Driftveil Arc: Diligence Pays Off!
The next morning, the two of them got ready swiftly, even though there was only a gym battle to be fought. No doctor's appointment. It was still important. Mari complained that every Sudowoodo would be ready faster than Jacky, who replied that Mari had become far too impatient. Then, they got into a discussion about impatience until Jacky thought they had argued about it enough and should finally move their five letters to the gym. Mari did not object.
Once they were inside the gym, Jacky looked around. "Hello, anyone here?" she asked. An older man in a hat came up to them. "Yes. Are you looking for the gym leader?",
"Yes, I want to challenge him and win my fourth badge.",
"Your fourth badge?" The man raised his eyebrows. "Did you skip a gym?"
Jacky nodded. "Yes... if it's alright, the gym leader should battle with me on a level as if it were my fifth badge. I don't want him to hold back, because I won't either."
Mari started to giggle.
"What's so funny?" Jacky asked, confused.
"Nothing, nothing." She waved it off, giggling mischievously. The man tugged at the brim of his hat. "You'll have to make up that badge, though, if you're aiming for the Pokémon League, young lady.",
"I will. Though, I know that there's no rule written anywhere that the badges need to be claimed in the intended order.",
"That you're right about. Now then, I'm the gym leader. My name is Clay.",
"Really? Oh...",
"Hahaha..." Mari laughed. "I was wondering when you'd realize!",
"What?! You knew?!",
"Of course I knew.",
"Meanie! You could have told me something!",
"How could I help it if you didn't recognize him? It was just too funny to spoil it."
Jacky screwed up her face. "You're mean... Whatever." Her gaze shifted back to the gym leader. "Are you going to fight me?" Clay sighed. "As a gym leader, that's more or less my job. So yes." He nodded and motioned for her to follow him. They entered an elevator and rode down, getting off and finding themselves in a huge, underground battlefield. "Woah...!" Jacky was amazed. Clay stepped onto the field and faced her on his side. "As soon as you're ready, take your position. From then on, there's no turning back." Jacky nodded and stepped onto the field. Clay acknowledged it. "As you wish. Rihorn, you're up first!" A menacing-looking Pokémon with a large horn appeared on the field. It was scuffling its feet. "Let's go, Noibat!" Jacky shouted. Mari gnawed on her lips. 'Perhaps, I should've told her many ground-type Pokémon know rock-type moves... Oopsie. Though she should be aware of that herself. I just hope she knows what she's doing. I don't wanna keep objecting to everything she does', Mari thought silently.
"You accepted the challenge." Clay folded his arms. His stern face didn't contort a bit at that. "Then, I'll allow you to start."
Jacky nodded. "As you wish! Screech!" A loud scream that ripped through marrow and bone shattered the silence. Rihorn roared angrily. "Horn Attack!" Clay commanded. His Pokémon lowered its head and charged at Noibat. For a Pokémon of its type, it was faster than expected. Noibat flew over Rihorn, dodging the attack. "Rock Slide!" Rihorn braked and raised its head. Sharp-edged rocks appeared above Noibat and hailed down like rain. "Dodge them!" One could tell Noibat's intense training had paid off. It deftly dodged the rocks. As it flew close above the ground, however, it made a mistake. "Stomp!" Clay shouted, and Rihorn dashed forward. It pinned Noibat to the ground with a strong foot. "Now, Rock Slide!" New stones appeared directly above them. As they fell, Rihorn stepped off Noibat and backed away to avoid being hit by its own attack. "Watch out!" Jacky shouted, but too late. Noibat was hit hard. "Now Take Down!" Rihorn charged forward. Noibat was able to get up quickly enough and flew off frantically, sending his opponent's attack flying to nothing. "Your Pokémon is fast." Clay admitted approvingly. "However, it's not always speed that matters... It's stamina. Rihorn, let's put our opponent to the test! Rock Slide, once again!" Rihorn rained down stones on Noibat once again. "Tackle!" Jacky shouted. Noibat fluttered between the stones and threw itself against Rihorn, but yelped when it crashed into Rihorn's hard stone armor. The attack didn't even leave a tiny dent. "Uh oh..."
Rihorn narrowed its eyes, unimpressed, and charged at the opponent with his head down. Noibat quickly swung higher into the air. "Heat Wave!" Noibat flapped its wings, sending hot gusts down on Rihorn. It backed away a little. "Rock Slide, take advantage!" Clay shouted. The next stones that followed heated up from the Heat Wave and glowed. Noibat couldn't react in time and was hit full on. "Now Horn Attack!" Rihorn dashed towards the opponent and rammed its horn against Noibat. And with such force that it crashed into the wall and cried out. "No!" Jacky shouted. "Noibat!",
'And it's becoming a punching bag again. Man, that's gonna be a wild ride...' Mari thought.
"Let's give it the coup de grace, Rihorn. Take Down!" Rihorn wheeled. "Get up, Noibat! Come on!" Noibat braced itself weakly against the ground. His body shook as its opponent came closer. "Nrgh... Noii..." Then, it gritted its teeth and pushed itself off the wall. "Wraaah!" It whizzed over Rihorn with renewed vigor and began to glow brightly. "Jacky! That's it! The light of evolution!" Mari exclaimed. Jacky looked up. Noibat grew, and when the light went out, a large bat Pokémon with wide wings roared above its opponent. "So that's... Noivern..." Jacky muttered, looking at the dragon with amazement. Noivern let out a loud roar as it landed on the ground, raising its wings ready to fight. Jacky immediately scanned it with the Pokédex. "Woah... It has new moves, too!" With renewed courage, she stretched her fist forward. "We've got this battle pretty much in our pockets! Come on, Noivern! Show them your new Screech!" Noivern reared back and made the whole arena tremble with a loud roar. Rihorn backed away in irritation. "And now Iron Tail!",
"RAAAAARGH!" With powerful beats of its wings, it lifted off the ground and its tail became coated in a layer of iron. It attacked and catapulted its opponent against the wall with tremendous force. Rihorn groaned as it stood back up. "Rock Slide!" Clay commanded. "Dragon Pulse!" Noivern opened its mouth, shot a massive blue beam at the rocks, and shattered them in one shot. Remnants of the rocks rained down on the ground. "Horn Attack!" Rihorn dashed off.
"Heat Wave!" Jacky shouted. With its huge wings, Noivern fanned hot gusts of wind at Rihorn, bringing it to its knees. It tilted to one side. "Hmph." Clay put his fingers to his chin. "This new power has given you quite a bit of confidence. It was just the beginning, though." He withdrew his Rihorn. "Now, it's just getting started. Get ready. Exadrill! Let's go!" His second Pokémon landed on the field, a mole with dangerous claws of pure steel. Noivern landed on the ground again and looked at Jacky. "You okay so far?" It nodded resolutely.