Heroes of Hoenn

Red, Gold, and now me—Steven says it's fate. I have to disagree. It's terrible, terrible, good luck. [Based on RSE]

Disclaimer: Pokémon does not belong to me, nor do its characters.

Chapter 7: Facing the Fighters

I had known, consciously, the surfing training method could not possibly be as easy and simple as Brawly and Makuhita made it look. But after my nth time getting a mouthful sand and finding my Pokémon doing no better, I decided that his meditite must have been using Confusion or Psychic on them to help them keep balance (Brawly had mentioned Meditite was partly psychic-type).

I immediately wanted to smack myself on my head. "Okay, guys," I hacked, the salt water rough on my throat, "back to shore! Time to rethink this!"

This morning, I'd dressed for surfing and snuck out to the southern end of the island to avoid being spotted when soaking and clearly female. It had been a journey rife with difficulty as we fought our way through lethal vegetation and a clan of territorial taillow, and I understood why people stuck to the northern shores. But the southern at least insured our privacy.

I itched at my ankle as I explained my idea to my compatriots. "Alright, here's how it goes. As it is, we don't even have enough time to figure out what we're doing wrong, we go down so fast. So Ralon is going to use Confusion to help you. This'll be a good chance to practice Confusion, as well as figuring out surfing. Since Muu's too big, Ralon will practice with Chika, and since Chika can't swim well"—something we'd found out the very hard way—"Muu will spot for him. I'll be watching to see if I can find ways to improve it. Ready?"

Three cries answered me, and we set about it. It took us nearly an hour to get it to the point that Chika could stay aloft for a minute without interference from Confusion, and after an hour of watching Chika, I was learning to differentiate the stances he used. Watching as Chika's weight shifted, I was starting to understand what Brawly had said about balance. Chika was thrown into the water, and surfaced a moment later with Muu.

Deciding that was good enough for now, I had Ralon try it out. After using Confusion to guide and help Chika, Ralon had a pretty good idea of what to do, though it took a little adjusting. After about half an hour, he could balance for almost two minutes.

Last up came Muu. Ralon's Confusion was too weak to manhandle Muu the same way he'd helped Chika, and it took us an hour and a half to get to the point Muu could balance for a minute. After this had been achieved, I called a much belated lunch break, and we devoured the food I'd packed hungrily in silence, but for munches and sighs.

We spent the rest of the day practicing balance. Studying them, I realized that just because a particular stance worked for the four-legged Chika, it did not mean it would work for two-legged Ralon, and just because a stance worked for Ralon did not mean it would work for the much stockier Muu. Each of my Pokémon would have to come up with an individual style.

We ended our second day with a takeout dinner from the Pokémon Center, which I brought to Mr. Briney and we ate aboard his ship, chatting about insignificant topics, and a bit about when the ship would be fixed.

The third day went much the same as the second, with southern wave-battles for us. Early in the morning, I pulled Muu from the training because he was doing the best, something that surprised me. With how graceful Ralon was, I'd expected him to excel at balance, but his light body was thrown about with relative ease by the merciless waves. With Muu, after we'd gotten past the one-minute marker, everything else seemed to fall into place and Muu was a natural.

We practiced and refined Mud Shot. I wasn't surprised when I saw that after his balance practice, his shots were already stronger and faster than they'd been, but I pushed for him to make them even more powerful and quicker. I told him he was using too much water in his mud—the mud was a light color—and if he could make dark or black mud, that was right.

Of course, I didn't know what I was talking about, but it made sense to my mind and felt right in my gut, so I pursued it. I had him take it by steps. First, figure out how to produce the dark mud. Second, produce great quantities of it. Third, shoot it.

To a degree, it worked. The dark mud was much more intense and forceful, but it was also slightly sluggish. Not dramatically, but not as speedy as a light-colored Mud Shot. I told Muu we'd keep working on it, and as he grew it would become faster and stronger as well. In the meantime, we settled for a satisfying compromise: Muu shot light blue balls at the target, which converted to dark mud as they struck. They were quicker than a constant stream of any color, and stronger than a light-colored stream (though weaker than a dark one).

After that, I had Muu run, dodge, and roll. I had him try using different stances for them as we figured out the quickest, controlled roll to get him on his feet most efficiently. He jumped and learned the best ways to land. On my insistence, he reluctantly learned the best ways to fall. These lessons made him pout at me after every fall, but I refused to be moved—even though the skin below his mouth water a lighter color than above and exaggerated the pout exponentially. Okay, maybe I went a bit easy on him.

