Part III: Gym Battles
Chapter Twenty Five
"Horsea bubble attack now!" ordered Clair
"Squirtle, tackle attack it!" ordered Rosa.
While heading over to Goldenrod, Clair had stopped to challenge a Pokémon trainer. Trent and Falkner had gone to the side to watch the water Pokémon versus water Pokémon match. So far, Rosa was winning.
Squirtle lunged at Horsea and withdrew into its shell. Horsea attempted to stop it with its bubble attack but Squirtle's hard shell blocked the attack and it tackled Clair's Pokémon forcing it upward into the sky.
"Now's your chance, float in the air!" ordered Clair. "And . . . um . . ."
"Squirtle, water gun attack!" ordered Rosa.
Clair sighed and took a deep breath. "Counter the attack with your water gun attack, now!"
The two water gun attacks hit the other at full force. But the blow from Squirtle forced Horsea to go swaying out of the control. Then, the small dragon Pokémon lost aim of her target, and Squirtle's water gun came gushing at it.
"Horsea!" shouted Clair.
"Squirtle, tackle attack now!" shouted Rosa.
Horsea didn't have time to recover as the shell of Squirtle bashed into her once again and forced the Pokémon to the ground.
"Finish it off Squirtle, another tackle attack!" ordered Rosa.
"Horsea," murmured Clair. "Oh, I know. Horsea, smokescreen attack and dodge!"
"Horse . . . sea!" The dragon Pokémon produced its smoky attack blinding the incoming Squirtle. This blinded the turtle Pokémon and gave Horsea to chance to hop away.
"Squirtle, don't stop now!" cried Rosa. "Skull bash attack now!"
"Stop it Horsea!" shouted Clair. She thought for a moment but couldn't come up with anything. "Try your best attack!"
Squirtle looked around in the cloudy dust that Horsea had managed to kick up and finally found the small dragon Pokémon. But Horsea wasn't going to give up easily. It turned towards Squirtle and closed its eyes. A strange wind around Horsea began to pick up and turned into a giant twister of energy. This picked Horsea's smokescreen along with Squirtle and sent it flying upward.
"Huh!" The attack left both Rosa and Clair dumfounded, not entirely sure what the attack was.
"Congratulations Clair," said Falkner rising up from the ground. "Horsea's learned its twister attack."
"That would be Horsea's first dragon type attack," said Rosa, turning towards her opponent. "Nice job pulling in there at the last second. Squirtle, return!" She recalled her Pokémon and then held out her hand. "Nice Horsea you got there . . . what's your name again?"
"Clair," she replied.
"Clair, right." Rosa smirked as Clair shook her hand. "You and your Horsea are a good pair." She pointed south towards a big building. "That's the Goldenrod radio tower, so Goldenrod City isn't too far away." She turned away and started walking north. "I'm heading up to Ecruteak. Maybe I'll see you up north sometime."
Clair smiled. "Okay."
As Rosa walked away the two boys walked over to Clair. Trent sighed and pointed to the big tower off in the distance. "It's so close yet so far. Why not . . . get closer, huh?"
Clair rolled her eyes. She bent down and picked up Horsea and turned to Trent and shrugged. "Sure, why not."
Chapter Twenty Six
The trio of trainers, with Horsea in Clair's arms, slowly strolled into the giant city of Goldenrod. It was a city full of huge buildings for shopping, eating, Pokémon Centers, and even more stuff for the Pokémon. People crowded the streets of Goldenrod with Pokémon familiar and unfamiliar to Clair.
And Clair was sure that one of these large buildings would hold her next destination: The Goldenrod Gym.
"I'm ready to face my next opponent," replied Clair.
Trent and Falkner glanced at each other and nodded. "Actually, I have something else to do."
Clair slowly turned to the two boys in an annoyed look. "You're not going to be there to help me out?"
Trent shrugged. "I would, but I want to explore the town more. I'm looking for a certain underground shop here."
"I have to head a bit south of Goldenrod," said Falkner. "I'm heading to this day care center to put Pidgeotto in." He glanced at the now depressed Clair who was looking sadly at the ground. "But, once you when, why don't we meet up again at the Pokémon Center, okay?"
Clair sighed and shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"Okay!" The two guys darted off in their separate directions heading to their next destination.
Clair chuckled. "Those two are impossible."
* * * *
Falkner had managed to wander down through the rough and tough, though mostly crowded streets of Goldenrod and reached a large open meadow outside of the city.
