Disclaimer: Fang does not own Pokémon.
Chapter 10: The Discovery of Strategy
-Mauville City-
Blue. The Shield Sphere, regardless of what its name implied, did not resemble a shield, nor did it bear any design to explain its name. Rather, it was an orb with two gray lightning bolts - one on each side - stuck to its surface. I had tried last night to pry the appendages off, but they would only budge about an inch before returning to their original positions, as if pulled into place by (really powerful) magnets. Inside the sphere was some kind of clear solution with blue particles suspended within the liquid, giving it its hue. I tried dropping the sphere to see if it would break, but I succeeded only in startling Gio, who had the misfortune of sharing a room at the Pokémon Center with me.
The Sword Sphere, currently in Dina's ownership, was similarly structured, though the particles held within were pink. Instead of gray lightning bolts, it was adorned with two white tusks and a long dorsal fin. Dina had grown increasingly possessive over it, and so I couldn't test if it was as durable as the Shield Sphere.
When I suggested that we threw the spheres away (after all, what if they were dangerous toxins or explosives?), Dina freaked out. "No way! It's a good luck charm! Besides, it's really cute after you get a good look at it."
True to her words, she was rarely without it, even crafting it a crude chair of napkins so that the sphere could sit next to her breakfast plate.
"Perhaps it's a mind control device that required bodily contact for a sustained period of time, which is why she won't let it go," theorized Lydia, but from the glint in her red eyes, I could tell she was teasing me.
"Let her play with it," said Gio, taking Dina's side. "It's merely a toy."
So I sighed, pocketed the Shield Sphere, and prepared for another mentally exhausting day.
The streets still bore signs of the Creation Festival, but the performers and banners were gone. The city seemed to lag, its residents weary from the celebration, and it was enveloped in a peaceful fog. Dina broke this reverie by dragging us all to the gym, which had been closed the day before.
"Mauville has electric types, right?" she exclaimed excitedly. "That means Beany has the advantage!"
"But Wae is your strongest, and he's a water type," I interjected. To my surprise, Dina didn't brush this disadvantage aside.
"Is there a good strategy for water types against electric types?" she said.
"Yeah," I muttered unhelpfully. "Don't send one out against them." Type disadvantages were a sore topic for me. As a trainer, I had always striven to overcome them, but it took a better trainer than me to completely brush them aside.
"Electric types tend to rely more on speed and power than defense," said Gio in my place. "Try to strategize around Wailmer's bulk and resilience… The speed and power in its Rollout attack will also help."
I raised an eyebrow at his unusual chattiness. He met my gaze evenly and shrugged, and I chalked it up to him being Gio - he did what he did, regardless of what was expected of him.
"I read that Wattson's not someone to laugh at," Lydia warned us. "I was born in Slateport, and we often heard stories. He's been a gym leader for a long time, so he knows what he's doing, even without type advantages."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely win," announced Dina. "This'll be my third badge!"
We stopped in front of the large yellow building marked with the Pokémon League's insignia. True to its core, the front of the gym displayed an oversized model of Mauville's gym badge, surrounded by five lightning bolts. The doors slid open, and a brown haired man with round glasses walked out. He wore a pale yellow cardigan over a turquoise turtleneck, and honestly, even if I hadn't been acquainted with Wattson, I'd never believe he was the gym leader.
"Oh! Uh, are you all challengers, by any chance?" the man ventured.
"No, just me," said Dina in an endearingly sweet voice. Apparently the man thought so too, because he focused on her and replied in a similar tone.
"I'm sorry, but the gym's closed for now due to, er, technical problems. Take this opportunity to train some more, and come back later if you want to see the gym leader," the man said.
"You're not the gym leader?" asked Dina.
"No, I'm the gym assistant, Watt. The gym leader can't see anyone right now, so, uh…run along now?" Watt finished weakly as Dina's puppy dog eyes intensified.
