[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

Xan Kinda Preferring The Other Beach Where There Was A Giant Crab Trying To Kill Them
Featuring Jerry, Chaperone, Xan, Kass and Mimbo J.​

It hadn't taken a lot of watching other matches to come to the conclusion that it was probably best to wait rather than take on the challenge of Chirchester gym. Going into what was looking to be a fairly rough match-up with a team that could only be described as considerably less stable than Xan would have hoped for this point in their journey seemed like a recipe for wasted time. However expedited the decision to move on was, however, the act of doing so ended up delayed regardless. Though dealing with the Gym Challenge itself loomed, as ever, on the horizon, Xan had more than enough auxiliary issues to deal with between Chirchester and Spikemuth.

Sphinx... Sphinx was a spanner in the works. As far as Xan was concerned, the Vulpix had proven that she wasn't capable of handling the responsibility of not being a violent idiot - which really, they figured, wasn't asking for much. Kass seemed to believe that it could be worked through, but... Xan wasn't here to babysit an asshole and Sphinx seemed plenty in favour of leaving. Perhaps if the psychic was invested in becoming the very best trainer there ever was, they'd see it as a failure in their technique or as a challenge to overcome. As it stood, they only required any gaping holes in their training ability to hold off on appearing too significantly before everything they actually needed to do was over and done with. The problematic tendencies of a petulant research partner did not deserve significant time devoted to them in Xan's eyes. Sphinx just... wasn't worth it, at the end of the day. By all means, good luck to her in finding a promising future - but she could fuck off and find it somewhere where it wasn't ruining the rest of theirs.

The issue was: where? Sphinx had chosen, as per the agreement Xan had with all their Pokémon partners, to be released with delay in a place of their choosing - that place being... in the team of a different trainer, according to Kass' translation of the Vulpix's haughty responses. Xan wasn't even sure that in the interest of everyone's safety they could do that. Could you call the Rangers on your own Pokémon? It would be an odd thing for a Gym Challenger to do, for sure. Maybe some other trainer with a good reputation, a league challenger or something, would be up to the task. Getting one to agree - mindful of the potential danger of rampant destruction and being blamed for it besides - was beyond the scope of Xan's imagination, though. Ah, well. This was why a delay was mentioned. Sphinx would have to be patient indeed.

In lighter team-turbulence news, the new addition of Mimbo J counted as an issue that demanded Xan's attention, but was nonetheless promising rather than exclusively stressful. Experienced with many different forms of psychic power to a comprehensive but not intense degree; abilities practised and honed for the likes of convenience, natural extensions of the self, or augmentations to his performing arts. Skills that had no real relevance in battle, but battle wasn't everything. Any form of proficiency was not to be discounted. Jerry and Kass seemed to like the Mime Jr. enough, and the stoic Chaperone seemed unperturbed by his presence at the very least. Sphinx seemed to think poorly of the new hire if the amount of eye-rolling at mealtime was anything to go off of, but her opinions wouldn't have been worth much to Xan even if her future in the team was particularly bright.

The Mime Jr. was mostly being brought up to speed on everything, at this point. There was a lot of research being done, down a lot of different avenues. Maintaining and strengthening of existing senses and the myriad psychokinetic abilities never ceased. Kass was supposedly getting a good grasp on their perception of Dark-type presence, and the sheer confidence that came through in their telepathy was telling. The gears of the Kadabra's brain were turning. And it wasn't just that they were having success with; Kass' understanding of psychoconjuration had deepened to a degree that the Pokédex was now calling their physically-manifested attacks 'Psyshock' - and with that knowledge came the willingness to teach, or at least attempt or assist something that approached the definition of teaching. Chaperone's apparent ability to learn Psycho Cut via TR did not seem to manifest in anything much - it was an odd feeling, Xan realised, to see a Pokémon not immediately outstripping them in psychic precocity. Xan's own progress was not necessarily useful but definitely observable - fragile, fleeting constructs of miniscule size that scarcely held up as dust in the wind and disintegrated to nothing at the drop of a hat. But they were constructs still. Jerry was already proficient with Zen Headbutt and without very clear evidence Xan never had a hope in hell of knowing weather the Psyduck picked up on anything or not. The Yellow Shape was inscrutable as ever outside of the insights that Kass afforded. There were... insights to be had, if not progress, in the Psyduck's area, however. Psychic Terrain was good for the Water-Type - like a more potent and more readily available but less permanent version of the incense the group was used to. Still, it was a far cry from the dizzying (or perhaps rather, the opposite of dizzying) heights of the effect Ballonlea Gym seemed to have had on the Psyduck. Which meant, barring some unknown variable, (please, please let it not be some unknown variable) that the explanation for Jerry's gym phenomenon probably lied in Misty Terrain rather than Psychic Terrain. Or more likely than that it was some combination of the two. Now of course, Psychic Terrain was far too huge a boon for every member of their team for the trainer to feel any hint of disappointment in seeking it out rather than the alternative, but it did nonetheless mean that greater effort would yet be required.

