Chapter 53
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Skyfyre
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Brassius sent out a message calling for the Gym staff to come and officiate our match. They likely got the word out as well, given the large crowd gathering all around, but they were hardly the only ones.
My sister waved at me from a large group of Uva students that she was directing towards the arena. "Show him what you're made of Nims!" She shouted at me, and I smiled. Guess she got tired of the people online disparaging me.
I directed Miles to go and drop the phone off with her before floating back without an object to possess. That picked up a few whispers from the crowd, the students especially wondering if I was 'giving away my strategy'. I snorted.
Hardly. Brassius knows everything Hassel does, at the least. But we've got a few new tricks that neither of them have seen yet. Having Cyan around is handy for recording my match, but I'll probably need a permanent solution to that. Maybe I could ask the Gym staff next time?
When the crowd had gathered to the fullest extent they could on the massive circular platform the arena rested on. It was far smaller than Alfornada's, however, and with space to walk underneath it - no secret vaults here! I could hear and see others gathered around the outside as well, peering in. Many people were recording the match, and from what I could hear, some people below that couldn't see it were watching the streams from those above.
Brassius saw the staff taking their places and moved off to his own side. "Sorry you don't get to jump down from the windmill to dramatically start our match off." I said to him, too low to be heard by the crowd.
He smirked. "A shame, but my knees thank you for it." Then he walked over to the other side, his demeanor becoming serious. I opened my bag for Miles to possess the right Form.
The referee cleared their throat, holding up a microphone. "This will be a six-on-six match with up to four switches allowed for each Trainer. Battle Items and an Enhancement effect are allowed." That set off some whispers and excited discussion amongst the crowd. Four switches is a fair amount, usually reserved for the longest and toughest matches. Some people might have known about me online, but for a lot of the festival goers, this would just seem like a match for the start of the Treasure Hunt season.
"Gym Leader, Challenger, are you ready to begin?" Brassius raised a Pokeball off of his belt while I pulled Miles in Boombox form out of my bag. Miles took to the field, the sleek black boombox floating in the air, surrounded by a gray plasmic field, out of which extended two thin limbs. The 'hands' of the limbs were actually slightly asymmetrical, the right a disc with a hole in the center, while the left was rectangular with two holes spaced evenly from each other around the middle. CD and cassette player modes.
The referee glanced at Brassius, looking to see if he wanted to change his Pokemon out before he would release it. The Gym Leader frowned, staring intently at the unusual Rotom Form before shaking his head. He probably had a solid starter ready to deal with most anything I could throw at him, so they'll be just as good at dealing with a Rotom Form no one's ever seen before.
The referee gave the signal for Brassius to send out his Pokemon, and the man released a tall, thin Pokemon. She had two legs sticking out from a bark-like slim 'skirt' that led up to their leafy upper half. The leaves covered her long, outstretched arms and chest, as well as the top of her head, leaving only her round, pale face bare. Along her arms were several dark olives, and peeking out amidst the foliage on her right arm, I spotted a yellow berry peeking out.
Sitrus Berry. I'm sure she has Seed Sower, but could Brassius have trained her to have Harvest as well? That'll be a problem if she does. Arboliva is bulky enough and could outgrind us.
"Are both Trainers ready?" The referee asked, and we both nodded, the crowd's excited chattering dying down as everyone watched in eager anticipation. "Then we will start the battle in three, two, one… begin!"
"Thunder Wave," was my first command. He's expecting some big attack from the start, I'm sure.
My assumption was correct, as he called out "Mirror Co- Safeguard!" His attempt to course correct came too late, the thin bolts of electricity covering the Olive Pokemon before the Safeguard could come up. Arboliva twitched, Paralyzed by Miles' attack, and dropped some olives off her arms in response, which seeded the ground, spreading out in a lightly glowing green field around the arena.
"Hyper Voice, strafe." Miles zipped around, already capable of moving much faster than the Grass Type, now easily able to stay behind her, blasting her with powerful soundwaves. Wow, that's strong. Having a Life Orb and the Normal Type lets him do tons of damage. Wait, that's not just random noise; that's my music they're playing!
Indeed, Miles was playing 'Megalovania' from their boombox body, cranked up to eleven. The barrier made the sound less damaging for the audience, and I saw a few of them bobbing their heads along to the beat.
Brassius wasn't going to just sit back and let us defeat him, however. "Fill the air with beauty, Petal Dance!" Raising her arms up, she spun around, petals flaking off of her and spinning around, then regrowing and flying off again.
Miles was able to stay ahead of her but couldn't avoid the attack as it started to fill the entire arena. "Discharge!" A burst of lightning erupted all around them, frying the petals before they could touch them. The Electric Type attack did little damage to Arboliva as it reached her, but it protected Miles.
She tried to continue the attack but faltered, her body seizing up. "Hyper Voice!" I shouted, seeing our opening to lay more damage on her. She flailed about, waving her long arms around wildly, Confused. Despite that, I could see vines growing off her arms, carrying the Sitrus berry towards her mouth.
"Trick!" Miles' eyes flashed, and then the Sitrus berry Arboliva had been carrying to her mouth was replaced with the hard Life Orb that Miles had concealed in their body. Pulling the berry out of their cassette slot, Miles quickly chomped down on it with their plasmic mouth, healing almost all the fatigue the Life Orb had cost them so far.
Brassius frowned for a second before a delighted look took his face. "Clever use of my item, but I can make grand use of your gift as well. Terrain Pulse!" Any confusion that had hampered her snapped as she drew energy up from the terrain she had created. The orange ring in the reddish Life Orb glowed in Arboliva's grip as they unleashed a massive blast with the gathered energy.
Miles gave a grunt as they were knocked to the side. Damn, that hit hard. But we still need a little time till Safeguard ends. "Protect," I called out as they tried to fire out another blast, the beam of green energy deflecting harmlessly off of the barrier Miles had conjured around themselves.
Despite the terrain, which was boosting her attack and also rejuvenating her, it wasn't enough to keep up with the damage I'd already dealt, not by far. The Life Orb was also draining her with each attack. Something Brassius was keenly aware of as he switched tactics.
"Synthesis," his voice carried out over the field at the same time as the transparent shield that had been protecting Arboliva flashed out of existence.
Here's our opening! "Get in close!" I cried, the signal for Miles to use the new signature Move of this form. Speakers beating out music once again, Miles switched to a different tune, playing 'Oh the Places You'll Go,' this time.
Arboliva swayed back and forth before collapsing on the ground, asleep. Brassius gaped, looking shocked. "They know Sing?!" The Life Orb slipped out of her grip, and Miles scooped it back up.
"That's right! Now, Nasty Plot." The track changed again, playing 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid.'" Right, we didn't make a full song of that one, but we did do some recordings before deciding it wouldn't fit in the first album.
"Switch!" Brassius shouted, recalling his Pokemon and forcing Miles to stop their Move while Brassius chose a replacement. He's got fast reactions, I'll give him that. Miles probably only got off enough for an extra quarter increase in power from the Nasty Plot, when if they had been able to fully use the Move, they would have been twice as strong.
"What artful tactics! But the greatest of art breeds… imitation! Go, Breloom, Spore!" He called out as he released the bipedal mushroom Pokemon. Underneath their mushroom cap head, he had avian-like features with a beak-like nose. His pale neck led to a green body with powerful legs and short arms, two red claws on each limb.
The Breloom's long tail was the most noticeable feature, however. Mostly because he shook it back and forth, and from the green clover-looking end, spores started drifting across the field.
"Killjoys, make some noise!" Miles repeated those lyrics, but far louder, making a racket with Uproar. The sound was so loud that even as the Spores hit them and Miles' eyes started to droop, they couldn't fall asleep, their own sound jolting them awake.
It was far worse for Breloom, the Grass Type screeching in pain as the attack hit them hard. "Mach Punch!" Brassius shouted over the din, and I barely had time to wince before he had rocketed forward, slamming a claw into Miles with a screeching sound that came from the metal being dented and not Miles' music.
