Arthur Lindt
I was tapping my foot lightly, sitting on a bench back in that middle waiting room of the tower. The lady gym trainer was here when I first came in but told me to take a seat before she left. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about why I had been pulled aside during my trainer challenge. Normally you challenged both back to back and then simply left to prepare for your battle against the gym leader the next day.
I’m sure there were times they had to pause between trainers, but I had never heard of it. My main worry was that I had broken some unspoken or rarely mentioned rule taking down my opponent that way. I couldn’t imagine how that would be the case, everything Nova had done had been a legal move as far as I knew, and we stopped as soon as our opponent fainted. They had only said it would be a five-minute break, but it was bordering on ten minutes when the door opened and the lady trainer stepped back in.
“I apologize for the wait young man. Some things were getting sorted but you’re next battle will be ready for you shortly.” She was speaking kindly, but a look in her eyes had me thinking she seemed annoyed. Not at me, but just in general.
“Thank you, is everything okay?” I was hoping for some more answers on the situation, but the gym trainer just smiled at me.
“Everything is fine, just a complication that needed to be dealt with. However, before we send you up I was told to give you this.” She pulled out a small container, rectangular and mostly white with purple accents.
“An Ether?” I was surprised to see it, the item worked similarly to the games, in that it allowed Pokémon to nearly instantly restore their internal supply of type-energy. It wouldn’t restore any health but if a Pokémon had burned through powerful moves it was useful.
“Your Sunkern may not have taken any damage during its battle, but it likely expended some energy at least. We wanted to ensure you were both in your best shape for the next fight.” Well, that was kind, but it felt a little strange.
“Why? Trainer battles are usually back-to-back for a reason, so we can’t patch up our teammates between battles. Isn’t it kind of against the rules to use one just because I had a break?” The trainer looked almost surprised by my answer, the annoyance on her face fading as she smiled lightly.
“While you are correct about how these things traditionally go, a break was not a situation you are at fault for. Consider it our apology for your circumstances.” She held it out again, this time bowing as she did so. I looked at it for a moment, before glancing down at Nova. He looked at it as well before glancing at me. He winked one eye and I knew we agreed.
“I thank you for your consideration but I don’t believe that’s necessary. I wouldn’t want to accept an aid that wouldn’t normally be available to anyone else. Besides, Nova didn’t expend that much energy during our first battle anyway.” I bowed in return, not seeing her immediately but when I looked back up she was smiling even more.
“Very well. You may feel free to take the elevator to your next battle. Good luck Arthur.” Nova and I made our way to the elevator as fast as we could without running. Our excitement and rush kept us from noticing how this was the first time aside from confirming my identity the trainer had said my name, or how she pulled out a Pokégear and sent a message to someone as soon as she could.
No all I was worried about was what was coming next.
“You ready for another Nova?”
“Sunkern!” He spoke with determination, a fierceness in his tone that made it clear he was always ready.
“Perfect. We might have to pull out a few more stops for this one, keep an ear out, and remember our signals. I’ll try to stick to official move callouts but if they don’t underestimate us this time we might have no choice.” Nova nodded as I spoke, understanding me perfectly. This one wasn’t going to be as easy as the first.
I only realized how correct I was when the elevator rose and opened to floor level, allowing me a view of the arena, and my opponent on the other side across from me. His hair was a pale blue and covered one eye. A thicker blue jacket hung over his shoulders, his arms not even in them as they extended out, one to the side and the other raised towards me. The leather bracers on his arms were thick and black, contrasting his lean frame, and clashing with the very traditional outfit he wore below. A samue I think? My knowledge of traditional Japanese (or I guess Indigonian) clothing wasn’t great.
But I knew who this was without question.
“Gym leader Falkner?!” I couldn’t help myself from shouting out in surprise, and Nova beside me jumped as well before focusing ahead.
“Indeed! You’ve impressed me, Arthur. You showed strength and skill that would already qualify you for your first badge level, and testing you with another gym trainer at that strength would be a waste of everyone’s time. So instead I thought we should do something to properly test you.” Despite the distance between us, I heard his voice clear as day. I could only nod along as he spoke, still getting over the shock of facing the gym leader right now.
“Perfect. So we will make this simple. The first Pokémon I send out to face you will be the strongest I could reasonably use in a first badge challenge. If you best that Pokémon, then as far as the first badge challenge goes we will consider you successful. No matter your result against the second Pokémon I will give you the Zypher badge.” Okay. This was a little strange but what about this wasn’t. However, this did make me very curious about part two of this plan.
