Secrets of the Night
DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!
Chapter 48: The Traveler from Sinnoh, Part 1
*Here's my second collaboration battle. This time with SachiShimizu and his OC from his story: Trailblazing Glory
It was midmorning in Route 7, the grassy outskirts of Celadon City. With the symphonic breeze dancing across the treetops, Neo exhaled and decided to take a break from battling wild pokemon. After defeating a good number of foes, he and his pokemon were getting back into their usual rhythm. It was a great warm up but not enough to get the feel of a real battle, especially when Bellsprouts and Oddishes were the only grass-types available.
As he and Chase went to sit by the ledges, they encountered a teen trainer with crimson eyes and fiery orange-red hair, the bottom half naturally black. He wore a navy blue and cream trainer jacket with denim jeans accented by flames. But despite the fiery theme of his appearance, he had a grass-type beside him. A Roserade, with a right arm flourishing a bouquet of charcoal black roses while the other a calm shade of blue. Generally, it was normal, not shiny, but the black-shade made it odd.
Then again, who was Neo to judge what was odd? Having a Wartortle with a snowflake-printed shell and having met an Orange-variant Butterfree sort of catches him unsurprised at the very least, only curious.
Dawned with the memories of his exciting battle with Arc, Neo walked up to him and introduced himself. "Good morning. My name is Neo. Would you mind if we have a trainer battle?"
The fiery haired trainer didn't seem to notice that Neo who was talking to him. However, his Roserade seemed to and tugged the trainer's shirt, attempting to draw his attention.
"What is it Gertrud? Wait… someone's trying to talk to me…" Suddenly the trainer's gaze hit the floor and his voice became low and hesitant. "I don't know Gertrud, are you sure someone was trying to get my attention. I'm not even a Kanto native."
Neo raised a brow. The guy seemed to be talking to himself. Odd. As much as the little nagging voice told him to back away, he was not discouraged. Clearing his throat, Neo tried again. "Hello?" He called out cautiously. "Can you hear me?"
The Roserade turned towards Neo and faced him with a mischievous grin on her face. "Tap him on the shoulder, that's always fun to watch."
Neo blinked. There was a playful feminine voice that echoed in his head. It took a few moments for him to register that it was telepathy. The Roserade was a telepath, quite the rarity. And that would explain who the other guy was talking to. An interesting encounter. Collecting his composure, he did what the Roserade suggested and tapped the trainer's shoulder.
At the slight gesture, the fiery-haired boy jumped. He frantically looked around and saw Neo, wide-eyed, standing behind him. Before he yelled out at the person he realized something. It was not the other guy's fault. It was someone else. Frowning, he looked down accusingly at his Roserade. "Arceus. Damn it Gertrud, I thought I told you not to ask people to do that." After the rant, the boy turned around and met Neo's gaze, becoming hesitant once again.
Nervously, he took a deep breath and spoke. "S-sorry about that…" He exhaled deeply and spoke a little louder, "My name is Blaze, and this…" He motioned to the bouquet pokemon. "-sly little Roserade is my partner Pokemon Gertrud." Gertrud took a flourishing bow as Blaze continued. "I'm sure you would've already figured out by now, but Gertrud has telepathy."
"Guilty as charged." Blaze shot Gertrud a look, but the cheeky Roserade was undeterred. "He has trouble talking to people, like, at all. Without me he would be curled up in a ball in a corner." Another look of annoyance from Blaze and the Roserade gave a slight chuckle at what she just said.
Neo smiled. The two seemed nice; odd but nice. "Pleasure to meet you Blaze… Gertrud."
It was then that Chase came over, waving a friendly hand and flashing a bright grin. "Heyah!"
Neo acknowledged his friend and motioned a hand towards him. "Blaze, this is my friend, Chase. Chase, this is Blaze and his Roserade, Gertrud." He gestured to them in turn.
"Hey! So, where're you guys from?" Chase asked eagerly.
Blaze began to mumble something inaudibly under his breath. His pokemon partner tugged on his pants leg for a few seconds but ultimately gave up.
Sighing, Gertrude took it upon herself to speak in his place. "I apologize for him… Chase, was it?" The silver-haired boy nodded, slightly taken aback by the voice in his head, but he easily guessed what it was, given his experience with psychic-types. "Anyway, we're from the Sinnoh region. We've never been to the Kanto region, so Blaze is ten times as nervous as he usually is."
"Sinnoh?" Chase's face lit up with a friendly smile. "I'm from Sinnoh too." He stepped a little closer to Blaze and Gertrud and continued with a calm and encouraging tone. "I know being in a new region feels a little…" He observed the shy teen's growing nervousness. "Okay, maybe very… overwhelming. But I promise you, the experience is worth it."
"That's right. You'll meet tons of pokemon and make new friends," Neo added encouragingly.
