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“Wait, what…just happened?” Tristen asked as he finished his meal.

“That was the gym trial, apparently. I ordered lunch to summon the gym leader. And I had to beat a few trainers in town just to find out the whole deal with it.” I said to Tristen. “The gym trials were all sorts of weird so far. I had to roll a gigantic rubber olive around a field in Cortondo. In Artazon, I had to go through the entire city playing hide and seek and find a bunch of Sunflora before nightfall. I don’t think Iono in Levencia had any thing in mind, but found it an opportunity to do a live stream interview for…reasons. Kofu had me grocery shop for…reasons.” I said, shaking my head. “It’s certainly not like gym trials back at home, for sure.” Tristen stared dumbfounded. “All the same, they directed me to some sort of designated battlefield somewhere in town and I had at it with the gym leader there.”

“Wait, what about the gyms in each of the cities?”

“I…really don’t know what they’re for honestly. Feels like a waste of a building.” I said to Tristen.

In that couple of minutes, the announcement over the restaurant’s PA system started to blare to the patrons. I stared in confusion for a moment at both Matteo and Tristen, then stood up, taking the last sip of my Coke before going off, making my way away from the table. Once the patrons were out of the main dining area, Tristen and I stared flabbergasted as the entire dining hall turned into a regulation sized field. “That…has to be severely inconvenient to everyone eating here.” Tristen said.

“This is the blasted Striaton City Gym all over again.” I said, rather deadpan as I also stared in disbelief. I shook my head, then looked at the waitress when she approached to get my name. “Just call me Blizzard. From Mahogany Town in Jhoto.” I said to her.

"Do you want...us to stick around to watch?" Tristen said, never really having been in a situation like this. He's never watched a gym battle in action, never mind accompanied someone who was challenging the gyms.

"Hey, you two do what you want at this point." I said. Tristen looked over towards Matteo to get his opinion on the matter.

Tristen couldn’t even say he was the least bit surprised. To see the ‘Noble Hybrid’ in action before his eyes was something that was perhaps once in a lifetime. The Manectric hybrid knew full well what his adoptive father was capable of, at least on a normal day, so nothing should come off rather surprising in theory. He almost in a way wanted to just leave in peace and get on with the day that he and Matteo had planned out for the day, but this was one of those rare opportunities that Matteo just…relaxed. None of the cool, tough guy, don’t care sort of persona. He was…actually excited. A side to him that he hadn’t let out too much as long as he knew him. A moment, if only for a little bit to cut loose. Tristen would follow Matteo off through the crowd to find the closest spot he could to overlook the battlefield along side his friend.

In the meantime, I would follow the waitress off to the battlefield and take my spot, waiting on my apparent opponent. Whoever it was. The clamor of excitement would come to a halt once one man finally made his way into the restaurant. Hair slicked back, though losing its shape through the rigors of the day, black suit and tie, briefcase along his side, sort of walked in with a slouch. A rather skinny man. A tired man. He would adjust his tie and start walking off to the counter where the plate of the grilled rice balls that I had ordered were and sat down, placing the briefcase right beside him for the time being. “O shokuji arigatōgozaimashita.” He said, with a bow to the chef. One by one, the rice balls were devoured, which got an eyebrow raise out of Tristen, and a look of confusion out of me. It wasn’t long before the rice balls were gone. Practically in seemingly a blink. He’d wipe his mouth with a napkin then would stand back up.

“The hell is going on here?” I asked silently to myself.

He would then get up, pick up his brief case once again and start his way through the crowd, but instead of leaving like any other patron, he would make his way towards the battlefield, setting foot on it, approaching me. As he done so, the patrons and workers of the restaurant would start erupting in cheers, ready to see a Pokémon battle take place. “Hello.” He said, almost a bit monotone.

“You perhaps had the weirdest, yet most tame entrance I have ever seen, assuming that you’re the gym leader.” I said.

“I am. I’m Larry. I’m assigned to work as the Gym Leader of the Medali Gym.” Larry would state. “I hope I didn’t keep you too long. Perhaps you have enjoyed one of the meals here at the eatery.”

“Not at all. Quite prompt in fact. And me, my son, and his friend actually did just before you showed up.” I said, though still a bit weirded out.

“I hoped as much. Lunch tends to be hard to get to for me. The boss tends to dock pay when I spend too long on breaks. Or chitchatting. If you don’t mind, let’s get this battle over with.

“Suurrrre…” I said. Was this boss the reason that this guy looks like a wreck? He’d have to be checked by airport security with bags that large under his eyes.

He would make his way across the battlefield. As he done so, a referee would take his place at the side, along mid field. Once Larry was at his position, he would give a silent nod to the referee. “This is a official Pokémon League challenge! A gym defense, Gym Leader Larry of the Medali Gym versus Blizzard of Mahogany Town in Jhoto. This will be a three versus three battle in Singles format. Victory comes when either trainers Pokémon are no longer able to battle or one party concedes defeat. Clear?” I gave a nod to the ref, taking a ball out at the ready.

“Let us then conduct business.” Larry then said, taking out a Pokeball himself. “Vigoroth.” He would toss out the Pokeball and on the battlefield, and with a loud screeching roar, out came a hyperactive Vigoroth, ready for battle. A far cry from how his trainer was.

“Alright then, let’s try this out for size…Arctibax! Get to it!” I shouted, tossing out the Pokeball. Tristen stared in confusion when he heard the name, nothing familiar at all about it. And less so once it finally arrived out of the ball in a flash.

“Baaaah!” The Pokémon roared out. Tristen would get a good look at it, staring in confusion, then took out his SNAG to get any sort of information on it. The lizard, light blue in most cases, lighter on other parts, hunched over with a large rigid spine on its back. Tristen would find it was an Ice Type as much as it was a Dragon type, then looked up staring in confusion. Those were the apparent ice dragons that were in the tunnel system of Glasedo mountain?

“Arctibax versus Vigoroth! Begin!” The ref shouted.

“Vigoroth, use Slash attack!” Larry commanded.

