Chapter 6: Sapphire vs. Klara.
The rest of Sapphire's week was one of the busiest times of her life. She didn't think she'd ever be in a situation where she'd have to spend so much time training her Pokémon, but here she was now probably spending more time training her Pokémon in this short period of time than she'd probably done so raising her previous team during the Gym Challenge.
Sapphire and Klara were both given time to train their Pokémon up for the final trial and neither teen had wasted a single moment. There was only four days away before they would duke it out in the Battle Court to win the Secret Armour of the Isle of Armour so they couldn't afford to slack off. Both had taken moments to train by themselves or battle with other students to get their Pokémon in shape. Of course, Sanjay and Abigail had been thrilled to help Sapphire out whereas Klara was lucky she even managed to get anyone willing to help her as she still had very few friends in the dojo. As of now, Sapphire was by herself on Challenge Beach again in the hopes of getting the rest of her team fully evolved before the trial. During the first three days that had passed since the third trial, Sapphire had searched the island and by sheer luck, had managed to find a Thunder Stone so Dal could evolve into a Magnezone. It was the only way to get Magnetons to evolve so she gave Dal the stone.
After touching it, he was transformed into a Magnezone. They were a species first found in the Sinnoh region and looked very different from the usual Magnemite and Magneton species. As a Magnezone, Dal looked like a flying saucer with a yellow antennae on top and had three eyes, two small ones and one big one with a red iris in the centre, and three magnets, two up front and one from behind, so he could zap his enemies in three different directions. As a Magnezone, he now sounded like a Dalek Emperor instead of a standard drone or Supreme Dalek whenever he spoke. His centre eye flashed red with every word he said.
"I-HAVE-ACH-IEV-ED-MY-FINAL-FORM! I-AM-NOW-THE-MAG-NE-MITE-EM-PER-OR!" he boomed, his tone hammy and haughty.
"Emperor of big egos more like…" Mysterio muttered under his breath.
"I think it's great!" Sapphire cried, "I'm so lucky I found that Thunder Stone or else Dal would never have become a Magnezone! I can't wait to use him in battle in this form!"
"NOR-CAN-I, COMM-AN-DER." Dal boomed, "THAT-SEC-RET-ARM-OUR-WILL-BE-OURS!"
"Heh, you sound more excited to win it than I do!" Sapphire chuckled, "Now we just need to get Bloom and Terri to evolve and the team's fighting fit for anything!"
So the fourth day before the trial had been devoted to getting Bloom and Terri to evolve. Sapphire worked them hard alongside the rest of her team to build their strength and skills up for the contest ahead. Terri had even managed to perfect the Stone Edge counter shield that Sapphire had been working on since she'd first caught her. She was already getting it before and now on the fourth day of training, she'd got it perfectly. When Bloom fired an Energy Ball at her, her Stone Edge was able to block the attack with no setbacks. Sapphire cheered, glad to see that their hard work had paid off.
"Great work, Terri! Now let's see how strong your Earthquake is!" Sapphire cried excitedly.
"Watch out, mates. This might be one ripper of a quake!" Terri warned.
Even though she was still a Krokorok, her Earthquakes would be enough to give some Pokémon something to worry about. She bent down on all fours and slammed the ground with her arms. The ground shuddered and a fist of energy punched its way towards her team mates. Mysterio, Bloom and Kagami all stood their ground to test their endurance and see if they could tank it while Dal floated away hastily to avoid being hit. The quake hit Mysterio, Bloom and Kagami and was strong enough to knock them all on to their backs. They were hurt but not too badly and they soon got back up again. Terri stood up and smiled sheepishly.
"Heh, heh…I warned you it would be a big one." she said feebly.
"You did, and you should be proud of that attack." Kagami complimented, "You knocked us all down in one blow. And you're still a Krokorok for the moment. Imagine your power when you become a Krookodile…"
"We're lucky she ain't right now or we'd be really feeling sore from that!" Bloom grunted, shaking the bud on his back to shake off any pain he was feeling. The leaves rustled as he shook.
"At least we were brave enough to take it head on." Mysterio purred, "A certain Magnezone lacked our bravery it seems…" he taunted, smirking at Dal.
"I-MADE-A-TACT-I-CAL-RE-TREAT!" Dal snapped indignantly.
"Oh I see, not so much Dal Supreme as it is Chicken Supreme." Mysterio jeered.
The others laughed, seeing the funny side of the Alakazam's joke. Dal shook with rage and aimed his magnets at Mysterio.
"YOU-WILL-BE-EX-TER-MIN-ATED!" he roared.
"NO! No, no, no! No exterminating your team mates!" Sapphire yelled frantically, "Mysterio, be nice and don't make fun of the others, please. I want you to battle together as a team, not fight each other."
"I have to agree with our trainer." Terri put in, "As funny as that joke was, some Pokémon just don't find that sort of thing very funny. I'd hate it if we started fighting each other in a way that isn't training."
