In the end, Tuesday had managed to eat a piece of buttered toast before they'd left the pokemon center. Ashleigh, who had been wandering the center by himself while the others at breakfast, was trotting alongside Tuesday as they made their way to the Petropolis Gym. The houndoom's tail was low as they walked and even Tuesday rubbing him between the horns hadn't eased his mood. The houndoom had been good friends with Darryn's jolteon, Romeo, and coming back into the lobby of the pokemon center to find that the jolteon and his trainer were gone had put the canine into a sorrowful mood.
Tuesday was glad that she was using the houndoom in her gym battle. She thought the chance to fight an opponent might make the pokemon feel better. The dog had already seemed distracted by something as it was. Tuesday was aware of the foolishness of using a distracted pokemon in a battle, but she was more concerned with Ashleigh's state of mind than winning.
Not that winning wouldn't be grand, but if battling would take Ashleigh's mind off of missing his friend, then it was worth whatever chance there was of her losing because of it.
"Don't worry, Ashleigh," Tuesday said, her fingers finding the houndoom's favorite scratching place between his horns, "we'll see Darryn and Romeo again."
The houndoom whimpered and looked up at her, but didn't react favorably or at all to Tuesday's scratches. The girl allowed her pokemon his mood. She was distracted herself, with nervousness over her impending gym battle. It felt a great deal more like she was walking to her doom.
"You okay, Tuesy?"
Tuesday didn't answer right away. Was she okay? Physically, sure, other than that her hands were sweating and she felt a little cold, like she was catching something, even though she knew it was just worry over how she would do. What if Vega wasn't as nice to her as he had been to Reilly and Jaima? Maybe he only liked battling boy trainers? She swallowed thickly.
"I'm nervous as a whore in church," she quoted bluntly, her eyes flicking over to Jaima as she spoke.
The startled look on his face made her laugh, so much that she had to stop walking to keep from falling over. Her lips pulled back in a smile and the nervous energy fled her in a moment. She sighed, grinning at him. "LaWanda Page." She licked her lips. "All right. Yes. I'm... okay. Let's just go and get this over with before I chicken out, okay?"
Jaima was still slightly shocked at Tuesday's analogy, so much so that he hadn't realized Meiko, who was valiantly trying to hold in a snicker, was leading him forward as Tuesday went. In fact, the only thing that had snapped him out of it was when Meiko caught a look at his face, and could no longer hold back her mirth.
When Meiko finally calmed down, Jaima was feeling much less shocked. It was odd, sometimes, to remember that Tuesday was not actually his sister. It was, in fact, good to be reminded of this once in a while. It wouldn't stop him from acting brotherly to her, that was certain, but it definitely made times when she showed a more adult bent more entertaining.
If his girlfriend's reaction was anything to go by.
"What do you think," Meiko said once she'd finally calmed down. Her hand slipped into his easily, and they both seemed to regard Tuesday with a watchful eye for a while.
"Hard to say. I've never seen her in a gym battle before." He grinned, however. "However it turns out, this will be fun, ne?"
Meiko nodded her head with a grin as the gym came into sight.
Their footsteps echoed as they stepped into the gym. Jaima and Meiko walked hand-in-hand into the stands to the right of the battling arena, while Tuesday continued onto the challenger's platform. She had left two of her pokeballs with Jaima, although, glancing up into the stands, she noted that Tempest had already left the storage device and was sitting on top of the barrier that surrounded the seating, watching Tuesday with twitching ears and crossed arms.
Tuesday licked her lips and nervously fiddled with the pokeball in her hand. She had spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to decide what she was supposed to wear to a gym battle. In the end, she had simply grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt randomly. Now, she stood on the challenger's side of the arena in a pair of sneakers and brown cargo pants, with a black long-sleeved shirt. Her ponytail kept her long hair out of her face, falling down to below her shoulder blades in thick, wild curls. Around her neck hung the Mystic Water pendant that Darryn had given to her. She had been afraid to wear it before, though she didn't know why. The necklace was nothing bad, and it could do no harm to her. She was a little ashamed even, remembering how she had reacted to the receipt of the gift.
With Darryn now gone off on his own, she found she missed him, probably as much as Ashleigh missed Romeo. She wasn't going to be completely sappy and say that she was wearing the Mystic Water so that Darryn could be here in spirit to watch her battle, but if the pendant itself made her feel a little better, well, there was nothing wrong with that.
Two pokeballs still in her pocket, though one was vacant, Tuesday clenched the third in her hands as Ashleigh sat to her right, waiting for her opponent to arrive, and decide whether or not she had a chance at all at being a gym battler.
"And who do we have here?!" Vega planted his hands on his hips and swung back a little, an enormous grin spreading out on his face. "Come back for a rematch, Jaima? That would be excell-"
"Master Vega, sir?" The referree waved from the battle field. "Master Kuonji will be spectating the next Gym challenge - he is not your opponent today..."
"No?" Vega frowned and turned back to look across the arena. A young girl of maybe twelve? Thirteen? was standing in the challenger's box. She did not carry the confident swagger of most young trainers but was instead giving off an air of resolve and contemplation. Vega's smile softened. "Then who shall I be battling today?"
The referee signalled for both trainers to prep themselves before holding up both arms with red flags in his hands. "This Gym battle shall be between Vega, the Gym Leader, and Tuesday Berdison, the Challenger, and has no time limit. Both sides will first battle with two Pokemon in a Double-Battle style round. When both of either trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle, that trainer shall then choose one final Pokemon to continue the match."
Vega waited for this girl's face to show signs of recognition of his peculiar rules for battling but when she nodded to show her understanding, he didn't waste any time. Excitement was already filling his bones and the anticipation of seeing this new trainer's strategies was making him giddy.
*I LOVE my job!*
"OK! Then I'll choose my Pokemon first! It's their Gym Battle debuts but don't feel that you have to go easy on them! Let's go, War and Peace!"
Two Pokeballs were thrown into the arena, clicking open to reveal energy materialising into the shapes of... a Krokorok and a Duosion.
The referree dropped his arms with a swoosh of the flags: "Go!"
"You have the first move!" Vega urged his opponent.
The two pokemon were of species that Tuesday had never seen before, but the main focus of the gym she was at led her to the conclusion that they were either, at least in part, dark and psychic. As she was facing a champion in his own field, it would make sense that his initial pokemon would not be of the same type, and so while it was rather obvious to her that the floating green ball of membrane was a psychic type, due to its ability to levitate, the crocodillian creature must then be at least partially of a dark-type.
She remained silent as she contemplated all of this, the hours of thought in her mind appearing as only seconds to minutes gone by in the real world. Amazing, the way the mind could manipulate and fall away from the constraints of time, but that was not for her contemplation now, and she had no interest in the specifics of relativity. Leave Einstein to his own works, she had her place here, for the moment, swathed in her own shadows to combat the psychic force of his pokemon, and the swift-moving paws of a creature she would call her brother.
Still trapped in her contemplations, her face expressing little emotion other than curiosity at the new species that lay before her, Tuesday spoke quietly, but in the silence of the hall, her voice was clear. "'Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.' Leo Tolstoy."**
The echo of her own vocal contemplations had not even dissipated yet, when the spell seemed broken. Tuesday blinked, and her clouded eyes cleared, as fog is burned off from the world by the rising sun. The pokeball she had been clutching in her hands arced through the air and, reaching its peak, burst open to reveal angry dark clouds that hovered above the field.
Her feet shifted of their own accord as she fell into a stance that had become familiar in the mornings while performing her katas with Jaima. There was a snarl to her right, just behind her, mere seconds before, "To the Duosion, Ashleigh. Smog."
The blue and black blur that came somersaulting from the dissipating black clouds fell toward the crocodillian creature with an aim belying control over gravity's whim. "Zorro, quick attack."
Although persuming the krokorok was a dark-type, it would be weak to fighting attacks, Tuesday did not want to begin the match with such a thing. Better, she thought, to have Zorro use a basic attack and judge the movements of the pokemon in reaction, since she was required to go first. Ashleigh would spill the poisonous gas from his throat toward the duosion, and they would see how the korkorok played this game.
