“Where’s Ryuki?”

I blurted out that question to the surprise of both me and the muscled, old man on the raised platform. Despite my rather blunt entrance, the man didn’t react to my words; he simply maintained an impassive frown that served as an intimidating expression.

“Ryuki is...” the old man paused. “Ryuki is a trainer among trainers. He has dedicated himself to the endless pursuit of strength, and thus he is unable to spend all of his time here.”

“So I won’t be facing his team?” I asked suspiciously. If this was supposed to be his Gym...

“You will be facing a trio of Pokémon that Ryuki personally trained,” the man promptly replied. “I serve as the Gym Leader in his place.”

I let out a hum as I walked forward, moving to the challenger’s trainer box at the edge of the room’s sole dirt field. Upon seeing that I was now ready to begin, the old man actually leaped off his platform into a three point landing inside his own designated trainer box. I could feel my jaw threaten to drop into a gape as he stood back up and dusted off his hands and gi. He even went the extra length of tightening his red headband and stepping to the side into a fighting stance, just to make this start even more dramatic.

“Challenger!” he shouted, his voice echoing over the room as he put all pretense behind us. “You have surpassed the Gym’s trial and proven yourself stronger than the other trainers here. However! You have not yet earned the right to call yourself a true conqueror of this Gym! Send out your Pokémon and prepare yourself for the true fight! Upon your choice, our battle will begin!”

From his waist, the man unhooked a Pokéball and pulled it back like a pitcher’s throw. He then hurled it as fast as he could to let light rocket out of the ball. Within a split second, a new Pokémon stood on the field, and it stomped down its thick, scaled legs to claw at the dirt, and its sharpened teeth clacked together with a snap of its jaws.

The Gabite didn’t hold a candle to Cynthia’s Garchomp, but even as that Dragon Type’s pre-evolved form, the Pokémon standing on the field was obviously not weak.

Togetic could likely win against this thing, but given that it's part Ground Type, challenging Gabite with her almost seems like a waste. While I do want Cutiefly to evolve, everyone on my team deserves experience, so for this battle...

“Tinkatuff!” I shouted.

The pink, hammer-wielding fairy herself appeared on the field, giving her chosen weapon a few heavy practice swings to show that she was ready to begin.

“A mistake,” the nameless Gym Leader said. “Gabite, Bulldoze.”

And just like that, the battle started.

Tinkatuff might have been a Fairy Type, but she was partially a Steel Type Pokémon, as well. Even though she should have had the advantage against Gabite’s Dragon Type, its secondary Ground Type meant both sides had a way to deal super effective damage to the other. What made matters worse for us, however, was that Tinkatuff lacked good defensive capabilities against the wide-ranged moves Ground Types tended to prefer.

But, given that, what better way to learn to defend against them if not in a fight?

“Fake Out!” I shouted.

Tinkatuff lunged forward, immediately bursting into a sprint over the simple, dirt field. However, where Gabite had dug its back claws into the ground, it kicked a foot out, and a wave of the dirt was brought up and sent towards her like a carpet being shook out.

Seeing the wall of earth coming right towards her, Fake Out was useless as she wouldn’t be able to reach her foe. She was forced to pause as a result, and she held her hammer out defensively, using its handle as some sort of break against the attack. However, the wall still carried itself forward regardless, and the Bulldoze ruptured and churned and carried her back several feet away with its chaotic, damaging mess.

A cry of pain. Tinkatuff was hurt by the attack, but pressing forward with her hammer let her burst through the other side. The super effective attack caused her to fall to the ground, but the butt of her hammer operated as a stabilizing point so that, at worst, she only took a knee.

She panted for just a second, and then when she looked up, Tinkatuff quickly saw that Gabite had given its attack chase, and it was already about to slash down.

A hastily-used Metal Claw parried the incoming attack, and the force of the clash pushed the pair back. They glared at each other as they weighed one another’s strength, then the Gabite used a move that would have made a Dark Type bristle with uncomfortable pride.

It leaned down, snapping its jaws to lure Tinkatuff’s eyes to its mouth. Then, while Tinkatuff wasn’t looking, it scooped up a bit of the field with its shorter, front claws and tossed the sediment right into her eyes.

