Chương 43: Chapter 41

I actually had to wait to fight Wallace, which I wasn't expecting. There were supposed to be fewer trainers around, but a number of them had been waiting to take on Sootopolis Gym. Wallace had apparently been absent for the past few weeks to run the annual Wallace Cup, so there was a backlog of trainers who wanted to fight the actual Gym Leader instead of the temporary Gym Leader, Juan, who was Wallace's old mentor.

Encouraging that behavior was also the rumor that Wallace was easier than Juan, but that was completely wrong. People didn't know that Wallace was skilled enough to be the Champion. In the games, Wallace was the Champion of Hoenn after Steven, and had a short reign as Champion in the anime as well. The topic of Hoenn's Champion had been mostly avoided in the Hoenn anime, but he was finally explicitly stated to be the Champion during the Sinnoh involving the Wallace Cup.

Since the Wallace Cup had just ended, and Wallace clearly wasn't the Champion, it seemed like the Champion of Hoenn was still Steven in this world. People were losing to Wallace, and they were repeatedly forced to come back for a rematch if they wanted to earn the Rain Badge. Wallace was the epitome of a Type Specialist; he practically embodied his type. Cool, graceful, but able to come down on his opponents like a tidal wave. Few could withstand him in battle.

After seeing his performance, I was honestly starting to idolize him. There were two aspects that all Type specialists had to master: familiarity with Pokémon, and mastery of the Type itself. All Gym Leaders in this region were skilled with Pokémon of their Type, with Norman standing at the peak, having a complete understanding of Normal Types with Slaking as his specialty. Wallace was different, however. His understanding far surpassed just advanced knowledge of Water Type Pokémon.

Wallace had completely mastered the Water Type itself. He knew its traits, how to best use Water Types moves both in battles and out, as well as all the little details that would be missed by normal trainers. I was jealous of how in tune he was with his chosen Type, and hoped I could eventually reach that mastery with the Fairy Type some day. Wally and I waited two hours for our challenge, since two people were ahead of us. We had already decided I was going first, which I didn't mind because I was itching to go.

My team was stronger than ever, and Mawile hadn't fought in a Gym Battle yet. I would be handing over Cottonee and Ponyta to Wally so they could watch my battle alongside him. I hoped to show off what my team could do. I was let into the back room of the fancy, mansion-like Gym while Wally headed over to the stands for the audience. Before I entered, I was informed that Wallace would be using a six star team, which was the same as my previous Gym Battle against Norman.

I didn't know how to feel about not warranting a seven star team, but each star increase was a larger gap in strength than the previous, so a six star team close to seven stars was much stronger than a team that had only just earned its sixth star. I hoped it didn't mean Wallace would be equal to Norman, but would instead mean his team was nearing seven stars. When I emerged into the arena room, I was surprised to see a significantly different battlefield than I expected.

Before, all fields had been compacted dirt fields or hard tile floors, with the largest exception being Roxanne's field that had boulders and stones spread around. Wallace's field looked like someone had ripped out a lakeside and transplanted it here. The challenger's side was an uneven, grass-covered field that slowly faded into a sandy shore in the center of the battlefield, and the other half was a large pool of water complete with slow waves.

Wallace was standing in the Gym Leader's trainer box wearing a white sailor's cap and a large white robe that covered his whole body. A Gym Trainer wearing a blue referee sweatshirt stood at the side.

"This will be a five-on-five battle between Gym Leader Wallace and Challenger Alex," the referee announced once I entered my trainer box.

"Each side will have four switches at their disposal. The battle will end once one trainer's team is no longer able to battle. Trainers, are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Indeed."

"Then send out your Pokémon and begin!" I grabbed the Dive Ball off my belt and sent out Azumarill. While her Water Type moves wouldn't be very effective against another Water Type, she was still strong enough to be a serious threat to whatever Pokémon Wallace sent out to lead. Wallace didn't send out his Pokémon immediately, but threw his arms back and knocked the white cloak off his back with a dramatic "Aha!", revealing a loose green and purple top that exposed his stomach.

The surprisingly packed audience screeched in excitement, and I noticed Wally cover his ears next to them. Both Ponyta and Cottonee sat at his side, watching the field, undisturbed by the people around them and excited for the upcoming battle. Wallace sent out his first Pokémon, and a bipedal green frog coalesced from light and appeared in the water. It swam to the edge of the shore and stood up on its back legs.

