Author's note: Apologies if the battle scene is not very good. First time I ever wrote one of those. Language warning on this chapter, folks:
In spite of screaming children and raging mother, Gardevoir was finally able to drift into sleep. Granted, sleeping on the floor of the gatehouse was not as comfortable as lying in a bed next to Micah, but at this particular point in her life, any port in a storm would be desirable.
As slumber came over her, so did her dreams, and with those came back memories. She drifted through the clouds of her past, feeling like a Swellow soaring from a great height….
In the semi-light of the Dewford gym, a nervous sweat had overtaken Karl.
Standing before him was the Fighting-type leader Brawly.
Karl had managed to use his Taillow to knock out his adversary's Machop and weaken his Meditite before having to send Marshstomp out to both finish Meditite off and buy him some time to give Taillow a Potion to help him gain some of his strength back.
Except Meditite managed to outlast Marshstomp and knocked him out, forcing Karl to send his flying type out earlier than he had wanted. Fortunately, it only took two Pecks to defeat the rival Pokemon, but the battle still left the bird weaker than desired, and Brawly was now going to send out his best fighter, Makuhita.
I only hope Taillow holds out long enough to win, Karl thought. I really don't want to put Ralts in this kind of situation.
"Taillow, Peck!" he yelled, as the bird swooped down and struck the rotund Fighting-type with his beak.
"Bulk Up!" ordered Brawly, as Makuhita began to glow red, his muscles tensing as he did so.
"Peck again!" Karl called out, causing Taillow to strike Makuhita again. Brawly again ordered Bulk Up, and Makuhita obeyed, but it was clear that Peck was leaving its mark.
One more should do it, Karl thought excitedly, so he called for it once again, and once again the attack found its mark.
"Bulk Up one more time, Makuhita!" yelled Brawly, and Makuhita did so, but then the Pokemon suddenly tossed a berry in his mouth.
Sitrus Berry, Karl realized. SHIT.
The berry took immediate effect, restoring some of Makuhita's lost health.
"Taillow, don't fail me now," Karl muttered under his breath. Aloud, he called, "PECK!"
Taillow used Peck again, and again with success, but then Brawly dropped the bombshell on the bird.
"ARM THRUST!" he cried out, and with one violent motion, Makuhita's forearm collided with the bird, sending him flying into a nearby wall and knocking him out cold.
Well, this sucks. I don't have a choice now.
"Go for it, Ralts!" he yelled, sending her Pokeball flying as she gained release.
She craned her tiny neck as far as it would allow, saw Makuhita, and instantly her heart sank.
Of all the things for me to have to do, I have to beat this big one ALL BY MYSELF? she thought.
"Ralts, Confusion!" yelled Karl.
Steadying her nerves, Ralts used her Confusion attack, then looked up and was stunned.
"Vital Throw!" called Brawly, but Makuhita was in a state of confusion, and as he staggered around, he took a swing, spun in circles, and punched himself.
Now or never, thought Karl. "Confusion again!"
Ralts was again successful at using Confusion, which proved super-effective. Meantime, Brawly ordered for Vital Throw again, but again a confused Makuhita succeeded only in damaging himself.
"Confusion again, Ralts!"
"Ral!" she replied as she unleashed another wave of psychic fury on the fighter.
Brawly was on the verge of begging now. "Makuhita, Arm Thrust!"
Except once again Makuhita hurt himself in his confusion, and Karl suddenly thought, Holy shit, Ralts might just win this damn thing!
"One more Confusion, Ralts!" he yelled out, and this time, Ralts reached down within herself, and with whatever she could muster, let loose a wicked blast of Confusion. Makuhita staggered once, twice….
Then fell.
Brawly stared at the unconscious Pokemon for a while as the realization began to dawn on Ralts. I-I did it. I won. I WON!
She jumped up and down happily as the vanquished gym leader pulled a small box out of his pocket.
"Well, Karl," he said, "on this day you proved to be much too strong for me to bear. In recognition of-"
Suddenly, a strange feeling began to come over Ralts as she began to glow. W-What's happening to me?
The glow got brighter and brighter, and she felt a growing sensation as she heard the box fall from the hands of Brawly.
"She's evolving!" Karl cried out, grabbing the Pokedex out of his pocket as the glow finally subsided.
After recovering from the initial shock of the experience, she turned to Karl. "Kirlia?"
Wait. That didn't sound right, she thought. Let's try that again. "Kirlia?"
Surprised, she looked at herself. She no longer had that baggy gown or whatever that was around her. Instead, she saw a short skirt, with two spindly green legs emerging from the bottom.
Well, this is an improvement. I think.
Karl nearly dropped his Pokedex.
It was all a blur after that: Brawly finally presented Karl with the Knuckle Badge, and then Karl left the gym and walked to the Pokecenter, Kirlia walking alongside him. It was the first time since she had met him that he had let her remain outside her ball after a battle. It made her feel special.
After the Pokemon had all been healed, Karl and Kirlia walked to the beach. It was a strange, yet satisfyingly welcome, sensation for her: the sand beneath her feet, the wind blowing in her hair, the fresh smell of the water….
"You did us all proud today, Kirlia," said Karl.
Kirlia leaned her head on Karl's leg and smiled. Karl watched the waves move close to shore as he gently stroked her cheek….
She was pulled from her sleep by a gentle shaking sensation. Groggily, she opened her eyes and saw the guard crouching next to her.
"Sorry to wake you up, but we gotta clear the building for the day," he said.
Gardevoir sat up. "What time is it?"
"Ten o'clock," he replied.
Gardevoir was taken aback. "Y-you understand me?"
"Yeah, I get psychics coming through here all the time and they do telepathic stuff. Some of those guys, it's the only way they'll communicate. So I had to learn it myself."
Gardevoir stood, stretched, and picked up her bags.
"Where ya headed to, anyway?"
"Goldenrod City," she replied.
"Well, you're in luck then," he told her. "You can just go straight through Violet City and then keep going straight to Goldenrod."
"I thought I had to go through a cave and-"
"Naw, that's outdated information ya got. There used to be what we all thought was a tree blocking our path, but it turns out it was a Pokemon and somebody caught it. Now we can just keep going right through to Goldenrod."
"Thanks," Gardevoir said appreciatively as she walked away.
"Don't mention it," the guard replied. "Hey, good luck!"