At this point, Drapion had seen the insides of five different gyms. From Viola's artificial forest to Clemont's technological format, every Gym had been very different from every other Gym. So when Marcus stepped into the Laverre City Gym, Drapion was prepared to be surprised.
He was surprised, just not in the way he'd been expecting.
The Gym was much smaller than the outside of the building had suggested. It seemed to be a single room, decorated lavishly but with no sign of any Gym Trainers or Valerie herself.
Marcus seemed equally puzzled. "Where is everybody?" he asked.
"If you just said 'where is everybody', then the answer is right in front of you." Valerie's voice reverberated throughout the room. "If you didn't, then…just walk forwards."
Marcus shrugged and did so. As he reached the center of the room, a yellow light embedded in the floor, unseen until now, flashed on.
A Clefable appeared right next to Marcus. "Hello," it said. Marcus started and looked down at the Clefable.
"Yes, you can understand me," said the Clefable. "I have been trained to speak telepathically. This Gym is divided up into nine rooms, one of which contains Gym Leader Valerie and three of which contain Gym Trainers. You will find three of these light-panels in each room. Just step on one of them and I will appear and take you to another room. Which room I take you to depends on which light-panel you step on. I recommend you recall your Pokemon for this; I've found that rapid teleportation such as this can make Pokemon outside their Pokeballs somewhat queasy."
"All right." Marcus recalled Drapion. From inside the Pokeball, Drapion saw a yellow flash of light.
"Good luck," said the Clefable, and then it was gone.
In the end, Marcus only had to fight one Gym Trainer. Kriesh took care of the trainer's Aromatisse, and when she fell to the follow-up Floette, Marcus sent Drapion in to finish the job. It was almost insultingly easy to finish off the Floette with a few Poison-type attacks, especially since Kriesh had managed to hit it with a Beam Impact that resulted in it barely standing upright by the time Drapion emerged.
Two teleportations later, Drapion finally heard the gentle voice of Valerie once more. "It seems you have made it through my Gym. Very well, then. Prepare yourself. I do not lose easily."
Drapion wriggled into a position where he could watch the battle from inside his Pokeball. Kriesh had shared her knowledge on that a while ago.
"Most of the Gym Leaders say that," said Marcus.
Valerie chuckled. "Mawile. Come out."
"Houndoom!" Marcus's response was swift and practiced. Drapion knew that the existence of Mawile was the only reason Houndoom was in this battle in the first place; it would have been foolhardy not to send in Houndoom now.
Valerie raised her eyebrows. "A Houndoom and a Drapion? I would ask if you were a Dark-type Trainer if not for your talk of a Fearow and a Heliolisk."
"No, I'm not a Dark-type Trainer," said Marcus. "Houndoom's just the only Fire-type I've got."
Valerie chuckled. "I do hope you grant me a battle that is not entirely based upon type advantage."
"I don't plan on it," Marcus retorted. "Houndoom, you know what to do. Burn it down!"
"Protect and get in close," Valerie told Mawile.
Mawile charged. "Steel Barrier!" she cried as she rushed Houndoom on her stubby legs. "Flame Tongue!" Houndoom barked, but the Protect that Mawile raised did its job; the Flame Tongue broke against it, leaving Mawile undamaged, though a grunt of discomfort told Drapion that Mawile was feeling the heat of the attack even through the barrier.
"Gnashing Maw!" Mawile lunged, whirling as she did so. Houndoom took a step back as Mawile's massive jaws suddenly opened wide, ready to clamp down on his face.
"Back!" Marcus's order reached Houndoom's ears even as he scrambled backwards, barely avoiding Mawile's vicious jaws. Undaunted, Mawile pressed. It was the best tactic she could have used, Drapion thought grimly; Houndoom had no breathing room to fire off his ranged attacks, and yet the wildly snapping jaws kept him at bay, preventing any melee attacks.
But at least Houndoom was fast enough to keep clear of the jaws.
