Wait, what happened?
Laying with her eyes open in bed, Kumiko refused to believe that it was morning already. Just how quickly had the night passed? The last thing Kumiko remembered was closing her eyes and drifting asleep. But had that really happened? Though she felt rested, Kumiko's entire body ached to the point where she felt like she fought an entire army in her sleep.
"Rise and shine, Ms. Kumiko!" With an explosive 'BANG!', the door swung open as Suzume barged into the guest room Kumiko was sleeping in. A cheerful tone permeated her voice, but it slightly doured when Suzume realized Kumiko was already awake. "Big sis is making breakfast downstairs, so you should come join us once you brush your teeth and stuff!"
"Ah, got it." Tiredly rubbing her eyes, Kumiko caught a glimpse of Suzume disappearing down the hallway as her vision momentarily blurred and cleared. Swinging herself off the side of her bed, Kumiko only realized how exhausted her body was when her feet touched the ground. Dull pain racing through her soles, Kumiko braced herself as she slowly stood up before stumbling out towards the bathroom.
While her arms were slightly unresponsive, Kumiko nonetheless managed to brush her teeth with little issue, though she noted she looked quite dreary. Freshening herself up by splashing some tap water on her face, Kumiko dragged herself out of the bathroom and down the stairs. Emerging in the dining room, the first thing Kumiko saw was Tsubame and Suzume eating breakfast at the dining table.
"Good morning, Kumiko." Tsubame politely addressed her. "I hope you're satisfied with the breakfast I made. Since we used up a lot of ingredients to make dinner last night, I didn't have a lot to work with this morning. If you don't like what I cooked up today, then I'm really sorry about that."
"Don't worry. It's just breakfast. There's nothing much to fret about it." Sitting down and digging in, Kumiko monotonously shoveled the food on her plate into her mouth. The taste and texture was nothing to write home about, but Kumiko was relieved that she at least had some warm food to fill herself up with. Once she downed the drink Tsubame prepared, Kumiko instinctively headed towards the door.
"Um, where are you going?" Tsubame asked, her tone of voice barely managing to not betray her true feelings. This was bad. As she lived close to the Gym, Tsubame was deathly afraid Kumiko would encounter Reina if she passed by. Not only would that throw a gigantic spanner into Junna and Masako's plan, but the two meeting so casually after everything that happened between them would make things far worse.
"Outside to get some fresh air. Is there anything wrong with that?" Hearing Kumiko's reply, Tsubame nearly froze on the spot. Hurriedly scrambling to think up an excuse for Kumiko not to go outside, Tsubame's worried expression caught her younger sister's eye. Though Suzume didn't really know why, it was clear to her that Kumiko was important to whatever Tsubame's friends thought up.
"Um… it's probably for the best if you rest a bit more. You just got discharged from the hospital yesterday, so don't push yourself too hard." Quietly breathing a sigh of relief at the plausible-sounding lie, all Tsubame needed right now was for Kumiko to believe it. Staring at Tsubame for a couple of seconds, Kumiko's expression soon returned to normal.
"Oh, thanks." Stepping away from the door, Kumiko sat back down in her chair. As Suzume looked at her sister with a face that demanded a full explanation of what just happened, Kumiko began to think about what she could do next. If Tsubame's friends could find Reina, all Kumiko had to do now was wait, but she still wanted to challenge the Gym and prove herself to her beloved. Kumiko leaned back in her seat.
Just where was Reina right now?
"Battle begin!"
Facing down the Gym Leader's Quagsire with Ai leading the charge, Reina took a deep breath before breathing it out into her trumpet. After everything she had gone through yesterday, it was refreshing for Reina to finally get back to challenging a Gym for once. However, the lack of Kumiko by her side still made her feel insecure, especially considering the circumstances in which they were separated.
Sighing to herself, Reina quickly regained her composure as she focused herself on the battle at hand. Right after waking up and eating breakfast this morning, Reina had gone directly to the Gym Leader and asked him for a match, which he readily agreed to. Hoping a proper battle would help her to regain her stride, Reina decided to pour all her strength and determination into it.
