Upon seeing Reina dash out of nowhere like that, Shuichi was left completely flabbergasted at what he just witnessed. That had certainly doured his day, but it was what Reina did next which completely crushed all his remaining hopes and dreams.
"Kumiko Oumae, you are my love, you are my life. Will you marry me?"
That single sentence had shut down Shuichi's brain. Just where had that question come from? He had seen Reina with Kumiko three times before, and the two girls had seemed quite close (at least, when Reina wasn't trying to make him suffer). However, never would he have expected a freaking marriage proposal to come out of Reina's mouth! At least it was a relief she wasn't trying to kill him on sight.
"Bwwaahh-WHAT?!" was the only noise that came out of Kumiko's mouth. Unable to process what Reina had asked her, Kumiko could only stand still in shock as she tried to work through every last word. After a while, the gears in her mind began turning again, and immediately went into maximum overdrive.
"Marry? Are you serious? But we're too young!" Frantically moving her body around in all directions, the motions Kumiko was going through looked more like a funky dance than a proper reaction. Steadfast in her decision, Reina continued to kneel as she addressed her girlfriend with an unchanging face, her external expression contrasting the flurry of emotions she was also going through herself.
"Yes, Kumiko. Regardless of our age, I'm completely serious and always will be." Reina reassured her girlfriend with a smile, which caused Kumiko to blush. Reina always looked beautiful, but she looked even more fantastic today. Gazing at her special one's most tantalized features, Kumiko was surprised when her eyes settled on the black sunflower hairclip attached to Reina's flowing black hair. That was new.
While Reina's hair accessory was like adding a cherry on top to her already magnificent splendor, what made it more intriguing was that she was holding a white version of the hairclip in her outstretched hand. Quickly putting two and two together, Kumiko realized that Reina was using matching hairclips in lieu of rings. Combined with the look on her face, Reina really wasn't joking around with what she was doing.
"But, why…? Why now, of all times? Couldn't you have chosen a more romantic moment?" Despite appreciating the gesture, Kumiko still found it strange that Reina had abruptly done this without any sort of build-up.
Confused as to what her girlfriend was planning, Kumiko continued to stare at Reina until she cleared her throat. While it seemed Reina was getting impatient from her gesture, she was actually losing the strength in her legs to continue kneeling, though she wouldn't ever admit that out loud.
"Kumiko, please. The reason doesn't matter. Just answer my question. It means so much to me." Not expecting her girlfriend to be so indecisive when it came to answering her question, Reina was starting to consider whether or not proposing to Kumiko really was the best way of getting back at Shuichi. Thankfully, she had a backup plan prepared in case this failed miserably.
"Are you kidding, Reina? Of course yes! Of course I want to marry you! You're the most special person I've ever met!" With Kumiko gladly taking the white sunflower clip from Reina's hand and attaching it to her hair, it was at this moment that Shuichi realized just where his twin sunflower clips had gone.
Wanting to bury whatever hatchets he had with Reina and impress Kumiko with his diplomatic skills at the same time, Shuichi had bought the flower clips at Minant City upon arriving there. They had caught Shuichi's eye when he saw them at an accessory shop and were reasonably priced, so making the purchase was an easy decision. It was more than worth it to get Reina off his back.
Hoping to give them to Kumiko when he saw her, it was only after buying them that Shuichi realized he didn't know when they would cross paths again. Thankfully, he remembered Mamiko lived here, so Shuichi decided giving them to her was his best bet. Kumiko's older sister would definitely know where she was. Even if she didn't, Mamiko would at least have a way to tell her about his gift.
Unfortunately for Shuichi, all his aspirations were dashed when Reina had sent him to the Shadow Realm (his nickname for whatever that place was) during his first visit to Mamiko's Gym. After spending who knows how long getting out of there, Shuichi discovered to his horror the twin hairclips had disappeared from his pocket.
Asking Mamiko if she had seen them once he reached her Gym again, Shuichi was disappointed when she told him she hadn't found anything like that at all in her Gym. Based on the way she reacted, Shuichi still suspected there was something more to Mamiko's story, but thought nothing of it.
