As a reminder, you can find MORE of this on my SubStar (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted up past chapter 50 there... And if you guys haven't seen an update in at least a week, please let me know! I have a busy life, and I get distracted and forget things. This story (and PTaL) are supposed to be updated WEEKLY from now until they're both caught up with each other (like I was doing with FwB until this weekend).

And if you're just interested in discussing things with other readers, of course, you can go to my DISCORD here: h- t_ t_ p-s -: -/ -/ -discord . g-g / N9yDA8t6Cw (taking out hyphens, underscores, and spaces of course).

Well. It's here: another Gym Leader Battle. This time, things might just be different. Let me know what you guys think with a review, yeah?

Chap. 32: Wings of Eagles

Adisa watched Morley Vaan fly off on the back of his Charizard with a mixture of happiness and regret. His visit had been short, and the sex good (even if she was distracted half-way through), but it was important, too. Not only had she learned a great deal in the two hours her superior within Team Rocket had spent at her camp, but his purpose for coming was to drop off much-needed supplies.

They were operating clandestinely, after all, and couldn't just have a bunch of Rockets show up in town and obtain supplies. It would attract too much attention. Thus, Morley and others made supply runs for them. Food, water, cleaning tablets, clothing, Potions, and other things were a necessity for their mission, after all.

He was the closest human she had to a friend inside the game, and near-to the closest she had outside of it. It said a lot, Adisa thought, that her only 'friend' was an NPC in a video game that she was pretty sure was... well, not a hero-type. Obviously, Rocket was doing some important work in controlling the dangers of the mobile, sentient catastrophes of Legendaries like Zapdos. That work needed to be done, and they seemed to be the only ones equipped to do it.

But she had been having strange dreams lately, too. Aside from the increased sense of general arousal that had tempted her into giving in to the needs of her body and her Pokémon, she ahd been dreaming of great, glowing blue-green eyes. Almost insectoid in shape, faceted like a gem rather than a compound eye. They were always, without fail, above her. Sometimes by inches, sometimes by several feet. In the latter case, the eyes were seen as through through a filter of vague pinkish light, almost like a bubble or glass.

And they burned. Adisa was not sure with what, but the eyes held a great deal of something, something that called to her, perhaps. Or maybe warned of a great and terrible threat. From the creature itself? From the circumstance? From the place? She did not know. All she knew was that it was dangerous, even if not directly threatening. They were, without a doubt, the most intense eyes she had ever seen.

Sometimes, in her dreams, Adisa felt as if the eyes were burrowing into her psyche, or her very soul.

Other times, they watched her impassively.

As Morley's Charizard turned from a streak of orange to a speck and then vanished completely in the distant south, Adisa nodded to herself, then turned to the task at hand. Her new team would be coming in the next few days to relieve the current batch of young Trainers that Team Rocket had recruited. It would be up to her, now, to both allocate the new supplies she had just received to the replacements, and teach them what they needed to know about the operation.

The good news was, at least this batch would, in theory, have her training from the start. Maybe they would be more effective than the last batch, and she would be able to save a bit more money. Those little nuggets of gold were far too valuable to give up willy-nilly.

She was not completely new to administrative or leadership roles, though most of her professional life until she became a Beta tester for GameFreak had been spent following the demands of others, she had been in charge of the group that had developed part of the neural linkup network for the SoNinten System that GF was using to feed their brains information from the game's AI. She was, at least, a little familiar with it even if work 'in the field' was new to her.

But she was most excited to not have to deal with the creep who kept eyeing the younger Trainers. He was being replaced, too. Maybe her next partner- or junior, technically, her subordinate- would be less of a... well, a predatory type.

She could use the relaxation of that, at least, before she was relieved herself on the next rotation after.

She would just have to continue trying to ignore the glowing eyes and the feeling of sourceless dread that accompanied their intense gaze. At least it only happened when she was sleeping.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, Trans folk, Boys, Girls, Other, and Pokémon of all types! Welcome, welcome to my third- and last- match of the day!"

The boisterous voice that came over the loudspeakers rang out the moment Alex and Elle stepped up, breathing hard, onto the final platform. It was larger than any they had seen so far and was nestled not on the remaining branches of the long-dead giant, but over the bole itself, supported by no fewer than three large branches. Unlike the first few platforms and the last, this one held no vendor stands, no restrooms to take a piss in. The only sort of distraction from the battlefield itself was a few small benches, a slim rope on poles that acted as a railing around the edge, and the three massive branches that rose up through the floor in a mostly-even triangle.