They didn't stop, however, continuing to blast out those tunes at Breloom, doing significant damage. Something my opposite noticed as well. "Those sound Moves, all so strong, and Mach Punch doing so much damage… Your Rotom Form is a Normal Type!"
I slipped my right hand into my Tera Orb case, tightening my grip. Yeah, he figured it out quickly. Miles is stuck in Uproar mode, so they won't be able to block your next move. The question is, how much do you commit from this discovery?
"Close Combat!" There we go. Capitalizing on a weakness you found was a major part of being a good Trainer. It was something you had to be careful about, however, as sometimes the discovered weakness… turned out to be a trap.
"Dazzle with electrifying power, Terastalize!" I chanted as I tossed the Tera Orb above Miles' body. It burst open, forming that glowing Tera symbol in the air for a scant second, then making a pillar of crystals around them.
Breloom smashed through, kicking, punching, and even swinging his tail through the crystal to hit Miles. To little effect, as they emerged with the lightbulb Tera 'hat' above their head, the powerful Move did only as much damage as Mach Punch had done before.
Staying in close only left the Breloom more open for the Uproar to blast into him. With one last screech of sound, the enemy was literally knocked off his feet by the attack, falling unconscious. I was actively protecting my ears with Aura, as well as the barrier diminishing the sound coming my way, so I could still hear the crowd cheer wildly as they saw me score my first knockout.
Brassius furrowed his thin eyebrows in concentration. "It appears I'll need to spice this work up; go Scovillain!"
His latest Pokemon was a bit shorter than the others, just under a meter tall. They had a solid bipedal dark green body with two thick legs and two fingerless hands on the ends of their short arms. The most distinctive feature though was their two heads, one red and on a lighter green than the body, each vaguely pepper-shaped.
Scovillain, Scovillain… It's a Paldean native Pokemon, makes sense he'd have it. Grass/Fire Typing covers a lot of weaknesses, what else- Insomnia. He's prepared for my Sleep attempts, and I can't Burn him either.
Brassius started the latest bout off, shouting, "Sunny Day!" The red head tilted back, mouth facing skyward, gathering a glowing ball of light in it that would serve as a miniature sun.
Seeing his Move, I decided to try buffing up as well. However, no sooner had I called out "Nasty Plot," did Brassius' Pokemon react, the second head spitting out a cluster of spices that got caught in Miles' body, aggravating them. What Move was that? Some kind of debuff, probably. At least the irritation sped up Nasty Plot.
Scovillain had released the sun up above them and started racing towards Miles, their speed obviously boosted from the sunlight. With a lunge, they jumped, snapping at Miles with one head, just barely missing as my Pokemon dodged out of the way, blasting them with a Hyper Voice on their way out.
Nice try, but Miles is the fastest out of all my Pokemon and second only in overall strength to Dun. Even the sun boost won't be enough.
"Bullet Seed, Flamethrower!" Brassius called out, quickly but still calm and unworried. His Pokemon angrily stomped the ground as the two heads tried shooting him down with seeds and fire. This time, the attacks came much faster, and the long necks let the Scovillain heads cut off angles of escape. What? But there were no other boosting Moves used, why did Scovillain get so much faster- Ah, I can't worry about that; I just gotta deal with it.
"Volt Switch!" Miles flew down at our enemy, a ring of electricity encircling them as they struck the Grass Type. Curving around, they narrowly avoided the attacks from the Scovillain and zipped back to me as I returned them to their Pokeball.
"Nemona has used her first switch! Challenger Nemona, please choose your next Pokemon!" I bit my lip as the referee talked, weighing my options.
Nightwing is fast, can probably at least match the Scovillain for speed while the sun is up, but not this even faster speed they have right now. She won't resist their Moves either, and her best Flying attack is Acrobatics, which means either ditching the Toxic Orb too early or trying to draw things out for time. No, not with their dual attacks and speed. If I can't go fast then...
"I'll go slow," I muttered, and Brassius turned, cupping an ear to try and hear me. "Ah, nevermind, I said, I choose you, Notch!" Pressing the button on their ball, I sent Notch out onto the field.
"Bullet Seed!/Reflect." We both called out. A few of the bullets shattered against Notch's rocky frame, chipping away at them but didn't do too much damage before Notch could raise a barrier.
"Even the harshest critic can be worn down with enough persistence - and coming at a piece from a different angle! Solar Beam!"
"Light Screen," I ordered, a smile growing across my face. I thought so! Each head has to use a different Type, he can't just double down on attacking power. I'm betting he's holding off on the Fire Moves to give the red head a chance to recover and regain strength.
Pokemon were magnificent, versatile creatures, but even those best designed to do so had difficulties using more than one Move at a time. At least while keeping the strength of all the Moves up. I'm sure Dun or Riolu could do three or even four Moves at once, but they'd all be really bad versions of each. Usually just better to focus.
With the sunlight shining brightly, Brassius fired off a Solar Beam quickly, digging in and cutting a small gouge into my Rock Type. Despite the super-effective blow, Notch held on, conjuring another barrier around themselves.
The Gym Leader clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed by my sudden shift to a defensive strategy. "Run around, Flamethrower."
"Power Gem, blast him!" Notch did their best, firing the Rock energy beams all around the arena, but Scovillain whirled around, too fast to be hit. Even as they tried to predict where the Fire Type was headed, Scovillain was able to react in time and dodge them.
The head that wasn't spitting fire at my Pokemon was laughing maniacally at our failed attempts. The flames themselves hardly hurt Notch, given their superior defenses, Type advantage, and barriers, but also cost Brassius nothing to do.
"Trick Room." There isn't any point trying to hide or conceal this Move; it takes too long and is too obvious for anyone skilled not to see it coming. The question is if he has any answers to deal with this.
The answer was that he did, and it was to stop using Scovillain. "Switch," he said, returning his Pokemon. He sent out his next one almost immediately, his Arboliva once more taking her place on the field. In this case, that place was lying on the ground, still asleep as Trick Room finished setting up around them.
Sometimes, Pokemon would wake up in their balls and be ready to hit the ground running when sent back out, but most of the time, situations like this happened where the Pokemon remained just as asleep as they had been before being put in their ball. A consequence of their design; they're meant to be comforting by nature and only sense outside stimuli if they put effort into doing so.
"Nice try," I said to Brassius before giving Notch their next command. "Stealth Rocks." There, that should give a bit of chip damage to all of Brassius' Pokemon and an especially nasty hit when he puts Scorvillain back in.
After the rocks were scattered about, I called, "Body Press." Carbink flew high above in the air, twirling as they slammed themselves down towards Arboliva. Unfortunately, our downed foe woke up at the last moment, and with the speed of Trick Room in their favor, narrowly rolled out of the way.
"Petal Blizzard!" Hmm, no Solar Beam while the sun remains up? His Pokemon are strong, but I guess he hasn't had the time to train them in a wide variety of Moves while pushing them to this level.
Opting to take the hit rather than go for a more defensive option I said, "Psychic, hold her in place!" The leaves she was flinging around cut into Notch, doing significant damage, even with the barrier from Reflect. Damn, she hits harder than I thought.
Notch lifted her slightly off the ground and held her in place, telekinetically squeezing her. It might have stopped a lesser Pokemon from completing their Move, but the Arboliva was able to command the leaves to continue firing off her arms and into Notch, even as they were held still. Holding her up did give us an opportunity that neither of us was going to waste.
"Body Press!" Notch threw themselves once more at the Arboliva, and this time she was unable to dodge in mid-air. They had to drop the Psychic to use the Fighting Type Move, but just as Arboliva touched the ground, Notch crashed into her.
The blow drove the olive Pokemon into the ground, leaving a small crater from the impact and knocking her out. As she fell unconscious, a few olives rolled off and seeded themselves around the arena, renewing the Grassy Terrain that had long since faded away at some point.
The next Pokemon Brassius sent out was his ace, Sudowoodo. The crowd cheered wildly upon seeing the Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon, especially the locals. There aren't many obvious differences between this one and the ones he uses for lesser matches, but looking closely, I can see the chips in his skin that look like bark ridges, the way he holds himself. This one is strong.
