Chapter 25: High Voltage
"Welcome back!" Wattson exclaimed as Lyla wrung her hair out and Eziray stumbled dizzily off the door that had launched them through the Mauville City Gym just as it had two days before. This time, Lyla did fall into the pool of water that they skidded across.
"You know there's a side door, right?" Chelsea asked as Anita snickered.
"A side door, huh?" Lyla asked as she, Noah and Aiden headed for the stairs that led to the audience's balcony-like area. "Of course we knew. We just wanted to see if we could upchuck our breakfast this morning…"
She continued to mutter about the whole ordeal all the way up the stairs as she wiped her face, wrung out her clothes, and waved her black cowgirl hat through the air.
"Don't mind her," Eziray said as she and Wattson headed to the arena together. "She's just kind of upset because she didn't know she would be going swimming today!"
Wattson belted an enthusiastic chuckle at the joke as he and Eziray took their places.
"Good luck to ya today, Eziray!" he began. "I'm very much looking forward to this rematch."
"As am I!" Eziray exclaimed.
"So what's she going to do differently this time?" Noah asked as Wattson sent out his Voltorb.
"Well, she's using her Ralts this time," Aiden replied as Eziray sent out Gracie.
"And I think she and Charo were working on some new move," Lyla added.
"Voltorb, let's start things off with Sonic Boom!"
The Voltorb released two waves of sound energy that traveled forward towards the Feeling Pokémon at great speed. Eziray grinned and ordered Gracie to use Confusion which halted the sound waves in their tracks and redirected them back at the Voltorb. They hit, but the Electric-type shook it off as if it didn't hurt a bit.
"Well, that's going to be tough to deal with," Wattson said, scratching his chin as he pondered the situation. "Let's try something else then, use Screech!"
The Voltorb let out a high-pitched screech that made almost everyone else in the room duck down and cringe. Lyla came prepared this time and stood, arms crossed triumphantly, with a pair of ear muffs resting over her ears.
"Be quiet!" Gracie whined as she wrapped her arms around her head.
"By golly, it's working, Voltorb!" Wattson exclaimed. "Now use Rollout!"
Still screeching away, Voltorb rolled forward towards Gracie. As it rolled, the sound waves of Screech traveled in every which way, echoing and changing in pitch as the Electric-type turned over itself.
"GRACIE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Eziray shouted over the ruckus.
"I'M ON IT!" Gracie shouted back as she Teleported. Voltorb kept going and slammed right into a wall, and with that, the Screech ceased.
"Interesting…" Wattson trailed off. "What to do, what to do? Your Ralts seems to be limited in moves otherwise you wouldn't be waiting for us to attack first. I mean you don't seem like the cautious type really. Unfortunately for us, those two moves are very versatile!"
"Aren't Psychic Pokémon great?" Eziray exclaimed.
"Sure they are, but I still think Electric-types are best! Voltorb, use Spark!"
Wattson's Voltorb began sparking violently until it let off all that electricity in a single wave of voltage.
"Confusion!"
"But there's too much!" Gracie replied as she held up her arms and repelled only some of it. The rest of it surrounded her and jolted through her body.
"Gracie!" Eziray shouted as her Ralts fell to her hands and knees.
"Ouchies…" Gracie trailed off.
"And they were doing so well," Lyla said with a frown.
"Excellent!" Wattson exclaimed. "Try that again!"
Voltorb used Spark once more and Eziray ordered Gracie to use Teleport this time. When she did, however, the Voltorb simply used Spark once more and the electricity expanded across the entire arena so she'd be hit no matter where she appeared.
"Ezzie, I feel funny…" Gracie trailed off as soon as she was zapped after reappearing.
"No, don't tell me you're paralyzed!" Eziray exclaimed, triggering Wattson to smile.
"I don't think so…this is different. I've never felt anything like this before!"
"Voltorb, I think she's immobilized! Use Rollout!"
