Raboot was worried.
It wasn't necessarily that he was worried about Kabu. Between Diggersby's evolution, Toxel's raw power even unevolved, and Raboot's own strength, he was reasonably confident that Gloria could take the Fire-type Gym Leader in their upcoming battle. That is, if Gloria didn't psych herself out…and right now, Raboot wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't.
The morning had felt off from the start. Raboot had hoped a good night's sleep would help Gloria get over yesterday's loss, but from the moment she'd woken up, it had been clear feelings of inadequacy still filled her mind. Rather than excitement for the Gym Battle, Gloria's demeanor had been filled with dread at the prospect of facing Kabu. And that dread had only seemed to increase when she'd come down to the lobby's breakfast bar and heard, from a staff member, that Hop had gotten up early, wolfed down breakfast, and ran off without saying a word.
Raboot didn't know whether Hop had gone to fight Kabu or headed somewhere else entirely, but usually he waited for Gloria, and not having a friend to eat breakfast with definitely didn't help Gloria's mood. Yes, there was Marcus, but that just wasn't the same, and he didn't even show up until halfway through the meal anyway.
And throughout the morning, things had only gotten worse. It wasn't that Gloria was unfocused, but every order came out a little quieter than usual, and her posture was just the slightest bit less animated. She was already feeling defeated before she'd even entered the stadium, let alone started the battle.
So, as Gloria and Marcus took a quick lunch break before they headed off to the stadium to get ready for Gloria's match, Raboot decided to do something about it.
"All right," he said, putting down his half-chewed Oran Berry. "Let's not beat around the bush here - Gloria's off."
"Tell us something we don't know," Toxel muttered.
"I have to admit, even I realized that," said Applin.
"See?" Toxel indicated the Grass/Dragon-type with a wave of his hand. "Even Applin gets it."
"Now, that is rather hurtful-"
"Not helping, you two," Diggersby interjected. "Toxel, apologize."
Toxel sighed. "Sorry, Applin."
"It is okay," Applin murmured.
"Look," said Raboot. "We lost yesterday, yeah. But if that's putting Gloria off her game, that means we can't afford to be off our games. If she loses to Kabu today, she'll fall into a funk I'm not sure anything will be able to get her out of. And I'm not going to allow that - are you?"
"Of course not!" Diggersby cried.
"No way," Toxel growled.
Applin mutely shook her head.
"Good," said Raboot. "Let's finish lunch, and then we'll get in there and show Gloria, Kabu, and everyone else how strong we really are."
Gloria had been booked for the last challenge of the day, both to get some additional training in and so that Marcus's follow-up battle with Kabu wouldn't interrupt any scheduled Gym Challenges. So Marcus, and by extension his team, had watched several other Trainers try their hand at taking down Kabu. Houndoom was up front, scanning the Gym Leader's Fire-types for information on how they battled; Medicham, sitting in her Luxury Ball, was no less attentive despite the lesser seat.
From the first fight, she could understand how he'd earned his reputation. The Gym Challenger opened up with a Seadra, clearly expecting a quick victory, only to watch as Seadra's Bubble Beams were countered by Psychic-type Extrasensories. Then Ninetales used Confuse Ray, and before long Seadra was down and out, having barely inflicted any damage on his opponent. The challenger fought back valiantly, but in the end was left with a badly damaged Greedent against Kabu's fully healthy Centiskorch - who then proceeded to use some sort of variant of Dynamax, which Kabu called Gigantamax, to blast the Greedent into the ground and send the unlucky Gym Challenger running off to the Pokemon Center without a Gym Badge.
Two more Gym Challengers went the same way before one finally managed to figure out a winning strategy. Medicham remembered the young man with a Bounsweet, Arrokuda, and Elekid; not only had he evolved both of the latter two, but he'd also added a Lampent to his team, who proved surprisingly adept at taking down Ninetales. Kabu's follow-up Arcanine equalized the battle, but the challenger's Electabuzz took it down, and his Barraskewda finished the job against Kabu's Centiskorch with a combination of Max Airstreams and Max Geysers.
He seems like one to watch, Medicham thought as he shook Kabu's hand and accepted the Gym Badge.
By the time Gloria stepped into the stadium, Medicham knew the girl would have her work cut out for her. Only two other Trainers had managed to claim Gym Badges from Kabu; fully half a dozen had failed. Medicham knew they would all have another chance, but only the one - she couldn't imagine the stress they'd be under, and the feeling of failure should they come up short a second time.