The fact that he didn't flinch as the rocks hidden around the arena pelted into him. This Sudowoodo also had a small gray stone hanging off a cord around his neck. Hard Stone, boost the power of Rock Type Moves. Something that Brassius put to good use right away with, "Head Smash" as his first command.
Charging in a reckless headbutt at Notch, he was moving faster than my Pokemon could react to with most Moves. "Protect!" Was faster, though, and able to shield them from an attack that made a shockwave when his twig-looking antenna smacked into the honeycomb barrier Notch had made.
No recoil for Sudowoodo either; must have whats-it-name Ability that stops that. Probably Sturdy too, from how tough he looks. "Body Press," I tried, hoping we could squish the Rock Type, or at least force out his Terastalization. Instead, they dodged out of the way, and as Brassius swung his arm out, Sudowoodo did the same, catching Notch in a heavy blow with his whole body behind it.
As they continued to dart around, now moving even faster, I was sure the Move they had used was Hammer Arm. Ok, decently clever to use my Trick Room against me, but the thing is, I set it up. And I can...
"Shut it down." The arena began to glow again as Sudowoodo built up more space for another charge towards Notch. Brassius' eyes darted looking for some method to try and deal with it, and for a second he was lost.
He wasn't a Gym Leader for nothing, however, and quickly recovered to at least stay the course. "Smash through the block before you!" Sudowoodo made an odd 'X' motion with his hand before charging ahead to smash into the Notch, this time the blow connecting solidly as the distorted dimensions returned to normal.
They gave a whimper as they spun through the air, falling to the ground... before just catching themself, barely holding on. Brassius's gaunt eyes bulged a little, seeing all the punishment Notch had taken and kept on fighting. Those barriers helped a ton, but part of it is just Notch's natural toughness. It takes a ton to put them down.
Sudowoodo raised an arm to try and smash into Notch, only to be blasted aside by a Power Gem. "Body Press!" I cried viciously, the speed advantage firmly in Notch's favor now. Spinning around Sudowoodo, they rose, ready to crash down on them.
"Substitute!" Brassius ordered, his hand going for his Pokeball. Sudowoodo split, making a copy at the last moment to absorb the blow for him, the fake getting pounded to smithereens by Notch. Before we could make any more attempts, the Gym Leader used his penultimate switch, recalling Sudowoodo.
"Show the beauty of nature, Lilligant!" Brassius' next Pokemon was, expectedly, Lilligant. She was a squat, flowery creature, with leaves for arms and legs, with an orange flower blooming slightly askew on her head, akin to a hat.
The Stealth Rocks once again rose up to smack into her, but Brassius was ready, immediately calling out "Petal Blizzard!" The stones struck into her, causing some damage; however, as they bounced off, looking to hide among the field once more, her petals struck out. The Grass attack blasted the rocks away - a clever method of removing my field hazard.
"Moonblast," I tried, hoping to use the opening provided by her being caught up in removing the hazard. However, she snapped out of the attention-consuming Move at Brassius' next command.
"Grassy Glide!" Zipping across the slowly fading grassy field, she struck Notch, knocking them down before they could finish the Move. That same terrain had slowly helped my Pokemon recover from some of the injuries they had taken, enough that with the Reflect just now slowly fading out of existence, they were able to hang on.
Finishing their Move, a giant blast of pink light crashed into the Lilligant, blasting her backward. In response, the Gym Leader called out "Giga Drain!"
Dashing forward, I caught the glimpse of a root object hanging from around her neck, underneath the yellow petal ring just below her head. Arms gripping deceptively gently onto Notch, she started draining their energy, the Carbink shaking and struggling before their ears drooped and they fell to the ground, defeated.
"You did good out there," I told Notch as I recalled them. "Alright, let's get back in there, Miles!" The return of my Rotom (and the music, Live and Learn filling the arena) got some whoops and cheers from the crowd. Underneath their noise, I could hear the buzz of electricity, Miles' Terastalization still going strong.
"Quiver Dance," Brassius tried, hoping to get a quick buff off.
"Slow her down, Thunder Wave!" Miles was faster than her, though, and easily able to shock her before she could complete her dance. Though the motions were less graceful and elegant, on shaking limbs she managed to execute the Move.
Her Special Defense is up now; just trying to blast her would be a slog. I really wish I could use Confuse Wisp, but she'll be immune to half of it, better save that card for later. "Sing a pleasant tune for the lady, will ya?" I mockingly asked.
As Miles swooped in, playing 'Eat Your Young,' Brassius started furiously cracking his whip. "Ignore it! Petal Blizzard!"
His Pokemon tried hard to follow his commands, but as she danced and threw petals all around, her eyelids started to flicker. At one point in her twirling, her limbs seized, and she fell to the ground. Trying to get up, she shot a few more sharp petals into Miles but couldn't muster the energy to stay awake, slumping to the ground, asleep.
"Switch," Brassius called out, swapping her away before she could be blasted into defeat. Or more likely, reading my intentions and knowing we would have gone for major setup there if he let us.
Without fanfare, he tossed his ace back into the fray. Sudowoodo makes a tempting target here for Thunder, making the most of our Terastalization but he'll just Terastalize in response... though maybe I should do that anyway? Yeah, best to get his Terastalization out of the way now when it won't be super effective against us. Plus, I can use him going Grass Type against him as well.
Thinking quickly, I called "Thunder!" At the same time, I pulled out some Pokeballs, getting ready for my latest ploy.
Brassius was making his own plans, tossing his Tera Orb out high above the Rock Type, even as he was running towards Miles. "I hope this work can live up to your expectations, Nemona. Be reimagined as Truelewoodo!"
Bursting out of the crystals that had surrounded him at the same time as he was struck by the Thunder, Brassius' ace continued his charge at my Pokemon. Raising an arm for a powerful Wood Hammer, I called on my switch.
"Switch! Go, Rotwo!" I then recalled Miles and waited a moment to send out Phantasm, giving her time to prepare the illusion. Appearing like another copy of Miles, down to the same Rotom Form, she stepped onto the stage (though the illusion floated a meter or so above where she actually stood).
The audience was muttering something fierce while Brassius looked shocked. Guess he hasn't heard about her from Kathy then. "Rotwo, make some noise!" She made the plasmic eyes gleam as her Hyper Voice screeched across the field, eliciting a wince from our foe.
Glad I didn't try and pull a fast one to make it look like it was still Miles on the field. I'd have to have used an extra switch and some sleight of hand to pull that off, and the trick would have failed as soon as she did that. She's got a good handle on the Move, but she can't weave in song lyrics to it naturally like Miles can, not yet at least.
"Art can often be a race against the clock; let us see if you can keep up with this new pace! Trailblaze!" Sudowoodo dashed across the field, surrounded in a glowing green energy. The attack passed through the illusion above, but Sudowoodo's stumpy legs still kicked Phantasm as he went by, tripping slightly.
She was able to hold on to the illusion, thankfully, but I was pretty sure the next hit they landed would undo it. Sudowoodo is staring suspiciously at the ground as it is. "Hex" was our codeword for Bitter Malice, which Phantasm used, surrounding the Sudowoodo with dark tendrils, sapping at his strength.
"Rock Head!" Was Brassius' next command, and I readied to tell Phantasm to 'dodge it,' only for the words to die on my tongue as I saw Sudowoodo stop. Rather than follow his trainer, Sudowoodo shook his head vigorously, waving at the ground with branch-like hands.
He's on to us! "Hex Hex Hex!" I cried, hoping to get some debuffs and damage while we could. Phantasm trains hard, but she just has so much less experience than the rest of my team. If a Gym Leader sees through our tricks... well, I won't say that she doesn't have a chance, but it'll be a miracle for her to pull through.
The Gym Leader quickly changed tactics. "Rock Slide, wide spread!" Even as the Bitter Malice assaulted him, Sudowoodo hefted a large stone out of the ground, chucking it in the air above Phantasm. It cracked there, splitting into several large chunks that rained down on her.
