Chapter 12
Eevee readied herself, stretching this way and that, all the while studying her opponent. The sneasel shot her a feral grin, and unsheathed its claws; an open challenge. Eevee followed suit, and the battle began.
Sneasel, without the almost customary preliminaries in a cat fight (no pun intended), started off with an agility, leaving but a blur as it sped over the light cushion of snow; its padded feet fared well, allowing the dark pokemon to zip over the terrain.
Eevee however wasn't idling. She curled up, and started rolling, heading straight. The other feline shifted its course, and blazed towards her, a malevolent gleam in its eye. The two clashed, and Tom's heart skipped a beat. Eevee, being the slower of the duo, was rammed back, landing in the snow a couple of metres away. Sneasel, ever the opportunist, pounced, slashing away with wild abandon.
Trapped, eevee could do nought but to accept the punishment, whimpering in anguish. Shalla's heart went out to her, and she screeched, "Tom! *Do* something!"
Tom could only gaze on, as his newest pokemon suffered from the unrelenting swipes of her opponent. He held up the pokeball. "Eevee, ret... What are you doing!" With a deft swipe, eevee had shoved sneasel aside, bounding away from the crimson ray. There were scarlet streaks on her face, where sneasel's fury swipes and slashes had left their mark. The wounds bled at several points, but eevee appeared impervious to them.
The pair's eyes met for a moment -- trainer and pokemon, and Tom saw, in that millisecond, the fire in her eyes; the unwavering resolution to fight -- and to win. *She *wants* to battle...* Tom realised. He nodded, and replaced the pokeball.
Sneasel, eyes narrowed into slits, had been scrutinising eevee all this while, surveying her for any weakness that it could exploit. Eevee did likewise, and the two circled each other, muscles tense. Their furs were bristled, their fangs glittering even in the dim lighting of the pit.
Eevee took the offensive, springing towards its adversary, crossing the dozen metres separating them in a heartbeat. Sneasel was oddly stationary, its unruffled gaze bore into eevee. Eevee leaped up, and all held their breath, as she struck... the snow, landing in a heap. The snow somewhat mitigated the fall, alleviating the impact, but eevee nevertheless had all the wind knocked out of her.
Seemingly out of nowhere, sneasel struck, slamming, head first, into a still-stunned eevee, who was flung back. "Alright! Now frostbite!" Sneasel, a malicious sneer plastered on its face, raced to eevee, sinking its fangs into her midsection. Unprepared, eevee struggled briefly, to no avail. Sneasel clung on, and abruptly vaulted off, using eevee body as a launching platform.
Curiously, no blood oozed out. Instead, centring the small punctures, hoarfrost formed, spreading out at an almost leisurely pace. Yet, the progress was steady, and eevee was shortly encased in frost. The ice had expanded all the way to her paws, and the only eevee's furry head was spared. The scene would almost have been comical, but Tom, Shalla and Angus were appalled.
The attack limited eevee's movements, and indeed, all she could do was to wiggle her head. Sneasel stood; positioning her arms in a "X", and swiftly drew an invisible "X" in the air. The whitish orb that formed where the swipes intersected was anything but indistinguishable. With both paws, sneasel somehow *grabbed* the sphere, which spluttered and hissed, radiating intense cold. With a wicked scoff, sneasel extended her arms, launching the frozen globe.
Unable even to budge, eevee was powerless to avoid the incoming attack. It hurtled into her, emitting a dazzling white flare. The radiance faded, revealing eevee, completely sheathed in ice. Her mouth was gaping in a silent scream. Sneasel, satisfied with its handiwork, started zipping around the arena at breakneck speed, picking up momentum. With a last, victorious snarl, it collided with the frozen statue, ending the match.
Eevee was jarred out of the ice, only to slam against the metallic walls of the arena. "Return!" Both pokemon were retrieved, and Tom whispered a "You did your best" before replacing the pokeball onto his belt clipping. *I suppose I will have to get used to losing... at gym battles.*
Oddly, Tom felt no despair. Nothing rose up from the depths to haunt him on his lose. Tom laughed, a sweet, boyish sound that bellied his experience and power.
***
Tom and Shalla stood outside the gym, trying to figure out how to defeat Chuck. Angus was off some distance away, training his own pokemon in seclusion.
"Any ideas?" Tom glanced at Shalla with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe..." Shalla hesitated.
"What?"
"Maybe you can use magmar?"
