"You sure nothing's wrong?"
"We've got nothing. He was nearly brain-dead for a few minutes, but now he's just snoozing like nothing happened. Actually, I think he's coming to."
Ray felt like he had just taken an awesome nap. He was lying in a white room, and he immediately figured it was a hospital. Gabe and a doctor peered over at him.
"Welcome back, Ray," the doctor said. "You passed out, and nearly went into a coma, but now you're unharmed—just like everyone else and that blue wave, right? We've been trying to figure it out, but it seems like nothing happened."
"So I was a vegetable?" Ray asked, shocked.
"Well, your mind went out and then recovered quickly," the doctor said. "You're perfectly fine now. We can let you go, if you like."
"And you were only out, like, three hours," Gabe assured Ray. "By the way, Stanley had to leave to catch his boat. He said good luck."
"Thanks."
Ray was soon discharged from and leaving the hospital, after a few questions from news reporters. Ray refused to say anything but what the doctor had told him; the reporters, in turn, told him that he was the only one to have been affected at all by the wave. It was now late at night, with the only light around coming from electronics, neon, and street lights.
"I don't think I can sleep after all that rest," Ray told Gabe as they both stood in the streets of downtown Nimbasa. People all around him talked about the mysterious blue wave.
"Me neither, actually," Gabe said, taking off his bag and pulling out the sandy-colored egg. "Here's your egg."
"Thanks." Ray received the egg back. It shook once in his hands. "Whoa."
"So. Nobody knows what happened last night."
"I know what happened last night," Ray said, walking down the street. "I lost a Gym battle."
It was late, but the Gym was still open—like pretty much everything else in Nimbasa.
"Welcome back," Elesa said, smiling. "I heard about what happened with the blue shockwave. You alright?"
"Yeah," Ray said. Both their voices were being broadcast on the battlefield's huge TV screens. "Let's battle."
"No problem."
Ray glanced around the battlefield. Nobody was watching (yet), save for Gabe sitting in the front row. Ray lobbed a ball and started his rematch.
"Alright, Dax!" he called. "You can do it." He wasn't using Spolt first, for once. Dax growled, waiting for its opponent. Ray wondered if Dax was just faking it—he was usually gentle. Ray felt sort of sorry for Dax, because everyone thought he was cruel or something. Then again, Ray felt even more sorry for Felsin, who barely got to leave its ball.
"Emolga! We've got this!" Elesa said, sending out the flying rodent. It immediately jumped into the air and glided towards Dax. Ray felt it was like a less cuddly, more annoying, gliding Pikachu.
"Burn it outta the sky!"
Dax started off the match with a lucky shot. Its Flamethrower attack made contact immediately with the Emolga, which squealed and landed on the floor.
"Pounce that thing!" Ray ordered. He found that it sounded more ruthless than he wanted it to.
Dax obeyed, attacking it with a biting move. It shook the Emolga in its mouth like a chew toy, until electrocution made it let go. Dax refused to let the Emolga get away, chasing it with fire. It didn't let up until the Emolga was down for good. Cheers came from the audience—people were coming to watch.
"I'll admit, I'm surprised," Elesa said. "Your Houndoom is putting up much more fight than before. If you don't mind me saying."
If Dax was like Ray at all, then it didn't like losing. Ray chose to let Dax stay on, while Elesa sent out her second Pokémon. This time, Ray had no idea what it was.
What came out looked like other horse Pokémon, but was black with white lightning patterns zigzagging all over its body. It neighed, and Ray could see electricity dancing on its mane.
"Finish him off, Zeb," Elesa prompted.
"Dodge it, then flames!" Ray told Dax.
Dax only barely dodged a vicious bolt of electricity fired straight from the Zebstrika's body. The blast flew past and made a scorch mark on the floor. Dax retaliated by using Flamethrower again, and the Zebstrika backed away to stay at a safe distance.
"Charge it," Elesa commanded.
Her Zebstrika crackled and sparked, and became covered in a thin veil of fire. It then began to charge Dax, who was too startled to get out of the way. While the fire didn't hurt it much, the physical blow almost knocked Dax out. And the Zebstrika seemed to be energized, as it was moving back and forth like it was on fast-forward.
"You can get it now!"
"Keep it away with fire!"
The Zebstrika charged, lowering its head menacingly. Dax tried to ward it off with fire, but the Zebstrika simply ran through it and gave Dax a shock that made Ray turn away from the battle. He couldn't bear to see it. When he turned back, he saw that Dax was down.
"One for one, Ray," Elesa said, but not unkindly. She withdrew her Zebstrika, sending out... another Emolga.
