You'll have to forgive me for finally falling behind what you'd normally expect, but that's life. I suppose it isn't that bad as it could've been another month until I updated again. Anyway, I've probably said this multiple times already, but I'm taking things one step at time so that even I won't lose my place in writing and that I'd easily remember where to go from the last chapter.
The next day…
The beginning of the week felt rather slow to most people, especially to those that have been currently participating in the festivities of New Island. The fact remained that it was now Tuesday morning regardless of the perception of time that went by. It was no doubt due to the early second round matches of the Champions League being more spread out and with more competent Trainers and their Pokémon enduring all the way to their limits.
And then, there have been those preoccupied with thoughts more important and significant than simply winning the tournament.
Come middle Tuesday morning, Anabel sat at the same wooden bench from yesterday, this time with her Espeon curled up by her feet. Considering that she had a battle later in the early afternoon, she needed the time to mentally concentrate. After all, it's not every day that she would finally face a Gym Leader, not since she left behind her days as a roaming Pokémon Trainer to become the Salon Maiden of the Kanto Battle Frontier almost four years ago. And no less, she would be facing Byron, the Gym Leader stationed at Canalave City of Sinnoh.
Anabel sat motionless, eyes closed and hands upon her lap. Her breathing was steady and her overall posture was relaxed, but firm. Espeon briefly glanced up to her Trainer, having sensed something.
"… …"
"Ash!"
Scenes from her last encounter with Ash sprang before her mind's eyes, causing minor discomfort upon further recalling the incident.
"… … …"
"Ash, please!"
Anabel felt herself trembling slightly, face tightening under stress. Espeon stood on all fours, looking on while masking her own worry.
"… … … …!"
"Ash… why won't you let it go?"
That did it.
She opened her eyes within a heartbeat, taking slow, shallow breaths through her mouth. This memory playback kept haunting her. It hadn't been too frequent, only when she was on her own and with nothing else to keep her occupied. It all tied into the fact that her still harboring slightly romantic feelings for the distant Pallet Town Trainer that caused her to worry a bit over him. Of course, she was smart and composed enough not to let those emotions take complete control over her since first hearing about his sudden disappearance over a year ago and was able to continue on her daily life as a Frontier Brain. She was also quick to figure out that he needed to get a lot of experience, both the good and the bad, to ultimately be refined as an incredible Pokémon Trainer; no doubt that a year of training had accomplished the feat for him. But now…
Before her thoughts continued to wander off into Ash's direction, she heard a soft mewl from Espeon. Looking to the Sun Pokémon's direction, the Salon Maiden merely gave a gracious smile in return.
"It's nothing, dear friend," Anabel replied, sensing her apprehension. "Competing in a place like this for the first time in a long time really gets to the nerves."
That was a blatant lie, or rather half-truth. Espeon gave her Trainer a look, to which Anabel could only laugh off. Competition was certainly the least of Anabel's worries now, considering her incredible performance of throwing around her first opponent with her unreadable telepathic battle style.
"Espeon, please stop looking at me like that," Anabel said with an uneasy smile. "You know it's rude to stare. I certainly didn't raise you to be like that, did I?"
"E-fie," Espeon mewled back.
"What? I wasn't staring at him. Besides, how could you know? Most of the time, you've either been at our room or in your Poké Ball."
"Fie…"
"Psychic… right," Anabel sighed, looking down in defeat as she couldn't even keep Espeon from finding out her own problems. The Sun Pokémon rubbed herself on her leg as an act of comfort. "I apologize, friend, but I didn't want anyone else to be involved with my petty insecurities. But we've been together for a long time, since I started my own journey. I'll find a way with your help this time. That's how it happens, right?"
"Eifie!" Espeon cheered.
"I won't give up as long as you don't," Anabel declared resolutely, standing up with renewed vigor. "The Champions League… Lucian… Ash… We'll give it our best and make it out just fine."
Just as she concluded her small moment of inspiration, she and Espeon watched a familiar young man with purple hair walk pass her rather casually, notable for being one of the handful of people she knew to be slightly taller than Ash at this age. Curiosity and courtesy got the best of Anabel as she went after and approached the passing Pokémon Trainer.
