Hard Enough - Chapter 239 - Learning more...

In Furret’s place, Blissey took to the stage. 

Her taller round form bobbed back and forth for a moment as her eyes darted left, right, and then up towards Don. 

My Aerodactyl screeched at what was to be his foe. He gnashed his teeth and a wicked glint entered his eyes. I knew him well enough to understand that he was confident in himself. 

“Stay focused, “ I said. “Kaede’s pokemon have a lot of tricks up their sleeve.”

Don jerked his head in a tight nod and I relaxed, knowing that the work along with my recent chastisement of his… beach antics had reined him in some. That, or said beach trip had drained him of his usual levels of aggression. 

I really hoped that wasn’t the case. I was not going to contribute to an increase in such acts occurring in future if I had any say in it, even if Don performed better. 

I toyed with the idea of withdrawing him to send out Hypnotoad. 

Her fighting type would be much better against Blissey’s normal typing. 

But with how the match was going, that would lead to Kaede using her last trade out for Gardevoir, who could use Teleport. 

I could then trade out again for Empress, however…

Sadly, this wasn’t like other matches I’d had in the past. 

I felt I needed to respect Kaede and her pokemon, she’d proven that enough times.

There was a serious possibility that Gardevoir and Blissey both knew Moonblast. With her roster being practically geared towards anti-dragon, I felt it was guaranteed. 

I had also in only the last few weeks demonstrated the benefits of fairy-type moves against dark-type pokemon with Selene, when we’d fought Arthur. 

So I wasn’t going to trade out, but instead, I was going to commit to this fight.

I chopped my hand at Blissey. “Hurricane!” I commanded. 

Don began to twist on the spot, causing a violent wind to erupt around him as a proper Hurricane appeared. 

“Hunker down and Soft Boiled!” ordered Kaede. 

Blissey ignored the oncoming Hurricane and knelt, an orb of energy was pulled from its pouch and I grit my teeth in annoyance. It would be able to endure the Hurricane easily with that boost.

Damn it, Kaede was determined to drag this into a marathon match, wasn’t she? I glowered even as the Hurricane engulfed Blissey, tearing at her with vicious winds.

Despite that, Blissey stood tall. 

I narrowed my eyes as a tiny memory regarding Blissey came to mind. It was a pokemon with great special defence and quite terrible physical defence. 

I winched, realising that I’d made a mistake calling for Don to unleash a Hurricane against her. I should have gone for something physical, like Stone Edge. 

Damn, I was so busy trying to play it safe I wasn’t taking the risks I needed to, and Kaede was getting off with only kiddy slaps. 

The Hurricane closed off on Blissey and while I couldn’t see it thanks to the turbulent winds, its cry was carried to my ears. 

“B-blissssssss!” she groaned, digging in to counter the winds as best she could. 

I stared, waiting for the winds to die off, hoping that with the earlier damage Empress had done, this was enough to knock Blissey out, but with Blissey using Soft Boiled I doubted that.

When the Hurricane dissipated, Blissey didn’t stand from its kneeling position, but that didn’t mean it was out of the fight. 

I could see the fighting spirit of the pink pokemon as it glared up at Don. 

“Heal up!” called Kaede quickly, and I realised that Kaede had once again gambled for this result. 

Still, I too could gamble. I knew that as an evolution of Chansey, Blissey could have Thunder Punch as part of its move set. 

I’d have to watch for that as if I got too close, Don would be in trouble. Don just had to be faster, and if there was one thing I was confident in when it came to Don, it was his speed. 

“Wing Attack!” I called. 

Don plummeted, allowing his speed to be even further boosted. 

Blissey on the other hand reached into its pouch and drew out a softly glowing orb that it began to raise to her face.

Then Don slammed into her, halting her attempt at healing herself, the orb stuttering as she fell onto her back with a pained cry. 

Don swept past her with a victorious screech and I pumped my fist, glad that Kaede hadn’t gotten off two heals unscathed. 

I grit my teeth as the stuttering orb regained its lustre as it fell into Blissey, and marks of damage began to vanish as Blissey gained more vibrancy. 

Damn it, she’d be up to full-fighting fitness with another round of Soft Boiled. 

She still looked a bit tired, but it might take a while to wear down this pokemon.

Kaede narrowed her eyes at Don. “Gravity,” she intoned and I grimaced. That was a good move. She would now have a much better shot at knocking Don out of the air.

Don buckled as the increased Gravity took hold, only for him to screech and through the bond, I felt his anger grow. He’d had a few chances to experience this thanks to Chansey at home, and he always, always hated gravity training.

Having it happen in a battle? Well, he just had even more motivation to stomp Blissey into the ground. 

As he dipped low, I decided to make the most of Kaede going for a utility move instead of trying to heal up again. 

“Stealth Rock!” I ordered, and Don followed the order with only a mild flash of annoyance in the bond. 

I could feel how he wanted to sink his teeth into the silly pink blob he was facing, but instead of delaying he followed the order instantly.

Good, his training was showing through.

Kaede made a face and I knew I’d just gotten off a good move. Usually, it was Sanchez, Jorm, or Gawain that people thought of when they considered my set-up moves, but Don could do some himself as well.

