1:17 p.m. August 15th, Saturday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event). Day 67.

Events: Rhea won her Silver-tier Encrusted Badge after a tough battle! Now, our girls are on their way to getting their four Encrusted Badges for the League. Onward! Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June, and the end of registration for the Winter Indigo Cup is December 5th (111 days away).

Serenity materialized in the air, the booming voice of the announcer and roaring crowd meeting her as time slowed in her descent; the weight of what now rested on her fins hit her like a Take Down, with the tension feeding through Amira’s connection.

The dispersing Rain Dance overhead and humid atmosphere left a misty rainbow over the island at the stage’s center, the turbulent lake splashing against the sides of the stage and tugging at the chained logs, the current pulling them underneath the surface.

In her descent, she saw Lyra and Silver jumping up and down with their teams. Beside them sat Ariana and Giovanni, legs crossed and hands in their laps while studying her. Serenity could feel Amber chastising herself for letting her guard down, struggling with the deadly poison infecting her system while Holly comforted her.

They had an answer for this that made Amber a decent fit for this Gym, despite the Water disadvantage Janine had pulled on them, but it seemed the ninja had covered her bases because Deadly Poison blocked their strategy.

The new Ability Amber got upon evolving could only do so much, and even if she managed to get a Haze out to cleanse Amber, it was still only a chance she could recover.

Her attention shot to the Skrelp on the other side of the field as she caught it dip below the surface, shimmering and melding into the environment. She had time to act before it got to the opposite side of the stage.

Serenity breathed in deeply, drawing upon Amira’s Fortitude, and filled her side of the field with the dark Haze that trailed after her diving into the pool; Rain Dance could sweep it away, but Field Moves had a delay that they could use.

Flipping around in the pond to fly up again, she released more of the dense vapor in the water to provide them further shelter. Levitate carried her into the air again, fully ready to be returned to her Poke Ball.

I’m rea—

“Wait, something’s not right,” Amira hissed. “Why is Selkie waiting for us to swap? He could have attacked from a distance.”

Coming to a stop in the veil that slowly floated over the lake, Serenity scanned the stilling atmosphere, the excitement of their previous blitz settling with the calming currents. Silence took the crowd as the rush turned to tense anticipation for the next surprise upset.

Aren’t they just buying time by making us paranoid? she asked, puffing out another cool blanket of ink to keep herself hidden.

Her gut twisted tighter with every quiet second that passed, each movement on the hazy surface of the murky pond making her heart pump faster. Why hadn’t he used Rain Dance yet?

“No, they’re waiting for us to switch.” Serenity could practically feel Amira’s fingernails tightening against her palm while studying Skrelp’s Pokedex info. “They’re going to pounce the second I release you, and the areas I can release you are really limited. You might not even get the chance to stabilize.”

Her energy matrix is draining really fast, though, Serenity shot back, not liking this sudden ghostly atmosphere that had taken the pond with the swirling smog. We have to!

“There are some scary Moves Selkie could know and hasn’t shown us. Janine could have used a weaker Skrelp with more Moves rather than a stronger one with less. Amber, I don’t know if I should send you out yet… It doesn’t feel right.”

The announcer’s whisper through the speakers hushed the gentle chatter further. “Selkie creeps through the water like a ninja, stealthily stalking his prey and preparing for the devastating, critical attack. Meanwhile, for some reason, Amber’s matrix is swiftly declining! This is putting pressure on the challenger to smoke out this elusive seahorse. Why does Amira not take this opportunity to reduce the Deadly Poison to its standard potency? Who will act first?”

Dozens of options came to Serenity’s mind:

She could Confuse Ray Selkie the moment he jumped up. Dragon Pulse into Hypnosis probably wouldn’t work a second time, but it could find him for her to land a surprise Mirror Coat for whatever he had planned. Dragon Breath paralysis could give them the chance to pull off a combo. They had to do something!

Amber force chuckled. “Amira, I think we only have one option left. I’m down to 70% of my energy matrix already, and it’s only ramping up. I know I got careless, but I can do this.”

“I know. I just hate that I didn’t see this coming,” Amira snarled.

“I know you don’t want to rely on my new Ability since it’s iffy, but if we don’t go, then we’re back at Serenity needing to clutch the victory anyway. As Gabs likes to say, let me cook! At the very least, I won’t go down with a whimper.”

