Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Nephthys8079]

We're caught up....but at what cost

 

[Dromeosaur]

I loved the chapter. The lucario's character was handled properly; the evolution was actually a natural result of the plot and character arc, and still somehow surprising.

 

[Skyfyre]

We're caught up....but at what cost

Click to shrink...

We still have one more chapter to catch up left! I'll be posting it later today.

I loved the chapter. The lucario's character was handled properly; the evolution was actually a natural result of the plot and character arc, and still somehow surprising.

Click to shrink...

Thank you! I was going for that, so I'm glad it all worked.

 

[Skyfyre]

The Pokemon Center within the Dalizapa Passage was a fair bit larger than the others I had seen, with a small building past the pavilion built up against the rocky walls, looking like it could house at least a dozen people. They must get more Trainers lost on this route than on other ones and have them be in desperate need of a safe haven. Probably still have the underground structure part too here, but hopefully don't need it too often.

There was also a good deal of grass around the Center and building, due to how this intersection of the passage was open to the sky above. There were large openings high, high above us, letting the sunlight and rain occasionally stream down the stone passage. Off to the West was the route to Medali, the tunnel there fully ensconced from the elements until you reached the end. My destination was to the north, amidst a series of broken, winding paths up.

As the Nurse Joy (one whom my keen eyes detected was just wearing a pink wig as part of the job uniform and likely not a member of the Joy clan) took in my Pokemon, she asked me, "Do you need to rest here?"

Shaking my head, I replied. "Nah, I'll just get my team healed up, maybe have a snack, then be on my way up."

She pursed her lips, looking a little worried for my sake (especially since I confirmed I was going up the mountain and not the easy path across to Medali). That expression changed to one of a bit more consideration as she saw my full team, especially the seventh Pokemon. The machines are designed only to heal six Pokemon at a time, so she must have seen the note on my file that I have permission from Hassel to carry seven at once.

"Alright, your Pokemon are all healed up; we hope you enjoy your stay. Be safe out there."

"Thanks," I said, before setting up a small picnic at the edge of the Pokemon Center. There were plenty of wild Pokemon wandering about the caves, but even the most mischievous or aggressive of them, like the Salandits or Sableyes, refused to get close to the Pokemon Center. Some of them are eyeing me up, though, like it's a game and I'm in the 'safe zone.'. I wonder if that's how the Rangers or whoever explained it to them? Probably not, but it could be how the message has twisted over time.

Wild Pokemon were often taught to avoid certain human paths, both through direct and indirect experience, but Rangers hardly had time to constantly reteach such things to each generation of Pokemon. Clearly, the older Pokemon teach the newborn Pokemon those things, alongside other facets of life. But I have to wonder how those messages get distorted from how they were first taught, like a game of Telephone. The result might be similar, but is the reasoning different?

Such things would be fascinating to study, but unfortunately I didn't have nearly enough time to spend more of it here. After our quick lunch, I packed things up and started hiking up the passage. The few Pokemon that seemed like they might be willing to make a move towards challenging me were warded off by Notch and Nightwing flying by my side, at least long enough that my quick strides took the decision out of their hands as I moved on.

As I reached the quarter mark and used an Aura-assisted jump to make it up to the next part of the 'path,' I wondered. How did they expect people to climb this without Aura? A second later it hit me, and I felt dumb for not realizing otherwise. Oh right, they expect the Pokemon to help them. Still, some of these jumps are pretty steep; something just like a standard rental Cyclizar wouldn't be able to traverse them.

"Hmm," I mused aloud, drawing the attention of Notch (Nightwing was busy 'guarding' me by dive-bombing nearby Pokemon and frightening them off). "Oh, I was just thinking about this passage," I said as I pulled myself up to the next level, climbing up the next section of the path.

They chimed, and I continued. "This place is broken up and clearly in need of maintenance, so I wondered if it was even really meant to be a pathway for people to use heading up. But then I look and see things like that," I said, pointing at a faded bootprint on the ground. "Clearly people have used this, not too long ago either. So maybe it's left like this on purpose? As a challenge for those seeking to ascend this way?"

My words were proven true as I saw a hiker man standing by the side of the path, who waved at me. "'Ello there, Miss. Fancy a batt-"

"Sorry," I interrupted his request, Nightwing swooping up beside us to catch up. "I've gotta keep on going. I'm set to have a Gym Challenge with Grusha soon, and I'm running a bit behind." The words 'maybe next time' or 'we can fight later' hung on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say them. There's no backtracking in the route I set out, and I really should try and speed things up. The future won't wait forever.

Thankfully, he took the denial with good grace, easily waving me off. "No problem, good luck with your challenge and be careful up there; this climb is steep, but it gets pretty frigid on the top of the mountain."

The warning just seemed like standard fare and not that he was underestimating me. In fact, he gave my clothing an approving nod as I passed by. "Be careful about climbing up too fast. You've got some youthful vigor, Miss, but you'll find that you need to take a break at times when you ascend. Don't try to push past it when you get a headache or dizzy, even if you've got a Gym Match on the line."

I frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant before it hit me. Oh, he's talking about altitude sickness!... I don't think I have to worry about that with my Aura. "Will do, thank you," I replied before continuing the climb.

It was a long trek, but eventually, I made it to the top. Exiting out through one of the openings, I found myself standing on a snow-covered path. It led further up the mountain, a cold wind racing down its slopes. The path was steep, twisting around several snowy caps up and up and up.

To my left, the lands were covered by grassy plains that were somewhat flat before a steep dive down (though I knew there were a few large holes I couldn't see from this angle that opened to the passage). It was strange to see such a hard line between the two environments until I considered what effect Pokemon could have on the terrain around them. Even if none of the guys are weather setters, I can totally buy that so many Cubchoos, Snorunts, and other Ice Types could ensure the snow doesn't melt on their side, while the Gogoats on the other let the grass thrive.

Despite the snow drifting down around me, the sunlight reflecting off the path made it difficult to make out anything as I climbed it. Thankfully, I was still able to see enough to avoid any Pokemon wandering across the path, without a care in the world. These more rugged trails are truly dominated by the Pokemon; I'll have to be careful.

I could avoid any Snorunts or Frigibax wandering carelessly on the path, but as I made it higher, some more aggressive Pokemon actively sought me out, attempting to drive me off, or perhaps just looking for a challenge. Most of them were defeated easily, but a few proved a tad more troublesome.

One of those was a Cryogonal. As we passed the corner, turning out of sight of the Dalizapa Passage, they were there at the top of the long path, right before the next turn. Rather than wait for my approach, they surprised me with a Solar Beam, carving a devastating beam across the icy path.

Diving to the side, I avoided the beam at the cost of snow in uncomfortable places (not that I was overly focused on that at the moment). "Power Gem!" I shouted as I pulled myself out of the snow. Notch floated ahead valiantly, blasting out beams of the Rock Type energy up at the large blue snowflake-shaped Pokemon floating well ahead of us.

Despite the distance, Notch managed to clip the Cryogonal with the beams, my ears picking out the distant wail it gave, its glowing blue eyes glaring down at us. Yeah, well, you started this.

Calling out "Light Screen," we began racing up through the thick snow, trying to close the distance with Cryogonal. The Ice Type blasted beams across the wide path, freezing even more of it over, but with Notch's screen and a few well-timed Aura-enhanced jumps, I was able to avoid getting frozen over as we closed the distance.

They should have used Blizzard; it would have frozen everything down the path. It's funny; such Moves are obvious to me, and despite this Pokemon clearly being quite experienced and powerful, it didn't see things the same way, simply shooting out Aurora Beams and the like as we made our approach. "Stone Edge," I called out, those thoughts in the back of my mind as we moved to take them out.

With only a few dozen meters between us, Notch was able to use their strongest Rock Type attack, pulling a jagged spike of stone from the ground and clipping hard into Cryogonal, sending a small crack through their frame.

Off to the side, Nightwing laughed at the wild Pokemon's misfortune, earning her a few Ice Beams, which she narrowly avoided. I made it a policy not to use all of my Pokemon against a wild Pokemon to better give the team one-on-one experience, but I couldn't help it if our enemy decided to split their own focus.

