Chapter 8: The Secret Armour
While Zeraora was plotting his return, Sapphire and Klara's battle was reaching its final stages.
Sapphire had all six Pokémon remaining, though four of them were battle-weary and not fit to fight much longer, leaving Sapphire with only two left to battle with that were still fighting fit while Klara was down to her last two, which had also not seen battle yet. Both girls had their Dragon-types on the field, Kagami the Druddigon and Dragalge respectively. Sapphire currently had the advantage thanks to having Dal set up a Light Screen before she switched him out with Kagami so Klara would had to work harder to defeat the powerful Druddigon as Light Screen would weaken her Dragalge's Special Attacks. But the pink-haired pop singer wasn't going to let that stop her. As their Pokémon prepared to do battle, Klara gave the first command.
"Use Rain Dance!" she commanded.
Sapphire could see why Klara had given that command. With Light Screen weakening her Dragalge's moves, at least Rain Dance could boost its Water attacks so that at least they could do normal damage for the time being until Light Screen eventually wore off. It would also weaken Kagami's Fire Punch as Rain Dance weakened Fire attacks too, though Sapphire wasn't going to use it as Fire attacks were useless against Dragon-types anyway. Dragalge began a graceful dance through the air, spiralling around and around as if swimming through water and with several flicks of its tail, it conjured up rain clouds that caused the rain to fall and soak everyone. Many students yelped and pulled their jackets over their heads to shield themselves. Mustard and Honey didn't flinch. The rain never bothered them much anyway. Sapphire remembered in her battle with Ashley a moment where she'd commanded her Galvantula to use Rain Dance. While it annoyed her to be getting wet again with her dojo uniform becoming drenched and clinging to her body, she ignored it. It'd take more than rain to stop her!"
"Use Outrage!" Sapphire commanded.
Kagami lowered her head and tensed her body up for a moment. Orange draconian energy surrounded her body and she roared loudly. She felt as if she'd conjured up all the energy in the universe into herself and was ready to unleash it and flatten anyone who stood in her way. Then she charged, her large feet pounding on the arena floor as she stampeded towards the dancing Dragalge. Klara smirked. Of course Sapphire would order that gargoyle/dragon thing to do that! Unluckily for her, she'd trained Dragalge for such an occasion!
"Use your graceful dance moves to weave out of harm's way, my darling!" Klara commanded.
Dragalge obeyed. Before Kagami could close in on it and batter it with Outrage, the weedy Pokémon sailed to one side like an agile snake slithering away from danger. Kagami missed by miles and was forced to skid to a halt to stop herself shooting out the arena and into a nearby cliff face. Sapphire frowned. Of course Klara would've taught her Dragalge to be good at dodging! Her other Pokémon had relied on evasive manoeuvres so why not Dragalge too? Druddigon were also pretty slow Pokémon so this wasn't going to be easy. She was sure that Kagami could hit Dragalge despite its evasive battle style. Kagami charged towards the poisonous seadragon a second time. Unfortunately, she didn't fare any better as she still missed completely thanks to Dragalge dodging her attack. As soon as Dragalge dodged that time, Klara ordered her Pokémon to attack by aiming with its snout and blasting Kagami with a Rain Dance boosted Hydro Pump. Despite Light Screen being in effect, Hydro Pump was able to do normal level damage thanks to Rain Dance so Dragalge's attack was a little more effective than it would've been without it. Kagami cried out as she was blasted by water from the seahorse like Pokémon. She was nearly swept away by the attack but she dug her heels in and held on. At least Water attacks weren't super-effective against Dragon-types or that would've hurt. Kagami shook herself, though it did nothing to dry her off as it was still raining. Then she charged towards Dragalge a third time. She had to make this Outrage count or else she'd suffer from its side effects and have an even harder time hitting her opponent with confusion making things harder for her. Dragalge curled through the air as if it were a ribbon being swung around by a ribbon dancer and once again dodged Kagami's attack…or so it thought. At the last minute, Kagami spun on the balls of her feet and sprang to one side just as Dragalge weaved out the way. She threw herself sideways into Dragalge and slammed heavily into it. The blow was so hard that Dragalge was nearly knocked out of its own skin. Klara cried out in horror as her powerful Pokémon was knocked down and Kagami stood triumphant, glad to have finally hit it with Outrage. Unfortunately, that victory was short-lived as Kagami suddenly came down with confusion. She droned dopily and her eyes spun as the world seemed to tilt around her.
"Oooooheeeeeee, why is everything becoming a spiral pattern in front of my face?" she slurred. It was a humorous scene to see the normally stoic and dignified Kagami acting confused like this.
"Ungh…that's always the downside to Outrage: it packs a wallop but it really comes with a bugger of a side-effect." Sapphire muttered.
"True that." Klara sneered, "It's why I trained my darling Dragalge to be a great dodger! Experience has taught me many trainers love to teach their Pokémon Outrage so I thought teaching Dragalge to dodge the attacks and leave the opponent to wear themselves into confusion would give me an opportunity to strike them while they're vulnerable!"
"You know, for a conceited, pampered, washed-up pop singer, you're quite a clever trainer." Sapphire complimented, "Goes to show that you don't need to cheat to be good."
"I guess I'll consider that a compliment." Klara said with a shrug, "Truth be told, I didn't think I'd be as good as I'm currently doing now. I guess with the right motivation, I CAN be a strong trainer! Mustard really was right when he said a lack of a rival was what was holding me back…"
The old Pokémon master nodded in approval. He was glad to see that Klara was starting to learn her lesson and had finally acknowledged he was right about her. He too was impressed to see that when Klara played fairly, she was actually really good and showed she really didn't need to cheat after all. Hopefully this would pass over to any future trials she took up. All eyes were on the Poison Gym Leader as she gave Dragalge her command.
"Now Kagami's dizzy with confusion, use Dragon Pulse on her!" she yelled.
Dragalge aimed its snout at the confused Druddigon and blasted her with Dragon Pulse. Kagami winced as she was hit by the blue energy pulse from her opponent. Despite being confused, she still felt the pain all the same and was left rubbing herself from where Dragalge had hit her. Her dizzy eyes hung half-closed and she swayed on her feet.
