The Ghost Specialist

Sam watched Redi, and she in turn watched the Pokéball she now held. The Clair-granted item failed to move and failed to look different from any other Pokéball, but it contained the Pokémon Redi had been working toward for weeks.

She would be allowed to use Dragonair in this upcoming match, but Dragonair wouldn’t be allowed to fully join her team just yet. Her friend was in reach, yet she was still so far away. They still had to get through the final round of the Blackthorn Clan’s Dragon Type trials and still had to go through a double battle against Clair.

“Excuse me,” Sam said, looking up toward their guide, “will our double battle also count as our Gym Battle?”

Clair paused for only a second, stopping leading them through these underground tunnels to send Sam a flat look.

The Gym Leader didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to.

With an expression that dry, it was clear she thought Sam’s question was stupid. Of course their battle would count as a Gym Battle. Why did Sam even bother to ask?

The walls down here were rough and almost seemed natural, but they were the hallways of an entire underground complex managed by the Blackthorn Clan. This was where most of their secrets were kept, and this was where the final stage of their trials would be held. Torches lined their path, providing light and making the place seem more ancient than it was, but that imagery was occasionally interrupted by modern, metal vents that pumped fresh air in from the surface.

Without speaking, Clair strode through the maze of tunnels, leading them forward with a mixture of purpose and excitement. At each intersection, she turned on a dime. The path they followed would have seen Sam lost ages ago, but Clair knew exactly where to head.

Soon, they reached their destination. A battlefield, located in an underground cavern, existing as a League-standard rectangle of compacted dirt built in the room’s center. Smoothed, carved stone made up the floor around it, and built into the ceiling were bright, buzzing lights that tinted everything white. Around the sides were benches and chairs set up for observers, but no one else was here.

It was just Sam, Redi, and Clair.

As they took in the room, Redi clutched Dragonair’s Pokéball in both of her hands.

“The Dragon’s Den used to contain Blackthorn’s Gym,” Clair said as she spoke up for the first time since first arriving in the Dragon’s Den’s shrine. “However, that didn’t last. It was a conflict of interest, so the Gym was moved up to the surface.”

She turned, the piercing blue eyes of Blackthorn’s Gym Leader now staring at the two of them. Clair looked them up and down, gauging their readiness, before turning and marching toward the opposite trainer box on the field.

“With so many trainers having reached the Trial’s final test, it may be a bit before a referee is sent to our room,” Clair called out. “If you need to strategize, you have until our referee arrives. And the acoustics of this room are designed to carry your voice to the field rather than to your opponent. As long as you whisper, I won’t hear your voice.”

Once she reached her trainer box, she crossed her arms and turned to stare out over the field. Both impassive and imposing, Clair stood there, as prepared as ever, waiting patiently to give Sam and Redi time to speak.

Sam didn’t hesitate for even a moment, and he hurriedly glanced at his friend. They’d only just reunited after weeks apart. Not only was this Gym Battle completely unexpected, the amount of shared double-battle practice they’d had together was effectively null.

“How much have you trained for this?” Sam asked.

His words finally broke Redi out of her trance. She tore her gaze away from Dragonair’s Pokéball.

“I’ve done combination practice with Ursaring and Porygon, so they know how to fight alongside another Pokémon, but a lot of what we planned for can’t happen until he evolves,” she said quickly. “It was mostly just situational awareness—keeping track of what was going on around them while using their moves. I couldn’t do anything more than that since we were waiting for you to come back.”

“But that should be enough,” Sam said. “My team also worked on combinations, but we focused more on how one Pokémon can support another. I know we haven’t had the chance to practice in person, but our Pokémon should be prepared to work together. All we need to do is figure out a basic strategy first.”

They talked.

Redi would go on the offensive; her Pokémon would unleash slow, heavy attacks that’d make Clair’s Pokémon always under threat. Sam’s Pokémon, meanwhile, would be more flexible and serve as a support. They’d harry and harass, and when their opponents’ guard was down, they’d use status moves as traps or they would fire powerful attacks of their own once their opponents got used to them not relying on direct offense.

