Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Route 4 - Parterre Way

Mia gave Zack a backhanded wave as she walked away. Out the corner of her eye she observed Malis’ first encounter with beer. Should’ve invited the Charmander instead.

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

There was no evading Stun Spore as the Royal Heir Pokémon passed through the pollen cloud on his way to Essence. Now Paralyzed with the Roselia pinned under his feet, he was told to “Follow through!”

Tyrunt opened his mouth for a point blank Fire Fang. In order to perform the chomp, he had to take a point blank attack of Essence’s. Mega Drain would hurt much more than the p***k which was Poison Sting, but the opportunity was too good to pass up, assuming it would work. He had transitioned into a berserker style of combat.

From a more strategic standpoint, Grant was trying to make the most out of being Paralyzed. Essence’s Mega Drain would hit Tyrunt before the little dinosaur could deal damage, which meant the benefits of absorbing health would be nullified.

The Mega Drain pushed back Tyrunt's bottom jaw on its way down, cracking his stone skin, but not enough to stop him from continuing his Fire Fang attack right after.  

[Jump Einatz]

Route 10 - Coastal Forest

In a clearing in the middle of the forest, Faust’s limp, battered body was tied to the bottom of a tree trunk, binds fashioned from Biz’s Vine Whips. His six Pokémon were in front of him, scattered and in their balls. The brown cloak’s hood had been ripped off, turned into a washcloth for Sal to wipe the paint off his eyes. Now all she had to do was wait for him to wake up.

Banksy and Vaporeon were the rest of the present company. Dune, Biz, Lupin and Quacklin waited with Faust’s backpack of medical supplies just up north. Sal didn’t want them around for this.

The girl sat cross legged on Banksy’s shell next to a tablet device and a folder with her name on it, both taken from Faust’s backpack. A wicked gash ran down her back, and blood trickled down her arms and legs from the many cuts sustained. Her skin was sticky from the scale residue, and once she finally saw just how swollen her black and blue calf was where she got shot, she realized how much pain she was in. A part of her wanted to jump out of her skin, wear someone else’s and pretend to be a whole new person. The other part was feeling a vague sense of catharsis. Both parts were relieved this battle was over in her favor.

Vaporeon sniffed Faust and poked at him with her paw. [Tch. What a wimp. I thought he’d be taller.]
“Well. I hope you had fun.” Salieri sighed, exhausted physically but mentally running on all cylinders. She held out a hand to Vaporeon. “Good team up.”
The Bubble Jet Pokémon shook paws with the human. Deal over, she started to walk away.

“You didn’t learn how to fight in an aquarium.”

Gathering Vaporeon’s attention, Salieri shifted herself with some effort to face the wild dog. “Or off the coast. You were trained once, weren’t you? Looks like that’s over.”
The Water type barked, [It’s none of your damn business.]
“There are still people on my list…people I’ll probably fight. I could use a Pokémon like you.” So tired, Sal mustered up a smile. “Wanna get trained again?”

Vaporeon looked away, thinking over Salieri’s invitation. Then she shuddered with a laugh. The audacity being asked to jump right into a Pokéball with the human was too ridiculous to wound her pride. She slid her paw over her throat, grinning smugly. [Pfft. As if. You couldn’t catch me if you tried.]

Sal’s smile faded. Vaporeon was an elusive Pokémon. There was no guarantee that they’d ever meet again. But her team wasn’t in any condition to capture the Pokémon, and she wasn’t prepared to take on Vaporeon all by herself yet. There was no other option. She had to take her chances and let Vaporeon go. “I will get you on my team.

Vaporeon just chuckled again, gave Sal a cat-like wave with her paw, and walked away. Salieri laid back on Banksy’s shell, the heat coming off of it dulling some of her pain. She reached for the folder and flipped through its pages. The dossier contained her medical info, records on her enrollment at North Boulevard Public School, current standing in the league, police record, plus reports on a time when she punched a noble named Antoine in the face (something she didn’t recall) and the incident at the Parfum Palace.

The tablet device was locked with a four digit password. Salieri didn’t want to get herself locked out. She’d send it to Mia so the gearhead girl could crack the code. The red blinking light on the corner of the screen piqued her curiosity, however.

Minutes later, Faust sputtered to life. He opened his eyes, their color now dull. Salieri watched him blink, hoping that he’d see something soon. His expression lost that hope when he realized he wouldn’t, and his eyes closed. That’s when Sal put down the tablet and jumped off Banksy’s shell. “Faust.”

His ears pricked up, but he did not raise his head. Eye contact wouldn’t work for him, anyway. “Salieri.”