"Oooooh, why do I suddenly hurt so much?" she droned dopily.
Sapphire chewed her lip in worry. This was not looking good at all. Unless Kagami snapped out of her confusion, Dragalge was free to keep whaling on her and eventually, it would win the match! Of course she still had James Pond, who hadn't been used yet, to finish the job but Sapphire wanted all six of her Pokémon to still be conscious in order to have a chance against Slowbro, even if everyone sans James was exhausted already. At least if she could save James for Slowbro, she'd have a better chance of winning the battle if he could go in fresh. She had to hope Kagami could hold on and turn this battle around! Breathing in heavily, Sapphire made her move.
"I hope you can register this command Kagami…use Outrage again!" she yelled.
Kagami seemed to have heard Sapphire's command for she surrounded herself with energy again and prepared to attack Dragalge with another energy-powered charge. But then suddenly, the Dragon Pokémon socked herself in the face with a single punch and knocked herself down onto her back. She grunted as she hit the floor, making most of the students grimace as they felt it must've hurt. Klara laughed.
"Kagami!" Sapphire cried in dismay.
"Oh, did I not hit the opponent? I could've sworn it was right in front of me!" Kagami cried, looking around wildly as if unsure where anyone was.
"I love it when that happens!" Klara sneered, "Now Dragalge, use Dragon Pulse again and end this battle!"
Dragalge took aim again and blasted another Dragon Pulse attack towards Kagami. Sapphire could only watch helplessly, her heart pounding as Dragalge's attack came in towards her Pokémon. This had to be it. Kagami was down for the count! Not even Dal's Light Screen would save her now as she'd already taken some big hits from Hydro Pump and the earlier Dragon Pulse. She closed her eyes, unable to watch as Kagami's defeat was coming. But to everyone's surprise…Kagami dodged the attack! She had rolled to one side at the last minute, the energy pulse just skimming across the floor millimetres from her back. Loud gasps rang around the Battle Court as the Druddigon got back to her feet and blinked. The next time she opened her eyes, they were back to normal again, any trace of her confusion gone from them. Sapphire opened her eyes again and gasped in astonishment. Klara stared incredulously at what had happened. She was sure Dragalge was about to close the book on this duel and yet Kagami had managed to dodge her Dragon Pulse! Kagami's jagged jaws curled up into a smirk that suggested Dragalge was in for the chop now.
"Sorry Klara…I'm back in business again." she purred.
"Kagami! You're not confused anymore!" Sapphire cheered.
"It helps that before I became your Pokémon, I spent a lot of time beefing myself up. That obviously helped me to recover quickly." Kagami said happily, "Now let's wrap up this battle!"
"You said it my girl!" Sapphire cried excitedly, "Use Outrage one more time!" she commanded.
Kagami roared savagely and lowered her head, orange draconian energy surrounding her once more. She charged towards Dragalge, who was standing there stunned from the fact it had missed its earlier attack. It recovered just in time to hear Klara's command to dodge. The weedy seadragon darted to one side just as Kagami thundered towards it. But just like last time, Kagami pivoted around on one foot and threw herself to one side, chasing after Dragalge. The poisonous seahorse kept on moving, desperate to keep ahead of Kagami but the Druddigon continued to chase it down. Klara could see that this wasn't going to do her any good. Kagami's pace was too well-kept for Dragalge to keep avoiding and Dragalge could only dodge for so long. It wouldn't avoid Kagami forever. Instead, Klara told Dragalge to turn around and use Dragon Pulse on Kagami. She hoped her Dragon attack would be stronger than Kagami's and win the match for her. Dragalge blasted Kagami again with Dragon Pulse. But to everyone's amazement, Kagami kept on going! Her Outrage ploughed effortlessly through Dragalge's Dragon Pulse as if she was a hot knife slicing through butter. Dragalge tried to up the ante but it just couldn't match Kagami's raw power. Her time spent training to fight back and keep her place in Brawler's Cave had given her too much endurance and strength for Dragalge to overcome. Kagami slammed into her opponent with all the raw power and energy of Outrage. Dragalge's eyes widened as it was hit and it was sent hurling through the air like a broken tree branch in the breeze. Klara cried in horror as her Pokémon came crashing down on the floor heavily. Kagami panted, feeling exhausted from that use of Outrage again while Dragalge lay unconscious on the floor. It had been a hard fought battle but Sapphire had triumphed once again! The students cheered for her while Sapphire sighed heavily, relieved that Kagami had managed to win.
"Thank goodness. That really was a close one…" she muttered.
As if in response to Dragalge's defeat, Rain Dance had finished too. The clouds disappeared and the rain stopped falling, bringing the blue skies and bright sunshine back to the court. Sapphire welcomed the sunlight with open arms, glad it was no longer raining and she could dry out thanks to how hot it was on the island. Klara returned Dragalge to its Pokéball and took a moment to collect herself while Sapphire returned Kagami. She appeared unsure if she should even continue fighting at this point. She only had ONE Pokémon left while Sapphire still had a full team! Five of her Pokémon were battle-weary and exhausted sure, but her last Pokémon was going in fresh so she still had an advantage! Even if she defeated James Pond, he'd no doubt soften Slowbro up enough for Sapphire's weary team to slowly but gradually finish the job. She may as well quit now as she had no chance of winning! But Klara rejected the idea. No. She'd performed so well! This had been her best battle in a while! Why end on a low note by forfeiting? It wouldn't make her feel any better about her insecurities and just make her feel even worse as a result. If she was going down, she may as well go down swinging!
"You know Sapph? Ever since you came here, I've seen you as just another brat who's too big for her shoes." Klara acknowledged, "And yet, you've proven to not only be an amazing trainer, but a huge inspiration to me! Ever since you arrived, I've achieved more this term than I have in my previous ones! I actually cleared two trials and I've given you quite a fight, as one-sided as it may be! So no matter what happens next, I suppose it's fair that I thank you for giving me that new drive to be better!"
"Gosh…I really don't know what to say, Klara!" Sapphire said modestly, "I never thought I could be inspiring to anyone. I'm just glad that despite your cheating attempt, I've still managed to influence you in a good way."
