Surprise, bitches. You thought you'd seen the last of me.
Nah, I'm just kidding. I do apologize for how long this chapter took! But, you know. College. Sorority. No life outside of these things. It's all fun and games until you're sitting on the couch crying over a six page essay about poetry.
But, at long last, this chapter is DONE. And now you'll FINALLY get to read about the rematch between Aiden and Adam! Who will win? Well...I'm not gonna tell you! Read and find out!
LAST TIME: The group finally reaches Viridian City, where Aiden will challenge the gym for his seventh badge. They meet the (newest) leader of the gym, Adam. Aiden immediately challenges him to a battle and promptly loses all three of his Pokémon. Upset by the loss, Aiden is taken around the city by Adam and his fiancée, Evelyn. While going around the city, the group once again runs into Jake, who challenges Aiden to a battle. Just like before, it ends in a tie, and Jake rushes off huffily. Newly reinvigorated, Aiden challenges Adam to a rematch.
Chapter 46: Rematch! Aiden VS Adam!
Aiden stood at the entrance to the Pokémon Center, arms folded across his chest and head bowed in deep thought, the bill of his cap covering his already closed eyes.
"Aiden?"
The boy murmured quietly and just barely glanced over his shoulder, creaking his eye open by just a crack.
"What are you doing?" Michelle asked curiously.
"Chu?" Pichu chimed in.
"I'm thinking about my last battle with Adam," Aiden replied simply.
"Trying to come up with a strategy?"
"Yeah. Kind of."
"Are you going to use the same Pokémon as last time?"
"Of course!" Aiden answered, finally turning around and fully opening his eyes. "I've got faith in those three. I know that together, we can beat Adam. I just have to take a different approach than last time."
"He's really strong," Michelle reasoned with her brother.
"I know," Aiden agreed. "Definitely the strongest gym leader I've faced so far! But I like the challenge. It will only make the win so much better when it finally comes!"
"And you think that's going to happen today?" Michelle asked softly.
"Of course I do."
Smirking, Michelle motioned with her head and urged, "come on, then. We'd better get to the gym!"
Aiden made a noise of bewilderment as Michelle skirted ahead of him, a look of determination on her face.
"Hold on…" Aiden began uncertainly. "You actually want to get a head start to the gym?"
"Well, yeah," Michelle chirped. "If you're really that confident that you can beat Adam, then we should get going! Confidence is super important, but not too much confidence. Dad taught me that!"
"Right…" Aiden breathed, still confused by sister's sudden excitement to head towards the gym.
"Are you two ready to go?"
Aiden and Michelle both looked back towards the Pokémon Center doors, where Brandon had just emerged from.
"Yep!" Michelle chirped.
"Yeah, Michelle's a little bit too ready to go," Aiden remarked.
"What's that mean?" Brandon asked.
"I mean she actually wants to go to the gym," Aiden scoffed.
"There's nothing wrong with me wanting to support my brother," Michelle trilled.
"Yeah, nothing wrong with it," Aiden muttered. "It's just weird is all."
"Hey, as long as you two aren't screaming and trying to rip one another's hair out, I'm totally okay with this!" Brandon chuckled, walking alongside Aiden. "Come on, let's get over there."
XXX
The gym was no different than it had been the day before, save for the lack of smoke billowing out the front door.
For that, Evelyn was grateful. She was just as excited to see the three trainers at the entrance, in fact, as she was that her fiancé hadn't burnt another meal.
"It certainly was sweet of him, but I think we're better off if we just leave the cooking to me," Evelyn quipped, leading the children deeper into the gym.
"That's what our mom says to our dad whenever he tries to cook!" Michelle giggled.
"Except after a while, Mom doesn't think it's so sweet," Aiden added.
Evelyn led them all into the battle area, where Adam was kneeling down on the far end of the field. It wasn't clear to them what he was doing, since his back was facing them, but Aiden could just barely see the glint of what he assumed to be a poke ball in the gym leader's hands.
"Adam!" Evelyn called, causing the man to look over his shoulder. "Aiden is here, and he's all ready for his rematch!"
Adam smirked and stood up to his full height, stashing whatever he'd been examining in his pocket. "Great! I don't know about you, Aiden, but I'm excited for this."
"Me too!" Aiden agreed.
"Evelyn, could you get Noah for me?" Adam asked. "He was in the back doing some studying, but he's gonna have to put those books down and be my referee!"
