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1:32 p.m. October 17th, Saturday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event).  Day 130.

Events:  Rhea and the girls have had an eventful 60 days of hardcore training!  What’s changed?  What new things have the squad uncovered?  Let’s find out!  Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (48 days away).

 

Sitting cross-legged, Gables closed his eyes, camouflaged into the scenery as the gentle sway of his platform rocked with the pool’s movements.  The sounds of the stadium pressed in on him, yet he kept his focus while ever-so-slowly drawing in Lori’s Fortitude.

During their training, Dawn and Pilup had shown them an advanced technique that not even many Master Pokemon could do on demand.  It wasn’t like he could either, but given some time, he could make it work; he just needed to find the proper balance.

In the calm that came over the battle, the announcer took a quieter tone to hush the crowd as Lori and his team provided more information that he could use to fight their new opponent.

“And our battle winds down as our ambush predators take to their element, Trista using her Acid Armor to meld into the water as Galbes relies on his Camouflage to blend into the background.  What tactic will they use to find their opponent?  Will we see an upset to this fight that favors our ghostly girl?”

Lori’s brooding tone came through clearer with the world blotted out.  “Frillish is a Water/Ghost Pokemon, which means Fighting and Normal Moves are totally useless against her, on top of Water Absorb, which allows her to heal passively…  Muk, this is a hard one.  Heh.  Well, it would be two months ago.”

“Get her, Gabs!”  Roxie barked.

Mind expanding in a five-meter radius, he funneled Lori’s energy into Mind Reader, yet he wasn’t honing in on one area.  A twist came to his mouth as the feminine voice of the Floating Pokemon popped into his head in sporadic pulses, providing him with just the location he needed.

Eyes flying open, shadows embraced him as he swiftly pulled in energy; sinking into the darkness, he phased through the platform, weaving left and right around the bubble minefield to appear right behind the invisible ghost, lashing out with supernatural force as Shadow Sneak made contact.

The Frillish flickered into view, wincing as she was batted through the water, yet an ominous power rippled through Gables’ hand to the rest of his body, locking him in place; not only couldn’t he twitch a muscle, but he suddenly couldn’t recall what Move he’d just used.

Lori hissed as the announcer went wild.  “Mind Reader into Shadow Sneak, only to hit Trista’s Cursed Body!  Did our Unovan Trainer think she had Water Absorb, or was she hoping for a one-shot victory?  How soon until Gables can shake off the Disable?  And I don’t think he’ll—what’s this?!”

“Zyra, buy us some—oh, c’mon, Misty!  Really?!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Gables saw a red beam shoot toward him, only to be met by a shimmering, rainbow box that exploded from around Trista’s body, locking them inside.

“Trick Room!  Trick Room, ladies and gentlemen!”  the woman shouted.  “A Move generally only seen in Gold-tier or above, showing how versatile our challenger is to allow such wiggle room in the Silver Bracket!”

The pink jellyfish swayed toward him, showing a charming smile as she cupped his face, green energy surrounding them both, making his Matrix drain into her.  Worse,  her curse strengthened with the deadly touch, any thought of what he had tried before actively diminishing.  “I told you, pretty, no one escapes once in my arms.”

“Gmmgm!”  He grimaced as the emerald light embracing them strengthened; her cold hands felt like spikes digging into his flesh, leaving his body exhausted.  “You are… way too clingy, girl…”

Lori’s sober voice made his smile return.  “All in!”

The green energy intensified, but not from the confused Frillish; the crowd went silent as Gables fought past the curse, sending all of Mallory’s sent Fortitude into a growing glow of jade-colored power.

“What are you doing?!”  Trista asked, panic now showing on her face as she tried to swap to a new Move; it was too late.  “Don’t be mean to—ack!”

Shoving a fist of Grass-Type energy into her face, the explosion detonated on impact, sending her flying and breaking the Trick Room.  Yet, oddly, instead of feeling lighter after the Move, a heavy weight pressed against his limbs.  Breathing heavily, he tried to recover, still feeling weak despite the jelly girl’s hands no longer caressing his cheeks.

