Chapter 126 (Patreon)

The fact that Tobias had started his Gym Challenge hung over my head like a low-lying raincloud. In the anime, it was said he only ever needed to use his Darkrai to beat Sinnoh’s Gyms, but the anime had no concept of Gym Leaders having stronger, more difficult teams. I was unsure if that would still be the case here, but considering how the Eterna City Gym was locked up so quickly afterwards...

I lingered outside the Gym, feeling the need to talk to someone about it. I briefly considered calling Steven to warn him, but with his connections, he probably already knew.

(Also, he deserved a break. Bothering him with this felt unnecessary.)

For a long time, I simply stood and waited outside the Gym's front doors until that same blonde Gym Trainer from earlier, the one who had initially locked up the Gym, exited and started to make her way down the road.

“Excuse me!” I called out.

She glanced my way and did a double take when she saw me.

“Oh. You’re still here? Wait. You’re Alex!” she said.

“Yup, that’s me. I wanted to talk to you about that trainer that left when I arrived.”

At the mention of his name, her face grew dark.

“When I get my hands on him...”

“Why? What happened?” I asked.

She blinked upon realizing she had said that out loud, then moved to continue her journey away. I fell in step with her, continuing the discussion as well.

“I need to take some of the Pokémon from today to the Pokémon Center, but we can talk until then,” she said. “You know, we’re not really supposed to talk about other trainers’ Gym Battles...”

“I already know who he is. His name is Tobias, and he uses a Darkrai. I wanted to know the outcome of his battle.”

“He won,” she growled.

“With only his Darkrai?”

The Gym Trainer went silent as we moved down the road. I wasn’t wearing a disguise, so a few passersby recognized me, but, otherwise, no one approached.

“Gardenia’s personal team,” she whispered. “All taken out by a single Pokémon.”

I kept my face purposefully level. She kept speaking.

“It used this one move, Dark Void, I think, to put them all to sleep. Some of her Pokémon managed to avoid the condition thanks to their Leaf Guard ability immunizing them to status effects in sunny weather, but the ones that stayed awake were subjected to its other powerful moves. It was... She just...”

“It’s alright. I have one last question,” I said. “His Darkrai. How well could it take a hit?”

She paused at the question as a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

“I would say that Gardenia’s Pokémon didn’t have a chance to attack, but that isn’t totally true. You know how I said some of her Pokémon withstood the sleep? Well, her Leafeon managed to withstand its Ice Beam, and from there, it managed to land one of its Leaf Blade attacks. Honestly, that Darkrai took that attack like any other Pokémon.”

Out of everything she said, that was the best news. If Darkrai didn’t have too much of a resistance to taking hits, Legendary Pokémon or not…

Well, my team might still have a chance.

I thanked her for her time once we reached the Pokémon Center closest to the Gym. From there, I left to find a spot outside of town to train, and I began to plan.

I couldn’t afford to delay this any longer. Impending Gym Battle or not, we needed to start preparing for our Legendary encounter in the Sinnoh Conference.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Azumarill was the one looking forward to our battle with Gardenia the most. Her time with Crasher Wake meant that her physical power had reached a whole new level of strength. Sure, she might be roaring more often, but since she knew she had a tough battle ahead, she was pumped and ready to rumble.

I kept Azumarill at my side when I entered the Gym as I planned to send her out first in the battle.

That same blonde Gym Trainer was manning the counter when I arrived. She looked up at me in recognition.

"So you're here for your Gym Battle?" she asked.

"Yeah, with a team of five of my strongest, if possible."

She frowned at that, then very obviously pretended to check her computer.

"It's, uh, hm. Her personal team, then," she stated.

I nodded as she picked up a small device to send Gardenia a message. After a few moments, a "ping!" signified a response that the woman looked uneasy about.

"Just a few minutes," she said.

After waiting on a chair, idly whispering to Azumarill about Pokémon Gardenia might use, my name was called out and we made our way to the arena floor.

Unlike other Gym arenas, this one didn't have an elevated seating area for people to watch. It was an open, grassy space underneath a wide, glass ceiling, and it had a few benches on the sides for people to sit if needed.

