[Candidate #17, Cerulean Cave — GO Challenge Day 25]

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed overhead as the summer storm continued to rage.

Blanche pushed a lock of wet hair out of her face, glancing up from the document in her hand to meet the silent stare of the official standing in front of her. She couldn't help the frown that crept onto her face as she held his gaze. There was something about the way some GO employees conducted business that didn't sit well with her.

She dragged her olive green eyes back to the paper, squinting as they rolled across the bulleted list of rules attached to this particular gym, before finally settling on the section at the bottom of the page.

The Pokemon Global Organization reserves the right to photograph and film all candidates and is not liable for any property loss, theft, personal injury, and/or death that may occur during the Pokemon G.O Challenge. I, the undersigned, hereby consent to the above specified terms and conditions...

"Hurry up. That document isn't laminated."

"Listen buddy, these things can't be rushed." Candela seemed to be casually examining her nails, but her expression was far from amused. "Whose bright idea was it to have trainers sign these out in the field? Just include the waiver and rules along with the registration form next time."

"I'm not your buddy."

"Right, tell us how you really feel."

Blanche skimmed over the page again, searching for subtext and fine print—although she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, nothing immediately stuck out to her as cause for concern. It wasn't much different than the form she'd been given by before journeying to Kanto.

"Go as soon as both of you sign." The man didn't bother trying to hide the impatience in his gruff voice, nor the irritation on his face. Blanche signed the form and passed it to Candela, who signed without reading at all. The guide immediately sheltered the clipboard from the rain with his coat. "Leave your shoes unless they were made for these conditions. You have one hour."

"What, not gonna wish us luck?" Candela grinned when the man crossed his arms. "I miss that guy from Pewter city already. Great sense of humor."

"That older gentleman was a local," Blanche said, looking the man up and down. The dark sunglasses and wide-brimmed white hat he wore perfectly complemented his tailored suit, slender white tie, and stony face. "Not an Organization representative like this one."

Candela snorted as the man turned to leave, then knelt in the mud to make her final preparations.

Blanche patted Wartortle's head when he placed her backpack at her feet. She pulled out her Escape Rope after a few seconds of rummaging around, but hesitated as her fingers brushed against the last bottle of pain medicine she'd brought along.

She was a long way off from a full recovery, even if she had been following her doctor's advice. Her shoulder and chest hurt badly enough to make her grimace whenever she moved, but a serious bout of dizziness and nausea at the wrong moment during their descent could put both her and Candela's lives at risk.

Blanche bit the inside of her cheek and recalled Wartortle, then closed the bag and slung it over her shoulders without removing anything else.

After securing her rope around the large boulder and fastening it tightly around her waist, Blanche tossed the rest of its length down the shaft. It looked like a bottomless abyss, and rainwater rushed over the lip of the hole like a small waterfall.

"All the way to the basement, huh? Looks a lot more daunting up close," Candela said, peering down into the depths. "Unrelated, but did you see that Valor with the two broken legs back at the hospital? I'm no longer wondering how that happened."

"Climbing in this storm pushes the limits of 'reasonable danger' quite a bit." Blanche bit her lip. It was a partner climb—you went down as a pair, and could choose either a pokemon or another trainer as your teammate; the catch was simply that whoever your teammate was had to challenge the gym alongside you as well. "I doubt most candidates would risk teaming up under these circumstances."

In this case, Candela was fortunate that Blanche was there, and vice versa. Though Delta could probably help her get down easily enough, being forced to use her in a Water type gym was definitely not ideal. On the other hand, if your partner was defeated, so were you.

"Yeah, most people don't like being at the mercy of random jerks." Candela gave her own rope a firm tug and positioned herself with her back to the pit. When Blanche nodded and stood beside her, Candela crouched and lowered herself backwards over the edge. With her legs dangling freely, she held her body up with her arms and looked over her shoulder. "It's slippery as hell. Shall we?"

