The Battle for the Torch

That night was agonizingly slow for Brendan. He was just too nervous to sleep. The day that he had been looking forward to was upon him; the day that he could finally step out from Norman's shadow and make a name for himself as a Pokémon trainer. He knew he could do it too; it was just the prospect of actually doing it that worried him.

Brendan, if you don't relax and go to sleep, I'm going to hit you, Gwen said jokingly, still half asleep on the air mattress beside Brendan's bed.

"Sorry, I forgot that you can read my emotions now that you're a Gardevoir," Brendan said.

Sometimes, I forget it too, then a night like this rolls around, Gwen said. Want to talk?

"Yeah, maybe that will help me relax," Brendan said.

I can already tell that you're really nervous, Gwen said.

"Yeah, it's just because of the battle tomorrow. I remember that when I was a kid, everybody knew me as Norman's son, or the son of the Gym Leader. It was never that I was near the top of my class in terms of grades and in battling. As much as I love Dad, ever since I was in middle school, I've had two major goals. The first, as you know, is to become the Champion," he said.

Yeah, I remember, it was our first conversation, and it happened in this room, Gwen said thoughtfully.

"Well, I didn't tell you my other goal," Brendan said. "In fact, I don't think I've ever really discussed this with anybody. I want to surpass my father, and instead of just being Norman's son, I'd be known for my accomplishments."

Sounds a bit personal, Gwen said.

"Maybe it is, but it's not as personal as beating Team Magma was," Brendan said.

So more like wanting to have the torch passed to you, so to speak. You want to be the member of the Maple family everybody talks about, Gwen said.

"Exactly," Brendan said.

Well, I get the strong feeling that we're going to win…today, Gwen said. Now, relax and go back to sleep.

"Alright," Brendan said as he closed his eyes. Gwen was already back asleep within seconds, and Brendan soon realized that he could just subtly sense how relaxed she was. He just smiled to himself as he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Brendan and Gwen were on the challenger's side of the battlefield of the Petalburg Gym, and Norman was on the leader's side. Caroline, Sylveon, May, Professor Birch, and Lily Birch were all watching from the stands, and they were joined by a few other trainers who had decided to study at Norman's gym after losing to him. There was also a news crew in the stands with a camera focused on the battle, probably hoping to capture the battle between father and son. "So, Brendan, I hope you're ready for this, because regardless of your answer, I will not hold anything back," Norman said.

"Trust me, Dad, I know," Brendan said. "And I'm ready."

"Alright, well, I suggest that we have an all-out battle," Norman said. "So we both use all the Pokémon we have for this battle."

"And it all comes down to the last one standing," Brendan worked out easily.

"Exactly," Norman said. "And now it's time for the unveiling of Petalburg Gym's newest piece of equipment, as a gift from Wattson of the Mauville gym." Brendan figured out what he meant when Norman pulled a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, opening a section of wall, revealing a large screen.

"Oh yes, I remember this thing," Brendan said. "It tracks the health of the Pokémon currently on the field."

"Right, to be honest, I don't really know how accurate the thing is, but it hasn't been wrong yet," Norman said. "But that isn't why we're here. We're here to see whether you're worthy of a Balance Badge."

"Then let's get started," Brendan said with enthusiasm.

Norman smiled. "That's my boy," he said quietly. Then he took on a serious look. "Let's begin. Go, Remi!" The Pokémon that came out looked like a strange three-foot tall teddy bear. It had swirls for eyes and it had cream-colored fur with red patches all over, one over its left eye, the other on the top of its right ear.

A Spinda? We saw about twenty of them on route 113, Gwen said in a confused tone. And they were pretty weak out there.

"I know you use Normal types," Brendan said. But I have no fighting types, he thought, silently cursing himself for not planning for this better. "Then I guess I will start with my own Normal type. Go, Nikki!" The sloth Pokémon appeared and gave a confident grunt.

Norman's eyes went wide. A chip off the old block, he thought as the scoreboard lit up and brought up the faces of both trainers with the count of Pokémon they had left. "Well, Brendan, you attack fir–" he said, only to be cut off by Brendan giving a command.

"Nikki, use Slash!" Brendan said. Nikki leapt quickly at Remi, her claw raised high. Norman, caught by surprise, was almost unable to respond. Almost.

"Remi, use Teeter Dance!" The little panda began to stumble around the field, looking like he was confused already. The dance, however, did its job, getting Nikki to stop running and start dancing along with the confused panda. Brendan realized way too late that Nikki was now confused.