"Excuse me, but you're Paul, right?" Anabel inquired. The said young man stopped walking and looked back at her with the same stony look that strangely reminded her of Brandon's usual expressions, which ironically contrasted his older brother's usual demeanor when she first met and battled Reggie.
"That's right," Paul said. "What do you want?" He was certainly not known for beating around the bush, even with the unnecessarily curt responses.
"This kinda sounds like an offhand question to ask you, but have you seen Ash since his battle from last week?"
"No. I'm not as close as you think I would be to him."
"But it wouldn't hurt you to try to become friends with him," Sabrina's persuasive voice whispered in his mind, much to Paul's irritation. Anabel noticed his deepening scowl and didn't want to plow further than she was granted.
"Oh, well sorry to have bothered you then," Anabel murmured rather quickly before turning away. Paul merely raised an eyebrow before calling out to her.
"Hey, if you're that interested in keeping tabs on him, I'd suggest on keeping tabs on his friends," Paul offered in a calmer manner. Anabel looked back towards him as he gestured a thumb in a certain direction towards a grove of forest trees. "I overheard one of them planning to have some field battle over there pretty soon. You could try to get away with some info if you checked it out."
"Do you know who's battling?"
"I overheard the annoying, self-proclaimed Dragon Buster from Unova preparing for a battle she set up with the equally annoying Dragon girl of the group in the Pokémon Center just this morning," Paul explained. "She also happened to mention something about Ash right before she left. I don't what it is, but I have my own training to attend to for my next battle and I really don't care much for their pathetic bout."
"I see," Anabel replied, giving a polite nod to the Veilstone City Trainer. "Thanks for the heads-up."
"Think nothing of it," Paul brushed off with a slight wave before walking away.
"Hey, Paul."
Paul stopped in his tracks, back still turned towards the Salon Maiden.
"I learned much about your character from various sources, including Ash's previous friends while I was with them the first day." Anabel took a brief pause, thinking her next set of words carefully. "I have to say, I really do appreciate how civil you've been to me compared to what others had said about you from before."
Paul still stood silently at his spot as he listened on. The manner on how Anabel called out to him strangely reminded him of his last moment with Ash back at the Lily of the Valley Island over two years ago. Looking back, his desire to battle him again seemed rather childish, but it had been part of Ash's good-natured character to do so. Truth be told, Paul also looked forward to the day they would face off once more in the heat of battle. This time, it was at a competition where the strongest Trainers have been invited to compete in. He kept a small smile to himself once Anabel concluded; she couldn't see it, of course.
"Hm," Paul grunted back before walking away once more.
"As strange as this would sound," Anabel began, looking to her Espeon, "I feel a bit more confident now, even as I confronted Paul with knowledge of his reputation and personality. I'd say he's bit like Brandon with all the seriousness, but with Ash's past influence working slowly on him."
She noted Espeon giving a nod to her statement before swiftly glancing at another direction. Anabel turned as well, spotting the next person she was convinced to confront entering into the grove of trees Paul pointed out earlier: the Dragon Buster known as Georgia.
"Come on, friend!" Anabel beckoned, going in after to where the Dragon Buster went to.
"It's still not too late for you to back down," Iris taunted, smirking while twirling a fresh red apple in the palm of her hand. "I've gotten what I needed from watching Drake alone last week."
"You think so?" Georgia retorted, smirking back intensely as she pulled out a Poké Ball. "I've been doing extra credit work in terms of taking you and your Dragon Pokémon down. Just last week, I caught the ideal Pokémon here in this forest just to show how helpless you truly are."
"Let me guess. Was it from the night you and your Beartic trained last week before challenging me to this battle?"
"I guess you're really not as primitive as you look if you know what's up."
"You're such a little kid."
The two rivals continued their banter across their makeshift dirt battlefield in the forest grove with only Cilan and Dawn as their spectators, along with one Salon Maiden and her Sun Pokémon both hidden behind a tree from sensing their wild battle tension. They both felt that intruding in now during their amusingly intense rivalry would backfire on them.
"I still wonder on how I was dragged into this," Cilan openly mused.
