"Scatter!" The older man shouted and the Plasma grunts broke apart, some running back to where they came while three rushed us, their Liepard, Scrafty, and Watchog alongside them.
"Fire Lash on the Watchog!" Robert shouted and Heatmor swung his head, his flames emitting from his mouth stretching out.
"Dark Pulse!" One of the grunts shouted and Liepard skidded to a halt, claws digging into the icy floor. She fired a sphere of dark energy at Heatmor, blasting him against a container. Arcaneis slammed into Liepard while she was distracted, blasting her into a stack of ice cubes a dozen meters away.
"Hypnosis!"
Arcaneis stumbled, shaking his head as his eyes drooped.
"Sorry about this!" Alex shouted as her Alolan Ninetales swung Scrafty bodily towards Arcaneis, smacking him right in the face. Shaking his head, he growled and turned towards Watchog.
Meanwhile the grunts had reached us. I sidestepped, using the slippery floor to swing myself around him. Grabbing an arm, I twirled on my heels, swinging the grunt towards Alex who swung out an arm, his head slamming into it and he fell to the floor with a groan.
Two of the grunts had gone after Robert, but Heatmor kept them at bay. Something glinted in the corner of my eye and I turned, too late to avoid the blast of frozen wind. I found myself rolling backwards across the floor, slamming into a wall. I blinked, staring at the Cryogonal above the cloaked man.
"I will not let you trainers interfere," he said, head raised slightly to give the appearance of looking down at us. "Pokemon must be freed, no matter the cost."
"Sorry, but you just made a big mistake," I said, getting to my feet, ignoring the pain in my back. I was gonna be sore tomorrow. "Arcaneis is very protective of me."
Arcaneis swung his head to one side, sending Watchog flying as he padded towards the man and his Cryogonal, snarling as fire burned in his eyes and electricity sparked along his fur.
"As one of the Seven Sages I hold one of the highest ranks in Team Plasma," the Sage stated, raising a hand and Cryogonal floated forwards. "And thus my partner is not to be trifled with. Even at a disadvantage."
"Then prove it," I smirked. "Arcaneis, Flamethrower!"
Arcaneis blasted a powerful Flamethrower from his maw, completely engulfing the Cryogonal. When the fire faded however, a protective shield had blocked the attack. It faded as Cryogonal spun around my Pokemon with alarming speed, spreading a cloud of haze. It thickened, obscuring both Arcaneis and Cryogonal within.
Heat rolled off in waves from Arcaneis, blasting the haze away in an instant. The heat seared the Ice type and sent him tumbling away through the air. Arcaneis took off after him, leaping atop a shipping container and spinning into a wheel of fire, electricity sparking along the flames. He zoomed into Cryogonal, who had put up a new shield, deflecting Arcaneis away.
The Ice type began spinning like a disc and zoomed into Arcaneis, knocking him across the ice covered floor before zooming out and going back for another attack. Digging his claws into the ice to control his movement, he opened his maw wide and managed to clamp them down on the fast moving Cryogonal. He spun faster in Arcaneis' mouth, glowing as fossils began appearing around them. They slammed into Arcaneis, forcing him to release Cryogonal, who then spun back a dozen feet, shooting several ice spikes that slammed into Arcaneis' chest.
Shaking himself, Arcaneis growled and promptly disappeared. He moved in a blur, striking Cryogonal multiple times before he managed to throw up another Protect. Cryogonal zoomed across the room, blasting a beam of ice as he hovered backwards. Arcaneis' body lit up with fire, nulling the attack as he blasted towards the Ice type.
Cryogonal's eyes glinted, lasering in on Arcaneis as he flew towards him, taking the attack head-on. He flew backwards, denting the metal wall of the warehouse. Shaking himself, a beam of crackling purple energy began forming. The Hyper Beam exploded from Cryogonal, crashing into Arcaneis like a freight train. He was carried backwards and crashed straight through a container, leaving a gaping hole.
Eyes flashed from the other side of the container before Arcaneis leaped atop it, blasting another Flamethrower, which Cryogonal promptly protected himself from.
"Alright, time to end this," I said, raising my hand. "Burning Tempest!"
Arcaneis' yellow wavy stripes began to glow as small clouds crackling with electricity circled him. Fire brimmed along his mouth as he shot forwards, the fire combining with the electricity as it engulfed him entirely.
