Episode 44: Big waves in Humilau!
The morning following Brittany's win at the Humilau City Pokémon Contest, Niko and his friends sat in a booth at the Pokémon Center, waiting for Brittany to arrive so they could walk to the gym together. During this time, Warren was asking Niko to tell stories of his adventures with Brittany and their other friends. It took Niko some time to think up some, but he eventually did. He told the story of when he and his friends were attacked by a wild Snorlax back in Kanto, which ultimately resulted in Brittany's Squirtle evolving into a Wartortle.
"That was crazy, wasn't it?" Brittany said as she sat down at the booth. "I was so scared."
"But you kicked ass." Niko said with a friendly look. "Now, would you like to meet my Pokémon?"
"I'd love to." Brittany replied, and Niko led the group out onto the practice battlefield.
"I have seven, so one of them is staying with Professor Juniper right now." Niko said. The previous night he had done another rotation, swapping one of his Pokémon out in hopes of using it in the gym battle. "So…here we go!" Niko shouted, summoning Serperior, Braviary, Boldore, Litwick, Eelektrik, and Duosion, repeating all of their names to Brittany. "Everyone, this is a longtime friend of mine—Brittany! She's going to come watch our final gym battle in Unova."
The Pokémon all looked at Brittany with a mixture of confusion and friendliness. Serperior leaned her head down to look at Brittany, glaring into her eyes for a moment before nodding, moving forward and nuzzling Brittany's shoulder.
"That means she likes you, I think." Niko said of Serperior.
"Nice to meet you, too, Serperior." Brittany said. "This is quite the team you've put together, Niko. What's your seventh?"
"A Pokémon called Druddigon. He was my first dragon type."
"Oh? You've finally caught a dragon Pokémon. And…you've got another fire type." She turned to Warren and Charlotte. "Did he ever tell you the first time he caught a fire type?"
"Yeah!" Warren said with a chuckle. "Niko…I'd pay to see that any day."
"It was scary as hell, man." Niko responded with a concerned look. "Until you've seen my Numel battle, you won't understand." Brittany nodded in affirmation.
"You should tell them sometime about your gym battle with Tate and Liza." Brittany added.
"You mean the one where Lairon launched Numel into the air so he could use magnitude on a levitating Pokémon? Yeah, that one was crazy. I didn't think it would work, to be honest."
Warren's jaw noticeably dropped. Charlotte's eyes widened a little.
"Anyway, let's go win our last badge, yeah?" Niko said, turning to his team. They all cheered wildly.
The Humilau City Gym was on the edge of the island, in a two-story, fuchsia-roofed gym. However, as soon as Niko and his friends arrived there, he noticed that the battlefield wasn't in the gym—it was on the water. This was a water-type gym.
The battlefield was a seaside one, with a boardwalk running along all sides. On both ends of the battlefield were raised platforms, ostensibly for the Gym Leader and the challenger. In the middle of the battlefield were circular, floating platforms similar to the ones Niko saw during his gym battles against Misty and Juan—the only other water type Gym Leaders that he's battled against.
"So…where's the Gym Leader?" Warren asked, looking around.
"From what I've heard, Marlon is often absent from his gym…" Brittany said, also touring the gym with her eyes.
"That's correct!" A friendly voice said from behind them. They all turned around to see a tan-skinned, dark-blue haired man standing there. He was roughly Niko's height, and wore a pair of blue-lensed goggles around his neck. He was shirtless, and wore tight-fitting, light-blue pants with two fins on each side of each leg. To complete the look, he wore sandals on his pale white feet. "Sup dudes, name's Marlon." He reached out his hand to shake each of theirs. "What's shakin'?"
"Hey, I'm Niko from Pallet Town, and I'd like to request a battle, if possible."
"Shoots! Of course, dude!" Marlon said with a wide grin. "I always love to battle people from other places! Pallet Town, eh? That's pretty far. What brings you all the way to these parts?"
