8 - Rival Battle
The buzzing of a silenced cell phone stirred me from my stupor.
"Hello?"
"Steve! Where are you? It's ten past, I was expecting you on the floor!"
"Don't call me Steve. Ugh," I held my head. Had memory lane lured me into a nap? I checked the clock on my cell, which read 9:06. Keido's watch must be fast.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be right down."
There was still a mind-numbing amount of work scattered across my desk. Not doing it now would mean stretching my half-day Saturday into a full workday. No matter. I need someone to talk to, intimately, preferably not someone I'm sexually or emotionally invested in (meaning not my wife). Hell, I haven't taken vacation since starting this job; getting off "only" three hours late would be a justified guilty pleasure tonight.
I tidied the office up and began to leave. For the first time, I noticed how large and empty the office appeared. Each footstep sounded unnaturally loud. It was this cheap, thin flooring they built, even a casual gait makes the place shake a little. I took one last look at my work space, lingering upon the broken rifle on the mantle piece.
"Good riddance," I muttered, locking the door, killing the lights, and leaving.
The halls were empty of office workers. An office door here and there remained lit, evidence of another unseen work-addict putting in overtime. The few humans I did see were janitors, lugging along cleaning carts and trash bags between rooms. None of them gave me a second glance. I smiled; it's reassuring to be a nobody to at least somebody.
"Hmm. Hall #1, did we say?" I mumbled to myself.
The battle arena looked larger from the ground floor. You could set four basketball courts in a square and have room for a nice crowd around the edge. There was no seating, of course, as these arenas weren't intended for spectator-games. The ground was flat, compact earth, minimally chalked- just the sidelines and the universal pokeball outline in the center. Two mats, sitting opposite sides of the field, designated the trainers' area.
Keido was pacing the center, gazing off into the ceiling. Scoping out the room, or contemplating the nature of the universe, I couldn't tell.
"Hey," I shouted out to him.
"Oh! Hey! Steven!"
He met me at the sideline.
"How'd the day treat you?"
"Busy," I said, thinking it the most succinct description of the last twelve hours. It wasn't a bad day, by no means: there were actually a lot of upsides. Still, nothing that hadn't taken a lot of gut-wrenching work to get. "A lot of boring politics, nothing worth talk about."
"Really? No juicy bits? Like where the new money's going?" His voice perked, a little more than curiosity driving his question. How a rank-and-file employee like him had gotten word of the television windfall, I didn't really want to know. I shook my head in response to his question. That kind of information was off-limits.
"Your job is way more fun, let's talk about it instead," I told him, attempting a diversion.
"Nah, I'll pass," he said, waving me off. "Besides, we can talk anytime. I didn't call you down here just to gab-"
"Keido, I'm really not feeling up to-"
"Stunfisk! Don't feed that Tauros-shit to me! I don't ever get to see you these days, I want, nay, DEMAND my annual rivalry match!" He made a mock face of fierce determination. I smirked.
This little tradition of ours was extremely important to him. Each year we held a battle, no matter what. Even if it meant Keido had to fly 8,000 miles across the globe to hit me up on New Year's Eve. It means more to him than me, honestly. He's got just as much of a competitive streak as me; hates losing, demands rematches, can't acknowledge inferiority to anyone, etc etc. Unfortunately he isn't quite as good as me. Our record is something like 24-3-1 in my favor; and even then those three losses and one tie were back in our college days, and not on my official record. It just eats him up that he hasn't been able to win once since I entered the pros.
"Fine, fine let's get this over with. Make it quick, 3v3," I offered off-handedly, but found a heavy hand on my shoulder.
"4v4 double-battle," Keido said, grinning. With his other hand he held up his four pokeballs, one between each finger- all Ultra Balls. Someone's acting cocky, I thought. "And no half-assing it. I want to beat you at full-throttle."
"It's not like we're on the record here," I countered.
"Hey, this is between friends and rivals, I'm not out to trash your shiny record, I just want this for me. So promise me you won't skimp."
"Alright. Fine, fine. Here, I need something at stake in order to care. Loser buys drinks," I suggested.
"Sounds good. Anyways, it'll be no big loss coming from your account," Keido taunted. I chuckled at the tasteless income joke. You could always count on Keido to prod into sensitive issues. One should not befriend him if one has thin skin.
"Got it. Let's rumble."
He swaggered over to the other side of the field, while I checked the arena's security system. Ever since the tragedy, all League battlefields were required to be equipped with energy shields - stronger, cheaper, and less vulnerable than a Psychic-type ward-Pokémon. The shields at Indigo HQ were modern Cosmic Mk. VI designs: the best mass-produced unit money could buy. A quick diagnostics revealed the machines were functioning and at full power. Nothing was left to deter this rivalry match from commencing.
Keido waved a hand to me indicating he was ready.
Good thing I decided to bring my team to work today. I picked four of them out, choosing the most powerful over any kind of strategic synergy. Quick taps returned the balls to functional size, and the icons lit up with compressed symbols, showing me the status of the occupant. Everything was ready.
"Let's see what you got this year," I bellowed out.
"Ohoho, you won't see a thing," my friend responded. He flipped the first two out in unison, without calling their names. There was an incandescent flash, but after it faded, nothing remained.
I only sensed that my foe was already in place and ready to battle. Where they were, or how they had disappeared, I could not tell.
"Metagross, Tyranitar, fish these ninja's out," I ordered, letting loose my two strongest Pokémon at once. At the moment, I'm feeling a little cocky myself, thinking I could end this quickly if I go all-out from the start.
From there, the battle quickly swung into action.
"Bug Buzz, weak-side," Keido ordered. Something stirred on the field, a blur that could barely be seen. A disconcerting drone filled the air. Visible waves of sound rippled across the arena- heading for Tyranitar.
"It's Accelgor. Meta."
Metagross reinforced himself with a Light Screen and dove in front of Tyranitar, protecting the latter from the brunt of the attack. Tyranitar busied himself cracking the earth with his feet and tail, crushing it into a find powder and bellowing hot air into the resulting dust pile: basically using his Sandstream ability to whip up a Sandstorm.
"Where is the bug?" I asked myself.
I eyed the corners of the arena, looking for momentary flashes of the opposing Accelgor. It had to be an Accelgor, of course. The way Bug Buzz sounded indicated a synergistic yield, meaning it was a Bug Pokémon; and the red Doppler shift indicated that the attacker was using sheer speed to move quicker than the eye was able to follow, creating the illusion of invisibility. Only three Bug-type Pokémon could do that, and Keido had spent the last few years in Unova. Thus, my quick conclusion that I was facing an Accelgor.
But where is his other Pokémon?
And how do I slow Accelgor enough to see the speedster, let alone hit it?
"Bug Buzz!" It came again. Metagross moved to shield Tyranitar again, but the attack came from directly overhead, hitting them both.
"Dang."
Keido kept his eyes focused squarely on my Pokémon. Expert trainer, wasn't he? I can't trace his Pokémon's location by following his gaze. Too bad for me. He opened his mouth.