The Sand Attack temporarily blinded her, opening her up to a further assault.

Tinkatuff was understandably upset, especially since she wanted to have a decent fight. Such an act meant she could no longer see, and her reaction was to flail and use what moves she could in a chaotic defense aimed at everything around her.

Two things happened in quick succession:

Gabite’s already lowered stance allowed it to rip a Sand Tomb out of the ground, kicking up a dust devil around Tinkatuff.

Tinkatuff unconsciously caused her hammer to crackle with ice, and she swung it down blindly in a swing that just happened to bonk Gabite right in the center of its head.

I didn’t want Tinkatuff to use Ice Hammer in this Gym simply because I wanted her to get more practice with her Fairy Type moves. However, Ice Hammer was an Egg Move—something she had known and practiced since she first hatched—so in her moment of panic, that attack came to her first. Gabite, being a dual Dragon and Ground Type, was both exceedingly vulnerable to Ice Type energy and completely unprepared for that sudden attack.

Long story short, it crumpled right there and then. The Ice Hammer bonk completely knocked it out.

“Tinkatuff! You won,” I shouted at my Pokémon.

Despite Gabite fainting, the Sand Tomb was still up, churning harsh grains of sand through the air that dug into Tinkatuff’s body. She paused upon hearing my voice, no long trying to hit an unseeable opponent around her, but with so much sand flying around, she didn’t have the opportunity to wipe her eyes clean.

“Turtonator,” our opponent declared.

I frowned at his decision—I remembered the Turtonator from Hope’s fight with Kiawe. This wasn’t a species to take lightly, and its Fire Type meant it was yet another Pokémon that had an advantage over Tinkatuff.

“Incinerate,” the man continued once the Pokémon appeared on the field.

Turtonator was a heavy dragon turtle whose shell was covered in spikes. It had a snout on its face that seemed to glow with heat, almost synchronized with its shell’s own glow, and a glob of flames shot out of its facial opening to soar right at where Tinkatuff was trapped in the Sand Tomb.

“Protect!”

Tinkatuff clutched her hammer against her chest and infused herself with protective, Normal Type energy. As a result, the attack bounced off her body and seared into the ground, but any lingering heat would be a problem.

“Again,” our opponent said.

I didn’t have the option to call for Protect once more; with the amount of energy Protect expended, it was just likely to fail if she tried to use it again. With her unable to wipe her eyes, we needed to wait out the Sand Tomb or at least switch to another Pokémon, but Sand Tomb was a lasting attack, and the move would block any of my attempts to return her here.

We needed a way for Tinkatuff to defend herself, and as I watched Turtonator heat up to attack once again, my mind raced with potential options.

Maybe...

“Use Play Rough to bat it away!” I shouted.

If there was any chance of Tinkatuff lasting through this fight, we needed to take a risk. She couldn’t see, but if she could feel the heel of the flames approaching and time this attack just right, she might be able to launch the attack just back.

I held back a breath as the flames from Incinerate sailed through the air, an arcing lob aimed right at where Tinkatuff was trapped. Her hammer gained a reinforcing, pink hue as she braced herself for a swing inside the swirling sand, and...

After a moment, she let loose.

A whoosh.

She was an instant too quick to land a hit on the glob.

The Incinerate caught Tinkatuff right in her side, splattering against her and sending fire across her body. The heat burned Tinkatuff to cause enough pain to send her to the ground, and while super effective, it wasn’t enough to knock her out. However, combined with everything else Tinkatuff had been through, she was only able to try to push back up for a single second before she collapsed under the last dredges of Sand Tomb finishing her off.

I returned her a few seconds later when the Sand Tomb weakened enough to let the light from her Pokéball shine through.

“That was a good try, Tinkatuff. We’ll work on your defenses against physical attacks. Maybe Carbink would be interested in playing a practice baseball game with you, too?”

I hummed.

Maybe we should all play baseball together? Learning how to hit moves out of the air would be a good skill to develop to have one more trick up our sleeves.