*Berdison... Where do I know that name...?* Vega tapped his middle finger to his thumb as his waist as he thought this to himself, irked by the almost-memory that the girl's name gave him. *Berdison...*
"Hoho!" Vega was torn from his thoughts as the girl named Tuesday ordered her first move and the battle got underway. She had very cleverly discerned the typing of his new Pokemon (that, or it was a lucky guess) and had sent her combatants out to deal with them with clear type advantages. Not only that, but bth of her Pokemon were fast - fast enough to take the first round for themselves, anyway.
War, Vega's Krokorok, was struck dead in the chest by the Riolu's Quick attack which caused him to stagger backwards and snarl angrily. Shaking his head to clear the daze, the crocodile Pokemo grinned and flexed his claws. The damage was less than the fighting Pokemon could potentially do, thanks to his ability, Intimidate. Not only that, but the Houndoom facing Peace would be similarly handicapped.
Peace, Vega's Duosion, blinked in confusion as Ashleigh's poisonous cloud descended upon him and wrapped him up like a filthy floating blanket. Within the Smog, Peace floated back and away from the evil Houndoom to escape the clutches of the wrank cloud before further damage could seep into his gelatinous body.
"War, use Dig! Peace, set up a Light Screen!"
"Krooook!" War leapt and dove at the ground, disappearing from view completely while above ground the psychic fusion Pokemon glowed an eerie gold and shimmering plates of light momentarily spun around his body like a living shield. Within Peace's body, a small lump of greyish-cream clay also began to glow with a continuous faint light.
Vega grinned. *Let's see how she copes with this!*
Digging my grave, Tuesday thought wryly. Of all of the moves to have used against her in a pokemon battle, she truly hated that one.
The silver lining to having Vega command both of his pokemon in such a manner was that Tuesday knew what each of the attacks did. She was not fond of Dig, and because Zorro was not a flying type pokemon, he was unlikely to be able to avoid it. Light Screen, Tuesday was less aware of by experience, having only witnessed the move used a small number of times. The fact that she had once thought it was a shielding attack synonymous with Protect had prompted enough embarrassment and curiosity on her part to make herself aware of the move through research. Therefore, she knew an easy way to avoid its effects would be to avoid using Special Attacks. Lucky for her, most Dark-type moves were physical attacks, and she didn't have as much of a draw to have Ashleigh use fire attacks as she usually did, since they wouldn't hold super-effect.
Still, a little fire would light up the shadows...
"Ashleigh, Fire Fang!"
The houndoom crouched with a snarl and sprang forward, rushing at his opponent with jaws gaping. Light boiled up from his throat, orange liquid that spilled forth flames between his teeth as he lunged for the Duosion.
Tuesday couldn't think of a way to have Zorro avoid the potential strike of the Krokorok's attack, short of recalling him, which would forfeit his position in the match. Her only option was to make the best of the moment. She could have him attack the Duosion, as well, which might help to rid her of the psychic pokemon, except that Zorro would be weak to any counter-attacks, and it wouldn't go well for them if the Duosion turned its attention to Zorro instead of keeping it on Ashleigh.
Making the most of a moment of belied peace was for the best. And it was always good to be prepared.
"Zorro, Nasty Plot!"
The riolu took a fighting pose and planting his palms together in front of his face, shutting his eyes as though saying a prayer over his clasped paws. The power of his special attack rose slowly, as he intoned, in soft but rising vocals, "Riiiiiiiiiii..."
His eyes flared open, golden, when the raising of his power had taken effect and, of all things, struck a pose meant to display muscles that the baby pokemon did not have.
Tuesday resisted the urge to facepalm, but couldn't stop her grin.
A high-pitched shriek filled the air as the flaming fangs of Ashleigh tore through the sticky body of Peace. The Duosion's form buckled under the intense heat and pressure, allowing the mighty Houdoom's laws to pass right through him like a hot knife through butter. Steam sizzled off the wound and the psychic-type's beady eyes swam in their sockets. It wasn't just chance that Vega's Pokemon had been nicknamed War and Peace before entering the field - one loved to battle while the other hated it. Even so, both were pretty powerful and were sure to win many battles in the future... Vega's final Pokemon had seen it...
"Peace! Keep it up!" Vega urged, knowing that the full extent of the houndoom's power would not have gotten through to Peace, thanks to Intimidate. He knew from their training that the Duosion was a support-category Pokemon so a damaging counter attack wasn't on the cards just yet. Instead, another step in his plan would have to come first. "Now use Reflect!"
"Shunshunshun!" Peace was instantly surrounded by a swirling barrier of pale blue lights that danced momentarily and then fell away from view. Their defences were fully up and the fighting Pokemon was hanging back and using nasty plot. Vega nodded. The tables were about to turn.
"Now, War! Use Dig on the Houndoom and protect Peace!"
The ground beneath Tuesday's Houndoom exploded as the Krokorok burst upwards into the fire-type's exposed belly. Without waiting for any pause in motion, Vega swept an arm wide.
"War use Sand Tomb and Peace use Psywave! Focus your attacks only on the Riolu!"
Tuesday gaped for a moment, feeling like a total idiot. Of course Dig could have been used on either of her pokemon, not just Zorro, and she should have expected it. It only proved that she had a lot to learn that she thought Zorro was the only possible target. And sand tomb...
"Zorro - Jedi! Feint the Duosion! Ashleigh, Roar at the crocodillian!"
Jedi was a code word for a particular movement that the Jedi of the Star Wars movies (which Tuesday had seen, despite what she would imply to Reilly if it came up) performed. It was nothing more than a high leap that involved a flip, allowing one to dodge over the heads of opponents. The riolu had practiced and practiced it, as Tuesday had wanted him to be able to perform the leap at a moment's command. As Zorro tended to spend much of his time during battles leaping from the muzzle of one opponent to the next, much to the irritation of all nose-stamped parties, this wasn't a hard tactic for him to learn. Sand Tomb wasn't accurate all of the time, of course, but it wasn't low on the totem pole, either, so Tuesday could only hope Zorro was faster.
She also hoped that Ashleigh's roaring at the krokorok might distract him enough to allow Zorro that chance to get away, even if it didn't scare him off the field. She didn't expect any luck of that magnitude. She thought it might not work like that because of the gym's rules, but it was worth a shot.
And if he did manage...
"Zorro, Vacuum Wave on the Duosion!"
"Your first mistakes of the match, Miss Berdison!" Vega shook his head and scratched the back of his neck and watched as the moves unfolded.
The nimble Riolu soared over Peace and flashed in from behind while subtly side-stepping the summoned sand that swirled toward him under the control of War, his paws jabbing hard at the green Pokemon. Feint, an attack to shatter through the protection of Protect or Detect had no effect on a Pokemon that had not used either of those moves. Sadly, the young trainer had confused the Protect technique with Light Screen. A real shame - she had had so much potential from the first moves. The Riolu's fists ploughed into Peace but the emotion Pokemon did not flinch or even budge - instead, he floated slowly away and spun to face the Fighting-type that had attacked it.
The Houndoom let loose a deafening howl of a Roar attack that, thanks to its innate ability, hit War's body and in a flash he exploded into red Pokeball energy and zoomed back to his ball. Just as quickly a dark shape plumeted out of the rafters in the shape of a stoic totem of an avian Pokemon. A Xatu.
"Zorro, Vacuum Wave on the Duosion!"
"Order! Use Ally Switch!"
The Xatu's eyes flashed once and in an instant, he vanished and Peace vanished before just as rapidly rematerialising in the place the other had been standing. The foe Riolu's Vacuum Wave was powered ahead, a rush of primal air busting from his hands at Order. One flash of Light Screen around the avian's body and the ineffective attack washed over Order.