Blaze made an almost inaudible chuckle, but he spoke loud enough for Chase and Neo to hear. "You'll be surprised, a lot of Pokemon have recently migrated to Sinnoh from their native regions. Kanto and Hoenn Pokemon especially. As for people… Well, I'm not great with them."
Roserade pointed to herself as reference. "I was born in Sinnoh, but Roselias were originally native to Hoenn for instance. I think only one of Blaze's Pokemon have always been Sinnoh native as a species."
"Okay. Now, I'm more interested than ever!" Chase shot an excited look at Neo who merely smiled back in agreement. Turning to Blaze and his Roserade, he asked them. "So, about that trainer battle… You up for it? Neo's battling and not me, just so you know."
"I'm not forcing you or anything." Neo faced Blaze with a calm expression, but there was a sliver of anticipation in his eyes. He was eager to battle him.
Blaze hesitantly nodded his head. "Yeah. I guess so." He had a faint smile on his face.
"That's probably the most enthusiastic you guys will see him get." Gertrud looked at the two trainers with a smile.
"Great! Let's get started," Chase exclaimed as he led the group to a more open area. Wordlessly, Blaze and Neo walked to their respective sides while Chase stood in between at the sidelines to act as the referee. "Let's agree on battle conditions. How many pokemon do you want to use?"
"I have four, plus Kashu… so that makes five," Neo counted and then looked at his opponent-to-be. "How many do you have, Blaze? We can keep it short with three or four, if you have enough."
"I only have four Pokemon… I guess we can't do a full battle then." Blaze suddenly looked embarrassed at having too few Pokemon. "I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it," Chase waved a dismissive hand at Blaze and glanced at Neo. "He just got his fifth yesterday so it's not a big deal... Anyway, so four pokemon for each. The trainer with the only remaining pokemon wins."
Neo nodded and smiled at Blaze, attempting to ease his opponent's nervousness. "It's a friendly match. Win or lose. Let's both do our best, alright?"
"Just wait, he won't be like this in a few seconds, his entire personality practically changes when he is battling." Blaze almost smiled at his Roserade's comment before he accepted the challenge.
"One thing; Gertrud stays out of her Pokeball when she isn't battling. She does have a Pokeball, but it's only used on rare occasions where Pokemon are absolutely required to be in them or the environment is dangerous." Blaze took a Pokeball off his belt with a small leaf decal engraved into it to show it to Neo and Chase who both stared at it with mild curiosity. Afterwards, he put it back onto his belt.
Blaze then reached into his backpack and pulled out a root, handing it to Gertrud. She nodded to her trainer and wrapped in around her neck like a scarf.
"You like to use held items, huh?" Chase snickered in nostalgia as he shot a suggestive look at Neo. "Kinda reminds you of Naomi, right Neo? She also had a habit of keeping her partner out of his pokeball as well."
Neo cleared his throat to shrug off the statement. "Chase. Focus."
"Sure-sure. Romeo." Chase continued to snicker to himself as he clasped his hands together. "Okay. Everyone ready?"
Neo nodded and sent out his first pokemon. "Kashu! You're up!"
A red mass burst forth from the pokeball and materialized into a pink bunny-like pokemon with a white underbelly and a pair of big blue eyes. Bouncing unto the grassy clearing, Neo's Wigglytuff squealed and flicked her long ears cutely.
Gertrud quickly shot Chase a look that seemed to say 'we'll talk afterwards' as Blaze threw his first Pokeball. "Let's do this, Amy."
A white and green colored pixie clutching onto an orange-petalled flower's stem emerged from the red light. A necklace with a light purple stone at the end was around its neck.
"Two fairy-types, this should be interesting." Blaze grinned at Gertrud, who was now standing beside him. The difference in a Roserade's size and a person's was apparent between the two flower-themed pokemon.
"Pffft..." Chase clamped his mouth to stifle his laughter as he pulled out a phone from his pocket to snap a few pics. "Th-This… is… pfft. Adorable. Two male trainers battling with really cutesy pokemon… Oh, Naomi's gonna love this."
"Chase. You're the referee, not the commentary," Neo scolded as he glanced at his Wigglytuff who pouted at Chase's statement. Lightly sighing, he asked his friend, "Get serious, please."
"Riiight… Pftt. Sorry," Chase apologized as he looked at Blaze, a smile still plastered on his face. "So who's first?"
Blaze tried to ignore the banter between Neo and Chase, trying to focus on the battle coming up. He mumbled something to Gertrud before replying to Chase, "Neo can call Karp or Ball to see who goes first. My Poketch has that app loaded." Blaze pulled out his watch, flicking the screen until he nodded.
"Wait! I can do that!" Chase hurriedly powered up his silver poketch that was tucked beneath his gold sports band. He flashed a smile at Blaze and loaded up the app. "Poketch: a Sinnoh citizen's must-have."
