Part CXXXVIII: Fairies and Fashion Fancy
"Alright, the gym battle between the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and the Laverre Gym Leader Valerie is about to begin." Elesa said from the same spot Ash had stood at a few days prior when he'd officiated her own battle with Valerie. "This will be a two-on-two battle with the winner being the one who defeats all of the other's Pokémon. In addition, only the challenger can substitute during the battle. Is that clear?"
"Yes." Ash said from the challenger's box while Valerie simply nodded from her position at her end of the battlefield.
It was the day after the end of the Laverre Fashion Week and finally Ash was going to have his gym battle with Valerie. He had hoped to have it a week ago but alas they'd arrived at the start of the fashion week and the gym had been closed for the week so they would have to wait.
That had been fine with Ash and his group though as the Laverre Contest was to be held during the week so they could focus on preparing Serena for that while Ash had time to make his final preparations for the gym battle. Of course, with anything Ash did there was always a chance that something would come up to throw a curveball at everyone's plans and as with countless times before that had happened this week.
The curveball this time had been the sudden and shock arrival of the Nimbasa Gym Leader from Unova, Elesa, who was like Valerie in the sense that she was a fashion designer, mogul, model, and gym leader though her specialty was electric Pokémon not the new fairy type like Valerie. Apparently Elesa had found the time to come to Kalos and challenge Valerie during the week and made an entrance that interrupted Valerie's enthusiastic greeting of Ash and Misty upon their own arrival thanks to the roles that they had played in revealing fairy types to the world.
That challenge had taken the form of first a fashion show to see who was the better designer, one in which Elesa decided to volunteer Misty, May, Serena, and Pikachu for and dressed all of them up, to see who's styles appealed more to the gathered crowd. Alas, that had ended in a tie, so Elesa had challenged Valerie to a battle and volunteered Ash to officiate it which Valerie agreed to before Ash could process what was going on but at that point he was just along for the ride.
Again, though the two women were evenly matched as their back-and-forth battle ended in a tie. That led to a postponement of their rivalry until the Nimbasa Fashion Week that Valerie was now invited too while they worked together on some projects, mainly one based of Dedenne as that was now a Pokémon with both of their types, during the week. In addition, Elesa had decided to stay for an extra day to officiate Ash's challenge of Valerie before returning home hence why she was now at the ref's spot.
Between that battle and Ash's though there had been the Laverre Contest and Serena's attempt at a 3rd straight ribbon that would allow her to qualify for the wildcard weekend. Alas, she fell short when she lost to Emily in the semifinals in an all Sylveon battle that featured a double Cute Charm activation.
Emily would go on to win the Contest over Brianna, the top favorite that year and Drew's vessel for revenge in May via Serena, in what felt like a fitting win for the aspiring fairy specialist in the only city with an official fairy type gym. The win had also given Emily her 4th ribbon and handed Brianna her first loss though Brianna was expected to get her 4th soon and be ready for the Wallace Cup where the Bog 3 would all go for their 5th ribbon in a few months' time.
Thankfully, Drew and Brianna hadn't stayed after the latter's loss. The loss clearly pissed them off and they left for the next Contest without another word. That had made May happy as she was on edge the entire time with Drew around but now that he was gone she could breath a sigh of relief. Misty and Serena knew that something was not right there, but May wouldn't talk about it to them, so they had to leave it for the time being knowing that she'd tell them when she was ready to talk about it.
Brianna and Drew hadn't been the only ones to leave quickly though, Adam and Emily had done so as well. Emily had stayed long enough to have a lengthy chat with Valerie who was the closest to a type mentor she'd ever find as both had an affinity for the new fairy type, but they had to move on to Anistar for Adam's next gym battle. They were apparently saving the Laverre Gym for last after the Wallace Cup so that Adam had the time to prepare for the type that he was weakest against and then Valerie could help Emily for the Grand Festival.
After that things had died down for them and the rest of week passed normally for a change. It was still the fashion week, so Valerie was very busy, and Serena and Misty really enjoyed it, dragging May and Ash to things during it as they basked in the latest lines from Valerie. Now it was over though, and Ash could finally have his battle with Valerie, hopefully win his 6th gym badge and get one step closer to the Kalos league.
