Jen watched her team practice and smiled. They all looked ready to take on their next challenge, even Pichu, and Jen noticed the improvements in their techniques. Magmar's Fire Punch had become a lot more powerful, even developing a slight concussive effect as she attacked. Elekid and Pichu had both improved their ranged Electric-type attacks, and Jen was counting on Elekid to back Magmar up during the match. Tentacruel would be her third team member, since he could resist Ice moves, but also because he was the only other option she had; Togetic and Golbat were both vulnerable to Ice-types, and Pichu still wasn't ready for something as intense as a Gym battle. She felt happy with what she had to work with, but made a mental note to step up Pichu's training like she'd promised.
Occasionally, James would have one of his team members step in and spar with Magmar or Elekid, while Pidgeot circled Tentacruel, helping the jellyfish maintain his concentration and his Surf cushion. He hadn't quite gotten around to evolving Graveler yet, but James was in no hurry; right now, Graveler wasn't in his plans anyway. James was more confident in his team selection than Jen was, but would wait until after Jen had fought Pryce to finalize his lineup.
Eventually, evening arrived, and the two youngsters recalled their teams. They entered the Pokémon Centre in high spirits, having trained hard all afternoon, and settled into their usual routine, ready for the next day's challenge.
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The Mahogany Town Gym was unlike the rest of the town's buildings; where most of the houses were older, and some were quite run-down, the Gym was a sleek, modern-looking building with a large snowflake symbol over the doors. As James and Jen entered the lobby, the receptionist looked up and spotted them.
“Ah, you must be the two kids Pryce mentioned yesterday. Which one of you is the challenger?”
“I am,” Jen said, raising an arm slightly. “Is Pryce here?”
“He's right through there.” The receptionist indicated a small hallway behind a sliding door, then turned to James and Typhlosion. “You guys can head through the spectator's entrance over here.” A pair of double doors led to another hallway.
“Thanks,” Jen said, looking at James. “Well...see you in a bit, then.”
“Yeah. Good luck.” The pair separated, and Jen walked down the narrow hall, feeling the air grow colder as she came closer to the battlefield. When she emerged, she saw a carpeted walkway leading to the challenger's technical area; the entire rest of the battle area was ice. Pryce stood on the other side, leaning on his cane, a calm smile on his face.
“Welcome to the Mahogany Gym,” he said, giving a slight wave. “I trust you are prepared for battle?”
“I am, Pryce,” Jen answered, pulling her jacket a little tighter. “And I'm glad I brought my jacket. This is an Ice-type Gym, after all.”
“So it is,” Pryce said, laughing a little, then grew more serious. “Right, the formalities. The prize for victory is, of course, the Glacier Badge, and we use standard Gym rules here. Only you are permitted to substitute, and once all three Pokémon on either side are defeated, the challenge is over.”
“Got it!” Jen took out a Pokéball, and Pryce did the same.
“Then let us begin.”
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Jen Richards
A: ★ ★
D: ★ ★
S: ★ ★
Pryce
A: ★ ★
D: ★ ★ ★
S: ★
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“Dewgong, go!” Pryce's first Pokémon was a white, seal-like creature with a small horn atop its head. Its mischievous smile was enhanced by its two small tusks. Jen tossed out her own Pokéball and summoned her first choice.
“Magmar, you're up!” The Spitfire Pokémon blew out a small puff of fire as she emerged, ready for battle. The corners of Pryce's mouth lifted for an instant.
“Alright, let's begin! You have the first attack.”
“Magmar, Fire Punch!” Magmar's fist burst into flames as she ran at Dewgong.
“Dewgong, Surf!” Jen shouted in surprise as Dewgong summoned a small wave beneath its body, much like she had taught Tentacruel to do. “Now, strike!” Dewgong directed some of the wave straight at Magmar, who shrank back from the attack.
“How did it do that?” Jen shouted, as Magmar squared back up to Dewgong. “Dewgong must be a Water-type...”
“Indeed, it is. Many Ice-type Pokémon have Water as their secondary typing. Nothing is straightforward in our world, after all.”
“You're telling me.” Jen shook her head as she raised Magmar's Pokéball. “Magmar, return!” She sighed as the red energy dissipated, and took out another Pokéball. “I was hoping I wouldn't have to break out my backup plan so early, but it's got to be done. Elekid, let's go!” The Electric Pokémon grinned as he emerged and started spinning his arms. “Easy, Elekid. We've got to concentrate here. ThunderShock!” Elekid fired an electric blast at Dewgong, who took it easily.