Dal and Mysterio understood and backed down. They may not like each other much, but that didn't mean they had to fight like this. It was better to use their battle skills against their opponents instead of each other. Sapphire sighed, relieved that she'd managed to calm things down before they could get out of hand.
"Whew, that's better. Now let's…"
Before she could continue, Terri and Bloom began to glow, making her and the others gasp in astonishment. They were evolving at last! And just in time too! All eyes were on Bloom and Terri as they started to evolve into their final forms. In a matter of moments, Terri had evolved into a Krookodile and Bloom had evolved into a Venusaur.
Krookodile looked very much like a bigger Krokorok with the biggest changes to their appearances being red scales instead of brown, a white underbelly, pointy eyes instead of round ones and a much longer set of jaws.
Venusaur looked like a giant frog-like creature with the bud on its back now fully blossomed into a huge flower with beautiful pink petals and giant leaves at the flower's base. They had warty skin and were huge Pokémon, easily dwarfing their original forms in terms of size.
Bloom and Terri looked themselves over in amazement, unable to believe that they'd fully evolved so soon.
"Wow, look at us! We're huge and we look so strong!" Terri cried, "Crikey…I never thought I'd ever get to be a Krookodile! I'd still be a Sandile living in that boring desert if I never met Sapphire…"
"I imagine if Sapphire picked Squirtle instead of me, Honey would've helped me evolve into this anyway." Bloom murmured, "No matter, I'm just glad that I'm fully evolved at last and I now get to walk around with this beautiful flower on my back! And now I'm a Venusaur…I'll be able to Gigantamax!" he cried.
"You sure will! Honey said you'd be capable of doing so when you fully evolved." Sapphire acknowledged, "Maybe when we battle Klara in the last trial, I'll give your G-max form a test run…" she suggested.
"It'd be a good idea." Kagami agreed, "What better way to show off his G-max form than in a trial battle?"
"I sure hope we beat that Klara girl." Terri muttered, "I don't like her. She's such a snob!"
"I'm not that fond of her either, but let's face it, she could've been worse." Sapphire noted, "Speaking of Klara, I dunno if it's just me but…I think that girl has severe…esteem issues." she observed, "Even when I met her for the first time, she got upset really quickly when I brought up her album bombing and she expressed a desire not to be seen as a loser for once. While she can be a bitch at times, I kinda feel sorry for her. It must be hard to live with an inferiority complex."
Her Pokémon nodded understandingly.
"We Pokémon know what that's like." Bloom said sympathetically, "Many Pokémon don't like to lose a lot and those that do can suffer terrible self-esteem issues."
"No kidding." Sapphire agreed, "And ever since I've been here on this island, people have noticed Klara's had a change in attitude. I was told she was lazy and spoilt with a preference towards being doted on than actually training hard. But now? She's been much more of a hard worker and seems to be taking her training much more seriously."
"I noticed as such when we saw her training the other day." Mysterio concurred, "Do you think that, in a way, you've been unintentionally inspiring towards her?"
"You know…I've suspected as such." Sapphire mused, "Now I'm here, I've given Klara an actual rival to compete with and she's got a real reason to try her best now. I can't say I thought I'd have that effect on someone, but there's a first time for everything!" she chuckled.
"I just hope she'll be a graceful loser if we beat her." Bloom muttered, "I hate people that throw tantrums when they lose."
"She took her last loss to me well enough I'd say so I think she'll be fine." Sapphire hoped, "We'll find out tomorrow when the final trial begins."
With nothing more to say, Sapphire and her Pokémon got back to training. With Bloom and Terri fully evolved now, she could test their new strength out and see what they could do. Tomorrow was the final trial and she knew that it was going to be the ultimate test for her capabilities as a trainer. She'd passed the other trials with flying colours, now she'd see if she could win the whole thing and win the Secret Armour. Whatever it was, she'd finally get to find out…
Meanwhile, Klara was undergoing her own training. Unlike Sapphire who always chose Challenge Beach as her training area, the would-be Gym Leader preferred somewhere more private, like Brawler's Cave, to hone her skills. She liked to think that if she was in a cave, people would be less likely to eavesdrop on her and steal any of her training moves for herself. Last thing she wanted was for some snoop to steal her ideas and use her moves against her. She had her whole team out to train, said team consisting of her ace, Slowbro, and her additional members, Scolipede, Roserade, Drapion, Salazzle and Dragalge. To her, this was the perfect team for a Poison-type Gym Leader to use and would be her ace team to fight the strongest trainers with. If she ever challenged Ruby for the title of Pokémon Champion, she'd choose these six Pokémon to be the ones to battle her.
"Salazzle, use Flamethrower on Roserade! Roserade, use your Counter Shield technique we've been practicing to block it!" Klara commanded.
Salazzle threw her head back for a moment and then aimed at Roserade. Flames shot out from the back of her throat and blazed their way towards Roserade. Roserade flopped down on her back and aimed her roses up at the cave ceiling. She then squirted poisonous fluid out of her roses and spun herself around on the spot to send the poison spiralling around. It formed a defensive barrier around herself and stopped the flames from incinerating her as they came in. Every time Roserade spun, the fluid swept over and smacked against Salazzle's flames to stop them from getting near. Klara smiled excitedly. She'd been practicing that technique for days and it seemed to be working at last! That would definitely give her an edge against Sapphire's Pokémon!
