Pokémon Slate Gray

Season 2 - Episode 14: Big Trouble

A/N: Here's the season finale of PSG! Happy New Year 2024!!! If you've enjoyed Season 2, please Vote on your favorite chapters and share the story with other Pokémon fans. PSG is now available to rate/review and add to your book shelf on GoodReads.com!

As comprehension dawned, Slate felt a wave of irrational anger come over him. He narrowed his eyes and craned his neck in April's direction. She spotted this, put her hands on her hips, and glowered back at him defiantly, as if to say, "I never actually said he was a Bug-type specialist!"

She hadn't, of course. Slate had just assumed it to be the case when she mentioned her brother battling a Despupa. Now that he thought about it, wasn't Melissa supposed to be a Bug-type user? The Pokémon League would hardly employ two Gym Leaders with the same elemental specialty. Knowledge of type effectiveness was one of the key factors by which they tested Trainers undergoing the Gym Challenge, after all.

Chastising himself for his stupidity, Slate took a deep focusing breath. Battling against a Dark-type with his two Normal-types wasn't that big a difference from facing Bug-types. Neither were especially effective against the other.

Even as he thought this, though, he realized the situation had changed. This evolved form of Mardupe's Dark typing wasn't important. It was its secondary type that concerned him. Powsom was part Fighting-type, the only type that was super-effective against Normal. He was in trouble.

Slate suddenly found himself regretting his haste to battle today, and even his trading away Haughron. Maybe the Flying-type Pokémon could have helped him if he had trained it harder, or if he had been a better Trainer. At this, Slate slapped both hands to his cheeks to banish the thoughts. It was no use thinking like that. He had a match to win.

"Begin!" the referees instructed.

"Cryote, Echoed Voice!" Slate ordered.

"Powsum, Karate Chop!" the mayor responded.

Powsum dashed forward at speed, a glean in its x-patterned eyes. As the pup's perfectly aimed bark of sound approached, it sliced through the distorted air with the edge of its hand and kept on running, seemingly unfazed by the attack.

"Again, Cryote!" Slate instructed, but it was no use. Even when powered up by consecutive use, the pup's second Echoed Voice was all but negated by the Fighting-type's powerful blow.

Powsum closed in and swung its arm down forcefully, hissing as its hand connected with Cryote's head, then retreated with a nimble reverse somersault.

Slate stared on in horror as Cryote's legs splayed out beneath it and it dropped to the floor without so much as a whine. "One hit?" he whispered to himself. He knew Cryote had already sustained some damage, and that the move had been super-effective, but still...

On the sidelines, April had covered her mouth with both hands.

"Cryote is unable to battle," called the referees, their arms raised toward Mayor Douglas.

Slate returned Cryote to its capsule. "You did great, boy," he said, then reached for his Poké Belt. He couldn't use his erratic Crimsant. It would be too big a gamble. His only chance was to stick with his original plan, even with a type disadvantage.

Before he threw out Eevee's ball, Slate reflected on Mayor Douglas' strategy. He used Despupa to chip away at opponents and lull their Trainers into expecting a technical battle, then surprised them with the offensively focused Powsom. It was a clever ruse. "It's up to you, Eevee!"

The cute and fluffy brown creature emerged looking like it was itching to fight. Its legs were tensed, and its teeth were bared.

"An Eevee? How lovely," said the mayor. "But alas, another Normal-type..."