Chapter 15: Rising Light
"Ahhhhhh…." The cool water was soothing balm on her aching feet, made sore by the days spent walking, running, training, battling, and generally never getting a chance to sit down. Dawn swung her feet through the cool lake water as she relaxed on Lake Verity's shores. In the distance she could see the townsfolk and workers tearing down the temporary stages, stands and stalls in the festival grounds across the lake. In years past she'd have been over there helping, but with Dawn leaving tomorrow for Hearthome City via train, the exhaustion of battling through the tournament, plus staying up all night for the solstice celebrations, Johanna had decreed that she was excused from the cleanup just this once.
Dawn had returned to their training area at the lakeside, partly for nostalgia and partly so that she could introduce Fennekin to the team. She still couldn't believe her good fortune. It was only a week ago she'd been playing with Fennekin in Reggie's yard and wishing she could get the little vulpine to join her team. Now that dream had come true.
It was time to introduce herself again. Dawn debated if she should pull her feet out of the lake, decided to wait until it was necessary (the cool water was too nice), and plucked Fennekin's Pokéball off her belt. Only one free slot left; would she catch another Pokémon soon, or would the egg's occupant fill that slot? Only time would tell. Maybe next time she ran into Paul she'd have a full team, cutting off at least that particular barb.
She was stalling. It was time to meet Fennekin, this time not as a random trainer but as her trainer. Dawn pressed the release and the yellow and red vulpine appeared on the lakeshore beside Dawn. Fennekin looked around for a second, red eyes wide and nose sniffing at the air, before she saw Dawn and locked gazes with her.
"Hello Fennekin. Do you remember me? From when I was helping Reggie build the fence?" Dawn asked, keeping her voice low and friendly. Last night had been dark and chaotic; best to remind Fennekin of when they'd met in the light.
Fennekin yipped and nodded, then scooted closer and twitched her long ears in invitation. Dawn laughed and began scratching at the spot behind the ears the fire-type had loved last time. Fennekin just about melted as Dawn gave her scritches and within moments migrated to her lap. Dawn was thankful she'd left her feet in the water; the cool lake helped offset Fennekin's heat on her lap and the warmth of the sun above.
A minute or two passed before Dawn spoke again. "So Fennekin, I'm your trainer now. Are you happy with that?" Fennekin looked up at Dawn and nodded firmly, red eyes blazing. Dawn had seen that boredom and desire for something more back at Reggie's; now it was even clearer. Fennekin was ready for a challenge.
"We're happy to have you! I think you'll make a great addition to the team. I promise that I'll do my best to be the greatest trainer I can be, for you and all the team. We're going to become strong, so strong that no one can beat us!" Fennekin yipped, sitting up straight in Dawn's lap, eyes focused and ears perked up.
"I'll let the rest of the team out so you can meet them in a moment. First, I'm going to scan you. Hold still for a moment, it won't hurt I promise." Dawn pulled out her Pokédex and turned on the scanner.
Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon. It likes to snack on twigs, which fill it with energy that it uses to make flames. It intimidates opponents by puffing hot air out of its ears. This Fennekin is female, with the ability Blaze. It knows the moves Scratch, Ember, Howl, and Flame Charge. It has the ability to learn the egg move Hypnosis.
About the moveset she'd expected, though Flame Charge was a nice bonus. Then again, Fennekin was a little older than most starter Pokémon, including Crest. While the sickness Reggie had mentioned had probably held her back for a while, she must have learned Flame Charge after she recovered. Perhaps she'd hoped learning a new move would make a trainer pick her up sooner. She was probably a little behind the rest of the team, but Dawn would have her caught up to them quickly.
Only one more thing to do before introductions. "So, Fennekin, do you want a nickname?" Fennekin nodded immediately, leaving Dawn to pull up the list of names she'd thought up last night. Fennekin was nearly as picky as Crest; she rejected most of the names Dawn came up with, though a few made her pause before shaking her head. After a while Dawn noticed she didn't like the ones that focused only on her fire-typing. Maybe after so long being held back and forgotten, she wanted something that would make her stand out…
"How about Morgana? It's the name of an ancient sorceress, or maybe a psychic. It's a legend so old we've only got tiny fragments of it, and they all contradict one another; some say that she fought a great king, some say that she helped him rise to greatness. But all the legends agree about her power and her mystic skills. I think it fits you, especially once you evolve. What do you think?" Fennekin considered for a moment, then nodded her agreement.
"Great! Welcome to the team Morgana!" Morgana yipped, turning in a circle on Dawn's lap. Dawn reluctantly lifted her off her lap and set her down on the grass, then pulled her feet out of the lake and put her shoes back on. "Time to meet the rest of the team!"
They appeared one by one with flashes of red light, each one fixing their gaze on Morgana as soon as they saw her. Once everyone was out Dawn waved for their attention and introduced the fire type sitting at her feet. "Hey everyone! This is Morgana; she was the Pokémon set as the tournament prize. She'll be joining us on our journey. Morgana, that's Crest, Aries, Ion, and Zephyr." She pointed out each Pokémon as she said their names, and each one gave a cry of greeting. Morgana yipped back, ears up and tail waving.
Aries was the first to approach, surprising Dawn; she'd thought it would be Ion. But no, he was stuck close to her side, tail raised a little. Not hostile, but protective. Aries leaned down to sniff the little vulpine and snorted another greeting. Morgana barked something in reply, which was enough to get Zephyr to hop over, then finally Ion and Crest were persuaded to join the conversation. Dawn let them talk and get to know each other for a few minutes, then cleared her throat to get their attention again.
"I want to thank you all for fighting so hard during the tournament. You did an amazing job and more than once you all pulled off wins I thought would be impossible. You've all gotten so strong, and I'm so, so proud." She stopped for a moment to swallow and push back the lump in her throat, then moved on. "But we're not done growing. If I've got anything to say about it, we'll never stop growing stronger! So tomorrow we're leaving Twinleaf and heading back to Hearthome City. It's time to show Fantina how strong we've gotten, so we can pay her back for last time!" Her team roared their agreement, screeching, howling, and bleating as one. Morgana looked confused but joined in a few moments late, her sharp yips a new and welcome note in the clamor as they cheered for the battles to come.
#
The sun was sinking towards the looming mountain peaks when Dawn emerged from the depths of the Hearthome City train station. Morgana walked by her side, ears and whiskers twitching, eyes darting about and nose sniffing at the air as she took in all the new sights and scents. Morgana was the only one of her friends that could be let out in the cramped confines of the train; Dawn had taken the two-day journey to get to know her newest teammate a little better. She'd needed the company during the otherwise lonely ride, especially after saying goodbye to her mother, Barry, and Lucas for who knew how long. Hopefully she'd run into the latter two soon enough during her travels, and her mother made her promise to call more often. She wanted all the updates on how her rematch against Fantina went and how Morgana fit onto the team.
The little fire type was a vibrant soul, always on the move, excited and ready to explore the world she hadn't been able to see while living with Reggie. Dawn had walked up and down the length of the train many times as Morgana explored every nook and cranny, then spent hours talking and grooming her when she finally tired of exploring the same compartments again and again. Now that they were outside, Dawn half expected Morgana to rush off ahead to explore.
Thankfully the crush of people in the streets made Morgana hesitate, sticking close to Dawn's side as she wound her way through the streets to reach the Pokémon Center. She was only a foot or so tall, even smaller than Ion had been when he was a Shinx; that many legs moving was a dangerous hurdle to navigate. They were almost to the Center when Dawn felt something tug on her pants and looked down to find Morgana had her pant leg in her teeth and was pulling her to the side. "What is it?"
