10:31: A.M. July 4, Saturday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; Saria Surge has become the new Vermilion Gym Leader, converting it to a Fairy Gym. It will be open for challenges on the 10th.

Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 25 Days (24 officially; 25 since getting Maya and Nova).

Exiting her pokeball, Serenity spun across the surface of the water, spraying sparkling droplets in all directions before hovering over a platform with the crowd’s cheers; she was ready to fight!

“Let’s go,” she huffed in her annoyingly tempered and unpassioned voice, but inside she was burning to prove her worth.

On the opposite side of the colossal swimming pool, her opponent exited his own capsule—the Water Weed Pokemon—smoothly landing on the platform, tilting the lilypad on his back to give her a small, one-eyed nod and smile.

“The name’s Lenny, Ma’am; might I get a name in return?”

Serenity shifted to keep an eye on her opponent and Amira as her Trainer’s heart sank and stomach squirmed. “Oh, no… a Lotad; we’re in trouble. No…”

Setting her resolve to be the support her Trainer needed in her time of trouble—able to use both air and water—she streamed out a long breath through her gills as Lenny illuminated a deep blue that caused the waters around his platform to become choppy.

She took the short interlude he appeared to give her to examine the colossal stadium they were to fight in; it looked like it was made for huge Team Battles, and floating platforms were spaced all across it.

Long chains kept many of the stages from drifting too far away from their starting location, yet there was leeway for them to be carried a decent distance.

On a quick glance, the depth was amazing, numbers on the sides showing over 50 meters, which was a respectable depth from the rivers and fountains she’d played in, but nothing compared to the ocean city they’d recently visited; although, the bottom seemed to have the capability to open up further if needed, now that she was studying it.

“Lost for words, Ma’am?” the Lotad questioned.

“Hmm… My name is Serenity…” she answered, looking up at the distant, open ceiling, showering the pool in the early morning sunlight with hovering monitors—Magneton attached—displaying more humans than she’d ever seen.

Lyra began a chant of a song that made Serenity trail off; the lyrics tightened her Trainer’s heart and calmed the panic at being given a challenge by both Misty and Rhea’s aunt.

Serenity mirrored the words the crowd sang. I’m not spotless; I have my share of stripes. No one is flawless, but we’re all diamonds!

Smiling as she felt Amira’s spirit steady, Serenity made a short gesture at her big redheaded human. You okay now?

“Really, Mom… Heh. How is it she always knows what I need? I guess that’s what moms are for,” she whispered while following the gusts that whipped up the pool. “You ready to show you’re a diamond?”

Always.

The invisible wind around Lenny picked up glistening droplets in the bright overhead light to form dark clouds that collected above the small sage and cyan-colored Pokemon, the Lotad’s voice drifting along the rippling waves and gathering storm.

“I’m ready whenever you are, Love.”

Liquid lapping over the platforms, Serenity dipped into the water, keeping track of the darkening clouds; she swam against the turbulent current, generated by the expanding Rain Dance as Amira informed her of the trials they’d face in this match-up.

“The number one thing you need to look out for is the red beam he’ll shoot out of his mouth… Muk, a Weather match, though—on the plus side, your speed will be doubled under the clouds—you know what to focus on as I look things up.”

Serenity curved through the weaving torrents the small storm whipped up as Amira guided her; Lenny only appeared to be able to cover a sixth of the field with the Move, yet the massive whirlpool she’d swam through was the only thing that she could compare it to.

Just as Amira warned, Lenny dove into the water to send a ray of crimson light at her; strength filled her the second the black clouds overshadowed her. Slapping her fin to the left, Serenity maneuvered in a tight circle to spiral the continual beam, keeping track of his bill’s angle to continue dodging.

Coming up on the mostly stationary Pokemon, Serenity took her building energy and shot a stream of thick, draconic greenish-blue force at the Lotad at a speed she’d never reached, sending him tumbling through the currents.

“No paralysis. Find another… are you kidding me?”

Serenity launched after Lenny as he righted himself to release a veil of mist that swiftly overtook him but not before she closed the distance, flipped to his back, and sent a wave of energy on his lilypad, forcing him further into the murky soup; static sparked across his shimmering, blue glowing frame.

What? Yes!

“Back up!”

Huh?