She gave a yip of pain as she was knocked to the side, one of the rocks clipping her back left leg. My Pokemon also became clearly visible to all, the illusion breaking from pain.
There was a moment of stunned silence from the crowd before jubilant cheers and delighted cooing over erupted from the gathered audience. My opposite looked surprised for a second before grinning. "What a delightful surprise, a new coat of paint on an existing masterpiece!" Then, as if as an afterthought to his artistic appreciation, he told his Sudowoodo, "Hammer Arm."
I smirked as the hot-dog-tree-looking Pokemon waddled up, arm raised high. Right! He doesn't know about her Typing yet; he's treating her like a regular Zorua! "Yours is the hatred that burns! Bitter Malice!"
It felt nice, for some reason, to call the Move out by its proper name. I suspected that Phantasm felt the same way, as this time the Distorted tendrils that wrapped around Sudowoodo's body practically engulfed him completely. That or she's upset about the Rock Slide.
Brassius' Pokemon managed to push through the attack and still swing his arm down at her, only for it to pass right through. "A Ghost Type?!" Brassius shouted, shocked.
"Haha, that's right!" Just not the full story. "Now-"
"Copycat!" Was his reaction. Oh wow, forgot that Sudowoodo learned that Move.
Bitter Malice surrounded my Pokemon, doing absolutely nothing. "Show him how it's done!" Phantasm gave a happy cry as she once again tormented the Gym Leader's ace, sapping his strength and life further. The Tera Grass Pokemon fell to the ground before, nearly defeated.
"Sucker Punch." Or not, I thought as the Sudowoodo lashed out, punching Phantasm with a Dark Type attack that sent my Pokemon reeling back. Even after all that, he can still hurt her that much? I get that she's on the frail side, and it was Super Effective, but still. I guess that goes to show how strong a Gym Leader's top Pokemon can be.
Sudowoodo straightened back up, and I prepared to call her back, thinking that Phantasm wouldn't be able to finish him off. Then, as she angrily pushed herself back to her feet, she started glowing.
It felt like the entire arena drew in a sharp breath as one, then all of us gasped as we saw her evolve. Even knowing what was coming, it was still a sight for me to behold as well. She started by growing so much taller and larger, her body still a silhouette surrounded by the light she exuded. Phantasm shifted to a more humanoid form, standing on two legs and growing short, sharp claws on the ends of her hands and feet. As the light faded, some more details could be made out, like a few red bumps covering arms and legs as well. Her eyes became yellow with red pupils, but the most drastic change was to her mane, the fur growing and becoming truly wild and far more red, covering one half of her face completely.
"Zoroark!" She triumphantly shouted, racing towards Sudowoodo. For his part, he tried to Sucker Punch her but hit only air as she ran past him, cutting a deep gouge into him with her claws. And illusion? No, she's just that much faster now!
"Hyper Voice!" I shouted, and she shouted louder, her voice shaking the arena. The sound crashed into Sudowoodo and knocked him off his feet. He flopped towards Brassius, his Terastalization shattering as he fell unconscious.
"Ha! You did it! Great job- wait, stop." I said as I noticed Phantasm stalking towards her fallen foe. She ignored me, continuing towards him until I said louder. "Stop!" Whirling around to face me, I saw hatred burning in her yellow eye. Part of me wanted to flinch, to set my shoulders up as fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, but I pushed those all aside, remembering the adorable little kit I had taken in a few months ago.
"Stop it, you've won." I said softly, but no less firm. The hatred dimmed in her eye as recognition took hold, and she looked ashamed of herself. She's still the same Phantasm as she was before; she just has some things to work out in regards to her new instincts.
While that happened, Brassius recalled his Sudowoodo, sending the last Pokemon I had yet to see on his team, Tsareena. She had three long green petal-like strands flowing off the top of her head down behind her and very long, dangerous-looking legs.
Rather than risking anything starting, I called "Switch!" Returning Phantasm to her ball. Before I put it away though, I whispered to her in the Pokeball, "You did great out there, I'm proud of you."
In a louder voice, I said, "Miles, I choose you!" Throwing his ball out on the field, they popped out (and I barely managed to catch the Pokeball as it came back, fumbling it in my hands).
"Make majestic art, Trop Kick!" Without hesitation, she jumped up, trying to land a heavy kick down upon Miles' head. Impressive; most Tsareena would think that Miles was a Steel Type from their appearance, and they can get prickly about Trainers telling them to use ineffective Moves. Of course, as good a bond as they have, they can't beat ours.
I waited, readying myself for as she descended closer before shouting "Foul Play!" Miles responded before I'd finished saying the second word, spinning around mid-air around the blow, then up around and hitting her on top of her head with one end of their boombox body, driving her down to the ground.
"Hyper Voice!" My order came fast, not wanting to let up here. They cranked up 'I Beg to Differ' and hit her hard with the attack.
Miles was floating well out of reach from her, wary of a counterattack, but she surprised us by turning around at her Trainer's order of "Power Whip!" Lashing her 'hair' out to an insane length, it whistled by my Pokemon, Miles just barely dodging.
It can be hard to spot with the appliance bodies Rotoms possess and all, but the glow around Miles is growing dimmer. They can't last much longer. Part of that was just due to the Life Orb they carried, making them hit so much harder but draining their own energy each time they attacked. "Let's end this," I said solemnly. "Hit it as loud as you can!"
They complied eagerly, diving down and turning up the volume as high as they could, attempting to blast Tsareena into submission.
I saw Brassius mouth 'Trop Kick' rather than heard the words over the din Miles was making. She was able to see him and follow through though, landing a powerful kick that cracked almost straight through their new boombox body. Miles dipped in the air, and while the system was too damaged to make music at the moment, they let out a screech that ripped through the air, taking Tsareena out.
That was their last Move, however, as their body continued to sink to the ground, even Levitate slowly failing them as they fell unconscious. Recalling them, I said, "That was magnificent, you did great out there."
Then, before the referee could announce who had to send out their Pokemon next (which would usually be Brassius), I pulled out Dun's Pokeball, releasing him. "Wow, that was great! You've been the first person to get me down to my fourth Pokemon so far."
He let out a chuckle of his own. "And I can see that dear ol' Hass was not downplaying your strength in the slightest either." That earned a few excited whispers, at least from the members of the crowd who realized that he was talking about a member of the Elite Four.
The artistic man sent Scovillain into the fray once more. He was still injured from the previous bouts but raring to go as he saw Dun. "Flamethrower, Bullet Seed!"
Two Moves huh? Let's match him! "Ancient Power, Air Slash!" While even Dun couldn't do the two Moves at full power simultaneously, he was able to fire the rocks at Scovillain quickly and then switch Type energies immediately to flap scythes of wind through the air at our foe before the rocks even met Scovillain's attack.
Ancient Power pushed through the Flamethrower, getting deflected by the high-velocity seeds that cracked into them. That only cleared the way for his Air Slash to cut into the Grass Type. Combined with his other injuries, the Scovillain fell quickly, leaving Brassius down to his last Pokemon.
"Liligant, wake up!" He puts his all into the fight even when backed into a corner like this, that's admirable. Brassius' desperate plea worked, and his Pokemon blearily opened her eyes as she was released onto the field. Not that it will save her.
"Hurricane!" Dun started slithering around her, whipping the air into a frenzy. She tried to use Petal Blizzard, and to her credit, the petals were amplified by the whirling winds. While less accurate, the ones that did hit cut deep into Dun. He just grunted with the blows though, easily tanking the attack as she was buffeted around by the wind and carried up into the air.
"Finish this, Hyper Drill!" Lifting up and flying through the updraft he made, Dun spiraled through the air towards the helpless Liligant stuck there. She sent a barrage of petals at him, all ground to mulch by his spinning drill tail before it connected with her, striking her down.
As they both landed down, the referee said, "Gym Leader Brassius has no more useable Pokemon! Challenger Nemona is the winner!"
My sister waved at me from a large group of Uva students that she was directing towards the arena. "Show him what you're made of Nims!" She shouted at me, and I smiled. Guess she got tired of the people online disparaging me.
