TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 1
Account: 9,161 credits

POKÉMON
Ralts (Apollo) - Male
Corphish (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male


As I walked up the steps to the entrance of the Mauville gym, I took a deep breath in an attempt to steady my rapidly increasing heart rate.

I knew we were as ready as we could hope to be, yet I couldn't help but be nervous. Not only because I knew there were going to be many more eyes on me due to the popularity of spectating Mauville's gym challenges, but because I felt like this gym battle had real stakes.

When challenging the Rustboro gym, I'd fully come to terms with the fact that we might lose. I'd only had my trainer license for roughly a week, was still in the early stages of training both Apollo and Duran, and had only participated in a small handful of battles. Since I wasn't traveling with anyone at the time and didn't have any sort of schedule to keep, the prospect of losing and needing to challenge the gym later wasn't really a problem. The only real stakes involved were when Georgia began using dirty tactics and insulted my abilities as a trainer, making things personal.

But this time, I felt as though there were consequences for losing. The first was that I wasn't traveling alone anymore, and didn't want to be responsible for holding anybody up. Even if we lost and I chose to continue with my journey and re-battle when I inevitably came back through Mauville, I'd have to wait on the waitlist for at least four days to reissue my challenge, if not more since the season would be further along and this gym was one many got stuck at.

But that wasn't the biggest issue; deep down I knew that anyone I was likely to be traveling with at that point wouldn't mind spending a few days in Mauville to let me rechallenge the gym. No, me not wanting to be a burden paled in comparison to the real reason we needed to succeed here.

Duran needed redemption for his last gym battle, and I was worried that if he failed yet again, he would take it even harder than his defeat at the last gym.

What should have been an easy victory with a type advantage ended up being totally unwarranted humiliation as he was not only completely shut down, but put at serious risk by taking a Self-Destruct when his shell was at the beginning stages of molting and vulnerable to permanent damage. Admittedly, part of that was my own fault, and I'd like to think I learned multiple valuable lessons from what happened. I was much more prepared for this gym, knew what to expect, and had done everything in my power to come up with strategies to pull from that would help us achieve victory.

Sure, it was asking for a lot for Duran's redemption to be done at a gym with a type disadvantage. But what better way to prove that we had both grown since our last failure than to overcome a much more imposing challenge? At least this way, if Duran did lose we would have a valid excuse and could hopefully rebound. If I had saved his next gym battle for the Lavaridge gym, where he again was supposed to have a major advantage and almost assured victory, and somehow lost yet again… I was fully convinced it would do irreparable damage to my relationship with Duran.

No, I needed to win this battle. Not only for myself, to prove that I was a competent trainer worthy of training such a dedicated, competent battler, but also for Duran's sake, who I truly cared about and couldn't bear to see so crushingly disheartened yet again.

Working my way through thick crowds of people funneling into the gym, I did my best to hide my slightly trembling hands as I checked in at the front desk and was escorted to the waiting room, which I was extremely grateful to find was soundproofed. Though I'd chosen to skip our morning training to ensure my team was well-rested and instead taken an extra-long meditation session with Apollo, I decided that it was best for me to do another quick meditation to calm my racing mind and try to come to terms with how many people were about to have their full attention on me.

I contemplated releasing Apollo to join me in my meditation, however I'd already given my team a pep-talk and left them in as good of a mindset as they could hope to be. No benefits would come from releasing Apollo and letting him see that now that the time was truly upon us, my earlier confidence was compromised.

Closing my eyes and taking slow, controlled breaths, I was eventually able to calm my nerves for the most part. I knew that I had a very good chance of winning so long as I didn't make any major blunders, and the most likely way that would happen was if I let the pressure of so many eyes watching get to me.

As strange as it was, for the second time of the day, I thought of Marelle. The first had been in the morning, when I had decided it was best to skip my morning coffee with Samantha in lieu of extra time to meditate and talk with my team. Samantha was disappointed that she wasn't able to wish me good luck in person, but I'd remembered the advice that Marelle had given Samantha about coffee being a terrible choice when dealing with nerves before a performance, and that's essentially what this was. I had no intention of being jittery, anxious, or anything of the sort.

Now that I was finding myself feeling unnerved by what I knew to be thousands of spectators who would have their eyes on me, my mind once again drifted to Marelle; specifically the other piece of advice she'd given Samantha. She'd said that instead of feeling nervous at the thought of thousands of people watching you potentially fail, it was better to focus on how exhilarating it would feel to succeed and have so many people cheering for you. Owen had reveled in the audience's applause when he had secured his victory, and as long as it was a good battle the same would surely be true for me.

Although I didn't necessarily trust Marelle, I knew that what she'd said was good advice. Instead of being afraid of failure or letting down others, the best thing I could do was use the high-pressure environment as motivation to do well, since there wasn't anything I could do to change the situation anyway.

Samantha and Owen had both expressed complete faith in our ability to win, and my team seemed fully determined to deliver. There was no use doubting myself just because of what might happen if I lost, or worrying how I looked to a bunch of strangers I didn't even know. As long as I did my best and fought honorably–

"Mr. Ingram? Please come with me, we're ready for you."