It was easy to see who was speaking, too. Night had begun to fall in earnest, and stars twinkled by the score in the midnight-purple sky overhead, but great floodlights on the three branches aimed down at the center of the ring, all at one person who stood in the middle. The stands were mostly empty. While Alex muttered something about seating two hundred people on the three-tier benches that ringed the arena, Elle could only count about forty total. Most of those were people she had already seen since starting her second Gym Challenge a little after lunch. They were mostly people she had either fought against, or seen fighting the other challengers. A few spectators who just seemed to want to watch the match were there too, but by and large it was staff at the Gym itself who had bothered to climb this high.

Elle couldn't blame them. Even she was getting a bit nervous as the platform swayed slightly in the mild breeze, and Alex looked positively green as he gave her a final hug, then turned away to find a place to sit.

At least it would be easy, she mused.

The speaker was a tall man, thin and wiry, and he wore a costume. A physical representation of, she guessed, some kind of Steel-Flying type, for it seemed made of chrome and silver, with red highlights underneath the bladed wings that spread beneath his outstretched, raised arms, and his waist. His feet were booted with actual talons too, and a helmet with a conical front beak and a spike at the back added to the effect. Overall, Elle thought he looked like something between a robot super-hero from comics of a century or two earlier, and a man in a silly Pokémon costume.

But she knew she could not underestimate him, either. The only kind of person in a Gym who would dare wear such a ridiculous get-up were the Gym Leaders themselves, and Maline Greengrass had proven just how deadly they could be.

"There she is: Elle! Everyone give her a hand- no one else has cleared all the challenges since noon, and I've been getting a bit bored!"

Elle shyly raised a hand as the crowd, thin though it was, gave her a polite round of applause. It was clear that many of them were doing so just to be polite, but the ones she had actually battled against were a bit more enthusiastic. Maybe they actually thought she could do it?

Or maybe they're just waiting to see you get creamed, a traitorous voice made itself heard in her head. A voice that sounded suspiciously like her drunkard of a father.

"Fuck you," Elle whispered to the voice, while she tried to keep smiling and waving as she walked forward a few more paces to the edge of the lights.

Unfortunately, Yggdrassil- or some other more local system- had already registered her as a contender, and her whisper was broadcast at a high volume across the entire stadium. For all she knew, it was even being recorded and sent out!

"S- Sorry, I was talking to myself," Elle cried, red-faced.

"Hah! And our challenger has some spirit," the Gym Leader shot right back, taking it in stride with a wide, toothy grin, "Well, she'll need it! For those who haven't been keeping up, I'm Spar Rowe, the Sparrowhawk, Gym Leader of The Aerie. My challenger is Elle- any nickname we should use, young lady?"

"N- No, just Elle," she answered, and stopped walking just outside of her spot n the edge of the arena circle.

He kept running through a few formalities, like the League Rules for Gym Leaders, what would count as disqualifying- any Pokémon going below the level of the platform, apparently, but they could fly off around it- and what it would take for her to win.

Elle was barely paying attention. Instead, she was going over her team. It wasn't great, but she was not out yet.

Kole and Nike were both exhausted, the Growlithe from the last Takedown which had resulted in it collapsing moments after the battle had been declared in her favor, and the Pidgey from fighting single-handedly against half of the Gym.

Loki was a bit worn out, but a Potion had him healthy, just tired. Morpheus was in the worst shape of all of them physically, because Elle had run out of items to heal him back up from the beating the Murkrow had given him an hour ago. He wasn't tired, just beat to hell.

But her last two, Squirt and her Diglett, should be able to carry her to victory.

She hoped.

It would have to do, at any rate. Even if she failed, there was nothing stopping her from coming back again and again, if it came down to it. It wasn't like her Pokémon weren't already stronger than Alex's team- the experience gained battling in the Gym had raised Nike's Battle Rank by four, and the others that had fought so far at least once.

But what would she open with? She had to decide, 'the Sparrowhawk' sounded like he was about to wind up.

Loki? That would be a good start, he could probably knock out anything that came out first, unless it was a Dark-type. Fucking immunity to Psychic moves, she groused internally, mindful now of the fact that she was being recorded and broadcast. Morpheus had a similar ability and the same weakness, but he was really beat up. Even though Loki was more fragile in general, she felt like sending the Drowzee out first was tantamount to forfeiting a round.

