Chapter 15: The Two Gym Leaders
After finding the poster for the medieval carnival, Ash and continued through the town looking for the Gym. They soon found it. It was a dome shaped building with a blue roof. The couple and their two chosen Pokémon made their way to the doors, coming inside to find a rock battlefield, which Ash thought was odd for a Psychic Gym. Beyond the battlefield was a closed door.
"Hello?" he called.
"Hello?" a voice replied in the back.
The door opened and a pair of people that looked very much alike stepped out. They both had dark blue hair with white ribbon like ornaments in their hair and matching light blue jumpsuits with pokeball symbols on them. One was male, the other was female.
"Hi, are you the Gym Leaders?" Ash asked.
"Yes," the woman said. "I'm Liza and this is Tate, my little brother."
Ash looked at the male in confusion since he looked the same age as her.
"Cut it out Liza!" Tate said. "I'm your twin brother, you were just born first!"
Ash and May shared an amused expression. Siblings. May of course knew what it could be like since she and Max had gotten on each other's nerves plenty of times. Ash being an only child didn't always understand the dynamics, but he had seen Clemont and Bonnie interacting together in his journey through Kalos.
"Right, well are you here for a battle?" Liza asked.
Ash nodded then introduced himself. "Yes, I'm Ash and this my girlfriend May, and our partners Pikachu and Eevee."
The two Pokémon greeted from their two positions, Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and Eevee in May's arms.
"Welcome," Tate said.
"We are honored to accept your challenge!" Liza said in sync with her brother.
"Thanks, I heard this one allows for a trainer to use a partner," Ash said. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Liza and Tate said.
"Well, May and I are going to challenge you both then," Ash said.
May nodded. "This will be my first battle at a gym."
"Well, good luck," Liza started.
"Then!" Tate finished.
They took their places on the battlefield while Ash and May walked to the other side. May took a breath as a gym employee who would serve as a referee came out. Ash noticed this and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Just do your best," Ash said.
She managed a smile despite her nervousness as this was her first time entering a gym battle. It would probably be her toughest challenge yet. Though thinking back on Dialga she quickly realized it couldn't be that difficult as that had been a legendary Pokémon.
"I've been through worse," she said.
The referee took his place with a set of flags. "The Pokémon Double battle between the Gym Leaders Tate and Liza and the couple Ash and May shall commence. Each side will permitted to use two Pokémon, one for each trainer! Call out your Pokémon!"
"Pikachu!" Ash said looking at his partner who leapt off his shoulder.
"Eevee!" May said as well before letting her own partner down for her battle.
Liza and Tate meanwhile drew their pokeballs.
"Solrock!"
"Lunatone!"
The twins threw their pokeballs and both Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. Solrock, an orange sunlike Pokémon, and Lunatone, a Pokémon shaped like a light brown crescent moon. Ash shook a little as he saw them.
"Uh oh," he said. "Those are both part rock type."
"What does that mean?" May asked.
Ash knew he and Pikachu were okay, these Pokémon weren't part ground type so electric attacks would still work. But Eevee…
"Rock types are resistant to normal attacks," he said to May.
She shivered a little at that. Most of Eevee's attacks were normal since that was her type of attack.
"You still have Bite at least though," Ash reminded her. "And use quick attack to move quickly and dodge if you have to! That will probably work best."
She nodded. The referee then raised his flags.
"Begin!"
Tate was the first to speak up. "Solrock use Sunny Day!"
The orange Pokémon shined brightly, and so did the sun from above the dome roof through which it could be seen. Ash wondered what Tate could be up to using a move like that. It could increase the power of Fire Type Moves as well as weaken those of water types. Well, he'd just have to act quickly.
"Pikachu use thunderbolt on Solrock!" he ordered.
"Pikachuuu!" Pikachu cried out as he sent his signature attack out.
The yellow bolt aimed for Solrock but Liza was on the defense.
"Lunatone, Light Screen!"