"You may have powered up with Nasty Plot but a double resistance and a Light Screen won't allow the attack to do very much damage..." Vega did not like having to explain these thing in a Gym battle but sometimes the trainers he faced required a little guidance to get stronger - that way he'd have more powerful trainers to battle and learn from himself! "Now, let's try something new."
Vega's eyes narrowed. *I'm still a Gym Leader and I'm not toning this down!*
"Order, Miracle Eye on the Houndoom! Peace, Rollout on the Houndoom!"
Why didn't that work? Wasn't Feint supposed to break through protective barriers? Tuesday regretted not studying all of her pokemon's moves closely. She had taken the time to see what moves each of them were capable of, but so far, she had spent much of her time using moves that she was familiar with already and creating combinations between two pokemon. That was proving now to be a mistake. She had assumed something about a move that must not be so.
Win or lose this match, she would be studying all of her pokemon's moves closely for the next few weeks. She was clearly becoming lax in her studies during her journey, and that was something that could not happen.
For the moment, however...
Tuesday had never liked placing a pokemon directly in danger; it went against her natural desires to protect them all from harm. She would prefer to have the both of them successfully dodge the attacks aimed at them, but this was decidedly unlikely, considering that she was in the middle of a gym battle and two pokemon were converging on one.
Despite her youth and her lack of experience outside of books, however, it was never a good idea to underestimate Tuesday.
One of Zorro's greatest assets would always be his speed. A pokemon he relied heavily upon his ability to duck, dodge, and jump, he was faster than a great many pokemon, especially those that relied heavily on mental forces.
The problem was that the xatu was part-flying, meaning that it wasn't a pokemon that based its power almost exclusively upon psychic attacks. Tuesday could only hope that Zorro's natural prowess for speedy attacks and his training were surpass that of the psychic bird.
This move would tell.
"Zorro, Copycat the Xatu!" She could only hope he would be fast enough to copy the successful Ally Switch movement, before the xatu managed to use its Miracle Eye attack. If it worked, it would place Zorro in the line of fire for the Duosion's rollout, but using Miracle Eye would be no help to either him or Tuesday.
Hoping that everything would pan out, Tuesday called, "Ashleigh! Thunder Fang on the xatu!"
"Ohmigoshohmigosgohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!"
Meiko's nails dug into her cheeks and her knees were up under her knees. Her Cute Little Hat™ was skewed, but she didn't seem to notice. Jaima, in contrast, sat calmly, looking to the unpracticed eye (and a few practiced, non-psychic ones), as if he were bored. No doubt, if Tuesday had chanced to look up and see him like this, she would have been crushed.
"She's fantastic, isn't she?" His eyes narrowed as Tuesday's calls came out, clipped and terse and clear as a ringing bell on a cold, clear day. "She's making a few mistakes with her moves, but their understandable mistakes. A little more research, she'd have this down cold."
"Ohmigoshohmigosgohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!"
His tone did not match his posture, nor did the look in his eyes. He was, in fact, watching intently, analyzing based on his own experiences. It was odd, how, now that he knew about it, he could see that Tuesday had made a similar gap in her training when it had taken him so long to recognize it in himself. Of course, Tuesday probably caught it herself, and would rectify it: She was so smart.
It was also funny, to Jaima, that not only did he see it in her, but he knew she saw it in herself, yet she had not seemed to have gym battling as a goal, when that was all Jaima had wanted since he'd picked Ember, six years ago. A slow smile crossed his face as he watched her. If she'd been dedicated to battling, she'd have surpassed him before they'd met.
She was amazing.
He glanced over at Meiko, who was digging her fingernails into her face, eyes wide, knees to her chest, and smiled, a little more fondly. He could, and he would never tell her this, at this point in their relationship, anyway, but he could see her doing this for her own child.
Well, OK, their own child.
He, and Meiko, were rather intent on the match, and so didn't notice the battle of wills taking place above their heads. Nightwish, the cute, round little gothita, had her already thick lips pursed hard and was staring at Mercury, the shiny blue domed kirlia floating above Jaima's head. Mercury was glaring back in turn. Sparks would, at times, flow between their eyes like tiny, thin electric bolts. Neither said a word, psychically nor vocally, but the intense, battle of the wills was there, almost as intense as the match going on in the arena.
OK, not really that intense.
“Copycat the Xatu!”
*Ah! So she is a quick-thinker, after all!* Vega felt a small surge of adrenaline. This girl was throwing around unexpected moves left right and center! It was just like someone who Vega had battled before… Why did this girl seem so familiar? And that name… Berdison?
In an instant the Houndoom and the Riolu switched places. Vega smiled. An extremely clever move. Not only was the Riolu going to resist Peace’s move but it also allowed for an effective Thunder Fang counter attack on Order. Still, whether or not the girl was landing hits, Vega could not place her actual skill level. She was either a misplaced genius or a lucky fool – neither were predictable and that only made him happier! The surge of adrenaline became a torrent.
“Thunder Fang!”
Order was not the most swift of Pokemon and, naturally, the electrical attack hit home hard. A flash of Reflect reminded the combatants that the attack was still weakened from before but Order’s faster-than-average recovery indicated that the effects of War’s Intimidate were still afflicting the foes, too.
“Xah!” Order cried after the houndoom’s teeth let go of his chest and the faint crackle of lingering electricity sparked around his feathers. That was a clear sign of paralysis if Vega had ever seen it.
“Excellent!” Vega laughed, clapping one hand into the other. Confusion flitted around the room. “You’ve fallen for my Xatu’s flying-type weakness as expected! Order’s natural Ability is Synchronise!”
As though that were the cue, electrical sparks danced around Ashleigh’s body and the lithe canine’s movements immediately slowed.
“And he also knows another move! Order use Psycho Shift on the Riolu!”
The Xatu’s eyes flashed once and paralytic sparks instantly settled in on Zorro’s body while disappearing from his own.
“And now, Peace! You use Psyshock on the Riolu!”
Electricity raced over the body of the blue fox, his muscles stiffening as they locked together. Zorro yelped and stumbled slightly, as the paralysis took effect, slowing his movements and limiting his ability to escape danger, his penchant for leaping momentarily lost.
Ashleigh shuddered beneath his own paralytic effects, head drooping as his eyes studied the scene with the quick mind of a hunter. The psycho-bird had been paralyzed but wasn't any longer, and now the flipping-fox was suffering that paralysis, just as he was.
A growl rumbled up through Ashleigh's throat and out between his teeth. How were they to win this battle if neither of them could properly move? Ashleigh knew of nothing that would cease the stiffening of his limbs, and knew that he could only work with it and hope it did not stop him, or his partner in this battle.
“And now, Peace! You use Psyshock on the Riolu!”
Ashleigh turned crimson eyes on the green glowing glob of snot that had been ordered to attack his partner. The build-up of psychic energy was something that the houndoom could not feel in the air, but he could see it forming before the levitating pokemon, and he could see the target of said attack struggling against a paralysis that had, for the moment, not struck Ashleigh as profoundly.
The houndoom ducked his head low, but turned so he glanced surreptitiously at his runt, his growing alpha. The knuckles of her hands were white, her fingers clenched tightly against her palms, blue eyes wide and clear. She was paralyzed, as well, though in a different way than either of her pokemon. Ashleigh knew that she would make a great alpha, for she cared about each of her pokemon in turn, but he knew, too, that their pain caused her pain, and that the flipping-fox meant a great deal to her. The staunch-fox called him Little Brother, and he was something of the same to the alpha-runt, though she did not call him such. Perhaps she did not know the word.
But the flipping-fox was important, as the pair to the alpha-runt, and Ashleigh, as the alpha-runt's guard, would guard her pair.
He lunged.
*That clever Houndoom defended its teammate by using its Dark body to block that Psychic attack. Of course, that is easily prevented in future… Now, I think it is time to see who Ms. Berdison’s third Pokemon is and how she plays that card in my Gym.*
Vega scratched his jaw quickly as Tuesday ordered off a Screech and Smog combo. She had opted to use the distance between their combatants as a small defence – wise with her weakened team – but if she could not remember what Vega’s Pokemon were capable of earlier in the match then he’d have to give her an ugly reminder.
