"Sky Impact!" Kriesh cried, diving out of the way of a Frost Volley from Cryogonal. Cryogonal, she noticed, was beginning to spin, floating into the air as he did so.
"Levitate," Cryogonal droned. "Destruction Disc."
"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh cried, not wanting to commit to a Beam Impact in the face of whatever attack Cryogonal was about to launch.
Cryogonal began to spin faster and faster. The Dark-type rays of Flurry Impact slammed into his body but had no seeming effect as Cryogonal's body blurred, spinning so quickly that the individual protrusions on the sides of his body faded into one another.
Then Cryogonal twisted and launched his own spinning body straight at Kriesh with astonishing speed.
"Meet it!" Marcus cried. Kriesh summoned Flying energy to her body and dove straight for the oncoming Cryogonal beak-first. "Sky Impact!"
A crack shot through the air as the edge of Cryogonal's body met Kriesh's beak. Agony shot through Kriesh's face as Cryogonal bounced off, flying away through the air. Kriesh shook her head, trying to clear it of the pain, and saw Cryogonal twist in midair, still spinning, and come around at Kriesh again.
There was no way she was taking Cryogonal's Destruction Disc again. "Sky Impact!" she screeched for the third consecutive time, flying out of the way of the spinning Cryogonal. She twisted as Cryogonal began to come around for another pass. "Sniper: Beam Impact!" she cried.
"Sheer Cold, localize!" Wulfric ordered.
"Frost Shield," Cryogonal droned as he lunged straight at the oncoming Beam Impact that Kriesh tossed at him. As he spun, Ice energy began to spin around him, forming into a barrier that took the Beam Impact for Cryogonal. Cryogonal was sent flying again from the force of the Beam Impact, but he still didn't seem all that damaged.
Sheer Cold, Kriesh recalled, was a fairly dangerous technique. Essentially, it relied on collecting enough Ice energy to induce instant reactions in the target to the cold. It could result in frostbite, hypothermia, and in exceedingly rare cases, severe illness from the chill. But Wulfric appeared to have found another use for the sheer amount of Ice energy necessary to use such a technique; with that amount of Ice energy Cryogonal could withstand even a fully-powered Beam Impact without taking much damage.
This is going to require some outside-the-box tactics. Luckily, it seems I can avoid his attacks fairly easily. I should have plenty of time to think of a solution.
Cryogonal rebounded off the wall, arcing towards Kriesh once more, and again Wulfric raised his voice. "Ice Shard!" he boomed.
"Frost Barrage," Cryogonal droned as his still-spinning body glowed with Ice energy. Kriesh's eyes widened as a barrage of icicles flew out in all directions, propelled by the spinning, some flying towards Kriesh, others to her sides, and still others in completely random directions.
Scratch that. Of course he's got other attacks. What am I thinking? This is the eighth Gym.
Kriesh dove downwards to avoid the flurry of icicles and the oncoming body of Cryogonal. Cryogonal twisted, lunging after Kriesh. Kriesh flew towards the floor, aware of Cryogonal hot on her tail.
"Frost Volley."
Kriesh hurled herself into the air as another beam of Ice energy shot from Cryogonal. Cryogonal ricocheted off the floor and sailed off to the right. Once again, Kriesh was afforded a second of breathing room as Cryogonal adjusted his course, arcing in pursuit.
It's like trying to dodge my own Sniper Ability. Except he's keeping it going indefinitely. How is he doing that?
"Aim for the center!" Marcus cried.
It was as if Marcus's words set a lightbulb off in Kriesh's head. Of course. I've been aiming for the sides of his body, the same sides where he's spinning and puts all his defense and offense. But his center has to be vulnerable.
I really hope this works.
"Sniper: Beam Impact!" Kriesh cried, letting off the beam of energy as Cryogonal lunged towards her once again, still spinning just as wildly.
"Frost Shield." Again Cryogonal manifested the Sheer Cold-based barrier around his spinning sides. Wulfric clenched his fists. "Cryogonal, drop!" he ordered.
But in this case Cryogonal's unstoppable momentum worked against him. Though he strained to follow his Trainer's orders, he continued forwards even as his spinning slowed and he began to plunge.
The Beam Impact slammed right into his center, bypassing the Frost Shield altogether, and hurled him to the ground. A mixture of cheers and sympathetic groans arose from the surrounding stands.
"Cryogonal!" Wulfric cried. Kriesh's hopes that Cryogonal was beaten fell as the Crystallizing Pokemon rose, blue eyes flaring as he looked up at Kriesh.
"Not bad," Wulfric commended Marcus. "But if you think that's Cryogonal's only trick, you're dead wrong! Cryogonal, Ice Shard!"