I directed Miles to go and drop the phone off with her before floating back without an object to possess. That picked up a few whispers from the crowd, the students especially wondering if I was 'giving away my strategy'. I snorted.
Hardly. Brassius knows everything Hassel does, at the least. But we've got a few new tricks that neither of them have seen yet. Having Cyan around is handy for recording my match, but I'll probably need a permanent solution to that. Maybe I could ask the Gym staff next time?
When the crowd had gathered to the fullest extent they could on the massive circular platform the arena rested on. It was far smaller than Alfornada's, however, and with space to walk underneath it - no secret vaults here! I could hear and see others gathered around the outside as well, peering in. Many people were recording the match, and from what I could hear, some people below that couldn't see it were watching the streams from those above.
Brassius saw the staff taking their places and moved off to his own side. "Sorry you don't get to jump down from the windmill to dramatically start our match off." I said to him, too low to be heard by the crowd.
He smirked. "A shame, but my knees thank you for it." Then he walked over to the other side, his demeanor becoming serious. I opened my bag for Miles to possess the right Form.
The referee cleared their throat, holding up a microphone. "This will be a six-on-six match with up to four switches allowed for each Trainer. Battle Items and an Enhancement effect are allowed." That set off some whispers and excited discussion amongst the crowd. Four switches is a fair amount, usually reserved for the longest and toughest matches. Some people might have known about me online, but for a lot of the festival goers, this would just seem like a match for the start of the Treasure Hunt season.
"Gym Leader, Challenger, are you ready to begin?" Brassius raised a Pokeball off of his belt while I pulled Miles in Boombox form out of my bag. Miles took to the field, the sleek black boombox floating in the air, surrounded by a gray plasmic field, out of which extended two thin limbs. The 'hands' of the limbs were actually slightly asymmetrical, the right a disc with a hole in the center, while the left was rectangular with two holes spaced evenly from each other around the middle. CD and cassette player modes.
The referee glanced at Brassius, looking to see if he wanted to change his Pokemon out before he would release it. The Gym Leader frowned, staring intently at the unusual Rotom Form before shaking his head. He probably had a solid starter ready to deal with most anything I could throw at him, so they'll be just as good at dealing with a Rotom Form no one's ever seen before.
The referee gave the signal for Brassius to send out his Pokemon, and the man released a tall, thin Pokemon. She had two legs sticking out from a bark-like slim 'skirt' that led up to their leafy upper half. The leaves covered her long, outstretched arms and chest, as well as the top of her head, leaving only her round, pale face bare. Along her arms were several dark olives, and peeking out amidst the foliage on her right arm, I spotted a yellow berry peeking out.
Sitrus Berry. I'm sure she has Seed Sower, but could Brassius have trained her to have Harvest as well? That'll be a problem if she does. Arboliva is bulky enough and could outgrind us.
"Are both Trainers ready?" The referee asked, and we both nodded, the crowd's excited chattering dying down as everyone watched in eager anticipation. "Then we will start the battle in three, two, one… begin!"
"Thunder Wave," was my first command. He's expecting some big attack from the start, I'm sure.
My assumption was correct, as he called out "Mirror Co- Safeguard!" His attempt to course correct came too late, the thin bolts of electricity covering the Olive Pokemon before the Safeguard could come up. Arboliva twitched, Paralyzed by Miles' attack, and dropped some olives off her arms in response, which seeded the ground, spreading out in a lightly glowing green field around the arena.
"Hyper Voice, strafe." Miles zipped around, already capable of moving much faster than the Grass Type, now easily able to stay behind her, blasting her with powerful soundwaves. Wow, that's strong. Having a Life Orb and the Normal Type lets him do tons of damage. Wait, that's not just random noise; that's my music they're playing!
Indeed, Miles was playing 'Megalovania' from their boombox body, cranked up to eleven. The barrier made the sound less damaging for the audience, and I saw a few of them bobbing their heads along to the beat.
Brassius wasn't going to just sit back and let us defeat him, however. "Fill the air with beauty, Petal Dance!" Raising her arms up, she spun around, petals flaking off of her and spinning around, then regrowing and flying off again.
Miles was able to stay ahead of her but couldn't avoid the attack as it started to fill the entire arena. "Discharge!" A burst of lightning erupted all around them, frying the petals before they could touch them. The Electric Type attack did little damage to Arboliva as it reached her, but it protected Miles.
She tried to continue the attack but faltered, her body seizing up. "Hyper Voice!" I shouted, seeing our opening to lay more damage on her. She flailed about, waving her long arms around wildly, Confused. Despite that, I could see vines growing off her arms, carrying the Sitrus berry towards her mouth.
"Trick!" Miles' eyes flashed, and then the Sitrus berry Arboliva had been carrying to her mouth was replaced with the hard Life Orb that Miles had concealed in their body. Pulling the berry out of their cassette slot, Miles quickly chomped down on it with their plasmic mouth, healing almost all the fatigue the Life Orb had cost them so far.
Brassius frowned for a second before a delighted look took his face. "Clever use of my item, but I can make grand use of your gift as well. Terrain Pulse!" Any confusion that had hampered her snapped as she drew energy up from the terrain she had created. The orange ring in the reddish Life Orb glowed in Arboliva's grip as they unleashed a massive blast with the gathered energy.
Miles gave a grunt as they were knocked to the side. Damn, that hit hard. But we still need a little time till Safeguard ends. "Protect," I called out as they tried to fire out another blast, the beam of green energy deflecting harmlessly off of the barrier Miles had conjured around themselves.
Despite the terrain, which was boosting her attack and also rejuvenating her, it wasn't enough to keep up with the damage I'd already dealt, not by far. The Life Orb was also draining her with each attack. Something Brassius was keenly aware of as he switched tactics.
"Synthesis," his voice carried out over the field at the same time as the transparent shield that had been protecting Arboliva flashed out of existence.
Here's our opening! "Get in close!" I cried, the signal for Miles to use the new signature Move of this form. Speakers beating out music once again, Miles switched to a different tune, playing 'Oh the Places You'll Go,' this time.
Arboliva swayed back and forth before collapsing on the ground, asleep. Brassius gaped, looking shocked. "They know Sing?!" The Life Orb slipped out of her grip, and Miles scooped it back up.
"That's right! Now, Nasty Plot." The track changed again, playing 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid.'" Right, we didn't make a full song of that one, but we did do some recordings before deciding it wouldn't fit in the first album.
"Switch!" Brassius shouted, recalling his Pokemon and forcing Miles to stop their Move while Brassius chose a replacement. He's got fast reactions, I'll give him that. Miles probably only got off enough for an extra quarter increase in power from the Nasty Plot, when if they had been able to fully use the Move, they would have been twice as strong.
"What artful tactics! But the greatest of art breeds… imitation! Go, Breloom, Spore!" He called out as he released the bipedal mushroom Pokemon. Underneath their mushroom cap head, he had avian-like features with a beak-like nose. His pale neck led to a green body with powerful legs and short arms, two red claws on each limb.
The Breloom's long tail was the most noticeable feature, however. Mostly because he shook it back and forth, and from the green clover-looking end, spores started drifting across the field.
"Killjoys, make some noise!" Miles repeated those lyrics, but far louder, making a racket with Uproar. The sound was so loud that even as the Spores hit them and Miles' eyes started to droop, they couldn't fall asleep, their own sound jolting them awake.
It was far worse for Breloom, the Grass Type screeching in pain as the attack hit them hard. "Mach Punch!" Brassius shouted over the din, and I barely had time to wince before he had rocketed forward, slamming a claw into Miles with a screeching sound that came from the metal being dented and not Miles' music.
They didn't stop, however, continuing to blast out those tunes at Breloom, doing significant damage. Something my opposite noticed as well. "Those sound Moves, all so strong, and Mach Punch doing so much damage… Your Rotom Form is a Normal Type!"
I slipped my right hand into my Tera Orb case, tightening my grip. Yeah, he figured it out quickly. Miles is stuck in Uproar mode, so they won't be able to block your next move. The question is, how much do you commit from this discovery?
