Author's Note: No, I haven't given up on this story. School started back recently and I haven't had the time to write much. Have an extra long chapter as my apology.
Chapter Nine - Challenge
Soon after we finished breakfast and cleaned up the campsite, Ed, Toothpick and I were finally making our way south to Slateport City. I kept Saul tucked away in his pokéball to prevent Ed from getting distracted, and that seemed to be enough to keep him on course. We spent our morning just talking and having fun, because I knew for a fact it would be a busy day once I got to the city.
I had checked my PokéNav messages earlier, and I sent replies to anyone I felt deserved one; specifically, Dr. Georgio, Joules, and my mom. I did shoot Mr. Clay an email as well. Even though we haven't met yet, it's still polite to introduce yourself. Everyone else wasn't worth the effort at this point. If anyone asked me in person, I had plans to explain it as succinctly as I could, but I know better than to try and convince the general public that the local news was fabricated. That's just asking to dig myself into a deeper hole.
It was around noon when the team and I made it to the city. Thankfully there was no fanfare or crowd there to swarm me, but I didn't drop my guard. While not as expansive as Mauville, Slateport is still a really big place, and anything could happen. I elected to make a straight shot to the Pokémon Center, heal my party, and make it to the Gym with as little interference as I could hope for. While not really a disguise, I did decide to take my Go-Goggles off and put on a ball cap and face mask, and as much as he protested I recalled Toothpick to his ball as well. I also made completely certain to take off my Ranger badge and change into a plain black t-shirt rather than my normal outfit. The fewer people that recognize me, the faster I get out of here and start making my way to Unova.
I made it to the Center in short order, and had a quick conversation with the nurse on duty to have her send my team back for healing. Hopefully I don't need to rent a room tonight; if at all possible I'd like to camp out after my Gym battle and get on the first ship out of here tomorrow morning. Time to be efficient and precise with the moves I make for these next couple of days.
While the team is back in the healing room, I stop over at the mart located in the Center to replenish our supplies. Breakfast for myself and three ravenous pokémon will empty the pantry faster than you could blink. I'm still stocked up on healing items and other trainer necessities, but basic things like food and water are always helpful. I also take this time to get a good set of sunglasses; they work just as well as a way to obscure my identity as they do for eye protection, and I have a feeling I'll need both for this upcoming journey.
It's at this point I hear a strangely familiar voice, and I look over to see that my interview is being broadcast on a few of the televisions in the Center. It's a little bit unsettling seeing yourself on the local news saying things that were taken completely out of context. I'm really glad I took precautions earlier, as a handful of people that had been in the Center prior were beginning to form a crowd and start gossiping to each other about the interview. I heard a couple of people say my name in hushed tones, and that disturbing feeling only multiplied. I wonder if this is how celebrities feel when they're trying to hide from the press after a big scandal.
After watching my interview for a few minutes, I get back to my shopping and hurry up to check out. The faster I can get out of here, the better. I pack everything away into my bag, and thankfully right on time I see my team return from their healing session. As I make my way over to pick them up, the nurse whispers to me in hushed tones.
"Hey, are you that Ranger in the interview...? Hardly anyone around here has a Sandile, after all."
I sigh, closing my eyes in defeat before nodding.
"Yeah, it's me. Please don't make a big deal about it. That Gabby lady manipulated what I actually said in my interview. I don't think it's nearly as serious as the TV is portraying it to be. I truly don't believe there's killer wild Pokémon out there, and I'm not even a Ranger anymore. This whole thing has gotten out of hand."
She nodded in solemn understanding, handing me my party.
"If at all possible, could you try and reassure anyone that comes through here panicking about it?" I asked hesitantly. "I think I need to keep a low profile right now, but you can tell whoever asks that you've spoken to me and that the interview is blowing it way out of proportion. Even if not for me, just to try and help them feel a little safer."
She agrees with me readily, happy to hear it straight from the source. I give her my thanks, before exiting the Center to immediately start making my way to the Gym. Luckily it wasn't much of a walk before I made it to my destination. Slateport was an industrial city in some areas thanks to the large shipyards and ports, but for the most part it had been designed to be easily walkable, and the sidewalks were well paved.