"You sure have." Klara agreed, "And I promise next battle we have, it'll be fair and square right from the start! I've proven to myself that I don't need to cheat to be a great trainer! I just need more confidence in myself. And I'm confident that despite being down to my last Pokémon, I can still end this battle on a high note! Get ready Sapph for Slowbro's coming to turn the tides of this battle!"
She threw the ball and brought out her signature Pokémon and personal ace, her Galarian Slowbro. Sapphire wasn't surprised that Klara had been saving her for last. She was also sure that Slowbro was going to be a much tougher opponent than the last time she'd fought her. The pink and purple Pokémon had a vacant stare as usual and a dopy smile spread across her face. But Sapphire knew it didn't mean anything. Even dopy Pokémon like Slowbro were capable of being very powerful battlers.
"Hi Sapphire. I'm going to defeat you this time." Slowbro droned dimly.
"Unlike last time, I'm sure you might." Sapphire acknowledged, "I bet Klara's worked hard on making you a really solid opponent like the rest of her team. Nevertheless, I'm going to show you that I've been keeping up on my training too. James Pond, time to wrap this battle up!"
She threw her last Pokéball and brought out her starter Pokémon and personal ace once more. The slinky Inteleon eyed his opponent up with an observant eye and smiled smoothly.
"Don't suppose you remember, but I defeated you rather easily the first time." James crooned, "Don't think you'll have an easier time in this battle."
"I'm no pushover either." Slowbro declared, "This time, you'll be defeated!"
"I dunno who sounds more eager for this rematch: us or our Pokémon!" Sapphire chuckled.
"I was kinda thinking the same thing." Klara agreed, "I know one thing: I'm eager to score at least one victory before Slowbro goes down! Take the first shot with Shell Side Arm my darling!" the Poison Gym Leader yelled.
Slowbro took aim with the shell on her arm and squired poisonous ooze towards James. Sapphire countered by ordering James to use Snipe Shot to stop the shots before they came in. For a couple of minutes, the two Pokémon were engaged in what looked like a desperate shoot-out than a Pokémon battle with both opponents launching shots and countering each other's attacks by shooting them to bits before they could hit. For a moment, nobody could get a shot in and the whole thing looked evenly matched. But then Klara had an idea.
"Use Focus Blast instead!" she yelled.
Sapphire gasped. So Klara had taught her Slowbro that move! James's Snipe Shot wouldn't block a powerful move like Focus Blast! Slowbro aimed with her shell and instead of ooze, she blasted her opponent with a huge sphere of energy that James had no chance of countering with Snipe Shot. His attack was too small to stop it. James cried out as Focus Blast slammed into him and knocked him off his feet. He landed heavily on his back at Sapphire's feet and he winced from the power of Focus Blast. Not only did Focus Blast do a lot of damage, but it had a side-effect where it could lower an opponent's Special Defence. Now whenever Slowbro used a Special Attack, it would do more damage than usual. Sapphire knew that things were going to be tricky with Slowbro knowing an attack like Focus Blast. Of course, it wasn't perfect as Focus Blast had poor accuracy so she had to bank on exploiting that weakness. For now, she had to focus on type-advantage to stay ahead of Slowbro.
"Use Dark Pulse!" Sapphire cried.
Klara cursed herself mentally. Damn! How had she forgotten James could use that move too? That was how Slowbro had lost the first time! James had taken her down with a couple of Dark Pulses! She should've been ready for that! She could only watch helplessly as James held out his hands and struck her ace Pokémon with a powerful energy pulse of darkness. Slowbro toppled over backwards and groaned as the dark energy that had swept over her and left her momentarily drained of energy. Sapphire smirked. She knew Slowbro would never have been able to block something like Dark Pulse with Shell Side Arm so it had been the perfect move to use while also taking advantage of Slowbro's weakness to Dark-types. At least Slowbro had no super-effective moves to use against James so he currently had the advantage in this battle. But Sapphire knew it wasn't going to be as easy as that, not when Klara had been working hard on bettering her Slowbro's fighting prowess so she didn't dare celebrate so soon. This battle was far from over.
Slowbro picked herself up and narrowed her eyes. It seemed she was going to get more serious now and James had to be on his guard. Klara ordered her Pokémon to use Psychic, deciding that using a move that could potentially immobilize her opponent for the time being would be a handy way to keep ahead of the game for now. Slowbro held out her hands and concentrated. James knew what was about to happen. He'd spent enough time training with Celestia and Mysterio to know when a Psychic attack was coming and that he couldn't afford to stand still and wait for it. He tried to move but amazingly enough, Slowbro chased after him and moved surprisingly quickly for a Pokémon that was known for being slow. Sapphire watched in amazement as Slowbro caught up to James and tagged him with Psychic. James yelped as the psychic energy snatched hold of him and held him firm, stopping him from moving. Then Slowbro waved her arms around and threw James up and down into the ground several times before spinning him around and then tossing him aside like a rag doll. James grunted, lying on the floor for a moment as he tried to fight off the pain in his body. He felt as if someone had picked him up and used him as a sledgehammer after all that. Sapphire still couldn't believe what she'd seen.
"That's impossible! Since when could Slowbro move so quickly?!" she exclaimed, "Did Mustard give you one of his Slowpoke and you've evolved it into a Slowbro or something?"
"Nothing of the sort!" Klara sneered, "It's all part of Slowbro's special ability: Quick Draw! Very occasionally, Slowbro will get a spurt of energy that allows her to move faster than normal and that can help her get ahead of the game in tight battles like this! Annoyingly, she can't use it all the time but whenever she does, it's REALLY helpful!"
"Funny how she never used it the previous two times I battled it." Sapphire murmured.
"You were lucky she didn't get it to activate back then." Klara declared, "That and I wanted to surprise you with it. Use Psychic again while James Pond's struggling to get back up!" the dojo student commanded.
