Figuring he should probably wrap up the match soon, Gables turned his attention back to the frustrated Roggenrola with a bright smile, concluding the song. “You know, your Trainer really should help you learn some distance Moves, my man!”
“… C-C’mon … you’re making me look bad,” Nuca moaned, sounding a bit breathless; he’d wasted a lot of his energy on Sand Attacks and Tackles that never hit their mark. “How … are you so fast?”
“Genetics, my dude,” Gables shrugged, landing a few feet away from him. “Maybe you’ll get some stronger Moves later.”
Nuca stood still, releasing a low groan from deep within his rocky body. “… Was there anything I could have done?”
“Mmh … keep attacking me at least.”
“… I can’t even get close,” he groaned, rushing forward with his glowing body as he went for another Tackle.
“Eh, honestly,” he jabbed a finger at Klisi before hoping to his right; the bird was growing more tired by the Move. “Ya can really blame your guys’ loss on her. If she used that mist to get me in a corner, you could have maybe landed a team hit on us while we were disoriented for a moment; it might even knock me out of camo. She’s just too triggered by Amber. Your girl over there has the Moves, but not the brains.”
Nuca sighed as Gables darted around him with two quick hops, did a quick summersault to wedge himself between the Roggenrola’s back and the ground before launching him a few feet into the air. Flipping back, he let loose a few Bubbles, knocking the poor guy out of the match.
He felt a little bad for the guy, performing a small bow toward him as his depressed Trainer returned the knocked out Pokémon.
Doing a backflip with a half twist, he took the center field with Amber, performing another dance and song Mallory had taught him, moving around a chuckling Amber; they both darted around the few attacks Klisi sent their way with the Froakie’s concert.
Mallory recognized a few of the actions, clapping while singing with him, and he matched up to her own tempo; several entertained Trainers followed the chant with his movements around Amber.
“Back to the street where we began,
“Feeling as good as lovers can, you know!
“Yeah, we’re feeling so good…
“And we know that it could be,
“And we know that it should,
“And you know that you feel it too.
“Cause it’s nine in the afternoon,
“And your eyes are the size of the moon.
“You could cause you can, so you do.
“We’re feeling so good.
“Just the way that we do…
“We’re feeling so good…
“Do you know what I mean?
“Back to the place
“Where we used to say,
“Man, it feels good to feel this way!
“Now I know what I mean!”
Predicting where the frustrated Spritzee would dodge with Mind Reader, Gables’ eyes glowed white, landing on the ground beside Amber. He pointed a finger at the spot, holding a bubble in his mouth while lifting up his other three-fingered hand into a victory-sign.
Amber caught on without a word, sending a second Ember to the spot; the fireball hit the stunned bird in the face, sending her flying to the edge of the field. Her Trainer’s body was rigid with dread as Amber pounced on top of her, staring down at her with a wicked grin. “Hey!”
Klisi’s feet struggled to kick her off, but she didn’t seem to have the strength, and before she could gather the energy to blow her off, Amber’s eyes glowed purple. Pulses of psychic force rippled through the Spritzee’s frame, hypnotizing her.
Gables hopped over to her with a forced smile. “Oof, you aren’t thinking of … yup.”
Amber got off, sitting down with a smug smirk. “She was calling me names and insulting our Trainers. Get up, Klisi.”
She complied, eyes showing a light inner glow that indicated she could be influenced by the opponent.
“Good,” Amber cooed, “now go dance with Gables.”
“Savage!” Gables chuckled, watching the stunned and red-faced expression of her Trainer. “But … I won’t deny a dance. Shake those tail feathers!”
He continued the song for about twenty more seconds before she began to snap out of the hypnosis, blinking in confusion about where she was, and Gables drew energy to his fist. “Sorry, dear…”
“Huh?” Klisi’s eyes opened wider once noticing him in front of her, but his gathering energy cut off as Mallory communicated that they surrendered. “W-What happened…” The Spritzee asked, tears welling up in her eyes as Amber huffed with disappointment.
