Dawn came far more swiftly than Cassie would’ve liked, especially with the specter of her second gym battle looming large over her thoughts. She’d slept poorly the night before, tossing and turning and unable to fitfully rest with her worries clouding her mind. She would have been surprised to know she got more than three or four hours, really, and even that was broken and scattered throughout the night. The first word that came to mind to describe her disheveled appearance was ‘ragged,’ she thought as she brushed her hair in the bathroom mirror following a quick shower. Orion and Paulos were waiting patiently for her to finish outside, and she’d already started thinking about what to make for their breakfast as she ran the brush through her hair in soothing motions. She hadn’t worried too much about makeup during her time here with how much time she spent outdoors helping her Pokemon train, but she made a note to put some concealer on her face to try and hide the faint bags under her eyes that she saw in the mirror. She usually wasn’t too self-conscious about her appearance, but she really didn’t want to look so rough during a gym match of all things.
“Our fair trainer looks...unwell,” Paulos chirped to Orion from his perch on the back of a chair, his usual boisterous nature toned down for the time being.
“She didn’t sleep very well last night,” Orion replied, glancing between the open bathroom door and the Pidgey nearby. “I know she got up a few times in the night, and I heard her tossing and turning a lot even when she tried to sleep.”
“Something has been troubling her,” Paulos said with certainty. “Our match today, perhaps, but Paulos feels as if there is more to it than that.”
Orion paused briefly, wondering if he should explain what little he knew to his teammate. On the one hand, it felt rather personal for Cassie and he hated to bring up something that she seemed to want to keep private, but on the other...he was at a loss for what to do. He didn’t know how to help her, especially not after the reaction she’d had the previous evening to her own drawing, and maybe having another set of ears on the problem would help.
It was Paulos’ status of sorts that actually made the decision for him after some thought, though. Orion may have been Cassie’s starter, but Paulos was her first catch, and something about that felt just as special in the Growlithe’s mind, equally as important as being her first partner. He knew without thinking about it that Paulos would be the second-in-command of the team in a way no matter what happened in the future, and he wanted - no, needed to extend that level of trust to the Flying-type.
“Yeah, there’s more to it,” he said, lazily nodding from his spot on the sofa. “When we were out in the woods after leaving Eterna the second time, she...had a weird dream that really spooked her. She told me about it the next morning, and I don’t really know what to think about it.” When Paulos didn’t say anything, the Fire-type took that as his cue to continue. “She told me she dreamed about a lake in the moonlight, and how she was walking alongside it in the dead of night with no one else around. How...she could feel everything, like she could see everything around her at once, almost like she was one with the lake or something.”
The slight tilt of Paulos’ head let Orion know that he was clearly intrigued, but Orion kept going before the bird could interrupt. “She told me that she’s dreamed about it again since then, and then she drew a lake in her notebook last night before she went to bed without really thinking about it. She’s pretty freaked out about the whole thing, and I can’t figure out why she’d be dreaming about a random lake somewhere. And she won’t tell Kaitlyn, either, which isn’t helping.”
Orion’s eyes tracked over to his trainer as she exited the bathroom, heading for the refrigerator and starting to rummage around for what she was going to make for breakfast for the three of them. She gave the dog a smile that seemed just a hair forced as she pulled items from the fridge, setting them on the counter as she started to prepare.
“Are you two ready for the match?” she asked. “I’m...pretty nervous, since I know how tough this one is going to be.”
Both Orion and Paulos gave excited cries in response, clearly displaying their eagerness for the gym battle ahead. Orion didn’t disagree with his trainer, however - the Rock-type Leader was bound to be a difficult fight for the both of them despite all of their training between when they left Eterna and now. Still, he was going to stay confident even if it was mostly for Cassie’s sake rather than his own. He was sure that she could use the emotional support given everything on her mind, and Paulos certainly didn’t need any encouragement in that respect.
“These dreams are...intriguing,” Paulos said, stepping back into their conversation as Cassie began to make breakfast. “And these are places she does not recognize?”
“If she did, she hasn’t told me,” Orion replied with a quick shake of his head. “I think she’s more worried about why she’s having these weird dreams in the first place. Everything was fine until we left town the second time, and I don’t remember anything happening that day that seemed strange.”
Paulos nodded in assent; he also didn’t remember anything unusual happening during their time in the wilderness, though the memory did spark annoyance at the thought of the trainer’s Staravia that he’d battled with. “Did she notice anything in particular about these lakes, something that would stand out? Paulos has seen many lakes in his travels, but there must be something special about these.”
Orion shook his head again. “Nothing besides the way it made her feel. She said it almost felt more real than...the real world did.”
A dream world that felt more real than reality? That reeked of Psychic-type interference, Paulos mused to himself. To the best of his knowledge, though, Cassie hadn’t interacted with any Psychics beyond the League-entrusted Pokemon who assisted with matches, and he hardly believed any of those Pokemon capable of such a thing. Still, he reasoned, the thought deserved voicing.
“Tell me, Orion...before our battle, did our fair trainer run afoul of any Psychic-types that you are aware of?”
Orion’s nose crinkled as he thought - the timeframe between him being adopted and Paulos being captured was short, and nothing he could recall had led Cassie to be around any Psychic-types that he knew of. “No, none that I remember. You think one planted this...suggestion in her head?”
“It is but a theory, but Paulos believes it to be sensible. Suggestions and dreams of this nature are the workings of mental abilities, and it seems the likeliest answer.”
