Chapter 13: VS Aqua Captain Taryn (part 1)

Oh goodie. This fanfic's been up for just over a week and already there have been almost 1000 views! That's incredible! Thanks so much everyone! And an extra big thank you goes out to AgitadedDog9288, Solar Stife (sorry for accidentally missing you a few chapters back), and FROSTDRAGON4875 for following and/or favoriting this fanfic! And as always a big thanks to Veraa2 for PMing me another review!

Miraak Darklight: Yep, Taryn's not going to be a pushover like the grunt. In fact, I have a feeling that whether this battle is a win, lose, or draw it's going to serve as a pretty big wakeup call for Sapphire.

Disclaimer: I own nothing official!


No words were spoken as both teams released their Pokemon. Sapphire almost groaned when she saw the purple and green moth that flitted throughout the air in front of Taryn. A Dustox. Great, more bugs. And her team was so weak against them, too. It seemed that she could not catch a break.

Sapphire had chosen to use her Taillow, and Wind cawed loudly as he saw the moth. Inwardly the girl smirked. If this girl was anything like her companion, this should be a piece of cake.

"Dustox, use Tackle."

"Quick Wind! Dodge and use Peck!"

With a mighty flap of his wings Wind slipped by the Tackle attack, his beak starting to glow as he prepared to land a vicious Peck. Dustox dodged it with a flip, coming up right behind Wind.

"Now, use Poison Powder!" Taryn ordered. Dustox smirked, shifting the kind of powdery scales that were falling off of her wings. Normally these fine dusty scales were harmless, just naturally shed from the Pokemon's wings. But the Poison Moth Pokemon could alter it to contain a deadly toxin.

Sapphire was taken by surprise, expecting the Pokemon to release some kind of powdery purple cloud from her mouth. That was, after all, what the other Pokemon that she had seen use the move did. Instead the Dustox only flew over Wind, flapping her wings mightily. The powdery scales were so fine that the girl didn't see them. Foolishly she thought that it had failed to use the attack, and opened her mouth to order another Peck. But the effect of the scales was instantaneous, and she found the words frozen in her throat as the sneaky attack came to fruition.

Wind chirped weakly, a strangled sound escaping from his throat as the toxic substance coated his body, quickly unleashing their mayhem. Sapphire paled as jagged purple energy began to swirl around her faithful Taillow, wrecking internal havoc on his body. He was weakened quite severely, and his breaths became unstable.

"Now, use Tackle. I want that bird gone." Taryn's voice was cold, cruel even. Wind was still suffering from the poison that was slowly leeching his strength away. If Sapphire had any Antidotes, or Pecha Berries she would have used them, but alas she had already had to use them all.

"Wind, you have to dodge it!" Sapphire cried, feeling a bit helpless seeing her Pokemon in pain. Wind nodded, and would have grit his teeth had he had any. When Dustox came swooping in he darted underneath it, just barely making it in time. Another caw split the air as the poison drained more of his health and strength away. Taryn smirked.

"Dustox, Confusion." She ordered. Dustox smirked and her eyes began to glow blue. That blue glow moved to surround Taillow, and quickly overwhelmed his defenses. With such a weak attack as Confusion, all Dustox could do was slam Wind into a tree. Always the fighter to the end, Sapphire's prank-loving bird flew back into the air, ready to continue the fight. The deadly purple energy surrounded him once more, draining his strength completely. Wind let out a weak cry before his wings folded and he dropped to the ground like a stone. He had fainted.

Sapphire was calm on the outside as she recalled the bird, but on the inside she was mentally freaking out. Despite having a type advantage, Wind had been unable to land a single attack. She may have been a little over her head. Okay, a lot over her head, but who cared? At this point the battle was on.

At least she had learned that Dustox knew Confusion, Tackle, and Poison Powder. So far no Bug type moves. With this in mind she selected her next Pokemon, releasing Shadow onto the field.

"Use Howl." She ordered. The ferocious snarling Howl that Shadow emitted might have intimidated the Dustox a bit, but the moth hid it well. Taryn called for a Poison Powder again, and soon Shadow had inhaled those fine scales that started to wreak havoc on his health and strength. He hadn't been coated in them like Wind had - Sapphire's order to dodge had come swift enough for him to almost evade the attack - but even the small amount that managed to get into the pup had been enough to inflict the status condition on him.

But this time Sapphire had carefully watched the moth, and saw the fine scales that had spelled doom to her trusty Taillow. So this was how Dustox carried out this particular attack. Useful information.

"Get in there with a Tackle." Taryn ordered. Sapphire smirked. That was her mistake.

"Wait until it gets close, and then stop it with a Fire Fang." Shadow shook off the effects of the poison as best he could, his mouth starting to heat up as flames erupted along his fangs. Dustox darted in with a Tackle that landed on his back, but before she could get out of range Shadow managed to clamp down on the tip of one of her wings. The flames licked hungrily against the delicate scales, and the moth screeched in pain.

Despite the fact that it was not only super effective and powered up due to the use of Howl, it did not manage to faint the Dustox. Then again, Sapphire would have been a fool to believe that the annoying Poison Moth Pokemon would be able to be taken down in one hit. It was obviously at a high level, much higher than her own Pokemon. It would take a lot to defeat Taryn.

To her immense shock, however, the Team Aqua Captain called back her Dustox, no doubt feeling threatened by Shadow's ability to use Fire Fang. Sapphire observed that she had two other Pokeballs on her belt as Taryn switched Dustox out for one of the other ones. At least the scrappy trainer had numbers on her side.

That brief flare of hope vanished as Taryn tossed the Pokeball into the air, releasing the Pokemon held inside. It was a Makuhita, and the sand colored Pokemon had a nasty leer on his face. Shadow backed up a few steps before shaking his head, wincing as the poison sapped more of his strength. By Sapphire's side, Shade let out another hiss.

Judging from their reactions, Sapphire assumed that this new Pokemon was a Fighting type, and a momentary flare of panic rose inside of her. Her assumptions were proved to be correct as Taryn ordered her Pokemon to use Arm Thrust. Makuhita obeyed, charging forward with his hands held high. He was on the slow side, but Taryn didn't keep him around for his speed. As slow as he was, Makuhita was a tank. His HP and Attack stats were quite high, and with some proper training his Defenses could be boosted as well.

Due to his inherent speediness Shadow managed to dodge the furious Fighting type for a while, steadily growing exhausted as his strength and stamina were drained away by Dustox's poisons. Eventually he slowed down enough that Makuhita managed to catch up. Knowing that her Pokemon was going to faint, and frustrated that she could do nothing to prevent it, Sapphire ordered a Fire Fang. Makuhita didn't even flinch, as his ability Thick Fat cut the damage in half. He thrusted his arms forward, landing blow after blow on the weakened Shadow, who let out a pained whimper after the third strike and crumpled to the ground.

Sapphire had burned through almost half of her team by this point, and was quite frustrated. Not only was she growing frustrated, however, but she was also starting to grow scared. Three of her Pokemon had fainted, and yet she had failed to take out one of Taryn's partners. Granted, Dustox was pretty much on her last gasp, but still. This wasn't going well, not at all.

Her next choice was obvious. She wasn't going to send out Shade - pitting the Dark and Ice type against a Fighting type like Makuhita would have been suicide. Swampy she wanted to save for Dustox, as a single Water Gun should be enough to faint it, and Dancer was still young. She'd only call upon the Ralts as a last resort. Her choice was obvious.

If the Devon Corp Employee hadn't recognized her before, he certainly did now as the white Beldum was called to the field. It was a risky move, but Beldum's Psychic type attributes should cancel out the Steel type's weakness to the Fighting type.

"Now that's a rare Pokemon you've got there." Taryn raised an eyebrow at the sight of a Beldum, and a shiny one at that. Sapphire didn't honor that with a response, instead ordering Beldum to use Zen Headbutt, a notion that Taryn scoffed at. Didn't this little girl know that Beldum could only learn Take Down?

To her immense shock - perhaps the first time Taryn had been shocked during this battle - Beldum rushed forward,as they charged up the headbutt laced with psychic energy. They were quick, but not quick enough for them to avoid the Fake Out that Taryn had hastily called for. Makuhita struck before Beldum, and the shiny Pokemon flinched.

"Quick, use Whirlwind!" Taryn cried, for a moment letting her panic bleed into her voice. Sapphire smirked, happy to know that her Beldum had gotten underneath the girl's skin. Makuhita, understandably a bit rattled, created a strong gust of wind. Beldum was forced back, and as Sapphire watched a red glow shot out of the girl's Pokeball. Beldum was recalled back, despite the fact that she hadn't called for them to return. Before she could process this, however, Swampy's Pokeball automatically opened up, and the Water type was dragged out onto the field.

"Perfect." Taryn had a nasty leer on her face as she recalled her Makuhita. "Beautifly, let's go."

This Pokemon was a butterfly, much as Dustox was a moth. Beautifly looked a bit more delicate, more, well, beautiful. Nonetheless she had a nasty look on her face, a look that did not match her graceful appearance. Sapphire tensed slightly, a frown on her face. This one easily looked as tough as Dustox. It seemed that this battle wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.


And done. So, what do you guys think of Taryn and her team? Taryn's style of battling involves playing around with status conditions - hence why she has Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Fake Out among her moves - and then letting the opponent exhaust themselves before she swoops in for the kill. Currently her team is around level 15, so she's a lot stronger than Sapphire. But our scrappy heroine's got some surprises of her own. So, who do you think will win? I'm curious to see your guesses.

I may not be able to update tomorrow or Monday, due to Christmas related activities (my extended family comes over on the 26th), so if I can't, I just want to wish all of my wonderful readers a very happy holiday, regardless of whichever one you celebrate.

Leave any and all comments, inquiries, compliments, or constructive criticisms in a review! Flames shall be blown out by Taryn ordering her Makuhita to use Whirlwind.