Cascarrafa, the jewel of the West. I can see why they call it that, I mused as I walked through the streets. Porto Marinada wasn’t bad, but it lacked the beauty of this city, with its gorgeously blue and white patterns on the streets and tiered walls. Those walls had small platforms built across them at several points, ferrying people down from the higher levels built into the cliffs above to the lowest level on the desert floor, and vice versa.

  Despite the arid environment just beside Cascarrafa, the city had plenty of greenery, with trees and bushes planted all over the city, from the parks to the plazas. They were kept well watered by the waterfall that flowed from high above, channeled into sweeping canals running across every level. Shops and stalls littered the entrances and commercial districts built at the edges of the city, with residences built further in, all to further present the image of a prosperous, beautiful city. Something likely aided by the environment right beside them, helping the city stand out by contrast.

  Looking out across the horizon, I was met by a near-endless sea of sand. Occasionally in the distance one could see massive boulders or the rare decrepit tower sticking out of the sand, but for the most part it was just a burning wasteland. I wonder how tough the Pokemon there are? I know there’s a Paradox Pokemon to be found in the games, but I think they’re generally a bit weaker, despite the harsh conditions. Though harsh environmental conditions alone don’t make a Pokemon strong - eventually they learn to adapt to those and can only grow further through battle.

  “What’s with the look of longing? Not happy with the city?” A voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Whirling around, I saw a tall man with a Golduck standing by his side.

  “Oh, uh, I was just thinking about the ruins and the history buried out there.” I quickly came up with an excuse. It wasn’t wholly untrue either; those ruins were indeed interesting. Everyone gets weird when they hear about me wanting to go out into the wilderness just for the challenge of it. Wonder if that had to do with my age?

  The man and his Pokemon looked awkwardly at me before stepping to the side to reveal the actual speaker. He was an old, heavyset man, dressed in a white outfit with a blue apron overtop, a design like waves embroidered into it. His beard, unibrow, and tiny patch of hair atop his head (smaller than the first two) were carefully trimmed to follow the same pattern, with a matching color scheme to his outfit.

  “Kofu,” I said, blinking in surprise. “Uh, I mean, sorry, sir! Didn’t mean any disrespect- The city is great, really.” I do appreciate the amenities of sleeping in a city at least. As much as I have the highest-end camping gear out there and some decent wilderness skills from the Explorers, nothing beats a hot shower after a hard day on the road.

  He gave me a full-bellied laugh and waved me off. “No disrespect taken. I might be the Gym Leader, but it’s hardly my city. Cascarrafa belongs to all its people.” I raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘Press X to doubt.’

  While I doubt he got the exact nuance of my silent message, he still shook his head. “It’s true. This city is beautiful - greater than anywhere else in the world, and I had about as much wanderlust as a young lad as ye - but it kin nay be the result of just one man.” I kept better control of my facial expression, but I still held some disbelief.

  Cascarrafa was not historically nearly so inviting, but forty years of a Water Type specialist being the Gym Leader certainly changed things. The beautiful blue and white color scheme alone is directly attributed to him, and I’m sure he’s done much more. “Speakin’ of, hows about you feel like helpin’ out a wee problem I have for yer Gym Trial?” He continued.

  “Did you come all the way down here just to ask me about the Gym Trial? I only just put in a request for one!” Okay, it’s been a few hours, but still. We’re nearing the end of the Treasure Hunt, so I thought he’d be swamped. Plus, the Gym Building is pretty high up, even if the elevator system makes traversing tiers easy.

  “Well, nay jus’ to talk to ya about that. There’s been a problem with the canals; something is mucking them up fierce and getting sand all over them. The filters are workin’ overtime to keep them clear, but the monitors tell me they’ll be overwhelmed soon.”

  “Sand? I mean, that feels like it’d be a common problem around here, given, well…” I trailed off, waving a hand at the desert just outside. Actually wait, the sand should be way more of a problem given how close it is. How are sandstorms not constantly flying through here?

  I thought about it for a second before it came to me, and I shouted, “The Golducks!” A number of citizens walking by turned to stare at me, and my face flushed crimson.

  “Ha! Ya got it! Not many folks realize how much we rely on the Golducks and their Ability to keep the place nice here,” Kofu responded. Indeed. More than just the lack of sand, I should have realized how temperate everything felt here, how the sun isn’t burning down on us. Cloud Nine can stop sandstorms, snow, rain, and even ‘harsh’ sunlight.

  “They do a lot fer us, and they quite enjoy swimmin’ in the water. So we need to keep those canals clear. As I was saying, I’d have to clear the issue usually, but there’s this auction going on in the market I really need to get to, and ya seem quite competent…” he trailed off meaningfully.