"Oh, I don't know why, but I did not expect that. You should try and call up Professor Rowan sometime soon, he has this cool app that one of his aides developed for it recently." Blaze suddenly seemed calm talking to another Sinnoh native, even if he didn't know Chase personally.
"Sure! That sounds awesome."
"Wow, I really did not expect him to gush about his tech… Seriously, did not see that one coming." Gertrud's face was shaking back and forth in her rose hand.
Meanwhile, Amy, Blaze's Floette, had used the move Fairy Wind to blow itself over to Neo who flinched and blinked blankly at the little pokemon. Eyeing him up and down, she started to size him up. With a huff she let go of her flower stem with one hand and puffed out her chest, trying to look intimidating.
At the act, Kashu bounded back to Neo and latched on to the boy's shoulder while telling the Floette to back off. Her body inflated and her blue eyes flickered with rage. Amy was taken aback by the sudden return of power by Blaze's Wigglytuff. She floated back over to her own trainer, keeping her eyes on Neo's Wigglytuff.
Chase, on the other hand, had been snapping more pictures of Neo as he was surrounded by the two fairy-types. "Popular with the girls, aren't you Neo?"
A glint passed Kashu's eyes and she lunged towards Chase, grabbing the phone and deleting the ones that weren't about her and Neo. She found a few with a black-haired girl in red and proceeded to get rid of those as well.
"Hey!" Chase grabbed Kashu's ear and made a go for his phone. Unfortunately, this only angered the Wigglytuff more and Kashu violently threw the phone back, hitting Chase hard on the head. He grunted in pain and glared at the puffy pink pokemon. "You little..!"
Amy couldn't help but give a little chuckle at the sight.
"Chase," Neo intervened and Kashu took that chance and bounded back to her trainer, sticking her tongue out at Chase as she did. "Let's just get on with the battle... Karp or Ball, right?"
Begrudgingly, Chase massaged the sore spot of his head and prepared his poketch app. "Yeah."
"Ball then."
The app came to life and two images flickered back and forth before stopping. "It's Karp."
Blaze's face flickered with a mischievous grin.
"Blaze, you've caught bad habits from Hextilda. you almost imitated her just then." The fiery-haired boy blinked with surprise as Gertrud called out his little habits.
"Blaze, you go first," Neo offered as he herded Kashu in front of him to prepare for battle. He wondered who Hextilda was but decided not to pry in the beginning of the battle.
A glint passed over Blaze's eyes and his posture seemed to shift slightly. "Alright, Amy, you know what to do. Let's not take any chances, use Lucky Chant!"
The Floette started singing softly as notes began to surround her and spin around her until they formed a blue barrier. A few stray notes floated over to Gertrud and surrounded her as well, since she was technically a member of Blaze's team Lucky Chant affected the entire team for a short amount of time.
"Just like we practiced, Kashu." Neo exchanged looks with his Wigglytuff. "Keep the ball rolling with Rollout!"
Bouncing off the ground, Kashu tucked into a pink ball and steamrolled across the field, heading straight towards Blaze's Floette.
Blaze quickly called out to Amy. "You can take this, as soon as Kashu hits you, send a close range Magical Leaf, then use Fairy Wind to get yourself up high." The Floette touched the purple stone and it formed a light purple armor around the fairy.
Kashu closed in rapidly and struck the little white pixie dead-on. The translucent armor that had been created by the stone had allowed her to take the hit with little knock back and allowed her to react instantly. As soon as Amy was struck, she twirled around for a second as leaves made of psychic energy appeared around her. Blaze's Floette pointed towards Kashu and the leaves instantly shot towards the Wigglytuff, hitting from practically point blank range. The force knocked Kashu back but she was undeterred. She used the momentum and rolled back into ball, swerving with a faster pace before rushing towards Blaze's Floette yet again.
Blaze had not accounted for the bulk of a Wigglytuff in his plan. He just hoped that Amy reacted fast enough with the Fairy Wind to avoid the attack and punish the move accordingly. Just as the wind picked up, Kashu managed to clip the bottom of Amy's body, throwing her out of the path of the wind and lowering her back to ground level.
"That's it, Kashu! Keep it up!" Neo exclaimed.
Blaze seemed to freeze up, but fortunately, Gertrud took over the situation with her telepathy, affecting all minds around her. "Amy, are you able to dodge it in time or not?" The Floette shook her head to her teammate before looking at the oncoming Wigglytuff. "Okay, see if you can use Wish before you get hit." Amy nodded this time and once again, she started chanting a soft melody as Neo's Wigglytuff came barreling towards her.
Just as soon as the move finished casting, Kashu struck for the third time, almost explosively knocking Blaze's Floette quite a distance across the battleground but not enough to render her unconscious.
Blaze's daze seemed to clear and he took over command once again. "Amy, you're far enough from Kashu. You should be able to use Fairy Wind to dodge this time."