Something that Notch took great advantage of, burying the Ice Type under a barrage of rocks. Eventually, the Cryogonal gave a cry of pain and floated away. "Well done," I told Notch as I turned my attention away from the wild Pokemon once we were safe.

Or so I had thought, the other Pokemon on the mountain, like the Sneasels and Snovers, ducking for cover when Cryogonal rampaged. But apparently, that was just the weaker Pokemon, as a shadow fell over my head. Whipping around, I saw a Beartic on the cliff above, crashing down towards me.

Nightwing threw herself in front of me, the Avalanche crashing down on top of her and burying her in the snow. The large bear raised her arms back and roared in defiance, which left her slightly off-balance. A blast of wind sent her toppling over, my Aura catching her by surprise and giving me a moment to escape, recalling Nightwing as I did so.

I'm tempted to let Notch take out the Beartic too, but… Glancing over, I saw the fury in the polar bear-like Pokemon's eyes as she pulled herself up. No need to take chances here. "Go, Lucario!" I shouted, tossing her out in front of the Beartic.

Even evolved, the Beartic still towered over my Pokemon, and upon seeing the obstacle in her path, swung a heavy arm down upon Lucario… who caught the blow with ease.

With a smirk, she began wailing into him, blasting him with a flurry of Aura Spheres and Flash Cannons with her free hand while still holding the Beartic in place. When the wild Pokemon lunged at her, jaws snapping, she simply flipped the Beartic over, crashing her through the snow once, twice, then spinning around and tossing her through the air well above the cliff she had dropped down from.

Not that she was done, my newly evolved Pokemon was reveling in her newfound prowess, jumping after the Beartic, soaring high above the clouds. A heavy sigh escaping my frigid lips, I marched up after her, climbing up to the next flat stretch of snow.

I rounded the bend just in time to watch her land down, foot first into Beartic's gut, knocking the wild Pokemon out. "Had your fun?" I shouted across the windy space, to which she howled an affirmation.

Trudging up beside her, we moved on toward our goal. The sun was setting, with the road long having disappeared, any sign of the earth buried under piles of snow way back around when we first started fighting Cryogonal. And the Gym isn't in sight.

Grusha's Gym didn't have a city around it or anything like that, but there were a few buildings designed to host traveling Trainers, as well as some ski lodges, from what I had heard. Yet they're nowhere in sight…

"Alright, we're going to rest up for the night," I told Notch and Lucario. Part of me was tempted to press on, but visibility was falling fast, and the cold picked up with it. I think I might be able to make it if I pressed on, but there's no need to. My match isn't till the afternoon tomorrow; I'll have time enough to make it there in the daylight.

Finding a somewhat secure edge of the mountain, I began clearing a patch of snow to set up my tent. With Notch erecting a wall of stone to further shield us from the elements, I pitched the tent with enough room to make sure any snow falling off the cliff likely wouldn't land on top of it. Then I brought out the special insulated sleeping bag I'd bought in Zapapico.

Even with all of that, it was still cold, and sleep came slowly, but eventually I drifted off. I woke up to find I was much warmer, due mostly to Dun having squeezed in beside me. "Silly snake," I said fondly, something he hummed at, likely meaning something like 'Silly Trainer,' in response.

"Ha, guess you've got me there," I said with a yawn as I wiggled out of the sleeping bag and got dressed. The tent was opened from the outside, Lucario poking her head in, and I hissed from the sudden chill.

'Sorry,' she sent to me, and I waved her off before getting fully bundled up again and braving the outside.

"It's fine. I take it you had some thoughts about what we talked about last night?" As we had set up the tent, I had posed two important questions to her. The first was which of the following Gyms she wanted to take on; with her evolved strength and Type advantage, I was sure she could dominate most of either Gym, but the rest of the team needed to train too. The other-

'Virtue, Battle, Strategy. Wisdom.' The concepts were hard for me to grasp solely from her empathic pulses, but with the body language, I was able to piece it together and understand what she meant by it all.

"Athena, is that the name you want?" We had gone over a variety of different names, fictional and mundane, but nothing seemed to click until I started going over some of the mythological ones. I'd left her to sleep on it, and apparently she had.

Athena gave a happy yip and smiled at the name. She added an empathic sense of solidity and hardness coming through our bond to further confirm her decision, an impression of solid ground almost. Aha!

"And you want to face Tyme? Sounds good." A scrambling sound nearby had me turn to the stone barricade, watching Fraxure scramble over the top, flopping down in front of me with a 'whump.'

Shaking the snow off of him, he piped up eagerly. "Frax! Axure!"

"You've thought of your name? Alright, let's hear it." Fraxure, being my first Dragon Type (and one of the few Dragons that was solely Dragon Type), a Dragon name seemed perfect. The problem lay in just how many fictional dragons there were in my old world. We've spent the past few months discussing everything from Smaug and the Hobbit to The Inheritance Cycle to even human characters given the title of 'Dragon,' like Rand al Thor and Iroh. It's been fun discussing all those stories, but I was worried I was overloading him with options.

Fraxure mimed out some actions trying to convey the name to me, something that was one of the more difficult things to understand when listening to a Pokemon speak. Common feelings or actions, like 'I'm hungry, feed me,' or 'I'm so mad I'm going to break something,' were easy to understand. From there, context clues could help me figure out what they meant more specifically. Proper nouns, however, were far trickier to decipher.

After many tries, Fraxure switched tracks, making bird-like motions with his claws. "Umm, a bird? A Canary!" He nodded eagerly, making more gestures and singing a little. "Bad Canary?" Fraxure shook his head. Wrong series. And I didn't even bring up Lung; that guy doesn't deserve the title of Dragon.

"More than one canary, seven of them? Oh! Bahamut! Is that the name…?" He nodded eagerly, cheering. "Well, that's definitely a fitting choice. The Platinum Dragon, known for his goodness and nobility, and a god, high aim there."

Bahamut looked a little bashful at that, and I waved him off. "No, no, that's a good thing. All Pokemon are strong. Hey, did I ever tell you the story of why I liked Haxorus' so much?" He shook his head, and I nearly cursed myself. Gah, can't believe I missed something so obvious.

Athena looked on interested, and my words had piqued even Dun's interest, enough that he stuck his head out of the tent. "Alright, let's pack things up, and I'll tell you on the way." I released the rest of the team as we began the final leg of our hike.

"So, I told you all that Pokemon existed in several forms of media in my former world, right? One of the most popular was the games. Several spin-off games existed, but the mainline games were the biggest thing the franchise had. Every few years they'd release a new one, showing off a whole new region, with new Pokemon to capture, and a new 'evil team' for your character to beat, on their path to becoming the Champion."

"Black and White were some of my favorite games - oh right, they released the games in pairs each 'generation,' exploring a new land and a bunch of new Pokemon in that region, with certain exclusives to each one of the pair to get kids to buy more. Anyways, I had Pokemon Black, and it had a great story, with engaging characters and a different take on the evil team. In the game, Team Plasma had tricked this empathetic kid, N, your rival, into denouncing owning Pokemon. And N was a special kid indeed, able to reach many people. Even more so after he convinced the Legendary Dragon Reshiram to join him."

"So, eventually I confronted N in his castle, which had shot out of the ground and taken a hold of the Unovan League Building." I had them fully enraptured now, and even a few wild Pokemon seemed to be listening with half an ear at my strange tale. "After fighting my way through Team Plasma, with the help of the Gym Leaders I fought along the way, I confronted N. Before we could fight, though, the other Legendary Dragon, Zekrom, appeared."

"Catching it was difficult due to the low catch rate, but I had to in order for the plot to move along. But then, as the game gave me the choice of which Pokemon to swap out to have Zekrom on the team of six to fight N, I refused, thinking about the team I had built up so hard on the way here. Emboar, Zebstrika, Throh, Cofigarius, Archeops. And finally, Haxorus, which I was only able to catch near the end of the game, and training him up was hard, but I brought him all the way up to a Haxorus before this fight."

