Now, was Ellie's chance to earn her third gym badge. She appeared from the tunnel, looking around at all the eyes on her and trying not to feel overwhelmed at all. She knew they were expecting a great performance from her after Lucas' impressive performance before her, so all she could do is hope that she could deliver. Flannery appeared from the other end, smiling passionately as she got ready to jump into the very next battle. The battlefield dropped to the ground below, and a brand new battlefield appeared just for them to battle on.
"Both participants will use three Pokemon! The gym leader is not allowed to make substitutions but the challenger may. Now, Flannery, please throw out your first Pokemon!"
"Slugma, I choose you!"
Slugma appeared from its Pokeball and Ellie looked at the three Pokeballs she had in her possession, then found one as the best option for dealing with Slugma.
"Ralts, I choose you!"
Ralts hopped from its Pokeball and landed gracefully on the ground, using its psychic powers to raise a few pebbles from the ground.
"Battle begin!"
"Ralts, use Teleport and Pound!"
Ralts put its hands together, and swiftly teleported towards the Slugma, hitting it with a backhand before swiftly teleporting and repeating the same process. It did little damage at all, but the small hits added up to doing some decent damage when Ralts would continuously use its moves. However, Flannery knew a counter in mind, she waited until Ralts appeared and yelled,
"Overheat, full blast!"
Slugma's body radiated a red glow as Ralts still performed the Pound and attempted to Teleport away, but found that having been used too much, it couldn't teleport in time.
"Get out of there!", Ellie shouted, but her words were too late. Ralts was blasted to the other side of the battlefield, skidding across the ground and landing two paces from Ellie. Ralts opened its eyes again and tried to get up, but struggled immensely. It took it a couple of seconds just to recover from the giant blast, then a few more to gain a stable footing on the ground.
"Ralts, are you okay?", Ellie cried out from the sidelines, and the determined Ralts gave a firm nod, although its burnt and injured appearance didn't leave a lot of confidence in Ellie that it could fight to its truest ability. But, she had to believe that Ralts could do it because as it stood, she'd need a comeback to win this battle.
"Rock Throw!", Flannery commanded Slugma, confident that this last hit would be the one to finish off Ralts. Slugma sent slight cracks in the ground, digging up a rock that was blasted straight at Ralts. But, Ralts had experience with things like this, and Ellie shouted,
"Use Confusion to stop that boulder!"
Ralts' psychic powers went down to its hands, which it placed out front towards the direction of the rock. Slowly, a purple aura began to build up around the rock as it grinded to a halt in front of Ralts. Ralts then spun it around, gathering momentum until it was truly powerful and Ellie gave the command.
"Return to sender!", she shouted, with Ralts hurling the rock at full force towards Slugma. Slugma didn't even have time to react or try to dodge. It was just thrust from its position on the battlefield, carried over to Flannery's side. It didn't faint quite yet, but it was fair to say that the counter to Rock Throw made it an even game. Now, all there was to wait until one tipped the scales in their favour.
"Ember!", Flannery called to Slugma, who shook off the blow and spat forwards an attack coursing with fiery energy. Ralts, on instinct, teleported out of the way, using all its energy to land behind Slugma.
"Use Confusion!", called out Ellie to Ralts. Ralts' energy spread to its hands that it placed on Slugma for a second, infecting it with sudden dizziness and inability to tell where it was. Then, it just came for the final blow.
"Disarming Voice!", Ellie called out and Ralts began to sing harmoniously, falling into pink circles that pummelled into Slugma, causing it to collapse to the ground with swirls encapsulated in its eyes.
"Slugma is unable to battle! Ralts is the winner!"
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief as she finally had a lead over her opponent thanks to Ralts' efforts, even if it had taken significant damage throughout the battle. At least she could become more comfortable that she was in the lead. Flannery returned Slugma to its Pokeball, thanking it for its service before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her very next Pokemon.
