Virbank Arc: Disgusting
They decided to go back to the Pokémon Center. On the way there, they talked about possible approaches to the poison-type gym. "Do you think Skarmory could take down Seviper?" Mari asked.
"I've been asking around..." Jacky rubbed her wrist as she walked. "From the looks of it, she always uses the same tactics with her Seviper. Preventing her opponents from direct attacks with Screech and lowering their defenses, using Glare to throw off fast and agile Pokémon, Cross Poison to attack, and Wrap to tie them up. It all adds up to a pretty tough challenge. Against Skarmory, this tactic is tailor made, even with steel being immune to poison... I wouldn't use Skarmory to take it on if I were you.",
"But as long as Skarmory is high enough in the air, Seviper can't reach it, can it? Also, Skarmory's defense is good enough for it to take some hits.",
"Are you going to keep it hovering thirty meters in the air all the time? You know yourself that Skarmory is a Pokémon of physical nature. Only using Swift won't help you. To use a really effective attack, you need to get close to Seviper. Even if it can't properly hurt Skarmory with any high damage-dealing move, it just has to bide its patience and keep Skarmory locked with its body to make it give in... Besides, Skarmory can't keep looking away to avoid Glare. To strike it down, it has to be able to see Seviper. It could never effectively hurt it. If you have a plan, I'm happy for you, but right now, you don't look very confident to me. No hard feelings.",
"What if I take on Seviper with another Pokémon? Gabite, for example? Gabite is a ground type with great endurance, so it's effective against poison. I'll rule out Kirlia... Seviper brought it to its knees way too fast. Even if it can teleport and everything... A good half of its attacks are completely ineffective against Seviper. Grass and Fairy aren't exactly the best options against a Poison type... I'll have to adjust to Seviper. Now that I know how it acts in-battle...",
"Don't think I don't trust you with anything." They arrived at the building and Jacky looked at Mari firmly. "I'm just worried about my best friend. I know you can get a lot stronger than you are now, maybe even a lot stronger than me.",
"Worried? Why are you worried about me?" Mari asked, perplexed. "I can't hurt myself in a Pokémon battle. I'll keep trying until I get the victory, I swear. That's what this whole thing requires, after all. To never give up.",
"..." Jacky's gaze suddenly darkened. "...You didn't mean that seriously, did you?",
"What?"
Jacky stared at her, then turned around without another word.
"Hey, what's gotten into you?" Mari asked, uncomprehending. "Where are you going?",
"Just shut up, Mari!" Jacky growled. "You disgust me with your stubbornness and narrow-mindedness! YOU can't hurt yourself in a battle, but your POKÉMON can! Do you actually think about what you say?! Oh forget it, I can answer that question myself! You really are as dumb as a Feebas!" With that, she rushed away.
"...What's her deal?" Mari asked. "Did that come across as me wantonly hurting my Pokémon...? I would never let that happen... What kind of picture does she have of me, exactly?"
Jacky angrily stomped through Virbank and at that moment, she made a decision. She would leave. Tomorrow. Early in the morning. She would move on to Castelia. Alone. Without Mari. She was disgusting, selfish, and obnoxious. And stubborn as hell. There was a difference between her and her friend in the way they approached battles. And she just couldn't accept that. She wasn't a good trainer if she behaved like that. What was wrong with her anyway?! She had been top of their class in school, so why was she messing up so much now? It was like Mari was just fighting for recognition and that was the most disgusting thing of all. She didn't need recognition, she needed brains! And lots of them. Maybe that would help her get a grip on her stupidity. Jacky knew that a ferry to Castelia would be leaving early tomorrow morning; and she would take that boat. The end.
Mari didn't understand Jacky. Why was she so terribly upset? She had misunderstood something. On the other hand, she thought it was unfair that Jacky thought such terrible things of her. She was disappointed. Did she think Mari was a monster? She cared about her Pokémon! What was wrong with learning by doing? Mari wasn't a tactician, she was spontaneous. She made use of type advantages and then left everything else to her spontaneity and knowledge. She knew that it was important to learn from defeat. One could learn more from one defeat than from a hundred victories. She knew she was reaching her limits in this gym battle, and she also knew she HAD to find a way to push past those limits. Even if Jacky didn't trust her, she had to trust herself. She hadn't done that so far. Confidence was important, not only for herself, but also for her relationship with her Pokémon. She would be getting that badge tomorrow. She was determined to do that. Life wasn't just about tactics, it was about making mistakes and learning from them. The sighed, grabbed her bag, and headed back to the gym. Roxie and her crew were packing up their things after the concert. When Roxie noticed her, the gym leader raised her eyebrows. "Hey, kiddo, it's closing time for the day. What are you doing here?" she asked. Again, she was making fun of her height. She just couldn't join in the laughter. She swallowed her annoyance and straightened her shoulders. "I know. I'm sorry for my intrusion. I was going to ask for a rematch. Tomorrow. I forgot about that at noon.",
"You're up for a rematch this soon?" Roxie crossed her arms. "Hmmh... Why not... Are you sure you can beat me then?" No, Mari almost replied but she stopped herself. Instead, she answered: "...I'll do my best to make it.",
"That's a good attitude to start with. I'll meet you in front of the gym tomorrow at 10, okay? I'm busy at noon." Mari nodded in agreement. "It's fine."