It hopped on each foot and clapped excitedly, causing storm clouds to form above the battlefield as its ability, Drizzle, made it rain. On a necklace around its neck, a small stone with blue crystals started to glow, enhancing the weather with the ancient energy stored within its crystals. That item was a Damp Rock, a held item that increased how long the rain lasted. As for the Pokémon Wallace had sent out, it was a Politoed, and it looked to be in a good mood for this battle.

Azumarill saw that and grinned maliciously, causing Politoed to unconsciously step back after seeing her expression. Azumarill managed to move first when the fighting properly began. Before Politoed could use any moves, Azumarill held up a paw and made a "come at me" gesture while smirking at Politoed. The frog became angry despite its normally jolly nature and stomped its webbed feet in rage.

"Politoed, dear, would you kindly demonstrate a Hydro Pump?" Wallace requested. Unfortunately, Politoed was able to process its orders despite its angry confusion. It opened its mouth and let loose a spiraling, pressurized jet of water. Azumarill was able to dodge with Aqua Jet by side-stepping the attack, then moved to get closer to Politoed.

"Azumarill, no Water Type moves. Work your attacks!" I shouted. Azumarill bent forward, ready to attack after hearing my command. The command I gave her was code to focus on whatever attacks she felt like she could manage, but also to buff herself with Work Up when she felt safe to do so. It was a simple strategy, but would make the most out of her enhanced strength. Politoed kicked up sand off the shore in its confused anger, too out of it to use another Hydro Pump.

Azumarill got in close using Aqua Jet then forcibly slapped her open hand into Politoed's stomach with a smile, using Play Rough. The frog bent over and coughed up water in pain. Azumarill brought her hand back for another attack, but Politoed snapped out of confusion and spat up a weak Mud Shot into her face. She stumbled back from the unexpected retaliation and wiped her eyes. While Azumarill was distracted by the mud, Politoed jumped high in the air with Bounce and aimed to land straight on Azumarill.

Azumarill took the brief moment where Politoed was out of range to use Work Up, but Politoed landed on her immediately after. She grabbed the impacting frog and suplexed it, of all things, into the ground behind her. The sand on the shore was knocked up, and Politoed just barely managed to climb back to its feet after that Work Up-boosted Superpower. Wallace spoke up to give the next command.

"Politoed, Dive then entrap." Politoed leaped off the platform and swan dived into the water behind it. That was bad for us, since even though Azumarill was a Water Type, she struggled to get deep underwater quickly due to her oil-filled tail. Politoed was clearly one move away from fainting, but its Dive would let it easily avoid Azumarill. If Wallace wants to stall, then we can take advantage of that.

"Azumarill, buff up!" I called out. Azumarill started to breathe in a regular pattern while her eyes scanned over the water to search for Politoed. Work Up started to take effect, hyping her up for the next clash and enhancing her physical power. However, my command played right into Wallace's hands. Politoed surfaced right in the middle of a usage of Work Up. Azumarill was unable to switch what move she was using, and Politoed demonstrated what exactly the "entrap" command it received was.

The frog stayed floating and clapped excitedly at Azumarill. Azumarill's eyes glazed over and she chuckled, losing a bit of her normal hostility and started to use Work Up again, not attacking. Azumarill had been subjected to Politoed's Encore. That move spelt trouble, since its effect tricked Azumarill to only use Work Up for the next short while thanks to Politoed cheering for her to do so. Politoed would be able to attack freely without retaliation since Azumarill wouldn't be able to use any damaging moves.

Azumarill disappeared in a flash light.

"I'm using my first switch," I called out to the referee. To replace Azumarill, I sent out Florges. I wanted to save her super effective Grass Type moves for a tougher Pokémon, but her high defenses would let her withstand multiple Hydro Pumps from Politoed, even if they were boosted by the rain. She appeared on the damp field, and as soon as the battle resumed, thick grass grew out over the entire shoreline thanks to her Grassy Terrain.

However, as soon as that move finished, Wallace used his own first switch, recalling Politoed.

"I can already tell your Florges embodies the grace I love to see in a Fairy Type. However, it was a mistake to think that Grass Type moves were the solution to my Water Type beauties." Wallace tossed forward a Pokéball and a green pineapple-like Pokémon with a thick lily pad growing out of its head and a duck-like mouth appeared on the now grassy shore and started dancing in place. It was a Ludicolo, and its Grass Type meant that it could make even better usage of the Grassy Terrain than Florges could.

I honestly panicked a little seeing it, and decided to focus a little more heavily on defense.