The room was empty of humans save for Gardenia, a referee, and me. Above the field, in a canopy of leaves, a few individuals of the Jumpluff line as well as a handful of Cherubi sat on the branches to watch the impending fight.

Gardenia looked awful.

Her eyes had bags under them, and it was clear her outfit had been thrown on without being tidied up. Her normally smooth orange bob of hair stuck out in places, too. Honestly, it looked like she just woke up.

"Alex, right?" she asked me.

I nodded slowly in response. A frown was clearly visible on my face.

As soon as I took up my positive in the marked trainer box, Azumarill next to me, the referee barked out the rules.

"This will be a five on five single battle, where each trainer has three switches at their disposal. The battle will be concluded once one trainer runs out of available Pokémon. Trainers, are you ready?"

"I am," I said confidently.

Gardenia mumbled something to show she was ready.

"Then begin!"

"Azumarill, we're starting with you."

"Zu," she responded.

As Azumarill hopped forward onto the field, Gardenia threw a Pokéball forward.

"Leafeon," she said tiredly.

A pale tan, dog-like creature appeared on the field. It had leaves growing out of its head like a crest, and it had one large one coming out of its back for a tail. It lowered its head and growled at Azumarill, an almost furious look in its eyes.

Gardenia sighed and pointed forward.

"Leaf Blade," she ordered.

I didn't give Azumarill any orders as she already knew her role. Leafeon rushed forward with intense fury, expending far more effort than needed to reach my Pokémon. The top of its head glowed and hardened as it swung down. Azumarill lifted up her arms to block, pretending to take damage from the Leaf Blade.

In reality, her ability, Sap Sipper, just meant the attack increased her attack rather than dealing her any major harm. She used the energy the move provided to swing back with a Fairy-infused, Play Rough punch that struck Leafeon across the face.

It didn't even bother to dodge, choosing to just take the attack and growl.

Seeing that, Gardenia blanched, looking horrified at her Pokémon.

"Leafeon, get back!" she ordered.

Rather than obey its trainer, Leafeon lunged forward for a Bite, its teeth ready to sink into Azumarill's flesh. However, with extreme confidence, Azumarill easily sidestepped it with Splash then picked it up and slammed it into the ground with Superpower.

There was a poignant pause as Gardenia took a moment to process what just happened.

"Magical—"

Azumarill quite brutally punched the prone Leafeon in its stomach, causing Gardenia to wince. Leafeon fainted without even hearing Gardenia finish her next set of orders.

She returned her Pokémon, and I did too, rather unhappily. This was supposed to be a match between two skilled teams, not whatever that was.

Grumbling, I sent out Mawile. I expected Gardenia to have used Sunny Day at this point, as that was her usual strategy, but such an expected play hadn't even been considered.

I mean, seriously, a single Synthesis from Leafeon could have turned that initial match into an extended battle. Leafeon in no way should have fainted that easily.

Coming out on Gardenia's side of the field was a Cherrim. Thankfully, she finally ordered her Pokémon to use the move I'd been waiting for.

"Use Sunny Day!" Gardenia ordered.

I felt relieved, thinking that this was a sign of Gardenia returning to her normal skill level as a Gym Leader.

"Good. Taunt," I told Mawile.

Cherrim was a Pokémon that looked like a small, dark purple, closed flower. However, as it sent the flaming sphere into the sky above it, its petals stopped wrapping around itself to open up into a cheerful, smiling, pink and yellow Pokémon that bounced back and forth on its feet.

Unfortunately for it, that was the only utility move that we were going to allow it to take. Mawile stepped forward briefly, clicked her tongue, and muttered a few choice insults under her breath at Cherrim. The Grass Type's smile twitched at her words, and its cheerful expression took on an angered hue.

"Petal—no, wait! Solar Beam!" Gardenia ordered.

My eye twitched in annoyance at such an uncertain order. Due to that failure to say anything concise, Cherrim was forced to delay its attack and give Mawile plenty of time to move in.

