Maeve leaned forward in her seat, eyes wide with anticipation. This was it—the final battle. Lara would either lose and be forced to wait to try again…or earn the coveted True Coal Badge from challenging Roark himself instead of one of the Gym Trainers as was allowed during the first three Gym battles. It was rare, unheard of, even, for anyone challenging the Elite Four to have anything but a set of badges earned from challenging the individual Gym Leaders of their respective Gyms. Challenging Roark, the Gym Leader of the Oreburgh Gym, and seemingly winning was enough to drag Lara’s battle prowess twenty notches higher in Maeve’s mind.
I have to admit, taking advantage of Onix’s injury was smart, Ally admitted reluctantly from within his Pokéball. Though it did induce some sort of trauma-related panic attack at the end. Perhaps part of Swablu’s win was due to her opponent’s circumstances.
Oh, just quit being a party pooper and just be happy for Lara’s win, Maeve told him.
Ally refused to give Swablu full credit for the win, however. If Swablu’s opponent was an uninjured, battle-ready Onix, the outcome—
Shush, Lizzie snapped.
Maeve grinned, immediately joining sides against Ally. Yes, shush.
I, for one, think the Articuno has a point, Blue interjected. Maeve gasped (mentally) in mock horror.
Blue, how could you?! she cried in fake distress.
Blue was about to answer, but their four-way conversation dissolved as the commentator announced the next battle, now sounding just a little bit more interested. “The final round between the Gym Leader and the Gym Challenger will now commence in 3…2…1!”
Swablu let out a daring cry as Roark released his final Pokémon into the arena. It popped open before it even hit the ground, releasing a mass of light that solidified to reveal a Cranidos in a battle-ready stance, red eyes narrowed at Swablu’s figure in the air.
“The ace of my personal team,” Roark said proudly. “Cranidos, Leer!”
Cranidos’s eyes glowed a sinister red as the Pokémon scratched the ground with one talon, practically daring Swablu to meet it in combat. Swablu let out an enraged trill, looking about ready to meet the far stronger Rock-type Pokémon head-to-head. Lara intervened quickly.
“Ignore it, Swablu! Growl!” Lara shouted. Swablu let out an absolutely adorable-sounding growl, but it had about as much effect on Cranidos as a rock. If anything, the glow of Leer intensified. If Cranidos could speak, he would be mocking, “Wow, your attack was SO effective.”
Like anyone with an ego, Swablu reacted negatively. Her eyes narrowed hatefully as she left the safety of the air, diving down as a furious cry left her beak. “Swablu, no!” Lara cried, but it was too late. An angry Swablu managed to slam into Cranidos’s side with about as much force as a very large flying berry, jabbing the other Pokémon’s side furiously. Though her attacks seemed to cause some damage, it was far from enough as Cranidos swung around, dislodging the flying Pokémon with a smug, triumphant expression. As Swablu struggled to get her bearings, all she managed was a panicked trill as Cranidos’s head slammed into the fragile Pokémon, slamming her halfway across the arena where she lay on the sand, unmoving, and very unconscious.
“Swablu is unable to battle! Gym Challenger Lara, please select your next Pokémon.”
Maeve glanced at Roark with a slightly ajar jaw. The Gym Leader had a proud expression on his face as he grinned at Cranidos, whose eyes shone with smug victory and an intelligent gleam lacking in many unevolved Pokémon. Lara returned Swablu to her Pokéball, patting it gently, before turning to Roark and taking a deep breath. Her hand removed Afi’s Pokéball from its place on her belt, gripping it tightly for a moment before she seemingly collected herself. Drawing her arm back, she threw it into the arena.
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The Pokéball snapped open to reveal Afi, crouched with a look of grim determination in his eyes. Cranidos’s former smugness disappeared as the Rock-type Pokémon regarded Afi with a look of slight wariness.
“Leer!” Roark called, clearly going for the same strategy that had taken down Swablu with minimal effort. However, Afi would not be as easily fooled as his teammate, eyes narrowing in concentration as he resisted the attack, shrugging off the majority of its effects. Cranidos’s mouth lifted in a faint smile, as if he had finally found a worthy opponent.
Lara made her move. “Ember!”
Afi snorted in affirmative, releasing a barrage of Embers directed towards Cranidos’s position. The Rock-type Pokémon managed to dodge most of them with impressive agility while the others were weathered with slight effort as Cranidos lowered his head, using his iron-hard skull to block them. However, briefly lowering his head had opened the Pokémon up for a second attack, a Flame Wheel that came at Cranidos from the side. Cranidos let out an alarmed cry, feet leaving furrows in the sand as he charged out of the way.
“Taunt!” Lara ordered. Afi’s lips curled up in a taunting grin that was completely at home on the Monferno’s playful yet ferocious face.
Roark scowled as Cranidos seemed to take the bait, eyes narrowing with rage. Unleashing an infuriated roar, the Pokémon charged forward, red eyes gleaming with bloodthirstiness.
“Cranidos, back!” Roark snapped, trying to reassert his authority. Cranidos’s eyes flared as the Pokémon realized what he was doing. Cranidos tried to change the trajectory of his charge, but he only managed to lower his head, weathering the Flame Wheel that Afi had managed to charge up and send his way. The Head Butt Pokémon yelped in pain, backing away quickly, as some of the flames not blocked by his tough skull singed his sides.
“Taunt again!” Lara called. Once more, Afi’s eyes lit up with a mocking red glow, but Cranidos ignored it, a steely determination in the Pokémon’s eyes. Seeing the ineffectiveness of the tactic, Lara opened her mouth to call out another order at the same time as Roark.
“Cranidos, Headbutt!” Roark shouted, clearly trying to stop Afi’s Taunts from getting to Cranidos’s head.
Lara bit her lip. “Afi, topside maneuver, fire edition!”
The human sweats, Ally noted from inside his ball.
Maeve sighed and rolled her eyes. How do you even know these things? You’re inside a Pokéball, for goodness’ sake!
Ally didn’t answer, however, as both of their attentions had turned back to Afi, who had tensed in clear preparation for something.
Cranidos thundered towards him, each step carving furrows into the sandy terrain, head lowered to cause devastating damage — easily enough to knock Afi out cold. Maeve felt her breath catch, eyes wide as she leaned forward.
It all happened as a blur. Cranidos barreled past, Afi left standing to the right of the other Pokémon’s path, obviously having dodged but with a glint of…disappointment in his eyes. Maeve frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully. I wonder what his goal was…what was that combo Lara used? Topside maneuver, fire edition? I wonder what it means…maybe Afi’s trying to land a good shot to Cranidos’s back, which would make sense. That Pokémon’s skull is nigh impenetrable, so a front attack would be impossible. But how would he get such a clear shot? With the speed Cranidos travels at…oh. Is he trying to get onto Cranidos’s back?!
It was the most daring maneuver Maeve had ever heard (or thought) of, an absolute devil of a trick to pull off. It also sounded like exactly the sort of thing Lara and Afi might cook up.
Afi hadn’t gotten it right the first time and had barely made it out with a couple of bruises, but a second failure might result in Roark’s win. From the look in his eyes, the Pokémon knew it.
Roark frowned at Lara, clearly trying to decipher her intentions. He might’ve had an inkling of an idea of what Lara was trying to do, but Maeve doubted he had the full picture. Thus, he decided, “Headbutt again!”
The stage was set. Adopting a similar stance to before, Afi tensed, readying himself to wait for the right time. The Monferno’s timing had to be absolutely perfect. The entire battle depended on it.