"Another Rock Smash!", Ellie cried as Marshtomp dove head first into a rock with a hearty cry, splitting the small rock wide open, with a small Star Piece appearing from inside to be quickly snagged by Ellie. Then, another fell to Marshtomp's Rock Smash. Then another. Lucas ended up giving up the attempt and just settled to resting against a rock, watching Ellie reap all the rewards from the rocks, whether it be Star Pieces, nuggets or whatever. It had been a good haul, and it improved Marshtomp's strength and stamina to keep continuously smashing the boulders. Seijo was also keen to smash some rocks, but his Slaking seemed the opposite. It would smash a rock with the power to overthrow a small government, then promptly fall asleep straight after. Then, every 5 minutes, the cycle repeated. He still didn't mind it though, he knew that Slaking wasn't exactly the most energetic worker like some of his other Pokémon. Still, after a while of watching Ellie find mounds and mounds of treasure, while Lucas stood at the sidelines, he got a little bored of just watching.
Sure, going through the town has been super fun, probably more so because he could recount the differences between the Dewford of the present and the Dewford that stood 10 years ago. Sure enough, nothing much had changed at all. The coffee shop was still there. The gym still stood loud and proud, being a gym not only for Pokémon but for the trainers. Lucas was in awe of how some of the people coming out of the gym looked, being just as muscular as the very Pokémon that they fought alongside. Then, after a light bite to eat at the coffee shop and dropping Combusken off at the Pokémon Centre to be healed up, they headed into Granite Cave. Except, it was more like they stumbled into there.
The place was extremely dark. Like, eerily dark. Not a single person had even thought of placing a single torch in that cave for some reason. The path was exclusively illuminated by the bright glow from the Rotom Phone as they scavenged through the cave, looking for any different Pokémon or items along the way. All they found got the majority of the journey was hordes upon hordes of Zubats and Makuhitas. However, they did end up finding a mural painted onto the wall, depicting the battle of two legendary beasts. It was oddly beautiful in a way. The crude paint and line work. You could tell it was painted in a time long gone. But, it was still recognizable, as the two titans, the one that controlled the land mass, while the other ruled the oceans. Then, above the battle, there were clouds, with a green scorpion-like tail poking out of the horizon. The titan to bring balance to them both. Then, a triangle was hidden, shooting across the clouds.
"It's beautiful.", Lucas recalled himself saying as he gazed upon the mural. Then, he was suddenly awoken from his thoughts by Seijo snapping his fingers in his face. He laughed as Lucas looked dopey at him,
"Finally awake? Well, we're gonna be heading to the gym since Ellie's satisfied with her pool of treasure."
Lucas looked to Ellie, who had just about managed to zip up her duffel bag, which was almost bursting at the seams with all sorts of stuff. Then, once she'd gone through that trouble, she got up and gestured for Lucas to get up. He did so almost immediately after, shooting to his feet. They had to make a detour to the Pokémon Centre to grab Lucas' Combusken, but after that, it was only 10 minutes before they were in the gym, both booked in for a gym battle. But, the first to take their shot at a 5th gym badge was Ellie. She locked in Taillow, Kirlia and Marshtomp as her picks for the gym battle, much to Electrike's annoyance. But, she insisted it would get its turn to battle in due time, and that seemed to satisfy it for the time being. Now, all she had to do was take the gym badge.
She walked into the gym, finding it to be a long stretch of abandoned gym equipment dug underneath the actual gym, with the lights flickering dimly above. It was like she was stepping into some sort of underground ring for Pokémon battling. But, eventually, she reached a part where the light grew and shone brighter. It revealed the tattered battlefield, the Dewford Gym logo stamped on it like a boxing ring. Then, at the other side, under a flickering light, stood Brawly, his arms crossed with a bright smile on his face that shone even through the dark. He flexed his muscles for only a second, before clasping his hands together with a Pokeball kept in one of his hands,
"Greetings challenger! I am Brawly of Dewford Town. I've battled through the harshest waves and through the depths of Granite Cave to make my Pokémon strong enough to break through any team! If you think you've got what it takes to break through, then show me all your strength!"
