Jolteon was still faster, so it moved slower than Froslass. "Hail." The ghosty ice type gave two peace signs and started up another round of Hail. Snow Cloak now active, it wasn't enough to evade the Discharge. The Hail may have made holes in the attack, but Froslass still yelped from the shock. Aaron had one last trick up his sleeve. He was going to outlast the Jolteon. And Froslass was his best way to do so.

Keenan saw the Jolteon hit Froslass. The icy ghost may not be particularly bulky, but it was Aaron's...the gal was likely tough as nails. And the stalling game was easy to imagine as Kee started to think about its moveset beyond Hail, Blizzard, and Double Team. Would Aaron make her more defensive or offensive? If defensive, Aurora Veil would be the next step, then spamming Double Team to let Hail and poison do the job...

Josh Devlin

DISCHARGE was an incredibly powerful move, especially in multi-battles with electric allies. It was also unwieldy to use; the move could not be used multiple times in succession. Blinky needed to do something else in the meantime while absorbing latent ions in the atmosphere around here. Both Pokémon moved sluggishly thanks to the warped space within the TRICK ROOM, the pace working wonders for Aaron. "Make a WISH for your well-being, Blinky!" Josh commanded.

The Master of Faster had already seen how this battle would likely play out. It would be a long, uphill battle for him to come out with a win, but the chance was still there. The WISH would give Blinky one extra sphere of DISCHARGE to hurl at the challenger's Froslass before succumbing not to the hail, but the vile, burning liquid dissolving one blood vessel after another.

---

{WC: 143}
{PC: 10}

FIELD: HAIL (5); TRICK ROOM; TOXIC SPIKES (2)

Aaron Toral

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
Verte           Flygon            KO  
Aslan           Pyroar**          KO  
Blinky          Jolteon           Deadly Poison 

Wish? Well, that would stall the inevitable. But also allow Froslass to further set up the stalling game. "Aurora Veil." A myriad of colors started to blend and bend around them. It was a move that only worked during Hail, but halved damage taken during it. It would last till the end of the Hail too. With that setup complete, Aaron was ready to go on the offensive. And he knew what to start with. But it was Josh's turn to try something.

Keenan sagged in his seat. This could be a very long match. But if Froslass didn't have some form of recovery, then Josh may still stand a chance. That Wish may have been a good a move, but when those Blizzards start coming...Jolteon were not known to be tough. Just speedy and hit hard enough with their electric attacks...

Josh Devlin

What a strange twist the battle had taken on. Some of Josh's fans even began booing him. While the Gym Leader's tactics were sound, these defensive tactics weren't what they paid for! It was all Josh had, though; TRICK ROOM was a move he had trained under Callan Young to learn how to handle. His squad had many ways to handle Ghost-type Pokémon. The combination of the two is what proved to be a deadly antithesis to his swift tactics.

Blinky had one opportunity to make it count. While the twisted space Aaeon's Pokémon created used Josh's ultra-high speed against him, the Jolteon was far from defenseless. "We're making our stand here! Blinky, run underneath it and DISCHARGE!" While the battle appeared to be passing in slow motion, the Jolteon still had one hope to turn the battle around: overload the Froslass with such an intense electric blast that it could move a muscle afterward. Her own WISH giving the swift runner a second wind, Josh's partner lunged at Froslass, laced in high voltage.

---

{WC: 175}
{PC: 11}

FIELD: HAIL (4); TRICK ROOM; TOXIC SPIKES (2)

Aaron Toral

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
Verte           Flygon            KO  
Aslan           Pyroar**          KO  
Blinky          Jolteon           Deadly Poison 

Aaron smirked. Yes, get close...there was Aurura Veil that would help tremendously, plus Froslass's Snow Cloak. Electricity bounced off the Aurura, disipating the harmful energy. Even for being such an area of effect attack, it missed with the Auroura disipating enough of it to let his ghost through. "Draining Kiss." Even a quick peck would be enough to hit the Jolteon with it. Part of it would be to hit the lightning Pokemon with an attack, but half that damage would also rejuvenate Froslass some. Hopefully that will also make Josh think twice about the Wish again. Well, if he does use it again, maybe a Blizzard would change his mind. Though Aaron glared at the audience booing. "Shut the fuck up. It's a perfectly legal move, so what's your complaint? The object is to win, right? So do whatever you can within your limitations to do so, you pansies."

Aaron wasn't the only one mad about the audience's antics. Though boy did it get some glares right back. Keenan laughed and loudly, perhaps more so than he needed to be, spoke up. "He's right, you know!" Especially if you think about the fact that not every trainer will abide by the rules. Team Rocket came to mind. Still, his baby bro's abrasive side came out there, and this time, Kee loved it.

Josh Devlin

The triple whammy of venom, hail, and DRAINING KISS was far too much for the Jolteon to handle. A red flag from the side judge was enough of an indicator for the Gym Leader's tech crew to flip the switches that caused the Trainer's Boxes to descend. "Jolteon is unable to battle," the judge ruled. "Judges' call: one point, challenger Toral. The match goes to challenger Toral."

Once the platforms had descended, Josh reached into his right pocket and palmed one of his Gym's Badges into his hand. He slowly walked toward Aaron, whether they met in the center of the battle court or on the challenger's now-retracted platform. "Your combination of Ghost-types and Trick Room got me," the Gym Leader said with a smile. "You really did your homework to prepare for today's Gym battle, and it shows in your win. Hoenn's very own Elite Four, Callan Young , had prepared me on how to handle teams built around taking my speed advantage away. But you studied. You had the perfect foil to my countermeasures. And that deserves recognition."

Josh presented a closed fist at Isaac's chest level, then opened it up to reveal a well-earned QUICK BADGE. "Aaron, you've earned this. It is the official Hoenn League Quick Badge. Wear it with pride. This Gym has a history of being run by some of the toughest and most successful Leaders in Hoenn. Never forget that."

Once the crowd started to empty from the stands, Josh smiled as he offered a suggestion. "Have you thought about trying Pokémon racing? It's really fun even if you're only at a novice level."

---

{WC: 270}
{PC: 12}

Aaron Toral

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
Verte           Flygon            KO  
Aslan           Pyroar**          KO  
Blinky          Jolteon           KO 

The stars aligned in a way. The Draining Kiss did enough damage where the poison and Hail finished off the Jolteon. The judge declared him the winner. When the boxes went down, he walked forward as well, the Hail dissipating and Froslass giving him a high five and a fist bump. After a list of complements, Josh awarded him the Quick Badge. "Watching your and Kee's battle helped a lot in studying up. Still, there was a chance that every Pokemon you used had something super effective against my ghosts. Cofagrigus just happened to be tanky enough to finish the setup. My plans would have been finished if you had knocked him out quick enough." Flygon and Pyroar knew Crunch, and Jolteon had the possibility of knowing Shadow Ball. Things really could have turned out badly for Aaron.

Josh then gave him a possiblity of being a Pokemon rider. Well, racing really. Shaking his head, he elaborated. "I'm not interested. I ride on my Pokemon when I have to on occasion, but actual racing is not something that appeals to me. Kee would be a better choice for that." Nice of a suggestion as it was, he wasn't an adreneline junky. Still, the battle was appreciated, and Aaron bowed politely as he left the stadium, meeting Keenan just outside. With a rumbling stomach, the two brothers went out for a victory dinner.

Josh Devlin