Whirlipede - Entoma
Dwebble - Gargantua
Wimpod - Cocytus
Heracross - Kyouhukou
Ribombee - Leinas
We were in the big leagues now. Well, as big of leagues as the top 4 teams of a first gym badge tournament. But I was invested, now. We just hit the point where we got a cash prize. A negligible one, to be fair, but the more we won from here on, the better the pot was.
Roxie and I sat around the campfire and our tournament teams sat with us. It was dusk, the night before our next fight. The rest of my team was around, either bullying what wildlife still risked getting near us or lazing and snacking in the berry tree we hijacked for our campsite.
Now that I think about it, that would explain why Pokemon persisted in intruding.
"So, Roxie, what are we planning for tomorrow? I was thinking of starting out with Gar this time."
The punk considered it for a moment, "Nah. That's a good idea though, but save it for the last fight. Keep 'em on their toes, if they've been scouting us out."
"Scouting us?" I raised my eyebrow, curious.
"Yeah, a lotta trainers like to get their friends to keep tabs on other fights. Or look them up online or watch them in person, if it's a bigger tournament."
That's smart. Something to keep in mind for the future.
"So if not a switch-up, what's the plan?"
Roxie itched her eyebrow, "Hmm… Same as usual setup, but I think we need to stick closer in these fights. We've been treating these battles like single battles, with two pokemon switching in and out. You saw with the Vaporeon how dangerous two Pokemon can be together, yeah?
"So what exactly do you recommend?"
"Well," she leaned forward, putting her hands together, with a dangerous look in her eyes and a small smile she said, "I'm thinking that we should come up with some game plans."
"Are you ready for how this goes?" a smug teenager mocked me from across the field. He seemed pretty proud of his Frillish, the blue, spectral jellyfish staring Kyou down on the field. It was something horrific in person, its glowing red eyes far too large for its face. Its body was also noticeably less cuddly, as it far more resembled something a jellyfish would have for a limb. It was slimy and almost translucent.
Can't say I'm a big fan. Would be a cool fan design, but not a good marketable plushie.
"Yeah, I am," I retort, "You might want to reconsider your options, though."
His partner didn't seem too friendly either, but not in as directly antagonistic of a way. He was a man in his twenties and the picturesque image of a stressed office worker. He had a tight expression and a piercing stare.
Equally intense was his Elgyem, levitating in front of him. It had his stare, amusingly enough, but I was more worried about its type. Both Kyou and Grimer had a weakness to it.
Then, we began.
"Grimer, push forward!" Roxie once again called out her first move.
"Kyou, follow!"
Our Pokemon began to move along the field in single file, my Heracross using the Grimer as a shield.
"Headache, Elgyem," swiftly commanded the office worker. Not bothering to move, his psychic alien pointed at our Pokemon with its limbs, the flashing lights on each beginning to flash. Kyou instantly clenched his head, struck with sudden pain.
Headache? Not a Pokemon move, so what the hell was he doing?
"Heh, what an idiot!" Roxie laughed, "How is Grimer supposed to get a headache? He doesn't have a brain. Sludge him!"
That discounts a telepathy attack because Grimer definitely had the capacity to think. That means he must be attacking my bug's electric meat directly.
"Water Pulse!" the teenage opponent interjected. Frillish took a moment to charge and then launched a shot of water. It slammed into Grimer and sent a ripple through his whole body. It didn't stop him from finishing his sludge, vomiting all over the Elgyem in return.
Kyou recovered from his possible severe brain hemorrhaging, absolutely livid. I decided to sate his bloodlust.
"Over to Elgyem and Night Slash!" I ordered.
Once again, wings burst from the beetle's carapace and propelled him over Grimer, heading straight toward his extraterrestrial enemy. As he flew through the air, his arm lit up in Dark energy.
The teenager responded to the threat with another "Water Pulse!," but his Frillish had demonstrated earlier that it took time for him to prepare that attack. The office worker was trying to get his disoriented Psychic to stop panicking about the gunk shower Grimer spilled over it.
Kyou had decided to return the favor: aiming at Elgyem's head. He chose to attack from the air, letting his wings add more force to the hit. The strike, fueled by the bug's primal anger and accented by the malevolent energy and forward momentum, pounded Elgyem right in the face.
The alien's head whipped backward and stayed there for a moment. Then the rest of its body began to fall back, its levitation ended, and it collapsed into unconsciousness.
Kyou was hit by the reactionary Water Pulse. The charge time had given it plenty of time to aim and punish my Heracross for his overextending hit. The shock of water forced him off his feet and away from the downed Psychic, but his exoskeleton took the impact without compromising.
"Elgyem is unable to battle!" the announcer decreed.
The Office Man let out a low groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. He returned his Elgyem without fuss and released his next Pokemon: a Sandile.