"So I refused, and the game actually let me. So there I was, facing down N and his Legendary Dragon, with mine not on the team. But as we fought, Haxorus hit Reshiram hard, doing a good chunk of Reshiram's health. Reshiram's counter nearly took us out, but Haxorus just barely hung on, and in the following turn, we struck first; Haxorus was faster than Reshiram, and- we won."

In the silence that followed, we rounded the bend and gained the first glimpse of the Gym, the blocky white building at the end of the path almost blending in with the rest of the mountain. The arena off to the side was slightly more colorful, with a few other buildings, like a Pokemon Center off to the side.

Better wrap this story up now that we're getting close to other people. "So yeah, I managed to beat N - before losing to Ghestis' overpowered, underleveled Hydregion - but it was my first time really seeing a non-Legendary beating a Legendary. Of course, later on I saw stuff like that from Ash in the anime, and I always knew that any Pokemon could be strong with enough effort," I said, glancing down at Dun.

He raised his head slightly and gave a determined hiss. "Yeah, that's right, you'll definitely be stronger than any random Legendary, stronger than anyone. All of you guys will. Thank you, for believing in and trusting me this far. I promise not to let you down."

This prompted a bunch of my team dogpiling me and the sound of a camera clicking. Pushing my head out of the pile, I saw my Dad, bundled up in a thick golden jacket and matching ski pants, holding up his Rotom Phone and frantically taking photos of me. Beside him was Mom, dressed much the same, with a golden scarf around her face that couldn't hide the delight in her eyes.

"Ah! How incredibly cute! Your Glitterati adorability knows no bounds!" She squealed as I managed to get myself up.

"Mom, Dad!" I ran over and gave them both a hug. "I didn't mean to make you guys wait out here; the trip just took me a bit longer than I thought."

"I can see that," Billy said, eyeing up some of my new Pokemon.

"Right, this is Athena," I said, waving a hand out at my Lucario, who nodded 'stoically' even as her tail wagged behind her, soaking up the praise and awe from my parents. "And you haven't met Bahamut before," I added, gesturing to the Fraxure in question, who awkwardly waved at my parents, shivering slightly from the cold.

We quickly headed over to the hotel room they had rented out, getting out of the cold. Over lunch, I regaled them with all of our exploits. I had tried to keep them up-to-date on my journey (at least for the poacher event I deliberately hid), but there were little things missed in the messages I sent. Quirks of my Pokemon, funny events (or at least events that felt funny in hindsight), and more detail explaining some of the incredible stuff that had happened to me.

"... And then Athena managed to evolve, nearly beating her old sensei!" I said excitedly between a mouthful of fries (thankfully, Leah was not here to scold me for my lack of manners).

"Impressive," A new yet familiar voice cut into our conversation. Turning around, I saw Grusha striding forward to the pub. He was looking far more like what I remembered from the games, wearing a fluffy yellow jacket with a blue and red woolen scarf obscuring most of his face.

His icy eyes locked onto mine as I stood up and eagerly greeted him. "Grusha! How's it going?"

"Hmph, you're awfully carefree before a big match. Do you have no fear of losing?" His arms were crossed over his chest, likely in an attempt to appear 'cool' and intimidating, but I sensed a hint of uncertainty within him.

He's only just become a Gym Leader, and a lot of expectations come with that title. Some part of him must not feel like a proper Gym Leader yet. I wonder what it's like to have a job or title like that? To the point where everyone views you through that lens first and foremost.

"Nope!" I said with a big grin, which quickly changed to a smirk. "I don't go into a match thinking I'm gonna lose, ya know?"

Slowly, the young man nodded. "An appropriate attitude. I don't plan on losing either. Still, before we fight, you'll need to take on my challenge. The Snow Slope Run."

Stuffing the last of the food in my mouth, I said, "You ready, buddy?" Dun gave an affirmative cry as he slithered by my side. The Gym Leader looked on curiously before once more adopting his stoic mien.

"Don't take the mountain casually. The trial is just as serious as the challenge," he warned.

"I won't. I just have every faith in Dun," I explained. There are ride Pokemon I could use that are trained for the challenge, but they would be Pokemon I don't know. Plus, when else am I going to get the chance to snowboard on Dun's back?

Grusha nodded and swiftly turned away. "I'll meet you at the arena when you're done."

To my parents, I added, "Sorry, gotta do this now. We can catch up after?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, we have the whole week off," O'Nare clapped her hands, and my eyes widened. Whoa, that's a lot of time for them to both get off at once. We might be able to get Montevenera done as well before they have to go back… assuming they don't try and cancel my journey for the whole poacher thing.

That thought loomed heavily over me, and I knew I had to tell them at some point, but I couldn't deal with that distraction right now. I really do want to give Grusha an awesome battle. In some part at least, I inspired him on this path, so I should try and directly demonstrate how incredible being a Trainer can be.

Focused on the battle ahead, I left the hotel, climbing up to where the slope began. One of the gym staff was waiting for me there. "Are you ready to begin the Snow Slope Run?"

I nodded. "Just have to go down the slope on my Pokemon and hit all the flags."

A small sweat drop formed on her face. "Well, you're supposed to go around the flags," the attendant clarified.

"Ah, right. Anything else?" I queried, releasing Dun and climbing atop his back.

"You'll be judged on your time and deducted for any flags you miss in boarding around, but don't worry overly much about that. Try to be safe and cautious above all else." She said, offering me a helmet, which I quickly fitted on. Yeah, I guess it would look really bad on the League if anyone got hurt during a Gym Trial - the Gyms are supposed to be tough, but not dangerous to the Trainers, not like life on the road could be.

The slope was steep, but not overly so. "On your mark," I said, bending my knees and getting ready. "Get set," Dun flapped his wings softly in anticipation. "Go!"

My Dudunsparce launched ahead, barreling down the icy path. Snow sprayed up around us as he began carving a way down, and I raised an arm, both for additional balance atop Dun and to keep the frozen water particles out of my eyes.

With his three-segment body, Dun was able to put his Training to good work, using the same flexibility he had in Hyper Drill to make tight turns around the flags sticking out all around the path. I had to pull my body in to avoid brushing into them as we made those sharp corners.

"Woohoo!" I shouted as we shredded down the mountain, my arms waving semi-wildly to keep balance. Any other time I rode Dun, I'd be clinging tightly onto his back. This is a very different experience than I'm used to. My Aura helped a little in keeping my balance, but it was my martial training more than anything that stopped me from flying off Dun's back as we raced down.

It wasn't a long or particularly difficult track, fitting for Trainers that might not have any experience skiing or snowboarding before, so we soon found ourselves near the end. As we passed the last flag, I told Dun, "Wanna try something fun?"

He gave me a skeptical hiss but agreed. "There are cameras all over the track, but let's go for a cool finish. Do a jump and spin three sixty over the finish line."

"Du… Dun!" He shouted, leaping up as we neared the flat stretch. He spun himself around, and we went so high I had to duck under the very tall arch that marked the finish line as we passed by.

"Woohoo!" I cried out as we spun once and then almost another full rotation before landing down well over the finish line. That was too much for me to keep my balance with, and I went flying into the powder-soft snow.

"Hahaha, again!" I cheered as I popped up, Dun slithering over to me. Okay, Grusha, that was pretty fun. It might not have been exactly like real snowboarding, but I see why you liked it.

Spoiler: A/N:

The Snow Slope Run was one of my favorite Gym Trial/minigames in the game, and I felt like it was a trial so significant to Grusha that it was unlikely that he'd have changed it, even with 7-6 years difference between now and canon. Next time: Battle against Grusha!

Unfortunately, this will be happening in just over a week's time, as we are now officially caught up with the story on my other sites, so we'll be going to an update once every other week, same as my other stories A Dreamer's Tale and Seltron Super Academy. But, you don't have to wait!

I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the chapters. And if you want to hang out and chat with me and readers of my stories across other platforms, feel free to check out my Discord. Thank you all for reading my story so far. I hope you enjoyed it and have a great day.