"Of course!" Evelyn chirped, flitting across the battle field to reach the door that led somewhere else Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon didn't know about.
"Have you done any more thinking about your strategy, Aiden?" Adam called.
"Sure have," Aiden confirmed. "I think I'm gonna do a whole lot better than I did last time!"
"Enough to win?" Adam asked with a smirk.
"I don't see why not," Aiden quipped.
"I do like your confidence," Adam remarked. "Reminds me a lot…me, actually! This rematch will sure be interesting."
"A rematch? So soon?"
Adam turned around and sighed as soon as he saw his younger brother's baffled expression.
"Noah, I told you late last night that Aiden would be coming back," Adam gently scolded. "Did you really forget?"
"I didn't necessarily forget," Noah sighed. "I just kind of thought you were joking! It's only been a day, after all."
"Yeah, but Aiden's resilient," Adam chuckled. "One day is more than enough for him. He's been thinking all about his strategy. I can see that little flame in his eyes. He's ready to go!"
"Hey, you're the gym leader, not me," Noah commented, walking towards the referee's box.
"Come on, guys," Evelyn prompted, walking back towards Michelle and Brandon. "We can go take our seats in the bleachers. This is going to be a good one!"
Michelle and Brandon followed after Evelyn while Adam and Aiden took their spots in the battlers' boxes, Noah making his way towards the side of the battlefield to take his role as referee.
"The re-match between Adam, the gym leader, and Aiden, the challenger, is about to get underway!" Noah announced. "The rules for this rematch will be the same as they were before. Three Pokémon each. Whichever trainer manages to knock out the other one's team first wins! Agreed?"
"Agreed," Aiden and Adam declared at the same time.
"Very well," Noah hummed. "Show your Pokémon!"
"I think you know who I'm starting with," Adam teased, pulling out his chosen poke ball. "Donphan, let's roll!"
Aiden smirked to himself as the armor Pokémon was released, crying out heartily before stomping on the battleground with his front legs.
"You're not, I'm not surprised," Aiden remarked, holding up his poke ball. "And I don't think you will be either."
"Is he going to do the exact same thing he did in the first battle?" Brandon asked, his jaw dropping.
"Of course he is," Michelle murmured, eyes narrowing in concentration. "It's Aiden, after all."
"Wartortle, I choose you!" Aiden cried, tossing the red and white sphere.
The ball popped open, releasing Aiden's trusty partner Pokémon. Upon seeing Donphan, Wartortle huffed and leaned forward, scowling at the ground type.
"Well, Wartortle looks ready to go!" Evelyn remarked with a slight giggle.
"I don't think he was too happy losing that first battle," Brandon commented. "Wartortle is just about as stubborn as Aiden. He's not going to forget that loss anytime soon, and I think he's ready to get some revenge on Donphan for it."
"The challenger has the first move," Noah called before throwing his arms up in the air. "Begin!"
"Wartortle, water gun! Full power!" Aiden commanded.
Wartortle pulled his head back and fired off a powerful shot of water at Donphan.
"Ah, this tactic again," Adam mused. "We can do that, too! Donphan, use rollout!"
Donphan tucked himself into a ball and started to roll towards Wartortle, whose eyes widened at the move.
"No need to panic, Wartortle!" Aiden assured his Pokémon. "Quick, jump on top of Donphan!"
"What?!" Adam gasped.
As Donphan rolled closer, Wartortle jumped up in the air, landing shakily on top of Donphan.
"Hey, Aiden got that idea from me!" Michelle breathed, her eyes widening.
"Huh?" Brandon asked.
"Jumping on top of Donphan while he uses rollout!" Michelle explained, her smile widening. "Don't you remember? I used that move with Eevee while I was battling Dad and his Donphan! I guess Aiden really does pay attention."
"Donphan, shake Wartortle off!" Adam demanded.
"No way!" Aiden countered. "Wartortle, use bite!"
"He's doing the exact same thing that I did!" Michelle crowed, her eyes lighting up. "Aiden watched me! He observed me and is taking cues from me! I knew it!"
Wartortle growled and sunk his teeth deeper into Donphan, causing the ground type to cry out in pain.
"Donphan, come on!" Adam cried.
Donphan unfurled himself, standing on all fours as he cried out in pain and violently shook his body, trying to loosen Wartortle's grip. Still scowling, the water type grabbed onto Donphan's back with his claws, adding onto his leverage.