The little fairy Pokemon nodded as the wind around her shifted once again, swirling faintly but growing ever stronger. Kashu accelerated towards Amy once again as the summoned gale lifted Blaze's Floette upwards. And this time, Amy was able to rise high enough that Kashu passed underneath her completely.
"It's alright, Kashu," Neo called out to his Wigglytuff with calm smile radiating his calm resolution. "Use Bounce and go after her in the air!"
Kashu unrolled herself after several intervals and came to a halt, her plush pink body now covered in dirt and grass from all the rolling. Without batting an eye, she stared the floating orange flower pixie in the air before pressing herself against the ground and launching upwards like pink rubbery ball.
As Kashu rocketed into a Bounce attack, the chanting that Amy had performed after being hit by the second Rollout attack reverberated and Blaze's Floette began to glow white, little musical notes enveloping all around her.
"She likes singing so much. Sometimes, I swear she wants to be a little musician." Blaze smiled at his own Pokemon's talent before he looked back at the battle. "Alright, Amy, try and avoid until Wish's effects have completed and then take the blow. Punish with a point blank Magical Leaf again afterwards."
The healing light receded and Amy recovered from half of her injuries, allowing her to survive the brunt of Kashu's attack as she shot forth from the ground and slammed against Blaze's Floette. The little flower sprite tumbled back but remained aloft because of the lingering power of the winds. It was then she spun around, releasing a flurry of prismatic leaves that swerved through the air and shot towards the Wigglytuff.
Neo clenched his teeth. There was no way Kashu could evade an attack that never misses. And being in the air made it impossible to use Rollout. Only one option was left, one that posed quite the gamble. "Kashu! Endure the attack and use Double-Edge!"
Kashu braced herself in mid-air as the Floette's attack made contact. She squeaked in pain and forced her eyes open, spotting her opponent ahead of her. Determination brimmed and a golden glow began to radiate from the Wigglytuff's body. Within moments, Kashu surged across the air and barreled straight into Blaze's Floette.
Blaze could clearly tell that Amy wasn't going to be able to take this last hit. Even with the extra defense from the purple armor, the Bounce attack had done a fair amount of damage. However, Kashu was also on her last legs too and sooner or later, Double-Edge was going to cause her to faint as well.
The blue shield that had come from Amy's Lucky Chant at the beginning of the match was fading quickly. Blaze made a split second decision to make the most out of Amy's last moments of battle and guard his next Pokemon from any possible critical hits. Amy had been in enough battles that he recognized she was at her limit.
"Alright, Amy, one last move, and quickly. Use Lucky Chant once again, and make it snappy before Kashu connects her attack." Amy nodded and began singing once again. As the blue musical notes began to emerge from the Floette, Kashu was quickly closing in on the pixie Pokemon.
The blue notes formed a new ocean-colored shield around Amy and a few stray notes around Gertrud. As soon as the barrier was completed, Kashu collided with the pixie and her orange golden aura around the Wigglytuff and the translucent cerulean shield protecting Amy clashed in a burst of light.
The onlookers below held their breath as colored smoke dissipated and the glittering mass faded. Two figures began to fall from the sky. Blaze and Neo gasped as their pokemon plummeted towards the ground.
Thinking quickly, Chase sent out his Gardevoir. "Faith! Break their fall with Psychic!"
"Gertrud, get ready to catch Amy and help Faith to catch Kashu if necessary with Extrasensory," Blaze instructed his Roserade. "Given the Wigglytuff's bulk, she might need it."
Gertrud nodded her confirmation to her trainer as she positioned herself underneath the Floette. Given the lightness of the pokemon and the flower that acted as a parachute, Amy's descent was slower than Kashu's, so Gertrud was prepared to help before worrying about Amy.
Chase's Gardevoir acted immediately. With her arms raised and her crimson eyes glowing blue, Faith conjured a bright blue energy that outlined both Amy and Kashu's forms. Unfortunately, the speed of their fall made it difficult for the Gardevoir to fully grasp them. She only managed to slow down them down considerably.
Exchanging looks with Chase's Gardevoir, Gertrud pointed one of her roses at Kashu and a faint orange glow surrounded the Psychic's blue outline. Kashu slowed down enough for Chase to run over and catch her in his arms.
Amy's slowed descent thanks to Faith allowed Gertrud to catch the Floette easily in one of her rose hands. Blaze threw the Roserade a yellow-orange Revive crystal and gave it to Amy. "Good job Amy, going up against something like a Wigglytuff must've been tough." The Floette nodded and flew over to Blaze's shoulder, resting on it as she watched the rest of the battle unfold.
As Blaze tended to his pokemon, Chase cradled Kashu in his arms and hurried over to Neo who seemed a bit guilty as he looked at Chase and accepted his Wigglytuff from him.
"Thank you, Chase…" Neo knelt down and used Revive on his pokemon.
