Project: Titans -- A Pokemon Story (OC x Piers)

Chapter 19

Two months into my assignment, and I had already been quite successful.

My second victory, over Nessa and her Water types, was nothing short of my usual work; Future Sight by Espeon, then Psychic to take out her first two Pokemon, then I released Salazzle. Unfortunately, her Drednaw was VERY well equipped to take us out, and I learned the hard way after its Max Geyser that I would not be given a second chance to Dynamax a Pokemon.

Thankfully, I still had Espeon, to which I used a combination of Shadow Balls and Psychics to take her partner out. We didn't even need the Future Sight in the end, but it came through at the last second.

Her Gym Mission was the most challenging part of her gym; I always appreciate a good brain puzzle, but trying to weave my way through a maze that poured thousands of gallons of water per second onto the floor was not an easy task. I had Skrelp help me disable the water while Espeon and I battled her Gym Trainers before reaching her.

My third battle was with Kabu, the Fire type Gym Leader of Motostoke. He actually defeated me, but only by a stroke of sheer luck; Espeon had been weakened by the Fire types we had to catch as part of our Gym Mission, added with additional attacks by his Gym Trainers who were competing against us to grab the Pokemon hiding in the tall grass. Besides, I was still only using Espeon, Salazzle and Skrelp to fight.

When I challenged him again, I came better prepared and started with Skrelp; he didn't defeat anyone, but he did manage to weaken Kabu's Ninetails so Salazzle could take her out, which was about 90% of our problem because of its dreaded Will-O-Wisp attack that burned all my partners, save Salazzle. His Arcanine was no trouble at all after that, but his Centiskorch definitely threw me for a loop.

Unlike the previous gyms, Kabu's partner Gigantimaxed, transforming him from a mere red Bug-type to a fiery, demonic ribbon the size of a skyscraper that took out half of my team. Only Espeon's Future Sight saved us in the end, and even then it was a close match.

After leaving Motostoke for Hammerlocke, I prepared myself for more Gigantimaxed Pokemon in the gyms to come, and I was certainly not disappointed.

We faced off against Bea for our fourth Gym Challenge, and I was secretly relieved. Even if he was my enemy, little Allister looked so fragile I didn't want to shatter him with a loss like the ones I'd given the other Gym Leaders. Besides, I was already dizzy from spinning around in a cup-like carnival ride for my gym mission, and the solid orange color of the walls were definitely more stabilizing than the swirls of black and purple.

After defeating Bea in a landslide victory thanks to Espeon's Psychic type attacks, we spent a week making our way through the Glimwood Tangle to reach Ballonlea, which was a challenge within itself. It was dark and damp, and the thick tree canopy made sunlight nearly impossible. Instead, glowing mushrooms in a multitude of neon colors illuminated the dirt paths worn through the woods. To make matters worse, it started to rain the third day we were there, making the whole place smell strongly of wet cat and soggy fungi.

I found myself second-guessing every move I made in there, and often wound up walking in circles for hours. Coupled with the rowdy and mischievous Impidimp that lived there too, I was more than happy to get out of there (even if the Sinistea I caught were pretty adorable).

Ballonlea itself was gorgeous; a modest little village consisting of a few purple roofed cottages and more luminescent mushrooms of gigantic proportions growing to the size of trees. The majority of the populus was made of elderly women, with a few young children giggling and skipping around with whimsical Pokemon, like Morelull, Phantump and Hatenna.

The stadium was mostly deserted when I battled Bede, which I was thankful for. Since I'd left Stow-On-Side, people had started to talk about me. I'd gained quite the reputation in a second disguise for stealing Wishing Stars from other challengers on the road and between gyms, and even more publicity as a Gym Challenger for my ruthless battling style.