And she had been doing so well…
“Order, Peace! Hold your distance, too! Counter that move with Miracle Eye and Psyshock!”
An ear-splitting wail rent the air as the foe Riolu began its screeching attack and the Houndoom spat forth a jet of noxious fumes.
Order’s eyes flashed intensely, its attentions focused on the Houndoom. A mystical blue aura swirled around its body very briefly and vanished even as Peace let out a shimmering pulse of psychic energy at the Riolu.
Vega smiled to himself. Yes, his own Pokemon would have their defences lowered by Screech and those poisonous gases may hurt them further but neither of his Pokemon would fall first.
*Now, which will defend the other, this time?* Vega mused, excitement causing him to clench his teeth intensely. *Riolu or Houndoom? Neither one can take Peace’s attack – round one goes to me!
There was a thrum of psychic energy in the air that startled Ashleigh into a shuddering crouch, releasing a soft sound between his teeth. He could feel, in the air, the crackling force of psychic power, and he knew, somehow without knowing how, that it was psychic energy. It was nothing that he had ever felt before, but it was suddenly there, as real to him in a moment of comprehension as he knew it would be if it got close enough to touch him.
"Demonio perro!" Zorro dropped down into a crouch himself, clearly sensing the energy in the air and waiting for the inevitable attack.
The second half of Vega's command to his pokemon appeared in the form of a ball of energy that burst through their prison of darkness like a dark moon escaping the clouds that had obscured it. Ashleigh snarled and moved to step in front of Zorro again, but the riolu jumped over the houndoom to land in front of him.
"You es no immune, demonio perro!" the riolu barked, crouching down and bracing himself to try and catch the ball of energy.
Another snarl was the only warning Zorro got, before the image of the racing ball of psychic energy was yanked from his sight. Two large, hot paws pounded down on his back, slamming him to the ground. For a moment, he had half the full weight of a male houndoom crushing his spine, and the next, it was suddenly gone, as the ball of psychic energy slammed into the demonic dog and threw him across the arena. Ashleigh yelped loudly in response to being struck, and then hit the ground hard, rolling in a cacophonic tirade of barks and yelps and thuds, before to a stop in an unconscious heap.
Zorro pushed himself up from the floor with his front paws, looking back at Ashleigh in disbelief. "T...tonto," he whispered.
There was a flash of red light, and Ashleigh disappeared. Zorro turned his head again to look at Tuesday. She was holding Ashleigh's ball gently, cradling it in her fingers, eyes focused on the multi-colored orb.
Zorro pushed himself to his feet and shook himself, raising his head and letting out a firm bark to call her attention. Blue eyes met his golden ones, and he let loose a smirk, before it turned into a sneer that he turned on the duosion and xatu.
He wished he had his cowboy hat, just so he could put it on and dramatically through it off again.
Maybe next time.
With the Houndoom recalled from the field, Vega relaxed slightly. Only slightly. With both Psychic-type members of his team in play and with only one Fighting-type foe, they should have no problem. The issue would be Tuesday’s final Pokemon. If it was also a Dark type, he may find himself back in a one-on-one fight. In that instance, he only hoped that War would be able to finish the job that he had started earlier in the match.
“Now I know where I recognise your name!” Vega snapped his fingers, a lightbulb igniting in his brain. “There was another Berdison here not long ago… Yes, she had a very different style of battling and a completely different manner about her but that girl… Anita? Anika? Boy, she could battle. An excellent opponent and certainly worthy of the Twilight Badge.”
Vega’s glasses shimmered as he pushed them up his nose.
“Could she be a relative of yours, I wonder?” Vega asked himself just as much as he asked Tuesday. “In any case, you’ve big shoes to fill under the name of ‘Berdison’.”
There was a flicker around Vega’s Pokemon and he narrowed his eyes pointedly at Peace, picking out the fading aura of Reflect and Light Screen. War might need those in play…
“Let’s not slow the pace of our match!” Vega reminded the challenger. “Peace use Light Screen! Order, back Peace up with Future Sight!”
Tuesday ducked her head slightly and bit her bottom lip at Vega's mentioning of her sister. She didn't often encounter the older girl and as far as she was concerned, that was perfectly fine. She had very little respect for Anika, who had proven to care very little for her pokemon, and who judged all pokemon viciously. She would be a good battler, though. After all, she'd trained under their father, and though he had never made it to the Furoh region, Tuesday knew that names traveled across the oceans further than people did.
"She was trained by Russell Berdison," Tuesday said quietly, "our father."
She left unsaid that if the Twilight Badge concerned only one's ability to battle, then Anika certainly was worthy of it. Tuesday rather hoped she could stay in her own shoes, and out of those of a sister who could care so little for a charmander, just because it was a fire-type.
Though, if Anika had been her recently to battle Vega... there was a possibility that Tuesday might encounter her on the road. She didn't look forward to that.
"Zorro, copycat the Duosion!" Tuesday said. The riolu stepped back and knelt slightly, holding his paws up in front of him like he was pushing against something. A soft white glow formed on his paws and then flashed outward, glimmering like a translucent wall before him, before fading to an almost invisible glow.
"Now, Zorro... you remember how we met?"
The riolu looked back at Tuesday for a moment, before flashing a wide grin. Yes, of course he remembered. He'd arrived in the middle of Team Rogue's battle with a bunch of criminals, and had spent the better half of that battle jumping all over pokemon and annoying them to tears.
Tuesday matched his grin. "That, with a bit more of a tempestuous attitude, I think."
"Olu ri!" Zorro barked, and dashed in between his two opponents. Tuesday didn't know what he was saying to the xatu, but knowing how well he and Tempest got along, it probably wasn't very nice.
Meiko wasn't happy.
She really couldn't pin it down. The seat was uncomfortable, but she had sat in almost the exact same seat (no, it WAS the exact same seat) yesterday while Jaima fought his battle with Vega.
Vega's attitude was definitely grating. Not that he'd been any different with Jaima, but Jaima was not Tuesday. He could handle that kind of thing. And Vega had still been a jerk. It was just worse now that it was directed at Tuesday.
And why wasn't Jaima doing anything. Oh, sure, he couldn't very well storm out to the arena floor and smack Vega around in the middle of a battle. But he wasn't doing ANYTHING. Just... sitting there. Watching.
If he wasn't going to be indignant on Tuesday's behalf, could Meiko count on him to protect, or at least be outraged, on hers?
She was starting to not think so. And it was making her mad.
She crossed her arm and flopped back, only half trying to keep from disturbing the other watchers. She didn't catch Mercury's glance of concern her way. Nightwish, floating above her head, was also not seen as her huge baby like eyes narrowed.
Jaima glanced back. It seemed Meiko had picked up on what Jaima had: That Vega was being a little heavy handed. But, Jaima thought, that was as much of a tactic as Jaima's speaking Japanese in battle was. Besides, the guy had mentioned Anika, Tuesday's sister, and the last time Anika had come into view, it had released a hidden strength in Tuesday's personality. Jaima had a vague impression that Vega had miscalculated, and was about to see something... interesting.
Nightwish floated up. She didn't HAVE to ask the blue dome to watch for Meiko while she was gone, so she didn't. THAT meddler would have to be taken care of, too, but at least, for now, the kirlia's interests were similar to her own: Keep Meiko safe. All the better to manipulate the girl for her own needs...
She floated to the back, and felt that she'd gotten away scott free when a small, whisper like voice entered her thoughts, resonating against the very protections that Nightwish had set against Mercury, sounding for all the world like someone speaking against a window to the other side. Good Luck.
Mind youw own business, she growled, slamming a psyching hand against the psychic window, and exited the building.
She didn't seem it, she knew, but someone was messing with her property, and as soon as she found out who it was, she'd take care of it.
Come on out, wittwe mousey... kitty's hungwy...