"Fairy Wind," Valerie ordered. Mawile whirled around - "Fairy Breath!" - and hurled a spray of Fairy energy from her jaws. Caught off balance, Houndoom staggered under the blast, and in that moment Mawile lunged again. "Gnashing Maw!"
Houndoom howled as the toothy jaws slammed into his midsection, drawing blood. Grinning, Mawile clamped them down, ripping into Houndoom's skin.
But then Drapion realized Mawile's mistake. Sure, she'd landed the hit she'd been trying to land the entire fight. But those jaws had been keeping Houndoom's melee attacks at bay, and with them occupied chomping into Houndoom's body…
Even as the realization came to Drapion's mind, Houndoom twisted his head. "Flame Jaws!" With a pained but determined snarl, Houndoom clamped his jaws, lit with Fire energy, down onto Mawile's side.
Mawile cried out as the impact knocked her off balance. She tipped over, taking Houndoom with her. The two of them, interlocked in each others' jaws, fell to the ground. The impact must have jarred Mawile loose, for Houndoom managed to lunge out of Mawile's grasp, though his sides were ripped and bloody from Mawile's teeth.
"Flame Storm!" The familiar sight of a flurry of fireballs flew towards Mawile from several directions, ensuring a Protect could not catch them all.
"Iron Defense and Protect. You can take it," Valerie urged. Mawile clenched her teeth - both of them. "Steel Defense! Steel Barrier!"
It was quite effective. Mawile became akin to a wall of Steel energy; many of the fireballs broke against the Steel Barrier, and the ones that got through were at least partially handled by the Steel Defense. But even with the defensive techniques, when Mawile rose from the ground, she looked moderately burned.
"Fairy Breath!" Mawile cried, but this time Houndoom was ready for the surge of Fairy energy. "Dark Surge!" he snarled. Though there was far more Dark energy than Fairy energy, type matchups balanced the exchange out, and the two attacks broke against one another.
But Mawile used the opening to its fullest.
"Oh, not again!" Houndoom snarled as once more he was reduced to backpedaling away from Mawile's snapping jaws. "What do I do…"
"Intersperse Fairy Winds," Valerie advised.
"Houndoom, Foul Play!" Marcus cried.
"All right!" Houndoom twisted towards Mawile's widened jaws.
Drapion's eyes widened as Houndoom lunged towards Mawile. Mawile's jaws greedily clamped down, but it was a motion that Houndoom seemed to have expected. He was already lunging to the left, and so the jaws clamped down on empty air as Houndoom lunged straight for Mawile's side.
"Dark Pummel!" Houndoom's cry preceded a brutal claw-swipe that sent Mawile staggering. Houndoom pressed, ripping his claws twice more across Mawile's right side, then rearing up and lashing both front paws downwards. "Protect!" Valerie ordered, her calmness forgotten momentarily. A Steel Barrier deflected Houndoom's claws, and Mawile took that moment to recover.
"Steel Slam!" Houndoom was caught off guard as Mawile lunged with jaws clamped shut. Instead of biting into Houndoom again, Mawile rammed into his cheek with the top of her head. Houndoom staggered, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Then Mawile opened her jaws. "Flame Tongue!" Houndoom roared, but his aim was off. Mawile easily ducked under the surge of Fire energy and clamped her jaws around Houndoom's right front leg.
"Grasping Jaws!" Mawile twisted her head. Houndoom roared in shock as he was lifted into the air by the leg and slammed down onto his side.
"Flame Storm!"
"Steel Barrier!"
The Flame Storm was badly timed; the Steel Barrier easily deflected the fireballs that were aimed at Mawile. Mawile released Houndoom's leg and lunged for his midsection. "Gnashing Maw!"
"Dodge!" Marcus screamed. Houndoom kicked out and rolled away, barely avoiding Mawile's jaws. Houndoom and Mawile both rose once again, facing each other, both breathing heavily.
"Flame Tongue!"
Again the flames shot out. "Steel Barrier!" Mawile cried, though she was clearly tiring from the lengthy battle.
