The good thing about making such a public announcement about testing Gym Leaders was that it certainly drew attention to our little group. The day after everything that went down in Malie Garden, I noticed that people frequently turned their heads our way as we explored Malie City. With so much attention on us, I was confident that anyone after Lillie and Nebbie would be even more dissuaded from attacking than before.

I mean, who would be insane enough to go after a group that had almost an entire region watching their every move?

(That was not a jinx. That thought was not going to bite us in the butt.)

Regardless of any newfound fame or infamy, Malie City was still a decent place to be in. The city itself was one of the largest population centers in Alola, and it was also one of the premier tourist destinations as well. Initially founded by settlers from Johto, the entire city—not just its gardens—was styled after the foreign region itself. Many buildings had been built with that classic, sloped, tiled roof, and the streets were lined with paper lanterns. Even the famous Malie Library itself looked like it had been pulled directly from Johto’s Ecruteak City.

We planned to spend a few days here just to enjoy the sights, as we had no need to rush so early on within Ula'ula's two month period. Ula’ula might have been the largest Alolan island, but most of it consisted of mountain ranges, so there were fewer places to visit than one might initially think. With that, we’d mostly be circling around its edge to hit every point of interest. For now, but there was shopping to be done and Pokémon to be treated. Everyone deserved to get something nice.

With the sheer number of shops, there were plenty of places to browse and patronize. Everyone in our group split—with Lillie escorted by our Pokémon taking turns—and I ended up going with my Pokémon to buy them items from specialty stores.

Cutiefly and Florges purchased a few seed packets for local flowers, interested in planting them in the gardens back home. For Eevee, he requested a set of blue, trailing ribbons, which he immediately put on his head and flicked around, pretending to have already evolved into Sylveon. Altaria got an extra helping of sweets as I talked about repair options for his basket—which was on a ship delivering it back to Hoenn—and Ninetales and Dedenne got their own share of treats, too, which Dedenne was overjoyed to see were proportional to his greater size.

As for Tinkatuff, we purchased her a huge amount of metal. Seriously, I now had a pile of scrap taking up half of our room in the Malie Pokémon Center. Each piece she specifically selected over the course of several hours, and it took an entire team’s effort to bring it all back. Once it was all gathered, she walked up to the mound, hefted her mallet to her side, and then she began to laugh.

The maniacal laughter would have been terrifying if not for the fact she sounded like a child who was just told she could have ice cream for dinner. She was too cute to be properly intimidating when not aggressively wielding her hammer.

But, across Malie City, there was still one last thing I couldn’t exactly purchase for my Pokémon—mostly. I promised them all we’d work on their evolutions, with Cutiefly taking priority in the short term. He desperately needed the boost, and, as a Bug Type, he grew quickly. With just a little boost, I could tell he could reach his next and final stage. Thankfully, there was the perfect place here for us to do exactly that.

We went to Ryuki’s unofficial Gym.

“Are you sure about this, Ale—I mean, Robin?” Hope asked as we stood outside the classically-shaped building.

“Of course!” I put on a much deeper voice than usual in my disguise as a tourist. I didn’t have a mask or a voice changer, but I did have a pair of sunglasses, a straw hat, and an alolan T-shirt. “Cutiefly needs a worthwhile challenge to evolve, and what better place than a Dragon Type Gym?”

Hope was also in a disguise, but hers was more simple, consisting of a loose tropical shirt and pants. Next to her, Lillie wasn’t in a disguise, but that was simply due to the fact she wasn’t anywhere near as recognizable.

“And you’ll be doing their Advanced course, not their Elite?” she asked.

“I need to train my team, and we can still take on Ryuki’s core team later once we’re both prepared. Think of this as a... secret test. If he wants to be a Gym Leader, I expect his pretend Gym to be a decent approximation of an actual Gym, not just an attraction for tourists.”

Hope looked unconvinced, but, next to her, Lillie nodded her head and pumped a fist.

“Good luck! I want to take him on next!”

Hope snapped her head to Lillie, mouth open in betrayal.

“I thought you wanted to go to Malie Library today?” Hope asked, almost in an upset whine.

“I do, but I don’t want to miss this chance to train my team. Everyone deserves to have a good fight, and I’ve never fought in a Gym before! Plus...” she waved Hope over, causing the older trainer to lean down to let Lillie whisper in her ear. “It costs money to take it on, and this way, Alex can test out whether or not it's a scam, first.”

Hope snorted in amusement.

“Hey!” I shouted. Neither of them blinked an eye.