I felt a dark glee rise within me as Kaede looked like I’d just kicked Furret in front of her. Good, you might have thought that Gravity was clever, but it was going to cost you.

I toyed with the idea of doing another Stealth Rock, but discarded that. 

No way Kaede wouldn’t go for another Soft Boiled if I went for it now. 

I needed to pressure Blissey and Kaede, now that I’d gotten off the Stealth Rock. 

Here was where I’d usually default to Don’s strongest move, his Hyper Beam, but I felt like that might be a mistake, considering what I knew of Blissey.

I instead needed something physical. 

“Stone Edge,” I ordered and Don, rather than ascending as he typically would, tucked one wing and rolled through the air to position himself low to the ground. His claws and the tips of his wings pulled in tight as he braked causing his body to rise up ninety degrees. 

He sent a trio of stones hurtling towards Blissey. 

“FB! Knock those boulders out of the sky!” Kaede barked. 

Blissey chambered a fist to the side and then fired off a punch right as the attack was closing in. The boulders promptly exploded as Blissey’s Focus Blast obliterated them.

I considered Blissey. 

So, Hurricane was effective, but would cause little impact due to her special defence stat.

The same should be true of Hyper Beam. 

Which meant we had to rely on moves like Crunch, Wing Attack, Stone Edge, Rock Slide and Take Down. 

The only problem was that I didn’t want to get close while Blissey was at her best. While she was fighting fit, she’d more than likely be able to use the Ice Punch or Thunder Punch that I knew she was capable of as a Chansey against Don. 

That was one super effective move I didn’t want her landing.

Or should I give up on smashing Blissey and instead go for set up with Stealth Rock?

“Stone Edge, aim low,” I said, deciding on a course of action with what I had. 

Don dipped from his hovering position to clench his feet into the ground and once more hurl rocks and stones at Blissey. 

“Jump over it and close while they’re low!” called Kaede, trying to make the most of her Gravity along with Don’s still lowered position.

Blissey jumped over the Stone Edge, nullifying what I’d been trying to do, but opening up another avenue for me as it came down to land. 

Fuck it. If she was going to give me a shot like that…

“Hyper Beam,” I said, deciding to gamble on the strength of his attack along with using it to push Kaede. 

Kaede’s eyes widened as Don opened his maw and a small orb appeared. “Endure!” she called to her pokemon moments before Don unleashed his Hyper Beam. 

Blissey just touched the ground as Don attacked.

The beam was much more powerful than the last time I’d let him loose, and I knew I had Empress to thank for that. Her, Don, and Tide had all been ‘competing’ with each other to have the strongest Hyper Beam. 

Previously Tide had held the win record, but with Empress’ arrival, things had changed, with both pokemon having to work to even be in the same league as her. 

This produced results. 

Don’s beam roared across the battlefield and hammered Blissey. Like a beach ball that was suddenly caught in a wave, she was carried from the arena to slam into a barrier where she cried out with pain as Don’s beam continued to assault her. 

For four long seconds I watched as Don continued to push, the barrier around Blissey went from yellow to orange and started to dip into red before his Hyper Beam finished. 

Blissey collapsed to the ground with a faint cry. 

Excellent, while it wasn’t super effective it was certainly powerful enough to tip the scales in my favour.

“B-b-blissey!” She stood with a shuddering cry and then staggered forward, showing that she was still in the fight.

Kaede’s head turned from her pokemon to mine. I could see her working out the distances involved. Don took large lungfuls of air in and out as he regathered his strength. 

For Blissey to get close enough she needed to run across nearly the entire battlefield to land an Ice Punch that still wouldn’t be enough to knock Don out… hopefully. 

Or she could launch Focus Blast, but with Don’s flying type that wouldn’t work as well for her. 

Or she could use Soft Boiled. This would get her up to half-strength, but by then I could repeat my onslaught. 

And with each use of Endure, there was a greater chance of failure. 

I swallowed and allowed myself a smile.

I should have done this from the start, but I’d been too worried about the period of time when Don was weak. With Blissey in this state, it was obvious this was the right way forward—

“Healing Wish,” Kaede said with an air of finality. 

I blinked. She was going to use that move? A myriad of options suddenly presented themselves to me as I realised that with this move, certain weakened pokemon had a chance to return to the fight. 

Blissey flashed once and a small mote of light appeared. 

It looked nothing like when Link did it, but then again, he’d trained to not pass out from using Healing Wish. Kaede was using it as a last gambit of her pokemon to return one of her others to the fray. 

Blissey collapsed, only for her form to break up into the red light of a pokeball returning its pokemon. Don fumed, annoyed at having his ‘kill’ taken from him. 

I soothed him through the bond, pointing out that he had forced Kaede into that position.

In the space that Blissey had departed from, the mote of light hung. 

Then another pokemon formed around it, revealing Furret. 

The little pokemon stretched itself out, only to wiggle with glee as he regained all of the lost energy that he had lost from the previous battles. He landed, only for a Stealth Rock to slam into him and make him skip to the side with a grunt.

He shook it off and rose, his eyes sparking with determination.

