The Fuchsia City Gym was stylized to be one of the dojos of times long gone, befitting the theme of the rustic town. The expansive compound that felt like stepping back in history had numerous secret passages and little hidden spots throughout it. Considering that the Gym also doubled as a teaching facility for the shinobi arts, it explained why Gina constantly felt eyes on her as she made her way to the courtyard in the center that served as their ring.
No sooner than she took to her side of the arena was there a plume of smoke that erupted from the opposite end before a man appeared. He was dressed in purple clothes that you would expect for one who considered themselves a master of the shinobi arts, with a red scarf banded around his neck and pulled over his mouth to obscure it. His greying teal hair came up in a spiked manner and his narrowed eyes fixated onto Gina.
"I commend you for standing here with half the Badges in our land," he began. "But know this: from here on lies the true challenge. All who stand in my Gym should be aware that no method will be abhorred. Be it be a slow sweet doom from poison, confusion that addles and mires the senses, or soporifics that bring upon defeat, victory will only come if one can overcome the challenge ahead."
It was a warning. Unlike the kind welcome that Ash was given by Erika, his was a blunt statement that from now on the gloves were off. Had they been less prepared or traveled alone rather than with people who knew how the Gyms worked then it might have come as a surprise, but they had made it this far despite everything that had been thrown their way.
"Thanks for the warning, but I came prepared," Gina responded, her own voice unflinching in determination. She had already finished reflecting on her strategies to confront him, and her pokémon had already been taught what they needed to secure victory. "Throw whatever you want my way, but I'll be walking out of here with the Soul Badge by the end."
Koga's gaze on her was analytical. He scrutinized everything about her—from her tone to body language. That information added with her team chosen to use against him, along with her win-loss record to this point, would allow him to draw his own conclusion about her character.
"...Very well." He snapped his fingers and another plume of smoke burst from the sidelines of the battlefield. There appeared a younger woman who looked closer to Gina's age. She had purple hair pulled back into a fanning ponytail and sported purple eyes along with a matching scarf. "Prove yourself worthy of my badge then, Challenger."
The young woman who had appeared cleared her throat before raising her hand. "Very well then. I will serve as the referee of this match between the Gym Challenger, Gina Oak, and the Gym Leader, Koga. It will be a three-on-three match with substitutions allowed. Please send out your first Pokémon!"
The declaration to the start of the match was followed by both the Gym Challenger and the Gym Leader tossing their balls out and bringing out their first choice.
From Gina's side light spilled out and took the shape of her Nidorina. She was Gina's safest choice due to her typing matching that of the Gym itself, serving as a counter to how brutal Toxic could be. The Poison Pin Pokémon's blue fur bristled as she took to the field, standing on her stronger hindlegs.
On Koga's side emerged a large mass of purple sludge. It seemed to writhe and ooze in place before two elongated lumps raised themselves up and unfurled to showcase massive arms. A gap in the mire split open and revealed itself to be a mouth before a beady set of eyes fixated on the opposite side of the field. It then let out a deep noise. "Muuuuuuuuuk."
Gina's brows folded in. She had known Muk to be one of his potential options, but it was only one of the least likely as far as pure Poison-Type Pokémon went. Its defenses and mobility weren't very high, and its reliance on poison meant that it was easily countered by the team composition she had registered.
The fact that he chose Muk means he has another plan at work. She wouldn't discount the possibility that he had something sneaky in mind. But the only way to find out would be to make him reveal his hand. "Nidorina, start things out with a Double Kick!"
The Poison Pin Pokémon darted towards the large amorphous mass of sludge without hesitation. Her legs pounded at the ground to pick up momentum even as energy shrouded the limbs themselves. Once she was within optimal range, she lunged with both her legs aimed for its body—
"Minimize."
—only for her attack to overshoot as the Sludge Pokémon as it abruptly contracted into itself, leaving her to sail over its head. She skidded along the ground, earth upturning in the process until she finally came to a stop. When she turned back, Muk had shrunken down to being roughly shorter than herself. "Nido?"
"It made itself a smaller target," Gina said. "Get in its face and use Bite!"