Orion didn’t say anything at first. He had his doubts, but if he was being honest, it was a better explanation than anything he’d come up with so far. “I wonder...”
“Hm?”
“I was just thinking, I wonder if that’s why she seemed so creeped out by the Xatu at the field yesterday,” Orion mentioned, eyes wandering over to where Cassie was cooking as the tasty smells wafted in his direction. “Don’t know if you saw it, but she tried her best to stay away from it after a few minutes, not that I know why. Not like she had a problem with strange birds before,” he joked, chuckling and grinning in Paulos’ direction.
“You would dare accuse the mighty Paulos of being strange?” Paulos crowed, the boisterous nature slipping back into place. “Of course a ruffian like yourself would not understand the ways of nobility!”
That got a hearty laugh out of the Growlithe, though he dared not wonder whether the nobility part was true or exaggerated for his own sanity’s sake. “Forgive me for the insult, your highness,” he snorted, absently licking a bit of drool from his lips. Whatever Cassie was making smelled yummy, and it was starting to make his stomach grumble in anticipation. “I dared not dream of offending.”
“Paulos will...forgive the impertinence,” the Pidgey chirped back imperiously, though it was clear that he was also trying not to laugh in the process. Despite the occasional butting of heads at first, Paulos respected Orion both as a comrade and as a friend now, and the feeling seemed mutual from the Fire-type. He had become sure now more than ever after their time together so far that he’d chosen correctly by deciding to stay.
“So - how are we gonna crack some rocks today?” Orion asked, stretching in his spot as his tail wagged lazily behind him. “Got a plan in that big brain of yours?”
“It would seem that our best recourse is to continue with what we have practiced,” Paulos replied, shifting to make himself more comfortable as he preened an errant feather from one of his wings. “We have been making progress against the natives of the area, and our companion believes that we are improving. Surely we will come out ahead if we stay the course.”
“So, focus on speed, hit and run, and just try to wear them down,” Orion recounted, earning a quick nod from Paulos. “Think I should lead off this time? My Fire-type attacks might do more -”
Paulos swiftly cut him off with a shake of his head. “No, Orion. Allow Paulos to take the lead and do what he can. You are our best chance of victory, and Paulos will try to ensure you can finish whatever foes remain once the winds are not enough.”
It was an obvious sacrifice play, one that left a bitter taste in Orion’s mouth, but at the same time he found he couldn’t disagree with the strategy. With nothing but wind and talons, Paulos was ill-suited for the upcoming fight and he knew it. He was trying to maximize their chance at victory no matter what, and Orion couldn’t help but respect the boldness.
“If that’s how you want it,” he started carefully, “I’ll do my best to burn down anything that you leave. I wish it wasn’t just the two of us, though.”
Paulos nodded slowly - he’d thought much the same over the past few days, knowing what they were up against. Cassie seemed the type of trainer to be very careful with her choices for partners, which had both benefits and drawbacks. He was sure that the positives would outweigh the negatives in the long run, but he couldn’t help but share Orion’s desire in the moment with what lay ahead of them.
It only took a few more minutes for Cassie to finish up with breakfast for the three of them, and soon both Pokemon and their trainer were digging into their food with obvious relish. Cassie was unusually quiet while eating, Orion noticed, seemingly lost in her own thoughts unlike most mornings when she would be happily chatting away to the both of them. She was probably thinking along the same lines that they had been, he thought to himself, trying to come up with a strategy for the gym match. Not for the first time, he lamented the lack of ability for most humans to properly understand Pokemon. He hated not being able to make himself understood the way he wanted sometimes, even if enough of the meaning got through for Cassie to make sense of it all. Intent was all well and good, but it was times like this where he longed for actual comprehensible words to give voice to his feelings.
He desperately wanted to tell Cassie that things were going to be okay, that she should talk to Kaitlyn about what was bothering her, that she shouldn’t worry about the gym match, but he couldn’t. All he could do was try to stay by her side and hope that she came to the right conclusions on her own, but the inability to do more was wearing on him a little more each day.
Cassie’s phone pinged with the sound of an incoming message from where she’d left it beside the bed, and Orion beat her to the punch as he darted over to carefully take the phone in his jaws before bringing it to her. She smiled and ruffled the fur on his head, offering a quick word of thanks as she checked the message on the screen. It was from Kaitlyn like she’d expected, wondering if she was ready to set out yet. She looked at the time, noticing that her gym match wasn’t for another two hours or so, and she tapped out a quick reply to Kaitlyn before setting the phone back down and returning to her food. Truth be told, she didn’t feel ready to see her friend again just yet. A part of her was afraid that Kaitlyn would try and bring things up again like she’d done the day before, and she didn’t want that at the forefront of her mind right as she went into her match. She didn’t feel upset or mad at Kaitlyn anymore, just...anxious was the best word, she supposed.
She sighed as she finished the sausage and egg biscuit she’d grabbed for herself, letting her mind return to the gym match. She knew that Roark wouldn’t be an easy fight by any means, given how much they’d struggled to deal with the wild Rock-types outside of the city and their training with Ivan. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn’t have much of a plan at all to deal with the fight other than to hope that Orion and Paulos could be fast and strong enough to simply outlast their opponents.