The Moon shaped Pokémon shined and put up a bright mirror to defend itself and its partner. Pikachu's Thunderbolt made contact but the damage was lessened by half thanks to the light screen.
"Thanks Liza," Tate said.
"You are the power I'm the defense," Liza said.
"Eevee, Bite Lunatone!" May ordered.
Eevee charged forward, baring her teeth.
"Rise and dodge it!" Liza said.
Lunatone levitated up into the air and rose up out of range as Eevee leapt to try and Bite. Her mouth closed on thin air, just short of Lunatone's body.
"Now use Psychic on Eevee!" Liza said.
Lunatone's eyes lit up and Eevee cried out in pain as her body was attacked with mental energy. Pikachu looked toward his girlfriend in concern. Seeing Eevee in distress as well, Ash reacted.
"Pikachu use Iron Tail on Lunatone!" Ash said.
Pikachu leapt into the air, his tail turning metallic.
"Solrock use Flamethrower!" Tate ordering, trying to come to Liza's defense.
Ash sweatdropped once again as he realized that the purpose of that Sunny Day from earlier had been to strengthen that move.
"Pikachu watch out!" he called.
Pikachu cast a glance at Solrock who was preparing the fire attack. He then hit Lunatone with his iron tail, which was super effective against a Pokémon that was part rock type. It sent Lunatone back, and Pikachu as well. The momentum was just enough for Pikachu to avoid the worst of the fire attack. Though Pikachu's tail still got a bit burned. He gritted his teeth as he landed beside Eevee.
"You okay Pikachu?" she asked.
Pikachu shook off the pain. "Yeah, I'm okay."
Both groups faced each other. The battle had only just begun it seemed. Eevee and Lunatone had both taken some damage while Solrock and Pikachu were more minor.
May thought for a moment, remembering what happened last time she'd tried to dodge. I can't just have Eevee charge in. I need to strike at the right moment. She thought. And watch out for the attacks.
"Solrock, use Solarbeam on Eevee!" Tate said.
Solrock charged up another attack, this time a bright yellow beam. May recognized it as one of the same moves Drew had used in Lilycove when she'd battled him and Serena with Ash. That took time to charge normally but… thanks to the Sunny Day, it would be much quicker.
"Dodge quick!" May screamed in worry. "Quick Attack!"
Eevee could sense her trainers worry and ran in a burst of speed, dodging the yellow beam aimed at her and then leapt, slamming into Solrock. The move wasn't the most effective against a rock type but it had worked to dodge the attack. May was still worried though.
"Try to stay calm, May!" Ash said taking her hand. "We can't win this if we lose our cool."
May took a breath. He was right. If she lost her head she might cause Eevee to be further injured. Though one good thing, the bright sunlight had faded. Tate could easily put up another one though.
"Lunatone, use hypnosis on Pikachu!" Liza said.
"Pikachu dodge it!" Ash ordered.
Pikachu looked at Lunatone who sent a series of psychic waves at him. He tried to leapt out of the way but failed and fell to the floor of the battlefield, asleep.
"No!" Ash exclaimed.
"Now we just need to worry about Eevee!" Tate said. "And that shouldn't be much of a problem."
They were right, Eevee had taken more damage then Pikachu. Ash looked at May.
"Its up to you May!" he said.
She hesitated a moment then nodded. "I won't let you down, Ash! Right Eevee?"
Eevee nodded. She'd do her very best, for Pikachu. To protect him as she knew he would protect her if their positions were reversed. May quickly consider her options. So far all of the attack they'd seen had been ranged ones. That gave the two gym leaders an advantage since Eevee had to be up close for all of her attacks.
"Eevee get in close!" May ordered.
Eevee charged in fiercely.
"Psychic Attack!" Liza and Tate said together.
"Use Quick Attack to dodge and then Sand Attack!" May said hoping to lower their accuracy.
"No wait!" Ash said.
