"Ninetales, Flamethrower."
"Kadabra, Metronome!"
Columns of water erupted from the field one after another, blocking the Flamethrower and canceling it out.
A rainbow arced overhead.
"Water Pledge?" Akiyama said, not entirely sure.
Minori's brow creased, and she kept going. "Ninetales, Fire Blast!"
"Kadabra, Psychic!"
Purple light flared in Kadabra's eyes.
The Fire Blast came screaming in.
Then it stopped dead in the air, and in the next instant it flew back the way it came.
"Hm?" Minori blinked.
The Fire Blast detonated against Ninetales, and a huge cloud of steam rolled up and swallowed her.
Kadabra didn't wait. His finger was already wagging again.
But the Ninetales inside that cloud was faster than he was, and a wall of rolling heat came sweeping out.
Akiyama looked, and the air itself seemed to warp.
The steam blew clear. Ninetales stood exactly where she'd been, wrapped in flame, looking better than before.
"Flash Fire," Akiyama said.
Minori gave a small nod.
The heat wave hurt Kadabra, and Kadabra didn't stop.
An instant later, scalding water came down on Ninetales from directly overhead.
"Aaah—"
She collapsed onto the ice, and the steam rising off her did a second round of damage.
"Steam?"
"What is that?"
Kadabra didn't care. He wagged his finger again.
Metronome—Hyper Beam.
BOOM.
Ninetales flew off the field and slammed into the Gym's crystal wall.
Her eyes rolled into spirals. She was done.
"Ninetales is unable to battle! The winner is Kadabra!"
"That is the most remarkable Metronome I've ever seen." Minori recalled her, and the look she gave Kadabra was full of genuine admiration.
Metronome had a reputation as a joke move. Most Trainers figured you were better off spending the turn on a stat boost.
In Kadabra's hands, it was like the move had a spirit living in it.
"That's his own gift," Akiyama said.
"In that case—out you come, Lapras."
"Rrraah!"
Lapras settled onto the ice.
"Lapras, Water Gun."
Lapras fired without hesitation.
But the Drought was down to a whisper and hadn't quite ended.
Kadabra's Confusion twisted the stream and ground it apart.
Up on her platform, Minori—who had been standing tall and proud all match—suddenly smacked herself in the forehead.
"Yeah. I really am not the right person to inherit an Ice Gym."
And she was, honestly, the most conscientious Leader Akiyama had met.
At least she hadn't checked out entirely.
Ahem. Takeru.
She didn't routinely refuse challenges.
Dagan.
She wasn't secretly Team Rocket.
Hikaze.
But she'd only taken over the Ice Gym because her family made her.
"Lapras, sweetie, just... do your own thing," Minori said sheepishly.
Her calls were doing more harm than good.
Lapras, saddled with an unreliable Trainer, simply nodded.
Then she raised her head and sang, and storm clouds gathered, burying whatever ghost of Drought had been left.
Rain began to fall across the field.
Rain Dance.
Then Lapras loosed an enormous column of water.
Hydro Pump.
"Psychic!" Akiyama called.
Kadabra's eyes lit, and the Hydro Pump curved back around.
It looked like a repeat of the Ninetales exchange.
"Send it into the sky!" Akiyama added.
Lapras might have Water Absorb.
The Hydro Pump bent onto a new heading.
Lapras had other plans. Her eyes glowed.
The Hydro Pump bent again.
Psychic.
The column of water wobbled and staggered as two Confusions fought over who owned it.
Kadabra's was the stronger. The Hydro Pump went up.
The corner of Lapras's mouth curled. And then—
Thunder.
There was no stopping it. Heaven's lightning came down directly over Kadabra's head.
Even as it struck him, he fired three separate beams of light.
Tri Attack.
Kadabra hit the ice, propped himself up with effort, electricity crackling over him.
Paralyzed.
Lapras hadn't dodged the Tri Attack either, and the same sparks flickered along her shell.
"Paralyzed too. Okay, that's something—"
Akiyama had barely started to feel relieved when he noticed that Lapras, bathing in the rain, looked positively pleased.
The sparks winked out.
"Hydration. She played us."
Lapras opened her eyes, and there was nothing in them but cunning.
Rings of water rippled out of her body and rolled toward Kadabra.
Water Pulse.
Kadabra glanced back—at Gardevoir, who had recovered a little, and at Gengar's Poké Ball.
Then colored light blazed out of him, and the Water Pulse hit home.
He went down.
The Dazzling Gleam left Lapras unable to open her eyes, and it hurt her badly.
"Come back, Kadabra."
Akiyama looked at the ball in his hand. That was the first time Kadabra had ever fallen.
He was certain Kadabra still had surprises left in him.
He just didn't know why he was holding them back.
Not that it mattered. He wanted every one of his Pokémon to stay themselves. A few private thoughts were normal.
"Gardevoir. Can you go?"
She hadn't returned to her ball, so she'd only recovered so much.
He still wanted her out there.
Gardevoir stepped out of his arms and walked toward the field without hesitation.
That was her answer.
"All right. Then let's finish this!"
....
"You're sure you want to challenge me?" The kindly old man smiled down at Reika.
"Mm-hmm. An official challenge. I want to see where I actually stand."
Reika nodded, resolute.
Raika didn't turn her away. He considered it a moment and said, "All right then. But no crying if you lose."
Too many kids cried when they lost. He always had to break out the candy.
"I'm not a kid."
"Fine, fine." Raika laughed, defeated.
Reika didn't even have six Pokémon, but Raika was still willing to grant a rookie Trainer's wish.
"Pikachu!"
"Archaludon!"
Raika threw out a battered old Poké Ball.
Pikachu looked up at the shadow falling over him and had to crane his neck to see the top of it.
"That's huge." Reika swallowed.
Bigger than the Duraludon she'd seen before.
"Archaludon, Rock Smash!"
"Dodge, Pikachu, quick!"
Unfortunately, the gap was simply too wide.
Pikachu got caught and slapped flat against the ground.
Unable to battle.
"Wow. He's strong." She recalled Pikachu, half impressed in spite of herself.
Then she sent out Larvesta.
Larvesta lasted a few moves longer before Dragon Tail swatted her out of the air.
Butterfree came next.
Flight bought her two exchanges with Archaludon.
Then one swipe put her out.
Reika's shoulders sank. She hadn't expected the difference to be this enormous.
She was about to give up and leave when Luxray's Poké Ball opened on its own.
"Oh?" Raika's eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about that Luxray.
"Luxray?" Reika stared.
Luxray looked back at her, and his eyes were absolutely certain.
Then he lifted his head and roared, and a pillar of lightning rose off him.
Electricity spread across the entire field.
Electric Terrain.
~~
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