"Medicham?"
Kriesh heard Shellder's voice calling out as soon as she exited her Pokeball. "What's going on?"
"Medicham isn't in her Pokeball," said Shellder. "Look, the light isn't on."
Kriesh looked around, noticing that the rest of the team did the same. "Okay. Where did you see her - right. Outside in the field. Let's start there, see if we can't find anything."
Worry growing in her heart, Kriesh led the rest of the team outside the Pokemon Center. The field was within sight of the entrance; Kriesh's heart dropped completely as she spotted a motionless lump in the center of the field.
"Is that her?" Houndoom asked.
"I hope not," said Kriesh. She peered closer. "But…it looks like it might be."
None of them asked the question that was on all of their minds. Slowly, they advanced towards Medicham's body, each entertaining their own private worries.
"Medicham?" Shellder called.
There was no response.
"Wait," Phantump whispered.
"What?" Drapion asked.
"Shh!" Phantump hissed. "Look closer. She's breathing."
Kriesh indeed looked closer, this time at Medicham's chest. Sure enough, it was rising and falling.
"Ya mean she was sleeping?" Drapion asked irritatedly.
"She must have fallen asleep while she was training," said Shellder.
Kriesh stepped up slowly to Medicham's side. "Medicham?" she asked.
Medicham let out a groan as her eyes blinked open. "What…" She looked around, guilt filling her expression. "Oh…I'm sorry, you must have been-"
"It's no trouble," said Kriesh. "Just…I'm glad you're all right."
"Are you all right?" Houndoom asked. "That looks like a nasty bruise on your forehead."
Medicham frowned and felt her forehead. "Ow. Must have…must have bruised it when I fell asleep."
"Maybe we should get something for it," said Phantump.
"No, I'm fine," Medicham insisted. "It doesn't hurt if I don't touch it."
"Um, guys?" Shellder asked.
The rest of the team followed Shellder's eyes to see a pair of Trainers moving towards them, one leaning on the other's shoulder for support. One male, one female.
Marcus grinned as he saw his team. "Hey, everyone."
Medicham was the first to reach him, the rest of the team on her heels.
Marcus looked to Serena as the team mobbed him. "Thanks for helping."
"No problem," said Serena.
Marcus's eyes widened as he finally noticed the fact that his team now included a Drapion and a Houndoom. "Now what did you all get up to?"
"Haven't the foggiest idea," said Serena with a wink at Medicham. "I've got to go pick up my team. See you."
"Maybe we could battle again sometime?" Marcus offered.
"Sometime," said Serena. "But not now. After all, I'm a badge ahead of you, and I wouldn't want that kind of unfair advantage!"
With a few more goodbyes and thank-yous, Serena departed towards the Pokemon Center.
Marcus turned back towards his team. "Congratulations on the evolution, Drapion," he said. "And…Houndoom. You…tried to help against that Absol, didn't you?"
Houndoom nodded. "Lot of good that did…"
"You want to join the team?"
Houndoom nodded again, this time more enthusiastically.
"Glad to have you," said Marcus. "And Shellder. I…think it's time."
Shellder's eyes widened as Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out a Water Stone.
"Serena got it for me," said Marcus. "I know that I'm not planning to use you in the Electric Gym, but now's as good a time as any. Are you all right with this?"
"Oh, yes!" Shellder's voice was bubbly and filled with excitement. Just like when they'd first met him. Medicham smiled as Marcus knelt down and touched the Water Stone to Shellder's shell.
In an instant the stone shattered, releasing a burst of Water energy that seeped into every crack in Shellder's shell. Shellder began to glow white. "Whoa!" he cried as his shell began to ripple and distend. Spikes burst out from his shell as it warped, bending outwards, revealing its contents; a tiny black sphere with eyes and a mouth, looking quite surprised at the feeling of transformation.
The white glow faded. The sphere hung suspended in midair, surrounded on three sides by a shell far more spiky and rough than it had been previously. Medicham could tell that it would be possible for the shell to close around the sphere, presenting an even more impenetrable front for enemy attacks.