"Use Ice Punch!" the Gym Leader ordered. His Quagsire's right arm glowed a frigid white as it lumbered forward, making its way towards Ai with a clumsy-looking gait. While Ai most likely would be able to take down the Gym Leader's Quagsire in one shot, Reina knew the Gym Leader was certainly aware of this as well, and would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.
Signalling for Ai to dodge, Reina then put her trumpet to her lips as she played Mendelssohn's Spring Song. Right on cue, Ai fired out an Energy Ball, which the Gym Leader's Quagsire parried with its Ice Punch. In most circumstances, Reina would've chosen to use Leaf Storm instead, but such a powerful move would definitely be expected by the Gym Leader, so she stuck to a safer option instead.
Now that she knew what the Gym Leader's Quagsire was capable of, Reina could now formulate a better plan of attack rather than rushing in blindly. With Ai's Energy Ball being swiftly neutralized when she tried a direct approach, Reina definitely wasn't going to attempt that again. Though Quagsire wasn't a particularly powerful Pokémon, it was still extremely deadly in the right hands.
"Amnesia!" Just when Reina thought it couldn't get any more boring, the oddly generic face of the Gym Leader's Quagsire became even more nondescript. Continuing to stay right where it was after the mind blanking, the Gym Leader's Quagsire now became an excellent target. Wanting to capitalize on this opportunity, Reina had Ai use Energy Ball a few more times.
However, the Gym Leader's Quagsire didn't seem to react even as it was being struck by super-effective moves multiple times. If anything, the look on its face only got blander. Reina guessed that was most likely due to repeated uses of Amnesia, which bolstered its defenses against ranged attacks. Sent back to the drawing board again, Reina needed another way to fight against the Gym Leader's Quagsire.
Since attacking it head-on was now a futile affair, Reina decided to concentrate her efforts on dealing indirect damage to the Gym Leader's Quagsire. Remembering a status move Ai could use, Reina played a snippet from Márquez's Danzón No. 2, telling Ai to use Teeter Dance. Moving her body in a way reminiscent of the eponymous dance style, Ai managed to successfully Confuse the Gym Leader's Quagsire.
With its completely blank mind now being further addled by Confusion, the Gym Leader's Quagsire wandered around aimlessly, having no idea what to do. Not even its Trainer's shouts could help regain its focus, making it as useless as a sitting Ducklett. Not knowing when the Confusion would wear off, Reina decided to seize this opportunity and attack with full force.
Playing Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers, Reina had Ai blast out Leaf Storm after Leaf Storm. Though the move's power diminished with each successive use, each attack was still more than enough to smash through the defenses the Gym Leader's Quasire put up. After the fifth consecutive Leaf Storm, Ai looked as if she was about to pass out, but it was the Gym Leader's Quagsire who fell first.
"Quagsire is unable to battle." the referee announced. Recalling his Pokémon, the Gym Leader swapped out its Pokéball for another one. Seeing that Ai didn't look like she could continue fighting for much longer, Reina decided to switch her out as well. However, Reina decided to use the rules in her favour, so she waited until the Gym Leader sent out his next Pokémon before making her choice.
"Alright then, I'm going out for now. Suzume, take care of Kumiko for me."
"Got it, big sis!" Saluting Tsubame as she left the house, Suzume recalled what she needed to do once her sister was gone. The instant Kumiko closed the bathroom door behind her, Tsubame quickly explained the entire circumstances behind why Kumiko was staying at their home to Suzume as they finished their breakfast.
Quickly understanding her sister's desperation, Suzume was now dead-set at keeping Kumiko inside their home at any cost. If that was what Tsubame wanted, then Suzume would readily help her without any hesitation. As the front door swung shut, Suzume pondered what she could do to prevent Kumiko from getting out before hitting on a solution.
Since she didn't know much about Kumiko and vice-versa, Suzume thought that learning more about her would provide further insight as to why Tsubame's friends would help her. Besides, Suzume wanted to know more about what being an actual journeying Pokémon Trainer was like. While Tsubame was one, she didn't venture out much from the Subton City Gym, so Suzume thought she didn't count.
