It was finally time for the last Gym Challenge for my journey in Hoenn.
If you told me I would be cutting this close to complete all the Gym Badges at the start of my journey, I would have laughed at you.
If you told me I would be even able to complete all the Gym Badges at the start of my hospitalization, I would also have laughed at you.
The circumstances I was in were obviously not something I hoped for, but I thought they helped me remember to cherish the people and Pokémon around me at all times. They were the ones who helped me reach this point, after all.
Better late than never.
And with that, I finished mentally preparing myself as I started moving on my wheelchair to the Lilycove City Gym, recalling Wally's Gym Leader description along the way.
Wally, the Gym Leader in the newly opened Lilycove City Gym. A previously sickly but headstrong Petalburg native who started his journey with his Ralts, Balde, who eventually evolved into a Gallade. Together, Wally's passion towards Pokémon battling had shaped him into a Trainer with outstanding skills, which earned him a spot as one of the new Gym Leaders through the PLA's Developmental Program.
He is also the only Gym Leader who uses Pokémon consisting of various types, which allows Trainers to gain more experience on what would be the closest to an actual Hoenn League match before going against their future opponents. This also allows Wally to be more flexible with his choices for each battle, though he always tends to involve his lifelong partner, Blade in all of them.
I managed to get to the Gym entrance before the scheduled time and took no time entering the Gym Lobby, to which the receptionist looked like she expected my arrival, probably thanks to Wally. She then diligently led me to the battlefield room, which consisted of a large dirt field with white bleachers. My sister, Charmaine, who remained in Lilycove for a few more days, was sitting on one of them, as she waved at me with a warm smile when she saw me enter the room.
"Do your best, Lows!" She cheered, to which I quickly responded with a thumbs up before continuing moving towards my side of the battlefield.
Afterwards, Wally did not waste much time to show up and appeared on the other side before saying, "...I'm still kinda new to this, so I don't really know what to say for a welcoming speech."
He then took a deep breath before his expression turned serious, "Well, since you've come so far to get to this point, let's give it all we got, Lows."
"Yeah, let's do this, Wally." I nodded.
When it reached the scheduled time for the Gym Challenge, the referee walked towards the middle of the battlefield before explaining the usual rules, "This match will be a three on three single battle, in which the challenger has the first move as well as being able to switch his Pokémon. The winner is decided when the opponent's three Pokémon are unable to battle. Do you understand and agree with the rules, Lows from Pallet Town?"
...Here we go.
I nodded, and the referee announced, "The match between Leader Wally and Challenger Lows will now begin! Trainers, please choose your first Pokémon."
I immediately threw my first Pokéball into the air, "Shadow, let's do this!"
"Boltz, time to battle!"
On Wally's side of the battlefield, what spawned from his Pokéball was a Pokémon with a wide, circular steel body, with its eyes located at the ball shaped additions on each side of its body and horseshoe magnets below each of its eyes. It reminded me of a Magnemite, but much larger in size.
I scanned the Magnezone from afar, an action that fortunately received the kind Gym Leader's silent permission, [Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Magneton and the final evolved form of Magnemite. Sometimes the magnetism emitted by Magnezone is too strong, making them attract each other so they cannot move.]
I thought so.
The main reason for me picking Shadow first was for her to gain more experience. Due to the special conditions of the Lilycove Gym, there was definitely no way I could fully prepare against an unpredictable Wally's team, so I just planned to improvise on the spot, and hope for the best.
Shadow remained silent, but her slight trembling revealed her nervousness. It was understandable: it was not exactly her first time involved in the Gym Battle, but last time, she had Slash with her. This time, she would be doing this alone on the battlefield.
"Don't worry, I'm right behind you, Shadow." I reassured her, which helped in lifting off her pressure for the moment as she flashed a thankful smile before preparing herself to start the battle.
"Battle begin!"
"Shadow, Night Slash!" Assuming that Boltz would have a slower speed due to its larger size, thus a bigger disadvantage in dodging Shadow's attacks, I commanded.
Fortunately, I was right, as Shadow dashed towards the Magnezone before slashing its body with her glowing horn. Boltz seemed rather unaffected, though, as Wally fired back, "Boltz, fight through the pain and use Tri Attack!"
