Thomas: Peren (Sawsbuck), Blitz (Talonflame), Scout (Pachirisu), Nin (Minnesotan Arbok), Shadow (Galarian Ponyta), Winter (Minnesotan Mightyena), Sage (Dartrix)
Saturday, July 28th, 2018
I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as I looked around at all of the trainers around me. I was never great at estimating crowd sizes, but I was pretty sure there were easily over one hundred people milling around, a count that would be whittled down to sixteen in fewer than three weeks. While the fact that I was coming into the gauntlet with seven badges meant that I had an experience advantage over the majority of the other people, a bad match or two was all that it would take to get me eliminated from contention for going to the state fair. John and Cait stood at my side, doing their best to look calm even though I knew they were more apprehensive than me.
"Attention trainers!" A loud voice suddenly filled the air, making almost half of the assembled trainers jump. I noticed that I wasn't the only one to instinctively reach for a Pokeball, only to relax upon realizing what was going on. As one, we turned toward the speaker who was standing on a section of ground that I was pretty sure hadn't been elevated a few seconds ago. Once he had most people's attention, the man continued speaking into a megaphone. "We have over a thousand battles to get through in the next twenty days so I won't be long winded here. Group assignments have just gone up on the league's website. Groups A and B will be battling today and should report to their assigned field within the next thirty minutes. All other groups are free to leave for the day. Thank you and good luck."
Like most of the other trainers, I was already searching for my name on the league's website before the announcement finished. It ended up only taking a few seconds for me to find my name as I turned out to be the third entry in the entire listing, right at the top alongside the other two seven badgers in group A. I took a few seconds to sigh in relief over the low number of my opponents at the same badge count, before scrolling down to the schedule. That relief was short-lived when I discovered that my third match of the day was against one of the other seven badgers in my group.
As much as I wanted to start planning for that match, I forced myself to scroll back up. My first opponent only had one fewer badge than I did and the last thing I wanted to do was drop a winnable match. Her team seemed to be composed of a smattering of seemingly random Pokemon, which, to be fair, was probably what mine seemed like to other trainers. Honestly, the only obvious difference between our two teams was that hers still had three evolutions to go while I was only missing two. That thought didn't exactly ease my nerves, but I held on, confident in all the training that we'd done.
"Ouch, you're going today already?" John said with a sharp inhale of breath through his teeth, interrupting my strategizing before it could really start. "I'm not until Monday."
"And I'm tomorrow," Cait added. "Let's head to the field right now, we can talk on the way."
I gave her a grateful nod though I would have been just as happy being able to plan in silence. In part to distract them with something, I asked, "Can you look at my third match and tell me what you think?" With that task assigned, I double-checked where my first match was and purposefully strode ahead of my friends. They immediately started pouring over John's phone, leaving me walking by myself as I walked toward the location of my first battle.
By the time we reached the field, I was starting to feel like I had a decent plan, though my nerves were still bad enough that I had to triple-check the sign with the large fifteen on it. Neither my opponent nor the referee had arrived, which didn't help reassure me that I wasn't somehow at the wrong spot. Partially to distract myself, I turned to my friends and asked, "So what does it look like?"
"She has nine Pokemon and looks like a steel and poison specialist," Cait instantly answered, making me wince. Hearing that one of my toughest opponents had two more Pokemon than me and specialized in types I had limited advantages against wasn't a great way to start out. "If I had to guess, I think she'll want to pick first and lead with her Revavroom."
"Cait, everyone is going to want to pick first," John said but dropped it when I gave him an unimpressed look. Even though I mostly agreed with him, I had no interest in continuing to hear an argument I'd been listening to for weeks. "But, uh, I think she'll lead Steelix though."
"Got it." I was still obviously going to scope out the team myself when I had a chance, but having at least a starting point to plan against would be useful. I was about to thank them both for taking a look but got an idea and gave Cait a grin. "Thanks for the advice. It's just like the last time we were here." I was rewarded with the sight of her visibly cringing as John barked a laugh a second later.
