Castelia Arc: The Showdown
"Good, then we've settled that too." Mari gave her a raised thumb. "Magical Leaf, Kirlia!", "Liaaa!" Kirlia raised its arms and summoned a bunch of leaves surrounded by a mysterious glow that it hurled at Noibat.
"Gust!" It flapped its small wings, creating gusts of moderately strong wind that just managed to blow Kirlia's leaves back. Kirlia dodged them with a dancing motion and returned a Dazzling Gleam attack.
"Dodge!" Noibat swung itself higher into the air, dodging the light beams. "Now Tackle!" It hurtled down at Kirlia, but it wasn't even half as fast as Skarmory. Kirlia teleported away, then stunned Noibat in midair using Psychic. Noibat squirmed whiningly, but it was of no use to it. Kirlia spread its arms and made new beams of light appear, which hit Noibat and made it crash to the ground. The little bat had desperate tears in its eyes, but it was able to get up again and spread its wings. "That's right, Noibat!" Jacky exclaimed proudly. "Screech!" As its opponent yowled, Kirlia covered its ears with a contorted face. "Concentrate!" Mari shouted to Kirlia. "Now the hearts are flying!" Jacky held out her hand. "Attract!" Noibat winked perkily, and hearts swirled around Kirlia.
"Kirlia?"
Kirlia didn't move. It didn't even respond to its trainer.
"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Mari cursed. "Hey! Kirlia!" Again, she was talking to a wall. Mari closed her eyes. "Oh god...",
"Here we go! Use tackle, over and over!" Jacky shouted. Noibat hurtled down on Kirlia, ramming into it again and again in swoops. "Kirlia! Get a fucking grip!" Mari demanded. "It's just a trick!",
"Lia?",
"Kirlia, stop it! Don't get ripped off!" Kirlia's eyes lit up and it stopped Noibat in mid-motion before it could throw itself at it again and threw it back.
"Gust, Noibat!" Newly rising wind pushed Kirlia back, but it seemed to have caught itself again. It disappeared. "I guess Noibat isn't attractive enough yet!" quipped Mari as Kirlia appeared beside her. "Rwaaar?!" The bat pouted. Mari had to laugh. "Oh come on, don't be like that!" She looked to Kirlia. "Magical Leaf, let's go! We're fully back!" Kirlia nodded and disappeared again. In the next moment, leaves hit Noibat's back. It whined in panic and flew into the air, startled. "Stay calm, Noibat!" Jacky tried to encourage it. "I'm with you!"
Kirlia held a hand over its mouth, giggling. "Now use Dazzling Gleam!" Mari shouted. Kirlia spread its arms again with its eyes closed, sending out rays of light. "Drop down!" Jacky shouted. Noibat put on its wings and dropped a few feet, dodging the attack as it flew close above the ground. "Now Tackle, again!" With its newfound speed, it dashed nimbly into Kirlia's direction. "Use Psychic to protect yourself!" Mari shouted. Her starter raised its hand and grabbed Noibat with its telekinetic powers before hurling it onto the floor. "Noibat!" Jacky shrieked as it staggered around on the ground, visibly dizzy. "Oops..." Mari commented. Kirlia had to giggle again. "Sorry, Noibat!" Mari exclaimed apologetically. "Rrraah..." It held its head, growling softly before it shook its head and glared at its opponents. "We just needed a small break. Let's keep going!" Jacky announced.
"Fine by me. Magical Leaf, Kirlia!" As Kirlia sent off a new swarm of mystically shiny leaves, Jacky responded. "Dodge upwards, hurry!" It fluttered up and escaped the attack. "Now give it your all! Use tackle!" It lunged forwards and rammed itself into Kirlia. Kirlia was knocked backwards by the force, but it managed to slow itself down with its psychic powers and landed softly on the ground. It then directed its invisible energy against Noibat, sending it thundering into the ground yet again.
Noibat lay on the pier and was able to stand up once again with difficulty. "We're almost there! Use Heat Wave!",
"Rawr!" A blast of hot air hit Kirlia. Kirlia raised its arms in front of its body and sat out the attack before lunging for the final attack. "Dazzling Gleam!" Its entire body lit up before sending off several beams. "Tackle, with full force!" Jacky shouted. Noibat flew into the air once more, chasing through the beams of light. Kirlia teleported out of harm's way before sinking to its knees, exhausted, and Noibat hit the ground, defeated. "Get some rest, Kirlia. You were great, thank you." Mari withdrew it. "I guess I underestimated Noibat a bit. It's a perseverant little fella." She then admitted.