"Wartortle is stuck on Donphan like glue," Evelyn marveled in disbelief. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"Donphan, try slam!" Adam ordered.
Grunting, Donphan jumped forward, throwing himself down hard on the ground. Wartortle went flying off, landing safely on his behind and skidding towards Aiden. Donphan, meanwhile, seemed to have taken quite a bit of damage from slamming himself down on nothing more than the hard ground.
"Worked like a charm," Aiden muttered with a smirk while Adam scowled.
"Giga impact!" Adam commanded.
Donphan's body became engulfed by an invisible force of energy, a flash of yellow appearing before its face as it charged towards Wartortle.
"Dodge that!" Aiden called.
Wartortle jumped up high in the air, spinning as he did so. Donphan just barely missed, skidding to a halt and looking up in shock.
"Bubble beam, up in the air!" Aiden continued.
Wartortle broke out of his spiral, flipping his body down so he was headfirst. As he sailed back down, Wartortle spit out a powerful, rapid stream of bubbles, which instantly collided with Donphan's face.
"How are they dodging absolutely everything that we do?!" Adam breathed.
"We're not done yet!" Aiden declared. "Rapid spin!"
Wartortle retreated into his shell, spinning back down towards the ground. Donphan huffed and took an unsure step back.
"Dodge that, Donphan!" Adam cried.
Donphan tried to escape, but unfortunately for him, he was just too slow, and Wartortle was too fast. The spiraling shell collided with Donphan's body, sending the armor Pokémon down to the ground.
"Donphan!" Adam shrieked.
The dust settled fairly quickly, Wartortle landing back on his feet on the opposite side of the battlefield. On the side closer to Aiden, as soon as the dust cleared, Donphan's limp body became visible, a near motionless heap of moaning armor sprawled out before Aiden.
"Donphan is unable to battle," Noah announced like a robot, clearly barely able to believe what he'd just witnessed. "Wartortle is the winner…"
"Yes, nice work, Wartortle!" Aiden complimented the water type.
"War!" Wartortle cheered, spinning around and smirking at his trainer.
"I can't believe Donphan went down so easily," Evelyn whispered. "Especially after that first battle…Donphan swept Aiden's entire team."
"Aiden obviously adjusted his strategy," Brandon noted.
"Yeah, he finally took advantage of the fact that Donphan isn't a speedy Pokémon!" Michelle added, eyes still bright. "He was taking cues from my battle with Dad, when I used Eevee against his Donphan. Eevee is small and agile, just like Wartortle. Aiden finally realized that he would be able to beat Donphan with speed! He stopped focusing so much on the power and accuracy of his attacks, and instead focused on the more technical things! It really worked, huh?"
"I'd say," Brandon chuckled, looking back down at the field.
"So, you managed to take Donphan down this time," Adam chuckled. "I'm impressed! You've yet to meet either of my other two Pokémon. I guess today is your lucky day!"
Aiden narrowed his eyes as Adam produced his next poke ball.
"Bring it on," Aiden dared. "I'm ready for whatever you've got!"
"I hope you're right," Adam chuckled lowly. "Flygon, let's rock!"
Aiden's eyes widened as the large green Pokémon appeared before him. It had round red covers over each of its eyes, and a pair of large wings sticking out of its back. Its tail was long and front arms short, with a pair of antennas slicked backwards.
"Flygon," Aiden repeated, scanning the creature.
Flygon, the mystic Pokémon. Its wings make a "singing" sound when flapped, earning it the nickname "The Desert Spirit." Flygon tend to hide in sandstorms to protect themselves from potential predators.
"I can't believe that's a ground type," Aiden remarked.
"Half ground, half dragon," Adam commented. "Pretty impressive, right? Just wait 'til you see it in action!"
"Resume the battle!" Noah called.
"It may be half dragon, but it's still half ground type," Aiden noted. "Wartortle, water gun!"
"Flygon, up!" Adam commanded.
Wartortle fired off his attack, but it just missed Flygon as it flew up in the air.
"No," Aiden groaned, tightening his fists.
"Flygon is much faster than Donphan," Adam informed his frustrated challenger with a smirk. "Not to mention its ability to fly."
Aiden growled and ground his teeth together.
"Alright, Flygon, let's show 'em what dragon claw looks like!" Adam called.
Flygon swooped down towards Wartortle, its front claws glowing a bright green as it came down. Those glowing claws were quickly slashed against Wartortle's face, sending the water type flying back towards Aiden.
