Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Skyfyre]

Its kind of funny how sad the other trainers here are. You're an established champion, and obviously know your stuff. You loose one battle to the top trainer of the area, who made you battle under duress of ruining a pokemon habitat like a villain team, and with a bunch of cheap trucks designed to harm you, and then everyone thinks you suck. Like what???

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They don't know that she was under threat.

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Indeed, they didn't know that she was underthreat, and kids can be dumb. Also, perhaps it was too oblique, but wI tried to hint that with some like the purple haired girl, that they still liked Nemona and thought she was good, but with the general attitude of the club against her, didn't want to speak up.

I liked the view into the smaller battle snippets that took place. Not too fast, or too slow. I think this was a good 'time-skip' method.

The battles did show many people leaning waaay too much into their one niche.
And those 'good weather friends' can stay away.

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Thanks, glad you like it!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 57 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, Garreon LeFay, and Allison Simon, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

Athena stood proudly on the field, with Cataphract puffed up beside her, ready to take on the threats Cassandra threw our way. He did flinch a bit at seeing just how sharp the edges of Kleavor's axes were, as the Bug Type opposite us waved them menacingly in our direction. We could only see that display clearly for a few seconds however, as the other Pokemon Cassandra had called on, a Gigalith, had conjured a Sandstorm moments after landing on the battlefield with a heavy thud.

A shiny one too, if I'm not mistaken from the sparkling blue crystals jutting out of them. Hmm, didn't Chazz say that she had a special interest in Shiny Pokemon? Or at least that a decent number of her Pokemon are shinies.

The arena speakers gave us the countdown, announcing it over the roar of sand whirling around. "The battle will commence in three, two, one… begin!"

"Stone Axe, rip them to shreds! Block off an escape, Rock Tomb!" Cassandra shouted. It wasn't an opening she'd ever used before… however, I'd studied her extensively and I had seen her use this combo later on in battles. Despite being the weakest of the Elite Four, she's also the oldest student, set to graduate this year. That means there's the most footage and rumors about how she fights, unlike say Elsa, who is only one grade ahead of me.

"Tank and counter Cat, and meet them head on with a Meteor Mash! Inside their guard," I fired off. Despite Athena's command coming last, she was the first one to reach her target, assisted by a finely controlled Extremespeed to let her burst in, past Kleavor's raised axe-arms, but not wasting energy striking her with the Normal Type Move. Instead, Athena channeled Steel Type energy quickly into her paws, striking hard into Kleavor's carapace.

Cassandra wasn't on the Elite Four without any reason however, and her Pokemon proved it. Kleavor, rather than trying to absorb the super-effective blow, instead let it knock her backwards so she had room to properly swing them, cutting lightly into Athena's flesh. Only lightly however, as her double resistance to the Move had it doing little damage. Skittering away, several slivers broke off the axe and scattered themselves around the field.

That will make it trickier to switch out, but we should be fine. Especially with that new Battle Item I got from the store. On the other side of the field, Cataphract steadied himself, letting the rocks slam into him. Gigalith had some decent power behind the blow, managing to deal some damage to Cataphract despite his resistance. This only ended up hurting the rocky Pokemon though, as Cat hurled his shell forward in a powerful Counter that cracked one of the gems sticking out of her legs.

She leads with a slow Rock Tomb to try and equalize speed difference if it hits, but really, the goal is to set up a Stomping Tantrum for massive damage as the opponent dodges. I refused to play into that, especially with two Steel Types on the field.

"Copycat," I told Athena, utilizing a rarely used part of her arsenal to turn the tables on Cassandra and set up our own entry hazard. It was even better as I knew that despite being a Rock Type specialist, about half her team was actually weak to Rock Type Moves. Including Kleavor herself.

Unfortunately, Cassandra called for a hasty "Protect!" Which blocked the auric construct axes Athena had made, and in blocking the blow, stopping any Stealth 'Rocks' from being spread around the field. Perhaps if she had more practice with that Move, she could manage it even through the Protect; I know that Cassandra's Kleavor has done so. But Copying a Move for the first time and even someone as talented as Athena will likely miss a lot of the nuance involved in the technique.

Despite that, and the fact that Cat was limping slightly from where Gigalith's previous Move had hit him, I felt in a good spot. Rather than use a slightly weaker Ground Type Move, Gigalith opted to take advantage of Cat's other weakness. Jumping up in the air, she landed heavily upon my little Dragon, minorly cracking his shell.

