Cooling their feet and slipping them back into their shoes, Kumiko and Reina were now facing the fourth Gym they were about to challenge, after walking (or being carried in Reina's case) across four meters of flaming-hot coals.

"Are you ready, Kumiko?" Reina asked, worried her special one would need to rest after walking three times through the coals because of her. If Kumiko couldn't battle in top form, then what was the point of her risking everything to overcome the challenge she just overcame.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Kumiko answered, sensing the uneasiness in Reina's voice. Though walking across coals was a brand-new experience for her, she felt strangely at ease when doing it, to the point where she just thought of it was another type of walking during her third trip across. "Let's go in, shall we?"

Pushing open the doors, the first thing Kumiko saw were columns of lava pouring down the walls and spilling into a moat that encircled the battlefield, naturally lighting up the indoors arena. Initially wondering why she wasn't feeling any heat from the lava, Kumiko then realized the walls and floor were covered by sheets of thick glass that shielded them from the heat and prevent anyone from accidentally falling in.

"Welcome. I see that you two have made it past the challenge I set." a voice rang out from the other side of the Gym. "Miru told me about how you pulled off the bridal carry. She's the person who was supervising everything at the gate. That's the first time I've seen something like that ever since I started issuing this challenge."

Looking across the battlefield, Kumiko saw a young woman greet them while clasping a French horn to her body with her arm. "Since you two walked through the coals, I take it that you both are here to battle me. How many Badges do you already have?"

"We both have three, but I'll be going first." Reina answered, presenting her badge case with her spoils of victory lodged inside. "This is the first time I've actually experienced an external challenge prior to facing a Gym Leader, even though I've heard of it being done in other regions."

"It really depends on whether what the Gym Leader wants a challenger to learn can be imprinted through battle alone." the Gym Leader informed her. "As Fire is more of a brute-force type, I felt that learning resilience couldn't be achieved through my battling style, so I applied for a permit to issue a pre-battle challenge."

Putting down her French horn, the Gym Leader grabbed three Pokéballs from a terminal installed onto a wall, then situated herself on her side of the battlefield. "Before we start, my name's Juri. I hope that you remember it as the name of the person who will push you to your absolute limit, forcing you to persist through the overwhelming force of a volcano. Without further ado, fight hard and fight on! Torkoal"

As Kumiko observed the Gym Leader send out her first Pokémon, she saw Reina briefly consider her options before throwing out a Pokéball, revealing Demi as her choice against the Coal Pokémon.

"Battle begin!" the referee at the sidelines announced.

While both sides were considering what to do in this matchup, Kumiko realized that Reina was at a massive disadvantage going into this battle. Since two of her Pokémon were Ice-types, this was going to be a massive uphill battle for Reina no matter what she did, though Kumiko suspected she already had a counter planned beforehand.

Above the battlefield, a radiant orb akin to the sun appeared, but was quickly quashed by a hailstorm suddenly forming indoors. Wondering what happened without both Trainers even saying a word, Kumiko came to the conclusion that both Demi and the Gym Leader's Torkoal had weather-setting Abilities, but Demi's activated later.

"Your Pokémon's ability won't change a single thing!" the Gym Leader exclaimed, replying to a comment Reina did not make. "Torkoal, use Eruption!"

The red parts on Torkoal's shell glowed brightly for a moment before it crouched down on its front legs and blasted out a single plume of lava directly at Demi. Without flinching, Reina put her trumpet to her lips and played a short section from what Kumiko recognized as Let it Go.

Before the lava could reach Demi, multicolored lights shone around her like a veil of auroras and blocked most of the attack, though she was still gravely wounded by the devastating super-effective move. Reina then played Saturn from The Planets followed by a slow version of Handel's Water Music, prompting Demi to burrow underground.

"You thought you could beat me with a simple Dig?" the Gym Leader questioned. "I've seen that many times before. Torkoal, Heat Wave!"

