At some point, Meditite, Skorupi, and Fearow had been transferred to the normal Pokemon Center accomodations. Fearow had slept the entire time courtesy of the Musharna, who had also kindly offered to help Meditite sleep as well. But Meditite had declined, for she knew her sleep would be filled with Fearow as much as her waking world was.
Now, though, she could feel the Pokeballs moving, and knew that Marcus had come to pick them up. Her stomach clenched, knowing that soon he would release them to take a look at his new catch, and knowing that she didn't want to face that Fearow again, didn't want to know what it would do to Marcus after that outburst in the Pokemon Center.
The moment that Meditite had been dreading arrived in one smooth flash.
The three of them materialized, and Fearow's eyes immediately began darting around, looking from Meditite, trying to stand strongly, to Skorupi, his eyes wide with surprise, to Marcus, smiling in complete ignorance of Fearow's demeanor.
"You," Fearow snarled, rounding on Marcus fully, "let me go this instant!"
Marcus took a slight step back, and Meditite swallowed. Here goes. She rushed forward, interspersing herself between her Trainer and Fearow.
"That's enough," she said.
Fearow's piercing eyes fixed on Meditite, scorn dancing in them. "And why should I listen to you, Fighter?" she asked. "What right do you have? What right do any of you have to do this to me?" She gave a slight, furious chuckle. "But of course. He's one of those Trainers. What does right matter to him?"
"He…" Meditite hesitated, trying desperately to think of something that would calm Fearow down. "...only wants what's best for you, Fearow."
Fearow raised herself up, glaring down at Meditite with ferocity in every movement. "My name is Kriesh," she snarled. "Not Fearow. And I know his type. He doesn't care about me. About any of us. He just wants power. There are a thousand Trainers like him out there. Trainers that treat their Pokemon like mere weapons."
"Marcus doesn't treat us like weapons," said Meditite, ashamed at how automatically the words streamed from her mouth. "He does care."
"Oh, does he?" Kriesh seemed to be getting angrier by the second. "Tell me something, Fighter. That bug over there. How did your Trainer recruit him?"
"He caught me," said Skorupi. "An'..."
"And what?" Kriesh asked. "He forced you to fight for him? Paid no heed to your past life? Drove you to unconsciousness simply for victory?"
"Ah'm sorry," Skorupi growled, "but ah enjoy fightin'. So ya can take yer opinions an' whine about them ta someone else."
Kriesh snorted. "And what about you, Fighter?" she asked, turning back towards Meditite. "Are you just here to fight?"
"No," said Meditite. "I'm here because someone needs to hold this team together."
"Team?" Kriesh let out a harsh, shrieking laugh. "What team? I see a bloodthirsty Bug, a monster of a Trainer, and an ignorant Fighter who can't face the fact that she's more of a prisoner than a leader."
"That's not true!" Meditite challenged.
"Is it not?" Kriesh asked. "How did your Trainer catch you, exactly?"
"He took me from my forest," said Meditite.
"And you're just fine with that?" Kriesh asked.
"I-" Meditite stopped.
Kriesh's next words very nearly dropped her to her knees. "What do you really want, Fighter? To serve under this Trainer that took you from your home, everything you knew? Is that really what you want?"
Meditite opened her mouth again, but no words came out.
"Face it," said Kriesh. "He doesn't care about you, your personality, your ideas, your feelings. To him, you're not a living being. You. Are. Just. A. Weapon."
Yet again, Meditite tried to search for something, anything, to say, to defend Marcus. And yet memories streamed into her mind, beckoned by Kriesh's words:
Marcus, his gaze flitting over the downed Snover and the standing Meditite, almost like he'd been watching, gauging which one was stronger…
Marcus, watching as she fired Psychic Blasts into the Wild Pokemon even as her head ached and she barely kept herself upright…
Watching the fight between her and Skorupi as Skorupi momentarily got the upper hand…
Ordering Skorupi to remain out against Vivillon just to land one attack…
Keeping them out against Kriesh, even when the other Trainers had run…
"You see, Fighter?" Kriesh asked. "This is the kind of Trainer you-"
"SHUT UP!" Meditite screamed.
