Hard Enough-Chapter 203: Throwing down the gauntlet

“Heh, second time around, hey?” said Jackson as he faced off once again against Anita.

I smiled as Anita nodded, not exactly stoically, but she still held her nerve. She licked her lips and shifted, eyeing Dennis who was today’s referee. Dennis went through the typical announcements that we were required to say each time before signalling for the trainers to send out their pokemon.

Jackson and Anita both chose the same pokemon as last time.

Rhyhorn snorted in contempt at the tiny Budew before it. My smile grew a little as I noted that this time, Anita had not overthrown her pokeball.

If anything, she’d underthrown it, but she wasn’t facing a penalty, or more specifically, a warning this time around for releasing her pokemon outside her zone.

It was a noticeable change from her last appearance.

And speaking of her last appearance, it seemed she had taken a few things to heart. I noted that she didn’t have any more pokemon on file for herself when she came into this match, but she did have a bevy of jobs completed around Pewter. She must have been doing them in the afternoons after coming to the gym.

Her clothes no longer had patches stitched into them and she looked a little less frazzled with her hair being sleek and shiny. She must have some better lodgings these days, which made sense. The pokecenter might have been a bit full with the Contest on the weekend, leading to her having to rough it.

There were lots of little things that would have impacted her last time. It was nice to see her doing better.

I watched her easily dispatch Rhyhorn with her Budew, not taking any damage from the fight.

“Time to introduce a change from last time,” I said to Rocko, who nodded and palmed a pair of pokeballs.

While she’d faced Greta last time, Greta had the morning rostered off along with most of tomorrow before we took her to Saffron for her fight against Kong.

Right now I had only a vague idea where she was.

But it didn’t matter, I wanted to throw a wrench into the works and test Anita. She had a facade of calm right now, but she needed coping methods.

Rocko sauntered down and very deliberately showed off three pokeballs with an evil smirk. “You ready to rock and roll, little lass?” he asked as he selected one of them.

Anita opened her mouth, only to close it and nod stiffly.

Budew remained on the field watching all of this unfold with a scowl as Rocko tossed out his pokeball.

“Let’s go! Lileep!” he said, sending out a rock-grass type pokemon against Anita’s grass-poison type.

Anita’s eyes widened at this turn of events and her body stiffened in a very perceptible manner.

Now, if she’d been able to pull a particularly animesque move, she had the option of Slaking, but only if it would listen to her.

Anita swallowed and pointed at Lileep. “Leech Seed!” she called.

Budew leaped into action firing seed pods, whereas Rocko merely yawned in response. “Ingrain,” he said lazily. Lileep buried its roots and watched the falling seeds fall around it and entangle it.

It wouldn’t be very effective, but it would help bolster Budew. Sadly, with Ingrain in effect, this wouldn’t count for much.

“R-return Budew!” called Anita, surprising me. She had the foresight to get a set-up move off before calling her pokemon back? Good, she was thinking more about all of this.

She quickly selected another pokeball and sent out her Jigglypuff. “Let’s go Jigglypuff, like Granny Haridan taught us! Charge in with Double Kick!”

I blinked in surprise as a very familiar movement occurred, with Jigglypuff darting in, kicking off the ground and using its much lighter body. For a moment I thought that someone had shown Anita a video of Celia and Mr. Powers, but then I remembered something.

Jigglypuff weren’t supposed to know Double Kick.

I’d questioned Celia about it, but she’d just giggled and shook her head, telling me she wasn’t giving up her ‘sensei’.

Anita had either not gotten the memo, forgotten, or didn’t have the same issues sharing who her sensei was as Celia.

So, Mrs. Haridan could teach pokemon Double Kick? That raised some questions as much as it answered a question I’d long since forgotten about.

At the time, and to this day, I’d chalked it up as something to do with a crossover of the other media that Jigglypuff appeared in, namely Super Smash Bros.

Now, I knew it was different.

Hmmm, it had been a while since I’d spoken with Mrs. Haridan. Perhaps I could call her up to look after the kids while Flint and I went spelunking. Then I could raise the topic.

