Primeape and Oricorio both tensed as the league official restarted the match. The audience shouted encouragement, screaming from the stands at Kiana and Oricorio to go for the win. As if she were going to do anything else. Not that it mattered. Oricorio wouldn’t last long. Poisoned, injured and unable to fly, there was only so much she could do against Primeape.

“Rock Tomb,” Cashe ordered.

“Move, Oricorio, use Air Slash!” Kiana shouted.

Primeape jerked forward and a large stone formed above Oricorio’s head. Oricorio beat her wings, pulling herself out of the attack as the stone dropped on her head. She squawked in pain as her broken wing moved, but it held. With the same movement she used to evade, she fired off her own attack, Air Slash forming a blade of air as she flapped, cutting across the battlefield and towards Primeape.

Primeape was already moving, dodging forward and cutting the distance between them. The blade of air flew by, scoring a long gouge in the surface of the stage.

“Primeape, Thunder Punch!” Cashe shouted.

Primeape leapt at Oricorio as she slowed after avoiding Primeape’s first attack. Her talons dug into the stadium floor to steady herself as Primeape closed, Primeape’s fist already crackling with electricity.

“Don’t go down without a fight! Air slash again!” Kiana’s voice cut through the screaming crowd.

Oricorio beat her wings again, red and black feathers flying in the air from the effort. Her injured wing, broken and burned, faltered mid beat. Her uninjured wing still managed to form the attack, but it was weak. A blade of air took shape, small and slow moving, cutting through the air to intercept Primeape’s leap.

Primeape ignored the attack, accepting the blow to score one of her own. The small blade of air cut across her shoulder, parting fur and flesh as Primeape absorbed the brunt of the move. She cried out in rage and pain as the attack landed, swinging her fist forward in response and catching Oricorio in the center of her chest with Thunder Punch.

The attack ripped through Oricorio, the electricity exploding from Primeape’s fist on contact, and dancing over Oricorio’s body and feathers. Oricorio flew, not on her own volition, across the stage, tumbling into a heap when she came to a stop, twitching with the remnants of electricity running through her system.

Kiana pinched her lips as the audience shouted and moaned at Oricorio’s quick downfall, returning her to her ball before the referee had a chance to stop the match.

The official still did so, however, jogging onto the middle of the arena, her hand held aloft, “Oricorio is unable to battle! Kiana, choose your next pokemon.”

Cashe let out a deep breath of relief as Oricorio returned to her ball. Flying types were a huge problem for his team at the moment. Kiana had two and he had managed to make it most of the way through them. Hawlucha was still able to fight, but was close enough to fainting that he was pretty sure any of his pokemon would manage to take him out, even if it could still be tough.

It was a problem for the future, however, as Kiana had chosen her next pokemon. Red light flashed as she tossed her pokeball into the ring and the audience cheered as they saw Krokorok take form.

He was a desert crocodile, with light brown skin covered in black stripes. His belly was bright pink and his arms were long and crossed, much like a human might show disapproval. Krokorok stood on two legs, the same height as Primeape, standing just over three feet tall. He was much longer, tip to tail however, the long extra limb slithering and coiling behind him in anticipation, like a snake readying to strike. Krokorok glared at Primeape, exuding an aura of power, lesser, but no different from what Cashe felt from Salamence a week prior.

He saw the aura affect Primeape, a small twitch of fear running through her. Primeape’s eyes went wide as the emotion cut through her anger, and her rage redoubled, her bloodshot eyes turning almost bright red as she worked herself up into a fury. Power ballooned around her, spiking and cascading off her in waves.

It was the interaction of her ability with Krokorok’s, Cashe realized. Krokorok was trained with Intimidate in order to cut the attack of his opponent’s, but thanks to Primeape’s Defiant ability, her power spiked instead, stubbornly refusing to be slowed in any way. Cashe grinned as Kiana noticed the interaction, her face twisting in growing frustration. Obviously her research was not as complete as she thought. It was nearly impossible to tell passive abilities like Primeape’s when watching a recording of a battle, and Cashe had taken lengths to obscure what her ability might be. That effort was now paying off as Primeape took an edge in the match.

Krokorok moved to the center of the stage, surprisingly nimble on his stubby feet. Primeape bristled and matched him, growling as she did so. The official eyed both pokemon warily, stepping off the stage with her hand raised in the air.

“Fight!” She shouted, bringing her hand down in a single motion. As soon as the words left the official’s mouth, Kiana was already giving instructions to Krokorok.

“Bulldoze, Krokorok!” Kiana ordered, “Slow her down!”

Cashe had half a mind to let the attack hit. Primeape would be slowed, but her Defiant ability would be activated again, pushing her power up another few notches and making anything that stood in her way nothing more than a temporary obstacle.

“Protect!” Cashe cried out. The spike in power would be nice, but being able to hit her opponents was more important, and that was much harder to do when slowed by an attack.

Krokorok stomped in the ground, sending ripples of energy through it that spread in a wide area over the battlefield. The stage shook from the force of the attack, jarring Cashe where he stood, forcing him to widen his stance to stay steady.

The ground type energy cascaded out from Krokorok, moving over the stage like a vicious wave. It shot towards Primeape, who stood firm, facing the oncoming attack. At the last moment before the attack hit her, she raised her arms into the air, crossing them over her body. A shimmering, translucent shield formed in the air in an instant, and the waves of energy bounced off, spreading around her like a river crashing against a stubborn rock.

Krokorok piled on the pressure, redoubling his effort with the attack, but Primeape held steady, her shield not even twitching from the pressure.

“Close the distance, Primeape, don’t give him space to move!” Cashe shouted.

“Keep her at bay, Krokorok! Crunch!” Kiana ordered.

Primeape leapt forward in her rage, cutting off Krokorok as he attempted to retreat and keep the distance between them. The jump was a mistake, however. Stuck in the air for almost a full second, Krokorok managed to reposition himself in time to catch Primeape as she landed. His crocodilian mouth widened, opening to form a great, gaping maw filled with savage teeth. Dark energy gathered there, forming a black hole of swirling power.

Primeape’s jump was taking her directly into Krokorok’s mouth. Cashe swore under his breath at the unnecessary risk, Primeape’s furious leap threatening to upend his entire battle. “Primeape, avoid it with Acrobatics!”

His words reach Primeape right before she landed. Krokorok shot forward, snapping his enormous jaws down on Primeape. Primeape twisted in the air, using Acrobatics to the best of her ability to avoid the attack, but it was too late and she had too little control moving through the air. Krokorok’s jaws snapped shut, clamping down on Primeape’s leg with bestial force. Primeape roared in pain, kicking and twisting in a desperate attempt to get free. The twisting only worsened her situation, however. Dark type energy washed over Primeape as she twisted, and Cashe saw it ravage her leg, Krokorok’s teeth digging in with force, drawing blood and causing Primeape to redouble her escape efforts.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Primeape’s eyes glowed as her anger increased over and over again, beating senselessly at Krokoroks’s snout. Krokorok bore the brunt of the futile attacks with ease, shaking his head like a dog trying to snap the head of an unlucky rabbit. Primeape was thrashed back and forth, a loud snap echoing through the arena as her leg broke from the force of Krokorok’s attack, undoing the purpose of avoiding Krokorok’s bulldoze in the first place. Primeape would struggle to move on a broken leg.

“Primeape, stop struggling!” Cashe shouted, “Use Cross Chop!”

This was supposed to be an easy matchup for her, but her anger was making her delirious. He had no idea if his words could even get through to her. They must have, however, as powerful energy began to gather around both of Primeape’s fists.

“Get out of there, Krokorok!” Kiana shouted, “Let her go and get some distance!”

Krokorock opened his jaws, releasing Primeape, but the effectiveness of his attack would be his undoing. His teeth, pushed deep into Primeape’s leg from the ruthlessness of his attack and even deeper after her legs snapped, did not come free quickly or easily. As he tried to pull away from Primeape, he dragged her with him, dangling her upside down as she hung from his mouth by her mangled leg.

Focusing her wrathful fury, Primeape struck at Krokorok with all her might, slashing both arms downwards in a debilitating double chop. Energy flowed from her fists, crashing into Krokorok with the full force of her anger. She struck him on the chest, and his chest cratered. Krokorok’s mouth snapped shut over her leg instinctively as she hammered home her attack, sending the crocodilian pokemon flying, and her with him.

They flew in a heap, rolling across the stage and slamming into the protective barrier that surrounded the arena, crashing to the ground in a mess of teeth and limbs.

Cashe watched as the pile of limbs heaved and twitched, unsure of the status of either creature.

“Primeape?” Cashe called out.

“Ape!”

Cashe saw Primeape twitch and shift from her spot under the tangled form of Krokorok, but it didn’t look like she could stand or get free. Across the stage, Kiana was testing the waters as well, wearing a similar look of concern as Cashe.

“Krok, stand up!” Kiana ordered, but there was no movement from the pokemon. The pile shifted again as Primeape tried to free herself and both Cashe and Kiana looked to the official for help.

She was already moving, making her way across the stage with her hands held in the air for pause.

“Primeape, hold still for a moment!” Cashe shouted as the referee neared the pokemon. He didn’t want Primeape to accidentally attack the official in her anger.

The league official neared the two pokemon, bending over and making a quick assessment of the situation.

“Kiana,” she said, turning to face the gym trainer, “Recall Krokorok now. He cannot battle. He’s out.”

Gym Trainer Kiana made a face, but lifted her hand and returned Krokorock to his pokeball. Freed from her sand crocodile prison, Primeape jumped to her feet, or tried to at least. She got up, but was unable to stay up, her mangled leg buckling underneath her the moment she put any pressure on it. She screeched in frustration and tried again, hopping up on only one leg this time, trying to maintain her balance. It was clear she wanted to continue to fight, but her round body and the placement of her legs on it, left her completely unbalanced and unable to stay upright.

The league official turned towards Cashe, “Trainer Cashe, it’s your call. She looks like she’s ready to go, but I don’t think she can fight on a single leg. I’m leaning on declaring her unfit to battle, but I won’t if you think she can still fight.”

“Can I look more closely?” Cashe asked and approached Primeape after receiving a nod from the referee. Primeape was lying on her back at the edge of the arena, almost pressed up against the barrier for support. Both her fists were on her broken leg and covered in blood. There was a lot more than Cashe was expecting - some must have come from Krokorok, right? Primeape couldn’t bleed like that and still be ready to fight.

She snarled as he approached, but Cashe ignored her, leaning in and inspecting her condition.

“Careful,” the official warned, “Injured pokemon are unpredictable, even if they are trained.” She eyed Primeape warily, cautious of the notoriously angry pokemon.

“Primeape’s a sweetheart, aren’t you?” Cashe said, steeping closer and squatting down beside his pokemon. Primeape huffed, but let Cashe remove her hands from her leg. Cashe grimaced at what he saw. Krokorok’s attack had left the leg in rough condition. Primeape’s skin was torn in multiple places, with cuts down to the bone at some. The leg itself was twisted and broken, snapped clean in the upper thigh, almost like there was another joint there.

“No,” Cashe shook his head, standing and turning to face the official, “I don’t think she can go on.”

“Ape!” Primeape protested, pushing herself to her feet once again, just to fall on her face a second later.

The referee nodded, returning to the center of the stage and making the official announcement.

“Primeape is no longer able to battle. Trainer Cashe, choose your next pokemon. Krokorok is unable to battle, Kiana, choose your next pokemon.”

The double knockout set the crowd into a renewed frenzy. Cashe had a pretty good idea of what they were discussing. Kiana only had a single pokemon left, and he was seriously injured. Cashe could win. But, Hawlucha had recovery moves. If he could get one Roost off, the battle might turn back in Kiana’s favor. Except Sneasel had taunt. Except he was just as injured as Hawlucha. Except he had Ice Shard. Except Hawlucha could recover through it. Except, except, except.

Cashe paid the murmuring crowd no mind, reaching not for Sneasel’s ball at all but for Hatenna’s. She popped onto the field with a confused look, as though she had not expected to see the arena again. The crowd’s murmuring grew, reflecting the same confusion.

Cashe grinned at the little pokemon and sat on the floor beside her. “See all those people?” Cashe said, gesturing to the stadium around them.

“Hat!” Hatenna nodded, bouncing on her little feet.

“They are all confused by you, they don’t know what you are doing here.”

“Hat!”

Cashe smiled, “Of course you know that already. You can feel all their emotions. And you’re doing such a good job dealing with them.”

“Hat?”

“It’s because they think I just made a huge mistake,” Cashe said. He leaned even closer to Hatenna and whispered to her, “But you’ve got Hawlucha trapped. They don’t know you are about to have the easiest battle of your life.”

“Hat?”

Cashe grinned and hopped to his feet, “Get out there and do me proud, Hatenna!”

"Hat!” Hatenna waddled forward, trundling her way to the center of the stage, getting ready to fight. On the other side of the arena, Kiana watched the Hatenna take her place with a deep frown on her face. She tossed Hawlucha out into the battlefield, her frown deepening as her pokemon revealed himself.

Hawlucha did not look any better than he had when he was first subbed out. The ice on his plumage had melted, but his feathers were a terrible mess. Similarly, the ice from Sneasel’s Ice Shard attacks was no longer jutting out of his legs, but now the wounds were open and trickling blood. The normally white plumage of the wrestling pokemon was dyed almost entirely red, darkening as the blood dried. Hatenna, on the other hand, was in pristine condition, bouncing eagerly on the balls of her little feet.

“Just dodge whatever she throws at you,” Kiana said to encourage her pokemon, “We can figure the rest out as we go.” Hawlucha nodded, moving with a pronounced limp to the center of the stage.

“Trainers ready?” The official got nods from both of them, “Fight!”

Kiana whistled and backed it up with vocal orders as well, “Hawlucha take evasive action!”

“Dodge this,” Cashe grinned, “Disarming Voice!”

“HAT!” Hatenna chimed, her voice ringing loud through the small arena. The sound-based move rolled away from her, pink waves of energy taking shape and moving across the battlefield in an enormous blanket, so fast and so broad, there was no chance of avoiding the attack.

Hawlucha tried anyway, beating his wings and taking to the air as soon as Kiana called out her orders, but it was to no avail. The pink wave caught Hawlucha as he rose through the air and tossed him to the side, the fairy type energy super effective against Hawlucha’s fighting typing. Hawlucha tumbled to the ground for the second time of the match, and that was the end of it. He lay still, unable to move.

The audience watched on in shock, a tentative clap rising up at the anticlimactic conclusion of the fight. Kiana sighed loudly enough to be heard by Cashe and returned Hawlucha to his pokeball.

“Hat!” Hatenna hopped in her spot in excitement, spinning in the air and rushing back as fast as her little legs would carry her to Cashe.

“Hat!” Cashe smiled wide as she came and she jumped into his arms, wiggling her head back and forth, her floppy hair bouncing from side to side.

“Hat!” Hatenna shouted, joyful in her celebration. She began to glow.

“Really?” Cashe laughed, “That was what pushed you over the edge?”

*****