Episode 15: A Fearless Gym Battle! The Legendary Outlaw, Wes!
After some training with the newly acquired Phantasm, the trio of Pokémon adventurers took a flight to the Middle East and the city of Dubai. The city was the New York of the United Arab Emirates, with lots of modern buildings and a bustling Pokémon scene. In particular, the Gym Challenge was held in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! Ashton was excited to meet the Gym Leader and get the battle underway.
"I'm ready for this!" Ashton cheered, punching the air in front of her.
"Well save that excitement for the actual battle," Dylan said.
"According to my research, the current gym leader is a guy named Wes," Kris said, looking at her Pokégear.
"That would be me," said a confident voice. Walking up to the trio was a guy in a blue trench coat, a strange device on his arm, and a reflective visor on his head. "So, you guys here from the Gym Challenge? I've got nothing else going on, so sure."
"Oh. My Gosh!" Ashton exclaimed. "You're the Wes, defeater of Team Cypher, twice!?"
"Well, the second time was a different guy," Wes explained.
"Who's Team Cypher?" Dylan asked.
"They're a terrorist organization that worked on illegal and unethical methods of boosting the power of Pokémon," Kris explained. "They were based out of Arizona, but defeated years ago. Shadow Pokémon are a result of their research."
How come we're only just hearing about this? Aurora questioned.
"Government coverup," Wes shrugged. "They didn't take kindly to my methods of dealing with Cypher, so I took the fall for any possibly extreme methods taken to stop the Shadow Pokémon Crisis."
"He blew up an evil team hideout!" Ashton said enthusiastically.
"Oh great, someone to be a negative influence on Ashton," Kris and Dylan thought.
"If you want a battle, come with me," Wes said, leading Ashton to the elevator. "You two can wait out in the stadium. We've got a challenge to do before the battle."
[***]
Kris and Dylan went over to the battle arena, situated right next to the Burj Khalifa, which was surprisingly small and minimalist all things considered. Kris tied a camera to Joker to get close-up footage of the fight, while Dylan and Aurora sat and trained in meditation with Maui.
Feel the energy of the world around you, the Lucario said. Every living being is connected by Aura, and Fighting types have a special connection to it. It hardens our fists and spirit in battle, letting us go beyond the limits of our bodies and pull off extraordinary feats.
"Jangomo-o," Maui nodded, closing his eyes.
"You know Aurora, you could totally be a fighting instructor after we win the League," Dylan commented.
Aurora shook her head. I will always be at your side, Dylan. You're like a brother to me, and as such I must be there to protect you.
"Heads up, I have a visual on Ashton and Wes," Kris said, holding up her phone.
"Are they on the top of the building?" Dylan asked.
"Looks like it," Kris nodded. "I'm not getting any audio up this high, though. I didn't even think you were allowed on the outside of the building at that height…"
The two humans then audibly gasped when both Ashton and Wes jumped off the building, plummeting straight towards the ground! Holding a Poké ball in hand, Wes summoned his Espeon as they got closer to the ground, having it use Psychic to levitate the trainer safely and slowly into the stadium. As for Ashton, she had a manic grin as she called out Phantasm, the Shadow Pokémon pulling the girl into his body. The Gengar then rammed straight into the ground, phasing into it before popping back out like a bouncing ball, spitting Ashton onto the opposite side of the field from Wes.
"Ta-da!" Ashton cheered.
"YOU IDIOT!" Dylan shouted, shaking a fist as Kris and Aurora held him back. "WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOD IDEA!?"
"It was part of the challenge," Ashton shrugged.
"Well, I just wanted to make a flashy entrance, she just agreed to it," Wes clarified.
"Yep, he's a bad influence alright…" Kris sighed, forcing Dylan back into his seat.
"This battle will be a Double Battle," Wes explained. He pulled out another Poké Ball and summoned an Umbreon from it. "Espeon and Umbreon are my two closest Pokémon, so they work best when together!"
"I can make a themed pairing as well," Ashton said, summoning out Halley. "Gengar and Clefable share a close bond too, so don't be surprised if we win!"
"Then let's start the battle," Wes nodded.
The two trainers stared each other down, a soft wind blowing on the sandy battlefield between them. Espeon's tail twitched, Umbreon's eyes gleamed, Halley bounced on her feet, and Phantasm stuck his tongue out. The air was tense, until-
"Use Smog and Moonblast!"
"Use Taunt and Reflect!"
