Chapter 4: The Second Trial
After completing the first trial, Sapphire had spent the rest of yesterday training with her Pokémon. Bloom had been introduced to the team and was already made very welcome. After concluding the morning with some more training, Sapphire battled a few of the students in some afternoon sparring matches like Mustard had mentioned. Due to her experience, she didn't struggle against any of them and beat them rather easily. Of course, Klara had been annoyed at this as she'd hoped somebody would take her town a peg but she remained confident that she would emerge victorious next time she battled her. And now it was morning again on the Isle of Armour and Sapphire had travelled to Challenge Beach to get some early-morning training in before the next trial began. All five of her new Pokémon were out as James Pond was already an experienced Pokémon and didn't need the extra training. Terri and Bloom were against each other while Kagami, Mysterio and Dal were battling together with Sapphire doing her best to watch other everyone.
"OK Bloom, use Energy Ball! Terri, use Stone Edge to try and block Bloom's attack!" Sapphire commanded.
The newly obtained Bulbasaur opened his mouth and fired a ball of green energy at Terri. The little Sandile conjured up a bunch of rocks out of nowhere and tried to form them in front of herself to create a wall to block Bloom's attack. But she hadn't quite managed to master the technique and thus the Energy Ball broke through the Stone Edge and slammed into the sand-dwelling crocodilian. Terri cried out and grunted as she fell onto her back. Sapphire gasped and Bloom winced, worried he'd hurt her too much. Terri got back to her feet and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, mates! I'm fine!" she insisted.
"Oh thank Arceus…" Sapphire sighed, putting a hand over her chest, "You nearly had it Terri. Let's try that again and see if you can nail it."
"Are you sure, Sapphire?" Bloom asked worriedly, "I don't want to hurt Terri too badly."
"I can take it, pollen breath!" Terri declared, "I've felt worse than this before! Again!"
Bloom rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to use Energy Ball again. He shot it towards Terri and the Sandile used Stone Edge once more. This time, she was more successful. The rocks formed a protective shield in front of her and the Energy Ball hit, dissipating harmlessly against them. But the rocks didn't fully hold and they fell backwards after the impact of the attack, forcing Terri to back away to avoid getting hit by them. Sapphire shook her head. This wouldn't do at all. If that Energy Ball had been from a stronger Pokémon, Terri wouldn't have blocked it. They'd have to keep working on it.
"It's getting better Terri! Just got to keep practicing and we should get it perfect!" Sapphire complimented.
"I'll try, Shelia." Terri said optimistically.
"I've told you already, it's Sapphire, not Shelia." Sapphire chuckled, "Now you two keep practicing a moment while I look over Dal, Kagami and Mysterio."
She turned away for a moment to see that Mysterio was working on his Dazzling Gleam attack. He'd been studying the TR closely and was focusing on mastering the attack. He liked the idea of getting to fend off the Dark-types that would usually give him trouble by knowing a Fairy-type move. He held his spoons out and conjured up a pink sparkling ball of Fairy energy between them both. Then he aimed at Kagami and the fairy energy expanded into a beam of dazzling, colourful energy that leapt towards her. As Kagami was weak to Fairy-attacks, Sapphire knew it was best to get Mysterio to practice it on her, with a heavy emphasis on not being too hard on her. The beam hit Kagami and she grimaced from the attack as it hit her. Despite being super-effective, it didn't quite do the damage that Sapphire had hoped for. The attack had a powerful start but once it hit, it died down too quickly and thus Kagami had only really been dealt a fraction of the attack's power, not the full force of it. That wouldn't do in an actual battle. Kagami even scoffed as if Mysterio's attempt had been pitiful. Dal had watched the whole thing as he waited for his turn to battle.
"I thought that was supposed to hurt." she sneered, "I bet a Milcery would've put up more of an effort."
"Curb your insolence, dragon warrior!" Mysterio snapped, "I am still mastering the move and it's not something I can learn in a snap. Pokémon have to practice hard to master new moves, you know."
"You think I don't know that?" Kagami snorted, "I spent most of my time in Brawler's Cave honing my power and building myself up to become stronger. As you can see, it's done wonders for my strength and ability to learn."
She spat a ball of flames onto her hand and rushed towards Mysterio. This was her way of using Fire Punch, a move Sapphire wanted her to learn as it was a move that got a boost from her Sheer Force ability. If anything, it provided a handy defence against Ice-types that would otherwise give Dragon-types like her some trouble. Kagami socked Mysterio in the gut with Fire Punch and knocked him clean off his feet. He shot backwards and crashed into a nearby tree. An Apricorn fell form the tree and bonked him on the head, making him groan in pain. Kagami's scaly jaws spread into a smug grin of superiority.
"As I said, wonders for me." she crowed.
"Ungh…you've managed to learn Fire Punch in the fraction of the time it's taking me to master Dazzling Gleam." Mysterio muttered, "I'll admit, I'm impressed."
"KA-GA-MI'S-STRENGTH-IS-NO-MATCH-FOR-TRUE-MAG-NE-MITE-SU-PER-I-ORI-TY!" Dal croaked, aiming his magnets at the Dragon-type Pokémon, "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
He fired an attack at Kagami, but it wasn't Thunderbolt. Sapphire had been teaching him to use Tri-Attack, a Normal-type move that could burn, freeze or paralyze the opponent at any time. The attack came in the form of a triangle of energy with each tip containing the status conditions that it could inflict on the opponent. The attack hit Kagami and unlike Mysterio's Dazzling Gleam, it had been a perfect attack. The Tri-Attack hit at full power and Mysterio watched in amazement as Kagami's whole body was encased in ice. It had frozen her this time. Dal was delighted with himself.