“What about inflicting a burn?”

Redi paused at Sam’s questions.

“To activate Ursaring’s abilities? That might work, but...”

A burn would allow Ursaring to build his adrenaline, causing two abilities to kick in. Guts would dramatically boost his physical power, and Quick Feet would boost his speed. Together, a single burn would allow Ursaring to become an absolute menace, but it came with a devastating downside.

The adrenaline from a burn half was partially sourced from the damage the status effect caused. Ursaring’s effectiveness in battle would drastically increase, but the ongoing effect would put on a timer that would grow shorter each and every time he was hit.

“How many switches do we get?” Sam called out, raising his voice to speak to Clair.

“You’ll get three—challengers only. However, those three switches are to be shared between the two of you as one team.”

He nodded.

So Redi and I draw from the same limit on switching, but Clair won’t be allowed to switch at all.

With how Dragon Types fight, her rules made sense. Challengers would still be allowed some flexibility, but Pokémon like hers were all about being strong individually. Each Pokémon on Clair’s team would be a wall to overcome in a fight.

“Alright. I think I have a plan,” Sam said. “Almost as a rule, Gym Leaders tend to use their weakest Pokémon first. We’ll have Ursaring set up right away to try to eliminate everyone he can, and then once he gets too hurt, we’ll call him back and save him for a final, powerful attack against whoever Clair sends out last.”

Satisfied, Sam nodded to himself. Redi’s eyes sparkled.

“Ooh,” she breathed. “Have you been spying on us? If we just need a single attack, there’s this certain move we’ve been training...”

As a Ghost Type specialist, Sam should have been the creepy one between them. However, Redi’s giggles sent shivers down his spine.

There was only a bit to discuss after that, mostly to determine what would happen in the middle of the match. Ursaring would effectively be a “nuke” button to be called out at any time, but for the Pokémon that didn’t bookend the match, Sam and Redi would need to take it more slowly and adapt their strategy for Clair’s Pokémon on an individual basis.

But they had plenty of options with how much they’d been training their teams.

“Okay. So Porygon’s been doing really well recently and will be fine to attack, but what should I do with Dragonair?” Redi asked.

Sam blinked and glanced down to the Pokéball she still had in hand.

“Shoot. Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine.”

Redi spent a second to think before nodding once.

“I won’t need to change anything about our plans to use Dragonair. Just leave her to me. I’m the one going to be her trainer, so I’m the one that needs to show I can handle her. Just treat her like any other Pokémon on my team, and fight like you normally would. That fine?”

“Of course!” Sam said.

“Great! Then, since she’s right here... Dragonair! Come out!”

Redi tossed the Pokéball into the air, and a flash of light saw it release the Pokémon that had been inside. A red glow coalesced into a long, slender Pokémon that opened its mouth to yawn, but it blinked in surprise when it recognized where it was.

“...Dragonair?” Redi said softly.

The Pokémon glanced down at her before suddenly lunging forward.

Redi laughed. Dragonair cried out her name and pressed her head into Redi’s stomach. She made sure to hug the Pokémon back.

“It’s so nice to see you, too! But this isn’t just a meeting, and you aren’t my Pokémon just yet.” Redi brought up Dragonair’s head with her hands, meeting the Pokémon in her eyes while cupping her cheeks. “We’re about to face Clair in a double battle, but I only had two Pokémon on me, so she’s loaning you to me for this fight. I want to prove we can work together, so we need to win. Stay here and watch how we fight, and I’ll call you in once we’re ready for you, alright?”

Dragonair said her name, a melodic voice leaving her throat to share her agreement. As for her expression, Sam had never seen one that looked so so simultaneously goofy and serious. The Dragon Type serpent proceeded to use the tip of her tail to give Redi a salute, and then Redi pulled Dragonair in for a hug for a final time before turning to get ready for the start of the match.