“Alright. You’ve convinced me,” Hope said. “Good luck, A—Robin! Make sure to get your money’s worth!”

I huffed as she spun on a heel, laughing, and walked off. Lillie ran after her before taking the lead. They moved down the street, no one paying them any mind, and I shook my head and held out a Pokéball.

Cutiefly appeared with a flash of light. The little bug shook to make sure his yellow fuzz wasn’t sticking down to his body as he buzzed up and landed on my shoulder.

“Ready for today?” I asked.

He let out a sharp noise that sounded like a high-pitched trumpet.

“Then let’s head in,” I said.

Thus, we entered.

It’d been ages since I’d participated in anything approaching a normal Gym challenge. Sure, I had fought all of the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, but I’d skipped the usual process on account of my scheduled, public matches with them on behalf of Sycamore. Battling their core teams was different from battling any of their lower-ranked teams. For that reason, I didn’t even stop to check most of their Gym Trials.

Here? In this so-called “Kantonian Gym?” This place was modeled after the Vermilion City Gym in Kanto, so much so that Ryuki almost got in legal trouble over it. I had read a few articles on the place last night, and it turned out that it was so close to the original, Electric Type Gym, that Ryuki actually technically violated Kantonian law. Luckily for him, he was in Alola, and when it came to the laws outside of the League-regulated Pokémon battles, regions generally had their own rules and exceptions, which let him just barely skirt by.

(I wasn’t sure if that was a point for or against his favor.)

Regardless, it was almost nostalgic as I entered the building, as it came complete with the classic lobby and waiting room that most Gyms I’d visited in the past had. A few people sat in hard-backed chairs, waiting and watching, and a door to the back had glass windows to it that let me see flashes of movement that signified a fight. With Cutiefly still on my shoulder, I walked right up to the receptionist to register, and I did my best not to grumble too hard when I passed over the entrance fee.

A thousand bucks for a single attempt felt like way too much. That was only for the middle-tier challenge, too, as the “Advanced” challenge cost only half as much as the “Elite” version.

Cutiefly and I sat down as we watched people go in and out. Challenges took place in fifteen-minute intervals, which was a fast turnaround for a place with only a single back room. It didn’t take too long for everyone ahead of us to go in, just a cool and short forty-five minutes, and, after waiting, it was our turn to head inside.

“Robin, Advanced course!” the receptionist shouted out. “Head through the door on the back wall when you’re ready.”

I lightly shook my shoulder to nudge the dozing Cutiefly awake. Once he was, with a smile, we headed to start this unofficial Gym’s challenge.

And then I immediately jumped when a blast of loud music played.

“WELCOME TO MY GYM!” a voice blared out over music from a set of hidden speakers. “I’m the unofficial Gym Leader, Ryuki, of course, or at least a recording of my own voice!” He laughed as part of this recorded track. “In order to challenge me, you’ll need to unlock the door to the main battlefield! However, doing so isn’t so simple, as you’ll need to press the correct pair of buttons back to back, finding them where they’re hidden in the room. You’ll have three tries to press the right buttons, and failing to do so means an end to your challenge!”

As the recording spoke, my gaze panned across the room. The place was stylized to look like something straight out of a power plant, complete with metal walls and a simple, tile floor. Across the floor itself was an array of trash cans, and, glancing into the nearest one, I could see they were filled with balled up pieces of paper and other simple stand-ins for real trash.

In the center of the room, however, there was a large gap, roughly half the size of a normal, League-standard field. There were no painted lines to it, but it was clear the space had been cleared out to serve as a basic battlefield.

Finally, in the back, there was a set of metal double doors with a pair of lights above it, and three trainers were idling around the room, ready to fight if needed.

“Now, I’m not completely unfair when it comes to this challenge!” Ryuki’s recorded voice continued. “If you don’t want to be stuck guessing, there are Gym Trainers awaiting your challenge with Pokémon of their own! Defeating one trainer means obtaining one hint for where the buttons are hidden, but having a Pokémon faint against one means that one of your three button presses will be used up. As you decided to take on the Elite Course—”

The track suddenly cut out, and I frowned. There was a moment where the music stopped playing, and then I jumped again as it that initial loud blare blasted out again.

“WELCOME TO MY GYM!” the track said loudly for a second time. A blonde woman leaning against a wall rolled her eyes. “I’m the unofficial Gym Leader, Ryuki, of course, or at least—”

From there, there was the squeaking, high-pitched noise of a track being fast-forwarded. It slowed back down when it moved to the correct point on the recording.

