Chapter 22 – Boxing Match

The smell of sweat and dust wafted through the building. Different types of smells from Pokemon to human were all around the people who entered the Veilstone gym. Those who trained there constantly were used to it however. They found it comforting, something to take pride in as they watched both themselves and their partners grow stronger. Boxing rings were spread throughout the open space along with tires and workout gear. Mats were laid down all over the floor to prevent injury if someone fell. Everything was taken care of extremely well though. The labour of love was evident.

Today was a bit different though. There was a tension in the air already. Or perhaps that was simply in Jeffery's head. He was nervous as today they had another challenger. And this one was supposed to be even better than the young blonde kid who came in a couple weeks ago and defeated Maylene. Jeffery came in early today to get things set up and to try and help ease his nerves. He just couldn't understand why he would feel nervous. Trainers came and went. They either won or lost. It was why his fighting slogan was for tears. Good or bad, emotions would be shown and a winner and loser decided upon. He had just taken out the dust mop for the first sweep when he saw her.

Maylene was standing there staring out at the open gym, wearing a light blue training shirt, white pants and the fighters robe over her shoulders. It took a minute before she seemed to notice that she was not alone.

"Jeff what are you doing here so early?" she asked kindly, and mildly surprised.

"Couldn't sleep ma'am. Thought I'd come in and try to calm my mind so I may fight focused and precise." She nodded her approval.

"A cluttered mind before battle usually leads to losses. It was a good idea to come in then." Jeff did another couple passes before looking back to his master who hadn't moved a muscle.

"If I may ma'am, I feel nervous."

"Nerves before battle are not uncommon Jeff."

"I know, but I've never felt these nerves before. Win or lose, I can handle both. But there is something different about this trainer isn't there?" Maylene looked at her student with a seriousness and understanding about her that he had never seen before.

"What makes you say that?"

"I wouldn't feel this way otherwise I don't think." Maylene finally sat down and frowned a bit.

"Rumour has it that she is better than the young man we faced recently yes. Flint is staying to watch as well which means that she must be someone the league has had come up on their radar. I'll admit, fighting a gym battle before an Elite Four member is somewhat intimidating, but we cannot let that feeling rule our way. If she is good enough to earn a badge, then so be it. But we will throw everything we can muster at her."

"Of course ma'am."

Jill took out her scarf and wrapped it around her neck before finally donning her coat and heading out into the city. After resting for a couple of days and getting a bit more training in, she was ready to take on the Veilstone city gym. Her team was honed and ready. She was pretty certain as to who she would be using but this would still be a difficult battle.

A chilled breeze flowed through the city as the young woman left the entertainment district and headed towards the gym. People were heading every which way today, but there were more than a few who had made time to come and watch the match. Jill made her way through the press, avoiding gazes and conversations. She had elected to keep her team contained for the time being as well. It had finally dawned on her that her partners so far were not the most common around the various regions of Sinnoh and would draw attention she didn't really want at the moment.

Finally, she arrived at her destination. She stopped in front of the building, one that looked once more completely different. The exterior was plain, the only indication of it being the league gym was the insignia at the top. Jill had a look of determination come over her upon seeing the sign. She was ready. Following the crowd, she walked inside. This time she was ready that this gym would once more be completely different. She looked around at the various boxing rings and the trainers waiting. People were milling about, creating a buzz in the air about the upcoming match. More people were here today due to Maylene's stunning loss coming to the hands of another trainer recently. It was the first loss by this cities leader in quite some time Jill had come to understand. So now people were suddenly more interested because there was a chance to see trainers now more powerful than the person who was arguably the most powerful in the city.

Jill walked forward and checked in with the man who was running the desk. He took the young woman aside to a room where she was allowed to store her things while challenging the gym.

"Once you are ready ma'am let me know" he told her as she took off her coat.

"I'm ready now."