"Please don't remind me of that," she practically begged.
I shrugged. "I'm serious, it's what I needed to hear," I said, though my sincerity was undercut by the fact that I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.
The three of us continued joking around until the referee arrived a few minutes later. They both wished me good luck as I stepped forward to my spot on the grassy field to wait for my opponent. I hadn't been keeping track of the time, but from the way that the referee was checking the time, she ended up arriving with barely any time to spare. As soon as she had stepped into the trainer area as well, the referee looked at me and asked, "Thomas Fitzgerald?" When I nodded, he turned to my opponent. "Harper Johnson?"
"Y-yep!" She loudly answered, shifting from one leg to the other. I felt a bit bad, but the sight of her clear nerves made my own better.
After the referee had marked something on his clipboard, he looked at me again. "Heads or tails?" After I said heads, he flipped a large coin, caught it, and slapped it down on the back of his other hand. "The coin is heads. Would you like to pick first?"
"Yes," I said with a nod, already reaching for the Pokeball I had in mind while ignoring the sound of John elbowing Cait behind me. Once he had confirmed my decision, I sent out Nin without waiting any of my allotted time.
"You have thirty seconds to select your first Pokemon," the referee told Harper. She didn't respond and instead closed her eyes to take a deep breath. Twenty seconds later she opened her eyes and selected the first Pokeball from her waist, sending out a Gumshoos. Rather than use the thirty seconds for her second Pokemon, she sent out a Seviper only a few seconds later. Harper's Pokemon both intently stared down Nin who barely seemed to notice their presence.
I gave the referee a distracted nod when he told me I had thirty seconds, trying to figure out which of my Pokemon to go with. I'd been hoping to bait her into using her Foongus to counter Nin, but she hadn't gone for it for whatever reason. Still, I decided there was no reason not to stick with my plan and sent out Shadow to stand at Nin's side.
The referee nodded to himself before announcing, "The gauntlet match between Thomas Fitzgerald and Harper Johnson begins… Now!" The call was punctuated by him slicing his hand down through the air, but I had already turned my full attention to the field.
"Get some room with Agility! In their face Nin!"
"Stop them with Glare Pepper! Work Up Onion!"
While Harper's Gumshoos psyched itself up for the battle, her Seviper slithered in front of it and tried to stare down Shadow. She slowed slightly under its scrutiny, but Seviper was quickly forced to turn its attention toward Nin when he blasted Seviper right in the face with a Water Gun. In the couple of seconds it took Seviper to shake the water off its face, Nin had gotten on top of the other snake Pokemon and they quickly became tangled as they tried to bind, bite, and smack each other. At one point when Seviper opened its mouth, I thought I saw small sparks flashing on its fangs, but they vanished after Nin Headbutted it.
Between the pressure he was putting on the other Pokemon and Pastel Veil keeping him from being poisoned, I had no doubts that Nin would come out ahead in his tussle. Turning my attention toward Shadow, I found that she was already starting to bear down on Gumshoos with her small horn glowing brightly. Harper had also been watching Shadow's charge since she called, "Use Payback Onion!"
"Switch to Seviper!" I shouted, thankful that Harper's command had come early enough that Shadow wasn't fully committed. Her small form meant that it was fairly easy to change directions, and she was able to alter her course away from Gumshoos, who dropped to all fours to race after her. Seviper tried to pull away from Nin as Shadow bore down on it, but Nin's body flashed silver as he clamped down on the other Pokemon. With escape out of the question, Seviper went for the next best option and spat a glob of purple liquid at Shadow's face.
Unlike before, it was too late for Shadow to pull back from her attack and I winced as I saw her horn swipe across both Nin and Seviper. Thankfully, the Psycho Cut hit the section of Nin's body that had been using Iron Tail, so he was barely hurt while Seviper hissed loudly in pain. Rather than continuing to run blind, Shadow slowed to a halt several feet past the entangled snakes and started shaking her head to get the Venoshock out of her eyes.
