Decks Exist to Be Stacked

by LanguidWing

Clover is thrilled about the idea of embarking on a journey with her trainer through the idyllic region of Baraja. The Sprigatito has always been fond of him — a little too fond. But double battles are the norm in Baraja, so she might have to share her trainer's affection with teammates. Can she navigate the complexities of her heart while conquering the challenges of this land?

11. Handing Over the Baton II

The battle against the ground gym leader Briscola was going… okay. On the one hand, Diamie and I had a glaring advantage. On the other hand, that didn't matter because the ground gym leader wasn't using a single ground pokémon, the cheating bastard. She had a Nidoran that was hidden somewhere underground, plus a weakened Bunnelby that was about to be recalled.

"Aw, my poor little baby." Briscola produced one of those spheres of red and white. Yes! Finally! She used it to project one of those beams of light to rescue the wounded Bunnelby. I wouldn't feel too bad about her. Nothing a bit of rest wouldn't solve. Nonetheless, the gym leader chuckled. "You did a great job, Jackalyn. You deserve a nice rest. Just watch comfortably from your pokéball as King takes care of things here, okay?"

I felt as if something was struck in my throat. Please, tell me she's not sending out another damn Nidoran. I had enough in my plate already dealing with a single poison-type.

"We did great, chief!" Diamie's silky voice caught me by surprise, making me yelp. One of her flippers was still half-frozen, and it didn't look to me like she had recovered sensibility on her hind flippers after the Bulldoze yet. She would have a lot of difficulty moving around, so it was a good thing that she was more of a ranged fighter. We still had Valentine lying in wait in case things turned awry, but I hoped it would not get to that.

"Go play with them, King." Briscola threw another of her spheres, about to reveal to us our last opponent. Each trainer fought with a roster of three pokémon, right? This should be her last pokémon then. But, uh, her aim was terrible. The pokéball was flying in an arc towards the center of the arena, and if its trajectory didn't change it would inevitably fall into the water pool.

And into the water pool it fell, releasing a blue pokémon with a green underside that resembled a sea slug. Okay, that was the strangest Nidoran I had ever seen in my life. He immediately glared at Diamie and me, ready to fight. Again, pokémon can see anything that happens around them even from inside a pokéball, so he probably was aware of how the battle was progressing.

"A Shellos now?" Jarque said. He had made it a habit to spend at least a couple hours every day studying about pokémon. He was no expert yet, but it amazed me how many species he could easily identify at a first glance now. "Pure water. I know, it evolves into Gastrodon and all that, but it is all sorts of wonderful that the ground gym leader isn't using a single ground pokémon in her team."

"Aw, I think your team is wonderful too, sugar," the woman said with a gentle chuckle that made her upper body shake. She had to be doing that on purpose. "Now let's see. King, I think you should sneak on… two, I guess?"

Before we could figure out our next step the Nidoran came out of her hiding underground tunnel to slam her body against Diamie once more. It didn't hurt too bad thanks to Diamie's Growl at the very beginning of the battle, but it's not like the Popplio could take hits all day long.

"Sorry about that, sugar," the Nidoran said, wincing as she stared at the Popplio, walking backwards to put some distance between them.

"Oh?" It took Diamie a moment to realize she was being talked to. "That Dig didn't even hurt that bad."

The Nidoran raised a leg and pointed it at the Popplio's flipper. "Your frozen flipper, I meant. I'm sure you'll be fine but, well, you know how high-end competitive battling is."

"Yeah…" Diamie stared down to her flipper, shaking it a little as if that would solve anything. Her face was one shade paler than it would normally be.

"Not used to formal battling, sugar? By the way you behave, I would imagine you are a recently caught pokémon that used to live in the wild. What's your name?"

I wondered what that Nidoran's angle was, trying to get friendly with us. I was wary, but Diamie was far less vigilant. "Diamantina. I am a wild, yes."

"Aw, what a beautiful name," the Nidoran said with a gracious smile. In any other situation I would have thought it to be genuine. "I only allowed myself to get caught recently too, so I'm curious. Why join the competition? Why bother teaming up with a human? What is your goal in all this?"

Diamie looked down to her chest, as if metaphorically searching into her heart, before raising her head with a tender smile. "I just wanted to travel the world and meet people. Just have some fun."

What kind of reason was that? We were a serious team, lady! We were not sightseeing, we were aiming for the championship! Ugh, I didn't like people that didn't take things seriously, specially if this would affect me or Jarque negatively.

The Nidoran instead reacted with a mellow chuckle. "You know? Sometimes personal enjoyment might be the best reason there is to do anything. I don't think life is something worth stressing over." She turned to me, which made the tips of my ears wriggle. "What do you think?"

But I had no time to answer as Jarque spoke over us, unaware that a conversation was taking place amid the battlefield. "Leafage on the Shellos! Water Gun on the Nidoran!"

Upon hearing Jarque's commands I stood frozen there for a few seconds. Hold on. We had just used those moves a moment ago, so we shouldn't be able to — Oh! Wait a second! Now that we had defeated the Bunnelby, her Torment should no longer be in effect! We could finally go back to my favorite strategy: just spamming the same strong attack over and over again!

I ran towards the center of the arena and sharpened my leaves as I advanced, careful not to cut myself, prepared to unleash my attack at a moment's notice. My target, the Shellos, floated above the water near the border of the pool as he looked at me, squinting his eyes. "Ooooh, I quite don't like this," he said in a bit of a funny nasal voice. I grinned to myself as I approached him. Okay, this cheating gym didn't use any ground pokémon, but the Shellos was a water-type so I would still get a chance to show off my dexterity with grass moves!