The mystery behind the duck would remain just that for now. Jerry himself was a being intertwined with mysteries: right now, he was sitting in the sand, paused in the construction of a magnificent castle. He stared down at himself, wondering how many legs he had. Chaperone the Pawniard stood a little ways off, watching, blades folded across his chest and the sunlight glinting off of a visage that gleamed unmistakably with pride. Xan was in much the same place, only tucked away in the shade. As indicated by the previous paragraphs, they had retreated into their own mind; a reflective state, brought on to avoid the horrors of the environment they now found themselves in. Not a week ago had they been shivering in the snow of Chirchester, and now they were sweltering, overdressed on the humid beachside of Route 9. Drednaw ferries were delayed, and their lot was to wait in line while trying not to perish. If they'd somehow known that nature had planned to sucker punch them with a weather-shift not even Jerry's Cloud Nine could assuage properly they'd have come here without the signature get-up they were known for - but here they were, and now the option of backing out and ruining the private sanctity of the remainder of their life was one they'd have to will themselves out of considering. Kass and Mimbo J were taking the opportunity of delays to put on some kind of impromptu show elsewhere - not that there was much they could have done to help even if they were here. Sphinx was still in her ball but, all else besides, as a Fire-type she was essentially only capable of making the situation worse.

Chaperone offered Xan a slice of Leftover apple again. The human politely declined. The Pawniard had taken a liking to the 'foodstuff', if it could be called that, and his knife-limbs seemed the perfect implement to carve off bite-sized pieces. Admittedly, a cool, crisp apple slice sounded pretty nice right about now - but Xan knew better than to mistake Leftovers for the kind of fruit they'd buy at the supermarket. Some kind of minor commotion in the line ahead of the two drew their gazes for a moment before they could confirm that no, the line wasn't really moving. And with that, both human and Pawniard turned their attention back to the sand and the Psyduck sat there.

Xan wasn't exactly a sandcastle connoisseur, but their amateur opinion was that Jerry's creation was really something to behold. They'd been impressed back on Hulbury beach months ago, and the Psyduck had only improved since then. The detail that little telekinetic touches were affording them were certainly nothing to scoff at - and, okay, fair enough, looking about the beach there were some real professional builds going on (there was some kind of sandcastle competition, right?) that seemed grander in both scale and technique. But for a single Pokémon with no tools and no assistance? Jerry was kind of killing it out there. More practice under Psychic Terrain must have given him a far better understanding of what it was he was wielding. The walls of Jerry's creation looked sturdy and rectangular, crenellations were uniform, there was a good amount of verticality involved with an inner citadel and outer sections, there were tiny little intricate balustrades overlooking a courtyard that wAS CRUMBLING? WHO THE-?

Black and white stripes betrayed the form of a Linoone, mercilessly laying waste to the Psyduck's creation before its time. Jerry quack-screamed in unbridled horror as the quadruped's paws performed a two-second siege on the short-lived fortress. The creature chittered all the while - was this intentional? Was this thing a wild? Xan didn't think they had wild Linoone in this part of Galar but if this thing was wild they were kicking its ass. Chaperone seemed well ahead of them on that front; already approaching, with one swift drag they slid their arm-blades across one another, scattering sparks on the sand. A Linoone on all fours and a standing Pawniard were of similar heights, and yet Chaperone undeniably looked down at the intruder as he stepped between it and Jerry. He was unflinching, his stare unwavering in the face of the jeers and Leers of the Rushing Pokémon that turned to face him. His expression was still, almost hollow - a cold-burning malice.

"Anyone here to vouch for this Linoone?" Xan called out to their surroundings as they drew near, silently hoping for no answer. A cathartic three-on-one smack-down for this little bastard wasn't the ideal moral solution. But if it was the only option...

"Heyyy," came a voice in response from the waterfront. A responsible resolution, then. "What's all this noise over here?"

The helmet turned to meet the newcomer, a gruff-looking sort dressed in grey and magenta with spiky accessories and face-paint to boot. "You're claiming responsibility for this Linoone, or just curious?"

The newcomer narrowed their eyes. "That's my Buddy, yeah."

"Well your 'buddy' here just gleefully trashed someone else's sandcastle for no good reason," Xan scowled. They took another glance at the increasingly tense stand-off between Chaperone and the Linoone. The beach bully's continued aggressive glare served only to feed the fires of hatred dancing behind the Pawniard's eyes. Status moves were already being exchanged, with even a Sand Attack being slipped in there. This was inevitably going to turn into combat proper very soon unless one of them was recalled, and Xan didn't much feel like doing that to Chaperone right now. "If you can get an apology out of them, that'd be ideal."

"Eh," Buddy's trainer waved a hand. "Let 'em fight it out. Let's battle."

Xan shook their head in confusion and scoffed. "-Yeah? No. If we were guaranteed to win, maybe-"

"Aw c'mon, you're a league challenger," the hooligan grinned. "Can't be scared of a lil' battle."

"-but we're not. I- 'scared'? It's about principle, you- any possibility for you to win shouldn't be acknowledged. You can't just battle your way out of being a piece of shit, that's not how things work - the- 'Buddy' should apologise, you know, like a reasonable person, one with actual thoughts and feelings bouncing around in their head-"

"Ey. Oi," Buddy's trainer frowned dangerously, and the Linoone made a noise that sounded halfway between a scoff and a snicker. "You callin my Buddy a piece of shit?"

"They're acting like one."

"That's my partner you're talkin' about you lil' wierdo."

Oh, good. The hooligan's posture was getting aggressive. At least that made the situation a little clearer. Xan had spent far too long in the sun already to deal with an extended conversation. They turned their senses downward, focusing on the grains of sand on the ground rather than on the humid air clinging to their skin.

"Not sure what you want me to say," the psychic offered, taking another laboured breath and a couple of steps backwards as the other human approached. "Get a better partner, maybe?"

"You shut your fuckin-!"

Two conflicts resolved themselves at once. Toward the water, beside the ruins of Jerry's masterwork, Buddy the Linoone had had enough of the back-and-forth and launched at Chaperone in a sinister Covet attack, faking assent before viciously snatching the Pawniard's Leftovers away. The Sharp Blade Pokémon let it go, one blade twisting around his body to transition into a vertical slice. Chaperone's Defiance had pushed his offensive fury into overdrive, and as the Linoone paused to snicker in celebration of their successful theft a Fury Cutter of epic proportions sent their head directly into the sand.

Further inland, the hooligan had raised one arm in undeniable hostility, a grab for the fabric of the psychic's hoodie at the shoulder - their front-most foot, however, ended up struggling to find purchase on sand that rapidly fled the path of their very first step. Xan was too exhausted from the heat for any kind of prolonged avoidance, so instead of darting away as the other human immediately lost balance and began tipping, they took a single step forward and braced the top of their helmet to drive upwards into the painted surface of a rapidly descending nose.

In the aftermath, Chaperone roughly pulled the fainted Linoone free of the sand and took back his Leftovers before turning around to go and comfort Jerry.

Wary of catching blame from onlookers, Xan raised both hands and said, "Careful." They didn't have the breath for much else. The other human had fallen to the sand and was bleeding from the nose - perhaps a little concussed, maybe shocked, but otherwise fine. They hadn't done much other than scramble away a little, but before they could do more than that another commotion reared its ugly head.

"Hey," came a voice, echoed by a couple of others. More beachgoers, dressed in similar getup to the aggressive one sprawling in the sand. A wave of dread washed over Xan as they realised how likely it was that even more day-ruining was about to come their way. "Heck's goin' on 'ere?"

The psychic stepped aside and widened their arms to show off the scene in its entirety, presenting the group their side-profile just in case the colour-co-ordinated lot wanted to try anything funny.

"Didn't start it," Xan began. "If they're with you, you should probably get them some-"

"-Guys," one of the face-painted ones interrupted, pointing. "Look how sad that Psyduck is."

Waves of 'ooh' and 'aww' and 'Arceus' emanated from the small crowd, carrying a relieving tone of empathy. The group chatted among themselves.

"Poor precious..."

"Yellow guy..."

"Must have destroyed his sandcastle..."

"Dang, Buddy biffed it..."

"Wait, is that a Gym Challenger...?"

"I hope the ducko feels better..."

"Maybe Keith is the asshole here..."

"I wanna pet him..."

"You can't pet him..."

"Keith's been an asshole for years Iunno why you're only now realising..."

"Let's get out of here, guys..."

"Keith! Don't bleed on my tank top!"

"Yeah Keith hold your nose you frickin' dope..."

The group absorbed the hooligan, Keith, as well as Buddy the Linoone, then promptly meandered off. Up the sandbank, onto the pavement and away.

"Er... hi."

Xan closed their eyes and breathed deeply - more people. They turned slowly, met with the sight of a bright-eyed sort in ferryworker's uniform with something held under one arm. The stranger, who waved, seemed hesitant to speak, and Xan wasn't all that keen on the idea either with how long the sun's heat had had to worm its way into their clothes. Eventually the psychic spoke.

"Sorry about-"

"Beach bullies d-"

Both tried speaking at the same time. After a beat of silence, it was the ferryworker who picked up the conversation.

"We saw, and... well, we all feel sorry for the Psyduck, and that lot were... well, let's say they're a weight off of the congested ferry service. So why don't you take this as a reward and give it to our little yellow friend, okay? If- if the Psyduck is yours, that-"

"The Psyduck is with me, yeah," Xan confirmed. The ferryworker seemed to be holding out some kind of TR. "They're Jerry. I'll- yeah, I can do that, thanks, I guess- if it's a gift for Jerry, you can give it to them yourself if you want to, you know."

