've been writing for the last couple of chapters. In this chapter you'll learn more about Luvia and her friends, also Luvia will be having her first gym battle.
"I swear, there's nothing better than taking a hot shower in the morning!" June announced, feeling refreshed as she sat down at a table with Leonard, Luvia and Miranda. The group of four were currently eating breakfast in a cafeteria, that was packed with other trainers, at a Pokemon Center in Rustboro City.
"Back to a more important topic, today's the day I get to battle Roxanne for my first gym badge!" Leonard shouted, attracting the attention of people that were eating their meals nearby, reminding everyone for the umpteenth time as his upcoming gym battle was the only thing the trainer could think about last night. The blonde stuffed an entire pancake into his mouth before washing it down with blue Oran berry juice.
"Is he always this excited?" Miranda asked Luvia.
"Leonard's just excited to have a battle with our old teacher," Luvia explained, the Kalos native gave a confused look which prompted her to explain even further. "Here in Rustboro City, there's a boarding school that focuses on training students to become elite trainers, coordinators, etc. The rock type gym leader Roxanne also serves as a teacher at that school."
"Huh. I'm willing to bet that you all went to that school." Miranda guessed.
"We sure did and we've known each other since our third year!" June informed Miranda.
"That's right and today I'll show Ms. Roxanne just how strong I've become since then!" Leonard announced, standing straight up and causing people nearby to give him strange looks before dismissing him as downright weird.
"Keep in mind its only been a few months since we graduated so I doubt she'll be too impressed with you." June whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Miranda and Luvia to hear, earning a small chuckle from the two. Finished with her breakfast, the redhead got up and informed her friends before leaving the center, "Anyways, I'll be busy coming up with some routines to use in the contest that's coming up in a few days so I'll see you guys later."
"Alright then, the gym doesn't open up until noon so I'll meet up with you guys there." Leonard stated, finishing the rest of his meal as well before going outside to train for his upcoming battle.
"I guess that leaves you and me, you sure you don't mind giving me a tour?" Miranda asked Luvia since both of them didn't have anything else planned for the day besides watching Leonard's gym battle.
"It's not a problem, there's somewhere I need to stop by while I'm here anyway."
While Leonard and June were busy getting in some training, Luvia was showing Miranda around Rustboro. It was a cool and chilly, Autumn morning in a Rustboro City thanks to the wind coming from nearby mountains outside of town on Route 116. As the two girls walked along the cobblestone streets, they observed people walking on about their way, along with several small shops. Since it was still early in the morning, most people they passed by were either young children walking to school or adults heading to their jobs.
"So Miranda, exactly what kind of errands are you running that you had to come all the way here to Hoenn?" Luvia asked, in an attempt to get to know the traveling lab assistant a little better as they walked down an empty street.
"Right now I'm just keeping my eyes open for anything worth reporting back to Professor Sycamore."
"I see," Luvia replied, with not really having any other material to keep the conversation going, the two trainers continued walking in silence before coming across a colorfully decorated store with rich floral patterns. A sign that displayed the name, "Pretty Petal Flower Shop" in bright pink cursive text was hung overhead the entrance.
"Here's our first stop," Luvia informed her senior as the pair walked through the automated sliding glass doors. Stepping inside the shop, the first thing they noticed was how much warmer it was than the outside, most likely to accommodate the many types of vividly colored plants decorating the store. A strong, sweet smelling aroma drifted through the air as small grass types such as Roselia and Oddish moved about the shop.
"Welcome to the Pretty Petal Flower Shop! Where our service helps the world flourish," A small shrill feminine voice announced as a small girl with reddish brown hair styled into pigtails came rushing to the entrance.
"Natalie! It's been a while," The young child simply gave a perplexed look before finally recognizing Luvia and giving her a tight hug.
"Before you say anything, I didn't forget about you or anything, alright?"
"I'm sure you didn't, would your sisters mind if my friend and I made some pokeblocks?" Luvia asked the child.
Natalie had a smirk on her face before giving her reply, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind but in exchange you have to show me your pokemon!"