"Excellent. Maylene has already been alerted to your presence here. However, before you can challenge her, you must first pass by her four strongest students. Defeat them, and you may move on to the leader. I am also here to let you know that this gym uses fighting type Pokemon. They train constantly, making even those attacks they are most susceptible to less effective."

"Is that true?" Jill asked surprised. She knew Maylene was a fighting type expert, but for attack types like fighting and psychic to be less effective meant that Jill was even further behind the eight ball with her plan. Could she adjust on her team now? Would they be able to handle it?

"If you ask me, I don't fully believe so. The type tree isn't set in stone, so it can be argued that there are attacks which don't do their full force against her team, but that doesn't mean she can't be defeated by her team's weaknesses" the man said.

"I take it she didn't tell you to say that."

"Felt the need to be honest miss. I've seen Maylene battle countless times. She's the strongest trainer I've met, regardless of those who have defeated her in the past." Jill smiled at the man's assertion. Perhaps he'd change his mind if she won.

Jeffery was breathing heavily as he watched the young woman move forward towards Maylene's battle arena. The girl was strong there was no other way to put it. And to have caught a Ponyta… this girl had to be something. The fiery horse had taken down his Heracross with its speed and type advantage. He was upset, but at least he battled well. But now he had another job to do. Slowly he walked to the mid point of the field and looked around at the crowd which had gathered.

"Trainers are you ready?" Jeffery asked looking to both Maylene and the challenger. The crowd went silent momentarily as it always did when he was about to begin a gym match.

"Welcome Jill, to the Veilstone gym!" Maylene said. "I am Maylene, the gym leader here."

"Thank you Maylene" Jill responded.

"I don't know fully know how I managed to come to this position, but I take it seriously. I will be giving this battle my all."

"I hope so!" Jill said with a small smile.

"Trainers will only use three Pokemon each. The victor will be the trainer who manages to knock out the opposing trainers Pokemon. Only the challenger may change Pokemon throughout the battle. Ready?" Again both women nodded. "Then begin!" Jeffery yelled throwing his upraised arm down.

Jill breathed out as she released her first Pokemon. She had carefully decided who would be best ready to take on this challenge and so hadn't used any of the three partners she had decided on yet. Maylene released her Meditite first, which Jill knew was part fighting and psychic. A dangerous combination, but she didn't want to release her secret weapon just yet. So instead she was starting with someone who was definitely ready to cause some damage.

"Sphyrna, you're up!" she called as she released her dragon. Sphryna roared as she was released and saw who she was up against.

"Hope you can prove a worthy foe" the dragon growled to her opponent. The Meditite grinned and took up its fighting stance. It's stance however was rather different, something Sphyrna hadn't come across yet.

"What is it doing?" she quietly asked Jill.

"Just preparing for battle. Meditite's have the ability to harness psychic powers similar to Icarium."

"Well that's just great…" the dragon type said and she widened her stance.

"I think I'll start this battle off. Meditite, use fake out!" Maylene called out. The crowd was immediately screaming its approval. The smaller fighter moved in fast and deked out Sphyrna who lashed out to block, only to be suckered in to a punch from the opposite side of her. She shook it off but not without looking indignant about the false look.

"Try that again you runt!" she roared. The Meditite laughed, or what Jill assumed was laughter.

"Ignore it Sphyrna! They can only catch us like that once!"

"Drain punch!" Maylene called out however. Jill was shocked at how fast the leader was reacting. No time for rest here.

"Sphyrna like we practiced!" The dragon lowered herself somewhat and spread her arms apart while stiffening her tail. She was ready to fend off attacks. The fighting type came in fast, but not as fast as Jill's partner. Meditite's fists were glowing green as they rained down upon Sphyrna, however, she was fending them off, using he fins to deflect the punches away.

"Use dragon rage!" Jill commanded. Sphyrna responded immediately, spilling our her fighting spirit in blue flames which engulfed the fighting type. Meditite backed away protecting its face. Now it was Jill's turn to press the attack.