"Florges, Calm Mind twice, Moonblast and Wish when ready." Florges floated into the air and closed her eyes. She hummed and cleared her mind of any extraneous thoughts. Psychic Type energy assisted that endeavor, cycling through her mind twice over to massively enhance her focus, allowing her to deal more damage with her attacks, and allowing her to move just right to reduce the damage of any incoming special move. Ludicolo dashed forward, running at an unexpectedly fast speed for such a large Pokémon.

Its ability, Swift Swim, let the rain coat its body with a thin layer of water that invigorated it and let it move faster. Additionally, the lily pad on its head started to collect the falling water in preparation to absorb the liquid and heal Ludicolo when it was damaged, thanks to its other ability, Rain Dish. The current weather was massively enhancing Ludicolo's battle capabilities.

Despite Florges's attempts to float away from Ludicolo, Ludicolo was faster and moved right underneath her, spitting out several large seeds. She spun to dodge, but the seeds cracked open and entangling vines extended out then wrapped around her body. The vines glowed red and they started to drain her vitality. The Leech Seed would passively send that stolen energy to Ludicolo, healing it as Florges was damaged.

Florges finished using her second Calm Mind, but Ludicolo used an Ice Beam, freezing a chunk of ice on one of her lower leaves. The attack didn't hurt her that much since her defenses reduced how much damage she sustained, but the chunk of ice briefly slowed her down midair. Ludicolo took advantage of that brief delay to charge up a green ball of energy in its mouth and shot it at Florges, hitting her with the Grass Type move, Energy Ball, that had been empowered by the energies from Grassy Terrain.

However, even with the boosted damage, Florges was still able to take minimal damage thanks to the boost from Calm Mind. She floated as high as she could go in the air, and puffed out faint pink dust to heal herself with Aromatherapy. While she wasn't fully frozen, the move still removed the chunk of ice that was slowing her down. Unfortunately, the Leech Seeds remained, and Florges continued to slowly lose health.

Despite being moderately injured, Florges looked back down and an image of the moon appeared behind her. Pink energy coalesced in the air in front of her, and a Moonblast sailed forth towards Ludicolo. Ludicolo tried to jump back and attempted to make the most of its boosted speed to dodge, but Florges's enhanced focus let her more accurately control the pink orb and it slammed into Ludicolo's body. Wallace clearly had enough, and called for Ludicolo to switch its strategies.

"Ignore anything from range. Use your magnificent speed to attack her up close." Ludicolo gained a serious expression on its face and crouched down, preparing itself. It obscured its face dramatically by tilting its lily pad hat downwards, then jumped straight up towards Florges. Both Florges and I were caught off guard by the unexpected movement, and Ludicolo grabbed her out of the air where she was floating.

Before she could retaliate, it moved her to be under its stomach and fell to the ground, using the force of gravity to enhance a Body Slam as they both crashed into the soil. Ludicolo hopped back and readied itself, since Florges was now laying flat in the indent the impact created. However, she managed to use a Moonblast from her prone position and smashed Ludicolo in its stomach with a pink orb of Fairy Type energies.

Clearly, Ludicolo didn't expect Florges to attack without picking herself back up, and it was not able to properly defend itself. It took the full damage of the move, which was powerful enough to knock it back and skip across the water. However, despite how much damage the two Moonblasts had dealt, Ludicolo was still conscious thanks to the Grassy Terrain healing, the passive healing from Rain Dish, and the energy it had absorbed with Leech Seed.

Florges finally got back up now that she could do so safely, and started to prepare a third Moonblast while Ludicolo was still recovering from the last one. However, Wallace recalled Ludicolo with his second switch before the attack finished, and Florges was forced to cancel her move.

"You did a marvelous job, Ludicolo," he said.

"Quagsire, you're up." In a burst of light, a dopey looking Water Type appeared on the grassy sand of the shoreline. It had a simple smile on its face and opened its mouth to call out its name.

"Quaaaaagsiiiiiire." Florges floated back and prayed for a Wish, while Quagsire simply walked forward. As it approached, the water of the stage rose behind it and formed a towering wave. The attack was too large to disrupt, so Florges braced herself to prepare for the incoming Surf. I wasn't worried much about the attack since with Florges's training she could resist a special move like Surf with ease, but the force of the impact caught both of us off guard.

The water slammed into the ground, knocking Florges off balance and carrying her with it. The attack dealt more damage than either of us expected. Florges picked herself off the ground and moved to try to reach the healing star of Wish. However, she wasn't the only Pokémon that had been carried by Surf, and Quagsire was already next to her. Before she could leave the ground, Quagsire jumped up and slammed back down, creating an Earthquake that rattled Florges and caused her to faint.

