Castelia Arc: Prepare For Battle!
The next morning, Mari had already finished breakfast when Jacky woke up. The blonde girl sat up and was astonished to find Luxio's Poké Ball on her bedside table. "...? What's Luxio's Poké Ball doing here...?",
"I picked up Skarmory from treatment earlier. I took Luxio with me for you", Mari replied. "Thanks. "Jacky smiled. "I almost fell asleep standing straight up... Fighting that brainiac yesterday made me tired. But nonetheless, my second badge is within reach!" She sat down at the breakfast table, where Mari had placed a cup of Oran Berry tea for her. "Help yourself! I've prepared berry sandwiches! Dig in! You know what your mission is." She opened her badge box and showed Jacky the Insect Badge. "Defeat Burgh and get that badge, and you can only do that with a proper breakfast in your stomach!"
Jacky laughed. "Haha... Thanks, Mari.",
"No problem!" Jacky bit into a sandwich. "Tastes really yummy. I have to be careful you don't fatten me up, Mari.",
"Me... fatting you up? Never." Mari laughed.
After breakfast, Jacky slipped on a hoodie. "Ready for battle?" Mari asked her. Jacky nodded. "Hell yeah, Absol, Noibat and I are rocking it!",
"That's what I wanted to hear." Mari held out her hand for Jacky to high-five, and Jacky chimed in in high spirits. "I'm cheering you on, so you better give it your all!",
"I will! This badge will end up in my box, count on it!" Jacky was about to walk out of the room, but Mari cleared her throat. "Ahem. Are you really going to walk into the gym all unkempt like that?",
"Unkempt?" Jacky asked, confused.
"Your hair. You haven't combed your hair yet.",
"I did! ... Oh!" It wasn't until Jacky saw herself in the mirror that she had to laugh. "Oops... I completely forgot in all the anticipation!" She quickly fixed her mane and then turned to Mari. "Better?",
"Better. Snickers!" Mari giggled. Jacky pulled a face. "Jeez... That's not even funny anymore.",
"Oh, I think it's hilarious. Come on, let's go."
Jacky ran to the gym so fast that Mari could barely keep up. When they arrived in front of it, the black-haired girl gasped. "Hah... hah... Whew... You can... run really fast...!",
"Sorry." Jacky smiled apologetically and then entered the gym. Burgh was talking to another man, who nodded and said goodbye just then. He walked past the girls. "Who was that?" Mari asked out of interest. "The mayor of Castelia," Burgh replied. "He asked me to help the police curbing the hooligans on Slim Street... They're harassing the tourists and it's not good for tourist business. I conceded my help to him." Then the gym leader folded his arms. "It's good to see you again, young lady, but I'm guessing you're not here for a fight." Mari shook her head. "No, I'm just a spectator today."
Jacky stepped forward. "Good afternoon, Burgh." Burgh smiled at her. "Hi there, so you want to challenge me today, huh?",
"Yes, that's why I'm here." She nodded determinedly. "To earn my second badge.",
"Wait, second?" Burgh raised his eyebrows. Jacky nodded again. "Yes.",
"You... have only one badge? What about the second one?",
"I'll get it later", Jacky replied. "It's, uh... complicated.",
"Actually...", Mari spoke up", "...it's not, but... we're not here to talk about it."
Burgh nodded thoughtfully. "I see... All right. I mean, the order in which you take on the gyms doesn't need to be the intended one necessarily, as long as you end up having them all... Come along with me, then. If you think you're ready for the third badge, or... in your case, the second one, I don't want to deny you your chance." Jacky nodded and followed him to the battlefield where Mari had fought her battle yesterday. Burgh stopped on one side. "Now then. Ready?", "Anytime." Jacky nodded. Burgh pulled out a Poké Ball. "All right. Whirlipede, I'm counting on you!" A Pokémon that kind of looked like a car tire in a bizarre way appeared on the field. Jacky scanned it curiously with her Pokédex. 'Whirlipede- The Curlipede Pokémon. Evolved form of Venipede. Protected by a hard shell, it spins its body like a wheel and crashes furiously into its enemies', her device cited the data.
"All right, then! Absol, get ready for battle!" Absol landed on the field light-foodedly.
Burgh stretched out his arm. "Okay. Whirlipede, get started! Rollout!" Whirlipede began to spin and rolled toward Absol. "Razor Wind!" Jacky commended, and Absol sent a swarm of blades at it, but Whirlipede barreled into them full speed and its shell made them shatter like pieces of glass. It kept going straight at Absol. Absol reacted in surprise as it was hit and thrown back. It landed safely on its four paws and shook itself. "Now Poison Sting, Whirlipede!" The outgrowths on Whirlipede's body glowed purple and it hit Absol again. It backed away, snarling. "Stay strong, Absol! Razor Wind again, go!" Absol sent glaringly bright sickles at Whirlipede again, shattering them against its shell. "You should know better than that by now! Whirlipede's shell is very sturdy! Screech!" Burgh shouted, and Whirlipede let out an ear-splitting sound. Absol squinted its eyes and lowered its head. "Now Agility and then Rollout!" Whirlipede accelerated, suddenly racing toward Absol twice as fast. "Jump, Absol!" Absol pushed itself off the ground and landed farther away from Whirlipede. "What to do, what to do..." Jacky muttered nervously. "Whirlipede is way too fast and its shell is way too hard for Absol's blades to hurt it... But that shell looks heavy..." Jacky put a finger to her chin as she suddenly remembered something. A camping trip she had taken with her mother during the school vacations. Their car had gotten stuck in the soft mud then... And the floor of this gym was sandy.
"Keep going, Whirlipede!" Burgh shouted, and his Pokémon raced off again. Absol kept dodging, even if it took increasing amounts of its strength. "Absol, Psycho Cut!" Absol sent a different-colored blade from its horn as it ran, and it smashed against Whirlipede's shell.
"Screech!" Again, a scream rang out, at which Jacky had to suppress the reflex to cover her ears. Then, Whirlipede hit the gas pedal again and rolled toward Absol with Poison Sting. It was hit, still distracted by the scream, and growled as it was about to faint any moment now.
"Don't give in, Absol!" Absol growled and continued to bombard Whirlipede with blades, but it was a waste of energy. Whirlipede shot towards it again and Absol dodged. As Whirlipede accelerated once more with Agility, it nearly overran Absol with its next attack. "Just a little bit more, Absol! Hang in there!" Jacky shouted out to her partner. Dirt had collected in Absol's white fur, and scrapes stood out on its legs and shoulders. Whirlipede put the wheel in reverse to pave the way for another attack before rolling off at full speed again. Absol took to its paws and ran as fast as it could across the field. Whirlipede gave it no respite. When Absol jumped over it, Whirlipede had to brake first and put it in reverse again, but its movements had made the ground uneven and soft, so it got stuck. It tried to free itself, but its violent rolling movements rather made it sink deeper into the sand.