Nidorina used her paws to push off the ground as she rushed towards the miniaturized Muk once more. Light shrouded her maw in preparation before she snapped down upon her foe with the intention of sinking her fangs into its body and tearing away a pound of its skin. Yet the fangs snapped shut on empty air.
Or rather Muk oozed the portion of its body out of the way of her maw. Taking advantage of its amorphous form to evade the attack, one of its arms was then upraised in the same smooth motion. It came down hard, a Pound Attack by slamming its fist into her with no reservations. "Muk!"
The Poison Pin Pokémon's head snapped to the side under the force of the impact. The sudden blow was enough that it nearly sent her stagging to the ground. But she braced herself using her leg and then immediately lunged for another Bite.
The Sludge Pokémon wove out of the way of the attack once more. The movement was oddly graceful despite being slippery in nature. Mixing in its evasion with offense, it struck once more with a hearty 'thump' that robbed Nidorina of her balance as her world flashed white from the abrupt pain. She was left staggering backwards for several steps before her vision cleared—right in time to see the roiling sludge pile rushing towards her. "Muk!"
This time she was sent flying off her feet. The impact of the Body Slam sent her airborne as the momentum transferred when it rammed into the Poison Pin Pokémon. She hit the ground several feet away and ended up bouncing once before skidding to a stop. "Nii…"
"On your feet, Nidorina! It's coming!" Gina's warning was well founded as Nidorina's eyes snapped open to see the sliding sludge approaching moments before it threw itself to land on top of her in a crushing press. That was the only reason she managed to evade by rolling to her side, leaving it to splatter across the compacted earth of the battlefield. "Get underground with Dig!"
Her claws glowed an earthen hue as the Muk roiled towards her once more. Then the ground around her spouted upwards like a geyser the moment she slammed them into the dirt. The sludge sailed through the plume of loose earth only to pass through empty space as she was nowhere to be seen while the Muk loomed over the closed hole.
Gina breathed a breath of relief. She had sunken into the ground in time to avoid taking any excess damage. Teaching her with the Technical Machine over the course of their travels had been a wise choice, given that Nidorina had also been one of her choices to deal with the Cinnabar Gym.
However, Koga only regarded the act with his same stern expression before he simply said, "Muk, use Harden."
Harden was a technique often used by pokémon that could increase their resilience as a defensive measure. It was rudimentary and grounded in survival, paling in comparison to the superior Protect technique that could project a barrier to stop attack completely. That was why you often found it more so in wild pokémon than trained ones.
Even if it could bolster Muk's defense, Dig relied on being able to move solid dirt and earth with greater ease. It was especially effective against Poison-Type Pokémon and Fire-Type Pokémon, which was why she had Nidorina learn it as a safety precaution. It would have been more effective for Muk to simply keep moving around so that she would have a more difficult time launching an attack from below, given that she lacked the necessary senses to perceive targets quickly from below the ground as a pokémon with the Ground-Type nature would do.
If her opponent was a normal trainer Gina wouldn't question it. But Koga was a Gym Leader and this was his choice counter for Nidorina rather than using Arbok, who would be much more nimbler and able to dig underground itself to take out another Poison-Type Pokémon. So there had to be a meaning behind his actions.
Her mind raced. She combed through the knowledge she had accumulated throughout her journey and studies to figure out the missing piece to the puzzle that the battle was. And it was only when she could hear as the minimized mass of living sludge began to solidify beneath the surface of its skin that she caught on. "Nidorina, don't finish that attack! Come out of the ground and back away!"
Her fears that her warning came too late were only relieved when Nidorina popped out of the ground not even a foot away from the Sludge Pokémon. Muk naturally attempted to slam into her with its engorged limb. But it was slow enough that she could avoid it as she bound backwards until she was in front of Gina, whom she gave a side glace and let out an inquiring, "Ni?"
Gina breathed out a small sigh of relief, subtle enough that no one else noticed. Then she put on her unshakable mask of confidence as she voiced the answer to the question the Poison Pin Pokémon had no doubt asked. "If you had finished that attack, it would have been over. You would have been crushed beneath it and unable to move due to how heavy and hard Muk made itself. Then Muk could have slowly liquified the lower part of its body and smothered you until you were unconscious."
The method by which Harden affected a Pokémon using it differs depending on the species in question. Bug Pokémon strengthened their exoskeletons. Water Pokémon reinforced their endoskeletons and carapaces. And Mineral Pokémon made their already durable bodies even more so by stiffening their powerful muscles.
But Muk fell into the category of the Amorphous group due to its nature as something composed of a body type that lacked definite form. The only other Pokémon within that grouping were the Ghost Pokémon in Kanto given they could expand, contract, and turn intangible. So, for it to harden would mean that it would have to make its form more solid. That, plus the fact that it had been compacted by Minimize, meant Muk probably weighed enough that anything smaller than Graveler would be crushed.
"Surge's methods are at least straightforward and quick, but that would have been traumatizing to watch, you know?" Gina continued with a show of bravado to hide how close she had been to falling for it. "I'm guessing you developed it as a countermeasure for overconfident trainers who think popping out of the ground and then darting back in would be enough to avoid your poison. I can only imagine how many of Ground-Type Pokémon you've taken out by using a trap that nasty."
"…I'll praise your insight," was the only answer Koga gave to such a cruel tactic. There was no remorse or hesitation. He had none given that his role was to pressure those who came to his Gym, where his methods were to do what it took to win. "Do you wish to yield?"
"As if." She crossed her arms. It was almost offensive to ask such a thing, considering how much of her pride was at stake here. But even Gina had to admit she wasn't going to be able to overcome this hurdle by playing nice. "It's going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth, but I don't see much of a choice… Nidorina."
Hearing the change in Gina's tone, the Poison Pin Pokémon turned her full attention to her trainer. "Nido?"
She placed one hand on her hip and took a half-step forward. "I apologize for putting you into this position, since I didn't take these tactics into consideration due to my naivete. I'll let you and the others vent at me as much as you want afterwards, but I need you to win no matter what. Understand?"
Nidorina nodded her head. She already knew what Gina was asking of her and that it was the one resort they didn't want to use if they didn't have to. But when she turned her attention back to her opponent her expression was not one of regret, but instead pride that she could still be of use.
She charged forward.
[-oOo-]
"I've got to agree with Gina," Ash said with a slight frown. He, Misty, and Brock were observing the battle from the spectator area that afforded them a view without directly interfering. "That sounds like a pretty nasty trick to deal with."
Ash had expected that a Gym that specialized in Poison-Type Pokémon would employ such tactics, given how often Team Rocket played dirty. Not a fair comparison, but they were the type of pokémon the group had most often used. And seeing Pikachu being poisoned for the first time had left a strong impression. The fact most of his team were on the smaller side meant that being crushed was a very real possibility for most of them—with the exception of Haunter.
However, as one who had the perspective of a Gym Leader, Brock justified it rather easily. "You need to have countermeasures for weaknesses when your opponents are past a skill threshold, or you won't be able to challenge them. If an opponent tried to use Dig during one of my higher-tier challenges, then I would have outright used Earthquake and then had their unconscious body dug out so they could be returned to their trainer."
Ash couldn't help but wince. Earthquake was a technique designed to effectively shift the ground beneath an opponent in a way that all the force came up from below and slammed into them. It was a very powerful but difficult technique to use and teach, even with a Technical Machine. At least from what he had learned during a discussion with Gina on the TMs she bought before leaving Celadon. If there was a Pokémon underground when that happened, they would be crushed from all sides.
"High-level battles are just like that," Misty chimed in. "My sisters slack off, but in a serious battle they're willing to occasionally throw something like that out. If you try to use a Water Pokémon to beat them at their own game, they'll use ice to freeze the water's surface while using ones trained to fight in that terrain. If you're using something that can't swim, they'll knock it into the water and either use Bind or Whirlpool to drag them to the bottom. Disable works wonders on stopping Electric-Type Pokémon who think a single trick will win too."
Pikachu, who had been on Ash's lap, quirked his head at that. "Pika?"
Ash caught the gist of it. "So, when we battled you were taking it easy on us?"
"You had one badge and a handful of battles under your belt while I had my personal team rather than one meant for challengers at your level," Misty pointed out. "If I had used any of those kinds of tactics, my sisters would have gotten in trouble. So, I had them fight to an appropriate degree for someone with your experience rather than nearly drowning a friend's team to prove a point."
He was offended by his pride as a trainer for having her take it easy on him. But grateful at the same time he didn't have to suffer through that kind of trauma. It would have been hard to remain on close terms if that happened.
But that became a second priority as he heard Gina tell Nidorina to win no matter what. More specifically, how distant her voice sounded at that moment. It sounded off.
Even so, the Poison Pin Pokémon gave her a nod in understanding before lowering her stance as she turned to face the solidified mass that was the Sludge Pokémon eying her. Her muscles seemed to bristle as her eyes narrowed. Then she charged, kicking off the ground towards it.
Muk raised its arm to attack. The intention was a counterattack that would drive its hardened limb into the opponent with a hammer blow. It spoke of how confident it was in its increased durability and resilience that it was willing to trade blows.
The arm came down once she reached striking range. But not before Ash caught sight of a dense shroud of energy veiling Nidorina at the last moment. And when she connected with her opponent, the veil ruptured with a thunderous sound.
BANG!
The sudden burst of noise caught Ash off guard. His senses were set alight as he winced before noticing that the blow had caused both Muk and Nidorina to be blown apart from each other. The hardened pile of sludge had bits of its arm scattered from the brunt of the impact, knocked away and leaving it puzzled. And Nidorina was left wavering on her feet before she forced herself upright, signs of bruising already starting to form beneath her short fur.
"Again," Gina ordered calmly.
Nidorina rushed forward once more, the veil shrouding her body as she charged up another one of those attacks. Muk attempted to use its other arm as a bludgeon to redirect the incoming blow rather than trade damage this time. But the Poison Pin Pokémon leapt over it and rammed herself directly into its head with all her might. Then the veil ruptured once more with great force.
BANG!
It was like an explosion going off directly between them. The reactive detonation upon making contact with the opponent offered no time for retreat as Muk's hardened body began to fracture into countless cracks, several handfuls of bits scattering over the battlefield. But such a powerful strike came at a cost as Nidorina was blown back as well.
"Nidorina's hurting herself every time she uses that move," Ash said as he watched her laying on the ground trembling from the backlash. "Why is Gina making her do that?"
"Because she's out of options and has decided to end it as quickly as possible," Brock reasoned based on his own observations. "Muk's hardened its body so much that trying to hurt it will require a tremendous amount of force with a physical attack, and trying to attack from below would result in Nidorina being crushed. So, she's using Double-Edge to break through its defenses at the cost of the recoil dealing damage to Nidorina, since it's the only way to take advantage of the fact that compressing and hardening itself made Muk too slow to dodge the hit."
"But substitutions are allowed in this match, right?" Ash pointed out as he watched the Poison Pin Pokémon struggle back to her feet. "Gina can swap out to one of her other choices instead of forcing Nidorina to hurt herself."
"Toxic," Misty reminded him. "It's worse than ordinary poison and Nidorina is the only member of her team outright immune to it. Anyone she switches in aside from her will be working on a very short timer if they get hit by it, and you've seen how evasive Muk was once it used Minimize. Graveler would never be able to hit it without something like Earthquake and Kadabra isn't as battle-hardened, so she has no choice but to ensure that Nidorina at least takes down Muk."
It was a decision based on raw logic. She cannot risk the rest of her team suffering from the effects of the virulent poison, so her current pokémon had to take out the one in front of her right now—no matter what. If the only tool she had at her disposal was one that invited self-destruction then so be it.
"Finish it," Gina commanded, despite it being obvious immediately that the next time would be the last given Nidorina's current condition. Perhaps that was why her voice lacked any emotion whatsoever as she ordered the Poison Pin Pokémon to sacrifice itself upon the altar of victory.
Nidorina ran towards the foe. Her body trembled with every step. Pain laced every breath she took. Even so she didn't hesitate to once more wreathed herself in the shroud of power and launch herself towards Muk, whose body was threaded with countless fissures. She put everything she could into a final sprint and shouted at the top of her lung. "NIIII!"
Ash couldn't bring himself to watch the resulting impact that ended the match. He screwed his eyes shut as the thunderous impact drowned out the pained cries of both pokémon. Then he opened them once silence followed, spotting that Muk's body had melted back into a pile of sludge while Nidorina lay on her side in it, both unconscious.
The young woman acting as the referee looked to them both before raising her arm and declaring, "Both the Challenger and Gym Leader's Pokémon are unable to battle. Return them and then send out your next choices."
Koga quietly held out Muk's ball and used the return feature to convert the entirety of the amorphous mass into an energy state and then retract it into the portable container, leaving no part of it behind. Gina instead bit on her lower lips before pulled Nidorina into her own and then shrank it down so that she was locked into the stasis. Then both pulled out their second choices.
The Gym Challenger's choice landed on the ground hard enough that the earth beneath it trembled. What was once been a smaller floating Rock Pokémon had grown massively in size to the point where it was easily up to her height and far wider. The living boulder covered in a rough and rocky exterior supported itself on stubby legs, sporting a massive set of larger arms and a smaller set of shorter arms that hugged its form—Graveler.
And from the Gym Leader's side emerged a familiar sight once more. A blue hood with stunningly beautiful rubies of the sea adorning the top gave way to the dark underside that had a pair of eyes resting on either side of a long beak. Supporting itself with more than a dozen tentacles that kept it steady on solid ground—a Tentacruel stood ready and willing to battle as a direct counter to her decision to use Graveler.
"Are both combatants ready?" asked the referee. Both trainers nodded in response that they were content with their choices. She dropped her hand down. "Then you may begin the Second Round!"
"Toxic," Koga ordered immediately, starting out with the very technique they feared the most. The Jellyfish Pokémon reared back and launched from its mouth a glob of what could only be described as a vile, viscous purple liquid. It was centered straight towards the living boulder, no doubt banking on it being too slow to dodge it.
"Use Sand Attack!" Gina ordered as the poison hit its mark. Graveler's massive frame dropped to the ground as he wreathed his arms in sand and then clapped them together. It released a billowing dust cloud that blanketed the battlefield and obscured the Rock Pokémon from view. "Now, Rock Throw!"
And then from the dust shot out a large stone roughly half the size of Graveler itself, conjured forth and flung with the prodigious strength hidden beneath its rocky exterior. It was then followed by another. And then another for a total of three small boulders tossed in the direction of the Jellyfish Pokémon.
But even though Tentacruel was an aquatic pokémon by nature, it was adept at movement on the ground. Using its multiple limbs to scurry about, it managed to skirt around the stones as they landed with a generous distance away without harm. Then Koga's impassive mask fractured a smidge as he gave the next order. "Use Hydro Pump to scatter the dust and force it out into open view."
The Jellyfish's Pokémon underside swelled for a moment before it jumped into the air and angled its mouth towards the origin of where the stones came from. Then it let loose a powerful torrent of water that slammed into the cloud of dust in the air and ruptured as it hit the ground. The spray caught the free hanging grain in the air and pulled them back to the earth, revealing Graveler to be hale and whole.
"I thought he would have been poisoned from Toxic," Ash muttered. He had seen the attack connect, yet the Rock Pokémon showed none of the signs of it.
Brock's brow deepened. "Most likely she had Graveler hold onto a Pecha Berry before the match and ate it while in the cloud. But that would only be enough to ward it off a single time. If it connects again then that's it."
"Catch it as it falls with Rollout!" Gina ordered. In contrast to its sluggish walking speed upon evolving, Graveler retracted its legs into its body and threw itself forward with its massive arms before curling them around to give it a more spherical shape. The result was a rolling mass of stone aiming straight for the much softer body of the Jellyfish Pokémon with the intention of plowing it over.
"Meet it with a Barrier," Koga responded to the incoming attack. "Do not allow it to gain any more momentum."