  I nodded. “Sounds good.” Looking out, I saw one of the grates that a canal led into. “Nothing looks wrong on the surface, so I’ll probably need to check inside. Do I need a key or something?”

  The Gym Leader pulled a keycard out of his apron and passed it to me. “This should get you in. Keep your wits aboutcha and you should be fine.” Then he said, “Oh shoot! I gotta get going if I’m to make it.” Turning, he started running over one of the small bridgeways and out of the city faster than I thought possible.

  Damn, I didn’t think someone like him could move that quickly. And across the desert too, to make it to Porto Marinada in three hours to make it in time before the auction house closes for the night… that’s pretty impressive.

  I walked back through the city, winding my way over to the grate I’d seen. Sure enough, there was a key reader beside it and also a Mabostiff guard dog patrolling the area. He gave one sniff of me and the card and barked approvingly at Kofu’s scent. Swiping the card, the grate opened up, and I walked inside.

  For an adult, the tunnel likely would have been too small to stand upright in, but I was able to traverse it with ease. The walkways within were also wide, with enough space for Dun to slither across. Looking down at the water beneath, I could just barely make out some sand and grit caught up in the water as it flowed out into the city. Yeah, that’s not a good sign; the water should be getting purified in here.

  The place was quite clean overall and well-kept, but I was still unfamiliar with the layout, so even with the signage inside, I got lost a few times on my way to the purification center.

  Before I got to the direct center, I found some signs of battle. Torn-up walkways and a massive pile of sand blocking off one of the channels out. Even more worrying was the Grimer who was lying beside it. It was hard to tell with their amorphous anatomy, but the Pokemon looked injured, like it was wheezing from the effort to stay conscious.

  “Hey! Are you alright?” I asked, cautiously approaching it.

  “Griiiii…” The Pokemon gurgled, his eyes focusing on me for a moment before raising a globule up to make a head-like shape and shaking it.

  “What happened?”

  “Mar, grime grime.” Yeah, I don’t know what he means by that. At all.

  “You should go to a Pokemon Center. Do you… need help getting over there?” I said, pointing back the way I came. Is he capable of moving? I really hope so. Notch is the only one of my Pokemon that could carry someone like that, and that’s with Psychic. Their control is incredible, but I worry the Grimer might still freak out about being lifted by a Psychic Type Move.

  “Grime!!” He sounded worried and panicked. Thankfully, Dun was there to fill in the blanks.

  “Du dun. Arce.”

  “Oh, so there’s another exit he’s supposed to go out of. But there’s someone else blocking that way who hurt him, and he’s worried about going this way and others getting upset at him?” I reasoned aloud as the pieces started to fall in place for me. If it’s a purification center, then it probably makes a fair bit of waste, even with crazy Pokemon tech. They must repurpose some of it into food for Pokemon like Grimer here; maybe some of it goes into making things like Black Sludge. And I think I know what kind of Pokemon could make this kind of disturbance here and hurt the Grimer. The only question remaining is why that Pokemon would be here.

  “Wait here, I’ll clear up this problem, and you can get out of here soon,” I told Grimer, spraying them with a Potion. Then I glided over the mound of sand and wrecked walkways, floating through the torn-open door to find the main chamber.

  Beneath the hardened glass walkway that went all the way around the circular chamber, I could see water flowing in and out, regulated by a series of gates below. The water that went into a large steel cylinder in the center of the room was dark and murky, polluted with accumulated filth and grime, while the water that came out was clean - or should have been. Instead it was filled with sand, the culprit and answer to my final remaining question from before clearly visible atop the cylinder.

  There, a massive Palossand, larger than I had ever seen before, sat atop it, glowing eyes with the sandcastle ‘windows’ in its body glaring down hatefully at me. The sandy body gleamed with a crystalline light, and above the central dome peak of its body sprouts a Tera Jewel ‘hat’ in the shape of a water spout.

  With a howl, it moved, raising one of its large tower arms and bringing it crashing down upon where we stood. There was plenty of power behind the blow, but it was also slow, slow enough for Dun to slither out of the way and pull his whole body out of the way, and even for me to dodge to the other side.

  The sand blasted against the platform, scattering about bits of sand, most of which were pulled back as the creature drew its arm back. The walkway was tough enough that I didn’t notice it taking any damage, but some of the machinery on the walls beside the entranceway was torn up from the impact.

  “Hyper Drill!” I ordered, and Dun answered, spinning his tail hard and flying up to drill into the large Tera Pokemon. As fast and as hard as Dun struck, however, it was to little avail against the Tera Pokemon, barely digging into them before they smacked Dun down.

