A note - I am not interested in any sort of art commission for Through Their Eyes. Please stop filling my reviews and PMs with advertisements for art commissions. Thank you, and I hope you still enjoy the story even if you can't do artwork for it!
"Electrical Current!"
"Rock Manipulation!" Kamado growled, calling upon Ancient Power; a cluster of several of the numerous Stealth Rocks he'd managed to set up shifted to a single point in front of him, forming into a shield that intercepted and dispersed Rotom's powerful Thunderbolt.
"Rock Attack!" Kamado growled as a follow-up; the Stealth Rocks flew forwards at Rotom, who swiftly dove to the side to evade. The Electric/Ghost-type's face looked haggard as it dodged the attack; its Pain Split against Drapion had ensured it had enough health to keep fighting for a while, but it had not been able to erase the poison Drapion had inflicted, and the longer this fight wore on, the more exhausted Rotom looked as the poison tore at it.
But Kamado was not getting complacent. Not by any means. He hadn't even been touched by any of Rotom's attacks yet; he knew a single Pain Split would be devastating, and so kept his attention firmly on Rotom even as he shifted his Stealth Rocks around.
"Form Change!" Rotom cried, shifting into his Mow Form. "Grass Spray!"
"Combine Fire Fang and Air Gnash!" Marcus ordered.
Huh…I never actually thought of that before. Kamado grinned toothily as he lunged forwards, Fire energy coursing across his jaws. "Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" he snarled, slamming his teeth together; to his great delight, the blast of disturbed air this normally resulted in was accompanied by a wave of forcefully-propelled Fire energy, slamming into and intercepting Rotom's barrage of Overgrow before it could touch more than a few of his Stealth Rocks.
Oh, I am definitely going to make further use of that in the future…
"Will-O-Wisp!" Joshua commanded.
Kamado at once jerked back, calling upon one of his Stealth Rocks to protect him once again. A shot of ghostly flame rippled out from Rotom's body as it switched back to its base form, but the Stealth Rock was on point, slamming into the Will-O-Wisp before it got anywhere near Kamado.
"Levitate!" Rotom cried; around Kamado, several pieces of shattered brick and stone left over from the earlier fights arose from the ground. Kamado recognized Rotom's intent immediately; while Drapion had countered the attack, it had left him wide open for a debilitating Will-O-Wisp.
I will not fall for the same trap.
"Rock Manipulation!" Kamado cried, reaching out mentally for the stones Rotom was raising. Thankfully, the trick worked; Ancient flooded over the brick and stonework, and they stopped halfway off the ground. Rotom's eyes widened as it tried to compensate; for a few brief moments the two combatants were locked in a mental struggle, Ancient Power against Levitate, neither one able to overpower the other's control.
"Hydro Pump!" Joshua ordered unexpectedly.
"Dodge!" Marcus cried.
Kamado lunged to the side, tapping into Rock Polish to enhance his speed; Rotom's shift into Wash Form and subsequent Hydro Pump was quick, but not quick enough to catch the speed-boosted Tyrantrum. Kamado heard it impact the ground behind him with an almighty thwoom, but ignored it in favor of sending a Rock Slide at Wash Form Rotom.
Rotom twisted, sustaining the Hydro Pump; Kamado's thrown barrage of Ancient-imbued rocks was obliterated in an instant, unable to stand against the beam of Torrent. Thankfully, Rotom was forced to aim high, and Kamado managed to duck under the Hydro Pump. Unfortunately, Joshua chose this moment to finally order the move Kamado had been dreading this whole time.
"Pain Split, Rotom!"
"Air Gnash, now!"
"Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" Kamado reacted instantly, bringing his jaws together as fast and as hard as he could. Rotom's body glowed with Distortion; Kamado felt a sharp pain begin to tear at him, but before the Pain Split could truly take effect the blast of disturbed air slammed into Rotom, ripping through his concentration on both Pain Split and Levitate. The pain faded as Rotom fell, a robotic glitching cry of pain emanating from its form.
"Finish it!" Marcus ordered.
"Shadow Ball!" Joshua clearly saw the writing on the wall; this was his last-ditch attempt to get off at least some damage before Rotom went down.
Kamado charged the downed Rotom, knowing exactly how he was going to handle this.
Normal and Ground energy began to swirl around one foot as Kamado lunged. After Drapion had learned Earthquake (and, of course, once the Battle of Alola was over), Marcus had wasted no time in finding out which of his team members was capable of doing the same. And Kamado just so happened to be one of the Pokemon who could do so. He'd taken to the technique quickly, especially with Drapion teaching him, but he hadn't really gotten an opportunity to use it in Galar. All of his opponents so far had either been Flying-types or on a train that he didn't want to risk derailing with an Earthquake.
But now? It was perfect.
"Quake Attack!" Kamado snarled as he brought his foot down towards Rotom. The Stomp he'd added to the attack ripped right through Rotom's desperate Shadow Ball, the Normal energy dissipating the ineffective Ghost-type attack before it could even touch Kamado. He saw Rotom's eyes widen in terror a split second before his foot landed, unleashing a point-blank Earthquake straight into the center of Rotom's body.
The ground shattered from the sheer force of Kamado's stomp, revealing the tunnel Drapion had dug beneath; Rotom didn't stop until it hit the floor of the tunnel, crushed beneath Kamado's foot. The Electric/Ghost-type's howl of pain was drowned out by the explosive sound of crumbling pavement.
"I believe my Rotom is unconscious," said Joshua as the energy of the attack dissipated. "And if he isn't, I forfeit him. Would you mind calling back your Tyrantrum so that I may recall him?"
Marcus nodded tersely. "Back, Kamado," he ordered. Kamado obeyed, unable to resist the feeling of savage satisfaction as he raised his foot to reveal the sparking, twisted, completely unconscious form of Rotom.
That is more like it, Kamado thought as Joshua recalled his second Pokemon. No damage, little exhaustion, and a network of Stealth Rocks set up. I am ready to handle whatever his third Pokemon is.
"Toxicroak, your turn."
Kamado frowned as the Poison/Fighting-type appeared on the battlefield, a grin on its face despite the odds against him. So the Zoroark was copying a teammate, he thought. I figured as much, but I did not know for sure.
"Sludge Wave," Joshua ordered swiftly.
"Counter with Rock Slide!" Marcus yelled.
There was no ceremony and little pause. A hiss of "Venom Wave!" left Toxicroak's mouth as a growl of "Rock Attack!" emanated from Kamado's. Ancient and Toxic surged forth from the combatants; the two attacks met in midair and exploded against one another, sending a huge spray of mingled tan and purple energies into the air.
A faint hiss sounded from Toxicroak as the attacks collided. "Poison Touch: Toxic Needle Spray!"
What the…
Abruptly, a barrage of flying spikes, all imbued with Toxic, flew out of the dissipating clash of energies. Kamado reacted instantly. "Rock Defense!" he growled, bringing up several of his Stealth Rocks to deflect the attack.
But even as he did so, he realized that he'd just played right into Toxicroak's hands.
Many of the spines weren't even heading for Kamado - they were streaking right for Kamado's Stealth Rocks. As they hit, Toxic rippled outwards from the impact points, washing over the rocks and turning them from various shades of gray and brown to a deep, unhealthy purple. The same happened to the rocks Kamado raised to defend himself. Quickly, Kamado reached out with Ancient Power, but his mental grasp slipped off the rocks as if they weren't even there.
Toxicroak chuckled. "That ain't gonna work anymore," he growled. "Thanks to my Poison Touch Ability, that Ancient you've got in those rocks of yours just got replaced by my Toxic. One scratch from those and…" Both of Toxicroak's daggerlike claws glinted with bubbling Toxic as he smirked. "Well, let's just say I've got a Venoshock with your name on it."
Kamado frowned. This Toxicroak is very confident. I suspected that might be one of his strategies, but to outright say it…
The Tyrantrum quickly shook his head. He's obviously good with his Ability - good enough to back that confidence up, at least. I'll have to put in a lot of effort to avoid getting poisoned.