“As you decided to take on the Advanced Course—”

“Surely there’s a better way to set up the recordings than that,” I mumbled.

Cutiefly buzzed in agreement. His hair stood on its end after being surprised by the loud start of the track not once, but twice.

“...you’ll have ten minutes to unlock the back doors, and your opponents will fight with one Pokémon each! Be careful, though, because just because they only have one Pokémon, doesn’t mean they’ll be pushovers,” it continued. “Now, come! Take on my Kantonian Gym and prove yourself worthy of facing ME!”

The recording concluded with the music picking up in a dramatic fanfare before it fading out into soft music to serve as background noise for our challenge. A beep rang out as something on the wall clicked, and I saw an electronic timer near the ceiling begin to count down from ten minutes.

This was a simple challenge overall, and even despite the slip-up with the recording, it was clear there was some care put into this.

When the recording finished, I took a moment to look around the room once more, taking in the three trainers standing around. They all mostly kept their expressions serious, with each of them having at least one Pokéball attached to a belt on their waists.

Against one wall, a young, blonde woman leaned against the metal paneling. In the center, a man dressed like a sailor crossed his arms and sat on a trash as if it were a seat. Finally, in the back, an older gentleman in a brown suit stood supported by a cane beside the metal doors to the next room, almost appearing as some sort of faux-gatekeeper.

“Which one first?” I asked Cutiefly.

His head turned left and right to glance between them until he settled on the trainer that was least intimidating—the only one who looked kind of bored, the young woman.

We headed over to her first.

“Hey! We—”

“Challenge me to a battle?” she said with a sigh.

I blinked.

“Um. Yeah,” I said.

“Let’s make this quick.”

Without exchanging any further words, she pushed off the wall and stretched before moving to the center space for our fight, as I predicted. She placed a hand on her Pokéball and watched me as I moved over to the opposite end of the field.

“The rules are simple: a one-on-one match to faint my Pokémon, and if you beat me, I give you a hint for which trash cans contain the right buttons,” she said. “As the challenger, you’re allowed to switch and replace any Pokémon that faint. No limits on that.”

“Makes sense,” I said.

“Good. Let’s make this quick. Vibrava!” she shouted.

Appearing in the space between us was a bug-like Pokémon with diamond-shaped wings. It resembled a dragonfly with how its body was shaped, and it had a pair of wide, green eyes and simple antennae.

The Vibrava landed on the floor and pushed up its front legs to raise its head. Upon tilting slightly to better appraise Cutiefly and I, its wings flapped to bring it into the air, where it buzzed as it flew.

Cutiefly backed up on my shoulder. Fighting a flying Pokémon would be too much of a challenge for him at this stage.

“Alright, then. Watch closely,” I told him.

Appearing on the field wasn’t Cutiefly. Instead, a flash of light, and Tinkatuff appeared. She wielded her hammer in both hands and shook her head to flick her ponytail back. The moment she laid her eyes on Vibrava, a wide grin formed on her face, and frost crackled up her hammer.

“Hey!” I shouted. “No Ice Hammer! That defeats the point of challenging this Gym!”

Tinkatuff grumbled as all the half-formed ice puffed out into mist.

“Start with a sweeping Dragon Breath, Vibrava,” our opponent ordered.

“Head straight into it!”

Battle starting, Tinkatuff ran forward, holding her hammer high. The buzzing of Vibrava’s wings increased in volume as it swept forward, and the mouth on the lower side of its head opened up.

Yellow flames were breathed forward, searing into the ground in a path that went straight at Tinkatuff. I could tell right away that my opponent wasn’t familiar with Tinkatuff’s species. Tinkatuff was immune to attack, but if she were any other Type, this Dragon Breath would have been a decent initial salvo to cause paralysis.

We took advantage of her immunity. As it stood, she was more than ready to attack straight through the incoming fire.

Astonish was a move Tinkatuff had known for a while, and the technique she used here was based on an “upgraded” form of the attack. Instead of releasing a basic, flinch-causing jolt, she instead feigned a swing of her hammer to take advantage of Vibrava being unfamiliar with how she fought.

The Dragon Type moved to dodge, still breathing out its ineffective fire, then Tinkatuff suddenly lurched. Shocked, it flinched backwards, and Tinkatuff was able to jab her hammer like a spear right into its unguarded chest. Vibrava momentarily froze out of shock.

We only had one chance to utilize Fake Out each battle, but it worked out pretty well here.

“Now, grab and throw into a Play Rough!”

Tinkatuff grinned.