"KA-GA-MI-HAS-BEEN-FRO-ZEN-ALIVE! MAG-NE-MITES-ARE-SUPREME!" he gloated.
"How incredible…you only started practicing that move the day before yesterday and you've got it down perfectly!" Mysterio gasped.
"I'm impressed too!" Sapphire cried happily, "Well done, Dal! That Tri-Attack was perfect!"
"MAG-NE-MITES-ARE-PER-FEC-TION." Dal crowed.
In order to free Kagami from being frozen, Mysterio used his psychic powers to break the ice around her. Kagami shook herself and rubbed her body furiously to get some warmth back into her arms.
"Brrr…l-l-lucky sh-sh-shot…" she shivered.
"Oh I dunno, I'd say maybe Dal's training has done wonders for his strength and ability to learn." Mysterio taunted.
"Mysterio, be nice." Sapphire said firmly, "She's right anyway, it WAS a lucky shot. Tri-Attack could've done anything to her, be it burning her, freezing her or paralyzing her. There's a one in 20% chance of any of those conditions happening to her so don't think Dal will do that every time. Still, it's great he's perfected it so soon!" she complimented, "It'll come in real handy in our battles."
"WE-WILL-BE-THE-SUP-PER-I-OR-PO-KE-MON-TEAM! WE-WILL-EX-TER-MIN-ATE-ALL-OUR-OPP-O-NENTS!" Dal croaked excitedly.
Then to everyone's surprise, he started to glow! It wasn't just Dal that was doing so as Bloom and Terri were also beginning to glow too. Sapphire gasped in astonishment as she watched three of her newest Pokémon begin to evolve in front of her very eyes. She didn't think they'd evolve that quickly! Terri, Dal and Bloom grew in size and changed in appearance as they evolved into their next stages.
Dal was now a Magneton, the second stage evolution of Magnemite. There wasn't much of a change in his appearance other than he now looked like three Magnemites attached together through magnetism than just the single Magnemite he had been.
Terri had evolved from a Sandile to a Krokorok. She had the biggest change in appearance as she now stood on two legs instead of four, her front legs had become a pair of arms and she had a bigger body, a longer snout and a longer tail. She also had a row of triangular spikes going down her back and to her tail.
Bloom had become an Ivysaur. Aside from growing four leaves on his back, the bulb becoming a huge pink bud and his eyes changing shape, he didn't differ too much from his previous look as a Bulbasaur.
The Pokémon all looked over each other in excitement and astonishment.
"Crikey! I'm much bigger now! And I have hands!" Terri exclaimed as she looked all over herself to get an idea on her new body.
"I feel as if I'm ready to blossom into a big flower." Bloom said as he shook his back to make the leaves rustle and the bud shake a little, "Honey always told me evolution would feel great, and it did!"
"I-HAVE-NOW-BEEN-PRO-MOT-ED!" boomed Dal, his voice deeper and closer to that of a Dalek Supreme than a Dalek drone, "I-AM-NOW-A-MAG-NE-TON! I-WILL-EX-TER-MIN-ATE-ALL-OPP-O-NENTS-IN-THIS-FORM!"
"Congratulations everyone! You've all evolved!" Sapphire cried excitedly, "Gosh, it never stops being amazing to watch Pokémon evolve! I didn't think you'd all evolve that quickly!"
"Well in my defence, I was already trained a lot by Honey before you got me." Bloom noted, "I guess that gave me a boost."
"And most Pokémon on the Isle of Armour tend to be at high levels already so it doesn't take trainers long to evolve us." Terri added, "I guess it comes from this island being all about bringing out your inner strength or something like that…"
"I know it didn't take me long to become an Alakazam." Mysterio put in, "And I didn't even need a trainer to get me to do so."
"Huh, Pokémon on the island are that strong? Now that's something to tell my sisters…" Sapphire murmured thoughtfully.
She'd heard the Isle of Armour was home to strong Pokémon but to hear that they were so strong that they tended to evolve quicker than the average Pokémon back in Galar? That was something to be impressed about! She got out her phone to give Ruby and Emerald a quick call but upon glancing at the screen, her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh shit! It's nearly time for the next trial!" Sapphire shrieked, "We're gonna have to train some more later, let's get going!"
She returned her Pokémon and quickly cycled back to the Master Dojo. It was lucky for her Challenge Beach wasn't far away. Even in foot it wouldn't take long to get back and the Rotom bike just made an already quick journey even quicker. She was back at the dojo with just a minute to spare and she sprinted inside. The other students were just gathering together in the centre of the hall with Mustard and Honey about to start today's trial and every head turned as Sapphire ran frantically to join them. She panted heavily from the frantic rush to get here. Klara smirked. Like all the other students, she was in her uniform now Sapphire had gotten it back for her yesterday, though she felt it didn't suit her as well as her Gym uniform did.
"Oh dear, newbie. Almost late, weren't we?" she crowed, "I guess your punctuality isn't as strong as your Pokémon training."
"Shut up you toxic slime ball." Sapphire muttered, "I'm here now aren't I?"
"Yes indeed, so there was no need for that unwarranted remark." Mustard said sternly, fixing his old, disciplined eyes on Klara, "In future Sapphire, you do need to keep more of an eye on the time. It would be a shame if you missed any of the trials after all."
"Yes master." Sapphire said with a polite bow.
"Now students, I hope you're all prepared for today's trial as it will not be as simple as yesterday's trial." Mustard went on.