Kole and Nike were, to be honest, in roughly the same shape... but the Pidgey, though tired, was relatively healthy.

Her fingers closed on his ball just as Rowe called, "Step into the arena, young lady- on behalf of The Aerie, I, the Sparrowhawk, accept your challenge! And I'll begin! Take wing, glorious Pidgeotto!"

"Nike, show that fat-ass bird who's more agile in the air!"

Alex groaned audibly from behind her, "Of course you started with that one!"

Elle didn't care if he thought it was a bad call, though. His fighting style might involved attrition and outlasting your opponent, but that just wasn't how she did things. Attrition she understood. Making your opponent hurt for everything they did she understood.

But she couldn't be so passive. No, Nike had been her call for a reason. Yes, the Pidgeotto, the evolved form of her own Pokémon, was three times taller, three times longer, and probably thirty times more heavy. Yes, it would crush her Pidgey if it ever got a chance. Yes, it might even be faster in the open air.

But this was a Battle, not a race. It wasn't even a wild battle, but a formal one.

Nike was exhausted, and she could barely fight any more. But there was something new she had gained in the last four levels' worth of combat. Two somethings, actually.

"Nike, I know you're tired, baby, but you can fly circles around that chubby bird!"

Spar snorted from the other side of the huge arena, the sound clearly carried over to Elle just as she was sure he heard everything she said. "I know what you're trying to do, kid. Might even work- it's worked before. But I'm not an idiot. It'll take just one hit to bring you down."

"You gotta hit me first," Elle shot back.

Between them, twenty- no, thirty- no, twenty again- feet in the air, the Pidgeotto was flapping furiously, nearly stationary as it turned and whirled in the air, trying to get a bead on Elle's Pokémon. But it couldn't. No matter how many times it sent a huge Gust of wind outward from its flapping wings, it was always a foot or two behind Nike.

Eventually, with the smaller Pokémon streaking through the sky like a brown and yellow blur, in and out of the light cast by the flood lamps, Spar decided to change tactics. "Think you're fast? Gonna wear me out when your own Pokémon is already so tired? Think again, Elle. My girl here is fresh and ready to fight all night if that's what it takes- and she's faster than you think! Quick Attack!"

"Shit, dodge it fast, Nike, and counter with a Whirlwind!"

Alex's eyes widened, and several others nearby gasped. Whirlwind? That move hadn't been in the games he knew since... well, his whole life. He'd heard of it, the thing was legendary (or infamous) in competitive play for how easily it could ruin a good setup. It wasn't fast enough, though.

The buffeting winds and force of the spinning gale turned what would have been a crushing blow from the Pidgeotto into a glancing attack that hurled Nike into the dark of night, but it did not knock the smaller bird out. Nor was the larger disqualified.

"Told you, you're only disqualified if you get knocked below the platform," Spar shouted energetically, his excitement clearly rising, "You gotta knock my birds outta the sky if you wanna win that way, Elle! Besides, I know Whirlwind, too!"

The blast of wind came from a direction Elle, and probably most of the crowd, couldn't see. But the Flying Pokémon in the air could. It slammed into her dazed Pokémon's back, sending Nike careening into the wooden platform. With confidence and aerial grace, the Pidgeotto flapped slowly back into view, seeming to preen its feathers even as it came over to land next to Elle's Pidgey with its wings outstretched.

"I think that's my victory," Spar called. Elle frowned. He actually sounded disappointed.

"Not yet," she replied, "because I've spent the last several days working with Nike. I know her better than almost anyone here knows their Pokémon. She's hurt. She's tired. But she's like me. She won't give up that easy. Will you, sweetie?"

The Pidgey twitched one wing.

The Pidgeotto didn't seem to notice, though the Gym Leader's sharp, hawk-like eyes did. "Piggy- Look out!"

It was too late. While he spoke, so did Elle. "Point blank: Twister."

Elle pumped her fist in victory as her little bird kipped up with more energy than her opponent expected, and launched herself into a vertical flight, straight up. Straight up, and spinning.

She was no Dragon-type, and the move was weaker for it, but the larger Pokémon got no fewer than six wing-slaps, four talon-rakes, and a peck with Nike's beak, followed up with a single lash of her long tail-feathers as the enraged Pidgey went skyward.