Cloyster grinned. "How do I look?"
"Strong," answered Drapion. "Strong an' tough."
Cloyster's grin grew even wider.
"So," said Marcus. "Drapion, Phantump, Medicham, Houndoom. Clemont's going to come at us with four Pokemon, and I'm not sending Kriesh or Cloyster into an Electric Gym, so you're on tap. Houndoom, I'd like to work with you, see what you're capable of. We're going in tomorrow. Before that, though, I think it's time we learned some new moves."
Medicham readied herself, crouching with one hand forward and the other drawn back. She breathed, first in, then out, remembering the Aura-building exercises that Lucario had set for her. Now she was breathing before every flurry of attacks, trying to push deep and locate the Aura inside her.
Just breathe, Lucario had advised. In, then out. Feel your energy. The Aura will come to you.
Medicham lunged, striking the tree trunk with a Fighting Strike, then spinning to slam its base with a Fighting Trip. Then she leaped forwards, kicking out with her other leg straight into the center of the tree trunk - a technique that she referred to as Fighting Finisher, mostly to stay on theme. Much to her annoyance, none of the moves had been fueled by anything more than standard white Fighting energy.
Fighting Finisher was meant to be a finishing move, a climax to a flurry of blows on an off-balance opponent. As a result, it was next to impossible to not put too much energy into it. In fact, the entire point of the attack seemed to be to put too much energy into it, with the strike itself sending that excess Fighting energy into the opponent to cause more injury. But if the opponent, say, dodged or used Protect, the energy would have nowhere to go except back into Medicham's leg, causing injury.
Medicham was working on trying to limit the amount of energy for a weaker but less dangerous attack. After all, what was the point of launching a massive attack at a ready-to-react enemy if that attack would cripple her when it was avoided?
As she pivoted, feeling the Fighting energy she'd gathered around her leg dissipate into the tree, she spotted Serena leaving the Pokemon Center. Her Pokemon were trailing after her; Medicham spotted Seeker-Of-Endings walking on Serena's right. He didn't see her.
Medicham could not help but remember their conversation just a day earlier…
"Absol."
Serena's Absol half-turned his head so that one eye was locked on Medicham. It widened surreptitiously upon seeing how furious she looked.
"Or shall I call you Seeker-Of-Endings?"
From the sudden flare in his eyes, a mixture of fear and shock, Medicham knew her guess had been right.
Seeker-Of-Endings showed no other outward reaction beyond turning to face Medicham fully. But Medicham would have had to be blind to not see the Dark energy that began building up around the Absol at Medicham's words.
"How do you know that name?" Seeker-Of-Endings growled.
"Your friend told me," said Medicham. "After she tried to murder my Trainer based on information that you gave her."
Emotions rushed through Seeker-Of-Endings's eyes, sadness and guilt chief among them. "She was an Absol, wasn't she?"
"Yes," said Medicham.
Seeker-Of-Endings sighed. "That Absol's name is Betrayer-Of-Kin. And for years she has moved throughout the world, murdering Trainers seemingly at random, and using…other Absols to figure out where they are. I would never have expected her to be here."
"So you're not her friend?" Medicham asked.
"No," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "But she's right in that it was my fault she found you. During my fight with Kriesh, I used Perish Song, a technique that draws anyone who hears it and isn't protected into the Perish Dimension. Betrayer-Of-Kin can see through the Perish Dimension. That's the only way she could have found you." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," said Medicham.
"But it was!" Seeker-Of-Endings cried.
"No," said Medicham. "You couldn't have known. Don't beat yourself up about it. And besides, it turned out all right."
Seeker-Of-Endings nodded. "I'll…now that I know Betrayer-Of-Kin is here, I have a few friends I can reach out to. They'll help. It's the best I can do."
"Thank you, Seeker-Of-Endings," said Medicham. "I should get back to my team."
