The New Normal – 12-2 – Interlude – Will & Koga

(Will POV)

He withdrew his Slowking with a slight hint of reluctance in his heart, but one that he was quick to force away.

It was not his Pokémon's fault that they had now found themselves on the backfoot. That responsibility solely lay with him.

Despite all his preparations, it seems like he had still managed to overlook the strategies that Koga would use to ensure victory. Or, more specifically, he underestimated Koga's ruthlessness and ability to capitalize on any advantage, no matter how small.

That instant Explosion with his Muk to take out his Exeggutor? He would have never have foreseen it. Nor could he have ever expected for Koga to have come up with the perfect countermeasure for his Hypno using a Weezing of all things.

That was Koga's experience at work. How many trainers had fallen to such schemes?

And yet, in a strange way, he had felt some degree of satisfaction in having Koga employ all these strategies against him. It meant that Koga was taking him seriously; that he wasn't some foe that he could overpower by brute strength alone.

It was Koga's way of acknowledging his strength.

It also confirmed another thing for Will. Koga was weaker than him, at least in terms of raw power. Otherwise, he would never resort to these strategies if he could just overpower his Psychic types with his Poison ones. He knew that this was why Koga did everything he could to deny him the opportunity to make use of his Psychic Pokémon's maneuverability with Teleport by going for surprise attacks to secure quick knockouts.

His own Gardevoir, had it not been taken out by Crobat, would have ran circles around Koga's team. And Koga's strategies came at a cost, often trading his Pokémon to knock out his own.

So despite all of Koga's tricks, the score was only at 4-3; once his Slowking recovered with Regenerator. He wasn't as far behind as it seemed.

Will took a moment to turn his attention to the crowds, watching them all cheer for Koga as they praised his performance. He heard their cheers and shouts as they chanted for Koga to finish him off, since he was basically down to only one Pokémon.

But that Pokémon was his starter. It was his ultimate trump card, and the one Will could trust to give a most brilliant performance. When he was pressed against the ropes like he was right now, there was no Pokémon he trusted more to have his back than his Xatu. The Pokémon that he had started with, conquered with, and earned many great victories with.

Furthermore, Koga had already revealed the capabilities of his Crobat. Oh, he had used it most effectively, taking out his prized Gardevoir with such a surprising ambush – something which would have unsettled and intimidated a less experienced trainer.

But Will had been working alongside the truly great trainers for quite some time now. He had seen their Pokémon in action, with the likes of John and Lance standing high above all the rest with their epic clash of titans. The very same titans that he hoped his Pokémon would one day stand side-by-side with in both strength and prestige.

Compared to those, Crobat did not hold a candle to them.

No, he could look at it objectively. Crobat's biggest advantage was its speed, which made it seem more threatening than it actually was. However, he had ways of dealing with Crobat's incredible speed, and Xatu was no frail Psychic type to be taken down by a quick series of strikes like his Gardevoir was.

His Xatu might not be the traditional powerhouse that many expected, but since when did he conform to what was traditional? His Xatu, and its Psychic prowess, was going to show them all what it meant to be exceptional.

And since the poisonous gases from Weezing had all dispersed, and Koga had already revealed his bag of tricks – this was going to be a proper, fair fight. Exactly like he hoped for.

So while it may look like this was about to be his grand finale, he was going to show the world that they couldn't count him out just yet!

He was going to give them a reversal to remember. After all, Poison was weak to Psychic.

(Koga POV)

He had forgotten how loud the crowd could be during a match like this.

His opponent may enjoy basking in the attention and the adulation of the audience, but he much preferred the quiet of his Gym. He was not used to the distractingly loud noises and cheers; nor did he care for it.

He was here to win, nothing more and nothing less.

So far, things had gone to plan. His research on Will's team and personality had paid off, and he had managed to put the Psychic specialist on the backfoot by taking out some of his key Pokémon – Pokémon that would have rampaged through his team if he hadn't surprised them.

To an outsider, they might think he was dominating this fight – that his string of victories was proof that Will was no match for him. But he knew better – to think so would be arrogance, and far from the truth.

In reality, every victory of his was a gamble that could have horribly backfired on him. Sacrificing his Muk like that with a surprise Explosion would have been a terrible decision if Exeggutor was able to hold on and stay in the fight. Likewise, sending out his Crobat so early against a Pokémon that could have potentially matched its speed with her Teleports was a very risky choice.

No, he knew that his dominating performance was merely smoke and mirrors – a trick of the light. Will was the stronger trainer, he knew this, and if he was ever forced to engage in a proper fight of endurance, he would lose.

So even though Will was now on the ropes, with only one last real Pokémon to strike down, Koga knew he couldn't take it easy.

Especially not when he had yet to bring down Will's starter.

He had done the research, but while Will had shown off its capabilities in the past, there was very little recent data since Will had not made use of his Xatu ever since he ascended into the Elite Four. However, from what he had seen had already painted a very clear picture for Koga – it was a master of the Psychic type, and was expertly proficient in nearly every Psychic move available to it.

It very much lived up to the title of a Psychic's specialist ace Pokémon. And that was all before Will made it into the Elite Four. Who knows how strong it was now?

Knowing that he was about to face off against such a monster caused his heart to race as the excitement of a battle surged through him once more. He was very good at keeping a firm lid on his emotions, but despite his mental discipline, it was nearly impossible to keep your emotions in check in the heat of battle.

A small smile began to form on his face as he stared down at his opponent, meeting Will's determined eyes with his own. Will was standing tall and proud – like a man who was ready to make his last stand. No, not a last stand, but a man who looked and remained confident that he was going to win.

So there they stood. With three of his Pokémon, including his own starter and ace, against Will's ace.

Victory might nearly be in his hands, but only the future knew if Will would manage to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

A.N. Since the battle was cut into two chapters, I thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight some of the thoughts of each of our battlers. The one thing I wanted to highlight especially was that the fight is absolutely not over yet. Koga might have had control over the fight so far and had momentum in his hands, but Koga is pretty much out of tricks by this point.

Will Koga be able to hold on to his momentum? Or will Will begin to swing the match around to his favour? Will his Xatu be enough to execute a reversal? Or will Koga hold on to his lead and clench the win?

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