"Excellent work my sweeties!" she chirped happily, "Now Scolipede, use Megahorn and Drapion, block it the way we've practiced!"
Scolipede lowered its head and scuttled towards Drapion. The scorpion like Pokémon braced itself and waited for Scolipede to come in range before lashing out with its tail. Its tail extended in length and grabbed Scolipede by the neck before its Megahorn could come into contact. Now the pincer on its tail had hold of Scolipede, it grabbed hold of the centipede like Pokémon with its claws and picked it up. With all three of its pincers holding Scolipede firm, the Poison/Bug Pokémon didn't have a hope of wriggling free of its grip. Klara grinned delightedly. She'd been practicing that move for the specific purpose of stopping Sapphire's Pokémon from attacking and it seemed she'd perfected it just like with Roserade's Counter Shield. Her chances were looking bigger than she thought!
"Great work, Drapion! You'll have any opponent squirming desperately in your grasp now!" she cried.
Drapion smiled and let go of Scolipede, feeling very pleased with itself. Klara turned to Dragalge. Ever since it had helped her achieve three straight wins in the Restricted Sparring tournament, she'd been feeling very good about its chances in battle and viewed it as her second ace after Slowbro. She could see why Dragon-types were so popular amongst the Pokémon community and with a Dragon-type of her own, it would give Sapphire's Druddigon someone to worry about.
"Let's see how good your Hydro Pump is, darling. Blast that rock to bits!" she yelled.
Dragalge aimed at a nearby boulder and blasted it with Hydro Pump. With that single blast of water, the weedy sea-dragon Pokémon smashed it to smithereens. Klara jumped up excitedly.
"Wow! Well done! You couldn't do that before and yet here you are!" the pink-haired teen squealed, "You're doing great, Dragalge!"
The Poison/Dragon type Pokémon beamed with pleasure and nuzzled Klara's chest.
"OK, OK, down girl! Ha, ha, I'm glad you're happy with yourself too." the Poison trainer said sweetly, "You know, maybe actually working hard at something does achieve great results after all…"
She thought back to her first term in the Isle of Armour. It still felt like yesterday when she'd been mooching around watching telly after giving up on training to be a Poison Gym Leader after a measly two days. Who'd have thought training for something like that would be a bigger workout than she'd expected? There wasn't a lot of competition for Poison Gym Leaders as Poison wasn't the most common or popular Pokémon typing out there and yet, she'd been creamed during the try outs! After that, she'd come across an advert for the Isle of Armour during her TV binge and had decided to give it a try. It seemed easy enough and promised a way for her to get stronger without trying too hard. During that first time, she'd hardly achieved anything and had gotten many students to spoil her and dote on her. But somehow, this term had changed everything. She'd been more…inspired, eager to prove herself and had been putting so much more effort into her training than usual. Why was that?
Sapphire of course!
Ever since that girl had come to the island, it felt as if she'd been given a whole new reason to work and a much bigger drive to accomplish something than ever before. Mustard had suggested a lack of a rival was one of her biggest reasons for her lack of effort and it seemed the old coot was right. Sapphire had certainly inspired her to train harder than before and get much stronger. Klara hated to admit it but a part of her…admired Sapphire in a way. This girl was the exact opposite of her. While she was a pathetic loser who had failed as a pop singer and a Pokémon Gym Leader, Sapphire was much more skilled and confident and had big achievements to her name from helping to stop Team Royal to defeating a reigning Champion from another region in this year's Gym Challenge and finishing as a semi-finalist overall. She wished she had that kind of success. It must feel so good to be able to win for once and having something to be proud of.
After Sapphire's arrival, Klara had achieved more than she'd done in a long time. Her Pokémon were much stronger than before, she had her own Dragon-type to use and she'd managed to win at least two trials all on her own. In a way, she supposed she should thank Sapphire for giving her the confidence boost needed to achieve something for once. She'd certainly thank her for giving her the boost that was going to end with her winning tomorrow's trial! Wouldn't it feel great to win that and obtain the Secret Armour?
The only trouble was…could she actually do it? Klara still had massive doubt in her heart over this possibility. Sure she'd trained much harder than before and was becoming better now but would it be enough? If she'd had more time to train, she'd be more confident in herself that she could win. But she'd only just started getting better. Sapphire had been through the entire Gym Challenge and gone up against a reigning Champion and had only ended up losing to her own sister, who had then go on to tie with Ruby in this year's Champion Cup Final! She surely hadn't got to that level yet! Klara also couldn't help but feel weighed down by her own insecurities. Every time she assured herself, that little whispering voice purred into her ear:
You can't do it. You're a failure Klara. You'll ALWAYS fail! You're nothing but a loser and that's all anyone will ever see you as, the girl that never could at anything!