"Now, Thunder Fang!" Harper called and I felt a sharp panic when Gumshoos opened its mouths to reveal sparks of electricity. I had a feeling that the command had been intended for Seviper as well, but it was still reeling from Psycho Cut and was slower on the uptake. Gumshoos on the other hand was more than ready to finally get an attack in and bit down hard on Nin with small sparks exploding out at the contact.
"Switch! Confusion!" I felt the slightest ping of dissatisfaction from Shadow, but it was obvious that she still went through with the move as Seviper's grip on Nin loosened the rest of the way. Nin instantly lunged forward to Headbutt Gumshoos, though the normal type managed to keep its maw clamped on Nin's tail. Though its instincts kept Gumshoos on Nin, the Pokemon itself was dazed from the hit, and it made no move to dodge as Nin reared back to hit it again. With Shadow bombarding Seviper's mind, Nin had free reign to bash Gumshoos with both his body and water until both of Harper's Pokemon were knocked out.
There were cheers from behind me as my victory was announced, but before I could go back and talk to my friends, the referee gestured the two of us over to sign slips of paper to confirm the match's outcome. When that was finished and I had recalled my Pokemon, the referee told us where some healing machines had been placed nearby, when our next matches were, and then wished us a good day. I watched as he hurried away, then turned to Harper. "Good mat-"
"What do you think I should work on?" Harper blurted out, wincing when she realized she talked over me. "Sorry. My brother said I should ask for advice from everyone I face, especially if I lose."
"Oh, um, maybe get some ranged options for…" I hesitated, feeling a bit unsure about giving advice to someone who had probably only been a trainer for a month or two fewer than me. That and because I was trying to remember the name of her Pokemon. "...Onion if they don't already have some. That way you'll be able to take full advantage of Work Up."
Harper nodded enthusiastically. "Got it! And your Arbok is really strong! I thought they would have been a lot more hurt with everything, but they just kept going!"
"Yeah, he's tough, but maybe keep working on Thunder Fang too. Did you use a TM to teach it?" Her eyes widened slightly and then she nodded. "TMs only get you the first step most of the time. It's the practice after that when they really learn the move."
"Oh. I thought it looked a little weak, but I wasn't sure why… Thanks for the advice!"
"No problem, good luck with your other matches," I said, and Harper gave me a quick wave goodbye before rushing off to where the healing machines were. When I turned back around, I found John and Cait right behind me, practically beaming.
"Giving out advice now?" John asked with a grin. "Got time in your schedule for me?"
"I think I can make time. We both know you need it," I said with a wide smile that made John's expression sour. "And don't worry about payment. I'm just trying to pay forward some good advice I got a while ago," I added and then started heading toward the healing machines while trying to dodge the pebbles my friends were throwing at me.
Despite my jokes, giving advice seemed to be a not insignificant part of the gauntlet as my second opponent also asked for tips after our match. While every match was important for me to win to make it to the state fair, the trainers with four or five badges knew going into the event that it was highly unlikely for them to make it through. When I'd initially seen the makeup of the gauntlet groups, I hadn't understood why so many lower badge trainers had signed up, but it made sense after I had talked to a few of them. To them, it was the perfect place to have multiple competitive battles a day, which I had to admit was a big improvement over the weekly matches at the Brawl.
My third battle of the day was anything but simple training as I found myself standing across the field from fellow seven badger Anne Taylor. She bounced lightly on her feet as the referee did the coinflip and smiled widely when it was revealed that she won it. "I'll pick first!" She announced before the referee could even ask and pressed the button on a Pokeball she'd already been holding. As a large Minnesotan Meganium appeared in front of her, she called, "Let's have a rematch! My Bella against your Talonflame!"