I didn't like getting wet so I kept care not to fall into the water as I slashed towards the slug, hurling my cutting leaves a short distance away as if they were throwing knives, traveling at great speed as they cut through… empty air.

Oh. My. God. I hate this gym. Again? The Shellos was nowhere to be seen. I noticed some waves flowing along the surface of the water, so it was an easy guess that he had hidden underwater. Why were all the pokémon in this gym such a bunch of cowards? Why were they so bent on making me miss my attacks and making me look like a fool in front of Jarque? First Dig, then Bounce, and now whatever this was, the water equivalent of Dig. It probably had a stupid name like Dive or something.

My attempt was a bust, but I wasn't the only one fighting. Diamie, not too far behind me, had gathered enough foam and seawater in her mouth to shoot it out as a Water Gun. The Nidoran was in clear line of sight! Get her! Show the Nido who's boss! But to my shock, at the very last moment the Popplio turned her body away from the Nidoran, and then fired the piercing tidal bullet at me. I could only tell she wasn't doing it on purpose because her eyes went wider than mine, and she threw one flipper forward after firing as if trying to take back her attack.

The incoming Water Gun wasn't particularly fast by my standards, but the shock mixed with the lasting effects of the Bulldoze made me react only at the very last second. I barely managed to dodge the water projectile with a roll as it disappeared into the pool behind where the Shellos lay hidden.

The Popplio covered her mouth with her non-frozen flipper. "S-Sorry. I misaimed."

"What do you mean you misaimed?" I shouted, getting a bit more inflamed that I cared to admit. Why was everything going so wrong? This was the ground gym, it was supposed to be easy! It was my chance to shine and drown in Jarque's affections! I couldn't deal with my supposed ally not knowing how to aim on top of that. I understood that some pokémon lost control of their powers when executing highly technical moves, but Water Gun was supposed to be the bread-and-butter of water moves! She was not a kid still getting used to her powers! I seriously considered the possibility that she was doing this on purpose. "The Nidoran was in the opposite direction, Diamie! How can someone fail this badly?" Did she want Jarque to lose and feel bad, or did she want me gone to monopolize his attention?

"I-It was just an honest mistake, chief!" She kept her head low, looking apologetic. Or maybe pretending to, I didn't know anymore. "Won't happen again!"

I looked behind us to Jarque, who stood at the other side of the arena. Obviously, humans were not allowed to enter the combat area as it would be dangerous. I expected him to look angry, but instead he stared at the Popplio with a pensive expression, knuckle against chin. "What was that? Water Absorb? Storm Drain? I know Diamantina would not blunder a simple Water Gun that badly."

I felt my lips tremble. It annoyed me in some way that he trusted the Popplio that much when he had only known her for barely a month, but he was probably right as he often was. Should I afford the Popplio a little extra trust? If Jarque did, I guess I had no reason not to.

"You are a clever boy, aren't you?" Briscola's voice managed to be this perfect mix between affectionate and condescending, where you couldn't tell if she was being passive-aggressive on purpose or if she just had an unfortunate tone of voice. "King has Storm Drain as his ability, yes. It draws in all water moves, strengthening him. Luckily for you, he cannot benefit from your Water Gun right now since he's underwater," she said as she waved a finger at the pool in the arena. "Queen, go wide." I really didn't like how this leader gave out her commands in the most casual of fashions, with no warning.

I heard a loud gasp coming from Jarque, which made me turn towards him in a hurry. Thank goodness, he didn't look hurt. I was worried for a moment. "I think that's Blizzard! Be very careful!" And I was worried again.

When I looked at the Nidoran she was again enveloped in a chilly coat of white, and I could see snowflakes falling down around us. It was so not fair that the ground gym fought with a poison pokémon that used an ice move. Wait, what type was I right now? The last move I used was Leafage so… Oh, no. I couldn't let that Blizzard hit me or I would be done. I was the only one that could realistically take on that Shellos that was still at full health, as neither Diamie nor Valentine would have an easy time against him. If I went down it was all over for our team.

The snowstorm roared around me, decreasing my visibility. I raised my head and looked up to the sky as I walked in circles, anticipating what was about to come. My ears twitched, but whether because of cold or fear, I couldn't know. What options did I have? There was no time to prepare a different move and trigger Protean. No, I had to dodge this. At least this time I would be seeing it coming, so I would have time to —

No time! No time! I lost my balance, dropped down and rolled around in a desperate attempt to avoid a falling chunk of solid ice. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it even while under the howling blizzard. How did I manage to dodge that again? I was fast, sure, but that was dumb luck and I wasn't going to pretend otherwise. Perhaps Blizzard was one of those very powerful moves that were highly inaccurate as a drawback.

Somehow still standing if barely, I waited for the storm to recede and then scanned my surroundings to evaluate the situation. I soon found Diamie shivering, with her face coated in snow and a layer of frost covering the entirety of one of her flippers. Even if she was a water-type with a natural resistance to the cold, she couldn't keep taking snowstorms to the face forever.

"I-I'm fine, chief…" she said as she covered herself with the one flipper she could still move. C'mon, don't lie to me. She wouldn't last much longer like that. We had to figure something out before —

I gasped out loud as I saw a burst of water emerge from the pool like a geyser and strike Diamie. I needed a moment to realize that it was the Shellos coming out of the water, completing his Dive maneuver. He must have gathered enough momentum swimming in circles under the water until he could just jump out like a cannonball.

"Growl!" Jarque shouted out of nowhere. Something we had learned during our first gym fight was that it was hardly ever worth fighting a pokémon at full strength. Diamie's Growl at the beginning of the fight had weakened the Nidoran and the Bunnelby, but the Shellos in front of us was facing us with no handicaps.