"And I mine," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "Goodbye, Medicham. May we meet again under better circumstances."
With that, the Absol walked off. Medicham watched him until he disappeared around the corner. Then she turned to head back to her own team.
Medicham drew herself out of the memory. It had happened; there was no use dwelling on it. She'd already accepted his apology. It had been unintentional. And he didn't seem to be on Betrayer-Of-Kin's side. It made sense; of course Betrayer-Of-Kin, her mission thwarted, would have tried to trick Medicham into believing Seeker-Of-Endings was aligned with her.
Medicham sighed as Seeker-Of-Endings loped away alongside his Trainer. The two of them disappeared around a corner, the rest of Serena's Pokemon moving after them.
"You all right?"
Medicham turned to look at Cloyster. "Yes, I'm fine," she said. "Up for a battle?"
"Sure thing," said Cloyster. The two launched themselves at each other, and within five minutes Seeker-Of-Endings was entirely removed from Medicham's mind.
Sighing one last time, Marcus stepped through the door into the Gym's main room. Medicham had to agree with his irritation; the questions he'd been bombarded with seemed as if they were meant for toddlers, and as a result the group hadn't even needed to fight any Gym Trainers.
What kind of Gym is this?
"Ah, Marcus," said Clemont. His eyes twinkled with recognition behind his glasses as he saw Medicham, Drapion, and Phantump. "Interesting. I'm glad you're all right."
Marcus put a hand to his stomach instinctively, running it down the scar that now crossed his torso. It would probably remain forever.
"So am I," he said.
"Well, then, let us get started," said Clemont. "I will not be an easy opponent. Emolga, go!"
Marcus perused his options for a moment before replying, "Drapion. You're up."
Drapion was by far the larger of the two combatants; Medicham noticed Emolga shiver slightly at Drapion's hulking form. Drapion grinned with excitement, keen to test his evolution in this Gym Battle.
"Emolga, Volt Switch!"
"Electric Rotation!" Emolga launched herself upwards in a pretty impressive backflip. At the apex of her movement, she fired off a flaring ball of Electric energy at Drapion.
"Pursuit!" Marcus called.
"No Escape." Three Dark beams flew from Drapion's maw at the oncoming Electric energy, dispersing it in midair. The last one arced towards Emolga even as she disappeared into her Pokeball; a squeak of pain filled the air. Clemont frowned as his Magneton materialized from its own Pokeball.
It seemed to already know what to do. "Ionic Dispersal," it droned as all three of its metallic spheres whirred, the magnets on them twisting wildly. Bursts of Electric energy leaped from the magnets and slammed into the ground. Drapion watched with an unreadable expression as the ground came alive with electricity, bolts of lightning crackling across the floor. It didn't seem to hurt all that much.
"Burrow." Medicham had been wondering when Drapion would use his latest attack. He reared back and struck the ground with both of his massive arms. Before Medicham's eyes he disappeared.
Techniques like this were the reason that, as Marcus had learned yesterday while looking up Dig and its uses, the floors of Gyms were made of a malleable material that could self-repair in the event of someone utilizing Dig, Dive, or something similar. The result was that by the time the flare of Ground energy from the technique dispersed, Drapion had disappeared, with no trace of his presence left behind.
Clemont frowned again. "Magnet Rise."
"Magnetic Repel." To Medicham's disappointment, Magneton's body flared with Electric energy drawn from the newly electrified ground and it rose up just in time to avoid Drapion. The massive purple Pokemon burst up, claws outstretched with Ground energy, only to barely whiff. He landed and immediately staggered; clearly not expecting Magneton to be able to fly, he had not prepared for a graceful landing.
"Ionic Blast." Magneton took full advantage of Drapion's stumble to gather the Electric energy coursing across its body and fire it into Drapion's side, eliciting a pained hiss. "Pierce!" Drapion snarled, spinning to send a flurry of Bug-type spikes at the floating Magneton.