Pounding its feet on the ground, the Gym Leader's Pokémon sent a burst of heat rippling through the floor, causing cracks and fractures to appear all over it. Worrying about what was going to happen to Demi, Kumiko saw that her worst fears had been alleviated when Demi appeared back from the hole she had dug.

Reina then played Ave Maria on her trumpet, but nothing seemed to happen from Kumiko's point of view, making her wonder just what sort of move Reina had commanded Demi to use.

Though there was an uneasy tension in the air about what the challenger had done, the Gym Leader knew that any sort of resistance was futile at this point, especially when an Ice-type had been pitted against a Fire-type. "Torkoal, use Eruption again!"

The Gym Leader's Pokémon steadied itself again in preparation of using its most powerful move, but before it could make the decisive blow, Kumiko heard a bubbling sound beneath the ground as a gigantic spout of water blasted Torkoal up into the air, knocking it off balance.

"Wha- how?" The Gym Leader seemed incredulous at the move Reina pulled off. "The only Water-type move an Alolan Vulpix can learn is Aqua Tail! Where did you get all that water from?"

"That's simple." Reina cooly responded. "I just commanded my Pokémon to use Freeze-Dry underground, knowing you would use a Fire-type move in some way to smoke her out. That melted all the ice I was storing there into water, which she then used Extrasensory to control. Demi, Dig again!"

Before the Gym Leader's Torkoal landed back on the ground, Demi had already leapt back into the hole she had previously dug, tunneling under the ground and reemerging below where Torkoal was plummeting towards, striking it midair with all the dirt from her jaunt underground.

That impact sent Torkoal flying in the air once more, causing it to land on the ground shell-first with a deafening crash. When the dust had settled, it was apparent that Torkoal was in no shape to battle again.

"Torkoal is unable to battle." the referee announced.

Recalling her fainted Torkoal, the Gym Leader sent out her next Pokémon with no hesitation. "Carkol, ride towards the fight!"

Seeing the Gym Leader's choice this time, Reina recalled Demi. Though she knew that Demi could eke out a win through repeated uses of Dig, this potential strategy all depended on her being able to move first, which she wasn't able to do in this state.

Considering which of her other two Pokémon was the best choice in the scenario, Reina racked through all her possible options before making her decision. Grasping a Pokéball in her hand, she threw it out. "Eurydice, follow my lead!"

Once Eurydice had been settled on the field, the Gym Leader made the first move. "Carkol, Flame Charge!"

Kumiko heard a sound akin to an engine revving up before Carkol charged towards Eurydice at breakneck speed, its entire body engulfed in burning flames fueled by the coal it carried on its back.

Seeing that this was a straightforward attack (in more ways than one), Reina also made a straightforward decision, not needing her trumpet to give orders. "Use Teleport!"

Eurydice quickly warped out of the way before Carkol's attack could impact her, dodging it with no problem. However, when Carkol had comprehended what just happened, it changed direction by tilting its body and balancing on its two left wheel legs, beginning to charge towards Eurydice once again.

Realizing that continuously Teleporting was not an option in this battle, Reina decided to shift tactics and played Ave Maria on her trumpet. Using Psychic, Eurydice managed to telekinetically stop Carkol in its tracks.

Now that her opponent's Pokémon was rendered immobile, Reina was about to give Eurydice the order to throw Carkol around the battlefield when the revving sound Carkol was making grew louder. Noticing that its wheels were now spinning faster, Reina saw that it was starting to make some headway against Eurydice's Psychic block.

"Crescendo!" Reina called out, prompting Eurydice to strengthen her move. Though this proved to be an effective counter for a short while, the speed boost that Carkol was gaining from Flame Charge slowly but surely negated Eurydice's psychic strength.

Eventually, Eurydice was unable to maintain her Psychic anymore, and barely had enough strength to instinctively Teleport away before Carkol charged at full speed towards her. While she was recovering, she was forced on the defensive yet again when Carkol had already changed direction.