My eyes snapped open as I was broken from my meditation, and was relieved to find that I was now much calmer as I was ushered through a set of large doors into a dimly-lit hallway. I began walking toward the bright lights and the dull roar of a stadium eagerly awaiting an entertaining battle at the end of the hallway, thinking that if I ever hoped to participate in the Ever Grande Conference,now was as good a time as any to get used to battling with lots of eyes on me.

Besides, Samantha herself had admitted that she'd nearly cracked under the pressure, despite looking like a complete natural who was in her element from where I had sat in the stadium. If she could push through her nerves to chase her dreams, so could I.


"Welcome, one and all, to the Mauville gym! I'm your host Fabio, and I'll be providing you commentary during today's rather unique challenge!"

The crowd cheered for the announcer as I stood waiting for my cue to step onto the battlefield, hidden from sight and unable to see the proceedings. Mauville seemed to put more thought into production value and showmanship than Rustboro had, because they had a dedicated announcer as well as an entire crew of people coordinating things. I had one such person with me whose sole job seemed to be ensuring that I was where I needed to be, currently holding their hand up for me to wait now that he had ensured the lapel mic was properly attached.

When I had watched Owen's battle, I'd also noticed that there were multiple camera people scattered throughout the arena as well as a production room. I was pretty sure that in Rustboro, they just had a camera or two that recorded in fixed locations.

I knew that all battles were automatically published online to a trainer's profile, but given how popular Mauville was and that it was the home of the region's primary broadcasting center, my guess was that good battles made it onto TV in some manner.

"Our challenger today is an up-and-coming young trainer from Petalburg City! His league profile indicates he has quite an interesting team, and he's issuing a challenge for his second badge, something we don't get to see very often! I have no doubt this will be a unique and entertaining battle, so let's give a warm welcome to Daniel Ingram!"

The stagehand responsible for me urgently waved me forward, and I stepped into the spotlights only to be temporarily blinded by the bright lights. I did my best to force a smile and wave, taking cautious steps forward as my eyes adjusted and I slowly began to be able to see.

One of the first things I noticed was that I wasn't getting nearly the reception that Owen had. Not to say that the reaction to my introduction was completely unenthusiastic, but I couldn't help but feel like the applause was about half as energetic as Owen's. As I took my spot in the challenger's box and got a chance to look around as the applause died down, I began to understand why.

After hearing the announcer mention that I was only challenging for my second badge, quite a few people were standing up and leaving, presumably season-pass holders who weren't actually out any money from doing so, and those that remained seemed to simply not have very high expectations for the match to be an entertaining one. I couldn't fault them too much though; they were used to challengers gunning for their third badge, and the general rule of thumb was that the higher tier challenge the more interesting the battle.

I was almost positive that spectators could see the trainer's name listed on a schedule board in the lobby or online, so they only had themselves to blame for taking the few seconds it would take to look up my profile and see I only had one badge. Truth be told though, I didn't feel upset by the subtle slight of many who didn't expect much from me. If anything, it made me want to prove them wrong and make those who decided to leave regret doing so.

"And of course, the man who will be testing this young challenger's battle prowess and nerve. The pride of Mauville city and the region's premiere specialist in electric-type Pokémon, the man responsible for making our great city the electricity capital of Hoenn as well as a prosperous hub of commerce and tourism. Give it up for Leader Wattson!"

The stadium roared with thunderous applause as Wattson made his appearance, giving a broad smile and friendly wave to the crowd. Although his old age made his approach slow, the spectators seemed to have no qualms with keeping up their excited cheering going the entire time. As I watched him heavily rely on the railing while slowly ascending the stairs to take his position, I couldn't help but find myself surprised that he wasn't using a cane. I didn't know exactly how old Wattson was, but he had to be in his sixties or seventies and it was clear that his body was slowly beginning to fail him.

I suspected he didn't have many years of being a gym leader left in him, but it also wouldn't come as a shock to me if he ended up being the kind of man who would do the job until his dying breath if he had the choice. From what little I knew of him, he seemed to genuinely enjoy the position, although ultimately the League could tell him he needed to step down if they didn't think he was capable of fulfilling his duties.

As he reached his box and the applause finally began to die down, he tapped his mic as he turned to address the audience.

"Wahaha, what a splendid day for a battle! I have it on good authority that this battle is likely to be positively electrifying, so those of you who may be thinking otherwise will be in for quite a shock when you find this fine young trainer generating waves online later!"

I was surprised that Wattson would say something like that, and even moreso when I saw that it was actually working. Many of the people who had begun making their way for the exit seemed to take Wattson at his word and shuffled back to their seats, although not all of them. I found myself with slightly mixed feelings; on one hand I was happy that Wattson was sticking up for me, but on the other I wasn't keen on having even more attention and expectations put on me. Still though, I knew that he had nothing but good intentions, so I gave him a silent nod in appreciation.

"I've already had the pleasure of meeting this young man, and last we spoke I gave him the option of twos or threes. Which have you decided, Daniel?"

There was some hushed whispering in the crowd at that remark, likely not only at the fact that we'd met but that I was being given a choice, both of which were probably fairly unusual.

"Threes, sir. I want my entire team to participate," I answered a bit too loudly, underestimating how sensitive the microphone was as my voice boomed through the arena.

Wattson gave a hearty laugh, "I suspected as much! You've got that spark in you, I can tell. Best of luck, young man."

