Chapter Thirty-One: A Draining Fight
Serena and Ash had finally reached Saffron City. Being Kanto's central city, it was also the biggest city they'd visited thus far, and it would be the location for both the next Exposition and Ash's next Gym battle.
"It says here Saffron City has two Gyms who were rivals for a while," Serena said, reading in her guidebook as they just finished having some lunch at a café.
"Yeah, the Fighting Dojo and Sabrina's Gym," Ash said with a nod. "The Dojo nearly closed last time I was here, actually, because it only had one student left, but in the end she was the one who took over and it stayed open. I don't know how they're doing now, though. We could check it out, if you want," he said.
"Pancham would probably like checking out a dojo," Serena said thoughtfully. "And maybe it'll give me some inspiration for the Exposition too; I haven't come up with anything yet."
"Well then, let's get going!" Ash said, getting up from his seat.
("Speaking of coming up with something, Ash, have you decided who's going to be fighting Sabrina?") Pikachu asked as they began to walk.
"I've been thinking about it, but aside from Krookodile I don't really have anyone set yet," Ash replied.
"Is Sabrina that strong?" Serena asked.
Ash nodded. "She is. Last time she wiped the floor with me and threatened to turn us all into dolls forever. Fortunately, Haunter made her laugh and forfeit the match, giving me the badge, but this time I want to beat her for real."
"She turned you into dolls?" Serena asked nervously. "That…doesn't sound good."
("She probably won't do that this time. I think Haunter made her lighten up a bit,") Pikachu said. ("Besides, you have Misdreavus with you. If she somehow became all evil and crazy again, she can deal with her Psychic-types.")
"On my team, only Krookodile can effectively deal with Psychic-type Pokémon," Ash said, "so he's in the team no matter what. I'm sure Pikachu and Charizard, at least, have enough strength to take them out, but Sabrina uses her own psychic abilities to strengthen her Pokémon, so they're stronger than usual. I think her powers are stronger than Olympia's were. This one's going to be our biggest challenge yet."
He grinned and added, "But don't worry; I'll come up with something. You just focus on the Exposition first."
Serena smiled. "Right. I'll do my best," she said.
Hopefully, the Fighting Dojo would end up giving her some ideas, because as usual it was very difficult to decide on what to use in her performance in the Location Round. The concert last time had been a lot of fun, but she couldn't really do something so generic again and pass it off as something unique to the city. She had to find something unambiguous. Fortunately, there was enough time left to come up with something, as they'd arrived in the city quicker than expected, despite the stop in Mindaro Town a few days earlier. Serena fully intended on incorporating the ribbon she and Delphox had won there in her outfit for the Exposition, so that if someone from Mindaro Town was watching, they'd see their hometown represented at least a little.
They reached the Fighting Dojo a short while later, which looked very traditional in the otherwise modern city. As soon as they'd entered into the courtyard, Serena could hear the sounds of Pokémon and people training, and she could see that the battlefields on either side of the courtyard were packed.
"Wow, Terri really turned it around here," Ash said, looking impressed as he and Serena kept walking along the path to the main building.
Inside, they were approached by a girl in a gi. "Hello, welcome to the Fighting Dojo," she said. Then she seemed to recognize Ash and said, "Hey, Ash! Long time no see!"
"Hey, Terri," Ash said with a smile. "The Dojo's looking great!"
Terri nodded enthusiastically. "Isn't it great? Kyle and I are working together now, actually. He's set up a discount system for his noodle shop where anyone who's a member of the Fighting Dojo gets both a set discount and can save up for a free bowl of noodles. It gave us a storm of new members, and when the word spread the Dojo became popular enough on its own."
"Oh wow, that's amazing!" Ash said.
Terri smiled and then looked at Serena. "Hello! My name is Terri. I run the Fighting Dojo," she said.
"I'm Serena. Pleased to meet you," Serena said.
"Did you come to join the dojo, or just here to catch up?" Terri asked, looking from Serena to Ash.
"Mostly just to see the dojo," Serena said. "I'm competing in the Exposition, so I need to come up with a routine. I actually have a Pancham who would love to look around as well, if that's okay with you."
"Of course! I'm always happy to show people around," Terri said.