Klara grimaced and tugged on her hair in frustration. No! Never again! She wasn't going to lose this time, she could do it! She could win and she was going to do it! But…
Klara sighed. It was useless. The doubts were never going to go away. There was always that doubt she could possibly win and it would only get stronger and stronger until it eventually got in the way of her battle prowess.
"I want to believe I can win…but what if I can't? What if I'm always destined to be a loser?" the teenage trainer said worriedly.
She thought for a moment. If she was going to win this trial…then she'd have to play dirty. She didn't want to cheat as if Mustard found out, she'd be in big trouble. She might even get exiled from the island for doing so. But what choice did she have? Klara clenched her fist in determination.
"By hook, or by crook, I'll clear that challenge and show that I'm strong! I can do it!" she declared hotly, "And I have just the ticket to my victory too. Oh that Sapphire won't suspect a thing…"
Klara rubbed her hands together deviously. If she played her cards right, nobody would see through her cheating and she'd be able to turn this trial into an easy win for herself…
The next day dawned, as it always seemed to on this island, bright and sunny. Sapphire often questioned if this island had any weather outside of sunshine as it always seemed to be nice here on the Island of Armour, whether it was sunshine and clouds or a clear blue sky and sunshine. Despite her excitement for today, she'd managed to sleep well and she woke up feeling completely recharged and ready for the day ahead. At breakfast, she noticed that Klara looked well-rested and ready for the day ahead too. That was good. She would've hated it if Klara wasn't at her best and the final trial ended up being a disappointing fluke instead of a proper all-out battle for the grand prize. She wanted herself and Klara to give everyone on the dojo something to remember and a great battle was going to be that something!
Once she and Klara were dressed and properly washed, they met up with Mustard in the living room.
"We're ready when you are, master." Sapphire announced.
"Say the word and we're ready to go!" Klara piped eagerly.
Mustard beamed, delighted that his students were showing such enthusiasm for today. He stood up straighter than normal and held his hands behind his back.
"I'm glad you're ready you two." Mustard said approvingly, "Such enthusiasm warms my heart…so, it has all come down to this. The final…last…ultimate…fourth trial!" he declared, punctuating each word as he said it.
"The final last ultimate fourth trial?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"It's just a fun name I give it." Mustard said impishly, "I always think it sounds more exciting that way. Now, I trust you've spent the rest of last week training your Pokémon hard?"
"We sure have, master!" Klara declared, "I've got a lot of cool strategies in mind for when we battle and I'm sure you'll love them!"
"I'm kinda curious to see those strategies for myself." Sapphire said supportively, "I bet you've got something really interesting planned out."
"Oh you'll see what I've got in store for you, hon. You are my opponent after all." Klara said with a mischievous smile.
She then turned to Mustard.
"Say, do you mind if I nip into the Battle Court for a minute? I'm so fired up that I just wanna get going!" Klara cried excitedly.
"I don't see why you can't wait a minute but I suppose you can go ahead." Mustard said with a shrug, "Don't start without us. If you want to do any warm-ups, feel free to but I don't want to see a single Pokémon out of its Pokéball until Sapphire's on the court with you."
"Got it! See you in a mo!" Klara chirped, skipping merrily out of the living room.
Sapphire watched her leave and head out to the Battle Court. Her purple eyes narrowed with suspicion. Why did Klara need to go to the court so quickly? Why was she so eager to get started? Something smelled rotten here and she didn't like it. She turned back to Mustard.
"Are you sure about this, master?" she asked, "Doesn't it seem dodgy that Klara wants to go right ahead?"
"I agree, but I don't think we have to worry." Mustard said reassuringly, "Klara knows the penalty of cheating so we needn't suspect she'd be so foolish as to try anything with me around. Before we join her, tell me…have you been enjoying your time here, Sapphire?" he asked softly.
The question had been of polite interest but Sapphire suspected Mustard might be testing her on something. Was he trying to figure her out in some way? She didn't see any problem with answering his question.
"Oh I've been having a great time here." Sapphire insisted, "You and Honey have been so friendly and welcoming to me and you've treated me as if I'm part of the family, just like all the other students. And the trials, while unexpected, have been really fun!"
"Do you feel your time here has helped you find a new purpose in life?" the Dojo master inquired.
"I…I guess I'll find out what's next for me when this trial ends." Sapphire said unsurely, "I'm just enjoying getting to put my skills towards something new for the time being."
Mustard nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Then I hope whether you win or lose, you'll know what's next for you." he said jovially, "Let's get on the Battle Court and begin the trial."
A while later, everyone was out around the back of the dojo in the Battle Court once again. Last time, Sapphire had been here for Restricted Sparring. Now she could battle here with no restrictions whatsoever. A straight-up six-on-six all out Pokémon battle, just what she loved the best. Klara had taken up her position on the court already and was smiling sweetly as if welcoming everyone to watch her. Sapphire still felt suspicious of her but for now, she couldn't see anything that looked out of place. Maybe Klara hadn't done something while she'd been chatting with Mustard after all. But just in case…
She took up her place opposite Klara and waited for Mustard to give the signal to go. Mustard, Honey and the students stood on the side-lines to watch the battle. Everyone was keen to see who was going to win this match with most of the students rooting for Sapphire.
