Author's Note
Gym leaders deserve epic battles, so I did what I could to respect that in my own way. Apologies if that makes this chapter too long and battle-oriented.
Also, please let me know what you think of said battles so I know what to or not to do in the future.
All that said, please enjoy.
A month had gone by as Xanora remained in Violet City. Staying for so long, the young trainer had taken to helping around the Pokémon Center when she wasn't out training her Pokémon. It was the least she could do, since Joy was providing her with a bed and food. The center allowed for trainers to stay for free, sure, but the trainers didn't tend to stay any longer than a night or two. Sorting the supplies and helping to prepare meals was only a small help, but Joy insisted that even that was more than enough in payment to stay.
Just having finished breakfast, the young trainer was heading for the door to get more training done when Falkner walked in. The gym leader had been released from the hospital, finally, just a few days prior. Ever since, he had been trying to locate the bird Pokémon that used to be settled in in his aviary and trying to get the people of the city to tell him the truth of what was happening. Considering he hadn't been to the center just yet, Joy must be his last target for information.
Not yet half way to the door when the gym leader walked in, Xanora turned back toward the counter and called back, "Joy, Falkner's here to see you." The nurse was checking on a couple of injured Pokémon that had been brought in the day before by a pair of children. The kids in the city were back to battling Pokémon as well as playing with them, so injuries were back to being normal in the center.
"Oh?" The surprised voice that came in response was very low, Joy being down the hall and not raising her voice.
"Actually, I'm here for you." Falkner remained just inside the doors, not walking further into the center. Once he spoke, looking straight at the girl, he crossed his arms with a look of impatience. Or maybe it was irritation.
Stunned by that, Xanora stared for a moment before turning her attention back to the hallway. "Nevermind," she called back to the nurse who was just now coming down the hall. A bit anxious, she glanced down at her partner, who was standing at her side, completely calm, before once more looking to the blue-haired man. "What can I, uh... Do for you?" The trainer didn't really know what else to say, facing the either impatient or irritated gym leader.
"If you want my badge, you need to come to the gym and battle me." Seeing the trainer about to question him, he continued before she could get one word out. "I don't remember battling you, so as far as I'm concerned, I haven't yet. If you don't like it, go to a different gym in a different city." Yet again before she could speak, Falkner turned on his heel and headed out the doors.
Instead of only being anxious, the trainer was now confused. The gym leader actually came to the center just to tell her that he wanted a match. Or, a rematch, really. "Why..."
Giggling behind the counter, Joy shook her head. She had heard the exchange, her curiosity having her stay at the counter instead of continuing her checkups. The humor she saw was lost on the new trainer, so she attempted to explain the mans position to her. "The other day, while you were out training, Falkner came by with a young man carrying an injured pidgeotto. Apparently, the young man thought it was safe to travel again, so he headed toward Union Cave. He said that a flock of mareep relentlessly chased him down after hitting his bird with several Thundershocks. He claimed he only got away from them because they stopped chasing him, apparently confused, when he got closer to the city. Falkner was nearby and saw the mareep looking around as if they had just stepped out from a pitch black cave. When the two came here, Falkner asked me if it really was true about the Pokémon going crazy." The nurse shook her head then, releasing a small sigh. "It seems like only the Pokémon around here are back to normal." She spoke the sentence in a low tone, sadness creeping into her voice. She smiled in an obvious attempt to clear it away. "Anyway, when I answered him, he walked out in deep thought. He didn't seem to hear anything else as he left."
Xanora listened quietly as the nurse told her of the prior days' events. She finally had the chance to get her badge, but the news wasn't as great as it should have been. If only the Pokémon around Violet City were back to normal, that meant Pokémon from who knew how many other areas were still incredibly hostile to everyone. The thought had her looking down at her fanny pack, Klaudan and Akira's balls inside. She didn't know what she'd do if they suddenly turned on her when she left the city.
Her leg being pushed against brought the trainer out of her dark thoughts. Shard was leaning into her leg, staring up at her. The umbreon hadn't gone berserk when they left home. He'd been the same as always. That fact had her smiling down at him, lifting a hand to pat his head. "You're right, buddy. It'll be fine." Her mind put more at ease, she looked back to the nurse and grinned. "Guess this means I just have to go and have a rematch."
Smiling as well, Joy bobbed her head in a nod. "Good luck."