"But I really want to challenge the gym now," she said.
"The gym leader isn't here?" Lydia chimed. "He's missing? Abducted? Kidnapped? Slateport's gym leader was busy as well. This can't be a coincidence… Ah, I've got it now! Pokémon League sends leaders to investigate suspicious happenings in Hoenn! One by one, the gym leaders disappear, leaving challengers in disarray and chaos!"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not happening," Watt tried to interrupt her, but she spoke over him.
"Maybe it's not kidnappings, but an event where gym leaders need to go incognito? A scandal within the Pokémon League! I might be the first reporter to discover this!" Sure enough, her notepad was out, and Lydia was furiously scribbling down notes so that she wouldn't forget anything.
"I-is she going to be okay?" Watt asked nervously.
"She'll be fine. I mean, no crazier than she started off," I sighed. "Sorry to disturb you. We'll leave now."
"Fin, but I need my badge!" protested Dina. She stomped her foot, making it apparent that she didn't intend to budge until she got what she wanted.
"Dina, you're being spoiled," I reminded her, unnecessarily gentle. "You'll get your badge, just another time when the gym leader's free."
Those were the wrong words, setting Lydia off on another rampage. "Perhaps this has been slowly brewing for a long time, until recently the pressure of this deeply guarded secret became too much to bear, and the gym leaders just had to escape from it all! The readers will love this!"
On the upper hand, the look on Watt's face was almost worth the headache I was getting. Gio moved closer to me with a pained expression, probably because I was making the least noise. Dina had begun to make high-pitched whining sounds.
"Look, I'll cut you a deal," Watt relented. "You can battle me for the badge, and in return, please don't mention anything of this to the press."
"Is that even legal?" Lydia said, a little impressed.
"Of course it is," Watt said hastily. "Wattson left me in charge, after all. He trusts my judgment; besides, if you can beat me, you earned the badge."
"You talk big for a gym assistant," said Lydia. "Have you ever been on a Pokémon journey? How many badges did you get? Did you make it to the conference? Did you take on the Elite Four challenge? Why are you working here if you're that good?" Of course, all of her questions were fired in rapid succession, leaving Watt no time to answer.
Gio placed a rough hand on her shoulder, effectively quieting her. Taking this opportunity to escape, Watt gestured for us to follow him and led us inside the gym.
The interior of the building was dark; Watt clapped his hands, and the lights flicked on, momentarily blinding us. Dina, of course, was impressed by the trick and amused herself by clapping loudly, but the lights remained lit.
"Uh, be careful. There are a few holes in the ground…" Watt warned us, carefully maneuvering around the gym. A "few" was an understatement, especially since some of the holes were deep and wide - large enough for a person to fall into and never get out. Others were filled with strange things like colored balloons and stuffed Minun. I was pretty sure I saw a roller coaster car at the bottom of one.
"Wattson enjoys booby traps," Watt explained. "Since the gym is supposed to be closed, these have been shut down, but they're still a menace to public safety. Wattson refuses to get rid of them, though."
Now that he mentioned it, I did recall a few horrifying experiences at this particular gym, although it appeared Wattson had renovated and upgraded the traps since my visit here.
Watt led us to a vast room in the back where the gym battles took place; this, at least, had not changed and was similarly structured to other battlefields. I cautiously surveyed the area, making sure that the booby traps waylaying the hallway were absent on the bleachers before I sat down. If I remembered Wattson correctly, I couldn't be too careful in this gym.
"How many Pokémon do you have on you?" Watt asked my sister.
"Two. Is that all right?"
Watt nodded. "It'll be fine." He paused to stare at the battlefield, his brow furrowing as he thought. "I usually judge, but… Can one of you judge?"