"Ionic Pulse." Magneton's response was a slow-moving wave of Electric energy that nonetheless impacted against and disintegrated the oncoming spikes. Drapion shifted to avoid it as it continued towards him, glaring with frustration at the floating Magneton. However, his eyes glinted as he saw what Medicham saw at the exact same time; Magneton was floating downwards slowly but surely, the electricity crackling across its magnets slowly dying out.
It seemed that Magnetic Repel was a draining technique, if not on Magneton's body than on its electric energy. It would have to land periodically to recharge. And if Medicham knew Drapion, he would take full advantage of that vulnerability.
"Volt Switch!" Clemont ordered.
"Ionic Rotation." Magneton repeated the attack that Emolga had used, minus the gratuitous backflip.
"No Escape!" Drapion used the exact same move he had on Emolga, dispatching three rays of Dark energy to nullify the electric attack while the last hit his retreating opponent hard. But thanks to the augmentation from the floor-based electricity, the attack powered through, albeit greatly dissipated. Drapion hissed as Clemont's Heliolisk emerged, smirking confidently.
"Ah, yes, you evolved," Heliolisk observed. "It will not help. Lightning Bolt."
Drapion snarled in rage. "Slam!" he roared, throwing one of his arms forward to block the attack. Even so, he reeled. Medicham frowned as she saw his burn-marked body; the constant bursts of electricity were clearly staggering him, and would certainly have downed him already were he not evolved.
"Burrow!" Again Drapion disappeared underground. Heliolisk frowned. "Of course. This might be difficult. Stormclouds."
At that last word, a spurt of Water energy leaped into the air. In much the same way as Calem's Lapras had done, clouds extended over the field of battle and rain began to fall.
Drapion surged upwards. Heliolisk reacted as quickly as he could, but it wasn't enough to avoid the bulk of the attack. The electric lizard was hurled away from Drapion, landing with a nasty crack.
"Fine," Heliolisk snarled. "Dry Skin: Pressurize."
A wave of force slammed through the air, accompanied by a rumble of thunder. Drapion, who had begun advancing on Heliolisk once more, suddenly was practically slammed to the ground. A snarl escaped Drapion's maw; Medicham gulped as she realized that Drapion was now pinned in place, completely unable to move.
"What…is this?" Drapion growled, beads of sweat dripping from his body. He had to outright force his mouth open to even speak
"My Ability, Dry Skin," Heliolisk explained. "It allows me to manipulate heat due to its unique nature of repelling heat from my body. It also intakes water to replace it. This means that not only am I able to rejuvenate myself with this rain, but I have also massively increased the heat directly around you. And do you want to know something interesting? An increase in temperature causes a corresponding increase in pressure. As such, I have increased the pressure of the air surrounding you by a factor of three. Now let's finish this. Lightning Bolt."
Drapion roared with rage. "No…Escape!" he bellowed.
"You cannot contest this," Heliolisk warned, charging up his Lightning Bolt.
"Ah'm…not…tryin'...to," Drapion snarled.
Heliolisk's eyes widened even as he fired his Lightning Bolt, for he saw four beams of Dark energy leaping at him, two from either side, avoiding the Lightning Bolt altogether.
He leaped to the side, desperately trying to evade the attacks, but it was no use.
Heliolisk was knocked completely prone by the beams of Dark energy. He landed on the ground, gasping for air and failing to haul himself up. Drapion howled in pain as the immense bolt of Electric energy struck his motionless body head-on. He disappeared in an explosion of electricity.
Heliolisk rose, breathing heavily. Medicham now saw that the floor had ceased to crackle with electricity. Had it been like that before the Lightning Bolt, or had that attack taken the last of its electricity?
The electricity around Drapion dissipated, leaving behind…nothing. No body, not even a trace.
Had Marcus recalled Drapion? Medicham hadn't seen-
She and Heliolisk realized what was happening at the exact same time.
"Burrow."