"Gracie, can you move?" Eziray demanded as the Voltorb came at her. Gracie threw up one arm in response, halting and spinning the Voltorb in place.
"Of course, but…" Gracie trailed off as she put her other hand up to her head and suddenly began to glow. "What's going on?"
Gracie, still able to hold the Confusion and keep Voltorb rotating in place, slowly began to change shape into a taller, leaner Pokémon. Once the glowing subsided, a Kirlia stood in Gracie's place.
"RIGHT ON!" Eziray exclaimed.
With a single flick of her wrist, Gracie launched the Voltorb straight back into a wall as she stepped forward slightly.
"Woah…" the Psychic-type said as she about tripped. "Such long legs…but I feel so light now!"
The Psychic-type suddenly began twirling in place as she slowly brought up one of her legs. Wattson started laughing at the sight of the joyful Pokémon until she began to release a vortex of glowing green leaves around herself.
"Razor Leaf?" Eziray asked as Gracie halted and watched the leaves fall to the ground around her.
"No, they're magic!" Gracie exclaimed. "Watch!"
The Psychic-type began twirling once again, this time shooting a mass of these leaves toward her opponent. The Voltorb rolled out of the way to dodge them, but they curved with it and chased it around the arena until they caught up and exploded against it.
"See? Magical Leaf! They hit no matter what!" Gracie exclaimed as she kept spinning and releasing them. "Isn't that neat?"
"It sure is, Gracie! Keep it up! And maybe throw some teleporting into the mix!" Gracie exclaimed.
"Certainly!" Gracie replied as she vanished and reappeared continuously, hitting the Voltorb from all sides until she knocked it out.
"Alright!" Eziray exclaimed as Anita called it.
"Hey that was pretty flashy, Ez!" Lyla called from up above. "Are contests rubbing off on you?"
"Maybe," Eziray replied with a grin.
"Fun! Fun! Fun!" Gracie exclaimed as she twirled in place.
"I'm glad you're having a good time, Gracie, but I may need you later so rest up now!"
Both sides called their Pokémon back and sent out another – Wattson sent out Manectric and Eziray sent out her Grovyle.
"I guess Gracie and Marshtomp aren't the only ones who have evolved lately," Noah observed as Speedy slashed at the air with the blade-like leaves on his arms.
"Yeah, all of our Pokémon are really growing," Lyla replied admiringly. "Being a trainer has to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life!"
"Speedy! Use Quick Attack!"
The Grovyle nodded and began racing around the arena. Manectric watched him carefully, ready to spring up at any given moment.
"Just let it be, Manectric! Don't bother trying to chase it. You're not fast enough to catch it. Just wait a second!"
Manectric stood obediently, waiting for Speedy to strike. Once the Grass-type was in range, the Discharge Pokémon pounced and pinned Speedy down.
"Triiiic," Manectric growled as Speedy squirmed beneath it.
"What did I tell you? Now use Thunder!"
There was a pause and then Manectric quickly jumped off of Speedy as a massive lightning bolt struck from above. Speedy stood, slightly charred but otherwise okay.
"From the left, Speedy!" Eziray warned. "Use Detect!"
The Manectric was coming at him, full speed, so he threw up one arm to create a thin blue force field around his entire body. As the Electric-type collided with the force field, he was repelled away and tumbled through the dirt a bit.
"Hit him with Shock Wave once it's faded!"
Manectric charged up, waiting for the Detect to cease. Once it did, the Discharge Pokémon released a zigzagging wave of electricity at Speedy who responded with another Detect. The Shock Wave reflected upwards, away from Speedy, and hit Lyla instead.
"AGHHHHHHH!" Lyla cried as she lit up brightly.
"Holy shit," Noah replied as Lyla fell and Aiden dropped to his knees to catch her.
"Lyla are you okay?" he asked.
"EZIRAY!" Lyla shouted, hair standing straight up.
"Sorry, Lyla!" Eziray replied.