Slowbro obeyed and luckily for Klara, her Quick Draw ability kicked in again so she was able to move faster and hit James with Psychic quicker than she would've done normally. James yelled as the psychic waves slammed into him and flung him into the air. The poor chameleon Pokémon never had a chance to fight back. He grunted as he hit the ground again and rolled to a stop just in front of Sapphire's feet. He winced, his body aching from the beating he'd taken and he had to force himself back onto his feet. He even used his tail to help prop himself up. Sapphire could see this battle was slowly but surely going in Klara's favour. She'd only managed to land one hit on Slowbro so far while Klara's Pokémon had already landed three hits on James Pond, and he wouldn't be able to take much more damage thanks to Focus Blast lowering his Special Defence earlier. She had to end this battle and fast! But how could she overcome Slowbro's Quick Draw ability? Next time it kicked in, it would give Slowbro the speed to finish the fight and for all she knew, it could happen the next time Slowbro attacked! Klara could sense Sapphire was starting to worry about the possibility of losing and that her Slowbro's Quick Draw ability had her on the ropes. It looked as if she might score at least one victory after all!
"Let's wrap it up my darling! Use Psychic one last time!" Klara commanded.
Slowbro obeyed and held out her arms again as she prepared to use Psychic to bring James down for good. Unfortunately for her, Quick Draw didn't kick in this time and Sapphire could see this as Slowbro was slower in launching her attack. This gave her the chance to fight back before Slowbro's Psychic could attack James.
"Use Ice Beam on the ground, James!" Sapphire ordered.
James pointed his fingers at the arena floor and fired a pair of ice beams at it. As soon as the beams hit the floor, the arena started to freeze over and the ice spread so quickly that it looked like some incredible magic trick was being performed. Everyone stared incredulously as in seconds, the arena was transformed into an ice rink and Slowbro's attack was halted as the ice hit her. The ice was so cold that her feet went numb instantly but that wasn't the worst of it. The ice had frozen around her feet so now she was completely stuck! Slowbro pulled at her feet but they wouldn't budge. They were cemented to the frozen floor. Klara stared in horror as her Pokémon was left unable to move. She could see what Sapphire's plan was. If Slowbro couldn't move, than Quick Draw would be useless. Why bother moving faster than usual if she couldn't move at all? While Slowbro could still attack, she wouldn't be able to aim properly if she was stuck in place. James could move anywhere he liked and Slowbro wouldn't be able to chase after him! She saw for herself how much this was proving to be problematic for her Pokémon as James used Dark Pulse on Slowbro while she was stuck in place. If Sapphire thought this was going to win the battle, she was sorely mistaken!
"Not so fast, Sapphire!" Klara growled, "You think freezing my girl in place will stop her? Well too bad, because I think it's time for a Dynamax battle to settle this once and for all!"
"If that's what you want, then let's go for it!" Sapphire cried enthusiastically, "A Pokémon battle always feels complete with Dynamaxing to finish off…"
Both girls returned their Pokémon to their balls and activated their Dynamax bands. The students watched excitedly as James and Slowbro emerged back out of their Pokéballs, this time growing to giant sizes and also changing in appearance. Not only was James Pond Gigantamaxing, but Slowbro was as well. This stunned Sapphire as she didn't know if Galarian Slowbro were even capable of doing so. Slowbro grew a few poisonous spikes out of her back, the shell on her left arm had changed shape and grown much larger so now she looked like she was wielding a giant cannon that was attached to her arm, her tail grew longer and her face had changed to look a little more fierce and not quite as cuddly. If it was possible for a Slowbro to look genuinely intimidating than the Gigantamax form was certainly proof of that. After James and Slowbro had finished Gigantamaxing, the frozen floor cracked and broke away underneath them as the ice couldn't hold their weight. Now it wouldn't be able to hinder anyone for the rest of the battle. The students started to cheer, excited to see this Gigantamax battle of the titans go under way. Honey put a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"This is it, dear. It'll all come down to this." she acknowledged.
"I wouldn't want this trial to end any other way, Honey." Mustard agreed, "Nothing like a tussle between giants to determine who will win the Secret Armour…"
His aged eyes fixed on James and Slowbro. He remembered how he always enjoyed Dynamaxing his own Pokémon back in his Champion days. Fifty years later and it was still a wonder to behold for him.
James and Slowbro braced themselves, eagerly awaiting their trainer's commands. The Dynamax energy that had enabled their transformations had left them feeling completely re-energized and they were ready to give it their all. Klara made the first move, deciding to go with Max Ooze to start with. It was a wise choice as Max Ooze could give Slowbro a power boost by raising her Special Attack to make her attacks stronger. Slowbro took aim with her shell cannon and blasted James with a huge splotch of ooze. Quick Draw had activated again so she was able to make a move and score a hit before James was ready to intercept her. James cringed as he was hit by the ooze. Not only did it sting his skin furiously but the smell was revolting and it made him feel like puking. Just as Klara had been hoping for, the resulting Max Ooze had given Slowbro a power boost. Now her attacks would be stronger than before because of her raised Special Attack. Sapphire knew how to counter that at least.
She ordered James to fight back with Max Darkness. From up atop his "sniper tower", James aimed with his water rifle and shot dark energy at Slowbro. Slowbro grimaced as she was hit by the attack. The dark energy sapped away some of her health and just as Sapphire had hoped, the super-effective move had lowered Slowbro's Special Defence after the attack had hit. Now whenever James landed a blow, it would do more damage to Slowbro. It at least balanced out Slowbro's earlier power boost and made this battle more even. Klara was determined not to give up, even if James had a super-effective hit to use. She commanded Slowbro to use Max Mindstorm on James next. The Gigantamaxed Pokémon held up her right arm and conjured up all the psychic energy she could tap in to in order to launch the attack at James. Huge pink circular waves swept towards her opponent, threatening to disorient him and knock him down off his tower. But of course, Sapphire was able to counter it with Max Guard. James blocked the move effortlessly by creating a huge barrier to stop the attack from hitting him. Klara cursed herself mentally again for forgetting James could do that thanks to knowing Reflect in his base form. Abigail remembered when James had used that move to try and stop her Dynamaxed Electivire from attacking and was glad to see him using it against Slowbro in this match. Let's see if Little Miss Poison Gym Leader could work her way around that!
