Part 2, Chapter 8: Ticket to Ride
Outside of the center of Panicium Town, a patient trainer sat in the thick forest on a warm, sunny day. Adjusting his green glasses, Gabriel watched a horde of around fifteen identical Pokémon carrying berries and honey, flying down to ground level, and dropping them off in a scattered pile in a small clearing through the trees.
Gabriel opened his Trainer Tech and made notes on the types of quantity and food they brought. "A very impressive haul. That's higher than yesterday evening's count," he said aloud.
Paying him no mind, the horde took flight again and flew west as one of them flew up to Gabriel's side. It was a tall, bee-like Pokémon with two long, conical stingers.
Gabriel petted the Pokémon between its two antennae. "Glad you're getting along with them, Beedrill." He then turned to a Pokémon flying above his other shoulder: a tiny bug with a pale-yellow body, comparatively large wings, and large eyes with pixel-like spots. "Now, Cutiefly, do you think you can sense what direction would have higher food growth, like houses bordering the forest? They should have places like gardens, food-bearing trees, and discarded waste."
Cutiefly nodded and flew off in a similar direction where the horde of Beedrill flew off to. Gabriel noted that the two Pokémon must sense something similar. "Alright, let's check it out," he nodded to his own Beedrill.
He walked for a little while before reaching an unceremonious end in the forest. There, he noticed highly landscaped grass in a hooked pattern, as if the field was artificially carved out of the woods. He noticed more peculiarities. "It's as if the fields are in an uneven oval shape."
He then heard a loud thwack that echoed in his general direction. "Wait, was that the sound of a golf club?" he said as he looked up to see a white golf ball whizzing toward him and Beedrill.
Earlier in the morning, an eager Julia finished packing up her bag before walking out to her living room at home.
"Really? The golf course? I thought you weren't that interested in golf," Steve asked his daughter.
"Well, Kanu made a good point. Golfers may drive wild Pokémon in the forests surrounding the course, so it may be a denser population of Pokémon to catch and train against."
Her mother, Cassandra clapped her hands together. "That's a good idea. So, are you meeting them there?"
Julia slipped on her brown sandals. "Yep. They're probably already there, so I should head out now."
Steve held his hand in a stopping motion, resigning himself to his true feelings. "Wait. Before you go, are you sure your friends are acting in your best interest? Training next to them reveals all your team secrets and strategies."
Julia sighed and dropped her guard. "Dad, without them, I wouldn't have anything to begin with. Can I just hang out with my fellow trainers?"
Steve paused for a moment. "Alright, I trust your judgment."
"Thanks, I have to go. Love you guys!" she said in earnest as she opened the front door.
"Love you too, honey. Be careful not to get hit by any golf balls!" her mother called back.
Julia closed the door behind her as she ran toward the back edge of town, weaving through her neighborhood houses as she contemplated her dad's words. Sorry, dad. I get where you're coming from, but revealing my Pokémon strategies doesn't mean anything to me. She reached the Pancium Golf Course pro shop as Kanu, Alexis, and Ivan waved to her approaching. She was momentarily overwhelmed by the show of emotion and reassured her feelings to herself. All I care about is the time I spend with my friends.
"What do you mean we have to golf?" was the next thing she said inside the wooden furbished pro shop, full of various golf clubs, balls, tees, and gloves for sale.
The clerk addressed the four teenagers. "Sorry, folks, but this here is private property. I've never had any issues with trainers battling in the forest rough, but I ask they pay for at least nine holes. We have rental clubs if you need 'em."
Ivan folded his arms. "Makes sense. We shouldn't appear like we're invading your property. Too bad I don't know how to golf."
Kanu leaned over the counter, tired of standing still. "Neither do I. Couldn't we just pay the cost and roam the forest?"
Alexis turned to them, disappointed in their responses. "Where is your guys' sense of exploration?" She turned back to the clerk and pulled out her Trainer ID card and a stack of Poké from Kanu's bag, totaling around 12,000. "We'll do nine holes with two carts. I'll pick up my clubs from storage."