"Let's go," Blanche said, situating herself beside Candela. The miniature waterfall would make it difficult to keep a solid grip on the ledge itself, so she followed the other girl's lead and kept her upper body in the mud until she found secure places to put her feet.

Once she felt ready, she nodded at Candela, who put a small flashlight in her mouth and lowered herself further. Blanche took an exploratory step downward.

This shaft should lead us to the cave's basement level, which contains a large underground lake. That's most likely where our battle will take place. But, why this location? And why encourage teamwork among competitors?

"I've heard that the wild pokemon down there are stronger than anywhere else in the region." Candela scoffed, having paused to readjust the rope around her hips. "I'm kinda bummed that we aren't gonna see any of them."

"There have been eyewitness reports of at least two different legendary species residing here in recent years." The claims she'd heard about had been unsubstantiated at best—a rumor was spreading amongst Mystic candidates that the legendary bird pokemon that represented their team occasionally migrated to Cerulean Cave in the absence of its previous inhabitant—but Blanche could feel warmth crawling up her neck and into her cheeks as Candela's neutral expression melted into a wide grin. "If that's true, I don't imagine Max Repels will keep them away forever."

"Legendaries, huh? A girl can dream."

Candela's descent became a bit faster than Blanche believed was safe. She followed at an even pace, pretending to ignore the incessant throbbing in her injured shoulder.

As they fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds became the steady rush of water and the pattering of a few dislodged rocks that tumbled down endlessly before disappearing into the darkness below.

"So, have any ideas for taking down this gym? I promise I'm not trying to make small talk because I'm bored." Candela spoke without looking up, her flashlight in hand once again. She was using it to search for a new foothold. "It's actually because I'm nervous. Neither of us have anything that'll be particularly effective here."

"Just a few theories, aside from the obvious. Our opponents must be exceptionally strong." The shaft had grown noticably colder as they advanced deeper, and she could see the vapor of her own breath as she spoke. "Despite the fact that a third of all challengers chose the grass starter—and therefore have at least one pokemon with a distinct advantage here—far less than that number have been able to win."

"In which case, we can't necessarily beat them by having a type advantage anyway, thanks to some other factors." Candela nodded, the tip of her foot prodding for a new place to grip. "Go on."

"First and foremost, I strongly suspect that there will be no ground for challenging pokemon to use. It's a simple but extremely effective obstacle."

"Then unless it's a Flying or Water type it's gonna be about as capable as a magikarp on land. That doesn't sound fun."

"Brute force alone won't get us anywhere. With that said, you should know that Poliwhirl learned the move Toxic via TM and forgot Hypnosis."

"That's way more reliable. Good choice."

As Blanche took another step down, her left foot failed to find a new place to grip. Blanche clung tightly to the hard cave wall, nervous that she wouldn't be able to climb down any further. Sharp bits of stone dug into the ridges of her fingers as they strained to hold her up.

"Having some trouble up there? We can take a minute to rest if you need to."

"No, we don't have the time to spare. I am a bit stuck, however." Blanche frowned deeply, and a cool bead of sweat drew a thin line down the nape of her neck. The white hot pain in her chest had actually become a welcome distraction from the places she'd been stabbed in the back—while those wounds had been relatively shallow, they overlapped internally in the most agonizing way. "The section below me is completely smooth. It feels like a sheet of metal."

"Looks like one, too. Slide to my level and grab my hand." Candela was only half a dozen feet below her, but it was difficult to see clearly through the constant stream of rain even with a beam of light shining right beneath Blanche's feet. "I won't let you fall."

Blanche started to respond when a loud crash reverberated around them, and both of their heads snapped upwards. The walls themselves vibrated, as if a massive impact had occurred outside.

"What was that?" She looked up, but couldn't even make out the outline of the hole's entrance. The cloudy night sky was a slightly paler shade of midnight blue compared to everything else in the cave. "Can you see anything up there?"

