Beverly carefully considered the next Pokemon she wanted to send out. Given the horrid state of the battlefield, there was really only once choice available to Misty. Unfortunately, that one choice will most likely require her to expend the rest of her Pokemon just for a chance to beat.

Without waiting for Misty to make her choice, Beverly sent out her next Pokemon. “It’s your turn, Vapey!” She called, revealing her Vaporeon who winced in pain the moment that he came into contact with the toxic field.

“Sorry, Vapey” apologized the girl. “Use the poison for Acid Armor and liquidate yourself.” After a round of empowerment, the Vaporean dissolved into liquid and disappeared in the water.

Surprisingly, Misty’s choice wasn’t Milotic as Beverly had expected. But rather, a creepy looking eel thing with arms. Beverly gawked at the choice. She recognized the Pokemon but could not for the life of her, remember what it was called.

On the other side of the arena Misty let out a smug grin as she relished the look of surprise on Beverly’s face. “Right, Slick. Time for your debut, get in the water and start zapping.”

Unfortunately for Misty, it soon became abundantly clear that she had blundered and made a miscalculation. The muddied waters of the pool had effectively turned into a deterrent against any Electric Type Moves.

No matter what the Eelektross tried, be it Thunder, Zap Canon, Discharge, Wild Discharge. It all fizzled out into nothing a mere meter away from the Pokemon. At some point, Misty began chuckling awkwardly and told her Pokemon to get close instead, but was foiled by the poor visibility underwater and Vaporeon’s innate elusiveness.

Beverly visibly slumped in disappointment and just asked her Vaporeon to keep his distance and continued sniping at his opponent from range. In truth, she was hoping that Misty would withdraw that embarrassment of a knock off Water Pokemon and save her the trouble, since Vapey was still poisoned after all.

But despite the ridiculous circumstances, Misty was determined to figure something out as she called out one command after another. Turns out her Eelektross knew quite a few Poison Type moves, but what was the point, when none of them would hit and Vapey was already poisoned.

“I came in here for a serious match, Misty. Not to take part in a circus show!” Admonished an incensed Beverly after the Eelektross finally fainted.

“Haha! My bad, my bad… I was so excited to debut Slick that I completely overlooked the state of the field. Won’t happen again,” said the apologetic looking Misty. “That said, I hope you’re ready Bev. Cause I’m pretty sure you already know what’s gonna happen next.”

Beverly gulped, nervously fingering her Pokeballs but ultimately choosing not to switch out Vapey. She was going to need all the damage she could get in, and Vapey was already on his last legs anyway.

In a flash of brilliant light, Misty unveiled her ace, and arguably the strongest Pokemon in the whole of Cerulean Gym. With a beautiful melodic song, Misty’s Milotic showcased its unparalleled beauty to the world. But unlike the Pokemon before it, the radiant Pokemon’s scales became even brighter and took on a rainbow sheen when exposed to the Toxic Spikes as Marvel Scale took effect.

Beverly groaned, she already knew this was going to happen but took the risk of setting up the field anyway.

Marvel Scale was theorized to be an ability that was unique to Pokemon who’s delicate constitution was easily affected by their living environments. It was the first line of defense whenever said Pokemon’s ecology was polluted, empowering them for a period of time and allowing them the leeway to move and find a new home.

Of course, it wouldn’t last forever. But in the context of a short battle, it was more than enough to serve as a potent buff to its wielder and bolster their durability.

“Continue stalling and wear her down as much as you can, Vapey!” Yelled Beverly. But before her Vaporean could even make a single move, Misty’s Milotic cried out and conjured up a massive Whirlpool with a casual flick of her tail.

Vapey’s Liquidation wore off from the turbulent damage and got sucked right into Milotic’s Whirlpool where he was taken out by another casual swipe of the Pokemon’s tail. “Now, now… Josephine, be nice. You should let your cute little junior make their move first,” said the smug looking Misty. “Besides, you haven’t shown everyone your dance yet.”

Right on cue, Milotic emerged from the water with a flourish and began a hypnotic dance right on the central platform, singing along as she did. The Pokemon was currently using a combination of Rain Dance and Dragon Dance to empower itself, utterly unconcerned that the rain would serve to benefit her opponent as well.

Not wanting to let her opponent have free reign of the arena, Beverly hastily sent out her Mantine to replace Vapey. “Sora, take to the skies and harass her!”

Josephine was unconcerned, merely shrugging off the Air Slashes that flew her way in favor of completing her dazzling performance. She might be a little more brutish when compared to her mate, but she was still a performer at heart after all.

The moment that the Milotic was done, she coiled up and propelled herself towards the air to slam into the flying stingray Pokemon at extreme speed. On their way down, Josephine Wrapped around Sora to secure him in place and dragged him down into the water to slowly choke out the Mantine. There were no moves involved, just pure muscles.