"Frost Barrage." Cryogonal glowed with Ice energy again. There was no spinning this time, and thus no wild shots; the icicles came out in a single stream, a surge of pointed spikes hurled straight at Kriesh.
Kriesh at once was forced into a dive to avoid the torrent of icicles, but Cryogonal twisted, continuing to fire on Kriesh and forcing her to keep moving. "Recover!" Wulfric ordered.
"Don't let it!" Marcus retorted, but Cryogonal was still spewing icicles and Kriesh had to concentrate fully on dodging. Even as Cryogonal continued to lay down covering fire with his Frost Barrage, his body glowed again and the blue ice that covered his body reformed, the damage from Kriesh's successful Beam Impact erased.
Damn. He's got plenty of time to heal, while I can't get an opening to Roost or even attack. And there are too many icicles coming at me to counter with my beak…
Wait a minute.
Kriesh grinned, backwinged, and flung herself straight into the teeth of the icicles.
Instantly, pain ripped into her face, her chest, her wings, but she forced herself to keep flying even as she began building up energy around her body.
"Kriesh?" Marcus clearly had no idea what she was doing at first, but as he saw the energy glowing around her, he clearly realized her plan. "Okay! Do it!"
"What?" Wulfric, by contrast, clearly had no idea what Kriesh was doing. "Cryogonal, Ice Beam! Snipe that Fearow out of the sky!"
Cryogonal abandoned the barrage of icicles in favor of firing a single blast of Ice energy straight at Kriesh. But that was all right. The icicles had given Kriesh everything she wanted.
Kriesh glared at Cryogonal, at the oncoming Frost Volley, and grinned. "Mirror Impact."
Judging by the way Wulfric's eyes widened and the panic in his tone, he'd just figured out Kriesh's plan. "Sheer Cold, now!"
Cryogonal let out a strained groan as he tilted sideways and began spinning again, mustering the beginnings of a Frost Shield as Kriesh's Mirror Impact slammed into the oncoming Frost Volley and shattered the Ice energy before it. The beam of energy slammed into the Frost Shield and Cryogonal was sent flying as his Frost Shield disintegrated.
"Roost!" Marcus called.
Kriesh sagged, landing back on the ground herself and allowing energy to rush back into her body, rejuvenating her. Those icicles had hurt. That was the problem with Mirror Impact; to get any sort of appreciable power out of it, Kriesh had to take an alarming amount of damage herself.
"Above you!"
Marcus's call, filled with sudden panic, brought Kriesh's head up in time to see Cryogonal far above her, glaring down at her with a chilling look in its eyes. "Frost Cannonade."
Ice energy erupted out of Cryogonal's body, coalescing into a barrage of beams that Kriesh at once had to tap into Sky Impact to dodge. Wind whistling in her ears, she lunged across the room, chest nearly touching the ground as Cryogonal's Frost Cannonade slammed into the ground all around her.
He's prepared for Mirror Impact and Sniper now…and he's likely used Recover again. How am I supposed to break through this, even if he gives me another opening?
"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh cried, firing a burst of Dark-type rays that deflected a few of the Ice-type attacks. It gave her a bit of an opening, one that Kriesh took full advantage of, diving to the side with enough speed to get clear of the blast of icicles Cryogonal aimed at her in retaliation.
"Get in close!" Marcus cried.
He's right. I'm never going to beat this thing in a ranged duel.
Kriesh lunged upwards, driving her wings against the wind. "Remember, lead your shots!" Wulfric ordered. Kriesh gulped as a blast of Ice energy came streaming where she was about to be and she had to dive back down.
No more antics.
"Beam Impact!" Kriesh shrieked, letting loose with a blast of energy that Cryogonal had to abandon his barrage to counter with a Frost Volley. In that time, Kriesh leaped upwards once more, arcing so that Cryogonal's body, now below her, was locked in her eyes as he fought off Kriesh's Beam Impact.
Now.
"Sky Impact!" Kriesh cried, hurling herself from the sky at Cryogonal. Cryogonal's eyes rose to see her coming, but Kriesh was already halfway to him.
There was no way he could get off enough Ice energy in time to blunt Kriesh's charge. And when she hit, Kriesh would not stop until he was down. No amount of recovery would save him.
But then, out of the corner of her eye, Kriesh saw Wulfric grin.
"Confuse Ray!" he ordered.
Kriesh could have sworn she saw Cryogonal grin as he fired a spurt of Ghost energy from his downturned mouth, and Kriesh's mind exploded in agony.
Her Normal typing made her immune to standard Ghost-type attacks like Shadow Ball, but attacks like Confuse Ray that struck at her mind were a different story altogether. Kriesh tried to shake her head, clear her mind, but now she could see five Cryogonals, spinning and spinning so fast that it made her dizzy. She forced the bile that threatened to come up back down, taking her attention completely off Cryogonal.