Morgana pointed her nose at a nearby building and yipped, sniffing at the air. Dawn looked over and caught a whiff of something, something wonderful. It took her a second to recognize the building and the smell both, but when she did, she smiled. "That's the Poffin House, it's a famous restaurant and bakery. They sell poffins of all kinds in there. They do some cooking classes too. Maybe we'll get the chance to try one out while we're here, it would be fun to try cooking those on the campfire on the road. That's how they were first invented I think." Morgana looked up at her with wide eyes, tail wagging. She had clearly learned how to beg while at Reggie's.
Dawn just laughed. "We'll come back later, I promise. You can try some then. For now, let's get to the Pokémon Center." Morgana wasn't quite satisfied, but she followed Dawn as they arrived at the Pokémon Center and walked around to the back to find a suitable training field. It was crowded, plenty of trainers getting in some afternoon training or battling one another before the light faded, but Dawn was able to find an empty area after some searching.
A few flashes of red light later and everyone was arrayed around her. Well, almost everyone. Dawn set her backpack on the ground and opened it, moving clothes around, then setting the egg down beside her before diving in again, talking all the while. "Welcome back to Hearthome everyone. We'll be here for three days I think; we'll use today and tomorrow for recovery and some final training, then we'll battle Fantina for the rematch the next morning. Win or not, we'll be on the road towards Veilstone the next day." Finally, she found what she was looking for and pulled them out.
Turning, she showed the team a small black device with a CD slot and a Pokéball slot in the center, plus two discs colored silver and green respectively. "These TMs will help give us an edge, but not everyone can learn them. For those who can't we'll start working on new techniques. I promise that once we reach Veilstone I'll buy some more TMs for you all so everyone can get one. Now, let's get training!"
First, she recalled Ion and Aries, telling the others to start some basic warm up exercises. She could have taught Morgana Grass Knot as well as Aries, but she wanted to get the little fox used to training and gauge her skill level first. She could learn Grass Knot another day.
Ion's Pokéball glowed silver when she set it in the TM device, knowledge on Iron Tail imprinted in his mind. Aries' Pokéball glowed a bright green as he learned Grass Knot. When she released them both Pokémon looked a little dizzy, disoriented by the flood of new information they had to sort through, but after a minute or so both were looking eager to try out their new moves.
"Okay guys, let's give it a try." Dawn pointed to a nearby log, the trunk thicker than her backpack. "Ion, Iron Tail!" The length of Ion's tail flashed silver and he leapt forward, bounding into a frontal flip to drive the full force of his tail into the log. It cracked in half with a tremendous boom, a large section of wood around the impact point pulverized and wood chips scattered everywhere nearby.
"That was great Ion!" He looked inordinately pleased as he backed up to give Aries space, as well he should. Dawn was pretty sure nothing but the hardiest steel type would like to be on the end of that impact. She did notice that he'd let go of the steel type energy halfway through impact; he'd need some extra practice to hold it longer.
"Okay Aries, your turn. Grass Knot!" Aries wagged his short tail then stomped. The grass by the base of the broken log glowed green, lengthening, and shooting up to wrap around the broken halves of log, squeezing tightly. Grass Knot didn't have the force of Iron Tail; the log didn't break in half, but Dawn did see how the bark groaned against the constricting grass, how it sunk into the soft earth below, and how many strands worked together to pull the log down. "That's good Aries, you can let go." Grass Knot would be better for tripping and harassment than as a straight attack for now; later on, when Aries had more power or once he evolved, it could be used to attack. For now, it was a long-range trap that didn't require setup like Leech Seed.
"You both did awesome! These new moves will help you with the battles coming up, so I want you two to go practice for a while. Start with target practice then move on to sparring when you're sure you've got it down." They nodded and moved off, and Dawn called up the next test subject. "Morgana, come over here for a minute."
The little fox trotted over, sniffing at the egg sitting beside Dawn's pack as she walked by. The egg visibly twitched inside the incubator, making both Dawn and Morgana start. Was it closer to hatching than Dawn thought? She hadn't seen it twitch that much since Cynthia had given it to her.
Morgana arrived and sat, looking at Dawn curiously. Dawn shook herself and refocused. "We're going to test out your moves so I can check what level you're at currently, then figure out what I want you to start working on. Does that sound good?" Morgana yipped agreeably so Dawn pointed at the split log before reconsidering and pointing to a grassless patch of dirt. No need to start a fire. "I saw your Ember at the festival, but I want to see it full power now."
Morgana gave her a strange look and coughed out a tiny puff of hot air. Dawn frowned. "What's wrong?" Morgana shook her head, yipped, then trotted over to the fallen log and picked up a twig on the ground nearby, proffering it to Dawn. "Um… I don't need a snack, thanks?" What was Morgana going for?
Morgana shook her head, snapping the twig in half between sharp fangs and chewing for a moment before swallowing the split halves. A moment later she coughed up a small fireball. "Oh!" Dawn got it, smacking herself in the head. She'd read up on the Fennekin evolutionary line while on the train, but only now did she understand the implications of the note about a Fennekin's need for twigs.
The Fennekin species was among a small number of fire types without a sustained internal flame. They needed fuel to start the flame inside that powered moves like Ember or Flame Charge, and that fuel could be used up if they performed too many fire types moves. Since the flame wasn't always there it made fire types like Fennekin better able to deal with water and ice type moves, but in exchange they could lose access to fire type moves without fuel. Dawn had fed Morgana on the train, but she hadn't given her much flammable material to eat.
"Do you need fuel first girl?" Morgana nodded, turning back to the log. Dawn joined her fire type in collecting twigs, gathering enough for a small bonfire by the time they were finished.
Morgana happily snacked on a few smaller sticks before turning and spitting a stream of tiny fireballs at the patch of dirt Dawn had pointed out earlier. They weren't large, but they were many and had plenty of power behind them. Dawn suspected that the longer Morgana used her Fire type moves and the more fuel she had access to, the stronger her Fire type moves would be. Something to explore later. Dawn made a mental note to make sure Morgana had a stockpile of twigs and to look into Fire-type Pokémon food later, then moved on.
Morgana's Scratch was strong enough to carve furrows into the log, proving that despite her tiny body Morgana had plenty of physical power. "Okay, let's try Howl." Morgana threw her head back and screamed. Dawn jumped at the surprisingly human-like scream that came from Morgana's throat. Ion was next to Dawn in a heartbeat, fur all on end and crackling with electricity. Morgana stopped when he appeared, backing up nervously. On the other side of the clearing the rest of the team had stopped, all staring at Dawn and Morgana.
"It's okay! We're fine, Ion, just practicing Howl. You can go back to training." He eyed her for a moment, looking her up and down to make sure nothing was wrong. Satisfied, he turned and gave Morgana a look that was either threatening or impressed, Dawn couldn't tell which, before returning to the other side of the field. "Okay," Dawn said again, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat. "Howl is certainly surprising, but that's a good thing! Let's try Flame Charge."
Morgana perked up again, and fire flared at the tips of the fluff inside her ears, spreading down the body to envelop her in a cloak of flames. She took off running, a little slower than Ion could manage but not by much. Even better, she looked to be getting faster the more she ran, easily matching Ion's best speed and nearing Aries' when she finished her second lap around the field. Oh yes, Dawn could work with this!
Morgana skidded to a stop by Dawn and the flames went out, leaving her panting but looking proud. "Great job Morgana! You're pretty strong." She preened, turning to lick her ruffled fur into submission again. "All of your current moves look good. I think we'll start learning Fire Spin next; it's a good long range move to learn and it'll teach you control you'll need for when you evolve into a Braixen." Once Morgana evolved she would become more of a long-range fighter; it was best to start that process early. Dawn couldn't wait for the day she evolved into a Delphox. The regal fire and psychic types were renowned worldwide for their control over their flames, unmatched by any other species.
