Alright, I know I said that this chapter was gonna have something huge and important, but I decided to cut it short so I could get it out sooner. But as you can see from the title of the chapter it's the gym battle between Aura and Korrina. I feel like I did better with this fight scene but it's always nice to hear others' opinions and words of support, they really help motivate me to write and make it that more enjoyable when I see positive feedback. Thank you all for your support so far and I hope to get the next chapter out soon.


Chapter 35: Challenging the Shalour Gym

Three days had gone by since arriving in Shalour City and it was finally time to challenge the gym. Aura and the rest of the group were sitting in the main room of their suite, finishing their breakfast and reviewing what they had done during training to prepare for the upcoming fight. Aura, Tia, Diamond, and Prince all sat on the sofa while Aura conveyed his thoughts.

"Tia and Prince, you two are really good when it comes to speed and quick hits, so let's try to keep that as a main focus; meanwhile, Diamond also has decent agility and some super effective range attacks, so I want you to keep your distance if possible. And going off the database, Korrina's Pokemon shouldn't be heavy on their ranged attacks either."

"You're really getting into this gym challenge more than any of the other ones." Dan commented as he leaned over the trainer's shoulder.

"Well I found out I can research each gym's past victories in the database and learn their most common strategies, so I figured with how strong Korrina seems and her ability to use Mega Evolution, we need to be ready for anything." About to resume their planning, Aura stopped and looked down at his phone buzzing on the coffee table. Curious as to whom was calling him, Aura picked up the device and answered just as the second buzz had started. "Hello?"

"Hello? Mr. Borealis?" A man's muffled voice came through. Aura responded with an inquiring "yes?" in return. "I'm calling to let you know your necklace is finally done and can be picked up today."

Aura noticed Diamond's ears perk up as she picked up on the conversation and smiled happily. "Thank's a lot. Ill be sure to stop by later today after my gym challenge."

The man on the other end laughed, "Good luck then. Korrina is a strong trainer."

"Heh, I know." Aura commented, "Thank you for the call. Bye." After ending the call, Aura set his phone back down just before Diamond bounced against him excited to finally be getting her necklace back. "Okay, Diamond." He said with a laugh, "Calm down a bit. We need to stay focused on our battle, okay?"

Diamond stopped and pulled away, feeling a bit guilty but still beaming with joy and excitement. "Sorry, Aura. I'm listening." She said.

With a quick nod, Aura resumed explaining what they would all be focusing on during the fight and going over a few more details. Soon enough almost an hour had gone by and it was finally time for their match. With hopes held high and anticipation rising, they all left the Pokemon Center toward the Gym.


Not long after leaving the Pokemon Center, Aura had lead the group to the wide open beach just a few minutes north of the Center. Stepping onto the sandy road along the steep slopes dividing the beach from the city roads, the Pokemon had all begun to look around curiously at the small crowd of people on the shore.

After another minute of walking closer to the calm waves, Stan finally asked, "Why are we at the beach?"

Aura, who was happily leading the crew, turned and smirked at the feline. "We're going to the gym." He affirmed, turning back as the morning breeze carried the sounds of the ocean.

The Luxio looked around, not seeing any buildings on the beach like the Gyms they'd challenged before. Stan then sighed and continued to quietly follow his trainer; meanwhile, Diamond and Lilly had been glancing around at the few couples relaxing in the sun, the two finding it a bit romantic to be up that early to be there, although Diamond began to take notice of all the woman in particular, seeing them all wearing similar revealing clothes and started to grow curious.

Diamond's attention was brought back as she heard Aura speak up. "There it is!" He exclaimed. They all stared in awe at the humongous tower rising up from a small peninsula just off the shore, it's base circled by jagged rocks.

"What is it?" Diamond asked, subconsciously moving closer to Aura.

"The Tower of Mastery. While I was researching the Gym Leader, I found out that the gym was inside the tower and I even learned a bit of it's history." He explained. "Now come on, let's go and win our third badge!" Aura cheered, leading the group confidently along the trail to the tower's stairs.

