"Alright, this is my new debut. Your on!" He said with determination as he threw out his pokéball, as Tyrunt appeared from it.
"TyTyrunt!"
Ash commented. "Cool! Harry's starting with Tyrunt." As he leaned forward in his seat, excited about the battle taking place.
"Not even going to wait and see which of my pokemon I'm going to choose before sending out yours? Careful, your not the only one who can switch up your team line up you know." Roark said with a somewhat chastising smile. "Now Cranidos, let's go!"
"Crani!"
"Whoa, who's that pokemon?" Dawn asked no one, as she took out her pokédex to scan it.
"Actually it doesn't, really matter," Harry said in response to the gym leader. "Tyrunt, use Dragon Tail!"
Like a shot, Tyrunt ran forward at a dead sprint for a moment before launching itself straight at its opponent, a scaly green aura surrounding its tail, before twisting in mid-air and slamming it into Cranidos. The rock-type gave a pained, and surprised, cry as it was knocked skidding back.
"You're really, fired up this time Harry, but now it's our turn. Cranidos, use Headbutt."
"Crani!"
Cranidos immediately charged forward, its body slightly hunched, with its blue-domed head ready for impact.
"Tyrunt, use Roar!"
"Ty Runt!"
Before Cranidos could make contact, Tyrunt's body glowed with a blue aura then let out a deafening cry, causing Cranidos to pause its movement and close its eyes in pain at the sound. The resurrected pokemon was sent back into its pokéball right before a stunned Geodude was pulled out, a confused look on its face.
"What was that?" Dawn asked in the stands.
"Tyrunt, use Stomp," Harry called immediately upon seeing Geodude appear.
"TyRunt"
Tyrunt immediately moves forward, raising its foot and bringing it down on top of Geodude.
In the stands, the four spectators of the battle we're watching with rapt attention.
"So that's why he said it didn't matter," Brock noted, his hand on his chin in thought.
"Huh, what do you mean? What didn't matter?" Dawn asked. She and Ash looked at their older friend.
"When Harry sent out Tyrunt before seeing what pokemon Roark was going to use. Roark told him that he should have waited and seen which of his pokemon he would be going with. It's not unusual for gym leaders to switch up their pokemon roster order when having a rematch with a challenger they've already battled. But Harry said that it didn't matter, and this is why."
Brock turned to look back at the battlefield.
"Harry planned to use Roar early on in the battle from the very beginning and take Roark by surprise. He made the first attack and then before Roark had a chance to counter-attack, Harry completely threw him off by suddenly forcing him to use a different pokemon mid-battle."
"So for Harry, it didn't matter what pokemon Roark started with, because he was planning on having it swapped out and going after the second pokemon while Roark was still off guard. " Dawn finished, now seeing what Brock had been talking about.
"That's some strategy," Ash added.
"It's impressive, but will it be enough to win? It all depends on how well Roark can adapt and how Harry takes advantage of the opening. But whatever happens, I'm sure this'll be an interesting battle."
Back on the battlefield, Roark had shaken off the slight shock that had come with the sudden change in his lineup. He let an amused smile grow across his face at the turn of events.
"Not bad Harry, you've really surprised me with that one." He praised his challenger. "But now it's my turn, Geodude use Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
"Geo" It cried out in affirmation from its place under Tyrunt's foot.
Geodude tucked its arms inwards, forming itself into a ball, its body briefly shining white before it started rolling at a high speed.
Tyrunt grunted in pain as it was knocked into, hard, at close range as Geodude propelled forward from underneath its foot, knocking it back across the field and into a rock.
"Alright Geodude, keep it up," Roark called.
Still rolling the ground/rock-type moved forward before circling in a large ark, building up momentum, before shooting forward at its opponent.
"Tyrunt, knock it back with Dragon Tail!"
"Ty!"
Tyrunt swung its now glowing green tail right as Geodude got close enough.
Unfortunately for Harry and Tyrunt, right as the two attacks collided, Geodude's Rollout charged straight through the Dragon Tail, knocking hard into Tyrunt and sending the duel type rolling along the ground.
"Dragon Tail didn't do a thing against Rollout. That hit looks like it took a lot out of Tyrunt, but I don't think Geodude took any damage." Dawn pointed out, a frown on her face as she watched the battle in front of her.