"Bug Buzz!" Metagross reached behind him and dragged Tyranitar, bulk and all, below his own body. The Bug Buzz washed over them, doing minimal damage. By now the sandstorm was in full force, making it difficult to make out the field, let alone the speeding Accelgor. Perhaps it was a mistake to set up Sandstream...
"Rock Slide. Psychic. Omni-where."
I ordered the random attacks on purpose. They would be dodged by Accelgor easily enough, but I wasn't too concerned about hitting it. Metagross could eat a dozen of the attacks with no real damage to his stamina. What worried me was the other hidden Pokémon.
Unfortunately, not a sound nor a sight showed any other presence on the battlefield.
"Hey Keido, you DO have two Pokémon out on the field?" I asked.
"What, you think I'm stupid enough to face you 2v1?"
"No, just arrogant enough."
"Bah! You'll never see it coming. Bug Buzz!"
"Meta!"
Too slow.
This one hit Tyranitar, who groaned under the vibrations. Keido was picking on Tar's weakness, but the damage was thankfully limited. The sandstorm was disrupting the sonic waves and reinforcing Tyranitar's special defense.
"Metagross, Levitate, then Tyranitar, Earthquake."
Metagross lifted himself into the air, and for good measure, drifted away from the soon-to-be epicenter.
Which played right into Keido's hands.
"Dusk!" Out of literally thin air a Dusknoir appeared, inches from Tyranitar. It raised both hands, even as Tyranitar brought his own down to initiate the Earthquake.
"GROROORG!" The Earthquake rattled the field. Dusknoir had clutched Tyranitar by the shoulders, lifting itself off the ground to avoid the Ground-attack. For something so fat and slow, it was surprisingly dexterous. It used its leverage to back-flip into the center of the field. A blur and a shadow passed before it, and then Dusknoir was gone, vanished back into thin air.
Tyranitar was left reeling.
"Tar, turn towards me. Meta, guard his back!"
My Pokémon obeyed. It was as I suspected: Tyranitar's chest area was smoldering black. Dusknoir had left him with a Will-o-Wisp burn.
"Resorting to guerilla warfare since you can't beat me upfront. You know I resent those kinds of tactics," I said to Keido. He chortled.
"Gotta play to my strengths."
Tyranitar, still standing tall, but clutching his chest, turned back to the fight.
"You're right. Time to play to mine."
Somehow I need to draw these guys out.
"Bug Buzz!" Metagross, as trained, acted on his own. Even as sonic waves rippled through the Sandstorm, Tyranitar was covered head-to-toe in a wall of sand. The impromptu shield lessened the damage considerably.
"What? How?" Keido let out.
I shrugged. No use explaining Metagross' psychic manipulation abilities to him.
"Hey guys, I think I got it. Rambo-combo, edge-style," I said.
My two Pokémon nodded.
Metagross glowed, releasing psycho-magnetic energy. A Telekinesis lifted Tyranitar into the air as he curled into a ball. Bits of his stone-hard hide had begun morphing, lengthening into blunt spikes. At the same time, the Pokémon began spinning. Once up to speed, Metagross began using Telekinesis to sling Tyranitar around the field. It was as if a massive ball-and-chain was unleashed on the battlefield, splitting the air and furrowing the ground in great large swathes. A direct hit would devastate anything it impacted upon.
"Dusknoir, Dusknoir, come out and meet your maker!"
Even more awesome than a Telekinetic-spiked ball of doom? One that shoots Rock Slides, Stone Edges, and Earthquakes.
To properly describe the battlefield at the moment, I would have to use the word "fragged".
Nonetheless, Dusknoir did not appear.
"So he's not invisible," I mused to myself.
"Bug Buzz!"
This time it was aimed at Metagross; obviously a futile attempt to break his concentration. Metagross has four brains, however, and only needs one each to maintain the Rambo Bowling Ball and put up a Light Screen.
"You're only using…" I started to utter, before cutting myself off.
I see. Accelgor, fast as he was, shouldn't be able to dodge the hailstorm of stone shards now encompassing the arena. The force-fields were now pinging like a swimming pool under a hailstorm, for all the hits they were taking. How was Accelgor not flinching under such a barrage, let alone fainting?
It's because it's Choice Scarfed. Brilliant idea. Put a restrictive, speed-boosting item on one of the fastest Pokémon alive to make it faster than a photon particle. Great idea.
Sarcasm aside, it did mean the Accelgor apparently dodged every single piece of debris now torrenting through the air.
"Metagross, bring him in before Tyranitar faints."
I hadn't forgotten about the burn.
"Finally." Keido made a slashing motion.
Another blur, and Dusknoir appeared, mere inches behind Metagross. My Pokémon instinctively reached out, attempting to clobber the Pokémon. Dusknoir phased through it, and was readying a Will-o-Wisp in its own fist. Tyranitar barreled in, practically vaulting over Metagross and literally eating the ball of ghost-fire.
"Drain Punch!" Keido ordered.
"Tackle!" I ordered.
Keido nearly laughed. Dusknoir hit Tyranitar square in the stomach, rust-colored whorls of energy pulling strength from the victim to the aggressor. Tyranitar responded by belly-flopping onto the ghost. His arms enclosed the bulky Ghost-type, smothering it. Damage was non-existent, but it was enough for Tyranitar's innate Dark-nature to pin the Pokémon down.
"Bug Buzz!"
"Light Screen." It wasn't an order for Metagross, just a statement of fact. The Screen set up earlier took the edge off the Bug Buzz. Metagross knew what to do as soon as I ordered the tackle. Just for show, I yelled it out anyways: "Zen Headbutt!"
"What's that got to…?" Keido mused, and then stood still, eyes widened. Metagross lay calm and collected, before drawing himself up and lunging straight forward - at Tyranitar.
"You'll only hurt your own…" his words trailed off.
Metagross slammed into Tyranitar, a sickening crunch sounding out.
"Dark-type, silly," I said. The Zen Headbutt had passed straight through Tyranitar without harming him, thanks to his Dark-typing. The same could not be said for the Ghost-type Dusknoir on the other side of Tyranitar's bulk. The Pokémon flinched back several feet, both hurt and stunned momentarily.
"Finish him off," I ordered. "Tar, you're burned, hurl Meta."
"TRAR!" Tyranitar lifted Metagross and flung him high into the air. Metagross glowed red-hot - the makings of a Meteor Mash. It rocketed earthward, aiming for Dusknoir with no chance of missing.
"Bug… no, wait, save Dusk!"
Accelgor, and it was an Accelgor, appeared for the first time. It blipped into existence for a mere moment, right over Dusknoir's hunched form. Then the both of them were gone. The Meteor Mash cratered the earth a half-second later. A large plume of dust and ash lifted into the air, glassed-sand splattering out in every direction.
"Whah?"
I was besides myself. That had to be a KO! Accelgor couldn't just lift its ally away, just like that, could it? No, it couldn't, not if it wanted to maintain its faster-than-the-naked-eye velocity, which evidently it was, because I couldn't see it anywhere.
"Drain Punch."
Dusknoir appeared behind the exhausted Tyranitar, just long enough to hit him and gain back the health lost to Zen Headbutt. Then it was gone again.
