A/N: Sorry for not posting last week. I was having a tough time with the writing the battle. In the end, I wanted to focus on each set of Pokémon and get a feel for where they are now with their current moves and capabilities as the author. Hopefully I focused on them well. Enjoy!
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Grant walked over to Tetsu with a Potion and an Elixir, which was just concentrated Leppa Berry juice somehow infused with more Infinity Energy. The way Tetsu perked right up and started bouncing and rolling in excitement for the next fight, I thought it was more a bottle of cocaine mixed with caffeine. Korrina smirked. "Let's see how long that excitement lasts."
I looked over at Grant and Korrina, suspicious of what was actually going on. "You two made a bet?" I asked pointedly, mostly toward Grant.
"Don't worry," Korrina waved me off. "You'll earn your Badge and all that. I just need a tough battle to help my Mushu evolve. Seeing as you basically steamrolled Grant's team, your team should be enough to push Mushu over the brink."
"So I battle your Pokémon and pass if they evolve?" I clarified. I wanted to laugh at that reference, but I was probably the only person who could make the connection in this world.
"Basically," she shrugged. "I'll also have her family watch since they are big on traditions like that."
I took a minute to process what she said. There were very few Pokémon that cared that much about gaining strength and evolving. Since this was Korrina, it was definitely a Fighting-Type. A strong one if she needed to vet challengers before allowing them to fight against her Mushu.
"Can my team watch on the side as well?"
Korrina shrugged again. "Sure, I don't have a problem with that for the battle. Let's get started!"
As some Gym Trainers and their Pokémon cleaned up the battlefield, Grant walked over to me. "I really need you to win this," he whispered. "I'll even throw in an extra TM of your choice or a Pokémon egg. If you don't, I'll lose out on a Mega Stone for my Barbaracle."
Korrina tossed a few PokéBalls, releasing a two Jangmo-o, a Hakamo-o, and three Kommo-o. The Hakamo-o roared menacingly, snapping his head directly at me and Tetsu. 'If that's Mushu…'
"A TM of my choice and any Fossil Pokémon you can get me before I leave next week," I said, not breaking eye contact with the four-foot-tall Dragon Type.
"Deal!"
"Come on," Korrina shouted from the other side of the arena. "What are you waiting for?"
I took a deep breath after Mushu turned to look at his Trainer. Just his stare was enough to put me on edge. I released Boaris, Nova, and Nautilus as well. Boaris stared all over in wonder, amazement filling his eyes. The other two switched their attention between me and the family of dragons on the other side of the field.
"Don't worry, we're not fighting all of them," I told them. They both deflated instantly. "We are fighting one that's close to evolving, and they are stronger than that Fraxure from the cave."
Nova and Nautilus froze. The battle against Fraxure was enough to get Nova to evolve, and she'd had plenty of time to toughen up her new form. But Hakamo-o was at his cap, and, as a pseudo-legendary, that cap was high. Nova and Nautilus knew it. From Mushu-s facial expression, he knew it too. We could more than make up for it. Hopefully
"Boaris," I said, staring at Korrina's general direction. "You ready for your first Gym Battle?"
"Swi! Swi Swinub!"
"Awesome," I said, looking down with a smile. "We have to work as a team to win this okay. Our Opponent is very strong. We might not win this in one hit, but we'll chip away so that the team can pull through. You have a very important job, so it's important that you follow my directions carefully, okay?"
Swinub nodded, so I reached down to ruffle the top of his head. "Great. We're going to another buffet after this, okay? I'm going to make sure you eat all the good food you want."
"Nub!" he huffed and scurried over to our side of the field. Grant walked over to the referee box as Mushu the Hakamo-o walked over to the field with the aura of a Baba Yaga hitman. He smashed his arms all over his body, the scales clanging loudly. He stepped to and fro as the clanging grew louder, reaching a fever-pitch as Mushu jumped from one leg to the other across his side of the stage. He jumped high into the air, bellowing out a challenging roar as he came down, the clanging of his scales fading out in echoes.
Boaris responded with a defiant shout, though it was nowhere near as confident or intimidating.