“We meet at last.” Four slow steps later and she was right in front of him, crouching down so they were level. Her voice never wavered past an eerie softness. “I thought you’d be taller.”
“If you think you’re going to get away with what you’ve done, you’re mistaken.”
“Yeah, tell the police. Try explaining how you mowed down civilians on Route 10 with your Octillery.”

Faust cracked a tiny smile, at the smallest hint that there were still things to be hopeful for. “I’m not talking about the police. The little waves you keep making are adding up. You think I’m the only one who wants to bag you?”

“No. I don’t.” Salieri stood up and took Faust’s stuff off Banksy’s back. “I checked out your folder. Seems there’s so much you know about me, and I barely know anything about you. So there are some questions I’m going to ask.”

Banksy stood as well and exerted her White Smoke. It coiled up to Salieri’s ankles and right below Faust’s chest, dry and warm. From her nostrils came a snort of fire that stopped a foot from Faust’s face. “You can’t see her, but I’m with my older brother’s Torkoal. There are some things we need closure on. We will be upset if you don’t comply.” The flames remained streaming. “If I think you’re lying to me, that fire’s going to get a lot closer.”

Faust gulped. The fierce heat licking his face, and a lack of vision leaving Banksy’s method of interrogation up to his imagination, definitely put Faust into a state of compliance. This threat was coming from a girl who very deliberately spray painted him blind without a batting an eyelash. Needless to say, he took it seriously. There was always the chance his treachery could reach back to Nicolette, and he was terrified of what his mysterious boss might do to him. But Salieri already had done something to him. And she was threatening to do more. And she was right here in front of him.

“What do you want to know?” he spat.
“I want to know where my brother’s Greninja and Gardevoir are.”

With a sigh, Faust leaned back against the tree he was tied to, racking his brain for the memory in question. There had been so many past targets that sometimes they all got muddled together. Moze was one of the two, aside from Salieri herself, that hadn’t quit the league after losing a Pokémon. That stuck with him.

“I shot their Pokéballs out of your brother’s hands. They ended up in a forest. I retrieved them before he could.” Faust paused, keeping Salieri waiting with bated breath. “I handed them over to some man I’d only met a few times before. I have no idea where they are now.”

Salieri looked to Banksy and nodded at Faust. Banksy had no intention of actually burning Faust, after everything Salieri had done to him. She didn’t know the girl was going to pull that trick with the spray paint either. Sal gestured again, and Banksy pushed the fire an inch closer.

Faust was sweating now. “I swear, that’s all I know!”
“What did the man look like? Do you know his name?”
“I don’t…he likes nice suits. Long red braided hair. Eyes like a fox.”

Banksy’s fire retracted a little, and Faust breathed easier. Surprisingly enough, Salieri had a pretty good idea of who that man was. She had met a man matching that description that very morning. It was Nicolette’s Liason. Which brought her to her next point of interest:

“Tell me everything you know about Nicolette Nostrad.”
“I-I’ve never met her in person, never seen her face. We’ve talked on the phone, but she uses something that distorts her voice. She gives me assignments. She gives all of us assignments.”
“What else?”
“I heard she has some kind of…some kind of ‘power’, and Pokémon that can boggle your mind. Uh, she’s serious. Terse. Strict. She’s…”

And then he began to laugh, in a desperate way. It only made Salieri angry. “What’s so funny?” she growled.

“It’s-hehehe-it’s just that she told me to let you go.” His laughter died slowly. “When I shot you on Route 9, we thought that’d be the end of it. When it wasn’t, she told me to sabotage your gym match. And when you won, she told me to abort my mission. I still have no idea why…” Faust shook his head. “I couldn’t stand the idea of letting you get away…Perhaps I should’ve listened to her before I decided to shoot you. Maybe you can add ‘merciful’ to that list. Otherwise, that’s all I know about Nicolette.”

The anecdote left a sour taste in Sal’s mouth, and not much information to go on. When she tried to infiltrate the Battle Chateau, she had been grasping at straws. Now that she took out The Sniper, she was grasping again.

“Who are the other Darkhorse Hunters? How many of you are there?”
“Darkhorse Hunters?” Faust asked, genuinely confused. “Who calls us that? Did you just make that up?”
“Just answer the damn question.”
“I have no idea how many there are, I really don’t. Nicolette serves as handler for all of us. She’s the only one who knows everyone’s name.”