"Oh, Ms. Kumiko. You're back!" Energetically greeting her guest, Suzume gobbled up the last of her breakfast before standing up to receive Kumiko, who flopped down on the nearby couch in response. Noticing the tired look on Kumiko's face, Suzume joined her there as well, shuffling closer with her hands. As Kumiko leaned back, Suzume peered on at her.
"Did you sleep well last night, Ms. Kumiko? You don't look too peachy." Suzume asked, slightly concerned about Kumiko's condition. Tsubame had told her Kumiko just recovered from a coma yesterday, and there was a chance some side effects were still lingering. With the way Kumiko acted supporting it, Suzume didn't want to be such a bother to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kumiko replied, her eyes slowly closing in apparent drowsiness, but then snapped open again almost immediately. Coming to her senses, Kumiko shook her head. "Man, I don't know what happened last night, but it felt like I got rammed by a truck. Just give me some time here to reorient myself."
"Ah, alright." Withdrawing from Kumiko's side, Suzume was both relieved and disappointed. While she didn't need to keep Kumiko occupied now, she also lost the chance to learn more about the mysterious Pokémon Trainer who appeared out of nowhere. Heading back to her room, Suzume hoped that Kumiko would remain like this until Tsubame returned.
"Demi, howl like the swirling storm!"
Once the Gym Leader revealed a Golurk as his second Pokémon, Reina immediately went with the choice she had been subconsciously drifting towards. As a part Ice-type, Demi was naturally suited to facing off against Ground-type Pokémon, but Reina didn't want to accidentally put her in a matchup where her Fairy-type would be a liability.
"Phantom Force!" Vanishing into the ground, the Gym Leader's Golurk completely disappeared from Reina's point of view. With completely no idea where it would pop up next, the only thing Reina could do against the inevitable attack was prevent Demi from being hurt too much. Playing 'Do You Want to Build A Snowman' on her trumpet, Reina had Demi set up a pre-emptive Aurora Veil, using her summoned hail to her advantage.
As Reina scanned the battlefield again, a sudden blur of motion shot up from right underneath Demi, slamming full-force into her before revealing itself to be the Gym Leader's Golurk. Thankfully, the Aurora Veil Demi put up a while ago protected her, reducing the damage she took from the attack. Quickly recovering, Demi stood up again as Reina sprung her counterattack.
The notes of Vivaldi's Winter flowing through her trumpet, Reina gazed over its bell to see Demi's Blizzard battering the Gym Leader's Golurk. With this powerful super-effective move successfully connecting, Reina estimated one more direct hit from another Blizzard was enough to knock out her opponent. Even with its formidable defenses, the Gym Leader's Golurk was no match for Demi's sheer attack power.
"Use Phantom Force again!" Reina was confused as to why the Gym Leader ordered his Golurk to use the same attack a second time. Didn't the previous attempt end with Demi dealing more damage? Deciding to strike back with a Blizzard as she previously did, the thought that this was what the Gym Leader expected sprung up in Reina's mind, but she pushed it back to focus on what was currently happening.
Since the Aurora Veil around Demi was still active, Reina wasn't that worried about any damage she would receive. However, even a single advantage could spiral into an unstoppable chain of events which could lead to her losing the battle. Wanting to minimize this possibility, Reina kept her guard up, expecting anything and everything the Gym Leader could throw her way.
"Fire Punch!" Hearing those words before she saw their corresponding actions, Reina flinched as the Gym Leader's Golurk burst out of the ground, its right fist wreathed in red-hot flames. Pummeling it into Demi's side, her howls of pain rang through Reina's ears, causing her to reflexively cringe. Caught off-guard by the super-effective move, Reina's prospects of winning dropped sharply in that moment.
While Demi's offense was a force to be reckoned with due to the synergetic combination of her moves and Ability, the same could not be said of her defense. Though Reina often attempted to rectify this by having her use Aurora Veil right off the bat, Demi's dual Ice and Fairy typing left her particularly vulnerable to a wide variety of hard-hitting attacks.