"Come on Sapph, you've got this!" Abigail cheered.
"You'll win this trial and win that Secret Armour in no time!" Sanjay declared.
Sapphire waved to her friends in response.
"Now students…whenever you're ready, we can let the final trial begin!" Mustard declared, "I expect a fair and honourable duel between you both for a chance to win the Isle of Armour's grand prize. Show us your skills and give us all a battle we'll remember for years to come!"
"I'm ready!" Sapphire declared.
"So am I!" Klara cried.
"Then let the final trial…BEGIN!" Mustard announced.
Both teens whipped out their first Pokéballs and threw them.
"This trial's ours to win! Drapion, infect the opposition!" Klara yelled.
"Bloom, shining time!" Sapphire called.
Bloom and Drapion came out of their Pokéballs and prepared for battle. Every muscle in their body was tensed up, ready to launch them into action. Upon seeing Bloom, Honey beamed excitedly. So Sapphire had evolved her little darling Bulbasaur into a Venusaur, and she'd only had him for a few days! She was looking forward to see what kind of moves Sapphire had taught him. But as soon as Bloom appeared on the field, something strange happened. On Sapphire's side of the field, small purple spikes shot up from out of the ground and fed themselves into Bloom's body. Everyone stared curiously. What was happening? Bloom appeared to be absorbing the spikes from the ground and as they disappeared into his body, he gave a loud sigh as if he'd just tasted something wonderful. Klara let out a squeal of horror.
"OH NO!" she shrieked.
"Oh I'm sorry Klara, did I just anticipate your obvious trap?" Sapphire sneered, "Oh dearie me, I had no idea that it'd be so upsetting to you, watching your precious trick fall apart in front of you. I really should be more considerate to scummy cheaters like you in the future!" she snapped venomously.
"But…but…but…HOW?!" Klara exclaimed, incredulous that Sapphire had countered her plan so easily.
"Did you really think I was so stupid that I wouldn't see your plan a mile away?" Sapphire retorted, "I own a Nidoking that knows Toxic Spikes for Arceus's sake! One of my favourite strategies was to set a Toxic Spikes trap and whittle my opponent's health down with poison! Of course I'd have a way to counter it. Also, you didn't exactly make it subtle that you were planning to cheat with your eagerness to get into the arena ahead of us. I suspected you'd set up a Toxic Spikes trap before the battle began so I brought Bloom out first to get rid of it. As you know, Poison types absorb Toxic Spikes so starting with a Venusaur was the perfect counter to your dirty little trick."
All the students booed Klara for attempting to cheat. They were outraged that she'd tried to do something like this. Everyone in the dojo knew the penalty that came from cheating so what made Klara think she could get away with it?! Honey turned to Mustard.
"My dear, we should stop the fight and declare Sapphire the winner by default. We can't allow this to carry on with what Klara's just done." Honey insisted.
But strangely enough, Mustard shook his head. If anything, he looked curious to see the battle continue and watch how Klara did.
"The battle continues! I'd like to see how Klara does now she cannot cheat any longer…" he purred, sounding a little devious as he said so.
Honey understood. This was one of his little ways of teaching people a lesson in playing fair. Those that attempted to cheat would be forced to play by the rules and see how much harder it was without their attempts to rig a battle. Klara regained her composure and clenched her fists.
"Fine! So what if you anticipated my trap? I don't need it to beat you anyway!" she insisted, "I've still got my strategies in place for you! I'll prove that I can win fair and square and that I'm worthy enough to win that prize!"
"If you're so confident in yourself, why did you feel the need to cheat in the first place?" Sapphire retorted.
Klara ignored the question and snapped her first command.
"Drapion, use Ice Fang!" she yelled.
Drapion scuttled forward quickly on its four little legs. Its fangs glowed an icy blue colour as it prepared to use Ice Fang. Sapphire knew what Drapion were capable of due to Ruby owning one herself. Her's had long since retired from battling but she'd seen Scorponok train with Ruby's other Pokémon and knew that Drapion were tricky opponents to battle, especially if they got up close. Luckily, Bloom wouldn't have to get in close to deal with this one.
"Use Earth Power!" Sapphire commanded.
Bloom reared up like a frightened horse and then brought his front limbs crashing down heavily onto the floor. As he did so, a huge crack spread out towards Drapion as it came in for the attack and a fist of energy punched up from underneath it. Earth Power was similar to Earthquake, only it was a special move instead of physical, and it had 10% of lowering an opponent's Special Defences. This didn't happen for now but Sapphire got the result she was aiming for. Drapion was launched into the air and sent crashing down on its back from the attack. As long as Bloom kept his distance and used Earth Power like so, Drapion couldn't come in and land an attack. She knew that was one of the biggest weaknesses of Drapion, not only they were weak to Ground Attacks but a majority of their move pool consisted of moves requiring them to get up close and personal, so using ranged attacks kept them from being able to use a lot of their moves. She doubted Klara had been clever enough to teach her Drapion ranged moves to overcome this. Despite the super-effective hit, Drapion was able to get back up.