This time, Heliolisk couldn't even react in time to avoid the brutal strike. He flew backwards once more. Medicham couldn't help but be shocked that he was still up.
"I see," Heliolisk grunted. "The Electric Terrain dissipated before my Lightning Bolt could strike you. Unfortunate. That strike would have beaten me were it not for Dry Skin rejuvenating me."
"Stop talkin' and go down!" Drapion snarled. "Rip!"
"Volt Switch!" Clemont ordered.
"Lightning Rotation!" Heliolisk cried. Medicham could not help but be confused; Drapion was standing between Clemont and Heliolisk, so how was Heliolisk going to make it back to his Pokeball. That question was answered as Heliolisk fired off his Electric attack and then charged straight for Drapion. Drapion lunged, throwing his other arm out to block the attack.
A crackling explosion sent Drapion stumbling. Heliolisk leaped, springing off Drapion's outstretched arm and right into the beam of light recalling him into his Pokeball. Drapion collapsed with a loud thud as Emolga emerged once more.
Marcus recalled Drapion, whispering some impressed words before sending out Phantump just as Heliolisk's summoned rainclouds disappeared. Medicham pursed her lips. Drapion hadn't knocked out any of Clemont's Pokemon, but she could see Emolga wasn't flying as well as she had been earlier; clearly that No Escape had done some decent damage to her, and it would have done similar damage to that Magneton. And Drapion had come within a hair's breadth of finishing off Heliolisk. Medicham had no doubt that at least one of Clemont's Pokemon would be down right now if not for his Volt Switch-based strategy.
Calem also had utilized quick switches. But he'd done them manually, rather than with a move. Every time he used Volt Switch, Clemont called the attack, alerting Marcus and Drapion that he was switching out and allowing them to be prepared. Calem, by contrast, had simply switched without warning or announcement, giving himself an unfair advantage.
Medicham forced Calem to the back of her mind and focused as Emolga and Phantump began to battle.
It immediately struck Medicham that Emolga was fast, about as fast as Phantump. Indeed, she was fast enough to evade the Leech Seeds and Confuse Rays that Phantump fired at her. But Phantump was, in return, able to avoid the blasts of Electric energy that Emolga returned fire with, and at one point Phantump managed to land an Astonish that nearly knocked Emolga to the floor, though she rose in time to avoid a quick Grass Knot.
A minute passed in which the duo continued their pirouette, unable to land any real hits. At last, sensing Emolga's frustration, Clemont intervened. "Aerial Ace!"
Medicham watched with nervousness in her eyes as Emolga shot at Phantump, body surrounded with Flying energy. "Flying Dive!" She had no doubt that Phantump would be badly injured, if not knocked out outright, by the attack. But she shouldn't have worried.
"Astonish!"
Emolga flinched, abandoning the attack, as Phantump materialized right in front of her and fired a burst of Ghost energy right into her body. The Ghost/Grass Pokemon grinned. "Leech Seed!" Phantump cried, taking full advantage of Emolga's temporary disarray.
Clemont stared in dismay as the seeds hit and blossomed into vines that instantly wrapped around Emolga's wings. Emolga plummeted, no longer able to fly, and slammed into the ground fairly hard.
Phantump advanced on her fallen body, cackling gleefully.
"Thunderbolt!" Clemont ordered. Emolga twisted, gritting her teeth. "Electric Bolt!" she cried, her voice partially muffled by the Leech Seed. Phantump had not been expecting the attack; he flew backwards, landing on his back with his stomach smoking.
It took Medicham a moment to realize that Phantump was still conscious, partially thanks to the still-active Leech Seed draining Emolga's energy and revitalizing Phantump. But Phantump was grimacing, an expression the Stump Pokemon didn't usually make, and the reason for that became clear as electricity coursed around Phantump's body, crackling and sparking.
Phantump was paralyzed, something that Clemont saw. He raised his voice. "Volt Switch!" he cried to his beleaguered Emolga.
"Electric Rotation!" Emolga cried.