"No, Geodude took damage, just not a whole lot," Brock told her. "It's because of Defense Curl, not only did it up Geodude's defensive power, it also upped the damage caused by Rollout. Plus there's the fact that Rollout becomes stronger each time it hits."
"Tyrunt!, are you okay?" Harry asked, worried after seeing his friend get sent flying backward.
"Ty-Tyrunt." It forced out as it staggered to its feet.
" That was a pretty good strategy, Harry. I'm impressed, but I think it's time we finish this." Roark called from his place across the field. "Geodude, let's wrap this up, use Rollout one more time."
"Geo." Geodude, who had yet to stop rolling, once again began speeding towards a still shaky Tyrunt.
"Tyrunt, jump, now!"
Right, when Tyrunt was able to get to its feet it immediately launched itself onto a rock and then into the air just before Geodude came rolling through where it had been standing.
"Keep at it Geodude." Geodude rolled around in an arc back toward the other duel-type.
"Alright Tyrunt, jump high and get some distance!"
"Ty!"
Immediately as Tyrunt landed from dodging Geodude's Rollout, it sprang back to gain a bit of momentum before leaping high above the battlefield.
"Alright Geodude, after it."
Geodude once again arced around, as it rolled it hit one of the rocks scattered throughout the battlefield, using it as a ramp, and launched itself into the air towards Tyrunt.
Quick as a whip, before he could fully process what he was doing, Harry called out his next command.
"Tyrunt, spin, and use Dragon Tail!"
Right as Tyrunt powered up its attack, it twisted its body and began spinning. As it spun, it wrapped its tail helically around itself like a drill. Just in time as Geodude collided with it in midair. Once again pitting Rollout and Dragon Tail against each other.
Only this time, instead of pushing through its opponent's attack, the rock/ground type was sent shooting across the field and kicking up a dust cloud.
"What was that?" Roark asked in surprise.
"Tyrunt, are you okay?" Harry asked, not actually having planned on using that technique so soon but reacting on impulse when he saw the situation. Originally he had been planning to use that move to counter Cranidos and its high jumping Headbutts.
"Ty." The T-rex-shaped pokemon gave as a confirmation.
Tyrunt had also been knocked back a bit but was able to regain its composure in the air and landed on its feet unharmed.
"Geodude can not battle, Tyrunt wins," Ian called out as he looked over to where Geodude had come to a stop, in an indent in one of the rocks, its eyes swirled. Roark returned his unconscious pokemon to its pokéball
"You take a good rest."
"Awesome, Harry's off to a winning start!" Ash said, excited for his friend's success.
"Yeah, and the way they used that Dragon Tail was amazing," Dawn added.
"Thinking of new contest material?" Brock asked amusedly, seeing the way Dawn was eyeing Tyrunt intently, and getting an affirming "Mhm" from his friend.
The coal miner looked back across the battlefield at his opponent with a smile.
"That was an impressive move, you've managed to throw me off twice in one battle. That spinning Dragon Tail was something else."
"Well this may be a gym battle, but I'm still a coordinator."
"You've done a complete about-face from your last challenge, what changed?" He asked, sounding pleased.
"Somebody gave me some good advice and a bit of perspective is all." A smile played across Harry's face as he thought about Olympia and her advice
"Well, I'm glad for it. This is shaping up to be a really great battle." Roark pulled out another pokéball. "And it's only just getting started. Onix go!"
Onix let out a roar as it was released.
In the stands, Dawn was marveling at the rock snakes' impressive size.
Upon seeing the super-sized pokemon Harry was hit with the same sense of heart-stopping dread he had felt when he first faced Roark and saw this particular pokemon.
He felt his breath seize in his chest for a minute, memories of his poor Ralts and Sylveon going against it and being soundly knocked around flashed through his mind.
For a brief moment, he wasn't in the middle of his rematch battle with his friends cheering him on from the sidelines, he wasn't even in the gym. He was in the Great Hall back at Hogwarts, walking towards the teacher's table towards the side room where Diggory, Krum, and Delacour had just gone through, and about to be faced with an impossibly large task. At that moment he was surrounded by students from three different schools, all voicing displeasure, and vitriol at his admission to the tournament. But instead of the door, he should have been walking towards he was faced with the towering form of Onix in the middle of the Great Hall.
"TY TY TYRUNT!"