"Focus Blast!" Joshua ordered.
"Counter it with Air Gnash!" Marcus yelled.
"Poison Touch: Venomous Aura Sphere!" "Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" Kamado's wave of swiftly-propelled air crashed into Toxicroak's blue-purple Toxic-enhanced Focus Blast, and even as the two attacks impacted in another explosion the two combatants surged forwards, head and fist ready to clash in melee.
"Grass Bullets!"
Diggersby had not expected Marnie's Morpeko to know Bullet Seed. But nevertheless, a swift Quick Attack combined with her Agility-boosted speed was enough for her to evade the barrage of Grass energy-formed projectiles that flew out from Morpeko's paw.
"Charge!" she heard Gloria call, and obediently she lunged for the Electric/Dark-type. Morpeko raised her other paw and continued firing, her barrage of Bullet Seeds seemingly limitless, but Diggersby ducked and sidestepped every single shot, weaving through the barrage even as she closed in.
"Quick Attack!" Marnie yelled.
Morpeko grinned. "Bullet Blitz!" she cried, and then all at once she was flying straight at Diggersby. It was only Diggersby's recent evolution that gave her enough speed to intercept Morpeko's flight with one of her ears; grimacing, she flung it outwards, throwing Morpeko away. Morpeko landed smoothly on the ground, raised both arms, and once again opened fire with her seemingly-signature Bullet Seed barrage.
I've had enough of this.
"Whirling Quake!" she cried, leaping into the air to avoid Morpeko's Bullet Seed. As she came down, Ground energy rippled outwards from her body towards the Electric/Dark-type. Diggersby was pretty sure her new attack was Bulldoze, not Earthquake - the force of the attack was just too light, the wave too small, to be the latter - but it was quite effective anyway. Morpeko was forced to hurl herself to the side, only Quick Attack and her decent distance away from Diggersby enabling her to get clear.
"Ear Shot!" Diggersby tried to fling a Mud Shot at the running Morpeko, but the Electric/Dark-type simply fired off yet another Bullet Seed in response, tearing through the blast of Ground energy and forcing Diggersby to duck away.
"Try getting in close!" Marnie ordered. "Quick Attack and Bite!"
That was a mistake, Diggersby thought as Morpeko changed direction and began charging straight at her. At range, we were practically at a stalemate. In melee, I've got the clear advantage.
"Whirling Kick!" she cried, leaping towards the oncoming Morpeko with a Double Kick primed. Morpeko's mouth opened, revealing a set of surprisingly sharp teeth as she lunged forwards - straight into Diggersby's outstretched foot.
There was a surprising amount of resistance, the force of Morpeko's Bite doing its best to overcome Diggersby's attack, but the combination of type advantage and sheer bulk was ultimately just too much for her. The Electric/Dark-type was hurled away, twisting as she sailed through the air; she landed on the ground in a crouch, and wasted no time in raising her hand to hurl another barrage of Bullet Seeds Diggersby's way.
But Diggersby was not planning to sit back and let her.
"Quick Attack!" The order hadn't even left Gloria's mouth before Diggersby moved. Her feet pounced across the tile floor, skidding slightly as she shifted to evade the flung Grass energy-formed projectiles coming from Morpeko's paws. They were practically coming in streams now - it had become quite clear over the course of this fight that Morpeko had a lot of practice with the technique.
Makes sense, since it seems like it's the only ranged attack she has.
"Ear Slam!" Diggersby yelled as she pushed off the ground, reading one ear-arm to swipe down at Morpeko.
"Counter it with your own Quick Attack!" Marnie ordered.
"Bullet Blitz!" Morpeko cried, meeting Diggersby's massive ear-arm with her much smaller paw. Her other paw came up, glowing with Grass energy. "Grass Bullets!"
"Up and over!" Gloria shouted.
Diggersby sprang; Morpeko's newest round of Bullet Seeds flew under Diggersby's feet as she twisted in midair. "Away!" Marnie yelled, but before Morpeko could obey Diggersby landed behind her with a growl of "Whirling Quake!" This time, there was no way Morpeko could evade the Bulldoze; the wave of Ground energy sent the Electric/Dark-type flying away, bouncing across the tile floor and landing at Gloria's feet.
Now on opposite sides of the battlefield from their Trainers, Diggersby and Morpeko both stood. Diggersby's body was still aching from her earlier fight with Croagunk, but thankfully Morpeko hadn't added any damage; it did seem like the Electric/Dark-type was rather hamstrung by the uselessness of her Electric-type attacks in this battle. Morpeko, for her part, shuddered as she rose, clearly in pain from the multiple hard hits Diggersby had dealt. Her body was trembling with effort, her eyes glowing red.
Wait…red? Why is-
"Hunger Switch." The words came from Morpeko's throat in a snarl as Dark energy exploded upwards all around her. Her entire body seemed to shift, the honey-colored part turning a pitch black and the yellow part shifting to a deep purple. Her eyes were pure red now, and the sheer amount of malice radiating off of them took Diggersby aback. What in the name of Arceus is this?
"Hungry Blitz!" Morpeko blurred, hurtling across the lobby at far greater of a speed than she had reached previously.
"Bulldoze!" Gloria cried. "Then go in with Quick Attack!"
"Whirling Quake!" Diggersby raised a foot and slammed it down on the ground, unleashing another wave of Ground energy across the lobby floor. To her surprise, Morpeko didn't even break stride; in one fluid motion she crouched, leaped, and sailed over the Bulldoze, landing back on her feet and continuing to rush Diggersby.
"Swift Ear!" Diggersby rose to meet her, propelling her own body forwards with Quick Attack and rearing back to catch Morpeko in midair with a powerful punch.
Paw and ear-arm came together in an explosion of energy. But whereas Morpeko had been stalemated or sent reeling all the other times they'd come together like this, this time it was Diggersby who was staggered by the force of Morpeko's charge. That was all the opening Morpeko needed; before Diggersby could react, the Electric/Dark-type rammed shoulder-first straight into Diggersby's stomach. Diggersby overbalanced and fell with Morpeko on top of her.
Her eyes fixed on Morpeko just in time to see her raise her fists. "Hungry Rampage!"
And then she was punching at a rate Diggersby had only seen before out of Marcus's Pokemon, her fists sinking again and again into Diggersby's torso so quickly and viciously that Diggersby could do nothing but writhe uselessly beneath her, trying and failing to throw Morpeko off. Pain ripped through her body, the force of it staving off any attempt at resistance.
"Finish it with Bullet Seed!" Marnie ordered.
In a flash Morpeko hauled back and slammed a paw-strike straight into Diggersby's face, ramming the back of her head into the tile floor. From the crack sound, that was yet another broken tile. Morpeko rose to her feet, smirked, and leaped upwards, twisting in midair so that she was facing down towards the prone Diggersby.
She raised a paw, still smirking. "Hungry Bullets."
And an absolute torrent of Grass energy-made projectiles eclipsed Diggersby's vision.
"Strong Jaw: Flame Gnash!"
Kamado's jaws, again coursing with Fire energy, slammed down inches from Toxicroak's twisting body. Toxicroak dove forwards, seeking to take advantage of the misstep with a drawn-back punch. "Poison Touch: Venomous Dagger Fist!"
Kamado barely managed to shift his head to the side enough that Toxicroak's left arm went soaring past his face, the daggerlike claw glinting wickedly as it barely missed his cheek. He stopped himself just in time to avoid swinging his head into one of the Toxic-imbued Stealth Rocks still floating around. One cut from either of those and I'm poisoned…I have to be more careful.
"Take this!" Toxicroak bellowed, swinging his right arm around towards Kamado's cheek.
"Head Smash to the side!" Marcus yelled.
Obeying instantly, Kamado rammed his head, coursing with all the Ancient he could muster, straight into Toxicroak's oncoming punch. The force of the energy was sufficient to keep the dagger-claw from hitting home; more to the point, the strength of the impact was enough to cause Toxicroak to stumble. Kamado took full advantage; in the blink of an eye he whipped around, making sure to avoid any poisonous Stealth Rocks floating around him. "Tail Attack!"
Toxicroak took Kamado's tail straight to the face and fell with a choked cry. "Earthquake!" Marcus yelled; in an instant Kamado lunged, raising a foot upwards. "Quake Attack!"
"Sucker Punch!" Joshua cried.
In the next moment, Toxicroak's fist met Kamado's foot; once again, the energy coursing around Kamado's attack was enough to force back Toxicroak's dagger-claw, but the resistance bought more than enough time for Toxicroak to regain his bearings. He reared up, opening his mouth. "Poison Touch: Venomous Spit!"
"Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" Kamado met it with a blast of disturbed air from his closing jaws; the Sludge Bomb Toxicroak had spat out dissipated instantly, and the Poison/Fighting-type was sent skidding backwards straight through several of the poisonous Stealth Rocks. His Poison typing rendered them immune to their Toxic, but the impacts still left several scratches on his skin.
Kamado eyed his opponent, who didn't seem too displeased despite clearly coming off worse from the exchange. If anything, he was excited, grinning savagely as he eyed Kamado. "Nearly got you there," he growled.
"Nearly does not mean anything," Kamado shot back. "And I do not wish to waste time talking. Rock Attack!"
Concentrating, Kamado sent a Rock Slide flying through the air, arcing down towards Toxicroak's form. Toxicroak met it with a grin and a drawn-back Aura-enhanced fist. "Poison Touch: Venomous Dagger Flurry!" Almost too fast for Kamado could see, Toxicroak's fists lashed out in a telltale Close Combat, the dagger-claws piercing straight through the flying stones with enough force to rip them in two. The halves fell to the ground, already coursing with Toxic; there would be no further manipulation of them with Ancient Power.
"Nice try!" Toxicroak growled, crouching. Dust kicked up behind him as he leaped forwards, bringing up one hand that bubbled with Toxic as he did so. A massive sphere of Aura flared to life in the hand's open palm, and the Toxic flowed into it, forming another of Toxicroak's bluish-purple Focus Blasts.
"Poison Touch: Venomous Aura Sphere!"
"Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" Once again, Kamado met the sphere of Toxic and Aura with a wave of air from his powerful bite. Once again, it was enough to dissipate the attack, sending both purple and blue energy wavering into the ether. But once again, the clash of ranged attacks provided the perfect opening for Toxicroak to charge straight into melee.
"Poison Touch!" Toxicroak snarled as he pounded across the ground, effortlessly weaving around the poisonous rocks still floating in the air. "Venomous Dagger Fist!"
"Eterna Claws!" Kamado's arms might have been small, but he was still able to shift so that one of them met Toxicroak's punch. Eterna flowed forth around the limb, forcing back Toxicroak's dagger-claw and preventing it from sinking into Kamado's skin. Toxicroak brought his other fist around, aiming for Kamado's face. But Kamado, still boosted by Rock Polish, managed to draw back just in time. Kamado's head lowered, Ancient glowing across the top as he dug his feet into the ground and hurled himself forwards. "Head Smash!"
Toxicroak spun; one Aura-clad foot rose up, moving so quickly Toxicroak didn't even have time to imbue it with Toxic, and met Kamado's head with a rapid kick hard enough that, combined with type advantage, the Rock/Dragon-type was sent sliding backwards, only barely stopping himself from skidding straight into one of the floating poisonous rocks.
"No room to dodge this time!" Toxicroak growled, leaping straight for Kamado once again with a fist at the ready. "Poison Touch: Venomous Dagger-"
"Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!"
The force of Kamado's jaws slamming together was enough to catch the leaping Toxicroak in midair and toss him away; the Poison/Fighting-type grunted in pain as he flew back the way he'd come, slamming hard into the ground in a whirl of flailing limbs. But he managed to maneuver the hard landing into a roll; instantly, he reached up and slammed one fist into the ground, sinking his dagger-claw into the driveway and using it as a brake to skid to a halt.
Toxicroak looked up from where he was crouched, grinning despite his impromptu flight. "Poison Touch: Toxic Rivulets!"
Several lines of Toxic burst outwards from where his claw was embedded in the pavement, zigzagging through the ground as they flowed rapidly towards Kamado. He's conducting his Poison Touch through the ground, Kamado realized. I cannot let those rivulets reach me.
"Quake Attack!" Kamado raised one foot and slammed it down, unleashing an Earthquake that swiftly tore across the crater-pockmarked ground towards Toxicroak. The Toxic Rivulets were ripped to shreds as the Earthquake intercepted them and continued onwards, barely stopping its surge. Toxicroak rose to his feet as Joshua called out an order. "Counter with your own!"
"Charge!" Marcus cried. "Don't let him get the advantage again!"
Right. Kamado exploded forwards just as Toxicroak shifted his own foot, unleashing a powerful Earthquake of his own. This time we're going into melee on my terms. Ancient gathered across his head as he tapped into Head Smash. The two Earthquakes came together in front of him; a huge spray of Ground energy and dust flew upwards as they met, momentarily screening Toxicroak from view.
And at that moment, Kamado knew he'd overcommitted.
There was no way he could arrest his charge at this point. And Toxicroak knew it, for his voice was inlaid with triumph as he hissed, "Poison Touch: Venomous Spray!"
The cloud of energy erupting upwards from the twin Earthquakes suddenly glowed purple with Toxic just as Kamado reached it. He lowered his head and held his breath, but he felt the poison seeping into his stony skin anyway as he charged through the cloud. As Kamado burst through the cloud, he saw Toxicroak standing in front of him, trying to dive out of the way. But he was too slow; Kamado rammed full tilt into him, unleashing the full force of his Head Smash into Toxicroak's stomach.
Somehow, Toxicroak managed to keep his feet, though his foot-claws carved furrows in the ground as he skidded backwards. "Drain Punch!" Joshua ordered; in an instant Toxicroak pushed off the ground and burst forwards, one fist drawn back. "Life-Stealing Aura Punch!" he roared, throwing a powerful haymaker straight into the crown of Kamado's skull.
The force was enough to spike Kamado's chin into the ground with enough force that it set his jaw to aching and left a small crater in the pavement. At the same time, he felt Aura surging through his body, leeching life from his form and sending it into Toxicroak. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nasty bruise he'd left on Toxicroak's stomach fading slightly.
Toxicroak, still pressing his hand down on Kamado's head, grinned. "Venoshock."
Toxic flared across Toxicroak's arm, and agony lanced through Kamado as the poison flowing through his body suddenly burned like fire. Kamado gritted his teeth - I will not just lie down and accept my defeat! - and twisted as hard and as fast as he could. "Tail Attack!" Toxicroak's eyes widened as Kamado spun, sending his tail swinging right at the Poison/Fighting-type, imbued with as much Ancient as he could muster.
A loud crack sounded as Toxicroak was flung away; this time he did not keep his feet, or indeed even land. Instead, he flew straight past Joshua and into the wall behind him, disappearing in a cloud of upraised dust.
Before Kamado could rise back to his feet, though, a snarl arose from where Toxicroak had landed. "Poison Touch: Venomous Aura Sphere!"
"Strong Jaw-" But Kamado didn't even have time to get off an Air Gnash in defense. Out from the cloud of dust flew another massive blue-purple Focus Blast; this time, it impacted Kamado straight in the face, blasting him off his feet. Kamado overturned as he flew, his body scything through several of the poisonous Stealth Rocks as he went, and landed hard on his side, the force of his landing and subsequent skid enough to tear a deep, long indentation in the driveway.
Kamado let out a low, pained groan and opened his eyes…just in time to see Toxicroak hurling himself out of the crater, his body marked with bruises yet still roaring furiously, swinging an Aura-clad fist down at Kamado's fallen body with what looked like all the strength he could possibly draw upon.
Kamado flinched, waiting for the pain, but instead he heard a hiss followed by the feeling of sinking into cooling gel, and knew at once that Marcus had recalled him.
"I forfeit Kamado." Marcus's words were unnecessary; the action was proof enough of his decision.
Kamado could at least content himself with the knowledge that he'd at least inflicted quite a bit of damage on Toxicroak. But at the same time, he knew that Kriesh was going to have to work hard for a win. And that bittersweet feeling was the last thing Kamado knew as he finally gave in and allowed unconsciousness to take him.
One last Psybeam slammed into Wooloo as he struggled to rise, and just like that he was thrown back to the ground. This time, he didn't even try to get back up.
Thwackey gripped his twin sticks so hard he heard the sound of cracking. Neither of his teammates had even landed a hit on this Gothita; now it was his turn to try and at least do something to it. For Hop's entire team to fall without getting a single blow in…
Thwackey shook his head. He couldn't imagine what this must feel like for Hop, watching his team getting so effortlessly and brutally dismantled by a competitor. The boy's voice was still trembling as he spoke. "Thwackey, you're up."
Thwackey stepped forwards. He wasn't expecting his Trainer to give him any orders; Hop had barely said anything to Wooloo, and the few orders he had given had been halfhearted at best. Gothita said nothing either, merely narrowing her eyes slightly and focusing on her newest adversary.
Bede, on the contrary, did not stay silent. "You're really still trying to fight?" he mocked. "This battle was over before you even sent out your second Pokemon. Just forfeit and accept your defeat."
"Thwackey…" Hop spoke faintly. "You have to get in close. She'll clobber you at range."
"Gothita," said Bede, "finish this quickly. Psyshock until it goes down."
Gothita raised a hand - "Feeler Shock" - and Thwackey moved.
He felt Psychic energy crack behind him as he lunged out of the way. "Drum Roll Shot!" he cried, flinging a Razor Leaf at Gothita as he landed. The Psychic-type simply unleashed a Confusion in response, picking up the leaves and tossing them away, but Thwackey was already charging, taking advantage of every opening he could find.
Another of Gothita's Psyshocks narrowly missed him as he closed. "Hypnosis!" Bede snapped, but Thwackey was ready for that; even as Gothita's gaze began to shine with purple energy, Thwackey's own eyes glowed black, and the Hypnosis faded instantly as Gothita reached out and instead fired a useless Charge Beam that crackled over Thwackey's twisting shoulder.
Bede clearly recognized the effects of Taunt, if his rapid subsequent command was any indication. "Forget range - Faint Attack! Match him!"
"Pressure Shock." Gothita's near-emotionless voice heralded her movement; Dark energy glinted across her fist as she stepped towards the oncoming Thwackey. "Branch Poke!" Thwackey cried, thrusting one of his twin sticks forwards; Gothita flung her Faint Attack forwards to match it, and stick and fist collided with another loud crack.
"Branch Stroke!" Thwackey cried, swinging his other stick in an arc towards Gothita's head.
But Gothita ducked the swing smoothly; as she rose, she reached out with her other hand, and Thwackey was forced to draw back as a Psyshock ripped through the air inches from his face. Gothita lunged, hauling back; Thwackey managed to bring up a foot, enhancing it with Grass energy in an effort to block the attack, but the hit was still hard enough to send him tumbling to the ground despite being blocked.
Gothita aren't normally this physically strong. How much training has this Gothita had?
Thwackey flung out another Razor Leaf, using the opening to rise back to his feet and consider his options. There weren't many. There was no way he could beat Gothita in range, and as the Psychic-type had just proven, she was by no means helpless in melee. Still, that seemed like Thwackey's only option at this point, so he crouched, dove aside to avoid a humming Psybeam, and charged again, this time readying both his sticks for a dual-handed overhand strike.
"Branch Riffle!" he yelled, bringing them both down upon Gothita.
Who reached up in a split second, caught both sticks - one in each hand - and unleashed a Confusion from her forehead straight into Thwackey's face.
It was like being hit by a full-force punch; Thwackey reeled, slashing one of his sticks wildly in an arc to try and ward off any pursuit from Gothita. "Down!" Hop shouted as Thwackey stumbled; quickly, Thwackey abandoned all attempts to keep himself upright, dropping to the ground like a puppet with cut strings as a Psybeam soared through the spot where his head had just been. Thwackey promptly rolled to the side to evade another Psyshock and leaped to his feet just in time to see Gothita charging him.
Thwackey thrust a stick forwards. Once more it collided with Gothita's fist; Thwackey strained to keep his feet, still shocked at just how much power Gothita was outputting. And then the energy around Gothita's arm shifted from Dark to Psychic; Thwackey had just enough time to realize something was wrong before Gothita, with a murmur of "Feeler Shock", unleashed a Psyshock from her hand straight into his stick.
The stick shattered into a thousand pieces, wooden splinters flying everywhere; Thwackey retained just enough presence of mind to bat away Gothita's follow-up punch with his remaining stick. He backpedaled, dodging and blocking strike after strike - Gothita was using Double Slap now, rapid-firing open-palm strikes in an attempt to get past his guard - all while thinking madly. I need some way to get an opening! How do I-
And that's when an idea came into his mind. An idea inspired by the exact same tricks Gothita had been using on him.
"Pressure Shock." Gothita's next Faint Attack came for Thwackey's face. Thwackey ducked, reached out with his stickless hand, and unleashed a Razor Leaf straight into the Psychic-type's chest. Gothita hadn't been expecting it; she stumbled as a line of scratches opened across her torso, and Thwackey did not hesitate. "Branch Stroke!" he cried, gripping his remaining stick with both hands; with all his might, he swung it baseball-style at Gothita's jaw.
Crack!
Gothita squealed, bringing up both hands to clutch her jaw as she staggered backwards. Hop's eyes were shining, some vitality suddenly restored. "Finish it, Thwackey!" he cried. "Take it down before it recovers!"
"Blast that thing away with Confusion!" Bede ordered.
But Gothita was still reeling, and Thwackey bodily slammed straight into her before more than a few embers of Psychic energy could start glowing around her body. Gothita fell to the ground with Thwackey bearing down on her. "Get up!" Bede ordered.
Gothita's head snapped up. Thwackey was forced to cut his leap short, instead catching Gothita's Faint Attack in his hand. Gothita began to rise from the ground, head bowed as she held back Thwackey's hand through sheer strength.
"I made a promise," Gothita murmured, "that I would not allow Bede to lose. No matter what it takes, no matter how many Pokemon I have to defeat, I will hold to that promise." Thwackey's eyes widened in shock and terror as Gothita began to glow an instantly recognizable bright blue color. "And," she continued as she began to grow in size, "no worthless overgrown brute of a Starter…is going to make me break. That. Promise."
The last word came out of the mouth of not a Gothita, but a Gothorita, as with an application of strength she hadn't had as a Gothita, she thrust out her hand and shoved Thwackey away. Bringing her other hand around, she raised it up and unleashed a Confusion so wide and so fast that there was no way Thwackey could dodge in time.
This time it was less like a fist and more like getting hit by a truck; Thwackey felt weightless momentarily, as if he'd become briefly detached from reality, and then he hit the ground so hard all breath left his body. A second later a searing pain ripped through his mind as Gothorita followed up by bringing a Psyshock down on his prone form. Thwackey didn't know how loud he was screaming; the agony made him deaf to his own howl.
Gothorita reached up, ready to finish-
"I forfeit Thwackey." Hop's dull voice heralded Thwackey's recall; the boy's momentary cheer at Thwackey's rally had faded entirely.
Bede sniffed. "As expected. So much for the brother of our great undefeated Champion." The last two words came out in a sneer; Hop raised his head, some fire returning to his eyes once again.
"You can mock me all you want," said Hop, "but don't you dare smear Lee's good name like that!"
Bede shook his head. "No worries. After all, you're doing that just fine on your own."
Hop gaped. "Wha-"
Bede's mouth twisted upwards into a wicked smirk. "The great Champion's brother…so many expectations upon your name, and yet you're unable to knock out even a single one of my Pokemon. All you're doing with such a pathetic display is dragging the Champion's name through the mud. He must feel so humiliated having to drag around a waste of space like you all the time. What a joke." The gray-haired boy spat on the ground, then turned on his heel and began to stride away, his newly-evolved Gothorita following close behind. She gave a last glance at Thwackey's Pokeball, a smirk adorning her face, and matched Bede's spit with her own before she, too, turned fully away.
Hop let out a choked gasp that might have been an aborted attempt at a rebuttal. He reached up and wiped his face with his jacket-clad arm; the sleeve came away wet. Without another word he turned and began running back towards Motostoke, away from the Wild Area and away from Bede.
"Electric Blitz!" Morpeko cried, and Raboot realized just how much she'd been limited by Diggersby's Ground typing.
The good news was that she was out of that new form that 'Hunger Switch', whatever that was, had given her. Raboot suspected it was some sort of Ability - he couldn't think of any move he knew that would cause such a vivid change in a Pokemon's strength and demeanor - but whatever it was, it was definitely an extremely powerful trump card.
The bad news was that Morpeko was practically a charging ball of Electric energy as she bore down upon Raboot, aided in her movement by Quick Attack.
"Goal Shot!" Raboot appreciated the irony of firing a barrage of Embers at the oncoming Morpeko, but Morpeko's response was simply to unleash a retaliatory burst of Thunder Shocks from her already sparking body, blasting away the Embers one after the other even as she charged. "Counter with Flame Charge!" Gloria cried, recognizing the futility of trying to ward Morpeko off at the same time as Raboot did.
"Goal Sprint!" Raboot exploded into motion, Fire energy forming an aura across his body as he lunged for Morpeko. The two impacted in a shower of flaming sparks, the force of their clash enough to send both sliding backwards slightly; both recovered and threw a punch at the same time, their fists meeting in midair. Raboot had no intention of prolonging this stalemate, though; in a flash he brought up a Fighting energy-enhanced foot straight into Morpeko's chin.
"Bite!" Marnie yelled even as Morpeko reeled.
Raboot was already leaping forwards, aiming the second half of his Double Kick at Morpeko; Morpeko recovered, sidestepped, and lunged, clamping her jaws down on Raboot's shin. Raboot shrieked, losing his balance as he tried to yank his leg out of Morpeko's teeth; Morpeko grinned as she twisted, carrying Raboot off his feet and releasing him at the same time. Raboot tumbled to the ground in a whirlwind of flailing limbs, and Morpeko wasted no time in leaping on top of him. He wasn't quite as fast as he had been after Hunger Switch, but Raboot still felt agony pulsing through him as Morpeko sunk a fist straight into his stomach.
"Flame Charge!" Gloria cried.
Gritting his teeth, Raboot called upon as much Fire energy as he could and thrust himself upwards in an explosive burst of force. Morpeko squealed as she was flung away; Raboot was forced to roll to the side as a retaliatory Thunder Shock, fired while still in the air, narrowly missed him. Morpeko landed and promptly unleashed several more rapid Thunder Shocks; Raboot countered with Embers, and the air between the two erupted in a cavalcade of miniature explosions.
But even as electricity and fire came together in a flurry of blasts that lit up the lobby with each impact, Raboot was watching Morpeko warily. Sure enough, the Electric/Dark-type was beginning to tremble - and Raboot knew from watching Morpeko's fight with Diggersby what that meant.
And he'd already figured out how to counter it.
Practically the instant Diggersby had been recalled, Morpeko had dropped her Hunger Switch form, clearly exhausted even though she'd spent only a small amount of time in it. It stood to reason, therefore, that Hunger Switch both required conscious effort to use and took quite a bit of energy to maintain. Diggersby had fallen because she hadn't known what to expect and played right into Morpeko's hands by attempting to stand against her.
Raboot would not make that same mistake.
He redoubled his barrage of Embers, stepping to the side a little as he did so. Each mote of Fire energy was countered by the increasingly shaking Morpeko; only now did Marnie notice what was about to happen. "Morpeko, charge!" she cried. "Quick Attack - get close!"
Not happening.
Morpeko lunged - and Raboot turned and ran.
"Hunger Switch!" he heard roared out behind him as he dove behind one of the still-standing potted plants in the lobby. Raboot didn't stop, and it was a good thing he did; as he risked a glance back, he saw Morpeko, back in her black-brown form, ram full tilt into the potted plant, barely seeming to notice as she bowled it over. Raboot heard the still-watching Team Yell Grunts jeering, mocking his seeming cowardice, but paid them no heed as he leaped over a chair that Morpeko promptly overturned as well.
A glass table rose up in front of Raboot; he winced as he dropped, rolling beneath the table, already knowing what was going to happen even as he did so. Sure enough, Morpeko plowed straight into this as well; Raboot narrowly avoided the shards of falling glass as he leaped to his feet, tossing an Ember at Morpeko as he ran. Morpeko took it without flinching; a wordless roar escaped her as she charged. She was moving faster than Raboot, but Raboot's movements were smoother, deliberate, effortlessly avoiding furniture and other obstacles that Morpeko promptly smashed into, scrubbing speed and wasting time.
And then, all at once, Raboot hurdled another chair and found himself facing a wall. Crap!
He twisted in time to see Morpeko shove the chair out of the way through raw strength and charge, red eyes shining gleefully. Over Morpeko's shoulder, Raboot noticed Gloria; she was staring wide-eyed at him, hands cupped over her mouth. "Over!"
Over. Of course!
Raboot crouched and leaped, pushing diagonally off both the wall and the floor. Morpeko shot under him in a flash, moving too quickly to stop herself. A nasty crack sounded as she rammed face-first into the wall; unlike the furniture, the wall did not give way, and Morpeko practically bounced off as Raboot landed on his feet behind her. She turned, and Raboot saw her shifting back into normal form, sagging; her concentration had been broken by the hard impact, and exhaustion was all that remained.
Exhaustion that left her a sitting Ducklett.
"Goal Sprint!" Raboot's Flame Charge sent Morpeko flying right back into the wall; again she caromed off, and again Raboot was ready, this time with a spinning Double Kick that knocked Morpeko sprawling to the floor. As Morpeko struggled to her feet, snarling, Raboot tapped into Ember, summoning a mote of flame upon one foot. Smirking, he thrust his foot upwards, sending the mote flying into the air.
And then he spun, aiming a kick for the mote, aimed squarely towards where Morpeko was now standing. "Goal Shot."
The kick connected, and the Ember flew like a screaming comet straight into Morpeko's face.
One final explosion lit up the room as Morpeko was tossed halfway across the lobby. Her unconscious body hit the floor and bounced twice before Marnie recalled her in the middle of her third bounce. Raboot strode back into the space between Gloria and Marnie, ignoring the destroyed furniture Morpeko's rampage had left in its wake.
Marnie chuckled. "Sorry about that…Hunger Switch is a cool Ability, but it's pretty hard to control. Now, then! Let's finish this, shall we?"
"Agreed," said Gloria. "Good job, Raboot - got one more in you?"
Raboot inclined his head, readying himself for Marnie's final Pokemon. His eyes strayed to one of the Pokeballs on the opposing Trainer's belt; he'd noticed it rattling when Marnie had chosen Morpeko as her third, and now it was doing so even more, looking almost as if it was going to jump right out of her belt and throw itself at Raboot like an angry Voltorb.
Marnie's hand dipped towards a Pokeball that was noticeably not the rattling one-
And in the next moment, a burst of white light filled the room as the rattling Pokeball exploded. Raboot, covering his eyes to avoid being blinded, heard a titanic shriek emanating from in front of him, booming and demanding yet filled with a confident, almost casual tone. "I will finish this fight."
Raboot lowered his arm. In the midst of the fading light, he saw a massive winged form, colored black and pink, with what looked like reddish-pink flames curling off its head and tail and wings as they flapped slowly but steadily. Two piercing blue eyes stared at him, and at their glare Raboot realized he'd taken an involuntary step back. One glance was all Raboot needed to know that this Pokemon was far more powerful than any of the other three Pokemon Marnie had sent out. Probably stronger than all three of them combined.
"Moltres, no!" Marnie cried. "Back in the ball - this isn't your battle to fight!"
Moltres? Raboot took another step back. But…that's a Legendary. Like what Oleana had. How does Marnie have a Legendary?
Moltres glared down at Marnie. "I am not asking," he said, in a manner that told Raboot Marnie could fully understand what he was saying. "Your brother gave me to you so that you could use me in battle. Not so you could keep me in my Pokeball and only pull me out as an absolute last resort. I am not too powerful to use, Marnie. And I will not sit back and allow you to lose a battle that you could win simply by bringing me out. Now, as I said…" Moltres turned back towards Raboot, icy blue eyes glinting. "…I will finish this fight."
Moltres raised one wing, and from it flew pink-black flames that dwarfed anything Raboot was capable of summoning. High into the air the flames flew, curling together into a shape not unlike Moltres itself, rising high enough to practically scrape the ceiling of the lobby, a pillar so thick and vast that it would have easily engulfed a person. A sickening, malicious-feeling energy radiated off the flames as they rose; Raboot managed to keep his feet, but it was a near thing.
"Fiery Wrath," Moltres snarled, and then the flames twisted and dove straight for Raboot.
A fiery beak opened, fiery wings spread, and the Fiery Wrath shrieked as it plunged down upon Raboot. Raboot raised one hand towards it. "Goal Shot!" he cried, defiant even in the face of the overwhelmingly powerful attack.
But his voice was drowned out by the shrieking of Moltres's flames, and his Ember, normally a comet of Fire energy but this time meager by comparison, was swallowed in an instant. In one second more the flames hit him. There was a searing pain, both physical and mental, the likes of which Raboot had never even come close to experiencing before, and then nothing.
"I forfeit." Gloria looked downcast as she spoke. "Sorry, Marnie, but I know I can't beat that."
Applin could tell that the words hurt to say, and the excited cheers of the Team Yell Grunts reveling in their leader's victory certainly didn't help matters. But all the same, she was quite glad Gloria hadn't sent her out to fight a literal god.
Moltres, for his part, looked satisfied as he turned back towards Marnie. "You see?" he asked. "One attack from me, and a losing battle turns into a victory. That's why I'm here, Marnie. So maybe try using me a little more often in the future?"
Marnie, surprisingly, didn't look nearly as happy as Moltres or the Team Yell Grunts. "Will do," she said. "If I lose a Gym Battle and have to go back for a rematch, you can bet you're comin' out."
Moltres sighed. "I should hope you would use me more often than that. But you are - currently - my Trainer, so…your wish is my command." The flames finally died from around Moltres; swiftly, Marnie raised his Pokeball and recalled the Legendary into it.
"Marnie," said Gloria, "where and how did you get a Legendary? He said something about your brother-"
"Not now, Gloria," Marnie interrupted hastily. "Listen…I don't want any winnings for that, you hear? Just…I suggest you scarper before hotel staff shows up. Odds are they'll blame this-" She gestured to the shattered tile floor, knocked-over furniture, and dented walls around them. "-on Team Yell, but only if you ain't here by the time they arrive."
Before Gloria could move, Marnie turned and scrambled back up the steps towards the upper part of the lobby. The Team Yell Grunts followed with a few celebratory toots of their horns. Gloria was left standing alone amidst the half-destroyed lower lobby, looking down dejectedly at what remained of the tile floor.
"First Bede, now Marnie…" she murmured. "Even Hop can beat me in a fight at this point. How am I supposed to even compete if all the other Trainers are so much stronger than me?"
The first thing Kriesh noticed upon being released was that the poisonous Stealth Rocks were still floating in the air, a minefield of Toxic ready to punish her for the slightest misstep. Well, that's a problem, she thought disgustedly, glaring at Toxicroak; it was with a certain excitement that she saw him badly bruised and wincing, clearly favoring one leg even as he tried to fix Kriesh with a confident glare.
Both him and I have already been through one clash today. Kriesh shifted her stance. But unlike him, I've gotten some time to rest since my earlier battle. I've got the advantage in both health and typing…now I just have to use it.
"Toxicroak, Sludge Wave!" Joshua ordered, eliciting a snarl of "Venomous Wave!" from Toxicroak as he raised both arms and unleashed a torrent of Toxic.
"Kriesh, Steel Wing!" Marcus cried. "Counter that wave, and take out those rocks!"
Kriesh couldn't hold back a grin - Marcus had hit upon the perfect countermeasure. Accordingly, she tapped into Steel Wing, allowing the silvery energy to play across her feathers. A challenging shriek emanated from her throat as she brought her Steel energy-clad wings up in front of her.
The Sludge Wave rose, growing in size as it neared Kriesh's oncoming form. Kriesh held her breath, keeping her wings held high as the wave drew closer with every passing second. Only when it was on top of her did she let out a cry, swinging her wings to the side as she did so. "Steel Impact!"
The effect was immediate. The Sludge Wave parted before her, swept off to either side by the motion of her wings. Every Toxic-imbued stone floating around her was ripped to shreds, the Steel energy preventing any of the poison from seeping into Kriesh's feathers. As the remnants of the Sludge Wave flew past on either side, Kriesh saw Toxicroak charging straight for her, fist at the ready. He had not been idly standing by while Kriesh countered his opening move.
"Poison Touch: Venomous Dagger Fist!"
"Sniper: Beak Impact!"
But as the tip of Kriesh's beak met the point of Toxicroak's dagger-claw, she saw the Poison/Fighting-type giving her a smirk, in no way forced this time, and realized that she'd just fallen for a trap.
"Poison Touch: Venomous Spray."
Before Kriesh could pull away, a burst of Poison energy, gaseous in form, erupted out of the tip of Toxicroak's dagger-claw and straight into her face. An involuntary pained cry flew from her throat as she staggered, blinded, breathing in poison. He didn't use that against Kamado! Was he seriously holding back an easy surprise poisoning technique the whole time?
"Venom Shock."
"Block with Steel Wing!" Marcus yelled; still blind, Kriesh obediently flung up a wing clad in Steel energy, and was relieved to feel Toxicroak's attack impact against it. "Sniper: Auditus," she croaked through the still-present choking gas, throwing out her hearing; with her sight momentarily offline, she needed at least some idea of where Toxicroak was and what he was planning.
Her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of rapid footsteps and realized he was racing straight at her. I have to push him back…can't fight properly like this…
"Sniper: Vox Impact!" she bellowed; Toxicroak howled in pain, and the sound of staggering, receding footsteps indicated that the attack had served its purpose perfectly. Kriesh coughed, forcing as much gas as possible out of her throat, and simultaneously blinked her eyes several times to try and clear away the spray that had gotten into them.
Keeping whatever this was - it was similar to the Smog that Houndoom sometimes drew upon, but she didn't know if the Toxicroak line could learn that move - in his back pocket had been a masterstroke, no matter how reluctant Kriesh was to admit that. It had taken an entire prolonged brawl for Toxicroak to poison Kamado, yet here Kriesh was, afflicted not even half a minute into their duel. And, weakened as she was from her earlier fight with Joshua's Zoroark, poison combined with what would almost certainly be constant Venoshocks from Toxicroak would wear her down fast.
One Venoshock might be all it takes. I know I wouldn't be able to stand against two.
Vision restored - at least to a point - Kriesh glared at Toxicroak, fury pulsing through her at the lazy grin he shot at her in return. The Poison/Fighting-type wasted no time in bringing up both hands, forming a Focus Blast in each. "Poison Touch: Venomous Aura Spheres!" he snarled, flinging them both at Kriesh one after the other.
Okay, he was seriously holding back against Kamado. Kriesh launched herself into the air, spreading her wings, and soared over the first purple-blue sphere. She banked to the side to avoid the second, opening her beak wide. "Sniper: Beam Impact!"
She knew it was risky using the move against a Fighting-type; indeed, Toxicroak simply hauled back with a fist clad in Aura and threw a punch straight into the beam as it came at him, shattering the Energy into fragments with the force of his blow. But Kriesh was already diving, knowing that she only had moments before Toxicroak resumed throwing ranged attacks up at her. "Sniper: Vox Impact!" she called again, hoping it would be enough to destabilize him.
But though Toxicroak once again cried out and clapped his hands to his ears, he also saw through his wincing eyes Kriesh streaking towards him. He let out a wordless shout; from his throat burst another Sludge Wave that forced Kriesh to bank away. She rammed straight through a few of the still-present floating Toxic-imbued rocks, though at least their poison didn't really matter anymore what with her already poisoned. The cuts, however, stung, and she shook her feathers to try and clear the pain away as she landed on the ground, twisting to face Toxicroak.
"Kriesh, get in close with Drill Run!" Marcus called.
"Earth Impact!" Kriesh tapped into the technique in question, letting Ground energy play all across her body. She shot forwards like a bullet, skimming so close to the ground that she managed to dart under a few of the purple floating stones in the air.
"Meet her with Ice Punch!" Joshua commanded
Damn it! Kriesh was forced to break off as Toxicroak sprang; she brought up a quick Steel Wing to block the Poison/Fighting-type's Ice energy-enhanced blow. Flicking her other wing forwards, she tossed a Mud-Slap upwards, aiming for Toxicroak's eyes, but Toxicroak quickly twisted in response, raising his other arm to intercept the blast. A low pained growl left Toxicroak's mouth as the hand attached to that same arm opened, forming another Toxic-imbued Focus Blast in the palm; Kriesh dove to the side as the ground where she'd been standing exploded under the impact of the sphere.
"Venom Shock!"
Oh-
Kriesh had no time for thought before pain enveloped her. Toxicroak had been downright surgical in his placement of the technique; she'd expected him to unleash Venoshock after Venoshock, constantly trying to take advantage of the poison afflicting Kriesh, but instead he'd waited for a moment where Kriesh couldn't defend with Steel Wing before even bothering with it. Snarling, she whirled, flinging out another Mud-Slap and calling upon Sniper to guide it to its target. A cry of "Block it with Ice Punch!" and a subsequent explosion of noise made it clear what Toxicroak's response had been.
Kriesh took the moment of respite to force back the pain as much as possible. Toxicroak was running circles around her; she'd barely done any damage to the Poison/Fighting-type so far, while he'd poisoned her and gotten in a Venoshock. She could already feel her muscles trembling with the effort of keeping herself up. How am I supposed to-
"Roost!"
For the second time in this fight, Kriesh was profoundly grateful for Marcus's insight. Quickly, she tapped into the Flying-type technique, relaxing slightly as Air suffused itself into her body, forcing the poison back and healing her wounds. She smirked at Toxicroak's clear irritation; the Poison/Fighting-type flicked away some leftover mud, glowering as Ice energy coated his fists.
"Finish her before she can get more of those off!" Joshua cried. "Get in there and use Close Combat!"
No way am I getting hit by that. Kriesh spread her wings and hurled herself upwards once more even as Toxicroak charged. A rapidly-flying fist passed inches beneath her belly as she gained height. She flung a Pursuit out of her beak as she rose, not expecting it to do any damage but knowing it would distract Toxicroak.
He's good enough to overpower me in close range, but none of my ranged attacks are going to work on him, and he can stall me out until poison takes too much of a toll or he gets in a lucky hit. My only chance is to take him by surprise…but how?
And that was when Kriesh spotted the tunnel Drapion had dug, half broken open by Kamado stomping Joshua's Rotom through it, and grinned as she folded her wings and dove towards it.
"What is she…" Joshua's eyes widened as Kriesh, tapping into Sniper to make sure she both aimed the dive correctly and levelled out at precisely the right moment, swooped straight into the tunnel. "Toxicroak, Earthquake, now!"
But it was too late.
"Earth Impact!" Kriesh shrieked as she exploded out of the ground, slamming into Toxicroak's stomach with a fully-powered Drill Run hard enough to knock him right off his feet. As he landed on his back, Kriesh opened wide - "Sniper: Beam Impact!" - and unleashed a blisteringly powerful Hyper Beam that curved straight into Toxicroak's torso and elicited a bellow of agony from the Poison/Fighting-type.
Kriesh pressed, pouring more and more Energy into her opponent, watching his writhing form closely. She didn't want to let up until he stopped struggling; there was no way she would be taking any more chances with this wily fighter.
"Turn it to poison!" Joshua yelled.
By the time Kriesh's ears had registered the enemy Trainer's newest order, Toxicroak had already reached up and touched the Hyper Beam with a trembling hand. "Poison Touch…Venom Infusion!"
A purple glow flowed into the Hyper Beam from the point of Toxicroak's dagger-claw; Kriesh stared, shocked, as the glow grew, suffusing the entire beam with Toxic that swiftly began to flood back up the beam towards her. "Break away!" Marcus yelled frantically; Kriesh folded her wings and dropped a second before the rapidly-moving Toxic reached her. Toxicroak rolled to his feet and instantly lunged for her, hauling back for a final blow.
Kriesh felt the poison surging through her, felt exhaustion and pain ripping at her body in spite of her earlier Roost, and knew her only choice was to oblige.
Grimacing, she flooded as much Air and Ground energy into her body as she could and hurled herself forwards, drawing upon Sniper to aim perfectly at the point right between Toxicroak's eyes. "Sniper: Flying Earth Impact!" she snarled.
"Poison Touch: Venomous Dagger Fist!" Toxicroak roared.
Kriesh lunged. Toxicroak swung. And Kriesh's beak rammed straight into Toxicroak's face just as Toxicroak's fist struck her full in the chin.
Both reeled, agony lancing through their bodies. But only one fell down.
"Roost," Kriesh hissed through her clenched-shut beak, drawing the used-up Air back into her body, practically holding herself up through the energy alone. Toxicroak stared at her through dull eyes, obvious respect piercing through the pain. And then his head drooped to the ground as unconsciousness claimed him.
Kriesh didn't care about respect, at least not from Toxicroak. The respect of an evil team's Pokemon meant nothing to her. All that mattered was that she'd won.
Kriesh turned and met Joshua's eyes with a piercing glare, one that was matched by Marcus. "I win," her Trainer stated. "Now hand over the Sash."
Joshua smiled. "Gladly." He stepped towards Marcus; Kriesh eyed him warily, not trusting him in the slightest, but he simply held out the Focus Sash, motioning with his other hand for Marcus to take it. "It pleases me," he said, "to see that Kalos can count someone as strong as you among its protectors."
Marcus took the Focus Sash and quickly stowed it in a pocket, not taking his eyes off Joshua either. "Glad you feel that way," he muttered.
Joshua reached up to his hat, plucked it off his own scalp, and tossed it away, revealing a full head of very dark brown hair. Then, in one fluid motion, he unzipped his jacket and tossed that away as well. To Kriesh's surprise, he was wearing another jacket under it, this one a lighter shade of brown and arranged in a much more official way than the loose, baggy black-purple jacket he'd been wearing before. Joshua raised his head, straightened his spine, and adjusted his expression into a severe look.
In seconds, through nothing but a change in clothing and an adjustment of his posture, he'd transformed from a member of Team Yell into a far more official-looking man, one who wouldn't look out of place among League Staff.
"I must apologize for my deception," said Joshua. "But I needed to get you alone, and…my team wanted a fight. Much of my line of work is sitting behind desks and writing reports - it is not often that my Pokemon are able to battle equal opponents."
