He got one-upped at looking weird. Purple hair did not look as strange as it was compared to what she was wearing.

"Yeah, well, you seemed, uh, busy." He eyed the costume she wore as he responded as to why he hasn't been in contact.

Cait still was the same for the most part, except she had more responsibilities among other things. Kyle couldn't see himself in her shoes, both figuratively and literally at that moment, but then again, there was a vast difference between their drives. Cait was a go-getter while Kyle-- Kyle just wanted to chill.

"I'm not," he responds bluntly when prompted about badges. "Maybe I'm more interested in getting you late to that photo shoot."

He stares at the set of Pokemon he brought with him, wondering if he did the right choice in picking all of them. He knew of her choice of Pokemon, and had seen her battle a few times before. He shrugs at them, knowing it was too late to change his arsenal at that time, before going back to her.

"I was kinda hoping you'll go easy on me cause we're friends. Do I not get that privilege?" he teased.

"Aw, why not?"

Despite the obvious whining, Kyle had nonetheless readied himself for the battle instead of negotiating more. It wasn't like he was the most charismatic person there is to make it successful anyways.

He always considered the singles to be his weakest point if he had to rank the battle formats based on his strengths and preferences. Some of his favorite Pokemon have their moves tailored for situations outside of battles after all, but he'll make it work somehow. At the very least, switching was allowed.

"I choose... Delta!"

The Mightyena appears of its Pokeball, fur bristling and fangs bared. While it tried to intimidate, Kyle was aware that the Pokemon was more bark than bite, or at least, when compared to the other five Mightyena he owned. He hopes to work on that soon, but even outside of that, he has his uses.

Grass-types were the most common users of status moves, and with Jumpluff not being known to be one of the more offensive variants of Grass-types, Kyle could conclude that Cait was ready to use them. Out of everyone in his repertoire of Mightyena, Delta was his best answer to them.

"Do your best."

Delta taunts the Jumpluff with a huff that compelled the Grass-type to attack him, accompanied with a show of swagger with the smug look on his expression. Front paws were daintily crossing over each other as the Mightyena strutted forward towards his opponent, provoking the Jumpluff to make the first move.

Light and small, Jumpluff was one of the matches that he could see his Mightyena potentially overpowering physically. Delta can manage to take a hit from the Jumpluff, he supposed, and dish an attack back with greater force.

"Incapacitate. Crunch."

It was faster, there was no denying it. Even if he was to ask his Mightyena to try and outrun it, the Jumpluff would simply be able to outlast the canine in a chase since it doesn't rely on exerting effort on all of its legs. He would try to limit its options if it wanted to be able to do that later in the battle.

The Acrobatics hit the first time, but Delta had let it. It opened its maw as it neared, attempting to take advantage of its enraged state of mind to trap it in its jaws once its hell-bent on attacking.

The main target would be its main body/head (or whatever that part of the body is). He would attempt to give a quick rough shakes to try and get as many of its cotton spores out of its body, before throwing it away from him before it could react.

The process would be long and convoluted, but they'll be able to crack through the gym leader's team soon enough. Persistence was key, but the longer they wait, the more likely that the effects of Taunt would wear off.

"Protect."

A protective bubble appeared around the Mightyena, negating the Jumpluff's attacks. Each of them disintegrated as they reached the barrier, although the Protect dissipated soon after. A haughty bark was made by the Dark-type following the move, only to be hushed by his trainer. He needed the Pokemon to focus for now.

"Go offensive."

The earlier attempt to once again taunt the Jumpluff was only exemplified when he locked his eyes onto the Grass-type's. A certain arrogance in the Mightyena would attract the opposing Pokemon to continue attacking him once more.

As commanded by Kyle, Delta started to run towards the Jumpluff, ready to attack in a moment's notice.

The Mightyena would nimbly dodged the Giga Drain as he saw it coming, although the Acrobatics did get him. At the very least, it brought the Jumpluff to close range, where his Mightyena could deal with it.

"Pounce. Crunch. Rock Smash!"

Nose may be busted at that moment, with multiple hits getting the canine to start breathing heavily, but it does not deter him from doing what was instructed. The Mightyena would use the moment of collision to get the hold of the nimble Grass-type, pouncing and aiming to dig his fangs onto its skin once more.

Using his own weight if he does, the Dark-type would position the Jumpluff between him and the flooring, crashing and smashing the flooring with the Pokemon with his leap.

the mightyena on the field was fatigued and weary, standing no chance against a direct attack from the breloom. even should the mightyena be on tip-top shape, he couldn't imagine him being able to take the hit.

the breloom was an agile pokemon, kyle could guess. while his mightyena was the same, the damages that the previous match up brought to him made it impossible to match a healthy pokemon. the move was their only chance for the dark-type to survive this round of attacks.

"one last protect."

he braced himself, conjuring a shield against the hit. it immediately broke, but not before deflecting the attack. although his feet were firmly planted, delta still skidded backwards from the impact. the force was not to be trifled with.

"switches are allowed right?" he asks.

before cait could even answer, kyle withdraws his mightyena and brings out yet another mightyena to the field.

"make a smoke screen. rock smash."

as soon as the mightyena appears, it unleashes a force onto the gym's flooring. dust and smoke would linger in the area as rock smash was used on it. visibility was zero for that short moment. whether it worked or not, it was a good distraction nonetheless.