With Vibrava stunned via Fake Out, Tinkatuff faced no resistance as she jumped up to latch onto one of Vibrava’s legs. She yanked it out of the sky, with Vibrava unable to escape, and she slammed it into the ground before pinning it in place with a foot on its chest.

“Get out of there!” Vibrava’s trainer shouted.

It was stuck. Upside-down from that throw, its wings failed to bring it into the air, especially with Tinkatuff keeping pressed down in place. Despite its squirming, Tinkatuf was easily able to heave up her hammer for a swing, and a Fairy-infused Play Rough hammer-blow landed right on its vulnerable head.

“Vibrava!” the woman shouted.

When the hammer was pulled back, Vibrava was not moving. A single moment of underestimation had sealed its fate for this match.

Tinkatuff was smiling as Vibrava was returned. She spun her hammer in her hand before letting it rest against her shoulder. She did have to take a moment to properly balance it, however, as its growing size meant it was slowly becoming unyielding. She still managed the pull of the pose, though.

Our opponent, however, just let out a depressed sigh and clicked the Pokéball containing Vibrava back to her belt. She rubbed the side of her head out of annoyance.

“For your hint, the two correct buttons are in sequential trash cans—not diagonal. That means there are four options at most to check after you find the correct first button.”

Huh. I actually knew that from the games.

The Gym Trainer didn’t say anything else. She walked off the field and immediately returned to where she had been leaning against the wall. Rather than resuming her previous position, she pushed the metal panel next to her, and it opened up into a secret exit that she went through without even a blink.

“I’m taking my break!” she shouted.

No one shouted anything back to deny her.

She left the room as Tinkatuff, Cutiefly, and I remained in the center. I looked to the next trainer, the burly sailor leaning against a trash can.

“Am I next?” he said with a grin.

“Yeah, I’m just wondering—”

“Don’t you worry about her. After a loss like that, any youth would be frustrated!” the old man in the back called out.

I nodded as the sailor moved to the field. I glanced at the timer on the wall to see that only two minutes had passed. The other two people in the room didn’t give it any extra thought. They just seemed ready to let me take them on one-by-one, instead.

“Same rules, same challenge!” the sailor trainer shouted with a boisterous laugh. “Still using your hammer Pokémon?”

“Tinkatuff?” I looked over to her. “I’ll give another Pokémon a shot.”

Cutiefly seemed intent to simply watch again, so I returned Tinkatuff and sent someone else out. This time, Eevee appeared on the field, and upon seeing who his opponent was, he bent down and did his best to display a snarl.

He still looked very cute, despite that.

“Tough little guy, aren’t ya?” the sailor said. “Well, let’s see how tough you are with this. Hakamo-o! Let’s go! Show them your strength!”

Appearing on the field was a surprise of a Pokémon: Hakamo-o, the middle stage of Alola’s resident pseudo-Legendary. It was almost raptor-like, standing on two legs with a long tail and clawed arms. However, what made it stand out were the heavy scales that hung over its arms and hand. In a demonstration of its abilities, it bashed them together to make a clanging, resonant noise.

“It’s a part Fighting Type, Eevee!” I shouted. “Be careful of any super effective moves!”

He responded to my caution with a sharp “Vee!”

The man across from us seemed to rumble in though.

“Well, let’s get this match started. I’ll move first! Hakamo-o! Get it to the ground with Low Kick!”

“Run back and Charm!” I shouted.

Hakamo-o wasn’t the fastest Pokémon, so with Eevee’s speed training, he was faster. As the Dragon Type sauntered forward, Eevee easily hopped back, keeping distance while maintaining line of sight to his opponent.

As he moved, his eyes flashed pink, and I could see Hakamo’s heavy jaw curve up into a frown. Thanks to the conflicting Type, Charm landed without a problem, and Hakamo-o’s gait seemed to slow from slight hesitation as it chased after Eevee.

Our opponent frowned.

“This isn’t working! Go for a Scary Face!” he shouted.

“Keep up with the Charm!” I yelled in response.

Eevee continued to move back, his eyes still flashing pink, but Hakamo-o stopped chasing to send him a nasty glare.

With this move, Hakamo-o proved to be just as intimidating as any other Dragon Type. Its face twisted up into a snarl. Eevee took one look at its exposed daggers of teeth and the pair of glaring, sharp eyes and stiffened at the sight. Now, he was hesitant to fight just as much as Hakamo-o, but where Hakamo-o was holding back its aggression, Eevee was finding it harder to move as fast as he was moving before.

“Perfect! Now, Dragon Claw!”

“Shadow Ball!” I shouted right after.

