"Kyaa!" Prancer Grunts as he strikes a pose.
"Nyaa!" Princess follows suit, trying her best to do a quadrupedal version. I've got to admit; it was pretty funny looking. I've been thinking about Jet ever since we parted ways after getting back from the factory tower. She was in quite a hurry to get out of town, I like to think she didn't want to share a hotel with me. Still, there's so much about her I don't get. She beat that zapdos while at an absolute disadvantage with that strange greninja, she swept my whole team with a pikachu, she gave me this keystone and galladite for Prancer, and she kissed me on the cheek! What is she!? Certainly, not an ace trainer like Stella. Even so, she's good. I'm happy I ran into her. I would've charged right into the Aero City Gym with no strategy and a vulpix with only powder snow. That brings us to where we are now. Princess' training regimen handled by me and Prancer has been a success for this week. Powder snow has been replaced with ice shard. She's also gained Icy wind, hail, and confuse ray. It won't be like with Jet; this time Princess will win.
As I sit and contemplate the nature of how I'd take on this gym, Junior comes flying back. I sent him to stretch his wings. He lands on the bench beside me and buzzes his wings, I guess to signal that he's ready for action. Prancer and Princess are too busy training to notice Juniors arrival.
"Alright guys! Huddle up!" I call out to them. Prancer, Princess, and Junior join around in a circle. "Remember the plan. Princess, you'll take on any pure flying types. Prancer and Junior will take what you can't. You're the star!" She jumps and growls with excitement, spirit of battle roaring inside of her. This was it, my third gym badge and my first step towards a rematch with Stella.
I enter the Gym and there is no hallway or buildup. Just an extremely expansive blue battlefield. I gasp as I take it all in. Flying types definitely have the advantage.
"Waaah!" A little girl runs past me crying while holding her ratata. That could've been me with Princess. I hesitate before stepping on the field. am I ready? No, I'm beyond ready! I reassure myself as I take the challengers place on the field. The gym leader, who's about my age, is off to the side healing his pokemon.
"Oh? Two victims in one day?" someone says with a wheezy laugh. He's a tall and lanky old man with a balding head and goggles on. "I fought in the war and you youngsters still think you can take me!" He says while shaking his fist. What a strange old man. Where did he even come from "bobby boy we got another one!" he calls out. Slowly realization hits that this crazy old man is the gym leader. Suddenly he grows wings! No, it would seem there's a braviary holding onto his back that spread its wings. With a mighty CAAAAAAAAW it lifts him up and flies him to the gym leader's position on the other side of the field.
"Here's the rest of your team sir." The boy who I assume must be bobby boy says as he brings over 5 more pokeballs.
"Alright youngster, let's do this!" He says while striking his trainer pose "Let's end this quick swellow!" He clumsily throws out a swellow which erupts from its ball with twice as much vigor as it's master.
"You're on!" I exclaim as I strike a pose of my own, solely because I didn't want to be outdone. "Princess! Let's do this!" I throw out Princess, she emerges with a light growl.
"This battle will be league standard. Four moves only, no move chaining, Battle is decided when all the opponents Pokémon have fainted." Billy boy, acting ref, lays out the rules "Battle begin!"
"wellow! Quick Attack!" The old man calls out. All according to plan.
"Ice shard!" I order. As expected the swellow charges right through the Ice shards. While it successfully hit princess, the damage is mitigated. Princess is unmoved while swellow has to make distance. "Follow up with hail!" I continue. Before the old man can even follow up princess already engulfs the field in a hail storm. Her ability Snow Cloak activates and she seemingly disappears.
"What the…?" The old man is lost and so is swellow "well don't ya stand there! Clear blow a path and look for it with air slash!" He orders grumpily. Swellow does as it's told and fires air slash at where it last saw princess. She isn't there or in any of the surrounding area cleared by the air slash. Swellow turns around to blow a different area and as the hailstorm retakes the area behind him it was time.
"Now! grab onto him and use icy wind!" Before swellow or the old man can realize what was happening Princess is already on swellow's back.
"Nyaa!" Princess roars as she unleashes a critical point blank icy wind that brings the swellow down immediately. The hailstorm subsides revealing Princess standing triumphantly over the fainted swellow.
"swellow is unable to battle. Winner is vulpix!" Bobby Boy Declares. The old man is simply seething, and it's amazing. Princess doesn't just disappear in the blizzard. She stays 180 degrees from the initial point where she used the move. I always know roughly where she is so we can exploit weaknesses.
"Alright youngster, you got lucky! let's see you take this! Go staraptor!" The old man yells as he tosses out a staraptor. This one, also shockingly young compared to its trainer. "Brave bird!" staraptor becomes engulfed in a blue flame like aura and charges princess.
"Princess, Hail!" The hailstorm shrouds princess just before staraptor can plow through her. No doubt she was grazed by it despite all appearances making it look like she disappeared unfazed.
"Not working twice boy! Brave bird all over the place!" He commands. The staraptor engulfs himself in the blue flaming aura again and began shooting around the field. I can tell Princess is just narrowly dodging. What's worse is that the attack clears away the storm as it cut through, so we'd occasionally catch a glimpse of princess dodging. I have t
o think of something fast. That's when it hit me. The staraptor was taking damage as the hail went on. Princess can out last it.
"Princess, Ice shard whenever you get the chance!" I call out. It was practically checkmate from here. Staraptor flies into a direction, gets hit, staggers, clumsily flies into another direction, gets hit, repeat. All the while Princess gracefully dances around him from the shadows of the hailstorm. This continues until finally staraptor fell.
"That's it! staraptor is unable to battle." Billy boy declares.
"oooooooh ya done did it now boy!" The old man scolds. "Braveboy! Let's get em!" The braviary that had been on his back spreads its wings once more and takes flight. It's older than the last two birds but still too young to have been his first. This is it. My first clean sweep.
"Princess! Hail!" I call. Princess Disappears in the hail storm.
"Steel wing!" braviary turns to the side so it's glowing steel wings cut through the ground it doesn't even come close to where princess could've been. Maybe it was senile? It continuously missed by long shots.
"Now! Ice Shard" Ice shards began flying from the shadows however the braviary dodges every single one. That's when it hit me. braviary can have keen eye. It can see Princess. Then why was it missing? suddenly Princess is struck head on by a steel wing. "What!" I realize she must've tripped. The clever old man was tearing up the field to make it harder for her to move.
"Finish this brat! Steel wing!" braviary turns to end the battle by rushing down princess
"Confuse ray!" I yell on impulse. Princess can't survive another steel wing. I didn't expect it to work, but to my surprise not only does the orb of confusion hit the incoming foe, but braviary goes flying behind Princess and crashes onto the ground. "Quick! Before it gets back up! Icy wind!" Princess breaks towards the confused braviary and unleashes a point blank Icy wind. Brave Boy was down for the count. I win.
"braviary is unable to battle!" Billy boy declares. But he didn't declare my victory. But that could only mean…
"Well done boy. You reached the halfway point. The real battle begins now! Go Flame boy!" He says with gusto as he throws out a talon flame. It erupted from its ball in a burst of flames. This one was far older than staraptor. Yet still much younger than him. "Let's see how you fair against the rest of my boys." He says with fire in his old eyes.