"Well, Brock went to support Forrest for his second battle today, Misty and May went off on a shopping spree, and Max is going around having random battles with any Trainer he can find," Dawn surmised cheerfully.
"I'm curious on why you didn't join Misty and May as well."
"Please, truth is that shopping sprees can happen at any time," Dawn brushed off. "Besides, it's not every day that you'd see an actual battle between a Dragon Buster and a Dragon Trainer."
"But you watched them go at it once at the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup."
"Your point?"
"Never mind," Cilan sighed, stepping forward to the side of the battle with arms held out high. "Alright then, it's battle time!"
"About time we got this started," Georgia remarked.
"Hey, easy on the referee," Iris reprimanded. "He's still my good friend."
"The rules are simple," Cilan announced, acting as the improvised referee. "Both Trainers have one Pokémon to choose for this round. The last one left standing will be declared the winner. Ladies, if you may choose your Pokémon…" The Pokémon Connoisseur finished with a formal gentleman bow.
"Axew, it's time to show Georgia what you're made of!"
Axew leapt out of Iris's hair with an eager yell. Georgia merely smirked at the rather childish display of bravado as she held up her Poké Ball. Anabel and Espeon slowly moved their heads from behind the tree to watch the oncoming battle, curious on the rivalry going on.
"Really now? Axew? Ha!" Georgia taunted. "I was hoping you'd use your Dragonite instead of that little tyke. That way the bigger they are, the harder they'll fall… on you!"
"You're not worth Dragonite's might, not even who your new Pokémon is, whatever it may be," Iris waved off condescendingly while keeping her own rage in check. It was no doubt that Georgia was bound to lose her cool along the way as she begun to sneer.
"You're really asking for it now, girl! This Pokémon definitely gave Beartic a good workout the other day, and trust me on this: you can't begin to comprehend our training regimen!"
"Then stop showing off and send it out already!"
Georgia held herself back, knowing that the Dragon Trainer was right at least on that topic. It was time to put her money where her mouth was with all that big talk. She had a bit of doubts for herself when selecting which Pokémon to use against Iris this day, considering that she would've improved somewhat over the past year. Either way, she wasn't planning on toying around with Axew this time; no doubt the little Tusk Pokémon had grown in his own battle prowess overtime as well.
I'm counting on you, Georgia thought as she gave her Poké Ball a final strong glance.
Eight days ago at night…
"Now Beartic, finish it with Rock Smash!"
A worn out and bruised Beartic lumbered forward with a glowing forepaw, using the remainder of its strength to knock out its foe. The opposing Pokémon bounced against a tree from receiving the final impact, dazed with spiraled eyes and immobile. A Poké Ball was then tossed at it, converting its entire body into bright red energy, which greatly contrasted against the forest darkness of night, and promptly absorbed it. A few spasms of the device occurred as the Poké Ball remained on the ground, ultimately culminating with a bright white sparkling ring released from the center button.
"Looks like you're now mine," Georgia remarked, smirking in triumph. "If my research is true, then you definitely should be more than a match for little Iris. Guess it was meant for us to be to find you this late at night."
Putting away her newly caught Pokémon, as well as recalling her Beartic, the Dragon Buster was ready to call it a night. She knew that she would have to be up and early if she wanted to catch the preliminary battle between Clair and Candice tomorrow morning. Watching a Dragon-type specialist battle had often been on top of her to-do list, especially if it was against an Ice Trainer.
As Georgia was about to leave the forest…
A blast of electricity flew into the sky. The sudden burst of power rippling through along with the noisy crackle caught the Dragon Buster off guard. Georgia nearly stumbled on her feet as she saw the bolt of lightning completely dissipate into the sky. Naturally, curiosity and stubbornness to uphold her pride outweighed fear, thus drawing her into the source of where the mass electricity erupted.
She tiptoed in caution, feeling irritated and muttering a minor swear every time she wound up stepping on a fallen leaf or on a stray twig, crunching them under her boots and making quite the conspicuous sound that would draw attention unto her. As the Dragon Buster arrived at the clearing, she caught a sight she'd never consider up to this point.
Georgia found the one Trainer that her rival, Iris, and her little group were completely anxious to reunite with.