Another crocodile. My lucky day.
For all its glaring and snapping, the Sandile was remarkably unintimidating. It lacked the sheer physical prowess of a Croconaw's jaw, though I had no doubt it was still dangerous.
"Let's deal with him later," I turned to Roxie, "Frillish has more ranged potential, get it off the field first."
She didn't fully turn to me, only taking her eyes off the battle to glance at me for a moment, but still nodded.
"Grimer! Grab the Frillish!"
Her gunk-pal didn't hesitate, moving as fast as the blob could toward the jellyfish. Neither of our opponents appreciated that, both shouting out commands.
"Frillish, stay back and Night Shade!"
"Sandile, get in its way and hold it with Sand Tomb!"
Sandile was fast enough to intercept, not that it was particularly hard to be faster than Grimer. It demonstrated an unexpected amount of power, ripping up the dirt with Ground-type energy and ensnaring Grimer in a small vortex of debris. Frillish took advantage of its state to start to launch Night Shades.
"Nico," Roxie's head now turned to me, "I need you to get rid of Frillish, now. Grimer can take this, but not for long."
"Night Slash, again! On Frillish!" I demanded.
Kyou was more than happy to oblige. He darted at the ethereal sea jelly, once again coating his arm in energy. It was a very nice move to have on Heracross: his spiked limbs were far more suited for chopping than slashing but the type coverage of Night Slash was invaluable.
Frillish was alone. It distanced itself from Grimer and Sandile on the orders of its trainer. A poor decision, it did not have the tools needed to hold off a Heracross alone.
"Water Pulse!" cried the teen, clearly desperate, hoping it would knock Kyou back enough to buy him some more time to think.
Kyou hissed. Frillish had only managed to conjure up the ball of water in front of its head by the time Kyou reached its location. The attempt at a Water Pulse was shredded as the Night Slash split through it. Kyou followed through with the slash, carving into its face.
"Again!" I demanded.
"No! Will-O-Wisp!"
Frillish spun backward, though the attack wasn't enough to knock it out. It heard its trainer's command and controlled its spin to face the Heracross coming in for another hit. It formed a ghastly, purple flame and launched it with unprecedented speed, but Kyou didn't even try to dodge it.
The flame hit head-on, catching Kyou in the chest and lingering, smoldering into his carapace. He screamed in pain but didn't let it slow him down. The opposite seemed to happen: rather than being inhibited by the burn, Kyou's Night Slash ignited with far more energy, like gasoline dumped in a fire. His body moved faster too, almost blurring as he leaped at his target.
This Night Slash was more than enough to bust the ghost. There was no recovery from the spin this time; The jellyfish was launched by the attack, spinning through the air until it hit the ground. It still had enough momentum to skip off the battlefield a few times before staying grounded, rolling into an unfortunate ball of unconsciousness.
"Grimer and Frillish are unable to battle!"
The hell happened to Grimer?
Type advantage won in the end, Grimer's Poison-Type body was unable to hold up to the extended Sand Tomb and whatever else the Sandile had thrown at it. A trade, which wasn't a bad play since we were a Pokemon up.
"You idiot!" I heard the older man scold the teen, "You burned it? It's got Guts!"
"How am I supposed to know that? I've never seen that Pokemon before!"
The referee interrupted with a cough, "If you could please release your next Pokemon?"
Roxie released her Whirlipede, grinning, and encouraged "It's up to you! I know you have this!"
The teenager tossed his next Pokeball in the air, once, twice, and then threw his ball with a flick of the wrist.
"Heatmor! We can handle some bugs!" He challenged us.
A Heatmor emerged out of the ball. It wasn't quite as tall as I expected, it could only have been three or so feet. The runt of the litter or something? Maybe a teenage-equivalent Heatmor.
That didn't mean it didn't look dangerous, though. It had a rock-like hide, cut with slits of skin that glowed like magma and bordered by red, calloused flesh. It released a thin stream of fire with every exhale, uncannily in appearance to the tongue of an anteater.
Its claws looked dangerous, especially with the weight of the natural gauntlets that were its forearms. Its thin upper arms didn't look like they could swing very fast or far, limiting the range of the Pokemon severely. Actually, most of the Pokemon looked ill-suited for fast movement.
If I remember right, this thing eats Durant. It would make sense why it would be slow: Durant's strategy was to charge head-on in numbers. The natural defense was to be able to punch through their metal shells while making themselves tanky enough to survive multiple hits.
The bad part of this was that I was fighting a natural predator of Bug-Types. The reality of dangerous predatory Pokemon was a real danger, though typically heavily monitored and quarantined by the League. And, we had a type disadvantage.
