Chapter 10
I burst into a clearing, almost tripping over Luna in my rush to get out of the jungle. Raylian was close behind me cradling her Rufflet, Raider. While we were wandering in the jungle, we were ambushed by trainers and only just got away with Pokemon intact. After the ambush, we had torn through the jungle in hopes that we could avoid any further fighting.
I crouched in the clearing and immediately began digging through my bag for any and all healing items. Raylian, with leaves sticking out of her ginger hair, crouched beside me and gently laid Raider down on the soft dirt. Our other Pokemon followed suit, laying on the ground waiting for a trainer to come restore them. I was the first to find a potion, so I used it on Raider. Raider was a small bird with a blue body. A plume of soft white feathers covered his head and extended past his neck. His beak was short and wide, and a large red and white feather extended from his forehead.
He had been worn down and thoroughly exhausted, but perked right up after I used the potion. I cautiously reached out and pet his soft head. He didn't react with hostility but when I took my hand away, he shook himself and went straight to Raylian who was working on reviving her Deerling. I shrugged and continued to Luna.
Once everyone was back to 100%, we stood up and looked around. The clearing we had come to was, to put it bluntly, a field of dirt. It had a thin layer of grass around the edges, but the center was pure dirt. And it looked churned up as if it was constantly used. On the opposite side of the field, there stood a tall woman, she looked amused as she watched us. She had streaks of green running through her blond hair, which was kept away from her face by the use of a braid. She wore mostly white and stood with an air of superiority.
Raylian and I looked at each other as we realized simultaneously that this was The Gym Leader. We began to advance on her. Luna, Crystal, and Shock walked on one side of us, and Raider, and Raylian's Deerling on the other.
As we began to close in, she spoke up. "Well, aren't you cute? I'd love to take you both on together, but unfortunately, that's against the rules." She put her hand on her hip. "So, let's do this one at a time. You first," she said, pointing a finger at me. Then she turned to Raylian. "As cute as you are, darling, you'll have to wait over there." She motioned to the side of the clearing.
Raylian whispered a quick, "good luck," and shot me a thumbs-up before walking over to her position as a spectator.
I contemplated my strategy as I walked to the other side of the field but I still had nothing by the time I got there. As I stared my opponent down, I was hit with a wave of anxiety, this was my first gym battle and I didn't want to mess this up. I decided against sending Shock out first since he would be at a disadvantage.
So, without breaking eye contact with The Leader, I shouted, "Crystal, you're up first!"
A moment later, The Gym Leader picked a Pokeball and threw it, yelling, "go Cacnea!" Cacnea was a round green Pokemon with cactus-like striations. As soon as it hit the ground, the battle was on.
"Crystal, bite!" I shouted.
Crystal shot forward with her mouth open, the Cacnea dodged out of the way, but Crystal still grazed it.
"Cacnea, use Leer!" came the command from the other end of the field.
As Crystal whipped around to face her opponent, she was caught by its gaze. I couldn't see what exactly happened, but Crystal shuddered and seemed to droop a bit.
"Keep going, girl! Headbutt it!"
In response to my command, she lowered her head and charged at full speed across the field. Crystal rammed it fully in the face, and it stumbled.
"Use leech seed!" Was the next command, and that's exactly what the Cacnea tried to do, but It was still trying to get its balance back, so its shot went wide and Crystal had an opening to attack.
"Tackle it while it's off balance!" I called excitedly, this was going better than I'd hoped.
Crystal launched herself at it and knocked it clean over. It wasn't quite defeated but if we could get one or two more good hits, it would be history.
"Arg! Pull yourself together and use poison sting!"
The Cacnea hopped to its feet and shot a poison dart that hit Crystal in the neck. I drew in a sharp breath, knowing that this was going to be trouble.
"Okay, Crystal, try to finish it with another headbutt!"
Crystal gathered herself for another headbutt, and this one sent the Cacnea sailing! It landed not far from its trainer who looked at it with surprise and despair.
"Get up Cacnea," she murmured. "Get up and use needle arm!"
As the Cacnea rose unsteadily to its feet, Crystal lurched forward as the poison took its toll. The Cacnea began to run towards her while she recovered. Its arm was drawn back, ready to strike. The attack connected with her skull and she was knocked flat, into the dirt. I winced and heard a small gasp from Raylian's side of the field, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the fight. I breathed a sigh of relief, though, when she stood up and growled at the Cacnea.
"Quick, Crystal, bite!"