“Heh, you’re not the girl I want to touch me, fishy!  I don’t want to see no flaming ears and stick if I’ve been hugged—even against my will!”

“Trista has Gables in a stranglehold!  The infamous Cursed Body, Frillish Death Touch, uses Absorb to drain all of her opponent’s defensive matrix!  This special Floating Pokemon even carries Strength Sap to lower his ability to fight back.  Many of you may have seen this in the Frillish mating rituals on documentaries as the males attempt to court—what is this?!  Trailblaze!  I don’t believe this!  Trailblaze—a 200,000 credit Paldean TM in Silver?!  Trick Room is down, and Lori recalls Gables as Trista recovers!”

A red beam connected with Gables, carrying back into his Poke Ball.

 

* — * — *

 

Lori swiftly placed her Frogadier’s Poke Ball in the machine and took out Zyra’s; Misty sat at an angle in her comfy chair, legs crossed and showing a small, Impish smile that grated against her nerves.

Misty’s such a Jinx!  Making us think she was mirroring Janine’s Water Absorb strategy only to flip it on us with Cursed Body?!  We could use Water-Type attacks, but she resists them, and Trick Room makes Trailblaze reduce your Speed instead of raising it, Gabs!  Gah!  Buy us some time or look for an opening for a single one-shot takedown, Zyra.

Throwing out her Corvisquire, Lori almost bit her tongue when, not two seconds later, Misty casually returned Trista.  Zyra squawked as she exited her capsule, flying in sharp circles around the outside of the ring, drawing claps and pictures to be taken from the stands at the white-and-black Raven Pokemon.

Misty’s orange ponytail swung left and right as she seemed to be playing a game with herself to decide which of the five remaining options in her available Pokemon she should send out.  The woman appeared to be enjoying herself way too much.

The announcer chuckled.  “And, as usual, our Gym Leader is playing eeny, meeny, miny, moe to determine how hard she wants to be on our challenger!  Oh, it looks like we have our final contender!  On Mallory’s side, we have Gables, the Shiny Frogadier, and her Starter, supported by Zyra, her genetically advanced Corvisquire Super-Pokemon, against our Gym Leader’s ghostly Frillish gal, Trista and…  Arceus!  Light comes into the pool, folks; it’s time to get electrified!”

You’re Muking kidding me, Lori mumbled to her Pokemon.  Tailwind, Zyra!  Don’t get too close to the water, and Hone Claw or try to lower his Attack with Screech…  A Muking Chinchou, Misty?!  What are you playing?

Gulping as she pulled up the Angler Pokemon’s Pokedex sheet, she winced as Zyra sent a panicked signal, and a brilliant flash of light put spots in her vision.  Blinking rapidly, she saw the bluish angler’s radiant bulbs poking out of the water, his plus-sign eyes fixated on her blinded bird as she fell out of the sky, unable to tell which way was up or down.

At the last second, she course-corrected, Tailwind’s speed working against them and almost sending her right into the pool.  Spreading her wings, the bird skimmed across the surface, only to be met by a face full of water as Light spat a spray of liquid over the Corvisquire.

“A rapid Illuminate takes Zyra out of the sky to be hit by Soak, weighing our bird’s feathers down, disabling her STAB Flying Moves by turning her into a Mono Water, and countering her Tailwind!  This is one aggressive angler, ladies and gentlemen!”

Electricity sparked between Light’s two bulbs, prompting Lori to shoot a warning to her recovering bird.  Spin in a sharp circle and shoot up with another Tailwind, Zyra!

She complied, the Soak being blown off with the rapid movement and outdistancing the Thunder Wave that followed, the wide spray of energy dissipating just before touching her tail feathers.

“A narrow escape from Zyra, but—close your eyes, folks!”