"I wouldn't have said yesterday's trial was easy!" blurted one of the students.
"Please don't talk when my husband is speaking." Honey said firmly, "It's impolite to interrupt the Dojo Master."
"Sorry." the student said sheepishly.
"For today's trial, we shall be going mushroom picking." Mustard continued, "Those of you here probably remember the dojo's famous dish that was created by my darling Honey, don't you?"
Sapphire held her hand up.
"Yes. I read about it in my preparation for my time here." she put in, "Didn't Honey invent Max Soup or something? Ruby gave me and Emerald some to give to my Inteleon and her Rillaboom and they gained the ability to Gigantamax after drinking it."
Mustard beamed with delight.
"Very good, Sapphire!" he exclaimed jovially, "Yes, my wife invented Max Soup right here on this very island. Certain Pokémon that drink it gain the ability to Gigantamax as a result of using a very special mushroom that grants this ability to those certain Pokémon. How it does so is still a mystery…" he added thoughtfully.
"And while you're staying with us on the Isle of Armour, you'll get a chance to try some yourself." Honey put in, "Max Soup is on the menu for today's dinner. But we need some Max Mushrooms before we can make the soup so that's where today's trial comes in: you must search the island and find at least three mushrooms so we can make the soup."
Sapphire felt disappointed. Again, THIS was their idea of a trial? Finding mushrooms? The Isle of Armour certainly had some strange ideas for trials. What was this supposed to teach exactly? Maybe it was a lesson in navigation and finding your way around, thought Sapphire wasn't sure what this would do with Pokémon battling. Unless this lesson was meant to be more for the trainers than the Pokémon…
"How will we know if we find the right mushrooms?" Abigail asked curiously.
"They're a pinkish red colour with a spiral pattern on them." Honey explained, "You can't miss them, really."
Sapphire's eyes widened. Wait a minute…she'd seen a cluster of mushrooms like that on her first day here! She thought back to her cycling trip to Potbottom Desert to look for a Sandile. She'd seen those mushrooms back in Warm-up Tunnel! She'd dismissed them at the time but now she had a reason to go look for them. Klara had noticed Sapphire's expression and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"We'll give you until five o'clock tonight to find any Max Mushrooms." Mustard announced, "Sometimes it can be hard to find them so I'm giving you all the time you may need to find them. Let's see which of you will find some first! Anyone who finds any mushrooms and gets back here will pass the trial. But I must insist that you find them under your own power." he added firmly, "We won't accept mushrooms that were found via outside help or with your Pokémon. This is a task you'll need to carry out yourselves. Good luck students!"
The students all filed out of the dojo to look for the fantastical fungi. As soon as they'd gone, Mustard returned to the living room to continue playing a video-game while he waited for the students to return back. As usual, Hyde was at his computer screen still studying Pokéball designs. Mustard looked over to his son as he sat down on the sofa.
"Any luck, my boy?" he asked curiously.
"I think I've got the Prison Ball's schematics all worked out." Hyde murmured, "It's just a matter of if it'll work as I hope it will. Once that supply of parts I asked for you to order gets here, I can start building it."
"I only hope we never need to use your invention, Hyde." the Dojo Master said grimly, "I'd hate it if we had to put Zeraora away for good."
"It's been twelve years and he's showing no signs of change." Honey sighed as she walked into the room to join her husband and son, "I think we should accept he's a lost cause, dear. He feels betrayed by you and wants you dead. It's clear nothing will change that."
Mustard shook his head.
"I believe that there's always a chance for redemption." the former Pokémon Champion insisted, "We must give Zeraora that chance."
"That's nice dad, but I have to agree with mum." Hyde said bluntly, "Some people can't ever turn good again. They turn bad and that's the end of it. That's why my Prison Ball is a necessity. If he ever gets out and comes back, we'll have a way to stop him before he can hurt anyone."
"I'm afraid it'll take more than a Pokéball to quell my old partner's range…" Mustard said grimly.
He knew full well that a Pokémon as powerful and fast as Zeraora wouldn't give them a chance to use his son's creation. It would be best that his old partner never escaped at all and stayed in the capsule he was currently locked up in. It would be even better if he finally saw the light and left his prison a reformed Pokémon. Mustard put the thought of his mind as he switched his game on. He wondered how long it'd take Sapphire to pass this trial. Something told him that this girl would be the one, the Armour Warrior that would save the island if Zeraora ever posed a threat again. So young and yet showing so much skill, intelligence and promise. Maybe Kubfu would finally find the one to train him at last…
The students had all split up to cover as much ground as possible. They all knew that there were many different places that Max Mushrooms could grow in so it would be illogical to look in one place. Abigail joined a bunch of students that had gone to the Forest of Focus to look for some. Mushrooms of all sorts grew in forests so why not look for Max Mushrooms here? Sanjay had joined a group that was searching in Brawler's Cave for the mysterious mushroom. They were known to grow in caves as well so maybe they'd find some there.
The group in the Forest of Focus slowly looked through the area, keeping a sharp eye out for a pinkish-red mushroom with a spiral pattern. In a place like this, there were all sorts of places to find them. They peered through bushes, fumbled through foliage and looked under logs. But nobody could find any mushrooms. Abigail thought she'd found one for a moment only to be disappointed when she saw that it was merely an Amoonguss, a mushroom-esque Pokémon with a Pokéball pattern on the top of its head and the two shields it carried. The Amoonguss didn't take kindly to being disturbed and threatened to spray her with Stun Spore, forcing the blue-haired girl to back off. One student thought he'd found some Max Mushrooms too but as he came in for a look, a bunch of wild Pikachu had already started eating them. There was no way anyone could present them to Mustard and Honey and hope to win the trial now the Pikachu had eaten them. They would have to look elsewhere.
