Chapter 41: VS. Drifblim Part 1! "image removed"
As Diamond flew in the night sky via Pilot, he checked his Poketch to see what time it was. According to his watch device, it was eleven o'clock at night. Anxious to received the Gym Badge, Diamond declared to himself that he was going to challenge who ever the Gym Leader was as soon as he got to Hearthome. He was in desperate need of a rebound victory over a big opponent; A Gym Leader was the perfect opposition.
Flying over Route 208, Hearthome City came into view. Because it was so late in the night, few lights were on. The most notable building to Diamond was the Gym. Unlike the other Gyms Diamond saw, the Hearthome Gym looked similar to a hotel blended in with a cathedral. There was about five stories worth of building. Diamond instructed Pilot descend and the Yanma did so, landing Diamond right in front of the entrance.
Due to the darkness, Diamond released Rose, his Skuntank, and Dexter, his Pachirisu. He didn't bother release Trident due to the Prinplup's condition. Before he entered, Diamond decided to have a pep talk with his Pokemon.
"Okay Rose, Dex, Pilot... we're a man down. Trident was severely injured in a battle earlier today. Because of this, each of you will have to step up in the biggest way possible. I can't use Trident or he will get worse, understand? Rose... I want you to use your worst toxic flatulence. Dex... I want you to electrocute the opponent like there's no tomorrow. Pilot... I want you Sonic Boom anything that stands in your way," Diamond nodded to each of them, "Now... let's go get that badge."
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Once Diamond and his Pokemon were inside, they walked towards the bottom room of the Gym. The sides of the Gym had Lutheran windows. At the end of the room, there seemed to be nothing. No way to go to the upper floors. Diamond led his Pokemon to the end of the Gym quietly as low melody of a ghouly organ player could be heard. After they reach the back wall, Diamond and his Pokemon stepped up on a platform, unknowingly, and looked around, "Hello!?" Diamond shouted.
The echo of the shout caused Murkrow they stayed in the Gym to awaken. Each cawed at Diamond and flew out of a broken portion in the windows. Diamond stumbled backwards and thudded against the wall, causing the platform to immediately rise slowly.
"Whoa!" Diamond shouted as he and his Pokemon were taken up to the next level of the Gym.
The platform stopped with a thud as Diamond his Pokemon walked off of it and onto the solid floor of the second level. On this floor there were three doors and a sign in front of the middle door. It read:
I've waited for you for quite sometime. Now that we're alone, your soul will be mines.
Doesn't matter what door you choose, surely I'll win and surely you'll lose.
All that time you brag and boast, I'll fright you to death with my ghosts!
Diamond blinked after reading the sign, "Who ever this is, he or she can't scare me. If I can go through twelve rounds with Spiritomb, some Gym Leader can not scare me."
With a determined look on his face, Diamond, along with his Pokemon, entered through the first door. Closing the door behind him, Diamond noticed that the room was empty and dark. Just then, as Diamond and his Pokemon walked to the center of the room, the four corners of each room started to glow in a ray of purple light. The purple spheres were then given faces with wide mouths.
"Ghastly..." Diamond uttered as he pointed at them, "Rose, Night Slash! Dex, Discharge! Pilot, let's fly!"
Pilot gripped up Diamond and took flight into the air. Rose snorted a bit as dark energy surrounded her paws. She sprang forward and slash the Ghastly across the face, instantly defeating them. Dex charged up his blue electricity and shocked the other two Ghastly into oblivion quickly.
With disregard to the platform, Pilot flew Diamond to the third level of Gym. Rose and Dex were lifted up to next level with the platform riser. On this level, there were two Dusclops floating before them. The two Dusclops, seemingly paying no attention to Diamond, then lunged forward at them with Shadow Punches. The punch hit Pilot, causing the Yanma to drop Diamond to the cold floor. Diamond grunted as he held his back, not injured, but nonetheless, hurt. This made Pilot quite angry.
Pilot began to fly around the Dusclops quickly before making a sharp U-Turn. Its body was covered in translucent green energy. The Yanma then tackled one Dusclops into the wall, knocking it out.
Diamond pumped his fist, "Way to go, Pilot!" He looked to the other Dusclops, just in time to be grabbed by it, "Go for the head!"
Rose nodded, knowing what he meant. She jumped up, her right paw prepared for a Night Slash. Dusclops was unprepared to block, holding on to Diamond. Finally, Rose's claws came in contact with Dusclops' head, causing the Ghost Pokemon to free Diamond, before collapsing to the ground.
Diamond dusted himself off as Pilot grabbed him, "Let's go."
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They were now on the fourth level on the Gym, meaning there was only one more level until they reach their peak. All was quiet and dark, but surely not empty. In the right corner of the room was a seemingly a small, hot air balloon. It appeared to be used to its maximum. Diamond approached it and stroked it gently, "Wow... this thing is old."
As Diamond touched it, red eyes appeared on the balloon portion of the hot air balloon. Slowly, it awoke and floated up to the ceiling in a low rumble.
Diamond took out his Pokedex, "I get the feeling that this is a Drifblim..." He said sarcastically.
He quickly walked backwards and stood behind Pilot, Rose, and Dex.
"Okay..." Diamond thought to himself,
"Drifblim don't have good physical or special defense. However, they have excellent stamina. We've been battling here for quite some time and I think we can pull it off."
Drifblim roared as it flapped its front to wings, sending off a gale of purple Ominous Wind. The wind caused Diamond's three Pokemon to slide back a few inches, but they maintained stability.
"Attack!" Diamond shouted, pointing his hand forward.