She didn't get far. About three feet beyond the Pidgeotto, the larger bird, dazed as she was, caught Nike in her beak. She was immediately thrown down to the talons, and then slammed once more into the platform with the sharp, two-inch claws digging into her soft flesh.

Elle withdrew her first Flying-type Pokémon a moment later. Then she looked back at Alex.

He seemed surprised that she was grinning madly. "I got this," she told him confidently, "Trust me."

Her lover- well, soon to be, anyway- could only shrug, give her a confused sort of smile, then nod.

He didn't know her plan, after all. She'd just come up with it on the spot.

But it would work. She knew it would. Attrition was something she got after all, even if it wasn't her favored form of battle. Yes, Spar Rowe had knocked out her first Pokémon. But Nike had gone in weak, and she'd battered the larger Pokémon badly before she had finally been forced to retreat.

Elle was down one-sixth of her team.

Rowe was down... well, a little over one-sixth, if all his 'mon were of the same level as the Pidgeotto.

And she still had two more trumps.

Yes, she was definitely going to win! She just had to keep her cool. Keep confident. Make him pay for every step he thought he gained. Her status effects would be the key in the end, too. She had to keep either Morpheus or Loki in reserve until she had just three left, but she could do that. Hopefully, maybe...

Just maybe, she could bring the Pidgeotto down and severely weaken whatever came after it before her next two Pokémon were down. But who to go with...? It had to be a status attacker, but she only had two. One was hurt, the other just inherently fragile. Both were good, both were in danger.

She trusted both (more or less). But in the end, it had to be: "Morpheus, your turn, big guy."

The Drowzee appeared unconcerned, despite the swelling bruise to the left side of its forehead, and the large gash down its left arm from the previous Battle with the Murkrow. Elle understood why. He had barely used any of his own strength to attack. And he only really needed one, maybe two good rounds of the formal battle to end it.

"The Drowzee? Not what I expected you to pull out, I'll admit," Spar said with a nod, "But if you think you can just put her to sleep, you've gotta know- I won't let you! Quick Attack again!"

"Sleep it is, Morpheus."

Elle's command was calm. So was her Drowzee as its eyes flashed golden-pink, narrowing laser-like beams onto the wounded Pidgeotto that was barreling toward him at top speed.

Drowzee would never be the fastest Psychic. Pidgeotto were inherently quite fast. Quick Attack made that comparison dreadfully stark, as Morpheus, already wounded took a crashing charge to his round belly that sent him staggering back on his stumpy, elephantine legs.

Then the Pidgeotto made the mistake of looking at Morpheus's face, and its wings stuttered, missing a flap.

Which sent it head-first into the left-rear branch that supported the platform with a splat.

It wasn't dead, in fact the tough second-stage Evolution merely shook its head to clear the stars it was no doubt seeing, and flapped to the ground.

Where it promptly passed out.

Rowe checked his own Pokégear quickly, and frowned at what he saw. "If I withdraw, it's over. She's not out yet, I just have to hope she wakes up before you finish her off. One Whirlwind would ruin your plan, anyway."

"It probably would," Elle agreed coolly, though inside she was cheering madly. She could not have hoped for a better outcome, not against an opponent like this. "Don't waste time with Disable, just use Confusion while she's sleeping. Knock her out for good, Morpheus, as fast as you can."

Rowe groaned along with the majority of the crowd as two, and then three blasts of rippling Psychic energy moved through the space between Morpheus and the Pidgeotto. It didn't get back up.

Before she could launch a fourth, the Gym Leader sighed and held out a Pokéball. "Alright, alright. I may not like it, but I have to admit that was well-played. That's alright, though, because my next Pokémon is a little harder to put to sleep. In fact, you'll find it impossible. Noctowl, your turn!"

"Insomnia, Elle!" one of the bystanders shouted.

She groaned. Of course he'd have one of those on his team, when her only reliable status effect was Sleep. Yes, she could maybe Confuse the giant owl, but it was not reliable. She'd have to change tactics. But Elle Berkman, she told herself, was nothing if she wasn't adaptable. She could still do this. "Wear him down, Morpheus. Just hit him with Confusion again and again!"

Another rippling blast of energy flowed outward, and the slower Owl Pokémon was hit full in the face. It staggered back just as it launched itself into the air. Elle recoiled slightly in fright as it did so, because the hit knocked it back nearly to its Trainer, and she could see just how big it was. Rowe was a tall man, but this bird came up to his shoulder, and probably weighed half again as much.