The group in Brawler's Cave were having equally as bad luck in finding any mushrooms. The students searched high and low in order to find the very ingredient that made Max Soup what it was but they couldn't find a single mushroom, max or not. Sanjay thought he'd seen one but upon closer inspection, he'd merely spotted a Druddigon's head and it hadn't been too pleased with him waking it up by rushing in for a look. Luckily, Sanjay was able to get away before the Druddigon could attack. It seemed this trial really was going to be harder than anyone expected! With an island as big as this, it would take a while for anyone to find any mushrooms!
That is…anyone but Sapphire. She'd mingled with the students for a bit, pretending to search for mushrooms before sneaking off to the Warm-Up Tunnel. She made sure nobody was following her before she left the Forest of Focus and entered the Training Lowlands. Once again, she found herself staring up at the Tower of Darkness that stood tall at the top of Challenge Road nearby. The tower just served as a reminder on what awaited her if she passed these trials. She'd win the secret armour and be allowed entry to either this tower or the Tower of Water on Challenge Beach. And to think her victory for this trial was just in a tunnel up ahead! Sapphire still couldn't believe her luck in having seen those mushrooms when exploring on her first day. And yet…she couldn't shake off a nagging feeling that this was wrong somehow. Wasn't she cheating by doing this? It hardly seemed fair that she technically had an advantage over the other students by conveniently knowing where to find some mushrooms. Then again, they might not be there this time. In the time that had passed since she'd last been here, a wild Pokémon could've eaten them. If so, then she'd simply look somewhere else.
Sapphire entered the tunnel. She ran the whole length of the tunnel and to the entrance to Potbottom Desert. The mushrooms were still there. Sapphire looked at them more closely now that she had a reason to pay attention to them. There was something fantastical about the mushrooms with their spiral pattern and their mix of pink and red colours. They looked almost alien compared to the vegetation that she'd seen in the Forest of Focus. Who'd have thought these mushrooms could give a Pokémon the ability to Gigantamax? Sapphire reached out for the mushrooms…but then she stopped.
"No…this is wrong!" she scolded herself, "I shouldn't be doing this! I didn't find these by myself! I can't accept these. It won't be fair on the others that I knew beforehand where to find some but they didn't. I must find some different mushrooms so that I pass the trial fair and square."
Sapphire turned away from the mushrooms. She was just about to leave but somebody stopped her. Sapphire gasped in horror as Klara stood before her, her face a mask of fury. That was impossible! How had she been followed? She'd made sure nobody was following her before coming here!
"I knew it!" Klara snarled, "You sneaky little cockroach! I knew you somehow knew where there were some mushrooms to find! Your expression back at the dojo said it all! How did you know there were Max Mushrooms here already?"
"Never you mind how I knew that." Sapphire said coldly, "I was just leaving. I'm not taking the mushrooms because I didn't find them on my own. I'm going to look for some mushrooms that I can find fairly and without any advantages."
Klara was speechless.
"Wait…you mean to tell me you knew there were mushrooms here already…and you're NOT going to take them?" she said as if the whole thing was so absurd that she must've imagined it.
"Think of me what you want, Klara. I'm NOT a cheater." Sapphire insisted, "If I take those mushrooms now, it'll be cheating because I just happened to know beforehand where they were. It isn't right and I won't win the trial this way."
The Poison Gym Leader saw Sapphire's point. She was amazed that the blue-haired teen was willing to be so humble as to walk away now instead of taking this advantage. And yet…
"Oooooh no, you're not fooling ANYONE with that act, missy!" Klara growled, "I bet the moment we walk out of here, you'll just turn back and grab the mushrooms and get all the glory for yourself! Do you seriously think I can't see through your little plot, twerp?"
"Then you don't know me at all." Sapphire retorted, "If anything, I can see YOU doing that given you followed me here just so you can get the mushrooms for yourself so who are you to accuse ME of that?"
"I only followed you because I suspected you were up to something." Klara admitted, "The fact my suspicions were correct just benefit my situation as I can take those mushrooms for myself while you be all Little Miss Perfect and get some yourself the honest way."
"But then you'll be cheating too!" Sapphire exclaimed, unable to believe that Klara was willing to engage in such hypocrisy, "YOU didn't find the mushrooms on your own either, you followed me in order to find them!"
"Doesn't matter." the pink-haired girl said dismissively, "At least if I take them, you can't come back for them."
"You're not having these mushrooms!" Sapphire growled, "Neither of us found them fairly so neither of us should have them! Let's just forget we ever found them here and walk away now."
"Not on your life!" Klara said stubbornly, "I'm passing this trial and if I have to put you in your place to do so, then so be it!"
She whipped out a Pokéball.
"We'll settle this with a Pokémon battle! Three-on-three this time! Winner takes the mushrooms!" she declared.
Sapphire wanted to refuse and walk away but it would be pointless. Klara would only follow her and force her to battle and if she walked away now, she'd just take the mushrooms for herself and declare herself the winner. Sapphire wouldn't let Klara get away with cheating. In order to stop her taking the mushrooms, she had no choice but to battle and get Klara to back off.
"OK, if you want to get humiliated some more, I'm your girl." Sapphire sighed bluntly.
She whipped out her own Pokéball. She'd try and make this quick so she could get back to looking for her own Max Mushrooms that she would find fairly. At least this would give her a chance to show off her knew Pokémon and train them up some more.