The Gym itself was in the harbor, so I got a nice whiff of the salty sea air and the fish living in the area. When the building was in sight, I took a moment to stare out to the horizon, and I saw storm clouds brewing miles out into the distance. It looked as if it might rain in the next few hours. I really hope this doesn't interfere with my voyage. I took this opportunity away from prying eyes to call out the team and give them a quick update.
"Alright! First off: I'm sorry for putting you away Toothpick - you know I love you. Right now we're in a bit of a sticky situation, so the plan is to fight this gym and get everything taken care of as quickly as we can so we can ship off to Unova ASAP. That means we're not playing around here: no holding back this time, gang. This is our ticket out of Hoenn, and I know you're all completely qualified, but they need to see it for themselves."
I sat down on the sidewalk with them and made direct eye contact with Ed for this next part.
"This might be your first gym battle, but just judging by our battle earlier, I know you're probably even stronger than you give yourself credit for. But just to be on the safe side, I want to give you a present to prove how much faith I have in you."
He cocked his head curiously, and I reached into my bag and grabbed the Technical Machine Dr. Georgio had given to me, setting it in my lap so he could get a good look at it.
"This little disc is able to teach you a special technique. I got it from a good friend of mine, and I want you to be the one to learn it. I already know you're tough enough to take this gym down, but this will come in handy both in our battle today and while we're exploring in the future. I saw the way you were kicking Saul around in our battle, and I think this move would be a perfect fit for you. What do you say?"
Ed stares at it blankly for a second, before leaning in and licking the disc. Suddenly it glows a bright orange color, and Ed blinks quickly a few times at the sudden change. He plods over to a part of the sidewalks we're sitting away from, and stomps on the concrete with a powerful strike, completely shattering it where he stood. His eyes widened in surprise more than I thought he was capable of, before he got excited and started Rock Smashing anything he could come across; sidewalk, rocks, the concrete supports of the docks, even things in his path that weren't rocks. That poor fire hydrant never stood a chance. I never expected a Technical Machine could be learned through licking them, but I guess you learn something new every day. I laugh at his antics, before I have to call him back over to me and rein him back in.
"Well it seems you've already got the hang of it, so how about we take that new power of yours down to the Gym and show those steel types what we're made of? Toothpick, you'll be fighting second today, I want Ed to get some practice in. This isn't a very good match-up for you, Saul, so we'll keep you held back unless things go totally wrong. Alright! Who's ready to get our next badge?"
The team all cried out in agreement, so I recalled them and started quickly making my way away from Edward's path of destruction and towards the gym before any sailors saw who was responsible.
Not ten minutes later, we made it to the Gym, and I spoke with the receptionist to let her know I was here for my battle appointment. I'll have to thank that officer later, as it didn't take much time at all before we were greeted by a tall thin man with hair that had gone silver with age and wearing a neat brown suit. He shakes my hand and invites me to follow him down a long hallway towards the arena, speaking over his shoulder to me as we walked.
"Ah, there you are! I've been expecting you, Mister Samiel. My name is Aleister, the Gym Leader here in Slateport City, and thanks to the local news, I already know exactly who you are. Officer Forrest gave me his summary of the events just a little while ago, and I understand why you've got your face covered. That show is well known for deliberately incensing the public with inflammatory and dubious media coverage, and it seems to have worked a charm even better than normal this time. I've even heard a few members of my staff muttering about it, but I made sure to correct them and remind them of the effects of idle gossip. But I'm sure you're already tired of that topic - and you're safe from the public here. Now! Shall we get to our business?"
Grateful for his kindness, I slipped my mask and hat off and stuck them back in my bag. I took a look around our battlefield, and thankfully there was no music booming through the speaker system this time. Large steel girders maintained the integrity of the room, it seemed this gym serves a dual purpose as a warehouse for the port as well. There were metal platforms strewn about the field, most likely used for tactical strategy and to give battles an extra dimension of height to consider when fighting. Other than that, it was a fairly simple and spartan arena, a plain dirt floor and plenty of lighting, and I was confident my team would be more than prepared for this.
