Not much to say so I'll just make it short. I do not own Pokémon now shut up, stop telling people I do, and go make me a pie, Travis! Oh, wait, you're not Travis… Awkward…
Chapter 12: Jameson's Hidden Skills. VS Leader Kory I
Staraptor caught an updraft and flapped himself higher into the air upon his trainer's orders. Sonia gave the bird of prey an appreciative pat on his head and looked down to see Mélange Town quickly approaching over the horizon. She replayed the details of her mission in her head: get to the tower, get the tablet. Get in; get out. It was as simple as that.
"Somehow I think a simple mission like that will be too boring for me," Sonia mused with a devious smirk. "I need to find a way to spice it up a little, don't I, Staraptor?"
"Mukku," the predatory bird trilled. Truthfully, he wasn't all that interested in his trainer's antics. But, then again, that's how he always was until Sonia did something that really wowed him.
"The only question is - whoo!" she cried when Staraptor did a barrel roll before decreasing his altitude. "Thanks for the interruption," she laughed. "But, seriously, what can I do to keep entertained today?"
"Ku-kuhawk?" How 'bout that? Staraptor nodded his head towards the ground where a group of trainers were gathered. One of the boys had a charmander stood in front of him battling a shinx while a buizel watched. Another boy stood training his scyther, duskull, and an overactive zangoose. Two girls sat on the sidelines using an onix as a bench. A smirk bloomed across Sonia's face.
"Yeah," she said with a devious smile. "That'll work just fine for me."
Back on the ground, Jameson watched Staraptor fly overhead uninterestedly. His mind was elsewhere, calculating and strategizing. Emily had told him when he left Knight City that Kory was a Gym Leader that trained Fighting-type pokémon. With Sniper and Shishi, James had a clear advantage against Fighting-types. Luna, however, was a different story.
She was a Normal-type and thus, was notoriously weak to Fighting-types. It didn't really help that the Zangoose's personality was so volatile and variable, either; it just made her harder to control. He let out a drawn-out sigh, his fist against his forehead in exasperation.
"Harder than I thought it'd be," he said to the air. "Well, I guess we just have to work on it a bit more, huh, guys?"
"Zan zang," Luna nodded enthusiastically.
"Scy-ytha," Sniper sighed, sympathizing with James. You think training her's bad? Try being her sparring partner, he whined.
Suck it up, youngling, Shishi muttered. Just sit back, relax and watch the coal-headed one fail.
You aren't even that old, Sniper muttered back.
Soul jumped over Strabi's Spark attack, landed, and swiped at her unguarded back with Metal Claw. Strabi struck back and knocked Soul's hand back with Iron Tail before whipping around and swiping with claws sheathed in night. Her Night Slash just missed Soul when he leapt backwards, sliding as he landed.
"Strabi, Shock Wave. Soul, Ember attack." Grey ordered without the usual fervor. Grey didn't want a repeat of his first Gym Battle and he knew that Gym Leaders weren't to be taken lightly. If his devastating defeat at Emily's hands didn't tell him that then nothing would. He wanted to keep himself calm during the battle so he didn't make any stupid mistakes and he knew that the adrenaline rush that made him do that. Any mistake on his part would end up in a loss and serious injury for his pokémon and that, in his opinion, was not fair to them.
Strabi's rings glowed violently and she launched the blue electrical wave at Soul. The sure-hit attack screamed forward before being stopped halfway through be Soul's fireball. The resulting explosion shook the air violently and generated a huge cloud of smoke.
"It's like he just keeps getting better and better," June said in amazement. "Same with James, too. Watching them never gets boring."
"Grovyle," Sylva concurred with a nod. From her usual spot around Juniper's shoulders, Rosewood gave her own nod. Rhea only watched in silent content from June's arms.
"Speak for yourself," Rachel grumbled as she watched Grey. Her annoyance with the whole Pokémon Training thing was slowly growing day by day. "It's getting pretty annoying watching him break the rules. Right, Vulpix?"
"Vul vulpix," Vulpix concurred.
"It wouldn't hurt you to train Heracross and Mudkip, you know," June admonished. "You said you'd start pulling your weight in the battle department but you've only caught Heracross so far." Rachel's face took on a miffed appearance and June gave her a knowing smirk.
"Aha. Speechless, aren't you?" she said smugly.
"Okay, fine. I admit you're right. After Grey's battle, I'll ask him to train," Rachel conceded.
"Mud mudkip!" the little one cheered.
"I know, I know," Rachel laughed, immediately brightening up at Mudkip's cheeriness.
"Soul, shoot Ember faster and Strabi, Iron Tail it down," Grey commanded. "Just hope this new strategy works." Soul charged up and launched another Ember attack while Strabi prepared to counter it. With a mini-roar, she made her tail take on the same metallic sheen as Metal Claw and leapt up to meet the fireball. Strabi swung her tail around but lost concentration and Iron Tail stopped working, letting Ember fully impact.
"Shi-nyaah," she growled irritably as she shook herself out. "Nyarah nya…"
"Char char?" Soul asked between tired breaths. Break time?
"Sure, guys," Grey sighed. He himself sat cross-legged on the ground and his pokémon, bar Maverick, approached him. Grey stoked his shinx's fur apologetically. "Sorry about that, Strabi; looks like we need more work on that Iron Tail of yours."
"Nyah-shi," the cub agreed with a curt nod. She wasn't mad at Grey at all; rather her pride had been bruised by not having Iron Tail down yet.
"And Soul," Grey muttered in thought. The charmander looked back at him confusedly, wondering if he were in trouble or if he didn't try hard enough.
"No, no. Nothing like that," Grey assured after he picked up Soul's feelings. "I was just thinking. It's awesome that you learned Fire Fang but we need new moves to use against a Fighting-type Gym Leader. Can you learn any flying moves?" Soul shrugged.
"Check the Pokédex," June suggested as she and James approached. "It's bound to have something on what a charmander can learn."
"Right," Grey nodded. Turning to Jameson, he asked, "How come you aren't training? Didn't you plan to take on Kory today?"
Jameson nodded. "Of course. We've been training nonstop for two days, Grey. You weren't around is all. Though, Luna's posing a bit of a problem." He turned to his Zangoose and sighed heavily while she curiously scratched in the dirt with her claws before fixing them with a confused look. A split second later, she went into mania mode and started tearing up that same spot.
"I see what you mean by that," Grey said with some fear in his voice. "How do you know when she's -"
"Going to do that?" Jameson finished. "That's just it: I don't. I thought maybe I could use that to my advantage but she's too much of a variable for me to tell what she'll do next."
"Why don't you just go with the flow?" Grey suggested.
"Char," Soul agreed with a nod.
"You mean just let her do what she wants?" June asked. She tilted her head naively. "I thought that was the opposite of what a trainer does in battle."
"It is," James agreed. "You want me to let my psychotic zangoose run wild? Can you imagine the damage?" Grey heaved an annoyed sigh at James for not understanding.
"I mean you're too uptight," he said bluntly. Jameson was taken aback and Juniper giggled but Grey kept going with his explanation. "If you can't figure out when Luna will shift, then just go with it. Adapt your battle style to her current…personality," he finished uncertainly. "You know what I mean."
"I…you…I am not uptight!" James shouted indignantly while Rosewood made no attempts to hide her laughter. The look on his face was too good to ignore and even Sylva was chuckling.
"Yeah, dude, you are," Grey snickered at his stuttering. "I'll admit you've got skill but you're too rigid. You follow the same battle routine over and over again and, to be honest, it's kind of stale. You need to keep…. What's the word I'm looking for?"
"Charman?"
"Bui bui?" Lucy suggested.
"No, not change…" Grey said.
