Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Thirty Three
Battle Who For the Earth Badge?!
Part One
Ashley and her mother walked from Pallet Town to Viridian City, with the only pokemon out of its pokeball being her mother's Sentret. Catherine carried Sentret in her arms the entire way. They didn't even encounter any hostile wild pokemon along the way, either, and it didn't take them long to reach the city. They went straight to the gym and stopped just outside.
"So this is it then, your final badge?" Ashley's mother asked her while they stood outside the front door.
"Yep, this is it." Ashley replied. "And I'm ready for this one!" Ashley approached the door and threw it open. "I'm here to challenge the gym leader!"
"Ashley! What do you think you're doing?!" Ashley's mother yelled at her. Ashley, startled, quickly turned around to face her.
"I was just..."
"That is NOT how you open doors, young lady!" Her mother scolded her. "Why would you even do such a thing?!"
"Well the trainers on tv..."
"Are fictional characters who don't have to worry about property damage!" Ashley's mother said. "Now I want you to go in there and apologize to the gym leader before you even think of battling!"
"Yes mom..." Ashley mumbled, hanging her head in defeat.
"Is tv something bad?" Sentret wondered.
"I'm sorry I..." Ashley turned around to face the gym leader, who was sitting on the opposite side of the gym. Ashley had only noticed someone was there before but now she could see exactly who it was. "RINA?!"
"You know, I've only been trying to tell you that same thing since you first burst through Brock's doors." Rina said to Ashley.
"You...you're kidding, right? There's no way you're the gym leader!" Ashley said, still in shock over the discovery. Catherine stepped into the gym behind her to see what all the commotion was about. She was likewise surprised to see Rina on the other side of the gym. Pippi was standing next to her as usual, holding a small paper fan in each hand.
"Technically, no, I'm not." Rina said to Ashley. To Ashley, she sounded much more serious than usual, as if she was getting into the role of being a gym leader despite her claim otherwise. "I came here and found the gym leader was gone again, probably for good this time. But he left this behind." Rina reached into her pocket and took out an Earth Badge, then held it up for Ashley to see.
"Then what are you doing here?" Ashley asked her. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, though.
"Isn't it obvious?" Rina said to her. "If you want this badge, you're going to have to beat me first. Six pokemon each. I might not be the gym leader, but I'm going to fill in for one anyway because it wouldn't be fair if you got this badge for nothing." With that, Rina slid the badge back into her pocket.
"Fine! If you want to play the gym leader, then I'll take you on!" Ashley said enthusiastically with a wide smile on her face. The smile soon faded, though, and was quickly replaced by an embarassed expression. "But...can I go switch my pokemon around first? I kinda came here expectiong a ground-type gym leader and...well..."
"Fine." Rina replied, nodding to her. "Its only fair to warn you, though, that I've already done the same. So don't think I'll have the same pokemon with me that I did yesterday."
"Right." Ashley nodded. "Back in a minute then!" Ashley dashed back out the door, which her mother was still holding open. Her mother finally stepped into the gym fully after Ashley left, letting the door close behind her.
"-I had my cheers all ready to go too...-" Pippi said, her shoulders drooping in her disappointment.
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance." Rina quietly reassured her. "Shouldn't take her more than a couple of minutes..."
"Rina, was it? I apologize for last night, I didn't properly thank you for cooking that meal." Catherine said to Rina. She then glanced around the gym and saw the usual bench off to the side. She went over to the bench to take her seat while she waited for Ashley to return.
"Oh...well...don't worry about it..." Rina replied, looking away and rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I kinda messed that one up anyway..."
"It was a kind gesture though, and its not often that someone your age is even a halfway competent cook."
"I guess thats true..." Rina mumbled as she turned back to face her. "She seems like an entirely different woman compared to yesterday..." Rina thought and then looked at the Sentret that Catherine was carrying in her arms. "She couldn't have changed that quickly just from getting a pokemon, but then again she also had a headache..."
"So what species is that pokemon, anyway?" Rina asked, trying to make conversation while they waited for Ashley to get back. Sentret also wasn't exactly a pokemon normally native to Kanto, so Rina didn't recognize it.