As she neared, the Solar Beam struck her easily enough, but Mawile resisted the damage and charged through the burning laser to get right up to Cherrim. Her white teeth flickered with flames as her mouth shot forwards and clamped down on Cherrim.

"Fire Fang," I ordered, not really telling Mawile to use the move but more to narrate it just to be dramatic

Mawile bit down hard on Cherrim, dealing super effective damage that was enhanced further by the sun, and Gardenia's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find a command to say.

After letting Cherrim take far too much damage than needed, she eventually settled on returning her Pokémon. I was starting to get frustrated at the lack of a decent battle.

"T-Torterra," Gardenia stuttered.

A large, spiked tortoise with a tree growing on its back appeared on the field.

"Use Razor—"

"What are you even doing?!" I yelled, interrupting her orders and stunning both Pokémon before they could do their match. "You're using a Grass Type move against a Steel Type when your Pokémon is obviously a Ground Type!"

"But, I, uh—"

A sigh from me interrupted her uncertain explanation.

"Are we having a Gym Battle right now?" I asked.

Gardenia nodded hesitantly.

"We are," she said.

"Then why haven't you been acting like a Gym Leader? Stuttered commands, poor choices, letting your Pokémon not follow your own strategy. Poor Leafeon deserved better than to faint so easily like that."

"I know," she whispered. "Maybe I'm not—"

"You're a Grass Type expert," I stated. "You're the Eterna City Gym Leader. Are you really beating yourself up over one loss?"

"You don't understand! His Pokémon—"

"His Legendary Pokémon. Anyone would be caught off guard by that."

"He only used one," she said.

"So?"

Gardenia went silent. On the field, both Mawile and Torterra shifted awkwardly in place. The battle was still effectively on pause.

"He swept my team with only one Pokémon," she said.

"That's good news, then," I declared. "If that's the case, you have room for improvement. Gardenia, I came here for a fight, a fight that would help to develop my Pokémon's strength. I don't want to have an easy win because you're unsure of yourself. I want my Pokémon to get challenged so they can grow. You should know not to beat yourself up so much over one loss, even extreme as it was. Tell me, what would have been the result if you fought Cynthia?"

Gardenia looked like she had a sudden realization, looking embarrassed at my words.

"She'd probably sweep my team," she admitted.

"She'd probably sweep your team," I repeated, nodding. "There are other trainers out there just as strong as a Champion. You can't compare yourself to them, only treat them as goals to surpass. And you know what?"

I paused, building my confidence for this declaration.

"I'm going to beat Tobias. My Pokémon are going to take out his Darkrai and whatever other myths and legends he's hiding on his team. The Sinnoh Conference is in only a few months, but my team will prove he isn't invincible. Keep an eye out for it. We'll show he is just like any other trainer, just with stronger Pokémon."

Mawile nodded along confidently, agreeing with my words.

While she looked shocked at my promise, Gardenia honestly looked better. No longer appearing as sullen, the Eterna City Gym Leader ran a hand through her hair.

I didn't come here expecting to comfort a Gym Trainer like this, nor did I come here expecting to declare my team would beat a Legendary Pokémon like that. Still, this was a long time coming, and now I would actually have a chance to have the Gym Battle I came here expecting.

"Thanks," Gardenia said. "I needed that. Time to resume the battle then, yeah?"

I smiled.

"Let's."

"Torterra, use Earthquake!"

"Mawile, jump!"

Using a long unused trick, Mawile leaped into the air, using the extended range of her long jaws to smack the ground and push her up a bit higher. Below her, the ground shook and cracked, Mawile just barely managing to land safely on top of Torterra's back.

If the sun was still up, I might have considered Fire Fang, but as it stood, the four-times effectiveness of Ice Fang was the better options.

“Ice—”

“Flip!” Gardenia yelled.

Before Mawile could even prepare her attack, the wide, lumbering Torterra reared back and fell onto its side. The tree growing out of it prevented it from actually going completely upside down, but it was enough to cause Mawile to fall off of its large blind spot.

“Now spin!” Gardenia yelled.