The ferryworker gasped, "Can I!?" and rushed forward. They faltered as Xan recoiled, stuttered one step in awkward indecision, then hurried over toward the Psyduck. "Hi! We're sorry about what happened over here, we saw your sandcastle and we thought it was really nice! So we got this..."

Xan's perception of the conversation trailed off as a telepathic hail reached them from elsewhere. Down the long side of the beach Kass approached in big skipping leaps, followed by a Mime who was looking considerably less Junior than he had an hour or so ago - presuming that this was Mimbo J, of course, and not some other Mr. Mime that Kass had just happened to pick up. The mental conversation that followed confirmed such suspicions - evidently, Mimbo's dreams of getting out and seeing new places weren't empty ones, and fulfilling them was doing the Mime Pokémon a load of good. Of course, it didn't take long for Kass and J to become curious about the other side of things, and a jaunt over to wish Jerry well happened quickly.

The Psyduck seemed to have been reassured by the surprise gift, as well as ample support from friends. Jerry was much more comfortable with psychotelepathy now than he had been in the past, and waves of gratitude emanated from the duck with practised ease. Friends... were nice. Structures... of sand... would be good. Oh! Surprise realisation! There was another Jerry. He will be larger.

From what Xan had gathered based on many months of interaction with Jerry, as well as the impression they got from whenever Kass communicated with him, this was a Jerry thing rather than a psychotelepathy thing. Figuring out what the Psyduck meant never failed to require some level of deciphering.

The ferryworker cleared their throat and said, "Okay! I'm really glad we could sort things out. However, um, due to policy, we are going to have to ask you to leave... Sorry."

For fuck's sake.

Mimbo J. evolved into Mr. Mime (Galar)!
Jerry forgot Disable and learned Metronome!

Click to expand...

Spike Mouth? Wow That Sounds Like It Must Hurty If Eating (Part 1)
Featuring Xan, Kass, Jerry, Chaperone, Mimbo J. and... surprises.​

Neon signs created an irritating glare across the visor of Xan's helmet. Spikemuth was a town of contrast in more ways than one. Bright lights, dark corners. Promising new growth, desolate old back-alleys. The place had seemed like it might be a fairly comfortable stay for the psychic, but in practice it was always either too loud or too quiet. Constant sucker-punches to the senses.

And the sucker punches kept coming. Spikemuth Stadium wasn't even finished. The gym challenge was being held in the arceus-forsaken backstreets, and the battle was taking place in an outdoor concert venue. Xan was just about used to the idea of battling for show in a stadium now - enough that they could tune most everything out - and here comes Spikemuth to shake up the formula a little, just in case the psychic had managed to get over feeling like a caged zoo animal.

… At least the weather was temperate.

Xan and their team had gathered amongst the various chain-link fences that served to set apart the official gym space from the rest of town. Xan themselves, Kass the Kadabra, Jerry the Psyduck, Chaperone the Pawniard and Mimbo J the Mr. Mime. Sphinx the Vulpix had yet to regain public-space privileges. The plan was simple: disrupt other racers and use Teleport to avoid any obstacles. Kass was more than kitted out for the Gym Challenge and would probably have a blast. As for the battle? Take on Klara, use Mimbo J's Safeguard to neuter any attempt to use poison, buff up someone else (probably Kass again, if they were being honest) to deliver the killing blow with a little help from one of the new tricks they had up their (nonexistent) sleeves.

Jerry the Psyduck let out a short quack of distress. All eyes turned to follow the yellow shape.

"... Jerry?" The psychic said slowly. "You good?"

The water-type held out two webbed hands to his fellows - the universal sign for 'wait here' - and began plodding off at a jog, breathing heavily. Kass quickly zipped to the side of their friend, and a short conversation of 'psy's and 'kadab's followed.

"Something I should know?" Xan asked the two, blinking in confusion.

Kass responded with a thumbs up, though a telepathic missive soon followed. It passed along a modicum of Kass' own befuddlement, which was good to know. The message itself carried uncertainty and the image of a toilet? Xan knew Jerry was prone to nervousness, but nervousness of that kind, though totally understandable, would be a first for the Psyduck.

Jerry tripped over, making a sound like a deflated balloon on impact, but was quick to roll back to his feet. He attempted to jump up and climb a chain-link fence for some reason, but with a quick offer Kass teleported the two of them to the other side instead.

"Stay safe, you two. Don't go too far, you know?"

Another thumbs up from the Kadabra. Chaperone briefly shared with Xan a look of mild concern before turning back to keep watch on the two. Mimbo J seemed to be holding back a degree of laughter.

Jerry and Kass' little adventure seemed to come to a stop when they came across a different yellow shape, still within earshot. The yellow shape in question being a woman in a large raincoat, accompanied by a Manectric that was also yellow in part. Rapidfire quacks and psy-iys seemed to imply some kind of excited explanation, directed at the semi-familiar gym challenger and at Kass in equal measure.

Catherine was so wrapped up in her thought that it took her a moment to notice the Pokemon conversing right by her. It wasn't until Holo joined in with a couple of barks of her own that she turned around to see a somewhat familiar-looking Kadabra and Psyduck gesturing in her direction.

One of her old classmates had appeared in videos of gym battles with a Kadabra and Psyduck. Given that she felt like she recognised the pair, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that was who they belonged to. Except they seemed to be trying to get her attention and she had a hard time imagining that particular graduate seeking her - or anyone - out.

Amongst exchanged barks and confused kadabra-ish vocalisations, the Psyduck stole a few glances the way of the others but seemed, for the most part, fixated on her. A single, final 'duck' belied the end of a speech lost entirely to translation. The Kadabra turned, gave Catherine a wave and a little apologetic bow, then turned back to mutter a few things the Psyduck's way.

A sudden, exclaimed quack sent out a ripple of thought, seeming to surprise even the Duck Pokémon it came from. A wave of feeling washed over the forefront of nearby minds - the impression of the colour yellow.

Catherine blinked a few times, allowing the involuntary flash of colour and accompanying fuzzy feeling to fade away from her head. It was so sudden and alien that it took her a moment to fully compute what had just happened.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, not that she was expecting much of an answer.

As if confirming she was correct not to expect much, Holo gave the vocal equivalent of a shrug. The Kadabra got chattering with the Psyduck and, after a moment, lifted one hand in realisation and turned to the other two again. A few 'kad's and 'dab's were shared with Holo, who yipped back excitedly. Like a wafting breeze rather than a tidal undulation, more foreign thought-packets arrived at Catherine's consciousness. A greeting, jovial. An image, some kind of… towering wind turbine. Apology, cautiousness, hope, a polite proposition and all the emotions therein weaved into one thought - a suggestion for the potential of working toward a shared goal. And quieter, lighter than before but familiarly… yellow. The Kadabra waved again.

Having things beamed directly into her brain was an experience that Catherine felt "invasive" didn't even begin to cover. But, it seemed like her cooperation was being asked for. Although not thrilled with having thoughts projected into her head, she was hardly someone who would turn down such a minor request.

"I guess our help is wanted, Holo," Catherine said, looking down at her companion with confusion that had not yet entirely faded. She then turned her attention back to the newcomers. "I guess you'll be taking us to your trainer then?"

The two yellowest Pokémon took a quick break before answering to cheer at each other. The Kadabra gave a jubilant thumbs-up before waving a hand over their shoulder and heading in the direction of some chain link fences. The Psyduck raised both webbed hands, thumbs-up akimbo (if a Psyduck could really be said to have thumbs), and continued to hold them up in Catherine's direction as he waddled along beside.

Holo barked something in response and then set off after the Kadabra and Psyduck. With a measure of reluctance, only bolstered by a lack of understanding, Catherine followed on behind. Sure enough, this soon led her to a confirmation of suspicions in the form of a very recognisable helmeted visage.

"Do your Pokemon always go around putting cryptic messages directly into people's minds? Did you need something?"

Xan looked up from their phone. "Do-? Not, uh- I don't know what you mean by cryptic - hi, by the way - what's this about cryptic messages?"

The helmet conspicuously turned in the direction of Kadabra and Psyduck, the former of which began gesturing as though conversing.

"Regular sort," Xan murmured. "Probably makes sense, yeah. Jerry, mmkay… yeah? I guess they have had moments like that… yellow? And the- fucking hell. So - but how…? Okay, whatever, if everyone's on board and Jerry's insistent then it's not like I'm going to stand in the way." Helmet raised again. "Sorry about that. You go by Catherine? That was a weird way of putting it. I'm not wrong though, yeah?"

"Yes," Catherine replied. "And this is Holo. So, what exactly is going on?"

"Well, first off, congratulations," Xan put their phone away, pointing briefly to the Psyduck as they did so. "Apparently you might be Jerry but larger. Hi Holo, by the way. Kass," A gesture to the Kadabra. "Tells me that Jerry's insistent to team up with you and yours. If everyone else thinks that's how they want to conduct their gym challenge business then I wouldn't really have a say even if I was particularly opposed to the idea." A pause. "Oh and- the messages, that's just- telepathy's nothing to worry about. Better than words sometimes, not often. Better than nothing - like, always."

"I'm what?" Catherine looked at the Psyduck, who looked fixedly back at her. "You know what, never mind. If Jerry wants to work with me, who am I to refuse? We're going to have to do some serious strategizing though. We'd have to anyway, but Jerry kind of puts the brakes on half my strategies just by existing."

"Rain, yeah. I keep up with the league. Seems you do too. That kind of… I mean, actually, we could probably work with this…?"

---

The unlikely pairing of Catherine and Xan stood on one end of the open space that was more in line with an underground performance than a gym battle. Surrounded by chain fences, spotlights and neons illuminating parts of the stage that would otherwise be shrouded in darkness as other patches were. Some sort of bastardised electro-pop-punk monstrosity was already blaring over the speakers.

Perhaps it was meant to symbolise the different tastes of each gym leader, but Catherine was pretty sure the cacophony was the kind of compromise that didn't please anyone. It certainly wasn't pleasing her.

Then again, after the disaster that had been the gym mission, she was already not in the best of moods. It was a miracle that hadn't been caught on camera.

"Are you lucky enough to have noise cancelling in that helmet?" Catherine said to Xan over the sound of the "music," wincing.

"Meditation techniques can only do so much," the psychic droned. "I think I'm actually in the middle of cardiac arrest."

It was at that moment that, blessedly, the music dimmed just enough for the announcer's voice to drone over the venue's PA system. "Now, it is time for the moment you have all been waiting for!"

He said a few more things that were barely decipherable, but apparently the imminent arrival of the Spikemuth gym leaders had been a part of that because the crowd roared with excitement as the two of them took to the field. One dressed in the black and magenta colours that had once been the soul colours of the Spikemuth gym, the other is a mess of purple, blue and green.

The former, Marnie, spoke first. "Sorry for the wait. The facilities here ain't the best so there's a bit more prep time between battles, y'know?"

"Guess it can't be helped until the stadium is finished," Catherine replied, eager to just be on with it before her ears actually started bleeding.

"'Fraid so," Marnie replied. "But we're here now. So shall we kick this off?"

"Yeeeesss let's get this party started!" Klara was practically running on the spot. "Make some noise, Spikemuth!"

The crowd's roar today was especially intimidating.

"Fine by me," Catherine said, trying and failing not to glare at Klara's energy.

Xan murmured next to her, "If I didn't pay to be here can I still get a refund?"

"No, but you can probably sue them if she gives us an aneurysm."

"Could have done with that knowledge earlier. I'm going to need to employ a lot of lawyers."

With greetings and something resembling pleasantries out the way, the gym leaders both sent out their opening Pokemon. In front of Marnie, an ovoid yellow rodent - her Morpeko - appeared. In front of Klara, the entirely more menacing segmented body of her Drapion, pincers gnashing appeared.

"More or less what we expected then," Catherine said. "Cooler, you're up."

Catherine lobbed the weighty Heavy Ball into the battlefield, popping open with a silvery series of flashes and a "popping" sound and allowing the Beartic out. Immediately, the Ice type dropped into a ready-stance on all fours, growling at its new foes. It was quite the debut.

"Now's the time, J," said the psychic, a proffered Luxury Ball opening to release the gangly blue form of Mimbo J the Mr. Mime. Immediately, the Ice type dropped into a ready-stance on all fours, growling at its new foes. It was quite the debut.

"Wow! Incredible!" Klara cheered. "What a couple of cuties! I'm gonna crush 'em!"

Mimbo J. hopped to his feet and bowed for the audience. At least one of the challengers was happy.

Cooler looked ready to bite the head off of her ally for the mimicry, so Catherine decided it was best to direct that aggression somewhere else. "Cooler, Rain Dance and then Icicle Crash."

Cooler, thankfully, obliged. She thrashed her head in time to the music that was still blasting over the speakers, rain clouds rapidly forming and beginning Catherine's signature deluge. The instant the rain started falling, Cooler launched herself forwards and crossed the battlefield in seconds.

She ignored the tiny, less intimidating Morpeko and instead smashed a claw of ice into Klara's Drapion, knocking it reeling with the sudden strike as ice shards shattered against it.

"Oho, you're approaching me? Fine then - Drapioooon! It's time for Toxiiic- what!?"

Preceding the rain like some kind of shockwave, Mimbo J.'s Safeguard washed over Cooler's towering form. Klara's mood immediately dropped, and the downpour that followed served as the perfect backdrop.

"Fine! Fine! Coat your pincers, make it a Cross Poison instead…"

Klara's poor Drapion didn't get to do that either. At a word from Catherine, Cooler lashed out with a backhand Icicle Crash, faster than the Drapion in the rain. This time, the Poison type knocked back several feet in a shower of ice crystals as Cooler growled her victory.

"Can't 'ave you doin' too much of that," Marnie interjected. "Fire Fang!"

With a surprisingly feral noise, her Morpeko leapt into action with a blazing bite. Not paying attention to the smaller foe cost Cooler for a moment as the attack landed and flaming teeth sunk into her arm.

The Beartic, thoroughly displeased with this turn of events, flung her arm sidewards, using the momentum to launch Marnie's Pokemon off of her and in the direction of… where Mimbo J. used to be. Where had Mimbo J. gone?

"Ohhh, I get it, you think you've got a powerhouse?" Klara put a hand to her mouth to giggle. "Hee hee, you think your big bad bear is speedy? You can come back later, Drapion, no big deal - try Slowbro on for size!"

Red light sucked up the Ogre Scorpion Pokémon as a parallel beam dropped in a pink and purple biped to replace it.

"Hope you're quick on the draw!" The Poison Leader said.