“So...about the gym battle,” she started, instantly getting the attention of both of her Pokemon. “I wish I could say I had a plan this time, but I think all we can do is try to stay out of their reach and wear them down like we’ve been practicing. It’ll probably be a two-on-two like Gardenia’s gym was, so...who wants to go first?”
Paulos instantly puffed his chest out and chirped loudly, volunteering himself just as he and Orion had discussed before. Cassie nodded slowly, having suspected Paulos would want to take the lead. Were this one of her games, it’s exactly what she would’ve done, she thought. She knew he would have a harder time in the lead position, but hopefully his superior speed would let him whittle down whatever Pokemon Roark sent out first and give Orion enough of a chance to finish the fight.
All at once, she remembered something that she’d wanted to do the previous day - namely, to do what she’d done before Gardenia’s match and see if there were other matches she could scout out for strategy ideas. She cursed softly under her breath as she fumbled around for a moment, reaching for her phone again as she started to search for the Oreburgh Gym’s website online. Two hours wasn’t a lot of time to research, but it was better than nothing, she thought as the gym’s page loaded on the screen.
The streets of Oreburgh City were lively as Cassie walked along one of the main roads of the city towards the gym, a light breeze blowing the scents of metalworking and mining northward from the industry to the south of the city. Orion walked beside her as usual, eyes darting to and fro as he took in the sights and smells of the city around him. The Saturday morning was brisk even with the sun up, light gray clouds floating overhead in and out of the sun’s path and keeping the temperature a bit cooler than normal. Most of the people around them looked to be out for a day of shopping or errands, and the conversations around Cassie blurred into a mishmash of unintelligible sound as she moved, not paying much attention to anything but Orion and her own thoughts. The gym wasn’t far from the Pokemon Center they were staying at, only a few blocks, and already she could see hints of the looming structure’s distant shape ahead of her on the opposite side of the street. From afar, it looked like a massive chunk of rock, though that was naught but an illusion - the gym had been deliberately constructed to look that way, with a proper structure hidden under cladding designed to resemble a rocky mountain plateau. She’d seen pictures of the building in the Pokemon Center as she made to leave, having the nurses check up on her pair of team members one last time before they departed.
“Looks like this is it,” she murmured to Orion as they approached the last cross street before the gym, stopping at the crosswalk to check for any traffic and wait for their signal. “Nervous?”
Orion whined faintly, ending in a low bark that Cassie knew meant ‘a little’ or something along those lines. “Me too,” she said, waving to a stopped car as the crosswalk gave them the green light to step out. “I think we can do it, though. You two have been working hard on this, you know?”
That got a much louder bark of excitement out of Orion, the puppy Pokemon looking up at his trainer with a bright grin full of determination. Cassie kept a close eye out as they approached the gym’s entranceway for Kaitlyn, knowing that the older girl would probably be waiting for her. Kaitlyn’s gym match had been first this time around, and while she wanted to go and cheer her friend on, Cassie just couldn’t bring herself to do it with how worried she’d been about her own match. Besides, Kaitlyn was a much better trainer than she was, she told herself. She didn’t need the encouragement - she’d be just fine no matter what.
A minute later, they finally crossed the street in front of the gym and started to walk through the main gates, stepping onto the paved path leading through a small courtyard in front of the building. The building itself was large, two stories from the looks of it, and resembled a rectangular slab of rock with doors inset neatly into the bottom as well as some scattered windows around the lower level similar to what Cassie had glimpsed from afar. The courtyard was filled with statues of Rock-type Pokemon, neatly-trimmed plants, and the occasional boulders set up as if to display a variety of rocks - maybe showing off ones from the local mines, Cassie thought. It looked like the gym grounds took up most of the rest of the block if the fenced-in area was any indication, though she couldn’t see what was at the rear of the building from where she was standing. Benches were set up throughout the small area, where a few trainers and their Pokemon were sitting and relaxing, and Cassie finally spied Kaitlyn on one of the benches near the door of the gym as she walked closer.
“Kaitlyn,” she called, schooling her face into the best smile she could manage as she waved to her friend and the Mawile beside her. Kaitlyn looked up from her phone and waved back, motioning for Cassie to come and sit beside her as she put the phone back into her pocket.
“Morning,” Kaitlyn replied, reaching out to pet Orion’s head briefly as a greeting for the puppy Pokemon. “Feeling any better?”
“...A little,” Cassie said with a sigh as she sat down. “I didn’t sleep very good last night...I’m pretty worried about this gym battle. How did yours go?”
Kaitlyn reached into a pocket and pulled out a small brown and silver object, holding it up to glint in the light as she showed Cassie. “Ivan and Tera managed the win, but they had it a bit rough. They’re both resting at the Center right now, but they’ll probably be okay in a few hours. I checked in on Skarmory while I was there, and they told me he should be able to leave sometime this evening, too.”
Cassie nodded, not really sure what to say. She hadn’t expected anything else from her mentor, though it was strangely reassuring to hear that her team had a difficult time with the fight as well.
“Cassie, try to relax,” Kaitlyn continued, seeming to notice how tense the younger blond was. “You need to remember that this isn’t a one-time thing. If you lose, it’s not like you can’t ever get the badge. You can practice more and come back for another try, you know.”
“I know, I...” she started, trailing off as her mouth suddenly felt dry. “I just want to help them win. They deserve it,” she said quietly, rubbing a hand along Orion’s back.
“I know...you just want to do your best and see them be the best they can be,” Kaitlyn replied. “Even if you don’t win, you can still learn from it. I certainly won’t be disappointed in you, and I’m sure they won’t either.”