Still, Reina couldn't give up just yet. Not when her opponent was close to fainting as well. Once Demi managed to shrug off the worst of the powerful strike, Reina played Winter again in hopes the Gym Leader's Golurk wouldn't be able to dodge the incoming Blizzard. With the hailstorm summoned by her Ability amplifying her move's power, Demi dealt a series of swift blows to the Gym Leader's Golurk, decisively defeating it.
"Golurk is unable to battle." the referee announced. As the Gym Leader recalled his Pokémon, Reina realized the fights ahead would definitely be uphill battles now that this was her seventh Gym challenge. In the last two matches, both Ai and Demi were pushed to their limits, nearly fainting after everything they had been put through. Deciding to take a more strategic approach to maximize her chances of victory, Reina patiently waited for the Gym Leader's choice again.
Despite her throbbing headache, the most prominent thought in Kumiko's mind was about the circumstances surrounding her eventual reunion with Reina.
For some reason, Suzume had completely ignored her after their brief conversation earlier, leaving Kumiko to her own devices in the Kamaya household. Though part of her wanted to heed Tsubame's advice and get some rest until she could be with Reina, Kumiko didn't want to be stuck doing nothing during that time. How would she be able to keep up with Reina if she did so?
Lying down on the couch, Kumiko thought the best way to gain back Reina's faith in her was to challenge and defeat the Subton City Gym. As Reina herself strived to be the best Trainer, there wasn't any reason she could reject Kumiko anymore once she gained an additional Gym Badge. With that resolve now filling her up, Kumiko's path back to Reina's side now had a clear first step.
But where to begin? Having absolutely no idea when Tsubame's friends would find Reina, it seemed apparent to Kumiko that beating the Gym as soon as possible was the clearest choice she could make. With the soonest time being now, Kumiko couldn't resist the burning urge inside her to do something any longer. Lifting herself off the sofa, the gears inside Kumiko's brain began turning again.
Going back to the guest room where she slept, Kumiko quickly changed her clothes before grabbing her bag. About to leave the room and head out, Kumiko froze in her tracks when Suzume walked past her in the hallway. Though she briefly took a peek, the sight of Kumiko not being in her pyjamas didn't seem to bother Suzume at all, and she soon returned to doing what she previously did.
With Suzume now out of the way, Kumiko made a run for it. Moving sneakily down the stairs, Kumiko opened the front door right when she got there, taking care to twist the handle as silently as possible. Avoiding any chance of the hinges creaking by slowing her movements down, Kumiko pushed it open and immediately closed it once she stepped outside.
The morning breeze flowing through her hair, Kumiko basked in the sunshine for a hot second before hurriedly moving out of the Kamaya household's vicinity, not wanting Suzume to see her leave. Whipping out her phone once she was a fair distance away, Kumiko then searched up directions to the Gym, and discovered to her delight that it was surprisingly close.
An optimistic spring in her step, Kumiko headed towards her new goal, energized by the prospects it would bring.
"Idina, don't hold back!"
The Gym Leader's third Pokémon being a Palossand, Reina decided to continue taking advantage of the hail Demi summoned by having Idina fight next. This was going to be a close battle despite Idina's Ice-type trumping the Ground-type of the Gym Leader's Palossand, due to their shared Ghost-type being super-effective against each other. Nevertheless, Reina still thought she had the upper hand.
Playing Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre, Reina had Idina let loose a Shadow Ball, which shot towards the Gym Leader's Palossand at full speed. That attack was countered by another Shadow Ball fired by the Gym Leader's Palossand, and the two identical moves collided with each other in midair before disappearing. With this initial clash being a draw, Reina was now more confident in her prospects.
After she signalled for Idina to blend in and use the hailstorm as cover, Reina played Let It Go on her trumpet. Behind the Gym Leader's Palossand, an Ice Beam was shot at it as Idina reappeared out of nowhere, catching her opponent by surprise. Though it tried to dodge the attack by shifting its mass downwards, the Gym Leader's Palossand was simply too large to prevent itself from getting hit.