Furret locked eyes with Don right as my pokemon began to move with more vigour, his energy regathered after the Hyper Beam. 

Both pokemon glared at each other. Don began to envisage all the ways he was going to sink his teeth into the little pokemon and I felt amused by his bloodthirst, if anything doubling at Kaede’s choice of pokemon.

I ignored the referee announcing that the score had evened out, and instead got ready for what Kaede was going to do next. 

“Thunderbolt!” Kaede called. 

“Stone Edge,” I replied, knowing that Don had the advantage with his speed. If he’d been higher in the air I might have tried having him throw up rock, and stones, but with his hovering he’d descended until his tail scraped against the ground, meaning he barely had any room to throw off Furret’s aim with some debris. 

Then again, chances were strong that Furret had Keen Eye as its ability, which meant that such diversions wouldn’t work. 

If I hadn’t done my research, I might have thrown out Hyper Beam again, but chances were still good that Furret could block it with Protect, before opening up my pokemon to a world of hurt with Furret’s Thunder.

Furret sparked up a powerful bolt of lightning before firing it right at Don. Don in response answered with a powerful Stone Edge. 

This time neither pokemon avoided the attacks, with Don screeching with pain while Furret was bowled over with the boulders that he typically dodged slamming into him. 

He rolled a few times before kipping up and sliding, his paws moving to his flank where he held them. It reminded me of season one’s finale of Samurai Furret, where the…

I blinked as Don’s energy buckled. 

I stiffened and fed him some of my rock aura, a slight chill ran through me as I allowed him to take some more energy from me. Don felt that, along with how doing so was making me feel the cold clothes I was in. 

A flicker of respect rose up along with what felt like him acknowledging me for choosing to help him instead of myself. I sent back an impression of the warmth, imprinting the feeling of my pokemon and my family. 

Don blushed at this and kept his eyes straight ahead as he flapped his wings to get off the ground. Heh, he was being all shy guy. 

I glanced over to find Furret in what looked like a signature pose…

I recognised that pose…

It was probably the cold getting to me, or perhaps all the aura I’d used so far in this fight, but I couldn’t stop myself as I called out. “Hey! Don’t use the heroic comeback pose on me!” I shouted, while pointing at the little pokemon. 

Furret stiffened and looked left and right before bobbing its head at me, acknowledging that it had been doing exactly that.

“I’m already in enough trouble with my younger siblings for drawing your side of the bracket and facing you!” I said. 

Don regained his position in the air but still shot me a confused look at my declaration, the shyness from me sharing my aura with him now gone.

I coughed. He obviously wouldn’t understand, not having watched the Samurai Furret series. 

Furret himself put a paw on the back of his head and rubbed at it while giving me a dopey smile. “Fffffurrrrr!” he said happily. 

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Kaede, who put her hands to her face and shook them. “No Furret, now is not the time to appreciate a fan of your work, especially when he calls you out on your style.” 

I narrowed my eyes as Kaede’s words triggered another memory. 

The leaping and spinning he liked to do with moves and when evading… that was the damned choreography in the ending credits dance of his show!

I felt an intense and uncontrollable wave of annoyance wash over me. I’d thought I was so clever working out their trick with Baton Pass, and it was just Furret being a little show Ponyta!

Or was it? I considered Kaede as another memory of Kaede’s Gardevoir twirling about flashed into the front of my mind. 

Kaede was a very skilled co-ordinator… there was no way she hadn’t worked some of those skills into her combat style. And Furret, as her front line act… Aah.

Hmmm, Kaede was obfuscating. 

Furret stiffened and adopted a sterner expression, and I huffed. 

Damn adorable little thing, I was going to be in so much trouble when I won. In a way, I was going to lose out with my siblings... 

I glanced at Don and checked over his singed form. That Thunderbolt had done good work. 

Furret was proving to be an annoying pokemon to face. 

Perhaps I needed to force Kaede’s hand. She still had Gardevoir and a fatigued Sableye, while I had Don, Empress and Hypnotoad.

Another exchange of attacks like that would cost Kaede her Furret, but it would also cost me Don. But… I did have other options.

I’d gotten her to use Protect earlier, so the odds were worse for it working… so… why not? 

Another thought formed in my mind. Perhaps I could bait her with a fake order? It would work even better with Stealth Rock still in play… I liked this plan and decided to go for it.

“Don! Prepare to fire!” I called, splaying my hand out dramatically 

Kaede stiffened, “Baton Pass now!” she shouted. 

Furret leapt and I once again tracked his eyes to work out where he was going to project his fellow pokemon.     

I felt a grin begin to break out as my eyes locked onto the point that Furret was going to project his fellow pokemon. 

“Hyper Beam! Three o’clock!” I ordered and Don snapped his head at the point, not even needing to look to know where to unleash his attack. 

Kaede’s face fell and I felt vindicated as the beam charged and was unleashed…

Only for Gardevoir to appear where Furret had been, not where he was leaping as I’d expected. Stealth Rock hammered into her and caused her to flinch. 

The Hyper Beam blazed through the space I’d ordered Don to attackת and my mind worked furiously even as it locked on what this meant.

I’d just missed. 

I’d just missed bad.