"Confuse Ray!" Phantump retorted. Somehow the Stump Pokemon managed to break through the paralysis, throwing a burst of Ghost energy towards Emolga even as she lunged for Clemont. But as Phantump made to lunge sideways, the paralysis struck, locking the Stump Pokemon in place.
It was a good thing Phantump was standing between Emolga and Clemont. The Confuse Ray and the Electric Rotation struck at the same time. Phantump was blown to the ground once again, and this time the Leech Seed wasn't enough. Medicham frowned. Phantump was still about as frail as a sapling before a wildfire. The Stump Pokemon needed more bulk, and fast.
But Emolga was struck head-on by the Confuse Ray, and it took effect immediately. Clemont watched as Emolga completely missed the recalling beam of her Pokeball and continued going.
Crunch.
Clemont made a face as he recalled the concussed Emolga. "Magneton!"
"Houndoom!" Marcus retorted.
As the newest addition to Marcus's team arrived on the field, Medicham's attention turned to the Power Herb on Houndoom's neck. Marcus had indeed been quite pleased to have it, although Medicham doubted that Houndoom would be using Solar Surge against this Magneton. No, his Fire-type attacks would be far more effective.
Clemont frowned. "Magneton, Metal Sound."
"Sonic Pulse." Medicham instinctively clapped her hands tightly to her ears as Magneton unleashed an unearthly screech. Houndoom roared his displeasure, shaking his head furiously. "Flame Storm!" he bellowed, tossing embers of Fire energy every which way in his daze of pain.
Magneton abandoned the attack and dove downwards, barely avoiding the closest of the Fire attacks. Houndoom let out a furious snarl and lunged at Magneton. "Flame Jaws!"
"Explosive Blast." Magneton's response was to summon a trio of Steel-type spheres, one in each magnet. These it tossed at the charging Houndoom even as Houndoom closed in, jaws rippling with Fire energy.
Boom.
Houndoom staggered under the pummeling but continued going. Magneton's eyes widened and it leaped upwards. Houndoom leaped, barely scraping the bottom of Magneton with his jaws. But even that was enough to elicit a drone of pain from Magneton. Clearly, it did not like the Fire-type attack.
"Volt Switch," Clemont ordered.
"Flamethrower!" Marcus cried.
Both Magneton and Houndoom called their attacks at the same time. "Ionic Rotation." "Flame Tongue!"
But Magneton was just the slightest bit too slow.
The electric blast was eaten up in an instant by the hungry flames that flew from Houndoom's mouth. Magneton was barely out of reach of the Pokeball when the flames struck it. A pained metallic drone came from Magneton as, from what little Medicham saw before it disappeared, it began to melt under the sheer heat of the Flame Tongue.
Clemont frowned again. "There is no point in making him battle anymore," he admitted. "The Magnemite line does not appreciate Fire very much."
Marcus nodded as Clemont finally sent out his Luxray. Houndoom crouched, sizing up this new opponent that, unlike Magneton, was about Houndoom's size and looked equally vicious.
"Flame Tongue!"
"Thunderblast!"
Two streams of energy, Fire and Electric, flew from their user's jaws and slammed into each other. In a similar vein to how Houndoom's Solar Surge had fared against Kriesh's Beam Impact, the two streams seemed to be of equal strength, for they strained against each other and yet neither one gave.
Both of them abandoned the attack to gasp for breath, then glared at each other. Respect glinted in Luxray's eyes. "Fine," he said. "Let's settle this the old-fashioned way."
"Fine by me," Houndoom growled. "Dark Jaws!"
"Thunderous Bite!"
Luxray and Houndoom lunged for each other. They met exactly in the middle of the arena and fell to the ground, biting and clawing at each other.
They fought so rapidly, so brutally, that Medicham could barely keep up with the fight. Houndoom was possibly even stronger up close than he was at range, slamming his opponent with Dark Jaws and Dark Claws and even landing a few point-blank Flame Tongues. But Luxray fought back with Thunderous Bites, claws that had no name but still opened red lines on Houndoom's skin, and a couple of Electric-type ranged strikes.