"All right," said Falkner, "now all I have to do is find the daycare center." The bird trainer selected a Poké Ball and threw it to the ground. "Pidgeot, come on out!"
"Pidge ot to!" Pidgeot emerged from its Poké Ball and landed on the ground, waiting for Falkner to climb aboard.
"Thanks Pidgeot." Falkner climbed on and the Pidgeot took flight into the air. As Falkner glanced around, he saw the beautiful city of Goldenrod. He saw every bit of the city from the Pokémon Center to the radio tower and so on. He could have even sworn he had seen a Clair for a split second. Then, Falkner turned away from the city and there was a small house that looked somewhat like a farm. "That way Pidgeot!"
Pidgeot nodded his head and dived down towards the daycare center. Falkner's Pidgeot landed outside of the small house and Falkner climbed off. "Pidgeot, return!"
"To!" Pidgeot nodded as it was returned to its ball.
Falkner sighed and selected the Poké Ball that contained his Pidgeotto, which between Pidgey and Pidgeot seemed more or less ignored. It was the middle of Falkner's group. Falkner had been trying to raise Pidgey's statistics and levels while trying to keep on powering up Pidgeot, but seemed to ignore Pidgeotto all the while. And now, Falkner had to deal with his new Doduo and Butterfree. "Sorry Pidgeotto. I have to do this." He sighed again and knocked on the door of the center.
Then, a young woman opened the door slowly and smiled. "Ah, hello, and who might you be? A Pokémon trainer?"
"Gym leader actually," corrected Falkner.
A young man popped his head out of the door. "You taking over Whitney's position? Or are you and Whitney dating or something and are 'co-gym leaders' like her last boyfriend. Whitney has a lot-"
"Shhhhh!" The young woman quieted down the man and rushed him into the house. "You're Falkner of Violet City, right? The bird-type trainer?"
Falkner nodded. "Yeah. I'm here to drop off my Pidgeotto."
"Well come in." The woman opened the door and Falkner took another sigh as he walked through the door.
Chapter Twenty Seven
It had taken awhile, but Trent had eventually found the entrance to the underground shops in Goldenrod. Several of these shops had items that personally interested Trent for a strictly business reason.
As he walked down the stairs to the underground levels of Goldenrod, Hawks suddenly heard a loud explosion up ahead.
But, unusually for Trent's character, the black hair boy shrugged it off and continued walking forward. "It's not my problem."
As the young Pokémon trainer from Celadon continued walking forward, he noticed two utterly familiar faces. "Oh, well what are the odds, it's you two."
Suddenly, a male and female Pokémon trainer wearing black T-shirts with a large red R printed in the middle of it. It was the same two from the attack on Violet City attack, Ryan and Stacy.
"Esss," hissed Ryan's Espeon as Trent approached.
Trellix started shimmering and gave a blood-cursing screech as Trent walked towards them, but it wasn't stopping Trent.
"Oh, let me guess." Trent shook his head sadly. "Rockets."
"Oh, so it is you." Stacy chuckled as she walked over to the kid. "Out of our way, boy."
"Oh, I don't think so." Trent selected three Poké Balls and hurled them forward. "Marril, Beedrill, Houndour!"
From the three Poké Balls emerged the mouse, the bee, and the dog. They all growled at the two Team Rocket members.
"Beedrill, combine your fury attack and your twin missile attack," ordered Trent. "Houndour, ember shot! And uh . . ." Trent snorted. "Marril, put out the fire."
Trent's two stronger Pokémon stepped forward and prepared to attack Team Rocket's Pokémon, while Trent's starting water Pokémon sadly walked over to the side and put out the burning building.
"Bee drill," buzzed Beedrill. The bee Pokémon dived at Espeon and furious used its twin missile attack, oddly enough badly beating up the strong psychic Pokémon
Then, the fiery dog Pokémon jumped at Trellix and shot a blast of fire and ignited the ghost Pokémon on the fire. This had managed to KO the powerful ghost Pokémon.
Trent glanced at Marril in annoyance. "Try a hydro pump, can you do that?"
Marril inhaled, attempting to use its powerful attack . . . but it ended up deflating and flying away like a balloon.
Trent sighed and pulled out another Poké Ball. "Donphan, attack!" The boy hurled another Poké Ball onto the ground and out of the ball appeared the elephant-like Pokémon. "Rollout attack, now!"
Donphan curled up into a ball and started rolling and went straight towards the two Team Rocket members and their two Pokémon, sending them flying backwards towards the back of the underground shops.