The two screws on the Magnezone's body glowed white, and the white energy connected before forming a triangle, right before Boltz instantly launched the attack right towards my Dark type.
"Shadow, Protect!"
Shadow, who used the momentum from launching herself off Boltz's body to perform a quick backup before landing on the ground, immediately generated a protective barrier surrounding her which endured the Normal type attack as it shattered right upon contact.
"Stay relentless, Boltz!" Wally said, "Fire non-stop Thunderbolt attacks at Shadow!"
Multiple bolts of yellow electricity were fired from the Electric and Steel type, which deliberately forced Shadow to dodge towards a corner, which eventually, completely restricted her movements. After the initial goal was achieved, Wally took no time to follow up, "Boltz, Flash Cannon, now!"
The last bolt of electricity just subsided right beside my Absol before a white orb of energy was formed in front of the Magnezone's body before it was fired right towards Shadow, who could not react in time and took the attack full on. She uncontrollably let out a wince of pain from the super effective attack.
I could only make the situation less disadvantageous by forcing Boltz to compensate for the damage dealt to Shadow, "Shadow, Payback!"
A wave of purple energy surrounded my Absol as she charged towards the Magenzone, which its speed made it vulnerable towards the powerful slam. Unfortunately, the situation still looked more favourable for the sturdy Magnezone for the moment.
To make matters worse, Wally quickly revealed one of the tricks in his sleeves, "Boltz, let's take a short break. Volt Switch!"
The Magnezone shot another bolt of electricity from one of its horse magnets, which looked weaker than its Thunderbolt attack, but the move allowed it to automatically return to its Pokéball. Wally, who had everything going according to his plan, already had another Pokéball in his hand as he threw it towards the sky, "It's your time, Blade!"
The Pokémon who had been with the Lilycove Gym Leader since day one, was right in front of us, ready to take out his first opponent. It was not going to be a pleasant next few minutes for my Absol, it seemed.
Wally was ready to make my nightmares come true, "Blade, finish her off with Close Combat!"
I had to prolong the battle, even though it looked like all hope was lost for Shadow.
"Never give up, Shadow!" I yelled, trying to help the Absol remain calm despite the chaos that was about to ensue, "Protect!"
The protective barrier surrounded Shadow at an instant, temporarily preventing the Gallade from directly hitting the Dark type, as the Psychic and Fighting type started repeatedly slashing, punching and kicking the barrier at an alarming speed with the help of his extended glowing arm blades. It was no doubt Protect would not last long against this beast.
"Shadow, Psycho Cut!" I knew Shadow had to do something before more trouble striked her, so I encouraged her to release the purple crescent-like blade of energy from its horn at the Gallade, hoping it would slow down his progress. However, that proved too good to be true, as Blade remained undeterred in his tracks, as the protective barrier shattered within the new few seconds, just enough time for Blade to unleash one last powerful punch right at Shadow's body, the Fighting type move causing Shadow to wince in pain once again as the impact pushed her closer to me at our side of the battlefield.
"Fight until the end!" I yelled, "Night Slash!"
"Blade, counter with Close Combat!"
Shadow was able to land her final hit using her glowing horn onto Wally's starter, but not before she was repeatedly penetrated by Blade with his punches and kicks. The consecutive super effective attacks proved too much for Shadow to handle, as my Dark type's final energy was depleted as she collapsed onto the ground.
"Shadow is unable to battle! Blade wins!"
"You did your best, Shadow." I reassured her, which made her feel less defeated about her loss. I then returned her back to the Pokéball, which Wally also surprisingly did the same.
Playing a safer game, I picked one of my most reliable choices for the next battle, "Surfer, brave the wave!"
"You got this, Rampage!"
On the other side, Wally had sent out a bipedal, draconian Pokémon primarily dark blue in colour, with its appearance reminding me of a hammerhead shark. I once again scanned it with my Pokédex, [Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Gabite and the final evolved form of Gible. When it folds up its body and extends its wings, it looks like a jet plane. It flies at sonic speed.]
"It's a Dragon type Pokémon, more commonly found in the Sinnoh region." Wally added, giving me some additional information for the upcoming battle, "This is the advantage of using various Pokémon types in a battle, which helps me to adjust accordingly based on the situation. Guess I'm luckier than other Gym Leaders in that regard."
"It also makes the battles a lot harder compared to other Gyms." I half-joked.