"Frost Volley."
"Kriesh, snap out of it!" Marcus's yell was obscured by the pain that shot up Kriesh's right wing. A second later, her left joined it. It felt as if her wings were frozen - actually, that was probably exactly what had happened - and she began to plummet through a whirlwind of fog, unable to see the walls or ceiling or floor. Which way was she falling? Where was Cryogonal now?
All she knew was that her mind was broken, and her body was rapidly heading the same way.
"I forfeit Kriesh!"
The sting of the realization of failure struck Kriesh as she felt the confusion clouding her mind fade and realized she'd been recalled. She hadn't expected much from her role in the Ice Gym; after all, she was weak to Ice. But she'd hoped that she could at least get one victory.
"Good move, boy," said Wulfric. "I can see you care about your Pokemon. But I'm not gonna give you this badge based on care."
"I know," said Marcus. "All right, Houndoom, you're up."
Wulfric smirked as Houndoom landed on the field. "Now that's more what I expected. Don't get cocky, though. If you think you're gonna just sweep through me because you've got a Fire-type, think again!"
"I expected as much," said Marcus. "But, regardless…Houndoom, Flamethrower!"
Kriesh had lost her battle, but she'd given Houndoom all the information he needed.
Cryogonal had two main strategies: an onslaught of Levitate-boosted spinning strikes or a bombardment of Ice-type attacks. The bombardment could be countered by getting in close, but that was why Cryogonal had Confuse Ray. Attempting to counter the spinning melee attacks with dodging and ranged attacks would fall apart against Cryogonal's own ranged offense. And just in case he did take any damage, he had access to Recover to heal it off.
But there was one gaping hole in Cryogonal's capabilities. And that was that his ranged attacks were all Ice-type attacks. Houndoom had no doubt that Wulfric's other Pokemon had better defenses against Fire-types, but Cryogonal was a throwaway in that regard.
Houndoom suspected it was meant as a lure to opposing Fire-types, to force them in so that they would be helpless against the anti-Fire-type Pokemon Wulfric had in reserve. If so, then Cryogonal had succeeded perfectly in that regard. Nevertheless, Houndoom would take the bait. This Cryogonal needed to go down.
"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Marcus called.
"Dodge and Rapid Spin!" Wulfric retorted.
Cryogonal began to spin again as Houndoom opened fire with a Flame Tongue. "Levitate," he droned. "Destruction Disc."
Cryogonal moved, lunging out of the way of the Flame Tongue with his body spinning wildly. He arced towards Houndoom with the same speed he'd exhibited against Kriesh. Houndoom knew of his Sheer Cold barrier that would likely make Flame Storm useless. But he also knew that Flame Tongue would likely be dodged.
"Out of the way!" Marcus cried.
Houndoom dove, feeling a surge of cold air wash at his rear as Cryogonal spun past. He looked to the side in time to see Cryogonal arcing back towards him. Houndoom broke into a full sprint, hurling himself forwards, and Cryogonal passed behind him again.
"Ice Shard!" Wulfric ordered.
As Cryogonal droned, "Frost Barrage", and let fly with a barrage of icicles, Houndoom returned fire with a Flame Storm that dropped them from the sky and continued towards Cryogonal. But Cryogonal's Frost Shield deflected the depleted fireballs even as Cryogonal, still spinning, flew towards Houndoom once more, and once again Houndoom had to hurl himself bodily out of the way. This time, though, he wasn't quite fast enough; Cryogonal's spinning charge slammed into his back right leg and sent him tumbling to the ground as it exploded in pain. Cryogonal's flight was slightly altered by the hit; he flew, still spinning, towards the wall behind Houndoom.
With a crunch, Cryogonal rebounded off the wall and arced back towards Houndoom. "Flame Tongue!" Houndoom snarled as Cryogonal hurled himself towards him onceagain..
"Dodge!" Wulfric ordered. With a drone of "Levitate", Cryogonal changed course, lunging out of the way of the Flame Tongue.
He'd been unable to do that against Kriesh's Hyper Beam due to Sniper, but Houndoom had no such advantage, and he watched frustratedly as Cryogonal spun out of the way of his flames and began arcing back around towards him.
Again he lunged out of the way of the spinning Cryogonal, but as he hit the ground he knew this wasn't going to work. His back right leg was still aching, and he knew sooner or later he would miss another jump and take another hit. And so on, until he fell.
