Chapter 26 - "The Battle Continues."

Kumquat Island

It only took them a day to get to Kumquat Island. They arrived at nighttime and immediately headed towards the hotel. They were greeted by the staff, and Ruriko made her presence known. She ran to the two trainers and embraced them tightly.

"I'm so glad that you two are safe. I was so worried when the rain wouldn't stop. Did you both find a safe place to stay?" she asked before letting them go so they could answer.

They exchanged a look. Cyan didn't want to worry Ruriko by saying that they dove into the danger headfirst, and Skylar was afraid of being reprimanded by the mother-like gym leader.

"Yes," they said in unison.

"That's a relief," Ruriko said. "Both of you get rest tonight. You can battle me whenever you'd like to, Skylar."

Skylar nodded. "How about tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow morning?!" Ruriko, surprised by the suddenness. "Don't you two want to relax for a bit?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I'm eager to earn my fourth badge and then go battle the Supreme Gym Leader."

Ruriko folded her arms. "Well, okay. Get some sleep tonight, and we'll battle first thing after breakfast."

The two booked their room, and they were treated to an all you could eat buffet. The food was mostly stuff that Skylar was unfamiliar with, but Cyan was happy with the options. It was only momentary, but it distracted him from everything else that was going on.

And then the next morning, Skylar and Cyan made their way down to the bottom floor where Ruriko was waiting for them.

"It's the same rules as last time," Ruriko said as soon as the two came out from the elevator. "Double battle, and as soon as one of either side's Pokémon faints, that's the end. Have you been training hard?"

Skylar nodded. "As hard as I can."

"Cyan, dear. Would you mind acting as a referee for our match again?" She asked.

Cyan ran to the middle of the field and held out his arms. "Begin!"

Ruriko paused. "So sudden? No official calls or anything?"

"Oh, yeah," Cyan muttered. "Sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

"Try again, sweetheart."

"The following special double battle will be between gym leader, Ruriko and challenger, Skylar! It will end whenever one side loses a single Pokémon!" he announced. Ruriko smiled, giving him approval.

"Go, Alakazam and Marowak!" Ruriko yelled while throwing her Poké Balls into the air. The two Pokémon from last time materialized on the field, ready to battle.

"I thought really hard about a team that could do well against these two. I have a lot of combinations that I can do with my Pokémon, but these are the two that I've decided on. Gothita and Onix, c'mon out!"

Ruriko watched the two Pokémon emerge from the flashing lights. Gothita struck a fighting pose while light emitted from her body, and Onix howled intimidatingly. She grinned and then put her hands on her hips. "It appears that our teams share similar types. I'm interested to see what you try to do to defeat me!"

Honestly, I'm interested too. There's a lot riding on this battle. I promised Cyan that if I couldn't win, we'd head straight to Kanto. I know he's eager to go, but I hope he still cheers me on, Skylar thought. She looked towards Cyan, who's expression was rather deadpan.

"Begin."

"Marowak use Focus Energy! Alakazam, start with Reflect!" Ruriko ordered.

"We have to get in there quickly!" Skylar yelled. "Gothita, Thunderbolt! Go!"

Alakazam held up his two spoons and formed a thin wall of light in front of his side of the field. Marowak started to focus his power, but as soon as he heard Skylar's command, he ran forward. Gothita unleashed the sparks from her body, which connected directly with the Ground-type, doing no damage and still allowing him to charge his energy.

Skylar balled her fist. "Screech!"

Onix twisted some of the stones that made up his body and then started to howl, unleashing a terrible noise from his mouth. The sound waves reverberated against the thin wall that Alakazam had created, shattering it after a few moments.

"Teleport!" Ruriko yelled.

In an instant, Alakazam disappeared.

"And now Psychic!"

He reappeared on Skylar's side of the field. He shot his body around and stuck his hands out, pointing his spoons towards Onix. The battlefield started to shake, and he lifted Onix off of the ground with his kinetic energy.

"Onix, no!" Skylar shouted. "Gothita, break the psychic thread with Dark Pulse!"

Gothita being a Psychic-type Pokémon knew exactly where to aim her attack. She jumped into the air, used her nimble body to climb all of Onix, and then formed a ball of black energy in her small palms. She focused and then launched the ball of dark energy at the ground. It hit the psychic connective tissue that Alakazam had built with Onix, slicing it. Onix fell to the ground, now free from the attack.