It's fine, just a hairline fracture. Cat might not have taken worse than that while sparring with the Team, but he's taken just as bad. And it even gives us an advantage. My mind raced for an instance before I shouted, "Acid Spray!"

Gigalith tried to lumber away, but the sticky goo Cat secreted stuck onto the lumbering Rock Type, dragging her back just enough for Cat to unleash a gout of Poison down upon them. From that close a range, a few drops splashed back onto Cat, but his Steel Typing protected him from that, while the majority of the acid sizzled into Gigalith's tough body and blue vest.

Going for a color matching option rather than the traditional red one, Cassandra's Gigalith was wearing a vivid blue Assault Vest, which helped bolster the Rock Type's Special Defense. Which is on top of the Sandstorm boosting it further too. Gigalith's Physical Defenses are no slouch either, however, as shown by how much damage she did with that odd Body Press (though it might have just looked odd because I'm used to how Notch or Dun performs the Move, and they have very different body Types from Gigalith). Right now, my best bet is to wear down her Special Defense over time.

"Switch to the Dragon, he's the weak link! Close Combat, Stomping Tantrum!" Cassandra shouted. I raised my eyebrows, surprised for half a moment, then dismissed it. Your team is nowhere near fast enough for that kind of a trick.

"Protect," I called out, not bothering to waste a moment saying Cat's name as it was clear whom they were gunning for. The heavy, sweeping axe blows bounded off the barrier Cat erected around himself, and even as the ground cracked and erupted beneath him, the Protect formed a full sphere, blocking the attack entirely. C'mon now. Just because Cat is the least experienced member of my team doesn't mean I've slacked off in training him on the basics.

Steel Beam the Kleavor, I thought, projecting my thoughts forcefully at Athena. For a non-empath or Psychic, or even one not used to me, they wouldn't have picked up on it, but Athena knew me well. As Kleavor panted, momentarily exhausted from her futile assault on Cataphract, Athena drew her paws back before launching them forward in a pushing motion. From her paws, a solid beam of grey light erupted out, slamming straight into Kleavor and sending him tumbling into the wall of the arena where he landed in an ungainly heap.

"Double Life Dew" I called out, trying to take advantage of the fact that Cassandra would be down a Pokemon for a moment, but she surprised me… and not in a good way.

"Get back up! We can't lose here, so get in there and finish them off! If they're trying to heal they're weak! You too, Gig, hit them with an Earthquake!" Shakily, the Kleavor rose at her Trainer's words, then began running towards my Pokemon, a yellow liquid dribbling down her mouth. A Sitrus Berry, dammit. She must have been holding it inside her mouth since the start of the battle.

"Athena, Detect!" I called out, and she aborted the water she'd been gathering to heal. Her eyes glowed with a blue light as she began predicting the future, and I caught a faint frown from her as she stared at where Cataphract was. Yeah, I know how this goes.

Cataphract faced the oncoming foes boldly, not flinching from the surprising Reversal Kleavor launched into him, and even managing to toss out the Life Dew he had gathered on the tips of his antennas into the air. Then the Earthquake rocked the field, tossing my Pokemon around hard. It wasn't quite enough to knock him out though, not with the Life Dew landing mid-way through the damage he was taking.

Athena avoided it entirely, gracefully dodging around and riding the churning ground with ease, all while collecting a large amount of Dew as it fell, recovering from some of the damage Steel Beam cost her. While not massively damaging, Kleavor was still rocked by the Move as well, and looking to be in pretty bad shape once more.

"U-Turn!" Cassandra called out, trying to take out my Hisuian Pokemon while saving hers. She half succeeded. Kleavor dashed forward with surprising speed, going for a low cut into Cataphract that knocked him out before zipping back to her side of the field. Cassandra was raising her Pokeball to recall him before we interrupted.

"Extreme-" I began, and Athena was already on the other end of the arena, appearing mid-air in front of Kleavor. I could only imagine the shocked look in her eyes as she spun around, kicking our foe out of the way from the red beam of the Pokeball that would have saved her, and directly into unconsciousness. Do not pass Go, do not collect two-hundred Pokedollars.

I chuckled at my own thoughts, and Cassandra's face got red as she misinterpreted my humor. "What are you laughing at? You lost a Pokemon too, you know!"