"I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard that you were in Kalos Ash." Valerie said. "Viola told me that you were here after your battle and interview with her sister about the reveal of fairy types, but I wasn't going to believe it until you showed up here despite all the stories I've heard from my colleagues. Now you are here though and at last I can face the person who showed the world the beauty of fairy types and helped me finally understand what had happened. I won't hold back though; I will show you the full might of the type you revealed."
"I expect no less and I won't either." Ash said with a grin as he pulled out his first Poke Ball having already planned on who he was going to use in this battle the moment he knew that it would be a two on two and training both up for this moment while factoring in the likely Pokémon he'd face based on the battle between Valerie and Elesa. "I've faced an expert in all types but dark and fairy, so I am looking forward to the first fairy specialist in the world showing me more about this new type. Despite my involvement in its reveal, I don't know much about it other than how it interacts with the other types."
"Oh, you will see the hidden fangs my cute Pokémon have." Valerie said. "And then I will get to meet the Pokémon that started this all tomorrow."
What Valerie was referring to was her upcoming tea with Misty where Misty would bring in her Togekiss and tell the gym leader the story of her role in the reveal of fairy types. Valerie had been too busy for that until now and once the battle with Ash was over, however it ended, she was still going to get tea with Misty and meet Togekiss. Afterwards she was going to make something special for the girl who inadvertently set in motion the wheels that led to the discovery of the 18th Pokémon type.
As for Misty, she was currently up in the observation area with May and Serena, all in their cheerleader outfits for Ash to cheer him on. Piplup was on the banister in front of her in his male outfit, as was Misty's Skrelp who was also with her at the moment. The rest of her current roster were too big to be out for this, so they were away but the other Pokémon of Ash that weren't being used were up with the girls cheering their trainer and teammates on as well, well all except Pikachu.
Pikachu had tried to stay with the others or by Ash's side for the battle but when Ash had revealed that he wouldn't use Pikachu in the battle, Elesa had pounced. She'd always found his Pikachu adorable and powerful, in no small part due to her specialty in the type and how Pikachu was a rare Pokémon in Unova, and as such she'd taken him to be with her as she officiated, and no one had been able to stop her so now Pikachu was supporting Ash from next to Elesa.
"And I expect to officiate a good battle." Elesa said with a smile. "So, begin!"
"Sylveon, appear." Valerie said with a spin as she tossed out her first Pokémon.
"Lucario, I choose you." Ash said throwing out his own ball.
"I see, an interesting choice as the steel type Lucario has balances out his fighting type weakness to fairy types." Valerie said as Lucario appeared before Ash ready to battle, his first while wearing his championship belt from his recent tournament victory that he wore as much as possible to show off what he'd won. "And I see that your Lucario won the fighting tournament Kalos has."
"You know of it?" Ash asked confused.
"It is near Laverre, and I've faced some of the past winners over the years as until recently this was a normal type gym, so I've seen it before." Valerie said which made sense given that at least two of her Pokémon had been normal types before the sudden change and fighting type attacks were the only super effective attacks against normal types. "But enough chat, let's battle."
"Agreed." Ash said. "Lucario, Aura Sphere."
"Quick Attack." Valerie countered. "Let's get that first hit in and hopefully that Lucario is a rare female. Given what the other Pokémon in Ash's party are like it's a good chance that this one is as rare as some of the others you lot have."
"Brace yourself for that." Ash said realizing that the attack would hit first and planning for it as Sylveon charged at Lucario. "Don't let it break your concentration Lucario."
Lucario just barked as he began to form the form the blue sphere of fighting between his paws. Before it could be fully formed though, Sylveon reached him and slammed headfirst into his gut at full speed. Lucario grunted from the impact and was pushed back a few paces, but his steel type made him resistant to normal type attacks, so he didn't take much damage. Plus, he kept his focus and as Sylveon bounced back from him, Cute Charm not activating as both were male, the blue sphere finished forming.
With a bark, Lucario released the attack. Aura Sphere wasn't going to miss regardless but even if it could be avoided without the need for something like Dig, Sylveon wasn't going to manage it. The fighting type attack slammed into Sylveon's face and blasted him back with a wail though as with his own attack on Lucario, Sylveon's type ensured that he was resistant to the attack, so it didn't do too much damage to the Intertwining Pokémon.