  Damn, they’re tough- oh! Their Ability. Looking at the lip of the cylinder, I saw the sand was sinking into it. How deep I couldn’t tell, but… “An Alpha,” I whispered, and it shifted its head to lock onto me again.

  “Hyper Voice, then Glare!” I shouted, kicking off the platform and running around. The Water Pokemon swept an arm out at me, chasing me across as I did so. I’m not entirely sure how its Ability interacts with the water it’s soaking up, but it has clearly improved its Physical Defense a ton while the Tera Type gets rid of its aversion to water, so we’ll need to stick to special attacks.

  The sound from Dun’s Hyper Voice hammered into it, disrupting the Palossand from attacking me and causing it to turn its attention back to my land snake. Despite the cylinder between us and the Aura bubble I made around my ears, the sound waves still shook me hard.

  As I paused to catch my breath, I saw that the Palossand had paused too, likely caught by Dun’s Glare. “Good, now Th- Hex!” I changed my attack call last second. Thunder would do tons of damage to it, but also to the machinery around us, and this place is wrecked enough as is. I caught a glimpse of Dun being blasted around the side by a stream of steaming sand, his scales looking rough and red afterward.

  Burned? Annoying, but less so since we aren’t going for Physical Attacks anyways. The resulting Hexes Dun blasted the Palossand with sent the creature reeling and knocked them off guard. Even if it's a Water Type right now, it's still used to being a Ghost Type and having a weakness to attacks of that Type. Those instinctual flinches are costing it, alongside the unintended ones from Paralysis.

  The Alpha Tera Pokemon managed to set off a stream of Chilling Water into Dun amidst the attacks, but in the end it was off balance and outmatched. A final Hex shattered through its Terastalization. The creature looked disoriented but managed to send out a wild sweep of grinding sand all around, one of the shots clipping me.

  “AHH! Shit! Hex again!” I cried, clutching at my arm where it hit, the sleeve of my hoodie torn apart and the skin feeling raw. My starter conjured a massive tangle of distorted energy around the now Ghost Type Pokemon and knocked it out in short order, the sand sinking and seeping all around.

  With a hiss, I held my injured arm at my side while drawing a Pokeball with my other, almost pressing the button before shoving that back. Shit, I almost used one of my self-made, off-the-network Apricorn balls there. That would be a tough thing to explain to Nurse Joy when I hand this Pokemon in to them for relocation. My time spent on the edge of Paldea had been productive not just for my Pokemon but for my own studies as well.

  Grabbing a regular Pokeball, I caught the Palossand, tended to mine and Dun’s wounds as best I could, and after informing the Grimer it was safe, headed up with them along the security exit to leave this place.

  ***

  By the next morning my arm still stung when anything was pressed against it, but a combination of Aura/innate human toughness of this world (plus some judicious uses of Life Dew and Heal Pulse from Athena) and a good night’s sleep had it at least not feeling constantly painful.

  It was still a little annoying, but I’d worked on becoming ambidextrous for just such a situation. Nothing is going to stop me from challenging (and beating) Kofu today. Then it’s just Larry left before the Elite Four.

  Getting dressed, I left my hotel room and wandered through the city, taking in the sights and grabbing a quick breakfast before I made it up to the Gym Building. I presented myself at the front desk and told them who I was. The atmosphere around me felt a little uncomfortable, but I pushed it aside, waiting only a few minutes until Kofu entered.

  “Ah, Nemona, goo- vaultin Veluza! What happened to yer arm?!” He exclaimed, pointing at it with one hand and holding the top of his head with another. If you wanted to stop your hair from flying away, I’d say you’re a little late on that front.

  Resisting the urge to giggle at the thought (which would make me look like a complete maniac), I just shrugged. “Did you know that a Pokemon can be an Alpha and Terastalized at the same time? Turns out that’s a bit of a dangerous combination,” I chuckled, coughing when no one else joined in. “Ahem. I dealt with the Palossand mucking up the canals. Dropped them off at a Pokemon Center, and the rangers will relocate them, so Trial completed. My arm will heal in a day or two; don’t worry about it.” I gave Kofu a winning grin, sure to assuage any worries.

  “An Alpha and a Tera Pokemon. What in tha world could drive a Pokemon to go there...?” A good question. Palossand’s unique nature means it's one of the few Alphas that could actually squeeze down there, but even with its Tera Typing, it raises the question of why? Feels like maybe it was trying to hide? Soaking up the water made it tougher too, so it might have been looking to defend itself.