"Good job everyone." But Trent snorted with disgusts as he recalled them all, not only his Marril.
"Th-thank you," said the owner of the shop that was being burnt down, slowly. "You saved my life and my store which is my life!" The woman walked over to him and bowed. "Thank you, if there is anything I can do for you, free items, money, anything, just name it."
Trent shook his head. "No, nothing at all." The boy turned away, but instead of heading up, he headed towards the back of the lower level where the two Team Rocket members had knocked over. There, Trent bent down and examined the two Team Rocket members. "You two okay?"
"Just fine," replied Stacy as she stood up unharmed. "You know kid, it seems your Pokémon aren't even that strong. Still having to fake defeating us, huh?"
Ryan shook his head. "And think, this is our future generation. And what a pathetic generation it will be."
Trent glared. "I'll remember that when I'm older."
Stacy shook her head. "Can't even get your Marril to evolve. What a sad excuse for a trainer." She turned around as she recalled her Trellix. "You better off on a better start than this."
"Oh, I'm doing fine," replied Trent. "I'm traveling with a gym leader and a dragon trainer. Trust me, I'll be stronger than you'll ever imagine." Trent turned around and walked back towards the front entrance. "I'll see you both soon, up north."
Ryan snorted as he recalled Espeon. "And the odd part is, I believe he can do it. The future of all of us Rockets."
Chapter Twenty Eight
Clair sighed as she stood in the archway of Goldenrod City's Pokémon Gym. "Well, here I am. Its gym number two." She lifted up her Horsea. "You think we can beat this gym leader Horsea?"
"Sea!" replied Horsea happily.
"Well, it could be a bit more tough," murmured Clair. "You think you, Charmander, Heracross, and Wobbuffet are strong enough to stand up against a gym leader like this."
"Horsea sea-sea!" replied Horsea.
Clair smiled. "Yeah, lets just head in." Clair took a deep breath, but then she suddenly felt like someone was watching her. She glanced around in confusion, but she couldn't see anyone she recognized. She even glanced up, but only saw a small shadow off in the distance. She sighed again and walked forward pushing the doors open.
As she glanced around, Clair could almost see both Trent and Falkner staring in awe. She glanced around the grassy gym and there were various normal-type Pokémon all surrounded by girls. Some of them were younger then Clair, some were older, and some even seemed to be around Clair's age.
"And who are you?" Clair's attention turned away from the other girls and towards a long hair redhead. "Let me guess, my next challenge?"
Clair nodded. "I'm Clair of Blackthorn Town, and I challenge the gym leader of this gym."
"That would be me." The girl smirked as she walked towards Clair and slowly looked down at the trainer's Horsea. She chuckled. "I hope you're not challenging Whitney's Pokémon with that pathetic pet you have there."
Clair rolled her eyes and glared. "Well, I'd like to see this Whitney . . . or the Pokémon you have."
The girl smirked. "Two for one. I'm Whitney, this city's officially gym leader, and little Miss Blackthorn, I accept your challenge."
"Oh." Clair took another deep breath and replied, "Whitney, um, where is your main arena . . . and sorry about the whole, kinda, jerky attitude."
"It's all right." Whitney turned around and started walking away. "The main arena is over here."
* * * *
Clair and Whitney stood opposite one another, staring the other down.
"This match will be a one on one battle for the Plain Badge," said Whitney. "Whoever wins this first match will be declared the victor, understand?"
Clair nodded. "And I all ready have my Pokémon." Clair selected a Poké Ball and enlarged it. "My Pokémon will be you, Wobbuffet!" The trainer from Blackthorn tossed the red and white ball into the center of the arena and revealed the countering psychic Pokémon.
The gym leader shook her head sadly. "It was your choice to bring out your Pokémon first. Now, I have the advantage! Miltank, I choose you!" Whitney hurled a Poké Ball into the center of the arena and out of it emerged a cow Pokémon.
Chapter Twenty Nine
"You underestimate my Wobbuffet," replied Clair. "Wobbuffet, start of with your safeguard attack."
Whitney smirked. "Your first mistake. It appears that you're too caution Clair. Miltank, tackle attack."
While Clair's countering Pokémon put up a celestial defense, Whitney's cow charged straight at Wobbuffet and rammed right into its stomach.
"Wobbuffet!" cried Clair. She smirked. "Wobbuffet, counter attack it!"