The mistake Reina made of letting Carkol continuously boost its speed when it was restrained with Psychic had finally bit back at her, with Eurydice having no time to rest as she constantly avoided Carkol's numerous blitzes.

Seeing Eurydice slowing being worn out by repeatedly using Teleport, it was obvious to Reina that she needed a way to negate Carkol's speed if Eurydice was to fight on equal footing with it. Scanning the battlefield for ideas, Reina saw the hole that Demi had left behind during the previous battle and had a brainwave. "Teleport into that hole!"

After Eurydice disappeared into the ground, the Gym Leader's Carkol slowed itself down to enter the hold that Demi dug, though it still kept its Flame Charge active as it raced towards its target.

"Now, Teleport out again." Reina knew that even if Eurydice couldn't hear her that well underground, she could still sense her Trainer's intentions via telepathy. Seeing her opponent's Pokémon warp back out again, the Gym Leader was about to tell her Carkol to stop before it entered the ground, but it was already too late.

Kumiko heard a deafening crash as the Gym Leader's Carkol impacted the end of the tunnel face-first. Noticing that some damage had been dealt to Carkol from the recoil of its collision, Reina decided to take advantage of her gambit's successful outcome and deal the finishing blow.

"Psychic Earthquake!" she commanded, prompting Eurydice's eyes to flash blue before the ground beneath them rumbled. Fractures began to appear around the hole Demi dug before spreading outwards, culminating in the hole and the tunnel it connected to collapsing under its own weight.

After confirming that there were no signs of resistance from her opponent, Eurydice used Psychic once again to levitate Carkol out of where it had been buried in the ground, the broken-up floor allowing her to do so with ease.

"Carkol is unable to battle." the referee announced.

The Gym Leader recalled her fainted Pokémon, then sent out her last remaining team member. "Ninetales, carry on!"

With the Fox Pokémon landing gracefully on the ground, the orb of sunlight that Kumiko previously saw appeared once again, most likely triggered by Ninetales' Ability. Seeing that the conditions of battle had shifted towards her opponent's side, Reina decided to turn the tide back in her favour. "Good job, Eurydice. Return!"

As Eurydice disappeared from the battlefield, Kumiko saw Reina grab the one remaining Pokéball that she hadn't touched all battle and throw it out. "Idina, rise like the break of dawn!"

Taking one look at Reina's choice of Pokémon, the Gym Leader couldn't help but laugh at the bizarre decision she just made. "Recalling your Kirlia and sending out an Ice-type Pokémon? Are you crazy?"

"Perhaps," Reina coolly answered with a smirk. "But I'm the right sort of crazy." With that last comment, she played the happy little jingle of Let it Snow on her trumpet, leaving the Gym Leader dumbfounded.

The miniature sun hovering over the battlefield was quickly vanquished by a hailstorm appearing out of nowhere. In the brief moment of confusion that ensued, Idina made herself vanish amidst the descending spheres of ice, blending in amongst the storm.

"Stealth can't stop us!" the Gym Leader proclaimed. "Ninetales, Inferno!"

Ninetales let out a guttural growl before releasing a pulse of searing flame from its body that ravaged across the battlefield, narrowly stopping short of where the people present were standing. The hail that had impacted the wall of fire instantly boiled, not even having a chance to melt into water first.

After that devastating attack, Reina seemed unimpressed. "Well, that looked impressive, but the fact remains that Inferno only has a 50% chance of hitting an opponent, which means that you completely missed the mark. Idina, Thunder Wave!"

Appearing from amidst the hail like the Ghost-type she was, Idina formed a band of electricity between her hands before blasting it out towards Ninetales, causing it to writhe for a moment before its body continually twitched, unable to move the way it wanted to.

"Being paralyzed? It takes more than that to take us down!" the Gym Leader exclaimed. "Overheat!"