"Couldn't just dodge the move like anyone else would have, had to send it someplace else," Lyla muttered as Aiden helped her to her feet and she tried to tame the mess of hair sticking up in every direction on her head.
"I hope your friend's alright," Wattson said as he watched Lyla electrocute Noah by slightly brushing against him.
"She's okay! But I'd be more worried about your Manectric if I were you! Speedy, us Pound!"
Speedy charged forward, right claw glowing.
"Use Bite!"
As Speedy swung, Manectric latched onto his wrist with its powerful jaw. Then it noticed Speedy grinning.
"Perfect! Now you can't dodge this!" Eziray exclaimed. "Speedy, use Absorb!"
With his free hand, Speedy released a thick green beam of energy that wrapped around Manectric's body several times and began draining its energy much faster than Absorb usually did. As Manectric fell limp, Speedy regained all his strength and ripped his arm from the Electric-type's mouth.
"Hey I think Speedy's Absorb must have developed into Mega Drain when it evolved," Aiden said as Eziray cocked her head.
"You're right. It's much stronger now, huh? Awesome! Let's finish it up with Leaf Blade!"
Speedy ceased the Mega Drain and lifted Manectric's weakened body up into the air with one hand. With the other arm, he gave the Electric-type a swift strike with his glowing leaf-like blades. Manectric tumbled through the dirt and remained motionless before the gym leader.
"Manectric is unable to battle! Speedy the Grovyle wins!" Chelsea called.
"Great job, Speedy!" Eziray exclaimed as she called her Grass-type back to its ball. "I think Charo can handle whatever's next, but I want you to take a break in case he can't!"
"I like your strategy, Eziray!" Wattson praised as he called his Manectric back to its ball. "It's definitely much easier on your Pokémon."
"Thanks!" Eziray replied. "Plus, if any of my previous Pokémon have an extra advantage against your last one, I want them in good health if I need them!"
"That's true too! Especially since my last Pokémon is going to be Magneton!"
As Wattson sent out his final Pokémon, Eziray grinned and sent out hers too. Both Pokémon stared each other down for a moment, remembering their battle from just two days before.
"Up until this point, it's been a completely different battle than from her first, but now Charo's up against Magneton again," Aiden said in an attempt to fill Noah in.
"And he's gonna win!" Lyla exclaimed. "Because they've been working on some super-secret, super-cool new move for Charo to use!"
"Alright Magneton, we're way too far behind for my liking so let's knock this one out with a quickness. Use Zap Cannon!"
"Oh no you don't! Charo, are you ready to use that new move of yours?"
"Char!" the Charmander exclaimed.
"Alright then do it! Use Smokescreen!"
"Smokescreen?" Lyla echoed, somewhat surprised yet disappointed.
Charo started to use Flamethrower but stopped once a large fire ball had accumulated in his mouth. Then he swallowed it, coughed a little, and began spewing out a thick cloud of smoke that filled the area and completely hid Charo beneath it.
"Eziray, that's not how a Pokémon is supposed to use Smokescreen!" Aiden shouted as he began choking on the smoke.
"We can do whatever we want!"
"He's gonna hurt himself like that! Teach him to do it the right way," Aiden argued.
"We're working on it!" Eziray shouted. "Now use Flamethrower, Charo!"
Before Magneton could react, a blast of fire appeared from the wisps of smoke and torched it. The Electric-type winced and tried shaking it off as another one came, but it was way off this time. Several more fired out completely randomly and none of them hit.
"Well, we may not be able to see where that Charmander is, but it appears that he has no idea where Magneton is either…"
"I said we're working on it!" Eziray repeated.
"Magneton, use Supersonic!"
The Magneton began emitting circular sound waves into the dark cloud until Charo came stumbling out of it, eyes glowing red in confusion. The first thing he noticed was the Magneton floating overhead, and his first reaction was to fly up there with a single flap of his wings. He of course had no wings and this only resulted in an ungraceful trip, face-first into the ground.