"Earth Power!" Around Idina, the ground beneath began bursting with power, mounds of earth rising up and creating a perimeter to surround her. As Idina was being boxed in, Reina noticed the Gym Leader's Palossand was beginning to crawl over the rampart of dirt it just summoned, adjusting its mass bit by bit to move forwards. If Idina was trapped in with her opponent, things would not bode well for Reina.
However, if she looked at this problem from another angle, that also meant the Gym Leader's Palossand was going to be trapped together with Idina. Wondering how this could be used to her advantage, Reina was about to hit on a solution when a second glance revealed the hail was beginning to slow down. With one of her advantages slowly being diminished, Reina now had to act fast if she wanted success.
"Sandstorm!" Abruptly stopping in its tracks, the Gym Leader's Palossand began releasing a large amount of sand from its body, more than it could realistically contain. These tiny grains catching the wind, they soon coalesced and became a raging cyclone of sand that swept into the area Idina was being contained in. As the Gym Leader's Palossand continued crawling towards Idina, Reina's options were rapidly dwindling.
With the time she had to make her next move steadily shrinking, Reina was pressed against the wall. Racking her mind again, Reina settled on the best choice she could make. Nearby, Idina weathered the sandstorm as she waited for the next orders from her Trainer, but none came. Worrying if Reina was currently alright, Idina also started to fear for her own safety as the Gym Leader's Palossand began to crawl down.
To Idina's relief, the shrill notes of Vivaldi's Winter pierced through the thick sheets of airborne sand, telling her what to do. A smirk forming on her face, a frosty current began to form around Idina as she prepared a Blizzard. Once the Gym Leader's Palossand was a bit lower, Idina greatly magnified the radius of her personal snowstorm as she blasted it outwards.
Even though the Gym Leader's Palossand made a valiant effort to resist the snow and wind, it was still no match for the sheer force Idina was throwing its way. The flakes of snow matching the flying grains of sand pound for pound before eventually surpassing them, it didn't take long before the Gym Leader's Palossand fell, unable to keep up with Idina.
"Palossand is unable to battle." the referee announced. Now having a solid lead against the Gym Leader, Reina smiled in relief. However, she knew the battle wasn't over just yet. Getting cocky here would most likely come to bite her back later on. With the cover of hail now gone, Reina recalled Idina, knowing she wouldn't be able to survive long enough. And thus her waiting game continued.
Hitting another wrong turn, Kumiko sighed. Finding the Gym was proving to be harder than she expected.
"Eurydice, let's raise hell!"
Seeing that the Gym Leader's penultimate Pokémon was a Mamoswine, Reina knew she had only one choice for who to send out next. As Eurydice was the only Pokémon on Reina's team who had moves that were super-effective against its Ground and Ice-typing, the decision was straightforward enough for Reina. She didn't want to risk dragging the battle out for longer than she needed, especially in a Sandstorm.
After Mega Evolving Eurydice, Reina played Bizet's Habanera, having her launch swirling trails of fire at the Gym Leader's Mamoswine. Barely moving, the heavyset Pokémon simply remained where it was and took the attack head-on, staring unflinchingly at Eurydice as it did so. Strangely, even this super-effective move didn't seem to do too much damage to the Gym Leader's Mamoswine.
Briefly wondering if this was because of Mamoswine's formidable bulk, the real answer soon hit Reina like a truck as she realized she horribly misjudged the circumstances. Normally, a Mamoswine would either have the Ability Oblivious or Snow Cloak, but it seemed the Gym Leader had somehow found one with Thick Fat, which doubled its defense against Fire and Ice-type moves.
Mentally kicking herself for failing to consider that, Reina gnashed her teeth as she set her mind towards salvaging this situation. Now that couldn't use Fire-type moves against the Gym Leader's Mamoswine, the next best option Reina had was to have Eurydice use Moonblast or Psychic, her most powerful moves. As she was about to shift gears, the Gym Leader used Reina's moment of indecision as an opportunity to act.