"Absolutely! I've been looking forward to this. I'm grateful for you taking my challenge on such short notice. I'm not sure how much the officer told you, but I am in a somewhat time-sensitive situation, so your acceptance makes my time here in Slateport a lot simpler. I'm ready to battle if you are."
He smiles warmly, shaking my hand once more before directing me to my podium and heading off to his own. I step up the ladder on my side of the field, and maybe it's because this is the Steel type gym, but their trainer entry system is surprisingly even more advanced than the Mauville City one. I slip my trainer card into the respective slot, and my information is immediately made known to their database. It's at this point Aleister calls out to the field in a voice louder than I would have expected from him.
"Welcome, Trainer! I am Sir Aleister of the Royal Kalosian Chivalric Order, and today I'll be defending my title as the Slateport City Gym Leader against your challenge! Shall you win, you will be awarded our Anchor Badge and granted all privileges associated with it! I shall be using three pokémon today, the challenger may use up to six, and either trainer loses when their party is completely unable to battle! Are you ready, challenger?"
Oh, he's literally a knight. That explains why he talks like that. I'm a little more concerned about our chances now, there's no telling what a knight uses for their team. Oh well, too late to back out now.
"Ready to go! Edward, it's on you!"
My Mudbray appears on the field and stomps the ground confidently, knocking up some dust in excited anticipation.
"Wonderful! Time to show your might, Honedge! Fury Cutter, don't hesitate!"
His pokémon materializes out of its ball with an eerie metallic cry. Honedge is one that I'm not particularly acquainted with, but that doesn't seem to faze Ed at all, and he leaps out of the way of the incoming slash. Without time to check it out in my Pokédex, I decide it's best to charge ahead and match its aggression.
"Don't give it an opening! Rock Smash it to the ground!"
Edward leaps into the air after the floating blade and attempts to stomp it out of the air, but thanks to my own ignorance with the species I didn't realize it wouldn't be effective. Ed's attack phases through the Honedge and he falls back to the ground unceremoniously, thankfully rolling with the impact and hopping back to his feet. It's at this point I realize it must be a Ghost type, so I have to switch tactics.
"Sorry Ed, Rock Smash isn't going to work! Plan B, start making mud!"
Mudbray are known for their capacity for creating large amounts of mud, so he starts running in circles and stomping the ground as he runs, turning the dusty dirt of the arena beneath him into a mud pit.
"Now's your chance Honedge! Shadow Sneak!"
If a sword could smile, I'm sure it would have. It dives into the shadows beneath one of the metal platforms around the arena, disappearing from sight momentarily.
"Just ignore it for now! You'll be okay, just keep doing what you're doing!"
Even after my mistake earlier, my pokémon trusts my judgment and continues expanding the mire forming beneath him. It's at this point the Honedge comes back into sight, and it spears itself at Ed at a high speed.
"Here it comes Ed! Splash it!"
Bracing for impact, he leaps into the air and flops in the mud at the same time as the Shadow Sneak attack connects. He takes the hit and grunts in pain, but thanks to his substantial weight, the splashed mud coats both himself and the Honedge. Aleister's brow furrows since he knows what's coming next.
"Hurry Honedge, get the mud off!"
"Don't give it the chance Ed! Bulldoze, full power!"
As the blade pokémon attempts to swing itself around to shake off the mud coating, Ed leaps into the air again with hardened mud coating his hooves and slams his whole weight into the opponent. They both slam to the ground back into the pit, and Ed hops back a distance to prepare for the next attack, but it's at that point we notice the Honedge has been knocked out and lays in the mud motionless. Aleister nods slowly, recalling his unconscious pokémon and grabbing his next ball.
"You fought well, Honedge. It's your turn, Beldum!"
This one I am pretty knowledgeable about, and the cyclopean magnet floats motionless a few feet above the ground, eye locked directly on Edward.
"This one's going to be tough Ed! Double Kick!"
My teammate charges straight for Beldum, who simultaneously begins shooting through the air to meet Edward head-on. Right before they collide, Ed does a 180 and kicks the foe twice with his powerful hind legs. The Beldum doesn't seem to have taken all that much damage, but the collision was enough to knock it off course and send it careening off to slam into one of the metal platforms on the field.
