After arriving on Mossdeep Island, Summer and her friends visited the Mossdeep Space Center to obtain data relating to Rayquaza. There, they met the Gym Leaders, Tate and Liza, who told her that they were offering an option to challenge them either with a double or multi battle. Aster offered to help Summer, so the pair trained together with their selected partners. Will Summer and Aster be able to defeat the twins despite their limited experience working together?
Chapter 50- A Match in Orbit
After a few days of training, Aster and I rested on the beach. It was dark, but the moon and stars provided enough light to illuminate our surroundings. Olive and Athebyne made a really good team, but there was still one issue.
"I hope Athebyne and I do not ruin your chances of winning, Summer," the Draconid said with a worried look. "He is still struggling with mastering a new Dragon type move, even with assistance from your Steelix."
"It's okay, Aster. We did our best to prepare, so we'll have to give it our all tomorrow."
She smiled. "You are right. I feel a little nervous, but also excited. Is this how you feel before a Gym battle?"
Chuckling, I responded, "That's actually how I feel every battle. Though Weldon has been helping me become more calm and focused."
"I see. I am eager to learn those techniques as well if you are able to teach me."
"Of course!"
Yuki and Ichigo ran over. "Hey, you two. Ready to head back?"
I was about to respond when Aster shouted, "Oh look! Meteors!"
We looked up and saw several streaks of white and yellow illuminate the night sky.
"Wow!" I gasped. "I've never seen shooting stars before."
"Me neither," Yuki added. "Maybe I can use them as inspiration for my Wallace Cup performance."
"That's a good idea, Yuki." I looked at Aster and saw she was tearing up. "Are you okay, Aster?"
She wiped her eyes. "Oh, yes. It's just…I never thought I'd get to see meteors outside my home. They may be far away, but I can still see them."
I felt her heart ache. "Do you miss home, Aster?"
"Yes, and Zinnia too. But I knew I had to leave; it is my duty as the Lorekeeper. I just hope my actions are able to save the region from disaster."
I nodded. Me too…
The next day…
We met at the center of town before heading east to the Gym. The building had a dome-shaped roof with a crosshatch pattern, which was held up by an upside down orange crown frame.
We entered through the glass doors and saw the lobby was decorated as if we were floating in outer space. The trophy cases looked like rocket ships, and the plants were unusually shaped succulents. With the windows surrounding the circular structure, the natural light made the stars painted on the ceiling almost shine.
Aster was awed by the atmosphere. "I have never seen a building like this before. Is this how all the Gyms look like, Summer?"
I grinned. "Not all of them, but they can get pretty elaborate depending on the Gym Leader's, or in this case Gym Leaders', interests." Seeing a woman with dark blue hair and glasses at the sleek steel registration desk, I walked over there. "Hi, my friend and I are here for our Gym challenge."
After giving her the pink ticket, she smiled as she adjusted the white collar on her green dress. "Ah, I figured you are the Trainers my daughter has been talking about for the past few days. I'm Rachel, Tate and Liza's mother."
"It's nice to meet you, Rachel."
"Likewise, Summer." She checked us in and motioned to the main doors. "You and Aster can head in whenever you're ready. Yuki, the bleachers are past that door."
We thanked her and walked through our respective doors. To my surprise, the lobby's theme continued into the battlefield room. The craggy field and planets and comets hanging from the ceiling made it look like we were on the moon. The bleachers and television, however, brought us back down to earth.
As I mentally prepared myself, I saw Aster was shaking a little. "Aster, take some deep breaths."
She did so, and she smiled. "Thank you, Summer."
The twin Gym Leaders entered from the opposite side through a set of doors with a large pink heart painted on them. One was definitely more excited than the other.
"Can you believe it, Tate? It's finally time for us to battle Summer and Aster!"
Tate sighed. "Yes… You've been telepathically saying that in my head for the past few days… Still, I'm interested to see how strong they really are."
His sister laughed. "That's the spirit, Tate." Liza gave us a wave. "Summer, Aster! Are you ready?"
We nodded, and Rachel entered the referee's box.