Diamie was about to fix that. Still lying on the floor after receiving the last attack, she raised her head high and projected her voice in all directions. The nice thing about Growl was that it affected all foes, so it would weaken the Nidoran further too! So long as her Digs were weak and her Blizzards inaccurate, there might still be hope.

I took a step towards the Popplio as I leaned my head to the side, wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. She had again turned her head towards the pool of water at the center of the arena, towards the Shellos. Her cry traveled like a focused crushing wave aimed at the Shellos, instead of spreading in all directions like it was meant to. Even worse, once it hit the sea slug he just stretched out his neck and smiled. "Aah, that hit the spot. Thank you, pal."

I had no idea what was going on anymore. My brain didn't understand how to parse this. I pondered for a second the possibility that this was all a dream.

"What is your trainer thinking?" the Nidoran said from afar, her tone one of vexation. "King here can draw in and absorb all water moves to buff his ranged attacks. That might not affect his Dive, but he has other moves, you know."

"That wasn't a water move," I said, shaking my head. "Growl is normal."

The Nidoran used one paw to shake her big ears, which were a little wet. "I would normally agree, sugar, but I have felt that move on my skin and on my ears, and that was clearly a water-type move."

Nope, still didn't get it. I turned to Jarque, as I often do when I'm lost or don't know what to do. He was staring with blank eyes at Diamie, covering his mouth with his hand. "… Is her ability Liquid Voice?"

The gym leader laughed with that oddly warm voice of hers. "I wouldn't know. It's your pokémon, sugar. Are we talking about that rare ability that turns all sound-based moves into water-type?"

"That's the one," Jarque said, adding a slow nod. "I was aware that the Popplio line could very rarely be born with this ability, but the probability was so low that I didn't find it a possibility worth considering."

Liquid Voice. I did always think Diamie's voice reminded me of the sea. The Popplio had only been with us for a little over a month, so I guess Jarque had an excuse this time for why he didn't know her ability. Anyone would have assumed that a starter would have the classic abilities of Overgrow, Blaze, or Torrent, as those were disproportionately more common. But if a Shellos with Storm Drain was absorbing her Growls, the only possible explanation was that those Growls had somehow become water-type moves. And in retrospect, whenever Diamie had used her voice during this battle our foes would often end up wet or covered in droplets.

But I wondered why Jarque looked so pale. It is true that this limited Diamie's options, but that wasn't the end of the world. If the Shellos pulled in all water-type moves then Diamie couldn't use either Water Gun or Growl, so she would be left only with…

I tried to gulp, but something got stuck in my throat so I needed to force myself to swallow my saliva. Oh, no. The moves Jarque had picked for Diamie for this battle were Water Gun, Growl, and Disarming Voice. Three moves offering nice variety: water, normal, and fairy. So you would expect. But if the Popplio's ability turned all moves involving her throat into water moves… Oh, dear. Without meaning to, Jarque had accidentally picked three water moves for her. Was Liquid Voice an ability or a liability? The Popplio couldn't do anything! If she used any of her three moves, that would only make the Shellos grow stronger!

"Sneak on one. Both of you."

Again, the ground gym leader was not giving us any time to gather our thoughts. I looked around the battleground, finding no trace of either of our foes. The Nidoran must be deep underground and the Shellos deep underwater, away from the range of any of our attacks. I was out of ideas, and judging by Jarque's expression so was he.

"What do we do, chief?" Diamie asked me. I just stared back in silence, trying to appear calm and collected but probably failing to. I waited a little for Jarque to give us further instructions, but then I understood we would receive no more commands. Because what could we do, anyway? Both of our opponents were untargetable right now, so of all our moves would be wasted. If I had access to that one disabled move then I would at least have something to do to kill time until our opponents emerged, but as things stood all we could do is wait. "They're going after me, right?" she asked. She smiled, but apprehension was obvious in her large eyes.

There was something I didn't understand. Why hadn't Jarque recalled Diamie already? Gyms didn't allow pokémon switching mid-battle, but trainers were always allowed to withdraw any of their pokémon for the rest of the battle. It's not like they could force you to fight. Diamie couldn't contribute to the fight since all of her moves would be redirected towards the Shellos and then absorbed, so right now it's as if this were a one vs two. I understood that a Fennekin wasn't exactly the best matchup against a water-type and a Nidoran with Dig, but wouldn't it make sense for Jarque to withdraw Diamie and send Valentine out?

No, that was a terrible idea. If the Fennekin was on the field right now, our opponents would redirect their Dig and Dive towards her. Valentine would not survive a single hit of their combined strength. I was good, but I realistically wasn't winning a one-on-two. Were we out of options? Were we supposed to just wait while they dictated the pace of combat?

"Wait, they're not going after me," Diamie said. She spoke slow, staring down to the floor. "Why would they target me? I cannot use any move. They want me on the field. No, they are likely going after you, chief. And once you are out they will go after Valentine. They have no reason to attack me at all."

I gritted my teeth, trying to tell myself that she was wrong but knowing deep inside that she spoke the truth. They would be idiots if they fainted the one pokémon on the field that couldn't threaten them in any fashion. They were probably avoiding wide-hitting moves like Blizzard on purpose to avoid taking down Diamie on accident. Combat rules only allowed two simultaneous pokémon per trainer, so we either had to wait for them to defeat Diamie, which wasn't going to happen, or have Jarque swap her with Valentine and risk the Fennekin falling immediately.

"Hey, don't look so down, chief," she said. Her smile was as forced as it was obvious. And yet I couldn't deny that it was soothing in a fashion. "You really want to win this, do you? Is winning this dance of skill that important to you?"

I turned around for an instant to catch a glimpse of Jarque's face. He was staring at the ground, frowning and biting his lip. I imagined he must have been trying to come up with some plan to get out of this. Winning this battle was important to him. And so, winning this battle was important to me.