Beating her tail to shoot out of the water and enter the windy airfield.

“Quick, Haze! The tempest will carry it around the stadium—is this really happening?!”

Breathing in, she released the dense smog to fill the space, easily dancing around a pressurized stream of water to her left in the obscured pool of white, and soon entered the cloud; she couldn’t fly too high with Levitate, but enough to keep a decent distance away from the water.

“We can’t win; I can’t see how! Why would Misty put us against such an OP combination?! What am I missing?”

Serenity caught a glimpse of the illuminated Lotad in the falling rain slicking her skin—able to see through her own veiling Move—Serenity let him come to her trap instead of entering his. I’m winning—I got the paralysis. What’s wrong?

“Rain Dish—Muk, Misty—she has to know you don’t have the offensive ability to counter the constant heal,” Amira cursed. “Absorb, Rain Dance, Rain Dish, and equipped with hide and seek tactics—this is totally Silver-tier; how can—wait…”

Keeping herself hidden in the haze, Serenity spun into a sharp dive with layers of translucent walls emerging from her expended energy as a spark of hope lit in the redhead’s heart, thinking on the fly and instructing her on the only shot they had in this ridiculous line-up—it was time to be brave.

She scanned the swirling mess until a bright tint out of the corner of her vision made her bend back and down, flicking her tail to evade; Serenity didn’t react fast enough, yet managed to reposition the screens to filter half of the damage as the light grazed her side, hitting her defense matrix like a Rhyhorn.

It was time to be bold—reckless, even—which was her middle name, and, trajectory unaffected by the draining Grass-Type laser, Serenity danced on the razor's edge of the crimson ray while racing toward its source.

Twirling into a sharp up to left spiral, her fins glittered like diamonds as the attack created a cyclone to disperse the haze in a short area upon meeting the Lotad and catching Lenny’s half-smile, she sent a pulse of psychic force to assault his mind.

Serenity felt her Trainer wince from the swift succession of Moves, faster than they’d ever practiced, and curved to stop in front of the wide-eyed Lotad. “Swim to the opposite side of—”

She swiped right to escape a blast of the draining ray as Lenny snapped out of the attack, cirling him to remain at his back.

“Keep it up, Serenity; we can do this!”

I can’t use Hypnosis again, Amira; it costs too much.

“Things we learn on the fly—” she hissed as the Lotad shot to the surface to try and counter Serenity’s stalling tactic.

A violet hue surrounded her body as she pursued after the Lilypad Pokemon to collect into spheres that rocketed him, exploding into flashing rays just before exiting the water; thrown off course by the stunning Move, Serenity noticed the rippling aura the Lotad released, healing him by the second under the rain clouds.

Entering the gentle storm, glistening raindrops sliding past her slick scales, she headbutted the airborne Pokemon, throwing him out of the edges of the tempest to bounce across one of the platforms.

She chased after her opponent, not giving him a chance to collect himself in his confusion and colliding with his small body to toss him to the blown-away floatation stages, yet with her reduced speed upon leaving the drizzle, Lenny managed to send a spray of bubbles between his tumbles, creating a minefield.

Serenity arched between two but a third, nigh-invisible sphere that was blocked by the others’ shimmer rose right into her face.

“Muk…” she mumbled, mimicking her Trainer.

Sweeping her tail and fins to try to graze by it, the edge of her sail connected, and a shockwave of liquid collided with her side, carrying her into a second to ping-ponging back into the semi-murky water.

Energy matrix down to 67%, Serenity spun into the tides to evade a ray of crimson light seeking to drain it further, and to make matters worse, Light Screen wore off.

Retreating back into the storm, her speed increased, outpacing her pursuer, yet she saw the rain thicken as he renewed the Rain Dance, spreading the clouds to a new area; according to Amira, it was impossible for them to win due to his level and Ability continually healing him while in the tempest.

Serenity broke the surface to float between the dying drizzle and the new one, facing Lenny as he settled on a platform; her heart was thumping a million kilometers an hour at the high-speed battle.

“Nice trick with the Bubbles.”

“Heh-he, well, you’ve been doing great yourself, Ma’am,” he grinned, only showing one eye again with his down-sloped lily pad. “I admire the effort you’re givin’, but what do ya think you’re gonna do to win? You don’t seem to be usin’ your energy at all in these Tackles.”

