"Geodude is unable to battle; Ralts is the winner. Victory goes to Daemon Aragon of Clover Village."
The referee announced the results, and the gym trainer who Daemon was fighting a moment ago, walked forward with a smile on her face.
"Congratulations, challenger! You're now allowed to battle Flint," She said, returning her fainted Pokémon. After a pause, she spoke again. "You are good, maybe among the best trainers who have challenged us this year. Not once for the whole battle, you let me control the tempo and instead of brute forcing it, had a clear strategy in mind." She handed him the certificate that proved his eligibility to fight Flint; a copy was also sent to his email. "But don't let the win get to your head. I've seen it happen, and the consequences could be disastrous. The real fight would not be like this, and Flint will use Pokémon stronger than I did."
"Thanks for the advice." Daemo shook her hand before walking away with a nod as the next challenger had already arrived.
Ralts hopped over to his side, and the black-haired boy picked her up in his arms.
"How was it?"
Weak.
Instead of speaking, the psychic type shared her thoughts with her trainer, and it was only possible because of the growth she had achieved in her power as well as psychic focus.
The three days leading up to the battle with the gym trainer were spent in constant training, and the results had been astounding.
Daemon tapped the side of his glasses, and the status of his Ralts appeared in front of his eyes.
-0-
[Ralts
Gender: Female
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Rain Dance, Heal Pulse, Hypnosis, Reflect, Light Screen, Trick Room, Psychic Terrain, Psybeam, Psychic, Disarming Voice, Mystical Fire, Shadow Ball]
-0-
Just as how an [Ember] turned to [Flamethrower], [Water Gun] to [Hydro Pump] and [Thunder Shock] to [Thunderbolt], [Psybeam] was the next step of [Confusion].
While the chance to confuse a target remained the same, the move dealt more damage than before. Moreover, it was up to the psychic fairy if she wanted it to be a beam or a wide-ranging attack; of course, the former was much stronger in power than the latter.
Additionally, her efforts into meditation had paid of and she had learnt [Psychic]. It meant her psychic focus was no longer contained inside her but could be released outside. Along with that, Ralts could now proficiently use [Reflect] in a battle, and the next move they were going to focus on was [Light Screen].
Daemon was sure that if not for the Eternal Stone hanging around her neck, his starter would have evolved already, but the duo were not content. They knew there was much they could achieve before it was time to evolve.
With the kind of growth they had achieved, the battle with a gym trainer was not something they had cared much for. Their eyes were set on Flint as well as the reward they would get after defeating him.
Of course, it would have been difficult to achieve so much in just three days...if not for a great sparring partner.
After his experience in Viridian City, Daemon had learnt something very important. So much so that he believed it be the recipe for growing strong.
Pokémon were not weak.
Yeah, that's obvious...it would be the first thought that came to one's mind after hearing the earlier words, but it was not that simple.
What Daemon meant by that statement was that Pokémon had unlimited potential, and the more they were beaten to the ground, the stronger they became.
The fight between Ralts and the Pokémon of Team Rocket, followed by her fight with the berserk Deino, had been life-threatening. They had pushed her limits more than when she fought the Pokémon of other trainers. Wild Pokémon, on the other hand, were not strong enough to push her that far.
But now they had the perfect opponent.
The black-haired boy looked at the time, and it was still a little past two in the afternoon. After getting Ralts healed from Nurse Joy, Daemon left for the large training ground connected to the city's Pokémon Centre.
Since the Pokémon Centre was built on the edge of the city, the training field was quite vast and also encompassed a river that flowed through it for the Water-type Pokémon to train in.
The pink-haired nurse had told him about a secluded corner where he would not find any trainer, though it was a bit further away than normal.
Daemon did not mind, and after thirty minutes or so, reached the area that he had been coming to for the last three days. Marks of battles lingered in the vicinity, especially the charred ground.
He could see a few Pidgey, some Rattata, as well as numerous Geodude that had once again gathered for some entertainment.