"Shi-nya?" Strabi put it. Grey snapped his fingers and patted Strabi's head.
"Thank you, that's the word! Evolve; you need to evolve with your pokémon. Otherwise you're gonna get left behind," Grey said.
"It's odd to hear words of wisdom come from you, Grey," June said with a giggle. "But I guess we all have our moments."
"Thanks, June," Grey smiled. It took him about a second to realize the dual meaning behind that sentence. "Wait a second; hey!"
"Gotcha!" the redhead laughed as Rosewood joined in in an instant. Jameson huffed and turned his back to Grey.
"Why should I fix what's not broken?" he shot back.
"It ain't broken yet, but it will be if you don't start adapting," Grey sang.
"What do you know?" James asked with a hint of petulance. "You've only been training for a little over a month."
"I know, but I watch the Pokémon League channel a lot and Green from Kanto says that a trainer needs to grow with his pokémon and adapt. Otherwise, you're outta the game faster than you can say 'Muk'," Grey answered. "Just trying to help, dude." Jameson heaved a sigh of defeat.
"Okay, maybe you're right," he admitted. "Maybe I'll try it out. Thanks for the help, Grey." Grey grinned.
"Anytime. Now, work your magic, Dexter," he said, producing his Pokédex. He had it scan Soul and touched the icon labeled 'MOVES' with the stylus.
Known moves: Scratch, Growl, Smokescreen, Ember, Dragon Rage, Metal Claw, Fire Fang, Dexter reeled off.
"No, no, no," Grey said with a shake of his head, "I already know what Soul knows now. I need to know what kinds he can learn."
"Give it here," June said. She put a frowning Rhea down and took the Pokédex from Grey. Touching a few icons here and there, June was able to bring up an entirely new screen. She handed it back to Grey and he gave it a curious look, James looking over his shoulder.
The top screen showed a picture of Soul in the top right corner with a pentagonal grid taking up the rest of it. A small number was placed at the bottom of Soul's picture. The bottom screen showed a list of moves that Soul's species could learn color-coded by type.
"June, this is sick," Grey grinned. "How'd you get it to do that?"
"I'll teach you later. Just read; I think you'll find something you like in there," June said slyly. Sylva felt a slight pang of pride in her trainer. Shrugging, Grey started to cycle through the moves.
"Check it out. He can learn Shadow Claw," James pointed out.
"Yeah, but we're not facing a Psychic-type Leader," Grey reminded him. "I'm looking for any Flying-type moves."
"Rock Slide's not very effective against Fighting-types. Fire Blast, Double Team… What about Frustration?" James suggested. Grey and Soul scoffed in obnoxious unison.
"Soul and I are best friends! Not only would that move be an insult to us, it wouldn't even do much damage!" Grey said with a mix of pride and incredulity. "Next move. Overheat, Swords Dance, Swagger; none of these moves are useful in the lea - Hello, what've we get here?"
"Hm?" James looked at the move in question and smirked, grasping Grey's idea in an instant. "Oh, that's good."
"Aerial Ace!" Grey punched the air in victory. "It never misses and it's great against Fighting-types! June, you're a genius!"
"Well, you know." June blushed but accepted the praise nonetheless.
"Hey, look, there's another move here. 'Will-O-Wisp. Type: Fire. An attack in which the user generates intensely hot flames to induce a guaranteed burn the enemy. Mostly known by Ghost and Fire-types.'," Grey read off. "Burns bring down the enemy's attack power… Hey, doesn't your duskull know Will-O-Wisp?" Jameson nodded affirmatively.
"You can't borrow him, though. My Gym Battle's in a few hours and I want to get more training in," James said.
"Well, Vulpix knows it and Heracross knows Aerial Ace. This is going to be a cinch," Grey said with a grin. Thanks again, June." He turned around and started running towards his sister.
"Hey, Rae! Can I ask you a favor?" His pokémon hurriedly followed after him.
"He never sits still," James noted with disdain. "He's gonna hurt himself one day."
"Yeah, but his enthusiasm is in the right place. I cannot wait to see his Gym Battle," June said excitedly.
"Alpha Team to Gold Team; are you in position?" Kestrel muttered discreetly into the mic in his lapel. Today was the day of the operation and he was dressed incognito. A simple suit and green tie was what he wore today as he commanded the troops. He himself was inside Museum Tower's forth floor fossil exhibit pretending to admire a rampardos skeleton while his two grunt teams posed as a tour group and security detail on the tenth and second floors. Another team was disabling the security cameras.
Their plan was simple. In classic pincer formation, they would incapacitate any and all pedestrians with either force or knockout gas, making their way to the Legends and Myth's exhibit on the sixth floor. There, they would get what they came for and possibly destroy the stone tablet Team Regal had set their sights on. That part was still up in the air.
"This is Sparrow of Gold Team, sir," a woman's voice replied. "We are in position and have successfully disguised ourselves as security guards. Awaiting further orders."
"Alpha Team here. Tour is about to start in T-minus one hour."
"Good, good," Kestrel muttered devilishly. "And how are the cameras coming?"
"Sigma Team leader Canard in surveillance room," the bass-voiced man answered. "Just need to wait for the rest of my team to disable the cameras on all floors and we'll be good to go. Might take a while, though. These people take their security seriously and there's encryptions on all the controls. Work faster, men!"
"Good work, everyone. We start on my signal," Kestrel commanded.
"Sir!" came the synchronized grunts from all three of his underlings.
"Sir?" came a voice from behind him. Needless to say, Kestrel was visibly suspicious. He didn't remember taking anybody with him personally. His only company were the poké balls of Fearow and Honchkrow and a flask of Scotch in his coat pocket.
"Yes?" he asked, turning around to face a blond-headed young man in overalls and an orange shirt. "Who might you be?" The young man smiled amiably.
"My name's Danny, sir. I'm a student from Knight City and the museum let me sell some of my homemade honey here to pay for tuition." Danny took a jar of the golden substance out of his hand basket and offered it to Kestrel. "Would you like to buy some? It's two for four dollars."
On the outside, Kestrel gave the boy a light clap on the shoulder and a friendly grin. On the inside, that grin belonged to a demon and the light clap became a lethal death grip.
"Of course, my boy. Give me eight jars. My honchkrow can't get enough of the stuff."
"Thank you, sir!" Danny said gratefully. "Here, let's get you a bag from the gift shop to carry this in."
While Kestrel really did love his honchkrow to death, he himself would be lying if he said he didn't like to mix honey into his alcohol once in a while. Peculiar as it may be, it dulled bitterness of his Scotch and that was fine by him.
That afternoon, James and company rounded the corner to see the Mélange Town Gym looming before them. It was a large ring-shaped building with a rounded roof upon which giant letters spelled "GYM" in vibrant orange. Three trees grew in the center of the courtyard and out in front, there was a signpost dictating the hours the Gym Leader would be in. Seeing as it was only two in the afternoon, Jameson was actually early according to it.
The boy in blue let out a tense breath and steeled himself for what was to come. His pokémon were safely in their balls, they had trained, and James was confident. Dashing any further doubts in his mind, he gave a quick nod and led the others through the door. Thankful to be spared of the burning plains sun, Jameson relaxed even more in the presence of air conditioning.
"Thank Arceus," Rachel sighed in content. Vulpix, however, scoffed at the cool air and wished for the heat to return, as did Soul and Grey.
"Hello there," the brown-haired receptionist greeted. "Are you here for a martial arts class or a Gym Battle?" she asked, pointing to the respective doors on either side of her booth.
