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Episode 52: The Tag Teams!
I stood behind the heavy gym door, froze in place as Kyle opened it for me.
"Shonna?"
"Oh sorry." I stepped forward, snapping back to reality, and back to my anxiety setting in. I twisted my hair around my finger in nervousness as we walked down a long hallway that I didn't remember from the last time I was there.
Kyle swung open one more door to reveal the darkened gym. There were tons of sparking power nodes to light it up, but even in the bright morning, the place still seemed kind of scary.
"So you're finally here." A man's voice said from the other end. His bright spiked, and almost more yellow than blonde hair emerged in the dim light. "The pokemon master, come to challenge me. I'm glad you could make it." Volkner stepped forward and began clapping in a sarcastic way. The lights flipped on in the stadium suddenly. I could now plainly see Volkner standing cockily in front of us, and Flint waving from the back of the gym.
I glanced over at Kyle, who had locked glares with Volkner. "That's right Volkner. We're here to challenge you to a gym match today."
"As in, both of you?" Volkner now looked over to me. "Who's she?"
"You don't remember?" Flint yelled. "She's the Kanto semifinalist who you beat in battle once before."
He stared at me for a long time. "I don't recall."
"Really?" I hung my head, feeling irritated.
"Well, if I fought her before, I don't really see much point in me fighting her again."
"But you have to!" I whined.
Kyle stepped forward. "Neither of us are leaving until you battle both of us."
"Is that so?" Volkner gave him a bored stare and shrugged. "Very well. It will be your own misguidance though. If you trust that she can win too, let's make things a little more interesting."
Kyle frowned at this. "Yeah? I'm listening."
"Let's make this a double battle. That way if she makes you lose, it will go down on your supposed flawless record."
Kyle smirked now. "I have lost before, but it won't be to you."
"Is it a deal then?"
I turned to Kyle, awaiting his answer. I expected him to say no.
"Yes. Agreed. We'll double battle you."
"Are you sure Kyle?" I grabbed his arm, pulling him down to whisper. "What if he's right? What if I cause you to not get the badge?"
"Why would you? Don't you remember when we did this once before in Kanto? Against Sabrina? We beat her bad. And we'll do the same here." He kissed me on the forehead, then backed away. "That is, as long as you're confident."
"That's the problem." I mumbled. "I'm not."
Volkner turned to face us, and laughed. "I don't know what you two are babbling about, but you won't be facing just me, so don't think it will be so easy."
He really is rather arrogant. I thought to myself. "Wait!" I yelled out. "What do you mean by that?"
Volkner turned around from his side of the stage, looking to his friend behind him. "My good friend Flint will be fighting along side me."
"I will?" Flint laughed. "We haven't fought like that since we were kids. You must really be bored."
"Hold up!" I yelled again. "Is that even allowed?"
"Sure." Volkner turned to glare at me once more. "As I'm sure you're aware, he has all the qualifications. He'll be a challenge for you, don't worry about that." Volkner grinned. "Then again, what wouldn't be a challenge for you?"
I looked away, feeling glum.
"Enough. Stop bashing her." Kyle yelled. "Besides, we all know you're only saying that because you're intimidated by her. Someone like yourself should know a lot can change in three years."
Volkner remained silent.
"Ohhhh." Flint laughed. "He got you there."
Volkner smirked. "Whose side are you on?"
"Yours of course." Flint walked over to stand beside him, and readied a pokeball.
"The rules are a double battle." Volkner announced. "3 may be used by each trainer. Flint and I can not switch out."
"Sounds good to me." Flint tossed out his first pokemon. A cute little flareon bounced around the room.
"Flar! Flar-e!" It cried.
"How did I know you'd choose that?" Volkner reached around for a pokeball at his side, unveiling a jolteon with a strikingly different personality. It stood silent, glaring toward us.
"A couple eevee evolutions huh?" Kyle threw out the pokeball for Kabutops, and held his rocky head back as the thing tried to hug him once more.
It occurred to me then, that I had a horrible disadvantage here. Lucario and Torterra would be terrible against fire types. Staraptor wouldn't fair well against either, and Palkia was still a secret that I was forced to never use in battle. That left me with two decent options. And decent was all you could say about it. Rapidash and Luxray would only be able to make an effective strike on one of the pair's pokemon.
"I should have switched them out some. Persian or Vaporeon would have been a big help." I grumbled, throwing out the pokeball for my gray flamed steed.
"Let the battle begin." Volkner grumbled.