"Hey, Neo. It's no problem. Remember, you can't overexert yourself. I wouldn't know what to do if you rushed in instead of me and then broke down." Chase crouched down as well and looked at Kashu who was regaining consciousness. "Maybe next time, you should have your little nurse go last. That way, if anything does happen, I won't be the one panicking if something happens to you." Neo chuckled lightly and muttered an apology, but Chase wasn't exactly sure if that was what he heard.
A silent pause. Neo sighed and met his pokemon's gaze. Smiling, he rubbed the back of Kashu's ear and commended her on a job well done. "You did awesome, Kashu. Despite our first trainer battle together, you really did your best and showed me just what you are capable of."
Kashu blushed and nuzzled against his trainer's touch. Chase then called for his Gardevoir and told her to help Kashu with Heal Pulse. Nodding, Faith took the Wigglytuff aside and tended to her injuries.
Meanwhile, Blaze was curious about the exchange between Chase and Neo. He wasn't sure if Neo was like him, freezing up whenever something went wrong, or if it was something else. But he didn't want to press for information. Unfortunately, Gertrud had made her way over to the two, a cheeky smile lacing her features. It was too late when he rushed towards them.
"Since Blaze is too polite to ask, what are you two talking about?" The fiery haired trainer glared at his Pokemon before rolling his eyes and admitting that Gertrud had, without permission, voiced what he was thinking.
Neo and Chase exchanged looks before they stood up and faced Blaze and Gertrud. Stepping forward, Neo sighed inwardly and spoke, "How should I put this…" He eyed Blaze and the Roserade before continuing in a lax tone. "I was born with a weak body. So if I stress myself out too much, my body would break down and I'll pass out."
"Heh. He explains it too many times that he says it like it's not a big deal," Chase chided the calm tone that Neo used to explain but it was not enough to stop the wide-eye look coming from Blaze.
Blaze instantly regretted wanting to ask, and Gertrud seemed to feel a bit bothered by the response she got. "Oh… I'm… sorry to hear that." He apologized as he let out an exasperated breath. "Arceus, I could not imagine myself with your condition, I would probably never go outside for fear of breaking down in front of other people."
"You practically never go outside, this journey is the longest time you've been outside in a long time." Gertrud pointed out.
"It seems that our journeys have changed us for the better." Neo smiled at Blaze and spoke in a serious tone. "A word of advice… Standing back in fear won't accomplish anything. If you have the strength to do what needs to be done, don't hold yourself back. If you don't…" He thought of himself. "Then you'll just have to find a way to find the strength."
Blaze smiled at Gertrud as Neo spoke about finding strength. "I guess I find strength in my allies. I know that sound awfully cliched, but if it wasn't for Gertrud and Amy, and my friend Persephone, I would probably be a broken mess."
Neo's smile softened more, a tinge of understanding and relief flickered in his ebony eyes.
"Okay. Enough small talk. We have a battle to finish… But first," Chase interrupted as he rummaged through his backpack, taking out and handing Neo a bottle containing a herbal concoction. His friend accepted it with gratitude and drank. Glancing at Blaze, Chase explained that it was some special medicine that Neo had been taking and that he shouldn't worry. "Just a precaution, okay? Chill out or I'll have to make you drink some too. It's sort of like a stress-reliever/energizer mix."
"Chase. Shouldn't you announce the result of the round?" Neo reminded his friend and as he capped the beverage and tossed it back at his silver-haired friend who flinched at the reminder and incidentally fumbled the bottle.
"Right-right," Chase admitted sheepishly and put away the medicine. Taking a deep breath, he regained his referee composure and nudged Neo and Blaze back to their respective sides. Then he made his way over to his post. "Round one is a draw with three pokemon remaining on both sides." He waited for the two to take their positions before raising his hand to signal them both. " Ready for round two!"
Neo plucked a pokeball from his belt and glanced at Blaze momentarily. Across him, the fiery-haired trainer grinned again as he brought out a Pokeball with a crosshair etched into the top.
"Alright, don't screw this one up for us this time Noire!" A purple scorpion-like Pokemon appeared from the red light of the Pokeball. It had a device strapped to the side of it's head that seemed to unfold into a magnifying glass over the Pokemon's eye.
"What's with the weird monocle on teensy bug-thing?" Chase thought aloud, blinking blankly at the purple scorpion.
"Chase. Don't be rude," reprimanded Neo, eyes narrowing at his friend.
"You'd never really know it by Noire's reckless nature, but that is supposed to allow Pokemon to cause more Critical Hits. It's called a Scope Lens. But with Noire, I guess the best description is that she is wearing a weird monocle cause the dumb bug never uses it properly," Gertrud answered.
Blaze grumbled at his Roserade. "I thought we agreed that you don't tell trainers that last little detail about Noire never using it properly." The Roserade just shrugged and watched the scorpion Pokemon eagerly.