"Marowak, use Bonemerang on Gothita!" Ruriko called.

Marowak took aim. His attack was sure to be a critical hit. With a heave, he tossed his large club through the air, straight at the small Psychic-type. But then, without needing a command, Onix straightened out his long body, taking the blow directly.

Her Pokémon are really in sync, Cyan thought. She's come a long way in such a short amount of time.

"Rain fire, Onix! Dragon Breath! Go!"

Onix roared before unleashing the arcane flames from his mouth. They spewed out in a straight line towards Marowak.

"Bone Rush!" Ruriko commanded, unafraid of Dragon Breath.

Marowak recovered his bone before running forward. He waved the club around haphazardly while charging, somehow warding off the flames and keeping himself safe until Onix stopped the attack.

"Getting a direct hit is impossible right now," Skylar said while she looked at the formation of the Pokémon. Her Pokémon were in the middle of the field while Marowak and Alakazam were on either end.

Ruriko grinned. "Well, we'll settle with taking them both out, if we must. Hyper Beam! Bonemerang!"

"Rock Slide! Defend yourself!" Skylar shouted.

Onix started to spin around, Gothita holding on tight. He ripped up the battlefield below him, digging himself a hole and forcing the stones from the ground to surround him. It took only a few seconds, but he had built himself a cocoon. Alakazam and Marowak's attacks blasted the cocoon, causing a loud explosion filled with smoke and dust. Everyone waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, the pile of rocks was still.

Skylar gritted her teeth. "Not good."

"Cyan, what's your call?" Ruriko asked.

Cyan squinted his eyes to get a better look at the pile. It was difficult to make out what was Onix and what was lifeless stone. When he saw the pile of rocks moving, he raised his hand.

"The battle continues," he exclaimed.

"In that case, Onix, use Iron Tail! Go!" Skylar shouted.

Onix spun his body around, slamming his tail into the rocks that surrounded him and flinging them into the air. He seemingly wasn't aiming though, but rather, it was a distraction.

"Flatter!" Skylar shouted.

Ruriko looked around the battlefield for Gothita, unable to see her. Then, she looked into the air, finding the shiny Pokémon attached to one of the flying rocks. "Watch out, Alakazam!"

Gothita jumped from the rock and waved her arms around before sending out red waves. Alakazam was taken by surprise, and he absorbed the entirety of the technique. Alakazam seemingly lost his balance and fell to the ground. He held at his head as his thoughts raced rapidly. Then, he started to teleport wildly, disappearing and reappearing all around the battlefield.

"This is ours!" Skylar shouted. "Dragon Breath! Go!"

Onix roared again and unleashed the arcane flames downwards at Marowak. The Ground-type had been distracted by his partner's erratic movements, so the Dragon-type attack hit directly. He was engulfed in flames, and when the flames dissipated, Marowak fell to one leg, sparks emitting from his body.

"This is chaos, but it's a chaos that we can work with," Skylar said.

Ruriko looked at the field, watching as Alakazam continued to teleport randomly. "Marowak, grab your friend."

Although Marowak was paralyzed, he stood up straight and focused. When the opportune moment came, he reached out, grabbing ahold of Alakazam as he appeared into the air. He held on tightly while Alakazam struggled, but he didn't let go. Soon, Alakazam stopped squirming, and he began to calm down. He shook his head before Marowak released him. The confusion had worn off.

Marowak placed his paw against Alakazam's jaw. The Psychic-type had blacked out for a while, and he was beginning to regain his composure. The two nodded and then focused back on Onix and Gothita.

"My Pokémon have been partners for a very long time. As far as I'm concerned, there is no better team out there," Ruriko said. "Alakazam, use Psychic! Don't let either of them escape!"

Alakazam was now back to normal. He lifted his spoons and focused, bringing his psychic energy around the room. Onix and Gothita were lifted off of the ground before they were dropped. Alakazam repeated this, putting the duo down multiple times.

"Oh no. How do we get out?" Skylar asked herself. "We can't lose."

Although Onix was unable to get out of the psychic stranglehold that he was in, he knew that he could protect his partner. As the two were lifted into the air, he wrapped his body around Gothita, protecting her from the kinetic force.

"Keep dropping them!" Ruriko commanded.

