"We've finally made it to Saffron City," Brock said as he stowed the map away. He was perched on the edge of a viridian cliff, overlooking the horizon where the greenery and fog of the morning gave way to rising spires of steel and glass.
"That's great, we've been walking for a bit now," Misty said as she approached the edge of the cliff. Her eyes skimmed for the familiar sign of the Pokémon Center, which was made to be highly visible in every city. "Ah, there it is."
Her slender finger pointed towards a taller building, with glass windows rising to meet the heights of the surrounding buildings. At the very top was the emblem of a pokéball with a 'P' nestled in the center. It was one of the larger pokémon centers, likely to account for the fact that it was at the heart of the Kanto region, so it had an influx of trainers—and that was before accounting for the development of the magnet train that ran to the next region over.
Gina hustled over to get a good look, though the impressive sight did little to hold her attention. For all of its modern splendor, she only had eyes for her next target: Saffron City Gym. She spotted it some distance away, a building seemingly woven from silver and having a more curved architecture that made it stand out.
"How fitting that the fourth badge is at the crossroads of Kanto…" She envisioned walking out with her new badge, the halfway point towards the Indigo Conference. It was only by the merit of knowing better than to underestimate her opponent that she stopped from smiling and allowing herself to bask in such a thought. "Let's get moving. We can get the badge and I can get my TM Machine repaired since Silph Co is located here."
Moving down a descending path that led towards the city, the uneven ground and hearty greenery that made of their route came to an abrupt end as flat cement and dark asphalt took over. The buildings that looked like rising steel and glass pillars in the distance towered over them, shadows being cast from the morning sun leaving them sheltered from its light. Threading through the early morning traffic, they eventually arrived at the entrance of the Pokémon Center.
They were getting ready to enter when the glass doors opened and out came a trainer with a look of annoyance. "That Gym Battle was rigged. I can't believe they let someone like that be a Gym Leader."
"Rigged?" Gina heard Brock mutter as the young man was just getting ready to pass them by, leaving him to look back towards him and ask. "Hey. Excuse me?"
The guy's head turned back towards them. Then, after giving them an abrasive glare, and he answered with a very curt, "What do you want?"
Gina was naturally predisposition to take offense to his tone as she returned his glare with a raised brow and crossed arms. Misty was roughly the same, her brows folding in and her lips forming a scowl. But being the oldest and thus the most diplomatic of the group, Brock remained placid as he held a finger up before any of them could go off on the guy and addressed the trainer more tactfully.
"I overheard you say something about the Gym Battle being rigged," he said. "We're here to challenge the Gym Leader ourselves, so we were hoping you could explain what you meant?"
"You know the Gym here was a Fighting-Type Gym before, right?" Brock nodded in response. "Well, it turns out that the new Gym Leader can read your mind during battle and it makes anything you can plan for or come up with pointless. I've already filed a complaint to the PIA. If I were you I wouldn't waste my time trying here and pick another Gym."
His piece said, the trainer walked off and disappeared around the corner as Brock was left holding his chin in thought. "Hmm… I wonder if there's any merit to that claim?"
"Sounds to me like he was just a sore loser who couldn't cut it," Gina said. "It's easy to blame a loss on something other than yourself—psychic or not. Honestly, I'm more interested in the fact that the Gym changed its type. I only researched the current Gym setup for the year before I left Pallet, so I didn't know it was a Fighting Gym prior."
"Under certain circumstances that can happen," Misty explained. "For starters, you have to go through a legal process to ensure that the Gym in question will be considered official. That includes a demonstration of abilities above and beyond that of the current Gym Membership in the presence of a Gym Inspector. You also have to make sure there's no overlap, like having two of the same Type-exclusive Gyms."
Misty then looked over to Brock. "Do you think that there was some truth to it? Considering the typing of the Gym prior and current, Agatha of the Elite Four would be the handler. I haven't interacted with her, but I have heard of her reputation. I doubt she'd allow them to take over if she suspected that to be the case."
"We only have one person's testimony, so we can't make that assumption," Brock reasoned. "But if there are multiple people and they've all filed complaints to the PIA, then even if he was just being bitter about losing, that could be a problem."
"For us?" Gina asked, and was naturally confused when he nodded to confirm as such. "Why?"