Walking out of the center, Xanora headed for the gym while talking to her umbreon. "If he's different from how he was that first time we battled, we better be careful. Got that, buddy? Keep a close eye on every move." She recalled just how aggressive the pidgeot was. It was easy to predict when all it wanted was to either knock out or kill the Pokémon that it went up against. The dodrio seemed confused right from the moment it got called out from its ball, so that opponent was decently easy to take down. If it wasn't confused this time, its trainer back to normal, it might prove to be a really tough challenge.
Coming up on the gym doors, the trainer paused in her step. The challenge was daunting the first time, yet she had to do it all over again. Glancing down to her umbreon, she was relieved to see that he was as calm as always. He wasn't overly alert, his fur standing on end, like that first time. If he was calm, she had no reason to worry.
Taking a deep breath for confidence, she smiled and stepped through the doors. "I'm here for my rematch."
Unlike the previous time the girl had entered the gym, the building was well lit. It was to be expected, entering the gym during the day instead of at night. Still, it gave the gym a much warmer, and less sinister, feel to it.
Standing at the opposite side of the gym was Falkner. He wasn't just some silent figure in the dark this time. Instead, he was kneeling down and stroking a hoothoot's head. He was showing care, something that he hadn't done previously. With her entrance, the gym leader stood and turned to her, leaning to one side. "I said we haven't battled before, so this isn't a rematch." Shaking his head, apparently thinking his challenger a bit dull, he stepped to the back wall, where there was an elevator. "The arena's up top, so come on."
No sneak attack. No surprise dive bomb from a pidgeot. Her smile turned to a grin as she watched the leader head to the wall. "Now this feels like a real gym challenge, huh, Shard?" The umbreon made a purring sort of sound from his throat in response. He seemed eager now, more than ready to take on the birds again. Only, this time, they'd have a real match instead of a death match.
Raising her voice for the gym leader to hear, Xanora called out, "Right, sorry, I forgot about that." A small chuckle escaped her as she walked over to him. Though she had already beaten him before, it suddenly didn't feel like she'd battled him at all. This was a different person with a whole different feel.
Once the elevator opened, the two with their Pokémon stepped inside. It was a short ride to the top floor, where the doors opened to reveal the roof of the building. They weren't going to be battling inside at all, but outside where birds had the advantage. Even still, there was a white-painted field marked for battles.
Falkner stepped out from the elevator and headed over to the far side of the roof where a smaller painted white rectangle attached to the larger one was, the marking for where a battler stood. A bit uneasy about battling on a rooftop, Xanora was slow in stepping into her own position.
"Challenger, please state your name." It was the referee that spoke this time. A young man that was standing off to the side of the marked battlefield, wearing a serious expression.
Not expecting to have to introduce herself, the girl stared rather blankly for a moment. Getting her thoughts together, she nodded. The nod was more to herself than the referee, but she'd be the only one who knew that. "My name's Xanora. I'm from New Bark Town."
The referee nodded once before turning his head to look straight across the field, looking at neither of the battlers. "The official Johto League battle between Xanora the challenger from New Bark Town and Falkner the Violet gym leader will now begin. At stake is the Zephyr badge. Each will use three Pokémon. Begin the match when ready." He spoke with his voice raised, the lines sounding entirely rehearsed.
Setting one hand on his hip in a cocksure stance, Falkner told his hoothoot to go. The owl flapped its wings and landed in front of its trainer, looking more than ready to take on the world itself.
Xanora looked down at her buddy and offered an apologetic smile. "Just hold tight, alright? I know you can do this, so I want to see if the others can, too." The umbreon remained silent, though he did sit and make himself comfortable. Nodding her thanks to the dark Pokémon, she fished one of the balls from her fanny pack and sent out one of her newer Pokémon. When the white light cleared, the gaseous purple ball that was her gastly was visible. "Let's do this, Akira!"
Seeing both battlers ready to go, the referee spoke once more. "Begin!" His declaration for the match to start was accentuated by a second young man beating a drum.
Akira, ever the prankster, stuck his tongue out before vanishing. His trainer just stared, her stomach sinking. "No no no, Akira, no! No hide-and-seek right now, this is a battle!"
"Your Pokémon aren't very obedient, are they?" Falkner's comment almost had Xanora hanging her head for even trying to use her ghost in a battle. Shard, however, growled in response. "Hoothoot, use foresight and tackle it down!"
The hoothoot spun in a slow circle, its eyes glowing red with a same-colored beam coming from them. Akira was revealed by the beam when the hoothoot turned fully around, but the bird never got the chance to tackle him. The second the ghost was revealed, literally a mere inch from the bird, he dragged his tongue up the birds body in a Lick attack. The hoothoot shivered as it was licked before falling prone.
