Chapter 24
Reaching the Peak

*Serena's POV*

Although Ash struggled during his battle against Grant and his Rock-type Pokémon at the Cyllage City Gym, the Kanto Crusader managed to put his unique battle style to the test and pull off a victory, earning his second Kalos Gym Badge. Now, Brianna and her team had to do the same so she could be one step closer to entering the Kalos Pokemon League and hopefully becoming Champion after her mother.

The referee stood on one side of the field opposite us. "The battle between Grant the Gym Leader and Brianna the Challenger will now commence," he began. "As previously noted, the challenger will have the use of all the Pokémon in her possession, and only she can substitute Pokémon mid-battle. Also, the Gym Leader only has the use of two Pokémon."

"I had a feeling you would say that," Brianna replied and turned to Grant. "And just so you know, I currently have four Pokémon."

"Good to know," Grant told me. "Now for your first opponent… Rhydon! Come on out!" He tossed a Pokéball into the air and it opened to reveal what looked like a Rhyhorn standing on its hind legs.

"A Rhydon, huh? Haven't seen that one in a while…" I saw Ash pull out his Pokédex and aim at the grey one.

Rhydon
The Drill Pokémon and the evolved form of Rhyhorn
Rhydon's body is protected by an armor-like hide. Even a direct hit from a cannon will not leave a scratch.

"Very well, then," Brianna replied as she pulled out a Pokéball. "Seraphina, I need your help!" She threw the Pokéball and sent out her Fire-type companion.
"A Fire-type, huh?" Grant asked. "That's quite an interesting choice."

"I hope she knows what she's doing," I heard Clemont mutter. "Fire-types are at a huge disadvantage against Rhydon, who's a Rock and Ground-type."

Bonnie turned to me. "Serena, are you okay?" She asked. "You look worried." And the boys looked to me as well.

"She's right," Ash stated. "You didn't look worried during my battle."

"Yeah, I know," I began. "But you've been to five other regions and countless Gyms up until now. You have five years of experience with Gym Battles. Brianna, on the other hand, has been to only one other Gym besides this one. And with only four Pokémon and less than a month of training, this might be more of a challenge compared to your match. That's why I'm feeling so nervous."

"I understand," Ash nodded. "Serena, do you know why being a Trainer is so great?" I shook my head. "Because when you're battling, it doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a Pokémon veteran. Everyone's equal in a Pokémon battle."

"I sure hope you're right…" I replied as I turned my head toward the battlefield. "Good luck, Brianna…"

*Brianna' POV*

Everything was all set. There I stood, opposite of my opponent for the day, Grant the Cyllage City Gym Leader. Seraphina, my Vulpix, stood on the field, opposite his Pokémon, Rhydon. I knew that Seraphina had the disadvantage against the burly Rock and Ground-type, but I had a plan.

Then, the referee held up his arm toward the battlefield. "Alright! Battle begin!"

Brianna Bellerose VS Gym Leader Grant
Battle BEGIN!

"I'll make quick work of your fiery friend," commented Grant. "Rhydon! Use Rock Tomb!" The Pokémon in question began to summon a large number of rock and start tossing it at Seraphina.

"Don't be so sure," I replied. "Dig! Allons-y!" Seraphina burrowed into the ground just in time for the rocks to land everywhere but on her.

"Very clever, princess," Grant stated. "Nobody's thought to go under to avoid my Rock Tomb."

"Merci." I replied. "And for the record, I'm not a princess. I'm the Champion's daughter, but other than that, I'm just a simple girl."

"I know. The name just works."

"And so does this… Now, Seraphina!" My fiery friend shot out from the ground under Rhydon and shot him up. Just as I had hoped, it had worked.

Rhydon fell to the field before his trainer. "You okay, tough guy?" and he nodded in affirmative. "Excellent! Use Horn Drill!" The Pokémon charged at Seraphina, its horn rotating rapidly like a drill (and I just realized why its called that).

"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" She dodged it expertly and her fluffy turned metallic tails slammed down on Rhydon's head. It was super effective! "Tres bien, Seraphina! Iron Tail, again!" She leaped up again, tails at the ready.

Then I saw Grant grin. He then used a move I never would've expected. "Surf!" A large wave seemed to pop in out of nowhere, which Rhydon hopped onto, and it crashed down on my Fire-type friend. And just like that, she was down for the count.

"Seraphina is unable to battle," the referee said. "Rhydon wins!"

"I didn't know Rhydon could do that…" Bonnie said in awe.

I was equally surprised. I had never expected a Rock and Ground-type to know a move that was super effective against itself. Nor did I expect my first choice for a Pokémon to be defeated so quickly. Fortunately, the battle wasn't over yet. I retrieved Seraphina into her Pokéball and told her to get a good rest. I then reached in and grabbed another. "Go Lacey!" My Psychic-type then came out onto the battlefield, ready to give it her all.

"Another interesting choice, princess." Grant commented. "Use Surf again!"

"Me First!" I shouted. Lacey scanned the opponent's mind to understand how the move worked. It then summoned a wave and caused it to crash down on Rhydon. It was super effective, since a Rock and Ground-types like Rhydon would take four times the damage from a Water-type move. To make matters better, the increase in power from Me First caused the move to wash out the remainder of Rhydon's HP.

"Rhydon is unable to battle," announced the referee. "Lacey wins!"

"Magnifique!" I shouted. "Well done, Lacey! I knew you could do it!"

"Meowstic…" she replied proudly.

Grant retrieved his Rhydon into his PokéBall. "You did well, Rhydon. Get a good rest." He then turned to me. "I have to say I'm impressed, even with someone of your upbringing. Sure, you had a setback, but you used Rhydon's Surf against him, something I can honestly say I've never seen."

"Well," I replied, "I've never seen a Pokémon like Rhydon use a Water-type move before, so I guess we're even."

"Not yet. There's still one more wall you have to deal with, and you have three more Pokémon left." He pulled out another PokéBall. "You've seen Tyrunt in action, but let's see how you fare against his father… Go, Tyrantrum!"

After he tossed it, a large Pokémon appeared, it looked like Tyrunt, though at least five times larger and much fiercer. "Oh, my…" I then looked it up on the Pokédex.

Tyrantrum
The Despot Pokémon and the evolved form of Tyrunt
Using its jaw, Tyrantrum can rip through thick metal. In times past, it was considered unbeatable.

I looked down at Lacey. "Do you think you can handle it?" I asked her. She looked at me and nodded in affirmative. "Okay, then. I trust you." But secretly, I had my doubts.

"Use Rock Tomb!" Grant instructed. And all over, more rocks started to fall. A few of them fell around Lacey and a large one began to fall overhead.

"Light Screen!" I called. A pink curved force field appeared around her, blocking the oncoming rock. The then increased her psychic power to expand her bubble and push away the surroundings.

Grant chuckled. "See you learned a thing or two from Viola."

I nodded in affirmative. "Sometimes you have to think outside the box, or in this case, outside the Rock Tomb." I then turned to my partner. "Lacey, use Shadow Ball!"

Lacey then charged and fired her projectile at the enemy Pokémon, but as I feared, Grant was prepared. "Crunch!" And like Tyrunt before him, Tyrantrum ate the move before it came to contact. "Excellent work, Tyrantrum. Use Dragon Tail!"

"Me First!" Both tails glowed a bright green, and they slammed into one another. It did do some critical damage on Tyrantrum, but unfortunately, it did the same to Lacey as well. "Lacey! No!" I shouted. As I feared, that was enough to knock her out.

"Lacey is unable to battle," said the referee. "Tyrantrum wins!"

I recalled Lacey into her Pokéball and instructed her to get plenty of rest. I then looked to Cocoa, who stood beside me. She looked rather worried. "Lopunny?"

"It's okay, Cocoa," I gently scratched her head. "Lacey's defeat won't be in vain."

"You have only two Pokémon remaining," Grant said from the opposite end of the field. "So what will it be next? Will it be Cocoa? Or do you still have some trump card up your sleeve to stand against my Tyrantrum?"

I then pulled out my next choice. "I'm counting on you…" I tossed it and released Flora from her Pokéball.

"Ah… so you still had a Grass-type Pokémon lying in wait. Now that's how you play your cards. Let's go!"

Before I made any moves, I heard my friends speaking among the sidelines. "Alright," said Serena. "Flora should be great since she's a Grass-type Pokémon against a Rock-type, right?"