Unexpectedly, Houndoom lunged for Mawile once more. "Flame Jaws!"
Mawile's eyes widened as she realized Houndoom had taken a page out of her book. "Gnashing Jaws!" she cried, aiming to meet Houndoom with her own strike.
But again Houndoom's speed gave him the edge. He sprang, leaping over Mawile's clamping jaws, and hurled himself at Mawile's head with jaws flaring with Fire energy.
"Steel-" But Mawile could not get up the technique in time to stave off Houndoom's teeth, and finally a full Fire-type attack struck her true. She let out a keening wail as she staggered, trying to shake Houndoom off, but Houndoom hung on for dear life, jaws digging deeper and deeper into Mawile's skin.
How ironic, Drapion thought wryly.
It took about ten seconds of the torture for Valerie to put a stop to it. Houndoom plunged to the ground as Mawile was recalled. He did not land on his feet; it took him a good few seconds to stagger to an upright position, and even then he was badly favoring his right foot.
"Azumarill." Valerie sounded more commanding as she released her second Pokemon. "Aqua Jet. Don't let him get off anything."
"Solar Beam!" Marcus commanded.
Houndoom's Power Herb flared even as Azumarill cried "Swift Wave!" and sent an impressively quick blast of Water energy straight at Houndoom. The Swift Wave slammed into Houndoom with what looked like shocking force for such a small-seeming attack, though considering it was super effective, it definitely would have hurt.
"Solar Surge."
But Houndoom was not yet out. Valerie could only muster an "Oh, dear" as a massive beam of Grass energy lanced out from Houndoom's body and straight into Azumarill.
Azumarill screamed as he was bodily picked up and flung across the arena. "Defensive Ball!" he cried, curling up into a ball just before he slammed into the wall. He ricocheted off with a not-insignificant amount of force and came flying back, landing on the floor just as he uncurled.
A movement that he perfectly propelled into a follow-up Swift Wave. A Swift Wave that the exhausted Houndoom had no chance against.
"Drapion," said Marcus, releasing him onto the field. "You're up. Houndoom softened that thing up, so you shouldn't have too much trouble."
"You underestimate Azumarill at your peril," said Valerie. "Azumarill, Rollout. Don't back off."
"Offensive Ball!" Drapion privately wondered if Azumarill had ever met Cloyster. Then his private musings fell by the wayside as Azumarill lunged forwards, curling into a ball as he did so, and began to roll at a fantastic speed, gathering Rock energy around him as he shot towards Drapion too quickly to dodge.
"Catch it!" Marcus ordered.
Drapion winced even as he reared back and shot both his arms forward. Azumarill slammed straight into Drapion's arms with enough force to send even Drapion skidding backwards slightly, but though pain flared through Drapion's arms, he held even as Azumarill gathered more and more Rock energy around himself, even as the strength Drapion had to force into his arms increased.
"Pierce." Drapion lowered his head. Instead of Bug energy, though, he infused his spikes with Poison energy. There was no sense in using a less effective attack.
Azumarill cried out as the Poison energy-tipped spikes stuck into his body. He recoiled, abandoning the Offensive Ball as he staggered.
"Finish it!" Marcus ordered.
Drapion surged forwards. "Slam!" he snarled, raising one of his massive arms.
"Wave Slam!" Azumarill lunged straight for Drapion's oncoming arm belly-first, gathering Water energy around him as he hurled himself forwards. Drapion's arm flew back under the force of the attack.
Drapion frowned as Azumarill rounded on him. This Fairy-type was freakishly strong, especially for a Pokemon half Drapion's size.
He would have to end this quickly.
"Pierce!" This time, Azumarill was prepared for the volley of Poison energy-tipped spikes. "Spreading Wave!" he cried, reaching out his arms and exuding a torrent of Water energy that lashed out in the form of an ocean wave, ripping the spikes out of the air as it advanced on Drapion.
Drapion brought his arms in front of himself as a shield. The wave slammed into them, and again Drapion was driven backwards, but again the arms shielded him from the worst of the impact.