"Numel, I choose you!"
Now, Numel stepped onto the battlefield, grating its feet against the ground beneath in preparation for the battle ahead. The referee looked to both trainers, seeing them as ready and declaring,
"Fight!"
"Numel, lets start off with a Flame Wheel!", Flannery called out. Numel nodded and its body began to combust as it run forwards towards Ralts. It was a seemingly basic plan of attack, and Ellie tried a counter to it without getting too close.
"Disarming Voice!", yelled Ellie. Ralts did as it was told, doing the same to Numel as what had finished off Slugma. Yet, this time, it appeared that Numel was immune to the attack. It still dealt a bit of damage, but it was like Numel didn't even pay attention to the attack as it was focused on charging down on Ralts. It rushed through the Disarming Voice like a battering ram and charged head-first into Ralts, knocking it high into the air and sending it straight into Ellie's arms.
"Ralts is unable to battle! Numel is the winner!"
Flannery cheered for Numel's victory, and Numel seemed happy with its victory, thinking that it didn't take a hit despite the Disarming Voice that Ralts sent. Meanwhile, Ellie smiled at Ralts and tapped it lightly on the head with its Pokeball, returning it to safety. Then, she selected her Pokemon. A Pokemon she was unsure of at first but knew had to do work for her if they both wanted to win this battle.
"Taillow, let's show the world what we can do!"
The Pokeball flung open, with Taillow flying from the Pokeball, circling before landing just above Ellie's level, shooting a glare at Ellie before shooting a glare at the opponent. Both weren't yet prepared to make a move, so they just sat there. Until, Taillow got bored of this never-ending waiting game, and rushed forwards, using the altitude to drop down and gain momentum as it glided towards Numel. Ellie was slightly caught off guard but called out,
"Quick Attack!"
Taillow burst forwards with its head first, swiping Numel's side with its wings before soaring back up into the sky so that Numel couldn't attack back. Then, Ellie felt confident enough to do another one.
"Quick Attack again!", she yelled, with Taillow clipping Numel's side again and soaring back up. But, this time, Flannery had a plan on how to deal with it.
"Lava Plume!", she yelled, and drops of magma shot up into the air from the back of Numel's volcano. Taillow looked back for a second, then immediately began flying about in an attempt to dodge the molten lava coursing down.
"Try and lower your altitude to keep momentum going!", Ellie yelled, and Taillow did manage to swerve through a lot of the lava. Still, some magma ended up landing on Taillow's wing, bringing it closer down to the ground as more and more magma began to pile up before one more shot sent it knocked back all the way to Ellie's end. It had burns all over its feathers, but Taillow slowly rose again, brushing off the magma and taking flight once again. But, Flannery was confident that another stray hit would finish off Taillow.
"Ember!", Flannery called out from the sidelines, with Numel taking a step back and then sending a ball of cinders flying forwards. Ellie would've told Taillow to dodge it, had something miraculous not happened. Taillow began duplicating itself. First into two, then into four, then eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two. The Ember struck one, but it simply poofed into the air, leaving thirty-one Taillows all looking ready to take Numel down. The army of illusions sped forwards, with the chanting of the crowd and Ellie pushing Taillow on. It dived down for an attack, with Numel being unable to fight back from confusion.
"Peck!", Ellie called out, and the Taillows slowly merged into one that struck down on Numel with many blows from its beak. It constantly circled the Pokemon while attacking, so that Numel could never know where the pain was going to come from, and always be caught off guard every time an attack landed. After a few cries from the extra powerful pecks, Flannery decided that it was enough.
"Earth Power!", she yelled, and Numel stamped the floor, sending rumblings around its feet that sprung bits of debris at Taillow, causing it to quickly retreat into the air. It flew away from the barrage of debris flying into the air, staying at a close distance while awaiting orders from Ellie to attack. Ellie looked at the Pokedex for whatever move Taillow just used and yelled,
"Alright, hone in on Numel with Double Team!"
