"That really means so much to me." Dawn replies earnestly, clearly appreciative of what Maylene's saying, "And, hey! I reckon you'll have at least as much fun when you have your battles with Ash and Casey!"
Maylene nods, "And after our battle, I just have to stay on as Gym Leader. Our battle reminded me just how much fun being a Gym Leader can be."
"That's the spirit, Maylene!" Casey replies determinedly, "I can't wait until our battle! I hope you're expecting a tough challenge!"
Maylene replies without a hint of hesitation, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Bring it on."
"And so, the challenger: Casey from Pastoria City!" Connally hollers in his deep voice, looking over to Casey's side of the battlefield expectantly.
Casey wastes no time in replying, her voice oozing with excitement and determination as she does so. She's more than ready for this, "I'm here and I'm ready to go!"
Connally nods respectfully towards her. He then directs his attention towards Maylene, who is stood on the opposite end of the battlefield and is just as ready as Casey to battle, "And the Veilstone City Gym Leader, Maylene!"
"I'm here!"
Casey can practically feel it. The tense yet welcome atmosphere that she always feel whenever she challenges a Gym. She can feel the passion radiating off of Maylene. She can feel the excitement coming off of Ash, the observance from Brock as the reserved Pokemon Breeder watches on in a comfortable silence. She can hear Dawn at the side of the field, her Coordinator friend cheering her on from the side of the battlefield as she always does. This is the feeling she's been yearning for since she walked out of the Eterna City Gym.
This is a Gym Battle.
"And now, the Gym Battle between Casey, the challenger, and Maylene, the Gym Leader, is about to begin!" Connally proclaims, during his duty to the gym by explaining the rules of battle, "Each side will use three Pokemon, and the challenge will be over when all three Pokemon on one side are unable to battle! Also, only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon!"
Casey's hand subconsciously goes into her pocket, ready to send her first Pokemon out to battle within a moments notice. She's simply so pumped up to finally be battling for her third badge - she can hardly wait! She glances towards her friend and calls out to Electabuzz, who is sat beside Ash and is spectating the match.
"Electabuzz, you be sure to watch our battle, okay?"
Electabuzz grunts out a response and turns his head away from her, holding his head up high and refusing to look at her. Casey can't help but laugh at his reaction. Electabuzz can be so damn prideful sometimes - he's in such a state because he's not battling today. It's Shellos' time to shine, so she had to choose one of her Pokemon to sit this one out. That Pokemon just so happened to be Electabuzz this time around.
"I think Electabuzz is a bit grumpy." Ash remarks with a chuckle.
His laughter soon grinds to a halt when Electabuzz shoots a piercing glare at him, making the fearful Kanto native hold his hands up submissively and frantically attempt to apologise,
"I'm only kidding, Electabuzz!" He lets out a nervous laugh, "Forget I said anything!"
Casey chortles at his reaction before directing her attention towards Electabuzz, her commanding yet kind voice instantly drawing the Electric Pokemon's attention, "I promise it'll be you next time, Electabuzz. I need you to keep an eye on the battle though so you can learn how to counter certain moves. I'm really gonna need your help next time around, 'kay?"
Electabuzz stills look rather disgruntled, but he picks his head up slightly when she mentions her next Gym Battle. She seems to have won him over for now. With that in mind, she directs her attention back towards the battlefield, her hand going straight back to her pocket to grab her first Pokeball.
Maylene makes the first move, throwing a single Pokeball out in front of her with gusto, "Go! Meditite!"
The Pokeball bursts open and the Meditate Pokemon emerges in a bright flash of light, appearing on the field in a meditation pose with a calm expression on its face. Meditite's calm demeanour intrigues Casey; she nonetheless responds quickly by sending her first Pokemon out onto the field.
"Let's go, Dratini!"
Casey launches the Pokeball out in front of her and Dratini bursts out from it, sounding off with a loud battle cry. Her eagerness is in direct opposition with Meditite's stoic nature, and Casey uses that to her advantage by starting off quickly.
"Dratini, lets start this off with Twister!"
Dratini follows her trainers command and generates a large twister in the space just in front of her; the growing Twister even whips up some of the dust from the surface of the battlefield, cloaking the surrounding area in a light layer of dust. Dratini finishes charging up the attack and launches it directly at Meditite, but Maylene is quick to counter her attempts.
"Dodge it!"
Meditite swift moves to the side and dodges the incoming attack, remaining calm and poised throughout. Casey groans inwardly, frustrated that the attack didn't go as planned, but she doesn't let that stop her from giving Dratini another command. She decides that it's best to go for the heaviest hitting move this time around.
"Use Draco Meteor!"
Dratini tilts her head towards the ceiling and generates a large orb of energy. She fires it off moments later to the top of the room, where it splits and numerous orbs begin to rain down on the battlefield. Casey smirks to herself, thinking that she's caught Maylene out here, but that smirk soon fades with Maylene's next command.