Cassie seemed to relax a bit at that, and Kaitlyn wondered if that had been what was bothering her so much about the gym fight - the idea of disappointing both her own team and Kaitlyn by losing. Again, Kaitlyn felt like kicking herself a little as she thought about it. She’d spent so much time helping Cassie train and being excited at the idea of having someone strong to train with that she didn’t stop and think about what Cassie might be feeling like as a brand-new trainer. Kaitlyn was fairly experienced and was used to victories and defeats in equal measures, having seen plenty of both over the few years she’d been a trainer. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be a new trainer, fresh from getting their starter and inexperienced, treating every single match like it was a life or death thing. Not only that, having an audience made it all the worse; while early gym matches typically weren’t televised except on local channels if even that, the added pressure of spectators made the fear of failure even worse.
Were they moving too fast? Should they even be going for a conference run this season, given Cassie’s inexperience? Kaitlyn pondered the thoughts as they sat, wondering if she’d somehow been pushing Cassie harder than she should have without meaning to.
“Thanks,” Cassie said, still looking down and stroking Orion’s fur slowly. “I’m just scared of letting everyone down, I guess.”
“You don’t need to be,” Kaitlyn remarked. “Just think of the gym matches as learning experiences. They’re tests, but it’s not like one wrong move will ruin everything. They’re supposed to help you grow as a trainer, not discourage you from going on.” She glanced at her phone again to check the time, then stood from her seat to stretch as Astrid hopped off the bench alongside her. “Anyway...it’s almost half past ten. You should probably get going, don’t you think?”
Cassie started at that, realizing she needed to get to check-in before she missed the chance. “Yeah...are you going to be watching?”
“Unless you don’t want me to,” Kaitlyn said smoothly, receiving a shake of the head in response.
“No, it’s...it’s fine. I’d feel better with you watching.”
She leaned down and put a hand on the side of Orion’s face, pushing a smile back in place as she tried to think positively about the upcoming match. “Ready to do this, Orion?”
The Growlithe let out a loud bark, baring teeth and growling menacingly as he faced the gym in a posture of bravado that caused Cassie to laugh as she reached for his Poke Ball. She still didn’t feel very confident, but if Orion could put on a brave face, then so could she.
“Alright, I get it...let’s go in there and take them down!”
Orion turned around again and let out another loud, approving bark before Cassie recalled him into the ball, clipping it back to her belt as she started to head inside the gym.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Cassie felt as if she were on pins and needles as she waited to be called for her match, shifting anxiously in her seat in the lobby as she listened for her name. Kaitlyn had gone ahead to the spectator seating, leaving her sitting with the few other people present beyond the handful of gym staff members. She nervously rolled Paulos’ Poke Ball around in her hands as she looked around, the overhead lights occasionally glinting off the shiny metal. It had only been a few minutes since she sat down, but every minute felt like an hour in her mind thanks to her nerves. One thing she noticed here that she hadn’t at Gardenia’s gym was the apparent presence of some kind of gift shop, pointed out by a helpful sign on the wall directing people down one of the branching hallways. If she’d had more time, she might’ve gone to take a look and see what they had for sale, even if she didn’t intend to buy anything for now. Her bank account looked thinner than she liked at the moment, given that she hadn’t had a chance to check for any jobs on the job board or challenge any trainers after arriving in town.
“Cassandra Blair?” a voice called out from the front, belonging to an older woman in a gray gym uniform whose eyes tracked around the room.
“Here,” Cassie said, clipping the Poke Ball back to her belt as she stood to walk over to the woman.
“Ready to go?” the woman asked, earning a nod from Cassie that prompted her to turn back towards the door she’d entered from. “Follow me this way, please,” she said, pulling it open and letting Cassie step through after her as she started to dig out a small microphone from her pocket similar to what Cassie had worn at Gardenia’s gym. They walked to the end of the hallway, stopping near the open door at the other end just out of view of anyone in the stadium beyond so that the woman could attach and adjust Cassie’s microphone and test it to make sure it was working okay. Once the staff member was satisfied, she gave Cassie a thumbs-up and stepped back out of her way so that she could enter when called.
“They should call you in a minute - good luck out there!” the woman said with a bright smile, having to raise her voice to be heard over the noise of the crowd and announcer from the stadium.
“Thank you!” Cassie said, heart starting to race as she felt the adrenaline of the impending battle start to kick in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rock!”
Cassie took a good look at the arena beyond as the announcer started to speak, detailing the upcoming match and rules in a positively booming voice. It was to be a two-on-two match, just as she’d expected, with the same single-switch rule that her first gym match had featured. She couldn’t see the announcer on the field, unlike her last match, and assumed that he was calling the battle from an announcer’s booth or the like that she couldn’t see yet. Similarly to the Eterna City Gym, the battle arena here in Oreburgh was clearly designed with the city’s Rock-type specialty in mind. Between the two boxes for the trainers, the field of the arena consisted of gray stones and thickly-packed brown dirt, spires of rock rising up all over the battle area to provide cover and elevated points across the field. She guessed that the underground part of the arena was probably much the same, given Rock and Ground-types’ propensity to dig into the dirt for hiding and attacking.
“Gym Leader, please enter the battle arena!”