Not the point, but if I can use this… I laughed harder, hoping it didn't sound too forced as I recalled my fallen Pokemon. Over the sand streaming by, I thought I heard her grinding her teeth together, so I felt I succeeded there.

We both released our next Pokemon while Athena attempted to use an Aura Sphere against Gigalith, who Protected against the attack. A Lunatone with glowing blue eyes took their place nearby the edge of the arena, spinning in the air once. While on my field, Notch calmly floated forward.

The Stealth Rocks Kleavor had scattered attempted to jump up at Notch, but all the rocks in the air stopped. Even the small, particulate rock based matter that made up the Sandstorm, now floating motionless in the air. Notch let their hand fall, and all the rocks did the same, landing with a heavy thump.

Okay, very impressive and cool Notch, but I think that's kinda undone the 'too angry to think clearly' thing I was going for. Indeed, Cassandra gaped for a moment before snapping her jaw shut and focusing again. Though, to be fair, I didn't let you know about this ahead of time, and frightening her a bit can be handy too, on top of removing that pesky hazard.

"Let's show her what you can really do, Notch. Diamond Storm!" Like a conductor, Notch waved their arms dramatically in the air, pointing up and raising a field of diamonds, which hung there until Notch swung their arms down, and the gems followed suit, whirling through the air.

Before they hit, Athena snapped forward with a Bullet Punch into Gigalith, then kicked off the quadrupedal Pokemon to avoid the diamonds as they cut into the enemies. Cassandra's other Pokemon leaned into the attack, using it to shave off and polish their rocky body slightly. After doing so, Lunatone was quickly zipping around the arena.

Gigalith meanwhile just tanked the blow, ponderously raising one foot to heavily stomp down with it, creating another Earthquake. It rocked hard into both of my Pokemon who were weak against it, though far harder against Athena who lacked Notch's sky-high defensive capabilities.

Signalling to Athena to Move in and fake an attack before Enduring, to set up a Reversal, I told Notch to, "Diamond Storm again! Show them what you're made of!" Lunatone attempted to dodge, only to find there was no escaping the splash of gems Notch created. Wresting the diamonds telekinetically out of the sky served them no better; there was no deflecting the attack either.

Gigalith didn't target Athena either, though a few errants shards from Notch's storm impacted her, leaving her ready to lay a brutal beatdown on our foes. Instead, they fired off a blast of Steel Type energy at Notch.

What? But I thought that Gigalth wasn't good at Special Attacks- oh. I realized the reason behind it as I saw Notch munching their Berry to take the attack better. Cassandra wanted that Berry out of the way for a Pokemon with a better Steel Type attack to take Notch out, and the bulk of its protective qualities fade fast upon consumption. Not all of it, as I knew from what Freddrick had tried way back, but still.

Lunatone got close and attempted a Hypnosis on Notch, but my Pokemon escaped, pushing the other Rock Type away with a quick and unfocused Psychic. It did little damage given Lunatone's secondary typing, but was enough to avoid being put to sleep.

"Steel Beam the Gigalith!" I called out, while slapping my knee. Athena readied a Flash Cannon in response to the signal. A second use of that Move is too obvious and draining - easy to counter. "Funhouse," I told Notch, who began conjuring diamonds to further enhance the attack.

Gigalith's Protect took the brunt of Athena's attack, but as sparkling diamond mirrors were pulled up, or foes realized that it was just the prelude. Not letting up on her beam, Athena directed it into the mirrors Notch had made, the blast suddenly bouncing and criss-crossing at unexpected angles to nearly hit the shiny Lunatone, and would have if she hadn't had enough of a speed boost from Rock Polish to pull out of the way. It still forced her to back off of Notch however.

"Fine, stay back Lune and just push that Diancie down with Psychic!" Lunatone's eyes glowed a deeper shade of blue from their usual and Notch found themselves crushed under Psychic power. Fighting against that directly will be difficult, but I think we can do it if- Then I saw Gigalith shuffle slightly, getting ready to jump.

They're going to get in close and hit Notch hard. Crud. In the split second I had, I made a choice on who to sacrifice. "Steel Beam Lunatone!" I shouted before calling "Protect!" For Notch.

Recognizing the urgency in my tone, Athena selflessly sacrificed herself, putting everything she had into the blast. This time, distracted by the Psychic pressure she was putting on my other Pokemon, Lunatone couldn't dodge the bouncing beam, and it struck her hard, breaking her focus. The Move and all the fighting beforehand had exhausted her too much, so Athena slumped to the ground, unconscious.