The crowd cheered as a barrier formed around the arena and the announcer took over, "This will be a three-on-three battle at the second-badge level. Each trainer is allowed one substitution, and standard gym rules apply; no excessive force or intent to maim, no items, no outside assistance, and no attempts to target anybody other than the opponent Pokémon. Leader Wattson, please send out your first Pokémon. The battle begins on the referee's mark."

Wattson started things off by sending out a Mareep, and I wasted no time in sending out Duran. He had a determined look in his eyes, and stared down his opponent with violent intent, a stark contrast to the affable Mareep who seemed taken aback by Duran's intensity.

"Leader Wattson has chosen Mareep, and the challenger has made a very interesting choice by starting things off with a Corphish, a water-type. This puts the challenger at a clear disadvantage, but let's see if they have what it takes to overcome it! Referee, count us down!"

"Trainers, on my mark! Three… Two… One… Go!"

Just as we'd rehearsed, Duran immediately extended both claws, pointing them at the ground as he began to blast the ground with water to liberally coat the field in mud, making sure plenty splashed onto his opponent and himself.

Wattson chuckled in amusement, "Coating the field in mud to reduce electricity's conductivity, eh? Wahaha, an excellent strategy! Mareep my dear, use Tackle."

As expected, Wattson intended to make direct contact to paralyze Duran, the electricity dancing across Mareep's unmuddied fur leaving no doubt of its intentions. I withheld the urge to scoff at not only how predictable the move was, but also how lightly we were being taken. I knew that this was a challenge for the second badge and that Wattson was supposed to pull punches, but a basic tackle felt almost too easy. If the first test of this gym was to see whether I had an answer prepared for avoiding paralysis through the static ability, then I was eager to pass it with flying colors and move on to something more challenging.

Although the obvious choice would be to use our new move Mud Shot to attempt to stop the attack and keep our distance, I'd made a last-minute alteration to our plan earlier in the morning, and stayed silent to watch with bated breath to see if Duran would be able to pull it off as I had anticipated. He continued to spray water all over, creating as much of a muddy mess as he could before the incoming impact.

Mareep closed the distance, a look of annoyance etched on its face as it charged at Duran. Mareep were known for being a rather easy-going and simple-minded species, although they grew more intelligent as they evolved. Based on its expression and mannerisms when first called out, my impression was that it was expecting this to be a fun game of sorts, but now that we had coated its wool in mud it seemed we had gotten on its bad side.

But that was fine by me; I wanted us to be taken seriously, and I was sure that this opener we had planned would make everyone in the arena do just that.

As the charging Mareep finally reached Duran and lurched forward, its head tucked and wool sparking, Duran stood his ground and threw up a powerful Protect at the last moment, which Mareep collided with but was unable to break. Despite Duran and Mareep being close to the same size, I had no doubt that Duran was heavier due to the added volume of Mareep's wool, and with multiple legs to dig into the ground he was able to withstand the impact while only barely sliding back.

Mareep bounded off the protective barrier, the attack not being strong enough to even make any visible cracks, and went tumbling back. Duran lowered the barrier and stood fully at attention for my command.

I watched our opponent closely, hoping that our ideal scenario would come to pass. I couldn't contain a feral grin as I noticed that the electricity I'd seen surging through the Mareep's fleece was suddenly missing as it landed.

I gave two sharp whistles in quick succession immediately followed by a lower-toned one, signaling for an attack at close range. Duran instantly launched himself at his opponent with an Aqua Jet and slammed the Mareep against one of the arena's larger boulders.

The crowd gasped as Duran followed up with a barrage of Double Hits, clobbering the Mareep in a fury of swinging claws. In a panicked act of desperation, the Mareep cried out and suddenly unleashed a massive pulse of electricity all around it, delivering a heavy dose of electricity to Duran at point-blank range.

I silently cursed and felt my heart skip a beat, worried I'd possibly ruined things and made the wrong call. The plan had been to bait an attack, block it with Protect, and quickly knock out the foe while their guard was down; assuming that static wasn't being maintained. I'd hoped to not only secure Duran a win as quickly as possible in order to give him the redemption he craved, but keep him on reserve in case Orion was unable to finish his opponent or the field dried up and needed to be coated in mud again.

For the most part, the plan had worked. The field was muddy and Duran had been able to successfully launch a physical counter-offensive without getting paralyzed by static. We could have simply played it safe with Mud Shot and attempted to keep our distance, but it was a newer move and unlikely to deal massive amounts of damage in a short period like Duran getting up close and brawling would.

I let out a sigh of relief as I saw the Mareep slouch over and get instantly recalled by a stunned-looking Wattson, who seemed somewhere between impressed and unsettled. The stadium was unusually quiet as I looked over Duran, who didn't seem to be paralyzed or in too bad of shape, just a bit rattled. I wasn't sure exactly what move the Mareep had used, but I suspected it would have likely caused paralysis if not for the mud which served to help slightly insulate from the electrical current.

"M-mareep is unable to battle. Leader Wattson, please send out your next Pokémon," the referee called out as he raised a hand signaling our victory.