The question was directed at Gio, but he merely shrugged and averted his gaze, looking over at Lydia and me. Lydia was making a few side notes and revisions in the margins of her notebook, clearly sending me the message that she was too preoccupied. Sighing, I stood up, feeling old. While I had had to judge a few times in my travels, I didn't find the experience too liberating. Face it, no one paid attention to the judge, and while judges made good money and usually turned out to be strong battlers thanks to the time they spent observing Pokémon battles, no one announced that they wanted to be a Pokémon judge when they grew up.
"Sure," I relented as Gio took my place on the bleachers. "I don't know the rules of the gym, though…"
"It'll be a two-on-two battle; challenger can switch out. First trainer to knock out both of the opponent's Pokémon is the winner," said Watt. He jogged over to the other side of the battlefield, leaving Dina on the side nearest to the door. "Ready?"
I obediently relayed his instructions. After a quick, worried glance at my sister, I shouted, "Begin!"
"Ampharos, you're up!" Watt immediately called out, releasing his Poké Ball. A slim yellow Pokémon popped out, landing lightly on the ground. I raised my eyebrows; Ampharos wasn't native to Hoenn, though Dina wasn't familiar with many Pokémon, so it didn't make much of a difference.
"Beany, show 'em your stuff!" cried Dina, throwing her Poké Ball. Despite knowing in my gut that Bellsprout was the wiser choice, the grass Pokémon still looked flimsy and pathetic next to Watt's Ampharos.
"Interesting," Watt said, nodding in approval. "Bellsprout aren't from Hoenn either; how did you come across this one?"
"A trade," replied Dina, looking over at me. I gave a slight shake of my head; it was best to let bygones be bygones and let past misunderstandings be forgotten.
"We'll see if you got a good deal or not; Ampharos, Cotton Spore!" Watt commanded. I silently conceded that he knew his Pokémon well; while I'd never had the pleasure of raising one, I knew Ampharos were one of the slower Electric types.
The Ampharos hopped forward, letting out a battle cry as small fluffy balls erupted from its mouth.
"Vine Whip, Beany!" To its credit, the Bellsprout reacted with remarkable speed, but his vines were outnumbered, and he was unable to prevent many of the Cotton Spores from sticking to him. Undaunted, Dina plowed on, "Don't worry. Use Growth, then Weather Ball!"
Watt took her order in great stride, despite its unusual nature. "Charge, Ampharos, and then Flash."
Both Pokémon stilled, focusing on mustering their power. Likewise, an unworldly silence fell over the gym as we waited to see which Pokémon would break concentration first.
Ampharos's eyes suddenly shot opened, and I instinctively thought that the battle could have been decided right there. But the electric Pokémon waited patiently for Beany to finish his Growth; that's when I realized that, just like in the case with Norman, Watt wasn't fighting a gym battle like Dina was. He was fighting a teaching battle, which explained his pacifistic strategy. He hadn't even used an offensive technique yet.
"Bell! Beeeeell!" announced Beany when he finished. Ampharos braced itself as a swirling white sphere formed between the Bellsprout's leaves. Then someone behind me pulled me backward, and the world exploded in a blinding white light.
I found myself lying eagle spread on my back across someone's legs, which would have been uncomfortable had this person's shoe not been digging into my flesh, making it just plain painful. I voiced this discomfort, utilizing the fullest extent of my vocabulary. "Ow."
"He just saved your eyesight," observed a voice that sounded like Lydia's. Unfortunately, my vision kept flashing from a blurry distortion of my surroundings to blank whiteness. "Ampharos are used in lighthouses for a reason, and this one had just used Charge."
"You sure know a lot about Ampharos," I muttered, rubbing my head where I had slammed it on the way down.
"No, I know a lot about lighthouses. I grew up in Slateport, remember?"
"Kindly continue your conversation after removing yourself from my lap," Gio muttered, shifting; in the process of getting up, he unceremoniously dropped me on the ground. After standing and dusting myself off, I smiled. That was the first display of steel I had seen from him since the battle where we'd met. Just hanging around us was getting to him, I guess.
