Whirlipede - Entoma

Dwebble - Gargantua

Wimpod - Cocytus

Heracross - Kyouhukou

Ribombee - Leinas

Larvesta - Demiurge

Yuri - Joltik

I've been thinking a lot about the future. First Roxie got me to consider what level of strength I wanted to reach, and once I decided on that, Alder shows up and asks me to consider what I wanted to do after that.

I don't have a good answer to that. Alder seems to get along fine by exploring ruins and regions, which sounds like as good of a plan as any. Exploring is rather fun, after all.

That newfound goal was immediately challenged as I was faced with the prospect of crossing Route 4 once again. Roxie intended to make the same mistake I made my first time: to charge in without preparation. At my urging, we both dressed up in simple desert wear and sandals, as well as sunscreen and water.

I think if I become an explorer, I'll stick to locations that don't desiccate me.

Regardless, this was my first true venture into the main continent of Unova. I'd stopped by Nimbasa before, but that's just tip of the iceberg. I've been traveling through the outskirts of Unova up until now, where very little exists outside of the main cities.

I couldn't help but remember the Dreamyard. We have the location of the 'Entralink' research facility, after all, North of Nimbasa, through the various forests of central Unova. I'll admit, I'm curious.

Who knows, I might find a fancy new Pokemon. I only have one legal slot left on my team before I have to start sending Pokemon back to Burgh, so it'd have to be something special. And frankly? Unova is running out of Bug-Types I'd consider truly special.

Who's left? Leavanny, Accelgor, Escavalier, and Durant? Three out of the four are double weak to Fire-Types, the go-to choice of anyone fighting against a Bug-Type trainer. Scizor pulls off Steel/Bug better than anything save for fucking Genesect, making Excavalier and Durant uninteresting.

Leavanny is a joke. I don't mean to be rude to Burgh's first Pokemon, but Grass/Bug is an abhorrent typing. Accelgor might be interesting, but from what I understand you need to evolve it with an Escavalier, which I'm not going to waste time on.

Ah, well. That can all wait until after I beat Elesa. And after I cross this damn desert.

That was the one thing Route 4 allowed for, plenty of time to think. I've been perfectly happy to collect Pokemon on a whim up until now, but even I was starting to have trouble coordinating everyone. Hmm. Demiurge is good at assigning things. I should see if he wants to be my secretary.

My training methods mostly amounted to controlled infighting and practicing moves. If there weren't wild Pokemon around to beat on or moves you need to practice, then beat each other up. It's a bit of a stretch based on Pokemon logic: that the more a Pokemon fights in battle, the more experience they gain. It seemed to be working, though.

"Ugh…" Roxie groaned. "I didn't know it would be this hot…"

Heh. Another poor soul lost to the fires of Route 4. I released Cocytus and told him to hit her with a Water Gun. She squeaked as she was soaked to the bone.

"Wait a second…" I stopped, Roxie stopping a few moments later. "Why don't we just ride Scolipede through here?"

Roxie turned to look the way we came. The hour of walking we just endured.

"Shit!"

Ah, Nimbasa. The most populous city in Unova. I have fond memories of staggering through the entrance gate, nearly a prune.

It didn't have Castelia's skyscrapers, so it didn't look it, but the city was significantly more spread out. It meant more walking than usual, yet significantly less interesting things happening. It was just… a city. And one nearly as warm as the desert below, not cooled by a nearby ocean..

I don't care for it.

We had to book a campground on Route 16. Me. Tamer of the wilds. Commander of a hive of supernatural beings. Booking a campground.

Roxie ignored my complaints. "Go wander around Lostlorn if you care so much."

I decided that was a great idea. Roxie agreed to check out the Entralink after we got our badges, so I may as well map out the area we'd need to pass through. It's a couple of miles past Lostlorn Forest, delving into the relatively unexplored forests of central Unova.

I learned Marvelous Bridge was not only open but actively advertised. I discovered this from an advertisement visible from our campsite, which pissed me off. Like hell I'll visit it now. What's so interesting about a bridge? It's just the ground above the ground.

Lostlorn was possibly the most tame forest I've ever seen. Some of the infographic pamphlets I grabbed described it as 'the safest forest in central Unova!'

Disgusting. Where's the violence?

I left Roxie in charge of our campsite, Entoma, Gar, and Yuri coming with me. Everyone else thought it would be too boring or wanted to eat. Yuri was curious about the forest, Gar wanted to kick around someone weaker than himself, and Entoma just wanted to spend time with me.

Yuri clung to my shoulder, head darting around and taking in the scenery. As we strolled, Yuri hopped off of me, onto a tree, and then onto the ground. She tilted her head, standing right in front of a Pokeball-patterned mushroom.