"Err…interest." Niko said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Interest, eh? Right on, dude. C'mon, let's get this battle goin'! You're cool with a four-on-four gym battle, right? Cause if not, that's fine. I just like to ask cause not every trainer uses that many Pokémon."
"Fair question. Yeah, I'm fine with it." Niko said with a smirk.
"Radical. Your friends can sit over in those stands. There aren't too many seats, because I don't like making my gym battles public knowledge like others might, and it saves space to have less seating, y'know?"
"Oh, I do." Niko said. He had always been confused as to why Pokémon Gyms saved so much space for seating, when usually he and his friends took up almost none. It's why he appreciated Burgh's gym a lot.
"Cool, man. Also, Niko's friends—watch out, occasionally you might get splashed with water. Hope you're fine with that." Warren, Charlotte, and Brittany made no fuss about it and sat down in the small, wooden stands on the far edge of the battlefield. Moments later, a referee magically appeared from the fuchsia-colored house and explained the rules of the match to Niko and Marlon. "Alright, dude, let's get this going! Wailord, I choose you!" Marlon shouted, summoning a massive blue whale onto the field, creating enormous waves along the battlefield. "You ready for this?"
"Of course. Eelektrik, I choose you!" Niko shouted, throwing a pokéball onto one of the few platforms not thrown around by Wailord's body. "Use thunderbolt!"
"Wailord, ice beam!" Marlon commanded. The Float Whale Pokémon conjured a light-blue beam of ice that quickly collided with Eelektrik's thunderbolt, resulting in a stalemate. Niko then commanded the EleFish Pokémon to dive down into the water to dodge the second attack—scald—and use spark underwater. "Oh no…"
The battlefield exploded in reaction to electricity hitting water, electrocuting Wailord and temporarily paralyzing it. "Eelektrik, use thunderbolt now!" Niko commanded. The EleFish Pokémon leapt back out of the water to conjure another thunderbolt, this time striking Wailord on the top of the head. The Float Whale Pokémon collapsed into the water, now unable to move.
"That…was quick…" Brittany said. "Has Eelektrik always been that strong?"
"No. It actually just recently evolved. This is the first time it's been in a gym battle in a while." Warren said. "I think it just got lucky, though—being an electric type in a water type gym."
"Still, defeating a Wailord is impressive, because of how large it is." Brittany added.
"Wailord is unable to battle, Eelektrik is the winner! Leader Marlon will now send out his second Pokémon!" The referee declared.
"Wailord, return. Well done, Niko. I'll admit, I expected an electric type eventually—I always do, but I've never been able to get around Eelektrik or Eelektross. That levitate ability." Marlon said with a friendly smile. "Carracosta, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a now-familiar Prototurtle Pokémon.
"Eelektrik, return. Serperior, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use coil!"
"Carracosta, rock slide, dude!" Marlon called out. The Prototurtle Pokémon conjured a wave of rocks that hurled down from the sky towards Serperior, who was busy curling herself up, waiting for the right moment to strike. She then leapt forward on Niko's command, her tail glowing a bright green color.
"Leaf blade, now!" Niko shouted. Serperior, having now gained full control of her body, whipping her serpentine torso around and slammed the leaf blade into Carracosta's side. The Prototurtle Pokémon then, on Marlon's command, spat out hot water in Serperior's face. The Regal Pokémon fell backwards into the water out of shock, not from the power of the attack. "Serperior!" Niko called out. Can she swim…? He wondered. His Pokémon's ability to swim was never a concern of his…they were hardly ever around a body of water that required them too.
"Carracosta, rock slide!" Marlon commanded. Carracosta conjured another wall of rocks to fall down upon Serperior, who was deep in the water now. At this point, Niko wasn't sure if Serperior was hurt or not. Where is she…?