Sal gestured for Banksy’s flames to get closer, and they did. “B-but I think I know someone who’s one of them! One of your hunters!” The flames fell back. “I’ve heard of a sponsored trainer, a girl from House Taine. She’s some kind of pro gambler, loves to bet with high stakes, and she’s won the badges of many trainers. Most of those trainers quit the league. If there was ever one of us who acted out of the shadows, it’s her. She’s the elephant in the room.”

Moze had few memories of his tenure in the Kalos League when he returned to Lumiose City. Nicolette left him pieces concerning the Darkhorse Hunters that destroyed his chances at the league. The first had been The Sniper, who separated Moze from his Pokémon. The second had been a Gambler, who took Moze’s badges in a duel.

Salieri became tense, almost as much as she had been during the fight. If Faust wasn’t an incredible liar, she could have something to go on for the first time. “Who is she?”

“The Hundred Badge Trainer, Alanza Taine.”

The name, and the title, branded themselves into Salieri’s mind. She kept flashing to them, visualizing the letters that formed the words as she stood up. Banksy’s stream of fire stopped. Faust was relieved, until he heard the click of Sal’s switchblade.

“I recorded this conversation on my Pokégear.”

She began cutting through his binds. “When you get out of here, and people start asking questions, you’ll say you were mugged. The spray paint was part of it, an accident. If this gets back to me in any way, or if I find out you lied to me…not only do I have this recording, I know who you are. And Faust, the second time I come after you will be much, much worse than the first. Your Pokémon are on the grass.”

The vines fell around him, and he felt the grass for a sense of orientation. Salieri turned to go. “Everything that’s happened to you is the justice you deserve. All my family ever wanted was to live decent lives. You all should have left them alone.”

Sal grabbed the dossier and tablet off of Banksy’s shell and started to walk away, her Torkoal following suit. “Justice?” She stopped, not looking back. “Despite what you may think, I understand why you’re mad. Who wouldn’t? Whether I care or not is another matter, but…if you really believe you can call this proper justice, you have some serious problems.”

Fists tightened, jaws clenched. Salieri looked down, unfocused on the grass or anything else. Finally, she stammered, “You’re one to talk,” before walking away.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

A grin managed to form on Benedict's face. Paralysis slowed a pokemon down. It wasn't just that there was the chance that the opponent would stop moving, he was slowed by nature. Not weakened by any means, though.

The absorb damaged the jaw, which would have to do. "Sport!" That moment was enough that water sport soaked the Roselia, weakening the fire fang. Already the Tyrunt's ability was down, the type advantage was now, essentially, nullified. For the moment. Essence felt the jaws clamp. The water sport had bought her time to twist, a little, make sure those powerful jaws didn't lock down her arms

"Drain eyes!" The call went out, and Essence focused another megadrain, still point-blank, aiming for the Tyrunt's eyes. Perhaps paralysis would prevent the pokemon from closing them, that wasn't important. The thing was fighting like it didn't care what happened to it, and the only sure-fire way to outclass it would be to aim for critical spots.

And thanks to the battle against that stampede, Roselia wasn't entirely new to the idea of a brutal fight.  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

Tyrunt screeched in pain, reeling back from getting a Mega Drain to the eyes. The hit was indeed critical, bringing him down to his last hit points according to the display monitor. He stumbled back, unpinning Essence from the floor.

Grant wasn’t keen on losing twice in a row. If Tyrunt was going down before he could knock out one of Benedict’s Pokémon, he had to ensure that the Roselia was suitably softened up for his next pick. “Ancient Power!”

Tyrunt growled but calmed down, keeping low and eyeing Essence like a predator. With one stomp, chunks of earth dislodged themselves from the ground underneath the feet of the combatants. They glowed a sickly green as they floated up.

If Essence was still standing on the earth chunk as it floated up, Tyrunt would make it go higher and gain more speed until it crashed into the ceiling. If she still had her feet on solid ground, Tyrunt would hover the chunks of earth over the Roselia before dumping all of them on her at once.

Route 10 - Coastal Forest

Drip drip drip.

Durendal came to in a bed of moss, blinking himself awake. Drops of water dripped onto his nose from the melting wall of frozen waves. On his back, his reflection in the ice curved above him. He watched himself sit up, and noticed Lupin, Biz Marquis and Quacklin’ resting in a clearing that must’ve recently been a battlefield.

Lupin was kneeling next to a hiking backpack, applying a Potion to his bruises. [I’m tellin’ ya, all he had left was defense and long-range artillery. Not much of a fight when you’re up close and personal. Can’t say I enjoyed it but…] The Kecleon shook his head. [That kinda overconfidence’ll get ya killed. Hell, that kinda overconfidence almost got me killed!]