"Earthquake!" Violently stomping its front legs on the ground in unison, the Gym Leader's Mamoswine sent powerful shockwaves to Eurydice through the ground, causing the floor underneath to crack and fracture. Once Reina told her to dodge at the last moment, Eurydice used her Psychic powers to levitate above the ground, though some of the shockwaves still managed to reach her.
Taking a few moments to stabilize herself again, Eurydice then descended back to the ground, gracefully resting her feet on the broken floor. With Eurydice no longer having to dedicate a portion of her powers to telekinetically moving herself, Reina played Ave Maria on her trumpet. Concentrating before shooting out a powerful Psychic blast, Eurydice's attack finally made the Gym Leader's Mamoswine move this time.
Trying to roll sideways on the ground in an attempt to dodge the incoming Psychic, the massive size of the Gym Leader's Mamoswine unfortunately worked to its detriment. Combined with how slow it was, this made Eurydice's move hit the Gym Leader's Mamoswine before it could even start moving. Roaring in pain, this left it wide open for Eurydice to launch another Psychic.
Much to Reina's surprise, the Gym Leader's Mamoswine somehow remained conscious even after everything she had Eurydice throw at it, though she suspected it was quite close to fainting already. No Pokémon could take that much punishment. Hoping to defeat it using one more Psychic, Reina's hopes were dashed by what the Gym Leader shouted out next. "Giga Impact!"
Charging forward with far more speed than it previously demonstrated, the Gym Leader's Mamoswine became gradually cloaked in a shroud of white light. Knowing that Eurydice's physical defenses were extremely weak, Reina braced for the worst to happen, but she refused to let it become a reality. Waiting for her moment, it wasn't until the last possible second that Reina shouted out the only word she needed. "Now!"
Right before the Gym Leader's Mamoswine was about to slam into her, Eurydice let out the most powerful blast of Psychic thus far, firing it into her opponent at point-blank range. With completely no opportunity to dodge, not even the cloak of Giga Impact was enough to protect the Gym Leader's Mamoswine, and it crumpled to the ground upon being hit.
"Mamoswine is unable to battle." the referee announced. Though she still had one more Pokémon she needed to defeat before victory was in her hands, Reina was now more sure about her chances. Deciding to keep Eurydice on the battlefield for now, Reina was sure that her Mega Evolved form was powerful enough to tear apart anything coming her way.
"Excadrill, fight the power!" Flinching for the second time in this battle upon hearing what the Gym Leader's last Pokémon was, Reina hurriedly recalled Eurydice. As Excadrill was a Steel-type, quite a few of its possible moves would definitely be super-effective against Eurydice's Fairy-type. While she would've liked the extra power, Reina knew it wasn't a good decision to keep Eurydice out here for much longer.
"Handel, play some music!" With all her other Pokémon one critical hit away from fainting, Reina chose to switch in her only team member who hadn't previously battled. Besides, Handel's Water-type was certainly effective against Ground-type Pokémon, and Reina wanted to use that to her advantage as much as possible.
Once Handel was ready to fight, Reina played Handel's (the composer) Water Music. Firing out a Hydro Pump at the Gym Leader's Excadrill, Handel (the Pokémon) sprayed it in a wide arc, but his opponent was faster than that. Quickly burrowing underground, the Gym Leader's Excadrill rendered itself immune to any damage Handel could dish out.
Slowing down the tempo of Water Music while increasing its volume, Reina's implicit commands were understood by Handel, who switched to using Surf. Summoning a wave of water behind him, Handel flooded the battlefield, fully concealing the ground beneath him. Shortly afterwards, the Gym Leader's Excadrill popped out of the hole it burrowed, being flushed out when water flowed through the cracks caused by its teammate's prior Earthquake.
"Drill Run!" Unfazed by this unorthodox tactic, the Gym Leader swiftly issued his next order. Concealing itself into its 'drill mode' again, the Gym Leader's Excadrill began rapidly rotating before launching itself forward at high speeds. In the blink of an eye, it had already burrowed itself into Handel's side, attempting to burrow itself under his scales.
Despite trying to slither away, Handel wasn't fast enough to escape the Gym Leader's Excadrill, always losing the game of chase he found himself in. Unsure of how she could break the stalemate, Reina then remembered what Kumiko gave her shortly after they reunited. Though she was confused at the gift back then, it would certainly prove to be useful now.