"Good move, but my baby's quite resilient as you can see." Klara preened, "Try again with X-Scissor!"
Drapion scuttled towards Bloom a second time, this time crossing its arms in front of its face and aiming to slice into its opponent with its claws. Sapphire rolled her eyes. Did Klara not learn ANYTHING from what just happened five seconds ago? Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome was considered a sign of madness so maybe Klara had finally snapped and gone Kla-razy as she would say. She ordered Bloom to use another Earth Power but she quickly saw that Klara had indeed learnt from the previous move. As soon as Bloom brought his front legs crashing down and another fist of energy came towards Drapion, the pink-haired girl ordered her Pokémon to jump at the last minute. Drapion sprang into the air, showing surprising strength in its little legs, and the force of the Earth Power underneath it just catapulted it further upwards. Then Drapion homed in on Bloom and landed its X-Scissor attack. Bloom grimaced from the blow. Thanks to his half-Poison typing, he lacked the usual Grass-type weakness to Bug attacks but that was the least of his troubles. Now Drapion was on top of him, it was free to attack a second time with Ice Fang, an attack that WAS super-effective against Venusaur! Drapion bit down and Bloom cried out as the scorpion Pokémon's ice cold fangs sank into his back. It felt as if somebody had taken the chill of the winter season and concentrated it into a single bite. He shook his back furiously and kicked like a panicking mule to try and get Drapion off but not only was its bite really strong, but it used its claws and tail pincer to grab onto him and hold on even tighter. He couldn't get Drapion off! Sapphire gasped while Klara cheered.
"Yay! This is working perfectly! I was hoping I'd get to do that!" she cheered, "Keep using Ice Fang on that Venusaur while you're clinging onto him!"
Drapion let go of Bloom for a minute just so it could bite down again with its Ice Fang in a different spot on the Venusaur's back. Bloom cried out again, shivering as the sheer cold bite shot through his veins. If it was possible to take a snowflake and turn it into a weapon, chances are it would feel like this Drapion's Ice Fang! Sapphire began to sweat nervously. What could she do? Drapion was holding on too tightly for Bloom to shake off! How does one get a scorpion Pokémon with three different ways to grab an opponent and hold on to let go of them? She cringed as Drapion bit Bloom a third time. She was beginning to feel his pain from how nasty those bites looked. But then Sapphire realized something. Drapion was holding on to Bloom's back really tightly…so maybe it would be possible to get him off by getting Bloom to use Earth Power. It was risky and it might go wrong, but Sapphire was willing to risk it.
"Bloom! Use Earth Power and then roll onto your back before it hits!" the blue-haired teen called out.
Bloom wasn't sure if this plan would work but he trusted in his trainer and decided to try it out. He reared up and used Earth Power a third time. As soon as his front limbs crashed down onto the ground, he threw himself onto his side and landed just beside where the attack was going to launch. Drapion was right on top of the cracks where the energy was about to explode upwards from. Klara realized what was happening but she was too late to tell Drapion to let go. The energy from Earth Power shot up and hit Drapion, forcing it to let go of Bloom and send it skyrocketing into the air. Bloom was hit by the attack too but unlike Drapion, he wasn't weak to Ground attacks so he wasn't hurt. Drapion shot straight up and then plummeted straight down towards Bloom. Before it could hit the ground, Sapphire commanded Bloom to use Giga Drain to replenish some of his health. Several vines grew out from Bloom's back and wrapped around Drapion just as he was about to crash down. The vines ensnared their prey and glowed green as they began to drain the scorpion Pokémon's energy. Usually, Giga Drain wasn't very effective against Poison-types but Drapion's health was already down to critical from two heavy hits from Earth Power so Bloom's Giga Drain was just enough to finish the battle. Drapion fainted on the ground, sapped clean of energy by Giga Drain. Bloom rustled his flower petals and grinned with pleasure, pleased with himself for pulling off a win despite everything.
"Whew…that was a close one but I pulled through! Incredible!" he exclaimed.
The other students cheered for Sapphire, impressed she'd found a way around Drapion's tricky battle style. They could see why she was the hotshot new student of the Master Dojo, that's for sure! Klara fumed in annoyance as she returned Drapion to its Pokéball.
"I'll admit, that was impressive. But I still have five more Pokémon to give you a toxic time!" she declared, "And I doubt your precious Venusaur will stand up to much more punishment from my little sweeties. Salazzle, infect the opposition!"
She threw the Pokéball and summoned forth Salazzle, a Poison/Fire type Pokémon first discovered in the Alola region. They were a female only species that resembled a fiery salamander with a shapely, feminine figure to extenuate their status as a female only species. Sapphire could see why Klara chose this one. Salazzle's Fire-typing would be bad news for Bloom, even if he had a move that was doubly-effective against Salazzle. She could see Klara just telling Salazzle to dodge Earth Power over and over and then burn Bloom to a crisp with Flamethrower. Bloom had already fought hard against Drapion so instead, she decided to switch him out with someone else. She threw her next Pokéball and brought out Terri the Krookodile. As a Ground-type, she was the perfect Pokémon to fight against Salazzle. Terri's long jaws curled into a devious smile as she sized up her opponent.