“Xaaa…” Order hissed through his long beak as the challenger’s Riolu launched himself over the bird’s head in rapid arcs that were haphazard and unpredictable at best. It irked the Pokemon greatly – he wasn’t named Order for no reason. Everything had a place in the Xatu’s wise eyes and a Riolu had to be put in it.
Vega inwardly groaned. He hated accuracy-evader type Pokemon. It just meant firing his beloved Psychic attacks from a distance were less accurate and close combat was nigh on impossible. Very irritating, indeed. There were, however, many attacks that negated the efforts of evasion and others that simply came from everywhere at once…
“I think it’s about time you show us your final Pokemon, Miss Berdison.” Vega watched on as the Riolu named Zorro continued to leap and somersault all around his less active Pokemon. It had taken a Light Screen defense using Copycat already – he wasn’t prepared to allow a Reflect. “Peace, you also use Future Sight! Order, switch to Me First – don’t let that Riolu land another hit!”
"Me First," Tuesday muttered, eyes locked onto the xatu. "That means... Zorro, Endure!" she snapped suddenly. "Don't attack."
The riolu dropped down into a defensive position, drawing his arms across his face as though to shield his eyes, as his defense rose. With the use of a non-damaging move, Tuesday knew that the xatu's Me First would fail, as there was no damage to copy.
Tuesday flicked her eyes between the Duosion and the Xatu, her teeth clenched. Future Sight had been used twice, and there was no way to combat the attack. Zorro was gonna get hit by it, and she only hoped he could hold on long enough to take one of them down with him.
"Zorro, endure it, and then copycat their Future Sight!" The riolu nodded sharply and ducked his head against his arms, as the psychic attack struck.
Tuesday fingered the third pokeball in her possession. She didn't want to drag Zorro down... force him to fight in a battle he certainly couldn't win. She'd have him copy Future Sight, to hopefully give her next pokemon a leg-up, but then she'd call him back. She didn't want him hurt.
She only hoped her next pokemon could handle it a two-on-one match, with a third pokemon waiting to join in.
“Enough is enough now.” Vega curled the edge of his lip. The Berdison girl may not have had the best technique ever but damn her Pokemon were persistent. He would have expected to have been at his favourite coffee shop by now with an iced latte and a smile on his face but here he was, still slogging away at the match.
Order’s Future Sight, an invisible blast that swarmed in from all directions, took the Riolu up into the air with an audible rush of air. The Fighting-type, however, managed to clap his hands together into a defensive pose that kept the bedraggled Pokemon on the lighter side of consciousness. Then, with a flash of blue in its tired eyes, Copycat was launched in mid-air.
“Order, Peck right now!” Vega commanded, his Xatu sweeping along the ground with bizarre speed for a bird Pokemon on the ground, and thrust directly upwards at the airborne Riolu. The sharp beak of Order stabbed true and in a moment the challenger’s Riolu was catapulted high above the arena with a yelp where it soared, hanged motionless for a brief second, and then plummeted back to the ground with a crash.
The referee raised his flag and Vega raised an eyebrow.
*She putting up a fierce, if unpredictable battle. I must not forget about Future Sight but it’s 3-to-1 now… Surely her resolve will be fading… Let’s see what mettle this particular Berdison is made of!*
Tuesday recalled Zorro in a flash of crimson light and held his pokeball between her hands for a moment, mourning the fact that she had been unable to recall him, as she had wished, before he had been fainted by the opponent. Zorro would be disappointed that he had not been able to withstand the onslaught of the attacks driven at him, but he had done well, incredibly well, for himself. Tuesday was very proud of him.
She tucked his pokeball into her left pocket, where she knew he would remain safe until the match was completed and she could take he and Ashleigh swiftly to the pokemon center to be revived. Likely, too, her next pokemon would not escape this battle unscathed, but she would not count him out, yet. She had not had him as long as the other, but still, she had seen him battle. She would not know until the end of this match how thoroughly he would fare.
Tuesday gripped his pokeball tightly in her hand, pausing a moment to think. She could spare a moment.
There were two ways that she could initiate his introduction to the field, and she had not yet decided on which.
On one hand, she could through his pokeball into the center of the field and initiate an attack before his species became known to Vega, thereby giving her a moment in which she held the upperhand. It would not be much, and would not last long, but every second in which she held something within her grasp that the other did not have could mean victory or defeat in any match. That was something that Brone had taught her, as pale fingers moved chess pieces around on a checkered board. She had learned the lesson well.
On the other hand... Tuesday reached up and touched the pendant that hung from a cord around her neck. Revealing her third pokemon's species to her opponent before the initial attack would give him that small amount of time to begin to put together a strategy, but as knowledge was truly an asset, so could the littlest of things be just as so.
Tuesday nodded and tried to ignore how her hand shook lightly. She had decided the three pokemon she would be using for this match, and she would not go back on that choice, even if part of her decision did frighten her. It was a step toward recovering, and she was not afraid of him.
"Odysseus."
The pokeball flashed open, the crimson light coalescing beside her, releasing the buizel she had been holding until the end of her match. She had not had him as long as Ashleigh or Zorro, and she did not know him as well, but he was older than them, she knew. He may not have an advantage in this fight, but he was strong, and she had faith in him. She trusted him.
She was not afraid of him.
Tuesday pulled the necklace up over her head and dropped the cord over Odysseus', the Mystic Water pendant hanging down the front of his chest. The buizel glanced down at it for a moment, before looking at her. He wore a wary expression, one she had seen on his face before - an uncertainty in her decision, but she smiled at him and tucked his pokeball back in her pocket.
Glancing at her now empty hands, the buizel seemed to understand that she would not go back on her decision. He nodded slightly to himself and turned to face his opponent.
"As you say, lass."
"Sonic boom on the xatu, Odysseus. Take him out!"
*A Buizel!*
“Order, Ally Switch Now!” Vega commanded the sacrifice without blinking. It was time to step things up. Now Ms. Berdison had called out a water type, his reserve Pokemon would be at a disadvantage should he be forced back onto the field and as much buffering and forward planning would be needed as possible, given the beating Peace and Order had already taken.
In a flash of white light, Peace and Order switched places and the arc of Sonicboom hit the Duosion square in the face.
“Duuuu!”
“Duosion is unable to battle!” The referee signalled with a raise of his flag. Vega swiftly recalled the Pokemon.
“Unable to battle but still fighting!” Vega laughed as Peace’s Future Sight made its arrival. Psychic energies swarmed in from all directions at once and crushed the water-type Pokemon in an invisible vicegrip. Vega mentally punched the air. Future Sight was an excellent move for throwing an opponent off guard, even for just a moment.
“Follow up with Night Shade!”
The fainting of the duosion was something of a surprise to Tuesday. She had expected to possibly take out the xatu, but not the other pokemon. Not that she wasn't pleased. Not only did that leave her without having to worry about the duosion, but the move Ally Switch could no longer be used, since they each only had one pokemon on the floor.
The Future Sight that Zorro had copied should be striking soon, either onto the xatu, or if Odysseus managed to take him out, the krokorok.
Tuesday pondered her choices for a moment. She knew the pokemon Vega would send out next would be the krokorok, so at least she wasn't in the dark about that. She wished there was more she could do to prepare for the next pokemon's arrival.
She didn't worry herself too much about that. Tuesday was just glad that Odysseus knew what he did, and that she had taken one of the pokemon down already.
Now, for the next.
"Odysseus, use Pursuit!" With a chattering growl, the buizel lunged forward.
The Challenger’s Buizel plunged right into the path of the Night Shade attack, its growl gurgling out amid the crackle of the midnight energy swarming from Order’s eyes. Vega knew very well that an attack like Pursuit was super effective to his bird Pokemon and he also knew when said Pokemon was at its limit.
“Order, get back and use Wish right now!” Vega commanded swiftly.
The Xatu swept its wings at the Buizel and catapulted backwards, just out of the reach of the water-types claws as they swiped at the spot where he had stood. With a tilt of his beak, Order sang a high-pitched cry to the rafters where tiny balls of light began to shine like a sea of tiny stars.