"I see," Diamie said, even though I hadn't said anything. She was by my side, having approached me dragging her body along the floor with her frozen flippers. "I know Valentine would want us to win to. So if this whole gym thing is so important to all three of you, then it is important to me too." She placed a flipper on my cheek, making me shiver. So cold. Yet somehow so warm. "I'll do my part. So you do yours, chief."

The Popplio leapt at me and tackled me, shoving me off a short distance until my face met the ground. A hundred thoughts manifested in my head all at once. Why? That hurt only a little, but why would she attack me? This time it wasn't a misaimed ranged attack, but a clear physical impact. That was no accident. But why would she…?

I received my answers when I opened my eyes after rubbing the sand off. The Nidoran and the Shellos were in front of me, at the same exact spot I had occupied two seconds ago, slamming their bodies against Diamie from different directions. Their attacks were aimed at me, but Diamie had managed to intercept them instead. How? As a water-type, perhaps she could read the small perturbations in the water to predict when the Shellos would emerge, and assume that the Nidoran would come out at the same time for a pincer attack.

However she did it, she had received two powerful attacks that were meant for me. Why? I was currently a grass-type, so I had little to fear from ground and water moves. No, it's not that she was taking the hit to guard me from harm. She was taking the hit for the sake of it. Her goal wasn't to protect me, but to faint.

"The Popplio can't go on!" the human referee shouted in a loud voice. "Challenger, recall your pokémon!"

Combat paused. There was some ruling that ensured that a pokémon couldn't be immediately attacked if switching out with a fainted partner. Had Diamie sacrificed herself to grant Valentine a safe spot to enter the battle and give us a chance at victory? I felt something cold grip at my heart. Did I seriously suspect the Popplio from trying to sabotage us before? And why, just because her Water Gun happened to go off in a different direction? Even Jarque had correctly guessed something was off instead of blaming her. Was I really a good leader after all…?

I wanted to say something to her, but before any words came out she was enveloped in a ruby light and returned to her sphere of red and white, held by Jarque's warm hands. He planted a kiss on the top of the item, and then began to whisper. "Great work today, Diamantina. That was my fault for assuming you had a boring ability. Should've assumed you were special. Now sit back and relax and let us take care of the rest." He stored Diamie's pokéball safely in his belt, placing it on the front such that she would have a favored view of the battlefield from inside the device. He then picked another one of the spheres and brought it close to his face. "We got this. Your turn to shine, Valentine."

Jarque threw the pokéball with a particular feinting motion that I had seen him practice before, where he switched the item from one hand to the other before flinging it. Valentine had deemed it as 'unnecessary', and Diamie had classified it as 'kinda weird', but I thought it was pretty cool! The bicolor orb landed close to my position, nearly falling into the water. I bet that was because Jarque was trying to be bold and cheeky, and not because the pokéball slipped out of his hands at the last second! And soon a Fennekin ran to my side. She knew what the general situation was, as she had been spectating the battle from her ball.

Valentine titled her head to the side, her ears droopy. "How are you doing, Clover?"

"My legs are still trembling from the quake and I cannot feel the tips of my ears because of the cold, but on the other hand I have not been impaled by any giant icicles recently, so that's kinda neat." I noticed her ears dropping even further. So this one cannot take a joke, uh. "We'll be fine, you worrywart! I'll take care of the water slug and you can burn down the poisonous rabbit." I could almost smell the badge from here.

"Aw, what a cute little thing!" Briscola said, clasping her hands together as she pressed her arms against her chest. "But my, did you call her Valentine? Isn't that a female name? Such a young boy with an all-female team, and all of them starters to boot… Would you allow me to give you an unsolicited piece of advice?" Her question was met with a shrug from Jarque. "Do you exercise every day?"

Jarque grasped his own arm under his shoulder, trying to feel muscles that weren't really there. "Uh, now and then."

"Well, start exercising every day, specially arms and legs. Trust me, you'll come to thank me. Otherwise, your adolescence will be… a little too exhausting." Placing her hands on her legs she leaned in. "Speaking of exhausting, how are you doing over there, Queen? You've been fighting for a while. Do you need a quick rest?"

The Nidoran turned to her and raised one paw nonchalantly. "Having a lot of fun here, thanks."

The human woman could not understand the pokémon's words, but sometimes verbal language was unnecessary. "Attagirl." Briscola extended one arm forward, staring directly at Jarque. "Queen, sneak on three. King, go wide."

Jarque refused to stare aside. "Bite on the Nido… No, Leafage on the Shellos! And, uh, Howl? Yes, Howl!"

I looked briefly at the Nidoran, then focused my attention on the Shellos. I would rather fight that guy than the rabbit, yes. And with Valentine's Howl pumping me up, I may just take him down in one hit! I turned to her to see how she was doing, but my excitement died down a little when I saw the Fennekin with her tail between her legs. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"O-Oh, buttercakes…" She approached me, her eyes glued to the floor. "It's just a bit of water… It's just a bit of water…"

"Valentine?"

"A-Ah, sorry! I'm good, Clover. I won't disappoint you and our trainer. I'm kind of terrified of being on the receiving end of a Surf, but I'll give it my all!"

"Surf?" I looked to the gym leader, then to the Shellos, then back to Valentine. "No one has used Surf. No one has even mentioned Surf. I get that the slug is a water-type, but he is unevolved so why would he randomly know…" I didn't finish my sentence. The Nidoran was unevolved and she randomly knew Blizzard, a move she didn't even share a type with. But still, what were the chances? "Anyway, let's get started! We've almost won!"