"Not at all, but don't worry too much. It was probably more thunder."

"Right. Whenever you're ready, then."

She waited for Candela to put the flashlight back in her mouth and took a painfully deep breath to steel herself. Candela gave her a thumbs up, and extended her arm towards her as far as she could manage.

She gripped her rope with one hand, leaned back, and lightly hopped off the wall to rappel down a few feet.

At that precise moment, the line in her hand went completely slack.

Blanche felt her stomach drop as she began to free fall. Her left arm snapped out in search of Candela's, who leaned down to catch her by the wrist before she slipped completely out of reach.

"Gotcha!" Candela's grasp was tight, but Blanche cried out in pain as all of her body weight suddenly yanked on her injured shoulder. "I'm gonna swing you over, try to hang on!"

Without waiting for an answer, Candela gave a forceful heave that sent Blanche crashing back into the wall. Her free hand and both feet scraped blindly against the sharp stone, desperate for purchase, and when they found a few tiny crevices to dig into she clung to the slippery rock like her life depended on it.

"Whoever did that is going to regret it," Candela said, her voice tight with strain. Blanche stared at the other trainer with glassy eyes. She was looking up, an expression of unbridled rage on her face. Blanche followed her gaze to the hole's entrance and watched the sky vanish beneath a blanket of pure blackness. The rain stopped abruptly, and Candela realized what had happened first. "They must have sealed the entrance off with that boulder."

Someone's trying to kill us.

Blanche rested her head against the cool cave wall and closed her eyes. Her face was suddenly entirely too warm, and the pain in her shoulder had become monstrous. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from screaming again as waves of agony radiated from where she'd been stabbed down the entire length of her arm.

There's a lake down there.

The last drops of water pattered against her hair, and she counted them in an attempt to calm herself down. It wasn't very effective, and by the time she got to five she could feel her pulse pounding in her temples.

I'm going to fall.

Her head felt like a balloon that was filling with hot air until it was ready to pop, and her body tensed as if it expected her to slip at any moment. The same fear played on repeat in her mind, consuming and enveloping every other potential thought.

I'm going to drown.

"What the fuck are they thinking!? What if I couldn't catch you? I even dropped my flashlight." Candela sighed and let go of Blanche's wrist, which fell lifelessly against her side. "Sorry if I was holding onto you too hard, that must have hurt a lot."

She opened her mouth to answer but found it too dry to let any words escape. She was trembling violently and her racing heart felt like it might burst. Blanche opened her eyes and tried to lift her left arm; she managed to get it to hip level before the pain became unbearable, and let it drop again.

Blanche blinked tears away, surprised. It hurt more than she imagined possible.

"Hey, you're shaking." Candela's voice sounded distant as blood rushed to her ears, and Blanche decided to focus on hanging onto the wall rather than trying to speak. Her short nails felt like they might crack as she dug her fingertips deeper into the rock, and she decided that the slight sting was a welcome distraction. "Are you alright? Can you move?"

She barely had the strength to shake her head once in response.

"Breathe, darling."

Blanche released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and began to hyperventilate.

"Okay, maybe not that fast." Candela pulled herself laterally to where Blanche was attached to the wall. The muscles in her arm felt like they'd been doused in kerosine and set aflame. "Can you talk? What's going on?"

"Tore my stitches. It will pass." Blanche swallowed thickly, her tongue uncomfortably heavy in her mouth. The pain was making her panic, the panic was making her head spin, and the combination threatened make her slip. She stared hard at the rock beneath her stiff fingers and spoke between rapid, shallow breaths. "I think I'm going to fall."

"You're a swimmer, right? Know any deep breathing exercises?" Candela inched her way closer until they were shoulder to shoulder. "I won't let you fall. What do you need?"

"The medicine in my bag. Big pocket."

Blanche inhaled slowly, counted to four and exhaled while Candela reached over and began to rifle through her items.