Had I seen it wrong? Furret had been entirely focused on that point of landing, not where he was leaping from…

Some instinct or awareness of Kaede made me look at her. 

She was staring at me with pursed lips. 

Why? She’d just gotten away with releasing her pokemon without it being assaulted by a Hyper Beam, but she looked like she’d lost out?

Then it clicked. 

This was another trick of hers that she’d been holding in reserve. I couldn’t have been the only person to notice how her Baton Pass worked. Kaede must have known that. She’d not just sat and accepted that weakness though, she’d instead set it up as a trap for people to grow complacent. 

They’d think they knew the trick, only for Kaede to switch it up at her leisure resulting in an error on my part. 

In tennis, I think they would have called this a forced error. 

It was a bad call by me, but one I’d been led into by Kaede.

I couldn’t help but admire it even as part of me absolutely loathed her for having such an ace up her sleeve. 

She’d been right earlier when she’d apologised for what was to come. I was starting to get annoyed with how she fought. I wanted to come to grips with her, only for her to deny me again and again. 

Don’s Hyper Beam died away and I knew that Kaede was about to take her best shot at him. I held Kaede’s gaze as she made a gesture.

“Psychic,” she said. 

I blinked in surprise as instead of Don crumpling, the Stealth Rock to the side was crushed. Really?

Huh, she really didn’t like there being a Stealth Rock on the field, did she? 

She was hard committing to her switch-out style with Furret. Did that mean Gardevoir had Baton Pass as well? Was this another trick she was going to reveal?

Don regained his energy and prepared to attack, only for Kaede to beat us to the punch.

She swept her hand out. “Psychic,” she said tonelessly. 

Don crumpled as psychic energy dragged him down to flatten him against the ground, which was only worsened by Blissey’s earlier Gravity. 

I couldn’t say this was an unfamiliar position for Don.

Don had been here with my Selene, but most of all with Sabrina’s Alakazam. He hated being forced from the sky and it showed as rather than submitting, he raged, howling and gnashing his teeth with all he was worth. 

I decided to back him. “That’s it Don! Fight through!” Don redoubled his efforts and I felt through the bond as the pressure around Don faltered. Excellent, Gravity had worn off! 

Victory surged through Don’s mind as he rose more easily into the air.

Kaede’s eyes widened as Don overcame the Psychic with raw stubbornness.

He flapped his wings hard and rose into the air. “Aeeeeeeeeero!” he screeched. 

I grinned. It was not the first time that I was glad for his stubborn nature, but it was certainly nice to have it rear its head here and now.

“Assurance!” I called, hoping that Don’ defiance would spark Assurance's double damage ability. 

Kaede floundered as Don charged forward, darkness wrapping around his wings while his maw stretched out wide.

“Gardevoir! U-use Moonblast!” she ordered, and I grunted as vindication and annoyance fought with each other for pride of place within my heart. 

Don’s charge met the pink orb of fairy-type energy and Don was blown away. 

If Kaede hadn’t had any fairy-type moves, the only other option would have been to Teleport, but Titan’s earlier actions had nullified that option.

Kaede shot me another look of annoyance. I didn’t take any comfort in knowing that I was revealing her aces to the world. Those said aces were costing me this match. She might have a ton of them, but I had always been a quick learner. She really had been preparing for this tournament, hadn’t she?

Part of me wanted to tip my head in acknowledgement of her skills and foresight, but that could wait until after the match.

I wasn’t out of it yet. I returned Don and without even waiting, I sent out Hypnotoad as close as I could. 

“Close and DL,” I said, taking Kaede by surprise as Hypnotoad exploded off the mark. As she charged I added to the order. “Keep on circling!”.

“T-teleport!” Kaede ordered her pokemon.

It took a moment for the order to register, but then I blinked in surprise as I realised that perhaps for the first time in this entire match, Kaede had made a mistake. 

I capitalised on it as Gardevoir twirled like she had before, dancing slightly away from Hypnotoad before she flickered into what should have been a Teleport. 

For a moment she vanished, only to reappear a moment later with wide eyes as the move failed, much to Gardevoir and Kaede’s shock.

Hypnotoad slammed into Gardevoir with her fist as she spun into her Darkest Lariat. Gardevoir tried to match her, leaping back with the attack, only for Hypnotoad to keep spinning like a demented top, the close contact with the dark energy causing some pain. 

Gardevoir eventually was hurled to the ground with a pained cry that I imagine had many people on their feet with how mournful it was. 

Gardevoir landed and rolled back, before wobbling to her feet on shaky legs. 

Damn, dark type move against psychic-fairy type. It was strong, but not that effective.

Hypnotoad, however, had not been idle while her foe had been getting to her feet. 

She approached steadily, hands out wide in a challenging pose that had Gardevoir growling, before she suddenly twitched and found her eyes drawn down.

Kaede stiffened. “Gardevoir, don’t look at the Poliwrath’s belly! Look away! Use…” she floundered as she struggled to find the right move for her pokemon, before gritting her teeth and glaring at me. “Healing Wish,” she bit out. 