Klara thought for a moment. What would be the best way to get around James's Max Guard? She remembered Abigail's Electivire using Max Knuckle at the base of James's tower to throw him off balance and leave him unable to react in time to try guarding again. While Slowbro also knew Max Knuckle, she decided not to try that tactic. Knowing Sapphire, she'd be expecting that and be able to counter it so that strategy wouldn't work on her like it did in her battle with Abigail. It would be better to have her own strategy and she had to cook it up quick or else Slowbro would be wide open to attack! She ordered Slowbro to use Max Ooze again just to keep James busy in the meantime while James used another Max Darkness to stop the attack from coming to him. His attack was able to overpower Slowbro's Max Ooze and carry on until it hit his opponent, leaving Slowbro reeling from the drop in energy as she was hit. Klara could see that Slowbro wouldn't be able to take another Max Darkness. If she didn't act now, this match would be over! She thought again. Maybe it was possible to find another way past James's Max Guard. Perhaps…
"Use Max Mindstorm again!" Klara yelled.
Slowbro once again tried to take out James with waves of psychic energy but as expected, James used Max Guard to block the attack. But Klara didn't stop there. As soon as James used Max Guard, she ordered Slowbro to use the psychic energy of Max Mindstorm to pick up the pieces of ice that were left from when they'd broken the frozen floor after Gigantamaxing. Slowbro lifted up all the ice shards with just her mind and waved her hand to make them dance around James menacingly, threatening to spear him if he let his guard down. They looked almost like asteroids circling a planet. James watched the ice shards circle him and as he was distracted by them, he ended up losing focus on his Max Guard and the barrier disappeared as a result. This left him wide open as Slowbro used another Max Mindstorm on him and this time, scored a direct hit. To add further insult to injury, the ice shards joined in with Slowbro's onslaught so James was hit by a combination of ice and psychic energy. Sapphire gasped as her Pokémon was bombarded by the attack. Klara cheered, glad she'd managed to find a way past Max Guard without having to copy Abigail's tactics. Her stomach tingled. Although she probably wasn't going to beat the rest of Sapphire's team, at least Slowbro could get the satisfaction of evening the score between her and James!
The Gigantamaxed Inteleon was left panting and grunting from the attack. He lay on his side close to the edge of his tower. Sapphire worried he was about to fall off. Had James had it? Was the battle over for him? She had a feeling that she was going to have to bring out another Pokémon. But James was still in his Gigantamax form. He wasn't turning back to normal! That had to mean he had enough energy to fight! Then…it happened. James stood back up again and he pointed his water rifle at Slowbro. His eyes were glowing blue and his body seemed to tense up with new energy that Sapphire hadn't seen before. Everyone oohed in wonder. Klara stared worriedly at her opponent.
"Um…what's going on?" she asked nervously.
"I think James's Special Ability's kicked in!" Sapphire declared, "He's so low on health that he can use his Torrent ability to power up his water moves! Excellent! Brace yourself for one hell of a G-Max Hydrosnipe, Klara, because I think Slowbro's about to be washed away!"
Sapphire was absolutely correct. All Water-type starter Pokémon had the ability, Torrent. Much like how Blaze and Overgrow worked for Fire and Grass starters, Torrent boosted a Pokémon's water moves when low on health. The punishment James had taken had left him able to bring it out and Sapphire hoped it would be enough to finish the battle. A Torrent-boosted G-Max Hydrosnipe might be just what James needed to finish the battle in his favour. The Secret Agent Pokémon took aim with his rifle and Sapphire gave the command to use G-Max Hydrosnipe. James fired the shot and everyone watching could see this shot was definitely more powerful than the last time they'd seen him use the move. G-Max Hydrosnipe hit Slowbro and the pink-and-purple Pokémon wailed as if she was an innocent deer that had been shot by a hunter lurking in the bushes. Klara cried out and watched in dismay as Slowbro's Gigantamax form faded away and her Pokémon returned to its normal size and shape. James returned to his normal size and shape too and despite looking exhausted and in need of a long nap, he was still standing with a smile of triumph. Slowbro keeled over onto her back and she passed out.
"Oooooh, I'll never take a bath again…" she slurred as she drifted into unconsciousness.
It had been a long hard battle between rivals, but the end had finally come and Sapphire was the one emerging victorious. Cheers exploded for the newcomer as the students whooped and celebrated her victory. Sapphire could only put a hand over her chest and sigh heavily, relieved it was all over at last. Klara just stood where she was, unsure of how to react. True she lost and it felt disappointing that yet again, she had another loss to add to her long string of failures but somehow, this didn't feel too bad. Maybe it had been because this had been her best performance in ages that she could at least acknowledge that she'd given it her all and that she'd been beaten by someone who was truly her superior. All this would do was inspire her to train harder and then maybe sometime in the future, she'd achieve something great. Mustard strode onto the arena, his wrinkled face full of excitement.
"And that's the match!" he called, "It was truly an amazing contest of great strategy and incredible power from both the trainers and their Pokémon! But there can only be one winner, and that winner is Sapphire Silverlock! She is the winner of this term's island trials!"
He took Sapphire's arm and held it up as Honey and the other students cheered for her again. Sapphire just smiled modestly and waved back to everyone.
"Th-thank you, e-everyone. I d-don't know what else to say…" she said shyly.
"Then you don't have to say anything at all." Mustard said reassuringly, "Congratulations Sapphire. You've passed the trials with flying colours and thus, you will be one of the few Pokémon trainers in all of Galar who will get to receive the secret armour as promised! But first…"
He turned to Klara, who as still standing there motionless and trying to register everything that had happened. The only movement she made was to raise her Pokéball and return Slowbro to her Pokéball. She didn't seem to notice that Sapphire and Mustard were coming towards her until the Dojo Master cleared his throat. The pink-haired girl looked up and snapped out of her daze.
"Oh…h-hi master." she said feebly.
"So what shall we do with you, Klara?" Mustard said sternly, "While I approve of how much you've grown with your Pokémon lately and truly become a more skilled trainer who has become very creative with her Pokémon's attacks and abilities, I cannot overlook your attempt to cheat at the beginning. We must make an example of you so no other student of mine will be tempted to try anything like that again."