The young man with the red cap appeared to be training his Pikachu against another of his Pokémon, as Georgia was able to make out in spite of the low visibility from the darkness. She couldn't recognize the second Pokémon as she never saw it under Ash's possession back at Unova, but was able to determine from the silhouette casted under the dim moonlight that it was big, definitely bigger than Ash.
"… … Agility… again!"
Pikachu had appeared to fumble at the start for half a second before resuming the command, building up his speed to the point that blurred blue afterimages that imitated his movements were left in his wake.
"Pikachu must have just learned Agility," Georgia voiced her thoughts somewhat inaudibly.
Georgia was silently in awe for the little Pokémon, taking on an opponent that could possibly be eight times his size and might likely be a Dragon-type, if not some random beast; the former she wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but regardless, she had to give credit where credit was due.
Ash glanced at the direction of his second Pokémon expectedly. The large Pokémon released what appeared to be Flamethrower, but in the form of a very narrow and focused column. The flame stream easily tore into the ground with intensity similar to Hyper Beam. It tried to chase after Pikachu, but the Mouse Pokémon had proven to be very elusive. The afterimages were erased upon contact from the Flamethrower, revealing the real Pikachu to have leapt high in the air over his opponent.
"… Electro Ball!"
Almost instantly, Pikachu charged the attack around his tail. The electrical orb appeared to have matched his body size, completely overtaking the tail within one swirl. Pikachu then dove down and flung the Electro Ball at his opponent with blinding speed, just as his opponent barely reacted by bracing its arms up to absorb the attack. The Electro Ball still made a significant explosion upon contact and sent the opponent sliding back on its feet before being caught by a tree trunk.
Georgia had to admit to herself that she impressed with the short scene of training, from Pikachu learning Agility to his opponent's impressive defense. Unfortunately, as she got lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed that Ash was facing her direction as he recalled his other Pokémon, leaving Pikachu to take his place on his Trainer's shoulder.
"Shoot!" Georgia cursed to herself in a whisper.
Being confronted the way she was now didn't look good for her reputation, to be caught as random stalker fan one. By instinct, she thought to bury herself further into the forest foliage, hoping that Ash would overlook her and move on. Truth be told, she doubted that, considering that his Pikachu could easily hone in on her scent if necessary. However, another part of her wanted to openly confront him and appeal to him somehow. The last thing her pride would allow her to do would be to run away like a coward. So she decided to do the foolishly brave thing to do.
"That's right, you caught me here," Georgia announced openly, raising her hands up in surrender and entering the clearing where Ash stood. "But don't think it was because I wanted to see you or anything like that."
"… …" Ash said nothing, though as far as his visible expression would go, he'd appear rather perplexed. "… …?" He felt the familiar, but bothersome sensation occurring in his stomach. He stayed out too late apparently if he was now feeling his classic hunger pangs.
"Anyway, it looks like great minds think alike as I happened to have finished training my Pokémon at another part of this forest," Georgia continued, allowing herself to become comfortable in Ash's presence. "I even caught myself a new Pokémon here. I can show you what it is since I did watch a part of your training. You don't need to worry about me spilling any of your secrets though. I have no gain from them, though I am curious about one thing. What was that other Pokémon that Pikachu was training with?"
Before she even registered her surroundings, Ash had already left the forest clearing. Much to her shock, she looked around in several directions before spotting Ash's fleeting figure disappearing into the forest trees. That, no doubt, struck a sensitive nerve on Georgia's pride on how she disliked being ignored as so.
"Hey! I wasn't done with you!" Georgia yelled out into the empty forest space, listening to her own irate voice echo through the trees. "You're supposed to snub Iris, not me! I'll show you!"
No answer. Georgia frowned and puffed her cheeks rather comically, if anyone else was around to even notice it.
"That boy's got style, I'll admit," Georgia pondered to herself, a scheming grin expanding on her face. "I think I just found a new way to one-up Iris. He'll be perfect for this."
Reflecting back from the past week's experience, Georgia was more than eager to prove her superiority over her Dragon rival. The Dragon Buster was planning to reveal her new arsenal this day.
"Here we go! Show yourself!"