“Ready?” Sam asked.

“Redi? That’s my name!”

She giggled, and Sam rolled his eyes.

A quick glance to Clair let him realize she’d been staring at the entrance to the room, and Sam followed her gaze to notice someone waiting in the hallway leading in.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just making sure you all have the time you need.”

That old man, the ancient elder from the shrine, stood at the entrance while bracing himself against a cane with a hunch.

Sam wasn’t sure how long the man had been watching.

“So are you coming in or not? Or should I call for someone younger to be our referee?” Clair shouted.

Even at that blatant show of disrespect, the old elder just chuckled and slowly stepped into the room. As old as he was, his pace was slow and deliberate. Along the way, he sent a purposeful glance to a metal chair pressed against the wall.

Clair just rolled her eyes, and in the time it took for him to reach the side of the field, she had already retrieved the chair and set it up to give him a place to sit.

“Thank you,” he said, nodding to her as she turned to return to her side of the field.

Now that he was sitting, he smacked his lips and looked over everyone here. His hands still rested on his cane, leaving them sitting at a point equal to about the center of his chest.

“Now then,” he said. “I’ve decided I’ll be serving as your referee. However, I’m old. I could go over the rules, but I’d rather make this quick so we can all go to bed. You three know how this battle will work, yes?”

Clair sighed.

“This will be a six on six match, with three Pokémon supplied by each of the two of you,” she said, raising her voice loud enough for Sam and Redi to hear. “Standard League rules apply. Three switches shared between your teams. As agreed, I’ll primarily be using Pokémon from my seven-star team.”

Sam frowned.

Primarily? Does that mean she’ll include a few stronger Pokémon, or is she going to be weaker Pokémon, too?

Or, worse, is she using ‘seven-stars’ as an average and will be using Pokémon that are even stronger?

While considering that, he went ahead and pulled a Pokéball off of his belt.

“Quilava,” he named.

With a short toss, his friend and starter appeared at his side.

“We’re limited to three Pokémon, and most of your moves are resisted by the Dragon Type. I know it sucks, and I know you could still use a few support moves, but I don’t think this is a good matchup for you, and I don’t want to risk an evolution or anything—”

She interrupted him with a cry of her name.

Quilava might have wanted to fight, but she trusted Sam as her trainer to make the right decision. And, from the confident nod she sent him, Sam could tell she was willing to provide her own form of support by cheering from the side.

“Thank you.”

As Sam smiled, Quilava tried to return that with one of her own, but she jumped when a happy cry came from behind her. She slowly looked up, and up, and up, and she made eye contact with the much larger Dragonair now staring down at her.

She squeaked in a way that was reminiscent of her time as a Cyndaquil.

Dragonair replied with a trill of friendly greetings.

“Very well. I believe that’s everything out of the way,” the old elder said at the side of the field. “Trainers! Send out your Pokémon!”

Four Pokéballs entered the air. Four flashes saw their occupants appear on the field.

Then, with a much stronger shout than expected, the old man yelled a single word.

“Begin!”

The battle started.

“Misdreavus, fan your flames, stop them from getting close!”

“Ursaring, Swords Dance and get ready for a sweep!” Redi yelled.

Contrary to Sam and Redi’s almost fevered shouts, Clair’s orders were calm.

Collected.

Authoritative.

And completely prepared.

“Charmeleon, Dragonair,” she named. “Overwhelm and eliminate.”

Sam got his answer to the strength of Clair's team with her choice of leading Pokémon. Charmeleon, while a rare starter Pokémon, was not fully evolved, and the Dragonair she released was not one that belonged to her core team.

No, these two Pokémon were still in training—below seven stars, most likely. Still, they were Pokémon that had developed under a Gym Leader, and they rushed ahead, Charmeleon raising its claws, and Dragonair swimming through the air with a mean look on its face.