Silence fell. Kriesh stood still, if only for a few moments; then she turned her head away.
"I don't know…" Kriesh's head swung back around as Meditite spoke, unable to hold the words back. "After…after I was taken…I thought I could forget…thought I could pretend…that everything was okay…" She looked up, her eyes dripping tears. "I thought…that I could forget everything…if I just threw myself into Training, into becoming stronger…into leading the team…"
Meditite took a deep breath and looked up at Kriesh.
"I don't know what to do!" she cried, and that was all she got out before sorrow overtook her again. "I…I just don't…"
Kriesh's face had slowly drained itself of rage throughout Meditite's tirade; now it took on almost a motherly expression. "Fighter," she said. "I'm sorry."
"Is Marcus a bad Trainer?" Meditite whispered.
"Yes," said Kriesh. "Yes, he is." She sighed. "Look. There are two ways to deal with a bad Trainer. One is to find a Psychic Pokemon, or just a Pokemon that has some way of communicating with Trainers, and let them know of your plight. The second is to hope that someone else realizes how bad your Trainer is, and either gives them help or takes you away from them." Kriesh bowed her head. "I wish I could say something else."
"What about Skorupi?"
Kriesh's demeanor shifted back to anger. "Leave him," she growled. "All he wants to do is fight. He's the kind of Pokemon your Trainer actually wants."
"Ah'm standin' right here," Skorupi growled.
Kriesh rounded on him. "I know," she growled back.
"Okay, everyone, that's enough," Marcus called, finally breaking into the conversation. "I know Fearow's probably a bit of an acquired taste. But, Skorupi, you remember when you first came on. You and Meditite hated each other then. Always growling at each other, never wanting to battle together. Now look at you two, fighting side by side and even playing together. Fearow will come to terms with it. And once she does, we'll have a strong Pokemon to help us out. I mean, I'm not sure if it'll help against Grant, but the next two Gyms are Fighting and Grass-type Gyms, and Fearow will be of great use there."
Kriesh turned towards Marcus. "How can you be so blind?" she snarled.
"Now, we'd best come along," said Marcus. "I think we'll catch another Pokemon nearer Cyllage. Hopefully something with Grass or Water typing. But if we're going to do that and still have enough time for our Gym Battle, we need to go soon."
With a hiss of his Pokeball, he recalled Fearow. "I'm gonna go check that map over there," Marcus told Meditite. "You and Skorupi have fun. Play together, or whatever it is you do."
The Trainer turned and ambled away.
Skorupi glanced up at Meditite. "...did ya actually want ta befriend me?"
"What?" Meditite asked. "Of - of course I did!"
"Really?" Skorupi asked. "Cause from what ah just heard, all ya really wanted was ta forget. Ta pretend ya were leadin' the team. So was ah really yer 'friend'? Or did ya just say that 'cause ya felt like ya had ta in order ta be leader?"
Meditite felt like breaking down and sobbing. It wasn't true, and yet…
You've been doin' yer best ta ignore me the entire time we've been on this team. So why choose ta help me there?
While I may not like the way you fight, we are on the same team. This is what Pokemon who are working together do. They help each other out when the other is having difficulty.
Her own words…she'd tried to make them comforting, to reassure Skorupi that she had his back. But did she really?
It was true; she had been put off by Skorupi's fighting style, and so she had attempted to ignore him. But then, she'd saved him during the Gym battle, played with him afterwards…
Her heart sank even lower as she realized she didn't even know the answer to Skorupi's question…or her own.
"Kreish asked how Marcus could be so blind," Meditite whispered. "But I'm just as blind as he is."
"Okay!" Marcus chose this moment to step back into view. "It's only a couple hours to Cyllage, so I'm gonna recall you, and I'll let you out once we get to the beaches. Then we'll meet another new Pokemon, hopefully, and then we'll beat Grant's gym. Got it? Good."
The Pokeballs hissed, and Meditite was entrapped once more.
Finally alone, she allowed her emotions to come forth as she stared around at the walls of her Pokeball - her prison - whatever it was, and she began to sob.