Georgia flung the Poké Ball high into the air, opening up and releasing in a bright flash the mystery Pokémon the Dragon Buster had boasted about. The bright energy took form upon landing on the ground as a small and round Pokémon with large round eyes, one that which caught everyone completely off guard.
"Jiggly!" the Pokémon squeaked daintily.
"That's your super Pokémon?!" Iris scoffed, covering her mouth to hold back a huge wave of laughter.
"Aww, so cute!" Dawn chirped up, gushing over Georgia's new Pokémon, much to Piplup's annoyed jealousy.
"Jigglypuff are native to the Kanto region, but I'll definitely need to see how this one acts in battle in order to perform a proper evaluation," Cilan commented.
"That's right, laugh it up, Iris," Georgia goaded, her smirk not leaving despite Iris and Axew's laughter. "What you don't know about this Jigglypuff will certainly be your greatest downfall." Iris immediately straightened herself and ceased laughing.
"If your plan was to make me laugh into defeat, you'll have to do better than that," Iris retorted back. "Just because Ash got lucky with his Gym Battle with Sabrina here in Kanto years ago doesn't mean you have the same luck. What a kid way to win a battle."
"Well, if there aren't any further objections, then this one-way round will be Jigglypuff versus Axew!" Cilan declared, giving out the formal referee signals. "Let the battle begin!"
"Iris, why don't you go first?" Georgia offered.
"Big mistake!" Iris taunted. "Axew, start off with Slash!"
Axew raised a hand up, extending out sharp glowing claws from his little fingertips. Upon reaching the desired state of full power, the Tusk Pokémon ran forward towards his opponent in an attempt to swipe. Axew leapt up before reaching Jigglypuff, rearing back his Slash for a strong impact.
"Jigglypuff, dodge and use Pound!"
The Balloon Pokémon easily rolled backward, evading the incoming Slash as it instead raked upon the dirt. Jigglypuff stood up after the roll, storing up strength into a stubby arm, which then glowed as bright white as Axew's Slash did. Jigglypuff then ran forward and hopped a couple of times for extra momentum. Axew was still recovering from his missed Slash, unable to react quickly enough to avoid the powered-up slap and crescent-shaped trail of energy that followed the initial swipe.
"Axew! Are you alright?" Iris yelled, watching her Axew getting thrown back from the impact. Axew shook off his weariness from Pound, ready to continue battling as he resumed a stance. "Alright! Use Dragon Rage!"
The Tusk Pokémon drew in his draconic power, bright navy blue energy glowing from his abdomen. Axew then opened his mouth, the visible blue energy orb appearing as large and round as his stomach. The erratically swirling energies emerged from his mouth, blazing about as it took form into a fierce looking dragon silhouette. Upon Axew's command, the Dragon Rage flew out and crawled its way towards Jigglypuff, who appeared to be scared to move away.
"Jigglypuff, what are you doing?! Dodge it!"
Upon hearing Georgia, Jigglypuff hopped away at the last second as the Dragon Rage dove down to where the Balloon Pokémon originally stood. The impact of the Dragon Rage blew up dust in the air, reducing visibility on Georgia's side of the battle. The Dragon Buster watched her Pokémon hover in place after being slightly knocked back by the resulting shockwaves. Axew had suddenly jumped out of the dust cloud with another Slash attack ready to go, much to their surprise.
"Axew, go for it!"
"Jigglypuff, counter with Pound!"
In midair, the two little Pokémon exchanged blows. Instead of their physical attacks attempting to cancel out one another, they instead slammed against their respective opponents. Axew was thumped in the stomach while Jigglypuff received a vicious swipe to the face by a pair of lengthen claws. Both Pokémon landed on their backs before taking a few seconds to get back on their feet by the wild encouragement of their Trainers.
"Axew, you've got this! Let's finish them off with Giga Impact!"
"Xew…" Axew moaned, seemingly swaying about in place.
"Axew? What's wrong?" Iris called out. She took a glance at Dawn's reaction, which told of not very good news at all. "Oh no, Axew!"
"Cilan, is Axew…?" Dawn asked, but didn't finish her question as she knew that Cilan saw it as well.
"It's true: Axew's been infatuated," Cilan said, staying as impartial as he could as part of being the referee.
