Chapter 90:

Switching Techniques

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"A 3 vs 3," Lisa said. "Sounds fair right?"

"Sure, that would mean all my Pokémon could get a workout."

Lisa was wearing a hoodie this time with a knee-long dress and bare legs underneath. Around her waist hung a Pokéball belt.

Mark was fucking off somewhere in the grass with Steenee. No idea why but it allowed me some peace of mind. That kid had the attention span of a toddler.

"Could you give me some space please?" I asked Lisa, "Need to have a quick team talk first."

She nodded. "Yes, I'll leave you alone. Don't run away though."

I rolled my eyes before turning around, hearing Lisa behind me calling out to her child.

"Okay." I knelt down in front of my Pokémon who were looking at me with anticipation, "Midna, you mind going first?"

It still felt weird to say Midna instead of Project Z. However, Pro…Midna seemed to be going with it very easily. After overcoming the initial mock anger she was quick to adjust to it.

We didn't really have a lot of time to talk about it though, the upcoming battle had us training all evening and morning.

Giving Project Z a new name didn't make her any less of an annoyance.

"Sure Captain." Zorua answered with a bright smile. However, that smile quickly faded. With a low raspy tone she asked, "Wait, are you sending the weakest Pokémon first!?"

"No, I'm not."

I totally was. Old habits die hard I guess. In the Pokémon games it was a valid strategy. Maybe it was a dick move in the real world though? Never considered that option although there was also another option.

"You're just being difficult for the sake of being difficult aren't you?"

The big grin that was her response told me enough.

"To be truthful, Midna is the weakest out of us three," Fay said thoughtfully.

"Nah, I am pretty sure I can beat you." Midna countered.

"No, I doubt it," Fay answered with a smug smile.

This seemed to annoy Midna. Fay flashed her claws to prove her point; a proud look present on her face.

Midna scowled. A dark look crossed her face. "Fine, I bet I could take on Dust at least."

Luna's eyes flared red. {If you even think of doing that I-}

"Chill Luna," I interrupted the small psychic. "Midna is just nervous for her upcoming fight."

"No I'm not." Midna huffed undignified. After saying that the small fox Pokémon started to avoid my eyes.

With a small voice, she added. "I just don't like pain."

She kept avoiding my eyes. It was pretty clear she was putting up a tough act to calm herself down.

"If you don't want to fight you can just sit this one out. I won't think less of you or treat you differently."

A random thought crossed my mind. Down in A2 while we were fighting the Kabutops she had been hiding herself, only stepping in at the last second when things were dire. Zorua’s were known for their timid and coward nature, right?

While I silently questioned my own theory, Fay was trying to help Midna.

"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt and the moment it does our trainer will pull us out of the fight. Right Dust?"

I nodded.

"I know," Midna rolled her eyes. "I just want you to know that if I am going to lose it was because Dust's strategy sucks."

Fay frowned. "That's not a nice thing to say."

{Anyway, what is the plan?} Luna fixed her eyes on me. There was a certain edge to her look, an almost frightening dedication carved on her face. I decided that I must have been imaginary.

"Actually, there's no plan," I admitted.

"No plan?" Fay asked, surprised.

"Suicide charge?" Midna suggested with a smirk.

"Luna explain it for me please."

A smile crossed Kirlia's face. {It is simple, our trainer wants us to have fun, learn and experiment with new moves.}

"Exactly."

{However,} Luna placed her hands on her hips. {This does not mean you can slack off, I want a victory and nothing less.}

Fay nodded determined, a serious look on her face.

Midna shot me a look that said; she is crazy. I agreed with her.

"Are you ready, Dusk?" Lisa's voice came from behind me.

She still got my name wrong. I turned around and saw the woman standing behind me.

With a proud smile she grinned at me. It was a nice smile to see, a careless smile that promised fun instead of doom.

"I was waiting for you kiddo." She twirled three Pokéballs around her fingers. Playfully showing them off.

"Here's a tip, keep the Pokémon you're going to use a secret until the battle begins. Now, I am at an advantage."

"What do you mean?" Midna asked.

I sighed. "She is saying that she could hard counter my entire team because she knows who I will pick."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It was something I did realize, the point is; I like having my Pokémon outside of their Pokéballs. Though I should probably keep them inside when I'm visiting a tournament or Gym. Or maybe just keep Luna out. Food for thought.

Maybe Lisa would prove to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Not that it mattered because I was here just to have some fun.

Damn, that felt good. No pressure for once.

I pocketed the three Pokéballs and gestured for my Pokémon to get ready. Lisa tilted her head as if pondering over something.

I noticed that the Beetroot with legs, named Melon, was sitting in the grass along with the boy.

The battlefield was nothing too significant. The only thing that stood out to me were the flower beds planted on the corners. The lines drawn across the ground still looked new which showed that the people of Floaroma town really cared about their parks.

Lisa walked over to the other side of the field, a smirk visible on her face. Meanwhile, I tried to organize my thoughts. It had been some time since I had just a casual battle, however, it would do me good to train some more. Especially with the gym battle on the horizon.

The sun was high up in the sky, beaming down relentlessly like a silent spectator.

"Ready Lisa?" I asked excitedly, already feeling the rush of adrenaline kicking in.

"Definitely," Lisa answered.

"Go Roxy!" She threw a red and white Pokéball up in the sky. It exploded into a flash and soon a red bipedal creature landed on the battlefield.

It was an insect but the size and rough shape of a human, covered with a red exoskeleton that padded some parts of its body. It had big wasp-like wings but didn't have stingers, instead two big claws made up its hands.

"Scizor." The creature spoke.

"Midna, I choose you." I said dryly. Meanwhile, I was already considering my options.

Fay and Luna were both way better choices than Midna, but I didn’t want to switch now. I guess I just had to eat up the missed opportunity and just have to trust Midna will do her job.

Midna stepped forward, her first steps were hesitant. She stared at the white line as if it was something out of this world.

"You can do it!" Mark was cheering from the sideline. He was joined by Melon who was just bouncing around with an excited expression.

"You're cheering for the wrong team." Lisa shook her head.

At least Midna had one fanboy.

With a brave smile, Project Z stepped onto the field.

"So what?" she asked with a sarcastic voice, "Do I beat that red bug into submission?"

"Go!" Lisa yelled.

Immediately the look on Midna sharpened. Just in time.

"Body slam!" I yelled out.

The look of confusion on Lisa's face was priceless.

"She is a Zorua," Lisa said out loud as Midna was already running across the battlefield. Her small legs made her relatively slow, it was something worth noting. Something we could work on in the future.

"She is a special Zorua." I corrected Lisa.

A determined smile appeared on Midna's face as she leaped up in the air when she had almost crossed the field.

Scizor didn't seem to know what to do as Lisa was too surprised to react.

Midna's body began to glow and within a split second, it exploded into something much bigger.

Gravity took hold of Midna's body again, however she was no longer just a small Zorua.

A large blue sea dragon clashed against the ground with its entire body. Right on top of Scizor.

"Move!" Lisa cried out.

With a last-ditch effort, Scizor dove out of the way.

The ground cracked and chunks of dirt and stone were thrown across the battlefield. The Gyarados roared as she landed with impact and Scizor was blown away by a big chunk of concrete. Her body glowed white again and she transformed back into a regular Zorua.

Deciding I shouldn't allow Lisa to recover I ordered my next attack.

"Night Daze!"

An aura of dark-purple energy began to spiral around Midna. Then the same energy crashed down into the ground and rolled outwards like a shockwave.

A cry of pain came from Scizor and she (I decided Roxy sounded like a girl's name) fell down, painfully struggling under Midna's weird energy connection.

"Again!" I yelled.

Midna followed my order with a smile.

"Go up Roxy!" Lisa yelled.

The two wings behind Scizor's back opened fully and with a leap she jumped up a meter in the air where she continued to hover.

The wave of purple energy passed harmlessly underneath her.

Midna sneered, "Come down here coward!"

Lisa smirked at me. "Nice trick, how'd you do that?"

I shrugged innocently. "Magic, illusions. Who knows?"

She nodded. "Well, here's a trick of our own. Roxy X scissors!"

Scizor nodded curtly before turning to gaze at Midna again. The weird claws began to glow a bright green and the wings on her back began to move faster.

Without a warning Scizor shot towards Midna, streaking past her and leaving a glowing trail in the air.

It didn't seem like a hit to me but Midna was tossed into the air.

Scizor turned around, ignoring all conventional laws of acceleration and flashed towards Midna, flying so fast the Zorua couldn't even recover. Midna cried out as she was again tossed up.

"Scratch!" I yelled, hoping Midna could maybe force Scizor off her but she didn't even have the time to strike as a third hit tossed her up in the air again.

Damn, that Scizor was fast as hell.

"Midna, transform into a Gravler!" I cried out.

Scizor turned around to go for another strike when Midna's body started to glow. It burst forward but before it could strike again the glow dissipated.

A much, much larger boulder-like creature had taken her place and crashed to the ground. Scizor was caught underneath the Gravler and felt the full might of a boulder coming down.

The ground cracked underneath Midna's feet and a small crater had formed.

Scizor crawled out from underneath Midna's new body, looking heavily damaged by just the sheer weight.

She wasn't harmed physically per se, but I could see that the crash had done some real damage.

It couldn't have been the type matchup. Normally Rock-type moves would be super effective but Midna's attacks, besides her own, didn't carry any mystical properties.

On the other hand, it wasn't hard to imagine Scizor being a glass cannon. Super fast and light but also super easy to take out.

I grinned, a plan already started to form in my head.

Of course that all shattered when Lisa aimed her Pokéball at Scizor and suddenly recalled her.

The insectoid turned into pure energy and was sucked into the red device. Lisa thoughtfully pocketed the Pokéball and retrieved another one.

"What?"

Lisa smirked. "Something wrong Dusk?"

"Dust, and yes, why did you recall Scizor?"

Lisa's eyes practically glimmered. "Simple kiddo. Roxy was low on health and it seemed that you figured out the strategy. No reason to keep her fighting a losing battle."

"That's cheating!" Midna cried out.

"Nope." Lisa twirled around the second Pokémon in her palm. "It is a valid strategy to switch out Pokémon during a battle. Unless they're knocked out it's allowed."

I frowned. "No one I battled did that."

Well. Actually I had used that strategy against Sabrina. However, in my defense I was fighting with one Pokémon less than she had.

Lisa shrugged. "It's considered bad sportsmanship. Doesn't mean it's forbidden. I didn't want to go all out but it seems you are better than I thought."

"Thanks," I muttered softly.

A smirk curled up as threw up her second Pokémon.

The Pokéball opened mid-air and a yellow furred creature jumped in its place. Excitedly bumping on 4 legs. Electricity sparkled around its white ruff where it cracked up to its pointy long ears.

"Watch carefully Dust, maybe I can teach you a thing or two."

"Sure," I answered skeptically.

Lisa didn't wait any longer.

"Go Sparky!" Lisa yelled, "Thunder!"

"Dodge!"

Too late. Lightning was faster.

A beam of concentrated yellow electricity shot over the field and before Midna could react she was hit directly in the face.

There was no scream or cry. Only the smell of ozone and the blinding flash.

When the light faded and I could see Midna again my heart was bumping against my chest.

Unsurprisingly, she was out.