"Flareon! Fire Spin!" Flint called out.
Fire Spin is normally a relatively weak attack, but Flint's flareon charged around our pokemon with incredible speed, closing the gap in the ring around them.
"Bounce out Rapidash!" Fire Spin wouldn't hurt him much anyway, but by bouncing up, he didn't take any damage. I watched as Flareon continued encircling Kabutops, but Kyle looked calm.
"Spin and use Water Pulse!" He commanded.
"Thunder Fang Jolteon!" Volkner grit his teeth, watching Kyle closely.
"Ka bububu!" Water began pouring out of Kabutops mouth, as it engaged in an almost flawless pirouette. This pokemon never failed to surprise me.
"Flar!" Flareon backed off as the water struck it hard. But it was now that I could see Jolteon charging headfirst for the damp fossil pokemon.
"Rapidash! Stop it!" I yelled, hoping my defense would be quick enough.
"Jol!" As Jolteon leaped with charged fangs for Kabutops, it was struck midair by the horn of my Rapidash. "Teee!" It whined, retreating back to stand beside Flareon.
"Nice save." Kyle whispered. "Thanks for that."
"No prob." I blushed a little, glad that I had impressed him.
"Our turn now." Kyle stepped forward. "Kabutops! Mud Shot!" With that, Kabutops spat up two clumps of mud that stuck to the pair of eevee evolutions. Kyle turned to me. "Attack while they're slowed down."
"Right." I nodded. "Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Rapidash sped forward, his flames surrounded him, turning almost iridescent silver. He struck Flareon, and was nearing Jolteon, when Volkner made his move.
"Pin Missile!" He screamed.
Tiny spikes sprang out of Jolteon's body, spraying in all directions. Flareon dodged, and Kabutops held up his arms in defense, but Rapidash was just too close. Several of the pins stuck his body, bringing him down.
"Now Flareon! Bite!" Flint commanded. His Flareon turned to Rapidash and bit down hard on his leg. Rapidash fell, overwhelmed by the close up attacks.
"This isn't good." I mumbled, recalling him to his ball. The next one I threw out, was for Luxray.
"Luxxxxxx!" Luxray yawned out a roar that frightened Flareon a little.
"Bu butops?" Kabutops turned to his trainer.
Kyle still looked calm, but glanced my way. "Shonna." He whispered. "I can't use Rock Tomb because there's not any rocks in this place. But I have an idea. Have Luxray use a electric type move when I tell you to."
"Got it." I whispered back.
"Not going to make a move?" Volkner laughed. "Then we will. Use Bite!"
"You too Flareon!"
"Just wait for it." Kyle watched as the pair headed straight for my luxray. Kabutops readied its scythes, about to strike.
I noticed Volkner's eyes widen before he screamed out. "Change targets!"
With that, the jolteon and flareon lunged for Kabutops, biting down hard on his tough skin.
"Shoot." Kyle grumbled.
"Buu!" Kabutops cried.
"Shonna! Now!"
"But Kyle!" I looked to Kabutops, then back to him.
"Just do it!"
"Discharge!"
I watched with guilt as Luxray surged electricity into Jolteon and Flareon. They remained latched onto Kabutops, and passed the charge onto him. All three pokemon writhed in pain until finally, Flareon dropped off, and after a few more seconds, Jolteon fainted as well.
"Return." Both Flint and Volkner recalled them, but my attention was focused to Kabutops, who was barely standing.
"Buuuu…" Kabutops trudged over to Kyle, falling into his arms. Kyle carefully held him up.
"You did so great. You're so much tougher than anyone knows." He smiled at Kabutops, carefully maneuvering around to give him a hug.
"Bu…bu…" Kabutops looked as if he might cry in happiness.
"You take a break now. Get some rest." Kyle tapped the pokeball to Kabutops back, sucking him inside.
"Interesting." Volkner said, releasing a Raichu onto the field.
"Very." Flint noted, releasing his Houndoom. "I didn't expect him to do that."
"Okay." Kyle said, collecting himself once more. "I know just the pokemon for the job here." He reached for the pokeball around his neck, holding his thumb just above the button. "Ready for some fun boy?" He released Arcanine, who roared so loud it made me jump.
"Lux." Luxray smirked, looking amused by his intimidating entrance.
"Arr." Arcanine growled slightly, eyeing the Houndoom with a vengeful look. His eyes turned from a light amber to almost as crimson red as Luxray's.