Axew swayed back and forth rather goofily with an equally ridiculous smile to match. One could even note that Valentine hearts had replaced the Tusk Pokémon's eyes. Poor little Axew was all lovey-dovey over his opponent.
"But that could only mean… Jigglypuff has the Ability, Cute Charm!" Iris deduced, glaring heatedly at her haughty rival. "That also means that Jigglypuff's a girl. Oh, man."
"About time you finally caught on," Georgia mocked. "The only reason that I didn't want Jigglypuff to be hit directly was to prolong this battle. Honestly, it just became too easy now that Axew's in love with her and not with you. Ha!"
"We'll see about that! Axew, Giga Impact! Let's go!"
No response from Axew. The Tusk Pokémon was immobilized by love.
"I think I'll continue torturing you for a bit. Jigglypuff, use Sing!"
"~ Jig-galie-puff Jig-galie-alie-puff ~"
Jigglypuff sang on command a rather sweet and soothing lullaby. Vibrant, multicolored music notes began emerging out of the Balloon Pokémon's mouth as she continued singing her lullaby. A stray golden-yellow eighth note floated over towards the love-struck Axew and exploded into sparkles upon contact with his head. Axew promptly yawned and collapsed onto his stomach, fast asleep.
"Oh, come on!" Iris cried out. "Axew, get up! Wake up!"
"Let's see if you like this next move," Georgia intervened. "Ice Beam!" Iris blanched and gaped upon hearing the called out attack.
Jigglypuff took in a deep breath, slightly inflating herself up as the light blue energy of Ice Beam formed in front of her mouth into an ample orb. As she exhaled, three crooked beams were expelled out of the orb and struck upon the sleeping Tusk Pokémon. The impact created a minor blast that sent the still sleeping Axew into the air with ice coated completely on his head fin. While Axew still remained asleep upon landing back on the ground, he was seen notable shivering from the frigid cold with his closed eyes wrinkled tightly in pain.
"Axew, no!"
"You know, Jigglypuff isn't only formidable against Axew just because of her Ice Beam," Georgia began, earning another glare from the Dragon Trainer.
"What?!"
"Don't you remember me mentioning on how I've been doing research on finding more effective ways in taking down Dragon-types? It's time to reveal the fruits of my discovery by finishing off your little Axew!"
"Cilan, what does she mean that she found a new way on taking down Dragon-type Pokémon?" Dawn asked.
"Honestly, I can't say, but I feel like the time to evaluate is on its way once Georgia reveals her trump card," Cilan replied, looking at the beaten Axew asleep on the ground. "Let's just hope Axew can survive another big hit."
"Check this out, Iris!" Georgia called out in triumph. "Jigglypuff, use Moonblast!"
"What?!" Iris cried out.
The attack that Georgia called out was completely unfamiliar with Iris, Dawn, and Cilan as they each displayed complete shock at the foreign move. Anabel overheard the move from where she hid and was fully aware of the new discovery that Georgia was about to unleash upon her rival. She still looked on, greatly worried for Axew if he even had a chance to survive the oncoming attack.
Jigglypuff began to gather a peculiar form of energy in front of her, between her stubby arms. It formed into a small orb that shone as pearly white as the moon itself, living up to the attack namesake, while giving off glittering dust that one would expect to find being used by a fictional character in a little girl's fairy tale story book. At least, that was what the first impression gave itself off to be.
"Puff!" Jigglypuff shouted mightily as she lobbed the bright moonlike orb at Axew. It also notably left a trail of twinkle dust in its wake.
"Axew, get up!" Iris shouted at the top of her lungs desperately.
"… Xew!" Axew grunted, sharply opening his eyes and seeing the oncoming Moonblast heading towards his way. "Ax!"
The Tusk Pokémon managed to stagger away from the attack right as it struck the spot where he originally slept despite the effects of Cute Charm's infatuation taking over his senses once more upon waking up. The moon orb exploded and released several brilliant shockwaves that appeared to sear Axew, leaving noticeable black burn marks on his skin, much to Iris's horror. Axew lumbered in pain and appeared ready to collapse completely this time.