"Deal," The youngest shop owner guided the two trainers into the back room where extra merchandise was being kept in wooden crates. More grass type pokemon were arranging flowers. making them into bouquets that would be sold to the customers.
"So Luvia, how did the both of you meet?" Miranda asked.
"Back when June and I attended the academy, we would come here and make some pokeblocks for the pokemon owned by the school." Luvia replied, the girls came to a small cube shaped machine that sat on top a wooden table.
"Okay then, let's get blending!" Natalie spoke enthusiastically, the trio spent hours placing berries into the blender and mixing them, after that the machine converted the berry juice into solid blocks filled with berry flavor. When they finally decided to stop they already had enough blocks to fill an entire pot with the stuff.
"A deal's a deal." Luvia spoke to Natalie as the trainer took out two pokeballs, releasing her Eevee and Noibat. The young girl was stricken by their cuteness, creating an overwhelming urge to fangirl over them or at least one of them.
"An Eevee! It's so cute!" The child squealed as she brought Evelyn in for a bear hug, rubbing her face in the fox's soft and bushy fur.
"Hello, am I invisible here? Cute Noibat right here!" Nicolai thought out loud but in vain since his, Luvia, was the only one that could hear him. The Hispanic trainer decided to grab a handful of pokeblocks after looking at Evelyn's pained expression as Natalie squeezed the life out of the fox.
"Hey Natalie, I think now would be a great time to feed Luvia's pokemon." Miranda told the excited child as Luvia knelt down and held out her hand to the fox. Evelyn sniffed her trainer's hand before instinctively choosing and eating a pink pokeblock, the normal type was overjoyed as juicy sweetness spread throughout its taste buds.
"Looks like Evelyn enjoyed it." Miranda commented.
"Here's one for you Nicolai." The Noibat swept down and snatched a yellow block from Luvia and took perch on a shelf. The dragon type immediately spat out the sour candy and started scraping the flavor off his tongue using its tiny clawed fingers.
The three girls laughed at Nicolai before eventually packing up and heading back to the front part of the store. Luvia and Miranda left the floral shop with a bag filled with pokeblocks in hand to share with Leonard and June with only twenty minutes left until the gym opened, the duo made their way to the Rustboro Trainer Academy. Finally reaching the entrance, they passed through the school gates and walked onto the campus. Luvia guided her companion thorough the crowds of students that were dressed in red blazers and black dress pants, making the trainer reminisce of the days when she attended classes here not that long ago.
"You're dense if you think you'll just because you're using water types!" A very familiar and hostile voice rang through the air, Luvia and Miranda maneuvered their way past all of the students to the center of the crowd to find Leonard and Cole having another one of their heated arguments.
"Oh no," Luvia said to herself as she watched the two males continue their shouting match in embarrassment.
"Oh yeah because a Hoot-hoot is a way better match up against Roxanne's rock types," Cole rebutted, his response laced with sarcasm as he pointed out the blonde's disadvantage in his upcoming battle. "Exactly which one of us is the dense one?" Leonard's anger shot up through the roof as Cole insulted not only his skills as a trainer but his pokemon as well! Just as the blonde was about to crack, he remembered a very crucial weakness about Cole, a secret that would devastate his reputation as a trainer if anyone were to find out.
A smug grin grew on Leonard's face, "About as dense who decides to train water type pokemon when he-" Leonard was unable to finish his sentence as Cole rushed over and slugged the blonde in his stomach, causing him to let a grunt and stumble for a bit in pain. After having some time to gather himself, Leonard retaliated by hitting Cole square in the jaw which initiated a fist fight between the two, exchanging blows and insults as the two fell on the ground.
The students that were watching kept chanting even louder, attracting the attention of even more students. Unknown to the students, the sound of their cheering also reached inside of the building that the fight was taking place in front which attracted the attention of a certain woman who was walking towards the source of the noise to investigate. The large black double doors made out of solid metal material opened up, making a huge creaky noise that prompted everyone to freeze as a teenage woman walked out from them. The woman had brown hair tied into pigtails with a red bow, her attire composed of a white dress shirt underneath a gray uniform dress with red stockings and black dress shoes.