Gardevoir heard her, despite her eyes beginning to droop. The Embrace Pokemon, as it was known, cupped her hands in front of her chest and once more a mote of energy formed.

Then a second later Gardevoir crumpled as though its strings were cut. Before it hit the ground, its form broke apart into particles of red energy. 

Once again Furret appeared, absorbing the healing energy and standing tall. 

The little pokemon looked at me with oddly serious eyes. “Fur-ret!” it barked, before nodding once. 

I cocked an eyebrow, unsure what that meant, even as I dimly registered that the referee was calling the match.

The crowd murmured for a bit, only for a few people to spark a round of chants. “Brock! Brock! Brock!” chanted one side of the field, as others took up calling out for Kaede. 

I rolled my shoulders and grimaced as I was forcibly reminded of how wet I was. Urgh, I must look as miserable as a wet Meowth. I somewhat felt it right now as well.

A quick glance at Kaede showed that she was leaning heavily against the railing around her podium. She looked like a wilted flower, with her shoulders sagged in and her arms quaking, but her eyes still shone with a desire to keep on fighting. 

I imagine my own pose matched hers. 

“Hypnotoad, go on the offensive,” I ordered, letting Hypnotoad off the leash, so to speak. 

Hypnotoad dashed forward and began to fire off punch after punch at Furret, only to have the energised pokemon skid, slide and circle Hypnotoad, avoiding the super effective fighting type moves as much as he could. 

My earlier suspicions were confirmed as Hypnotoad found herself unable to land a blow, while Furret practically danced around and through her. Kaede had merged her Furret’s fighting style with that of contest-style fighting.

He was graceful and skilled, a perfect hidden threat. I watched him moving, letting Hypnotoad go to town. To outside observers, it looked like I was committing to an ineffectual strategy, but I knew then and there how things were going to end.

Kaede’s lips pursed and she waved her hand. “Baton Pass!” she ordered yet again, and I was starting to find that move to be extremely annoying. She must have known I was starting to ‘read’ into her little pokemon’s movement patterns. If she’d given me more time I might just have been able to nudge Hypnotoad into landing a single, devastating punch.

Sadly Kaede’s instincts were spot on, as she traded out her pokemon once more for Sableye.

The ghastly little pokemon appeared with a harsh-sounding cackle that reminded everyone that it too had taken some serious damage earlier. 

The earlier fights were piling up, and despite Kaede’s best efforts, things were grinding into my favour. 

“Shadow Sneak for more room!” she ordered, and her pokemon dove into its own shadow before darting back to the furthest line of the field. 

There it hunkered down. I narrowed my eyes, knowing it had to be on its last legs. 

“Advance with Hydro Pump!” I ordered. 

Hypnotoad did just that, a blast of water launching out, only for there to be enough distance for Sableye to dodge to the side with a cheeky cackle. 

“D-disable!” slurred Kaede and I glanced up to see if she was healthy enough to continue. 

I ignored the flash of red that signified that Hypnotoad could no longer use Hydro Pump. Kaede was now braced in the corner of the podium. 

People in the crowd noticed and were urging the referee to call the match. 

I hesitated, wondering if I needed to back off. 

“Don’t you dare!” Kaede growled.

She then surprised everyone by slapping herself in the face. She straightened with a large inhale. “I’m not going down before I see things through! Don’t hold back because you think I can’t handle it! Give me your best shot damn it!” she roared, and I chuckled. 

“Alright then,” I said as I pointed my hand straight at Sableye. Fighting, normal and psychic moves were out, and Hydro Pump was down. Time for some good old-fashioned trickery. “Hypnotoad! Go!”

Hypnotoad threw itself into a sprint, arms pumping furiously to close the distance. 

Then just as it looked like energy should have formed around her, Hypnotoad performed a flip, grabbing at the muddy water and causing a tidal wave to rise up, with her beginning to skate along behind it, where she’d be safe.

Just as I lost sight of Sableye I saw his head turn, tracking Hypnotoad’s position on the wave, despite it being at a much lower angle. 

It shouldn’t have been able to…

 Kaede stiffened. “Energy Ball!” she ordered quickly. 

Sabeleye grinned as an orb of green formed in its hands before it launched its attack right at Hypnotoad. The grass-type move tore a hole right through the wave and slammed into Hypnotoad, sending her falling to the ground.

How had she done that? There would be hardly any signs to give away Hypnotoad’s positioning on the wave, and the wave itself should have acted as a barrier… unless you used something that could punch a hole through it…

Hypnotoad staggered up to her feet as the wave crashed, but without her to power it, the move had failed, which was a first for a Surf to the best of my knowledge. 

That Sableye was much more accurate than it should have been… There must be more at play for it to be this accurate. 

I was suddenly feeling like doing research on my opponents the night before just wasn’t cutting it anymore. People were coming into matches with pokemon and skills that I should know about well in advance. I’d allowed my pokemon to carry the day and been far too reactive. 

I could lay a bit of blame at the feet of my lack of time with the various commitments I had, but if I wanted to be a serious battler, I should have been doing more.

I considered the state of the battlefield and the state of my pokemon. 

If I was being honest, this was a bad matchup for Hypnotoad with both positioning and Sableye’s moveset. 