It opened its eyes, revealing itself as a Foongus. The toxic mushroom inhaled, preparing for a breath attack.

Gar carved into Foongus with a Slash, sending it back into a tree with a nasty wound. Joltik shot an Electroweb, hanging the already-beaten mushroom from a tree with an electrified net of webs.

Heh. Tried to jump the wrong Pokemon.

Don't even get me started on what Entoma would do. I've been putting her through 2v1s with my team to try and get her enough experience to evolve, and with her defense and size, she's made an argument that it may not be a fair fight for the other side.

Yuri jumped back to me, landing on the side of my face. We continued to stroll through the forest. Not a single other thing here struck me as interesting. I just kept going north, passing through a small valley into a thicker thicket.

After a few miles, we reached the very distinct border between Lostlorn and the unpatrolled forests. Lostlorn was clean, mostly cleared of brush and Pokemon. Past Lostlorn was overgrown, where trees grew higher and thicker, and most of the sunlight was lost to the canopy.

I walked the border, trying to get a deeper look into the forest. Entoma rolled stoically along with me, while Gar and Yuri roamed my general area. Despite my vast experience in looking at forests, I was unable to get a deeper glimpse. Fascinating.

Oh? Never mind, is that a clearing?

I clicked my tongue, calling Gar and Yuri back to me. I did my best to walk around or over the brambles and brush towards the clearing. I wasn't completely silent, but I'm not a bumbling moron.

I peeked my eyes over a bush, looking into the clearing. Yuri perched on my head, looking as well. Something about this clearing drew me in, capturing my attention.

A single figure sat in the clearing, holding something. It took me a second to recognize it. It was a large Pinsir, gently breathing. Oh? A bug type?

I frowned. Nah. Not interested in a Pinsir. Those horns look nasty, but I'm probably the single Bug-Type specialist that would deny a slot on my team to something because it was only Bug-Type.

"Entoma," I whispered, "You're up. Rollout."

I'm still fixated on exploring this clearing. Maybe fighting him will cure my boredom.

Entoma crushed the brush as she cruised to bruise. The Pinsir looked up at the noise, focusing in on the incoming wheel of chitin. It quickly twisted itself around aligning its horns with the incoming Pokemon.

Entoma crashed into Pinsir's head, the horns snapping down onto her shell. Pirsir's limbs dug into the ground, skidding back as he took the hit. It started to squeeze.

"Poison Tail," I spoke, "Drip it down into his eyes."

Pinsir's eyes locked onto mine in a glare, but he didn't release Entoma. As he postured, Entoma's horns began to leak a thick purple liquid. Pirsir hissed as the liquid trickled down its face, mixing into its tears. Pinsir desperately shut its eyes, now squeezing harder.

Entoma crunched: the pressure of the horns now enough to start cracking through her shell. Shit, how strong is a Pinsir's grip?

A glow ignited beneath the cracks of her shell. Finally.

Entoma's been a Whirlipede for a while. I wasn't exactly withholding her from battles and she was consistently on the stronger end of development, nearly matching Roxie's own Whirlipede before he evolved. That she hadn't evolved during Burgh's fights or our own was a surprise to me.

I guess she just needed that push.

Two bright horns crashed into the beetle's head, breaking its grip and knocking him back. The half-blind bug flailed around, trying to get back up and find its opponent.

Scolipede stepped out of the shell. God damn. She's a big one. Standing at least a foot taller and with noticeably thicker armor than Roxie's Scolipede, Entoma emerged from her shell.

I grinned. "You know the drill. Steamroller!"

Pinsir touched the ground, placing its hand on a chunk of green something. Something that I wanted.

Pirsir exploded in a jade aura and took a deep breath, then spat an absurd amount of string toward the charging Scolipede. The swathes of string engulfed Entoma while she flipped into the air, also covered in Bug-Type energy, swaddling her in a cocoon of silk.

Pinser seized a thick line of silk still attached to the cocoon, heaving with all its might and spinning Entoma's bound body once, twice, and then released it.

Entoma snapped a tree in half as she flew through the air and hit the ground with a thump. She wriggled out of the string, carving through thicker bindings with sizzling purple horns. In a moment she emerged with little visible damage, able to take a bit of blunt force with ease.

Pinser, for all its effort, wasn't looking as good. The poison was clearly working through its system, leaving it gasping for breath and visibly shaky. Entoma stopped over the shattered tree left in her wake, glaring down into Pinsir's bloodshot eyes.

Entoma walked up to the Pokemon, flipped around, and horse-kicked Pinsir in the face. It did not get up.

I stepped over Pinser's body and picked up the thing Pinser touched. A glimmering slab of green gemstone, inscribed with words. "Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin."

It couldn't be anything but the Insect Plate. I felt it in my bones.