It took a couple hours, during which the sounds of greenery and Pokemon calls were slowly replaced by the distant wash of waves and the distinct screeches of Zubat, before Meditite and Skorupi were once more released.
The coastline stretched out in front of them, waves crashing against the stony beach, littered with rocks and Trainers. Marcus looked around. "There should be plenty of Water-type Pokemon around," he said. "One of those should be perfect for this Gym. And, of course, we can get in some battling down here."
"Ho, Trainer!"
"Speaking of which…"
Fully rested, Meditite and Skorupi had absolutely no trouble dealing with this Trainer's two Goldeens. As the last one fell, Meditite relaxed, aware of the horn that had grazed her left side but knowing that the pain would ebb soon.
She and Skorupi hadn't spoken a single word to one another throughout the fight. It hurt Meditite, pierced her much harder than that Goldeen's horn, to realize that they were ignoring each other again.
Had it been only yesterday when they'd been playing outside the Santalune Gym?
"Um, excuse me?"
Meditite and Skorupi whirled, as did, surprisingly, Marcus. The reason for that became clear as Marcus then had to look down to spot the Pokemon that was clearly bumping into his leg.
"Whaddaya want?" Skorupi asked.
"Well, you know, I saw the way you beat those Goldeen," said the shell-like Pokemon. It sounded like it had an earnest grin, but Meditite couldn't tell by virtue of being unable to see under its shell. "And I just, you know, kinda happened to be looking for a Trainer, because all of my siblings have already gotten Trainers, and so I was wondering if you'd let me have a go on your team."
"Well," said Meditite, trying to think of something that would dissuade this Shellder without hurting it too badly "I mean-"
"You want to come with me?" Marcus interrupted.
"Yeah," said Shellder. "I do."
Though Marcus couldn't understand the Shellder, it was clear he got the general gist of it. He chuckled lightly. "All right," he said.
Meditite smiled despite herself. Marcus was grinning, happy not because of the power of this Pokemon, but simply because of its innocence, its excitement.
"But first," said Marcus, "I'd like you to fight Skorupi."
The smile dropped along with Meditite's spirits.
Skorupi shrugged. "All righ'," he said. "Just know, ya may be new, but that doesn't mean ah'll go easy on ya."
"Great!" Shellder cried. "Sonic Blast!"
The next moment, Meditite had to clap her hands to her ears as a piercing scream came from Shellder. Even Marcus winced, and Skorupi had the worst of it; with no hands to cover his ears, he took the full force of the scream, and Meditite saw his eyes cloud up, much like what happened when Psychic Blast struck its target just right.
"Offensive Shell!" Shellder rushed forwards despite having no visible method of propulsion that Meditite could see and rammed shell-first into the dazed Skorupi. A crack rang out across the beach as Skorupi fell to the ground, shaking his head.
The impact seemed to have brought Skorupi back to his senses, for he now shot a withering glare at Shellder. "Mah turn," he growled. "Pierce."
"Defensive Shell!" Shellder's shell clamped shut. The spikes Skorupi fired clattered off the shell, utterly ineffective.
Now Skorupi charged, scuttling over the sand with speed enhanced with anger.
"Water Blast!" Shellder opened up again and fired off a burst of Water-type energy. This, however, Skorupi dodged; the Water Blast broke against the sand as Skorupi lunged for Shellder.
"Uh-oh." The words were barely out of Shellder's mouth before Skorupi was on him. "Inject."
Shellder cried out in pain as Skorupi's tail slipped through the gap in the shell and struck Shellder's vulnerable body.
"Let's finish this," Skorupi snarled. "Prey."
"All right, that's enough."
Skorupi twisted to glare at Marcus. Marcus was staring at Shellder. "Not bad," he said. "I think you'll fit in nicely. Welcome to the team, Shellder."
As Skorupi flounced off, muttering about Trainers 'always interruptin' before gettin' ta the good parts', and Marcus moved towards Shellder, whose excitement seemed to overwhelm the pain from Skorupi's final attack, Meditite watched with dismay.