"I can't read the label on it at all. How much of this stuff are you supposed to take?"

"All of it. There's a large basin beneath us." Her vision went in and out of focus as it adjusted to the complete absence of light, and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the fog. "I can't swim like this."

"The whole thing is a bit much, yeah?" Candela pressed something against her lips and Blanche closed her eyes and tilted her head back. The bitter syrup tasted like liquid chalk, but it worked fast. She didn't stop drinking until the bottle was empty. "I guess it doesn't matter if you're high as a kite as long as you can move."

Blanche grit her teeth and nodded.

"If you're sure about there being a lake directly below us then we should jump as soon as you can move that arm. If there's a chance you're wrong and there's solid ground down there we should just keep climbing." Candela shifted her weight, trying to maintain a comfortable position. She was probably getting restless. "I doubt that there's more than one or two stories left before we hit the basement level. It's risky either way."

"I'm certain." Blanche hesitantly wiggled the fingers of her left hand. It hurt, but wasn't tortuous anymore. She clenched her fist and exhaled slowly, this time without counting. A sense of warm euphoria seemed to be creeping in to replace her apprehension. "Our lines were cut. Jumping now would be wise."

"Alright. But let's say this hole goes way deeper than I'm assuming..." Candela trailed off as she returned the empty bottle to Blanche's bag, zipped it up, and gently patted her on the back. She began to undo the rope around both of their waists. "What's the best way to do this? Take me step by step."

"You have to go feet first. Keep your elbows tucked and your body straight. Cover the lower half of your face with one hand so water can't rush into your airways and stabilize that wrist with the other. But don't hold your nose because it could break. Also, don't point your toes, and make sure to bend your knees after you hit the surface. Hopefully it won't be shallow, but you still don't want to get too much depth."

"Anything else, Coach?" Candela grinned widely, and Blanche felt herself return the smile. She let their ropes fall and they waited to hear a splash. After a few long seconds of silence Candela's expression grew serious again. "Are you okay? It's gonna get harder from here."

"I can't keep holding on, and I may not be able to swim for as long as we need. It's as you said." Blanche stretched her left arm out and brought it above her head to join the other. She still felt the occasional twinge, but as long as she was able to move when she hit the water it'd be worth it when the pain returned in full later. "Take a deep breath, jump away from the wall, and turn 180 degrees. We'll have to win quickly."

"This gym leader had better not be a pushover after putting us through all this extra bullshit." She puffed out her cheeks and exhaled sharply, then nodded twice. "I'm ready when you are."

"Candela? Thank you."

"God, you're so sappy tonight," Candela said, smiling. "Let's go."

Blanche inhaled, pushed herself off the wall with her legs and twisted her body in one fluid motion. Everything else melted away, and she focused on the sudden rush of adrenaline that flooded her veins as she hurtled towards the darkness below.

After what felt like a lifetime of falling, her feet finally broke the surface. She heard the muted splash of Candela's body entering the frigid water as her own body sank, and she opened her eyes and kicked her way towards a solitary, bright ray of light.

Blanche gasped when her face felt air, and she whipped around when she heard Candela surface beside her.

"You okay?"

"Relatively."

"Welcome, challengers! My name is Daisy, and I'll be your Gym Leader tonight!" A cheerful voice boomed around them, and they saw three stunning older women standing on a small platform that hung from the cavern ceiling. A spotlight shined directly over them as they posed dramatically, and their brightly colored hair sparkled. "We are the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City. If you'd like to face me you'll have to defeat Lily and Violet here first. Now, show us what you've got!"

"Before we get started I need to know something." Candela glared at them with stone cold eyes. "Are you responsible for having our lines cut back there? Was something like that part of the test?"

"Absolutely not. Even with a waiver a stunt like that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen." Daisy put her hands squarely on her hips and didn't bother turning to confer with her confused-looking sisters. "In the future, please use Pokemon League certified tools rather than some garbage someone left behind in another cave. Items like that are notoriously prone to failue."

