After losing Moonstone to his last Gym battle, Lapis decided to take a training detour before his next Gym battle. He explored the desert along Route 111 after getting the Go-Goggles from Jade and ended up finding a mysterious tower in the process. He ran into Samir Patajhad and the Fossil Maniac, who were looking for the same tower, and they explored it together. Though they found some fossils, they triggered the tower's protection system of self-destructing Baltoy. SmokyQuarz sacrificed himself to allow the humans to escape, causing more stress on Lapis and his team. Lapis replaced SmokyQuarz with his other Numel, Bixbite, and the group prepared for the Petalburg City Gym. But when he arrives, he is taken aback by an unusual spectator. Who is it, and will Lapis be able to overcome the Gym Leader's powerful Normal-type Pokémon?

Lapis' Pokémon:

Zuli (Lvl. 36 Swampert, male; Item: Soft Sand): Impish Nature, Torrent Ability, moves: Tackle, Strength, Mud Shot, Water Gun

Bixbite (Lvl. 28 Numel, male): Bold Nature, Oblivious Ability, moves: Focus Energy, Tackle, Ember, Magnitude

Onyx (Lvl. 35 Mightyena, female; Item: King's Rock): Mild Nature, Intimidate Ability, moves: Tackle, Rock Smash, Sand Attack, Bite

Pearl (Lvl. 25 Spoink, female): Lax Nature, Thick Fat Ability, moves: Psywave, Psybeam, Odor Sleuth, Confuse Ray

Celestite (Lvl. 25 Swablu, female; Item: Exp. Share): Gentle Nature, Natural Cure Ability, moves: Peck, Safeguard, Astonish, Sing

Amethyst (Lvl. 31 Gloom, female; Item: Miracle Seed): Quiet Nature, Chlorophyll Ability, moves: Absorb, Acid, Poisonpowder, Sleep Powder

Pokémon sent to the PLA: Tiger Eyes (Linoone, male), Citrine (Makuhita, female), Kyanite (Electrike, female), Moonstone (Swellow, female), SmokyQuarz (Numel, male)

Chapter 26: Balancing the Weight of Victory

In Rustboro City, Lapis and Samir watched the two fossils get revived by the Devon Corporation scientists. The Fossil Maniac watched gleefully, bobbing his knees up and down.

"Oh, I'm excited to see what these Pokémon will be! Aren't you, Samir?"

The junior researcher playfully shrugged. "They're most likely Anorith and Lileep, Mr. Kaseki. After all, those are the main fossils found in this region."

"Sigh… You're no fun, Samir…"

Lapis saw the two lumps of rock shift into a weird Pokémon with tentacles and another weird Pokémon that looked like an ancient shrimp.

"And that's it!" the scientist announced. "We have a Lileep and Anorith."

Samir rolled his eyes as the man pouted. "I told you, Mr. Kaseki. Anyway, Lapis. The Lileep is yours."

The teen received the Poké Ball containing his new Pokémon from the scientist. "Guess so." He scanned the ball with this tablet. Lax Nature and Suction Cups. We'll see if I need to use him. He typed in "Feldspar" for the nickname and sent the orb to his PC.

Samir gasped. "That's some impressive technology for the Nuzlocke challenge."

"Eh. It's ain't a big deal. Well, thanks for the Pokémon, I guess. Gotta get goin'."

"Oh, yeah. You're heading to Petalburg City. Good luck, and I hope we see each other again soon."

"We'll see. You ain't so bad, Patajhad. But him, he better go back to the rock he crawled out from."

Samir chuckled as the Fossil Maniac grew angry. "All right. Goodbye."

After leaving the Devon Corporation, Lapis walked south. The areas that gave him trouble before were no longer an issue. After walking for one hour, he returned to the portside city and rechecked himself back into the Pokémon Center. Though Nurse Touka was a little unhappy to see him again, she had no choice but to give him a room since his temporary ban ended.

With that out of the way, Lapis returned to the Petalburg City Gym. Though it was about four months since he last came in, the sights in the lobby were familiar.

Jim was walking around, looking at Norman's awards. When he noticed the Nuzlocker, he jumped.

"Damn it, Eurig! I didn't expect you to be here so early."

"It's just five minutes early."

"Oh, right. I guess the time just escaped me."

The man tried to hide his nervousness with a smile, but it made the Nuzlocker more wary.

"What's up with you? You're jumpier than usual, man."

The Gym guide sweated. "Uh… Well, I…"

"Look, I don't care, all right? Just give me your spiel, and I'll go do the maze, or whatever."

Jim rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… I'm sure you know about…how Normal types only have one weakness, and that's…that's…" He slammed his fist on the reception desk. "Damn it… I can't do it…"

"You okay, my guy?"

