CHAPTER 96

Denzel’s battle would be another four-on-four with one switch-in. I had been correct in assuming that every battle would keep those same rules, which was annoying. I personally believed that battles were more fun if you could swap out more because that allowed for more strategizing. I carefully watched Candice fiddle with her Pokeball as she waited for Denzel to send out his own Pokemon. She was less confident than before and somewhat subdued. Gym leaders were used to losing multiple times in a row, but apparently, Candice was the exception to that rule. According to my notes, that meant that she would play it safer this match. Not necessarily that her team would be a stall one or a defensive one, but that she would hold off before just attacking at the fast pace she had done so thus far.

Denzel finally sent out his Buneary. The normal type was clearly more comfortable with being in a gym battle now, she was jumping and punching the air with her ears. Candice immediately released an Amaura. An extinct Pokemon. The rock type gazed around the arena with a playful stare.

“Impressed?” She said, looking at Denzel’s befuddled stare. “I got him as a gift from Roark for my birthday. I was hoping to bring him up to my six badge teams, but he isn’t there yet.”

Denzel frowned. “Um, okay…? Can we start the battle, or—”

“Gotcha!” Candice yelled. “Aurora Beam!”

Amaura rolled his eyes but listened and launched a rainbow-colored ray toward Buneary.

“Quick Attack and get close,” Denzel calmly said.

Buneary nodded, glowing as she jumped so hard that the snow under her feet fluttered away, leaving only barren ground and a tiny crater. Amaura tried shooting her out of the sky, but the rabbit twisted her body around the attack. Another Aurora Beam grazed her, but it wasn’t enough. After another two jumps, Buneary landed next to Amaura with a loud thud.

“Reflect!” Candice yelled.

“Power-up Punch!”

A thin, transparent barrier appeared around the ice type just as Buneary’s right ear glowed bright white and cracked the wall.

“Round!” Candice quickly ordered.

Amaura inhaled, and then let out an ear-piercing cry that somehow frosted Buneary’s ears. The normal type pushed through and punched again, and this time it was stronger. The Reflect broke.

“Circle Throw!” Denzel said.

Buneary sidestepped a Body Slam from Amaura, using its forward momentum to grab it, using both her arms and her ears to lift the rock type. She slammed Amaura head-first against the ground behind her.

“Power-up Punch!”

Buneary gave a tired nod. Each subsequent attack was getting more powerful, but it was tiring her out. She punched Amaura’s flank, and the ice type was too awkwardly shaped to get off the ground quickly.

“Icy Wind, then Round again!” Candice said.

The rock type reared his head back and spat out frosty wind that slowed Buneary to a crawl, giving him enough time to get back on his feet. He then yelled again, this time freezing Buneary’s ears completely. The Pokemon must have had an ability to turn normal type moves into ice type like Pixilate with Sylveon.

“Melt the ice with Fire Punch!”

The tip of Buneary’s ears burst into flames that quickly freed her frozen ears, and she jumped back before Amaura could deal any more damage. I was surprised to see that the ice type had taken so many hits, but that confirmed my suspicions that Candice was using a more defensive team. Any of the other Pokemon she had used against Cece or Chase would have been down by now.

“What?! Fire Punch? That’s so unfair!” Candice grumbled. “Amaura, Ancient Power!”

Amaura’s eyes shone with an eerie blue and lifted multiple rocks from the ground. The control he had over them was just as good as Togetic’s, if not better. He threw them forward, and they all converged toward Buneary, surrounding her from all sides, even from above.

“Defense Curl,” Denzel said with a pinch of worry.

Dodging was nigh impossible, and he knew it. Buneary curled up into a ball, and her skin shimmered slightly. The rocks and earth crashed into her, and I saw Candice’s body relax. The loosened arms, the spaced-out legs, the small exhale that was almost unnoticeable. The quivering fingers. Unfortunately for her, Buneary was still standing.

“Good job,” Denzel smiled. “Give me one last Power-up Punch!”

Buneary cried out defiantly and jumped into the air, her ears and arms flailing wildly. Both of her ears shone brightly mid-air.

“Shield yourself! Reflect and Ancient Power!” Candice hurriedly said.

Buneary crashed past the earthen barrier that Amaura had briskly erected and completely destroyed his Reflect as well, hitting the ice type square in the chest. She struggled to her feet, and Amaura went down.

“Amaura is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your second Pokemon.”

Not hesitating for a second, Candice sent out a Cetoddle. It was my first time seeing the Paldean Pokemon, and it playfully stomped around in the snow.

“Buneary, you’ve got one more in you?” Denzel asked with a thin smile. The rabbit turned toward him and answered with a smile of her own. “Thought so. Fire Punch!”

“Ice Shard!” Candice ordered.

Buneary took a deep breath, allowing herself a second to rest and jumped once more. Cetoddele summoned a dozen shards and threw them toward Buneary, who managed to punch them away. The normal type was now barreling headfirst toward Cetoddle with seemingly no care for landing on her feet.

“Body Slam!”

Cetoddle’s entire body tensed, opting to throw its entire weight at the Buneary instead of attempting to dodge. The normal type flew off, but not before landing a devastating Fire Punch that had been powered up by multiple Power-up Punches.

“Buneary is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon!”

“Amazing job,” Denzel smiled, sending out his Sylveon next. The fairy type landed gracefully in the snow without a single noise.

He lost his smile when Candice uttered her next sentence.

“Cetoddle, Rest!”

The ice type plopped itself on the ground and just… fell asleep, and its injuries from Buneary’s Fire Punch healed at an incredible rate.

“Sleep Talk,” Candice continued.

Cetoddle’s body vibrated, and then it opened its mouth, letting out a Powder Snow toward Sylveon.

Denzel clenched a fist. “Get close to it and Play Rough!”

Sylveon used Quick Attack to run across the snowy battlefield. His steps were so graceful that it was as if I was watching him skid across the snow. Luckily, even though Cetoddle could use Sleep Talk, it being asleep still meant that it was terrible at actually aiming. Sylveon easily sidestepped the Powder Snow, and I grinned when I saw that he had lost none of his relentlessness even after evolving.

Sylveon started brutally beating up Cetoddle, kicking it, ramming into it, and pawing at it. Each time he landed a hit, pink imprints were left on the ice type’s body. Marks left by the fairy type energy imbued in the move.

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Candice hurriedly ordered Cetoddle to use Sleep Talk again, and the ice type Body Slammed into Sylveon. The fairy type took the hit and just kept thrashing Cetoddle around.

“Give me a Double Kick,” Denzel grinned.

Sylveon smiled, turning away from Cetoddle and hitting it with his hind legs twice. If I hadn’t been used to Togetic, I would have thought that it was unsettling how fairy types were always so brutal with the biggest grin on their face. After multiple ear-piercing screams from Candice, Cetoddle unfortunately woke up.

“Rest again!” Candice said.

Denzel swore as almost all of the damage Sylveon had dealt was undone. This was… a dilemma. Sure, Cetoddle was terrible at attacking when he was asleep, but if Sylveon just kept attacking, he would eventually tire out, even with all of his endurance. How would I have solved this? Buneary was a good answer with her Power-up Punch, but she was already tapped out. I didn’t know enough about how Sylveon battled to solve this puzzle, but maybe Budew’s Growth…

Denzel seemingly thought the same, and he recalled his Pokemon, using his one and only switch-in. He released his Budew, who announced her presence with her usual screech.

“Woah, that’s the biggest Budew I’ve ever seen!” Candice said with wide eyes. “Sleep Talk!”

“Growth.”

At first glance, using a grass type against an ice type would have seemed foolish, but I understood what Denzel was going for. He was hoping to stack up enough Growths to just blow past Cetoddle’s Rest before it could wake up and use the move again. Budew’s body shone and grew a few inches as Cetoddle started running toward the grass type in his sleep.

“Keep it going,” Denzel breathed out.

Cetoddle was bulky, but it was also slow, and so it took a long time to reach Budew on the other side of the arena. My best friend waited until the last possible moment and sprung to action.

“Venoshock!” Denzel said.

Budew belched out purple poisonous fluid, spraying Cetoddle with poison so potent that it was melting off its skin, past its thick layer of fat. The ice type rammed into Budew with Body Slam and woke up soon after. It cried out in pain, which was followed by some kind of clicking noise.

“Rest again!” Candice said.

Once again, the ice type lay down and fell asleep, ignoring the poison eating away at its body. Still, the damage it was healing was substantially lower than before.

“Bullet Seed.”

Budew spat out a series of seeds at her opponent, hitting Cetoddle’s exposed flesh. Candice ordered another Sleep Talk, and her Pokemon stood up, but it was too weak to even use an actual move. Budew used another Bullet Seed, and the ice type finally fell to the ground. I was perplexed by the fact that Cetoddle would have been a perfectly good Pokemon to switch out and save for later. Nothing else Denzel had on his team could have dealt with it, which proved to me that Candice wasn’t going all out. I was getting better at noticing the different facets of how gym leaders held back to not make their battle impossible. They were meant to pose a challenge to overcome, and Denzel had overcome his. Still, the battle wasn’t over. What I did learn from this, however, was that Candice never switched. More information. More knowledge for my battle.

“Cetoddle is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your third Pokemon!” The referee said.

“Man, that was fun!” Candice laughed as she grabbed her next Pokeball. “Now I wish more new trainers came to challenge me.”

“Glad I could be of service,” Denzel smiled.

Candice released a penguin-like Pokemon that had a giant ice cube for a head. Eiscue, an ice type from Galar.

“Get in range!” Candice yelled.

In range for what? I thought.

“Bullet Seed!” Denzel yelled.

Budew screeched, and another Bullet Seed flew out of her mouth. Eiscue awkwardly ran toward the grass type, lowering its giant head to protect itself from her attack. The ice cube structure on its head cracked and fell off, leaving only a small circle with a long antenna.

“Freeze-Dry!” Candice ordered, her voice shaking.

“Shit! Venoshock! You’ve got this!”

Budew’s body slowed and slowly froze over, but the attack was slow enough to give her enough time to spray poison at Eiscue. Her special attack was still boosted by Growth. Eiscue’s flesh burned, and when I thought Budew would go down, she let out a shriek and glowed white, doubling in size. Denzel watched on with a wild grin as his Budew evolved.

“Why do Pokemon keep evolving when I use Freeze-Dry?!” Candice complained. “That’s no fair!”

Roselia emerged from the light, not having lost her perpetual scowl.

“Stun Spore!” Denzel excitedly screamed.

With a threatening screech, Roselia aimed one of its bouquets at Eiscue and launched a bundle of yellow spores at the ice type. Eiscue breathed them in, and its body started to shake wildly.

“Finish it off with Mega Drain,” Denzel sighed in relief. Roselia nodded, aiming both of her bouquets at her opponent and draining its energy, healing herself from some of the damage she had taken from Freeze Dry. Eiscue fell to the ground and fainted.

“Eiscue is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your last Pokemon!”

“Go, Cryogonal!” Candice yelled, releasing her final partner. The ice type’s body shifted and ground against itself as its eyes came alive with a bright blue color.

Denzel ordered Roselia to hit the ice type with another Stun Spore, but it floated up, avoiding the attack and then used Freeze Dry on the poison type. Denzel asked his Pokemon to use one last Venoshock, and she sprayed Cryogonal with poison before fainting.

“Roselia is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your third Pokemon!”

“It’s you and me,” Denzel said, releasing Sylveon again. “Swift!”

Sylveon let out a smooth cry as pink stars appeared above him and flew toward Cryogonal at incredibly high speeds. It was too slow to outrun the attack, so it opted to get hit and retaliated with a Frost Breath. Sylveon got flat on the ground and rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack, but Cryogonal followed him with his Frost Breath. Sylveon’s leg was hit, but he started running with Quick Attack and circled around the ice type.

“Disarming Voice!” Denzel yelled.

Sylveon let out a harrowing scream that made me want to cry, and Cryogonal stopped its attack, taking damage in the process. Denzel ordered another Swift right afterward, and all of the stars hit the ice type, forcing it to lower itself due to the damage it was taking.

“Jump at it and get it down!” Denzel said, seizing the moment.

“No you don’t! Freeze Dry!”

Sylveon gracefully leaped at Candice’s Pokemon, and his extremities started to freeze. It used Play Rough in the air, headbutting Cryogonal and bringing it on the ground with him, but Sylveon struggled to stand back up due to Freeze Dry.

“Slash and get back in the air!” The gym leader said.

Cryogonal turned its entire body like a wheel, and the angular edges of its body sharpened and glowed white as it cut across Sylveon, drawing blood. The fairy type wrapped one of his ribbons around one of Cryogonal’s extremities, keeping it down, rolled on his back, and Double Kicked it, cracking its tough, icy exterior.

“Dang it, I hate fairy types and their tricks!” Candice yelled. “Frost Breath!”

“Disarming Voice!”

Before Cryogonal could even start using the move, Sylveon stopped it from attacking and then kicked it again. It was barely hovering now. Denzel hadn’t even used any of his Detects. Victory was in sight.

“Finish it off with Play Rough,” Denzel said, his body relaxing.

Sylveon nodded and started relentlessly beating Cryogonal up with that same smile on his face. Cryogonal went down, crashing into the snowy landscape. Denzel had won.

It was my turn now.

Cece nodded at me. I asked Craig to give Denzel advice when he got there, and I met him on the way down. He wished me good luck, and I congratulated him. I would have stayed for Craig’s advice, but I needed as much time to think to myself in the waiting room.

——

My mind felt clear as I waited for Candice to finish her break. I had a Pokeball in hand, and I felt at the cold metal. It was comforting, the way it filled my palm and fit in my hand perfectly. I was confident I was going to win, but I would still give it everything I had. I would fight like I was a Pokemon behind at all times. I would give one hundred percent. I had been watching these three battles, along with the others I had seen online, but I had also been watching Candice. I had the information at my fingertips, now I just had to grasp it and use it.

The gym trainer fitted me with the usual microphone and motioned me to move to the battlefield. I walked onto the platform and immediately stared at the gym leader. She was smiling again, but holding herself back. I could tell, because her lips were twitching. She already had her Pokeball in hand, meaning that like usual, she had already decided what to send out, and she wouldn’t actually try to counter my choice. I stared at her hand and saw that it was completely steady. No trembling. Her fingers gripped her Pokeball tightly. Confidence, even though she had just lost. That battle with Denzel must have been fun and reinvigorated her spirit. She leaned against her knees in anticipation, but she didn’t boast. Excitement, but she was holding it in. Her choice would be balanced. Not too axed toward attack, but not too defensive either. Candice was going to try to figure me out first and then decide how to go about this battle. It looked like I’d be fighting erratic Candice after all.

“...Four-on-four with one switch-in allowed…” Candice was saying.

Soon enough, she finished her instructions, and I released Frillish. Candice released a spherical Pokemon. It looked like a dark rock covered in thick sheets of ice, with pale blue eyes and conical horns on both sides of its face. A Glalie took to the air and stared at Frillish with a wicked smile.

“Buy me some time,” I told Frillish. He stared back at me and nodded.

My eyes were still on Candice.