Brawly threw the Pokeball onto the battlefield, hitting the ground with incredible force as his first Pokémon appeared. A Machoke let out an impressive battle cry as it flexed its muscles. Ellie considered her options, then grabbed her first Pokémon, taking a deep breath as she cried,
"Show them what we can do, Kirlia!"
Kirlia appeared from the Pokeball, landing cleanly on its feet as it did a small spin, followed by an intense stare at Machoke. Brawly clapped his hands together and then cried,
"We'll go first! Machoke, Mach Punch!"
Machoke suddenly burst forward at speeds Ellie didn't even think a Machoke could run. But, regardless, she had a plan,
"Confusion!"
As Machoke swung forward to deliver a solid punch right to Kirlia's head, Kirlia thrust its arms outwards, a psychic force falling on the tips of its fingers the stretching out around Machoke's body. Suddenly, Machoke found its head spinning in circles, disoriented and confused. Then, it threw another punch, straight to its head. Kirlia's attack had it totally confused! It stumbled around like a drunk sailor, while occasionally throwing out a punch to a random body part of its own. Lucas giggled as he watched Machoke stumble over itself over and over again until eventually, Brawly had enough of the little act.
"Steady yourself, Machoke!", he yelled and Machoke caught one of its punches with its other arm. Then, it took a couple of deep breaths and turned to Kirlia with a smile on its face.
"Bullet Punch!", Brawly cried as Machoke suddenly dove forward with the speed of a bullet, striking Kirlia in the head and knocking the Pokémon far back to the edge of the battlefield. Kirlia jumped up after the attack, to find Machoke barreling forwards with a vengeance. Kirlia almost jumped out of its skin at the sight of it, as Ellie quickly cried,
"Teleport to the other side!"
Kirlia joined its fingers together, taking a deep breath before blipping into nothingness. Then, it reformed at almost the very edge of the battlefield again, a ridiculous length away from Machoke considering they were just next to each other only a moment ago. Machoke simply turned around and kept bursting forward like before, closing the gap between them yet again.
"Bullet Punch!"
"Disarming Voice!"
As Machoke dove forward, Kirlia let out a chilling song, the waves of its voice sending shockwaves across the battlefield, striking Machoke. The muscular Pokémon put up its arms to block the blow, its feet skidding against the battlefield as it struggled to keep its defence up. Then, the blow broke through Machoke's guard, leaving it off balance and wide open.
"Psybeam!", cried Ellie as Kirlia placed its hands together and then threw them outwards with a hearty cry, chains of psychic energy beaming through the battlefield and straight into Machoke's chest, driving the Pokémon straight across the battlefield and into the wall. Dust arose from the almost shattered wall, as Machoke fell forward onto its knees, its body tense and eyes closed. Then, one eye opened and the other followed soon after. It slowly rose to its feet and let out another battle cry as it pounded its chest. Its breaths were heavy and its body was exhausted, but it had determination to fight above all else. An awe-inspiring one at that.
"Psybeam!", Ellie commanded and Kirlia struck twice with the Psybeams, a chain streaming across the battlefield.
"Dodge it!", Brawly yelled with a smile as Machoke rolled out of the way of the beam. It started running straight towards Kirlia, taking care to always keep track of where the Psybeam was, then dodge out of the way. Sometimes it curled up and rolled away from the Psybeam, sometimes it leapt over it, or sometimes it did a slide right underneath the beam, showing off its athleticism as well as its raw strength. Kirlia's strength in its psychic attacks was also weakening as it pressed on with firing the Psybeam. The power drained until the Psybeam completely dropped, and Kirlia was suddenly forced to fight Machoke up close.
"Bullet Punch!", cried Brawly. A metallic shine suddenly fell upon its hand as it broke through the air, delivering a devastating punch right to Kirlia's head, knocking the Pokémon far back. It stood again to find Machoke barreling forward like a tank with its fist poised and ready to deliver the final blow.
"Mega Punch, finish it!", Brawly cried as the wind whipped around Machoke's fist, and Kirlia slowly rose to one leg.