After that, I had him swim, exercising, as I offered suggestions to Ralon and Chika. When we staggered back to the Pokémon Center late that evening, we were all pleased with the day's work: Ralon and Chika's balance had improved drastically, and Muu's Mud Shot was much stronger and faster. I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.

My fourth day on Dewford island dawned cloudy, and before heading to our special training spot, we visited the ship after a hardy breakfast. Mr. Briney was still asleep, however, so I couldn't find out how the repairs were going.

Muu was practicing Mud Shot as I ran Ralon and Chika through their paces balance-wise. They underwent the same movement-testing as I'd done with Muu yesterday, falling, dodging, jumping, and rolling. Ralon did very well on this, inherent grace kicking in on land—though his misgivings on falling were even greater than Muu's.

I added an extra category for Chika: accuracy. Chika managed to strike most targets successfully, but struggled with everything else, incredibly worn from these days of harsh training. He was lower-leveled than Ralon and Muu and I made myself to allow him a break. He flopped out on the sand, and sunbathed with a look of pure bliss on his face.

I was glancing over at him, checking on his condition, when I'd noticed Muu. Instead of the small blue balls, instead of the constant stream, he belched a big ball of mud that flew forward and slammed into a tree trunk with enough power that a coconut fell and conked Muu on the head: an instant KO.

I ran over, Ralon drifting beside me. It took us several minutes to wake up Muu, who demonstrated the crazily powerful blob-of-mud attack style for me. It seemed different than a Mud Shot, and after a consultation with the all-knowing PokéDex, I realized it was a different move, called Mud Bomb. I immediately checked to see if the blue balls Mud Shot was a different move, but it came up as Mud Shot. Oh well.

Mud Bomb was slower than the dark stream of Mud Shot, but in such a contained attack I saw great potential. Taking a break in balance testing, Ralon easily learned to control the Mud Bomb with Confusion.

Confusion made up for Mud Bomb's lack of speed, and also opened a wealth of possibilities regarding accuracy, of splitting it up into multiple balls (what would happen then?), and so many others I sat down and wished I'd been smart enough to bring a pencil and paper to write with. Finally I remembered the PokéNav, and I took it out to type notes.

Lunch, and then training resumed. When four o'clock came along, I called it off, explaining without looking at Chika that everyone needed a break in order to be ready for our gym match against Brawly tomorrow. I also looked up the fighting/psychic Meditite in the PokéDex, seeing as it was the only of Brawly's Pokémon Ralon didn't have the edge over type-wise.

"Meditite, the Meditate Pokémon. It continually meditates for hours every day. As a result of rigorous and dedicated yoga training, it has tempered its spiritual power so much it can fly."

"Whoa," I said. "Fly? Definitely need to watch out for that one." I looked over at Ralon. "Hey, could you fly too, if I made you meditate?"

Ralon gave me a look.

"Fiiine…" I sighed, but stored it away for future use. After all, it was flying.

The fifth day was sunny, but not hot. I was wearing my jacket comfortably, and hunched over my PokéDex as we finished an early lunch to prepare for our fight. If Brawly started with Meditite, I was starting with Muu; if Brawly started with Makuhita, I was starting with Ralon; and if Brawly started with Machop, I was starting with Chika.

Out of them, Meditite was the biggest threat, then Makuhita, and then Machop. It was no coincidence that Chika, our weakest link, was facing Machop. Since Ralon had the type advantage over Makuhita, he was taking him, and Muu would face Meditite—even if a Ralon vs Meditite was an intriguing, promising battle.

Thinking of Ralon's Trace, I looked up my opponents' possible abilities. Makuhita could have Guts—which raised attack when afflicted with a status problem—or Thick Fat—which halved the damage taken from fire- or ice-type attacks. Machop could have either Guts or No Guard—an ability that insured that every attack hit (whether it was from Machop or his opponent) no matter what—and Meditite had Pure Power, which doubled his attack stat, period. Ralon didn't know any physical moves, so these abilities were wasted on him. I would have to be careful, especially if I decided to inflict a status condition on them with Chika.

I gave my Pokémon time to digest before pulling Muu out to alter his Mud Shot slightly, making the blue balls smaller and more plentiful so it would be harder for Meditite's Confusion to stop them. I told Muu we'd make them even smaller and numerous when we had time.

Finally, I returned all of my Pokémon and entered the gym alone. The gym had a circular front with a smaller orange circle in it. The door was in the orange circle. Inside, it was pitch-black, and if it weren't for a receptionist-type man at the door, I'd think it was closed. Stepping into the yawning darkness, I called out Muu to make sure I didn't walk into any walls or anything.