"Gym Battle," James answered. The receptionist looked relieved and said,
"Thank goodness. I thought you were here for a class cuz the last one ended twenty minutes ago. I'll show you to the battlefield." The group followed behind her, leading them through the door on the left. They noticed that the room was a large and spacious martial arts studio fitted with padded floors and walls. Barbells and other weight lifting equipment were messily strewn across the floor and there were several dents in the padding.
"Looks like Grey's room back home except for the padding," Rachel noted.
"Actually, aside from the barbells and less padding, this is exactly how I pictured his room," Jameson joked.
"Hey!" Grey shouted.
"Kory is a very messy person. He never cleans up after his classes and just leaves it for me to do…" the receptionist muttered sourly.
"You his big sister?" Rachel asked.
"You guessed it." The two girls immediately felt sympathy for one another. She led them out of the studio and into the courtyard. It was about a fourth of the size of the Pokémon Centre's with a standard battlefield in the center of it. Three trees were placed on three sides of the field and the sun shone down brightly, giving the whole area a calming atmosphere. Unlike Emily's indoor battlefield, there were no stands, only one set of bleachers on either side of the battlefield. On the courtyard wall opposite the Gym Leader's side of the battlefield was a giant Combat Badge: a red diamond pierced by twin swords.
In the center of the battlefield was a boy around James and Grey's ages with mid-length brown hair. He wore a green sleeveless hoodie and gray sweatpants and was doing stretches with a monferno copying his movements. Around the boy's forearms and fists were training bandages.
"Outdoor battlefield," Grey noted. "Why?"
"Kory doesn't like being inside when he fights on account of him breaking a lot of stuff. Plus, the fresh air does him good. Kory, you've got a battle!" his sister called to him. Kory decided to show off a little and do a series of back flips onto his side of the battlefield. Monferno did the same, landing affectionately on his shoulders. "Showoff…"
"So, you wanna try for the Combat Badge, do yah?" Kory asked, his voice energetic if not for a slight drawl. "Fine by me, mate. Yer friends're gonna have to sit on the sideline bleachers, though." He jabbed a thumb in their direction for emphasis.
"Good luck, Jimmy," Rachel said encouragingly.
"Kick him into next week," Grey said with a grin and a thumbs up that were imitated by Soul.
"Break a leg out there," June piped up. "But not literally. I mean, it would really be bad if you or your pokémon broke a leg and -" Rosewood slapped her paw to her forehead and quickly covered Juniper's mouth before she said something embarrassing.
"I get it, June," James interjected with a laugh. She followed the Thomas siblings and took a seat on the topmost bleacher with Rachel and Vulpix sitting one under her. Grey and Soul took courtside seats, not wanting to miss any of the action. He let out Strabi and Lucy to let them watch and hopefully learn a new strategy or two.
"Fiona, mind refereeing for us?" Fiona took her place at the referee's stand and flattened out her skirt. She picked up the red and green flags off the ground and cleared her throat before beginning.
"This is an official Pokémon League Gym Battle between…" she paused, looking at Jameson to introduce himself.
"Jameson of Fuschia City," he answered.
"Jameson of Fuschia City," Fiona continued, "and Gym Leader Kory of Mélange Town. The rules are as follows as stated by the Gym Leader."
"Okay, mate. Rules are as simple as this," Kory picked up where his sister left off. He stretched his legs a bit before going on. "However many pokémon you decide to use, I use one more than that. My Gym tests how strong you and your pokémon's fighting spirit is. Comprehend?"
"Got it. I'll be using three pokémon so you'll use four. That right?" Jameson asked as he placed a hand over one of his poké balls. Kory did a back flip and grinned.
"Exactly right."
"Right off the bat, the Gym Leader has the upper hand," Grey muttered. "So I guess we'll be facing the same odds as poor ol' Jimmy." Soul nodded silently.
"Pay close attention so you can learn the fruits of one's labor, young Rachel," June instructed with mock wisdom in her voice.
"Okay, okay," Rachel said uninterestedly. "And I'm older than you."
"Also," Fiona continued, "both sides are allowed substitutions at their leisure, but neither trainer is allowed to attack during a substitution. Failure to follow these rules results in immediate disqualification. Each trainer is allowed one time-out."
The calm atmosphere that once dominated the air of the Gym was shattered the exact moment Kory recalled Monferno took a fighting stance. James tightened his own stance and steeled his eyes. Up in the bleachers, his friends waited with bated breath for the battle to start, Grey more so than any of them. He'd never witnessed James's battling style when he fought seriously and, if it was better than the way he fought regularly, then Grey would officially declare James a more-than-worthy rival.
"Trainers, choose your first pokémon," Fiona commanded.
"Right then," Kory grinned, taking out a poké ball from the pocket of his hoodie and hurling it into the field with great force. "I choose Breloom!"
The ball opened and silver light rained down, morphing into Kory's first round pick. Stood before all present was a bipedal dinosaur-like creature with a green mushroom cap for a helmet. The lower half of its body was a mossy green color and it had a long beige tail topped with four green seed pods. Its upper half was the same color as its tail and it had red hooves for arms and feet.
"Breloom!" it called out as it pawed the ground expectantly.
"Cool," Grey muttered as he scanned the creature.
Breloom, the Mushroom Pokémon. The spheres at the ends of its tail are actually hardened seed pods that it uses as a bludgeoning weapon in battle. Eating them is highly inadvisable, as they are disgusting and have varied unpleasant side-effects. Breloom's legs are very developed and allow for great speed and jumping ability. Breloom also possess the ability to scatter spores with effects ranging from poisoning to sleep-inducing and it's fighting technique consists of close range combat with springy footwork. It can also attack from a limited range with its elastic arms.
"Grass and Fighting types together," Jameson mulled. "Sniper would be the obvious choice, but I'll save him for later. Luna'd be good, too, but her Water Pulse is my secret weapon against that Monferno of his. So, there's only one other choice…" Pulling out his poké ball, Jameson lightly tossed it into the ring with a flick of his wrist.
"Shishi, it's all you," he called. The Requiem Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, lazily bobbing back and forth in the air. Kory seemed unfazed.
A giant mushroom is my opponent? he asked with a bored look. Jameson, you insult me.
"Breloom vs. Duskull," Fiona announced. "Let the battle begin!" She rose both flags into the air and Kory made the first move.
"Return, Breloom," he commanded. His confused pokémon was recalled with a flash of red. "A Ghost-type. People think I don't come prepared for that event, but I do," he said with a knowing look.
"Crap. You saw right through me," Jameson smirked. Kory said nothing and smirked himself as he pulled out the next poké ball.
"Let's go, Tyrogue!" he shouted. A small humanoid pokémon resembling a small child with three ridges on its head appeared in Breloom's place.
"Row!" it grunted determinedly.
"Foresight!" Kory commanded. Jameson grit his teeth in annoyance as Tyrogue's eyes glowed red and he stared at Shishi. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Shishi started to blink in astonishment as he felt his body become solid. Kory smirked and recalled Tyrogue, thanking it for a job well done before switching to his next pokémon.
"Mankey, I choose you!" He lobbed the ball into the ring with an overhead toss and a mankey morphed from the mass of silver light.
"Man mankey!" it screeched wildly, thumping the ground with its lanky arms.
"Mankey vs. Duskull. Begin!"
"Now the real fight starts," Kory said. "Mankey, Karate Chop!" Mankey screeched again and pushed off the ground, rocketing towards Shishi with his hand poised to chop the Ghost-type's mask in half. Shishi barely sidestepped the move and Mankey, true to its species stereotype, became enraged and came back around with another Karate Chop, hitting Shishi in the crossbones pattern on his back.
"Okay, that did too much damage to be good," Jameson pointed out. "Shishi stand your ground!" The duskull angrily whipped around to face Mankey and held his arms outward defensively.