Cheers went up from the stands as Cassie watched, getting her first look at the Oreburgh Gym Leader she was about to face. The young man waving to the audience looked to be around her own twenty years of age, with black-framed glasses and short, dark-colored hair. He wore what seemed to be a mining uniform with the jacket open, the black shirt underneath covered by the gray outfit, along with a pair of sturdy black boots and a red mining helmet. Cassie absently remembered that in the games, he was the foreman of the mines here in town, and the outfit was definitely appropriate for the position.
“Challenger, please enter the battle arena!”
She fought down the Butterfree in her stomach as she stepped out into the arena, listening to the more subdued cheers around her and offering a few polite waves to the spectators as she headed for the challenger’s box. Roark waved at her from across the arena, a gesture she returned as the Gym Leader spoke to her.
“Welcome to the Oreburgh City Gym! I’m looking forward to a good match!” he called, voice amplified through the microphone.
“Thank you!” she replied after a moment, reaching again for Paulos’ Poke Ball as she noticed the referee and a Kadabra stepping up on the sidelines. “I’ll do my best!”
“Trainers ready!” the referee called, raising a hand into the air as the Kadabra put up barriers around the field and both trainers. “Please select your first Pokemon!”
“Rockruff, let’s get out there!”
“Paulos, time to do this!”
Twin flashes of red light heralded both trainers’ lead Pokemon emerging onto the field, with the familiar form of Cassie’s Pidgey taking place in front of her to be joined by a small, canine-like Pokemon in front of Roark. The Pokemon’s fur was light brown in color, accentuated by a ring of gray fur around its neck that featured small black tufts of fur that resembled pointed stones. Its tail was the same gray color, large and fluffy similarly to Orion’s own, and its paws and muzzle were both a dark brown that contrasted sharply with its large blue eyes.
Rockruff was not a Pokemon she had expected to see, Cassie thought to herself. She’d expected Geodude, Onix, Nosepass, any number of Rock-types featuring in earlier generations...definitely not something like the Rock-type canine she now faced.
“Round one, Rockruff versus Pidgey! Battle...start!”
“Rockruff, let’s get set up! Stealth Rock!” Roark called, sweeping a hand out towards the field.
“Paulos, get ready!” Cassie cried. “Sand-Attack, then Gust!”
Both Pokemon leapt into action at the first calls from their trainers. Rockruff’s body shimmered with dark gray TE for a brief instant before it howled, shaking its entire body and sending a swarm of sharp rocks flying all over the field that sank into the dirt and stone underneath. Cassie frowned even as Paulos beat his wings, sending a cloud of dirt and dust towards the Rockruff before following it up with a more direct burst of Flying TE. Orion would have to be careful when he entered the battle, lest he be crippled by the surprise attack and put on the back foot before he even had a chance to act.
“Double Team and Rock Throw!”
Rockruff didn’t seem very bothered by the pair of attacks sent its way, and its body took on an outline of white TE for a moment before a number of images of itself popped into existence all around that looked like and moved in sync with the original. Each of the Rockruff howled again at once, dashing forward towards the flying Pidgey before sweeping a paw upwards and launching thick, solid chunks of earth mixed with Rock TE at Paulos.
“Evade, then Whirlwind! Clear the Double Team!”
Paulos weaved between the rocks, ascending even as he tried to stay clear of the projectiles - no small feat, given how many there were and the fact that he could no longer tell where the real Rockruff had gone in all the confusion. Some of the illusionary rocks slipped right through his wings as he flew, frustrating him as he realized that those would have hit had they been real, and he channeled that frustration into a powerful sweep of his wings that sent a miniature tornado surging forth, the Whirlwind picking up dirt and debris as well as dispelling any of the Double Team images that it happened to strike.
Rockruff took care to stay clear of the vortex of wind as it watched some of the images dissipate, patiently waiting on an opening or a command from its trainer. More rocks flew upwards as it swiped its paws again, clawed feet digging into the rough dirt and propelling more earthen projectiles into the air towards its target as the Whirlwind finally petered out from afar.
“Howl, and keep throwing those rocks!”
Both the Rock-type and its trainer knew that they had the clear advantage here, and Rockruff tilted its head back before letting out a piercing cry, its blood pumping and energy surging as it continued the onslaught of rocks. The Pidgey would either have to strike from a distance, leaving plenty of opportunity to bury it in a hail of stone, or try to close the gap and attack head-on. Neither of those favored the Flying-type, Roark knew, whose moves would be largely ineffectual against the Rockruff’s surprisingly sturdy body.
“Quick Attack!” Cassie shouted, watching as more and more of the flying rocks threatened to clip Paulos’ wings. “Close in and try to keep it from using the rocks!”
Paulos’ entire body lit up with white Normal energy as he zig-zagged downwards again, strafing by Rockruff once before sweeping around in a wide circle to try and hit from its flank. The Rock-type canine swiveled around, trying to keep track of the rapidly-flying avian as it moved, but Paulos was faster and came screaming down in another dive to slam directly into the opposing Pokemon with full force. Both Pokemon went head over heels as Rockruff managed to clip Paulos with a clawed paw in turn, the large bird rolling along the ground even as Roark’s Pokemon slid across the earth nearly on its belly from the impact.
“Rockruff, pin it and Bite!”
“Paulos, get out of there!” Cassie yelled, hoping the Pidgey would be able to recover in time to dodge. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Rockruff knew Quick Attack or something similar, and its jaws closed around nothing but a few errant feathers as Paulos barely managed to zip out of harm’s way again.