It would certainly be worthwhile knowing how to teach pokemon Double Kick. Not that the primary pokemon I used would be capable, what with Geodude lacking the required limbs.

Still, it was very heartening to watch Jigglypuff close with Lileep. At this point Rocko used the now signature combination of Astonish into Wrap, locking Jigglypuff in place.

This had tones of being very similar to how Jigglypuff had gone down against Anorith in the past and I leaned forward, observing Anita as she realised just that herself.

“Oh! Shoot! Jigglypuff use Disarming Voice!” she called.

I bobbed my head from side to side. It was a move, which was better than freezing up, but she hadn’t taken into account that Jigglypuff, while locked in with her arms which were usually where the danger of early Double Slap came from, didn’t mean she couldn’t get off Double Kick.

She must not have thought of it.

Jigglypuff swelled up, inhaling and dragging a grimace out of her as the fronds around her tightened, only to then scream right in Lileep’s face.

Lileep, unlike Anorith, clung to Jigglypuff through the damage, but that had more to do with the Ingrain rooting it to the spot than not being impacted.

“No! No!” said Anita as she realised that wasn’t going to work like last time. “D-double Kick!” she said, causing me to chuckle as she lucked into the right answer.

It could be called instinct by some, just as much as luck, but it didn’t matter as it got her the win as Lileep buckled under the super-effective move.

I chuckled and shook my head, well, regardless of anything else, I’d learned something today.

I had a berry farmer selling berries that negated my super-effective moves, and I also apparently had a secret move tutor who’d teach young trainers a move that was super effective against my pokemon.

Damn, I hadn’t had a clue about that, which made me feel like I didn’t know my own city as well as I thought.

Then again, I rather liked the idea that there was something still to learn.

If this was a game it would be a nice hidden feature that I would have appreciated on any Charmander play-throughs I did.

“Lileep is unable to battle!” called Dennis.

“Eh?” Anita took a moment to realise that she’d just knocked out her foe while Jigglypuff danced around merrily. I had to admit that it made for a rather cute show and the crowd, what few that were here in the early morning slot, applauded her.

I glanced around and found a pidgeot-eyed old woman sitting on the side and nodding with approval.

When Mrs. Haridan noticed me she smiled and waved while I just chuckled. Little old ladies, sitting in my gym, empowering my opponents for years without me ever knowing, and now that I knew they acted like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths.

“Shameless, truly shameless,” I said with a shake of my head.

Then again, if they only taught those people who helped out and did jobs around Pewter, that perhaps meant that only people with certain character traits learnt about the ‘hidden move tutor’.

I rubbed my chin and wondered for the first time if I hadn’t taken the wrong jobs when I was on my Journey. Had I unknowingly missed others that might have made it easier simply by being good?

I found I rather liked that version of this setup. Anyone could buy a berry, but you had to be kind and helpful to learn about Mrs. Haridan.

It certainly explained why she always had jobs posted for people to come to clean her yard, mow her lawn, or wash her windows each week. Just like Mrs. Abernathy, Mrs. Solstice… and several other old ladies and gentlemen.

Hmmmm.

I tilted my head and wondered if Janine knew. Did Yolanda?

My musing on this secret was interrupted as Rocko sent out his next pokemon in the form of Aron.

Anita didn’t hesitate to return her pokemon, knowing that a Steel-type move would see things turning against her. Sadly that told me she hadn’t done her reading on how strong a fighting type move would have been against Aron. Instead of merely being twice as effective, it would have been quadrupled!

Thanks to her changing pokemon, Rocko got off a free move with Harden.

Once more Budew came out and as soon it was on the field, Anita punched her fist forward. “Leech Seed!”

“Charge in with Tackle!” ordered Rocko and Aron threw itself into a sprint, dodging the sailing Leech Seeds before they could wrap themselves around it.

With a cry and a leap, Aron threw itself into a headfirst Tackle.

“Roll!” cried Anita and Budew followed the order instantly, dropping to its side and rolling under Aron’s soaring Tackle.

“Ar!” cried Aron in surprise as it missed, it landed and skidded a little before turning and locking back onto Budew who stood quickly on its tiny legs.