[Yeah, not much of a fight,] Biz boasted atop a fallen tree trunk, brandishing a pair of binoculars and jabbing a thumb at his chest. [That Stantler was a light show. Not the real deal-oh, Dune! You’re awake!] He hopped off the trunk to meet the Pawniard. [We sacked The Sniper’s gear! And his Potions! Feeling better?]

Dune nodded but stumbled, still woozy. Lupin reached into the backpack and tossed a Potion to Dune, who caught it and sprayed it on himself. [Haven’t seen you beat up like that since the Fire Quillon kicked you across an estate.]

[I regaled your allies with tales of your bravery, Sir Durendal!] Quacklin’ chimed in.

Clearly Lupin didn’t understand the concept of “too soon”. Dune felt the scar in his armor on his helmet, then looked left. And right. Where is Salieri?

As if to answer his question, she and Banksy came out from the trees, sans Faust and Vaporeon. “We’re done here,” said Sal, as if this whole exercise in violence had been a simple errand. “Dune, good to see you’re up. Thanks for getting our backs.”

Dune gave her a short salute before she turned her attention to Quacklin’. “Quacklin’, you got out here faster than I thought. Tired?” she asked while taking off his tiny knapsack.
[A true sword is always swift, Lady Salieri.]

Sal put the dossier and tablet on Banksy’s shell so she could sift through the contents Mia had packed. Discovering an apple, she tossed it to Quacklin’, who sliced it in half and ate in joy. [What a feast!]

She pulled out a purple disc, half the size of a CD with a holographic coloring that looked like smoke. The initials “D.D.” were the only thing on the disc. It seemed to be the right size to fit into the Pokédex’s slot for TMs. Salieri took Ivan out of its sleeve cradle and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing,” she said as she slid the disc in.

A brilliant flash of flight burst from the vibrating Pokédex’s screen. It buzzed out of a startled Sal’s hands and onto the ground, where the screen began to flash red and blue so fast it was dizzying. And then it all stopped, and the screen displayed the homepage. Sal and all her Pokémon stood over the Pokédex tentatively. “…Ivan?”

“Beep booooooop. Loading, please wait…” came a cheerful yet detached female voice. It sounded nothing like the Ivan Salieri knew. “Welcome to my interface. Hello, Salieri.” The machine whirred. “My previous calculations showed a 0% chance of you repairing my programming. You have exceeded my expectations! Congratulations!”

Lupin snickered. “Still a smartass,” Sal grumbled. “So, what, you’re a girl now? Is this like, a software update?”
“Beepboop. I still have no gender. I’ve chosen this voice to represent myself. Don’t I sound cute~?””
“Eh. I’m still calling you Ivan.”
“And I am still outfitted to guide you towards better decision making.”

Salieri rubbed a hand through her hair. For all of her skills and knowledge, she was incredibly lost when it came to technology. She wished she could reprogram the AI to be more tolerable, but at least it was more polite now. “Good to have you back, Ivan-“

She caught sight of Faust’s tablet device on Banksy’s shell. Specifically, the lack of a blinking light that had been present up until now. “Huh.” She picked up the tablet and turned it over, looking for a change. “This was blinking just a second ago…”

“Yes. That was most likely the tracking program.”
“The what?”
“Tracking program. Used to track the virus in my system.”

Now Dune understood why Néron had prioritized making sure Quacklin’ didn’t deliver the software to Salieri, and how The Sniper was able to find them no matter where they were. It wasn’t just the Ninjask’s eyes, it was a mapping system.

“You couldn’t have told me this sooner?” Salieri growled.
“I could have, in the past minute and a half. But you never asked.”
“Useless piece of…” Sal scanned their surroundings. “So somebody else could’ve tracked me here too?”
“Astute observation, Salieri.”
“Better get moving then. Biz, grab Fausts’ pack, we’re leaving nothing behind-“

The dull pain in her leg and back sharpened like a knife, causing Sal to keel over. Dun rushed to her side, but Sal brushed off his help. “I’m fine, just tired.” A groan not a second later betrayed her lie. “I could use some band aids, or something.”

Banksy grabbed onto the back of Sal’s shirt with her mouth and tossed the bandanna girl onto her back. Sal grunted from the impact, but didn’t complain as the Torkoal retracted her limbs to hover. “Just not too fast, Banksy.”

Biz, Lupin and Dune hopped on as well, and Quacklin’ flew behind them as Banksy escorted them out of the forest. As they left behind the shady canopies and came into the bright sunlight, Salieri felt a weight evaporate from her body. The eyes once trained on her, that sought her out from the shadows, would never look for her again.