Flame Storm would just be deflected, but Flame Tongue would just be dodged, and he couldn't very well try and hit Cryogonal with his Flame Jaws. Not only would it hurt his teeth, but it would leave him wide open to the same Confuse Ray that had felled Kriesh. So, ironically, it would be his Dark techniques, not his Fire ones, that would get him out of this.
"Dark Surge!" Houndoom snarled, unleashing the omnidirectional blast of Dark energy from his body.
"Blizzard! Counter it!" Wulfric ordered. Cryogonal's spinning slowed as he fired his own omnidirectional blast to face off against Houndoom's Dark Surge. "Frost Wave."
"Flame Tongue!" Houndoom leaped forth, flinging more fire from his jaws even as his Dark Surge dissipated against the Frost Wave.
"Anti-Fire, now!" Wulfric ordered.
Cryogonal's blue eyes gleamed. "Melted Frost Volley."
To Houndoom's utter shock, and cries of surprise from the stands, a torrent of Water energy flew from Cryogonal and slammed into the oncoming Flame Tongue, pushing it back. Houndoom bit back a furious snarl. Seriously, how overprepared was this Cryogonal? It felt as if he had a counter for everything thrown at him. And this was just Wulfric's first?
"Solar Beam!" Marcus ordered.
For a moment Houndoom hesitated. He knew, without a doubt, that to use his Power Herb now would cause problems later with whatever other counters Wulfric had for Fire-types. But he also knew that without using it here, Cryogonal's sudden Water move would overwhelm him.
He had grown to lean on the Power Herb too much. Solar Beam itself had suffered for it; at the stage it was at now, if he didn't have the Power Herb Solar Beam was practically useless. He would need to work on that later.
"Solar Surge!" Houndoom snarled, feeling the Power Herb's energy surge into him as he released the massive beam of Grass energy.
"Dodge!" Wulfric cried, but again, Cryogonal's need to build up speed before dodging proved its undoing. The Solar Surge pushed Cryogonal's Melted Frost Volley back and slammed straight into the Crystallizing Pokemon, sending it plunging to the ground.
"Flame Tongue!" Houndoom snarled, unleashing a wave of Fire energy at the downed Cryogonal. Without any way of dodging and too stunned to retaliate, Cryogonal was clearly helpless against the blast.
But Wulfric recalled his Cryogonal before the flames could reach him.
"Good adapting to circumstances, but now your countermeasure against Water-types is out of play," Wulfric stated. "Cloyster! Come out here!"
"Houndoom, return." Houndoom was not surprised at Marcus's decision. With the Power Herb used up, there was no sense in throwing himself vainly at a Cloyster that, with its hard shell and Water-type attacks, would completely counter everything he could throw at it. Best to wait until later.
He was, however, surprised at the Pokemon Marcus did send out.
"Cloyster, you're up!"
Wulfric grinned as Cloyster landed on the field, eyes wandering until they settled on his opposite number.
"Ah, I love a good mirror match!" said the Ice-type Gym Leader. "Cloyster, you win this, you hear? Let's start things off with an Ice Beam!"
Seeker-Of-Endings watched closely as the two Cloysters began their duel, Wulfric's focusing on raining Ice and Water-type attacks at Marcus's Cloyster, trying to break its defense.
"Nice work switching out Houndoom," Sarah opined. "If he'd just led with Houndoom, though, he'd be up one instead of at parity."
"I doubt his Fearow would have done much work anyway," said James. "This is the peril of having a small team. With his composition, he had to take at least one Pokemon weak to Ice."
"Kriesh made sense," said Serena. "Trevenant's practically stationary and unused to his evolution. He would have been absolutely destroyed by that Cryogonal."
"And Kriesh would have won if it hadn't been for Confuse Ray," said Sarah. "That Cryogonal was dangerous, and if that was just Wulfric's first Pokemon, it's going to be difficult for Marcus to win."
"Hopefully his Cloyster wins this battle," said Serena. "Because if it doesn't, I'm worried he'll be stuck in a hole he can't climb his way out of."
"Impenetrable Shell!" Yet again, Cloyster summoned a Protect to deflect a surge of Water energy from the opposing Cloyster.
"You're not going to win by playing defense forever!" Wulfric cried.
"He's right," Marcus warned Cloyster. "Surf!"
Cloyster opened up his shell and summoned a torrent of Water energy. "Water Blast!" he cried, hurling the energy at his opponent. But Wulfric's Cloyster responded with a Protect of his own, breaking the Water Blast before it. "Spike Shot!" he cried, letting loose with a barrage of spikes from his shell in response.
"Defensive Shell Impact!" Cloyster cried, lunging forwards, closing his shell around him. He heard a thunk-thunk-thunk as Wulfric's Cloyster's Spike Shot slammed into his shell, but kept going, blindly hurling himself forwards.