A familiar man stepped into the lobby from the back hallway, causing Lapis to clench his fists.

"Cowden…"

The PLA representative smirked. "Ah, Lapis. It's nice to see you again. This is your…fifth Gym now, is it? I'm impressed you made it this far."

"Why are you here instead of Hōfu?"

Ignoring the teen's rudeness, he calmly replied "She had other matters to attend to today. After all, she is in charge of the whole region, not just your challenge."

Lapis grew suspicious. "I see… If we're done here, I'm headin' inside."

After he turned to face the double doors, Arian said, "Good luck, Lapis Eurig."

The teen ignored him and walked into a small empty room with wooden mats and walls.

"What the? This ain't a maze…"

Then, he noticed two doors in front of him. The left one had a sign that read, "Speed Room"; the other door had the sign, "Accuracy Room".

Huh. So they're supposed to be teaching me about different strategies. As if I don't already know them.

Lapis burst into the Speed Room, where a Cooltrainer with reddish-pink hair waited.

The Trainer tossed his Poké Ball into the air and said, "I'm Randall, a Trainer that specializes in the Speed stat. So you're the Nuzlocke Trainer, Lapis Eurig. I've heard a lot about you from the boss."

"Oh, like what?"

"That you suck at battling and need a lesson in losing to fast Pokémon. Like my Swellow!"

The Cooltrainer sent out his Flying type, which was Level 26.

Lapis felt a pang of sadness seeing another Swellow, but he remained firm. "Go, Pearl!"

The Spoink materialized, bouncing.

Randall laughed. "That puny little Spoink isn't a match for the quickness of my Swellow! Use Wing Attack!"

As the Swallow Pokémon charged his wings, Lapis immediately showed Pearl's Great Ball and a Poké Ball. "Pearl, return! Go, Onyx!"

The Mightyena appeared and glared at the approaching blue Pokémon. Though she was able to lower his attack, the Swellow plowed into her. Onyx slid back and shook off the pain.

"Ha!" Randall scoffed. "So you have some skill after all, lowering Swellow's power with Intimidate. But it won't last in the long run if I'm faster! Wing Attack again!"

"Onyx, Bite!"

While being hit with a right wing, Onyx grabbed onto the left wing and shook the Swellow hard before throwing him into the air.

Randall grew nervous, but he shouted, "Swellow, straighten yourself and use Wing Attack again!"

The Flying type regained his balance, but before he could attack, the Mightyena leapt up.

"Onyx, finish Swellow with Bite!"

The two attacks collided, but the Dark type move was too much for her opponent. Onyx hurled him into the floor, where the Swellow remained motionless.

Randall gritted his teeth as he recalled his Pokémon. "Guess you know a thing about speed after all."

Lapis recalled Onyx and noticed two similar doors behind the defeated Trainer. One was named "Confusion Room" and the other was named "Defense Room".

As he was about to choose his next destination, Randall retorted, "You're gonna lose, Eurig! Your weak strategies won't beat the rest of my friends!"

Lapis smirked as he glanced back. "Says the one who lost to me. Tell your boss he ain't stoppin' me." He walked into the Confusion Room to continue his challenge.

Norman, the Petalburg City Gym Leader, and Arian Cowden watched Lapis battle another Cooltrainer and his Spinda from the former's office.

The PLA representative drummed his fingers on the desk. That little son of a Snubbull… How is he so good at battling?! This isn't how it's supposed to go!

Norman cleared his throat. "Is something on your mind, Mr. Cowden?"

Arian regained his composure. "O-Oh, it's nothing, Norman. I'm just…pleasantly surprised how well Mr. Eurig is performing. It's nice to verify the information from Ms. Hōfu's reports."

"I see. Is that the reason why you replaced my students, who were eager to help Lapis, with those you hired specifically for this challenge?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure the Trainers do not have any bias towards the Nuzlocke Trainer, Norman."

The Gym Leader looked at the screen, where the female Cooltrainer in the next room appeared to be mocking Lapis about something. Bias indeed.

"By the way, Mr. Cowden. I'm surprised you're here today as the PLA representative. I was unaware Ms. Hōfu was unavailable today."

The older man shrugged. "These kinds of things happen when you represent your region, Norman. I thought you would know, since you almost decided to work for us."

"Of course, I haven't forgotten."

After Lapis defeated the female Cooltrainer, he went back to the previous room.

Arian raised an eyebrow. "That was quick. Is he going to heal or something?"

Norman chuckled. "Yes, and I believe he's going to try the other route to get more experience. That means he'll be battling me soon. If you'll excuse me, I need to get the battlefield ready."

"You do that, Norman. Oh, and one more thing." His eyes bored into Norman's. "Keep in mind what I suggested, all right?"

"I'm still considering it, thank you, Mr. Cowden."

