Determination.
To some, it's just a word. A descriptor used when talking about someone who has achieved success. A word used to describe someone who has been through great hardship.
But it's more.
Determination means that you do not give up, even when success seems impossible. It is through sheer determination that battles are won or lost. Pokémon can remain in a fight long after they should be down for the count, if they have enough determination. With enough sheer willpower, just about anything is possible.
And doesn't that just fill you with determination?
The doors slid open before Finn, a blast of dry air meeting him as he entered the gym. The sandy floors of the gym shifted slightly as the artificial wind blew out of the building. Finn took a deep breath and began to walk forwards.
The receptionist glanced up at him, then waved him along. He'd been in here enough times to be easily recognizable to the receptionist.
Finn continued along, hiking his way to the arena that he knew Trinity would be waiting at. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. He quickly reached the arena, and as he expected the gym leader was there, with a smirk on her face.
"So, you ready to be pounded into the dust again?" Trinity jeered.
"No. I'm ready to try again," Finn replied calmly. He lifted a Pokéball in his left hand.
"Hah! As if you have a chance!" Trinity laughed mockingly. She grabbed a Pokeball and tossed it onto the field. "Whiscash."
"Alright, Bastion, let's go!" Finn tossed the Pokéball in his hands, releasing the diminutive mareanie onto the battlefield.
"You know the drill, whiscash: use sandstorm."
"Bastion, toxic, then toxic spikes!"
Bastion immediately fired the spike atop his head at the whiscash, embedding the poisonous projectile in the whiscash's rubbery skin. He immediately followed up by shaking his head violently, causing spikes to shoot all over the battlefield. The mareanie had to jump to the side to avoid a fissure that was snaking along the ground, only barely managing to avoid the lethal move. Finn gritted his teeth at the sight of yet another illegal move, but there was nothing he could do.
"Now, use venoshock!" Finn directed.
The mareanie grinned evilly and began to secrete a poison out of the spikes on his head. With a violent shake, the toxin soared through the air and hit the whiscash, sizzling its skin. Bastion made to repeat the move, only to suddenly widen his eyes and fall over.
"What?!" Finn sputtered in confusion.
"Future sight, kid." Trinity grinned. "Whiscash can learn it."
"Bastion, return." Finn recalled the mareanie, then pulled out his next Pokéball. "Jitters, your turn!"
The joltik entered the field in a frenzy, immediately jumping towards the whiscash. As rehearsed, Jitters latched himself onto the whiscash and dropped the ring target he was carrying, then immediately let out a discharge of built-up electricity. With a moan, the whiscash collapsed to the ground.
"You little rat," Trinity spat, recalling her whiscash. "Krookodile!"
A huge red reptile appeared on the battlefield, its black patterns making it appear to be wearing sunglasses. The krookodile let out a fearsome roar and charged Jitters, its stomps causing the ground to shake. Jitters quickly began to fire off pin missiles, hitting the reptile with supereffective bug type moves. The range offered to the joltik was useful, but probably not enough to take the krookodile down.
Thus, both trainers were surprised when Jitters managed to incapacitate the dark/ground type before it could even land a hit.
"What the hell?" Trinity muttered, just barely loud enough for Finn to hear. "Fine. Claydol!"
The krookodile vanished in a flash of red light, only to be replaced by a floating statue. The many eyes on the clay statue blinked at differing intervals as it slowly rotated in midair. It raised one of the earthen nubs that it had for hands, and a massive outcropping of rock shot out of the ground, hitting Jitters. The Joltik screeched in pain as he went flying into the air, and the claydol took psychic hold of him, flinging him back down with a thud.
"Jitters, return!" Finn recalled the bug type, swapping the Pokéball for the next. "Alright, Crai, you're up!"
Crai hit the battlefield lightly, his feet barely even kicking up dust as he landed. The kirlia smirked as he looked at his opponent. A psychic conversation was clearly occurring between the two psychic types, but there was no way that Finn or anyone else could listen in. Crai suddenly jumped into the air, leaves appearing like magic around him. The kirlia floated in the air for a fraction of a second before firing the bladed leaves at his opponent, the grass type attack slicing through the claydol's shell.
"I'm not dealing with this. Claydol, explosion!" Trinity commanded.
The claydol made a strange noise, like it was upset, then began to spin. It steadily gained more and more speed with its rotations, energy beginning to leak from the cracks in its body. With a final cry, its body detonated, releasing the energy onto Crai. The lifeless claydol hit the ground, followed shortly by an unconscious Crai.