"Miltank," said Whitney, "use your rollout attack at full speed!"
"Wob buff!" Wobbuffet prepared itself as Miltank curled up into a ball and started rolling down towards the psychic Pokémon. But Miltank had managed to pick up a lot of speed as it headed towards Wobbuffet. The psychic Pokémon tried jumped into the air and using a punch attack while Miltank's guard was down, but Miltank had managed to anticipate the attack and its attack hit Wobbuffet dead center.
"Wobbuffet!" cried Clair, as her Pokémon fell to the ground.
"Stomp attack, now!" ordered Whitney.
"Counter!" shouted Clair.
This time, Wobbuffet managed to use its attack. The psychic Pokémon grabbed the cow Pokémon's hoof and pushed it up into the air. The airborne Miltank hurled down to the ground in front of Whitney. It landed on all fours but the impact severely harmed Miltank.
"Not so fast," said Clair. "Just in chase this is fatal, Wobbuffet, destiny bond!"
Whitney shrugged as Wobbuffet's destiny bond ray hit Miltank. "Clair, I'm warning you ahead of time! Since this is a one on one battle, attacks like explosion and destiny bond will count in favor of me since your Pokémon faint first."
Clair frowned. "Wobbuffet, stop!"
Whitney shook her head sadly. "This is so dull. I've had more interesting battles in my sleep." She checked her watch and her eyes widened. "Crap! I have a date in an hour." She glanced at Miltank and then at Wobbuffet. "The safeguard's warn off! Slow it down with scary face!"
"Wobbuffet, put up your safeguard again!" shouted Clair.
But before Wobbuffet could move, Miltank jumped in front of Clair's Pokémon, performing its scary face attack, slowly down Wobbuffet. Now, it so slowly put up the safeguard attack.
"Before it can finish!" ordered Whitney. "Miltank, body slam!"
Miltank nodded and lunged at Wobbuffet, performing a fully on body slam attack, knocking Wobbuffet to the ground and paralyzing it.
"Now Miltank, finish it off!" ordered Whitney. "Attract attack!"
"Mil . . ." Miltank was suddenly surrounded by a pink aurora. She opened her mouth and started mooing releasing the aurora and it hovered over to Wobbuffet. Suddenly, Wobbuffet's face was covered with a goofy looking smirk and it leaned back against the wall.
"Ha!" laughed Whitney. "Miltank's attract attack prevents Wobbuffet from attack, since it's 'in love' with Miltank. This battle's over."
Clair cringed and frowned. "Yeah . . . you're right."
"Sea, horse sea-sea," murmured Horsea sadly.
Clair frowned sadly and held out Wobbuffet's Poké Ball and replied, "Wobbuffet, return."
Chapter Thirty
"Can you please heal my Wobbuffet?"
"Sure! That's what I'm here for." The Pokémon Center's nurse handed the Poké Ball containing Wobbuffet to her Chansey and it waddled into the back of the center. "Your Wobbuffet will be healed in a matter of time."
Clair nodded and turned away from the counter. She had headed straight to the Pokémon Center after the battle, still fearing that something could be wrong with Wobbuffet.
"So, how did it go?" Clair glanced at the entrance and there stood Trent and Falkner.
"Oh, hi guys," said Clair softly.
Falkner glanced at Trent and he shrugged. Trent whispered to Falkner, "Clair might have lost her match so she's feeling down."
"How were your earnings," murmured Clair sadly.
"Clair, if you lost your match then just tell us," said Falkner. "I'm a gym leader and Trent . . . well, I have a feeling Trent's a very tricky person. We should be able to help you."
"Okay." Clair walked over to a seat in the center and sat down with Horsea in her arms. Trent and Falkner followed her over as she started to tell how the battle went.
* * * *
"And then Miltank used attract attack," concluded Clair.
Trent and Falkner both nodded. "I see."
"So, any suggestions?" asked Clair.
"Yeah, just acouple," said Falkner. "First off, with the Pokémon you have, your best bet in an one on one battle is Heracross."
"But Heracross doesn't like me," said Clair. "It'll only fight when Charmander's out of its ball too."
"Which is why I suggest making it more than a one on one battle," said Falkner. "That way, Wobbuffet can use destiny bond without automatically losing."
"That's what I was thinking," said Trent. "And since we're in Goldenrod, and some of your Pokémon need some powering up, I suggest that you buy several TMs at the store for Charmander and Horsea."
"Like what?" asked Clair.