"Now follow up with take down!" Sphyrna took off like a rocket. Maylene's Pokemon didn't stand a chance to defend itself as it took the powerful attack. It sent the smaller opponent flying backwards its body slamming hard against the battlefield. It was a moment before it shakily stood back up. Maylene was frowning. Jill's Gabite seemed stronger than normal. Most Pokemon weren't able to fend off attacks like hers was from Maylene's strikes. It was time to level the playing field.

"Use rock tomb! Lets see how you handle being slowed down!" Maylene said to Jill, staring the young woman in the eye. Jill didn't flinch but she couldn't let her speed advantage be undone. Quickly she thought of a counter.

"Sphyrna use sand tomb on yourself!"

"Are you crazy?!" her dragon yelled as she distanced herself from her opponent.

"Trust me!" Jill pleaded as the fighting type slammed the ground causing parts of the field to form up. Sphyrna spared one glance at her trainer and growled as she summoned the dust and sand around her. Quickly spinning around, she brought any grit available around herself and created a mini tornado around her of sand and dust. The speed and condensed nature of what Sphyrna created actually spun the various sections of battlefield that the Meditite sent her direction. It seemed that Jill did know what she was doing.

"Now release it outward and follow up with dragon rage!" Jill yelled above the cheering crowd. Sphyrna followed through and blasted the sand tomb outwards, releasing the blue draconic flames after. Both attacks pummelled the small fighting type obscuring it from view. Once the dust had settled however, everyone saw Maylene's Meditite knocked unconscious and Sphyrna breathing heavily. Maylene was stunned for a moment while Jeffery called the first-round victory to Jill. For her part, Jill smiled. One down, two to go. Looking at her current partner though said a different story. Sphyrna was tired and while she could probably still move fast enough to win, it wasn't worth risking her. Especially if she could come in later and deal a quick knockout blow.

"Sphyrna, come back."

"I'm fine" the dragon replied shaking her head.

"I know you could battle a little longer, but please, take a rest now in case I need you for relief later." Sphyrna was still eyeing Maylene as she prepared to send out her next Pokemon, then sighed and drooped ever so slightly, enough for Jill to know the dragon type was going to cooperate. The red beam shot out and engulfed Sphyrna as Maylene sent out her next team member, her Machoke. Jill paused long enough to think of a good strategy. While she could use speed once more, she had a feeling she would need it against whoever Maylene's last partner was. So instead, she opted for formidable defense.

"Alright Caladan, your turn!" Jill said as she released her first ever Pokemon. Caladan took stock of his opponent. A muscle bound fighter, one who had the strength to lift the heavy grass type. This would take some powerful attacking to knock this one down.

"I'll start this time Maylene" Jill said looking down at her partner. "Use razor leaf!" Caladan widened his stance and focused his energy. The bushes on his back began glowing and pushed forward suddenly, sending razor sharp leaves flying at his opponent. The Machoke crouched down and covered its face as the grass type attack struck home. Both Jill and Caladan were shocked when it stood back up and didn't even show a scratch.

"You'll have to try harder than that to do hurt my fighting types Jill!" Maylene called out over the crowd. They were seriously impressed with Machoke taking that attack head on and not even being phased. "Now its our turn. Machoke, use karate chop!" The muscled fighter moved in.

"Cal, use curse!" Jill called as a counter. Caladan closed his eyes and channeled the earth below him to turn his shell even harder. This also increased his weight however, making it harder to dodge attacks. Luckily he was prepared to absorb the slam. Machoke's hand chopped down hard onto the point of Caladan's shell where his neck came from. The strike sounded devastating but Caladan barely felt it. He grinned as the fighting type was far to close to dodge an attack. The grass type didn't even need to hear his trainers command to know what to do.

The bushes on his back were glowing once more as more than a few razor sharp leaves were launched at the exposed superpower Pokemon. Machoke cried out as it staggered backwards reeling from the harsh attack.