The Wish landed pathetically next to her unconscious body, too late to take effect. I returned Florges, honestly confused about how Quagsire dealt so much damage so quickly.

"Ah, I see that Quagsire has caught you unaware," Wallace said.

"Hah, forgive me for that joke. Quagsire's ability is 'Unaware,' which lets his attacks ignore any defensive boosts that would reduce his damage. Quagsire's nature is far too simple to fall for any tricks, so he is always able to use the full force of his capabilities." Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Some members of the audience cheered for Wallace since he had just fainted the first Pokémon of the battle.

I pressed my lips into a line to consider who to send out next. Wallace had already been tougher than I expected, and I hadn't managed to faint any of his Pokémon just yet. I knew he would be tough since he was the Champion in one of the games, so I had to think this through. Both the rain and the Grassy Terrain ended while I was thinking, and while I didn't mean to stall, it did mean Wallace's Water Type moves would be weaker.

Thinking she would be the best option, given her skill to overwhelm her foes in melee, I sent out Azumarill once more. Upon seeing Quagsire's dopey face, she turned to look at me questioningly.

"It fainted Florges with ease. Be careful out there." Understanding not to underestimate Quagsire based on its looks, Azumarill turned around to focus on her opponent with a newfound battlelust. The battle resumed quickly after that. The first to move was, surprisingly, Quagsire. It jumped in the air and back down for another Earthquake, and Azumarill wobbled as the earth under her broke apart and violently shook.

She was able to get an Aqua Ring up after the attack, but the Earthquake combined with Politoed's Bounce from earlier meant she was already decently wounded and it would be awhile before she was fully healed. Azumarill lunged forward to grab Quagsire, not needing to use Aqua Jet since it was on my side of the field when Florges fainted. She wrapped her arms around each side of Quagsire's body then lifted it up over her head.

She spun around, flipped Quagsire upside down, then pushed its face into the dirt as she twirled, dragging its head through the sandy ground with an exceptionally cruel Play Rough. From its position in her arms, Quagsire spat out a steaming spray of water onto Azumarill's stomach. She wasn't in a position to dodge, and the boiling water it produced created burns across her body.

The Scald hadn't dealt much damage to her, but had inflicted the burn condition, which would both hurt Azumarill over time and reduce how much force she could put into her attacks. Her physical power was effectively cut in half. The pain of the burn was reduced by the healing effect of Aqua Ring, letting Azumarill ignore the pain as she shoved Quagsire to the floor with a weakened Play Rough. Unfortunately, Quagsire withstood the hit thanks to Azumarill's reduced strength and it pushed to its feet soon after.

Azumarill tried to grab Quagsire to use Superpower while it was focusing on standing up, but Quagsire moved in close to Azumarill and used Body Slam, impacting her with its full bulk and knocking her back a fair distance. Considering that Ludicolo had also used Body Slam, I was starting to think Wallace had a TM for it. Azumarill was seriously damaged at this point, having sustained several high power, damaging moves.

She was still standing thanks to Aqua Ring negating the damage from her burn, but Quagsire had decent defenses of its own and was much better off. She readied herself to move in for another attack, but Quagsire took advantage of the distance Body Slam created and used a wide-ranged Earthquake to finally take her out. I returned Azumarill and frowned. It might be pretty injured now, but that Quagsire is a lot tougher than I expected.

I'm already down two Pokémon, whereas Wallace still has all of his left, though three of his are seriously damaged. I need to be careful with my next choice. After taking a moment to think about it, I sent out Altaria. Earthquake was by far Quagsire's strongest move, and Altaria could avoid that attack by flying in the air above it. To start the battle, Altaria drifted up and circled around Quagsire.

The Water Type tried to burn him with Scald, but a simple turn in the air let him easily dodge the attack from a distance. In retaliation, he shot out a glowing orb of bright purple and white draconic energy straight at Quagsire. The Dragon Pulse dug into Quagsire's body before it could dodge, and it stumbled on its feet. At Wallace's orders, Quagsire repeated the attack and this time it hit Altaria. Luckily he didn't sustain any burns but had still taken damage from Scald.

Since Quagsire was now close to fainting thanks to all of the damage it had taken so far, I called out for Altaria to use a move that was near impossible to dodge.