“Good! He’s not getting instruction from his Trainer; this is all him versus us.”

She tilted to the side a bit for one of her eyes to catch a glimpse of the smiling and thoughtful Gym Leader following the battle behind her. Lenny was likely a strong Silver-tier competitor in training—according to Amira—and this was his first real official battle since few Trainers in Bronze would ever face a rain setter.

“Your storms don’t seem to last that long,” she said, expression and tone emotionless as her tiny pupils lifted to direct his attention to the dispersing clouds above her. “Is that normal?”

“Hmm-hmm. You may be elusive, but you’ll run out of energy before you take down my matrix, Ma’am. Go ahead, try; I won’t move.”

He didn’t sound condescending, which was somewhat rare for most Pokemon that saw her ugly, shabby, white and black scales; in fact, he seemed to be trying to teach her the gimmick Misty had placed as their barrier for her Encrusted Badge.

Hehe. You don’t know how smart my Trainer is!

“Hmm. I’m more interested in testing out swimming in the rain, so let’s keep this going!” Serenity internally chimed, creating another twirling splash of sparkling water before dipping into the pool to enter the drizzle.

Speed doubling, she couldn’t help but scream with her swirling stomach as she bulleted in zig-zag motions within the current, taking the opportunity to better orient herself in the stream, and if she could smirk, she would.

Lenny blew dozens of bubbles into the tide before blanketing them in his mist; Serenity simply rocketed to the surface to spin and spray shiny droplets in the light rainfall, taking to the air to continue her dance with the music.

“I’m not spotless; I have my share of stripes. No one is flawless, but we’re all diamonds!”

Smog settled over the pool with her wide circles, dodging the jets of water, bubbles, and rays of light for almost a minute before the second drizzle cleared, leaving Lenny huffing and puffing at the center.

Doing a reverse front flip in her forward motion to hover across from the Lotad, Serenity chuckled, coming across as robotic—Gables’ phrase—in her emotionless voice. “Running low on energy? Hehe. Maybe you shouldn’t have kept using Rain Dance.”

Amira cheered at the Pokemon’s overestimation in out-stalling her. “It’s time for the finale.”

Lenny forced a laugh with the crowd on the edge of their seats; she’d only been able to evade the far stronger Pokemon’s attacks due to Amira’s guidance, Alice’s tag training, and the extra speed she’d gained.

“You… were trying to make me run out of power, but I don’t need Rain Dance to shatter your defenses, and now you don’t have that bursty speed, Ma’am. What will you do now, because I can drop you faster than you can drop me?”

Dragon flames leaked out of her big lips as she gathered her energy. “Heh. We’ll see, Big Shot; I’m pretty agile.”

“Run, run, run, Ma’am; you certainly are a diamond, though.”

“Thanks.”

He said I’m a diamond, Amira!

“Mmh! Getting excited, are we? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; we only get one shot at this.”

Let’s win this! Serenity roared with Holly; Amber was peaking through their Trainer’s eyes behind one paw.

“You’re amazing, Serenity!”

“Look out!”

Hehe. You’re so funny, Amber, she snickered, using her wide field of vision to track Lenny’s beak and dodge the absorbing light to return a beam of her own, reapplying the paralysis he’d shaken off some time ago. It’s time for the gamble!

Ducking into the pool to temporarily evade his sight, Serenity fired violet-hued spheres out while he locked up, detonating in his face to confuse him again, and shooting to the surface, she rammed against the Lotad, throwing him to another platform, yet he managed to right himself in the air.

Exposed in her trajectory, Lenny opened his mouth, shaky eyes trying to keep focused to fire the crimson ray, and Serenity met it head-on, scales flaring in a rainbow sheen.

The absorb was weightless, sapping her defensive nexus as she converted his own Move but, instead of pumping it into her own shield, she gathered it into an attack, mixing in a good amount of Amira’s fortitude.

Fighting past the discomfort of allowing herself to be drained, Serenity counted down the damage, waiting for the number Amira predicted was their best shot. 60%... 40%... 10%... No!

At 8% Lenny’s focused beam broke, his internal energy collapsing on the ramping attack to send him hurtling to the side in a miniature explosion—Confusion had worked against them—and she hadn’t gathered enough energy to do the needed damage, but it was too late now.