The clerk smiled at her, knowing her familiar payment. "Of course, Alexis. Trying to get another sub-85 round before we explore the rest of Sigma?"
"You know it," she smugly admitted.
The clerk walked to a back room with lots of golf club bags neatly organized, as Kanu stared at Alexis, peeved at the loss of a good chunk of their money, while Julia looked at her in curiosity. "Wait, you golf regularly?"
"Dad and I would go at least once a month since the town is relatively easy to commute to from Haldun City."
"I'm all in," Ivan declared as he slammed his hand on the counter, interpreting her words as a challenge.
After loading up Alexis' custom red and maroon golf bag and the other three rental clubs, Kanu drove Ivan in one cart while Alexis drove Julia in another cart.
Having some privacy between the two boys, Kanu side glanced at Ivan, careful to keep his eyes on the cart path. "You have no clue what you're doing, do you?"
"Absolutely not," he bluntly admitted. "But all I need to do is hit a ball into a hole, right? How hard could it be?"
In the other cart, it was Julia who initiated the conversation. "So, do you like this course? I haven't golfed since I left Panas City."
"It's pretty good for a public course. Some of the dog legs deep in the forest on the front nine give me trouble, but it's well maintained," Alexis responded as Julia nodded, trying hard to remember all the golf lingo to talk to her more.
The two carts soon parked at the first hole, a short, straight Par 4. Alexis walked up to the red tee box, soaking in the open fairway and the flying bird Pokémon in front of her. "Since you all have little experience, we'll do the red tees today."
Kanu stepped up to the tee box with a ball, tee, and long driver. He put the tee on the ground and placed the ball on top, then stood up in preparation for his swing. "So, you put the ball on the tee and hit it with the driver? Do you just pull it back and hit it forward?"
He stepped back and took a practice swing, finding the sensation somewhat odd to pull the club back above his head, then downswing using the driver's momentum.
"Right. It's all in the weight distribution," Alexis confirmed Kanu's observations.
"Got it."
Kanu took a few steps forward, lined up his driver with the ball, and completed a full back and downswing, hitting the ball with a loud 'thwack.' The ball sliced to the right but just barely landed in play on the rough grass.
"Well, I hit it. Not accurately, but I hit it," Kanu declared, unsure whether to be proud or disappointed in himself.
Julia stood up from sitting in the golf cart as Kanu picked up his tee and walked back to his cart. "My turn. I'm fairly accurate, but I get no distance."
"I believe in you, Julia!" Alexis cheered her on.
Julia hit her ball with a tad less power than Kanu. The ball landed on the tail end of the fresh fairway grass, hit straight and accurately but less distance than Kanu's ball, exactly as Julia had predicted. "That was on the fairway, right?"
Alexis confirmed. "Yep! You've left yourself a good lie."
Ivan crossed his arms as Alexis walked up to the tee and high-fived Julia as she walked off the tee. "Alright, miss expert, why don't you show us what you're made of?" the sword wielder eagerly awaited.
Alexis stuck her tongue out. "With pleasure."
With an elegant backswing and strong hip movement on the downswing, Alexis hit the ball strongly, snapping the tee in half as the ball landed far down the fairway, slightly left from center. She picked up her tee before tapping Ivan's shoulder as he walked up to the box. "Beat that," she smiled.
"Fine." Ivan planted the ball in the grass and took a few steps behind the ball, preparing his shot.
"Um, you're supposed to start with your face over the ball," Alexis noted, surprised at his decision.
"You stay in your lane, princess," he snapped back. He took a very high backswing and quick downswing but completely whiffed on the ball.
"Told you," Alexis said after letting out a hearty chuckle.
Ivan briefly stared at her before turning back to the ball. An idea cooking in his head, he started running toward the ball, swinging as he ran. Once the ball was contacted, it flew an absurd distance even exceeding Alexis' ball, landing very close to the green.
