Chapter Text
Professor Eucalyptus scrolled down on his computer, scanning his eyes across the information laid in front of him, the different applicants heading to the Elemental Isles right now.
NORMAL SPECIALIST: Cheren
RESIDENCE: Unova
POKÉMON: Stoutland & Unfezant
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
FIRE SPECIALIST: Mela
RESIDENCE: Paldea
POKÉMON: Armarouge & Torkoal
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
FIGHTING SPECIALIST: Bea
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Machamp & Sirfetch'd
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
WATER SPECIALIST: Tierno
RESIDENCE: Kalos
POKÉMON: Blastoise & Crawdaunt
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
FLYING SPECIALIST: Falkner
RESIDENCE: Johto
POKÉMON: Noctowl & Honchkrow
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
GRASS SPECIALIST: Mallow
RESIDENCE: Alola
POKÉMON: Tsareena & Shiinotic
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
POISON SPECIALIST: Klara
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Galarian Slowbro & Scolipede
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
ELECTRIC SPECIALIST: Bonnie
RESIDENCE: Kalos
POKÉMON: Dedenne & Heliolisk
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
GROUND SPECIALIST: Lacey
RESIDENCE: Unova
POKÉMON: Excadrill & Krookodile
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
PSYCHIC SPECIALIST: Avery
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Galarian Slowking & Alakazam
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
ROCK SPECIALIST: Trevor
RESIDENCE: Kalos
POKÉMON: Aerodactyl & Tyrantrum
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
ICE SPECIALIST: Sina
RESIDENCE: Kalos
POKÉMON: Glaceon & Jynx
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
BUG SPECIALIST: Bugsy
RESIDENCE: Johto
POKÉMON: Scizor & Heracross
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
DRAGON SPECIALIST: Shauna
RESIDENCE: Kalos
POKÉMON: Goodra & Altaria
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
GHOST SPECIALIST: Allister
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Gengar & Mimikyu
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
DARK SPECIALIST: Marnie
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Grimmsnarl & Morpeko
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
STEEL SPECIALIST: Peonia
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Perrserker & Copperajah
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Recruit
FAIRY SPECIALIST: Bede
RESIDENCE: Galar
POKÉMON: Hatterene & Galarian Rapidash
RECRUITMENT OR REFRESHER: Refresher
Professor Eucalyptus smiled more as he scrolled downwards through the page. Some were new and upcoming gym leaders, while others were seasoned veterans that their region's league thought needed a refresher and/or training. He recognized a few of the names on the page, but he was horrible with names, so most of them were enigmas to him.
He suddenly heard the voice of his assistant, a young woman named Leaf. She had once been a Pokémon Trainer, but has since ended her journey, eventually applying for a position working for Professor Eucalyptus.
"Professor! The boat will be arriving soon! We need to get ready for orientation!" Leaf yelled from the other side of his office's door.
"Coming." The professor said while chuckling, before quickly shutting off his computer and then rising from his seat. He grabbed a bag off of the table and slung it over his shoulder before walking out of his office, seeing Leaf standing there.
He smiled at his assistant. "Let's go greet some gym leaders." He said. Leaf nodded and the two jogged off out of the research facility and towards where the port was.
On the boat, all of the up and coming gym leaders got their own room. Currently, they were all locked in with no one else but their Pokémon. They weren't provided a reason, but many suspected that it was so they wouldn't end up tearing the boat apart, which they supposed was fair. Some were concerned with food at first, but the ship's crew had a slew of cooks that personally served them their meals, as per their request.
In their respective quarters, a TV hanging across from their bed and mounted on the wall suddenly turned on. It showed a man with dark brown hair and dark green eyes, wearing a lab coat on. He glanced off to the side for a moment.
"Leaf, are we recording?" The man asked. After a few seconds, the man nodded before turning back to the camera with a smile.
"Greetings, Gym Leaders and Elite 4 alike! Welcome to the Elemental Isles, the training grounds for anyone intended to participate in the Pokémon League as a type speciality! I am Professor Eucalyptus, the head researcher here on Elemental Isles, studying the mysterious nature of these islands, but I also spend my time helping trainers like yourself!" The professor said cheerfully towards the camera.
"Now, the boat you are on will be porting in about twenty minutes. Once I have concluded here, the doors to your rooms will unlock and allow you to explore briefly, but you will be expected to head to the left side, where the exit ramp will be. In this time, feel free to mingle and speak to one another, introduce yourselves." Professor Eucalyptus concluded before giving the camera a wave and a smile, before the TV cut out.
Following that, the doors unlatched. In a short matter of time, the different trainers made their way out of their rooms, two Pokéballs in their hands, or their pocket, or in their bag, or wherever else they may hold Pokéballs.
Murmuring began to rise amongst the group as they started conversations while making their way through the ship.
Cheren nearly ended up running face first into a ginger kid who appeared to be just a but younger than him. And then the ginger kid ended up running into him. The two stumbled backwards, holding their forward.
"I am so sorry, sir!" Cheren and the ginger kid said simultaneously. After a few seconds of silence, the ginger kid laughed before extending a hand.
"Hi, I'm Trevor, the Rock type specialist. Who are you?" The ginger kid asked as Cheren extended a hand to meet his, shaking. Cheren nodded.
"Cheren, the Normal type specialist. Nice to meet you, Trevor." Cheren said as the two retracted from their handshake. Trevor nodded.
"Same to you. Uh... do you know where the exit is?" Trevor asked, scratching the back of his head while briefly glancing around. A small smile danced along his face.
"I feel your pain. I remember my first time here. This boat's like a maze. Follow me." Cheren said before gesturing Trevor to follow him, leading the orange haired boy through the twists and turns of the ship's interior.
Mela stretched her back as she exited her room. It wasn't super small, but it sure as hell could've been a whole lot bigger. She quickly took her phone out of her pocket to see all of her friends frantically texting her, asking if she'd been having a safe journey and all of that worrying crap. She quickly reassured them with another text before she heard someone next to her talking.
"Ah, what a wonderful day to show these elusive islands some true greatness once more." A female voice said. Mela glanced over to see a girl wearing a white fluffy coat and a bow in her pink hair. Mela scoffed.
"Someone's self important." She muttered quietly. Despite the rather loud ambience of the ship and the sounds of people chatting around them, the girl with the bow in her hair turned to Mela.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Mela could also detect a dangerous edge to it, although she didn't care.
"I said your ego's off the chart, ya deaf moron." Mela said a bit louder, crossing her arms. The girl with the bow narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer.
"You're gonna regret saying that, you inconsiderate emo. You've just made enemies with the Poison type gym leader from Galar, Klara! And no one ever survives long as one of my enemies..." The girl says with a scowl. Mela scoffs again.
"Bring it. When we're not preoccupied, I'll take you on and bring your ego back to earth, along with your entire team of fancy lil' poison types." Mela says before turning and walking off, uncrossing her arms in the process. She heard Klara practically growling behind her but didn't care.
Bea walked out of her room and started wandering down the hall, knowing exactly who she was looking for. A few people tried to come up to her to introduce herself, but she ignored them and walked past. There would be plenty of time for formalities later.
She eventually made it to the room of the person she had been looking for. She sighed upon seeing a closed door. She knocked on the door a singular time.
"Alli? You there? It's time to go." Bea said in her usual calm and composed voice. She heard the sounds of muffled whispering, Pokémon being returned to their Pokéballs, followed by shuffling.
"G-gimme... a sec, B-Bea..." The soft spoken tone of a young boy rang out from behind the door. After a few seconds, a boy wearing a white mask that nearly covered his entire face with messy black hair opened the door and looked up at Bea, who smiled warmly at the boy.
"C'mon, bro, we've got places to be." Bea said, before reaching her hand out to Allister, who took it without hesitation, and she began leading him through the halls.
Bea and Allister weren't biologically related, not by a long shot. It didn't matter to Bea though, Allister would forever be her little brother, related or not. Allister had been a meek little boy adopted from an orphanage by Bea's parents, intending to raise him like they had raised her.
She didn't like that idea, so as soon as she could, she took Allister and began raising her himself like how he deserved to be. She had taken care of him so much that Bea was the only person who'd seen underneath that mask of his.
Allister's feelings toward his sister were reciprocated. He trusted her with his entire life, although he did worry if he was a burden sometimes. But for right now, he was content.
"So, you ready for another trip to the Elementary Isles, buddy?"
"N-no..."
"Oh, c'mon, it won't be that bad. It's not all just train, train, train, y'know?"
"But t-that's... a-all we d-did last time w-w-we were... h-h-here."
"That was back when we were both still raised by Mum and Dad, when I was too focused on the goals they gave me. It'll be different this time around. While we'll still be doing some training, we can have some fun in the mix." Bea reassured her brother softly, who nodded in response. The two continued on.
Sina closed her door behind her, her phone being held by her head and shoulder, wedged between as she spoke to the other person on the phone.
"Sorry you couldn't make it, Dexio, but the Psychic spot was long since taken. It'll be fine, there's always next year." Sina said, going silent as her caller responded. A green haired girl walked up to her with a wave. Sina waved back, but gave her a "hold on" gesture.
"Nice chatting with you, Dex, but I gotta go, duty calls and all that. Say hi to Professor Sycamore for me, will you? Thanks. I'll call you back later. Bye." Sina finished before she pulled the phone from her shoulder and pressed the end call button, before giving a warm smile to the green haired girl.
"Why hello there. Nice to meet you, I'm Sina. A beautiful name for a beautiful lady." She said with a wink, referencing an inside joke between her and Dexio. The green haired girl was caught a bit off guard, but quickly recovered, a smile crossing her face.
"Nice meeting you, Sina, I'm Mallow." She said with a nod. Sina raised an eyebrow in response, recognizing the name.
"Mallow? As in, Alola's Mallow? The trial captain? Strange you'd be attending something like this." Sina says, putting a hand to her chin.
"As strange as Professor Sycamore's assistants being here?" Mallow asks with a wink. Sina just giggles, covering her mouth with her hand before pulling it away.
"I suppose you're not wrong. Let's get going, shall we?" Sina said, beginning to walk past Mallow, who began to follow.
"Right behind ya!" She said happily, brushing hair out of her face. Sina chuckled as the two walked off towards the exit.
Tierno laughed as he suddenly did a cartwheel down the hall of the ship, landing gracefully with a "Woo!"
Although he did nearly hit someone in the process. A guy with a tophat, a strange pink outfit, and two Pokéballs floating around his hat standing there, looking shocked.
"Could you not do cartwheels in the halls?" The guy said, adjusting his hat. "Although that was a rather impressive move for someone of your size." The guy added.
Most people would've been insulted by such a quip, and the guy clearly meant it, considering the snide look across his face. But Tierno just laughed it off.
"Thanks! Name's Tierno, who're you?" Tierno asks, crossing his arms behind his back while turning to the guy, offering a small smile. The guy let out a joking scoff while tilting his hat over his eyes.
"Why, I am none other than Avery, master of Psychic types!" He said, tilting his hat back up, obviously trying to look cool. Tierno gave him a thumbs-up.
"Cool. Neat trick with those Pokéballs, by the way." Tierno says, maintaining his smile. Avery blinked for a second.
"Oh, uh, thank you?" He says cautiously. Tierno nods before twirling around to face the other direction with just his feet.
"You're welcome. Now, I'm gonna find a way to get off this boat. Feel free to join me." Tierno says before he begins to walk off.
"Alright- HEY, WAIT, DID YOU CALL THEM A MERE TRICK!? IT IS REAL PSYCHIC POWER AND- GET BACK HERE!" Avery says after brief silence, gripping his hat so it wouldn't fall off while he chases after Tierno.
Falkner sighed as he walked out of his room. He'd been on these stupid islands before. He couldn't believe the Pokémon League thought he needed a "refresher" on how to be a Gym Leader. Humiliating.
As he closed the door to his room, there was a brown haired girl with a purple shirt on standing there with the widest smile that Falkner had ever seen, which gave the bird keeper a brief jumpscare.
"Hi there! I'm Shauna! Oh my God, are you Falkner from Johto!? I didn't think actual Gym Leaders were gonna be here!" The girl said way too enthusiastically for Falkner's liking, as he backed away from the girl a bit.
"Well, uh, yeah, real Gym Leaders sometimes need a... refresher... on how to be a Gym Leader." Falkner said, slightly gritting his teeth, although he made sure not to let Shauna know. Shauna tilted her head.
"Refresher? Like a punishment?" Shauna asked, putting a finger on her cheek. Falkner shook his head.
"No. It's more of a, uh, thing they just have younger, less experienced Gym Leaders do occasionally. Dunno why but there's nothing I can do about... less I wanna lose my gym." Falkner says before turning from the girl and walking off.
"Hey! Get back here! I wasn't done talking to you!" Shauna cried before running after him, half-hoping he would lead her to an exit. Otherwise, Shauna would be completely lost in this large boat.
"Yes, big brother, I'll be fine. I've got Dedenne and Heliolisk with me! Everything will be A-okay! Just focus on running the gym and, I dunno, building more of those dusty inventions of yours." Bonnie said as she walked out of her room, holding her phone to her ear.
"But, Bonnie, you know I can help but-" Her brother Clemont's worried voice rang out from the phone, but Bonnie interrupted him.
"Oop, sorry, big brother, can't hear you, I'm going through a tunnel!" Bonnie says before hanging up the phone and snickering, putting the phone away. She was suddenly approached by a older girl with pink hair.
"Hello there! I'm Lacey. What's your name?" She asked, looking down towards Bonnie, who looked back up towards her with a smile.
"I'm Bonnie! And this is Dedenne!" Bonnie says cheerfully, before lifting up the bag that contained her partner, Dedenne, who poked its head out with a cheerful "Dedenne!" Lacey leaned in closer to Dedenne, petting the small little Pokémon.
"OHMIGODIT'SSOCUTEI'MLITERALLYGONNADIE!!!" Lacey practically squealed out as she petted the small hamster Pokémon. Bonnie chuckled. She began to wonder if Lacey would be good as a bride for her brother... Nah, Bonnie had promised Clemont that she wouldn't do any of that here.
Once Lacey finally finished, Dedenne seemed tuckered out and fell asleep in Bonnie's bag. Lacey and Bonnie both giggled.
"Well, Bonnie, it's nice to meet you and Dedenne. Let's go see if we can get off the boat, hm?" Lacey asked, tilting her head. Bonnie nodded and the two headed off.
Bugsy walked through the halls of the ship, glancing around. He'd been here before, of course, but that had been forever, so the layout wasn't entire familiar to him.
"What a sight. A Johto Gym Leader can't find his way through the ship. Amusing." Spinning around, Bugsy spotted the source of the voice, a boy just a bit older than him, with white hair and a mostly pink outfit.
"Bede, Fairy Gym Leader. Nice to meet you."
"Bugsy, Bug Gym Leader. I don't return the pleasantries. Now I'm going to leave this place before your presence annoys me further." Bede says before walking off. Bugsy felt his anger slowly rising, but took a deep breath before beginning to follow Bede, as he had no idea where he was going.
Marnie quickly adjusted her hair in the reflection of her phone. She normally didn't give a damn about how her hair looked, but this was different. She wanted to look, at the very least, presentable.
"Hey, your hair looks fine. Everyone's unloading, girl." A female voice said. Marnie looked up to see a girl with pink hair looking at her, a hand on her hip. Marnie let out a small groan before slipping her phone into her pocket.
"Whatever. Just get outta here." Marnie says, waving her away. The girl chuckled as she turned away.
"Name's Peonia for future reference." The girl says before walking off. Marnie nodded silently.
"Marnie." She said back as she finished up the last of adjusting her hair before walking off towards where the girl had gone too, heading towards the exit.
Soon enough, all of the residents on the boat had gathered at the exit. The door slide open as stairs were placed in front of the door and they all walked down to the pier, where Professor Eucalyptus and his assistant, Leaf, were waiting.
"Ah, hello, hello! Follow me to the lab. Leaf will take your luggage." The professor says cheerfully, gesturing towards Leaf, who had a luggage transport in her hands. They all placed their bags on before Leaf pulled the cart away and into the building.
The professor gestured for everyone to follow, before he heads into the central lab, followed by all of them.
"I'm sure most of you know what goes on here, but in case you don't, I will explain anyways." Professor Eucalyptus said, although all of the experienced Gym Leaders knew he just wanted to talk about the Elementary Isles.
"The Elementary Isles are a series of eighteen islands that surround the center one. Each of these islands are unique. The center island is purely for our research lab, but the rest have no buildings and are filled with wild Pokémon. Adding onto that, each island has very certain Pokémon. One island only has normal types, one island only has fire types, and so on and so forth." Professor Eucalyptus stated, gesturing to a map on the wall.
"Woah, really? So that's why this is a training facility for type specialists, anyone can train here." Tierno says, his voice filled with wonder.
"Wonderfully stated, uh... T... Tierna?" Professor Eucalyptus asks, raising an eyebrow. Tierno chuckles.
"Nah, it's Tierno, sir." Tierno explains. Professor Eucalyptus nods with a slight look of shame on his face.
"Ah, right, sorry. It'll take quite a bit of time for me to remember your names, I am... quite hopeless with names." Professor Eucalyptus says with a guilty smile.
"Still doesn't know my name and I've been here three times now." Avery mutters, crossing his arms.
"Aw, now c'mon, don't be too harsh on me, Abigail." Professor Eucalyptus says, Avery's expression suddenly filling with anger.
"It's AVERY, sir." Avery says through gritted teeth. Professor Eucalyptus blinks for a few seconds before nodding.
"Right. Yeah. Uh... anyways, allow me to get back on topic. You will be assigned to the island with your type speciality on it, that will be your central training location, along with where you can catch new team members. That's why we limited you to two Pokémon from your actual teams from back home. You're encouraged to... expand, catch new Pokémon, and all of that." Professor Eucalyptus says with a smile, spreading his arms out to the rest of the group.
All of the new recruit's eyes light up with excitement, while all of the "veterans" merely gave a small smile at Professor Eucalyptus' expression and his over-the-top explanation.
The professor led them further through the facility, walking past several other researchers doing paperwork, working on their computers, and various other things that they didn't exactly understand.
Eventually, Professor Eucalyptus finally stopped at an outside area, with a battle arena. Leaf was standing on the opposite end and gave a wave to the group.
"Everyone, meet Leaf, my assistant. She used to be a Trainer like you, but eventually settled down to be a researcher after she decided her journey was over." Professor Eucalyptus said, glancing back to the group, before turning around to face them.
"Now... is anyone up for a battle? You'll be battling each other regardless, so might as well scope out your peer's abilities, eh? Everyone, find a partner and we'll get this rolling." Professor Eucalyptus said with a smile, gesturing to the battlefield.
"Sir-!" But before Lacey could ask her question, Professor Eucalyptus cut her off.
"Yes, yes, yes, rules and all that. These will be single battles with two Pokémon each. When you are not battling, I suggest you watch and study carefully. Leaf will be refereeing each match." Professor Eucalyptus answered, as Leaf gave them all a peace sign from across the field. Without any further questions, everyone went off to quickly find a battle partner.
"Hey, Trevor, you wanna be my battle partner?" Cheren asked, tapping on the boy's shoulder. Trevor glanced at him, before glancing over to where Tierno and Shauna were, before back toward Cheren.
"Sure, I'll take you on. I gotta warn you though, I'm not the greatest battler in the world... it's what I'm most seeking to improve." Trevor said, bashful scratching the back of his head. Cheren nodded.
"It's fine. I'm not the best either. It also happens to be what I'm trying to improve at." Cheren says with a small smile. Trevor chuckles.
"What a coincidence." He says, smiling. Cheren nods in response.
Mela and Klara immediately scoured the crowd for each other, before stopping in front of each other, giving each other death glares.
"I'm gonna kick your-" But they paused as the young Allister walked by, but the message had been gotten across. Those two were going to try their best to kick each other asses... or arses in Klara's case.
Bea glanced around the crowd, seeing who would make for an interesting opponent, before she felt someone tugging at her arm.
Had it been anyone else, Bea probably would've punched them as best case scenario or judo-flipped them in a worst case scenario. But since it was Allister, she managed to easily resist the urge. Allister didn't say anything, just staring up at her. Soon, she got the message.
"Oh... you wanna battle me?" Bea asked in a soft voice, crouching down a bit to get onto his level. Allister hesitantly nodded.
"I-I... wanna... s-s-show you... h-how s-s-strong... I've g-gotten..." Allister mutters quietly. His... general adorable-ness melted right through Bea's rough exterior. She immediately nodded.
Sina and Mallow glanced at each other, as the two were standing right next to each other in the crowd. Soon, they both smiled, although Sina more-so smirked then smiled.
"Sure. It'll be interesting to see how a trial captain fights." Sina says with a nod.
"Same, I'm intrigued to see how an assistant like you will act in Pokémon battles." Mallow says, crossing her arms while smiling.
Avery was in the midst of searching for a worthy enough opponent to fight his mighty Psychic types, when Tierno approached.
"Hey, Avery, wanna battle?" Tierno asked him, tapping his foot against the floor rhythmically while he waited for a response.
"I-" Avery stopped himself. He was about to deny Tierno's request, but soon changed his mind. Tierno had insulted his Psychic powers by calling the floating Pokéballs that swirled around his hat a "neat trick" and for that, he would pay.
"Yes, let us battle." Avery responded calmly. Tierno nodded, turning away from Avery.
"Cool, I'll see you on the battlefield." Tierno says, giving him a peace sign as he walked off, trudging past the crowd.
Revenge was going to be sweet for Avery.
Before Falkner could even make a move, Shauna was already in his face, still with that wide smile, jumpscaring Falkner yet again.
"Falkner! You wanna battle? It would be an honor!" Shauna says, clasping her hands together desperately. Hearing her say that filled Falkner with a sense of pride.
"Uh... Yeah..." Falkner said in response. Shauna nodded before running off. That girl was an enigma to Falkner. She was ridiculously carefree for a Gym Leader.
Bonnie glanced around the crowd, not entirely sure who to challenge, before Lacey approached, and Bonnie immediately made up her mind.
"Hey, Lacey! Can I battle you?" Bonnie asked her excitedly. Lacey looked a little hesitant.
"Uh... Bonnie? I'm using Ground types... and by the looks of it, you're using Electric types... you sure you wanna battle me?" Lacey responded, raising an eyebrow, to which Bonnie replied with a nod.
"Win or lose, I just wanna have some fun!" Bonnie says excitedly, pumping both of her fists into the air. Lacey chuckled at the girl's excitement. She was growing on Lacey at a steady pace.
"Alright, fine." Lacey said, brushing hair out of her face. Bonnie let out a cheer of excitement, before running off.
"...I'm not sure you're gonna find it fun." Lacey sheepishly admitted, but who knows? Maybe Bonnie had some strategy to beat ground types? Only time would tell.
Bugsy and Bede immediately turned to each other.
"Bede."
"Bugsy."
And just like that, they'd already decided who they were going to battle.
Finally, there was only Marnie and Peonia left. So the two had to choose each other as their opponents.
"Don't get too far behind." Peonia whispers to Marnie, who rolls her eyes in response. Professor Eucalyptus looked around with a smile at the people who had partnered up.
"Alright, now that everyone has teamed up, let's start battling. I'll choose randomly." Professor Eucalyptus says, before glancing among the different pairs.
"Let's go with... you two!" Professor Eucalyptus exclaimed, pointing at Bonnie and Lacey. The two girls nodded before jogging over to their respective sides of the battlefield. Leaf raised an arm.
"Alright, will both trainers send out their first Pokémon?" Leaf yells out to the two of them. Lacey pulls out a Pokéball while Bonnie glances down at her bag.
"Dedenne, it's time to fight!" Bonnie says fiercely. Dedenne let out a cheerful squeak before leaping out of her bag and onto the battlefield.
"Alright, come on out." Lacey said a bit half-heartedly, tossing a Pokéball forward. From it emerged Krookodile, who roared to the air. All of the other trainers gathered around to watch the battle.
"Call it a hunch, but I think Dedenne's screwed." Peonia says as she glanced between the two Pokémon. Marnie put a hand on her chin.
"I wouldn't say that. Dedenne's a Fairy type, after all. And Krookodile is a Dark type. They both hold an advantage over each other." Marnie said, although that information didn't really dissuade her that Dedenne wasn't going to lose.
"Alright, if both trainers are ready, let the battle BEGIN!" Leaf says, bringing her arm down to signify the start of the battle.
"Krookodile, use Crunch!"
"Dedenne, dodge and use Play Rough."
Krookodile rushed forward and opened its massive maw to snap at Dedenne, but the small hamster Pokémon easily managed to evade by rolling out of the way, before charging at Krookodile and beating it up in a cartoony puff of smoke.
"Dig!"
The smoke suddenly dissipates as Dedenne realizes its foe has disappeared, having digged into a tunnel to escape the fairy beat down.
Before Bonnie could give another command to Dedenne, Krookodile emerged from the ground underneath Dedenne, throwing the Pokémon into the air.
"Dedenne!" Bonnie cried up as Dednne soared into the air. Her hands balled up as she took a deep breath.
"Dedene, use Dazzling Gleam!"
Dedenne begins to emit a bright light, burning at Krookodile's skin, pushing the Pokémon back as it covered its eyes with its arms as Dedenne lands on the ground, a few feet from Krookodile.
"Earthquake!"
"Huh!?"
Krookodile's tail suddenly slams into the ground, as the ground began to rumble and shake. Suddenly, the ground underneath Dedenne erupted, sending the Pokémon into the air.
When it came back down, Dedenne had very obviously fainted. Bonnie pulled out a Pokéball and returned it.
"Dedenne is unable to battle! Krookodile is the winner! The score is 1-0! Bonnie, please send out your next Pokémon!" Leaf shouts as Bonnie rummaged through her bag to pull out a second Pokéball and throwing it forward.
"Helio!" Heliolisk shouted as it emerged in a flash of red light. Lacey's eyes narrowed, considering the possibilities of what could happen. Heliolisk wasn't a Pokémon she was familiar with.
"Battle begin!" Leaf shouts as the two trainers got into action.
"Krookodile, Earthquake!"
"Jump up and use Sunny Day!"
Krookodile snarled before slamming its tail into the air, shaking the ground again, but Heliolisk jumped up, avoiding it, before opening its frills towards the sky, causing the sunlight to turn harsh.
"What's she doing-?"
"Solar Beam!"
Lacey's eyes go wide as Heliolisk absorbs sunlight from the newly harsh sun. Green energy swirled around Heliolisk before it fired it directly at Krookodile.
The green beam of sunlight slammed into Krookodile, throwing the Pokémon backwards, sliding across the ground, before going limp.
"Krookodile is unable to battle! Heliolisk is the winner! The score is 1-1! Lacey, please send out your next battle!" Leaf shouted as Lacey returned Krookodile.
"Wow, Bonnie's no joke. She may be young but she's smarter than I gave her credit for. No more holding back!"
Lacey sent out her next Pokémon, her signature Excadrill, who shouted to the air as Heliolisk landed on the ground.
"Battle begin!" Leaf shouted once more.
"Solar Beam!"
"Metal Claw!"
Heliolisk absorbs more sunlight and fires it once more as a beam towards Excadrill, but one of Excadrill's claws turns a bright silver color, thrusting it in front of itself.
The beam of sunlight reflected off of Excadrill's claw in every direction. Bede even had to duck to avoid losing his head.
"Mud Shot!"
Excadrill conjured a few balls of mud, before firing them forward, through the beam, slamming into Heliolisk, causing the beam to cease while coating Heliolisk's frill in mud.
"Heliolisk! Use- huh?"
Bonnie's command is cut short. Heliolisk struggles to fold and unfold its frill because of the mud sticking to it.
"Earthquake!"
Excadrill dug its claws into the ground, causing the ground to shake and strike Heliolisk, who was too stunned to move. Bonnie had been too shocked to give the command to dodge. Heliolisk fell over, fainted.
"Heliolisk is unable to battle. The score is now 2-1! Lacey is the winner." Leaf states clearly. Bonnie returns Heliolisk to its Pokéball, before looking up to see Lacey approaching and kneel down towards her.
"Hey, that was really good, Bonnie! You threw me for a loop with that Sunny Day and Solar Beam on Heliolisk! I'm impressed." Lacey says with a warm smile. Bonnie nods.
"Thank you! You were great too! That strategy with the mud was awesome!" Bonnie says. Lacey nods sheepishly.
"Now, c'mon, let's go, there are others waiting to battle." Lacey says, before the two clear off of the battle court, with Lacey returning her Excadrill after thanking it.
"Alright, nicely done! Next is... you!" Professor Eucalyptus says once more, pointing towards Cheren and Trevor. The two nod before heading onto the battle court.
Leaf instructed the trainers to send out their Pokémon, and they did. Cheren sent out Unfezant and Trevor sent out Tyrantrum. Unfezant flapped its wings to soar into the air while Tyrantrum roared into the air, shaking the entire area.
"What fascinating Pokémon." Bea mutters quietly. These new recruits were getting more and more powerful as time went on. Granted, Cheren wasn't a new recruit, but Bea had never met Jim.
Soon enough, the battle began.
"Unfezant, use Air Slash!"
"Tyrantrum, use Head Smash!"
"Dodge it!"
Unfezant flaps its wings towards Tyrantrum, releasing slashes of air towards the much larger Pokémon, but Tyrantrum charged right through them, jerking its head down to hit Unfezant, but the bird Pokémon flew out of the way, avoiding it.
"Giga Impact!"
"Oh! Tyrantrum, you use Giga Impact as well!"
Both Pokémon turned to each other and charged, Unfezant soaring through the air and Tyrantrum stomping towards the bird Pokémon swiftly.
The two collided against each other, coming to a screeching halt, still pushing against each other. Eventually, both Pokémon recoiled in pain.
"Now, Rock Slide!"
Tyrantrum roars as it strikes the ground with its tail, throwing rocks into the air that arc and hit Unfezant out of the air, pinning Unfezant to the ground and heavily damaging it.
"Unfezant is unable to battle! The winner is Tyrantrum! The score is now 0-1!" Leaf shouts as Tyrantrum carefully leans down to pick the rocks off of Unfezant with its massive jaws, before Cheren returns Unfezant.
"You did great, Unfezant. Now, come on out, Stoutland!" Cheren yells out, substituting the Pokéball in his hand for another one and throwing it forward, sending out Stoutland, who barks towards Tyrantrum. The large ancient Pokémon roared back at Stoutland.
"Crunch!"
"Avoid it! Then use Retaliate!"
Tyrantrum stomped towards Stoutland and snapped at it with its massive jaws, but Stoutland leapt out of the way, leading to Tyrantrum to bite fiercely at the air. Stoutland charges towards Tyrantrum and lands a devastating strike on the side of Tyrantrum's neck, causing the Pokémon to stumble, nearly falling over.
"Tyrantrum! You OK?!" Trevor yelled out to his Pokémon. But before Tyrantrum could respond, Cheren continued.
"Use Play Rough!"
Stoutland rushes towards Tyrantrum once more, enveloping the Pokémon into a cartoony puff of smoke, laying a beatdown on the Pokémon. When it cleared and Stoutland landed in front of Cheren, Tyrantrum collapsed onto its side. Trevor sighs before rummaging through his pocket for Tyrantrum's Pokéball.
"Tyrantrum is unable to battle! Stoutland is the winner! The score is 1-1! Trevor, please send out your second Pokémon!" Leaf yelled out as Tyrantrum disappeared in a flash of red light, returning to its Pokéball.
"Huh. Gotta say, wasn't expecting that. Think Trevor's got this?" Tierno asked as he watched the battle, glancing towards Shauna beside him. She tilted her head.
"Yeah, he's got this in the bag. Tyrantrum is a Pokémon that Trevor owns but doesn't use that much in battle. His remaining Pokémon on the other hand..." Shauna said, glancing at Tierno, who nodded back.
"Oh, yeah, I gotcha. Trevor's def gonna win." Tierno says with a smirk across his face, secretly hoping that he wasn't jinxing Trevor's victory.
"Alright, Aerodactyl, you're up!" Trevor shouted as he threw out his next Pokémon, nearly stumbling over in the process. The ancient flying Pokémon screeched to the air as it flapped its wings. Wasting no time, the two resumed their battle.
"Superpower!"
"Stop it with Stone Edge!"
A dark red aura formed around Stoutland as it charged towards Aerodactyl, but the flying Pokémon roared to the air, as a large stone emerged from the ground, right in front of itself, causing Stoutland to crash into the rock, almost breaking right through it.
"Let's finish this! Hyper Beam!"
"I don't think so! Use Protect!"
Aerodactyl charged up a gigantic energy beam and fired it towards Stoutland, but a green glowing forcefield formed around Stoutland. The Hyper Beam destroyed the rock, but Stoutland was fine, dropping to the ground.
"Use Work Up!"
"Aerodactyl!"
Aerodactyl had to recharge after that devastating Hyper Beam, as Stoutland barked towards the air, its strength increasing.
"Giga Impact!"
"Dodge it!"
Aerodactyl tried to fly upwards and avoid the charging Stoutland, but it was too disoriented to avoid it, causing Aerodactyl to be thrown backwards by Stoutland.
Aerodactyl remained airborne, shaking off the daze as Stoutland landed back on the ground. Both Aerodactyl and Stoutland were panting, tired from the battle.
The two trainers thought before giving another command, quite possibly their last in this battle.
"Stoutland, use Last Resort!"
"Catch it! Use Crunch!"
Stoutland charges forward towards Aerodactyl, leaping off of the ground, but Aerodactyl opened its jaws and caught the charging Stoutland in its jaws.
"Fly up as high as you can, Aerodactyl, and use Hyper Beam!"
Aerodactyl, carrying Stoutland in its mouth, flew upwards at a supersonic pace. Cheren cupped his hands around his mouth to yell at the rising Stoutland.
"Stoutland! Protect!"
But it was no use, Stoutland was too high in the air. Once the two were high enough, Aerodactyl threw Stoutland further into the air before flying above it and charging up another Hyper Beam.
After a brief charge up sequence, Aerodactyl released Hyper Beam, sending Stoutland all of the way back down to the ground, creating a large crater and kicking up a ton of dust. Both the trainers and spectators were stunned into silence.
Aerodactyl swooped downward next to Trevor as the dust cleared, showing an unconscious Stoutland. Cheren sighed before returning it.
"Aerodactyl is the winner! The score is now 1-2! That means that the victory goes to Trevor!" Leaf says enthusiastically. Cheren begins to walk towards Trevor as the red head returned Aerodactyl.
"That was really good strategy on your part, Trevor, nice job." Cheren said, offering a hand towards Trevor, who graciously took it.
"Thank you. Your Stoutland was a force to be reckoned with, even if it was technically at a disadvantage against my rock types!" Trevor says while the two shook hands, before making their way off of the court.
The group took a brief intermission so that Lacey could use her Ground type Pokémon to mend the arena, making it a flat battlefield once more.
"I must say, I'm on the edge of my metaphorical seat! I expected nothing less from trainers like all of you! Next is... you!" Professor Eucalyptus says enthusiastically, before pointing towards Marnie and Peonia.
Marnie let out a small sigh as Peonia jogged her way towards one end of the newly re-formed battlefield, before Marnie walked on over. The two took out Pokéballs and pointed them towards each other.
They threw them forward, sending out Morpeko and Perrserker. The two Galarian Pokémon both let out an enthusiastic cheer, before entering a battle-ready pose.
"Aw, they're so cute!" Lacey yells out right before they started to fight.
"Aura Wheel!"
Morpeko became enveloped by an electrical wheel, before charging directly towards Perrserker, but before the small Pokémon could make contact, Peonia smirked and yelled out her command.
"Fake Out."
Perrserker smacked forward, interrupting Morpeko's Aura Wheel, causing the electricity to fizzle out, Morkpeko stumbling backwards.
"Iron Head."
Perrserker headbutted forward, throwing Morpeko across the arena, right to Marnie's feet, who kneeled down towards it.
"Morpeko...?" Marnie asked, but Morpeko was soon back onto its feet, letting out an enthusiastic cheer.
"Alright, good." Marnie says with a smirk. "Crunch!"
"Use Heavy Slam!"
Perrserker leapt up into the air and prepared to slam down into Morpeko, but the Two-Sided Pokémon leapt out of the way, leading to Perrserker to crash into the ground, before Morpeko dug its teeth into Perrserker's arm.
"Grab it."
Wincing in pain, Perrserker used its free arm to grab Morpeko, keeping it in place. Marnie's eyes widened.
"Aura Wheel!"
"Metal Claw."
Morpeko tried to envelop itself in electricity once more, but Perrserker used Metal Claw to slash at Morpeko, interrupting the attack.
"And now, Iron Head."
Perrserker let out a growl before tossing Morpeko into the air, re-postioning itself, before striking it out of the air with its head as it fell back down.
Morpeko soared past Marnie and slammed into the wall behind her. She spun around to see an unconscious Morpeko, before it fell to the ground, letting out a pained mumble.
"Morpeko is unable to battle! Perrserker is the winner! The score is now 0-1!" Leaf shouted as Marnie returned Morpeko, before tossing out another Pokéball, sending out Grimmsnarl.
"Oh... that's, uh, a lot less cute... still cute though." Lacey said, putting a finger to her chin in the process. Peonia smirks, raising an eyebrow
"A Fairy type? Against my dad's steel types? What an unfortunate situation." Peonia says with a chuckle, before gesturing to Perrserker.
"Iron Head."
"Stop it with Fake Out."
Perrserker ran at Grimmsnarl, intending to strike it with its head, but Grimmsnarl smacked forward, stopping Perrserker in its tracks.
"Foul Play!"
Grimmsnarl becomes enveloped in a red energy, before charging forward into Perrserker, throwing the Pokémon into the air.
"Finish it with Hammer Arm!"
Grimmsnarl lets out a guttural growl before leaping upwards at the airborne Perrserker and striking downwards with its arm, throwing Perrserker into the ground, fainting it.
"Perrserker is unable to battle! Grimmsnarl is the winner! The score is now 1-1!" Leaf shouts as Peonia returns Perrserker with a small frown across her face. She mumbled something quietly under her breath before throwing a second Pokéball forward, letting out Copperajah.
Copperajah lets out a loud yell as Grimmsnarl got into a battle ready position. Marnie and Peonia briefly paused to think before yelling out their next command.
"Iron Head."
"Dark Pulse!"
Copperajah rushed forwards, shaking the entire battlefield, as Grimmsnarl shoots a beam of darkness forward Copperajah, causing the Pokémon to slow down, but still making its way through the pulse.
When Copperajah got close enough, Grimmsnarl ceased its fire before leaping up over the Iron Head, and over Copperajah as a result.
"Alright! Use Hammer Arm."
"No matter. High Horsepower."
As Grimmsnarl began to swing its arms down towards Copperajah, the giant Pokémon kicked its back legs, causing the two attacks to collide. Eventually, the two were thrown back away from each other, managing to stay on their feet.
"Ngh... Fire Punch!"
"Let it hit, Copperajah. Then, Iron Head."
That threw Marnie for a loop, as Grimmsnarl ran forward, its fist igniting with flames. Copperajah seemed to brace itself as Grimmsnarl swung its fist forward, punching directly into the opposing Pokémon's face.
But once the fires fizzled out, Copperajah remained standing, before using its truck to flip Grimmsnarl off of its feet, and then bashing Grimmsnarl with its head. Grimmsnarl soared over Peonia's head, falling to the ground. Peonia glanced over to it with a chuckle.
"Grimmsnarl is unable to battle! The winner is Peonia!" Leaf announces as Marnie rushes past Copperajah and Peonia to get to Grimmsnarl, returning it into its Pokéball.
"Good battle." Peonia says, offering a handshake. After a few seconds of hesitation, Marnie takes it.
"Yeah, you too." She says before the two unlatch their hands and walk off the battle court. Professor Eucalyptus clapped with a smile on his face.
"Nicely done! You're all so good at this!" He says excitedly, before pointing towards Bugsy and Bede.
"You're up next!" The professor says. The two trainers nod before walking onto the court, taking out Pokéballs.
"Don't be too saddened when I crush you with ease." Bede says with a sneer. Bugsy just rolls his eyes in response, before sending out Heracross. Bede chuckles before sending out his Galarian Rapidash.
"Alright, battle begin!" Leaf announces. The two trainers waste no time at all to command their Pokémon, with Bede preparing to snap his fingers and Bugsy brushing off his clothing.
"Psycho Cut."
"Pin Missile!"
Rapidash begins to gallop towards Heracross, it's horn glowing a magenta color, before striking Heracross into the air with a bucking motion.
Unphased, Heracross flips around in the air to face Rapidash before releasing several green spikes from its back that fly at Rapidash. Bede scowls.
"Block it with Dazzling Gleam."
Rapidash begins to glow a bright pink color, burning up the Pin Missiles, along with burning Heracross in the process. Heracross lands on the ground.
"Another Psycho Cut."
"Counter it!"
Rapidash's horn glows magenta once more as it runs at Heracross and swings its head, but Heracross blocks it, before striking Rapidash with its own horn, causing Rapidash to slide across the battlefield.
"Enough games. Psychic."
Rapidash's eyes begin to glow blue as an aura with the same shade of blue forms around Heracross. Heracross is lifted into the air, before being slammed into the ground, kicking up dust and rocks. Bugsy blocks his eyes with his arms as it happens.
When it clears, Heracross is shown to have fainted. Bugsy sighs before returning it to its Pokéball.
"You fought valiantly, Heracross. Take a rest." Bugsy says before taking out a second Pokéball. Leaf announces the winner and the score, before gesturing to Bugsy to send out his next Pokémon.
"You know, you could just forfeit now. It would save me and everyone else here time." Bede says with a chuckle. Bugsy ignores it before throwing out his next Pokémon, Scizor.
Bede's smirk fades as he sees the Steel Bug type Pokémon.
"That's going to be significantly more annoying..." He thinks to himself, before shaking his head and focusing on the battle. He remembered something about Opal telling him that his arrogance would he his downfall, so maybe focusing on the battle would be more important than making snide remarks. For just this once.
"Flare Blitz."
Rapidash engulfs it's body in fire and charges directly towards Scizor at an astounding speed.
"Crap. It may not be a Fire type anymore, but it can still know those moves..." Bugsy thinks before coming up with an idea.
"Scizor, fan those flames out with Dual Wingbeat! Then fly up high!"
Scizor does as instructed, using both of its wings to blow wind at Rapidash, causing the fire to peeter out. Scizor then flies up high to avoid the non-Flare Blitz.
"Rain down on 'em! Flash Cannon!"
Opening its pincers, Scizor begins to fire multiple Flash Cannons at Rapidash. It does its best to dodge, but eventually succumbs to the onslaught, being hit by too many and collapsing.
Bede frowns as he returns Rapidash and slides the Pokéball into his pocket, cringing as Leaf shouted out that Rapidash had fainted and the new score. Without another word, Bede throws out his next Pokéball, sending out Hatterene.
"No time to waste. Shadow Ball."
Hatterene begins to charge up an orb of spiritual energy, before firing it at Scizor, but the opposing Pokémon ducks under it, causing it to fly into a wall behind Bugsy.
"Bullet Punch! Over and over!"
"Scizor!" The Pokémon cries before flying towards Hatterene at an incredibly quick speed, landing Bullet Punch after Bullet Punch, easily overwhelming the Pokémon and sending it to the ground.
Hatterene fainted, Bede returned it, Leaf announced the winner, and the two walked off the court, Bede swearing revenge.
"Great! Next is... you two!" Professor Eucalyptus says, clapping before pointing at Tierno and Avery. The two nod before taking this positions on the battlefield, with Avery mumbling to himself quietly about revenge.
Tierno, with a smile, send out his first Pokémon, Crawdaunt, which tapped its feet against the ground rhythmically, while Avery passionately sent out Alakazam, which let out a cry.
"Battle begin!" Leaf shouted as the trainers prepared their first move, shouting it out to their Pokémon.
"Grrr... vile Dark type... Use Energy Ball!"
"Alright, Crawdaunt, you know what to do! Night Slash!"
Alakazam fired a green energy ball towards Crawdaunt, but in an oddly athletic display, Crawdaunt ducked down and began spinning on its back to avoid it, Tierno doing a backflip over it as well. Avery was shocked, as was most of the crowd. Well, mostly everyone.
"What an impressive show of talent." Professor Eucalyptus says quietly, idly tapping a finger against his chin.
"U-un... ortha... d-d-dox... H-he'd... make... g-g-good l-l-leader." Allister mumbles from underneath his mask. Bea just nods in response.
Crawdaunt continues spinning on its shell, before pushing off of the ground with one of its pincers to leap over another Energy Ball.
"Ugh! Stay Still! Shock Wave!"
Alakazam begins to charge up electricity, before firing at Crawdaunt, intending to fry it out of the air as the Pokémon begin to fall back down.
"Mud-Shot, then continue that Night Slash!"
From Crawdaunt's pincers, several balls of mud form, before the Pokémon hurl them all at the electricity, causing it to fizzle out. As Crawdaunt continued falling, it pulled into a spin, before striking Alakazam on the top of the head with its pincer, before leaping away from Alakazam.
Alakazam collapsed, falling onto its chin. Avery stands there, stunned, as Leaf announces the winner with a chuckle. He felt his anger boiling as he returned Alakazam. He would not be made a laughing stock!
"Go, Slowking!" Avery shouts, sending out the Pokémon, which lets out a deep chuckle as it sizes up its opponent.
"Guillotine!"
Avery felt his blood run cold. No, no, no! He would not allow that to land, it would knock out Slowking immediately! But how...? A light bulb suddenly goes off in Avery's head, a smirk forming across his face.
"Power Gem, my dear Slowking!"
Slowking hops upwards as rocks form around itself. They suddenly shoot towards Crawdaunt, striking it out of the air as it had charged forward to use Guillotine, interrupting the move. Crawdaunt slide backwards, but seemed relatively unharmed.
"Dark Pulse!"
Crawdaunt shoots the beam of darkness towards Slowking, but Avery just smirked in response.
"How trivial. Slowking, Trick Room!"
Slowking lets out another deep chuckle, as a magenta box forms around the arena, the Dark Pulse suddenly shooting towards Slowking at a Slugma's pace.
"Now, Focus Blast, if you will."
Slowking steps aside from the Dark Pulse as a blue energy ball begins to form above Slowking's head. After a bit of charging, the Focus Blast is fired towards Crawdaunt, throwing the Pokémon backwards slowly thanks to Trick Room.
Trick Room fades away and Crawdaunt flies to the ground in front of Tierno, who returns it.
"Crawdaunt is unable to battle! The winner is Slowking! The score is now 1-1!" Leaf shouts before Tierno sends out his second Pokémon, Blastoise, which cries towards the air.
"You're being annoying. Toxic-"
But before Avery could finish or Slowking could use the move, Blastoise suddenly soars towards Slowking, enveloped in water, throwing Slowking into the air. Blastoise comes to a screeching halt in front of Avery.
"Now, Hydro Pump!"
Blastoise aims its cannons at Slowking, firing two pressurized beams of water, striking Slowking out of the air, although it manages to land on its feet.
"Ugh! Use Gunk Shot! And then Psybeam!"
Slowking spits a glob of poison towards Blastoise, following by emitting a beam of magenta light at it.
"Rapid Spin, Blastoise!"
Blastoise tucks into its shell and begins spinning, causing the Gunk Shot to bounce off and making the Psybeam to dissipate against it on contact. Blastoise boards towards Slowking while spinning, eventually slamming into it, causing Slowking to slide across the field. Slowking stumbled, but remained standing, although it did looked dazed.
"Slowking, use Grass Knot!"
But Slowking was too dazed to register the command. Blastoise rushed over to Slowking, before biting the opposing Pokémon and spinning to throw it into the air.
"Alright, finish it with Hydro Pump!"
Blastoise fired its cannons at Slowking as it fell back down towards the earth, shooting the Pokémon out of the air, leading to it to collapse to the ground, fainted.
Avery was stunned, acting on reflex to return Slowking as Leaf announced the winner. He pulled the rim of his hat over his eyes as he and Tierno walked off of the court. Professor Eucalyptus clapped.
"Bravo! Next is... you!" Professor Eucalyptus says, gesturing towards Mela and Klara. The two sneered as they ran onto the battlefield. The two didn't even wait for Leaf before sending out their Pokémon, with Mela sending out her Torkoal and Klara sending out her Scollipede. And then they immediately went on the offensive.
"ERUPTION!"
"Rollout, please!"
Torkoal began to shoot fire out of its back, akin to a volcanic eruption, while Scolipede curled up into a ball and rolled towards Torkoal, slamming into it, causing Torkoal to slide backwards, while dodging the fire.
"USE FLAMETHROWER!"
Torkoal fires a stream of fire out of its mouth that quickly enveloped Scolipede, but it was quick to leap out of the fire, left with several burn marks in the process.
"Now, use Bulldoze!"
Scolipede hops into the air, before slamming down into it, causing the ground to shake, several pieces of Earth to come up from the ground and damage Torkoal, throwing the Pokémon into the air, but it manages to land back down just fine.
"FLAMETHROWER AGAIN!"
"Protect-"
But before Klara could get all of her command out, her lovely Poison type Pokémon was engulfed in a stream of flames, throwing Scolipede and causing it to collapse.
"Ugh, really!? Get up, Scolipede!" Klara shouted, but Scolipede did not move. Leaf raised her arm to signify the end of the match.
"Scolipede is unable to battle! The winner is Torkoal! The score is now 1-0!" Leaf shouted as Torkoal let out a cry of victory. Mela smirked at her Pokémon's reaction.
"Yeah, Torkoal, let's steamroll this prick!" Mela yells, pointing forward towards Klara. A look of concern washed over the crowd watching, aside from Professor Eucalyptus, whose smile remained.
"Uh, sir, I'm concerned there is an... unhealthy rivalry ship forming here." Lacey whispers towards the professor, who nods in response before glancing towards Lacey.
"Rivarly is a good thing. Healthy or not, it's good to have someone to push you forward!" The professor said cheerfully. Lacey didn't agree, but knew better than to argue, presuming that there was little to change his mind.
"Ugh! Come on out, Slowbro!" Klara yells, throwing out her next Pokémon, sending out the Galarian variant of Slowbro, which let out a battle cry, before aiming the arm with the shell on it towards Torkoal.
"Shell Side Arm!"
"Stop it with Flamethrower!"
Slowbro fires a stream of purple poison from the tip of the Shellder, while Torkoal breathed more fire forward at its foe. The stream of poison shot right through the fire and slammed Torkoal in the face, causing the Pokémon to slide backwards and cease fire.
"Torkoal, you alright?" Mela asks, undertones of worry in her voice. Torkoal looks back at Mela and nods. Klara blinks in confusion at the interaction between trainer and Pokémon.
"Alright, hit 'em with an Earthquake!"
Torkoal lets out another cry as the battlefield began to shake, the ground under Slowbro threatening to erupt!
"Jump! I know mobility not really your thing, but jump, damn- dang it!"
Upon hearing the command, Slowbro leapt up into air, narrowly avoiding the ground erupting underneath itself.
"Alright! Now, Surf!"
Slowbro cries out in fury as water began to suddenly flood the battlefield, quickly throwing Torkoal off of its feet, swirling it around wildly in the water, before throwing Torkoal into the wall.
Oh, and Mela got soaked too.
"Torkoal is unable to battle! Slowbro is the winner! The score is now 1-1!" Leaf announces as Mela returns Torkoal and Klara snickers, her Slowbro landing back on the ground. Mela grips her Pokéball before sliding it away and taking out another one.
"COME ON OUT!" Mela practically roars as she throws her next Pokémon out, her Armarouge. The Pokémon gracefully lands on the ground. Armarouge and Slowbro stare at each other, before narrowing their eyes.
"Armor Cannon!"
"Shell Side Arm!"
The two Pokémon aimed their cannons forward and fired, the two attacks slamming into each other, creating an explosion of fire, smoke, and hazardous toxins. When it cleared, both Pokémon were unharmed.
"Keep on using Armor Cannon!"
"Be relentless! Use Shell Side Arm!"
The two Pokémon fired shot after shot, blazing projectile hitting a poison projectile, creating more explosions made of fire and toxins, with neither Pokémon seeming to be harmed after any of the shots.
"Throw it off! Expanding Force!"
"W-what!?"
A wave of purple energy emmited from Armarouge's hand than expanded towards Slowbro, surrounding it quickly, before a column of purple, yellow, and blue energy emerged from below and engulfed Slowbro, tossing it into the air. Mela smirked.
"Perfect. Now, ARMOR CANNON!"
Armarouge nodded and took aim, before firing once more. With no poison to impede its progress, the blazing projectile slammed into Slowbro, creating an explosion that tossed Slowbro further in the air. Armarouge watched carefully as Slowbro eventually fell back down and didn't get back down.
"Ha! Told ya we'd kick your-" But Mela cut herself off, glancing towards the crowd and taking note of Bonnie and Allister, along with death glares from Lacey and Bea.
"...Backside...?" Mela offered, before shaking her head and returning Armarouge to its Pokéball as Mela stomped her feet against the ground, groaning, before returning Slowbro and walking off, as did Mela.
"Bravado! Amazing battle, you two!" The professor said, as if he didn't detect the antagonism between the two. "Now... you two! You're up next!" Professor Eucalyptus continued, gesturing towards Sina and Mallow.
"Naturally. You ready to put on a show for our wonderful audience?" Sina asked, glancing towards Mallow, who nodded.
"Am I ever!" She replied enthusiastically before jogging towards her position on the battlefield, while Sina merely walked to the opposite side of her.
"Please bring out your Pokémon!" Leaf requested, gesturing to both trainers. The two tossed Pokéballs forward, sending out Jynx and Shiinotic.
"Battle begin!" Leaf announces, starting the battle. The two trainers waste no time before starting their battle.
"Jynx, Ice Punch."
"Moonblast, Shiinotic!"
The mushroom Pokémon fired a pink orb of mystic power directly at Jynx, but the humanoid Pokémon stepped forward, its hand being surrounded in mist, before throwing it forward, punching the Moonblast and causing it to disperse.
"Hm... Ooh, I got an idea! Shiinotic, Sunny Day!"
Shiinotic let out another cry as the sun's rays suddenly increased, much to the displeasure of Jynx. Sina's mouth formed into a small smirk as she glanced upwards towards the sun.
"Hail."
Jynx shook its head before letting out a melodic cry as the harsh sun turned into brisk snow and heavy hail. Mallow blinked.
"Huh."
"Now, Jynx, use Blizzard!"
"Oh crap! Dodge it, then set up the sun once more!"
Jynx released a barrage of misty wind towards Shiinotic, but the Pokémon managed to jump out of the air, before letting out another cry, causing the sun to return harshly and melt all of the hail away. Sina sighed.
"No point going with this back-and-forth of the weather. I suppose I'll let you keep this advantage." Sina muttered.
"Thanks! Use Energy Ball!"
Shiinotic conjured a green energy ball and fired it towards Jynx, soaring downwards at an arc towards the Pokémon.
"Psychic. Redirect it."
Jynx thrusted one of its hands out, before jerking it to the side, causing the Energy Ball to swerve to the side, matching Jynx's movements. Before Mallow or Shiinotic could react, the Energy Ball was turned around and slammed into Shiinotic's face.
Shiinotic slid backwards but was otherwise unaffected by the Energy Ball, managing to recover quickly.
"Pollen Puff!"
Shiinotic shoots a puff of pollen from the tip of its mushroom, floating gingerly towards Jynx, quickly hitting the Pokémon, although it remained standing.
"Copycat."
"Huh?"
Jynx closed its eyes for a moment before opening them, causing another puff of pollen to appear, this time flying towards Shiinotic, slamming into the Pokémon and sending it flying backwards, over Mallow's head, and hitting the ground, knocked out.
"Shiinotic is unable to battle! Jynx is the winner!" Leaf announced as Mallow returned Shiinotic, before turning back to Sina and Jynx with a smile.
"Amazing! I expected nothing less from a professor's assistant!" Mallow says before sending out another Pokémon, this time her Tsareena.
"Thank you. You're not bad yourself." Sina says with a smirk, responded to by a nod from Mallow, as the long legged Pokémon landed gracefully on the ground, taking a battle ready position, awaiting their trainer's command.
"High Jump Kick!"
"Ice Punch."
Tsareena leapt up high into the air, preparing to bring on of its legs down on Jynx, as Jynx's fist became enveloped in mist once more. The two attacks soon collided. Ice began to coat along Tsareena's leg, before Tsareena managed to overpower Jynx, throwing the Pokémon so hard into the ground that it bounced back up into the air.
"Use U-Turn!"
Tsareena became enveloped in green energy, before rushing forwards and slamming into Jynx, throwing it across the field, nearly into Sina, but she reacted quickly and returned the fainted Jynx into its Pokéball before it hit her.
"Jynx is unable to battle! The winner is Tsareena! The score is now 1-1!" Leaf shouted as Sina sent out her next Pokémon, Glaceon, which landed on the ground and let out a calm cry.
"No time to marvel in our beauty. Use Blizzard!"
Glaceon cried out as a pure white torrent of snow soared towards Tsareena, quickly enveloping the Pokémon, which tried to block it out with its arms. Granted, the harsh sun did make the attack weaker, but that didn't stop it from harming Tsareena
"We gotta end this! High Jump Kick!"
Tsareena leapt up through the Blizzard and swung its foot down towards Glaceon outside of the snow. Tsareena soared downwards towards the Ice type, but Sina just smirked.
"...Now, Avalanche."
Glaceon conjured more snow that fell from above, blocking Tsareena's kick, causing it to the fall to the ground and everyone to lose sight on the battlefield. When the harsh sunlight finally melted through the snow and ice, it revealed a perfectly unharmed Glaceon and a fainted Tsareena.
"Oh well!" Mallow says with a giggle while returning Tsareena, as Leaf announced the winner. Sina and Mallow walked towards the center of the battlefield and shook hands, before walking back to the crowd, chatting up a storm... figuratively.
"An amazing display of strategy! Nice work! Now... onto... you!" Professor Eucalyptus says, pointing towards Shauna and Falkner. Shauna cheered while Falkner merely just started walking towards the battlefield. Shauna soon noticed and let out a small yelp, before running to the position across from Falkner.
"Come on out, Honchkrow!" Falkner yelled as he sent out his first Pokémon. It felt almost weird to be using his own Pokémon for once over his father's. But the League had dictated that Gym Leader's must use their own Pokémon, so Falkner had no choice.
"Time for your debut battle, Altaria!" Shauna says, doing a twirl and tossing a Pokéball over her head, letting out the Cloud Bird Pokémon, Altaria, which cries towards the air as it soared upwards before landing on the ground.
The two bird Pokémon flapped their wings, flying into the air, staring at each other, before Leaf gave the go ahead for battle.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Dark Pulse!"
Altaria charged up a blue energy beam while Honchkrow charged up a black energy beam. After a few seconds of charging, the two released their attacks, colliding into each other and exploding into smoke.
"Now, Brave Bird!"
"Use- what!? Oh, come on! Brave Bird!"
Both bird Pokémon did a quick backflip in the air, surrounding themselves in a yellow energy before soaring directly towards each other, colliding before flying away from each other, neither Pokémon being particularly harmed.
"Moonblast!"
"Night Slash, let's go!"
Altaria fired a blast of fairy magic towards Honchkrow, who turned to fly towards it, cleaving the Moonblast into two, the halves flying into the ground, before Honchkrow slashed at Altaria with its wings, briefly throwing it off balance, before it gained stability once more.
Strangely enough, Shauna didn't give Altaria another command, which Falkner had been waiting for. He was confused when Shauna just stood there, smirking, as Altaria hovered in the air.
"Fine, if you won't move, Honchkrow, use Brave Bird!"
"And now! Use Ice Beam!"
"W-what!? Avoid it!"
But it was too late. Honchkrow had soared too close to Altaria to avoid the chilly beam, quickly engulfing Honchkrow and sending it spiraling to the ground, unconscious.
"Honchkrow is unable to battle! The winner is Altaria! The score is now 1-1!" Leaf announced. As Falker returned Honchkrow, his free hand balled into a fist. He was careless and fell right into a trap. No, he wasn't going to let it end like that.
"I'll just need to be more cautious." Falker thought to himself as he tossed out his next Pokémon, Noctowl. It flapped its wings and reached level with Altaria, the two Pokémon staring each other down.
"Ice Beam!"
"Stop it with Extrasensory!"
Altaria prepared to fire another Ice Beam, but Noctowl's eyes glowed with psychic power, stopping the move while dealing damage to Altaria, before Noctowl swooped down towards Altaria.
"Use Hypnosis!"
Noctowl fired more psychic energy from its eyes, successfully landing on Altaria and lulling it to sleep.
"Altaria!" Shauna cried out as Altaria collapsed to the ground.
"Use Hurricane!"
Noctowl flapped its wings, causing the winds to increase in intensity, nearly knocking many of the spectators off of their feet. The wind enveloped Altaria and lifted it off of the ground, throwing it around, the wind slashing at Altaria. Eventually, the wind ceased and Altaria was dropped to the ground, knocked out.
Leaf announced the winner and Falker felt his nerves rising as Shauna returned Altaria and sent out her second Pokémon, Goodra, which roared to the air as it landed on the ground, kicking up rocks and dust as it did so.
"Goodra...? This won't be easy, Goodra's a powerful Pokémon..."
"Hm... Goodra's strong and could probably take Noctowl in one hit... The problem is... I believe Noctowl's too fast."
"Battle begin!" Leaf shouts and the trainers waste no time at all, shouting their commands.
"Air Slash!"
"Block it with Aqua Tail!"
Noctowl flapped its wings towards Goodra, releasing several sharp wind projectiles at Goodra, as water suddenly appears and envelops Goodra's tail. The Puesdo-Legendary spun around, striking all of the projectiles out of the air with its water-covered tail.
"Moonblast!"
"Ignore it! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Dodge it!"
Noctowl fires a pink energy ball that soars towards Goodra, exploding upon contact with Goodra's chest. It clearly hurts, but Goodra shakes off the pain before electricity envelops around its entire body, before shooting a bolt of lightning towards Noctowl, but the Owl Pokémon swoops out of the way, sending the thunder to fly towards the sky.
"Use Hypnosis!"
"Block it out with Power Whip!"
As Noctowl shoots another stream of psychic power at Goodra, the dragon type roars as several roots emerge from the ground and form a shield in front of Goodra to block it.
"Air Slash! Follow it up with Psychic!"
Noctowl flaps its wings around to shoot more sharp projectiles, cutting through the roots and hitting Goodra, before Noctowl's eyes glowed and Goodra begins to float upwards.
"...Use Power Whip! Ensnare yourself to the ground!"
Goodra roars once more as more roots come from the ground and wrap themselves around Goodra's ankles, and pulling against Noctowl's psychic power.
"No place to hide now! Use Moonblast!"
"That's what you think!~"
Falkner was caught off guard by the comment. Noctowl begins to charge up the attack and fires it at Goodra, slamming into the Pokémon, although it remains standing. Before Falkner can think of what to do next, he sees what's happened to Noctowl after the smoke clears. One of the roots from Goodra's Power Whip had snatched both of Noctowl's talons, which very much surprised Falkner.
"Noctowl! Use Psychic to-"
But before Falkner can continue, the roots suddenly pull Noctowl forward, slamming it into the ground face-first, before more roots wrap around the Pokémon's wings to keep it pinned.
"Gotcha right where I want ya! Goodra, Thunderbolt!"
Goodra nods before being enveloped in electricity once more and firing another bolt of electricity at Noctowl, this time with nowhere to dodge. It creates an explosion that nearly engulfs the entire area.
When the smoke clears, a dumb-founded Falkner stares at a fainted Noctowl. Without another word, Falker raises his Pokéball and returns Noctowl. Leaf announces the winner as Shauna quickly runs up at hugs her Goodra, who gleefully hugs back, before she returns Goodra to its Pokéball.
"Thanks for the battle, Falkner!" Shauna says, waving at Falkner from across the court. Falkner is silent for a few seconds before waving back and smirking.
"...You're welcome." Falkner says quietly, before the two step off of the court. Falkner remembers advice he'd heard so many times. Pokémon Battling isn't about winning, it's about having fun.
Falkner never took that advice seriously until now.
Professor Eucalyptus claps while chuckling. "Great strategy, both of you. Promising trainers like all of you make me feel so elated... er... that was everyone, right?" The professor asks, raising an eyebrow while glancing around. Bea raises her hand with her stern and stoic expression.
"My brother and I are the last ones, Professor Eucalyptus." Bea states. The professor nods while chuckling and scratching the back of his head.
"Of course! How could I have forgotten! Go ahead, have fun!" The professor said, gesturing to the battle court. Bea nods before glancing at Allister. The two walk towards the battle court and taking their positions.
Lacey frowns as she glances between them. "They're... siblings...? I find that... hard to believe." Lacey mutters. The professor chuckles.
"Not biologically... if I remember correctly... I believe... he's adopted." Professor Eucalyptus explains, avoiding saying any names, as everyone (himself included) know he would've gotten it wrong.
"These two run the same Gym back home. They're probably pretty evenly matched, innit? Might've done trainin' together." Marnie mutters quietly, resting a hand on her chin. Falkner hums to himself quietly.
"Less of a Pokémon battle... more of who knows the other better... who knows the other strategy more." Falkner voices his thoughts. Murmurs of agreement arise from the group.
Bea and Allister ignore the crowd talking, staring at each other from across the court. Leaf gestures to both of them, before speaking loudly.
"Both trainer, bring out your first Pokémon!" She yells as the two pull out Pokéballs and hold them forward. Bea throws her forward, while Allister drops his towards the ground, letting out Bea's Sirfetch'd and Allister's Mimikyu.
"Battle begin!" Leaf yelled out as Bea quickly adjusted her headband and Allister adjusted his mask.
"Brutal Swing."
Sirfetch'd wasted no time at all, charging at Mimikyu, before twisting into a spin as its leek began to glow a dark red color. Strangely, neither Allister nor Mimikyu moved until Sirfetch'd got close enough.
"...Now..."
Immediately, Mimikyu seemingly vanished and Sirfetch'd missed, stumbling, but using its shield to regain its balance. Most assumed that Mimikyu had somehow teleported, but Bea knew better.
"If there's one thing you shouldn't underestimate on a Ghost type, it's their speed. Mimikyu's probably darting around faster than me and Sirfetch'd can track." Bea thought to herself, poised and unconcerned. This was a tactic she had seen her brother use before, although she's never had to face it herself.
"...Shadow Claw..."
In a flash, Mimikyu zipped by, slashing at Sirfetch'd with one of its claws, leaving behind a shadowy trail. For a moment, Bea had locked onto Mimikyu's position, but quickly lost it.
"...Shadow Ball..."
"Detect."
Mimikyu leapt into the air and fired a Shadow Ball down at Sirfetch'd. A gleam could be seen in the Pokémon's eyes as Sirfetch'd suddenly spun around and batted at the Shadow Ball, sending it back towards Mimikyu, hitting it out of the air.
Mimikyu landed back down on the ground, it's disguise broken, the fake Pikachu head slinking to one side.
"...Oh..." Allister murmured to himself quietly as he replayed what just happened in his head.
"Bea didn't even bat an eye at Mimikyu's speed. She just found an easy way to exploit it. Interesting..."
"Poison Jab, Sirfetch'd."
Sirfetch'd let out a battle cry before charging at Mimikyu, it's leak lowered for a stab and beginning to glow purple. Allister tilted his head, as Mimikyu jumped up to evade it.
"Don't let it land! Keep using Poison Jab."
Sirfetch'd turned, its leak still glowing purple, and began to stab at Mimikyu while it was airborne, successfully hitting Mimikyu one time, throwing the Pokémon into the air.
"Finish it with Brave Bird!"
"...Destiny Bond."
Bea's expression turned to surprise as Sirfetch'd soared towards Mimikyu, right as ghostly orbs appeared and surrounded Mimikyu. Sirfetch'd collides into Mimikyu, and the two both fell to the ground, unconscious. Leaf was caught off guard.
"Um... Both Pokémon are unable to battle! The score is 1-1" She announces, quickly regaining her composure, as Bea and Allister returned their Pokémon. Bea had to admit, that was quick thinking on Allister's part, she was impressed.
The two soon sent out their second Pokémon each, Gengar and Machamp. The two Pokémon landed in front of their trainers and let out a battle-ready cry (although Gengar's sounded suspiciously like a mischievous giggle).
The two trainers and their Pokémon didn't move though. They just stared each other down silently.
"What are they... doing?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head as she glanced between the trainers and Pokémon she was watching battle. Professor Eucalyptus smirked while crossing his arms.
"These two are very experienced trainers, despite being so young. More than that, they live together, they're siblings. They know how the other one battles. And they're using that hindsight to their advantage... In other words, whoever attacks first will probably be at a disadvantage." The professor explained as best he could. He was no expert when it came to Pokémon Battling, but he'd watched many Champion battles to recognize strategy.
The two siblings continued to stare at each other, until they suddenly shouted commands at the same time.
"Dual Chop!"
"Shadow Punch!"
Two of Machamp's four hands became enveloped in draconic energy, as Gengar's fist became infused with spiritual energy. The two then charged towards each other. Machamp crossed its arms while Gengar threw a straight punch, the two attacks colliding and stopping each other in their tracks. The two Pokémon pushed against each other, with Machamp seemingly having a small advantage.
"Machamp, use Throat Chop with your other arms!"
"...Down into the darkness with you, Gengar."
Machamp's free hands suddenly prepared to chop down on Gengar from above, but the Ghost Posion type Pokémon suddenly retreated down into the ground, phasing through it and narrowly missing Machamp's throat chop.
Machamp's attacks both fizzled out after releasing their power into the air, calmly looking down and taking glances at various positions around itself, ready and poised for Gengar to emerge. Its trainer did much the same.
"Earthquake, Machamp!"
"Heh... heh heh... heh..."
Machamp raised a foot and slammed into the ground, causing the entire ground to shake... but nothing happened. Gengar wasn't thrown out of the ground like Bea had been expecting, but Allister's chuckling told her that something was up.
"Now."
Suddenly, from above, a barrage of Shadow Balls rained down along the battlefield, several of which hit Machamp, but the four armed Pokémon remained standing. Bea looked up to see Gengar floating above the battlefield, snickering to itself.
"...Good job... Gengar... Good... idea."
Gengar grinned mischievously in response. Bea was unphased, before giving Machamp its next move.
"Stone Edge! Throw them at Gengar!"
Bea knew that, while in the air, she couldn't do much to Gengar, so she had to improvise. Machamp conjured rocks to stick out from the ground, before smacking them towards Gengar, flying upwards towards the Ghost Pokémon.
Gengar floated out of the way, dodging all of the launched rocks. Bea kept an eye on the rocks launched into the air, before locking eyes with one that directly hovering over Gengar's current position.
"Now, jump and grab!"
Machamp leapt upwards towards Gengar, phasing right through the Pokémon while it chuckled mischievously. But Gengar wasn't Machamp's intended target. Machamp reached up to the rock above Gengar and grabbed it with all four arms, before spinning around and throwing it at Gengar.
The rock smashed into Gengar, slamming it into the ground, momentarily dazing and stunning Gengar, effectively pinning it for the moment.
"Now, end it! Darkest Lariat!"
Machamp began to spin in the air itself, all four arms outstretched, before falling back down to the ground at a fast speed. Allister called out to Gengar, but the Pokémon was too dazed by the rock.
Allister couldn't do anything but watch as Machamp slammed into Gengar, obliterating the rock that pinned it and the center of the battlefield, kicking up dust in the process. Anticipation filled the air as it slowly began to part, before Machamp emerged, clearing all of the dirt with a clap from all four of its hands, forcing the dust to disperse.
Everyone could see Gengar, sitting at the bottom of a crater and unconscious. Leaf raised her arm.
"Gengar is unable to battle! Bea is the victor!" Leaf announced as Allister returned Gengar to its Pokéball and looked at it.
"...Crumbs." Allister murmured to himself as he slide the Pokéball away and Bea returned Machamp, before walking towards her brother and patting him on the shoulder.
"Nice job, Alli." She said, a small smile tugging at her mouth. Allister nodded, gripping his mask. The two cleared the court. Professor Eucalyptus glanced over at the horizon in the distance, seeing the sun slowly beginning to dip down.
"Well, what a magnificent series of battles you've shown me! I believe everyone's tired now. Leaf, could you please escort them to their rooms?" Professor Eucalyptus asked, glancing at the approaching assistant, who nodded.
"Follow me." Leaf said, walking through the halls of the research lab, followed by all of the trainers. She led them all to one end of the lab, showing off eighteen doors, each of them inscribed with a type symbol. All of then were bedrooms, one for each of them.
They were very comfortable rooms, with soft beds, a private bathroom, a small kitchenette, and other things to make the trainers feel more at home. All of the cargo that they had left on the ship had also been moved there.
Tired from the day's events and the battling, all of the trainers soon laid down and drifted off to sleep, most of them excited about their training on the Elemental Isles.
Well... some were indifferent to the idea, but you get the point.