The first time a trainer leapt out at me, unleashed her Pokémon for battle, I nearly screamed in surprised fright. After I realized what was happening, we owned her Meditite, our improved Mud Shot working nicely against her Confusion. I felt very smug as I saw that. When we beat her, a light came on.

So for every trainer I beat, more lights come on? I thought.

A few trainers later, and I returned Muu, able to see. I saw a trainer leaning against the wall at a corner, and defeated him with Ralon. I returned Ralon and turned the corner, unsurprised to see Brawly across a battlefield from me, softly illuminated by dim overhead lights. "About time you came, yeh! We've been waiting and waiting, but the wave never crashed!" he called to me.

"Your gym puzzle is…interesting," I told him.

Brawly grinned. "I've been churned in the rough waves of these parts, and I've grown tough in the pitch-black cave! So, are you ready for this?" He didn't wait for my answer, instead pulling out a pokéball with a, "Let me see what you're made of!"

"This will be a three-on-three battle; the challenger is allowed substitutions, and the gym leader is not. Go!" called the referee.

"Machop!"

"Alright, let's go, Chika! On guard!"

Machop was a gray humanoid Pokémon with visible ribs and muscles. His orangey-red eyes looked over Chika, not seeming very impressed, and he cracked his knuckles, tail waving slightly in anticipation. A quick flash of my PokéDex and I found out Machop had Guts, not No Guard. Oh well. Chika's aim had improved enough that it didn't matter, anyway.

"I see that you surfed," said Brawly, and I nodded, realizing he could tell by just the way Chika was standing that we'd done as he'd suggested.

"Start this with Bullet Seed."

"Jump over them and Karate Chop."

Chika shot a multitude of brightly glowing seeds at Machop, who vaulted into the air, hurtling towards Chika with the force of his fall and Karate Chop.

I didn't think any of Chika's attacks were strong enough to halt the incoming blow, so I cried, "Growl!" like I had for Muu a long time ago.

Chika Growled and Karate Chop struck, knocking Chika back as he smashed into the ground.

"Focus Energy," ordered Brawly. Machop closed his eyes, and began to glow. By the time Chika had successfully gotten to his feet, Machop had finished the attack, and while he appeared the same as ever, I knew there was an extra power in him. Crap.

I waited for him to make a move, and a tense moment passed.

"Karate Chop!"

Machop ran at Chika, raising his stiff hands threateningly.

"Bullet Seed his feet! Follow them!"

Chika shot off a round of Bullet Seeds (they were faster than Razor Leaves, which was why I was using them), forcing Machop to dodge to the side to avoid them. Chika kept up the barrage. The sheer number and speed of the scattered seeds meant that Machop couldn't continuously manage to dodge all of them as Chika constantly adjusted his aim to follow Machop's feet. I chose his feet because it would be nice if he'd fall over, but mostly because it would be harder for him to Karate Chop seeds down by his feet than seeds by his head.

Finally, Brawly called, "Back away." Machop went out of Bullet Seed's range, and Chika stopped, breathing heavily.

"Synthesis!" I called, because Machop wasn't close enough to attack before Chika finished the move. He still tried, anyway, but looking as good as new, Chika sent off another round of Bullet Seeds to ward him off.

I should try to poison him, I thought, narrowing my eyes. Then this time-consuming game of Bullet Seed's range would be to our advantage. But in doing so, Guts will be activated…

"Bulk Up." Machop flexed his arms, outlined in a magenta glow as his attack and defense rose. "Again." Brawly was watching me, waiting for me to make my move.

I grimaced, mind flashing back to the Karate Chop Machop had scored. Why hadn't I thought of using PoisonPowder then?

I waited until Machop was caught in another Bulk Up, before, "Razor Leaf! Run forward!" Razor Leaf had better range than Bullet Seed and managed to hit Machop. It didn't seem to do much because of how much Machop's defense had risen.

"Karate Chop!" Machop ran at Chika, preparing his hands as his eyes hardened.

"Stop!" I shouted at the last moment and Chika came to an abrupt stop, planting in his small feet and nearly falling over. Machop, who had been measuring his attack for the moment he and Chika would meet if Chika were still running, missed by centimeters and stumbled, off-balance from his powerful swing. "PoisonPowder!"

PoisonPowder was actually my back-up plan for Meditite, because Confusion couldn't stop it. Or at least, Ralon's Confusion couldn't. Machop was getting it anyway, though, and coughed as he inhaled the glittering purple dust Chika had released. "Now, Razor Leaf!"