"Meditite, use Detect!"
Of course! How could I forget that move?!
Casey mentally slaps herself for her forgetfulness. She literally watched Meditite use that move yesterday during Maylene's battle with Dawn. She should've known that Maylene would counter Draco Meteor with it. She watches knowingly as Meditite swiftly dodges the onslaught of meteors, all of which plummet into the battlefield without so much as coming near Meditite. Dratini seems caught of guard at this - she's never seen the move be used, after all. Casey's seen it before of course, but it's new territory for the Dragon Pokemon.
"Stay focused, Dratini!" She calls out reassuringly, "Use Dragon Rage!"
Dratini regains her composure and obeys Casey's command, firing off an intense ray of red light at her target. Casey half expects Maylene to order Meditite to use Detect again, but she surprises her instead by ordering the Mediation Pokemon to do something different.
"Dodge it, and then follow up with Confusion!"
Confusion!? Not Confusion!
Casey was worried about Meditite's Psychic-Type moves before the battle even began. Psychic-Type moves can be a force to be reckoned with if you use them wisely. She should know - she's trained a fair few Psychic-Type Pokemon in the past. She watches as Meditite's eyes glow a purple colour; soon, Dratini's body becomes surrounded in a purple aura of an identical colour to Meditite's eyes. Casey knows what's about to happen, but it still shocks her when it does nonetheless.
Meditite strikes its hand out in front of it. It lifts its hand up in the air, which lifts the defenceless Dratini up with it, before thrusting its arm back down again, bringing Dratini back down with a resounding thud. The Dragon Pokemon wails in pain as it smacks into the hard ground, taking a considerable amount of damage upon impact.
"Dratini, no!" Casey calls out, watching in desperation as Dratini writhes about in a confused state. The effects of Meditite's Confusion are clearly taking their toll on Dratini.
Maylene decides to waste no time, acting on the opportunity that she's been presented with by calling out yet another command, "Use Drain Punch!"
She watches with wide eyes as Meditite's glowing green fist gets closer and closer to Dratini, who's still writhing around in a confused state. She acts on a fearful impulse and pulls out Dratini's Pokeball from her pocket once again, yelling out desperately as Meditite continues to draw nearer.
"Dratini, return!"
Red light bounds towards Dratini and encompasses her body, beaming her right back to her capsule just before Meditite can reach her. Meditite quickly retreats back to its trainer when it realises this, whilst Casey racks her brain to try and decide what to do next. This isn't how she wanted this battle to go.
"What's your next move, Casey?" Maylene calls out to her. She doesn't sound cocky or smug, she sounds more curious than anything. Casey's appreciative of her understanding nature, but it doesn't do much for her nerves.
The plan was for Dratini to take down the first Pokemon she sent out! That way Shellos could follow up, and then Monferno could finish it off! Come on, Casey! You need to adapt to this!
She hastily withdraws her second Pokeball of the battle and tosses it out in front of her, trying to hide the desperation creeping its way into her voice as she does so, "Shellos, lets go!"
The Pokeball flies forward and lands on the spot where Dratini was stood. It bursts open and Shellos bursts out from within it, the Sea Slug Pokemon crying out just as enthusiastically as Dratini did before her. As much as Casey enjoys watching her Pokemon amidst her excitement, her urgency prompts her to act fast.
"Shellos, use Rain Dance!"
Shellos snaps out of her excitement and directs her attention towards the ceiling. She lets out a loud cry which echoes around the room; it summons an array of dark clouds that rain down on the battlefield, soaking the ground and casting a dark shadow over the field.
"If you're going to boost your attack, then so will we!" Maylene calls out defiantly, "Now, Meditite! Use Meditate!"
Meditite complies to its trainers command. The Meditation Pokemon takes a seat on the soggy ground of the battlefield, closing its eyes briefly as its body becomes surrounded in a white aura.
We're both working on boosted attack power now, and with Meditite's Detect, they've got the upper hand. Then again, Detect stops working after a while. If I can trick her into using it over and over again, we can corner them and win this!
"Shellos, use Water Pulse!"
Shellos eagerly opens her mouth and generates a solid ball of water, firing it off towards her opponent in a spiral. The spiral surges towards Meditite, but Maylene is quick to utilise her common counter strategy.
"Use Detect!"
The Meditation Pokemon effortlessly dodges the forthcoming attack, much to Casey's chagrin. The Pastoria native grits her teeth frustratingly, but her anger still fades away when she thinks back to her improvised plan. She knows that she's just got to stick with it.
"Use Water Pulse again!"
"Dodge it with Detect!"
Another water spiral rushes towards Meditite, who simply dodges it just as effortlessly as it did before. Casey can feel her frustration growing by the second, but she presses on. She knows that they must be close now.