"This Gym Battle is between Gym Leader Korrina of Shalour City and Marco Pérez from Paldea," Grant announced. I didn't miss how he motioned for several of his Gym Trainers to start recording. "This will be a one-versus-four battle, with only the challenging Trainer able to make one substitution. The battle will be over when Gym Leader Korrina's Pokémon evolves or either Trainer is unable to continue the battle. Trainers, are you ready?"
'Forgive me, little one,' I thought to myself. 'But your sacrifice is necessary.'
"Yes." / "Let's get this started already!"
"The battle starts… Now!"
"Charm!" / "Get close and finish them off."
The dragon sped forward, my eyes barley able to track where he was going. Boaris used Charm to great effect, the move landing twice before getting hammered down by a comparatively large, scaly fist.
To Boaris' much deserved credit, he used the momentum to speed away with Dig and come up behind Mushu. I didn't even need to say anything for Boaris to use Mud-Slap. I didn't know how it worked exactly, but I knew Mud-Slap interrupted an opponent's senses through Infinity Energy bullshit. That meant I could set up the others for a slightly easier time.
As Mushu the Hakamo-o blitzed Boaris, I struggled to decide who I was going to send out next. Nautilus wouldn't be able to pull off a win, but he'd do enough damage for Nova to finish him off. Same with Nova for Nautilus, but both were risky. Tetsu was nowhere near strong enough to deal significant damage, but… Leech Seed and Acid Spray would do wonders for Nova.
"Trainer Marco, please send out your next Pokémon."
"Tetsu, come on up."
My generally happy-go-lucky ball of metal spikes jumped forward, her emotion steeled into neutrality. To me, it said she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Trainers, the battle continues now!"
"Close Combat!"
"Acid Spray!"
Our orders were simple, but the execution of the moves wasn't. Mushu bellowed, leaving a small crater behind as he Hulked out and hurled himself at Tetsu. He appeared in front of her in an instant, fist cocked back and ready to smash into Tetsu's face. The air visibly fluctuated as Tetsu manipulated Gravity, forcing the punch to veer off to the side. She jumped into the air just as the Hakamo-o adjusted to the increase in Gravity. She avoided his claws by a hair and she rose higher, splashing Mushu's face with an Acid Spray.
Mushu gagged and coughed as Tetsu kept spraying him down and some of the acid got into his eyes, nose, and mouth.
'Thank fuck he's not Bulletproof,' I thought. 'But that's gonna make it harder for Nova.'
Tetsu wasted no time before landing a Leech Seed and sniping him down with Pin Missile
"Stop playing around, Mushu!"
The dragon spat out a glob of acid and stared at Tetsu. He snarled and stomped on the ground, splitting a large circle around him into rocks. He picked one up and hurled it at Tetsu, who used Gravity manipulation and Metal Claws to avoid the Rock Throw. Mushu kept throwing the rocks and Tetsu kept dodging. He was moving her toward a corner of the arena, however.
"Tetsu, go-"
Mushu sent out a flurry of punches that forced the air away from each punch, creating visible waves of distortion that swiftly traveled and displaced the air in their trajectory. The attacks were hidden by the rocks and lined up perfectly for where Tetsu would be in a moment.
"Drop and roll!" I shouted. Tetsu wasted no time in plummeting downward and escaping the overwhelming number of attacks
Except she fell right into an Aura Sphere Mushu sent out just as I called my command. The condensed ball of aura and Fighting-Type Energy slammed into Tetsu and cracked her outer shell, knocking her out instantly. I didn't wait for Grant to tell me she was done. I returned her to her ball, gripping it tightly and looking at the Hakamo-o who didn't even look slightly winded.
"Ferroseed is unable to battle. Trainer Marco, send out your next Pokémon!"
Nova stepped up without waiting for me to say anything. Mushu had shown off Rock Throw, Hammer Arm, Bulk Up, Close Combat, Vacuum Wave, and Aura Sphere. It was a good collection of moves, but for a Gym Leader's Pokémon, it wasn't close to everything. Nova was not going to finish the battle if I sent her out last, and she understood that fact immediately. All she could do was wear the Hakamo-o down and hope Nautilus could finish him off.
"Trainers, the battle continues now!"