As the referee told me I had thirty seconds for my first Pokemon, I hesitated. It was partially because I hadn't expected a Meganium to start and was trying to figure out how to handle the Pokemon. Mostly it was because I had no idea what Anne was talking about. I practically never battled other trainers outside the Brawl and I was pretty sure that we had never gone against each other there as I simply didn't recognize her. Even in a world with a wide range of unusual hair colors, her pale pink should have been memorable, but it didn't ring a bell.
I realized I was wasting precious seconds and pushed past the line of thought, deciding that she was just trying to psych me out. And speaking of mind games, she was obviously trying to bait me into using Blitz, but I was having difficulty thinking of a reason not to. Even a Minnesotan Meganium wouldn't be able to do much to Blitz, and Anne didn't have any Pokemon that would be a disastrous matchup for him. Her Glimmora would be the worst by far, but I was confident that Bullet Wing would get him through that matchup if necessary.
I took another second to consider, then sent out Blitz as the referee gave me my ten second warning. I did my best to ignore Anne's fist-pump and moved to thinking about Blitz's partner, which turned out to have a surprisingly easy answer. I wanted to take Meganium's Abrasive Touch ability out of consideration, which meant either Peren or Shadow, and for this match, I wanted to make sure I got a pair that had practiced together. I'd put Winter and Sage together in my previous match, and while they handily won against the weaker opponents, their lack of cohesion had been evident.
Anne seemed more than a bit surprised by my second choice as Peren appeared on the field, and from her pause, I guessed she also thought I was laying a trap for her. And to be fair, I sort of was. The three of her Pokemon that were a threat to Blitz were Tentacruel, Steelix, and Glimmora, and out of them, the last would be the best looking at the types in play. It would be difficult to get it in range for Peren to use his newest move, but I was confident only once would be enough.
I blinked in surprise as Anne sent out her Revavroom, which was apparently named Motor. The fact that I had no idea why she'd picked the Pokemon made me nervous, but my strategy would still work the same. Like my previous matches, we both gave our commands the moment the match started. "Go in fast!"
"Reflect and Smog!"
Even from a still starting position, Blitz streaked across the field in only a couple of seconds with Peren hot behind him as Trailblaze sped him up. Unfortunately, Blitz was a hair too slow and Meganium's Reflect popped up between the two of them at the last possible moment. The transparent barrier shuddered and Meganium was hit by a little backlash, but the Reflect held. Minnesotan Meganium generally weren't quite as defensively strong as their Johtonian cousins, instead relying on their poison to wear down their opponents. That was a process that Anne seemed eager to speed up as Revavroom spewed out purple exhaust fumes that wafted directly toward Peren.
I knew that he would have been willing to run right through the poisonous cloud with nothing but Aromatherapy to keep him going, but there was no need for that. Right before he reached the Smog, I shouted, "Bulldoze!"
Peren leaped into the air, bringing his hooves down hard on the ground when he landed. The ground began to ripple and the grass ripped itself out of the earth as the upturned soil flew toward Revavroom in a wave. Unfortunately, it passed right beneath Revavroom due to a command that Anne had given a split second after mine. Magnet Rise.
I grumbled under my breath but managed to stay calm. While Revavroom would be a lot harder to take out without its quad-weakness, I didn't think that Blitz would have any issues with that. Plus, Bulldoze was still useful even though it had whiffed since Peren could use it to change his typing. Granted, I was having him trade one weakness for a different one, but only one of Anne's Pokemon was good against ground instead of both of them being strong against grass. "Camouflage, then swi-"
"Taunt," Anne called with a satisfied smile. Revavroom made a sharp screeching noise that conveniently covered up my swearing as Peren stiffened and then charged right through the Smog. His Aromatherapy must have been stopped by the Taunt as well since he slowed to cough after only a few steps.
