Rosa: Ivy (Servine), Silk (Sewaddle)
Rosa was practically hopping in her seat inside the Virbank Pokemon Center lobby when a yawning Eleanor finally shuffled into the room. While her mentor had woken up at her usual late hour, Rosa had been awake for even longer than what was normal for her. After all of the fun that she'd had at Pokestar Studios the previous day, she'd crashed into her bed as soon as they'd gotten their rooms. Between going to bed early and the excitement of her upcoming second gym battle, Rosa hadn't been able to go back to sleep when she'd woken up several hours prior.
"Good morning! Are you ready to go to the gym?" Rosa cheerfully asked before Eleanor could return the greeting.
Eleanor paused to give Rosa a long look, then muttered, "Morning." She walked right past Rosa to head to the pot of coffee in the lobby's corner. Eleanor slowly filled up a large to-go cup with coffee before turning back to Rosa. "Alright, now I'm ready," she replied, the grogginess clear in her voice.
"I've already looked at the town map to see where the gym is so we can head there right away!" Rosa said with a smile. When Eleanor responded with a weak nod, Rosa purposefully strode out of the Pokemon Center, pausing only for a second to take a deep breath of the refreshing sea air. She then led the way through the city, enjoying both the fresh air and the fact that for the first time in almost a year she was seeing a city that didn't bear battle-scars on its buildings. She wasn't entirely sure why Virbank was in such good condition, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about it.
As they walked through the city, Rosa smiled whenever she passed someone on the street and they always returned her friendly greetings. Everyone back home in Aspertia knew her so it was usual to say hello to people on the street, which had led to a small amount of disappointment when they'd passed through Floccesy. The town's population hadn't been quite so welcoming in the short time that they had stayed there, which made talking to people on the street a pleasant return to normalcy for her.
One aspect of the city that wasn't familiar was the large port, but that was a positive experience as well. Looking out to the sea, Rosa could see the bustle of dockworkers as they loaded and unloaded ships along with several smaller boats that she recognized as the ferries to Castelia City. She and Eleanor had decided that they would take the ferry to the large city that same day if Rosa beat Roxie, so they had taken all of their things with them instead of leaving anything at the Pokemon Center.
The city's undamaged and serene state meant that Rosa was all the more surprised when she reached their destination. There was a sign with the Unovan gym symbol in the expected spot, but instead of a full gym building, there was only a small cement building with a single dingy front door. Eleanor stepped up next to Rosa when the younger trainer halted in her tracks, sounding much more awake when she asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Rosa took a second to eye the purple graffiti on the side of the small building before shrugging. "Only one way to find out!" She stepped forward and opened the door, finding nothing except for a staircase going down, which explained the building's small size. Without any hesitation, Rosa started walking down the stairs, barely noticing the thump as the door closed behind her and Eleanor.
The large room at the bottom of the stairs looked as messy as the building's outside appearance, with furniture haphazardly scattered around the room and walls splattered with bright green and purple paint. The room's only occupant was a large Venusaur that was laying on top of an elevated platform on the far end of the room. The Pokemon stared at Rosa and Eleanor with half-lidded eyes but otherwise didn't react to their presence.
While she was still a bit unsure if they were in the right spot, Rosa cheerfully addressed the Venusaur. "Hi there! Is this the gym?" Instead of verbally responding, Venusaur slowly extended a long vine and used it to rap on a door that Rosa hadn't noticed on the side of the room. Rosa glanced back at Eleanor and saw that her mentor had started leaning against the wall opposite Venusaur. She answered Rosa's curious gaze with a shrug and then took a silent sip of her coffee.
About thirty seconds after Venusaur had rapped on the door, it opened to reveal a young woman with white hair that looked about Eleanor's age. Rosa was glad to see that they were in the correct spot when she recognized Roxie, but the gym leader didn't seem to notice her, instead giving the large Pokemon an expectant look. When Venusaur moved one of its vines to point at Rosa, Roxie turned to look at Rosa and an excited and almost predatory grin appeared on her face. "You're Rosa, right? I've been waiting for your challenge!"
"Yep!" Rosa answered, not intimidated in the least. "How'd you know we were coming?"
"I heard about that mess you ran into back in Floccesy, but mostly because your serious friend challenged me a couple days ago. I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up at all."
"Oh. Well, we would have come yesterday, but we ended up getting asked to help out at Pokestar Studios," Rosa explained, encouraged to hear that they were only a day or two behind Hugh and Michael. Given Hugh's mood when she'd last seen him, Rosa wouldn't have been surprised if the pair had run the entire way to Virbank.