"Wartortle!" Aiden gasped.
The turtle moaned and just barely managed to get back to his feet, glaring up at Flygon.
"Bubble beam!" Aiden barked.
Wartortle fired off his signature stream of bubbles, but Flygon managed to dodge it by flying up above the stream. Aiden snarled, but Adam simply smirked, pleased with his Pokémon's proficiency.
"Let's finish this up, Flygon," Adam decided. "Earth power!"
Flygon narrowed its eyes beneath their red covers, and soon its whole body was glowing with a gold outline. Aiden narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out exactly what Flygon was doing.
"Earth power?" Michelle repeated, her voice sounding rather unsure. "I've never heard of that move before…what's it do?"
"You're about to find out," Evelyn assured the younger girl with a small giggle, earning a harried look from the redhead.
As Flygon continued to glow, cracks began to appear in the battleground below. Wartortle watched the growing cracks with obvious trepidation, taking shaky steps backwards, and closer to Aiden. The cracks were glowing gold, just like the outline around Flygon's body, and were beginning to grow more rapidly with each passing second. Before long, they completely surrounded Wartortle, and he was left totally unable to escape. The glowing gold cracks encroached on him, and soon the ground below him gave out, causing Wartortle to trip over and become nearly crushed by the plates of ground sticking up in jagged, uneven spears.
"Wartortle!" Aiden gasped.
The blue turtle Pokémon moaned desolately, falling back over on his shell. With his head tilted back, Aiden was able to see that his partner was totally out of it, nowhere near able to continue.
"Wartortle is unable to battle," Noah confirmed, holding his left arm out towards Adam. "The winner of this round is Flygon!"
"Excellent work, Flygon," Adam calmly complimented his dual type.
"Gon," Flygon hummed softly, giving just the slightest of nods.
It's Flygon's ability to fly that beat Wartortle, Aiden thought. So I've got to get on that level if I want any chance of defeating Flygon.
Growling lowly, Aiden swapped out his pokedex for his next poke ball, his eyes meeting Adam's as he looked back up.
"I think I know who you're going to go with next," Adam mused.
"You probably do," Aiden admitted, smirking at the gym leader. "But you don't know what we're going to do! Ledian, I choose you!"
Brandon's eyebrows shot up as the half bug, half flying type was released from its sphere, floating idly in front of Flygon. "He's using the exact same Pokémon that he did last time."
"Yeah, but Ledian is a good matchup in this gym," Michelle replied.
"It's not that," Brandon refuted. "I just kind of thought that maybe Aiden would choose different Pokémon. Adam had him mapped out last time, just from a single look. The second time around? It could be worse."
"He managed to do just fine with Wartortle," Michelle retaliated. "I don't think Ledian will be a problem, either."
"I actually think Aiden really knows what he's doing."
Michelle and Brandon both made sounds of interest, glancing up at Evelyn.
"You do?" Brandon murmured.
"He's a smart kid," Evelyn giggled.
"First time I've ever heard that," Michelle remarked.
"He's a smart Pokémon trainer," Evelyn rectified. "I can tell how much he looks up to your father, and takes after him! They battle nearly the same. Aiden does have a bit of his own flair, though. It's interesting! This rematch has been very good so far. And I guarantee it's going to get even better."
"Battle continue!" Noah called.
"Ledian, get up close to Flygon!" Aiden ordered. "Comet punch!"
"Le!"
Ledian swooped towards Flygon, who was once again narrowing its eyes.
"Get away from Ledian!" Adam yelled. "Make it a race! Don't let him catch you!"
Flygon dipped down low, soaring beneath Ledian. The dual type grumbled and glanced down, following right after Flygon without even a single order.
"That's it, Ledian!" Aiden cheered. "Get closer!"
Ledian began to flap his translucent wings just a bit harder, managing to catch up to Flygon thanks to his smaller stature. With the desert Pokémon's body close enough to him, Ledian was able to wind up his fist and punch Flygon repeatedly in the back, impeding the desert Pokémon's ability to fly.
"Flygon!" Adam gasped.
"You've got this, Ledian," Aiden assured his Pokémon. "Switch to mach punch!"
Ledian once again pulled his fist back, but this time, it was glowing blue. He threw it forward and delivered yet another punch to Flygon's back, this one stronger than any of the punches he had yet to dish out. Flygon cried out in pain, barreling down towards the ground and eventually colliding with the tightly packed dirt.