I grit my teeth and decided to do something I rarely did. 

I disengaged from the fight and returned Hypnotoad. “Return girl, today’s not your day,” I said. Within the pokeball the small beating energy ball that was Hypnotoad responded with a casual nod of acknowledgement, along with the feeling of readiness to come back out when I needed her.

Heh, she was a reliable workhorse, and I had a few ideas for avenues I should explore going forwards, but for now I let my attention drift towards the feel of her and the other three ‘downed’ pokemon on my pokebelt. 

Having her in hand and them on my belt was like night and day, especially with Empress’ pokeball sitting among them. Without even having to lock, I knew where she rested on my pokebelt. 

Huh, that might have some interesting applications, I thought as ideas for the future played out. 

I almost felt like... I understood my aura and that of my pokemon more now… huh. So it was true what they said, you learned more from hardship than lessons learned in a classroom or a training session.

I could feel what aura still permeated through even my downed pokemon. 

Along my belt, four other pokeballs rested in a similar state as Empress’. 

I recalled then and there that the bond didn’t need to be one way. It could be more. If I wanted I could empower the pokemon on the field with the pokemon still on my pokebelt. Which, in the future, would mean so much. My pokemon could be stronger earlier on, before having to use only their own and my reserves. 

And when I was allowed to use all ten pokemon that my carry limit permitted? 

Huh I wouldn’t even need to signal them as fighting as they could act as batteries for the others. 

For half a heartbeat, I considered drawing on the energy of the four pokemon on my pokebelt that were fresh… but then I dismissed the thought. 

That wasn’t how I wanted to do things. 

It wasn’t right. 

It was stupid, I knew that, especially when I wanted to win, but it was also the right thing to do. In another time and in another place, perhaps, but today? 

Today I used what I had allowed myself when the match started, no more.

I felt the flickering embers of my pokemon all register this decision. Hypnotoad, as the most awake pokemon of my battle roster, was the most fervent in agreeing.

There was almost a confirming pulse from them all that they’d felt my conviction to do this the right way and their agreement. 

I felt myself smile and relax. 

While I toyed with my aura, Kaede didn’t let my decision to return Hypnotoad go unpunished. “Recover!” she said. 

Sableye glinted in the light before sagging slightly. It might be healed, but it was still tired from fighting Titan. 

“You know Kaede, this has to be one of the hardest matches I’ve had… in a long while,” I said. 

Kaede shifted position, adjusting her place on the podium’s railing. “I know the feeling,” she said.

I nodded, palming my pokemon and damn if it wasn’t a good pokemon to have as my clutch hitter.

“Go! Empress!” I shouted, sending out my second Tyranitar once more.

She landed on the field and like her son, she caused a rumble with her appearance, despite how sudden it was.

One of the better aspects of returning Hypnotoad that was worth mentioning, was that I could also resposition, which thanks to Kaede’s decision to use Recover, meant that Empress landed practically on top of Sableye. 

Kaede licked her lips. “Ah, I almost forgot about her,” she said candidly as Sableye leaned back, eyes glinting fearfully as Empress loomed over the small pokemon. 

“Liar,” I said jokingly, I reached out to link myself with her, only for her to hesitate a moment before accepting it. Where Titan’s bond with me was like a high-speed internet connection, I felt like I was trying to shout down a tunnel with Empress. We were connected, but it wasn’t as good.

Hmmm, I’d have to work on that if I wanted to truly work with her going forwards.

Kaede gave a weak smile. “Energy Ball,” she ordered her pokemon.

I responded with “DP,” I barked, signalling for a Dark Pulse, confident in Empress’s greater speed over Sableye.

Empress unleashed her attack as a potent shockwave that bowled Sableye over itself. 

Sableye landed on its front and struggled in the mud to stand, but it did so with a snarl. When it cupped its hands and formed an Energy Ball again, I pointed down with a finger. “Dig,” I said.

Empress threw herself into the muddy battlefield, causing a huge wave of mud to splash out, but for her form to vanish. 

Sableye’s head snapped down and he tracked her movement for a little bit, as he unleashed his Energy Ball at a point where Empress was gliding through the mud. 

I flashed a warning through the bond, practically having to shout at the top of my metaphorical lungs for her to hear me through our bond. 

But she heard me, and so she sank lower, hiding in the bedrock of the field, which caused the Energy Ball to detonate above her harmlessly.

I frowned. 

That was… quite a few times that Sableye knew where to aim or look. He’d consistently found Titan in the Sandstorm despite visibility being poor and his hit and run tactics. Then there was the Surf incident, now it was Dig.

I considered opening my mouth and mentioning my suspicions, but decided not to. She didn’t know I knew after all. No need to confirm it, I could work on hypotheticals. 

With the bond active, I fed Empress Sableye’s location and she rumbled something back at me. 

Yeah… I really needed to work on this.  

Empress’ angled herself upward and then went still for a moment. I frowned. What was she wait—

A second later she went from stationary in the ground to erupting with her fangs sinking into Sableye. The ghost-dark type pokemon screamed in shock as Empress bit and shook. 

While I’d understood academically that this was how they did it, I suddenly felt like I had a much better appreciation of how Tyranitar hunted in the wild.