"Finish this! Poison Jab!"

Machop expertly destroyed all the leaves and descended upon Chika, his purple fist slamming into Chika's head with increased power. Chika hit the wall and fainted.

"Chikorita is unable to battle. Machop wins!"

Machop was cringing, looking vaguely ill from PoisonPowder. I considered him. He looked like one good Confusion might knock him out; maybe two… I couldn't let him score a hit. "Ralon, on guard." Ralon emerged with a twirl on one leg, the other bent back to touch the back of his green hair. Or what looked like green hair and felt soft, anyway.

"Machop versus Kirlia. Begin!"

I let the first few seconds of the battle pass, knowing the more time I stalled, the more damage Machop's poisoning would do. Brawly knew as well, and as soon as he saw I wasn't going to attack, he did. "Poison Jab!"

"Confusion," I said flatly, and Ralon's eyes glowed. Machop cried out and tumbled to the ground, outlined in light blue. A moment later, he fainted.

…That was quick. Ralon really had improved.

"Machop is unable to battle," yelled the referee. "Kirlia is the winner."

"Return, Machop. Now, Meditite, your turn!"

"Meditite versus Kirlia, begin!"

"Are you going to return him?" called Brawly, a cocky grin on his face as Meditite emerged with a flash of red light, eyes closed and sitting in meditation. A whitish aura surrounded him. I stilled the hand reaching for Ralon's pokéball. My plan explicitly forbade a Meditite/Ralon fight, especially since Makuhita hadn't been knocked out yet. But Ralon spun around, a tense, pleading look in his eyes, and my shoulders slumped as I silently acquiesced.

The white glow around Meditite, as well as his complete concentration, was giving me a bad feeling, so I started this off. "Magical Leaf!"

Ralon twirled, and glowing multi-colored leaves appeared and flew at Meditite with unerring accuracy.

"Light Screen."

They hit a barrier, and many of them disintegrated, though a couple of weakened ones forged through to hit Meditite, who didn't seem to notice them. Light Screen was an attack that mostly thwarted special attacks, which were the only offensive attacks Ralon knew. I really needed to teach him a physical attack, and teach Chika a special one.

The only way for a Light Screen to end was through the move Brick Break, or waiting for it to fade. If I wanted it to fade, I'd have to keep Ralon conscious till it did, which meant…

"Double Team! And again! And again!"

Copies of Ralon surrounded Meditite, infused with enough psychic energy to befuddle the senses of the psychic-type Pokémon. The glow around Meditite was growing stronger, and suddenly seemed to flare. Meditite's black eyes snapped open.

"Hidden Power!"

Spheres of power swirled about Meditite, before flying out to attack the Ralons, one for each copy.

"Teleport!"

One ball never reached its target as Ralon Teleported to Meditite's other side, "Confusion!" Ralon grabbed control of the Hidden Power, turning the white balls a light blue and hurling them back at Meditite.

"Confusion!"

I waited breathlessly for the Confusion vs Confusion, but instead of slamming his power against Ralon's, Meditite used Confusion to merely deflect the Hidden Power, which cracked the wall behind him. That was interesting…there was something markedly surf-ish about it.

Light Screen prevents a pure Confusion against him, I think. It also means Magical Leaf doesn't hit strongly. So I need for him to attack, and turn his attacks against, or find a way to power up my moves. Still, Meditite's Pure Power seemed to indicate that physical moves would be more advantageous for him to use.

"Flash," called Brawly, and before I could do so much as blink, an intolerable white light burned into my eyes, making me and Ralon cry out. I threw up a tardy arm in front of my eyes. "Drain Punch!"

I couldn't see a thing. "Uh—Double Team! Can you see anything, Ralon?"

"Kirlia, kir," Ralon disagreed. It's a good thing we had had that one practice in Granite Cave, I thought dryly. More for me than for Ralon, though, since he had his inhuman senses.

"Mind Reader, and then Drain Punch once more," I heard Brawly order.

"Teleport." There was the prickle of a successful Teleport, but an instant later, "Lia!" as Drain Punch hit. "Ralon!" Mind Reader ensured the next hit's accuracy by reading the opponent's mind—as stated by its name. Well, crap. "Magical Leaf!" I yelled, for lack of anything else to do.

"Detect." Detect was like Protect, probably created a shield of some sort around Meditite. As if he needs it, with Light Screen there. I squinted helplessly.

"You can tell where Meditite is, right, Ralon?"