"Flare and switch!" I quickly said, and Blitz instantly pulled away from fighting Meganium. He easily had the advantage in the matchup, but Meganium's barriers were holding better than I had expected and it turned out it knew Protect. Without Aromatherapy stopping him from being poisoned, I was afraid that any victory he won would be pyrrhic. Meganium tried to swipe at Blitz as he flew away, but its vines weren't even close, leaving the large Pokemon to lumber after him.
Meanwhile, Peren reached Revavroom after running through the Smog and some Sludge attacks, where he surprised me by jumping several feet straight into the air to bring his hooves down on the other Pokemon. His sudden Double Kick didn't seem to do much to Revavroom, but it did distract it enough that the Pokemon's Protect against Flare Blitz came a half-second late. It made a sound that reminded me of an engine sputtering, but that only caused it to expel even more Smog. Peren was once again blasted by the foul smoke, making the leaves on his antlers turn brown and brittle.
From the way that his gaze was glued to Revavroom, I assumed that Peren was still Taunted, so I told him to use Bullet Seed. The attack would do almost no damage, but I was counting on Blitz to take out Revavroom. I was hoping that the seeds would gunk up the exhaust vents enough to stop the Smog from spewing out in the meantime. Anne seemingly had the same idea about using ineffectual attacks as she had Meganium switch to showering my Pokemon with poisonous Razor Leaf attacks.
While Blitz continued to try to hit Revavroom with mixed success because of the occasional Protect, I kept most of my attention on Peren. I knew full well that I was slowly losing the battle, and the only thing that I could see that would change the flow was when Taunt wore off. The issue was I wasn't even sure which of his moves would help. Sunny Day would be a massive help to Blitz, but I didn't want to risk Meganium knowing Synthesis. He'd taken enough damage that Camouflage wouldn't help, especially since he had changed to receiving more hits from Meganium than Revavroom. I didn't know what Revavroom's ability was, which made Worry Seed a bit of a gamble. In the end, only one of his moves seemed particularly useful and the moment I saw his leaves regain some of their color, I called, "Leech Seed!"
"Taunt!" Anne ordered, but by the time Revavroom had repeated the sharp sound from before, Leech Seeds had already been mixed into Peren's Bullet Seed. The seeds sprouted immediately as they nestled themselves among Revavroom's cylinders and it felt more than a little cathartic to see its energy being drained. Despite being Taunted again, Peren still had the presence of mind to send the small globes of green energy that came off of Revavroom toward Blitz instead of himself.
Blitz momentarily turned off his flames as he made another pass at Revavroom to collect a line of the green orbs that were streaming toward him. He gave a grateful cry that turned enraged as Peren's front legs gave out and he fell to the ground, wheezing. I winced but refused to take my eyes off him as he fired a few last Bullet Seeds up at Revavroom before collapsing. I recalled him the instant the referee declared him out, and before returning his Pokeball to my waist, I quietly said, "Awesome job buddy."
My full attention was drawn back to the field by a large thump, which turned out to be the sound of Revavroom crashing into the ground, unconscious. For once Blitz didn't waste any time celebrating his victory and streaked back toward Meganium without hesitating for a moment. When a shimmering green Protect barrier appeared between the two of them, Blitz simply carried his momentum up and around to hit Meganium in the back with Acrobatics. However, I could tell that the poison was wearing him down and even the unexpected attack was partially defended against by the Barrier that Meganium had renewed while they'd been fighting Revavroom.
The next minute consisted of Blitz seamlessly switching between Flame Wheel, Acrobatics, and ranged Pecks as he harassed Meganium. The poison Pokemon was forced to put almost all of its efforts into defense, only offering the occasional Acid in an attempt to deter Blitz. Even still, I wasn't sure who was going to come out on top as Meganium had made its stand in the Smog that still hadn't blown away. When Meganium partially blocked an Acrobatics with a Protect that shattered under the force of the attack, I decided it was time to go for broke.
"Flare!"