"Disarming Voice!" The Fairy Type sound waves tore into Quagsire and the unaware Pokémon finally fainted. Wallace smiled at its defeat.

"I've been having a wonderful battle so far, Alex. I was wondering how an Altaria fit on your team, but it moves with the same grace and elegance as your Azumarill," Wallace said. What?

"I, uh, no one has ever called Azumarill graceful or elegant before. Are you sure you're talking about the right Pokémon?" I asked. Wallace chuckled.

"Your Azumarill has an incredible mastery over physical combat for her level. I have trained Water Types long enough to be able to recognize when one puts as much effort into their training as she had." I didn't say anything else to think about his compliment, and honestly, he was right. She was the member of my team most dedicated to training, so it was no wonder he thought the way she fought was "elegant." Although, I think we have different definitions of elegant.

Wallace sent out his next Pokémon and it was a repeat. Ludicolo appeared on the shore of the battlefield, and Altaria continued to fly above it. Altaria started with a Dragon Pulse, like he had with Quagsire. Ludicolo didn't dodge and shot an Ice Beam at it, causing the attack to break apart and dissipate. Neither Altaria nor I expected his attack to be destroyed like that, and Ludicolo followed up by aiming that same Ice Beam into Altaria's wing.

As a Dragon and Flying Type Pokémon, Altaria was especially vulnerable to Ice Type moves. Almost immediately, his wing froze over and he plummeted towards the ground. Ludicolo got close to spit Leech Seeds at him, but Altaria was able to make the most of his new TM move, Flamethrower, to incinerate them before they got close. Ludicolo hopped over and jogged towards Altaria, ready to attack with a Body Slam.

"Cotton Guard!" I yelled, calling out for Altaria to use his powerful defense. Ludicolo impacted Altaria, but a sudden burst of white fluff caused it to practically bounce off as if it hit a mattress. Altaria sustained minor damage from that attack and positioned himself to heal with Roost. Ludicolo tried to hit the now stationary Altaria with an Ice Beam in response, but Ice Beam was no longer four times as effective against Altaria.

Now that he was using Roost, he had temporarily lost his Flying Type so the Ice Beam only hurt Altaria as if he was a pure Dragon Type.

"Bravo," Wallace called out as Ludicolo took a few steps back to figure out what to do next.

"It's rare for me to see Roost being used defensively like that. Ah, I might be fawning over your Altaria a bit too much. I suppose I am biased since my niece's partner had recently evolved. Hydro Pump, by the way." Ludicolo followed the new command with ease. While Altaria innately resisted the damage thanks to his Dragon Type, Hydro Pump was still a strong special move. However, he wasn't one to take an attack and do nothing in response.

Practically reading my mind for what to do next, Altaria screeched as hard as he could with Uproar. Hydro Pump was partially destabilized from the sound waves, and Ludicolo clutched the side of its head in pain. Considering that Florges had already seriously damaged Ludicolo with Moonblast earlier, it was no surprise the Uproar finished it off. Wallace opened his mouth to speak, but realized he wouldn't be able to say anything over Altaria's screaming. So instead he simply returned Ludicolo and sent out Politoed.

I was confused why he did that, since Politoed only managed to sit on the field for a few moments before it fainted to the continued use of Uproar. It served no purpose, and I wasn't a fan of that choice since it reminded me of how I lost against Norman. Altaria finished his Uproar once Politoed was returned, and Wallace cleared his throat.

"Even the most experienced of trainers can make a mistake." he said.

"But sometimes a poor choice was a well-intentioned choice. I could not stall and wait for Uproar to finish in the name of good sportsmanship, and I had intended to have Politoed recreate the Rain with his ability to prepare for my next Pokémon. However, it seems that you have done your research, and figured out and trained Altaria's hidden ability, Cloud Nine. Drizzle failed to activate, so my dear Politoed fainted without being able to change the weather. Well done, Alex.

It may not have been intentional, but I have been outplayed." It felt good to have Wallace compliment Altaria so much. As a Pokémon that started without knowing any moves, Altaria had come a long way to get where he was now. Wallace had been by far the most talkative Gym Leader I had battled, and I appreciated the numerous positive comments he had been throwing my way. It must be his experience with Contests rubbing off on him. He's used to an audience, and knows how to interact with them.

Wallace pulled out a small Pokéball from his pocket and it increased to its normal size in his hand. He glanced down at it for a moment, then smiled.

"Alas, no matter how trained your Altaria might be, it will not last long against my next Pokémon," he said.