I flinched as the crowd suddenly burst out cheering, much more enthusiastically than they had been previously for me. I'd been starting to get worried that we'd been too aggressive and might have disturbed the crowd with what was essentially a sudden burst of extreme violence, however it wasn't excessive or anything that you wouldn't see in higher-level battles.

Just because this was a two-badge challenge didn't mean I had to battle like it, especially when I felt like there was something important on the line. I probably wasn't doing myself any favors, as Wattson would surely take things more seriously going forward than he otherwise would have, but I simply couldn't afford to play around when Duran's pride was on the line.

"Incredible! Despite an obvious type disadvantage, Daniel's Corphish has defeated Wattson's Mareep, and all without a single word spoken! Mareep got off a fully-powered Discharge, yet despite its best efforts the Corphish stands strong! I don't know about you folks, but that sure didn't look like any second-badge battle I've ever seen! If this is what the next generation of trainers looks like, I think it's safe to say Hoenn's future is bright!"

The announcer's commentary only provoked more enthusiasm from the crowd as Wattson returned his Mareep, a smile on his face yet an undeniable look of contemplation visible. He cleared his throat, which was picked up by the mic and caused the crowd to quiet down.

"Marvelous display, young man! I suspected you wouldn't allow Mareep to paralyze you with that Tackle, but I never expected such a decisive counter-offensive! Protect is an invaluable tool when applied correctly, as you've just displayed. Don't think I didn't catch those whistles you did, either. Very impressive!"

I nodded in thanks, but then noticed that his face grew more serious.

"As a gym leader, it's my job to not only ensure you possess the skill and strength needed to earn the badge you seek, but also to challenge you by pushing you to your limits," he continued. "I fear I've fallen short in one of those duties so far. Wouldn't want you to think lightly of our gym, so I'll just have to up the voltage! Let's see if you have any other surprises up your sleeve that will shock me! Wahahaha!"

Wattson released his next Pokémon; an Electrike. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, wishing that he'd have chosen Voltorb as I felt Orion would have had a better chance at winning against an opponent with such limited mobility. I was slightly worried about his chances of winning against an Electrike; he was about half the size and I was certain that it was faster than Orion. But I had faith that Orion would do his best, and achieving a goal was only made all the sweeter when faced with adversity.

"I'm using my switch," I announced as I returned a mildly disappointed Duran. I'd discussed with him that I planned on returning him when, not if, he won his battle. He'd been reluctant at first, but after pulling him aside and explaining that he was vital to our strategy for his ability to create mud and that Orion deserved to fight an opponent as well, he seemed to accept that it was necessary.

"The challenger opts to utilize their switch. Any Pokémon returned from this point forward will be withdrawn from the battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokémon," the referee announced.

Without hesitation, I sent out Orion. There was audible fawning from the spectators at the universally beloved species, which drew his attention. He looked around at the sea of people in the crowd, and I could tell he was getting stage-fright from just how many eyes were on him when he started to tremble and his ears folded back.

"Focus, Orion. You've got an opponent to beat. Remember what we practiced, buddy," I encouraged, which thankful snapped him out of his frozen daze. I couldn't help but grin as the crowd's fawning quickly turned into disapproving murmurs when Orion did a quick roll in the mud, just as we'd rehearsed.

"Daniel has sent out an Eevee to face off against Wattson's Electrike, somehow convincing the typically vain species to roll around in the mud! I think we can all agree that Eevee deserves a trip to the groomer after this battle is concluded!"

The crowd laughed at the announcer's comment, and I couldn't help but smirk myself. It was true that Orion hadn't been thrilled with coating himself in mud, and I had indeed promised to get him groomed afterward. But thankfully, my Eevee was more than willing to put his vanity on the line.

"The second round is Eevee versus Electrike. On my mark," the referee announced as he raised an arm and both combatants readied themselves.

"Begin!"

"Quick Attack," Wattson called out, causing the Electrike to take off at high speed right toward Orion. I was reminded of Samantha's warning that Electrike use their electricity to supercharge their muscles and boost their speed, and it was startling just how explosive the speed of the species truly was.

But it was expected, and we'd practiced a maneuver I'd come up with to counter incoming strikes; one that should work on any non-artificial battlefield. The fact that the field was currently a muddy mess only meant that it would work in our favor even better.

"Pivot strike!"

Orion lept back and to the side, kicking up mud with a weak Mud Slap and coating his opponent as he narrowly evaded the strike. Taking advantage of the opening and momentary blindness as the Electrike shook its head to clear its vision, Orion charged forward with a Quick Attack and slammed into the side of his opponent; not hard enough to send it tumbling but with adequate force to knock them down.

I was pleased to see that the strike hadn't zapped Orion. Samantha's advice of catching the enemy off-guard was paying dividends, and it wasn't something I would have thought of. It made sense though; to constantly have electricity surging across one's body would unnecessarily drain their stamina and shorten the fight drastically, so naturally they would only do so when expecting to make contact. I hadn't been as sure that attacking so soon would work, but missing the target and being startled with mud to the face seemed to have been enough to drop their focus.

"Thunder Wave!" Wattson commanded as the Electrike got to its feet and shook off some of the mud.

The Electrike took a widened stance and growled as its fur began to crackle with electricity.

"Protect!" I ordered, confident that we could defend against the incoming attack.