While Falkner stood in disbelief, Xanora burst out laughing. She had honestly thought her ghost had decided that a battle wasn't worth his time or effort and had taken off. Seeing him actually manage to not only hit the owl, but paralyze it, too, well. She was laughing just from how much she couldn't believe it.
"Gastly is the winner!" The declaration came from the referee after several long moments. The entire time, Akira was floating around looking like he was having a blast.
Being glared at by the gym leader, the young trainer rubbed her cheek once her laughter died down. "Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you, really. I just didn't think he'd do that." She had to resist the laugh that was trying to escape her once more.
"Don't think that will happen again," the blue-haired gym leader remarked in a low tone as he recalled his hoothoot to its ball. Grabbing his second Pokeball, he called forth his next Pokémon. "Go!"
On the field, after the white flash, stood his dodrio. It looked a lot more determined this time, not even a hint of confusion in any of its six eyes. As she had suspected, this was not going to be an easy target for this rematch.
"Begin!" A drum beat followed the call from the referee.
"Akira, have some fun!" Xanora couldn't help it. If her ghost wanted to battle in a way that he had fun, then she'd just have to encourage it. So long as he actually did battle, anyway. Looking like he was laughing, the ghost vanished again. He planned to have plenty of fun with his game of ghost-hide-and-seek with these bird Pokémon.
Unfortunately for him, however, Falkner was having none of it. "Dodrio, use your Agility and Drill Peck!" Following its trainers orders, the three-headed, flightless bird began running around the field at top speed, the three beaks seeming to spin like drills.
For a while, the strategy seemed to be failing. But then the purple, gaseous ball of a Pokémon flew from the spot he suddenly appeared and skid across the field when he was struck by one of the beaks. He was out cold.
"Dodrio is the winner!"
Her face fallen, Xanora recalled the ghost to his ball. "You tried, at least," she said softly to the ball. It was Falkner that laughed this time, though his laugh was one of victory and not one of humor. Frowning, she glanced down at her umbreon. This bird was grounded, so Shard stood a better chance against it than he did a pidgeot with all of the sky to use as its field. "Your turn, buddy." She smirked once she spoke, knowing he had a great chance at winning. Unlike her poor ghost.
Shard stood and stepped into the field looking determined. It had been a long, long time since he had lost a battle. That said, it had been a long, long time since he had seen his trainer look crestfallen. Though it wasn't over his defeat, she had had one of her Pokémon defeated. He would claim victory where his new comrade couldn't and get her beaming with pride and joy again.
"Begin!" Another blow to the drum.
Two orders came at once; Falkner ordered for his dodrio to use Agility while Xanora called for a Quick Attack. Even determined to keep up, the umbreon simply wasn't as fast as the grounded bird. It was built for speed, more so than he was.
Knowing he had to trip the bird up somehow, he halted his vain attempts at tackling it and stood still, his rings and eyes emitting a blue glow. The move not being called out by his trainer, Falkner was slow to respond to the strategy. Dodrio, with its eyes all focused on its opponent, were hit with the Confuse Ray. His efforts were rewarded with his trainer grinning and saying, "good call, Shard!"
"Dodrio, you can do this! Tri Attack!" Falkner figured it was his best shot at getting rid of the umbreon, the attack needing all three heads to cooperate for it. They had practiced the attack time and again, so each head knew what position to take. It wasn't something they needed to think about, it had become habit. And just as he'd hoped, each head took their position and began charging the elemental energy.
"Quick Attack!" Xanora didn't even need to call the attack. Shard was already speeding toward the three-headed bird, zigzagging back and forth to throw off its aim. He didn't reach the bird before the attack was fired, but he had managed to avoid the attack by taking his zigzag approach. A loud crash echoed around when the ground received the elemental attack.
The smoke and dust blown up from the attack had the bird looking this way and that for its opponent, but none of the heads could spot the dark Pokémon. Shard had used the last bit of his dash to get behind the bird, out of its line of sight. One of the heads had the thought to look behind it, but it was too late. A glowing tail slammed hard into the birds body, forcing it to the ground as its legs buckled under the pressure. Knowing that wasn't enough to knock the bird out, the umbreon sped to the side before charging forward in another Quick Attack. This time, he sped right into each of the three heads one after the next, knocking the heads into each other as he rushed by.
Standing tall, proud, Shard stared at the unconscious bird. Each head was sure to be hurting when it woke up, not to mention the bruise on its body they were sure to have the joy of sharing the pain of.