"Offensive Ball!" Azumarill lunged again, seeking to take advantage of Drapion's staggering.
"No Escape!" Drapion snarled. Four beams of Dark energy shot at the oncoming Azumarill. Even though they were resisted, they were enough. Azumarill gasped as they slammed into his left side, knocking him askew. Drapion sidestepped and allowed the flying ball-shaped Azumarill to plow into the ground.
"Thunder Rend." Drapion pounced on the downed Azumarill, drawing upon his new attack. Electric energy crackled across his jaws as he lunged, clamping his jaws around Azumarill's body.
Azumarill howled under the super effective attack, writhing from the electricity. It was simply too much for him; Azumarill finally slumped, going limp under the brutal strike.
Valerie recalled Azumarill's body, and in its place sent out a Mr. Mime.
Marcus let out a surprised grunt. Drapion had to agree; the Psychic/Fairy-type seemed out of its element against a Dark/Poison-type like Drapion. But Valerie had to be planning something. There was no way she wasn't.
The odd Pokemon remained resolutely silent even as Valerie began her orders - or what appeared to pass as her orders to Mr. Mime. "You know what to do," was her choice of words.
Mr. Mime nodded and raised both its hands.
"Take it down quickly. Don't let it set up." Marcus's orders were equally terse.
Drapion charged. "Rend!"
Mr. Mime waved its hands in the air. A Psychic barrier sprang up between him and Drapion, a barrier that Drapion's Dark-type attack still bounced off of. Evidently it was Protect, simply stylized to appear Psychic.
Drapion growled as the barrier dissipated and he saw two Psychic auras flicker to life around Mr. Mime's body. Light Screen and Reflect, he realized with irritation.
It appeared that Marcus's instructions would not be fulfilled.
"Pierce." This time, Drapion's spikes were laced with Bug energy. Mr. Mime waved his hands again. A wave of Fairy energy erupted from his body, striking the Pierce in midair and knocking the spikes away.
"No Escape." Drapion didn't wait for the Dark-type rays to hit their intended target before he lunged forwards, seeing only another barrier that deflected them. Mr. Mime's eyes widened comically as the barrier dissipated and he beheld Drapion's visage lunging for his face.
And then Mr. Mime brought both his hands together, and Drapion, much to his shock, passed right through him.
"I see you've encountered my Mr. Mime's Ability," Valerie observed. "Filter allows it to temporarily turn intangible for a few moments. It's not the easiest Ability to use many times in a row, but I have found it quite useful."
Drapion seethed as he rounded on Mr. Mime. Between his barriers and Filter, it would be quite difficult to hit him, and Drapion knew full well that Mr. Mime would not be content with merely playing defensive this entire time.
Indeed, Mr. Mime's hands lashed out, and another wave of Fairy energy burst out towards Drapion. Drapion raised his arms to deflect it, but just like Azumarill, the force of the impact sent him stumbling backwards.
"Dig!" Marcus cried, the first order either Trainer had given in this particular fight.
Drapion reared back, arms flexing, and rammed them into the floor. "Burrow." The smart material of the floor gave way, and the battlefield - and Mr. Mime - was lost from sight.
Bereft of sight, Drapion thus turned to his hearing. Down here, focusing all of his senses to his ears, Drapion could hear Mr. Mime's feet pattering as it moved across the arena.
Perfect.
"Deflect this," Drapion growled as he lunged upwards.
He burst from the floor, slamming right into the surprised Mr. Mime and sending him stumbling. "Rend!" Drapion snarled, lunging forwards and grasping Mr. Mime in jaws rippling with Poison energy.
And he closed his jaws around nothing at all.
Drapion stopped, stepped back, realizing that Mr. Mime was not here after all. Swiftly, he cast his eyes around the arena and saw Mr. Mime reappearing, grinning and waving his hands as he always did.
Substitute. It was a rare technique that essentially allowed the user to create a duplicate of themselves out of energy. And Drapion had fallen for it completely.