"Ashley's pokedex called it a Sentret apparently, but I decided I'm going to call him Rolly." Catherine replied, looking down at the Sentret and smiling. Rolly, as curious as ever, was taking in as much of the gym as he could from where he was. "So how did you and Ashley meet, anyway?" She then asked, looking back at Rina.
"We met in Viridian Forest, I was trying to find a Pikachu to be my first pokemon and she helped me." Rina replied. She decided to leave out the part about catching Ashley in a net.
"-I was still just a Pichu back then!-" Pippi added excitedly, then whispered to Rina. "-Who is she anyway?-"
"Thats Ashley's mom." Rina whispered back.
"You two must have been travelling together for quite a while." Catherine chuckled quietly. "I hope Ashley didn't cause you any trouble."
"N-nope! None at all!" Rina replied hesitantly. It was far from the truth, though.
Rina and Catherine continued to make idle chat until the gym doors opened again and Ashley stepped inside.
"Ok, now I'm ready!" Ashey declared as she entered the gym and stepped up to the edge of the rocky battlefield. She took a pokeball in one hand and removed her camera from around her neck with the other. "Mom, could you a picture of the finishing move in each match?" Ashley asked her mother, holding out the camera toward her.
"I don't see why not." Catherine placed Rolly on the bench next to her and then got up and took the camera from Ashley. She looked over the camera in her hands for a moment. "I'm surprised my old camera is still holding together after so long."
"That camera was her mother's?" Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. "Did her mother use to be a photographer too, then?"
"Whats a camera used for?" Rolly wondered.
Ashley's mother returned to the bench, sitting down next to Rolly with the camera in her lap. Ashley then turned back to face Rina with a determined expression.
"Ok, lets do this!"
"Right." Rina nodded in agreement, likewise adopting a determined look as she reached for a pokeball. "Hiro, I choose you!"
"Primeape, you're first up! Lets go!"
The two girls each released their first pokemon out onto the field, both choosing to start off with a fighting-type pokemon. Hiro the Hitmonlee appeared on Rina's side of the field and quickly slid into a fighting stance. Primeape appeared on the other side of the field, facing Hiro, and huffed fiercely while slamming his fists together.
"-This should prove interesting. Lets see who the stronger fighter is.-" Hiro said to Primeape.
"-I WILL DEFEAT YOU! ME ME ME ME ME!-" Primeape screeched back.
"Well, he's certainly lucky the trainer does all the thinking..." Hiro thought, rolling his eyes.
"Primeape, hit 'em hard with Cross Chop!" Primeape charged across the field with his fists raised in the air, screaming in a frenzied rage. Rina waited until Primeape was halfway across the field before issuing a command.
"Hiro, dodge it with Jump Kick!" Hiro jumped straight up into the air before Primeape could reach him. The enraged pokemon stopped in his tracks and glared up at Hiro. Hiro's powerful legs sent him straight up over a dozen feet into the air. He then shifted his body in the air as he came back down, kicking Primeape in the face and sending him rolling back.
"Right, Rina likes to play it defensively..." Ashley thought, remembering Rina's battles in the dojo. "A reckless offensive won't get me anywhere. I need to carefully consider my attacks..."
With Hiro landing the first hit in the match, Pippi began to wave around the two fans she was carrying. "-Go! Go! Go Hiro, go Hiro, go! Go! Go! Go Hiro, go Hiro, go!-" She chanted.
"Primeape, take him down with Low Kick and then use Karate Chop!" Primeape quickly jumped up and, without missing a beat, made a sweeping kick at Hiro's legs. Hiro stumbled to the side and then fell over onto the ground. After Hiro had just hit the ground, Primeape quickly moved to stand over him and brought his hand down onto Hiro's face in a chopping motion. Hiro grunted and winced as Primeape's hand struck right between his eyes.
"Hiro, strike back now with Revenge!" A dark, black and red aura surrounded hands and legs as he gathered power. Hiro lashed out Primeape with a vengeance, bringing his legs back and then kicking Primeape with both feet. Primeape cried out, getting knocked several feet back by the kick. The aura around Hiro's body quickly faded and he hopped back onto his feet. Primeape was likewise quick to recover. Primeape looked like he was starting to tire a bit, but refused to give in.