And if Gloria didn't win this, it would be her suffering from those same feelings. Medicham had seen her muted demeanor at breakfast and while training her team this morning. She knew a loss here was the last thing Gloria needed.
Her nervousness was clear as she stepped into the arena; it seemed even clearer when Kabu smiled and released his Ninetales. Hand shaking slightly, head bowed somewhat, she tapped one of her Pokeballs, releasing Toxel into the arena.
Medicham swallowed. Ninetales's Extrasensory attacks would rip the Poison/Electric-type to pieces.
"Battlers, begin!" the referee shouted, stepping back as he spoke, and Toxel immediately lunged forwards.
"Extrasensory, Ninetales," Kabu ordered, committing his trump card right off the bat.
"Psychic Pulse," Ninetales murmured, unleashing the attack in question.
"Dodge!" Gloria cried. Toxel was already doing exactly that; he sprang to the side just in time to evade the blast of Psychic power and landed on his feet, tossing a quick Acid Spray at Ninetales as he did so. Ninetales stepped back - "Heat Pulse" - and unleashed a quick blast of Fire energy that ripped apart the Acid Spray in midair.
Once more Toxel preempted any order from Gloria, charging forwards again, keeping on his toes in preparation to dodge another Extrasensory. Even from here, Medicham could see the determination glinting in his eyes and the focused frown on his face as he raced across the arena. He knows his Trainer's not 100%, Medicham realized. And he knows how damaging a loss would be to her too. She watched as Toxel wove through a barrage of Embers flung by Ninetales, closed in, and delivered a Nuzzle-enhanced punch to the face that sent the Fire-type staggering backwards. Ninetales promptly blasted him back with another Heat Pulse, but the damage had been done; her body was already beginning to lock up from paralysis.
Gloria might have more of a chance than I-
A loud buzzing noise shattered Medicham's thoughts; several nearby audience members turned to glance at Marcus as he quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his Pokedex. Sure enough, the device was loudly proclaiming an incoming call. "Sorry about that," said Marcus embarrassedly, looking around at the disgruntled-looking audience members as he retreated towards the nearest door. "I'll just…uh…"
He opened the door, stepped through, slammed it shut behind him, and exhaled. "Arceus, that was embarrassing," he muttered. "All right…I don't recognize this number…" Grimacing slightly, he pressed the 'answer' button on the Pokedex.
The screen shifted to a view of a man that Medicham - and clearly Marcus - instantly recognized. Marcus's eyes widened. "Piers?"
"Marcus." Piers inclined his head. Medicham had her full attention locked onto the screen - the Galarian Dark-type Gym Leader looked a little older and a little more weathered since she'd seen him last, but aside from that appeared surprisingly normal for someone who had disappeared off the face of the earth for months. The expression on his face, though…even from her Luxury Ball, Medicham could see how troubled he looked.
Marcus seemed to consider several different questions before finally choosing one. "Where have you been? Everyone's been wondering-"
"I know," Piers interrupted; there was clear weariness in his voice, and now Medicham, looking closer, saw faint bags under his eyes, as if he'd tried to cover them up with makeup. "And I'm sorry. I've been…goin' through some stuff. Stuff I'd rather keep to myself, if that makes any sense."
"Okay," said Marcus, sounding doubtful, "but…we've just been worried about you, you know?"
Piers nodded slowly. "Thank you, Marcus," he said. "You comin' all the way to Galar to check on me…that means a lot. Really, it does. I'm just callin' to say that I'm alright. I just…need to be alone, that's all."
The strain in his voice seemed to get worse the longer the call went on. Marcus hesitated, staring at the screen for a few long moments; his next words caught Medicham completely off guard. "Piers, is someone making you say this?"
Piers, too, was clearly taken aback; the furtive glances he swiftly shot to either side told Medicham all she needed to know even before Piers responded. "Marcus…" Suddenly, he leaned closer, his face filling the entire screen. "Listen to me," he said, quickly, urgently. "You gotta get out of Galar. Don't wait for anything, don't stop for anything, just forget this whole thing happened and go back home."
"Piers, what-"
"Go!" The forcefulness in Piers's voice was enough that Marcus took a step back. "I'll be fine. Everything will be fine, but you have to leave. For both our sakes. Got it?"
Marcus hesitated again.
"Got it?" Piers sounded desperate now.
"Okay," said Marcus. "I'll leave. But…what do I tell Connie?"