Roxie gave an understanding nod. "I definitely get the draw of the stage. A lot of people have had to give up their acting dreams with all the crap going on so I'm glad you two were able to get the chance to do it." There was a brief pause before Roxie's excitement returned. "Enough of that mopey stuff though. Let's get this show on the road!"
That was apparently a signal since Venusaur extended two long vines and used them to push away the clutter on the floor, revealing a battlefield underneath. Roxie moved into position on the side of the battlefield nearest to her while Rosa hurried to stand on the opposite side. Roxie didn't waste any time tossing a Pokeball onto the ground in front of her, calling, "Get ready! I'm gonna knock some sense outta ya!" When the light from the Pokeball faded, it revealed that the gym leader's first Pokemon was a Koffing.
Rosa had already known that her challenge against the poison type gym leader would be an uphill battle, but going against a floating Pokemon meant that things would be a bit tougher than she'd expected. Although Ivy was slightly better in fighting at range, Rosa wanted to keep her starter in reserve and decided to send out Silk first. The moment that his Pokeball opened, Rosa called, "Razor Leaf!" Silk sharply lowered his head toward the ground and the jerking motion caused several glowing leaves to fly out of his hood and toward Koffing. The circular Pokemon slowly floated away from the attack, and while a few of the leaves still hit, they didn't seem to hurt Koffing much.
"You don't waste any time! Koffing, let's set the stage with some smoke!" White smoke began billowing out of Koffing's holes, even as Silk continued to hit it with Razor Leaf attacks.
Rosa wasn't sure why Roxie would want to use a move that would obscure both of their visions, but she did know it probably wouldn't be a good idea to let it happen. "Block it with String Shot!" Silk shifted from firing Razor Leaves to shooting out sticky nets that draped over Koffing. The coverings slowed the output of the smoke but weren't nearly enough to fully stop it.
"Add some Smog to the mix!" Roxie called, and the white smoke emitting from Koffing's body slowly started to turn purple.
Being even more sure that she needed to stop the airborne moves, Rosa called, "Focus on blocking its holes instead of covering it!" The change in approach appeared to work as while Smog was still slowly continuing to fill the arena, all of Koffing's holes except for the ones on the top of its head had soon stopped spewing gas. Glad that they'd at least slowed Roxie's plan, Rosa called for Silk to start up with Razor Leaf again, but the gym leader gave her own command at the same time.
"Clear Smog!" Koffing suddenly stopped expelling any gas and a whistling noise filled the room as it took in extra air through its top holes. After Koffing had spent a couple of seconds sucking in air, it abruptly expelled all of it, blasting away all of the strands blocking its holes. The force of the blast also pushed all of the smoke and Smog away from the battling Pokemon, and Rosa had to spend a few seconds coughing when it washed over her.
When Rosa could see the two Pokemon once again, she didn't think that either of the Pokemon seemed particularly hurt, though Silk was breathing a little heavily after being exposed to the Smog. Given that her defensive play had been completely negated, Rosa knew that she had no choice but to change tactics. Taking inspiration from what Eleanor had had Silk do at Pokestar Studios, Rosa called, "Get up close with another String Shot!"
Even though Koffing had gone back to expelling more purple Smog, Silk was able to easily hit it with a String Shot, but this time he held onto the strand instead of releasing it. Silk began using his attack to reel himself in and within a second he was sitting on top of Koffing. Without waiting for a command, Silk bit down on Koffing's head, making Rosa wince slightly since she was fairly sure that Koffing wouldn't taste very good.
Koffing attempted to shake Silk off, but the floating Pokemon still didn't seem capable of moving very quickly or violently, so Silk was able to stay perched atop his opponent. While Koffing was still trying to dislodge him, Silk used Bug Bite several more times, but that mode of attack came to a crashing halt with Roxie telling her Pokemon to use Smog again.
"Jump off!" Rosa ordered a half-second after Roxie's command. Before Silk could dislodge himself, a plume of purple smoke burst out of one of Koffing's holes, blasting Silk right in the face. The attack finally made Silk fall off Koffing, and while he didn't seem injured by the fall, he still seemed a bit woozy and coughed as he regained his footing. Rosa wasn't sure how much longer Silk would be able to handle the battle since he'd likely been poisoned by the direct exposure to Smog, so she told him to go back to Razor Leaf to try to at least get some more damage in.