Scary Face took advantage of most Pokémon’s prey reaction, utilizing the sight of a near-apex predator to cause them to be locked up with fear. For all the motivation Eevee had, he was still slower than before, which let Hakamo-o easily catch up to where he was trying to back up.

It jogged forward, arm raised into the air, and Eevee hastily summoned a ball of darkness right in front of his face. However, when the Dragon Type’s arm slashed down for Dragon Claw, the attack came out with little force behind it, thanks to Eevee’s previous uses of Charm. He suffered no more than a light graze, and a Shadow Ball slammed into Hakamo-o’s chest.

“Iron Defense!” our opponent shouted.

We both recognized the same thing: Eevee had the higher potential for damage, and, if our opponent wanted to win, he needed to fix that. With him falling back into a defensive strategy, he was giving us room to attack as well. As a result, Eevee didn’t even need a command to launch himself into a follow-up attack.

Eevee knew from both Mawile and Carbink that Iron Defense might physically harden a foe, but it didn’t provide much more than that. He used the speed from Quick Attack to slam into Hakamo-o’s chest, dealing minimal damage, but when it tried to sweep a leg out for Low Kick, he was able to hop over it and dart around to its back. A claw was then blindly swung behind it for another attempt at Dragon Claw, but Eevee ducked beneath it and countered with a Swift that battered the Dragon Type’s scaled hide.

“Try your new move!” I shouted.

As Hakamo-o took a moment to turn, Eevee grinned, and dug his feet into the floor. The Dragon Type wasn’t ready for the brown blur of fur to suddenly jump into the air, launching itself right into its visibly surprised face.

An audible smack, and Eevee’s Take Down caught Hakamo-o off guard. Like the Quick Attack, it didn’t do much damage, but hitting it so high up caused it to momentarily lose its balance. A leg went up as its arms started to flail, and, taking advantage of that, Eevee pushed through the recoil to land on the floor and swipe with a Tail Whip.

As a result, Hakamo-o fell, but it wasn’t out of the fight quite yet.

“Headbutt!”

“Swift!”

It tried to grab the ground to yank itself right into Eevee, but a nimble jump and a Swift followed, and the battering, special move was enough to ensure Hakamo-o couldn’t get up. The Swift wore it into submission not long after.

Our opponent whistled, impressed.

“That’s a speedy little thing you got there,” he said. Eevee preened under the praise, his fur puffing up in pride. “As for my hint... Well, the correct first button is in one of the corners of the room. That should narrow down your choices a good chunk.”

He smiled as he returned his Hakamo-o, and Eevee ran to my side to sit in front of my feet. He hadn’t taken much damage, but he still wanted to be babied a little bit. I knelt down as his tail wagged, and I used a potion to spray his wounds.

“Great job,” I said. “Your agility is growing leaps and bounds—literally, I suppose.”

He exposed his teeth in an exuberant smile. I rubbed his head.

As Eevee trotted over to sit at my side, I turned to the final trainer in the room, and the suited gentlemen chuckled before walking over.

“My turn, is it?”

I nodded and checked the clock. I still had just over half the remaining time. We were sailing through this challenge with ease.

“For my Pokémon...” he hummed, rubbing the small, white beard on his chin. At his side, he actually had more than one Pokéball on his belt. After taking a moment to think, he pulled off the second ball in the set, and a brand new Dragon Type appeared on the field.

This one was long, slender, and serpentine, with pristine and polished scales across its entire body. A blue, gemstone sphere hung off its neck while a pair of white wings flicked back like ears on the sides of its head. This Pokémon was a Dragonair, and I could tell it was well taken care of, too.

I hummed.

“Against a Dragonair? Hm. Togetic could probably—”

A buzz from my shoulder. Cutiefly flew forward to face the Dragon Type on the field.

“Cutiefly, are you sure about this? I think this Dragonair might actually be tougher than the other two Pokémon.”

He let himself bob where he flew, mimicking the motion of a nod. I could tell he didn’t want everyone else to win a match without him.

Rather than return Eevee, I let him remain at my side so he could watch the next battle. The potion had already healed the majority of the slight cuts and scrapes he received against Hakamo-o, and we just needed to wait to allow it to finish the rest of its heals.

“I’ll let you have the first move,” our opponent said.

“Thank you. Cutiefly! Go for a combined Sweet Scent and Stun Spore!”

The battle started quickly, with the flapping of Cutiefly’s wings increasing in ferocity. He moved quickly, rising in the air from the effort. A faint, pink mist left his body, and the room gained a sweet smell as a result. He then began to fly forward as green powder trailed from his back.