"Nikki, try to use Slash again!" Brendan said, praying to whatever higher powers existed that she would land a successful attack. It seemed that Arceus was not listening. Nikki stumbled and swung, only to wind up spinning and falling hard. The screen showing Nikki's health bar dropping by a few points. Brendan took a deep breath. "Nikki, try to calm down and focus!"

"Brendan, you'll need to do better than that to win over me," Norman said. "Now, Remi, use Psybeam!" Remi's eyes glowed like Gwen's did when she used her psychic abilities as he fired off rings of energy at Nikki, hitting the Vigoroth hard. While dropping her health bar further, it seemed that the hit also brought Nikki back to her senses.

"Nikki, use Bulk Up!" Brendan said. Nikki took a deep breath, boosting her attacking and defending strength. "Now, use Slash once more!" Nikki leapt at Remi, this time she was successful with her attack, sending Remi rolling backward. On the scoreboard, Brendan saw the Spinda's health drop almost to zero. "Finish this with Fury Swipes!" Nikki leapt forward, her claws raised.

"Sucker Punch!" Norman called. Remi's paws took on a black glow as he leapt forward, and just before Nikki got in her first attack, Remi snuck under her claws and punched her in the gut.

Nikki was thrown backward a short distance away, shaking off the blow as she leapt forward, swiping her claws at Remi repeatedly. This time, Remi didn't have a counter, getting knocked out. The buzzer of the scoreboard proved that to be the case.

Norman nodded as he recalled his Spinda. "Your battle style with Nikki is interesting. You utilize the power of her attacking abilities. However, it's time for you to see how to really use the Slaking evolution line. Let's go Victor!" he called out as he threw his next Pokéball. Brendan then took on a look of surprise as he saw another, slightly larger Vigoroth take the field.

"Dad has a Vigoroth too?" Brendan said almost breathlessly. "Oh no."

"Now, Victor, let's finish this in one attack! Retaliate!" Norman said. Victor jumped quickly as he sprinted at Nikki, his arm raised for an attack. Nikki, without Brendan having to say anything, tried to dodge the incoming attack. She failed. Victor's arm struck Nikki across her chest. Nikki's eyes went wide, but she stayed stationary for a moment before she was sent flying with unimaginable speed before she crashed into the wall below the stands.

"Nikki!" Brendan called with a worried tone. The buzzer sounded, indicating a knock out. Brendan's eyes went wide. "No way, it was that strong?" His voice was quiet at this point. He had Nikki return to her Pokéball, but he didn't lose his worried look.

"A bit confused, I see," Norman said. "Allow me to explain, Retaliate is an attack that doubles in power if used immediately after an allied Pokémon faints. Having a Pokémon with such high attacking power with this attack is a sort of trump card."

Brendan now understood what he was up against. He didn't let his worry show on his face. "Alright, then I guess I will just have to bring down Victor's attack," he said. "Jack, let's go!" he sent out the Numel, who looked ready to battle.

"Well then, let's see what your plan is," Norman said confidently.

"I won't keep you waiting," Brendan said. "Jack, use Heat Wave!" Jack let out a cone of fiery air from his mouth, hitting Victor. It caused Victor's health bar to drop by a third, and it became outlined with scarlet.

Norman just chuckled and shook his head. "A bit of a bad choice there son," he said. "Victor, use Façade!" Victor's body began to glow yellow before he ran forward and punched Jack across the face with immense strength. That dropped Jack's health to the one quarter mark. "I know you'll be confused by this one too, so allow me to explain. You see, Façade is an attack that doubles its power if the user has a status ailment. If that ailment happens to be a burn, then the attack reduction is removed for the attack," he said confidently.

Fuck! Brendan thought. "Jack, I know you can keep going. Now, I need you to use Mud Bomb!" Jack fired multiple orbs of mud from his back, each one hitting Victor in a different area. One even hit Victor's eyes. That could help us. Brendan noted.

Well, you'd better attack more, or Jack won't last much longer! Gwen said.

I know, Brendan replied. "Now Jack, use Magnitude!" on the scoreboard, a number wheel rolled briefly, and stopped on 10. Brendan then realized that it was showing the power level of Magnitude. Jack stomped on the ground hard, causing it to quake and break apart, multiple pieces of rock popping up and hitting Victor in the chest and arms, sending the Vigoroth tumbling back.

"Lucky shot," Norman said as he watched Victor's health drop even further, almost to zero. Just as Norman was about to call another attack, however, Victor was surrounded by flames and his health was depleted, and the buzzer sounded. Norman raised an eyebrow, but he simply recalled Victor. "Well Brendan, this is certainly one of the best battles I've had so far. However, let me show you my more powerful Pokémon. That will be your true test!" Norman then took out his next Pokéball. "Let's go Oliver!" The next Pokémon looked almost like a badger, but his fur was tan with a brown arrow pattern along his back reaching up to the top of his head.

