A/N: Welcome back! In this installment, we meet up with our protagonist chronologically following from the last chapter (it is the next day). As a reviewer commented on this chapter, I haven't forgotten about dear, dear, Dragonair! We're slowly moving up to that day, but taking some time out for backstory. I promise that we'll return to the present timeline very soon. Please enjoy.
"D'you want to battle?" the boy asks me. He's wearing a blue cap backwards, white cargo shorts, and a simple sky blue t-shirt, with two pokéballs at his belt.
"Sounds good to me," I agree. I know I'm at a disadvantage right from the start, since he has been watching me play and train with my crew. Of course, Piious hasn't been out since it's been too cold. I glance at my watch on my PokéNav, which tells me that it's 11:43 in the morning. Piious would be a surprise, and an effective one at that.
"Two each, one on one battle style," he says abruptly, crossing past me to increase the distance between us. I nod, calling my team over to me. Spee knows what's going on and shakes her head as she slowly walks towards me. She lays down in the grass near me, ever faithful, but she does not feel the urge to fight.
Syzzyrgy peeks out from the nearby lake. I wave him away, smiling, and he continues practicing his water moves as he swims about happily. I don't need Syzz for this, mostly because he needs some time to himself to swim and partly because he is at a disadvantage being able to only fight in the water.
That leaves me with Swiff and T'len. T'len flies about, keeping an eye on me, ever eager to be called upon for his services. Swiff looks nervous, anxiously tapping at the ground with her front right hoof, but nonetheless would do the job for me if I so choose. Biting my lip, I send T'len away again.
"Try and see how long you can stay airborne without having to rest. Don't push too hard, though," I warn T'len. He nods, rising from his stationary position in the air (flapping his wings constantly, of course, to stay awing) and soaring away. I cross the few steps to Swiff, patting her mane soothingly.
"Whether you lose or win matters nothing to me. Remember my number one rule, Swiff: always have fun," I remind her. She neighs softly and tosses her head back, trotting in front of me and taking her place in the makeshift arena.
"A Ponyta? Very well, then. Let's go, Dugtrio!" the boy commands, flinging a pokéball and releasing his choice. I am not happy about that; as the challenger, he does get to pick second, and he chose extremely wisely. Dugtrio is wicked fast, extremely strong, and its attacks are extremely damaging to fire types like Swiff. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, and I hope I can catch him off-guard. One solid hit will down that Dugtrio in no time, I'm sure. They are not known for their defense.
"The first move is yours," I acquiesce, and he immediately launches it.
"Dugtrio, Dig underground!"
Swiff stands there, confused and worried as her opponent vanishes underneath her. I am confident that she will know what to do when the time comes.
"Now!" he yells, not waiting long. I recognize that this is his style; attack, as quickly as possible, to gain the most advantages as he can. It's a demoralizing strategy. It should work on most trainers.
Dugtrio reappears right underneath Swiff, impaling her in the middle. She goes flying, lands hard on the ground, but gets to her feet. He wastes no time, seeing as I have called no moves and do not intend to; I let my pokémon fight with their own strength, coaching only occasionally from afar. They know what they are doing, what's best for them. I should not need to interfere.
"Tri Attack!" he yells. Dugtrio prepares the move as Swiff gets her bearings. It launches, recoiling Dugtrio a few inches; it's a strong one, indeed. The triangle spins faster and faster as it nears Spiff. I don't lose my confidence in her, knowing what she must do.
She does it. I let out a cheer as Swiff springs into the air, dodging the attack (it fizzles into a nearby rock) and readying her own countermove. The boy fails to see it until it's almost too late.
"Dugtrio, Dig!" he screams again, and a panicked Dugtrio just manages to get underground before the massive Bounce move connects with the spot where it had just been. Luckily, Ponyta's behind is bigger than the hole so she does not fall into it. She bounces out of it, the impact causing her momentum to carry her a few more inches, and she gets to her feet, immediately pointing her head at the ground and beginning a Fire Spin attack.
I smile from my position. The trainer is frustrated that I'm not calling my attacks, not giving him any clues as to what I'm going to do next, but he says nothing. Good focus, I note.
