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"HELLO L'MANBURG CITY!"
Tommy barely took notice of his three friends covering their ears from his shout, or the weird looks he was receiving from random passerby's on the street. No, his entire focus was on the city in front of him, the city that would bring him one step closer to his goal.
"You know you don't need to do that every time we enter a new city," Ranboo said, the Zorua resting on his shoulders nodding knowingly.
"You can tell him that as much as you want to, he'll still do it," Purpled mumbled, but Tommy pretended not to hear it.
"I think it's warranted this time," Tubbo said, "I mean, L'Manburg city is the greatest city of them all, it's only understandable."
Purpled opened his mouth to argue back, but Tommy cut him off before he even had the chance to, "Where's the gym?!" His eyes were set on Tubbo, who grew up in the city, but the short boy simply shrugged.
"I don't know big man, my dad always told me to stay away from it and its gym leader. In fact, most parents did, that guy's weird."
"Speaking of your dad," Ranboo spoke up, "Weren't you supposed to meet up with him when we got here?"
Tubbo's eyes widened almost comically, "Oh fuck!" The short boy set off into a sprint, but before he disappeared into the mass of people he turned around one final time, "Meet me at the Pokémon Center in a couple of hours, we'll look for the gym then!"
Tommy, Tubbo, Purpled, and Ranboo had been traveling with each other for almost six months now. Both Tommy and Purpled were trainers taking on the Pokémon gym challenge in hopes of defeating Champion Dream, while Ranboo was a young performer and Tubbo a trainer with the hope of becoming a bug type breeder one day.
Tommy is the son of Philza Minecraft, gym leader of Hardcore city. He had set out on his journey from the town of Spawn with only his Numel by his side, and encountered Tubbo before he even got to Hypixel City. The boy was getting harassed by some young trainers, and his Mareep was laying fainted by his side. Tommy had managed to take out their Pokémon together with Numel easily, and helped Tubbo to the Pokémon center in Hypixel city.
The two had stuck together after that, Tubbo cheering for Tommy during his battles and Tommy trying to help Tubbo with this Mareep, who'd stopped trusting the boy after the incident in the woods.
Purpled joined their group when Tommy decided to take on the Battle tower after defeating the gym leader, Hannah, together with his Numel and his new Joltik. His confidence was as high as always, but it was quickly knocked down a peg when he was defeated on the first floor. This of course made the boy upset, and he got even more upset when the weird kid dressed in purple with a Skorupi on his shoulder pointed out that he shouldn't have used a fire and ground type against a water type, especially when he had an electric type in his party.
And of course, Tommy wasn't about to just stand around and hear some random kid talk shit about him or his battling technique, so he challenged him to a battle.
And while Tommy and his Joltik battled Purpled and his Greavard, Tubbo looked up some information about the guy in front of them and found out that he was a regular Battle Tower challenger and a pro at the art. And despite that, Tommy was able to hold his ground against the boy with some impressive techniques. He didn't win, but Purpled was still impressed.
The three ate dinner that night together, and Purpled confessed that he stuck to the Battle tower instead of setting out on a journey since it was like a comfort place for him, a safe bet to go to when his older sibling was working. Tubbo of course didn't hesitate to invite him along on their journey, which left Purpled quite shocked. Still, he did accept and the next day there were three young trainers ready to take on the rest of Esempi.
The three met Ranboo in Cube City the night before Tommy was set to battle their gym leader, Haitch, and two nights before it was Purpled's turn. Ranboo had rushed into the Pokémon Center they were staying at, clutching his fainted Espurr in his arms. Tubbo had been quick to initiate a conversation with the guy after Nurse Joy took his Espurr away, and he did his best to comfort the guy who was clearly worried about his Pokémon.
Ranboo's Espurr still wasn't fully healed the next day, so Tubbo managed to convince the tall boy to watch Tommy's battle against Haitch with them. It had been a tough battle, but he'd been able to power through together with Numel, Joltik, and Wishmur. That evening Espurr was finally restored to full health, and before Ranboo had the time to leave Tubbo invited him to join them on their journey. All three of the other boys were surprised by this, but Tubbo had been insistent about it, telling him that it was a chance for him to find his calling, something he'd confessed to not having.
And so after that, they were four, traveling together catching Pokémon. Tommy and Purpled battled regularly, and he slowly formed Tommy into a better trainer, with an actual grasp on Type Matchups. Ranboo found his calling after watching a friend of Tubbo's aunt perform in a Pokémon Showcase in Nevadas City, and soon enough he was training day in and day out trying to perfect his style together with his Pokémon, readying himself for his debut in L'Manburg City.
"Apparently the gym leader has a Froslass," Purpled said offhandedly, petting his Espeon softly on his head.
"Wait really?" Tommy asked, looking up from his rotom phone. The trio had arrived at the Pokémon Center a few hours prior, and had decided to wait in the main hall for Tubbo to get back from the meeting with his dad. Purpled had been researching the Gym leader they would be facing, Ranboo had been watching past showcases from the L'Manburg showcase arena, and Tommy was messaging his own father who was giving him tips about his upcoming battle.
"Yeah, though he uses Banette as his ace, and a Mismagius. Both are single typings, which is harder to match, but a part ice type could make the whole thing easier."
"Oh I love Froslasses," Ranboo said, smiling faintly, "Many people use them in performances around this part of the region, and the mixture between ghost and ice type moves are really pretty, and a very popular combination here," Ranboo's Zorua softly pushed his hand, and Ranboo snorted softly at her, petting her head reassuringly.
"Well I'd recommend not going out to catch a Froslass two days before your Showcase, especially not since you've been perfecting your thing for weeks now," Purpled said.
"They are very pretty still," Ranboo said with a slight pout, which looked a bit ridiculous considering the boy stood at a height of over six feet.
"Stick to your strat Big R, it looks good," Tommy said, playfully punching Ranboo's shoulder who smiled shyly back at him.
"Yeah because you know so much about strategy Toms," Purpled snarked, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh fuck off man, I'm a pro at strategies!" Tommy shouted back, ignoring the weird looks he got from the other people at the Pokémon Center.
"You used Scorbunny in the last gym, what was your strategy there?" Ranboo pointed out.
"At least he didn't use Numel again, so he is improving," Purpled smirked, and Tommy grumbled, displeased about their teasing.
The worst part about it though is that they were totally right in what they were saying, Tommy was horrible with type matchups. As a child he used to watch his dad battle all the time, so he was an expert on what was and wasn't good on flying types, but apart from that, he didn't know much else.
Tommy sighed and softly patted Scorbunny who was napping on his lap. She'd had a hard time against Quackity and his water Pokémon, but luckily his ace had been a Ludicolo, whose grass typing neutralized her normally weak fire type moves. She'd received plenty of treats and praises after that battle, along with Loudred and Joltik.
It got silent after the teasing, all of them going back to their previous activities.
Tubbo arrived half an hour later, right when the sky had started to darken and Tommy had started to complain about being hungry.
"Sorry!" Tubbo said, falling back on the couch beside Ranboo, his Vulpix immediately jumping off his shoulders to cuddle up to Zorua, "We just haven't seen each other in a couple of months, so we kinda lost track of time."
"How's he doing by the way?" Ranboo asked.
"Who cares, what did he tell you about the gym?" Tommy cut in, and he could see that Ranboo rolled his eyes in the corner of his eye, but he didn't pay it any mind.
"Take it easy Tommy," Purpled said, raising a brow knowingly, "Besides, it's getting late and we probably won't challenge the gym until tomorrow."
"Actually..." Tubbo said, giving them all a sheepish grin.
"Don't tell me it closed down," Tommy whined.
"It didn't close down," Tubbo said quickly, "But my dad told me it's only open between two and four am."
"What the fuck, why?" Purpled asked, looking as confused as Tommy felt. He knew most ghost Pokémon preferred the night, but he'd never heard of a gym that was only open for two hours every day.
Tubbo shrugged, "I don't know, it's what my dad told me. He said the gym leader just prefers it that way. He also told me to stay the fuck away from that place because apparently the guy is a fucking nut job, his words not mine, and he told me to just wait at the center while you two get your badges."
Okay, now Tommy was truly confused. He has never met Mr. J. Schlatt, but from what he's heard from Tubbo's rambles so is he a very confident man that is supportive of all of his son's choices. So to hear him actively discourage him from something was odd, especially something so simple as watching a gym battle.
"Damn," Purpled mumbled, calling his Espeon back into his Pokéball, "Guy sounds real creepy."
"Well I'm not scared of anything!" Tommy shouted and he shot up, almost flinging Scorbunny to the floor if it hadn't been for Ranboo and his quick reflexes. "I'll beat that guy, even if I have to stay up all night for it!"
"Well you certainly ain't beating him with Scorbunny," Ranboo said, placing her delicately in his lap, waving his hand to show the grumpy look she has on her face.
Tommy chuckled awkwardly as he sat down, mumbling an apology to the fire type as he called her back into her ball.
Turns out the gym had been more unsettling than Tommy had first thought. The abandoned underground subway station was a vast downgrade from the colorful casino in Nevadas City, or the floating islands in Hypixel city. The place was dirty, with broken bottles thrown across the floors, and the walls looked like someone had let a dozen Grafaiai go wild with their painting of the place.
The gym trainers that had been scattered around the subway station all looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in weeks, with their sickly pale skin and their tired eyes. Many of them seemed annoyed when Tommy approached them, glaring as they'd put out their cigarettes or put away their playing cards. Luckily, the battles against them had been easy as the majority of them only had relatively weak ghost types, like misdreveus and yamask. One trainer had even sent out a shedinja, which was swiftly taken care of by a single ember from Scorbunny.
The gym leader had been in the very back of the subway station, and in comparison to him the gym trainers looked fresh as daisies. The bags under his eyes were dark and heavy, his hair greasy as if he hadn't showered in months, and his frame covered in the oldest trenchcoat that Tommy had ever seen. Suddenly, the young trainer understood why Tubbo's dad had told him to stay away from the gym.
The gym leader looked up from his guitar when the four boys approached him, his eyes squinting behind the round red-tinted glasses that were perched on his nose.
"Can I help you?" His voice was smoother than Tommy had expected, considering his outer appearance.
Tommy wasn't faced however, at least not to the point he let it show. He stood his ground when facing the man, head held up high, "I am Tommy Innit from Hardcore City, and I challenge you to a gym battle."
The gym leader raised his brow, putting his guitar to the side, and stood up. He dusted dirt and soot off his coat, though most of it stuck to his fingerless gloves, "Innit huh? Sounds familiar. You related to Kristin by any means?"
Tommy was taken aback by the mention of his mom, "Uh, yeah I'm her son."
The gym leader chuckled, pushing his dirty hair out of his eyes, "This shall be interesting then. I am Wilbur Soot," Fitting name, "The gym leader here in L'Manburg City. I specialize in ghost types, if you defeat me then you get a gym badge, bla bla bla."
Wilbur was drastically different from the previous three gym leaders Tommy had faced. Hannah had been confident and a bit cocky, Haitch was eccentric and loopy, and Quackity was sly and it had seemed like he always had a plan. But they had all been proud of their positions as gym leaders, hosting their battles in front of crowds in big creative arenas. Wilbur just seemed bored, like he'd been forced into the gym leader position and didn't wish to be there at all.
Wilbur walked to the end of the room, and first then did Tommy notice the faint battlefield outline that had been painted on the dirty pavement. It looked like someone had graffitied it there years ago, and then not bothered to fill it in.
"Friend!" Wilbur shouted, startling all four of the kids. A new person peeked out from around the corner, dressed entirely in blue with curly hair and big black eyes, "Ref for us will you?"
The new person nodded and skipped almost like a wooloo to the side of the battlefield. Their bright smile contrasted heavily with the dark aura that the rest of the gym possessed. "No more than three pokémon each! If your pokémon faints or I declare them unable to battle, then they are out of the match. No use of revives, potions, or X items. Held items are allowed. The first team to wipe is the loser. Do both the gym leader and the challenger agree to these terms?"
They both nodded.
"Are you ready, Innit?" Wilbur lifted a dusk ball from his coat jacket, holding it measly in his hand. Tommy diverted his eyes from the new strange person
"Ready!" Tommy shouted back, grabbing his first poké ball from his belt. Purpled, Tubbo, and Ranboo had all moved to the sidelines of the battlefield, standing a few feet away from the dirty wall.
Friend raised their arm towards the sky with their palm flat, "Battle....begin!
"Loudred, let's go!" Tommy yelled as he called out the normal type. Loudred let out a loud cry as she landed on the battlefield, hopping from one foot to another to find a rhythm. It had been his dad's idea to use Loudred, since ghost type moves wouldn't be able to hit her, and she had a move that could deal super effective damage. She could only use two of her four moves since Hyper Voice and Screech are both normal type, but Bite and Thunder punch could cover enough ground.
Wilbur didn't shout anything as he threw the dusk ball, calling out his Mismagius. It hovered a few centimeters above the ground, letting out a cold cry that sent shivers down Tommy's spine.
He wouldn't let it get to him though. His mom was a ghost type specialist, so he was able to ignore their threatening aura, "Loudred, use Bite!" He called out, watching the big voice pokémon leap into action.
"Dodge," Wilbur's voice was quiet, no louder than a mumble, and yet the Mismagius leaped out of the way, avoiding Loudred by a long shot. Tommy gaped at its incredible speed, but shook it off. Arceus, he needed a different strategy.
"Use Dark pulse," The reaction was immediate, Tommy barely had time to blink before the move was fired off. Loudred didn't have a chance at dodging and took the move head-on.
"Loudred!" Tommy yelled as she was thrown back by the dark energy, "Are you alright?"
The normal type rose easily from her fallen position, shaking of the dirt that had stuck to her fur. She gave him a thumbs up, and Tommy grinned, "Good. Now, try and use Thunder Punch until you hit!"
Loudred leaped into action, her fist sparkling with electricity as she swung at the Mismagius. The ghost type dodged to the best of its ability, even attempting another dark pulse at Wilbur's command, but Loudred didn't budge until she managed to connect her move with the magical pokémon.
"Great!" Tommy yelled as the Mismagius staggered back from the hit, shaking off some of the electricity that lingered, "Now do it again!"
"Why isn't he going for Bite?" Ranboo asked, tilting his head in confusion in sync with his Zorua.
"Maybe he already forgot that dark is super effective against ghosts," Purpled deadpanned. His rotom phone was in camera mode, focused of Wilbur and his Mismagius, while Purpled's eyes were focused on Tommy and Loudred. It was so he could study Wilbur's battle technique later, so he could cheer on Tommy now.
"I don't think so," Tubbo countered, his new Weedle sleeping in his lap with no care in the world, "Tommy usually remember tips from Philza, he wouldn't forget. He has a plan, I know it."
It took three Thunder Punches plus one hit from Dark Pulse and one from Psychic, but Tommy finally got the result he wanted. Mismagius was sparkling with electricity, a clear sign of a paralasys.
"There we go Loudred!" The poor normal type was worse for wear after the strong hits, but she was just as stubborn and determined as her trainer, so she stayed on her feet, "Now use Bite, extra strong!"
Loudred leaped into action, and with Mismagius at half its speed and struggle to move, it was easy for her to land a critical hit. That was all it took for the ghost type to fall.
"Mismagius is unable to battle, Loudred wins!" Friend called out, and Tommy shouted in joy.
Wilbur looked surprised at the development of the battle, but his smile slowly spread into a grin as he called Mismagius back into its dusk ball, "Not bad Innit," He grabbed another dusk ball from his pocket, throwing it lazily into the air.
Tommy knew what Pokémon would come next thanks to Purpled, so the icy chill that spread across the subway station when Froslass came out was expected.
"You need a break Loudred?" Tommy yelled, sizing up the ice/ghost type with wary eyes. The Normal type shook her head, letting out a confident cry, "Alright then, hit it with Bite!"
"Froslass, Hail!" The Froslass acted even faster than the Mismagius had, summoning a wild snowstorm in the blink of an eye. And to the surprise of both the trainer and pokémon, the Froslass seemed to disappear into thin air right in front of them.
"Tommy!" Tubbo yelled from the sidelines, "It has Snowcloak! Be careful!"
Fuck.
"Can you see it Loudred?!" Tommy shouted over the raging storm, but the normal type just shook her head as she tried to shield her eyes, "Use Hyper voice to try and get some of the snow away!"
Surprisingly, the strategy worked as some of the snow was blown away for a second. Still, they couldn't see the Snow Land Pokémon no matter how hard they looked.
"Use Blizzard," Wilbur commanded. Because of the accuracy increase with the hail, and the fact that Loudred couldn't even see the darn thing, the Blizzard hit her head on, knocking her out.
"Loudred!"
"Loudred is unable to battle Froslass wins!" Friend called. Tommy felt like shit when he called Loudred back, as he did every time one of his mons fainted. It felt as if he had personally failed them, and that if he'd just do better then she'd still be on the field. He'd give her plenty of treats after the battle.
Tommy pulled his next Poké ball from his belt, staring down at the red shine, "Come on buddy now," Tommy threw the Poké ball, watching as the white shine formed a solid mass, and his starter emerged.
Camerupt let out an excited roar about being in battle, seemingly not ever caring about the snow he landed in.
It would be Camerupts first real battle after evolving, and Tommy could see how eager he was over showing off his new strength.
Tommy didn't hesitate for a second, "Use Fire blast!" He called, and despite him not being quite sure of where his target was, Camerupt fired off the move. While the move didn't connect, it did light up the whole battlefield, and Tommy managed to detect a shimmer in the corner of his eye.
"There!" Tommy called, pointing towards the spot, where he now could clearly see that the snow seemed to shift around something, "She's there, hit it again!"
The Froslass didn't have time to dodge it, so the fire move hit her head on sending her back, revealing her fully.
"You alright Froslass?" Wilbur asked, and upon hearing the reaffirming call of his Pokémon he nodded, "Good. Now, use Shadow Ball!"
"Block it with a Flamethrower!" The two mons fired off their moves almost at the same time, and they met in the middle where they exploded with a bright sparkle, "Use Rock Slide!" The rocks that were summoned hurled at Froslass, and she didn't have a chance to dodge before taking the attack straight on, sending her back into a wall, unconscious.
"Froslass is unable to battle, Camerupt wins!"
Camerupt let out a mighty roar, standing on its hind legs in pride as it fired off a powerful flamethrower in victory.
"Good job buddy!" Tommy cheered.
The hail had started to die down, so it was clearer to see. Wilbur looked surprisingly intrigued, considering he was down on his last Pokémon.
The final Pokémon was called out silently, and a Banette entered the field.
"You're just the opponent I hoped you would be, Innit," Wilbur said, pulling out a necklace that had been hidden under his sweater, "I don't do this with any gym challenger," The necklace was just a simple string with what looked like a fishing hook attached to it. That wasn't what caught Tommy's attention though, but the Keystone that hung right beside the fishing hook.
Wilbur only needed to tap the keystone lightly, and a rainbow-like shine protruded from it, which swam through the air until it reached the chocker necklace that Banette was wearing, megastone in the middle of it. The Banette began to transform as if evolving, and when the light faded a scary-looking doll Pokémon stood in its place, with zippers and pink claws.
"Fuck, I need to get me one of those," Tommy shifted his eyes to Camerupt, who didn't seem faced by the mega evolution, he just seemed more battle-ready than ever, "You still wanna do this Camerupt?!" He still checked, but the Eruption Pokémon gave him a firm nod.
"Alright then, use Earthquake!" Camerupt jumped off the ground and landed hard, sending powerful shockwaves over the battlefield. But Wilbur just lifted his hand, and the Mega Banette jumped into the air to dodge the attack. Tommy had heard that Mega Evolution put you in sync with your Pokémon on a whole other level, but actually seeing it in action was a whole other thing.
"Shadow Claw!" Wilbur called out, and the Banette flipped in mid-air as the black aura formed around one of the pink claws, aiming straight for Camerupt.
"Dodge it!" Tommy yelled, but he was too late. The attack hid Camerupt straight on his muzzle, and the Fire/Ground type yelped in pain. Tommy gritted his teeth in frustration, but he wouldn't waver. Camerupt still has a lot to give, he knows it, "Use Flamethrower, quickly!"
Camerupt recomposed himself and used the instructed move, hitting Banette point blank. Physical attackers are strong, but they have the weakness of needing to come close to use an attack, making crits more likely. Tommy knew that from one too many battles with Purpled using Scorbunny.
Soot coated the Marionette Pokémon, making it match its trainer, as it landed back on the slightly crumbled battlefield.
The Banette gave a gesture to Wilbur, indicating that it was doing alright, and Wilbur nodded, "Good, use Facade!" A glowing orange aura surrounded the ghost type, and then it charged into Camerupt. The Fire/Ground type took the hit well, but Tommy could see that he was starting to stagger a bit.
"We gotta get another close hit," Tommy mumbled to himself. A critical hit would surely damage it enough for a clean takeout, but as his father always said, 'Relying on luck in battle is what gets you the loss'.
"Camerupt! Earthquake again!"
"Dodge it!"
Tommy smirked as the Banette jumped in the air again to avoid the crumbling ground, putting it right in hit range.
"Use Fire Blast!"
Tommy could see the fear in both Wilbur and Banette's faces when Camerupt spat out the five-pointed shape, and it aimed right for the ghost type.
The Banette wasn't out for the count yet, but the damage it had taken was severe. The perfect time to strike.
"Finish it off with an Earthquake!"
Banette didn't have the time nor energy to dodge it this time, so the parts of the crumbling ground hit the mark perfectly.
Banette laid unconscious, its mega evolution fading, with Tommy still having two Pokémon in the game.
"Banette is unable to battle, Camerupt wins! Which means the winner is Tommy Innit of Hardcore City!"
"Such a good girl, yeah you did such a good job!" Tommy was petting Loudred endearingly, relieved to finally have her back standing. Both she and Camerupt had gotten a long rest at the Pokémon center, but Tommy wasn't yet done with the praise. Joltik was resting on his shoulder, jealous that he wasn't getting any of the attention, and Scorbunny was running around playing with Tubbo's Vulpix, Purpled's Espeon, and Ranboo's Zorua.
"He relied a whole lot on speed that guy," Purpled was looking down at his rotom phone, reviewing the footage of the battle that had taken place just a few hours prior, "Not much for attacks though, seemed to mostly wait for the opponent attack. Will be able to use that easily."
"Can we go to bed soon?" Tubbo groaned, leaning heavily on Ranboo who seemed just as tired. They had gone directly to the Pokémon Center after Tommy's battle, and while the other three had gotten to nap for an hour Tommy had stayed awake to make sure his Pokémon were alright. Despite that, Tubbo was still grumpy.
"You can go to bed, I need to figure out my strat," Purpled grumbled, using his Houndstone as a pillow. The ghost dog pokémon didn't seem to mind in the slightest, instead giving his trainer the occasional lick in endearment.
"Well screw you guys," Tubbo stood up, grabbing Ranboo's wrist and pulling him along, "I'm getting a room. You guys watch over Vulpix."
"And Zorua!" Ranboo chimed in as the small boy pulled him towards the desk.
Tommy had sent his dad a message informing him of his victory, but since it was around six in the morning he doubted that his dad was even awake. He'd also messaged his mom, asking why the Gym leader had known who she was.
The blonde moved from using both his hands to pet Loudreds ears, something she absolutely loved, but after Camerupt had buffed him with his muzzle he'd started putting his head as well.
Looking at the Eruption Pokémon, his starter, got Tommy thinking again.
"Hey Purp?" He turned towards the purple-clad trainer.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know where you can find Megastones?"