"I like this game," Ivan said, twirling his driver as the others stared at him.
Kanu and Julia slow-clapped for him in awe, while Alexis stared at him, dumbfounded. "But…but…you're supposed to have a mixture of poise, grace, and power! You can't get a running start and just hit it really hard!"
"If it gets me to win faster, I'll do what it takes."
As the four began to drive up and hit their balls, Alexis long-chipped her ball onto the edge of the green in her second shot and sank the ball in two putts. "Hah. Par. Beat that," she turned to Ivan, only about 30 yards behind her as he prepared his second shot.
"No problem." Using his pitching wedge, he chipped the ball with another running start, but this time, the power worked against him as the ball flew completely over the green. He awkwardly ran over to it as Alexis watched him. "I said, it's-" he chipped to the other side of the green where he previously was, "no-" he then followed with a long putt with his putter, "problem." He finished his sentence as he made a short putt for bogey.
Alexis walked up to him, her left hand on her hip as she held her putter in her right hand. "Not so good on the short game, are you?"
Unphazed, Ivan walked up to Alexis and waved his arm at his head over hers, noting the five-inch difference in height. "No, I quite enjoy not being short."
"Are you implying something?" she seared.
Kanu and Julia watched their bickering at Kanu's golf cart as he wrote down scores on a scorecard.
"Should I be concerned about this?" Julia turned to Kanu.
"No. Consider this…a friendly rivalry. Don't worry; they'll tire themselves out eventually. Then you and I can focus on these Pokémon battles," he responded as Julia smiled.
A few holes later, Kanu and Ivan parked at Hole 4 as he tallied up the scores. "So, after three holes, Alexis is 2 over par, Ivan is 3 over, Julia is 6 over, and I'm…10 over."
Ivan budged him. "Hey, those running starts may do you good."
"Please don't listen to him," Alexis called out behind them as the four got out of their carts.
Julia looked over a left dogleg Par 5 but noted a peculiar sight almost immediately. "Hey, are those golfers in front of us?" She noted two golfers standing on the right side of the rough.
Kanu saw them as well. "I guess so. We should let them finish the hole."
However, Ivan noticed another person and Pokémon on the ground next to the golfers. "No. They're tending to someone. Are they injured?"
"What? We have to help!" Alexis shouted as she ran down the hill toward the golfers as the other three followed her. Keeping pace with the hotheaded girl, Julia called out to the golfers as they approached.
"Excuse me! Is he alright?"
Two golfers turned to Julia as the four teens noticed a young trainer with a honey blond quaff and a Beedrill with bandages on its head and a Potion being used.
"Yeah, he's alright. His Beedrill just got a ding on the head," the male golfer with a red shirt and beige golf shorts said.
"I guess Beedrill and I disrupted the flow of play. Sorry about that," the young man apologized.
Kanu arrived at the scene and noticed the young trainer's familiar green pants and glasses. "Gabriel?"
"Kanu? I didn't know you golfed," Gabriel smiled, happy to see him again.
"I don't, I just know someone who does. By the way, this is Ivan and Julia," he motioned to the two of them.
"Hello!" Julia waved while Ivan merely nodded.
"Nice to meet you both. Yeah, we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately, Paul and Karrie had a first aid kit in their cart."
Paul finished using his Potion on Beedrill and placed the item in his pocket to dispose of later. "Sorry again. Can I get you anything to apologize for my bad shot?"
"No need. I'm just fascinated by the sheer odds of getting hit. I should go back to the Pokémon Center and heal up Beedrill." He stood up and recalled Beedrill in his Poké Ball.
Karrie, the female golfer with blonde hair and a white golf dress, spoke up. "Okay if you think you can get back on your own, safe travels."
