CHAPTER 15

“Wow, that kid was good,” Someone behind us said.

“He made Roark use Onix… I’ve never seen him smile like that.”

“He definitely has potential. That was the best battle of the year so far.”

All around us, there were murmurs of gossip about Chase Karlson. He had already stomped off angrily, but the effect of his victory still lingered in the room. Roark had left to take a break twice longer than normal to get his Pokemon sent to the nearest Center and also replace his team, and a lonely gym trainer released a Kadabra to rebuild a part of the psychic barrier surrounding the arena. It had been damaged by Onix’s Rock Throws and showed signs of cracking.

“You good? Doom scrolling already?” I asked Denzel. He had his Poketch open and was scrolling through the Circuit forums, looking at what people had to say about the battle. The thread was already sporting more than two thousand comments and was on the front page even though the battle had only just happened.

“Yeah. I’m just surprised that Roark used Onix, that’s all,” He said, his face glued to the device.

“That thing was a beast. One Slam is all it takes and your Pokemon are gone… wow,” I reminisced. “I wonder how I’d go about beating something like that.”

Togepi would be out of the picture immediately— her only ranged attack being Fairy Wind and that wasn't even fully learned yet, so I’d have to use Frillish. I closed my eyes and imagined the potential battle. I’d tell Frillish to float up high out of Onix’s Slam range and keep throwing out Bubblebeams. How would Roark respond? Onix’s Rock Throws were pretty telegraphed and easy to dodge because of his size… could I potentially win?

My head told me yes, but knowing Roark, he probably had a strategy to get his opponents back in range of his Onix. Anyway, it wasn’t like I was even strong enough to warrant using that monstrosity.

How frustrating…

“What are they saying online?” I asked, distracting myself.

“Most of it is sucking up to him, calling him the next potential Champion or whatever. I’m just looking at the very few comments analyzing the inner workings of the battle so I can see if what I’m thinking is right,” Denzel said.

“What are you thinking?” I continued.

“That other than Riolu, his other two Pokemon were underwhelming. Even with the type disadvantage, you have to admit that Houndour and Grubbin were so much weaker than Riolu. Or maybe Riolu’s just too strong and that's warping my judgment?” Denzel said.

I let him focus on what he was doing and continued looking back on the battle. My strategy for Onix was already set, but what about that Rhyhorn or Nosepass? Roark was an avid user of the Rock Polish move, and thanks to that, his rock types could actually be fast, closing in the distance with Frillish in seconds. Nosepass looked to be a long-range attacker with Thunder Wave, but I hadn’t seen him in action enough to know his other moves. Meanwhile, Rhyhorn wouldn’t be able to reach Frilish at all, although I doubted Roark would even use it against us.

I had a lot of studying to do. This gym battle was going to be hard, and I wasn’t going to be able to rely on type advantage alone to win.

Another fifteen minutes passed until Roark came back with a fresh set of Pokemon on his belt. Gyms had dozens of Pokemon of all skill levels available to them able to be used by gym trainers or the leader alike. That was the only way they were able to keep going the entire day without stopping— except for a lunch break. None of these were a part of the gym leader’s actual team, who had to be strong enough to gain at least eight badges. Almost every single current gym leader had previously made it to a conference during a Circuit. Roark was twenty-four years old, which was relatively young, but he was not the youngest gym leader. He had made it to the conference on his third attempt to the Circuit and then been personally chosen by the League to become the old rock type gym leader’s apprentice. He had taken over two years ago after his retirement.

Cecilia Obel walked through the arena doors, stopping my train of thought. She looked even prettier than in the pictures— granted they had been blurry. She wore a checkered black and white skirt with a black long-sleeved shirt, and her dark skin glowed under the gym lights. Roark once again welcomed his challenger and stated his gym rules, including that this would be another three-on-three battle. I swallowed as Cecilia grabbed her first Pokeball. This was it. The first time anyone would see what she used.

The Pokeball released a four-legged Pokemon, whose blue body was covered in dark fur— or were they scales?— Going up to its eyes. Its roar reverberated through the stadium, and the audience started to go wild.

“What is that?” I asked Denzel. He didn’t hear me.

I grabbed my Pokedex and hoped I was close enough for it to work.

Deino, the irate Pokemon. Because it can’t see, this Pokémon is constantly biting at everything it touches, trying to keep track of its surroundings. It will usually eat anything that moves near its mouth.

Type: Dragon, Dark

I read over the typing again.

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It was a dragon type. The most feared Pokemon type that only the greatest trainers could raise. Even their unevolved forms were a threat to anything that could anger them. And Cecilia Obel had that power at her beck and call.

Roark’s eyes widened, and he sent out his Cranidos— another Pokemon he had never used this year. The referee signaled the start of the match.

“Begin!”

“This one’s a doozy, Cranidos. Rock Polish!” Roark yelled out, shifting into gear right away.

“Dragon Breath. Fifty percent,” Cecilia said in a calm tone.

Cranidos glowed white and increased its speed as Deino burped, then gurgled and roared out a massive beam of yellowish-blue draconic energy.

“Outflank it to the left! Don’t get hit!” Roark screamed.

Cranidos ran left and hid behind a boulder. The Dragon Breath shortly followed and—

The boulder exploded, sending chunks that would have landed in the stands if not for Kadabra’s barrier. It hit Cranidos, who promptly fell to the ground and fainted. That Dragon Breath had lasted more than thirty seconds— and Deino wasn’t tired whatsoever. In fact, he looked angry.

“Calm down. Be a good boy.” Cecilia said.

The dragon snapped and roared at her in anger, but he listened.

“Cranidos is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your next Pokemon.”

Without any hesitation, Roark sent out a Lairon. I nodded, remembering my days back at school. The steel type would help resist dragon type attacks—

“Deino, Incinerate. Eighty percent.”

I gasped as Deino’s mouth was engulfed in flames before they were ejected at full speed toward the Lairon.

“Lairon, run—”

The flames already hit it, superheating its iron plates until they glowed red.

“That was as fast as a flamethrower…” Denzel said in disbelief.

“L—Lairon is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your last Pokemon.”

“Impressive. In my few short years working as a gym leader, this is the most impressive Pokemon I’ve seen a brand new trainer raise,” Roark said as he grabbed his last Pokeball. “I underestimated you. But no longer.”

He sent out a Graveler, Geodude’s evolved form.

“Rock Polish into Rollout!” Roark said.

“Dragon Breath, full power,” Cecilia responded.

The Graveler retracted its arms and began rolling as fast as a Quick Attack, taking the brunt of the Dragon Breath attack. It rammed into the Dragon, who quickly attempted to bite it in retaliation.

“No biting! Focus! Keep using Dragon Breath!” Cecilia yelled.

The Dragon snarled and kept attacking the Graveler, but eventually, the speed it had built up was too much. It rolled around the arena, taking a full lap before making another pass at Deino.

“You can’t dodge! Give me another Dragon Breath!” Cecilia said.

The Graveler hit the Deino and sent him flying into the barrier. For a second, there was only silence as Cecilia waited to see if her dragon would stand back up. It didn’t.

She sighed as she returned him, whispering something to her Pokeball that the microphones didn’t pick up.

“Deino is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokemon.”

“Very well,” She answered as she released a sleeping Slowpoke. The pink Pokemon lazily got up and stared at its trainer in confusion. “That Graveler took down Deino. Steel yourself.”

As if a switch had been activated in its mind, Slowpoke lost all of its sluggish movement and stood ready for any attack.

I’ve never even heard of a Slowpoke like this, I thought. They’re supposed to be stupid and… well, slow.

“It’s fast! Water Gun!” Cecilia said.

Slowpoke opened its mouth and a huge blast of water flew toward the Graveler.

“Roll left, and then Bulldoze!”

“Send it left!”

The Graveler obliged and dodged to the left, but the Slowpoke’s eyes turned pink as its Water Gun attack curved mid-air and hit its opponent. Graveler yelled out in pain and fell unconscious. That was it. The battle was over.

That girl was even stronger than Chase Karlson. Not only did she keep a dragon type under control, but her other Pokemon were seemingly strong as well. Denzel and I decided to leave quickly afterward now that the two battles we had come to see were over, but we were both shaken. I expected her to be strong, but that was entirely another level. My mind whirred as I looked back on the battle. How would I have beaten Roark if he used the same Pokemon? After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that I just couldn’t have.

“I’m going training,” Both Denzel and I said at the same time.

“Ah—”

“Sorry—” He said.

We both laughed it off and went our separate ways without more words needing to be spoken. That battle had completely upended the way we looked at the way we were currently doing things. I needed to work harder. I needed to reach the level they were standing at. And I knew I would in time. I smiled to myself. This was the joy of Pokemon battling. Striving to become better and stronger, and working hard until you won. And that win? It would feel like the best thing in the world.

As I left the stands and reached the lobby, I saw Cecilia Obel surrounded by a bunch of other people. Were those her friends? Her traveling companions, probably. I stared for a few seconds before her eyes met mine. I flinched, averting my eyes, and pretended that the ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

I’m so obvious, I cringed at myself.

Luckily, Cecilia seemingly ignored me and left the building. Unwilling to see her again because of shame, I waited a few minutes before exiting the building as well, but what I saw surprised me.

A massive group of trainers was standing in a circle around something.

“What’s happening?” I asked someone at the edge of the circle of human bodies.

“Looks like two people are about to fight,” He said. “And they’re apparently really good, but I don’t know much about ‘em. Ask someone else.”

“Thanks anyway,” I said.

I decided to take the initiative using my small stature. It was sometimes a curse, but today it was a blessing. I sneaked in between a few people, reaching the front of the group, and saw that Chase Karlson was practically frothing at the mouth in anger at Cecilia and her group.

“Let’s get our teams healed and then battle me, you coward! I’ll show the world that you’re nothing but overrated Unovan trash!”