“Arctibax! Take Down!” I would call out. The two Pokémon would rush for each other and the fight was on. Vigoroth would frantically swipe at the icy lizard but Arctibax would manage to duck and weave, then finally pick his spot, rushing in and diving head first ramming hard into Vigoroth. Undeterred, Vigoroth would bring Arctibax into a tumble, only for the nimbler normal type to end up on top and start swiping harsh Slash attacks undeterred.

“Arctibax! Icy Wind!” I shouted.

“Vigoroth! Get away from it!” Larry shouted. Quickly, the Vigoroth sprung off Arctibax as the chilling winds were let loose. Vigoroth would quickly keep his distance as the Arctibax got on all fours, blowing the biting gale, trying to get a bead on the Vigoroth. “Throat Chop!” he would then command.

“Arctibax! Dragon Rush!” I shouted. Arctibax would quickly stop its Icy Wind attack but before it could shift gears, the icy dragon would end up on the defensive once again to the Vigoroth’s frantic attacks. The Vigoroth would then feint and then commit to one harsh swing, smashing a claw right into Arctibax. Arctibax, though would retaliate instantly, almost in a panic, twisting around and body checked the Vigoroth away from it with his own Dragon Rush. Vigoroth would yelp out as it got rammed into, tumbling backwards across the battlefield. It was only a short reprieve, Arctibax was coughing, feeling like choking, after that hit he took from the Vigoroth.

“Arctibax! You okay!?” It barely got somewhat of a squeal. Arctibax was suffering like that trying to at least be able to breathe well again. At the very least, something like his Icy Wind and Dragonbreath wasn’t going to be good to go anytime soon. “Augh…that’s not good…”

Vigoroth was already back on his feet, rubbing his chest to nurse the hard Dragon Rush shot he took. “Use Metal Claw.” Larry stated. This wasn’t good, he was out to try to finish the fight now.

“Arctibax! Bite it!” As Arctibax started to try to catch his breath again, the Vigoroth was on the charge, claws shimmering to lay its harsh strikes upon the icy Pokémon. Arctibax managed to dodge out of the way as the Vigoroth jumped and gave a hard metallic slash which slams right into the floor, in the very spot that Arctibax stood. Undeterred, the Vigoroth slashed with its metal claw at the floor, digging into it and swiping upwards to once again try to catch Arctibax. Arctibax managed to step back away from the furious onslaught, then lunged in, jaws open wide and pounced on the Vigoroth, clamping down hard with a furious bite. The Vigoroth flailed hard, yelping out as the smaller dragon clamped down hard.

“Hurry! Get him off of you, Vigoroth!” Larry shouted. With one furious yell, the Vigoroth flailed, frantically snapping back and forth before Arctibax was not able to hold on any longer. Arctibax tumbled on the floor a bit, scrambling back up to his feet once more. “Use Slash attack!” Once again, the Vigoroth was on the frantic assault.

“Arctibax! On your guard!” I shouted. Arctibax would start stepping back as the Vigoroth frantically tried to rack his claws on the Arctibax’s icy scales. However, Arctibax wouldn’t be able to avoid it for long in his consistently deteriorating shape that he was in and got caught by the harsh Slash. As the Vigoroth would come in with another Slash attack, I had to get Arctibax make his move. “Avalanche!” I then shouted. Arctibax would catch the Vigoroth’s claw then managed to finally work up a breath. With a roar of defiance out of the Arctibax it started pushing at the Vigoroth, effectively carrying the hyperactive beast, summoning a miniature, yet harsh Avalanche there upon the battlefield. The snow would sweep the field, the Vigoroth would get dragged under from the Arctibax’s assault.

Usually, such an attack would probably be cause for concern by most trainers. I could come to find out Larry was not most trainers. He stood there on the opposing battle box, still stalwart, without a worry. The snows would clear as soon as they arrive; Arctibax was breathing heavily from the harsh battle. Vigoroth was face down on the field. The ref staring at the Vigoroth and was half-tempted to actually call the battle. But then the Vigoroth started to move, pushing himself up off the ground. “You have got to be kidding me…”

“Vigoroth, go in, Slash attack again.” He said. While Larry wouldn’t really show it, his Vigoroth was showing agitation, and even though after taking a harsh attack, it was back on the assault, claws out at the ready.

“Arctibax! Dragonbreath!” I then shouted. The dragon would breath out its blue flames upon the field, the Vigoroth managing to dance about them, getting in close. He would then once again frantically slash away at Arctibax, once again, Arctibax on the defensive. “Arctibax! Use Ice Fang!”

“Metal Claw!” Larry then commanded. Arctibax would duck in and go to clamp down with icy jaws but the Vigoroth would step out of the way from the attack. The Vigoroth’s claws would start shimmering and then it retaliated. By the time Arctibax would turn around to try its Ice Fang attack again, the Vigoroth would land his mark, slashing hard and causing immense damage to the Arctibax. The crowd almost had a unanimous wince from the crucial strike as they witness the attack connect, with a resounding ‘Ooooh’ to follow. The Arctibax squealed out as the dragon was slammed down into the floor, writhing before passing out from the pain. The Vigoroth backed away, wincing a bit, feeling tender in a lot of spots after taking the hits he did, but grinning all the same.

The ref would watch the battle unfolded then raised the flag. “Arctibax is unable to battle. The round goes to Vigoroth!”

“Crap…” I uttered under my breath. “Arctibax, return now!” I said, recalling the dragon back to the ball.

“Oof…I’m guessing Blizz hadn’t trained him as long as he hoped to do before this battle.” Tristen said, only guessing at this point. While he knew his adoptive father was no stranger to having his back to the wall and he was far from out of this battle, he wondered how Matteo was going to take the performance so far.

After stashing the Arctibax’s Pokeball, I would take out a second one. “I can already tell this is going to be quite problematic.” Larry said in his usual, next-to-monotone voice.

“I’m becoming increasingly convinced that you’re not taking this battle that seriously.”

“Actually, you’re making me start to sweat bullets.” Larry stated. Why did I kind of doubt that?