"You could teach Charmander fire punch," suggested Falkner. "And you could teach Horsea . . . bubblebeam."
Clair nodded. "Something else too. Then I'll be able to easily defeat Whitney and her stupid cow."
"Uh, miss your Wobbuffet is fully healed and looking great," said the nurse over at the counter, holding up Wobbuffet's Poké Ball. "It's Clair, right?"
She nodded and stood up. "Thank you," she said as she took the Poké Ball. She glanced out the window of the Pokémon Center and pointed at the mart. "I'll beat you yet Whitney!"
Chapter Thirty One
"I'm back!" Whitney, who was happily resting in her gym, turned her attention towards the door where Clair, a trainer who had challenged her earlier that day, along with two boys, stood.
Whitney smiled as she got up. "Well, well, if it isn't the ever so skillful Clair." She glance passed Clair at Trent and Falkner, smiling and seeming very pleased. "So, you brought friends with you . . . very nice."
Clair rolled her eyes and she looked back at Falkner and Trent. "Whitney meet Falkner, the Violet City gym leader, and Trent, a trainer from the Cerulean Village."
Whitney smirked and slowly walked pass Clair and towards Falkner and Trent. "Well, will you boys be around after the match?"
"No," growled an angry Clair, placing herself between Whitney and the boys, "we're leaving after the match up to the northern town."
The boys chuckled nervously and stepped aside. "We're just here to cheer on Clair."
Clair rolled her eyes and turned to Whitney. "I'm ready for a rematch. And this time, I want this to be a three or four Pokémon battle. Is that okay?"
Whitney nodded. "That's fine. It'll be a four on four battle." She smirked and glanced at Horsea. "Think your little Horsea can handle that?"
"Sea!" growled an angry Horsea.
"I accept your challenge," replied Whitney. "Let's head over to the main arena."
* * * *
While Whitney stood at one end of the arena and Clair stood at the other end, Trent and Falkner waited up in the bleachers, awaiting the outcome of the upcoming battle.
"This will be a four on four Pokémon battle for the Plain Badge," said Whitney. "The winner of the match will be decided by a forfeit or the loss of all four Pokémon. Understand?"
"Of course," said Clair. "Whenever you're ready."
Whitney nodded. "You've learned since last time. Let the gym leader take the first move. We'll try your best." Whitney selected a Poké Ball and hurled it in to the center of the arena. "I choose you, Eevee!" In the center of the arena, the Poké Ball bounced upward and opened up to release a small, brown colored Pokémon.
"Eevee!" she cried.
Clair nodded. "Time to show them who is the stronger Pokémon! Let's do it, Horsea!" She bent down and let Horsea hop out from her arms.
"You can easily beat this pushover Eevee," replied Whitney.
"This should be easy compared to Marril," murmured Clair.
"Attack!" both girls shouted at once.
Chapter Thirty Two
"Eevee, quick attack!" ordered Whitney.
"Horsea, bounce!" shouted Clair.
"Eve!" Eevee darted at full speed at Clair's small dragon Pokémon, but it had already begun to bounce up and down until it bounced up high enough to be able to dodge the incoming Eevee.
"Now, bubblebeam!" ordered Clair.
"Eevee, sand attack!" said Whitney.
While floating down to the ground, Horsea shot a focused beam of bubbles at full speed towards Eevee. But, the small normal-type Pokémon did a small jump and twirled in the air kicking up sand that blocked the bubblebeam attack.
"Bite!" shouted Whitney.
As Horsea fell to the ground, it couldn't see anything in the thick cloud of dust. But then suddenly, Eevee appeared from out of nowhere and bit down on Horsea's small shoulder.
"Sea!" it cried in pain.
"Water gun, now!" cried Clair.
"SEA!" Horsea sprayed a blast of water on Eevee, who was still on top of the small dragon, and the blast shot the normal-type Pokémon upward into the sky.
"Twister attack!" shouted Clair.
Horsea, who had already recovered from the bite attack, jumped up and released a blast of dragon energy from its small mouth that created a giant twister. The twister shot straight towards Eevee, who was still airborne, and sent the Pokémon flying upward.
"Horsea, bubblebeam, now!" ordered Clair.
Whitney sighed, realizing that her poor Eevee was temporarily powerless. "Eevee, try to prepare for impact."
Horsea released another focused beam of bubbles that went straight towards Eevee at full speed. The bubbles continued to hit the small normal-type Pokémon until it hit the ground.