"This match is a multi battle, featuring Summer Scorcher from Littleroot Town and Aster from Meteor Falls vs Tate and Liza, the Mossdeep City Gym Leaders. Each Trainer will use one Pokémon each with no substitutions, and the challengers will have the first move. The winners will be decided when both opponents' Pokémon are unable to battle. Tate and Liza, please choose your Pokémon!"
The Gym Leaders each took out a Timer Ball.
"Yōta, enter into orbit!"
"Tsuki, follow Yōta!"
The Solrock and Lunatone emerged from their balls, levitating over the field.
"Go, Olive!"
"Ad caelum, Athebyne!"
The Grovyle and Flygon stood side by side, glaring at their floating opponents.
Rachel shouted as she waved her arms, "Battle begin!"
"All right, Aster. Are you ready?"
"Yes. We will follow your lead, Summer and Olive."
Nodding, I shouted, "Olive, use Quick Attack on Yōta!"
"Athebyne, provide Olive cover with Rock Slide!"
The Grass type dashed forward as the Mystic Pokémon rained large boulders onto the other side of the field.
The twins smirked. "Interesting tactic," Tate mused aloud. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Liza?"
"Of course. Tsuki, Helping Hand!"
The Lunatone surrounded itself with a gold aura, which eventually transferred to its partner.
The boy grinned. "Thanks for the boost, Tsuki. Yōta, Signal Beam!"
The Solrock fired a rainbow-colored beam through the falling boulders. To our shock, the move ricocheted off the rocks until it hit Olive. The super effective attack knocked her back, but the Rock Slide still hit the two Meteorite Pokémon.
"I…I never saw a Signal Beam move like that before," Aster said as our opponents' Pokémon recovered.
I frowned. "It's likely because of Helping Hand, one of the main moves in double battles. It'll be an issue for us if Tsuki keeps using it."
Tate pumped his right fist. "Now we have the upper hand! Yōta, use Charge Beam on Olive!"
"Tsuki, set up a Reflect!"
The moon-shaped Pokémon set up a pink translucent barrier as the sun-shaped Pokémon shot a beam of electricity at the hurt Grovyle.
"Athebyne, protect Olive!"
The Flygon grabbed the Grass type and flew up, dodging the Charge Beam.
"Thanks, Aster. Olive, use Leaf Blade on Tsuki!"
After being released by her partner, the Wood Gecko Pokémon slashed the moon Meteorite Pokémon with her right arm. The Lunatone was hurt, but it was still floating.
Liza smiled. "Looks like we're right, Tate. They only have physical attacking moves."
"And the Reflect will keep their other moves at bay. Let's continue with our plan."
His sister nodded, making me and Aster more cautious.
"Olive, use Leaf Blade on Yōta!"
The Grovyle extended the leaves on her arms and charged at the Psychic type. She landed a powerful direct hit despite the Reflect giving it some protection. But as she retreated via a backflip, Liza made her move.
"Tsuki, Gravity!"
The Lunatone created a dark swirling aura around its body. Olive was forced onto the field by the heavy gravitational pull, and the three Levitate Ability Pokémon were also affected.
"An interesting tactic," Aster said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "But why would they give up their Ground move protection?"
I grew worried. "It's almost as if…they expected us to not have Ground type moves."
The Draconid flinched. "I knew I shouldn't have swapped Sand Tomb for that move…"
"It's all right," I reassured. "We'll use it when the time comes."
Tate smiled at his sister. "Excellent decision, Liza. Now, Yōta! Use Earth Power on Athebyne!"
The Solrock glowed yellow as it focused its power on the area below the Dragon type.
Aster shouted, "Athebyne, Iron Tail!"
He charged his tail as the ground erupted. The Dragon type winced in pain from the move, but he was able to recover thanks to slamming his silver tail into the ground, reducing the impact from the fall.
His Trainer asked, "Athebyne, are you all right?"
The Flygon nodded, but he looked a little dejected.
"Don't give up yet, Athebyne," Olive encouraged. "We still have a ways to go."
This made her partner feel better, and it made me feel proud of Olive's progress as a battler.
The Gym Leaders then prepared their next combination.
"Tsuki, Helping Hand!"
"Yōta, fire another Signal Beam at Olive!"
The sun Meteorite Pokémon fired another supercharged rainbow beam at the Grass type. But this time, I wouldn't let them land another hit.