Lori mirrored the announcer, arm flying in front of her face as the effulgence erupted from the ground; the worst part was that it was an Ability, allowing it to use it in conjunction with his Moves.

She had known, even with their training, that this fight would be challenging and that they’d be on the back foot since that was the name of the game when it came to Encrusted Gym Challenges, but Misty was Toxic Spikes incarnate.  She thought Janine was bad, but Misty took it up to a whole new level!

Zyra sent a spray of sand from her wings to the pool below, only for Light to duck under the waves to avoid the spray.  A jet of water rocketed out of the surf as Zyra easily evaded the aggressive stream, claws shining white as she increased her Attack and Accuracy.

Focus returning to Pokedex as her Pokemon tried to help Zyra keep ahead of the barrage of Electro Balls and blinding rays sent her way, Lori looked for a way out of this trap Misty had laid for them.

We’re totally countered, and of course, Misty would use a Pokemon with Trick Room in Silver-tier against us.  Why wouldn’t she?  No, Light is really aggressive, she concluded, eyeing the Electric Angler launch attack after attack at her nimble bird, no longer tricked by his flashing rays.

It was a strong surprise start, and they have a lot more Moves than the typical Trainers we face, but we can—  Her thoughts froze as a ball of ghostly light swirled out of the deep, attempting to detonate near Zyra, yet the bird twisted her back to it and dove, dodging the burst.  Nice evading that Confuse Ray!  We’re baiting out all their Moves…

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lori gauged her own Fortitude; they honestly hadn’t used that much of it since they’d mostly been evading and trying to bide their time to feel their opponents out.  It was time for the gamble.

We’re going to have to do something risky, Zyra.  He may resist Flying, and Gabs can deal so much damage to this guy, but if I swap you out, she’ll swap back to Trista.  Eventually, if you stay in, he’s going to land an attack on us that we can’t dodge; he’s waiting for just the right moment, so let’s give it to him.  You know what to do!  Operation Screaming Eagle!

 

* — * — *

 

Zyra twirled at an angle to curve above two Electro Balls, lightning sparking between the cycling spheres, her hyper-sharp vision quickly spotting every twitch the Chinchou made below her; Keen Eye and a double Hone Claws gave her all the focus she needed to keep ahead of the game.

Her feathers were still a tad wet from his first combo, but it didn’t really affect her flight anymore, and Lori’s call to action filled her with glee.

Rodger that, Big Mama, Operation Screaming Eagle is a go!

Spiraling into a nosedive, she tilted up at the last second to a light spray of water as she skimmed along the surface of the pool, wings tilting left and right to glaze the tips.

“Finally coming in close, birdy?”  Light laughed, bulbs lifting and flashing at just the right brightness that indicated he was going for a Thunder Wave instead of his Illuminate; he couldn’t do both simultaneously, and she’d noticed how every Move had its own tell from observing the trigger-happy angler.  “Try not to get wet!”

A wide, flat pulse of energy rippled across the surface as Zyra lifted her wings high and beat hard, tucking them close to her body while tilting her beak to the sky.  Shooting up at a sharp angle to escape the rapid wave across the pool, she unfurled her wings and screamed a war cry.

“You will see the sky soon enough, my flashy foe!”

Her Screech landed as Tailwind curved her back toward the so-slow-moving Electric Pokemon.  Her already enhanced Speed tripling and pressure squeezing Zyra’s frame, a blazing sky-blue light embraced her, and an enormous amount of Lori’s Fortitude flooded her veins; it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was the first time she’d used this deadly attack.

The sound of the crowd dying as the wind whistled past her, Zyra plummeted toward the water’s surface, splitting it like butter as her aura curved into a spear-like point at her beak, air kicking up a spray of liquid in her wake.

The raw power of her strongest Flying-Type Move cut through the water to meet Light, the angler’s body spontaneously igniting with electricity.  Her beak clamped together as they met, and sparks encased her, yet Zyra didn’t let the electrifying pressure break her concentration.

