CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

FORTUNE SMILES UPON THE OPPORTUNE. in the same vein that that dome no longer quarantines hoenn off from the rest of the world, fernando silph finds himself chained to his work, which, by proxy, means the slateport gym. for Josh Devlin is not the only gym leader to face an uptick in challengers.

small bouts like these are the only sections of his day he can relegate to training. despite his past pattern, he’s been proactive in his challenges. would be challengers have a decent fifty-fifty chance of facing something other than an automated system. a change many welcome.

“good afternoon, andrea.”

fernando rolls his wrist with his other hand as a preliminary stretch. he’s had a good grasp of what pokemon he’s wanted to choose since she checked in with the receptionist. it’s only a matter of how serious he should apply himself.

“unfortunately, i do not. hoenn has kept me quite busy in the wake of METENO.”

he stares her gyarados down without fear. its odd discoloration makes it flashier than his own.

“which gym badge will this be for you?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

“AH,” his eyes wander to rhyperior. “everyone starts somewhere, i suppose.”

a pass of his hand plucks two pokeballs from his belt. he lobs both of them casually, depositing his zarude and umbreon onto his side of the field.

“nevertheless, the pokemon you have are impressive for someone with no official badges. these pokemon should be suitable to your level but shouldn’t prove too challenging for you to overcome.”

the umbreon proves well tempered. it stands at full attention, eyes darting between both opponents. the zarude, however, thumps its fist against its chest with a bellowing war cry.

“whenever you’re ready, challenger.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

EVEN A CEREMONIC DRAGON’S DANCE isn’t enough to elicit a reaction. preparation before battle is standard procedure. the cast shadow of her serpent is a welcome sense of normalcy—a mortal reminder that not every pokemon must go against the status quo. the perfect juxtaposition against ULTRA BEAST and the RIFTS.

“battle routine set!”

the battlefield quivers under the trumpet of rhyperior’s EARTHQUAKE. portions of the ground become undone, splintering into debris that resemble disheveled tombstones. like the bells of the DRAGON’S DEN, each seismic beat causes the radiance of the DRAGON’S DANCE to shine. a makeshift recreation of lunar new year’s CLANGOROUS CELEBRATIONS.

“execute!”

the sight of his umbreon trying to steady itself on all fours is dashed at his command. the two pokemon are quick to thrust themselves deeper into their enemies territory. agile leaps avoid the most obvious obstacles but the occasional splinter lands a residual nicks and cuts.

the umbreon leaps into the air, body curled, as its yellow sigils glow. its own TOXIC bile is expunged from its fur and toward the less mobile rhyperior. coming from the side, his zarude looks to hold the pokemon in place with a BIND of its built-in vines.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

THE SUDDEN TUG UPROOTS THE ZARUDE. the very vines it had used to BIND the rhyperior now become a tether to reel the ape closer. it lurches forward at the sudden change in force, feet flailing wildly as it tries to plant itself in place. unfortunately, the rock pokemon’s immense weight works in its favor.

the zarude flies forward. helpless, it lands against the brunt of the pokemon’s MEGAHORN, gasping for air as pain rakes through its body. before it lands, the pokemon continues to struggle, lashing out with a new set of vines through POWER WHIP.

the same skirmish goes a little differently between umbreon and gyarados. while more agile, the gyarados’ large frame is easier to predict. like an insect, the pokemon scatters in a sudden burst of agility. its QUICK ATTACK evades the DRAGON HAMMER like a fly zips around a flattened hand. the deft mass of black fur zips across broken ground, looking to approach the gyarados’ head.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

THE GROUND TREMBLES UNDER THE RHYDON’S BULLDOZE. such unstable footing discourages the ZARUDE from approaching further. instead, it leaps into the air, hands together as an ENERGY BALL manifests. the great ape’s hang time is impressive considering the lack of forest of foliage, still mid-air when the attack actually launches.

likewise, the GYARADOS escapes the UMBREON’s reach. the BULLDOZE causes the pokemon to stumble, so it too refrains from moving further. it stands in place, sigils glowing, as a CONFUSE RAY erupts underneath the GYARADOS in an attempt to blind and CONFUSE it.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

THE FALL LINES THE ZARUDE UP PERFECTLY. another MEGA HORN straight center. scrambling paws look to scurry away but pokemon has no purchase mid-air. only after contact, when the horn brutalizes past fur and hair, does the pokemon try to push itself against such overwhelming force.

both hands plant itself against the RYHYPERIOR’s face to try and free itself from their carried momentum. essence of its JUNGLE HEALING surge with new life before the pokemon is promptly tossed aside.

the UMBREON is met with a similar fate. the BOUNCE lands and crumples the much smaller pokemon underneath. but what shows up underneath the GYARADOS’ scales isn’t just a mass of fur. TOXIC pools of poison drip off the pokemon’s lunar coat. to land an attack also means to expose oneself to POISON.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau

CONFRONTING THE INEVITABLE

SLATEPORT GYM BATTLE

SO FAR, fernando has done little to interfere in the match. outside of choosing his pokemon, they are given full autonomy to conduct themselves as they see fit. sometimes, this leads to suboptimal decisions, but he stands by them. the only exception comes here.

the moment he confirms the TOXIC lands, he looks to recall his UMBREON as the DRAGON HAMMER comes down. whether it hits or not becomes impossible to tell, masked behind the sudden whip like snap of his return.

which leaves only one pokemon each.

unfortunately, the ZARUDE lands by now. disgruntled by being tossed away, it has already shaken off the dizziness, continuing to renew itself with its JUNGLE HEALING.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Andrea Vaneau