Castelia Arc: It's Futile... Or is it?
"I'll join you." Mari went to the counter and picked up her Poké Balls as Nurse Joy released her Pokémon from treatment. "We'll show you what we can do, you stuck-up son of a bitch!",
"Oh, but wouldn't that be unfair?" Dino mocked them without the slightest bit of remorse in his voice. "Two against one? Not that I wouldn't beat you guys anyway.",
"That might suit you, you miserable idiot!" Mari hissed, stomping outside. Jacky followed her no less huffily, but with each step, she regretted challenging him more and more. Dino just laughed snidely and followed them as well before taking position across from them. Jacky stood tensely next to Mari. The latter pointed at Dino. "If you're such an 'I can do anything' type, why don't you start, douchebag?!",
"Thanks for the compliment." He laughed, pulling out two Poké Balls and tossing them up. "Pinsir! Hydreigon! Your turn!" His Pinsir and a dragon with three heads appeared in front of him. "Hy... Hydreigon?!" Mari stared at the Pokémon in bewilderment. The dragon roared angrily. "He has a Hydreigon?!"
Jacky was equally shocked. She immediately pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it. 'Hydreigon- The Brutal Pokémon. Evolved form of Zweilous. There are a slew of stories about villages that were destroyed by Hydreigon. This brutal Pokémon travels the skies on its six wings. Anything that moves seems like a foe to it, triggering its attack', the Pokédex happily summed up the data for them. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"A bug and a dragon..." Mari muttered.
"Type advantages won't help us here..." Jacky opined. "He's got two final evolution Pokémon... If we want to win, we have to go out of our ways... Luxio, I'm counting on you!" Her Luxio appeared on the ground in front of her. "Skarmory, show yourself!" Mari sent her Pokémon flying.
"See, that's what all rookies think. Most of them overtake themselves... and don't know what they can handle", Dino commented with a sneer. "Pinsir, Vital Throw on Skarmory!",
"Get away! Agility!" Mari shouted, and Skarmorx flew higher before its body glowed. The opponent could no longer reach it with its pincers. "Attack it now! Swift!",
"Dragon Pulse!" Dino shouted and Hydreigon's attack hit the steel bird with such force that it was nearly knocked to the ground. "Aerial Ace!" Mari ordered. Skarmory screeched and it lunged at Pinsir. Before it could hurt the bug, however, its opponent grabbed the bird's leg with its pincers and the spikes dug into it mercilessly. Skarmory screamed. "Luxio, Thunder Fang! Quick!" Jacky shouted, and Luxio lunged forward with bared teeth. "Hydreigon, Tri Attack!" Hydreigon roared so loudly that the entire ground shook as it charged up three orbs of fire, electric and ice energy and fired them at Luxio. "Swift!" Mari commanded. Skarmory sent an attack at Pinsir at close range, forcing it to let go of the bird. Whimpering, Skarmory rose higher into the air again. Luxio straightened up, badly hit. It was already shaking, as if it would collapse at any moment. Jacky knew there was little chance of winning now. Dino might have had a mouth as big as that of an Exploud, but his Pokémon's attacks were brutal and merciless. However, she wouldn't give up without a proper fight. "No matter what our chances are, I'll give 100 percent with Luxio! No matter how this ends!" She clenched one hand into a fist. "There must be something... A weak spot..." She eyed Hydreigon intently, thinking sharply. "A weak spot..." She squinted her eyes and realized that Hydreigon's heads kept snapping back and forth. Then, her eyes wandered to Pinsir, and she remembered the bug's Pokédex entry. 'At low temperatures, its movements become sluggish... That's right. We can take advantage of that!'
"Mari! I've got it!" she exclaimed. "I figured something out, but I need your help to do it! I have to fight him with Skarmory! You take over Luxio until then!",
"Given up already?" Dino scoffed, crossing his arms. "Doesn't surprise me.",
"You want... to command Skarmory?" Mari asked, puzzled, looking up at the steel-type Pokémon.