Mr. Mime was quick to take advantage of that misstep. Another wave of Fairy energy came streaking across the arena. This time, Drapion lunged straight for it, driving his arms forwards instead of placing them in front of his face. After all, he would rather his own inertia be available to help work against the powerful attack.
But as the attack slammed into his claw, Drapion was knocked off balance by the force of the impact and had to step backwards anyway.
Drapion thought madly. Between Substitute, barriers, and Filter, Mr. Mime was all but unhittable! How was he supposed to land anything on this stupid Pokemon?
"Drapion!" Marcus's voice broke into Drapion's thoughts. "Keep digging! That'll force it to use draining techniques!"
Only now did Drapion see that Mr. Mime was beginning to look tired. Of course - Drapion now recalled that Substitute required a ludicrous amount of energy to be used. And if Substitute was Mr. Mime's only defense against Burrow…
Drapion grinned nastily. "Burrow!"
The next minute was marked by one Burrow-based clash after another. Every time Drapion broke through the ground, he either struck a Substitute or passed through Mr. Mime's instinctive Filter. Every time Drapion landed, Mr. Mime would greet him with another blast of Fairy energy. If Drapion hit the Substitute, that would be that; Drapion would block it, fire off a ranged attack that Mr. Mime deflected with a Psychic Barrier, and then Burrow again.
But if Drapion missed only due to Filter, which happened twice, he would be on Mr. Mime in an instant, arms and spikes lashing at the Mime Pokemon's form. Mr. Mime was not too good at escaping from a melee duel; both times Drapion missed due to Filter, Mr. Mime ended up taking a hard hit from Drapion's arms. The first time it sent him flying into a wall; the second it merely knocked him back across the arena.
Mr. Mime was definitely tiring now. His breathing was more laborious and his barriers were springing up less automatically. His Reflect had spared him from the worst of Drapion's blows, and none of Drapion's hits had managed to poison him, but he was frail enough that even then the hits had clearly hurt.
As Drapion lunged upwards, tearing through the ground with another Burrow, Valerie finally saw fit to intervene. "Quick Guard, then Double Team."
Drapion burst out of the ground, lunging for Mr. Mime, only to bounce off a barrier that sprang from Mr. Mime's single outstretched hand. In the next moment, Mr. Mime split into seven copies, much to Drapion's displeasure.
His eyes widened when six of them charged him. It was like Stinger all over again, but why was the real one hanging back? It was as if he wanted to be caught by a ranged attack.
"No Escape!" One of the Dark-type rays shot towards the Mr. Mime in the back. The other three streaked at a trio of copies.
"Power Swap," Valerie intoned.
Mr. Mime waved his hands. To Drapion's surprise, he switched places with one of his charging copies. No Escape struck three of its targets, but the fourth ray merely popped the copy that had appeared in place of the real Mr. Mime.
Said real Mr. Mime waved his hands and blasted Drapion virtually point-blank with a burst of Fairy energy.
"Argh!" Drapion staggered as the left side of his face exploded in pain. He lashed out with a massive arm, only for Mr. Mime to use Filter and avoid the strike. Another, smaller, wave of Fairy energy leaped from Mr. Mime's outstretched arm and sent Drapion stumbling again.
Drapion saw the fatigue in Mr. Mime's eyes and knew that he had gone fully on the offensive; both he and Valerie had recognized that keeping up the defensive game Mr. Mime had been playing up until now was impossible. Mr. Mime would fatigue long before he took Drapion out.
"Pierce!" Drapion again fired his Bug energy-tipped spikes. Much to his displeasure, they once again bounced off an upraised Psychic Barrier. But then Drapion grinned as the realization hit him.
Mr. Mime had just used both of his protective techniques. He had to be vulnerable now.
"No Escape!" Drapion opened fire with his Dark-type rays, and this time he launched them one at a time. Mr. Mime's eyes widened; so did Valerie's. "Quick Guard and Filter!" she cried.
