Mienfoo could not wait to prove her capabilities in battle.
She had done so satisfactorily in her battle with the Raboot, or at least satisfactorily enough that the Raboot's Trainer - Gloria, Mienfoo had to get used to calling her that - had deemed her worthy of capture, just as Mienfoo and her pack had deemed the Trainer worthy to capture her. Now, this battle with the male Trainer, whom Gloria and the older Trainer known as Marcus referred to as Hop, would hopefully serve as a true test of strength.
Part of her had been hoping to take part in the fight against those ruffians in the desert, but her new Trainer's partner had taken care of that with seemingly no effort. Mienfoo's initial impression of the one-armed Medicham had been somewhat dismissive, up until she had beaten down a dozen Pokemon with only minor assistance. Now part of her was wishing she'd asked to join Marcus's team instead, like that Silicobra had done.
MIenfoo shook her head. She had chosen her Trainer, and her Trainer had chosen her. What was done was done - there was no point in reflecting on what might have been.
She turned and peered back out of her Pokeball. Gloria, Hop, and Marcus had stopped in an area of the city that seemed to have been set aside for Pokemon battles - there was no grass, not in the desert, but a square-shaped patch of artificial turf had been set up in a space between two buildings, wide enough for comfortable battling. Marcus stepped back, watching from the adjoining alleyway, while Hop and Gloria stepped to either end of the field and turned to face one another.
They had already agreed to a four-on-four, and that Gloria would release first - that had practically been the only conversation between the Trainers since Hop's challenge. Accordingly, Gloria tapped one of her Pokeballs - not Mienfoo's, sadly. Soon, though.
"Toxel, start things off well!" Gloria urged.
Hop smiled tightly. "Go, Stunfisk."
Stunfisk? Mienfoo sat up straighter as the recognizable form of the traplike Ground/Steel-type appeared on Hop's side of the battlefield. Mienfoo would admit that she didn't know as much about Pokemon typings as she would have preferred, but she did know Toxel was an Electric/Poison-type - which meant Stunfisk was quite possibly the single worst matchup a Toxel could face.
"Ooh, nice catch!" Gloria congratulated. "I was wondering what you were doing back in the mines - guess that's my answer!"
Hop answered with nothing but a nod, his expression unchanged. For a moment Gloria's face flickered, her expression shifting to one of worry, and then it was back to normal. "All right, Toxel," she said. "You may be at a disadvantage, but don't give up!"
"Wasn't planning on it," Toxel muttered.
"Start off with a…um…Growl!" Gloria called. "Weaken it!"
Toxel sighed. Then he crouched, planted his feet, glared straight at Stunfisk, and let out a legitimately fearsome-sounding growl, filling it with energy so that it reverberated across the turf. Even Mienfoo felt slight chills down her spine at the noise.
"Aww, how cute," Stunfisk growled, and then it sprang forwards.
"Metal Claw!" At Hop's order Stunfisk's jaws lit up with Steel energy. "Dodge, Toxel!" Gloria cried; Toxel twisted and lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding Stunfisk's teeth as they clamped together with a loud clang. Stunfisk whirled and charged again, snapping after Toxel with anger in his eyes. "Get back here!"
"Flail!" Gloria cried.
Toxel twisted. "You asked for it," the Poison/Electric-type growled; in the next moment he was flying straight at Stunfisk, one fist drawn back. Stunfisk, despite his words, clearly hadn't seen that coming, because he didn't even come close to reacting fast enough to avoid Toxel's fist as it rammed straight into his left eye.
"ARGH!" Even despite his type resistance, Stunfisk was sent stumbling from the unexpected blow, his left eye squeezed shut. Toxel pressed, pounding him with punch after punch. Hop stumbled over his words for a few seconds before his next order left his lips. "Sucker Punch!"
Stunfisk snapped back into battle at the order; as Toxel went in for another Normal energy-wreathed punch, Stunfisk's teeth flared with Dark energy and he snapped down much more rapidly than he had previously. "Back!" Gloria cried, but Toxel had already committed; a yell of pain emanated from the Poison/Electric-type's mouth as Stunfisk's jaws slammed down on his arm.
Mienfoo winced. Stunfisk were rare in the Wild Area, but they were a common figure in parents' warnings to their children: "Never, under any circumstances, let yourself get caught in a Stunfisk's jaws."
And, as Stunfisk snarled victoriously and lifted Toxel off the ground, MIenfoo could tell exactly why that warning had become so omnipresent among the wild Pokemon of Galar.
Toxel writhed desperately, pummeling at Stunfisk with his free hand and his feet, but with his Poison and Electric-type attacks nullified by Stunfisk's typing, all he had to hit the Ground/Steel-type with was resisted Normal energy, not nearly strong enough to break Stunfisk's grip. And that was before Stunfisk began slamming him into the ground over and over again, each slam weakening Toxel's struggles just a little more, forming larger and larger craters in the turf. Mienfoo and Gloria could both do little more than helplessly watch as Stunfisk slowly and painfully beat Toxel into unconsciousness.
It took a minute before Gloria finally broke. "All right, Hop, you win! I forfeit Toxel!"
Hop nodded again, then turned to Stunfisk as he raised the by now only feebly stirring Toxel up for another slam. "Stunfisk, release!" he called sharply; Stunfisk opened his jaws and allowed Toxel to fall limply to the ground. Gloria wasted no time in recalling him.
Marcus was frowning, not in disappointment but in sympathy. Mienfoo felt similarly. She had no doubt Toxel was strong, but that matchup had been practically unbeatable.
"That's a vicious one," Gloria remarked.
Yet again, the only response Hop gave was a nod. Gloria waited for a few seconds, trying to keep a smile on her face, and then tapped her next Pokeball. "Mienfoo, your turn."