Brendan pulled out his Pokédex, the information it provided was helpful. The Pokémon was Linoone, a very fast normal-type Pokémon with average attacking power. "Alright, let's do this," Brendan said. "Jack, use Iron Head!" Jack's head began to gleam like polished metal as he ran at Oliver.

"Oliver, use Belly Drum!" Norman said. The Linoone stood on his hind legs and began to slap his belly. Brendan watched Oliver's health bar get cut in half. But then a red aura surrounded the Pokémon, but it was so much more intense than anything that Brendan had ever seen from a Pokémon. "Now, use Slash!" Just before Jack could get a hit in, Oliver swiped one of his claws across his body, hitting the Numel across the face, sending him flying back. Brendan knew at that point that Jack had lost this battle. The buzzer was just unnecessary confirmation. Brendan had Jack return to his Pokéball, thanking the Pokémon.

"That was actually impressive," Brendan said. "But, I still have three more Pokémon left. Let's go Turk!" He threw his next Pokéball, letting out the Corphish. As always, Turk looked extremely confident for this battle. "Turk, that Linoone has maximized his attacking strength. You will need to be fast and tough defensively to win this!" Turk nodded in understanding. "Alright, then let's begin this with Aqua Jet!" Turk was surrounded by a water sphere before it turned into a geyser as Turk flew at Oliver. While he was flying, though, his body began to glow white and he began to grow to over three feet tall. His tail grew longer and his feet formed into two, larger legs and two smaller legs. His claws also grew significantly, with two sharp extensions to each side of his claws. The glowing ceased and Brendan could see the final result of the evolution. Turk was now mostly red with a blue arrow pointing down on his front, which was still the same color as before. He also had a yellow star on the top of his head. Turk then slammed into Oliver, striking hard. Brendan pulled out his Pokédex, scanning his Pokémon and seeing what attacks had been acquired, and indeed one had.

"Well, it seems you now have a Crawdaunt. Congratulations, but that will not be enough to win this," Norman said as he noticed Oliver's health drop to the quarter mark. "Now, Oliver, use Façade!" Oliver took on a yellow glow as he ran at Turk, a fierce look on his face.

"Turk, use Razor Shell!" Brendan called. Turk's claws began to glow as energy wrapped around them and formed what looked like sword blades. Just as Oliver was about to land a hit, Turk swung his right claw, slashing the Linoone across the face. At the same time, Oliver continued through with his attack, sending Turk tumbling back toward Brendan. This time, the buzzer sounded twice in a row. It was a double knockout. Both Brendan and Norman recalled their Pokémon.

"Well, it seems that you really did inherit my battling skill. You may even have more," Norman said. "But that last part will only be seen once you've seen the last Pokémon in my line up. Let's go, Warren!" The next Pokémon that Norman sent out was a massive, brown sloth ape. Its hands were the massive, bigger than its pecs. It looked to be sleeping, but Brendan could tell that it was sturdy, and it had unimaginable strength.

Brendan had two choices left, and he already had the order chosen. "Clint, come on out!" The Grovyle appeared, a look of cool confidence on his face. "Clint, this battle is going to be very tough. I think I know what attack is going to be coming first, so be ready to dodge it!" Clint nodded his understanding.

"Warren, use Retaliate!" Norman called. Warren's eyes popped open as he stood up and sprinted at Clint rapidly.

"Just as I thought," Brendan said. "Clint, use Agility to dodge, then use Leaf Blade!" Clint vanished from sight just as Warren was mere inches away from hitting his mark. The attack carried through, slamming into the ground and creating an enormous, but shallow, crater that took almost all of Brendan's side of the field. Shit, I can't let Clint take a single one of those attacks. It'll do too much damage.

"Warren, take your rest!" Norman said. Brendan raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it as Clint reappeared behind Warren, the leaves on his arms glowing with a forest green energy that had extended to form blades. Clint then slashed Warren across the back. Warren's health bar dropped slightly, but it was clear that this Pokémon was far sturdier than any Brendan had battled before, except for maybe Maxie's Mega-Evolved Camerupt. "Well, Brendan, you have been raising a Vigoroth, you must be familiar with their Truant ability," Norman said. "There's a reason that they have that ability."

"I think I figured that out," Brendan said. "The attacks are so powerful that they need to rest for a short while before they move again." While he said that, Clint had leapt back to Brendan's side of the field.
"Exactly," Norman said. "But once that time is up, you'll find that the attacks are still just as strong. Focus Punch!" Warren's right fist began to glow orange with immense power before he leapt at Clint.