The woman's eyebrows arched up in surprise as she observed the scene and pieced together what had happened before she arrived. She noticed Leonard and Cole were on the ground causing her temper to flare up as she called their names, "Cole Summers and Leonard Hughes!" Both trainers, along with everyone else, flinched in fear of the woman's voice. Everyone looked up at her and was met with an angry glare from her Ruby red eyes. Every student shouted the teacher's name in astonishment, "Miss Roxanne!"
Everyone shrunk under Roxanne's gaze as the gym leader stood in silence trying to decide the best course of action that should be taken, the gym leader pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking, "I want you all to report to Mr. Schnieder's for in school suspension and the next time I catch any of you behaving in such a manner, I'll have you sweeping the courtyard every day until New Years."
Very depressed and with spirits broken, the students walked inside the building with heads and shoulders drooped. Roxanne then turned her focus towards Leonard and Cole who were both still on the ground, "Get up." their teacher barked. The two rivals suddenly shot up from the ground and were standing on their feet.
"Why is it, that the two of you are always the cause of every type of trouble that has occurred at this academy for the last five years!?" The gym leader started pacing back and forth in front of the two, her pigtails spun every time she did, the sound of irritation made itself more evident as her voice increased in volume, "Even when I worked aimlessly to convince the school board, on your behalf, to allow you retain your STEP after that fiasco with the rampaging Tyrantrum last year!"
Both Cole and Leonard opened their mouths in an attempt to tell their side of the story that would explain the events that led up to this point but of course, Roxanne wanted to hear no part of it.
"I don't want to hear it," She snapped, making both boys flinch in fear once more, "The two of you are no longer children, you're both trainers that represent the name of the Rustboro Trainer Academy and all it has to offer!"
"I'm guessing this used to be a regular thing?" Miranda asked, Luvia responded with a simple nod of her head, being careful not to art act the wrath of her teacher. Focusing back on Roxanne, the woman seemed to be done droning on about how difficult it was to get Cole and Leonard to become trainer by recalling every incident she could remember.
"You know what? I don't know why I'm still lecturing you about this," Roxanne calmly spoke, looking both males straight in the eyes with a smile on her face, confusing both of them, "It's not like me yelling at you will actually do anything so I'll make this as simple as possible."
The gym leader to the pair and place a hand on one of their shoulders each, "Once the two of you earn the badge from my gym and leave Rustboro City, you're technically no longer my problem but that doesn't that mean that I won't be watching over you. If I hear from any other gym leaders that the two of you are misbehaving in any way, I'll revoke both of your trainer cards and have force you back here where you'll continue to take classes on being a trainer and not having the chance to experience it for yourself."
Both males stood in place, frozen stiff as Roxanne walked back into the building before calling to everyone, "Cole, I'll battle you sometime tomorrow as your punishment for starting the fist fight. Everyone else, follow me inside for your battle." Leonard quickly followed after his teacher with Luvia and Miranda right behind him. The large metal doors shut behind the group very loudly, echoing throughout the halls.
The cream colored walls were lined with marble statues of Rhydon, similar to the ones used at the official Pokémon League site. A velvet red carpet was sprawled over a wooden floor, which served as the walking area for students. Walking down the corridor, the group of four made reached another set of large metal does that opened up to reveal a large battlefield with a rocky terrain and large boulders scattered across it.
Before actually stepping foot inside, Roxanne turned around to address the trainers she was about to face in battle, "Now, before we begin your gym challenge, I have to inform all of you to the recent changes in regulation. Here at the Rustboro Gym, trainers are required to have obtained three pokémon as the challenge is a 3-vs-3 battle. This gym specializes in using rock types, a type that focuses on its rock hard defense, being resistant to most physical attacks. Now, which one of you is going first?"