Of course, Ash didn't care about that, the Aura Sphere had been a means to an end, and he already had his follow up move. He'd adapted his strategy once Valerie attacked with Quick Attack and was already giving his next command as the Aura Sphere was released.
"Lucario, Metal Claw." Ash ordered using one of the two moves he and Lucario had worked on since his evolution to broaden his attack range and to give him something strong against fairy types. "Press Sylveon and don't let up."
Lucario just barked as he charged after Sylveon as his opponent hit the ground and bounced a few times, the metal spikes on the backs of his hands extending ask he ran to form the attack. Valerie was on the defensive and she knew it, but she wasn't a gym leader for nothing.
"Disarming Voice." Valerie called out. "It's not as strong as it would normally be due to Lucario's steel type, but I know you can do it Sylveon."
"Push through it if you have to." Ash said. "Don't let it distract you Lucario."
Lucario just grinned as he sped up, he would reach Sylveon before it could attack, and he was sure of it. His bond with Ash was unbreakable and he drew on his human's passive aura to speed up his movements.
After winning that tournament together this was second nature to Lucario, and he knew that he was nearing the point of becoming one of Ash's best. He still had a long way to go to reach Charizard or the others he knew back at the ranch, but he was going to surpass them all one day and every battle and victory added to that.
He showed that by reaching Sylveon just after it stopped moving and was getting up to counter. There was no way that it was going to be able to get the attack off and Lucario barked as he brought his claws to bear just as Sylveon opened his mouth to try and use Disarming Voice.
Lucario's Metal Claw slashed Sylveon across the face ended the attack and driving it back to the ground with a wail of pain from the super effective move. Lucario was now over it and up close just where a fighting type was at his best and Ash wasn't going to pass up this chance to press his advantage.
"Bone Rush." Ash called out as the Metal Claw ended and using the other move that Lucario had learned for the Laverre Gym battle and future ones as the ground type attack would be useful to have going forward.
"Stop it with your ribbons." Valerie said her composer rattled by the skill of Ash's Lucario but her own closeness with Sylveon would win this for her. "Then hold it in place so that you can hit it with Fairy Wind."
"Lucario, you know what to do." Ash said as the aura bone appeared in Lucario's paws. "Just like in the tournament, avoid those ribbons as you attack when you can."
Lucario just grinned as he closed his eyes and entered the state of aura sense he'd perfected during the fighting tournament. With this he could read Sylveon's intentions and easily dodge the 4 ribbons as they lashed out at him.
They were nothing compared to the 4 fists of Machamp that he'd faced in the semifinals, almost pedestrian by comparison even if they could move around more. It was child's play for Lucario to avoid all the ribbons as he flipped, spun, dodged, and ducked around them while lashing Sylveon's head and body with the aura bone a total of 4 times when the moments arose before he flipped back but stayed in range as the move ended.
"Finish this." Ash said using the brief moment of shock Lucario's actions had caused to ensure that he defeated Sylveon quickly. "Metal Claw."
"Quick Attack." Valerie said the desperation now in her voice as she realized how well Ash had handled Sylveon, that Lucario was up there with Korrina's for skill she was sure of it.
Alas Sylveon didn't have much energy left and could barely get up in time as the spikes on Lucario's hands extended for a second time in their battle. Before he could get to his feet Lucario had closed the short distance between them and lashed Sylveon across the face again.
This second super effective attack was too much for Sylveon and he collapsed back to the floor pushed past what he could take. He hit the ground with a thud and swirls for eyes as Lucario backed up and bowed respectfully to his vanquished foe.
"Sylveon is unable to battle." Elesa said raising a hand to Ash's side. "Lucario is the winner."
"Sylveon return." Valerie said with a small smile as she recalled her Pokémon and friend. "You did well out there, but that Lucario is clearly strong and well trained if it can avoid your ribbons like that. Any Pokémon that can win the fighting tournament has to be and the steel type negated our advantage in the end. Just another reminder that we need to work hard on countering our weaknesses in the future."