"But its three on three..."
"For re-matches, most gym leaders prefer one on one battles -- makes it faster."
"I'll try."
***
"Chuck! I challenge you to a re-match."
"Fine. One on one. No time limit."
Tom nodded, and withdrew a pokeball. "Go! Mag... Eevee what are you doing?"
Eevee's pokeball burst open, and she popped out, scrambling to the arena. Turning back, she started mewing at Tom. "Vee! Eevee! Ee-eevee!..." *She *wants* to battle... its a matter of honour for her...* "Alright then; just do your best."
In the stands, Angus and Shalla, although stunned by this sudden turn of events, nevertheless cheered, as the "Ding!" resounded throughout the gym.
"Halt! Make this a two on two. Tag team."
"What?"
"You heard me."
The moment of elation did not last; Chuck release *another* sneasel, grinning at Tom's bewildered expression. "Go! Magmar!"
Once again, the fiery pokemon landed on the snow, the ice sizzling from contact with the fire type.
"Ding!"
Both sneasels started off with agilities, zooming around the arena. Magmar enveloped himself with fire, the invisible shield exuding waves of heat. Eevee yelped, tracking the pair with her eyes, following their course.
The sneasels attacked, charging at magmar and eevee from opposite sides. Eevee twisted around, using her hind legs to kick up snow, which smacking into a sneasel dead on. The sneasel backed away, violently shaking its head in a vain effort to rid its eyes of the irritant; the snow had partially blinded the sneasel. Eevee dashed towards her fallen foe, ramming into it in an impressive take down attack. Sneasel, totally unprepared, screeched, struggling to get away. Eevee however hounded it, pestering it with bites. The teeth marks were visible; time eevee sunk her teeth into her nemesis, dull crimson blood dripped out, masked to a degree by its jet black fur.
With magmar however, it was far simpler. The other sneasel, obviously not as experienced, slammed headfirst into a fireblast, the inferno scorching it. Tumbling head-over-heals, the sneasel yapped, still driven by the attack, shoved into the wall. The attack did not dissipate; rather, it remained, still thrusting into sneasel, tormenting it for a full minute before subsiding. The sneasel collapsed into a heap in the snow, its matted fur a sharp contrast from the fair snow. It stayed down, permanently out of the fight.
Magmar turned to the other sneasel, which was still plagued by eevee's unrelenting nips. Eevee was merciless, exerting revenge for their battle. Magmar roared an alert, and launched another blazing symbol, this time at another opponent. Eevee snarled one last time, and darted out of the way.
This sneasel however was not keen on going down without a fight. It dug into the snow, its razor-sharp claws making short work of the ice. Huddled, in the hole, the sneasel gathered up its energy, preparing to storm its opponents.
Magmar snorted, and raced over to the pit, arms raised. A miniature sun formed, nestled between magmar's palms -- but not for long. Now just beside the cavity, magmar hurled the flaming ball into it, and rushed away, yelling out a warning to eevee.
A second later, the entire arena was illuminated; the orb having exploded. A large depression was left, literally shifting the entire arena. Ranging outwards, the ice rose, forming a slope. Even further from the epicentre, the terrain inclined downwards. It was similar to the projected scene of what would happen if a meteor crashed into a flat piece of land, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Sneasel laid in the core of the destruction, fainted. "Return!" As the three pokemon were withdrawn, the two trainers met, wary not to drop into the field.
"Looks like you won, Tom."
Tom beamed, and gratefully accepted the badge, and a small box. The badge seemed to be carved from ice, yet it was not cold. It was shaped somewhat like a magnified snowflake, the design exquisite and well fashioned. The other item was a TM, and Chuck responded to Tom's inquisitive stare. "That's for frostbite; no pun intended." Tom chuckled. The attack *could* give a pokemon frostbite, if powerful enough.
"Ah yes, do I still have to go down the mountain?"
"Of course not... I can't possible climb up and down every time I want to go shopping or something. In case you haven't noticed, the pokecentre and pokemart are at the base of the mountain. I usually take the er... modified lift down."
"Modified?" Angus questioned.
"Well, it slants outwards... Saves the trouble of walking after I get out of the lift."
"Okay..."
"Anyway, its this way."
The plump gym leader lead the trio to a small door; one that opened up to a small room -- or so it seemed. After the four stepped inside, Chuck pressed a couple of buttons, and with a "Hang on...", the "doors" slide shut, and the room rocketed down.