The three trainers stood with blank expressions on their faces before Leonard embarrassingly admitted, "I only have two pokémon so far."
Roxanne looked over at Miranda, who responded, "I'm not entering the Hoenn League... but Luvia has three pokémon."
The girl in question turned towards the Kalos teen gave a cold death stare that froze her solid or at least she tried as Luvia looked more like she was about to cry than killing her friend.
"Alright then, Luvia, please follow me to the battlefield." Roxanne stated, making her way to the rocky arena with Luvia, following reluctantly behind her. Leonard and Miranda grabbed a seat on the nearby bleachers to get a good view of the battle as both participants took their positions at opposite sides of the field.
"Let's begin!" Roxanne cried out, pulling out a pokeball and pointing it towards her former student. The ball opened up and white light spilled out from the capsule, taking the form of a gray boulder with two muscular arms, eyes and a mouth.
"Geodude, huh." Luvia said to herself before taking out her her own Pokéball and throwing into the air, releasing Nicolai from it. The dragon type looked around the gym before giving his trainer a confused look with a tilt of his head, making Luvia very anxious.
"This is so exciting, I've never seen an actual gym battle before!" Miranda whispered over to Leonard, feeling the tension in the atmosphere as the battle between student and teacher was about to begin.
"You have the first move, Luvia!" Roxanne announced, deciding to witness the strength of her student's pokémon.
"Let's start off with Air Cutter!" Nicolai's wings began to glow cyan blue before launching several sickle shaped blades towards its rock type target.
"Defend yourself, Geodude!" The living rock simply stretched out its arms forward, having the palms of it hands be pelted by the attack. After the dust cleared, Geodude was revealed to be just fine, looking perfectly almost as if nothing even happened.
"Use Rock Polish!" Geodude slammed both its fists together, creating white sparks that danced around its body before quickly disappearing, "I hope you've already got some form of strategy planned out, otherwise your first gym battle may end up in defeat."
Luvia let out a groan since wasn't even planning on challenging the gym in the first place. Ignoring this fact and pressing onward, Luvia gave her Noibat its next command, "Daze Geodude with Screech!" Nicolai opened its mouth, exhaling an ear splitting scream that echoed through the entire arena. As the soundwaves made connected with the ground around Geodude, the impact kicked up dense cloud of dust that created cover for the Rock Pokémon.
"Stop, Nicolai!" Luvia's thoughts rang in the Noibat's mind, the fruit bat ceased its Screech and finally realized his opponent wasn't in sight as he hovered just above the dust cloud. Waiting in silence, Luvia and Nicolai were diligent in trying to anticipate Roxanne's plan of attack however both partners were surprised as Geodude was nowhere to be found once the dust had finally settled.
"Strike with Mega Punch!" Roxanne shouted, taking full advantage of her opponent's confusion. Like lava erupting from a volcano, Geodude shot up from under the ground below Nicolai and straight up into the air with a fist glowing pure white. The Noibat could only stare in shock at the incoming Geodude, allowing the living boulder to score a nasty uppercut on the fruit bat. The power from the punch launched the bat and sent him crashing into the ceiling while the rock type fell back down to Earth.
"Nicolai!" Noibat's trainer screamed out as the bat was struggling to free himself from the ceiling.
"Just because you're attacking from the air, that doesn't mean that you're out of reach of me and my rock types." Roxanne proudly proclaimed. Luvia let out a sigh, this battle certainly wasn't going to be a walk in the park. While Luvia was already disheartened by the difficulty of the gym challenge, Miranda was on the edge her seat.
"Did you see that, Geodude just blasted up from the ground!" The girl from the Kalos region exclaimed, pointing her index finger at the gym leader and her pokémon.
"End it with Stone Edge!" Several small and jagged stones circled around Geodude's body and was fired off towards Noibat.
"Dodge it, Nicolai!" Finally dislodging itself from the plaster of the ceiling, the small dragon easily avoided the stone projectiles as it stayed somewhat high in the air. This plan of action earned a smirk from the gym leader, giving Luvia another sense of unease.