"Lucario, return." Ash said surprising Valerie a bit by recalling his Pokémon despite the clear advantage Lucario had over her. "You were great, but I need to truly test myself against Valerie or I won't grow as a trainer from this battle so take a break. If I need you I'll bring you back, but I intend to win this next one with my other Pokémon and show that I can overcome a true disadvantage."
"I see, I can respect that." Valerie said with a nod. "A trainer should learn all he or she can from a battle and not just rely on type to bulldoze through to victory. Type advantage will only take you so far, a skilled opponent can negate it with ease."
"Like I did against Ash's Palpitoad with my Emolga." Elesa said helpfully. "She's just one of the ways I can get around ground types."
"I couldn't agree more." Ash said to both women's comments as he put Lucario's Poke Ball away and withdrew his second one for this battle. "Which is why my other Pokémon will be one that you will really test but if I can beat you with him then I know that I am doing something right and it will give me a boost for future battles. After all, there is one thing only a fairy type can truly test me on."
"Then show me." Valerie said with a feeling she at least knew the type coming though not which Pokémon it would be as she spun again, tossing out her second and final Poke Ball in the process. "Spritzee, appear."
"Oh, I will." Ash said as the ball burst open, and Valerie's primary Pokémon appeared to float before her just before he tossed out his own second Pokémon. "Sliggoo, I choose you."
"Yes that is truly a test for you in deed." Valerie said as the second stage dragon type appeared before Ash. "I had a feeling that it would be the type that is worst against me, and you show no hesitation in using it to make yourself better against what fairy types can do against dragon types. That is what a truly great trainer does, I can see why you are a Conference Finalist but that won't be enough to beat me. Spritzee, Trick Room."
"I was expecting that." Ash said recalling how Valerie had used that against Elesa in their battle a few days back to give herself an advantage with the normally slow Spritzee. "Sliggoo, Bide."
"Clever." Valerie said understanding Ash's intentions as the Trick Room appeared around them giving her the speed advantage for a while. "But I hold the type advantage. Dazzling Gleam."
"And it will just make Bide stronger." Ash said as he and Sliggoo closed their eyes just before the flash of light that was the attack hit them. "Push through it Sliggoo, I know you can do it."
"Sliggoo." Sliggoo said as he was hit by the fairy type attack that did a lot of damage, but he did as his human said and pushed through it and as soon as he could see again he unleashed his Bide right at Spritzee before it could react.
The flash of normal type power shot across the battlefield and slammed into the pink Pokémon at full speed sending it spinning back with a wail before it righted itself and sped back to its starting position. It had done twice the damage that Sliggoo had taken thanks to the nature of Bide but it was nowhere near enough to beat Spritzee.
"Not bad but you can't hope to beat me with a dragon type." Valerie said. "And I'll show you that with Spritzee's newest move, something I picked up from my battle with Elesa. Get in close and use Attract, don't miss."
"Dodge and use Sludge Bomb." Ash said surprising Valerie with the fact that Sliggoo knew a poison type move. "I think that Spritzee is female if that helps Sliggoo."
"It was wise to teach your Sliggoo a move to counter a fairy type, but it won't work while Trick Room is active." Valerie said as Spritzee shot at Sliggoo and winked at him before he could move thanks to the nature of the psychic type move that was core to Valerie's strategy with Spritzee. "We know how to maximize this move."
That was shown as the hearts hit Sliggoo and instantly he was infatuated as Spritzee was indeed female. This wasn't good and Ash knew it, but he wasn't going to give up, he never did until the very end. There was still one more trick he had for Sliggoo, one that would be really effective if his ability was one of the two that Iris had said a Sliggoo might have and given the fact that Sliggoo knew the move it implied to Ash that he did have that ability.
"Sliggoo, Rain Dance." Ash said as Spritzee fell back.
Due to not attacking with the Sludge Bomb because of the Attract, Sliggoo still had a chance to use a move before Spritzee could attack again while he was infatuated. Of course, the infatuation was a problem but that didn't prevent a move from being used, it just made it harder to use one similar to how paralysis worked. However, the fact that Rain Dance wasn't an offensive move helped as Sliggoo didn't want to attack Spritzee due to his infatuation, but he could make it rain without a problem as that wouldn't harm Spritzee.