Dex scrambled toward Drifblim wildly, sending off an array of Discharges. The blue energy shocked Drifblim, causing it to slowly float back into the wall. Rose reared back and fired a Flamethrower at Drifblim's large face, combining the paralysis with a burn. Finally, Pilot monotonely repeated his name as rocks appeared before him and shot at Drifblim's face.
By now, all of Diamond's Pokemon were heavily fatigued from the constant battle with all of the Ghost Pokemon of the Gym.
Drifblim collapsed to the ground before disappearing in the ground. For some reason, Diamond felt that the Gym was a little too easy. Though it was, his Pokemon were breathing heavily. He checked his Poketch, "Midnight..."
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Diamond didn't bother allowing Pilot to fly him up on the next and final level, because he wanted the Yanma's energy to be saved. He and his Pokemon stood on the rising platform and it rose them to the fifth floor. They each, not including Pilot, stepped forward and looked around. At the end of the room was a door, cracked open. The room beyond the door was not lit.
Diamond led his Pokemon to the door and opened it slowly. They entered the dank, dark room and the door closed behind them. The room was now partially lit by the moons rays hitting against the Lutheran window at the back of the room. A slender figure stood, looking out of the window before turning around staring at Diamond, "Finally, you're here."
Stepping forward, Diamond said, "Are you the Gym Leader?"
"Correct. I am Fantina..." She stepped forward, "But you may know me as..."
Dim lights turned on revealing Fantina.
"...Uranus..."
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Diamond was completely shocked to find out that a Neo Team Rocket commander was a Gym Leader, "Wait a minute... how? How are you the Gym Leader!? You're part of an evil organization!"
"It called an alias. I guess you're not that much of a genius now, are you?"
"OK, I'm sick of people saying that." Diamond clenched his fists.
"Finally, I can get you back, now. All the trouble you and your other two friends have caused us, it ends here, tonight. I've been studying you for a while and I now know your battle style: You like to study your opponents and feed off their weaknesses. Now, I'm gonna feed off yours. You don't have any Pokemon with a killer instinct. Your Pachirisu is nothing more than a special attacker. Your Skuntank is nothing more than a physical attacker with one or two special attacks. Your Yanma can't do a thing but fly. And from what I hear, your Prinplup is missing in action." She folded her arms, "I'll make this beat down nice and easy with benefits, understand?"
Diamond said nothing.
"Oh, now you're silent. I guess I'll do all the talking now," she took out an Ultraball and held it up, "Drifblim, standby!"
The ball burst open in a flash of white light. Again, another Drifblim floated before Diamond.
"So you have another Drifblim..." Diamond whispered.
"Yes, darling. And this one isn't like the one you beat in the previous room. This Drifblim has been thoroughly trained and is as young as you are. Also... it's been fed with several vitamins so it's defense is up to its maximum. What are you prepared to do?"
Diamond sneered, "I did not come all this way just to lose. Especially to a drag queen like your self."
Fantina was not angered, "Hm, I'm past the insults, hun. Let's just fight, shall we? Drifblim!"
Drifblim began to float around in circles in a dancing like motion. Out of nowhere, clouds formed at the ceiling of the fifth floor and rain started pouring down as hard as possible.
"First, get rid of the Pachirisu; it thrives in rainstorms!" Fantina shouted to Drifblim.
Floating forward, Drifblim yawned a bit as a dark blob of energy appeared in front of its mouth. Once Drifblim coughed, the blob shot at Dex and slammed the helpless Pachirisu into a wall, knocking it out instantly.
Diamond quickly recalled Dex and said, "Rose, Night Slash! Pilot, U-Turn!"
Rose ran forward as Pilot flew above her. Dark energy surrounded Rose's paws as she jumped up and slashed Drifblim's back. However, the Balloon Pokemon was unaffected. Drifblim turned around and Body Slammed Rose onto ground, literally sitting on the Skunk Pokemon. After a few seconds, Drifblim floated up, revealing a flattened Rose.
Diamond recalled Rose now and looked to Pilot was now being surrounded by green energy. The Yanma zipped toward Drifblim head on, hoping to at least get
some damage on the Pokemon. Another sphere of energy appeared in front of Drifblim but instead it was more of a silver color with beams of notable spherical linear light spinning around the silver sphere. The Gyro Ball was shot at Pilot's face, sending the Yanma into a state of unconsciousness.
Diamond returned Pilot to his Pokeball and sighed heavily. Fantina was not amused, "What the hell? That's all you've got? I was hoping for an epic battle. I wanted to defeat you at your peak? I was going to offer you a chance to join Neo Team Rocket if you lost. But now, screw that. You deserve to die. Drifblim, Stockpile!"
Drifblim began sucking in the oxygen of the room, its body growing larger by the minute. Diamond stood helplessly as he reached into his pocket, taking out Trident's Pokemon. True, the Prinplup was hurt, but he was in a conscious state while his other Pokemon were all fainted, easily.
"What can I do?" Diamond thought as Drifblim continued to Stockpile, "If I use Trident, he could get hurt... or worse." He looked down, thinking about Sam, "If I had Sam... he would help me, greatly. But..." He looked up and watched Drifblim Stockpile a third time, "...he's not. Trident... you can do it. We can do it."
"Spit Up!" Fantina shouted
Diamond tossed his Pokeball forward toward the beaming white light that Drifblim spat up, "Go!"
The impact of the ball hitting the white beam caused a great explosion, knocking over Fantina and Diamond to the ground. It was risky... but Diamond needed to win.
He needed to survive.
(Next: Chapter 42: VS. Drifblim Part 2!)