Virbank Arc: A Double Battle
Kuraiko took two Poké Balls out of her bag and threw them forward. "Togetic, Dewott, let's go!" A small and cute Pokémon and a blue otter Pokémon landed in front of them. Togetic giggled excitedly. "Here we go, Kirlia!" Mari shouted, sending her starter Pokémon into battle. Kirlia landed on the ground with an elegant spin. "Go, Shinx!" The small Electro- Pokémon burst out of the Poké Ball and landed lightly on its feet. Sparks flew from its blue fur. "Interesting Pokémon you have there." Kuraiko nodded in interest, then opened the battle. "Okay. Togetic, use Charm on Shinx!" Togetic chuckled and winked at Shinx. It immediately became shy. "Great! Now your move, Dewott! Razor Shell!" Dewott shot forward. Mari prompted Kirlia to teleport, but Dewott was much faster than they expected. It struck Kirlia. It staggered back, startled. "Wow, that strong...?" Mari blinked in puzzlement. Jacky looked to Mari. "She's already a bit more advanced than we are. We have to be able to keep up if we want to make the Virbank Gym! Then, we'll get started with Charge!" Shinx nodded. Its body glowed brightly and it charged up. "Kirlia, here comes your cue. Aim at them with Dazzling Gleam!" Kirlia raised its arms and hurled beams of light at both opponents. "Ancient Power, Togetic! Water Pulse, Dewott!" Both attacks met Kirlia's attack and they dissipated each other. "That's good, now Fairy Wind, Togetic!" Togetic summoned a breeze that hit them both. "Don't let it get you down, Shinx!" Jacky shouted, and Shinx jumped back up, almost unimpressed. "Attack Dewott with Spark!",
"Fury Cutter, Dewott!" As Shinx was about to attack directly, Dewott came towards it and its Fury Cutter struck Shinx' shoulder. "Magical Leaf, Kirlia!" Mari shouted. Kirlia raised its arms and shot leaves at Dewott, but it dodged. "Laser Focus!" Kuraiko commanded, and light danced up around the water Pokémon. "Togetic, Bodyguard!" A whitish haze surrounded both Pokémon for a moment. "Crap," Jacky muttered. "I was hoping to paralyze at least one of them with Spark... I guess that's not going to happen now...",
"Confusion can't cause confusion anymore either," Mari sighed. "We won't let that get in our way, though. Confusion, Kirlia!" A wave of energy hit Togetic head-on. "Now, Jacky!" she shouted at her friend. "Now the battle really begins." Jacky held out her hand. "Spark!" Shinx went after Dewott with a loud snarl. "Ancient Power, Togetic!" The opponent's Pokémon sent rocks at Shinx. It had to break off the attack and back away to avoid being hit. "Dazzling Gleam, Kirlia! Don't give it a break!" Mari shouted. Kirlia teleported and appeared in the air, then let loose a new wave of light. Both opponents were hit. "Fury Cutter on Kirlia, Dewott!" The Pokémon pulled out its shell blade and charged at it. Kirlia, however, teleported away again. "Kuraiko is strong, I'll give her that," Mari muttered.
"But we're not to be underestimated either," Jacky agreed, nodding.
"Exactly." Mari nodded, then spoke her next command. "Kirlia, don't let up! Keep attacking! Confusion!" The attack hit Dewott, causing it to stumble. "Bite, Shinx!" Shinx shot forward and hit it with a direct attack. Dewott growled, but Shinx's attack strength had already suffered quite a bit. "Fury Cutter!" Dewott lashed out, crashing his blade in a against Shinx in a critical hit, who was flung away. It staggered and could barely stand. "Oh, that hit hard...!" Jacky gasped.
"Let's speak about what we know..." Mari crossed her arms. "Togetic acts as the supporting party in this battle. Dewott is the greater offensive force and Shinx' attack has been harshly decreased earlier... I think we should take Togetic out first so we can focus on Dewott.",
"Sounds rational, but on the other hand, Dewott is guarding Togetic. It's hard breaking through. Without Charge, Shinx' moves will be more or less useless. It did raise Shinx' special defense, but since Dewott focuses more on physical attacks and its critical hit ratio increased, it's not helping either...",
"Huh..." Mari pondered. "I can try to keep hitting both of them with Dazzling Gleam while you charge up. How's that?",
"Sounds like a good plan..." Jacky nodded. "Let's do that."