"Great, any attack I make on that Hitmonlee is just going to be met with a powered up Revenge!" Ashley thought bitterly. "What can I do?" She wondered. "Maybe I could try using Seismic Toss? That should give Primeape some distance to evade a Revenge attack."
"Primeape, use Seismic Toss!" Primeape moved toward Hiro and grabbed him by the hands, then started spinning around to gain momentum.
"Hiro, Counter attack!" Primeape gave Hiro a strong toss down the gym in Ashley's direction, but as Hiro flew through the air he positioned himself to land feet first. Though he hit the ground rather hard, hurting himself in the process, he bent his knees with the landing and used the energy to spring back toward Primeape.
"No! It knows Counter too?!" Ashley thought in dismay. Hiro struck Primeape with a kick, putting double the power into it that Primeape had in his Seismic Toss attack. Primeape was flung back hard and hit the ground, skidding back until he was only a few feet away from Rina. Primeape seemed to be out cold for a moment, but then he started to weakly climb back onto his feet.
"Hiro, finish this now with Jump Kick!" Rina commanded. Hiro took a great leap toward Primeape, coming down toward him with his leg outstretched in a kick. Hiro struck Primeape on an angle that sent him smashing straight into the ground when Hiro's attack connected, knocking Primeape out instantly. Ashley's mother managed to get a picture of the attack at the moment of impact.
"-Hiro, Hiro, he's our 'mon! If he can't do it...-" Pippi stopped herself before she could finish and shook her head. "-That sounded better in my head...-"
"Well that didn't exactly go over well..." Ashley thought, recalling Primeape. "Well, this IS the first time I fought her Hitmonlee. He seems to be good at countering attacks, I'll have to keep that in mind..." Ashley placed Primeape's pokeball on her belt and carefully thought over what pokemon to use next.
"Well that came out well." Catherine said to herself, taking the recently printed picture in her hand. "I assume she wanted me to take pictures whether she wins or loses, she didn't say otherwise anyway..." Catherine set down the picture next to her, in front of Rolly. Rolly picked it up and looked it over briefly.
"-That looks painful...-" Rolly winced and set the picture back down.
"You made that entirely too easy, Ashley." Rina said to her. "You're not going to get the Earth Badge if you keep that up."
"I'll admit, your Hitmonlee's abilities caught me off guard." Ashley replied. "I won't let that happen again. In fact, lets see you deal with this!" Ashley took another pokeball from her belt and held it out in front of her. "Snorlax, go!" She called out, releasing Snorlax. Snorlax appeared on the field and gave a yawn.
"Wow...she managed to catch a Snorlax?" Catherine said to herself, blinking in disbelief.
"What makes Snorlax so special?" Rolly wondered.
"Snorlax?" Rina thought in disbelief. "Why would she use Snorlax? Its not like her to use a pokemon with a type disadvtange if she has other options, and she still has four pokemon left. Her Snorlax won't even listen to her if she asks Snorlax to do anything requiring it to move...or is that why she's using it?"
Rina thought it over for a moment and then nodded to herself. "That must be it. She thinks I'd be expecting the same Belly Drum, Rest, and Snore strategy she's been using. I'll wait for her move, then, and get ready to counter or dodge it."
"Snorlax, use Yawn!" Snorlax opened her mouth and let out a drawn-out yawn, spewing a white gas across the gym. The gas surrounded Hiro briefly before it dissipitated, leaving Hiro feeling drowsy.
"Ack! No! I can't counter that attack!" Rina said to herself in dismay. "No choice now! Hiro, attack with High Jump Kick!"
Hiro shook his head, trying to shake off the effects of Snorlax's Yawn long enough to attack. Hiro then took off running until he was halfway across the gym. He took a great leap into the air and flipped around when he reached the apex of his jump, coming straight down toward Snorlax with a powerful kick. The kick knocked Snorlax over while Hiro flipped back to land several feet in front of Snorlax, but then collapsed to the ground as he fell asleep.
"I knew you would go on the defensive." Ashley said to Rina with a smug smirk. "Because you weren't sure why I would use Snorlax, you decided to play defensively. That left you open for Snorlax's Yawn attack."