"That was a tough fight..." Jacky said, running over to Noibat. "I couldn't be prouder of you, little one. You did great!" She sent it back into its ball, then turned to Mari. "We're tied," she remarked as she pulled out the last ball. "It's all or nothing now." Mari also armed herself. "Gabite. This is your job!" Gabite reared back on the field. "Absol, now it's up to you!" Absol light-footedly appeared on the pier. "I trust you completely, Absol. Stay calm and focused, like you always do. We can do this!" Absol turned its head to her and looked over its shoulder.
"Be strong, Gabite! You lost out to Absol last time, it won't happen again!" The dragon roared in agreement, his fighting spirit flaring up.
"We'll see if it comes to that!" Jacky countered firmly. "Don't give them time to breathe! Psycho Cut, Absol!" It leapt into the air shooting a purple crescent at the dragon with one motion of its head. Gabite's claw lit up and it sliced the blade in a single blow as if it were made of paper. "Well done! Now use Earthquake!" Absol made great leaps and jumped off the moment the ground began to shake. Gabite raised its head. "Dragon Rage! It can't dodge while in the air!" Gabite spat fire at Absol, but it duplicated with Double Team and the flames only incinerated one illusion of it before Absol landed on the ground. It and its illusions dashed off. "Oh, fuck off..." Mari growled in annoyance.
"Razor Wind!" Brightly glowing blades rained down on Gabite, but only the real Absol's blades struck its side. It hissed. "Use Slash!" Gabite retaliated with a swipe of its claws, and Absol cried out as it was hit. "That was a direct hit..." Jacky muttered as the earth suddenly began to shake again and Absol began to falter, losing its balance. "What do I do now?",
"Dragon Claw!" Mari wanted to take advantage of the moment Absol was unsteady on its feet and sent Gabite out for attack. It obeyed and dashed forward. Jacky reacted hastily. "Slash, quick!" Absol's claws began to glow and both attacks met, but the Dragon Claw was stronger than the Shlash attack and Gabite broke its resistance like an ancient vase. The attack hit the dark-type Pokémon's shoulder. "Now Dragon Rage!" Gabite sent out flames again. "Get out of the way!" Jacky screamed in horror, and Absol narrowly avoided the attack. It felt the heat of the attack against its fur. "Quick, Gabite! Slash!" Mari didn't let up. Gabite lashed out and hit Absol again. It backed away and growled. "What should I do? Gabite is extremely fast and an offensive menace..." Jacky put pressure on herself as an idea flashed in her mind. "Ah, that might work... Just focus on dodging, Absol!" As Gabite followed up and attacked, Absol dodged and didn't retort. Gabite lowered his head and made the ground move with a new Earthquake. "This is the chance! Jump as high as you can!" Absol nodded and gave it all it had. It pushed itself off the ground. "Rock Tomb, Gabite!" The dragon bombarded Absol with rocks, but that was a mistake. Absol pushed off from them, jumping higher and higher. "Razor Wind! Sent them back!" Jacky ordered. Absol sent a gigantic mass of blades ripping the rocks towards the ground and onto Gabite. It was hit and went down. Absol landed and gasped softly.
"Gabite?" Mari asked. Gabite braced itself against the ground, determined not to lose again, but it couldn't muster the strength to get up. It collapsed. "Did we make it?" Jacky froze, then smiled in disbelief. "We did it, Absol!" She hugged her Pokémon tightly and Absol licked the tears of joy from her face. "There's no better partner than you! I'm so proud of you!" Mari carefully walked over to Gabite. "It was my fault. Sorry. I'll try better next time. You did what you could." She withdrew it, then looked at Jacky. "Well, I acknowledge defeat. Happy victory!"
Jacky let go of Absol again and ran to Mari. "That was the best battle of my life! I'll never forget that one!" Mari smiled slightly and then chimed in as Jacky held out her palm. Jacky knew that Mari had changed. At the beginning of her journey, she had doubted. Had thought she would never be able to keep up with Jacky. But now, she was different. She had become stronger. Much stronger. She was no longer the girl who had retreated to the library at school and hidden behind books. For the first time ever, she realized how much Mari had grown beyond herself in this short time. For that, she admired her friend. "Let's go back," Mari said. "Our Pokémon need some medical attention.",
"Yes." Jacky nodded in agreement and withdrew Absol.