Which meant it was bigger than she was.

She swallowed. That didn't matter, this wasn't a fight of her against the Pokémon. It was her team against his. She... she could do this. She just had to believe, and have faith in her team. That, and not screw things up.

"Confusion!" Rowe called, and this time the two attacks met each other in mid-air, exploding outward in a ring of visible sparks that made the crowd ooh and aah as they slowly faded.

"Fine, close in for a Headbutt- sorry about your skull!"

Morpehus dashed forward as quickly as he could while the hovering Noctowl gave a derisive bark. "Ah, just use Reflect to minimize it, Chonky," the Sparrowhawk ordered.

Elle had no idea that move even existed, but she watched the forcefield-like effect soften the pounding blow of her Drowzee's large, domed head into something negligible. It didn't help that the Noctowl was taller than he was, even if Morpheus was probably still heavier.

"Try again!"

"Won't work- time for us to use Hypnosis."

"No, Morph- oh, whew! Nice save there, buddy," Elle called as her Pokémon's signature move started to make his eyes close, but was shaken off just in time. It sucked having that used against her, especially when she couldn't do it back! "Just- use Confusion again! I'll pull you back before you get knocked out, I hope!"

She got off precisely one more good hit before Row ordered, "Uproar."

Elle- nor Alex, judging by how she saw him slap his hands over his ears out of the corner of her eyes- could ever have expected the sheer volume of sound that ripped out of the Noctowl's throat.

Nor, it seemed, could Morpheus, who staggered back with blood leaking from his eyes and snout, and most definitely his poor ears.

He slumped, and Elle knew it was over. At least, for him. The Noctowl wasn't quite half-way down... she'd lost this part of the battle, and Rowe had evened things out. But hers trumps were still there. "Alright, you did good, Morpheus. No shame in it, I promise. Kole, you're up next."

"Your choices still surprise me. Don't have good Pokémon for your last two? Or are you holding something back?"

"You'll have to wait and see," Elle told the Gym Leader, hoping she still projected as much confidence as she had earlier. Truth be told, she was near-shaking in her boots. Rowe didn't seem as intimidating or intense as Maline Greengrass by any means, but he was still a Gym Leader, and she didn't want to ever underestimate one of those again.

Besides, to her, this Battle mattered. It was far more than the possibility of keeping her promise to herself, and finally going all the way with Alex. It was more than... well, almost anything she could think of.

She had to win this. For herself. She didn't want to just be a no-name Trainer following her more skilled companion around. She didn't want to be the backup characters in the animated films and shows GameFreak had somehow kept going for two centuries.

She was the main character, at least for herself. And to be that, she had to win.

This time, and in every Gym afterward. Yes, she could have setbacks. But in the end, she had to be triumphant. "And I will be," she whispered, so quietly even the microphones, or whatever they were, didn't pick it up.

Elle's blue eyes rose to meet Rowe. "Kole, plan's simple. Set every feather that giant fluffy owl- which is cute, I'll admit- on fire with Flame Charge. We got this, my brave little guy. Trust me."

The Growlithe barked. It was hurt, too, and badly. That last Takedown had nearly sent it to the hospital. But it wasn't out yet. If the Noctowl didn't have something like Quick Attack, or wasn't just flat-out faster...

"Chonky, up in the air- use Hypnosis before it hits you!"

The silvery-blue rings that represented the Noctowl's Hypnosis washed over the Growlithe, who missed a single step... but did not otherwise falter as his paws ignited. First a small spark that faded by the next step. Then larger, a flicker of actual flame. By the time he'd reached the Noctowl, all four paws were pounding out a rapid-fire, machine-gun like staccato of explosive red-orange light and heat. "Lithe!" Kole barked, as he leaped upward, paws trailing fire.

Chonky the Noctowl dove, swirling and spinning... too late. Kole slammed into his tail-end, and many of the feathers did ignite.

The Growlithe kept moving, running, circling the arena as more and more fire gathered with every step. "Flame Charge again, bring it down!"

She knew it wasn't hot enough to truly set fire to the Pokémon facing her. But that was alright, she knew Flame Charge's strengths, too. The Noctowl was faster... but not by much. Or at least, it had been.

"Hypnosis, you've gotta knock it out!"

This time, the waves hadn't even truly formed when the Growlithe hammered a full, fiery body-blow into the avian, sending them both to the platform in a tumbling roll.

"Flame Charge!"