Flint turned to his friend. "Watch out for that Arcanine Volkner. I had a look at it earlier. It's the strongest I've ever seen."
Volkner stared at Arcanine. "Well you know what you're talking about when it comes to fire types."
"Go Arcanine!" Kyle called. "Use Flamethrower on Raichu!"
"Thunder Fang Luxray!" I pointed to Houndoom when I said this.
Luxray leaped forward, with sparks from he jaws. He leaped over and ducked under Arcanine's flames, slowly making his way closer. Distracted by the oncoming flames, Houndoom and Raichu jumped back. Raichu was still hit by the mass of flames, and more than likely burned too. The fire just kept pouring out of Arcanine, and Houndoom tried to search through it. It was impossible for any of the pokemon to see each other in it and the smoke that surrounded it, with the exception of Luxray that is. I already knew he had some amazing ability in his eyes, to see through solid walls. I smiled as he leaped through the flames, pouncing Houndoom and biting down hard with his fangs. Houndoom desperately tried to kick and scratch his way free.
"Dig Arcanine." Kyle said softly. Arcanine's ears perked as it began tearing through the gym floor. It shouldn't have surprised me really. I'd seen Arcanine claw his way through pavement before. In the smoke and haze, it was almost as if he'd disappeared from the battle.
Volkner squinted. "Raichu! Get it off with Slam!"
"Rai Rai!" Raichu rushed to Houndoom's defense, tackling Luxray off it.
"Luxxxxx…" Luxray growled at both of them.
"Get up Houndoom!" Flint commanded, and Houndoom unsteadily stood. "Get it back with Fire Fang!"
It was then that I noticed a glint of light reflecting off of Raichu. It had a magnet tied around its neck. I wasn't sure if Volkner and Flint had noticed Arcanine was gone, but I needed to give them a distraction. Buy him some time for him to dig under the gym. "Luxray! Dodge and use thief!"
"Lux!" Luxray sidestepped Houndoom, and ran forward to Raichu. Raichu of course jumped back, but was surprised when Luxray turned his back to him. While he faced Houndoom, and left Raichu stumped, he lifted his star shaped tail and sliced through the thin string holding its magnet. As it began dropping, Luxray turned to me and batted it with the side of his tail. I leaped up into the air to catch it. The smoke in the room was beginning to clear, and rise toward the high ceilings of the gym. I knew it wouldn't be long now.
"Well look what I got." I teased, twirling the magnet around in my hand.
"Give that back." Volkner glared at me.
"I don't know. I might just keep it."
"Feh." Volkner groaned. "Whatever. Just give it back after the battle."
I looked up to the ceiling once more, and looked over to see Kyle doing the same. Volkner did likewise, and Flint looked like he might slap himself, as the sprinkler system began raining down on us.
Kyle chuckled. "That never gets old."
"Doommm…" Houndoom flinched, and tried to shake off the water. Everyone in the room was soon covered in it.
"Wait." Volkner had a look of fear strike his face as he looked around the room. "Raichu! Use Thunder! Quickly!"
"Now!" Kyle screamed.
"Arrrrrrrr!" Arcanine clawed out from directly below Raichu, dragging him below the gym floor.
"Rai!" Raichu cried from under the stadium. It was difficult to tell what happened, but we could see sparks and flames come shooting out of the hole. After a minute, Arcanine reemerged from the chasm, holding a knocked out Raichu in his jaws. And he gently set him down in front of Volkner.
"No way." Volkner grumbled, looking somewhat shocked.
Flint turned his attention back to Houndoom, who still looked uncomfortable in the mist from the sprinklers. "How is that Arcanine unaffected?" He asked. "Houndoom! Fight through it! Use Fire Fang!"
Luxray was taken off guard when the houndoom latched onto his neck with blazing flames. "Lux…"
"Arrr!" Arcanine charged forward, biting down on Houndoom's neck. He tossed the pokemon out of the ring, as if it were a ragdoll.
"Houn…" Houndoom whimpered, laying in a heap.
"Return." Flint and Volkner once more recalled their fallen pokemon.
It was sort of wild looking to see Luxray and Arcanine fighting together. A pair of monstrous beasts, taking down their opponents with ease. But I choked on my thoughts when they released their last pokemon.
"Go Electivire!"
"Go Magmortar!"
Now, two new beasts, which stood about as tall as ours, met us at the other end of the gym.
"Well that makes things more interesting." Kyle smiled as the sprinkler system clicked off with horrible timing. "That magmortar looks strong."