"It would make any badge earned from that Gym invalid for the current Conference at the very least," Brock said. "That's part of why there are more than the eight Gyms aside from the ones in the major cities, as well as alternative means of entering the Indigo Conference. Maybe we should adjust our plans to account for that?"
Misty turned the other person who would be affected the most by that. "Ash, what do you think?"
Until now Ash had been dragging his feet as he moved forward with his eyes on the ground and his hands in his pocket. It almost seemed like the life had been sucked out of him and she doubted he even heard her with how distant he seemed. Even Pikachu was looking worried from next to him on the ground, ears deflated and hanging low as he followed his sluggish trainer.
"…I guess it can't be helped," Ash mumbled. "We'll just try somewhere else."
Gina's expression tightened and her brows folded. "Well, I'm getting my fourth badge here. We came all this way after our plans for Fuchsia got tanked because of Team Rocket and that nasty woman. If something is wrong with the Gym after that then I'll just consider it additional training and go beat another Gym or two on my own."
"Okay. Okay…" Brock sighed. "Let's just get set up with a room here before you go do your challenge."
[-oOo-]
Meanwhile, in an office located deep within the silver-woven Gym, Sabrina found herself nursing a headache as she went through the complaints that had been filed against her. The requirements of the PIA denoted that the Pokémon Center, who received the complaints, send a duplicate of those sent off to the Gym Leader so they were aware of what they were being accused of. The Gym Leader would then give a written explanation of what transpired.
Normally, that would be enough to rebuke the claim. If more evidence was needed, then footage could be pulled and records consulted. But there were two major problems with the Saffron City Gym that differentiated it from other gyms within Kanto.
The first was that the number of complaints was exceedingly high. Too many coming from the same Gym would warrant intervention from the PIA eventually. The Vermillion City Gym to the south was apparently notorious for having an annual visit from one of the Elite Four, but the Gym Leader kept each battle documented and recorded so they could go through and see the flaws themselves.
The second issue was the complaint in itself—that she was using her psychic abilities to win battles she otherwise shouldn't. Because there were no obvious visual tells when she was communicating telepathically with her own pokémon, video evidence wouldn't suffice. That meant she had to be very thorough with her reports on exactly why her challengers were bested without reading their minds.
Some were easier than others, like the boy who thought it would be a smart idea to use a Muk of all things against her. But it was a far more pressing concern because it wasn't limited to one single tier of challengers. Every tier had at least one complaint against her, from those seeking their first badges to those seeking their last, but the majority of them were those who were in the middle of their Gym Challenges.
Most Gym Challengers failed to grasp the spike in the difficulty of the Gym Battles after the third Gym. What worked before wouldn't work so easily again. Yet many would rush to challenge their next Gym without considering that and be hit by a wall. And because she was a known psychic, they would complain about how she was using her abilities to win rather than accept that they were not ready to advance further.
Sabrina hated that the most. These trainers didn't take into account their own ability was lacking. Instead, they used that which made someone else different as a convenient excuse for why they couldn't come out victorious.
Human psychics were a rarity. They had existed throughout the world and history, but because few unlocked the talent they were always perceived differently. Very few people were comfortable with someone who could potentially read their minds, the bastion of privacy, or move things with a thought. The fact that her mother so readily accepted her father was because she went out of her way to understand them, rather than embracing the convenience that ignorance provided.
That was part of the reason why she sought to become a Gym Leader. Those who commanded the Gyms were often seen as celebrities and influential figures, especially for their home cities. She had hoped that by becoming a Gym Leader she would be able to change how psychics were perceived. Until she had proven her worth, there had been no Psychic-Type Gym in Kanto. Saffron City itself had been the site of the Fighting Gym, which had provided the Marsh Badge to those who prevailed.
But she had found that the Fighting Gym itself wasn't what Saffron City needed. They were at the center of Kanto. They were the ones whom those visiting from the neighboring region had to encounter first if they arrived by train. Saffron needed to be represented by presenting a true challenge.
That was why she had trained so hard to build the Gym up from scratch and invited other psychically adept individuals into it. She had gone out and caught nearly every pokémon in the Gym at present, trained with them as she trained to gain control over her own power. Then she went from a minor, unofficial Gym to challenging the Fighting Gym and prevailing, becoming the sole official Gym in Saffron City.