A wave of heat surged out from Ninetales and immediately made itself visible, searing the air all around it and tainting it red. As the effects of the attack started to reach Idina, Reina knew that she needed to use her trump card now or suffer a crushing defeat.

Slipping the Icium Z she had into her Z-Power Ring, Reina let her instincts take over as she felt her body moving on its own before thrusting her hands out towards Idina. Filled with the energy from the bonds she shared with her Trainer, Idina glowed orange before rising up on a pillar of ice and fired a massive beam of frigid energy beneath Ninetales.

Normally, massive spikes of ice were meant to form from where the beam had impacted, but the sheer intensity of Ninetales' Overheat had prevented them from growing larger than ice cubes before melting.

Both Idina and Reina felt their strength sap from trying to continuously generate more ice as a counter to Ninetales' attack, but their efforts were not in vain when Idina finally managed to overpower Ninetales for a split second, rapidly creating several ice spikes before letting them explode spontaneously, managing to do some damage before Reina felt her knees grow weak.

"Hah! That didn't hurt us at all!" the Gym Leader jested. "Know your type matchups, kid!"

"Not quite." Reina responded, putting her trumpet to her lips. Despite being almost driven to exhaustion from overexerting herself while performing a Z-Move, the strong muscles that she built up playing the trumpet still managed to move themselves as she played Handel's Water Music at its normal speed.

Idina formed a sphere of water between her hands before blasting it out in a pulse,. Reina then played Ave Maria on her trumpet, and Idina's eyes glowed blue as she took control of the water she just blasted, coursing it through the ground while amalgamating the melted ice from her Z-Move into it.

When Idina's Water Pulse resurfaced again, it was now three times as large compared to when she first fired it out. Quickly taking note of how her challenger had managed to magnify the effectiveness of a super-effective move, the Gym Leader decided to solve this problem the way she normally did: though overwhelming force. "Ninetales, Fire Blast!"

The Fox Pokémon opened its mouth and prepared to fire out another one of its high-powered attacks, but its paralysis kicked in at the last moment, causing only a small ember to fire out of its mouth towards Idina's gigantic Water Pulse, immediately extinguishing itself.

As the Gym Leader stood in disbelief, Reina nodded at Idina, and she thrust the Psychic-controlled Water Pulse at Ninetales, completely drenching if not fully submerging it in water. Once most of the water had seeped back into the ground's crevices, Ninetales had already fainted from the enhanced super-effective move.

"Ninetales is unable to battle." the referee announced. "The challenger emerges victorious!"

After the Gym Leader recalled her Ninetales, Reina did the same with Idina and walked over to where the Gym Leader was standing. A while passed where Kumiko presumed the Gym Leader gave Reina her badge and offered some choice words, and Reina sooned returned to Kumiko's side.

"Your friend over there really proved herself by using tricks to counter my sheer power." the Gym Leader called out to Kumiko as she healed her Pokémon. "I wonder how you'll face me now?"

Kumiko stepped up to the challenger's side of the battlefield and considered her options. While Sparkle and Orpheus would fair evenly against the Gym Leader's Pokémon, she was worried that Marcato's typing would put him at a disadvantage here. However, Reina's battles just now proved that with a little creativity and ingenuity, type matchups could be easily negated.

Settling on who she was going to send out first, she threw out the Pokéball she had wrapped her hand around. "Orpheus, play on!"

"Another Kirlia, eh?" the Gym Leader noticed. "Then let's see how you'll fare against the same Pokémon! Carkol, run back!"

Once both Pokémon were settled on the battlefield, the referee raised her arms again. "Battle begin!"

"Carkol, Flame Charge!" the Gym Leader commanded, prompting her Pokémon to engulf itself in flames before rushing towards Orpheus. While the Gym Leader hadn't changed her strategy at all between battles, Kumiko knew that Orpheus couldn't rely on using Psychic to manipulate the battlefield just like Eurydice, so she needed a way to win this matchup.

