A/N: Sorry for not posting last week. Getting settled in a new job is a lot, and settling into a new apartment is exhausting and expensive. Enjoy!
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After promptly winning the impromptu race, my team and I retired for the night. I woke up feeling better than ever, having more energy than I remember ever having in my life. I turned to Nautilus, who wasn't busying himself with harassing Nova as he usually did.
Part of Nurse Joy's reason for giving me a verbal thrashing was because of Nautilus' Psychic connection yesterday. I hadn't realized it until she said it, but Nautilus unknowingly helped me unlock my memories. It was awesome to know my little squid's hypnotic and psychic abilities had gotten to such a level that that was even a remote possibility, but Nurse Joy spared no effort to let me know just how dangerous that was.
If we hadn't gotten lucky, best-case scenario was typically worsened amnesia or loss of some neurological functions. At worst, well, I could only hope I died quickly.
I continued staring at Nautilus from the bed, my thoughts running in furious circles as I imagined how bad it could've gone. Tetsu forced herself between my arms, snuggling into me and snapping me out of my head.
"Thank you, baby girl." I smiled down at her, softly running my thumb up and down between her eyes. Nova huffed in jealousy before walking by with her head turned up and away from us. I chuckled to myself. My arms wrapped around, and, before she could cry out in surprise, I had her snuggled up between me and Tetsu. I looked over at Boaris, who was confused more than anything. Nautilus was staring at me as well.
"Well, what are you two waiting for? Come and join me!"
Boaris hurried over, squealing as he jumped onto my lap. Nautilus kept staring at me. His face showed there were thoughts warring inside his head. I felt Psychic tendrils beginning to poke into my head. Nurse Joy had already advised me against it, but I chose to trust Nautilus.
Why cuddles?
'To express my love for all of you.'
Like family?
'Not like. You ARE my family, just like the ones you saw in my memories.'
Nautilus inhaled deeply. "Come on. Soon you'll all be too big for this. We gotta enjoy it while we can."
That was all it took for him to join. We sat there, one big pile of human and Pokémon, until Nautilus ruined it by leaving and claiming something about ruining his image. I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud.
"Alright, if you wanna be tough so bad, let's get to training for the gym."
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We spent the next couple of days training and relaxing. While the team worked hard on improving their moves and battle reflexes, I researched as much as I could. Diet plans, common battle styles and move synergies, effective rest activities, I searched for anything and everything that would help me care for my team. It didn't help that they were so different from each other. Each Pokémon Type had basic guidelines for care, but effective routines were heavily dependent on their biology. Boaris had much more in common with Lechonk and Spoink than he did with Larvitar, but he had the same general vitamin and mineral plan as his fellow Ground-Type. It was complicated and confusing, and I very much wanted to spend my money on individualized plans, but I stuck it through and favorited items on the Mart app to make ordering easier in the future.
That, however, was beside the point. I was currently standing in the Cyllage City Gym waiting for Grant to decide on his first Pokémon. It was apparently a tough choice because he'd already spent three minutes doing just that.
"Gah, this is tough! This battle is for your third Badge but giving you a battle appropriate for your team would mean choosing Pokémon stronger than that," the dark-skinned athlete complained. Finally, after another two minutes of waiting, Grant seemed satisfied with one of the PokéBalls on his belt. "I'm ready!"
"Jeez, Grant, way to blow up the battle's momentum," the Gym Trainer muttered. He schooled his expression and raised an arm. "Trainers, the battle starts…"
We'd prepared for this. Honestly, my team was probably overly qualified for this battle. The only real problem with the team was Tetsu. Poor girl was terrified of every Pokémon we battled against, no matter if they were wild or part of a Trainer's team. It was something she still struggled with, but it was only getting better with more exposure. That was the main reason she was part of today's lineup.
The Gym Trainer brought his arm down in a chop and shouted, "Now!"
"Go time, Maury!" / "Let's go, Tetsu!"
A massive unit of an Amaura appeared opposite Tetsu. The temperature of the giant room noticeably chilled as snow began slowly drifting down from the high ceiling and frost grew all over the ground.
That was the second reason she was here. Out of the four, Boaris was best qualified to deal with any Amaura or Aurorus that appeared. Unfortunately, he was also the weakest of the group. His potential was there, but he was not hitting anywhere nearly as hard as the others. This would have been the perfect time to get him used to Gym Battles, but Tetsu needed a confidence boost more than Boaris needed his first Gym Battle.
Tetsu shivered instinctually, feeling Maury the Amaura's formidably icy aura.
"We got this baby girl! Hazards up!" I shouted louder than needed, snapping her out of her spiral.
"Sub and Tub Thump! Show them a real hazard!"
As Tetsu fully set up her Stealth Rocks and layers of Spikes, another Amaura appeared beside the original. He stomped on the ground, and it flattened as the Bulldoze made its way to Tetsu. A Water-Type attack quickly followed behind like a flash flood, the water freezing at its edges as it traveled at nearly the same speed.