"Flygon, get up!" Adam hissed.
Flygon did manage to get back to his feet, but Aiden could tell that the dual type was quite weak. It would be hard for Flygon to come back in this battle.
But Aiden wasn't about to let his guard down.
"Ledian, silver wind, while Flygon is down!" Aiden commanded.
Ledian began rapidly flapping his translucent wings, crescent slices of silver sailing towards Flygon.
"Get up again, Flygon!" Adam called. "Bide!"
"Bide?" Michelle gasped as Flygon's body began to glow white. "That attack is going to give Flygon recoil damage, and it's already weak!"
"It's not a completely stupid move, but I wouldn't say it's one of Adam's best," Evelyn commented. "I know him like the back of my hand…and he's getting nervous."
The silver wind hit Flygon dead on, but the white glow around its body managed to protect him. Once the silver wind had completely died out, a powerful burst of white energy emerged from the area of Flygon's chest, shooting straight towards Ledian. It was powerful and fast, and Ledian was unable to dodge it. It hit him directly, and he started to falter, his wings ceasing their fluttering as he started a staggered fall down. While Ledian struggled to stay in the air, Flygon suffered the effects of recoil, wincing as its body tensed up.
"This is intense," Michelle breathed.
"It's definitely a lot more exciting than their first battle," Brandon added.
"Ledian, are you okay?" Aiden called.
"Le…" Ledian reluctantly replied, nodding his head.
"Great," Aiden sighed.
"Flygon, use dragon claw and bring Ledian down to the ground!" Adam yelled.
Flygon, with a decent amount of struggle, managed to get himself up in the air, glowing green claw held out in front of its body. Fortunately, Aiden was prepared for such physical attacks, even up in the air.
"Reflect!" Aiden ordered.
Ledian threw his arms out to the side, a clear orb of energy surrounding his body. Flygon's dragon claw swiped against the surface of the reflect, but it did no good. Ledian was nice and safe inside.
"A defensive move," Adam growled.
"Mach punch, one more time!" Aiden cried.
"Dragon claw, again!" Adam countered.
Ledian swooped forward with his glowing blue fist, while Flygon did the same with its glowing green claw. The two attacks collided at the exact same time, with seemingly the exact same power. That power was so strong that it reverberated off the both of them, spreading through the air of the gym. It created a strong gust, kicking dust up into both Adam and Aiden's eyes. They turned their faces away from the battlefield, bracing their eyes with their forearms. They only looked forward once they felt the specks of dirt no longer scraping against their skin, and heard a loud crashing sound. A cloud of dust settled to reveal the fallen figures of both Ledian and Flygon, each one on the opposite side of the field from which they'd started. Both were limp, unmoving, and quiet. Aiden and Adam both leaned over in nearly the exact same fashion, trying to examine the other's Pokémon that was sprawled out before them.
"Both Flygon and Ledian are unable to battle," Noah declared, ending the mystery for the both of them. "This round is a tie!"
"Huh, well what do you know," Adam whistled, recalling Flygon to its poke ball. "This is by far one of the most entertaining battles I've ever had!"
Aiden looked up from returning Ledian with wide eyes. "Huh? You mean that?"
"Of course I do!" Adam chuckled. "This is a much different battle than the first one. I see such a stark difference in you from then! This is the Aiden I was expecting the first time."
Smirking, Aiden attempted to pull out his third poke ball, but instead allowed his fingers to linger there for a little while.
"That's a pretty big compliment coming from a gym leader," Aiden commented. "Thanks, Adam!"
Adam chuckled once again and stared down Aiden with an intense look. "Of course, that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you in this last round!"
"I wouldn't want you to," Aiden replied, finally pulling out his poke ball. "Not by a long shot!"
Returning Aiden's smirk, Adam whipped out his third and final poke ball, tossing it with a powerful cry of, "Rhyperior, let's rock!"
Aiden bit his lower lip as the hulking ground and rock type Pokémon appeared before him, long arms stretched out towards him and front horn appearing sharp and menacing.
"Whoa," Aiden breathed, pulling out his pokedex to scan the creature.
Rhyperior, the drill Pokémon. It can insert rocks or boulders into the holes in its arms and then fire them off like bullets.
"Rhyperior sounds like a really cool Pokémon!" Aiden commented. "But I still think I can win this. Riolu, I choose you!"
