Training in Sprout Tower then a Badge to Earn :: Rei's Desires

Sneasel raised up his claws, the wind stinging as it whipped against him. However, he knew it would soon be over and did his best to hold his ground. He managed to keep his feet firmly planted, but was still pushed back a few feet from the force, as could be seen by the drag marks in the dirt on the arena floor. When the attack ceased, he lowered his claws sharply in preparation for his orders.

"Again!" Rei barked sharply, knowing well enough how her Pokémon was doing. She was clearly preferring the strategy of super effective hits for the battle. In all honesty though, it was an efficient strategy. Sneasel nodded, staring down his opponent. Quickly, he dashed around the arena to make himself a harder target. He kept his eyes on Pidgeotto, the blue orb forming once more in his mouth before releasing the icy beam again in the bird's direction.

It was impressive watching Sneasel take the powerful gust of wind with such grace, hardly moving as much as Falkner had expected. It was clear that Rei's Pokemon shared her determination to win this battle.

As Sneasel quickly moved about, trying to confuse his opponent, Pidgeotto had a rather difficult time keeping up. Though the bird had excellent vision and accuracy, it couldn't move as fast due to its injured wing, and when Sneasel unleashed another Ice Beam it was already a sure hit. Pidgeotto braced itself as it felt the sting of the ice coating its wings, chilling all the way to the bone. It fell into a nosedive, not wanting to move because of the sharp pain in its wings.

"Come on, Pidgeotto! Don't go down like this!" Falkner shouted. He tried to keep his composure, but he couldn't help but panic inside whenever he saw his father's bird Pokemon in pain.

Pidgeotto still didn't want to move, but it knew hitting the ground would hurt even more. It managed to pull up a bit and spread its wings just enough to glide down to the ground. The landing was a bit rough, but it was better than crashing without even attempting to break the fall. It seemed the bird was grounded for now, but that wouldn't render it useless.

Falkner knew he was in trouble. He wasn't about to give up, however, and he issued another attack. "Go, and use Tackle!"

Pidgeotto lowered its head and began rushing towards Sneasel, hoping to ram right into the Dark type and cause some damage.

"Sneasel!" Rei shouted, trying to get his attention. However, the cocky Pokémon was still enjoying his small victory, turning just in time to feel Pidgeotto's head butt right into him, sending him tumbling back. Trying to redeem himself, he turned the tumble into a graceful backflip and landed on his feet. 

"This is drawing down..." Rei said, staring coldly at the scene. "Crush Claw," she ordered flatly. It might not have the same super effective power, but with its base power, it was sure to still do some good damage should it land. Sneasel rushed, running at the weakened bird and raising his claw up. He jumped at him, slashing down hard in attempt to hit the bird under his powerful claw.

Falkner was pleased to know his bird Pokemon could still do some damage even while grounded, however, his pleasure was short-lived. Sneasel easily shook off the weak attack and went in for a crushing blow.

Pidgeotto was nowhere near as fast on the ground as it was in the air. Falkner knew this, so he issued his orders as quickly as he could. "Sand Attack! Try to throw him off!"

The bird quickly kicked up sand in Sneasel's direction, but it was too little too late. Pidgeotto let out a cry as it felt the Dark type's claws slash through its feathers. Stumbling around for a few moments, Pidgeotto wasn't quite ready to give up, but it couldn't hold itself upright any longer. It fell over, unable to battle.

Foe Pidgeotto fainted! Dratini gained 6 exp! Sneasel gained 7 exp!

Dratini grew to level 10! Sneasel grew to level 15!

Falkner's heart sank. It hurt him to see his father's Pokemon in such a state. He looked towards Sneasel and Rei, both of them still just as determined as they were when the battle began. The gym leader sighed and returned Pidgeotto back to its Pokeball.

"I know I said this would be a three-on-three battle," he said. "But I concede. Two versus two was plenty, and seeing as though you took out both of mine, I think it's fair to say you've won this battle." He remained silent after that, waiting for Rei's reaction.

Rei withheld her joy, not showing it on the outside as many trainers would. No, she wanted to remain calm and cool, even if her heart was racing with excitement on the inside. Sneasel rubbed his eyes of the sand, looking from Rei to Falkner, then back. Rei merely nodded, Sneasel crossing his arms triumphantly, "Snea!"