As the Vigoroth took his position on the battlefield, I would send out the second one. I needed a bit more of a kick it looked like. “Obstagoon!” I then shouted. Another Pokémon Tristen didn’t recognize the name to. I gave the ball a hard toss and on the battlefield, out came a much larger Pokémon. White, black, and grays all over it. Arms cross in front of the Pokémon’s chest. A serrated smile with a dangling tongue alongside.

“Ehehgahaha!” Obstagoon cackled out, giving out a near air-guitar motion, riling itself up. Once again, Tristen had to look back at his SNAG to find out what was going on with this Pokémon. Whatever it was, that grin that Vigoroth held the entire time started to fade, confused as to what on earth it was dealing with.

“You’ve been around. I wish I could afford to take vacation time, thinking about it.” Larry stated.

“Obstagoon versus Vigoroth! Begin!” The ref proclaimed.

As he quickly skimmed the entry in the SNAG, overhearing Matteo. “Yeah, though the last time I seen it, it was a Galarian Zigzagoon. I was there with him when he caught it. It was also the same day that I caught Wimpod. Man…that’s what Galarian Zigzagoon eventually become? Man…” Tristen said, astounded as the fight started to get on its way.

“Vigoroth! Slash attack!” Larry would call out.

“Night Slash!” I would call out in turn. The two Pokémon rushed at each other and the claws started to come down, Obstagoon’s becoming shrouded in an ebony-colored power. The two Pokémon would end up locking claws, and it almost looked like a stalemate as the each of them tried to leverage their attacks and land their mark. The Zigzagoon would then start to wince as Obstagoon still had the crazed, serrated smile plastered on his face. Obstagoon would whip the lock off and came down once more with his Night Slash attack, striking the Vigoroth fiercely.

“Vigoroth! Play Rough!” Larry would then command the Vigoroth.

“Obstagoon! Watch it!” I would yell out. The Vigoroth would leap at the Obstagoon, grabbing onto the Normal-Dark Pokémon, dragging him to the ground and started to wail away. A fight cloud formed, almost as if straight out of a cartoon, as the Vigoroth tried to frantically pound away at the Obstagoon. “Obstagoon! Get out of there!” It was sudden that the fight cloud disappeared, Obstagoon kicked the Vigoroth off of him out of the cloud and sent him across the battlefield. The Vigoroth slammed on the battlefield floor but then scrambled on back. Obstagoon managed to get up off the ground, not too thrilled with getting caught up in that sort of attack.

“Vigoroth! Use Slash attack!”

“Obstagoon! Obstruct!” I shouted. The Vigoroth rushed, claws out and ready to dig deep into the likes of Obstagoon, but Obstagoon rushed in, stepping in close, arms up, guarding the attack. The Vigoroth couldn’t get any purchase on the attack. In fact, with how Obstagoon drove itself into Vigoroth, the attack was effectively parried, leaving the Vigoroth reeling back, guard completely down, and completely wide open. “Headbutt!” I shouted. In that instant, Obstagoon went in, grabbing the Vigoroth’s head, and drove his own into Vigoroth’s.

“Vigoroth! X-Scissor!” Larry attempted to command, but the attack drilled in fiercely; something that wasn’t going to be shirked off, made all the apparent as the Vigoroth flinched badly, if not made borderline dizzy from the attack.

“Body Slam!” The serrated grin returned to Obstagoon as it reached over and grabbed the Vigoroth. Larry’s look shifted ever so slightly, one that would be able to discern at the very least there was a person under that stoic demeanor, a wave of concern for his Vigoroth. Obstagoon would lift the Vigoroth well off the ground, right over his head, practically flipping over and slamming the Vigoroth back down on the ground, with Obstagoon’s full weight right on top of him. Tristen ended up wincing himself witnessing it. That…was brutal.

Obstagoon pushed himself off the Vigoroth and stepped away, the ref overlooking the battle and looking down at the Vigoroth. He wasn’t getting back up this time. “Vigoroth is unable to battle! The round goes to Obstagoon!” The ref proclaimed. The crowd watching the battle would start getting riled up once again, excited to see how this battle was going. The kind of sorts that would leave anyone on the edge of their seats, knowing that these kind of battles could go any way.

Larry would recall the Vigoroth and stashed the ball. “Okay, lets see about this.” He would merely say, taking out another Pokeball. “Dudunsparce!” He would then say, tossing the ball and sending it out onto the battlefield. In a flash, the ball bursts open and I couldn’t help but to stare in confusion. “…aaaand that covers the other Pokémon Sol talked about evolving when we could have sworn it shouldn’t have. Its…just got another segment to it…” I said to myself. I couldn’t help but to stare in a little bit of confusion. Part of me wanted to write off this thing as being just a stronger Dunsparce effectively and nothing more. But then, now that I think about it, Dunsparce here has been a bit of a different breed. Like they’re confident in this region or something. I shook my head of the thought. Roll with caution as I usually try to do and just put this thing down.

“Dudunsparce?” Tristen then spoke up, staring in confusion himself. He didn’t need a SNAG to figure out what that thing was. “That’s what Nemona was trying to evolve her Dunsparce to?” he asked Matteo. He was tempted to ask what was so special about it, or for that matter, why no one really hears about Dunsparce evolving in Jhoto, but at the very least, he was going to see first hand from a gym leader what they were capable of.

The two Pokémon would take their positions on the field. “Obstagoon versus Dudunsparce! Begin!” the ref proclaimed.

“Obstagoon! Night Slash!” I shouted.

“Dudunsparce! Drill Run!” Larry would call out himself.

Obstagoon rushed forward, claws glowing ebony, ready to cleave a new one into this gigantic land snake. But as he did so, the Dudunsparce turned around then lunged out tail first, going into a fast, spiriling corkscrew. Obstagoon stopped dead in his tracks, then weaved off to the side, taken a little aback from the attack. Once the Dudunsparce landed, it didn’t necessarily stop. It burrowed right into the battlefield. Obstagoon rushed over where it drilled into, staring at the hole in confusion. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” I said to myself.