They raced toward the most obvious target on the field, Ursaring, who hunkered down and swung his arms in a strength-enhancing dance. He was the biggest threat, and these two sought to eliminate him quickly two-on-one. However, Misdreavus was ready to intervene from where she floated off to the side.

The attack she released was hardly effective; Misdreavus shouted her name and conjured deep purple wisps capable of a burn but nothing more than that. The Will-O-Wisp was sent right into the path of Clair's two Pokémon, and Charmeleon used its immunity to charge right through with Dragonair through the gap behind.

But that was expected. Using the flames as a distraction, Misdreavus had already placed herself directly in their path.

Though Charmeleon’s claw glowed for some kind of swiping attack, Misdreavus unleashed a grey beam from her eyes, and Charmeleon found itself turning at a sharp angle to slice through the air. The Dragonair twisted around to bash an ineffective Slam attack right through her, but that Normal Type move was just a feint to buy time for a follow-up Dragon Breath.

Misdreavus disappeared, consumed by yellow flames tinted with black. But, when that exhaled fire disappeared, she was nowhere to be found.

The weaker Dragonair looked around, confused, trying to find her.

“Behind you!”

Shocked, it turned around to see that Misdreavus had avoided the Dragon Breath by hiding within the shadow of its tail.

“There we go, Ursaring! Charge right into the flames!” Redi yelled.

Charmeleon, subject to confusion, attacked at nothing once more, and Clair’s Dragonair coiled itself for a Twister. Sam heard a scoff from behind him—clearly one Dragon Type was unimpressed—but as winds whipped up, Ursaring charged regardless of any danger.

He ran right toward the Charmeleon.

Right toward the Dragonair.

Right toward where a few, sparse wisps from Misdreavus’s flames still lingered in the air.

He roared, and his claws lit up with pure white energy. Slash, two of them at once, came slicing down from above. Not only did his use of Swords Dance boost his attack, but the leftover wisps inflicted a burn that granted him the adrenaline needed to have his Guts boost him.

Both Slashes hit.

Charmeleon was thrown back. Dragonair flailed in the air.

The mid-stage Starter failed to withstand the boosted move and fainted, but the lone Dragon Type was able to stay conscious. When it hit the ground, it tried to lift its head.

Unfortunately for it, this was a double battle, and Misdreavus was prepared to attack.

The last thing it saw before falling unconscious was a Psybeam that struck it between the eyes.

“Hmph.”

Clair returned her Pokémon as Sam and Redi slapped their hands together for a celebratory high-five.

“Hoh ho ho. Seems you’ve underestimated them, haven’t you?” the old elder said.

His eyes were glinting with amusement. Clair sent him an annoyed look before focusing back on the field.

“Clearly, Pokémon still in training won’t be enough,” she commented. “You two might have had a point to come here even with your lack of Gym Badges. But Charmeleon and Dragonair belong to a team rated at only five stars. Believe me, every other Pokémon I’ve brought with me is much stronger.”

As she slotted her Pokéballs back into her wristbands, Sam sent Redi a smirk.

Two Pokémon down!

But if Clair was willing to “waste” her first two Pokémon on a test like this, all of her remaining Pokémon were likely significantly more powerful.

Taking a short moment to take in Sam and Redi’s chosen Pokémon, Clair reached behind her—not into her thick wristbands, but into what were likely pockets hidden in her cape—and retrieved two Pokéballs, one Great and one Ultra. Silently, she tossed both onto the field, where she proceeded to utter only a single command.

“Rain Dance.”

By now, Sam’s trips through the Dragon’s Den’s lake meant he was familiar enough with Gyarados. The Pokémon that appeared next to Clair’s Gyarados was different, however.

Clair’s second Pokémon was a Dragon Type, but as Sam saw it, his mind briefly flashed to that Ace Trainer he’d seen on his first trip here. That man had released a Seadra, intending to collect a Dragon Scale to allow it to evolve.

And here, balancing on this battlefield, was its evolved form.

A Kingdra.