“And what about the second Pokémon?” I asked the question, hoping my voice didn’t sound strange or crack. I was trying to be taken seriously here.
“Ah, this is where we will have some fun. I will use a second badge-level Pokémon against you, one I’ve been training personally. If you can manage to beat that Pokémon then I will not only give the HM permission for rock smash, but I will give you the HM for the move itself.” I couldn’t help but suck in a breath at that.
HM’s were incredibly practical and strong moves, with uses well outside of battling. It’s why they were restricted to badge levels or actual job positions. While I may have gotten permission to use the move, the HM itself was brutally expensive given its restricted status. Getting one for free was huge, especially given my budget.
“That sound interesting enough for you?” Falkner’s question rang out and I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded.
“Sounds like fun, yeah.” I could feel the smile on my face as I answered.
I was still pretty confident Nova and Bastion could handle a first badge challenge, especially one Pokémon. I wasn’t sure if we could punch up to second, but I wanted to try. I figured they were both around the actual strength level of those kinds of Pokémon, but they hadn’t really fought up there before, and the experience was a make-or-break factor in battles sometimes.
“Perfect. I hope you can keep up Arthur. Your league challenge starts here.” He smiles as he spreads his arm, the jacket falling away and revealing a set of Pokéballs on his hip. I smile, withdrawing Nova into his ball, preparing for when I could release him to the field. I hoped Bastion had been listening to what was going on because we were going to need him.
“Arthur’s gym battle against Falkner will be a two-on-two match, with one switch permitted. Additional guidelines set by the gym leader state that simply beating the first Pokémon will qualify as earning the Zypher badge. Defeating the second Pokémon will result in additional rewards as specified by the gym leader. Is everything understood?” The woman’s voice echoed through the stadium and I nodded, figuring they had cameras already watching everything.
“Good, trainers to your position.” I stepped forward, the small box marking where I would stand in the arena. Falkner was already in his, staring right ahead at me, that same grin on his face.
“Release your Pokémon,” I respond quickly to the announcer's call, throwing the ball up and forward, the same high arc where it deposits Nova onto the field. He does not hop or jump in the place, he simply adjusts his weight as he stares straight ahead.
Falkner grabs a ball from his belt, throwing it forward like he’s trying to toss a frisbee or skip a stone. The red beam of light coalesces, forming a large winged shape, a distinct tail, and a head crest making it instantly recognizable.
“Pidgeotto!” The bird cries as it releases, beating its wings to hover in a spot just off of the ground. It was what Falkner used in the games as his last Pokémon, although I could guess this one was stronger.
There was a moment of tension, of silence as we waited to be told to begin. It was likely only a few seconds, but there at that moment on the field, it could have been minutes. I took in every detail I could. The strength with which Pidgeotto beat its wings, the gusts of air something I could feel over on my side of the arena. The way the loose dirt on the surface of the field kicked up, the way I could feel the sand flake across the field.
I could see Falkner, the way his stance relaxed but his eyes remained fierce, piercing, and focused on the field and all its details. The way Nova leaned forward slightly, anticipation for the callout he knew was coming, ready to jump into it the moment my order came through. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he was ready to fight anyway.
“Begin!” The callout was all I needed, I was quick to bark out my order, while Falkner waited for just a moment, watching to see what I would do.
“Seed them!” My plan was simple. Pidgeotto was far too strong for Nova to take head-on. Assuming they were close to the same strength, with Nova maybe having a level or two, this Pidgeotto would still dwarf every stat Nova has. Aside from that it would have many more battles under its belt than Nova did.
As such my only hope was setting up a battlefield that my team could win on. I couldn’t even rely on a switch to Bastion as there was a chance that this Pidgeotto had Gust and the moment Falkner figured out that I had no way of dealing with special moves we were done. So I needed Pidgeotto to be weak enough to fall to a single counter, and if I wanted to beat the second Pokémon Nova needed to be battle-ready at that point still. So the name of the game was easy. Be as annoying as possible.
Nova smirked and shot a series of seeds from the top of his head. These were not the same pitiful leech seeds that Nova had been using when I first found him, no at this point they shot in a straight line at their target. They weren’t bullet seed fast yet, but much faster than the leech seeds Falkner might expect at this level.
I do notice as Falkner smiles at the command and the sudden appearance of the seeds before they sail across the field, colliding with the bird who does not flinch or react, even as they dig into its skin, winding between feathers. I smile at the success, prepping my next order.
“Nova, drain!” I wanted to hold off on rooting Nova to the ground before I had to. Pidgeotto had more mobility than him already but sacrificing all of his mobility would be a death sentence. Unfortunately, Falkner decided he had enough waiting around.
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“Blow them away Pidge.” He doesn’t shout the order only saying it in a calm voice, but I recognize what he’s trying right away.
“NOVA! Abort, ingrain now!” I call out the order right away, watching as the Pidgeotto across from us brings back its wings before flapping them once in a strength I hadn’t seen yet. I watch as the leech seeds on his body are torn loose, and the gust of wind slams across our side of the field, kicking up even more sand.
Thankfully Nova gets his ingrain in before the move makes contact, following my change in order without much difficulty or struggle. Another flap of the Pidgeotto’s wings pushes across the arena and I can the power of the whirlwind feel it as it attempts to push me back. I recognize the move as one of the ones I was most concerned about, as it could force a switch on my team.
Ever since the advent of Pokéballs humans have noticed that certain Pokémon moves behave strangely with them. Moves that likely were evolved to work in team environments or to force enemies away had a strange effect on trainer battles with Pokéballs. Suddenly moves could be used to switch teammates, pass on stats, or even force your opponents to change. Such moves are incredibly useful and get a great deal of use in high-level battling, but I hadn’t expected Falkner to pull one out for the first badge challenge.
The biggest advantage around such moves is that since they were fundamental to the actual attack or ability of the Pokémon, they didn’t count towards switch limits in battles. As such the ability to use a move to switch was always seen as useful, and being able to force an opponent to switch and potentially burn one of their limited allowed switches to get their Pokémon back into the field was equally strong. Some moves could resist such abilities, like ingrain, and sometimes Pokémon of adequate strength could power through it, but it was still a threat.
My only advantage is that the move took a while to use, and Pidgeotto had to keep focused on it while they did so. Of course, this was probably why the move was so strong it dislodged the leech seeds, but I was focusing on the positives right now.
“NOVA! GT NOW!” I shout over the wind, praying that he heard me. I can feel the sense of relief as I watch blades of grass begin to poke out of the terrain around Nova, centered on him before spreading outwards. It wasn’t fast that’s for sure, but we were able to get a small 10-foot circle before the wind finally died down. I looked across to see Falkner, seemingly impressed by the fact that Nova knew the move.
“I see you must have bested Sprout Tower, I’ll have to ask Elder Li about how you did. Shame that the move requires time to complete though. Pidgeotto, quick attack.” There is no urgency in Falkner's tone, as the bird Pokémon suddenly blurs on the spot, its speed reaching ludicrous levels. There was no chance of hitting them when they were moving the fast.
“Nova, trade seeds.” Nova had learned a little trick from watching Bastion fight. It turns out that getting physically hit often caused Sunkern’s body to contract much in the same way it did when it launched leech seeds. A consequence of our learning meant that when he got hit by a physical attack he found it easy to leave seeds behind on the opponent without the time it normally took to prep the move.
Not that it was a clean exchange, the impact kicked up a wave of dust, and the only thing that kept Nova from flying back was the ingrain. Pidgeotto was quick to fly off earning some distance, while Nova continued expanding the grassy terrain across the field, roughly twenty feet now, but I wanted more before we swapped strategies. The terrain would be important for keeping Bastion in a fight.
Falkner looked to see his partner covered in seeds once more and grinned.
“Not bad, didn’t expect you to leave seeds behind like that again. Unfortunately for you, it costs nothing to get rid of them. Whirlwind.” Pidgeotto prepped once more, and I braced for the gusts of wind that were coming. I let it happen however, the grassy terrain and ingrain were doing a good job of healing Nova, and spreading the terrain was more important. We stood still once more in stalemate as the wind swept across the arena, shredding the seeds off of Pidgeotto’s body.
Nova meanwhile stayed where he was, spreading his terrain further and further, and using the opportunity to heal the best he could. I watched as the winds died down once more, and the grass settled across the field. More than half of it was now able to serve as a place to heal and that was more than good enough for me.
“Nova, super growth,” I call out my command, watching Nova’s leaf twitch excitedly as he receives one of the custom orders I had come up with for the battle against Falkner. Falkner’s eye twitches as well, before he looks across the field, seeing Nova shimmer slightly. His grin falls a little, and he sighs.
“Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed Arthur. But if these stalemates are all you can force then I might as well end this part of our battle now. Pidge, gust.” He says it as though he’s asking a question about the weather. There is indifference and apathy in his tone. I can’t blame him, anyone would be bored watching a battle like this. After all, it only seemed like Nova could do the smallest amount of chip damage before resetting the battle to where we were. Gust was the move we were scared of since it would almost certainly do more damage than we could heal back.
“Nova, razor leaf!” My call out sounds panicked, afraid I’m certain. Nova’s razor leaf was strong enough that leaving Pidgeotto there to focus on an attack-like gust was still a risk. That said it wasn’t so much a risk that Falkner couldn’t tank one of them.
The Pidgeotto flapped its wings once more, but instead of sweeping across the field this time the gust of air traveled across the field, smacking into Nova with an impact that nearly uprooted him. Despite that, Nova doesn’t fail to begin his razor leaf, the stream of blade-like leaves cutting through the air and scrapping across feathers on its target. Pidgeotto barely flinches but as the beam continues it looks back to Falkner.
The gym leader’s grin returns, although this time it looks a little more disappointed than excited. As though he’s happy to see effort but not thrilled by its outcome.
“Dodge Pidge, then come down for another quick attack.” The Pidgeotto obeys without hesitation, sweeping to the side and watching as Nova’s stream of leaves follows. Both Falkner and the Pokémon seem surprised as the barrage of leaves keeps up with the bird, Nova’s focused blast following them through the air.
Pidgeotto seems annoyed by the audacity and suddenly blurs, the impact once more sending a shockwave as they collide with Nova. Nova sends out no seeds this time, understanding my order from before, and continues firing leaves. The scratches across feathers, beak, and legs slowly add up as Pidgeotto picks up speed trying to outmaneuver the turret that Nova had become. Finally, though the move expires. Nova stops having to catch his breath, keeping the move active for too long.
Falkner could end it here, I know that much. I can see across the field to where he stands, watching the opening appear. Nova couldn’t take another gust, that much I knew. But I also think I had a pretty strong idea of who Falkner was by now. He was bored, looking for excitement and something different. He gave me opportunity after opportunity to do something different, something unexpected. It was why he seemed so disappointed now. I had hoped I understood him correctly because our strategy depended on whether he left me another opportunity.
“Now’s your opening Pidge, quick attack!” He calls it out, swiping a hand forward. There was a chance this ended my fight, but it wasn’t guaranteed like Gust would have been. I wait with baited breath as the Pidgeotto swoops down in a blur calling out the only order I can.
“Trade.” The impact collides, and for a moment I fear Nova has taken too much, that the impact alone knocks him free from the ground.
However I spot quickly as seeds begin spreading across Pidgeotto’s form as they begin backing off, I smile, knowing that means there is still a chance for us.
“Nova, let’s give them the show they were asking for. Super drain.” The custom order brings a life to Nova’s stance and I watch as a wave of green energy is drawn from Pidgeotto’s body causing them to stumble in their flight for a moment. Meanwhile, on my side of the field, Nova stands a little taller, a little straighter.
Falkner looks confused across from me, the impact on his Pokémon far greater than what it should have been, and the healing Nova received the same. I watch as his eyes widen, taking in the grassy terrain and ingrain I had set up, and the leech side that was left behind. He noticed it. The ability to use incoming energy was common at higher levels, I used it to prolong Nova’s attack during my trainer battle, but that wasn’t the only use it had. Higher-level trainers could store and empower attacks at the same time, neglecting healing in favor of power and longevity.
Nova and I weren’t skilled enough to do that yet, but we could choose. Longevity, or power. The rate at which Nova gained growth was drastically increased while he was siphoning energy this way, and he could even make other attacks without losing his gain. He may have only been sitting at a plus-three now, but that was enough to make the difference.
“Keep the drain up, Nova, drop them.” We weren’t going to be able to drop them, and I’m certain Falkner knew that. But that was part of my plan. Falkner would have to prioritize clearing the seeds, or else whoever my next Pokémon was would have the ability to drain enough health by default, however, he couldn’t clear the seeds and use a gust to down Nova without risking the super drain dropping his own Pokémon. So he had only one option, as far as I was concerned.
“Pidge, whirlwind into quick attack.” He makes the call, and I watch as Nova gets another drain off as the seeds are whipped off the Pidgeotto’s form. Pidgeotto’s flight was looking unstable now, but there was a gleam in their eyes as they finished blowing wind across the field. Then as they moved and their form blurred, I did the last thing they expected.
“Switch!” I make the callout, the beam of red light pulling Nova off the field and a second from my other hand depositing Bastion in another flash of red.
“No! Pidge abort!” Falkner calls out trying to get his Pokémon to abort the attack, but a consequence of the speed a move like quick attack provided meant that it was tough for a Pokémon to switch directions once they started with it. Pidgeotto collided with the newly revealed Bastion, it’s unclear how much of the battle Bastion had seen or was aware of, but I trusted him to know one thing.
When he got hit, use counter.
The collision once more sends wind through the grass all around that area of the field, and it is followed almost immediately by a second crack of sound that sends Pidgeotto rolling away from where Bastion is seated. His white fist is still out as the air stills and Pidgeotto fails to rise.
“...” There is silence in the arena, as the move I had made was processed.
It wasn’t illegal to switch your Pokémon mid-move. The rules as written stated that an opposing was not allowed to ‘BEGIN’ a new move until the opponent had fully switched Pokémon. It was a loophole that had been used in higher levels before since using your limited switches to send out a Pokémon that was better suited for the move at play was considered a reasonable sacrifice. The problem came from the fact that a trainer was required to loudly announce the switch before they began the maneuver. At higher levels that’s more than enough time for a trainer to command their Pokémon pull back from the attack, so it only really worked if your opponent didn’t expect such a move in the slightest.
At such a low level as the first gym badge, no one would expect me to have the trust or practice with my Pokémon to send one out mid-attack and get a good result, but Bastion was a special case. There was only one way he could react to an attack, which made planning around it very easy.
“Ah ha ha ha! Brilliant Arthur. I haven’t seen someone try a move like that in a first badge challenge, well done.” Falkner is laughing as he withdraws the Pidgeotto.
“Thank you, sir, I believed it would be an effective way to catch you off guard.” I gave a slight bow under the gym leader's praise, happy with the outcome. Whatever happened next, we had our first gym badge. That was a victory on its own.
“Yes very good. I do hope you are at least aware that had I decided to be more aggressive with my Pidgeotto and use gust, your Sunkern would not have lasted the match?” He questioned me, looking over at the field where Bastion still stood out, his fist retracted as he waited for his next opponent.
“I’m aware sir, but I figured you would hold off on such a move as it wouldn’t be a very good test of skill for a first badge challenge.” I answer honestly if Falkner used his Pidgeotto to the best of his ability it’s almost certain we would have lost. Granted that was probably the case for every gym challenge right up to the eighth. Gym leaders were just better trainers than the kids who challenged the league. Even if they used weaker Pokémon their skill would put them well above most people they fought. I wasn’t embarrassed to say I planned around Falkner not making the best moves, for the first badge challenge it only made sense.
“Hm, well that is true, it’s not a good habit to plan for your opponent to hold back. Outside of the gym battles they rarely will.” I nodded once more as he spoke. He was right after all. Martin, Silver… Team Rocket. None of them would hold back against me or my Pokémon. We needed to get stronger, that much was a given. But that was always the plan.
“I understand.” Falkner nodded at my response, the smile back on his face as he looked over at my other Pokémon.
“Hm, I don’t think I recognize that Pokémon, what type is it?” He asks the question looking over at me. I grin in return.
“Maybe after the next Pokémon, I’ll tell you.” I watch as Falkner also smiles, drawing a Pokéball from his belt.
“Smart of you. I’ll hold you to that Arthur. Now, you may have earned your badge. Let’s see how far you can take it against real adversity.” His smile turns almost feral, and he releases the ball in a flash of light, a new bird manifesting out on the field. Grassy terrain was still active, healing Bastion of the little damage he had taken, and I was thankful for it.
Watching the light coalesce it was clear it was smaller than the Pidgeotto was, sleeker, and more built for speed. As the light faded I felt a sense of dread rise in me. This was the Pokémon I was most afraid of Falkner having but I had taken the risk since it only ever appeared second-badge level challenges. The difficulty he said he was testing me at.
“Fletchling!” The small red bird cried out and I tightened my hand into fists. How on earth was I going to do this?