Slipping in the Waterium Z from the collection of Z Crystals she received, Reina felt her body move around before thrusting her hand at Handel. As the battlefield became flooded with water yet again, a vortex appeared on the opposite side of where Handel was, sucking in everything in its vicinity.
Barely avoiding being knocked away by stabbing its metal claws into the ground, the Gym Leader's Excadrill took the brunt of the vortex head-on before concealing itself and drilling down underground. Previously, Reina had felt the vibrations of it moving beneath her, but it seemed the Gym Leader's Excadrill had burrowed deeper this time to avoid the waterlogged passageways.
"Go over to the most recent hole!" Reina called out. Slithering to where his opponent had dug down, Handel then heard his Trainer playing Water Music at its normal speed. Immediately understanding what her intention was, Handel sprayed a Hydro Pump directly into the hole, blasting the opening with high-pressure water.
A cracking sound coming from beneath the ground, the Gym Leader's Excadrill was launched out on top of a water spout, wildly flailing its stubby arms in midair. Eventually, the Gym Leader's Excadrill began spinning in its drill form again once it got its bearings, and set itself on a collision course towards Handel. After seeing this trick once, Reina now had an idea how to counter it.
Playing Sparke's Year of the Dragon, Handel's tail glowed a regal purple as he met the Gym Leader's Excadrill head-on with his Dragon Tail. Though this attack wasn't the strongest in Handel's arsenal, the sheer knockback it provided was enough to halt the Gym Leader's Excadrill in its tracks, stopping it before sending it flying away. Slamming into the nearby wall with a crash, the end result was obvious.
"Excadrill is unable to battle. The challenger emerges victorious!" The referee announced. As the Gym Leader recalled his fainted Excadrill, Reina did the same with Handel. Now that the match was over, Reina went over to where the Gym Leader was, expecting to receive her Gym Badge.
"Congratulations on winning! For beating your seventh Gym, you get the Locrian Badge." Handing the metallic ornament to Reina, the Gym Leader then patted her on the shoulder. "By the way, best of luck on your date! From the way you battled back there, I'm sure you'll get your girlfriend back in no time!"
"Uh, thanks…?" Slightly confused by what exactly the Gym Leader meant, Reina still took his well wishes to heart as her mind quickly shifted to the most important matter at hand. With her Gym battle over, Reina was immediately thrust back into worrying about Kumiko. Despite having no way of knowing how her beloved was faring, Reina still hoped Kumiko remained safe wherever she found herself.
Finally reaching the Gym's entrance, Kumiko was surprised she wasn't out of breath once she arrived, even though she was sure it took her at least half an hour of non-stop searching to get here. Pushing open the door, a gust of cool air welcomed Kumiko as she stepped in. For some reason, she felt especially drowsy as that happened, but Kumiko chalked that up to the sudden change in temperature.
Now being able to see the Gym's interior in its entirety, the building's modest size was still enough to distract Kumiko for a short moment before her eyes fixated on an unexpected sight. Standing next to a young man who Kumiko presumed was the Gym Leader was someone with an oh-so-familiar mane of jet-black hair. Reina?
Combined with her outfit, there was no doubt about it. This was Reina Kousaka, the girl of Kumiko's dreams. Confused about what the girl she loved was doing here, Kumiko briefly hesitated about what to do next. Of all the places she could be, here was where Reina ended up? However, with the dread she felt the last time she and Reina had been separated still a fresh memory, Kumiko made up her mind.
Deciding to confront Reina head-on, Kumiko was about to go over when she stopped cold in her tracks. Feeling an encroaching darkness creep up upon her, a wave of nausea washed through Kumiko's head as she lost any sensation in her body. Her vision going black, the rest of her senses quickly followed.
Kumiko promptly collapsed.
A/N: No chapters for the next two weeks. To Be A Solister returns on February 3rd.
Until further notice, new chapters will be posted once every two weeks once TBAS resumes due to personal circumstances.