"I wasn't expecting you to think that far ahead either..." Rina thought, blinking in disbelief.
"-Wake up, wake up, come on Hiro, wake up!-" Pippi chanted while waving her two fans from side to side.
"Snorlax, power up with Belly Drum!" Snorlax began pounding on her chest, weakening herself in order to drastically increase her physical attack power. After enduring Hiro's attack and pounding on her stomach, she was looking fairly tired. Fortunately, that was about to be remedied.
"Now use Rest to get back to full strength!" Snorlax closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, immediately restoring the damage that had been inflicted on her.
"Now lets top it all off with Snore!" Snorlax let out a loud snore in her sleep, vibrating the battlefield with a powerful soundwave. Hiro shook in his sleep as the Snore vibrated through him. He suddenly snapped awake, arching his back and crying out in pain. The blast of sound rolled him over several times, leaving him unconscious when he finally came to a stop.
"-Hiro lost...he even had the type advantage though...-" Pippi mumbled sadly.
"Type advantage doesn't always mean you'll win though." Rina said to Pippi as she recalled Hiro. "Ashley caught me off guard and managed to get her Snorlax powered up, but I'll get her back, don't worry."
"I didn't take a picture of that...but what was there to get a picture of?" Ashley's mother said to herself. "There was really nothing to see." Catherine looked over at Rolly with a smile and shrugged. "Oh well. At least she won that one." Rolly blinked in confusion at first, but then smiled and nodded in agreement with her.
"Clyde, its your turn now! Go!" Rina called out as she released her next pokemon. She held up Clyde's pokeball and pressed the button, sending the Clefable out onto the battlefield. Clyde pounded his fists together, eager for a fight. When he looked across the field at Snorlax, he was stunned to see who his opponent was.
"-My word...thats...a big one...-" Clyde mumbled in disbelief.
"-The bigger they are, the harder they fall!-" Pippi said reassuringly. "-Go get 'em Clyde! I'm behind you all the way!-" Pippi began chanting and waving her fans around. "-Go Clyde! Go Clyde! Go Clyde!-"
"I think I could do without the background noise." Clyde thought, frowning slightly.
"-Whats with that pokemon?-" Rolly wondered as he watched Pippi. "-She keeps chanting and waving those things around...-"
"Clyde, huh? Well it doesn't make any difference now!" Ashley declared boldly. "Snorlax, attack with Snore again!"
"Clyde, quick! Use Protect!" Rina called out desparately. Clyde qucikly threw out his arms, forming a protective blue bubble around himself. Snorlax let out a loud snore, sending a powerful soundwave across the field and shaking the ground. The soundwave struck Clyde's barrier with full force, but Clyde held strong against. When the attack passed over, Clyde dropped his barrier.
"Now, use Encore!" Clyde nodded and began clapping his hands together. An applause echoed through the gym. Snorlax began to wake up and opened her mouth to try a Snore attack, but it failed. Now that she was awake, it wouldn't work, and she was trapped trying to use the technique.
"Thats the same strategy Sabrina's Mr. Mime used to disable Snorlax!" Ashley thought, remembering Snorlax's battle with Sabrina's Mr. Mime. She kept Snorlax in because she didn't think Mr. Mime would be a threat and didn't expect Snorlax to disobey her either. This time, Ashley wasn't going to make the same mistake again.
"Snorlax, thats enough for now! Return!" Ashley called out, holding out Snorlax's pokeball and recalling her.
"Hypno, your turn now!" Ashley returned Snorlax's pokeball to her belt and then took Hypno's pokeball in her hand. "Go!" Ashley held the pokeball out and released Hypno. The psychic pokemon looked around wide-eyed at his surroundings, looking none too happy to be there.
"-Why? Why does she keep making me battle?!-" Hypno whined. "-Why can't you people just leave me alone?!-"
"Hypno, attack Clyde with Hypnosis!"
"Clyde, get it first with Sing!"
Hypno began waving his pendulum back and forth, focusing hypnotic energy waves on Clyde, while Clyde began to sing a lullaby. Hypno seemed completely unaffected by Clyde's attack, while Clyde soon collapsed and drifted off to sleep.