Gabriel turned to leave to walk back to the golf club to find the nearest Pokémon Center. "Thanks." However, he stopped when he remembered something and looked back at his acquaintance. "Oh, one more thing, Kanu, I was studying a wild horde of Beedrill that fled after my Beedrill was hit. I'm worried that they feel threatened by one of their kind being hit."
Kanu was puzzled by the conundrum but saw an opportunity. "Should we head into the forest and lure their attention from the course in case they decide to retaliate?"
"That's not a bad idea," Paul believed.
"I appreciate it. Good luck to you then," Gabriel departed as the six trainers investigated the forest bordering the golf course.
The six of them navigated the thick forest, stepping over untamed ferns and branches as they weaved between thickets of trees. As they did, an eerie quiet descended around them. "Man, this is thick. How are we supposed to battle them in these conditions?" Alexis asked, surprised to hear her voice so clearly.
"We use it to our advantage. Pikipek and Farfetch'd!" Paul said as threw out two Poké Balls, revealing his two Pokémon. Pikipek was a bird Pokémon with black and white plumage and a red stripe on its head leading down to a large pecker. It flew up and pecked furiously at a tree. Meanwhile, Farfetch'd, a flying Pokémon that resembled a brown duck, picked up a plant stalk from the ground near the tree that Pikipek was pecking, wielding it like a weapon.
"Very resourceful," Ivan applauded.
"Guess I'll join in. Taillow and Slakoth!" Karrie also threw out two Poké Balls.
Taillow, another bird Pokémon with dark blue feathers and a white underside, flew around at its leisure while Slakoth, a brown sloth-like Pokémon with coarse, shaggy fur, lay on the ground and ate three leaves off the ground. It then started feeling drowsy. "Slakoth, you're not supposed to eat your three leaves now! You'll fall asleep again!"
It was to no avail. Once Slakoth falls asleep, Taillow began to wail loudly in hunger. "Taillow, I know you're hungry, but-"
Unexpectedly, Taillow's wails broke the quiet of the forest too well as a large horde of Beedrill appeared and surrounded them from all sides.
"I guess they did regroup," Kanu looked around as the others prepared to fight with their Pokémon.
Ivan stood at Kanu's back and sent out Honedge, ready to fight together. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but you and Alexis might come in handy right now."
Alexis overheard his comment. "You could stand to mention that more. Kanu, you ready?"
Kanu nodded as the two of them prepared to send out their fire Pokémon. However, among the six trainers, only one refused to take out any Pokémon despite the horde surrounding them. Stuck between the prospect of battle experience and disturbing the defensive wildlife, she walked forward to address the Beedrill.
"Please stop!" Julia cried out.
Seeing all Beedrill's attention on her, Kanu cried out. "Julia, get your Pokémon out!"
Instead of listening to him, Julia got on her knees and placed the back of her hands on the ground in a submissive pose. "What happened to Gabriel's Beedrill was an accident. We have no reason to hurt any of you and let us prove it to you."
She fished her Poké Balls out of her pockets and dropped them on the ground, unopened. Kanu noticed her plan and did the same, as the others slowly followed, Ivan the last of them. One of the Beedrill came down to Julia's level and she slowly petted it between its antennae. "You guys are cuter than your appearance suggests," she smiled warmly.
The Beedrill flew back up to the height of the horde, appeared to make a few motions with its arms, and the flying Pokémon departed.
"Wow. How did you do that?" Alexis asked in awe.
Julia stood up to address the other trainers. "It didn't seem like Gabriel wanted conflict with the Beedrill, so the least we could do was try to avoid it."
"No, I meant that seemed to come so naturally to you."
Julia blushed slightly and played with her bangs. "Well, my dad always said my charisma was one of my best talents, even if I didn't always believe him."
"Well, that was very impressive either way. Good job, Julia," Kanu clapped for her as the others joined in.
"Julia's drinks at the pro shop are on me!" Alexis declared while Julia was highly appreciative of the positive affirmation.
A short while later, on an outdoor deck behind the pro shop overlooking a small pond, the six trainers sat around a table, all with various drinks in glasses.