  The Gym Leader looked like he wanted to say something else before letting out a hefty sigh. “I’m sorry, Nemona, I wouldn’ have sent ya down there if I knew; if’n I’d even thought such a thing might happen…”

  “It’s fine; no one could have known,” I responded. “I’ll be fine; it looks worse than it is. Plus, I don’t plan on traveling until I’m all healed up.” That seemed to light an idea for him, which I ruthlessly quashed with my next words. “But we’re still having our battle today!”

  “Why? Wouldn’t it be better to wait till yer healed?”

  “My Pokemon are fighting; my physical condition is irrelevant.” For the most part. Some of my hand signals and the like would require my right arm, but that’s fine; I can work around that. “Besides, you’ve got a pretty busy schedule. I was surprised that you could slot me in so quickly anyway.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Now it was Kofu’s turn to look awkward for a second before he waved me along. We walked out of the Gym Building to a nearby lift, descending down one of the tall walls that separated tiers. It was more than just awkwardness, however; with that comment, I caught a glimpse of guilt from him. Likely I got pushed ahead of someone else, and he doesn’t want to do that again a few days from now. Normally I wouldn’t be super keen on the preferential treatment, but considering this is necessary for my plan to stop Turo, I won’t complain or press the issue.

  As we reached the bottom, I saw people waving excitedly, pointing at Kofu.

  “Kofu, Kofu, did you add a new list to your menu?”

  “How do you stay so vigorous?”

  “Are you going to have another Gym Battle?”

  “Can I get your autograph?”

  “Thanks so much for your advice for my wife’s restaurant; you just have to come over sometime so we can treat you!”

  Men, women, and kids were fawning over him, and a crowd soon formed around us. “Sorry folks, got some Gym business to take care of reel quick, just a minute.” The crowd parted enough to let us walk through, but they did start trailing behind us, eager for the show.

  “Only a minute? C’mon old man, you can put up more of a fight than that,” I snarked, getting into my ‘Gym Challenger mode.’. That earned a snort from him and a paper and pen shoved in front of my face by a brunette girl, about as tall as I was (so likely a year or two older than me), dressed in a nice sundress.

  “Sorry, but can I pleeeease get your autograph? Pretty please?” I stopped for a moment, caught off-guard. Knew Kofu was popular, just didn’t realize I might have some popularity too. Glancing through the crowd, I saw a couple of people (particularly teenagers and those in Uva academy uniform) staring intently at me.

  “Ah, sure thing.” I said after a moment, scrambling to grab the pen and scrawl my name on it as best I could. Anime physics my body may have, but that does not apply to writing on a piece of paper without anything to support it. Despite how messy it was, the girl seemed thrilled, and I walked on, only cursing myself once for not thinking to ask her name so I could make the autograph out to her.

  There was no more time to berate myself as we reached the lift down to the lowest level, and directly from there, the arena. There was such little room between it and the lift that it had to be put out of service when the arena was used in battle, which in this case forced the crowd to move to the other lifts on either side.

  The stage was a large blue circular platform, floating atop a large pool of water that took up a good chunk of space. There were drawbridges to step onto it, but Kofu motioned for me to stay behind it while he walked across to the other end, standing just past the other drawbridge. Looks like he had to give away the game here. I’m familiar enough with the barrier systems around these arenas to spot the ones on the platform, so we could both stand on them if he wanted. Having me stay behind where the water is already must mean that there’s a secondary barrier, and he’s looking to flood the field.

  “Look, lass, you might be thinkin yer ready for anything, and that adventure in the canals was mighty impressive. But life kin be like the sea, moving and changin' in an instant. So let’s sea if ya have got what it takes to go all the way.”

  “Fine by me, I said, drawing Miles’ Pokeball. “How many for this battle?”

  “Ol’ Kofu’s servin’ you up a full course - we’ll each use five Pokemon, with three switches.”

  “If five is a full course, then would six be with dessert on top?” I bantered, and he laughed, drawing his own Pokeball.

  “Now yer gettin’ it!” We waited as the barrier went up, each of us releasing our Pokemon. He sent out a familiar, many-limbed, blue and purple Pokemon, while I released Miles. They burst onto the field, sparks flying off from the lawn mower they were possessing.

  “Tox tox!” The small purple body chittered, waving her spiky limb menacingly at us before clamping them back down to the ground, concealing her small head. This Toxapex looks far more rugged than my sister's. Those scars and battle wounds… likely not a Regenerator then, but that’s a rare Ability. And to lead with it… likely Limber. Dun’s Glare is a pretty common opening gambit for me. Possibly Merciless too; gotta be careful about getting Poisoned.

  The arena counted us in. “The battle will begin in three, two, one... begin!”

  “Hit them fast and hard!” I cried, sweeping my good arm out to the side. Kofu’s black eyes gleamed as he saw through my trick.