Eevee managed to dodge both psychic attacks somehow and then kicked a cloud of dust from the battlefield up at the two levitating Pokémon. But it didn't even cause to flinch.
"Look out!" Ash shouted.
"Flamethrower!" Tate said.
Solrock shot a flamethrower at Eevee which landed and did massive damage, throwing Eevee back.
"Weee!" she screamed. "Aah!"
"Ground type attacks won't work against flying or levitating Pokémon," Ash told May.
She looked down. Even though she'd been at this whole Pokémon trainer thing for over a month there were still so many things to learn.
Pikachu's ears twitched slightly. Eevee dragged herself to her feet. Another one or two hits would probably be enough to take her down. But she would not give up, not until the end.
"Eevee," May said under her breath.
"Pikachu, come on," Ash said at the same volume. "We need you."
"Lunatone, use Psychic on Pikachu!" Liza said. "Can't forget about him even if he's asleep!"
Lunatone turned to Pikachu who rose off the ground. He was sent crashing into the wall on the right side. But as Lunatone was distracted with that, May saw an opening.
"Eevee quick, Bite attack on Lunatone!" she ordered.
The Evolution Pokémon ran at the moon one.
"Solrock, solarbeam!" Tate ordered.
Poor call on Tate's part, if he had used Flamethrower it would have come out instantly. This gave Eevee the chance to get close to Lunatone before Liza could react. She bit onto Lunatone's hard skin, which hurt her teeth a bit.
Looking at Solrock though, an idea occurred to May who shouted, "Eevee don't let go yet!"
Eevee was surprised by the command but kept her teeth clenched around Lunatone. Solrock hesitated as the Solarbeam charged up. Lunatone was in the way of its attack. If Lunatone was hit it would probably be enough for a knockout.
"Don't fire Tate!" Liza said.
"I know!" Tate said.
"You know you should have gone with Flamethrower earlier instead of Solarbeam! Flamethrower takes less time to charge!" Liza said.
"Well as long as we can get a good attack angle we can hit Eevee without hurting Lunatone!" Tate said. "Solrock get in close and aim for Eevee!"
Solrock flew around and got directly behind Eevee who still latched onto Lunatone. May watched carefully and realized her plan hadn't worked exactly as she'd hoped. She'd wanted to see if she could cause the Solarbeam to hit Lunatone instead and maybe rid the match of one opponent. But she quickly thought of something else.
"Let go and Bite Solrock now!" she said.
Eevee pushed against Lunatone and let go with her mouth then leapt back and did the same by biting one of the long rocky points protruding from Solrocks body in resemblance to a ray of sunlight. The attack caused Solrock to flinch and lose focus, canceling out the solarbeam.
"Psychic!" Liza said.
Lunatone's eyes lit up again and it took hold of Eevee, forcing her off of Solrock and causing her pain. At the sound of her cry, Pikachu's eyes opened up and he saw the love of his life in suspended in the air helplessly.
"Pika!" he exclaimed leaping to his feet.
The sound drew everyone's attention.
Ash smiled. "Alright Pikachu! Iron Tail, quick on Lunatone!"
Pikachu ran in and leapt.
"Solrock, Flamethrower on Pikachu!" Tate tried to counter.
Pikachu was a second too fast for Solrock to save Lunatone. His iron tail struck home, sending Lunatone across the room where it fell. A split second later, Solrocks flame thrower struck Pikachu and sent him back. Eevee meanwhile plopped to the ground.
The referee looked at Lunatone. "Lunatone is unable to battle! Only Solrock remains for the Gym Leaders side!"
Ash and May smiled, as did Pikachu and Eevee. However they had both taken massive damage, one more blow would probably be enough to defeat either of them. Solrock meanwhile still looked in decent shape that would last for a couple more attacks. The end was approaching, one way or another.
"I guess its all up to me!" Tate said. "Solrock! Sunny Day!"
Solrock lit up again and brightened the sun. Now it's Flamethrower would be more powerful and Solarbeam would fire quicker.