 

[Yakubi42]

Hey! We're caught up!
Will we be getting simultaneous releases with the Royal Road version from now on or should we still expect a delay going forward?

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Hey! We're caught up!
Will we be getting simultaneous releases with the Royal Road version from now on or should we still expect a delay going forward?

Click to shrink...

Simultaneous releases now.

 

[Nephthys8079]

And now....we wait

 

[Skyfyre]

Nemona's Current Team:

-'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter)
- Tera Type: Normal
- Held Item: Expert Belt
- Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace
- Moves known: Flail, Mud Slap, Rollout, Glare, Body Slam, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bite, Yawn (Invisible Version)*, Last Resort, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Hex, Agility, Air Slash, Giga Impact, Tailwind, Roost, Ancient Power, Drill Run, Hyper Drill, Triple Yawn*, Ice Spinner, Solar Beam, Lunge, Flamethrower, Aqua Tail, Coil, Hurricane, Outrage, Smart Strike, Blizzard, Curse, Toxic, Zen Headbutt

- 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)
- Tera Type: Electric
- Held Item: Life Orb
- Ability: Levitate
- Moves Known: Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thundershock, Double Team, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Rain Dance, Will O' Wisp, Nasty Plot, Hex, Sunny Day, Substitute, Foul Play, Trick, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Eerie Impulse, Reflect, Light Screen, Uproar, Confuse Wisp*

- 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)
- Tera Type: Water
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
- Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal
- Moves Known: Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, Knock Off, Fury Cutter, Acrobatics, Bulldoze, Quick Attack, Psychic Fangs, Poison Tail, Slash, Gunk Shot, Dig, Ice Fang, Lunge, U-Turn, Protect, Tailwind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Night Slash, Sand Tomb, Crabhammer, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Breaking Swipe, Swords Dance

- 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Light Clay
- Ability: Clear Body
- Moves Known: Harden, Tackle, Guard Split, Flail, Ancient Power, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Body Press, Stealth Rocks, Psychic, Smack Down, Trick Room, Dazzling Gleam, Rock Polish, Power Gem, Stone Edge, Protect, Spikes, Stomping Tantrum, Moonblast, Iron Head, Skill Swap, Sandstorm

- 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)
- Tera Type: Ghost
- Held Item: Lax Incense
- Ability: Illusion
- Moves Known: Leer, Scratch, Torment, Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Curse, Swift, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Double Team, Taunt, Bitter Malice, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Slash, U-Turn, Spite, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Icy Wind, Snowscape, Detect, Hex

- 'Athena' (Lucario, Female, Fighting/Steel)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Clear Amulet
- Ability: Steadfast
- Moves Known: Endure, Quick Attack, Feint, Metal Claw, Counter, Work Up, Detect, Rock Smash, Trailblaze, Vacuum Wave, Screech, Quick Guard, Circle Throw, Force Palm, Drain Punch, Swords Dance, High Jump Kick, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab, Copycat, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Final Gambit, Reversal, Dancing Sword*, Howl, Earthquake, Brick Break, Aura Sphere, Rock Tomb, Force Whip*, The Hand*, Life Dew, Calm Mind, Bone Rush, Heal Pulse, Meteor Mash, Extreme Speed

-'Bahamut' (Fraxure, Male, Dragon)
- Tera Type: Dragon
- Held Item: Dragon Fang
- Ability: Mold Breaker
- Moves Known: Bite, Scratch, Leer, Assurance, Slash, Dragon Claw, Scary Face, Breaking Swipe, Focus Energy, Dragon Pulse, Dual Chop, Aerial Ace, Trailblaze, Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Poison Jab, Draco Meteor, Iron Head, Crunch

*Custom Moves

 

[Nephthys8079]

....thought it was a update

 

[Skyfyre]

Here's what I would say are the 'stats' of Ogerpon's new mask:

Highflying Mask
- Gives Ogerpon the Flying/Grass Type when held
- Turns Ivy Cudgel into a Flying Type Move
- Gives Ogerpon the Super Luck Ability
- Increases all damage she deals by 20% (like all the other masks do)
- When she Terastalizes, she becomes a Flying Type and gains the Embody Aspect Ability instead of Super Luck, raising her Evasion by one stage.

 

[Skyfyre]

Boombox Form:
- Electric/Normal Type
- Gives access to the Move Sing while Miles possesses it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles

Drone Form:
-Electric/Flying Type
-Gives access to the Move Roost while Miles possess it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles

Wash Form:
-Electric/Water Type
- Gives Access to Hydro Pump and Scald while Miles possesses it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles

 

[Skyfyre]

Sorry, I forgot to put these up before

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

Since the standard Rotom forms are Special Attack leaning, would the Nemona-fied Rotom forms change those stats to more Physical Attackers?

 

[Skyfyre]

Since the standard Rotom forms are Special Attack leaning, would the Nemona-fied Rotom forms change those stats to more Physical Attackers?

Click to shrink...

Still Special Attack leaning. As much as Nemona herself might be more physical than most, Miles is very Special focused, so she (and the rest of the R&D team) lean towards making the most of Miles' talents.

 

[Xanod]

Great so far Do you have an upload schedule or will we get a bunch of chapters someday?

 

[Skyfyre]

I realized why Grusha had told me to take the trial despite there still being a few hours before my challenge, and it wasn't just him being overeager. Can't believe Grusha hasn't installed a lift or anything here yet. Does he expect everyone to march up?

Apparently, or maybe there were special Flying Taxis you could order to take you up such a small distance, but I hadn't checked for anything like that. Despite my internal complaints, if pressed, I would admit I enjoyed the exercise. Plus, it gave me time to plan out my match against Grusha.

Not sure what sort of strategies he'll use. The remoteness of the Gym and his newness as a Leader mean there have been no videos about him yet. From the online discussion, the few people who have faced him have said he's 'strong,' but that's a harder thing to judge without evidence. I know plenty of challenges the average Paldean Trainer would find tough, but I'd think were a breeze.

As I reached the top of the hill, I walked over to the arena. Nobody was here yet, not even my parents, but I sent them a quick message on my phone with shaking fingers. Ah, so much easier when I have Miles possessing this. But they're waiting in a more battle-ready body.

Entering the arena, a wave of warmth washed over me. Or rather, a wave of 'room-temperature-ness' washed over me, but it felt like warmth compared to the cold out there. The arena technology is really incredible. The temperature controls are fine-tuned enough to stop the regular elements from interfering, but not a Move-assisted change in the weather.

Waddling up to the opposite end, a Cetoddle lumbered onto the field. The white, round Pokemon turned to face me, eyes widening. "Ceto?"

"Ah, I see. Finally… a challenger worthy of my skill," I began, likely to the confusion of Grusha, who I could barely catch out of the corner of my eye.

"Toddle? Cetoddle!" The Pokemon said, opening their mouth wide. I couldn't tell if they were trying to correct me or if they understood me at all. Not that it matters for this bit.

"I have climbed the highest mountain of Paldea to face you, and I will not be stopped. Come at me with all your might, Gym Leader Cetoddle!" The few spectators that had gathered were looking on in shock, whispers passing around them. Only Billy and O'Nare, used to my antics, laughed quietly at what I was doing.

Grusha, who had quickly increased his stride at whispers of 'Grusha stepping down?' and 'I didn't know a Gym Leader could be a Pokemon,' arrived at the arena. "Nemona-" he began, before I waved him off.

"In a minute, Grusha, I have to prepare for my fight with Cetoddle. Our battle will be legendary!"

"Would you knock it off!" I (and Cetoddle) turned, shocked, as Grusha actually snapped at me. "Battles are like an icy cliff; you need to take them seriously." I paused as Grusha marched on ahead, Cetoddle waddling off to the side as he took his spot.

The dude seems a little embarrassed about the outburst now, but I can tell he meant those words. That's… not exactly the kind of lesson I meant to teach him when I told him about how great battling was almost a year and a half ago.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to upset you," I said, scratching the back of my head. Man, a couple of months on the road and my hair has really gotten unruly. Might need to tie it back up in a ponytail again. I shook my head, pushing aside those irrelevant thoughts.