Neo, out of curiosity, opened up his Pokedex. It beeped with life and displayed the data of the pokemon before him.
Skorupi
The Scorpion Pokemon
It burrows under the sand to lie in wait for prey. Its tail claws can inject its prey with a savage poison. It lives in arid regions and can go without food for a year while waiting for prey.
"Maybe the scrawny thing hasn't eaten anything in a while," Chase commented absentmindedly.
"Chase," Neo called out in a stern voice. "Enough… "
"Oh, trust me, the only thing this thing does it eat and charge head first into a battle without considering surroundings. But, at least she's responds to commands, unlike Laxus." Blaze seemed to be thinking about something else before his attention snapped back to the battlefield. "Anyway, your next Pokemon?"
Neo nodded and shot another look at his pokeball, somewhat hesitant to let the pokemon out. Taking a deep breath, he urged himself to take things seriously and that no opponent should be underestimated. "Come out, Arana!"
Crimson light shot forth from the capsule and materialized into a floating chandelier with golden button eyes and pale blue flames sprouting out of its head and arms. Eager for the battle, Arana spun energetically, sending azure cinders into the air.
"Maybe Noire wasn't your best option. If she was a Drapion, maybe… I don't think I've seen a Chandelure in real life before, they've always seem so cool!"
"Gertrud, please, she has to get experience somehow, and you're a grass-type. Why do you have admiration for a fire-type Pokemon?" Blaze asked incredulously. The Roserade just shrugged once again. There was clearly a rivalry between the Roserade and Skorupi, or at least a one sided rivalry. The Skorupi had so far done seemingly nothing antagonize Gertrud.
"Alright. Both pokemon ready?" Chase waited for each side to give their signal.
Neo gave a curt nod to Chase and looked to Blaze for the first move.
"Alright, Noire, let's not take any chances, use Taunt!" The Skorupi started making weird movements, seemingly antagonistic, towards Arana. The idea was to cause the foe to only use attacking moves, but Blaze seemed to remember Arana's typing just as Noire's intimidating dance finished. "No, wait, stop… Oh-Arceus damn it."
Neo could see his Chandelure swiftly becoming riled up, her flames burned with fury. Arana was just waiting for the cue and Neo had no reason not to give it, other than the urge to hold back. "Arana. Flamethrower."
Without missing a beat, Arana unleashed the built-up torrent of flames from the top of her round head and aimed the ghostly blue fires directly at the Skorupi, engulfing the started scorpion.
Blaze slapped himself and scolded his own stupidity as Noire was burnt heavily by the flamethrower. There didn't seem to be any burn effect leftover, but there was definitely a hefty amount of damage. "Alright, let's try going full offense. You might be able to win if you focus on Arana's weak points. Use Night Slash, Noire."
As soon as Blaze called out the attack, Noire lunged at Arana, not waiting for more than a second before attacking. Blaze's face was now in his hands, almost embarrassed by his Pokemon's recklessness. The little claws of the Skorupi as well as its tail all glowed with dark energy. It struck the Chandelure in the main body, definitely not a weak point.
"Arana, just keep it up with Flamethrower," instructed Neo, calmly keeping eye on the pace of the battle, careful not to easily drop his guard.
Shaking off the dark-type attack, Arana narrowed her button eyes and sent another blazing blue stream of flames at the Skorupi's way.
"Noire, dodge!" The Skorupi jumped surprisingly high for its stumpy legs and it almost completely dodged the flames that came from Arana. The bottom of her leg was scorched, but still no obvious signs of burn or heavy damage. "Now, use Poison Sting!"
"At least she dodges, unlike Laxus," Gertrud mentally commented.
"Train of thought Gertrud, not right now, gotta find a way to maximize the profit from a losing battle." Blaze quickly thought over his options before calling out to his Skorupi, "Noire, see if you can poison Arana with a Poison Sting. We need all the advantage we can, so please, focus."
This time, Noire actually took the time to analyse Arana with the Scope Lens. She kept moving, just in case Neo called an attack. Blaze breathed a sigh of relief as Noire was concentrating for once.
Then, without warning, Noire jumped at Arana and struck the Chadelure with its tail. The move struck right where one of the chandelier 'arms' connected to the main body. It also seemed to strike somewhere for a critical hit, as Noire quickly sparked red, the electricity moving through Noire's body and striking Arana for extra damage.
Arana violently jerked away from the purple scorpion, her body cringed as streaks of violet sparks raced across her body, just as her flames weakened simultaneously. It was all evidence of poison.
Neo grunted under his breath. He had dealt with the effects of poison in his previous gym battle and he knew just how bothersome and how continuously straining it was to the affected pokemon. The only luck he drew from the situation was that ghost-types like Arana had pretty good resistance to poison. The best he could do was finish things quickly. "Just a little more, Arana. You can do it! Flamethrower!"
Enduring the effects of poison, Neo's Chandelure let loose another torrential inferno of crackling blue flames.