Gables just gave her a short shrug. “I’d rethink how you’ve been using that sparkly stuff. Good luck in the next match!” He added, patting her on the shoulder.
“W-Why did … why did I dance with you?” She asked, sniffling a little out of the embarrassment. “Why d-did that happen?”
“Because you’re weak-minded, sweetie,” Amber snickered. “Probably shouldn’t have tried punching up your weight class.”
They noticed the three foreign Trainers mumbling with one another as people started to disperse, and Rhea moved to talk to them with Lori and Amira.
“Eh, I don’t know,” Gables hummed, figuring Klisi felt humiliated with the flashback her Trainer gave her. “I thought they did pretty good, all things considered. The confusion strategy actually had me worried there for a second.”
“I … I tried,” the Spritzee whispered, really trying to hold back her tears.
“I guess,” Amber mumbled, glancing away. “You weren’t … terrible. Just learn how to corner your opponent better.” She released a low grunt before saying, “I’m going to sit by Amira.” After a short distance, she paused, glancing back with a small smile, “Gables … maybe you could teach me some of those dance moves … they look a bit fun.”
“Yeah, sure!” Gables grinned. “There’s a few songs that would fit you pretty well! Oh, maybe we can do some Contest stuff together; that’d be fun.”
“Yeah … Amira’s not really … nevermind…” Amber mumbled, jogging to her Trainer’s side.
“Hmm…” Gables glanced to his left at the depressed bird.
Klisi was slumped over, mumbling to herself. “I was supposed to win … we needed to win … what are we gonna do now?”
“What’s up?” Gables asked, dropping to his butt with a pleasant smile.
“Oh … uh, no, it’s nothing,” Klisi whispered, trying to give him a forced smile. “You two really are really strong … I guess Amber was right.”
“Aww, you didn’t catch it?” He asked.
Her eyes lifted to him. “Catch what?”
“She complimented you!”
“… Only to make me feel better…”
“Hehe … you don’t know Amber that well!”
“What do you mean?” She blinked, swallowing, and sniffing back her wet eyes.
“Amber doesn’t just compliment people because she feels bad. She has a bit of a hard time expressing feelings.”
“No, I don’t!” Amber yelled back at them, clearly able to hear them with her big ears.
“My mistake! My mistake!” Gables chuckled back, waving at her red-eyed glare from Amira’s side while giving Klisi a wink. “Anyway, don’t feel too bad. We just had a lot of Moves that your Trainers and you hadn’t seen before.”
“We knew about the Heat Wave,” Klisi sighed, “but the whole invisible thing was … that was pretty cool,” she said with a small smile.
Gables grinned, seeing Amber roll her eyes with a mumble too low for him to catch. “Well, okay, Klisi. Thanks for the battle!”
He held out his hand, and the bird hopped forward, touching it with her small wings; he gently shook them.
“Yeah … it was really helpful. We haven’t fought anyone as strong as you two.”
“Be glad Mya wasn’t in the match!” Amber shot across the field with a small snicker.
Klisi shifted to eye Amber for a moment. “Right … Mya … is she really that strong?”
“Eh … let’s just say I’d be pretty intimidated,” Gables forced a chuckle. “She’s a powerhouse and doesn’t pull her punches.”
“Wow … umm, I’m glad I didn’t end up facing her, then,” Klisi giggled. “Umm … thanks, Gables … for uh, cheering me up a bit.”
“I think she wants to kiss you!” Amber shouted with a sly smile, causing Klisi to blush and shift uncomfortably.
“N-No … I just, umm … geez, you’re so rude!”
“Am I, though?” Amber mused.
“Yes!”
Amber turned her head away from them with a small smirk. “Geez, can’t even take a joke.”
Klisi huffed, nervously turning back to him. “Umm … thanks. I’m gonna…”
“Yeah, no problem,” Gables replied with a thumbs up. “See ya around!”
“… I hope so,” she whispered, flapping over to land on her Trainer’s shoulder.
Gables hopped over to Amber, giving her a wry smile. “You really are a savage, girl,” he whispered.