"Let us continue." I frowned at that. He said it so confidently, he truly believed that Altaria wouldn't be able to win. I ran over the possibilities of what it could be in my mind while Wallace tossed the ball forward. What's it going to be? A fellow Dragon Type like Kingdra? Or perhaps an Ice Type like Cloyster? Oh no, he could be sending out his Milotic! The light on the field coalesced and I held my breath. When the glow broke, a diminutive form about the size of my head appeared in the water.

It was pink, small, and shaped like a heart. A Luvdisc. I felt my eye twitch but didn't say anything. As weak as Luvdisc was in the games, I couldn't judge a Pokémon by its appearance. As soon as the referee called to start, I gave my command. Altaria had finished Uproar, and had healed up with Roost. He was in decent shape for this battle, and the clear weather wasn't going to let Luvdisc benefit from its Swift Swim ability.

"Into the air and Dragon Pulse!" I yelled at Altaria.

"Disarming Voice if you are unable to hit it!" I followed up. In contrast to my orders, Wallace spoke only two words.

"Freeze it." Luvdisc let loose a powerful Ice Beam that struck Altaria in the side right when he was over the water. Ice froze almost half his body, and he immediately fell, interrupting his Dragon Pulse. In response, he used Disarming Voice to get some damage in before he hit the water. Okay, what is going on?! That Ice Beam was faster and more powerful than Ludicolo's. We need to be careful. Thankfully, ice was less dense than water and floated on the surface.

Altaria had no danger of drowning, but wasn't on land and couldn't use Roost. Luvdisc swam straight at Altaria and he used a Dragon Pulse to try to stop it. Thankfully, the attack managed to clip Luvdisc in its side, but the Water Type still managed to get close and plant a kiss on the top of Altaria's head. Altaria wobbled his long neck and flapped his wings chaotically. He squawked and flailed about in confusion, subjected to extreme bewilderment thanks to the effects of Sweet Kiss.

Luvdisc took advantage of Altaria's confusion to launch another powerful Ice Beam, which quickly fainted the bird as Ice encased his body. I returned Altaria and Wallace spoke up.

"Ah, please hand your ball over to the Gym Trainer that approaches. We have specialists to help with freezing." A Gym Trainer hurriedly ran out of the back room and I handed him Altaria's Love Ball. He scampered back out to begin healing Altaria as I sent out my next choice: Mawile. She appeared on the battlefield and took a ready stance. Unlike me, she properly recognized the threat Luvdisc posed and prepared herself for serious combat. The battle began and I called out a specific strategy.

"Shield defense." Mawile ran forward as fast as her legs could and positioned herself on the edge of the beach. Rather than attacking, Luvdisc swam in a circle and clouds started to form overhead. The space above the field darkened and rain started to pour down thanks to Luvdisc's Rain Dance. Luvdisc's speed was now doubled thanks to its Swift Swim ability. The Water Type poked its head up and shot out a Hydro Pump.

Following my command, Mawile brought her jaws forward to use like a riot shield to defend from the attack. She empowered them with Iron Defense, which, while intended to increase physical defense, would still reduce the damage from special moves just fine since the move increased how structurally solid her jaws were. Mawile's defense managed to minimize the damage from Luvdiscs Hydro Pump, but the heart shaped fish used the attack again.

Once more, Mawile weathered the damage, but then Luvdisc used Hydro Pump again. The onslaught continued for a total of five Hydro Pumps at which Luvdisc stopped to catch its breath. Each attack took a lot of energy to use, even with the boost from the rain, and Luvdisc was now breathing heavily from the exhaustion of using so many powerful attacks back to back. Mawile was the same, except she was tired from the damage she took.

She was soaked with water and I could tell she was sore from bracing herself from the attacks. However weak she was now, her defense with her jaws had reduced the damage, and Mawile had managed to stay conscious where my other Pokémon might have fainted. Wallace smiled as he watched Mawile, seemingly impressed, and called out an order for Luvdisc.

"Confuse it." Luvdisc sailed forward through the water, moving straight towards Mawile with its beak-like lips puckered for a Sweet Kiss. Mawile still held her jaws in front of her, but this was what I was waiting for.

"Now, Mawile!" The moment Luvdisc was in range, Mawile's jaws snapped forward and grabbed Luvdisc with a Vice Grip. While Mawile would never be able to catch up to a Swift Swim-boosted Luvdisc on foot, the one aspect that she was able to outspeed it in was the rate at which her jaws could snap forward, since her species was specialized in that one movement. Luvdisc used Flail while it was trapped in Mawile's jaws, wiggling violently to try to escape.

However, something as simple as a Normal Type move barely damaged Mawile thanks to her Steel Type anatomy. The teeth inside Mawile's jaws sparked as she bit down harder, using the Thunder Fang TM move I had bought specifically for this fight. Luvdisc flailed again, this time in pain from the super effect damage rather than in an attempt to escape. As soon as that was done, Luvdisc tried to puff up for a weaker Water Type attack, but it was caught off guard when Mawile released it and threw it in the air.

In credit to Luvdisc, it did manage to easily reorient itself after Mawile flung it straight up, and it shot a Water Pulse back down that hit Mawile head-on. Mawile clearly wasn't expecting that, and suffered the full force of her attack. I made a note to make sure Mawile wouldn't play with her prey in the future.

As Luvdisc approached the ground, it tried to aim another attack at Mawile, but just before it used a second Water Pulse, Mawile snuck in underneath it and landed a powerful Sucker Punch that knocked it out. Wallace returned Luvdisc with a calm expression on his face. He reached down and pulled out one final Pokéball and held it up to send out.

"I've received many challenges these past few days, but so few of them have let my final Pokémon battle. I wish you luck in your fight against it, Alex. May your Pokémon be graceful in defeat." From his side of the field, a large blue and white walrus Pokémon appeared. Its head had a mess of white fur, and its blue body was insulated by a layer of Thick Fat. It was a Walrein, a Water and Ice Type, and the final evolution of both Spheal and Sealeo.

The Walrein landed in the water and almost automatically, the entire lake began to rise. An absolutely massive Surf dwarfed the entire field, Walrein's attack far larger than what Quagsire had created. Mawile looked almost pathetic in comparison as practically every bit of water from the lake came crashing down towards her position. She tried to lessen the impact by smashing the oncoming wave with an Iron Head, but it made no difference and she was quickly swept away in the flood.

When the water levels came back down, Walrein was sitting in the center of the shore while Mawile laid fainted a few feet away. I returned the Steel Type and Wallace wordlessly smirked. Walrein was clearly his ace for six star fights, and it showed. However, I had specifically saved Ninetales for it. Using an Ice Type against an Ice Type would have been a mistake, but Ninetales was still a Fairy Type, and her Moonblast would be able to deal decent damage to Walrein.

Ninetales appeared on the battlefield and a hailstorm picked up, canceling the rain. The referee was barely able to tell us to start when both sides yelled out their commands.

"Crush it with Body Slam."

"Disappear, Ninetales!" Ninetales backed up into the snow and Walrein charged after her. To my dismay, the Ice Type managed to track her through the weather and chased her pretty accurately. However, before it crushed her under its bulk, she managed to get off a Confuse Ray that caused it to miss, but it almost immediately shrugged off the illusion-inflicted confusion without any effect.

"Let's get the ball rolling," Wallace calmly said. Walrein raised its head up and a ball of hardened ice formed above its mouth. It launched the Ice Ball at Ninetales, who dodged it with Quick Attack. Walrein immediately followed that up by continuing the move and creating another Ice Ball with a higher concentration of Ice Type energy. Each time it used the move, the damage would increase, so we would need to find a way to interrupt it if we wanted to win this fight.

"Circle it, Ninetales!" Ninetales rotated around Walrein and used a Calm Mind as she did so, taking advantage of the pause between her attacks. I kept a close eye on how Walrein would respond, not happy about how the Ice and Water Type was seemingly able to track Ninetales through her storm. Ninetales managed to dodge the second Ice Ball, but seeing the third one being created, we both recognized it would be too big to move out of the way. Luckily, I realized Ninetales knew the perfect move to stop it.

Following my command, Ninetales ran straight towards her foe. Walrein continued to keep its eyes on her, not willing to stop tracking her, but also not realizing that was exactly what she wanted. Right when Ninetales got close to Walrein, she unleashed a brilliant Dazzling Gleam that interrupted the Ice Ball before it could be shot forward. The Ice Ball destabilized and shattered as Walrein recoiled from shock.

The Dazzling Gleam penetrated Walrein's body with chaotic Fairy Type energies and managed to land in just the right way to deal critical damage. Ninetales followed that up with a Moonblast, finally able to use her new move in a Gym Battle, and impacted Walrein's chest. The walrus had been seriously injured at this point, but I noticed the injuries on its chest were healing. Of course! Its Ice Body ability lets it use the Ice Type energy contained in the hail around it to heal itself.