A flash of white and the plate was swiped from my arms. Yuri was the only one fast enough to react, shooting an Electroweb that flopped uselessly on the ground.

"God damn it!" I cursed. "I wanted that!"

I was knocked to the ground by something slamming into my back, knocking me over with a squawk. I turned to look at what hit me. It was the Insect Plate, laying on the ground beside me.

I picked it back up, turning back to look around the forest. "Thanks?" I offered. I got no response.

I turned back to my acquired artifact. A piece of Arceus himself. One of the seventeen testicles that seeded reality into being. And I got the Bug-Type one.

It feels like destiny.

How the hell are Pokemon supposed to hold this for a damage bonus or whatever the hell Pinsir just did with it? It's the size of my head and dazzling. Isn't very convenient.

Well, that doesn't matter. I'll keep it for myself.

"Entoma," I turned to my favorite Pokemon. "I am going to ride you out of this forest. We will return to civilization with my conquest-claimed jewels, and I will feel like a king. Now vomit that Eviolite onto Gar."

Entoma fed Gar like a mother bird feeds her chicks, expelling the Eviolite from her mouth. Gar decided to absorb it by eating the fucking Eviolite.

Will that work? Hopefully.

Time to retrace my steps. Or rather, Entoma will retrace my steps. Ah, luxury.

I continued south, passing by a tranquil lake. Too tranquil. What the fuck? Wasn't this a valley? God, I'm terrible at mapping things.

I'm lost as hell. But as long as I follow my compass, I'll make it back to Route 16.

Oh. Lostlorn Forest. I get it now.

Wait, where did the sun go?

I was correct, eventually. Entoma carried Gar, Yuri, and me out of the forest and back onto Route 16, near Marvelous Bridge. We scared the shit out of a cop as we exited the treeline, who got to experience a titanic quadrupedal armored leech pop out in front of him in the middle of the night.

I ignored the officer's cursing and made my way back to the campground. Camping children gaped at my steed, our figure occasionally revealed by the campfire as we strode by.

"Oh, hey Nico," Roxie waved. "Looks like you had fun in Lostlorn."

"Yeah, I did. Is anything new here?"

"Leinas tried to make Pollen Puff smores. I'd give it a five out of ten. She'll be happy if you try them, though."

"Sign me up. Can I borrow Sludge Bomb?"

Roxie snatched the TM from her bag, handing it to me as I dismounted. I recalled Entoma, smacking the disk into her Pokeball slot. I grabbed my own Earthquake TM, repeating the process, and handing Roxie her disk back.

Entoma reappeared a lot stronger, though she didn't have the chance to prove it. Evolved just in time to matter in the Elesa fight. Gar has the Eviolite now, meaning my top-tier squad is all available for my Fourth Gym badge.

Do I want to bring Kyou to Elesa's fight? Probably not. Electric Pokemon have a range advantage on physical fighters, as well as freezing them up whenever they get hit. Damning if you get shocked at a bad time.

Cocytus is out. It's another matchup he gets hopelessly outclassed in. I need to evolve him by the time I fight Clay. He needs the confidence boost and I need a powerful Water-Type. I'll go hunt down fucking Cobalion for a good fight if I need to.

Leinas might be an option. She's got the helpful tendency to ignore status effects, which I have no doubt the Electric Gym will use. Draining Kiss spam? If she's got a Magnemite line she could shut that down. Oh, yeah. Magnemite walls Leinas entirely. Magnemite is common, and I've had leaders adapt to my team. Send her out last?

I don't think Yuri can out-Electric anything Elesa brings to the table. Might be able to use her natural resistance to electricity and double-team to Signal Beam them down. Wouldn't trust it on a tanky Pokemon.

Demiurge joined in the training, but he's not ready for a gym.

It's looking like Entoma, Gargantua, and maybe Leinas or Yuri. I'm pretty sure it'll be a 3v3, so I feel prepared.

A nudge broke me from my thoughts and back to the campfire circle. Leinas offered me a Pollen Puff smore, a roasted Pollen Puff replacing the marshmallow. I took a bite.

Hmm. Not bad. It didn't have the distinct marshmallow flavor, which is fine by me. The sweet, floral taste of the Pollen Puff mixed well with the melted chocolate and graham cracker. Or 'cinnamon coarse-ground cracker,' because the Pokemon world didn't have a Graham to preach about eating poorly made bread and not touching yourself.

To be fair, we do have literal evil villain teams here. And I get to be in the same region as the group equivalent to PETA with nukes. Fantastic.

"I'm up for another one," I told Leinas, who happily went back to roasting.

We rested for a week after getting our Insect Badges, giving us time to adapt our Pokemon to our teams and train a bit. It was a good week. We took it easy, half-assing our training. Plenty of time for the whole team to improve minorly.