Torterra wasn’t a Pokémon that knew Rapid Spin, which made sense, as this wasn’t the move. With its control of Ground Type energy, it sank into the floor and churned up the ground around it, using Bulldoze to send waves of earth right at Mawile.

She managed to get a single Sucker Punch off, but the super effective damage she took was too much. With such intense Ground Type damage, Mawile fainted to Torterra and Gardenia’s newfound motivation.

I let loose a sad chuckle as I returned her.

“Sorry, Mawile,” I whispered. “You could have had an easy win, but this kind of challenge is better for us in the long run."

The moment I sent out the Ice Type Ninetales, Gardenia returned her Torterra. I made no comment about her correct decision to recall a Pokémon out of such a severe Type disadvantage.

Replacing it came Roserade, a Grass and Poison Type I was familiar with due to Wally having one of its own. Ninetales immediately disappeared into her quickly conjured snow, not willing to risk taking too much Poison Type damage from her foe.

“Toxic, wide-ranged,” Gardenia commanded.

“Extrasensory!” I called out.

I hoped that Ninetales’s weak telekinetic move would be enough to keep the poison away, but my plan failed. Roserade held up its rose-petal hands to spin in a circle, spraying dark, sludge-like poison all around it in a circle. At one point, some slowed in mid-air as Ninetales tried to keep it away, but Roserade easily identified her location from that and brought its other hand to spray even more and overwhelm Ninetales. As a result, she was now badly poisoned, putting us on a time limit.

I cursed under my breath, but quickly moved on to my next command, regardless.

“Ray-wind!” I shouted.

That wasn't a real move, but rather an order involving two different moves to hinder her opponent. Following what I said, Ninetales sent out a gust of Icy Wind to slow down Roserade as she prepared her next move. Smirking to itself, a billowing cloak of petals burst out from behind Roserade as it created a Petal Blizzard that was launched towards where it thought Ninetales's Icy Wind revealed her position.

She wasn’t there. From within the snow and Icy Winds, Ninetales had used Confuse Ray. Roserade was now subjected to her illusions.

“Perfect. Now, Blizzard!” I shouted.

“Counter with your own!” Gardenia yelled.

The snow seemed to bend to Ninetales’s will, coalescing around her in one big storm. Roserade, on the other hand, kept up with its own Petal Blizzard, shifting its attack in the air to try to cover it from the Ice Type move heading its way.

The two powerful attacks collided, but Ninetales won out. Frozen, pink chunks of petal fell to the ground as the flurry of snow rushed out and coated Roserade. Her moderate control over the move let her have the violent winds linger on Roserade slightly longer than normal, dealing even more damage before it faded away.

At this point, Ninetales appeared within the storm. She was panting and having trouble staying afoot thanks to the Toxic. Roserade was in a similar state, though it was due to attacks rather than a condition.

“Ice Beam,” I ordered.

“Magical Leaf,” Gardenia commanded.

Both moves shot out and struck their foes in the chest. Ninetales might have resisted the attack, but, thanks to the Toxic on her, she fell just as well as Roserade did for this battle.

Both of us returned our Pokémon, Gardenia looking a lot better. As for me, my blood was pumping.

This was the battle I had wanted, one against a Gym Leader’s personal team that pushed my team to its limits. We needed to train, to constantly challenge ourselves if we were to make it anywhere in the Conference. Such a level of battle only came rarely to us, but it let my Pokémon experience a level of growth that training on their own didn’t quite match up to.

Both Gardenia and I sent out our next Pokémon. Cherrim’s hidden, closed off form returned to the field as Whimsicott took to the air.

I smiled, seeing that Gardenia immediately commanded her Pokémon to use Sunny Day to get rid of the snowy weather. She had fallen into the trap I had laid out with Ninetales.

“Encore,” I said.

The second I said those words, trapping her Pokémon and all but guaranteeing Whimsicott’s win, Gardenia used her third and final switch to return Cherrim a second time. Her lips were pursed in annoyance, but a casual smile soon appeared on her face.

“Great play, Alex,” she said.

“Thank you. I’m glad we managed to do that.”