Mr. Mime tried. He blurred through one with Filter and deflected the second with a swift, one-handed Psychic Barrier. But he could not muster a second of either. Two rays of Dark energy slammed into him, catching him in the stomach and face. Mr. Mime doubled over, coughing, the first noise he'd made in this entire fight. He clutched his head, trying to fight off the mental headache that the Dark-type attack had apparently influenced.
Drapion charged, and Mr. Mime was too busy staggering and clutching his head to do anything to follow Valerie's orders.
"Double Slam!" Drapion drove both his arms brutally into Mr. Mime's body. There was a loud crunch as Mr. Mime flew, his feet leaving the ground; Drapion could tell he was unconscious even before he slammed into the opposite wall.
Valerie recalled him.
She was biting her lip. Drapion grinned despite the aching across his entire body. Valerie only had one Pokemon left, whereas Phantump and Cloyster were ready to back Drapion up.
Valerie remained resolutely silent as she released a majestic-looking Sylveon. The Sylveon padded onto the field, its face as tight-lipped as Valerie's.
Evidently it had seen the previous battles.
"Drapion, come back," said Marcus. "You've done well. Let's give Cloyster a turn."
Sylveon did nothing but stand resolutely as Drapion disappeared back into his Luxury Ball. He smiled as he felt the heating gel form around him, ensuring a comfortable rest no matter what position he took. Drapion settled down, ensuring he could see through the Pokeball as Cloyster and Sylveon fell to battling.
It was at once clear that Sylveon was more like Azumarill than Mr. Mime. She was a powerful offensive fighter, and the instant the battle began, Cloyster was forced onto the defensive against a barrage of Fairy energy.
"Pixilate: Moon Barrage!" Sylveon cried, sending a surge of powerful Fairy-type blasts at Cloyster. They bounced off Cloyster's Impenetrable Shell, and Cloyster retaliated with an Ice Flurry that Sylveon shattered with a wave of Fairy energy from her mouth. Cloyster's retaliation was a Sonic Blast that scattered the Fairy energy and caused Sylveon to flinch, but she was sadly not dazed by the attack.
"Pixilate: Moon Strike!" Sylveon lunged forwards, gathering Fairy energy around her body. "Defensive Shell Impact!" Cloyster retorted, springing forwards with shell clamped tightly around himself.
A crack sounded as the two collided, and much to Drapion's surprise both fell back. Sylveon seemed surprisingly unhurt considering she'd slammed right into an oncoming wall of armor, while Cloyster was shaking his head as he emerged from his shell.
"Surf!" Marcus cried.
Cloyster grinned. "Ultimate Wave Blast!" A torrent of Water energy burst from Shellder's shell, surging forth as it formed into a wave.
"Pixilate: Moon Blast!" Sylveon's response was a seemingly ineffective blast of Fairy energy. Yet as it reached the wave, the blast exploded with an impact that broke the wave around it. The two halves of the Ultimate Wave Blast slammed to the ground to Sylveon's right and left, leaving Sylveon herself untouched.
"You cannot overpower me." Sylveon's words were stated less like gloating and more matter-of-factly. "With my ability, Pixilate, I can draw upon my connection to the Lifebringer and not only strengthen my Fairy-type moves, but also add Fairy energy to all of my other moves. My strength with Fairy-type attacks is unparalleled. Now take this! Pixilate: Fairy Voice!"
A wail came from Sylveon's throat, accompanied by another blast of Fairy energy. Again, Cloyster deflected it with Impenetrable Shell. This time, he instantly retaliated with another Sonic Blast. Sylveon fired another Moon Blast into the thick of the Sonic Blast, striking it head on and scattering it into pieces. Cloyster's response was a Water Blast that sniped the Moon Blast out of the air.
Both frowned, and then recommenced their ranged duel. Cloyster's various ranged attacks combined with Impenetrable Shell were enough to keep Sylveon's constant barrage of Fairy-type attacks at bay, but not enough to hit Sylveon back. And Sylveon had ceased to go for melee attacks.