***
"See ya Angus. Hope you make it to the league."
"Thanks!" Angus winked at Tom, and lifted off on his charizard.
Shalla glanced at Tom. "What was that wink for?"
"Er... I'm not sure."
Shalla narrowed her eyes, tucking her fists at her waist. "Do you have a flying type?"
"Well... Skarmory is far too small to carry the both of us."
Shalla glared at Tom. "Are you implying that I'm fat?"
"No! No! Of course not..."
"Of course eh..." Tom gulped, and started running.
"Hey! No fair! We're supposed to start together!"
Panting, Tom replied, "Any you being trained in the Nelprin Clan is fair?"
"Of course it is! I had to do the training myself!"
Tom gritted his teeth and concentrated on running, as Shalla effortlessly caught up, giggling at him.
"I *pant* will *pant* kill *pant* you! *pant*" Tom strained to draw even with his companion.
***
"What the..." Tom stared at the gym... And gawked some more. To claim the design of weird was to make the understatement of the millennium. The building was bizarre, looking like *two* structures fused together.
It was massive, almost twice the size of the previous gym. The left side was a brilliant violet, the right just plain grey. The mammoth letters "GYM" engraved into the centre was also split into two colourations. The left being grey while the right was lavender. The entire styling was roman, yet the shades scarcely matched. Tom groaned. *Great. An eccentric gym leader… What could be better.*
Tom and Shalla strolled in. A young man and a lady greeted them, both, as nearly as Tom could tell, were in their early twenties. Both were blonde, however the girl's locks edged towards a golden shade while the guy's hair contrasted with dirt brown. The girl was *very* pretty, definitely model material, with a wholesome figure, and curves in all the right places. The guy had a very intense look, his eyes locking on Tom.
"Er... I would like to challenge the gym leader?"
"You mean gym leaders."
"Wha?"
"We're both gym leaders."
"Is that possible? Two leaders of the same gym..."
The lady snapped off a reply, seemingly very impatient. "Well for one thing, the Cerulean gym in the Indigo League has *three* gym leaders. And secondly, we are gym leaders of different gyms. We are just located at the same place. And *in case* you didn't know, he's the ghost gym leader and I use psychics." The snarl-like tone did little to obscure her beauty.
"Er... I see." In reality however, Tom had no idea what was going on. *I'd better not say anything embarrassing.*
The guy spoke again. "Well, you have to defeat both of us at the same time. Two separate battles will commence simultaneously, in those two fields, side by side. The pokemon in one battle are not allowed to help the other pokemon, unless its own opponent has already fainted. This shall be two one on one battles. Anything but a double win will go to us."
"Okay..."
Shalla whirled around, centring on Tom. "Are you sure you want to do this? Only alakazam and shadow have advantages here... But I don't think you want to use shadow. You could go train some more."
"Nah. I'll pretty sure."
"If you say so..." Shalla proceeded to the audience stands.
Tom looked over the gym, marvelling at the ivory finish of the interior. The gym was probably this vast, since it had to house two arenas. Tom set his jaw. *The main challenge here will be to defeat *both* gym leaders *at once*. I hope I'm up for it.*
Walked over, glancing over the fields. Both were plain, nothing more than dirt and tiny tufts of grass here and there. Tom suspected the greenery only served only as decoration; it did nothing to curb the desolate sentiment one felt when gazing at the almost barren land.
A transparent wall separated the two fields; serving, Tom suspected to prevent pokemon from "accidentally" assisting their companions. The gym leaders took their positions, and the chap called out to Tom.
"Alright. I am Tobias. This is Rachael. Remember. Double win or nothing."
Tom nodded, and they selected their pokemon. The trainer boxes were marked with chalk, and there were five of them; only three were used for gym battles, the other two for the usual trainings. Tom stepped onto the central one; one that gave him an excellent view of both fields. Tom selected shadow and alakazam, while Tobias and Rachael called upon a gengar and an alakazam respectively.
The battles commenced, with shadow facing off alakazam, and alakazam confronting gengar.
Alakazam started off with psybeams -- lots of them. The mauve rays passed through gengar, causing zero damage -- excluding what they did to a pillar. Alakazam, momentarily stunned, was unprepared for what came next. Shadow vanished, leaving a frantic alakazam, who desperately tried to locate its elusive enemy.