"Sh- Shit, no more of that. You can take another hit, buddy, just bring it down! Peck!"

Elle groaned. She was, truly, losing then, if that was true.

And it was. Somehow, the giant owl was still standing after the third Flame Charge hit, though only just. Its own return hit sent Kole yelping back, skidding and spinning scorch-marks onto the wood, before Elle pulled him back.

Three Pokémon left, and the Noctowl was still up.

"You've got me on my last few feathers, I'll admit," Rowe said with a happy grin, "but unless you really do have some trumps up there, I think I've got you. Your Ghost-type will help, but against my last Pokémon... well, it won't do much good."

"We'll find out, then," Elle growled, frustrated. "Loki's up."

Then she turned to her Starter, and hissed, "I don't care what you do- do not try to Hypnotize that fucking owl. Burn it. Bake it. Set it ablaze. Once that's done, I want you to end it. We've still got one more big Pokémon to go after this."

As chaotic as her Starter could be, Elle could see the ghostly, grinning face cackle, and the ball-like head-body nod quickly. She didn't issue commands aside from that, but Elle knew she didn't need to. Loki was smart, quite possibly as quick as Morpheus was. He knew what to do.

The Noctowl started with a Hypnosis once more, but it was quickly countered by a Will- O-Wisp. One worked, the other didn't, and this time the smoldering feathers did ignite, leaving a trail of sparks trailing behind the suddenly panicking Noctowl.

It didn't get a chance to attack again, as Loki's speed was even greater than its own. "Sucker Punch."

That was enough to finish it off, and Rowe sighed as he called it back. "You saw all that, Ladies and Gents! Elle has finished off two of my three Pokémon for a no-badge Challenge! And that means... well, most of you know what's coming next. You saw her Pokémon, her Pidgey! You heard what she called it. Nike, right?"

Elle nodded, confused.

Rowe only grinned as he held up one last Pokéball. "Well... now, Miss Elle, you get to meet my own Wing of Victory! Nike!"

What appeared could only have been what Spar Rowe's costume was meant to be.

A hulking, winged mass of sharp steel. "She's a Skarmory," Rowe explained confidently, "And yes, she's definitely a Steel-type too. Had to make a bit of a deal with Brigid to get this beauty, but... worth every trade I could've made. She hardly ever loses, you know? Only one real weakness, and I haven't see it on your team yet. Well, except for your Ghost, of course. But if you think just burning her's gonna be enough..."

"No, I don't," Elle gasped, and sent a worried glance toward Alex. This... this could be bad. Yes, she still had three Pokémon up, but that thing was huge, and its whole body looked like a collection of sharp.

She might be in trouble. Kole might've been a good bet, actually, if she hadn't wasted his strength on earlier fights. And she had no way to get him back into it.

But her trumps were still healthy, and she could maybe start with the burn again... "Will-O-Wisp again, Loki, set her up!"

Thankfully, it worked, as it often did. The ghostly flames erupted around the metallic bird, which shrieked with the grating sound of steel on stone as it began to glow red-hot.

"Excellent, Elle! Keep up the pressure," Alex cried, "Go for Confuse Ray!"

Elle nodded, but didn't bother looking back. It would be pointless to try and put the opponent to sleep while she was burning up- the pain alone would keep her awake. But confusion, that she could do. "Confuse Ray!"

Despite being Steel, which was notoriously slow, her opponent was pretty quick. Not as fast as Loki, but faster than, perhaps, an unboosted Kole would have been. Her Starter's mental attack moved outward in almost concussive waves in all directions from the Gastly's spherical, barely-visible body- which was ironically more visible in the shadows at the edge of the light- just as Rowe called, "Air Cutter!"

The blades of wind were visible, and Elle gasped in worry as they literally cut right through her favorite bubble of noxious gas.

Who shrieked too, but... stayed together. It hadn't finished him off. Elle glanced at her own 'gear, horrified. The abstraction of 'HP' the 'gear offered suggested Loki was on literally his last one. A stiff wind could knock him out. But he was up for now, and the Skarmory was both Burned and Confused.

He'd done his job. "I'm using my one substitution," Elle announced.

"Alright, I'll get a free hit on what you send out, then- don't worry, no Pursuit here," the Sparrowhawk told her.

Elle nodded. That was normal for a formal Battle, she supposed. Two trumps. One who wouldn't be able to hurt the Skarmory hardly at all... and the other who could barely hurt it.