She'd been trying to fool herself again. Marcus didn't care how excited Shellder was, how emphatic he had been about being part of the team.
Shellder was only on the team because he'd gotten the upper hand on Skorupi.
Marcus was smiling widely as he practically dropped a Pokeball onto Shellder. "All right," he said as the Pokeball indicated a successful catch. "I think now we've got enough power to take on the next Gym. Shall we?"
It was a rhetorical question, for he was already sucking them back inside their Pokeballs. Meditite found herself staring at Marcus's waist once more; more specifically, at Kriesh's Pokeball.
I wish I knew what to do, she thought forlornly.
I wish I knew what to do, Kriesh thought sadly.
In spite of this Trainer keeping her in her Pokeball, she'd long ago learned how to see out of them. If she angled her body just right, she could see out of the small gap between the two halves of the Pokeball, and therefore she had watched as Shellder became part of the team.
How innocent he is, Kriesh thought. Another victim of this Trainer.
This Trainer…fury rose once more to Kriesh's mind. Fury at how he'd torn her away from her flock, at how he'd tormented Meditite…
Rage began to overwhelm Kriesh once more. In the throes of that rage, she made a promise, a promise she knew she would regret and yet could not resist making.
A promise that none of these Pokemon would ever have to deal with this monster of a Trainer again.
Claw waited, casting his gaze around the familiar walls of the Rock Gym. The battle arena, situated at the top of a gigantic rock climbing wall that was dotted with little platforms upon which Gym Trainers stood with Pokeballs at the ready, was quite high over a lake far down below. Of course, there were psychic barriers, set up at first by Psychic-type Pokemon on loan from Olympia, and then by Moon and Sun, the Lunatone and Solrock of Gym Trainer Manon, once he'd arrived.
"Well, that last one was disappointing," muttered Iceberg. The Amaura had just come back out of her Pokeball after healing from her defeat of the most recent Gym Challenger. "Points for the type advantage, but I'm really not scared of a Budew. The thing looked like it had just gotten out of its egg!"
"You didn't have to face the Cleffa and the Pichu," said Claw. "Who brings three baby Pokemon to a Gym Battle?"
"I did not even get to battle," Chomper pointed out. The Tyrunt stomped his foot in irritation.
"Shh," said Claw. "Here comes the next one. Hopefully he actually gets to you this time, Chomper."
"Welcome to the Rock Gym!" Grant's voice shouted. "Pick your path and your Gym Trainer. Don't worry, if you fall, Manon's got a Solrock and Lunatone, so you should be fine as long as you're not Dark-type." He chuckled at the joke for the fifteenth time.
"Well, that's another Trainer that won't be challenging Manon," Iceberg pointed out. "I feel sorry for Moon and Sun. The only battle they got was against that one guy with a full team of Dark and Ghost-types."
Claw and Chomper both winced at the memory.
The sound of fighting from below came to their ears. "That's Craig," said Chomper. "And his Roggenrola. Definitely the weak link."
"Please don't let Ball hear you say that," Claw whispered. "He's got enough confidence issues already."
"He'll be fine once he evolves," said Iceberg.
A nasty crunch from below.
"That was quick," Claw admitted.
"All right, back in your Pokeballs," said Grant. "Let's hope that this guy's better than the last one, okay?"
He recalled them. As usual, Claw waited, listening to the words of Grant and the newest Gym Challenger. Young and male, like most.
"This isn't six-on-six, don't worry," Grant was saying. "Save that for the tournament. I'll use three Pokemon. You can use however many you want."
That was interesting. Usually it was three-on-three. It had been three-on-three even for that last Trainer, and she'd only had baby Pokemon.
"Shall we?" the Gym Challenger asked confidently.
"Right to the point, aren't we? Well, I can't help but oblige. Let's do this!" And Grant tossed his own Pokeball, releasing Claw onto the stage.
He took in his opponent, a just-released Shellder. The Shellder looked at Claw, who looked back. "Oh hey! A Binacle! We're in a battle, right? This is my first time, so, you know, it's really going to be interesting, huh?"
Claw fought back the urge to roll his eyes. So much for a difficult battle; this would go just like the other four Trainers today who'd thought they could just catch a Pokemon with type advantage on the nearby beach and bring it to the gym. "Maybe," he said. "Depends on how well you do."
"Claw, let's show him your Water Gun!" Grant called.
"Do the same, Shellder!" the Gym Challenger ordered.
"Claw Blast!" "Water Blast!" Claw noted that the Shellder's Water Blast was weaker and smaller than his Claw Blast, as expected, but it was, admittedly, enough to reduce Claw's to a useless trickle as the two collided.
"Shellder, Withdraw and Tackle!" the Gym Challenger cried.
"Defensive Shell! Offensive Shell! Man, I need to think of a good combination name for this attack!" The Shellder closed its shell tightly and hurled itself forward, a solid ball of shell that Claw knew would hurt if it connected.
Grant grinned. "Clamp!"
"Claw Grasp!" Claw reached out both of its claw-like heads and grasped the flying Shellder between them. The Shellder let out a squeak of surprise. Claw grinned.
"Slam!" Grant called, and Claw did that exact thing. As he had many a Challenger's Pokemon, he grasped the Shellder tightly and slammed it to the ground with an audible crack. Then he raised the Shellder again, looking to repeat the attack until the Shellder was fainted.
A quick and easy takedown. Maybe this Trainer wouldn't even get past him.
"Shellder, Supersonic!" the Gym Challenger called with a smile of his own.
"Sonic Blast!" Shellder opened up its shell, and Claw barely had time to react before it screeched right into Claw's face. Claw cried out in pain, releasing the Shellder and toppling backwards.
At least it hadn't confused him. Claw hated Supersonic, having no real method to cover his ears. He shook his head. Clearly, this Gym Challenger at least knew how to use the Shellder, even if this was a completely untrained Pokemon.
"Water Blast!" he dimly heard the Shellder yell, and then a burst of water ripped against his rocky skin. More pain.
"Nice trick, but you're gonna need more than that!" Grant called. "Claw, Withdraw!"
Instinct was replaced by loyalty. "Claw Withdrawal!" Claw instantly retracted his two heads into his body. Alone, he felt the ringing in his ears recede. He grinned. That Shellder was going down.
"Just keep Water Gun up!" the Gym Challenger cried. "It'll still feel it even through Withdraw!"
Grant chuckled. "Thanks, challenger! That's exactly what I wanted you to do! Claw, Slash him down!"
"Claw Slash!" Claw lunged forwards, extending his heads out from his rocky body, and Slashed into the Shellder with the top of the taller head. The Shellder flew backwards, skidding across the earth.
"Finish it with Water Gun!" Grant called. Claw obliged. "Claw Blast!"
"Shellder, Withdraw!" the Gym Challenger ordered, but the Shellder couldn't react in time. Finally, that Shellder slumped, out cold.
It had taken a little more effort than most new catches, but only a little.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, challenger!" Grant smiled.
Meditite looked around as the Gym revealed itself, saw the Binacle opposite her, and Marcus behind. In an instant, Meditite forced her conversation with Kriesh to the back of her mind, painfully aware that it was the same thing she'd been doing for the entire journey. But this was no time for second thoughts; this was a battle, and so she had to fight.
Her reservations could come later.
"Confusion! Take it down before it can close in!" Marcus ordered.
"Water Gun!" the Gym Leader standing behind the Binacle - Grant, Meditite recalled his name was - retorted.
"Psychic Blast!" Meditite cried.
"Claw Blast - aaargh!"
A spray of Water energy much like Shellder's Water Blast struck Meditite, drenching her from head to toe, but she was rewarded by the sight of the Binacle disappearing into the Gym Leader's Pokeball.
"That's more like it!" Grant cried. "Iceberg, you're up!"
In the Binacle's place emerged a strange, blue, four-legged Pokemon with stubby legs and a comparatively long neck.
"Ugh," Iceberg grumbled as it glared at Meditite. "Not another Fighting-type."
"Meditite, charge in and Low Sweep!" Marcus called almost instantly.