"Roserade, infect the opposition!" Klara yelled as she threw her first Pokéball.
"Kagami, shining time!" Sapphire cried, throwing her own Pokéball.
The two Pokémon materialized into battle and took their places. Sapphire took note of Klara's chosen Pokémon. So she had a Roserade as part of her team? A good choice indeed as Roserade were quite powerful despite their small size. Roserade were Grass/Poison type Pokémon first discovered in the Sinnoh region and could be found in Galar. They were the fully evolved form of Budew and Roselia and were beloved amongst many trainers for their grace and beauty. Roserade was a small Pokémon that resembled a mixture of roses and a masquerade ball dancer. It had a red and blue rose respectively in place of hands, a leafy cape and a dark green mask over its red eyes. Its tousled hair style was made of white rose petals. Sapphire could see this Roserade was female as the females had longer capes than the males did. If this Roserade wasn't being used by her rival, Sapphire would've loved admiring it. As is, this was no time to fawn over a Pokémon's beauty. Kagami smirked, seeing this puny rose Pokémon as no real threat.
"Shouldn't be too hard." she sneered.
"Underestimate my darling at your own petal, sugar." Klara sneered, "She's quite a handful, as you'll see. Use Sludge Bomb!"
Roserade shot one of her hands forwards and fired a blob of poisonous sludge at Kagami. The Dragon-Pokémon winced as the Sludge Bomb hit her but she didn't take a lot of damage. The attack hadn't done much to her. She rubbed the sludge off herself and retaliated when Sapphire commanded her to use Fire Punch. Fire Punch was already a super-effective move to use on Roserade but Kagami's Sheer Force ability made it even more powerful so it would knock the rosy Pokémon out in one hit. Kagami spat fire onto her fist and charged towards Roserade. She drew her arm back and prepared to punch her opponent with her blazing fist. But Klara didn't seem too worried.
"Show them your speed, hon! Dodge and hit back with Dazzling Gleam!" Klara yelled.
Sapphire gasped. Just her luck that Klara's Pokémon just happened to know Dazzling Gleam! She imagined that she'd taught her Roserade that move precisely for in case any Dragon-type Pokémon fought her. The small plant-like Pokémon jumped aside as Kagami tried to hit her with Fire Punch. She'd missed by centimetres. Now Roserade was out of the way, she held out her roses and fired a sparkling beam of fairy energy at Kagami. The Dragon Pokémon cried out as she was hit by the attack. Unlike Mysterio's Dazzling Gleam during training earlier, this one was a perfect attack and did the damage it should do. Klara's Roserade had perfected the move and Kagami found herself in real trouble now. She grimaced and swayed on her feet as she struggled to stay standing. Sapphire could see this was not going to go well. Another Dazzling Gleam and Kagami would be down! She had to make this next Fire Punch count or Roserade would take the win! Klara was pleased with herself.
"Good job, Roserade! Use Dazzling Gleam again to finish this fight!" she ordered.
Roserade aimed her roses and prepared to give Kagami another Dazzling Gleam. As she was starting to build the attack up, Sapphire made her move.
"Hit her with Fire Punch while she's still charging!" she yelled.
Kagami lumbered forward, her fist coated in flames again as she prepared to punch Roserade a second time. Roserade could see what Kagami was trying to do and she tried to jump out the way. But this time, Kagami was able to react in time. As soon as Roserade jumped aside, she pivoted around on one foot and socked Roserade hard in the gut with Fire Punch. The attack scorched Roserade with the flames and the punch itself sent her flying backwards. The Dazzling Gleam had stopped now she'd bene interrupted. Roserade crashed into a nearby wall and collapsed onto the floor. She didn't get up again. Kagami roared and flexed her arms with triumph.
"I knew all that training would pay off for me!" she crowed.
Klara fumed in annoyance as she returned Roserade to her Pokéball.
"Humph…lucky shot!" she snorted, "But you won't be so lucky against my Scolipede!"
She threw out her next Pokéball and out came the very first Pokémon that Sapphire had fought when they'd had their first battle the day before yesterday. Sapphire could see that Kagami had the advantage over Scolipede due to knowing Fire Punch but Scolipede was a faster Pokémon than she was and she was already weakened from Roserade's Dazzling Gleam. It was best to switch out and go in with a fresh Pokémon. She returned Kagami to her Pokéball and sent out Dal to fight instead. She reckoned that using him would benefit her as Steel-types like Dal were immune to poison attacks and Klara's Scolipede would likely not know any attacks that would be effective against him. The newly evolved Magneton was thrilled to have the chance to battle, the magnets on each individual Magnemite that formed him up crackling with electricity.
"HOS-TILE-TRAIN-ER-I-DENT-I-FIED! HER-PO-KE-MON-WILL-BE-EX-TER-MIN-ATED!" he boomed, aiming his magnets ahead at Scolipede.
"Y'what?" Klara asked in confusion, "Did that Magneton crash into a wall or something?"
"Don't mind him, he pretty much thinks he's a Dalek." Sapphire said hastily, "Let's make this quick and easy Dal, use Flash Cannon!"
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" Dal croaked.
He aimed all six of his magnets at Scolipede and fired a silver beam of energy towards the Bug/Poison type Pokémon. Flash Cannon was a Steel-type Special Attack that could lower an opponent's Special Defence when it hit, which was what Sapphire was aiming for as any attack Dal used next would hit a little harder once Scolipede's Special Defence was lowered. The Flash Cannon slammed into Scolipede and knocked it backwards. Unlike its first battle against Sapphire, it didn't go down in one hit as Dal wasn't anywhere near as strong as James Pond due to being one of Sapphire's newer Pokémon. Its body flashed to signify the drop in its Special Defence that Sapphire had hoped down. Scolipede shook itself off, showing it was ready to fight back. Klara could see that this was hopeless. Her Scolipede knew attacks that were ineffective against Magnetons so she wouldn't be able to do any real damage. But maybe she could soften it up a little for her ace to deal with later on.