“Dewgong, Aurora Beam!” Dewgong opened its mouth, and a rainbow-coloured beam of energy shot straight at Elekid, striking him full in the chest. Elekid went down in a heap, then got up, breathing heavily. Dewgong just barked happily as the Electric-type spun his arms.
“Elekid, relax! We've got this.” Jen watched Elekid slow his spinning, then turn to her. “You're going to have to tough this out, Elekid! I don't want to reveal our full team yet!” Elekid nodded and began spinning his arms again. “Okay, the long-range approach won't work. Time for more direct tactics. Elekid, Brick Break!” Sparks played across Elekid's forearm as he leaped at Dewgong, landing a hard strike on the Sea Lion. “That's the way!”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Dewgong, another Aurora Beam!” As Elekid started to move away, Dewgong fired another rainbow beam at him, hitting him hard in the side. “Now, Take Down!” This time, Dewgong leaped from its water cushion and hammered into Elekid, sending him flying. As Elekid landed, Dewgong shuddered from the recoil.
“Elekid!” The Electric-type growled again as he turned to face Dewgong. “Calm down! We're still in this! Get it with ThunderShock!” Elekid's attack flew at Dewgong, who shifted aside easily. “Don't give up! Another ThunderShock, quickly!” The next electric blast wasn't what Jen expected, though. Instead of the normal yellow discharge, a beam of blue energy arced from Elekid's horns to Dewgong. Even though the Sea Lion tried to evade, the beam homed in and struck it hard. “That's a new one.”
“Your Elekid seems to have learned Shock Wave, Jennifer.” Pryce said from the other side of the field. “It is an attack that will never miss. But we can handle anything you dish out. Dewgong, Aqua Jet!” Dewgong surrounded its body with water, then rushed at Elekid, hitting home again. “Now, Aurora Beam!”
“Elekid, Brick Break!” Elekid moved to attack, but the rainbow beam hit him square in the chest and knocked him back towards Jen. “Elekid!” Elekid's eyes were glazed over; he was out of the fight.
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“Oh, no,” James murmured as he watched the match. “Jen needed Elekid to last longer than that. Without him, this is gonna be an uphill fight.”
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Jen shivered a little as she recalled Elekid; Dewgong's power had taken her completely by surprise, and with no more Brick Break, she'd lost a key weapon against the rest of Pryce's team.
“No worries, though. I'm not out of this yet.” She took out another Pokéball. “Tentacruel, let's go!” The jellyfish landed on the icy floor and immediately summoned its Surf cushion. “Okay, settle. We've got a tough fight here. Use Acid!” Tentacruel fired a spray of bright green fluid at Dewgong.
“Dewgong, use your surf to block that spray!” Dewgong directed a small wave at the acid, creating a cloud of greenish vapour. Dewgong coughed as the remains of the acid hit it. “I hope we haven't just made things worse...”
“Tentacruel, Poison Jab!” Tentacruel used the distraction to rush Dewgong and punch it with a glowing tentacle. Dewgong shrank back as a violet glow covered its body for a moment. “We've poisoned them! That'll make things easier!”
“Dewgong, Headbutt!” Dewgong slammed its horned head into Tentacruel, who barely shied away. “Get out of there! Now!”
“Tentacruel, Constrict!” Tentacruel wrapped a pair of tentacles around Dewgong, squeezing it and holding it still. “Now, Acid, point blank!” The green fluid hit Dewgong full in the face, and it fell backward, its Surf cushion dissipating as it slumped in a heap, beaten.
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“Way to go, Tentacruel!” Jen cried as Pryce recalled Dewgong. “That's one down and two to go!” Tentacruel lazily waved a tentacle in response. Pryce smiled calmly as he watched the scene.
“Well done, Jennifer. You battled bravely. But taking down Dewgong is only the beginning. You still have to take out my next two team members, starting with this one.” Pryce tossed out his next Pokéball, and a strange-looking creature emerged. She looked like a blobby human wearing a red dress, with long blonde hair and a violet face marked by a pair of prominent lips. She swayed from side to side as she watched Tentacruel. Jen took out her Pokédex.
“What is that?” she asked as the scanner whirred.
“Jynx, the Human Shape Pokémon. Its body moves rhythmically, as if dancing, and can compel others to do the same.”
“That is...weird.” Jen looked at Tentacruel, who was waving his tentacles back and forth, took out his Pokéball and recalled him. “I'm gonna go with a direct approach this time. We don't know anything about Jynx.” She tossed out Magmar's Pokéball and grinned as the Fire-type squared up to her opponent. “All right, Magmar, ready? Let's win this!” Pryce motioned to Jynx as Magmar nodded.
“Rain Dance!” Jynx swayed back and forth, and a dark cloud appeared above their heads. A steady rainfall began, causing Magmar to shrink back.
“How does...never mind! This was a mistake.” Jen reached for Magmar's Pokéball, but Pryce was too quick.
“Mean Look!” A pair of black rings shot from Jynx's eyes, then coalesced around Magmar before dissipating. Jen groaned.
“Okay, Magmar, stay positive. Use Smog!”
“Powder Snow!” Jynx blew a powdery wind to break up the grey smoke. “Now, Ice Punch!” As Jynx approached, Jen grinned.
“Counter with Fire Punch!” Magmar's fist caught fire, but as the moves made contact, its intensity was visibly blunted. “No! Rain Dance is cutting the power of our Fire attacks!”
“DoubleSlap!” Jynx swung its open hand back and forth, slapping Magmar's face. Magmar jumped back, black smoke beginning to mix with the fire in her mouth.
“Magmar, Smog!” The grey smoke spewed forth, but Jynx darted in close with no ill-effects. The rain cloud above began to fade, and Pryce motioned to Jynx.
“Let's put the rain to one last use, Jynx. Water Pulse!” Jynx formed a blue orb between her hands, then drove it into Magmar's body. The orb burst into a wave of cold water, amplified even by the fading rain, and sent Magmar flying towards Jen, who cried out as Magmar failed to get up.
“Magmar!” Jen recalled the Spitfire Pokémon and started shivering again. How an Ice-type like Jynx had mastered these Water-type combinations, she would never know. Maybe she hadn't been as prepared for this as she'd thought at the start, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. “It's up to you, Tentacruel,” she said as she released the jellyfish. Jynx continued to dance in place as Tentacruel prepared for its attack. Pryce's eyes turned cold as he prepared his attack.
“It is time to end this. Jynx, use Powder Snow!”
“Tentacruel, Acid!” The fine powder was easily overcome by the harsh fluid, which splashed just shy of its target. “Now, BubbleBeam!”
“Another Powder Snow!” This time, the powder hit the bubbles, freezing some of them and bursting others. “Quickly, before they break! Psychic!” Jynx's body glowed blue, and it caught several frozen bubbles in midair. “Toss them at Tentacruel!”
“Acid!” The green liquid melted the frozen bubbles as they flew at Tentacruel, and Jen smiled. “Okay, we've avoided that one. Now we...” She stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Jynx inches from Tentacruel. “Quick, Poison Jab! Get it out of there!”
“I'm afraid this match is over, Jennifer. Body Slam!” Jynx leaped into the air and landed hard on Tentacruel. “Now, finish it with Ice Punch!” Tentacruel's body shuddered as the frozen punch hit it between the eyes. His Surf cushion disappeared, and he crashed to the ground with a sickening squelch. Jynx swayed happily as its victory was confirmed.
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Jen stared at Tentacruel, shellshocked. It was the first Gym loss she'd suffered, and it had been a bad one. She hadn't even gotten as far as Piloswine, whom she had been sure would feature in the battle. As she recalled Tentacruel, she felt tears enter her eyes, and she blinked them away.
“You fought well, Jennifer.” Pryce said, reassurance in his voice. “I trust you now understand that fighting Ice-types is not a one-dimensional proposition. They are quite versatile, and able to handle many different approaches.”
“Thanks, Pryce,” Jen said, trying to smile. “I've learned a lot today, and I'll use that knowledge when I challenge you again. Count on that.”
“Until the rematch, then.” Pryce turned and exited the battlefield, and Jen turned for the door. James and Typhlosion met her near the lobby.
“You okay?” he asked. “Pryce really did a number on you guys, huh?”
“He did.” Jen continued fighting back tears; losing a Pokémon battle was nothing to cry about. “I wasn't ready for his strategies, and we were pinned back from the start. I'll get him next time, though. We can only get better from here.”
“Well, let's go heal your team and get some rest. We've got more training to do.” Jen smiled, and they exited the Gym to rest and regroup.