"Don't give up Beldum! Iron Head!"
The magnetic pokémon's dome gleamed in the light, similar to the way Saul does when he defends, and hurled itself towards Eddy once again. He was ready for this however, and repeated the attack from a moment ago, except this time striking from the front with a Rock Smash without my direction. This attack seemed to do significantly more damage, and everyone involved in the battle noticed it as well. Beldum had taken a fairly substantial dent from Edward's hoof impacting it with that much speed and power.
"That's not going to be enough, Beldum! Use your last resort!"
Ed and I made eye contact in apprehension, and he leapt back closer to my podium. I watched with eyes wide as Beldum's eye began to glow, which quickly spread to the rest of its body as a form of energy began to concentrate right in front of it. As I saw it began to coalesce into an attack, I knew I didn't have much time.
"Eddy, this is going to be a big one - just like before, Bulldoze it with all your strength!"
He nodded at me in understanding, leaning down into a four-legged version of a sprinter's stance, before streaking across the field with as much speed as I've ever seen from him. He jumped and soared high into the air, landing on one of the metal platforms while maintaining his velocity, before jumping a second time off the platform to hurtle himself hooves-first at the Beldum with as much momentum as he could. The Beldum took the opportunity of seeing him coming straight at it in midair, and got ready to fire off its attack.
"You know what to do! Beldum, Steel Beam!"
As Edward was right about to make contact, Beldum let all the energy it had gathered loose directly as my teammate, resulting in a massive blast of concussion force I could feel all the way back at my podium. The attack caused a swirling cloud of dust to obscure our view from the two combatants, and I waited in anticipation to see what the outcome of the blast had been.
Soon enough the dust cleared, and both pokémon lay on the ground unmoving. Aleister and I both called for our teammates, hoping they'd be okay enough to get up and continue the fight. By some miracle, the first one to stand was Edward, stumbling and lurching to his feet, and Beldum remained on the floor unconscious. The automated referee announced that Beldum was unable to battle, and Eddy brayed loudly in pride of his conquest. He limped his way over to me, and it looks like he must have injured his leg in that last attack. I leaned as far off my podium as I could without getting disqualified to praise him for a job well done.
"That was incredible! I can't believe you got up from that! Are you okay? I'm trusting you to let me know if you've had enough. Toothpick is happy to finish the battle off, but it's up to you. Today's your show."
He made clear eye contact with me and huffed, determined to prove he's able to keep going and keep fighting. He's as stubborn as... well, as a Mudbray. I nod back, ruffling his fur and sending him back into the fray.
"I can see you're no novice, challenger, so I'll honor you by finishing this battle with my oldest partner. As long as he's still around, we're still in this fight. Lairon, en garde!"
Aleister sends out his final pokémon, and I can see he wasn't exaggerating about this being his oldest partner. Lairon was beaten and worn from decades of battles, scars and dents pockmarked all across his metal carapace. I began to worry that keeping Ed on the field was a bit of a mistake, but he seemed to only grow more excited at this newest test. Even with his wounded leg, he stomped at the ground to challenge his foe, who roared out in response.
"Ed, you're faster than him! Outrun him and aim for a Rock Smash!"
"Lairon, wait until he approaches, then Iron Tail!"
Edward started darting in zigzags across the field, his speed belying his injured leg. He dashed around the metal scaffoldings, attempting to disorient his opponent, before running up from behind Lairon and striking with one of his undamaged hind legs. His attack landed cleanly and Lairon roared out in distress, the hit leaving a large dent in one of the metal scales covering his back, but the attack didn't distract Lairon from his plan, and his heavy steel tail slammed into Ed's side. Ed cried out in pain, unprepared for how powerful the attack would be, and is sent flying and tumbling across the dusty field.
After crashing into the ground hard, Ed tries to get his footing, clearly winded and hurt badly, but Lairon doesn't give him the opportunity to recover. He charges in headfirst, metal head gleaming in the stadium lights, and headbutts my teammate at full strength. This attack sends him soaring across the field again, but this time he slams hard into one of the metal platforms, and falls to the floor in a crumpled heap, unable to move or stand after this last impact. I sigh, regretting not recalling him before he was too badly hurt, and call him back into his ball to give him the respite he deserves.