"Damnit!" Eziray muttered.
"Now use Sonic Boom!"
The Magneton released three crescent-shaped sound waves, one from each of its magnets. Charo looked up at them as they came and, in spite of Eziray's desperate pleas, he didn't try to avoid them. Instead, he opened his mouth and tried to eat them. Fortunately, the resulting explosion seemed to snap him out of his confusion.
"Chaaaaaah," the Fire-type gagged, trying to get rid the terrible feeling in his mouth.
"I can't believe you tried to eat them!" Eziray exclaimed.
"Hey, it's not his fault!" Lyla called from up above.
"Stop getting distracted, Eziray!" Noah shouted, pointing at the Tri Attack headed straight for Charo.
"Oh crap! Counter that with Flamethrower!"
Charo did just so, and the two attacks met in midair, trying to force back one another. Pretty soon, small amounts of smoke began spurting out of Charo's mouth with the Flamethrower.
"Eziray, that's from not using Smokescreen the right way. That's not good…" Aiden trailed off.
"No, that's perfect! If he keeps it up, we can blind the Magneton and maybe–"
Before Eziray could finish her thought, Charo ceased the Flamethrower in a coughing fit as he choked on his own smoke. This allowed the Tri Attack to continue forward and hit.
"CHARO!" Eziray cried.
"Now let's finish this up, Magneton! Use Supersonic!"
Charo looked up at his opponent as the sound waves traveled towards him. He avoided them by jumping out of the way towards the nearby wall which he used to launch himself towards his opponent. Then he opened his mouth and blinded it with another cloud of Smokescreen.
"Better, Charo!" Aiden exclaimed.
"He did it right that time?" Lyla asked.
"Charo's a very intelligent Pokémon. He must have figured out how to make it work on his own," Aiden replied as Charo landed on Magneton from up above.
"I agree with Wattson. Let's finish this up!" Eziray exclaimed. "With Flamethrower!"
Panicked, the Magneton let off a Zap Cannon but Charo was careful enough to duck down away from the magnets that were releasing the electricity. Then he blasted Magneton toward the ground with a smoldering jet of fire. As they lowered from the cloud of smoke, everyone gasped; Magneton's body was so hot that it was glowing bright, burning red. Pretty soon, it was too weak to stay levitating and it fell straight down to the ground like a cannon ball, Charo still on its back. Once the dust settled, the Fire-type hopped off of his fallen opponent and raced to Eziray as Anita called the match.
"WE WON!" Eziray exclaimed as she grabbed Charo by the arms and danced around with him.
"This means…" Wattson trailed off with a sigh. "I've lost a battle every day this week!"
"Oh that's right…" Eziray trailed off. "I'm sorry Wattson! Please don't be discouraged!"
"Don't worry, child! I've definitely got ahold of myself now. I know you're all strong trainers and I can't wait to see you all competing in the Pokémon League!"
Noah, Aiden, and Eziray grinned. Eziray was about to say something in response but then the Pikachu from the day before suddenly bolted into the room. Wattson gasped and she looked up at him, ready for a fight.
"Not you again…" he trailed off. "Most of my Pokémon are in no condition for a challenge right now, Pikachu, and I'm too pooped anyway!"
"Pikaaa…" she growled, sparks violently snapping away from her cheeks.
"I'll take care of it, Wattson," Anita said, raising a Pokéball.
"Wait a minute, Anita!" Lyla called from above. "I wanna battle her!"
"Cha?" Pikachu scoffed. This particular human had a lot of nerve. Did she really expect to win?
The Pikachu ignored Lyla as she ran out onto the arena, Marshtomp's ball in hand. The Electric-type had no desire whatsoever to accept Lyla's challenge. Wattson was the only person in the room that this Pikachu had any interest in, so Lyla knew she'd have to use some persuasion tactics to get it to pay any attention to her.