"Mankey, Focus Energy then Fury Swipes!" Kory shouted as he hopped in place.
"Maaaaaan…" Mankey growled. His body took on a thin sheen of white energy that slowly condensed into the center of its body. His eyes snapping open in readiness, Mankey jumped up again to meet Shishi, flailing his arms wildly with Fury Swipes.
"Now, Shishi! Shadow Sneak!" In the space of a half-second, Shishi sunk into Mankey's shadow when he came overhead. The confused pig-monkey landed and looked around, enraged and cursing the duskull as a coward for seemingly running away.
Who's running? Shishi asked sadistically. His solitary red eye opened in Mankey's shadow and struck fear into the Fighting-type's heart.
"Shishi, Will-O-Wisp," Jameson ordered with a cool smirk. Spectral blue flames exploded into existence from under Mankey and enveloped him in their searing embrace. Mankey immediately caught fire and screamed in agony as he was burned, allowing Shishi a free shot to finish his Shadow Sneak. He landed an uppercut on Mankey, sending him into the air and finished his opponent with Shadow Ball on Jameson's swift command. Mankey was unconscious, crackling with residual black energy, and still on fire when he hit the ground.
Needless to say, all three of Jameson's friends and their pokémon were in total awe. The battle was over and had been executed almost expertly by Jameson and his duskull. Grey and Juniper had never seen a duskull move that fast and chalked it up to the speed of Shadow Sneak. The use of Will-O-Wisp in such a way coupled with Shishi's deft use of Shadow Ball was worthy of high note. It was as if both trainer and pokémon knew what the other was thinking. The thought sparked envy in Grey; if it were true, then what did it say of his and Soul's bond?
"No…no way," Grey breathed. "He knocked that thing out in no time flat. And with a duskull. And with a disadvantage right off the bat… That was amazing…"
"I'm speechless," June conceded. "I'm actually speechless…"
"Whoa…" was all Rachel could say, mouth agape.
"Is this what James gets like when he's serious? Am I really that far behind him…?" Grey began to doubt his own skills and Soul sensed this. He placed a hand on his trainer's in an attempt at comfort.
"Charmander," he said resolutely.
"You're right Soul," Grey said, some tension leaving him. "We'll just have to train even harder."
"Mankey is unable to battle," Fiona declared, herself highly impressed. She raised the green flag in Jameson's direction and said, "Duskull is the winner." Shishi gave his signature laugh and floated over to Jameson for a high-five.
"Gotta hand it to you, trainer," said Kory as he recalled Mankey, "I was not expecting that. Granted, Mankey is my weakest pokémon but I hardly ever see anybody take him out that quickly."
"Whether he was your weakest or not, I knew that I'd have to get serious and quickly take out one of your pokémon if I wanted to level the playing field," Jameson explained, his arms crossed and his face set into a confident smile. "Shishi here was the only man for the job. Nice work, buddy," he praised the ghost.
"Skull-dusk," the ghost grunted in appreciation.
"Huh," Kory grunted. He took out his next poké ball and said, "Well, then I'll just have to get serious now, won't I? Breloom, you're back out!" Another flash of silver light and Breloom was back on the field and pawing it eagerly.
"Shishi, take a rest." Jameson called back his duskull and took out his next one, staring at the pokémon inside. "This should be a cinch for us, partner. Sniper, game set!"
Jameson threw the ball with a backhand motion, calling out his first pokémon. Sniper was not in the mood to play, it seemed. His eyes were devoid of any childishness and his arms were crossed in their usual battle position. He flared his wings threateningly at Breloom and let out a low hiss. The mushroom pokémon gave his opponent a cheeky smirk and beckoned him forward.
"This should be good," Grey said expectantly.
"Breloom vs. Scyther!" Fiona declared, raising her flags. She brought them back down with a forceful cry of, "Begin!"
"Full force, Breloom; Stone Edge!" Kory screamed and threw a powerful left jab. Breloom reared its head back and three energy rings appeared around him that quickly solidified into jagged gray stones. He threw his arms forward and the stones followed, bulleting at Sniper.
"Now charge in fast! Mach Punch!" Kory followed up. Breloom shot forward like an arrow and pulled back a fist.
"Sniper. Crush, parry, and Slash," Jameson said coolly. Sniper said nothing and with blinding speed, he used the backs of his blades to rhythmically crush each stone that flew towards him into dust clouds. He finished with a spinning flourish and ignited his blades with Slash attack to parry Breloom's Mach Punch. Both pokémon struggled against one another to try and gain the upper hand but they were evenly matched in terms of power.
"Good boy, Breloom. Now use your tail," Kory said with a smirk. Breloom mimicked that and brought his tail around to slam Sniper in the hip with the spore pods on his tail. Sniper jumped back to avoid further damage only for Breloom to hop above him and drop his tail down on the mantis's head. Sniper tumbled back and tried to fight off the echoing pain.
"Sniper!" James shouted concernedly. "Pull yourself together and use Wing Attack!"
"ThunderPunch!" Kory commanded with gusto. Jameson visibly paled and his heart fell through his stomach. Breloom let out a battle cry and threw an electrified punch that stretched forward and clipped Sniper right as he tilted his head at the last second. The sparks raced by Sniper's face and gave him a hard shock and he shuddered at the thought of a full impact.
On the sidelines, Lucy and Soul winced at the sight and pitied Sniper for going up against that.
We'll be going up against that soon, Lucy pointed out. I hope I don't go against that.
You're sticking around for the Gym Battle? Soul asked.
Of course. I can't let you and Grey down.
I thought you hated Grey, Soul said with a sly smirk.
I guess I warmed up to him a bit, Lucy conceded with a shrug.
"Keep dodging and counter with Fury Cutter!" James shouted. Grey watched and mentally pointed out that James was slowly losing his cool. He grit his teeth silently; it wasn't as if he wanted James to lose but, at the same time, he considered this a small dose of karma for his rival. Maybe this'd get him to remedy his battle style and hopefully loosen up.
Sniper shifted left and right and ducked hurriedly under Breloom's assault. His scythe's turned crimson and he repeatedly sliced at Breloom. Breloom stayed true to his fighting style and cockily hopped away from Sniper's blades just as fast as his opponent.
"It's like a duel between a swordsman and a boxer," June compared. "Both of them are nearly matched in speed but in reflexes, Sniper's the clear winner. But why isn't he moving as fast as he did at the start of this?"
"James is losing his cool and Sniper can sense it," Grey explained with uncharacteristic seriousness. Whenever he witnessed a battle, Grey would analyze the tactics of the trainers and the movements of their pokémon, quickly finding out the root of the problem and let his instincts guide him to the solution. Strangely enough, he wasn't able to do this while in a fight.
"If he doesn't pull himself together quick, Sniper will be knocked out and he'll lose his powerhouse," he finished.
"How're you able to do that?" June and Rachel chorused, both impressed with Grey.
"I watch the League Channel a lot," Grey said with a shrug. "Either way, James can't fall apart at the first sign of a type advantage. It's classic Gym Leader strategy."
"Have to get on the offensive," James berated himself. "I haven't gotten one hit in!" His spirits further dropped when Kory ordered a dodge from Breloom and his pokémon responded by bending over backwards and clubbing Sniper with his tail again.
"Come on, kid!" Kory jibed. "Where's the fire from the first round? If that's all you had then this won't be worth the effort." Jameson growled and clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. He had to work fast or else he'd get hammered into the ground like a nail.
"Sniper!" he barked. Sniper didn't look back from parrying Breloom but James knew he heard. "Let's pull it off! Agility!"
"ThunderPunch, Breloom!" Kory cried with a punch.