"Follow up with absorb!" Jill said pointing forward. She was in control of this battle and intended to keep it going that way. The crowd was a bit shocked that another trainer was here looking like they were defeating such a powerful gym leader.

"Oh no you don't!" Maylene said. She knew her partners limits and while Machoke wasn't the fastest fighter she had, he was one of the strongest. "Use strength to block the attack" she commanded. Machoke moved in as the grass type was about to launch his energy absorbing attack. The fighter lifted Caladan into the air, which wasn't a lean feat. In fact, Jill was shocked and had no idea as to what to do. She'd never seen another Pokemon use its sheer strength in such a way. Caladan cried out as he was thrown and crashed onto the ground. Jill's mind was racing. How was she supposed to defend against that?

"Momentum is back with us Machoke. Use karate chop!" Maylene said with a grin. This was when she really started to get into battles. The crowd noise died out as she pushed herself against a trainer who was putting up a great fight. She was impressed with Jill so far, but there was no way her grass type was going to defeat her Machoke.

Hands fell upon Caladan, each blow making Jill wince. She was at a loss as to how to help her first ever Pokemon. Caladan however, wasn't giving up just yet. Jill needed him to win. While he was losing stamina fast, he managed to find the energy to get the harder part his shell back towards his opponent and catch his breath.

"Machoke use strength again!" came the command. Caladan gritted his teeth as he knew what was coming next and he didn't know if he could handle another toss. He lowered himself just trying to keep the fighting type from getting a grip. That small movement however was the inspiration that Jill needed.

"Quick Cal! Use curse again!" Caladan did as he was told without looking. Once more he felt the earth's power course through him, hardening his shell. It wasn't enough though as Machoke grabbed the grass type once more.

"Now absorb!" Jill yelled. She knew that Caladan's increased attack power wouldn't be applied to a special attack like absorb, but she just needed him to regather a bit more energy to take the harsh landing he was about to receive. Jill believed in her partner. Once more she watched as the Machoke threw her friend across the battlefield. Everyone was cheering as he crashed down assuming that he had been defeated. Jill wasn't looking at Caladan however; she was looking at the Machoke who was looking tired. Even Maylene could see that. She was watching Jill wondering what the young woman was up to.

"One more attack Caladan" Jill said in a low voice.

"I know which one he won't be able to handle" came the reply. She nodded and watch him roar his challenge. People were beginning to get even louder now, unable to contain their excitement at what was happening here. Caladan unleashed a veritable storm of razor leaves which engulfed Machoke and the entire battlefield. Even Maylene was shielding herself to avoid being cut by the stray leaves that bounced away from her partner. Once the last of the leaves had fallen, everyone saw Machoke laying there unconscious. Jill looked at her friend and quickly recalled him as well. Caladan was near his breaking point Jill could tell. The only way that razor leaf attack could have been that powerful was if his overgrow ability had kicked in. She took a deep breath to steady herself. Maylene was down to her last Pokemon, but this one was almost guaranteed to be her most powerful.

"Don't let your guard Jill, this is nowhere close to being finished" Maylene said as she sent out her last partner. The crowd who were still cheering wildly were yelling even louder as Maylene's Lucario was released. Jill pulled out her Pokedex to get a measure of her last hurdle to a gym badge.

"Lucario the aura Pokemon and the evolved form of Riolu. A well-trained one can sense auras to identify and take in the feelings of creatures over half a mile away." It's typing was listed as a dual fighting/steel which made Jill think a fraction longer about who to send out. She knew that her cousin had trained one and that its speed was impressive. Caladan was out of the question as he was basically tapped out. Sphyrna was an option to battle speed with speed, but she had already seen battle. Jill had no choice but to see how well her own fighting type would handle his newly evolved form in a gym battle.