“I don’t know, I thought Mallory was pretty savage,” she giggled.
He slowly nodded. “Eh … mmh, can’t argue there, hehe.”
* * *
Rhea winced at how bad Gables and Amber were making the three Kalos Trainers and their Pokémon look. A swift knockout, followed by other Trainers jumping in to meme on them, recording and already posting the battle to MemeStar. It said something when a Pokémon used Hypnosis as a meme against an opponent, then had them start dancing.
Unsurprisingly, all of the battle requests that they’d gotten had been retracted after the other Trainers witnessed the match. Rhea really felt terrible for the girls and their Pokémon, but Nova was just laughing at Gables’ antics.
She glanced down at the update that hit her device; she had the current match up on her phone, and once Lisette forfeited, seeing the end coming with a +1 Power-Up Punch Stab Ember combo, their Battle Rating was updated.
Handicap Triple Battle Challenge:
Lisette Vigouroux – 3W:1L
Battle Tier: Bronze 1
Kanto Battle Rating: 532 (-15)
Kanto Battle Rank: 22,393,340 (+209,117)
Region: Kalos
Daily Battles: 3
Bet: 200 Credits
Aude Auger – 2W – 1L
Battle Tier: Bronze 1
Kanto Battle Rating: 517 (-15)
Kanto Battle Rank: 24,333,543 (+1,940,320)
Region: Kalos
Daily Battles: 2
Bet: 200 Credits
Clotilde Dupuy – 3W – 1L
Battle Tier: Bronze 1
Kanto Battle Rating: 531 (-15)
Kanto Battle Rank: 22,426,134 (+232,911)
Region: Kalos
Daily Battles: 3
Bet: 200 Credits
Combined Pre-Battle Rating: 541.66667
Combined Bet: 600 Credits
Result: Loser
Vs.
Amira Rocket – 2W – 0L
Battle Tier: Bronze 1
Kanto Battle Rating: 533
Kanto Battle Rank: 22,353,194 (-3,292,774)
Region: Kanto
Daily Battles: 1
Bet: 200 Credits
Malory Medina – 2W – 0L
Battle Tier: Bronze 1
Kanto Battle Rating: 533
Kanto Battle Rank: 22,353,224 (-3,292,774)
Region: Unova
Daily Battles: 1
Bet: 200 Credits
Combined Pre-Battle Rating: 516
Combined Bet: 400
Result: Winner
Rhea was a little surprised to see Amira was ahead of Malory but figured it was probably because they had entered into a match under the New Challenger rule, which weighed in the negative since they hadn’t been in the event as long as Amira. The redhead had more battle time than them.
Once the battle concluded, she walked over to the three depressed girls, whispering to one another in a worried tone; the bet funds were already transferred to Amira and Malory.
“Hey! Your Pokémon did pretty well.”
They turned to give her a scowl.
“You don’t need to rub it in,” Clotilde mumbled.
“No, no, I’m serious,” Rhea said with a forced chuckle. “Your Pokémon really gave it their all.”
The three girls released sad sighs, vision falling to the grass.
Aude rubbed her shoulder. “What do you mean … Lukimi and I were taken out in like … under a minute. We got destroyed … she doesn’t even really know how she got taken out; it was so fast.”
“Gables thinks they did a pretty good job!” Mallory cut in with a short chuckle once reaching them.
Amira shrugged, glancing back at the three Pokémon; Amber seemed to be teasing the little pink bird. “You should have tried trapping us in a corner with the Sweet Scent.”
“We tried … once,” Lisette uncomfortably mumbled. “She was just too fast.”
Mallory winked. “Well, it was the hesitation in the beginning that really set you guys back. Next time you see a Pokémon vanish like that, you’ll know it might still be in that area with Camouflage.”
“Yeah … I guess. Umm … thanks for the battle … your Pokémon really are strong,” Aude mumbled, glancing between them at Klisi and Gables talking to one another. She seemed to be a bit happier, but Amber’s chirp caused the bird to return a heated tone.