Meditite lunged, a small grin coming to her face. If this thing liked Fighting-types so little that it would make a comment like that, then this battle should be quite easy.
"Like that's happening! Thunder Wave!" Grant retorted.
"Fighting Trip!" Meditite called, pushing Fighting energy into her foot and throwing herself forwards.
"Wave of Paralysis!" A burst of something burst from Iceberg's body. Meditite didn't recognize this, but it was clearly some kind of energy.
"Psychic Dodge!" Meditite slipped smoothly away from the Thunder Wave and continued on with her Fighting-type attack primed.
"Rock Tomb!" Grant called.
Iceberg reared up and slammed its feet onto the ground. "Burial of Stone!" A deluge of stones flew from the ground and hurled themselves at Meditite.
There was no way Meditite would reach Iceberg before the rocks hit. They were slow enough, though, that she could probably leap out of the way in time. She gathered herself, ready to jump-
"Bide!" Marcus called.
Meditite stopped dead. What had Marcus just said?
Taking this barrage of heavy rocks head-on was stupid. Every instinct in Meditite's body told her that she needed to get out of the way.
But her Trainer had ordered Bide. Could she even disobey that?
Then she realized that now it was too late. The rocks were too close. The decision was made for her.
Meditite gritted her teeth, raised her arms to cover her face, and took Burial of Stone head-on.
Instantly, pain ripped through her entire body and she cried out, very nearly falling under the barrage. Psychic Retribution's glow shot straight up into bright white.
"Iceberg, Take Down into that Rock Tomb!" Meditite dimly heard Grant call.
"Feel the strength of the icebergs of old!" Iceberg cried. "Slam of a Thousand Icebergs!"
CRUNCH.
"ENDURE!" Marcus screamed.
Then Iceberg plowed through the rocks, body glowing with energy, and slammed straight into Meditite's stomach.
Spit, and possibly something else, sprayed from Meditite's mouth as she folded around Iceberg's head. Then she flew backwards, slamming into the ground. Everything hurt and she almost blacked out from the pain; only Endure kept her conscious.
Iceberg was wincing, too, for slamming its own head into a rock hadn't done her any favors, but still stood strong. Meditite looked back up as the glow around her reached a fever pitch. "Psychic Retribution," she spat.
"Aurora Beam!" Grant called, and Iceberg obliged. "Beam of Dazzlement!" A stream of multicolored Ice energy leaped from it to strike Psychic Retribution head-on.
It was no contest. Iceberg had hit her so hard that it felt as if nothing could hold back this Psychic Retribution. The white beam overpowered the Beam of Dazzlement with ease and exploded against Iceberg's body. The long-necked Pokemon roared in pain.
Meditite forced herself to her feet, a wan smile crossing her face. Please let it be done, please-
"Beam of Dazzlement!"
Another rainbow beam lanced out and struck Meditite's chest before she could even react, and with that pain finally overwhelmed her.
From the sound of it, Claw and Iceberg had actually had a difficult time. But as Chomper was sent out, all he felt was exasperation at the ease of this battle. He saw the surprise on the opposing Trainer's face, saw the Bug-type - a Skorupi, he recalled - standing in front of him, and knew that this Trainer was clearly out of Pokemon with a good typing.
"Good work, Iceberg," Grant said to the Pokeball containing the Amaura. "Take a good rest. We'll let Chomper take the last two, okay?"
Chomper set himself, glaring contemptuously at the Skorupi. "You go first," he growled.
"Pierce." The Skorupi obliged; a flurry of spikes flew from the Skorupi towards Chomper.
"Chomper, Rock Tomb!" Grant retorted.
"Prehistoric Burial!" Chomper responded with a hail of stones.
It wasn't much of a contest. "Skorupi, dodge it!" the opposing Trainer yelled.
Skorupi threw himself to the side as the Rock Tomb sailed past him and off the side of the arena. "Get in close!" the opposing Trainer called, recognizing that Skorupi had no ranged moves in his arsenal that could counter Rock Tomb.
"Go get him!" Grant called.
Chomper and Skorupi charged each other. Chomper could see enthusiasm in the Skorupi's eyes. That enthusiasm would not last long.