"Hey, Nico," Roxie broke me from my thoughts. "I'm not liking your odds against that Heatmor. If it manages to grab your Heracross, it'll probably punch through its shell. Whirlipede can get out of combat fast enough to bounce between fights.
I nodded, it was a sound plan. I could deal with a Sandile, no problem.
"Kyou! Get the Sandile with Brick Break," I commanded.
My burnt mon grunted in exertion, before launching across the field at the Sandile with a burst of wings. His Guts boost was a clear increase to his physical prowess, his body moving faster than he was able to move at the start of the battle despite being damaged.
"Keep him off you with Rock Tomb!" the office man exclaimed, before turning to his teammate. "And hurry up and get your Heatmor over to me! I can't hold him off alone, even now!"
"Alright! I get it, dude! Don't be like that," The teenager tried to de-escalate. "I'll do it. Heatmor, go and protect Sandile!"
The Heatmor responded, beginning to waddle over to the imminent conflict.
"Not happening! Whirlipede, Rollout the Heatran. Don't get caught!"
As Whirlipede engulfed itself in Rock energy, revving up and then spinning off to intercept the Heatmor. Kyou was about to reach Sandile. The crocodile let out a roar, much louder than before. It slammed its claws into the ground, ripping three unprecedentedly massive rocks from the earth. The Sandile launched then like bullets, firing at the location Kyou was charging into like a compactor.
"Go above!" I reacted as quickly as I could, "Don't get hit!"
Kyou easily launched himself above the rocks that collided together like a thunderclap. I had no doubt that should Kyou get caught in that, he'd be unconscious in an instant. Do not squish the bug.
"He wasn't that strong before!" Roxie warned me, "He's got Moxie!" She turned her focus back to her battle, where Whirlipede managed to strike with its first Rollout, narrowly avoiding an Incinerate.
Well, shit. No hit run.
"Change plans! Approach with Aerial Ace, then back off!"
Kyou blurred into an Aerial Ace, slamming into Sandile before it could react. He flew backward, preparing for Sandile's next move.
Meanwhile, Whirlipede's momentum was picking up rapidly. Her main Pokemon's power and speed made it difficult for the predator to get a moment of advantage, and the Rock-Type move dealt considerable damage. She was winning that 1v1 for certain, but I was as sure of my victory.
Sandile got to his feet, definitely hurt. It was only an Aerial Ace, but Heracross was strong. I might have a chance to win this.
"Sandile! Keep him running! More Rock Tombs!"
Kyou started dodging, and he fucking thrived. The Sandile's adrenaline-crazed Rock Tombs kept launching, cracking with every strike, but none of them managed to come close to my bipedal bitch.
Kyou leaped, he sprinted, he flew. At one point he launched himself to the side by kicking the ground hard enough to make an indent. I knew those 2v1 sessions would teach him how to avoid shot in the face.
Sandile was the meth fiend my uncle wished he could have been. I don't know what they're putting in his water to make him this dangerous. Moxie is fucking broken, where do I get a bug with Moxie?
Then came the opportune moment. Whirlipede bowled over the Heatmor, willingly taking an Incinerate to run over it like it's a stray dog. It did not get up.
With its Roll-out gassed to the fucking limit, it turned on a dime and drove to Sandile, absolutely shattering local traffic laws.
I witnessed the glory of a head-on traffic collision as Sandile was rammed, too busy launching his unholy barrage of rocks. I cheered, for this was the day that God's Drunkest Driver had won.
And then the Sandile started glowing.
At that moment, the rage and pain of the evolving Sandile was palpable. It screamed, which warped into a guttural roar as it became bipedal and noticeably larger. It didn't give me a chance to prepare for it to come out of its transformation, immediately launching a tidal wave of rock at Kyou.
He really didn't stand a chance. The newly learned Rock Slide was vastly more impressive than anything Gar had managed and Kyou wasn't in the best shape to dodge in the first place. He tried to fly away, but the rock freighted him back to me through the air, where he hit the ground and fell into unconsciousness.
My Pokeball popped open, recalling my Heracross. The battle had completely shifted now.
We technically had him on the ropes with a 2v1, but judging by how his trainer is congratulating him for learning Rock Slide, he's not going to be as easy to dodge anymore. Not that Gar was all that good at dodging in the first place, at least until I can get him willing to try Shell Smash.
Oh, shit, put that on my priority list.
A steroid rock-odile wasn't going to cost us this tournament though. I released Gar, beginning with an immediate, "Iron Defense."
Krokorok's trainer wasn't idle. "Rock Slide!"
Another wave of rock was tossed at us. Whirlipede broke away, circling around to flank Krokorok. My Dwebble hid in his rock, fortifying his steel defense. He needed it.
The wave slammed into Gar, skipping him like a pebble. He didn't have a scratch on him, though. Gar bounced off of the ground once, then popped out of his shell just before he landed. His many legs gripped into the ground, anchoring him, and he was standing and ready for action again.