"Spike Enclosure!"
A nasty crunch sounded as Cloyster's shell slammed straight into what had to be the enclosed shell of Wulfric's Cloyster. Cloyster fell onto his back, eyes widened.
His shell crunched loudly with the impact as a sudden rush of air made itself known. Cloyster looked down to see it split open, a crack jaggedly emblazoned in his supposedly unbreakable shell, letting light and air in, leaving him vulnerable-
"Beam Shot!"
"Gah!" Cloyster cried as he was sent flying by his opponent's next attack, tumbling across the ground. His shell absorbed the bulk of the impact, but an attack of that magnitude had bounced his body inside his shell, and now it ached from the hard slamming.
Cloyster opened his shell to see Wulfric's Cloyster smirking at its successful blow. Cloyster trembled, reflexively looking back. His shell was not cracked.
This was not Geosenge. This was just a Gym Battle.
"Ice Flurry!"
"Ice Shot!"
From both Cloysters sprang volleys of wickedly sharp icicles, arcing through the air towards each other. Wulfric's grin now grew even wider. "Now!" he cried.
Wulfric's Cloyster matched its Trainer's grin. "Skill Link!"
And the number of icicles coming from his side of the field suddenly doubled.
"What the - Cloyster, Withdraw!" Marcus cried.
"Defensive Shell!" Cloyster barely withdrew in time to take the barrage on his hard shell, the sound of shattering ice radiating through the enclosed space.
Cloyster opened his shell once more. Wulfric's Cloyster looked somewhat surprised. "You haven't gotten your Ability yet?"
"No," Cloyster admitted.
"Well," said Wulfric's Cloyster, "that's something to look forward to. Perhaps you'll wind up with Skill Link: with that Ability, I can multiply projectiles as I see fit, such as my spikes. Allow me to give you another demonstration! Skill Link: Spike Shot!"
Ten, twenty, thirty spikes flew from Wulfric's Cloyster, looking like a ceaseless wave to Cloyster's widened eyes. "Impenetrable Shell!" he cried, manifesting the barrier before him, upraised to deflect the incoming spikes.
"Beam Shot!"
Which left him wide open to what was obviously a Hyper Beam from Wulfric's Cloyster. Cloyster flew again, skipping across the ground like a stone. "Water Blast!" he cried, firing the Water-type attack at the opposing Cloyster even as he flew backwards. But Wulfric's Cloyster simply raised a Protect to block it.
"Supersonic!" Marcus ordered.
Cloyster took in a breath and screeched as loud as he could. Wulfric, Marcus, and the occupants of the stands clapped their hands to their ears; Wulfric's Cloyster, having no hands to clap, stumbled backwards, groaning and trembling under the barrage of noise.
"Quickly, Icicle Spear!" Marcus cried.
"Ice Flurry!" Cloyster yelled.
"Cloyster, Spike Cannon, all sides!" Wulfric bellowed.
With a warbling cry of "Skill Link: Spike Shot!", Wulfric's Cloyster fired off a practically random barrage of spikes, a barrage that multiplied three times to create a storm of spikes. Even despite the clear confusion Wulfric's Cloyster was under, the random attack successfully shattered Cloyster's Ice Flurry.
"Keep going!" Wulfric yelled; he was calling order after order, trying to bring his Pokemon out of confusion. Wulfric's Cloyster continued to fire spikes everywhere, many nailing the walls and coming surprisingly close to both Trainers. Thankfully, Cloyster was standing in front of Marcus, and as such any spikes that would have struck him were deflected by Cloyster. As for Wulfric, he seemed remarkably calm even as spikes whipped past him at terrifying speeds.
Cloyster had no choice. The volume of spikes was too great, their speed too much for anything he had to break them. "Defensive Shell!" he cried. "Ice Flurry!"
Cloyster let fly with a blind barrage of Ice energy; at once he heard shattering, a nonstop cacophony of destruction. Something slammed into his shell, followed by two more; his Ice Flurry simply wasn't enough to hold back all of the spikes.
Spike after spike slammed into Cloyster's shell, some bouncing off and others sticking. Each impact sapped more and more of Cloyster's hope. Even confused, Wulfric's Cloyster was still outfighting him!
And sooner or later, he would snap out of confusion, and then he'd just keep barraging Cloyster with Hyper Beams until Cloyster went down. Marcus was silent, probably trying to wrack his brain for a solution. But why bother? Cloyster had failed, again. Wulfric's Cloyster was stronger in every way.
What was the point of even trying to fight anymore?
"Cloyster."
Marcus's voice drove into the tide of hopelessness swamping Cloyster's mind.
"I have an idea. We haven't practiced it…but do you think you can use Spike Cannon?"