If we hadn't spent the last few days training, Tetsu would have stayed frozen and taken the hit. She may not have immediately fainted, but it would have left us at a disadvantage since that Water move was most likely Chilling Water. Not only would it reduce the damage Tetsu's Physical attacks did, but the water would have probably frozen Tetsu as well and opened her up to more attacks and a possible knockout.
"You're never gonna keep us down!" I smiled at my own reference. We had nothing to worry about. Tetsu launched herself into the air with Metal Claw and used Gravity to slow her descent. One day she would figure zero-gravity maneuvers.
"Maury, Blizzard!"
"Gun him down, baby girl!" I shouted after seeing Tetsu shudder from Anticipation, which meant this move could potentially knockout her out.
Ice-Type Energy gathered around the giant Amaura, but before he could release the freezing nuke, Tetsu manipulated the Spikes and Stealth Rocks to target her opponent to great effect.
The makeshift bullets completely bypassed the substitute, to everyone's surprise, and devastated the giant, icy dinosaur. In seconds, the field was devoid of hazards and Maury the Amaura was left unconscious.
"Amaura is unable to battle! Leader Grant, send out your next Pokémon!"
Grant returned Amaura and grabbed another ball from his belt. "You know, I was hoping to at least get one hit in," he joked.
"Yeah, well, when that one hit could be a K.O., I'm glad it didn't happen," I quipped back.
Grant's grin grew wider. "Alright. Let's see if the next one can get it done. Come on out, Gigi!"
A Boldore came out this time, landing with a resounding thud. A sandstorm picked up immediately after, slightly obscuring Grant and his boulder. Tetsu was still in the air, slowly falling as she prepared to reload and renew her assault. I had a funny feeling it wouldn't work a second time, however.
"Begin!"
"Toughen up, Gigi!"
A metallic sheen glossed over the Ore Pokémon's body as parts of its body fell off. Tetsu reapplied another full layer of hazards but held off from sending them flying. I called out to her, making sure to keep my voice low enough so Grant couldn't hear. "Harden but be ready with Protect. I don't think you'll take them down with the same plan. Let's-"
The Boldore burst forward with a rush of speed we didn't expect. It was a good thing Tetsu already had Protect in the back of her mind because that was the only thing that saved her from the Body Press. She rolled away quickly, having learned from the team spars that creating distance was often the best thing to do when you didn't know what to do. I saw Ground-Type Energy flowing into Gigi the Boldore's limbs as she glowered at Tetsu, who shuttered in Anticipation.
"Catch her!" I told my metal spiky ball. She understood exactly what I wanted her to do. As her opponent rushed her again, Tetsu used her Metal Claws to grab the Boldore and lift her in the air with the help of Gravity. She didn't need any instructions to use Leech Seed before batting her into the air with a third Metal Claw. Tetsu's eyes scrunched in concentration as she increased Gravity on the Boldore.
Grant called out several commands, but his Pokémon couldn't do anything as Tetsu continuously juggled her in the air with Metal Claw and Gravity.
'Gravity is so busted,' I thought with a proud smile. 'Though I'm sure it won't be easy to abuse with stronger Trainers.'
After a few cycles of getting beat up in the air, Gigi the Boldore finally fainted. Tetsu gently set her back on the ground, allowing everyone to see the cracks all over her body. "Boldore is unable to battle. Gym Leader Grant, please send out your final Pokémon."
Grant stared at the sentient boulder for a moment before ruefully chuckling to himself. "You know, I've read the reports about you. I was told you'd be rising through the ranks pretty quickly. I knew what to expect, but it's always surprising to see Trainers with your level of talent. Last time someone smashed through my Gym Battles in a landslide like that, they became a new Champion-Level Trainer and took over Cynthia's spot, if you get what I'm saying."
I nodded, feeling like there was more.
"Marco, it is clear that you and your Pokémon have surpassed what a Three-Badge Trainer should be capable of!" Grant stated, a small smile appearing and slowly getting larger. "You have earned the Cliff Badge and all that comes with it. Namely, the 10,000$ cash prize, a TM for Rock Tomb, and access to Four Star Tasks. I would also like to apologize, Marco."
"Apologize for what?" I asked, staring at him in confusion.
"The reason I gave you the Gym Challenge of biking here so suddenly was not solely to see if the reports were true," Grant answered, his smile turning into a shit-eating grin. "I made a bet with someone that I could find a person to help their Pokémon evolve."
"Okay…"
"The condition of the bet was that she had to see me battle said person, which is you."
I froze. "You used me in a bet?"
Grant shrugged, his grin seemingly getting bigger. "It was worth it, I gotta say."
"…And who is this person?"
"Me!" a childlike voice crashed through like thunder. I looked over to the stands on my right, where someone had jumped over the railing separating the stands from the arena. Blonde hair pulled into several ponytails held up by a bandana with the familiar Mega Evolution sigil. She wore a zipper crop-top and double-layered shorts in various hues of green, blue, and purple. She had white boots with the soles and laces the same colors. Her blue-gray eyes stared with an intensity I'd come to associate with Fighting-Type specialists. He'd made a bet with Korrina.
"Let's get your Ferroseed healed up! We're fighting next!"