"Confusion!", Ellie cried in desperation, as Kirlia threw out its arms, covering Machoke in a weak Psychic aura. But, it progressively got stronger and grew in power as Machoke rushed forward. Kirlia was putting every bit of energy into taking Machoke down now. Soon, Machoke found itself completely unable to move. Then, its senses were suddenly thrown around. Its world spun in disorienting circles, its hearing falling into nothing but static noise and its touch on the ground beginning to feel like it was disappearing. It was a sense of weightlessness, where all its thoughts suddenly vanished into nothingness. It just swung and...
A mighty sound echoed throughout the gym. Like a fist pummeling against a leather pad. The entire gym watched in shock as Machoke struck itself in the head with a Mega Punch at such a crucial point in the battle. Its eyes went lifeless as it struck the ground, falling flat on its face. The referee looked over Machoke, then threw up his flags, declaring,
"Machoke is unable to battle! Kirlia is the winner!"
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief, as she looked upon Kirlia, breathing heavily and barely able to stand again. Ellie grabbed Kirlia's Pokeball and yelled,
"Kirlia, return!"
Kirlia looked back at Ellie as it was pulled inside the Pokeball, Ellie telling it to get a good rest in the meantime. Then, she awaited Brawly to throw out his next Pokémon. Brawly returned Machoke, saying
"There is still work to be done to get stronger, but for now, have a good rest.", he slipped the Pokeball away and selected his next Pokémon, "We're throwing the big guns out early! Hariyama, I choose you!"
Brawly threw out the Pokeball, and a goliath appeared from the Pokeball, towering over both Brawly and Ellie. It was also a Pokémon she was unfamiliar with, so she scanned it with her Pokédex,
Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon.
Hariyama's thick body may appear fat, but it is actually a hunk of solid muscle. If this Pokémon bears down and tightens all its muscles, its body becomes as hard as a rock.
"Alright then, Marshtomp, I choose you!"
Popping out of the Pokeball, Marshtomp hit the ground with a mighty thud, then looked upon its 7-foot opponent with intense fear, followed by determination. Hariyama let out a fearsome cry, and Marshtomp barked back with its own cry. Then, Ellie kicked off the battle again, shouting,
"Mud Shot!"
"Block it!"
Two concentrated shots of mud flew through the air, aimed directly at Hariyama. The Arm Thrust Pokémon raised its hands and placed them outwards, completely blocking and neutralizing the mud shots. Then, it shook the mud off of its hands and got ready for a counterattack.
"Use Force Palm!", he cried as Hariyama dove forwards, blue bolts of lightning streaming across the surface of its hands. Then, it planted both hands on Marshtomp, pushing it far back while giving it a great shock. Marshtomp was thrown back, then stamped its foot, grounding itself and removing the shock.
"Water Pulse!", Ellie cried and Marshtomp welded together a strong Water Pulse between its hands, then threw it out, using Water Gun to give it a further push forwards.
"Block again!", Brawly commanded with his fist clenched, as Hariyama put up its hands. The Water Pulse blasted against the palms of its hands, with Hariyama letting out a small cry, before re-balancing itself, standing as strong and confident as ever. It was like the Water Pukse hadn't affected it in the slightest. But, Ellie knew it had to have done something.
"Water Pulse again!"
Marshtomp shot again, this time increasing its size and power with a spritz of water from its mouth, then volleyed it across the battlefield.
"Block it!", cried Brawly, and Hariyama once again put up its brown hands, facing forward then pushing against the Water Pulse. But, eventually, the Water Pulse won the struggle, especially as Marshtomp streamed more water towards the sphere, making it balloon in size before exploding, knocking Hariyama far back with a loud cry. But, Brawly and his Pokemon stayed determined regardless,
"Bulk Up!"
Hariyama stood square in the centre of the battlefield, flexing its muscles tightly and letting out a great cry. Then, a blue wave passed over its body, as the muscles on its body seemed to get even greater in size. Still, Ellie stuck to her gameplan, yelling,
"Mud Shot, quickly!"
Marshtomp shot a swad of mud from its mouth straight towards Hariyama.
"Dodge it!", cried Brawly as Hariyama suddenly dived to the left, sidestepping the small bullet of mud, then proceeding to charge forwards towards Marshtomp, ready to get up close to deal some real damage.
"Back up and Water Pulse!", Ellie cried in response to Hariyama charging forwards. But, once again, Hariyama dodged out of the way, getting just within arms reach of Marshtomp.
"Seismic Toss!", Brawly yelled as Hariyama pounced forward with its hands open, ready to snatch up Marshtomp.
"Dodge!", Ellie cried but Marshtomp wasn't quick enough to react and was snatched up by Hariyama's giant palms. Then, once in Hariyama's grip, there was little to nothing it could do other than brace for the next hit. Hariyama suddenly began to spin Marshtomp around and around before launching it across the battlefield, aiming to send it straight into the wall. But, before it made impact, Ellie cried,
"Water Pulse!"
Marshtomp began to charge up a Water Pulse, sending it just as it crashed into the wall and slithered to the ground. Hariyama was already dizzy from having to spin around to launch Marshtomp. Then, the sudden Water Pulse sent its head spinning in circles. Both collapsed to the floor, their heads pounding with pain, yet they both rose once again, wounded but far from declaring the battle over. Hariyama clapped its hands together, the sound echoing throughout the gym. Marshtomp slowly rose to its feet, letting out a calm exhale as it looked stoically at Hariyama.
"Water Gun!", Ellie cried as Marshtomp opened its mouth wide, letting a jet of rapid-running water stream from its mouth. Hariyama put up its palms, the water colliding against its palms before trickling down into pools of water on the battlefield. Slowly, yet with a steady pace, Hariyama pushed through the Water Gun. Eventually, Ellie realized she'd have to do something different. So, she commanded,
"Water Pulse!"
"Return to sender!", Brawly yelled, as Hariyama suddenly thrust one palm back, then threw it forward, smacking against the Water Pulse, then sending it straight back to Marshtomp, harshly striking it in the stomach, the Pokemon letting out a high cry. Hariyama soon rushed forwards, as Brawly yelled,
"Finish this! Iron Head!"
Light glistened from Hariyama's head as it charged straight forward, while Marshtomp was still trying to shake off the blow from the Water Pulse. Ellie grew increasingly nervous as Hariyama approached until eventually, Hariyama was just in reach of Marshtomp.
"Dodge it!", Ellie cried, and at the last second, Marshtomp dived to the floor haphazardly, barely falling out of the way of the crushing Iron Head. Then, Marshtomp slowly got back up to its feet, while spraying down Hariyama with a weak Water Gun to keep it off Marshtomp. But, soon, Hariyama would push through it.
"Rock Smash!", commanded Ellie as Marshtomp pounded the ground with its hands, shattering the ground beneath Hariyama, pieces of rubble rushing up and striking Hariyama. But, it wasn't like Hariyama hadn't endured blows like this before. It just shook it off and kept moving. Fear was stricken in Marshtomp's eyes, its heart pounding as Hariyama suddenly grabbed Marshtomp, holding it into the air.
"Seismic Toss!", Brawly cried as Hariyama spun around rapidly on its feet, before slamming Marshtomp straight into the ground, a mighty crash echoing through the entirety of the gym. Then, there was only one left.
"Marshtomp is unable to battle! Hariyama is the winner!", the referee cried as Ellie grabbed Marshtomp's Pokeball, returning her partner and saying,
"You did amazingly. Take a good rest."
Ellie placed the Pokeball back into her bag, finding Kirlia's Pokeball and taking a deep breath.
"Kirlia, let's close this one out!"
Kirlia popped out of the Pokeball, still very clearly hurt from its previous battle with Machoke. But, with what little energy remained, it fought on. They were both about as weak as each other, after all they'd endured in battle. Brawly looked to end things quickly though, smelling blood in the water knowing that Kirlia was one good blow away from falling.
"Force Palm!", he yelled as Hariyama's hands suddenly sparked with crackling energy as it bolted straight towards Kirlia. Ellie thrust her arm forward, shouting,
"Hit it with Psybeam!"
Kirlia locked its hands together, then shot out a psychedelic chain of energy, thrusting straight into Hariyama. The goliath did its best to stop the incoming attack, thrusting out its hands to block it. But, one final push from Kirlia proved to be too much, striking its head suddenly. The Pokémon let out a weak cry as it fell to the ground, Kirlia letting out a heavy exhale.