She reacted instantly and, although it tried to get away, Crystal locked her jaws around its arm. It shuddered and tried once to pull away, but it was no use. Finally, it gave up and went limp. When Crystal released it, It sunk to the ground and lay motionless.
"Cacnea return." The Gym Leader said, shoulders drooping.
Over on our side of the field, the poison was affecting Crystal again and she swayed on her feet. I called her back and sent Luna to face The Gym Leader's Tangela. I forfeit my first turn in order to cure Crystal of her poisoning, giving the Tangela an opening to constrict Luna. For two turns Luna was unable to counterattack, and in that amount of time, the Tangela was able to hit her twice with a vine whip. Once she was free, however, Luna delivered a powerful slash and followed it up with a quick attack. The next attack thrown our way was confusion. It hit Luna hard and I feared she might get confused, but she shook it off and looked my way for instructions.
"Luna bite!" I yelled.
Luna leaped towards the Tangela and sunk her fangs into its vine-covered body and it let out a muffled cry.
"Come on it has to be nearly defeated by now," I whispered to myself.
"Tangela, constrict her again!" The Gym Leader cried angrily.
"Luna, slash it before it grabs you!"
My fists were clenched in desperation as I watched Luna jump over and duck under the blue vines that Tangela was sending out. Eventually, she managed to get close enough to land a hit that made the Tangela stumble and fall, but she was immediately caught up in vines. I gave an exasperated sigh, this was not how I was hoping this fight would go.
"Ha, now you got her! Use poison powder Tangela!"
The vine-covered Pokemon rocked back on its feet and looked for all the world as if it was going to sneeze. And to my surprise, that's exactly what it did. With a cute little noise, it sprayed a purple pollen substance all over Luna who winced as it settled into her fur.
"Great job! Now, hit her with a vine whip!"
Luna was ensnared by the Tangela for quite some time, and by the time she wriggled free, she was looking worse for wear. But then again, so did her opponent. A few more hits were enough to send the Tangela back to its ball, but Luna was on the verge of collapse. I was nervous now, The Gym Leader still had one more Pokemon, but my only Pokemon at full health was Shock and he would be at a huge disadvantage here.
I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for an easy fight before I called Luna back and sent out Shock. To my (partial) relief, The Leader sent out a Bounsweet. The two small Pokemon circled each other, and I formed a plan in my head.
"Bounsweet, hit it with a rapid spin!"
"Shock, dodge!" I call quickly, and he jumped out of the way just in time. From that point, I ordered Shock to leer at the Bounsweet, avoiding every attack that it was possible to avoid until I was sure that the Bounsweet wouldn't have the gall to defend. Then I attempted a tackle. I was delighted to see that it hit the Bounsweet harder than I was expecting.
Across the clearing, The Gym Leader narrowed her eyes. "Bounsweet, use razor leaf," she commanded.
The trees around the clearing began to shake as the leaves ripped off and came hurtling towards Shock. He bravely stood his ground, but soon he was completely surrounded. When the whirlwind cleared, he lay on the ground in a pile of leaves, and for a horrible moment, I thought he had fainted. But no, he stood, shaking, and faced his opponent once more.
"Tackle her again!" I shouted.
He rushed towards her as fast as his shaky legs could carry him. His attack was another great success, but all it took was another razor leaf to knock him down for good.
"Shock, return." I held out his Pokeball in front of me. "I'm so sorry," I added, storing him safely in my bag. I took a deep breath and turned to Crystal at my feet. "Crystal, let's finish this." She strolled purposefully out into the clearing and before she was even in position, I kicked off the final push. "Headbutt!"
Crystal transitioned seamlessly from a stroll into a charge and sent the Bounsweet a good few inches into the air. The Bounsweet sent another razor leaf after Crystal, but it didn't stand a chance now that it no longer had the upper hand. A solid bite attack was all it took to finish it off. I called Crystal back and fell to my knees in front of her, nearly weeping in relief. I rubbed Crystal's head and picked her up. This was the closest I'd ever come to losing a battle but I'd done it. When I looked up again, The Gym Leader was standing over me, and she was smiling.
"You put up a very good fight," she said, offering me a hand. I took it and used it to help myself up. "I think you've more than earned this." She handed me a sack of coins and a shiny red badge shaped like an amaryllis flower. "Now, I don't want to keep you here any longer than I have to. Go heal your Pokemon and take them out for a treat, they've earned it as much as you have. My assistant will show you the way out." She motioned to a dark-haired boy standing behind me.
I winked at Raylian, and wished her good luck, before gathering my Pokemon and, gratefully, heading for the exit.