Just as expected, Orion was able to shield himself from the pulse of electricity that radiated from the Electrike only a moment later. This truly was one of the benefits of battling unevolved electric-types; they took time to generate and unleash their electric attacks, something much less of an issue for evolved, more battle-hardened electric-types who could store and control their electric-charge better.

"Your Eevee knows Protect as well? I'm quite sure that Corphish can learn it naturally, but it's surprising to see such a young Eevee knows the move," Wattson said, clearly impressed.

"I thought it was worth teaching. Seems to be paying off," I replied, eliciting a chuckle.

"Right you are! Guess we'll just have to try something else then. Quick Attack, circle strategy!"

The Electrike took off and began circling Orion, its fur crackled with electricity and sparks trailing behind it as it built speed. My eyes had trouble keeping track of Electrike as it became a blur, and it didn't take long for it to begin looking more like the beginnings of an Extreme Speed.

"Swift!" I called out, not sure what else we could possibly do against such a strategy. Our opponent was too far out to try hitting it with a Mud Slap, and Protect didn't seem like a viable option. The strike would be too sudden for Orion to suddenly throw up a Protect barrier, and he wasn't skilled enough with the move to hold it in wait.

Orion summoned a few projectiles and launched them toward the blurring mass surrounding him, and although they tried to home in they were unable to catch up and soon fizzled out. Just as they did, Orion was immediately hit from the side with a heavy blow that sent him tumbling.

As Orion quickly got to his feet, I silently cursed as I saw him twitch and momentarily seize, indicating that he was now paralyzed. It wasn't anything we hadn't anticipated, but I'd hoped we could have gotten in more damage before it happened.

"Keep moving, hammer it with Swift and pivot incoming attacks," I called out, causing Orion to begin circling his opponent and shooting projectiles at the Electrike. I could clearly see that his mobility was being affected by the paralysis, but he did his best to push through his uncooperating and seizing muscles despite being unable to run at a consistent speed. We'd practiced exactly this during our training session with Owen; having his Shroomish paralyze my team and trying our best to work through it. I'd like to think we made a little progress, but there was only so much we could do and at the end of the day it became clear that paralysis simply couldn't be ignored. It was still a good exercise though, as it allowed my team to get more familiar with the sensation so they could focus more on the battle.

"Full offense with Quick Attack, my dear Electrike," Wattson called out confidently.

Rather than circling around, Electrike darted right at Orion at a break-neck speed. It took glancing blows from Swift as it approached, which served to slow it down a little but not by much. The Electrike was hit with a wave of mud as Orion leaped out of the way just in time with a Mud Slap, but it was relentless and kept up the pressure. It took the Swifts and Mud Slaps head-on as it attempted to reach Orion, and after a couple of attempts it finally succeeded and landed a devastating blow when Orion suffered an unfortunately-timed and particularly heavy flinch.

As Orion was sent tumbling again, the reality of the situation set in.

I'd made a mistake sending him in against the Electrike, and he wasn't going to win this battle.

Orion wasn't fast enough, was too limited in his attacks, and didn't do much damage even when he could manage to land a hit. Add paralysis into the mix, and it was simply too much for him to overcome. He would have had a far better chance against the Mareep, but I'd been too set on the strategy I had prepared to utilize mud when it wasn't doing much to change the tide of this battle.

"Swift, go all out and don't let up!" I called out, wanting Orion to get in as much damage as possible before his impending defeat. He was panting, constantly flinching, and looking worse for wear, but at least I could confidently say that his opponent hadn't come out of the battle unscathed.

Orion yowled, pushing through the fatigue and discomfort as he summoned a slew of projectiles and sent them at his opponent one after the other.

"Finish with Thunder Fang," Wattson called out as the Electrike bolted toward Orion, doing its best to sidestep the barrage of Swifts it was taking with little success.

"Protect!" I shouted, hoping Orion could stop the attack and last just a little longer. He erected a barrier just as the Electrike closed in, its maw open and crackling with electricity as it sunk its teeth into the protective field. Orion was shaking from the effort and barely standing, and when I saw the barrier begin to flash and crack from the pressure of the Electrike's fangs applying constant pressure, I knew it was time to call it. There was no use keeping Orion in any longer; he wasn't going to accomplish anything else, and it would only put him at risk.

I recalled Orion just as the barrier shattered, narrowly saving him from having a bite taken out of him.

"I concede this round and withdraw Orion from the battle," I said as I turned to the referee, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Eevee is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokémon," the referee announced.

I sighed in resignation, returning my unconscious Eevee and wondering if I'd made a mistake by switching him into a battle he simply couldn't win. I was positive that he would have had a much better chance against the Mareep, but I'd expected the Electrike to go first and wanted the mud Duran created to aid Orion in his fight. I could have kept Duran in to weaken the Electrike for Orion to finish, but if Duran had somehow won it would have robbed Orion of his chance to shine, and I wouldn't have wanted Orion to be handed a victory on a silver platter when he could have the chance to earn it on his own.

He might have lost, but it was a loss we could afford. I'd hesitate to say it was a fair fight though; Orion simply wasn't ready to take on an opponent that was not only bigger and faster than him, but more versatile and well-trained. Still, it was a good learning experience for him and I hoped he wouldn't take the loss too hard, instead using it as motivation to get even stronger. But if Duran could take an even more crushing and unfair loss and turn it into motivation for the future, perhaps time would reveal that Orion's defeat was for the best.