She had worked so hard to get to this point. All so that the people could better understand psychics and so that the city she loved could be seen as a true testament to their pokémon league. Yet all of her efforts were being met with nothing but complaints and accusations.
It's not fair…
"Ugh!" The pen dropped from her hand as she clutched her head. She felt her blood throbbing in her skull as the pain of another migraine ran through her. They were becoming more frequent as of late, a pain that felt like barbed wire wrapping around her brain and growing tighter as the world grew darker "Nnnn…nhh…."
The pain was slow to bleed away as the world eventually came back into view and the sound of steel hitting the ground drew her eyes. The additional chairs in her office had been dropped on the floor, with paperwork from her desk fluttering down from above. Other little things that disrupted her orderly office were strewn about as well.
Am I losing control? The horrifying thought lingered in her mind for a moment, bringing memories of when she had been younger. The vow she had made. She had worked so hard to ensure she never lost control of her powers like that. No… no, I just need some rest. That's all.
She was just tired. The lack of sleep from needing to deal with the paperwork from all the complaints and her other duties as a Gym Leader was getting to her. She would have to retire early tonight. That decision solidified in her mind, Sabrina took a few breaths to get the throbbing in her skull under control before putting everything back into place.
By the time she was done, there was a knock on the door. "It's open."
The hinges creaked slightly as her father stepped into the room. He had more documents in hand. More complaints. Her eyes almost twitched in annoyance. But to do so would mean allowing herself to show weakness. "Leave them on the desk. I'll get to them by tonight."
He did so, only for his eyes to roam over the desk before settling onto her with a softened expression. "Maybe you should take a break. You've been working nearly nonstop since the Gym became official."
She only shook her head. There was too much to do to take a break or go to bed early now. Even leaving these frivolous reports alone, she still had to make sure that the psychic pokémon and the Gym Trainers were coming along in their telepathic bonds, make sure that all of the supplies were accounted for, and then prepare for tomorrow's scheduled challengers. She couldn't afford to take time off from her duties.
Not when she was doing this for more than herself.
[-oOo-]
Ash found it difficult to get out of bed the next day as he followed the others to the Gym.
He hadn't registered to have a match to try and earn the Marsh Badge like Gina had. His reasoning was fairly solid, at least in his eyes. Brock had said that the gym leader had potentially been reading the minds of others and if she was accused then the badge would be worthless. He didn't see a reason to send Pikachu and the others out to fight if that was the case. No sense in letting them get hurt for no reason.
But Gina hadn't accepted that. She just gave him a look that he couldn't quite grasp before shaking her head and then moving past him to register for the next available match. Then she hadn't said anything to him after that and instead spent the night sequestered away, planning how she was going to win.
They were led beyond the registration desk by a middle-aged man to the main chamber that felt sterile with floors and walls of white making up its construction. Unlike the previous three gyms, there weren't any obstructions or embellishments that overlaid the battlefield and played to the strengths or aesthetics of the Gym. Instead, it was a solid platform that was nestled beneath bright lamps that provided an unobstructed view between the challenger and challenged.
"So, that's the Gym Leader then?" Brock said as they entered through the door and found a woman who was at best a few years the group's senior on the opposite end of the battlefield. Maybe around his age or so. She was rubbing the sides of her temples as she stood there with her eyes clamped shut. "Is everything all right with her?"
"Please, give me just a moment to make sure everything is in order," the older man said, gesturing towards the seating area for the observers before hurrying over towards her. Her head snapped up midway and, though no words were exchanged, he seemed to be making gestures from the group's point of view.
Ash didn't give it much thought as he just went over to take a seat while Brock and Misty spoke to Gina. Pikachu followed in his footsteps, hopping onto the next seat. The Electric Mouse then climbed onto the armrest and letting out an inquiring, "Pika?"
"I'm fine," Ash said softly as he leaned back in the chair, propped an arm up, and used it to keep his head upright as he waited for the match to begin. Then when Pikachu climbed into his lap, he brought his other hand up to pat his partner on the head. "Really, I am."
Misty took the seat next to them, her own lap occupied by the Psi Pokémon that should have been in Gina's care. "Can you see from here, Abra?"
