Medali is a city. One of the ones of all time, I thought to myself as I walked through its streets. There was certainly nothing wrong with it - it had a decent amount of shops selling average wares, some nice but not overly fancy restaurants, plenty of residences… but little that made it stand out, especially compared to how dramatic many of the key cities of Paldea were. The interesting history of Levincia, the powerful architecture of Cascarrafa, or the stand-out nearby geography of Alfornada.

  I could picture why Medali was where it was from a historical standpoint fairly easily. It was elevated, with Glaseado Mountain just nearby enough to serve as a natural barrier to inclement weather or invading forces. There was an easy path running down west to Porto Marinada for trade and ocean travel, while the elevation again made assaults difficult from that route. With the Aseado Desert to the south and the Great Crater to the east, Medali had a bounty of resources at its disposal, with plenty of rich, fertile land (if not nearly as flat and good for farming as the plains near Cortondo).

  Was it the history of the city that made it so plain, or is this Larry’s influence? ... Likely both, to a degree that would be impossible to determine exactly. It had some interesting spots, of course. Like every city, there were a few tourist attractions, food stalls and carts, and small stores like a nearby tech shop, but nothing that could keep my eye from the prize. The Treasure Eatery.

  I opened the sliding wooden door to the restaurant- only to jump back as someone came at me! And it was clear that he was indeed coming at me, a larger boy dressed in Uva Academy uniform stomping out of the restaurant flanked by two others. The lead had short blond hair and was glaring daggers at me. The other two weren’t much better, hands on their Pokeballs as they eyed me up. Like Malfoy and his goons, except I remember Malfoy being the skinny one and Crabbe and Goyle bulkier, while these three have it reversed. Man, it’s been a long time since I read Harry Potter; that’s another thing I should look into writing for this world.

  “It’s really her. Good job spotting her, Dominic,” One of the goons said to the other, giving him a low five while brushing off some crumbs that had stuck to his uniform in their rush to get to me. Great, so even if they were unsure of my identity, they were more than willing to push over a little girl just to get at me. All for their stupid vendetta - why do these guys hate me again?

  Despite my thoughts wandering, my gaze remained razor focused on the three confronting me. “What’s the issue here?”

  The lead boy sneered. “The issue is some brat who thinks she can get away with stealing all the badges.”

  “What?” I couldn’t help but say, I was so perplexed. What is he even talking about?

  “Some brat like you getting all the badges in one Treasure Hunt? That’s impossible! I’ve only gotten six, and this is my second hunt. So you must be cheating! But we’re going to put a stop to that; no way you’re getting your final badge on our watch! We’re gonna beat you down and send you running home, crying to your rich mommy and daddy.”

  I blinked. “It’s amazing… Every word you just said was wrong.” Predictably, my words didn’t calm him down but instead made the boy grow redder in the face. “Also, you’re trying to stop me from ‘cheating’ by ganging up on me and attacking me all at once? Where’s the logic behind that?”

  “Shut up!” Wow, great comeback, 10/10, I’m emotionally slain. My sarcastic thoughts didn’t help me come up with a way to defuse the situation. Or even get me out of it, which is what I was willing to settle for at this point, too tired to try and spend my time and effort trying to placate the angry boy.

  Attempting to move around them had them moving to block me again. I took a defensive stance in response, wary of them trying to encircle me and commit violence. My martial arts skills helped, but there was only so much one could do against multiple combatants at once, especially when they were bigger than you.

  The lead boy took a step towards me, but at this point Miles floated up from my pocket, interposing themselves between us and buzzing dangerously. “I recommend you leave, now, bzzt.”

  They backed up a step but didn’t entirely lose their bravado. If anything, the lead bully was emboldened, taunting me even as his eyes darted around. “This little toy supposed to worry us? Shove off,” he tried to swipe Miles aside only to receive a nasty shock as his hand came close to the case. “Yow! What the heck was that? You can’t command a Pokemon to attack someone!”

  “You tried to hit my Pokemon, you don’t get to complain about Miles defending themself.” That was hardly an attack, too. Miles is possibly my second strongest Pokemon, maybe tied with Athena. If they wanted to attack you even moderately, you’d be lying on the ground, twitching, at best.

  The other two released their Pokemon, a Lokix and Tinkatuff, quickly followed by the main dude releasing a Quaxwell. Seriously? Not even fully evolved for most of them. To be fair, maybe they’re just happy at the second stage, but I’m kinda done being fair with these jerks. “Calm Fury, blitzkrieg.”

  At my command, Athena and Phantasm popped out of their Pokeballs, not wasting a second to rush the Pokemon in front of them, with Miles abandoning their phone case and charging as well. The Uva students didn’t even have a chance to shout out any commands before it was over: the Quaxwell blasted with a powerful Thunderbolt, Lokix covered in a cloud of cartoon violence courtesy of Phantasm’s recently mastered Play Rough, and Tinkatuff knocked aside by a localized Earthquake that only barely knocked the three bullies on their asses. Good job, they spotted the Type Weaknesses and struck them quickly, without any advice needed on my end.

  “Has that satisfied you?” I asked rhetorically as I stepped over them. Apparently not, as the blond boy grabbed my leg as I tried to step past him. “Wha- let go!” As I turned to shake him off, I saw even more students entering the street, a half dozen or so new faces glaring at me.

  “We told our buddies about you; no way we’re getting shown up by a little girl getting all her badges in a single Treasure Hunt!” Ok, so they aren’t even bothering with pretending anymore - this is just jealousy, not disbelief.