"You can say that." Wally chuckled, "Perhaps this is why the number of Trainers challenging my Gym is lesser. Plus the fact that the Gym is new, of course."
He really didn't intend to make it easy for me, huh…
I smiled upon feeling the thrill of the final test Wally was giving me at the moment.
Bring it on, then!
"Battle begin!"
"Surfer, Aqua Tail!"
A powerful jet of water was fired from the tip of the Blastoise's tail towards the Garchomp right at my command, but Wally quickly responded, "Rampage, dodge and use Crunch!"
The Dragon and Ground type's superior speed allowed him to dodge the attack rather easily, before he instantly lunged forward towards my starter.
"Surfer, quickly defend yourself with Iron Defense!" Surfer's large shell instantly started glowing white, as Surfer managed to turn his back towards the fierce Rampage, who then bit down right on Surfer's shell using his sharp jaws. Fortunately, Surfer's move made his temporarily hardened shell absorb most of the impact.
Rampage instantly fell back to Wally's side before his Trainer issued yet another command, not planning to provide us any room to fight back, "Stone Edge!"
The Garchomp instantly slammed his tail onto the ground, before pointed light blue rock pillars came out of the ground and aimed towards Surfer at full speed.
"Surfer, counter with Aqua Tail!"
Another powerful jet of water reflectively blasted out of Surfer's tail towards the rock pillars, which shattered them apart upon contact. Wally, who noticed the situation, was relentless in his approach, "Rampage, Dragon Claw!"
Rampage's claws instantly glowed light green before he tried to unleash the move onto my Water type through another lunge attack, his aggressive stance making me confident enough to instantly command, "Surfer, now! Ice Beam!"
Wally's eyebrow slightly raised in surprise as Surfer unleashed his new secret weapon, releasing a powerful stream of water from his mouth, which accurately hit the vulnerable Rampage, who was in mid air, before the water turned into ice and freezed the Dragon type for a few moments upon contact. Afterwards, Rampage hastily ran back to Wally's side, the super effective attack definitely took a toll on him.
There was only one possible opportunity to make the surprise attack work, and I was sure glad we did.
Wally clapped in approval, "That definitely caught us off guard there, Lows. We're not giving up yet, though! Rampage, Earthquake!"
Seeing the Lilycove Gym Leader changing his approach to ranged attacks, I smiled, "We can play that game too, Wally! Surfer, use Surf!"
The Garchomp started stomping the ground with all his strength, causing the floor around Surfer to start shaking. However, that was not going to deter my Water type starter, as the Blastoise endured through the distraction and managed to summon a huge wave, which he happily rode on before it crashed into Rampage. Earthquake did manage to deal some damage onto my Water type, but the prior Ice Beam attack proved too much for Rampage as after the Surf attack subsided, Rampage was down on the ground, unable to move.
"Rampage is unable to battle! Surfer wins!"
"Good try, Rampage." Wally thanked his Dragon and Ground type before returning him and threw another Pokéball into the sky without any hesitation, "Boltz, it's your time again!"
The Magnezone return to the battlefield, examining Surfer. I decided against switching out my Water type starter, since I knew the battle against the Electric and Steel type was going to be inevitable at some point, anyway. I also had confidence in Surfer to handle this battle just fine.
"Battle begin!"
"Boltz, Thunderbolt!" Wally was not going to play any tricks and instantly, the super effective bolt of electricity was instantly unleashed from its horse magnet towards Surfer.
"Surfer, defend with Iron Defense again!"
This time, as his shell glowed white, Surfer protected himself by hiding inside the shell, which once again absorbed the impact of the Electric type move, but Surfer looked dazed for a brief moment when appearing out of the shell after the attack, which showed that he was not completely safe from the super effective hit. Iron Defense was not a Protect at the end of the day, after all.
Even though I knew the dangers of using Water type moves against a Pokémon who used Electric type moves, I had to take a risk, "Surfer, use Surf!"
When my Water type started riding on the huge wave he generated, the Magnezone already found himself a relatively safe spot that would help it avoid most of the impact of the attack. I expected that reaction, too, so I quickly followed up, "Surfer, launch yourself towards Boltz and use Aqua Tail!"
"Oh no you don't!" Wally said, "Boltz, Tri Attack!"