“That’s the spirit!” Holly cheered. “I know it will work!”

Drawing in Amira’s energy, Serenity huffed, releasing more dark clouds and hating how she looked on the display, just floating in the darkness with a dumb look on her unresponsive face.

I can smoke him out for you.

“Don’t think I need it,” Amber giggled. “He’ll be on me like Combee on Bellossom when I jump out. Best save Amira’s energy for when it’s your turn again. I have my own, after all.”

Fine, and you could never go out with a whimper, Amber. You’re too loud.

“Rude, as always!” Amber giggled. “Put me in, Coach, I’m at 67%, and it’s only been a minute.”

Serenity beat her tail, floating through the air to shoot out of the Haze; the red light of her Poke Ball connected with her spirit, drawing her back in as an eruption of noise hit her mind; she didn’t see what it was as Amber came out.

* * *

The Deadly Poison made Amber feel like puking as Amira returned Serenity, Selkie making his move right as the Feebas returned, and making their Trainer curse. She threw her Poke Ball as hard as she could in the opposite direction of the toxic seahorse as a sharp gust of wind swept her bound red hair to the left.

“Twister?!”

Amber burst out of her capsule above the blackness, unable to see the rope inside it but knowing where it was from its connecting points to the island platform and outer trees. Wand gripped in her hand, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the approaching black cyclone as it picked up speed, sucking in the Haze.

Dipping into the murky water, she gathered her energy, feeling her increased Attack reset to zero, and with it, the potent toxic force infecting her spirit, reducing it to its first stage. A grin lifted her mouth as the noxious infection gnawing at her insides was pulled into the swirling haze.

The dark vapor was stripped off her a second later, a towering tornado of charged water, smog, and draconic energy seeking to sweep her up. She knew she wasn’t going to win this battle, but she’d bet her tail she wasn’t going to just lie down and take the L without a fight.

Okay. Let’s go!

The cyclone loomed near, revealing the rope as the winds picked up, and deep orange flames ignited from her feet. Amber landed on the rope, setting it ablaze as time slowed, and she launched forward in the flash of fire that engulfed her.

Flame Charge carrying her toward the island at an accelerated dash, Amber jumped into the air, the blaze directing her forward with Selkie in hot pursuit; the branch the rope was tied to was ripped away in his passing.

She twisted backward, stick trailing flames with her ears and tail while twirling it to shoot embers at the dying twister; it blocked Amira’s sight from her, preventing any recalls. Steam exploded from the impact, breaking it apart for a grinning seahorse to fly out, eyes locked onto her.

An enormous burst of white light akin to Nova’s ridiculous Super-Move carried it right to her face; Protect encased her, only for Amber to force a surprised laugh as it shattered on impact, giving her just enough time to cover her face.

“Take Down?!”

“No sh—”

Air locked in her lungs, Seklie propelled her half across the field through Protect while being blasted back a short way into the water. She was down to 56%, but the barrier took the brunt of it.

Mind a little dizzy, she flicked her tail to stabilize her fall, spotting a log in her rapid descent several meters to her right. Flame Charge slightly changed her trajectory to land on the log, and steam exploded from the water as they were both carried under the surface.

Coughing and holding onto the log as it surfaced, her ears flared with fire, fur soaked and squinting back at her side of the field, where storm clouds were gathering, the rain getting denser again.

Muking monster! Ugh—

“Ack!”

She cried out as her momentum was interrupted by the brace and chain holding the log in place broke part of the wood, carrying her further toward Janine’s shoreline. Breathing deeply, a smile brightened her face as her Stabalize+ Ability activated, curing her Poison. The only issue was her positioning and 53% energy matrix.

Floating on her log in the middle of nowhere land, she found most of the ropes on Janine’s side had been cut at some point. She was stranded, but Amira sent her some good news.

“Psychic Terrain only changes ‘Camouflaged’ Pokemon. If he attacks you, then it breaks the Psychic-Typing he gains!”

Perfect.

Her hair rising with the liquid around her, Amber sent a burst of psychic energy in a wide area, causing the water to start lifting into the air. Jumping off her log, she ran across the shimmering surface as a twister kicked up to disrupt her field, Selkie trying to zone her while carrying the rain storm with him.

