Sunny Day activated and the crowd cheered. They were loud now, much louder than before, no longer a group of scattered attention. Across from him, Kiana wore a look of pure frustration. Cashe knew that look - her emotion would be directed inward as she berated herself for her mistake. It was a perfect opportunity to press on the wound.

“Ivysaur, Weather Ball! Get that Forretress out of here!” Cashe ordered. Kiana’s frustration deepened at his words. She knew what was coming.

Ivysaur responded, forming a ball of pure white energy in front of his head. As it grew, it glowed, brighter and brighter, taking in the sunlight of Sunny Day. The ball shifted hue, turning from pure white into a fiery orange-red. Heat cascaded off of the ball, flames rising from the surface as it burned. If Sunny Day turned the battlefield sweltering, Weather Ball was making it unbearable.

Ivysaur fired the ball of flame off, sending it flying at Forretress. The ball sped through the air, hissing as any water left in the air vaporized upon contact with it.

“Forretress, hold on! Use Rapid Spin!” Kiana shouted.

Forretress ignored the incoming ball of fire and listened to his trainer, forcing his seizing body to execute her orders. He shifted, beginning his spin, and Weather Ball hit.

Heat surged from the impact of the attack, billowing out from Forretress. Light bloomed and flames exploded from the impact, rising high into the air. Forretress cried out, his voice full of pain, warbling through the air and making Cashe flinch at the sound.

“Pokemon are tough,” Cashe reminded himself, “They are tough. They can take this.”

The light faded and the flames began to die down, but they were behaving strangely. Smoke rose from the flames as Forretress burned, but it also spun, swirling like a tiny tornado. The flames flickered and died down, revealing Forretress in the middle of his Rapid Spin Attack. He shot forward, steel plating warped and glowing red hot, spinning like a top. He flew at Ivysaur, who easily dodged the attack, but something else hit him, almost invisible. The stone from Stealth Rock. Forretress managed to clear them out.

Cashe swore under his breath. He needed those up to help deal with Oricorio and Hawlucha. How was Forretress even still standing?

The Sturdy ability. That was the only way Forretress could possibly survive the attack. A mistake. He should have chipped the pokemon with Sneasel before switching it out to break the ability. Now he was out of switches and had almost nothing to show for it, except that he had revealed Hatenna’s ability.

Forretress’s spin came to a stop on the edge of the battlefield, tumbling out of its spin as it lost control over itself, fainting. The referee held up an arm to bring the battle to a halt.

“Forretress is unable to battle. Kiana, choose your next pokemon!” The official shouted, moving into the middle of the stage. The crowd roared, all other battles now forgotten, enthralled by the prospect of one of the gym’s favorites being down against a challenger.

Kiana nodded at the official’s words, already holding Forretress’s pokeball in her hand and returning him to it immediately. She did not select a second pokemon right away, however, taking her time to ponder her choices. She tapped on the three balls on her belt, deliberating carefully between them. She took one out and paused, putting it back on belt and continued to think. Several seconds passed and She wiped her forehead, sweat dripping down her face from the heat created by Sunny Day.

Cashe tapped his foot impatiently as Ivysaur returned to his side of the battlefield, walking over to Cashe and waiting beside him for Kiana to choose her next pokemon.

“Good job buddy,” Cashe said, leaning over and giving Ivysaur a rough scratch around his head and neck. Ivysaur croaked in a happy response, “I think Oricorio is coming out next, so you’ll have to be very careful about its attacks. All of them are going to hurt, especially the fire type ones.” Cashe looked up and frowned. Kiana had still not selected her next pokemon. What was taking her so long? Cashe wiped sweat off his face, glancing up at the artificial sun above his head. If this went on any longer, Ivysaur would have to-

Cashe’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

“Excuse me!” He shouted at the League Official, “Are you going to let this happen? She’s delaying to waste the time of Sunny Day!”

The official looked over her shoulder at the gym trainer. Kiana was still staring at her pokeballs, apparently deep in thought.

“Kiana?” The official called out to her.

Kiana didn’t look up.

“See!” Cashe said.

“Kiana, choose a pokemon before I am forced to disqualify you.” The official said, rolling her eyes at Cashe. She sounded annoyed that she even had to speak, shooting Cashe a glance as if it were his fault for mentioning it in the first place.