And Alakazam did as he was commanded, slamming Onix's body into the ground a multitude of times. However, Gothita was no longer taking damage. She inched her way to the bottom of Onix's body and looked out towards Skylar.

"Alright. Build Dark Pulse!" Skylar ordered.

Gothita retreated back into Onix's small shelter. She formed a ball of dark energy. Every time Onix hit the ground again, the orb grew in size.

"Just keep holding on, Onix! A little bit more!" Skylar called.

Onix roared, but he stayed strong through every blow. It was beginning to become too much though, and he slightly uncurled his body, revealing Gothita and her massive ball of dark energy.

"Now! Go!" Skylar yelled.

Onix and Gothita were tossed at the ground once again, but she quickly moved and stuck the ball out. When it hit the ground, it imploded, sending a wave of black energy everywhere. It washed over both of Ruriko's Pokémon, enveloping them in darkness. Cyan raised his arms over his face as it came towards him. Everyone closed their eyes and waited patiently.

And then it all calmed down, and everyone looked up. Onix and Gothita were breathing heavily, but they still remained standing. On Ruriko's side of the field, both Alakazam and Marowak left unconscious.

Cyan raised his hand. "Alakazam and Marowak are unable to battle!" He looked at Skylar and smiled. "Gothita, Onix, and Skylar are the victors!"

"We did it!" Skylar shouted while running onto the field. Gothita hopped into her arms and they hugged tightly. Onix slowly inched over to her. When she looked up at him, he was nervous that she'd be afraid, but instead, she jumped and grabbed ahold of his horn, pulling him down low so the two could hug.

Cyan and Ruriko walked onto the field, smiles on their faces. Cyan watched his friend happily, but then he noticed that there was a slight glow coming from her bag. He cocked his head, which Skylar saw. She turned around, and her bag rubbed up against Onix's large body. She reached into the bag and pulled out the glowing item, the metal coat.

Then, Onix began to glow with the same color. The metal coat flew from Skylar's hand to Onix like a magnet. His body started to morph, and he somehow grew even bigger. The energy exploded off of his body, and he roared, his voice now louder than before.

"O-Onix evolved," Skylar muttered. She was slow, but she pulled out her white Pokédex and scanned the new creature.

"Steelix, Iron Snake Pokémon. The iron it ingested with the soil it swallowed transformed its body and made it harder than diamonds," it chimed.

"Harder than diamonds?" she wondered. She smiled at Steelix. "You're still all big and scary, but I don't care! You're my diamond!"

Steelix roared happily.

Ruriko was happy for Skylar, but she had to get her attention. She cleared her throat, making Skylar turn around. Then, she handed out a small purple shell with a silver star in the middle. "The Jade Star Badge. Congratulations, Skylar."

Skylar felt a sense of relief before she anxiously took the badge and held it high. "We did it! We got a Jade Star Badge!"

Ruriko put her hands on her hips. "Feel free to stay here and train a while longer. Your next battle is with Yuji on Pummelo Island, and he's not easy. It's going to be a full battle, so your entire team will need to be in tiptop shape. I'm really looking forward to it, though."

"Thank you so much," Skylar said. She looked towards Cyan. "And you? Are you looking forward to it?" It was an odd question to ask, but she wanted to make sure that Cyan was proud of her. Moreso, she wanted to make sure that he was okay with staying at the Orange Archipelago awhile longer.

Cyan picked up Vulpix and held her close to his chest. "Of course! Let's train!"

His smile was genuine.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

It was kind of difficult to write this battle a second time. Not sure why. I think that part of it has to be that I've done the big villain arc for Orange Islands, and the only thing that is left is the supreme gym battle. Getting to the big battle has been kind of an ordeal (I've also been dealing with terrible headaches the past few days, so writing hasn't been fun). But anyways, the next chapter will be a small break before we get to Skylar's battle with Yuji (Drake), which will be a two chapter battle.

REVIEWS:

pokemongking0924 - "Cyan is now a bit obsessed with getting stronger and taking down anyone related to team Rocket once and for all, not to mention settling things with Okane. Oddly enough Skylar was the one to calm him down and told him not to rush, getting him to plan things out and saying she'll help him after completing the Orange league. Guess he has been a great influence on her." - I'm all about character development! The roles of Skylar and Cyan have kind of switched, huh?