After the Gym Leader left the room, Arian slammed his fist onto the desk.

"Lapis Eurig, I'll make sure you lose a Pokémon in this Gym!"

After doing the second path to the end and healing, Lapis returned. He walked through the double doors and saw the small room he started in became a large, diagonal-shaped room. The Gym Leader he met all those months ago stood before him.

"Welcome back, Lapis," Norman greeted. "I can see you're much stronger since we last saw each other. And you didn't burst into the Gym when it was closed."

"Yeah, whatever, Norman…"

The Gym Leader raised an eyebrow. "You seem…tense…"

The teen looked at the man intensely. "I would be if that man's watchin'."

Norman glanced at the spectator bench and realized who Lapis was talking about. "Oh, don't worry about Mr. Cowden. He doesn't have any major power in this region."

"Huh, wish I could believe that."

The Gym Leader sighed before taking out a Great Ball. "I will do everything in my power to win. But I will do it with only my knowledge and skills, no tricks. Let's go, Prospero!"

A Level 27 Spinda wobbled on the field, as if he was drunk.

Lapis grimaced at the unusual Pokémon, but he recomposed himself. Looks like Norman's not under Cowden's influence. It should be okay, hopefully. "Go, Amethyst!"

The Gloom smiled, ready for her first Gym Leader battle.

Norman nodded. "Let's see how you handle this. Prospero, Psybeam!"

The Normal type shot an iridescent purple psychic beam at the Grass type, dealing quite a bit of damage.

The teen gritted his teeth. I knew Normal types could learn other types of moves, but I didn't expect this. "Amethyst, use Poisonpowder!"

She sprinkled a purple powder over her opponent, and he quivered from the poisonous spores.

Amethyst won't be able to survive another Psybeam. I gotta change tactics.

Norman waved his arm. "Prospero, trap Amethyst with Encore!"

The Spinda clapped his hands, causing a ring of glowing orange human hands to form over the Weed Pokémon.

"Oh no you don't! Amethyst, return!"

She went back to her ball, causing the hands to disappear.

Norman grinned. "Clever tactic. Who are you going to choose now?"

"I'll show you. Go, Onyx!"

The Mightyena appeared and growled, lowering Prospero's attack.

"Now, Onyx! Use Bite!"

The Dark type landed a decent hit, but the Gym Leader remained calm. "You may have stopped us from using Psybeam, but don't underestimate the strength of Normal type moves. Prospero, use Facade!"

The Spinda glowed orange and pushed Onyx back. She tumbled onto the ground before regaining her footing. Lapis frowned as he looked at the tablet.

That did a lot more damage than I thought.

"I can see you're puzzled, Lapis," Norman noted as he healed Prospero with a Hyper Potion. "Facade is a Normal type move that doubles in power if the user has a status condition."

Lapis bit his lip. "So you that's why you didn't react when Prospero became poisoned."

"When you work with Pokémon who are not strong against any type, you need to find strategies to give them that advantage."

The teen clenched his fists. "Then we'll do the same. Onyx, Tackle then follow up with Bite!"

She slammed into the dizzy Pokémon, dealing a good amount of damage. The bite to his left arm made his health go down to red.

"Prospero, use Facade!"

Onyx was thrown back by the Normal type move, dropping her health to yellow. She was able to stand up as Prospero shuddered from the poison and collapsed.

Norman wryly smiled. "It looks like the poison got to us first. Thanks for your help, Prospero."

"How do you feel, Onyx?" Lapis asked as the opposing Trainer returned his Pokémon.

Panting, she replied, "I…think…I need…a break."

He nodded and returned her. Norman smiled as he took out a Premier Ball. "Looks like I need to bring out all the stops. Let's go, Jackster!"

A Level 31 Slaking with a Sitrus Berry around his neck slammed onto the field, causing Lapis to almost lose balance.

He's using his strongest Pokémon already?! Then I should as well.

"Go, Zuli!"

The Swampert sized up his opponent, who yawned.

Norman crossed his arms. "Looks like you're getting bored already, Jackster. Let's get started then. Use Facade!"

The Lazy Pokémon slapped Zuli with a glowing orange arm, knocking him back.

"Zuli, Mud Shot!"

The Swampert landed a direct hit. Jackster wiped the mud that was sprayed at his face off before he laid on the field.

Norman motioned the challenger with his right hand. "Go ahead, Lapis. Jackster can't do anything right now."

Lapis was a little confused, but then he remembered what he researched. That's right. Slaking have the Truant Ability, so they skip a turn after attacking. But I need to be careful; who knows what Norman's strategy is.

"Zuli, Mud Shot!"

He sprayed more mud at his opponent, this time lowering Jackster's speed.

"Great, now we can go first. Mud Shot again!"