"Olive, Double Team!"
She made several copies of herself, and the Signal Beam hit one of them.
Aster took advantage of the twins' stunned reaction. "Athebyne, use Iron Tail on Yōta!"
The Flygon dashed forward and swung his silver tail at the Solrock, dealing another strong blow. It survived due to the Reflect, but it was having trouble staying upright.
I glanced at my partner. "Follow my lead, Aster. Olive, use Fury Cutter on Yōta!"
The Grovyle copies ran forward as their leaves glowed light green.
Tate gritted his teeth. "Liza?"
"I'm on it. Tsuki, use Psychic to find the real Olive!"
The Rock type closed its eyes and surrounded itself with a magenta aura. All of the copies were stopped in their tracks and hurled back to our side of the field. They disappeared except for the real Olive. The Grass type struggled to stand, giving Tate an opportunity.
"Yōta, use Charge Beam on Olive!"
As the Solrock charged the attack, Aster pointed to the hurt Pokémon. "Athebyne, protect Olive!"
The Flygon stood in front of his partner and braced himself. He took the Electric type move well due to his immunity, and I saw an opening.
"Now, Aster!"
"Right. Athebyne, counter with Giga Drain!"
"Oh no!" the twins shouted simultaneously.
The Flygon raised his wings, which started to glow green. A ring of the same colored energy floated over Yōta and shot beams at its body, absorbing a large amount of energy. Athebyne looked much better while the Solrock started to teeter.
"Stay strong, Yōta!" its Trainer encouraged. Once it regained its original position, Tate looked at his sister.
She nodded and shouted, "Tsuki, Helping Hand!"
It again powered up its partner, and I had a feeling who they were going to target.
"Yōta, use Earth Power on Olive!"
"Olive, Double Team!"
The Grovyle immediately copied herself, and the pinpoint eruption pierced a decoy.
"Not again!" Tate moaned.
This distracted the twins long enough for Aster to counterattack. "Athebyne, attack Tsuki with Iron Tail!"
The Mystic Pokémon charged forward and slammed the moon Meteorite Pokémon with the super effective attack. The force knocked the Lunatone into its partner, and they slowly rose from the ground.
Tate smirked. "You two are pretty good. But we won't lose so easily."
"Tate's right!" Liza added, flashing a smile. "Let's show them the true power of double battles!"
"Yōta, Rock Slide!"
"Tsuki, control the boulders with Psychic!"
The Solrock summoned its own cascade of boulders, and the Lunatone used its psychic powers to narrow the space our Pokémon could try to escape.
Aster stayed calm and said, "Let us show them our teamwork, Summer."
"Yeah. Olive, guide Athebyne through the Rock Slide!"
With her higher speed, the Grass type leapt from rock to rock, showing the Dragon type where to step on. The rocks tried to crush them, but they were able to get them to smash into each other and break apart. When they got close to the two Meteorite Pokémon, they locked onto the Lunatone.
"Leaf Blade and Giga Drain combo!" we shouted together.
The Grass type moves were too much for Tsuki to handle, and it fell onto the battlefield.
"Tsuki is unable to battle!" Rachel shouted.
Liza sadly returned her Pokémon as the Reflect barrier began to fade. "Sorry, Tate."
"It's all right, Liza. I got this." He took a deep breath and shouted, "Use Earth Power on Athebyne!"
The Solrock focused its energy into the ground under the Flygon. But when they started to levitate further off the ground, the Gym Leader's face fell.
"It looks like Gravity's effects are wearing off," I told Aster. "You ready?"
"Whenever you are, Summer." After giving a nod, the Draconid shouted, "Athebyne, prepare for transport!"
He nodded and dodged the eruption easily.
"Olive, jump onto Athebyne's back!"
She did so, and they flew towards the lonely Solrock.
"Iron Tail!"
"Leaf Blade!"
Olive leapt up, allowing Athebyne to swing his silver tail under Yōta. The Psychic type was hurled into the air, where a glowing leaf appendage slammed into its face. Yōta collided into the battlefield and was motionless.
Rachel waved her arms. "Yōta is unable to battle! The winners of this match are Summer and Aster!"
"Great job, Olive!" I praised as I ran towards my Pokémon. "You won your first official Gym battle!"
She gave me a hug and replied, "Thanks, Summer."
I looked at our partners. Aster stood frozen in place until her Flygon nudged her.
"Are you okay, Aster?" I asked.
She petted her partner and smiled. "Yes… It's just that…battling in a Gym was much more exciting than I anticipated. I'm so happy we won!"
Laughing, I replied, "Me too, thanks to you and Athebyne."
Tate and Liza walked towards us with smiling faces.
"That was AMAZING!" Liza squealed. "We haven't had a battle like that in a long time, haven't we, Tate?"
"I have to admit, I can see why Liza's a big fan of yours, Summer. You and Aster battled well even though you weren't a team for that long."
"And we didn't expect you to have a special attacking move at all! Guess we still got a lot to learn from multi battles."
Tate nodded. The twins each pulled out a pink heart pin that formed an empty teardrop shape in the center.
"We present you two with the Mind Badge as proof of your victory!" they exclaimed in unison.
We accepted our prizes, and after saying our goodbyes and returning our Pokémon, returned to the lobby. Just as Yuki, Ichigo, and Lightning rejoined us, a man with short brown hair and tan skin entered the building. He wore a gray suit with a silver space rocket pin on his lapel.
"Jin!" Rachel exclaimed as she left the battlefield room. "I thought you were in a meeting."
He chuckled, hugging her. "We were able to finish early, but it seems that I missed the Gym match."
"Well, lucky for you, your kids will talk all about it at dinner."
Jin then saw us and grinned. "You must be Summer and Yuki. Aster and my daughter told me all about you. I'm Jin, their father and the director of the Space Center."
"It's nice to meet you, Jin," I said with a polite bow. Yuki repeated my gesture.
Aster held her breath. "Do you have the data I requested, Mr. Jin?"
"Yes, I do. Here you go; please make sure this information does not leave your person, Aster."
He handed the Draconid a thin stack of papers.
"Of course, thank you."
We said our goodbyes and left the Gym.
"Where do you want to celebrate, Summer and Aster?" Yuki asked. "I can see if I can get a dinner reservation."
"Let's let Aster decide since this is her first Gym battle," I suggested.
I turned to her and saw she was examining Jin's data.
"Aster?"
"O-Oh. I apologize, Summer. Any restaurant is fine with me. It is just that…we will need to leave and travel southwest starting tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.
"Based on the data I am seeing so far, there has been a disruption of ozone near Pacifidlog Town within the last week."
I gasped. "Y-You mean?"
"Yes. Rayquaza has returned."
Summer's Pokémon:
Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, Blaze Ability, moves: Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick, Sky Uppercut
Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, Keen Eye Ability, moves: Psychic, Hypnosis, Air Slash, Heat Wave
Aurora (Dewgong, female): Calm Nature, Thick Fat Ability, moves: Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Aqua Tail, Signal Beam
Lightning (Raichu, female): Adamant Nature, Static Ability, moves: Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch, Grass Knot
Rocky (Steelix, male): Lonely Nature, Rock Head Ability, moves: Stone Edge, Crunch, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail
Olive (Grovyle, female): Timid Nature, Overgrow Ability, moves: Fury Cutter, Double Team, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack
Yuki's Pokémon:
Momo (Wartortle, male): Quiet Nature, Torrent Ability, moves: Water Pulse, Rapid Spin, Blizzard, Aqua Tail
Ume (Swellow, female): Adamant Nature, Guts Ability, moves: Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Double Team, Swift
Ichigo (Minun, male): Sassy Nature, Minus Ability, moves: Discharge, Encore, Helping Hand, Rollout
Kiui (Jumpluff, female): Jolly Nature, Chlorophyll Ability, moves: Sunny Day, Silver Wind, Solarbeam, Giga Drain
Mikan (Quilava, male): Bold Nature, Blaze Ability, moves: Facade, Flame Wheel, Brick Break, Smokescreen
Koko (Vaporeon, female): Rash Nature, Water Absorb Ability, moves: Rain Dance, Haze, Iron Tail, Water Pulse
Questions for the Chapter:
Will Athebyne learn a new Dragon type move?
What did you think of the Gym battle?
Will Summer and her group be able to meet Rayquaza in time?