“Use Absorb!” shouted Anita, apparently expecting this to be her golden ticket. Green orbs shot forward and sank into Aron before returning to Budew, but it wasn’t the super-effective move Anita was expecting.

I hummed and watched Anita grow confused. Rocko had no issues making the most of this and once more closed with Budew, Aron slamming a Tackle into Budew and causing it to cry out.

“Commit! It won’t take much! Keep up the Absorb!” Anita shouted.

Budew loyally did so, standing its ground and occasionally rolling out of the way of some Tackles that Rocko and Aron countered with.

After a particularly harsh exchange, both pokemon paused to glare at the other, both extremely roughed up and looking worse for wear.

Then Aron faltered and collapsed. “Aron is unable to battle! Anita advances!”

Anita stiffened. “Eh? Didn’t he show three pokeballs?” she said, shooting Rocko a worried look.

Dennis coughed as Rocko shook his head. Hehe, Dennis had accidentally given Rocko’s game away. Rocko waved them both off causally. “Eh, that was just me messing with you. At this level we only really use two pokemon max to test young trainers,” he said.

“Good luck with your last match,” he said, before returning his pokemon and clearing the way for me.

I gave Anita a moment, but she didn’t reach into her pouch to pull out a potion or any food for her pokemon. Hmm, I’d need to mention that later.

She could use such items during small breaks like this between trainers, it was only in actual matches she couldn’t get away with using a potion.

It must have been one of those things that was missing from her education, I suppose?

“So, you’ve returned,” I said, my voice echoing into the Gym with a deep rumble.

Anita locked eyes with me and while her gaze shuddered and shook, she held firm, earning herself an imperceptible nod from me.

“Good,” I said, advancing down to the gap before leaping over the railing and onto the podium. I landed like I always did and as I rose I produced a pokeball which I held out towards her.

“Are you ready?” I asked, eyeing Budew still on the field.

Anita looked over her pokemon and nodded firmly.

I smirked and started things off the same way as last time. “Let’s rock Anorith!”

Anita perked right up at this, and I knew straight away she’d done her research for this pokemon this time, as she returned her pokemon straight away instead of subjecting her grass type to my bug-type moves.

“Harden,” I said, not letting the change out pass without using it.

She needed to learn that if you knew which pokemon your opponent was going to use first you had a huge advantage. She shouldn’t have kept Budew out when I sent out my pokemon, but I could forgive it as it was a mistake that most first-year trainers made.

For all that they didn’t have to worry about losses against me too much, they still had to worry about later matches. Matches that they could have won had they not taken a disadvantage into the fight.

Anita sent out her Jigglypuff, earning herself a small nod, that was a better choice. Not a great choice by any metric, but still a better one than Budew.

“Double Kick sprint!” called Anita.

As Jigglypuff charged in I waved to Anorith. “Leap above it into Smack Down,” I called.

Anorith curled in on herself as Jigglypuff charged forward and it looked like she wasn’t going to do anything for a moment, before suddenly exploding into sudden violent action.

She leapt high, straight above Jigglypuff, therefore putting her in the best position as she twisted her body, lining up the rear carapace to slam down into the back of Jigglypuff’s head and slam the floating pokemon into the ground face first.

Jigglypuff groaned painfully as she stood and cried out, testing her weight on her legs.

“Jigglypuff, can you still fight?” asked Anita worriedly.

Jigglypuff inhaled and swelled up a little, apparently annoyed that Anita would ask such a question. “Jig!”

“Alright! Use Disarming Voice!”

“Charge in with Metal Claw” I said, deciding to take the baby gloves off for this.

Anita gasped as her pokemon who’d been screeching and slamming waves of pain into Anorith suddenly faced a super-effective claw to the face. Jigglypuff bounced from the hit and rolled backwards before struggling up onto her feet.

“Jigglypuff! Use Sing!” Anita shouted desperately. When Jigglypuff staggered to its feet it tottered from side to side like it was drunk and I frowned. It didn’t look like Jigglypuff could safely keep fighting.