"Use Megahorn!" Klara commanded.
Scolipede lowered its head and scuttled towards Dal with its twin horns pointing straight ahead. Megahorn was the strongest Bug-type attack a Pokémon could learn but to a Steel-type like Dal, it hardly made any difference. Scolipede speared Dal with its horns but the centipede like Pokémon barely left so much as a scratch on him. Dal didn't even flinch from the attack. It was as if Scolipede had tried to smash its way through a steel wall…and the wall won. Scolipede shook its head as it felt a little dazed from the failed attack. Dal aimed his magnets at his opponent and used Thunderbolt to finish the battle. Scolipede cried out as it was electrocuted and due to its lowered Special Defence, Dal had been able to finish it off with the single hit. Scolipede collapsed onto the floor, steam drifting up from its body from its electrocution. Dal's magnets spun around with glee as Klara gasped.
"SCOL-I-PEDE-HAS-BEEN-EX-TER-MIN-ATED! MAG-NE-TONS-ARE-SU-PREME!" he screeched.
"Great show Dal! You really proved yourself out there!" Sapphire complimented, "If I were you Klara, I'd just quite now. You have no chance of actually winning now."
Klara returned Scolipede to its Pokéball, her face as dark as a thundercloud.
"Oh no…never again." she declared, "I've given up far too easily in the past. This time, I'm going to get stronger and prove I'm a real Gym Leader and not some lazy snob! Before you came, Sapphire, I had no real rival to prove myself against. Now I have a drive to become better than ever and I'm going to prove it by defeating you here and now!"
Sapphire took all this in with interest. So Klara didn't want anyone thinking she was lazy anymore? Her being on the island had inspired her to train harder and become a better, more skilled trainer? She would've been flattered if the circumstances were different to what they currently were. She focused back on the battle as Klara sent out her Slowbro as her last Pokémon. The dopy looking Pokémon materialized before Dal, looking as spaced out as ever. Sapphire knew that as she was Klara's ace, she would give her a real battle. Although Dal would be immune to her Poison attacks, she knew Slowbro had very broad move sets so unlike Scolipede, this Pokémon had more of a chance to put up a battle against Dal. She knew one thing she could do to mitigate that issue.
"Use Light Screen!" Sapphire commanded.
Dal raised his magnets and formed a protective barrier around himself. Klara frowned in annoyance. She knew what Sapphire was planning. Light Screen was a status move that halved the power of Special Attacks. Her Slowbro had a move set entirely consisting of those so every attack she used would be halved. She couldn't do the damage she would need in order to beat Sapphire! And if that wasn't enough, Sapphire returned Dal to his Pokéball and exchanged him for Mysterio. Her Slowbro had no moves that were super-effective against an Alakazam so she was once again stuck having to hope she could simply beat Sapphire with raw power, and even that was out of the question with Dal's Light Screen weakening her Slowbro's attacks! She had no chance of winning, but Klara didn't want to just give up. She'd been seen as a failure for too long, she wasn't going to quit, even with the odds stacked against her this much!
"Use Shell-Side Arm!" Klara commanded.
Slowbro aimed with her cannon arm and blasted Mysterio with poisonous sludge. Mysterio just stood there and took the attack, the Light Screen flashing in front of him as the attack hit. Without it, it might've done a lot of damage to him but instead, Mysterio felt as if he'd been lightly punched instead of hit full on by Slowbro's attack. The Psychic Pokémon smirked as he fought back with a Shadow Ball attack. Unlike him, Slowbro didn't have a Light Screen to weaken his attacks so he could truly show her his full power. He held his spoons out and shot an ectoplasmic ball of energy straight at Slowbro. Unlike his Dazzling Gleam which he hadn't quite perfect yet, he had perfected his Shadow Ball so he was able to land a clean hit and with all the power he needed to make it meaningful. Slowbro grimaced from the hit and she staggered backwards from the blow. Mysterio wasn't as powerful as James Pond so his attacks wouldn't be as powerful, but it still gave Slowbro enough reason to be concerned as it would only take one or two more hits to defeat her. Klara could see this wasn't going to go well so she decided to try something else.
"Use Water Pulse!" the former pop singer yelled.
She was hoping that if she used Water Pulse, she could confuse Mysterio when it hit. At least if Mysterio was confused, it might help her out a little. Slowbro aimed with her shell cannon arm but instead of firing sludge, she shot a ring of water that swept over Mysterio. Once again, Light Screen halved the damage he took from the hit but unluckily for Klara, he didn't get confused after he was hit. Mysterio shook himself dry and retaliated with another Shadow Ball attack. He hit Slowbro again and this time, the attack had been enough to bring her down. Slowbro stared straight ahead as if in a daydream.
"Hang on a minute…I'm defeated!" she exclaimed.
And then she fainted. Klara stared incredulously as her Pokémon lay defeated on the floor. This was an outrage! How could she have been defeated so easily a second time?! Was she seriously so behind in her training due to wanting to get strong without trying too hard that some new kid was giving her a hard time?
"I don't know why you're so shocked." Sapphire said with a shrug, "I am the same trainer who conquered the Gym Challenge this year so it's hardly a surprise that I'm having an easy time against another Gym Leader. You may as well be surprised that my sister's still the Champion at this point."
