And it is time for the continuation of the Gym battle! Last chapter Allen won with a Mud Sport strategy. I went ahead and looked into it and yes, they can learn it. So yeah, it worked. And Wattson just laughs it all off. He's a jolly guy isn't he? Now that we have that done, it's time to get to work!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! All of its characters and content are owned by Game Freak and Nintendo

Chapter 25: A Shocking Battle! Part Two

"You did really great Allen!" Karen chirped as she sat beside her crush.

Allen grinned happily and placed his hands behind his head and laughed.

'Good work Allen. You did great with that strategy we worked out. You even put your own spin on it. Great work!'

"Thanks Satoru! That battle was intense!" Allen grinned.

Satoru smiled softly as he glanced down at Allen. He was improving even more each day. He still had a lot to work on, but he would get there eventually. Satoru also had room to grow. This battle was going to be a tough one, mainly because of the speed of Wattson's team. This was not going to be an easy fight. He already had a team set for Wattson and was going to utilize the newest addition when the time comes.

"Wahahaha I'm back!" Wattson laughed joyfully.

Satoru turned around to see the jolly Gym Leader walk through the does with a big grin on his face. Satoru was beginning to wonder where the source of all that laughter came from. Part of him wished he were that jolly...to an extent anyway.

"So, are ya ready to begin!?" Wattson asked eagerly.

Satoru nodded, showing he was ready for this.

"Alright, Jeffrey! We have another battle!"

"Right Mr. Wattson!" Jeffrey shouted as he ran to the center of the arena.

"What's your name lad!?" Wattson called out.

Satoru looked over to Allen and Karen for help.

"His name is Satoru!" Karen supplied.

"Wahahahaha! I like it! Well Satoru, let's make this a fun battle!" Wattson laughed.

"This Gym Battle is between the Mauville City Gym Leader; Wattson and the Challenger; Satoru! This will be a three on three match! Only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon! Satoru will have the first move! Ready? Begin!"

"Manectric, here we go!" Wattson called out.

The electric canine landed on the arena floor and stood proudly as he faced the opposition. Satoru already had a plan for Manectric. He reached for his belt and snapped off his first teammate. He released Ralts onto the battlefield. The empathetic Pokémon turned confidently towards Manectric, awaiting orders to come. Two snaps echoed through the Gym as the battle began. Ralts reared his head back and surrounded himself in a pink aura.

A penetrating shout was soon released from his mouth, forming visibly in the air as a blast that rocketed towards Manectric. Considering that sound was for the most part, unavoidable, Manectric took the attack and winced at the harsh sound.

"Wahahaha! Now that is loud! Manectric, Thunderbolt!" Wattson commanded.

'Here it comes...be ready.'

'Okay Satoru!' Ralts replied.

Manectric gathered in the power of his element and released a devastating blast of lightning towards Salts. Two snaps echoed out as the attack neared. Ralts promptly duplicated himself, creating several afterimages that were vaporized from the blast. He, however, went untouched. Two snaps echoed once more, signalling an offensive command.

"Manectric, use Discharge!"

'Teleport now!'

Ralts quickly aborted his assault and warped out of range as a powerful discharge erupted from Manectric. The range managed to be larger than expected and managed to shock Ralts as he came back into play. Ralts winced as he recovered from the blast.

"Use Bite!"

Manectric charged the recovering Ralts with jaws a gape. A single snap rang out, causing Ralts to once again use Double Team. The doppelgangers surrounded Manectric at an alarming speed.

"Discharge again!"

'Confusion!'

Manectric powered up and began to release the powerful attack when he was suddenly rendered immobile. An invisible force held him up and a crimson aura surrounded him. Suddenly, he was flung into the wall behind him, crashing to the floor and out cold.

"Manectric is unable to battle! Ralts wins!" Jeffrey announced.

"Wahahaha! Well if that don't beat all. I thought for sure I would surprise you with this, but I guess not. Now for some real fun! Magnezone, let's go!"

This was bad. Ralts did not stand a chance in hell in this situation. Reading the situation as dangerous, Satoru immediately withdrew Ralts. Wattson must have kept this gem in reserve. He needed something that could battle it. He had Trapinch, but did this situation call for him? These things were prone to having Magnet Rise. Their dual-typing made them incredibly weak to Ground-type attacks. He had done his homework for the most part. But now the question was; who to use? First, he wanted to confirm his suspicions. He reached for Trapinch and released him.

Trapinch looked up at Magnezone and then looked back at Satoru.

'Is this dinner!?' Trapinch asked.

'Err...no Trapinch...you can't really eat that...I am testing something here...'

"Wahahahaha! A Ground-type eh? Not the first time I've fought one and most certainly it won't be the last! Magnezone, Magnet Rise!"

'Confirmed...okay, come back...' Satoru recalled Trapinch and sent forth Beldum.

'Hello Satoru, I assume it's that time is it not?'

'Yep...you are my smallest which means you should be harder to hit. Now, this is going to be difficult... Considering I just need you to wear it down...'

'Correct. As I already know, none of my attacks are able to do much damage to it. In see Magnet Rise is active. You probably want me to stall it out, correct?'

'Right.'

"Wahahahaha! A shiny Beldum. Interesting! Good ol' Steven has a shiny Metagross! That's funny!" Wattson declared.

Satoru snapped twice and sent Beldun on the offensive. Purple energy arced along its body as it propelled itself right into Magnezone. This sent the floating UFO-like Pokémon flying backwards a bit.