"Protect!" The Sage cried, eyes wide, and Arcaneis crashed into Cryogonal's barrier. Arcaneis roared, not letting up. A crack appeared in the barrier and Arcaneis pushed through, slamming into the Ice type with a resounding blast. Arcaneis shook himself as Cryogonal clattered to the ground, fainted, steam rising from his body.
"Impossible!" The Sage took a step back, eyes wide as he stared from his Cryogonal to Arcaneis, then to me. "The liberation of Pokemon will not be denied! Not by the likes of children like yourselves!"
"Bro, taking out a shipment of pokeballs?" Robert raised an eyebrow. "I mean, really? Unova has a crap ton already. All this plan was going to do is show people that Team Plasma are a bunch of crooks."
The Sage looked beside himself. "Shut your mouth you impudent child!" At that moment, the Liepard, who we thought to be down for the count, sprang to her feet, lunging for Alex while we were focused on the Sage. Out of nowhere a spinning missile slammed into Liepard's side, sending her crashing into a stack of boxes.
"Now now, no need to get more violent than you already are."
I whirled around, coming face-to-face once again with Driftveil's Gym Leader, Clay. He smirked beneath his hat as his Excadrill leaped back to stand beside him. Behind him stood a group of Cold Storage workers, of them including the ones we met earlier.
Clay raised a hand. "Gather up the ones hiding and take them to my Gym." With a chorus of nods the workers split up, gripping pokeballs as they scoured the warehouse. As they did so, Clay stepped past me and stood in front of the Sage. "With your Pokemon down, you have no choice but to come with me. I don't tolerate lawbreakers such as yourselves in my city."
The Sage opened his mouth, but nothing came out, apparently at a loss for words. Clay took a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket, fastening them around the Sage's hands. He turned, leading the man away. He stopped, looking between Alex, Robert, and I.
"Meet me at my gym," was all he said before leaving.
"That was..." Alex trailed off as he left and the workers began appearing again, having gathered the Plasma members who had hid during the battle.
"Oddly efficient," I finished for her.
"That's Clay for you," Robert said. "C'mon, we should go meet him. With any luck he'll actually be available for a gym battle for you two."
As we left the building, we saw the last of the workers pushing the Plasma members into a couple of police vehicles before they drove off. It took us close to an hour to cross the city and reach the gym. It was located off a side road that led to a massive clearing of dirt, as if someone carved a circle in the forest and took out all the trees. In the center was a fancy building with stained glass windows and the Gym symbol hanging over the fancy double doors. The cars were all parked outside and the Plasma grunts and the Sage all stood outside together with the workers on all sides guarding them. Clay stood near them, but he was facing a new group of Plasma grunts, these being led by none other than Ghetsis. Clay seemed to be holding his anger in check, but failing as he grew red in the face. Ghetsis, however, remained calm, motioning with his left hand as he spoke.
As we drew close enough, I heard Clay spit, "Fine, take 'em! Take 'em and don't come back! And if I see any of Team Plasma back here again..." He let the threat hang, glaring at Ghetsis, who merely smiled and motioned for the detained Sage and grunts to follow him. When they were about to pass us, Ghetsis stopped, looking at us.
"My, what a pleasant surprise to see you three here again," Ghetsis said warmly. "Though I notice the other boy and girl aren't here with you this time."
I took a step towards him, but Robert gripped my shoulder and hissed quietly, "Don't. We can't do anything, not now at least."
I shook him off, but stayed where I was.
Ghetsis sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, what have I done to earn anyone's ire?" He didn't wait for an answer as he resumed walking.
"Watch yourself, Ghetsis!" I shouted after him. "You act the wise sage and virtuous idealist, but I know better! Keep spouting your nonsense over liberating Pokemon! But I know there's more to it than just that!"
I almost didn't think he would stop, that he would just keep walking. But he did stop and he did turn back to look at me. His lips still formed a friendly smile, but his one visible eye had changed. There was something off about it.
He was silent for a moment before he said, "I'm interested to see how far you will go, Zeno. Very interested." And then he turned on his heels, his cloak swishing around him as he led his group down the street.
"Zeno," Alex took my hand. I felt myself calm down a little at her touch and I reined in the anger filling me. I looked at her and she was giving me a concerned look.
I looked away. "Sorry. I just... he reminds me of... him."
Alex squeezed my hand, letting me know that she understood. I looked back up at the retreating Team Plasma. Saying it aloud helped confirm my feelings about Ghetsis. Behind the mask he put on in public, I could feel that there was a personality somewhere beneath the surface that he didn't like sharing. A twisted personality. It was just a feeling, but it was similar to Giovanni's. He was a manipulator, never showing his true intentions until the very end by hiding it behind a mask of lies.