Leinas is the first of my Pokemon to learn Bug Buzz. She learned it on the second day and spent the rest of the time practicing it.

It requires the user to rapidly infuse sound waves with Bug-Type energy, taking both power and precision to pull off. Functionally, it's a very weak Struggle Bug shot off with every flap of the user's wings. It covers a wide area in front wherever she's facing, and since she flaps her wings to move, she can continuously attack while focusing on dodging.

When used offensively, it slowly wears a Pokemon down by delivering Bug-Type energy right into the thinker via the ears. Bonus effects include causing headaches, nausea, and vomiting as the ears and brain get overloaded.

After five whole days of practice, the best ranged attacker on my team still struggles to keep it up for longer than half a minute.

Goes to show how good of a move it is, though. It has a high skill ceiling, capped by how rapidly your wings move and the pure power a Pokemon can project. Since Bug-Types don't resist their own type for some fucking reason, it quickly returned her ability to be a threat to my team. Only Entoma and Demiurge resist it.

Entoma focused on training physically. She felt no need to focus on techniques, not when evolution was so close. Seems like she chose the right option. Cocytus did the same, but out of necessity.

Gar learned the incredible… Slash. He now had the option to cut someone with his tiny limb, instead of throwing massive boulders at them from a distance. Truly monumental. It's fast and cuts pretty deep in the rare situation anyone is in range, so not entirely useless

Yuri learned how to vomit on command. Roxie identified it as Gastro Acid, which can suppress the majority of 'unique biological expressions.' I took that to mean abilities. Cool to have. Also situationally useful. It let her use Thunder Wave on Leinas, confirming she has Shield Dust.

Demiurge is stuck with Ember and String Shot. Ember is pretty strong already, a small fireball.

Kyou mastered Take Down. Recoil damage still hurts, but he can continue on with barely a flinch. He's used this new willingness to fight through pain to try and use Close Combat. He hasn't been successful yet.

"I think I'm ready for the fourth gym," I decided. "I could wait till Gar evolves and steamroll, but I feel confident enough. You good to try tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Roxie agreed. "I might not be able to win, I don't think my team matches up well. I don't really care about the badges, so we don't need to stick around. I'll be having the same problem if you plan to go to Clay's gym next, after all."

"Alright, we'll go in tomorrow, then?"

We signed up for our matches and were subsequently given a timeslot for today. Roxie's fight was once again first, by about an hour, and I was given a complimentary ticket to watch her fight live as a fellow contestant.

That's how I discovered Elesa heavily publicized her gym battles. She had a stadium in the center of the amusement park, typically packed full of people coming in for entertainment. Roxie's allotted time is about fifteen minutes, mine is in an hour.

I filed into the stadium with the rest of the crowd, picking up some fries and fry sauce with Zebstrikaradish from the concession stands on the way to my seat. The seats were simple, hollow metal benches, clearly built to maximize the ease of creating massive quantities of seating at the cost of some comfort.

I sat down, took off my backpack, and set it at my feet.

The inside of the stadium had two lit catwalks attaching two curtained entrances to an arena in the center, surrounded by countless rows of cheap seating. The stadium's roof cut off all sunlight and was lit entirely by neon advertisements and strips of lightbulbs.

I'm so bored.

I subtly released Yuri and Cocytus into my bag, leaving the flap open for them to peek out of. I fed them some of my fries while we waited. Yuri hated the tang of the fry sauce, but Cocytus was all about it.

After a whole fifteen minutes of waiting, not including the time it took to get to my seat and order food, the battle began.

People cheered as the music began, signaling the start of the show. By this point I was hunched over with my cheek resting on my fist, completely unenthused. The curtains on both ends of the stadium opened to reveal the two battlers.

Elesa strutted down the catwalk, showing off an overly elaborate black and yellow cocktail dress and heels. Her hair was styled in a gravity-defying bolt shape, matching the lightning bolt theme of her dress.

Roxie didn't strut, she strode. Her casual wear was replaced with something very similar to her gym leader outfit: a long teal-and-purple sweater dress with long platformed boots. Her hair was done up in a messy bun with similar blue-and-purple ties. Not exactly her canon outfit, but pretty damn close.

Similar style, different execution.

The announcer spoke some introductions I completely ignored, settling in to watch the fight. Roxie released Scolipede and Elesa released Electabuzz. They spoke, but nobody in the stadium got to hear their words.

After a moment, Scolipede leaped into motion. Electabuzz began to whir its arms around, charging and blasting Thunderbolts as the approaching bug. Scolipede weaved around the stikes of lightning, gauging the timing to dodge by waiting for the moment the visible buildup of electricity peaks. As Scolipede continued to approach, Electabuzz changed its strategy.

