Chapter 131

Chapter 131

CHAPTER 131

As Cecilia walked into the gym's lobby, her mind was filled with an anticipation that made her entire body tingle. After watching Denzel's fight, she knew now that the battle would be harder than she had expected it to be, and yet she could only march forward and hope that she was ready. A loss here would be so disappointing for herself, but most importantly, she did not want to disappoint Cynthia.

A foolish thought, even though the Champion had challenged her all those months ago. Cecilia did not know if she would be watching, if she even remembered her name, or if she knew how important those words had been to her. Being the Champion was a busy job, and Cynthia had no doubt a lot on her plate.

But she couldn't help but hope that she sometimes kept an eye on her progress, despite how unlikely it was.

"Not going to congratulate me?" Denzel teased as he entered the waiting room.

"Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking," she responded. "Congratulations on your win."

"I was just fucking around, don't worry about it," he smiled before his expression turned serious. "But seriously, you need to watch out. This is going to be a hell of a fight, as I'm sure you'll know. I'd have advice, but—"

"I'll figure it out myself," Cecilia said.

"—Exactly. It'd probably feel lousy to win that way."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him. "Nevermind, you're all sweaty. Go calm Pauline down, will you?"

"Will do," he said. "And as she'd say, go kick ass."

Denzel left with a casual whistle, and Cecilia sat on the bench. Power would not be enough to win here. As it stood, her biggest problem was that there was a risk of an effective illusion angering Zweilous enough to the point that Zerst didn't listen to her. She had already come to a deal with Scyther, and again, he would fight on his own. Slowking's psychic abilities would be ineffective at stopping ghost type attacks, and Fletchinder, while she was quick and hit hard, would be too frail to carry most of the battle.

"Well, I am in quite a predicament," she declared.

A gym attendee came to outfit her with the usual microphone, and then led her to the battlefield. Fantina did the same and began listing the rules of the battle— another four-on-four with one switch in.

Well, if he wanted to fight alone, he would get his fight. Cecilia sent out Scyther, finally using him in a gym battle for the first time. The bug type hissed and fanned his wings, excitedly waiting for his opponent. He had not gained too much power since the fight against Grace and Denzel, but she hoped that Fantina would start with an easier opponent just like she had against Denzel.Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

The gym leader sent out a female Frillish that levitated up from the floor with a casual spin. That certainly wasn't what she had expected, but Scyther would be able to go toe to toe with her.

"Begin!" The referee yelled.

"It's easy to cut up and relatively slow. Try to go on the offensive," Cecilia suggested.

"Night Shades," Fantina ordered.

Four, ghostly replicas appeared in front of Frillish, and each individually rushed toward Scyther, who let out a defiant screech and blurred forward. Cecilia recognized his use of Agility, which was the only move she had managed to make him learn before the battle with her rivals.

"I wouldn't hit those if I were you, they explode," Cecilia said.

Instead of dodging, Scyther Slashed across the first Night Shade, and a loud explosion rocked the entire arena. That was a powerful Night Shade. Scyther flew out of the purple plume, leaving a trail of smoke, and now took her suggestion to heart, easily avoiding the remaining three Night Shades.

"Hex when it gets close," Fantina said.

"Try to keep your distance instead," she said.

Scyther cried out in protest and rushed toward Frillish, cutting her in half with a smooth Slash as smoke emanated from his body. The bug type crashed to the ground, but quickly got to his feet as Frillish used Water Sport to fly off with what remained of its body, while the remaining three Night Shades all crashed into Scyther, dealing massive amounts of damage. When the dust settled, cracks ran through his entire exoskeleton, and half of one of his wings was bent the wrong way.

Cecilia quickly noticed two things. That Water Sport was ridiculously slow when compared to Grace's, and Frillish did not appear to know Recover, which meant that she'd be stuck missing half of her body the entire battle. Her regeneration powers were nowhere strong enough for her to quickly recover her bottom half.

If Cecilia hadn't messed up her relationship with Scyther from the beginning, then this would have been such an easy victory.

"Night Shades, then Shadow Ball," Fantina said. "Hex when it gets close."

Another set of four ghostly clones appeared next to Frillish as it began to gather a Shadow Ball. They each flew toward the bug type, delaying themselves by a few seconds each. Scyther took flight, and although he was permanently slowed and bent toward the right due to his broken wing, Agility was still in effect, and he was faster than he needed to be to dodge.

"An Air Slash to explode one of them would be enough to trigger the others to explode all at once," she sighed.

Scyther ignored her, preferring to fight in melee whenever he could. He twisted his body as he narrowly dodged the first Night Shade, and then with a Quick Attack, he streaked across the air until he was just a few feet away from Frillish. The water type turned her head and sent out her Shadow Ball, causing Scyther to stop beating his wings and almost dropping to the floor.

"Bubblebeam. Force him up there," Fantina said.

"Why are you—" Cecilia started, but then shut her mouth. It was her fault that he was like this.