“Dudunsparce! Hyper Drill!” A rumbling could be heard, and it seemed like it was coming from everywhere. Obstagoon and I kept looking around, trying to get some sort of idea where that Dudunsparce was going to come in from. Like a shot, the ground blows open and out comes the Dudunsparce, right at Obstagoon’s feet, a powerful drill going right into Obstagoon’s gut. Obstagoon’s eyes went wide, breath completely escaping him, the face of agony as the Hyper Drill attack carried him a short bit off the floor and knocking off his feet.

“Obstagoon!” I shouted. Obstagoon was coughing out, writhing in pain from the brutal hit, almost as if Larry himself was trying to make the point that he too could show a bit of a brutal streak. “Obstagoon! Can you keep going!?” Obstagoon turned over, coughing a few more times, but then managed to get on one knee, then off of it, managing to standing up. That one really hurt.

“Gaaahhh…” Obstagoon spoke back, glaring at the Dudunsparce. He could still keep going.

“Dudunsparce, use Ancientpower!” Larry commanded the normal type. The Land Snake Pokémon would hiss out, summoning a bunch of empowered rocks about it.

“Obstagoon! Use Night Slash!” I shouted. As the rocks was fired forth towards Obstagoon, Obstagoon in turn started to empower his claws once again then lashed out at the attack. Some of the rocks cleaved by the dark type attack, others having to be ducked or dodged, trying to avoid any hit as possible. Avoid taking the kind of damage he just took only a moment ago.

“Rock Tomb!” Larry then shouted. The Dudunsparce reared back then flops hard on the ground, summoning a bunch of rocks from the battlefield floor. Obstagoon went and tried to cleave those rocks as well, but unlike the Ancientpower ones, these ones were larger. Denser. Night Slash wasn’t getting through that. The moment Obstagoon realized such a folly, the rest of the rocks would rush in and squeeze Obstagoon in the pile, wedging him in.

“Drill Run!” Larry then called out, taking that opportunity where Obstagoon seemed most vulnerable.

“Oh no…Obstagoon! Obstruct!” I then shouted. As the Dudunsparce turned around, coiling up, then launching itself tail first, going into that fast, drilling like motion. Obstagoon unable to move in on the Dudunsparce would end up improvising, grabbing one of the large rocks it was momentarily trapped by and brought it in front of him. The Dudunsparce made impact with the rock, smashing it into pieces, but the gambit was enough to change the Dudunsparce’s trajectory, but only just enough. At least for the moment.

“Keep on the pressure!” Larry then commanded his Dudunsparce. Obstagoon would quickly get away from his entrapment, only to find the Dudunsparce was still hot on Obstagoon’s case, another drilling attack to go right for the Obstagoon.

“Watch it!” Obstagoon would manage to weave and stumble out of the way from the relentless assault out of the Dudunsparce. In truth, I honestly couldn’t believe that something like this would come from a Pokémon like that. Suddenly, I was starting to miss the Dunsparce back at home…

“Dragon Rush!” Larrimore then commanded. Quickly, the Dudunsparce pivots then makes the hard lunge towards Obstagoon, face first, didn’t even need to turn around with how its attack patterns turned out. And this time, Obstagoon was caught flat-footed. The attack hits its mark, Obstagoon getting sent flying across the battlefield, going into a tumble before skidding into a stop. It started to occur to me that, only semi-familiar Pokémon aside, I honestly couldn’t really read Larry like I wanted to. Some could on the surface say that his commands and his Pokémon are too straightforward, but then, I would have to argue that wasn’t really the case. Realizing that he was a Normal type gym leader, and therefore adaptability was the name of the game for him. He had to. Normal types didn’t have any sort of specialty to them. Their specialty was effectively being the jack of all trades of sorts, which that in and of itself was extremely difficult. For something that sounded so boring on paper, I had to admit it was perhaps one of the more rewarding types to specialize. Some that very few would actually endeavor to. Perhaps it’s why there hadn’t been really that many Normal Type gym leaders, now that I think about it. Whitney in Goldenrod, for one. There’s one in Unova if I heard correctly. Then there’s this guy. Kinda something else, really.

Obstagoon managed to push himself up, wincing once again. The damage had racked up and he didn’t have much more in the tank. I had to figure out how to guide Obstagoon to take this Dudunsparce out of commission. “Obstagoon, hang in there!”

“Hyper Drill, Dudunsparce!” Larry called out. Larry was out to put Obstagoon down now. I couldn’t afford to let this go uncontested.

“Obstagoon, incoming!” Obstagoon watched carefully as once again the Dudunsparce turned around quickly and then launched itself, poised to drill into the Obstagoon. Obstagoon stumbled, but managed to get out of the way.

As the Dudunsparce landed on the ground, skidding to a stop, the next command would come to it. “Smart Strike!” Larry commanded. The Dudunsparce looked back, quickly lining up Obstagoon, ready to land a crucial blow. It was hesitant, waiting on Obstagoon to shift ever so slightly, it was a dead standoff. Dudunsparce was not going to let Obstagoon stumble away again.

“Obstagoon! Stand your ground!” I shouted. The Obstagoon braced itself, serrated teeth gritted. The land snake Pokémon launched once more, fast and hard, tail first. A gigantic dart poised to drive right into the Dark type Pokémon. Obstagoon gasped out once Dudunsparce made impact, Obstagoon skidding back from the sheer force of the Pokémon. “Gotcha…” I said. Obstagoon shifted and managed to grab the Dudunsparce, wincing quite a bit, some from the Dudunsparce now flailing around in Obstagoon’s arms trying to get free, more so from the admittedly reckless stunt I was getting Obstagoon to do. The impact from the Smart Strike by all means did its damage, but it was not enough to stop us from doing what came next.

“Submission!”

“RRRRGGAAAH!” The Obstagoon leaped up high off the battlefield floor, almost meeting the ceiling of the Treasure Eatery, much to the shock of the Dudunsparce, the crowd, and perhaps even to Larry at that rate, but once it got to the apex of the jump, Obstagoon flipped backwards and started to dive head first with the snake, going into a corkscrew itself. Full speed straight back to the ground. The Dundunsparce was drove straight into the ground with resounding force, the dust and debris from the battle between these two kicked up upon impact.