Cloyster felt hope begin to seep back into him. Could he? What was so hard about it anyway? It was just…firing spikes, but without the Ice energy that gave them more power but made them more brittle.
Cloyster let out a determined yell. "Spike Flurry!"
He threw open his shell as he did so and opened fire, launching a barrage of spikes from his shell, spikes that did not carry the light blue glint of Ice energy, spikes that slammed into the randomly fired barrage of Wulfric's Cloyster and sent them falling from the sky.
For a few glorious moments, Cloyster watched as his torrent of spikes forced Wulfric's Cloyster's Spike Shot backwards, falling to the ground closer and closer to Wulfric's Cloyster. Only a little bit of time until they would start hitting Wulfric's Cloyster in retaliation, and-
And then Wulfric's Cloyster opened his eyes.
He was no longer grinning. "Time to end this. Skill Link: Spike Shot."
Confusion had ended at the worst possible time. Wulfric's Cloyster fired another barrage of spikes, all aimed at the same place, multiplying even as they flew, easily outpacing Cloyster's own barrage. Cloyster looked up even as he continued firing to see practically a wave of spikes arcing towards him, more than he could possibly take down.
The hopelessness began to crawl back into his mind. Even learning Spike Cannon hadn't saved him. Wulfric's Cloyster was still too strong. Still too-
No. I can't just give up. Marcus didn't give up on me.
So why should I give up on myself?
A realization that seemed so new and yet felt so familiar burst in Cloyster's mind, and for the first time in this entire fight, he grinned back at his foe.
"Skill Link."
The sky erupted in two storms of spikes, two storms that crashed against each other like rival tidal waves, a crack-crack-crack-crack like raindrops on stone resounding throughout the room. Spikes fell from the sky in sheets, landing on the floor between the two Cloysters as both fired more and multiplied them at the same time, a neverending tide. They all disappeared as they hit the ground, fading into nothingness, their material expended, but more took their place just as quickly.
At the same time, Wulfric and Marcus cried, "Enough!"
Both Cloysters ceased their firing. The last of the spikes fell to the ground, disappearing in a flash of energy. Wulfric chuckled, a chuckle that turned into a hearty guffaw. "Talk about a bond! Learning Spike Cannon and gaining an Ability mid-battle? You've got a good Cloyster, boy. Talk to me after the battle, and I think I've got something that'll make it even stronger."
"That would be great, Gym Leader Wulfric," said Marcus. "But, seeing as we're in the middle of a battle…"
"Yeah, we should probably get back to it," said Wulfric. "But first…allow me to give you a little demonstration of what I'm gonna teach your Cloyster! Shell Smash!"
Wulfric's Cloyster leaped up into the air. "Spike Shatter!" he cried, and a massive crack tore through the air as the shell of Wulfric's Cloyster shattered, transforming into energy even as it split into several pieces. All of that energy flew into the body of the now shell-less Cloyster that hovered above the battlefield, a little black sphere with eyes and a mouth that glowed with power.
"Skill Link: Ice Flurry!" Cloyster cried.
But as Cloyster opened fire with a barrage of icicles that he multiplied in midair, Wulfric's Cloyster lunged with astonishing speed. Twisting, he dodged through the storm of icicles, rolling and diving and rising and lunging through the air, avoiding everything Cloyster could throw at him.
"Surf!" Marcus cried. But Wulfric's Cloyster arced upwards like a bullet, easily evading the blast of Water energy Cloyster sent at him. "Hyper Beam!" Wulfric ordered.
"Impenetrable Shell!" Cloyster barely managed to get the Protect up in time to deflect the Beam Shot Wulfric's Cloyster let fly, and even then he felt the force of the impact jar him.
So this is Shell Smash.
Cloyster could not help but shudder at the thought of using the technique even as he witnessed its effectiveness firsthand. His shell was his bulwark, his greatest defensive tool. He had nearly died from Phlegethon shattering his shell. The idea of breaking it open with his own technique chilled Cloyster to the bone.
He did not want to learn Shell Smash, not ever.
"Supersonic!" Marcus cried again.
"Counter with your own!" Wulfric ordered.
Two screeches pierced the air, one from each Cloyster, and neither was affected by the other's Supersonic, but everyone else clapped their hands to the ears, wincing in agony at the horrific shrieking.
"He's fast but frail!" Marcus called above the din. "Spike Cannon, full spread, and lead your shots!"
Even as the last of the noise faded away, Cloyster let fly with another Skill Link-boosted Spike Flurry. Wulfric's Cloyster again began its bizarre dance, weaving through the barrage with seeming ease.