"Ab…abra…" Abra mumbled softly as he tried not to squirm. They had been together in the group long enough that he wouldn't teleport away wantonly when they were around him. But he was clearly unfamiliar with being held by someone other than Gina.
When Ash briefly turned his gaze towards the pair, Misty explained the situation. "Gina wanted Abra to watch her match since she thought it'd be a good chance for him to learn how Psychic Pokémon battle. I told her I would keep an eye on him."
Ash made a non-committal sound as Brock took a seat as well. Then he turned his attention back to the battlefield as Gina strode up to the challenger's section. The Gym Leader had finished communicating with the older guy who was serving as the referee of the match before she turned to Gina and spoke aloud.
"I am Sabrina, the Gym Leader of the Saffron City Gym. I accept your challenge for the Marsh Badge and per acknowledging you have three prior badges, set the terms of the battle to be a three-on-three match. The winner will be determined by whether or not all the pokémon on the opposing side are rendered unable to battle. Do you accept these terms?"
"Yep," Gina said with an air of unflappable confidence in her tone. "Those terms are fine by me. So how about we get started already?"
"The terms of the battle have been set," said the referee as he got into position. "Send out the pokémon you wish to begin with."
"Come, Hypno." Sabrina announced as one of the pokéballs levitated from her belt that was adorned by another two, seemingly of its own accord. The ball opened and from it emerged a pokémon with yellow fur that was only accented by a white collar that ran around its neck and cat-like ears. In its left hand was a coin that was strung on a small string that lightly swung back and forth, naturally drawing the eyes to it.
"You're up, Rattata!" Gina declared as she tossed her own ball up into the air, the Mouse Pokémon emerging from its confines and then landing onto her side of the field. She was already on all fours, her tail upright and her body positioned to take off running as soon as she received the word to. And though his eyes might have been playing tricks on him, Ash thought he noticed her cheek was slightly bulging from the side.
"Let the match begin!" the referee declared before he could dwell on it, signaling the start of the first battle.
The Hypno immediately raised his pendulum, the coin tinted a shade of cerulean as psychic energy pooled within it, only for the Rattata to have already disappeared. Then its head jerked over to the side as it stumbled, nearly toppling over as a streak of light tore through the air from the opposite side. It stopped itself only for the running light to spear Hypno from behind and clip its legs from beneath it, sending it falling backwards onto its head as Rattata twirled on her paw and came to a stop in front of Gina.
"Pikaka, pikaka!" Pikachu cheered from Ash's lap, his ears perking up as Rattata silently ran circles around Hypno as it got back to its feet before turning back into a streak of running light, throwing herself into a barrage of Quick Attack assaults.
"Oh, I get it!" Misty said, keeping her grip on Abra as he made soft noises watching her go. "She's playing to Rattata's strength to win. Even if the opponent can read her movements or read her mind, it won't matter if she simply overwhelms them faster than they can react."
"I don't think that will be enough," Brock mused, rubbing his chin as he observed the Hypno. "It hasn't even attempted to make a counterattack as of yet."
He was right. Even though it couldn't lock eyes onto her and was being struck over and over, the damage it was doing seemed practically minuscule. Hypno simply braced itself as the blows came from multiple angles.
"…Whittling your opponent down through raw speed. A simple, but effective tactic," Sabrina acknowledged in a calm, unmoved tone as she watched the display of speed. "Had this been a third-badge or less challenge, such a tactic might have been sufficient… Hypno, do it."
The command was followed by the Hypnosis Pokémon taking another hit before suddenly exhaling and blanketing the ground with a veil of noxious, green smoke. It hugged the ground before dissipating as Rattata skirted to a stop and clutched her nose with her tiny paws. The signs of poison emerged from her closed mouth as bubbles began to froth from the corners while her fur bristled.
"Poison Gas," Brock identified. "I see. Moving at those speeds require that Rattata inhale rapidly to keep up with the exertion, all but assuring the poison would be effective. More so considering her smaller frame. She'll succumb to it soon."
"Rattata, blitz it!" Gina ordered. "End it quickly!"
"Disable," Sabrina said calmly as the pale light wreathed Rattata's paws. In response, Hypno snapped its fingers as a cerulean hue wrapped around the Mouse Pokémon. Then the pale light covering Rattata's body faded, much to her surprise. "And now, Hypnosis."