Light’s bulbs flailed at her sides as she carried him upward, drilling deep into his defensive matrix.  Only, halfway up, her muscles locked, and all the energy Lori had given her dispersed as a jolt of lightning disrupted her Move.

“H-Huh?!”

A pained smile came from an incredibly battered Light, gradually coming to a stop with her near the display boards, showing her paralyzed; she couldn’t move.

Bulbs illuminated with sparks passing between them, a ball of lightning grew with Light’s grimace as they started to fall.  “Ugh—that might be too much.  But I won’t be the only one to lose!”

Unable to even twitch a wing to shift her angle, all Zyra could do was watch the ball grow bigger in her eyes—a beam of red light connected to her, saving her from the deadly sphere.

“Not today,” she managed to say with a weak laugh.  “Every good soldier needs to know when to retreat.”

“Nooo!”

 

* — * — *

 

Lori breathed out her stress as Zyra’s Poke Ball connected in time to destabilize her and bring her back to the safety of her capsule, the crowd going wild at the last-millisecond return.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what a play by our challenger!  Double Hone Claws, Screech, with a Tailwind-enhanced Muking Sky Attack—plus-two Attack, Accuracy hyper-enhanced, there was no way she was missing—yeah, even with the advantage in Typing, Light couldn’t hack that, folks!  And that save was beautiful!”

Inserting Zyra’s Poke Ball and seeing the Status symbol on her heavily drained Corvisquire’s health display, Lori bit her bottom lip.  A quick glance at Misty showed the pregnant woman fighting with her unruly babies but still managing a tortured clap, or maybe she was just pleading with the Impidimp inside her belly.

“That being said, Mallory didn’t come out of that unscathed; Zyra is paralyzed and took a beating with that Spark she took head-on—it looks like a Critical Hit, as well.  Our challenger isn’t out of the fight yet!  Out comes Gables to try and take this home!”

Lori gulped and pulled her frog’s capsule out of the machine as Teri jumped forward with her hands outstretched and a serious look on her face.

Be prepared for anything, Gabs.  I know—heh, sure, Teri.  She laughed with her Pokemon as the Legendary Fighting Pokemon accepted the ball to throw into battle, wanting to feel like she was a part of the team.  Your Speed is still down one stage, Gabs, so we need to get that back up, even if it’s a hard Move for us to pull off since we don’t have much practice with—Terri!  Why did you…  Haha-haaa…

 

* — * — *

 

Gables ran his palm over his head and smiled as Roxie nudged his shoulder.  “Good luck, Boss, and maybe try not to let that fish get her fins all over you this time.  You know how Amber is with that wand of hers.  She’ll have you begging on your knees with Hypnosis.”

I hope so!  He laughed, feeling his ball pass to Terri’s paws.  At least then I don’t have to do anything and she can release stress herself by puppeting me around.  Plus, it’s not that bad.  Hehe.

“Uh-huh,” Zyra snorted, trying not to let her lowered Matrix get to her pride.  “I doubt she’ll be that easy on you.  I can see her back and up-turned tail already, smacking her wand against her palm.”

Oh, you girls have no idea.  I’ll have her melting in my hand when this is—Terri?!  Girl, c’mon, we know you’re strong—but c’mon!

The Kubfu took a stance, tossed his Poke Ball in the air, and palm-struck it, sending him flying across the stage and almost right next to Misty’s podium.

“Kub-kub!”  she shouted, screaming her warcry to fight.  “Kub?!”

Gables breathed a sigh of relief as he materialized, with Misty having recalled Light to, twisting and turning in her chair to find a better resting position.  He released a strained laugh to his teammates.

Maybe Misty’s sisters were right to try and force her to take a break from the Gym.  Is she really that stubborn?

Dipping underwater, he loosened up, waiting for his time with the Ghost jelly again; Lori went over her possible Moves, and a grin split his lips as a plan came from her Trainer.  It was time to reveal one of their other tricks up their sleeve.