"Use Water Pulse again, Shellos!" She calls out determinedly, "And use all of the power that you've got!"
Shellos responds with a curt cry of recognition before zoning in her focus on Meditite. She generates yet another Water Pulse, but Casey instantly notices that this one is far greater in size than those before it. She knows that Shellos really is pouring all of her power into this attack.
"Dodge it again with Detect, Meditite!" Maylene retaliates quick, calling out a precise command to her awaiting Pokemon as Shellos finishes generating the Water Pulse.
Shellos fires off her charged up attack with extreme force at her opponent. Meditite's glowing green eyes falter as the spiral approaches, and it's then and there that Casey knows her plan's been a success. Meditite's eyes widen in fear as the spiral races dangerously close to it; the intense attack collides with the Meditation Pokemon moments later. The force of the water sends it flying up into the air with a screech.
"Meditite! No!"
Meditite smashes down onto the ground with an unprecedented force, scattering dust everywhere upon its forceful impact. Casey almost begins to cheer triumphantly, thinking that they've finally knocked down the Meditation Pokemon, but her hopes are soon crushed when Meditite manages to get back up again, albeit after much struggle. It manages to push itself up from the ground, standing upon shaky legs as it looks back at Shellos with as much strength as it can muster.
Casey grits her teeth for the second time. She really thought that they got Meditite that time around. However, she knows that they've sent Maylene into panic, as she can distinctively see that the Gym Leader's eyes are dark in deep thought. She's clearly desperately trying to come up with a counter strategy; her eyes light up in relief when she finally comes up with something.
"Quick, Meditite!" She calls out, "Use Drain Punch!
Meditite feebly calls back in response, signifying that its understood the command. Casey has an idea on how to counter this, but she needs to wait until the perfect time before she enacts her plan. Timing is everything when it comes to strategies, after all.
Shellos glances back at her as Meditite begins to rush towards her, the Meditation Pokemon's glowing green fist appearing quite menacing given the circumstances. She knows that Shellos is nervous and is desperate to act, but she needs to hold out for a little bit longer. Casey gives her a curt yet confident nod; it takes a second to register before the Sea Slug Pokemon nods back, directing her attention back to her opponent as it draws even nearer.
Not yet...not yet.
She finally acts when Meditite comes into a reasonably close range. She calls out to Shellos sharply and confidently, "Dodge it by jumping up!"
Shellos leaps up high into the air just as Meditite flails its glowing fist forward, the attack missing by a mile as Shellos dodges it with ease. Meditite's expression matches that of its trainers, both of them looking up at Shellos with expressions of pure shock. They certainly weren't expecting Shellos to jump up so high. The Sea Slug Pokemon towers over her opponent, her body slick with the persistently falling rainfall thats lasted throughout the battle. This is the perfect chance to finish this up.
"Alright, Shellos!" Casey shouts, punching her fist out in front of her as she calls out one last command with gusto, "Use Mud Bomb and finish this up!"
Shellos acts without hesitation. She opens her mouth up mid air, showering multiple rounded balls of mud at her opponent. The onslaught of muddy projectiles crash into Meditite and the ground around it, kicking up dirt and dust across the field. Shellos lands comfortably on the ground just in front of her trainer and she takes a glance back at Casey, calling out triumphantly for what she's just pulled off. Casey flashes a quick smile in her direction before directing her attention back towards Meditite, watching in anticipation as the dust begins to clear. The dark rain clouds overhead also dissipate, stopping the heavy downpour as the remaining particles of dust clear away.
They finally clear away, revealing Meditite to be down for the count, spirals covering its eyes as it lays there unconscious.
"Meditite is unable to battle!" Connally declares, "And so, the winner of this battle is Shellos!"
"Great job, Shellos." Casey praises, the Sea Slug Pokemon responding with a content reply, clearly glad to be receiving such praise.
"That was awesome!" Ash calls out suddenly from where he's spectating, catching everybody out when he leaps up from his seat and chants enthusiastically, "That was some battle! You were both awesome!"
"Wow. Thank you, Ash." Maylene replies politely, a faint blush sweeping over her cheeks as she returns Meditite to its Pokeball.
Casey turns to look over at her friends as she reaches for her second Pokeball, focusing her attention on Electabuzz in particular. The Electric Pokemon is watching Maylene carefully, his awareness still intact despite not actually being in the battle.
"Hey, Electabuzz!" She catches his attention when she calls out to him, her lip quirking into a smile when he looks over at her curiously, "What do you reckon? Did we do well?"
He grumbles out a reply that's quite hard to make out, but she understands what he's trying to say when he gives her a small nod of approval before shifting his eyes back to Maylene once again. She smiles and stifles a chuckle at his actions before directing her attention back to Maylene herself, watching eagerly as she sends out her second Pokemon.
"Alright, Machoke! Come on out!"