Piers averted his eyes, and his next words came out choked. "Tell her," he said, "that I called you, and I'm fine. I don't want her…or anyone else…worryin' about me, okay?"
"Okay," Marcus said again.
"Thank you." Medicham caught the edge of a tortured smile before the video winked out, replaced by a blank screen reflecting Marcus's shocked face.
Marcus sat down heavily, leaning against the wall. Medicham chose that moment to open up a telepathic link. "What…was that?"
"Rose." Marcus's voice, even telepathic, was filled with barely restrained rage. "I told him I wouldn't be satisfied until Piers contacted me…so he must have arranged this. I'll bet the first part of that call was practically Piers reading off Rose's script."
"I agree," said Medicham. "The timing of the call alone…he goes no contact for months and then just happens to give you a call days after you tell Rose that's how you might be satisfied?" She snorted. "Did he seriously think you'd be satisfied by that?"
"What worries me," Marcus murmured, "is the second half of that call. He went off-script, that much is clear. So telling me to get out of Galar…that wasn't Rose, that was all him. He's terrified of something, Medicham, and from what little I know and what Connie's told me about him, he doesn't get scared easily."
Medicham nodded silently.
"Medicham, I'm scared." For the second time in as many minutes, Marcus's words caught Medicham off-guard. "When I first came to Galar, I knew there would be danger, but…" He spread his hands. "This is a full-blown conspiracy. We know Rose is involved, and the Absols, but there are still so many unknowns. Where does Hunter J fit in? Is Leon part of it? What about the rest of Macro Cosmos, and Oleana…Arceus, what if Articuno's in on it?"
Medicham swallowed, profoundly thankful that she was able to separate the telepathic link from her other thoughts. Part of her wanted to tell Marcus about her meeting with the renegades - about Eternatus, and Articuno, and the whole plan - but…
But what? What's stopping me?
Nothing. Arceus, have I become so used to keeping secrets that I'm now keeping ones that I don't need to?
"Marcus," said Medicham, "there's something I should probably tell you. The other day, I…met with the Absols. The ones who tried to kill us on the train."
Marcus blinked. "You did what?"
The rest of the story came like a fountain as Medicham, through the link, explained the renegades' plan, leaving nothing out (except, of course, all the stuff about Giratina and Bringer-Of-Visions). Marcus let out a quiet sigh when she finally finished. "Alright," he said. "That's information - that's good. Okay, so Rose is trying to awaken a dormant Legendary, the Absols and Articuno are helping him do that, and this…Teller-Of-Tales…doesn't know anything about Piers. Do I have that right?"
"Basically," said Medicham.
"But then what's the Absols' stake in this?" Marcus asked. "They wanted me dead because they thought I was a threat to their plans - okay, I get that. But what are those plans? Why would they want this Legendary awakened?"
Of course Marcus just had to ask the one question which Medicham had to keep the answer to secret. "I don't know," she lied. "They didn't seem willing to trust me with that information."
"Makes sense," Marcus said reluctantly - another stab of guilt pierced through Medicham at his acceptance of the lie. "Thanks for telling me, Medicham - that helps clear things up, at least a little. Perhaps…perhaps Piers knows about Eternatus. That could be a reason why he'd want me to leave - I've seen enough to know how dangerous Legendaries are."
Yveltal and Necrozma flashed through Medicham's mind as she nodded. "That could be a reason, yes."
Marcus let out another sigh. "One thing's for certain," he said. "I can't leave. There are still too many questions I have yet to answer…and I highly doubt Piers is as 'alright' as he claims to be."
"Same here," said Medicham. "We should go back to the stands now, I think. Maybe we can catch the tail end of Gloria's battle?"
"Yeah, good point," Marcus murmured.
As it turned out, Medicham's words had been eerily prescient; by the time Marcus reached the stands, the stadium was coursing with raw Eterna as a Dynamaxed Diggersby faced Kabu's similarly gigantic Centiskorch, though Centiskorch looked somewhat different than usual. Its body was much longer than normal, and its underside was coursing with rippling Blaze, looking almost akin to roiling lava as Centiskorch swayed back and forth, keeping its eyes locked on Diggersby.
"It's time, Centiskorch!" Kabu bellowed.
"Max Quake, Diggersby!" Gloria yelled.
Centiskorch rose up even higher, to the point where it was looking down upon Diggersby despite the latter's Dynamax. "Let's end this!" the Fire/Bug-type roared. "G-Max Centiferno!"