"Poison Tail!" Roxie commanded, her Whirlipede closing in. Whirlipede's spines glowed with purple energy, carving small grooves as it spun at the gator.
"Sand Tomb!" The trainer yelled, desperate to keep the steamroller from hitting his Pokemon. A small tornado of sand sprung up in front of the way. Whirlipede didn't even have to think about it, keeping full speed and turning enough to go right by the trap.
Out of ideas, the desperate trainer decided to make a last stand. "Grab it!"
Whirlipede drove at Krokorok, about to ram with poisonous power. The crocodile charged forward with an impressive disregard for personal safety.
And then he did it.
Krokorok's arms slammed down on Whirlipede's sides, instantly killing most of his momentum. Whirlipede dug into Krokorok's hands, uncaring of the claws doing the same to its shell, but the toxic spines were just inches away from being able to rip into Krokorok.
"Krokorok! Crunch!'
Good thing I hadn't been idle. Gargantua tore himself out of the ground, having gone underground while everyone was focused on the Whirlipede. The bug launched at the Krokorok, its mouth charged full of Bug-Type energy.
Dwebble latched onto Krokorok's neck, chomping down in a full-power Bug Bite. The energy pumped through the Krokorok's body, sending its body into shock. Its arms slackened, and Whirlipede punched through the grab.
Dwebble got knocked away by the force of impact, but Krokorok took the full brunt. It flew, hit the ground, and did not get up.
And we won. I felt tension evaporate off my shoulders. The sheer fucking stress that Krokorok induced was horrifying.
The small crowd gathered for the semi-finals cheered, and it felt good. The enemy team slumped, and that felt even better.
"So then, what is good?" I asked my Pokemon. It was just Kyou, Gar, and Entoma who had stuck around to hear my rousing speech, gathered up by the campfire. "I'll tell you what is good. To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, to hear the lamentations of their—"
"What are you talking about, dude?" Roxie cut in.
I jumped, surprised she was there. "Oh! hey, Roxie. I was just inspiring my troops."
She stared at me. I stared back.
"So, you're back early," I said. "Find anything cool?"
She ignored me, "I think you might need to find some new inspiration material. You were sounding like your life goal was to rise up the ranks of Team Rocket."
"Rude," I sniffed, "Just because you can't get your Pokemon training like mine, doesn't mean you need to act jealous."
"I'm not jealous of your Pokemon! I'm just worried that you might be more crazy than I planned for."
I blinked, "What do you mean more—"
"Never mind, what is your life goal, anyway, if not some sort of Plasma Admin?" She changed the subject. "You know I'm planning on being a gym leader, but what's got you going on this journey? You never really told me why we're going through the gyms."
"Well," I furrowed my brow, thinking about it. "The gyms are more of a means to an end. You know, you're measured as how strong of a trainer you are by accomplishing it. And by constantly traveling, you're exposing yourself to a much wider variety of Pokemon and much stronger opponents by following the gym path and therefore giving your Pokemon more experience. At least, that's my general thought process."
"So it's about getting strong?" she inquired. "Any reason for wanting to be strong?"
"Well, it's a matter of pride, I guess," I said, a bit unsure. "It's hard to put into words. It's that if being a Pokemon trainer is the option, then it's always going to be the option I pick. Even most of the downsides have become pros for me now. And I want to be good at what I love, don't I?"
"So do you have a goal, then? Like you said, you go against the gym leaders to test how good you are. How good do you want to be?"
That was a real question. How good did I think I could get? I am keenly aware that bugs are objectively one of the worst types, at least from a type-chart perspective. There's a reason all of my bugs are dual types. But holy shit, my Pokemon were feeling pretty powerful. They can have a lot of their disadvantages negated by favorable types, and there was plenty of variety.
Plus, Pokemon aren't as balanced as they are in-game. The complexity allowed by the feats of Pokemon existing in reality meant that some absurd feats were possible from Pokemon. The Pokedex is canon. Gardevoir could make fucking black holes. A type resistance doesn't help against singularities.
I had no clue what sort of scaling was in place here. How did a stat number translate into real-world application? How do abilities actually work? How do hidden abilities come about? How does everything that makes a Pokemon coalesce into a fully fleshed-out monster total out, and how does everything match up?
Research on powerful Pokemon was sparse. To be able to research powerful Pokemon requires access to a large supply of powerful Pokemon, which meant researchers typically had to turn to the league, and therefore most research was classified. Public research generally came from independent researchers who happened to be powerful trainers publishing in journals or from one of the Pokemon Professors, who typically had the final say on what knowledge was necessary to inform the public of.
That meant I was left without an answer to my question. How far could Bug-Types go?