Blitz didn't even have the energy for a screech as a fiery aura surrounded him and he dove down at Meganium. The larger Pokemon didn't try to dodge and likewise only managed to hold up a couple of vines in the way, but Blitz easily blasted past them. There was a small explosion as Blitz rammed into Meganium and when the flare-up faded, both of them were lying on the ground. The referee looked back and forth between the two Pokemon until one of them stirred and weakly rose.
"Talonflame is unable to battle! The winner is Anne Taylor!" Without missing a beat, he sent out a Noctowl that promptly cleared away the Smog with Defog. The breeze from the move was enough to make Meganium sway and Anne quickly returned it before it could collapse. As I likewise returned Blitz and walked over to sign the match slip, I numbly decided I should see about teaching the move to Blitz and Sage.
Anne and I quickly signed our slips, and I found myself standing alone on the field with her as the referee left. I certainly wasn't expecting either of us to exchange advice, but I still felt like I should say something. "Good battle," I finally managed to get out after a couple of awkward seconds.
"Thanks! It was super close!" She quickly smiled, then hesitated. "Sorry about my strategy though. I know it's not the most… sporting."
The apology was enough to surprise me out of my post-loss funk. "What? No, you're fine. Honestly, I'd like to be able to pull off something like that."
Anne instantly brightened back up. "Really? Well, would you be up for battling again sometime?"
"Um, sure. When all of this is over," I said, vaguely gesturing to the battlefields around us. "Actually, we should probably go get our Pokemon healed before the next round starts."
"Oh, right. See you around then?"
"Yeah," I gave her a small wave. "See ya." As Anne left to head to the healing machines, I walked over to where John and Cait had been waiting with looks of sympathetic disappointment that matched my expression. Dropping my third match of the gauntlet, especially when it was one of the two most important, was not a strong start if I wanted to make it to the state fair.
Sunday, August 5th, 2018
"You're sure you don't want us to come with today?" Cait asked from across the table. John had finally had enough of us sitting on logs and had purchased a foldable picnic table.
I took a moment to swallow my bite of toast before answering. "No, you guys do some training or just relax." It had taken a week, but I was starting to realize that the gauntlet was as much a mental battle as tactical and physical. Between our different matches, we'd gone to the battle courts six of the last eight days, and having a single day off was not enough for a full mental reset going into my third day of battles. I didn't want my friends to have the same issue, especially since they didn't have a free day before their matches like I did.
"Well, alright, if you're sure," John said with a small shrug. "What do your matches look like today?"
"Four, six, five, and six badges today. The big one for my group is the other two sevens have their match today." Both Anne and Mark had gone undefeated in the first two days, which hadn't improved my worries about advancing. In fact, of the five trainers whose standings I cared about, I was the only one who had dropped a match as John and Cait had likewise won all of theirs.
We spent the rest of breakfast lightly talking about our upcoming opponents until I had to leave to get to the gauntlet on time. After making sure that they had finished their own meals, I returned my Pokemon and hopped on my bike. Peren had insisted on carrying me on the days we'd gone to watch John and Cait's matches, but I wouldn't let him tire himself out on days that he was battling. Despite my reassurances that he'd done great, I was pretty sure he was still beating himself up over the loss against Anne.
I arrived at my first battle court of the day with plenty of time to spare. After quickly verifying that none of my opponents for the day had updated their roster for the day, I sat down on the grass and started to read. Through John, I'd been recommended a historical fiction book by Meggan about the Darkest Day in Galar. It was fascinating to read about a piece of Pokemon history that I'd never known about, and I couldn't help but wonder if and how it would come up if a game had been released for the region. Cait couldn't understand how I could read right before important matches, but it was much less stressful and more fun compared to fretting over matchups.
I continued to not get hit by any consequences of my approach as my first battle of the day went without any issues. Nin and Sage had no issues dismantling my opponent's Naclstack and Vanillite, bringing me to an eight and one record. After I'd given my opponent the usual advice, I headed over to the healing machines to make sure everyone was in good shape for what would likely be my toughest battle of the day.
