Vanilla is the only guest waiting in the lobby. The receptionist, a local lady cresting the hill between middle and old age, smiles at the girl. Her name is odd, but she’s used to odd names at this point. Eccentric characters with names like Amor Rose, Eris Halla, and Alexei Ivanov have challenged this gym. By now, she wouldn’t be surprised if someone named Lovelove challenged the gym.[break][break]
Eventually, the door behind the receptionist opens. Out runs a challenger, who doesn’t turn, look back, or do anything else except march out the door. The kid isn’t much older than Vanilla herself. Navy shakes his head.[break][break]
“Kids these days.” He turns his attention to Vanilla. He regards her with a warm smile. At once, he recognizes her.[break][break]
“You should stay off dating apps, young lady.” The consummate catcher in the rye teases the girl, waving her into the room with him. Beyond is a rectangular room. Four stainless steel walls rest around a battle pitch. Each side is adorned with a raised observation platform where they can observe the battle, talk, and be comfortable.[break][break]
“If you don’t mind indulging me for a little bit before our battle, I’ve got a question for ya: why do you wanna be a trainer? Also, no pictures or recordings, if you don’t mind.”

[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

There’s a piece of jewelry dangling around the girl’s neck. It’s a pretty little thing, meant to adorn some girl’s ear. She wears it like a keepsake, like it’s the most important thing in all the world.[break][break]
The League is cruel. It does not know the danger it sends its trainers off to, but it knows that they will face peril. These are the times that try men’s souls. Navy’s hand balls into a fist.[break][break]
Closing his eyes, he opens them again and he is in another lifetime. This girl is before him, a girl no longer. She’s a woman grown, in love with someone. It’s written in her eyes. It’s sang in her smile. Love is a beautiful thing, and it plants itself in soil without the tiller’s consent.[break][break]
That earring represents the great evil of the League. Dahlia Goode did not know she was robbing this girl of her first love when she sent her off to the Ancient Tomb with the other volunteers, if she even volunteered at all. How could she? Yet still, allowing a child onto that battlefield is an act of high evil.[break][break]
“If that’s why you’re battling…” He looks to a carved figurine of Zacian, made for him by a daughter that understood him and hated him for that understanding, “…hire a private detective. I know a few. You’ll be happier for it.”[break][break]
It’s a cruel thing to say to a girl her age. If it makes her hate him, so be it. Better her eyes look at him with hatred or hurt than behold Cillian Quinn , Elisabeth Fiorelli , or bryan delarosa before beholding nothing at all ever again.[break][break]
“If you wanna be a trainer here, you’re gonna get hurt. Again and again and again. This region’s a war zone. Rocket wants to take over. They don’t care who gets in their way. There…”[break][break]
He doesn’t usually tell this part, but he feels now that he must.[break][break]
“I had a brother. Just a few years older than you. When Rocket took over Sootopolis, he was one of the League volunteers. He had that look in his eyes you do. That same smile. And he died.”[break][break]
“Listen up, Vanilla. Being a trainer in Hoenn is to flirt with death. It’s not some romantic fight where your opponent fights fair! You’ve got people who love you. People who’d miss you. To be a trainer, you gotta fight knowing you might never see them again. So…”[break][break]
He holds up one pokeball, looking her right in the eyes from across the pitch.[break][break]
“Challenger Vanilla Kingsley, do you wanna do this?”

[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley

“Mmm…” He acknowledges her resolve with a solemn nod. There is no more attempt to persuade her from her path. If she would walk it, knowing the risks, than she must face the consequences. Walking into an uncertain battle with your head held high is the mark of a warrior. With a push of a button, the pitch jolts. It’s a massive elevator, taking them down to the real war.[break][break]
“Let’s have a better venue then, huh? It’s my job to make sure you’re strong enough to find your dad.” What happens in the gym stays in the gym. Her secret is safe with him – he’ll even cut that bit out of the tapes. What the League doesn’t know won’t hurt them. It’s a minor hiccup, really.[break][break]
Still, he wastes no time. Two Pokemon appear from their balls. They couldn’t be more different. Thin Lizzy and Fenrir stare out across the battlefield. Lizzy takes this opportunity to shift gear. Smoke vents from the dragon’s mouth. Even a normal dragon is still, at the end of the day, a dragon.[break][break]
Fenrir, brave wolf, spreads stealth rocks across the field. They float, eventually blending into the terrain on her side of the field. It’s not fair. Standard League regulations give the first blow of the match to the challenger.[break][break]
“When you throw out your Pokemon…it’s gonna hurt. You ready for that?” He asks the grim question while his team paces about, sizing Vanilla up.

[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Do you think Rocket cares, kid?” His voice is heavy, looking across the battlefield at someone with their whole lives in front of them. “Being a Pokemon Master here’s not just about fighting in an arena. It’s about thinking quick. Reacting. Adapting. Overcoming.”[break][break]
Don’t give up.[break][break]
He doesn’t speak the words out loud, but they’re blasted in his thoughts. Cascading through his mind, again and again. A prayer for her, a mantra for himself.[break][break]
Never give up.[break][break]
Not when the chips are down. Not when it matters.[break][break]
“Keep up the pressure, Lizzy.” Thin Lizzy knows what this means. Falling onto her wheels, she burns rubber and launches like a comet out at Cauli. Her quick attack slams into the Altaria before the cotton guard can go into effect. At least Lizzy gets one hit in before phase 2 of the battle.[break][break]
Fenrir is nowhere near as fast. Leaping after the faster dragon, a stone edge forms around his claws, raking across Cauli’s fluffy body. So focused on offense is he that he doesn’t notice what’s coming before it’s too late. Cayenne’s earth power knocks the Lycanroc into next weak, although he’s far from out of this fight.[break][break]
“Keep up the pressure.” Navy says, although whether he’s speaking to his challenger or his Pokemon is unclear.