The Dudunsparce and Obstagoon was there, sprawled out on the floor. It wasn’t long, however, as Obstagoon, trembling from the damage, not from just what he took from the Dudunsparce, but what he did to himself pulling such a stunt, trying to push himself up off the floor. Obstagoon looked up toward me as it tried to push itself up. “Rock on, buddy.” I said, fist up. A notion of approval. He didn’t need to do anymore. Not after all of that.

“Heh…” The Obstagoon warily grinned with his serrated smile before he managed to slowly allow his arms to give way and brought himself back down. Succumbing to a, albeit admittedly pained, but earned rest.

The ref looked on, seeing the Dudunsparce not moving after getting dropped in such a fashion, and Obstagoon no longer showing signs of fight either. “Both Dudunsparce and Obstagoon are no longer able to continue! This round is a draw!” The ref proclaimed with flags up.

“Man, this gym leader is really putting the pressure on Blizz…” Tristen spoke up to Matteo. “I wonder what Blizz is going to do now?” It was a whole other experience to Tristen now that he thought about it, watching a gym battle unfold. He knew that gym leaders were tough, certainly. But this was a whole other thing…he didn’t imagine a gym actually putting the screws so extensively in this such a fashion. Even considering the general experience of his adoptive father’s team, which he knew this was far and away still not his strongest crew, this was crazy.

I would recall Obstagoon back to his Pokeball as did the Dudunsparce was recalled back to Larry. “Well, if nothing else, this is still better than getting cornered by my boss.” Larry said.

“Cornered? You call this cornered?” I asked. Really, so far, this was borderline clash of the titans as far as I was concerned. “Not to mention, the hell is your boss!? You are clearly not happy around that person.”

“Eh, it doesn’t matter. Gets the bills paid.” Larry said with a shrug.

“Man, hell of a way to look at things…” I said. “Whatever. Alright then…Go! Ninetales!” I called out.

“Ninetales?” Tristen spoke up, caught off guard. As the ball was tossed out and landed, the ball bursts open and out came a large, snowy white fox, tails and a mane as if a thick cloud, icy blue eyes that emanated elegance as well as hard earned strength. And a gentle howl upon entrance, that summoned a gentle snowing upon the battlefield. “He evolved his Alolan Vulpix…huh. He finally did it.” Tristen then said.

“Staraptor!” Larry called out, tossing out the ball out onto the battlefield. In a flash, out came a large bird, sharp talons and an intimidating demeanor all. I narrowed my eyes. Any other day, I’d be happy to see such a thing, especially against the likes of my Ninetales. Unfortunately, I’ve long since known better. “You know, you’re pretty good. I say there is a pretty good chance I may end up losing this…”

“Final round!” The ref proclaimed. “Ninetales versus Staraptor! Begin!”

“Come on, Larry!” I perked up. That was unusually loud from the crowd. Larry and I ended up looking over, hearing one of the cooks over at the counter. “Step it up a notch! We got hungry customers waiting! Give them something to cheer for!” It was a sentiment shared by the crowd. I hadn’t paid them any mind, really, but this battle was something to apparently remember for plenty of them, cheering for both me and Larry to give it everything we had. Not to mention, if I didn’t know better…did more people actually show up during all of this? Everything was starting to look a little more crowded.

“Well.” Larry did a couple of squats, stretching the knees out. “You heard the good folks. I suppose I can put on a bit more of a show.”

“Really? You didn’t seem the type to do that.” I said.

“You might find I am full of surprises.” He said, unbuttoning the cuffs on his shirt and loosening his tie some. He would then take out a Tera Orb out, power emanating from it.

“Here we go…” I said, eyes narrowing. Ninetales was on edge. She very well knew just well what that meant. She had a lot to prove now that she was evolved and this was going to be her test. Larry would toss out the Tera Orb and the Terastal power was unleashed. Tera Crystal formed about the Staraptor, glowing pearly white then would erupt with the Staraptor shrieking, encrusted with the white tera crystal, with a gigantic diamond of a crown adorned on top of its head. It was a normal type terastalization; remembering how a Wild Scyther from a while back ago had the same kind of crown on its head. He ended up forgoing Staraptor’s flying type and going straight Normal. As Ninetales and Staraptor stared each other down, sizing each other up, I knew this was going to be a fight and then some.

“Go!” Larry and I would shout to each of our respective Pokémon. The two Pokémon would clash and the battle was on its way.

“They typically hang out around the snowy mountain tops in Alola, at least these ones do. The Vulpix and Ninetales over a long time eventually converted to an ice type to adapt to their environment. A process that took well over centuries.” Tristen said, knowing that much at least. He’d take out his SNAG to get a look at the Ninetales, not all too familiar with the Alolan variants himself, and noticed something relevant to Matteo’s question. “Actually, he might not have to worry too much about Fighting type attacks…honestly, its probably Steel attacks he needs to worry more about. Alolan variant Ninetales are part Fairy type.” He said. “This battle can go either way with how hard the two are battling.”

“Staraptor! Use Take Down!” Larry shouted. The terastal crystal shimmered and flickered as the Staraptor reared around and went on a powerful dive towards Ninetales.

“Ninetales! Aurora Veil!” I shouted. Ninetales would stand her ground, its cloudy tails fanned out, and made a howl of defiance. A rainbow-like cloak appeared upon Ninetales which threatened to obstruct the assailing bird. The Staraptor, without fear, rams into the ice Pokemon full force, the blow also managing to land what would have been otherwise a brutal blow. Ninetales winced as she tried to maintain its poise from the intense blow. While the Aurora Veil was doing its job, it did have its limits.

“Aerial Ace!” Larry then called out. Despite recklessly ramming into the Ninetales’s protective field, the Staraptor was undeterred, managing to fly back up and around, speeding around and going in for a harsh aerial lunge. The barrier cushioned every blow on every pass, but the damage was going to add up in time if nothing was done.

“Ninetales! Ice Beam!” I shouted. Once the Staraptor passed and went to go for another strike, Ninetales would quickly look over, mouth wide, firing a chilling beam towards the assailing bird. The Staraptor would quickly shift, narrowly averting the shot and veering off, trying to outrun and keep the chilling attack off its case. More ice beam shots would get fired, each one tailing the bird as Ninetales tried to actually lead the bird. It was a lot faster than expected for the fox.

