Mistralton Arc: Fighting for the Jet Badge
"Start with Slash!" Jacky shouted. Absol roared, jumped and lunged for Braviary's chest. The bird, however, swung higher into the air so Absol couldn't even begin to reach it. The blow went nowhere and Absol landed, growling. "Crush Claw!" Skyla commanded, and Braviary's claws glowed before it counter-attacked, dealing the first damage to Absol. "Psycho Cut!" Absol's blade glowed and it tried to push its opponent away. Then, it retaliated with a blow to Braviary's leg, but missed. The eagle screeched and rose higher into the air again. "Razor Wind!" Jacky shouted, and Absol sent white sickles upward. "Heat Wave!" Skyla ordered. Braviary flapped its wings and the hot air it sent out set the blades on fire. Before they reached their target, they disintegrated. Braviary folded its wings and hurtled downward. "Sky Drop!" Skyla shouted. Braviary grabbed Absol and yanked it up into the sky along with it. Absol squirmed in its grip and tried to snap at Braviary's claws, but it was no use. Braviary rose higher and higher with it until it suddenly dropped Absol down. It hit the ground gasping and howling. "Absol!" Jacky shouted. "Are you okay?!" The dark-type Pokémon got back onti its paws again with low growls indicating the heavy damage it had taken. "Rrrgh!"
Braviary traced its circles in the sky, watching Absol closely. "Now, use Heat Wave!", "Kriaaaaaaahh!" Braviary fanned hot air downward with its wings. Absol fled from the hot winds. "Crush Claw!" Braviary attacked. Absol dodged, leaping into the air and suddenly finding itself above Braviary. "Razor Wind!" Jacky shouted. Absol let glaring blades crash against Braviary's back. The bird screeched and immediately went to gain altitude again. Absol landed as Braviary described a sharp arc in the air. "Superpower!" Braviary's body lit up brightly before it threw itself against Absol with full force. It cried out in pain, and a brief ache ran through Jacky's limbs. It almost made her wince. Again... "And now Crush Claw! Finish it!" Skyla ordered. Braviary immediately followed up and hit Absol again. The dark-type Pokémon was already so weakened by the previous attack that it couldn't even think of reacting and was knocked out by the final blow. "Good approach", Skyla commented and crossed her arms, "...but it's not enough against me.",
"She's much tougher than Clay... and he was a tough rock to smash already", Mari noted. "She put a quick end to Absol..." Jacky withdrew Absol in dismay and thought quickly. There was no way she would give up. She had to adapt to Skyla's fighting style.
"Okay... Noivern, show everyone what you can do!" Roaring, the dragon appeared on the field.
"Wonderful, you have a flying-type on your team, too!" Skyla clapped her hands. "Then show me what you've got! Braviary, Heat Wave!",
"You too, Noivern!" Both Pokémon attacked at the same time, and the air between them became so hot it flickered. Noivern backed away. "Dragon Pulse!" It sent a blue beam straight through the accumulated heat. It started to glow as the terrible heat burned into it and made some of the attack vaporize immediately.
"Too easy. Get out of the way, Braviary!" Braviary dove away under the attack.
By now, several passersby had gathered at the fence and were watching the fight with obvious interest. "Now, Superpower, attack!" Braviary shot forward. "Iron Tail, Noivern!" Noivern roared, letting its tail thunder against Braviary's head. The flying-txpe Pokémon went off balance and screeched, yet it was able to catch itself and, once again, attacked Noivern with Superpower, relentless like the sky warrior it was. The dragon dodged and flew higher. "Iron Tail again!" Jacky shouted, and the bat dragon smashed its tail against the foe from above. Its opponent was catapulted to the ground and hit it, unable to fight any more. "You did great, Braviary! Rest!" Braviary was withdrawn by the gym leader before she pulling out the second Pokéball. "Togekiss, we're moving on!",
"Umuuuuiiii!" Her Togekiss appeared on the field. Jacky scanned it with her Pokédex. "Mh... Okay, Noivern, we're waiting for it to make a move!",
"Wish, Togekiss", Skyla said. Golden light emanated from Togekiss, speckling the air above them. "How beautiful..." Jacky muttered, but then tore herself away from the lights and shouted, "We'll finish this quickly, Noivern! Dragon Pulse!" Noivern fired off an attack. Togekiss was hit with immense power. "That was a critical hit!" Jacky exclaimed, and was about to cheer when she suddenly realized that Togekiss hadn't taken a scratch. "What the- How hasn't it taken damage? That was a critical hit... Oh." The realization almost made her wanna hit herself. She had already forgotten every single thing she read on her Pokédex two seconds earlier. "Oh god, I think that Heat Wave collission from earlier fried my brain... Togekiss is a fairy-type Pokémon... How very stupid of me." Golden light shone down on Togekiss as its wish came true. Even if it didn't do anything in the end. "Yes, indeed", Skyla nodded. "You should focus more. Metronome, Togekiss!",
"Umuuuiii!" Togekiss lit up and then sent a powerful Flash Cannon at Noivern.