"Scy!" Sniper grunted. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl at that moment. Breloom's electrified, stretchy limb soared at Sniper's face and hit air then the bug flickered out of existence. The next second, Sniper was behind Breloom and digging his wing into the fighting mushroom's back like a football player tackles his opponent.
"Aww, crap!" Kory cursed.
"That's the way!" James shouted, victoriously slashing his arms through the air. Grey grinned and relaxed to watch the rest of the battle. "Now Fury Cutter!"
"Scy-yi-yi-yi!" Scyther trilled, invigorated now that he'd finally landed a hit. He cut at Breloom's back again and again and was even fast enough to block with his foot when the fighting mushroom attempted to retaliate with his club-tail.
"Breloom, Headbutt into Stun Spore!" Kory instructed. Breloom found his second wind and whirled around to ram his head into Sniper's thorax. Winded, the Mantis Pokémon could do nothing when Breloom released a paralyzing orange spore cloud. One lungful and Sniper's muscles seized up and locked.
"Sniper; no!" James cried.
"ThunderPunch it," Kory marshaled with a triumphant grin.
"Breee LOOM!" the mushroom creature barked. He drove his sparking fist into Sniper's face and relished the pained grunt that tore out of his throat.
"Damn it," James cursed. "Sniper, X-Scissor!" Sniper fought through his paralysis with a roar and crossed his blades across Breloom's chest as furiously as he could. Breloom was out cold from the brutal cross as soon as he hit the floor. Kory let out a sigh and called Breloom back.
"Breloom is unable to battle; Scyther is the winner!" Fiona announced. James let out a sigh of relief and Sniper walked up to him rather awkwardly from the paralysis. He was numb, tired, and had a huge bruise and several electrical burns from that last attack, but he pushed past it and gave his trainer a small smile.
"Thanks, buddy. You really pulled through for me there," James said gratefully.
"Scythaa…" Of course.
"Take a well deserved rest." Jameson held up the ball and Sniper gratefully let himself be pulled back in. "Thanks again, Sniper." James put the ball back on his belt and stared Kory down, his confidence flooding back.
"I have two wins, you've got none. Only two left and that badge is mine," he said with a grin. Kory grinned back and took out his next choice.
"Well, let's just see how you do against this little guy," Kory said. "He may be small, but he's got tons o' fighting spirit. Somethin' he shares in common with you."
"Thanks for the compliment, but save it for after the battle," James retorted.
"You got it, kid. Tyrogue, you're back on!" Kory tossed the bal into the air, summoning the baby-level Fighting-type back into the fray. Tyrogue jogged in place and threw a few a few fast punches with an enthusiastic grin on his face.
"Y'know, Tyrogue and the Hitmon family have always confused me…" Grey said.
"Char?" Soul asked with a tilt of his head.
"What about them? They seem pretty normal to me," Rachel shrugged.
"Well, like… They're a male only species, right?" Grey asked. The pokémon watched the conversation curiously.
"Mhm, yeah. They are. What's so weird about that, Grey?" Juniper wondered. Grey put a hand to his face and sighed in annoyance. Were the girls honestly this dense?
"How do more Tyrogue show up?" Grey asked bluntly. Both girls' faces immediately adopted a vibrant shade of red. Soul started to laugh heartily, Grey's female pokémon looked away in embarrassment and Vulpix muttered something about immature humans.
"Well, uh…" June stuttered embarrassedly. "I… Maybe…"
"J-Just drop it, June!" Rachel urged. "Watch the m-match… Grey can look it up later." Grey let our a gale of laughter, clutching his sides out of pure hilarity.
"Prudes!" he barked while wiping a tear from his eye. "Ahh, priceless."
"Alright… This should be good training for you," Jameson muttered to his next choice's poké ball. He flung it into the ring with a shout of, "Luna, game set!" Luna took the stage and put on as flashy a show as she could, digging into the ground and tearing it up.
"A zangoose; sweet!" Kory declared. "Been a while since I've seen someone with enough guts to challenge me with a Normal-type, even if it is just Tyrogue."
"Tyro?" the baby pokémon squeaked in offense. Kory rubbed the back of his head meekly and apologized.
"Sorry, little buddy," he laughed.
"Okay. Round Three: Tyrogue vs. Zangoose! Start the battle!" Fiona shouted as she raised the flags.
"Alright, Luna. Let's take this slow. Use -" Jameson started.
"Zan!" Luna barked as she lunged at Tyrogue, totally jumping the gun. She viciously swiped at Tyrogue and left two deep gashes across the little one's chest. Next, she used Crush Claw to bat away the Fighting-type, chase after him, and slam his entire body into the battlefield. As soon as the little one got back up, Luna assaulted with repeated Slash attacks, leaving his body riddled with gashes and scratches.
"Luna, what the hell?" James screamed. "I didn't say to start!"
"Tyrogue, you alright in there?" Kory called in concern. Tyrogue bounded back up, breathing heavily but still able to fight.
"Ro!" he grunted with a nod. Tyrogue glared at Luna and she looked back with her trademark psychotic grin and licked her claws. Tyrogue felt no fear.
"Good, Tyrogue. Don't let 'em see ya sweat," Kory praised. "Hit her with Strength!" Tyrogue let out a passionate bellow and pulled his fist back. The muscles in his arms grew to three times their size and he jumped at Luna, ready to slug her.
Eat this! he shouted.
"Luna, dodge him and use Slash!" James cried. Luna did the exact opposite of what he said: she crossed her arms defensively in front of her and took the full brunt of the attack, pushing Tyrogue back and then used Quick Attack. She rammed her shoulder into Tyrogue's gut and the little one's eyes bulged out of his head. Luna streaked forward, light streaming behind her and propelling her forward until her dash was abruptly stopped by the tree behind Kory. Tyrogue thought he felt something in his little back crack and gasped in pain.
Both trainers, the spectators, and Fiona gasped as one at Luna's brutal display. Kory cried out in concern for his pokémon and James shouted angrily at his. Grey and Soul winced, Lucy looked away, and even Strabi hissed in sympathy for Tyrogue. Rachel had a hand over her open mouth in pure shock and found herself disliking pokémon battles even more. Vulpix only shook her head disappointedly. Juniper fought the urge to scream out as if she'd been hit with Luna's attack and Rosewood buried her head in her trainer's scarlet hair, unwilling to watch Luna fight.
"Luna, what the hell was that?" Jameson raged. "I didn't tell you to lay into him like that!"
"James, what's wrong with her?" Grey called from the sidelines.
"I don't know!" James answered anxiously. "She's not accepting any of my commands. This didn't happen in training! Damn it…" Jameson felt the urge to punch something and release the stress he was quickly accumulating. Luna jumped back to her side of the field, oblivious to James's anger. Tyrogue slid down the tree and his arms hung limp on the ground.
"Time out!" Kory shouted at his sister. Fiona nodded and allowed his request.
"Gym Leader Kory has used up his one time out," she announced.
"Tyrogue, are you okay…?" Kory asked uncertainly. Tyrogue answered with a weak grunt that turned into a rage-filled growl. He pushed himself up and set his face into a scowl, stomping back onto the field. "T-Tyrogue?"
"Tyyyy-RO!" Tyrogue bellowed. He crossed his arms in front of him and built up power before releasing all of it by pumping his arms down and letting all of it out. "Tyyyyy…!" Tyrogue began to glow with a powerful white light and he began to grow.
"No way!" Kory shouted with a grin and a victorious punch. "I've been waiting for this!"
"Tyrogue's evolving!" Grey and Juniper chorused.
"Damn it…!" Jameson cursed under his breath.
Tyrogue's tiny body expanded and grew taller, especially his legs. His arms grew but still remained shorter than his legs and his neck completely merged with his head and body. The light finally died down and in Tyrogue's place stood a hitmonlee, completely fighting fit. It did a few kicks, legs extending a bit further with each one.
"Hit! Mon! Lee!" Hitmonlee grunted with each kick. He pointed at Luna and his eyes narrowed angrily. It was time for a bit of revenge. Grey silently took out his Pokédex and scanned the newly evolved hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee, the Kicking Pokémon, Dexter said. Hitmonlee possesses an incredible sense of balance and is able to kick from almost any kind of body position. When it kicks, its foot turns as hard as diamond on impact. Hitmonlee's legs are empowered with an absurd amount of elastin which allows its legs to stretch and strike a fleeing foe. Hitmonlee is a dedicated fighter and it likes to rub down its muscles after a hard workout.
"Oh, James is in the doghouse now…" Grey muttered.
"Let's try this out again," Kory said, devilish grin forming. "Hitmonlee!"
"Hitmon!" the Kicking Pokémon replied.
"You've got a few new moves after evolving, right?"
"Mon lee," the fighter nodded confidently, never breaking his gaze at Luna. Jameson stiffened up nervously.
"Then let's test a few of them out. Time in, Fiona!"
"Right!" Fiona nodded. "Restart the battle!"
"Hitmonlee, Rolling Kick!" Kory marshaled.
"Luna, dodge!" James screamed desperately. Hitmonlee threw a powerful kick while stretching his legs, catching Luna in the side before she could dodge. Hitmonlee continued his attack, sweeping Luna into the tree to the side and enjoying it greatly when she slammed into the bark. The dual slam to Luna's gut and back drove the cat-ferret to cry out in pain. "Damn it! Luna!"
"Z-Zan…" Luna groaned. She pushed herself back up and glared at Hitmonlee who only gave her a cocky look in return. Oh, how sweet revenge was. Grey got up out of his seat and beckoned his pokémon to follow. His sights lingered on Hitmonlee for a moment before he made his way towards the exit.
"Where're you headed, Grey?" asked Rachel.
"Training. I think I've got enough to work on," Grey replied.
Sonia walked out of the Pokémon Centre dressed in her civvies with Bayleef at her side. Her hair had been let out of that stifling helmet and reached down to her shoulders. She wore a simple black long-sleeved shirt under a jeans jacket and tan capri pants. Finally, she kept a green beanie atop her head.
She entered the near-empty two acre field behind the centre and let the pokémon she'd be using on this mission out. Three flashes of light produced three pokémon, all raised by Sonia with care. As soon as he was let out, Alakazam started making his spoons revolve around one another with an unbelievably bored look. Persian stretched out her lithe body and proceeded to rub against Sonia's leg affectionately while Staraptor immediately took to the skies to stretch his wings.
"Okay," Sonia began, giving her troops the once-over. "This is fairly simple. Alakazam, normally we'd teleport in, but this is a stealth mission, so that's out the window. I need you to remove any sort of barriers or glass or alarms from the target by sending them somewhere. Anywhere; I really don't give a damn."
"Kaza," the Psi Pokémon yawned. He nodded and held out his hand expectantly. Sonia giggled and dug in her bag for an apple which Alakazam accepted gratefully.
"Now, Persian," she said, turning to the classy cat. She bent down and scratched behind her ears and cooed, "My little Persie's gonna have a very important job today. You know what that is?"
"Perrrsya…?" the feline asked with a dreamy sigh.
"You are going to keep away anybody who tries to stop Mommy from doing her job, okay? If you do, I'll buy you a big juicy steak when we get back, Persie." Persian yowled in happiness and nodded quickly.
"Good girl," Sonia laughed. She gave Persian a quick peck on the forehead and looked up at her staraptor. The big gray bird was currently doing flips and rolls in the air in order to show off for a nearby pidgeotto.
"And Casanova up there is our mode of escape. Plain and simple," she said under her breath. "After that, I can detach myself from stupid Team Regal and live an easy life like I always wanted. Just me, myself, and my pokémon."
"Bay!" the Leaf Pokémon barked. Sonia stroked his leaf and went to go sit down on one of the benches. She put her head in her hands and pouted childishly, thinking about how she'd never found those trainers she'd seen in the plains and kicked herself for it. That was pretty much the only form of entertainment she had considering all the trainers in Mélange Town were pushovers compared to her skills. Even the eevee she had with her was more than a good enough match for them.
One of the boys in the acre, a brash one with expensive looking clothes, a square jaw, and a smug look on his face sauntered over and held out his hand. "David Tollen, my lovely; a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said in a haughty voice.
"Yeah, whatever," Sonia muttered. "You want somethin'?" She glared up at him, annoyed. Rich people always got on her nerves with their snobby attitudes.
"Not one to waste time, I see," David remarked with a smirk. "I like that in a woman. I'll be frank as well. I'd like a date with you and -" David was stopped by Sonia's hand in his face. "Eh…what?"
"Since you like things so brief, I can guess that…certain other aspects of your skills are the same way," Sonia said insultingly. David's face broke out in a wild blush and he started stuttering, utterly offended. "Let me save the both of us the trouble: I don't date losers. Alakazam, Teleport."
"Ala!" the Psychic-type grunted. He crossed his spoons in front of him and his eyes glowed an ethereal blue as he focused all his energies on removing David from the area. With a flash of light and a startled yell from David, the boy was gone and Sonia smiled.
"Perfect as always, Alakazam," she said appreciatively.
"Ka."
It was then that Grey walked in, hands shoved in his pockets and his face set uncharacteristically in thought. His three pokémon followed behind him and were soon followed by Maverick when Grey let him out. Sonia spotted him and recognized him as the trainer in red from the plains. A devious smile and thought simultaneously came to her. She needed a bit of entertainment as long as she was in the city and… No, that Idea was a bit too devious. Then again, who said what was and wasn't in this world?
"Hey!" she called, waving an arm in the air. Several of the people in the acre looked over at her in confusion. She shook her head and pointed straight at Grey, who pointed at himself curiously.
"Me?" he asked. "What's up?"
"Yes, you!" she giggled flirtatiously. "I wanna talk to you." Oh, this was going to be SO much fun. A thin line of red spread across the bridge of Grey's nose and he nervously approached Sonia, completely unaware of what was going to happen to him.
"Take her down, Hitmonlee! Reverse Rolling Kick!" Kory shouted with a pumped grin. Hitmonlee more than happily obliged and rammed his diamond-hard foot straight into the side of Luna's face, dazing her and actually causing her to spin in the air. Jameson could only watch as Kory demanded Hitmonlee to juggle his zangoose with Double Kick before the Fighting-type literally swept Luna's feet from under her, kicked her into the air and proceeded to repeatedly knock her further up with each vigorous kick.
"ZAAA…!" Luna howled in pain.
"Luna, strike back!" James hollered. "Come on! Use your ThunderPunch!"
"As if we'd let you," Kory cut in. "Hitmonlee, Mega Kick!" While still in the air, Hitmonlee tucked in and rolled like a pinwheel. At the last second, he extended his leg and attempted to drive his heel into Luna's stomach but, miraculously, Luna shifted out of the way and Hitmonlee's newly evolved legs crashed into the ground and left a smoking crater. Landing and catching her breath, Luna looked pleased as Hitmonlee nursed his now now aching leg, wincing.
"Crap, we overworked you," Kory lamented. "Get out of there!" That's when Jameson saw his chance.
"Luna, one more Quick Attack!" With a savage snarl, Luna sprinted forward again and punched Hitmonlee in the stomach. The winded Fighting-type was then left wide open to a ThunderPunch attack followed by Jameson's cry of,
"Dig, now!" Luna actually obeyed again and dove into the ground before breaching back out like a wailmer and cross-slashing Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee stood back up defiantly to continue the battle, but his eyes blurred over and he fell backwards, defeated.
"Hitmonlee!" Kory cried.
"Hitmonlee is unable to battle!" Fiona said. "Zangoose is the winner!" Jameson breathed a huge sigh of relief and called Luna back to his side. The zangoose, proud of her win, trotted over on all fours only to see Jameson did not have a proud smile on his face. Her own fell when he fixed her with a disappointed look.
"Luna, that wasn't good what you did out there. You almost really hurt Hitmonlee and you could've gotten hurt. Look at those bruises!" Jameson admonished. It was indeed true: Luna's body had several malignant-looking bruises on it, especially the most recent Double Kick-induced ones on her back. She looked down in shame.
"Return," Jameson sighed. He looked at her poké ball and said, "We'll talk about this later."
"'K now, trainer," Kory said almost resignedly. "Down to my last one while you've still got all three of yours up. You are one tough customer." Jameson smiled at the compliment. "But, inside this poké ball is my first-ever pokémon. You won't be beating us so easy."
"Then quit talking and bring him out," James challenged. He knew what Kory's last pokémon would be and quickly formed a battle plan.
"This is it," June said tensely. "Last pokémon before James's badge. What are you thinking so far, everyone?"
That James is an amazing battler, Rosewood answered, awed. When did he get so good? Rachel said the exact same thing out loud.
"I do not really know," Juniper admitted. "But all I can say is that Grey has found himself a really powerful rival. I don't know if he will be able to beat Jameson in a battle."
"Yeah, I know; James really gives my little bro a run for his money. Wonder if he'll finally knock Grey's ego down a few pegs?" Rachel asked.
I wouldn't doubt it, Vulpix said with a smirk.
"Okay," Kory muttered, drawing Monferno's poké ball and gripping it tightly. Jameson took Sniper's off his belt and prayed to whatever gods there were that his paralysis wasn't too bad.
"Monferno, it's all you, bud!"
"Sniper, game set!"
The Mantis and Playful Pokémon took their places on their respective sides of the field. Monferno did a few back flips and began to chatter excitedly while Sniper still suffered from his paralysis. His body crackled with electricity at irregular intervals and he was breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"What's he thinking sending Sniper out there?" Rachel hissed in disbelief.
"Maybe he is trying to weaken Monferno before he tries to defeat him?" June theorized. "Truthfully, I am not so sure. Sniper is at a huge disadvantage."
There's a totally logical solution, Vulpix said. The kid's gone insane.
Yep, I believe that, Rosewood nodded.
"Sniper's at a huge disadvantage; paralyzed and against a Fire-type. I'd better make this quick and fair to him," Jameson said out loud. "Okay, ref. I'm ready."
"Monferno vs. Scyther! Let the battle begin!" Fiona called.
"Mach Punch!" Kory shouted without hesitation. Monferno howled and pushed forward with a glowing fist. Sniper looked at James out of the corner of his eye and the human gave him a slight nod. Recognizing the signal, Sniper tilted his head ever so slightly when Monferno threw his punch an retaliated with Slash. By some grace of the gods, the hit was critical and left Monferno cradling a nasty looking gash.
"Did you even give him a -" Kory began in shock.
"Nothing you need to know," Jameson smirked. "Sniper, Wing Attack!"
"Scytha!" Scyther's glowing wings impacted Monferno and clipped just above his eyebrow. A line of blood began to trickle and fell into the monkey pokémon's eye, blinding it.
"Monferno! No giving up! Use Flame Wheel!" Kory commanded. Monferno threw himself back up and formed a fireball in his mouth while trilling. He hopped into the air and did a tuck-and-roll, becoming a literal flame wheel that tore across the battlefield and left a long scorch mark in its wake.
Sniper did his best to dodge but his paralysis kicked in and kept him rooted to the spot with a muscle seizure. Sniper cried out when Monferno crashed into him and kept on rolling after impact, ensuring multiple burns. Monferno dispelled his Flame Wheel and let the embers wash over Sniper's falling form. The scyther couldn't continue to battle or get back up no matter how hard he tried.
"Scyther is unable to battle! Monferno is the winner," Fiona said. "It's down to the wire now." Jameson sighed and walked onto the field to pick up Sniper. He cradled his partner's head in his arms and lightly shook him awake. Sniper weakly opened his eyes and gave an equally feeble grin.
At least I tried, James, he said. James nodded with a smile and gave his scyther a hug.
"Thanks, partner. You really did your best out there. Take a well-earned rest." Sniper did not protest and let himself be called back into the poké ball's waiting embrace. "Thanks again, Snipe."
"Your scyther was a real badass in this fight, dude. Props on raising him so well," Kory complimented. "He even fought past Breloom's Stun Spore and that's not something most pokémon can do."
"Thanks, but I think this battle's gone on long enough. What do you say we end it?" Jameson suggested as he replaced Sniper's ball with another and clutched it.
"I'd say 'let's do it'," Kory replied with a friendly grin. "I've got a lot to do today and I'd prefer it if I won ASAP."
"Who said you're the one who's gonna win?" James challenged. "It's me all the way. Luna, game set!" Luna reappeared on the field and brandished her claws at Monferno challengingly.
Bring it on, girlie, the fire monkey challenged. I'll take whatever ya got.
Oh, you're gonna wish you hadn't said that, banana breath, Luna snarled evilly, a fanged grin widening on her face as she leaned forward.
Banana breath? Really? Is that the best you got? In that case, this battle's all mine! Monferno hooted. He beat his chest proudly and snorted out a few embers.
"Monferno, ground it," Kory warned. "She's got a few moves that could really hit hard." Monferno immediately obeyed and centered himself, locking away his ego.
"Luna, don't fly off the handle like last time. I don't want you to get hurt and I don't want you hurting Monferno too bad either, okay?" Luna gave a grudging nod. "Good girl. If we win, I'll get you something nice after the match."
"Zang!" she cried happily. Jameson's incentive fully grabbed her attention; she straightened back up and shifted out of mania mode into something James hadn't seen her do before. Luna closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. When she let it out, her eyes were half-closed and completely devoid of insanity. Rather, she looked at peace and almost even bored.
Let's do this, she said placidly. Confused by Luna's sudden change in attitude, everybody wondered if there more than just two sides to Jameson's zangoose. Fiona raised her flags and gave the command to start the battle.
"Luna, hit hard and end this quickly. Swords Dance, now," Jameson commanded with a cool head. He crossed his arms and waited while Luna performed an intricate battle dance that made her claws adopt a purple glow. Kory shouted for Monferno to go in with another Mach Punch attack and James told Luna to block. Without so much as even blinking, Luna lazily raised a paw and completely stopped Monferno's charge. The surprised monkey bore a look of shock identical to his trainer's and Jameson's smirk grew into a full blown grin.
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about, Luna!" he cheered. He crossed his arms confidently and said, "Crush Claw and keep up the assault."
"Zan," Luna said monotonously. The glow of her claws shifted from purple to sheer white and she began slamming and rending Monferno's body as viciously and as rapidly as possible. The level of power behind her attacks was even greater than that of her mania mode and was made obvious by the way Monferno staggered.
"Damn…" Kory muttered in awe. Snapping out of it he shouted, "Monferno! Focus Punch attack!" Monferno's eyes glowed and he willed his fist to take on a glow six times more powerful than a Mach Punch's. While still in close quarters with Luna he slammed it into her cheek, a blow that shook the air so hard that everybody felt it and winced. Luna grit her teeth and put her paws together to form a shimmering blue orb that doubled in size with each passing second.