Rainbow, light-collecting orb condensing in her mouth, Serenity twisted into a spin to redirect her colorful globe, hurling it two meters to detonate on her stunned opponent. She smiled upon seeing the eruption of sparkling waves in the dispersing force, ending in a glimmering spray that arced into existence.

Not missing a beat—feeling Amira wince at the rapid draw of energy and forcefully enhanced Mirror Coat—she plunged into the water to dive under the changing tide.

Spotting her semi-recovering opponent, Serenity opened her mouth for a draconic pulse to roar into existence and carry the Lily Pad Pokemon into the fading rainbow, shattering Lenny’s defensive matrix—they’d won.

“Whooo!” Serenity cheered with the standing and clapping crowd.

The announcer laughed, sounding on the edge of his seat. “I don’t know if this was a contest or an Encrusted Gym Challenge, but Amira Rocket brought the show, Ladies and Gentlemen! The victory goes to the Fire Stone of Viridian!”

* * *

Amira could hardly hear anything beyond the blood pumping in her own ears; her knees felt weak, her body heavy, and her armpits slick with sweat as if she’d just run a marathon. We won… How does Rhea handle intense battles so well with a Master Ball? I’m about to collapse!

Her attention shot to Misty as she clapped, and there was a soft smile on her face that said she’d hoped for this outcome and, after several seconds of noise, everyone settled down to hear the Gym Leader’s words.

“Well done, Amira. How do you think you did?”

Making me explain my strategy because my family is here? Thanks, Misty… she sighed, collecting herself as Amber and Holly celebrated with Serenity, who was currently helping her opponent return to a distance he could be recalled by his pokeball.

“I… ahem… I think I did adequately, but there is certainly much room for improvement. We’d hoped to confuse your Lotad and fuddle with his mind so he wouldn’t catch onto the Mirror Coat, but that backfired a bit.

“You allowed your Lotad to battle himself, without giving him pointers and providing him an opportunity to learn how a Trainer battle played out. Correct?”

Misty put a hand on her hip and snickered. “Indeed. I never expected Lenny to actually face a Bronze Trainer; he isn’t ready for Silver-tier yet but is far too powerful for Bronze. Fortunately, given your spectacular Feebas, it gave me a chance to give him a sneak peek at battling a smart team. I expect you can explain your strategy, but could you explain mine?”

Amira’s red irises shifted to the stand filled with her family and Rocket workers—more than likely, her mother had spent a decent amount of the monthly budget on buying the seats herself; it was something she’d do. Swallowing, Amira tried to keep her composure, despite her thumping heart.

“It was really a vicious strategy. Lenny had access to Rain Dance and Rain Dish, restoring his defensive matrix to such a degree that Serenity and I would long run out of energy before we could do anything meaningful.

“So, to counter that, we had to stall and goad him into using up his much larger energy pool—considering his strength compared to Serenity—mitigating as much damage and retaining as much strength as we could for the counter.

“To top it off, Absorb was the nail in the coffin; we couldn’t win without risking everything on rattling him to gather enough force in a Mirror Coat to mostly one-shot him, which wasn’t easy considering Serenity’s own defensive matrix, but she was amazing at predicting the attacks and dodging with the added rain speed—Swift Swim—and your forethought, no doubt.

“The bubbles were concerning at times, but Serenity managed to evade most… Our confusion cut off the tiny bit more of energy we needed to finish him, but the damage of his Move collapse, the Mirror Coat, and Dragon Pulse managed to barely break his defense matrix.”

A toothy grin came from the ginger-haired woman as she gave her a thumbs up. “You gave a wonderful performance, Amira, and not only figured out a tough puzzle but managed to execute it. Hold your head high, and treat that gorgeous Feebas of yours to something special, because she was brilliant!”

“Heh. Will do. Thank you, Gym Leader Misty.”

Letting Serenity show off a bit more with a few sparkling splashes, Amira recalled her precious little diamond as the crowd started to scream the Diamond chant, and the screen overhead showed her mother being held by her father, sniffing back tears.

Oh, Mom… You never change, she internally laughed while exiting for Lori to take her place. No one’s flawless, but we’re all diamonds, huh? I love you, Mom.