"Don't let your other victories get to your head," he warned me. "It's when riding high that everything can come tumbling down. You can't underestimate the challenge before you." I gave him a sincere smile back.

"Oh, I will," I promised. Before he could say anything sarcastic or harsh about my joking around, I explained. "I like to make jokes and have fun off the field, because to me, Pokemon battles should be all about fun. They're great! But that doesn't mean I won't take them seriously. Part of what I find fun is being able to go all out and show just how strong I can be. So don't worry; I'll face you with every ounce of strength I have."

I finished my words by holding Dun's Pokeball out in front of me and staring Grusha dead in the eyes. A sharp wind cut the air between us, and the Gym Leader averted his gaze first, shivering.

"I'll hold you to that," he muttered as the barrier popped up and an attendant announced the rules.

"Each contestant will be allowed the use of four Pokemon in this match, with two switches. Terastalization will be allowed by each Trainer once during the battle. Understood?" We both affirmed that we did. "Trainers, ready your Pokemon."

I put Dun's ball back, holding up a different one. Don't worry, buddy, you'll get your chance to shine. I just need to set the stage first.

All of my Pokeballs were Premier Balls, to match Dun's. He really liked his first ball, so he kept it, and having the others match ensured that it would be harder for anyone to figure out what Pokemon I was bringing out to start a fight with.

At the referee's words, we released our Pokemon, Grusha revealing a beautiful, large, white, moth-like Pokemon. Her body was rather large for a moth and actually looked fairly similar in shape to my Pokemon, Notch.

Grusha didn't give much away, but there was a slight tightness to his gaze, which indicated he was frustrated by my Pokemon. Understandable, really. Notch is pretty much the worst Pokemon for him to face with a Frosmoth. Not that I had planned on that when I sent them out. Hmm, now I have to decide between my first plan or going for a quick victory against Frosmoth…

"Trainers, are you ready?"

"Yes," we both answered.

"Then the match begins in three, two, one… begin!"

"Tailwind/Barrage!" Grusha and I called out at once. Frosmoth began flapping her large, diaphanous wings hard, kicking up the wind, while Notch terrakinetically ripped up large chunks of stone out from the ground at the Bug Type.

Frosmoth tried to fly out of the way, but a few rocks clipped her before she could dodge, our opponent slower than Notch before the buff was set up. Even getting clipped caused heavy damage with her double weakness to the Rock Type attack, and after she had the speed and vertical advantage to avoid the rocks, Notch pulled out another trick.

Smashing the Stone Edges against each other, rather than at Frosmoth, caused them to split apart, scattering rocks everywhere across the air. And more importantly, across the field. I wasn't sure it was quite as effective as that signature Move Kleavor had, but it was an effective method of hiding Stealth Rocks around the arena.

Frosmoth was busy as well, flapping her damaged wings hard, but this time calling snow alongside the winds that bolstered her. Looks like he's doing set-up as well. But I think we can do more.

"Screens up," I called out, and Notch began rapidly conjuring a Light Screen and Reflect around themself.

"Blizzard!" Grusha called out over the howling wind, which made me blink. No Quiver Dance? Ah, she must not be strong enough for that. Quiver Dance was a powerful setup Move, but one that took most Bug Types a long time to master.

The icy storm that barraged my Pokemon was impressive enough in its own right, but I had every faith in Notch's ability to weather that storm. "Trick Room," I announced casually, and Grusha stiffened.

"Aurora Veil," was his response. Hmm, that will make it a lot tougher to hurt his Pokemon; Aurora Veil is like Reflect and Light Screen all wrapped up in one, and it stacks with the natural boost Snowscape gives to an Ice Type's Defense.

The gentle light settled on the field just before the twisted dimensions snapped in place. "Dodge, continue setting up." Notch dutifully did just that, tanking or avoiding Frosmoth's now glacially slow assault, spreading Spikes all over the field.

I heard Grusha's teeth grinding under that scarf of his for a few seconds before he finally called out, "Switch!" Just as the second layer of Spikes covered the field. Not bad, but I've already got the Stealth Rocks set up, so this is going to hurt more than you think.

"Go, Cetitan!" Grusha called out as he returned his Frosmoth and sent out his next Pokemon. The Cetitan landed with a heavy thud, looking much like his pre-evolved Cetoddle form, only with more spikes and some grey splotches on his fur, alongside the predominant white body with pink highlights.

His landing was also answered by a vast amount of stones rising out of the snow-covered ground and pelting him hard, entirely bypassing the field effects that would otherwise lessen the impact of harmful Moves. Arena hazards don't care for stuff like Aurora Veil or Snowscape.

This was definitely problematic for him, because his first command was, "Ice Spinner!" Ice Spinner… does that remove hazards like Rapid Spin? No, not innately; it's for Terrain removal, but I can't count it out as his goal.

"Body Press, stop him from moving." Notch flew over quite quickly under Trick Room, landing directly above Cetitan just as he was starting to build up speed for his spin. The mystical effects of the Aurora Veil and Snowscape both served to lessen the impact, but given Notch's incredibly dense body and the super effective Move, they still landed with a heavy 'crack' upon Cetitan.

"Shake em off, Avalanche!" Reaching his arms above him, Cetitan called down a pile of snow and ice on Notch, dislodging them. Despite the fact that the Move hit Cetitan too, it did little damage, his bulk shrugging it off.

"Switch," I called out, returning Notch before the fight could continue. They've done well and could probably win the fight if it continued, but the cost would be high, and I need them for later plans. Plus, I want to give someone else experience.

"Bahamut, you're up!" Fraxure took to the field with a proud roar, undercut almost immediately by him coughing and shivering as the cold hit him.

"Focus! Swords Dance!" He shook off the unpleasantness and began dancing, waving his tusks about to bolster his strength. Thankfully, while the motions were elegant, none of them had the sinuous twists that would indicate he was using Dragon Dance to some degree. We really don't need the speed boost right now.

Grusha wasn't going to wait for us to finish up, ordering again, "Ice Spinner." As Cetitan made his approach, the Gym Leader added, "Really, a Dragon in this weather? If you get overwhelmed, don't blame me."

"We've got a few tricks left. Bahamut, jump over it!" With a powerful leap on his stocky legs, Fraxure soared over Cetitan before the spinning Ice Type could hit him.

Unworried, Grusha told his Pokemon, "Reverse course, hit him as he lands." Without stopping his rotations, Cetitan cut a path back, one perfectly lined up to smack into my Fraxure as he landed down. Unfortunately for our opponents, they hadn't kept track of all the Moves they had used, not like I had.

Perhaps I have an edge on measuring the wind due to my Aura, though, I thought as the Tailwind died down. With the speed boost gone, Cetitan rocketed ahead, Trick Room inverting the sudden slowdown and causing him to overshoot.

As he stopped spinning, the Ice Type paused, confused for a moment, right as Bahamut landed down behind him. "Iron Tail!" I cried loudly, and my Fraxure swung his tail with all his might, crashing into Cetitan. Despite his incredible bulk, my Pokemon had the strength to send even Cetitan sprawling backward.

"Fraxure!" He cried enthusiastically as Cetitan got back to his feet, wincing. The snow around us was fading away as the Move ended. Not much time left in Trick Room either, but too soon to use Dragon Dance. Eh, we've buffed enough; best to press the advantage.

"Iron Head," I ordered, not wanting to risk a less reliable (albeit stronger) Move like Iron Tail if Cetitan wouldn't be caught off guard.

"Ice Shard, then Ice Spinner!" Grusha spat out, clearly unhappy with how far we'd pushed him back with even my newest Pokemon. Unfortunately for me, his fast Ice attack slowed Bahamut down a tad and hurt him, and although he met the Ice Spinner without fear and landed a powerful blow against Cetitan, my Pokemon clearly came out worse for the exchange.

Guess we gotta try something else if we're to win this, though at least the Aurora Veil has finally faded. "Draco Meteor," I mentioned in a calm tone, as if talking about the weather. Snowy, with a high chance of draconic-powered rocks falling from the sky.