Thinking back to what Reina did in her battle, Kumiko realized that she could use absolutely nothing that Reina had, considering that their Pokémon had completely different specialties. However, she remembered that Orpheus had a special move that could completely stop Carkol in its tracks. "Use Sing!"

Unable to change directions easily, the Gym Leader's Carkol was heading directly into the path of Orpheus' move, and quickly fell asleep just before its attack had connected. As Carkol closed its eyes in slumber, the flames that surrounded its body quickly went out, leaving it a defenseless target.

"Now, Thunder Punch!" Kumiko ordered. As Orpheus rushed towards his opponent, the Gym Leader realized that there was nothing she could do at this moment, so she opted to wait instead.

As Orpheus landed a flurry of punches charged with crackling lightning, Carkol's eyes suddenly snapped open as he pulled back from his last punch. Seeing that her opponent's Pokémon was now very close to her Carkol, the Gym Leader knew that any attack at this range could not be avoided. "Flame Charge again!"

Before Kumiko could give any further instructions to Orpheus, the Gym Leader's Carkol wreathed itself in fire and rammed straight into Orpheus, blitzing around the Gym and trapping him in a fiery hell that he could not escape from. While Kumiko frantically wondered about what to do, she then saw something interesting.

It seemed that the coals on Carkol's back were the fuel for its attacks, as they glowed red-hot when it unleashed its Flame Charge, while remaining inert when it was asleep. If Kumiko could think of a way for Orpheus to disable that fuel source, then she could stop her opponent's relentless attack.

Thinking of a way to use her surroundings and the moves Orpheus knew, Kumiko suddenly thought back to how Reina managed to create Water with Ice-type Pokémon during her battles. "Orpheus, use Ice Punch on the mound of coal on Carkol's back!"

Regaining enough awareness to realize where he was, Orpheus managed to manifest an Ice Punch, though it was taking more effort than usual due to the heat from Carkol's Flame Charge melting the ice he just generated. Slamming it into Carkol, Orpheus didn't really sense any change until he felt his opponent slowing down.

Now that Kumiko's ad-hoc plan was somehow working, Orpheus continued executing it, continually slamming Ice Punches onto Carkol's back and letting the resulting water cool the coals off.

Gradually, Carkol began to decelerate, and its leg wheels began to grind to a halt as the Flame Charge was extinguished. As it began to generate the heat necessary to evaporate the water on its coals, Kumiko had other plans.

"Thunder Punch again!" she commanded. Aiming towards the coals, Orpheus let his punch infused with electricity course through the water covering the coals, causing the attack to be more effective than normal on Carkol.

After Carkol collapsed from all the damage it sustained during battle, the referee made her judgement. "Carkol is unable to battle."

The Gym Leader recalled her Pokémon, prompting Kumiko to do the same with Orpheus as well, wanting to save his strength if anything went wrong later on. Immediately, the Gym Leader sent out her next Pokémon. "Ninetales, break the curse's seal!"

As soon as the Gym Leader's Ninetales jumped out of its Pokéball, the orb of sunlight created by its Ability had reappeared again. Kumiko briefly considered who to send out before realizing that she needed overwhelming strength to counter Ninetales' high-power moves, and made her choice. "Sparkle, go with the thrill!"

Right after Sparkle's feet touched the floor, the Gym Leader began her assault. "Ninetales, Fire Blast!"

Despite the incoming attack's sheer power, Kumiko noticed that during its slow charging time, Ninetales was unable to move or change the direction it was facing, making the attack easy to avoid. "Sparkle, dodge!"

Before Ninetales could even launch out the Fire Blast, Sparkle had already moved out of its range, allowing Kumiko an opportunity to attack without fear of retribution. "Use Thunderbolt!"

What wool remained on Sparkle got charged up with electricity before she fired out an arc of lightning that curved its way towards the Gym Leader's Ninetales, who couldn't avoid the attack in time due to spending its energy preparing to use Fire Blast.