The Normal type was covered in more mud, but this time, he was ready.

Norman shouted, "Counter!"

Jackster stood up and pushed his hands through the stream of mud. The Nuzlocker's heart stopped as Zuli was hurt by a move known to knock out even the strongest Pokémon. Luckily, the Swampert's health only went down to yellow. The Lazy Pokémon then ate his Sitrus Berry, restoring some of his health.

Guess I need to be more careful using physical moves on Jackster. "Zuli, Water Gun!"

The Water type move, while doing some damage, washed away most of the mud on the loafing Jackster.

Seeing Zuli was beginning to pant, Lapis took out a Hyper Potion to heal him. They braced for another attack, but Norman surprised them.

"Jackster, use Yawn!"

The Slaking opened his mouth and yawned, causing a white cloud to fly out and hit Zuli's face. The Mud Fish Pokémon yawned in response and started to sway back and forth.

Oh no… He'll go to sleep the next turn, and I can't knock him out before that happens. Then Jackster will really go after Zuli. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

Seeing Jackster lie back on the floor, Lapis took out Zuli's Poké Ball. "Zuli, return! Go, Onyx!"

The two Pokémon exchanged places, and the Mightyena growled, lowering her opponent's attack.

Norman chuckled. "I see, you're taking a creative approach to taking advantage of Truant. Jackster, Counter!"

As the Slaking charged towards Onyx, Lapis smirked back. "Onyx, return!"

Once she returned to her ball, the Normal type was forced to stop the attack and return to his Trainer's side of the field.

"Go, Zuli!"

The Swampert returned to the battlefield, no longer sleepy.

Norman laughed as Jackster returned to his loafing. "Looks like I fell right into that one."

Lapis, now more confident, shouted, "Water Gun!"

Zuli struck several blasts of water at the Slaking before he regained his focus.

"Jackster, Facade!"

It was a strong hit, but still not as strong due to Zuli not having a status condition.

With Jackster low on health, Lapis triumphantly commanded, "Finish Jackster with Mud Shot!"

A strong stream of mud struck Jackster's chest, knocking him into the floor. This time, he wasn't loafing.

The rest of the match was easier. Zuli was able to take out Vince the Vigoroth and Diggy the Linoone with a barrage of Mud Shots and a critical hit Strength.

Norman, though disappointed, gave a strong smile. "Looks like you've beaten me, Lapis. It seems you and your Pokémon are well balanced in strength and skill."

"NO!" the sole spectator screamed.

The Gym Leader ignored the PLA representative and offered the winner a gray pin with two dark gray loops connected by a dark gray rod and a TM labeled "TM 42". "The Balance Badge and the Facade TM are yours, Lapis."

The Nuzlocker returned the Swampert took his prizes. "Thanks, I guess…"

"That's the first time I heard you thank me. I appreciate it."

"Well, I know you ain't that bad, since you ain't workin' with Cowden."

"You could tell that right away?"

Lapis scoffed. "Guess it was good I met you earlier. Otherwise…who knows what would've happened during the Gym battle."

Seeing the teen glance away made Norman place his hand on Lapis' right shoulder. "Lapis, trust your instincts and don't let others get to you. You're still growing as a person and a Trainer."

"Sure…" Lapis nodded and returned to the lobby.

There, Arian was venting to Jim. "Honestly! All Norman had to do was make one of Lapis' Pokémon faint!"

The Gym guide rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he tried, Mr. Cowden."

"Shut it, Taiji!"

Lapis growled, "So that's why you're here. You tryin' to make me lose the bet?"

Arian recomposed himself and sneered, "And what if I am? A person with your background… You should never be able to succeed."

"What's ya problem with me?!"

"What's with all the commotion?!" Norman yelled as he entered the lobby. Once he saw the PLA representative, he said, "Mr. Cowden, please leave. You're causing a disturbance."

Not wanting to get on the Gym Leader's bad side, Arian threw Lapis a CD case.

"There, the HM for Surf. Ms. Hōfu was supposed to give it to you."

Finally, a decent move. "Good, now get outta here."

Once he did, Norman shook his head. "I don't know what's gotten over him these past few weeks."

Jim glanced at them before excusing himself.

"Him too. Looks like it's been tense at the PLA."

"Whatcha mean?'

"Don't worry about it, Lapis. You should focus on your challenge. Have a safe journey to Fortree City. It'll be a long one."

Lapis sighed as he returned to the Pokémon Center. Why does the Gym have to be so far?!

When the teen was out of sight, Norman leaned on the reception desk and reflectively smiled. Lapis Eurig… If only Kei and Esmeralda can see you now…

Questions for the Chapter:

What did you think of the Gym battle?

Why is Arian Cowden bent on making Lapis lose the bet?

How does Norman know about Lapis' parents?