The two moves together synergized in that Sweet Scent reduced the willingness of a Pokémon to dodge. The calming scent relaxed them, which gave the somewhat slow Stun Spore a greater chance of causing a debilitating allergic reaction. In a response, the paralyzing condition would help minimize the gap between Cutiefly and his foe, giving him that much more leeway to fight against a tougher opponent.

“Clever strategy. Attempting to guarantee paralysis?” the gentleman mused. “Dragonair, take the attack. Go for a Leer during its approach.”

Dragonair, with its long body that towered over the field, let Cutiefly near without putting up a fight. It didn’t move much, only turning its head to maintain a glare, but that was enough to cause an effect in Cutiefly, albeit minor.

In response to its pointed stare, Cutiefly’s movements slowed. It wasn’t that the move lowered his speed, but it did cause him to shake with nerves. Cutiefly knew he was weak, and the Leer was imperious enough to remind him of his own lack of strength. He was opened up to a greater potential for attacks, but he still pushed on towards his foe, regardless.

I don’t get it. Why have Dragonair take the Stun Spore like that?

Cutiefly neared, and the tip of Dragonair’s tail tensed. My eyes widened in sudden realization.

“Pull up!” I shouted as fast as I could.

For all his speed, Dragonair was faster, and its lower, back half snapped forward towards where Cutiefly flew through the air. It was only through my shout that Cutiefly had the mind to dodge just in time. Where its tail curved in the air to grab him, it wrapped around nothing but wind. Cutiefly slipped through the narrowest of openings to dash right up and over Dragonair’s body.

As he did, his Stun Spore continued, and Dragonair did nothing to resist. As a result, the serpent Pokémon stiffened, the paralysis settling into its body.

“You have to get away!” I yelled.

Our opponent didn’t even blink.

“Twister,” he said calmly.

Cutiefly might have been immune to the Dragon Type damage that came with the winds, but he wasn’t immune to the winds themselves. With Dragonair conjuring the move, Cutiefly was soon trapped in a vortex that kept him right above the serpent’s body. To make matters worse, Dragonair pushed up off the ground here.

A thin outer layer then slipped off of Dragonair’s body. Thanks to its ability, Shed Skin, it peeled the paralysis away and was able to move freely as if the Stun Spore never happened.

Just what I feared.

With Cutiefly being a fast but weak flier, the Twister continued to whip him around in the air. Dragonair took advantage of that to fly right up to him, easily catching him with the tip of its tail and wrapping around him with a brand new attack: Wrap.

“Defend yourself! Go for a Draining Kiss!” I yelled.

The Twister ended with a brief shine of Dragonair’s blue crystal, and it squeezed him where the pair remained floating in the air. The coiling move caused Cutiefly to squeak with pain, but he forcibly shut his eyes to steady himself through the pain, jabbing his proboscis down while he had the chance.

He pierced Dragonair’s scales. Pink motes of energy formed and were sucked up as he used a rarely-taught Fairy Type move: Draining Kiss.

Now, I wasn’t a fan of Draining Kiss, mostly because it was too risky of a move. Not only was it only barely better than Disarming Voice, but it required the user to get up closer, where they’d be even more vulnerable to melee attacks. Sure, it healed part of the damage it dealt, but the amount of damage a Pokémon opened itself up to usually made the move not worth it. In Cutiefly’s case, his proboscis made him uniquely skilled at the move, so I had mostly encouraged him to learn it as a way to practice manipulating Fairy Type energy.

I never expected him to use it in a battle like this, but it was currently ensuring the powerful Wrap didn’t take him out.

“Dazzling Gleam!” I shouted.

A few pink sparks left Cutiefly’s body, but he wasn’t able to do much more than that through the pain. I couldn’t even recall him here thanks to the effects of Wrap holding him in place, and the difference in strength made it clear he was taking more damage than he was recovering.

I let out a sigh.

“I’ll withdraw Cutiefly,” I announced.

The Dragonair immediately released him, and he floated down to the ground, dazed. His tiny body heaved up and down as he panted.

“That was a good try, Cutiefly. Even though you didn’t win, the fact that you lasted as long as you did is a huge improvement from where you were at the start!”

The lack of a mouth meant he couldn’t smile, but his depressed slump lessened at my praise. Rather than require him to fly over, I walked into the space to scoop him onto my shoulder. After giving Dragonair a respectful nod, I then moved back to my previous position.

“Unfortunately, that withdrawal does mean you will lose one of your chances to select the correct button,” the gentleman said to inform me.