About to write their loss off as an unfortunate accident, Shuichi was left completely floored when those two hairclips had resurfaced again, this time in a completely unexpected way. It seemed that after being slapped by her Feebas, Reina had picked up the hairclips which had fallen out of his pocket, and had saved them to use at this very moment.
"No, this isn't supposed to happen!" Distraught at how his plans had been completely ruined by the girl who hated him more than anything else, Shuichi sunk to his knees in despair. To add even more misfortune to his load, a ghostly chill crept right up Shuichi's spine once he looked up, and everything soon froze in place for him.
With Kumiko and Reina oblivious to the world around them as they engaged in an impromptu make-out session, no one even noticed that Shuichi had been encased in a block of ice by Idina. She had been hovering nearby on Reina's orders, ready to freeze Shuichi if he had even so much dared to peep at the results of a successful proposal, or punish him had it failed.
Reina's plan had worked out exactly as she hoped.
"Hey you, you're finally awake."
As Reina continued to defrost Shuichi, Kumiko looked on as she struggled to stand. Still aching from everything she did with Reina last night, Kumiko was left confused at how Shuichi had managed to get himself frozen in a block of ice for no apparent reason.
Going back to the Pokémon Center once they had finished making out, Kumiko and Reina continued their romantic activities in private, celebrating their strengthened relationship with unbridled passion. Lost in their love, it was only once they woke up the next day that Reina remembered she had two things to do: unfreeze Shuichi and challenge the Gym here. Well, maybe not the first thing.
The place where Shuichi had been frozen was en route to the Gym from the Pokémon Center, so Reina had no choice but to free him from his icy prison once Kumiko pointed out that sculpture over there looked a little too familiar. Ordering Ai to use Sunny Day for a source of heat, Reina blankly stared at Shuichi once the area around his head had been defrosted, causing him to blink twice.
"Guh, what? Why is it morning now? What just happened to me?" Despite Shuichi asking around in confusion, Reina thought he didn't deserve to know the truth. Telling Ai to stop her Sunny Day, Reina decided to leave all four of his limbs and torso encased in that block of ice. She liked Shuichi more that way.
"Oh, nothing much. Being the sick pervert you are, you had a nosebleed after seeing two lesbians make out yesterday, and nearly passed out from blood loss after that. Putting you on ice was the best way to avoid any further complications." Even when Kumiko was about to press Reina for more details, Reina quieted her girlfriend- no, fiancee now with a look that said 'I'll handle this', as Shuichi began to speak again.
"Then why don't I remember that? The last thing I remember is Kumiko accepting your proposal, and you two looked happy together. Wait, did-" Whatever Shuichi wanted to say next was quickly cut off by Reina, not wanting Kumiko to know about her plot to take Shuichi out of the equation.
"It's natural that you'll suffer from some short-term memory loss after being defrosted. Get over it." Glancing at the still-frozen Shuichi, Reina knew that leaving him here was definitely a no-no from Kumiko, so she decided to give him an offer. That would surely prevent Kumiko from getting too upset. "Tell you what. How about you come with us and watch our Gym challenge? That way, you'll get to see some more lesbian action. Hope that satisfies you, you dirty pervert."
"I'm not…" His voice trailing off, Shuichi was boxed in both figuratively and literally, with the only way out being what the person who hated him the most had set out. Swallowing the small bits of pride he had left. Shuichi accepted. "Fine, I'll take you up. But how are you going to get me to the Gym? Carry me?"
"You wish." Recalling Ai back into her Pokéball, Reina then sent out Eurydice and ordered her to use Psychic and lift up Shuichi, still partially frozen inside the block of ice. Heading on with Kumiko, the rest of Reina's journey was rather uneventful until Shuichi opened his mouth again once they were right in front of the Gym.
"Uh, I don't know if this is the right time to say this, but I actually know the Gym Leader here." Shuichi said from his block of ice, causing both Reina and Kumiko's heads to turn. "He's one of the people I asked about why my Magneton evolved into a Magnezone around this area, and we hit it off quite well after that. He also plays the trombone, and has a girlfriend who helps him out at the Gym.'