Machoke bursts out of its capsule mid-air, materialises on its side of the battlefield with a loud battle cry. Its voice booms around the room, the ferocity of which sends a noticeable shiver down Shellos' spine. Machoke is much larger than her previous opponent. Casey's not surprised that Shellos is intimidated.
"Does the challenger wish to make any substitutions?"
Casey looks down at Shellos as Connally asks that, wanting to double check that the Sea Slug Pokemon is willing to continue battling. If she's too intimidated by her opponent, she's not going to be able to draw out all of her strength to battle with. Shellos seems to sense Casey's eyes on her, as she turns around to look at her trainer within mere moments. She responds with a small smile and a nod; Casey knows exactly what her Pokemon's trying to say just through her simple actions.
She looks back to Connally, responding confidently and without hesitation, "No. Shellos is gonna keep going."
Connally nods before directing his attention back towards the centre of the battlefield, ready for one of them to call out their first attack. Casey decides to act first, working on the momentum that Shellos has already established from her previous battle with Meditite to their advantage.
"Now, Shellos! Use Water Pulse!"
Shellos acts fast, generating yet another Water Pulse at the front of her mouth almost immediately after being ordered to. She fires off the spiral of water at Machoke, but Maylene's ready for a counter attack as soon as she does.
"Dodge it!"
Machoke swiftly avoids the spiral of water, manoeuvring its bulky body out of the way of the attack with relative ease. It stands steadily to the side of the battlefield, ready to attack as soon as Maylene gives the command.
"Now use Brick Break!"
"Dodge it, Shellos!"
Machoke races forward at top speed, its hand glowing brighter and brighter as it gets closer. Shellos attempts to jump out of the way of the attack, but the Superpower Pokemon slams its hand down with extreme force, smashing Shellos hard into the ground and preventing her from escaping. Shellos screeches in pain as she crashes down into the ground whilst Machoke retreats to a safe distance, preventing its struggling opponent from launching any close range counter attack.
"Shellos!" Casey cries out in concern, "Are you okay?"
The Sea Slug Pokemon responds with a feeble cry, pushing herself up off of the ground after much struggle. She manages to find her bearings rather quickly, staring down her opponent with a fiery determination in her eyes.
That attack hurt, and now Shellos is eager to fight back.
"That was a powerful attack, Maylene." Casey complements, the corner of her mouth quirking into a confident smirk as she talks, "It sure has got Shellos all fired up!"
"Shell! Shellos!"
Casey laughs at her Pokemon's fiery response, nodding her head towards her as her smirk grows, "See what I mean?"
"You can be as fired up as you want, but there's no way that your countering our next attack!" Maylene shouts back confidently.
Not if we counter first!
"Now, Shellos! Use Mud Bomb on the ground!"
Casey's command puzzles everybody else in the room, particularly Maylene, which gives Shellos the perfect time to execute the attack. The Sea Slug Pokemon lurches her neck forward and launches a group of well rounded yet sturdy mud bombs at the ground just in front of her opponent. The mud bombs immediately kick up dust from the battlefield upon impact, creating a debris-based barrier between the two battling Pokemon.
That's part one sorted. Now it's time for part two!
"Alright, Shellos! Jump up!"
Shellos' body flings up into the air as she pushes herself up off of the dusty ground with great force, soaring up high above the makeshift barrier she's just formed. Machoke's eyes dart about in a panicked state, the Superpower Pokemon desperately trying to figure out what Shellos is up to.
"Now, use Water Pulse!" Casey cries, acting quickly on the momentum that Shellos is working with.
She doesn't actually see Shellos' Water Pulse hit due to the dusty barrier blocking Machoke from her sight, but she knows that its worked when she hears Machoke let out a gruff cry of discomfort and pain. Shellos lands easily back on the ground with a determined cry, observing comfortably as the dust barrier begins to clear. The dust dissipates, revealing Machoke to be kneeling upon one knee where it was stood before, visibly wincing in pain as Maylene look at it in concern.
"Machoke!" She calls out desperately, "Are you okay?"
Machoke surprises Casey when it manages to stand back on its own two feet. Its foot pounds onto the ground as it manages to shift up from where it's kneeling on its knee; its footsteps boom on the ground and echo around the room, sending yet another shiver up Shellos' spine. Machoke isn't letting up so easily.
"This is getting interesting, Maylene!" Casey calls out, standing her ground despite sensing Shellos' nerves, "But don't start thinking that Shellos and I are going to give up! No, we're just getting started!"
"I wouldn't expect anything less!" Maylene shouts back. She strikes her hand out and points a finger directly at Shellos, calling out yet another command with a fiery passion in her voice, "Machoke! Now use Seismic Toss!"