It continued to whir past the previous peak, building up an enormous outline of electricity on its body. The outline imploded into Electabuzz, then warped into a massive ring of electricity that exploded from Electabuzz's body. Discharge, I realized.

The ring expanded, catching Scolipede as he continued forward. The buzz of electricity briefly forced Scolipede to spasm, crashing and spinning towards Electabuzz, but Scolipede used his past experience as a living wheel to right himself back into motion almost instantly.

Electabuzz's arms snapped out, covering itself in a Protect, bracing for an impact. Suddenly, Scolipede halted, skidding to a stop using his hind legs as he reared up.

Elesa yelled loud enough for me to hear. "Get away!"

Scolipede crashed down with an Earthquake on Electubuzz's Protect: the sheer force of the Earthquake melted through the forcefield like butter. Electabuzz was caught between Scolipede's legs and the ground as the shockwave of the Earthquake resounded through his body. Electabuzz made an Electabuzz-shaped hole in the ground.

Elesa had to walk to the hole in the ground, navigating the shattered earth around Scolipede in heels until she was able to angle her Pokeball down into the imprint. I laughed at her.

Emolga came out when Elesa returned to her square. The weird fucking rat thing immediately took to the skies, avoiding an Earthquake. "Agility!" I heard Elesa call out over the rumbling earth.

Emolga began to blur between positions, her eyes glowing lightly as she imitated the speed of Ninjask, moving between two spots faster than the eye could track. Scolipede shot a few Sludge Bombs into the air, completely missing the Emolga.

Emolga began to flick Air Slashes into Scolipede between movements, carving gashes into his Chitin. Scolipede finally resorted to Rollout, as I think he should have done from the start. Emolga tried to slow him down with a Thunder Wave, only to miss as Scolipede narrowly weaved past.

Emogla vanished before the attack struck, allowing Scolipede to ping off the psychic barrier and continue building speed. Emolga shot another burst of electricity that Scolipede again avoided, only for it to curve around and strike him from behind. Shock Wave.

The surprise attack wasn't enough to break Scolipede from his spin, though it did scorch his already wounded body harshly. Emogla once again dodged, and the cycle repeated.

Emolga began to get messy. She flew shakily, using Agility less and for much smaller distances. Rollout's speed and Scolipede's durability outlasted the small Pokemon's damage output. Scolipede smashed into Emolga, crushing her against a wall, and knocking it unconsious.

Roxie threw her head back and laughed. In relief or exaltation, I don't know.

Zebstrika took the field. Its eyes glowed with Agility, charging into Scolipede with its body engulfed in an aura of electricity. Not impressive enough to be a Volt Tackle, but perhaps enough to be a Spark. Scolipede was thrown back, unable to resist as muscle spasms forced him to writhe uselessly on the ground. Zebstrika then engulfed himself in flame, again charging into the now immobilized bug. Scolipede skidded back, knocked unconscious, and Zebstrika returned to its side of the field in a sudden burst of newfound speed. How's she going to deal with a speed-boosted electric horse?

Roxie released a small purple ball onto the field, a face I hadn't seen in a while. Koffing. She raised her hands to the sky and screamed with a mad grin, "EXPLOSION!"

"Protect!"

Koffing glowed and I covered my eyes. An overwhelming flash of white and an incredible boom rang through the stadium. When I uncovered my eyes the psychic barrier was glowing more than I'd ever seen it glow, covered in large cracks but unbroken.

Zebstrika lay against a wall, its Protect shattered by the self-sacrificial move. The extra defense was enough to keep it conscious but damaged, and it rose to its feet as Roxie recalled her unconscious Koffing.

Roxie sent in Grimer. Zebstrika didn't use Agility again, only moving with its base speed. My guess is that Agility is a tiring move to use, judging by Emolga and Zebstrika's usage. It circled around Grimer, staying out of range and blasting Shock Waves into the slow sludge pile.

As hit after hit landed, the fight began to look pretty bleak for Roxie. Grimer couldn't land any Sludge Bombs with Zebstrika's speed and it stayed far enough away to avoid any physical options. Then Grimer gathered himself up in a pillar of filth and slammed down into the ground. A Sludge Wave radiated from Grimer, spreading across the area and sweeping the surprised Zebstrika onto the ground, choking on the unexpected tide of toxins.

Grimer pounced on the displaced Zebstrika, slamming Poison Jab after Poison Jab into its body. Zebstrika ignited in another Spark, constantly harming the living pile of sludge engulfing it but unable to prevent Grimer from continuing to attack.

Both Pokemon looked to be on the verge of losing, and then Grimer rose up again. Zebstrika managed to slip mostly out from under Grimer's reduced grapple, only to be drowned by Grimer slamming down with another Sludge Wave.

Elesa recalled her Pokemon, and the crowd cheered.

