Once Alvera had worn herself out and Alex finished explaining the ambush to the girls, he made his way to the showers to finally get himself cleaned up. Stepping into his personal rain shower, he let the water soak over him, feeling the warmth wash away the tension and bring a much-needed sense of relaxation.
As he stood there, his mind couldn't help but drift to the earlier battle and the devastating results. He blamed himself for being unprepared for that fight. He should have immediately moved to disrupt the rabble with Stormline rather than pick a fight with a Champion with Steelix. He should have let his other Pokémon distract the Champions for him while taking down the enemy's weakest combatants first. He should have been more tactical rather than jumping into a more challenging battle.
Regrets gnawed at his mind, replacing the emptiness the water had granted. Rage started building that wasn't focused on vengeance or an enemy, but on himself. He loved battles, but he wasn't any good when push came to shove. His tactical and strategic mind was nonexistent, yet he dared to place the lives of others, other than his own, in his hands. He should have been more mindful rather than simply charging head-on. He should have just used the BOMB to retreat rather than fight. He should have done better. He should have—
A powerful psychic intent barged into Alex's mind in the middle of his self-condemnation. The desire it carried was pleading, comforting, forgiving, and hopeful.
Gardevoir had sensed his emotions and pleaded to stop his spiral into self-doubt. He had done the best he could given the circumstances, but the enemy was simply more prepared. They were outmanned by thrice the quantity and an entire rank of quality. Yet they still managed to survive, losing only two, while their enemies were all killed in the end. It was a successful battle by any reasonable standard.
She pleaded for him to forgive himself and hoped he would do better, not in the past, where it didn't matter, but in the future. Otherwise, if he didn't, then neither would any of his Pokémon.
Alex immediately snapped out of his spiraling self-doubt. He couldn't allow his Pokémon to blame anyone but himself, their trainer. He was their leader, their center, their entire world. All blame and emotional burden must be carried by himself and himself alone. They were only following his orders, after all.
He changed the temperature of the shower to as low as it could go. The sudden sting of the cold, heavy raindrops shocked him out of his thoughts. He took a moment to clear his mind of all negativity, allowing him to dive into another perspective. Rather than analyzing what he could have done, he started thinking about what he would do now.
He picked apart his own strategies and training over the past few years with an objective mindset and realized that times were changing and he had failed to adapt.
First of all, he wasn't ready for guns to be so commonly in use. The threat brought on by heavy bombardment and Feint and Phantom Force rounds couldn't be underestimated. It had been a benefit for him for years, so it stood to reason that others would try to take advantage as well. He should adjust his strategy to account for guns in the future. This meant focusing on either speed to evade or special attacks to drown out gunfire.
Secondly, he should never have used Stormline for healing. He had never taken Psychic Noise and Heal Block seriously because Alcremie's Aroma Veil always blocked their effects. Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for his Pokémon being thrown out of range by a massive bombardment, which allowed Venomoth's Psychic Noise to affect Steelix and nullify his healing.
In the first place, there was a better use for Stormline than for healing defensive Pokémon. Its greatest strength was its ability to unleash a high rate of weak, Elite ranked moves downrange. Essentially, it was best suited for clearing mobs. Any other use was either overkill, such as using it for healing, or inefficient, like trying to take down a Champion. From this point on, Stormline should be optimized for damage output, with a higher rate of Feint and Phantom Force rounds.
Thirdly, the entire concept of defense was flawed from the beginning. Forretress died because he couldn't survive the sudden bombardment thrown his way. He couldn't escape either, as he was the slowest among those sent to hold off the Champions.
So long as the enemy had a sufficient number of weaklings, defense-centric Pokémon would inevitably run out of steam. It was best to rely on speed and overwhelming special attacks, as they were foolproof.
Speed guaranteed evasion even against a mob of enemies, as proven by how difficult it was for Gardevoir to resist Heracross and Scizor with the defense team. Paired with a strong physical attacker, and he could have a very successful chaotic melee.
Special attacks, on the other hand, embodied the saying "the best defense is a good offense." As long as a continuous number of area attacks were sent in the general direction of the enemy, defense was guaranteed, since anything approaching the source of the attacks would be eliminated along the way. It became a question of which team had more output, which was fine for Alex. He could field a large number of Pokémon, after all. Plus, with Stormline in hand, he and his team had the advantage.
Fourthly, he needed to be a proper trainer rather than a combatant. The reason Steelix and Forretress died in battle was because he was too preoccupied joining the fight rather than being on the lookout to quickly store his fainted Pokémon before they died.
Had he watched from the safety of the defense team, he might have been able to quickly retrieve Steelix or Forretress when they were bombarded. Instead, he was out there riding Steelix into battle. Granted, it was cool and felt amazing, but he hadn't done his due diligence as a trainer. From now on, he needed to ensure he was capable of quickly storing Pokémon when they fainted, before the killing blow was dealt.
Unequivocally, he was at fault for the death of his Pokémon.
Gardevoir sent another psychic intent, this one focused on comfort. It was far more powerful, interrupting the next thought in Alex's mind. It seemed he was about to spiral again, and Gardevoir wouldn't allow it.
His thoughts shifted to the reason they had managed to survive, and it was, without a doubt, Gardevoir who saved the day. It was she who saved his life in the middle of his blind rage. It was she who reorganized his Pokémon during the battle. It was she who ultimately saved all of their lives.
"Would you mind coming over?" Alex asked.
Gardevoir teleported into the shower with Alex, a shy look on her face. It wasn't his lack of clothing that had her expectant, but the intent of praise in Alex's request.
Sure enough, Alex bent over, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her to his chest while hugging her tightly.
"Thank you, Gardevoir, for pulling us out of that battle. More of us would have died without you, myself included. You did your job better than I could have ever expected."
Gardevoir hugged back while drowning in praise. Alex always said those words during training, but rarely did he ever put such powerful emotions behind them. It was almost expected after a certain point, so to feel his genuine emotions blooming while directed at her sent her over the moon.
"I want you to understand that this wasn't your fault, and neither was it Espeon's. The fault lies solely with me, as is my responsibility as your trainer. So, cheer up, okay?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as Alex comforted her. She was, in fact, blaming herself as much as Alex had been blaming himself. She was the commander, after all, so she was also at fault. It didn't take a genius to realize that. She should have ordered Alex to prioritize the swarm. She should have rearranged the Pokémon sent after the Champions for a better matchup. She should have done better.
Alex's hug tightened further, bringing her thoughts back to the present as the guilt was washed away with appreciation, comfort, and forgiveness. She enjoyed the emotional moment while drowning in praise in the cold shower that only seemed to amplify the warmth of Alex's intent.
She may have loved Alex for his constant violent thoughts that fed her own emotional disposition regarding humans, but she was ultimately a Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon, who thrived on powerful emotions from their trainer. Hence, she melted in his arms and enjoyed the rare moment of positive feelings.
After a while, Alex released the hug and addressed Gardevoir seriously.
"We need to do better so this doesn't happen again."
Gardevoir nodded and agreed.
"That's why we need to rethink our combat strategy from this point on. We'll need to adapt to the technology and close the gaps in our weaknesses. It'll take monumental effort and more training. Are you up for it?"
"Gardevoir!" she said, nodding with conviction.
"Good girl!" Alex said while patting her head. "Let's start tomorrow. For now, can you make sure the other Pokémon are fine? Especially Frosmoth."
"Gar!"
"Thank you."
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