"The electivire is bad news too!" I said. "I fought it before, and I didn't even get a hit in on it last time."
"We're doing well though." Kyle said back with seriousness. "We both still have two pokemon."
"Magmortar! Fire Punch!" Flint grinned as his pokemon charged forward, striking Luxray, who was standing too close to his opponents. He toppled over, instantly knocked out.
"You've got to be kidding!" I stood stunned for a moment before reaching for his pokeball, recalling him.
"Told you it was strong." Kyle frowned.
"Yeah." I reached into my bag, lacing my fingers around Palkia's masterball. "Oh how bad I want to." I grumbled. But I knew it was still too early, and too dangerous to do that. I reached down further, grabbing another pokeball and tossing it out onto the field.
Torterra stood strong, and seemed to like the wet floor.
"Is she stupid?" Volkner asked loudly. "She saw how Magmortar destroyed her last one in one hit, and now she sends out a grass type?" He began laughing.
"It is an odd choice." Flint chuckled. "Magmortar! Knock it out with Fire Blast!"
"Magggg!" Magmortar reared its arm back like a cannon, and projected it forward. Cinders began sparking in the hole.
"There's no time for Torterra to dodge!" I looked to Kyle desperately.
"Defend it Arcanine!"
Torterra turned his head and tried to get out of the way as the flames shot out toward him. Arcanine used Extreme Speed to jump in front of Torterra, taking all the damage. That is, if you can call it that. The flames glistened off his fur. They flicked out effortlessly, floating down to the ground.
"Tor?" Torterra looked up at Arcanine gratefully. "Terra!"
"Arf." Arcanine looked back at him with a smile.
"That did it." Kyle smiled as well. "Heat wave."
"Arrrraaaaaarrr!" Arcanine roared, as a burst of heat and fire shot in front of him. Magmortar and Electivire braced themselves and held through it, though it looked like it had done a lot of damage. It nearly knocked over Flint and Volkner, but we stood behind the blast and were completely unaffected.
"Flash Fire." Flint yelled once the hot air had passed. "I take it that's Arcanine's ability?"
"That'd be a good assumption." Kyle said being coy.
"Magmortar! Make sure you only get the Torterra!"
"Get in there too Electivire!"
The pair surrounded Torterra on either side. Arcanine stayed between Magmortar and him. In the mean time, Electivire snuck up behind him and reached his long tails over, wrapping them around Arcanine's hind legs. Arcanine dug his claws in to keep from being pulled away by them. So Electivire added electricity to them, shocking him all the while.
Torterra stood under Arcanine helplessly. "Torterra! Leaf Storm at it!" It was a new move, and much stronger than Razor Leaf. Leaves flew out of the tree on his back, cutting into Electivire, who looked none too pleased with the annoyance. He unwrapped one of his tails, to try and grab Torterra with it. The tail sparked and slithered like a snake toward him.
"Crunch!" I screamed. Torterra grabbed the tail in his mouth and bit down hard, making the discharge surge through him.
"What?" Volkner yelled. "That's suicide!"
"Electric type moves won't hurt Torterra much, where he's part ground." I whispered. "Wait. I have an idea." I turned to Kyle. "Use something to get them to back off, return Arcanine and use a small pokemon. One small enough to fit on Torterra's back."
"What?" He looked at me strangely. "Arcanine's the only thing standing between Torterra getting fried to a crisp!"
"Just trust me Kyle!" I yelled. "Arcanine won't last much longer getting shocked like that anyway."
"Okay…" He seemed skeptical as he hovered his thumb over the pokeball on his neck. "Arcanine! Aim your flames at both of them!"
"Arr!" Arcanine followed the command and carefully aimed a flamethrower over Torterra, striking Electivire. The pokemon jumped back, and Magmortar tried to charge his way forward. Arcanine shoved his head into him, knocking him back. As he did this, he was sucked back into his pokeball.
"What?" Flint and Volkner yelled in unison.
Kyle smiled still skeptically as he let Jolteon out. "Hop on his back little girl."
"Jolt!" His Jolteon happily bounced up onto Torterra's back, hiding behind the shrubbery. "Jol! Jol!"
"Well that's it." Volkner laughed insanely. "They must have given up."
"I don't know…" Flint watched carefully. "Okay Magmortar! Make your move on both of them! Fire Blast!"
Once more, Magmortar began charging up flames in his arms.
"Torterra! Earthquake!" I screamed.