The announcer began to orate Roxie's narrow victory, praising the girl for her clever strategies and quick thinking. I clapped along with the crowd, happy she managed to pull through.

I left, heading back to the gym registration. It's almost time. I think I'll give her some payback for forcing Roxie into such a close fight.

"Oh, come in!" A blond lady waved me into a room full of clothes and mirrors. "I'm Lyanna! I'm in charge of outfits and makeup here. And you are?"

"Nico."

"Hmm… Oh, yes, there you are! A fourth badge, how exciting! So, to start you off, here at the Nimbasa Gym we like to provide fashionable outfits to all gym badge contestants, with a twist! You win the match, you win the outfit!"

"Is the outfit a necessary thing, or?"

"Oh, absolutely necessary! Elesa's gym is equal parts fashion show and Pokemon battle. So, tell me: What kind of Pokemon Trainer are you?"

"Bug-Type."

"Ah. That explains why you look like that."

I blinked. "Excuse—"

"Oh, you're excused! Now, let's see…" Lyanna began to sort through racks of clothes, "What style would fit you best?"

"If 'bug-catcher' is the best you can do, I'll be sorely disappointed," I glowered at the lady.

"Of course not," she sniffed. "Let's see… functional, but fashionable… Oh! That's an idea!" She plucked a dark green button-up and some brown jeans from her vast swathes of outfits. Lyanna tossed them at me, smacking me in the face with the fabric. She immediately moved on to a closest full of even more clothes. "Try those on, earthy tones should look nice. The dressing room is behind that curtain."

I shrugged, deciding to just go along with it. Whatever gets me out of here quickly.

She gave me a quick look over when I emerged from the dressing room and raised her eyebrow. "Not bad. You should look into getting a haircut, though. Here, found some boots in the same shade as that shirt." She tossed the boots at me, but this time I was prepared and caught them.

The boots were indeed the same shade as my button-up, a dark green top that dropped into black soles. Dark green, earthy brown, and a hint of black. Honestly, not bad. The boots were pretty comfortable too, and I could certainly use a new pair of shoes after all the walking I've done.

"Wonderful!" She smiled, "I think you're good! I'll call someone over to bring you where you need to go. Good luck in your battle!"

Elesa and I stared down at each other in the area. The crowd of people surrounding us felt like a distant afterthought now that I was down in the midst of the stadium. I tuned out the announcer's booming voice, waiting for Elesa to release her Pokemon as a signal to start.

"So, you think you're ready for this?" Elesa asked, breaking me from my boredom. "I'm not going to go easy on you, so I wouldn't recommend acting so casually."

I snorted. "You're not? And here I thought you were stuck with fourth-gym Pokemon for this match."

Elesa frowned. "A proud one, then? Humility is a virtue, you know?"

"Why are we talking about virtues? We're about to send our fucking monsters to tear chunks out of each other in front of a crowd. Speaking of…"

The announcer finished his string of introductions and advertisements, "—And now, battlers, release your Pokemon!"

Elesa flicked her wrist, releasing an Eel that swam through the air. "Eelektrik! Show off!"

"I hope you don't mind a repeat of your last loss," I released Entoma, "But I'll do my best to remind you of it. Say 'hi' to another Scolipede."

The model's eye twitched as she looked up at my massive, heavily-armored bug, and then she sighed. "Another one? Today really isn't my day, is it?"

"BEGIN!"

"Eelektric, Thunderbolt!"

"Pursuit."

Entoma raced towards the Electric Eel. She took a blast of lightning to the side, scorching her armor and seizing up a leg for a moment. She kept her momentum up with just three active legs, rushing at her opponent with vicious intent.

"Weave!" Elesa instructed.

Eelektrik dodged around Scolipede's charge with its smooth Levitation, blasting another Thunderbolt and striking Entoma's hind leg as she charged through where her enemy once was. The attack hurt but wasn't anywhere near enough to take her out.

"You're close enough!" I told Entoma. "Poison Tail!"

Entoma began to seep toxins from her horns, both her forehead and tail horns. Eelektric was quick enough to slip past Entoma's charge and prepared to launch another Thunderbolt, only for Entoma to stomp her hind legs into the ground and whip her back half into Eelectric, punching into its skin and delivering a heavy dose of venom.

Eelektric recovered from the momentum of the impact without issue, but the real damage was the poison now in its system. Entoma's armor can handle some lightning, but can Eelektric handle some toxins?

"Thunder Wave!"

Before I could react, the Eelektric burst some electricity out and it struck Entoma. She was already moving back at Eelektric, but quickly slowed as the Electricity began to ignite spasms from within.

"Latch on and Thunder Fang! As much as you can!"

Using Entoma's slowed state to its advantage, the Eel swam up and stuck to her back. It latched onto her with an electrified maw, pumping voltage into her body and lighting her up like a lightbulb.