Fucking Steel, it had to be Steel, which completely negated any usefulness of her Rock type training, and Ice too.

And that thing looked like a tank.

"I'm... I'm using my Horsea, Squirt."

"I'll just blast it with a Fury Attack, then!"

The red underwings of the Skarmory flashed outward as both long wings, five feet each, slashed forward in a scissoring motion. Blades leaped toward the small blue Water-type, who cowered, and whined as two of them struck her little body.

"You got it, Squirt," Elle assured her Pokémon. "I know we spent all that time on Aurora Beam, and that's basically just normal now, but we just have to wear him down. Her? Her. Wear her down, and we'll win. This is his last Pokémon. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

"S-S-ea?" Elle followed the forlorn-sounding Horsea's gaze to Alex, then looked back with a mischievous grin. "Oh? You want me to promise you some fun if you win? I can do that."

"Ho-See-see..."

"Awesome. You go get him. Any damage you can do will add up, I promise."

Spar had given her a chance to psyche her Pokémon up, but he seemed completely confident himself as he lovingly ran a hand down the metallic hide of his last Pokémon. "I get it. I do. A Horsea... probably taught it a low-level Ice move, hoping it'd rock my team's world. If you'd brought her out early, it probably would have. But you've spent half your team against mine, and then some, and I still have a mostly untouched finisher. Ice'll do some harm, for sure. Water, too- one of the few types Steel isn't strong against. So I get it. Let's just see if your little Pokémon can stand up to the force and majesty of my own, shall we? Nike... hit her with a Wing Attack!"

"Sh- Shit, Bubble Beam!"

The forceful jet of water splashed into the Skarmory's eyes as her own powerful wings buffeted the poor Horsea twice, then smacked into it from both sides together.

Elle groaned. Squirt was still up, but woozy already. Another hit like that would put her down for the count, and probably only the safeguards the League put on Official Matches would keep her alive, if they even worked. But her own 'gear suggested- the data was never perfect on an opponent- that the Skarmory wasn't unhurt. It did something, at least.

And...

She was being a fool.

"Squirt, forget the attack. I've got a better plan. Use Smokescreen, instead!"

Rowe's hawk-like eyes widened. "Smokescreen? R- Really? This is a hunting bird!"

"Maybe," Elle chuckled, "but I've noticed its eyes don't look like either your Noctowl's or the Pidgeotto's- it's nearly blind, isn't it!"

He laughed. He actually laughed, "I guess we'll find out. Smokescreen all you like, we're going to use another Fury Attack, just for fun. Let you have a chance."

Mist sprayed out from the Horsea's little snout, filling the area with a low fog. Red blades lashed into it, but somehow, perhaps due to sheer horniness, the Pokémon held on. Maybe she just wanted to have fun with Alex again that badly, Elle did not know.

What she did know was that the Horsea would have one more round. And she had to make it count. "Smokescreen again."

"Tch... fine, have it your way. Pass."

"Smokescreen!"

"Pass."

Elle couldn't believe this was his plan. Just... let her move, attack, and wait? What if she was attacking back? He couldn't throw the match, could he? Was that even allowed?

But he let her use the same move six times, and before long, the entire arena was filled with thick, white mist.

"Now," Rowe announced, "Ladies and Germs, once more... Elle suggested that maybe my Skarmory, my precious steel baby, is blind. I certainly am, and my eyes are pretty damned good, most of the time. But! You know me. You know what's coming, don't you? I didn't use all my Normal moves against her Ghost- that'd be a waste. But against this poor, wounded Horsea? Well... I hope the Arena Shields hold out, because if not, she's dead, mist or not. You ready, Elle? Ready to see yourself outclassed? You've had a good run... but are you ready for it to end?"

"Bring it-"

She was interrupted with a single word. One that made her blood run cold.

"Swift."

There were no red steel feathers, or sharp wings. Instead, glowing white feathers that shot unerringly through the arena toward her helpless Horsea, who tried to dodge. They followed, arcing mid-air...

And it was over.

She pulled Squirt back with a whispered apology. "Sorry, sweetie... I'll still get you your fun. You earned it. Fucking bastard move..."

"You say that, but you're the one who likes to knock people out," Rowe reminded her. "I'm just returning the favor with a counter-move. Come on, what's your other trump? Something better, I hope."

Elle sighed. She had just one unhurt Pokémon left, and Loki was literally on death's door. Again.