“Staraptor! Use Steel Wing!” Larry then shouted. Tristen’s fur just about stood on end more than it usually did. His fears coming to pass. He knew that it shouldn’t be all that much surprise, but this was coming in at a rather crucial time. Something that I too was well aware of.

The Staraptor started on its attack run, its wings shimmering silver as it made its attack run. “Ninetales! Dazzling Gleam!” I shouted. Ninetales would shift gears, going from hard concentrated streams if icy fury to Fairy-type bursts of power. The Ninetales would fire off a bunch of glittering sparkles, which looked harmless at first, but once the Staraptor flew around into them, the attacks burst all at once, flashing white and pink lights which blasted and seared into the avian, stopping the Staraptor in its tracks. The bird flailed then panic ascended to get away from the attack before it could take up any more damage in such a fashion.

“Staraptor! Try a Quick Attack!” Larry then shouted. Righting itself, the Ninetales gathered the terastal power once more. The Tera Crystal flickered and shimmered, then the bird dove down once again, faster than it has shown thus far, speeding down towards Ninetales and once again ramming into the Aurora Veiled Ninetales. Ninetales, not ready for the blow, ended up taking a tumble all the same from the hit before the icy fox managed to get back on her feet quickly.

“Ninetales! Ice Beam!” I shouted. Once again, Ninetales would fire off the chilling beam towards the bird.

“Staraptor! Fly up!” Larry shouted. Ninetales would fire the chilling beam towards the bird, but the icy attack would manage to blast only the spot the Staraptor was, missing it by only a split second. Once again, Ninetales would trying to freeze the terastalized bird, but its maneuverability seemed well on point. “Now, Take Down!” he then shouted. Once again, the terastal power flashed upon the bird then the bird made its attack run, another reckless charge, speeding across the battlefield full speed.

“Ninetales! Watch it! Move!” Ninetales would stop trying to peg it with the ice beams and do as command, leaping off to the side just in the nick of time before Staraptor landed yet another strike upon the snowy Ninetales. The Staraptor would speed on by, kicking up the snows from the snow Ninetales summoned just out a pure pressure wave, before banking up again then spun around to square off with its opponent. “Ice Shard!” I then shouted.

The Ninetales would then quickly speed off towards the bird. Icy spikes would start to form about Ninetales as the fox made its own attack run. With a growl, the Ninetales would fire the spikes up towards the Staraptor. Staraptor would avert the first two or three, but then the next few would start pelting the bird one right after the next. Ninetales, still in hot pursuit would then leap up as high as it could.

“Staraptor! Look out!” Larry tried to warn his Pokémon.

“Icy Wind!” I then shouted. As it got relatively close towards the bird, Ninetales would then breathe out a chilling, stinging wind to the bird. The Staraptor would wince as the icy attack bore down on its crystalized down. The bird would break away as the Ninetales would then be subjected to gravity, having to flip over to get its bearings and land back down on the ground. The Staraptor would find itself a lot lower now. In a flying hover above the ground. Trying to work warmth back into itself and trying to work the chilling numbness out. “That ought to slow it down for a little bit.”

“Staraptor! Keep at it! Try a Steel Wing again!” The Staraptor would screech out, working up its power, its wings regaining its silver sheen then took flight. The bird would fly over, poised to strike down Ninetales. However, it was slower. We had this.

“Ninetales! Ice Beam!” The Ninetales would quickly oblige, firing the chilling beam once again towards the assailing bird.

“Staraptor! Fight it!” Larry then commanded. The Staraptor stopped, bringing its stee wings about, clashing and shielding the Ice Beam attack, reducing the damage that it very well could have done otherwise. Trying to stop the attack from landing a crucial shot. As Ninetales wound up then fired off another chilling beam, Larry would make his own move. “Agility!” He shouted. The Staraptor would instantly vanish, the chilling beam flying right through where the bird was at. I went completely wide eyed, losing track of the bird, as did Ninetales. It was right where Larry needed the two of us. “Giga Impact!” My senses finally caught up, looking up, seeing the Staraptor flashing furiously with Terastal power once more. The bird then made the powerful dive, divebombing towards Ninetales. “Ninetales! Incoming! Above you!” It was only in that moment that as soon as Ninetales managed to see the attacking Staraptor, it was too late. The attack slammed furiously into Ninetales, a loud squeal of agony came out of the snow fox. Even with the Aurora Veil cushioning the blow, that attack was nothing short of a crushing one. That instant I could see, Ninetales face in pure horror and agony as it was carried off across the battlefield, kicking up the dust and snow that gathered on the battlefield. The crowd was stunned at what was, for as all they knew, an outright show stopper. Even Tristen was caught off guard, fearing the worst from Ninetales taking such a nasty hit.

Ninetales skidded to a stop after the impact, writhing. The ref looked on, rushing down along side the battlefield, to look at Ninetales, waiting to see if it was time to call this fight a close. The fox, however, was always stubborn. A massive chip on her shoulder. Worked hard to be allowed to evolve and a trust that needed to be kept. The icy Ninetales would push back up to her feet, but as she did, the veil would dissolve away, no longer able to be maintained. Ninetales’s breathing was heavy, a bit ragged. It was tired. The Staraptor stared back, irritated. A stubborn fox. Nothing more. “Ninetales, you sure you’re still able to keep going?”

“Keinnne.” The Ninetales would bark back. It was hurting, but it wasn’t quitting.

“You know what we talked about, right?” I told her. “I don’t want you to be killing yourself over this sort of thing. You done great today.”

“Keeine?” The Ninetales would then speak.

“I do.” I said. “Alright then…”

“You really should stop.” Larry stated. “Your Pokémon is clearly hurt and any more is probably not going to bode well. And admittedly, I really do need to get back to work.”

“Oh, don’t worry, we won’t keep you too much longer. Though probably just in case, might want to give a call and have your boss expect you to be late.” I said to him.

“Kooo!” Ninetales spoke up.