"Entoma! Steamroller!"

Despite being used as a makeshift capacitor, Entoma had the strength to push through. She ignored the muscle spasms, the pain, and the Eel. She kicked into the ground and launched herself up, coated her body in Bug energy, and slammed back down onto the latched Eel.

"It was a good try, but you got too close," I told Elesa as she recalled her now-unconscious Eelektrik."

"Couldn't help it. Eelektrik is reliant on latching onto opponents to maximize damage, at least until he evolves again," she shrugged and grabbed another Pokeball, tossing it at the field, "Don't worry, you'll get the bad matchup this time. Rotom, Overheat!"

A possessed, floating oven took to the field, immediately flickering with white flame from within.

"Get out of the way!" I yelled to Entoma immediately, recognizing the threat.

She tried to move, only for the paralysis of the Thunder Wave to kick in. Rotom's oven door snapped open and an overwhelming spray of fire expelled from within, consuming Entoma. By the time the flames flickered out my big bug was crispy and charred, still twitching from paralysis. I sighed, recalling Entoma.

Elesa spoke again, crossing her arms. "Still feeling all that confidence? Your Scolipede was impressive, but impressive isn't enough."

"Seems like you think she's the only powerful Pokemon I have. Let's fix that assumption." With a flick of my hand, I released Gargantua.

My recently empowered Pokemon slammed into the field with a growl. The Eviolite hadn't done as much for my Dwebble as he'd imagined but he was definitely bigger and forced to carve out a new shell this morning. An extra fifty percent to your height isn't that much when you're a foot tall, but it's enough to outgrow your old clothes.

Gar grinned as he saw the exhausted Rotom, eager to test his newfound strength. Not that he was genuinely any more powerful, just more defensive, but I wasn't going to be the one to ruin his power fantasy.

"You know how this goes! Rock Slide!"

"Volt Switch and Thundershocks!"

Gar ripped boulders from the ground, sending them at the haunted easy-bake-oven. Rotom gathered an orb of electricity in its red, electrical facsimile of oven mitts and arms, connected to Rotom with a thin string of electricity, and blasted it under and behind the incoming pile of stone. The orb and Rotom glowed and electricity flowed through the connection, and the two suddenly swapped places.

The rocks crushed the orb of electricity and left Rotom to launch off a few quick flashes of Thundershock, forcing Gar to move around and avoid the rapid lightning strikes. He wasn't used to his new size so he messed up every other dodge and took a hit, but the weak strikes meant nothing to his improved defenses.

"Stone Edge!"

Gar rolled out of the way of another Thundershock and slammed a limb into the ground, both to stabilize himself and launch a Stone Edge. The spear of rock exploded from the earth and hit Rotom in the side with a nasty crunch, warping the metal frame of the oven Rotom inhabited and leaving exposed wiring to spark uselessly.

Rotom expressed itself with a noise somewhere between radio static and a growl, then popped its actual body out of the oven. Free of technology to inhabit, the electric ghost regained the typical appearance of a Rotom and began to move towards Gar, who began to cackle.

Unbidden by me, Gar launched another Stone Edge. Rotom used its unrestrained speed to dodge out of the way, only to pause as no spear of stone tried to strike it. Instead, the rock punted into the damaged oven, launching it at the Rotom from behind.

"Dodge!" Elesa yelled.

The oven moved through the air too quickly. It hit Rotom from behind, forcibly absorbing the ghost back into the machinery. Rotom-Heat crashed into the ground just in front of Gar, who raised his limbs up and leered down at the confused oven.

"Earthquake!"

The two limbs hit the ground with a shockwave, blasting vibrations through the now-grounded machine. Rotom began to lose form as the energy ripped through its circuits, destabilizing and detaching from the shredded metal and onto the ground, completely unconscious.

Gar spat at Rotom, his declaration of dominance. His improvised strategy had worked and it worked wonderfully. A smart bastard, with emphasis on 'bastard.'

"Your Pokemon are well trained," Elesa admitted, "Though their attitudes could use some work."

Gar tried to flip her off. He appreciated it when I fully taught him the meaning of the gesture. Elesa prepared a Pokeball.

"But you've only defeated one of my Rotom! Hydro Pump!"

This Rotom possessed a washing machine, which began to rattle and spin as it filled with water. The Rotom pointed a tube at Gar.

"Dodge."

I don't trust Protect to take a Hydro Pump, even with Gar's better defenses. Type-Advantage is a bitch.

Water filled the tank and a pressurized spray of water tore from the tube. Gar used a Stone Edge on himself to propel himself out of the way, and the pillar of rock was immediately strip-mined from existence as the water tore away the stone. The Rotom's arms shuddered under the strength of the attack and struggled to hold the tube in place, unable to reposition it mid-spray.