A flock of birds found itself appearing out of thin air. Then, Taillow rushed forwards again, with Flannery quickly reacting appropriately,
"Lava Plume!"
Numel began pooling out magma into the air that the many Taillow attempted to dodge. But, one by one, each was hit by the lava from Numel's back, until only about five of the Taillows remained. One was real, four were fake. They each rushed towards Numel without any hesitation, until another one fell. Then, another. Taillow was down to two distractions, but it was in sight of attacking Numel already right on its back.
"Quick Attack!", Ellie yelled with Taillow bursting forwards with agility. But, Flannery and Numel weren't planning on giving up just yet.
"Flame Wheel!", Flannery yelled to Numel, who obeyed the command, bursting with flames that licked the air, bursting bright. The two attacks collided and both Pokemon was sent flying back, each landing on the floor with no consciousness.
"Numel! Taillow! Both are unable to battle!"
Ellie breathed at a normal pace once again, her heart slowing down as she grabbed Taillow's Pokeball and returned it to her side. It should be an even fight, but with Ellie's type advantage, the match may be a bit easier to deal with. All she had to do was find a counter to Flannery's strategies, and overpower Torkoal with Mudkip's attacks. It would be difficult, but it was more than doable.
"Mudkip, let's finish this!"
"Torkoal, it's up to you!"
Both Pokemon appeared and looked raring to go. Torkoal let off some steam from the coal burning in its back while Mudkip doused the battlefield around it with water, as a show of the disadvantage that Torkoal was at.
"Fight!"
"Torkoal, Eruption, full blast!", Flannery shouted with infectious passion in her voice, spreading to Torkoal who sent out fiery chunks of rock and coal pummeling out of its back. It was an impressive display of power, with the chunks flying seamlessly through the air towards the battlefield. But, as much as it was pretty to look at, Ellie needed to gather her scattered thoughts and focus on how to deal with an attack like this. So, she decided just to try dodging.
"Dodge them as you advance towards Torkoal!", she yelled to Mudkip, who tried to skate through the crowded battlefield, avoiding the chunks of rock and coal diving down on with a little more difficulty than Ellie had hoped. Many close calls came, with Mudkip having to carefully skate around the rocks, until eventually one came streaming through the air and straight into Mudkip, knocking it back to where it had started. Except, instead of a mostly clear battlefield that Mudkip had traversed before, it was filled with boulders of fire. Ellie now had to create a strategy to avoid the boulders as well, and deal with whatever Flannery did next. She thought for a second, then snapped her fingers and shouted,
"Alright, spray the debris with Water Gun and use them as platforms."
Mudkip immediately began to put out the flames of the first rock that it saw, then continued to spray water all over the battlefield, using the ones without flames to make passage across the battlefield. And, Mudkip was moving quite quickly for what sounded like it would be a slow process. It allowed Mudkip to dodge any of the awkward rocks that would be in its way normally when moving across the floor of the battlefield. Then, once Mudkip got in sight of Torkoal, Ellie called out,
"Unleash a Water Pulse!"
Mudkip formed a ball that sped through the air, circling around and around, building momentum piece by piece. But, Flannery had an easy counter.
"Withdraw!", she called out. Torkoal retreated into its shell, completely dodging the attack, as the Water Pulse hit the surface of the shell and bounced right off into the boulder that Mudkip was standing on. The coals underneath Mudkip's feet crumbled down. Mudkip was suddenly thrown off balance, falling down onto the ground and rising slowly. Flannery took advantage of that.
"Flame Wheel!", Flannery shouted to Torkoal. The rims of the shell became enflamed and Torkoal burst forwards like a spin top towards Mudkip. Ellie had a little difficulty seeing what was going on but managed to spot Mudkip and see that Mudkip was on track to be hit backwards again.