"It didn't work?" Rina thought in disbelief. "Wait, that time the Ditto Hypno tried using Hypnosis on Ashley's Hypno it didn't work either. So Hypno must be immune..."
"Good! Now use Nightmare and Poison Gas to start weakening it!" Hypno focused his pendulum on Clyde again. A harsh red aura surrounded Clyde as a msytical energy force began to invade his dreams, causing him painful nightmares. Hypno then began spewing a purple gas from his snout, which soon surrounded Clyde and inflicted poison on him while he continued to sleep.
"Looks like Clyde is still asleep, now might be a good chance to power up." Ashley thought. "Hypno, power up with Meditate!"
"-I could use a trip to a happy place...-" Hypno muttered. He closed his eyes and began to meditate quietly, picturing a serene forest with no trainers in sight. Or humans period. While Hypno was meditating, Clyde began to stir and slowly rose to his feet. He was in quite a bit of pain, too, and looking quite exhausted. The combination of poison and Nightmare took a toll on him.
"Ok, Clyde definitely needs to heal!" Rina thought. "Clyde, use Wish!" Clyde nodded weakly. He began to focus and mumbled quietly, making his wish.
"That'll be the last Wish Clyde will be using!" Ashley declared to Rina. "Hypno, use Disable!" Hypno opened his eyes and focused on Clyde, causing a yellow glow to surround him. Hypno reached deep into Clyde's mind, disabling his Wish technique.
"Ok, that worked out well, but attacking again now is pointless." Ashley thought. "If I attack, Clyde will just block it with Protect while Wish takes effect. So instead, I'll have Hypno power up with Meditate again."
"Hypno, use Meditate!" Hypno closed his eyes and began to focus again, imagining the same scene from before only now with an unconscious Beedrill lying at his feet. The meditation gave Hypno a greater focus and relaxed his body, increasing his strength.
"You should have attacked!" Rina said to Ashley with a smug smirk. "Clyde, now! Use Moonlight!" Clyde focused, drawing light toward his body. His body radiated with a bright light as it gathered around him while simultaneously Wish took effect, briefly restoring Clyde to full strength prior to the continual sapping from poison.
"Moonlight? I forgot about that one..." Ashley thought, wincing at her mistake.
"Those two are really going at it..." Catherine thought, noticing the two girls' expressions. "With the way they're battling, you would almost think they're bitter enemies. I hope they don't go overboard..."
"Now, Clyde, attack Hypno with Meteor Mash!" Rina called out.
"-I've been looking forward to using this technique.-" Clyde said, grinning widely. He raised one fist back and then charged across the battlefield. An orange glow surrounded his fist and created the appearance of a tail dragging behind it, like a comet streaking through space. Hypno opened his eyes in time to see the attack coming toward him.
"-Oh...OH SON OF A-" Clyde's fist slammed into Hypno's stomach before he had the chance to finish his sentence. Hypno's eyes bulged and he felt the wind knocked out of him. Clyde drew his fist back and Hypno collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.
"Hypno, put Clyde to sleep with Hypnosis before he can attack again!" Ashley called out.
"-Not even...a little...sympathy...?-" Hypno wheezed. He weakly raised one hand, clutching his pendulum and then starting to wave it around. He focused on his pendulum, sending out hypnotic energy waves from it.
After connecting with Meteor Mash, Clyde had taken a moment to step back and let the energy from his attack subside. It kept him occupied long enough for him to start to become drowsy as Hypno used Hypnosis. Clyde wouldn't get a chance to fight back before collapsing to the ground, falling asleep again.
"At least Hypno can't restore health easily like Clyde can." Rina thought. "He can restore some with Dream Eater, but I doubt that would get him much." Rina looked at Clyde, who was grimacing in pain even while he slept. "Still, that poison is going to be trouble. How much more will Clyde be able to take by the time he wakes up?"
"-Come on, Clyde! Stop sleeping on the job!-" Pippi called out to him.
"Use Nightmare again! Then use Meditate!" Ashley commanded Hypno.