"Focus on dodging!" I commanded. "Rock Blast!"

Gar leaped out of the way of another blast of water, quickly shooting off a rapid-fire of rock that pounded into the washing machine. Another spray of water came and Gar pulled out another weak Stone Edge to avoid the hit, again punishing the powerful attack with a few quick projectiles.

The washing machine rattled loudly as if to fire, and Gar leaped out of the way only for no spray to follow. Water continued to build up, leaking from the hose. Suddenly, just before Gar hit the ground, Rotom readjusted its aim and fired off an even stronger, more condensed Hydro Pump.

The pressurized water ripped through Gar's shell as it hit, sending my bug sprawling to the ground with his full body exposed again to the world.

With a pained gargle, Gar pushed himself back up.

Free from his shell, Gar dodged another Hydro Pump, but his movement revealed a weakness: his right forelimb wasn't fit to put much weight on anymore and slightly slipped while he jumped. Elesa saw it too.

"He can't dodge to his right!"

Rotom quickly repositioned with a Volt Switch, placing itself on Gar's left side and firing another Hydro Pump. Unable to dodge away from Rotom, Gar was forced to dodge closer to the possessed washing machine, suddenly making him a much more viable target. Rotom giggled and rattled again, another Hydro Pump building up.

"One last Stone Edge! Give it everything you got!"

Gar didn't hesitate and slammed his limb into the ground as the spray of water began anew. Half the attack made it out before the spike of rock punched through the washing machine. Gargantua was launched into the barrier of the arena by the pressurized, knocked unconscious.

Rotom's washing machine now had a massive leak in the drum, water now uselessly spilling out onto the ground. With another growl of white noise, Rotom abandoned the machine. It was hurt, but not defeated.

I recalled Gar and sent out my final Pokemon: Leinas. The Ribombee flittered around the stage, rapidly waving at the crowd, Rotom, and Elesa.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Fairy Wind!"

Leinas casually flew around blasts of electricity in wide, sweeping patterns. Her tiny size made her hard to see, let alone hit. The gusts of pink wind constantly gave away her position as she flew circles around the chasing ghost, but that didn't mean she was an easy target.

Rotom began to aim wider and attack slower, already affected by the slow build-up of damage. Elesa frowned, recognizing a need to change her strategy.

"Volt Switch into Discharge!"

"Draining Kiss!"

The Volt Switch missed by a wide margin, and then the connection lit up. Rotom appeared, immediately firing off a massive Discharge. Leinas tried to attack first, but Rotom was too fast. She screamed as the explosion of electricity scorched her body but continued to fly at Rotom, latching onto the ghost with her glowing lips.

Electricity began to flow from Rotom's plasma body into Leinas' face, but instead of burning her further, her burns began to rapidly heal. She was absorbing Rotom's electricity, converting it into her own health.

"Volt Switch!"

Rotom created another lightning orb and swapped with it, but Leinas darted away before she smooched the attack. Leinas resumed playing keep away, though by now Rotom didn't look to be in the shape to keep going.

"Fairy Wind!"

"Ominous Wind!"

Leinas flapped her wings once, twice, and then on her third flap she let loose the strongest Fairy Wind she could muster. Rotom drew its plasma limbs back and then clapped them together, letting loose a gust of hazy air. The two gusts met and were evenly matched until my Ribombee flapped again. She added another Fairy Wind to the mix, growing the size of the pink mist she produced far beyond the size of the ghastly breeze.

Ominous Wind was pushed back before Rotom could send out another, both the Fairy and Ghost energies washing over Rotom. Rotom's plasma body flickered and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

The crowd erupted. Leinas began to bow and wave to her adoring audience, soaking in the attention like a sponge. Elesa recalled her Pokemon and began to walk into the area. I met her in the middle, Leinas plopping down on my shoulder and smiling at Elesa.

Elesa stuck out her hand and I shook it, then Leinas hopped off my shoulder and extended her hand out toward Elesa as well. She looked at the bee in surprise then compiled, shaking her tiny limb between her thumb and index finger.

She then retrieved her gym badge from a mysterious pocket, holding it out for me. I took it.

"Congratulations on winning your Bolt Badge, and it's good to see at least one of your Pokemon is pleasant to be around."

"I think they're all lovely. Maybe you can't appreciate them from the losing side."

She smiled as if in on an inside joke, then leaned in and whispered into my ear. "You would have lost if I had my Rotom use Shock Wave."

I paused. Oh. That would have fucked with my keep-away strats.

She chuckled. "Lucky for you, I thought that fighting two of my Rotom was enough of a test. You're definitely worth a fourth badge, even if I did go a little easy on you."

Suddenly the Bolt Badge felt a lot less impressive.

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