Surfer immediately jumped off the wave he was riding on right towards the Electric and Steel type, with his tail glowing light blue as a spiral of water started swirling around it. The Magnezone quickly formed the white triangle and launched it towards Surfer, but Surfer's momentum was proven too hard to be stopped as he powerfully slapped Boltz with his tail, temporarily stunning his opponent as he went back closer to my side.
"Boltz, Flash Cannon!"
"Surfer, counter with Ice Beam!"
The beam collided against the stream of water before both attacks cancelled each other out, which I then followed up with, "Surfer, Aqua Tail!"
Surfer once again ran towards the Magnezone with his glowing tail, trying to exploit Boltz's lower speed to the fullest. However, Wally wanted to make things more troublesome, at least before Boltz was taken out, "Boltz, one last Thunderbolt!"
Boltz generated a full power bolt of electricity, which it managed to shoot towards the Water type before the tail once again powerfully landed on its body, which took the Magnezone out. However, as Surfer claimed his victory and started returning to my side of the battlefield, sparks started to emit from Surfer's body, which I was sure everyone in the battlefield room noticed.
Paralysis…
"Boltz is unable to battle! Surfer wins!"
Wally smiled, knowing Boltz fulfilled his final purpose and returned it after thanking his Magnezone. Afterwards, he took out his last Pokéball and unchained the final boss once again, "Blade, change the game for us!"
The Gallade reappeared in the battlefield, his gaze even fiercer than when he first battled Shadow, determined to finish off the match with a victory on their side. It was going to be tough from there, I was sure of it.
"Battle begin!"
Knowing paralysis was affecting Surfer, I opted for long range attacks, "Surfer, use Surf!"
Surfer generated the huge wave, this time not riding on it as the high volume of water approached Blade.
"Blade, Psycho Cut through the Surf attack!"
The Gallade released a pink crescent-like blade of energy from his head crest right towards the huge wave in front of him, which managed to cut through an opening for Blade to dash through, resulting in him ending up mostly unscathed from the Surf attack.
Wally knew what I was doing, and attempted to take the advantage, "Blade, Swords Dance!"
Blade's forearms glowed light purple as he moved them in a hypnotizing way, which made him look stronger. I knew well enough how scary the accumulated attack stats could be for Blade, just like Sip's Scizor, Slash back in our battle against Tate and Liza.
With that, I knew I had to at least fight back, "Surfer, Ice Beam!"
However, the reduced speed due to the paralysis was detrimental for Surfer, as he released the stream of water much slower from his mouth, which the fast Gallade easily dodged and started approaching Surfer, before Wally finally revealed one of Blade's surprise moves.
"Blade, Leaf Blade!"
Blade's arms glowed light green before he slashed Surfer with them at a close distance, the critical Grass type attack taking the Water type out instantly, not even allowing him to activate his Torrent ability to do more against the Psychic and Fighting type.
"Surfer is unable to battle! Blade wins!"
"I have a secret weapon too, Lows." Wally let out a slight grin.
"I see…" I said. I expected this battle to be no less tougher. I thanked Surfer for his efforts, before returning him and taking out my third and final Pokéball.
"Grace, let's win this!"
My Kirlia calmly looked towards her male evolved counterpart, trying to avoid herself from the pressure of the intense battlefield to perform at her best. She knew how important this last battle would be, and that the fate of this match lay in her hands.
With all these determined feelings within us, we prepared for the end of the show against Wally's final boss.
"Battle begin!"
"Grace, Calm Mind!" Starting off with a setup, my Kirlia closed her eyes before her body glowed brightly, increasing her special stats.
Wally knew he needed to stop our setup efforts and commanded, "Blade, break her focus with Psycho Cut!"
The pink crescent-like blade of energy instantly hit Grace, stopping her from boosting her stats any further. Feeling like the Calm Mind was enough to suffice for the moment, I continued, "Grace, Thunderbolt!"
My Psychic type released a bolt of electricity towards the Gallade, but the relatively new move for Grace appeared inferior compared to Boltz's previous attacks.
"Blade, dodge and use Leaf Blade!"
The Gallade made a huge leap, which made him avoid the Electric type attack before he ran towards my Kirlia at full speed with his arms starting to glow light green.
"Grace, stop him with Shadow Ball!"