“Trying a hit and run strategy, huh?” Roark said, grinning from across the field. “Rockruff, Rock Throw again - scatter it wide!”
The canine Rock-type barked loudly before rearing up on its hind legs, motes of dark-colored Rock TE gathering in the air around it until a cluster of small rocks hovered all around. It slammed back down onto its front paws a moment later with another loud howl, causing all of the energy-formed rocks to go flying out in a wide net in Paulos’ general direction. Much like before, Paulos found himself weaving between a barrage of stones, though unlike with the Double Team clones all of these rocks were very much real. One clipped the underside of his breast, causing him to wince as he pulled up, and another thudded heavily into one of his wings to nearly send him into a spiral before he caught himself again.
“Paulos, give it a big Gust and close in again!”
The injured Flying-type circled around again, using a brief burst of Quick Attack to try and get into a better position behind Rockruff before he drew back glowing wings to send a large surge of cutting wind in Rockruff’s direction. Roark seemed to hesitate for a moment as he saw the gale fly at Rockruff, followed closely by Paulos in a power dive towards the canine. He watched as the attack got closer, waiting until it was just about on top of Rockruff before finally shouting a command.
“Rock Tomb!”
Cassie’s eyes widened as Rockruff braced, calling up energy around itself even as the powerful Gust slammed home. Before Paulos could finish closing the distance for his attack, Rockruff’s cry sent a cluster of rock spires erupting from the ground that the large bird had no chance to dodge around in such close quarters. One emerging spire smacked into the underside of his wing, shifting his body enough that he wasn’t able to avoid another that burst from the ground in front of him, and he slammed nearly full-speed into unyielding stone with a loud crack.
“Paulos!”
“Rockruff, finish it off with a Bite!”
Disoriented, Paulos wobbled on his feet as the stone pillars around him dissolved into sand and dust, and he was able to catch a flash of movement as the Rockruff lunged at him with jaws open wide and glittering with Dark power. He managed to throw himself into a Tackle to meet the oncoming attack in the absence of any command from Cassie - not that he felt like he could take flight for the moment in his dizziness - and was rewarded with the satisfying thud of his body slamming against his foe right before teeth closed around his chest. Rockruff shook him angrily, a difficult task with how large Paulos was compared to the canine Rock-type, and Cassie could only watch as Roark’s Pokemon tossed the Flying-type aside in a heap to lay still on the rocky arena.
“Pidgey is unable to battle!” the referee yelled, his voice partially lost in the cheering from the crowd. “Challenger, you have thirty seconds to select your next Pokemon!”
Cassie pointed the Poke Ball out at the field and recalled Paulos, holding the ball close for a moment as she looked down towards the ground. “Good work, Paulos...rest up. Orion can finish this,” she whispered, clipping the ball back to her belt and reaching for her starter’s ball in a smooth motion.
“Watch out for Stealth Rocks,” she said softly as she looked out over the field, feeling the ball shake once in a simple acknowledgement from her partner. Her head dipped in a quick nod before she tossed the ball out onto the field, readying herself for the next part of the match.
“Orion, let’s do it!”
The snap-hiss of the Poke Ball opening heralded the emergence of Cassie’s starter to the field, who took one look at the opposing Rockruff and growled, fur bristling as he stared down his foe with a sharp look on his face. Before he could do much more than glare, however, the ground around him shifted as the Stealth Rocks planted earlier burst forth and into the air, swarming the Growlithe like a horde of angry Combee. Thankfully, Cassie’s warning and his prior experience seeing the move while training against Ivan gave him plenty of chance to prepare, and fire burst around him in a Flame Wheel as he leapt back to try and avoid the worst of the spiked hazards. Small bits of rock pinged off his skin, partially slowed by the force of the flames around him, while others slammed into the ground at his feet as he dodged. The fire guttered out as the flying rocks ceased, leaving Orion standing fairly close to Cassie now with a few scratches and scrapes across his fur for the trouble.
“Round two, Rockruff versus Growlithe!” the referee yelled once the Stealth Rocks had finally stopped flying, looking between both trainers for a moment before bringing his hand down. “Begin!”
Orion let loose a vicious snarl as he ran towards the Rockruff, his Intimidate spooling up and startling the opposing canine into flinching for a moment as he closed the distance. Cassie didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the potential opening, either.
“Flame Wheel!”
His body burst into flames for a second time as he ran, curling up and spinning into a whirling fireball that rocketed towards Roark’s Pokemon and left a trail of scorched dirt behind him as he went.
“Dodge it and Double Team!”
Roark’s call was a hair too slow, the Rockruff just a bit too shaken by Orion’s glare to get out of the way in time, and Orion turned with the sideways hop the Rock-type made to slam into its side with all the force he could muster. Rockruff howled as it was tossed aside, this time in pain as the flames scorched its more vulnerable underbelly. Orion rolled to a stop behind where he had been standing, paws scrabbling to gain purchase on the loose dirt before he slid beside one of the tall pillars of rock, and he darted behind it quickly to hide himself from view as Cassie’s voice cut through the air again.
“Agility!”
Psychic TE built up around Orion as he focused it into his muscles, lending himself enhanced speed and reactions before he darted back out from behind the boulder he’d taken shelter behind. No sooner had he left the safety of the spire than Rockruff fired off a series of Rock Throws in his direction, a small hail of stone scattering around with some bouncing harmlessly off other rock pillars nearby. Flames built in his mouth for a moment before he spat forth a staccato stream of Embers, the pop-pop-pop of the tiny fireballs bursting against the incoming rocks sounding like small explosions amidst the cheering crowd.