  “Toxic, douse that appliance good!” Toxapex opened up, rearing high on her tendrils to spit a viscous purple blob onto Miles. My Rotom, currently caught up in planning and scheming their Nasty Plot, wasn’t able to dodge. At least from the way they shook indignantly, they were able to use that to speed up the Nasty Plot, but now we’re on a timer.

  “Discharge!” I shouted, and Miles began sparking brightly, a sphere of electricity pulsing out from them.

  “Bunker down, we’ve got ta weather this storm!” Toxapex planted all her limbs down, forming a perfect barrier around her body. The energies of the Move even stopped the electricity from conducting into her… for the moment.

  “Keep at it, don’t let up.” Miles gritted their plasmic teeth together and did just that, continually zapping most of the arena. The Poison was steadily draining away their health, but Toxapex couldn’t hold on forever; eventually the Move started coursing through her, her limbs jerking around as the shock was conducted throughout her body.

  “Poison Spikes, then Recover!” Kofu ordered.

  “That’s not good enough! Thunder!” Toxapex was in the middle of shooting spikes all over the field when a bright blue bolt of lightning struck down from the sky into her. Followed by two dozen more. She tried to Recover, glowing, but couldn’t outpace the damage she took, despite her impressive defenses.

  Kofu returned Toxapex as she fell. “This next dish is gonna have a bit more kick to it, or punch in this case. Go, Crabominable!” The shaggy, white-furred, long-armed fighter took the stage, roaring loudly. Kofu’s Ace was met with much applause and cheers by the crowd.

  So early?! Why- ah, he doesn’t have another answer for Miles. Or at least not a good one; he probably hoped Toxapex would weaken them further. “Switch,” I called calmly, returning my Rotom to me. At least, outwardly they weren’t hit hard. That Life Orb drained them hard, which combined with the Poison which will still be active when I send them back into the fray… they’ve got one or two Moves left. Better make them count.

  “Go, Nightwing,” I declared, tossing Phantasm’s ball out. The light burst, and before her shape was even fully formed, the illusion settled over the area, concealing her as Nightwing. Her illusion was even good enough to mostly conceal how the toxic spikes sprinkled about flew into her, only my sharp eyes noticing them flicker. But I knew she had been struck by them, putting us on a clock.

  “Get in close and mess him up,” I said. Kofu’s eyes narrowed as he saw my ‘Gliscor’ swoop in easily, not at all confused by my lackadaisical command. He clearly suspected something but didn’t know what.

  “Serve up some revenge for your fallen teammate - and that’s a dish best served cold - Icehammer!” Crabominable reared an arm back, swinging it hard… and just missing his enemy, who dived out of the way at the last minute, continuing the blow to smack himself in the face.

  “Noooo! Crabominable, what are ya doin’?!” Kofu cried, his Pokemon looking bewildered. From his perspective, I imagine ‘Nightwing’ was practically on top of him, even if we saw something different. Illusions make Foul Play child’s play.

  “Slash,” I simply ordered. Phantasm carried out my command, zipping around him like a blur as she cut into him, the speed concealing how her blows wouldn’t quite match where ‘Nightwing’ was swinging her pincers and tail.

  Kofu, looking desperate, thumbed his Tera Orb for a second before shaking his head. “Close Combat, knock 'em down!” Crabominable’s fists swung out all in a wild flurry of blows, all to no avail, missing every shot… and clipping through ‘Nightwing’ twice.

  “Haha! Oh, that’s a fine trick ya made there, but we aren’t washed up yet,” Kofu called out. Drawing his Tera Orb, he chucked it over his Ace, calling, “Surf!” Slamming his huge arms down as the crystal enveloped him, Crabominable pushed the entire arena down and summoned a vast flow of water over everything.

  The Nightwing illusion broke as the waves hit Phantasm, revealing a soaked and pissed-off Hisuan Zoroark to the world. At the same time, Crabominable was revealed, Terastalized into a Water Type and shining bright in the morning sun.

  “Focus,” I warned as Phantasm let out a guttural growl, stalking one step towards the Tera Pokemon. The anger remained in her yellow eyes, but the madness subsided as she honed her rage productively. “Kage Bushin no Jutsu.” Suddenly there were a hundred Hisuian Zoroarks on the field, covering nearly every inch of it save for where our enemy was.

  Crabominable lashed out, his fists sweeping through the Phantasms all around him. The blows phased through their incorporeal forms to no avail, the illusions simply reforming as the limbs passed through them. I’ll say it again, her Illusions really are unfair to someone that doesn’t have a way of locking on to her. So what method will you use, Kofu?

