“Morpeko, Thunderbolt on Klink!” Electricity erupted from Morpeko’s cheeks and tore across the field.
Marnie’s choice was straightforward: Klink’s Steel typing made most of Ralts’s usual attacks a poor matchup, while Morpeko could pressure it without that problem.
Jun and Marnie had only met yesterday, so there was little point forcing complicated coordination when they could each handle one opponent cleanly.
Reed and Hugh exchanged a glance and immediately adjusted.
“Bunnelby, Mud Shot!” Bunnelby’s enormous ears swept forward, launching several clumps of mud into the path of Thunderbolt.
Electricity burst against them in a shower of sparks and dirt, filling the space between both teams with a cloud of dust.
“Dig!” Jun heard Hugh’s command through the haze and reacted before Bunnelby had even disappeared completely.
“Ralts, lift yourself and Morpeko!” Blue light wrapped around both Pokémon.
Ralts strained as she pulled herself and Morpeko several feet above the grass, expecting Bunnelby to emerge beneath them.
Instead, something moved underground far faster than Jun expected.
The field burst open directly below them.
Bunnelby shot upward with one ear, while the other was wrapped firmly around Klink.
It had tunneled beneath the field while carrying its teammate, bringing the slower Steel-type straight into striking distance.
So that was the plan.
They hadn’t used Dig to attack at all.
Reed and Hugh simply needed Klink close enough to reach Ralts.
Jun saw Marnie’s expression tighten at the same moment he understood why.
Klink had an excellent matchup against Ralts, and Ralts was still awkward enough with Confusion that keeping herself airborne already demanded most of her concentration.
Their opponents had decided she was the easier target to remove first.
“Morpeko, Brick Break!
Keep Klink off her!” Marnie didn’t hesitate.
Morpeko twisted in midair and brought one glowing arm down toward Klink, forcing their opponents to respond before they could complete the attack.
“Bunnelby, Brick Break!” Both of Bunnelby’s ears lit up.
The attacks collided with a heavy crack, sending Morpeko and Bunnelby recoiling in opposite directions.
Morpeko lost more ground from the exchange than Marnie expected, and the surprise in her eyes lasted just long enough for Jun to catch it.
Bunnelby was stronger than it looked.
More importantly, Ralts’s Trace had just given Jun the answer.
Klink continued straight toward her.
Hugh grinned from across the field.
“Ralts might be rare, but she’s still a Ralts.
Get Klink close and there’s nothing she can—” “Reed, finish her!
Gear Grind!” Klink’s gears began to spin as it closed the remaining distance.
Ralts drew both hands toward her chest and seemed to shrink away from the incoming attack.
From the stands, she probably looked every bit like the small, frightened Pokémon Reed and Hugh expected.
Jun knew better.
“Trace Bunnelby.
Fire Punch, Confusion, then Fire Punch again.” Reed’s expression changed halfway through the command.
Bunnelby’s Ability was Huge Power.
Ralts slowly raised her head.
The frightened look vanished.
“Ra.” Flames exploded around one of her tiny fists.
Reed barely managed to choke out a warning before Ralts drove Fire Punch downward into Klink.
The impact sounded nothing like something produced by a Pokémon her size.
Klink was blasted toward the field, only for a blue glow to seize it before it could hit the grass.
Ralts’s eyes shone beneath her bangs.
Confusion yanked Klink back up.
She met it with another Fire Punch.
The second blow sent Klink crashing into the turf hard enough to split the grass and throw dirt into the air.
Ralts hovered overhead with considerably less dignity than the attack itself deserved, wobbling from side to side while trying to keep herself airborne.
Apparently using psychic power to drag an opponent exactly where she wanted it was much easier than using that same power to keep her own body steady.
Reed stared at her.
“How is she that good at throwing other Pokémon around when she can barely keep herself in the air?” Hugh never got the chance to answer.
“Brick Break,” Marnie said.
Morpeko was already moving.
“Bunnelby, Brick Break!” Hugh reacted quickly, but Jun had been waiting for it.
“Confusion.
Stop Bunnelby.” Blue light snapped around the rabbit before its glowing ears could come down.
Ralts couldn’t hold something that strong for long, especially while still keeping herself airborne, but she didn’t need to.
Morpeko only needed a second.
“Moru!” Its arm slammed upward beneath Bunnelby’s jaw and launched it off the ground.
Straight toward Ralts.
Jun almost felt bad for it.
Almost.
“Fire Punch.” Ralts’s expression brightened immediately.
She twisted in the air and hammered Bunnelby back into the field.
The borrowed strength from Huge Power made the strike hit with enough force that Bunnelby bounced once before collapsing beside Klink.
Silence held for barely a second before the referee hurried over.
After checking both Pokémon, he raised an arm toward Jun and Marnie’s side of the field.
“Klink and Bunnelby are unable to battle!
The winners are Jun and Marnie!” The stadium erupted again.
Jun let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding while Ralts finally gave up on hovering and dropped toward him.
He caught her against his chest, and she immediately straightened up with all the dignity of someone who definitely hadn’t spent the last minute wobbling through the air.
Marnie glanced at Ralts, then at Jun.
There was the faintest hint of amusement in her eyes.
Their first match together had gone considerably better than either of them had expected.
[End of chapter]