"I won't let things heat up. Time to bring the deep freeze," Grusha declared defiantly, staring up at the glowing purple rocks my Fraxure had conjured, which were about to rain down upon the field. Looking the wrong direction. As he ordered Cetitan to meet the powerful-looking attack with a Blizzard, Bahamut was rushing ahead, closing in on Grusha's Pokemon.

He noticed almost too late the ice and meteors exploding into tiny, dazzling slivers above our Pokemon's heads. "Ice Shard!" Without any other warning, a dozen Ice Shards struck into Bahamut. The move would have been enough to take him out - he likely would have been knocked out before that even - if the Reflect Notch setup wasn't protecting him.

With it, Bahamut pushed through, headbutting Cetitan hard with a Steel Type covered head. The mighty Cetitan took a few steps backward before collapsing, defeated. Grusha sighed before recalling his Pokemon.

"I'm recalling Bahamut from the fight," I announced before Grusha could put his Pokemon forth. "You did great, pal," I told him as I returned him to his ball. I want to keep my last switch, and I'd rather end Bahamut's first Gym Battle on a high note rather than just letting him get taken out by Grusha's next Pokemon.

"Get back in there, Notch." Grusha's face screwed up intensely as he saw what I had done. Theoretically, it was a mistake to retire Bahamut before seeing what Grusha would send out. Now the advantage is his. But I've got a pretty good idea of what the rest of his team comp is. I've seen (and already hurt) Frosmoth, and Altaria, his ace, is a laughably poor matchup against Notch. Which only leaves…

"Beartic," Grusha announced in a frustrated voice, sending his powerful Polar Bear-like Pokemon on the field. He roared and began loping across the field towards Notch almost instantly - though not as instantly as the Stealth Rocks and Spikes, which buried painfully into him upon his landing before scattering back once more across the field.

"Power Gem, outrange, then Room." Notch methodically blasted the Ice Type with several beams of Rock Type energy, doing significant damage, but not enough to stop their foe. Especially not when, under Grusha's command, he burst forward on an Aqua Jet, slamming into Notch and chipping their body slightly.

One clawed hand reached up and grabbed onto Notch, stopping them from ascending away from the angry Beartic. Faced with that position, my Pokemon simply shifted to conjuring the Trick Room.

For his part, the Beartic attempted to savage into my Carbink, but their diamond-hard defenses let them endure getting thrashed about on Aqua Jets and then pressed against the ground for a point-blank Earthquake. The screens helped with that too, and they just ran out.

"Reflect," I called out, giving Notch a grim smile. They waved an ear at me, still stuck in the grip, but with the twisted dimensions around the Pokemon, was able to place that barrier up before finally being struck down by Beartic.

"Challenger Nemona's Pokemon has fainted! Please send out your next Pokemon," the referee directed me as I recalled Notch. Not wasting a moment of the Trick Room now in place, I sent Dun onto the field.

"Curse," I called out, and I saw a slight twitch from Grusha, the Gym Leader likely recalling my fight with Katy. That moment of hesitation was enough for him to see that the Curse was affecting solely my Pokemon and not laying down a Curse on his own. That time meant that by the time Beartic had lumbered forward, shooting icicles from his paws at Dun, my land snake was able to slither around the attack.

"Once more, let's really stack this up," I decided, seeing that even with the speed drop, Dun was still only just as fast as Beartic within the Trick Room, if that. Beartic whirled around and Thrashed into Dun, even as the shades tormented him. No orange-ish glow. Does he not know any Fighting Type attacks? That's a serious oversight on Grusha's part.

Not that it would have helped too much; even a super effective attack would do much less after two Curses used to bolster his Defense. "Hyper Drill," I ordered, and Dun got to show off the offensive side of his boosts, ripping rapidly into the Beartic, eliciting howls of pain as he attacked.

Grusha's eyes widened, and in a panic, he shouted, "Switch!" He paused for a moment afterwards, and I wondered if he was trying to stall me out before realizing he was just double guessing himself. Beartic was his best answer to Dun right now, but Grusha overreacted. As hurt as he was, the damage Dun was dealing wasn't critical, and now he has to use Frosmoth or Altaria, and neither one is tough enough to win this.

I gave him a sad smile, sympathetic to the position he was in. It might not seem like that on my public record, but I've felt it too. Facing off against Kotetsu and Hassel, they both vastly outclassed and outplayed me. Never say never and all, but sometimes you reach the point where it really is too late for a feasible comeback.

Grusha recognized the sentiment I was expressing, but it only seemed to get his hackles up, reigniting the fire in his veins. "The mountain in winter might seem calm and still, but that can change in an instant! Go, Altaria!" He shouted, surprising me. The blue, cloud-wing Dragon emerged over the arena with a piercing cry that chilled me to the bone. Already sending out his Ace. Smart. She flies above the field and won't trigger the hazards.

She still had to deal with Dun, however. "Body Slam!" Dun charged through the air, crushing down upon Grusha's strongest Pokemon. She fired off a Moonblast as he smacked her into the ground, but the Altaria took the worst of that exchange, her left wing held awkwardly after that. The true advantage of my combination. Within Trick Room, Curse acts more like Victory Dance in how much it can boost Dun.

Of course, the downside to that was the limited time I had. Trick Room would soon be ending, and I didn't have a way to set it back up, at which point the speed advantage would be firmly tilted against me. As I saw Altaria speed up, zipping back into the air, I realized that it would be slightly easier to fight without than I thought, as she must have been Paralyzed by Dun's attack but was valiantly fighting through it for the moment.

"Dragon Pulse!" Grusha cried, and an idea popped into my mind. I wonder how far I can push him with this?

"Ice Spinner!" I called back with equal vigor, sweeping an arm out in front of me. Dun charged through the purple pulse of Dragon energy. Standing up high on his tail, he spun rapidly towards Altaria, a vortex of ice whirling around him.

Without any way for her to dodge in the twisted space, Grusha pulled out his Tera Orb and tossed it over his Ace. "Let it freeze. Let it snow. Let it chill the whole world, Terastalize!" The crystals surrounding Altaria shattered as Dun plowed through them, but with her new icy blue snowflake Tera 'hat' above her head, the damage she would have taken was drastically reduced.

The Trick Room faded away with a minor flash, and Grusha made his counterattack. "You're just one step away from devastation… The cold will leave you trembling, Ice Beam!" Altaria reared her head back, an almost pure white orb gathering in front of her beak.

"Like we practiced, Tri-Beam!" At my command, Dun curled himself around, making his body like an inverted 'C' shape. Gathering Fire Energy in front of his mouth, Electric Energy at the tip of his tail, and Ice Energy in the center where his wings drew somewhat close together, Dun fired the energies together. They met at a point of empty space in front of him, the different elementally charged energies, built from modified versions of Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam Moves he had learned from TMs, melding together to become a Normal Type attack.

The combined beam met Altaria's above, clashing in a dramatic struggle before exploding violently, leaving neither side damaged but both more tired than they had been before. I'd bet on Dun in a stamina contest if we had the time. As we don't, though…

"Switch!" I announced, returning Dun to his Pokeball. Only about two seconds too soon, as before I could even grab and release my next Pokemon, Altaria gave a cry and fell, her Terastalization shattering.

"...How did you know?" Grusha asked in a low tone, recalling his Pokemon.

I tapped my ears in response. "Perish Song has a very distinctive tune, and I have great ears. It was a good trick, though; I hadn't expected it from an Altaria." Releasing Miles, they whirled above the battlefield, spinning around to show off their new Rotom Form.

Surrounded in the same yellow plasmic field that coated their Fan Form, now they were possessing a red drone body. Hovering above the field with their eight propellers spinning about, Miles showcased their great maneuverability within that Form.

Took a while for the R&D team to get this one down. I hadn't realized that there already were drone Rotoms, but those ones aren't battle capable bodies for a Rotom to possess, used mostly for photography and taking videos. This one was bulkier and far larger than those, with plating almost like armor on the sides. It also had more propellers than the standard drones had. Thankfully, we didn't need to add any weapons or bombs before it really clicked as an alternative Form.