Kanu raised a toast. "Cheers to Julia for a successful pacification!" he said as they all clinked their glasses together. "Cheers!"
As they continued their casual conversation, Ivan turned to Paul and Karrie. "So, you guys are expert golfers?"
Paul spoke up. "I'd consider us trainers first, golfers second. But yes, we're prominent figures in the Panicium Golf Leagues."
Alexis joined in. "I guess I could use a golf lesson or two from you guys. Ivan here could use five about how to properly chip and putt a ball."
"And Julia and I could use ten in general. Right?" Kanu turned to the shy trainer. However, she began to seriously ponder something for a moment, scaring Kanu into thinking he asked something wrong.
"I'd like to request an opportunity for battle experience instead," Julia turned to the two golfers.
"You want to battle us?" Karrie asked.
"Very much so. Kanu, Alexis, and Ivan have all been helping me improve my battling skills, but I need more practice."
Paul nodded and took a sip of his green tea as Karrie continued. "Sure, we could do a Double Battle. But who would your partner be?"
Alexis raised her hand excitedly. "Ooh, ooh, pick me!"
Ivan raised his glass of water. "If you were smart, you would pick the superior trainer."
Julia started to feel conflicted by the two offers, excited about the opportunity to battle alongside both. "Oh, well-"
Paul turned to Ivan. "Then how about Ivan? Your sword-like Pokémon intrigued me."
Kanu smiled at Paul's choice, but for a different reason. "I think you may come to regret that."
"Yes, because he's missing a challenge from the REAL superior trainer," Alexis retorted, the salt palpable in her voice.
Julia smiled at Alexis, happy with these conditions. "Next time I need a partner, I'll choose you, Alexis."
She huffed but couldn't be mad at the cute girl. "I expect you to keep to that," she resigned.
The four walked to a dirt-grated battlefield next to the pond behind the pro shop as Kanu and Alexis moved their chairs to the edge of the decks to watch their friends.
"Do you have any read on their teams?" Alexis turned to Kanu.
"Based on what we saw, Normal and Flying types. It puts Ivan somewhat at a disadvantage, but Julia should be able to play support."
On the battlefield, Julia began to fidget with one of her Poké Balls, nervous as she turned to Ivan, who was casually swinging Honedge around in practice. "Sorry that I don't have any Double Battle experience. I'll do my best," she told him.
Ivan continued swinging the sword Pokémon. "Don't think about it too hard. Just focus on your strategies and deal as much damage as you can."
Paul finished some opening arm stretches as Karrie finished scrolling through some items on her Battle Interface. "Let's get started, then," he announced, eager to see the two young trainers in action.
The four activated their Trainer Techs as Ivan recalled sheathed Honedge, while Julia remained meek after her previous loss to Vincent and her lack of Double Battle experience. "Battle!" the four declared.
"Let's go, Seedot!" Ivan shouted.
"Go, Magikarp!" Julia followed.
"You're on the tee, Pidgey!" Paul responded.
"You as well, Slakoth!" Karrie added.
As the four sent out their Pokémon, the familiar Seedot and Magikarp jumped around full of energy, while Slakoth remained lazy next to an unfamiliar partner to the two Master Trial Trainers. Pidgey, a plump-bodied bird Pokémon with a cream-colored face and brown feathers, took flight and flapped its wings heartily around the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ivan looked at Julia's choice and smiled. Good. That means they'll focus on me as the only threat on the field, he thought.
Julia took out another Poké Ball from her pocket before calling in an attack. I hope Kanu is right about my strategy. She held out the Poké Ball and pointed at Magikarp. "I recall Magikarp and send out Marill!" In a flash, her flopping fish Pokémon was replaced with the newly evolved blue mouse Pokémon.
Ivan took notice, pleased with her decision. "Use Bide!" He turned to Seedot.
"Use Gust on Seedot!" Paul yelled out to the flying Pidgey.