The shadowy blob of energy was fired right at the Psychic and Fighting type, but the determined Gallade remained undeterred as he gritted his teeth from the damage before slashing Grace with his arms, causing my Kirlia to fall onto the ground temporarily from the powerful impact. However, she quickly brought herself back up, not planning to go down just like that.
"Don't give up until the end, Grace!" I yelled, "Psybeam!"
A small grin appeared on Grace's face as she attempted to form the multicoloured beam in front of her, but instead, she found herself surrounded by a white light as she slightly floated into the air. I clenched my fists and quietly cheered, knowing the evolution was going to be crucial in the remainder of this battle.
After the evolution, Grace became a larger bipedal, humanoid Pokémon whose body resembled a flowing gown. Her green hair curled over her face and down the sides of her head, and a noticeable red, fin-like horn was also seen extended from her chest.
[Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Kirlia and the final evolved form of Ralts. It apparently does not feel the pull of gravity because it supports itself with psychic power. It will give its life to protect its Trainer.]
I also found out that she now learned Psychic, replacing Psybeam, which was an upgrade to the latter. This evolution was definitely a turning point of the battle for Grace and I.
"Grace, Psychic!" Immediately taking the new move to the test, Grace followed my command as her eyes glowed light pink, before she created a light pink glow in front of her arms, which then expanded and was shot forward towards the Gallade, hitting him as a wall of psychic energy. Blade's look on his face turned more serious, knowing the two final evolved forms of Ralts facing each other were on even ground at the moment.
"Blade, Swords Dance!"
"Grace, Calm Mind!"
Both Pokémon completed their setup without much trouble, boosting their individual stats. The intention was clear: they both wanted to take each other down as soon as possible.
"Blade, Psycho Cut!"
"Grace, break it apart with Shadow Ball!"
The pink blade of energy made contact with the Ghost type blob before both attacks dissipated instantly. As that was happening, Blade started dashing full speed towards the Gardevoir, with Wally commanding, "Leaf Blade!"
"Grace, stop him with Thunderbolt!"
Grace realized the seriousness of the situation before starting to release multiple yellow beams of electricity towards the Gallade, but Blade was dodging them with his sheer speed as he got closer and closer to the Psychic type.
I encouraged, "Grace, you got this! Just focus a little harder!"
The pressure seemed to have lifted from my Gardevoir, as she closed her eyes and formed the bolts of electricity before firing them right towards the Gallade once again, this time, the last few attempts successfully hitting Blade. However, Blade endured the pain once again and repeated slashed his female counterpart with his glowing arms.
After the exchange of attacks, both Pokémon were panting on their sides of the battlefield, but Blade's was more noticeable due to being involved in so many battles prior to this final showdown.
"All in gambit, Blade! Close Combat!"
Wally yelled out his last command.
"Grace, counter with Psychic!"
Grace gathered all her focus to form the light pink glow in front of her once again, hitting the Gallade with the wall of powerful psychic energy. Blade let out a final war cry, before unleashing all his last bit of energy into his final move, hoping it was enough to take the Gardevoir out before himself as he repeatedly punched, slashed and kicked Grace until his body gave out.
Unfortunately, the less effective attack was just that little short of achieving its goal. As the brawly duel had ended, Grace was panting, but still remained standing. And Blade, with his energy depleted, collapsed onto the ground with some regret probably lingering in his mind.
"Blade is unable to battle! Grace wins! The winner of the Gym Challenge goes to the challenger, Lows Landerson from Pallet Town!"
With the announcement ending, Grace's legs gave out for a moment as she collapsed onto the ground, which made me slightly worried, "You okay, Grace?"
"I'm good, thanks for your concern." Grace slowly got herself back up, "Just needed to control my psychic powers better next time."
I laughed, "You'll get used to it soon, Grace."
Blade and Wally then walked towards us two, the Trainer looking satisfied with the match despite the loss, "That was good, Lows. You're truly prepared for the Hoenn League."
"I still need some more time to derust, but yeah, I feel good. I think I'm getting there." I smiled.
"Derust I can't exactly help you with any further, but I can at least give you this badge. Congratulations, you deserve the Diverse Badge, Lows."
Wally then handed me the Lilycove Gym Badge, which was a badge consisting of multiple Pokémon type symbols surrounding a white circle. I inserted the badge in the last remaining empty spot in my badge case, and with that, I had completed all the badges in the Hoenn region.
That fact alone left me a brief sense of accomplishment, but I knew it was just the beginning of many things to come.
Charmaine, who left from her seat in the white bleacher shortly after the conclusion of the battle, hugged both Wally and I, "That was great, you two! Lows, you've improved so much since our battle together. I can't wait to see you in the Hoenn League soon."
I grinned, "I hope I won't disappoint you, then."
"I wouldn't be disappointed by my brother's progress, no matter what the results are going to be." Charmaine smiled, "Anyways, I'll cook up a nice dinner for everyone later tonight to celebrate Lows collecting all the badges! How does that sound, you two?"
Wally and I unanimously said in unison, never saying no to my sister's lovely cooking, "That sounds great."
"Let's head home, then!"
Night time soon came, and we were having a mouth-watering meal at the upper floor of Wally's house, all prepared mainly through Charmaine's efforts. All our Pokémon were also out of their Pokéballs for the occasion, chatting their time away around Wally's cozy house as they enjoyed the snacks prepared for them beforehand.
In the middle of the conversation between us three, Charmaine asked, "Are you planning to stay in Lilycove for longer, Lows?"
"I'll probably stay here for a few more days, at least." I said, "I'll need to research the most efficient route to get to the Hoenn League very soon."
"Just give me a call if you need any help!" My sister smiled warmly.
"Same here." Wally followed.
"Thanks, you two. Truth is, I'll probably have to." I sighed, "If possible, I wouldn't want to rely on you two, or Winona for the rest of my journey here in Hoenn, since you all would be so busy nearing the end of the season. But my condition wouldn't allow me to travel alone at the same pace as before. It's a shame."
"Hey, don't worry about all of that." My sister said, "I'll always make time for you. I'm not just a Gym Leader, after all. I'm your sister."
"I suppose." I smiled, "Thanks for the offer, sis."
"While you're in Lilycove, look after Wally for me for a while, would you?" Charmaine chuckled.
"I can look after myself just fine, Charmaine." Wally gently smiled.
"Yeah, I know that. I was just teasing."
"You're leaving Lilycove soon, sis?" I asked.
"Today's my last day here for this visit, actually." Charmaine replied, "Tomorrow, I'll need to head back to my Gym for some final scheduled battles from the challengers."
"Busy end of the season for you, huh?" Wally said.
"Since our Gyms are relatively new, most Trainers treat them as extra practice before the Hoenn League after reaching the minimum Gym Badges count for qualification. Plus the fact that the crowds in Slateport are less troublesome to handle compared to that in Lilycove, I assume that's why it's busier on my side than yours at the end." Charmaine replied, "Not that I'm complaining about it, though; I wouldn't be able to take a month leave that easily before if it wasn't for that."
"I feel spoiled being able to enjoy your cooking again, sis." I admitted, "I'm going to miss you."
"Aww, I'll miss you too." My sister reassured me with a smile on her face, "But hey, you were able to take care of yourself well enough for the years we were apart, right? So keep your spirits up until the very end. One match at a time, and the Hoenn League winner title might be yours!"
"It's okay if you don't succeed in your first try, though. Most of the time, the protagonist of a show never wins them all in the first season, do they?" Wally then followed up with his own words of encouragement, "Take it as an experience for you to become stronger in your future journeys. Charmaine and I weren't even league winners to begin with, and look at us now. The Hoenn League isn't everything, what matters in the end is the journey that makes the run so worthwhile."
My sister jokingly pouted as her boyfriend finished his last sentence, "It's not really a competition, but it feels like you completely defeated me in your speech, Wally."
Wally softly laughed before gently putting a slice of lettuce into her mouth, "Well, I'm sure Lows appreciated both our words the same, anyway."
I smiled, "Yeah, I'll take both of your words in mind. Thanks a lot, you two."
The three of us laughed as we prolonged our conversation together, looking forward to our futures ahead.
On the other side, Woody, who was slightly uncomfortable meeting so many new Pokémon friends at once, walked to the outside balcony to take a breather. He did not particularly mind the company, all of them were nice Pokémon, after all; but his Lonely nature kicked in, which forced him to temporarily take some time alone.