For now, she was free.

Cyllage City – North End.

Route 10 had been cleared out once Salieri and The Sniper started fighting, and was still mostly empty. It had been a clear shot back to Cyllage. Once they crossed the bridge over the river, Sal tapped Banksy’s head. “Stop, stop here.”

Banksy slowed to a crawl and popped out her limbs to stop as Sal planned her next movie. A hospital was out of the question. There’d be too many questions to answer if she wanted to get proper treatment, not to mention the bill. She already had a huge hospital bill to pay, and it wasn’t even hers.

Eventually, she reached the next best solution. It wasn’t ideal, but it was someone she thought she could turn to for some reason. He had been helpful in the past. Maybe she could call in another favor. Salieri took out her Pokégear and dialed the number, thinking it could be a mistake all the while. Finally, someone picked up.

“Dude shut up. Shut up! Hello?”

Salieri could hear the sound of a TV and other teenage boys in the background. “Hey, Matheson.”
“Sal! Hi! What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just, uh, chillin’.” Sal gingerly laid on her back in the middle of her Pokémon. “Are you doing anything right now?”
“Just watching the Paladins Vs. Strikers game with some friends…are you okay? You sound, uh, injured.”
“Paladins Vs. Strikers?” Salieri remembered seeing an ad for that game on her news feed. At the time it had been far removed from her focus, but now all she wanted to do was stop bleeding and watch grown men tackle each other to the floor. “Merde, that game already started?”
“It’s like, halfway into the first quarter? Score’s still non existent…hey, do you wanna come watch it with us? Would that be weird?”
“Weird?” Salieri closed her eyes. At this point she didn’t care about weird. She just needed to unwind. “No. I mean, yeah, it’s not weird. I’d come watch. Where?”
“Coumarine City. Are you still in Cyllage City? I can come get you.”
“Right, right. With that Magic Key thing. Okay, I’ll meet you at the Pokémon Center.” A stop which would allow hr to heal her party in the process. “One last thing. Can you bring your med kit, or whatever you used on me yesterday?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Math?”
“So you ARE injured.”
“Mildly.” This was only true relative to the worse injuries she’d received over the years. “…honestly, that’s why I called you.” Quickly, she tacked on, “I do want to watch the game though, really.”
“Are you okay? What happened to you, Sal?”
“Hunting accident.”
“Hunting…oh man. What the Flaaffy, did you-”
“I will explain everything to you in person. Can you come get me?...Please?”
“…I’ll be there in five minutes.”

He hung up, and Salieri found herself feeling a little bad about it. She didn’t think she’d care about using him as a medic, but Matheson was so earnest that it was hard to take advantage of his compassion. Even stranger, she found herself genuinely wanting to relax, and hanging out with a noble and his friends felt like the best way to do it.

“My world is a carousel ride,” Salieri sighed as she sat up. “Okay Banksy, to the Pokémon Center.”  

[Klarp Glornharm]

The Tyrunt stumbling away and letting her up was enough for Essence to feel relief. She'd climb to her feet, a more calm rise. Benedict had gone over being showy with her. He'd gone over her being used in this battle. Flair would help win fans. Fans could better their chances of getting sponsored. Sponsors would make the league easier.

"Magical leaf. Stay." Benedict called, once he saw the green glowing underneath the Roselia. Magical leaf would go out, aiming to strike the Tyrunt. With luck, that would be enough. If he chose to stop them from hitting him with a fire fang, he'd have to abandon the Ancient Power. If he took the blow and launched the rocks, Roselia would get off the ride Gravity would be easier for her to deal with than being smashed into a roof.

And if all worked out, and she was on her way down without Tyrunt doing anything fancy, she'd come down with a Growth, and land with a flourish of her petals spinning Magical Leaves that would circle her and then gently float to the opponent's trainer. Like a consolation prize.  

[Spinne Biss]

Lumiose City Gym

It hadn't been difficult to get a spot at the gym. Once Helena had time to sit down and check out her new gadget, she found the ability to download an app that would let her save a spot for herself in the gym line without actually having to be there.

It left her all the time she needed to prepare for the match. The first step was figuring out who could fight.

Mothim, it turns out, was a honey addict. The Pokemon had abandoned their fight specifically to indulge in the stuff. Helena had not retrieved it.

Écarlate wouldn't be fighting anymore for the rest of the day. Tyrant had butchered his arm, which could be healed by the end of the day. The head wound could as well, but some of the breaks in the scizor's metal flesh were permenant, so he would have crack-like-scars where he'd been hit for at least the next few years.