The ruby-like growths on its hood shone vibrantly as it conjured forth an energy barrier that crashed into it. The solid mass met with the energy construct and pushed into it as the Jellfyfish Pokémon held firm by sprouting even more tentacles behind itself. It used them as a brake to keep it in place against the onrushing Graveler, slowing it down as it fought against the barrier until it came to a stop entirely.
"Now, cut off its movement entirely with Bind!" Then from the underside of Tentacruel came more tentacles as they threw themselves around the living boulders, sticking them in place and tangling up his limbs. Even as Graveler struggled, they held firm enough that he could no longer move. "Finish it with Tox—"
"Self-Destruct."
It was instant. The moment that Koga gave the command to douse the Rock Pokémon in the ruinous poison that would leave it to suffer a slow and painful defeat, Gina opted to throw away a chance for a comeback with guaranteed mutual destruction. And Graveler obeyed, its body growing luminous and charged with power while the Tentacruel was wrapped around it—
BOOOM!
—then the light swelled to the point of whiting out Ash's vision as an explosion that shook him down to his bones rippled out. The shockwave of the blast itself threatened to send him out of his seat had he not anchored himself, one hand bracing Pikachu to ensure he didn't go flying as well. The world itself seemed to ring in his ears and was slow to come into focus as the light finally died down.
And when it did there was a massive crater in the battlefield. The blast had been point-blank, so even with a Barrier up it hadn't been enough to spare the Jellyfish Pokémon from the sheer power of Self-Destruct fueled by everything the Rock Pokémon could put into it to ensure mutual defeat. Both pokémon lay sprawled out and unconscious in the center of it.
The referee looked between the two and deemed the round over. "Both Pokémon have been rendered unable to battle again. It is a draw once more."
Ash watched speechlessly as Gina called Graveler back into its ball. For the second time she had elected order her pokémon to sacrifice itself. Rather than tolerate being subjected to a prolonged loss or risk her final pokémon being made to fight against uneven odds, she settled for bringing down the opponent at any cost without any hesitation.
Was this how she intended to win from now on?
[-oOo-]
Gina could feel the weight of Ash's gaze upon her. Judging her. She knew that even without being a nascent psychic that he was questioning if this was how she planned to earn every badge from here on out. By telling her pokémon to sacrifice themselves to bring down the enemy no matter what.
It wasn't something she was proud of. But she could not afford to get any further behind him. And she hated losing—especially if the cause was because she held herself back when the option to secure victory was right in front of her.
She wanted Ash to return her feelings. But she couldn't sacrifice the victories that she promised her team as she trained each of them. In exchange for them devoting themselves to helping her arrive at the Indigo Plateau she would make them champions. There was no delusion that such a path would be clean to walk without some tough calls and all her team agreed to it.
"Both Pokémon have been rendered unable to battle for a second time. Therefore, the victor of the next round will determine the victor of the match," said the girl acting as the referee. "Please send out your final pokémon."
Her finger glided over her last ball, and she enlarged it to set it into an active state. Almost immediately she felt Kadabra touch her mind as he came out of stasis. Nidorina and Graveler did everything they could. It's up to you now.
Then she threw out his ball. Light burst free and then took the shape of the Psi Pokémon. He stood on Gina's side of the field, clutching what had become his favorite little Twisted Spoon as he awaited the enemy he would face to determine if Gina would obtain the Soul Badge.
"Let this decide it." The Gym Leader himself enlarged a ball and grasped it tight before he flung it straight up into the air. "Venomoth!"
Light rose into the air and took shape. Two expansive forewings arched out and fluttered alongside a thinner and smaller set of wings. A furry abdomen encircled with zig-zagging stripes hung beneath its thorax, which held three sets of tiny white legs. Its head came to a three-pointed crown as it looked down at them with bulbous eyes, and its two long mandibles clicked. "Veno."
Gina found herself fighting off a grimace. She was hoping for Haunter to be honest. They had countermeasures against him since he would be one of the challenges they had to face when Ash finally reached the Indigo Conference.
"Then the final match will be between Kadabra and Venomoth," the referee announced before slashing her hand down. "Begin!"
Gina took command right away. "Confusion!"
The Psi Pokémon held its spoon forward as the head of it began to become shrouded with the cerulean tint of psychic energy. Then the head bent as it was launched forward. The cannon ball of telekinetic energy rushed straight into the moth that fluttered above and slammed into it with explosive force.
Or at least it should have.
Instead, it passed though the body as Venomoth split into five copies of itself. The one that was hit faded out like a mirage. The other four continued to move in separate directions.
Gina knew this technique too well, considering she preferred using it with Rattata. "It's using Double Team to disorient you! Only one is real, so find it!"
Kadabra's eyes scanned through the four fluttering in disorientating patterns. He aimed at one with his spoon only to change it to another that seemed like it was coming for him. Then he launched his attack only for it to phase through and reveal it to be a fake as another took to the air directly above him, releasing a vile splash of Toxic towards him.
"Teleport!" Gina called out desperately. They hadn't had a chance to test his Ability, but she wasn't willing to wager it unless necessary. Fortunately, displacing himself when in danger was a habit that he hadn't gotten out of completely. The moment the order went out Kadabra vanished before he was smothered by the poison, leaving it to harmlessly splash onto the ground as he reappeared over to the side. "Good job."
"Disable." Their relief vanished the instant those words were uttered as a binding cerulean light sank into the Psi Pokémon. He had just been robbed of his primary means of escape. But Koga didn't even give them time to process that before he ordered, "Now, Toxic once more."
The swarm of Venomoth all fluttered around him. It was to make sure that he couldn't tell which direction it would come from, hiding the real one within an illusion as he spun around frantically trying to figure it out. Then they let spray the venomous fluid from all directions, leaving Kadabra bathed until he was covered in it from head-to-toe as he shielded his eyes.
"Kadabra, are you okay?" Gina called out as he looked down at his arms and body in confusion. Then he turned towards her and gave an unsure nod. She smiled—it seemed like he had Magic Guard after all. "Then target the one on the southeast with a Confusion!"
He reared his arm back, pooling psychic energy within the spoon as fast as he could. The moment his eyes spotted that Poison Moth Pokémon, he launched it like a fastball. "Dabra!"
The bundle of psychic energy slammed into the Venomoth and ruptured. It might have been dual-typed with Bug, but that offered it no resistance to its weakness. The impact sent it spiraling in the air and its concentration was shattered, dispelling the rest of clones as it went plummeting towards the ground.
"Once more!" Gina ordered. "Finish it, Kadabra!"
"It's not over yet," Koga said, while keeping his composure. "Supersonic."
Unfortunately, Venomoth righted itself before it touched down on the ground and then fluttered just high enough to avoid the second Confusion that was launched its way. Then the Poison Moth Pokémon reared back before letting loose a barrage of supersonic waves directly towards the Psi Pokémon. It caught him unguarded and left him clutching his head as the they played havoc with his senses.
Watching as he stumbled around, Gina called out to him. "Kadabra, snap out of it!"
Her words didn't reach. Or rather they must have been lost as he charged another Confusion and fired at his feet, catching him in the resulting backlash. Hurting himself in confusion, she felt through his touch on her mind that he was panicking as he fell over and struggled to stand due to the disruption.
And he was open to Koga's follow-up. "Now, use Leech Life."
Twin mandibles were shrouded in a teal light. The Poison Moth Pokémon swooped down upon the helpless prey that was unable to stand and put all its body weight into pinning the Psi Pokémon in place. Then it mercilessly sank its fangs into Kadabra's body.
The shriek he let out was enough to crack the mask that Gina chose to wear when she decided to win at any cost. He wasn't used to pain. He wasn't used to being unable to teleport. He wasn't used to being confused and helpless. Battles were new to him in terms of participation and his experience now was to be on the business end of an attack meant to suck the life out of him.
The result was every bit of his fear flowing into her mind. He was scared to the point that he couldn't focus even as the Disable wore off. At this rate he was going to be defeated without accomplishing anything. And if that was the case, then what was the point in forcing Nidorina and Graveler to sacrifice themselves?
She couldn't let it have all been for nothing, so Gina reached out to him with her thoughts in lieu of words. 'Kadabra… I know it hurts. I know you're afraid. But I know you can feel my touch on your mind like I can yours, so focus on me. Ignore everything else and focus on me… I'm right here.'
The moment his attention shifted she felt psychic pressure on her mind. It was heavy since he was fighting through the confusion by using her mind as an anchor. She tasted iron and realized her nose had started bleeding from it. Hiding it behind her hand before anyone noticed, she kept calling for him to reach out despite the growing pain—after all, how could she complain after the sacrifices she asked of her own pokémon?
She felt the pressure ease once he snapped out of the confusion, realizing he was hurting her. He felt apologetic, but in turn she let her resolve to win be known. His own settled in place to see the battle through.
Good. She wiped away the blood and continued her role as trainer whose determination to win came above all else. "Teleport above it and fire down."
Kadabra vanished from his perch beneath Venomoth and the grip of its mandibles sinking into his body to leech the life out of him. Appearing in the air above and using his spoon pointed down as a sight, the Psi Pokémon concentrated the psychokinetic aspect of his power. The spoon bent and then the Poison Moth Pokémon felt the weight of that power pressing down on it as Confusion slammed it into the ground.
"Now, give it a taste of its own medicine and pin it to the ground!" Gina ordered. That Leech Life had taken a lot out of him and restored a lot of the Venomoth's stamina. They wouldn't get a second chance, so she was going to end it now.
Kadabra responded by using Teleport once more and re-appearing right on top of it, using his unsteady but still firmer legs to keep its wings pinned down. Moving would risk tearing them when it was so much light compared to her own pokémon. Just like how Muk had made itself heavy enough to crush Nidorina, turnabout was fair play.
"Psybeam at full power." Koga had forced her to make calls she never wanted to in order to secure victory. What should have been last resorts were forced to be put into motion. She loathed the fact that it was necessary and could only improve as a trainer to where they wouldn't be needed. But, for putting her into this position and having tasted the pain her Kadabra had been put through, Gina ordered Venomoth's execution without any hesitation. "No mercy, Kadabra."
He obeyed as prismatic light swelled within the spoon before lancing straight down. It bloomed and washed out their sight as the cries of the Poison Moth Pokémon were painful but short-lived. And when vision and color had bled back into the world, they found the opponent lay unconscious while her own remained standing next to it with the spoon hanging down in his hand.
"…Ve…Venomoth is unable to battle," said the referee after brushing her eyes clear from staring at the blast too closely. The risks of being an attentive observer. "THE WINNER IS THE CHALLENGER!"
Koga silently recalled his defeated pokémon and then made his way to the center of the arena while Gina did the same. The two ended up standing across from each other and there was an air of tension between them. He spoke first. "That was quite a comeback."
"You aren't going to complain about excessive force or something like that after what you put me through, are you?" Gina asked, partly in jest. But she was also not in the mood to hear it from someone who openly declared that basically everything within the rules was permitted for the sake of victory. But then she saw that stern mask of a face the Poison Gym Leader wore crack as he showed emotion in the form of a wry grin.
"It would be hypocritical of me to do so, would it not?" The tension fled as quickly as it came before he turned to the referee. "Janine, bring both."
The girl snapped forward and handed him two things, which Koga then presented to Gina. The first was the Soul Badge. The irony of the fact that it was shaped like a heart when the Gym Leader required her to be quite heartless did not escape her. It was the second that elicited a raised brow from her. "This wouldn't happen to be…?"
"A TM for Toxic," Koga confirmed. "No victory comes without sacrificing something—whether it be the wellbeing of oneself or their opponent. You seem to be the sort who realizes that necessity where others would hesitate. It serves as my acknowledgement of the fact that you would make a splendid shinobi."
She accepted it along with the fact that he was basically stating she would do whatever it took to win. Envenoming enemies into submission. Sending her own out to their own destruction. If that was what it took to secure a victory, then she was the one to do it regardless of her own feelings.
Even though she could feel from Ash's gaze he wasn't of the same mind.