A loud blast snapped my attention back to the battlefield, where Beany was attempting to locate Ampharos after getting a face full of its Flash. The Cotton Spores from earlier were still clinging to the poor Pokémon's wiry body, and his lack of muscle mass hindered him greatly. With tremendous effort, Beany fired off another Weather Ball, which missed Ampharos by a long shot and, with another earsplitting noise, blasted another dent in the wall.
"Come on," Dina persisted, "shake it off! Use Stun Spore!"
That was definitely a new move. While the technique itself was not uncommon, I'd never seen (or in this case, heard) Dina use it for Beany. I was surprised, but also thankful that she had moved past using only the same three moves.
Beany expelled a cloud of yellow dust from his bulb, forgoing the process of aiming and just scattering the spores everywhere. Watt and Ampharos watched the cloud carefully, neither making a movement as it slowly approached their side of the battlefield.
"Now, run straight ahead while using Razor Leaf!" Dina shouted. I couldn't tell if she was trying to corner her opponent in between the Stun Spore or if she was just trying out attacks to see which hit. I thought maybe she was trying to incorporate some semblances of strategy into the battle, but she was just going about it in a strange way.
"Cotton Spore!" Watt ordered, keeping on the defensive. The battle, honestly, was beginning to drag-
I threw myself at the floor as three blades of Razor Leaf flew over my head. Beany clearly had no idea what he was doing, as he sent his attacks in all directions, hoping for a lucky hit. Fortunately, Ampharos intervened, once again exhaling Cotton Spore at his opponent. This time, however, the white balls attached themselves to the Bellsprout's leaves, slowing down and eliminating any danger they posed to anyone.
"That's not fair!" Dina cried out while Beany looked around frantically in confusion, wondering what he was doing wrong this time.
"Sorry," Watt said, looking wholly unapologetic. "It's been fun playing, but I have a lot to do today. Ampharos, clean it up. Fire Punch!"
My eyebrows shot up; now that was something new! Ampharos cried out as a mass of fire gathered around its fist.
"No, Beany! Stun Spore!" Dina shouted, as if sheer volume would stave off defeat.
As Ampharos approached, Beany blew a familiar blast of yellow spores in front of it; the paralysis-inducing attack couldn't fend off the Ampharos though. The electric Pokémon plowed through the cloud, fiery hand extended. The Fire Punch hit Beany head on, sending the Bellsprout flying. It landed behind Dina, outside of the battle lines.
"Uh, Beany is unable to battle. Ampharos wins!" I declared. Dina quietly recalled her Pokémon, visibly disheartened. I understood how she felt; with only Wae left, her chances of victory were diminishing rapidly. At the same time, I knew that bad strategizing had cost her this match, and if only she'd stop to think about her commands, she might have a chance at defeating Ampharos.
"Let's go, Wae!" Dina said, throwing her Poké Ball into the air. The Wailmer burst out with a happy gurgle, bouncing where he landed on the floor. The impact blew Beany's Stun Spore away from him, where they eventually dispersed, harmless.
Watt looked at Wae with interest. "That's not a Pokémon you usually see on a novice," he observed. "Of course, what with running an electric gym, it's not a Pokémon we see around here at all."
"I'm not a novice!" Dina stressed. "I've already got two badges! This'll be my third!" Watt smiled, his eyebrows raising a little. Thankfully, Dina didn't clarify on how she had obtained those two badges. I had the feeling that her journey thus far didn't reflect the skills the average Pokémon trainer needed.
"Well then, let's begin. Ladies first," Watt said courteously.
"All right, Wae, Ampharos is already Paralyzed, so I know you can do this. Use Rollout!" Dina called out, and I was thankful she had taken Gio's advice.
Watt didn't waste any time calling out an attack, intent on ending this battle quickly. "Thundershock!"