"I see." Reina almost tuned out Shuichi's words by this point. Just what did that have to do with challenging the Gym? All she wanted right now was to win, and Shuichi's information wouldn't help her with that. However, she did note the Gym had an electromagnetic field around it based on what Shuichi mentioned, which confirmed that it specialized in Electric-types. That would be useful if she hadn't heard about it already.
Opening the door, Reina was greeted by the sound of a trombone blasting through her ears. Looking in the direction of where it came from, she saw a rather tall young man with sandy brown hair setting said trombone down, while a young woman with darker brown hair arranged into twin drills drooping on both sides of her head was next to him.
"Hi! Are you here for your Gym challenge? I'm Hideri, the Gym Leader, and this is my girlfriend Mei." Noticing the newcomers entering, the Gym Leader gave them a friendly wave. It was then that he noticed Shuichi's ice block currently suspended in midair. "...Shuichi? What in the world?"
"Hey, hi there." Unable to give a wave in return, all Shuichi could do was answer sheepishly. "You're probably wondering how I ended up in this position. To tell you the truth, it's a long story, but my friends are here to challenge you. Are you free right now?"
"Yeah, got nothing else to do for the rest of the day, so I'd be happy to battle you two." the Gym leader replied. Reina was about to protest that she wasn't Shuichi's friend or anything, but kept her mouth shut as the Gym Leader continued. "So, how many badges do you two have, and who's going first?"
"We've both got five badges, and I'll go first. Is that alright with you, Kumiko?" After a nod from her fiancee, Reina strode over to the battlefield with her Pokéballs by her side. Despite knowing that leaving Kumiko with Shuichi ran counter to her every desire, this was a necessary sacrifice for Reina if she wanted to be even more special.
"Alright then. This will be a five-on-five battle, and whoever gets all their Pokémon knocked out first loses. Only the challenger is allowed to switch out their Pokémon at any time during the battle." Taking a set of five Pokéballs from a nearby counter, the Gym Leader went to his side of the battlefield as his girlfriend stepped up on the referee podium. With both sides ready to battle, the Gym Leader threw out his first Pokéball. "The day has come, Denki!"
Seeing an Amped Toxtricity emerge, Kumiko thought that name sounded familiar as she saw the Gym Leader's Pokémon strum the organs on its chest like a guitarist. Remembering where she heard the name from, she turned to Shuichi. "Wait a moment. Isn't that the name of…"
"Yeah. The Gym Leader's an anime fan, so all his Pokémon have anime-related nicknames." Shuichi confirmed what Kumiko was thinking. While Kumiko hadn't really caught up with that particular anime in a while, Shuichi had told her before that the manga was currently in the middle of an exciting arc.
"Howl like the swirling storm inside, Demi!" Sending out her first Pokémon, it seemed Reina was aiming to take control of the battlefield right from the get-go. Kumiko wondered if the Gym Leader would take any countermeasures against that as the referee raised both her arms.
"Battle begin!" The moment those words were said, a hailstorm formed above the battlefield as Reina played Let It Go, causing an Aurora Veil to shimmer into existence in front of Demi. With Demi's barrier immediately set up, Reina was now free to attack as she pleased.
"Use Sludge Bomb!" Amassing something in its throat, the Gym Leader's Toxtricity hurled out a chunk of unsanitary sludge at Demi, who swiftly dodged the attack on Reina's orders. While the Aurora Veil would certainly reduce how hurt Demi would be, it still wasn't wise for her to directly take super-effective damage.
Placing her trumpet to her lips, Reina played the melody of Vivaldi's Winter as Demi began to whip up a Blizzard. Sending it flying straight towards the Gym Leader's Toxtricity, the wide-ranging attack was impossible to dodge even from a distance. Battered by the snowstorm, the Gym Leader's Toxtricity stumbled back, but recovered in time to attack again.