"I agree," Diggersby shot back. "Titan's Quake!"
Centiskorch reared, unleashing a pillar of Blaze down upon Diggersby; with shocking rapidity for her large size, Diggersby twisted, bringing one ear-arm around, and unleashed an explosive blast of Earth straight into the oncoming attack, blasting it to pieces. "Hit it!" Gloria yelled.
"Defend yourself!" Kabu ordered. "Max Flutterby!"
Diggersby lunged, ear-arm drawn back again, this time glowing with Energy; Centiskorch recoiled, Bug glistening upon his mandibles. Diggersby's arm came forward just as Centiskorch, with a hiss of "Mandible Cannon!", unleashed a cannonlike blast from his jaws; the explosive blast of energy sent both of them stumbling backwards.
"Max Strike while he's off-balance!" Gloria ordered.
Diggersby skidded to a halt. "Energy Quake!" she cried, slamming one foot down on the ground. Beneath Centiskorch, the signature white light of Energy began to glow in a circle across the ground. "Coil around it!" Kabu yelled.
Centiskorch twisted, his scuttling body forming into a hollow circle; a second later the Energy exploded upwards in a pillar, ripping right through the empty area that Centiskorch was coiled around. Centiskorch glared at Diggersby. "Nice try," he hissed.
"There's more where that came from," Diggersby growled, stepping forwards…and then she began to shrink.
"Diggersby, hold on!" Gloria cried.
"Finish it," Kabu ordered calmly.
Diggersby's eyes narrowed as she struggled to hold onto the rapidly depleting Dynamax, but it was no use. She'd already shrunk to half her maximum size; now Centiskorch, still Gigantamaxed, truly dwarfed her, and Medicham could tell he was grinning as Blaze began to form in front of his mandibles. "G-Max Centiferno!" he bellowed again.
Gloria slumped, and Medicham realized that she'd accepted the defeat.
But Diggersby hadn't. In the blink of an eye she gritted her teeth, abandoned her attempt to hold onto the Dynamax, and instead shot forwards in a Quick Attack. A colossal pillar of Blaze streaked down from Centiskorch's mandibles, only to miss entirely, blasting a crater into the arena floor. Diggersby, now back to normal size, crouched, leaped, and landed right on Centiskorch's giant back. Twisting, she started running up the Fire/Bug-type's back even as Centiskorch himself began to shrink, his Gigantamax exhausted.
Gloria's eyes glowed with renewed hope. "Go, Diggersby!" she yelled. "Take him down!"
Diggersby kept running as Centiskorch shrank, his back getting narrower and narrower, shorter and shorter. The Fire/Bug-type twisted, trying to throw Diggersby off, but she kept her footing as she reached the base of Centiskorch's neck. "Flame Wheel!" Kabu called. "Light your body on fire!"
"Bulldoze!" Gloria yelled.
"Centiflame Form!" "Whirling Quake!" As Centiskorch's body lit up with Fire energy, Diggersby made a mighty leap and slammed both feet down right on top of Centiskorch's head. A shockwave of Ground energy erupted outwards, ripping through what little Fire energy Centiskorch could raise in defense. Centiskorch was slammed headfirst into the ground; as he bounced off, it was clear he was stunned.
Diggersby landed back on the ground, twisted, and delivered a wordless punch straight to Centiskorch's face.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Centiskorch collapsed, excited at the spectacular finish. Marcus joined in, pumping his fist excitedly - Medicham wished she could have seen the rest of the battle, but in her mind at least, that was sure to have been easily the most exciting part.
"Congratulations!" said Marcus afterwards, patting Gloria on the back. "That was amazing, the way Diggersby took out that Centiskorch!"
"Yeah…it was pretty cool," said Gloria. She looked a lot happier than earlier, at the very least. "And did you see how Raboot took down the Arcanine?"
"Um…yeah, that was cool too," Marcus mumbled. "Oh…uh…hey, Kabu! How are you doing?"
Smooth, Medicham thought to herself as the Gym Leader approached. "Fine, thank you," he said. "I said it after our match, and I will say it again - that was an excellent battle, young Gloria! All you need is to find your heart, and I am certain you will make it to the tournament at the very least. Win or lose, that is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thank you, Leader Kabu," said Gloria.
Kabu's expression shifted slightly. "I noticed you used an Applin in my Gym Mission."
"Yeah," said Gloria. "I…figured the rest of my team would be more useful in your battle."
Kabu nodded. "Understandable. But the fights are not going to get any easier from here. You will need your entire team to be as strong as possible for what will come in the near future. And…well, I had a few of these lying around." He finally drew his hands out from behind his back, revealing a pair of what looked to be apple slices - one pure red, the other a mixture of red and green.
"A Sweet Apple and a Tart Apple," the Gym Leader explained. "I trust you know how Applin's evolutionary lines work."
Gloria's eyes widened in realization. "You're giving me a way to evolve my Applin?"
Kabu nodded. "You merely have to choose whether you would rather have a Flapple or an Appletun, and the corresponding apple is yours."
Gloria frowned complentatively; after a few moments, she tapped Applin's Pokeball and released the Grass/Dragon-type. Medicham instantly noticed how excited Applin looked - understandable, considering the circumstances. Applin looked back at Gloria, who smiled down at her. "It's your choice, Applin."
Kabu gave Gloria a respectful nod, then looked down at Applin himself.
Applin looked from one apple to the other, frowning. At last she inclined her head towards the Sweet Apple and murmured, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be an Appletun."
"Appletun it is," said Gloria with a smile. Kabu nodded and extended the hand containing the Sweet Apple; Applin reached forwards with her mouth, closed her jaws around the fruit, and gulped it down.
Gloria promptly released Raboot, Diggersby, and Toxel onto the floor as Applin's body began to glow. Even Toxel was grinning at the sight - Medicham knew from experience the thrill of watching an evolution was intoxicating, and she found herself smiling too. Applin's body swelled, growing in all directions even as her form became silhouetted in blue light. Then, all at once, the light exploded outwards, and a fully evolved Appletun was revealed, standing tall despite her new stout form.
Clapping and cheering emanated from several passersby who had watched the evolution; Applin was quick to turn and face her teammates, who were just as quick to mob her with congratulations. The newly-evolved Grass/Dragon-type looked stunned, barely seeming to process the happenings around her; she was gazing about the room even as her teammates swarmed her, her eyes wide.
"Congratulations," said Kabu. "I'm sure she will serve you well."
"Thank you, Leader Kabu," Gloria exclaimed vehemently.
Kabu smiled, then turned to Marcus. "Now for other business. I believe you have a challenge of your own?"
Marcus's only reply was a dignified nod, but Medicham could see the excitement on his face.
The field had been cleared, the audience departed, and now, just like Turffield, all that remained were Kabu, Marcus, and Gloria, the latter in the stands and the former two standing across from one another on the battlefield. In front of Kabu stood his Ninetales; in front of Marcus stood Houndoom, both ready for a fight.
Houndoom knew that he couldn't underestimate Ninetales just because she looked rather inoffensive and Kabu used it as his lead. If he wasn't careful, a single Confuse Ray could spell disaster, and he had no idea what this Ninetales's Ability was either. He crouched, preparing for his Trainer's command.
Kabu extended a hand. "The first move is yours, Marcus. I'm warning you - use it wisely."
Marcus clenched one fist. "Houndoom, open with a Dark Pulse!"
"Dark Surge!" Houndoom barked, lashing out with a blistering wave of Oblivion. He knew it would likely not hit - this was just a probative attack, meant to force out a response and get a feel for what kind of fighter this Ninetales was.
"Counter it with Flamethrower," Kabu ordered calmly.
One of Ninetales's tails twisted, pointing at the oncoming Dark Pulse. "One-Tail Flame," Ninetales announced; a jet of Blaze shot out from the tail-tip, streaking towards the center of the Oblivion wave.
Confident, smooth, and clearly quite methodical, Houndoom noted. And clearly doesn't know what my Ability is.
"Flash Fire!" Houndoom growled, reaching out with his Ability. Ninetales's Flamethrower twisted back on itself as Houndoom took control of it, bending it to his will. The attack still accomplished its intended purpose, ripping through the center of the Dark Pulse and leaving the rest to shoot past either side of Ninetales, but now it was Houndoom's, and he willed it to fly straight back at Ninetales, simultaneously lunging forwards with the intent to take advantage of the resulting distraction.
And then Ninetales smirked. "Drought: Flame Flow."
Her entire body seemed to disappear into her own Flamethrower; a second later, at the precise point where Houndoom was bending it backwards, she burst out, leaping strongly up into the air. Flames trailed behind her as she hurled herself upwards, unleashing more flames in front of her as she did so.
Flames that swiftly curved in upon themselves, forming into a miniature sun.
Drought. Houndoom knew the Ability well - it was one of the infamous group of weather-altering Abilities that counted Drizzle, Snow Warning, and Sand Stream amongst their number. Not only that, but a proficient user could also utilize their Ability to attune their body to their chosen weather, obtaining a similar effect to Swift Swim, Slush Rush, Sand Rush, or - in this case - Chlorophyll.
And this Ninetales is quite clearly a proficient user, Houndoom realized as Ninetales dove into her own miniature sun.
She launched herself out a second later, streaking down towards Houndoom with all nine of her tails curving towards him like spears. "Nine-Tail Solar Blaze!" she bellowed; massive surging Flamethrowers, strengthened even further by the sun rising behind her, flew from all nine tails down at Houndoom, a daunting attack even for him.
"Flash Fire: Flame Barrier!" Houndoom snarled; Blaze burst outwards from his boy, manifesting into a curved shield that was also stronger than usual. Ninetales isn't the only Pokemon benefitting from the sun, he thought. Which means I can fight fire with fire.
Ninetales's barrage of Flamethrowers slammed into Houndoom's Flame Barrier, and a mighty roar sounded as Blaze clashed with Blaze. Marcus's eyes suddenly widened. "Crunch, quick!"
Though he didn't understand why the order had been given, Houndoom reacted instantly, forming Oblivion across his jaws - just as Ninetales lunged straight out of his own Flame Barrier, body reforming before his eyes and surging with Normal energy.
What was clearly a Quick Attack struck Houndoom full in the face; it was only the hastily-formed Crunch that saved Houndoom from being knocked backwards, and even then he skidded slightly from the force of the impact. Ninetales practically bounced off him; she landed on her feet smoothly as the Blaze behind her faded into nothingness, neither her nor Houndoom interested in keeping their attacks up any longer.
"Tail Slap!" Kabu called, and then Ninetales was on him.
He twisted, raising a forepaw to knock one of her Normal energy-infused tails away, and then two more rammed into the side of his face. Then one cracked against the top of his head, another landed on the bottom of his chin, and then yet another hit home right between his eyes, sending him reeling. "Foul Play!" Marcus yelled as Houndoom staggered; the order snapped him out of his daze, and he rapidly drew Oblivion to his claws and jaws and lashed out in a flurry of swipes that knocked away another barrage of fast-moving tails.
"Tri-Tail Solar Flame!" Ninetales cried, stepping backwards; even as six of her tails clashed with Houndoom's swift paws, the other three curved to the side, came together, and unleashed a cylinder of Blaze straight at Houndoom's side.
"Flash Fire!" Houndoom growled, taking control of it in an instant. This time, though, he had no intention of giving Ninetales the opportunity to swim through it and attack from an unexpected direction. She was already beginning to dissolve into it; Houndoom concentrated on the Flamethrower, tapped further into his Ability, and willed it to explode.
"Back!" Kabu called, but Ninetales had already committed.
The Flamethrower erupted in a massive roaring blast, sending Ninetales flying away with a shriek of pain. "Dark Pulse!" Marcus ordered; Houndoom wasted no time in unleashing the attack, sending it streaking after the flailing form of Ninetales. She retained enough presence of mind to counter it, though; twisting in midair, she formed several of her tails into giant flaming curved blades and sliced straight through the wave as it crackled towards her, ripping it to shreds. Nevertheless, her landing was not nearly as smooth as it had been before, and as she turned back towards Houndoom her expression was one of pained anger.
"Nasty Plot, Ninetales!" Kabu cried.
Marcus grinned. "Do the same, Houndoom!"
Both Houndoom and Ninetales crouched, summoning their reserves of Ghost energy; as one, their bodies erupted with ghostly strength as their minds were enhanced by the powerful technique.
"As soon as Ninetales saw your battle with Leon," Kabu shouted, "she practically begged me for this match! And who am I if not to oblige? Ninetales, use Overheat!"
"Inferno, Houndoom!" Marcus countered.
Out of the corner of his eye, Houndoom saw a suddenly nervous-looking Gloria duck out of sight.
Calling upon all the Blaze he could, Houndoom unleashed every bit of it from his mouth in Ninetales's direction. "Flash Fire: Flame Surge!"
"Nine-Tailed Solar Flare!" came the response, as an identically titanic wave of Blaze swept out from Ninetales's body.