"Just for this battle", Jacky said, nodding pleadingly. "If what I've been thinking about works out, we'd have a better chance of actually winning this."
Mari thought about it for a moment, unsure what to make of it, before asking her Pokémon directly: "Do you agree to this?"
It hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.
"You won't regret it." Jacky swallowed hard and muttered softly to herself, "By Arceus, please let me succeed...",
"We'll swap, Skarmory. Give it your all anyway!" Mari shouted to her Pokémon.
"Kyaaah!" Skarmory nodded with renewed fire.
"Don't let us down, Luxio!" Jacky pleaded to her Pokémon, which looked contrite, but then agreed as well. Skarmory and Luxio swapped places. "Okay, Skarmory, I have a plan." Jacky took a breath. "Now please, do as I say."
Skarmory croaked.
"Let's go then." She raised her arm. "Fly as high as you can, Skarmory! Keep your wings as stretched out as possible! Mari, distract Hydreigon for me!" Skarmory shrieked and soared high into the sky. Mari gave her friend a raised thumb. "All right! Let's go! Discharge!" Luxio howled, sending a wave of electricity at Hydreigon. The dragon growled as it was violently electrocuted.
"Pinsir, X-Scissor!" Pinsir's horns glowed brightly as it charged at Luxio. "Once more!" Mari shouted, and Luxio discharged a second wave of electricity that hit both Pokémon. However, Pinsir didn't let that get in the way of its crusade and landed a critical hit on Luxio. Jacky peered up. Skarmory was circling so high by now that it could only be seen as a small dot in the sky. "Just a little more, Skarmory...",
"Thunder Fang!" Luxio snapped angrily at Pinsir, which, however, hissed and backed away. Jacky raised her hand and signaled the bird above her. "NOW!" Skarmory recognized her gesture and folded its wings. It shot downward and toward Pinsir as fast as an arrow, but instead of using an attack, it spread its wings to their full span just before it reached the ground and hit the bug with the flat inside of its wings, accompanied by a breeze of extremely cold high-altitude air. Pinsir was thrown back. "Did it work?" Jacky asked, looking to Pinsir as it reared back. Its movements were slower than before. "Yess! Look at that, Mari! Remember Pinsir's Pokédex entry? Coldness makes it slower. The higher you fly, the colder the air gets, and metal gets especially cold. My idea was to send Skarmory up in the air as high as possible and for as long as possible, so that its steel armor cools off completely. And when that happens... it attacks Pinsir and transfers that coldness to it, along with the cold draft it caused by flying so fast!",
"That was genius!" Mari exclaimed. "That was absolutely genius! Wait a second..." Mari put two fingers to her chin. "...Doesn't metal conduct electricity?",
"It does." Jacky nodded. "What are you thinking about?",
"Let me take over Skarmory again. When I give you a sign, have Luxio use Discharge. Okay?", "I don't know..." Jacky muttered, but then nodded. "Alright, I trust you."
Mari smiled. "Good! Skarmory, Steel Wing!"
Skarmory's wing shimmered up as it shot toward Pinsir. "Now!",
"Discharge, Luxio!" Jacky commanded. Luxio hissed and discharged another attack, this time hitting Skarmory. Electricity wired through the Pokémon's steel body and gathered on its wing as it lashed out and hurled the slow Pinsir against Hydreigon with all the force it could muster. Both Pokémon cried out as the massive amount of electricity was transferred to them. "Bingo!" Mari exclaimed, looking ar Skarmory, which had taken no damage from the attack itself. "If Skarmory transfers the charge to other Pokémon quickly enough before it takes damage itself, then its body will act as an electricity conductor. So? Fancy some barbecue bacon?" She looked at the opposing Pokémon, both of which had suffered severe paralysis. "Tadaa! There it is!"
"What are you doing?" Dino growled, looking at Pinsir. "Shame on you! Now stop fooling around and use Revenge!" Dino's voice was cold and merciless. Pinsir got up and shot forward, but Luxio was able to dodge it as it had become way too slow. This seemed to anger Dino greatly. "Hydreigon! Draco Meteor!"