  It looked like they were itching for a fight, and part of me was tempted to give them more than just that. Miles could Hyper Voice and blast them away in a second. Phantasm could do the same but possibly even conceal it from all the civilians that were gathered around watching our dispute.

  I don’t think they even realize why I’m trying to get into the Eatery… oh. Yeah, that would solve it. Raising my voice, I shouted inside, “Larry! We have a problem!”

  There was a shuffling sound inside, and slowly the Gym Leader stepped into view. He was wearing the same black suit with a blue tie that he had in the games, even the same briefcase. The only differences were a few less gray streaks in his hair and the few grains of rice stuck to the corner of his lips, likely from a meal he’d been forced to hastily abandon.

  “Mm, what’s going on here?” His question predictably led to a cavalcade of noise, accusations, and arguments as the kids talked all over themselves trying to blame me. I waited patiently - as much as I wished to shout them down and deny what they were saying, I figured Larry would appreciate it more if I spoke calmly.

  He said, “Quiet,” in a voice slightly quieter than any of the other kids individually were, which did nothing to deter most of them (though it did at least get the one boy to stop grabbing my leg, though that might have been because he and his buddies were pulling themselves up). Then, Larry adjusted his tie. “Quiet.” His voice was only slightly louder than the combined din this time, but it got everyone to stop talking (at least among the students; Phantasm was snarling at them still, saying things that were the equivalent of some really nasty words, but so long as she wasn’t physically attacking them, I was fine with it).

  Turning to me, he asked, “What happened?”

  “I was accosted by some boys when I tried to enter the building. They threatened me-” That had the boys clamor over top of me, so I spoke louder. “Which you can see on video,” I gestured to Miles, who floated over and expanded to better show the video they’d been taking. That shut them up, and they paled before turning tail and running away.

  The other kids jeered, both at the trio and at me, but slowly they dispersed too. Some of them looked like they were seconds away from pissing their pants too. I wonder what Phantasm showed them? Internally I debated whether or not I should scold her for that - it was probably too far for most people who insulted me, but on the other hand, I couldn't really get upset about a couple of bullies getting some comeuppance.

  Ultimately I pushed the decision to the side as I saw Larry sigh and turn back to the Eatery. Recalling my Pokemon and following him, I sat at the bar beside the man. Surprising me, he spoke up first. “You should try a drop of lemon on your food. Adds a refreshing kick, though you might be a bit young for that.”

  I smiled. “I like a bit of lemon on crab, lobster, and other seafood, but generally not a fan of it on other dishes. But that just might be me; I have very particular tastes.” There was a beat, and then I added, “I’m sorry that we interrupted your meal, but I’d like-”

  “A Gym Battle? I figured as much,” he said, standing up with one last forlorn look at his fried rice. “I can’t spend too much time chit-chatting, so I guess we’d better battle.” As he said that, one of the chefs behind the counter pressed a button, and the dining tables shifted, everything getting shoved to the side to make room for the arena rising up in the center.

  “Ah, wow.” That looks cool, but I have to wonder how practical it is. “You know you don’t have to interrupt your meal - you could have finished it first.”

  The Gym Leader shook his head. “I’d rather not fight on a full stomach.”

  “Fair enough,” I said as I took my place on the opposite end of the arena. “And I’m looking forward to a tough fight; I’ve saved the strongest Gym Leader for last, so give it all you’ve got!”

  He blinked. “You’re full of fire. You really think I’m the strongest? I’m not cool like Grusha or flashy-”

  “That might hurt your score in a Contest, but when it comes to battling? Yeah, you’re strong. Probably could be a member of the Elite Four if you wanted.” There were a few quiet gasps from the crowd; clearly the people here loved him, but I didn’t think even they realized how skilled Larry was.

  Definitely don’t think the few students I spy sneaking in did. It was only a couple of them, and they had changed out of their uniforms, but I recognized the teenagers intently watching the match. So long as they were focused on simply recording it and didn’t try to interfere, I was fine with it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even win some detractors over if they see me battling in person. None of these were the kids directly confronting me, so if they were just caught up in the trio's lies, this might prove them wrong.

  My words didn’t cheer the man himself up, rather eliciting a deep sigh from him. “Please don’t tell my boss - I already work enough.” Pretty sure that’s your own fault; you get cut off from doing too much overtime. Despite his words, I saw a determined glint in his eyes. He was ready to take me seriously.

  As Larry drew a Pokeball from his briefcase, I hefted the washing machine out of my bag, tossing it onto the stage. “Miles, you’re up!” They zipped from their phone case and into the bulky machine, possessing it.

  “Ro-to-to-to!” They declared excitedly. The Gym Leader glanced at his briefcase for a second, likely deciding whether or not to switch before firming up his grip on his chosen Pokeball. Hmm, sticking to his guns, or, more likely, he feels his first choice just happens to be the best against Miles.

  It was hard to tell - Normal Types had such wide Movepools there was little I could be certain of against him, as well as why I’d chosen Wash Form for Miles. Without an appliance, Miles would be immune to his STAB Normal Moves, but they would have way more Weaknesses. Just having one seems like the best way to go about things.

  As he released a sleepy-looking, blue-furred, koala-like Pokemon hugging onto a log like a pillow, I understood both why Larry had chosen her and why he thought she would still be a solid choice against us.

  The chef spoke up from the bar. “This will be a six-on-six match with three switches each. Terastalization is allowed. If both Trainers are ready…” We both nodded, Larry pulling his tie loose again, a physical tic for when he was getting more serious, I noted. “Then on the count of three, two, one… begin!” She shouted, and we both leapt into action.