The doors at the entrance were quite large, with multiple carvings of Mega Pokemon covering it's surface. Aura approached the doors and knocked, hearing a low echo from within and stepping back. Save for the echo, they heard nothing from inside the tower. Aura turned to the others confused before he reached up to knock again, but to everyone's shock, the door suddenly began to open, an old man standing on the other side clearing his ear with his finger. "Can I help you?" The man asked.

Aura recomposed himself and bowed, "Uh, yes. I'm here to challenge the Gym for my third badge."

The old man smirked and stepped back, "Well come on in then, I'll take you to my granddaughter." Looking at one another, the crew followed behind the old man with the doors shutting behind them. "My name is Gurkinn, and you've most likely heard of my granddaughter Korrina."

Aura nodded, "Yeah. I made sure to do a bit of research before today and it seems Korrina's really strong."

Gurkinn chuckled, "Well she should be, I am the one who trained her. But I will admit she does have her own strength too." He sighed contently and glanced back, "So, what are your names?" Aura began to introduce himself and his Pokemon, Dan doing the same right after. Gurkinn nodded, "I can sense a strong essence coming from you and your Pokemon. I'm sure this will be an interesting fight."

Aura slowed down as he thought about Gurkinn's words for a moment, but his thoughts were cut short as they had stopped at another pair of double doors and Gurkinn turning to face them. "Here we are. Best of luck to you, Aura." Aura thanked him before Gurkinn pushed open the doors to reveal a large stadium with a battlefield in the center and an open roof overhead. "Korrina! You have a challenger!" Gurkinn called.

"Okay, Gramps!" They heard a girl call back. A smooth whirring sound began to echo through the large room, making everyone look around curiously before nearly stumbling back as a blonde girl in white sports wear leaped over them from the guard rails, landing on another rail that looped around the corner of the room where she jumped off, shooting toward a series of ramps and skating over one after another. Finally, the athletic woman launched into the air from the last ramp, twirling effortlessly, and landing right in front of them all with a loud clack coming from her skates.

"Welcome to the Shalour City Gym. So which one of your guys are challenging me today?" She asked confidently.

Aura stepped forward and pointed at himself with his thumb, "That'd be me." He said, matching Korrina's confidence with his own.

With a large smirk, Korrina's attention suddenly shifted to the Lucario stood next to the trainer. Her eyes almost lit up with excitement as she rolled closer, "Oh cool, you've got a Lucario, too?"

Aura shifted to the side a bit with an awkward grin. "Uhh, yeah. That's Prince, the first Pokemon I ever caught."

"Korrina!" Gurkinn said roughly. "Remember your priorities. I'm sure you two will have plenty of time to talk after the gym battle."

Korrina groaned while Aura just continued to awkwardly smile. "Okay, Grandpa. Well, shall we get started then?" She asked.

Receiving a nod from Aura, Korrina made her way toward one end of the battlefield while Aura and the others headed over to the other side. Prince, Tia, and Diamond all stood beside their trainer while Lilly and Stan sat with Dan and his Pokemon on a bench just behind Aura.

Gurkinn stepped up to the sidelines and began to explain the rules. "The official gym match is about to begin. Each side will be allowed three Pokemon, and the battle will be over once all of either side's Pokemon are unable to continue. There is no time limit and only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. The Gym Leader will send out their Pokemon first!"

Korrina took one of the Pokeballs from her belt and tossed it into the field, "You're up first, Mienfoo!" The Pokeball burst open in a flash of bluish-white light that arched toward the ground, the energy taking the form of a short, red and yellow mustelid Pokemon. Letting out a short "foo!", It immediately took on a flawless stance identical to a skilled martial artist.