"There you have it folks! Although it gave a valiant effort, Daniel's Eevee was unable to overcome the unrelenting speed of Wattson's Electrike. Both trainers are down a Pokémon and the battle is heating up! Will Daniel send his Corphish back out, or will choose to show the ace he has up his sleeve?"

I snorted in amusement at the remark, my mind already made up on who I'd be choosing. I always found the concept of an 'ace' a bit condescending to the rest of a trainers' team; it implied that one was stronger and more reliable than the others, and there was a tendency for trainers to save their perceived strongest for last in a battle. One could argue that Apollo was indeed the strongest on my team, but that was mostly a matter of telepathy providing us a huge advantage in battling as well as us having more time to train together.

Duran was undeniable 'tougher' and his wide move pool made him much more versatile, and in my opinion he was quickly approaching parity with Apollo. But different species of Pokémon have their strengths and weaknesses, and it felt ridiculous to imply that a trainer should have an 'ace' to handle any sticky situation they find themselves in.

Although it made sense for gym leaders to have an ace or species they specialized in so that challengers could have something to plan around, the only reason I was using Apollo last was because he was the best option against a steel-type that I had. I personally wouldn't ever call him an ace, but that wouldn't stop others from doing so; particularly because he was also my starter.

I sent Duran back out, who instantly looked overjoyed when realizing we were still in the gym battle. But after taking a look at his opponent and recognizing it was the same Electrike he'd been recalled for Orion to battle, he turned back to me with a questioning look.

"Orion did his best and wore him down, but I need you to finish the job buddy. We need Apollo fresh for his battle to have any hope of winning, think you can finish up here?" I asked with a grin, knowing his answer.

He nodded in understanding, clicking his claws in excitement as he readied himself. Despite taking a Discharge point-blank earlier, he didn't seem to be in bad shape. When I'd recalled him before he looked a little sore and shaken, but his break in the ball must have done a lot to help him feel better. It helped me realize how important switches were, and I decided to put more consideration into them in future gym-challenges.

"The challenger has chosen his Corphish," the referee announced, "Trainers, on my mark… Begin!"

"Charge," Wattson commanded, causing the Electrike to growl as electricity began to jump across its fur.

"Renew the mud," I ordered, seeing that the field was nearly dry. Just as he'd done in the first round, he began blasting the field with Water Gun, making sure to splash some mud on himself and his foe.

"Now Quick Attack," Wattson ordered, causing me to raise a brow. Considering how things had gone with the Mareep, I found it to be an interesting call to make, and as the Electrike took off in a blur I didn't have time to think of any response other than what had worked before.

"Protect," I commanded Duran.

He erected his shield just in time and managed to withstand the blow, but this Electrike was bigger and much faster than the Mareep. Although roughly the same size as Duran, its elongated body and visible muscle mass made me suspect it might weigh more, and that was proven to be true as Duran was not only pushed back while taking the impact, but had visible cracks in the shield.

Another big difference was that the Protect wasn't enough to knock back the Electrike. It had kept its feet firmly planted into the ground and was standing strong with its head pressed against the barrier as it growled.

Wattson made his next move before I could think of what to do next, revealing why he'd chosen the attack he had. All too late, I realized I'd played right into his hand and done exactly what he had expected.

"Now Shockwave!"

A massive pulse of electricity came from the Electrike as it howled from the effort, and although Duran tried his best to hold the Protect it buckled and gave way. He took a massive shock as the barrier broke, although one saving grace was that the attack seemed to take a lot of the Electrike's already limited remaining energy.

"Mud Shot!" I shouted in a panic.

Duran quickly scooped up globs of mud using his pincers, pinched to compact it tightly, then propelled it with water, launching projectiles of mud into the Electrike at high speeds. The target practice he'd done with Water Gun paid off greatly, as he easily struck his opponent and caused it to whimper and momentarily retreat.

"Keep up the pressure!" I ordered, which Duran gladly complied with. He got into a rhythm of alternating projectiles with his claws, scooping and compacting with one while shooting pellets of earth with the other. The Electrike did its best to dodge by leaping to the side, and although it was able to dodge a couple it still took some glancing blows, its exhaustion fully apparent.

"Thunder Fang into Discharge! Full power!" Wattson ordered, causing the Electrike to take off. It approached in a tightening circle, swerving as needed to narrowly evade the moistened earth that Duran continued to launch at it. Despite being drastically slower than previously, it was still fast enough that Duran struggled to land any hits, and as the circle got smaller I knew that this was going to be the final bout of the battle.

"Obscure and finish with Vice Grip," I ordered, hoping that it would be enough to prevent the Electrike from successfully latching onto Duran. He quickly enshrouded himself with a dense field of Bubbles, and I watched with bated breath as the Electrike changed course and veered directly toward the bubbly mass.

Upon the Electrike charging head-first into the sea of bubbles, I heard a yelp immediately followed by a pulse of electricity, which served to instantly banish the surrounding bubbles and give me a clear view of what happened.

