So, this one was going to be a sky battle. Hideo had never actually done one before, but he knew it was just like a regular battle, just that the Pokemon had to do it up in the air. He was fortunate that he didn't get airsick easily.

Only problem was that it was a lot harder to know what was happening up in the air than on the ground; less sounds to work with. And he wasn't going to risk himself by sitting on top of his Pokemon while it was mid-battle. But he had a solution for that.

His shoes squeaked against the pavement as he made his way to his next battle. He was sweating a bit from the weather and all the running around he'd been doing - maybe he could grab something cool after his battle.

He entered the arena - guided along by a Beheeyem. Normally, he would've had his Rotomdex helping him here, but the nature of this battle meant he was going to need a bit more precise help.

"Hey!" Hideo said, immediately knowing there was someone on the other side of the arena courtesy of his Beheeyem's Telepathy. "Laurence, right?"

He waved to the man. "I'm Hideo, and I'm your opponent for this battle! So, uh, my Beheeyem isn't going to be your opponent for this. He's just gonna help me 'cause I can't see."

He took a Pokeball out of his pocket, pressing the center button and letting out his actual choice: an almost-ten-foot-tall Drampa. "Gramps here is gonna be who I'm using. My Beheeyem will just tell me what's going on so I know what to do. That alright?"

Laurence Anderson

Hideo didn’t hear an objection from his opponent, so Elga’s presence would probably be fine.

He didn’t know exactly what Pokemon his opponent was using - the best he could guess was another dragon-type based on what LaurenceLars said. Elga’s Telepathy informed him it was smaller than Gramps, yet just as fluffy, but that didn’t lead Hideo to any conclusions. Maybe he could find out after this match - and feel just how fluffy Lars’ dragon was.

But more important than that: snow cones.

“Oh, yeah!” Hideo said, “I could use a snow cone!” He reached out, and his hand would’ve completely missed Lars’ had Elga not redirected him, the only hint being one of the buttons on the Beheeyem’s hands lighting up for just a moment.

It was enough for Hideo to find the snowcone easily, even through closed, blind eyes. He quickly took a bite out of the snowcone, quickly noting the strawberry flavoring. Nice! “Thanks, Lars!” he exclaimed, not hesitating to take out another bite.

His Drampa lightly tapped him on the side with his head, reminding the boy of the upcoming fight. “Oh, right,” Hideo said, “Gramps, get up there. And keep yourself safe, alright?”

His Drampa smiled, nuzzling the boy on the top of his head (messing up Hideo’s hair), before flying up into the sky. The moment he was up with the clouds, he took the first move - as Hideo had ordered - erecting a Light Screen around his body.

Drampa used Light Screen

Light Screen:  1/5

Laurence Anderson

While Hideo considered himself pretty good at pinpointing stuff in an area around him just by sound, things a good distance away were very difficult for him to differentiate, especially when that distance was vertical. He knew his Drampa and his opponent's Pokemon flew up in the air, but he had no idea just how high they were. Best he could do was just guess the general direction he was hearing stuff and hope someone else could deal with it for him.

Good thing Elga could do that for him.

Granted, it's not like he could do all that much about the oncoming attack; the blast of light hit Gramps, though the Light Screen deflected most of the damage. And as slow as Gramps could be, he was a tough one, not even wincing as he was struck.

"Get 'em back, Gramps!" Hideo ordered, a chunk of snowcone melting in his mouth. It was unlikely that his Drampa would hear him from up high, but his Beheeyem relayed the message telepathically, his hands blinking as he gave the vague order.

Which a wave of his head and a low grumble, Gramps sent a flurry of Razor Wind at his opponent.

Drampa was hit by the Moon Blast

Drampa used Razor Wind

Light Screen: 2/5

Laurence Anderson

Hideo awaited the result of his opponent’s command, and his Beheeyem soon informed him that the opposing Pokemon had...gotten fluffier.

…

The urge to pet this Pokemon only grew, but he was able to hold it back. For now. Maybe after the battle was over.

“Keep it up, Gramps!” Hideo shouted, “Get through that fluff!” His Drampa took that as an order to use a more obscure attack; his body glowed bright gold, and soon he fired a golden beam of light from his mouth, the Extrasensory headed straight for the center of that mass of fluff.

Drampa used Extrasensory

Light Screen: 3/5

Laurence Anderson

His attack hit, even sending his opponent back a bit. But it wasn’t enough to end the match there, and sure enough, the Altaria fired off another attack. Gramps tried to avoid it, but the sweeping beam struck his side. The Light Screen lessened the impact, but it still landed enough of a hit that a decent part of his body was frozen in ice; not enough to stop him, but definitely enough to slow him down.

To his fortune, there was a solution to this. “Hit him with something loud, Gramps!” Hideo ordered - an order that was much less subtle than it may have sounded.

Gramps opened his mouth wide, letting out a mighty roar. The shockwave from his Hyper Voice headed straight for the Altaria - while the shockwave also began to crack the ice around the Drampa’s body.

Drampa was hit by Ice Beam

Drampa was (partially) frozen

Drampa used Hyper Voice

Light Screen: 4/5
Drampa is (partially) frozen

Laurence Anderson

The Hyper Voice hit its mark, and it seemed like their opponent's strength was waning, but the battle wasn't over yet. It fired another Ice Beam at Gramps, who was too encumbered to get out of the way, more of his body being frozen.

It was only due to his Light Screen that the attacks didn't knock him out, but with so much of his body being frozen, it was weighing him down. Steadily, he began to drop.

But Hideo wouldn't let the battle end there. "Gramps! Go up high! And bring them down with you!"

The Drampa opened his eyes wide as he exerted him body, Flying back up into the clouds. In a moment, he was going to come back down into the Altaria - and he was planning to take his opponent all the way back down to the ground.

Drampa was hit by Ice Beam

Drampa used Fly

Light Screen: 5/5 (Light Screen wears off)
Drampa is (more-partially) frozen

Laurence Anderson

He went up high, up into the clouds. He was ready to come down on the Altaria, all the way to the ground - but then that Moonbeam came. And it struck just as his Light Screen wore off.

Combined with how much he’d strained himself flying despite his quite-frozen body...that was it for him. The attack had the decency to at least break the ice around him, but he blacked out, beginning a very rapid descent.

Hideo was informed of this pretty quickly - and realized he had to act fast before there was a Drampa-sized crater. He dug through his pocket, taking out Gramps’ Pokeball. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard for a blind kid to know when his massive dragon fell close enough.

Fortunately, his Beheeyem was able to pick up the slack, Psychically aiming Hideo’s hand and even pressing the button for him. The Drampa was drawn back in, leaving the arena impact-free.

Hideo sighed. “Well, guess that’s a loss for me.” No helping it; just didn’t turn out the way he hoped. “It was a good match.”

There was a brief moment when Hideo considered whether to go through his previous desire, and after a moment of deliberation, he made his choice.

“Hey...is it alright if I pet your Pokemon? Elga here’s saying it’s really fluffy, and I want to find out how fluffy that is.”

Drampa was hit by Moon Blast

Drampa fainted.

bouzIGDn

Laurence Anderson