"Do it Eevee," said Whitney, "combine your quick attack and your take down attack!"
"Horsea, full power water gun!" said Clair.
Eevee, who was still somewhat dazed from the bubbles and worn out from the fall, nodded and started darting towards Horsea. But the small Pokémon released a powerful blast of water that slammed Eevee backwards and the small Pokémon hit the side of the wall.
"Nice work and improvement," said Whitney. "Your Horsea's strong for such a small creature."
"Horse sea," growled Horsea angrily. "Sea-sea horsea!"
Whitney had a satisfied smirk as she recalled Eevee. "Wonder if Horsea's strong enough to handle this one." She enlarged a Poké Ball and hurled it upward in the air. "Come on out, Jigglypuff!"
The ball continued hurling through the air and opened up to reveal the small, pink, balloon Pokémon. It quickly inhaled and puffed itself up and started to slowly float down towards Horsea.
Chapter Thirty Three
"Horsea, water gun now!" ordered Clair.
"Dodge," said Whitney calmly.
As the small blue Pokémon fired blasts of water at the incoming small pink Pokémon, Jigglypuff floated from side to side, easily evading the attack.
"Horsea," said Clair, "bubble attack!"
"Jigglypuff, light screen now," said Whitney.
As Jigglypuff continued floating downwards it created an invisible wall, deflecting the incoming bubbles from Horsea until it landed on the ground.
"Rollout attack!" ordered Whitney.
"Horsea, water gun, now!" shouted Clair.
Jigglypuff rolled up into a ball and started rolling at full speed towards Horsea as it tried to spray down the incoming pink Pokémon. But the power of the water attack wasn't strong enough and bashed into Horsea sending it flying backwards against the sides of the gym.
"Horse . . . sea." Horsea collapsed and fell to the ground.
"Horsea," murmured Clair sadly, holding out her Poké Ball. "Sorry, I know you're not fond of your Poké Ball, but Horsea, return." A red beam shot from the Poké Ball, recalling the damaged Pokémon.
"What's next Clair? Gonna use Wobbuffet again?" asked Whitney.
"I have another Pokémon up my sleeve!" said Clair, selected her second Poké Ball. "Heracross, go!" She hurled the Poké Ball into the center of the arena revealing the fighting beetle Pokémon.
"Hera cross!" growled the Pokémon.
"Heracross, tackle attack!" ordered Clair.
But Heracross didn't respond. It just simply glanced around and nodded and fluttered up out of the arena and into the stands next to Trent and Falkner. And landed next to Trent, who cringed since he wasn't a fan of Heracross. It ended up laying down and rested its head in Trent's lap.
"Recall it! Recall it! Recall it!" shouted Trent.
"Heracross, return." Clair frowned as she recalled her only fighting Pokémon. "That blows. I guess Heracross will only respond to Charmander." She then selected a third Poké Ball and hurled it to the center of the arena. "Speaking of which, Charmander, I need you!"
From the Poké Ball emerged the small flame Pokémon, standing tall compared to the little puffy, pink, balloon Pokémon.
"All right Charmander," said Clair, "ember attack."
"Keep up the light screen," said Whitney.
"Char-char-char!" Charmander released powerful small bullets of fire that hurled straight towards Jigglypuff, but her light screen was blocking all the attacks. But suddenly, the light screen was beginning to heat up and become visible with heat energy.
"Charmander, fire punch, now!" ordered Clair.
Charmander stop its ember attack and started to take a deep breath as fiery energy surrounded its fist. "Char!" Charmander launched itself straight towards Jigglypuff, shattering the light screen and sending Jigglypuff flying upwards, but leaving Charmander extremely weak from the powerful attack.
Chapter Thirty Four
"Jigglypuff," said Whitney.
"Charmander," said Clair.
"Now's your chance!" they both said in unison.
"Rollout!"
"Slash!"
Jigglypuff came hurling down at Charmander, rolling into a ball and preparing to slam into it, while Charmander extended its small claws to their fullest and prepared as Jigglypuff hurled towards it. When she was in reach, Charmander spun around and performed a deadly slash, but Jigglypuff's impact hit Charmander and sent it skidding backwards.
"Tackle!" they both shouted at once.
Jigglypuff and Charmander dashed towards each other at full speed, colliding into one another. The impact sent both Pokémon flying backwards, but only Charmander remained able to battle.
"Your Pokémon do appear to be strong," murmured Clair. "Guess not as strong as mine."