Clair’s Kingdra resembled the seahorse-like Seadra, but its body was taller, its scales were denser, and its snout was both thinner and longer to allow for more powerful moves. Being an aquatic Pokémon, it didn’t have any legs to stand on, but Kingdra bent its coiled tail to the side to let it serve as a base on which it could balance.

The match was continuing as Clair had already given her Pokémon a command. Upright, Kingdra brought its head back and cried out its name. Blue Water Type energy surrounded its body, and in the air above the field, dark storm clouds coalesced to begin crying out a rain.

“Kingdra’s a fully evolved Dragon Type,” Sam hurried to explain to Redi. “Incredibly accurate. Incredibly speedy. Expect special attacks, and In this weather, its Swift Swim ability will—”

Kingdra pushed off the ground to launch itself forward. With the falling water, it had enough control to float, literally swimming through the air.

“...Let it move at double speed,” Sam finished cautiously.

“Gyarados, Bite,” Clair ordered. “Open them up.”

Kingdra used its speed to circle around, but Gyarados lunged itself forward. It bashed its muscled tail against the ground to gain an initial momentum, and the fins on its body extended out to allow it to glide through the air.

With its open jaws, it aimed itself at Misdreavus. She was the easier target, as while Ursaring posed a bigger threat, Misdreavus was a Ghost Type Pokémon vulnerable to Dark Type moves. However, Gyarados’s mouth was as large as Sam was tall. This wasn’t going to be just a Bite; it was going to be a much more powerful attack.

A Crunch.

“Misdreavus, get back! Use Shadow Sneak to—”

“Grab it!” Redi shouted.

Ursaring wasn’t far away; he’d just rushed forward to faint Clair’s first two Pokémon. Steam hissed off his body as rain dripped onto his burn, but even with that ongoing pain, his Quick Feet brought him to the front of Misdreavus with incredible speed.

Sam could hear the resulting collision. With the force of a train, Gyarados smashed into Ursaring.

But this wasn’t him taking the move on behalf of Misdreavus.

No, the impact saw him slide back across the ground, his feet digging grooves into the earth. A roar left his throat as sharpened claws locked onto the top and bottom of Gyarados’s mouth to wrench it open.

“That’s...” Sam breathed out.

“Incredible? Absolutely.”

Redi looked on with a grin.

Ursaring tensed and fought to hold the Gyarados in place. The thick, serpentine sea monster tried to wriggle around and smash its tail into Ursaring’s side. However, Ursaring was operating at the peak of his strength, and he crouched to gain the solid stance needed to turn and prevent Gyarados from doing anything at all.

This is the strength Redi’s been training for. This is the level of power she’s been trying to achieve all this time.

Misdreavus’s eyes were just as wide as Sam’s, but before either of them could move to take advantage of the current situation, Clair had her own order prepared.

“Perfect, Gyarados. Kingdra, use Hydro Pump.”

Redi almost choked when she heard the command.

“Get back!”

“Psychic, Misdreavus!” Sam yelled.

Though Gyarados was held in place, Ursaring was only capable of slow turns while holding onto such a large foe. Kingdra’s Swift Swim let it swim through the falling rain as if it were underwater, and it reached Ursaring’s side in less than a second.

There, like a hose suddenly being turned to full blast, a pressured shot of water left the opening of its snout. Misdreavus’s eyes flashed for a Psychic that attempted to slow down the Hydro Pump, but most of the blast still weakened Ursaring, and he was blasted away.

Gyarados was released. Its jaws were finally able to snap down around nothing.

“Ursaring...” Redi said through gritted teeth.

Her Pokémon tried to push himself up and stand tall, but he winced and pressed a paw against his side.

“It’s time, Sam,” Redi said quickly. “I’m returning Ursaring!”

“Come back, Misdreavus!” Sam called out, following Redi’s lead.

As one side of the battle left the field, Kingdra refreshed the Rain Dance, and Clair silently looked on.

“How easily can you take out her Gyarados?” Sam whispered.