Finn felt rage bubbling inside of himself. Explosion? Really? That move hurt the Pokemon that used it even more than it did the enemy! It wasn't technically an illegal move, but it was heavily frowned upon by the League.
"Crai, return." Finn raised the kirlia's Pokeball, recalling him. He brought out his next Pokeball, ready for whatever Trinity could bring to bear against him. "Athena, you're up!"
"Golurk! Destroy them!"
The two ghost types appeared on the battlefield, both ready for battle. Athena unsheathed her blades and immediately dropped her sheath, using autotomize to increase her speed. With her enhanced speed, she launched forwards, her blades trailing dark energy. Both of Athena's blades slashed into the golurk's body, causing it to stagger backwards under her assault. She quickly followed up with another night slash, then used a shadow claw to try and finish the job.
Except that the golurk vanished into the ground.
Athena cast about for the golem, trying to locate it before it could land its strike. She was too late, though, as the massive titan rose out of the ground to land a solid punch on her blades. With that single, incredibly strong strike, Athena was incapacitated.
"Athena, return! Nyx, you're up!" Finn was getting desperate now. This was by far the best he'd ever done against Trinity, and he wasn't about to surrender. "Just use night slash!"
Nyx appeared with the normal flash of light and immediately hurled herself forwards. With her claws trailing shadowy energy, she sliced at the golurk, sending it flying backwards with the force of a critical hit.
"Golurk, return." Trinity was seething. Even from across the battlefield, Finn could see a vein bulging on her forehead. "You're really pushing your luck, kid. Mamoswine!"
A huge boar-like creature appeared, its huge tusks jutting far from its face. The huge mamoswine roared and reared up on its hind legs, slamming its forelegs into the ground. Immediately, ice began to spread across the battlefield. The ice began to create pillars, rising into the air before growing icicles. With another ground slam, the ice began to fall haphazardly, forcing Nyx to jump around randomly. She couldn't keep it up forever, though, as it wasn't too long before an icicle speared through her abdomen and pinned her to the ground.
"Nyx, return!" Finn quickly recalled the gliscor before Trinity could do any more damage. Putting the Pokéball on his belt, he grabbed his last Pokéball. "Alright, Belle! You're up!"
Belle emerged from the Pokéball at a dead sprint, dashing at the mamoswine with her hands balled into fists. She immediately launched herself forwards and began to pummel the ice type, using power up punch repeatedly in order to defeat the much larger Pokémon. The mamoswine was unconscious by the fifth hit.
"Mamoswine, return!" Trinity was almost shouting, her anger steaming off of her. Even from the other side of the battlefield, Finn could almost feel it roiling through the air. The pokeball in Trinity's hands squeaked just a tiny bit as her hand clenched in anger, but she put it on her belt and grabbed the last of six. "Tremor! End her!"
Tremor entered the battlefield already running, swinging its arms as it charged up an attack. On its third step, the rhyperior hurtled forwards, spinning in a horn drill aimed straight for Belle's heart. The machamp immediately swatted her opponent out of the air, sending Tremor to crash into the ground off to one side. Belle followed up by raising all four arms and slamming them into the ground, sending a shockwave through the sand that caused the rhyperior to sink by an almost imperceptible margin.
But it wasn't nearly enough to end the fight. Tremor climbed back to its feet and stomped the ground, causing the earth to shake. Belle leaped off of the ground, soaring through the air towards her rock-type foe. With a carefully executed low kick, she knocked Tremor to the ground once more, slamming the rhyperior in the back with a power up punch as she went past. When Tremor rose once more, she hit it with yet another power up punch followed by a second bulldoze.
Then it turned around.
Tremor rose to its feet for a third time and roared, stomping the ground further. It was clear that it wasn't just destroying the ground with earthquake; the rhyperior was using fissure.
Finn felt his blood grow cold. Rhyperior didn't learn fissure naturally. They didn't learn it through any training or TM. They couldn't inherit the move from a parent either. There were some moves that a Pokémon could teach itself, through enough practice in trying an otherwise impossible move, but fissure was not one of them. None of the lethal moves were.
Belle didn't seem to care, though. She leaped over the chasm in the ground and pegged Tremor in the chest with another power up punch. The massive rock-type retaliated by pulling one of its hollow arms back and slamming it forwards, into Belle's stomach. The machamp didn't even flinch, but the purple liquid dripping from the rhyperior's hand alerted Finn that the attack was much more than a simple punch. Tremor used poison jab with its other arm, quickly using alternating blows to push Belle back.