"Umbreon is the winner!"
"Yes!" Xanora formed a fist and grinned, thrilled with how the battle had gone. Unlike the last time, her buddy had gotten through the fight without taking a single hit. Maybe the three-headed Pokémon was best in situations where it was confused instead of when it knew what orders to follow.
While Falkner was grumbling under his breath, the young trainer called her umbreon back to her side, ruffling his head and scratching behind his ears. "You did amazing! Gah, just wish I could think of things half as fast as you do." Giving a small laugh, she eyed the Pokémon. "You know, maybe you should be the one training Klaudan and Akira, and not me." Knowing she was both complimenting him as well as joking, the umbreon gave a chuckle-like purr.
Standing straight again, Shard once more by her side instead of in the field, Xanora grabbed her third ball and smirked. "Your turn, Klaudan. Show us the results of our training." Excited to see how well her owl could do, she sent him out onto the field.
On the other side of the field, Falkner had sent out his pidgeot. "You wont be winning this one. A hoothoot can never hope to outspeed my pidgeot." His expression was half annoyed and half proud. Likely annoyed to losing two of his Pokémon, but proud of just how great his pidgeot was.
Knowing just how much trouble the pidgeot could give, Xanora eyed it while telling her hoothoot to be careful.
"Begin!" Another bang of the drum.
Falkner wasted no time at all. The second the match was announced, he ordered, "Wing Attack!"
"Klaudan, fly up! Dodge it!"
The hoothoot was more than willing to dodge instead of face off against the pidgeot flying toward him. That bird was more than twice his size. It also moved with a precision that he had yet to achieve, which told him that this enemy was a veteran to battling. He knew flying up right away would mean remaining an easy target, however, so he waited. He'd gotten used to close calls by sparring against Shard, so he did have timing down, at the very least.
Just before the pidgeot rammed its wing into him, Klaudan launched himself into the air. He spun a bit from the force of the larger bird flying under him, throwing him off balance. He heard his trainer call out to him to use Peck, so he did what he could to fly after the much larger, much faster bird.
"Agility!" There was a laugh in Falkner's voice. He believed his pidgeot to be uncatchable.
Unfortunately, the five-foot bird was indeed proving to be faster than anything Xanora had seen before. It actually flew fast enough that it seemed to be disappearing and reappearing, like her ghost did, while it was using Agilty. The gym leader called for a Quick Attack and the large bird appeared behind Klaudan before zipping forward and slamming right into and past him, sending the hoothoot spiraling through the air.
The young trainer tried to think of a way to get around the opponents massive amount of speed, but she wasn't given much time at all to think. Falkner called for yet another Quick Attack. Without thinking, she called out, "Wing Attack, behind you!" Klaudan turned just as the pidgeot appeared behind him, but his wing attack was no match to the pidgeot's Quick Attack. He was once again sent spiraling through the air from the blow.
With Wing Attack not being strong enough to even get in the pidgeot's way for a single second, the only option was for Steel Wing. "Try to catch up!" The little hoothoot did his best to fly after the pidgeot, but it was obvious that he was being outsped. Yet again, the gym leader called for a Quick Attack. "Steel Wing this time!"
Turning around to catch the pidgeot behind him, Klaudan spread his wings and let the glow consume them. He had finally not only learned the move, but had gotten very good at it. Branches were hardly any sort of obstacle, so he was thrilled with the chance to see what his newest attack could do against another Pokémon.
The two birds collided in the air, both stuck in place for a moment, before the pidgeot won the test of strength and yet again blasted right by the hoothoot, sending the smaller bird tumbling down. He couldn't pull up from the dive this time, and so he crashed into the field. He wasn't feeling too great, being hit several times by that powerful bird. The worst part was that his new attack, with so much power, seemed to be useless.
"Klaudan!" Seeing her owl hit the rooftop hard, the girl was worried. He could take a hit, he'd proven that time and again. But he wasn't even trying to get back up, this time. That was what worried her the most. "Don't give up! Not after all of your training!"
Lying there, the words his trainer shouted annoyed him. He never gave up. Not unless a better course of action was presented to him. He'd spent most of a full day trying to learn how to make his tail feathers strong, after all, and only stopped when he was told that his wings could do the job that his tail feathers couldn't. He did learn the new move, too. It took a couple of weeks, but he'd learned it.