"Torterra!" Torterra raised his upper body up, making Jolteon have to grip onto branches. He slammed back down with such force, it knocked everyone in the building down to the floor, including the pokemon. Both Electivire and Magmortar fell from the super-effective tremor, and it knocked the fire blast loose from Magmortar's arm. The flames surged toward us, burning all of the front of Torterra. He collapsed on the floor.
"This battle's over." Volkner grinned. Our pokemon are still standing, and yours are laying in a pile in the floor. Save for the Arcanine, which will be easy with two against one."
Volkner obviously couldn't see what we were seeing. Jolteon looked back at us questionably from Torterra's back, completely unharmed by hiding behind his bushes.
Kyle and I looked at each other and smiled.
"Okay then. I guess that leaves us only one choice." Kyle said, looking forward. "Pin Missile!"
"Jol!" Jolteon leaped out to the center of the stage, and shot out tiny spike after spike out at the pokemon in front of them. Confused and surprised, both Electivire and Magmortar fell to their knees, and finally, fell forward into the floor. "Jolt?" Jolteon crept forward, poking their heads with her yellow paws. They made no move.
"Amazing." Flint said, smiling the whole time as he recalled his pokemon.
Volkner stood with his mouth agape, stunned.
"So." Kyle smirked as we recalled our pokemon. "Whose flawless record is tainted now?"
He didn't reply, but recalled his electivire.
Flint crossed his arms and looked at him. "That would be you my friend."
"Whatever." Volkner finally said.
"Hey Volkner." I held his magnet up. "You want this back now? Sorry about breaking the thread. I'll replace it if you want."
"Keep it." He said quietly. "I have plenty. And…" He paused. "I was wrong about you, so consider it a bonus, in addition to this." He walked over with two shiny badges and handed us each one.
"Really? Thanks!" I said, placing them in my trainer case. "I'll put the magnet to good use too, on Luxray's collar later."
"Flint stepped forward now, placing a hand on Volkner's shoulder. "So now you see that gym leaders can lose too. I bet that battle had to stir up some of that old excitement in you. Right?"
"It was… exciting." He admitted.
"So then," Flint smiled. "You'll stick with the gym."
We all awaited his response. "No way." He finally barked out.
"What?" Flint jumped back. "Why not?"
"If anything, these two have only further proved my point. Competing in leagues and challenging gym leaders is the best way to be better in battles." He turned to me. "In some, it can make them improve leaps and bounds."
"While that may be true, you can't just abandon your gym, can you?" Kyle asked.
"Right!" I agreed. "You put so much work into it."
"And by leaving suddenly, you'll put the league in a real bind." Flint added. "Finding a replacement gym leader isn't easy you know."
I cocked my head at his comment. He's probably right, but how would he know anything about that?
"Like I care." Volkner said gruffly. "I won't change my mind. I'm packing my bags and heading out to compete in the Sinnoh League tomorrow."
"Don't be so selfish Volkner!" Flint yelled. "You can't leave that soon. The next league match is just a few weeks away. You won't make that deadline anyway, so why not wait until then?"
Volkner glared at him. "If you want someone here to take care of the place so bad, why don't you take over?"
Flint glowered back at him. "You know I can't do that."
Kyle and I just watched this verbal battle for a few minutes until finally, Volkner expelled a sigh of defeat.
"Fine!" He yelled. But I'm leaving the day after the league's over. If they haven't found a replacement by then, it's not my problem." He stormed off to the rear of the gym.
"Stupid impulsive…" Flint grumbled.
"Umm…" I interrupted. "Why do care so much?"
Flint turned and smiled, but didn't answer. "I hate the way things turned out. I thought for sure that being beat by you guys would turn him around."
"He seems pretty set on it." Kyle noted.
Flint sighed. "Kyle, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure."
"Just us."
"Wait. Why?" I ran my fingers through my hair nervously.
Flint smiled sweetly at me. "I just need one minute with him. Please?"
"Guy talk?" I asked, annoyed. "Whatever. I'll be waiting in the hallway." I walked out the doors, headed down the hall.
"What a firecracker you have there." Flint laughed. "She's perfect for a guy like you I guess."
Kyle smiled. "She doesn't like being out of the loop."
Flint nodded, making his red afro bounce. "I see that. So I guess you know what I'm going to ask."
"I do." He smiled. "And I agree."
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After Kyle finally came out he opened the heavy doors once more for me. We headed straight to the pokemon center and rested after the exhausting day. And as I curled up under the covers, I made a point to ask him about this conversation between him and Flint first thing in the morning.