But Cloyster saw the aura of energy around Wulfric's Cloyster was beginning to fade. He saw Wulfric's Cloyster was moving the tiniest bit slower, avoiding the spikes less and less easily. Wulfric's Cloyster's shattered shell could only provide a finite amount of extra energy. When that energy fully faded, he would still be faster than normal, but he would not be stronger, and he would definitely not be nearly as fast as he was now.
If Cloyster could stall out his opponent's energy, he had this win in the bag. That is, if he didn't connect with a spike first.
And Wulfric and his Cloyster both clearly realized that.
"Cloyster, Surf and then get in close!" Wulfric ordered.
Still in the air, Wulfric's Cloyster summoned a surge of Water energy around his body. "Flood Shot!" he cried, letting loose with a wave that slammed into Cloyster's still-firing Spike Shot and propelled the spikes backwards before it.
"Impenetrable Shell!" Cloyster cried, watching as the wave broke against it and flew off to either side, not touching him at all.
Marcus's eyes widened. "No! Cloyster, it's a trap! Withdraw!"
Cloyster dropped the Protect just in time to see Wulfric's Cloyster lunging straight towards him, a grimace on his face.
"Defensive Shell!" Cloyster cried at the same time as Wulfric called, "Explosion!"
Cries of shock emanated from the stands as Wulfric's Cloyster detonated, releasing an absurd amount of energy straight into Cloyster's face before his shell could fully close.
Cloyster must have blacked out from the pain for a second, because the next thing he knew he was lying on his back, struggling to keep his eyes from closing. He let out a groan of pain. Everything hurt; his opponent's Explosion had done its job well.
But not fully.
With a grunt of effort, Cloyster forced his eyes open and rolled onto the bottom of his shell, checking as he did so to make sure it wasn't broken. Thankfully, it wasn't; Cloyster looked at Marcus with a pained grin, then glared back at Wulfric, who had clearly recalled his own Cloyster.
Wulfric chuckled again. "What a beauty. You'd best recall him, though…doesn't look like he'll last much longer after that, and my next Pokemon's not very gentle."
"Fair enough," said Marcus. "Cloyster…amazing job. Take a rest, you've earned it."
Cloyster let out a relieved sigh as Marcus recalled him. A part of him felt sad that he'd fallen for that trap. But the rest of him felt glee for his new move, his new Ability, and all of his power combining to force Wulfric into that sacrificial play in the first place.
Cloyster smiled, a genuine smile despite the pain that still played up and down his body, and settled down to watch the rest of the fight.
"That's our son," James stated with admiration. Sarah chuckled as she watched Wulfric and Marcus recall their respective Cloysters.
"Now it's three-on-three," said Serena. "Still anyone's battle."
"But Marcus still has Houndoom and Medicham," said Sarah. "He's got the advantage."
"Remember, type advantage isn't everything," James reminded. "Wulfric's going to have strategies for both of them. Marcus can't get complacent."
Seeker-Of-Endings watched as Wulfric released a towering Beartic, a beast of a Pokemon that let out a loud roar upon entry.
Marcus grinned and released Houndoom again.
"Uh-oh," said James.
"What?" Serena asked.
"See that look in Wulfric's eyes?" James pointed. "Beartic was a trap. One that Marcus just fell for."
"How is a Beartic supposed to defeat a Houndoom?" Serena asked.
"I don't know," said James. "But Wulfric's definitely got a plan. And if it works…"
He sighed. "Then if Marcus wants to win this, he's going to have his work cut out for him."
Houndoom crouched, eyeing his new opponent. The massive Beartic looked down at him. "So. You think just because Cloyster's down, the rest of us are easy pickings?"
Houndoom bared his teeth at Beartic. "That's…actually, yeah, that's exactly what I think."
Beartic grinned. "Heh. You're in for a rude awakening, then."
"Flamethrower!"
Marcus's order reached Houndoom's ears, and he acted instantaneously, letting fly with a Flame Tongue. Beartic raised one massive arm. "Slush Blast," he snarled, countering with a blast of Water energy that dissipated the Flame Tongue with ease.
Another Ice-type with Water-type coverage. And I don't have my Power Herb this time.
"Dark Surge!" Houndoom snarled, lunging forwards at the same time. His Fire-type attacks would just be countered by Beartic's Slush Blasts. He would need to get in close to have any appreciable effect.
"Snow Blast," Beartic growled, letting fly with a burst of Ice energy to counter the Dark Surge. Houndoom darted straight for Beartic's leg as the two blasts of energy exploded against one another. "Flame Jaws!"
"Oh, no, you don't!" Beartic snarled. "Take this!"