Morgana nodded and Dawn picked up her Pokédex to look up the new move. Morgana was undoubtedly the weakest of her Pokémon right now, and it would be a process learning to work with her unique biology and its needs. But with the right amount of understanding, patience and hard work, Dawn knew that Morgana would become an integral member of the team. In icy Sinnoh, a fire type with her determination and enthusiasm could burn them a path to victory.
#
"Okay everyone, now that we've got our ingredients it's time to get cooking! Go ahead and get your burner lit, then we'll add the berries and start stirring." Dawn exchanged a nervous glance with Morgana before she bent down to turn on the little burner in front of her. Signing up for a poffin cooking class at the Poffin House had seemed like a great way to fill an afternoon on their recovery day. It sounded even better when Dawn learned she could have one Pokémon working with her for the duration of the class. Of course, now that she was actually here and trying it out, she remembered why she never tried to cook anything more complicated than a grilled cheese sandwich or some canned soup over the fire. Anything she made ended up inedible.
Perhaps Morgana could be her cooking savior. The chef teaching the class had spent the first fifteen minutes waxing poetic about the different flavors you could make, which Pokémon liked which kinds of poffins, and what berries had what flavors. It had all gone right over Dawn's head, but Morgana had listened with rapt attention. When the baskets of berries were passed around for them to choose from Morgana picked out some Chesto, Razz and Bluk berries for their poffins.
"So, I guess you like dry berries?" Dawn asked as she turned the burner up and set out the pan. Morgana yipped, her tail wagging, nibbling on the Chesto berry she had in her mouth. Dawn snatched it away, tossing it in the pan and wagging a finger at the fire type. "Not yet! We've got to cook them first." Morgana stuck her nose in the air and looked away, but the second Dawn reached for more berries she moved to help toss them in the pan. Soon the berries were simmering, mixing with the sugar, starch, and lemon juice they added to the mix. The smell was heavenly; Dawn had to stop Morgana from sticking a paw in to scoop some up more than once.
"Okay everyone, time to start stirring! Make sure to get it going at a good speed, not too fast or it'll spill, not too slow or it'll burn! Watch me!" Dawn did watch the instructor stir, her movements consistent and smooth, but found it quite hard to replicate. Morgana hissed as some of the berry mix came spilling over the side of the pan, jumping back to avoid it while Dawn tried to slow down the soupy mix that hadn't thickened as much as she'd expected. But the moment she stopped stirring she heard a sizzling noise and thought she caught a whiff of burning berry.
"If you're having trouble with consistency or it's burning, try changing how much heat you're applying!" The chef called.
Dawn pointed with her free hand to the burner, unwilling to stop stirring with the other. "Can you give me a hand and turn up the temperature?" Morgana yipped and puffed out a tiny fireball; the fire jumped, and the mixture sizzled. Dawn yelped as it began to burn again and stirred faster. "Okay, maybe more fire wasn't the answer there! Can you turn it down?" Morgana turned to the fire again and leaned forward. She opened her mouth… and ate it? She bit at the fire like it was a berry, and while it didn't exactly turn down the temperature, it did cause less of it to reach the pan. Dawn giggled as she watched Morgana snap at the flames, still stirring and breaking up any chunks of berry that remained.
Finally, the instructor called for them to turn off their burners and let the berry mixture cool while they rolled the dough. About an hour later Dawn pulled the tray of five poffins out of the oven, Morgana sniffing at the treats as they cooled. They were a little blackened; maybe Dawn should have taken them out earlier. But they sure smelled good, and they weren't charred all the way through, so Dawn was calling it a win.
"Okay everyone, time to eat up! Thank you all for coming!" Dawn pulled one of the poffins off the tray and extended her hand, offering it to Morgana. Morgana in turn picked one up in her teeth and proffered it for Dawn. She laughed and the two exchanged poffins, holding them up to their mouths in preparation to eat.
"Three, two, one… go!" Dawn chomped down, and berry taste filled her mouth. It wasn't the best; the outer shell was a little burnt, and the inner berry filling tasted a little strange, but it was good enough. Dawn raised her poffin to Morgana, smiling as the little fox bit into hers once again, tearing the treat to shreds. Now she had a new meal to cook over the campfire. Maybe with Morgana egging her on, and eating the campfire when required, she might even get good enough to enjoy her own cooking.
#
A stray gust let Dawn catch a strain of music, a faintly familiar tune carried on the wind. She paused setting her bag down; why did that song sound familiar? She strained to hear it again, catching a few more notes. It was familiar, she'd heard it before, but where? Curious, Dawn hiked her bag back up on her back and set off around the edge of the training grounds, determined to find the source of the music.
She'd come out here near the Contest Hall hoping to find a training space more secluded than the packed Pokémon Center grounds, but there must have been a contest coming up because the training grounds here were just as crowded. She'd been forced to search near the trees that marked the city limits to find privacy. By the sound of that music, growing ever louder, she wasn't the only one who'd come out here searching for some peace and quiet.
A minute later Dawn emerged into a small clear area near the trees, still within sight of the Contest Hall but only barely. In the center of the clearing stood an old friend, plucking out a familiar tune on his gold harp shaped like the legendary Mother Mew while a group of Pokémon trained around him.
"Nando!"
The tall man turned at her voice, a smile appearing on his face as he saw her. He stopped plucking at the harp for a moment, gesturing for his Pokémon to halt before striding forward to meet her. "Dawn! So good to see you my friend. It has been a long time since our meeting in Floaroma Town; how have you been? What stories have you to share?"
"Plenty, some good, some less so. But what about you? What are you doing here in Hearthome? It looks like you've been training hard, and picked up a few new additions?" Around Nando stood the Roselia she remembered from last time, as well as his Swablu perched in a nearby tree. But the Chikorita he'd caught for the Grass-Type catching contest must have evolved, as a Bayleef stood next to him. A tall red Kricketune stood on his other side, a Pokémon she hadn't seen with him before, and he had at least one more occupied Pokéball hanging on his belt.
"Indeed, our journey has been fruitful and full of wonders since we parted ways! I have arrived in this fair city to take part in the upcoming Contest, and we have been practicing our combinations these last few hours. I had thought to challenge the Gym Leader afterward, but it is rumored her strength is mighty indeed; I may wish to continue my journey and return another time to face her."
"That's probably a good idea," Dawn said. She looked down, scuffing one foot against the dirt and fallen leaves. "I'm here for a rematch; we lost pretty badly the first time we challenged her."
Nando looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment before smiling again, gesturing to his team. "I believe your arrival a sign that it is time we switch up our training for a bit. Would you be open to a battle? We can accomplish both of our goals of training and learning in this way."
"I'm always up for a battle, but what do you mean by learning? Just generally?" Dawn asked, reaching for her Pokéballs.
"The Lady Fantina is a Top Coordinator as well as a gym leader, is she not? Perhaps I may help you accomplish your goals by letting you battle against myself, a trainer with a similar dual focus. You may notice patterns and similarities in our battling styles that you may use to your advantage in your gym battle. As for myself, I seek to gain inspiration for new strategies and combinations from our battle! Does a two-on-two match work for you?"
He was right, this was the perfect opportunity. She should have tried to challenge one of the coordinators earlier! "Sounds perfect, let's start!"
They backed up to give their Pokémon space, with Nando's released Pokémon taking up positions behind him to watch. He pulled the last Pokéball off his belt and Dawn reached for Morgana's Pokéball. Time to see what she could do in a real battle.
Morgana appeared on the battlefield across from a Pokémon Dawn had seen countless times around the shores of Lake Verity; a Buneary, with long ears and the thick fur that made it look adorable while also providing warmth and damage protection. Morgana perked up when she saw Buneary appear, tail wagging furiously and the air above her ears wavering as hot air puffed out. It was time for their first battle together.
"I have not seen such a Pokémon before; how did you meet them?" Nando asked, studying Morgana with a hand on his chin.