As I'd hoped, Duran was able to avoid the Thunder Fang and had managed to get ahold of the Electrike, pinning to the ground on its side as it pincered. Unlike the Mareep's quick pulse of a Discharge, the Electrike held the attack as it unloaded all of its stored electricity while howling and squirming, trying desperately to get Duran to release it which only made him my crustacean tighten his grip.

It didn't take long for the Electrike to slip into unconsciousness and slump over, and as Duran released the opponent that was consumed by light as Wattson recalled it, I couldn't help but grin as Duran raised a wobbly claw and snipped in victory.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers, "What an upset! The challenger's Corphish has defeated not one but two of Leader Wattson's Pokémon, despite the obvious type-advantage! In all my years of commentating, I've never seen anything like this, folks!"

Duran did his best to stand strong and take a battle stance, a fierce determination in his eyes that told me he wanted to keep going. There was no way I was going to let him continue fighting in this condition, and as his legs gave way and he succumbed to his fatigue by collapsing into unconsciousness, I found myself grateful that I didn't have to try convincing him not to fight. I couldn't help but smile fondly as I returned him for a well-deserved rest, my heart swelling with pride at what he'd been able to accomplish despite the adversity he faced.

"That Corphish of yours is truly remarkable. It's not every day I see a water-type topple one of my Pokémon, let alone two. Quite a shock, indeed!" Wattson complimented as he palmed his last Pokéball.

"You could say he had something to prove today, and I think he's done that," I answered with a nod.

"Wahaha, and so he did! We still have one final bout to go, young man. Let's see how you do when we turn up the voltage!"

Wattson sent out his final Pokémon; a Magnemite, just as I had both hoped and anticipated. It was slightly relieving that I wasn't going to have to face off against a Magneton, which I'd thought there was a chance might happen.

I released Apollo, which elicited a noticeable stir from the crowd. I instantly felt him touch my mind as he quickly rolled in the mud before standing up and taking a readied position, and I quickly recapped him on events as the announcer hyped up the crowd.

"Daniel sends out his final Pokémon; a Ralts! Let's see if it has what it takes to take down Wattson's Magnemite!" the announcer's voice boomed through the stadium as the crowd cheered.

"Trainers, on my mark," the referee called out as he raised an arm into the air.

"Remember the plan?" I sent Apollo through our link.

Confidence. "Yes, careful and distance. Try best."

"Start with Calm Mind, be ready to use Protect," I sent through our link as the referee brought his arm down.

"Begin!"

Apollo immediately began focusing, building up his psychic power as much as possible. I knew we'd need to heavily rely on it for this battle, so boosting it was the obvious opener. But Wattson wasn't willing to give us time to do whatever we wanted as he quickly gave his first order.

"Supersonic!"

The Magnemite began to hum with a metallic resonance that filled the air and quickly grew in pitch to be ear-piercing.

"Now!"

Apollo broke his concentration to erect a barrier, and as I covered my ears to block out the high-pitched screeching I could tell that Apollo was surely feeling great discomfort despite being largely from his shield dampening the soundwaves. I didn't know how long the Magnemite could hold the attack, and I had no interest in waiting around to see if Apollo would succumb and become confused.

"Confusion!"

We'd never tried using an attack while he used Protect, but my hope was that Calm Mind would have served to up his mental capacity enough to allow him to perform both at the same time. I suspected that in order to use any of his other moves the barrier would have to be dropped, which would leave him exposed, but I thought there was a good chance that Confusion would be unaffected by the shield.

Apollo's horn glowed brightly as he began hammering the Magnemite with psychic energy, which was enough to get it to stop using its attack. Apollo dropped his shield and fully focused on offense, and I could tell by the uneasy shaking and faint glow around the Magnemite that it was taking a toll.

Wattson called out for Magnemite to use a Thundershock, and to its credit it did its best. It hummed as it shot out arcs of electricity in Apollo's general direction, however it wasn't able to get a clear bead on him as it was assaulted with Confusion.

"Drop Protect, focus on Confuse Ray. Drive the disorientation home," I ordered, hoping that the little practice we'd done with the move would be enough.

Try as he might, Apollo just couldn't seem to be able to fully confuse the Magnemite in any lasting way. I could tell he was giving it his best effort as his horn continued to glow and the Magnemite wobbled with disorientation, but almost as soon as Apollo dropped it Magnemite stabilized and gained a focused look, informing me that our attempts were unsuccessful.

"Gyro Ball!" Wattson called out as the Magnemite began to spin at a rapid pace and close in on Apollo quickly.

"Harass," I commanded, thinking it was the best way of not only avoiding the homing Magnemite but also keeping up the pressure.

As expected, it worked beautifully. Though the Magnemite kept making impressively quick lunges at Apollo, he was too practiced with the move to even come close to being hit as he kept blasting Disarming Voices. Unlike when he normally used the tactic, he was Teleporting only when needed and taking more time to take deep breaths and unleash fully powered bellows, although it was tough to say how much of an effect we were really having on the Magnemite.

One thing I was sure of though was that Apollo's Teleport was at a point where most opponents would have little to no chance of physically hitting him. Unless he ran out of stamina or was facing something seriously fast like that Linoone or Swellow we'd battled, I didn't see him being at much of a risk or being hit.