As such, Sliggoo leant his head back and shot a ball of water into the air. It burst above him and suddenly the whole battlefield, along with Ash, Valerie, Elesa, and Pikachu were drenched in the pouring rain.
"Um…" Valerie began confused by the use of the water type move before her eyes went wide in realization of why Ash had used it. "Oh."
Though Ash couldn't see it, he could tell from Sliggoo's reaction that it had worked. The hearts in his eyes were gone and he was back to normal, fully ready to fight Spritzee and motivated even more after the brief infatuation. The Rain Dance confirmed what Ash had been hoping it would, Sliggoo's ability was Hydration which meant that any status problems, like infatuation, would be cured by rain.
"So, your Sliggoo has the Hydration ability and not the Sap Sipper one." Valerie said. "Interesting but that won't save you. Spritzee, Dazzling Gleam."
"Brace, I know you can survive it." Ash said. "And counter with Sludge Bomb. Make sure you don't miss."
Sliggoo closed his eyes and did just that as the fairy type attack hit for a second time. He was hurt, badly, but he pushed through it despite being close to his limit. He wasn't going to lose this battle. He was going to win and what's more he was going to win against the same type that had driven him from his home and likely now subjected his friends to her tyranny.
He'd joined Ash because he knew that with Ash he would get stronger so that one day he could beat that evil fairy and restore peace to his home while protecting his friends there. Ash had delivered on that and now he was stronger, but he knew he had to keep growing to do so. He'd already evolved once and now, as the rain beat down on him, the conditions were right to do so again even if it was a little early to do so.
Sliggoo didn't know why the rain was needed but on an instinctual level he knew that he could only reach his full power in the rain that had cured him of that infatuation. That meant that this was the best chance that he had to get to that point, and he wasn't going to pass it up now that he had that chance. Therefore, as the light faded and he opened his eyes again to show that he was still in it, Sliggoo let out one last roar in his current form and triggered the change deep inside his cells for the second and final time in his life.
Everyone watching gasped in shock as Sliggoo turned bright white and began to change. He grew much larger, more than doubling in size, as his body changed from a snail like one to a bipedal Pokémon complete with short legs, thick thighs, and arms that were defined with fingers at the end. The shell-like thing on his back moved down and became a thick tail with a curl at the end while the secondary antennae things on his head grew bigger and arched down. As with all evolutions it only lasted a moment before it ended, and the light faded.
"Goodra." Goodra roared as he finished evolving.
As with his earlier forms, Goodra was a two-tone purple colored Pokémon with his back, legs, head, and top half of his tail a lilac color while his underside from his mouth to the tip of his tail was a darker shade of purple. To add to it he had two green ovals on either side of his neck and three on either of his tail near the base that matched his green eyes. He was also covered in a noticeable, slime like, substance.
Even though they were in the middle of a battle, Ash had to pull out his Pokedex and scan Goodra. He wanted to know more about his newly evolved Pokémon.
"Goodra, the Dragon Pokémon and the final form of Goomy." The Pokedex chimed as soon as it identified Goodra. "This very friendly Dragon type Pokémon will hug its beloved trainer, leaving that trainer covered in sticky slime."
"Alright Goodra, you evolved." Ash said with a grin as he put his Pokedex away and focused on winning the battle. "Let's show that Spritzee what you can do. Sludge Bomb."
"Goodra." Goodra said as he took all the toxins in his body and then released them in the form of several balls of sludgy poison from his mouth in an arc at Spritzee faster than he'd ever done before.
Spritzee and Valerie were still a little too shocked by his sudden evolution to process it and didn't have time to avoid the attack as the super effective poison type attack arced down and onto the small fairy type driving her into the ground. However, not all the balls were on target.
Thanks to the new evolution and greater height, Goodra was still struggling with the attack and the last ball was blasted to the side at a flatter angle. Naturally that ball flew straight at a squawking Piplup before hitting the water type in the face and blasted him off the railing that he was on and into the wall just as Misty raised her arm as she cheered for Goodra. No one saw this though and Piplup lay against the wall dazed and plotting his revenge on everyone for the latest indignation that his great personhood had just suffered.