Cherrim got the sun up before it was returned, causing Ninetales’s snow to melt away. Whimsicott’s Chlorophyll was a long time coming, the current weather allowing him to move twice as fast.

He also set up a Tailwind, not necessarily because he needed the speed, but just because he wanted to go fast.

Torterra returned to the field, next.

There was a brief moment where it seemed that Gardenia wanted to have it use a utility move, but with her knowledge of Whimsicott’s Encore, such a technique would only spell defeat for her. Instead, she slightly shifted her stance and pointed forward, her next command revealing the all-out offensive strategy she planned to shift into.

“Rock Tomb!” she yelled.

“Sub and ball games,” I ordered.

Whimsicott tore off a chunk of his cotton-hair to absorb the rocks that fell from above, and while Torterra was distracted with its attack, he sent a subtle pulse of pink into the ground. The field became engulfed in Misty Terrain, and, thanks to Nature Power, Torterra began to be assaulted by quickly used Moonblasts.

Gardenia frowned unhappily.

“Get it lower with Razor Leaf,” she said.

Slicing leaves were sent at Whimsicott, but a combination of Tailwind and his speed from Chlorophyll meant he had an easy time dodging the attack. More and more rapid-fire Moonblasts dug into Torterra, bringing it closer and closer to fainting.

Gardenia had been clenching her fists out of frustration, but out of nowhere, she suddenly gained a much more relaxed expression on her face.

"Guess it was my turn to have a trick, huh?" she said, cockily. "Now, Frenzy Plant!"

My eyes grew wide out of realization.

"Get out of there, Whimsicott!"

Unfortunately, all Whimsicott's Nature Power had done was wear Torterra away until it was on the verge of fainting. As a result, it's ability, Overgrow, had sent the power of its Grass Type moves to an absurd level. Not only that, but Frenzy Plant itself was one of the most powerful Grass Type moves in existence with only a scant few species even able to learn it.

The trees shifted. The ground moved as something rumbled underneath. Despite all of Whimsicott's boosted speed, he was forced to resort to just using Protect to withstand the attack. Even with that, however, the Frenzy Plant lasted just a bit too long. His Protect wore off, and he took insane damage from the roots as thick as ancient trees bursting from the ground and wrapping him tightly in their grasp.

He yelled his name out in pain, but he didn't faint. Eventually, the roots slowly retreated as Whimsicott let himself relax and peek open an eye

He was heavily wounded but not as much as Torterra. It was panting heavily, needing to recharge from such an expenditure of energy. Even with Overgrow activated, Frenzy Plant was a draining move. Whimsicott had only just barely managed to stay conscious.

"Damn," Gardenia said.

A quick Energy Ball took Torterra out.

"Really thought that'd work," she grumbled.

"Probably would have if Whimsicott didn't get that initial Protect off," I replied.

Rather than sending out her final, untouched Pokémon, Gardenia sent out Cherrim for a third time. With the sun up, it immediately opened up into its much more cheerful form, ready to take out the injured Whimsicott who had no way to heal.

As it stood, I still had two switches left, whereas Gardenia had none, so Whimsicott was returned here. In his place, the one Pokémon of mine that hadn't been sent out yet appeared on the field.

Even with Cherrim's previous injuries, it still took a bit of time for Carbink to wear it down. However, their Light Clay-enhanced screens helped them protect themselves from its attacks, and Psychic helped deal that final damage to finish it off.

Then, all Gardenia had left was a single Pokémon.

“Yesterday was actually my next Pokémon’s first battle at this level,” she stated sadly. “I’d only ever used him in lower-leveled Gym Battles, and I thought he’d appreciate having the chance to battle alongside me then. But he lost. Quickly.”

Gardenia let loose a sad chuckle.

“But you know what? After he came to, he got right back up, ready to keep going, as if he was used to such overwhelming odds. I guess I really should have listened to him more. Anyway, that’s enough of me rambling. Come on out, Cacturne!”

I blinked several times as the Pokémon hit the field.

That Cacturne used to belong to James, of Team Rocket.

I smiled seeing that it had evolved. The large, spiked, humanoid of a cactus let loose a scarecrow grin as it took in Carbink.