“It’s cruel of you to use Wrap like that when a return wouldn’t have warranted that punishment,” I quipped back.

He merely shrugged.

“I take my job seriously,” he replied.

Off to the side, the watching sailor snorted in amusement. I grabbed a different Pokéball from my belt.

“Alright you two,” I said to the resting Cutiefly and Eevee. “Watch how Togetic does it.”

The final Pokémon on my team was sent out here, and Togetic appeared with a bounce on her feet. She almost immediately flapped her small wings to enter the air right after.

As she did, a smirk appeared on her face as she prepared herself to take on Dragonair. The Dragonair spun briefly and raised its head higher up, but I did see it wince slightly from the damage Cutiefly had done to it earlier.

“You did a good job weakening it, too,” I whispered to him.

He buzzed thankfully in my ear.

As I said that, however, the gentleman pointed a hand forward.

“Since you moved first last time, you must forgive me as I move first now! Dragonair, do not delay! Use Aqua Tail!”

It did exactly that.

Dragonair rushed forward, a blue glow covering the lower half of its body. A layer of water coated the very end of it as it moved as if swimming through the air. In response, Togetic merely smiled, and her body tensed to ready a move.

“Alright Togetic, go ahead and use—”

She attacked before I could finish.

With Dragonair approaching, Togetic wasted no time at all before using her small wings to pull up into a tight loop. Her speed drastically increased, and I actually saw her glow slightly with Psychic to let herself ignore the drag of the air.

Then, wind spiraled in her wake, and she curved to fly right at Dragonair. Her Hustle ability meant she put all her effort into this attack, but unlike with physical moves, she wasn’t trading off accuracy for power.

“That’s Air Cutter,” I said, surprised as spiraling gusts sliced through the air.

As an attack, it wasn’t as strong as Air Slash, but I still hadn’t known she had learned to move at all.

Dragonair tried to dodge, but Togepi controlled the cutting winds too well. Under her command, the attack sliced into Dragonair’s side, and the Dragon Type let out a cry of pain.

There’s no doubting it. She learned that from Cynthia’s Togekiss and hid it from me until now.

Togetic just laughed merrily at the sight of her successful move. Dragonair glared in response, bemused that Togetic had actually hurt it in a meaningful way.

“Thunder Wave,” the gentleman ordered.

“Again!” I shouted.

A bolt of lightning struck Togetic and immediately paralyzed her, but she pushed through that and pulled up into that same loop in the air to use the move once more.

This time, it came out faster—more confidently, too. Even with the paralysis forcing more deliberate movements, it seemed that since she had used the attack successfully at least once, Togetic was no longer holding back out of caution.

As a result, the surprise increase in speed meant Dragonair was even less prepared than before, and the Air Cutter sliced across its face this time around. It was through sheer coincidence that this second move landed a critical attack. I half wondered if it was Togetic’s developing Super Luck ability that manipulated the situation to cause that extra damaging move.

“Slam,” Dragonaire’s trainer said.

Dragonair sent its entire body forward in a rush towards Togetic, intending to crash right into her.

“Psychic!” I yelled.

Togetic glowed blue as she lifted up her arms, and the entire length of Dragonair was immediately caught in her telekinesis. A moment’s pause, and Togetic unceremoniously slammed it into the ground. A small cloud of dust puffed up in the crash’s wake.

With her enemy so far beneath her, Togetic finally winced from the electricity of paralysis coursing through her. She started to drift back down to the floor, where Dragonair was attempting to push its head up. It seemed intent on continuing the battle, but Togetic simply smiled and waved goodbye. A second later, its head fell to the floor, the Pokémon completely unconscious.

She won without expending much effort. All her practice with Togekiss seemed to have benefitted her greatly.

“I say,” my opponent commented. “A good match.”

“It was. Now, the hint?”

He laughed as my eyes flicked to the clock. With both Togetic and Cutiefly needing to wear Dragonite down, there was only a minute or so left. Given the positions of the trash cans, we would need to move quick to make it through the back doors.

“Let’s see... the final hint for you? The first correct button is in the row closest to the door.”

“Combined with the hint that the button is in the corners, and given that I only have two chances left...” I frowned. “I have even odds to guess which of the remaining two corners has the right first button, and then I have even odds to guess the correct second button. This really is a scam, huh?”

He laughed slightly, and he shook his head.

“Unfortunately, most things tend to end up as a game of chance.”

My frown deepened as the old man moved back to his position next to the metal doors in the back. Above them, the two lights were off, signaling that no correct buttons had been pressed.