The Mantine was so constricted that he couldn’t even bring himself to lash out with any moves, failing to conjure up Type Energy from the bone crushing pressure that was surrounding him.

Beverly sighed and announced that she was withdrawing her Mantine, fully cognizant that there was nothing that could escape Josephine’s grasp once she grabbed hold. The girl sighed. She only had two Pokemon left, so she needed to be strategic about her next choice.

Beverly expanded her choice of Pokeball, whispering words of encouragement to its occupant and giving it a kiss before throwing it out onto the field. “Beat her up Ryu! Show Misty that it wasn’t a mistake for me to evolve you!”

With an earth shaking Roar, Beverly’s Gyarados took to the stage, his eyes glaring at their opponents with a determined gaze. Ryu’s mind filled with nothing but thoughts of love and resolve towards the girl who took him in and gave him a family. And now was his chance to repay her.

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Misty took one look into the Gyarados’s eyes and gave an approving smile to her apprentice. A stark contrast to the scene that Beverly and Nina witnessed just a few of years ago. A sense of pride welled up inside Beverly’s chest, because it meant that she had done right by her Pokemon.

“Clear the skies, Ryu!” With another ear-splitting Roar, Ryu shot a ball of condensed Fire Type Energy towards the ceiling, supplanting the Rainy Day with Sunny Day instead to marginally weaken his opponent. When it came to weather manipulation, not even the Gym’s ace Pokemon could compete with a Gyarados.

Then, “Outrage,” called Beverly as the Gyarados infused itself with Dragon Type Energy to induce a berserker state and began thrashing around the arena, Ryu trying his best to keep his remaining wits in tact and hone in on Josephine to cause as much damage as possible.

But the Milotic did not shy away. Instead, she took the raging sea serpent head on and managed to wrap herself around Ryu’s neck, making it easier for him to thrash her around, but also allowing Josephine to choke him out.

“Time to put that big baby to sleep, Josephine,” said Misty. And at her trainer’s approval, a shining ball of raw energy began forming inside Josephine’s mouth as the Milotic repositioned herself to stare Beverly’s Gyarados right down its gaping maw.

Over in the audience seat, Nina’s eyes were sparkling at the prospect of being able to witness a ‘Godzilla moment’ in person. Meanwhile Beverly’s face had twisted into an ugly scowl, fully aware of what was about to happen.

“Should I pull Ryu back?” She thought, since there was no other way of canceling the ongoing Outrage, but quickly shook her head to disabuse herself of that notion. “Ryu wanted this battle and he worked hard for it. He’d be sulking all month if I recalled him right now.” So she opted to cheer out loud and encourage her sensitive fish boy instead, causing the audience to also join in on her chorus.

Ryu seemed to feel empowered by his partner’s trust in him as he desperately tried to get a few more hits in before the inevitable happened. And when it eventually did, Ryu’s eyes were blinded by a radiant light as a searing heat invaded his mouth, burning his throat and wrecking his insides with unimaginable agony.

Josephine, being a professional battler, held back just enough and knew exactly how long to hold her Hyper Beam to avoid permanently damaging her junior, managing to stop right as Ryu’s consciousness cut out. Otherwise, she could have easily blown a hole through Ryu and splattered his innards all over the arena. A prospect that would have been very upsetting for everyone involved.

Beverly held back her tears and recalled Ryu. Thanking her beloved Gyarados with a hoarse voice before handing him over to a nearby attendant for emergency treatment. With a quick smack of her own face, Beverly psyched herself up for the final showdown.

“This is it, Luna… You’re our final hope. Ryu already did all the legwork… SO GET IN THERE AND WRAP THINGS UP!”

Luna, Beverly’s starter Pokemon and oldest companion, who had now evolved into a Kingdra, took the field with a silent intensity. There was no cry or whiny as she normally would. Instead, she just glared at the imposing senior Pokemon in front of her as well as the Gym Leader in the background.

Luna grew up under the guidance of Josephine, Kingsley and the others. And now it was time to showcase her growth. She gave a respectful bow towards the Milotic in the same way that she’d seen so many humans do, earning her nod of respect in return from her mentor.

A tense silence descended onto the field as the senior Pokemon ceded the first move to her junior. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Beverly called out to her Pokemon.

“Get into the water and start zooming, Luna!” Outside of Josephine’s terrifying burst of acceleration, Beverly’s Kingdra was faster than the Milotic, of this the girl had no doubt. Which was why she planned to play into this with hit and run tactics while trying to make use of the polluted waters as camouflage. Not that it would be of much help since Josephine’s control over Water was to the point where she could even sense the slightest turbulence around her.

Josephine simply stood on the platform and leisurely twisted her serpentine body around to dodge against the Dragon Pulses and Ice Beams aimed her way, allowing Luna to call in a Blizzard and even empower herself with Dragon Dance whenever she could.

But aside from a couple of wide area Dragon Breaths, Josephine was unphased. Her poise was so elegant that she didn’t even allow any signs of the damage from her previous tussle with Ryu to show. Looking down at the Milotic from her platform, Beverly had the impression that Josephine was the pinnacle of Water Pokemon, silent and profound just like the sea. Yet lurking behind it all was a savage intensity capable of swallowing the world.

After deciding that she had given enough leeway to Beverly. Misty called out for a finisher. “Surf,” muttered the impassive Gym Leader.

And what resulted was less of a Surf and more of a tsunami as the pool water swelled, more than doubling its volume with a single melodic cry from Josephine, before rising up towards the ceiling and forming a massive wave that towered imposingly over the entire arena.

Luna, who was left standing on a now shallow pool of water, looked up in trepidation at the horrific disaster that was about to befall upon her, when the voice of her partner called out to snap the Pokemon out of her reverie.

“Quickly, get to the base of the wave and ready Protect!” Yelled Beverly, which immediately kicked the Kingdra into action, water gushing from behind her as Luna accelerated towards the wave like a jetski. But before she could even get halfway through the arena, the imposing shadow deepened and a rush of water crashed onto the field.

At this point, the Psychic Barrier that shielded the audience from the arena shimmered and turned opaque, looking almost like a solid glass wall as the Gym’s Psychic Pokemon gave it everything they had to contain the massive volumes of water unleashed by Josephine.

Both Beverly and Misty could barely see into the barrier but Beverly called out instructions regardless, just to let Luna know that she wasn’t alone. “Focus on stabilizing yourself and finding your bearings, evasive maneuvers until things calm down. Do not engage with Josephine!”

Meanwhile, Misty was as calm as an Abra, merely trusting her Pokemon to do what needed to be done. Which for Josephine, was further churning the turbulent waters and transition the Surf into a Whirlpool with her in the center.

Luna struggled against the pull of the imposing tide and found herself being gradually pulled into Josephine’s orbit against her will.

“Kiiiiing!!!” Yelled the desperate Kingdra. Had Beverly been less panicked and knew what was going on, she would have instructed Luna to ride the swirl and hold an Ice Beam on the unmoving Milotic. But alas, both trainer and Pokemon were too rattled at the moment.

It didn’t take long for Luna’s endurance to give out and for the Kingdra to be helplessly pulled towards Josephine who swung out her tail in the opposite direction of the Whirlpool’s rotation and effectively clotheslined the Kingdra.

By the time that everything was allowed to settle, Beverly found her partner floating helplessly above the murky water, slowly being lowered from all the excess liquid exiting the arena.

“Challenger Beverly’s Kingdra is unable to battle. Winner of this round, and of the match, is Leader Misty!” Declared the referee, causing tears to burst out from Beverly’s eyes.

“I’m sorry Luna… I’m sorry. If only I was a better trainer.” Beverly was bawling as she returned her fainted Pokemon. Despite her low expectation, the girl was hoping that the combined forces of her four remaining Pokemon would have been enough to barely eke out a victory against Josephine. “And she didn’t even have to send out Kingsley. Luna was so looking forward to that showdown too…”

The staff member standing behind Beverly, went up to her and pulled the girl into a reassuring hug. Beverly had been a fixture in their Gym since she was old enough to walk, so all of the adults in the Gym had taken to treating her like a cheeky little niece or daughter.

After the arena was tidied up a bit, the trainer platform activated and extended to meet in the middle. The first thing that Misty did was to embrace Beverly. “You did good, Bev. Three Pokemon, that’s how many you took out. I’m really proud of how far you’ve progressed over the years. It won’t be long now until you can match up to me and my sisters.”

Beverly sulked into Misty’s embrace. “It’s two, that stupid eel doesn’t count…” She whined.

Misty laughed at her cousin’s willfulness. “Haha! It’s fine. It still counts. Pretty sure Vapey would have knocked him out even under better circumstances.” The woman pulled away from her apprentice and presented a badge to the girl.

“Congratulations, I hereby award you with the Cascade badge, with a Star, to commend you for such an excellent performance.”

Beverly balked at the sight of the shining star decorating the middle of the teardrop shaped ornament. “I-I no… But I lost. This… This isn’t right…” She stuttered. To which Misty just gave her an amused grin.

“This is my Gym and I’m the Gym Leader. So I get the ultimate say on what badge to award which challenger. And based on your performance, I’d say it more than warrants a Star badge.”

Beverly shook her head in overwhelming shock and tried to back away from Misty, but the older woman simply held her in place and pinned the badge against the girl’s swimsuit.

“Congratulations, Bev. You now own two Star badges,” continued Misty. “I doubt you have time to go out and get a third, so make sure not to flunk out in the prelims, okay? I expect you to be in the top four at least.”

Beverly balked at the ridiculous expectations that were set on her, feeling the urge to run away and bury herself in sand right this instant.