The sudden cry for Tyrunt had Harry coming back to himself. He shook his head to clear the memories and tried to focus.
"You may have beaten one of my pokemon, but that doesn't mean you can relax. You hafta keep your head in the game." Roark called from his side of the field.
Harry looked forward at the battlefield and tried to sense the emotions coming from the pokemon around him. He could feel uneasy and slit irritation from his Tyrunt. He could feel Roark's Onix's patience anticipation. He was momentarily confused by the happiness and excitement he had felt coming from off to the right of him before he realized that it was Ash's Pikachu. It was that brief stint of confusion that had him completely pushing aside his earlier trepidation and once again focusing on the battle.
Luckily it had only taken him a few seconds to have his little episode and pull himself back together from it and Roark hadn't taken the opportunity to attack.
Honestly, it looked like Roark was waiting for Harry to make the first move. The redhead was watching Harry and Tyrunt with a confident but causes expression. Harry figured that the man was a bit worried about his Onix being switched out and was thinking of counter-attacks if it happened since, with Geodude out of commission, he knew which pokemon would be called out.
Harry smiled a bit at that, feeling proud to have made the gym letter wary of his next move.
"Tyrunt, use Dragon Tail."
"Tyrunt"
The prehistoric pokemon immediately took off running, its tail glowing behind it.
"Dodge it and use Stealth Rock, Onix."
"Damn it!" Harry cursed at hearing the command.
Tyrunt leaped into the air and swung its tail, but missed its mark as Onix, with surprising speed for something so big, moved back out of the way. Shiny glints of energy then appeared around Onix before shooting out and embedding around the battlefield and forming stalagmites.
"What move was that ?" Dawn asked
"Stealth Rock is a move that causes damage to pokemon that appear later in the battle. It has no effect at all on pokemon already out." Brock explained.
"Now use Double-Edge!" Roark order right after the Stealth Rock had landed.
"Jump, then use Stomp." Harry order immediately after.
Onix's body began glowing gold before it launched itself at Tyrunt, just missing, as the duel type jumped up and out of the way.
A moment after Onix came to a stop Tyrunt came crashing down, feet first, and impacted right on top of its head, sending it rearing back as it jumped in the opposite direction.
"Use Dragon/Iron Tail" Both Harry and Roark called out at the same time.
Right on command Onix and Tyrunt's tails began glowing as the two pokemon sang their appendages.
Both attacks collided sending up a large black smoke cloud as the two were both sent hurtling backward from the impact. Tyrunt had been knocked off its feet and was sent tumbling across the field, Iron Tail having been a super effective move and causing a good amount of damage. Onix however, didn't just get blown back. Mostly everyone was shocked when Onix was retracted into its pokéball and was replaced by Cranidos after returning to Roark.
"I was waiting for this. Cranidos use Headbutt!"
"Crani!"
Cranidos charged full speed at the still prone form of the other ancient pokemon.
"Tyrunt, get out of the way!"
"T-Ty" Tyrunt spluttered out as it tried to pull itself to its feet, only to look up just as Cranidos finished closing the distance between the two of them and lunged headfirst into its body.
Tyrunt gave a pained cry as it was struck before hitting the ground, unconscious.
"Tyrunt is unable to battle the winner is Cranidos," Ian announced.
"What just happened? Why did Onix get switched with Cranidos?" Ash asked confusion at the sudden turn of events clear in his voice.
"It was because of Dragon Tail," Broke explained. "You see Dragon Tail has the added effect of switching out an opponent's pokemon. I guess when both moves hit it took effect.
Harry returned Tyrunt to its pokéball. "You were brilliant, take a good rest." He looked up at the gym leader with a slightly agitated glare. He wasn't really upset with Roark, he was angrier with himself. Of course, he knew the effect Dragon Tail could have, but he had never had it happen. Most of the battles he had with trainers to this point had been one on one battles so Dragon Tail had nerve switched out pokemon. The few multi-pokemon battles he'd had Dragon Tail had been enough to end the battle. So he had been taken off guard when he was suddenly facing a completely different pokemon.
"So Harry, what pokemon are you going to go with now," Roark asked.
A knowing smile spread across Harry's face as he took out his next pokemon. He didn't say a word as he enlarged and then throw out the pokéball.
"Ral!" His Ralts cried determinately once she was released.