"She's a fire-type originally from Kalos; Fennekin are used as one of the traditional starters there. I got her a few days ago as a prize for winning the Twinleaf Festival's lower tournament."
"My congratulations! I look forward to seeing what she can do. You may have the first move," Nando called to her.
Dawn shrugged. "Morgana, Ember!"
Morgana spat a glowing cloud of Ember at Buneary only to watch the agile normal type bounce out of the way, its strong legs propelling it far. It leapt around the cloud and jumped towards the Fennekin with glowing feet. Morgana barely dodged the kick Buneary leveled at her as it passed, scrambling to the side while Buneary kept going. A moment before it crashed into one of the nearby trees the end of its overlong ears glowed blue and it used them to push off the tree with Bounce, throwing itself right back at Morgana. Only Dawn's shout let Morgana dive to the side once again, barely avoiding the Bounce.
Once again Buneary threw out an ear charged with Bounce and used the move to redirect itself, bouncing all around the clearing with unpredictable leaps and bounds. Every time it came close to Morgana it lashed out with Bounce or Double Kick. In the space of a minute Morgana had taken three hits; she couldn't predict where Buneary would strike from next, spitting Embers at the spaces where Buneary used to be instead of where she would be.
She needed to speed up so she could catch Buneary and avoid the hits. They had just the move for that. "Flame Charge!" Morgana yipped and her body lit with blazing orange flame from snout to tail, making Buneary shy back from the Double Kick she was about to land on Morgana's side. Morgana leapt at Buneary instead, causing Buneary to wail with pain as she left burned patches of fur behind.
"Get back and use Draining Kiss Buneary!" Nando ordered. Buneary leapt back a good six feet, mouth opening to summon the Fairy type energy, but Morgana knew an opening when she saw one. She charged forward, the extra speed of Flame Charge lending swiftness to her steps. Buneary was forced to dodge with Bounce again, but this time Morgana could keep up. Buneary bounced around the clearing with Morgana nipping at its heels, slowly gaining ground as the flames intensified and her speed increased. She couldn't keep it up forever, Dawn could already see Morgana breathing hard, but she was closing in.
If they could take it off balance… "Morgana, Howl!" Morgana sucked in a deep breath, then screamed. Nando and his Pokémon jumped at the humanlike screech and Buneary wobbled as it stuck the landing from yet another Bounce. Morgana leapt, Howling with triumph as she made to end the match.
Buneary turned to face her and screamed back, a wave of sound louder than anything Morgana could conjure causing a shockwave. Dawn's hands flew to her ears as the Uproar completely overpowered Morgana's Howl, throwing Morgana back to hit the ground with a harsh thud. Completely overwhelmed, Morgana did not get up. Dawn sighed and recalled the little fire type, whispering her thanks (at least she was pretty sure it was a whisper; her ears were still ringing) as she placed the ball back on her belt. Nando recalled Buneary as well; if he said anything Dawn couldn't pick it up as her ears recovered.
Morgana had done well for her first battle. Buneary had clearly been in a few battles, and the Bounces made it much harder to predict its movements. Probably a Contest move adapted for battle; those movements could be made graceful and interesting in a contest battle. If Morgana had been able to disrupt Buneary, stop it from using one limb or another to maneuver, they might have been able to pin it down. She also noted how Buneary had reacted to Morgana's Howl; it hadn't been shocked, but immediately used Uproar to one-up Morgana and use her strategy against her. That was interesting…
She plucked Ion's Pokéball from her belt and threw it as Nando gestured for the Kricketune at his side to step forward. Ion emerged in a flash of red light and immediately took a combat stance upon seeing his opponent, eyes narrowing as he studied the Kricketune. Dawn did the same. She hadn't seen too many of them before; they weren't a common pick for trainers despite the many Kricketot scampering around any woodland in Sinnoh. They were too frail for most battling trainers to bother with. Knowing Nando, this one would have plenty of tricks to get around that.
As the winner of the last match, Nando took the first move. "Kricketune, let us begin with Focus Energy and Fury Cutter." Kricketune tensed, intense concentration visible in its stance as it worked to pool power in its blades before it struck.
Dawn didn't intend to give it the time to do so. "Bite!" Quick as thought, Ion rushed forward with his teeth dripping dark energy. Sparks had begun to ripple across his form, but Bite was faster in this case. Kricketune finished its Focus Energy and slashed with a blade glowing with the light green energy of Fury Cutter, but Ion slipped to the side, fangs lashing out. For his trouble, he got a bundle of webbing to the face.
Ion staggered back, eyes covered with Sticky Web and yowling in outrage, attack abandoned as he tried to claw the thick fibers off, taking his own fur with it in some spots. Kricketune struck with blades of green, carving two cuts into Ion's back. Ion's screech of pain was accompanied by a bright flare of light and the crackle of electricity; a Discharge exploded from his coat and tail, forcing Kricketune to leap back.
Ion used the time well, the Discharge cooking the Sticky Web enough that he could claw it off without too much trouble. He had just gotten the last of it off when something shot towards his back. He whirled to face Kricketune again, searing the Fell Stinger into dust with a burst of Discharge that lit up the clearing, but when the light faded Kricketune wasn't there anymore. Dawn shouted again as another Fell Stinger lanced towards Ion's back and he flared Discharge again to turn it to ash. Once again Kricketune used the flashing lightning to hide itself as it moved, avoiding Ion's pounce as he jumped for where Kricketune had been standing a moment prior.
Something moving at the edge of her vision caught Dawn's attention and she flicked her gaze to the side. Her bag, propped up against a tree nearby, was rocking back and forth, falling over with a dull thud before continuing to shake. She glanced back at Ion as another Discharge flared for a half second before looking back at the bag. The zipper had come loose; she could see the edge of the incubator that sat atop the rest of her clothes. It was what made the bag shake; the egg inside was rocking wildly, tapping at the glass sides of the incubator with an inconsistent rhythm like it wanted nothing more than to escape.
A slow chirp noise, drawn out by sliding two blades against one another, then sped up to create a soft melody. Dawn forgot the egg and whipped around, but it was already too late. Ion was swaying on his feet, entranced by Kricketune's Sing as the Cricket Pokémon rubbed its blades together in the manner they'd been made for, to soothe an opponent into helpless sleep. She shouldn't have gotten distracted!
She had to wake him up, how to wake him up- "Ion, Flash right in front of your eyes! Now!" He blinked at her sleepily, and Kricketune's melody slowed down, drawing it out with low, soothing notes. Ion's eyes drooped lower and lower. "Flash! Now!"
His tail drifted to be near his eyes, almost as though he was curling up to nap. "Flash!"
The area lit up and Dawn had to look away, Nando likewise throwing a hand up over his eyes. When the light faded Ion was shaking himself awake, eyes narrowed and fierce. Kricketune had stumbled back but soon it had its blades together again for another go.
Nando knew better than to use the same trick twice in a row. "Sticky Web into the air, cut it up with Fury Cutter! Leave traps!"
Ion couldn't get near with those Sticky Webs bits on the ground. Time to take a page out of Nando's book and use his move against him. "Launch yourself with Iron Tail, get above it!" It wasn't what they'd practiced with Iron Tail, but she'd shown him a video of a Pikachu using the move for this purpose before. Ion trusted her; he pushed himself into a sprint as Kricketune spat a huge Sticky Web into the air above itself and started cutting it to bits with Fury Cutter. When he was a few feet away his tail gleamed silver and he slammed his strengthened tail down against the ground, pushing off with his back legs at the same time to throw himself six feet into the air. The apex of his jump put him right above the slowly falling Sticky Web.