  “Hol’ steady, lad, wait for her to come in and counter!”

  “Hyper Voice.” Powerful sound waves blasted the arena, causing Kofu’s Ace to grasp at the sides of his head. He tried to shake it off and chase through the sound but ended up barreling through a bunch of illusions.

  “Surf, flood the field again! Once ya spot her…” Pounding his arms on the now partially flooded arena floor, he conjured another wave.

  “Get out of the way!” My wording was specific; if I wanted her to try her hand at dodging it, I would have simply said ‘dodge.’. The illusions all disappeared as the water washed over them, Kofu and his Pokemon scanning the water desperately for some sign of her, a disturbance in the liquid she couldn’t cover with her illusions.

  In truth, she couldn’t dynamically control any illusions from the Distortion World, but that was a fact they only learned a second later as she dropped out of the air just above Crabominable, cutting deep into him with Phantom Force. The abominable Pokemon swung fiercely with the finely tuned instincts only a Fighting Type had, swinging his fist back, covered in water for a Crabhammer.

  It missed her by a hair's breadth, tearing off a few clumps of red fur from her mane as she darted back. She growled at him, glaring as she stood up from all fours, a taunt and an expression of pure anger all rolled in one. The hair she lost, that wasn’t an illusion, no time for that. But still, too fast for him to hit.

  Something Kofu realized at around the same time, calling for a switch and recalling his battered Ace. “Yer somethin' else, ya know that?”

  “Yup,” I said confidently. “And my Pokemon are even more than that.”

  “Don’ go talkin’ yer mouth off before ya see how big yer portion is,” Kofu shot back, a smile on his lips. “Go, Gyarados.”

  Hmm, didn’t see that coming. The proud sea serpent flew above the watery arena, roaring so fiercely that even Phantasm flinched. He must save that one for special customers.

  “Switch,” I called instantly, ignoring Phantasm’s irritated growl as I recalled her. “You did good, but I’ve got to give the others a chance to shine too.” The shaking of her Pokeball mostly stopped, and I sighed. Glad we’ve got the hatred worked down, though it’s still not perfect. Her skills have shot up, though; I’d say she’s on par with most of the rest of the team now.

  “Miles, time to electrify them once more!”

  “Bzzt!” they declared happily, smiling menacingly at Gyarados. Kofu’s Pokemon was undeterred in the face of her natural weakness, charging towards Miles immediately.

  “Ice Fang/Substitute!” The Gym Leader and I called out at the same time. Her massive ice-encrusted fangs tore through the energy construct as Miles slipped away.

  “Bring the Thunder!” Gyarados tried to twist their serpentine body around to chase after Miles after they realized they’d been duped, but was too slow. Lightning was called down from the sky once more, slamming into the powerful beast.

  She roared in pain but pushed through it, jaw opening wide around Miles. “Discharge!!” I shouted desperately, swinging my hurt arm out by accident but barely feeling it with the adrenaline. Electricity erupted around them, and when I blinked the spots clear from my eyes, I saw that both Pokemon had fallen.

  There was silence around the arena, the crowd watching with bated breath as we recalled our Pokemon and decided which of our team we would next toss into the fray. As it was a double knockout, we had to pick our Pokemon first, release them, and then wait for another countdown to resume our battle, like at the beginning of the match.

  Kofu’s definitely changing things up for this; not much in his usual playbook here. None of his Pokemon are untested either, even if mine are a bit stronger. Hmmm, Athena is strong, but her Steel Type attacks won’t be much good here, and she doesn’t have much beyond Trailblaze to take advantage of his Water Types. Those Steel bones also make her the weakest swimmer on my team, something Kofu will surely take advantage of. Notch and Nightwing need Terastalization to cover for their weaknesses. Dun… I’ll save him till later if Kofu starts pushing me back really hard - he’s got the next Gym to shine in, and that Crabominable could be trouble, especially since we have fewer switches left. So I guess that leaves…

  Snapping up the Pokeball, I released Bahamut at the same time as he released a large blue fish with long yellow whiskers. The fish easily swam about the submerged field, while Bahamut struggled to keep his head afloat. “Whiscash, you really had all your types covered, huh?” He chortled in response, hands planted on his hips.

  “I like ta deliver a fully balanced diet with me meals!” I snorted, saying nothing else for the moment, waiting till we were counted in again.

  At ‘Begin,’ Bahamut and I sprung into action, my newest Pokemon forgoing all pretense of having difficulties in the water and charging forward, his tail spinning like a propeller while I shouted “Dragon Claw!” Trailblaze would be better here, but as much as they’ve improved tremendously at aquatic combat, some Moves just don’t come as freely to them there.