Finally. Mienfoo clenched her fists as she was released onto the turf, staring down the Stunfisk that had felled her teammate. She had no doubt she could win this - her Fighting-type moves would fell the Ground/Steel-type with ease - but the difficulty would be in defeating the Pokemon that came after. Gloria was now at a disadvantage - going one-for-one with Hop's Pokemon would end in a victory for the opposing Trainer, and Mienfoo did not want Gloria's first battle with her to end in a loss.
"Stunfisk, Mud Shot!" Hop cried. "Keep it at range!"
"Fake Out!" Gloria called.
Mienfoo shot forwards at breakneck speed, a murmur of "Staggering Palm" coming from her mouth as she went. Stunfisk had not expected such a rapid attack, and barely managed to get off the Mud Shot - which missed - before Mienfoo's open palm slammed into his body. He flinched, stumbling slightly, and Mienfoo drew back her other hand. "Force Palm." A Fighting energy-enhanced open-palm strike rammed into Stunfisk's form, sending him reeling.
"Again!" Gloria called.
"Sucker Punch!" Hop cried, trying the same trick that had caught Toxel.
But Mienfoo, unlike Toxel, had plenty of options available to her, and knew exactly what was coming. Even as the order left Hop's lips, Mienfoo called upon Detect; Fighting energy surged around her and yanked her body to the side, and Stunfisk's teeth slammed down on empty air. Twisting, Mienfoo unleashed a second Force Palm into Stunfisk's teeth; a loud crunch sounded, and Stunfisk howled in pain.
"Mud Shot!" Hop cried, but Stunfisk was busy staggering and Mienfoo had no intention of letting him recover. One more Force Palm and it was done. Stunfisk collapsed to the ground; Hop recalled him instantly, eyeing Mienfoo warily as he did so.
"Guess I'm not the only one with new catches," he said, his voice shaking slightly.
Gloria looked almost relieved to hear him speak. "Yeah," she said brightly. "Mienfoo's pretty new, but don't underestimate her!" She frowned slightly. "Wait, what do you mean 'catches'? You aren't telling me…"
In answer, Hop wordlessly released his second Pokemon, one that made Mienfoo's heart sink.
"A Drifloon?" Gloria asked as the Pokemon in question silently rose into the air. "Wow, Hop, two new Pokemon! You're certainly full of surprises today!"
She tried to maintain a positive attitude, but Mienfoo could tell she wasn't exactly pleased by this latest development. This was another horrible matchup; most of Mienfoo's moves were completely ineffective against Ghost, and the Flying-type on top of that meant that Drifloon could deal huge damage back. She saw Marcus's brow furrow at the sight.
But unlike Toxel…I do have one good option.
"Gust, Drifloon!" Hop called. "Blow it away!"
Drifloon raised one of its two dangling tendril-like arms. "Ghostly Gust." A blast of Flying energy flew down at Mienfoo, who backflipped out of the way, landing on the ground in a crouch as the Gust blasted a hole in the turf in front of her.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Ghostly Globule." From Drifloon's other arm surged a sphere of Ghost energy. "Dodge and forward!" Gloria called; Mienfoo adjusted her stance and twisted, spinning out of the way of the Shadow Ball and breaking into a sprint towards her opponent.
"Astonish!" Hop ordered.
"Now, Mienfoo!" Gloria yelled. "Knock Off!"
Hop's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
Mienfoo leaped with a mutter of "Disarmament Palm", flooding Dark energy into her palm. Drifloon was far from the first Ghost-type she'd caught off-guard with her knowledge of a Dark-type move, and even outside of battles against Ghosts, it also seemed to cause a reaction in the target's body that forcibly repelled items, such as berries, that they had been holding. It was certainly one of Mienfoo's favorite tricks.
And Drifloon was clearly just as unprepared for it as his Trainer had been.
The surge of Ghost energy around his body dissipated into nothingness as Mienfoo's Knock Off hit Drifloon square in the center of the yellow X on his face, right between his two black eyes. Drifloon flew backwards, gurgling in pain, and Mienfoo lunged, seeking to pummel him into submission like she had with Stunfisk.
"Gust!"
She'd gotten overconfident. Foolish. Instead of striking Drifloon's body again, Mienfoo hit a wall of Flying energy that easily overwhelmed her half-formed Knock Off and sent her tumbling away. She landed on her side, the impact throwing bits of turf into the air; a dim cry of "Shadow Ball!" told her that she needed to move, and she promptly used Detect, letting her energy yank her to the side as another ghostly sphere blasted a crater in the spot she'd been lying.
Rolling to her feet, Mienfoo lunged for Drifloon again, dodging two more Shadow Balls as she ran. "Knock Off again!" Gloria called - unnecessarily, considering it was the only move Mienfoo had to hit Drifloon with.
"Gust!" Hop cried.
"Ghostly Gust." Raising both its arms, Drifloon unleashed a huge burst of Flying energy straight down at Mienfoo. Mienfoo crouched and leaped, calling upon Detect to aid her; she sailed right over the Gust, landed back on the ground, and promptly leaped again, this time aiming for Drifloon's face.
"Minimize!"
That could be a problem.
Drifloon's body shrank to half its size, and Mienfoo's Knock Off whiffed completely. Which, of course, left her wide open to another Gust that blasted her away once again.
This time, she did not get back up immediately upon landing on the ground. She needed a moment to collect herself, fight back the pain, stop the ringing in her ears. Dimly, she heard Gloria speaking. "Good work, Mienfoo, but I'm gonna recall you for now, okay? Let's save you for a better matchup."
Mienfoo thought about protesting - she wasn't out yet - but thought better of it. It was her duty, as a Trainer's Pokemon, to listen to that Trainer…and she had to admit she was running out of tricks. I at least did some damage, and can still fight later - I feel I have contributed satisfactorily.
So she allowed herself to be recalled with a wan smile on her face.
"Flapple, it's your turn!"