In the battle though, the hit had snapped Spritzee and Valerie out of their confusion and Spritzee rose back into the air battered from the super effective attack but still in it. As she did, she suddenly shuddered in pain, and Ash saw the purple line under Spritzee's eyes. The Pokémon was poisoned which would do more damage than usual thanks to it being a fairy type. Still, Spritzee could fight, and Valerie wasn't going to give up.
"We still have Trick Room." Valerie said. "Moonblast!"
"Dodge and counter with another Sludge Bomb." Ash said but Goodra had other plans for the attack as he'd just learned a new move that he was going to use even if it meant disobeying Ash as he had to show his trainer the move right away.
Regardless, Goodra was going to avoid the incoming attack as Spritzee borrowed the power of the moon and fired off a blast of fairy type power at him. He knew that he couldn't take another super effective attack and he was determined to win this match for Ash and for himself to show that he'd fully overcome his fear of this new type that was inexplicable immune to his own type's attacks.
As such, he used his greater height and mobility now that he had legs to leap forward and to the side at the last minute so that his opponent's attack passed him harmlessly. As he was doing this, a ball of light blue light formed in his mouth and Ash knew at once that it was a new attack, and he was certain he knew what the move would be. Sure enough, a blast of ice shot from Goodra's mouth, and the Ice Beam attack shot across the battlefield and into Spritzee before she or Valerie could do anything about it.
The force of the attack blasted a wailing Spritzee back and caused her to flip a few times, but as she didn't fall to the ground it was apparent that she was still in this fight albeit barely. She wasn't going to give up though as she flew back, and Valerie had just the move to end Goodra though she wasn't sure if she'd be able to beat Lucario when it returned thanks to all the damage that Spritzee had already taken.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Valerie ordered. "We can still take out Goodra."
Alas, that wasn't to be the case as the poison in Spritzee's system rocked her one more time as she flew forward and that was the final straw for her. As a first stage Pokémon she wasn't as durable as she would like and after a strong Bide, a super effective Sludge Bomb, a surprise Ice Beam, and two poisonings, Spritzee was past her limit, and she fainted in midair. Her momentum took her forward a bit as she fell from the air to hit the ground and bounce a few times before rolling to a stop on her side with swirls for eyes as everyone looked on in surprise.
"Um, well, Spritzee is unable to battle." Elesa said raising a hand to Ash's side as she recovered from the strange ending to the match. "Which means that Goodra wins. Valerie is out of Pokémon making the winner of this battle the challenger Ash from Pallet Town."
"Alright, we did it Goodra!" Ash said as he rushed out and Goodra turned to him and ran to his trainer, hugging him as he reached Ash smiling broadly at his victory. "You beat a fairy type; I knew you could do it."
"Goodra." Goodra said with happily glad he'd finally overcome his fear and won though his true enemy would be a lot harder to beat when he faced her again, but he swore he'd win that match as well as he would keep getting stronger with Ash as his human. "Goodra."
"Spritzee, return." Valerie said with a smile as she recalled her Pokémon. "You were amazing my old friend but alas even with the type advantage we lost that one. Ash really surprised us with what he and Goodra could do, but I should have seen that coming given what I know of his history. We will use this to get better, I promise."
As all this was happening, Misty threw down her pom poms and headed to the stairs down to the battlefield so that she could celebrate. She knew she had to be quick for a specific reason and didn't even notice Piplup where he was.
She was so quick that she didn't notice as first one Poke Ball and then a second opened on their own on her belt as her two 'protectors' did their thing with Malamar coming out first and Machamp a second later to tackle her and stop her. This had the added effect of sending May, Serena, and several Furisode girls who were supporting Valerie flying in the process while Skrelp started to yell at them to cut it out as they were making all of Misty's Pokémon look bad.
Of course, Misty saw none of this as she made it to the level of the battlefield, rushed over the bridge and past Elesa who, now that the battle was over, was trying to play with Pikachu though he wanted to celebrate with Ash as well, and to her boyfriend. Ash barely had any time from separating from Goodra's sticky embrace to see Misty leap at him, but he caught her as he staggered back, and she kissed him as she did whenever he won a gym battle.