"Close Combat!" There we go. Capitalizing on a weakness you found was a major part of being a good Trainer. It was something you had to be careful about, however, as sometimes the discovered weakness… turned out to be a trap.
"Dazzle with electrifying power, Terastalize!" I chanted as I tossed the Tera Orb above Miles' body. It burst open, forming that glowing Tera symbol in the air for a scant second, then making a pillar of crystals around them.
Breloom smashed through, kicking, punching, and even swinging his tail through the crystal to hit Miles. To little effect, as they emerged with the lightbulb Tera 'hat' above their head, the powerful Move did only as much damage as Mach Punch had done before.
Staying in close only left the Breloom more open for the Uproar to blast into him. With one last screech of sound, the enemy was literally knocked off his feet by the attack, falling unconscious. I was actively protecting my ears with Aura, as well as the barrier diminishing the sound coming my way, so I could still hear the crowd cheer wildly as they saw me score my first knockout.
Brassius furrowed his thin eyebrows in concentration. "It appears I'll need to spice this work up; go Scovillain!"
His latest Pokemon was a bit shorter than the others, just under a meter tall. They had a solid bipedal dark green body with two thick legs and two fingerless hands on the ends of their short arms. The most distinctive feature though was their two heads, one red and on a lighter green than the body, each vaguely pepper-shaped.
Scovillain, Scovillain… It's a Paldean native Pokemon, makes sense he'd have it. Grass/Fire Typing covers a lot of weaknesses, what else- Insomnia. He's prepared for my Sleep attempts, and I can't Burn him either.
Brassius started the latest bout off, shouting, "Sunny Day!" The red head tilted back, mouth facing skyward, gathering a glowing ball of light in it that would serve as a miniature sun.
Seeing his Move, I decided to try buffing up as well. However, no sooner had I called out "Nasty Plot," did Brassius' Pokemon react, the second head spitting out a cluster of spices that got caught in Miles' body, aggravating them. What Move was that? Some kind of debuff, probably. At least the irritation sped up Nasty Plot.
Scovillain had released the sun up above them and started racing towards Miles, their speed obviously boosted from the sunlight. With a lunge, they jumped, snapping at Miles with one head, just barely missing as my Pokemon dodged out of the way, blasting them with a Hyper Voice on their way out.
Nice try, but Miles is the fastest out of all my Pokemon and second only in overall strength to Dun. Even the sun boost won't be enough.
"Bullet Seed, Flamethrower!" Brassius called out, quickly but still calm and unworried. His Pokemon angrily stomped the ground as the two heads tried shooting him down with seeds and fire. This time, the attacks came much faster, and the long necks let the Scovillain heads cut off angles of escape. What? But there were no other boosting Moves used, why did Scovillain get so much faster- Ah, I can't worry about that; I just gotta deal with it.
"Volt Switch!" Miles flew down at our enemy, a ring of electricity encircling them as they struck the Grass Type. Curving around, they narrowly avoided the attacks from the Scovillain and zipped back to me as I returned them to their Pokeball.
"Nemona has used her first switch! Challenger Nemona, please choose your next Pokemon!" I bit my lip as the referee talked, weighing my options.
Nightwing is fast, can probably at least match the Scovillain for speed while the sun is up, but not this even faster speed they have right now. She won't resist their Moves either, and her best Flying attack is Acrobatics, which means either ditching the Toxic Orb too early or trying to draw things out for time. No, not with their dual attacks and speed. If I can't go fast then...
"I'll go slow," I muttered, and Brassius turned, cupping an ear to try and hear me. "Ah, nevermind, I said, I choose you, Notch!" Pressing the button on their ball, I sent Notch out onto the field.
"Bullet Seed!/Reflect." We both called out. A few of the bullets shattered against Notch's rocky frame, chipping away at them but didn't do too much damage before Notch could raise a barrier.
"Even the harshest critic can be worn down with enough persistence - and coming at a piece from a different angle! Solar Beam!"
"Light Screen," I ordered, a smile growing across my face. I thought so! Each head has to use a different Type, he can't just double down on attacking power. I'm betting he's holding off on the Fire Moves to give the red head a chance to recover and regain strength.
Pokemon were magnificent, versatile creatures, but even those best designed to do so had difficulties using more than one Move at a time. At least while keeping the strength of all the Moves up. I'm sure Dun or Riolu could do three or even four Moves at once, but they'd all be really bad versions of each. Usually just better to focus.
With the sunlight shining brightly, Brassius fired off a Solar Beam quickly, digging in and cutting a small gouge into my Rock Type. Despite the super-effective blow, Notch held on, conjuring another barrier around themselves.
The Gym Leader clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed by my sudden shift to a defensive strategy. "Run around, Flamethrower."
"Power Gem, blast him!" Notch did their best, firing the Rock energy beams all around the arena, but Scovillain whirled around, too fast to be hit. Even as they tried to predict where the Fire Type was headed, Scovillain was able to react in time and dodge them.
The head that wasn't spitting fire at my Pokemon was laughing maniacally at our failed attempts. The flames themselves hardly hurt Notch, given their superior defenses, Type advantage, and barriers, but also cost Brassius nothing to do.
"Trick Room." There isn't any point trying to hide or conceal this Move; it takes too long and is too obvious for anyone skilled not to see it coming. The question is if he has any answers to deal with this.
The answer was that he did, and it was to stop using Scovillain. "Switch," he said, returning his Pokemon. He sent out his next one almost immediately, his Arboliva once more taking her place on the field. In this case, that place was lying on the ground, still asleep as Trick Room finished setting up around them.
Sometimes, Pokemon would wake up in their balls and be ready to hit the ground running when sent back out, but most of the time, situations like this happened where the Pokemon remained just as asleep as they had been before being put in their ball. A consequence of their design; they're meant to be comforting by nature and only sense outside stimuli if they put effort into doing so.
"Nice try," I said to Brassius before giving Notch their next command. "Stealth Rocks." There, that should give a bit of chip damage to all of Brassius' Pokemon and an especially nasty hit when he puts Scorvillain back in.
After the rocks were scattered about, I called, "Body Press." Carbink flew high above in the air, twirling as they slammed themselves down towards Arboliva. Unfortunately, our downed foe woke up at the last moment, and with the speed of Trick Room in their favor, narrowly rolled out of the way.
"Petal Blizzard!" Hmm, no Solar Beam while the sun remains up? His Pokemon are strong, but I guess he hasn't had the time to train them in a wide variety of Moves while pushing them to this level.
Opting to take the hit rather than go for a more defensive option I said, "Psychic, hold her in place!" The leaves she was flinging around cut into Notch, doing significant damage, even with the barrier from Reflect. Damn, she hits harder than I thought.
Notch lifted her slightly off the ground and held her in place, telekinetically squeezing her. It might have stopped a lesser Pokemon from completing their Move, but the Arboliva was able to command the leaves to continue firing off her arms and into Notch, even as they were held still. Holding her up did give us an opportunity that neither of us was going to waste.
"Body Press!" Notch threw themselves once more at the Arboliva, and this time she was unable to dodge in mid-air. They had to drop the Psychic to use the Fighting Type Move, but just as Arboliva touched the ground, Notch crashed into her.
The blow drove the olive Pokemon into the ground, leaving a small crater from the impact and knocking her out. As she fell unconscious, a few olives rolled off and seeded themselves around the arena, renewing the Grassy Terrain that had long since faded away at some point.
The next Pokemon Brassius sent out was his ace, Sudowoodo. The crowd cheered wildly upon seeing the Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon, especially the locals. There aren't many obvious differences between this one and the ones he uses for lesser matches, but looking closely, I can see the chips in his skin that look like bark ridges, the way he holds himself. This one is strong.
The fact that he didn't flinch as the rocks hidden around the arena pelted into him. This Sudowoodo also had a small gray stone hanging off a cord around his neck. Hard Stone, boost the power of Rock Type Moves. Something that Brassius put to good use right away with, "Head Smash" as his first command.