"Discharge, biggest extent!" Lightning flared in a circle four feet around Ion, as large as he could currently make it. It was enough to engulf the majority of the Sticky Web, including the cut-up chunks. They crumbled to ash or lit aflame and fell to earth as tiny meteors. Kricketune screeched as some hit it, its position right under the Sticky Web proving its downfall. The flaming bits of web covered Ion's somewhat ungainly landing, allowing him time recover his footing before whirling around and landing a final Spark right into the back of Kricketune's head. It fell to the ground with nary a sound, out cold.
Ion backed off and returned to Dawn's side, accepting her congratulatory scritch under the chin as Nando recalled the fallen Kricketune and walked over. "A battle well fought! I thank you; our battle has given me many ideas for future strategies, for both the stage and the battlefield! Your methods of breaking Kricketune's Sing and burning the Sticky Web may be most useful."
"Thank you as well. I think I've got a better idea of how contest battlers work now; hopefully I can apply some of those tactics to my battle with Fantina." She walked over and picked up her bag from where it had fallen; she glanced at the egg in its incubator, but the shaking had calmed down noticeably. No longer did it make the entire bag tremble and the incubator rattle. The occasional quiver still rocked it around but for the most part it was back to staying still.
Nando saw what she was looking at and spoke up. "Ah, an egg? What a treasure! Perhaps you should take it to the Pokémon Center for a checkup? I am told that when the egg begins to shake consistently it is close to hatching."
"That's a good idea, I'll ask Nurse Joy to check on it when I get the team checked out. Good luck with your Contest; I'll be sure to catch your performance, in person if I can and on TV if not!"
"Thank you! I wish you luck as well with your gym battle. I am sure that you will be victorious! I expect to hear the grand tale of your battle when next we meet, and to perhaps meet your currently shelled companion. Farewell!"
Dawn waved goodbye and left him to train, Ion striding at her side. She could feel the egg rocking again in her bag as she walked back towards her training site. They'd get a little more training done today, to hone their skills and focus on what she'd learned from Nando. Then they would return to the Pokémon Center for the evening to heal and relax and Nurse Joy could take a look at the egg. Tomorrow, it was time for the rematch.
#
"Hmm, as far as I can tell it's doing fine," Nurse Joy said, removing the stethoscope from her ears and replacing it around her neck. "Heartbeat is fine, no flaws in the eggshell I can detect, no sign of any discoloration, no warning signs of anything going wrong. You said it was moving around a lot? Increased activity is normally a sign that it's growing closer to hatching."
"Can you say how long it'll be until it hatches?" Dawn asked hopefully.
"No, it's always a guessing game unless you know how long ago it was laid and what species it is; in this case I don't know either one. I've never seen an egg with this patterning before and you said you don't know when it was laid. I might be able to get a better read on its readiness if I could hear more, but it has such a thick shell-"
"That isn't normal?"
Nurse Joy shook her head. "We get plenty of eggs in here, some from exotic species as successful trainers buy rare eggs from top-tier breeders. I've never seen or heard of an egg with a shell that thick - it's like it's surrounded itself with straight rock. It was quite hard to hear the heartbeat at all. Pokémon eggs are tough things, but I'd bet this one could take a fall off a cliff and only get mildly scratched. That could mean it's quite far from hatching, or it's something unique to whatever species it is. Perhaps it's a rock type?"
That might be nice; Dawn could use a good rock type. Her Pokémon for the most part had better offense than defense and it'd be good to have a Pokémon that could take hits. "So, what should I do? Just keep an eye on it?"
Nurse Joy nodded. "For now, you should keep it under close observation and keep it as warm as possible. Where are you heading next after your gym battle?"
"I'm heading east towards Veilstone City." Maylene was the next Gym Leader on her internal list; Zephyr had type advantage against her famous fighting-types and the rest of her Pokémon had neutral or favorable matchups. If Morgana could learn a psychic type move before they reached Veilstone she might even get a chance to fight in her first gym battle there. Plus, having seen the results from teaching Ion and Aries their TM moves Dawn really, really wanted more, and the Veilstone Department Store was one of the only places in Sinnoh to acquire them.
"Oh perfect! You'll be passing by Solaceon Town then. You can stop by their Daycare center; it's a combination Pokémon ranch, breeding facility and rehabilitation center run by some famous breeders. They'll have seen many more eggs than I have, they can likely tell you what kind of Pokémon might be in that egg and how close it is to hatching! If you're lucky they'll give you some tips on raising it once it hatches; they know everything there is to know about raising young Pokémon!" Now that was an idea. Dawn would have to stop by.
Well, for now it sounded like she'd just have to pay extra attention to the egg and wait until she could get ahold of an experienced breeder. She thanked Nurse Joy and collected the egg and her Pokéballs, then turned towards the door. One last night to relax. Tomorrow morning it was showtime.
#
"You again? You didn't learn your lesson last time?" It was the rude receptionist again, looking up with a sneer as Dawn walked in the doors to the Hearthome Gym. Apparently she hadn't forgotten Dawn embarrassing her in front of Fantina last time.
"I learned plenty of lessons. Just not ones that would stop me from coming back," Dawn retorted. "When can I battle Fantina?"
The receptionist gestured lazily at the doors behind her. "Go on ahead if you really wanna be beaten that badly. No one else has been stupid enough to challenge Fantina today."
Dawn didn't deign to respond, walking through the doors and leaving the lobby behind. Before the doors closed she could hear the chair scraping back as the receptionist stood up. Probably gathering a crowd to watch Dawn's battle.
Let them watch. This time, she would win.
The walk through shadowed hallways was burned into her mind like all the details from her last time in this place, so Dawn was able to take the right turns to reach the battlefield. The high-ceilinged room was better lit than last time; this early in the morning shafts of light from the high stained-glass windows cut through the room, leaving areas of different colored light everywhere. The battlefield was already a bit torn up; Fantina stood in the middle of it with a large, spherical Pokemon with purple body, four yellow-tipped appendages and a puffy white mass on the top of its head. A Drifblim, her cornerstone and most famous Pokémon.
Fantina turned at Dawn's entrance, a smile appearing on her face when she saw who had arrived. "Finally you have returned! Grown stronger and learned much you have, yes? Then let us begin!" Dawn nodded jerkily, nerves getting the better of her for a moment, before turning and walking to the challenger's box. Fantina recalled Drifblim and took her own place at the other end of the field.
People were slipping in to take seats in the stands, chatting and throwing glances at Dawn which she ignored. She didn't know if any of them remembered her, but she'd do her best to give them a better performance this time. An idea struck her then; she slipped her Pokédex out of her bag's pocket, then jogged over and set it on the lowest bench, camera facing the battlefield. A few button clicks later and it was recording. She left her bag there too, with the zipper open so she could see the egg just in case. She jogged back over to her spot on the battlefield, hand already clutched around Crest's Pokéball. It was time.
The referee stepped up to the battlefield and raised a flag. "The battle between Challenger Dawn of Twinleaf Town and Gym Leader Fantina for the Relic Badge begins now! The battle will be three-on-three with no substitutions. Trainers, release your Pokémon!"
Crest appeared on the field, beak held high and golden crests reflecting the multicolored light. She wanted to start this match with her best foot forward; Crest could be counted on to start things off with a bang.
She expected to see Duskull first once again; to her surprise a Shuppet appeared on Fantina's side of the field. The dark purple pokemon stuck its pink tongue out when it saw Crest standing on the other side of the field, eliciting a squawk from the proud Prinplup.
"Prinplup vs. Shuppet! Battle, begin!"
"Bubblebeam Crest!"
"Shadow Sneak."
While the shafts of light carving their way across the field created plenty of light to see by, they left an equal number of shadows in odd places. Shuppet melted into the nearest shadow right before Crest's Bubblebeam impacted it. Shuppet appeared a few feet behind Crest, Shadow Ball charged and released in an instant. The move was too obvious; Crest had already turned and charged his wings with Metal Claw, carving through the Shadow Ball in a puff of darkness. But when the shadows cleared Shuppet was gone again, vanished into the shadows.