At the same time, Gigalith had leapt up in the air, poised to land on top of Notch with a Heavy Slam. Notch, freed from the painful Psychic grip likely could have used Protect to block the attack, except something strange happened. Gigalith suddenly fell far faster than I could have expected, crushing my diamond encrusted Pokemon.

"What?"

"Hah! That's our Self-Gravity trick we've been working on. It makes Heavy Slam hit even harder and faster. You didn't really think I wouldn't be prepared after your declaration of war, did you? Now you've lost your strongest… Pokemon…" Cassandra's jeering voice trailed off as her Gigalith shifted involuntarily, and then was dramatically thrown off, the lumbering Rock Type sent tumbling backwards.

['And you didn't really think that would be enough to take down a Pokemon trained by Saint Nemona, did you?'] Notch questioned as they rose up from the crater, eliciting shocked silence, and then massive cheers from the crowd. Their diamond armor was torn apart and several deep cracks ran throughout their body, but Notch was tough enough to keep on fighting despite that.

"1-A!" I shouted, before Cassandra could regain her bearings. Flying at the prone Gigalith, Notch rocked in with a powerful Drain Punch, healing back some of the damages they had caused to my Pokemon. "1-A, 1-A!" I called again as I returned Athena to her Pokeball.

Notch punched again, but any further punching was stopped by a quick Psychic from Lunatone, pushing my Pokemon away. Cassandra recalled her fallen Gigalith. Gigalith isn't looking too hot right now. My guess is that she's planning to use them to reset Sandstorm later and then Explode. It wasn't a bad strategy, but it being so predictable would give me options when the time came. Of course, we'll have to consider what other Pokemon she's using at the time. Speaking of which…

Cassandra tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Why aren't you sending out your next Pokemon?" She demanded. In the arena, Notch was trading blows with Lunatone, swarms of diamond shards tearing through the air while she telekinetically assaulted my Pokemon in turn.

"Nah, I'm good for the moment." I replied, my right hand drifting over some of the Pokeballs on my belt. Technically the rules say nothing about me having to have two Pokemon on the field at a time, I just have to have at least one. This way, I can wait to see what she sends out and respond. Normally, that was a poor strategy as I'd still be giving her the chance to go for a 2 v 1, and if she didn't like what I sent out, then she could just switch to a more advantageous Pokemon. Especially because she could just swap Gigalith back in, resetting Sandstorm and in a better position to use Explosion.

She recognized that, and as she moved to one of the Pokeballs on her belt, I had my hand hover over the Love Ball. Here's where the mind games begin. I was certain Cassandra had seen the match between me and Atticus by this point, as well as having heard about some of the fights I'd used Anya in during the battle classes. She knows I can lock in any Pokemon she sends out, and since she just recalled Gigalith, she can't put them straight back in. So what will you do? What choice doesn't lock you in?

I decided to up the pressure by calling out, "Stealth Rock," openly. Notch pulled off their assault (something they were handily winning against the Lunatone at) to scatter the dangerous rocks around the field.

"Go, Owl!" Cassandra called out, ripping a Pokeball off of her belt and tossing it out, just before the Stealth Rocks could take their place in the field.

"Anya, let's show her what you can do!" I said, tossing the Love Ball out to the field. 'Anya' popped out, giving a dismissive stare at our foes. "Thief," I told her, pointing at Noctowl. A bit tricky, since she doesn't actually know Thief, but she does know Knock Off, so it should be easy enough to mimic.

Phantasm (disguised as Anya), easily raced up, even adding a few sweat drops to the illusion to sell the effort of 'running really hard' as Anya in what was a casual jog for her. The Dark Type attack hit, slapping the Charti Berry out of Noctowl's claws. The illusion made it look like 'Anya' had stolen it, but my enhanced ears could pick up the 'plop' sound as it squished on the ground.

Noctowl, for her part, mostly ignored that, setting up a Tailwind to make their side faster. Lunatone conjured a Moonlight above her head to help recover from the damages Notch had inflicted, something my Pokemon was happy to do more of, a Diamond Storm ripping through the field and hurting both of them, Noctowl particularly got hit hard.

