Ran gets stuck on the sight in front of him for a few moments. The sight of Golbat being out of the match within the first minute, from a single attack, is one so utterly alien to him that he has to forcibly jar himself out of the temporary stupor he sinks into. Still, from the way Magnemite’s levitation is a lot less stable and from the way its magnets are still glowing with residual heat, he knows that Supersonic landed and that the attack clearly took a lot out of it.

  He needs to pounce fast, to even the numbers once more and claw himself back into this match.

  Fortunately, that realization is enough to get him moving once more. He hurriedly recalls Golbat, offering a quick word of encouragement before selecting his next team member and sending him out onto the field.

  “I’m counting on you, Croagunk!” Ran announces, to more than a little enthusiasm from the crowd, as the sight of the exotic Sinnoh-native pokémon is enough to get them enthusiastic about the match again. Not that Ran particularly cares about the crowd’s feelings about his match, but he’s not completely deaf to the way the crowd noise died down when Zap Cannon took Golbat out in a single blow either.

  Croagunk appears on the field with a cheerful croak, glancing around for a moment before offering a cheeky wave to Magnemite. The small hovering ball of steel, mind already addled by Golbat’s Supersonic, clearly isn’t amused, judging by the annoyed buzzing sound it produces, but before Croagunk can continue to entertain himself, Ran snaps out an order.

  “Croagunk, Taunt!” He commands, wanting to stop Magnemite from using Lock-On again.

  Obediently, his pokémon’s cheek sacs bulge obscenely, both hands raised as he wags them provocatively at Magnemite, waving challengingly at the electric-steel-type, clearly daring it to hit him with his best shot. Its magnets, which Ran realizes had in fact once again started to slowly tilt forwards, quiver in outrage, its single large eye blinking furiously before growing cloudy for a moment, the confusion caused by Golbat’s Supersonic clearly still lingering in its system.

  “Brick Break!” Ran orders confidently, watching eagerly as Croagunk bursts forwards, his short legs carrying him forwards as he moves in that peculiar skipping sprint he’s capable of. No matter its peculiarity however, in this case it proves effective, as Magnemite showcases why its species isn’t particularly known for its speed, hovering backwards far too slowly to stay out of Croagunk’s clutches.

  Jasmine isn’t content to simply let Ran and Croagunk act freely however, as once more her soft-spoken voice is clearly audible.

  “Discharge.”

  Immediately, a wild corona of electricity bursts off of Magnemite in all directions, its own body coming dangerously close to slamming into the ground as the energy it relies on to maintain its hover is disturbed by the disruptive burst of electric-type energy. It’s an effective move however, as Croagunk is far too close to have any chance whatsoever of dodging, instead forced to push right through the attack in his attempt to close in for his own strike.

  The electricity crackles across his skin, a pained croak ripping out of Croagunk. But Ran’s newest team member isn’t deterred, pushing through and finally closing the distance with the temporarily defenseless Magnemite. At which point he punches forwards with a powerful Brick Break. Ordinarily, it’s a chopping motion, but on Croagunk, it’s a withering straight punch instead, as if he’s punching directly through the ‘brick’ the move is named after, rather than trying to chop through it from above.

  The end result is the same, as he hits Magnemite with a loud clang, the smooth metal coating its body visibly dented by the impact of a full power Brick Break. But Magnemite isn’t done yet, as it is sent flying backwards, the momentum imparted by Croagunk’s Brick Break actually sending it to safety even as it temporarily falls out of its hover. It skids along the ground for a moment, leaving a small furrow before it manage to take flight once more.

  “Stay with it! Again!” Ran urges Croagunk, the poison-fighting-type obediently breaking into motion once more as he hurries after his retreating opponent.

  With the beating it’s taken and the massive amounts of electricity it’s already thrown around, Ran is hopeful that Magnemite won’t be able to muster up another strong electric-type attack in the brief seconds it has before Croagunk will close the distance once more. Jasmine is clearly of a similar mind, as she instead opts for an alternative instruction.

  “Screech.”

  The resultant discordant, metallic warble released by Magnemite causes the hairs on Ran’s arms and the back of his neck to stand up, whilst he grinds his teeth together in pique as a metallic taste lingers in his mouth. Croagunk is surely affected as well, but not enough to keep him from pushing onwards and using Brick Break once more.

  His straight hammers into the same spot in Magnemite’s already weakened armor and this time, rather than merely leaving a dent, he punches a proper crater into the metal orb. Magnemite crashes to the ground loudly, its eye immediately sliding closed as it rolls along the ground for a few more feet before rolling to a standstill.

  Croagunk offers a cheerful wave to the spectating crowd as he skips back to his side of the field. The crowd clearly loves the jolly Toxic Mouth Pokémon for his gesture, as he receives a loud round of cheers and applause. Ran refuses to be distracted again however, instead keeping a laser focus on Jasmine as she selects her next pokémon.

  He’s not going to get caught out again. If she’s trained this pokémon to use a move at the start of every match without instruction, like she seemingly did with Magnemite, then they have to be ready for that.

  Jasmine sends out her second battler, the red energy soon coalescing into a far more imposing sight than the previous Magnemite. Because appearing on the field on Jasmine’s side of the field is a Skarmory. The one steel-type that’s objectively a terrible match-up for Croagunk. Ran doesn’t bother to suppress his annoyed sigh, before immediately snapping out an order when he sees Skarmory spread its wings, not even waiting to see if it's preparing an attack or if it simply seeks to take flight.

  “Bullet Punch!” He orders, knowing full well that Skarmory resists the hit, but needing the certainty that Croagunk will manage to get close and not wanting to risk Sucker Punch failing in case Skarmory isn’t preparing an attack of its own.

  It proves to be the right call, as Skarmory’s wings start flapping powerfully, as it takes off whilst throwing up dust and clods of earth in all directions. But it isn’t quick enough, as, fist gleaming with silvery steel-type energy, Croagunk bursts forwards, fist slamming into the massive Armor Bird Pokémon’s chest.

  Unfortunately, the resultant clang is dull and tinny, in no way reminiscent of the loud crack Croagunk managed against Magnemite. Skarmory actually stops its attempt to take flight, heavy claws touching down upon the ground once more from the mere foot of elevation it’d gained, as it levels its beady glare upon Croagunk. The worried croak Ran’s pokémon lets out is clearly instinctive and rather telling for it.

  “Wing Attack.” Jasmine states dryly, not showing any enthusiasm or other emotion despite the way she’s clearly still dominating the match.

  With the way Croagunk has already taken a Discharge and the super-effective nature of Wing Attack, Ran doesn’t expect his team member to last much longer. So, rather than call for Brick Break against what is likely a faster pokémon, he goes for a faster alternative.

  “Sucker Punch!” He snaps out hurriedly, Croagunk’s fist immediately glowing with dark-type energy before shooting out towards Skarmory’s chest once more, impacting with a slightly more meaningful thud compared to the Bullet Punch, but it’s still hardly an inspiring sound.

  And then Wing Attack connects, as one of Skarmory’s large, imposing wings glows bright white with flying-type energy before slamming into Croagunk, who desperately throws up a block in the moment before impact, only to be sent ragdolling away as the blow lands with a meaty crunch. Croagunk doesn’t bounce upon contact, rather he skids along the ground at speed, throwing up a spout of dirt as he gets slammed away from Skarmory.

  Ran doesn’t even wait for the referee’s call this time, considering not only the sheer impact of Wing Attack, but also the earlier damage from Discharge. He simply hurriedly unclips Croagunk’s pokéball once more before recalling his team member.

  “You did great, Croagunk,” He murmurs to his recalled pokémon, before tersely examining Skarmory for a moment. It’s still standing on the ground at least and there’s a few small scuff marks on its chest armor, hard as they are to make out from the distance. With Golbat out already, he doesn’t have any aerial mobility of his own to counter Skarmory’s flight with, which is a major problem.

  Aria might be an option, thanks to her ability to slow Skarmory down and her ability to counter Skarmory’s mobility by getting close with Shadow Sneak or fighting at range with Night Shade. Especially considering Skarmory’s sheer toughness, Night Shade’s peculiarities, still poorly understood by all, might be able to do consistent damage. But Aria definitely won’t be able to take Skarmory out fast and that means he’d condemn her to fighting a flying-type for a prolonged amount of time, which seems inadvisable to say the least.

  Skorupi also has the bug-typing and doesn’t even offer the benefits that Aria does, under these circumstances. So he’s left with only a single logical option, far earlier in the match than he’d have liked.

  “Let’s go, Caesar, I’m counting on you!” Ran announces, sending out his starter with an uncertain flutter in his gut.

  His massive Arbok appears in the middle of Ran’s side of the field with a deep hiss, his massive body coiling and flexing as his head whips around for a moment, before he locks directly on to Skarmory’s beady gaze with his own sharp stare. It’s deeply satisfying to see Skarmory now be the one who’s clearly intimidated, as it hunches down just slightly, head lowering a fraction to point its triangular crest defensively at Caesar.

  “Glare.” Ran commands immediately, hoping to finally regain the initiative in their match once more.

  “Drill Peck.” Jasmine counters calmly, her Skarmory obediently taking wing even as it has to shake off a clear sense of discomfort from Caesar’s Glare.

  With Skarmory forced to first take flight before it can set up a run for its Drill Peck, Caesar has time for one more move. Ran hesitates for just a moment, before deciding to go for the long-term strategy.

  “Stockpile!” He instructs, intent on further building up Caesar’s ability to last in a slugfest.

  Caesar obliges immediately, eyes closing in concentration for a moment as his whole form inflates slightly, muscles under his purple scales flexing as he pulls on normal-type energy to bolster his defenses. Up above on the other side of the field, Skarmory circles once, up in the sky, before setting up an attacking run on Caesar, who continues to carry out Stockpile.

  Skarmory comes falling out of the sky almost like a comet, diving initially before levelling out once it's gained enough speed, blurring towards Caesar like a silver bullet. It moves too fast for Ran to be able to tell, but from what he knows, flying-type energy is violently circling along the tip of its beak-mouth in preparation for impact.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The impact is resounding, with Caesar actually getting thrown to the side partially as Skarmory rams into him. The steel-flying-type can’t push its advantage however, as it's forced to pull up to maintain enough speed to remain airborne, rather than pouncing properly on Caesar and engaging him in a fight on the ground. Ran examines Caesar from the distance, noticing a clear bruise where Skarmory landed his hit, before confidently concluding that Caesar can take multiple Drill Pecks before they really need to worry. Especially with Black Sludge to slowly heal his starter up, his next order, once he hears Jasmine call for another Drill Peck, is given with confidence.

  “Greet it with Fire Fang.” He states, Caesar offering a nod in acknowledgement, but otherwise not able to spare his trainer any attention as he tracks Skarmory’s circling form overhead.

  A few tense seconds pass, before from one moment to the next, Skarmory transitions into another dive. Caesar is ready for him however, mouth gaping open and long fangs burning with flame as he readies for the clash.

  Skarmory’s top speed is impressive and for a moment Ran worries that Caesar will be caught out and not manage to land his own attack, but his worries prove unfounded. With the frightening short burst speed he’s capable of, Caesar’s head snaps forwards at just the right time, Fire Fang slamming into Skarmory’s neck and drawing burning trails down its neck armor even as it carries on and rams into Caesar’s side.

  The collision takes less than a second, then Caesar is thrown clear and Skarmory hurriedly ascends once more, as both pokémon and their trainers take stock of the exchange’s results. What he sees is enough for Ran to smile confidently, with the blow Caesar landed clearly having inflicted more damage than what Skarmory managed to inflict in turn. Neither pokémon is close to fainting yet, with neither attack having landed debilitating damage by any means, but between the earlier chip damage Croagunk managed to apply to Skarmory and the effects of Caesar’s intimidating presence and Stockpile, Ran is confident that this is a grinding exchange they’ll come out ahead in.

  As such, he doesn’t give any further instructions when he notices that Jasmine doesn’t either, willing to let the attack pattern continue without disruption. Somewhat worryingly, Jasmine’s analysis seems to differ from his own, as she also simply lets her Skarmory continue to line up its next Drill Peck.

  Once more, the steelclad raptor dives down and, once more, Caesar’s fangs gleam with flame as he greets his opponent with Fire Fang. The impact is once more powerful, but this time, Skarmory is undeniably slower as it takes flight once more, its flight clearly more labored now than it was before. Caesar for his part has also taken a knock, but Ran can tell that his starter has significantly more left in the tank than his opponent. It’s a good thing that he does, because there’s two more opponents left after Skarmory, after all.

  Still, from the way Skarmory’s flight appears labored, its steel armor glowing red hot and warped in places from the consecutive Fire Fangs, Ran can tell that their opponent is on its last wings. So, when it starts to line up for another Drill Peck, he quietly and confidently watches as Caesar tracks its flight, preparing to land a final, decisive Fire Fang when it draws near enough.

  However, that’s when Jasmine surprises him with a command he’s not at all happy to hear her give.

  “Brave Bird.”

  Rather than just building up flying-type energy around its beak-mouth, Skarmory’s entire body is wreathed in the translucent white energy, a mantle coating the beast as its straight line speed increases noticeably. Its diving run towards Caesar is hard to track, any details nigh-impossible to make out as Skarmory simply becomes a glowing white blur which throws itself directly at Caesar, its wings tucked in.

  Caesar is undeterred, meeting Skarmory’s incoming charge with Fire Fang as he lashes out just in time, barely managing to adjust his timing for his foe’s increased speed. The impact is resounding, both pokémon tangling together this time, rather than the previous hits where Skarmory landed a ramming hit before flying on. Because of this, it’s hard to make out the finer details of what happens for a few crucial moments, but when both pokémon come to a stop, Ran can let out a relieved sigh.

  Caesar is conscious and, though clearly rattled and damaged, he confidently and calmly regathers himself, before sliding back down to the ground from his newfound elevated position. An elevated position he’s achieved thanks to the unconscious form of Skarmory beneath him.

  As Caesar returns to the ground and calmly starts to slither back to Ran’s side of the field, the referee’s loud voice rings out hurriedly, clearly set on not being beaten to the punch once more.

  “SKARMORY IS UNABLE TO BATTLE, GYM LEADER JASMINE, SELECT YOUR NEXT POKéMON!” He shouts energetically, drawing an assenting nod from Jasmine, something Ran can only tell from the distance he’s at due to the way her long hair shifts. She recalls Skarmory, before sending out a new pokémon Ran’s never seen before.

  “Laiiirooooooooon.” The massive quadrupedal steel-type that’s appeared on the field croons, as it takes in its surroundings, before its large, bright blue eyes narrow when it notices Caesar.

  Ran examines the Lairon, if he heard that right, taking in more of its details. It’s clearly and indisputably a steel-type, with its back covered in segmented armor that has a high ridge running along the middle, as well as round dark holes along the sides. Underneath the segmented back armor lies a dark gray body that’s best described as stocky, with short, squat legs resting heavily on the ground. It’s an impressive sight, though for all that there’s clearly weight to it, from the way its testing footsteps throw up small clouds of dust, it doesn’t appear particularly fast.

  Unsure of just what it’s capable of, Ran hesitates for a moment. The temptation to set up another Stockpile and take what time they can to heal up with Black Sludge is significant, but the risk of Lairon having some kind of non-verbal command trained in, like Magnemite before it, is too great to risk it.

  “Get in there with Fire Fang, Caesar!” Ran orders, relying on the super-effective fire-type attack to give them an edge.

  Unfortunately, Jasmine’s responding order makes it very clear that if there was any advantage to be gained there, then her Lairon is equipped to respond in kind.

  “Bulldoze.” She states simply, still somehow speaking softly.

  As Caesar slithers forwards at speed, Lairon breaks into a jog of its own, moving to meet the Arbok in the middle of the field, small jets of dirt thrown up with each step it takes. Both pokémon collide in the middle of the field, with Caesar lurching his body upwards the last moment, before diving down upon the back of Lairon’s neck from above, looking for the gap where the first plate of segmented back armor ends and the second begins.

  At the same time, Lairon rams into the middle of Caesar’s body, pushing Ran’s starter back and partially trampling over him. It isn’t enough to deter Caesar’s Fire Fang from striking, but even from the distance he’s watching from, Ran can tell that Lairon’s armor plates did their job, with Caesar’s attack not having managed to exploit any weaknesses.

  “Wrap! Don’t let it get away!” Ran instructs hurriedly, not wanting to give Lairon an opportunity to build up speed again or to let it profit from the slowing effects of Bulldoze.

  Caesar immediately obeys, lower body winding around Lairon’s form from front to back, an attempt to wind a loop across its belly failing due to its limited ground clearance. Still, Caesar wraps it up successfully, as he starts to squeeze. Not that Ran expects any major successes from a normal-type attack on a steel-type, but any additional damage Wrap manages is a nice little bonus, rather than the main purpose of Wrap in this instance.

  It’s far more important that Lairon can’t get away, as Caesar doesn’t even need an order from Ran to start preparing another Fire Fang, though continuing to muster up sufficient fire-type energy is clearly growing increasingly taxing, considering the clear delay between Caesar opening his mouth and actual flames sparking from his fangs. Still, though Bulldoze clearly hurt him, something Ran becomes more aware of the longer he looks at Caesar’s battered form, they’re in position to claw the match back properly.

  “Roll into Heavy Slam.” Jasmine instructs, finally giving an instruction that’s just a bit longer than merely giving the name of a move.

  If Lairon’s legs were longer, Ran might have had some hope that Caesar could more fully immobilize his opponent and prevent it from rolling over entirely, but under the circumstances there’s nothing he can do but watch as Caesar bites down with another Fire Fang. The next moment, Lairon rolls over, its full weight pressing down heavily on Caesar as he gets squished into the ground by his far heavier opponent.

  The impact is so great that Lairon actually manages to break free of Caesar’s grip. By the time Jasmine’s third battler makes it back to his four feet, he’s left Caesar wrung out against the ground behind him, though Ran’s starter isn’t out of the fight yet.

  “Fire Fang!” Ran orders urgently, hoping to land another super-effective attack to Lairon’s side before it can spin around to face Caesar once more.

  “Iron Head.” Jasmine counters calmly.

  Caesar isn’t fast enough, needing just a moment too long to gain his bearings and muster up enough fire-type energy for yet another Fire Fang. When he lurches forwards to snap at Lairon’s flank, the small colossus - a peculiar contradiction that nevertheless seems fitting - is already turning, meeting Caesar’s Fire Fang with its own hard head. The resulting impact rings like a gong, a pained cry ripping out of Lairon as it staggers backwards.

  For a moment Ran wants to cheer, only for said cheer to come out as a strangled groan, as he notices that, whilst Lairon was clearly hit hard and has taken some damage, it’s still standing and still more than in fighting shape. On the other hand, Caesar didn’t produce a cry or hiss of his own, because he’s been knocked out cold, his long form laying limply against the ground following the impact, the visible effects of Stockpile slowly fading away and, through the peculiarities of pokémon biology, at least mending some of the inflicted damage.

  “ARBOK IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! CHALLENGER, SELECT YOUR FINAL POKéMON!” The referee demands, one hand pointing up at Ran dramatically.

  Ran recalls Caesar and examines the field as he takes a deep breath. He’s got either Aria or Skorupi left. To face a Lairon that, from what he can tell, isn’t done yet by a long shot, as well as whatever fourth pokémon Jasmine is keeping in reserve. A Steelix? It’s the pokémon she’s known for, in the same way that Whitney is known for Miltank. Plus, at a fifth-badge level, a Steelix would be a major challenge, but not woefully unfair.

  Even if it isn’t a Steelix, Scizor and Forretress both feel like impossible challenges as well, under the circumstances. Which is all assuming that Aria or Skorupi even makes it past Lairon in the first place. Even as the referee calls for him to make his selection again, urging him to keep the time limit in mind, Ran realizes that he’s effectively already lost.

  For a moment, he considers forfeiting entirely.

  But he owes it to his team members to let them try.

  “Come on out, Aria!” He announces, opting for the older and sturdier Aria, who has the durability that comes with evolution to increase her ability to take hits, over Skorupi.

  Aria the Ariados appears on Ran’s half of the field, mandibles clicking together worriedly at the sight of the imposing pokémon opposing her. Lairon for its part turns to eye Aria critically, one squat leg scraping at the ground agitatedly, as if eager to get to grips with her.

  “Night Shade!” Ran calls out, opting for the one answer Aria has for a defensive wall like Lairon appears to be.

  Unfortunately, whilst he’s gratified to see Aria call upon the ghost-type energy easily, he’s far less happy to hear the order Jasmine gives, as she reveals Lairon to have more in its toolbox than just steel- and ground-type attacks.

  “Rock Slide.”

  “Dodge it!” He commands instinctively, even as he realizes the futility of his words.

  Aria is fully committed to executing Night Shade, a large spectral mirage of herself leaping out of her body and closing the distance to Lairon in the blink of an eye before impacting with a vicious bite, its enormous mandibles gripping Lairon from either side. Then, the mirage dissolves into ghost-type energy which spreads across the steel-type’s exterior, clearly wracking its form for a few long moments. It isn’t enough to deter Lairon however, as it counters with a few heavy stomps, rock-type energy injecting into the ground and forming two large boulders which rise up out of the ground like over-large molehills before coalescing into more spherical shapes and breaking free from the ground they sprung from.

  The next moment, the rocks are sent flying through the air at Aria, whose eyes widen in fright. She tries to pull herself to the side by firing a thick strand of string from her rear and towards the wall to the side, but before she can manage any meaningful dodge, the rock salvo connects with a pair of meaty thuds. The stones slam into her with such force that they break, Aria’s legs buckling as she crumples to the ground for a moment.

  She isn’t down for the count yet however, as after a moment Aria manages to regain her footing, whilst Lairon is also visibly wounded and winded at this point.

  Feeling some spark of hope, Ran eagerly cheers Aria on, “Again, Aria!”

  “Very well.” Jasmine seems to sigh.

  Lairon is swifter to act this time, two more boulders already coalesced and flying towards Aria before her own Night Shade can impact. She still executes the attack flawlessly, Her spectral form biting down once more on Lairon’s sides and drawing a metallic keening cry from Lairon that’s unpleasant to say the least. The exotic steel-type actually falls, its legs giving out as it lands flat on its belly and its head sags to the ground.

  But any celebration is cut short by the impact of Rock Slide, which slams into Aria with just as much power as its earlier salvo. It’s enough for Aria to be knocked out, the dust of the broken boulders clearing to reveal her unconscious form.

  The referee glances from one pokémon to the other, clearly preparing to announce a double knock-out, when there’s movement on the field.

  Lairon slowly, laboriously, regains its feet, its large form trembling with pain and exhaustion, but clearly triumphant. Aria for her part doesn’t budge, well and truly unconscious.

  “ARIADOS IS UNABLE TO BATTLE, THE CHALLENGER IS OUT OF POKéMON, GYM LEADER JASMINE WINS!” The referee announces energetically, hands chopping wildly and hips gyrating enthusiastically as he announces the match result.

  The crowd cheers and applauds their Gym leader, as Ran takes in the referee’s words.

  He saw and felt the match turning against him. He knew he was losing towards the end. But… He’s actually lost?