“Drain Punch!” Gardenia called out.

“Carbink, return!” I shouted.

The glowing punch hit nothing as Carbink was returned to their Great Ball. Gardenia looked annoyed that I had used my return to have my Pokémon dodge an attack.

“Sorry,” I said. “I promised one of my team members a good battle, and I know she’ll get it here.”

Azumarill took to the field.

“It’s all you,” I told her.

“Needle Arm!”

Similar to the Drain Punch, Cacturne brought a glowing, spiked arm forward to try to strike Azumarill. The Water Type smirked and took it head on, allowing the attack to slam into her chest and deal no damage.

Cacturne’s eyes went wide. Enhanced by Liquidation, Azumarill punched Cacturne right across the face.

However, as she jumped up to hit it like that, there was little reaction from the Pokémon. It turned its head with her fist still pressed on it and grinned.

“Cacturne has Water Absorb as a hidden ability,” I realized.

“And your Azumarill has Sap Sipper,” Gardenia pointed out.

There was a moment as everyone on the field processed how each Pokémon had an immunity to the other’s primary attacks.

“Quick, Play Rough!”

“Poison Sting!”

Body glowing with Fairy Type energy, Azumaril lunged forward to try to hit Cacturne. The cactus Pokémon leapt back to shoot poisoned pins and needles out of its body. The attacks were exchanged as Azumaril became leadened by the super effective damage, unfortunately becoming poisoned at the same time. It also seemed Cacturne would easily keep distance with her.

She couldn’t risk using Aqua Jet to catch up, either. Cacturne could use it to heal itself with its ability.

However, both Pokémon were basically next to each other, so Azumarill jumped forward, landing on her tail rather than her feet. The rubbery appendage let her bounce forward with Splash, slamming into Cacturne’s center of mass and sending it to the ground.

As Cacturne was part Dark Type, Play Rough was a super effective move.

“Now, Superpower!”

“Spiky Shield, Cacturne!”

From the ground, Cacturne brought its arms up to try to protect itself from the attack, causing spikes to grow off its body to damage its attacker as it did so. I was unsure if Sap Sipper was allowing Azumarill to absorb the Grass Type damage or not, but the Protect-like move didn’t even matter.

Azumarill willingly took on the sharp stabs and pricks from Cacturne to heave it up and lift it off the ground. She roared, loudly, shocking Cacturne briefly as she used all her strength to move the relatively light Pokémon the exact way she wanted.

Azumarill suplexed her opponent with Superpower. The super effective move sent it crashing into the ground, Azumarill’s strength enhanced by the strengthening effect Sap Sipper provided before.

When the dust cloud cleared, it was obvious Cacturne had fainted.

Gardenia returned her final Pokémon with a sigh.

“Well, I suppose we do have quite a bit more training to do,” she said.

Gardenia stared at the field, where Azumarill was currently rapidly going through a variety of confidence stances and poses, for a few seconds. Soon enough, Gardenia began to laugh.

“That was a great battle, wasn’t it?” she said.

I nodded and walked forward, laying my hand on Azumarill’s head. She wobbled on her feet from the poison, so I quickly returned her to her Dive Ball.

“It was. Do you feel better, despite your loss?” I asked.

“Actually, I do. Thank you. I feel like as a Gym Leader I should have been the one giving the speech, but,” she shrugged, “everyone’s allowed to feel down, sometimes.”

“Tell me about it.”

I shook hands with Gardenia now that the battle was over, and she handed the Forest Badge over to me. It consisted of three bright green diamonds arranged in an arrow shape, with each diamond somewhat resembling a tree.

“Before you go,” she said, stopping me while I was in the middle of turning around. “What you said about beating Tobias, you really meant that, right?”

I gave Gardenia a single, confident nod.

“Of course. There’s no way we’re going to lose to him. I mean, a Dark Type beating a Fairy Type? What kind of ridiculous outcome would that be?”

She laughed, although I doubt she knew about my loss to Thomas the Dark Type specialist in the Hoenn Conference. In all honesty, that comment was more of a joke for me than anything else.