In a flash, the Buizel was upon him once more and a swipe of its claws rewarded the challenger with a burst of feathers.
“Xaaa!” Order’s weakened squawk echoed throughout the Gym as he fell and the referee’s flag was raised.
“Xatu is unable to battle!”
“Order, return!” Vega recalled his Pokemon and raised his third Pokeball. “I must say, Ms. Berdison, that I am impressed that you have managed to get this far in our battle with the strategy that you have decided to employ. We both know that you are about to gain an advantage for the remainder of this battle but let me remind you – this is a Gym battle and Badges are not easily earned. Now, let’s do our best in this final round! Go, War!”
A flash of white light and the Krokorok was back on the field. A glittering aura surged around him as Light Screen flickered its reminder that it was still in play for both sides of the field.
“War, use Crunch attack!”
Tuesday sighed with relief as the xatu went down. With one pokemon left to each of them, she and Vega were almost evenly matched. Odysseus had taken a few hits so far, and Vega had more experience, but as he had said, Odysseus had an advantage over the krokorok. They were at the end and the choices she made here would decide the battle.
She flicked her eyes upward to the gym leader as he spoke, before her eyes narrowed slightly in thought. She wondered if Vega was aware of who her father was. Were he, he should know she wouldn't take the gym battles as being an easy feat to overcome. Anika might, but she wouldn't. They would hardly be worth attempting if they did not require practice and skill, but she said none of this, her eyes leaving Vega's face and staring absently at the arena before her.
Flexing her fingers as though she were preparing to throw a hit herself, Tuesday's eyes moved to the krokorok and she watched as it lunged forward, prepared to use an attack she recognized as a Dark-type attack. Crunch. Briefly, her memory brought up moments before when she had seen the attack used by others. And what could stop...
Wait, three turns...
"Odysseus, Swift backpedal!"
The buizel's back legs tensed and he sprang backward, at the same moment as he released his Swift attack, slamming the star-like projections at the krokorok. The air had filled with a tense power, as well, and a moment later it was revealed why, as the Future Sight Zorro had copied made its debut, tearing through the air viciously.
Jaima sat forward, his fingers steepled in front of his face so that his nose was practically resting on his fingertips. His eyes darted minutely from side to side, taking in the action in the arena below, but little else. He had started a little bit in reaction to Tuesday's calling out Odysseus, again glancing back at Meiko. Evidently satisfied that she agreed with him, he turned back to the action.
Meiko wasn't even watching the battle now, however. The ideas that had come to her before, that perhaps she couldn't quite trust in Jaima's ability, or even desire, to protect her, had expanded. If she couldn't trust him to protect her, what else could she trust him with?
Is it even that big of a deal? I can protect myself, can't I? She began to sit up, only to push back as a frightening revelation hit her. There was a time when she felt she couldn't protect herself, a situation she had vowed she'd never let herself into again. Now... now it seemed she had.
She remembered the kiss at Tuesday's uncle DeBrody's house. Hadn't she seen a smirk on Jaima's face just before his lips crashed down on hers? Hadn't his hand gone a little too far down her back? Hadn't he pushed her, deliberately, into a corner?
She looked over at Jaima now, swallowing thickly. He kept glancing back at her. Weren't his eyes full of that same overconfidence she'd seen that one night before, seen behind closed eyelids for weeks after Toshiro had let his hands roam where she'd told him time and time again they shouldn't, couldn't, until she was ready? Jaima glanced again, and Meiko's eyes widened. He nodded. That look. That smug look...
What had she gotten herself into?
* * * * *
What have you gotten yourself into? He's the same. Exactly the same, just slyer about it all...
Squit, the gardevoir, had spent days tracking this group. His trainer hadn't been angry, but the woman's disappointment in him still stung, like in an open wound. It was bad enough he had evolved into a gardevoir rather than a gallade, but he couldn't even keep a kirlia, an inferior slip of a kirlia, at bay long enough for her to get to their objective. He hadn't stuck around to let her express these feelings: They were all there in the forefront of her mind. And Perra hadn't made it any easier, not that he'd expected her to...
So he followed them, racking his mind for a way to open the door for his trainer to get her hands on the little girl. He thought he had the solution.
The reason for the human group's success, he was sure, was that they were a close knit team. He begrudgingly had to admit that trying to separate them in the forest was a good idea, even if they hadn't waited for Squit to muddle the younger group's minds. Squit had no way to physically separate them, but he was certain, given the right circumstances, he could drive a wedge between one, maybe more, of them.
The coordinator had left on his own, so that was one obstacle out of the way. The vulpix which was with that one was no psychic type, but she was stronger, mentally, than she looked. The other boy's defenses were strong, put in place by that annoying slip of a kirlia and bolstered by the lucario that was always with her. For a while, his girlfriend was similarly protected. For some reason, however, that protection had fallen away.
In her mind, which had been easy enough to slip through, he found a veritable treasure trove of insecurities and doubts. She had, evidently, been frightened in the past, and doubted herself. It wasn't hard to turn that doubt against what had, at first, been a near bastion of hope for her. Sifting through her memories, he found the worst one, the one that had both frightened her and shamed her, and tweaked it just enough that the boy she had allowed herself to trust seemed to be on the verge of betraying that trust. A smirk here, a grab there, bits of the memories that frightened her spliced into memories that had at least comforted her, or, better, overlayed on her current senses, began the wedge that he could use to splinter the bond between the two.
Awwight, what do you think you'we doing?
Squit started, losing the tenuous hold he'd had on the girl's mind. He turned, slowly, annoyed, and spotted what looked nothing more like a Jynx in a black dress and short cropped black hair.
Oh brother. Scat, kid. I have work to do.
The gothita's eyes narrowed. Oh? Wike what? Scwewing awound with that girw? She crossed her tiny arms as the gardevoir turned to give her his full attention.
I think you'd better leave, little one, he ground out in a menacing tone. The tiny psychic snorted.
Don't twy to get aww impwessive, you'ww wwinkwe youw dwess... She sneered, then glowered, floating up to eye level with the gardevoir. Weave youw diwty paws off or my mawk, got it?
Squit rolled his eyes, turning to put his attention back to the girl, who was beginning to doubt the suggestions he'd put into her mind. Great, now I'm going to have to start over...
There was a slight change in the gothita's mental voice. It was harder, now, like silk covered steel. Angry, but still juvinile, like a hot cinnamon candy. Pewhaps I haven't made mysewf pewfectwy cweaw...
Squit turned his head to send her away with a mental shove, and was shocked to see that she had disappeared, a dark, mist-like substance melting in her stead. He turned his head, wondering if she had been a mental illusion, when a tiny foot impacted with his cheek, sending him realing. He could feel the cold shock of dark energy in the Faint Attack.
What in th-- The little Gothita was in his face now, her ribbon-like feelers glowing brightly. Rearing back, she sent both little "hands" at his face, hitting first one side, then the other. It stung more than truly hurt, but still being off balance from the Faint Attack, he fell anyway.
Can you heaw me now, cweep? Do you undewstand what I'm twying to teww you? Keep away fwom that giww untiw I am done with hew!"
Squit pulled himself up, levitating to slightly higher than his full height. Now you've gone and pissed me off, kid! I tried to be nice, bu- A Pound interrupted him, and he snarled as he sent a Psychic attack. The smaller pokémon shuddered, but merely looked at him after it passed, her eyes hooded.
Oh, pwease... That just annoys the cwap out of me... She lifted her "hand", and dark energy spiraled around it. With an annoyed screech, a Dark Pulse erupted from her, slamming into Squit's chest.
He couldn't breathe for a moment, and stayed on the ground, fuming. She floated about him, but he didn't move. The humiliation would be hard to take, but it was better than being fainted by a baby pokémon.
Touch hew again, and I won't stop when you faww down. She turned and floated away. Squit stood, thrusting an arm forward to send an attack into her back.
Oh, the little pokémon's voice sounded in his head. In case you figuwed you'd attack me as I weft, I awwanged a wittwe pwesent fow you...