Just as she touched the field the stalagmites for the Stealth Rock earlier lifted into the air and simultaneously collided with her in a smokey explosion.
"Damn that stupid Stealth Rock." Harry cursed to himself. "Ralts are you okay?"
"Ral Ral!" She cried in affirmation as she jumped forward out of the dissipating smoke, only slightly scuffed up.
She held her arms out from her sides as she stared intently at Cranidos, her entire posture ready for a fight. He had known when he had to face Roark's Cranidos again he would have to let Ralts take a shoot at it. The little psychic type had been very clear in her desire for a rematch.
"It looks like Ralts is really raring to battle," Brock commented from the sidelines.
"Yeah, sure does. Come on Ralts!" Ash greed before cheering on his friend.
"You can do it!" Dawn cheered as well.
"I'm not the only one who's been fired up about this battle! Ralts might be a sweetie but she hates losing." Harry called out to Roark.
"Well then, we won't keep either of you waiting. Cranidos use Focus Energy and then Headbutt!"
Cranidos body glowed white for a moment before the glow traveled upwards to its head-turning its domed head blue before fading then lunging towards Ralts.
"Ralts use Double Team!"
Before Cranidos could land the hit duplicates of Ralts started forming from the original and spreading around the field.
"Now use Shock Wave!"
The Double Team dispersed as Ralts glowed blue with electricity before shooting off a beam and hitting Cranidos.
"Crain!" It cried out as it was hit by the attack.
"Cranidos, use Zen Headbutt"
Cranidos quickly recomposed itself before its head started glowing blue with a familiar blue reflective shield, and it once again when shooting towards Ralts.
This time Cranidos was too fast, and Ralts was too close, for Harry to call a counterattack.
Ralts, let out a cry of pain as the powered-up headbutt impacted her from the side and sent her sailing across the ground.
"Zen Headbutt again."
"Crani" Cranidos once again stared to power up its head before running at full speed.
"Ralts use Confusion on the rocks!"
Ralts immediately picked up on what Harry was telling her to do. Her eyes glowed purple as one of the large rocks became outlined in the same purple before lifting off the ground and hurtling towards the incoming rock type. Harry had had Ralts use Confusion this way to help with training Tyrunt the past couple of days and it had paid off in more ways than one.
Zen Headbutt smashed through the rock with little struggle, but it was more than enough to through it off course. Instead of hitting Ralts, Cranidos slammed into one of the larger boulders, facing away from Ralts.
"Finish it with Magical Leaf!"
"Ralts!"
Ralts spun around, releasing glowing green leaves for her body at Cranidos unguarded back.
"Flamethrower!"
"What!?"
The moment Cranidos turned its head, its mouth was open and blasting out a stream of fire. The Flamethrower burned straight through the Magical Leaf and hit a shocked Ralts. The psychic type let out a surprised and pained screech as the fire hit her.
"Ralts! Are you alright?"
"Ral Ral." Ralts gave a reassuring cry to Harry's worried question. Though she did have a few singed marks she appeared relatively unharmed.
"I didn't know Cranidos knew Flamethrower. Although I guess that's one way for a rock-type gym to deal with grass types." Harry commented to himself. He had been so wrapped up in his nerves for most of the first battle that he hadn't been paying much attention to the specific moves Roark and his pokemon had been using, only registering that his pokemon were getting hurt.
"Are you surprised, Harry? You really shouldn't be, after all when you dedicate yourself to a specifical to a single type, it's only natural to come up with countermeasures to deal with type disadvantages." Roark told him, sounding just shy of condescending, but not meaning any offense.
"Honestly it's more surprising that you have a move that doesn't require you to get up close." Harry retorted with a teasing smirk.
Throughout his battle, Harry had noticed a few things and was now starting to get how Roark operated in battle. All of his pokemon were trained with their speed being optimized, something not easily done, his Onix reflexes alone could attest to the training they had done. Rock-type pokemon are normally incurably heavy as a species more known to rely on sturdy defense or strong attacks. Though most of Roark's attacks required physical contact to cause damage, each of his pokemon had one move that could be used from a distance and seeing Cranidos Flamethrower had been enough to give Harry a clear picture of how Roark worked in battle. He had figured out that Roark liked to use moves that would have his pokemon getting in close to attack and used speed to compensate for range as a primary battle strategy, and would fall back on a singular long-range move as a counterattack if anyone got through his 'stick and move' strategy.
