Fumika: "…"
"No—not just a normal Pokémon battle."
Fumika shook her head and looked at Grey. "Leader Grey, I want a match between ability users!"
"???" ×2
Grey and Bumiao traded looks, both a bit weirded out.
"So you mean… you want to fight me?"
Grey rolled up his sleeves. Aura flared from him like a blade pointed straight at Fumika.
"?"
Fumika's eyelid twitched. From his stance alone, she knew he'd misunderstood. "I mean a Pokémon battle, but fought in the style of ability users."
"Whew…"
"Tsk~"
Bumiao let out a breath of relief; Grey clicked his tongue.
"Then say it straight—'Pokémon battle' means Pokémon battle. You left half the sentence out."
Grey sounded aggrieved, like something out of Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower.
He'd thought he finally had an excuse to show off…
But it was still a Pokémon battle…
"Whatever. Come with me. Perfect chance to show the stream what an ability-user match looks like."
He headed for the arena.
Fumika followed, taking in the Fighting Dojo.
Ordinary.
Four big characters popped into her head.
Compared to Saffron Gym, it was downright plain.
A stranger might think it was just some house.
"Folks, today's challenger isn't ordinary. She's an apprentice from Saffron Gym—and she's an ability user too."
Grey stepped to the camera and did the intro.
As he spoke, Fumika walked into frame.
The black trench coat couldn't hide those curves; and those long bare legs had chat howling like a pack of Poochyena.
[Step on me, queen!]
[Who said ability users are born evil? She's an angel! (dive tackle)]
[Aahhh, sis, you're a soft Black Forest cake—may I have a bite?]
Grey & Fumika: "…"
Their silence was deafening.
"Ahem."
Grey cleared his throat. "Smash that follow and drop a heart—an absolute banger of a battle is about to start!"
They took their marks.
Acting as referee, Bumiao raised a flag and announced the rules: "Two-on-two. When one side's Pokémon are all unable to battle, the other side wins."
Bumiao finished, and Grey chained right into his own opener.
"Miss Fumika, have you heard of Aura?"
"Every person, every Pokémon, carries Aura. Only a tiny number can awaken it. I'm one of them."
"Next—enjoy the tactics of an Aura user!"
Bang!
"Rio!"
A red flash—Riolu appeared, chest out, head high.
It had listened to Grey's little speech inside the ball, and the battle fever was boiling over!
[Riolu?!]
[Didn't the dojo look like it had four total Pokémon yesterday? Streamer's been sandbagging this whole time, huh?]
[I can't tell virtual from real anymore—it feels like a month passed overnight.]
"Riolu?"
Fumika blinked at the choice but said nothing.
Her Poké Ball traced an arc and popped open to reveal a yellow, squinty-eyed fox floating in midair.
[Pokémon: Abra]
[Type: Psychic]
[Level: 15]
[Ability: Synchronize]
[Moves: Teleport, Confusion, Rest, Sleep Talk, Psyshock]
Two attacking moves—impressive for an Abra.
One step from a standard evolution; could evolve on the spot.
"Challenger takes the first move."
Grey smiled.
"Okay."
Fumika dipped her head; her hair lifted in a little breeze.
In an instant, blue light erupted from Abra; an invisible pressure surged!
To the eye, nothing happened—but if you looked close enough, you could see space shiver.
One glance told Grey the path of the Confusion. "Riolu—use Quick Attack to close the gap, then Bullet Punch!"
"Rio!"
Power burst under Riolu's feet; Normal-type energy trailed like a comet tail, making its landing spot hard to read.
But since the plan was to get right on top of Abra…
Fumika said nothing—just lifted her hand.
Whssst!
Abra's psychic force spiked; the blue light lifted overhead, swelling severalfold!
The light condensed into shards—their tips lanced forward!
Psyshock!
Under Abra's control, Psyshock became a full-on machine-gun sweep, dumping the whole magazine without a care!
Ratatatat!
Blue bolts chewed the floor; craters pocked the arena!
"That's odd… shouldn't be this close—"
Fumika flinched at Riolu's sudden burst of speed. "Abra, Teleport!"
Psychic power surged—
Abra's body blinked out!
Compared to Youmu's Xatu, this Teleport was much faster—
But that was Fumika's ability boosting it.
Normally, Abra would need a three-second charge.
Grey wasn't fazed. "Riolu, it's dropping in at your back-right!"
"Rio!"
Riolu pivoted—leg power detonated!
Still in Quick Attack state, it sprang four meters like an arrow from the string, surging toward where Abra hadn't even landed yet!
Riolu raised its fists—Steel-type energy sheathing them rock-hard—
—and let fly a flurry!
Thud-thud-thud!
Right as Abra reappeared, Riolu's punches met it—every hit solid.
The dull smack of fist on body rang out; before Abra even knew what happened, Riolu had punched it straight into the wall!
"So fast!"
Fumika clicked her tongue at Riolu's run speed and attack speed.
"Quick fundamentals refresher. Even when two moves are both +1 priority, they present differently."
Grey wagged a finger at the camera. "Quick Attack boosts run speed; Bullet Punch boosts attack speed. That's why Riolu can explode like that."
"But those moves usually trade off some power."
As if to prove his point—
Abra wobbled to its feet.
Fumika exhaled. "Rest."
"Work Up!"
Grey had her read—buffs went up on the spot!
[666, streamer's so greedy!]
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810