Kiana heard her the second time. Reaching to her belt, choosing a pokeball, and tossing it out. To Cashe it felt like each action took seconds longer than needed. He was sure she was moving in slow motion.

As expected, Oricorio came out. Like Hawlucha, she was another short avian pokemon, standing around two feet tall. Oricorio’s plumage was a vibrant red, radiating good health, with black stripes running the length of her wings. She did not stand like a bird, shifting her legs and moving her wings in the characteristic ‘dance’ for which the pokemon species was known. She preened under the bright sunlight, shaking her feathers in excitement as the energy from it empowered her.

Once Oricorio was on the field, the official stepped back to the side of the arena, hand raising in the air, “Trainer’s ready?” She shouted, glancing at both Cashe and Kiana to make sure there were no objections. Cashe’s eyes darted across the stage. If Kiana said something he was going to lose it. Enough time had already been wasted. Thankfully, she kept her mouth shut and the official nodded, bringing her hand down through the air, “Fight!”

“Don’t give her any room, Ivysaur! Get in there and Poison Powder!” Cashe shouted. Ivysaur shot forward, using the power gained from Sunny Day and his ability to move at incredible speeds.

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“Up!” Kiana called out in response.

Oricorio leapt from the ground as Ivysaur closed the distance, darting into the air with a string wingbeat, taking to the sky. As she passed over Ivysaur, he exploded in deep purple powder. A plume shot from the flower on his back, rising into the air like an explosion from a volcano.

Oricorio was caught in it as she elevated, bursting from the cloud of powder as it swirled through the air. She beat her wings, sending the plume away from her with billowing gusts of air. The powder spread across the arena, forming a haze over the stage. Cashe had no idea if the attack actually hit Oricorio, but he had succeeded in his goal. Oricorio wanted to land in order to use its plethora of dancing moves. If she did, she would have to deal with Ivysaur’s poison.

“Hurricane!” Kiana shouted.

“Careful, Ivysaur, just dodge for now!” Cashe yelled in response.

Shit. Hurricane was devastating. Even if it didn’t hit, it would clear the battlefield of his poison, no problem. The only upside was it used an enormous amount of energy.

Oricorio darted through the air, spinning as she flew. Winds rose up around her, buffeting Cashe as the speeds increased. They swept up the Poison Powder dragging every speck of the dust with them as they swirled around Oricorio. She spun in mid-air one final time and sent the winds flying at Ivysaur.

Ivysaur shot forward, moving with incredible speed out of the path of the attack, having an easy time dodging the winds as they carried the dark purple powder with them. Oricorio tried to track Ivysaur, but she was stuck in the air and couldn’t focus the attack properly and keep her elevation up.

The battlefield shook as the winds crashed against the barriers, sending the powder into piles at the edge of the arena. The stage was clear, and Oricorio landed immediately, but not without trouble. Gathering the swirling winds around her when they were filled with Ivysaur’s Poison Powder had predictable results. Oricorio staggered as she landed and Cashe could see the signs of Ivysaur’s poison working through her body already. She was now on a timer for this battle.

“Quiver Dance, Oricorio!” Kiana shouted.

“Force her back into the air, Ivysaur!” Cashe ordered, “Sleep Powder!”

Ivysaur rushed forward again, this time firing off a ball of powder in advance, sending it arching ahead of him. Oricorio saw it coming and stepped nimbly to the side, her speed increasing as she moved through her dance. Power gathered around her, swelling as she moved, her wings flaring in a memorizing pattern.

The ball of powder missed, crashing to the ground behind Oricorio and dissipating over the stage. It flowed away from the point of impact, catching up to Oricorio, but the mist of powder was much too fine to have any effect on the dancing pokemon.

“Don’t sweat it, Ivysaur,” Cashe shouted as at the missed attack, “Weather Ball, just like we practiced!”

“Revelation Dance!” Kiana ordered.

Oricorio finished her Quiver Dance, her speed and power spiking as it completed. She moved seamlessly into the second dance, spinning on her talons, twirling again and again, the long start up time of the powerful dance attack negated by her marked increase in speed. The power from Sunny Day flowed into her, increasing the energy spiking around her even further.

But Ivysaur was benefiting from the sun as well. He moved around the battlefield at lightning speed, positioning himself for the attack, gathering the energy to attack just as fast as Oricorio did, the ball of bright light again dying itself a burning orange-red. He released his attack a moment before Oricorio, but Kiana whistled, high and loud, and Oricorio stepped aside as she continued her dance, letting the ball of flame pass within inches of her, but dodging the attack.

Kiana smirked and Oricorio finished her attack, releasing an enormous torrent of sun empowered flames, directly at Ivysaur. Cashe covered his ears.

And Weather Ball struck the plume of powder behind Oricorio.

Flames crossed Cashe’s vision as the world exploded, the wash of flame from Oricorio’s attack indistinguishable from those of Ivysaur’s makeshift bomb. The barriers rattled and Cashe forced himself to watch the battle, squinting his eyes against the gust of superheated wind that ran through the arena. He leaned into the explosion, having learned his lesson from previous use of the tactic.

Kiana was hit with the edge of it, the explosion knocking her over and onto her butt as it slammed into her. Oricorio was much closer, taking the full force of the blast. The rapid expansion of air caught her wings and lifted her from the ground, throwing her across the arena and into the barriers. The barrier she hit cracked, a spider web of fractures erupting from the point of impact and shooting through the screen like a wave passing through a pond. She bounced off, crashing to the ground where she staggered back onto her feet, feathers a terrible mess, nursing a broken wing.

Ivysaur was far enough from the blast to avoid damage from it, but the explosion troubled him still. The wall of force caused by the blast slowed him down just enough for Oricorio’s attack to land. Revelation Dance’s flames passed over him, catching him in their midst and lighting his vulnerable petals and leaves on fire. Blisters erupted on his skin, the leather drying out instantly under the heat of the attack.

“Ivy!” Ivysaur howled in pain and rolled onto the ground to put out the fire, but the damage was done. His right was a disaster of burned skin, now marred with dirt and dust from the arena’s floor. Ivysaur wriggled until the final flame went out and collapsed, unable to battle or even get up.

The crowd roared, its excitement redoubled as the first pokemon from Cashe’s side went down. Kiana got back to her feet, bolstered by the uproarious crowd around her. She waved as they cheered, causing the crowd to redouble its efforts.

Cashe stifled a cry of panic at the sight of his injured pokemon. Ivysaur was tough. Pokemon were tough. They could handle it. He could handle it.

“Ivysaur is unable to battle!” The official shouted, running into the battlefield before Kiana could order Oricorio to continue her attacks. “Trainer Cashe, choose your next pokemon.”

Cashe returned Ivysaur to his pokeball, whispering a few words of comfort into the pokeball as Ivysaur came back. He reached for his belt to grab Primeape’s ball and stopped. If one person could play at delaying tactics, why not two? He plucked Primeape’s ball from his belt and shook his head, putting it back and switching to Sneasel’s before doing the same thing again.

“Trainer Cashe, now please,” the official shouted at him, crossing her arms in front of her, “I don’t want any dirty tactics from you.”

“They’re dirty tactics now?” Cashe shouted back, “You only spoke up when I pointed out Gym Trainer Kiana was doing the same thing!”

“Ivysaur wasn’t poisoned,” the official snarled back at him, “Now, choose, before I disqualify you!” Her words did not have the same put upon tone as they did previously, instead searing with direct threat.

Cashe scowled back at the official, but tossed Primeape’s ball forward, letting the pig monkey pokemon come forth. As ever, when she was summoned for battle, Primeape was a snarling ball of hate and rage. Cashe didn’t know how she could always tell, but she never failed to enter the battlefield in any but the most intimidating way possible.

Primeape thudded to the ground, bending as she flexed her entire body. She straightened slowly, raising her eyes in challenge and staring down Oricorio. She slammed her fists together like a boxer readying to fight, psyching herself up for the battle to come.

In response, Oricorio teetered in place, her injuries and poisoning making it almost impossible for her to even stand. She had managed to set her wing back into place and several of her feathers were now smoothed out, but Cashe doubted she would be able to continue much longer. If everything went well, Primeape would finish this battle.

“Trainers ready?” The official called out. Again she shot both Cashe and Kiana a look to make sure they were ready to battle. When no one objected, she brought her hand down in a smooth arc, “Fight!”

*****