"Kirlia!" Ralon had a sort of 'obviously' tone to his voice, and a 'stupid question' undertone. Since Meditite's power was so focused, I guess it must be pretty simple to locate him.

"Meditite, use Bulk Up. Then tighten your focus!"

I frowned. Tighten your focus…? Why did that sound so familiar? I wished I could see what Meditite was doing! Wait… Focus Punch! Oh, crap! Focus Punch was a really powerful fighting-type move, and a favorite of Norman's. Focus Punch was such a strong move because the user condensed an incredible amount of energy into their fist.

My two vague strategy ideas had been to use Brawly's attacks against himself, or to power up mine to punch through that Light Screen. Could Confusion affect sheer energy? Was Confusion itself pure energy? Well, behind that Light Screen, neither would do any good. Which left power up my attacks; how? Gathering our own focus to boost our attacks? Using many attacks? No…combining attacks? A Confusion-controlled Magical Leaf? Since Carvanha, we'd never tried that, simply because Magical Leaf always hit its target…

"Use Magical Leaf! And then Confusion on the leaves!" I shouted. "Guide them towards Meditite!"

"Learn your own moves," I heard Brawly yell, "Magical Leaf is a self-guided attack! It doesn't need to be aimed, its accuracy is flawless."

"Medi!" I heard Meditite yelp, and grinned.

On its own, Light Screen diminishes Magical Leaf enough to be negligent, not enough to knock Meditite from his concentration. Teamed with Confusion, though…Light Screen burns away the layer of power Confusion forms but lets the leaves themselves pass through, since Light Screen can't completely stop strong special attacks.

"Smart," Brawly said. "Mind Reader and then Drain Punch!" Because Drain Punch restored HP by absorbing energy, I figured that a direct Magical Leaf/Confusion combo to get through Light Screen would fail, and in fact fuel Meditite. Hm…could I get Drain Punch to absorb the Light Screen around him? No, he couldn't strike it…right?

So, deter him with something else… I wracked my brain for a memory of the field. Completely flat and smooth. So where else— "Ralon, Confusion the ceiling!" I called, hoping I was remembering right and there were lights. There was a sharp crack, and Meditite yelled as he unleashed his attack. Ralon didn't scream, so I assumed Meditite defended himself from the falling object using Drain Punch. "Follow up with Magical Leaf and Confusion, quick!"

"Slow them with Confusion, and move!"

What? Brawly had been the one to point out destroying Magical Leaf was the only way to stop it…what was he playing at?

"Kir," said Ralon, sounding alarmed.

"Let go of them!"

"RRRR!"

"Ralon?" I asked, heart speeding up. What was going on?

"I just had my Meditite slow Magical Leaf slightly to give it time to jump over behind…Ralon, is it? Then he let go of Magical Leaf, and it hit Ralon while trying to get to him," explained Brawly. I didn't really understand, but didn't press the point. "Now, Drain Punch!"

"Magical Leaf and Confusion, guide behind him!" I yelled, not knowing if it was possible—how close were Ralon and Meditite—could Ralon do it like he did against Carvanha?

"Medi—tite?"

"KIRLIA!"

—and then sound of a body skidding across the ground. "Ralon?" I demanded, frightened. "Are you okay?"

"Lia, kirlia!"

"Meditite is unable to battle," announced the referee, "the winner is Kirlia."

"Well, that certainly wasn't a normal Confusion and Magical Leaf," I heard Brawly remark. "I believe Ralon just learned Calm Mind to boost it." Talk about good fortune. We seemed to be in the habit of learning new moves against important opponents, didn't we? Mud Shot against Roxanne, Magical Leaf against Shelly, and now Calm Mind against Brawly. Hm. Maybe it had something to do with the pressure…?

"Makuhita, you're on!"

My vision was returning. I could see vague shapes, including the outline of Makuhita's bulky stature.

"Makuhita versus Kirlia. Begin!"

"Makuhita, Fake Out!"

"Tele—" Ralon cried out as Fake Out hit. "Alright then, Confusion!" There was no prickle that announced Confusion, and his blurry shape stayed where it was. "Ralon?"

"SmellingSalt!"

There was a "Makuhita!" and the sound of an impact, and "Kirlia…!"

"Teleport!" I yelled, and finally I felt the whisper-feel of a Teleport. "Confusion, now!"

"Surf."

There was an ominous rumble, and then roar, and I recognized it as a wave—as a great crash of water and power that swallowed even Ralon's shout. When it subsided, I vaguely saw Ralon struggling to his feet, limbs shaking.

"Finish this with Arm Thrust."