Klara returned Slowbro to her Pokéball and sighed loudly. Sapphire was expecting her to rant and rave at her but surprisingly, she looked relatively chilled and collected as if she was taking her loss in stride instead of moaning about it.
"OK…I admit it. You're good and I'm clearly out of my depth." Klara sighed, "Guess it serves me right for expecting to be doted on for so long…you're truly a wake-up call Sapphire. I really need to put in proper effort if I'm to actually get strong. Savour your victory for now for next time, it'll be different." she insisted, "Next time we battle, I'll be a whole new Klara and I won't be defeated so easily!"
Sapphire was stunned that Klara had taken the defeat as well as she had and actually realized what her flaws were. Maybe Klara wasn't as vain and arrogant as she thought. Then again, her failure as a pop singer in the past might've made it easier for her to acknowledge her faults and what needed improving. She was mostly surprised that Klara saw her as a wake-up call. She hadn't expected to have such an impact on somebody's life like that. Who'd have thought a mere semi-finalist from Postwick Town would inspire Klara to improve herself so much?
"Well…I guess I'm glad to hear that?" Sapphire said uneasily, "It's good that you at least recognize what you need to improve on, Klara."
"Hey, I maybe vain, but I'm not stupid." Klara acknowledged, "I can see that what I've been doing before hasn't done me any favours so I obviously need to work on it. When you fail like I have in the past, it makes it easier to acknowledge this sort of thing. So, you won and the mushrooms are yours." she added, gesturing to the mushrooms, "Though I don't see what good they'll do you since you feel you didn't find them fairly. I on the other hand am going to find some mushrooms fairly and win the trial! Looks like that even though I lost, I'm still going to win!" she sneered.
"Best get a move on." Sapphire taunted, "Someone else might've found some already."
Klara shrieked with horror.
"CRAP! That's so true! Gotta go, bye!" she yelped.
She turned on her heels and darted straight out of the tunnel to go looking for more Max Mushrooms. Sapphire was about to leave as well but she thought for a moment. If she left the tunnel, Klara might just run back in and get these mushrooms and then claim she'd found them herself. While it was possible she would be totally honest and play fairly, Sapphire still didn't trust her. It would be best if she took the mushrooms herself. If anything, she'd be giving Mustard and Honey more mushrooms to make more soup with. Mysterio was still out of his Pokéball so she ordered him to his Psychic to break the mushrooms away from the cluster. She put them in her backpack and slung it back over her shoulders. She returned Mysterio to his Pokéball and walked out of the tunnel.
"I sure hope Abigail or Sanjay are the ones who win this trial." she murmured to herself.
She made a steady trek back to the Master Dojo to give Mustard and Honey the mushrooms. On her way back, she'd noticed that Abigail's group had left the Forest of Focus for there was nobody around. Maybe they'd moved on or they'd already found some mushrooms and were back at the dojo by now. She travelled through the forest, then back through the Soothing Wetlands and then finally, she reached the Master Dojo and walked inside. It seemed Abigail's group hadn't found anything for she was the only student to have come back. Mustard and Honey's faces lit up with delight upon seeing Sapphire.
"Why if it isn't Sapphire!" Honey cooed, "You're back before anyone else! I take it you found some Max Mushrooms?"
"I did." Sapphire confirmed, taking the three she'd found in Warm-Up Tunnel out of her backpack.
She presented the mushrooms to Honey. The Dojo Matron took them and inspected them as if making sure they were the genuine article and not a different mushroom that just happened to look similar. The brunette woman nodded.
"That's just what we asked for, darling." she confirmed, "Very well done indeed!"
"Where did you find them?" Mustard asked curiously.
"That's the thing…I didn't technically "find" them." Sapphire confessed, "I coincidentally saw some in Warm-Up Tunnel when I was exploring the island and catching Pokémon on my first day here. I didn't know what they were at the time so I left them alone but when Honey described what they looked like, I remembered seeing them and so I knew where to look for them. It was very unfair of me as I had an advantage right from the start while everyone else is going in blind with nowhere to look."
The Dojo Master and Matron were surprised to hear this.
"If that's the case, why did you take the mushrooms back with you if you feel you cheated?" Mustard asked curiously.
"Because Klara followed me to the tunnel." Sapphire went on, "She wanted to take the mushrooms as well but I couldn't let her as she didn't find them on her own either. I took them with me so she couldn't cheat as well."
She looked down at her feet in shame.
"I don't deserve to win the trial. I technically cheated by already knowing where to find some mushrooms beforehand." she went on, "I understand if you wish to disqualify me."
She grimaced, waiting for the axe to fall. But Mustard and Honey didn't seem mad at her. If anything, they looked pleased with her for confessing and being honest with them. They both smiled softly at her.
"We're very proud of you for being so honest with us." Honey said kindly, "It's very good of you to acknowledge that you had an unfair advantage over the others."
"Honesty like that doesn't deserve disqualification." Mustard added, "While we cannot accept you as the legitimate winner of the trial, I still wish to commend you for not only confessing to us, but making sure that Klara couldn't cheat as well. We won't disqualify you, Sapphire."
The teen trainer was surprised that Mustard was willing to be so lenient on her. Then again, she had been honest instead of presenting herself as the winner so that would've been enough for him to let it slide. Also, she hadn't intended to cheat, that was something else she needed to consider. If she'd done this purposefully, it'd be a different story. She bowed graciously.
"Oh thank you master! Thank you so much!" Sapphire said gratefully, "And I promise you two, I won't go into ANY other trial with a clear advantage again."