Several seconds later, Trista was meeting him with her creepy smile as she floated down, and the match continued.  “Hello, pretty!  That was quite the rude thing to do to me when all I want to do is love and hug you.  Can’t you accept my affection?  I don’t mind sharing with your fire friend!”

“Yikes!”  Gables hissed with a pained grin as he gathered a large amount of energy from Lori.  “You are really down bad, girl.  I’m sorry—you’re cute, really—but, uh, not… really my type.  I’ve got a spitfire, fluffy-tailed fox goddess to wrap me up nice and warm at nights, so I’m going to have to say no.”

A sour pout came to the jelly’s face.  “Why are all the pretty boys taken?  You’ll think differently when limp in my arms.  I promise!”

She started to melt into the water as Gables sent a massive pulse of energy into the water; the current changed, and dark clouds spiraled upward while pulling in water.  Spreading his arms wide, he activated one of the two Abilities he’d gained when evolving and launched forward as fast as he could swim.

Rocketing through the water, he used the downpour and Big Wave to curve in a large circle, bringing parts of the crowd to their feet as he generated a makeshift whirlpool.  His charged wave forced the shocked jelly into the maelstrom, unable to escape the current his Ability made.  It carried him along, increasing his speed even as Trailblaze activated, doubling the boost, drawing from Zyra’s playbook.

He swam around the whirlpool as a blur, spotting her flailing ripples in the water, yet just a colorful box expanded outward, instantly cutting off his combination Move and significantly dropping his speed.

“Gah—this is such a cheap Move!”  he snarled, Big Wave breaking and causing the pool to slosh side to side as the two of them spun around the big box, Trista now giggling and fading into the water.  “Back to the mind games…”

“That was super impressive!”  Trista chimed.  “I like you even more.  Why am I so unlovable?”

“Aww, you’re making me feel bad,” Gables groaned as Trailblaze failed, camouflage making him transparent; he slowed his motion so as not to cause any ripples she could detect.  “If I could, I’d be on the doorstep of every girl who needed a shoulder, but a fox already has her teeth in my heart.”

Gables blinked in confusion as Trista became visible a few meters away, spotting shiny tears in her eyes and looking right through him; she’d found him but hadn’t attacked.  “Why won’t anyone love me?  All the boys belong to someone else… no matter how much I try.”

“Gabs?”  Lori mumbled.  “What’s going on?”

Figuring camo wasn’t doing him any favors as the announcer tried to figure it out herself, Gables canceled the Move; Misty took the mic to explain that Trista was having a hard week.

“Hey,” he said, tentatively swimming closer as the jelly sniffled.  “Let’s put a pause on this for a second…  Talk to me.  I’m here to listen.”

Trista hugged herself and looked away.  “I know this is really unprofessional—but Misty also feels really… emotional, and it’s hard…  We just want to be loved.  Why is it so hard to find with… with the right person?  It sounds like you really love this fox girl…  I didn’t even know what love was until I joined the Gym Roster.  Maybe it’s just not meant for me.  Heh.  Sorry!  I shouldn’t do this…  We’re here to fight!”

Puffing out a sad sigh, Gables gently swam over to float in front of the Frillish, spotting a similar broken smile that Lori sometimes saw on Dawn when they were training.  “You’ll find love, Trista.  Haha!  Forward girls are kind of rare, and I bet you intimidate a lot of guys.  You’re pretty, okay?  Don’t doubt that.”

“Really?”  Trista asked, pink figure brightening slightly as her fin came up to wipe away her tears.  “You’re really kind, Gables.  Hah.  I’m a jealous jelly of your fluffy fox.  I hope she knows how good she has it to have a guy like you to love her.  I just try… so hard, and… and I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Fighting past the fear of her Cursed Body, Gables reached out to take her hand and squeeze it comfortingly and hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the leg.  “I’m not the only guy in the sea, Tris.  I’ll be your friend, but I can’t be anything more.  When this is over, we can chat, and I can give you advice or be an ear you can complain to about all the terrible guys.  But if you need to feel beautiful, just give me a call.  Okay?  Friends?”