Whitney wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes as she helped out the balloon's Poké Ball. "Whatever. Return, Jigglypuff!"
"What next, Whit?" asked Clair.
Whitney glared as she selected her next Poké Ball. "This one should be a blast. Attack, my Clefairy!" She hurled a Poké Ball next to Charmander and out of it appeared the small, fairy Pokémon.
"Cle fair!" growled the pinkish Pokémon.
"Charmander, are you still tired out?" asked Clair.
Charmander nodded.
"Okay," said Clair. "Charmander, scratch attack now!"
Whitney smirked. "This is what you get for calling me Whit. Duel counter attacks! Pound then slam!"
Charmander rushed at Whitney's little Clefairy, but as Charmander headed towards it, Clefairy used her pound attack sent Charmander falling towards the ground. As it started to fall, Clefairy jumped up and slammed her fist down on Charmander's back, forcing it to the ground.
"Charmander!" cried Clair.
"Now," said Whitney, "Clefairy, metronome!"
"Clefairy!" cried the small Pokémon happily. It started waving its arms back and forth in a rhythmic and synchronized motions until they started to glow a light blue. And then all of a suddenly, it stopped and started to glow. "Clefairy!" Within Clefairy released a giant blast, creating a huge explosion taking out itself and Charmander.
"Charmander!"
"Clefairy!"
As the smoke from Clefairy's attack cleared, both two Pokémon lay knocked out on the ground.
"Return, Clefairy." Whitney held out the fairy's Poké Ball, and it was recalled into its ball.
"Charmander!" Clair rushed over to her injured Pokémon and bent down next to it. "Charmander, are you okay?"
"Char man-man char," it murmured weakly. "Mander . . . man?"
Clair nodded. "Of course you can stay outside of your Poké Ball for awhile." She picked up her injured Pokémon and held it in her arms. "Just as long as you're okay." She hurried back to her side of the arena, already pulling out a fourth Poké Ball. "Come on out, Wobbuffet!" When she reached her side of the arena, she hurled the ball into the center of the arena and revealed the countering Pokémon.
"This seems all too familiar," murmured Whitney. "Attack, Miltank!"
Chapter Thirty Five
"Mil!" mooed Miltank as she emerged from her Poké Ball.
"Wob buff!" growled Wobbuffet, appearing from its small red and white Poké Ball.
Trent sighed. "Not this again. From what we heard last time, Miltank KOed Wobbuffet so easily it couldn't even use destiny bond. If she fails will Wobbuffet, Heracross won't obey her and she'll lose."
"Miltank, use your fury attack!" ordered Whitney.
"Wobbuffet, counter attack," ordered Clair.
Miltank lowered its head and tried furious to hit Wobbuffet with its horns. Oddly enough, this Miltank's horns were much larger than most Miltank horns, so this had become a small problem. Wobbuffet tried counter each attack, but Miltank was too fast and would swiftly attack Wobbuffet before it could counter, until it stumbled backwards.
"Now Miltank, stomp attack!" ordered Whitney.
Clair sighed. "What I'd do for a bide attack." She glanced at Miltank as it stood back on its hind legs. "Counter!"
As Miltank stomped down, Wobbuffet grabbed the cow's hoof and spun it around, slamming the Miltank down to the ground.
"Miltank, take down now!" ordered Whitney.
Miltank gracefully recovered from the attack and started to charge towards Wobbuffet. She had managed to catch the countering Pokémon off guard and rammed into the Pokémon.
"Attract attack," said Whitney.
"Wobbuffet, try your best not to get trapped," said Clair.
But it was too late as Miltank started to glow with the pinkish aurora. She mooed, releasing a stream of the aurora and it surrounded Wobbuffet. The counter psychic-type Pokémon blushed and a goofy grin spread over the already goofy face. "Wob buff!" Wobbuffet waddled over to Miltank and attempted to hug it.
"Horn drill, now!" ordered Whitney.
"Destiny bond!" shouted Clair.
But Wobbuffet wouldn't respond. So, Miltank's horns started to spin and tackled Wobbuffet. The blow made Wobbuffet's eyes widen and it fell to the ground.
"Wobbuffet!" cried Clair.
"That's your whole team," said Whitney, "well, except for your Heracross." She shrugged. "But it appears to ignore you, huh?"
Clair glared as she recalled Wobbuffet into its Poké Ball, then swiftly selected Heracross' Poké Ball. "Not so fast! One more time, Heracross!" She threw the Poké Ball up into the air and out of the battle hovered Heracross. It landed down in front of Clair and swiftly fell asleep.