Then the rhyperior took a single step back and launched itself forwards, spinning through the air in an attempt to end Belle's life.
Belle didn't have enough time or preparation to stop the horn drill, instead grabbing the rhyperior as it began to bore through her chest. She grunted in pain, but started to punch the rhyperior, forcing it to stop its lethal attack through sheer strength. The massive gash across Belle's chest began to close, the punches earlier revealing their nature as drain punches. Belle took a couple steps forwards and slammed a punch into the rhyperior's chest, causing its stone skin to crack under the force of her blow.
Tremor collapsed to the ground, leaving Belle standing with her chest heaving from the exertion. Drain punches had healed the absolute worst of the horn drill, but she still had most of the skin on her chest mangled into a bloody mess.
"We win," Belle said simply, still panting.
"Good battle, Trinity," Finn called across the battlefield. In truth, it had been anything but, but to sink to that level was to be no better than she was.
"What makes you think it's over?" Trinity snarled.
Without warning, Tremor rose to its feet and slammed its hand into Belle's chest, the toxins from the poison jab mixing with her blood and surely poisoning her. Belle stumbled back a step and swayed, raising her arms in a weak bid to attack. She took one step forwards.
Then collapsed.
"Belle!" Finn shouted, his eyes wide. He quickly raised the masterball and recalled her, hoping that the stasis of the Pokéball would keep her stable until he could get her to a Pokémon center. The healing machine might not be enough to help her; it hadn't been enough last time she had been horn drilled.
Finn immediately took off, running out of the gym as fast as he could. Behind him he could hear Trinity laughing. "That's right, run off!"
He didn't care to listen. All that mattered was making sure Belle survived. Finn ran through the street to the Pokémon center and barged in the front door, dashing up to the main counter. "Nurse Joy!"
The pink-haired nurse turned towards him and smiled. "Hello, Finn! How can I-," She cut herself off, taking in his pale face and panicked expression. "Oh no, you were challenging Trinity again, weren't you…"
"Please. Belle, she's poisoned." Finn held out the master ball, his hand shaking.
Nurse Joy took the Pokéball and set it on the healing machine. She pursed her lips at the readout and shook her head. "I need to take her in for extensive care, like last time. She has neurotoxin in her bloodstream, and it looks like she's been hit with another horn drill. One day, I swear Trinity will pay for hurting all of these poor Pokémon." Nurse Joy took the master ball off of the machine and placed it into a tray off to one side. "Put the others on the counter, I'll handle them for you once she's stable."
As Nurse Joy took the tray and walked into a room in the back, Finn removed his Pokéball belt and placed it on the counter. With a heavy sigh, he turned and walked over to a couch set into the wall, sitting down.
Trinity cheated. She cheated hard. She cheated blatantly. But most importantly, she cheated using Talos serum. It was the only possible explanation. Belle could use moves like drain punch, despite the fact that no machamp ever recorded could use the move. Not only that, but she had continued to fight through a horn drill. In order to match that sort of raw power, Trinity would have to use the same methods of empowering her Pokémon: using an experimental drug designed to make normal Pokémon into legendaries. She certainly didn't reach that level of strength through dedication and love; her treatment of her claydol showed that much.
Not only that, but Trinity had to be a part of team Plasma. Sebastian, one of the employees at the gym, was a Plasma member, after all. And Finn could distinctly remember the fragment of memory he had accidentally stolen through Athena's soul siphon. The woman who had been speaking was Trinity, and she wanted Finn out of the picture. More specifically she wanted Belle out of the picture.
And if Trinity was a part of team Plasma, then there was a chance - no, a certainty, that she had been enhanced with Pokémon DNA, just as Cyril, Dua, and Renard had been. No normal human could damage a Pokéball, even by deliberately trying to smash it with a rock. They were made that way because trainers often got into trouble, and if the Pokéballs were fragile they would break all the time. Yet Trinity had clearly damaged her Pokéball with nothing more than her bare hand.
Someone walked up next to him and sat down. Finn glanced over, taking in cowboy boots, a ten-gallon hat, and a clean-shaven but haggard face. The middle-aged man sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry about that."
"About what?" Finn asked bitterly. "You didn't do it."
"No, but I didn't prevent it, either." The man shook his head. "You were quite hopeful when you first came into the gym. But the look on your face when you left? It was a look of determination. I should've come up to you then and given you the badge."
Finn sat up straight and looked at him closer. After a moment, he raised an eyebrow. "You were the guy who didn't want me to challenge the gym, right? Terrance?"
"That's me." Terrance nodded, taking his hat off. He ran a hand through his thinning hair and sighed.
"So what's the deal with giving me the badge?" Finn asked.
"Trinity cheats," Terrance spat, ire evident in his voice. "She cheats, doesn't obey League regulations, and she kills the Pokémon of the people who get close to beating her. The League knows all this."
"So why don't they remove her?"
"Can't." Terrance shook his head. "In order to replace a gym leader, you need to find a replacement who can match them in battle with their own type. Damn stupid rule, but it's tradition." Terrance curled his lip in disdain, shaking his head again. "So the League went around Trinity. There're technically two gyms here in Vernac, both capable of handing out the persistence badge. There's the one everyone knows about, that Trinity's got her fingers in, and then there's mine."
"You're a gym leader?" Finn's eyes widened in surprise at this. Terrance had been an employee in Trinity's gym when Finn first arrived in Vernac. To find out he was actually a gym leader was shocking.
"Sure am. I mostly just give the badges out to them who've braved Trinity a couple times. No reward without determination, after all." Terrance shrugged. "It keeps Trinity from wondering why nobody bothers to rematch, and it allows trainers to get the badge without resortin' to stealin'."
"Wait." Finn furrowed his brow. "If you could hand out the badge at any time, why didn't you come forward before now? Why not when Trinity's goon tried to steal my Pokémon? Or when she nearly killed Belle?"
"I get it, you're angry." Terrance sighed. "I'm sorry. Should've come forward well before then, but I was scared. Plasma've got their grubby fingers all the way into Vernac town, and it hurts. I've had to be extra careful not to arouse suspicion, lately. Some of N's faithful help, but they're few and far between. The problem, though, is that they hate you in particular."
"But why?"
"Hell if I know." Terrance shrugged. He reached into a pocket in his jeans and pulled out a metal token shaped like a mountain. In the center of the mountain was a stylized red heart, as though the mountain was alive. "Take the badge. You've more than earned it. And, uh," Terrance patted his vest pockets, eventually locating and producing a disk. "Take the TM for earthquake. You can't use it in gym battles 'till you've got six badges, but it should help before then."
Finn took the disk and put it into his bag, then took the badge. He clenched his fist around the small metal token, feeling the edges dig into his palm. "Thanks. I guess."
"Wish I'd acted sooner. Wish I could do more." Terrance stood, putting his hat back on. "Best of luck to you, Finn. When you see Dracul or Lorenzo, let them know I said hi."
With that, the true gym leader of Vernac town walked out the door.
Finn sat in the Pokémon center lobby for a while, mulling his thoughts around. A traitorous gym leader, team Plasma, project Talos, and a League-planted man to make sure that trainers can actually succeed at something. Vernac was one messed-up town.
Eventually, Finn heard someone walking up to him. He glanced up to see Nurse Joy. "Finn, Belle's in a stable condition. You can come see her now."
Finn stood and glanced around. He realized suddenly that he had been sitting there for hours, not even noticing the time pass. It was well into nighttime, now, and he had gone to challenge Trinity in the morning.
Nurse Joy led Finn into the medical bay, taking him to the room housing Belle. At the sight of her, his breath caught in his throat.
Belle was sleeping, which Finn supposed was a blessing in and of itself. Her chest was still a mess, even though it was clean now. Muscle showed through spots where the skin had been torn away, and in the center there was bone visible. It wasn't any worse than the last time he had brought Belle in here, but the poison made everything worse. Her breath was rattling in her chest as she inhaled and exhaled, and the skin and muscle was pale and diseased.
But she was stable, and she would recover. She had already recovered from so much.
"Thank you," Finn said quietly.
"I'll leave you here with her," Nurse Joy replied, just as quietly. She turned and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her.
Finn sat down in a chair next to the bed, watching Belle's chest go up and down. He took one of Belle's hands and gently squeezed, relieved when she unconsciously squeezed back.
He fell asleep in that position, several hours later.
A/N:
Yes, that was an Undertale reference.
Meet Terrance, the real gym leader of Vernac Town. It was probably pretty obvious that Trinity had connections to Team Plasma, but now I've flat-out stated it. She's a bad, bad person, and she's nearly killed Belle now. Twice.
Terrance is the name Terrence with an A instead of an E. It's still a valid spelling for the same name, but now it has 'Terra' in it.
As always, please review to let me know what you think!
Now read on!