No wonder it could track Ninetales, it was too familiar with the weather to not notice something standing out. Walrein opened its mouth to launch a Water Pulse, which unfortunately hit Ninetales. She backed off before it could attack again, and Wallace shouted out a new command.

"Pin it with Body Slam." Walrein once more charged forward, using its flippers to move itself, but Ninetales ran away. She outsped it, but considering half the arena was filled with water, she was limited to where she could go. Or maybe...

"Use Ice Beam to freeze the water's surface and run on it!" I called out. Ninetales heard my command and ran straight at the lake, charging up an Ice Beam and freezing a straight line for her to run on. Walrein tried to follow her, but the ice cracked under its weight and it was forced to stop on the shore. Taking advantage of the delay, her eyes glowed blue and an Extrasensory twisted the space around Walrein. It roared in pain, but used its position next to the water to create another massive wave with Surf.

To absolutely everyone's surprise, Ninetales's ice bridge broke apart, but managed to stay together just enough to be carried onto the wave, with her still on it. The wave was sent forward, trying to crash Ninetales into the ground, but the ice floe underneath her let her stay at a set height. It was difficult for her to keep her balance, but she had done it. Ninetales was surfing. The wave shot forward with Ninetales riding it, and Walrein moving along with it.

Under Walrein's control, Surf twisted around the lake and moved to crash down into the shore. Ninetales saw this coming, and realized she had to do something before she was knocked out. With a display of incredible skill, she turned on her icy surfboard to face Walrein. An image of the moon appeared behind her, and Walrein tried to push her and the water into the ground before she could attack. However, the pink sphere of Moonblast still managed to shoot forward before Walrein's attack finished.

It impacted Walrein right when the water crashed into the ground, and the resulting massive splash obscured everyone's vision. When the water level sank back down, both Pokémon were revealed to be laying on the ground. The referee carefully looked them over to figure out what call to make, but that was when one of them moved. Shaking, injured, and horribly soaked, Ninetales pushed back up onto her feet. Walrein tried to sit back up, but collapsed onto the ground, fainted. We had won.

"Walrein is unable to battle. Challenger Alex wins," the referee called out. Wally shouted to cheer from the audience, and to my surprise, a few other people did as well. Most of the die-hard Wallace fans were glaring at me, but a good portion of those who watched had enjoyed the battle. Wallace returned his Walrein, and a metal bridge extended out from both trainer boxes and met in the middle of the field. I was impressed by that technology, this Gym was far more advanced than others I had seen in the past.

I returned Ninetales before approaching Wallace, then met him in the middle to shake his hand.

"That was a wonderful battle," he said.

"I doubt I'll have another one quite like that for a while. Congratulations on your victory, Alex. I'd say you've definitely earned the Rain Badge." I smiled and pocketed the metal pin he handed to me. He looked like he was about to leave, but I didn't want to lose this chance to talk to a trainer that had mastered their chosen Type as well as Wallace had.

"Before you go, Wallace," I said.

"I saw your show yesterday and was impressed at your mastery over the Water Type. As someone who is trying to become a Fairy Type specialist, would you have any tips for me to get better at my Type?"

"Oh, so you are a Fairy Type specialist? Forgive me, I had assumed you simply liked Pokémon of that Type. You do not fight like any Fairy Type specialists I have met."

"Oh." That honestly hurt to hear. It's true that I might not follow any strategy specific to the Fairy Type, but I thought my team at least made it obvious I was a specialist. To hear that from Wallace, someone who I considered to be a peak Type Specialist? It definitely hurt my self esteem. Wallace frowned.

"You must forgive me, I just unintentionally said something incredibly rude. Do not get me wrong, your team is in excellent condition. It just merely lacks the temperament most other Fairy Type specialists have." He paused for a moment to think.

"As an apology, would you like to have some tea with me before my next match? We can have a discussion about the Fairy Type, and I can have one of my Gym Trainers heal your Pokémon in the meantime. Is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, I suppose," I replied, still upset at his words from earlier.

"I'd love to learn what advice you can give me to become more in tune to the Fairy Type in the future." Wallace shot me a genuine smile. His appearance almost sparkled and I swear some members of the audience audibly swooned.

"Wonderful. Then follow me, I'll have one of my trainers retrieve your Pokémon once we arrive." And with that, I headed deeper into the Gym for a tea party with Wallace, and hopefully to have a conversation about how I could become a better Fairy Type specialist.