One of Beartic's massive paws slashed at Houndoom's face, forcing him to abandon his attack and backpedal. Beartic lunged, swiping his fearsome-looking claws and forcing Houndoom backwards. He was ferocious and gave no breathing room as claw-swipe after claw-swipe flew through the air inches from Houndoom's face.
"Foul Play!" Marcus ordered.
"Dark Pummel!" Houndoom reared up on his hind legs and lunged, both paws outstretched, straight at Beartic's left arm. Beartic staggered, not having expected his opponent to go on the offensive, as Houndoom knocked that arm aside, then twisted. "Flame Jaws!"
Beartic snarled in agony as Houndoom closed his Fire energy-filled jaws around his left leg. "Thrash!" Wulfric ordered. With a furious growl, Beartic kicked out, sending Houndoom flying away. Houndoom twisted in midair and landed on his feet, sending out a Dark Surge as he landed that was countered by a quick Snow Blast from Beartic.
"You're good," Beartic growled. "But it's time we finished this for real. Rain Dance!"
Beartic rose to his full height, raising his arms above his head. Houndoom looked up as clouds gathered at the room's ceiling and raindrops began to fall.
Beartic grinned savagely. "Swift Swim: Slush Slash!"
Before Houndoom's eyes, Beartic's entire body seemed to dissolve into a vaguely Beartic-shaped cluster of Water energy, a cluster that leaped upwards, fading into the rain around him.
And then he rematerialized, forming back into Beartic, right next to Houndoom before Houndoom could even react. A brutal paw encased in a field of Water energy slammed into his side, sending him tumbling across the arena. "Swift Swim: Slush Jet!" Another burst of Water energy ripped into his other side and knocked him onto the ground.
Houndoom looked up at the looming form of Beartic. "You see," Beartic growled, "my Swift Swim Ability allows me to essentially become Water energy. This allows me to blend in inside lakes, streams, what-have-you, but it also allows me to effectively transform into a part of this rainstorm I've created. In my Swift Swim form, I can move at the speed of a raindrop…and did you know that raindrops fall at a rate of ten meters every second? I'm as good of a counter to Fire-types as Cloyster, and you walked right into my trap. Time to finish you-"
"Dark Pulse!" Marcus ordered.
Houndoom let fly with a powerful Dark Surge that caught the monologuing Beartic completely off guard. Beartic tumbled to the ground with a crash and a snarl of pain.
"You may be able to move as fast as a raindrop," Houndoom growled, "but only when you're transformed. Dark S-"
"Slush Jet!"
A lightning-fast blast of Water energy was the last thing Houndoom saw.
Serena sighed. "You were right, James. Beartic was a trap for Houndoom."
"And now Marcus just has two Pokemon against Wulfric's remaining three," said Sarah. "Marcus has an uphill battle ahead of him, especially with that fast-moving Beartic."
"Doesn't Brycen from Unova use a Beartic?" James asked.
"The movie star who used to be a Gym Leader? Yeah, I think so," said Sarah. "But his utilized hail, not rain. I've never seen this Ability on a Beartic before."
"It has to be a Hidden Ability," said Serena. "You know, the rare Abilities that very few Pokemon have? Pokemon with Hidden Abilities are highly prized, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are," said James. "Kriesh has a Hidden Ability as well, I think."
"What kind of Ability Beartic has aside," said Sarah, "this is going to be difficult. I really hope Marcus has a plan."
Seeker-Of-Endings had to admit that it wasn't looking good for Marcus. But he could not deny that it was fun watching this battle, and the cheers of those near him were beginning to grow infectious. As Marcus ran his hands across his two remaining Pokeballs, as Serena and Marcus's parents resumed their cheering for him in spite of the odds, Seeker-Of-Endings surreptitiously used Future Sight, scanning for the probability of Marcus winning this battle.
Probabilities were a strange thing. The future could go any number of different ways. Every second any decision could be made, and those decisions each bred more decisions, and more outcomes, and in the end practically infinite possibilities could result from just one battle. And yet those possibilities all ended in one of two outcomes.
A win, or a loss.
Seeker-Of-Endings vastly preferred outcomes he could manipulate, but this battle was entirely beyond his reach. He was at the mercy of the existing probability.
He only hoped that it was decent.
Seeker-Of-Endings looked at the probability that he saw. He blinked. Then blinked again. The number remained the same.
50%. No more, no less.
Well, Seeker-Of-Endings thought as he withdrew from the Future Sight just in time to see Marcus send out Drapion, the Marked One, this will certainly be an interesting finale.
Only about a month ago, I was writing the Electric Gym and trying to find a way to fill out even a single chapter with the Gym Battle.
Now here I am, writing a Gym Battle so long that I had to split it up into multiple chapters to avoid another Battle of Geosenge-length monster.
Funny how these things work.