"Not exactly," replied Clemont. "Tyrantrum is also a Dragon-type, which is resistant to Grass-type moves, so Flora's Grass-type moves will probably cause normal damage to Tyrantrum."

I will admit, I wasn't quite sure how to use Flora against such a Pokémon as this. But I was still somewhat confident. If Flora couldn't defeat Tyrantrum, I still had Cocoa to finish him off. I was so sure I had the battle in the bag.

"Draco Meteor!" Grant called. Tyrantrum fired the move into the air and it burst, scattering all over.

"Use Petal Blizzard to block it!" I shouted. Flora concentrated her power onto the nearest projectiles that came her way. They were redirected one after the other, and Flora wasn't damaged that badly. In addition, some of the redirected ones actually struck Tyrantrum himself.

"You okay, Tyrantrum?" The Pokémon gave a reassuring growl. "Man! I've never seen anyone do that before!" Grant proclaimed. "Brianna, you are amazing!"

"Actually, that was an accident," I replied, sheepishly.

"Hey, as long as it works…" he then turned to his partner. "Rock tomb!" He shouted. Tyrantrum began to scatter the rocks all over the place as Flora dodged them. There were some, however, that hit their target and caused surprisingly critical damage. She was almost depleted. "Alright, time to wrap this up."

"I agree… Giga Drain!" I called. Flora's body began to glow a bright green, and matching energy beams extended from her leaf-like arms. The beams wrapped around Tyrantrum, drained his energy and then receded back to her. If Flora had a visible mouth, I'm sure she would have been smiling, since the move replenished her health. In addition, that last attack on Tyrantrum was enough to finalize him. This was made evident as he fell to the ground before us.

"Tyrantrum is unable to battle. Flora wins, which means the Gym battle goes to the team of Brianna Bellerose!" said the referee.

"YES!" I screamed in sheer joy and Cocoa I ran to Flora, hugging her tightly as she hugged us back. The rest of our friends came over to celebrate as well.
After Tyrantrum was returned to his Pokéball, Grant came over to us. "That was an excellent match. Brianna, you've raised all your Pokémon very well," he complimented.

"Thank you, Grant," I replied as we wrapped from our hug.

"Here, as proof of your victory, here is your a Cliff Badge."

I humbly accepted my prize and placed it in my badge case. Now, I had two badges, so I was a quarter of the way to the Kalos League.

"There are some things that seem out of reach no matter how hard you try. However, it's important that you never give up-no matter the opponent or the odds. I could tell from our battle that you two and your Pokémon understand that," Grant commented. "Now that you've become a master wall climber and conquered this Gym, it's time you thought about how to apply your skills in other ways… such as figuring the next Gym you'll be facing."

"We already took care of that," Ash intervened. "Serena and I were talking during your Gym Match, and we found the perfect place we should go next." He then turned to the girl in question. "Serena?"

Serena then showed us an image of a unique location. "The Tower of Mastery in Shalour City," she began. "It is said to be the birthplace of Mega Evolution. It also serves as the local Pokémon Gym."

"Excellent choice, you two," replied Grant. "But allow me to warn you: you'll have a different battle experience with the Shalour Gym than your typical battle. Best of luck."

"Thank you for your time, and thank you for the warning," Clemont stated.

"One more thing: let's have a rematch sometime at the battle Chateau."

"It'll be a while, but yes, please," I added.

With our goodbyes said, we began for the Shalour City. As we did so, I looked over at Cocoa. She seemed a little sad about something. "What's wrong, Cocoa?"

"Maybe she's upset that she wasn't part of the battle," Bonnie theorized.

Cocoa nodded. "Lopunny…"

I lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Cocoa. I know you still want to win a Gym Badge with me," I said. "Tell you what: during our next match, I'll substitute you into the battle once we get to the last Pokémon. What do you say to that?"

A short couple seconds later, my partner smiled. "Lopunny!"

"That's the spirit." I smiled back. It was great to see all my Pokémon happy, successful or otherwise.

Following our battles against Grant and his Rock-types, Ash and I have earned our second Gym Badges. Another step forward for both our dreams, and now it was off to Shalour City, as our journey continues...