Ray fumed, but kept it to himself. "You've got two of them?" he asked, trying to hide his disdain.
"What can I say?" Elesa said, smiling innocently. "I love them. Anyway, I did you a favor by switching first. So don't be all pushy with me."
Ray wasn't sure how he had been pushy, but he bit his tongue and sent out Terral.
"Let's see who can fly better," Ray said, wondering where his bravado was coming from. He didn't add, aloud at least, that Emolga didn't even fly. It only glided. "Stay in the air, Terral, and don't let it get away from you!"
Now that he thought about it, Terral was most likely the one who hated losing the most. It pursued the Emolga through the air relentlessly, pecking at its "wings" and trying to swat it to the floor. Terral also absorbed the electric hits as if they were just doorknob shocks, which made Ray worry. It could just suddenly drop with exhaustion.
When Terral had the Emolga pinned to the floor, Ray said, "Now you've got it!"
"I think that's enough," Elesa said, withdrawing her Pokémon from beneath Terral. "No need to beat him up pointlessly." When Ray—and Terral, too—gave her a that's-unfair look, she continued: "Look, I'm forfeiting this point for you. Take it easy."
"Sorry," Ray said. Terral didn't look too apologetic. "Anyways, that's two for one."
"Yep." She sent out her Zebstrika again. "You can get this bird, Zeb. Just shoot it outta the air."
Her advice was fulfilled in mere seconds. Terral couldn't get a single hit in before the Zebstrika zapped it repeatedly like the lightning rod it probably was. Ray wondered if it was because of Skarmory's metallic plating.
"Great job," he said, withdrawing the poor bird. So now both Trainers were on their last fighters. And he had saved his usual first for last.
"Go, Spolt! He's the only one left!" Ray yelled. He waited to see what Elesa would do, because both Pokémon were electric... and because Ray had no idea what to do. He tried to ignore the crowd, but the constant buzzing it emitted made that impossible.
"Charge it like before!" Elesa ordered.
Her Zebstrika literally got fired up, and began to charge.
"Just dodge!" Ray yelled. He was tired of yelling. His throat was starting to kill him.
Spolt successfully avoided the fiery attack, then turned and faced its opponent. The two electric Pokémon stared at each other. Their Trainers gave the same order at the same time.
"Thunderbolt!"
Ray saw it coming, and brought his arm up to shield his eyes. Both electric attacks—already quite bright—collided, becoming an electrical explosion. The hair on the back of Ray's neck stood up as the pulse dissipated.
But just as it seemed like the attack had done nothing to the battle, the lights shut off. Ray was immediately surrounded by darkness. The crowd hushed.
"Look what you did!" he could hear Gabe call from afar. "Now I can't see the battle!" The place echoed with laughter.
"Shall we continue?" Elesa's voice echoed. "I know you can find him, Zeb."
The first one to attack would be lit up like a firework. "Don't attack until you're sure!" Ray urged the darkness.
But then the lights came back on. The Zebstrika was standing in the middle of the battlefield. Spolt was crouched beneath it!
"Now!" Ray yelled, coughing. He wondered if Spolt had learned that from Dax, or something.
"Watch out!" Elesa cried.
But it was in vain. Spolt discharged electricity, and it all went straight to the Zebstrika. Overloaded, the Zebstrika seemed to explode in a blast of electricity. After the light dissipated, Ray saw the Zebstrika, collapsed on top of Spolt. To Ray's relief, Spolt crawled out from underneath, securing their victory. The audience cheered and applauded, and began to leave the battlefield.
"Well, Ray," Elesa said. "Congrats."
Cheers from not just Gabe made Ray realize that a crowd had gathered and had watched the whole thing. Then, Spolt ran and jumped into Ray's arms, even though he could barely hold Spolt up. What was left of the audience awwed.
When he put Spolt back down, Elesa was standing before him. She gave him a badge that looked like a thunderbolt with an orange crown.
"This is the Bolt Badge," Elesa said. "It has a nice ring to it. You know, it's surprising how many people lose a Gym battle and don't try again. I guess it's because they're embarrassed or shameful. Don't forget about this your whole life! You can always try again, whenever you mess up."
"Thanks," Ray said, taking the badge and placing it in his badge case.
"Oh, and I love your Manectric. It's so cute."
Spolt barked in protest, and everyone around laughed.
West of Nimbasa City, Ray and Gabe set up camp off to the side of the road. Ray's egg was resting in his lap. It was starting to shake quite often.
"I'm glad you're okay," Gabe said, referring to the blue pulse.
"Let's just forget it ever happened," Ray sighed. He drank some water from his supplies—not really to quench thirst, but to help his dry throat. "Let's get at least some sleep before morning comes."