But he was not exactly alone, as he noticed the newly evolved Gardevoir, Grace, who was at the balcony longer before the Grass type arrived. Grace, who was looking at the night sky, quickly felt the extra presence and turned towards Woody before curiously tilting her head to check who it was. Once she noticed it was a familiar friend of hers, she gently smiled, "Needed some alone time?"
"Y-Yeah… But it's okay. This isn't bad, either." A blush appeared on the Grovyle's face. Grace's appearance after the evolution, really notched up a level.
Grace did not mind her closest friend's presence and continued staring into the sky, which was surrounded by many bright stars on that day. The sights were obviously not comparable with those at Sootopolis or Fortree, but it was still eye candy all the same to her.
"They look pretty, don't they?" The Gardevoir asked.
Woody went beside the Psychic type and looked towards the night sky, "Yeah… you're right."
"We've come a long way, haven't we?" Grace smiled, "Back then, I was only able to enjoy the night sky all alone, at the route near Petalburg when I was still a Ralts. Fast forward to today, I was able to enjoy so many new experiences with everyone in my lovely team."
She then looked towards the Grovyle before gently placing both her hands on the red horn extended from her chest, "I will feel eternally grateful… to Lows, to my entire team, and of course, to you, Woody."
"I-I didn't do much, really…" Woody sheepishly chuckled.
"Even if you do think that way out of your nature, you're still part of the team, after all." Grace softly said, "Without you, and the others, I wouldn't be able to obtain such precious memories that would already last me a lifetime to reminisce. May we continue creating unforgettable memories together moving forward, Woody."
"Yeah, l-let's."
The Grovyle then stared at Grace, who went back to enjoying the nighttime view with a warm smile on her face. At that moment, he felt infatuated. The Psychic type in front of her… looked enchanting. Captivating. He realized how lucky he was, to have such a reliable, kind and caring Pokémon in his team, not just to himself, but also to everyone she encountered throughout this journey.
...Since when did I start falling for her, I wonder?
The Grovyle might be a little socially awkward, but he was not dense about his own feelings. He knew somewhere in the middle of the interactions he had with her, he started to like her. He absolutely did not blame himself for that, though.
Who wouldn't have, anyway?
But his Lonely nature, his past trauma, and him previously not letting anyone enter his world before Lows came to his life… all resulted in his lack of confidence towards his own relationships with others. It never affected his battling, thankfully, but he always thought he could come across as a little boring, awkward, or even cold to others.
But he could not help it. It was a mix of reasons that would require more time for his scars to fully heal.
However, just for that moment, he thought if he could maybe, just maybe… be a little more selfish. To maintain the closer relationship he currently had with such a wonderful friend like Grace for as long as possible.
I-I wonder if I could tell her how I really feel.
"Y-You're so beautiful-" He unconsciously blurted out the words in his head, before realizing what he was saying and instantly stopped himself from finishing the sentence.
Grace seemed unbothered though, as she continued staring into the night sky and said, "The stars do look beautiful tonight. I'm glad I got to enjoy this view with you, Woody."
Woody was glad she interpreted what he meant the wrong way as he sighed in relief.
"S-So do I, Grace."
They both looked towards the sky with an unanimous silence between them.
"For now… this is enough for me."
"Maybe one day… I'll tell him/her."
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Blastoise, Male) Jolly Nature
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Surf, Ice Beam, Aqua Tail, Iron Defense
Ziggs (Linoone, Male) Naive Nature
Ability: Quick Feet
Moves: Dig, Iron Tail, Protect, Facade
Grace (Gardevoir, Female) Calm Nature
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Calm Mind, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt
Woody (Grovyle, Male) Lonely Nature
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Agility, Leaf Blade, Giga Drain, Rock Tomb
Power (Machoke, Male) Timid Nature
Ability: Guts
Moves: Rock Tomb, Scary Face, Submission, Seismic Toss
Shadow (Absol, Female) Quiet Nature
Ability: Super Luck
Moves: Payback, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Protect
Ending author notes:
When I originally wrote the last part of this chapter, Grace mistaking what Woody meant was inspired from one of the scenes from Sonic X Season 3, involving Tails and Cosmo. I used to ship those two a lot as a kid.
And thus, it's kept again for old times sake, and I thought it's appropriate enough, anyway.