Polaris–Ponyta, Tsuki–Serperior, Mamoru–Samurott, Tlaloc-Braviary, Lanfan-Mienfoo, Carrara – Liepard, Croatan – Scolipede

Under Foot

Lanfan skated across the ice towards Beartic. Beartic doubled over, smashing his fists into the ice and cracking it. Lanfan skidded to the side just in time to avoid the crushing blow. But she stumbled over the broken bits of ice and Beartic smashed after her. Lanfan didn't recover balance enough to escape Beartic's charge, and she let out a cry as he sent her flying.

Lanfan skidded across the ice, and staggered to her feet. She was panting, and exhausted. One more blow would probably finish her off.

I grit my teeth and glanced across to Byrcen. He was smirking, obviously thinking he was close to victory. My only remaining Pokémon were Lanfan, my Mienfoo who was nearly beaten, and Polaris who was close to defeat herself. Brycen's Cryoganal had really done a number on her.

Beartic charged again while Lanfan was still trying to recover her balance.

Move now! I called telepathically.

Lanfan quickly centered herself, and as Beartic closed in on her she made one fluid dodge to the side. At the same time she grabbed Beartic's elbow. Using her opponent's momentum, she redirected his course so that he smashed head-first into the gym wall.

Beartic staggered backwards, shaking his head. Then he let out an enraged roar and smashed the ice-coated floor once more. The cracks trickled across the ground, making Lanfan stumble as she tried to retreat. Beartic grabbed a nearby pillar of ice and hurled it at Lanfan. It struck, and Lanfan tumbled to the ground in a shower of ice.

I returned her and sent out Polaris once more. Polaris limped forward a few steps and leaned against a block of ice. The icy floor was ahre enough for her to walk on, but she'd also strained her leg against Cryogonal. She'd tried to melt the ice several times, but Cryogonal continued to refreeze it. Polaris was running out of energy.

Use Fire Spin! Over and over as many times as you can to keep Beartic on the run.

Polaris nodded and sent out a tornado of flame. Beartic quickly moved away and used Brine, dowsing most of the flames.

Polaris sent out Fire Spin again, but Beartic drenched that one too. Beartic continued to retreat from the heat of the attacks as Polaris sent out two more Fire Spins.

The heat of it seemed to be slowing Beartic down, at least. But then he used Icy Wind, and the chill cooled the air in Beartic's favor.

I'm ready, Polaris said.

I nodded. Bring him in then.

Polaris sent out one last Fire Spin, and then sagged and let her head droop. The bait worked. Beartic began to charge forward. As he closed the gap, Polaris suddenly lunged forward. She opened her mouth as she and Beartic came face-to-face, and then unleashed Fire Blast directly onto her opponent.

Beartic was blasted backwards, and he crumpled to the ground in defeat.

Brycen let out an impressed whistle. "Your Ponyta is good at playing possum. I really thought she could barely move on her leg."

"She couldn't," I said. "The Fire Spin was supposed to buy us time. Did you notice how she was leaning against the ice?"

Brycen cocked his head. "For support, I thought."

I shook my head. "Well, partially. The ice helped soothe the swelling and make her leg numb so she could make one last leap. And her fire melted the ice in front of her so she would have a stable landing."

Brycen nodded. "Very clever. You got us, at least. Battles are always the most exciting when they're right up to the wire."

I nodded, still breathless from the adrenaline of the battle. I returned Polaris so she could rest her leg. We'd need to get that treated right away.

"Here's your badge," Brycen said, walking across the battlefield to hand it to me.

…

I kicked off my shoes and lay back in the grass. Hari and Gro bounded off to explore the nearby marshes. We'd trained out here over the past week, but that didn't stop Hari from searching for new secrets. Nearby, our Pokémon rested in the shade or played in a nearby pond. They were all rested up and healed after the gym match.

"Watch out for Stunfisk," I called to Lanfan as she waded out into the water. "You don't want to step on one."

Ben and I went to join our Pokémon by the pond. We started making sand castles. Or rather mud and rock castles.

Hari laughed and I glanced over to where he was slogging through a particularly marshy area. He seemed to be sinking up to his shins in the mud. Gro was perched on a nearby rock, not wanting to get all mucky. I smiled, then stopped and frowned. I slowly stood up. Something felt off.

"Hey, Hari," I called. He glanced up at me as he continued sucking his feet against the mud. "Yeah?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but at that moment Hari took another step. As his foot came down in the water, a bolt of electricity shot up through his leg and engulfed his body. He screamed as his body spasmed from the shock of it. The jolt seemed to last a long time, but before it faded away, I was already sprinting towards him, my bare feet splashing into the clingy mud.