Scyther screeched as a barrage of bubbles exploded on his shell, and using the floor as a launch pad, he blurred toward his opponent as both of his claws shone with a pale green. X-Scissor. Frillish let out a panicked cry as she began using Hex again, but Scyther was too quick. He decapitated her, rending her unable to fight.

"Frillish is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon," The referee said.

The Night Shades disintegrated into thin air, and Fantina grabbed her second Pokeball. Scyther could have won this with barely taking any damage if they could cooperate for once, but alas. Now, he was on his last legs. Barely able to fly properly, wounded, and letting out ragged breaths. As morbid as it was to treat him like this, Cecilia knew that the only time he'd be usable in a battle like this was to have him fight Fantina's first Pokemon, which would always prove the least challenging.

Still, he yelled to celebrate his victory.

Fantina sent out a small teapot, and a strange purple liquid inside of it soon came alive. It used a small broken piece of the teapot as a hat, and it was rather cute, for a ghost, all things considered.

"Shell Smash," Fantina said.

Oh.

"Go on the offensive! Try to keep your distance!" Cecilia yelled as panic slipped into her tone.

Polteageist turned from a dark purple to a vivid red as its body began to steam and its pot began to crack. Scyther sharpened his blades, and then broke into a run. Even though he hid it, Cecilia could tell that flying any further would hurt him badly.

And yet, fly he did. Scyther pushed against the floor as his wings fanned once more, becoming a blur of motion.

"Protect," Fantina said. "Then Hex."

Polteageist summoned a thin, green barrier, stopping Scyther's X-Scissor in its tracks, and then hit him with a Hex so powerful that the bug type couldn't help but fall to the ground and cry out in agony. He rolled on his back as the ghost type approached him, ready to hit him with another Hex.

And slashed across the air, sending an Air Slash that sliced through his opponent's body. Polteageist let out a high-pitch infuriated scream and finished him off with Hex.

"Scyther is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon."

In the end, Scyther had listened, even when it had been too late.

"You did well, darling," she said softly as she smiled at his Pokeball.

Fletchinder would not do very well against a Pokemon under Shell Smash's influence, so she was off the list. Slowking would take too much damage if he was hit, and again, he'd be unable to protect himself against Hex or other ghost type moves.

Cecilia grabbed Zweilous' Pokeball and released him. The two dragons roared, announcing their presence, and their heads locked onto their enemy at the same time.

"Dragon Pulse, both of you," she said.

"Protect," Fantina smoothly countered.

Zerst and Sol both inhaled as draconic energy danced in their mouths, and then screamed, sending out two huge Dragon Pulses that were bigger than Polteageist's Protect. And yet, the ghost got out of the situation unscathed, and it was quickly flying their way.

"Slack Off immediately!" Cecilia continued. "Then keep using Water Pulse!"

The water type shook his head to regain his senses, then plopped himself on the floor on close his eyes, healing some of his injuries. The Phantom Force had almost knocked him out, but he was a lot bulkier than he used to be now that he had evolved. Several Water Pulses flew out of his mouth, all hitting Dhelmise for minimal amounts of damage.

"Disappear."

Damn it, Cecilia thought. Even without Phantom Force, it could just disappear at will! Slowking slowly got back on his feet and brought his arms forward, readying himself to slow down the coming attack with Psychic.

But then she recalled him, using her only switch in of the battle. Dhelmise crashed into the floor with another Heavy Slam where Slowking had just stood. Now that Phantom Force was disabled, Fletchinder would never get a better opportunity than this. The flying type screeched and took to the air.

"Fire Spin, keep your distance," Cecilia ordered.

There was no time for her to set up. Fletchinder squawked, hovering as she repeatedly beat her wings, surrounding Dhelmise with air so hot that it caught on fire. The ghost type creaked as it disappeared, leaving only the flames on its body as it rushed toward Fletchinder.

One thing Cecilia had noticed was that without Phantom Force, Dhelmise was slow, even when disappearing, and the flames still burning on its body further proved her right. She ordered Fletchinder to fly away and pester the grass type with Ember, and it just couldn't get close enough to hit her.

One Heavy Slam would have been enough to take her down, and yet, the attack never connected. Fletchinder spun in the air, spitting out one more Ember, and Dhelmise fell to the floor with its eye still open and raging.

"Dhelmise is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your last Pokemon."

Immediately, Fantina sent out her Drakloak.

"Phantom Force. Hit it a few times and knock it out."

"Tailwind, Agility," Cecilia hurriedly said.

The fire type flapped her wings, creating a permanent current in her direction, and then her body loosened as it narrowly avoided a Dragon Tail from Drakloak. Fantina hadn't expected Fletchinder to be even faster. Drakloak was probably always faster than their opponents.

Not this time.

"Quick Attack, Flame Charge!" Cecilia screamed. Quick Attack wouldn't deal any damage, but it would help her speed up.

"Hex when it gets close."

Like a meteorite, Fletchinder shone across the sky. In a second, she slammed into Drakloak's head. The dragon let out a juvenile roar as it Hexed her body. Fletchinder cried out and dove directly toward the ground as the pain proved to be too much, but she caught herself in the nick of time, extending her wings to stop herself from crashing into the floor.

"Ember and get back into the sky," Cecilia continued. If she could get one Acrobatics off...

The bird screeched as it spat out small flames toward Drakloak, who easily dodged and disappeared with Phantom Force thanks to Fantina's order.

"Fire Spin around you!" Cecilia said.

Flames spun around Fletchinder's body as Drakloak slammed her toward Kadabra's barrier. The flying type cried out as her wing bent the wrong way, and she fell to the ground. She struggled to her feet, but when she tried to get back in the sky, she realized that she couldn't fly any longer.

Her wing was broken.

"Finish it off with Dragon Pulse," Fantina said.

"Ember!"

Cecilia could only watch as the dragon type attack enveloped Fletchinder, overtaking her Ember and causing her to faint.

"Fletchinder is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your last Pokemon."

Cecilia released her Slowking with a smile. Nervousness made her legs and arms shake, but by the Legendaries, she was having fun, especially since the ghosts that Fantina was using didn't have awful effects on her psyche.

"Get one Phantom Force off," Fantina said.

"Disable when you see it again, then Psychic immediately afterward," Cecilia immediately ordered.

Drakloak phased out of existence, and after barely two seconds, it slammed into Slowking's back. The psychic type extended a hand backward, seizing the dragon with Psychic as his eyes shone, and then he metaphorically squeezed. Drakloak cried out in pain as the wispy parts of its body thrashed around erratically. Its head was locked in place, however.

"Hex."

Slowking shuddered as the ghost's Hex hit him, but he did not relent, opting to smash Drakloak against the floor to make it lose its focus and stop its attack.

"Psychic, Zen Headbutt."

The combination that had netted her a victory against Gardenia would do the same here. Slowking levitated Drakloak and threw him toward his head as psychic energy gathered right on his shell. He smashed his head against the dragon's own, and Drakloak finally fainted.

"Drakloak is unable to battle. Victory goes to the Challenger!"

—

"Hm... yeah, I think that'll work," I muttered as I held honey's Pokeball in my hand. I was currently already in the waiting room, having figured that Cece had won as soon as that Dhelmise had been taken care of. Fantina was surprisingly capable of just fighting power with power, and speed with speed too. She wasn't just about illusions.

I had gathered enough information to win, I reckoned. I was nervous, of course, but I felt like I was thinking a lot faster than I used to. A little bit of confidence went a long way, so long as I didn't get a big head, and for some reason, I felt a lot more confident than normal. Maybe it was like I'd never studied a gym leader so much. Even against Gardenia, I hadn't been as good at gathering information. This time, I felt like I knew the ins and outs of Fantina's gym.

I had figured that I was the worst kind of trainer Fantina could face, at least when compared to my friends. She liked to let her Pokemon fight independently, and normally, that would have been a problem for me, but I was pretty sure I had gotten a good idea of how each of the remaining Pokemon she might use against me fought, and I knew all of their moves. All I had to do now was keep the plan going for as long as possible until everything inevitably went off the rails, and I'd have to improvise.

"Grace," Cecilia called out, causing me to snap my head up.

"Good job out there," I said. "Did Fletchinder evolve?"

"Hm? No. Did you think she would?" She asked.

"Yeah, I kind of did, but I left after she took down Dhelmise so I could be alone with my thoughts, so I didn't finish the battle. I already knew you'd win, though. The audience was going kind of crazy, especially for that dragon versus dragon fight."

"Even though it wasn't as grand as I had wished, people don't see that every day," she nodded. "Are you disappointed?"

"In?"

"In my performance."

"Not at all. You won pretty handily, I mean, I don't exactly know how the battle finished, but I'll guess that Slowking managed to take down Drakloak," I said. "It's tough. That's one of Fantina's strongest at this level."

"There was something I was missing in that fight, but I can't put it into words," she pondered. "If I had that, then the battle would have been perfect."

I saw the gym trainer gesture me forward and stood up. "I'm beginning to learn to not let perfect be the enemy of good," I smiled before kissing her on the cheek. "Now go get your team to the nearest Center and come back to cheer for me."

"I'll take a taxi to get back as fast as I can," she nodded.

"Sounds good. Don't keep me waiting!" I teased. She nabbed a quick kiss before she ran to leave.

I took a deep breath and took comfort in how fast my heart was beating against my chest. The steady, fast rhythm kept me grounded and sharp. I felt my hand tingle as I clipped Electabuzz's Pokeball on my belt and walked up to the gym trainer, who placed the microphone on my collar. I twisted and cracked my neck, stretched, and I was ready.

"Okay! Let's do this."