Wae leapt into the air, beginning to rotate mid-jump. When it landed, it was nothing but a rotating, blurred sphere barreling forward at alarming speeds. Any remnants of Beany's Stun Spore perished in Wae's dust. Ampharos bravely stood its ground, its Thundershock hitting its mark; Wae's momentum served as a buffer against the electric attack though, and the water Pokémon slammed into Ampharos's side before dashing off again.
"Keep it up," Dina cheered. "Rollout again!"
Watt didn't seem worried, though he didn't have much cause to be. "Thundershock, Ampharos."
This exchange went just as it had before, with Ampharos taking the brunt of the hit and Wae spinning away before the electric type could mount any serious form of retaliation. It was becoming less a battle of skill and more a test of endurance. I didn't have any experience as a gym leader, but I just couldn't figure out what Watt was playing at.
I must have been mumbling to myself, because Gio and Lydia began talking as well.
"How strange," Lydia said. "He's abandoned all forms of strategy and is lowering himself to Dina's standards. Fascinating. Why would he do that?"
"I don't think he's abandoned all strategy, just that he's pushing his limits," Gio said gruffly. He paused as he watched Wae turn around and begin speeding back towards Ampharos. "Any way you look at it, Ampharos has been better trained than Wailmer."
"He's testing her," I realized, remembering the incident at Slateport gym. "That's what the gyms are here for: to test a trainer's ability. But I still don't understand why he's going about it like this…"
Gio shrugged, his eyes following Wae around the battlefield. "He doesn't intend to lose," he said finally. I looked away from the battle, which hadn't progressed much further, to stare him down, but he avoided my gaze and didn't expand.
On the other hand, Lydia appeared to have caught on. "That level of altruism is rare," she said, pulling out the - oh please, no - notepad and jotting something down. "He knows what he's doing, but he chooses to remain relatively behind-the-scenes as the gym's assistant. I wonder if there's any reason for this?"
"Guys, what are you talking about?" I asked, trying on Dina's puppy dog face. Lydia snorted.
Oblivious to my plight, Dina decided to change tactics as I sulked. "Come on, it's weak, Wae! Use Whirlpool!"
Wae slowed to a halt, and as he stopped rolling, his battle wounds became much more apparent. The successive Thundershocks had clearly rattled the Pokémon, but his spirit had yet to be dampened. Dina's enthusiasm was rubbing off on her Pokémon, which I would wager was her strongest point as a trainer. She was undeniably charismatic once she really set her mind to something, and I'd never seen her commit to anything as thoroughly as this.
Ampharos wasn't that much better off. I'd argue that the electric-type looked a lot wearier than Wae did, but it had yet to lose its composure. I couldn't predict how the battle would go.
Wae opened his mouth, the water that accumulated there slowly forming what looked like a blue tornado. I narrowed my eyes when it seemed to take him much longer than usual to form the attack.
"Charge," Watt ordered. "Then Discharge."
"It's over," I heard Gio murmur. Lydia made a small sound of agreement, but I kept my eyes on my sister in a futile hope that maybe, by some miracle, Wae would pull through.
The water Pokémon launched the Whirlpool, which hit Ampharos solidly, knocking the smaller Pokémon on the ground. For a moment, it looked like Ampharos wouldn't be getting up, but the battered Pokémon forced its eyes open with admirable discipline. The electricity it was gathering crackled louder by the second, giving Ampharos the strength to pull through. A blink later, Discharge sent streams of electricity in every direction except, impressively, toward the trainers and the bleacher. Wae was caught in the torrent, crying out pathetically.
"Wae!" Dina shouted, disregarding the rest of the battle and rushing to her Pokémon. Immediately, Ampharos called off the attack, pushing itself up in exhaustion.
I didn't know what to do. Watt kept his face blank of all judgment, but I was pretty sure running on to the battlefield during the battle disqualified Dina or at least had some repercussions. "Wae is unable to battle," I eventually decided on. "This victory goes to the Mauville Gym…uh, Assistant, Watt, and Ampharos!"