Charging in a reckless headbutt at Notch, he was moving faster than my Pokemon could react to with most Moves. "Protect!" Was faster, though, and able to shield them from an attack that made a shockwave when his twig-looking antenna smacked into the honeycomb barrier Notch had made.
No recoil for Sudowoodo either; must have whats-it-name Ability that stops that. Probably Sturdy too, from how tough he looks. "Body Press," I tried, hoping we could squish the Rock Type, or at least force out his Terastalization. Instead, they dodged out of the way, and as Brassius swung his arm out, Sudowoodo did the same, catching Notch in a heavy blow with his whole body behind it.
As they continued to dart around, now moving even faster, I was sure the Move they had used was Hammer Arm. Ok, decently clever to use my Trick Room against me, but the thing is, I set it up. And I can...
"Shut it down." The arena began to glow again as Sudowoodo built up more space for another charge towards Notch. Brassius' eyes darted looking for some method to try and deal with it, and for a second he was lost.
He wasn't a Gym Leader for nothing, however, and quickly recovered to at least stay the course. "Smash through the block before you!" Sudowoodo made an odd 'X' motion with his hand before charging ahead to smash into the Notch, this time the blow connecting solidly as the distorted dimensions returned to normal.
They gave a whimper as they spun through the air, falling to the ground... before just catching themself, barely holding on. Brassius's gaunt eyes bulged a little, seeing all the punishment Notch had taken and kept on fighting. Those barriers helped a ton, but part of it is just Notch's natural toughness. It takes a ton to put them down.
Sudowoodo raised an arm to try and smash into Notch, only to be blasted aside by a Power Gem. "Body Press!" I cried viciously, the speed advantage firmly in Notch's favor now. Spinning around Sudowoodo, they rose, ready to crash down on them.
"Substitute!" Brassius ordered, his hand going for his Pokeball. Sudowoodo split, making a copy at the last moment to absorb the blow for him, the fake getting pounded to smithereens by Notch. Before we could make any more attempts, the Gym Leader used his penultimate switch, recalling Sudowoodo.
"Show the beauty of nature, Lilligant!" Brassius' next Pokemon was, expectedly, Lilligant. She was a squat, flowery creature, with leaves for arms and legs, with an orange flower blooming slightly askew on her head, akin to a hat.
The Stealth Rocks once again rose up to smack into her, but Brassius was ready, immediately calling out "Petal Blizzard!" The stones struck into her, causing some damage; however, as they bounced off, looking to hide among the field once more, her petals struck out. The Grass attack blasted the rocks away - a clever method of removing my field hazard.
"Moonblast," I tried, hoping to use the opening provided by her being caught up in removing the hazard. However, she snapped out of the attention-consuming Move at Brassius' next command.
"Grassy Glide!" Zipping across the slowly fading grassy field, she struck Notch, knocking them down before they could finish the Move. That same terrain had slowly helped my Pokemon recover from some of the injuries they had taken, enough that with the Reflect just now slowly fading out of existence, they were able to hang on.
Finishing their Move, a giant blast of pink light crashed into the Lilligant, blasting her backward. In response, the Gym Leader called out "Giga Drain!"
Dashing forward, I caught the glimpse of a root object hanging from around her neck, underneath the yellow petal ring just below her head. Arms gripping deceptively gently onto Notch, she started draining their energy, the Carbink shaking and struggling before their ears drooped and they fell to the ground, defeated.
"You did good out there," I told Notch as I recalled them. "Alright, let's get back in there, Miles!" The return of my Rotom (and the music, Live and Learn filling the arena) got some whoops and cheers from the crowd. Underneath their noise, I could hear the buzz of electricity, Miles' Terastalization still going strong.
"Quiver Dance," Brassius tried, hoping to get a quick buff off.
"Slow her down, Thunder Wave!" Miles was faster than her, though, and easily able to shock her before she could complete her dance. Though the motions were less graceful and elegant, on shaking limbs she managed to execute the Move.
Her Special Defense is up now; just trying to blast her would be a slog. I really wish I could use Confuse Wisp, but she'll be immune to half of it, better save that card for later. "Sing a pleasant tune for the lady, will ya?" I mockingly asked.
As Miles swooped in, playing 'Eat Your Young,' Brassius started furiously cracking his whip. "Ignore it! Petal Blizzard!"
His Pokemon tried hard to follow his commands, but as she danced and threw petals all around, her eyelids started to flicker. At one point in her twirling, her limbs seized, and she fell to the ground. Trying to get up, she shot a few more sharp petals into Miles but couldn't muster the energy to stay awake, slumping to the ground, asleep.
"Switch," Brassius called out, swapping her away before she could be blasted into defeat. Or more likely, reading my intentions and knowing we would have gone for major setup there if he let us.
Without fanfare, he tossed his ace back into the fray. Sudowoodo makes a tempting target here for Thunder, making the most of our Terastalization but he'll just Terastalize in response... though maybe I should do that anyway? Yeah, best to get his Terastalization out of the way now when it won't be super effective against us. Plus, I can use him going Grass Type against him as well.
Thinking quickly, I called "Thunder!" At the same time, I pulled out some Pokeballs, getting ready for my latest ploy.
Brassius was making his own plans, tossing his Tera Orb out high above the Rock Type, even as he was running towards Miles. "I hope this work can live up to your expectations, Nemona. Be reimagined as Truelewoodo!"
Bursting out of the crystals that had surrounded him at the same time as he was struck by the Thunder, Brassius' ace continued his charge at my Pokemon. Raising an arm for a powerful Wood Hammer, I called on my switch.
"Switch! Go, Rotwo!" I then recalled Miles and waited a moment to send out Phantasm, giving her time to prepare the illusion. Appearing like another copy of Miles, down to the same Rotom Form, she stepped onto the stage (though the illusion floated a meter or so above where she actually stood).
The audience was muttering something fierce while Brassius looked shocked. Guess he hasn't heard about her from Kathy then. "Rotwo, make some noise!" She made the plasmic eyes gleam as her Hyper Voice screeched across the field, eliciting a wince from our foe.
Glad I didn't try and pull a fast one to make it look like it was still Miles on the field. I'd have to have used an extra switch and some sleight of hand to pull that off, and the trick would have failed as soon as she did that. She's got a good handle on the Move, but she can't weave in song lyrics to it naturally like Miles can, not yet at least.
"Art can often be a race against the clock; let us see if you can keep up with this new pace! Trailblaze!" Sudowoodo dashed across the field, surrounded in a glowing green energy. The attack passed through the illusion above, but Sudowoodo's stumpy legs still kicked Phantasm as he went by, tripping slightly.
She was able to hold on to the illusion, thankfully, but I was pretty sure the next hit they landed would undo it. Sudowoodo is staring suspiciously at the ground as it is. "Hex" was our codeword for Bitter Malice, which Phantasm used, surrounding the Sudowoodo with dark tendrils, sapping at his strength.
"Rock Head!" Was Brassius' next command, and I readied to tell Phantasm to 'dodge it,' only for the words to die on my tongue as I saw Sudowoodo stop. Rather than follow his trainer, Sudowoodo shook his head vigorously, waving at the ground with branch-like hands.
He's on to us! "Hex Hex Hex!" I cried, hoping to get some debuffs and damage while we could. Phantasm trains hard, but she just has so much less experience than the rest of my team. If a Gym Leader sees through our tricks... well, I won't say that she doesn't have a chance, but it'll be a miracle for her to pull through.
The Gym Leader quickly changed tactics. "Rock Slide, wide spread!" Even as the Bitter Malice assaulted him, Sudowoodo hefted a large stone out of the ground, chucking it in the air above Phantasm. It cracked there, splitting into several large chunks that rained down on her.
She gave a yip of pain as she was knocked to the side, one of the rocks clipping her back left leg. My Pokemon also became clearly visible to all, the illusion breaking from pain.
There was a moment of stunned silence from the crowd before jubilant cheers and delighted cooing over erupted from the gathered audience. My opposite looked surprised for a second before grinning. "What a delightful surprise, a new coat of paint on an existing masterpiece!" Then, as if as an afterthought to his artistic appreciation, he told his Sudowoodo, "Hammer Arm."