"Elite Four," I finally said. "I think I'm going to aim to be on the Elite Four, or at least be able to beat a member or two. Not sure about actually having a position, unless they make the paperwork pretty minimal."
That felt very possible. Aaron was proof that there could be a Bug-Type Elite Four member, even if he was the weakest of the bunch. It felt even more feasible in Unova, where I had relatively favorable type match-ups with every Elite Four member.
"Plus," I elaborated, "The stronger I get, the more prize money I'll be fighting for. This tournament's cash is nice, but it's all just going to eventually go to feed me. Would be nice to make enough to have a house to come home to."
She processed what I said. "Wait, what do you mean you don't have a house to come home to?"
"Oh, yeah. Don't have one of those. Just me and the road and my bugs. And you. A nice addition."
She smiled a bit but frowned again. "Don't you have a family to go back to?"
"No. Not one that I know of, at least. It's kind of a mystery how I came into this world." I said truthfully.
Roxie moved forward, firmly gripping my shoulder. She stared me dead in the eyes and spoke in a firm, confident tone. "Don't worry," She comforted me, "I'll figure this out. Don't worry about a thing.
She abruptly left, whipping out her X-tranciever and dialing a number as she walked away.
What the hell was that about? Who the hell is she calling? What is she planning? What?
It was too baffling to comprehend. I had nothing to go off of. Housing was far from free, I checked, so she wasn't going to suddenly solve my personal housing crisis.
There was only one thing to do.
"So, back to what I was talking about," I announced. Kyou, Gar, and Entoma suddenly zoned back in on me. "Where was I at? Oh, yes. When in a battle, you must show no mercy. Your enemies shall show you no pity, so you must be merciless. Feel the hate your opponent makes you experience. They're trying to stop you on your path to greatness, so they must be punished appropriately. Take that hate, and let it flow through you."
Then, all too suddenly, it was time. I was standing in the arena with Roxie, palming my Dwebble's Pokeball. Across from me were two people I did not enjoy looking at.
Our first opponent was a Flying-Type trainer. Couldn't be anything else. Light blue clothing, windswept hair, it just added up. Pokemon trainers really like to play to a stereotype.
The other was less of a stereotype. I didn't know what to make of her. She dressed in a teal vest and skirt with teal boots, a yellow cap, and dark pink hair. Nothing I could make an obvious deduction from.
"Hey!" The typeless girl shouted at us, presumably for trash-talking reasons. "Are either of you Dragon-Type users?"
"Nah," Roxie shot back, "but we don't need Dragon-Types to beat you."
The girl scoffed, "Not why I was asking. I'm Georgia, the Dragon-Buster! It's my goal to crush as many Dragon-Type trainers as I can."
That made me audibly chuckle. I respect her vitriol. Clearly, she was training her Pokemon with oppressive violence in mind. Truly, a worthy opponent.
The referee interrupted, "Trainers! Send out your Pokemon!"
We all tossed our balls, revealing the matchup.
Gar and Whirlipede stood against Sigilyph and Pawniard. Not good for us.
What the hell was the right play here? Pawniard was a direct threat to both of us, it can play aggressively and take whatever we throw at it. At least, until Heracross comes out. Can I get some serious use out of Gar before he gets knocked out?
Rock was good against Flying. Optimally, I could try and get him to take out both his flying types before Kyou gets out, as he's got a weakness. The best shot for me, at least.
"Roxie, can you handle the Pawniard?" I asked, watching our opponents discuss their strategy. Both teams' Pokemon glared down each other. I had no idea that a Sigilyph could glare.
Pawniard slashed its arms together in a clash of steel, trying to intimidate us. Gar spat back at him.
"Yeah. I can try," Roxie nodded. "Grimer! Go in!"
Grimer gargled, before crawling over to the center of the battlefield. If anything could handle being sliced up, it would be the thing. Less confident about it against the Sigilyph.
"Gar, Iron Defense!" My standard opening against a melee fighter. It's predictable but effective, though not so much against Sigilyph.
"Pawniard, Metal Claw!"
"Sigilyph, Psybeam!"
Sigilyph proved to to be a consistently powerful thorn in our side, shooting off a beam of psychic energy that temporarily destabilized Grimer. Probably hurt like a bitch, too.
Pawniard charged in after the beam, blades alight with Steel energy. It carved into Grimer, tearing with swift slices.
Then my Dwebble finished buffing and scrambled after the Grimer. He relished the chance to start the fight, scuttling up in seconds. It was enough time for the Sigilyph to summon the energy for another Psybeam, so we're on a time limit.
"Rock Slide!" I began, waiting for Gargantua to begin the attack, "Aim behind Pawniard!"
Gar pierced the ground, then ripped a mass of rock from the earth with a flick of his claw. The stone soared over the engaged pair, where Grimer failed to do anything substantial against the violent Pawniard. Its behavior would be endearing if it wasn't aggression against us.
Sigilyph committed to its next Psybeam. They assumed I'd try and get Pawniard away from Grimer. Not a fucking chance, I didn't want to deal with that little monster. The Sigilyph managed to get the first bit of its attack off before the rock embedded into its face.
Sigilyph was knocked from the air by the attack. It quickly shook off the rubble, levitating itself back into the battle.
"Change of plans, Pawniard!" Georgia announced. "Go for the bug!"
Pawniard leaped over Grimer in a flip, carving one last Metal Claw into Grimer's dome as it passed by. Pawniard landed in a crouch, using the position to propel himself into a sprint at Gargantua.
In a flash, the Pawniard was swiping at Gar. Gar rolled out of the way of the first strike, narrowly avoiding the slash.
"Dig tactics!" I instructed.
Gar smiled. He charged up a Rock Slide and ripped it up from below Pawniard's feet, launching him into the air. The Pawniard landed without issue, but by the time it hit the earth, Gar was already tunneling under the ground.
Pawniard scanned the field. Gar burst from the ground from behind, but Pawniard was spinning around the moment he started bursting from the ground. Gar flipped over as he came out, using his shell to impact his opponent. Both Pawniard's Metal Claw and its sharpened body scored deep scars into Gar's stone shell before the momentum sent Pawniard flying back into Grimer.
Grimer had just launched a Sludge Bomb at Sigilyph, missing. It tanked another Psybeam, choosing to grapple Pawniard instead of wasting time on a moving target.
Gargantua was inspecting his shell, warbling lowly at the damage. The warble twisted into a furious gargle when the shell cracked further, only taking a gentle prod to start breaking down. Gar began breathing heavily, eyes narrowing as he looked between the struggling Pawniard and his mutilated shell.
"Get the Pawniard!" I commanded.
Gar was baptized in rage. He furiously screeched and hooked his limb under his rock shell. In one motion, Gar popped it off his tail and lobbed it at Pawniard, his cry reaching its peak and breaking.
Pawniard escaped Grimer's grasp by doing its best impression of a living weed whacker. It excavated itself from the slime just in time to turn to look at Gargantua screaming. The shell impacted the Pawniard's skull with a dull 'thunk,' the shell busting apart into two halves. Pawniard wobbled for a moment, a physical dent left in its steel forehead, and then fell to the ground.
Gar didn't just learn Shell Smash, he weaponized it.
Grimer took one last Psybeam and collapsed into a goopy puddle. It was tanky, not invulnerable. Pawniard and Grimer were recalled and it was a mostly even match.
Without his shell, Gar was far more vulnerable to attacks in general. Furthermore, Sigilyph's Flying-Type moves would be having more effect on his bug body.
Worse, Gar wasn't used to moving without his shell. The loss of weight freed up a lot of extra muscle and he was still adjusting. His agility would suffer, but his speed was impressive.
Roxie's Whirlipede took the field again. Our opponents seemed intimidated, if for just a moment. With a scoff, Georgia released her Cubchoo.
"Rollout!" Roxie led.
"Follow after and Rock Slide!" I added.
Whilipede's rollout was already faster than Gar's even now, without his shell, but he wasn't going to be out of the fight for very long.
"Sigilyph, Air Slash!" The Pokemon began flicking its wings, psychically warping it into sharp blades of air. As the attacks bombarded around Whirlipede's charge, it was obvious that it couldn't continue to dodge if it got any closer. Instead, it chose to go to the easy target: Cubchoo.
The moment spent dodging attacks was enough for Gar to get into the action. He chose to join in with Whrilipede's charge, following close behind and preparing to attack Cubchoo.
"Frost Breath!" Georgia ordered.
Cubchoo exhaled a cloud of icy frost that Whirlipede charged straight through. The cloud rapidly gathered frost and chunks of ice all over, slightly slowing Whirlipede down. It didn't bother Whirlipede much, its thick exoskeleton and fatty tissue were able to withstand the frostbite.
Whirlipede's first hit plowed into Cubchoo, igniting it with more speed. Now confident enough to engage Sigilyph, it chose to whirl about and charge back at the totem bird.
"Barrier!" The bird trainer called, deciding to defend. Whirlipede skidded sideways at the last moment and hit the barrier at an angle, ricocheting and only losing a fraction of its speed.
Cubchoo staggered up as my shell-less Dwebble reached the cloud of frost. Gar chose not to go into it without his shell, despite his pinprick-thin pupils exuding more mania than I'd ever seen before. He charged up a Rock Slide.