"I'd say the fact I tried to cheat and still got my arse kicked will be enough to say "hey, don't do this!", master!" Klara exclaimed, "And if it really makes you and Sapph feel better, I regret trying to do so in the first place as I've really come to see that I didn't need to do so to perform as well as I have today!"
"Then why did you do it in the first place?" Sapphire demanded, "Why did you try to cheat despite Mustard's warnings and your newfound confidence in yourself?"
Klara sighed heavily and hugged herself.
"Because I was convinced I couldn't win." she said honestly, "To tell you all the truth…I've always been plagued by insecurities ever since childhood. You see, my parents were never the loving, supporting type. They always believed that getting one's hopes up and being encouraging only led to disappointment and failure, so they raised me up to believe that mindset. I of course thought it was bollocks so I defied them and decided to go for my big dreams, which included being a pop singer or a Pokémon Gym Leader! And…you know how that went."
She looked away as if she didn't feel comfortable looking her rival or her master in the eye anymore. Sapphire nodded as she took all this in. She had suspected this to be the case with Klara for a while now and this just confirmed it for her.
"So because your singing career bombed and the training to be a Gym Leader was too tough, you ended up lacking motivation to carry on." Sapphire acknowledged, "No wonder you have such a desire not to be a loser anymore."
"You bet!" Klara said grimly, "But ever since those moments, it's like I want to get better in life but I'm always worried I'll just be met with disappointment again! It's why I joined this island in the first place, I thought I could get better without having to try too hard. At least then, I wouldn't fail badly if I didn't have to try hard at anything. But then you came here and inspired me all over again to try harder and strive to achieve something great! And I've proven that I really didn't need to try cheating in order to give you a tough battle! I'm so sorry about that as I really didn't want to. Honest." she insisted, "My insecurities just got the better of me that time and I have no excuse for it. But never again! Next time Sapphire, I'll really give you a fight to remember!" she declared.
"Without cheating?" Sapphire insisted.
"You got it." Klara said with a wink, "But of course, this doesn't excuse my actions now."
She turned back to Mustard.
"I guess I'll pack my bags and get the first Flying Taxi out of here." the dejected Gym Leader sighed.
"Now what would you be doing that, my child?" Mustard said in confusion.
"Why do you think?" Klara retorted, "I broke the rules! It's obvious you're going to exile me from the island in disgrace so I'll just be on my way!"
But the former Galarian Champion shook his head.
"Don't be preposterous Klara. Exile is much too harsh for even a cheater." he said firmly, "How can my students learn to be better if I just send them home and never give them a chance to improve? I won't be sending you home Klara, but I'm still not letting you off the hook either." he insisted, "I can at least see that you are sorry and regret your actions so I will be lenient towards you. You will be put on extra cleaning duties until the end of the term. Hopefully that'll inspire you to play more fairly in future." he concluded.
Klara was speechless. Even Sapphire was surprised that that was Klara's punishment rather than anything else. The former pop singer was sure that Mustard was going to give her the chop for breaking the one rule he emphasized he wouldn't accept being broken above anything else. And yet somehow, he wasn't kicking her off the island for doing so?! She knew Mustard was an understanding man but she didn't think he was that fair with people. While she wouldn't enjoy those extra cleaning duties, she couldn't be ungrateful to her master when he'd given her a far less severe punishment than what she'd expected. She could only bow in respect.
"Y-yes master." Klara stammered, "And th-thank you for g-giving me another chance."
"I've always believed in second chances." Mustard said softly, "And I feel you deserve one, Klara. But if you break the rules again, I'll have to follow through on the punishment you'd originally expected." he said firmly.
"Of course!" Klara said hastily, "I promise, no more cheating from here on out!"
"Excellent! I'm pleased as cheese to hear that." Mustard said graciously, "Now we have that settled, let us go back to the Dojo so we may present Sapphire with her prize!"
With nothing more to stick around for, everyone filed back into the Dojo. Everyone but Sapphire and Klara. The two girls decided to stick around just a couple of minutes to say a few last things before they left the Battle Court. Klara rubbed her arms and glanced at Sapphire apologetically.
"I don't really have anything else to say." she mumbled, "Just that…you're really strong Sapphire! I know I've been a bitch to you this whole time and there is no excuse for it. I'm sorry for everything and…you deserve that armour more than me."
"Thank you." Sapphire said appreciatively, "And if it means anything Klara…I thought you were really awesome out there. I'm glad that I at least inspired you to try harder and become stronger. While I still don't appreciate you trying to cheat, I'm willing to put that aside and move on."
She held out a hand.
"Maybe we can start over and be friends instead?" she asked kindly.
Klara considered the offer. She had expected Sapphire would be below wanting to make an offer like that. As kind as it was, she felt she couldn't accept it. At least not yet.
"I don't think we're at that point yet…but we can make a start I guess." Klara said glumly, "If anything, I would like us to be friendlier rivals than the hostile ones we were before."
"I can accept that!" Sapphire said graciously.
The girls shook hands, a symbol of what was the end of a bitter rivalry and the start of a much friendlier, more pleasant one between them that may become friendship one day. Sapphire was pleased that things would at least be more pleasant between her and Klara from now on. With that over with, the two followed the others inside the dojo so that they may see what this secret armour was…
Once everyone was back in the dojo, the students gathered together in the centre of the main hall while Sapphire stood beside Mustard to receive her prize. Honey had gone into the living room to check on Hyde and see if he wanted to come and watch the big moment. All eyes were on Mustard now as he was about to give Sapphire the secret armour. Sapphire noticed something strange about the whole thing. When she'd heard the name "secret armour", she had expected a suit of armour of some kind, yet there didn't seem to be any in sight and nobody seemed to be on hand about to deliver it to him so he could hand it out. So where was it? She tried not to look confused as Mustard began.
"Our four trials have been completed, and as per tradition of the Master Dojo, I present to our winner the secret armour of the Master Dojo!" Mustard declared, sounding excited to be getting the chance to hand it out. It had been a while since he'd given anyone the prize so it was as thrilling for him as it was going to be for Sapphire.
He reached into his pocket and presented a Pokéball. Sapphire stared in confusion as Mustard held it out. Was that it? Had she gone through all this trouble for a single Pokéball?! No…maybe there was a Pokémon inside of it and that was the prize? Sapphire watched with baited breath as Mustard threw the ball.
"Now then…come on out!" he called jovially.
The ball spun through the air and then opened up, a flash of white light jumping out and materializing into a shape just in front of the students. Sapphire's eyes widened with excitement as a small ursine Pokémon stood before everybody. It was small, only reaching up to Sapphire's hips, and it had grey fur with a white patch on its forehead and long strands of white fur that resembled the ends of a bandana. It had small arms and three fingers on each paw, two triangular toes that pointed upwards, round ears and comically large eyebrows. Despite its small, cuddly appearance, this Pokémon radiated power, discipline and strength and Sapphire could see it was no huggable teddy bear. The Pokémon seemed thrilled to be out of its Pokéball for it started kicking at the air and leaping around as if buzzing with energy that it hadn't been able to expel for so long. It even jumped towards Mustard and threw a flurry of rapid punches into his hands before leaping towards one of the posts, kicking at it and back flipping away from it. The little Pokémon gave out a yell each time it made a move. It was like they were watching the Pokémon equivalent of the karate kid with Mustard as the Pokémon's own Mr. Miyagi. The bear-like Pokémon stopped what it was doing to catch its breath for the moment and then struck a pose to give everyone the impression that it was proud of itself and wanted them to know it.
Sapphire couldn't keep the awe out of her eyes as she took in what she'd seen.
"Wow…I've never seen a Pokémon like that before!" she gasped, "What's it called and where did you find it?"
The Pokémon opened its eyes and yelped, clearly having not realized that Sapphire had been standing there watching it the whole time. Upon seeing her, it took one look at her and then darted behind Mustard's legs. Sapphire felt hurt upon receiving that reaction.
"W-what did I do?" she asked nervously, "If I scared it somehow, I didn't mean to."
"Oh don't mind him Sapphire, he's just shy." Mustard said reassuringly, "He's always been a bit unsure of newcomers. Nevertheless, this is your prize my child, the secret armour of the Isle of Armour…the legendary Kubfu!"
He ushered the Kubfu to come forward. Kubfu came out from behind him and scuffed his feet shyly.
"H-hi th-there…" he said timidly.
"Hello! My name's Sapphire and I'm very happy to meet you!" Sapphire said kindly, grinning sweetly to try and show Kubfu she meant no harm, "This is my first time ever seeing a Pokémon of your kind."
"R-r-really?" Kubfu said bashfully, "W-well I hope I g-give you a good first impression…"
"Well I thought your kung fu moves were amazing to watch." Sapphire insisted, "And I think you're adorable! I have to say, for a Legendary Pokémon, you're pretty small…" she added.
While some Legendries were small, it was still unusual as a majority of Legendry Pokémon were some of the biggest Pokémon to ever exist. Mustard nodded agreeably.
"Yes, but don't let his size fool you." he informed, "Raise him with enough diligence, and he'll become strong enough to see you through any battle, just like a suit of armour. No opponent will be able to get past him!" he said enthusiastically.
Sapphire nodded. Now she could see where the "secret armour" name had come from. It was metaphorical instead of literal. Mustard sure knew how to surprise his students by subverting expectations!
"This one in particular has amazing potential! The only problem is the aforementioned shyness." Mustard went on, "He just doesn't seem to have much confidence in himself." he said sadly.
"S-sorry. It's j-just so hard to h-have confidence when I h-haven't had a ch-chance to really p-prove myself." Kubfu said glumly, "You t-train me a lot but I d-don't get to do m-much with it."
"Yes, quite." Mustard acknowledged, "So as the winner of our trials, Sapphire, it would give me great pleasure if you would accept this gift and become Kubfu's trainer. That'll help him break out of his shell a bit!" he said brightly.
"I'd love to be Kubfu's trainer!" Sapphire said gleefully, "Thank you so much! I'll raise him with all the love and care I've given my other Pokémon and I'll unlock whatever potential he has! Gosh…just wait til I show Ruby and Emerald, they'll be so happy to see I have a Legendary Pokémon just like they do!"
"Heh, heh, so that means all three of you have a Legendary of your own now." Mustard chuckled, "The Silverlock family is certainly one that knows how to gain powerful Pokémon!"
"I just hope it means nobody will dare mess with us like Team Royal did last month!" Sapphire joked.
She then picked Kubfu up and hugged him gently. The students awed at the sweet scene before them. Despite his shy nature, the Kubfu returned the hug. It felt nice to be given an affectionate gesture like this and he liked how gentle Sapphire was being with him. He could tell this girl was going to be the right trainer for him.
"I hope me and you will become good friends, Kubfu." Sapphire said kindly.
"Well you seem very nice so I don't see why we won't." Kubfu said meekly, "I've been hoping that whoever won me would be a nice person."
"Oh mate, if there's one thing you should know about me, is that nice is in my nature." Sapphire declared, "We Silverlocks practically pride ourselves on it! Now then, what should I call you? I would name you after the main character from Kung Fu Panda but that'd be too on the nose…"
She wanted to go for something more unique as a nickname. She imagined that Kubfu was a Fighting-type Pokémon so going for a name to reflect that would be fitting. A name that sounded tough would be suitable too. But what? Then she thought of something.
"Wasn't there some superhero called "Iron Fist" or something…?" she murmured, "Yes…that's perfect! I'll call you Iron Fist!" she declared.
"Well I'm not sure about having iron fists but I do pack a mean punch!" Iron Fist chuckled, "So I guess that name fits. Iron Fist it is then. I'll be a perfect Pokémon for you, Sapphire, and I'll get strong enough to keep you and your family safe from any threat!"
"Aww, that's sweet of you!" the blue-haired girl said graciously, "We can begin training whenever you're ready, though my other Pokémon really need a rest from a battle I've just had and I'll have to send one of them to Professor Sonia as I already have six Pokémon on me so we might have to wait for a bit…"
She was interrupted by Honey, who had just emerged from the living room with Hyde. He was holding an ice pack against his head and he looked as if he was in a lot of pain. Everyone stared at the two and Mustard's eyes widened in shock as he registered that his son had been hurt. He ran over to him.