As with the last few times Misty made sure to put all the passion she could into the kiss as she wasn't sure when the tentacle would come to end her embrace with Ash. As with the last few gym battles it didn't come, however, but the kiss was broken by the sound of wood shattering followed by a crashing sound that startled everyone.
All Misty could do was sigh, break away from Ash, and turn to see her two fully evolved Pokémon in a full-scale brawl in the garden thing at the base of the observation area. It appeared that Malamar had rolled Machamp through the wooden railing and then they'd fallen to the ground where they were currently in a full-scale brawl while Skrelp, who it seemed had fallen down with them, angrily yelled at them while bouncing around the pair.
Above them the Furisode girls, May, and Serena where getting up and looking through the shattered wood at the sight. It was something that all but the latter two hadn't expected to see.
"Er, what is going on?" Elesa asked.
"I too am curious." Valerie said as several of her girls recovered from what had happened while May and Serena did their best to not look involved as they began to edge away from the scene. "Can someone please explain why a Malamar and a Machamp are fighting each other in my gym while a Skrelp yells at them? This wasn't what I expected to see today."
"Those would be two of my Pokémon with very different ways of how they show their love for me." Misty said with a side as she walked away from Ash, sticky as well thanks to Goodra's hug of Ash earlier and heading over to them. "And they are both in for it now as this is the third time they've caused a scene though this time they've actually caused damage."
"Third?" Elesa asked surprised.
"Yup, Malamar doesn't like me and Ash having PDA after he wins while Machamp doesn't like Malamar slapping me to keep me in line when I do something that she doesn't approve of." Misty explained as she got off the battlefield and clapped at her Pokémon to get their attention. "Hey, you two, stop that now. We have to fix this mess now that you've made it and are acting like a pair of children. Get up and listen because all of us aren't leaving until that railing is repaired and mark my words, both of you are helping me repair it."
"Thank you Misty." Valerie said deciding to leave it all in their hands and get back to the post battle aftermath. "Blossom, Katherine, can you help with the materials. Kannon, the badge."
"Of course, Valarie." The girls said as the first two rushed away while the third hurried over to someplace in the gym.
"Good." Valerie said as she walked out ignoring the scene as Misty chastised her Pokémon while Malamar argued back at her, Machamp sat cross legged with his head bowed in shame and Skrelp fumed to one side and backed Misty up as he at least hadn't done anything wrong. "Ash, that was a good battle and you really had me there. Congratulations."
"Thank you for challenging me and my Pokémon." Ash said as he walked to Valerie who bowed her head to him rather than shake his hand as her hands were still covered by her sleeves, so Ash did the same as Goodra and Lucario, who had come out of his Poke Ball for the presentation, stood behind him ready to celebrate. "I don't think Goodra would have evolved had you not pushed us that hard."
"And you really surprised me in that battle with how well you and Goodra handled a fairy type." Valerie said as Kannon, the black clad Furisode girl, arrived with a try in her hands. "You more than earned this and I look forward to watching you in the upcoming Lumiose Conference when you make it there."
As she spoke Valerie somehow took the gym badge out of the tray despite her sleeves and held it out to Ash. Resting on her hands was a long, half circle, badge with a gold edge and markings in it with dark pink and light pink filler parts between the markings in the badge. It was unlike any Ash had seen before but it was the first of its type that existed, so Ash wasn't surprised at that.
"Congratulations on earning the Fairy Badge." Valerie said with a smile as she held it up to him. "Please take it as recognition of your win today in the Laverre Gym."
"Alright, I got the Fairy Badge." Ash said gently picking the badge up and striking his usual victory pose with it raised above his head.
"Goodra." Goodra said leaping up behind him as Lucario did the same while barking.
Ash just smiled as he pulled out his badge case and put his latest badge in it in the 6th slot. He was one closer to his goal, only two more to get before he was eligible for the Lumiose Conference and this time he was going to win it.
He couldn't wait for the next gym battle to come, and the other adventures they would encounter, as he and his friends continued their Kalos journey. Well after they were done with the last things they had to sort out in Laverre City but was all still to come, for now it was time to celebrate Ash's latest victory.