Gio moved past me, approaching Dina as she fussed over Wae. To my surprise, he pulled out some sort of bottle from his pocket and sprayed down Wae's wounds.
"A potion," he grunted when Dina looked at the bottle questioningly. "We should still stop by the Pokémon Center though."
"Okay," Dina said, giving Wae another worried look. "Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, just needs rest," Gio replied. "Your other one needs to be checked out too."
Dina nodded, pushing the button on Wae's Poké Ball to return him. "Sorry, we'll get them next time," she whispered, cradling the ball before putting it away.
"You've got potential, but you could use a little polishing," Watt said as he walked over. I snorted. Only a little?
Dina stood up to shake his hand. "Yeah. Fin keeps yelling at me about strategy and stuff, so I've been trying to come up with new things. I guess I still have a long way to go, huh?"
Watt shook his head, a small smile on his face. Ampharos, looking a little worn out, came up from behind him and clutched at his pant leg. He petted the electric-type absentmindedly. "No, no, that's not what I was saying. I could definitely see where you tried to be more subtle with your technique, but I could also see that you're a hard hitter. I'm going to guess that you usually focus on offensive techniques?"
"Yeah, I guess," Dina said, but her hesitation betrayed her confusion.
"I'll explain. Stun Spore is a very useful in that it induces paralysis, but you used it as if it were an attack during the battle. Your attacks were very disjointed throughout the match, like when you'd order your Pokémon to do a combination attack and then switch strategies half-way through. Then when you sent out Wailmer - your first Pokémon? - you reverted back to your old ways, using your most powerful move."
I nodded at each of his points, thinking them over thoroughly. In her matches with Brawly and Norman, she definitely relied heavily on offensive moves. And against Lily…that's when she started using other techniques, but she always backed them with powerful attacks. She wasn't used to dealing with moves like Stun Spore and Cotton Spore, which explained the disorderly rhythm during the battle.
"Would I be wrong in saying that you use a lot of defensive moves?" Watt asked, turning to face me.
I blinked. "I guess I do. They're useful in certain situations."
"It's something I see often in younger trainers. They imitate the battle styles of people they look up to, a sibling or a famous trainer. Whether it was conscious or not, I think Dina was trying to copy you. For some, it works out well, but in other instances, such as this one…"
I glanced at Dina with my eyebrows raised, and she blushed and shuffled her feet. "Since Fin is so strong, I thought I could impress him…"
Watt smiled and patted her on her shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong, but it is better to stick with what you're good at. I'm not saying don't use strategy, but you need to train with your Pokémon and find out what works for you, not what works for Fin."
Dina nodded emphatically. "Don't worry, we'll train super hard, and next time we battle, I'll win!"
Eh…sorry for the delay, I guess? Don't have a real excuse for it; this chappie was intended to be twice as long as this, featuring Dina catching her next Pokémon (guess which Pokémon?). But I decided that was too much for one chapter, so that'll be next chapter.
Next chapter also includes some major plot points, as well as the grand meeting between Fin and Tuesday!
So one person guessed correctly last chapter, and I promised I'd do something special. And because I've never been one to keep secrets, I'm going to allow each person to ask one question (via review, PM, stalkerish post-it notes on my front door, etc). You may ask anything from, "What Pokémon will Dina catch in the future?" to "What will you write after Fin?" to "What the flip is up with Professor Hawthorne?" The only things you can't ask are "Why does Vic want to destroy the world?", "Who is the mystery man in chapter 9?" and "What is your social security number?"
In addition, you must have an account to ask a question because I'll answer each privately. Sorry if you don't have one. Make one.
Random Fact: Fin has a sweet tooth and isn't fond of spicy things, like Occa berries.
Credits
Gio Cliff belongs to Ano-chan
Lydia Wist belongs to Windy Rain
Watt and Wattson belong to Nintendo
Dina and Fin belong to me