Amber had enough of that, though; leaping into the air and creating a wide, flaming circle with her stick, she directed a massive chunk of her energy to her wand and stuck it through the center. A wide burst of superheated air erupted in a wave that ignited the atmosphere and met the toxic seahorse’s advance.

The explosion of steam detonated in the center of the field, blowing away the twister and Rain Dance. It also broke her own Psychic Terrain into pieces and swept it into the surf, which was exactly what she wanted.

Amber rode the large waves and diminishing psychic terrain, moving in the rush of hot vapor and foaming water to the outer left shore of Janine’s side of the field. She jumped off the fizzling force when she neared the edge and dodged Selkie’s jet of water that pursued her, hiding behind a nearby tree.

Chest pounding and still soaked, Amber ran out, shooting a few Embers back at the repositioning Skrelp. It cut through the balls of fire with its water stream, hitting her shoulder before she was able to dive behind more cover, her teammates cheering her on.

I know I need to use Wish, but I can’t stay in one place too lo—another Twister?!

Amber snarled and ran along the edge of the stadium as Selkie jumped out to send a smaller cyclone toward her. Sucking in air, she howled, increasing her Attack again; the center stage was filled with Poison Spikes, so she had to keep to the edges.

Fire lit at her feet again as the twister neared, and she dashed forward, Flame Charge igniting the grass in her wake. She outpaced the cyclone, yet when the attack dwindled, she saw something small, dark brown, and wreathed in dark and purple light strike her in the face.

Her jaw locked not to get dazed, and stinging poison entered her body again while tumbling into a tree. Amber ducked, eyes going wide as a bubble popped where her head had been; dozens more followed.

“Muk!”

Tail flashing white, she used it to clear a path as the Skrelp pursued in its tiny hops on land, far slower but more than deadly with its host of Water and Poison Moves, and another Twister could send her back into the water.

“Using the Twister, Selkie launched himself forward to get ahead of Amber! He followed it up with Faint Attack to catch her unaware, Poison Point reapplying the toxin. What beautiful combinations! Can Amber Stabilize this one?”

Matrix being eaten away again, Amber showed her teeth while flipping around the streams of water and bubbles he was trying to catch her with. She wouldn’t last much longer like this, and it was pretty clear, Selkie wasn’t going to let her get back to Amira’s side.

With her diminishing personal energy and energy matrix, continuing to be on the defensive wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She had to give everything she had now before he got back to the water.

Gritting her teeth, Amber stopped dodging. A cloak of fire launched her toward the surprised Skrelp, parts of it being blown away by the bubbles that exploded against it; her increased Attack helped to counter most of it.

She twirled around the Water Gun to punt him into the air; knowing what came next, Amber didn’t have time for Psychic Terrain, her wand sparkled with light as she projected a psionic blast at the floating seahorse, and a white flare of energy launched Selkie into it.

Amber locked eyes with him as he slowly powered through her Psybeam, and just before reaching her twinkling stick, a blue barrier surrounded her; Take Down cracked her shell as the recoil sent him into a nearby tree.

Personal energy falling low, Amber had to draw from Amira, and she shot forward to deliver a fatal blow, sparkling light dancing at the end of her spinning stick.

I have to end it now if—

Her jaw slackened as all the energy she’d gathered from Amira rapidly diminished, the world blurred, and she stumbled. Hitting the wet soil, her wand fell from her grip, fingers numb.

The wobbly image of Selkie appeared somewhere above her, a bubble floating to pop against her tingling face; Stabilize+ hadn’t saved her a second time.

Not bad…

* * *

Amira felt proud in her hot-tailed fox as Selkie struggled to hop to the water, carrying Amber on his tiny back; she would have been mortified if conscious, but she’d held her own against a poisonous water dragon when everything was stacked against her. Cheers and claps followed her exit off the stage.

“Amber falls after a tough battle! What an example to show young, aspiring Braixen, or any young Fire Pokemon. Oh, and Selkie even has her wand in his mouth! What a sport. I can’t think anyone saw the Fire Fox doing this well, but she held on tooth and claw until the poison finally got her. That’s a Champion, ladies and gentlemen.”

That’s my sassy fox, Amira whispered, knowing she would be so embarrassed when she and Gables rewatched it tonight; he’d done such a good job helping her overcome her fear of water, but a cute boy could do that to a girl.

Her attention shot to Janine as the Gym Leader spoke to her through the console, probably wearing some kind of earpiece by how she was holding her ear; she wore an impressed smile.

“Amber was smart to keep to the edges rather than return to the center, and she handled herself well when everything was falling apart, isolated behind enemy lines. She found a way out of the lake, even using Heat Wave to disrupt not only Selkie’s Rain Dance but her own Terrain to get her to shore and stop his momentum.

“Selkie seriously had to try with how fast Flame Charge made her, and she made getting close a risk he had to take, getting in range of a Psybeam in order to land another poison. He knew if she got back in range of you, being pulled out of combat would plummet his chances of winning. And somehow, Amber looked elegant the entire way through, twirling her wand.”

Holly, and even Serenity, gave their unconscious teammate a spiritual hug on the back as Amira returned her to her Poke Ball and placed her in the transport device to be sent to the Center for treatment.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Amira whispered, rubbing the capsule before it was carried away. “I can say this has been the hardest battle we’ve had. I suppose it has to end soon,” she said, looking up at the frozen clock that had hit 15 minutes since their match began, nearing the 20-minute limit until a judgment was made.

Janine grinned and gave her a salute, the drums of the ninjas picking up again. “Good luck!”

“And let the battle resume!” the announcer yelled, and Amira threw Serenity into the field.

Let’s finish this. Full force!

* * *

Serenity’s scales glistened in the overhead light as she entered the choppy lake; much of the stage was in disarray by the weather, but Serenity’s goal wasn’t to buy time or dance around playing hide and seek like before. This ninja seahorse was hers.

Selkie was back on his side of the field for the start of the match since Amber had to be pulled into a position to be returned, resetting the battle. Now, they flew around the island to find each other, and Serenity knew he would be trying to fake her out by going in the opposite direction. Rain Dance was only detrimental for him against her, so that wasn’t going to be the play. She had to pull him out into a slug-fest.

Drawing in Amira’s diminishing energy, she flipped around and reversed course, letting out a draconic roar. The purplish energy dragon launched out, zig-zagging through the choppy lake as it sought out the camouflaged seahorse.

Unable to hide from the Dragon Pulse, Selkie spun into a Twister, riding its rise into the sky as Serenity and her snarling companion entered the vortex to pursue; her energy matrix hit 90%. Speed increasing with the cyclone’s current, she spotted the Skrelp high above, sending bubble mines to pepper them and stop the guided Move, but Serenity sprayed them away with Brine.

Selkie flew over the field as the Twister ended, falling right for the Poison Spike minefield. Protect cushioned his landing and ate the weakened Dragon Pulse as it chomped down on him. Hot on his tail, Levitate allowed her to fly right for him with her accelerated momentum, while Amira kept issuing advice in her mind.

“Confuse Ray!”

A spiral ball of ghostly light spun from around her illuminated figure, reaching him just as the Protect shattered; Selkie wobbled into the surf and dipped in after him. Spikes shot out of the muddy ground, shooting barbs at her, but Levitate gave her 360-degree maneuverability, her wide field of vision allowing her to glide around them.

Black smoke filled the area as Smokescreen attempted to blind her; Serenity cut past it with a draconic ray, grazing the tiny target. He spun away, globs of Acid spread out to trap her in a net, but she went right through it, Mirror Coat casting a multi-colored aura around her.

Water Gun changed his trajectory, making her miss her mark; the ball exploded against the floor, spraying dirt everywhere. Selkie forced a dizzy chuckle, shimmering before blending in with the murky water.

“I don’t think so!”

“Confuse Ray again!”

Spinning in a sharp circle, Serenity used Iron Tail to propel herself faster rather than using it as an attack and swiped hard to generate a strong current that shot the cloud away; she saw the tumbling seahorse in the rush of debris and shot another ghostly sphere that curved to flash in front of his eyes.

Nearing Selkie, psychic waves flew from her eyes, only to hit a shadowy mirage. Her tiny pink pupil saw the spiked tail coming to her left; it hit her blue barrier, but Serenity’s tail shone a bright gray as she spun to hit him square on the head, punting him into the dirt. Yet, a moment later, he was twisting into a cyclone that carried them both back into the air.

“Not a single Confusion hit!?” Amira snarled. “C’mon!”

Holly was bouncing around her Poke Ball. “Keep up the pressure!”

Launched out of the lake, she scanned the dispersing globs of water falling around her for Selkie, only for the camouflage seahorse to appear at her back. A flare of white light made Serentiy’s gut twist, her shimmering blue barrier shattered around her as it failed.

“Game ov—”

The glow collapsed, Selkie’s massive spike of energy falling in on him to chunk his matrix, and sucking in air, Serenity used the last bit of energy Amira was safe to give her to deliver a ray of draconic breath into the Skrelp’s face, sending him crashing into the center platform. He hit the barrier, but his matrix held; the clock hit 19:34.

Muk

“Muk!”

“Moo Milk!”

Serenity cursed as he struggled up, wobbling and turning to enter a twister; Selkie got partway to her before fumbling it. His matrix shattered, sending him through the air to land on the devastated beach.

“No way!” Amira sounded spent, and she knew without looking the redhead was probably soaked in sweat with how fast and hard they’d used Moves. “Confuse Ray for the win… I guess it hit when it counted.”

“Ice cream party!”

Cheers erupted from the stadium as Serenity floated in the air, totally spent. She was a fish out of water, looking totally dumb while turning to see all the screaming onlookers; they’d won their first Silver Encrusted Badge.

“What an end!” the announcer cried. “I don’t know why Amira named her raging Feebas Serenity because girl has no chill! Look at that pressure, ladies and gentlemen! I guess when you have a team leader like Amber’s hot tail, then her heat is bound to rub off! What a way to start off this Silver-tier. Wow! Let’s watch some of those air maneuvers again.”

Serenity scanned the clapping, chatting, and fist-pumping crowd; it somehow felt even better than her win against Misty. Levitation beginning to fail her, Amira called her back to her Poke Ball as exhaustion caught up to her fins; she’d taken some of those turns a bit too sharp.

Holly…

“Mhm?!”

I think I need to join you for morning stretches… I hurt. Ugh…

* * *

Amira brought Serenity back and placed her in the transport capsule to get treated; Holly was hugging her groaning fish the second she returned to them.

Good work, Serenity. Wow… I’m kind of afraid for Lori and Rhea no—

“Ahh!” Amira jumped back, letting go of a choked cry and almost tripping as Janine appeared out of a small cloud of smoke in front of her. “J-Janine?!”

“That’s a cute scream,” the woman giggled.

Amira’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment as the crowd returned their attention back to them; she grabbed the towel on the side, dabbing it in a small pool of water from a side compartment that slid out to tab her hot face.

“Ahem. Sorry, I, uh… You’re the first Gym Leader to just… show up like that.”

Chuckles came from the stands as she dropped into a sitting position on the very expensive table, perfectly situated around the poky parts.

“I like to have chats one-on-one when it’s like this,” she chimed. “I’m happy you were able to show your stuff in front of your family. Well done! It’s matches like this that make me happy that the League banned items. There’s nothing more annoying than a Trainer that just spams Potions, Antidotes, and Revives with not a Lick of skill,” she dully grumbled.

“Anyway! I am thoroughly sure you are Silver material, heh—with a weeping Silver father,” she snickered, pointing over at the front row.

Her father was crying in her mother’s arms. It was a first for her, and for it to be in public? Embarrassing. Her grandparents wore cool smiles, holding each other’s hands.

“You’re something special, Amira. Don’t lose that determination and tactical mind. I’ll know if your teammates learned from your example soon enough, so go back, hit the showers, grab your healed girls, and join your family for the show.”

She winked and pressed a button next to her to project her voice to the crowd. “I’m changing up the order of the matches. Every team will be substituted with another to allow them a chance to watch and cheer on their friends. Let’s get the next exciting match underway!”

Holding two fingers in front of her in a ninja sign, she gave her a peace sign with her other as a puff of smoke carried her away; her lingering voice whispered in her ear.

“Best meet your parents somewhere secluded not to make a scene; I know a little something about an embarrassing family.”

Amira’s nerves settled as she smiled and looked at the left end of their ‘family row,’ where the whole Elite 4 were situated, Karen nudging Bruno with a grin as Koga and Aya held up their own supportive signs for the Gym Leader.

Wow… This must be insanely stressful for Janine. I should warn the others…

Turning around, she let Holly smother her spirit in love and comfort while returning to pick up her shy Meloetta and unwind a little. She’d won. She’d proven to herself that she wouldn’t hold back her team. Hopefully, she wouldn’t faint on the way back because that would make the news channels and reporters’ day.