Kabu, Marcus, Ninetales, and Houndoom all steadied themselves as the two massive swells of Blaze roared towards each other. They came together with such a mighty crash that Houndoom's ears felt as if they would split from the noise, and the wave of force that exploded outwards from the impact was strong enough that Houndoom felt his claws tearing through the floor as his body was forced back. He heard a cry behind him as Marcus nearly fell over; he couldn't see or hear Ninetales or Kabu through the flames, but he suspected they were likely struggling as well. He closed his eyes to shield them from the wind emanating from the impact point - they were beginning to sting.
Slowly, the roaring in his ears began to cease; Houndoom finally opened his eyes to see the flames starting to die away, neither attack managing to prevail against the other. As he looked up, he realized with a jolt that he couldn't see Ninetales anymore; there was just Kabu, crouching in a posture clearly meant to brace himself against the wind, his smile still infuriatingly calm. Houndoom glanced around. Where did she-
And then the ground exploded upwards beneath him.
The blast threw Houndoom into the air; a second later Ninetales slammed headfirst into his chest, doubling him over as he soared through the air. He felt several furry tails wrap around him, and then Ninetales twisted with a grunt of effort and he was flying straight back to the ground, thrown by the female Fire-type. He slammed into the ground - "Above!" Marcus cried - and Houndoom looked up in time to see Ninetales streaking towards him like a comet, using Drought and Quick Attack in combination.
A wild part of Houndoom thought of trying to take control of Ninetales's body now that she'd transformed herself into Fire energy, but the rational part of his mind thought better of it. Ninetales were notably accomplished in the mental arts in comparison to other Fire-types - he had no doubt her control over her own Ability would overpower his, or at least hold it back long enough for her to deliver a hit. Instead, he darted backwards, summoning Oblivion to his claws and jaws as Ninetales slammed into the ground right in front of him. A second later she lunged out of the resulting explosion, tails already flaring, and the two fell into melee combat once more.
This time Ninetales mixed it up from the jump. Some tails coiled out towards Houndoom's paws, trying to trip him up. Others curved around and unleashed Flamethrowers, seeking to provide conduits for Ninetales to swim through and attack from unexpected directions. Still others manifested into blades like the ones that had sliced apart Houndoom's Dark Pulse earlier, these ones coming down upon him like giant flaming cleavers. And intermittently she wove Quick Attacks into her tail-strikes, forcing Houndoom to adjust to attacks of varying rapidity.
But Houndoom, though he was forced onto the defensive, did not falter. Fire energy leaped and flowed around him like waves in the ocean, meeting tail-strikes and Flamethrowers with Nasty Plot-boosted explosive blasts that ripped the attacks into shreds of Blaze before they could touch him. Oblivion coursed around his body as he kept Foul Play up, fueling rapid-fire blocks from claws and teeth alike. Flaming blades of his own met Ninetales's, parrying the strikes and even occasionally delivering their own.
It seemed an eternity before one of the two watching Trainers called out. Unfortunately, it was Kabu. "Now, Ninetales! Confuse Ray!"
Houndoom had prepared for this, though - he'd seen that it was one of Ninetales's favorite tricks to use on Gym Challengers expecting an easy victory. He knew he wouldn't be able to muster the energy for a Dark Pulse so quickly, but he had other Dark-type techniques to draw on beside that. As one of Ninetales's tails curved around, rippling with Ghost energy, Houndoom unleashed a quick Snarl straight at the appendage; a crackling wave of Oblivion burst out from his jaws, and the Confuse Ray was ripped to shreds along with half the tail. Ninetales stumbled - the first stumble she'd made in this entire exchange - and Houndoom instantly lunged, Foul Play at the ready.
"Scorching Sands!"
And then Ninetales smirked, and Houndoom realized she'd known he'd been expecting Confuse Ray.
In an instant she recovered from her faked stumble, opened her mouth, and spat a shotgun-style blast of Ground energy straight into Houndoom's eyes. Houndoom roared in pain, staggering backwards; blinded, he reflexively raised his own paws in defense, trying to blink the pain away from his eyes.
"End it," Kabu ordered calmly. "Imprison."
"Dark Pulse!" Marcus cried.
Houndoom dropped back to the ground, clearing his eyes enough to see, just in time to watch Ninetales's eyes lock with his own and flash purple - and all of a sudden Houndoom's mind shattered.