"You talk too much," Catherine said. "Aqua Jet."

Quick Draw wouldn't help against a move that did the same thing. Water surged over Cooler and rocketed her forward, she collided with her new opponent and knocked it onto its back before wheeling back around for a stronger follow-up strike that sent skidding across the battlefield into a patch of darkness between signs.

Meanwhile, Marnie's Morpeko was still looking for any sign of Mimbo, but struggling to find any sign of the Psychic type. In the end, Marnie decided it was best to focus on what was in front of her.

"Never mind," she said. "Help Klara with an Aura Wheel!"

The little rodent turned back towards Cooler and started sprinting for the Bearting, a wheel of electricity circling it vertically as it ran.

"Patience, Slowbro!" Called the Poison Leader, her ace trudging over to the point that light barely grazed its snout. "Get ready, brace for the big guns!"

As two separate foes closed in on the Beartic, the missing combatant ever-so-subtly slinked through the shadows. Using his powers of stage-mimicry, Mimbo J. had taken on the easily-ignorable silhouette of a chair. He had taken to a stealthy approach early on after throwing up Safeguard, Calm Mind after Calm Mind serving less to overcharge the Pokémon's raw power and more to combat a probably-reasonable amount of nervousness. J was no stranger to performing in front of a crowd, but he had never taken to battle quite like other 'mon did - and this was the Big Leagues! But it was fine, surely. All he had to do was prepare himself backstage a little bit, and wait for his cue…

Cooler whipped around to defend against the Morpeko that was now leaping at her, bringing her arms up to guard against the electric strike that collided with her and holding her ground.

"Slash," Catherine ordered.

She didn't have to ask twice, Cooler lashed out at her attacker with her claws and practically launched it into the darkness. Unfortunately, that was a moment she wasn't paying attention to the Slowbro that was now behind her setting up a Nasty Plot.

"Uh-oh! Someone's busy - let's go Slowbro! Draw!" Klara mimicked a cowboy.

A moment later, a ball of energy was fired into Cooler's back like cannon fire and the Beartic was thrown forward and onto all fours with the force of the dangerously effective move. Focus Blast. Things only got worse when a feral screech came from the darkness.

Marnie's Morpeko was back on the scene, somewhat rejuvenated from berry consumption but with a new and edgy coat of paint. The demonic rodent's fur was now in shades of black and purple and murder was in its eyes.

"Aura Wheel!" Marnie repeated the earlier command while Cooler was still pulling herself back together and the rain was starting to come to a halt. This time it wasn't electricity, but a wheel of swirling, malevolent darkness that accompanied the Morpeko in colliding with Cooler and knocked her rolling across the battlefield.

"Cooler can retreat to their two-ten," Xan leaned over to Catherine and said. They swished a hand in the vague direction they were indicating. "No clue what J's doing but support seems welcome."

"You heard them," Catherine said, "Back and regroup."

She thought for a second that Cooler might actually refuse, but thankfully the Beartic followed the orders she was given as scrambled into a retreat. Not that this was going to stop Klara's Slowbro.

The Poison-type fired several shots after Cooler with Shell Side Arm, Cooler only dodging most because of Swift Swim, but the rain wouldn't hold up too much longer and Safeguard would disappear right after it. Unfurling from some kind of contorted pose, Mimbo J. the Mr. Mime sprang into the light to offer what assistance he could.

This did not go unnoticed. Marnie's Morpeko was after the Mr Mime in an instant, bolting right for Mimbo with a Fire Fang ready to go.

But J hadn't stepped into the light for the sake of weather or protection - he wanted his swirling eyes and fascinating hand gestures to be seen. The approaching Morpeko, for all its speed, shot forward in a straight line and was snoozing in the dark behind the two challengers' Pokémon in one swift motion. Hypnosis.

On the other side of the battlefield, Cooler continued to clash with Klara's Slowbro. At Catherine's instruction, Cooler was darting around a barrage of Shell Side-Arm attacks with Aqua Jet and striking with hit and run tactics.

Klara had evidently had enough of that though, and judged it was time to rescue her teammate instead. "Hey! There's the sneaky guy!" She cried, pointing. "Get 'em, 'bro! Shell Side-Arm, get the poison in!"

Her Slowbro jumped back with a sudden surge of strength and blasted the ground with a powerful Shell Side-Arm, launching itself across the battlefield to land near Mimbo, whirling around to take aim at the Mr. Mime. Ol' J had plenty of experience dodging berries in his less popular days, but this was an entirely different ball park.

"Lil' sneaky guy's been using Calm Mind, but all that Special Defense won't do a thing!" The Poison Leader continued. "Shell Side Arm shoots right for your weak point!"

It was all Mimbo could do just to roll with the punches as he struggled to put up Safeguard again, occasionally stealing a glance at the two challengers as he scrambled to get away from the slower Pokémon who kept finding ways to catch up to him.

"No poison?" Klara whined. "Come oooon…!"