"Use Zap Cannon!"

Magnezone locked onto Beldum and fired off a powerful Zap Cannon that tore through then arena floor, hitting Beldum dead on. Beldum crashed into the floor, unable to continue.

"Beldum is unable to battle! Magnezone wins!"

"Wahahaha! Wasn't that electrifying!?"

Satoru grimaced as he returned Beldum. He had expected that result, just not that early. Satoru reached for Salts once more. He worked out a strategy for Magnezone now that he saw what he was capable of. He released Ralts back onto the field.

"Going with the Ralts again eh!? Use Magnet Bomb!"

'Teleport, I have a plan!' Satoru smirked.

Ralts immediately warped away from the deadly Steel-type attack. The bomb detonated and he reappeared on a different side of the arena.

'Flash Cannon!"

Satoru snapped his fingers once, calling for another teleport. The blast of steel energy crashed into the floor and left a small crater. Ralts was nowhere to be seen. He rematerialized behind Magnezone and after two snaps from Satoru, fired a Disarming Voice. The attack didn't do much, but it kept it busy.

"Magnezone, use Magnet Bomb over and over!"

Satoru snapped once, signalling Ralts to teleport continuously. Several explosions rang out as Ralts teleported away from bomb after bomb. Wattson didn't seem to see the point of it all. Satoru was up to something, but what? Satoru had his eyes fixed on the current of electricity that held Magnezone safely above reach of ground attacks. He noticed it was now flickering which was his queue.

He returned Ralts and quickly sent out Trapinch.

'Use dig now!'

Wattson laughed at this.

"Wahahaha! That won't do much good if he can't hit Magnezone!" Wattson laughed.

There was an audible crackling sound and soon Magnezone's Magnet Rise gave way and it became vulnerable. Before Wattson could react, Trapinch shot out of the ground and hammered into Magnezone, causing him to hit the ground hard.

"Magnezone, Flash Cannon!"

'Bulldoze!'

Magnezone prepared to fire but was launched into the far wall by a powerful shockwave from Trapinch's Bulldoze. Magnezone was down for the count.

"Magnezone is unable to battle! Trapinch wins!"

"Wahahahaha! What an exciting battle. I guess it's time for my last one! Electabuzz, come out!"

The electric humanoid feline-like creature materialized onto the field. He stared down Trapinch with confidence. This was going to be hard as well, considering Electabuzz could learn quite a few diverse moves.

"Ice Punch, go!" Wattson laughed.

'Dig now!'

Trapinch barely managed to get underground before Ice Punch arrived. He soon rocketed out of the ground and cannoned into Electabuzz's chin with a strong headbutt. The Dig attack disoriented Electabuzz quite a bit.

"Ice Punch again!"

Electabuzz drew back his arm and powered into Trapinch, sending him crashing into the arena floor. Trapinch was out of it.

"Trapinch is unable to battle! Electabuzz wins!"

Satoru recalled Trapinch and held the ball of an exhausted Ralts. He was all he had left. He had put in a lot of work and he was grateful for that. He released Ralts onto the floor, watching as Ralts stood erect, determination in his eyes.

"Wahahaha! Unlike that spunky look your Ralts has on his face. Let's see if he can handle Electabuzz! Thunder Punch!"

Satoru snapped once, giving Ralts a defensive order. He knew Ralts was tired, but he had to press on. Ralts resonated Satoru's determination and Double Teamed as the attack arrived. Thunder Punch crashed into the arena and shook it violently. Ralts moved out of harms way just in time.

"Thunder Punch again!"

Electabuzz whipped around and made contact with Ralts, sending him crashing into the ground. Ralts was struggling to get up at this point. His arms were shaking and he was very weak. As he rose to a stand, an electric current crossed his body, signalling that he was paralyzed.

"Finish it off Electabuzz! Ice Punch!"

As Electabuzz wound up, a static current stopped his movement entirely. The effects of Synchronize kicked in, which was what Satoru has hoped for in that situation. Two snaps echoed out and Ralts capitalized on the opening. His eyes lit up as he lifted Electabuzz from he ground. He then heard two more snaps. He reared his head back and shouted his Disarming Voice, the attack hitting Electabuzz hard. Ralts then sent the humanoid feline into the nearest wall for the knockout.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Ralts wins! This means the victory goes to Satoru!"

Before anyone could congratulate Satoru, Ralts's body erupted into a bright white light. When the light died down, a Kirlia stood in his place. His legs were now more noticeable and there was an obvious feminine look to him. It was understood more clearly in this state why they were mainly thought to be female.

"Wahahaha! Well, I certainly didn't expect that at all! Congratulations! You've earned the Dynamo Badge!" Wattson belly laughed, handing the badge over with a grin.

"You were awesome Satoru!" Allen and Karen chorused.

Satoru smiled and looked over at his new Kirlia. He glanced back up at Satoru with a smile.

'We won!' Kirlia beamed.

'Yes we did Kirlia...yes we did.'

Satoru came out on top! And Ralts evolved after putting in a heck of a lot of work! Talk about reaping rewards huh? Defeat two powerhouses and then evolve after the match. Sweet deal! I didn't want to pull the typical 'losing-really-badly-only-to-suddenly-evolve' tactic because it is cliché. It's appropriate only when necessary, so, I had Ralts evolve into Kirlia after the battle. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Rising!