"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash said not wanting to take any chances that a regular Thunderbolt wouldn't be strong enough.
"Eevee get ready to Bite!" May said.
Pikachu sent out a powerful Thunder Attack.
"Solrock, dodge and use Flamethrower!" Tate said.
Hearing him Ash called to Pikachu, "Make sure you don't miss!"
Pikachu focused as he was about to unleash his Thunder. He watched Solrock and sent out the attack. Solrock flew out of the way of most of it, but Pikachu managed to direct the last of the blast to hit Solrock, doing at least some good damage. Seeing the hit land, Eevee charged in with her fangs bared to deliver what would hopefully be the final blow. At the same time, Solrock sent out its Flamethrower at Pikachu, scorching the Electric Mouse Pokémon who flew back and hit the wall. He slid down with spirals in his eyes, defeated.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in concern.
Eevee cast a glance back at her boyfriend and felt a surge of anger before turning her gaze back to Solrock. Tate noticed her coming and was about to order a Psychic attack, but too late. Eevee once again bit Solrock, this time right between the eyes. Solrock's eyes closed and it fell to the ground next to Lunatone.
"Solrock!" Tate exclaimed.
"Pikachu, Lunatone, and Solrock are all unable to battle!" the referee said. "May's Eevee is the last Pokémon standing. Therefore the winner goes to the team of Ash and May!"
Eevee panted heavily but smiled and looked back. May smiled and bent down, holding out her arms.
"You did! Great job Eevee!" May said.
Eevee ran back and jumped into her trainers arms. Ash meanwhile picked up Pikachu. She looked at him in concern.
"Eevee? Eevee?" she asked. "Are you okay Pikachu?"
"Pika, pi," he replied. "I'll be fine."
"Always a bit slow aren't you brother," Liza said from their end of the battlefield. "Ah well, we can't always win."
They lead the couple outside.
"Well, Ash, May," Liza started.
"That was a good battle," Tate said. "But I hope you know that while we MAY allow you to have May as a partner at our gym you won't be able to do the same in the Hoenn League."
May giggled at the pun on her name.
"I know," Ash said. "I'm sure I can win though, whether she is fighting by my side or just cheering me on!"
The twin Gym Leaders nodded, then both reached into their pocket and pulled out a badge. The badges were both shaped like pink hearts with a hole in the middle.
"It is our honor to give you both the Mind Badge," Liza and Tate said together.
Ash stepped forward and took the badge from Liza while May slowly did the same. She hadn't thought that she would get a badge herself. But she had earned it with Ash, so it could make a nice souvenir and mark that she'd won her first gym battle.
Ash raised the badge and posed. "Alright I got a Mind Badge!"
He then looked at May. "Come on May you got one too!"
She smiled at his antics, but could appreciate it felt good to do a victory pose. She walked up at his side and they both repeated the pose.
"We got a Mind Badge!"
Beside them, Pikachu and Eevee leapt for joy.
"Pikachu!"
"Eevee!"
The couple then turned to the twins. "I guess we'll see you guys around."
"You off to the next battle?" Liza asked. "There's only a month left till the tournament!"
"Yeah, I'll be going the day after tomorrow," Ash said. "There's a carnival going on here that I want to see."
"Oh, the Medieval Carnival!" Tate said. "We're going too! So, I guess we'll see you there!"
"Guess we will!" Ash said.
The couple headed off to the Pokémon Center. They'd rest Pikachu and Eevee then get ready for the festival tomorrow. May already had an outfit, but Ash would need one. At least Harley had been locked up and now they only had one badge left to get for the Hoenn League for Ash, with a month to spare. Of course, Ash knew he would need to train as well, but that could wait a little bit.
Okay, another chapter down. Just to let you guys know I might be taking another break from this story as another of the ones I'm writing is getting closer to done, but we'll see. If I haven't published a new chapter of this by the 24th it probably means I'm focusing on that story to get it done.