I cheer loudly, along with the rest of the crowd, as Flannery makes her way to Surge to get her badge. A huge smile graces my face as she soon slips out the door on the opposite side of the arena. Not long after she left, one of the gym trainers lets out a large grey Pokemon with what looks like yellow stones in it and spikes on its arms.
It takes me a moment, but I realize it is an Alolan Graveler. The Graveler makes its way into the center of the field and begins to glow an earthy brown color, and gradually, the arena begins to shift back to how it was before the fight. It takes the Pokemon about five minutes to bring the field back to fighting order, where neither trainer will have an overt advantage. I notice Bea stands and starts to stretch slightly before heading towards the challengers' podium.
"Show him who's boss, Bea!" I tell her as she starts to walk away.
"You betcha! Watch how I do this!" She says as she turns towards me and flashes a huge grin while holding out a fist. I give her a fist bump in return with a big smile of my own. She has totally got this fight!
"Welcome, Challenger. Same rules as last fight. Three on Three, no switches." Surge waits for a moment as Bea nods in acknowledgement. "Good, Voltorb go."
He tosses his pokeball out and releases a Voltorb, but shouldn't they have the same color as a pokeball? I quickly take out my phone and look at what the Pokedex says. Apparently, it is a Hisuian Voltorb, which is an ancient version of modern Voltorbs. I wonder how he got it.
"Let's go, Maku!" Bea doesn't look like she is worried as she tosses out her first Pokemon. A moment later, the announcer calls for the start of the fight.
[Music Insert: Thunderbringer - Amalee]
"Screech, Stun Spore." Surge calls out his first command the moment the referee finishes saying start.
"Maku, dodge it and Bulk up" I flinch slightly as Voltorb lets out a high pitched scream just as Makuhita jumps backward hard, kicking up a large amount of sand in the process. I notice that the yellow-green particles from Stun Spore seem to get mixed into the sand and fail to reach Bea's Pokemon. Makuhita starts to glow a red-orange color as he gets off his buff without much of an issue.
"Rollout, Swift." Voltorb slowly begins to roll around the arena, picking up speed. As it gets under motion, I notice a few silvery stars appearing behind it before they shoot off towards Makuhita.
"Endure it, Force Palm!" Makuhita raises her arms in defense as the silvery stars splash against her. As the barrage ends, she pulls back an arm, causing her hand to start to glow. Her fist flashes forward in a blur and releases a red-orange blast towards the rolling Voltorb.
"Speed past it. Stun spore." Voltorb picks up more speed, but unfortunately, Makuhita seems to have predicted its path. The wave of energy slams into the rolling Pokemon, making it skid across the ground away from her. As the attack hits, a yellow spark flints off of Voltorb but fizzles out before it can reach Makuhita.
"That's it, one more good hit will do it! Bulk Up and hit it with another Force Palm!" Voltorb spins in the dirt, picking up more speed as it drifts around Makuhita while releasing yellow-green particles behind it. For some reason, I hear some eurobeat playing as I watch the drifting Pokemon. It isn't until I hear 'Deja vu' coming from my hair clip that I crack a smile at its timing.
"Hit it, and Self Destruct." Unfortunately, due to Voltorb's speed, the Stun Spore goes wide and doesn't affect Makuhita. Bea's Pokemon moves into position for another attack, its arm pulled back and starting to glow before firing off another shockwave that just misses the fast-moving ball Pokemon.
"Knock it into the air with COUNTER!" Bea orders as Voltorb makes a sharp turn towards Makuhita, heading straight for it as it starts to glow brightly. Voltorb hits Makuhita's outstretched arms at full speed, causing the fighting Pokemon to slide backwards across the floor. As the glow begins to peak, Makuhita suddenly squats and slams its arms against the other Pokemon, successfully launching it into the air. A moment later, Voltorb explodes with a loud bang, causing the arena to shake slightly.
"Tamaya~" I hear someone call from behind me as Voltorbs explosion goes off. All around me I hear quiet giggles and chuckles relieving the tension that was building in the waiting stands.
"Voltorb is no longer able to fight! Gym Leader Surge, please send out your next Pokemon."
"Nice call, it takes a well-trained Pokemon to pull off a move like that," Surge tells Bea as he recalls the fainted Voltorb and grabs his next Pokemon from the shelf beside him. "Flaffy, go. Thunder Wave."
"Let's keep the ball rolling, Bulk Up again and Arm Thrust!" Surge's ball lands on the arena floor, and with a red flash, his next Pokemon appears. With a happy-sounding bleat, a short pink Pokemon with a fluffy batch of fur around its neck greets the crowd. Without missing a beat, the sheep-like Pokemon lets out a burst of electric energy.
"Confuse Ray, Electro Ball!" Surge calmly commands his newest Pokemon as Makuhita charges forward towards Flaaffy, not caring about the burst of energy, even as a pale yellow corona forms around her. With a loud cry, she starts to thrust her fists forward, not giving the other Pokemon a chance to dodge. The attacks seem to hit harder than before as Flaaffy staggers backwards. The Pokemon seems to take an extra step back, preventing the last attack from hitting as its eyes start to glow with a purplish light.
"Finish it! Bullet Punch!" Bea counters just as a purple beam hits Makuhita, causing her to stumble again. Before she can recover, Flaaffy flashes forward with a sphere of yellow energy. Just as it is about to hit, Makuhita slams a fist under Flaaffy's chin, causing the sheep Pokemon to rise into the air and crash into the arena floor about a meter away.
There is a beat of silence before the referee calls the successful knockout. Before he even finishes his call, the stands erupt into a voracious cheer. I cheer along with the crowd, seeing Bea completely take charge of the arena like she owns it, is inspiring. I hope my fight goes just as well.
"Well done. I can see your Pokemon are well-trained and disciplined," Surge says as he recalls his Flaaffy and grabs the last pokeball beside him. "Let's finish this fight. Electrode, go. Charge Beam!"
"Just once more, Maku! Force Palm. A moment later, Surge's largest Pokemon of the battle appears on the field. The red and white ball has its colors inverted from the unevolved form, and it is about twice the size. It lets out a static-like sound before a bright yellow beam shoots out of it.
Makuhita was too close to the ball Pokemon to dodge the hit as the yellow corona of paralysis suddenly sparked just before the attack hit, causing her to slow down slightly. She tumbles backwards from the force of the attack before kipping back up and throwing a quick jab at Electrode.
"Dodge, Electroball." Surge orders as Electrode quickly attempts to move out of the way but gets nicked by the wave from Force Palm, causing the Pokemon to rapidly spin. That rapid spinning does not slow down but instead speeds up as the now yellow ball shoots forward, too quickly for my eyes to track properly, and slams into Makuhita. As Electrode moves away, Makuhita just stands there for a moment, before it starts to teeter and then falls to the ground.
"And our challengers' first Pokemon is down! There was a lot of fight in that Makuhita, but it wasn't enough! Challenger, send out your next Pokemon!" The announcer calls out as Bea recalls her Pokemon with a smile on her face.
"Fantastic job, Maku. Tipsy, let's clean this up." Bea calls out as she grabs her next pokeball and tosses it into the arena. Unlike most Pokemon, Hitmontop seems to be a bit of a showman. As he appears, he is already spinning like a top on his head cone, which draws a cheer from the crowd. "Agility into Ice Spinner!"
[Music Insert: Sonic X theme song]
"Swift. Screech." Surge orders as Hitmontop starts to glow a deep pink color as his spinning starts to get faster and faster, all the while keeping an eye on Electrode. It seems that Bea is planning on a high-speed battle. Electrode doesn't let Hitmontop build up speed freely, as it starts to roll around the arena like the Voltorb did earlier. Before long, Hitmontop stops speeding up as his feet start to glow an icy blue, a moment before he rockets forward and slams a kick into the rolling Pokemon. He quickly moves away as a yellow spark flints off of Electrode.
Surge doesn't take the hit without retaliation as a stream of silvery stars slam into Hitmontop as it lets out a sound similar to microphone feedback, causing me to wince in pain. I miss what happens in the split second I closed my eyes in pain, but I can see Hitmontop starting to glow pink once more.
"Metal Sound! Thunderbolt!" I hear Surge order as my hearing returns to normal. As both Pokemon dash around the arena, a large cloud of dust starts to get kicked up and partially obscures both Pokemon. From within the dust comes another ear-piercing sound that makes my teeth clench in pain. I am going to need to figure out a counter for loud or high-pitched sounds. I suddenly see Hitmontop shoot out from a dust cloud and perform a mid-air flip before landing on his head cone once more. Suddenly, a bright yellow light appears from within the dust cloud.
"Quick, Dig!" Bea calls out as she notices the bright light. A blink later, there is a bright flash of light followed by the sound of an explosion that clears away most of the dust that was obscuring the view. A quick glance shows a missing Hitmontop.
"Move away! Thunderbolt the moment it comes up!" Surge orders as the battle suddenly drops into a lull. Electrode dashes around the arena at random, obscuring its path so it doesn't get hit. The gym is silent, except for the sound of Electrode rolling over the ground. It isn't until the activity time beeps for the first time that anything happens.
As Electrode passes by a rock, the ground below it suddenly explodes, sending the Pokemon helplessly into the air, followed by Hitmontop, who appears above it like an anime character. He performs a quick spin before landing a kick and sends the ball Pokemon rocketing into the ground. A split second later, a loud explosion can be heard as Electrode slams into the ground like a wrecking ball.
"Electrode is no longer able to battle. Leader Surge is no longer able to battle. Challenger Bea wins!" Calls the announcer after the referee indicates that Electrode has fainted. Once more, the gym explodes with sound as the crowd cheers for Bea and her Pokemon.
Bea raises her fist into the air at the cheers as she recalls her Pokemon. As soon as both Pokemon are recalled, the gym Graveler sets out to fix the arena once more. I watch as Bea steps off the podium and walks over to Surge to shake hands. I see that he says something to her, but I can't hear as they are away from the microphones. After their brief chat, Bea makes her way towards the exit that Flannery left through. She glances back towards me as she reaches the threshold and throws me a thumbs up and a big smile before slipping out of the arena.
"Alright… no pressure. Your friends have already won, back to back, no less. I am just as strong as they are…" I say to myself, trying to ease my nerves after the last two battles. I shouldn't have an issue with my fight. I have spent the last two weeks training. I'm ready for this. At this moment, my hair clip decides to try and hype me up, as well as a somber-sounding piano starts to play.
"Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?"
[Music insert: Lose Yourself - Eminem]