Toothpick scuttles off my shoulder to my feet, knowing it's his turn to fight, and I can tell immediately that he's raring to go. He can be highly defensive of his friends, and seeing Ed hurt like that had sharpened his focus to a razor's edge.
"You know what to do, Toothpick. Start digging!"
He leaps into the fray and immediately burrows under the ground, setting the pace and carving his usual tunnels under the field to give himself the advantage. Lairon keeps his cool however, probably having experienced countless battles with subterranean pokémon like Toothpick, and waits patiently for where he'll inevitably surface. To his credit though, Toothpick doesn't attack immediately, and hops back out of the ground in several places across the field. I can tell he's already thinking about how we won the last gym battle, but I don't think Operation: Trapinch will cut it here though, so I let him know as such.
"Great job! Sharpen up, it's time to get started!"
He gets the hint and starts sharpening his claws against the ground. We can both tell just from how Ed's battle went that this Lairon is as tough as they come, and we need all the power we can get. Without any command from me, he dives back into one of his tunnels to begin his assault. I see Lairon begin to brace himself when I see his metal hide start to shine with an Iron Defense, and it looks like he and Aleister can see this battle isn't going to be easy.
Like a shot out of a cannon, Toothpick launches out of one of his tunnels at Lairon, slashing at him nimbly as he shoots past him without giving any opportunity for a counterattack. To his credit, Lairon hunkers down in one place, guarding any weak point from Toothpick's relentless assault. After his slash and run, he dives back into his web of tunnels and repeats the process, making quick attacks and darting off before he takes any hits in return. A safe strategy, but I'm sure it's one Aleister's seen before judging by their calm demeanor. But as I'm keeping an eye on my opponent, I see his façade fall, and his face morphs into an expression of genuine concern.
Looking back at the battle, I can see exactly what caught the Leader's eye to have him so worried: there's a literal crack forming in Lairon's armor, and Toothpick is deliberately aiming for it to widen it further. It looks like it's exactly where Ed's Rock Smash hit earlier, and I know Toothpick knew it too. Lairon elects to break from his position to try and bat Toothpick away as he attacked, but he knew better and was prepared for it when he flipped out of the way of Lairon's rage.
"Don't give him the chance, Lairon! Take Down!"
As Toothpick landed on the ground, he had to immediately dash into one of his tunnels to avoid getting tackled, but he popped back up behind Lairon and barked out to catch the foe's attention. When Lairon turned to look, Toothpick was strutting around the field, as smug and cocky as could be, even mocking Lairon's missed Take Down attack from a moment ago. This expression of arrogance sent Lairon into a blind rage, and he began to charge Toothpick without Aleister's command.
"He's just baiting you Lairon! Don't fall for it!"
But his trainer's words went unheeded, and Lairon continued repeatedly barreling towards Toothpick in a fury. Toothpick kept hopping out of the way, a smug look on his face, and I knew from his expression he had a plan in mind that I was missing, so I let him do what he wanted. Within moments though, I saw what he was thinking: well, more that I heard it, when he lured Lairon into charging at him but had him run headfirst into one of the metal platforms instead.
The platform completely crumpled in on itself under the impact, almost as if a car had crashed into it. Lairon laid there dazed, and Toothpick took this opportunity that he'd created to leap into the air for a full powered Bulldoze attack directly at the crack in Lairon's shell. The strike was powerful and perfectly placed, and the carapace split open underneath Toothpick's feet.
Unbeknownst to everyone involved, probably surprising Toothpick most of all, this was the final push Lairon had needed for years now. Rather than the gory mess I had mentally prepared myself for, Lairon shone brightly with a blinding light. A high-pitched ringing filled the air as if a god had struck an enormous chime in the sky, and the energy radiated outward with such intensity that it sent Toothpick flying. The image of my little reptile soaring through the air would have been pretty funny, if it weren't for the fierce cacophonous roaring coming from Lairon.
Or should I say, Aggron.