"Dodge by jumping over the shell!", she called out, and Mudkip obeyed by just barely getting out of the way before Torkoal struck again with the Flame Wheel. But, just as quickly as Mudkip had dodged it, Torkoal had turned around and started going for Mudkip again. It ended up a game of cat and mouse, with Mudkip constantly running from Torkoal, as Torkoal was getting better at chasing down Mudkip. If Ellie just let it happen, Mudkip would be the one on the receiving end of an attack, so she needed to think of a way to break the stalemate. Then, she came up with an idea and yelled,
"Mudkip, I need you to stand in front of one of the rocks!"
Mudkip looked to Ellie and obeyed, dodging one of Torkoal's continuous swings to attack, then jumping over towards one of the rocks. Then, Torkoal changed its direction and headed straight towards Mudkip without any sort of hesitation. Then, just when Torkoal was about to strike Mudkip, Ellie cried,
"Jump!"
Mudkip followed her lead, being just able to dodge and send Torkoal pummeling into the rock, immediately stopping its attack and causing Torkoal to pop out of its shell.
"Water Pulse!", Ellie commanded to Mudkip, who shot out the most powerful Water Pulse it possibly could. Torkoal was already dazed from the crash into the boulder, but its head was truly sent spinning when the Water Pulse struck knocking it into the boulder again. It wasn't enough to fully cause Torkoal to faint yet, but it was closer. And, now, Torkoal really had to pull through to win this fight. But, now, the rocks proved to be more of a detriment than Flannery had expected. But, Mudkip was still vulnerable, and Flannery was convinced that Mudkip wouldn't be able to perform the same sort of moves that Lucas' Pokemon had done before. So, she struck twice.
"Eruption!"
Mudkip was now faced with once again avoiding the onslaught of blazing hot coals streaming down. Ellie could barely see Mudkip through the steam and fire of the coals. But, she took a breath. Mudkip's breaths fell in unison. Torkoal's attack finally stopped and it huddled in its shell, hoping for the call of victory to be the sound that it emerged from the shell to. So, there was no chance of a counterattack before the Eruption came down. Now, all that was left, was to fight back.
"Water Pulse!", Ellie called out, and she swore she heard a small 'Got it!' from across the battlefield, but she pushed the thought out of her head and focused only on the battle in front of her. Mudkip began shooting up balls of blue water into the coals raining down, splitting them apart with each pulse. It felt like Mudkip was a cannon, the last line of defence before the battle was over. And, Mudkip certainly felt the pressure. Slowly, it began to pick up the pace with the amount that was being shot out, a blue aura slowly passing over Mudkip's body as they became more powerful and quicker to shoot. The odds were against Mudkip, and it was on pace to not be able to delay them enough to win the battle. But, Ellie spotted something.
"Mudkip! I need you to stand under the eruption closest to the ground!"
Ellie was seemingly making a play out of nowhere, and Harry would've shouted out about her being crazy, had crazy not worked previously in Lucas' match. So, he simply waited for whatever would happen, while Lucas looked at the meteors of coal above Mudkip and realised what she was doing. Mudkip stood under them at Ellie's command, and eagerly awaited a command.
"Alright, charge your most powerful Water Pulse, and pierce through all of the meteors above!"
Mudkip spent some time charging it, with the meteors falling even more and getting closer to spelling game over for Mudkip. But, just as the meteor looked ready to strike, Mudkip let loose. The attack pummelled through the air upwards, splitting the meteors in the middle where they were most vulnerable while keeping momentum as the pulse passed through every single one. Suddenly, the remaining meteors became trivial to take out, and the crowd was in awe of the play. And, the cheers just boosted both of their morale. But, Flannery was now convinced she could finish the job.
"Flame Wheel!", Flannery commanded, aware of the threat she was facing if she let Mudkip get off the final Water Pulse. So, Torkoal's shell combusted with flickering flames that burned bright through the stadium. Then, the turtle burst forwards towards Mudkip at Mach speed. Mudkip's back was turned to Torkoal. It shouldn't have been able to see. But, Ellie saw. So, Mudkip did as well.