Candela and Blanche exchanged glances. She's still furious, but if they don't know anything about it then we'll have to investigate later.

"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." A referee stood atop a rock at the water's edge. There wasn't any genuine shoreline in sight, as if they were at the bottom of a well. "The challengers may strike first."

"We seriously have to do this while bobbing around in the water?" Candela yelled up at the gym leader, who nodded in response. "You were right, this is gonna be a pain in the ass."

"It helps to watch the battle from below the surface," Blanche said, supressing a shiver. She was surprised that Candela didn't seem affected by the almost freezing temperature. We can't let this battle drag on. It's enough to be a hypothermia risk. "Depending on the situation I may give our team instructions while under water."

"Just coordinate with me while you can. If you stay under for too long I'm gonna assume the worst." Candela tossed a pokeball high into the air and Blanche couldn't help but smile. "Come on, Poliwhirl! Let's make your old trainer proud!"

"It's your turn, Wartortle." He appeared directly in front of Blanche and swam forward to join his former teammate. The two pokemon exchanged some dialogue privately, then bobbed in place as they waited for their opponents to appear. "Remember what we practiced."

"Alright, you lively young trainers, we hope you're ready for an intense workout!" The other two sisters approached the platform's edge with perfectly coordinated dialogue and accompanying dance moves. Candela whistled and Blanche groaned inwardly, equal parts irritated and impressed. "You're out of your pretty little minds if you think we'll go easy on you. Starmie, Golduck, give us a good show!"

Their pokemon appeared and after a brief pose, all four of them backflipped into the water. Above them, the gym leader held up two signs that read 8 and 9 respectively. The women resurfaced and took their positions, unfazed by the scores.

"Have you seen either of those before?"

"No, but I doubt the purple one is a pure Water type."

"That's not good for us. We're gonna focus it."

"We should be able to whittle them down with status effects."

"You may begin!" The referee blew his whistle, and Blanche tensed as she prepared to move.

"Poliwhirl, Body Slam the star thing!" The enemy pokemon was surprisingly agile despite its large size. It deftly spun out of range, cutting through the water like a whirling blade, then stopped on a dime and waited for its trainer's instructions.

Instead of watching to see what they would do next, Blanche decided to focus on her own opponent.

"Wartortle, use Water Pulse!" Blanche dove after issuing the command, then swam to the right to observe from a safe distance. Her head felt like it was made of clouds, but she could move without wanting to scream. Wartortle allowed himself to sink, then fired a perfect ring of water at the enemy Golduck, which took the hit without even trying to dodge. They surfaced in unison, still watching their opponents carefully.

Water Pulse has a 1 in 5 chance of confusing the target. It doesn't look particularly fast, and shouldn't be able to deal much damage to us. We have a slight advantage.

"Okay Starmie, use Hydro Pump. And don't you dare miss!" The woman with indigo hair—Violet, presumably—yelled and began to swim closer to Candela. Meanwhile, the younger sister with bright pink hair, Lily, stayed in place. "Golduck, give us a Rain Dance please."

As expected, heavy drops of rain began to fall inside the cavern. At the same time, the star-shaped pokemon sank down until most of its body was submerged. It let out a high pitched sigh as it prepared its attack, and Blanche's eyes narrowed.

What's going on? Hydro Pump doesn't require any time to charge, and that pokemon is extemely fast.

"Come on, try another Body Slam." Poliwhirl swam in a wide circle to build speed, then leapt high into the open air with her arms and legs spread wide. She began spinning to build momentum on the way down, just like they'd practiced together. "We'll hit 'em head on!"

Candela wants to get close in order to guarantee a hit with Toxic. As Water type specialists, they must have guessed Poli's ability, yet Violet chose to use that attack. Is she that sure that it'll still do damage?