“Then, I wish you luck. Out of everyone in the region, I think you have the best chances to actually win.”

“Oh, I think there’s at least one other trainer here who’d put up a decent fight,” I replied.

Ash at least beat Tobias's Darkrai in the anime, after all.

With that, we parted ways, and I left the Gym with one more badge in my pocket. Like always, it was time to let my Pokémon rest and reward them with a celebratory meal.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

That night, I went onto one of the Pokémon Center’s public computers. It’d been a while since I’d actually browsed the specialist forums myself, choosing to dedicate most of my time to training my Pokémon instead of research.

I needed a way to beat Darkrai. With everything I'd been told, I knew it was a Pokémon with powerful attacks, strong utility in the form of Dark Void, and ample ability to dodge. However, it wasn’t anything too special when it came to surviving hits, although its Legendary power did mean it should be somewhat better than the average Pokémon.

New species of Fairy Types weren’t relevant to me since I only had the Pokémon I had caught to work with, so I didn't bother looking them up. Instead, I searched as best as I could to see if there was anything about the Type I missed.

I browsed threads listing common abilities, Fairy Type moves, unique strategies other trainers had used in the past, and even just threads where people shared stories about their team. I actually found a pair of moves I was unfamiliar with, which were Strange Steam, Galarian Weezing’s signature move, and Misty Explosion, a sacrificial move like Explosion or Self-Destruct whose power became even higher when used alongside Misty Terrain. Funnily, I found one thread that listed notable Fairy Type trainers on it, where I was flattered when I saw my name on it and amused when I saw Robin’s name listed separately.

All the while this was happening, my mind was going over what options I had to take out the Darkrai.

I needed a Pokémon that could avoid its attacks, abuse the sleep-immunity provided by Misty Terrain, and launch powerful attacks of their own to take it out. What I hated the most about this situation was that I doubted something like Moonblast was good enough. Darkrai was likely to disappear into a shadow to avoid non-instant attacks.

Right off the bat, most of my team was out of the picture. Pokémon like Azumarill, Florges, Rapidash, and Mawile would take too much damage from the Legendary Pokémon’s attacks due to their fighting style. Altaria was better off saved for Tobias’s Latios, if he used it, although I was terrified if he used a Mega Evolution for any of his other Pokémon.

Dedenne just didn’t have the strength to deal with Darkrai, and Carbink would need to learn Toxic and abuse the status condition to win, which unfortunately opened them up to being put to sleep. Whimsicott had a similar issue.

That left Ninetales, which I wasn’t sure was a good decision. A Pokémon like Darkrai might be able to handle Confuse Ray, especially if it used an unaimed attack like Dark Pulse. Not only that, but even with Aurora Veil, I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to last long enough to faint it without any dedicated recovery moves.

I sighed. All of my team was out of the picture, with that. Sure, I had Kirlia and Togepi, but both of them were still being trained. Togepi was unlikely to be a Togekiss by the time the Conference rolled around, and, even then, I didn’t want to rush her through her evolutions.

In the case of Kirlia, he had the dedication to potentially reach the strength needed, but his Psychic Type moves wouldn’t be effective against a Dark Type.

“Although, if I convinced him to start practicing Fairy Type moves more often, he’d definitely have the power once he evolved,” I whispered. “And then his utility moves might let him avoid Darkrai’s attacks, and he can learn Misty Terrain to avoid Dark Void, and he can heal himself reliably with his moves, and he can even boost further with Calm Mind...”

I paused, a solution slowly dawning on me.

“Kirlia has to be the one to beat Darkrai,” I mumbled. “He has the perfect skillset to do so.”

To take an unevolved Pokémon and train them up to defeat a Legendary Pokémon, all within one season, with only a few months remaining?

Well.

I was confident that Kirlia would be up to the challenge.

====================================================
Author Note:

Pokémon (and people) mentioned in this chapter (contains spoilers):
Darkrai
Cacturne
Cherubi / Cherrim
Jumpluff
Leafeon
Roserade
Torterra

Gardenia

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