"So sad," muttered Whitney. "Your Heracross has thirty seconds before it's discounted and I win this match again."
"Heracross, get up!" shouted Clair. "We don't have time for this!"
"Cross." Heracross rolled over in its sleep.
"Charmander char," moaned Charmander, who was still laying injured in Clair's arms.
"Hera?" Heracross got up and turned to Charmander. "Hera cross so?"
"Char man-man char man der char," replied Charmander.
"Ten seconds," said Whitney.
"Cross-cross," said Heracross. It spun around and faced Whitney. "Heracross so!"
Clair sighed. "I guess Heracross will listen to me, know that Charmander's talked the bug into it." She glanced up at Whitney and replied, "Heracross is back in the match."
Chapter Thirty Six
"Heracross, tackle attack," ordered Clair.
"Miltank," said Whitney, "try stopping it with your tackle."
Heracross' wings fluttered and it took flight straight towards Miltank, while it started charging towards Clair's Pokémon. The two collided in their deadly attacks and sent the other Pokémon flying backwards.
"It appears Heracross' strength matches Miltank's," said Whitney. She nodded. "Though that won't make up for the fact that it won't listen to you all the time. That's not a good sign of a good trainer. Miltank, stomp attack now!"
"Heracross," said Clair, "try to counter it with your horn attack."
Miltank turned back towards Heracross and charged towards it. The cow Pokémon jumped in the air and prepared to stomp the fighting/bug Pokémon when it dodged the attack. Miltank's hoof shot straight into the floor of the arena, and cracking the arena a little along with partly cracking her hoof. Heracross took this moment to ram its horn into Miltank's side.
"Miltank, retreat!" shouted Whitney. "Backwards rollout attack, now!"
Clair waved her finger back and forth. "Tsk! Tsk!" Clair pointed at Miltank and shouted, "Heracross, use your fury attack!"
As Miltank rolled up into a ball and started to roll away, Heracross flew straight at her with full speed and when it was within reach, it started jabbing Miltank with its horn over and over again until . . .
"Miltank, body slam!" ordered Whitney.
"Heracross, endure," said Clair.
Miltank continued rolling but she turned around towards Clair's Heracross. The cow Pokémon launched itself into the air and came out of the balled up position, preparing for a body slam. And as it hurled down towards Heracross, the bug Pokémon sunk its feet into the ground to prepare for impact. When Miltank fell down on he bug Pokémon, Heracross managed to hold Miltank up in the air.
"Good job Heracross," said Clair. "Just um, hurl it down to the ground!"
"Cross!" Heracross glanced around and saw the nearest wall and hurled Miltank right into it.
"Grrr," growled Whitney, turning a deep red. "Enough is enough! Miltank, stop it with your attract attack!"
"Tsk! Tsk!" Clair chuckled. "I don't think you're pretty when you're angry Whitney. Heracross, stop it before Miltank's attack works! Use your mega horn attack!"
Heracross' horn started to glow a deep red and it started to flutter its wings and the bug Pokémon became airborne.
But, Miltank's attract attack was working faster than Clair had anticipated. The pink aurora had surrounded Miltank, and in the shape of hearts, the aurora headed straight towards the incoming Heracross. But as headed towards Heracross, the pink hearts hit the Pokémon put it didn't do anything. So, Heracross passed right through the attack and its one hit KO attack slammed right into Miltank's side.
"How is that possible?" murmured Whitney, falling to the ground. "The attract attack should've worked." She glanced at Heracross, and slowly turned her head sideways. "Unless . . . Heracross is a female Pokémon too . . ." She pulled out a small, plain, diamond-shaped badge and tossed it to Clair. "Her's your Plain Badge."
Clair caught the badge as it fell towards her. She smiled as she placed it with her other badge. "Well, I guess that's two." She put down Charmander and it ran over to Heracross and patted her on the back. "Time to go to the Pokémon Center. Heracross, Charmander, return!" She recalled her fire and fighting Pokémon into their balls and turned towards Trent and Falkner. "After we rest in the Pokémon Center here, we're heading up north!"
Trent nodded. "Up north to Ecruteak." He glanced at Falkner as they both got up. "That's home to many strong Pokémon. Think you're up to the challenge?"
Falkner nodded. "Of course, I'm a gym leader you know." Falkner turned away and headed down to the arena floor.
"Whatever," murmured Trent, following after him.