It was a full-on stalemate, and this time neither side appeared to be tiring.
This time, it was Marcus who broke the stalemate. "Get into melee! Follow your Surf!"
"Ultimate Wave Blast!" Cloyster summoned another wave of water which Sylveon broke with a Moon Blast. But in the gap between the two waves, Cloyster appeared, charging straight for Sylveon. "Defensive Shell Impact!"
"Pixilate: Moon Strike!" Sylveon's response was to wreathe her body in Fairy energy and launch herself forwards, aiming to slam into Cloyster again. But Cloyster was clearly expecting that, for even as he flew, he opened up his shell to face Sylveon. "Sonic Blast!"
Not even Sylveon's impressive reflexes were enough to defend against that. Sylveon cried out as the Fairy energy around her dissipated and she fell to the ground, completely dazed. Cloyster landed and spun to face the stumbling Sylveon. "Ice Flurry!
Valerie called an order, but Sylveon was too dazed to understand it. A cry of pain came from Sylveon as a dozen jagged icicles stuck in her body. "Ultimate Wave Blast!" Cloyster cried, firing off another wave of water. But the Ice Flurry had been enough to snap Sylveon out of her daze. "Pixilate: Moon Barrage!"
This time half a dozen blasts of Fairy energy met the wave, and the wave didn't break so much as it was thrown back. Cloyster, clearly hoping to repeat his earlier success, had been rushing Sylveon behind the wave; he was not fast enough to get off an Impenetrable Shell, and the Fairy-type blasts sent him flying backwards. Clyster landed and rolled, turning over three times before coming to a halt.
Cloyster and Sylveon rose to face each other. Sylveon was still bleeding from the icicles embedded in her body, while Cloyster was panting heavily. His shell was still intact, but it looked weaker; looking closer, Drapion could see a few small hairline cracks along it.
And that was just an indirect hit. A direct hit might break the shell entirely, which would definitely require treatment in the Pokemon Center for at least a day.
Worse, Cloyster was out of techniques. He'd used every single one he had, and Sylveon had countered all of them. And Drapion was pretty sure he hadn't seen all of Sylveon's techniques. In fact, he'd only counted four so far.
She certainly had more than that.
"Cloyster, come back." Marcus's voice was grim. He, too, had recognized the futility of keeping Cloyster out. "Phantump. Try and land a Leech Seed. You're not going to get many hits."
"On it!" Phantump declared, rising up into the air.
"Very well, then," said Valerie. "Shadow Ball."
Sylveon's nose wrinkled in distaste. "Eclipse Blast," she muttered as a sphere of Ghost energy formed in front of her. She sent the sphere flying at Phantump, but the Stump Pokemon's maneuverability allowed an easy dodge.
"Leech Seed!" Phantump declared.
"Pixilate: Fairy Voice!" Sylveon's retort ripped apart the oncoming Leech Seeds in midair. Phantump dodged again, looking somewhat nonplussed.
"Confuse Ray!" Phantump cried, but that, too, was destroyed by a Fairy Voice that Phantump had to dodge.
"Get in close!" Marcus cried. "You can't win in a ranged duel!"
"Okay!" Phantump lunged forwards, moving erratically to avoid being struck by a Fairy-type attack.
"Pixilate: Moon Strike!" Sylveon cried, happy to oblige Phantump's intent. She lunged, wreathing her body in Fairy energy as she did so and hurling herself straight at the oncoming Phantump.
"Astonish!"
But as Phantump appeared right in front of Sylveon, the latter fell to instinct. Sylveon flinched, and in that moment Phantump reached out one stubby ghostly hand. "Curse."
"AAAARGH!" Sylveon bellowed. Valerie's eyes widened as she realized what Phantump had done. Sylveon fell to the ground, writhing in agony under the power of Phantump's Curse.
She had no defense. Valerie swallowed, clearly racking her brain for something she could do. But after ten solid seconds of listening to Sylveon's screams growing weaker and weaker, Valerie sighed and recalled her.