[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Once upon a time, he was in a hopeless position. His back was to the wall. He understood at last what his brother had gone through. Two Rockets taught him a valuable lesson. One day, he’ll thank Tempest and Cillian Quinn. Today, he has a battle to focus on.[break][break]
She’s smart, wanting to focus down the easier opponent. Good instincts, just like he thought. Keeping cool, coming up with a strategy, adapting and sticking to it, they’re all hallmarks of an excellent trainer. In a few years, this girl might even be an Elite 4.[break][break]
No.[break][break]
She has her sights set higher.[break][break]
“You’re good at this, Kingsley. I’m not gonna say you’re not.” He throws out a third pokeball. Their match said only two, but here a third Pokemon has entered the fray. Shuckle appears in a dramatic blast of red light, standing in front of Fenrir. The attacks that were meant to take the wolf out of the fight instead blast into Shuckle, who is much better equipped to deal with the blows. Whimpering, the rock bug falls back before jumping onto the offensive.[break][break]
He latches onto the nearest foe: Cauli. He wraps around her, trying to restrain her and make it harder for the other Pokemon to hit him.[break][break]
Lizzy rushes in, sending out a dragon pulse ahead of her aimed squarely at the Altaria. Fenrir, too, attacks. It’s another stone edge, trying to pierce through the clouds.[break][break]
The assault is vicious and unrelenting.[break][break]
“But you’ve gotta prove to me you’re tough enough for Hoenn!”



[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“When did I say you have to follow the rules, Kingsley?” Navy asks her a subtle question, hoping it points her on the right track. “In a real battle, there aren’t rules.” And with all the subtlety of a hammer, he spells it out for her. Smashes her over the head with the message, practically.[break][break]
At least her Pokemon are keeping up. He takes solace in their training. She will be great one day.[break][break]
No. She’s already great. It’s just like in the movies. A young trainer taking on the world with nothing but six friends at her side. Red and Blue, played out before him. He plays the role of a villain in this girl’s story. A wall she most overcome. A trial for the hero.[break][break]
So be it. He knew what he was signing up for when he started this gym. Let him be her stepping stone. Let it be him that prepares her for the likes of Matias Silph, Callan Young, Cillian Quinn, and all the other elites that rest at the top of this mountain. To live in Hoenn is to go through hell, no matter what side you fight for.[break][break]
Shuckle cries out, letting go out of reflex. The pain of the bite hits one of his vulnerable limbs, making him withdraw into his shell. He cries out from inside the shell. From there, he is quite capable of weathering the impending storm.[break][break]
The other two are forced to employ a clever strategy.[break][break]
“Lizzy. Fenrir. Teamfight Tactics.”[break][break]
He loves his battle code. Fenrir charges in when the hurricane whips up. They’re caught in the storm, they weather it as best they can. This is not Navy’s first rodeo dealing with this, thanks to Alexei Ivanov ’s gym battle.[break][break]
Lizzy uses shed tail after cutting in front of Fenrir. With a decisive slice of her own hand, she chops off the limb and retreats back towards Navy. She disappears, leaving behind a wriggling limb. It provides Fenrir a barrier against the storm. Rocks are flying in the wind. The stealth rocks have been displaced.[break][break]
Even with the protection, Fenrir still suffers terribly. The Lycanroc stumbles about, clearly on his last legs. He throws out a rock tomb, trying to bury the eye of the hurricane.[break][break]
As Lizzy retreats into her ball, another Pokemon jumps out. Genbu jumps right into the hurricane with reckless abandon. Caught in the flow, he looks to Cayenne and shoots out a blast of water onto the fire croc.[break][break]
“Hydro Pump, Genbu!”



[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley [break]
Shuckle is knocked off, withdraws into his shell and rests.[break]
Cyclizar uses shed tail and withdraws.[break]
Lycanroc uses rock tomb on Altaria.[break]
Wartortle uses hydro pump on Skeledirge.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“There we go! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Navy grins at the girl. She’s catching on. She’s learning. She’s thrown out another Pokemon. She’s taking advantage of her strengths, pressing the initiative.[break][break]
All three of Navy’s Pokemon are sent recoiling by the power of the Altaria’s dragon pulse. It’s overwhelming. She’s playing to all her strengths. Not only is the Pokemon mega evolved, but they’re surrounded on all sides. If there’s any time for the cannons to be firing on full tilt, it’s now. Navy cheers her on, gripping his fist tight and watching on the edge of his seat.[break][break]
“Onu, you’ve got a guy headin’ your way. How ‘bout you soften him up.”[break][break]
Shuckle giggles. His eyes glow as the Bisharp charges him. He finds his own strength increases while the Bisharp’s strength is sapped. Power Split is a hell of a thing. He takes the blow afterwards. He’s sent back. Between the two blows, Shuckle isn’t looking so hot.[break][break]
Fenrir, meanwhile, is knocked out completely. The dragon pulse was enough to put him down for the count. Navy withdraws him and sends out Thin Lizzy in his place. She’s rushing onto the battlefield, quick as can be. She zooms right for Sylveon. While the Eeveelution tries to charm Genbu, who seems absolutely smitten, Lizzy charges into her with a quick attack.[break][break]
“Keep your head in the game, Genbu.” Genbu blushes, lowering his head. His eyes flit between the three targets.[break][break]
Someone’s about to get it.



[break][break]

+ Vanilla Kingsley [break]
Shuckle uses power split on Bisharp and is subsequently hit.[break]
Everyone is hit by Dragon Pulse.[break]
Lycanroc faints.[break]
Cyclizar is back and uses quick attack on Sylveon.[break]
Wartortle lowers his head.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]