"Push through it, I know you can do it, Owl! Moonblast and Hypnosis! Lune, Rock Slide!" Noctowl sent a powerful sphere of condensed Fairy Type energy (drawn in no small part from the Moonlight Lunatone had conjured and made me wonder briefly if that combo I'd seen before had been taught to the other League Clubber by Cassandra) towards Notch. She sped in right after it, almost keeping pace with the attack as she tried to put my Pokemon to sleep with crooning cries.

"Trick Room!" I ordered, hoping to turn the speed advantage they held on its head. "Anya, Shadow Ball!" Phantasm launched a flurry of Shadow Balls at Lunatone, a few hitting before she had to dodge the rocks the Psychic Type tossed up in the air. Notch couldn't dodge them, or the Moonblast, but didn't flinch before setting up the Trick Room. It came at a cost however, with Noctowl's confusion putting them to sleep and seeing Notch drop to the ground like a rock.

"You think you're the only one who's ever used that Move? Stop looking down on me!" I feel like, she's perhaps projecting her issues a tad. I didn't get the chance to call her out on it as she made her next Move. "Lune, Trick Room. Defog," she told her other Pokemon.

"Shadow Ball, that Lunatone can't be doing well." Then, in a whisper meant only for Phantasm's ears I added, "On my signal, raise an illusion of Notch." With the enemies focused on affecting the arena, neither of them could stop the Shadow Balls, which did significant damage to her Lunatone, the shiny Pokemon barely holding on.

She did hold on though, which saw the twisted dimensions reversed at the same time as the Stealth Rocks were blown away. I imagine the Lax Incense will be less effective too now, though I'm not sure about the interactions between that item and Defog. "We've got them now, both of you, Dream Eater!" Swiftly, her Pokemon flew in, ready to drain Notch's health, only for them to suddenly reverse course as Notch sprung up, instantly awake (as far as they could see).

"What?! How- so soon! Dammit, Owl, Protect! Lune, you know what to do," Cassandra responded quickly. Her Noctowl shielded itself with Protect while Lunatone began glowing with a bright light before using Explosion. The blast was deafening, shaking the arena and kicking up vast clouds of dust.

As the dust began to clear, we saw Lunatone, unconscious (even as Levitate kept her aloft, indicating a high degree of mastery of that Ability), and no one else hurt… aside from the 'second' Notch, lying on the ground to the side, displaced and mildly damaged by the blast. It had the added effect of waking them up, as Cassandra stared at the scene, aghast.

"How- but- you're Zoroark!" She declared angrily, pointing at 'Anya' who cackled and revealed her true form. And did so by having it displaced a few meters away from where she's really standing. Clever girl. "You were supposed to be in the Fast Ball!"

"I got permission to change out which Balls they were registered to before the fight. Thanks for that hour you gave us," I taunted her. And thank you Colress for being a staff I could count on to get a quick change at the Blueberry Registry done fast.

"DAMMIT! Stop looking down on me! You rich bitch! Thinking that just because you have more money or a Legendary that you can beat me? Well you're WRONG!" She shouted, a deranged look in her eyes as she recalled Lunatone.

"Slicer, cut them to shreds," she said with ragged breaths, tossing out a Kabutops onto the field. "Owl, Reflect."

"Bitter Mallice, Diamond Storm," I calmly ordered, pointing at the newcomer to direct Phantasm's attack. Unfortunately, the wind was still on their side, and the Kabutops managed to close, dispersing the illusion before the rage made manifest could sap his strength. While the illusion guarded Phantasm from Kabutop's attack, it didn't have enough fidelity to cover for Notch's Diamond Storm which conspicuously avoided a spot not far from Kabutops. The attack was reduced in power by the Reflect Noctowl raised, but it still did good damage, especially to the Flying Type now flagging in strength.

"Night Slash, sweeping blows! Airslash on the illusionist as well," Cassandra called out, switching focus from Notch and to Phantasm. Not a bad strategy, but too little too late. The Dark Type attack hit, cutting deep into Phantasm and disrupting her illusions. Air Slash followed up and left her stunned, open for Kabutops to continue her assault.

Notch called upon Diamond Storm once more, but Noctowl proved quick enough to draw a Protect around herself before the attack could land, and Kabutops, relatively fresh and covered with Reflect, tanked it as he took out Phantasm.

Returning her, I said, "You did great, we've got this in the bag now." I ignored the angry shouts contrary from Cassanadra as I sent Miles out. For today, I'd chosen the Mow Form. It had relatively few advantages and many weaknesses, but against a Rock Type specialist like Cassandra, I figured the Grass Type Move it gave access to would be worth it.

