Paul and Dawn: First Light

Chapter 22: Overpowered

Chapter 22: Overpowered 

Really, that same first attack? "Block it with Dragon Claw." 

Bagon raised his arms, which glowed and extended, right in front of him mere milliseconds before the attack hit. He was pushed back a foot or so, but then the mass of bubbles stopped and were replaced by Piplup, slamming into Bagon with a rotating beak. Bagon yelled and stumbled backwards, but ended up righting himself midair and landing on his feet. 

"You learned Drill Peck," I said. It wasn't a question, but a statement. Still, the attack surprised me. Drill Peck wasn't exactly easy to learn. 

Dawn didn't comment. "Use Drill Peck again." 

"Zen Headbutt." 

Bagon's head glowed blue as he rushed at Piplup, whose beak yet again rotated. The two forces clashed and Piplup was the one who was pushed backward- nothing could hurt Bagon's head. 

Still, Piplup got back to his feet quickly, not looking hurt. 

"Whirlpool." Dawn smiled. 

I couldn't help but hesitate at her tone. "Use Flamethrower." 

Bagon, who was five feet away, unleashed a short jet of fire for a couple seconds. Piplup didn't dodge and instead took the attack. He winced despite how little damage it did and Bagon ran out of fire. We still had work to do with that move. His Whirlpool was growing, "Dragon Claw." 

Bagon covered the short distance, his arms extended and glowed, and he rammed them into Piplup just as he threw his Whirlpool downward. Bagon hit Piplup, who stumbled backwards, and the Whirlpool grazed him, but mostly splashed uselessly to the ground. 

"Bubblebeam!" Dawn yelled. 

"Block it with Dragon Claw again. If she tries anything funny, use Zen Headbutt." 

We waited for Piplup's bubbles, which were deflected by the Dragon Claw. However, Piplup began running in a wide circle around Bagon, forcing him to turn to block the attack. 

This is stupid, we should be on offensive, I reminded myself. I'd been lax considering we were battling Dawn. Now, it was our turn to prove ourselves. "Run forward and use Zen Headbutt after you're clear of bubbles." 

Bagon sprinted towards Piplup, who stopped using Bubblebeam. Bagon jumped in the air, beginning to dive forward with his head glowing blue when Dawn yelled, "Ice Beam!" 

Piplup opened his beak and unleashed the powerful icy attack which hit Bagon's head. He flew backwards, landing on his side after rolling a few times. He gasped and closed his eyes, struggling to get up. 

I watched in horror as he remained on the ground, unable to move. 

Piplup smiled with delight, looking extremely pleased with himself. I stayed where I was, too stunned to say anything. Too stunned to think, to move. The first thing I noticed was Dawn's hand stretched out in front of me. I stared at it, then looked at her face as she said, "That was a nice battle, Paul." 

I practically smacked her hand away. "Stop taunting me." 

"Are you saying that it wasn't fair?" she asked incredulously. 

"I'm saying that just because you won one match doesn't mean anything." I went over to Bagon. "Get up." 

He did so wearily, looking like more than just his body hurt. He glared at Piplup. 

"We won, fair and square. This just proves once again that you assume too much and should open your mind a bit, Paul." 

"Open my mind?" I retorted back. "Don't talk about things you know nothing about." 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded. I'd never heard her swear before. My eyes narrowed as she continued, "You know what? I don't even care. You're just being a sore loser. Maybe now I've proved to you that we're not weak. And what does that even mean, being weak? So what? We don't win every Pokemon battle. At least we don't get all snappy about it and learn from it when we do lose. To us, you're the weak one." 

Her words stung in ways I didn't anticipate. I glared at her. "Bagon, come on." 

He followed, limping a bit. We escaped the critical eyes of Dawn and Piplup, promising myself we wouldn't lose to such weaklings again.