Machoke surges towards Shellos at a remarkable speed. Casey barely has the time to react before its grip latches onto Shellos, restraining the struggling Sea Slug Pokemon in a vice like grip. Machoke leaps up into the air, admittedly with not as much vigour due to its weakened state, and begins to spin rapidly whilst airborne, charging up the power that it'll use to smash Shellos into the ground. Casey knows that this attack will end the battle if it's executed correctly, and it won't end well for Shellos if that occurs.
Casey knows that she's running on borrowed time, which explains why her next order perhaps isn't the most thought provoking nor logical command that she's given. Regardless, she feels as if she's out of options as Machoke begins to toss Shellos towards the ground from its high elevation, which is why she acts without much thought.
"Use Mud Bomb!"
In a last ditch attempt to even the score, Casey orders Shellos to fire off another attack as she begins to plummet towards the ground. The Sea Slug Pokemon obliges despite her panicked state, managing to fire off a small array of mud bombs at her opponents just before she smashes into the ground. Shellos kicks up an explosion of dirt as she crashes down, obscuring both herself and Machoke from the view of all those observing.
Everybody watches with bated breath as the dust begins to clear. Casey's knows that Shellos took a lot of damage, but she hopes that the Sea Slug Pokemon might be able to hold out a little longer. If not, she sincerely hopes that her Mud Bomb attack was successful and made contact with Machoke. If it did, then they'll technically have the edge. She really hopes that's the case.
The dust cloud manages to clear away moments later, revealing the fate of both of the Pokemon in the battle. Lying on the ground is both Machoke and Shellos, both of their eyes covered in swirls as they lay there unconscious just as Meditite did before them.
Shellos' Mud Bomb hit after all.
"Both Shellos and Machoke are unable to battle!" Connally announces, "I declare this round a draw!"
Casey rushes out of her battle box as soon as Connally makes his verdict, kneeling down beside Shellos and pulling the weak Water-Type into her arms. Shellos rouses from unconscious and looks up at her apologetically, letting out a feeble cry as she attempts to regain her strength.
"Hey, it's okay." Casey shushes, smiling down at her fallen friend, "You were incredible out there, okay? I couldn't have done it without you."
"Shell!"
Casey smiles, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing Shellos' Pokeball, pointing the device down at the Sea Slug Pokemon, "You deserve a nice long rest."
Shellos dematerialises inside of her capsule in a flash of quick, bright light, leaving Casey kneeling alone in the middle of the battlefield. She glances up to look at Maylene, watching intently as the Maylene returns Machoke to its Pokeball, commending it for its performance in battle. Casey stands up and makes her way back to her battle box, ready to send out her next Pokemon when Maylene calls out to her.
"Are you ready, Casey?" She asks, the Gym Leader gripping her last Pokeball firmly in her right hand, "I hope you don't think that this battle is over just yet. We're just getting started!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Maylene." Casey replies confidently, "Bring it on!"
Maylene smirks at that. She throws out her third and final Pokeball, calling out her final Pokemon's name with even more enthusiasm and confidence than she did for the previous two, "Let's go, Lucario!"
"Monferno, get fired up!"
Both airborne capsules crack open, bright flashes of light spilling out of the both of them as the two eager Pokemon emerge. They both land firmly upon the battlefield; they let out battle cries equally matched in volume and determination. Both Maylene and Casey know that this is going to be the most action packed battle yet.
"Let's start this out with Flame Wheel, Monferno!"
An excitable glint flashes across Monferno's eyes as he hears his first command. Maylene watches rather stoically as Monferno's flame-covered body speeds towards Lucario and calls out to Lucario, "Push Monferno back with Bone Rush!"
Lucario's rigidly strikes its arms forward and pulls its fisted paws apart, generating a laser green bone of energy in its hands. He swings the bone down on Monferno once the Playful Pokemon is in a reachable distance, halting his attempts to execute his Flame Wheel attack. Lucario uses all of its strength to force Monferno back, the force of which breaks apart Monferno's fiery exterior as he's sent flying backwards.
"Monferno, no!"
Monferno's back paw kicks up some dust as he uses it to steady himself on the battlefield, managing to grind his body to a halt and maintain his footing without sustaining too much damage. He growls at his opponent as a look of pure rage and resilience crosses his face, signifying to Casey that he's ready to fight back.
"Now, Lucario!" Maylene shouts, "Use Metal Claw!"
Lucario extends his right paw out to his side. The spikes atop of his paw glow brightly and extend out to form three razor sharp claws. The Aura Pokemon makes a mad dash for Monferno, its claws ready to swing out upon a moments notice. Casey doesn't want to give Lucario the chance to pull of the attack, and as of such she hastily calls out a command to counter the attack, "Counter it with Mach Punch!"
Monferno rushes towards Lucario, meeting the Aura Pokemon in the middle of the battlefield as smashing his glowing fist into its elongated claws. The two attacks collide with intense ferocity, Monferno just about gaining the edge on Lucario due to having the type advantage. Lucario skids backwards from the force of the attack, wincing in pain as it attempts to regain its composure before its trainer.