Thus began the game; Shuppet would disappear into a shadow and strafe Crest with Shadow Ball and other long-range moves, lunging back into its shadows whenever Crest made to get closer. He was fast enough to cut the Shadow Balls down; only once was he caught by surprise and took a hit to the side. He shrieked and nearly fell but the stumble proved fortuitous as it made the follow up Night Shade miss. Crest returned fire with Bubblebeam, forcing Shuppet to vanish once again. At one point Shuppet spat a Will-O-Wisp, at which Crest spat a contemptuous spurt of water. He had to hastily dodge when the Will-O-Wisp didn't react to the touch of water, burning as brightly as before. After that he dodged Will-O-Wisps with the same alacrity he did Night Shades.
As Dawn watched she learned why Fantina had chosen Shuppet. If Dawn had trained specifically for Duskull, Shuppet would have torn them apart; it was fast where Duskull was slow, stayed at a range and never took hits. Its hit-and-run style forced the battle to play to their tune, wasting energy trying to hit it when it always had a ready escape. She saw the strategy; now they had to turn it against them.
"Whirlpool!"
Crest's beak pointed towards the ceiling and water began to accumulate at the tip, gathered from the air and partially fueled by Crest's internal water reserves. It grew bigger and bigger and began to swirl, slower at first then faster as Crest gathered more water. Shuppet burst from a nearby shadow, Shadow Ball charged and ready to hit Crest while he was gathering energy, unable to dodge or fight back.
All they'd needed was to get it out of the shadows. "Drop it!"
Whirlpool wasn't ready yet, wasn't nearly big enough to cause damage. Crest dropped it anyway, soaking himself and sending a rippling sheet of water expanding in all directions over the battlefield. Dawn felt the cold water lap over her shoes but didn't care; all she could see was the way the rippling water refracted the light, making the water glitter and sparkle and destroying all the shadows on the battlefield.
Shuppet had nowhere to run now.
It threw the Shadow Ball but, in its surprise, it was too slow. Crest dodged the Shadow Ball and closed in, slashing out with Metal Claw as soon as he was in range. Shuppet howled as it took the hit; the cloth that formed its body now had ragged edges at the bottom and there was a slight haze around the edges of its form that hadn't been there before. It flew away as fast as it could but Crest kept after it, his movements sending yet more ripples through the water covering the battlefield. It was quickly soaking into the dirt but there was still enough left to stop Shuppet from finding a proper shadow.
"Bubblebeam! Trap it in the air!" Crest's beak snapped open and Bubblebeam filled the air, strafing and forcing Shuppet to dodge while also lingering in the air; they'd worked hard on that. Shuppet was quickly running out of places to fly, places to hide. Finally Crest nailed it with another Bubblebeam as it hesitated before a bubble patch. Its form fuzzed again, edges hazier than ever.
"Pain Split!" Shuppet froze, its blue-gray form glowing with dark purple light. Crest froze as well, his body outlined in the same stuff. They screeched in unison, the sound echoing in Dawn's head and in her bones as they both trembled with pain. The moment didn't last long, Crest shaking himself and the glow fading, but he didn't look as fresh as he had a moment ago and Shuppet's form was less hazy, though not by much.
"Shadow Sneak!" The delay had cost them; there were only a few puddles left on the battlefield, and the shadows were back.
"One last Bubblebeam!" It was a race to the finish line, a race to see if Shuppet would reach the shadow before Crest caught it with Bubblebeam. Crest won. Shuppet was a few inches from safety when the Bubblebeam caught it. It sank to the ground and Fantina recalled it.
"Great job Crest!" Dawn called to him, and he raised a wing in response. He looked a bit tired, and she could twitches of pain from the Shadow Ball that had snuck through and from Pain Split, but she thought he was still good to keep going.
Fantina watched them for a moment, mysterious smile fixed firmly on her face, then threw her next Pokéball. A Pokémon Dawn had seen a hundred times in recordings and in her textbooks, but had never seen in person: a Haunter, pink tongue waggling and thick purple claws flexing on hands disconnected from its body. It was far larger than she'd imaged from the books; if it had been standing on the ground it would have been taller than she was. Hovering a foot in the air it was much, much taller. It waggled those hands at her in a strange approximation of a wave. Dawn didn't like the look of the smile shared by both Trainer and Pokémon.
"Haunter vs. Prinplup, begin!"
"Bubblebeam!" A line of brightly glowing bubbles shot towards Haunter, but it wasn't there anymore. It simply… melted away, was the best was Dawn could describe it. As if its body had become shadow without touching one, Haunter dissolved into purple gas and darkness, reappearing a few feet to the side. Without its hands.
"Look out!" Dawn cried as twin Shadow Balls rocketed from two different directions. The hands had reformed away from the body, more than five feet to either side of Haunter! Crest dove forward, towards Haunter, to get away from the Shadow Balls, beak already leaking Mist. He knew he'd need cover for this one.
Haunter's hands dissolved again and reformed near its body as Crest drew closer, waiting for its prey. "Slide under it!" Dawn yelled. The ground was still wet enough to make a muddy slide, especially since Crest spat a stream of water before throwing himself to the ground and gliding under Haunter's Sucker Punch. She could hear his bark of annoyance as he got himself muddy, but he was getting a little better about it if it meant he could win. Even with his back turned she could almost see the disgust on his face.
Her amusement turned to horror as Haunter's hands vanished again, appearing behind it before it managed to turn its nearly six-foot-tall body around in the air. One hand dripped dark energy as it took a swing at Crest that he barely ducked; the other grew long claws tinted a deeper purple than its normal body, carving thick furrows into Crest's back as he regained his feet. He shrieked in agony and blew the hand apart with a quick Peck. It left him open as the body turned around and opened its mouth wide, spitting a series of concentric light rings at Crest.
"No!" Dawn shouted, unable to help herself as she saw Crest's eyes go wide as the light rings hit him. He began to sway back and forth, water dribbling from his beak, wings flapping wildly as though trying to fulfill a long-hidden dream of flight. "Snap out of it!" It must have been Confuse Ray, but how to break Crest out of it? It didn't look like he could hear or see her anymore!
Haunter circled him slowly, relishing the chance to play with its prey. A slash with Shadow Claw when Crest had his back turned, a Shadow Ball to the chest when he stumbled forward. It dissolved to dodge a randomly aimed Metal Claw, appearing behind Crest and delicately placing a hand charged with Sucker Punch right on top of Crest's head even as he jerked and thrashed about. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth, stretching to lick Crest-
"Hypnosis." Fantina must have gotten tired of Haunter's game. It pulled its hands back into an approximation of a pout, mouth turned down in a petulant frown, before its eyes lit with pink light and cast a series of pink rings at Crest. Her brave water type slumped to the ground without a sound and Dawn recalled him, ignoring the ref's pronouncement and forcing her hand not to shake as she put the ball back on her belt. She couldn't be more grateful to Fantina for stopping Haunter when she did. For all that she knew Haunter wouldn't have done too much damage in a regulated match, she couldn't stop her mind from replaying all the stories she'd heard of what a Haunter's lick could do.
Her trembling hand firmed as it seized Zephyr's Pokéball. Time to introduce Haunter's opposite to the field. Zephyr appeared with the customary flash of light, zipping around the battlefield in an instant before recognizing the area and coming to hover in front of Dawn, eyes trained on Haunter as it turned to face them.
"Haunter vs. Staravia, begin!"
Zephyr vanished. One moment he was in front of Dawn, the next he was nothing but a blur racing around the edges of the room, strong wings and the occasional Agility boost lending him speed beyond any land-bound creature. Haunter wisely didn't try to watch all of Zephyr's movements; it stayed in the middle of the battlefield, both hands charged with Sucker Punch, waiting for Zephyr to close in. Shadow Balls wouldn't touch Zephyr and long-range attacks could be easily avoided.