“Ninetales! Ice Shard!” I shouted. Fighting through the pain, the Ninetales rushed forward, once again forming chunks of ice as it sped off towards the bird. The Staraptor would attempt to fly off, trying to avert the attack, but it hadn’t fully recovered from the Giga Impact attack, getting caught out and having each of the icy shards drill into the crystalized feathery down of the Staraptor. Getting up close, it opened up new doors to possibilities. “Now! Confuse Ray!” I then shouted.

With a howl, the Ninetales flashed a ghastly flash upon the Staraptor, caught on the defensive from the Ice Shard. The ethereal flash would bear down and the Staraptor would caught stunned, dizzy and confused, having difficulty making heads or tails of the situation it found itself in. “Staraptor! Try to fight through it! Use Take Down!” Larry shouted.

The bird at least finally worked up the energy to get back and took flight once more. It looked back down towards the battlefield, seeing Ninetales. Rather multiples of Ninetales in its confused state. The bird would dive down at the many perceived Ninetales copies and started to swoop down. The Ninetales would watch as the Staraptor fly by her, one a couple of occasions, by a wide margin. Others, perhaps a little too close for comfort. It was only telling me the confusion hadn’t necessarily set in fully. It was not too much in danger of hurting itself in its confusion. Ninetales had to act fast. “Ninetales! Aurora Beam!” I then shouted. While it didn’t have the kind of power of an Ice Beam, it would have to do for the time being. I was trying to work something up, trying to guide Ninetales through to the end game. The Ninetales would then fire the rainbow-like beam, managing to pelt the crystalized bird with the attack, stopping its assault.

The Ninetales would go on to try to fire another one to try to bring this Staraptor down. Larry also refused to let this match go that easily. “Staraptor! If you can still understand me! Fly up! Get away from the ground!” he shouted. The Staraptor would make a quick ascent as the beam started to fly the bird’s way, missing it. As it looked down, it started to try to make sense. A bunch of flashing lights that flew up towards it, threatening nothing but pain all. The Staraptor would panic, trying to fly off away from the painful lights, but in its haste, all it accomplished was getting in the way of the real shot coming for it and getting clipped yet again.

“Staraptor! You got to snap out of it! You still have this!” Before the Staraptor could make a crash landing the bird managed to right itself, starting to shake his head furiously. The bird then looked back down towards the ground, starting to realize there wasn’t a whole army of foxes. Just the one. The bird screeched furiously. “There! Staraptor! Steel Wing!” Larry then commanded. The Staraptor would come down, once again, wings shimmering silver, coming down towards Ninetales.

“Ninetales! Mist!” I shouted. With a howl, the Ninetales summoned a thick mist about it upon the battlefield. As the Staraptor dove down, swooped by, knowing that it should have hit something with that attack. The bird came about to a hard stop then have a hard wave of its wings, blowing the mist away. The bird was caught off guard, but only for a super brief instant.

“Ice Beam!” I commanded. The Ninetales would once again fire the more powerful chilling attack towards the bird, the Staraptor quickly looked back, bringing its steel wings around, guarding against the powerful ice attack again. Only this time, ice stuck to the bird’s wings. With a shriek of defiance, the bird shook its wing hard, breaking the ice that was stuck to it.

“Disable!” I then shouted.

“Staraptor! Get out of there!” Larry shouted. Before the bird could make its way away, the Ninetales would unleash a terrifying, soul-shattering glare and a loud howl. Ice started to grip the Staraptor, creeping about it. The bird would quickly flap and get off the ground, trying to get out of range of the Ninetales’s crippling attack, but it was too late. The wings silvery shimmer disappeared. “He’s really making this difficult. Okay then…Agility!” he then shouted.

“Icy Wind!” I then called in turn. The bird would then quickly turn about then started to make its way down the battlefield once again, full speed ahead towards the Ninetales. Ninetales would quickly give out its icy breath, the stinging wind ready to clash with the speeding Staraptor. However, just as before, the Staraptor’s speed was being a great issue. And trying to mitigate it was becoming an issue. It was effectively untenable.

“Staraptor! Take Down!” He commanded. The bird would start making its attack run, going full speed towards the Ninetales.

“Ninetales! Use Aurora Beam!” I shouted. Ninetales would start firing the rainbow beams towards the oncoming Staraptor, but after the first couple of shots, the Staraptor would once again disappear. “A juke?”

I quickly looked around and then finally found the Staraptor once again. “Giga Impact!” Larry shouted.

The Staraptor shrieked once again, its tera crystal flashing once more. “Ninetales! Incoming!” I shouted. Ninetales looked up, seeing the Staraptor making the dive as if a missile, ready to bring an end to this battle. “Ice Shard!” The Ninetales would quickly start forming its icy shards again, quickly darting off and firing off the icy chunks towards the incoming bird. The bird tried to slightly course correct, trying to make sure that the Ninetales stayed within its sights as the ice pelted it. However, the shots would make it flinch, bringing it slightly off course.

Dust and snow would fly upward, the Staraptor making a harsh impact onto the battlefield feet first. The ice that disabled the bird flew off in the mess as well, as well as a lot of feeling from making such a harsh impact to the ground like that. As all the debris started to come back down to settle on the battlefield, out the corner of its eye, the Staraptor could see Ninetales, having running around and skidding to a stop, glaring back, teeth bore out. “Steel Wing!” Larry shouted.

“Blizzard!” I shouted.

The Staraptor, turning around to rush at the Ninetales, would find that Ninetales had its tails fanned out, poised to finish this battle herself. “KOOOOO!” It howled out, unleashing a mighty Blizzard attack right into the Staraptor. The fierce icy attack pelts the bird, but stubborn as the bird was, tried to steel itself, once again using its Steel Wing to fight through the attack. The Blizzard attack would intestify, finally hitting its apex of its damage, reeling the Staraptor back, unable to guard against the icy onslaught. But it tried to power through the massive conjured snowstorm by sheer force of will and everything it had left. But as it tried to press, the tera crystal started to crack to the pressure, then finally shattered, the crown flying off, and the Blizzard attack would carry the bird off in its icy wake. Larry would watch as the bird flies right by him and right into the wall close by behind him.