The baby Pokémon appeared before his trainer, excitedly jumping up and down until he set his wide red eyes on Rhyperior. That was enough to cause Riolu to whimper and take a step back.
"Come on, Riolu, there's no reason to be afraid!" Aiden groaned. "I believe in you. I know you can beat Rhyperior! We've just got to work together."
"Ri…" Riolu whined, reluctantly looking back over at Rhyperior. The dual type, in turn, let out a loud huff.
"Resume the match!" Noah cried.
"Let's get this started, Riolu," Aiden demanded. "Quick attack, let's go!"
Riolu charged towards Rhyperior, streaks of white trailing behind him as he ran.
"Hmm," Adam hummed in an almost bored fashion. "Alright. Rhyperior, fend that off with hammer arm."
Rhyperior snorted once again, bending at the knees and waiting for Riolu to come closer. Once Riolu was within range, Rhyperior threw out a glowing red arm, sending the emanation Pokémon flying backwards.
"Riolu!" Aiden gasped.
"You'll have to be a bit more thoughtful than that if you want to beat my Rhyperior," Adam commented, smirking at Aiden. "Let's show 'em what I mean, Rhyperior. Stone edge!"
Two light blue rings surrounded Rhyperior's body, eventually turning white and then transforming into heavy gray rocks. Those rings of rock were sent sailing towards Riolu, burying the young Pokémon beneath them before he had a chance to try and fend them off.
"This is bad," Brandon grumbled. "Aiden is really starting to slip."
"It's hard not to when Rhyperior is so powerful," Michelle sighed.
"Riolu!" Aiden called, leaning forward on his toes. He got no response. "Riolu, we can still fight this! I know we can!"
Still no response.
"You've really fought hard, Aiden," Adam informed his challenger. "But I think Rhyperior and I finally got you backed up in a-"
"Force palm!"
Adam's jaw dropped as a beam of yellow light suddenly appeared from between each boulder. The light built up until it was nearly blinding, the pressure beneath pushing off the boulders and sending them flying. Rhyperior let out a noise of distress, dodging each rock as it came hurdling towards the ground. With his jaw still down, Adam stared across the field, where Riolu was standing in the same area he had just been buried beneath a mound of rocks.
"No way," Adam breathed.
"I'm not giving up on Riolu or this battle!" Aiden called. "Force palm, again!"
Riolu held out his paws, that same yellow energy shooting towards Rhyperior. The dual type was in just as much shock as his trainer, and didn't notice the attack coming. He was struck by the energy of the force palm, letting out a ferocious roar as he stumbled backwards.
"Rhyperior!" Adam gasped.
"Way to go, Riolu!" Aiden cheered.
"Desperate times," Adam muttered before raising his voice, "Rhyperior! Rock wrecker!"
"No!" Evelyn gasped, covering her mouth.
"What's wrong with rock wrecker?" Michelle asked.
"Yeah, that's Rhyperior's signature move," Brandon added. "My dad uses his Rhyperior's rock wrecker all the time, and it's super powerful! If anyone should be worried in this situation, it's Aiden."
"Yes, rock wrecker is an extremely powerful move," Evelyn agreed. "But it does cause a lot of recoil damage to Rhyperior, and he was already taken off edge by that force palm attack! This could be devastating for him and Adam."
Small gray rocks shot out of the holes in Rhyperior's arms, coming together to form a much larger boulder between his hands. A glowing red outline formed around the rock as it grew larger, and once it was at a big enough size, Rhyperior tossed it, sending the boulder sailing towards Riolu.
"That thing is way bigger than Riolu!" Michelle exclaimed. "He's gonna get crushed!"
"Not if I can help it!"
Michelle raised an eyebrow and looked over at Aiden, who was wearing quite the mischievous smirk on his face.
"That boy is up to something," Michelle muttered.
"Riolu, endure!" Aiden ordered.
The emanation Pokémon jumped up in the air as the boulder came sailing towards him. Holding his paws out, Riolu managed to grab onto it right before it collided with him. Brandon, Michelle, and Evelyn watched on with wide eyes as Riolu gritted his teeth and struggled to hold back the boulder. Somehow, however, he managed, and was able to complete his endure attack by throwing the boulder back at an already exhausted Rhyperior.
Adam braced himself as Rhyperior, barely able to move from actually launching rock wrecker, was hit by the boulder, taking an extreme amount of damage right back.