With the rain coming to a halt, Cooler's means of helping Mimbo were limited. But they weren't gone.

"Aqua Jet, get over there," Catherine instructed.

With a guttural growl, Cooler did just that, rocketing across the battlefield. She clipped the Slowbro on the way through, throwing off its aim, and came to a halt next to the sleeping Morpeko and Mimbo.

Unfortunately, the Slowbro was already levelling its next attack in their direction. More fortunately, Catherine had an idea for what to do about that. "Chuck the Morpeko at it!"

Cooler swept her arm forwards in an underarm motion, catching the hypnotised Morpeko and launching it towards the Slowbro even as it fired another Shell Side-Arm. The Morpeko was struck by the attack in an explosion of toxic liquid and dropped out the air, having blocked the attack against Cooler.

The Morpeko lay on the ground between the combatants, fainted before it could even wake up.

"Good try," Marnie said, calling back her Morpeko and selecting her next fighter. "I ain't gonna roll over just yet. Let's see what you do about this."

A Dusk Ball was thrown to the battlefield, a swirl of darkness stark against the spotlights giving form to a bulky and grotesque Pokemon with dark fur and patches of green skin.

However, with Mimbo J having a moment to breathe, the air soon became saturated with vapour and drop by drop the downpour resumed.

"J's not used to this," Xan murmured Catherine's way. "They're hanging in there for now, not sure how much longer for, though. Got to be ready."

"That Grimmsnarl will be bad news for Mimbo either way," Catherine said. "Good call. Icicle Crash, let's get that Slowbro out the way first!"

With blistering speed, Cooler sprinted forward intent to take chunks out of the Slowbro. This time, it wouldn't be so easy though.

"Trick Room!"

A weird fuzzy energy pulsed out from her Grimmsnarl, taking up a swathe of the battlefield and forming into a box shape. Crossing into its boundaries, Cooler suddenly became much slower, as if Swift Swim was having the opposite effect than it should have - because it was.

A second later, she was blasted by a Shell Side-Arm and then smashed all the way back to where she had started from by a Hammer Arm. She struggled to her feet, but things were starting to look rough for the Beartic. Mimbo J, slower than he was used to and overpowering the urge to act out slow-motion for fun, bravely stepped back into the fray with swirling eyes and dancing hands.

"No lookie, Slowbro! Do the fancy shot!" Klara commanded. Too sluggish to dodge with his speed reversed, avoiding Slowbro's stylish back-turned over-the-shoulder Shell Side Arm wasn't in the cards for the Mr. Mime. "That kinda trick ain't so easy the second time!"

"Looks like their cue," Xan said hushedly.

Mimbo J.'s next action as he scurried to his feet wasn't to hypnotise or run away; instead he bowed - to his opponents, to Cooler, to the audience - and chucked a gleaming red-and-gold baton into the air before being consumed in crimson light. The beam retracted toward Xan and, in parallel, another flickering ray zipped past it, almost touching. The other beam struck ground and shaped into the form of another Pokémon, and one yellow hand reached up and caught the Baton Pass with a frightening measure of confidence. One of the most prolific members of Xan's team had arrived, ready to bring an entirely new energy to the battle.

Jerry put the baton in his mouth and swallowed it as it dissolved.

Immediately, the rain felt dampened. It was still there, but it was less. It didn't seem to be falling as heavily and Cooler's movements suddenly seemed much more sluggish. The area around Jerry wasn't even really getting wet.

Catherine turned to Xan with a look of incredulity. "Really? Cloud Nine with me as your partner. Are you an idiot?"

The psychic looked her way only briefly and said, "Maybe try not using weather as a crutch for a change."

"It's not a crutch, it's a strategy. I guess you're not familiar with that since your team does everything for you while you take the credit."

"I shun the credit, you can fuck off. It's Trick Room, anyway. Cooler's faster with the rain off."

Jerry turned his back on his opponents to stare unblinkingly at the two. His mouth filled with water and bits of it dribbled from the sides, seemingly unsure if now was a good time to unleash it or not.

"You shun the credit? Is that why you made a point of attaching yourself to the person generating the most media buzz right now? I'm not stupid. You're lazy and looking for an easy way to succeed. Let your Pokémon do the work. Let someone else build attention. Make me carry the battle and then shut down my strategy once we're ahead to steal the limelight."

"What the…? Slowbro, head up there," said Klara confusedly, her Slowbro readying its Shell Side Arm and approaching menacingly.

"You guys remember where you are?" Marnie asked. "Guess I'm gonna have to remind you. Play Rough."

Her Grimmsnarl took the chance to dash forwards and lunge at Cooler while she and Jerry were seemingly distracted by their trainer's bickering. It struck the Ice type and then proceeded to wildly throw another flurry of blows… only for Cooler to grab it in a makeshift grapple and pull it around to face Jerry, who was wagging his fingers distractedly… or so it seemed.

"Looks like we were right," Catherine said. "You really did just walk right in."

​

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