"Let's try an Overdrive this time!" Twanging the organs on its chest, the Gym Leader's Toxtricity blasted out an electrified echo all across the battlefield, which prevented Demi from evading like she did previously. Unable to counter with another move either, Demi could only bear the full brunt of the attack, but her Aurora Veil reduced the resulting impact.
With hail continuing to fall from above, Reina was thankful the passive damage being dealt to the Gym Leader's Toxtricity was helping to even the odds in her favour. In battle, there was absolutely no way of knowing just how much of an advantage or disadvantage existed between combatants, so any visible indicators such as attacks or the hail helped to serve as 'markers' when considering what to do next.
As Demi wasn't suited for prolonged battle, Reina estimated she could only take two or three more hits before fainting, possibly even one if the next attack which connected was super-effective. Coming to this conclusion, there weren't many choices for Reina other than guaranteeing a decisive victory right now.
"Now go for another Sludge Bomb, bell tone style!" It seemed the Gym Leader was also aware of this fact, telling his Toxtricity to use the same move which Demi had dodged earlier. As Reina ordered Demi to evade like last time, she noticed that the attack wasn't headed towards Demi directly, but rather a bit in front of her original position.
Unable to give any other commands in the time she had left, Reina could only watch as the Sludge Bomb fractured upon impact with the ground, blowing bits of itself everywhere. One of those chunks landed right on Demi, and dealt quite a bit of damage even with its reduced size and an Aurora Veil protecting her.
Thankfully, Reina could see that Demi was nowhere near fainting after the previous attack, which meant her tactics were still on track for now. Slipping the Icium Z into her Z-Power Ring, Reina let its power course through her as her body moved in strange ways, allowing Demi to launch an extremely powerful Ice-type attack at the Gym Leader's Toxtricity, swiftly knocking it out.
"Toxtricity is unable to battle." the referee announced. As the Gym Leader recalled his Pokémon, Reina did the same for Demi as well. In her current condition, there was no way Demi could take more than one attack. With the battlefield currently being empty, the Gym Leader took this opportunity to send out his next Pokémon.
"Make some crazy noise, Chili!" As a Pom-Pom Oricorio burst out from the Gym Leader's Pokéball, Kumiko couldn't really place what anime that nickname was referencing, though she suspected it was a shout-out to something overlooked. Shelving those ponderings for another time, Kumiko turned her attention to Reina, who had also made her choice on who to send out.
"Don't hold back, Idina!" With her starter on the field, it seemed to Kumiko that Reina wanted to capitalize on the hailstorm Demi had set up. Being able to use Idina's Ice typing to its fullest potential under these conditions, Kumiko heard Reina play Vivaldi's Winter again as Idina fired an Ice Beam at the Gym Leader's Oricorio.
"Revelation Dance!" Rather than tell his Oricorio to dodge, the Gym Leader called out an attack instead. Doing a series of rather impressive dance moves, the Gym Leader's Oricorio finished its routine by throwing its wings forward, causing a blast of electricity to meet Idina's Ice Beam midway.
While the Ice Beam had been strengthened by the hail, the Revelation Dance surprisingly managed to hold its own, the two attacks clashing against each other before they both disappeared. It was during this interval that the Gym Leader's Oricorio stealthily made its way across the battlefield to get closer with Idina, and it prepared to strike again. "Use another Revelation Dance!"
Right as Reina also realized this, it was too late for her to properly react. However, the present hailstorm gave Idina an advantage which would benefit her here. Just before the Revelation Dance could hit her, Idina disappeared amidst the falling ice, using her Ability Snow Cloak to avoid the approaching attack as it passed through where she originally was.
Reappearing behind the Gym Leader's Oricorio, Idina then fired out an Ice Beam when Reina played Vivaldi's Winter, catching it off guard with the sneak attack. Doing a twirl as it was launched through midair, the Gym Leader's Oricorio faced Idina once it landed on its feet, ready to face off again.
Even as the hail slowly petered out, the Gym Leader knew evening the battlefield now was going to be an uneasy task. Still, he needed to give any challenger that came his way a tough battle to prove their mettle. "Use a Roost!"
Performing another dance before resting itself on the ground, Reina noticed the Gym Leader's Oricorio had regained a sizable portion of its health from how its movements seemed livelier. Gnashing her teeth at how all her previous efforts had been rendered moot, Reina resolved to take down the Gym Leader's Oricorio with haste.
With the notes of Vivaldi's Winter flowing through her trumpet yet again, Idina fired Ice Beam after Ice Beam, the frigid attacks streaking through the air one after another as she tried to hit the Gym Leader's Oricorio. Ducking and weaving its way through the crisscrossing trails of frost, it was only a matter of time before the Gym Leader's Oricorio would be too tired to continue.
Finally, the time had come. Its reactions dulling after frantically evading so many attacks, the Gym Leader's Oricorio could only rely on its Trainer's warnings now. However, that wasn't enough to prevent one Ice Beam hitting its mark, followed by a second the moment after. Once that successful one-two attack had landed, the Gym leader's Oricorio was down for the count.
"Oricorio is unable to battle." the referee announced. Despite Idina being at near-full health, Reina chose to switch her out as the Gym Leader recalled his Pokémon. Now that there wasn't any hail anymore, the strategy she used with Idina couldn't work. It wouldn't make any sense to continue having her out for any longer, seeing as her main advantage was gone.
"Enel, let's go over the top!" An Eelektross being the Pokémon the Gym Leader sent out, Reina remained steadfast despite knowing the challenge she would soon be up against. The combination of an Eelektross' pure Electric-typing along with its Ability Levitate meant that it had no elemental weaknesses, but Reina knew that attacks with sufficient power could make up for the lack of type advantages she had.
"Ai, let's be the stars that rise!" Being a Grass-type, Ai had a natural resistance to Electric-type moves, which were bound to be the strongest moves packed by the Gym Leader's Eelektross. Nudging the odds ever so slightly in her favour, Reina decided to push them even more towards her side as she played Brahms' Lullaby, telling Ai to cast a Sleep Powder.
Launching a fine dust from the flower on her head, Ai twirled around as it scattered around the battlefield, putting the Gym Leader's Eelektross to sleep right off the bat. Even with Ai's resistance to Electric-types, Reina still couldn't afford to take this battle lightly. Eelektross could learn a wide variety of moves, including ones whose types Ai was weak to, so Reina suspected the Gym Leader was saving them under his sleeves.
The elegant notes of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers flowing out of Reina's trumpet, Ai took that as a cue to begin using Leaf Storm over and over again. Striking the Gym Leader's Eelektross repeatedly with her strongest move seemed like the best course of action Ai could take, but it came with a steep cost.
Leaf Storm produced such immense power that it gradually weakened the user every time it was used, decreasing the move's strength when used in succession. While Reina was certainly aware of this drawback, she needed to deal as much damage as possible before the Gym Leader's Eelektross awoke again. Once it was back in action, there was no telling how much damage Ai would take.
Starting to feel like she was pushing her limits after her last Leaf Storm, Ai's eyes widened as she saw the bioluminescence on the Gym Leader's Eelektross flicker back to their normal brightness. As it pushed itself back up to its normal posture, the Gym Leader's Eelektross spewed out a Flamethrower from its mouth directly at Ai, who was too close to dodge in time.
Partially deflecting the super-effective move using an exploding Pollen Puff, Ai was thankful her Trainer had taught her this trick to counter Fire-type attacks. Dusting off the ash and burnt pollen on her body, Ai turned to face the Gym Leader's Eelektross, who was raring to go for a chance at payback after all the damage it had suffered.
Analyzing the situation at hand, Reina judged that the Gym Leader's Eelektross was one hit away from fainting, so she needed to make sure Ai's next attack was successful. Otherwise, the Gym Leader's Eelektross would definitely counterattack with another Flamethrower, and Ai had barely managed to get off from the first one.
Thinking through what she could do next, any options Reina currently had were limited by her previous orders for Ai. All those Leaf Storms had considerably weakened Ai's offensive power, which meant whatever attack she did next wouldn't pack as much of a punch. As whatever time remained slowly ticked down, Reina knew she needed a solution - and fast.