They were the league's Pokémon; they did not attack trainers unless asked for a battle. Additionally, it was a trainer's responsibility to provide these Pokémon with a berry as well as a healing potion after a battle was requested for training.
However, he was not here to fight these Pokémon.
He plucked the Ultra Ball hanging from the necklace around his neck and called his starter.
Is it that time again?
The psychic-type looked at her trainer with excitement. What they were about to do had become her favourite activity.
Daemon took out a second Ultra Ball and looked at it deeply. "Maybe it will listen today?"
I hope it doesn't.
The psychic-type huffed in her trainer's mind.
Daemon shook his head in exasperation. As for the Deino? He knew the moment he released the dragon-type, it would surely attack them. Moreover, now the dragon was fully healed; it was no longer injured or exhausted. But it was no longer a source of worry...
During the two fights with Deino in Viridian Forest, the circumstances had been different.
"Ready?"
Yes
The moment she nodded, Daemon pointed the ball forward and pressed the button to release the monster within.
~Roar~
It roared the moment its feet landed on the ground, eyes fixed on them. And just as Daemon had expected, the dragon greeted them with a [Dragon Breath]. However, Ralts did not panic or dodge.
The duo had used Deino as a wet stone to hone their strength, and by now, Ralts could already handle the dragon-type. The goal of this training had changed quite a bit today since they were not here to fight the dragon-type, but pummel it to the ground.
Searing hot draconic flames engulfed Ralts, so much so that her figure was no longer visible to Daemon, but he did not panic.
Ralts was a Psychic/Fairy-type Pokémon and thus was immune to Dragon-type attacks.
So, when the flames subsided, what stood before the baffled Deino was a perfectly fine psychic fairy that looked at it with a smirk on her face.
"Dei?" The dark and dragon-type was left confused; it once again took a deep breath before unleashing the draconic flames, but once again, when the attack landed, Ralts stood perfectly fine.
In Ralts's earlier training matches against Deino, Daemon had deliberately told her to focus on dodging [Dragon Breath] every time.
Why? Because he wanted to condition her for this exact moment.
When they were finally ready to take down the dragon for real, he wanted its strongest move to fail completely. The shock of seeing its signature attack accomplish nothing would rattle it, if only for a split second, and that hesitation would make their victory all the more decisive.
Seeing their attacks fail, a wise opponent would try to think before acting. However, Deino was anything but wise. It was a berserker that only knew one thing...destroy. So, it charged forward with dark-type energy swirling around its fangs.
Ralts saw it approach and pointed her hand forward.
Deino, being a dark-type, was immune to her psychic powers...but it was just that...her psychic powers, not what these powers could achieve other than a straightforward attack.
One of the main reasons Daemon had chosen this place for a battle was to gain a terrain advantage. The rocks around them rose into the air through Ralts's psychic focus and were then hurled at the dragon-type.
~Roar~
It roared again before chomping down on the rocks, however...
~Screech~
A shrill shriek filled with fairy-type energy rang in the clearing, and its full focus was on the dark dragon. And since [Disarming Voice] was a fairy-type move, it was four times as effective.
Deino let out a vail before it collapsed to the ground, and the rocks it had tried to bite down came hurtling down at it.
Of course, this was not enough to put the dragon-type down. Although fairy-type moves hit it like a truck to a human, it held through the pain and charged forward. This time, ice-type energy covered its fangs.
Daemon did not give any commands and stood patiently; the game plan was already discussed; he was not going to break his starter's focus unless something unexpected came up.
"Ralts?" The psychic-type clicked her tongue at its stupidity and let out another [Disarming Voice].
Her energy reserves had always been quite large compared to those of others of her species. With the additional strength gained through TMs, her reserves had expanded once more, which meant she could finally do something she always wanted.
When the dragon-type fell to the ground, trying to get rid of the fairy-type energy in its head...
~Boom~
[Mystical Fire], a fire-type move, was only half as effective against Deino, but unlike how she completely resisted dragon-type attacks, they still did some damage
And when you used them like Ralts?
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
~Boom~
Fireball after fireball rained down on the Deino who had just taken a direct hit from two fairy-type moves.
Nurse Joy had told Daemon that the dragon had been fighting nonstop for three days without rest. That wasn't possible. No matter how powerful this Deino was, it couldn't battle that long without food or sleep.
She had clearly exaggerated the situation, not to mislead him, but to protect him. She wanted to make sure he didn't underestimate the dark dragon or try something foolish, like convincing it to submit through words alone and ending up killed for his misplaced confidence.
Of course, this Deino was strong, after all, even though it had taken so many direct hits, the dragon-type was still trying to stand.
"~Grrr..."
It growled in anger...from being an apex predator to being treated like this...never had it suffered such a loss. And it had led to its pride being wounded.
Dragon-type Pokémon were proud creatures, so much so that they would rather break than bend.
After the barrage of fireballs ended, Daemon and Ralts watched the dragon growl before its eyes turned a deep shade of red. Its anger had reached its peak, and the draconic energy stored in its body was boiling with anger.
It knew how much stronger its opponent was and thus gathered every bit of draconic energy. It cared not for the previous results...it was not capable of thinking as such. It knew not of planning but only demolition.
Draconic flames gathered in Deino's mouth, but instead of erupting wildly, they compressed, shrinking tighter and tighter until they formed a small, searing orb of condensed power.
Then the orb detonated forward.
Not as fire...
...but as a concentrated beam of draconic energy.
The attack tore through the air, shaping itself into the maw of a roaring dragon as it came crashing down toward the psychic fairy.
~BOOOOOOM~
The explosion thundered across the battlefield. Smoke and debris billowed outward as the Dragon-type watched with bated breath. When the dust finally settled...
Five rectangular shields of psychic energy stood tall before its eyes. Behind them, its opponent remained upright, unscathed and unmoved.
"~Dei?" A confused growl escaped its throat.That had been the strongest attack it had ever unleashed in its life. And yet… she was still standing?
"Quite heartbreaking, right?"
The dragon snapped its gaze toward the human, the one who had kept it confined inside a Poké Ball, releasing it only to fight that small creature who, just days ago, could barely endure a single exchange.
It had once had a trainer.
But the dragon had thought nothing of that boy. Weak. Pathetic. Even his other Pokémon had been weak, nothing more than warm-up prey. How many times had Deino tried to devour them, only to be restrained by that Unovan brat?
It didn't need a trainer.
It was strong.
…Until it wasn't.
Now another human stood before it, calm and steady, a Pokémon at his side.
Deino roared, fury and wounded pride mixing in its cry. It unleashed [Dragon Breath] toward the human as a warning shot.
It might be defeated.
But it would not be humiliated.
~ROAR~
But as the draconic flames came for Daemon's life, Ralts joined both of her hands in front of her and then...
Swoosh
She parted her hands, and along with it the approaching [Dragon Breath]. The attack was split into two before it crashed behind her trainer, creating an explosion.
BOOM
"I know you're stubborn. There's still plenty of fight and pride left in you." Daemon stood directly before the Dragon-type, a small, knowing smile on his face. "Our next Gym battle is in a week. Until then, we're doing this every day. Over and over, until you understand something." His gaze hardened. "You don't need me because you're weak. You need me because you want to reach heights you can't reach alone."
Dragons were proud creatures. They would rather break than bend.
But they also revered strength above all else. If a trainer could truly prove themselves superior, not with words, but with results, even a dragon could be made to accept the unthinkable.
Deino shifted its gaze from the human to Ralts.
The psychic fairy, who had remained expressionless until now, suddenly smiled...wide and sweet...too sweet.
The dragon shivered in fear. A foreign sensation crawled down its spine.
Hidden from her trainer's view, the psychic fairy silently mouthed a few words, just enough for the dragon to read, and the roar building in Deino's throat died before it could escape.
After one week, you will not fear pain...you will fear me.
---------------------------------------
[Author's Note]: We are only four reviews away from 10; please drop me a review if you haven't, so the story can get more reach.
Most importantly:
PLEASE DONATE STONES!