Serena called out Pancham, and Terri immediately said, "Aww!" and kneeled in front of Pancham. "Hello, little guy!" she said.
("Hey! I'm dangerous, you know,") Pancham said, trying his best to look fierce like he always did when someone thought he was cute.
"He's pretty strong for his size, you know," Serena said with an amused look at Pancham, who nodded fervently in agreement.
Terri giggled and then asked, "Is he going to be in the Exposition too?"
"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Serena asked.
Terri thought for a moment and then said, "Great! See, the Fighting Dojo used to be Saffron City's official Gym, until Sabrina and her Psychic-types took over. Sabrina is going to be one of the judges at the Exposition, so if you and Pancham could show off some cool Fighting-type moves, maybe that will show both Sabrina and the audience that we're still going strong and we won't give up just because we're not the official Gym anymore."
Serena nodded slowly and Pancham said, ("That sounds good to me! We can do that, right?") he asked Serena.
"I think so," Serena said, "but you don't really have any Fighting-type moves other than Arm Thrust right now…"
"That's no problem!" Terri said. "I have a TM for Drain Punch lying around. I wanted to teach it to my Machop, but it turns out he can't actually learn that move, so I don't mind giving it to you…if Pancham can beat Machop in a battle first."
She grinned. "It wouldn't be a dojo if I just started handing out cool moves without working for them, after all."
("Yes!") Pancham said immediately. ("I want to do it! Let me fight Machop!")
Serena giggled at Pancham's excitement. "Alright then," she said. "Pancham and I accept your challenge."
"Awesome! Machop will be thrilled too, I bet. He's itching for a good sparring match," Terri said excitedly. "Come on, we'll go out back to the main court."
Serena and Ash followed Terri to the back of the building, where a battlefield was set up across a small, ornate bridge.
"Ash, why don't you act as referee?" Terri asked.
Ash nodded. "Sure! Gives me the best possible view, too," he said with a grin. Then he turned to Serena and said, "So since I don't have to be impartial yet: good luck, Serena, you can do it!"
Serena smiled. "Thanks, Ash. We'll do our best," she said. She looked at Pancham and said, "Alright, Pancham, let's do this. Just move like you always do and we should be able to win this."
Pancham nodded. ("Right!") he said.
He hesitated for a moment and Serena asked, "What is it?"
("Can you call Misdreavus out to watch, too? I want her to see how cool I am,") Pancham replied.
Serena smiled at him. "Of course. Now go on, get on the field."
Pancham nodded happily and stood on his side of the field, while Serena called out Misdreavus as well.
"Sorry if I woke you up," Serena said apologetically.
("Don't worry, I heard,") Misdreavus said. ("I think it's cute. Go, Pancham, you can do it!") she yelled.
Pancham confidently raised his paw and Terri called out Machop.
"Alright then!" Ash said. "This is a one-on-one battle between Serena and Terri! The battle ends when either Pokémon is unable to battle! Trainers ready?"
"Ready!" Serena and Terri said at the same time.
"Then…begin!"
"Arm Thrust, Pancham, let's go!"
"Low Sweep, Machop!"
Pancham dashed forwards with glowing arms, but Machop dodged out of the way before giving a solid kick to Pancham's legs, making him stumble to the side.
"Great, Machop, now use Dual Chop!"
"Stone Edge, Pancham, create some distance!"
Now Machop's arms began to glow, but Pancham had already struck the ground, launching himself backwards with a pillar, and causing another one to erupt at an angle, intercepting Machop's attack and slamming him backwards.
"Follow it up with Dark Pulse!"
Pancham fired off his Dark Pulse rings, and Machop raised his arms to block them. The Dark-type attack didn't seem to be bothering him much at all.
"Revenge, Machop!"
An orange aura appeared around Machop and he dashed forwards towards Pancham.
If that hits we're in big trouble, Serena thought to herself.
"Stone Edge again! Don't get hit!" she shouted.
Pancham struck the ground and once more he sent himself flying, and not a moment too soon, because Machop's attack effortlessly shattered the pillar into dust.
"Brick Break, Machop!"
"Avoid it! Dark Pulse!"