Aura recalled that what Mienfoo lacked in physical strength, they made up for in speed and agility, a perfect match for his first choice. He looked down at Tia and gave the Absol a thumbs up, "You're up first, Tia. Do your best out there." A bit hesitant at first, Tia nodded and ran out onto the field. Although she still didn't feel too confident, did her best to keep it from showing as she stared down her opponent.

"Are both trainers ready?" Gurkinn called, receiving a quick "ready" in return from Aura and Korrina, "Then let the battle begin!"

Aura quickly took the first move, "Power up with Swords Dance!"

Tia's muscles tensed up as she began to let out a low growl, a circle of neon-blue swords materialized and spun around her, picking up speed as they slowly closed in while red waves of energy coated her body.

Before Swords Dance could finish, Korrina pointed at the dark-type and called out, "Quick, Mienfoo! Use this chance to hit it with High Jump Kick!" Slightly adjusting it's stance, Mienfoo ducked down to leap high into the air with it's left knee glowing with an orange light. Reaching the peak of it's jump, the mustelid dove straight down at high velocity directly toward Tia.

Unfortunately for her and Aura, even if Tia were to try and dodge the attack, she wouldn't be able to move fast enough until Swords Dance is completely stopped and would most likely be hit anyways. This left only one option. Aura kept all his focus on Tia as she stayed still while Mienfoo quickly fell toward her; then, just as Aura had hoped, the swords had finally crossed and flashed away as Mienfoo was only a few seconds from impact.

It was now or never. Aura didn't miss a beat as he called out, "Quick Attack!" Within seconds, the Absol had sped away as she were mere inches from being hit, causing the Mienfoo to keep going and forcefully crash into the ground, eliciting a loud cry of pain as smoke rose from the impact.

Korrina watched in shock as the Absol had managed to avoid her Mienfoo's attack so easily. She didn't know whether to be impressed or upset about it, but she decided to worry about that later as the smoke quickly cleared away, her Mienfoo slowly standing back up and wincing in pain.

"Stay strong, Mienfoo! Use Force Palm!" Shaking it's head, Mienfoo cleared it's mind and ignored the pain it was feeling as it shifted it's focus to it's aura. With careful and precise movements, Mienfoo suddenly took off towards Tia once again with quick footing, this time with it's paw glowing dimly orange and poised to strike.

"Counter it with Psycho Cut!" Tia's horn began to glow with a light purple hue. Reeling her head back, she swung her horn to the side and let loose a large crescent-shaped blade of condensed pink energy that sliced through the air toward her target.

"Jump over it and!" Korrina shouted. Mienfoo visibly squinted it's eyes and closely observed the blade-like projectile. In one quick motion, the Martial Arts Pokemon tightened it's form and slowed down just enough to pause the moment it's left foot hit the ground. Shifting it's weight very specifically, the small Pokemon launched into the air as it were mere inches from taking a direct hit from the Psycho cut.

Tia watched with bated breath as she watched Mienfoo soar through the air above her. She took a step back with her eyes still glued toward the sky, anticipating the fight-type's next move. Her tail perked up at the sound of Aura's voice and she glanced over as he instructed her to dodge. Glancing back up, Tia panicked as Mienfoo quickly grew closer. Worrying she might fail Aura, she nearly tripped over her feet as she side-stepped the attack, jumping away right after and spitting up some dirt that had got in her mouth from the impact. "You're doing great, Tia!" Aura praised, "Now give it a taste of your Shadow Ball!"

Briefly nodding at her trainer, Tia raised her head with her maw open. A faint growling sound paired with a monotonous whistling noise resonated from the Absol as the dark ball of energy took form, soon firing forward directly towards Mienfoo.

"Break through it with Drain Punch and get in close!" Korrina shouted. Pulling it's fist back as a bright green energy swirled around in, Mienfoo sprinted head on toward the Shadow Ball. Without missing a beat or even flinching, Mienfoo drove it's fist through the black orb and caused it to explode into a plume of smoke. Completely unfazed, Mienfoo continued onward at full sprint until it was only a few feet from Tia. As if it's movements weren't already near impossible to track, Mienfoo suddenly ducked ever so slightly to the right, Tia could see time slow down as Mienfoo swerved to her left and used it's momentum to deliver a powerful uppercut to her side. An audible crack echoed as a couple of Tia's ribs were broken and the Absol went flying across the field, crashing into the wall in a huge cloud of debris.