“Close in and Flame Wheel again!”
“Rockruff, get ready with another Rock Tomb!”
Orion’s paws kicked up loose rocks and dirt in a cloud behind him as he took off into a sprint, using as many of the rock pillars for cover as he could as he closed in on Roark’s Pokemon. The Rock-type took a step back as it saw how fast its foe was approaching, and Rock TE swirled in the air above it before forming into a cluster of boulders that it sent plummeting down at Orion. Even sped up by Agility, Orion took a glancing blow from a rock as he spun into another Flame Wheel, miscalculating his dodge by inches as he roared towards the Rock-type. He knew he’d have a nasty bruise there later, but it was worth it to see the look on his enemy’s face as he crashed into the Rockruff. Nearly fifty pounds of Fire-type slammed bodily into a Pokemon half his size, and the Rockruff’s cry of pain was cut short as Orion landed on his foe and knocked the wind from its lungs, flames licking at its rocky body all the while. The two tumbled along the arena for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop, but Orion was the only one standing at the end of it, the Rockruff he was facing now lying unconscious on the earthen arena with burns pockmarking its rocky hide.
“Rockruff is unable to battle!” the referee called from the sidelines, looking over towards Roark’s side of the arena. “Gym Leader, you have thirty seconds to select your next Pokemon!”
‘It’s working...we can actually win this!’ Cassie thought, heartened by the sight of Orion taking out his opponent while still seeming relatively fit to fight. She’d hoped that focusing on the speed of her team would work, and so far it had gone even better than she expected.
The snap-hiss and flash of red light from Roark’s side of the arena caught her attention again, and the Pokemon that emerged from Roark’s second Poke Ball caused her heart to sink in her chest.
Standing nearly three feet tall on Roark’s side of the arena was a small, gray and blue dinosaur that outwardly resembled a pachycephalosaurus, clawed feet digging into the dirt of the arena as it cried loudly to announce its arrival. Stubby arms ending in sharp, three-clawed hands raked the air and a short tail whipped angrily behind it, but it was the large, spike-topped head of the Pokemon that worried Cassie the most. Cranidos were known for their powerful headbutts, easily capable of snapping trees in half, and she shuddered to think what even a weaker one like this one might be able to do.
“Orion, be careful!” she yelled, causing her starter’s head to snap towards her. “Don’t let it get too close to you!”
Her starter barked to show that he’d heard the warning as he squared up opposite the Cranidos, crouching and bracing himself to pounce as soon as the referee signaled the start of the round.
“Round three, Cranidos versus Growlithe! Begin!”
“Focus Energy, Cranidos!”
“Orion, stay back and Ember!”
The calls were nigh-simultaneous from both trainers as the referee resumed the match, both with everything on the line now that they were each down to their final Pokemon. Cranidos let out a grating screech as its muscles flexed against its skin, bulking up with the move’s power as it scratched at the ground with its clawed feet. Orion, just as Cassie had ordered, kept a reasonable distance from the Rock-type dinosaur and launched a cavalcade of fireballs in its direction in the hopes of wearing it down without coming into range of its devastating headbutts. The short dino stomped forward towards Orion with no heed to its own safety, trotting forward with head lowered and arms tucked as it barreled through the Embers like they didn’t even exist. Orion’s eyes widened as he realized his attack wasn’t doing anything, and he turned to sprint backwards behind one of the rock pillars to try and put some space between him and the charging Pokemon. He only got a second or two of respite before his ears perked up, and he darted away again just as Cranidos smashed through the pillar he’d been taking cover behind like a charging bull, sending rocks and dirt flying everywhere from the impact.
‘Is it just going to charge in a straight line?’ Cassie wondered, watching as Cranidos turned to size up Orion again even as the canine fled and spat another line of Embers in its direction. ‘We can use that, maybe...’
Her options felt limited, though. The Embers weren’t doing much of anything to the opposing Rock-type, and she hated to chance any of Orion’s close range attacks for fear of a counterattack. Agility was letting him keep ahead of Roark’s Pokemon with some ease, but Orion would start to get tired eventually. The only thing she could think to do was try and make some kind of opening to hit him with a strong Flame Wheel before Orion’s fatigue got to him, risky as it seemed.
“Howl, then keep up the Embers!”
“Scary Face!”
Cassie’s Growlithe threw his head back and howled a loud battle cry, blood pumping and energy surging from the boost of TE, only to lock eyes with Cranidos an instant later and freeze in place at the terrifying visage the Cranidos was projecting. He took a step back without thinking, paws shaking at the sudden surge of run flee hide that flooded his thoughts, and Cranidos charged him immediately as he stood frozen like a Stantler in headlights.
“Orion, move!”
Cassie’s shout managed to break the spell that had come over him, and he managed to dive out of the way with mere feet to spare as Cranidos sailed past again, taking a chunk out of a nearby spire and causing it to wobble dangerously before collapsing into a pile of rocks behind him.
“Rock Tomb, Cranidos!”