As the shock faded away, Hari wobbled on his feet, his eyes drooping and his long hair fizzing out in all directions. He tottered and started to collapse, but I reached him just in time to catch him. I saw a shadow float away through the water. A Stunfisk with a pleased-looking smirk on its smug face. I grit my teeth and cursed. Hari must have stepped on the thing. He hung limp in my arms. His clothing looked singed. That must have been an incredibly strong Stunfisk to have such a strong attack. I breathed a sigh of relief to find that Hari was still breathing.

I started to drag Hari over my shoulders, but Ben arrived at that moment and helped me carry him out through the mud.

Back on solid ground, we lay Hari out on the grass. He was still unconscious.

"I think we'd better get him to the doctor," Ben said.

I swallowed and nodded. I'd been shocked pretty bad before, but I'd never been knocked out by it. I was somewhat reassured by the fact that Hari was very fast to recover, even if he didn't appear to be very sturdy (He'd been pretty scrawny ever since I met him, but he was at least starting to fill out a bit more).

Polaris was still limping a bit, so Ben's Tauros carried Ben and Hari. We returned the other Pokémon and hurried back to town. I flew on Tlaloc and went ahead to find a route to the nearest doctor.

I tried to reassure myself that Hari would be fine, but was immensely relieved when we got Hari to the hospital. I sagged against the wall when they assured us that Hari would be okay. He just had to rest and have his burns treated.

After a few minutes of sitting in the waiting room, I stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ben asked, surprised.

I smirked. "Revenge."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Revenge? Against an ugly flat fish that was stepped on?" He talked as if it was the stupidest thing he'd heard all week.

"I'm going to catch it. I don't have a Stunfisk, and that thing was strong. You should have seen it. It had a creepy grin on its face as it swam away. It likes to stun people! I'll catch it to surprise Hari."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Sure. And you're just going to leave me here I the waiting room alone, then?"

I hesitated. "You can hand out with Gro?"

Gro and Ben exchanged brief glances.

"Just go," Ben said, flapping his hand at me in exasperation.

I laughed. "I'll bring you a bouquet of swamp flowers."

"Go away!"

I laughed and returned to the swamp.

Mamoru slogged through the swamp, Lanfan riding on his back. Tlaloc circled overhead. Tsuki twined from tree to tree, peering down into the murky water. I was already wet and muddy, so I borrowed some rubber boots (to protect against Stunfisk) and joined my Pokémon.

We spotted several Stunfisk, but none of them were what I was looking for. Finally I reached out telepathically, seeking for the consciousness of my target. I found something promising and headed for it.

I think I see it, Tlaloc announced as he swooped low over the water. We headed towards him, and after a minute I was able to make out a dim outline against the mud. It was partially obscured by dirt, pebbles, and half rotted leaves. I pointed at the Stunfisk.

"I challenge you!" I announced. "You hurt a friend of mine, so I want to battle."

There was a pause, and then Stunfisk wriggled up towards the surface.

"Go, Tsuki," I said. She slipped out of a nearby tree branch and dipped into the water. Immediately, she darted forward, moving easily through the water with each swish of her body. Stunfisk arced his body above the water, shooting out sparks. Tsuki glided out of the way and in an instant had circled around her foe. She used Vine Whip to grab Stunfisk's tail and toss him up out of the water. A moment later, she engulfed him in Leaf Tornado. Stunfisk dropped back to the water, dazed. Tsuki didn't pause, but used Leaf Blade to knock Stunfisk onto a raised area of mud. Stunfisk flopped there, trying to wriggle his way back to a wetter area where he could swim. But I threw a Pokéball, and Stunfisk vanished inside. The Pokéball clicked and Stunfisk was caught.

I smirked, feeling triumphant. "Piece of cake."

Tlaloc retrieved the Pokéball for me as the rest of us returned to dry land. He dropped it in my hand, and the transport device triggered, sending Stunfisk back to Avalon.

"Ah well," I said, trying to rub some of the mud off of my hands. "I don't like Stunfisk anyway."

"Then why did you steal its freedom?"

A shiver ran up my spine and I whirled around. Behind me, where no one had been seconds ago, there were three men in black suits and masks. Beside me, my Pokémon bristled.

"Who are you," I demanded.

"We are the Shadow Triad," one of them replied. "We serve Lord N and Ghetsis."

"They have requested your presence," another of them said.

"Although, you seem a rather strange choice of a friend for Lord N, when you seem to capture Pokémon for fun."

"Why on earth should I go with you?" Being summoned like this was not something that I had any mind to submit to, especially the way N had run off before. If N wanted to see me, he should have come himself instead of sending these three freaky guys that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Who did he think he was?

"Why, Lord N is about to awaken the legendry Zekrom, of course."