The pendulum swung. The thin string it was attached to swayed back and forth as rings of psychic energy billowed forth in an undulating wave and encompassed Rattata. She swayed on her feet for a moment before falling over and curling up, her head tucked into her forepaws even as the poisonous bubbles seeped from between them.
"Oh no, she's defenseless like that!" Misty said upon seeing her fall while the Hypno licked its lips. Then it extended its empty hand outwards as a dour, reddish hue wreathed it for a Dream Eater attack. The energy reached out, snaking forward towards the sleeping Mouse Pokémon and shrouded her so densely that only her outline could be seen—
"Hyper Fang!" Gina commanded.
—only for the shroud to shatter against her as Rattata immediately sprung awake. With all the nimbleness and speed her small frame could deliver, she darted forward towards the Hypnosis Pokémon, whose eyes were wide in surprise. She looked almost feral with how her fur was bristling, purple streamlets leaking from the corners of her mouth while the contaminants of the poison coursing through her veins.
Then she lunged with a trail of poison-laden saliva escaping her maw laid bare and her fangs shrouded with power. "RATA!"
Even in his somber state of mind, Ash averted his eyes and covered his ears while the shriek of the Hypnosis Pokémon rang out. Even Pikachu looked off to the side, his tiny paws covering his ears as they flattened downwards. It was a mercy when Hypno fell unconscious and was declared unable to battle by the referee.
"I'd always heard the saying about 'a cornered Rattata will Bite a Meowth' but…" Misty shuddered, while subsequently looking for Abra until he conveniently reappeared in her lap after the screaming had stopped. "That scared you too, huh?"
The Psi Pokémon timidly nodded. "Ab…ra…"
"I think being poisoned might have awoken a more feral fight-or-flight instinct," Brock chimed in, observing Rattata's state as Sabrina recalled her pokémon. She was panting frantically, the tinged saliva drizzling onto the floor. "She feels cornered because of it so she's hitting a lot harder than normal. No wonder, considering that was a terrifying combination to open with."
Ash turned to Brock and asked, "What do you mean?"
"To deal with trainers who have more than three badges, each Gym develops different methods or utilize stronger pokémon," Brock explained. "In this case, she's trained up that Hypno to deal with opponents by rendering them helpless. The Poison Gas put them on a timer and then Disable robs them of their most reliant technique long enough for it to put them to sleep with Hypnosis. Then it can simply use Dream Eater to finish them off, effectively ending the battle."
Misty asked the obvious question. "But why didn't Rattata fall asleep from Hypnosis?"
"Most likely there was a Mint Berry in her mouth this entire time," he guessed. "She had consulted with me yesterday if there were any types of berries that could be used to wake a sleeping pokémon since her pokédex mentioned that Hypno is part of a line of Pokémon well-known for being the kind that preys on sleeping opponents. Since Saffron City is the connecting point to Johto they import a variety of berries, and it isn't against the rules for a pokémon to eat one they carry during a match. The opening it created along with the poison backfiring ultimately allowed Rattata to deliver a decisive blow."
"I'll concede that was a clever gambit to bring down Hypno, but…" Sabrina trailed off as she brought a hand to her forehead and softly moaned before shaking her head as another pokéball levitated upwards. "Jynx, come out."
Light emerged at the call and took the form of another bipedal pokémon that had a more feminine appearance with voluptuous lips and hair that skirted down the length of its body. It was slightly shorter than the Hypno, but more expressive in how it seemed to move to an unheard rhythm. It eyed Rattata in her almost feral appearance without any fear as the referee announced the start of the second match.
The Mouse Pokémon moved forward at a blitzing speed, pressed for time with poison coursing through her small frame. Her fangs were aglow once more, meant to deliver the empowered Hyper Fang to end things. "RATTA!"
CRACK!
However, what met those fangs were not flesh. Instead, there was a luminous panel of light that seemingly sprung up from the Human Shaped Pokémon's outstretched hands. The wall itself had cracked, fissures running through it from where Rattata's fangs had firmly embedded themselves within.
"Psywave," Sabrina commanded calmly. Jynx complied, her eyes growing luminous with a cerulean hue as her outstretched hands did the same. A throbbing, small ring of energy took form between them.