“Challenger. Send out your next Pokémon,” the stand-in Gym Leader announced.

I quickly shook my head to push those thoughts out of the way for now, and a new Pokémon took the field.

Or, at least, she took to the air.

“Togetic. Watch out for its flames,” I told her.

The Pokémon in question pumped her arms in acknowledgement and locked eyes with the Turtonator. The large dual-Dragon and Fire Type huffed, and a bit of smoke left the opening of its snout.

“Move in. Smog,” the man said.

“Let’s go for an Ancient Power! Try to let its energies infuse you!”

Togetic actually closed her eyes for this as the Turtonator lumbered forward. Greyish-purple smoke left its mouth, and large rocks, coated with purple energy, were torn from the floor and lifted into the air.

Both sides unleashed their attacks.

The Ancient Power was faster, which made sense given that it consisted of a series of launched projectiles. Turtonator was able to turn around to use its protective shell to weather the attack, and its head turned to point over its shoulder to let its poisonous gasses be breathed out of its mouth.

As for the Smog, it drifted over the field in an almost serpentine pattern, almost resembling the movement of a snake.

“Air Cutter!” I shouted.

Togetic didn’t get the boost from Ancient Power like I hoped—when she eventually develops her Serene Grace ability, that bonus would become twice as likely—but she was still able to move quick enough to enact a defense. As the Smog approached her, her attack prevented it from moving all the way. The sharpened gusts from Air Cutter sliced apart the Smog and dissipated it into nothingness.

“Incinerate. Get close. Force it close to the ground.”

“Pepper it, Togetic! Don’t let Turtonator land any hits!”

Another exchange of moves, this time, neither side was able to focus much on defense.

Turtonator began a lumbering charge, its snout repeatedly firing off its flaming globs like the turret of some kind of tank. As for Togetic, she demonstrated her recently-acquired ability to fly, dipping and dodging to fly around the shots while her own Air Cutters were sent out here and there.

Unfortunately, most of Turtonator’s attacks went high, which meant Togetic dodges towards the ground more often than not. Her Air Cutters clipped it but dealt little damage, and after a few moments, Turtonator was able to get close. It was only feet away from the flying Togetic when the Dragon Type received orders for a new move.

“Body Slam.”

It suddenly jerked forward, arms held out wide to expose its scaled stomach. With this attack, it intended to crush Togetic right under its bulk. As I considered Togetic’s known moves, I quickly realized there wasn’t much we could do, but I yelled out for a form of a desperate defense anyway.

“Charm, Metronome!” I shouted.

Eyes flashed pink; the Turtonator stumbled slightly in its jerk, the Body Slam losing a bit of momentum. Togetic used that delay to waggle her arms, and she only needed to move them to the side once for the Metronome to use its random effect.

The conjured move didn’t help her avoid the attack, but it definitely ensured she stayed conscious.

The Turtantor slammed its entire body into her, sending Togetic careening through the air. She put in all of the practice she had with her mother to stabilize herself, and she managed to catch herself before she hit the ground. Not only that, but as Turtonator adjusted its stance from that Body Slam, Togetic actually seemed to glow. What wounds she sustained faded under an internal, healing light, and she now looked better off than the Turtonator did.

I grinned as I recognized Metronome’s random move. Out of everything, she had somehow conjured up a Recover, and her healthy state made the friendly smile she sent Turtonator’s way seem that much more intimidating.

“Ancient Power!” I shouted as quickly as I could, attempting to capitalize on this opportunity.

“Shoot!” the Gym Leader yelled in reply.

A single glob was easily dodge by a shift to the right, then Togetic lifted up her arms to rip even more heavy stones out of the ground with another Ancient Power.

Turtonator was too slow and too close to defense against this attack. With its previous use of Body Slam, its shell wasn’t pointed the right way to block the move, either. Not only that, but Turtonator didn’t resist the attack—for all the strength Dragon Types tended to have, they couldn’t resist a well-placed rock, especially one vulnerable to the move thanks to its primary Fire Type.