Marcus frowned. "What's that supposed to mean, Joshua? And if you're not a member of Team Yell, then what are you?"
"My name is not Joshua," said the brown-haired man. "Joshua, I am afraid, is merely one of my various cover identities. My true identity is Looker, a member of the International Police." The brown-haired man reached into his pocket and pulled out an instantly recognizable badge. Kriesh also recognized the name - she'd fought alongside this same man during Team Flare's takeover of the Power Plant years ago. And he had a Rotom, Zoroark, and Toxicroak then too…
Marcus's own demeanor changed swiftly, dropping his aggressive stance entirely, though his gaze still remained wary. "Why would a member of the International Police want to get me alone so badly?"
"Because," Looker replied, "I am in Galar on a very important and highly discrete mission, and would prefer my presence be known only to those whom I want it to be known by."
"And this mission is?"
Looker gazed into Marcus's eyes. "To track down and capture Pokemon Hunter J. I trust you've heard the name."
"I have," said Marcus, clearly trying not to give anything away. "Everyone has."
Looker shifted. "Is it true that you have already met Hunter J in Galar?"
He knows. Kriesh's eyes narrowed. Marcus came to the same realization - there was no point in lying. "Yes," he said.
Looker nodded shortly. "Please explain."
So Marcus did. He explained that J had rescued him, Hop, and Gloria from the train crash. He explained that she'd flown them to Motostoke. And - after a short pause that was most likely filled by a Psychic conversation between Marcus and Medicham - he explained everything he knew about the renegade Heralds, even if he only knew them as 'the Absols that attacked us on the train'.
Looker was frowning as Marcus finished. "So there is another faction in play," he murmured. "A group of Absols opposed to both us and Hunter J…this complicates things."
Marcus nodded silently.
"Galar is rapidly becoming quite a tangled mess," said Looker. "I will warn you, Marcus - no matter how blurred the line between ally and enemy may get, you must not trust Hunter J. She is out for herself and only herself."
"Believe me, I don't," Marcus assured Looker.
"Good." Looker gave Marcus a thin smile and reached into another pocket. "Take this." He withdrew a small circular metal device with a pair of buttons on the top, one red and one green. "This is a tracking device," Looker informed Marcus. "There is a not insignificant likelihood that J may take you onto her ship again in the future. If she does, press the green button - it will link the device to the International Police's network and enable me to track your position. Alternatively, if you require assistance in any sort of matter - such as, for example, another attack from these Absols - press the red button. That will alert me that you are in need, and my Arcanine is capable of teleportation, so I can be there in seconds if required."
"Thank you," said Marcus, tucking the device into a pocket.
"Thank you," Looker replied, "for assisting in this investigation, and for giving my Pokemon an excellent battle. Zoroark will likely be furious when he wakes up - it has been a while since he has fallen so swiftly in combat."
"No problem." Marcus smiled. "Though, next time you want to fight, maybe don't disguise as an evil team member. Kriesh was probably ready to rip you apart."
Looker shot a glance at Kriesh. "I will take that under advisement," he said, releasing his Arcanine. "Return to base, Arcanine," he ordered; a second later, the International Police agent and his Arcanine were gone, leaving behind Marcus, Kriesh, and the disused driveway, which now more resembled a warzone.
"…we should probably get out of here," said Marcus sheepishly.
Of all the things Kriesh had expected to see when Marcus entered the Budew Drop Inn, it was not a half-destroyed lobby covered in caution tape that several tired-looking workers were in the process of cleaning up. "What happened here?" the Trainer asked.
"Team Yell," one of the workers grumbled. "Must've been frustrated about something, because this is nothing compared to what it looked like ten minutes ago." He indicated the piles of destroyed furniture, dirt covering the floor from several knocked-over potted plants, and multiple dents in the walls and floor. "And just when all the Gym Challengers are showing up to fight Kabu…"
"I'm sorry," said Marcus.
"Don't be, it's not your fault," said another worker. "Hey, by the way - you're Marcus, right? That foreign Gym Leader who fought Leon?"
Marcus nodded. "That's me."
"A friend of mine told me he saw you traveling with the Champion's brother," said the worker. "So I thought you might want to know - he came back in a right state about five minutes ago. Didn't say nothing, just ran right past us and towards the elevators. Looked like he'd been crying."
Crying? Kriesh frowned - that didn't sound like the exuberant, constantly excited Hop she knew. Marcus also frowned. "Thanks for letting me know," he said. "I'll check in on him in the morning - see what's up. Anyway, do you all need any help? I know I'm not a worker by trade, but my Pokemon can lift things well enough, and I'm pretty sure Trevenant can help with the plants."
"Really?" The workers looked relieved. "Thanks, mate. We'd gladly welcome the help."
Marcus wasted no time in releasing Medicham, Pangoro, and Trevenant, directing them to help the workers with lifting and rearranging. As she watched Medicham tap into her Psychic powers to telekinetically scoop shards of glass into a trash bag provided by one of the workers, though, Kriesh couldn't help but worry about Hop.
What could possibly happen that would make him act like that?
I will freely admit that at this point, there are a lot of characters, factions, and interconnected plots running in Galar. I promise things will all come together by the end of the season, but just in case, here's a quick refresher:
Marcus is in Galar on Diantha's order because Piers has seemingly disappeared and gone no-contact despite the International League coming up, and Galar seems to be unconcerned with his whereabouts. Bringer-Of-Visions has warned Medicham of the renegade Heralds, whom she mentioned were likely planning to attack Marcus upon his arrival.
The renegade Heralds are working with Rose on a plan involving reviving Eternatus to both provide power to Galar and fight Giratina when the time comes. Teller-Of-Tales, their leader, wants to protect Marcus, but Arbiter-Of-Fates, their strongest fighter, wants to reduce risk by killing him. Teller-Of-Tales asked Rose to protect Marcus; Rose hired Hunter J to do that, but unbeknownst to Teller-Of-Tales, also requested that she hunt down and capture the renegade Heralds.
Hunter J has already captured two of the renegade Heralds, and additionally rescued Marcus from a train crash resulting from an attack by Arbiter-Of-Fates, forming a very loose partnership. Looker is in Galar to track down Hunter J, and has given Marcus a tracking device in the hopes that Marcus can get back on Hunter J's ship and lead him right to her.
Rose has become aware of Marcus's intentions after Marcus asked one too many questions about Piers, and has requested that he stop his investigation. Marcus has demanded contact from Piers, which he currently has yet to recieve. Leon, Champion of Galar, also seems to know something's up, seeing as he's making excuses for Piers and trying to change the subject whenever he comes up.
Recently, Medicham managed to meet with the renegade Heralds, during which she learned of their plans and also learned that Galarian Articuno, a Legendary currently in the employ of Rose's assistant Oleana, was working alongside them as well. She made a tentative peace with them, though Hunter J's subsequent capture of the Absol escorting her may have jeopardized that.
While all of this is going on, the Galar Gym Challenge is underway, with Marcus sponsoring Gloria as a cover for his mission in Galar. Rose's sponsored challenger, Bede, is using Eviolites combined with an extremely strong team to tear through the competition and convince as many other competitors as possible to quit. Marnie, the younger sister of Piers, is also taking part, and is intentionally hiding her presence from Marcus; she has recently been revealed to have access to Galarian Moltres.
Finally, Sonia has been incentivized to do further research into the Darkest Day, an event in the past where two ancient kings of Galar sacrificed themselves to stop a great cataclysm, after Gloria encountered Zamazenta during an unrelated happening within the Slumbering Weald. After her meeting with the renegade Heralds, Medicham asked Sonia about Eternatus, after which Sonia very quickly left for Wedgehurst. Oh, and a band of hooligans calling themselves Team Yell is causing trouble all around Galar. They're probably not important.
...
Okay, I think that's everything. I hope that helps - let me know if you've got any questions!