"Tia!" Aura shouted in concern. To his relief, the Absol slowly limped out from the cloud with her only visible injury being a large gash on her shoulder. Meanwhile, as Tia tried to pushed back the pain and took slow, shallow breaths, Mienfoo's body had become enveloped in a light green veil as it's wounds were slowly healed and it's energy restored.

Aura tightened his fists and swore under his breath. Even though Pokemon are much more resistant and tolerant towards pain and injuries, it can still affect their performance and make them an easier target.

"I'm impressed by your Absol's endurance, Aura. Even if it's a dark-type, it took that Drain Punch like a champ and is still standing." Aura forced a smile, he appreciated her kind words, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference in this fight. Korrina held her hand out toward her Pokemon, "Sorry to do this to you, but it's time to end this! Force Palm!"

Speeding towards Tia once more, Mienfoo leaped into the air like before with it's knee glowing light orange. Aura and the others watched in anticipation as the red and yellow weasel dove to deliver it's final attack. Tia was frozen with her eyes glued to the Mienfoo, Aura's voice ringing through her ears as he called out to her, his voice making her mind go hazy as she recalled the reason he wanted her to fight. "I believe that you can prove it to everyone."

A tear rolled down the Absol's cheek. She couldn't let Aura down. Even if she didn't believe in herself, Aura certainly did. Feeling a wave of emotions flooding her mind, Tia's body became outlined by an ominous red glow as she slowly opened her mouth and took a deep breath. The Disaster Pokemon suddenly unleashed a high-pitched howl, which could only be described as the distorted screams of pure suffering, while dark crimson sound waves resonated through the air causing Mienfoo to suddenly stop in it's tracks and cover it's ears as it let out cries of agonizing pain.

Without waiting for a command, Tia cut off her Perish Song so she could begin charging a Shadow Ball in it's place. With Mienfoo on it's knees still suffering from the effects of Perish Song, Tia let out a loud bark and sent the dark sphere hurdling towards it, nailing it directly in the chest and exploding into smoke. Everyone watched in silence for the smoke to clear, and once it did, they saw the Mienfoo lying fainted on it's back.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle! Absol wins!" Gurkinn called, raising his hand towards Aura.

Aura didn't take his eyes off Tia, watching as the red glow faded away as she heavily panted in exhaustion. It startled him just a bit when she suddenly faced him with her gaze remaining almost vicious, though it quickly softened as she limped toward her trainer.

"D-Did I do okay?" She asked, stopping in front of her trainer.

Aura smiled and rubbed her head, "You did amazing, Tia. But for now, I think you deserve a nice long rest." The Absol weakly nodded as Aura returned her to her Pokeball, Korrina doing the same to her Mienfoo.

"That was quite the comeback, Aura. I'm having a blast battling you!" Korrina cheered. "But don't think this means you win just yet, we've still got a ways to go."


Hey, I know this seems like an odd place to suddenly cut off, but I just wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Next chapter should be the conclusion of the fight and when the "super important event" is gonna occur.

Anywho, I feel like I did a bit better with this fight scene than my other ones, but I would kinda like to hear your guys' oppinions too; so please, if you'd like to say anything don't be afraid to leave a review, I make sure to read them all and respond if possible. Of course, I can't send a "thank you" to everyone who leaves one, but know that I do appreciate it.

I am still reletively new to being a writer, but I feel that I have made a lot of progress in improving my skills. Again, not everyone starts out as a proffesional, so if you find a story that may not have the best quality within the first few chapters, please be patient and give those writers the support they need to improve their skills and continue doing what they enjoy.

Until next time. ~Aura