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The brunette’s cheeks turned red. The Tyranitar had never respected him. Not since his big bro—worried about his lack of firepower—sent it to him. In fake Galar, they’d made some headway. But the second he turned back into an awkward teen, all that hard work went out the window. “I mean—I guess,” Biscotti admitted quietly. What could he do to earn a beast like that’s trust? “But it’s not like we can do each other’s nails.”

That embarrassment lessened when Jangle’s attack hit home. “Yeah!” The teen shouted. “You go, J!” Smoke billowed from the Incineroar’s nostrils as she allowed herself a moment to gloat. Fingers stretched as the cat popped her knuckles. Sharp claws flashed as the feline stared down the pink fox-thing in front of her. The two shared a glance. That wall’s going to be a pain in the arse. That look seemed to say.

This thing was a fairy type. Or, well, magic type in his head. So uh, what attack should I use? If he knew anything about Josh, this thing would be fast. He wouldn’t get much time to debate. “Uh, Lick it!” His cat’s incredulous look makes Biscotti turn pink. “Not like that, weirdo!” Fortunately, the cat obeys—she thinks a bit of paralysis would do this battle a world of good.

And, honestly, she doesn’t have much for a fairy-type in her repertoire.

Josh Devlin

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[attr="class","bisc"]Jangle turned to glare at her trainer as she stepped back from the attack. Sure, it didn’t mean actually putting your tongue on strangers, but you still tasted them. Just in your soul. Which, honestly, was worse. Still, the attack seemed to have the intended effect. The next attack came without warning.

Though the cat lifted her hands to her ears, they didn’t exactly cover them. There were plenty of gaps for that noise to get through. Disoriented by the attack, the fire attack staggered back from the fox Pokemon. She shook her head to try and erase the ringing, an ultimately unsuccessful act. “You okay, JJ?” Her dummy of a trainer called out. “I think your ear’s bleeding.” Repeating the earlier gesture—in refusal this time—she launched herself back toward the Sylveon.

But, this time, her steps weren’t perfect. The disturbance made her feel like she was on the deck of a heaving ship. “ROOOOAR!” As she reached forward, fire bloomed from her belt until it was whipped into a raging inferno. This grew until it wrapped around her like a hamster ball—Flare Blitz. Hoping to land it, the dark type threw herself the last few yards toward the ribbon-wearing fairy type.

Josh Devlin

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[attr="class","bisc"]Wow! All that heat washes over Biscotti like a tidal wave. A hand lifted to protect the teen from the extreme temperatures. By the time he forces his eyes open, his cat still glows like a miniature sun. It’d be cool as hell if it wasn’t hurting her.

The cat crashes into the Sylveon like a meteorite. The flames bite at the feline’s frame as she tries to force the battle. Though not tired by any means, Jangle doesn’t want this stuff to go on. Every second the battle went on, there’d be more and more temptation to use Flare Blitz. That means more pain as her own body’s defenses waver in the heat. Eventually, she’d just carve her own tombstone.

But—even as she forces the heat up—Jangle can feel it won’t be enough. The Sylveon’s heart beats strong, and its bright eyes are full of vigor. Eventually, the pain grew to be too much. With a noise between a hiss and a groan, the dark-type stumbles away from the Sylveon. Her chest heaves with exertion. The lines of fire carried further and further up her arms.

“JJ!” Biscotti shouts at her from the sidelines. He can see she’s hurting—even if he didn’t quite know what that felt like. As the Sylveon dives toward her, the Incineroar lifts her hands into a fighting position. Flames swirl from her wrists, the sputtering leftovers of that

The feline is wavering on her feet. “It’s okay!” What’s okay? Is that loser telling her to just give up? Fat chance. With a shivering step, the fire-type tries to force herself forward. As the Sylveon charges, she lifts her arm for an attack. The fox connects just as the cat lets out her Drain Punch. But, after a brief moment, the cat collapses to her knees.

Biscotti waves his arms like a Vullaby trying to take flight. The cat moves to climb back to her feet. Her tail lashes angrily behind her. “We forfeit!” The glare Jangle gives could curdle milk. But winning wasn’t worth this. This Pokemon was way more important to him than some stupid badge.

Even if she’d be mad at him for weeks.

Josh Devlin

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[attr="class","bisc"]It was hard not to look crestfallen. Like super-duper hard. It really sucked that he hadn’t been able to prove his point to Shalin—that you didn’t need to create an abomination to make a difference.

But he didn’t want to seem like a sore loser. So, he returned the handshake, Then, he just let Josh’s words wash over him like a tsunami. His lips were frozen into a half-hearted, timid smile. Trying to keep up with the gym leader’s words left his head spinning. “I’ve had Jangle pretty much my whole life.” Not that it’d been an intentional acquisition. Just a toddler spotting a scared cat in the rain and refusing to let go.

His next words were sullen with a hint of debate. Even as he said them, Scotti couldn’t help but feel they were childish. “And I don’t think that’s right. I mean it’s silly to assume I’m right, isn’t it?” A hand rose to shove an errant strand behind his ear. “Who knows them better than themselves?” Though, even as he said it, the brunette had to wonder how accurate his statement was. His mom knew waaaay more about how he worked than he did.

The Pyroar ride did a lot to perk him up. As they rode, Biscott listened to his advice. He felt his cheeks redden at the initial assertion. He’d actually put a lot of thought into his team. What he thought would work and what wouldn’t. Heck, Chugga’s whole move set changed in preparation for this battle. It just turned out strategy wasn’t his thing. Once he dismounted, he turned to face the gym leader. “You, uh, gave me a lot to think about, Mister D.” A nod and an awkward wave served as his farewell. “Thanks.”

A lot of people would have gotten motivated by coming that close. Biscotti? Well, he’d be leaving the gym stuff to the real trainers for a while.

Josh Devlin