"We know, dear. We never took you as the cheating type." Honey reassured her, "Regardless, we'll still use your mushrooms to make the soup. It's just whoever wins the trial will provide us with a little extra so I can make more than one portion for another time." she added.
"That was my thought process when delivering them back to you too." Sapphire said happily.
Before anyone could say anything else, the doors burst open and someone ran in, looking half-mad and like they'd run a country mile. It was Klara. She panted heavily from the quick run she'd had back to the dojo and to Sapphire's amazement, she had a cluster of Max Mushrooms in her hand. So it seemed she'd been able to find some more after leaving the Warm-Up Tunnel!
"Master! Matron! I did it!" Klara puffed, "I've got some Max Mushrooms! And I found them all by myself! I had a nosey around Challenge Cavern and found a cluster there!"
She presented the mushrooms to Honey. She inspected them closely to make sure they were the right ones again. To Sapphire's surprise, Honey nodded.
"Very well done Klara. You found these Max Mushrooms, and all by yourself no less!" she complimented, "I don't think I've known you to put in so much effort into a task before."
"Well I guess I decided to make a change for this term." Klara said with a sweet smile on her face.
"And yet you initially attempted to cheat by following Sapphire to a spot where she knew where to find some." Mustard said sternly, "Sapphire let us know all about that when she came back here."
Klara had suspected that Sapphire would've told them already given she was already there so she wasn't annoyed upon hearing that. She also wasn't going to lie to Mustard and Honey as that would be suicide. Nothing got past those two so why even try?
"Yes…and after me and her had a battle, I set off to find some Max Mushrooms on my own so I could pass the trial fairly." Klara confessed, "While it was wrong of her to have an advantage, it was wrong of me to try and take advantage of that advantage…if you get my meaning." she said feebly.
"How did you know Sapphire already knew where to find some?" Honey inquired.
"I guessed given how she reacted to your description of the mushrooms." the Gym Leader said truthfully, "I swear I wasn't in on this beforehand."
"It's true." Sapphire chipped in, "She only found out from following me. I didn't tell her beforehand."
The couple nodded, believing both girls' stories.
"While I'm not pleased you attempted to cheat at first Klara, I can at least give you credit for changing your mind and completing the trial honestly." Mustard said brightly, "And I can see you worked hard to find those mushrooms on your own as you did so. You pass the trial Klara, but I warn you: you must complete all the other trials without so much as a thought about cheating. I can't give you too many benefit of the doubts, after all." he added firmly.
"Yes master." Klara said with a polite bow.
"With that said, both of you have given us plenty of mushrooms to make Max Soup with so we're going to get a lot more than I thought!" Honey said cheerfully, "I'll get cooking so the soup will be ready in time for lunch. You two can chill out until it's ready."
"Indeed. I'd say you two have earned it." Mustard concurred.
Honey took the mushrooms into the kitchen so she could start making the soup. Mustard left to see how Hyde was doing, leaving Sapphire and Klara alone together for the moment. The two girls looked at each other.
"Did you actually find those mushrooms by yourself?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Do I look like I didn't?" Klara snorted, "What makes you think I'd lie about that? Mustard would've caught me out in a heartbeat! Honestly, you really need to stop looking at me as if I'm up to something…" she sighed indignantly.
"OK, OK, sorry!" Sapphire said hastily, "I still don't know you too well so I don't know what you're like. I'll try and not be so judgemental from now on."
"Thank you! That's much better." Klara said with a sweet smile, "Just take into account that I'm not some conniving, scheming bitch as you may think. I'm capable of playing fairly and being truthful as you've just seen."
"Yes, and I'm grateful for it." Sapphire said appreciatively, "Maybe you're not so bad after all."
"Yeah…you too." Klara agreed, "But this doesn't mean we're friends. At least…for now. I'm still going to grind you into the dirt and win that secret armour for myself!" she declared.
Sapphire noticed from her tone of voice that unlike the previous times she'd been boastful, this declaration sounded more playful and like a friendly challenge than a desire to utterly destroy her. Sapphire grinned daringly.
"Oh you're on and you're going to be begging to Arceus himself when I beat you!" she proclaimed.
The two girls stared each other down to ensure that they were going to give each other their all for the reminder of the trials. The rivalry was on now and only one of them was going to emerge triumphant. Whatever tomorrow promised, they were going to take on the trial and make it to the final one. Sapphire suspected the final trial might be a battle for the secret armour. In this case, it would be perfect if it was between her and Klara, a winner takes all match to prove who was the best...
Pokemon evolved: Bloom the Bulbasaur, now Bloom the Ivysaur
Terri the Sandile, now Terri the Krokorok
Dal the Magnemite, now Dal the Magneton
Sapphire and Klara both pass the second trial by finding some Max Mushrooms each! Looks like tensions will be rising between the two rivals now. Who will emerge victorious in the remaining trials and win the secret armour? Tune in next time for the third trial...
Trivia: In the game, the third trial is the final one after this one but I've decided to make it so there's one extra as an excuse for me to include Restricted Sparring in the story, which you'll see next time. :)
Also, Klara uses a Slowpoke, a Koffing and a Whirlipede when you face her in Warm-Up Tunnel for the mushrooms. Here, she already has a Slowbro and Scolipede as you can see and her Koffing's replaced with a Roserade, which she doesn't have in the game. Honestly, her team would've benefitted a lot from having a Roserade instead of Galarian Weezing. At least it would've given her a Pokemon unique to her instead of another Galarian Weezing like what Opal has. This won't be the only change in her roster you're going to see too... ;)