Then there was the fact that he wasn't even reading his opponent's mind in order to keep this battle more honorable than our last gym. I'd decided that strategy should only be used as a last resort, as it split Apollo's focus even further and felt like a cheap substitute for proper battle strategy.

Yet as I considered these facts and watched Apollo effortlessly avoid lunging strikes that Duran would have little chance of avoiding and Orion would have struggled to evade, I couldn't help but feel as though Apollo severely outclassed this opponent. He was battling at a badge level or two above what he was being put up against, and I didn't see how the Magnemite would have any chance of defeating him based on what I'd seen.

"Thunderbolt!" Wattson ordered as he realized Magnemite had no hope of making contact as it was slowly being whittled down.

"Psybeam from behind," I instructed as Magnemite began to surge with electricity. Once released, the thick arc that crackled through the air was nearly instantaneous, yet Apollo was still able to Teleport in time due to the brief charging that the Magnemite had to do to channel the electricity.

It was just… too easy. Apollo was so practiced with Teleport that he could relocate in nearly the blink of an eye, and even doing so repeatedly was hardly any strain on him. It was as second-nature to him as telepathy at this point, and it made me think that very few attacks could pose a threat to him unless it covered a large area or was on par with the speed of the Linoone or Swellow we had fought. Apollo's speed and mobility were his greatest strengths, and when you combined that with the nearly instant communication telepathy provided us, it made battling him an uphill battle for any foe that was slower than him.

I watched as Apollo let loose a powerful Psybeam in the unsuspecting Magnemite's back, causing it to tremble and fall from the sky as it was overwhelmed with psychic energy. It wobbled as it floated back into the air and turned to face Apollo, but I could tell it didn't have much fight left in it from the subtle droop of its eyes and the unsteady bobbing its body did while trying to stay afloat.

I blinked in surprise as the Magnemite suddenly disappeared in a beam of light, and realized that Wattson had recalled the Magnemite. He had a rueful expression on his face, yet managed to smile despite the subtle disappointment I could sense in his voice as he addressed me.

"I think you would agree that this battle has lost its spark. I regret not being able to provide you with a more high-voltage final bout, but it's clear that my Magnemite is outmatched and that you are more than deserving of your second badge."

I stared blankly at Wattson as I tried to come up with what to respond, but settled with a respectful bow of my head just before Apollo Teleported onto my shoulder. I could tell by his breathing that this battle wasn't completely trivial, yet he wasn't quite at the point of having labored breathing and probably could have kept things going at the same pace for a few more minutes without much issue.

The arena stood in an awkward silence for a moment, and I began to feel uneasy about if I should say something. Thankfully though, the referee and announcer didn't let it linger for long and soon took control of things.

"Leader Wattson has conceded to the challenger. Victory goes to Daniel Ingram of Petalburg!"

Applause was slow to build, all except for a couple of very enthusiastic cheers I knew must be Samantha and Owen, but thankfully the crowd eventually decided that it was a good showing and put their heart into it. I sheepishly waved to the masses, feeling a bit bad that what had been an otherwise good battle ended rather anticlimactically, yet also relieved that it was over and that we had been successful.

"You did great Apollo, thanks for pulling through for me," I praised as I grabbed his Pokéball and prepared to return him, seeing the stagehand coming out to usher me off stage.

"We strong family, stronger every day," Apollo commented, causing me to chuckle.

"You and Duran were too strong for this badge. That, or Wattson wasn't used to two-badge challengers and pulled his punches too much. I'm sure the next gym will be much harder, so let's not get cocky," I responded as I rubbed his helmet affectionately before returning him.

It was true; as I collected my winnings and was ushered to Wattson's office for a post-battle discussion, I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that both Duran and Apollo were overqualified for the battle we'd just had. They struck me as being at the third-badge level, and I suspected that if Orion was just barely at the two-badge level and would have won with a different opponent.

Although I had no doubt that the vitamins and our routine training regiments played a part in our success, I couldn't discount the role their natural talents and personalities played. I'd always heard stories of trainers who struggled to get their team to focus long enough to get in a solid training session, but I never had that problem with my team. Each had the drive to improve on a daily basis, and I suspected that was what separated our battle today from most two-badge battles.

I had an amazing family with serious potential, and today only confirmed to me that I'd have to work extra hard to improve as a trainer if I wanted to keep up with them and help them reach the peak of what they were capable of. I'd overcompensated from the under-preparedness of our last gym battle today by overpreparing and sticking to the plan too rigidly, which cost Orion his fight.

But I knew he would forgive me, and it would make the next victory we earned at the Lavaridge gym that much sweeter when Orion and I both achieved what Duran had today.

Redemption.


A/N: There's a lot that I'm inclined to say about this chapter. I'm not entirely satisfied with how it turned out, but I'll go crazy if I keep revising it. I'm writing this story as a fun hobby for my own enjoyment, so I'm not going to get overly hung up on ensuring everything I want is perfectly presented before publishing, otherwise it isn't fun. I've learned a lot during this chapter and hope to keep improving so I can do better every week, but all I can do is hope that some people manage to enjoy reading despite the roughness around the edges that comes with diving head-first into writing my first story. Appreciate anyone who read this far, have an excellent weekend!

Shoutout to Trix for beta-reading this chapter.

Come discuss DotD or just hang out and chat on Discord. gg/ ge6a8XcNcB