Empress didn’t let Sableye even attempt a Sucker Punch or a False Tears or an attempt to play possum as she finished off the little pokemon there. 

“Empress! Enough!” I called, realising that if I let her simply act out with her instincts, this match was going to end with a casualty. 

Empress glanced at me, Sableye still hanging in her jaws.

She opened her mouth and spat the defeated pokemon onto the ground where it flopped heavily. Kaede returned it without saying a word.  

“The match is now five to three!” roared the referee, and I felt my smirk come back into play. I’d made a lot of errors, but one mistake I hadn’t made? Putting Titan and Empress on the team. 

Both of them were absolute tanks when it came to absorbing damage, and for all the tricks and finesse Kaede had, she couldn’t close the gap enough to contest their raw power. 

I almost felt bad for her. 

Once again the crowd rose to cheer and shout, making themselves known. 

I looked around and found them all on their feet. 

I turned my head and focused back on the battlefield, hoping my lapse in judgement hadn’t resulted in Kaede getting Furret out and getting a free move. 

I saw that, if anything, Kaede was worse off than before. She had Furret’s pokeball clutched in her hands and was swaying slightly. 

Her eyes shifted from it to me. Then her expression hardened. 

She lobbed the ball underhand, and Furret appeared across from Empress. 

It struck me then that despite everything we’d been through, all the destruction, the intense temperature drops, the Hyper Beams, the technical moves and gambits, we’d still reached the point of being right back where we’d started. 

Empress against Furret. 

Both pokemon were as healthy as they could be, considering the circumstances. 

Furret turned from Empress though, and took a moment to inspect his trainer. “Fur…” said the little pokemon, his ears folding back. 

Kaede looked from me to him, a smile on her lips.

“Furret, it’s up to you now… do your best,” she said quietly. “I’m trusting you,” she said, and despite the lack of volume, her words carried to everyone in the stadium. 

Furret turned, his gaze fixed. He nodded once at Empress, and she considered him for a long moment that stretched before I nudged her through the bond. 

She inclined her head once in a show of respect. 

I flicked my eyes between them, measuring the distance and taking in the broken terrain.

Earthquake wouldn’t be as effective as usual due to the wet environment, the same was true of Outrage. 

Furret had shown he could dodge Stone Edge like a champion. I needed something with a wider field of effect.

“Empress! Hyper Beam!” I ordered, knowing that I had to force Kaede’s hand. She couldn’t dodge anymore with Baton Pass launching her pokemon, and if Don’s Hyper Beam had been impressive, I knew Empress’ dwarfed it. 

Kaede shut her eyes and sighed. “P-protect,” she said, her tone indicating that she knew her odds weren’t good. 

Empress rose and from her maw, a giant orb of energy formed. 

The orb was so bright that I couldn’t look directly at it. I could, however, notice how the field had been bathed in light and shadows, with the craters and waves of water and mud cut into stark contrast.

In the middle of the bare patch of land, Furret stood defiantly. 

Then he held up both little paws, as though warding Empress off. 

Empress fired her Hyper Beam and the attack tore through the landscape, causing a quake as rocks were hurled up and away, while others were outright disintegrated. 

I had a moment to see Furret still standing before I lost him in a wave of energy. 

Violent clashes of energy and the blare of alarms heralded the destruction of the barrier behind where Furret stood. 

I could only hope that they’d known to protect that area of seating, or Sabrina had once again intervened. 

For seven whole seconds, the Hyper Beam persisted, before finally guttering out. 

I had to blink a few times. The blare of alarms continued and the flash of red barriers highlighted the rear position, where several pokemon stood, reinforcing the barrier.

I found my eyes questing through the dust and grit for a much smaller form.

Instead of finding Furret, I instead found an orb of energy that was held precariously on top of an eroded wedge of land.

Huh, Kaede had come up lucky again. Damn, I really wouldn’t want to play a game of cards against her if this was what her luck was like.

I stared as the Protect fell away to reveal Furret. The tiny pokemon fell to one knee and took huge lungfuls of air before snapping his head up at Empress. 

Where a broken dampened swamp of a battlefield had been before, now stood a stripped back field with a hard and fast V cut into it, leading from Empress out. 

If you took into consideration the path of unmarked land around and behind where Furret had stood, it actually formed a pretty neat A. 

Furret narrowed his eyes, though, and without waiting for Kaede to give a verbal order, he took off. 

He sprinted to the edge of the slight trench that had formed and leapt, feet kicking off the edge to sail out into the reformatted field. 

Interestingly enough, he didn’t slow down in the air. If anything, he gathered speed. 

He must be using Quick Attack to close in. 

Empress watched him come, taking slow steady breaths, her eyes tracking the little pokemon as he grew closer. 

Then like a coiled spring that had only built up more kinetic energy from his run across the battlefield, he jumped straight at Empress. He soared through the air, foot leading with a roar of defiance on his lips.

He hit her… only to plink off uselessly. 

He landed on the ground in front of her and blinked in surprise at her as she remained unmoved. “Fur?” 

Then he looked up, to find Empress staring down with a thoroughly unimpressed look in her eyes. 