Roark let out a laugh at that.
"Ha, you caught on to my particular style of battling, have you? Well, we'll see if that going to be enough to win." The man didn't sound the least bit worried about his opponent figuring out his strategy.
"I guess we will. Ralts spin and use Magical Leaf!"
Ralts started to spin in place while simultaneously releasing glowing leaves. This time the leaves swirled around Ralts forming a barrier around itself as the leaves shot out.
"Flamethrower again!"
Cranidos once again let loose a stream of fire from its mouth straight into the Magical Leaf, however this time as the leaves and flames hit, the fire was heavily slowed down, though it continued forward on target.
"Ralts use Confusion and go straight through!"
"Ralts!"
Ralts stopped spinning as her eyes glowed purple just before the Flamethrower could hit. The flames, along with a few burnt leaves, were pushed away as a purplish transparent force started to push back through the fire and towards Cranidos, as well as leaving a trail of beautiful ember sparks as it extinguished the fire.
"Cranidos jump and doge it!"
The resurrected pokemon cut off its Flamethrower and jumped up ad out of the way just before it could be hit.
"Use Headbutt!"
While still in the air Cranidos angled its body downwards and headed for Ralts.
"Double Team all around!"
Just as Cranidos was about to make contact, Ralts created duplicates of herself and disappeared into their numbers as they appeared on all sides, including floating in the air a good distance away from and around Cranidos.
"Cranidos get ride of them with Flamethrower," Roark instructed
"Ralts use Shock Wave through the Double Team!" Harry called, hoping that this would work.
Cranidos shoot out a stream of fire and began dispersing the duplicates one by one with a continuous stream of fire. At the same time, Ralts and the copies ( the ones that hadn't been destroyed yet) began glowing with blue electricity and forming a small blue ball in front of them. After a few seconds of charging the attack one of the Ralts, the real one fired a beam of yellow electricity that quickly spread around throughout the copies dispersing them, and subsequently, surrounding Cranidos.
"What's that?" Dawn asked in the stand.
"Not sure," Ash replied, watching the battle with wrapped attention.
"Now, let the have it!" Harry called
"RAL!" Suddenly arcs of electricity started charging around the inside of the circle and creating an electrified web grid.
"Cran!" Cranidos cried out in pain as it was shocked by the electricity.
"Cranidos!?" Roark shouted in alarm for his pokemon.
Once the attack stopped Cranidos slowly crumpled to the ground, its eyes swirled.
"Cranidos is unable to battle, Ralts is the winner," Ian announced, gesturing towards Harry and Ralts.
"Alright! Harry only needs one more win!" Ash said now standing up with his fist clenched and raised in excitement.
"Mhm, and that was also some move that he pulled off just now. He had Ralts use the Double Team as waypoints for Shock Wave and made it impossible to be countered with another attack." Brock noted. "But he still has to beat Roar's Onix."
"But Onix is already weak from the other battles, and Harry still has one completely healthy pokemon. Doesn't that put him in the lead?" Dawn asked.
" Harry definitely has the upper hand right now, but he can't get conferrable. The battle's not over until it's over. Anything can still happen." Brock told her as he turned his attention back to the battlefield.
"Cranidos return. Thank you, you've earned a good rest." Roark said as he recalled his Cranidos. "That was some out-of-the-box thinking you did, to come up with a strategy like that. I knew you'd be an interesting challenger Harry, and you've more than proved it."
"And there's still more to come," Harry replied with a cheeky smile.
"Onix, let's go!"
For the second time, Onix was released onto the field. This time covered in scrapes and dirt from its earlier battles.
Harry looked between Onix and Ralts for a moment, his smile replaced with a contemplative frown before he nodded to himself and took out a pokéball.
"Ralts return. Alright, Sylveon you're on!"
"Syl!" Sylveon cried as it was switched out with Ralts.
Again, the stalagmites from the Stealth Rock rose before coming down onto the fairy type. Though Sylveon seemed to quickly shake off the bit of damage it had been caused and jumped forward, crouched and ready to attack at moment's notice.
In the stands, Paul, who had been watching the battle in complete silence, leaned forward at its appearance. Now even more invested in watching the battle than before.