Marcus visibly untensed. So did Drapion; Sylveon's power was staggering. If she hadn't flinched from Phantump's Astonish, her Pixilate-boosted attacks might have swept through both Cloyster and Drapion after that Moon Strike had finished Phantump off.
Valerie nodded slowly. "As I expected, you exclusively use Pokemon who only evolve once," she said. "And you use them quite well. That was indeed a most captivating battle. Here is your badge."
Marcus took it with a smile.
"I must go heal my Pokemon," said Valerie. "So should you. Clefable? Please teleport Marcus and I to the Pokemon Center."
Drapion had to admit that being able to do that was a clear advantage to having a Teleport-capable Pokemon in your gym.
"...and then I used Astonish," Phantump said, "and get this - she completely flinched! Stumbled and everything! And of course, I just hit her with a Curse, and, well, it was all over from there."
The team that had not participated in the Gym Battle - plus Houndoom, who had, of course, been unconscious at the time - applauded. "Not bad," said Medicham. "That Sylveon sounded difficult."
"It was," Drapion growled in agreement.
"So, what's the plan now?" Cloyster asked. "Are we just heading straight for the next Gym?"
"What even is the next Gym?" Kriesh asked.
There were murmurs from all around, none of them satisfactory.
"More to the point," said Houndoom, "what are we doing with Heliolisk?"
The atmosphere of the clearing chilled at that.
"Can we not talk about that?" Medicham asked. "Marcus will handle it. We have to trust him."
The rest of the team nodded in agreement.
Marcus rose from his seat on the nearby bench. "Done regaling the rest of the team with your grand tale?" he asked. Phantump nodded enthusiastically.
Marcus smiled. "Well, the next Gym is going to be a little weird. It's a Psychic Gym. Which means I'm going to have to ask Drapion, Houndoom, and Phantump to go in again. Is that all right?"
"Don't have ta ask me twice," said Drapion with a grin. "Psychics are easy prey."
Medicham coughed.
"Most of them," Drapion amended.
Houndoom and Phantump quickly gave their approval. Houndoom because he clearly wished to please Marcus; Phantump for...whatever reason Phantump decided upon.
"Kriesh, you'll be fourth," said Marcus. "And another thing: Olympia's Gym focuses on Double Battles. I'm going to send out Drapion and Houndoom first, so pair up according to that."
More nods of acknowledgement.
Marcus simled. "All right, let's...oh, darn it. I forgot to ask Valerie about Heliolisk."
The team let out a collective sigh.
"Marcus will handle it, you said?" Kriesh asked.
"Not now," Medicham grumbled.
Marcus sighed. "I'll go find Valerie. You all keep training. Drapion, Houndoom, Phantump, Kriesh, you four pair up."
Drapion nodded in agreement. As Marcus rose and began to walk away and Medicham turned to face Cloyster, Drapion raised his voice. "Okay, Houndoom, you're with me. Kriesh, Phantump, pair up, and let's go 2v2. Now-"
"Marcus!"
The team, as well as Marcus, whirled as Valerie stepped around the corner of the nearby Pokemon Center. Her eyes had fallen on Marcus and she was moving towards him at a much faster walk than she normally utilized.
"What?" Marcus asked.
"One of the Team Flare Admins attacked the Pokeball factory to the north of Laverre," said Valerie. "Apparently they were stealing the Pokeballs so that they could catch more Pokemon. A pair of Trainers, along with some additional Ace Trainers and the factory's staff, managed to fight them off. I've been asked to try and head them off at Route 15, and I would greatly appreciate your aid in this endeavor."
Marcus looked back at his team, whose countenances had all darkened, their training forgotten, at the mention of Team Flare. Then he turned towards Valerie, his own face grim.
"All right. We're in."
So. You know that list I just made one chapter ago about reasons for an unanounced hiatus?
Guess I have to add 'being a complete moron' to that list.
I mean, seriously. Who forgets what day it is for two hours?
Answer: me, apparently.