“Dark Pulse!” I ordered, at the same time as Kaede spoke up. 

“Play Rough but stay in tight!” she called. “Don’t let yourself be k-knocked away!” Kaede called, her voice cracking and hoarse by the end as her voice failed. 

Furret glowed pink, and with his much closer position he once again leapt at Empress. 

Empress simply glowered at the little pokemon and I got the impression she didnt rate him as a threat. I shouted another warning down the bond, only for her to ignore it. She began to unleash a Dark Pulse, only for Furret to cut through it with his fairy empowered leap. 

He slammed into Empress and this time she was rocked back a step. 

Through the bond I felt pain flash through her before it was replaced with a spark of annoyance. Empress stopped looking down at the little pokemon and instead prepared herself to stomp it into the ground. 

If Kaede was going to keep relying on Play Rough, I knew I couldn’t rely on a dragon type move or another Dark Pulse. Thankfully, Empress did know a move that would work, thanks to her spending time around Knight.

“Iron Head,” I ordered, and she hesitated a moment before complying. 

This hesitation allowed Furret to race in and smash into her ankle, causing another spike of pain and a growing sense of wrath to build in my second Tyranitar.

I grit my teeth and began pouring energy and a sense of what I wanted her to do through the bond. Due to the poor… connectivity, I felt like I wasted a lot of the energy, but Empress heard me and accepted the order.

Instead of hesitating, the next time she channelled the steel energy into her head and crouched, lowering herself. 

Furret darted in again, this time aiming for her other leg, only for her to swivel to the side at my command before letting herself buckle, her head racing down and slamming the little pokemon into the ground. 

Empress gained a dark satisfaction at this act and I practically felt our bond grow with the result of helping her squash the annoyance. 

“He’s not down yet!” I warned, forgoing trying to stay silent for speed and clarity.

Empress didn’t even get a chance to doubt my words as Furret, still pressed into the dirt, threw a paw into the air and once more Reversal slammed into a Tyranitar, hurling her back and making her spit blood with the power of the blow. 

“Empress!” I shouted in worry as she slid back, only for her to clench her claws and something primal to flash through her mind. It felt like a denial, and instead of moving a step back she dug in and stepped back to loom over Furret.

“Fu-fu-furrrrrrrrrr!” he growled as he pushed himself into a standing position, glaring at Empress. 

Empress returned the glare tenfold, now recognising the little pokemon as a threat.

“Earthquake,” I said, making sure that Empress didn’t get within range again of that Reversal. She might have endured the blow, but I knew she was well and truly injured from it. 

She was hanging on through sheer grit and perseverance now. 

Furret raised his paws and swayed slightly from side to side. “F-furret!” he said, and I got the idea he was saying something like ‘Come on! I can do this all day!’.

Empress raised her tail and brought it down. With her earlier ‘clear out’ of this part of the field, the Earthquake actually took effect. 

Furret was thrown into the air and this time when he landed, it was without style or finesse. He slammed into the ground and stayed down.

For a long moment no one said anything. 

I nodded and sent Empress a suggestion to do the same, only for her to send a growl back through the bond. Ah, she didn’t want to acknowledge that a Furret had caused her so much trouble, as I translated it? 

I could feel her wounded pride and I had to hold back a chuckle. She wouldn’t appreciate it. Despite my not reacting, she glanced back at me with a narrowed eye. 

Ah, damn, must be that Mum energy. She knew without me telling her.  

The referee twitched and glanced between Empress and me. 

He then inspected Furret for a moment more before nodding. “Furret is unable to continue battling!” he announced. 

The referee turned to Kaede and bowed his head at her wilted and saddened form before he turned back to me. 

The ref raised his hand. “Which means that Brock is the victor with a score of three to six!” he said. 

The crowd rose, cheering the amazing fight even as I heard some kids crying out for Samurai Furret. Urgh… great, even when I wasn’t trying, I was the heel of the match. I shook that off and instead considered how the match had unfolded.

I sighed, knowing that I’d made several mistakes in this fight, but I’d still managed to make it through. 

This… This, however, was a big neon sign that I’d been resting on my laurels. 

I’d also done a lot to keep myself in the fight during the middle of it, but damn if I shouldn’t have had it a lot easier than this. Still… There was also a degree of bad luck on my part.

There were plenty of moments where if Kaede hadn’t come up lucky, I might have emerged the victor faster. 

I shook my head. I shouldn’t mope, I’d won. I shook myself out of it and examined my body.

I felt mentally and physically exhausted, beyond anything I’d experienced in a while from a pokemon battle, but I also felt… good in myself. 

I noted the way my aura had grown, like I’d come out stronger from this fight. Kaede had challenged me and my pokemon in ways I hadn’t been challenged before.

I smiled towards Kaede as she returned her pokemon. 

“That was an incredible fight,” I said honestly. “Thanks,” I said.

Kaede smiled and dipped her head to me in a polite bow, only for it to turn into a deeper bow.

Only that proved to be wrong as she didn’t stop bowing, and instead faceplanted.

Oh… shit, that wasn’t good and I really should have expected it. 

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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

Thanks also go to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!