“Depends on if Porygon can hit with a Charge Beam. Discharge would be easier, but it isn’t directed. It’d hit your Pokémon, too.”

Sam grunted. The Water and Flying Type Gyarados was four times weak to Electric Type moves, so even with a difference in strength, a well-timed attack from Porygon would see the Pokémon faint. The problem was that Kingdra was around, and with its impressive speed, it could imitate what Ursaring had done and move in front of Porygon’s attacks to protect its ally.

Since Dragon Types resisted electricity, Kingdra would only take neutral damage from an Electric Type move. Sam’s team didn’t know any Electric Type attacks to overwhelm Clair’s team from two angles, but Type advantage wasn’t everything. He still had other strategies to fall back on.

“I’ll handle the Gyarados,” Sam said.

“At least until it’s open to Porygon,” Redi finished. “Wanna do two one-on-one battles?”

“That’s fine, but can you protect Haunter?”

“Can do.”

At Sam’s side, Quilava let out a breath and shook to try to get some of the falling water that had splashed onto her from the field. With these opponents and the pouring rain, she was more than thankful to sit out of this match.

The elder at the field’s side raised his eyebrow to signal they needed to release their Pokémon. So, Haunter and Porygon appeared on the field, and both of them looked small compared to Clair’s team members.

“...Are you taking me seriously?" Clair asked.

“Hey! You already know not to underestimate our Pokémon!” Reid shouted.

Clair shrugged.

“Fair’s fair.”

The match continued right after.

“Ominous Wind,” Sam shouted. “Pressure and reposition.”

“Psychic Type,” Redi ordered.

Clair said nothing; her Pokémon seemed to know what to do.

They didn’t focus on one target, and they didn’t try to rush a floating Ghost Type. Instead, Gyarados opened its jaws and pushed off the ground to sail at Porygon, and Kingdra brought itself up to give itself a clear shot at Haunter.

Please don’t have your Sniper ability trained.

Sam looked on, gripping his hands.

Thankfully, Haunter wasn’t a slow Pokémon, and Kingdra delayed its attack to give itself time to line up its shot. He had plenty of time to hold out his claws and send forth a chilling wind from an unseen space behind him.

Shadows that resembled a purple gas blew through the air, spreading out in a gale that covered the entire field. Ominous Wind hit Kingdra, Gyarados, and Porygon, but Porygon’s Conversion hadn’t finished. A Psybeam hit the ground, its Normal Type rendered it immune, and then pixels flipped across its body to settle into a Psychic Type pink.

Thankfully, with the force of the wind, Gyarados’s gliding charge through the air was somewhat delayed, but Sam still unhappily pursed his lips.

“Tch.”

No omni-boost.

But that was fine; Ominous Wind had still provided Haunter with the opening they wanted.

He couldn’t use Shadow Sneak. He couldn’t create impossible shadows and move around within them as he willed. However, he could enter existing shadows, and what was Ominous Wind but shadows in gaseous form?

Kingdra was never able to finish aiming its attack, as Haunter disappeared into the mist he made. Gyarados neared Porygon, but all Redi had to do was shout, “Five, five!” to have Porygon teleport away and completely avoid the attack.

Gyarados landed, coiling itself up, and Kingdra used its height to search for Haunter. However, Haunter’s disappearance granted him the freedom to freely choose where he’d reappear.

The dim light created by Rain Dance’s clouds helped with that, too.

“Psybeam!”

Porygon’s attack forced Kingdra to drop to avoid it. Gyarados leered at Porygon to try to chase with another attack, but it ended up jerking back when a pair of eyes appeared in front of its face.

“Hypnosis! Into Nightmare and Hex!”

This was Haunter’s specialty, and the status move was pulled off in an instant. Gyarados’s head lulled back only to hit the ground with an earth-shaking thunk.

“Interrupt and wake,” Clair said.