A throat cleared behind us and we turned to see Clay standing just a few feet away. "Thank you for the help with catching them. But in the end nothing I could do to keep 'em wrangled. My, he talks quite purty, but there's something about him..."
"Say," Robert said. "Was there a reason you stopped us from attacking them near the bridge?"
Clay nodded curtly. "Wouldn't do to capture 'em without clear evidence. Thankfully I knew leaving you youngins to corner them that they would confess, so it made my job easier."
"Nice to know we helped," I responded drily and Alex elbowed me in the ribs.
Clay smirked. "Got spunk. I approve." He turned, heading towards his gym. "I can already guess what y'all want of me now. I don't have much time to spare, so we'll make 'em quick and dirty."
Five minutes later we were in an elevator, descending into the earth. Miners were chipping away at walls atop similar elevator platforms as we passed. Eventually we descended into a large cavern with a whole minecart system set up. Emerald green crystals poked out from large rocks as miners hacked at them with pickaxes, aided along by a slew of Ground types and Steel types. In the center of all the work was the battlefield. The lines for the arena were carved into the rocky ground and the field itself was laden with stalagmites and clusters of small rocks. At the far end where Clay would be standing was a massive crystal with three spikes jutting from a rock base.
"You've certainly gotten far since last I was here," Robert said in awe, gazing around the cavern.
Clay grunted proudly. "You ain't seen nothin' yet. With the cash we'll get from mining these here crystals will net us a fortune, and it's all goin' straight into Clay's Tunnel."
With a shudder, the elevator came to a stop and the guardrails lowered. Clay stepped off the platform, already heading for the large crystal. There he picked up a large, worn pickaxe and hefted it over his right shoulder while holding a Heavy Ball in his left hand.
"I ain't got all day," he grunted.
Alex cracked her knuckles, glancing back at me. "Mind if I take the first shot?"
I smirked. "Be my guest."
"The official gym match between Alex the challenger and Clay the Driftveil Gym Leader will now begin!" A miner yelled, leaning on the handle of a pickaxe. "Only three Pokemon are allowed on either side and the battle will be over when the other trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle! Additionally, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! Now begin!"
"Get goin' Palpitoad!" Clay grunted and sent out the Water/Ground type.
"Perfect matchup from the start!" Alex grinned as she sent out Lurantis. "Razor Leaf!"
Lurantis swung both sickles, razor sharp leaves shooting from them towards Palpitoad, who promptly shot onto a wall of muddy water before riding it towards Lurantis. The Grass type stood her ground, crouching as her right sickle began to glow a bright green. As the wall of dirty water descended upon her, she slashed upwards, splitting the water in half. Palpitoad leaped off before the sickle could touch him as he threw back his head before firing a stream of bubbles. Lurantis covered her head against the attack before she slashed both sickles, a whirlwind of petals bursting around her. She gave a loud cry and the Petal Blizzard expanded, battering Palpitoad and sending him flying across the arena.
Lurantis dug a foot back into the hard rock, holding back a sickle as it began to glow a harsh green. Palpitoad righted himself and slammed a foot on the ground. The earth shook and cracked, forcing Lurantis to one knee, but she kept charging the attack. Palpitoad charged forwards atop of a wave of muddy water once again, but Lurantis finished charging. She dragged her sickle upwards, a large beam of green energy dragging along the ground, ripping up the rocks before slashing upwards through the water and blasting Palpitoad.
The Water/Ground type crashed onto the ground, fainted. Without wasting any time, Clay had sent out Krokorok. The Ground/Dark type snarled viciously, making Lurantis to take a step back, intimidated. He roared, stomping upon the ground, kicking up dirt and sand. In just a matter of seconds a sandstorm had blown up around Krokorok, whipping around the battlefield. Lurantis squinted through it, flinching as the rough particles grazed her.
The Grass type swung both arms, both glowing green as she ran forwards, parting the sandstorm for only a moment. Krokorok was nowhere in sight. The earth cracked beneath her and he crashed through, flipping her into the air as her sickles faded in color. With the agile movements of a predator going in for a kill, Krokorok bent midair, clamping his jaws around Lurantis' middle, making her cry out in pain. She landed painfully on the ground as petals blasted around her body, slashing against Krokorok and forcing him to release her.