Finally. Flapple exulted in spreading her wings as she was released, flying into the air to the same level as the hovering Drifloon. She'd been waiting for a battle ever since her evolution, so that she could show off all the new things she could do. Even a whole day after evolving, Flapple could not stop mentally exulting over how new and shiny everything around her seemed, as if the dark cloud that had hovered over her eyes and within her mind had been lifted by the touch of that Tart Apple.
It was beautiful.
"Applin evolved?" Hop asked. There was that tremble in his voice again - that same slight tremor that had been present when he'd spoken about Mienfoo. Flapple wasn't sure what was up with him - he was acting and battling like a completely different person, giving little encouragement, his exuberance tempered. But they could handle that later; right now, she had a battle to win.
"Yeah," said Gloria. "And she's grown a lot stronger because of it - let us show you! Flapple, blast that Drifloon with a Dragon Pulse!"
Flapple grinned - going for the big guns right away - and inhaled, summoning Dragon energy to her mouth. "Sieversii Flare!" she bellowed, unleashing it at Drifloon; irritatingly, the Ghost/Flying-type simply flitted out of the way, its still-Minimized body enabling it to move worryingly fast. The Dragon Pulse slammed into the wall of a building across the way, dissipating against the brickwork with no effect.
"Gust!" Hop cried.
"Counter with Twister!" Gloria called.
Flapple spread her wings. "Sieversii Breaker!" A wave of Dragon energy burst outwards, meeting Drifloon's Gust and ripping it to shreds. Drifloon was forced to dive, narrowly avoiding the wave as it swept through the air just above her descending body. Again, the building took the remnants of the attack.
"Acrobatics!" Gloria yelled.
Flapple exploded into motion, diving straight at Drifloon, eyes fixed on the little Ghost/Flying-type. No dodging this time. She heard Hop call for Drifloon to meet her with Astonish, and smirked. There was no way Drifloon could match her in strength, not now.
"Malus Punch!" she roared as she met Drifloon, the Flying energy around her body swiftly overpowering Drifloon's ghostly power. A sound like thunder reverberated outwards as Drifloon was spiked down into the ground by the force of Flapple's charge. "Grav Apple!" Gloria ordered.
"No!" Hop cried. "Drifloon, counter it with Gust!"
Too late. Flapple spun, glaring down at the fallen Drifloon, and summoned a spherical, vaguely apple-shaped construct of Grass energy. "Malus Mash," she snarled with an edge of finality, and flung the Grav Apple down at the Ghost/Flying-type.
The Gust came too late. An explosion of Grass energy sent turf flying in all directions, and when the energy cleared Drifloon was out cold.
Hop recalled it and instantly sent out his next Pokemon. Flapple saw Gloria's eyes widen and Marcus's narrow at the sight of a black-furred Sneasel, claws outstretched and a high-pitched snarl emanating from its throat.
Three new Pokemon? And yet another good counter…at least, unlike the first two, this thing's not immune to any of my attacks. But I will have to watch out…a few Ice-type moves and I'm down, additional power or no.
Hop wasted no time in seeking to take advantage of that weakness. "Icy Wind, Sneasel!" he called. "Blast her out of the sky!"
"Razor Wind!" Sneasel hissed in response. Ice energy began to flow out from Sneasel's fur, spreading through the air as it swept towards Flapple.
"Counter with Dragon Pulse!" Gloria called.
Flapple hesitated - won't that just get blown away by type advantage? - but obeyed nonetheless. "Sieversii Flare!" Another beam of Dragon energy blasted outwards, slamming into the center of Sneasel's Icy Wind. To Flapple's surprise, that portion of the Icy Wind was blasted away by the impact of the attack, leaving the rest to blow by on either side, chilling the air around Flapple but leaving her untouched.
Oh. Flapple would have facepalmed if she'd had palms. Of course - he may have the type advantage, but I'm stronger and can thus put more energy into my attacks to cancel out that advantage.
Hop, though clearly surprised by the failure of Sneasel's attack, rallied quickly. "Uh…Quick Attack! Charge forward!"
Forward? I'm in the air…what's he planning?
"Grav Apple!" Gloria ordered.
"Malus Mash!" Flapple created one Grav Apple, then another, and sent them both flying down at Sneasel. But Quick Attack propelled the Dark/Ice-type too quickly; he hopped out of the way of the first one, then the second, and continued on.
Is he heading towards Gloria? No…Hop wouldn't…
"Jump!" Hop yelled. "Off the building and straight at her with Metal Claw!"
Flapple twisted as Sneasel leaped strongly, avoiding Gloria as he sailed through the air. He twisted so that his legs hit the side of the building first; Quick Attack played around him as he pushed off, hurtling through the sky right at Flapple with a Metal Claw primed. "Razor Slash!"
"Astonish!" Gloria cried.
Flapple summoned a surge of Ghost energy to her - it felt almost second-nature to draw upon, which she supposed made sense considering this had been one of the few techniques she'd been able to use as an Applin - and shot forwards like a bullet, slamming bodily into the flying Sneasel. Unlike Drifloon, Sneasel had both momentum and decent strength on his side; as such, both were sent reeling from the impact, and pain flashed up Flapple's side where Sneasel's Metal Claw had managed to connect. But while Flapple stayed in the air, albeit having to flail her wings slightly to maintain altitude, Sneasel was flung straight back into the building he'd leaped off of. He bounced off the brickwork and tumbled to the ground with a yowl of pain.
"Sneasel!" Hop cried.
Sneasel groaned and tried to get up, but failed; one of its legs was twisted oddly. Flapple winced - she hadn't meant to do that, but that kind of fall was dangerous to smaller Pokemon. Hop had gone for a dangerous maneuver, and unfortunately Sneasel had paid the price.
Maybe I should get a little more acquainted with my strength before the next battle, though. Just to lower the risk of something like that happening again.
"What…no…" Hop looked shocked. "That was supposed to…" He shook his head and recalled Sneasel. "Why can't I…"
"Hop, are you okay?" Gloria asked seriously. "You don't sound too good - what's going on?"