Kabutops hadn't wasted any time, rushing at Notch with an Aqua Jet to hit them hard and fast, before using the same Move to slide away from a Draining Punch counter. As Noctowl tried to use Psychic, I ordered, "Protect," before telling Miles: "Discharge."

"Protect!" Cassandra gave a desperate call. Kabutops was quick enough to cover himself, but Noctowl couldn't drop the Psychic energy she'd been building up fast enough to bring a shield against the powerful Electric attack. Twitching from stray jolts, Noctowl fell out of the air, Cassandra recalling her before she could hit the ground.

Wordlessly, she tossed Gigalith right inbetween Miles and Notch, a Sandstorm raging around once more. "Explosion!" She called out, recalling Kabutops at the same time.

"Protect," I told both of my Pokemon, hoping that Notch would be able to pull it off twice in a row. They sort of did, the barrier they conjured breaking, but clearly reducing the damage of the attack, enough that with the diamond armor they'd been covering themselves in again, Notch was able to just hang on to the fight.

"Why won't you fall? Whatever, this will have to be enough. Shell Smash." Cassandra called out, her voice ever so slightly wavering. My attention was drawn to her final Pokemon, a Minior, released into the sky and somewhat concealed by the Explosion.

"Taunt!" I called out, a bit of panic in my voice. Carmine told me how she shut down that Pokemon, but I know if they can build up, Minior can be terribly powerful. I just need- huh?

Miles let out a staticky laugh, a big shit eating grin on their plasmic face, but the Move failed.

"I did learn from your little friend's trick there," Cassandra commented. "I put ground up White Herb into the minerals making up their shell, so you couldn't pull off something like that." As she spoke, I saw the brown, rocky shell around Minior crack, then shatter apart completely. What-? Shields Down already? Dammit, she's not playing around.

"Liquidation, Acrobatics," Cassandra ordered, her Pokemon not needing direction on which Pokemon to target with the Moves they were extra weak against. Notch tried to raise a defense, but had all their diamonds broken through by the powerful Water attack as Kabutops crashed through, while Minior dived down upon Miles with blistering speed.

"Electroweb!" I called out, but even as I spoke, Cassandra was tossing her Tera Orb over Minior, Terastalizing them in a dazzling burst to become a pure Rock Type. Their attack hit hard, but my Pokemon still managed to spit out Electroweb in retaliation, sending a small shock through both of her Pokemon and slowing them down slightly. That didn't put a dent in her mood however, the older girl brightening greatly as she saw Notch finally unconscious.

"I did it! Ha! I beat your Legendary! No one can say I'm not strong enough now." Cassandra whispered the last part to herself.

"You're pretty strong, it's true," I said with a raised voice, startling her. Better than Tyme or several of the Gym Leaders in Paldea. "That doesn't mean you're stronger than me, though, and I'm the one you have to beat. Go, Radiance!" I shouted, tossing their Pokeball out onto the field.

Emitting a loud sound, akin to metal screeching on metal, my Paradox Pokemon entered the field. Immediately, the capsule attached just below their head triggered, sending a rush of invigorating electricity through their body. With that, they were off like a rocket, zooming through the sky to chase after Cassandra's Terastilized Pokemon.

The two of them traded shots back and forth. The black meteor Pokemon conjured glowing crystals to fire off Powerful Gem shots crisscrossing through the air. Radiance trailed like a comet behind them, the flames burning off their wings erasing the last of the Sandstrom that had wracked the arena. They met the Power Gem blasts with rapid-fire Flash Cannon counterfire, the Steel Type attack barrelling through the beams and destroying the constructs behind them. The enemy tried to shoot off chunks of rock coalesced from the stardust trailing behind them, but Radiance dodged them with contemptuous ease, gaining on the shiny Pokemon with every circuit they took of the arena.

While those two were shooting off, I had Miles fending off Kabutops, holding out against the Leech Life's the Water Type tried to land. Protect and Substitutes as well as fancy maneuvering kept the prehistoric Pokemon at bay, while lightning fast clashes occurred above.

"Go low!" Cassandra called out, that desperation I'd heard earlier creeping back into her voice. She's scared - no one is supposed to be faster than her Ace and we're both down to our last Pokemon now. That doesn't mean that she doesn't have a plan here though… and I can see how to counter it perfectly.