Rock after rock slammed into Turtonator’s chest, Togetic repeatedly using her move. Her opponent actually went ahead and slashed down with a Dragon Claw, not to attack—as that would have been ineffective—but to use the force the move provided to break apart some of the stones coming its way. Heavily weakened, it turned to Togetic, heating up for one last, desperate attack, but Togetic was clever enough to use Psychic to quickly bring a fallen stone right up to its face, and the Incinerate it was preparing exploded against the rock right in front of its eyes.

A second later, after the smoke from that blast cleared, Turtonator stumbled back and fell to the ground. It was clearly unconscious.

“Yes!” I cheered. “Togetic, great job thinking on your feet!”

She giggled at my compliment and turned in the air to gesture to her wings. I laughed at her implication.

“Or, great job thinking on your wings,” I adjusted.

As we celebrated that victory, the Gym Leader watched us talk. Togetic smiled and turned back to him once the moment passed, and the old man’s eyes simply bored down into the both of us, silently.

There were only three Pokéballs attached to his waist in total, so there was no need for him to pause to make a decision. As soon as he noted we were done, the next Pokémon came out immediately after, and Togetic and I took in our newest foe.

“Drampa,” the Gym Leader named. “Challenger, you may have taken down the other two members of Ryuki’s team, but you’ll find that this Pokémon stands above the rest.”

The Pokémon on the field was a wyrm in that it was more of a serpent than a classical dragon. It had a long, thin neck and a weighty body with two, feathered arms. A head with clouded, pink eyes sat at the end of its neck, and it had its own mane of white hair that, while thick, made it look like it had a receding hairline.

Drampa. Dragon... grandpa? Ha. I can see how it resembles an old man.

As if to reaffirm my thoughts, the Pokémon smacked its lips and yawned much in the way an old man might do upon experiencing dry mouth after a nap.

"Togetic," I said, "do you mind if I recall you here? You’ve had a great fight, and I want to give everyone else a shot."

Togetic turned to shift down in the air to bow her head in happy acceptance, and I returned her at that sign. Looking over Drampa, I weighed the options I had left, and Eevee appeared on the field.

"Eevee!" I shouted. "I want you to weaken it to prepare it for Cutiefly. Can you do that?"

As our opponent frowned at my words, Eevee responded with a bark and leaned down to prepare to attack.

"Do not underestimate Ryuki's Pokémon," our opponent said. "Resume the battle. Dragon Breath!"

"Swift!"

Eevee burst forward with Quick Attack instead of immediately using Swift as he was forced to avoid the Dragon Breath that completely consumed his old position. The burst of speed the move provided allowed him to outpace the constant stream of fire that left the Drampa’s mouth. Behind him, a line of black seared into the field.

He ran and he ran, and then the Drampa paused to breathe. He used that delay to turn and circle around the unmoving Dragon Type in a set radius. The Drampa’s long neck let it easily move its head around and follow Eevee, but Eevee just flicked his tail back and forth to send a series of stars out that homed towards the Drampa.

The Swift burst against the elderly-looking Pokémon’s side. Drampa let out a light moan at that pain, but it didn’t seem very injured.

"Take off," our opponent said.

A burst of air; two winged arms snapped out from Drampa’s side. Eevee had to stop running to brace himself against the wind pushed out from his opponent. A flap of Drampa’s wings meant Eevee was pushed back a foot, and then the Dragon Type was in the air, streaming over the field like the ancient dragon it was.

"Fly," The Gym Leader ordered.

"Quick, Baby-Doll Eyes!"

There wasn't enough time for Charm as Drampa turned in the air to rush right at Eevee. It used its flight speed combined with gravity to dive straight down. It wasn't very fast inherently, but it was aerodynamic enough that this fall let it pick up speed.

Eevee didn’t have a chance to run. All he could manage was a reflexive Baby-Doll Eyes at the Drampa that threatened to crash right into him. It didn’t, however, instead pulling up at the last moment, but an arm held out low crashed right into the bracing Eevee.

He was sent tumbling for a few moments before sliding to a halt on his side.

"Can you get up?"

“...Vee.”

Eevee growled slightly as he pushed to his feet. His Baby-Doll eyes helped reduce the damage, as the charming attack lowered Drampa’s willingness to deal damage. As his opponent returned to its position in the air, he tilted his head up to glare at his foe.

"Again," the Gym Leader said.

"Try to charge into it with a Take Down!"

Swift wasn’t dealing as much damage as we would have liked, and Drampa was part Normal Type, which meant Shadow Ball would be ineffective. We needed a strong attacker, and, if timed correctly, Eevee would be able to slam into it with Take Down when it swooped down with fly. Not only that, but I also hoped Take Down would hit with the force of both of their momentums, and I hoped that Eevee's ability, Adaptability, would make the Normal Type energy of the move flow that much more effectively.

As Drampa hurtled towards where Eevee braced himself on the ground, we both tensed as the Dragon Type approached. Then, at just the right time, he lunged, slamming into its chest.

It didn’t even wince.

"Bite it!" I yelled.

We'd never used Bite before, but it was a simple enough move that he immediately figured it out.

Mouth opened, Eevee clamped down on one of Drampa's feathered arms and was immediately brought up into the sky as it pulled back into the air. I could feel him straining to stay on as his teeth dug into Drampa’s flesh to cause as much damage as possible. It took a lot of his effort to stay on, but when Drampa wasn’t falling to attack with Fly, it wasn’t actually moving that fast. That meant Eevee had a bit of leeway to use another move while he hung on.

"Try for a Swift!"

Stars left his tail at my command, but the move popped in the wake of the airstream Drampa created behind it. It circled for one moment, and then our opponent gave it one more command.

"Dragon Rush," he said calmly.

It was like the entire area around Drampa was lit with a purple flame.

Immediately, upon being told that move, Drampa dropped down and flew straight to the ground. Eevee held on for dear life, but the chaotic Dragon Type energies dug into his body.

The resulting crash was like a roar, and a tinted cloud puffed up where the pair hit the ground. From within it, Drampa climbed out, back into the sky, and Eevee remained below, unmoving, unconscious.

"Return," I said.

This is tougher than I thought.

Drampa was a picture of contentment as it idly circled in the air above the field. It favored one side thanks to the damage Eevee had done to its right wing, but, otherwise, it looked decently healthy.

As much as I wanted Cutiefly to get experience here, I could recognize when he'd be totally outmatched. I had hoped at least one Pokémon in this Gym's final team would be a good matchup for him, but it seemed like that hope was a stretch at best.

"Togetic."

She appeared with a confused blink when she unexpectedly appeared on the field.

"Drampa is too much for Cutiefly. Can you take it out?"

She gave me a firm nod, and the corner of our opponent's mouth twitched.

"It's insulting how you do not consider us like the threat we are,” he said. “All battles are learning experiences, but to treat ours so casually, as if we are nothing but practice, is a stab at our pride."

I paused.

"But... that's kind of the point of Pokémon Gyms, though?"

"Pokémon Gyms are meant to be overcome, not to be used solely for practice. Drampa! Eliminate this Pokémon with your Hyper Voice!"

"Togetic, Protect!"

I didn't get a chance to explain just how much I disagreed with the man's perspective before Drampa let loose its next attack. My ears immediately popped when it's shout seemed to increase the air pressure in the room. The only reason Togetic wasn't slammed against the floor was thanks to the bracing nature of Protect and her flight tutoring from a certain Champion’s Togekiss.

"Psychic!" I shouted.

"Extrasensory!"

Both flying Pokémon's eyes glowed, and two waves of Psychic Type energy intersected.

This wasn't like one of Rapidash and Gardevoir's silent duels; each Pokémon had to twist their bodies around to help manage their force. Togetic strained, and Drampa’s body pushed together. While Psychic was a "higher tier" technique than Extrasensory, Togetic wasn't able to get past the difference in strength between her and her foe. If anything, she was the underdog in this matchup.

"Move in," the Gym Leader ordered.

Drampa slowly slunk through the air, its body staying tight and compressed. Togetic used her hands to help direct the force while the rest of her body was tight with strain. As her wings furiously flapped, she tried to inch backwards, but it was taking almost all her focus to not have Drampa’s Extrasensory twist the space around her. Meanwhile, Drampa was able to slowly glide towards her without much conscious effort from it at all.

"Glare!"

"Air Cutter!"

The Psychic tug-of-war ceased as both Pokémon dropped their attacks in favor of another. Blades of wind from Togetic meant nothing as Drampa shot her a withering glare. Its pink eyes flashed yellow, and Togepi stiffened. The Air Cutter sliced into its side, but I barely saw any damage being done.

Glare meant Togetic was now paralyzed. To make matters worse, Drampa then opened its mouth to ready another scream.

"Psycho—"

"EEEEEEEE!"

I didn’t finish my order. Unlike the first time it used Hyper Voice, the sound that left Drampa's mouth was high pitched and sharp. Togetic had to cover her ears as the air itself shook under the force of Drampa’s volume.

Not only that, but Drampa was able to continue to glide as it screamed, and it ended up crashing right into her for yet another Fly.

The combined force of both moves was enough to send Togetic to the ground, but, before she fainted, there was a faint flash of light, and Drampa stifferend enough to be unable to head back into the air.

At that, I let out a brief sigh of relief.

"Psycho Shift transfers status conditions from the user to their opponent,” I explained. “I'm glad Togetic at least heard me say the start of the move. She was smart enough to put two-and-two together even when Drampa drowned out all sounds with its Hyper Voice.”

The paralysis forced onto Drampa meant it no longer had the freedom of movement to fly. More than that, but I finally saw it wincing from the sheer number of attacks it had taken. It was by far the strongest Pokémon on this team of Dragon Types, but everything was slowly adding up. I returned Togetic here, and I paused slightly to consider our situation.

Tinkatuff, Eevee, and Togetic had fainted.

Cutiefly was still conscious.

Drampa was on the field, paralyzed and injured.

As it stood, the entire match was in Cutiefly's tiny hands.

A perfect situation for an evolution.

"Cutiefly!" I shouted as I sent him out. "You're the last one left. Our victory will be on you."

The sudden pressure caused him to immediately go still, only barely catching himself before he fell out of the air by a set of rapid flaps of his wings. His flight became somewhat erratic as he turned to glance at me nervously. Despite his doubts, I knew we had a chance. Paralysis was huge in weighing the odds in our favor, and Cutiefly had been building himself up in these past few weeks while I’d been focusing on Sinnoh and Unova.

"Cutiefly. Listen to me. You can do this," I said. "You've trained, you've fought, and you've developed the skills to get where you are now. Just look at Altaria! He didn't know any moves at all when he started out! Just like him, you were initially weak, but you aren’t any more. Don’t forget what you’re capable of. You're a valuable member of the team, and let's prove it here!"

Each compliment I gave him was a shot to his confidence. His nerves gradually faded as my praise struck it down, and by the end of it, he turned back around and did his best to not shrink at the sight of such a larger Pokémon ahead of him.

"Don't make me laugh. A Cutiefly? What did I say about using us solely as a training opportunity?"

"It doesn't matter what you think as long as we win," I shot back. "Come on, Cutiefly! It's paralyzed already! Hit it with a Fairy Wind!"

Cutiefly had been spending a lot of time around Florges, so he’d been able to pick up hints on how to better use certain moves. In this case, with all the time he’d spent with her, he was able to rapidly flap his wings to conjure a quick Fairy Wind and send it forward.

However, Cutiefly didn’t just use a Fairy Wind. Where he lacked in Florges’s impressive speed, he made up for in sheer utility of the move. Combined with the attack was the faint scent of something sweet, and as the Fairy Wind super effectively crackled against Drampa’s skin, a hidden Sweet Scent helped forcibly relax it and make it less likely to put in the effort to avoid Cutiefly’s future moves.

“Hyper Voice. Full power,” the stand-in Gym Leader said.

The moment Drampa opened its mouth, Cutiefly ducked down, and he hastily rushed through the air to avoid it as a burst of sound followed his every move.

Shout after shout, Drampa yelled at Cutiefly. He had to put his full focus into dodging, waiting for an opening to move next.

Then, there was the exact moment we were waiting for. Drampa winced as the paralysis coursed through it once more.

“Get up close! Dazzling Gleam!”

Cutiefly was on his opponent in a second, and Drampa wasn’t ready for the small little bee Pokémon to explode into light right in front of its eyes.

The Dragon Type wailed in pain. It shut its eyes from the attack. I saw our opposing trainer clench his fists before he pointed forward to order one more move.

“Flamethrower,” he said.

My heart fell. Cutiefly was right there.

Drampa opened its mouth once again, but, this time, instead of sound, a wave of flames exploded outwards, The small Cutiefly looked up, and the bright light from the fire obscured him as the Flamethrower completely coated the spot where he had just flown.

For a moment, silence. Drampa sat there, wheezing, tired from all of its expended energy and the damage it had taken from attacks. My eyes flicked around, grasping Cutiefly’s Ultra Ball and readying myself to return him if needed. I knew that while we’d trained, it’d mostly been in his offensive strength. With a super effective attack like, there was no way he would be able to last through it.

I continued to glance around, and my brows furrowed out of frustration. Try as I might, I realized Cutiefly wasn’t present. There was no bug, no burned body, and definitely no Cutiefly—fainted or not—visible on the field.

It wasn’t until I saw a faint shift that I realized what happened. Neither our opponent or the Drampa saw the movement in the Dragon Type’s long, white hair. The faintest bit a yellow poked out from its mane as Cutiefly revealed that he had somehow dodged the move not by moving to the side, but by rushing forward and slipping under it before flying up to hide in Drampa’s hair.

I couldn’t stop myself—I grinned.

Let’s try something risky.

“Cutiefly! If you can’t beat it with damage, beat it with—”

Cutiefly was already acting. A loud buzz rang out, and Drampa froze and looked up. However, since Cutiefly was in its hair, not above its head, he went along for the ride as Drampa’s head tilted backwards and saw nothing.

The Gym Leader noticed it too late.

“It’s in your hair!”

“Use the move, Cutiefly!”

For all the time he spent with Florges, there was one last move he needed to learn. It was a move I’d informed him about not even a handful of days ago, and while he had no practice with it, both Stun Spore and Sweet Scent used similar mechanics of releasing particles from his fur, and he had seen Florges use the attack several times prior.

Pollen trailed out of Drampa’s hair, released from Cutiefly’s fluff not unlike how he would release a Sweet Scent. His eyes squinted shut as he strained himself to conjure up and control as much Bug Type energy as he could muster.

This attack was in no way battle ready; in any other case, Cutiefly wouldn’t have the time to use this attack offensive. But, since Drampa was still struggling to figure out a way to deal with him, Cutiefly had plenty of time to create and conjure enough pollen to use this attack.

“Pollen Puff!”

A ball of yellow particles was dropped right into Drampa’s front nostrils. It didn’t really damage it much, but it didn’t resist the move, and it began to sneeze as if suffering from intense allergies.

The shaking motion of the rapid sneezes knocked Cutiefly out of its hair, but that just gave him space to conjure a second, weak Pollen Puff, and it was jabbed right into Drampa’s other nostril to make this allergy attack even worse.

“What,” our opponent deadpanned.

“Exactly that, Cutiefly! Keep it up!”

Drampa couldn’t attack. Not only was it stuck reacting to the constant irritation inside its nose, but it was suffering from paralysis and the damage it took earlier. Cutiefly was given the chance to prepare himself for a final attack, and the Gym Leader literally growled and gave Drampa an order to try to cure it of this effect.

“Dragon Breath! Burn it all away!”

“A mistake,” I said, repeating the same words he had said when I sent Tinkatuff out at the start of the battle.

Purple-yellow flame seared out of Drampa’s nose and mouth, burning away what Bug Type pollen Cutiefly had shoved in their prior. At that moment of relief, it let out a comfortable sigh, but then it stiffened when it saw what waited in front of its face.

Cutiefly was right there, waiting and practically glowing with the amount of Fairy Type energy he had been building up. While he was small, there was still strain on his face as he struggled to bring everything he had to bear.

“Release it!”

The Dragon Breath had hidden Cutiefly from Drampa’s sight before it was too late, and his Fairy Typing meant he had been immune. As a result, Drampa had no way to defend itself as Cutiefly burst with Dazzling Gleam, and the critical, super effective damage caused it to rear its head back in pain.

“No!” our opponent shouted.

Like an ancient tree falling in the woods, Drampa’s head stretched straight out, and its head fell to crash into the floor, unconscious.

We had won.

Cutiefly flew back to me, his entire body shaking from both excitement and exhaustion as he furiously buzzed to share words of his victory. The sheer difference in size made his victory almost unbelievable, but it had worked, and he didn’t even need to evolve to succeed!

“That was absolutely incredible! You’ve become strong, Cutiefly!”

He didn’t have any proper arms to flex, but he did try to puff up his fuzz in a display of strength before fluttering over to my shoulder to land down and rest.

He might not have evolved today, but to both figure out Pollen Puff like that and use it well enough to help faint a tougher foe was a good sign he’d evolve any day now.

Drampa was returned as Cutiefly and I moved forward. The little bug fell asleep almost immediately now that he was on my shoulder. I had to take careful steps to avoid the small pits Togetic had created when she tore her Ancient Power from the ground, but I made it to the center of the field easily enough.

I held out my hand to shake, but my opponent didn’t immediately shake it.

“You entered our Gym as a challenger, yet you did not treat us as a true challenge. Your team is of the appropriate strength for this Advanced Course, but you do not act as an advanced trainer yourself.”

A pair of sharp eyes took me in. I kept my face perfectly level.

“Earlier, when you talked about the purpose of a Gym, do you really think they only serve as challenges to overcome?” I asked.

The stand-in Gym Leader huffed before he responded, speaking as if the answer was the most obvious thing ever.

“Pokémon Gyms serve exactly as that: hurdles. Milestones. Experienced trainers fight to overcome them, serving as points of progression in a trainer’s journey. To beat a Gym means to prove yourself stronger than it. A victory ensures that a Pokémon trainer is strong enough to proceed on their journey.”

I merely shook my head in response.

“I disagree.”

“Oh?” His voice came out surprisingly terse.

“Pokémon Gyms are more than that. They’re milestones, sure, but they also serve as a way to teach growing trainers lessons about how to train their team. From our battle I learned plenty of things to improve—Tinkatuff needs to work on her defenses, Eevee needs more options for attacks, and Togetic probably should learn an actual Fairy Type move.” I chuckled at my own words. I’d made the same mistake with Tinkatuff, before. “Not only that, but Gyms are supposed to be inspirational. Gym Leaders don’t stand at the top solely because of their strength, but they serve as protectors, supporters, and leaders. It’s in the name, after all.”

The man stared at me emotionlessly for several long moments. Eventually, he let out a weak chuckle, showing the first bit of emotion since the start: mild amusement. The tension between us faded as he closed his eyes, and he angled his head back as if to stare at the sky in thought.

Finally—finally—he moved to shake my hand.

“You aren’t just any trainer, aren’t you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Without being specific, I do have to say that I’m disappointed Ryuki wasn’t here. I like your staff, though, and I can’t deny the Pokémon here have been trained quite well.”

He blinked, not fully understanding what I meant, and I started to walk out of the room.

“Do you not want your badge?” he shouted out after me.

“I already have enough as it is.”

Silence permeated the room as the man watched me leave, and I smiled at myself for a dramatic exit well done. However, right when I was about to leave, the man called out once more, giving me information that would be pertinent for my and Hope’s continued jobs.

“If you seek Ryuki,” he started, “he frequently leaves town for weeks at a time to properly train his team. If you wish to find him, look for the Haina Desert at the base of Mount Lanakila.”

That’s just to the southwest of town. It’s along the way to the Ghost Type trial, which we need to go to anyway.

I paused, turned around, and gave the man a respectful nod. Then, with Cutiefly still on my shoulder, I left the room, and I hummed as I considered how much experience Lillie would get if she took this place on herself.

(Though, I made sure to stop at the front desk to get the winnings for beating the Gym Leader. After all, this place was far too expensive to ignore the money like that.)