“They were bred for battle,” Amber noted. “The Roggenrola’s big problem was his lack of mid-range and decent Status Moves. If you’re against weaker Pokémon, he’d steamroll, but any kind of speed or mid to long-range…”
“I know, I know,” Clotilde groaned, sweeping back her blonde bangs. “It’s hard, though … I mean … TMs are expensive, and Pallet’s were all sold out when we got here.”
“Not that we could afford one,” Lisette grumbled, looking away with pink cheeks; her Spritzee fluttered to her shoulder. “Umm … anyway, we’re gonna head over to the Center … thanks for the battle.”
Rhea watched the group walk off, talking lowly to one another; Pokémon naturally healed on their own if they’d only been in knockout range, which was a natural defense reaction that told them they were getting to the point of real harm. Centers provided a way for Pokémon to receive fast-acting treatment through various methods that could top them off within a few minutes if only knocked out.
However, if they continued to take damage, then they’d be forced out of their safe recovery phase, and after that point, real damage could occur, putting their lives in danger. Pokémon Center treatments would be severely diminished, requiring anywhere from a few hours to a week of emergency support.
Once a Pokémon’s natural defensive energy shield was utterly exhausted, they fought with their life on the line; super effective elemental types would deplete that protection faster than non-effective energies.
It was a League felony to attack a Pokémon after it fainted; there were some exceptions if a Trainer or their Pokémon were in danger within the wild, but they were strict, and an investigation would follow.
“Mmh,” Rhea moved closer to her team with a worried expression. “Do you really think they’re short on cash?”
“With how they acted?” Amira’s full lips pulled to the side. “Probably.”
“Umm … what if we donate a bit to them?”
“Eh, hehe, Rhea,” Mallory gave her a soft sigh. “We can’t just give money away to every team. We need to be worried about ourselves … credits go fast as Trainers.”
“I know,” Rhea mumbled. “I just feel … I don’t know, a bit bad for them; they know they’ll get roasted on MemeStar after that match.”
Amira held up her phone, looking at the Battle App. “It shook off the Sharpedos that were out for blood.”
“Eh … okay, okay,” Mallory adjusted her cap and sunglasses with a small frown. “Maybe one time, okay, Rhea? Uh … 370 to 400 credits to each girl … returning a bit more cash to make it a bit more inconspicuous, uh … later tonight through an anonymous donation?”
Amira didn’t seem too thrilled, folding her arms under her chest. “Why? They’re the ones that challenged us.”
“Mhm,” Rhea nodded, holding her hands behind her back with a forced smile, “but … they didn’t know they’d get memed on. Once the others discovered Gables’ personality, they dropped the challenge. They didn’t have the chance … I don’t know, maybe I’m just being too soft-hearted,” she mumbled, playing with her ponytail.
“Umm … just this once, Amira, please? I’ll do it; you don’t need to use your own money, but … I mean, we’re a team and we kind of share funds. I won’t do it if you are really against it.”
A low groan passed through the redhead’s throat before she bent down to pet a happy Amber, puffing her chest out triumphantly. “… No … I’ll help. Just this once, though … people need to work for their own money, or they won’t value it.”
“Speaking from experience?” Mallory asked with a curious hum.
“Yes,” Amira replied, getting up to play with her phone. “I worked for all of my credits … I didn’t take any money from my parents or grandparents.”
Both Rhea and Mallory’s eyebrows rose with surprise.
“No joke?” Lori asked.
“Yeah … there was this old couple that … I worked at a pokéball sleeve store.”
“A what?” Rhea asked; she’d never heard of a pokéball sleeve.
Mallory folded her arms, pushing up slightly on her breasts while glancing over at Gables, seemingly trying to teach Amber how to dance. “Uh … wait, are those the … I think I heard something about that.”
Amira shrugged. “No, it’s pretty cool … I’ll probably grab one when we get to Viridian,” she mumbled. “It’s not that popular, sure … I mean, most people love the generic look to show off.” Releasing an agitated sigh, she adjusted her glasses. “Whatever … umm, yeah, I worked for two years there to save up 4,343 credits.”