Metric had taken an Earthquake head on. While he wasn't missing any limbs, Helena had been told that amputation would have been necessary if she hadn't gotten the deino to the center sooner. He wasn't as bad off as Écarlate, but Metric wouldn't be doing any fighting today.

Loki and Feather were both fully recovered in time for the gym match. Feather had the advantage of having a new body, but Helena was worried about the Pokemon not being used to it.

Tyrant, who made the fastest recovery, and it was almost complete save for the spider web like scar that covered the front of his torso, was definitely not going out.

So, Loki's ball in hand, Helena stepped into the arena when her name was called.

The screen read 'Helena Redgrave vs. Clemont.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

Abandoning an attack in its middle wasn't the berserker dinosaur's style. Before he lost consciousness from the direct Magical Leaves, Tyrunt changed the course of his Ancient Power.

As the Roselia fell, so did the chunks of earth he ripped up, all directly over her. Gravity wasn't exactly going to give Essence a break as the stone rain plummeted above her head. Though the Royal Heir Pokémon had passed out, Ancient Power's strength wouldn't fade til the rocks returned to the ground.

Regardless of whether or not Ancient Power could damage Essence, Grant wasn't too happy about the course of the battle. "Beginner's luck," the competitive Gym Leader would mutter.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

The falling of rocks above her was a bit of a damper on the flair that was intended for the fall. Instead, she was forced to twist in the air and get caught with a glancing blow by some of the ancient power, though she'd still manage to land with a flourish of her petals. Unfortunately, she wouldn't really be able to add the spinning magical leaf that might float to Grant.

Grant would get his wish for a weakened Essence. Given the stomp and fire fang from earlier, even with the mega drains, she was weakened a bit. Enough that she was breathing hard, and favoring her left leg.

"Ready when you are." Benedict would call, crossing his arms and putting on a cocky grin. Best case, he might be able to pull out a win with just one pokemon. Not especially likely, but it would be good for the image.  

[Marsuru]

Lumiose City Gym - Backstage

The crowds lit up when Helena walked on stage, their roars filtering through the back door and into Clemont's dressing room, the vibrations rattling his bones. He wasn't a big guy, which made him feel it all the more, like a doll whose limbs were twisting off. The crowds thumped their feet in anticipation, and Clemont's heart drummed at his chest in competition. He stood at a sink, and splashed water on his face, cooling off, trying to focus. Gazing at his reflection, at the rising steam on his glasses, Clemont breathed out sharp.

'Dryer. Activate,' he commanded. His backpack ejected a robotic limb with a metal bulb on the end. It curved around and pointed at Clemont's face, then split open to reveal a hole. The bulb whirred then began blasting out hot air that dried Clemont's face off in seconds. Task complete, it sealed itself shut and retreated into his backpack.

Clemont readjusted his glasses with a finger, pulled his backpack straight, then marched into the arena.

Lumiose City Gym - The Arena

If the cheers for Helena's arrival were thunderous, then Clemont's were apocalyptic. He met his fans with nervous waves, with more than one inappropriate cry of adoration coming from women old enough to be his mother. Clemont made it to his standing box opposite Helena, and adjusted his glasses again. Doing so disguised the fact that he was pressing a secret switch on the bridge of his glasses, which activated their scanner function. They brought up a display that washed over Helena without her knowledge, feeding Clemont biometric readings that only he could see. It helped him predict when a challenger would switch tactics, or whether they were nervous or confident regardless of the front they put on. His glasses let him see so much more than 20/20.

'Greet- greetings,' he stammered, struggling over the noise of the crowd. He cleared his throat, then commanded his machines. 'Noise Cancel. Activate!'

An invisible dome covered the arena. Fuelled by devices set into the circular ground that housed the rectangular battle area, the dome filtered out the noise of the crowd, but still allowed them to hear the battle at full volume. To the battlers, the effect was like suddenly switching off a noisy television, quilting the battleground in an eerie calm.

'That's better,' Clemont said. 'Sorry about that. You won't tell anyone, will you? It's sort of a secret. I just can't concentrate with all that noise.'

He looked over Helena, the display of his glasses flashing as they analysed the ball in her hand. Clemont's technology had been outfitted in every gym in the region, allowing for accurate pokémon selection to suit the challenger. Gym battles were as much about testing a trainer's growth as they were obstacles, so the matches needed to be winnable, regardless of the challenger's level. His scanner told him that Loki was level 22 and that Helena had earned one badge. She had other pokémon with her however, pokémon that were higher level than Loki, so the machine took them into account, raising the level of the pokémon Clemont would use.