"Alright, Harry we'll take the first move Onix, use Slam!"
With surprisingly fast speed, despite looking visibly worn out, Onix moved forward.
"Dodge it!"
Harry's command came just a bit too late. Right as Sylveon began moving out of the way Onix's tail came down struck it in the side, causing the fairy to let out a pained cry. Luckily Sylveon had managed to move enough that the hit had ended up knocking it away instead of slamming down directly on top of it.
"Now Onix use, Iron Tail!"
"Oon!" Onix let out a determined roar as it charged forward with its tail glowing white.
Harry felt his heart stutter at that attack, remembering the sickening smack as it connected and along with the cracking sound as Sylveon impacted against the wall.
"Jump high and get some distance!"
"Syl!"
Sylveon jumped backward and extended its ribbons before spring-boarding itself high away from the rock snake just as the Iron Tail came swinging throw where it had been standing.
"Quick, use Swift," Harry called.
While Sylveon was still in mid-air, it spun around swinging its ribbons and letting loose a hail storm of pink glitter-dusted golden stars at Onix.
"Onix, use Slam down on the battlefield!"
Onix lifted its tail and brought it crashing down onto the rocky train below it, sending up a shield of rocks and debris, deflecting the Swift.
"Now, Double Edge!" Roark Called right as the Swift had been neutralized.
"Sylveon keep dodging!" Harry commanded in turn
Onix's body began glowing gold as it once again charged for Sylveon, who had just landed on the ground and immediately had to move out of the way.
"Use Slam,"
Onix once again brought its tail down immediately after its first attack missed, this time its tail came down directly on top of Sylveon.
"Syl!" Sylveon cried out as it was pined slammed between the rocky tail and the rocky ground.
"Iron Tail, Onix!"
"Sylveon! Get away from there!" Harry called out.
"S-Syl," Sylveon grunted as it pushed itself to its feet before nimbly moving out of the way of the oncoming Iron Tail.
"Roark's really putting the pressure on Harry now," Brock commented. "Onix is just attacking, one move after another with almost no room between."
"Harry and Sylveon aren't can't get a single move in," Dawn said, sounding upset at her friend's plight. "Do you think they'll be able to win?"
"Of cores, they can!" Ash interjected determinedly. "Harry's not out yet, you'll see! I know it!" "Pika pi," Ash spoke with conviction, Pikachu agreeing with him.
"Come on Sylveon, I know you can do it!" Ash cheered as he turned back to the ongoing battle. He had the utmost confidence that his friend could and would win.
"Yeah! Let's go, Harry! It's not over till it's over, show them what a coordinator can do!" "Pi Piplup" Dawn and Piplup cheered too. Ash's enthusiasm seemed to have spread to her too.
On the battlefield, Sylveon had only just missed being slammed by Onix's tail again.
"Alright, if that's how you want to play fine. Sylveon, get in close and use Swift." Harry ordered.
"Syl," Sylveon, nodded before running, straight at Onix moving its ribbons preparing to attack.
Now Onix, use Iron Tail."
"Dodge it."
Onix swung its tail just as Sylveon was getting ready to fire its attack. Sylveon was forced to jump to avoid the oncoming attack.
Once Sylveon was in the air it once again sent a shower of stars at Onix.
"Iron Tail again, but swing from below!" Roark commanded.
"Oon," With a roar Onix repositioned itself and swung its glowing tail upwards. Doing both of these things had two effects; the first was causing Sylveon's Swift to miss its mark as Onix had to move out of the way to position itself correctly. The second was Onix Iron Tail coming up underneath Sylveon while it was still in mid-air and unable to dodge.
"Sylve!" Sylveon cried out as it was stuck from underneath and was sent flying across the field and landing almost right in front of Harry.
Sylveon!? Are you alright, can you still battle?" Harry nearly shouted. The same feeling of anxiety and dread from his last gym battle started to seep into Harry's mind as the sight of his partner being flung across the field brought up the memories.
"Syl!"
The green-eyed psychic was brought out of his head by a shout and a sudden feeling of piercing determination.
Harry looked up, not even realizing that he had lowered his head as he was momentarily lost in his mind, to see Sylveon had pushed itself to its feet. It was covered in dirt and scrapes but was holding itself steady as it glared down the battlefield at Onix and Roark. Harry latched on to the determined feeling as pushed the nervousness and stress away.
"Alright, let's go. All the way!" He said, committed to seeing his way to the end of the battle.
Sylveon started running again. but this time it came around in an arc instead of straightforward.
"Onix, use Screech," Roark called.
Onix opened its moth and let losses an ear-piercing roar as it shoot out a light blue beam of sonic shockwaves.
Sylveon immediately stopped its approach, crouching down with its ears pressed to its head as it tried to brace itself against the attack that was slowly pushing it back. Thankfully Sylveon was almost four times heavier than Ralts and was better able to stand its ground.
"Sylveon, hold on," Harry called not knowing what to do next. Sylveon was in no position to counterattack, it was using all its strength and focus to keep from being blown away. As he hurriedly racked his brain for something to do he spotted one of the rocks and was reminded of what had happened to Ralts and was struck with a realization.
"Sylveon, grab onto the rocks and keep your ground!" Harry instructed. Slowly Sylveon opened one of its eyes before pushing itself up a bit from its crouched-over position and wrapped its ribbons around two rocks on either side of it.
"Onix let it rip!"
Onix opened its mouth wider and belted out another roar even louder than the first. Sylveon was pushed back slightly but only grit its teeth and pushed through it, much to Harry's relief. He had realized that when Onix had used Screech against Ralts it had been the impact against the rocks that had caused the damage Ralts had sustained and even then Roark had gone for a finishing attack. For all Roark had worked to use Screech as an attack move, so long as Sylveon was able to stand its ground, literally, Screech would only be effective as a statues type move and would be incapable of inflicting damage.
"Sylveon, hang in there. Find your footing and use Disarming Voice."
"Sy Sylve," Sylveon struggled as it pushed itself up. Careful to make sure it was steady in the face of the onslaught of Screech.
"Syl-Ve-Oooon~"
Straightening its legs and dinging in its heels Sylveon raised its head and used Disarming Voice.
As the heart-shaped shock wave started to connect with Onix the rock snake slowly stopped the Screech as it tried to keep its ground for a moment before it was forced to rear back in a smokey explosion.
"Onn!"
"Onix, No!"
"Sylveon go!"
With the Screech no longer pushing back, Sylveon when running at a full sprint towards the still dissipating smoke cloud where Onix was.
"Onix, quick use Slam"
Onix, now, even more, battered-looking moved to slam its tail down but was now moving much slower as it began reaching the end of its rope.
"Sylveon, grab on to Onix and get in close."
Sylveon jumped up, avoiding the incoming Slam, and wrapped its ribbons around the rock on top of Onix's head.
"Shake it lose Onix"
Onix began wildly thrashing its head around as Sylveon whipped around but kept a firm grasp on its opponent.
Pull yourself in close and finish this Shadow Ball!"
"Use Double Edge Onix!"
At once Onix began glowing gold and Sylveon began forming a dark purple sphere as it pulled itself closer to Onix's head.
At the same time, Onix launched itself forward Sylveon released Onix's head as it gave one last pull toward its face and charged the gym pokemon, a Shadow Ball formed and docked in front of its mouth.
The two attacks collided, sending up a cloud of smoke and a harsh gust of wind that had the trainers and spectators all shielding their eyes from blowback.
Onix fell backward with a large boom as Sylveon was sent flying and skimming across the field.
"Onix!" "Sylveon!" Both trainers of the respective pokemon called out to there un responding pokemon. Looking closer both Pokemon were unconscious, their both swirled.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle. So victory goes to Harry the challenger!" Ian announced.
Harry was elated at the news, or he would have been if he hadn't already jogged onto the field to collect his knocked-out partner.
"Sylveon are you alright?" He asked, gently shaking his down pokemon.
"Sy-Syl?" Sylveon slowly returned to consciousness, blinking blearily at Harry in confusion.
"You were absolutely fantastic, you've all definitely earned a reward tonight." He praised before returning Sylveon to its pokéball.
"You were great to Harry."
The bespectacled teen turned to see Roark walking over towards him.
"I wasn't kidding when I said wanted you to re-challenge me with a clear head and I'm glad you did. I can honestly say I've never had a battle like the one we just had."
"Thank you. That was... definitely something." Harry told the man, not exactly sure how he was feeling right at that moment.
Roark frowned at the answer but before he could say anything another voice cut in.