I sprinted towards the Shellos as I caught in the corner of my eye the Nidoran hollowing out yet another hole under her. This battleground was starting to look more and more like a giant cheese. As I approached the small circular pool at the center of the arena I noticed the Shellos flapping his feet, or fins, or whatever those green appendages on his underside were, causing a hypnotic ebb and flow on the water that surrounded him. Valentine might have been right about the Surf after all.

I heard a mighty roar. Okay, maybe 'mighty' isn't the word I'm looking for. It was on the cuter side, but it was invigorating all the same. Valentine's Howl! A triumphant war cry that made your body go crazy with adrenaline, making you hit harder. It affected all allies, but I was the one that benefited the most as the only physical hitter in the team.

The Shellos raised his tiny head as the surrounding waters became more and more turbulent. I grew foliage in my legs and feet in the shape of cutters, then hacked at the slug with them. Tiny as I was I felt mighty as I sliced away at him, emboldened by Valentine's Howl. It was supposed to be pure placebo, really, but the mind was a scary thing.

But although I managed to knock the Shellos back a little, he didn't falter. Mere seconds after my attack I began to notice the water in the pool fluttering furiously and threatening to overflow. I had to lift my head real high to fully capture the size of the massive wave that had suddenly emerged from the deceptively deep pool, with the Shellos riding on top of it. Oh, so that's why they called it Surf! There was nowhere to hide as the wave crashed down on us, swamping the entire battlefield. This spreading tsunami would have hurt even his partner, if it weren't because the Nidoran was on a completely different height plane.

Once the danger was over and the Shellos returned to his pool with a now normal water level, I shook myself dry as I shivered from the cold water, throwing off droplets all around as if it were raining around me. As cliché as this might be coming from a cat, I hated water with a passion.

My first instinct was to shift around and search for my trainer. He was dry, thank goodness. Trainers and spectators outside the battlefield should be safe, since the dimensions and shape of the arena were selected to avoid those kinds of issues. I wanted to be near Jarque. I really hated water. I wanted him to pet me dry and caress my fur and tell me everything would go great. I hated baths, but I liked it when he grabbed a brush to broom my fur afterward.

Now where was Valentine? Damn, the whole field was soaked no matter where I looked. You couldn't go anywhere without getting your feet wet. Oh, there she was! She was curled up into a ball, shivering terribly. That was probably the strongest water-type move she had ever been unlucky enough to have to endure. Sure, she had sparred a few times against Diamie, but this was no Water Gun.

So soon as she became aware of my presence she let out a yelp and hurriedly stood up while still soaked, almost slipping on the wet floor and falling. "I-I'm fine! I swear I won't drag the team down!" She gestured at me to take a step back and then shook the water off like I had done myself moments ago. "As much as I appreciate Diamie, I'm really not good with water…"

"Honestly, same." I was a bit amazed that she could still stand after that. Not only was Valentine a fire-type, but the Shellos had become stronger because of Diamie triggering his Storm Drain ability.

The Nidoran was still underground. That thought just came to my mind for some reason. Okay, if you were a pokémon using Dig who would you rather target, a resistant grass-type, or a fire-type that's on the border of defeat? I looked down at the still soggy floor under the Fennekin, the water not reaching past her feet. Ripples. I looked under myself. No ripples. As the attack of the Shellos was over, those waves could only be caused by subtle vibrations in the ground. I had a decision to make, right now. It couldn't wait another second. Do I pull a Diamie? I had mostly taken damage from ineffective ground or water moves through this battle, but I had received a lot of attacks. Could I take one more?

Well, let's find out.

I sprung at the Fennekin to headbutt her and shove her away. I realized I was putting a little more strength than necessary into my tackle, and I wondered if this was unchecked unconscious envy getting the worst of me, but it was too late to stop anyway. The end result was exactly what I wanted: a confused Fennekin lying on the cold, soaked floor by my side as a hole opened up in the ground below me to release a Nidoran launching herself up towards whoever happened to be in her way. And that whoever happened to be me.

I regretted my choice as soon as I felt the crash. How could such a small bunny pack that much power? As I recoiled from the heavy impact I feared that I would fall and not rise up again for this battle, but I had to endure. I had to endure for Jarque. And, uh, maybe I also had to endure for the rest of the team. Diamie and Valentine had put a lot of effort into this fight, so I refused to let myself fall to a stupid ground move from a pokémon that wasn't even that type! My legs shivered and my whole body was wet and cold, but I stood still. It will take more than that to take me down, rabbit! But, uh, I would rather not get hit again by that.

The Nidoran looked at me, then at Valentine, then back at me. "Nice switcheroo you got going there, sugar." After scratching her ears, she turned towards Valentine once more. "And you, I thought you were a fire-type? Because that's impressive that you can tank a Surf with such a petite body if that's the case."

I let out a soft groan, enough to catch the poison-type's attention. In any other situation I would have assumed that her praise was genuine, but surely that couldn't be the case here, right? "What's the big idea with your trainer asking the slug to swamp the entire battlefield with a giant wave? You could have been hurt too, you know! You were lucky you happened to be underground!"

"I don't think that was luck, Clover," Valentine said to me, although the Nidoran was within earshot and listened intently without even pretending not to. "Have you not figured their strategy by now? They are intermixing potent far-reaching moves with techniques that offer temporary invulnerability to escape friendly fire."

"Um…?"

"Their trainer has only issued three commands: 'support', 'sneak', and 'go wide'. The command 'support' is for, well, for support moves like Disable or Torment, or whatever third move the Shellos has. 'Sneak' instead urges them to use moves that render the user invulnerable for a short time, such as Dig, Bounce, or Dive. And 'go wide' is for moves that target the entire battlefield, like Blizzard, Bulldoze, or Surf. The gym leader then asks one of her pokémon to sneak and the other to go wide, such that the first one will not get caught in the crossfire."