"I... I'll use my Diglett. Come on out, Dildo!"

Even distracted, Elle made sure to listen for a particularly put-upon groan. "Of course you named it that, Elle..."

She shot a tired, wane smile over her shoulder. "Didn't see any other options, really. Now, come on, Dildo... let's give this fucker what-for!"

Rowe, on the other side of the arena, scoffed, thoroughly confused. As were most of the crowd. "A- A Diglett? Fragile, Ground-type? In a Flying Gym? What's it even going to do, Scratch a Steel-type to death?"

"If I had to," Elle replied, "But I've got better. No fucking around, Dildo- just nail that pompous metal show-off with a Rock Tomb!"

The crowd gasped again, and she heard several distant cheers.

Like Ice, Rock was mostly useless against Steel... but it was not against Flying. The advantage and disadvantage canceled out. No, it wasn't much... but it was something, and her Ground moves would be useless. Maybe, anyway. She still had one last trick...

The stones pelted the Skarmory, and she heard it shriek in pain again. "Rock Tomb!"

The Diglett was fast, astonishingly so, and the second blast hit the Skarmory long before it could retaliate with another Wing Attack.

Which did lash violently against Elle's little mole, but... "Alright, now Dig!"

Somehow, it did, despite being on an elevated wooden platform thousands of feet above the ground, and at least hundreds from the rocky mountain peak beneath them. "Good thing the platform's a couple of feet thick, I guess."

The next Wing Attack was wasted.

"Rock Tomb!"

The one after that, too, as her next Dig sent the mole back underground, and the blades of air carved into the wood but did nothing to Elle's Pokémon.

That continued for five full minutes, as the crowd around her started getting louder and louder, until their chanting was like a mesmerizing thrum in her ears.

"Elle! Elle! Elle! Elle!"

Though she was sure someone else was chanting, "Dil-Do! Dil-Do! Dil-Do!" in time with the others.

The Sparrowhawk eventually sighed, then muttered, "I didn't think it'd come to this, but... it has. So be it. This time, Nike, wait a few moments, then use Swift one last time."

Her Diglet popped up, and was quickly thrashed. The crowd's chanting fell quiet.

Elle could only hear the caws of the night birds that circled The Aerie, and the cool, high-altitude wind itself. "I... I'm... done..." she murmured.

Rowe coughed, "Actually, Miss Elle, I think you have one more Pokémon left."

"Loki? He's... done for."

"Try it," Alex shouted.

Elle felt a tear run down her cheek, hot, even scalding against the cool night air, but she obeyed, lifting her Starter's ball., It rolled around her palm, her fingers... and she released it.

"Swift."

"H- Hypnosis. I guess."

Loki was faster, by far, and in short order the Skarmory was falling asleep... as the feathers lashed like fire through the air toward her Starter, who had just one HP remaining.

And passed straight through.

Elle's eyes widened through the gathering, frustrated tears.

Rowe's voice announced another command, "Feint."

It did even less.

"Finally, I have... well, Fury Attack."

Those red feathers, too, passed harmlessly through the ball of purple gas. "I... I..."

"I lose," Spar Rowe announced, "All I have left is Normal-type moves, and you're using a Ghost. I'll run out of energy before you, since I spent so long fighting your silly Diglett. I can't believe it, but... you won, Elle. You won more clearly than anyone else has in months."

Her skin tingled.

Her blood pounded in her veins, as Loki's misty form materialized out of the slowly-fading fog next to her and gave her a skin-shivering Lick.

She... that couldn't be right.

It couldn't.

"I don't believe you," she whispered, as Rowe's tall form followed after, a slender shape coming out of the backlit fog.

"It's true. See, here's Nike's moves. Wing Attack- you wore that out against the Diglet. Clever use of your moves, by the way. Everything else she knows is Normal. In a couple levels I could teach her another move, but... I only use Nike against Trainers with no Badges, so I can't let her get that strong. You won, fair and square. Now, take it, kid. You earned it."

Elle looked at the outstretched hand, where a wing symbol- the Wing of Victory, in fact- was overlaid over a swirl of what she supposed was wind moving upward.

"The Skybound Badge. Wear it with pride, Elle. You've done amazing."

She couldn't believe it.

She had... she had challenged a Gym, and won.

Then Alex was there, his strong arms around her as it felt like the world started to sway.

Her promise to her mother to be something...

To succeed.

To find love, and happiness.

She was winning.