"You fought well, Falkner. You had a great disadvantage in this fight, I came prepared," she said, walking up to him calmly. Sneasel joined at her side, "I thank you for accepting my challenge, and for knowing when to accept defeat. That is what tells me that you are a true trainer," she said almost valiantly, holding out her hand to the bird trainer. "Though you might want to heal quickly, there are others still prepared to battle you, and have been patiently awaiting their turns."

A smile spread on Falkner's lips as he listened to the other Trainer. It wasn't often that he was able to calmly shake hands with the victor, as most Trainers were too busy jumping about excitedly by the time they'd won. The gym leader took her hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you. I must say, it was obvious you knew what you were doing. I'm impressed." he said.

Upon mentioning the other challengers, Falkner glanced over at Max and Jenny, both of them waiting patiently for their chance to battle for a gym badge. Falkner nodded and turned back to Rei. "Let's get on with it then."

"For defeating me in a fair battle, I present to you the Zephyr Badge." he said boldly, as he placed the badge in her hand. "Congratulations. I'd also like to give you this TM..." He then handed Rei a small disk containing TM 83. "It contains Work Up. Use it wisely."

The gym leader then looked towards the other two Trainers and dipped his head. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to give my Pokemon a quick rest so they may battle again." With that, he turned and walked off the battlefield, heading into a room in the back of the gym.

Rei got :PD: 1560 for winning!

((I almost forgot to add on the experience Dratini and Sneasel gained. I'll put that in on Rei's profile and edit my earlier posts.))

Rei merely nodded, taking the TM disc, and slipping it into the sleeve of her TM case. She took the badge, opening a small tray and placing it in its proper slot. As Falkner walked off, Rei turned to the others. She walked over, standing in front of the risers.

"I take it you haven't managed any training yet?" She asked, clearly directing her question to Jenny. Her Eevee was at a disadvantage by being a lower level than Pidgeotto, as well as not having any super effective attacks. She still had the TM case in her hand, thumb sliding across its cover idly. "If you'd like assistance, I can help you get the upper hand," she said. She knew Eevee couldn't learn many elemental moves, but that new TM she sure could.

Max was silent for the entire match. While he was quite a bold trainer and it looked like he played most his battles by ear, in reality he studied his opponents every move and tried to think of the best way to counter their stratergy. He wasn't surprised that Rei won, she had type advantage and her pokemon were higher levels. But this didn't at all mean Falkner was going to be an easy win. He had an intersting battle style. What his pokemon lacked in power they made up for in moxy. They had a fighting spirit that had clearly been taught from Falkner. He knew that Falkner wasn't gonna let him walk over him.

Rei actually seemed happy as she approached Max and Jennifer. While Max thought she might be coming over to gloat, she really just wanted to talk to Jennifer about giving her some help in training. Max didn't like the smug way she acted like she was better than everyone else. She even patronized Falkner which was just ridiculous. And now that she had a Gym Badge she would probably get even worse with her self-superiority. Max decided to let the two girls talk and go and ask Falkner for a batte.

'Good job' Max said half heartedly. ' I must admit you're one strong trainer' The second part Max meant but he didn't think she deserved a standing ovation. She had beat a Gym Leader, but it wasn't like Max now saw her as any different. She was still stuck up and rude, even if she was a strong trainer.

'Scuse' me' Max said, shuffling past Rei and Sneasel. He made his way over to Falkner who looked disappointed in himself. Max thought maybe the last thing he wanted was another challenger, or maybe he'd accept in hopes of a win to make up for his loss to Rei. Either way, he'd have to accept and then, he's going down.

'Hey Falkner' Max said confidently. 'After you heal your pokemon up how bout a battle with me?' Max proposed. He didn't know if Rei and Jennifer were going to stay. But if they did, they'd get to witness one spectacular match.

Jennifer was absolutely amazed she'd just witnessed such an intense gym battle. Rei was indeed a strong and formidable Trainer, not to say Falkner wasn't any good, but she made it look almost easy. She hadn't even lost a single Pokemon!

If anything, seeing such a match had opened Jenny's eyes. She got to see two Trainers put their Pokemon to the test in a battle of wills and determination. One might find this inspiring, but for Jenny, she was absolutely terrified. Suddenly she wasn't so anxious to challenge the gym leader.