Despite only having six badges, Larry Planter had managed to make it to day three with a record identical to my own, even down to the fact that Anne had been the one to hand him his only loss. I checked the standings while my Pokemon were being healed and found that he'd won his first match of the day as well. Meaning that if I lost our match, I would be solidly in an embarrassing fourth place and my chances of advancing to the state fair would be almost completely shot.
I tried to continue reading before my second match, but with those thoughts bouncing around my head I ended up just reading the same paragraph over and over, unable to concentrate. When the referee and Larry showed up, I snapped the book shut with relief, ready to get things over with one way or the other. After the usual confirmation of our names and coin flip, the referee looked over at me. "Heads. Would you like to pick first or second?"
"Second," I announced with a slight smile. Surprisingly, I had found that I preferred being able to pick two Pokemon that I knew worked together at the same time instead of having to hope my opponent's picks didn't lock me out of the teams that we'd practiced. Cait had spent the whole day gloating over John when I'd mentioned my preference.
"You have thirty seconds to select your first Pokemon," the referee told me the moment Larry sent out his Bouffalant. I only had to think for a second or two before I sent out Peren. He was one of my two Pokemon with fighting moves, and despite his doubts, I still had full confidence in him for important matches. My second pick took a bit longer to consider, but I eventually sent out Scout. Larry didn't have any ground types and with her being able to expand Peren's Camouflage options, I wasn't particularly worried about being counterpicked.
That ended up not being a remote concern as Larry's second Pokemon turned out to be a Minnesotan Cramorant. I was barely listening as the referee did the final countdown, instead staring at the black and white Pokemon in disbelief. I was almost certain that the regional variant was water and ghost, making it completely baffling that he had sent it out against my grass and electric Pokemon.
"Sing and Scary Face!" Larry called the moment the referee brought his hand down.
Still confused, my commands came a couple of seconds late. "Trailblaze and Shockin-" I cut myself off as Cramorant opened its beak and let out a cry that sounded like the haunting loon cry that I'd heard countless times before, but somehow even more discordant. Even if Peren hadn't been using Aromatherapy, I had a hard time believing that noise would have put them to sleep, and from Larry's reaction, he thought the same.
"Guess we still need to work on that one," he announced, sounding chagrined. "Uh, Icy Wind."
Peren and Scout had cringed at the noise of the attempted Sing, but recovered and jumped into their own moves. Between the gusts of cold wind and the intimidating look Bouffalant was giving him, Peren was only able to advance at a jogging speed, but Trailblaze was slowly offsetting the slowdowns. I expected Bouffalant to try to intercept Peren on the way to its partner, but instead, it stomped its hooves on the ground, using what I was pretty sure was Focus Energy.
Scout finally built up enough electricity for her move right before Peren reached Cramorant and the oscillating wave of electricity washed over it, locking it up enough that it couldn't even try to dodge Peren's grass-enhanced hooves. Bouffalant had finally moved toward Peren, but it was likewise stalled as the electricity coursed over its body. Rather than press the attack against Cramorant, Peren quickly used Camouflage to change over to being electric. Aromatherapy was enough to keep him safe from paralysis, but the small shocks were still uncomfortable, even disregarding getting rid of his ice weakness.
"Dive and Horn Attack!" Cramorant had been floating on the grass like it was the surface of a lake, abruptly ducked its head down and disappeared under the ground. With his target out of sight, Peren turned around barely in time to lock horns with Bouffalant. While he was forced back due to the momentum the other Pokemon had built up, he managed to keep his footing and neither of them seemed hurt by the exchange. Scout dropped to all fours and used Quick Attack to get closer to help, but Cramorant burst out of the ground under her after only a few feet. The accompanying splash of water sent her flying, and when she hit it with a retaliatory Thunder Shock, she got a spectral Arrokuda to the face.
Scout quickly got back to her feet, only to suddenly wince for no discernible reason. Even more surprisingly, Peren and Cramorant did the same, with Bouffalant instantly taking advantage of Peren's lapse to twist its horns. The movement forced Peren off and Bouffalant quickly followed up with a Horn Attack right in his side. From his loud grunt, the Focus Energy must have paid off, but that didn't stop Peren from rearing back and kicking Bouffalant with enough force to make the buffalo Pokemon bellow in pain.
Meanwhile, Scout and Cramorant had started playing a game of cat and mouse with Cramorant constantly Diving in and out of the ground while Scout shocked it every time it surfaced. With the match in status quo, I tried to figure out what had caused most of the Pokemon to react earlier. I was coming up blank, only for it to happen again, with the three affected Pokemon reacting even harder the second time. I braced myself for Bouffalant to get another free hit on Peren, only for Larry to call, "Rest!"
I watched in bewilderment as Bouffalant lay down on the ground and closed its eyes, only for them to snap back open a second later as electricity from Scout's terrain arced across its body. I looked at Larry to try to figure out what was going on, just in time to see the grin disappear from his face. Boufflant hadn't managed to return to its feet by the time Peren had recovered from whatever the effect was. I watched as Larry's expression grew increasingly worried as Peren hit Bouffalant with another round of Double Kicks.
I wasn't sure what to make of his reaction until it suddenly clicked. "Shit! Worry Seed and switch!" Peren hesitated for a half second, then took a step back to fire a single large seed at Bouffalant. The seed exploded in a puff of ultra-caffeinated power, eliminating the risk that Bouffalant would be able to fall asleep, even if the Shocking Terrain wore off. Cramorant tried to pop out in front of Scout, but it didn't work a second time with a quick burst of speed from Quick Attack. "All in! Double Kick and Thunder Fang!"
"Double Team and Secret Power!" Bouffalant gave up all pretenses of attacking and started to run away as an illusory herd formed around it. Peren and Scout had to give up on the moves I'd told them to use since they didn't work well on moving targets, switching to Bullet Seed and Thunder Shock as they chased down Bouffalant. Thankfully, Larry's apparent unfamiliarity with Electric Terrain once again turned to my advantage as my Pokemon were able to completely ignore the hits they were taking from Cramorant, immune to the move's extra effect.
With Peren's Bullet Seed able to quickly tear through the Double Team clones, they were able to quickly identify the real Bouffalant faster than it could replenish the move. Even still, I was starting to worry we were losing the race against the clock until Peren fired a single large Seed Bomb that arced through the air and hit Bouffalant in the middle of its back. The normal type's back gave out and it fell face-first into the electrified ground.
I hesitated, not wanting to tell my Pokemon to attack a downed Pokemon, but given the time constraint, I didn't want to just stand around either. Thankfully, I was spared the choice by the referee declaring that Bouffalant was unable to battle. With a sigh, Larry returned Bouffalant, and after a moment of hesitation, Cramorant as well. "I forfeit."
I exhaled in relief and quickly returned my own Pokemon before they could be taken out by the Perish Song. Our after-battle conversation was short as neither of us had anything to say to the other. Looking at Larry's roster again after the battle, it was apparent that he'd built his entire team around the strategy, and with how hyper-specialized he was, we had almost no suggestions to offer the other person.
My last two battles of the day were much more standard and I was able to eke out wins in both of them. I checked the updated standings at the end of the day as a victorious Peren carried me back to Cait's house. Neither of the other two seven badgers had dropped a match to a lower-seeded opponent, so I was still in third place as expected. However, Mark had managed to beat Anne in their match, so unless something unexpected happened, the best I could hope for was a three-way tie on the last day.
A/N: Minnesota has a new flag and seal! The selected flag wouldn't have been my first choice, but I like it more each time I see it. Fittingly for this chapter, the seal features a loon.
Thanks to Star (quarknova on this site) for betaing. Next up is Chapter 45: Key Match