Between the two possible corner trash cans, I was guaranteed to know which was correct even if I guessed the first chance wrong. After all, if it wasn’t the first one I pressed, it was always the second. The issue was I had a coin flip to determine the next button after that, as I had no guarantees which choice would be correct.

At least it’s a corner button. If it was a one anywhere else, my chance of completing this would be even lower.

I took note of the fact that if I had all three chances left, I would be guaranteed to make it to the next room, but I pushed that thought out of my head.

“Eevee, go to the trash can on the right, I’ll get the one on the left,” I said.

As I ran, I dug through my pack to pull out a Cheri Berry, and I tossed it to Togetic for her to eat to help get over her paralysis.

Cutiefly sat on my shoulder and watched as I reached down into the refuse bin, pushing aside the crumpled balls of paper and other discarded materials. I was thankful there was nothing wet or biological here. It was all dry waste that served as filler.

It took little effort to reach the bottom. Padding around, I could feel an extrusion that was clearly a button built into its base.

“I’m pressing mine!” I shouted.

Eevee shouted an acknowledgement from where he was digging into his can, and I hit it as soon as I could.

A loud buzzer rang out. I looked up.

Neither light turned on.

“One chance left,” the gentleman said.

I couldn’t see Eevee as he was literally within the trash. However, I did hear his shout that signalled he was pressing his. A “ding” rang out, and I looked up. I rushed over the second I saw one of the lights turn on over the door.

“Good job,” I said.

He poked his head up, and I brushed a bit of paper off of his fur. Taking him into my arms, I looked between the other two cans with a nervous hum.

Thirty seconds left, and I had even odds to guess which can was right.

I wanted to reach the final fight of this unofficial Gym, especially since Cutiefly was yet to evolve. Given he hadn’t fainted in our battle against the gentleman, he was on the road to recovery to participate in the next fight. He just needed that one, last push!

Each second that passed felt like it was hurting my odds. This place was already expensive enough, and I really didn’t want the money I’d spent go to waste.

As I fretted over my decision, it was Togetic who served as my solution. I didn’t want to risk it solely on a random chance, yet it was random chance that would hopefully ensure that we’d move on.

It took me only a split second to come up with a plan.

“Wait a second,” I realized. “Togetic! That’s it!”

She cocked her head to the side questioningly.

“You’re developing your Super Luck ability, right? Surely it can’t just increase the chance of critical hits. Tell me which trash can to pick instead!”

My words honestly sounded insane, causing her to blink. However, they had a bit of nonsensical logic to them that did cause her to hum in thought and tap her chin. Togetic slowly flew between the two trash cans as I nervously looked at the time.

Ten seconds left.

Nine.

Eight...

She glanced into one can and lifted up an arm to point at it. After a moment’s pause, she shook her head and pointed to the other one.

I ran. I had to dig through the trash.

Five...

Four...

Three...

I didn’t hesitate, but there was a lot of garbage in the way. It was Eevee who was the real savior, as he dove straight down into it and disappeared under the trash.

Is this how Marty feels with Garbador? At least all of this is dry.

A pause.

Then, a click.

Looking up to the pair of metal doors, the two lights turned on, and then they automatically swung open.

“Yes! I never thought I’d be this happy about digging through trash cans!”

The old man beside the exit chuckled, somewhat.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen someone put a Pokémon’s ability into use like that, but you may proceed ahead, regardless.”

I smiled at him and called Togetic over. Eevee popped out of the trash can once again. The timer had a single second left, but we had succeeded in the challenge and could now move on.

I returned Togetic, followed by Eevee. though it would have been good to let Cutiefly watch, I returned him as well to give him improved conditions to rest.

Striding into the last room, I mentally prepared myself for a final fight. From what I could tell, Ryuki was headstrong but an expert Dragon Type trainer. Against him, my team would get a solid challenge, and I hoped he’d serve as the grindstone that’d sharpen Cutiefly until he evolved.

A short hallway brought me to a room that only contained a battlefield. A small platform with a legally-distinct version of Kanto’s Thunder Badge hung on the wall over that stand. I initially grinned upon entering the room, but seeing who was here, that grin turned to a frown.

An older man in a Karate gi stood with his arms crossed on the platform. He kept a serious expression on his face that was void of all emotions. Three Pokéballs were attached to a blackbelt on his hip, but the expected white-haired trainer—Ryuki—was seemingly absent.

Despite this being his Gym, the Dragon Type specialist I sought wasn’t here.

“You gotta be kidding me,” I groaned.

At least we’d still get a good fight against his stand-in.