Hop took a deep breath. "I'm fine," he forced out. "Let's finish this. Cramorant, please, bring this back."
Flapple watched as her final opponent entered the turf; it looked awkward as it eyed her and gulped, but she was well aware Cramorant were prized throughout Galar both for their firefighting prowess and battling capabilities. The Water/Flying-type would not be an easy opponent, that was for sure, especially weakened as she was from the preceding fight with Sneasel. Flapple tensed, readying herself-
"I'm assuming that was meant to be for Raboot."
Since the battle had begun, Marcus hadn't spoken a single word, but now he stepped forwards. Hop turned, eyes widening; Flapple could have sworn his expression was ringed with guilt. "What…what do you mean?"
"I mean exactly that," said Marcus. "Stunfisk to counter Toxel. Sneasel to counter Flapple. I'm assuming Drifloon was for Diggersby, since she's got nothing to hit a Ghost/Flying-type. And most of Raboot's offense is Fire and Fighting moves, which do nothing against a Water/Flying-type like Cramorant. Not to mention the Ghost-type, the Dark-type, and the Stunfisk with a powerful Dark-type move, which are all quite effective against a certain Psychic-type Trainer…"
Hop seemed to wilt under Marcus's gaze. He slumped, looking down at the ground. "I…I…"
"Listen to me," said Marcus. "Catching an entirely new team of Pokemon for the express purpose of countering the teams of your rivals…that's not, as you said before this battle, 'trying new things'. That's foolishness, in more ways than one. Your Pokemon were fighting more like wild Pokemon than trained ones, because you clearly had barely any time to train them at all. Switching is allowed - in any of those bad matchups you presented, Gloria was well within her right to switch into a better one, just like she did with Mienfoo against your Drifloon. And you forgot one of the first lessons the Gym Challenge is designed to teach - type advantage isn't everything. Counterteaming just doesn't work, Hop…not to mention it's unfair. To your opponents, to yourself, and to the rest of your team. Where are Thwackey, Wooloo, and Corvisquire?"
"Pokemon Center," said Hop reluctantly. "Along with the Carkol I caught to help Stunfisk and Cramorant beat Kabu. I was gonna transfer them back onto my team when I needed them again…" If possible, he hung his head even lower, looking positively wretched.
"Look, Hop," said Marcus. "I'm not trying to say you're a bad Trainer or anything, but this kind of mentality doesn't make a good Trainer. So you lost to Bede. So what? That doesn't mean you need to tear apart your entire training philosophy-"
"It does!" Hop's head shot back up. "If I can't win, then I'm useless! I'm Lee's brother - everyone expects me to be his equal, and if I'm not, then everybody's gonna look down on me! And Lee's gonna get caught in that! They're not gonna see the unbeatable Champion…they're gonna see a Champion with a worthless brother who can't even win the Gym Challenge! And I can't do that to him! I have to win, no matter what it takes!"
"Hop, do you really think Leon's won every single battle he's fought in?"
Hop froze. "Well…of course! He's the unbeatable Champion-"
"Ten years ago. International League, Champion's Finals. Leon vs. Cynthia. Victory to the latter, with one Pokemon remaining." Marcus fixed Hop with a look that wasn't quite a glare but was certainly stern. "No, Hop, Leon is not unbeatable. But what he is is very, very strong…and one of the reasons for that is that when he does lose, he doesn't let it get to him. He just works harder to not let it happen again."
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Hop asked, voice choked.
"This isn't working harder," said Marcus. "This is trying to take the easy way out. Leaning on type advantage instead of actually training your Pokemon. You're not going to-"
BOOM.
Flapple's gaze snapped upwards, as did the gazes of everyone else around her.
BOOM.
On top of the cliff that overlooked Stow-On-Side, practically right above them, a loud thumping could be heard, regular and powerful.
BOOM.
Now shouts could be heard, shouts raised in alarm, in shock.
"We'll talk later," said Marcus, breaking into a run for the stairs leading up to the cliff. Gloria hesitated, staring at Hop; Hop saw her and looked away.
Gloria took in a breath, made to speak, hesitated, and then turned to run after Marcus. Flapple flew alongside her; she glanced behind her as she did so to see that Hop wasn't following, and hadn't even recalled Cramorant. He was just standing there, staring at the turf, seemingly blind and deaf to the world around him.
Drapion knew one thing - explosions meant fighting, and fighting meant he'd have to be ready. He flexed his claws in the confines in his Pokeball, watching through the small gap in the side as Marcus ran up the great staircase of Stow-On-Side with Gloria steps behind. There were two staircases, actually - a straight one up from the main town to the Gym, and then another off to the side that led from the Gym up to what looked to be a plateau atop the cliff overlooking the town. It was the second one that Marcus was running up now, panting heavily; Drapion waited, feeling prepared for anything - after all, he'd faced threats of all shapes and sizes. Not much could surprise him.
Then they reached the top, and Drapion blinked in surprise.
There, standing in front of a great mural, stood Bede, his purple coat fluttering in the wind. Beside him stood a Copperajah - Rose's Copperajah, Drapion realized - facing the mural. "Again!" Bede commanded, and Copperajah swung his trunk into the mural with a loud BOOM. The mural, which already had a spiderweb of cracks stemming outwards from the impact point, cracked even further; several smaller pieces of it fell off and landed on the dusty ground.
A crowd of people was gathered nearby, looking highly nervous; none of them were sending out Pokemon, but from the scuffs and spots of blood on the ground, some had tried. Drapion didn't know whether Copperajah or Bede's Pokemon had fought them off, but whatever had happened had clearly discouraged anyone else from trying to stop the Trainer.
"Harder!" Bede yelled. "We have to get those Wishing Stars before anyone else shows up!"
"Bede, what are you doing?"
Gloria's yell rose over the murmuring of the crowd; both Bede and Copperajah stopped and turned. "Oh, it's just you two," the boy said dismissively. "What do you want?"