"Cubchoo, Icy Wind!" Georgia cried. Cubchoo did so, blasting a chilled wind through the lingering Frost Breath, enhancing the attack with ice shards. Gar barely flinched as some ice cut into one of his exposed eyes, following through and launching dozens of head-sized rocks. He wasn't going to be opening that eye the rest of the fight. The Rock Slide dissolved whatever was left of Frost Breath and crushed Cubchoo.
Then the bear began to evolve. Everyone covered their eyes, the blinding light shining through the boulders piled on the evolving Cubchoo. Another god-damned evolution in this tournament?
I'll never know if it was from clenching his eyes from the pain or the sheer tunnel vision blocking the light, but Gar simply did not give a shit about the evolution.
He howled and slammed his two limbs into the ground. A pillar of rock erupted from under the icy bear, launching it from evolution and the pile of rocks, flying into the air and unconsciousness.
I'd never even taught him it. I'd shown him a video, but he'd never pulled one off before. I'll have to make note that psychosis grants revelations in combat situations..
Georgia fumed as she was taken out first. It's just a good strategy. Get shit on, kid.
"Contestant Chase may take both Pokemon to the field," the referee announced.
Huh, I didn't know that was tournament legal. I probably should have read the rules. Or prepared for my opponents. But I still felt like I was winning the gamble.
Chase sent out a Swoobat as his other option. "Synchronize!" He commanded, all three of the beings shutting their eyes for a moment as Swoobat lit up. Then, the Pokemon began to attack, tossing Air Slashes at both our Pokemon while flying around the arena.
Gar threw a Rock Slide at Sigilyph, who dodged and only got clipped with a single rock. Meanwhile, Whirlipede came around from behind, charging with Rollout. Then, a barrier sprung up from behind without the totem even bothering to look. Noticeably, both the Trainer and Swoobat were looking at that spot at the same time.
Swoobat began to rapidly wave its tail as Whirlipede slammed into the Barrier. The bat's tail emitted a violent torrent of ultrasonic waves, tearing into Whirlipede. Whirlipede was rapidly propelled back from the Barrier, visible cracks in his exoskeleton exposed from the hit. Swoobat's flight got noticeably less consistent after the attack, erratically going up and down.
"Stone Edge!" I commanded.
Gar's spike of rock slammed into the Swoobat, the tired bat too slow to react. It punted it from the sky, landing on the ground. It was conscious, but not out.
Suddenly, Gar was picked up in a psychic field. Swoobat wasn't going out without a fight. Held in place, he could do nothing as Sigilyph accurately shot two Air Slashes. Two hits and Gar was out. What a legend, you hate to see him go.
Kyou took the field as Whirlipede had the time to recuperate from the hit. The shell existed for a reason, but I had to imagine it still hurt like hell to put its body weight on. Whirlipede span on though, pushing through the pain.
"Kyou, Night Slash on Swoobat!"
"Whirlipede, keep Sigilyph occupied!"
Sigilyph was once again forced to defend against an oncoming Rollout, only now it was nowhere near as fresh. Despite it being a fresh Rollout, Whirlipede was able to maneuver around the Air Slashes.
Swoobat once again tried to psychically grab my Pokemon, only this time the combination of Dark Type energy and Kyou's physically easily shattered the grip. Kyou casually ducked under the Sigilyph's almost perfectly timed Air Slash, kicking himself forward and expelling his wings in a burst of speed. As he flew by, he slammed the Night Slash onto the bat and punched it into the ground.
Sigilyph pulled up a desperate Barrier as Whirlipede cruised at him. Whirlipede hit the Barrier again, but this time, the Barrier cracked.
Whirlipede was already kicking up another Rollout to get itself out of there, but Sigilyph launched an Air Slash before Whirlipede could escape. It struck and Whirlipede visibly shuddered in pain but ignored the new slash wound on his shell in favor of going back to dodging.
Kyou walked up to the twitching Swoobat. It was almost unconscious, just clinging to reality. Kyou silently looked at the bat for a moment, and then punched it with another Night Slash, giving a small smile as the body stopped moving.
Chase and Sigilyph flinched in pain, the sudden headache of the Synchronization forcibly ended. Whirlipede didn't hesitate on this advantage, charging right back at Sigilyph and launching into the air after it.
The Sigilyph recovered just in time to put up a shoddy Barrier, right at where Whirlipede hit. The Barrier exploded into fragments as Whirlipede busted through, slamming down on the Totem. Whirlipede's body weight carried it to the ground, where the sudden spin of the Rollout speeding up ejected it out and sent it skipping across the field. Chase recalled his Pokemon, and we won.
I collapsed onto my ass in the trainer's box, the sudden exaltation of victory hitting like a truck. It was like marking my territory, like pissing in the woods like a bear. Roxie reached out with a hand to help me up, and I accepted the help with a smile.
"We fucking got 'em!" Roxie cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
I punch up right back, Kyou repeating the motion. "You're damn right we did!"