She twisted her body around, slashing her sickles as she went, but Krokorok stomped on the ground again. This time the earth cracked and shook violently. A shockwave shot up through Lurantis body, making her freeze for a second, which was all the time Krokorok needed to get in close, crunching down on her middle again. Crying out in pain and feeling as if it took more effort to move, Lurantis swung at him, her movements slow. Krokorok quickly released himself from her and dove back into the ground.
As the sandstorm petered out, Krokorok burst through the ground behind Lurantis, but this time she was ready for him as petals burst around her. Snarling, a fierce wind of sand blasted from Krokorok, slashing against the petals as she were hurled into Lurantis' back. Crunching down on one of her sickles, Krokorok slammed his feet against the ground and heaved, sending Lurantis hurtling across the battlefield where she lay still.
Florges was out next. Immediately a Grassy Terrain spread across the surrounding area, engulfing the arena in a sea of green. Krokorok immediately dived into the ground as Florges floated to the side, spreading her arms as knots of grass appeared around her on the ground. When Krokorok emerged to slam into her, he triggered one of the traps and flew backwards. Pink light swirled around Florges' hands as she held them together, forming a glowing sphere. She launched it at Krokorok, who had recovered just enough to open his maw wide and crunch down on the Moonblast. An explosion blasted out of his mouth and he staggered for a few seconds, the sides of his mouth black from the blast. He shook his head and stood unsteadily on his feet before falling backwards.
Now Clay was down to his final Pokemon. Victory was close at hand, but Clay wasn't going to go down easily. Excadrill appeared, clanging his metal claws together. Florges gave a cry and petals burst around her, only for Excadrill to appear behind her, having already slashed his claws, disrupting Florges' attack as she yelled in pain. A glint in Excadrill's eyes and he zoomed past her like he had become one with the fast sandstorm still blowing around the battlefield, slashing as he went with his glowing claws. Florges flung herself backwards, springing up many Grass Knots.
Excadrill slammed both claws in the earth, triggering an earthshaking Bulldoze, triggering each Grass Knot. He drew back both claws and ran for Florges, who was quickly charging up another Petal Dance. Before either Pokemon could land a hit, the sandstorm picked up speed for just a quick second before fading away entirely, making Florges to cry out and collapse.
Now it had become a 1v1 battle. Alex's last Pokemon was her Alolan Ninetales, who while normally would have been a decent choice against a Ground type Gym Leader, was now at a disadvantage against the Ground/Steel Excadrill. Yet Alex only grinned. If anything, this was most definitely a challenge worth surmounting.
Excadrill wasted no time in blasting forwards, metal claws glowing. But without the sandstorm to boost his speed, Ninetales was faster, running to the side to dodge the attack and blasting Excadrill's side with ice shard projectiles. She skidded to a stop, firing a beam of ice from her maw and it slammed into her opponent, the ice spreading across his skin.
Excadrill flexed his claws hard, cracking the ice as he slammed them to the ground, using the shockwave from the Bulldoze to shatter the rest of the ice and slowing Ninetales somewhat as she flinched from the shaking earth. She shook herself and ran towards Excadrill, her speed increasing slightly as red and pinkish energy swirled around her for a split second. As Excadrill slashed forwards with his right claw, Ninetales swung herself around, her giant tail arcing towards him. Water surged around it as it clashed against his claw, slamming him backwards through a rock.
Excadrill flipped back upright, shooting out a claw as rocks hurled themselves from the ground and into the air, falling towards Ninetales. She howled and ran, her speed increasing slightly again as she began weaving in-between the falling boulders. Excadrill flung himself forwards, both claws glaring with light. Ninetales blasted the ground with an Ice Beam, freezing the surrounding area and allowing herself to quickly glide out of his path before shooting more ice shards into him. She ran forwards as Excadrill turned, slashing outwards, catching her in the face. She tumbled backwards as Excadrill swung both claws, more rocks crashing down atop Ninetales.
With a burst of water, Ninetales broke free of the rocks, shattering them and sending the shards into Excadrill, who blocked them with his claws. Then in a split second she was there in front of him, slamming her tail into him, a wave of water splashing outwards from the impact as he was sent skidding across the arena. A beam of ice soon followed, freezing the ground before it hit Excadrill and shooting up him, freezing him as he went. He gritted his teeth, trying to force himself to move, but when the ice cracked and shattered, his eyes widened in pain and he fell forwards, unable to go on.
"And Alex the Challenger is the winner!"
"Woo!" Alex whooped, hugging her Ninetales, who licked her trainer's hair.
I smiled as I watched Alex receive her badge. Then I rolled my shoulders and stood. "My turn."