Rei then addressed Jennifer, asking if she'd managed any training. At this, Jenny felt her heart sink a little, and she sheepishly glanced away, but then Rei did something unexpected by offering some assistance. This was surprising, to say the least, as Jenny knew it wasn't like Rei to go around holding out her hand to help other less-experienced Trainers.

Jennifer stared at her, uncertain of how the girl planned to help, though at this point Jenny knew she could use all the help she could get. Still trying to find words to speak, she nodded. "Y-yes, I would like that very much, if you're willing."

---------------------------------------------

From the other room, Falkner gave Max a firm nod in response. "You're next then." he said with a smile, then went back to tending to his Pokemon.

Rei watched Max leave from the corner of her eye. She could hear it in his voice, and was starting to understand why she had such distaste for him. They were too similar! An average person might not see it, but at their core, they were both stubborn and bull headed trainers. She then let her eyes trail back to Jenny, and nodded lightly.

Kneeling down, Rei held out her hand as if to call over Paprika. With her other hand, she slipped her finger back into the pocket, pulling out the silver disc with the white label. She prepared the TM, and went to press it against Paprika's forehead to allow her to absorb the information. "You still need physical training, but I've seen this move before. If you use it a few times in succession, it will pump up her power greatly. Every move will inflict more damage during the battle." Rei stood again once done with the TM, putting it away for now. She could teach her own Pokémon the move later. "Sneasel and Paprika could have a training session together. It wont be an actual battle, so you don't have to worry about fainting. Think of it as sparring." 

Max walked back to the stadium room to wait and prepare for his battle with Falkner. He had seen his style, he knew his pokemon but he was still nervous. He remembered what his dad told him before he left. Treat it like any other battle. The words didn't make much sense to him when he was young but now he realized the truth in the words. All he had to do was relax and make sure he kept a level head.

He caught Rei teaching Paprika the TM she was given from Falkner. He thought about going over and having a talk to the two but he wanted to focus on the matter at hand. He knew the rules, he could switch at anytime and could use any two pokemon he wanted. Growlithe was a definite. With his raw power and fighting spirit. But the toss up between Eevee and Hearcross was a big one. While Heracross was more powerful, he had a major weakness to flying and he wouldn't last very long after a few gusts came his way. But Eevee was still young and struggled with her last battle against Bugsy. But she was determined and Max respected that. He decided that Eevee was the best option ahead of Heracross.

'Alright you guys' Max said, holding up Growlithe and Eevee's pokeballs. 'This is a big one. We need to show Falkner what we're made of. No holding back.' Rei and Jennifer may have thought he was a bit crazy talking to his pokeballs, but Max didn't care. He knew Eevee and Growlithe could hear him and he knew they would give it there all in this battle. He stood on his end of the field and anxiously awaited Falkners return.

Paprika wasn't intimidated by Rei, at least not as much as her Trainer was, so when the white-haired girl called her over the Eevee happily skipped closer.

When Rei pulled out the TM disk, Jenny's jaw nearly dropped. She never thought a Trainer would share their TM, let alone a Trainer like Rei. Nevertheless, she knew it was impolite to stare like that, so she shut her mouth and quietly watched as the move was taught to Paprika.

The Eevee had never seen a TM before, so she was a bit curious when the disk was placed atop her head. After learning the move, she puffed out her chest in pride, as if the disk had just given her some kind of super power.

Jennifer looked back at the other Trainer and gave a wide smile. "Thank you. That's really very kind of you. We would love to have a Training session with you and Sneasel, right Rika?" She glanced down at her Pokemon, who let out a few barks of excitement.

Jenny nodded and giggled a bit, then she heard Max speaking. She turned to see that he was directing his attention towards his Pokeballs, or more appropriately, the Pokemon inside. Jenny would've like to see him battle, especially against Falkner, but she wanted to be sure she and Paprika were ready when their turn came along.

"Hey, Max," she called over to him. "Good luck to you and your Pokemon!" She meant her words out of kindness, but she hoped he wouldn't need luck to win this fight.

Looking back towards Rei, Jenny asked, "So, what did you have in mind for this 'sparring' session?"

Rei did her best to ignore Max talking behind them as she put her stuff away. "I need to head back to the Pokemon Center for a minute, that way I can get Dratini and Sneasel back in top shape. Then we can head over to Sprout Tower," She went on to say, adjusting the straps on her bag, then the hoody that she wore. Sneasel stayed by her side, looking from Paprika to Rei. Even he was a little surprised at the action. Then again, the three seemed to keep getting caught in situations together, maybe Rei was warming up? ...No, that didn't seem right either.