Trista sniffed back her emotions, her tiny mouth lifting into a thankful smile.  “Okay.  I don’t have any ‘guy’ friends, and… most of my girl friends all say I’m too much, a-and just laugh at me.”

“Then they’re not your friends,” he returned, seeing real vulnerability inside the Frillish that likely stemmed from temporarily connecting to the temperamental Gym Leader.  “I’ll have my Trainer give Misty her number so we can chat sometimes.  You’ll find your love.  I’m in your corner!  You just need to work on your, uh, approach.  Haha.”

Small mouth pulling in, Trista looked down at his hand in hers, swallowed, and let go, holding her fins against her chest.  “You are very different from many other male Pokemon I have met, Gables.  I cannot say I am not still very much in pain, but you have given me something no one else has…  You have made me feel loved, heh, although not in the way I had hoped.  Thank you.”

Feeling the positive vibes, the announcer seemed to have noticed all the emotional responses from the Pokemon in the audience, and he was shocked to see a Lapras beside Misty, translating everything to the crowd with her Hidden Ability Telepathy.

With that, Trick Room faded, and Misty stood up with a bit of effort, addressing his confused Trainer.  “Congratulations, Lori, you’ve won in one of the most unconventional methods available in a Gym Battle… negotiation.  Trista no longer wishes to continue.  You are the victor.”

 

* — * — *

 

Lori’s lips fell open.  “Huh?  She—can she do that?!  Is…  I’ve, like, never heard about that rule!  You can win by convincing the other party not to continue.  Is it a forfeit… from a Gym Leader?”

Whispers flew through the crowd at the turn of events as Misty chortled and recalled Trista.  She released the Frillish and rubbed her cheek as the Pokemon held her fins at her front, floating in the air.

“Winning in a straight battle may be the most straightforward way of victory,” she said with a fond look at her suddenly shy Pokemon, “but there are many other ways of obtaining an Encrusted Badge in our personal rule book…  Ultimately, it is our choice to give it to someone.  Think of it like this:

“It is often said that Gym Battles simulate real combat… challenging combat.  And one of the most challenging things one can do in a war is make the other side choose to lay down their arms and seek peace.  Part of the blame does lie with me since I am connected to her, and… quite emotional at times, for obvious reasons, yet that is also true of subordinates under any leader’s command.”

She gave her a gentle look that was very unlike the videos she’d seen of the spitfire of a woman in the past or their first intense encounter.  They’d lost embarrassingly the first time, yet now they won due to Gables being a total sucker toward broken girls.

“Wow.  Well, I learned something today!  My boy’s an absolute stud!”

“Haha!”  The ginger held her stomach, body shaking as she winced and went to sit down again.  “It was a gamble that Gables took and one that arguably was very dangerous, given Frillish temperament, yet he followed his instincts, and those turned out to be correct.  Trista grew up outside of a Frillish school in a river and didn’t have the best of environments before I found her.  Thank you for helping her grow.  I am happy to say it is my loss.  Enjoy your victory.”

Lori felt tingles cascade down her spine, her knees suddenly weak as everyone in the stadium stood and started to clap.  She’d won.  Zyra had won her battle, if just barely, and Gables had somehow totally swooped his opponent off her feet to the point of giving up.

“I, uh-heh, I guess I’ll need to give you my number so they can keep in contact.  Thank you, Gym Leader Misty…  I really have learned a lot from you… hah, despite the growing pains.  I guess… I’ll go!  Huh…”

Recalling Gables, she left in somewhat of a daze, hoping her legs wouldn’t fail her.  She’d won.  It wasn’t the way she’d envisioned, but she doubted she’d ever forget this victory.  Now, it was time to celebrate with her friends and watch her teammates go about their own battle against the Water Specialist.

Good job, Gabs!  Way to man it up out there!  I think you’ve got a building fan club to make your princess’ tail fire up.  Hahaha!

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