"Teleport," I called, and Ralon barely avoided Makuhita's fists, appearing behind him. "Confusion." Blue light shone around Makuhita, who grimaced.

"Vital Throw!" Makuhita grabbed Ralon and threw him into the ground like a doll. Ralon forced himself to his feet. "We're almost done here, Makuhita. Finish with SmellingSalt."

"Confusion," I called again, but Makuhita plowed on as he glowed blue, and caught Ralon in his hands. "Teleport!" A moment later, Ralon slipped from Makuhita's grip, hitting the ground with a soft thud.

"Kirlia is unable to battle. Makuhita wins!"

I returned Ralon, mouth thinning, as I forced my mind past the two cold pokéballs in my pockets. If I were held at gunpoint and told to choose which of my Pokémon to depend on in a dire situation, I would always choose Muu. He was my special starter (even if I had been such a brat about it) and my faith in him was absolute. It was in myself that the battle flaws lay.

A party of Pokémon is only as good as the trainer leading them. A novice with a level 50 could still lose to an expert with a level 5—though it was unlikely… Ironically, my parents had used that exact sentiment as one of their reasons of holding me back. Even if it had been infuriating as heck—and still was—that didn't change the inherent truth to it.

"Muu, on guard." Muu came onto the battlefield ready; I could see his skin was moist with anticipation of the challenging battle ahead.

"Makuhita versus Marshtomp. Begin!"

"Let's cut right to the chase, yeh?" called Brawly. "Now, Makuhita! Unleash your energy!"

Muu and I tensed, readying for a Bide-like attack, and Makuhita lit with white light. From within the light I saw him morphing, growing taller, wider, and stronger. I pulled out my PokéDex, wondering blankly how Makuhita could've evolved right on command like that.

"Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon. It has the habit of challenging others without hesitation to tests of strength. It's been known to stand on train tracks and stop trains using forearm thrusts." Not useful on how Makuhita evolved…

"Makuhita spends its life storing energy," explained Brawly helpfully. "It uses that energy to evolve, usually around level 24. The more energy makuhita store, they more powerful a hariyama they become. Now, Arm Thrust!"

With surprising speed, Hariyama ran at Muu. We knew better than to think even Mud Shot could stop its charge. "Dodge!" Muu lunged to the side, but an Arm Thrust caught him, I cursed that move's flexibility, and the single thrust was followed by a volley of others. Muu staggered back. Brawly's annoying grin couldn't've been wider.

This changed things. One of the most irritating things was that Makuhita could've evolved against Ralon, but Brawly (correctly) judged him not enough of a threat to. There was something in that which rubbed me the wrong way.

"Alright, Muu?" He nodded. "Mud Bomb." Let's see how Brawly dealt with that.

"Whirlwind," called Brawly, and a strong gust of wind caught Mud Bomb, making its tornado-like structure visible. I frowned. That was…troublesome. "Charge Marshtomp."

Hariyama ran at Marshtomp. Muu had already discovered he couldn't dodge an Arm Thrust and his attacks weren't powerful enough to deter Hariyama. We'd have to use a combination of the two… "Mud-Slap!" I yelled, wondering when had been the last time I'd used Mud-Slap. "Into his eyes and dodge!"

"Turn," commanded Brawly, and with surprising grace, Hariyama whirled, the mud sailing by him, and one of his large hands grabbed Muu as Muu tried to duck away, "Vital Throw!" and threw him into the tornado of Mud Bomb. Muu suffered its wrath, and came out covered in mud, and the wind died down, spent.

It was possibly the most abstract, interesting use of a move I'd ever seen. Whirlwind was normally a move to force someone to switch Pokémon. Instead, Brawly had used it to stop and preserve my attack and then use it against Muu. "Water Gun."

Muu shot water at Hariyama, who easily turned, dodging it. He liked to go with the flow, but—remembering the earlier fights—that only worked when I attacked him. If I didn't attack, there was no flow for him to go with. But I'd never been a patient person, and I was sure there was a more reliable strategy than that. I just needed to find it.

Hariyama knew balance very well via the surf method, so he probably had Muu beat in that category. The two were about the same speed. Hariyama's attack was higher. Muu knew ranged moves. Hariyama knew Surf, so even if I tried to cover the field with mud to give Muu the edge in speed and balance, he could wash it all away. He could use Whirlwind to halt and keep one of my attacks to later throw me into. The strength of my attack determined the strength of the Whirlwind method. Huh…

Two paths to take with that. Make the Whirlwind incredibly weak and pop out unexpectedly. The other was to make the Whirlwind very strong and somehow get Hariyama into it. In fact…a Whirlwind was really spinny, right? Could it make you dizzy? Hm…there was also the Bide method, where I'd super-power the Whirlwind and use Bide to store energy while within.