Nearly collapsing from Sparkle's initial attack, Ninetales managed to stabilize itself at the last moment with its nine tails, preventing titself from falling down all the way. Disappointed in herself but impressed that the challenger had figured out a workaround that quickly, the Gym Leader decided to use a sure-fire attack the next time around. "Ninetales, Overheat!"

The searing heat wave emerged from Ninetales body again, and its destructive power swept across the battlefield as it headed towards Sparkle. heating up the air in its path. Kumiko knew that Sparkle couldn't survive such a move if she took it head-on, and there was nowhere to dodge.

Caught between a Solrock and a hard place, Kumiko remembered that one of the Z-Crystals she had previously obtained was an Electricum Z. Seeing no other option available to her, she took the yellow crystal out of her bag and slipped it into her Z-Power Ring, letting her instincts guide her actions.

Feeling herself being pulled along for the ride by some mysterious force, Kumiko performed a series of whole-body gestures before thrusting her arms out towards Sparkle. Now surrounded with an orange aura, Sparkle charged up a massive ball of electricity on her tail before firing out, the resulting bolt of lightning coursing towards the Gym Leader's Ninetales.

"That won't stop us that easily!" the Gym Leader remarked. "Ninetales, use Fire Blast again!"

After the Overheat dissipated from the Z-Move bursting through it, Ninetales readied another Fire Blast before firing it out, meeting Sparkle's ultimate attack in a direct collision. Though the Z-Move that Sparkle just let out was extremely powerful, Ninetales' Fire Blast was able to match its strength blow-for-blow, fire and electricity clashing in midair as they battled it out.

For a moment, it seemed that the Gym Leader's Ninetales had the upper hand, its Fire Blast managing to gain some ground. However, upon facing the possibility that she could lose even with such a powerful move by her side, Kumiko thrust out her arms even further, hoping that it could help her in some way.

Being moves that resonated with a Trainer, Kumiko's wish came true in the form of Sparkle's Z-Move managing to break through Ninetales' Fire Blast, splitting it into five harmless fire trails as it surged towards the Fox Pokémon. Upon impact, a beam of lightning shot upwards as Ninetales' body was caught in a sea of electricity, completely incapacitated by paralysis.

Exhausted by the extra effort she had put in, Kumiko fell to the ground, but managed to catch herself in time. The same could not be said of her opponent's Ninetales, who had been completely worn out.

"Ninetales is unable to battle." the referee announced.

Recalling her fainted Pokémon, the Gym Leader was delighted. "Excellent! That was the display of sheer power I was hoping to see. I wonder if you'll manage to pull off something like that again! Torkoal, it's the dawn of a red day!"

Seeing the Gym Leader send out her final Pokémon, Kumiko decided she wanted all of her team to get at least a glimpse of this battle. Recalling Sparkle, Kumiko grasped her starter's Pokéball before throwing it out. "Marcato, let's hit this hard!"

Before Marcato landed on the ground, Kumiko noticed that the sphere of sunlight that had been summoned from Ninetales' ability not only remained on the battlefield, but had got stronger, most likely boosted by Torkoal's identical Ability.

As soon as the Gym Leader confirmed that Marcato was ready to battle, she then let out a laugh. "Using a Grass-type Pokémon in a Fire-type Gym? Guess you really are cut off from the same cloth as your friend! Torkoal, Eruption!"

Kumiko realized what a terrible mistake she made as the Gym Leader's Pokémon charged up its most powerful move and fired it out straight at Marcato. At this point, Kumiko rationed that it would be useless to tell him to dodge, seeing the speed the attack was travelling at.

The spot where Eruption hit sent a massive column of smoke and dust rising up into the air, impeding vision in and around the battlefield. Once the debris had been cleared, Kumiko looked around the area of impact for Marcato's charred body, only to be unable to locate him.