  “Scald!”

  “Wood Hammer.”

  With a sudden leap from a still sleeping Pokemon, his Komala raised the log up, surrounding it with green Grass Energy. Before she could bring it down upon Miles’ body, they raised the smaller hose and blasted her out of the air with a high-pressure, high-heat burst of water.

  Like I thought, Wood Hammer. Komalas have a surprising amount of physical power behind them; if that hit, it could have done serious damage to Miles. The weird way Comatose works protects Komalas from most status Moves I could pull out, and I’m certain that this one knows Sleep Talk and can use it quite well. Some Pokemon simply resonated with certain Moves, like Primeapes with Rage or Hypno with Hypnosis, which made them (on average) better with the Moves than most equivalent Pokemon even of the same type. The exact amount was widely debated, but there was a noticeable bump up to be aware of, especially in high-level battles.

  “Substitute, keep on with Scald,” I ordered. Nasty Plot would be better here, but I don’t think Larry will give us that wide a window to work with. Miles began making copies of themself while the Komala let out a large Yawn, the cloud drifting around in an attempt to envelop my Pokemon.

  The Substitute couldn’t take the hit for such a Move, the cloud doing nothing when it enveloped them, but also not impeding it as it then floated on towards the real deal. “Condensation,” I called out, and Miles adjusted their hose, spraying a fine mist through the air that clashed with the Yawn. Glad we kept that feature - we never got to making a Mist or Haze equivalent, but that nozzle was more practical than I first realized.

  While there were a lot of good reasons to use Miles for this match, being able to show off the advancements the R&D team had made on the Wash Form, probably their biggest recent achievements beyond the two new forms, also factored in my mind, so I was glad to show them off. But why are the Scalds doing so little- shit.

  Before my eyes, all the damage Miles had done was healed, the Komala recovering even as another Scald hit and hurt our opponent far more than the last few shots had. Stockpile, combined with Swallow, must be. He’s trained his Komala well to be able to do that without a command or any visible sign.

  “Nasty Plot,” I said, signalling for Miles to use their Substitute to guard themself. And a good thing I did, as the moment my Rotom stopped to hatch a malicious scheme, Komala spun rapidly towards them, holding their log out as they twirled through the air… while still asleep. She smashed through the fake, but the destruction of the Substitute gave Miles time to maneuver away, powered up.

  Before I could press the advantage, Larry called out, “Psych up.” Komala furrowed her white eyebrows at Miles all while still keeping her eyes shut. Not sure how that works, but I can’t count on beating them with buffs if they can copy what I do. So…

  “Dance, water, dance.” Miles conjured a sitar made of water and began rocking out with their plasmic hands. The absurdity of it combined with the sudden wave of sound hitting them left both of them off guard.

  “Body Slam.” Only for a moment, however, as Larry quickly recovered. Despite the name’s inspiration, Miles could only create two Double Teams ‘water clones’ with it, not the hundreds of Substitutes I had first envisioned. They were more than capable of moving as they rocked out, letting Miles dance around the wide Body Slam Komala aimed at them.

  As the last note fell, water began to pour down and sparked with lingering lightning on the ground. The field lit up with electricity, crackling wildly with the rain. It might not have worked exactly like I envisioned, but it had even greater synergy than I expected with Electric Terrain. “Pretty cool, right?”

  A howling screech answered my question; the Komala glared at Rotom with her beady eyes. The Terrain caused her to wake up, and the moment her eyelids would droop back down, a new shock would force her awake.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” the Gym Leader warned, giving me a split second to wonder why before Komala threw herself at Miles, enraged. Thrashing about, she smacked them around, pushing through a powerful Discharge as she shrieked at my Rotom.

  Damn, I didn’t realize this would make her so angry. But we can use that. “Hydro Pump, play keep away.” Opening the door on their body, Miles unleashed torrents of water, blasting Komala with a literal ton of water. She struggled to push through the assault, but Miles didn’t let up, continuing to pour gallons of water at her.

  I heard her gulp this time, now that I was paying attention to it, and it let her survive for a little longer. It couldn’t get her out of the corner she’d been pushed back into or allow her to outlast Miles; the water kept on coming. It's kind of crazy to think of how a Pokemon can summon a weather condition and then use that very weather to empower their future attacks. Same with terrain and the like. Just goes to show how thermodynamics really doesn't work the same way here.

  Sighing loudly, Larry called for a switch, returning Komala to him. “Impressive. But you’ve still got your work cut out for you…” With that, he released a large, beige, bull-esque Pokemon onto the field. Upon materializing, the Kantonian Tauros immediately charged ahead, glowing with a bright power before he struck Miles, smashing them into the wall with a horrendous sound of wrenching metal.

  “Discharge! Get out of there!” Miles let out a burst of electricity that stunned the Tauros enough to give them space to float away, out of Raging Bull range. The moment they did, though, they started wobbling mid-air, as if Miles was having trouble staying up, their eyes slowly closing…

  “Get on the ground!” How did Komala sneak a Yawn in?! Whatever the case, landing on the electrified ground woke Miles up in a hurry, but it also left them vulnerable.

  “Earthquake,” Larry intoned, and Tauros gladly stomped the ground, shaking up the arena. My Pokemon knew how to nullify their Ability, letting them benefit from the Terrain, but at the same time, it left Miles vulnerable to the Ground Type Move when they did so.