Umbreon barked at Halley, capturing her attention as she fired off a Moonblast. Umbreon set up a Reflect barrier, but it was then pelleted from behind by Phantasm's Smog attack. Phantasm then summoned a Shadow Ball, only to get a Bite from Umbreon, protecting his partner. An angry Halley then started firing off more Moonblasts, freeing Phantasm who retreated back to his partner.
"While Halley will hit Umbreon hard with Moonblast, that Taunt means she can't use Life Dew to heal," Kris noted. "Reflect is also going to seriously nerf their Physical Attack moves."
"Good thing Ashton is using her Special Attackers then," Dylan said.
"Phantasm, keep going for Smog to cover Halley," Ashton commanded.
"Umbreon, focus on the Gengar!" Wes shouted.
The two Pokémon clashed, Poison against Dark, with Halley using Moonblast constantly to interrupt their clashes. Espeon ran around the carnage, casting Confusion on Halley to get her to stop. While the Clefable spun around in a daze, Phantasm snuck up behind Espeon and slammed a Shadow Ball into his back, smashing the Sun Pokémon into the ground.
"Stop them, Umbreon!" Wes called.
Umbreon barked, but then coughed as it glowed a sickly purple.
"Of course, that's why Ashton has Phantasm use Smog," Kris realized. "She poisoned Umbreon to weaken him!"
"And that's just the first part of my final attack!" Ashton smirked as Gengar and Umbreon clashed again. "Halley, you might be confused now, but go for a Metronome, and don't stop until it lands!"
Halley did as she was told, but kept smacking herself in the face due to confusion. Espeon recovered and tried to tackle the Clefable with Return, but Halley's dizzying movements kept her safe from everyone except herself. After nailing Espeon with another Shadow Ball while taking a Bite from Umbreon, Phantasm backed off when Halley finally managed to use Metronome… only for nothing to happen.
"Huh?" Dylan blinked.
"That's weird," Kris said.
"I guess it didn't work," Wes shrugged.
Wait, I sense a powerful, deadly energy from Halley, Aurora said.
Halley suddenly started gathering red energy into herself, before it burst out into a powerful Explosion! Ashton and Wes were pushed back, while Phantasm hid in the ground, leaving Espeon and Umbreon to take the blast full force. Once the dust settled, Gengar popped back out to see that he was the only Pokémon still conscious when all was said and done.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to take an Explosion today," Wes said with a slight chuckle. "I'm using the one causing those."
"Let's go again, but will our full teams!" Ashton said as she jumped back to her feet.
"Let me at least give you your badge first," Wes said. He shook Ashton's hand and gave her a badge in the shape of a stylized 'C.' "Take the Colosseum Badge."
"That's number three for me!" Ashton cheered, giving a thumb's up as Gengar posed, holding Halley over his head like a wrestler would their champion belt.
"I would have preferred if there was less chaos in their duel," Dylan sighed.
"Ashton's going to be the death of us," Kris nodded in agreement. "At least nothing else can surprise us today."
As if the universe was working against her, the wall of the stadium suddenly burst open, revealing Team RedHot on the other side.
"Oh yeah, we finally found you kids!" Miror B said.
"You're going to pay for sending us packing in Hawaii!" Tabitha said.
"It really set our plans back," Aliana sighed.
The disco-dressed leader laughed, only to stop when he locked eyes with Wes. The kid had a guarded look, his eyes hidden behind his visor. "Hey Miror B. Long time no see."
"Oh W-Wes. How funny it is to see you here," Miror B said nervously.
"You know that guy?" Ashton asked.
"He was a member of Team Cypher, and an annoying one at that," Wes frowned. "Try fighting four Ludicolos and a Shadow Sudowoodo without any good type coverage." He pulled out another Poké Ball and pointed it at Miror B. "Want to see how much stronger I've gotten sense then?"
"Nope!" Miror B said, snatching the teleportation machine from Tabitha. "Screw this, we're outta here!"
"Wait, but our revenge!" Tabitha wined.
"Trust me, Wes is not the kid you want to deal with!" Miror B said as they teleported away.
Wes scoffed. "Serves him right. Has he been giving you guys trouble?"
"Not as much as you'd think," Ashton shook her head. "They're more like annoyances that pop up every now and then."
Kris groaned, covering her face with a hand. "That's it, this city is too crazy for me. Come on Dylan, let's get our tickets for the next town…"