"That…was awesome!" Michelle squealed.
"Pretty impressive," Brandon agreed.
Adam clenched his teeth as Rhyperior struggled to get back up. He knew this was bad. Dire, in fact. It would take the last of Rhyperior's energy to try and win the battle.
And that's what he was going to do.
"Rock throw! Let's go!" Adam commanded.
Three white rings surrounded Rhyperior's body until they transformed into rocks that were sent out sailing towards Riolu. Aiden, for what it was worth, did not seem concerned.
"Riolu, counter!"
Smirking, Riolu's entire body became outlined by a bright orange glow. The rocks that Rhyperior had created hit Riolu, but bounced right off of him and went flying back towards a stunned Rhyperior. For the second time in a row, he was hit by his own attack, but this time, the damage seemed to be much more extensive.
Rhyperior's body hit the ground with a loud thud, a cloud of dust curtaining his collapsed form. Aiden held his breath, but Adam didn't even move. He knew what the outcome was. All he had to do was wait for Noah's call.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Riolu is the winner! Which means the winner of this battle is Aiden Ketchum, the challenger!"
Aiden's eyes widened, and a huge, albeit shocked, smile appeared on his face.
"I…I won?" Aiden breathed.
"Ri!"
Aiden was playfully tackled by an overjoyed Riolu, who was giggling and yipping with delight as he embraced Aiden.
"Yeah, we did it!" Aiden laughed. "You were awesome, Riolu!"
"Ri! O!"
Adam sighed and returned Rhyperior to his poke ball, looking down at the sphere and smiling softly to himself.
"Well, you can't win them all."
Adam's smile turned into a smirk as he looked up, feeling something on his arm. His eyes locked with Evelyn's, which seemed to be smiling just as brightly as her lips.
"Thanks for reminding me," Adam teased.
"I don't think you have to be reminded," Evelyn giggled, giving Adam a small kiss on the cheek. "You're very good that way. Besides, Aiden is a very formidable opponent."
Adam looked across the battlefield and smiled. Aiden was still celebrating with Riolu, Michelle and Brandon now by his side and congratulating the young trainer.
"That he is," Adam agreed, walking towards the group.
"That was a much better showing than the first battle!" Brandon exclaimed.
"Gee, thanks, Brando," Aiden teased.
"Hey, that was a compliment," Brandon scoffed playfully.
"You sure learned a lot from me, didn't you?" Michelle taunted.
"From you?" Aiden repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"That's pretty much how you beat Donphan," Michelle explained. "You used a bunch of the things I did with Eevee!"
Aiden smirked and looked over his shoulder. "Maybe I did…"
"What do you mean maybe?!" Michelle cried. "You did!"
"Mmhm."
"Such a stubborn young trainer."
Aiden hummed once again and looked forward, finding Adam to be standing just feet away from him.
"Adam…" Aiden breathed.
"That can be dangerous," Adam continued, sounding rather thoughtful. "But it can also be good. Today, it was the latter."
"Thanks!" Aiden laughed, his face lighting up.
"I've got something for you," Adam continued, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. He held his palm out towards Aiden, who leaned in excitedly and gasped out of delight.
"It's the Earth Badge," Adam explained, smirking as Aiden examined his reflection in the green, leaf shaped badge. "And you've definitely earned it."
Aiden grinned from ear to ear as he took the badge from Adam and held it up in the air, the gym's lights glinting off of its shiny surface.
"It's all mine," Aiden marveled, crying out in sheer bliss and holding the badge up above his head. "Yeah! I did it! I won the Earth Badge!"
"Ri!" Riolu chimed in.
"Badge number seven, and it's all mine," Aiden murmured, pulling out his badge case and nestling the Earth Badge into its spot. "Just one more…one more badge, and I can enter the Indigo League!"
"But to do that, you'll have to beat Mom," Michelle teased.
"Bring it on," Aiden teased, sinking the badge case back into his pocket. "I can handle Mom! She's not about to stand in my way!"
Adam smirked and shook his head. "Like I said…stubborn."
That's right: Aiden is the winner! Gym battles (to me, anyway) are boring enough. We don't need a third one :P
No promises on the next chapter. I am at the end of the semester after all! But you will want to stay tuned: next chapter features a very special guest! Any guesses on who it might be? Post 'em in the comments! And I'll be bringing you that chapter as soon as I possibly can!