Rei turned to walk out the door, heading for the Pokemon Center. She lifted an arm to wave to Max, "Good luck," she said flatly, though it really was more than anyone could ask from her. Sneasel took a moment longer to stare at Jenny and Rika, barking out part of his name before turning and rushing after Rei. She went to the Pokemon center, handing over Sneasel and Dratini for a short rest to get them back in fighting shape.

'Thanks' Max said to Jenny as she wished him good luck. 'And good luck to you with you're training. I'm sure you'll beat Falkner when you're ready.' Max smiled a little as Paprika barked happily at Max. While he didn't fully understand pokemon, they're body language and the way they spoke could be interpreted by most trainers. Max didn't expect any comments from Rei that would be positive. So when she said good luck he was shocked. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Max had just witnessed one side of her that he had assumed was her overall personality. Either way Max felt relieved that she didn't say anything that would put him off.

'Thanks' Max said, nodding. 'Have fun with the training.' Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. While Rei had shown she had somewhat of a nice side, fun didn't look like a word that would be in her vocabulary. But this was all assumption and Max had no idea if this was true or not. Max realized he was trailing off in his thoughts and he had to focus on his upcoming battle.

Max clicked Growlithe and Eevee's pokeballs back onto his belt, as he assumed he may be waiting a while for Falkner to return. He didn't know if he had a healing station in his gym or if he just went to the pokemon centre like everyone else. Either way, he sure was taking his time about it. Max ran his hands through his hair and tried to relax as he kept waiting.

Jenny followed close behind Rei as they headed out of the gym. She glanced back one last time at Max, hoping he wouldn't have any trouble. The last thing she wanted to hear was that he couldn't beat Falkner, and then have to face the gym leader herself. Taking a deep breath she headed out, ready to start training with another Trainer for the first time.

-Jenny exits topic-


It wasn't long before Falkner stepped back onto the battlefield, tossing one of his Pokeballs up and down casually. "Alright, I'm ready when you are." he called out to Max, taking his place on one side of the gym.

"We'll be doing a two-on-two match. You're allowed to switch between your Pokemon whenever you like. Now, are you prepared?" he asked, awaiting Max's reply. He wouldn't force the Trainer to start until he was good and ready.

(don't know if you want to post lucretia i just want to get this battle started.)

Max smiled as Falkner entered the room. As he explained the rules he put his hand on Eevee's pokeball. She would be good to start then Growlithe as a powerful back up. He nodded as he accepted the rules. He unclicked Eevee's pokeball from his belt and held it up.

'Alright then' Max said to Falkner. 'Let's do this, come on out Eevee!' Eevee jumped out happily looking ready to battle. Max knew this would be a challenge for her, but she had proven herself a good fighter against Bugsy so Max had confidence in her. Eevee barked happily as she and Max awaited Falkner's first pokemon to be released.

((Just so you know, I believe Rei has officially left the topic as well.))

A smile spread on Falkner's face as he watched the little Eevee jump about. "Cute, but we'll see how it fares against my father's bird Pokemon." he said, clutching the Pokeball he'd been tossing before throwing it upward. "Come on out, Pidgey!"

The bird spread its little wings and called out boldly, ready to face whatever challenge was waiting for it. It fixed its eyes on Eevee and cawed loudly, as if daring the Normal type to make a move.

Pidgey, Male. Level 9.

Max smirked as Falkner sent out pidgey. While it was a basic flying type it wasn't to be underestimated and Max knew he'd have to give it his all to be able to take it down quickly. He looked down at Eevee who looked equally as ready to take down this pidgey.

'Alright Eevee, let's start things off with a sand attack!' Max ordered. A good strategic way to start the battle Max thought as Eevee whipped up sand and dust and made it fly directly at pidgey. If the attack hit, it would be a lot less likely that Pidgey would get many attacks off on Eevee

The grin on Falkner's face went from being one of happiness to one of cockiness. "Pidgey, don't worry about the sand! Use Tackle!" he ordered.

Pidgey let out another cry and dashed right into the little sandstorm that Eevee had kicked up. Sand or no sand, the bird could see the foe perfectly due to its ability, Keen Eye, which prevented loss of accuracy.