"Lucky escape," Georgia fumed, tightening her fists before relaxing herself upon realizing the aftermath. "Oh, well, at least Axew got a taste of that super effective attack, even if it wasn't a direct hit."
"'Super effective'?! What are you going about now?!" Iris demanded. "What kind of move was that anyway?"
"That Moonblast attack is part of a newly discovered Pokémon type from a faraway place called the Kalos region," Georgia explained, catching everyone's complete attention. "Much like how Steel and Dark-type Pokémon were first revealed in the Johto region before making themselves known in other regions shortly after, this new type was just discovered in the Kalos region upon experimenting with certain Pokémon, Jigglypuff being one of them."
"Jigglypuff are known to be Normal-type," Dawn brought out. "What other type could they be now?"
"This one's called the 'Fairy-type' as of recently," Georgia concluded with a victorious grin and wagging finger.
"Hold on!" Iris interrupted. "There's no way an attack like that could've severely damaged Axew like that. What's the deal?!"
"I was wondering when you'd ask," Georgia goaded. "See, Fairy-type attacks are super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon, thus giving your 'high-and-mighty' beasts another deficient weakness to cower against next to Ice-types and their own kind."
"No way! I refuse to believe that load of baloney!"
"Scared of a little pixie dust, aren't we? The proof is all upon Axew, who looks like he didn't take that attack well."
Iris seethed, unable to take in the fact that fairy tale magic somehow overwhelmed completely her specialized Pokémon type. She even looked up to fairy tales at one point at her early childhood life. Axew was struggling to stand at this point, even as he dealt with the condition of infatuation that was inflicted upon him from Jigglypuff's Cute Charm. He was practically holding on by a thread.
"I'm not giving up, not even to twinkling fairy dust!" Iris declared boldly. The thought of fairy dust suddenly reminded her on how ice crystal twinkled and glittered, sending a horrifyingly cold shiver down her spine. Okay… Now I see how they're weaknesses for Dragon-types.
"Let's see if you'll give up to this one. Use Moonblast again!"
"Axew, use Outrage!"
The fury in Iris's voice managed to reach out to Axew this time as the Tusk Pokémon gave off a menacing growl in response. A bright aura of blood red emanated from Axew's little body, frightening enough to shatter the lovey-dovey hearts in his eyes and replaced with hateful, blank red pupils. Georgia stumbled back from dread, watching the accursed Dragon-type move come into play.
"Ax… Ax-Ax!" Axew growled, stampeding forward with surprising swiftness.
The Tusk Pokémon almost instantaneously appeared right in front of Jigglypuff as she was still charging up another Moonblast. Axew sent a violent uppercut up Jigglypuff's body, disrupting her own attack. He then continued on his brutal barrage of melee attacks on the helpless Balloon Pokémon midair. Axew then completed the first round of his draconic rampage with a swift roundhouse kick to the side, sending Jigglypuff bouncing along into a tree.
However, Jigglypuff had enough strength left to catch herself by landing on her feet upon reaching the tree trunk and softly leaping off of it. She then watched as Axew furiously dove in after her to finish the job himself.
"Jigglypuff, Moonblast!"
Suspecting her Trainer to call out that attack again, Jigglypuff used the remainder of her strength in quickly forming up the Fairy-type attack. The moon orb reached full size and was ready to be launched. She leapt up into the air to meet up against Axew, intending to shove the Moonblast directly into him by her own hand. In retaliation for the oncoming Balloon Pokémon, Axew threw in a brutal jab of his own against the Moonblast. This, of course, resulted in an explosion greater than the previous one.
Axew was the first seen to be thrown out of the explosion's haze and back onto his side of the field, lying on his stomach with spiraling eyes. Jigglypuff followed after, landing on her back with a soft plop in front of her Trainer's feet, eyes also spiraled and dazed.
"I'm calling it in," Cilan announced, raising both arms in the air. "Both Axew and Jigglypuff are unable to battle! This match is a draw!"
"…!" Both Iris and Georgia gasped as they went to tend to their fainted Pokémon.
"Axew, you did great," Iris praised her little Pokémon gently, cradling him in her arms. "I'm really proud on how much you've grown." Axew gave a weak, but cheerful smile in return.