"-Crazy...bitch...-" Hypno grumbled as he finally got back on his feet. "-She's going to have me dead by the end of this, I know it...-" Hypno held out his pendulum and began swinging it around, using it as a focus for his Nightmare attack. A red energy surrounded Clyde as Hypno invaded his dreams, inflicting nightmares on him.
"She's not using Dream Eater, Clyde will have even less time to do anything when he wakes up..." Rina thought. "Why does she keep using Meditate though? Most psychic pokemon can't use physical attacks very well, is Hypno an exception?"
After inflicting Nightmare on Clyde, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, Hypno closed his eyes and focused on his 'happy place' again. He pictured himself in a calm, serene forest with Ashley's Beedrill and Ashley herself out cold at his feet while several female Hypno crowded around him. Hypno began to feel totally relaxed and snickered quietly to himself.
While Hypno was meditating, Clyde opened his eyes and sat up. Clyde shook his head, chasing away the last images of his nightmare. "-Sheesh! Falling asleep near this guy is a very unpleasant experience.-"
"Good! Clyde's awake!" Rina thought, smiling slightly. Her smile faded when she noticed Clyde barely seemed able to stay standing. "Clyde's not looking too good out there. Would healing even help at this point? I think going on the offense is my best option..."
"Clyde, attack Hypno with Meteor Mash again!" Clyde shook his head, clearing his mind to focus on the task at hand. He raised one hand back, which then began to radiate an orange aura as he powered up. Clyde charged toward Hypno and punched the psychic pokemon in the gut again. Hypno's eyes snapped open. He staggered back, nearly falling over from taking yet another Meteor Mash to his stomach.
"-Damn it...you suck...-" Hypno wheezed. "-I'm glad I didn't eat recently...-"
"Hypno, finish it with Headbutt!"
"Clyde, use Protect!"
Hypno staggered forward, trying to ignore his pain and attack Clyde. Hypno lowered his head and tried to Headbutt Clyde, but his head smashed into Clyde's barrier instead. Clyde was able to form the barrier almost instantaneously, blocking Hypno's attack. It did Clyde no good in the end, though. Poison was still draining what little strength Clyde had left to fight with, and soon the barrier collapsed as Clyde lost consciousness.
"That wasn't a particularly interesting defeat either." Catherine said to herself, choosing again not to take a picture even though she had the camera ready. "Would have looked better if Hypno at least hit Clyde with that last attack. Oh well."
"-But we only have one picture so far...-" Rolly said, glancing at the lone picture sitting in front of him.
"-Wait a sec...you mean I actually won?!-" Hypno stared at the unconscious Clyde in disbelief, until Rina recalled him.
"Felicia, your turn now! Go!" Rina called out, releasing her next pokemon as soon as she had recalled Clyde. The pokeball opened up, releasing the fire pokemon out onto the field.
"-Dirt? Ew!-" Felicia grimaced in disgust when she saw the bare dirt battlefield. "-My fur is just going to get all dirty battling here, and I hate getting baths!-"
"Maybe she wasn't a good choice afterall..." Rina thought, smiling nervously
"Flareon, huh? This might be a good chance for Hypno to make use of Dream Eater." Ashley thought. "Hypno, start off with Hypnosis!"
"Felicia, surround Hypno with Fire Spin!"
Felicia spewed a swirling cone of fire while Hypno began swinging his pendulum around. The flames surrounded Hypno before he could finish his attack. The cone of fire twisted upward to surround Hypno like a twister. The intense heat of the flames caused Hypno to lose his focus while continually inflicting damage and weakening him.
"-Come on, Felicia! You're burning now!-" Pippi cheered and gave a wave of her fans.
"Need to disperse those flames somehow!" Ashley thought. "Hypno, try to concentrate and use Psychic to disperse the flames!" Hypno started waving his pendulum around and closed his eyes, struggling to concentrate. The flames wavered with his attempts, but showed no signs of dispersing.
"Felicia, finish this now! Shadow Ball!" Felicia began drawing out shadows, forming them into a ball in front of her. With a toss of her head, she sent the ball flying across the gym. The Shadow Ball pierced through the pillar of fire, smashing into Hypno and dispersing on contact. Hypno was flung out of the flames, which then began to disperse, and was unconscious when he hit the ground. Ashley's mother snapped a picture at the exact moment Hypno was knocked out of the fire.