The Award Ceremony was just a short 'placing of the medals' thing. I normally prefer the color silver, but I must say that I looked damn good in that gold. Roxie got a photo of the two of us on the podium, intending on giving it to her dad. I was content with just the medal as a reminder.
The Pokemon Center staff tended to our Pokemon on-site, having come prepared for the tournament. We didn't get a picture with our Pokemon, because Gar was still pissed about not having a shell and Whirlipede did not care for the idea of being photographed with a cracked exoskeleton.
The grand cash prize was a ten-thousand in cash to be split between us, a nice bit to supplement the wallet. That was just the cash prize though. The other prize was a pair of coupons to split, redeemable at any PokeMart for an infinite-use Technical Machine of my choice.
I have plans for that. They would have to wait until I got to Castelia City, where I'd likely find the largest variety of TMs. Roxie and I agreed to share them, because infinite use, which meant we could double-dip.
Our team celebrated that night with a feast of excellent food, courtesy of some of our cash prize. Gar fussed over his new shell, courtesy of the side of one of the many small mountains surrounding the slight valley Accumula lay in.
Leinas fussed over Whirlipede's shell. It wasn't an active wound anymore, but it was still cracked and bruised. It would take either a molt or evolution to heal the cracks, but the bruising would be gone in less than a week.
Kyou and Grimer boasted to Entoma and Cocytus, making exaggerated motions of what occurred during their battles. Cocytus seemed particularly impressed with Kyou, staring up at him with wide, glimmering eyes. I couldn't wait to see the little guy evolve.
Roxie and I sat, relaxing by the fire as the sun set. We'd eaten ourselves full and rested by the fire, working off a slight food coma.
"Hey, uh, Nico?" Roxie asked.
"Yeah?" I inched a bit of my eye open.
"Your bag is glowing."
I shot up from my seat. My bag is glowing? I turned my head to our belongings, and indeed a bright yellow glow was emanating from inside.
I darted over to the bag, nearly tripping over my feet. I popped it open and looked for the one thing I thought it might be, and my guess was correct. It was my incubator: the one with my Larvesta egg.
Or, I suppose, my soon-to-be-hatched Larvesta.
The incubator was hot to the touch, but I managed to get it out without burning my hands. I removed the shrunk Pokeball from the top of the incubator and pressed the button beneath.
I lifted the incubator's glass walls and top off, exposing the egg to the air. The sudden oxygen increase shifted the color of the egg from a hot yellow to a deep, smoldering black and red, warping from the heat.
The egg now resembled a cocoon of magma and slowly began melting. It melted and melted until something burst from beneath, shaking off the slag as if it was water. White fur framing a black face crowned with a five-pointed star of smoldering red horns. Its horns dripping burning scales, the Larvesta emerged.
It was small, just under a foot tall. About as large as Dwebble now. Bug-Types tend to fully develop from birth in about a month. They had naturally quick lifespans; quicker evolutions like Caterpie could be as short as a week or two to reach full Caterpie development. I had no idea how that was reflected in Volcarona's race.
It strode regally up to me, revealing its more insectoid lower half from the melted egg. It turned up to me, staring me in the eyes.
"I've never even heard of this Pokemon before…" Roxie muttered in shock.
"It's a Larvesta," I told her, not looking away from Larvesta. "One day, this Pokemon will grow into a creature so fierce, ancient people once looked to it as a sun during a volcanic eruption."
Larvesta seemed to understand those words, eyes lighting up in interest. With a firm nod, it deemed me worthy of its presence. I placed my hand on its head, rubbing it. It nuzzled into my hand with its head, enjoying the rub. It was warm to the touch, but not unbearable.
I turned to Roxie as I pet my Larvesta. "I got this egg from the Relic Castle. There is a Volcarona, the evolution of Larvesta, who lived there. It was worshiped as a god of the sun, back when that society existed. I was given this egg to raise there, but wanted to keep it a secret. The fewer people trying to bother a being that powerful, the better."
"I see," she mumbled, slightly awestruck.
I turned back to Larvesta. "And you. Are you male or female? Nod once for male, twice for female." Larvesta nodded once.
I smiled. "I name you Demiurge. It was originally the name of a god."
I named this one only halfway because of the naming scheme. Naming my Pokemon after a god of the material realm was a big flex, and I was all for it.
Demiurge was all for the name, too. His horns ignited with flame as he chittered in joy, warming my hand even further. Cocytus had to move in, spraying shots of water at the bits of grass that caught flame.
Demiurge caught Cocytus' eyes, the Wimpod curiously peering at the new bug. Cocytus scooted forward, nudging Demiurge's face with his own. Demiurge extracted a small, black limb from his white fur, lightly patting the other bug on the head.
Aww, they were already making friends.