The Blizzard attack would die out and Ninetales would give a hard gasp out, sighing out, going limp. The snow fox looked upon its handiwork, the bird unmoving, caked in snow and ice. The ref would rush down the field to observe the havoc, giving it the fair opportunity just as he did with Ninetales, making sure that it wasn’t moving, that all fight has left from him. Then the verdict, a flag raised. “Staraptor is unable to battle! The winner of this battle is Ninetales and trainer Blizzard!” The ref proclaimed. The crowd would erupt over the refs call, excited over the climatic end of the battle.

I would rush in and slide in, giving Ninetales a hug. “Ninetales you did it!” The fox would bury her face in my chest, tired. She needed something, rather someone, to lean on just now. A feathery down would do just fine.

Tristen meanwhile back on the sidelines would give a sigh of relief. He had to admit that the battle was something else to look at. Something that wasn’t a fate of the world scenario; watching someone and their Pokemon to achieve a goal as opposed to just struggling to survive. It actually had him think for a second a little bit about Pokémon battling now that he thought about it. Before while it was just fine and all, it was nothing he really got into all that much in spite of all the training that he went through, and for that matter, training that he passed along to his own Pokémon. But now that he looked at it through this lens…maybe there was something that he had missed this entire time.

Larry would recall his fallen Staraptor, stashing his Pokeball. Then simply buttoned up his cuffs once more, then straightened and tightened back up his tie. He’d pick up his briefcase then start walking off onto the battlefield, making way to me and Ninetales as I was checking up over the fox. I would stand up, Ninetales sitting there looking up towards Larry. “Your reputation proceeds you. You showed that much today. That was quite the finish there.” He said, his usual monotone self.

“Well, don’t show too much enthusiasm.” I said rather sarcastically.

“Sorry. But honestly, you threw me for a loop.” He said, trying to be reassuring. He would pull up his briefcase and pop it open, reaching in to grab something then closed it back when he was done. “Congratulations. The Medali gym badge signifying your victory. You’ve earned it.” I would take the badge to look at it. I knelt down towards Ninetales. “Another one down, girl. Thank you.”

“Eeeoo.” The Ninetales happily, but warily spoke up.

Tristen would get caught up in Matteo’s brief celebration, a little caught off guard in the Growlithe hybrid’s embrace. The two would look at each other for that brief second before Matteo would let go, feeling a bit embarrassed over how he was. Tristen would get a little bit of laugh, giving the Growlithe hybrid a pat on the back. There was nothing wrong; as far as Tristen was concerned, at this point, Matteo needed it. There was no need to be on guard so much. “That he is. Come on, they’re coming off the field.” He said, getting up from his spot and making his way off.

I would walk off the battlefield alongside Ninetales as well as the gym leader, Larry. “So, this is your fifth gym badge. I suppose that you’re committed to seeing to achieving the Champion rank then?” The gym leader asked me.

“I don’t see why not at this point. Not to mention…” I would say, stroking the top of Ninetales’s head. “…I got plenty to make up for and I’m not really sure that I got that long of an opportunity to try it.”

“Mm. That sounds familiar.” Larry said.

“Seriously man. Vacation time. Make time.” I said. “Leave your boss no excuses.”

“If only it was that easy.” He said, almost as if he heard that one too many times before. “Anyways, congratulations again. If you will excuse me…I think I might need to get a to-go order before heading off to work.”

“You…had a large plate of rice balls just before we battled. The battle wasn’t that long.” I said.

“Think of it as one of those hard-earned things that you feel you deserve. Like vacation time.” He said as he walked off. I couldn’t help but to head tilt at the gym leader as he walked off back for the counter to make another order. I couldn’t help but to eventually shake my head. Everyone’s got their quirks, I guess.

“Kiooo.” Ninetales spoke up.

“Yea, I guess I need to get you fed too. Yea, I better do that…in fact, get the whole crew fed. I promised Beartic before coming here and I and kinda got caught up in talking to-“

“Blizz!” Tristen would call out.

“Tristen!” I called out, waiving him over along with his friend.

“Man, Blizz, that was a crazy battle. Your Pokémon going to make it through the rest of the gyms?” he asked.

“We’ll manage.” I said, giving Ninetales a playful rub on its side. “I suppose at this point as soon as I get my Pokémon their own victory meal of sorts, we’ll start getting ready to set off on our hike to Montenerva to go after the next gym.”

"Well, we'll see about that one." I said. "At any rate, you two were going to head off on your own bit of training right? Don't have me keep you up. After all, weekends are pretty fleeting."

"Tell me about it." Tristen said.

"You two be careful, alright? Matteo, nice meeting you." I would say, shaking the boy's hand. A farewell for now sort of deal. "Tristen, I'll catch up with you later when I start getting close to turning in for the night." I would then say to him.

"Okay. Later Blizz." Tristen would watch me find my way off to start trying to get something to eat for my Pokemon, passing by Larry, who was already endulging in another good helping of rice balls. To each their own, apparently.

Tristen looked back towards Matteo. "Well you ready to get going?" He would then ask Matteo.

Tristen would follow Matteo out of the restaurant and took a look around the area. The excitement and such was all over, though was pretty amusing all the same. From watching the Pokémon battle to Matteo finally just letting it all go for a moment. He didn’t really have the feeling to needing a nap…he actually had a bit of a refreshed feeling actually. This day was turning out pretty good. He would look over Matteo when he started to bring up as to who to start with. Tristen thought for a minute then took out a Pokeball.

“How about this one…” He said, lobbing the ball out.

The ball would pop open and out came the black and red fire cat, Litten. “Nyyyo.” The Litten mewed out. The cat would look towards Matteo then the Buizel then up towards Litten, a gentle wave of the tail as it was fairly curious as to what was going on in this strange, unknown place.

“Hey Litten, we’re having a training day like we were talking about. Going to try to make up for last night, actually, since I got caught up trying to make sure any school loose ends caught me off guard. You know, the trip I told you and the other about?”

“Nyaaoo.” The cat would reply.

“And maybe at least this way we won’t have to try to get through any of Nemona’s Pokémon with no progress…” He said, grimacing to Matteo as he said it.