"Hmm."
Tyranitar was on his last sliver of health.
"Recall." I brought him back. There was no use keeping him out. He'd go down to the next Bug Buzz, and I couldn't think of anything more he could do. I don't want to needlessly sacrifice him; at least not before I figure out how this bloody annoying Dusknoir was playing light speed pika-boo.
"Who's coming out? Whatever, I don't want to wait. Burn the Metagross while he's switching."
"Meta." Metagross responded accordingly. It rammed the earth, busting the surface and creating a deep crater. The effect of it was to instantly encircle Metagross in a ring of stone. Dusknoir appeared for an instant, decided it had lost its approach, and then was swept away.
"Wait." 'Swept away'. There was a definite movement this time. The ghost had acted like it was being yanked backwards when it vanished. This meant something. What, exactly? "Cradily."
The prehistoric sea-flower appeared onto the battlefield. Her pale orbed eyes began scanning the battlefield for threats, even as her tendrils began probing the floor, feeling the traction and density of the clay.
"Metagross, hang back and start using Hone Claws. Cradily, Barrier." I want to figure something out, which required baiting Keido.
"Toxic." Dusknoir appeared again, from long range.
"Sludge Bomb," I ordered Cradily. Toxic was faster and more accurate, but it was still stopped short by the massive clod of sludge being hurled into its path. The Sludge Bomb absorbed the toxic stream and churned on. Dusknoir was too slow on its own to dodge.
It didn't need to. The instant before Sludge Bomb collided with it, Dusknoir vanished again. The blob splattered across the field.
"Giga Drain the impact," I belted out. Cradily did so, letting off yellow spheres of energy to sap into the ground where Dusknoir had been. I was hoping I'd see the familiar green spheres of life returning to Cradily. Alas, nothing followed. This ruled out the possibility that Dusknoir was turning invisible, or that it was hiding inside the ground, phased, as only ghosts could.
"Bug Buzz."
"Still scarfed. Sandstorm will protect Cradily." As was the case. The attack came from very close, and slightly to the side. Cradily braced for the sonic buzzing to hit, absorbing the attack as best she could. Between her innate defense and the Sandstorm, and her natural Bug weakness, the attack was neither fatal nor trivial. I couldn't let Accelgor continue to assault my Pokémon forever.
"Cra-"
Dusknoir appeared, practically on top of Cradily. A buzzing noise faded into the distance. The ghost put one hand on top of Cradily's bulbous shell. There was no avoiding the ensuing Toxic spewing out of the attacker's hand.
There was, however, a chance for retaliation.
"Gravity." Metagross roared, unleashing a purple-tinged shockwave across the floor. It passed under Dusknoir and Cradily, causing the both of them to drop to their… I would say knees, but neither of them possessed such appendages. Regardless, the two Pokémon were hugging the floor. Metagross had even acted fast enough to prevent the Toxic from touching Cradily.
"Cradily, Sludge Bomb! Metagross, focus harder!" A powerful enough Gravity could pin the Pokémon in place. Cradily exerted herself, lifting her face inch-by-inch to face Dusknoir.
"Christmas!" Keido cried from the far side of the field. The buzzing rose again, its rising frequency indicating the Accelgor was approaching at high speeds. There was a blur of activity.
"CRAAAA!" Cradily hurled another blob of poison into Dusknoir. Yet… it wasn't there. Again.
I was taken aback- and then blinked again.
Dusknoir hadn't vanished, only jumped away at the last second. Yes, even with the Gravity in full effect, it had suddenly lifted itself off the ground and jumped backwards. I had been so sure it was pinned down, and so focused on that one spot, that when it did move, I failed to notice it had only run away, not simply disappeared into thin air like before.
"Metagross, Psychic." Dusknoir hop-scotched around the peripheral of the center of action. It saw Metagross light up, preparing an attack. Yet, it didn't counter with its own.
"Protect!" Accelgor leapt in front of Dusknoir, bearing the Psychic on its own. A slight sheen covered its outline, which then flared into a bright violet hue, tendrils of energy dancing off its body like flames.
"Christmas… sounds like a code-word. Hey Keido, you didn't tutor Trick to that thing, did you?!" I called over the field.
"Maybe," came his sly reply.
Damn it! Since when did Keido get this good?! Only top, and I mean TOP-tier trainers were capable of tutoring moves onto Pokémon that they weren't usually compatible with. Trick on an Accelgor is one such "impossible" combination. Damn.
"Dusk!"
"How'd he use Trick while Scarfed?" I put to him. Keido shrugged in response.
"Willpower," he answered.
"Tauros-shit."
He understandably failed to address that one.
Dusknoir has the Choice Scarf now.
Which is also why Accelgor was visible for more than a second, for the first time in the match. Its movements were now slow enough to follow, with difficulty, with the naked eye.
"Flash!"
Dusknoir complied, lighting up the area around him. Hardly necessary, with the Sandstorm half-blinding everyone, but when the glow faded neither Dusknoir nor Accelgor were to be seen.
"Okay. Accelgor is trading items with Dusky… maybe it's also lending it speed, somehow. That's how Dusknoir is moving around so fast. Baton Bass, maybe? But if so, why did it need the Scarf to get out of Gravity? Was it because the speed difference mattered?"
I bit my lip. Keido was absolutely making me think this time around. He knows it too, judging by the enormous grin ripping his face in two.
"Stealth Rocks," I ordered. Let's make it marginally harder for Accelgor to use the field as its own personal racetrack while I figure out Dusknoir's vanishing act.
"Bug Buzz."
Here we go again.
Sharp, biting rocks sprayed out in a fan, met halfway by the concentric waves of damaging air vibrations. Cradily bore it as best she could. No matter. She has Recover, if needed.
"Bug Buzz again. Will-o-Wisp via Shadow Sneak."
A dark, viscous shadow weaved across the ground, headed for Cradily. Experience kicked in, telling me the real danger, and momentarily terrifying me because my Pokémon wouldn't realize it on their own.
"Cradily, eat that Will-o-Wisp! Meta, Meteor Mash! Anywhere!" The shadow raced straight towards Cradily- and passed right beneath her. Metagross lifted itself into the air, just as Dusknoir emerged from the ground, another searing-blue ball of flame in hand. It pitched the thing straight at the retreating Metagross. Cradily, too slow to do as commanded, turned vainly. She decided to unleash an Energy Ball instead, only to be hit in the backside by a Bug Buzz. Metagross fell, furled in fiery plasma, opening a ten-foot-wide crater in the ground. It had managed to deflect the Will-o-Wisp, barely.
Dusknoir had used two different attacks. Accelgor must have Tricked the Choice Scarf back to itself during the Flash.
"Cradily can Recover, you want to poison it, not burn it. Am I-" I started, but Keido wasn't waiting to talk strategy mid-battle. He started signaling to his Pokémon with sign language, something I couldn't read.
Dusknoir began weaving spells, as its shadow began taking on life beneath it. The shadows extended, first underneath Cradily, then moving up over Cradily. A darkness clung to my Pokémon, threatening to engulf it.
"Toxic!" Keido yelled.
"Toxic Fist," I yelled.
Cradily moved first, aiming her head towards Metagross. A stream of potent poison spewed over the latter Pokémon. It was not going to effect the Steel-type, but that was an immunity I was counting on.
A moment later, the shadows covering Cradily's lower body erupted into a small cloud of vile-colored toxins. Dusknoir had finally succeeded in poisoning my tank.
"Iron Claw."
"Retreat!"
"Heck no!" Metagross rumbled, slashing at Dusknoir's form. Another blur flitted by… and Accelgor tumbled into sight. The mummified torso flipped end over end, righted itself, then jumped beside Dusknoir. It was sporting the Choice Scarf on its head again, as predicted.
"GROSS!"
My Pokémon brought its three-pronged claw down.
Dusknoir reacted, bringing up its two arms in a blocking motion, breaking the attack's momentum. Unfortunately for the ghost, it still took scratches, and thanks to Cradily's efforts, that Metal Claw had been coated with Toxic poison.
"Now both our tanks are poisoned," Keido commented.
"Who do you think will last longer?" I mused. "Whatever, Meteor Mash!" Metagross, still bearing its arm down on Dusknoir, lit up in great wrath. In another second it would overpower the ghost's defensive stance.
"Sneak! Sneak!" Keido implored.
Dusknoir inexplicably began losing height. It shrunk in an instant, till it was gone. Accelgor, limping, flitted off at insane speeds, but not so fast as to be invisible this time.
"Ah!"
A lot had happened, enough to occupy my mental faculties for a full three seconds. In that duration, Accelgor turned around and let loose a Bug Buzz, divided between both of my Pokémon.
'Sneak' was shorthand for Shadow Sneak! One of the most versatile attacks in existence, it allowed for all manner of manipulations and movement of shadows. It even allowed ghost Pokémon to hide inside of shadows themselves. What Dusknoir had been doing this whole time was jacking a ride inside of Accelgor's shadow. That's how it had managed to escape imminent blows so many times. Every time a Meteor Mash or the Rambo Ball threatened, Accelgor buzzed by and picked Dusknoir up by its shadow, like a ski-lift. Clever bastard!
I never would have guessed it if Accelgor hadn't tripped over Stealth Rocks right then. Still… now that I know his strategy, I can't even think of a way to counter it. A Pokémon as tough as Dusknoir, making use of Accelgor's speed, it was as if the two Pokémon were combined into one superior battler. No wonder Keido requested a doubles battle. He was counting on synergy to make up the power difference.
Ah, well, the devil's in the execution, though, and Keido's Pokémon weren't quite up to perfection. Dusknoir was Toxic'd and would faint on its own, given enough time. Cradily could last longer, thanks to Recover, Giga Drain, and Ingrain - should I choose to sacrifice Cradily's mobility.
"Dusknoir, switch out. Bug Buzz cover."
Tuffs of dust curled inward in a line perpendicular to our position. Accelgor had crossed the field from sideline to sideline, and it left a thick Bug Buzz in its wake. The maneuver gave the attack volume enough to preclude any hope of dodging it; but it also diluted the sound waves enough so that Metagross and Cradily could defend themselves without too much damage. From the sound of Keido's command, it seems he's trying to let Dusknoir switch out.
"Cradily, use your roots to start a defensive position. Metagross, Iron Defense." I don't know what Keido is doing or who he's bringing out. The barrage of wide-field Bug Buzzes is preventing me from advancing; indeed the vibrations are riling up the sandstorm even more, effectively obscuring the far side of the field. My Pokémon executed their commands, and a moment later the shrill buzzing ceased.
"Burn him!" came an enthusiastic voice from the unseen opponent's direction.
"Cradily, Recover. Keep an eye out on the Stealth Rocks. Metagross, Magnet Rise."
The battlefield grew dark - for just an instant. The next, it lit up like dawn over the ocean. A brilliant pentagram burst through the sandstorm, leaving a vortex of shimmering ash. Its flames were shaded an unearthly violet glow. It came in fast, too fast for me to order a counter. "Wa-" was all I managed to shout, uselessly.
The Fire Blast hit Cradily's fortifications, blowing apart stone and earthen berms like a toddler who was finished with their sandcastle and had decided to go dinosaur on it. A good portion of the explosion blew over into Cradily's body. The damage was indeterminate at the moment.
"Metagross, fresh Light Screen."
Another movable, glass-like pane appeared before my tag-team. Keido immediately got the idea to use the radiant Screen as a targeting bullseye, since another Fire Blast roared in directly upon it. The blastwave from this one reached the sides of the arena, hit the shields and washing up the invisible energy wall halfway to the ceiling.
"Crad-"
"Dusk!"
Dusknoir was right there, in Cradily's face. It gave Cradily a left hook with its fist and rumbled past.
When did Dusknoir come back out? Rather, did it ever go back? Could Accelgor have been the one letting off those monstrous Fire Blasts? No, impossible, Keido lied. He switched Accelgor for someone, not Dusknoir, someone with an incredible special attack.
Questions rushed through my head, competing with frenzied next-step decisions for valuable mental computation cycles.
Dusknoir aimed for his real target, Metagross. In one hand, it held a blue-white Will-o-Wisp. In the other, a red-tinted vortex. I recognized it as a Pain-Split. Metagross was almost within melee range - it lunged forward with both hands…
The foe could have hit with one or the other attack, but not both. Metagross lifted himself into the air, Dusknoir's out-stretched hands grasping to connect with the vile status conditions.
"Cradily!" Cradily lit Dusknoir up from behind with a Giga Drain. The ghost howled, reached around and dropped both the Will-o-Wisp and Pain Split onto Cradily.
"Flare!"
"Psychic!"
A third Fire Blast carried over from the far side of the field. A blurry figure, wreathed in pinpricks of blue flame, could just barely be made out. The incoming fiery rocket buried itself into the ground, erupting in a shower of flame and dazzling lights.
It had missed, by a wide margin. Dusknoir and Cradily were outlined by the residual fireball.
Shadows. They're casting shadows before the light of the Fire Blast explosions.
I told this to myself, paying attention just in time to catch the real-time application. Dusknoir dipped into Cradily's momentarily-extended shadow and zipped away.
"Shadow Ball." The dark mass came zooming in from the dust cloud. Metagross batted the Ghost attack to the side, only to find Dusknoir AGAIN three feet in front of it. Metagross avoided the Will-o-Wisp by scuttling to its left. Dusknoir couldn't reach around in time, but its own right fist caught the retreating behemoth with a Shadow Punch to the rear.
"He's using the shadow from the Shadow Ball to travel," I muttered to myself, not even bothering to listen to my own puns. This is frustrating.
Dusknoir was a real thug, a grand-theft-shadow. This was not something made up on the spot, Keido had been drilling this into them for some time. It's almost as if the trainer prepared an entire range of tactics to specifically counter me and my Pokémon. Tcht tcht, Keido, that's being a poor sport.
"Hey, what are you trying to pull?" I asked out to him.
"Pull? What? I'm just trying to win!" he called back.
"I mean you tailored this team specifically to counter me."
"Why not?!" I could hear the dismissive shrug in his voice, even if I couldn't see it. He's not terribly concerned about what I think while we're in the middle of the battle.
"How much do you want to win? Does it mean so much to you?" I asked him.
"You ask some weird questions Mr. Stone. Pay attention!" A Fire Blast ripped past Metagross, blowing up in the corner of the field.
"Cradily, Recover again. Metagross, we're going scouting. Use Agility."
As my Pokémon reinforced themselves, another explosion sounded out at the far side of the field. It didn't look like the blast was intended to hit my Pokémon. The Sandstorm parted for a moment, and I caught a glimpse of Keido and the silhouettes of his two Pokémon. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the artillery-slinger from the tiny window available. The glare from the fireball faded quickly, but not before lighting up the field.
"Dusk!"
"Right, help your friend dodge them," Keido ordered. Recollecting the image of the battlefield a moment prior, and putting two-and-two together, I decided that that last Fire Blast had been to expose the camouflaged "incognito igneous". The hated rocks normally blended in with the ground, but created stark shadows when a high-intensity, pinpoint light source ignited nearby.
"Move in."
"Earthquake, Meta." I took a glance, seeing that Metagross was still raised due to Magnet Rise, and amended my order. "Earthquake, Cradily. Metagross, Earth Power." Keido's assault would inevitably involve some clever gimmick. I wonder how it'll handle a battleground-wide trembler?
Brroombroombroombroom! The lovely sound of earth grinding upon earth, oscillating in devastating waves, enough to violently shake and damage internal organs. In between the rolling waves of earth, red-hot gouts of lava blasted outwards, like fans of sequential geysers.
"Hold off!" Keido commanded. "Wait for the pussies to stop the temper tantrum."
"Dusknoir can't afford to wait."
"Neither can Cradily."
"He can Recover."
"Only for so long."
The Toxic was beginning to seriously build up in Cradily's system. Another minute or so and no amount of recovery moves would save him. The same was true for Dusknoir.
"Pain Split." His attack sounded out, but strangely Dusknoir was nowhere to be seen. No red-sworling vortex appeared, and my Pokémon were not hit. Did he Pain Split with his own Pokémon? That's seriously too much, he's putting too much of a premium on Dusknoir's survival.
"Earthquake again," I commanded. If I keep them at bay, Toxic will eventually finish the annoying Dusknoir off. As a bonus, Earthquake is effective at hitting the shadows that Dusknoir likes to hide in. The only thing to fear is a direct hit from one of those Fire Blasts. The Sandstorm ought to make it just as hard for them to see my side of the field as it is for me to see theirs.
"Sunny Day."
Holy lignite.
The Sandstorm that had been going since Tyranitar appeared disintegrated. It was replaced by a harsh, unending glow. The air itself seemed to luminesce and heat up to an uncomfortable temperature. We had exchanged one desert-like weather condition for another.
At least I can… aw, no way! I thought I could finally identify the Fire Blast hurler, but only Dusknoir was visible.
"More tricks. More tricks," I muttered. Still, the absence of the Pokémon told me almost as much as simply seeing who it was. There were only a few Pokémon capable of hiding and using Fire-
"-Blast!" Dusknoir held up its hands, and lo-and-behold, a pentagram of fire shot out. There was no missing this time.
"Met-" My Pokémon reacted, going off experience and training.
Metagross clutched Cradily in its claw and dragged the slow Pokémon in front of it. The Fire Blast hit, blasting the pair across the ground.
Cradily had taken all of it. There wasn't even a point in checking its status, the Toxic had done too much prior damage. The blast had KO'd it, saving Metagross in the process.
"Cradily, return. Thanks for the block, sorry you had to go down like that," I managed to say, trying to keep my mind from blowing up as well.
Since, you know, it's just a Dusknoir chucking out impossible moves with a special attack power it had utterly failed to demonstrate during the previous bouts of fighting.
"My last Pokémon." Already forced to bring out my fourth Pokémon. This is embarrassing. "Aggron!"
Aggron bellowed upon arrival. It was a fierce roar that caused Dusknoir to flinch, even with the distance separating them.
"There's really nothing left to do but Fire Blast everything," Keido said aloud. He shrugged his shoulders, as if disappointed.
To think, though, that this battle had already been decided was foolish. And I knew Keido was no fool. He was already anticipating my countermeasures and coming up with his own. Which means he still has tricks up his sleeve, apart from the impossible pyro-bomber standing before him.
"Finish it off Dusknoir."
"Metal Burst. Metagross, Hone Claws."
The pentagram of fiery explosions arced over once again. Aggron charged forwards, willingly taking the impact- and came out the other side of the rising smoke, still standing. Not unhurt, in fact it was fairly glowing from head-to-toe where the attack heated its armor. Even still, the hot-iron glow receded, or rather, was being drawn to a point inside of Aggron's jaw. It let the bundled energy loose, blasting out like a cannon shot.
The silver-blur was dead-on accurate, smacking Dusknoir in the face and pushing the ghost Pokémon backwards. It dug into the ground with its hands, bringing it to a standstill after leaving a two-yard trail in the dirt.
Keido was shocked.
So was I.
"Aggron survived that?!"
"A Chandelure?!"
A bulbous lantern holding within a throbbing azure flame, encircled by arms tipped with smaller flickers of blue flame, hovered where Dusknoir had just been.
"It was phased inside of Dusknoir, to make it seem like the tank was responsible for the Fire Blasts," I realized.
"He's probably got Sturdy- but that should mean any little flame will topple him," Keido surmised the answer to his own puzzlement.
"Dusknoir... recall. Chandelure, Shadow Ball."
"Aggron, cover. Metagross, Agility."
He and I put out our commands simultaneously; the Pokémon obeyed instantly. Aggron burled his way forward, hugging the incoming Shadow Ball. The translucent, ethereal smoke curled around him, but it did not faint the beast.
"I don't get it… he should be gone." Keido scratched his head.
"Are you feigning ignorance, or did you forget about the Lightscreen?"
"Yeah, but…" His body was perfectly composed into a baffled, limp, helpless posture. He was either genuinely put off guard by the action, or else he was amazing at faking it.
"What're you hiding?" I demanded.
"What are YOU hiding?" he threw back across the field.
"Nothing. Just solid strategy. Oh, well, there is this little trick.
Aggron, Charge Beam."
Meanwhile, Dusknoir had managed to drag himself back into recall range. Keido held the pokeball ready, and snagged the Pokémon up into digitized safety the moment it was within range. I had hoped Toxic would have taken that thing down by now, but obviously it had more toughness than I gave it credit for. It was replaced by a Houndoom.
"Surprise, another Fire type. Still trying to deny that you tailored this for my Steel-type specialization?" I asked my rival.
"Considering you've brought three different Rock types, you think it was such a good idea?"
"I've got one good Pokémon left, so yeah, maybe it was."
Aggron had moved himself into the center of the field, taking careful aim at the foes. Keido wasn't the only one teaching weird moves to their Pokémon. The automated Technical Machine for Charge Beam wasn't compatible with Aggron: the Pokémon was simply not capable of decoding the metadata being transmitted. That didn't stop me from trying, or succeeding, in my own way.
"Flamethrower. Fire Blast."
"Lev."
The two Fire-type opponents dashed to either side of the arena, trying a flanking maneuver. Aggron let off a stream of electricity in Houndoom's direction. The canine outran it, and took a deep breath. On the left side, Chandelure's auxiliary flames flickered, coalescing a fireball between them.
"Too slow."
The fire attacks came within microseconds of each other. Nice coordination- but they took time gaining Aggron's flanks. My Pokémon leapt, like no Aggron should, a dozen yards into the air. A white-hot explosion lit up beneath him, tremendous energy being expended.
Metagross grunted. Aggron crashed to the earth, splintering it apart and unleashing an Earthquake. Not close enough to hurt the foe, but good for throwing off their aim for a few moments.
"Good work." Metagross nodded. Using Telekinesis to vault an ally above incoming attacks was a tactic we had practiced dozens of time.
"Charge Beam."
"Why?" Keido asked. This time he was not puzzled so much as bemused.
"I know, right? Aggron has such poor special attack, what could it possibly do with a little more?" I smirked. Let's see if a few mind games of my own can do any good.
Aggron zapped Chandelure, who couldn't dodge, nor needed to. It shivered under the weak attack, and then shrugged off the damage.
"Aggron, you good?"
"Gron!"
"Okay then, Blizzard!"
Come to think of it, Aggron has quite the specially-offensive repertoire. Blizzard, Thunder, Flamethrower, Solarbeam, Flash Cannon… I don't think we ever practiced using them, but it was fun and sometimes useful to know such a diverse movepool. The Charge Beam boosts might even give them a respectable amount of oomph.
Houndoom belched flames into the air, melting the burst of cold, flurry-filled air before it washed over it. Chandelure must not have had a generalized fire attack, because it skirted back towards its trainer. No matter, the Blizzard caught up with it, doing some damage. At the center, the whirling vortex of snowflakes grew more and more intense.
"Metagross, Psych Up, then Hone Claws. Aggron, Pattern Root."
"Gross." There was a soft humming in the background, but I didn't have time to focus on it.
Houndoom raced in, tunneling through the Blizzard using a constant Flamethrower. It reached the center of the thick mess… and paused. The ground was broken up, but Aggron had disappeared.
"Houndoom, get back here."
The ground splintered apart at Houndoom's hind quarters, and an iron claw grabbed it by the ankle. Houndoom was lifted into the air as Aggron unearthed itself.
"Gotcha."
Houndoom contorted, trying to use a Flamethrower. Aggron used its other arm to grab the canine by the neck and twisted, turning the fire-spewing jaws away. In this position, the mountain-eater could do anything it wanted with the hapless foe.
"Gotcha." This was from the opposing human.
"Crap."
Aggron suddenly bent over, shivering and exerting itself. It stood taut, trying to move, but completely unable. Its feet were anchored to the floor.
"Shadow Tag," I muttered.
Without upkeep, the Blizzard had quickly dissipated beneath the still-active Sunny Day. Chandelure rested, brimming with glee, on Aggron's elongated shadow. Houndoom had been bait… no, worse, even caught in Aggron's grasp, it was flaring its tail flame, helping Aggron's shadow stand out further.
"Flash Cannon," I ordered. "Meta, Light Screen!"
"Fire combo."
Aggron threw Houndoom aside and let loose a light-bound bullet. The incoming pentagram of fire was nixed straight through the center, folding in on itself and exploding, only some five yards in front of Aggron. The smoke wreathed, then split. A Flame Shot burst through, fast, as fast as the Flash Cannon, blasting Aggron across the face. The third Fire Blast came through, seemingly destined for a clean hit.
The flames slashed diagonally in front of Aggron. A Light Screen, entirely opaque from the energy being absorbed, held up at an angle. The damage had been safely redirected.
This is getting tough.
I'm getting a little angry.
"Houndoom-"
"Die," I finished Keido's command for him.
Houndoom turned to finish off Aggron himself. Unknown to it, a one-ton chunk of cyberized wrath had appeared behind it. The combined Metal-Claw/Earthquake was swift and merciless.
"HOUNDOOOooo-!" One shot. Never stood a chance. Even as Keido went to withdraw his Houndoom, I was already preparing for my next assault.
"Rambo Combo." It's not like Tyranitar was the only Pokémon Metagross could use as a living wrecking ball.
"Chandelure, Fire Blast!" The ball of spiked doom rolled towards it, aided by Metagross' Telekinesis. The Fire Blast slowed it down- likely fainting Aggron for good, but his unconscious body was no less dangerous as a blunt boulder.
"Dusk!" The Pokémon jumped in, slamming its behind into the ground and reaching up with both palms, taking Aggron's bulk head-on. The three Pokémon smashed into the side of the shields. A dust cloud obscured the area.
"So who made it out alive?" I pondered. Metagross trotted to the center of the field.
"Don't use such morbid terms for a match," Keido chided me.
"You're right." I sighed. I should know better. Besides, my question was answered a moment later.
Aggron had taken one-too many Fire Blasts, and had fainted. Dusknoir stood, panting and completely worn out, propping up the Steel-Rock behemoth. Behind him, Chandelure cowered.
"Chandelure."
"Chan!" The Pokémon rushed out, already readying a Fire Blast.
"Metagross, Calibrate."
The shot zoomed across the field. Even as Chandelure fired it, I was already whipping my arms. It hurt, like trying to chuck a fastball way past one's prime, but I managed it just in time. Aggron returned, Tyranitar came out, and took the Fire Blast straight to the gut. He slumped over, and just like that, I was down to my last Pokémon.
One versus three. Perfect.
"FINALLY!"
Apparently Keido thinks it's perfect too, because he's jumping up and down and acting like the match was his.
"FINALLY! YES!" He hooped and hollered and clutched himself. "The great Steven Stone, finally done in!"
"Hey now. I still have one Pokémon left."
"EXACTLY!"
I tilted my head.
"No, wait, you're right," my opponent conceded. "Dusk, you still got it in you?"
"Dusknoir!"
I opened my mouth to react, but everything happened too fast.
Chandelure lit up, renewing its Sunny Day, combined with a Flash. This was behind Dusknoir, who's shadow stretched out, like a spear. Metagross saw the threat for what it was, a Shadow Sneak, and tried to move away. The spike of darkness burst into a dozen arms, and then, like an abyssal Tentacruel coming to surface, reached into the air. They didn't attach themselves to Metagross' shadow so much as grab and choke the Pokémon itself. My Pokémon tugged and clawed, slashing the shadows into little bits… but each time, the tentacles of shadow split, multiplied, and regrouped.
Then, just as Metagross seemed like it could drag himself free, it stopped. Nothing else had appeared in the vicinity, yet it had suddenly ceased all movement, dropping to the floor. I followed the mass of lightless arms back to their source.
Chandelure lay upon Dusknoir's shadow. That was it. The foe had used Dusknoir's shadow to bridge the long gap between them and my own Pokémon. Shadow Tag now held Metagross in place, helpless.
"Hehehehe."
Keido was smiling. I wasn't.
"So you see what happened?" Keido gloated.
"Tell me," I retorted.
"Awhile back, I was playing chess, y'know, and I kept thinking about how you always beat me, every time. So, there's the pieces on the board, and I was in a tight spot. And why? Because one piece had been dashing all over the board, covering good spots and pinning my pieces down. That was the badguy's queen. So I came to realize, you treat your Metagross like a chess queen. It's big, powerful, much more powerful than your rest." Keido explained this, seemingly carelessly, but stealing a glance towards the Pokémon every few seconds. He didn't need to worry, Metagross wasn't moving.
"That's obvious. What's chess got to do with this?" I asked, a little upset.
"So, I got to thinking how much trouble it was having to play against this queen. And it seemed like, everything I did, I couldn't protect my king from her. Each move cost me more and more pieces. Well, I lost, but it got me thinking. Because Metagross is so big and so strong, doesn't that make them important to you? Valuable, even? You're awfully protective of the brute. So I said to myself, 'Why don't I come up with a strategy that turns Steven's queen… into a king?' Concoct moves and tactics that make it seem like you should throw your other team members away just to protect Metagross."
He nodded to himself.
"That's why I wasn't too bothered that all your team were Rock-types, even though I brought Fires. As long as Metagross was vulnerable, the others would step in and take the heat for it. And that's cost you. You're down to Meta and I have so many ways I could finish it off, it's not funny."
"So you tailored your entire team, not just to counter me, but to counter one single Pokémon."
"And it worked beautifully, my friend," Keido said exuberantly.
"Friend is such a strong word," I said.
He didn't shrug or play this one off meekly. "It's twenty years I've had to put up with this crap. I've been due for a day in the sunshine."
"It's not going to be this year."
"Yeah right. Fire Blast."
Dusknoir was barely holding on. The shadow connecting him and Metagross was thinning. But so long as a single millimeter connected Chandelure to Metagross, Shadow Tag would continue to hold my Pokémon down. There was no dodging this Fire Blast.
Chandelure took its time, circles of energy and flickers of flame elaborately dancing around its core, growing in intensity, shimmering brighter and brighter. The air itself fed into the attack's power, the effect of Sunny Day kicking in.
"Might want to close your eyes."
"CHANDRAAAA!"
Chandelure whipped all its arms outward, flinging the condensed ball of pyrotechnics towards Metagross. The five branches unfolded from the center, painting a great 'DAI' character of oblivion into the air, the image burning into the retina. With such great power, it didn't fly very fast, just fast enough. Another four seconds to impact.
I gritted my teeth.
Keido's eyes opened wide.
Dusknoir collapsed, Toxic finally downing him.
Chandelure slumped to the side, tired, watching its final Fire Blast race in.
And Metagross did not move an inch.
POOF.
The Fire Blast disappeared into a cloud of thin white smoke, mere inches in front of Metagross.
"You- you-you… HOW?! Never mind, Fire Blast!" Chandelure protested. It had exhausted itself with the repeated power shots, it couldn't muster another one.
"You've got to! Flame Shot!"
Chandelure tried, and managed to fire off a little spat of flame, like a shotgun. Metagross, free from Shadow Tag, flipped into the air, avoiding the impact.
"I don't even… it's not…" Keido flipped out, clutching his head and waving it around.
"I ACCOUNTED FOR EVERYTHING! LIGHT SCREEN, HIS SPECIAL DEFENSE, INTERCEPTION ATTACKS!" His focus dashed between each Pokémon before finally settling on my own person, begging for an explanation.
I held myself loosely. Time for the teacher to go to work.
"I think we've already established Metagross can move things with its four brains via telekinesis."
"It's FIRE. It can't be moved! It's not a physical object!" Keido objected.
"True, it can't. BUT, you said so yourself. It's fire."
"I don't get it."
"What does fire need to exist?"
Keido stared at me blankly for a few seconds, before sounding off the stupidest elementary-school-level answer he could think of.
"Air?"
"Exactly!"
"Huh?!"
"Metagross can move objects with its mind. Things like other Pokémon, sand, rocks… and oxygen molecules. You can't see it, but Meta is floating in a big bubble of pure vacuum right now. Not really conducive for combustion. Probably should have gone for Shadow Ball, although that might not have been enough for a knockout."
I flourished.
"Oh, AND, you were right on the money. Metagross is my most important and strongest Pokémon. But I wasn't going to throw my team away if Meta' didn't deserve that sacrifice. It hasn't been whiling away this whole battle doing nothing but support."
"Oh… Shi…" Now it's coming to him. Utter shock is now being replaced by realization and dread, as Keido comprehends how totally and utterly screwed he is.
"Light Screen, Iron Defense, two Hone Claws, two Agilities, and Psych Up-copying a pair of Charge Beams." I listed off the condition boosters Metagross had accumulated throughout the fight. My pokemon had never lost them, not to attacks, and certainly not due to being retreated. It's the only Pokémon who had grinded out the entire fight without retreating.
"You better not half-ass this now, I want to have fun with my MetaGod," I taunted Keido, recalling his own demand from before the fight. He picked himself up.
"It's only one super-powered Pokémon. I'm not finished," he uttered to himself. He doesn't sound very convincing.
"Accelgor," he called out, releasing his final Pokémon. It's now two versus one in his favor, as if that mattered. The trainer hunched down, preparing to ignite the final clash of the battle. I steadied myself as well.
"Chandelure, Shadow Sneak," Keido ordered.
Oh! Apparently the light fixture knows Shadow Sneak too. Interesting. Chandelure evaporated into the blob of darkness beneath Accelgor, and the pair raced off. Even now, Accelgor was fast enough to zip across the room in an instant- but not quite invisibly. The Stealth Rocks were still littering the field, making it dangerous to try to buzz around the field recklessly. The mummied Pokémon would appear for a few seconds, change course to avoid the rocks, and then vanish again.
"Ever heard of the move Calibrate?" I asked.
"No."
"Course not. I had to invent it. It's for Metagross. It's a stat-boost, but not any of the major, measurable stats. What it does is it speeds up its reflexes, its processing power. Pushing air molecules around takes a lot more finesse than, say, lifting a Tyranitar. Calibrate allows it to do that. It also has other beneficial effects; for instance, it speeds up the retinal focusing reflexes."
"Wah?! Who cares! Accelgor, Bug Buzz!"
Metagross lashed out first, sending a Flash Cannon cracking out at an odd vector. Accelgor blipped into existence, just at the exact moment and point of space that the Flash Cannon bullet passed through. The attack smacked it dead in the face, knocking the Pokémon off-balance. A Psychic attack took hold and tossed it across the floor.
"Accel! Get close! Bug Buzz!" Still Scarfed, if I recall. Accelgor picked itself up and charged.
"Reverse Mighty Morphin time!" I shouted.
Little known fact: Metagross's four arms are detachable.
With successive 'clinks' each clawed arm disengaged, and then began hovering around the core body. Metagross's mental acuity held them airborne. Even more so than the Rambo Ball, it could will these through the air with ease- quick, agile, airborne, pronged, and guided. They were no longer Metagross's limbs so much as modern combat weapons.
Accelgor flicked across the arena in a zigzag pattern, only ever pausing for a moment to change course. Metagross's claws launched, gunning for the bug like heat-seeking missiles. Rapid-fire plumes of dust sprung into the air, trailing the invisible path of Accelgor as it sought a clear vector. The missile massacre did not relent; with each miss, the claws instantly flipped airborne and reengaged.
"Meta, Flight Test!"
Each code word signaled a drill we had practiced, indicating what the Pokémon needed to do without wasting time or alerting the opposing trainer. 'Flight Test' was a tactic common in aerial dogfights. Metagross began by lifting itself telekinetically. Using its Agility boosts, it raced towards the sideline, away from the incoming Accelgor.
Accelgor followed.
"Go after it!" Keido ordered, hoping Accelgor's Scarf would help close the gap. It seemed to work. As Metagross skirted in a wide circle around the arena's edge, Accelgor gained two-thirds of the distance within seconds.
"He won't notice it," I told myself confidently.
Metagross and Accelgor were now circle-strafing each other, trying to gain an angle. The G's involved were tremendous, almost to the point of hurting the Pokémon. But whoever slowed down or gave up the angle first was going to lose. Spare Flash Cannons and Bug Buzzes zipped across the gap between them, each testing their aim. The arm-missiles constantly pursued Accelgor as well, but couldn't keep up the same rate of turn, often flying off in erratic directions. Nothing was hitting, the both of them were moving too fast, in too tight a circle.
Round and round, tighter and tighter- any moment now…
"Groooor!" The Accelgor moaned faintly, and then tumbled out of the strafe, plowing face-first into the ground. Metagross came round and plowed him further into the dirt with a Psychic attack, followed moments later by three of the four arms smashing and battering its sides.
"Blacked out?" Keido guessed. I nodded in affirmation.
"Metagross can take G's better than any Pokémon alive, due to its special cyber-based nervous system. It's to its advantage to draw others into strafing battles. Meteor Mash, with Lightscreen!"
Metagross lit up, forming a hexagonal screen beneath its bulk, and then dropped. Its body flared, plasma spewing behind it leaving an electromagnetic solar-hued rainbow.
The Lightscreen will shield Metagross from any special counter-attack, but still allow the physical Meteor Mash to penetrate with full force.
"Trick-vade."
Keido's Pokémon flicked, something going on between them. Metagross landed with a catastrophic bang, gouging a ten-foot crater in the floor and rocking the room. Bits of rubble and even underlying concrete peppered the shields.
Yet, Accelgor stood, rigid as a tree trunk. A slight glimmer encased its body.
"Watch the Shadows!" I yelled.
Accelgor had used Protect to survive the Meteor Mash, which means it Tricked the Choice Scarf over to Chandelure somehow, who was now… somewhere…
Metagross recalled its limbs, each clicking into place and gyrating, getting resynced with the Pokémon's nervous system.
Chandelure arose from Metagross's own shadow, slithering up behind the blindsided Pokémon. Too bad for it; Callibrate also increases Meta's heat sensitivity. My Pokémon snatched the retreating Accelgor from the air and flung it around, blocking the Flame Shot heading towards it. The fireball blasted Accelgor, dealing super-effective damage. The thing couldn't be far from fainting now.
Even still, the Pokémon recovered nigh-instantly. Accelgor picked the Choice Scarf off of Chandelure's head and donned itself with it.
"Bug Buzz! Shadow Sneak for Shadow Tag!"
Accelgor flitted into firing range, exerted itself, and slumped. It had no more energy for special attacks.
"Meta, finish the bug off!" I called.
It tried, reaching out a claw- only to stop short. Chandelure had succeeded in locking it down again.
"Fine, Crunch the light fixture!"
"Overheat!"
"Pulse! Pulse!"
Chandelure drew in close, right up to Metagross' side, and began glowing. The air shimmered, a moment and it would be radiating like a miniature sun.
"GROSS!"
My Pokémon's eyes flared, concentrating all the psychic power it could muster within a half-second. A half-formed Light Screen formed between the two, and pushed, backing Chandelure away. It had only gone two feet, though, when the Overheat reached critical mass. The air turned into a solid sphere of heat, washing over Chandelure and Metagross. It was not combustion, but pure thermo-radiant energy; the vacuum trick was worthless here. Only the Lightscreen saved Metagross from an untimely demise. The intense sphere radiated outwards, and then faded as it spent itself.
"Meta?!" I called out.
"Gross!" it finished. It was hurt. Hurt, in pain, and nearly crippled- but not quite fainted. It had one last exchange in it.
"Earthquake!"
Chandelure tried to retreat, but exhausted as it was, it had no chance. Still less chance once Metagross's Gravity/Psychic took hold, dragging the bulb of now-dullen embers backwards. Metagross brought a fist down, shoving Chandelure into the dirt and making it the epicenter of a devastating quake.
"One down! Now Zen-"
"Bug Bite!"
Oh crap.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap!
Accelgor U-turned at the far end and came racing back towards Metagross at full tilt.
It's hurt.
So is Metagross.
I hadn't counted on Chandelure still having an Overheat in the barrel, and now, for all of our preparation, Metagross was limping.
Both Pokémon are down to their last sliver of health. It would all come to whoever landed the first blow. A Scarfed Accelgor will outrun even a twice Agility-boosted Metagross. It'll get the first strike.
Time compressed. My mind raced, trying to slow down its perception of time enough to make a decision. I had two seconds before Metagross was hit. Less than a second to order an attack.
Think.
THINK.
THINK!
Psychic, Zen Headbutt, Metal Claw, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Crunch, Shadow Ball, Rock Slide, Gravity Bomb, Bullet Punch, Flash Cannon- all too slow! No, wait!
"Bullet Punch!"
I flinched.
It didn't matter. I wasn't going to see it anyways. In the space of .0027 seconds, Metagross's fore-right limb covered 4 feet with perfect timing and nigh-instantaneous acceleration, connecting with Accelgor's forehead as it lunged forward with open jaws. It was the equivalent of getting hit by a sledgehammer going 1,444 feet per second, or 985 miles per hour. Faster, in fact, than a 9mm bullet.
All I and Keido saw, however, was Accelgor spin backwards end over end, even as its sheer momentum still carried it forwards and beyond Metagross. The behemoth quadruped stood stock still and poised, fist still raised.
Accelgor finally flopped to an awkward landing. It was breathing, slow and agonizingly, but otherwise it wasn't moving. The match was over.
I won.
Keido recalled his two Pokémon and lumbered over. The familiar air of a scolded puppy hung about him, this time tainted with the pain of knowing he had come closer to beating me than ever before.
"Drinks," I inquired.
"Ugh. Bet's a bet."
"How about Claranista's," I suggested, smiling.
"That's way too expensive," Keido protested.
"I'm feeling magnanimous today. Drinks on me. Besides, I need a drinking buddy. Badly." I put my arm around my sometime-friend, sometime-enemy, and guided the sad wreck out towards the parking lot exit.