Shadow reappeared seconds later, above alakazam, stubby hands outstretched -- downwards. Smiling a malicious smirk, shadow immobilised alakazam telekinetically, overriding alakazam's own considerable psychic abilities. The alakazam did not struggle, choosing to mentally assault shadow -- and was rewarded with an evil chuckle for its efforts. Yellowish energy charged from shadow's hands, replacing the original cobalt glow with a golden hue.
The radiance intensified, leaving alakazam completely surrounded. *Death trap. A very good attack -- if shadow can pull it off. The enemy cannot use any physical attacks, being immobilised, and yet shadow is immune to psychic attacks, and ranged attacks will just be reflected back at the opponent, once the barrier is erected. If only shadow wasn't so evil...*
Tom fixated his attention on the other field, where alakazam was having a hard time countering the gengar's hit-and-run, or in this case, hit-and-teleport strikes. The assaults were taking their toll, weakening alakazam.
*Quick! Teleport!*
*I can't! That blasted thing is blocking off my abilities.*
*Just...* Tom was at a loss; the gengar was significantly more powerful.
Shadow was having a easy time, casually, setting up the reflect, watching as alakazam's eyes widened in realisation. The dread and panic telepathically pulsing out from it was like music to shadow's ears. Yet -- something was wrong. Shadow wasn't activating the inert attack, instead, it seemed to be struggling against some invisible foe.
*Shit. That alakazam is somehow fighting back...*
Things weren't going well for Tom, but he was not ready to give up. *I *will not lose!**
Abruptly, shadow stopped struggling; the mass of throbbing energy surrounding alakazam vanished, with alakazam emerging, beaming. *Uh-oh...*
Alakazam struck, both fists vibrating, charged with electrical power. The bolts arced around the fists, barely restrained. It struck, the blows leaving shadow reeling, voltage insanely sparkling across and around its body. Shadow let loose a hideous cry, suddenly cut off as alakazam impaled two flaming fists into shadow's abdomen region. The dark ghost flew back, crashing brutally with the barrier, sliding down and landing on the ground, twitching and writhing.
Tom's alakazam was faring no better, having being pummelled by shadow balls. He now slumped over, feebly maintaining a shield, which started to break apart, even as Tom watched on in horror.
Eevee readied herself, stretching this way and that, all the while studying her opponent. The sneasel shot her a feral grin, and unsheathed its claws; an open challenge. Eevee followed suit, and the battle began.
Sneasel, without the almost customary preliminaries in a cat fight (no pun intended), started off with an agility, leaving but a blur as it sped over the light cushion of snow; its padded feet fared well, allowing the dark pokemon to zip over the terrain.
Eevee however wasn't idling. She curled up, and started rolling, heading straight. The other feline shifted its course, and blazed towards her, a malevolent gleam in its eye. The two clashed, and Tom's heart skipped a beat. Eevee, being the slower of the duo, was rammed back, landing in the snow a couple of metres away. Sneasel, ever the opportunist, pounced, slashing away with wild abandon.
Trapped, eevee could do nought but to accept the punishment, whimpering in anguish. Shalla's heart went out to her, and she screeched, "Tom! *Do* something!"
Tom could only gaze on, as his newest pokemon suffered from the unrelenting swipes of her opponent. He held up the pokeball. "Eevee, ret... What are you doing!" With a deft swipe, eevee had shoved sneasel aside, bounding away from the crimson ray. There were scarlet streaks on her face, where sneasel's fury swipes and slashes had left their mark. The wounds bled at several points, but eevee appeared impervious to them.
The pair's eyes met for a moment -- trainer and pokemon, and Tom saw, in that millisecond, the fire in her eyes; the unwavering resolution to fight -- and to win. *She *wants* to battle...* Tom realised. He nodded, and replaced the pokeball.
Sneasel, eyes narrowed into slits, had been scrutinising eevee all this while, surveying her for any weakness that it could exploit. Eevee did likewise, and the two circled each other, muscles tense. Their furs were bristled, their fangs glittering even in the dim lighting of the pit.
Eevee took the offensive, springing towards its adversary, crossing the dozen metres separating them in a heartbeat. Sneasel was oddly stationary, its unruffled gaze bore into eevee. Eevee leaped up, and all held their breath, as she struck... the snow, landing in a heap. The snow somewhat mitigated the fall, alleviating the impact, but eevee nevertheless had all the wind knocked out of her.
Seemingly out of nowhere, sneasel struck, slamming, head first, into a still-stunned eevee, who was flung back. "Alright! Now frostbite!" Sneasel, a malicious sneer plastered on its face, raced to eevee, sinking its fangs into her midsection. Unprepared, eevee struggled briefly, to no avail. Sneasel clung on, and abruptly vaulted off, using eevee body as a launching platform.
Curiously, no blood oozed out. Instead, centring the small punctures, hoarfrost formed, spreading out at an almost leisurely pace. Yet, the progress was steady, and eevee was shortly encased in frost. The ice had expanded all the way to her paws, and the only eevee's furry head was spared. The scene would almost have been comical, but Tom, Shalla and Angus were appalled.
The attack limited eevee's movements, and indeed, all she could do was to wiggle her head. Sneasel stood; positioning her arms in a "X", and swiftly drew an invisible "X" in the air. The whitish orb that formed where the swipes intersected was anything but indistinguishable. With both paws, sneasel somehow *grabbed* the sphere, which spluttered and hissed, radiating intense cold. With a wicked scoff, sneasel extended her arms, launching the frozen globe.
Unable even to budge, eevee was powerless to avoid the incoming attack. It hurtled into her, emitting a dazzling white flare. The radiance faded, revealing eevee, completely sheathed in ice. Her mouth was gaping in a silent scream. Sneasel, satisfied with its handiwork, started zipping around the arena at breakneck speed, picking up momentum. With a last, victorious snarl, it collided with the frozen statue, ending the match.
Eevee was jarred out of the ice, only to slam against the metallic walls of the arena. "Return!" Both pokemon were retrieved, and Tom whispered a "You did your best" before replacing the pokeball onto his belt clipping. *I suppose I will have to get used to losing... at gym battles.*
Oddly, Tom felt no despair. Nothing rose up from the depths to haunt him on his lose. Tom laughed, a sweet, boyish sound that bellied his experience and power.
***
Tom and Shalla stood outside the gym, trying to figure out how to defeat Chuck. Angus was off some distance away, training his own pokemon in seclusion.
"Any ideas?" Tom glanced at Shalla with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe..." Shalla hesitated.
"What?"
"Maybe you can use magmar?"
"But its three on three..."
"For re-matches, most gym leaders prefer one on one battles -- makes it faster."
"I'll try."
***
"Chuck! I challenge you to a re-match."
"Fine. One on one. No time limit."
Tom nodded, and withdrew a pokeball. "Go! Mag... Eevee what are you doing?"
Eevee's pokeball burst open, and she popped out, scrambling to the arena. Turning back, she started mewing at Tom. "Vee! Eevee! Ee-eevee!..." *She *wants* to battle... its a matter of honour for her...* "Alright then; just do your best."
In the stands, Angus and Shalla, although stunned by this sudden turn of events, nevertheless cheered, as the "Ding!" resounded throughout the gym.
"Halt! Make this a two on two. Tag team."
"What?"
"You heard me."
The moment of elation did not last; Chuck release *another* sneasel, grinning at Tom's bewildered expression. "Go! Magmar!"
Once again, the fiery pokemon landed on the snow, the ice sizzling from contact with the fire type.
"Ding!"
Both sneasels started off with agilities, zooming around the arena. Magmar enveloped himself with fire, the invisible shield exuding waves of heat. Eevee yelped, tracking the pair with her eyes, following their course.
The sneasels attacked, charging at magmar and eevee from opposite sides. Eevee twisted around, using her hind legs to kick up snow, which smacking into a sneasel dead on. The sneasel backed away, violently shaking its head in a vain effort to rid its eyes of the irritant; the snow had partially blinded the sneasel. Eevee dashed towards her fallen foe, ramming into it in an impressive take down attack. Sneasel, totally unprepared, screeched, struggling to get away. Eevee however hounded it, pestering it with bites. The teeth marks were visible; time eevee sunk her teeth into her nemesis, dull crimson blood dripped out, masked to a degree by its jet black fur.
With magmar however, it was far simpler. The other sneasel, obviously not as experienced, slammed headfirst into a fireblast, the inferno scorching it. Tumbling head-over-heals, the sneasel yapped, still driven by the attack, shoved into the wall. The attack did not dissipate; rather, it remained, still thrusting into sneasel, tormenting it for a full minute before subsiding. The sneasel collapsed into a heap in the snow, its matted fur a sharp contrast from the fair snow. It stayed down, permanently out of the fight.
Magmar turned to the other sneasel, which was still plagued by eevee's unrelenting nips. Eevee was merciless, exerting revenge for their battle. Magmar roared an alert, and launched another blazing symbol, this time at another opponent. Eevee snarled one last time, and darted out of the way.
This sneasel however was not keen on going down without a fight. It dug into the snow, its razor-sharp claws making short work of the ice. Huddled, in the hole, the sneasel gathered up its energy, preparing to storm its opponents.
Magmar snorted, and raced over to the pit, arms raised. A miniature sun formed, nestled between magmar's palms -- but not for long. Now just beside the cavity, magmar hurled the flaming ball into it, and rushed away, yelling out a warning to eevee.
A second later, the entire arena was illuminated; the orb having exploded. A large depression was left, literally shifting the entire arena. Ranging outwards, the ice rose, forming a slope. Even further from the epicentre, the terrain inclined downwards. It was similar to the projected scene of what would happen if a meteor crashed into a flat piece of land, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Sneasel laid in the core of the destruction, fainted. "Return!" As the three pokemon were withdrawn, the two trainers met, wary not to drop into the field.
"Looks like you won, Tom."
Tom beamed, and gratefully accepted the badge, and a small box. The badge seemed to be carved from ice, yet it was not cold. It was shaped somewhat like a magnified snowflake, the design exquisite and well fashioned. The other item was a TM, and Chuck responded to Tom's inquisitive stare. "That's for frostbite; no pun intended." Tom chuckled. The attack *could* give a pokemon frostbite, if powerful enough.
"Ah yes, do I still have to go down the mountain?"
"Of course not... I can't possible climb up and down every time I want to go shopping or something. In case you haven't noticed, the pokecentre and pokemart are at the base of the mountain. I usually take the er... modified lift down."
"Modified?" Angus questioned.
"Well, it slants outwards... Saves the trouble of walking after I get out of the lift."
"Okay..."
"Anyway, its this way."
The plump gym leader lead the trio to a small door; one that opened up to a small room -- or so it seemed. After the four stepped inside, Chuck pressed a couple of buttons, and with a "Hang on...", the "doors" slide shut, and the room rocketed down.
***
"See ya Angus. Hope you make it to the league."
"Thanks!" Angus winked at Tom, and lifted off on his charizard.
Shalla glanced at Tom. "What was that wink for?"
"Er... I'm not sure."
Shalla narrowed her eyes, tucking her fists at her waist. "Do you have a flying type?"
"Well... Skarmory is far too small to carry the both of us."
Shalla glared at Tom. "Are you implying that I'm fat?"
"No! No! Of course not..."
"Of course eh..." Tom gulped, and started running.
"Hey! No fair! We're supposed to start together!"
Panting, Tom replied, "Any you being trained in the Nelprin Clan is fair?"
"Of course it is! I had to do the training myself!"
Tom gritted his teeth and concentrated on running, as Shalla effortlessly caught up, giggling at him.
"I *pant* will *pant* kill *pant* you! *pant*" Tom strained to draw even with his companion.
***
"What the..." Tom stared at the gym... And gawked some more. To claim the design of weird was to make the understatement of the millennium. The building was bizarre, looking like *two* structures fused together.
It was massive, almost twice the size of the previous gym. The left side was a brilliant violet, the right just plain grey. The mammoth letters "GYM" engraved into the centre was also split into two colourations. The left being grey while the right was lavender. The entire styling was roman, yet the shades scarcely matched. Tom groaned. *Great. An eccentric gym leader… What could be better.*
Tom and Shalla strolled in. A young man and a lady greeted them, both, as nearly as Tom could tell, were in their early twenties. Both were blonde, however the girl's locks edged towards a golden shade while the guy's hair contrasted with dirt brown. The girl was *very* pretty, definitely model material, with a wholesome figure, and curves in all the right places. The guy had a very intense look, his eyes locking on Tom.
"Er... I would like to challenge the gym leader?"
"You mean gym leaders."
"Wha?"
"We're both gym leaders."
"Is that possible? Two leaders of the same gym..."
The lady snapped off a reply, seemingly very impatient. "Well for one thing, the Cerulean gym in the Indigo League has *three* gym leaders. And secondly, we are gym leaders of different gyms. We are just located at the same place. And *in case* you didn't know, he's the ghost gym leader and I use psychics." The snarl-like tone did little to obscure her beauty.
"Er... I see." In reality however, Tom had no idea what was going on. *I'd better not say anything embarrassing.*
The guy spoke again. "Well, you have to defeat both of us at the same time. Two separate battles will commence simultaneously, in those two fields, side by side. The pokemon in one battle are not allowed to help the other pokemon, unless its own opponent has already fainted. This shall be two one on one battles. Anything but a double win will go to us."
"Okay..."
Shalla whirled around, centring on Tom. "Are you sure you want to do this? Only alakazam and shadow have advantages here... But I don't think you want to use shadow. You could go train some more."
"Nah. I'll pretty sure."
"If you say so..." Shalla proceeded to the audience stands.
Tom looked over the gym, marvelling at the ivory finish of the interior. The gym was probably this vast, since it had to house two arenas. Tom set his jaw. *The main challenge here will be to defeat *both* gym leaders *at once*. I hope I'm up for it.*
Walked over, glancing over the fields. Both were plain, nothing more than dirt and tiny tufts of grass here and there. Tom suspected the greenery only served only as decoration; it did nothing to curb the desolate sentiment one felt when gazing at the almost barren land.
A transparent wall separated the two fields; serving, Tom suspected to prevent pokemon from "accidentally" assisting their companions. The gym leaders took their positions, and the chap called out to Tom.
"Alright. I am Tobias. This is Rachael. Remember. Double win or nothing."
Tom nodded, and they selected their pokemon. The trainer boxes were marked with chalk, and there were five of them; only three were used for gym battles, the other two for the usual trainings. Tom stepped onto the central one; one that gave him an excellent view of both fields. Tom selected shadow and alakazam, while Tobias and Rachael called upon a gengar and an alakazam respectively.
The battles commenced, with shadow facing off alakazam, and alakazam confronting gengar.
Alakazam started off with psybeams -- lots of them. The mauve rays passed through gengar, causing zero damage -- excluding what they did to a pillar. Alakazam, momentarily stunned, was unprepared for what came next. Shadow vanished, leaving a frantic alakazam, who desperately tried to locate its elusive enemy.
Shadow reappeared seconds later, above alakazam, stubby hands outstretched -- downwards. Smiling a malicious smirk, shadow immobilised alakazam telekinetically, overriding alakazam's own considerable psychic abilities. The alakazam did not struggle, choosing to mentally assault shadow -- and was rewarded with an evil chuckle for its efforts. Yellowish energy charged from shadow's hands, replacing the original cobalt glow with a golden hue.
The radiance intensified, leaving alakazam completely surrounded. *Death trap. A very good attack -- if shadow can pull it off. The enemy cannot use any physical attacks, being immobilised, and yet shadow is immune to psychic attacks, and ranged attacks will just be reflected back at the opponent, once the barrier is erected. If only shadow wasn't so evil...*
Tom fixated his attention on the other field, where alakazam was having a hard time countering the gengar's hit-and-run, or in this case, hit-and-teleport strikes. The assaults were taking their toll, weakening alakazam.
*Quick! Teleport!*
*I can't! That blasted thing is blocking off my abilities.*
*Just...* Tom was at a loss; the gengar was significantly more powerful.
Shadow was having a easy time, casually, setting up the reflect, watching as alakazam's eyes widened in realisation. The dread and panic telepathically pulsing out from it was like music to shadow's ears. Yet -- something was wrong. Shadow wasn't activating the inert attack, instead, it seemed to be struggling against some invisible foe.
*Shit. That alakazam is somehow fighting back...*
Things weren't going well for Tom, but he was not ready to give up. *I *will not lose!**
Abruptly, shadow stopped struggling; the mass of throbbing energy surrounding alakazam vanished, with alakazam emerging, beaming. *Uh-oh...*
Alakazam struck, both fists vibrating, charged with electrical power. The bolts arced around the fists, barely restrained. It struck, the blows leaving shadow reeling, voltage insanely sparkling across and around its body. Shadow let loose a hideous cry, suddenly cut off as alakazam impaled two flaming fists into shadow's abdomen region. The dark ghost flew back, crashing brutally with the barrier, sliding down and landing on the ground, twitching and writhing.
Tom's alakazam was faring no better, having being pummelled by shadow balls. He now slumped over, feebly maintaining a shield, which started to break apart, even as Tom watched on in horror.