"This is dangerous." Blanche bit her lip as she bobbed in the frigid water, unable to pinpoint what was making her so uneasy. Unlike Candela who was great at strategizing on the fly, she prefered thinking of likely possible scenarios and ways to prepare for them well beforehand. "Stop! Poliwhirl, you need to dodge it!"

"No, keep going forward!" Candela shouted, staring hard at Blanche. The expression on her face was easy to read. 'You entrusted her to me, so don't contradict my orders in the middle of a fight. You'll just confuse her.' I know that, but still. "Believe in us a little, yeah? We can't afford to drag this out."

Although she had no difficulty analyzing unexpected situations as they arose, she sometimes had a bad habit of hesitating for too long. Thanks to her precise, borderline-obsessive attention to detail, she was prone to overthinking every possible angle before she felt comfortable giving commands.

Sometimes, a split-second judgment had to be made.

To make the right choice based on nothing more than intuition.. that comes easily to you two.

"I'm being paranoid. Water Absorb should hold up regardless of how powerful the attack is." Blanche frowned as the water she was floating in caught her notice. Visually, it had been almost imperceptible, but she'd felt the change before she saw it. She'd felt the currents shift, flowing towards the opposing team. The entire lake was at least an inch less deep than it had been moments before. "Wartortle, switch targets and try Water Pulse again!"

The starmie jumped a short distance, humming like a machine all the while, and released its attack in a thin, highly pressurized stream. The powerful jets narrowly missed Poliwhirl, who had made no effort to dodge, only to cut through the solid cave wall above them like it wasn't even there.

Blanche felt her jaw fall open as she watched the blast carve a deep gash into the rock like a laser before finally tapering off.

The star pokemon grunted as if it was in pain, and its gem glowed bright red as it fell backwards into the ring of water Wartortle had shot from below it. Meanwhile, Poliwhirl landed squarely on top of it with a huge splash, completing the devastating combination attack. Blanche's eyes widened and she frantically swam back towards Candela.

"Did you see that glow? It has a Life Orb!" Blanche spoke rapidly, her features twisted into a mix of shock, excitement, and fear. She held her throbbing shoulder, and kicked to keep her head above the surface. "The rain is boosting Water type attacks tremendously, and I'm sure its ability has a similar effect. That Hydro Pump was twice as powerful as it had any right to be."

"Looks like you guys managed to confuse it. Doesn't matter how freakishly strong it is now, they're screwed." Candela pumped her right fist in the air while her left hand cupped her mouth. "Let's go! Grab on tight and use Toxic!"

"Oh no, Starmie! Shake it off!" The girl with indigo hair lost her composure a bit, and her pokemon was no better—it swam erratically, drawing a lopsided figure eight. "Keep using Hydro Pump!"

The next blast hit Poliwhirl directly, and Blanche couldn't help but gasp in shock as it made contact. Although it was still powerful enough to slice rock, when the water touched Poliwhirl's body it simply became a harmless mist that she absorbed through her skin.

The pokemon's second attempt at a Hydro Pump misfired, and it moaned in pain as it took heavy damage from its Life Orb, confusion, and poison consecutively.

"Don't worry Vi, we've got your back." The other pokemon vanished from sight, suddenly twice as fast as it had been during the previous turn. "Golduck, hit the wartortle with a Psyshock!"

It must have Swift Swim. We won't be able to keep up in the rain, but our Water type attacks are stronger too.

"Protect!" Wartortle spun around, pulling up a shield behind his shell an instant before the attack landed. "Good, now counter with Scald!"

"Waaaah! You burned him!" The pink haired sister swam forward and took the Golduck in her arms. She stuck her tongue out at Blanche before turning to the referee. "Yo ref, it's our loss."

The referee looked at the other sister for confirmation. She nodded in agreement and both sisters recalled their pokemon, then swam towards him. He blew his whistle and declared Candela and Blanche the victors.