When Anorith twitched into a crouched position ready to keep fighting I whistled sharply. “Anorith, no more, don’t go for a finish. Jigglypuff is done,” I said firmly.

Anita slumped, aware that my assessment was correct. “R-return Jigglypuff.”

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I looked up staring at her. “Are you sure you want to ‘return her’?” I asked, my tone like boulders grinding together. If she meant what she said, she’d just tried to slip something past me.

Anita blinked at me. “Huh? W-what’s wrong, you look really mad!?”

Dennis coughed. “Depending on your intentions, your words matter quite a lot when you are returning a pokemon to its pokeball,” explained Dennis.

I nodded. “If you say ‘return’, you are leaving it as capable of returning to the match, but if you want to withdraw you are conceding that the pokemon is too injured to continue.”

Anita frowned. “Wouldn’t it be better to return my pokemon then?”

I stared at her and then at my poised and waiting Anorith that I’d held back. The implication of how much of a dirty move that was.

Anita gasped. “Oh! You could have taken Jigglypuff out and I’ll look bad if I just return my pokemon, right?”

I nodded before sighing, “Some trainers will specifically build teams to lull you into a false sense of complacency and exploit you for backing off,” I said.

“Oh like that grumpy lady Karen!” said Anita, making a very apt link.

I smirked and nodded. “Very much so. So, with that in mind, did you want to return, or withdraw your pokemon?”

“Wiiiithdraw?” said Anita as though tasting the words.

I nodded. “Good call, Jigglypuff might be seriously hurt and keeping it out is doing more harm than good. After this match, I’d suggest taking it straight to Nurse Joy.”

“Huh? Is he injured? Shouldn’t I go now?” Anita said.

I shook my head. “Pokeballs have medical stasis so minor injuries like those sustained in matches typically are fine. Unless given through poison or burns, which impact the pokemon’s energy, you won’t see the pokemon degrade. It’s why having antidotes and burn heals are so important in most trainer’s books,” I said. I pointedly didn’t mention what would happen with a critically injured pokemon. Kids didn’t need to know about that.

Anita nodded, still staring at Jigglypuff’s pokeball. I waved a hand to the side. “If you would like, I can have Chansey take a look over him now if you’re that worried?”

Anita licked her lips before shaking her head. “I’ll trust what you said about the pokeballs. If it’s safe, then it’s safe.”

She pulled out her next pokemon and revealed Zigzagoon, who spun about on the spot before calming and narrowing its eyes on Anorith.

“Done some training?” I said, prodding Anita for information.

Anita shot me a determined look. “Extremespeed!” she called, and Zigzagoon shot forward like it had been fired from a cannon instead of just running. It blitzed past Anorith only to twist in the air, slam into a boulder feet first and then launch itself back at Anorith’s exposed back to send Anorith sailing away.

“Well, ask dumb questions,” I said aloud to myself, watching Anorith land heavily, only to flip onto her front and scamper back to the fight with her own determination on display.

“Leap onto the boulder and use Harden,” I order, deciding to commit to making this a slugfest for Anita.

The girl growled as I took away Anorith’s exposed flank and forced her to come at Anorith head-on. She met my gaze and growled. “Zigzagoon, again!” she shouted.

Zigzagoon did just that, charging in and pinballing around, but this time Anorith’s eyes darted back and forth, tracking the speeding ball of fur and when Anorith stiffened I gave her next order, knowing Zigzagoon had committed.

“Smack Down!” I shouted, and Anorith reared up, only for Zigzagoon to slam into her and hammer her into the boulder.

This time she didn’t go sailing away, though I noted Zigzagoon hadn’t gotten away undamaged from hitting my buffed-up pokemon. “Water Gun!” I called, making Anorith nail the little fuzzball while it was still regathering itself.

“Leap away!” cried Anita and her pokemon just barely dodged.

“Extreme Speed again!” she called, “It’s on its last legs! I’m sure!”

I hummed, watching as Anorith continued to track the movements of the pokemon. She had good eyes for that. If Anorith could get it, I would have thought she possessed a Sharp Eye ability, but from how she’d bounced back from that earlier hit to the back she must have Battle Armour.