What other advantages or plans did I have? If I used a range attack, he'd dodge it, or capture it in Whirlwind. What if I could make the Whirlwind bigger? Big enough to encompass the whole room? What was a room-filling attack? Besides Bide…

I recalled Ralon, sopping wet, struggling to rise after a devastating Surf. I needed him to use Whirlwind, and then Surf—unless Surf would be too powerful for the Whirlwind… Well, in that case, there was no way to know till I tried. Now, how would I manipulate him into using Surf?

When he'd used it against Ralon, it had been to counter an intangible, sort of impossible to dodge move; to utterly overwhelm.

…Wait. Earlier, in this very battle, hadn't I realized if I muddied the room, he'd use Surf to clean it up? Stupid! That should have occurred to you immediately, dummy! You have to remember these things!

But first came the Whirlwind.

"Wuh-oh, looks like he has a plan," laughed Brawly, jolting me away from my scheming. I noticed that my frown had eased, but my mouth had tightened in determination. I relaxed my face into an inscrutable poker face.

"Mud Bomb."

"Whirlwind. Is that all you've got, after the time I gave you to think?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"Mud Bomb, near the Whirlwind."

"Whirlwind them."

"Now, Mud Shot the ground," I called, watching curiously as the Whirlwinds sucked in each other (which was a strangely fascinating sight), "constant stream." Muu let out a torrent of mud, covering the ground nearby with a layer of mud. "Get closer to Hariyama, and continue."

Brawly shook his head. "I know what you're up to; I've faced a fancy marshtomp or two in my time. They all resort to trying to gain the speed advantage at some point, and I've already devised the strategy to counter that…Surf!"

I couldn't contain my wide grin and I saw him frown in consternation before a great rush of water obscured him.

As I'd hoped, the Surf was greedily grabbed by the mega Whirlwind before it could reach Muu, twisting it into an enormous whirlpool that Hariyama dragged to the core of, dirty tides ripping viciously at him. I saw bubbles of air escaping from his mouth, but were immediately destroyed by the currents. The only sound was that of the roaring water as Surf and Mud Bomb pounded into Hariyama, and when it finally faded, Muu and I were ready with a "MUD SHOT!" which slammed into Hariyama. With a ponderous, satisfying thud, he fell to the ground, unconscious from his own might and Muu's final blow.

"H-Hariyama is unable to battle. The victor is Marshtomp! The challenger wins the battle!"

Brawly returned his Pokémon, shaking his head incredulously. He walked over to me, a circular blue badge with a smaller orange circle along the rim of one side in hand. It reminded me a bit of a boxer's glove and it was the symbol on the front of the gym. "The Knuckle Badge is yours; you earned it." He pressed the badge into my palm, blue eyes on mine. His eyes were lighter and less green than Steven's. "You have a big wave, but it's not the wave to watch for, but the undertow. Yeh?"

I thought back to training and the one time Chika had gotten caught in said undertow. "Yeah. Though one could argue the wave leads to the undertow."

"Covers it," agreed Brawly, releasing my hands with a broad grin. "I have no doubt one day you'll unleash a storm upon Hoenn, the likes of which that will never be forgotten."

I flushed. "Thanks."

"Also, take this. Bulk Up—an extra reward for beating me. Ship, I owe Steven," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We made a bet, see."

I blinked. "A bet…? Like, you bet you'd win, and Steven bet I'd win?" Steven had? I clenched the orange disc in my hand, its surface smooth. I hadn't seen Steven since…speaking with him outside of Brawly's door, and I assumed he'd been in Granite Cave doing…whatever it was he did.

Brawly nodded wryly. "Yeah. That guy…he's always had an eye for talent, I guess."

"Oh," I said blankly. "Okay. Er, I'm going to the Pokémon Center…" I stuffed the TM into a convenient pocket, and turned to leave.

"I'm coming too." Brawly led me out of his gym, chattering about surfing and what he called physical and subtle forces, explaining how I could become a master of both, but I wasn't really listening. When we reached the Pokémon Center and I heard Brawly cry in surprise, "Steven! You're not holed up in Granite Cave?" I forcibly dragged my mind to the present.

Steven lowered his PokéNav. He was leaning against the wall of the Pokémon Center, and was wearing the black and purple suit I'd met him in. "No, apparently I'm not," he said. "How did your battle go?"