"Ooooh, I'm gonna enjoy this. I get to test my new body against one of Klara's Pokémon! I hope she's ready to go down hard!" she crowed.
"She especially deserves it for trying to cheat." Sapphire informed, "Let's make this quick and easy with Earthquake!"
Terri jumped up and slammed her huge, clumpy feet down onto the ground. The ground shook furiously and a giant tremor punched its way towards Salazzle…
Meanwhile, Hyde was busy working on his Prison Ball project. In the days that had passed since the third trial, he'd received the parts he needed to start building his little contingency plan to handle Zeraora with. He'd placed a big order on the Silph Co. website and the parts had come in record time, a surprise to him and his family since Silph Co. was in the Kanto region and was very far away from Galar as a whole, not just the Isle of Armour. Silph Co. was the very company that had invented the famous Master Ball, a Pokéball that could capture any Pokémon without fail. Hyde knew that he wanted a Pokéball like this to stop Zeraora should he ever become a threat. But he didn't just want the Prison Ball to catch Zeraora. He wanted it to permanently imprison him, so he'd been tinkering with the Master Ball design to see if he could find a way to make the Prison Ball an even stronger version of the Master Ball. If all worked as he hoped, it wouldn't just catch Zeraora, it'd trap him inside forever and only the owner of the ball would have any say in letting him leave or not. It was a cruel idea, Hyde accepted as such, but sometimes the ends justified the needs. At least they'd have something to end the threat quickly if Zeraora ever escaped and came back for his dad. He still remembered hearing the story of Zeraora the first time when he was only four years old. It had terrified him to hear that a Pokémon like that had tried to kill his dad and that despite his imprisonment, he still feared there was a chance he could come back and try again. Mustard may still hope Zeraora could be redeemed, but at least if he couldn't, the Prison Ball would end his threat and keep them safe forever.
"I really hope this things works as I plan for it to work…" Hyde murmured as he picked up a screwdriver.
He'd only started work on the Prison Ball yesterday and was just starting to make the exo-skeleton of the device. He hoped to have half of it finished by tomorrow. At least for now, he had a moment of peace and quiet to himself now everyone was outside watching the final trial take place. That would help him work faster. He tightened some screws on the Pokéball frame to make double sure it was solid enough and once that was done, he made a start on building together the inner circuitry of the ball. He worked for about five minutes until a noise caught his attention and made him look up. Was it his imagination or did it sound like a Pokémon had come out of its Pokéball? That wasn't unusual as Pokémon were able to leave their Pokéballs whenever they wished. Which Pokémon had decided to come out for some fresh air for the moment? He got up from his chair and wandered into the main hall to see. To his surprise, it was Abigail's Zoroark that had come out of his Pokéball. The black-furred Pokémon took one look at him and gave a sinister grin. The kid genius shuddered. He didn't like the way Zoroark was looking at him. Ever since Abigail had come to this dojo, he had always crept him out with how he always seemed to stare at people as if he wanted to eat them and now he was alone with Zoroark looking at him unpleasantly.
"W-w-what is it? W-what do y-you want?" Hyde stammered, his usual stoic nature completely gone as he felt incredibly uneasy.
"Nothing you need to worry about." Zoroark purred in a deep, slithering voice, "You need to worry about how long it'll take you to wake up once I knock you out."
He shot forwards and in one swift move, he had Hyde collapsing onto his back and completely unconscious. There was a bruise on the boy's head where the Dark-type Pokémon had struck him. Now Hyde was knocked out, Zoroark walked over to the boy's work desk and eyed up the Prison Ball project. He wasn't sure what it was but he had a feeling it was something he had to get rid of. Just to be on the safe side, he smashed the unfinished ball to pieces.
"If you think you can stop Zeraora with that, you can forget it!" Zoroark snarled, "He must be allowed to roam free again and take his rightful revenge for his unjust imprisonment!"
Now that was done, he scampered outside the dojo and looked out for the Tentacruel that would be taking today's food supplies over to Zeraora's guards. He knew that they ran daily so there was a chance he'd be able to catch them before they left. Was he too late? He looked around for a while before he finally spotted them. There was a bunch of boxes with food for the guards but the Tentacruel hadn't come in to get them just yet. That was lucky. He could hide in one of the boxes and let the Tentacruel carry him all the way to Zeraora's prison. It would be even easier for him as a trademark ability of Zoroark was Illusion. It allowed him to disguise himself as any Pokémon he wished. All he had to do was pretend to be a smaller Pokémon and he'd fit right into one of the food boxes. Nobody would suspect a thing!
"Good morning Zoroark! How are you today? Where's your trainer?"