Mudkip turned around quickly, ignoring the approaching Eruption in favour of meeting Torkoal head-on. Mudkip put its head forwards for a tackle, barely managing to stand its ground and push against Torkoal's attack. Mudkip gritted its teeth as the Flame Wheel started to push it back further. Flannery smiled and called out to Mudkip,
"You can't keep doing this forever! The Eruption will catch up with you!"
"I know.", Ellie said, seemingly downtrodden by the statement. Her hand clenched into a fist, and then she looked forwards and shouted, "So, we'll finish this now!"
Mudkip began to build up power in its mouth, bending the water flowing through its body. The Pulse began to overflow with power, but Mudkip was steadily losing ground as it focused its energy on charging. It was rapidly approaching the back remains of the Eruption. It was slowly being backed into a corner. It came closer and closer until the grounded meteor was in the range of Mudkip's legs. Then, Ellie told Mudkip to strike. She didn't need words, Mudkip already understood.
Mudkip kicked off the meteor behind with its hind legs, allowing a couple of seconds where Torkoal was pushed back and away from it. Then, once it had space, it let loose. The Pulse came forwards, pushing against the Flame Wheel and dousing the flames where it hit. The friction from the spinning Torkoal made it closer to bursting until it popped like a balloon. Water sprayed all over the battlefield, but most importantly, sent Torkoal back from its stable footing on the battlefield. It lay with its back upturned, its head finally sticking out of its shell. But, it was with swirls, not pupils.
"Torkoal is unable to battle! Mudkip is the winner therefore the victor is Ellie."
Ellie's breathing began to calm, as did Mudkip's. The Aquatic Pokemon collapsed onto the ground and only then did it suddenly remember the Eruption still incoming. It went to go up, but by that time, a few members of the audience had taken them out. Notably, a certain trainer with a Torchic, and a certain trainer with a Grovyle. Ellie smiled as Lucas gave them a thumbs up, while Harry opted for just a small smile. Then, Ellie went onto the battlefield, taking up Mudkip and giving it a tight squeeze Mudkip laughed as it finally felt relaxed, and allowed itself to faint after the long battle. But, Ellie didn't mind. She knew how hard it had been, and let Mudkip take the rest it deserves.
"You deserve it."
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Ellie walked into the lobby, with her gym badge in hand. She smiled as the badge glistened from the light above crashing down on it. Then, she placed the gym badge in a case, that slipped into her badge easily. Then, the group spotted Ellie, and Lucas immediately rushed over for a hug. It was a quick embrace, followed by a starry-eyed Lucas telling Ellie,
"You did incredibly! That was an amazing fight."
"Not as amazing as yours. You did something truly amazing out of anyone."
"Yeah, it was better than Ellie's.", Harry said bluntly, then received an elbow to the stomach from Lucas, causing him to quickly rephrase. "But, it was still pretty amazing."
"So, do we have anything else that you guys want to do here before we go to Mauville?", Seijo chimed in, and they all looked at each other, but found nothing to stay for. Seijo took that as a no and said, "Alright then, I guess we'll be going to Mauville. Just, a bit after our Pokemon rest at the Pokemon Centre."
"Onwards, to our fourth gym badge!", Lucas shouted with his fist in the air, which was matched by Harry and Ellie. Then, the four of them made their way out of the lobby, and into the sun, ready for the journey forwards.
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Notes:
Hey, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Actually managed to release it on time, huge accomplishment, I know. Just, I haven't really wanted to write in ages (this is why you always have backup chapters to release, so that when writer's block hits you like a truck, you have something to rely on) so I'm hoping that will fix itself, even if it most likely won't. Anyways, this turned into a ramble about writer's block, it doesn't matter, I shouldn't be stopping posting for a while, I'll get over it. So, yeah, bye!