Mortified at the prospect that the Gym Leader's Torkoal had somehow vaporized Marcato, Kumiko was about to cry out in despair when she saw a green object moving in the corner of her eye. Looking over, she saw Marcato waving at her, none the worse from wear.

"Marcato…" Kumiko was shocked. "But how?"

"Don't tell me…" the Gym Leader gnashed her teeth. "Your Maractus has the Ability Chlorophyll? That must've been how it was able to dodge an Eruption! I should have taken that speed boost into account!"

"Oh… no wonder." Kumiko thought to herself. From what she had learnt at school, chlorophyll was the chemical that plants and Grass-type Pokémon used to convert sunlight into energy, giving them a green color.

It seemed that Marcato's Chlorophyll also gave him something else as well.

"But that doesn't matter!" the Gym Leader proclaimed. "Our sheer power will triumph over your speed! Torkoal, Heat Wave!"

As heat began to emanate from Torkoal's body and diffuse itself around the arena, Kumiko knew that with this newfound power, Marcato was not only able to avoid the attack, but strike back with enhanced force.

"Jump upwards!" Kumiko commanded, and Marcato did so just before the wave reached where he was standing, springing up in a seemingly impossible burst of speed and almost reaching the Gym's ceiling before coming back down again.

"Now, Wood Hammer!" Before either the Gym Leader or her Torkoal could react, Marcato did a somersault in midair as his right arm glowed green and grew in size, slamming into Torkoal with such speed that to anyone watching, it was little more than a gigantic emerald blur.

Once the dust cleared, Torkoal was still standing, likely due to a Grass-type move not being as effective on it, but there was clearly still some damage done. The Gym Leader was amazed. "I'm amazed at that display, but I'm not going to give you another chance to show it! Lava Plume!"

Steadying itself, the openings on Torkoal's shell glowed bright red before it lowered its head and shot out a blast of hot lava at Marcato, who nonchalantly dodged it with a tilt of his head, letting it impact the wall behind him.

"Mega Drain!" Kumiko called out, and Marcato formed a mass of tendrils over his right arm before lashing them out at Torkoal. For some reason, whether it was the harsh sunlight giving Marcato more energy or the results of his training, the tendrils that appeared this time were thicker and more voluminous than usual.

"No way…" the Gym Leader commented as her Torkoal was ensnared. "Learning a new move in the middle of battle? What is this, an anime?"

Kumiko didn't answer that question, since she was also shocked by this turn of events as well. If this was really a brand-new move, then it surely must have been Giga Drain, the most powerful variant of absorbing moves a Marcatus could learn.

Once the Gym Leader's Torkoal had been freed from Marcato's grasp, it immediately fired out another Lava Plume upon its Trainer's orders, blasting out a shot towards Marcato, who dodged it again.

"Use Giga Drain!" Kumiko commanded, and Marcato used his newly-learned move once again on Torkoal, the enlarged tendrils shooting out of his arm so quickly they almost seemed like beams of light. However, the Gym Leader already had a counter in mind after seeing the same move used twice in a row.

"Heat Wave, fermata!" the Gym Leader called out. Torkoal's shell openings glowed red again, but it didn't seem to unleash any sort of attack. As time passed, the tendrils sapping its strength faded away from the heat and Torkoal broke free, ready to attack again.

"Lava Plume!" As Marcato dodged another attack effortlessly again, Kumiko realized she needed a new strategy to attack Torkoal. Using Giga Drain was out of the question, and Wood Hammer would hurt Marcato just as much as his opponent.

Recalling what moves Marcato knew, Kumiko settled on the one she felt would have the least adverse effects on Marcato if something went wrong. "Pin Missile!"

From the spikes on both of his arms, Marcato launched out multiple light-green rockets at his opponent. Due to how his speed had been increased, he fired off his attacks with such frequency to the point where it seemed like the Gym Leader's Torkoal was being hit by a wall of non-stop air blasts all at once. Unable to keep up, Torkoal was sent flying backwards and crashed into the ground.