"Go, Frosmoth," Grusha said, his voice unable to keep the bitter edge out of it. His attitude brightened slightly when only a few Spikes rose up to stab into his Bug Type. Guess we finally caused too much damage for all the hazards to remain.

"Discharge." Miles unleashed waves of lightning over the air, which Frosmoth couldn't hope to dodge. In response, she fired a Bug Buzz off at him, aiming to both hurt and weaken him.

"Volt Switch, evade it." Turning themself temporarily into a ring of electricity, Miles curved around the damaging green sonic waves rushing towards them and cut a path into Frosmoth. The Bug Type stumbled back in the air, having trouble keeping up with the damage Miles could put out, as well as all the damage she had already sustained.

"Blizzard!" At Grusha's order, Frosmoth gathered herself up for one final, powerful attack.

"Roost," I called out, revealing Miles' new Move, signature to Drone Form. Dropping straight down to the arena floor, they lost their Flying Typing and began regaining the energy they had lost to Life Orb thus far. The ice washed over them, causing Miles to shiver slightly, but without the Flying Type, the Move wasn't nearly as effective.

Shooting up as fast as they had gone down, Miles unleashed a point-blank Shadow Ball into Frosmoth's face, knocking her straight out. The Gym Leader sighed as he recalled her. By now, it was obvious that he couldn't win this, but what choice did a Gym Leader have but to continue a fight? Well, a more experienced or less proud Gym Leader might know there's no shame in calling it quits at this point, but I don't see Grusha doing that. He'll fight to the bitter end; I just hope that isn't too literal.

"Beartic, finish this." His Pokemon landed with a heavy thud, and despite even more time passing between Frosmoth and Beartic's entrance, the heavier Pokemon drew even more Spikes upon entering than she had.

"Jet ahead." Beartic shot forward, but injured, and against my fastest Pokemon, Miles had plenty of time to dodge. Splitting off a Substitute from themself, Beartic passed right through the space between Miles and the decoy.

Beartic whipped around after missing, only to be met with a "Confuse Wisp." The oddly colored fire flew directly into his face, upon which the Polar Bear Pokemon stumbled around, swinging his arms wildly before collapsing onto the snow-covered arena.

"Gym Leader Grusha has no Pokemon left and is unable to battle! Challenger Nemona is the winner!" The referee announced, to much cheering (mostly from parents, admittedly). I'm glad they're so happy, for now at least. I shook those thoughts away, not letting my worries cloud my victory, and deciding to just bask in the moment while I could.

Spoiler: A/N:

New Rotom Form dropped! I know I'd been hinting at this one for a while, sorry it takes so long (big team makes it tough to give everyone a chance to shine), but here we are. Drone (military) Form.

It's pretty similar to Fan Form, but instead of getting Hurricane (which I changed from Air Slash on that Form because I felt fit the form better), Drone Form gets Roost. This gives it a pretty huge defensive option, as dropping the Flying Type to heal while keeping Levitate and Electric gives them no weaknesses during that Move.

As always, if you want to talk more about this and my other stories, feel free to check out my Discord. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the later get early access to the chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

 

[Skyfyre]

Great so far Do you have an upload schedule or will we get a bunch of chapters someday?

Click to shrink...

I upload once every other week on Wednesdays (this one is a few hours earlier than I'd usually upload it because I'll be busy in a bit)

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

I bet Gym Leader Cetoddle would have been an even more epic challenge.
Sad that Riolu did get her turn.

 

[Spearow]

very professional battle, clean.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Author: Sky Fyre
Published: 2022

This article contains spoilers for the Scarlet and Violet games.
So, we've had Scarlet and Violet out for a week now, and a certain Trainer is already getting a reputation up there with some of Pokemon's worst offenders for toughest fight in the game. That's right, I'm talking about Nemona Glitterati, your rival. She's the first one you fight at the start, and the one you have to fight near the very end.

Nemona is infamous for more than just your final battle, however. While she starts out like a basic rival, it's clear from the start that she's a Champion-ranked Trainer and is slowly building up a team to match you. She ramps up her team rather suddenly once you start your Treasure Hunt, but you don't need to win any of those battles, so as much as Nuzlockers might gnash their teeth, I'm only going to talk about the one battle you need to win to progress the story.

In order to go to Area Zero and complete the game, you need to beat Nemona after the Elite Five (haha, sorry Geeta, but putting your Glimmora in the back? Don't think you get to call yourself Champion after that). Thankfully, you get the chance to take a break in between them and Nemona, which most players use to grind out a quick ten or twenty levels to beat her. I can't blame them, but she is beatable at her own level. You just need to be prepared with solid counters and make sure to use good items (because she will too).

The first Pokemon she throws out is always a Dudunsparce. Don't let his silly body fool you, this Pokemon is a tank (and as a quick aside, I appreciate the dialogue she shares in this battle, giving you background on her and her team, like how 'Dun' was her starter when she was six). High health with Roost to heal (on top of the Leftovers he has equipped), and a decent special attack backing Boomburst to hit you incredibly hard. If you had a Ghost Type to be immune to it, he has Hex to do super effective damage pairing with his final Move, Glare to Paralyze you. Nemona will often use that one to cripple other Pokemon that might be too tanky for him otherwise.

You might think about using a strong Fighting Type to beat him down fast, but that's a mistake; go for a Ghost Type. The reason for that is her second Pokemon Gothitelle. Part of what makes her so difficult to beat is that if Nemona is at a disadvantage, she won't hesitate to switch her Pokemon around, so you'll want to have good coverage for multiple Pokemon on her team. Especially Gothitelle because she has Shadow Tag, locking you in with her when she switches in. Yeah, get used to hidden Abilities, a lot of her Pokemon have that.

Gothitelle has Psychic, Focus Blast, Nasty Plot, and Trick Room. With a Sitrus Berry and high defenses, if she gets a Pokemon she can set up against, she can sweep. Focus Blast does have a low hit chance though, so a Steel or Dark Type might take her out. Spiritomb is easier to get than ever in Gen 9, able to be found in three locations in the overworld, so if you can get one of them, Gothitelle is pretty easy to take out.

Next up is Scyther. If you've played the game up to this point already, you'll remember this jerk from her challenge after the third Gym. You know, the one where she pops up right after you've won, then challenges you to a battle with Pokemon about four levels higher than Iono (who's supposed to be the third Gym Leader by order)? Yeah, Scyther's back, with the same Eviolite to boost defense making them a tough hard hitter with Technician boosted Dual Wingbeat. Thankfully for this battle your team will likely have higher BST than back then and she doesn't tend to Terastalize Scyther to add more Flying STAB to the Dual Wingbeat in this battle. He's more of a setup role in this battle, with Tailwind and U-Turn over making the most of his high attack power and Technician, but he's still a tough customer with Swords Dance this time to let him do a ton of damage if you aren't careful. Since she doesn't Terastalize him often, a Rock Type attack will do a ton of damage to him.

Next up are the Pokemon that vary based on your starter. Thankfully Nemona picks the starter 'weak' to yours, but the secondary Typings of each makes things pretty even between most. Even worse though; whatever starter you choose, she has a Psuedo-Legendary that counters it. Yeah, it's insane. So if you picked Skeledirge, she has Hydregion, Meowscarada has to fight Kommo-o, and Quaquaval takes on Dragonite.

All Dragon Types means that she has resistances against your base starter Typing, but it also means that they all have quadruple weaknesses to deal with. Fairy for Hydregion and Kommo-o and Ice for Dragonite.

Hydregion uses Choice Specs alongside Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Dragon Pulse, and Dark Pulse giving them good coverage to hit what they need. Will often be sent out mid-way through the battle to let Nemona switch them out again if you take advantage of the Choice Specs lock.

Dragonite is a bit less straightforward. They run Haze as a way to counter any boosts you've stacked, combined with Multiscale to almost certainly survive any first attack. But on the other hand, they have Scale Shot to increase their speed at the cost of their defense, and with Loaded Dice, it'll hit hard. Extremespeed lets them outspeed anyone even without a boost and go faster than a lot of common priority Moves, with Fire Punch giving them an option for Steel Types that might otherwise wall the Dragon.