The gym leader held out his hand, and one of his robotic limbs deposited a pokéball in it, taken from a storage unit in the bottom of his backpack. He glanced through the lid and managed a weak smile.

'Okay,' he breathed, raising his voice. 'I'm gym leader Clemont, and I accept your challenge! This battle will be two on two! I hope you're prepared!'

And with that, he lobbed his ball into the arena. It wasn't the best throw in the world, and went off at a weird angle, but into the arena it went. Light flashed bright, and the muted crowd went wild. Clemont had released the awesome power of his level 30 Magneton.  

[Spinne Biss]

'A link cluster formed of several Magnemite. It discharges powerful magnetic waves at high voltage.' Helena's Pokedex told her at the sight of the electric/steel type. It was going to be resistant to Loki's attacks, but that didn't matter. The not-as-young-as-some trainer had just faced a truly insurmountable wall. She wasn't going to be intimidated by her opponent.

Helena's Pokedex told her about Loki's moveset, the moves he should know at his current level, and the ones he could potentially learn in the future. It was a handy tool for trainers wanting to obtain specific moves. For Helena, it let her plot out not just her training, but potential move-bunearys that could pop up during a match.

Loki's psionic energies we much more stable than they were before. This had come with his growth during their battle, and the recollection they'd had prior to the match.

She'd talked to the Kadabra about their match. He hadn't seemed too pleased about the idea of jumping right back into combat, but Helena could tell from the air itself that Loki was prepared.

The Kadabra's alpha waves were formadible. They sent clocks ticking backwards, ruined precision devices, caused malfunctions in machines, and proximity to other beings would cause headaches. All in all, Kadabras were Pokemon who destroyed the angle of mind games in the modern world.

Helena was experiencing none of these side effects. Her Pokedex and x-transceiver were fine, her head merely tingled in the presence of Loki's power but she wasn't in any pain, and she could see the confidence in his posture. She called them the air around her Pokemon - the presence of him.

That wasn't the only thing. Kadabra's, when they appeared on television screens, obscured it with a shadow. Seeing it was said to bring bad luck. While Helena wasn't superstitious herself, it couldn't hurt if Clemont gained a sudden disadvantage because he accidentally glanced at any of the screens that showed the match to the people in the back of the audience.

Last, but most important of all, was Loki's fluctuation of power. Currently it was untapped, but it was something Helena could learn to control. Or rather, she could teach Loki to do so. Looking at his spoon, holding his spoon, closing his eyes or even facing stronger opponents could cause a raise in his power. This was partially evidenced in Loki's growth in control over his psionic energies when he faced Tyrant.

A Gym Leader was meant to challenge and test trainers, and cut out the ones that couldn't make it. Helena had no intention of being tested, instead she planned to use Clemont as a jumping stone to make her team stronger.

"Psybeam," Helena said and Loki complied, the psionic energies coming together immediately to blast at the opponent, something possible due to his mastery of Charge Beam's energy gathering abilities, and his own "fleuncy" in the psionic energies of his own person.  

[Marsuru]

Clemont's heart thumped in his chest once the battle began in earnest. But he was a gym leader. He had to maintain his composure. His scanner analysed the Psybeam, detailing its type, strength, and the expected damage it would do to Magneton should it hit.

'Divert,' he commanded, setting Magneton on an evasion course. The pokémon wouldn't be fast enough to evade Loki's Psybeam outright, so he launched a 'Magnet Bomb' past the Psybeam. The attack came in the form of one of the screws that were fastened into the electric type's cores getting shot out at high speed. Except once it was fired, it wasn't shaped like a screw. It was a small orb of metal that swelled in size through the mysterious power of pokémon. When one fired out, another grew out of Magneton's body to replace it.

The Magnet Bomb flashed, and began sucking in everything within a radius around itself. Air, bits of debris, anything too close to it would be drawn into the ball of steel. Ordinarily that meant opponents couldn't escape, but Magneton fired it past the Psybeam rather than at Loki, meaning the psychic type would be safe as long as he stayed back. But now, the psychic beam would get dragged into the magnet bomb, which detonated a second later. And unless Loki expended effort to retain a wayward attack, giving Magneton room to position itself, then the Psybeam would be disintegrated.

Wasting no time, Clemont commanded a 'Thunderbolt!'

The electric attack charged between all six of Magneton's magnets. They each shot out a beam, which collided with the others, resulting in a single powerful bolt of electricity that aimed to strike Loki clear on the chest.

Knowing the species, Clemont anticipated the Loki might teleport, and was prepared for it. He almost hoped it would happen.  