  The Earthquake hit them hard, and Miles’ body clanged hard from the floor smashing into them. Their washing machine door hung open loosely by the time they floated out of range of the Ground attack, Tauros snorting, swishing his three knotted tails wildly.

  “Stone Edge.” At his Trainer’s command, Tauros began ripping up chunks of stone from the ground with his horns, sending them spiking up towards Miles (really he just conjured them from the air; the arena floor was treated to synergize with such Type Energies to stop Pokemon from ripping the complex machinery apart, but it looked like the ground was being torn apart, if only superficially).

  “Dodge around this; you aren’t out yet! Hydro Pump!” Miles was battered but indeed still in it, weaving around the sharp rocks looking to impale them and firing back with powerful streams of water. Several of them broke straight through the rocks to impact the Tauros, and I could only look on with pride. This must be the toughest fight you’ve had in a while, and you’re doing great, Miles.

  The rain and electricity finally stopped, and we both took a second to rethink our strategies. The moment of silence between us ended, and I suddenly knew; something about the look in his eyes... He’s looking to end this fast. “Protect!!”

  At the same moment Larry spoke loudly, “Giga Impact.” Rocketing forward, covered in a bright green energy, Tauros leapt up, slamming into the barrier Miles had conjured around them. A massive shockwave reverberated out from the point of impact, but despite the force behind the blow, my Pokemon’s barrier held until the energy surrounding Tauros petered out.

  “Shock Wave!” I shouted, and Miles let off a quick burst of electricity into Tauros before Larry could recall them. The bit of chip damage they did would help me in the later rounds, but for the time being, Miles had a new foe to face.

  “Oink!” The female Oinkologne cried as she was released onto the field. Neither of our Pokemon wasted any time attacking. Miles called down a Thunder atop her head, shocking her enough that I thought for an instant she might have been Paralyzed, a debilitation great enough that it might let us win the fight.

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  But she proved me wrong, powering through it as her hooves glowed with green light, performing a Trailblaze leap to plow into Miles. Using her increased speed, she Headbutted Miles to keep them down, with a Body Slam to pressure my Pokemon further.

  “Scald!” At my command, Miles released the blistering hot water at her, hurting and even Burning Larry’s Pokemon, weakening the force of her blows. They might have been able to escape until Larry spoke up.

  “Real life isn’t always about being true to yourself…” On his signal, Oinkologne revealed her Facade, striking hard despite the Burn, and finally knocked Miles out. Recalling my first Pokemon, I shook my head.

  “Real life is all about being true to yourself. In this world we live in, full of impossible wonders, the idea that you can’t live the way you want sounds crazy! It might take a lot of hard work, might feel like you’re fighting Arceus themself sometimes, but you gotta give it your all, and the only way to do that is to be your all!” I finished my impromptu speech by drawing Phantasm’s Pokeball off my belt. “Let’s show Larry what that’s all about, Athena. I choose you!”

  Tossing the ball up high (too high - it almost hit the rafters!), it opened to send out ‘Athena,’ who crossed her forepaws as she landed on the field, smirking at her foe. Oi. Tone it down a little; she’s not that cocky. Well, at least not openly like that.

  Phantasm could not hear my thoughts or emotions, but she did drop that expression to go into battle mode. “Extreme Speed!” Sorry, but not using this Move would look weird; we gotta sell it for the moment.

  I knew my Zoroark was more than a little salty about no longer being faster than Athena after she evolved. I’d put her through speed drills, and over time, Phantasm had gotten close to Athena’s level. She actually beat the Aura Pokemon in sheer speed and power while also being a bit frailer too. But only for regular speed - Extreme Speed was a Move the Hisuian Pokemon couldn’t manage and Athena could do easily. Even if the Typing meant it couldn’t hurt her, Phantasm didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t do that Move. But we’d come up with a trick to fake it, at least for battles like this.

  An image of Athena blurred into existence behind Oinkologne, causing her to whip around, only for it to disappear and reappear on the other side, striking into her. Really, Phantasm had just moved in a straight line with Quick Attack, all while conjuring the illusions to make it look like Athena had clowned on her a bit, the STAB from the weaker Move making it seem comparable to an Extreme Speed.

  In spite of that, I saw her narrow her eyes in confusion and suspicion after getting nailed by the Move and knew I needed to end this fast, before Larry caught on. “Get ready,” I called out, the seemingly useless command another signal. Phantasm began readying herself, drawing her focus in.

  So seemingly close to her, Oinkologne jumped up, looking to land on ‘Athena’ with a Body Press. Mid-air, however, her Trainer called out for something different.

  “Earthquake.” His Pokemon converted to the different Type Energy and Move smoothly, using the force of the impact against the ground as ‘Athena’ dodged to send a ripple out through the ground, rolling across the arena.

  The motion disrupted the Focus Punch Phantasm had been gathering, causing the strike to merely clip off the Oinkologne’s back. My Pokemon was then knocked back by the waves, hurt, and revealed by the Earthquake.

  Oinkologne was knocked to the side, getting up on shaky legs after being hit by the Fighting Type Move. That burn isn’t helping her either. Honestly, it’s surprising that she’s lasted this long, though she might have been hiding a Sitrus Berry in her mouth.

  “Shadow Clones, then Swift Barrage.” An adaptation of ‘Shadow Barrage,’ but that one specifically means for her to use Shadow Ball after making the Double Teams/illusory copies, which won’t work against a fellow Normal Type.

  Oinkologne’s eyes darted about as a hundred Phantasms suddenly filled the arena, pelting small glowing stars at the pig Pokemon. The shots were chipping away at her bit by bit, and rapidly at that, given Phantasm's sheer power. Larry once again stepped in, calling, “Use your nose. Sniff her out.”

  Not going to happen! While we had covered some olfactory illusions and the like, I knew that the Oinkologne line was particularly sensitive to certain scents and that Phantasm wasn’t familiar with how to disguise herself from her. Luckily, there was a far easier option. “Sensory Overload!”

  As Larry’s Pokemon took a big sniff, she suddenly squealed and began thrashing about, seemingly going crazy. In truth, Phantasm had simply hit her with a myriad of illusory sensations. Flashing bright lights, piercing sounds, pungent rotten scents, and mouth-curdling tastes all hit her at once. It was a testament to her training that she could still stand up, but a quick Slash took care of that, and Oinkologne collapsed.

  “I appreciate you trying to make sure I don’t have to take any overtime with this battle, but I can’t be slacking off either.” At his words (and the click of a Pokeball), a bright pink flamingo stepped onto the still slightly waterlogged arena. Okay, technically it’s a Flamigo, not a Flamingo. He has a knot at the base of his neck, and… yeah, that’s pretty much it. Generally the designs for Gen 9 were pretty creative, but this one… The one thing that made it really stand out from a mundane animal was the Black Belt it was wearing, and that was hardly an intrinsic part of the bird.

  Internal snarking aside, I was impressed by his choice. So much so that I immediately called, “Switch,” and recalled Phantasm. Super-Effective STAB Fighting attacks are something she hasn’t ever experienced before and something I’d rather not subject her to. Honestly, he’s a pretty good counter to most of my team.

  Most wasn’t all, however, so I didn’t pause in tossing Nightwing’s Pokeball over the arena. “Nightwing, hit ‘em hard and fast!” Cackling, my purple Flying Type shot forward to clash with Larry’s own. The Flamigo met the charge, hopping forwards and drawing his wings out for a Brave Bird.

  The two crossed, flying to the opposite ends of the arena. Nightwing winced as she turned around, nursing the spot where her exoskeleton was cracked from the blow Flamigo had landed. For his part, Flamigo looked just as badly hurt from the recoil and the small dark purple spot on his torso where Poison Jab hit. Not sure if it would have been better or worse if we had gotten a Poison off - it would help us in drawing things out even more, but Larry probably has Facade on all of his Pokemon.

  ““Swords Dance,”” we both called out simultaneously. The Gym Leader blinked in surprise while I gave a bemused smile. Great minds think alike, huh? Or rather, we’re going for different game plans here - he thinks he can win fast and neutralize the grind game Toxic Orb is about to give us, while I’m planning for the future. The round, purple-colored stone around Nightwing’s neck hadn’t Poisoned her yet. And it never would.

  “Tailwind, pick up some speed.” Nightwing flapped her large bat-like wings furiously, kicking up the air around her, while Larry’s Pokemon went on the offensive.

  With some unspoken signal from him, Flamigo covered himself in water and shot forward. Nightwing did her best to dodge but was still clipped by the Super-Effective Liquidation. She had practiced enough not to let up on a buffing Move even while hit and still managed to set up the Tailwind, the opposing airstream impairing the enemy Flying Type even more than it would most others.

  With the speed advantage firmly on our side, I shouted, “Acrobatics!” Nightwing zipped above Flamigo before flipping around and smacking him with the flat of her tail. At the same time, the gem she was holding glowed brightly, empowering the Flying-Type Move and shattering into dust. Coloring a very specifically shaped Flying Gem is a fun trick. Shame I won’t be able to catch anyone in the Elite Four off-guard with it now, but I think it’s worth it to help secure the win here. Besides, we’ve got plenty of other strategies for them.

  Despite the powerful blow that sent Flamigo sprawling, he wasn’t quite out of the fight. A sloppy Mega Kick was casually dodged by my Gliscor before her long tail wrapped around his legs, constricting them. “Psychic F-” I began to call before a red beam of light returned his Pokemon.

  At my questioning glance, Larry clarified, “I’m withdrawing my Pokemon.” Hmm, guess it would be too much to hope that he’d use his last Switch up here. “Break time is over, Komala.” His blue furry Pokemon once again landed sleepily on the field. No, actually, Asleep - she used Rest instantly!

  “Acrobatics into Earthquake!” As Nightwing dived down, Larry mumbled something indistinct, which somehow led to Komala rearing up and smacking a shocked Nightwing in the face with her log before spinning around and landing back on it, asleep all the while.

  The Sleep Talk into Sucker Punch stopped Nightwing’s Acrobatics, but she still smashed the ground with both pincers, raising a powerful Earthquake that caused Komala to twitch in her slumber as she was buffeted by the attack. Before I could tell her to pull back, she also attempted to hit Komala with a Crabhammer.

  Our foe responded with a Wood Hammer, flinging the log into Nightwing’s face. Both Pokemon reeled back from the blows. “Get out of range, Gunk Shot to finish her off.” Nightwing clicked her tongue but did so. She’s not appreciating the strength that Pokemon has - she might look weak, but she’s a major threat. Especially since I think she snuck in a Psych Up somewhere there and copied Nightwing’s Swords Dance boost.

  The Tailwind had died down, but we still had the speed advantage in this fight. Gunk Shot forced Nightwing close to the ground to ‘pull’ the ball of garbage she’d knocked forward from the ground, but with her tail, my Pokemon could lower her profile and fly away if Komala got close. Our opponent attempted to, bounding towards Nightwing as quickly as she could, knocking aside her reclaimed log, but eventually one of the shots snuck through, striking her down. Before she fell, however, Komala managed to release a Yawn straight into Nightwing’s face.

  I waited as Larry recalled his Pokemon, waiting for him to send out his next, but he didn’t. Simply standing there, watching as drowsiness was taking a greater hold of Nightwing. She was struggling valiantly to stay awake, but I could recognize a losing battle when I saw it and used my penultimate Switch, recalling her. Larry’s got a full twenty seconds to choose his next Pokemon - we can’t wait that long. And letting her go to sleep would be very bad; Larry would have free rein to set up.

  Of course, now that I had twenty seconds that started well after Larry’s time period, he had to release his Pokemon first. With a sigh, he sent out his own Dudunsparce.

  “Well, I can hardly let a challenge like that go unanswered, can I? Go, Dun!”

  With a cry of “Dudun!” My starter took the field. The crowd gave shocked gasps, and I wondered why. Seriously, his Dudunsparce is almost as famous as his Staraptor Ace, and Dun is my starter. Feels kinda obvious we’d clash like this. Though I admit I’m excited as well to see how this will go. The two Pokemon eyed each other up for a second, Dun smirking as he slithered slightly, showing off his extra segment. The other Dudunsparce simply took in a large breath and-

  I grit my teeth, the sound from the Boomburst still ringing in spite of the barrier between us. “Glare!” I shouted, only for my words to have no effect, Dun thrashing and deafened by the noisy attack. Instantly switching to hand signs, I gave the command again, and this time he hit the enemy Normal Type with an enraged stare that had his foe freezing up.

  “Glare,” Larry called out, and his Dudunsparce rose up, revealing the swirling pattern on his belly. Before the pattern could begin glowing so he could do the Move, a sweep of my hand had Dun Lunging forward, striking the two-segmented one low. The blow did good damage but also sapped some of the physical power our opponent could bring to bear.

  It took me a while to realize that the way Dunsparces normally uses Glare is by revealing that symbol. I’m thankful for the way we figured it out - that exchange right there showed the weakness of the ‘regular’ method, being slower and exposing yourself.

  I winced, more so for Dun than myself, as another Boomburst hit him. Dun let out a loud cry of his own, but his Hyper Voice simply lacked the sheer power that Boomburst had. That’s a Move he’s been trying to learn for a while but having difficulties with. We can’t focus on that right now, though; let’s play to Dun’s strengths.

  Despite his personal feelings, Dun snapped to follow my orders as I motioned for him to use Roost. Settling down, he let the sound batter him, healing each time. Despite how well trained he was at the recovery Move, the sheer damage of Boomburst made it hard to keep up. Luckily the sporadic seizing of the opposing Dudunsparce’s muscles gave Dun breaks and ample time to recover in between.

  As the exchange continued, I noticed the Gym Leader’s Pokemon starting to flag, his strength waning. Larry did too, being the first one to order a change in tactics. “Drill Rush, get in close.”

  “Aqua Tail.” Larry’s Dudunsparce was fairly speedy for his species, but Paralyzed as he was, Dun was able to easily time the hit, sweeping our foe to the side and only taking a few chunks of dirt smacking into him. “Hurricane, take this to the skies!”

  With wingbeats far too powerful for their tiny size, Dun churned the air inside the arena into a tumultuous storm, lifting the other Dudunsparce up into the air. I saw them trying to draw in breath for another Boomburst, but the violent winds made that difficult.

  “Turn up the heat, Flamethrower! And chuck some stones into the mix too while you’re at it.” Despite the casualness of my tone, I was worried. Balancing three strong Moves of different Types is remarkably tricky, even for-

  Those fears were unfounded as Dun belched forth a stream of fire, igniting the air he was whipping up with his wings. At the back, his tail waved about like a conductor’s wand, adding a minefield of sharp rocks to the flaming tornado.

  It was hard to see what was going on inside, but it seemed likely that Larry’s Dudunsparce was getting badly cooked by that. The Gym Leader certainly wanted them out of there, shouting, “Dragon Rush!”

  That gave me time to counter. “Dance around it, then show him real Dragon power!” As the Dudunsparce burst out of the flames looking like a snake out of hell (and giving me great inspiration for my next album cover), Dun slithered back and forth, weaving around the Dragon-infused charge handily before covering himself in Draconic energy.

  He thrashed and slammed about, knocking the smaller Dudunsparce aside with his power and bulk. As Larry’s Pokemon tried to retreat, the man must have realized he couldn’t back away from the rampage fast enough and switched back to offense. “Hyper Drill!”

  Our foe turned tail, pointing that heavy drill at Dun and burrowing into him. Dun hissed in rage as scales were burrowed out, but with his flexible body, he reached around and kept on bashing the other Pokemon away. Eventually, they were knocked aside, heavily bruised, but Dun wasn’t looking too hot either, bleeding from the drill wound. My Pokemon also swayed slightly, looking confused at everything around.

  Singing out a sharp note, Dun snapped back into focus. Don’t know if it’s cheating to mimic a Yellow Flute like that, but there’s nothing I’ve found that says you can’t do that, so…

  “Giga Impact, end this!” My command brought a wave of surprise and murmurs from the crowd.

  As I said that, Larry had already been raising his voice to call for “Boomburst.” His Dudunsparce swelled up with air, releasing it as an incredible cacophony of noise. Dun met it head-on, glowing with a bright green energy. He winced from the pain in a blink-and-miss-it moment but held the course, tackling into his foe, the impact creating a sonic boom of its own as he hit Larry’s Pokemon and sent them into the barrier.

  The combined force of the concentrated impact and the overall strain placed on the barrier from the Boomburst striking all around shattered the barrier, causing it to collapse as Larry’s Dudunsparce fell toward his feet. Despite his tired facade, Larry reacted with lightning speed to recall his Pokemon after seeing the Dudunsparce was taken out.

  After that, he paused, simply staring at his Pokeball. What are you doing, Larry? Dun is tired out from that big Move, this would be the perfect time to strike back with your next Pokemon. The Gym Leader sighed heavily and, without raising his eyes, said, “You’re as good as they all say. I might end up losing this.”

  “Like heck you will!” The chef/referee shouted, shocking the businessman. “You’ve got a whole crowd gathered to see what you can do; show us that spark that makes you a Gym Leader!”

  “Yeah!”

  “You can do it!”

  “Take that brat down!”

  “We believe in you, Larry!”

  The faintest smile ghosted his face. “Well, you heard the folks. I guess I can put a bit more effort in when it’s crunch time.” With that, he put his Dudunsparce’s Pokeball back in the case and threw out another one. Flying high above the ground, a Staraptor appeared, the large brown bird cawwing loudly, raising his red-tipped mohawk-like crown to stare daggers at Dun.

  Despite how bravely my Starter was willing to stand his ground, that opening Intimidation, the instinctual fear of such a big bird, had him tense up, his muscles weakening. “Switch,” I used up my last Switch to put Athena on the field, my Lucario looking up coolly at the bird flying above.

  Before I could order her to attack, Larry used up his last Switch, recalling Staraptor and sending his Tauros out, the bull-like Pokemon stomping the ground aggressively. Guess this was his last chance to use that anyways. And if he’s sending them out, then he must be planning on utilizing Athena’s Steel Type Weaknesses.

  I was pulling out my Tera Orb already as Larry called out for an “Earthquake.” Before the shaking earth reached Athena, the Tera Orb was already above her head, Terastalizing her so that when she broke out of the giant crystal conjured around her, she was barely scuffed by the attack. The swirling fist, Tera ‘hat’ jewel, shone brightly above her as she bared her teeth for a second before disappearing and reappearing in front of him, digging a fist into the Tauros’ flank with Extreme Speed.

  Mega Evolution gives a few more advantages in terms of power, with the Ability change and stat boosts, but being able to switch up the Steel Typing, and thus all the weaknesses she’d usually have, is a nice trick too. “Close Combat, beat him up!” At my command, Athena overwhelmed the Gym Leader’s Pokemon, punching and kicking all around him.

  “Raging Bull!” The sudden acceleration hit Athena hard as Tauros charged ahead headlessly, tossing her aside with his horns, but she recovered well, landing lightly back on the arena.

  “Aura Spheres, play keep away.” Charging up giant orbs of Fighting Type power, so large that they obscured her vision, she started tossing them out at the Tauros. He tried to dodge, jumping around with great agility in spite of the beating he had taken, but it wasn’t enough. Especially not when she can track him with her Aura Sense and can slightly alter the path of the spheres mid-flight. In the end, she didn’t even need to use Extreme Speed to dodge around before Tauros fell and couldn’t get back up.

  Larry wordlessly recalled Tauros and sent Staraptor back out. His steely gaze was much less effective on Athena, however, her Inner Focus letting her ignore such attempts to shake her. “Brave Bird,” he called, and I smiled.

  “Dancing Sword.” Athena was in sync enough with me to begin the first step of her dance before I had even spoken, dancing seemingly carelessly around as the big bird careened towards her, yet managing to dance just under the wide wingspan, powering up as she did so. “Force Palm!”

  My Pokemon struck out, landing a quick hit before Staraptor could scamper away, flying above her once more. Larry looked on silently for a moment before calling out “Brave Bird” again and coughing hard until he was doubled over. Obviously a signal, but for what?

  I wasn’t sure, but my Lucario prepared another Dancing Sword, only to be struck still as suddenly two Staraptors were diving at her. “Detect!” I shouted, but it was too late, and as she tried to avoid one, the other one - the real one - hit her, knocking Athena off her feet. The illusory copy faded away as it ‘hit’ the ground. Double Team combined with Brave Bird, not bad. Staraptor followed it up by creating a few more Double Team copies of itself as it ascended once more.

  “Focus on your other senses; it’s just like fighting Phantasm,” I advised, and Athena nodded, closing her eyes. “Good, now Flash Cannons!” Raising her arms out, she sent out beams of bright light, cutting across the airspace of the arena.

  Staraptor dived and swooped around - all of them did, but it was clear the real one was being pressed back hard - before Larry said, “Feather Attack.” At that command I finally tracked onto the real one with my eyes as he flew towards her. It wasn’t the reckless descent of a Brave Bird, but a nonetheless strong Wing Attack smacked into Athena as she redirected a Flash Cannon to impact her foe, knocking a wing aside and blasting loose a bunch of feathers, which floated down unerringly onto my Pokemon.

  “Feather Dance?” I commented on the combined Move. “Fine by me - hound him with Extreme Speed but strike with Force Whip from now on.” Having a mixed attacker helps with those kinds of debuffs, I noted as Athena adapted to the new strategy. She’d blur behind the Staraptor, keeping enough space that he couldn’t turn and hit her before she lashed out with the Aura construct, striking across his back before disappearing in another burst of speed.