Neither Clemont nor Marcus intervened with any orders. They merely watched as Houndoom and Luxray tore each other apart. Medicham watched, too, but only in horrified fascination, unable to bring herself to turn her head away.
The turning point came when Luxray bellowed "Thunderburst!" and let fly with some kind of Electric wave that burst out in all directions. All of a sudden, Electric energy crackled around Houndoom, paralyzing him. Luxray took full advantage. A point-blank Thunderblast sent Houndoom's frozen body flying back across the arena.
Houndoom rose to his feet, fighting back paralysis, but Medicham could tell he'd come off worse than Luxray. Though Luxray was stumbling slightly, with wounds across his shoulders and burnt patches of fur, Houndoom looked as if he was about to fall over.
"Solar Beam!" Marcus cried.
"Solar Surge!" Houndoom's Power Herb glowed brightly as his mouth opened wide.
"Thunder!" Clemont ordered. "Contest it!"
Luxray threw his head back. "Thunderous Strike!" he roared. A bolt of Electric energy twice as large as the ones he'd been summoning lanced out from his body.
It slammed into the Solar Surge, and once again the two attacks contested.
Though they strained, both yearning to triumph, Medicham knew there could only be one outcome. And indeed, paralysis struck again, shattering Houndoom's concentration and freezing him in place. With nothing to stop it, the Thunderous Strike slammed into Houndoom with jaw-dropping force. Marcus recalled him the instant the energy dissipated.
Luxray sagged. The attack had clearly taken a lot of his remaining stamina. Now, Medicham knew, it was her against two exhausted, near-unconscious Pokemon.
"Thunderbolt," Clemont urged. "Then charge and hit a Dark attack."
Marcus gave no orders. Both of them knew exactly what to do.
"Thunderblast!"
"Psychic Avoidance," Medicham murmured, closing her eyes and twisting out of the way of the bolt of Electric energy. Luxray charged, obeying its Trainer. "Dark Bite!"
Medicham crouched and leaped for the lunging Luxray. "Fighting Finisher!"
A brutal crunch sounded as her foot impacted with Luxray's face. Luxray flew backwards, unconscious before he hit the ground. Clemont recalled Luxray, whispering something apologetic, and sent Heliolisk back out.
"It's a Psychic," warned Clemont.
Medicham was at once taken aback by how wounded Heliolisk looked. He looked to be on his last legs, similar to Houndoom's demeanor after that combo from Luxray. But he glared up at Medicham regardless. "Don't think I'll just give this to you."
"I don't expect you to," said Medicham. "Psychic Blast."
Heliolisk, however, was fast. "Lightning Bolt!" he cried, leaping out of the way of the Psychic attack and firing off a blast of Electric energy.
"Close!" Marcus ordered.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, leaping out of the way of the Lightning Bolt and charging at Heliolisk with a Fighting Strike primed.
Only when she was halfway there did she see Heliolisk's nasty grin.
"Dark Pulse."
The next moment, it felt as if Medicham's mind had been torn asunder. She stumbled and fell to the ground under the brutal Dark-type strike. She'd been hit by a few before, but none had been as powerful as this.
"Dry Skin: Pressurize."
The very air slammed down on Medicham, forcing her to the ground.
"With your Psychic energies shut down momentarily by my Dark Pulse, you have no defense against Dry Skin," Heliolisk stated, a little bit of gloating slipping into his voice. "Overconfidence will get you every time. Keep that lesson in mind when you come back."
Medicham knew he was correct. She could not move against the sheer amount of pressure crashing down on her, and though a boost from her Psychic abilities could have helped against that, she simply could not summon them.
Just breathe.
"Lightning Bolt," Heliolisk remarked with an air of finality.
In…
Medicham drowned the noise out. Slowly, she took a deep breath.
…then out.