Zephyr didn't make it wait long. A blazing blue wing tore one of Haunter's hands apart, soaring above the second as it lashed out. A second later that claw was gone too, torn apart by Wing Attack as Zephyr dove in again. With the claws gone, he zipped in to tear the body apart. Haunter was ready for this, dissolving into a cloud of gas the moment Zephyr came near. The blast of wind as Zephyr tore through the area Haunter had been in blew the gas apart, dispersing it; when Haunter reformed again it was hovering lower to the ground, and it took longer to reform. Dawn didn't need to see its scowl to know that the attack had hurt it, for all that Zephyr hadn't touched it.
"Wing Attack barrage!" If they could keep it dispersed for long enough it wouldn't have the energy to both reform and attack.
"Thunder Punch and Sucker Punch, then Hypnosis! You must slow it down!" Fantina was finally getting involved in the battle. Dawn grinned as Zephyr dove in again, talons extended. Haunter pulled the same trick of splitting up its hands and body, creating a rough triangle. One hand charged with Sucker Punch, one hand crackled with the lighting of Thunder Punch, and its eyes took on the pink sheen of a psychic as it charged Hypnosis. Whichever of the three Zephyr chose, he could get blasted with the other two.
Unless of course, he was fast enough. With Agility on his side, that was a breeze. Zephyr's Wing Attack tore through Haunter's body, too fast for it to dissolve. The hands rocketed in, ready to deal damage as Haunter struggled to reform. Zephyr turned to the greater threat, Thunder Punch, shattering it with a quick Aerial Ace, but even with an Agility boost he wasn't quite fast enough to escape a glancing blow from Sucker Punch. Zephyr took to the air again, feathers barely mussed but now continually visible as he soared above the stands. Sucker Punch had robbed him of the ability to summon Agility, at least for now.
Dawn saw the way Haunter was only a few inches above the ground now and considered it worth it. Fantina obviously agreed with her on Haunter's state, as she recalled the ghost once it had fully reformed.
She smiled at Dawn from across the battlefield as the referee announced the result. "You have grown so fantastically strong! You have learned much. But I shall win; it is what a Gym leader does, non?"
Dawn smiled, remembering how Fantina had said the exact same thing at the beginning of their last battle. This time, she would prove her wrong.
Her resolve didn't wilt at the sight of Fantina's last Pokémon, but it was a close thing. The crowd in the stands cheered as a Mismagius appeared on the field. Its round head make it appear as if it were wearing a large, brimmed hat. Long tattered extensions from its body fluttered in a nonexistent wind, and a gentle light pulsed within the gems that decorated its body, the largest gem on its chest the brightest of all. It watched Dawn and Zephyr above her with a crooked grin. One of Fantina's most well-known Pokémon, famous for ruining many a challenge. Known worldwide for their mysterious abilities stemming from a large set of eerie chants and incantations in an unknown language.
She looked up at Zephyr flying above her. They could do this.
"Staravia vs. Mismagius, begin!"
"Power Gem darling. Let us end this quickly, hmm?" Mismagius nodded, and Dawn felt (heard?) a familiar sensation; unknown words vibrating in her bones, in her head, through her, as Mismagius began to chant. A chill ran up her spine and a deep unease settled in her chest, but she pushed it aside as best she could; she couldn't focus on it. It was just a side effect, no more!
It was hard to discount the power when she saw huge portions of the battlefield rise, the dirt clumping together to become hard, pointed stones under Mismagius' guidance. Zephyr was already high above, gaining speed each second as he gained momentum and the Sucker Punch wore off, allowing him to reach for Agility.
"Flock!" Dawn yelled up to him as Mismagius gathered more and more rocks using Power Gem, all of them beginning to shine. Power Gem didn't normally use many stones in the attack like other rock type moves; instead, it pushed power into the stones themselves, to give them limited homing power and make each one count more. With so many of them, Dawn didn't know if Zephyr could avoid them all. Zephyr heard the command and burst into seven copies of himself, Double Team forming a flock of Staravia above them. They dipped and dove, weaving around each other, sometimes making aborted dives for Mismagius itself to try to throw it out of its attack pattern.
Mismagius ignored them all and fired. Dawn threw her hands up in front of her face as rocks went flying, forgetting about the psychic barriers for a moment as Power Gem went everywhere. She heard a shriek of pain and her hands fell, eyes frantically searching for Zephyr. It didn't take long; Zephyr was flapping hard only a few feet above her head, spinning in the air as he tried with all his might to stay aloft. His right wing was moving slower, feathers spinning around it; he'd been hit, and hard. Mismagius leapt on the opportunity; the ominous crackle of electricity filled the air and a bolt of lightning tore through the air to strike Zephyr. He shrieked once, pain evident, before falling out of the sky trailing smoke. Dawn recalled him before he hit the ground. He'd done well.
Her hand went to her Pokéballs, fingers dancing over her three options. Morgana was out; she was too new to the team, too unused to battle. One day she would be a powerful player in a gym battle, but it wasn't today. Ion or Aries then.
Her hand hovered over Ion's Pokéball for a long moment. He was a good option; he could inflict super effective damage with Bite and put opponents off balance with Flash and Roar, could strike hard with Spark, Discharge, and Iron Tail. But a ghost wouldn't care about Flash or Roar. Mismagius would fight from a distance, peppering him with attacks before he could get in close for Bite. For all that Discharge and Thunder Wave gave him more ranged options than he'd had in the past, he was fundamentally a close-range fighter.
Her hand closed on Aries' Pokéball, and she threw it right as the referee called for her to release. Ion might have the super-effective move in this scenario, but she thought Aries deserved this battle. He hadn't gotten as many chances to shine as the rest of the team, at first because he was new and then because he wasn't as outgoing as the other members of the team. It was too easy to let him fall into the background. He deserved this chance.
Aries appeared on the battlefield standing tall and proud, horns raised and ready for battle, hoof stamping against the muddy ground. He'd switched from growing spicy Tarragon on his back to Pincurchin moss; he'd need its cushioning effect more than a spicy deterrent in this battle. Mismagius giggled, the hum of it making Dawn's bones buzz as it raised a wispy hand to its mouth, staring down at Aries with a smile. The referee raised his flag; only to lower it a moment later. "Umm… I don't know what kind of Pokémon that is."
"He's a Skiddo," Dawn replied with a slight smile. After training Aries for these past few months, she'd almost forgotten that most Sinnohans wouldn't be familiar with the Kalosian grass type.
"Okay, Skiddo vs. Mismagius, begin!" The flag fell and the battle was back on.
"Hmm… let us begin with Silhouette." Mismagius chuckled and sank into the ground, disappearing into its own wavering shadow.
"Set up for Tangle and keep an eye on the shadows Aries." He took off on his usual circuit of the field, Leech Seeds and Worry Seeds dropping from his coat. She was pretty sure Worry Seed wouldn't do anything to Mismagius, but it was worth a try. His eyes were fixed on the nearest shadow everywhere he ran, but as the ground became laden with seeds drinking in the last of Crest's Whirlpool, Mismagius did not appear.
When something did emerge from the shadows, it wasn't Mismagius. Balls of flame erupted from each shadow, not the eerie unmoving blue flame of Will-O-Wisp but instead normal wavering orange and red flame tinged with purple at the edges. They hovered in place, casting new shadows all over the battlefield. The sudden flare of light from every direction made Aries stumble back, blinking furiously. Mismagius emerged from his own shadow, a Shadow Ball charged and ready. "Behind you!" Dawn yelled at the same time the Shadow Ball crashed into Aries' back.