With the Gym Leader's Eelektross shaking off the last of its drowsiness, there were now only a few moments left before it would attack again. Upon hitting on a surefire way out of this deadlock, Reina immediately put it into action, not wanting to waste a single second more. Playing Greensleeves on her trumpet, Reina told Ai to use Magical Leaf, the never-missing attack directly taking down the Gym Leader's Eelektross.
"Eelektross is unable to battle." the referee announced. Now that the Gym Leader only had two Pokémon left, Reina had a solid lead overall. Still, she couldn't afford to relax even with this advantage on her side. The tide of battle had ample opportunity to shift in the remaining battles, so Reina still had to keep up her guard.
"Kakashi, let's rock!" Once the Gym Leader sent out a Zebstrika, Kumiko instantly caught the anime reference in its nickname. Based on his reaction, it seemed Shuichi had got it as well, though being trapped in a block of ice didn't do any favours regarding his body language.
"Handel, play some water music!" Despite knowing Handel was weak to Electric-types, Reina reasoned she could take away any advantage the Gym Leader's Zebstrika had using his moveset. The main melody from Holst's Saturn coming out of Reina's trumpet, Handel forcefully slammed his tail down on the ground and used Bulldoze, causing the floor to break up beneath him.
"Jump up and use Wild Charge!" Cloaking itself in electricity, the Gym Leader's Zebstrika leapt away from the fracturing ground in Handel's direction. Lowering himself and slithering around, Handel managed to dodge the initial strike, but a quick heel turn followed by a forward blitz allowed the Gym Leader's Zebstrika to land a direct hit on Handel.
While the Gym Leader's Zebstrika staggered a bit from the recoil of using Wild Charge, it was Handel who had sustained far more damage, being a Water-type on the receiving end of an Electric-type move. Now only two or three hits away from fainting, Handel nevertheless prevented the Gym Leader's Zebstrika from using Wild Charge again with his initial Bulldoze.
Using that attack right at the beginning had left Handel open, but it turned the Gym's floor from a relatively flat surface into nearly unnavigable terrain, making it hard for the Gym Leader's Zebstrika to get a solid foothold and launch itself for close-range attacks. With his main battle strategy disrupted by a sudden shift in flooring, the Gym Leader had to fall back on far less effective moves now.
"Discharge!" Stomping on the ground with its two front legs, the Gym Leader's Zebstrika let out a pulse of electricity around itself in all directions, causing the attack to be unavoidable. Left slightly shocked by how fast the Gym Leader had changed plans on the fly, Reina decided to combine a counter she had in mind with Handel's next move, and played the Blue Danube Waltz on her trumpet.
An Aqua Ring formed around Handel, which caused some of the electricity approaching him to be redirected out of harm's way. Despite taking the brunt of the attack himself, Handel could negate its worst effects thanks to Aqua Ring's original use, which allowed him to slowly regain his health over time. Once the Discharge ended, Reina knew it was now the time to counterattack.
The notes of Holst's Saturn pouring out of Reina's trumpet once more, Handel's tail struck the ground a few more times, shaking up the ground even more. Dealing super-effective damage to the Gym Leader's Zebstrika and knocking it off-balance, Reina knew she had to play the long game here.
This certainly wasn't Reina usual M.O. when battling, but it was far more effective than going on her preferred all-out offensives. After all, not only did a truly special Trainer need to know about different battling styles, but master them all as well. That way, they could switch tactics mid-battle to throw off their opponents and easily adapt to the situation at hand.
Continuing to barrage the Gym Leader's Zebstrika from a distance, this boring but practical strategy was working out well for Handel and Reina. Repeatedly unable to regain solid footing in time to use an attack, the Gym Leader's Zebstrika eventually succumbed to the super-effective damage and fainted.
"Zebstrika is unable to battle." the referee announced. With only one of his Pokémon left, the Gym Leader wanted to give his challenger a daunting fight in their last battle. He knew he was going to lose at this point, but he still had a job to do.
"Misaka, shoot your railgun!" Upon seeing that the Gym Leader's last Pokémon was a Vikavolt, Reina instantly knew her previous strategy would now be completely ineffective. As a Vikavolt could fly and had the Levitate Ability, the change in terrain caused by Bulldoze wouldn't affect it, much less deal any damage.
"Eurydice, follow my lead!" Switching out Handel for Eurydice, Reina decided to fight fire with fire here. A Vikavolt's strengths lay in its devastating ranged attacks, which was also what Eurydice specialized in. Mega Evolving her, Reina then played Bizet's Habanera, causing a trail of Mystical Fire to flow out from Eurydice's outstretched palms.
"Counter that with a Railgun!" Its triangular mandibles beginning to flow with electricity, the Gym Leader's Vikavolt charged up a Flash Cannon near its jaw and launched it out. The metallic projectile was accelerated by the electromagnetic current flowing around it, allowing the strengthened Flash Cannon to blow away Eurydice's Mystical Fire before directly striking her.
With Eurydice being knocked backwards by the powerful attack, Reina prepared for the worst as she realized where she had seen this before. Using an electric charge to increase the velocity of a Flash Cannon was the exact same trick she saw Taki-sensei's Hydreigon pull off in a video she watched. It seemed the Gym Leader had also taken some inspiration there.
Thankfully, Eurydice had managed to survive that devastating blow, having projected a weak barrier around herself right before the hit. Though making it through was certainly impressive, Eurydice had only done so by the skin of her teeth. Even a delay of one second in creating the barrier would have resulted in an instant knock-out.
Still recovering from the impact of such a powerful super-effective move, Eurydice's current condition made it apparent to Reina that switching in another one of her Pokémon was impossible. It was only because of her Mega Evolved form that Eurydice had enough strength to withstand a direct shot. If any of Reina's other Pokémon had been in her place, that would have been game over for them.
Despite the Gym Leader's Vikavolt being his last Pokémon, Reina never felt more pushed against the wall than she did now. Having the power to render any of her Pokémon unconscious with a single shot, Reina needed to carefully consider what she did next against the Gym Leader's Vikavolt, or else her battle would be finished right here and now.
Looking at the Pokémon in question, Reina saw that the Gym Leader's Vikavolt hadn't moved at all since firing its last shot. Upon closer inspection, she discovered the inner edges of its mandibles and jaws were faintly glowing, most likely from the heat generated as a side result of channeling so much electricity.
As they weren't doing anything at all, Reina guessed the Gym Leader was waiting for his Vikavolt to finish cooling down before finishing off Eurydice with one more shot. Though time was now ticking down for Reina, she still had quite a few options to choose from regarding her plan of attack. Thinking through what she could do, Reina then realized the best tactic was in fact the simplest.
Playing Habanera again, Reina commanded Eurydice to use Mystical Fire once more. Now that she knew overheating was a side effect of the Gym Leader's Vikavolt using such a strong attack, Reina decided to extend the time needed for it to cool down while using a super-effective move at the same time. Killing two Pidgey with one Rock-type Pokémon, a few more Mystical Fires knocked the Gym Leader's Vikavolt out.
"Vikavolt is unable to battle." the referee announced. "The challenger emerges victorious!"
A/N: What a great day to be back! For those of you who're unaware, September 30th is KumiRei day (In Japanese, 9 = Ku, 3 = Mi, 0 = Rei), so publishing this chapter today was really a stroke of serendipity, especially considering what Kumiko and Reina are dealing with. Quite the exciting resolution, eh?
Also, I'm surprised a particular reference during the Gym battle is still relevant, since I wrote this chapter many weeks earlier. Man, manga arcs are quite long, aren't they? Can't believe I didn't have to change that shout-out between then and now. See if you can identify which anime/manga the nicknames of the Gym Leader's Pokémon are from!
As a side note, a friendly reminder that I'm now publishing chapters about 9 hours earlier (Wednesday in most time zones) due to personal reasons. Stay tuned for any further personal updates!