They leaped. "Rip."
"Prehistoric Slam!"
Chomper raised a foot just as Skorupi leaped. Both their attacks hit, but even though the Skorupi's claws stung as they raked across his rocky skin, Chomper's foot did far more damage. Skorupi crashed to the ground, groaning in pain.
"Well, then!" Grant cried. "I don't think your Skorupi's gonna last much longer, so let's call out your fourth a little early! Tyrunt, Dragon Tail!"
"Grant, no!" the opposing Trainer cried.
The fear in the opposing Trainer's voice gave Chomper pause, but his Trainer's orders spurred him on. "Prehistoric Tail Switch!"
The Skorupi was whacked across the face by Chomper's tail, and sent flying all the way back into its Pokeball. In its place, a Fearow materialized. It looked around, recognition flaring in its eyes.
"Ah, yes, Flying-types don't fare too well in this gym," Grant observed.
"Fearow, we're in a Gym Battle. Use Hyper Beam on that Tyrunt," the opposing Trainer ordered.
The Fearow turned to glare at the opposing Trainer. Chomper saw something in its eyes that shook him to his core. Pure anger, a white-hot fury that seemed to radiate across the Gym, mixed with something else that Chomper couldn't place.
"Fearow," the Trainer insisted. "Use Hyper Beam!"
The Fearow did not move. It seemed to be struggling against something, some emotion or some decision that Chomper didn't understand. All he knew was that this was not how battles were supposed to go.
The opposing Trainer broke, anger filling his own features. "Use Hyper Beam, damn you!"
That did it. The Fearow's head snapped up, rage clearly overriding any rational thought. It opened its mouth. "Beam Impact."
But it wasn't aiming at Chomper.
Time slowed down. Chomper could only watch and know this was wrong. Shock and fear stunned him.
But not Grant.
His Trainer's entire demeanor changed in an instant. Faster than Chomper could detect, Grant's fingers retrieved another Pokeball from his belt. "Archeops, protect him!"
Then Archeops was there. Chomper stared with awe as the majestic, multicolored flier lunged, covering the entire distance between the two Trainers in a split second. "Hyperspeed Barrier!" The Fearow's Hyper Beam glanced off the shimmering green barrier that had sprang up between it and the opposing Trainer and flew off into the distance, striking the wall of the Gym with a crash Chomper heard even from here.
Archeops, the foreign flier. Even in times long gone, Chomper had never seen them. Apparently they hailed from a far-off land called Unova. But Chomper had known, from the first day he'd laid eyes on Archeops, that the flier was far more powerful than he was. And so Chomper had nothing but awe and respect for Archeops.
The Fearow hovered in midair, its wingbeats slow. The explosion from the deflected Hyper Beam seemed to have jarred its senses, for the fury ebbed, and shock and horror took its place. "No…" the Fearow whispered. "What…what did I just-"
"Hyperspeed Stone Strike!" Archeops's claws glowed with Rock energy, and he slammed them into the Fearow's face.
"Gah!" the Fearow cried in pain, its left cheek shedding blood as it tumbled to the ground, stunned from the brutal strike.
"Bury it!" Grant shouted.
Quick as a wink, Archeops summoned a hail of stones from the ground, double what Chomper could manage on his best days. "Burial of Ancients!" he roared, and flung all of the rocks forward. His eyes closed in concentration.
Every single rock suddenly arced directly towards the Fearow. The Fearow was still on the ground, shaking its head to try and clear it; it let out a shriek of pain as the rocks drove into it, every last one, covering it in an avalanche.
Archeops's eyes narrowed. "Ancient Slam." Exerting his great control over Rock energy once more, he lifted all of the rocks off the Fearow. Then he slammed them back down.
Once. Twice. At the third time, the Fearow finally ceased struggling, bludgeoned into unconsciousness.
The opposing Trainer finally recovered from the shock that had rendered him useless. At last the Fearow was recalled back into its Pokeball. Chomper looked at Grant, to see his Trainer with his expression resplendent with horror.
"Chomper, return," said Grant, his face pale. "Trainer, I think you'd better come with me."