[Jump Einatz]

((EDITED. Lowered Lunatone's level/move to fit Benedict's party better))

Cyllage City Gym - The Arena

“Great!” Grant said with a thumbs up, flashing his extreme sports magazine worthy smile to try and bring attention back on himself. On the inside, he was miffed that Essence managed to land with flourish.

He recalled Tyrunt and retrieved his second Pokémon from the tube. Like Sudowoodo, this next Pokémon was amongst the strongest in its tier.

With a practiced swing he lobbed the Pokéball high in the air, where it released a level 23 Lunatone. The Meteorite Pokémon hovered in the air entirely still, red swiveling eyes focusing and unfocusing on Essence. It was said that a Lunatone’s stare could transfix their foes with fear. From what Grant could tell by his past matches, it was probably true.

Round 2 began as Grant shouted for Lunatone to “Psywave” The air rippled in front of Lunatone and was sent forth at Essence, a telekinetic attack akin to a wave crashing into the shore, becoming large before falling atop the beach. Simple, yet effective.  

[Spinne Biss]

Lumiose City Gym - The Arena

"Teleport into Double Team."

Loki dispersed into a flash of light as the electricity moved through. When he reappeared it was with the control of his energies. It all coursed through him as he produced the technique and while it wasn't as dramatic as Serene's, Loki was confident in his ability to begin rapidly producing clones upon his re-materialization.

Helena watched the battle proudly. Her Pokemon were getting stronger, and not just because of her, but because of the whole experience of their adventure. Their opponents, her training, their own selves - her brother too. Each aspect contributed to the whole in different ways.

Tyrant was a monster, and Helena was terrified of him, but he had helped Loki get a grasp of his psionic powers. Given time, practice, and the right circumstances, Helena knew he'd only gain more and more control over them.

Unless Clemont had a way to stop the Double Team, Loki would continue to use it. Furthermore, he'd also have to contend with the clones and Loki's ability to teleport. Helena wasn't sure what the opponent had up his sleeve, but she was growing more and more confident that she could handle it, and if she couldn't right at this moment, she'd find a way.  

[Marsuru]

Clemont pushed up his glasses. He didn't quite shout his command, but said it in a raised voice. Such was his way.

'Electric Terrain.' And Magneton blasted the floor with electricity. Normally this would create an uncomfortable buzz that prevented pokémon from falling asleep, but Clemont had improved upon it. Now when Magneton used Electric Terrain, it triggered a generator underneath the arena that would send up pulses of power. The floor would light up in places, making the arena resemble a chess board, each square a couple metres wide. Where it glowed, there was power, and anything standing on it would get jolted with the power of a Thundershock.

Then after a few seconds, the panels would invert. Where there was no power, there would be some. Where there was power, it would now be safe to stand. The only place that was predictably safe was the panel that Magneton hovered over. His natural levitation was limited, and relied on his innate magnetism, which in turn relied on a proper anchor to the floor. As he moved around the arena, the floor beneath him would power down, going from bright white to shiny black.

The immediate effect of the terrain would be to destroy the Double Teams that Loki had put down by lighting up the floor beneath them. For now, the real Loki would be safe, but he'd soon have to move. And because he couldn't levitate, that meant the psychic would spend the rest of the match running back and forth to avoid getting shocked.

'Now,' Clemont said, keeping his voice level as best he could. He had a clear shot of the real Loki, and he planned on taking it before more clones could show up. 'Magnet Bomb into Zap Cannon.'

Magneton then launched another Magnet Bomb, this time at Loki. The plan was to catch the psychic in the bomb's pull and hold it place, allowing the Zap Cannon to easily render him a crisp.  

[Spinne Biss]

The new terrain caught Helena off-guard, but she had faced enough situations now to not immediately lose her cool. Instead, she kept her composure and plotted out her next few steps.

The terrain change would require some observation. Her ability to figure it out would be mitigated by the fact that she had to keep countering Clemont's orders and Magneton's actions.

"Get behind him!" Helena called and Loki responded. It might be true that Magnet Bomb was unavoidable, it was also true that even if it couldn't pull in targets through obstacles or by infinite distances - such as Pokemon underground, or Pokemon flying high in the air.

Helena decided to put Loki between an obstable and the bomb. The obstable in question was Magneton. Loki would appear behind the opponent, somehow in the air to make them level. He took it upon himself to fire a psybeam at the close proximity and, if things worked out, the magnet bomb wouldn't have gotten far enough to be safe for Magneton if it changed direction to follow Loki and put Magneton in the direct line of its detonation.