Irritated over his own thoughts, the hoothoot lifted himself to his feet. Spreading his wings outs, he eyed them each in turn. He then eyed the pidgeot circling in the sky up above. They both had wings. Both of them could fly. But his wings were stronger. They had to be. Beating his wings to once more take to the sky, he chased after the pidgeot.
"Jeez, don't you know when to give up? Your hoothoot can't win. Not against my pidgeot."
Falkner was smirking a bit as he spoke, which earned him a glare from the girl. "Never underestimate someones determination." She'd seen just how hard her owl trained. He pushed himself harder than any Pokémon she'd seen before. Someone looking down on that work was not something she'd stand for. Looking up to the two birds, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted up, "Remember how hard you worked! You can do it!"
His wings glowing, Klaudan flew after the pidgeot. All he needed was one solid hit on that larger bird. Just one. With how strong his wings had become, he knew he could win if he could just land one solid hit. The pidgeot's trainer called for the same move again, so he turned and crashed into it yet again, Steel Wing against Quick Attack. Yet again, the pidgeot overpowered him. The larger bird was just too much bigger than him.
Spiraling downward yet again, the hoothoot forced himself to straightened out and fly back up. He had to catch up. He would catch up. With single-minded determination to land a Steel Wing on the larger bird, he flew as quickly as he could push himself to.
Even from the ground, the little hoothoot's determination to keep going was obvious. Not just because his wings were glowing, but because his entire body had begun to glow. He was evolving. Once the glow faded, a noctowl was where the hoothoot once was. The small, hardworking wings had become long, strong and graceful wings.
Stunned with a Pokémon evolving during his battle, Falkner called for his pidgeot to make another Quick Attack. He became even more stunned with what happened after.
The pidgeot again got behind the other, no longer smaller, bird. However, it then froze where it was, unable to move. There was a faint blue aura around the bird as it sat perfectly still in the air, not moving forward nor dropping. Klaudan was watching it unblinkingly, keeping it locked in place with his Confusion. He then flew forward with newfound speed, his wings glowing in yet another Steel Wing. The psychic attack holding pidgeot in place faded, but not in enough time for the bird to dodge the incoming Steel Wing.
A solid blow finally landing, the pidgeot began falling, all of its air knocked out of it. Klaudan flew after it, ready to strike again if it pulled up from the dive. When the opponent crashed into the ground, Klaudan beat his wings to land easily. The pidgeot was knocked out from the fall.
Everyone stared in shocked disbelief at the two birds on the field. Even the referee took several moments before he announced the winner of the match.
Shard pushing against her leg was what snapped Xanora out of her stunned silence. She ran forward and hugged the bird that was now just the tiniest bit taller than her. "You did it! Klaudan, you did it!" Beaming about the victory, and even more about her owl evolving, she backed up a step to get a good look at him. "And look at you! You evolved!" Taking a good look at his spread wings, which had spread out when she hugged him so unexpectedly, she laughed. "Your wings are going to be insanely strong, now! Just look at you!"
The Noctowl was confused at first, but then looking down at himself, hooted at his trainer with his own small bit of joy. Mainly pride, since evolving meant he could still get even stronger. The wings he had grown proud of had grown so much larger, and so much more dependable. Looking to the unconscious pidgeot, he puffed his chest out. His wings could take down anything now, he felt like.
"I can't believe I lost..." Falkner recalled his pidgeot, shaking his head. Stepping up to his challenger, he offered a lopsided smile. "Guess I was wrong, your hoothoot had potential after all." After a moment, he pulled something from his pocket and held his hand out. "You've earned it. This is the Zephyr badge."
Giddy over her Klaudan evolving, Xanora took the badge with a huge smile. "Thanks. But I think Klaudan earned it more than I did."
The gym leader laughed at the comment, seeing the noctowl with its chest puffed out with pride. He then lost the humor, eying both the Pokémon and its trainer. "If you plan to go to other gyms, you better be careful. Your noctowl is strong, sure, but there are stronger Pokémon out there."
Her laughter died as she considered Falkner's words. Wild Pokémon weren't anything too bad when they were alone, but from what she'd heard from Joy about what had happened the other day... She shook her head. "I know. I'll be careful."
Parting ways, and leaving the gym, Xanora headed to the Pokémon Center. Her Pokémon, Akira especially, needed a good rest. She'd let them relax for the rest of the day and night, then be on her way in the morning. She may have gotten a badge, but that didn't stop wild Pokémon from being more than willing to attack them. If she had to deal with an entire herd of aggressive mareep, she'd need to be rested enough to think of an escape plan.