Kommo-o works similarly in that she really wants them to get a boost off. Unlike Dragonite though, if you do let them get the Clangorous Soul off, they'll tear your team apart, no questions about it. They have a Throat Spray to let them further boost with that Move. Find a way to get rid of this omni-boost + additional Special Attack boost or you'll be in serious trouble. Clanging Scales and Tera Blast get heavy boosts off this. Also has Body Press, giving them a STAB Fighting Move that makes use of their high defense, and will sometimes use that one before even going for an Clangorous Soul. Overcoat makes them immune to Spore Moves too, incase you wanted to try anything with that.

All of her starters have their Hidden Abilities. This gives Protean to Meowscarada letting him drop his bad Typing, Moxie so Quaquaval can build up steam and tear through your team easier, and Unaware so Skeledirge doesn't have to deal with your boosts.

Meowscarada is equipped with Choice Band to boost his high Attack further. Flower Trick always hits and always crits for high damage, Knock Off makes use of his other STAB and can remove your items, U-Turn for scouting, and Play Rough to cover his bases. A hard and fast hitter, but a priority Bug Move like First Impression can take advantage of his quad weakness.

Skeledirge uses Throat Spray to get even more of a Special Attack boost from Torch Song. Their slow speed and lack of recovery means he likely won't ever sweep, but he might take a few Pokemon out before you can stop him. Yawn can force switches, and Earth Power and Hyper Voice give him coverage against Types he'd have trouble hurting with Torch Song.

Quaquaval has a Life Orb, which will chip away at his own health, but usually not by enough to matter if he gets a few Aqua Steps in to boost his speed and sweep your team with that and Moxie. Close Combat is a good Fighting Move to make use of that STAB, and he's got Brave Bird and Rapid Spin for more coverage and hazard removal.

Something to make note of is that Nemona's team doesn't tend to have a lot of entry hazard or weather or terrain removal. If you can get those set up, it might help deal with the powerhouses she throws at you. Of course, some might still tear through anything you set up…

… Like her last but certainly not least Pokemon, Houndstone. If you've seen the memes about 'Nemona is banned!' this is why. Houndstone is a new Ghost Type that has a specific Move called Last Respects which Smogon has banned from most of their tiers, and it's one that Nemona abuses. It's a ghost Type Move with 50 base damage, and 50 more for each of Nemona's Pokemon that has fainted. Considering that she only sends out Houndstone at the very end of the battle, that means she'll hit you with a 300 power STAB boosted Move.

Houndstone also has Play Rough, Bulldoze, and Body Press. Of these, you'll only really see Body Press if you use a Normal Type against him because Last Respects is just that strong that even against a Dark Type, it's still better than Play Rough. Houndstone is pretty slow and is weak to Fire in addition to Dark and Ghost because of her Ability, Fluffy. That plus the Assault Vest she wears means that taking her down is incredibly annoying and has the potential to sweep you even with a mostly full team left if you aren't prepared. Because of Nemona's tendency to Terastalize before this, you'll rarely run into a situation where she Tera's her Houndstone to give it even more of a boost to Last Respects (thank Arceus).

Speaking of that, yeah, in addition to swapping her Pokemon around freely, Nemona's AI is also pretty free with who she Terastalizes. She rarely Terastalizes at the end of battle and some Pokemon are less likely than others, but all of them are tricky to deal with. Here's a list:

• Dudunsparce: Tera Normal (adds more damage to Hyper Drill)
• Gothitelle: Tera Dark (defensive, no STAB boost, but makes the usual counters difficult)
• Scyther: Tera Flying (gets rid of some of his Bug Type Weaknesses and lets Dual Wingbeat hit even harder)
• Houndstone: Tera Ghost (Last Respects even more deadly, rare)
• Skeledirge: Tera Dark (defensive, Types good against Dark aren't good against regular Skeledirge. Also powers up Snarl)
• Quaquaval: Tera Water (takes away some weaknesses from Fighting and powers up Aqua Step)
• Meowscarada: Tera Fairy (very rare to be used, usually Nemona just uses Protean to change their Type)
• Hydregion: Tera Poison (purely defensive. Levitate means that he's only weak to Psychic when Tera'd, which he'd otherwise be immune to.)
• Kommo-o: Tera Steel (defensive boosts. Has Flash Canon which get boosted as well)
• Dragonite: Tera Normal (Extremespeed hits even harder and loses all regular weaknesses to be neutral and only weak to Fighting, which it would otherwise resist)

Some general advice is to use Protect or other protection Moves to stall against speed control from Tailwind and Trick Room and watch out for those switches. Try to have coverage on most of your team, or see if you can otherwise force switches through Moves like Dragon Tail. Make sure to make the most use out of items as you can for this battle, and for that, follow the link to my next guide, detailing the top ten best held items in Scarlet and Violet and where you can find them. A lot of great post-Elite gear like Assault Vest and Life Orb can be found in the wild in Scarlet and Violet. Thanks for reading, and good luck against one of the toughest Trainers to date.

Spoiler: A/N:

So, to be clear here, this is not 100% accurate about the future. There's no guarantees that these specific Pokemon will be on her specific team by the time we reach the game start (obviously, since some of them are modular based on the player's choice while the ones in the fic won't be). Still, I thought it was a fun little meta view on what SI!Nemona might be like as a battle challenge for the players of the games. What do you think of the team and her potential battle choices/strategy?

Edit: Made a few changes based on some comments and some of my own ideas for a future Indigo Disk rematch against Nemona to make the Movepools a bit different.

 

[Spearow]

no sand rush houndstone? I guess i can understand that because her team does not benefits from sand in any way, guess its a more tanky kind of deal going on and it relies heavily onto the full damage of last respects and not some adamant full atk houndstone, that's fine, btw i dislike her using salamance, ever since it got out, dragonite became a side character, bit sad.

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

Hydregion: Tera Poison (purely defensive. Levitate means that he's only weak to Psychic when Tera'd, which he'd otherwise be immune to.)

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Why not Terra Electric if it's just used for a defensive Terra?

btw i dislike her using salamance, ever since it got out, dragonite became a side character, bit sad.

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Gen 9 Terra Normal ExtremeSpeed Dragonite has been on a murderous rampage.

 

[Skyfyre]

btw i dislike her using salamance, ever since it got out, dragonite became a side character, bit sad.

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Fair enough. It has seen some play in this gen with Tera and Extremespeed, and that's definitely something I could have used. I liked the idea of thematically countering Quaquaval with Salamence's Intimidate and Scarf boosted speed, but Dragonite with Multiscale would do great too (actually now that I think about, with Haze and other support options, Dragonite would probably be an even better choice).

Why not Terra Electric if it's just used for a defensive Terra?

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Didn't want to steal Iono's Thunder with that particular trick (haha).

 

[Sorin]

My favorite thing is when pokemon fics have extras that look at the characters from a game perspective, its so cool to see how the "Real" people react to somebody using smogen strats against them in a game that isn't a rom hack

 

[Hotcoco]

So I just kinda read through this whole thing, my favorite moment so far was the whole accidentally created Hisuian Zoroark, and her reaction to seeing that was to stop everything and and march over to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

 

[Skyfyre]

My favorite thing is when pokemon fics have extras that look at the characters from a game perspective, its so cool to see how the "Real" people react to somebody using smogen strats against them in a game that isn't a rom hack

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Yeah, always fun to see a 'negaverse' type thing where there's a view of the story from the perspective of real world people reacting as if they were viewing it from a different perspective. I see that sometimes in quests, little omakes as if the questers were playing with a different lead or faction than the one the quest is actually centered around.

So I just kinda read through this whole thing, my favorite moment so far was the whole accidentally created Hisuian Zoroark, and her reaction to seeing that was to stop everything and and march over to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

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Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I was actually really worried that scene/chapters wouldn't work that well, given Friede being a known anime character and all, and the tonal shift from the party there, so I'm really glad you liked it.