"And you use Yawn on Seedot!" Karrie commanded more modestly to the lazy Pokémon.
Seedot began to focus and bide her energy as Marill instantaneously noted the flying Pidgey whipping out a gust of wind at Seedot with its wings, sending the acorn Pokémon flying about the battlefield wildly before hitting the ground. Afterward, Slakoth let out a loud yawn, causing Seedot to mimic the contagious yawn and feel drowsy. Tired and half-drained of strength, Seedot drank her equipped berry juice, restoring herself to full health, albeit feeling sleepy.
Ivan was pleased with the result. "Sorry, but Seedot's Berry Juice will negate the damage. And Bide can still charge Seedot with the damage you initially dealt me."
"Clever, but Seedot is looking drowsy," Karrie smiled before stretching her arms. "Luckily for you, Slakoth's Truant ability prevents it from attacking this turn," she pointed to Slakoth seemingly absent from the battlefield and rolling about to look at its trainer.
Since Ivan appeared in control of the situation after the first turn, Julia decided to keep to a strategy she discussed with Kanu. "In that case, Marill, use Defense Curl!"
Paul, meanwhile, seemed unaffected by Ivan's claim. "I'll call your bluff, Ivan. Use Gust again!"
Pidgey flapped out another strong gust of wind, this time close enough that Ivan and Julia could feel being pushed back by the cyclone winds. The focused Seedot was hit hard by the attack before falling face-first to the ground, while Marill curled itself in a ball.
Julia looked back to see Seedot stand up, barely hanging on to consciousness before she succumbed to the effects of the yawn and fell asleep. "Are you okay, Seedot?" Julia asked, worriedly, though Seedot did not appear to hear her.
"Great job, Karrie! Now that Seedot is asleep because of Yawn, it can't finish the Bide! Gust one more time!" Paul yelled out.
"Use Scratch on Marill!" Karrie followed up.
Julia panicked, now seeing the attention beginning to turn toward her. Without thinking, she resorted to the same strategy that Kanu drilled into her. "And counter with Rollout!"
However, Ivan appeared undaunted by the situation as Pidgey began to flap its wings again. "You don't think I tested this against forest Pokémon that had sleep-based moves?"
With seemingly no grogginess, Seedot snapped awake from her sleep, overwhelmed by the amount of stored energy, and unleashed its built-up damage on the gust that Pidgey was creating, the red crackle of energy blending in with the gusting wind to create a tornado of damage that encircled and rained down on Pidgey instead. The resulting explosion and dispersal shocked every trainer and Pokémon on the battlefield, even Kanu and Alexis in observance. When the dust cleared and Pidgey fell to the ground, Marill was already continuously rolling on the ground and tearing up the dirt below. She hit the sloth Pokémon hard in the chest as it slowly lowered its arm to scratch Marill, but she paid no mind as she continued to roll.
"Pidgey!" Paul cried out to his fainted Pokémon.
Ivan folded his arms, satisfied with the results despite the dirt in his hair. "If Seedot wakes up on the final turn, Bide still goes through, and you damaged Seedot way too much."
"Nice job!" Kanu called out to his acquaintance.
Alexis was much slower in acknowledging his actions but finally swallowed her pride. "Fine, I guess that was good."
Slakoth, feeling winded from the rolling attack, slothfully drank the juice it held onto with its left hand. "Slakoth recovers HP thanks to Berry Juice," Karrie explained.
Paul recalled Pidgey from the battlefield. "Very impressive. Then I'll bring out Farfetch'd!" The brown duck-like Pokémon made a second appearance, fresh onion stalk in hand.
Karrie looked down, gritting her teeth that she couldn't counter-attack. "Truant activates again."
Ivan smirked before turning to his partner. "Julia! Rollout is a Rock-type move, and Defense Curl boosted its power, so I'm turning over the attacking capability to you."
Julia was caught off guard by the sudden request. "What? But I thought I was playing support!"