The little dino spun viciously, whipping a pile of the rocks into the air towards Orion with his tail from the pillar he’d shattered that showered down around Cassie’s Pokemon. One of the larger pieces caught Orion in the foreleg as he tried to dodge, and he winced in pain as he skidded to a stop on the dirt. That momentary flinch of pain was all the time that Cranidos needed to start to close the gap again, and by the time Orion was able to move there was maybe fifteen feet of space between him and the rapidly charging Rock-type. Cassie, panicked, shouted the first thing to come to mind in her haste to do something, anything to stop the attack.
“Flame Wheel!”
A part of her seemed to know it was the wrong thing to do even as Orion’s body erupted into flames again, whirling into the attack just in time to meet Cranidos’ own attack, but it was too late to truly do anything about it. She watched in horror as the two Pokemon collided, Orion’s momentum stopped dead like he’d run straight into a brick wall with a crack that she could hear all the way from her spot on the field. Cranidos’ momentum took him straight through where Orion was standing, the canine flung aside like a broken toy that rolled along the dirt for a moment before coming to a stop. He made no effort at all to move after the attack, lying on his side and breathing slowly from his spot just on her side of the arena’s center, causing the referee to raise a hand towards Roark’s side of the arena.
“Growlithe is unable to battle! The winner of the final round and this match is Cranidos and the Gym Leader, Roark Tougan!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd as they yelled for their Gym Leader, but Cassie barely heard any of it as she sadly recalled Orion to his ball, holding it in her hands as if staring hard enough would undo what had already been done. She felt crushed, even though a part of her had expected this outcome going in, like she’d let her team down somehow. She almost missed the sound of Roark walking up to her, extending a hand as he reached her and looking at her with a calm smile. He didn’t look disappointed in the match at all, nor arrogant in his victory, just happy to have had a good battle with a challenger.
“Thanks for the match, Cassandra - I know the loss is tough, but I hope you’ll come back and try again,” he said, the microphones now off following the match. “There’s still lots of time in the season to get all eight badges, after all. I’ll look forward to a rematch!”
She took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face despite how much she wanted to cry, clipping Orion’s ball back to her belt before shaking Roark’s hand. “Thanks, Leader Roark. I’ll make sure to try again soon.”
Hurriedly, she turned and started to head back towards the hallway that would lead out of the stadium as Roark walked away, still struggling to keep her composure as her mind raced. What could she have done differently? Would it have been better to lead with Orion so that Paulos would have faced Cranidos? Should she have worked on making his Embers stronger to have a better ranged attack to use? Waited for Paulos to evolve before challenging the gym?
Her thoughts kept her occupied for the entire walk back from the stadium to the lobby, barely registering the movements as she dwelled on what had just happened. She felt like she was moving on autopilot as she left the gym, turning to head back towards the Pokemon Center as the doors opened behind her to let Kaitlyn exit as well. The older blond had to jog for a moment to catch up to her, and they walked in silence for a few long, tense seconds before Cassie finally spoke up.
“...I lost.”
She reached up to wipe a few tears away from her eyes, the simple act of speaking the words making everything sink in all the more as she moved. Kaitlyn didn’t say anything for a moment, simply walking alongside Cassie in silence as she tried to figure out what to say.
“Everyone loses sometimes,” she finally said, glancing over at her friend. “The important thing is what you do after that. Are you just going to give up because you lost once?”
Of course not, Cassie thought. She’d promised to take Orion to the top, to make him a champion no matter what. She wasn’t going to go back on that, but it didn’t make the loss hurt any less.
“No, I’m not,” she said quietly, looking up at Kaitlyn with eyes tinged a faint red. “I just don’t know what I could do differently yet.”
“That’s the spirit,” Kaitlyn said, nodding. “We’ll figure that out, and you can take another shot when you’re ready.” Her phone pinged with the sound of a text message, and Kaitlyn glanced at it for a moment before stuffing it back into a pocket. “By the way, the nurses at the Pokemon Center messaged me while you were battling. Skarmory’s ready to be discharged.”
“What are you going to do?” Cassie asked, earning a shrug from Kaitlyn.
“That’s up to Skarmory to decide. I’ll ask it again, and if it wants to go back to the wilds, then...that’s that, I guess.”
Cassie nodded, letting the conversation taper off as she found herself lost in her own thoughts again. She wasn’t sure quite where to go from here, either physically or figuratively. Kaitlyn had wanted to take her to see Lake Verity, but she wasn’t sure if she should stay in the city and train or leave and train on the way to the lake, then come back and try the gym battle again later. She didn’t even know how she might go about training Orion and Paulos to better deal with the Rock-type gym. Kaitlyn had told her about her own experience with Byron’s Steel-type gym in Canalave, and she wondered if this was how Kaitlyn had felt back then. Lost, confused, unsure of how to even find a starting point, let alone put a plan into motion.
She’d just have to trust that she could figure it out somehow, she mused, wracking her brain for any ideas on what to do as she walked. There had to be a solution, if she could only sit down and find it. Right now, though, her focus had to be on Orion and Paulos. They were almost at the Pokemon Center, and she was sure they would both be okay, but it didn’t help the spike of anxiety she felt at seeing both of her Pokemon hurt. She wondered if it would ever get better, if she would ever get used to seeing them battle and get injured time and time again. No matter how much Pokemon loved to battle and improve themselves, a part of herself hurt every time she saw one of her team members in pain.
‘Just trust them,’ a part of her whispered. Simple words, but somehow she knew they were the right ones. If she just trusted her team the way they trusted her, things would turn out okay. She clung to those words as they stepped inside the Pokemon Center, hoping that there was as much truth in them as she believed.