"hey! okay, so that's why the sign-up name was familiar." dropping his phone into his pocket, noah launches himself from a low bench.

like a braviary, he swipes the squeeze waterbottle beside him and uses the momentum of his small leap to swing the bottle's tip to his lips. "that was like, a year ago, right? "i was just texting kyle. we can send him a pic to say hi."

he squeezes water into his mouth before gasping brightly. refreshing.

"you're early. i dig that, man." noah unlatches two balls from his holster.

from their cardinal spheres, a hariyama and medicham are summoned into the ring. the show lights blare down like several suns.

"you're a capable trainer from what i saw." noah rolls his shoulders, stretching as he sets his water bottle down closer to his side of the ring. "close quarters combat. show me how you deal with it. should be easy."

noah begins to move to his side before pivoting back abruptly. a hand, swathed in a workout glove extends itself for a shake.

"you get first move."

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon hariyama"]

Cillian Quinn

Outside of a tense situation where they were fighting for their lives, noah faber's energy strikes Gavin as positive and loud. He seems ready and raring to go, his Pokemon on the field within moments of their introduction.

Of kyle lopez, Gavin says, "Yeah, sounds great! Last I saw him was during the war; would be nice to say hi under nicer circumstance."

He blinks rapidly in the bright light, which reflects harshly off his glasses. They darken in response as if adjusting to sunlight, shielding his gaze from the glow. His own Pokemon enter the ring in muted flashes: Metagross, Cradily.

Gavin's amiable expression turns serious. He shakes Noah's hand firmly. "Cheers."

"'Gross, Headbutt. Cradily, Acid."

The words correspond to moves they don't have; they're short-form, instead. Metagross ignores its fellow psychic-type in favour of lunging toward the Hariyama with a ZEN HEADBUTT. Like a metal spider, it scuttles close before it leaps.

Cradily, on the other hand, swivels its eerie head toward the Medicham. The sounds that come from the restored fossil are guttural, gross, until it spits up a glob of its own GASTRIC ACID toward the opponent.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon metagross shiny"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon cradily"]

noah can not tire of the initial uproar of battle. as if springing from the earth in that precise moment, the cage ring's fencing rattles upward with every step of iron leg. enclosed tight by metal links flushed with light, noah faber's pokemon engage with contained intensity.

"focus on one!" noah shouts toward his medicham, "roda pull back. fight with fong."

the order is given and the maneuver is taken at the cost of being struck. as GASTRO ACID nullifies his medicham's TELEPATHY, the pink martial artist darts toward hariyama's position.

his hariyama does not retreat. instead, it claps its broad palms to summon boulders of rock (ROCK TOMB). they scatter around the sumo wrestler's position— not with the intent to strike, but with the intent to trap. his medicham slides within.

the hariyama stomachs the ZEN HEADBUTT as the metagross lands with a terrible crash. swiftly afterward, noah faber's medicham lunges to strike one of the metagross' legs with a DRAIN PUNCH, the attack prepared in case the cradily's acid was for damage.

it is clear however, that the ROCK TOMB surrounding the metagross, hariyama and medicham is not permanent nor is it indestructible. as noah's hariyama endures the metagross' punishment, the gym leader begins to bark his next command.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon hariyama"]

Cillian Quinn

Plans to disable the second opponent's ability are put on hold as a rocky prison (ROCK TOMB) separates Cradily from not only its foes, but its ally as well.

Gavin frowns as he reevaluates his strategy, but the wicked gleam of excitement in his gaze remains. "Hang in there, Metagross. Poison!"

The DRAINING PUNCH connects, sapping some of Metagross' strength as the metallic Pokemon holds its position. With no clear direction as to which opponent it should target, Metagross retains its focus on the Hariyama. It opens its mouth to allow a TOXIC sludge to ooze from within, pooling in the space beneath them.

"Cradily, anchor yourself!"

With no opponent to disrupt it, the Cradily puts down roots. They curl around the cage and, should the floor prove malleable enough, extend below in search of earth in which they might INGRAIN.

the pool of poison surprises noah pleasantly, his eyes flashing wide like fireworks before settling. inwardly, a check ticks a box in his head.

"wash it away!" noah shouts.

his hariyama summons a wave (SURF) with its palms. although the TOXIC manages to touch the wrestler, he dilutes the ooze as much as it can. cold brine surges toward the metagross and rushes through the gaps of the rocks— and some is siphoned toward the cradily.

his medicham leaps, attempting to land on top of the metagross. a BRICK BREAK tries to strike the steel arachnid on its flat head as gavin's cradily finds root below the ring.

"hey, not bad! as expected from you, cavalli."

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon hariyama"]

Cillian Quinn

Shit.

Cradily's STORM DRAIN draws the toxic SURF back to itself; though diluted, Gavin worries how it might affect the partial grass-type. There's little to be done about it without sacrificing valuable time in battle, so they shift to the offensive. Poisoned water seeps into the cracks Cradily has made in the arena and gets absorbed by its roots, the toxins cancelling out whatever nutrients it might have found there.

"Start clearing the rocks!"

Anchored by its ingrained roots, the fossilized plant reels back before lashing out at the rocks, SMACKING THEM DOWN and away from its ally.

"Metagross, brace yourself!"

As Medicham leaps toward it with BRICK BREAK, the metal arachnid's head shimmers with psychic energy. Metagross lets out a robotic grunt as its ZEN HEADBUTT absorbs some of the impact from the fighting-type attack.

Though serious in the heat of battle, Gavin flashes a brief grin at noah faber. "Not so bad yourself."

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon metagross shiny"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon cradily"]

the psychic energy collides with fists and neutralizes with a bang. quickly, noah's medicham flips back to a backdrop of shattering stone. the cradily' large head is a verdant wrecking ball and as the medicham nurses its hurting hands, his hariyama shakes itself of water and toxic tremblings.

"aw, thanks man." noah grins shyly, for the notion of being complimented by a man much older makes the sentiment more earnest. however, he's quick to revert. his voice cuts sharp. "switch!"

his hariyama WHIRLWINDS, gathering the broken stones in its gales. although the metagross may be too heavy for it to be thrown away, the hariyama attempts to use it as cover as it moves closer to the cradily.

his medicham remains, throwing discs of PSYCHO CUTS toward the metal arachnid in order to keep it preoccupied. still, they all remain in close quarters. the medicham now faces the cradily instead.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon hariyama"]

Cillian Quinn

As sharp stones from Hariyama's whirlwind encircle their foe, Gavin is forced to reconsider his Pokémon's targets.

Metagross stands firm as a flurry of psycho cuts make small dents in its steely armor. Though the arachnid seems suitably distracted by the assault, Gavin takes note as both Pokémon face his Cradily, instead. They were trying to dispatch the less defensible target.

"Cradily, defend! Meta, poison the small one!"

In close quarters, the ground quakes as Metagross scuttles forth on iron limbs to spew its TOXIC sludge toward the lithe dual-type. Cradily closes its gaping maw and retracts, making itself smaller and PROTECTING its vulnerable points with a rocky exterior. Its roots, INGRAINED as they were, help to soothe the sting of any attack that may bypass such defenses.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon metagross shiny"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon cradily"]

purple discs cycle like galaxies between the medicham's hands. however, they dissipate. fizzling out like dead stars, the medicham DETECTS the incoming TOXIC and leaps out of the way.

"aw man," noah laughs, wiping sweat off his brow, "poison's hard to deal with huh."

his hariyama nears peter's cradily. pushing its large hands together, a FORCE PALM fires from its palms; however, it soon falters after the energy is launched. a pulse of poison. a throbbing pain begins within the lower half of its legs.

"fight through it!" noah shouts.

the ring's lights remain ruthless in their lumination.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon hariyama"]

Cillian Quinn

"Tell me about it," Gavin chuckles, watching with evident approval as the Medicham leaps clear of Metagross' toxin. "Learned it from Stone; he kicked my ass on live TV."

He'd build up these Pokémon in response to such a crushing defeat, eager to return to the gym for a rematch, but the war had claimed his chance at redemption along with the life of Hoenn's former champion. Though he was loathe to admit it, Noah handled the toxic assault better than Gavin had; he'd been caught off guard by the strategy at the time.

Struck by the FORCE PALM, Cradily reels back and shivers like an activated door stopper. When it finally gains control of itself, it lashes out to siphon energy and GIGA DRAIN the offending Hariyama.

Infuriated that its attempts had been thwarted by the Medicham, Metagross throws a STOMPING TANTRUM that shakes the gym.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon metagross shiny"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon cradily"]

noah nods firmly. war's tragedies echo in the absences left by the departed. names connect to memories ephemeral. for a young man as physically-attuned as noah, that emptiness runs deep.

his hariyama flares up triumphantly as its FORCE PALM makes purchase. growling, the wrestler does not relent. the cradily reels back and the hariyama follows. with a heavy palm it attempts to KNOCK OFF the cradily head to the floor; however, a GIGA DRAIN and TICK OF POISON causes the wrestler to faint in the aftermath.

briskly, noah recalls his hariyama. uttering thanks, he watches as his medicham leaps to the cages fencing. the whole ring shakes and like a kommo-o rattling its scales, the gym is alight with metal clanging.

"final stretch, cavalli!" noah shouts as his medicham scales the walls.

like a soldier climbing monkey bars, his medicham begins to traverse across the low chainlink ceiling.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"]

Cillian Quinn

With its roots ingrained in the gym floor, Cradily has no way to dodge the forceful strike that knocks its head into the ground. Though the giga drain provided enough sustenance to keep the living fossil conscious, Gavin can tell that the fight is drawing rapidly toward a close.

Pressing his lips together, he makes a split-second decision: sacrifice one to bolster the other.

"Hidden power."

It was a move often unpredictable, changing type and form depending on the individual Pokémon that used it. For Metagross, it drew upon the energy of GRASS, such as the ailing grass-type that swayed on the edge of the ring, clearly on the edge of collapse.

Metagross pulls at the roots and vines Cradily has anchored to the bars. They shift, grow, snake around the individual links as they race desperately toward the agile Medicham. "Snare it!" Gavin calls, caught up in the adrenaline of battle. Tendrils of green threaten to wrap around the dual-type's limbs and stop it in place.

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon metagross shiny"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon cradily"]

"quick! take the cradily down!"

the medicham needs to even out the numbers quick. with no remorse—at least, none seen by the naked eye—the fighter attempts to kick the cradily's heavy head for the finish.

however, the maneuver is mulch enough for the metagross. engineered by steel, vines wrap around the medicham's body: a leg is caught extended in the aftermath of its kick. arms leap into practiced shapes, but their lines do not meet to completion. vines ensnare them too.

seeing his medicham restrained like this, noah sighs a soft one. it's a note of contentment. loose and betraying some kind of quiet relief.

"alright, alright!" noah says. he recalls his medicham into his pokeball. "you got me!"

[attr="class","pkspr"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon medicham"]

Cillian Quinn