  The depths clearly still held a home field advantage for Water types, but our efforts were enough to surprise Kofu and land a deep cut into the Whiscash. He called for a Water Pulse, which they managed to fire at Bahamut, but the glancing blow and Type disadvantage inflicted barely any damage as he swam away.

  The Gym Leader then surprised me, calling out “Fissure!”

  “What?!” My exclamation was punctuated by the sound of the arena beneath cracking apart as Whiscash smashed through it. With only water below, it couldn’t serve as a one-hit KO, but it quickly became clear that wasn’t Kofu’s goal.

  The Move still had a gravity to it, a force sucking the foe down, and as Bahamut was caught in the current, his foe followed. It was hard to see that deep down there, so I focused my Aura as much as I could on my eyes, peering into the dark water.

  Within the waves, Whiscash was battering Bahamut, swimming around and hitting him with his bulk. My Dragon clawed viciously in response, digging his tusks in as best as he could, but each counter assault took away from his attempts to rise up. When the Water Type would break away, he’d try to swim up again but would be pelted by blasts and further attacks.

  He can’t do thi- no, he can. He just has to break through that barrier. “BAHAMUT!” I shouted as loud as I could. I had no clue if he could hear me that far down, but I had to believe that he could, or at least that he could feel my emotion. “YOU CAN DO THIS! DON’T GIVE UP!!!”

  The scene remained the same for a second, until a bright glow illuminated the depths, lighting it up clearly for all to see. Photos were snapped and phones pointed down, recording the moment as Bahamut evolved, his form growing taller, his tusks developing that signature axe edge.

  As the light faded, no one could see what was happening under the waves for a moment, until Whiscash burst violently out of the water. A second later, my Haxorus followed, his black, glistening scales gleaming in the sunlight as he shot up. With one violent, powerful swing of his blood-red edged tusks, Bahamut cut deep into Whiscash, defeating the Water Type, the large fish landing with a massive splash down in the water.

  Kofu recalled his Pokemon, his face scrunched up in a look of tight concentration before he nodded. Without any preamble, he released Crabominable above where my newly evolved Pokemon was floating. “Icehammer!” He shouted.

  The large Pokemon reached out in the air, smashing down an Ice-covered fist into Bahamut. The blow caused my Haxorus to cry in pain as well as partially encased him in a block of ice that formed around him in the water.

  The Gym Leader didn’t wait for Bahamut to get more than a glancing blow back into his Ace before calling out for another switch. Returning the Tera Pokemon, he released his final team member, a silver fish with pink fins, Veluza.

  “Fillet Away.” My eyes widened as I heard that. Shit!

  “Attack! Break free- Dragon Rage!” I switched to calling for that when I realized Bahamut couldn’t smash through his icy shackles and swim close enough in time. Purple dragon fire burned through even the waves, hurting the Veluza even as it flensed his own flesh with Psychic blades. It was badly hurt by the two Moves, but not enough to stop it.

  Veluza zipped through the water like a blur, his fins glowing bright as they cut deep into Bahamut. My Dragon screamed, thrashing as he broke through the water. He tried to swim towards the fish but was hoisted out of the water by a telekinetic force squeezing down on him. I called for Draco Meteor, to no avail, as Veluza shot a powerful Water Pulse out, knocking my Haxorus clean out before diving fully under the water, darting between the falling meteors with ease as they sunk into the pool.

  Returning Haxorus, I told him, “That was amazing.” He probably can’t hear anything, given he’s unconscious and all, but if he could feel the sentiment behind my words when he was deep underwater, I’d like to believe that he can feel it now too. And if not, well, I’ll repeat it later.

  “Dun, it’s your time to shine!” I said, tossing a Pokeball over the arena. Kofu’s eyes narrowed as he saw the red shape materialize and splash in the water.

  “Watch out for illusions!” He called, and I clicked my tongue. Guess I won’t be fooling him twice. From the Veluza, a faint purple wave spread out through the water, pinging off an empty spot a few meters away from the illusion of Dun.

  “Aqua Cutter!” Kofu called out, and some distant part of my mind noted that he was going all-out now, no longer bothering to banter or make puns. The rest of me was focused on my next command.

  “Shadow Sneak!” At the speeds they were moving at, both our Pokemon under the water; I couldn’t make out anything beyond two waves rippling by each other. When the waves stilled once more, I saw Veluza, gasping, a new cut along his side, and Phantasm, floating face-down, unconscious.

  As I recalled her, the crowd started cheering their beloved Gym Leader’s name. “Kofu, Kofu, Kofu!”