  More than that, she’s basically performing a ‘Geppo’ from One Piece, using Aura combined with her physical strength to jump off the air- oh no. The weakening of her limbs from Feather Dance left a slight lag as Athena exerted herself harder to keep in the air, an opportunity Staraptor exploited, Endeavoring to twist around and knock her down.

  As she fell, Athena had the presence of mind to whip Staraptor one last time, this blow striking at just the right point to cause his body to seize up. Paralysis! Nice. That thought didn’t last long however, as Larry tossed his own Tera Orb above his Staraptor. “Just a little bit longer till the shift is over, so give it your best Facade!”

  The transformation gave his Ace enough control back that when Staraptor broke out of the crystallization, they moved relatively freely (while still clearly under Paralysis) to smash into Athena. The unexpectedly powerful blow got a gasp, then a groan, from her as the Terastalization around her shattered.

  “Larry! Larry! Larry!” The crowd started cheering uproariously for him. The Gym Leader blinked, unused to such praise. Or at least being so vocal about it; I don’t doubt that everyone here likes him, but this restaurant has a quiet atmosphere to it.

  “That was awesome, well-timed,” I complimented him before recalling Athena. “And you did great too. Don’t worry, it’s time for your boyfriend to avenge you.” I was sure if she were conscious, she would have angrily denied both that Dun was her boyfriend (despite how close the two of them had been getting), nor that she needed ‘avenging’ (which was kind of fair; after all the damage she’d done, Staraptor was looking to be on his last wings).

  Dun looked fairly battered, bruised, and bloody, but I knew how deceptive that was in regard to how fit he was to battle. Something Dun made clear to everyone with an immediate Hyper Voice upon being released. Larry’s Pokemon twisted back from the pain, his head twisting back in a way that felt like it should be unbalancing given the massive Tera ‘jewel’ above him, but didn’t hinder the Staraptor at all.

  Recovering, Staraptor dived down at Dun with a powerful Facade. The Paralysis made the Move much more devastating but couldn’t prevent how much it still slowed the bird down, giving Dun and me time to react. And we’ve got plenty of power too. “Last Resort!”

  With a star-shaped burst of energy, Dun shot up to meet the Gym Leader’s Ace, the two colliding and then falling down. My Pokemon quickly righted himself, breathing hard but ready to carry on the fight. Staraptor, for his part, tried to do the same but squawked, one of his wings broken. Ouch, that’s nasty, but a trip to the Pokemon Center and a few days’ rest should take care of it.

  Assuming he didn’t fight further, which he didn’t, as Larry recalled his Pokemon. He whispered some words of encouragement to the Pokeball his Ace was in as the chef/referee announced, “Larry has withdrawn his final Pokemon. Nemona Glitterati is the winner!”

  Cheers went up from the crowd, and I ran forward to hug Dun. “We did it! You did it! Our eighth Gym victory!”

  “Dun Dun! Sparce!” My starter cheered, happily rolling on top of me. Oof. And eww, this shirt is probably ruined from the blood on it. I couldn’t be upset with Dun for that, still too happy about our victory. As Larry walked over to us, I managed to get Dun to roll off me, my Starter already Roosting to recover.

  He held a hand out for me to shake before seeing the state of my own and slowly retracting it. “Congratulations. You did well.”

  “Thank you! You too. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get your Dudunsparce to use Boomburst? We’ve been trying for ages, and Dun has Hyper Voice down pat, but that Move just hasn’t been clicking for us.” I scratched the top of Dun’s head, which he leaned into.

  “Hmm, that Move is a bit tricky; it isn’t like most sound-based attacks. It’s less about the amount of noise than it is the sudden exhalation of air,” the Gym Leader advised. “Try to get all of his segments and head working in concert, and you should be fine.” There were general limits towards learning Moves if a Pokemon wasn’t strong enough, but given our performance here, Dun’s strength clearly wasn’t in doubt.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to work…”

  “Wait!” I called out as he started to turn away. “Just one last question: mind telling me why you didn’t give me a Gym Trial?” I risked asking, now that the battle was won and my final Gym Badge was in hand.

  Larry blinked slowly. “You… didn’t? Usually the trial is to find clues scattered around town to find the Eatery, with directions to them placed by the League staff at the Gym Building.”

  Laughing, I said, “No, I actually skipped over it. A deep dive online determined it was your favorite place, and I knew I’d be arriving about lunchtime, so I figured it would be a safe bet to head there first to try this done fast.”

  He gave me a level look and said, “Don’t push yourself too hard. Burnout is a real risk, no matter what task you take.”

  I stared incredulously at him. Really? With how perpetually tired you look, I hardly think you’re the one to have anything to say about that. Rather than say that, I bit my tongue and thought about the words and the situation for a moment. Then again, maybe I should just take it as him speaking from experience.

  “I… appreciate the advice. And it won’t be much longer now, and I’ll be able to really take a break. But for the moment, it’s crunch time. Just gotta push through.” Larry nodded and offered me a handkerchief to wipe off my hand, and then we shook.

  With this, I’ve completed the Gym Challenge. Next step, the Elite Four and Miguel. Then? Turo.

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Athena' (Lucario, Mega-Evolveable, Female, Fighting/Steel)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Bahamut' (Haxorus, Male, Shiny, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Radiance' (Iron Moth, Genderless, Fire/Poison)

  - Tera Type: ???

  - Held Item: None

  - Ability: Quark Drive

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves