"oh hey lars!"

pulling his elbow away from the reception counter, the gym leader is quick to greet the head ranger. noah is unsure if they've formally met; however, the shortened name has been tossed around in conversation enough for him to blurt it.

"you're right on time." noah jabs a thumb toward the heavy double doors in the back. "follow me."

should laurence do so, noah would bring him past those doors. a long hallway leads to the arena where the caged ring awaits.

on the way, he asks, "so! why'd you decide to challenge this gym?"

tl;dr and notes

POGGY

Laurence Anderson

☉

"show that anyone can do it?" noah raises a brow. a half-smile emerges, its curling edge tucked into his cheek like a vulpix's tail. "not sure if that line of reasoning works if you're a head ranger... and an avatar, man."

eventually, they enter the arena. in the middle, a caged ring shows itself, bathed in powerful pillars of stage light. on the side furthest away from the door they entered by, noah positions himself on a small elevated stage.

"alright, mr. anderson! if you can show me that you can hold your own in close quarters combat, you'll get my badge!" with a grunt, noah hurls a pokeball at the metal fencing. it cracks open and a red bolt of light is spat onto the canvas.

from the red, noah's falinks emerge in practiced formation, their small feet marching in place.

"ready whenever you are!"

a boxing bell would ring to signify the start of their clash.

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks sent out
you can have first move!

Laurence Anderson

☉

"so you're sorta like a completionist, yea?" noah rubs his nose. "sorta like kyle with his games."

the bell clangs, and the light intensifies against metal and armored shell.

"FIRST IMPRESSION! one up it!" noah hollers.

while the falinks follow their brass with absolute dedication, they know when to flatten the hierarchy for unification. with sudden speed, they seem to disappear.

but within a blink's face, they remerge. angled closer to the underbelly of the metagross, they spring forth together for a possible, powerful bash.

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks uses FIRST IMPRESSION to match METEOR MASH or catch METAGROSS off-guard with the move's resounding speed.

Laurence Anderson

☉

"awhile! my hariyama was the first pokemon i caught in hoenn!"

the falinks waddle their little feet in the air. lifted from the ground, their formation is broken, spread into a constellation of small, spherical fighters.

noah unclenches his teeth. casts his hand toward his falinks as like throwing a net.

"spread out as much as you can! wiggle wide!" the further apart they are, understandably, noah believes, the harder the metagross must work to hold its telekinesis.

and so, they shift and squirm. they create space between themselves within the invisible membrane of psychic power.

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks trying to spread out as much as possible to weaken the hold of TELEKINESIS

Laurence Anderson

☉

"maybe so!" noah shouts.

the falinks wriggle around; however, despite their diffusion, the brass, their leader maintains the peak of their scattered formation. like a lightning rod, its spartan crest defies the psychic decree.

"PROTECT!"

a shimmering screen emerges from the helmet's peak. psychic energy blasts across its pane, causing a myriad of color to spread in glimmering waves.

noah just had to bide a little more time.

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks PROTECTs.

Laurence Anderson

☉

"NO RETREAT, then COUNTER!"

although they are scattered like the points of some fate-touched constellation, they do not panic. they suddenly stand to attention in the psychic quagmire. their individual bodies flare as their bulk, agility and strength are enhanced.

the METEOR MASH still lands on the solitary leader; however, the brass strikes back like a cannonball attached to a pendulum. a COUNTER strikes the METAGROSS and the TELEKINESIS fades.

the helmeted spartan falls. when it lands, its UNCONSCIOUS body rolls off to the side.

but noah still has a smile on his face. the falinks reassemble without their leader, still poised.

"this isn't a falinks you find in the wild." noah says. "it's one trained by me!"

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks NO RETREAT / brass COUNTERS metagross
+ leader falinks faints

Laurence Anderson

☉

noah cheers praise for his FALINKS. they strut in place, little feet rising and falling like jousting spears. but it is clear they're on their last legs. literally.

with the brass fainted, the remaining units are left vulnerable. a PSYCHIC descends, and while the FALINKS attempt to disperse on the gym leader's command, a GARDEVOIR is difficult to evade.

an eruption of energy blooms from the center of the ring, and in its pistil, lay noah's fainted FALINKS.

"thanks. all of you did great." the gym leader says as he recalls them. he pats the pokeball before casting his second.

a hariyama emerges, palms out in combatative posture.

"love what you're showing me lars! keep it up." noah says. "if you can."

his hariyama advances swift, a SURF carrying it closer to the GARDEVOIR on a tall wave.

tl;dr and notes

+ falinks faints
+ hariyama uses SURF to get closer to gardevoir (TALL WAVE)

Laurence Anderson

☉