"Dragon Pulse!" Noivern countered with an attack, and the two attacks cancelled each other out, resulting in a powerful explosion that shook the battlefield. "Now Iron Tail!" As Noivern attacked, Togekiss dodged it and the attack missed. "Pursue it!" Jacky shouted demandingly, and Noivern pursued its opponent as Togekiss kept its distance. "Sweet Kiss!" Skyla commanded. Togekiss suddenly slowed down and pressed a kiss to Noivern's forehead. Noivern began to falter. "Crap," Jacky cursed.
"Now Aurasphere, Togekiss!" Togekiss clenched an aura sphere in front of it and shot it at Noivern. "Iron Tail, Noivern!" Noivern barely managed to evade the attack, smashing the orb with its tail and grazing Togekiss on the wing. The fairy-type Pokémon suppressed a yelp. "Wish, and then Metronome again!" Skyla shouted. Again, the golden light appeared before Togekiss glowed again, sending fine grains of sand flying into Noivern's eyes with Sand Attack. The dragon shrieked as its eyes began to burn and it could barely see, adding up to that the unwavering dizziness the confusion from earlier had caused. It landed on the ground, lost its balance and fell to the side with a shocked shriek, trying desperately to get the sand out of its eyes. "Now Aurasphere again!" This time, the attack hit Noivern in the side and the dragon screeched. Golden sparks rained down on Togekiss, healing the injury that Noivern's Iron Tail had inflicted. Noivern gasped and reeled from the state it was in.
"Metronome, Togekiss!" Skyla ordered. This time, Togekiss sent an Ice Beam at Noivern. "I have to be Noivern's eyes..." Jacky muttered. "Heat wave, Noivern! Straight ahead!" Noivern flapped its wings and the hot winds melted the attack. "Now fly in the same direction! Iron Tail!" Noivern pushed off and attacked blindly- Still, it hit Togekiss full force in the side. "Togekiss, quick, Wish!" Skyla shouted. "We'll finish this now! Iron Tail with full force to the left, Noivern!",
"Groaaar!" Noivern struck again, hitting Togekiss. The fairy Pokémon gasped and went down knocked out.
"I'm impressed," Skyla admitted as she withdrew her Togekiss. "You did a good job fighting through it. You remained vigilant despite everything that weighed you down. You more than earned the Jet Badge with that. Take good care of it." The gym leader came over to Jacky and held out a red cloth to her with the badge inside. Jacky accepted it. "Thank you. Thank you for this great fight, Skyla!" The spectators at the fence applauded. "It's no problem." The gym leader smiled politely, then turned to Mari, who had been watching the whole time. "I know your face. I'm going to assume that you want to face the challenge now as well, is that correct?",
"Yep." Mari nodded. Jacky stowed the badge in her box and withdrew Noivern. "Don't lose to her, Mari! I'm cheering you on!",
"I'm trying." Mari winked at her and then they traded places. "All right! I'm ready!",
"Good." Skyla pulled out a Poké Ball. "You're the winner of this year's junior cup tournament. That means you've already proven your strength. I will not go easy on you. Prepare well to face the wicked storm! Swanna, it's showtime!" The elegant swan Pokémon landed on the ground in front of her. "Okay, Gabite! Let's go!" Growling, the dragon landed on the field.