As the fire moved towards Noire, Blaze didn't seem fazed. He called out a slightly surprising strategy. "Noire, jump into the Flamethrower towards Arana and use Night Slash once more. No time for careful consideration!"
Much to the shock of the other witnesses, the scorpion Pokemon did exactly as her trainer commanded. It was as if Blaze's declaration gave her whole extra level of confidence and recklessness. Jumping into the fire, Noire endured the searing pain of the ghostly blue fires as her tail and claws once again engulfed themselves with the dark energy of Night Slash.
The attack connected with Arana, followed by the third strike with the tail, before ultimately, Noire succumbed to unconsciousness, dropping unto the scarce blanket of grass as a charred scorpion.
"And Round Two goes to Neo!" Chase announced, not as glad as he should have been, given the current circumstances of Neo's Chandelure. "Prepare for the third round."
Neo stepped closer to Arana and placed a gentle hand on her orb-shaped head. Though the slow and weak-acting poison was still in effect, the damage done by the dark-type attacks proved more worrisome. "Do you want to rest for a while, Arana? The others can take over for now.."
The Chandelure shook her head, her flames burning a little brighter to show her determination. Neo's concerned gaze didn't falter, noticing the erratic sway of Arana's floating form. But he wasn't one to dampen his pokemon's resolution. Like trainer like pokemon, they both had a stubborn streak and a one-track mind. Hesitantly, he nodded and permitted Arana to continue the third round.
Noire had been revived by his trainer and stood aside. By this time, Faith and Kashu joined Chase at the sidelines, waiting for instructions to help those who needed healing and such. Chase acknowledged their presence and turned to Blaze, awaiting his third pokemon to be chosen.
Amy saw that Neo's Wigglytuff had joined the sidelines. Blowing herself off of Blaze's shoulder, she floated away and went towards her rival. Noire noticed and scurried to follow.
Amy started hovering around trying to intimidate Kashu. The two other fairy-types merely blinked in response at the tiny yet seemingly tough pokemon. Faith was cocking her head back, eyes wide with childlike curiosity. Kashu, not at the slightest threatened, inflated and softly blew away the little flower pixie.
Blaze chuckled slightly before turning to Gertrud. "Alright, you're up buddy."
"With pleasure." Gertrud walked onto the battlefield grinning. "I'm pretty sure I know, but you call the shots Blaze."
"I'm assuming I'm first off the block this round since I just lost?" Blaze was just confirming what he pretty much knew now.
"Yes. It's your move first," Neo confirmed with a slight nod.
Gertrud turned around and both her and Blaze began to grin at each other. "Alright Gertrud, Sludge Bomb."
A large amount of poisonous substance started to rush from both of Gertrud's rose hands and formed into a purple blob that she flung straight at Arana. As soon as she did this, the Roserade started dashing in a circular motion around Chandelure, trying to make it difficult for it to aim its next projectile.
"Arana, let's show them what you do best!" Neo grinned, mirroring the burning determination in his Chandelure's flames. "Spin and use Flamethrower!"
As the toxic sludge came raining down, Arana spun like a roundabout while unleashing flames from her arms and head. The ghostly fire torrents formed into blazing whips that gradually grew in range and formed a makeshift barrier. Most of the purple muck caught on fire and dropped to the ground where it continued to burn while the rest went through dealing what damage could be done despite the type disadvantage.
A handful of chunky cinders strayed towards Blaze's Roserade but Gertrud had enough stamina and speed to leap out of the way and land in the areas that were clear of the burning gunk that littered the ground near Neo's Chandelure.
"Well, that's new. Nice move Neo. Gertrud, use Extrasensory, crush version." Gertrud had a list of different ways to use Extrasensory. One of them was to use the psychic power to create a crushing force that damaged her foe, and occasionally pulled in whatever was around the foe.
"Let's just hope her ability isn't Flash Fire, Blaze. She will power up while taking damage," Gertrud reminded. Despite her doubts, both her and Blaze continued with the strategy they already had in place.
Intrigued with unknown tactic, Neo watched the Roserade with deep discretion, making sure to keep his guard up in preparation to counter the attack.
Raising her rose arms, Gertrud summoned her psychic powers. Her eyes shone with pale gold as energy rings formed outside the fire barrier that Arana created. Gradually, the rings grew smaller, dragging the swerving flames inward until they completely engulfed the Chandelure from sight.
"Arana!" Neo cried out, unsure of how his pokemon was faring inside. Listening intently to the sizzling fires, he waited for a sign. It never came. He smiled. His Chandelure wasn't in any pain and that meant the attack was futile. "Arana, show them what you can do! Break free with Psychic!"