Ooooh. Yes, in retrospect that one should have been easy to figure out, but in my defense it's not so easy to ponder and analyze while you are in the middle of a hectic battle involving four combatants.

However, should we be talking about this in front of the Nidoran? Because that was quite the cheery chuckle coming from her. "You're one smart cookie, aren't you, sugar?"

The Fennekin lowered her head with a light flush on her cheeks. Valentine, you shouldn't act submissive in front of an enemy. "I-It is easier to analyze and evaluate the situation from the safety and comfort of your pokéball. Plus, Jarque arrived to the same conclusion. I heard him mutter."

"Still remarkable!" the Nidoran said. "Your name was, what, Valentine? I think that's what your human called you." The Nidoran crouched a little and titled her head as she examined the Fennekin's body. "You are a pedigreed pokémon, are you not, sugar? That fluffy fur of such a vivid color, and those agile legs and lean muscles — It's like you were bred specifically both for combat and to be aesthetically pleasing."

Valentine averted her eyes. I don't think the Nidoran meant to, but she had kind of touched a nerve there. "Something like that…"

"So why do you fight, Valentine? Not just because you were bred to, I would hope." The Nidoran tapped at her chin with her paw. "Did you even get a choice? Pokémon like you are usually given away in laboratories."

"Ah, yes! I've wanted to join a human since I was little. I wanted to be part of a team and prove I was strong, like in those stories Adelaide used to read to me…" Valentine took notice of the Nidoran's eyes glued on her and faked a cough. "S-So of course a little flood won't be enough to stop me."

"Adorable. Now I will feel kind of bad for what's about to happen. Because I assume Briscola must be wanting to wrap this up by now." The Nidoran turned her back to us as she walked towards the center of the arena where the Shellos lay in wait. "One minor correction: Bulldoze and Surf are berserk attacks that target the entire battlefield, but a Blizzard is more stable and can be focused towards a particular area, and doesn't necessarily imply friendly fire. No need for my partner to sneak."

The Nidoran cocked her head towards the distant gym leader, who had a caring smile on her face. "Are you done talking with your new friends, Queen?" The Nidoran gave her a nod. I guess this was a sport and not a war, so there was time to chat up your opponents. "Good. I figure this is a good time to finish this, now that your pokémon are weakened. King, support. Queen, wait for him, then go wide."

If Valentine's theory was right, the Nidoran was using Blizzard next while the Shellos would turn to the last move their team had yet to use. The imminent Blizzard was a scary prospect as it was likely to make both me and Valentine faint if it so much as grazed us, but luckily it was a highly inaccurate move. I didn't like depending on luck, but that's how it goes sometimes. I was more worried about the Shellos. What kind of support move should I expect from a sea slug? Maybe he would harden his shell or try to heal?

Instead, the waterbound pokémon raised his head and opened his mouth to release a chilly gust aimed upwards. I shivered, and not from the cold. Please, tell me we weren't about to deal with a double Blizzard here. Thick fog started to surround me until it nearly covered my field of vision. I felt something round, small and very cold kiss my coat, and I realized snow was starting to fall all around me, even though there were no clouds in sight. The occasional heavy ball of hail fell down like artillery, but although painful, it was nothing compared to the Nidoran's snowstorm. The powers of our kind would never cease to amaze me. The Shellos had managed to summon a hailstorm indoors with such ease.

"Oh no…" I heard an echoing voice and I nearly jumped back in fright. I could only tell that was Valentine because of her fiery scent, because my sight was worthless right now. "I think the Shellos just used Hail. We're in trouble." I could barely see two paces ahead of me, but the Fennekin was by my side and she was trembling like a partying Ludicolo. It was cold, sure, but you'd think a fire-type would resist low temperatures better.

Hail, uh. That was one of those infamous weather moves. It was so funny to me that they could alter climatology even under a ceiling! As the hard snow pelted me I understood that this move continuously hurt pokémon that weren't immune to the cold. Which was funny, because not a single pokémon involved in this battle had been an ice-type. I didn't understand. Why would the gym leader — the supposedly ground gym leader — waste a moveslot in one of her pokémon for a weather condition that harmed even her own team? Sure, her pokémon might temporarily avoid damage while underground or underwater, but was that enough to justify this decision?

"Enough! I concede!"

I heard a distant faded human voice, but it was hard to gauge where it was coming from due to the wind howling around me. Then I heard a shrill metallic sound that made me cringe, and in a few more moments the snowstorm began to whittle down into nothing. "The battle is over!" a masculine voice proclaimed. The referee! That metallic sound from before must have been him blowing his whistle.

Now that the hailstorm had receded I could get a good view at the humans at either side of the arena. The gym leader had crossed her arms, nodding to herself with a placid smile. At the opposite side, Jarque was kicking the ground as he grunted. I didn't understand. Why are you reacting like that, Jarque? We just won, right? The leader was the one that just conceded, impressed by our superior strength, right? Then he would pet me and caress me and tell me how great of a fighter I am, and even Valentine and Diamie would praise me and tell me that I'm a great team leader and that they admire me.

So why are you frowning, Jarque? Silly humans. That's not how you act… when you are happy…

My feet still shivered from that damn Bulldoze, I couldn't feel my tail because of the cold, and my ears felt wet and uncomfortable. But I didn't care about any of that. No, the pain that hurt the worst was one deep within myself, one that seemed to clutch at my very heart. I didn't understand. We had not fought any psychic or fairy-types, so where did this pain come from?