"All right, Monferno!" Casey praises.
Monferno turns around and flashes a confident grin over at her, calling out triumphantly for his efforts. He directs his attention back towards Lucario just as it stands tall once again. He barks towards Monferno in rage, clearly frustrated that the Playful Pokemon has gained the upper hand.
If we can keep this up, this battle should be ours. We just need to stick with it.
"Now, Monferno! Use Dig!"
Dust flies up all over the place as Monferno burrows underground, disappearing from sight for everybody above. Casey knows that Lucario's quick, so she's hoping to catch it by surprise from underneath the battlefield.
"Try and sense Monferno's aura, Lucario!"
Uh, oh. That's what I was worried about.
Lucario closes its eyes and directs its paw towards the ground, using its unique power to try and sense the position of Monferno beneath him. Casey's not about to let that happen.
"Alright, Monferno! Heat it up!"
Maylene looks at her with a bemused expression on her face, the Gym Leader clearly caught off guard by her odd request. Nothing happens at first, but the battle soon becomes interesting when a red hue lights up the ground surrounding Lucario. Casey notices it and smirks, knowing fully well whats about to happen; it seems that Maylene realises to, but she ends up realising just too late.
"Lucario, look o-!"
The ground cracks beneath Lucario as molten fire spills out beneath him, encasing the Aura Pokemon in an agonising cage of roaring flames. Lucario roars in pain as the flames consume his body, dealing super effective damage that leaves it gasping for air moments after. Monferno remerges as the flames covering Lucario's body die down, fiery determination in his eyes as he waits for his next command.
Casey expects Lucario to fall down then, the power of Monferno's Flamethrower having been too much for the Aura Pokemon to handle, but it surprises her when it brushes off the pain its sustained, standing proud and tall once again.
"What the?!" Casey exclaims, astonished.
Maylene decides to act on her shock and chooses to launch yet another attack, "Now use Force Palm!"
A wild glare forms in Lucarios eyes as he rushes towards Monferno, its palm outstretched and ready to strike. It thunders forward, and Casey only really gets the chance to react when it draws dangerously close, her confusion from beforehand still prevalent in her mind.
"Quick, use Mach Punch!" She shouts rapidly, not fully thinking about the best way to counter and just going with the first thing that pops into her head. Her thoughts are too frantic for her to think straight right now.
Monferno, as understanding and obedient as ever, responds to her command without so much as a hint of hesitation. His fist shines brightly once again as thunders forward to meet Lucario in the middle of the battlefield. The two fierce fighters find each other and force their powerful attacks upon each other, a blinding light filling the room as the attacks collide. Casey instantly turns away from the light, shielding her eyes to the best of her ability from the light.
She hears an explosion and pained cries from both ends of the field, only adding to her anticipation to the outcome of the bout. She turns back when the flash of light finally dies down, her face contorting into confusion as she observes the battlefield.
Both Pokemon seem to be relatively unscathed from the attacks. Monferno's entire body is heaving as he stares down Lucario, who is just as desperately trying to regain his breath. They're both tired but other than that, they seem fine. For some reason, that doesn't sit well with Casey. She was expecting...more.
"Lucario, use Bone Rush!"
She snaps out of her bewildered stupor when Maylene yells out yet another command for Lucario, who responds after a few seconds of delay. The Aura Pokemon definitely sustained some damage from Monferno's Mach Punch if its having delayed reactions. It's usually razor sharp when it comes to its reaction times. Regardless, Casey knows that she has to react fast, as Lucario's drawing closer by the second with a sturdy laser bow in its hand.
"Dodge it using Dig!"
Monferno moves to burrow himself underground as Lucario draws dangerously close, but he catches everybody by surprise when he falters. The Playful Pokemon's body goes rigid as small bolts of electricity crackle around his body, preventing him from moving as Lucario smashes the laser bone into his abdomen. Casey stands there, her mouth agape, as Monferno's sent flying backwards into one of the wooden beams standing tall just behind her. He slides down the beam and lands in a crumpled position on the floor, his eyes covered in swirls as he slips into unconsciousness.
"Monferno is unable to battle! The win-!"
Casey doesn't hear the rest of Connally's sentence, her attention far too focused on Monferno to give it a second thought. She turns around and rushes towards the fallen Fire-Type, kneeling down beside him just like she did with Shellos before. She winces when she sees a couple of remaining bolts of lightning crackle around his body, small traces of electricity still trapped inside of his body from the paralysis.
She tentatively reaches a hand out to him with a grimace, afraid that she'll hurt him even more, but her grimace soon warps into a smile when he opens his eyes and looks up at her, "Hey, pal. How are you doing?"
"Mon!"