Machop jumped towards Pancham, but Pancham quickly blasted him with Dark Pulse to push himself back and create some more distance, backflipping as he did so.
He looks so at home in the air, Serena thought — and that gave her an idea.
It probably wouldn't work, but she knew that Pancham had seen the move used often enough, and he was nothing if not stubborn…
If it didn't work, she'd be in trouble, but as it stood the situation wasn't looking too good anyway.
Serena shot a quick glance at Ash. He'd probably approve of what she was about to try.
"Pancham! Aerial Ace!"
Pancham looked confused for a moment, but then he grinned, fired a Dark Pulse into the air to quickly change direction and plummeted down towards Machop, his arms trailing white light.
Machop threw his arms up in alarm, and then Pancham slammed into him.
A dust cloud kicked up on the battlefield, and when it cleared up, Pancham still stood upright…but Machop lay supine, clearly out of commission.
"Machop is unable to battle! Pancham wins!" Ash said, immediately followed by, "Great job, Serena! What a finish!"
Serena, though, had already run over to Pancham, followed closely by Misdreavus.
"That was amazing, Pancham! Well done!"
("I didn't even know I could do that,") Pancham said with a grin, ("but when you called out that move I just thought…hey, why not?")
("You looked really cool!") Misdreavus said happily.
("T-thanks! I know, right?") Pancham said, turning a bit red now.
"Great job, Serena," Terri said, coming over together with Machop, who gave a respectful nod to Pancham. Pancham immediately got up and returned the nod.
"I never expected Pancham to use that move, of all things," Terri went on.
"It just…seemed like a good moment to try," Serena said. "I knew I needed something that would work really well on Machop, but neither Dark Pulse nor Stone Edge could really do it, and up close Machop was more skilled. So I just put my trust in Pancham and he came through."
"He definitely did," Terri agreed. "Well then, as promised, I'll give you the Drain Punch TM. If you'll follow me back inside, I'll go and get it."
They went back inside, and while Terri was getting the TM, Ash said, "That was amazing, Serena and Pancham! I didn't think you'd improvise that move in that situation."
Serena smiled at him and said, "Well, I've been traveling with a master of improvising battle strategies for a while. I figured I'd give it a try as well. Fortunately Pancham loves a challenge, too."
Then she frowned and said, "But that does mean Pancham knows four moves, now, so how will I be able to teach him Drain Punch?"
"I think you should just use it instead of Arm Thrust," Ash said. "It looks more spectacular for Expositions, and even though it's only one strike, it's stronger than Arm Thrust is most of the time."
("I think that sounds good,") Pancham agreed.
("So does that mean you learned two new moves in one day?") Misdreavus asked.
Pancham nodded proudly. ("Yep!") he said.
("Ooh, that's cool!") Misdreavus said. She looked at Serena. ("Do you think I could do that too?") she asked.
Serena nodded. "Probably, yes. But do you want to learn any other moves than you have now?"
Misdreavus thought for a moment. ("I'm not sure, actually,") she said after a while. ("But if I do at some point, it's nice to know that I can.")
Serena smiled, and then wondered if she should go over the moves Delphox and Sylveon knew as well. Perhaps she could change them around a bit to create more variety in her appeals. She wondered what the Pokémon themselves would think about that plan. If they didn't want to learn new moves, she obviously wasn't going to force them. Still, it was worth discussing it with them, at least.
Terri returned and handed Serena the TM. "Here you go! I can't wait to see how you'll use it in your Exposition! I'm definitely going to come and watch, now," she said with a smile.
"Thank you, Terri! I'll come up with something great, I promise," Serena said.
And maybe, the visit to the dojo had even already provided the foundation for the appeal… The next few days were going to be very busy again.
I originally planned to just give Pancham Drain Punch, but during the battle I figured that since he's constantly launching himself through the air anyway, he might as well learn Aerial Ace. So since Pancham can legitimately learn the move through TM, I figured I'd use some anime logic to have him learn it 'naturally' instead, and then give him Drain Punch anyway. Arm Thrust hitting five times also has 75 base power, so it's not like he's losing potential damage. The extra crit chance per strike is balanced by the healing from Drain Punch, I think.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to post tomorrow, so if not, Tuesday it is. See you in the next one!