"Well I guess that makes us two for two..." Ashley said with a sigh as she recalled Hypno. She placed Hypno's pokeball back on her belt and immediately took another one in hand. "I don't have Vaporeon or Poliwrath, so this will have to do..." She thought.
"That didn't come out too bad, but thats just another loss for her." Ashley's mother said, looking over the picture and then setting it down in front of Rolly. Rolly picked it up and took a quick look at it as well.
"-I don't get it, what makes this one so special?-" Rolly wondered, looking over the image curiously. He then gave a shrug and set it down again.
"Jolteon, go!" Ashley called out, releasing Jolteon. Jolteon appeared on the field, looking as calm as ever.
"-Ok, lets do this.-" Jolteon said calmly.
Meanwhile, outside the gym, a crowd had gathered and was watching the battle through the windows on the sides and front of the gym.
"Is that the new gym leader?" One observer wondered out loud.
"She looks kind of young." Another one said.
"Whats the deal with the Flareon?" Yet another observer wondered. "She should be using ground type pokemon, this gym has always used ground types!" The crowd continued to whisper to each other until a young man's voice startled them all.
"Whats going on here?" A hush fell over the crowd. Everyone turned around and saw Lance, the dragon tamer, standing nearby with an Aerodactyl perched next to him. The crowd remained silent as Lance strided toward the nearest window to peek into the gym.
"It couldn't be!" Lance mumbled in disbelief. He could see Ashley and Rina battling inside the gym. Ashley's Jolteon was locked in a heated combat with Rina's Flareon. "What are those two doing in there?!"
"Felicia, use Smog on Jolteon!"
"Jolteon, paralyze Flareon with Thunder Wave!"
Jolteon started off the battle, firing a pulse of electricity at Felicia. The electricity struck her head on, moving through her body and leaving her muscles paralyzed. The attack didn't hit quickly enough to hinder her, though. By the time the attack reached her, she was already releasing a toxic gas from her mouth. The gas surrounded Jolteon, causing the electric pokemon to cough as he breathed it in.
"Smog? Your pokemon has stronger attacks than that, doesn't it?" Ashley said to Rina.
"Smog might not be a strong attack, but it has a good chance of leaving the opponent poisoned." Rina replied with a slight smirk. "I learned that from your pokedex, remember?"
Ashley blinked in disbelief and then looked at Jolteon. Sure enough, he seemed to be in a bit of pain. The Smog attack had successfully poisoned him on the first try. "Huh...looks like Rina got pretty lucky with that one then..." She thought.
"Also, you could at least call my pokemon by name!" Rina said indignantly. "You know her name is Felicia!"
"-I rather like that name too.-" Felicia added, flicking her mane back. She winced involuntarily, her neck straining slightly from the effort due to paralysis.
"Fine, fine! I get the point!" Ashley shot back. "Jolteon, attack Felicia with Thunderbolt!"
"Thats better..." Rina said quietly to herself. "Felicia, dodge it with Quick Attack!"
Jolteon charged electricity around his body and then fired it all in a bolt toward Felicia. Felicia tensed her body, ready to evade the attack. When she tried to move, though, her paralysis slowed down her reaction time and as a result she couldn't get out of the way. The electricity passed through her body, causing a tremendous shock to her. Felicia cried out in pain, forced to endure the attack instead.
"Nevermind that then..." Rina let out a sigh, then got a serious look on her face again. "Ok! Felicia, attack with Fire Blast!" Felicia opened her mouth and began forming a small fireball. She fired it at Jolteon and it began to expand, growing five 'limbs' to become almost star-shaped. Jolteon quickly ducked down, letting the attack pass over him. It exploded just behind him, pounding him into the ground. He avoided a direct hit but it still had an effect on him.
"Felicia seems to really be struggling against that paralysis..." Ashley thought. "If I wait for Felicia to attack, then Jolteon should be able to get in a quick succession of attacks due to Felicia's slowness." Ashley smirked to herself. "Rina, I just came up with a combination you're NOT going to like!"
"Jolteon, start charging electricity for a Thunderbolt attack but don't fire!" Jolteon nodded and began charging electricity. His fur bristled as he used it to store the electricity, holding it for an attack.