Wartortle began glowing in the water, and Blanche watched as he evolved with a mixture of pride and awestruck fascination. He looked back at her with a confident smile, and she gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Sorry if that was a bit anti-climactic," Daisy called out from above them. Rather than celebrate prematurely, Blanche had recalled Blastoise and pulled back to join Candela once again. "We're borrowing our little sister's pokemon while she's away, and although we hate losing we absolutely loathe seeing them get hurt needlessly even more."

Blanche bit the inside of her cheek, frowning deeply. The implication was clear, and she didn't like it.

"These guys are full of it," Candela said, her quiet voice brimming with contempt. "They're looking down on us."

"Indeed. She'll also benefit from the rain without having to summon it herself." Blanche watched Daisy carefully as the woman absently examined her nails. "They're fully confident that we have no chance, even with a free win."

"Let's wipe that smug look off her face."

"This will be a 2v1 battle. No switching is permitted."

"I really want to go home and take a long bubble bath, so we're going to end this quickly. Gyarados, come out!" Daisy tossed a pokeball over the edge of the diveboard, sat down and stretched. "Thanks to this incredible cave we can finally let our favorite monster rampage as it pleases without worrying about the gym collapsing."

"Do your best, Pidgeotto." Blanche threw a pokeball directly overhead, and looked over the gyarados carefully. She was somewhat familiar with this species, and though it was a formidable pokemon to be sure, this one was unremarkable aside from being large.

Even if it was overleveled, a 2 on 1 battle seemed a bit unfair.

"Looks tough. I'm counting on you, Delta." Candela called forth her favorite teammate with none of her usual confidence. "I've got this awful sinking feeling, Blanche. My stomach's in knots."

"That's the effect of Intimidate, to be sure. It's a bit cheap, but I have a strategy in mind."

As a massive Charizard appeared above them, unfurled her wings and snarled, Blanche recalled Candela mentioning that they hadn't been getting along ever since their run in with Team Rocket.

She desperately hoped that Delta was still following commands.

"The Gym Leader will strike first." The referee whistled, then followed the two women into a hole in the wall. It probably lead to the rest of the cave's basement, Blanche thought absently. "You may begin!"

"Gyarados, let's start off at full power. Mega-Evolve!" Daisy raised one fist to the air, and Blanche noticed the glowing bracelet around her wrist for the first time. "Then give us a Dragon Dance!"

Blanche paled as she watched its transformation, completely enraptured. The massive pokemon lost some of its length in exchange for considerably more bulk, traded its four white dorsal fins for one that was enormous in comparison, and replaced the yellow coloration on its belly for black, indicative of its new partial Dark typing.

Even in her home region of Kalos, she had never seen a Mega Evolution in person, much less faced one in battle. The serpentine pokemon screamed and began to fly in a large circle.

It's good that we switched to Flying types. If it attacks the water we could die.

"Delta, use Smokescreen!" Candela shouted, snapping Blanche out of her shock. Even in the rain, it looked like like she was beginning to sweat. "That was your plan, right?"

"Yes, although I definitely miscalculated. I didn't account for this possibility." Blanche bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly feeling unsure. Three turns of accuracy-reducing moves from both of us will be enough to ensure that it can't hit our pokemon. But that's no longer the issue. "Pidgeotto, use Sand Attack!"

"You're the first to attempt something this cheeky, and that's because it's a bad idea." Daisy's face had lost all suggestion of cheerfulness. "Most trainers aren't so reckless. You're needlessly putting your lives at risk."

"Our pokemon are in the same danger right now," Candela shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger at her. Blanche nodded in agreement, thinking back to that Starmie's stone-cutting Hydro Pump. "Enough with the lecture. If you think you can crush us so easily, go ahead and try!"

"Well, you kids signed the waiver, so I won't hold back." Daisy pointed down as the Mega Gyarados emerged from the smoke, screaming in rage. "How about another Dragon Dance? We'll make you forfeit."