"Water Pulse!" Jameson commanded. Kory cursed loudly knowing that Monferno couldn't take a super-effective move at close range.
"Get out of there!" he shouted with a slash of his hand through the air. But it was too late. Luna shifted back to mania mode and rammed the Water Pulse into Monferno with a savage roar. It exploded, sending an unidirectional wave out to swamp the monkey over to Kory's side of the field. When the water went down, Monferno was lying in a soaking heap at Kory's feet, his tail flame weak from being doused and a dazed look on his face. He coughed out water before finally submitting to unconsciousness. Luna, now back to normal, was breathing heavily and her arms hung limp at her sides but she smiled in triumph. Up in the stands, the girls broke out into cheers of congratulations for James.
"Monferno is unable to battle!" Fiona declared officially. "Zangoose is the winner and the match goes to Jameson of Fuchsia City!"
"And that's how we take care of business," James said. He bent down to receive a tired Luna as she approached him and subsequently fell into his arms, tired as all get-out. James stroked her furry and slightly wet head and thanked her for fighting so hard. He saw Kory approaching him with Monferno in his arms and gave him a look that said 'Well?'.
"Okay, okay," Kory half-laughed-half-sighed. "Come back later on for your badge; just lemme get my team all healed up. Nice match, trainer." Kory held his hand out in good sportsmanship. Jameson accepted it with a kind grin.
"The name's James. And you, too."
Kestrel discreetly opened his flask and took a dab of honey out of the jar he'd bought from Danny. He wiped it on the mouth of the flask and capped it before vigorously shaking it. When the mixture was to his liking, Kestrel uncapped it and took a swig. His taste buds nearly sang out in happiness at the glorious taste combination.
"Phew!" he gasped rather loudly. "That is some good drink." He ignored the stares that the concerned mothers were giving him and the inquisitive gazes of the nine-year-olds who asked what he was drinking and answered his mic when it beeped. He wiped the excess alcohol off his mouth and moved over to a nearby empty hallway before asking who it was.
"Sir, we've almost got the security cameras offline," Sparrow reported. "It's only a matter of time until everything is under our control. Under the control of Team Simurgh!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Canard's voice chided. "We've still much to do until everything is ours. For now, let's just focus on the thing we came here to get."
"Canard is indeed correct. We focus on the target and we do not harm any civilians. We don't want the media finding out about us," Kestrel said, stressing every word. "Finch, how's the tour?" he joked. A laugh was his response.
"'S really interestin', Kestrel; you know people estimate Groudon to be as old as the planet? When're those cam'ras gonna be knocked out?" The man's accent augmented his already jovial voice. It was probably the only reason Sparrow didn't kill him on their dates.
"Soon; soon. Just be patient," Kestrel chuckled. "So far, everything's going according to plan."
"Oh, hey, Kestrel, what're ya plannin' to do with that kid ya bought the honey from?" Finch asked.
"Yeah, I'd like to know, too," Sparrow chimed in. A grunt from Canard signified he agreed with the two.
"Oh, him. Daniel, I think it was." Kestrel looked over at the broom closet he locked Danny in after knocking him out. "If it comes to it, I can use him as a bargaining chip to make sure we make a clean getaway," Kestrel explained. "Though I thoroughly hope it doesn't come to that."
"Thought you said we wasn't killin' anyone," Canard said curiously.
"I won't kill him," Kestrel reassured. "I may be a sadist but I'm not a murderer."
"Do you have to be so open about the other thing?" Sparrow deadpanned. "Kinda makes me afraid of you, to be honest."
"Hehahah… Good, that means I'm doing my job," Kestrel laughed darkly. He could almost hear Sparrow shuddering.
"K, everyone," Canard suddenly announced, "forty more minutes and every last camera in this joint'll be offline. Then we strike." Kestrel gave a small smile that showcased his oddly pointed teeth. Forty minutes more and it was going to be show time.
Twenty minutes later, James, the girls, and James' pokémon were standing in front of the Mélange Town Gym. Fiona stood between him and her brother, who also had Breloom, Mankey, Monferno, and Hitmonlee out with him. Kory held a small case in his right hand and James held his badge case in his. After Hitmonlee finished shaking Sniper's blade, Kory stepped forward and offered the case.
"Alright, officially, I'm s'pposed to say 'It was an honor battling you and I hereby confer you the official Combat Badge', but that's a bit too unlike my style," Kory said with a laid-back grin.
"Kory, follow the rules!" Fiona admonished.
"Oh, don't be such a killjoy, sis," Kory laughed.
"Remind you of anybody, Rachel?" June asked while stifling a laugh and elbowing the older girl in the ribs playfully.
"No. Who do you mean?" the pinkette asked obliviously. Juniper and her furret simultaneously face-palmed.
"That's cool with me," James said with a shrug. "Either way, you fought a great battle. A lot harder than the one in Knight City."
"Scy-yi," Sniper agreed.
Speak for yourself; that Mankey was a pushover, Shishi snorted.
Watch it, ectoplasm, Mankey fumed.
"You fought well yourself. It was like I was up against another Gym Leader or something. Albeit a rookie leader; can't give you too much credit," Kory said with a laugh. "Anyway, here. You earned the Combat Badge." He offered the case and James took it with an eager grin. Opening the case, he found a small piece of metal identical to the symbol above Kory's side of the battlefield. He took the badge out and placed it right next to his Geo Badge with pride.
"Thanks, Kory," he said. He turned to his pokémon and bowed respectfully to them. "And thanks to you guys, too. I literally couldn't have done this without you." A trio of cries from his pokémon told him they felt the same.
Well, maybe I could've, Luna bragged.
"Next Gym's over in Springbloom City. It's to the northeast of here and it's really far away, so you might want to pack a few snacks," Kory advised. "By the way, that friend of yours who bailed on us comin' to battle me soon?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Probably tomorrow knowing Grey. He's off training right about now." Kory pumped his fists excitedly.
"When you see him, tell him I'm ready whenever he is!" he said. "Just tell him to bring his best or else I'll drive him into the dust." Jameson barely listened and instead focused his attention on his shiny new Gym Badge.
"Two down, ten more to go," he said aloud. "And then it's the Pokémon League. We're getting closer."
End Chapter 12. First off, I'd like to thank PR Corp for giving me such a spectacularly positive review and I hope that he or she like this chapter as well. I had fun writing Jameson's Gym Battle which, at this point, is the longest battle to have ever taken place in all 12 chapters. Give it up for Jimmy, y'all.
And now marks the beginning of Kestrel's plan and Sonia's arrival in Mélange Town. You know shiz is gonna go down and it's gonna be serious. Plus, judging by what Sonia said at the beginning of this, you can bet Grey's in for some trouble, too.
This is really going to throw a wrench in Grey's training, though. Whatever it is Sonia has planned, that is. His battle with Kory might get postponed.
And exactly what is it that Kestrel and his 'flock' are looking for? An ancient treasure in the museum? A map? Hm…
Well, that's all for now, folks. You know the drill; read and review and read some more!
CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Grey:Oh, crap; what'd I get myself into? Following this crazy girl into the middle of a heist at museum tower? And this totally cuts into my training! Man, what're we gonna do?
Soul: Char charmander~!
Grey: You're right, Soul; we can get through this alive. All we have to do is battle our way through. Just…think of it as training.
Strabi: Shiyaah!
Lucy: Bui…
Grey: What's wrong, Lucy? You have something to tell me? Next time on Challenger!: A Meeting to Remember: The Sadistic Mr. Kestrel? Looks like we've met another group of nut jobs, Soul…
Sonia: Okay, but I'm still cute, right?
Grey: Who let you into this preview?