Power, knowledge, techniques that had practically become second nature, all flew outwards like shards of glass. Houndoom reached out for them, but they evaded his grasp, disappearing into a strange nothingness that felt reachable yet was impenetrable. Dark Pulse! The order echoed in his mind, and he knew what the words meant, but the technique evaded him. Did he know that move? Had he ever known that?
And then Ninetales slammed into him with a full-force Quick Attack.
Houndoom tumbled to the ground. Marcus was stuttering - the beginnings of half a dozen attacks crossed through his lips, but each one was a stranger to Houndoom. No, it wasn't, he knew those attacks, but he just couldn't bring them into reality. It was like they had been shoved away, locked behind bars that he couldn't get through…
Imprisoned. Oh, you have got to be kidding me - I've never even heard of that move before-
"Nine-Tailed Hammer!"
Ninetales was above him now, all nine of her tails forming into a single titanic appendage, and Houndoom tried to summon Oblivion to his teeth for a Foul Play, but then he remembered he didn't know Foul Play - wait, no, he did-
WHAM.
"Since when did Ninetales know Dark Pulse and Foul Play?" Marcus asked.
"I have endeavored to make sure Ninetales has a cursory understanding of every move in her arsenal," Kabu explained. "It is not necessarily that she is proficient with them, or even tends to use them in combat - it is just that she knows she can use those moves, and thus it is an applicable target for Imprison."
Imprison. From within her Luxury Ball, Medicham heaved a sigh. She couldn't imagine what the last few seconds of that fight had felt like for Houndoom. He would have lost knowledge of Solar Beam, Nasty Plot, all of his Fire-type attacks, and from the sound of it most of his Dark-type attacks as well, all sealed away by the powerful Psychic-type technique. That's vicious…no wonder Kabu chose her as Houndoom's opponent. That move alone practically made her the perfect counter to him.
"It's always the tricks at the end that get me," Marcus remarked ruefully. "Destiny Bond, Pain Split, now Imprison…"
"I was thinking the same thing," said Kabu. "I thought that might be a vulnerability of yours after watching your match with Leon. It feels strange for me to say this, and I hope you don't mind me giving you advice-"
"I don't."
"-but more firepower is not what your Houndoom needs. Those Nasty Plot-boosted attacks he was firing off were more or less equal to the capabilities of Leon's Charizard - and trust me, I know, Ninetales has fought him before too."
"Really?" Marcus asked. "Who won?"
Kabu chuckled. "Charizard, of course. He couldn't overpower Ninetales with his fire, but he could use Earthquake on her sun - blasted the whole thing to pieces and then engulfed half the arena in a Hurricane before she could adjust. But that's not important right now. What's important is that your Houndoom has grown about as strong as he possibly can with regards to his fire. What he needs now is to branch out…and for that, it's not me you want to talk to."
"Then who?"
Kabu smiled. "Your mentee will be heading to Stow-On-Side next," he said. "There she will battle Allister. He is the one you want to talk to."
"Allister?" Marcus frowned. "For Houndoom?"
Kabu nodded. "You're the one who fell for the 'trick at the end', as you say," he said. "Where do you think Ninetales learned that trick?"
"That looked pretty painful," Gloria admitted as she and Marcus walked out of the Motostoke City Gym side by side. "I hope your Houndoom's all right."
"He's been through a lot worse," said Marcus. "An evening in the Pokemon Center and a good night's sleep and he'll be good as new. And then tomorrow morning, it's off to Hammerlocke."
Gloria smiled. "You know, even though there are five Gyms left to go…this is pretty much universally known as the halfway point of the Galarian Gym Challenge. It's weird, I know, but beating Kabu really makes me feel…not too bad about myself."
"I'm glad you're feeling better." Marcus gave her a smile in return. "So…hate to ask, but who'd you lose to last night?"
Gloria chuckled softly. "That obvious, huh?"
"I know what that looks like," said Marcus. "And, more to the point, I know what that looks like. So…was it Bede? Please tell me it wasn't Bede."
"No, it wasn't Bede," Gloria replied. "I have no idea where Bede is right now. No, it was another girl - name's Marnie."
Marcus stopped dead. "Marnie?"
Medicham, too, had recognized the name. Piers's younger sister? What's she doing in this Gym Challenge?
Gloria looked nonplussed. "Yeah," she said. "You know her?"
It took a few moments for Marcus to choose his words. "We've met before."
"Did she have a Legendary when you met?"
Marcus couldn't quite stop himself from gaping. "Wait, she has a what?"