"Hariyama is unable to battle! Kirlia is the winner!"
Ellie smiled, but her smile disappeared as Kirlia fell to one knee again. Quickly, she returned Kirlia to its Pokeball, whispering to Kirlia,
"Take a rest now. I have faith Taillow will finish this up nicely."
She placed the Pokeball just to the side of Marshtomp's, as she grabbed Taillow's Pokeball, holding it closely, then lobbing it across the battlefield.
"Taillow, let's show them what we can do!"
From the Pokeball appeared Taillow, resting on the ground at first but still letting out a mighty cry. Brawly looked at the small Taillow with a little bit of surprise, considering the rest of her team had evolved at least once, or at least what he had seen of her team. Still, it was a flying type, and from what he knew to be a competent trainer. He couldn't let his guard down now, that would be foolish, to say the least. It would be for Ellie to think the battle is won just because of a type advantage. But, she knew better than to rush into things blindly. She had a plan for what she theorised would be Brawly's final Pokemon.
"Medicham, let's go!"
Medicham appeared from the Pokeball, balancing on one foot in a crouched position, its arms folded with its eyes closed. Then, the Pokemon's eyes widened, and it suddenly spun on its feet, then flipped over, entering a stance fit for a karate master, with its eyes squared on Taillow intensely. Taillow matched that intensity with its stare, the determination in both their eyes being abundantly clear. They were here to win, and both intended to do their absolute best to show it.
"Let's start! Focus Blast!"
Medicham closed its eyes, thrusting its palms together and taking a deep breath. A brown-coloured orb emanated from its hands, growing in power as Medicham suddenly thrust it at Taillow with a loud cry.
"Dodge it!", Ellie cried, and quickly, Taillow dived to the left of the projectile, the orb grazing past and striking against the wall, landing with a loud bang that nearly shocked Ellie out of her skin.
"Ok, don't wanna be on the receiving end of that.", she thought as she cried to Taillow, "Alright, Quick Attack!"
Taillow let out a cry as it suddenly burst like a lightning bolt, crashing into Medicham just as the Pokemon put up its arms to block the attack. Its feet skidded along the floor as Medicham blocked the attack, pushing Taillow back with a thrust of its arms. Then, they were back to as it was.
"Psychic!"
"Fly out of sight!", Ellie quickly cried, as Taillow did a downwards dive, catching momentum straight into a climb above Medicham's head. Medicham tracked Taillow intensely the entire time, trying to focus its energy on one singular point to catch Taillow. But, with how sporadically and randomly Taillow was flying, it seemed near impossible to read the pattern of flight that it went for. When Medicham thought it'd keep flying straight, it did a sudden loop to throw off Medicham, then kept on going. When Medicham thought a rise in the air was coming, Taillow dropped low to the ground, flying even faster than before only to rise once again. But, Taillow could only fly for so long, before it was eventually caught in Medicham's mind's eye. An aura suddenly surrounded Taillow, hovering mid-air as it squirmed to break free. But, Medicham's telepathic power was too strong. And, it was about to show in full force as Medicham threw Taillow into the wall of the gym. Taillow crashed down, only to immediately kick off the wall, flying straight for Medicham with impressive speed. Ellie clenched her fist, while Brawly had a look of utter bafflement on his face, so much so that he couldn't even command Medicham to do anything.
"Wing Attack!"
Taillow swooped down, its wings radiating a white aura as it clipped Medicham once on the head with its wings, before swooping down again for a second attack, knocking Medicham off balance and sending it tumbling down to the ground, Taillow made a careful retreat away from Medicham after the second hit. Ellie knew that she'd have to win this battle by slowly chipping away at Medicham, as one mistake or greedy move could cost the world for Taillow. So, Taillow hung back, for now, waiting for Medicham to make its move.
"Focus Blast!", shouted Brawly, as Medicham once again harnessed its energy into a small orb that shot quickly towards Taillow. But, the Flying type swooped down to the Earth elegantly, dodging the Focus Blast and then circling around Medicham, ready to strike when given the opportunity. However, Medicham stood with its arms up, poised and ready to counter whenever Taillow made a move. Each one was waiting for the other to make a move. Right now, they were dead even, so one wrong move could set the tide of battle. Medicham started slowly retreating away from Taillow, trying to build enough distance to safely let off a Focus Blast or Psychic. But, every step that it took, Taillow would follow straight after. Until, eventually, Medicham was backed up into the corner, where Brawly finally made a move,
"Enough waiting! Take Down!"