Kingdra galloped through the air toward Gyarados, releasing a ringed Water Pulse from its snout. It was forced away when Porygon used Teleport to interpose itself between them, and a Psybeam slashed the incoming Water Pulse in two. Haunter lowered himself to let his claws settle around the sides of Gyarados’s head, and Kingdra actively tried to reposition itself.

Redi yelled, going over a series of commands as fast as she could.

“Prioritize disruption! Target Kingdra, Gastly pattern! If waiting, focus Gyarados! Load up Type chart to determine moves!”

Sam looked at Redi out of the corner of his eye. She noticed, a furious blush overtaking her face.

“What?” she mumbled. “I had to set up Porygon’s strategies. Not my fault I had to give them cool names.”

Another Water Pulse left Kingdra’s snout, and another Psybeam sliced it through.

On Sam’s side of the field, the Gyarados squirmed as shadowy mist left Haunter’s hands to begin circling its head.

When Haunter used Nightmare, he inflicted sleeping Pokémon with nightmares that hurt them over time. Dream Eater was also an option, but the effectiveness of the move was cut when a Pokémon’s dreams were unpleasant. However, Hex was always an option, and that attack dealt extra damage against a Pokémon suffering from a status condition like forced rest.

But Clair spoke up.

“Enough of this,” she said. “Kingdra, Surf, and sweep them away.”

Though Haunter had begun to conjure his Ghost Type flames, water was drawn from the air, the field, and the sky to begin forming behind Kingdra in a massive wave.

Porygon failed to attack. They didn’t have the prepared orders to respond.

With the size of the growing Surf, Sam came to a sudden conclusion.

“That’s going to hit everyone.”

Haunter and Porygon would take damage, and the heavy splash would wake Gyarados.

The move was less than a second away from being unleashed, and Sam knew they wouldn’t be able to land another Hypnosis trick. They needed to take out the Gyarados while it was still vulnerable, otherwise this match would become too difficult to finish.

“Screw it. Do it, Redi.”

“What?”

“Use Discharge!” he shouted, just as Kingdra sent its Surf rumbling forward.

Redi screamed her order, her shout coming out panicked in the face of the incoming flood. Porygon was swept up, consumed by the attack, but then a bright light appeared within the incoming move.

Electricity shot out in every direction. Porygon released all of its stored energy in a massive Discharge.

With the falling rain and flooding water, Kingdra was struck. Gyarados was struck. And Haunter suffered the full force of two simultaneous moves.

Sam didn’t see Haunter get hit due to the rushing water consuming him before the Dischage’s release. Around the sides of the field, a flash of a Psychic Type barrier prevented the water from escaping, and it soon soaked into the dirt to leave thick muddy puddles across all of the ground.

Having suffered both the Surf and Discharge, Haunter laid face down, hands unmoving from where he came to a stop a foot away from Sam. However, not too far away, Gyarados’s eyes were spinning. Though Haunter had fainted, they’d still managed to bring Clair’s remaining Pokémon down to only three.

“Return.”

Sam and Clair spoke in unison. Sam looked at his Pokéball.

“Thank you, Haunter. I’m sorry you got hit. But if it wasn’t for you, Gyarados wouldn’t have been so vulnerable. You did a great job, and I’ll make sure you get a reward later tonight.”

He clipped the ball to his belt, glancing over to Redi.

“Haunter fainted second, so we’ll have time to strategize. Depending on how long it takes Clair to choose her next Pokémon, we can talk until—”

“Dragonite,” the Gym Leader announced.

Sam’s heart sank in his chest when a very familiar Pokémon appeared on the field.

The psuedo-Legendary roared, and its gaze immediately locked onto both Redi and Sami. Despite this was Redi’s fifth Gym badge battle and Sam’s sixth, Clair had chosen to bring out an impossibly strong Pokémon here.

A Dragonite should not have been seen in this battle. A Dragonite should not have made an appearance anywhere outside the highest tiers of play.

But one had appeared on this field, for this match.

And, to make matters worse, it looked just as angry as the last time Sam saw it before.