"Marshtomp, come on out!" she exclaimed, releasing Marshtomp into the arena. "Hey, take a look!"
Pikachu turned her head slightly, glaring at the stubborn girl and the Water-type Pokémon she'd just sent out.
"You've already defeated Wattson, haven't you? You know you can beat him! I think Marshtomp would be much more of a challenge for you because–"
Before she could finish, the Pikachu gave Marshtomp a powerful zap of Thunderbolt to show her how weak Water-types were against Electric-type attacks. To the Mouse Pokémon's surprise, however, Marshtomp wasn't affected by it at all.
"Pika?" the Electric-type said as she cocked her head in disbelief.
"Have you ever met a Ground-type before, Pikachu? Marshtomp is both Water and Ground. Your Electric-type attacks won't even faze him. So, as I was saying, if you defeat him then that'll really be saying something about how powerful you are!"
The Pikachu was convinced and she grinned in response to Lyla's challenge, letting the human know that she accepted it. Lyla smiled back and called the first move.
"Alright Marshtomp, let's use Mud Shot!"
Marshtomp nodded and opened his mouth, releasing a blast of thick mud. Pikachu zipped out of the way in a sudden flash of Quick Attack and darted back-and-forth through the room so Marshtomp couldn't hit her.
"What a mess!" Anita whined. "Wattson, I could take care of this in like two seconds!"
"Hush, Anita! We need a more permanent solution to this problem. Maybe this girl has what it takes…"
Pikachu soon began to realize that the dry land she had to run on was gradually dwindling away as slippery mud began to accumulate all over the arena. With one quick shove, she sprang up and bounced off of a wall, landing in the mud and shooting straight for Marshtomp.
"Clever," Aiden said as the Electric-type knocked Marshtomp down like a bowling pin. "Using a disadvantage to her advantage."
"I think Lyla bit off more than she can chew," Noah said.
"No, she's totally got this!" Eziray shouted, running out onto the balcony to get a better view of the action. "She's improved so much since you first met her. I know she can handle this puny little Pikachu!"
"Eziray's right. Don't underestimate our girl," Aiden said as he watched Lyla's face light up as if she'd realized something.
"Okay, what if the entire arena was muddy?" she thought to herself as she told Marshtomp to keep it up.
"Pika…" the Pikachu trailed off as she watched Marshtomp hose down the arena with Mud Shot.
As she stood, wondering why he wasn't even aiming for her, he reached her corner with it and she zipped out of the way, using the wall once more to launch herself at her opponent. But this time, Marshtomp just slid out of the way and Lyla ordered him to use Ice Beam on the spot where he had stood. There was no way for the Pikachu to stop or even slow down, so she crashed right through the thick ice mound blocking her path. As she slipped and spun out of control, Lyla told Marshtomp to set up several more ice mounds like that one so he could move around on them.
"Marshtomp!" the Mud Fish Pokémon taunted as Pikachu came to an eventual stop at the base of the icy platform that he was standing on.
She looked up at him furiously and used Thunder which he dodged by jumping to another ice mound, even though he didn't really need to; he just wanted to show off the fact that he could get around the arena and she couldn't. She stood up and attempted to climb onto the ice mound before her but her entire ventral side was coated in slick mud so she just slid right off.
"Good job guys!" Eziray called.
The trainer's praise ticked off the wild Electric-type even more and she directed that anger into a Thunderbolt aimed right at Eziray, since it would have been useless to take it out on Marshtomp. Eziray ducked and shouted at the Pokémon as it grinned in satisfaction. Then it looked back at Marshtomp in time to see a shot of mud coming right it. She quickly brought up a Light Screen in an attempt to shield herself but she was still driven back into the wall.
"You're doing great Marshtomp! It's only a matter of time before she's down for the count!"