"That's a national monument!" Gloria cried. "It's an important part of Galarian cultural heritage! You can't just destroy it!"
"Please," Bede scoffed. "Who cares about some old ruin? Galar's future is at stake! Copperajah, hit it again!"
Copperajah hesitated, but turned and readied his trunk once more.
"Marcus…" Gloria looked up at Marcus pleadingly. "I can't stop him on my own…"
Marcus nodded. "This has gone beyond a rivalry," he said, stepping forwards, his voice carrying authoritatively across the plateau. "It's gone beyond poor sportsmanship and a bad attitude. I tried to talk things out with you, Bede, but you've gone too far. I am a Gym Leader, and I don't care if you're stronger than the other Gym Challengers…the fact remains that I'm many times stronger than you. So stop this now, or I'll stop you myself."
Bede glared at Marcus. "Oh, please. You might be a Gym Leader, but you're not a Galarian Gym Leader. So why don't you go back to Kalos, and leave Galarian affairs to Galarians?"
Aren't you an Unovan? Drapion recalled overhearing a conversation between Cloyster and some of Rose's team to that effect.
"I may not be from Galar," said Marcus, "which is why I've tried to stay hands-off, but I'm not about to stand by and let a monument be pointlessly destroyed like this."
"Pointlessly?" Bede clenched his fists. "Pointlessly? You have no idea what you're messing with, Marcus! I need the Wishing Stars behind this mural for a very important affair, and I'm not gonna let you stop me! Copperajah, beat him!"
Copperajah promptly shook his head. "I don't care if Rose ordered this," he said. "He'd never want me to battle without at least his supervision. Your Pokemon handled the other Trainers who tried to stop this, did they not?"
Bede waited a moment - probably receiving a Psychic translation - and then scoffed. "Fine. I don't need you anyway."
He turned back to Marcus. "You hear that! I'm not afraid of you! You Dark-type Trainers are all the same, always thinking you're better than me because Psychic-types are weak to Dark! Well, I'm stronger than that! I'm not gonna back down because of a stupid type advantage! And I watched your battle with Leon - pathetic. Do you think you can scare me with a pair of Dark-types that lost to a single Ghost-type and a hopeless cripple of a Medicham?"
Drapion felt a rush of blind fury surge through him. A small part of his mind urged against anger, warning that punching a teenager in the face would only worsen matters, that it was better to take the high road and let his petty comments roll off him…
Screw that.
Drapion burst out of his own seal-less Luxury Ball, landing on the ground with an earth-shaking crash. His eyes dark with fury, his teeth bared. "That's it," the Poison/Dark-type snarled. "Ya don't say that about mah friend an' get away with it. Let's go - all of ya against me. Unless yer Trainer ain't a fan of puttin' his money where his mouth is."
Again Bede seemed to be receiving a Psychic translation, because the teenager promptly curled his lip. "Unlike your Trainer, I'm no coward. Solosis, Thunder Wave!"
As he spoke, his hand shot to one of his Pokeballs; Solosis emerged, already firing off a jolt of Electric energy straight at Drapion with a gurgle of "Electric Shock." A Pokemon unprepared for battle would likely have been caught off-guard, paralyzed before they could even think to mount a defense.
Drapion was not unprepared, and most certainly wasn't caught off-guard.
"Quake." A blast of Ground energy exploded outwards, tearing through the Thunder Wave and continuing onwards. Solosis rose, avoiding the wave. "No Escape," Drapion growled; Solosis's eyes widened as he beheld the barrage of Pursuit rays streaking straight for his ascending form.
"Take it and go at him!" Bede ordered.
Swallowing, Solosis lunged, a groan of distress emanating from him as the Pursuit rays slammed into him one after the other. But it wasn't enough to bring him down. "Pierce!" Drapion growled, readying a barrage of Pin Missiles.
Bede's eyes gleamed with triumph. "Explosion!"
"Protect!" Marcus cried.
Bede's triumph dissipated like an Ember against a Surf as Drapion abandoned the Pin Missile and instead threw up an impenetrable barrier between himself and Solosis. The Psychic-type erupted in a blaze of light and energy, powerful enough to crater the ground underneath him and send Drapion skidding slightly backwards, but the Poison/Dark-type remained undamaged as Solosis collapsed, all of his energy spent in his Explosion.
One down.
Bede clenched his fist as he recalled Solosis. "Ponyta, charge!" he yelled, releasing his second Pokemon. "Knock him off balance with Fairy Wind and follow up with Stomp!"
Ponyta hesitated, but dashed forwards anyways, determination mingling with just a hint of fear. Drapion felt a small pang of sorrow - it didn't seem as if Ponyta was fully on board with Bede's actions - but pushed that aside. He had a battle to win.
"Horn Wave!"
"Blast!" Drapion's Cross Poison tore Ponyta's Fairy Wind out of the air, forcing the Psychic/Fairy-type to break off his charge and dive out of the way; he landed on the ground and rolled to his hooves, Psychic energy beginning to glint around his body in a telltale Agility. He lunged again, moving faster this time, raising one hoof upwards. "Hoof Strike!"
"Slam." Not even bothering with his Ability, Drapion met the hoof with one massive claw. He was surprised at how much the strike hurt - for an unevolved, inexperienced Pokemon, that Stomp had a lot of power behind it - but shook it off and promptly twisted. Ponyta had made a typical mistake for inexperienced Agility users; he'd put too much into his charge, and as Drapion suddenly gave, he overbalanced and had to stagger to keep his footing.
Which was all the opportunity Drapion needed. "Battle Armor: Slam."
Ponyta was flung away like a ragdoll. Drapion sighed as he watched the Psychic/Fairy-type hit the ground. Guess I should know better than to play around - Bede's definitely the kind of person to have nasty tricks up his sleeve. Much nastier than a surprisingly hard-hitting Stomp, anyway. Even if this shouldn't be a difficult battle…I can't hold back.