  “Hey now, I’ve still got two Pokemon left - and I’m only gonna need one to wrap this up.” My bold statement was met with several ‘boos’ but also a surprising amount of cheers. The fans I had quickly took to chanting my name in response, the cacophony of noise fading to the background as my mind snapped the pieces together for an answer to his insanely buffed Veluza.

  “Nightwing, shock and awe.” I told her as I released her into the water, my bad arm only shaking slightly as I did so. Veluza rushed ahead with an Aqua Cutter, the vicious fish reacting before his Trainer could even give a command, sensing prey in his environment. And so he missed the Tera Orb I had tossed into the air at the same time as I pressed the button to release my Pokemon.

  The sudden Terastalization and lack of critical damage to my now Water Type Pokemon stunned Veluza just long enough for Nightwing to lash out. Pincers grabbing him by head and tail, she pulled him in for an electrically charged bite, the Thunder Fang shocking everything around them (including Nightwing, now vulnerable to that Type of damage), but especially Veluza. The fish thrashed violently in her grasp before stilling, and Kofu quickly recalled his Pokemon.

  Cascarrafa’s Gym Leader drew his Ace’s Pokeball before shaking his head.

  “You’re not sending Crabominable back out?” I questioned.

  “Nay, this ol’ man knows when his Ducklett is cooked. He’s on his last leg, and ya got plenty o’ energy to spare,” he said, gesturing at Nightwing, who had flown out of the water. The Toxic Orb had already begun to kick in, which, in turn, with her Hidden Ability was rapidly healing the damage the conducted Thunder Fang had done.

  “Nemona Glitterati, ya’ve earned the Water Badge.” At that declaration the crowd went wild, cheering and hollering, much applause for both of us.

  With the arena well and wrecked, I had to walk the long way around to shake Kofu’s hand. Then he passed me the small round badge, the tiny yet oh-so-important physical proof of my triumph. “Yer gonna go far, kid.”

  “Heh.” The small half-chuckle escaped me without meaning when I thought of the song I had waiting with that exact name. “Thank you, sir,” I spoke more clearly, holding the badge up to the light. Seven badges already. It feels like we’ve come so far, and yet it’s been such a short time. Just one more to go, and then… the Elite Four.

  The Alpha Tera Pokemon part was fun, and I wanted to show how a wild Pokemon might still be dangerous to Nemona, even with her incredible Aura and team (there are some wild Pokemon like Athena's Sensei that are even stronger, but those are outliers among outliers).

  As for the Gym Battle, it was tough, but Nemona has earned her penultimate Paldean Gym Badge! And you have no idea how much I was tempted to make it the exact opposite of a tough battle. Because seriously, Kofu sucks.

  And I don't mean his character; I really enjoy his character. All the puns, his accent, being a chef, how he must just straight up run across the desert to get to the Porto Marinada, et. cetera. He's also mentioned as being the one who trained Katy (the other Gym Leader involved in the culinary arts) and if you do the Gyms in the order you're meant to, then he's the fourth Gym, which means he should be the one where Hassel tells you the Gym Challenge is getting serious and most people drop out here. So he should be tough, right?

  WRONG! He is, without a doubt in my mind, the most disappointing Gym Leader in the game. His Pokemon aren't very impressive, and their Move Sets more so (doesn't use Veluza's signature Move? Rock Smash on his Ace? Mud Slap on Wugtrio?!). They lack defensive coverage against their weaknesses, so despite Water being a strong Type, they get easily rolled over. And all of this is compared to the Gym Leader right before him, Iono, who is actually decently challenging for where she comes in, with coverage, good Moves, and a very effective Terastalization/Ace. Also, she has one more Pokemon than Kofu has, what even gives Game Freak?

  I give Larry a bit more of a pass on this, as despite also having three Pokemon on his Gym team and limited Moves, at least his Pokemon are decently strong and have solid Moves. Plus, his team improves in the rematches, unlike Kofu's, which really doesn't.

  So yeah, I was tempted to give Kofu a bad team to match how the game actually goes, but decided that a lackluster fight wouldn't help the story, or be interesting to the readers, so in the end, I decided to give him a team more in line with what the characters hint at for a veteran Gym leader.

  Also, I know in the games the sandstorms still partially enter the city, but that felt like something they'd probably try/have to fix in a more fleshed-out world. But I also noticed that sometimes you'll see NPCs walking around with Golducks, which can have the Cloud Nine Ability. That felt like a decent explanation for what protected the lower level of the city from the desert it's on. Let me know what you thought about those headcanons and the fights here or on the . Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

  Nemona's Current Team:

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Athena' (Lucario, Mega-Evolveable, Female, Fighting/Steel)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  -'Bahamut' (Haxorus, Male, Shiny, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves