june's excitement is infectious- if not slightly infuriating. the competitive spirit that wells up from within her spills over on to the field. noah does not want to lose- but he does not admit such vulnerabilities, or to have them show on his fired up face.

"cover your ears with one set of arms!" noah hollers. the sound muddles his own sense of hearing as the machamp attempts to recover from its recoiling. "and clap!"

as the machamp regains speed with hands over his ears. the pokemon claps its free pair of hands for an ENCORE.

"then THROAT CHOP!" as the machamp charges forth, defenses sheared a layer, a flat hand swings toward the duraludon's throat. "that all you got!?"

June Fair

The sight of a Machamp covering its easers had June thinking about the anatomy of the Pokémon and actually wondering whether or not the Pokémon had ears and if it did where they were and how that worked. But if she doubted the Pokémon’s ability to hear things then why did she use a sound-based attack?

Thinking about it would hurt her head and make her feel dumb so she was just going for the time being to ignore that. One of the unfortunate side effects of these tactics would leave June unable to hear what her opponent was planning and properly create a counter-strategy for it.

The ENCORE would make the Duraludon attempt to use METAL SOUND again but this time it would be interrupted by the use of THROAT CHOP, the blow being strong enough to cause the mighty steel dragon to lose its balance and stumble back.

Noah wasn’t kidding about this Pokémon being his ace. June was positive that if this fight went on much longer she’d be the one losing and she couldn’t have that.

”Metal Burst!” June called out as she took out her earplugs. Duraludon’s body shined a bright white light before releasing a burst of energy towards Noah’s Machamp.

noah faber

june's duraludon did all it could to destroy every sense. after the bursting of the eardrum, comes a deluge of light, as if a dam of radiance had collapsed. the burst collides with his machamp— and forces the grey brute backwards. scuff marks form on its flesh. a haggard grunt lingers on the machamp's tongue while its feet press into the earth.

as noah rubs his eyes, he shouts, "move in close! careful, and SEISMIC TOSS!" he blinks the shine out of his stare, "hurl the duraludon onto its back!"

despite the small distance separating the two pokemon, the four-limbed fighter has no other options. charging forth, the machamp attempts to lock up with the heavy dragon before slamming it to the ground like a clothesline.

noah wipes sweat off his brow, the headband helping little.

June Fair

Machamp’s were always fun Pokémon to watch battle due to their impressive strength and fighting ability, they didn’t have their reputation for no reason. And it was even better when the trainer knew what they were doing as well.

June’s Duraludon had a different opinion and would much rather the Machamp keep its distance away from him but this fighting wasn’t going to be that simple. The large dragon Pokémon was successfully knocked on to its back but remained calmed despite its compromised position.

”I hope you didn’t think that’d be the end of it!” Given the Machamp’s strength they were going to need to end this soon before the fight was over.

Brick would still be able to fight, for now, the Pokémon doing its best to shift its weight to get back on its feet.

”Hyper Beam!” She was betting the match on this attack but again a prolonged fight against a Machamp didn’t sound appealing.

At the sound of the command, the Pokémon stopped trying to get back on its feet and instead took a position very similar to the one where it fired off flash cannon but this beam of energy gathering at the dragon’s maw was going to much more powerful.

noah faber

as the duraludon is hurled on to its back, noah wavers on his decision to mega evolve. but he refrains— instead insisting on keeping their battle on even ground.

"DYNAMIC PUNCH! don't let it get up!" his machamp's arms reel back. fists form like asteroids with grey tails.

but before the fierce punch can be released, the HYPER BEAM is fired like the laser of some stationary telescope. his machamp relinquishes some strength, pulling several of its arms in to fold defensively across its chest. however, the machamp is engulfed in the beam's light. when the light subsides, the machamp is on the ground, body silhouetted in wisps of smoke.

"ah," noah grits his teeth, but he recalls his machamp with a recovering smile, "nice try buddy." his unfamiliarity with duraludon pools away from his lungs with every breath.

"aight! you got me!" noah wipes the sweat from his brow. "hey, catch." like a coin, he tosses a shining gym badge over to june. "you deserve it for that one."

June Fair

An excited panic overcame June as Noah’s Machamp ready itself for an attack. This was it, this would decide it all, and June couldn’t be any more enthralled in the fight.

Her fists clenched, her arms raised and her teeth clenched as the two Pokémon’s attacks were about to be let loose. This adrenaline she was feeling took her back to her gym challenger days.

The HYPER BEAM was let loose, the beam obscuring June’s view and preventing her from being able to tell if the attack made its mark.

But when the attack cleared and June could see she was victorious she actually jumped in excitement.

”Hell yeah! You did it, Brick!” She squealed as she ran over to her clearly exhausted Duraludon that was picking itself off the ground.

She had grabbed the dragon’s arms and started to bounce up and down.

”That was wicked! You were really brilliant out there!” And when she realized she was jumping around and acting like an elementary school kid she stopped and cleared her throat.

June was about to say something but was interrupted as Noah tossed something her way which she barely catches.

”What’s this?” Some sort of fancy coin?

This wasn’t a coin and when she realized what it was June looked to Noah in disbelief.

”Is this a badge? Okay, okay! Real funny but this is a joke right, no way you’re a gym leader.”

noah faber

"i'm rustboro's!" noah places his hands on his hips proudly. "and that's the knockout badge." behind him, a forest of wet dog noses peer from the gate.

frowning, noah turns to them and shoos the mightyena. they rush back into the property, black tails wagging as if they were thievul covering their tracks.

"there's no better welcome to hoenn than with a badge, man." noah slumps on to the gate's post, forearms crossed and draped over the knob. "i can bring you inside if you want. we can wait until kyle gets home. we got some potions too."

June Fair

She looked at Noah and then back to badge, repeating this cycle a bit to let it really sink in. It really has been a long time since she last saw one of these; she really didn’t think she’d ever earn one again.

She closed her hand, clenching her fist as so if she hadn’t the badge was going to suddenly disappear.

”Thanks a lot, Noah. This is really nice of you. You really do know how to make someone feel welcome!” And it probably meant a lot more to her than either one of them would realize.

”Uh yeah that sounds good, my boys deserve a rest.” She replied, looking to her Duraludon.

”They did great today.”

noah faber

"after a battle like that, you gotta let me know what galar's tourneys are like." the gate swings open and the dogs inside bark at the imminent intrusion. "by the way, did you get a mega stone yet? hoenn's wild with those—"

noah blabs on as the two bring themselves inside. the gate swings shut. as mightyena scramble about inside, the two chat amongst themselves until kyle arrives home.

June Fair