"Use Rock Slide!" Large boulder materialized in the air and dropped down like down like bowling balls, crashing into the ground. Nicolai easily bobbed and weaved around the falling rocks.
"Get in close and use Supersonic!" After successfully dodging enough boulders to get near its target and opened up its mouth, emitting high pitch frequency sound waves. Immediately, Geodude became completely still before starting to sway from side to side, a worried look grew on the gym leader's face as her pokemon threw itself into a large stone that happened to be nearby.
"Attack with Air Cutter!" Nicolai gathered up any remaining energy and launched another barrage of wind blades at his opponent. Unable to defend itself this time, Geodude was assaulted by the flying type attack as Roxanne watched helplessly as her Geodude dropped to the ground.
"Awesome job, Luvia!" Miranda cheered while standing up and clapping an excessive amount, happy for her new friend. Leonard simply gave a thumbs up with an infectious grin that made Luvia smile as well.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Roxanne spoke as she recalled her Geodude back to its ball, "you may have defeated Geodude but this battle is far from over!" Roxanne took out another ball and threw it onto the field, releasing a bipedal miniature statue like creature with a large pointed red nose.
"Hey, it's a Nosepass." Miranda stated.
"Yeah and not just any Nosepass, that's Roxanne's Nosepass." Leonard commented, staring at his teacher's most well known pokemon among trainers, thinking back to when he was younger, Leonard remembered watching Roxanne turning many battles around that would've resulted in a loss for his teacher without the Compass Pokémon.
"Take a rest Nicolai, I'm going to need your help later." Luvia ordered, taking note of her Noibat's exhaustion from having to avoid so many rock type attacks. Complying to his trainer, Nicolai flew over to Luvia and took perch on her left shoulder, wanting to cheer on his teammates on their part of the gym challenge. After adjusting to having Nicolai sitting on her shoulder, Luvia took out another pokeball and looked at it with feeling of worry before opening it and releasing her Houndour. The canine looked around the area, similar to Nicolai, before spotting Luvia.
"You! What do you think you're doing!? Capturing me as if-"
"Boring!" Nicolai purposely interrupted the fire type's rant, fanning the flames of his temper.
"Be quiet, rodent! You're obviously unaware that I happen to be next in line as the leader of the Houndour Horde!" The canine proclaimed, proud of whatever status he had managed to achieve in his pack however this was a gym battle and not the wild Pokemon kingdom so none of that really mattered at this moment.
"If you're as strong as you say, then you could easily defeat that Nosepass over there." Luvia suggested in attempt to get the Houndour to fight for her. The Houndour looked over at his opponent and scoffed, tiny embers from its mouth.
"I can see you're in need of a demonstration of my power." The Houndour got into a stance and stared down Roxanne's Nosepass, Luvia took the time to get out her Pokedex to analyze her pokemon's moves.
"Well I'm glad to see your showing more confidence Luvia but I have to say, I'm finding your choice of Pokemon a little insulting so far." Roxanne opined, since Luvia had only used pokemon that were at a disadvantage, "If you're finally ready, Nosepass use Rock Throw!" Several white balls of light appeared, just above Nosepass, that grew larger before forming into medium sized gray boulders. The boulders floated in the air before being shot higher into the air and fell towards Houndour in the shape of an arc. Without command, the canine sped towards the rock type while avoiding the raining rocks.
"Alright Houndour, stop and use Ember!" Luvia ordered, ignoring the trainer, the canine leaped before diving straight into the ground, creating a gaping hole as he dig underground. Witnessing the act of defiance, Luvia gasped while Roxanne smirked. The academy teacher waited, focusing on the area around Nosepass' feet, watching the ground begin to crack open and signaling the Houndour's strike.
"Use Magnet Rise and follow up with Discharge!" Generating magnetism within its feet, Nosepass' entire body levitated just above the ground which allowed the blocky statue to move safely out of the way as Houndour jumped up out of the ground, similar to Geodude earlier. With its target in sight and in the air, blue sparks danced around Nosepass' body before being completely surrounded by an aura of electricity, unleashing a stream of the shocking current upon Houndour. Unable to avoid it, Houndour was struck by the electric attack, receiving a supply of volts that coursed through his body, making the hound cringe in pain before the electricity dispersed and Houndour was launched back towards the other side of the field, sliding across the solid ground.
"Ooh, that looked like it hurt!" Nicolai communicated mockingly, poking fun at the hilarious sight he has just witnessed and working in the Houndour's nerves.
"Shut it!" Houndour grunted as he struggled to get back up on all fours while some electricity from the attack still crackling off its body. His stance was unsteady as not only was the dog's body injured but his pride as well.
"Continue with Rock Throw!" More rocks flew into the air before plummeting back down towards their target, brushing aside the pain, Houndour dodged. Luvia looked at her pokedex at the list of Houndour's attacks: Ember, Smog, Bite and Dig, truly not a spectacular set of moves but it was enough for the trainer to come up with a plan.
"Houndour, find a place to take cover." Luvia ordered, her commands being ignored once again by the fire type as it dashed in the direction of Nosepass, not even considering the action of 'taking cover' as his trainer had put it. Bobbing and weaving through the downpouring boulders and baring his fangs, a plume of poisonous smoke flowed out from Houndour's mouth. Roxanne shook her head in disappointment with Luvia's lack of control over her pokemon.
"Nosepass, use Zap Cannon." In the blink of an eye, Nosepass generated a yellow sphere of electricity with a red center and fired the attack. The hound dodged the sphere with ease but was blown off its feet from the shockwave of Zap Cannon colliding with the ground, blasting Houndour forward.
"Finish it with Rock Slide!" Roxanne ordered, actually getting a valid response from her pokemon. As Houndour looked up above him, he saw a group of large rocks falling down, threatening to crush the canine under their massive weight. It was only by the skin of his teeth that the fire type managed to get out of the way just as the boulders crashed down.
"That Houndour is really dragging Luvia down," Miranda mentioned to Leonard while keeping her eyes glued to the match, specifically, to Luvia's pokemon who was struggling against Roxanne's Nosepass, "C'mon Luvia, you've got this!" Focusing back on the battle, Luvia found herself on the losing side of the matchup between Houndour and Nosepass as her had yet to land a single hit on the rock type.
"Damn it, this can't be happening!" The hound shouted at himself, the wild dog's muscles ached and felt very stiff, making it that much more difficult for the pokemon to move around. Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere with the dark/fire type, Luvia recalled Houndour back into its ball.
"Ok, Nicolai. I need you to get back in there." The fruit bat nodded and flew back into battle, only turning around to see that Houndour popped back out of its pokeball, next to Luvia.
"Get ready to watch and learn, Devil Dog!" Nicolai thought, feeling slightly reenergized thanks to his short break.
"Start off with Discharge!" Nosepass fired off another bolt of electricity towards Nicolai, which the Noibat easily maneuvered past, allowing him to get closer to the living statue.
"Go in for Supersonic!" Repeating the strategy used with Geodude, Nicolai opened his mouth and let out more weird sound waves that ensnared its target's mind in a state of confusion. Roxanne grunted in frustration, unable to combat against the status problem and could only watch as Nosepass spun around like the needle of a compass.
"Keep Nosepass spinning with Gust!" Nicolai began heavily flapping its wings, creating a vortex of wind around Nosepass and thanks to the earlier use of Magnet Rise, the rock type started spinning along rapidly with the direction of the whirlwind while being lifted higher into the air. As Nicolai stopped, the vortex diffused and Nosepass came crashing downing onto the ground, fainted from extreme dizziness.
It was Roxanne turn to gasp in disbelief before crying out the name of her pokemon, "Nosepass!" With no response from the statue, the gym leader recalled her pokemon with a solemn expression on her face.
Once again, Miranda got up and applauded Luvia's victory, "Aces, lass!" The British teen sat back down and started fanning herself with her hands before turning to Leonard, "Whew, this is really intense!" The blonde only nodded with a nervous smile before adjusting his glasses and turning his attention back to the battle.
A smile appeared on Roxanne's face as she held the pokeball that contained her third and final pokemon in her hand, "I might be down to my last pokemon but this battle is far from over!" Throwing the ball onto the field, a small four-legged pokemon with stubby legs, a metal silver body and big bright blue eyes appeared.
"An Aron!" Leonard exclaimed, learning the identity of the mystery pokemon that he'll have to face off against.
"You have the first move, Luvia!" Roxanne announced, knowing there was only one move that Luvia's Noibat could use that would actually help against Aron.
"Start off with Air Cutter!" The Noibat launched a barrage of sickle shaped blades that seemed to bounce off the steel and rock type upon impact, having zero effect. Although the attack could've been easily countered, Roxanne held off giving her pokemon any orders and allowed the dual dragon, flying type to continue its assault to no avail.
Growing bored of watching Air Cutter do nothing to her pokemon, Roxanne finally made her move, "Stealth Rock." Aron's silver body started glowing pure white before the energy shot out in seven streaks of light that sunk in the ground directly below Nicolai and rose back up in the form of stone pillars.
"Stealth Rock!?" Both Luvia and Leonard shouted in surprise, letting Roxanne follow up with her next attack, "Use Roar!" Upon its trainer's command, Aron let out a deafening roar. Nicolai's body began turning into a transparent red before being forced back inside its pokeball.
"What was that!?" Houndour barked, still upset over Nicolai's victory over Nosepass however with the Noibat back in his ball, the telepathic connection was broken, leaving Luvia unable to understand Houndour's rants.
"Houndour." Luvia got the canine's attention, "I know you;re strong on your own but Roxanne and her pokemon are strong because they work together." Houndour locked eyes with the Iron Armor Pokemon, thinking back to how he failed to defeat Nosepass. The dog looked back at Luvia smirked before walking on the battlefield where the stone pillars rose up and slammed into the Houndour. After the dust had finally cleared, both trainers saw that Houndour was able to continue battling to everyone's surprise.
"Start off with Stone Edge!" Small pointed and jagged stones circled around Aron before they were fired at Houndour. The canine dodged by leaping up on to nearby boulders, inching closer and closer to Aron while maintaining a safe distance.
"Now use Dig!" Doing as instructed this time, Houndour jumped off the boulder and dived straight in the ground, jagged rock whizzing by. Roxanne waited for the hound to make its move. Like a gopher, Houndour popped up from its hole before going back under and popping out of another hole.
"And now Smog!" Poisonous clouds rose up from every hole dug by Houndour into the air, surrouding its steel type foe in a thick poison fog. Luvia's plan had confused everyone, even Roxanne, who didn't know what to expect from a Houndour using this strategy..
"Ember!" Exhaling small cinders, the toxic gas was ignited, creating an explosion that enveloped Aron. Miranda and Leonard had to duck as small stones from the gym field had been launched in the air and were now raining down on everyone. The smoke from the explosion quickly cleared away and revealed Aron surrounded by a green barrier.
"That's Protect!" Leonard shouted out. The barrier disappeared, getting ready to go on the offense.
"Now let's finish this up with Bulldoze." Roxanne spoke confidently, Aron stood up on its hind legs before slamming its front legs on the ground, creating seismic shockwaves that traveled through the battlefield. One by one, clouds of dust erupted up from out of the holes, shortly followed by Houndour who flew in the air and slammed back down to the ground, fainted. Luvia quickly returned her pokemon back to its ball and took out the ball containing her last pokemon before throwing it on the field, releasing Evelyn, who was immediately struck by the stone pillars from Stealth Rock.
"It seems that the score is all tied up." Roxanne stated as the leader had finally knocked one of her challenger's pokemon, thanks to Stealth Rocks, Nicolai would fall the next time it's sent out.
"Use Swift!" Golden stars circled around the brown fox and were fired at Aron.
"Let's wrap this up quickly with Stone Edge." Aron retaliated by firing back with small jagged stones that collided with the stars, causing them to burst, leaving behind golden dust that quickly disappeared.
"Get in close with Quick Attack!" Evelyn broke into a dash, charging straight for Aron with a stream of light trailing behind her. Once again, Roxanne held off on giving an order to her pokemon waiting until Evelyn had gotten close enough.
"Protect." The steel type cried out its name, putting up another barrier that would nullify all damage and cancel out Evelyn's attack by having her run smack into it, which was just what exactly what Luvia saw coming.
"Now jump in the air and use Swift!" Following instructions the fox, instead ramming into the impervious shield, used it as a stepping stone to jump higher above and allowing her to launch another barrage of golden stars at her opponent. Aron, too slow to dodge, took the brute force of the attack like a tank.
"While Eevee's in the air! Use Roar!" With Evelyn unable to stop it, Aron was free to let out another roar that sent Evelyn back in her ball and dragging Nicolai out his ball to take her place and causing Stealth Rock to activate. The stone pillars rose up and slammed into the fruit bat, finally knocking it out. Luvia called back her Noibat while Leonard and Miranda were completely silent, feeling the tension of the match with both battlers down to one pokemon each. Once Evelyn was called back into battle Stealth Rock slammed the fox under its weight, wearing down the normal type even further.
"Now let's finish this quickly," Roxanne spoke out, earning a nod from her Aron, "use Bulldoze!" Aron stood up on its hind legs before slamming its front legs on the ground, sending another shockwave throughout the ground.
"Jump on a rock and counter with Swift!" Avoiding the quake by taking shelter atop a boulder, the Eevee fired another volley of stars at Aron, who retaliated by putting up another green barrier to nullify damage from the attack. Both trainers paused to take a look at their pokemon, both showing signs of exhaustion and almost seeming as if one last hit would knock out either of the two.
"Swift!"
"Stone Edge!"
Luvia instantly regretted her command, remembering that she had already tried Swift and learned that it was no match for the rock type attack. Using the last of their power, both Aron and Evelyn began using their signature moves. Small pointed stones circled around Aron but everyone was surprised at Evelyn, instead of the usual golden stars that comes with Swift, small luminescent green spheres that gathered around Evelyn before shooting forward in the form of numerous crescent shaped blades.
"Is that Hidden Power?" Luvia said to herself, not quite recognizing the attack herself. As both moves clashed they appeared evenly matched until Hidden Power began slowly overpowering Aron's attack and barreling straight through, striking Aron and causing it to finally collapse on the ground.
Completely shocked by the outcome, Luvia stood still for a few seconds before snapping out of her trance thanks to Leonard and Miranda's cheers and running towards Evelyn, calling the Eevee's name and scooping the fox in her arms. After recalling her fallen pokemon, Roxanne walked up to the two and holding a badge in her hand.
"Congratulations, Luvia Espinosa. As a gym leader, I'm very glad to have had the chance to battle with you and your pokemon and I wish good fortune on the rest of your journey as a Pokemon Trainer." Roxanne spoke as she handed Luvia the gym badge, "As your former instructor, not only do I expect better performances in the future but also for you to aim higher for yourself without needing your friends to push you forward." The latter comment of her victory caused the trainer to blush.
"Congrats on your gym badge, Luvia! You and your pokemon were amazing!" Leonard told Luvia, as they walked back to the pokemon center.
"Well, except for your Houndour." Miranda mentioned, causing the three trainers to think back on said pokemon's behavior during most of the battle.
Luvia, still carrying Evelyn in her arms, shook her head replied, "I think Khaos will come around, I just need to make more of an effort with him."
"Khaos?" Leonard asked.
"I figured that's what I'll call him from now on, considering how much trouble he caused during the gym battle."
There you have it, Luvia wins by having Evelyn pulling out Hidden Power. I've started creating Bio's for the characters so far and posted them on my profile. In the next chapter, Leonard will need to catch a new pokemon while Luvia runs into someone familiar.