Casey chuckles at his fiery response. Even when he's on the brink of unconscious, Monferno's still got his temper, "Sorry, pal. That was a stupid question, wasn't it?"
He nods weakly, "Mon-ferno."
Casey laughs again at his response, reaches into her pocket and withdrawing his minimised capsule, enlarging it in her hands and holding it out to him, "You were great, pal. You deserve a nice long rest after all your hard work, don't you reckon?"
Monferno nods feebly, reaching his limp arm up to the capsule and tapping the front of it, causing it to snap open. He dematerialises inside of the capsule in the same way that he emerged from it before, leaving Casey kneeling down at the side of the battlefield with just a Pokeball in her hand. She stands up and makes her way back to her battle box, exchanging Monferno's Pokeball for the last one that she has left.
The paralysis is what caught Monferno out. At least it won't be able to stop Dratini. That ability of hers sure is going to come in handy here.
She smiles down at the Pokeball in her hands for a brief moment before looking back up at Maylene and Lucario, who are both staring at her with anticipation and determination in their eyes.
"This is it, Casey." Maylene says, "This battle will decide whether or not I give you the Cobble Badge. I hope you're ready for a tough final battle!"
"I sure am, Maylene!" Casey calls back confidently. She launches her third and final Pokeball back out onto the battlefield once again, calling out her final Pokemon's name with pride and valour, "Let's go, Dratini!"
Dratini bursts out of her capsule and lands with a thud on the dusty battlefield, letting out a ferocious battle cry to assert her strength. She seems to be unaffected from the damage that she sustained during her battle with Meditite, which feels Casey with a sense of triumph and confidence. She was worried that this battle might be more one-sided than she had hoped it would be, but it's looking quite even right about now.
"Dratini, use Draco Meteor!"
Fiery meteors rain down on the battlefield shortly after Dratini fires a fiery orb into the air and they begin to crash into the ground, forming small craters in the battlefield as they do so. Lucario easily outmanoeuvres every single one of the meteors upon Maylene's request, and the Aura Pokemon is quick to respond when the Gym Leader in question gives him a quick command.
"Use Aura Sphere!"
"Counter it with Dragon Rage, Dratini!"
Dratini fires off an intense ray of purple energy that swirls around rapidly as it approaches Lucario's Aura Sphere, the two powerful attacks meeting each other in the middle of the battle. They collide and erupt into an explosion of smoke, which dissipates moments later after causing much disruption to the battle.
If we can get in close, perhaps Dratini can pull off an attack that Lucario can't dodge.
"Dratini, use Slam!"
She knows that Slam isn't a very effective attack on a Fighting-Type Pokemon like Lucario, but it will at least do some damage and allow the Dragon Pokemon to get in close. Dratini ultimately obeys her command with hesitation, speeding towards Lucario at top speed. She leaps up into the air in preparation to slam her body down on Lucario, but Maylene already has a defence for her attempts.
"Use Force Palm!"
She watches helplessly as Lucario's palm strikes Dratini's abdomen, a bright flash of light consuming the Dragon-Type's body. A small explosion goes off and Dratini goes flying backwards, wailing in agony as she crashes down onto the battlefield.
"Dratini, no!"
Dratini cries out feebly as she attempts to get back up again, clearly having sustained a substantial amount of damage from that last attack. She thankfully isn't being effected by paralysis due to her ability, being Shed Skin, but the physical damage from the attack itself is still as potent as it would be for any other Pokemon. Casey begins to think that this is the end of the battle, that Dratini won't be getting back up because she's that badly injured, but the resilient Dragon Pokemon catches everybody off guard by what she does next.
Dratini lets out one loud cry that sounds like a mixture of anguish and rage as she pushes herself up off the ground, her body becoming engulfed in a bright flash of light mere moments later. Casey knows exactly what's going on as soon as she sees the light.
Dratini's evolving.
She watches as the small Dragon-Type's body grows massively in size and length, all of the parts of her body getting bigger as she morphs into her new shape. It's when she bursts out of the cocoon of light that everybody gets to see her new form for the first time, and Casey can't help but become excited when she sees her Pokemon's new form.
"Dratini evolved into Dragonair!" Brock gasps to the side of the battlefield, subliminally sharing his Pokemon expertise with everybody in the room.
Dragonair, huh?
Casey reaches into her pocket and takes out her Pokedex, not passing up on the chance of scanning the new Pokemon's data into the technological device.
"Dragonair, the Dragon Pokémon. Dragonair emits a gentle aura that gives it a mystical appearance. Dragonair hosts a large amount of energy within its body, which it can discharge through the crystal orbs on its neck and tail."
Casey glances down at the device in her hands and briefly reads over the data on the screen, surprised to see that Dragonair knows a new move. It's not super effective against Lucario or anything, but it might just give them the edge they need in this battle.