Rhea was floored; she had way more money than Amira. “Oh … umm…” It suddenly hit Rhea why Amira was so hesitant about giving up her money to random people, and a new layer of guilt clouded her heart. “Umm … you don’t have to…”
“No,” Amira huffed, folding her arms again, “if you’re going to give them money, then I will, too, but … just make sure this is the only time.”
“Yeah … okay, umm … thanks, Amira.” Rhea cleared her throat, tentatively asking,“Uh … you’re not a hugger, are you?”
“I am!” Mallory giggled, jumping forward to wrap her arms around her; she squeezed tightly, pulling Rhea forward a bit to be pressed against her body. “I’m so glad you are too!”
Rhea chuckled, returning the embrace. “Yeah!”
Amira tried not to stammer, arms tightening around herself. “Umm … I haven’t really … you know, had friends to hug … but, umm … I’m not really against it…”
“Come here then!” Mallory cheered, opening her arms to give her a space to enter.
“I don’t know,” Amira’s cheeks started to flush a little, “Isn’t this a … just a bit embarrassing?” She mumbled, glancing around to see several people still glancing their way every so often, their battle probably the current conversation.
“Nope!”
“Eh?” Rhea hopped on one foot, trying to keep balanced with her pack as Mallory pulled her toward the hesitant redhead, forcing her into the middle of their embrace. “Trapped!”
“H-Hey … you’ll smash some of my … the stuff in my bag!” Amira protested, but there was a smile on her lips.
They giggled while separating, fixing their glasses, clothes, and caps.
“Geez,” Amira mumbled, cheeks still burning. “Umm … so are we going to go see how your friends did, Rhea?”
“Oh, yeah! Let me text them…”
Her two teammates moved their attention to their Pokémon as Amber tried the two-step-like dance Gables was teaching her, and Mallory began clapping to a rhythm while singing some hip-hop song that Amira actually hummed along to.
6:28 P.M. Rhea: Hey, did you guys win? Where are you?
6:29 P.M. Sam: Uh … no, but we put up a fight! A lot better than we thought we’d be. It actually came down to Hector versus one of their Rockruff. We lost, but … they said we were pretty good.
6:29 P.M. Sam: Oh! We’re at the Center!
6:29 P.M. Rhea: Cool!
6:29 P.M. Rhea: Wait, well, not cool that you lost!
6:29 P.M. Rhea: Umm … yeah, we’ll meet you there.
6:30 P.M. Sam: Wait, did you win?
6:30 P.M. Sam: Nvm … just heard you did from some guys talking about it nearby.
6:31 P.M. Sam: Oh, they’ve got the video … see you here!
Rhea felt a little embarrassed what they might think about it but motioned for Mallory and Amira to follow her there. Amber seemed to pick up the simple side to side movement pretty quickly.
They talked about all the different music genres they liked on the way there and swapped to discussing both of their battles when they met up with Hannah, Sam, and Jade.
The three girls were a bit shy about some of the details; apparently, Hannah’s Ledyba got bodied by an Alolan Vulpix pretty early, but she was pretty low level and got taken out pretty soon after by Jade’s Pidey and Sam’s Pineco, blowing her into Hector’s Tackle with a Gust, before a second Gust could finish her off.
Hector naturally learned Protect and knew Counter, which helped him act as a wall while Orin attacked from the air with Gusts. Eventually, the opponent’s Pancham landed an Arm Thrust that caught Orin during a lower dive attack, knocking him to the ground where the Rockruff could finish him off. Hector was too slow to save the Pidgey but got a Tackle on the already battered Pancham, knocking him out. With the Rockruff and Pineco left, they duked it out with Hector, but the Sand Attacks blinded him to the point it was difficult to see, and in the end, he fell.
Rhea decided to take everyone for a cheap dinner of 10 credits each at one of the three restaurant options in the village, spending an extra 20 for some flavored Pokémon food they divided.
Since she was paying, they made her decide which one and Rhea selected the more Kanto-style meal. It took over 50 minutes to get their meal with how many people were traveling through, but they sat in the outside dining area, talking about their matches and Pokémon.