Medicham suddenly dropped to the floor, and then sprung into the air.
"Counter with Wing Attack!", Ellie cried as Taillow swung its wing straight towards Medicham, the attacks colliding and sending both reeling backwards, Medicham being sent towards the floor while Taillow flew across the battlefield. Then, from there, Medicham finally had a clear sight of Taillow again.
"Psychic!"
Medicham concentrated all of its energy, just as Taillow found its footing again and got ready for flight. But, before it could fly again, it was caught in Medicham's telekinesis. It was slowly lifted into the air, and then thrust violently into the battlefield floor. Dust erupted from the surface of the battlefield, as Taillow let out a pained cry.
"Taillow, are you okay?", Ellie cried out, as the dust slowly parted to reveal an injured Taillow, defiantly trying to fight again. It stood on its legs, wobbling before finally taking flight again. It let out a cry as it took flight again, looping around and around. Ellie was a little confused by what it was doing, but soon, a blue glow emanated from the circle. Then, it suddenly burst into Medicham, striking at exactly the right time. Then, the bird turned and struck again. Then again.
Medicham put up its arms to block the incoming attacks, but as soon as it blocked or weaved around one, a quicker attack would simply hit from behind and repeat the whole cycle. Then, one final blow to the head sent Medicham crashing to the ground, injured but not yet out. Taillow turned to face Medicham, letting off one final cry as its evolved form finally showed.
Congratulations! Your Taillow evolved into a Swellow!
"Alright, Swellow, Wing Attack!", she cried from the sidelines, as Swellow suddenly dove forwards, crashing into Medicham. Medicham put up its arms to block the attack but found itself in a struggling battle against the strength of its newly evolved opponent.
"Swerve out the way!", Brawly yelled, with his fist clenched. Medicham suddenly dropped its guard and ducked down to the ground, then turned to face Swellow. "Focus Blast, now!"
Medicham charged it up as quickly as it could, acutely aware of a potential counterattack. It launched it, but just as Ellie was about to give a command, Swellow brought its two wings closer to its torso, then suddenly cut upwards with its wings, sending two sword-like gusts of wind straight towards Medicham. The first cut through the Focus Blast like butter, while the second struck Medicham in the chest, sending it flying back and crashing to the floor. Ellie raised her arm into the air with a smile, yelling,
"Finish this! Wing Attack!"
Swellow let out a proud cry as it sprang into action, flying gracefully through the air with its wings extended outwards. Then, it cut through Medicham with its razor-sharp wings, landing gracefully on the floor as a plume of smoke rose from the scene. Then, out of the smoke, appeared a defeated and injured Medicham. The referee put their hand into the air,
"Medicham is unable to battle! Swellow is the winner therefore the victor is Ellie!"
Ellie took a deep breath, steadying herself before walking onto the battlefield, giving Swellow a friendly rub on the head, much to the Pokémon's delight. Brawly let out a sigh, as he walked onto the battlefield, returning Medicham to its Pokeball while giving it some uplifting words. Then, he walked to Ellie, holding out a gym badge,
"Great battle, you endured the waves of my gym just brilliantly! So, take this and be on your way!"
"Thanks, Brawly!", Ellie said as he carefully opened her case with all her badges, placing it inside then walking away from the battlefield. One battle down. Now, it was Lucas' turn.
Notes:
Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I'll probably have some extra notes by the time I'm proofreading and releasing this. But, for now, I'll add some notes here. This is the first chapter that was almost entirely written on my phone! Just wrote it in between periods at school. This chapter was also supposed to have Lucas' battle but I accidentally write 5,000 words. Oops.
Hey, this is post whenever this was written Galaxy! Uh, I don't really have any notes! Past me was wrong and very stupid for thinking I would have any thoughts. Uh, yeah, I'll cya whenever the next chapter gets posted. Have a good one everyone, cya!