With a single thrusting motion, the ring launched itself forward while taking on prismatic hues as it expanded. It broke through the panel of light with a sound akin to shattering glass, before slamming into Rattata head-on. The Mouse Pokémon was sent flying amidst the colorful rings until her tiny body hit the ground several meters away as they petered out.
Rattata bounced off the surface with an audible thud before she caught a paw beneath herself and got back up. She looked like she was barely standing, but the fight hadn't left her. Snarling, she immediately got back onto her feet and light wreathed her paws as she prepared to launch off a Quick Attack…
Only for Jynx to appear behind her with a fist chambered. The appendage itself and the air around it was laced with blue-and-white frost. She slammed her fist down even as Rattata spun on her paw and the next thing they knew the there was a frost-laden cloud of mist that swallowed the pair and a pained shriek from the Mouse Pokémon that was cut short.
Then the referee waved his hand. The mist dissipated to reveal Rattata laying on the ground. Her purple fur was covered in thick patches of ice that left her shuddering even while unconscious.
He then looked to Gina and said, "Your Rattata is unable to battle. Please, return it to its ball and then choose your next pokémon."
"Poor Rattata…" Misty murmured, watching as Gina recalled the Mouse Pokémon to its ball with a grimace on her face. The sentiment was shared with Pikachu, whose ears were flat, and Abra, whose form slouched upon watching the brutal defeat. "I didn't expect a Jynx to be so aggressive."
Brock agreed. "It's clearly more oriented towards direct combat than Hypno."
"Your turn, Wartortle!" Gina called out as she tossed another ball onto the arena, her Starter taking form and landing opposite the Jynx that had returned to its starting position on the field. The Turtle Pokémon wore a tense expression as she locked gazes with her opponent until the referee signaled the start of the third match and Gina gave the command. "Bubblebeam!"
"Teleport," Sabrina countered as a surging stream of tightly meshed bubbles billowed forth towards the Human Shaped Pokémon. It punched through empty space as she used Teleport and reappeared some distance to the left. Wartortle quickly turned her head in order to sweep to the left, expunging the rest of her breath on the attack only for Jynx to vanish once more. "Psywave."
Jynx silently reappeared to the right of Wartortle, her hands cradling a prismatic ring. The Turtle Pokémon had just enough warning to turn as she launched it forward. The ring expanded, surpassing Wartortle's size and slamming into her smaller frame before rupturing. She let out a cry as she was hit hard enough that she was sent skating backwards, her shell skipping off the hard ground. "Warrrr!"
"Stay calm," Gina ordered. "Get your shell under you and use Rapid Spin!"
Her Starter tucked in her limbs and head midflight before hitting the ground a second time as water jettisoned from the holes. They propelled her forward like a pinwheel in motion as she raced towards the Human Shaped Pokémon. The Jynx naturally produced the panel of light once more, intending to block the incoming hit.
The smirk that came across Gina's face made it clear that was exactly what she wanted. "Now, get aerial and use Bubblebeam again!"
The water being expelled from the other openings in her shell ceased as a harder, thicker stream emerged from the one that housed her head. Combined with the momentum it sent her over the Reflect panel at an angle. Wartortle then emerged from the shelter of her shell and fired another Bubblebeam directly at her opponent's unprotected back.
"Nyx!" Jynx cried out as it was slammed by the dense stream of bubbles hard enough that it might as well have been an aquatic sledgehammer that bludgeoned her. She was sent tumbling forward, crashing through the remnants of her own glasslike protective wall and left on the floor, sopping wet while her long hair that had grown heavy and laden with suds obstructed her vision. "Jy…jynx…"
"No mercy, Wartortle! Use Bite!" Gina commanded and was dutifully obeyed as her Starter pounced, knocking her opponent prone once more before clamping down with her beak-like maw—hard.
"JYYYYNX!" The shriek that followed was surprisingly human as Jynx thrashed while Wartortle bit down as hard as she could, trying to inflict as much damage as possible. Ash felt a shudder crawling up his spine as Pikachu shuddered on his lap and Misty covered her ears. Abra was gone again.
Even Sabrina seemed bothered as she brought a hand to her head, clutching as though the scream was getting to her as well. Her voice came out uncharacteristically wavering as she issued her command. "Te-Teleport and…Ps-Psywave!"
Jynx vanished from beneath Wartortle to appear in the air above her lopsided, a desperate escape that left her in a position vertical to her opponent. There was a furious look in the Psychic Pokémon's eyes as she crafted another Psywave, the prismatic ring within her hands practically throbbing with power. She threw it down and it expanded greatly, covering a wider section of the arena.
Ash compared it to the previous times that it had been used and noticed how each time it seemed to vary in strength depending on the size. The first one against Rattata had been weaker than the one that hit Wartortle, but this time it would be the strongest. And because she was firing from above and the ring itself seemed to act more like the outer layers of a film, Wartortle wouldn't be able to escape as the Psywave closed in on her.
That was why she didn't bother trying as Gina gave her the order to counterattack. "Water Gun!"
Wartortle's cheeks swelled before she fired a spear of solid water from her mouth so hard that it knocked her off her feet right before the Psywave flattened her. Like threading a needle through cloth, the attack lanced through the air and slammed into Jynx hard enough that her airborne body rocketed into the ceiling. It hit hard enough to knock loose the dust that had been gathering there, near invisible to the naked eyes, before she began to fall down.
The referee extended his hand before the Jynx could hit the ground. A cerulean veil of psychic energy encompassed her, leaving Jynx to drift slowly downwards before gently landing on the ground. He then looked to see that she was unconscious, and so was Wartortle. "Both Pokémon are unable to battle."
It had been a double knockout, meaning that it would come down to a one-on-one match to decide who would claim victory. That knowledge seemed to leave Gina looking tenser than Ash had seen as she recalled Wartortle into her ball and made to reach for another. The only thing that stopped her—
"AHHHHHH!"
—was the scream that suddenly filled the chamber as Sabrina collapsed onto the ground, curdling up while clutching her head and shouting at the top of her lungs so loudly that Ash jumped out of his seat, Pikachu hopping off as well. Abra outright vanished while Misty and Brock got to their feet instantly.
The referee dropped the pretenses of neutrality and rushed over to her side, only for Sabrina's head to suddenly snap up and reveal her eyes were completely encompassed with a cerulean hue. Then the man rushing to her side suddenly went flying backwards as though he had been launched by an invisible attack. His backside slammed hard into the audience seats nearby, leaving him twitching in pain. "Ugh!"
As Misty and Brock rushed over towards the man, Ash looked over to Gina reflexively to see that she was slowly backing away as the Gym Leader's body began rising into the air with her arms hanging out in a way that reminded him of a marionette on strings. What's going on?
That was when they heard it.
"I'm so bored," a soft, melodic lilt echoed in their minds. "I don't wanna keep working. I want to play."
Then her body convulsed as something emerged from it. It had the almost doll-like appearance of a little girl, adorned in a white dress that reached all the way down to her white shoes and puffy white sleeves. Her face was obscured by the deep shadows cast by the wide-brimmed hat while her face was framed by her long hair.
"You," the child said, pointing a finger towards Gina who visibly froze up as the same hue of psychic energy wrapped around her. "Play with me, okay?"
"A-A…Ash…" Strained words barely escaped Gina throat as her body tensed before the energy shrouding her vanished. Then her body collapsed onto the ground.
"No!" Ash shouted, leaping over the railing that separated the audience seating and the arena and rushing over towards her. He crouched down and checked to see that she was still breathing, which she thankfully was. But her eyes were dull, the spark of consciousness within them missing and leaving them as empty windows. "Gina, wake up!"
There was no response. No movement. No change in breathing. No reaction. Nothing.
A haggard breath left Ash's mouth as a sharp pain blossomed into his chest staring down at her lifeless form. The pain turned into a searing heat as he rose to his feet and faced the ghost-like child that stood there smiling. "What did you do to Gina!?"
"I sent her to my playground so we can play together," echoed the little girl's voice within his mind. The way the smile crept on her face was enough to send a chill running down his spine as she pointed to him too. "Come play with us too."
"AHHHHH!" Pain struck Ash anew as he felt a vice-like grip wrapping around his skull. It felt like something was pulling on his mind, threatening to rip his consciousness from his body.
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and the familiar voice of the referee echoed in his mind with, "This'll be rough, but bear with it!"
Then everything went dark.