"Trust me, you have all you need to win," he reassured her. "Use Bide again!"
Julia looked back to the field, still feeling slightly concerned. "If you say so. Use Rollout on Farfetch'd!"
"No, you don't! Aerial Ace!" Paul cried out, knowing that he needed to stop Marill's movements quickly.
Seedot set up another biding of energy as she watched Marill continuing to roll faster and faster toward her foe. Farfetch'd quickly flew rapidly above the battlefield, confounding the rolling Marill with blinding speed before slashing from above and below with its onion stalk before Marill could even react. However, by slashing below, Marill was able to fly into the air right into the location where Farfetch'd slowed down, hitting the duck Pokémon with incredible rolling force and knocking it out instantly. Marill landed back on the ground hard, not seriously injured by the attack, and continued to roll.
"I-I beat it?" Julia muttered in absolute disbelief at Marill's remarkable speed and increasing destructive power.
This time, Alexis' reluctance turned into cheering for her friend. "Alright! Go, Julia!"
Kanu shouted out to her as well. "Rollout will keep increasing in power! Use it to your advantage against their flying Pokémon!"
Paul stared at Marill continuing to roll faster as he recalled Farfetch'd, concerned that Kanu was right. Still, based on his chosen team, he didn't have much of a choice.
"Alright, then go Pikipek!" He threw out the white and red woodpecker-like Pokémon as he turned to Karrie. "Focus on picking off Seedot. As for me, use Echoed Voice on Marill!"
Karrie was beginning to feel the pressure of Marill as well, but couldn't miss the opportunity for an easy victory. "Use Scratch on Seedot!"
"Turn Rollout to Pikipek!" Julia said, beginning to gain a slight tinge of confidence.
Pikipek flew above Marill and screeched an echoing voice to the rolling Pokémon, and while it was certainly heard by the others, Marill seemed to pay no mind as she mimicked the jumping roll and slammed into Pikipek, granting another instant knockout. With Marill no longer rolling to the ground, at least for a moment, Slakoth took advantage and crawled forward as fast as it could to the still Seedot and scratched the acorn Pokémon. While it didn't do a lot of damage, Seedot was too weak from the previous turns and fell, her biding energy dissipating.
Paul recalled Pikipek as he backed away from the field in shame. "That Marill is too good. Sorry, Karrie, you'll have to take over."
Ivan recalled Seedot, impressed at her resilience up to that point. "Good job, Seedot." He then grabbed Honedge's attached sword hilt and whispered to it: "Let's keep Julia's momentum up, dad." He unsheathed the sword Pokémon and held it strong as he approached the field. "I choose Honedge!"
"I'll bring out Spinda!" Karrie threw out another Poké Ball to fill the open gap in their team. This time, she threw out a red panda Pokémon, eyes made from two black spirals and four red dots patterned seemingly randomly on its body. It began to sway heavily as if it was dizzy and lost balance.
"But with Truant active again, only Spinda can attack. I'll use Swords Dance!" Ivan declared.
"Use Feint Attack on Honedge!" Karrie turned to command Spinda as Slakoth continued to loaf around.
Despite her uneasiness with Ivan's unusual style of wielding his Pokémon as a weapon, Julia knew that victory was starting to be within reach. Therefore, she took some initiative. "And I'll match Spinda head-on!"
Spinda stumbled forward as Ivan gripped Honedge before pushing forward with its foot and sucker punching the sword Pokémon straight in its center. Despite the super effective attack, Ivan did not retaliate and frenetically danced around, waving Honedge around to greatly increase its strength. As Spinda stared in preparation for an attack, a fast-spinning Marill turned and slammed into the unsuspecting stumbling Pokémon, knocking it out instantly while Slakoth lazily watched.
"Awesome job, Marill!" Julia cheered the continually spinning Pokémon.
Kanu synchronized her cheering. "Julia has one more Rollout turn left and Marill is still above half her HP. You guys can finish it!"
"Bring home the win!" Alexis joined.
Karrie recalled Spinda, becoming nervous. "Alright, last one. Go, Taillow!" She threw out the energetic and loud bird Pokémon who quickly flew around the battlefield. "Quick Attack on Marill! And Slakoth, Yawn on Marill as well!"
"I'll attack Slakoth! Julia, attack Taillow!" Ivan told his teammate.
"Marill's still in it! Let's go!" she agreed.
Taillow divebombed and jetted itself at high speed to charge straight forward at Marill, despite her rolling extremely fast and tearing up the ground with each rotation. The swift bird was able to strike first, but Marill continued to roll, pivoted to turn 90 degrees, and forcefully sideswiped Taillow as it fainted and crashed into the ground. As Marill finally ran out of energy and stopped rolling, Slakoth took advantage and yawned at the blue Pokémon as she struggled to regain equilibrium with the ground. In retaliation, Ivan charged forward holding Honedge and tackled Slakoth with a quick swing.
As Slakoth regained itself, Karrie recalled her bird Pokémon. "Thanks, Taillow. But now Rollout has expired," she said as she turned back to her foes.
"That's fine with us since Truant has left Slakoth immobile," Ivan commented.
Julia began to feel butterflies in her stomach, realizing that victory was within reach. In response, her confidence began to swell as leading words escaped her mouth. "Let's attack in tandem. Use Bubble!"
"Tackle, Honedge!"
As the sloth Pokémon began to laze about again, Ivan charged Slakoth for a second time as Marill shot a stream of bubbles from behind Ivan as suppressing fire. A seemingly endless flurry of popping water hit Slakoth critically before Ivan followed with a swift sword slash.
"It's too much!" Karrie exclaimed, overwhelmed at their teamwork.
"You got this?" Julia cried out.
"Yes, ma'am!" Ivan responded as he began to pivot his foot for a follow-up attack.
"I'll switch out Marill with Oshawott!"
"Use Scratch against Oshawott!" was all Karrie could say.
Julia recalled Marill and sent out the blue sea otter Pokémon, who drew his scalchop to defend against Slakoth's lazy scratching. However, despite Oshawott taking damage, he was able to momentarily hold Slakoth in place, and by then, it was too late.
"End of the line. Fury Cutter!" In one movement, Honedge glowed lime green with energy and slashed with a flash of light against Slakoth's back. Once Ivan returned Honedge to its hilt, Slakoth succumbed to a small explosion of green energy before fainting in front of Julia. "And that's the end," Ivan finished.
In extreme jubilation, Julia high-fived Ivan before opening a notification on her Trainer Tech, noting changes to all of her Pokémon that appeared in the battle. "Oh wow! My three Pokémon all gained experience from that battle!"
Karrie recalled Slakoth, accepting her loss. "No shame in trying your best."
Paul then returned to her side. "Agreed. They have a synchronization I didn't fully expect," he added as he stretched his arms.
In her otherworldly excitement, Julia momentarily forgot her normal behavior to thank her opponents and snapped back to reality. She bowed respectfully to Paul and Karrie, smiling ear to ear. "Thank you both for a spectacular battle! I felt I learned a lot!"
"Always happy to help, sweetie," Karrie couldn't help but smile.
Kanu and Alexis skipped down the stairs from the deck leading to the battlefield as Kanu thought to himself and smiled. It's funny. I thought Julia would just be playing support. But she exploited their weaknesses and kept Ivan defensive and supportive. She's been learning quickly.
Alexis energetically high-fived Julia. "You did awesome, Julia!" She then turned to Ivan, finding it hard to hold back her smile. "And you did okay, I guess."
Ivan shrugged. "Best I'll be able to get out of you."
Kanu held out his hand in front of the other three teenagers. "Come on, guys. No sense in slowing down our training. The next Arena Battle will be coming up before we know it." The three of them stacked their hands on top of each other and lifted them up in an adrenaline-filled hurrah.