The gold banded burning sphere was suddenly pierced by neon blue beams that came from inside. Soon, cracks formed along the surface. And then all at once, the ball shattered and sent ghostly blue embers flying into the air. Out of the explosion, Neo's Chandelure hovered, swaying erratically from exhaustion. It seemed it took a lot out of her from breaking through Gertrud's Extrasensory, but otherwise, she wasn't hurt from the ordeal.
"I don't know exactly what happened but Arana is kind of immune to fire," Chase pointed out, glancing at Blaze who looked only half surprised. Gertrud had already warned that it might be Arana's ability. "It goes with the Flash Fire ability thing…"
"Alright Gertrud, While Arana is regaining her strength, use Growth, but be ready to cancel and dodge while you're using it. We don't know how powerful she is and she could recover from the attack at any moment." Gertrud started breathing in slowly and folded her rose hands into each other. A green light glowed around her as her power began to increase.
Neo looked to his pokemon, concern lacing his eyes. "Just a little longer, Arana. Press on the attack with Flamethrower! Keep up the rotation. Stay unpredictable."
With a wail of agreement, Neo's Chandelure spun and moved like a top in midair while flinging streams of pale azure flames around her. She twirled towards the Roserade, her deadly dance scorching the grass as the fires licked the surface.
"Makes sure you avoid as much of the flames as you can Gertrud. We can't afford to take too much damage at the moment," Blaze warned.
Gertrud nodded and started to dodge acrobatically, a few flames occasionally singeing her legs or the sides of her body. A few times Gertrud seemed to wince, she was taking some damage, but to the large amount that would've happened if the attack had been a direct hit.
"Don't worry, just a scratch, shouldn't be a problem. And I don't feel any burns, so that's a good sign." Gertrud smiled at her foe. "You're really strong Arana, I'm glad to have you as an opponent."
Arana wailed gleefully at the compliment despite the lingering effects of the Skorupi's poison that made her slightly sluggish. She liked the Roserade but it didn't mean she would go easy on her. With her mind set on winning for Neo, she continued to charge in with her burning whips.
"Gertrud, aim two Sludge Bombs, one arced on top and the other straight ahead," Blaze instructed and Gertrud happily complied, forming one full Sludge Bomb which she then split in half before throwing each half in the individual directions that Blaze had commanded.
Neo knew his Chandelure was finally reaching her limit. "One more go, Arana! Make it count. Use Psychic!"
As the twin set of Sludge Bombs fired towards her, Arana's eyes glowed vivid blue just as her flames and whole body flickered with the same shade of light. The same eerie glow outlined Gertrud and she was suddenly off the ground and flung towards the scorched area of the battlefield where a few gunk continued to burn. And without missing another beat, the Sludge Bombs made contact and knocked back Neo's Chandelure. She skidded across the ground and fell unconscious.
"Round three goes to Blaze and Gertrud!" announced Chase with gesture of his hand. Faith, Kashu, Noire and Amy applauded at the great battle between the two before the Wigglytuff scurried over to Arana just as Neo made his way there as well.
Gertrud pushed herself off the ground, rubbing her head smiling. Arana was strong, but Gertrud hadn't expected the Chandelure to have such strong psychic powers. The fact that she didn't have telepathy surprised her, although the psychic powers were probably learnt, so that might've explained it.
Neo knelt down and pulled his Chandelure unto his lap. He applied Revive and waited for her to regain consciousness before speaking. "You did great, Arana. I'm proud of you…"
Arana wailed weakly but there was joy reverberating from her voice. Kashu crouched down beside her and gestured to Neo that she would take it from there, she was a nursing pokemon after all. She emitted a warm pink light from her stubby hands and gradually healed Arana's injuries with Heal Pulse.
"Neo, I could teach Arana telepathy sometime if you like?" Gertrud's voice resonated in Neo's mind, drawing the boy's gaze towards the Roserade. "With that strong a psychic potential I'm sure she could learn it." The Roserade then smiled at Arana, hoping she'd take the offer as well.
Neo smiled fondly at Gertrud before leaving Arana in Kashu's capable hands. "That would be great, Gertrud. I'm certain Arana would very much appreciate it." He glanced at his Chandelure who let out another wail of agreement.
"That would be cool!" Chase added with a nod of approval. "Faith and Vince aren't exactly good teachers ...nor good conversationalists.," he chided, thrusting a thumb at his Gardevoir who was smiling sheepishly. "Faith is kind of an airhead while Vince is pretty shy. But they did well in demonstrating Psychic to Arana which was how she learned... But we should save it after the battle."
"That's correct. We still have match to finish," Neo agreed, standing up and picking out his next pokeball from his belt. "Are you ready, Blaze?"
End of Chapter 48
Here's the first half of my collaboration with SachiShimizu.
You can catch his character on his own OC story in Fanfic.
Sidenote: He is also the same person who submitted Naomi Shika. ;)
Thanks for the collaboration~
Cover art: Blaze and Gertrud was made by me (Based on how Sachi described them)
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Read and Review please! They are very much appreciated.