"Time to use our secret weapon!" I called out. Radiance hadn't been used often in official battles, and while people had already figured out their Typing, there was still plenty we hadn't shown anyone. I drew my Tera Orb out, pulling back my arm as I aimed.

My Pokemon weren't the only ones who had been training; I'd been working on several things, including my throwing arm. Though for a situation like this, it was less about the speed of my toss (though that was helpful too) and predicting where Radiance would end up. Two, no, two and a half circuits should do, I guessed as I launched the Enhancement item over the arena.

My guess proved correct, though I felt Radiance must have done at least a little course correcting to so perfectly end up under it as the orb broke open and surrounded them in crystals. At the same time, the ground cracked underneath Radiance, then exploded upwards. The force of Minior's Earth Power broke apart the crystals and revealed Radiance, stunning with a bright green sheen and set of flowers hovering above their head in the form of a Tera 'hat' Jewel.

"That won't work! Energy Ball!" I shouted, my voice growing a little hoarse. Minior had slowed down for a second to use Earth Power and in response to the unexpected Terastalization, and that would prove to be their undoing. Bursting forward like a hypersonic jet (not that they had enough space to build up to those speeds), Radiance rushed Minior, launching a point blank Energy Ball at the other Terastilized Pokemon.

With their Shields Down, Shell Smash, and the STAB on the Super-Effective attack, Cassandra's Ace was knocked out in one blow, crashing down into the ground. I thought I might need to send in Torkoal and turn on the sun for Solar Beam. Radiance has worked hard on furthering their mastery of that Move, able to fire those attacks off so fast, and even multiple at a time! Ah well, bit risky to send out a(nother) Fire Type against a Rock specialist, even if there's some fun combos it opens up.

My opponent was just staring at the scene, shocked. Cassandra didn't make any moves or give commands to Kabutops, she just looked ahead, unsteady. "Are you- are you okay?" I asked. I want to win, so it kinda feels bad to not take the opportunity, but it'd feel worse to continue when she's like this.

Evidently, she didn't appreciate my concern, snapping out, "I'm fine! Worry about yourself!" I raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Really?' given the situation. She blushed but didn't say anything else, recalling her fallen Pokemon and I didn't press. No point in adding (more) insult to injury here.

Kabutops took the initiative, charging recklessly towards Radiance. Before they could reach the now Grass Type Pokemon with his scythe-like blades, Miles released a flurry of petals in a Leaf Storm that took out her Pokemon.

The crowd (which I noticed now had grown since we'd started, the arena looking pretty packed) let out a massive cheer as I was declared the winner. "We did it!" I cheered loudly, running on the field to hug Miles and pat Radiance on the back. My Paradox Pokemon wasn't too keen on contact, but they accepted that, spinning their wings around for the crowd.

Crossing fully over to Cassandra's side, I offered a hand out. "Good job out there, you did-"

"Shut up," she snarled, smacking my hand aside. "I don't need your pity," she growled before stomping off. I moved to step after her, only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Ignore her. If she wants to pout, whatever," Carmine said with a flick of her black and crimson hair. She and the rest of my friends had all gathered around me.

"Yeah, you did great out there!"
"Those were some sick Moves you pulled!"
"Oh boy, I'm so hyped from watching this that I wanna battle too! Anyone up for a quick match?"
"I hope I can be half as good some day!"
"The crowd is going wild!"

It's true, they are. Hard to even hear my friends beside me over the roar. Turning to the crowd that had gathered around me and was cheering me on, I focused my headspace to a happier place. I did it. We, my team, did it. We weren't 'just' a big fish in a small pond in Paldea; we're strong here too, and only going to get even stronger. This was our first step forward, and we didn't stumble.

I gave the crowd a big wave, grinning as I I took a moment to bask in my victory. There would be hard fights and challenges still ahead, I knew, but this felt good, so I allowed myself to simply enjoy it.

Spoiler: A/N:

And we have our first of the League Club Elite Fours down! I hope you enjoyed that fight; I know I had fun with Cassandra's character and her team. Minior was a Pokemon that had been on my short list for a while, but ultimately didn't make the cut onto Nemona's team (due to both space issues and being too similar in type and what they could do to Notch). I had fun getting to show them off here though.

We've got a bunch more battles in the future, but thankfully we don't need to do them all in-a-row for this arc, so we'll have a bit of a breather before the next Elite will be tackled. Which fights are people looking forward to the most? Let me know down below or on the the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.