Jarque had surrendered. Jarque had deemed this battle unwinnable, and had surrendered to spare us further pain. As much as I refused to acknowledge reality, I could find no other possible explanation. Valentine and I had taken a good beating, sure, but the Nidoran and specially the Shellos were in a very bad shape too. Nothing was decided yet. Did he trust us so little? Did he trust me so little? Jarque used to never give up. Did Valentine and Diamie change him?

I had fought so hard, just for him, and he just went and surrendered? What about everything I endured?

"Good call." The Nidoran approached us. Through the battle I had seen a competitive spirit and slight arrogance coming from her, even if not outright animosity. But now, all that remained was a kind of motherly warmth radiating from her face that made you drop your guard. "I like your trainer. We get so many rookies that don't know when to give up and cause their pokémon unnecessary suffering. Like, we can take it, and I like getting roughed up in a good fight as much as the next gal, but if you've lost you've lost, you know? No way either of you was withstanding another Blizzard."

That much I couldn't deny. "But I dodged your attack twice, so maybe I could do it again. That was down to luck."

"Luck? No, no. There would be no luck involved. King stacked the deck."

I listened to her words, but didn't feel any less confused. Her words made no sense. This whole situation made no sense. I felt betrayed, even though I knew I shouldn't. Jarque had only called the battle off to keep us from suffering more pain. Did I have a right to feel annoyed? Valentine looked exhausted, and it was obvious she was positively relieved that the fight was over, and Diamie would probably appreciate visiting a center. Had Jarque stopped for them? Was I being too selfish? If everyone else wanted to stop, did it matter that I had poured my soul into this?

No. Wait. Forget all that. I was missing something. Jarque and my teammates had never betrayed me or hurt me in any way. Whenever it seemed like Valentine or Diamie were acting against me, that usually meant I was missing some vital piece of information. I was a little too quick to distrust other pokémon, which was an ugly side of mine I wasn't too proud of. I looked around me. Valentine! The Fennekin would know. Very well, I will trust you this time. I tilted my head as I stared at her with a perplexed expression, and hoped she would get the hint.

Valentine noticed, fired a brief glance at the Nidoran, then turned back to me. "We were about to lose, Clover. Hail plus Blizzard makes for a deadly combination. Blizzard, although one of the strongest ice moves, is very unreliable and difficult to control. It is plainly telegraphed and conspicuous, so with some luck you may anticipate it and react in time to dodge it. But when combined with Hail the resulting snowstorm completely blocks off your view, making Blizzard virtually ineludible."

I understood now. It made so much sense, in retrospect. How in the world did I expect to avoid another of those freezing attacks with all the thick fog and intense snowing going all around me and hindering visibility? If Jarque had not abandoned, the only difference would be that Valentine and I would be unconscious right now. Jarque didn't give up. He simply realized we had lost a few moments before we actually did.

Jarque ran towards us, and I worried that he would slip on the wet floor and fall and hurt himself. The leader also approached, walking, warning Jarque to be careful not to slip. Jarque knelt by our side and began to pat my head and Valentine's with each hand, not caring that we were wet and cold. "That didn't quite go how we expected, but I would say we adapted pretty well to the circumstances. Both of you fought at a type disadvantage and yet you put a lot of pressure on our opponents. So pretty good job!"

I stood there, basking in his warm caress, not moving a muscle. I would have stood there for as long as he wanted to pet me, which was unfortunately only a few seconds. But he would pet me more afterward, right? He took a moment to rub some frost off my tail and to dry Valentine's large ears a little.

The Fennekin rubbed her nose against her pokéball in his belt, which he correctly interpreted as Valentine asking to return to her sphere of red and white. Those spheres acted as a painkiller while you were inside, thanks to some impressive human technology that I didn't understand at all. I guess she really didn't enjoy the sensation of wet fur, and wanted some comfort. Well, we pokémon recover fast anyway, plus there's pokémon centers. If she wanted the relief that the pokéballs offered, that was her choice. We normally didn't bother entering those things unless we were particularly hurt.

Jarque tapped at my pokéball while staring at me, as if asking me whether I wanted to go inside too. I shook my head a single time and he nodded, understanding. Both Valentine and Diamie were in their pokéballs now, which meant I would finally get some time alone with Jarque once we left this gym! They could still watch, but whatever. It was such an odd occurrence for any of us to be inside our spheres, that I didn't want to miss this chance!

After brushing my head one last time, Jarque told me to wait a few minutes while he talked with the ground gym leader, emphasizing the word 'ground' as he glared at her, then stood up and approached the gym leader. I guess humans had their stuff to talk about. Briscola would probably offer him some trite advice and share some frivolous pleasantries. It was all so boring. How did Jarque deal with all that?

But I guess I wouldn't get bored, since the Nidoran was still around and was clearly in a chatty mood. She eyed her Shellos teammate, who was just chilling in the water not interacting with anyone — I guess he wasn't too talkative? — and then she turned to me. "Clover, was it? I think I've heard your teammates call you that."

I frowned as I glared at her, but then I took notice of Jarque chatting casually with Briscola — if a bit fidgety — and I figured there was no reason to be antagonistic to them. The Nidoran was just doing her job as a gym pokémon, and damn if she wasn't good at it. "Clover, yes. I take it your name is Queen? That's what your human has been calling you."

"It's the name she gave me, yes. We rarely have names in the wild, but I appreciate this one. It sounds so majestic." She sat down by my side. "So how are you feeling after this battle, sugar? The dragon gym was just an appetizer, just an introduction. The other gyms are the real deal."