Koffing didn't seem bothered by the sharp leaves that sliced at its body and continued billowing out Smog, completely ignoring Silk. Rosa realized that she'd been lucky that Roxie had decided to use Clear Smog before and that the gym leader would have a large advantage if the entire battlefield became covered in the acrid smoke. Making a snap decision, Rosa recalled Silk to send out Ivy, calling, "Knock it out of the air with Vine Whip!"
Ivy's vines moved much quicker as a Servine than they had as a Snivy, and they snapped forward to grab Koffing before it could even think about floating out of the way. While it couldn't dodge, Koffing was still able to retaliate by releasing another puff of Smog, covering Ivy's vines in the purple gas. Ivy winced from the contact but managed to maintain her grip and use her vines to slam Koffing into the gym's floor. Koffing's malleable body pushed in from the force of the hit, causing even more Smog to be expelled directly onto Ivy's vines. Still maintaining her hold, Ivy smacked Koffing into the ground several more times before she finally managed to finally knock out Roxie's first Pokemon.
As Koffing was returned, Ivy retracted her vines and gingerly held them out in front of her. "Are you okay?" Rosa asked concernedly when she spotted the red chemical burns on the ends of Ivy's vines where she'd held Koffing. The Servine was quick to nod, but that did little to assuage Rosa's concerns.
"You may be up to a good start, but it's not over yet! Time for us to turn this show around!" Roxie called as she sent out her second Pokemon, a Whirlipede. "Let's get rolling!" The gym leader practically whooped as her Pokemon slowly started to roll toward Ivy, gradually picking up speed.
Rosa's first instinct was to have Ivy use her vines to push away or stop Whirlipede, but given their damage, she wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Instead, she called for Ivy to use Leaf Tornado, hoping that the move would hide her as it had at Pokestar Studios. A thick mass of leaves flew out of Ivy's collar toward Roxie's side of the field, blocking the other Pokemon from view. Ivy took a few steps to the side as she continued her attack, but Whirlipede abruptly emerged from the vortex of leaves, hitting Ivy dead on. Knocked back from the attack, Ivy used her vines to keep her balance, wincing as she did so.
She'd barely had a chance to regain her footing when Whirlipede once again completely ignored the mass of leaves and swung around for a second pass. Rosa had no idea what it could be, but she realized that Whirlipede must be relying on something other than its vision to navigate. With its eyes on the side of its body, they were completely useless when it came to being able to see what was in front of it as it used Rollout. Seeing no other option, Rosa defaulted to her original idea and called, "Use Vine Whip to stop it!"
Ivy dutifully braced herself with her vines held out between her as Whirlipede rolled closer. When the two Pokemon made contact, Ivy slid back almost a foot before she was finally able to stop Whirlipede's advance. However, even as Roxie's Pokemon stopped moving forward, it continued to spin in place, putting even more strain on Ivy's already injured vines. With it finally in one place, Rosa told Ivy to use Leer, hoping that it would at least make it easier to damage Whirlipede once she thought of a good way to attack it.
Rosa didn't end up having much of an opportunity since only a couple of seconds later, Roxie called, "Back it up and then come in for the finale!" Whirlipede angled its body to the right at the command, freeing it from Ivy's hold and making it spin right past her. Whirlipede had only moved a few feet past Ivy when it adjusted its direction again, coming back at Ivy faster than ever.
Knowing that Ivy wouldn't have a chance of stopping Whirlipede again or even dodging the other Pokemon, Rosa desperately tried to think of a new strategy but was coming up empty. Panicked by the quickly approaching Pokemon, Rosa blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Make a ramp!"
Ivy seemingly had more faith in Rosa's plan than she did, immediately moving both of her vines in front of her again. This time instead of holding them out against Whirlipede, Ivy angled the tips down so that they were touching the ground and the rest of the length was sharply angled up above her head. Across the field from Rosa, Roxie opened her mouth, but Whirlipede reached Ivy before she could say anything. Ivy winced as the tips of her vines were crushed under Whilripede's weight, though her pain was short-lived as Rosa's idea miraculously worked. Whirlipede flew right up the length of Ivy's vines and its momentum made it keep gaining height until it bounced off of the ceiling and fell to the ground, stunned.
Rosa breathed a sigh of relief that they'd gotten out of that corner, but she knew that Ivy wouldn't have any better luck against the other Pokemon even if the battle continued. Hoping that might change if Silk were to gunk up Whirlipede, Rosa decided to switch Pokemon again.