What was that supposed to mean? What exactly was Lyla trying to accomplish here? Was she trying to catch her? As these questions raced through the Pikachu's mind, she began to realize that she was to have no say in the matter if this were the case. She felt trapped, and for most Pokémon, that was terrifying. To her, however, it was infuriating. In an act of rage and desperation, the Pikachu began to direct as many jolts of Thunderbolt at Marshtomp as she could. Lyla nodded and he began to glow brightly as his body absorbed the energy of the attacks with Bide.
"I hope you have some shades tucked away with those ear plugs," Lyla said to Wattson and his underlings as she shielded her eyes which were glimmering with slight revenge for what these people had put her through during these past two visits.
Pikachu cried out angrily as she let off one final Thunderbolt, but just when she released it, Marshtomp let off a tremendous amount of energy – double the amount he had absorbed. In a single flash, the Pikachu was blown back clear through the wall and fell several stories down to the ground outside. Lyla raced for the stairs and exited the building as quickly as she could, Wattson and the others following close behind. The gym leader didn't even seem to notice the enormous black scorch marks now stretching across the walls around all four sides of his arena.
"Alright, Pokéball…" Lyla trailed off as she reached for a Pokéball once she found the fallen Pikachu, lying motionless in a nearby alley.
"WAIT!" Wattson called.
"What's wrong?"
"Try this one instead!" he replied, tossing her a ball that was black in the place of red and had yellow streaks forming an 'H' across the top. "That Ultra Ball is one of the most effective Pokéballs out there. This Pikachu is much too stubborn for a normal one to do the trick. Hopefully that one will do it for you!"
"Thanks!" Lyla exclaimed as she gave it a hurl and it sucked the Pikachu within.
Everyone watched as it rocked steadily and stopped, indicating a catch. Lyla's face lit up as she made her way over to pick it up. She thanked Wattson again and he told her that he was happy to see it go to a capable trainer who would take much better care of it than it took care of itself. She blushed at the compliment and ran her fingers along the grooves of the Ultra Ball in her hands. Then she looked up at the gaping hole in the side of the building and gasped an apology. He chuckled, more out of uneasiness than anything, and told her not to worry about it.
"Hi, Pikachu…"
Lyla was sitting on her bed with some medicine in her lap that Nurse Joy had given it to her when she went with Eziray to the Pokémon Center just after they had left Wattson's gym. Her newly caught Pikachu was standing at the foot of the bed staring up at her with a mixture of negative emotions evident in her expression. This was the first time Lyla had let her out of the ball since she got her; she knew she'd have to give this one time and space.
"Can I get you to eat something? Please? You'll feel much better if you do! Don't make me force you…"
She spooned out some of the medicine and mixed it into a bowl of Pokémon food. Then she set it down in front of Pikachu and watched. The Pikachu knew that refusing to eat wouldn't get her anywhere so she sat down and ate the food reluctantly. Lyla smiled and, in her mind, recited what she was going to say next. There was a long pause, and then she finally spoke.
"I know something bad happened to you," she began. Pikachu stopped and looked up at her so she continued. "Gracie told me she can see it your eyes. She senses sadness and rage that run very deep…I don't know what happened to you and I know it's none of my business, but I'm thinking that's maybe why you don't seem to like people too much. I understand that, so I'll try to give you as much space as you need. When you're all better and I'm certain that you're not going to hurt yourself again, I'll even release you if you want me to…but…if you stay with me, then I promise to do whatever I can to make your dream come true!"
Pikachu frowned and continued eating. She didn't believe her. She didn't want to believe her. She just couldn't trust a human, not after everything she'd been through. She truly believed that it was only a matter of time before Lyla hurt her too and she refused to be vulnerable to that.
Author Notes:
So I guess the moral of the story is to not give Lyla a hard time or she'll blow a hole in the side of your gym…This chapter's a little short, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! Be sure to leave a review if you have any suggestions or requests or anything ^^ (And yes, I was listening to AC/DC when I wrote these Wattson battles – hence the title).