"Alright Icarium, it's your turn" Jill said to the pokeball in her hand. She looked up and released her next Pokemon. The crowd was shocked and impressed at the Gallade that was released. Even Maylene was somewhat taken aback. It was rare for a trainer to gain the trust of a Ralts or Kirlia in the wild but to have also found a dawn stone to evolve it into a Gallade was even more rare. Maylene was instantly aware of the fight she now had on her hand. It seemed that her Lucario did as well.

"Don't think that just because you have a rarer Pokemon that I'll be scared Jill!" Maylene called out across the battlefield.

"Not a chance Maylene! But I know how fast Lucario can be, so I thought I'd fight speed with speed" Jill replied. In truth, she wasn't sure that Icarium was as fast as Lucario, but they had been training hard so that he felt comfortable with his new form and capabilities.

"Then let's see how you handle our speed! Lucario, use bone rush!" Maylene said punching out her fist. The aura Pokemon grinned, or what Jill took to be a grin and bolted forward. As it sprinted across the battlefield, Lucario created a manifestation of its aura. A blue hued bone club lengthened to a staff appeared in its grip. Jill wasn't sure how Pokemon like Lucario were able to do something as impressive as that but it wasn't going to slow her down. Icarium was more than able to fight back.

"Use leaf blade to defend yourself Icarium" Jill said in time for her friend to react. It was then that the battle began. What was readily apparent was the level of training Maylene's Lucario possessed. It's speed and skill wielding the staff were amazing and the crowd was loving it. However, what impressed Jill more was how Icarium was responding. The training coming in to this match had prepared him and forced the psychic/fighter to find his fighters spirit. As Lucario sent down a blow, Icarium matched and deflected the strike away with one of his own. The two were moving so fast that their trainers weren't even calling out commands, rather allowing instincts to take over.

Maylene's constant training took over however; Lucario executed a perfect fake and turn, catching Icarium in his side and sending him sprawling across the battlefield. The crowd loved it as it finally looked like their gym leader was taking the match back in hand. Glaring at his opponent, Icarium regained his feet. Jill was thinking as fast as she could. Lucario was not just a fighting type, but also part steel. That mean that Icarium had no attacks that were particularly effective against his opponent. The bone staff disappeared as Lucario once more took a fighting stance.

"Switch things up and use metal claw!" Maylene said smiling. She was really getting into this battle. She even had sweat dripping down her face as she punched and moved in time with her partner. Jill on the other hand was more stationary but just as intense. Lucario moved in and Icarium once more prepared for an onslaught. As Jill watched the opposing fighting type move, inspiration hit her. Icarium still had a psychic type attack from his previous evolutions. It wasn't that strong, especially in his newly evolved form, but it might make all the difference.

"Trip him up with confusion!" Jill cried out. Lucario began stumbling and jumping around, losing his speed as he came in to attack as Icarium started using his mental attack. The psychic bursts meant to confuse targets was aimed lower, forcing Lucario to pay attention to its feet, something neither he nor Maylene ever really did anymore. Their fighting style was so ingrained, they never had to focus on footwork anymore in their sessions, but this was wrecking havoc. Lucario closed his distance and growled as it launched its metal claw attack. Icarium danced around the strikes and hit back with another leaf blade. Both Pokemon were not conceding any ground whatsoever. As they jumped back, they would close. Both trainers were calling out attacks and counterattacks just to try and gain an edge. Yet try as they might, neither trainer could gain the upper hand. It looked like it would become a battle of endurance, one which Jill knew she couldn't get trapped in for she learned the hard way that Lucario knew drain punch, an attack that healed the fighter so long as the attack landed. And as she looked at her friend, she saw he was getting exhausted.

"Alright Icarium, let's do this." Jill said it quietly but her partner heard her. He took a deep breath. This was it, Jill had a strategy to win this fight. He wouldn't let her down. Not now, not when she had made him so much stronger than he had ever dared dream. "You'll need to do a combination attack. Try and use confusion on your arms and combine that with leaf blade." Icarium had no idea what his trainer was up to, but he did as he was told. He closed his eyes momentarily as he accessed his psychic power within and pushed it towards his arms. A green and purple glow began to appear as confusion was combined with leaf blade.