She pockets her Pokedex and directs her attention back to Maylene and Lucario, who are both waiting for them to kick the battle off once again. Maylene herself looks rather astonished after witnessing Dratini evolve into Dragonair, and she also looks slightly afraid.
She should be, because this battle is about to take a drastic turn.
"Alright, Dragonair!" Casey calls confidently, "Let's show them what you can do!"
Dragonair roars in agreement, her snake-like body swaying about restlessly on the battlefield. She's clearly just as eager to show everybody just how strong she is.
"Not if we can take you down first!" Maylene counters, acting on Casey's idleness by calling out a hasty command to Lucario, "Quick, Lucario! Use Metal Claw!"
Lucario barks in response, stretching out his right arm once again as the spikes atop of his paw elongate into glowing bladed claws. Casey conceals her smirk, not wanting to appear overly confident, as the Aura Pokemon speeds towards Dragonair with its claws extended out. Casey waits until its mere inches away before retaliating, "Dragonair, jump up and use Aqua Tail!"
"Aqua Tail?!" Maylene gasps, astonished.
Lucario's entire body grinds to a halt as Dragonair shoots up into the air. The Aura Pokemon, along with its trainer, watches the majestic Dragon Pokemon in awe, neither of them being able to fully react to what's going on. Lucario's entire body is practically rigid by the time that a vivid blue aura surrounds Dragonair's tail. She smashes her long, lean tail down upon the Aura Pokemon, water engulfing its entire body in the process.
Lucario roars in pain as a small blast of energy goes off around his body, dissipating the water and sending him flying back towards his trainer. Dragonair lands back upon the ground with ease, the aura around her tail fading as her slender body stands tall before her opponent.
Lucario, on the other hand, finds itself struggling to remain conscious.
The Aura Pokemon's legs buckle beneath it and it crashes down onto its knees. It grits its teeth, pain coursing through its muscles as it attempts to stand back up again. It begins to push itself up, and for a few moments Casey's worried that it might just get back up again, but her worries are diminished when Lucario's face becomes stricken with pain, its eyes going wide and its mouth falling open in a silent cry of anguish. It drops back down to the ground again, its knees unable to support it this time around, and its entire body crashes down onto the battlefield with a resounding thud.
"Lucario is unable to battle! The winner is Dragonair, which means that the victory goes to Casey, the challenger!"
"We did it, Dragonair!" Casey calls out triumphantly, punching her fist into the air victoriously.
Dragonair turns around to face her trainer with a proud cry, catching Casey off guard when she rushes forward and tackles her to the ground. Casey's legs buckle under the weight of the newly evolved Dragon Pokemon. She crashes onto the ground and her back sears in pain upon impact, but she finds herself laughing when Dragonair coos and nuzzles the side of her face affectionally.
Casey laughs at Dragonair's ridiculousness and brushes her off, "I guessing you're happy that we won, right?"
"You both should be." Ash says, approaching the two of them along with Electabuzz, "That battle was awesome!"
"And you evolved." Dawn chimes in, approaching the group with Piplup in her arms and Brock trailing behind her, nodding her head towards Dragonair with a smile, "You were amazing, Dragonair!"
Dragonair responds enthusiastically to the appraisal, clearly proud of her performance in battle and not afraid to receive compliments for it. Casey chuckles at her overly affectionate response before directing her attention towards Electabuzz, who is watching Dragonair with a glint of admiration in his eyes.
"What do you reckon, Electabuzz?" Casey remarks, the Electric Pokemon's eyes snapping towards her when she calls out to him, "Did we do well?"
Electabuzz lets out a small buzz of approval, though it's clear that he's still slightly irked that he didn't get to participate in the battle. Casey's going to advise him that he shouldn't be frustrated, as he'll definitely be participating in her next Gym Battle, but she instead falls silent as Maylene approaches alongside Connally, a badge case being held in the latter's hands.
"You fought brilliantly alongside your Pokemon, Casey." Maylene praises.
Casey stands up from the ground to properly greet Maylene, Dragonair moving to stand formally by her side as she thanks Maylene for her compliments, "Thank you, Maylene. You really gave us a tough battle out there. Thanks for making it a great battle!"
"I think you deserve this." Maylene says, reaching for the badge case and extending it out to Casey, "The Cobble Badge is yours."
Her eyes drift down to the badge, its metal coating gleaming brightly against the dark backdrop of the case it's sitting in. After a brief spell of hesitation she reaches out to the badge and takes it into her hands, holding it up in front of the light to examine it closely.
It gleams victoriously under the light, the blocky orange sections of the badge standing out boldly against the metallic parts of the coveted prize. Casey smiles as she looks at her newly acquired badge, one thought swirling around in the back of her mind as she directs her attention towards her Pokemon, who are both watching her with eager and proud eyes.
We did it! Badge number three is ours!