He cried out in pain but the Leech Seeds nearby sprang to life, reaching for Mismagius… who was already gone, vanished into the shadows once again. The balls of flame winked out again, restoring the battlefield to its original state. Aries backed up to the center of the battlefield, a large, blackened patch visible in the moss on his back. Dawn had worked hard to make it grow thick for this battle, hoping to give him some extra protection between his body and attacks. It clearly hadn't worked.
When the balls of flame erupted from the shadows again Aries was ready. Every single Leech Seed on the battlefield glowed green and burst to life, reaching out. Mismagius hadn't used his shadow this time, opting for one a few feet away that didn't have a fireball. The Leech Seeds reached out and forced it to use the fireball it had charged and ready for Aries to burn away the grasping vines. With it distracted two pieces of grass sprouted from the ground, growing to great lengths and suddenly snaring Mismagius, dragging it down towards the ground. It hissed and burned the Grass Knot away with that fire move Dawn didn't recognize. Aries charged for Mismagius, Vine Whips ready, but it darted into a nearby shadow before he could reach it.
The flames once again went out, but Dawn had an idea. "Razor Leaf into the flames!" Aries did as she asked and more; as soon as the flames appeared he shot Razor Leaves right into the two nearest, then began to spin. Razor Leaves went flying in every direction, right through the flames or impacting the psychic barriers with little flashes of light. The balls of flame consumed some Razor Leaves, flaring and growing, but some of the larger ones made it through, set aflame by the passing. They cast light as they continued to hit the psychic barriers, breaking up shadows wherever they went.
Mismagius didn't even get the opportunity to leap out of the shadows; a passing group of flaming Razor Leaves dispelled its shadow, ejecting it from the darkness. Its shriek made Dawn wince, the hum in her bones making her shiver. Aries sent a thick volley of Razor Leaves at it and it couldn't recover in time, taking the attack head on. The shriek redoubled and Dawn had to force herself not to take a step back, shaking her head as it that would help remove the awful voice.
"Lucky Chant and Mystical Fire! Burn it away!" Fantina's voice didn't hint at any concern, but Dawn knew getting her to intervene at all was an accomplishment.
"Leech Seed net! Catch it!" Would he be fast enough? The forgotten Leech Seeds began to reach towards each other, weaving together, but they weren't fast enough. Aries recognized this, turning to run as Mismagius charged multiple, purple-tinted fireballs, chanting in that strange, undecipherable tongue the whole time. Aries darted and weaved as the fireballs shot towards him, but one struck his flank and the other a leg, making him cry out and stumble.
"Confuse Ray!"
"Roll! Shock yourself out of it if you get hit!" If their battle with Nando had taught Dawn anything about moves like Hypnosis and Confuse Ray, it was that they needed a plan before he got hit, not after.
It proved fortuitous as Aries didn't recover fast enough from Mystical Fire to roll and dodge the trio of little lights that hit him head on. He stumbled back to his feet, but his eyes were wild. He lashed out with Vine Whip at the ground, kicking at something unseen with his back legs. What was he seeing? Confuse Ray was said to cause the user to hallucinate their greatest fears, the wildest monsters one could imagine. Those afflicted often hurt themselves in their rush to destroy or escape what they saw. Dawn could only watch. He couldn't hear her in this state.
Aries stiffened as Mismagius drew closer, its chant abandoned for the moment in favor of a triumphant chuckle. Perhaps he could hear that even through the haze of Confuse Ray. Fantina was smiling too, almost sadly as Mismagius charged up Mystical Fire to end the match.
Aries lit up with white light and threw himself headfirst towards the ground. The ground shook for a moment with the force of the Take Down and he left a crater behind. Mismagius backed up a few feet, clearly confused. Was Confuse Ray causing him to attack foes that weren't there?
Aries picked himself up from the ground and met Dawn's eyes with his clear brown ones. She grinned back. He's been spending too much time around Zephyr.
Her friend whirled and grabbed a forgotten Leech Seed net with Vine Whip, launching it at Mismagius. The surprised ghost type launched its Mystical Fire into the net, but it couldn't burn through the thick vines before they hit it; in fact, it only increased the damage as the flaming net draped across its purple body. It shrieked again but Dawn bore it, the sight of its form hazing around the edges giving her a surge of adrenaline to counteract the fear and hum in her bones. It wasn't meant to take hits.
Shadow Balls shot in every direction, far faster to charge than Mystical Fire. Aries ducked under them and ran in zigzag patterns to make himself harder to target, giving himself space as the ghost raged. He wasn't fast, not with that leg wound, but Mismagius was too busy burning the remains of the net off to target him directly.
"One more hit!" Dawn called to Aries. They might be able to knock it out with just one more hit!
"Power Gem and Shadow Ball! You must cripple it!" Fantina must have been worried to give such specific instructions. Mismagius finally cut off its screeching, turning in the air to face Aries, murder on its surprisingly expressive face. Shadow Balls formed around it, dirt rising from the ground to form rocks beside them.
Aries grabbed another of the Leech Seed nets from the ground and threw it at Mismagius, catching a Shadow Ball and some Power Gems as they raced for him. He leapt over another Power Gem but stumbled on the landing, his weakened leg nearly giving out.
"No!" Dawn's heart was in her throat as he stumbled into one of the shafts of light coming from the windows, highlighted and slowed, the perfect target.
"Now, Mystical Fire!" Fantina didn't want to leave anything to chance. Aries struggled to stay on his feet as the fireball drew closer and closer. Dawn had nearly given up when his coat, blackened and burned away in patches from too-close flames and the Shadow Balls, glowed a soft green and spread across his back once again. His glowing green vines shot out and wrapped around his hurt leg, the Growth-enhanced vines giving it extra support. He darted away just before the Mystical Fire hit, leaving only one of the three leaves of his tail trailing a wisp of smoke.
Grass once again burst from under Mismagius and grabbed it, the Grass Knot slamming the tired ghost to the ground. This time it burst into a cloud of black and purple smoke and did not reform as Haunter had, the smoke swirling together slowly with only the barest hint of coordination.
The red light of a Pokéball swallowed the smoke up a second later and the crowd erupted. Dawn laughed, tension released in a huge breath as the crowd cheered for her victory, for the battle, and the ref announced the results. She ran out to greet Aries where he stood frozen, watching the crowd with his head held high. "You did it buddy!" He leaned into her as she grabbed him in a hug.
She only looked up when Fantina walked over, something already held in the palm of her outstretched hand. A small badge in purple and silver, three circles surrounding a bigger circle in silver in the middle. The Relic Badge, proof of their victory. "You are so fantastically strong! You have come so far mon ami. You must return in the future, so that we may battle again, non?"
Dawn picked up the badge with hesitant fingers, her left hand still entwined in Aries' fur, the feel of it between her fingers almost too much to believe. She looked at it for a moment, then met Fantina's proud eyes with a smile. "Count on it!"
Later that night, Dawn sat in her pajamas in her bed at the Pokémon Center, Ion asleep on her left side, Morgana curled up into a ball on her right. Aries and Crest were passed out in their own little blanket piles at the foot of the bed and Zephyr had taken up a position on the headboard, head tucked under one wing. The incubator was sitting on the nightstand, giving off a gentle heat as it kept the precious egg inside warm. Dawn's eyelids were drooping; she'd need to go to bed soon. But she had one last task to complete.
She finished typing her mother's videophone number into the recipients' box of the message and attached a single video file, then hit send. When she woke up tomorrow morning, Johanna would be able to watch Dawn's entire battle with Fantina. Dawn put her Pokétch on the nightstand, turned off the lamp, and fell asleep, smile still fixed in place.
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Back to Hearthome for a single chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! It'll be a while before we return as Dawn is off to explore eastern Sinnoh and get herself in all kinds of trouble. Next chapter has some spooky scenes so I'm hoping to get it out before Halloween is too far in the past, but we'll see what happens.
See you next time!