I smirked as the hot-dog-tree-looking Pokemon waddled up, arm raised high. Right! He doesn't know about her Typing yet; he's treating her like a regular Zorua! "Yours is the hatred that burns! Bitter Malice!"
It felt nice, for some reason, to call the Move out by its proper name. I suspected that Phantasm felt the same way, as this time the Distorted tendrils that wrapped around Sudowoodo's body practically engulfed him completely. That or she's upset about the Rock Slide.
Brassius' Pokemon managed to push through the attack and still swing his arm down at her, only for it to pass right through. "A Ghost Type?!" Brassius shouted, shocked.
"Haha, that's right!" Just not the full story. "Now-"
"Copycat!" Was his reaction. Oh wow, forgot that Sudowoodo learned that Move.
Bitter Malice surrounded my Pokemon, doing absolutely nothing. "Show him how it's done!" Phantasm gave a happy cry as she once again tormented the Gym Leader's ace, sapping his strength and life further. The Tera Grass Pokemon fell to the ground before, nearly defeated.
"Sucker Punch." Or not, I thought as the Sudowoodo lashed out, punching Phantasm with a Dark Type attack that sent my Pokemon reeling back. Even after all that, he can still hurt her that much? I get that she's on the frail side, and it was Super Effective, but still. I guess that goes to show how strong a Gym Leader's top Pokemon can be.
Sudowoodo straightened back up, and I prepared to call her back, thinking that Phantasm wouldn't be able to finish him off. Then, as she angrily pushed herself back to her feet, she started glowing.
It felt like the entire arena drew in a sharp breath as one, then all of us gasped as we saw her evolve. Even knowing what was coming, it was still a sight for me to behold as well. She started by growing so much taller and larger, her body still a silhouette surrounded by the light she exuded. Phantasm shifted to a more humanoid form, standing on two legs and growing short, sharp claws on the ends of her hands and feet. As the light faded, some more details could be made out, like a few red bumps covering arms and legs as well. Her eyes became yellow with red pupils, but the most drastic change was to her mane, the fur growing and becoming truly wild and far more red, covering one half of her face completely.
"Zoroark!" She triumphantly shouted, racing towards Sudowoodo. For his part, he tried to Sucker Punch her but hit only air as she ran past him, cutting a deep gouge into him with her claws. And illusion? No, she's just that much faster now!
"Hyper Voice!" I shouted, and she shouted louder, her voice shaking the arena. The sound crashed into Sudowoodo and knocked him off his feet. He flopped towards Brassius, his Terastalization shattering as he fell unconscious.
"Ha! You did it! Great job- wait, stop." I said as I noticed Phantasm stalking towards her fallen foe. She ignored me, continuing towards him until I said louder. "Stop!" Whirling around to face me, I saw hatred burning in her yellow eye. Part of me wanted to flinch, to set my shoulders up as fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, but I pushed those all aside, remembering the adorable little kit I had taken in a few months ago.
"Stop it, you've won." I said softly, but no less firm. The hatred dimmed in her eye as recognition took hold, and she looked ashamed of herself. She's still the same Phantasm as she was before; she just has some things to work out in regards to her new instincts.
While that happened, Brassius recalled his Sudowoodo, sending the last Pokemon I had yet to see on his team, Tsareena. She had three long green petal-like strands flowing off the top of her head down behind her and very long, dangerous-looking legs.
Rather than risking anything starting, I called "Switch!" Returning Phantasm to her ball. Before I put it away though, I whispered to her in the Pokeball, "You did great out there, I'm proud of you."
In a louder voice, I said, "Miles, I choose you!" Throwing his ball out on the field, they popped out (and I barely managed to catch the Pokeball as it came back, fumbling it in my hands).
"Make majestic art, Trop Kick!" Without hesitation, she jumped up, trying to land a heavy kick down upon Miles' head. Impressive; most Tsareena would think that Miles was a Steel Type from their appearance, and they can get prickly about Trainers telling them to use ineffective Moves. Of course, as good a bond as they have, they can't beat ours.
I waited, readying myself for as she descended closer before shouting "Foul Play!" Miles responded before I'd finished saying the second word, spinning around mid-air around the blow, then up around and hitting her on top of her head with one end of their boombox body, driving her down to the ground.
"Hyper Voice!" My order came fast, not wanting to let up here. They cranked up 'I Beg to Differ' and hit her hard with the attack.
Miles was floating well out of reach from her, wary of a counterattack, but she surprised us by turning around at her Trainer's order of "Power Whip!" Lashing her 'hair' out to an insane length, it whistled by my Pokemon, Miles just barely dodging.
It can be hard to spot with the appliance bodies Rotoms possess and all, but the glow around Miles is growing dimmer. They can't last much longer. Part of that was just due to the Life Orb they carried, making them hit so much harder but draining their own energy each time they attacked. "Let's end this," I said solemnly. "Hit it as loud as you can!"
They complied eagerly, diving down and turning up the volume as high as they could, attempting to blast Tsareena into submission.
I saw Brassius mouth 'Trop Kick' rather than heard the words over the din Miles was making. She was able to see him and follow through though, landing a powerful kick that cracked almost straight through their new boombox body. Miles dipped in the air, and while the system was too damaged to make music at the moment, they let out a screech that ripped through the air, taking Tsareena out.
That was their last Move, however, as their body continued to sink to the ground, even Levitate slowly failing them as they fell unconscious. Recalling them, I said, "That was magnificent, you did great out there."
Then, before the referee could announce who had to send out their Pokemon next (which would usually be Brassius), I pulled out Dun's Pokeball, releasing him. "Wow, that was great! You've been the first person to get me down to my fourth Pokemon so far."
He let out a chuckle of his own. "And I can see that dear ol' Hass was not downplaying your strength in the slightest either." That earned a few excited whispers, at least from the members of the crowd who realized that he was talking about a member of the Elite Four.
The artistic man sent Scovillain into the fray once more. He was still injured from the previous bouts but raring to go as he saw Dun. "Flamethrower, Bullet Seed!"
Two Moves huh? Let's match him! "Ancient Power, Air Slash!" While even Dun couldn't do the two Moves at full power simultaneously, he was able to fire the rocks at Scovillain quickly and then switch Type energies immediately to flap scythes of wind through the air at our foe before the rocks even met Scovillain's attack.
Ancient Power pushed through the Flamethrower, getting deflected by the high-velocity seeds that cracked into them. That only cleared the way for his Air Slash to cut into the Grass Type. Combined with his other injuries, the Scovillain fell quickly, leaving Brassius down to his last Pokemon.
"Liligant, wake up!" He puts his all into the fight even when backed into a corner like this, that's admirable. Brassius' desperate plea worked, and his Pokemon blearily opened her eyes as she was released onto the field. Not that it will save her.
"Hurricane!" Dun started slithering around her, whipping the air into a frenzy. She tried to use Petal Blizzard, and to her credit, the petals were amplified by the whirling winds. While less accurate, the ones that did hit cut deep into Dun. He just grunted with the blows though, easily tanking the attack as she was buffeted around by the wind and carried up into the air.
"Finish this, Hyper Drill!" Lifting up and flying through the updraft he made, Dun spiraled through the air towards the helpless Liligant stuck there. She sent a barrage of petals at him, all ground to mulch by his spinning drill tail before it connected with her, striking her down.
As they both landed down, the referee said, "Gym Leader Brassius has no more useable Pokemon! Challenger Nemona is the winner!"
Three Gym Badges down! I know that they had Arven use Scovillian in the games because food theme, but I feel it really fits Brassius well, being a Moody Grassy Type. I'll add the new Rotom Form here and in an informational once we're all caught up. Alright then, hope you enjoyed the battle (because that's really all that could fit in this chapter haha).
Boombox Form:
- Electric/Normal Type
- Gives access to the Move Sing while Miles Possesses it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles
Boombox Form:
- Electric/Normal Type
- Gives access to the Move Sing while Miles Possesses it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles