Pokemon: Gym Leader

But no matter how you think about it, I'm just a student!

Lacey pressed her lips tightly together. To suddenly battle a legendary Pokémon...

"Miss Lacey, you can relax a bit, it's just a gym battle," Dylan said soothingly, noticing her barely concealed tension.

"Winning or losing doesn't affect you. What you need to do is put your all into this battle, show me everything you've got and reach your limits."

"As one of the Elite Four from Blueberry Academy, you must have learned a lot."

Dylan's voice was gentle. After all, she was still just a student. There was a big gap between her and mature, strong-willed trainers.

Lacey's strength might surpass Old Agatha, but if Agatha were standing opposite her, she wouldn't be this flustered. Agatha was a seasoned middle-aged woman whose will and temperament were far beyond Lacey's.

But Lacey's potential far exceeded Agatha's; she just needed more growth.

Breathe in~ Deep breath~!

Lacey's chest rose and fell as she tried to steady her emotions. Yes, this is just a gym battle. No matter the outcome, it won't change anything.

At worst, she wouldn't get the gym badge.

"Gym Leader Dylan, I'm going for it!"

Lacey closed her eyes, tightened the pink hairpin in her hair, then, after preparing herself, she took out a Pokéball, aimed it at Dylan, and her clear voice steadied.

The Blueberry Academy's Elite Four member Lacey has issued a challenge!

"Go ahead."

Dylan smiled.

"Primarina!"

Lacey pressed her lips together, her face solemn as she threw her first Pokéball.

With a melodious cry, a Pokémon resembling a mermaid appeared before Lacey.

With sea-green curly hair and sapphire-blue eyes as bright as gems, its body was white with a blue tail.

It was Primarina, the final evolution of the Alola region's starter Pokémon Popplio!

"Primarina, huh~" Lillie sighed, seeing a starter from her own region in another place.

'Beep~ Primarina, Water/Fairy-type, the Soloist Pokémon.

Ability: Liquid Voice

Moves: Hyper Voice, Misty Terrain, Encore, Sparkling Aria, Protect, Hydro Pump, Life Dew (Egg Move)...

Description: Known as the Diva, its singing in the moonlight leading its group is fantastical.'

"Using a Water-type Primarina to counter Regirock? A good choice," Alder nodded, assessing the strategy. Regirock, being a pure Rock-type, was naturally weak to Water-types.

"This Primarina has been raised very well, Miss Lacey. It's quite beautiful."

Dylan complimented, noticing that this Primarina was bigger than the standard size and its hair and skin had a healthy shine, showing its vitality.

"Of course! I like my Pokémon cute, beautiful, and clean, so I give them baths three times a day!"

Lacey said with a sweet smile. As a Fairy-type specialist, she adored cute Pokémon.

"Well then, here I come, Gym Leader Dylan."

Lacey's eyes sharpened slightly. Though the outcome didn't matter, no trainer would step onto the battlefield without aiming for victory.

Besides, this was a gym battle. If she could defeat Gym Leader Dylan, she'd earn his gym badge!

According to him, this was a very rare Rota badge!

"Go ahead," Dylan invited once more.

"Primarina, use Sparkling Aria!" Lacey wasted no time launching her attack.

Primarina sang, its melodious voice filling the air, while water swirled, and orbs of water began forming above it.

Sparkling Aria, a Water-type move, was ready to strike Regirock.

"Earthquake."

Dylan smiled faintly.

Regirock lifted one foot and slammed it down.

Ground-type Earthquake!

Boom!

The battlefield shook violently, sending shockwaves toward Primarina.

It was clear Regirock intended to trade hits, but Earthquake wasn't super effective against Primarina, whereas Sparkling Aria was strong against Regirock.

"Primarina!"

Lacey's mind raced, deciding to play it safe.

Primarina canceled its Sparkling Aria and released a bubble, quickly jumping into it to float above the ground, avoiding the Earthquake's shockwave.

"Regirock, Stone Edge," Dylan commanded, noticing the large floating bubble. Primarina's unique ability to create these soft, sturdy bubbles was impressive.

But it also made for an easy target.

"Regi~!"

Regirock raised its arms, sharp rocks forming in front of it, shooting towards the airborne Primarina.

"Primarina, dodge it!" Lacey quickly called out.

Primarina reacted swiftly, leaping out of the bubble just as the Stone Edge smashed into it.

But as Regirock adjusted its aim, the remaining sharp stones shot towards the descending Primarina.

Lacey's face paled—there was no way to dodge this!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Stone Edge struck Primarina directly, and it let out a pained cry as the rocks exploded around it.

When the dust settled, Primarina was left panting heavily, clearly injured.

Lacey exhaled slightly in relief. Thankfully, only a small portion of the stones had hit. Otherwise, she wasn't sure if Primarina would've endured.

Primarina's physical defense was quite weak.

"That Regirock is strong. Stone Edge isn't even super effective against Primarina," Alder commented, rubbing his chin. Even though Primarina had poor defense, only part of the attack had landed.

It was a testament to the power difference—Regirock was legendary, after all.

"Dylan's pretty impressive. But where did he catch that Regirock? If I remember correctly, Hoenn's Brandon already caught one," Alder mused. Regirock was famous, mainly because it had already been caught by Hoenn's Brandon.

Who knew Dylan had found a second one?

"That Regirock was caught by my brother near Rota not too long ago," Lillie responded with a composed smile.

"Oh? Lillie, tell me, does Dylan have more legendary Pokémon?" Alder grinned, clearly intrigued.

It seemed like Dylan had more than just one legendary. After all, this was a 4 vs. 4 battle. Surely Dylan wouldn't have only one legendary, right? But that seemed over the top!

"He does! My brother has gathered a full team of them," Lillie said with a playful wink.

"Hiss~!"

Hearing this, Alder and Leader Clay exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. What the...?!

"Which specific legends are you talking about?" Alder snapped back to reality, his curiosity overflowing.

"Uh~ I can't tell you that, Champion Alder," Lillie apologized to him.

"...Lillie, it's not right to leave someone hanging like this," Alder said helplessly, his curiosity now skyrocketing.

On the battlefield.

"Going head-to-head isn't wise," Lacey pressed her lips together, constantly thinking of a strategy.

"Primarina, Surf!"

Primarina let out a resonant call, and a deep blue light illuminated the waters.

Crash~ Crash~

The sound of waves echoed as a massive tidal wave surged out of nowhere, carrying Primarina towards Regirock.

A Water-type Surf attack!

"Earthquake," Dylan ordered calmly.

Regirock stomped heavily on the ground, sending a shockwave forward.

The base of the wave was shattered by the tremor, and the giant wave collapsed as Primarina began to fall.

"Primarina, Ice Beam!" Lacey quickly called out.

Primarina's mouth glowed with icy energy, and a twisting, ice-blue beam shot out. The remnants of the collapsed Surf were quickly frozen into crystals, crashing towards Regirock.

"Oh? Not a bad idea," Dylan raised an eyebrow.

Lacey had clearly anticipated that Surf would be interrupted, so the Ice Beam was prepared as a backup.

"But it's not enough."

The strategy was solid, but it was ineffective against Regirock. Those ice crystals wouldn't pose any real threat to its rock-hard body.

The ice fell and shattered upon impact with Regirock's body, as fragile as paper against its incredibly tough physique.

Regirock's physical defense was simply too high.

"Hydro Pump!" Lacey wasn't done yet.

"Stone Edge."

As Primarina landed, a deep blue water glow gathered in its mouth, and a massive water jet shot towards Regirock.

Meanwhile, ice continued pelting Regirock, though it ignored them like mere gusts of wind.

Floating stones formed around Regirock, and with a powerful arm swing, they shot forward.

Boom!

Stone Edge collided with Hydro Pump, the two attacks clashing intensely. But soon enough, the stones overpowered the water and slammed into Primarina, causing a fierce explosion.

"Primarina!"

Strong gusts of wind blew outward, but Lacey shielded her face with her arm, calling out worriedly to her Primarina.

Unfortunately, Primarina was no longer able to respond.

When the dust settled, Primarina was lying on the ground, with fainted eyes.

"Primarina is unable to battle. Regirock wins."

Alder quickly stepped in to announce the result.

On the scoreboard, Primarina's icon dimmed completely.

Lacey pursed her lips, recalled her Primarina, and looked up at Regirock with a frown. Its defense was high, and its attack wasn't low either—she would need a fast Pokémon to counter it.

"Well done, your strategy was sound, just lacking a bit of power," Dylan praised Lacey, giving her credit.

"Miss Lacey, my Regirock's physical defense is much higher than most normal Pokémon."

"Yes, I understand, Leader Dylan."

Lacey took a deep breath. It was indeed very powerful, but that's what made it a worthy challenge!

But how could she deal with Regirock? She thought for a moment. Maybe it was time to switch opponents.

"Granbull! I'm counting on you!"

After some thought, Lacey released her second Pokémon. A light purple, bulldog-like creature appeared in front of her.

Its wrists and neck had black bands, its jaw featured large fangs, and it tilted its head slightly, looking quite fierce.

It was the Fairy-type Granbull!

'Beep~ Granbull, Fairy-type Pokémon.

Ability: Intimidate.

Moves: Play Rough, Roar, Headbutt, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Outrage, Stomp, …

Description: Granbull has a highly developed jaw. Due to the weight of its teeth, its head tilts, and it doesn't bite unless startled.'

Lillie tilted her head slightly. Was this Granbull supposed to be cute? Well, she wasn't a fan of such fierce-looking Pokémon.

On the battlefield, Granbull glared fiercely at Regirock, but Regirock wasn't fazed.

With its Clear Body ability, Regirock's attack wouldn't be lowered.

"Miss Lacey, I just mentioned my Regirock's physical defense is extremely high," Dylan reminded her, as Granbull was purely a physical attacker.

"I know, but I'm not planning to have it fight Regirock."

A sweet smile appeared on Lacey's face.

Dylan was taken aback. Could it be that…?

"Miss Lacey, I advise you…"

"Granbull, Roar!!"

Roar~!

Granbull let out a thunderous roar at Regirock, and a mysterious energy surged forward, sending Regirock back into Dylan's ball in a flash of white light.

At the same time, another Poké Ball on Dylan's belt opened, and a different Pokémon emerged.

"Yes! It worked!" Lacey pumped her small fists excitedly. Roar had successfully forced Regirock out. Its high defense and strong attack were too tough to deal with, so she decided to switch opponents instead.

Even if it was another Legendary Pokémon, it couldn't be harder than Regirock... right?

Lacey's smile froze.

The elegant, pure-white dragon Reshiram looked around in confusion, then glanced back at Dylan. What was going on? Wasn't it just sleeping in its Poké Ball?

It had been dreaming of punching Zekrom and kicking Kyurem, ruling the world!

The whole Driftveil Gym fell silent.

Dylan sighed and rubbed his forehead. He spoke a little too late; he'd wanted to warn Lacey not to use moves like Roar.

"Heh... hehe…"

Lacey looked in horror at the white dragon, which seemed to be a legendary figure in Unova's founding myths. Her lips trembled into a forced laugh, but she could barely manage it.

"Ahhh! Granbull! Quick, use Roar! Send this dragon away!!"

Her panicked scream echoed through the entire Driftveil Gym.

(End of Chapter)