Amira wasn’t sure Pineco learned Counter naturally, and after checking on MovePlus, an App that showed a list of Moves Pokémon commonly were known to learn, discovered it was a Breeding Move, which meant Hector’s father had most likely been a Heracross.
According to Sam, Hector was floored at the news, and she found a new level of pride for her Pokémon, hugging him to her chest.
Realizing she didn’t have any information about her own Pokémon’s Moves, Rhea shot a quick text to her mother, somewhat frustrated with herself that she hadn’t done it sooner.
Most of them had ordered the simple Vegetable Ramen dish since meat cost 10 more credits each. It wasn’t the worst Rhea had, but it was far from what she made in the kitchen, much to her disappointment. Amira assured her the food in Viridian was much better; however, more expensive.
As they were getting ready to leave the restaurant to find a room at the inn, her mother sent an email list of Moves her Pokémon knew. All of them were floored when she opened it up.
From: Mom
Hey! I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I forgot to send you this … I guess I wasn’t in my right mind … hehe. Oof … way to go, Mom! Yeah, uhh … here you go!
Nova: Your adorable little Eevee!
Now, depending on which evolution she becomes, more Moves will open up, but she can only use those Moves in that form. Those in her base Eevee-form, not learned in her other forms, will not be able to be used unless she reverts to Eevee, which shouldn’t require any energy. Only going from base to a higher evolution demands energy.
Hope you enjoy it; here’s a list of just the base Moves she’ll learn once she gets into one of these evolutions. Yes, it will take time and effort to stay in that form for an extended period … this is unknown territory! Even if Nova is a higher level, she’ll need to practice her Moves to get used to them.
I’ll let the other ones (yes, other forms) be a mystery unless you manage to unlock them! Hehe … a lot of stuff I’ve discovered that the Eevee Evolution Laboratory has been biting at the bit to get. In time, in time … I bet they’ll be running to you once it’s discovered your Eevee can transform into every eeveelution. They can be persistent…
Oh, and your Eevee’s abilities also change on its form; its base stage abilities will transfer over, though, and when they go to the Dream World and Mega Evolution … oh, they’ll be precious!
Adaptability – Always Active
Run Away – Always Active
Synchronize – Umbreon and Espeon
Maya (Mya): Our hyper-aggressive Mawile!
It’s the same as Nova; Mya’s Abilities can always be active, and when she Mega Evolves and goes on her Dream World journey … she’ll be an absolute MONSTER!
Intimidate – apparently frightens away weaker Pokémon and draws stronger >.> watch out for that.
There you have it! Loves you, my little Swablu!
Her two little Pokémon were hyped by the information but already naturally knew each of their Moves since it was bred into them, making it second nature. However, her teammates and friends were freaking out.
“W-What’s up with that list?” Hannah whispered in shock, leaning in on their table as a waiter moved around them.
“Yeah,” Mallory mumbled, “like … I knew they were all that, but … not ALL that … Muk. No wonder … eh, yeah … wow…”
Sam’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as she read a bit of the text she could see. “All … eeveelutions … you’re joking?!” She hissed.
After the excitement died down, she ushered them to the inn to grab a room; sadly, they had to all cram into a three-bedroom rental when the clerk found out they were friends since so many people were coming and going. They each decided to double up; Amira and Mallory shared a bed, Rhea took one with Hannah, and Sam took one with Jade.
Room acquired, they went to the local stores to stock up on supplies before heading back to their rental; much of the stock was depleted, but they managed to get everything they wanted. The three of them sent the funds to the Kalos girls when returning, Rhea donating the most at 400 credits.
The topic of the night was Rhea’s Pokémon, to their great delight. The six of them shared the bathroom, which had cold water, to Mallory’s extreme displeasure, but Amber agreed to heat up some water for her with a bit of bribing, promising a treat in Viridian just for her.
With everyone washed and ready for bed, they called it a night; tomorrow, Rhea would finally see the massive city-state Viridian had become.
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