"Clint, dodge that!" Brendan said. There was no reason to try to get an attack off; they just needed to keep away from the Slaking's powerful attacks. Unfortunately, it seemed that was not in the cards for Clint. Warren's punch hit perfectly, sending the wood gecko flying off the field. The buzzer sounded, with one solid hit, that Slaking had knocked out Brendan's second strongest Pokémon. Brendan recalled Clint, looking over to Gwen, nodding to her.

We can still win this, don't worry! Gwen said.

Right, let's show him what we're made of, Brendan replied. He then looked to Norman. "Dad, this is our last round, but you won't hear me give a single command," he said. Norman looked a bit confused.

"You're not going to attack?" he asked.

"I never said that," Brendan said. Gwen, Double Team! Gwen created multiple copies of herself around the field as she teleported and switched positions with each. Norman raised an eyebrow.

"You're using non-verbal commands?" Norman said. Are those two already that in-sync?

You know what's next, Brendan said.

Right, Calm Mind, Gwen replied as she coated herself in a green aura.

Norman turned serious once again. "Warren, use Body Slam!" Warren leapt into the air, falling toward one of Gwen's many clones. Thankfully, it was not the real Gwen.

Now, Shock Wave! Brendan said. From one of her stops, Gwen spun like a dancer, sending a ring of electricity across the battlefield. Warren couldn't dodge it, but just like with Leaf Blade, the attack did very little damage, dropping the health bar by maybe an eighth.

"Calm down, find the real one, then use Façade," Norman said. Warren closed his eyes and took a deep breath focusing his hearing and sense of smell, looking diligently for the fairy-type.

Calm Mind again, Brendan said. Gwen, and her clones all glowed green, this time, Gwen took a deep breath. Warren picked up on that breath, and he was able to track her around the field. His body began to glow with a yellow aura as he leapt through the air, his fists raised over his head. Gwen saw him coming, but decided to wait until the last second before teleporting to her next position. The incoming attack hit the ground with intense force, forming another crater, this one was deeper than the first, but it wasn't as wide. Wait until he's out of there, then use Psychic!

"Warren, use Slash!" Norman said. Warren slowly climbed out of the crater, recovering from his attack. When he got out, however, Gwen had already begun powering up, getting a grip on Warren and slowly raised her arm, lifting him into the air.

Throw him into the ground! Brendan said. Gwen let her clones disperse, revealing that she was in the center of the shallow crater on Brendan's side of the field. She then simply flicked her hand down, sending Warren plummeting into the ground. That dropped Warren's health bar significantly, leaving about a third of Warren's total health.

"Warren, continue with that Slash attack!" Norman said. Warren got to his feet and leapt at Gwen, swiping his claws across her body.

Ah, shit! Gwen said, her health bar dropping swiftly. No, I will not lose this! Her health bar stopped abruptly at the one point mark. She only slid a short distance away from Warren.

Finish this with Hyper Voice! Brendan said. Gwen took a deep breath and screamed, sending a massive, conical sonic wave at Warren. Gwen was too close to Warren when she used the attack, making it impossible for Warren to dodge it in time. He was sent sprawling across the battlefield. Brendan watched Warren's health drop fast until it hit zero. It was only when the buzzer sounded that Brendan fully understood what had just happened.

Norman, however, was still in shock. I can't believe it. I lost…to Brendan. It seems like it was only yesterday that he was taking his first steps, he thought as he recalled his Slaking. It seems my son has really grown up.

"Gwen, you were amazing!" Brendan cheered as he ran onto the field and hugged his Pokémon. Norman approached Brendan, three items in his right hand.

"Well, Brendan, you've certainly gotten powerful," Norman said. "It's hard to believe that it's only been about two months since you first left for Rustboro City. It's impressive to say the least that you've already come this far as a trainer."

"Thanks Dad," Brendan said with a smile.

"Well, you've officially earned your fifth badge. Here's the Balance Badge," Norman said as he gave Brendan a badge that had two circles on the ends of a straight bar in between. They had a purple color on the far ends and a dark silver middle section. "And, as a personal gift from me as both the Petalburg Gym Leader and as your father, here are two TMs. They are TM42, which teaches Façade, and TM67, which teaches Retaliate."

Brendan took the two TMs with a look of gratitude. "Thank you Dad, for everything," he said, hugging his father. Norman returned the hug, feeling a mixture of disappointment at having lost the battle, as well as pride for his son. It was a strange feeling.

Well, Brendan, it seems that you've surpassed me, Norman thought.

Thank you all for reading, hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought in the reviews section. Be honest, but keep it constructive.

Well, until next time. – jmoul18