Brawly groaned. "You were right. He made a bigger splash than I'd expected—you should've seen the battle, his strategy…completely swamped Hariyama and I. Literally, yeh." He leveled an almost proud grin at me. Brawly grinned a lot.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Steven's mouth. "He does seem to take people by surprise. Sapph, your ship is ready to leave, as soon as you're on it. And Brawly, as I seem to have won our wager…"

"Yeah, yeah," Brawly grumbled. "Consider the rocks yours, you nut. I'll get them ready. You can stop by whenever to pick them up and bring them wherever it is you hoard all your stuff."

I raised my eyebrows, unable to restrain my amused smile. Well, since Steven is the heir to Devon, I guess money hardly concerns him. On the other hand, stones…

Steven seemed to be in a good mood, accompanying Brawly and me into the Pokémon Center and bantering lightly with Brawly. I mostly listened, watching his lighthearted eyes and slightly slouched back. He seemed like a mild young man, who never grinned, but gave these little smiles that seemed to mean more than Brawly's generous grins. As we waited for our Pokémon, the talk turned to my battle against Brawly. By then, Steven already gathered the general gist of the battle.

"What made you think of the Whirlwind-Surf strategy?" asked Brawly, and I shrugged, wondering how to explain my convoluted battle-thinking mindset to him.

"I was impressed with your use of Whirlwind, and so it was near the front of my mind as I was trying to figure a way to win," I answered vaguely. "It's a technique that can be turned against you. I decided to power it up and trap Hariyama in it. I doubted I'd be able to move Hariyama into it, so I had it suck up Hariyama."

"Very clever, and creative," said Steven, and my mind flashed back to his praise and then cold analysis of my strategy on the bridge.

"But?" I asked him dryly.

"…But Muu could've gotten caught in it as well, and if the Whirlwinds hadn't absorbed each other, Surf may have destroyed it, or the currents produced may not have been strong enough to drag Hariyama's considerable weight. It was a good raw idea, but needed further refining—though I'll admit you hardly had time to refine it. You also failed to take advantage of Muu's advanced senses, or the secondary properties of moves like Mud Shot. If you had worked those factors in your favor…" Steven shrugged lightly.

"Yeah," I sighed, "yeah." I didn't tell him my adrenaline-fogged mind couldn't think like that under pressure, not when the opponent was so strong and merciless and intelligent that victory seemed distant and unreal. My thoughts were often disjointed with non-sequitors working their way in. Then again, some of those non-sequitors were observations that could later win me the battle.

A clear mind in battle was something that would come with more experience and practice, not a second sooner, so I didn't see any point in whining about it to Steven. Steven had an air of comfortable competence so long worn I doubted he remembered a time before it.

Nurse Joy returned with our Pokémon just then, and she seemed determined to linger and talk with us—or, more likely, Steven. I examined her, hoping it was the same nurse who'd bandaged my now-healed ankle—it would be very disappointing to find two such nurses.

Steven was ready to leave though, and Brawly escorted us to Mr. Briney's ship. On a sudden inspiration, I asked Brawly about the other gym leaders.

"There's ol' Wattson in Mauville," he told me. "That'd where I'd head next if I were you. After that, Flannery in Lavaridge, Winona in Fortree, the twins on Mossdeep, and then Sootopolis, whatever's going on there. I don't know much about the new guy, though—Petalburg was going to have a gym leader who moved here from Johto or something. I don't know anything about him, but his name's like—Mornan? Flannery's also a bit of a newbie. You beat them all, yeh?"

"I will," I promised him, and ran aboard. Now there was just a two to three day journey to Slateport with Mr. Briney and Steven Stone. Fun.

Maybe I could get Ralon started on that flying thing…

Not much Steven in this one, sorry to say. But on the bright side, they're now traveling together, which means more of him in the future! On the gym battle side of things, hopefully it wasn't too confusing. The strategies took a while to work out. Amazingly, the ones I'm having the most trouble with are May's opponents—I guess partially because I don't know their Pokémon as well as May's. Definitely something I need to work on. Man, and I couldn't fit Meditite flying in!

Expect chapter eight to take a while—I'm not happy with the first part of it, so I'll probably rewrite that part completely. At least the chapter will be longer, then, as my rewrites are inevitably longer than the originals.

Note: I have clearly never surfed.

November 29, 2010: Thanks to Liz Hollow for correcting my careless mistake!

November 27, 2011: Grammar edits

August 23, 2012: Added accents in Pokémon, PokéDex, etc

March 31, 2013: Grammar

Please, review!

—xxsapphireheartxx