"Jigglypuff, you were awesome in showing up Iris the way you did," Georgia whispered amiably to the Balloon Pokémon upon recalling her into her Poké Ball. "We'll get a solid win out of her next time."
"What a great battle," Dawn commented; both she and Piplup remained captivated from watching it.
"Well, Iris, as much as I hate to admit, you took my element of surprise quite well," Georgia spoke up as Iris approached her with Axew in her arms. "Considering how Axew's still in his baby stage, I don't really plan on counting that battle."
"Wow, another excuse to save your sorry hide," Iris remarked acidly. "How about you learn to take a loss like a woman instead of like a kid?" Before she could go on, the Dragon Buster held up a hand in front of her, much to Iris's confusion.
"Look, Axew still has a long way to go, especially if he wants to become a Haxorus one day. I wouldn't take it easy just because he managed to turn the battle into a draw."
"Georgia…"
There was some truth in Georgia's derisive criticisms and mockery that even Iris had to acknowledge. For someone that wanted her rival to continue to grow stronger, Iris felt inwardly flattered in spite of the hard time and stress they both gave one another in terms of who was better or who was more irritating. Georgia gave a soft exhale before resuming her trademark confident smirk.
"Now just because you now know my hidden trick doesn't mean you'll survive against it next time. There's still a lot about the Fairy-type that you and anyone else here don't know about. I'll be the first to find out everything about it so that I'll completely destroy you the next time we battle."
"We'll just see about that, Georgia," Iris agreed with an equal smirk, their rivalry sparking brightly between their stares.
"It looks like both Iris and Georgia have newfound respect for each other now," Dawn added, standing from her log seat. "I really can't wait to see their next battle."
"They're two rivals that consistently push each other to the limit, in more ways than one," Cilan said. "But after seeing that battle and Georgia's new Jigglypuff, it's time." The Pokémon Connoisseur took a familiar pose, much to all the girls' embarrassment. "More specifically, it's evaluating time!"
"This is going to be about Jigglypuff, isn't it?" Georgia questioned sardonically.
"You sure don't hold back," Dawn uttered with a laugh, glancing at a certain distance where she heard a bit of ruffling movement in the forest foliage. "Is someone there?"
Back in the park…
Anabel and Espeon stepped out of the bushes once the battle they previously watched in hiding had ended. It didn't feel right to intrude in even as the rival battle finished and the battlers exchanged their usual competitive banter. They felt somewhat bad as it was for basically acting like spies on them, watching them in secret while making sure their own cover wasn't discovered.
"We'll confront Georgia later on," Anabel said to her friend. "She seems to have plenty on her hands right now. And besides…"
Espeon looked up imploringly to her Trainer. The Salon Maiden looked forward with a confident smile.
"We have a battle to prepare soon."
Just so you all know and bear in mind if you hadn't already, this story isn't going to stay Ash-centric. Just as the summary said, this story is focusing on the growths on how far every present Trainer have made it since starting the Pokémon path. But of course, Ash's growth is very central to the story, which is why I've been taking time drawing him out while everyone else's stories seems to be instantly revealed, even with non-competitors like Georgia and Iris. If you want another thing to ponder about Ash now, then try to solve Georgia's question from the flashback. What new Pokémon did he use to train Pikachu?
Additionally, I've been meaning to introduce Fairy-type into the story at some point, whether the anime had already done so or not. And I had a bit of fun writing out this battle. I don't know if Jigglypuff will actually learn Moonblast, but it was a good assumption regardless. I also thought about having Georgia's Jigglypuff as the recurring Jigglypuff from the original season, the one with the marker microphone, while I wrote the chapter. But a couple of things came to mind: I just don't have the heart to subject that Jigglypuff into a life of battling; she's meant to become a diva, she just couldn't find the right audience at the time. And number two, I have possible plans for her in the future, but we'll see eventually.
Speaking of battling, can you figure out who's battling next chapter? Clues have been at the beginning and at the end of this chapter. That's basically what I'm going to do since I can at least throw you guys a bone for going all over the place with different characters and their problems popping up everywhere.
It's time to measure up my writing skills. Time to review!
L-ater!