Ponyta was shaking like a leaf, but rose anyway. Gathering himself, he lunged again, hurtling back towards Drapion, unleashing another Fairy Wind as he did so with a ragged call of "Horn Wave!" Drapion simply sent another Cross Poison his way; this time, Ponyta ducked, rolling underneath the Cross Poison and continuing on. He leaped forwards again, both hooves at the ready. "Dual Hoof Strike!"
"Block," Drapion growled; Ponyta's powerful blow met another impenetrable barrier, and before he could adjust Drapion slammed another Battle Armor-enhanced arm into him. This time he was flung to a point at Bede's feet. Somehow, he was still conscious, struggling to rise, but before he could Bede scoffed and recalled him.
Two down.
"Hatenna!" Bede snarled, sending out another Psychic/Fairy-type to replace the last one. "Blast him - Dazzling Gleam!"
"Magic Blast!" Hatenna cried. Drapion eyed her as a wave of Fairy energy shot outwards from her body. He knew from Bede's battle with Gloria that Hatenna had an Ability - he'd assumed that meant she was the strongest member of his team, but the fact that he'd sent her out third suggested that his last was something stronger.
Which means it likely has an Ability as well.
There was no time to dwell upon that now, though. Drapion tore the Dazzling Gleam out of the air with another Cross Poison, then reared up. "Quake," he growled, slamming down onto the ground. Ground energy surged across the plateau towards Hatenna, but she raised a hand - "Magic Bounce!" - and unleashed a wave of force powerful enough to blunt the attack.
"Get in close!" Marcus ordered.
Drapion charged, pounding across the ground towards Hatenna. "Another Dazzling Gleam!" Bede yelled. Instead of countering with another Cross Poison, Drapion raised one arm, enhancing it with a Poison Jab. "Battle Armor: Slam!" he roared as he raised it above his face; the Poison energy ripped through the Dazzling Gleam, and Drapion sprang, swinging it down at Hatenna even as Battle Armor formed around it.
"Magic Bounce!" Hatenna cried.
This time, the wave of force hit Drapion head-on, and he couldn't deny its power was impressive as it tore at his footing, trying to force him backwards. But it wasn't enough; with an exertion of force he shoved his arm through the wave and struck Hatenna full in the face. She staggered, and Drapion twisted, bringing up his other arm. "Battle Armor: Slam!"
"Magic Bounce!" Again Hatenna countered with her Ability, this time bringing up both arms to unleash the wave of force. She was clearly putting her all into it; Drapion felt a grudging sense of respect at just how hard she was fighting, even if it was for the wrong cause. Her eyes were narrowed, sweat was pouring down her face, and her entire body was trembling, and yet she stood with gritted teeth and tried as hard as she could to hold back Drapion's offense.
And then she began to glow blue. Her body began to grow as she let out a choked cry, a cry that did not stop but grew louder and louder, deeper and deeper, as the force pushing against Drapion's arm began to noticeably increase.
Drapion could recognize an evolution any day of the week.
It happened often during Gym Battles. That was usually when an unevolved Pokemon was pushed the hardest, often providing that last little spark required to ascend to a stronger form. In a Gym Battle, League policy when a challenger's Pokemon began evolving was to back off and temporarily pause the match, both to allow the challenger and their Pokemon to bask in the special moment and to protect the evolving Pokemon, since striking a Pokemon mid-evolution could disrupt the process and result in serious injury.
But this wasn't a Gym Battle. And at this point, Drapion couldn't have cared less about Bede's Pokemon remaining uninjured.
"Quake." A single twitch of his front leg was enough to send a blast of Ground energy straight into the evolving Hatenna. A piercing scream filled the air as the glowing Pokemon was sent flying; she landed on her back as a Hattrem, clearly winded. A groan left her mouth as she struggled to rise to her feet, coughing and gasping for air.
Drapion didn't give her a chance. A flurry of Pursuit rays slammed into her, knocking her back down, and then another Earthquake sent her flying a foot into the air before plummeting back to the ground. She was still trying to rise - just like Ponyta, she clearly had a lot of determination - but again her attempt was forestalled by Bede recalling her.
Three down. Drapion took a few steps back towards Marcus, giving Bede at least a little space to send out his last.
"Gothorita!" Bede's voice was a strangled scream. "Charge Beam! Take that stupid Drapion down!"
Oh, an actually evolved Pokemon! No wonder it's his strongest.
"Static Shock!" Gothorita snarled; unlike the last three Pokemon, she looked absolutely enraged as she unleashed a crackling Charge Beam straight at Drapion. Which was understandable, considering how easily Drapion had torn through her teammates. Drapion raised a Protect to deflect the beam and retaliated with a Pin Missile, only for Gothorita to raise both her hands. "Dual Shock!" Two Charge Beams ripped through the missiles, and Drapion, left without Protect, was forced to improvise a defensive Earthquake to deflect the Electric-type attack.
Just like with Hatenna, Drapion pounced.
Unlike Hatenna, Gothorita rose to meet him. As he swung, she met his fist with a Faint Attack that somehow managed to hold back his arm. Drapion growled in disbelief, straining to overcome Gothorita's shocking strength; out of the corner of his eye he saw Gothorita raise a hand, glinting with Psychic energy-
Hypnosis. Oh, that's not happening.
Drapion was nowhere near as good with Taunt as Liepard or Pangoro, but with two teammates who maintained the move as a core component of their primary movesets, it would have been foolish of him not to ask them to teach it to him at some point, if only so that he could have it as an option in case he needed it. And now was as good a time as any. He allowed the move to flash into his eyes as he spoke. "Come on, that all ya got?" he snarled, layering Oblivion into his words.
And, just as expected, Gothorita lost her temper.
"I'll show you not to mess with my Trainer!" she yelled, abandoning her Hypnosis and hauling back for a telegraphed Faint Attack with that arm instead. Drapion opened his mouth and met her punch with his teeth. "Rend!" Gothorita wailed as Drapion's Crunch ripped into her wrist, just like Hop's Stunfisk had done to Gloria's Toxel.
After all, even less experienced battlers could provide Drapion with ideas sometimes.
Drapion raised his head, lifting Gothorita bodily off the ground. Gothorita swung at his face with her other arm, aiming for his eye, but Drapion simply formed a shield of Battle Armor in front of his face and took the attack. A loud crack sounded, and it even hurt slightly, but Drapion ignored it in favor of swinging his head back down and slamming Gothorita against the surface of the plateau.
"Charge Beam!" Bede yelled frantically. "Come on, Gothorita!"
Nope. "Quake!" Drapion growled, muffled as it was by Gothorita's arm in his mouth. Gothorita screamed as, just like Hattrem, all of the Ground energy used in the move ripped through her body. Drapion opened his mouth, stepped back, and swung his Dark energy-enhanced arm over his head and down onto Gothorita's prone body. Once, twice, and then he grabbed it, injected her with poison, and then twisted and threw her bodily across the plateau.
After how much punishment the rest of Bede's team had taken - and yet had still been ready to fight - Drapion didn't want to take any chances.
Yet, somehow, despite all of that, Gothorita still tremblingly forced herself to stand, eyes bleary and unfocused, body shaking all over. Marcus spoke up. "You're beaten, Bede. Recall her - there's no sense in-"
"SHUT UP!" Bede's howl of rage echoed across the plateau. "Gothorita, Hypnosis, now!"
"Sleep…Shock…" Gothorita mumbled. Drapion hadn't bothered to maintain the Taunt, but the wave of Psychic power that flew from Gothorita's outstretched hand was trivially easy to bat away with a flurry of Pursuit rays. Drapion stepped forwards and unleashed an Earthquake; Gothorita tried to counter it with a Psyshock, but she was too exhausted, too overwhelmed by pain to fight properly, and the wisps of Psychic energy were blown away as she was bowled over by the force of the attack.
Again she rose as if held up by strings. Drapion felt like snarling in rage. What is it going to take to keep this thing down?
"Charge Beam!" Bede spat.
A Protect countered that, and Drapion took another step forwards, hauling back with an arm that he enhanced with Battle Armor. Ordinarily he wouldn't have delivered such a heavy hit to a Pokemon already on the edge of unconsciousness, but frustration - and anger at Bede - spurred him onwards.
"Battle Armor: Slam."
A loud crunch sounded as the blow slammed into Gothorita, likely breaking several bones. Gothorita dropped to the ground like a stone. Drapion stepped back, panting slightly, and watching as…
"Oh, come on!" he growled as Gothorita rose again.
Suspicion flooded into Drapion's mind like a gate had been opened. Something about this just wasn't right. No Pokemon so outclassed, no matter how determined it was, could take a beating like that and still get up. And Gothorita didn't just look beaten up - she looked as if a literal gust of wind could knock her over, so battered and bruised that Drapion wasn't sure if another hit wouldn't cause irreversible damage to her body. No, there was something else at work here.
"Drapion!" Marcus raised his voice. "Knock Off!"
Drapion didn't know someone's eyes could go as wide with shock as Bede's did. "No, wait!" he cried, reaching for Gothorita's Pokeball.
It was a clear signal of a forfeit. But Drapion could tell something was up, and Marcus had clearly realized the same thing. And neither of them were about to let the Psychic-type Trainer weasel out of this.
As fast as he could, Drapion lunged, sweeping his arm around with a Knock Off at the ready. He didn't enhance this one with Battle Armor, nor did he fling it at anywhere near full force, but Gothorita had no defense regardless; she took the attack straight to the side of the head. Oblivion flared around her body, a small purple object flew off to the side, and Gothorita collapsed, a second before Bede finally recalled her.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from behind Drapion; he turned and had to stop himself from snarling as he beheld Chairman Rose, his assistant Oleana and a pair of Macro Cosmos workers behind him. The Chairman had just reached the top of the stairs; he strode over quickly, sweat dripping from his brow, head sweeping from side to side as he quickly took in the scene. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked sternly.
"Chairman, I-" Bede began.
"Enough." Marcus strode forwards, heading for the purple object that had fallen from Gothorita. Bede saw it; he made as if to scurry towards it, but Drapion promptly stepped in front of him and let out a ferocious growl.
Bede recoiled. "Chairman, help! He attacked me…"
"Marcus," said Rose, "call your Pokemon back this instant. I will not tolerate threats against my sponsored Trainer."
"I'll do that," Marcus retorted, "just as soon as he explains this." He grasped the purple object and held it up. Several murmurs arose from the watching crowd - a few of them clearly recognized what it was, because some of the voices were raised in clear anger.
"And give me that!" Bede snapped. "It's not yours!" Again he stepped forward, and again Drapion snarled at him.
"Copperajah-" Rose turned towards the Steel-type, who was still standing near the cracked mural.
"Chairman Rose," Marcus growled, "why is your sponsored Trainer using Eviolites on his Pokemon?"
The impact of those words could not be understated; a collective gasp emanated from all around the plateau, and many pairs of eyes turned towards Bede, narrowed in anger. Gloria looked more furious than all of them put together; Bede, for his part, looked like he'd swallowed something foul, while Rose and his brigade appeared to have frozen in place.
Rose was only frozen for a split-second before he turned towards Bede, his expression turning stormy. But Drapion had been keeping one eye on the man ever since his arrival, and in that split-second, he hadn't seen shock in Rose's eyes - he'd seen a glint of cunning. He knew at that moment that the Chairman had almost certainly known about the Eviolites.
Yet now that glint was gone. There was only surprise, anger, disappointment…the emotions one would have expected him to be feeling right now. Privately, Drapion was almost impressed at how quickly he'd adjusted to the situation; if he hadn't known better, he would never have suspected a thing.