"Hyde! My lord, what's happened to you?!" he cried.
"He told me that Abigail's Zoroark came out of its Pokéball and attacked him for some reason." Honey explained, running a hand down Hyde's back to try and comfort him, "The poor dear's been out cold the whole time we've been outside and I've only just got him up! I also noticed that his Prison Ball project's been smashed to pieces! We think Abigail's Zoroark might've done that too…"
"WHAT?!" Abigail exclaimed indignantly, "That's a load of Tauros crap! I know my Zoroark's a grumpy bastard but there's no way he'd just come out of his ball and attack Hyde and break something he made!"
"Then why is his Pokéball empty and he's nowhere in sight?" Honey asked coldly.
Abigail's face went pale upon hearing this. She ran over to her bag and fished out Zoroark's Pokéball. Like Honey had said, it was empty. Her blood turned to ice.
"No…no, no, it can't be! Why would he do this?!" Abigail shrieked, "I don't understand! He's never done that before!"
"We have to find him before he hurts anyone else!" Sanjay declared, "He could be hiding in the dojo right now and is waiting to strike!"
"I don't think so." Iron Fist cut in, "We Kubfus have some of the best sense of smell of any Pokémon and I don't smell any Zoroarks in here."
"Then we must search the island!" Mustard declared, "That Pokémon has to be recaptured before anyone else gets hurt!"
But before anything else could happen, a black and white shape soared through the window and flew straight towards Mustard. It was Emolga. She'd finally made it back from Zeraora's prison after a long flight and now she was back to give the bad news. She perched on Mustard's arm and everyone watched as she was about to give her message.
"Emolga! Excellent timing. We're on the lookout for a rogue Zoroark." Mustard explained, "Abigail's Zoroark has attacked my son and destroyed the Prison Ball project. Can you help us find him?"
"No need, I know where he is!" Emolga screeched frantically, "He's dead on the floor of Zeraora's prison after he broke him out and Zeraora let me go free so I could warn you he's coming home!"
The students chattered amongst each other in confusion. They had no idea what was going on. Abigail on the other hand was horrified to hear that her Zoroark was dead and that a Zeraora had been the one to do it. Sapphire wondered what all this was about. There was a Zeraora around here? Why had nobody told her! That would've been quite exciting to see as they were rare Mythical Pokémon that not many trainers saw! But then she saw Mustard and Honey's faces. The two were frozen with horror at what Emolga had told them. Mustard especially looked as if he was on the verge of a heart attack. Honey put her hand over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears.
"No…NO! It can't be! Emolga, please tell us this isn't true!" Honey shrieked, clutching Hyde closer to herself as if his life depended on her.
"It's true." Emolga said, her voice full of sorrow, "The guards tried their best but he was just too powerful. I'm afraid he'll be on his way back to finish what he started…"
"We must get the students off the island and fast!" Honey exclaimed, "I won't have their lives being put in danger while that monster is free again!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out! What the hell is going on here?!" Sapphire cried desperately, "What's all this talk about Prison Balls and Zeraora? Why are you so afraid? Are we really all in danger? And what does Emolga mean by "finish what he started"? There's clearly something you're not telling us! What's all this about?"
Mustard snapped out of his shocked state and cleared his throat. He knew that it would be foolish to try denying anything now. He had to tell Sapphire, especially as with her officially becoming the Armour Warrior, she was as much a part of this as he was. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sapphire…I think you should come with us. We have much to tell you." he said gravely, "I must apologize for not telling you about Zeraora sooner. I…I just hoped that it wouldn't come to this…"
He led Sapphire into the living room with Honey and Hyde following them while Sapphire still had Iron Fist in her arms. The others were left to chatter nervously among themselves. Whatever was going on here, they didn't like it. It was clear their master was afraid of this Zeraora that was coming home. Why was it coming back and what did it want? Abigail could only feel sorry that her Zoroark was responsible for all this. She now wished she'd never caught that Pokémon! She hugged Sanjay for comfort while the taller boy hugged her back.
And while everyone was bracing themselves for Zeraora's return, he was now on his way. The Mythical Pokémon had recovered from his battle with the guards and was now riding on a Wailord's back. It hadn't taken a lot of convincing to get it to cooperate. All Zeraora had to do was threaten to electrocute it and it was perfectly willing to play nice and do what he wanted. While Wailord were slow swimmers, Zeraora didn't mind as long as he had a way back. The giant whale Pokémon was perfect for riding on. As Wailord cruised smoothly through the ocean, Zeraora kept his eyes fixed ahead as he waited for the Isle of Armour to come into view. He was on his way and Mustard was no doubt quaking in his shoes waiting for his return…
Pokemon obtained: Iron Fist the Kubfu: Gender: Male. Nature: Relaxed. Ability: Inner Focus (it prevents the Pokemon from flinching)
Sapphire has won the Secret Armour, which happens to be a whole new Pokemon for her! But she and Iron Fist haven't got much time for bonding for Zeraora's on his way! What is his deal with Mustard and why is he so vengeful? Tune in next time as we're told "The Story of Zeraora"...
Trivia: Klara's breakdown and insecurities over "always being a failure" are of course, my own take on the character. She has no such insecurities in the game and nothing in her backstory implies as such. I added that in to make her more sympathetic and to maybe give a reason for why she became lazy and pampered later in life. It's all down to her being so convinced she's a failure that despite wanting to get better, she subconsciously lacks the motivation to try.
Also, her punishment in the game is to take care of all the Pokemon living in the dojo by herself for six months. I honestly thought being put on extra cleaning duties would be a more likely punishment you'd receive while living here.
Oh and as you may know, there is no such thing as a Gigantamax Slowbro. I made that up for this story. Honestly, Galarian Slowbro and Slowking SHOULD'VE had Gigantamax forms if you ask me. It at least would've made Klara and Avery feel more like boss battles and fit in with the other rivals who can also Gigantamax their Pokemon.