Virbank Arc: The Fire of Resolution
The next morning, Mari found a note in her room. Not enough that Jacky had packed her things and moved to another room, no, now she was writing notes instead of talking to Mari! She could really be a bitch. Mari took the note into her hand. 'I'm taking the ferry to Castelia today. Good luck to you. -Jacky',
"Are you fucking serious?!" Mari crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash. "She wants to go on without me? What's wrong with her?!" She sighed. "Fine, have it your way."
Determined, she appeared at the gym just before 10. Roxie saw her and giggled. "Wow, she's really here. I won the bet, Josh!" The drummer just contorted his face wistfully and flipped her a coin. "I made my decision," Mari said. "It's now or never. All or nothing.",
"All right, kiddo." Roxie faced her. "It's a two-on-two fight. The one whose Pokémon can't keep fighting loses. Simple as that.",
"I know the rules." Mari nodded. "I'll let you get started."
Roxie smiled and nodded. "Alright then. Let's turn it up! Koffing, your turn!" A purple Pokémon that continuously emitted clouds of steam appeared in front of her. Mari reached for Kirlia's Poké Ball. Her instincts screamed not to, but her intuition contradicted. She sent out her starter. Kirlia performed a spin before bowing. "Kirlia... Let's do our best." The Pokémon recognized the determination in Mari's voice and nodded as its eyes began to glow brightly and a strong wave of energy swept against Koffing. At first, Mari thought it was Confusion, but it was different. It was stronger. "Is that... Psychic...?" Mari asked, puzzled. Kirlia let Koffing thunder to the ground. Roxie yawned. "Payback, Koffing..." It floated blithely back into the air, then rammed itself against Kirlia. It was pushed back by the force and held its arms in front of its face. Then, it disappeared and fired a Magical Leaf attack at Koffing from above. It then disappeared again and began teleporting all around. It didn't stay anywhere for more than 5 seconds. Koffing fired off a Sludge Bomb, but Kirlia raised its hand and the attack stopped in mid-air before flying back at Koffing and hitting it. Yes, this was definitely Psychic. Nice! "Gyro Ball!" Roxie commanded. The Pokémon began spinning at breakneck speed and shot forward. It hit Kirlia and the little fairy went down. However, when Koffing tried to put an end to it, it disappeared again and reappeared a few meters away. It raised its arms and sent out beams of light with Dazzling Gleam. Some of them hit Koffing square in the face. "That little beast is at least as persistent as you now, huh? How annoying", Roxie sighed. "Sludge Bomb, Koffing!" Another attack followed, which Kirlia evaded, but it was clearly already quite exhausted. "Thank you, Kirlia. Get some rest." Mari withdrew it and switched it for Skarmory. She immediately went on attack mode and had Skarmory use Agility. "Koffing, Flamethrower!" Roxie shouted.
"What the hell-? Dodge it!" Skarmory dodged the flames and used the momentum to ram a Steel Wing against its opponent's body in rapid flight. "Koffing, what's wrong with you?" Roxie asked. Koffing hovered in the air, but contorted its face in pain until it abruptly crashed to the ground. Kirlia's attacks had weakened it, and Skarmory had finished it off with just one attack. "Well done, Skarmory!" Mari exclaimed. Skarmory screeched before returning to her, but at that moment, Mari knew the real test of endurance was yet to come. "Not bad." Roxie smiled. "Your little fairy is pretty strong after all; stronger than I thought." Then, she tilted her head. "Tell me, what are Pokémon to you?",
"They're my friends, no doubt about it." Mari replied. "Even though it may look different to Jacky, they are my friends and I trust them.",
"Hm..." She nodded thoughtfully. "To me, my Pokémon are partners, concert companions, and best friends. We have a strong bond and we're going to show it to you now! Seviper, on stage with you!" The snake hissed menacingly as he recognized its adversary. "... We will not fail, Skarmory. Not this time. We will fight together." Mari narrowed her eyes. "Agility, rise higher into the air." Skarmory nodded and glowed as it soared higher into the air with flaps of its wings. It had more freedom to fly now, as they no longer had a ceiling to stop it. "Glare!" Seviper's eyes glowed, but this time, they did not fall victim to it. Skarmory closed its eyes for a moment, then lit up once more as it shot its speed up for the third time. When the dangerous glint in Seviper's eyes went out, Skarmory folded its wings and swooped down. Timing was key here. Its claws struck the snake. It hissed angrily, but before it could strike back, Skarmory was out of its reach again. "What are you doing?" Roxie growled. "Screech, come on!" The snake's mouth snapped open and Skarmory squinted its eyes from the loud, earshattering sound. "Don't get distracted. Trust me", Mari said, clenching a hand into a fist. "Grab it!" Skarmory shrieked and swooped down again. As it did so, it performed a few rapid spirals. Just before it reached Seviper, it intercepted its dive with its wings and sped over its opponent. In the process, it grabbed Seviper by the tail with its claws and hurled it away. "Swift!" Skarmory sent a swarm of stars at the snake. "Push off against the ground!" Roxie shouted, and Seviper whipped its tail. It pushed off. "Now, Cross Poison!" With another flick of its tail, it swiped the stars away. Skarmory used that moment and shot forward at breakneck speed before sending the poison Pokémon crashing to the ground with Steel Wing. "Come on, Seviper! Don't let it beat you up like that!" Roxie shouted. Seviper got itself together with difficulty. "Skarmory, stay strong! Don't let up! Swift!" Skarmory croaked and sent more stars at the snake. Seviper couldn't react in time and was hit. "Let's finish it!" Mari stretched out her hand. Skarmory raced forward. "Steel Wing!" With hellish speed, Skarmory's attack slammed into Seviper, sending it crashing into a wall of a building with horrific force. It slumped down with a hiss. "Oh no! Seviper!" Roxie screamed. Skarmory landed on the ground in front of Mari. "Skarmory, that was awesome!" She patted it enthusiastically and the bird closed its eyes. "Kyaah!",
"Not bad. Not bad at all, kiddo." Roxie withdrew Seviper. "I have won the bet against Josh, and I figured it could end up like this. Won is won... that's why you get my badge." She went over to Mari and handed her the Toxic Badge. "You earned that one. Make something of it, okay?" Mari accepted the badge and stowed it in her badge box. "I will. I promise. I think I know who I am and where my limits are now. I'm far from perfect... But that won't stop me from moving on and getting even better. Together with my Pokémon. You'll be hearing from me."
Roxie smiled. "I certainly hope so. By the way, your friend was here earlier, before you showed up. She said to give you a message." Again, an indirect message... "What is it?" Mari asked. "She said to tell you that she's waiting for you at the port. You seem to be going to Castelia now, aren't you?",
"She's... waiting for me?" Mari seemed surprised, but then smiled. "Thank you for the information, Roxie. I won't keep her waiting any longer." She put away her badge box, waved at the gym leader once more, and then ran off to the port.