Zoroark winced as the overly sweet and polite voice of Emolga cut into his ears. How he couldn't stand that voice! He turned around to see the Electric/Flying type Pokémon eyeing him up curiously. That wasn't good. Emolga had seen him and now she'd get suspicious and ask too many questions and likely run off to warn Mustard about what he was about to do! He had to get rid of her immediately!
"What are you doing here?" Emolga asked, "And shouldn't you be with Abigail?"
"You only need to know one thing, little rodent…and that's how you're not going to get in my way!" Zoroark snarled.
He lashed out and grabbed Emolga with his clawed hands. Emolga screamed blue murder and tried to get away but Zoroark's grip was too tough for her. What was that crazy Pokémon trying to do?! She tried to electrocute him to make her let go but Zoroark sharply banged her head against the ground to disorient her so she couldn't zap him. Emolga whimpered in pain and clutched her head in pain. What happened next seemed to happen in a blur as she tried to regain her senses. The next thing she knew, she was being thrown into an empty box that Zoroark had found nearby and he was just putting the lid on to shut her inside. Her head cleared just in time to see Zoroark grinning down at her deviously.
"Be grateful I'm keeping you alive!" he sneered, "I could've just simply killed you and that would be the end of it but I'd rather not get blood everywhere and give the others an idea on what's happening. You just stay here and not worry yourself too much while I pay a certain Pokémon prisoner a little visit."
He then put the lid on top of the box and placed a large rock on top of it to keep Emolga from opening it. The flying squirrel Pokémon was trapped! Now she was taken care of, Zoroark used his Illusion ability to disguise himself as a Pichu and he slipped into one of the food boxes waiting to be taken to the guards. While he did that, Emolga began crying out feebly to him.
"Let me out! Please let me out! Please Zoroark, don't do what I think you're doing!" she shouted desperately.
But Zoroark paid no attention to her. He brought the lid down and lay still in the food box just as the Tentacruel came in to carry them off to the guards. One Tentacruel picked up the box that Zoroark was hiding in and carried it back into the ocean. Zoroark felt the box lurch a few times as it was carried away. He heard the water outside as the Tentacruel began to swim through it. He was out to sea! He was on his way to Zeraora! Once there, he could break him out and allow him to get the revenge he so rightly deserved to have 12 years ago! They thought locking him away was morally right and justified? They would pay for their despicable mindset!
Meanwhile, Emolga kept banging against the lid of the box she'd been trapped in but try as she might, she couldn't get it to open. The rock weighing it down was just too heavy. She would have to be as strong as a Raichu to open this box! The electric rodent began breathing in and out very fast. Her heart was pounding.
"Oh what is Zoroark going to do?!" she panicked, "He's not going to try and break Zeraora out, is he?! Why would he be so stupid as to do something like that?! Whatever his reason, I need to get out of here and stop him! If I can glide over to the prison before the Tentacruel arrive with their deliveries, maybe I can warn Volcarona and she'll stop him from getting anywhere near Zeraora!"
The only trouble was how could she get out of the box? The rock weighing the lid down was too heavy so how was she going to escape? Maybe she could get the box to tip over. That would make the rock slide off and the lid would fall open. Emolga lowered her head and used Wild Charge against the wall of the box. Wild Charge was one of the strongest Electric type attacks a Pokémon could learn and it would give Emolga just the power she needed to knock the box over. She slammed into the side of the box and made it shudder. It didn't fall over but it did budge a little. Emolga used Wild Charge again and almost knocked it over again. Just one more try and it might fall over this time! She flattened herself against the wall and then shot forward in one last Wild Charge into the other wall. The force of the attack did just what she wanted. The box wobbled and then tipped over. The rock fell off and the lid dropped open, giving Emolga the sweet relief of falling out into daylight. She shook her head, feeling a bit sore from all that Wild Charging, and then she opened her membrane and took off. She only hoped the wind would carry her all the way to Zeraora's prison and she'd get there before Zoroark did. He wouldn't be freeing the dangerous Pokémon on her watch!
Sapphire and Klara's battle is underway but Abigail's Zoroark is carrying out ulterior motives while everyone's distracted. Why does he want to break Zeraora out? Will his plan succeed? Tune in next time as we witness a "Breakout" attempt...
Trivia: This chapter was originally going to be just the Sapphire and Klara battle but I felt it'd be better to spread the battle over two parts as there's a lot of plot to include here and it feels like this is the most logical moment for the Zeraora plot to come back into play. From Zoroark's perspective, it's the perfect time to break him out as everyone's too busy watching the final trial to notice he's gone! So for a change, we have a battle that takes place over two chapters instead of one.
In the games, Klara does not have a Dragalge or a Salazzle. I gave her those to fill in for Galarian Weezing and Galarian Slowking and also because they're Poison types that would suit her.
Oh and if you're curious about Mysterio's little "chicken supreme" joke, that was suggested to me by my awesome friend, Reece (aka PrimalPrince on DeviantArt). He got the joke from a Doctor Who audio story in which Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor, makes that same snarky remark and he suggested I could reference it given Dal is...well, a Dalek in a Pokemon's body. Why not throw in some Doctor Who jokes at his expense? XD