I was only beginning to internalize that we had lost. Again. Maybe one day we would challenge a gym and overcome it on our first try. Who was to blame for today's defeat? Diamie had put a lot of work early on, but as soon as the Shellos came out she became a liability. Valentine didn't get a chance to participate much, almost at all, but then again she was particularly badly matched against the types used by the leader, so it was understandable. What about Jarque? He could have learned about Diamie's ability before the battle to avoid bringing a full suit of water moves, plus he could have discerned the leader's strategy faster. But no, Jarque couldn't be at fault. Then perhaps… me? Did I really give it my all? Or did I get too cocky because this was a ground gym and didn't prepare as much as I should have?

"What's the matter, sugar?" the Nidoran asked. "You've fallen silent."

"Why did we lose? Who in my team would you say is responsible?"

She tilted her head with a slight frown. "Given the circumstances I think all of you did decently enough. I don't think you can point out a single culprit here. Why would you even want to single someone out? For what purpose?"

Good question. What was the point of zoning in on a single culprit? To chastise them? To condemn and belittle them? To feel superior to them? Perhaps I just wanted a scapegoat to blame, someone to pass all my guilt to so that I could feel better with myself. Let's say that it was proven beyond any doubt that Valentine or Diamie were responsible for our defeat. I am supposed to be the leader of this team. Their defeats are my defeats. It should be my goal to become aware of their mistakes, yes, but only to help them correct them.

"I want us to win next time," I told the Nidoran. "For that, I need to figure out what we're missing, what we could have done better. That's why I want to know what our mistakes are."

Her heartfelt chuckle was pleasant to my ears. "I like that answer, sugar. You're pretty mature for someone so young, uh?" I knew it was common among pokémon and all, but it kind of screwed me up that we were roughly the same size and yet the Nidoran was old enough to be my mother. "We are our worst critics. I think your team is full of excellent fighters, but just 'excellent' doesn't cut it when we're talking about the League. There are some details to iron out, for sure. Train more. Learn more varied moves. Evolve. The Popplio clearly needs more time acclimating to the team, the Fennekin needs to be more decisive and forward, and you, Clover, need to act more like a commander to boost the morale of your team. Your trainer is doing okay, but he would benefit from studying more too." She paused for a moment, as if granting me a second to let it all in. I didn't necessarily disagree with any single point. "Look, I can see the potential in each of you, individually, but that alone will not bring you victory here in Baraja. I see three strong pokémon and one resourceful human. I don't see a team."

Screw double battles, though, seriously. This would be so much easier if Jarque and I were in one of the many, many regions all around the world where the gym challenges took the form of single one-on-one battles. My species meant that I wasn't particularly fond of other pokémon, but if I wanted Jarque to raise to the level of champion that was an issue I had to solve. "I guess I never stopped to consider what it really takes to be a good team leader." I might have thought that Diamie calling me 'chief' already made me a leader. Maybe not so.

"Oh, so I was correct that you were the lead pokémon in your team. Your friends seemed fond of your human too, but you speak so gushingly of him that it's obvious you are his starter and have been with him the longest. Which makes me wonder — why participate in the League? What moves you to challenge the gyms?"

Whoa, she really liked asking people that. I was starting to think that she being so chatty during battle wasn't a clever strategy, but simply her personality pouring out. "I want to prove to everyone that my trainer is the mightiest there is." I pointed a paw at him. "And I want pets. Lots."

The Nidoran's smile died down for a moment. "Oh? Is he the kind of human that wouldn't show you affection unless you won?"

"What? Oh goodness, no! He will give me headpats and scratch my ears regardless! But that's, like, a pity pet. A consolation prize. No, I want him to pamper me because he means it, because he is really proud of me and cannot contain his joy!"

And so her warm smile returned, accompanied by a charming giggle. "I can understand wanting to make your human feel proud of you. I sympathize. For those of us that pair up with humans, it is almost expected that our trainers will become the prime focus of our lives due to the nature of the relationship. I don't think that's a bad thing, Clover." She turned her head towards the center of the arena and raised a waving paw. Over there, a Shellos returned the gesture to the best of his capacity with his flabby appendages. "But all good things come in moderation. The bond with your trainer will be one-of-a-kind, special, and exceptionally strong. The strongest. But it should not be the only bond."

Hmm. I nodded to the Nidoran, if only because she was older than me and I felt like being polite to someone that had proved her superiority in combat. Jarque was all I needed, really. Oh, and Mallet and Mom and Bera too. And if I wanted our team to get anywhere, I guess I should also get along with Valentine and Diamie. They didn't seem like bad girls or anything, I just liked Jarque more. But maybe the Nidoran did have a bit of a point after all. I would not want Jarque to think I'm annoying because I never leave him alone.

While I talked to the Nidoran I caught some random words of the conversation taking place in parallel between Jarque and the gym leader. Briscola gave him predictable advice. Train more. Read and study more, about both pokémon and moves. Evolve your pokémon. Train them to work as a team. She also suggested making good money in battles against other competitors and saving up for TMs and held items, as those were expensive. Held items were not allowed in this specific gym, but they would for sure come in handy in the rest of them.

After some more formalities we left the gym, with the same number of badges we had when we entered. I felt exhausted and hungry, and I could figure that so did Jarque. I felt a little disappointed, too. And as much as he tried to hide it, I knew him way too well to know that the reassuring smile on his face was just meant to soothe me, and was not a reflection of his emotional state. I nuzzled his leg. We will win next time, I promise.

I hoped we had all at least learned something that day, in that building. If so, then maybe this little trip could still be considered worthwhile.

I didn't know all the rules related to the League's challenge, but I knew the big one: if you lost five times total against any gyms, you could no longer participate. We had lost twice now, once against each leader we had challenged. If we lost three more times, against any gym leaders, that would be the end of our dream.

Oh, well. We just had to made sure that wouldn't happen.

Besides, my tail felt very springy lately. It was something a pokémon could feel in her body. Soon, very soon, I would be walking on half as many legs!