Now, it was on the offensive, rushing towards Eevee and ready to slam itself into the Normal type. Pidgey used Tackle!

Max was disappointed in himself. He should have realized that Pidgey ability would have made a difference in the battle sooner or later, but Max forgot what it was completely. The sand did nothing to affect Pidgey and the tiny bird pokemon charged right into Eevee with a tackle attack. Eevee took the hit well but it didn't excuse the fact Max should hav got the first hit in. Max realized he'd have to pick up the pace kif he was going to win this match.

'Eevee fight back with tackle!' Max ordered. While he had a more powerful move in Iron Tail, he would rather keep that as a last resort because of it's slight inaccuracy. For now, Max just wanted to land some decent shots in before delivering the final blow.

Cockiness proved to be a terrible thing for a gym leader to experience, as Falkner let his guard down and had to watch his Pokemon suffer for it.

Pidgey was hit by the Tackle, stumbling back a bit before standing upright once again. It ruffled its feathers and readied itself to attack once again. It would follow Falkner's every order to the end.

The gym leader bit his lip, angry that he'd allowed himself to get cocky, then he shouted out, "Okay Pidgey, use Gust!"

The bird spread its wings and began flapping them rapidly, stirring up a windstorm on the battlefield. Pidgey used Gust!

Max could tell he had phased Falkner by the look on his face. While the tackle hadn't done an amazing amount of damage, it was still enough to stop Pidgey for a short while. He decided to get another hit in while Pidgey was down in order to get an even bigger upper hand.

'Eevee another tackle attack!' Max shouted. Unfortunately Pidgey got up quicker than Max had expected and had launched a gust attack ata Eevee. But Max knew that Eevee could still land the tackle attack if she tried.

'Come on Eevee fight through it!' Max said encouragingly. Max was unsure whether Eevee would be strong enough to fight through the gust, but he knew the least she would do was try.

Falkner watched the battle with his arms crossed, a serious glare coming from behind his eyes as he observed his opponent's moves. When Eevee began fighting through the Gust Falkner quickly shouted, "Harder, Pidgey!"

The bird flapped its wings harder and faster, hoping to stop the Normal type, but the Eevee proved to be stronger than it looked. Something unexpected happened, and Eevee pushed right through the powerful windstorm, tackling the bird once again.

"Come on, Pidgey, don't give in!" the gym leader cried out.

Pidgey forced itself up once again, really feeling that last hit. It focused on Eevee again, carrying out Falkner's following orders. "Use Tackle!"

Max was pleased Eevee made it through, but he could see how exhausted she was and he felt it would be best to return her and switch to Growlithe. But Eevee didn't want a bar of that she stood up defiantly and barked, determined to keep battiling. While Max didn't want her to get hurt, he knew she could win this battle. Max realized that with both Eevee and Pidgey on their last legs he had to counter Pidgeys tackle with something even more powerful. Even if it was risky.

'Eevee use Iron Tail now!' Max ordered. Eevee was more tired than she'd ever been before in her short life, but she wanted to please Max. She mustered all of the power she could and her tail began to glow a bright silver. She jumped high above the oncoming tackle attack from Pidgey and launched her glowing tail directly into Pidgeys torso. The result was a massive dust cloud that covered the arena, blocking the trainers view of their pokemon. Max didn't care if Eevee had knocked Pidgey out or not, he only cared if Eevee was alright. He waited anxiously for the dust cloud to clear, hoping for the best result.

The cloud that filled the gym was rather thick to be caused by such little Pokemon. It only proved just how strong Max's Eevee was when it put everything on the line.

Falkner might have been impressed by Eevee's strength, had he not been so worried for his Pidgey. He watched carefully until he could see the Pokemon in the dust cloud, the bird lying on the ground unconscious.

The foe's Pidgey fainted! Eevee gained 9 exp!
Eevee grew to level 14!

The gym leader let out a sigh, though it was somewhat a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that he no longer had to worry about Pidgey, as the bird Pokemon could now rest for the remainder of the battle. "Pidgey, return." he said, calling the Pokemon back to its Pokeball.

Falkner looked towards Max and smiled. "Impressive. Let's see how you handle the next one." He reached for the next Pokeball and hurled it into the air. "Go, Pidgeotto!"

The larger bird spread its wings and let out a battle cry, ready to fight.

(Pidgeotto, male. Level 13)