"All right." Mari held out her arm. "Dazzling Gleam, Kirlia!" Kirlia attacked, blasting both opponents with light. "Charge, Shinx!" Shinx stayed in the background, charging. "Fairy Wind!" Kuraiko shouted. Togetic returned an attack. "I know what you're planning... Fury Cutter on Shinx, Dewott!" Dewott dashed towards Shinx with his shell drawn. "Confusion! Stop it!" Kirlia shot a wave at the opponent, bringing it to fall. "NOW!" Jacky yelled. Shinx charged forward and threw itself at Dewott, discharging all of its pent up energy at once. Dewott did not recover from that. "Huh, not bad." Kuraiko nodded and withdrew Dewott. "You guys work well together as a team.",
"Thanks." Jacky exhaled. "Bite, Shinx!" Shinx ran toward Togetic, which was clearly slower than Dewott and also less capable of defending itself. It yelped. "Confusion, Kirlia!" As Shinx jumped away, Togetic was knocked to the ground by a wave of energy. "Now Spark!" Shinx followed up and defeated Togetic. Kuraiko withdrew it as well.
"That's two out of four already." Jacky jumped into the air with joy. "We're making good progress!",
"Don't rejoice too soon, we're not done yet." Kuraiko smiled. "That was just the warm-up. Lopunny, Servine, you're up!" Lopunny immediately went into fighting stance as it landed on the ground and Servine raised its tail. "Oh shoot..." Mari narrowed her eyes. "Lopunny is an end phase Pokémon. It's strong. We'd better not underestimate it... And Servine is pretty darn fast.",
"Yeah... This is definitely going to be exciting." Jacky nodded.
"I agree. Thanks, Kirlia, you did a great job. You should rest now." Mari withdrew Kirlia, then tossed the next Poké Ball forward. "Gabite, your part!" Gabite landed on the ground and reared up threateningly with a loud roar. Mari hadn't hesitated to use the Dragon Pokémon this time. Jacky also decided to switch. "You fought great, but this isn't a battle for you." She withdrew Shinx back and briefly stroked the surface of the next Poké Ball before sending out the Pokémon it contained. "I'm counting on you, Medicham!" For a moment, Gabite's aggressive demeanor slipped away. Completely dumbfounded, it stared at Medicham. "WHAT? I'M SUPPOSED TO FIGHT WITH THE VOODOO DOLL?!" it roared, but it knew Mari couldn't understand. Angrily, Gabite glared at Medicham. Medicham rolled its eyes for a moment and that seemed to remind Jacky of something. "That's right... Those two don't get along well."
Mari nodded. "Anyway. They have to learn to get along, don't they?"
Jacky nodded slightly. "Yeah...",
"I just hope this doesn't completely backfire."
"Okay, Lopunny! Double Kick on Gabite!" Lopunny rushed towards it. Medicham made no move to intervene.
"Dragon Claw!" Gabite lunged for Lopunny, but it dodged the blow and kicked it in the stomach. Gabite backed away and the next kick hit its leg, causing it to loose balance. "Now Headbutt!" Lopunny's forehead thundered against Gabite, causing it to stagger back. "Brick Break, Medicham!" Jacky ordered. Medicham charged at its opponent. "Leaf Tornado!" Kuraiko commanded. Leaves danced around Medicham, stopping it from making the move. "Great, now Vine Whip!" The tendrils whipped against Medicham's back and it fell to its knees. "Double Kick, Lopunny!" Lopunny whirled around and one kick hit Medicham's chest. However, when the second followed, Medicham raised its arm and blocked it with Brick Break. "Psychic!" Jacky shouted. Medicham focused energy and sent it against Lopunny with a force that made it back away. "Earthquake, Gabite!" Gabite reared back before chasing a shockwave across the ground with its claws, causing it to shake and crack. "Block it!" Jacky screamed in fright, and Medicham was able to create a shield around itself in time, which deflected Gabite's attack away from it. Both opponents staggered, but Servine seemed to care little. "Now Rock Tomb!" Grumbling, Gabite hurled rocks at Lopunny, which it destroyed with well-aimed attacks. "Charm, Lopunny!" The attack went on Medicham, whose attack stat dropped. "Dragon Rage!" Mari countered, and Gabite spewed blue flames at it. Lopunny dodged again. "Leech Seed, Servine!" Kuraiko shouted, and it hurled seeds at Gabite. Before it could react, huge tendrils sprouted from them and wrapped around the dragon. It roared and flailed wildly. "Help it, Medicham!" Jacky