"She's not going to attack?" Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. "Well if she won't attack, then I will!"
"Felicia, attack Jolteon with Fire Blast!" Felicia spat out another fireball at Jolteon while he was still charging. By the time Jolteon was finished, it was too late for him to evade the attack. He took the Fire Blast head on, getting pushed back slightly until the Fire Blast exploded and knocked him to the floor. Jolteon then quickly got back up and shook it off. He was looking fairly exhausted, though. The poison was taking its toll on him.
"Ok, now's our chance, Jolteon!" Ashley called out. "Attack now with Shadow Ball, then follow it up with Quick Attack!" Jolteon quickly formed a ball of shadowstuff, while still keeping the charged electricity stored. He flung the ball at Felicia. While the Shadow Ball was still flying through the air he took off in a blur of movement, overtaking his own attack to quickly strike Felicia across the side. The Shadow Ball soon caught up, hitting Felicia head on, causing her to stagger back while shaking her head.
"At that distance, I guess thats an expected combination." Rina thought to herself, not overly impressed by it. "Jolteon's physical attack power isn't that great though, so what did she really gain by that? Unless she plans to follow it up with..." Rina gasped, Ashley's plan suddenly becoming clear to her.
"Now fire that Thunderbolt!" Ashley called out. While Felicia was still reeling from the Shadow Ball attack, Jolteon fired a bolt of electricity at her. The attack came almost instantaneously due to having been charged previously, giving Felicia little time to brace herself. The bolt of electricity shot through her, sending her body into a fit of spasms and causing her to cry out in pain. When it was all over, she collapsed to the ground. For a moment it looked like she was finished, but she was soon struggling to stand up again.
"You should have stayed down, Felicia..." Rina thought sadly.
"Once more, Jolteon! Quick Attack!" Jolteon tensed his muscles and then shot past Felicia on an angle, hitting her in the face as he passed by. Felicia staggered back and collapsed again, this time out for good. Jolteon collapsed shortly after, though, as the poison inflicted earlier sapped the last of his strength.
"-Damn it...always...the poison...-" Jolteon muttered before falling unconscious. Ashley soon recalled him and placed his pokeball back on her belt.
"This is one reason why I don't like pokemon battles..." Rina thought as she recalled Felicia. She held Felicia's pokeball in her hand and looked at it sadly. "No matter how weak a pokemon gets, or how much pain its in, if it can still stand then its still in the fight..."
"Thats three each so far. Amazingly, they're almost evenly matched." Ashley's mother thought. Another picture printed out of the camera, showing Jolteon as he came to a stop just after hitting Felicia and showing Felicia reeling from his attack. "Well, thats the first decent photo of Ashley winning a match at any rate." She said to herself, then handed the picture to Rolly since she knew he'd want to take a look at it. Which he did.
"-Wow! That actually looks kinda cool!-" Rolly said, smiling to himself. "-Its like he hit her so fast that her reaction was delayed...or something.-" Rolly set the picture down with the others, making three photos so far.
"Ok, after that double knockout we both need to send out a new pokemon. I think I'll start off this round big." Ashley drew another pokeball from her belt, as did Rina. Both ready to start off their next match-up when suddenly the gym's doors flew open and Lance stepped inside.
"Rina! What is the meaning of this?!" Everyone looked over at Lance, shocked by his sudden arrival. Lance didn't look at all happy either.
"Lance?!" Rina cried out in disbelief. He was the last person Rina wanted to be caught in the gym by. With no gym leader in, and without special permission, neither Rina nor Ashley were permitted to be there...
Author's Notes: This chapter wasn't originally going to be a two-parter, but we're at 15 pages and only three pokemon fainted on either side in addition to having quite a bit of dialogue for a gym/straight battle chapter. While there's no reason it couldn't have just been a very, very long chapter, it goes without saying that I probably wouldn't have been posting anything at all today in that case. The double-KO after three pokemon each created a rather convenient cutoff point anyway and I'll have more room for more dialogue in the next chapter to set up for chapter 35.
Whats going to happen in Chapter 35? Something big. And another two-parter.