And even though he did know better, the anger on Rose's face looked surprisingly real. "Young Bede," he said, "explain yourself."
"Th…that isn't mine!" Bede stammered. "He must've planted it to make me look bad!"
A loud snort of derision came from Gloria. "As if! Marcus wouldn't do something like that! No wonder you beat me and Hop so bad, you lying, dirty, cheating son of a-"
"Young Gloria, enough," said Rose. "Bede…it pains me to say this, but I am beyond disappointed in you. First, you attempt to destroy the Stow-On-Side mural - a vital part of Galar's history - and not only that, but trick my secretary into lending you my Copperajah in order to do it. Which we will speak about later," he added, shooting glares at both Oleana and Copperajah, both of whom had the decency to look embarrassed.
"I-"
"And then," Rose continued, ignoring Bede's words, "I come here to find that you have been using Eviolites? And not only that, but you try to claim Marcus planted it? Do you realize the magnitude of such an accusation? Marcus is a foreign Gym Leader - if he were to attempt such sabotage, it would constitute an international crime punishable by multiple years imprisonment on Iron Island! And to falsely accuse him of such an action is no small crime itself. I am not just disappointed - I am disgusted that a sponsored Trainer of mine would stoop to such lows."
Bede's eyes widened. "Chairman, why? You're supposed to be on my side!"
Rose sighed, putting one hand to his forehead. "I have been on your side, Bede. Much to my own detriment. I confess that when others came to me, telling of your surprising strength and poor sportsmanship, I turned a deaf ear. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But it seems I was wrong to do so. The Gym Challenge is meant to be fair and sportsmanlike. And a Trainer such as you, who scoffs at such things and treats Galarian culture…our culture…with such disdain does not belong in the Gym Challenge."
Bede stumbled as if struck. "You…you must be joking. There are a hundred different ways we could sort this out-"
"Your position in this Gym Challenge is revoked, effective immediately." Rose wasn't even looking at Bede now. "Your Gym Badges will be taken, as will your Dynamax Band, and your victories against the Gyms will be stripped from your record. And, for the crime of using Eviolites in a Pokemon battle, you will be barred from competing in any sort of Gym Challenge for the next year. Justin, Mateo, take him away."
The two Macro Cosmos workers stepped forwards. Bede tried to scramble away, but found himself backed up into Rose's very angry-looking Copperajah, who didn't seem inclined to let him move any further. He looked around wildly, seeing unfriendly eyes everywhere, before finally settling on Rose. "You can't do this!" he yelled, tears beginning to well at his eyes. "Chairman, please! There has to be another way! I'll do better, I promise, just please give me another chance!"
Drapion sighed disgustedly. Rose didn't even bother with that, simply continued to look away.
"It wasn't my fault!" Bede screamed. "It was…it was…"
"Whose, Bede?" Gloria growled. "Whose fault could this possibly be aside from your own?"
Bede opened his mouth; for a split second his gaze flashed again to Rose, and then he closed it again and looked away from everyone. "This isn't fair," he muttered. "It's not fair! I'm the strongest competitor in this Gym Challenge! You can't remove me, you can't, you can't!"
The Macro Cosmos workers reached him; each put a hand on one shoulder, their grips firm, and they began to lead him away. "You can't…" he kept whimpering, bowing his head and trying to hide his tears. Several members of the crowd booed him as he passed, Gloria included; Marcus, though, was silent, simply watching until Bede and his escorts disappeared out of sight.
Rose looked over at the crowd. "All of you, leave!" he ordered; the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving just Rose, Oleana, Marcus, Gloria, Drapion, and Copperajah standing on the plateau. Rose turned to Copperajah. "You should know better," he said simply, "than to follow someone's orders just because they said they came from me. No Sitrus Berries at dinner for the next week…for the whole team, not just you. Perhaps you will remember how disappointed they will be the next time you think about doing something like this."
"I understand," Copperajah murmured.
Rose tapped an Ultra Ball on his waist and recalled Copperajah, then turned to Marcus. "I deeply apologize for all of this," he continued. "Had I known this was happening, I would have put a stop to it immediately."
Drapion had to stop himself from scoffing.
"I believe you," Marcus replied, trying and failing to not sound similarly skeptical.
"I hope," said Rose, "that we can put this all behind us and continue to enjoy the Gym Challenge without anything else getting in the way." Inclining his head, he stepped away. "Oleana, bring out Articuno," he ordered. "We should be getting back quickly."
"As you wish, Chairman." Oleana tapped a Pokeball and released the Legendary into the space between herself and Rose. "Articuno, Teleport."
A flash of Mind filled the air, and the three were gone.
Gloria let out an explosive sigh. "I know I probably should've controlled myself better," she said, "but…that felt good. After what he did to Hop…oh, Arceus, Hop! We have to tell him!"
"You're right," said Marcus. "That should help with what he's going through. Drapion, let's…"
He got no further.
Abruptly, a loud cracking noise split the air, shortly followed by a loud rumbling. Drapion looked to his left in time to see the mural falling to pieces; the damage Bede and Copperajah had done to it had been too much for its structural integrity after all. Drapion swiftly threw up his Battle Armor over his face and covered his head with his arms; he dimly heard Marcus and Gloria cry out behind him, and then all at once it was over.
As the dust cleared, Drapion lowered his arms and allowed his Battle Armor to recede. Where once the mural had stood, now there was nothing but a large cave carved into the wall, a cave that had been hidden by the mural.
A cave that contained a statue of two Pokemon that Drapion instantly recognized as Zacian and Zamazenta.
Marcus looked down at Gloria. "I'm…not sure what this means," he admitted. "Sonia will, though - we should call her. After we find Hop."
"Yeah, definitely." Gloria's eyes sparkled. "She'll love to see this."
I'll admit, this is not the happiest chapter. Good news - things get worse next chapter. (Which, by the way, is also the end of this arc, so heads up for that.)