pleaded, but Medicham stood there and made no move to help its "partner." Gabite bit into the vines and tried to pull them away from it. "Take care of Medicham while Gabite is trapped!" Kuraiko shouted. "Servine, Vine Whip!" Tendrils shot out, but Medicham grabbed one of them with its hand and yanked at it. Servine fell onto his stomach. "Shadow Ball!" Jacky shouted, and Medicham hurled a dark orb in its direction. "Protect it, Lopunny!" Lopunny stepped in front of Servine and intercepted the ineffective attack. "Great! Now Headbutt!" Lopunny attacked. "Protect!" Jacky yelled, and Medicham blocked the attack. "Now! Leaf Tornado, Servine!" The Pokémon, meanwhile, had gotten back up and caught Medicham again in a whirl on leaves. "Psychic! Resolve the attack!" Medicham directed psychokinetic energy against the vortex and broke it up. "Double Kick, Lopunny!" Lopunny took the opportunity to kick Medicham in the head. It staggered back. "Ngh!",
"Brick Break!" Both fighting-type moves met again. Gabite finally managed to break out of the tendrils by burning them with Dragon Rage and then tearing them away from itself. "Rrrrrrrghhh!" Furious, it attacked with Rock Tomb, but Lopunny kicked the rocks at Medicham with Double Kick instead. Medicham groaned. "Help it, Gabite!" But it didn't waste a thought on helping out. Instead, it fired a Dragon Rage at Lopunny. It leapt away. "Vine Whip, Servine!" A tendril hit Gabite in the head and it shook itself, growling. "Headbutt, Lopunny!" Lopunny's attack crashed into Medicham and it sank to the ground, fainting. "Oh no!" Jacky exclaimed. "Medicham!" The recklessness and lack of concern of both Pokémon for one another had made the battle that much harder. Jacky gritted her teeth and withdrew Medicham. "Shinx is almost at the end... Mari, you need to help out!" She sent Shinx back into the battle. "I'll try!" the black haired girl replied. "Earthquake, Gabite!",
"Shinx, jump!" Shinx jumped into the air as the ground shook and Lopunny fell to one knee. "...!",
"Now Spark!" Shinx dropped and crashed into Lopunny. It backed away and seemed to weaken. "Come on, Gabite! Dragon Claw!" It growled and shot forward. The blow on its chest hit home and Lopunny was knocked out. Servine was the last Pokémon left, but it yet didn't get any damage.
"Wrap!" Kuraiko commanded, and Servine stretched out his tendrils again. They threatened to wrap around Gabite. "Dragon Claw! Destroy them!" Gabite shredded the tendril with the attack. "Charge, Shinx!" commanded Jacky. "Gabite, cover it!" Gabite stepped in front of Shinx.
"Leaf Tornado!",
"Dragon Rage!" Both attacks met and dissipated. "Dragon Claw, go!" Gabite attacked Servine, but it was faster and wriggled out of the attack tirade. "Spark, Shinx!" Shinx shot toward the busy Servine and rammed into its back. It hissed and lunged a Vine Whip for revenge, but Gabite sliced its vine with Dragon Claw. "Rock Tomb!" Rocks buried Servine beneath them. Shinx leapt onto Gabite's back. "Earthquake!" The ensuing attack made the Rock Tomb collapse and Servine hissed. "Now finish it with Dragon Rage!" Gabite's flames ended the skirmish.
"We won!" Mari smiled widely.
"Yay!" Jacky ran to Shinx, who jumped into her arms.
"You were really awesome!" Mari smiled uncertainly at Gabite, who trotted over to her and stopped in front of her. She slowly reached out and patted its head, which it obviously seemed to like, because it closed its eyes. "Thank you, Gabite." Then, Mari withdrew. Jacky withdrew Shinx as well and then looked at Kuraiko. "You fought well. Thanks. You're a stunner... I was almost expecting to lose.",
"I can say the same to you", the trainer said as she withdrew her Pokémon. "Losing means finding your weaknesses and improving them the next time you train. And those may eventually turn into strengths. That's how it is in martial arts, and that's how it is in real life.",
"You do martial arts?",
"Yes." She nodded. "I lost, but I'm happy with it. I'm not one of those who runs away crying when I lose.",
"True words." Jacky crossed her arms. "We grow with our Pokémon, we mustn't forget that.",
"Yes, indeed. I'm heading to the Pokémon Center now, my Pokémon could use a refresher before I head off to the next stop. Are you guys joining?",
"Yeah, sure", Jacky said, and she and Mari followed her into the Pokémon Center.