Which meant she had better endurance than Zigzagoon. “Harden again,” I said, making a sheen of energy build up around Anorith as she buckled down.

Zigzagoon came in hard and once again the little puffball impacted hard, only this time it looked like Zigzagoon came off worse, reeling back from the hit while Anorith merely held her ground.

“Water Gun,” I ordered and Anorith blew Zigzagoon away, causing the little pokemon to roll end over end before flopping down in exhaustion.

I shot Anita a small smile. “Charging in if your opponent has good defence isn’t the answer. You shouldn’t keep hammering, trying to weaken Anorith might have taken longer, but it would have given you better options,” I said as she recalled her pokemon.

Anita nodded, eyeing my pokemon. Anorith was on her last legs, but she also had enough left in the tank to keep fighting.

“Let’s go Budew!” called Anita, sending out her starter once more.

“Charge it with Metal Claw,” I said, not willing to let Budew back into the fight.

Anita held her nerve as my pokemon closed however, and chopped her hand forward. “Absorb!” she said, and Budew drained the last strength from Anorith, allowing the little pokemon to claw its way back with some energy as Anorith collapsed.

I returned my pokemon and nodded before tossing out my last pokemon. “Let’s go Onix!” I shouted.

Anita perked up. “Let’s go drain it down with Absorb! Steady as we go!” she called.

“Tackle, “I said, making Onix leap forward instead of sitting idle with Bide.

Anita gasped in surprise, having not expected that.

I shot her a smirk. “You got drawn into a fake pattern of moves. I’m not always going to let things repeat the same way,” I said as Onix slammed into Budew and sent it rolling back end over end where it collapsed onto its face.

“No! Budew!” cried Anita.

The shout must have triggered something as Budew struggled to rise, a glint of steel in the grass-poison type’s’ eyes as it glared at Onix in defiance.

Onix rumbled back, shaking its head and watching.

Then Budew began to shine with the light of evolution. I felt a grin take over as Budew, a small and stumpy pokemon, grew into a Roselia that stood with grace and poise where it had before struggled.

“Yes! Let’s do it Roselia!” cried Anita happily. Roselia crossed its arms over its body as pink petals grew around it, signalling the start of Magical Leaf.

“Bide,” I said sternly.

Anita shot her hand forward, matching her movements with Roselia, the two in sync with each other as Roselia unleashed its attack, slashing and hacking at Onix. “Now finish with Absorb!” cried Anita.

The green orbs that came from Roselia were much larger than before and I chuckled. That wasn’t Absorb, but rather Mega Drain, a much better move for a grass type. Onix collapsed with a wail and I chuckled as I raised my pokeball and returned him before he could hit the ground.

“Nicely done Onix, you fought well and put her to the test wonderfully,” I said to the pokeball.

I then lifted my gaze and locked eyes with Anita. When I nodded, her smile turned into a huge grin and she raised her hands and shouted in happiness like she’d just won a trophy rather than my badge.

It must have felt good, though, and she would have a visible marker for her growth from just a few days of work, so I had to agree, this was a good moment for her.

I signalled to Rachel and she got up and made the crowd join, resulting in cheers and applause raining down upon Anita and her new Roselia.

Now all I had to do was gift her the badge and bid her goodbye.

I smiled. It was so often repeated, but small moments like these were what made me love being a Gym Leader.

I drew myself up and with relish presented the badge to Anita. “Congratulations, you’ve grown, and you are very deserving of this. Keep working and I know that you will be a great trainer.”

Anita nodded before gaining a hesitant look. “What about Slaking?”

“Keep working with him. If you want him to recognise you as his trainer, you need to be there. And that means you need to put in the time. Don’t give him orders, just spend time with him. Get to know him. Other things can come later,” I said easily.

Anita nodded and then seemed to war with herself for a moment, before lunging forward and hugging me. “Thanks for your help,” she said before stepping back. I gave her a kind smile and nodded.

Then she turned, collected her friend and marched out the doors, returning to her Journey.

I shook my head and sighed. For all that there were great interactions and moments of growth, there were also moments where making people grow up wasn’t as fun.

I set my expression as firmly as I could before looking for my next challenger.

This one sadly promised a lot of drama.

I nodded to Rachel and she made a gleeful face. “Would Challenger Chaz please present himself!” she said.

I moved back to the podium, collecting a handful of pokeballs from one of my Gym trainers as Chaz sauntered in. He looked like he’d just smelt a Growlithe’s leavings after a curry night, but when his eyes locked with mine, they flashed with malice.

I palmed my first pokeball, already knowing what to expect even as I hoped I would be proven wrong.

Dennis stood, eying Chaz seriously as he stated the prematch spiel. Chaz waved him off. “Yes, yes, we’ve heard all of this before, no need to repeat this tripe,” he said dismissively.

I sighed. “It is required by law,” I said. “Do you, as a trainer, knowingly waive the need to hear your rights along with the expectations for this match?” I asked.

Chaz nodded haughtily, not realising that he’d just raised a red flag on his trainer card. Potential employees would see that he hadn’t listened to his rights and seriously reconsider him if they were weighing him up for any legal job. I knew from talking with Lawrence that law schools outright rejected some applicants if they waived their rights too often.

You could have grudges and rivalries, that was even expected, but waiving your rights in a gym match? That wasn’t seen in a favourable light. If a child could listen or pretend to listen to the two-minute spiel, why couldn’t you?

I enlarged my pokeball as Dennis raised his flags. “Release and begin!” he shouted, dropping the flags a moment later.

“Go! Izumi!” I called, knowing I’d need her in this, as it was only a three-tier badge match.

“Macherie! It’s time to right the wrongs done to us!” snarled Chaz as he sent out his Machoke. His pokemon appeared with an ugly leer. “Bulk up!” he said, and Macherie flexed at me.

“Rock Polish,” I said without missing a beat. Izumi shone a little and I repeated the action when Chaz opted to boost his pokemon again, making it a veritable threat to a lot of pokemon, given how when Macherie tested her strength she exploded a boulder with a simple punch.

Izumi didn’t flinch at the display of violence.

If anything she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward intently, knowing that it was up to her to defend the others in the team from facing Chaz’s crusade.

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“Macherie! Low Sweep!” Chaz called and Macherie kicked off the ground, causing an explosion of rock behind her as she sought to close.

Izumi evaded with a simple tuck and roll, not needing an order from me as I lazily pointed. “Stone Edge,” I commanded and Izumi spun, grabbing up a pillar of stone and slamming it into Machoke’s side as she overextended with her kick, launching the pokemon that had all the advantages away from her.

Macherie landed on deft feet, clutching her side and growling at Izumi. It wasn’t a very effective move being rock against fighting but it was still a strong hit thanks to Izumi’s knack for getting those weak points.

“Stomp your feet!” commanded Chaz.

“Earthquake!” I responded.

Both pokemon caused the ground around them to buckle and sway, but Izumi had the advantage, causing the ground to buckle more under Macherie, evoking a cry of pain from the other pokemon.

“Stealth Rock,” I said, deciding to make the most of the momentary entrapment.

“Blow it away!” snarled Chaz and Macherie punched the ground near her foot and freed herself easily. Chaz scowled. “Use Vital Throw!”

Macherie narrowed her eyes and lifted her arms, zeroing them in on Izumi.

“Dig,” I responded, knowing how accurate Vital Throw was. I couldn’t wait.

Izumi ducked into the earth and I knew I’d made the right call when a moment later Macherie slammed into the space Izumi had vacated.

Macherie’s arms swept wide in a grappling move, only to trip on the hole Izumi left behind as she burrowed away.

Izumi then popped up and nailed Macherie in the chin, throwing Macherie onto her back.

Despite this hammering Macherie stood back up with a furious scowl.

I returned the scowl. If Macherie was this strong, she really should have faced off against at least my fourth-tier team. On paper, at least. She lacked a lot of the tactics needed, but that was more on Chaz than her.

“You are failing your pokemon,” I said as Macherie tried and failed to take another swing at Izumi, who merely rocked back before countering with a Rock Blast to the side of the head, staggering Macherie.

“Failing?! I am not failing my pokemon! I am avenging us! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to be sent away from your…contest,” he said, spitting the last word. I had a feeling Chaz was the sort that held a similar view to the Hoenn Pokemon Fanclub President.

“I know that you brought much of that upon yourself. You’re proud of your pokemon and yourself, perhaps rightly so. Macherie is a strong pokemon, but that doesn’t entitle you to look down on others,” I said.

“Don’t lecture me like some second-rater!” snarled Chaz as he barked command after command, only for me to have Izumi duck, dodge, Dig and divert. Then, when Macherie was overextended?

Izumi devastated Macherie with heavy hits. Her small arms lancing out to punish the overextension.

Macherie weathered them well, making me all the more curious about Chaz and his pokemon.

He was obviously from Hoenn and had a strong pokemon in his Macherie, but as a trainer, he was being ruled by his desire to destroy me and my pokemon.

It took longer than I’d expected, but eventually, Izumi landed a heavy punch into Macherie’s chin and Macherie fell without getting up.

Chaz stared, his eyes unseeing. “Macherie?” he said in disbelief.

I glanced at Dennis and nodded. He raised a flag. “Macherie is unable to battle! Withdraw your pokemon if you wish to continue,” said Dennis formally.

Chaz blinked before scowling and doing just that. “I’m not done,” he said, releasing a Ludicolo.

“Ludicolo! Blast them with—”

The Stealth Rocks that I’d built up throughout the fight against Macherie activated and slammed into Ludicolo, causing a falter in the otherwise textbook-perfect pokemon to secure a badge against me. I punched my fist forward and fed Izumi my intention through the bond I’d started to grow with her deliberately for moments like this.

Izumi stiffened for half a moment, having not experienced this before, before grinning as she unleashed a powerful Stone Edge that slammed into the off-balance Ludicolo. Ludicolo sailed back, landing heavily before going still.

Chaz stared, stunned. Having his pokemon be one-two knocked out must have come as a shock.

I watched him carefully, wondering if I was going to be able to get through to him. “Ha! What an idiot!” called someone in the crowd and I grimaced.

I signalled to Rachel to cut off the laughter and she nodded and quickly caught the crowd’s attention to stop them from laughing. Rachel bounded out the front with a discreet sign asking for people to please not laugh or mock the challenger.

This was a new trick we’d talked about and were now putting into action after Anita’s shaming earlier in the week. Honestly? It should have been something I put in place when Greta faced me.

It didn’t matter to Chaz. His gaze turned back to me with a baleful expression. He’d heard the comment and had something new to focus on. To stoke the flames of his hate.

Damn it.

I met his gaze remorsefully, knowing I’d have to crush him now.

He returned his pokemon, his eyes surveying the field properly for the first time with narrowed intent. “Let’s go Loudred! Shout the house down!” he bellowed and his pokemon emerged and started shouting straight away.

It didn’t stop the Stealth Rocks slamming into him but it did hurt to listen to. When Izumi fired her attack to take him out, Loudred skipped to the side, causing her to miss.

I narrowed my eyes as Chaz shouted for Loudred to keep up the noise. I growled, annoyed that the match had turned out this way.

“Izumi close in and take him out,” I said, and Izumi dove into the earth, escaping some of the noise before popping up to the side with her fist cocked back.

Loudred spun and skipped, trying to evade, only for Izumi to lash out and fire a shot aimed for the leg he was going to land on first.

He toppled face-first into the ground and as he struggled to rise she nailed him again in the face.

When Loudred left, Izumi shook her head and punched the air fiercely while I cleaned out my ears, huh, she hadn’t liked that either.

“Go Medicham,” called Chaz, and this time Medicham was able to dodge all of the Stealth Rocks.

It didn’t stop Izumi from nailing Medicham in the knee before firing off another heavy hit straight into its head.

When Medicham didn’t get up I frowned. “Do you focus all of your attention onto Macherie? She’s much stronger than the other pokemon,” I said, only to earn myself a glare from Chaz.

He wiped at some sweat on his forehead and bared his teeth. “My methods are not for you to criticise!” he growled, sending out a large Pelipper.

I grimaced, noting that Chaz wasn’t in a good mental space. It was child’s play for Izumi to knock out Pelipper and Chaz stumbled as Pelipper fell.

He clutched the podium’s railing and took deep breaths, making me frown in concern.

He was showing all the signs of whiting out with one pokemon left to call. Did he invest that much of his energy into Macherie? Did it reflect on his team unconsciously as well resulting in a huge amount of energy that caused a blowback on him?

“Chaz you’re in danger of whiting out, I think we should end the match here!” I said with concern.

Chaz raised his eyes, now red at the edges. Despite the fatigue, he had the strength to glare at me. “You’d like tha, woolen you?” He slurred. “I’m not going to let you laugh at me though!” he glowered.

“Go Torko!” he said, his hand whipping around and the pokeball barely landing in the field of play. His Torkoal emerged with a proud roar only to wail as Stealth Rock slammed into it.

I sighed and waved a hand. I’d wanted to defend my pokemon from his wrath, but in doing so I think I had alienated him even worse. I grimaced and signalled for Izumi to end it. She fired off a single Rock Blast and knocked Torkoal out.

As Torkoal hit the ground, so did Chaz. I pushed the medical alarm and ran a hand across my face.

Damn, that… hadn’t been how I wanted to handle things. Still, I wasn't going to let him walk over me or hurt my pokemon to prove something to himself and others.

I watched Chaz get checked over before he and his pokemon were secured and taken to the pokecenter where he’d sleep it off while his pokemon recovered.

I left the podium and rubbed my jaw. “I think… I might have just deepened that young man’s hate for me,” I said.

Dennis and Rocko who’d joined me nodded sadly. “Guy was coming in here looking to hurt you though, so you did the right thing,” Rocko said.

Dennis nodded loyally and I sighed. “Yeah… just doesn’t feel good,” I said with a shake of my head.

Rocko clapped me on the shoulder. “He’ll keep, maybe try approaching him outside of the gym setting? It might help?”

I nodded. It made sense as this was now the location of two rather humiliating results for Chaz. That could mean a lot of different things. He'd either avoid our gym like it was Muk-ridden, or he'd come at us over and over. I felt like I knew which he'd choose, given his first showing was much more public. He was a proud young man, and had something to prove. Sadly, he had some strong pokemon to back him up.

“You’re right, good idea,” I said.

Dennis exhaled in relief before copying Rocko. “You’ll need to reset your head before tonight’s match Brock. You win this, and you’re locked in for the mid-circuit tournament between the top Ace trainers,” he said.

I nodded and waved for Rocko and Dennis to follow me. Tonight I’d be facing Arthur, who was currently ranked seventh in the Indigo League.

Beat him and I was guaranteed a position in the end of year tournament.

I rolled my head before clapping my hands and exhaling, trying to expel the lingering feelings of how that last match had turned out.

I’d need to be at my best, and before I even left, I needed to sit down and do some prep.

“Got the kids assembled?” I asked Rocko.

Dennis snorted and I shot him a look. He merely smirked and I turned to Rocko for an explanation.

“Dennis is amused ‘cause A.J. just lost really bad against the girls, Yolanda, Crystal and Greta, ‘cause they ganged up on him late into his twenty-streak win goal and blew his hopes away. He’s carrying on a bit and pouting.” Rocko shook his head and raised his hands in a ‘what can you do’ pose. “Dennis even warned him they were after him, but A.J. didn’t listen.”

I chuckled, amused that the girls had taken my suggestion to heart.

“Well, that should be fun to deal with,” I said sarcastically. It should work as a perfect teaching point for A.J. I'd need to counterbalance that with some time with Greta.

At least if there was any real bad blood between them, I could have them face each other in a true friendly.

It wouldn’t be that easy for me with Chaz.

Chaz... was something I was going to have to endure. I made a note to warn the other trainers in case he tried for the gauntlet, in effect broadening his target from just me to 'my gym'.

I shook my head and turned to the upcoming Ace tournament. First some prep work, and then the match.