Icarium opened his eyes knowing he had done exactly what Jill wanted. Now it was time to unleash whatever power he had left. He pushed forward towards his opponent. It all came down to this.

Maylene was fighting superbly, pushing her opponent as a gym leader is supposed to. Flint had to admit, he was impressed. The fighting type gym leader was using her Pokemon in a way that most trainers wouldn't be able to handle. But that wasn't stopping the young woman who faced the leader. Flint was getting more and more interested in this young trainer the more he watched her from the windows above the battlefield. The crowd was loving the match and the Elite Four member couldn't blame them. He was too.

But now here was something that even Maylene couldn't have expected. Flint had his mobile out and was recording the last bit of this battle. Something about the way the challenging trainers Gallade moved told Flint that it was recently evolved. But that wasn't stopping the partial psychic type from giving Maylene's Lucario a fight to be reckoned with. This new attack confirmed in Flints mind however, that whoever this challenging trainer was, she was the real deal. Combining an attack like she was doing wasn't easy, but what was more impressive was the fact that it was clear she hadn't done it before. The faint purple glow wavered slightly as the Gallade moved into striking distance meaning that it had to concentrate quite a bit to maintain the combo attack.

Lucario made to defend itself with an aura bone club once more, however this time it finally slipped up. The Gallade found a way through the steel type defenses and delivered three quick brutal strikes finally knocking out the gym leaders last Pokemon. Flint stopped recording as the psychic fighter stepped back and fell to one knee. The young woman who was its trainer ran out to her Pokemon as Maylene recalled her best fighter and walked out to present the challenger with a badge. This young woman definitely couldn't stay quiet however. He looked down at his phone and dialed.

"Hello Flint" the champion said as she answered the phone. For once she didn't sound completely exhausted, almost as if she had actually gotten some sleep for once.

"Cynthia. You sound so chipper today!" the red headed elite responded. Cynthia simply sighed before responding.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm actually calling about a gym battle I just witnessed."

"You know we have more important duties right now Flint" Cynthia said. Flint pictured the blonde shaking her head as she responded, causing him to smile.

"Come on Cynthia, we may be investigating but we're still the league too. And you have to see this video I'm sending. This girl is something else. She might actually be able to challenge you at some point. If she can get through me that is" Flint added the last part with a laugh. On the other end of the line Cynthia looked down at her phone as a video file came through.

"You really need to stick with being a trainer Flint because this video is no where close to professional quality."

"Not the point. Just check out that fight sequence." Cynthia watched already knowing who the challenger was in the video without seeing her face.

"She's already progressed quite some ways" Cynthia said quietly.

"You've met her?" Flint asked.

"We met in Eterna. I watched her battle with Arthur, the new Johto champion."

"Well he's no walk in the park" Flint said watching the young woman receive her gym badge. "How'd she fair against him?"

"She lost but she didn't have the same team then. Arthur's Typhlosion took down her whole team at the time. That battle seemed to show her what was awaiting her it seems" Cynthia said thoughtfully.

"Just figured you should know that I think we're going to have some company coming to challenge us sometime in the future."

"Yes we are" Cynthia said watching the video again.

Jillian's Pokemon:

Caladan (Grotle) - level 25, ability: Overgrow, nature: Bashful
Chase (Luxio) - level 24, ability: Intimidate, nature: Impish
Epona (Ponyta) - level 25, ability: Run Away, nature: Naughty
Urim (Togepi) - level 22, ability: Serene Grace, nature: Brave
Sphryna (Gabite) - level 24 ability: Sand Veil, nature: Naive
Icarium (Kirlia) - level 23, ability: Trace, nature: Lonely