"Harry that was amazing," Ash said as he, Dawn, and Brock came over to stan near the shorter teen.
"Mhm, the way you used Tyrunt's Dragon Tail and Ralts Double Team and Shock Wave were awesome." Dawn gushed.
"Well, I actually got the idea for Tyrunt's Dragon Tail from you Dawn."
That got a chorus of "Huh's" from people gathered around him, and a confused, "Me?" from Dawn.
"Yes. Well back when I was trying to think of a way to defend against Cranidos and its Headbutt, I remember the way you had Piplup use Bubble Beam, and well, one thing lead to another and what you lot saw was the final result of that."
"Well, it just goes to show, you really can gain inspiration from anywhere," Brock commented.
"Hey, are you saying I'm not inspiring!" Dawn asked indigent at the possible slight.
"No, I didn't mean anything like that, I swear." Brock hurried to placate the girl. This got a laugh from Ash and a snicker from Harry.
"Harry," Roark's voice got the four friends' attention. Turning Harry saw Ian was now standing next to the gym leader who was now holding a small tray. "Before we get too sidetracked id like to give you this." he stepped forward and held out the tray. "Here's your Oreburgh gym badge, The Coal Badge."
Harry looked down at the little badge on the tray. It was brown and was shaped like a boulder and a pokéball combined.
"Thank you very much, Roark," Harry said picking up the badge. It was strange, he had won the battle and honestly, he wouldn't say that he hadn't enjoyed it. But at the same time, he hadn't felt any of the same euphoria he had back during his first contest at any point during this battle.
Something must have shown on his face because Roark frowned at him again.
"Is something wrong? I don't normally get this much of a lukewarm response when giving someone a badge."
"No, nothings wrong exactly. I'm just not sure if gym battles are something I really want to pursue."
"Well, that's understandable. You are a coordinator and you want to compete in the Grand Festival. You have a dream and a goal. Just because you were curious about gyms doesn't mean you acutely want to try to compete in the Gym challenges and go for the Sinnoh League. You gave it a shoot and didn't like it, there's nothing wrong with that." Roark tried to reassure.
"No. That's the thing. I didn't feel the same way I did in my contest; that this is just something that I want to do again and again and just keep going for the top. But I wouldn't say that it wasn't worth it, challenging a gym."
"Oh, I get it. You were hoping to get a clear answer on whether or not you should try for the Sinnoh League from this battle. But instead, you're back to where you started, right?"
Roark asked with a frown and got a downcast nod in answer.
"..But" Harry started, drawing out the T and bringing back everyone's attention to him. "I guess there's no harm in challenging another gym."
Roark smiled at the idea. "No, I guess there isn't. Sorry, I couldn't help give the answer you were looking for but I'm glad I was able to battle with you."
"No, thank you for the badge and the advice you gave me last time. I don't think I was prepared for what it would really mean to be a pokemon trainer, and maybe I'm still not completely there. But thanks to you I think I understand better than I did before. So truly Thank you." Harry said seriously.
Roark smiled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, the same way had done before, though this time Harry managed to suppress the urge to tense up at the contact.
"My pleasure, it's my job as a gym leader to help any challenger that comes to this gym to become the best pokemon trainer they can be, no matter what they end up doing with that knowledge. But no matter what happens I can't wait to see what you do next, because I have a feeling it's going to be something nobody has ever seen before."
Harry nodded to that, a determined smile spreading over his face "Yeah, and I'm going to enter the Grand Festival and who knows maybe even the Sinnoh League too or anything else that I might come across." Harry said as he opened his badge case and put the Coal Badge into one of the slots. "The world is full of new opportunities and advent and I'm going to try whatever comes my way." He said as he closed the case.
He felt that same light floaty feeling he got whenever he thought about his life now.
He was on an adventure. An adventure and free to explore whatever endeavors or interests he chose.
He was free.
A/N: I'm still alive. Yeah, I did not mean to go on a year-long hiatus, things just got very busy for me last year due to Covid and work. For almost 6 months I was working an average of 6 days a week because my store was so short-staffed and by the time I got any time off all I wanted to do was sleep, working overnight jobs screw with your sleep schedule. Well enough of me rambling.
Well until next time. And as always thank you so much for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews you leave me, they really really inspire me and make me want to write.