Roxie had been trying to urge Whirlipede to return to the fight, but the gym leader's mildly worried expression changed to a grin as Rosa held Ivy's Pokeball out. "Pursuit!" Roxie called and Whirlipede somehow crossed the length of the field in a blink of an eye, striking Ivy even as she was returned. Rosa stared at the Pokeball in her hand for a second, not sure what had happened. She decided to shrug it off and focus on the battle, figuring that she could always ask Eleanor about the move afterward.
"Cover it with String Shot!" Rosa called as she sent out Silk. Whirlipede started slowly rolling toward its new target, but only made it a few feet before being forced to stop by the large net of webbing that Silk tossed over it. Disliking the order even as she said it, Rosa told Silk to use Tackle on the captive Whirlipede. She was sure that Razor Leaf would only free it and Bug Bite would be even less effective than it had been against Koffing, leaving Tackle as his only offensive option. Silk fired another strand of thread at Whirlipede, but he used this one to pull himself closer instead of further disabling his opponent.
Whirlipede had been struggling against the net, but abruptly stopped when Roxie called, "Poison Sting!" All of the barbs around Whirlipede's body began to glow purple and then a shower of needles flew out of them toward Silk. Silk was forced to let go of his thread so that he could hop out of the way of the attack. The maneuver thankfully worked, though it also meant that he was stuck crawling on the ground, where he was much slower.
For almost a minute, Silk alternated between crawling around the battlefield and using String Shot to move around as he tried to dodge Whirlipede's continuous onslaught of Poison Stings. While he was able to avoid most of the hits, a barb or two from each volley hit their target. While they didn't do much damage individually, between his weakness to the attack and the growing number of hits, Silk began to slow down. Rosa hadn't been able to come up with a better solution so she was forced to watch helplessly as one of Silk's String Shots missed its target, leaving him exposed in the middle of the arena. Whirlipede immediately capitalized on the miss and showered Silk with a flurry of Poison Stings, making the smaller Pokemon slump to the ground, knocked out.
Rosa softly apologized to Silk's Pokeball as she returned him for the second time. Despite all of the setbacks in the battle, she thought that she still had a chance as she reached for Ivy's Pokeball. Whirlipede still hadn't managed to free itself so it was possible that Ivy would be able to beat the trapped Pokemon before being hit by too many Poison Stings herself. Knowing that she would have to act fast, she yelled as she threw the Pokeball. "Pummel it with Vine Wh-"
Rosa cut herself off mid-command, instantly recognizing something was wrong with Ivy as she appeared on the field, already swaying on her feet. Ivy shakily reached her vines out toward Whirlipede, but they only made it halfway to the other Pokemon before they went limp and Ivy collapsed to the ground.
"Pursuit does more damage if the target is running away," Eleanor softly said from the gym entrance. "Ivy was out of the fight as soon as you recalled her." Despite her blunt words, Eleanor's tone was not unkind.
"Oh," was all that Rosa could think to say as she stared at her knocked-out starter. She slowly raised the Pokeball that she'd barely caught after its rebound and returned the Pokemon, once again quietly saying sorry.
On the other side of the field, Roxie recalled her Whirlipede and gave Rosa a grin. "That was a rocking battle! I've got a feeling that you'll be back in no time and earn the Toxic Badge no problem."
"But that was a disaster," Rosa weakly protested. "I couldn't think of anything for most of the fight."
Roxie gave her an indifferent shrug. "That's just the growing pains of being a specialist. Clay's gym was a massive pain when I was doing my own challenge, but I eventually beat him." She turned slightly toward Eleanor. "You're a specialist too, right? What about you? Any tough spots you got into when you were gearing up?"
"Um, not really," Eleanor said, giving Rosa an apologetic smile. "Sinnoh doesn't have any bug gyms and between my Murkrow and Skorupi, the fighting gym wasn't that much harder than usual."
"Heck yeah! Drapion is a rockin' Pokemon!" Roxie enthused, but caught herself and looked back at Rosa. "But seriously, don't worry about it. Specialists can have a harder time starting out, but your team will really shine when you start putting it together."
Rosa took a deep breath and then nodded. "Thank you. I promise I'll be back soon and win!"
"That's the spirit! We'll really have a sh-"
Whatever else Roxie was about to say was drowned out by a distant, but extremely loud, booming noise.
And then all of the lights in the gym went out.
A/N: I finally got around to crossposting my stories to AO3, so you can find them there if that's your preferred site.
Thanks to Star (quarknova on this site) for betaing. Next up is Chapter 10: The Lightning Strike