Suddenly, from behind Carracosta a long, pale green body rose out of the water and wrapped around the Prototurtle before glowing a bright green color. Serperior is using giga drain! Niko shouted in his mind. "Serperior! Let's go!" Niko cried out, thrusting a fist into the air. The Regal Pokémon nodded to him before letting go of the Carracosta, which collapsed into the water in front of it. Serperior, Niko, and Marlon all waited for Carracosta to show signs of movement. Ultimately, it did, shooting another scald from underwater at Serperior. "Defensive leaf tornado!"
"Defensive…leaf tornado…?" Brittany asked, wondering but not entirely surprised.
"Yeah, it's something Serperior learned how to do when she was a Snivy. Totally her idea, too." Charlotte replied.
"Wow. Smart Pokémon." Brittany said.
"Niko and Serperior have a very close bond." Warren added.
"He tends to have those with his grass types…" Brittany said, thinking fondly of Niko's Venusaur.
Serperior managed to block most of the scald and, again on Niko's command, turned the leaf tornado downwards towards Carracosta, breaking through the water and hitting the Prototurtle Pokémon. This time, Carracosta made it back to the surface, but was unconscious when it got there.
"Carracosta is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Marlon will now use his third Pokémon!"
"Wow! Niko…this is something else, dude!" He returned Carracosta. "I usually don't have a challenge this difficult early on. But I'm sure I can make it up here. Mantine, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the Kite Pokémon.
"It's been a while since I've battle one of these. Serperior, return." Niko said. "Braviary, I choose you!"
"Braviary…? Why not Eelektrik?" Warren asked.
"Niko tends to give his other Pokémon a chance, too." Brittany added. "Especially if he's doing well, like right now. He hasn't lost a single Pokémon, and half of Marlon's team is defeated. He has room for a lot of error."
"That seems like something he would do." Charlotte added, watching the match intensely.
"Braviary, use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. The Valiant Pokémon opened his wings and glided across the battlefield, splitting the water under him due to the speed he was moving at. However, Marlon commanded Mantine to use ice beam, which hit Braviary's wing just as he was about to crash into his opponent. Instead, Braviary collapsed into the water, unable to move.
"Braviary!" Niko shouted as his eagle-like Pokémon struggled to keep above water. Mantine then used air slash to hit Braviary as he found his way onto a platform, further knocking the Valiant Pokémon across the circular platform and nearly back off of it. "Use…use hone claws!"
"Mantine, confuse ray!" Marlon shouted. Mantine then conjured a small, spinning yellow orb that floated across the water towards Braviary, hitting him in the face. The Valiant Pokémon looked around curiously, flapping his wings and cawing loudly at Niko, Marlon, Mantine, and everyone else. "Now, ice beam!"
"Braviary, listen to me!" Niko shouted. Braviary wouldn't, though, and instead got slammed with a second ice beam, which knocked Braviary onto his back. Mantine leapt into the air and used a scald which, despite thawing Braviary's frozen wing, did defeat the Valiant Pokémon.
"Braviary is unable to battle, Mantine is the winner!" The referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!"
"Return. You did your best, and I'm still proud of you for that. But we have a gym battle to win here. Duosion, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning his Mitosis Pokémon. "You ready to show off all of the training you've accomplished in Professor Juniper's lab, buddy?" Duosion turned to Niko and nodded happily. "Alright, then. Use psyshock!"
Duosion closed her eyes and conjured multiple light blue and purple orbs, spinning each of them with her mind until launching them at Mantine, one by one. The Kite Pokémon managed to dodge each one in turn before hitting Duosion with a scald attack, which the Mitosis Pokémon couldn't block against. She then turned to Niko, wincing a little, and nodded. Niko nodded back, albeit a little confused. Duosion then turned to Mantine, and conjured several rock-like objects around her before sending them into the air, where they disappeared into space.
"Future sight…" Niko said. "Duosion! Use psyshock!"
"Mantine, ice beam!" Marlon commanded. Both Pokémon launched off their moves, colliding in the middle of the field. Mantine then rose high into the air and used air slash, to which Duosion responded with hidden power, once more resulting in a stalemate.
We just have to bide our time…Niko thought to himself. "Use rollout!"
"Ice beam!" Marlon called out. Duosion then charged at her opponent, rolling through the air towards Mantine, who successfully blocked the onslaught with ice beam, halting Duosion in her tracks and causing her to drop down onto the water. Again, Niko had no idea if Duosion could swim, but he quickly discovered that the gelatinous surface protecting the Mitosis Pokémon also acted as a floating device, keeping Duosion from sinking into the battlefield below her.
"Psyshock!" Niko shouted, to which Duosion rose off of the water and unleashed small psychic orbs at Mantine, who blocked again with ice beam. How long does future sight take…? Niko wondered to himself. It didn't take long for him to get an answer, for he quickly saw images projected to him from Duosion. It showed her and Professor Juniper timing the future sight, and then of Duosion herself viewing the time it took for the attack to finally hit. Then Niko understood. Almost time, then…He thought to himself. Duosion nodded in response.
"Mantine, use ice beam—huh?" Marlon said, looking up. The rock-like objects appeared out of space and pelted Mantine, resulting in small explosions all around.
"Duosion, psyshock!" Niko commanded. Duosion conjured light blue and purple orbs and shot them at the Kite Pokémon, resulting in Mantine being thrown backwards, against a platform behind it and subsequently into the water below.
"Mantine is unable to battle, Duosion is the winner! Leader Marlon will now send out his fourth and final Pokémon!" The referee stated.
"Mantine, return. Well done, Niko. Totally forgot about that future sight. I'll have to take note of that. Jellicent, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a large, jellyfish-like Pokémon. He was blue with a pale blue moustache-like collar and a small crown atop his head. He had five tentacles—two on each side, and one in the back. He had red eyes with blue sclera, and one eyelash over each eye.
"Jellicent, the Floating Pokémon. Water and ghost type. Its body is mostly seawater. It's said there's a castle of ships Jellicent have sunk on the seafloor."
"Duosion, return." Niko said. He was in a good place now, and the likelihood of him losing was small. But he couldn't take anything for granted. Since Jellicent was a ghost type—according to Charlotte's pokédex that he overheard—Duosion wouldn't be very helpful. He had Serperior and Eelektrik left. "Eelektrik, I choose you!" He eventually shouted, summoning the EleFish Pokémon. "Use thunder wave!"
"Energy ball!" Marlon commanded. Jellicent rose into the air, high above the wave of electricity running across the battlefield, and shot out a light green ball of pure energy, which hit Eelektrik and nearly knocked him off of the battlefield. "Shadow ball!"
"Thunderbolt!" Niko called out. Both Pokémon attacked at the same time, resulting in a brief explosion in the middle of the battlefield. "Now, charge beam!"
"Scald!" Marlon commanded. As soon as the hot water reacted with the charge beam, a massive explosion erupted, creating large waves along the battlefield, and rocking Eelektrik's platform. Once the smoke from the explosion settled, Eelektrik looked around in search of his opponent. Finding none, he turned to Niko for assistance.
"I don't know…" Niko said, furiously looking around as well. He then noticed something ominous-looking under the water. "Behind you!"
Eelektrik spun around just as Jellicent leapt out of the water. Instinctively, Eelektrik conjured a thunderbolt at Jellicent, who dodged the move and used a close-range shadow ball, hitting the EleFish and launching him into the water. Eelektrik began swimming around, dodging shadow and energy balls left and right, waiting for Niko to say something.
This thing is fast…very fast. Niko thought to himself. He briefly considered swapping Eelektrik for Serperior, knowing fully well that the Regal Pokémon could handle this Jellicent. No…Eelektrik can win this. I have total faith in him. "Eelektrik, out of the water!" Niko shouted. The EleFish Pokémon jumped out, landing on the closest platform. "Use thunderbolt!"
"Jellicent, shadow ball!"
"On the water!" Niko commanded. Eelektrik re-directed his attack, causing the battlefield to react viciously, and resulting in another explosion. "Now, jump through it!" Eelektrik obeyed, slithering off of the platform and into the explosion that was now quickly dissipating. Now, it was Jellicent who was confused. Marlon commanded the Floating Pokémon to use scald to quicken the pace at which the smoke was dissipating, but it was too late—Eelektrik was now upon it. "Thunderbolt!"
"EEEEEEEL!" Eelektrik shouted loudly, conjuring a thunderbolt from the sky to rain down on Jellicent, who cried out as the electricity surged through his body. Jellicent then collapsed backwards, off of the platform it was floating above and into the water below.
"Jellicent is unable to battle, Eelektrik is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.
Niko let out a deep sigh of relief. He then saw Eelektrik run over to him and happily leap into his arms. "I'm really proud of you, buddy. We now have all eight gym badges because of you."
Warren, Charlotte, and Brittany all ran across the boardwalk from their stands to Niko's platform. Each hugged him in turn and congratulated Eelektrik on his wins as well.
"You did it! You're going to the Unova League!" Warren shouted in excitement.
"I am. I am." Niko said happily. He looked at Brittany, remembering the many other times he had qualified for Pokémon Leagues.
"You did amazing, Niko." She said, bringing Niko in for a second hug.
"Thanks." He replied. Just then, Marlon motioned them over towards the Fuchsia-colored house.
"Yo, Niko! What an impressive battle! You totally swept me away!" He then took a badge from the referee's hand and held it out for Niko to see. "Here, man, is the Wave Badge. Pretty sweet, right?"
Niko eyed the badge. It was light blue with a golden border, and was in the shape of a raindrop with small waves inside of it.
"Thanks, Marlon. It was a great battle." Niko said with an eager smile. "It's also my eighth, so because of this I can compete in the Unova League."
"Heck yeah you can, dude! I'll be watching from here. I wish you the best of luck, man!" He said, eagerly shaking Niko's hand.
Later that day, after getting a celebratory lunch, Niko and his friends saw Brittany off.
"I've got to head to Nimbasa City now, for the Grand Festival." She said. "But, if I have the time, I'll be sure to go back to Vertress City. If I can't, I'll certainly be watching."
"Thanks. I wish you the best of luck in the Grand Festival. Prove to Unova that you're a true Top Coordinator." Niko said. "And, if I can, I'll be sure to check it out."
"Also...do you mind me making a call to Pallet Town on your behalf?" Brittany asked. "I know you're nervous about talking to your family and Pokémon again, so I could ease you into it, if you'd like."
"I don't know…" Niko said nervously.
"I'm sure your mother and Jake would love to get a chance to watch you in Vertress City. Jake's in Johto right now, from what I remember, but I'm sure he'll try to make it if he can. And your mom could use an excuse to get out of the house."
"If you want, then sure. I won't make you do something like that for me, though." Niko said as a disclaimer.
"I'll also try to get ahold of your Pokémon. If memory serves, they're all still in Pallet Town."
"What…? They didn't leave?"
"No idea why. But yeah, they're all there I think. You might need them in the Vertress Conference, especially if Elliot and Hunter are competing as well, like you told me earlier."
"I can do it—"
"No, Niko. You can't without Venusaur and the others. I've watched you battle Hunter and Elliot. Your Unova team is strong, but not enough." Brittany said cautiously.
"Alright. Fine. When I get to Vertress City, I'll talk with them over video chat." Niko said.
"Sounds good." Brittany then walked up and gave him a hug. "I'll miss you."
"Miss you too." Niko said.
"And it was nice meeting you both." Brittany said to Warren and Charlotte. "Please…keep him in line for me, alright?"
"No promises." Warren said with a wink.
"I will." Charlotte said, returning Brittany's hug. "It was great getting to meet you."
Brittany smiled as she let go of Charlotte, and then walked off towards the Marine Tube, where she had a boat departing from Undella Town in a few hours. Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all waved as the sun was setting behind them. The following morning, they would begin their journey to their final destination—Vertress City.