The thick cloud of smoke began to whirl counter-clockwise, forming the shape of a tornado.

"Keep using Sand Attack, Pidgeotto!" Blanche felt her muscles stiffen, threatening to cramp. Her head felt like it might detach and float away at any moment, and she could feel injuries starting to flare up again. "Candela... we're in trouble."

"I know, fuck, I know!" Candela shouted, bobbing closer to the other trainer. She failed to give her charizard a new command, so it continued laying down a smokescreen. "We've got this, just lemme think for a sec."

"It's much too late to regret provoking me. Gyarados, you know what to do!" The blonde gym leader had a triumphant smile on her face, and Blanche felt her stomach lurch as a familiar figure silently landed behind her on the platform. "Give us one last Dragon Dance!"

"Gym Leader, behind you!"

A short struggle ensued. Daisy whirled around, then doubled over, moaning in pain. Stabbed, most likely. She stumbled backward, tightly clutching her stomach, and slipped off the edge without even screaming. Blanche blinked slowly, not quite convinced that she wasn't hallucinating.

"Hurry Delta, catch her!"

"Don't worry, I'll let you get right back to your little gym battle momentarily." The wine red overcoat, thigh high boots, tight skirt, and crop top may have been new, but the long white hair and wide smirk were unmistakable. "Good to see you, Blanche. Grow a spine yet?"

"You joined Team Rocket?" Blanche gaped in shock, her body trembling violently with a combination of fear, bubbling rage, and the beginnings of hypothermia. "You joined Team Rocket?"

"Yeah, and I'm actually conducting an experiment right now so we'll have to catch up later. I'm sure you of all people can understand that." Noire attached Daisy's Key Stone to some apparatus on her arm, and a high pitched hum reverberated throughout the chamber. A white light began to emerge from deep within the cloud of smoke. "Three Dragon Dances, huh? I suggest you make yourselves scarce, unless you want to die young and unfulfilled. 'Prepare for trouble,' and all that."

"Blanche, we need to move. Now."

"No, wait, I—"

Blanche didn't realize how fatal a mistake hesitating had been until the moment the beam of light emerged from the smokescreen. Where starmie's Hydro Pump had cut stone, this attack melted it outright. Candela shouted something that Blanche couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears, then tackled her, pulling both of them beneath the surface just before the beam reached them.

She was trying to tell me to take a breath, Blanche thought absently as they sank deeper into the freezing abyss. It was eerily quiet, and so cold that she couldn't feel anything but a vague suggestion of pain. Blanche watched the hazy flashes of light somewhere far above through half-lidded eyes, and she tried to turn her head so she could look for her partner.

A flash of red in her peripheral caught her attention, and she saw Candela. She was sinking rapidly, her face twisted into a silent scream. Blanche tried to will her arms to move, but her muscles didn't so much as twitch.

She took the worst of it, for sure. She's always saving me at her own expense

Her eyes closed against her will, and she found herself alone in the darkness, falling forever. It felt like she was hurtling through space, down and down and down. Drowning was always scary at first, but the sooner you accepted it, the less frightening and violent it would be. Once your lungs filled with water, your brain would pretend it was back in the safety of the womb.

Agony first. Then peace.

We're going to die because of me.

It felt just like falling asleep.

[i've been watching you]

The voice was like a shard of glass sliding down her back. Blanche opened her eyes, and while the water surrounding her was still pitch black, she no longer felt alone.

"Who's there? Am I dreaming? Are you god? Am I dead?"

[fear, passion, despair—flailing, screeching, so very loud]

"Candela's already..." Blanche glanced around frantically, staring into the emptiness. She had reached the limit of holding her breath without preparation and now her head felt like it was about to burst. "I have to save her! If you're god, then please..."

[what do you desire so desperately]

"I just want to help my friend."

[then show me more interesting things, human]

When Blanche's eyes opened again, they were a glowing, icy blue.