She exhaled. The crackling of Electric energy could now be heard even over the roaring in her ears. She felt her right ear pop under the pressure.
Feel your energy.
Medicham closed her eyes and reached deep inside. "Aura," she whispered through gritted teeth, "if there was ever a time for you to show up, now would be good."
But none came. The crackling grew louder. Her left ear popped.
"Where are you?" she hissed.
The Aura will come to you.
And then something seemed to snap in Medicham's mind.
She'd been trying to force it out. But Aura would not be forced. It would come.
When I am ready, Medicham thought.
And with that realization, Aura surged forth.
The look of shock on Heliolisk's face when he saw Medicham slowly raise herself up was worth all of the pain.
He launched the Lightning Bolt immediately. "Aura…Dodge!" Medicham forced out. Her body glowed blue as she threw herself to the side with all her strength. It was barely enough; she felt the Lightning Bolt graze her back and nearly knock her down, but ironically enough, the enhanced gravity kept her on her feet.
Then she was out.
"Thunderbolt!" Clemont cried to his Pokemon.
"Aura Blast," she snarled, raising a hand in the same way she did with Psychic Blast. Aura burned in her once again, and a blue sphere of energy began forming in her outstretched hand.
She launched it without a second thought. The blast of bright blue energy streaked towards Heliolisk with insane speed.
"Lightning Bolt!" Heliolisk cried desperately.
But the Electric energy Heliolisk managed to muster was useless against the Aura Blast. The two blasts struck, but the half-formed Lightning Bolt dissipated against the Aura Blast. Heliolisk couldn not flee in time; the Aura slammed straight into his gut before he could do much more than twitch. Heliolisk's eyes bugged out and he gasped, his body folding around the Aura Blast. Something cracked in his chest.
Then he flew, thrown backwards, and didn't stop until Clemont's Pokeball intercepted him just before he hit the wall.
Medicham allowed the Aura to fade, its task done. She didn't feel seriously injured, but she still felt hot and tired from the effort it had taken to break free of Heliolisk's final gambit, and her mind still ached from that Dark Pulse.
Clemont nodded slowly. "An impressive showing by your Pokemon. Your Houndoom and Drapion deserve special commendation. You have earned the Voltage Badge."
Marcus accepted the badge with a nod and a word of thanks.
"However," said Clemont, "it did seem that upon Heliolisk's successful gambit, you became paralyzed. If your Medicham had not awakened its Aura, it would have fallen, and you were too paralyzed by indecision to stop it. Do not give up, Marcus. It is not like you, and it does not benefit your team."
"I understand," said Marcus.
"Then good luck," said Clemont. He withdrew a pair of TMs from his bag. "These contain Thunder Punch and Thunder Fang. These moves will benefit your Pokemon quite well."
With a few more words of gratitude, Marcus walked out of the Lumiose Gym, Medicham at his heels. By the time they exited into open air, Medicham's mind had cleared up from the Dark Pulse.
"Let's get the team to the Pokemon Center," said Marcus. "And then we'll head out tomorrow. How does that sound?"
Medicham couldn't have agreed more.
This chapter was really hard to write. Between looking up moves, a beginning that just would not be written for whatever reason, and all the science stuff for Heliolisk's Ability (I am not a science person and never will be), I barely managed to get this chapter out in time for the 'every-other-day' update.
Due to a combination of a few factors, including the aforementioned writing difficulty and a sudden flurry of real-world activity, I will be taking a four-day hiatus before starting on the next arc. I apologize, but honestly it's becoming increasingly clear that (as one of my reviewers, Symonator, kindly pointed out a while ago) I need to take a break every once in a while.
Said next arc will be a bit of a breather after this one. It's funny; I seem to have fallen into a pattern of 'quiet, friendly-battle focused arc - big, whammy Team Flare-focused arc' with this story.
It's a pattern that I anticipate continuing.
Anyway, see you in four days for the start of the next arc, otherwise known as the Advance Arc.