"Now!" he shouts. Dugtrio again rises from the ground, but this time, as it connects, it meets the massive ring of fire that Swiff has created. She takes another powerful blow, but the Fire Spin does its job, trapping Dugtrio. It can't Dig out of the fire; she's got it in perfect position for a Bounce to win.
Instead, as Swiff gets to her feet, the trainer calls a smart move.
"Mud Slap!" he yells, and Dugtrio spins rapidly, firing mud in all directions. The fire is doused, but it takes a bit more time than he wants; Swiff has already launched her Sunny Day move as the sun moves closer and closer into high noon position. I hope she can finish soon so I can recall her and let Piious do his thing, but I let Swiff do what she needs.
"Let's end this! Tri Attack!" the trainer commands. Dugtrio revs up, but Swiff is having none of it. Rearing up into the air, she slams the ground with a feinted attempt at an Earthquake (which she can't learn) while firing a successful Flame Wheel---she managed to get the hang of it yesterday at Dugtrio to counter the move. Indeed, the powerful fire meets the Tri Attack in midair and easily overwhelms it thanks to Sunny Day. It blazes Dugtrio, who recoils in pain.
"Dugtrio, Sand Tomb!" the boy tries, but Swiff is already moving to end this one; as soon as her Flame Wheel finished, she launched into the air again, preparing another Bounce. This time, she hits her mark just as Dugtrio looks up to see Swiff crashing down on it. Swiff bounces away from it, her flames glowing brightly as Dugtrio wearily collapses.
"Dugtrio, return!" the boy sulkily says, recalling the speedster and immediately sending out his second choice.
"Go, Mr. Mime!" the call comes, and out pops the psychic. Spee stirs, her mind feeling the new mental presence; I notice nothing odd in my own mind, but then again my...well...whatever it is...isn't really that active. More passive, really.
"Spiff, thank you. Please rest," I direct. Swiff nods, trotting over near the lake and lying down. I pull out my last pokéball to surprise the boy.
"Piious, if you would," I ask, setting the ball on the ground gently. It plops open and the huge Piious appears, yawning. The leaves on her back that stimulate his flight lift as he realizes the time of day. Then, seeing the opponent across from him, he readies his fighting stance.
"Your move," I acknowledge, and the boy again wastes no time.
"Light Screen, Reflect, Meditate, then into Psychic!" the boy rifles. He's in a hurry to get to the attack move, but recognizes the need for defense, especially considering that I still have Swiff to call upon if Piious doesn't get the job done.
I stand back and watch as Piious seemingly lets Mr. Mime go about its work. I know better; his Chlorophyll ability will speed him to amazing proportions for his size, and since Swiff has enhanced the sun with her Sunny Day, it's going to be even more blisteringly effective than usual.
"All fortresses have cracks," I remind Piious. He nods and takes to the air, taking my cryptic hint. As Mr. Mime finishes the walls and begins his meditation, Piious prepares a Razor Wind attack.
"Now, Mr. Mime!" yells the boy, and Mr. Mime's eyes spring open, hands glowing in that eerie, prismatic light. Unfortunately, Mr. Mime's mind can't keep up with Piious, who now zips around it at maximum speed, a blur in midair. Mr. Mime can't find a single moment to exploit Piious so it can mentally grab on, and Piious knows it.
Completing his version of Razor Wind, Piious breaks the circle and ascends. Mr. Mime takes the bait and grabs him mentally with Psychic. The momentary break in movement causes the Razor Wind, which moved up with Piious, to fall down, right onto Mr. Mime's unguarded head. The terrible wind fills up the space, some of it escaping through the top, but not before ravaging Mr. Mime.
I flinch as Mr. Mime swirls about, tosses around into its own walls, and also keep an eye on Piious, who took a tough hit but is back on his feet again.
Finally, the wind stops, and Mr. Mime is on the ground, clearly winded. He manages one final squeak of his name before collapsing fully. The frustrated trainer recalls him and stalks away, giving no compliments.
"Well done," I say loudly, meaning it for Piious but for the boy as well. He will learn, as he gets older (although who am I to be giving sage wisdom at my age?), to respect his losses as much as his victories.