He felt the coalescing Future Sight attack before it hit him, but not long before. Despite the fact that it wasn't very effective, it sent him reeling.
Nightwish looked back, sneered, and re-entered the arena.
* * * * *
Jaima looked back, his face alight as Tuesday knocked another of Vega's pokémon out. His face fell as he saw Meiko's. "You OK, sugar," he said, leaning close, his voice soft and warm.
In fact, for a moment, she almost shrunk away, almost shook her head with a hiss. She had never, not once, felt like this before: Like she was nauseous, but in her head, not her stomach. Her thoughts were in turmoil. Some things were... wrong. She couldn't put a finger on it (and if she could, she was sure she'd throw up all over her boyfriend), but it was...
fading.
Fading, with nothing but a sense of horror in its wake. She swallowed, clearing her throat. "I'm... I think I'm tired...?" She tried to smile, and Jaima leaned forward, putting his forehead on hers. It was comforting, and she found she craved such comfort... why was that a surprise?
"You want to get some air..?"
"No," she said softly. "I'll be all right..."
Jaima looked at her, then nodded. "I'll get you a drink..."
Before she could stop him, he was up, scurrying off to take care of what she knew now was a very small need... and somehow, that was comforting.
She turned back to the combat. She felt as if she'd missed something, but it didn't take long for her to get caught up in the battle, and when Jaima returned, she wrapped her arm around his bicep, without a thought to spare about how that might be too much trust.
War’s teeth slammed once, twice, numerous times into the incoming Swift stars – shattering them into gold dust as he charged the arena. Swift projectiles still rained down upon his face and arms but he was used to taking attacks and some little Swift wasn’t going to hold him back. His trainer watched on in silence as the crocodilian pounced after the speedy Buizel.
“Retreating won’t help!” Vega warned the challenger as his Krokorok closed in on the Water-type. “Do it, War!”
Future Sight swept in from all directions and War continued to charge…
“KROKO!” Teeth slashed through the air, snagging the Buizel by the tails and Crunched down hard. With a mighty over-head swing, War slammed the buizel into the ground.
“Future Sight is a Psychic attack.” Vega schooled the challenger once more. “My Krokorok is a Dark-type. You know what that means – you employed the strategy yourself not so long ago. Now, let’s step this up. War, use Dig!”
With his tail snaking behind, War dove into the ground and disappeared from sight.
Tuesday couldn't believe how stupid she was. When the battle had begun, she had guessed that the krokorok was likely a dark type. She knew he would be unaffected by psychic attacks. It provided a good defense against trainers who had pokemon capable against only one type of pokemon, or who they themselves only had one type of pokemon, to use two types that naturally conflicted with each other. Like earlier, however, with her worry over Ashleigh, she had forgotten that the psychic attack would not be effective against the krokorok.
It was beyond embarrassing to have Vega point out something so obvious to her, and the fact that she should already have known it. And that lecturing tone he used, in the middle of a gym battle...
Tuesday cringed and resisted the urge to look up into the stands and see if Jaima and Meiko were watching. She was sure that they were. She grimaced, imagining how disappointed they would be, to realize that she really had no idea what she was doing. She really was just a kid playing pokemon trainer. She should have stayed in the lab...
Odysseus chirped, calling Tuesday's attention. She glanced his way, to see him looking at her over his shoulder, his back still facing her. When he was sure he had her attention, he spun his twin tails shortly, and then smacked them against the ground. It took Tuesday a moment, but when she realized what he meant, she felt herself relax. He was right.
Odysseus' tailbone had been fractured when she'd caught him. She had splinted it and kept it positioned so that it would heal properly, and it had. She had done it herself, without the aid of a nurse or even one of her older companions. She wasn't a genius when it came to everything about battling, but she wasn't an idiot. And she had been doing really well as a battler. Yes, Zorro and Ashleigh had both been fainted, but so had Vega's duosion and xatu, and he was the leader of the gym.
She could do this.
Tuesday smiled at Odysseus, and the buizel let his tails spin freely, chattering in pleasure. He was pleased with Tuesday's quick retreat from her uncertainty, but he didn't expect what came next.
"All right. Odysseus, let's give this crocodile a proper mudhole to play in. When he comes up, use Aqua Jet!"
Odysseus distinctly remembered the last time Tuesday had commanded him to use Aqua Jet. She had gone nearly catatonic in fear. But he could see the same determination in her blue eyes now that had taken over then, when she had combatted the fear with the help of Zorro.
She was truly coming into her own, sailing into the storm and facing her fears. And Odysseus couldn't... be... prouder...
He shuddered, glancing down. Was the ground shaking? No... there was a feeling inside his chest, like the tide, pulsing forward, trying to break up the shore. Trying to reach further than the force of its own momentum would allow it...
Odysseus' form was seized by light, enveloped in a wave of it. He chattered, feeling altered as a course is altered by a wave, tossed as a ship is tossed. Changed, as the moon changes the tide.
The white light faded, and a floatzel stood where the buizel previously had. Odysseus gaped down at his fins.
"Color me splintered, would ya look a' me. Like turnin' a dinghy into a galleon..."
"Odysseus!" Tuesday cried in delight.
At that moment, the floatzel felt the ground beneath him shift. His eyes sharpened and narrowed, and on instinct, he jumped, his tails whirring like a propeller. The wind shifted just slightly at the speed of his tails spinning, and Odysseus leaned to one side, jerking himself to the left in the air. The snapping jaws of the krokorok missed him only by centimeters.
Huffing, the floatzel slowed his tails to a stop and dropped to the ground, landing on all fours and crouching there, watching the krokorok lift its body the rest of the way out of the earth. He glanced back at Tuesday quickly.
The lass was gaping at him. Evidentally, she hadn't known he could hover. He probably should have revealed that earlier, but as smart as she was, he supposed he had just expected her to know.
Though he had to admit, he didn't recall it ever being that difficult before. He supposed he was heavier now, though. Flying might be out of the question, but a good surprising hover now and then...
Odysseus grinned, and the lass seemed to come back to her senses in the same instant, for he heard her shout "Aqua Jet!" just as he let the waves swirl around his body, and shot like a soaking bottle rocket toward the krokorok.
Vega absolutely hated and yet at the same time loved seeing evolution on the battlefield. On the one hand, a stronger and altogether more competent battler would be on the field at the end of the development process (spelling out a more probable loss for him) and yet the thrill and sheer of excitement of being faced with a sturdier foe made him want to whoop with joy. A mix of such juxtaposition made him want to call a Time-Out so that he could take a moment to take it all in but there was no pause button on a Gym Battle.
The Buizel’s timely evolution granted him the speed to dodge War’s Dig attack in the nick of time and before he knew it, Vega found himself taking up defensive strategies as a rip-roaring Aqua Jet speed towards his Krokorok. Better yet, Vega’s only option for defense with War on the field was a vigorous offense.
“War, dig in your heels and use Crunch, right now!” Vega ordered.
The swirling bullet that was the Floatzel crashed into the accepting arms of War. Water-met-Groud-Type in a head-on collision but the ordinary hiss through a trainer’s teeth when on the receiving end of a critical hit did not pass Vega’s lips. Why? Order’s Wish was coming true.
Under the torrent of the Aqua Jet, golden light shimmered in the flow of water and underneath, Vega knew War was recovering. Though under a shower of foam, he could practically feel the energy leave his Pokemon and then return with a vengeance.
“KROOOK!” War’s claws grasped deep into the Aqua jet and found the floatation device of the challenger’s Floatzel, swinging him around and press him down to the ground with a crash. Water dripped off of the crocodillian’s body in stinging rivulets but for now he was one step ahead. With a loud cry, War buried his face into Odysseus’s back.
“Zeeeeel!” A scream rent the air and, almost immediately, it was followed by another.
“Krokoooor!”