"Torkoal is unable to battle." the referee announced while checking to see whether she was right. "The challenger emerges victorious!"

Kumiko stepped up to receive her badge after the Gym Leader recalled her Pokémon, but the Gym Leader spoke first. "That was an amazing display of sheer power you pulled off there, which makes you worthy of the Lydian Badge. Congratulations, young challenger, and don't forget what you felt against a wall of unstoppable power in your future battles."

Putting the Gym Badge away, Kumiko was then asked something by the Gym Leader. "Speaking of future battles, where are you and your friend headed next for your Gym challenge? You've got three options from here at Subdomi City: walk to Edian City or Minant City, or take the high-speed train all the way to Eigve City."

Though Kumiko wanted to dodge this question, she had no choice but to answer it honestly. "We're thinking of going clockwise around the region, so Minant City."

"Minant City, huh…" the Gym Leader pondered, then looked at Kumiko again. "Don't tell me, you're the-"

"Uh, you don't have to tell me! Thanks for the battle and see you!" Kumiko spouted in a hurry before abruptly dragging Reina down a passageway marked 'Challenger's Exit'.

"Huh, that's weird." the Gym Leader noted. "What's wrong about stating the obvious?"


After emerging out of the other side of the passageway, which was in the local Pokémon Center, Kumiko and Reina discovered that it was now getting late. Due to inadvertently skipping lunch for their Gym battles, they opted to eat a large dinner at the Center before going to bed, tired from the day's events.

The next day, Kumiko and Reina ate an equally large breakfast before heading out on their detour. Rather than going in the direction of Minant City as she had previously told the Gym Leader or back to Edian City, Kumiko and Reina were headed towards the path that fate had somehow set them on.

They were finally going to meet HTT in person at Ongaku Stadium.


"Wow, I can't believe that this is the Ledger Line!" Kumiko looked around, in awe of the towering skyscrapers flanking both sides of the massive pedestrian street she and Reina were walking on.

"That's Octiva's largest city, business district, and shopping area for you." Reina remarked. "Don't worry, we're going to make it in time for the concert. It doesn't start for another few hours, so we can enjoy the sights while we're passing through. Speaking of which, we're about to go through the Usagiyama section, a traditional Japanese-style shopping street."

Walking into Usagiyama, Kumiko could smell the familiar flavour of mochi tickle her nose before she felt another person bump into her, though she didn't fall to the ground.

"S- Sorry!" the newcomer apologized, picking herself up. Kumiko looked at her and saw that the young woman standing in front of her had a shorter stature and black hair tied into two short twintails held together by ornaments that looked like mochi despite being a little older. "I'm really in a pickle right now!"

Though she was wearing a white hoodie with a blue stripe across the chest, comfy looking jeans, and aquamarine flats, what made her stand out was the morbidly obese Sirfetch'd that had just fluttered its way back up onto her head.

Staring at the supremely deformed Sirfetch'd, Kumiko and Reina's weirdness session was interrupted by the young woman speaking again. "I'm sorry if this inconveniences you, but I really need some extra hands to help me right now! It's really urgent!"

"Calm down. We've still got a lot of time, so we can help you." Reina offered, noting that the young woman seemed more like a kid. "But you haven't told us your name yet."

"Oh yeah! That's right!" The young woman perked up. "I'm Tamako Kitashirakawa, and the Sirfetch'd resting on my head is Dela!"

"Nice to meet you fine young ladies!" Dela chirped out, sending both Kumiko and Reina into the weird zone again.


A/N: Whoo! With this chapter, To Be A Solister finally breaks the 100k word barrier (at least on AO3). Thank you to all loyal readers for sticking through for this long. The story's going to ramp up even more in the next few chapters, starting with the confrontation between Kumiko, Reina, and HTT, along with other surprises to come, so stay tuned!