“What?!” Vega’s jaw dropped, astounded. Glittering crystals shimmered around the Floatzel’s mouth where it too had retaliated and suck its own teeth into War’s leg. Ice gripped the Krokorok’s leg tightly and the cold of the attack began to spread. Who would have guessed it? Upon evolving that Floatzel had learned Ice Fang… And the tables were being turned once more. “No, War! Get out of there before it’s too late!” The Gym Leader cried, urging his Pokemon to escape the fate that was claiming his leg. But, try as the final Gym Pokemon might, the end was all too near…
Today was certainly one for surprises. Not only had Tuesday learned that Odysseus could all but fly, but he apparently now knew Ice Fang, likely due to his evolution. But now, the tables had turned and where the krokorok had taken the lead against Odysseus by thwarting his Aqua Jet, the crocodile was now held fast in an icy grip.
For a moment, Tuesday's mind was adrift in the possibilities. Could she somehow merge an Aqua Jet and Ice Fang attack, freezing her opponent only to have a wave of water hit him a moment later, flowing around him to freeze from the remaining cold of the previous attack? Would it work like she imagined, encircling her opponent'a pokemon and forming a cocoon of ice around their body?
Oh, she wanted to try it. Her fingers twitched in desire to test it, her head buzzing, the skin of her scalp tingling. She could barely resist the temptation. Still, she held herself back and kept her mouth from forming the words to the combination. She did not know if it would work, how it would go. It wouldn't be fair to Odysseus to attempt such a merging attack stream when he hadn't time to get used to his new form. She watched the krokorok attempting to retreat and found herself calling out. "Odysseus! Keep on him, and use Ice Fang again!"
With a growl, the offer leapt forward, teeth bared, and clamped frozen fangs tightly upon the crocodile's arm.
Meiko's grip suddenly became tighter, and slightly more painful as her nails accidently dug into his forearm. "Jaima, did you see that?!" she squealed.
Jaima, luckily, was a little too stunned to be aware of the minor trivia of sharp nails in the soft skin of his forearm. He turned and looked at Meiko with a similarly wide eyed look on his face.
"She used a water attack," he said, his voice that flat, near monotone of the newly stunned.
"Willingly!" Meiko crowed, softly, her voice in the near dog-frequency tones of a young girl seeing something she thought she would never see, and approving of it.
Neither noticed Nightwish re-entering the arena.
Did you take care of him?
Nightwish glared at Mercury, but instead of lashing out, settled behind Meiko's head. If you knew he was thewe, you should have done something.
It would have been rude, and you've made your stance clear on that particular subject.
Nightwish humphed, but said nothing more as the battle came to its conclusion.
Another Ice Fang dug deep into Vega’s Krokorok and the Gym Leader hissed through his teeth. The match was practically over and not really due to any sort of strategy from his competition but from sheer persistence and dumb luck. Yes, that still meant that he was going to lose, no he didn’t like how it was happening, but yes, he was impressed. Vega had always been a firm believer in people making their own luck in life and by seeing the relationship between Tuesday Berdison and her Pokemon, he could see why the coin toss was going to tip their way. Their bond was… deep. It was corny but true.
“War, counterattack! Use Crunch!” Vega ordered the move.
War the Krokorok snapped visciously at the Floatzel pinned to his arm but the speedy Water-type dodged just in time, ducking under the crocodillian’s jaws and latching onto his other arm. Ice crept up his flesh and locked it in place, spreading to his neck and cementing his head in place where it snapped ineffectively at air. Compeltely frozen, War’s body began to slow and shut down, Odysseus’s icy teeth leaving their mark all over his body until he finally stopped moving completely.
“Krokorok is unable to battle!” The referee swung his flag. “The challenger, Tuesday Berdison of Pallet Town, wins the match!”
Vega took no pleasure in recalling his last Pokemon and meeting the challenger in the middle of the field to pass on the Twilight Badge but he couldn’t help feeling that pang of seductive joy that any good Pokemon battle managed to bring to him. It had been an unpredictable one and had taught him not to underestimate inexperienced trainers as the relationship between trainer and Pokemon could mean more than any amount of battle scars.
“Congratulations, Tuesday.” Vega smiled as he placed the Twilight Badge into her palm. “The Twilight Badge is yours. That was a battle that I won’t forget in a hurry. I wonder how you and your sister are so different in your approach to battling but I’m sure that’s something to be discussed another day. In any case, be proud of your achievement here today and I wish you well in any other Gym battles that you may participate in. Now, I must see to my injured Pokemon – congratulations again.”
And with that, Vega the Gym Leader of Petropolis left the battlefield with his referee in tow.
Tuesday watched the referee wave his flag sharply, calling the krokorok's inability to battle and the end of the match. She could hardly believe that she had won. She waited for a moment, almost expecting Vega to call out another pokemon, but she watched him recall War and put the pokeball away. The gym battle really was over.
She help the grin that curled over her lips and Tuesday dashed over to Odysseus, who looked tired but pleased with himself and the outcome. He was larger and much heavier than he had been the last time she had touched him, but she still made the effort to wrap him in a hug. She managed the hug, but not lifting him up like she could when he was a buizel.
She buried her smile against his smooth, short fur and heard his chirp at her in response. "I never expected that, Odysseus. You were incredible."
She felt the sinewy muscles beneath her shift and the floatzel slapped his tails on the ground. Tuesday looked up to find Vega walking toward her. She hugged Odysseus tight once more, before releasing him and straightening.
Tuesday knew from hearing her father talk that some gym leaders were very professional when speaking with challengers who had defeated them. While there remained a barrier of professionalism which separated Tuesday from Vega, the man was not so stoic as to remain completely distant.
She took his comment about her being different from Anika in the manner that she battled as a compliment in her mind, but she did wonder what he had thought of it in his. Briefly, she entertained the idea of asking, but the temptation of the words didn't even touch her lips. It would be rude, for one, and childish, another. She also shouldn't be bothered with it. She had decided long ago that she would not be like Anika, and she was not, and here was an unbiased person, a gym leader no less, telling her such a thing again. She was happy with that.
"Thank you," she said, smiling happily as she took the badge from him, "for the chance to battle."
When Vega had given his farewell and left to attend to his pokemon, Tuesday turned back to Odysseus and almost broke into a Happy Dance. Her first gym battle ever, and she won! It might have been due to luck in the end, but she had directed her pokemon well and the three of them had done wonderfully, even if Zorro and Ashleigh did end up fainting before she was able to recall them in time.
Squeezing the Twilight Badge tightly enough in her hand for it to leave an imprint in her palm, Tuesday turned toward where her friends had been sitting to see Meiko and Jaima making their way down toward her. Tuesday couldn't help her smile, and though she knew they had, the words slipped out before she could stop them.
"Did you see me? I won my first gym battle!"
"We saw you, Tuesy," Jaima assured her, grinning. "You did great." He slowed as he got closer to her, but Meiko had no such reservations.
The redhead nearly flew right up to her and wrapped her tightly in a hug that all but lifted her from the ground. For a moment, Tuesday was sure she was airborne.
"Tue-chan!" Meiko cried, pulling back so she could look the younger girl in the face. "That was incredible! And Odysseus evolved! I am so proud of you!"
Tuesday blushed at the praise and was pulled back into another hug by the older girl. As she wrapped her arms around Meiko's neck to hug her back, she was surprised to spot a third person over her shoulder.
In the back of the seating area, half-hidden in shadow, Reilly Coons made his way toward the door with his red hair unkempt as usual, and a buneary curled up contentedly in his arms. Just before he exited the building, he seemed to sense her eyes and turned, spotting her watching him. He hesitated.
Tuesday was surprised when the slightly older boy gave her a slight nod, in approval, or acceptance, or even a backward-insulting "That'll do, pig," she didn't know. And she wasn't sure it mattered.
Tuesday grinned widely back at Reilly. He sparred a moment to roll his eyes, and then was gone.
"Come on, Tuesy," Jaima said, apparently oblivious to the presence of Reilly, "let's get back to the Pokemon Center so your pokemon can be healed."
Tuesday smiled in response, a small skip in her step as the trio began to head out of the gym. "And I want to call Professor Oak and tell him about my battle!"
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