Pokemon: Gym Leader

Just like her Hawlucha, which had been paralyzed by Thunder Wave, Diantha herself felt stunned—paralyzed in a different way.

Her mind was spinning. No, this wasn't right.

This was absolutely not what she imagined a Pokémon battle would be like. And… was this even Fairy-type?!

But Dylan didn't care what Diantha was thinking. Now that Hawlucha was paralyzed, it was the perfect moment to go on the offensive.

"Dazzling Gleam."

Dylan gave the order with a calm smile.

Klefki shimmered with a beautiful pink light, and beams of energy shot toward Hawlucha.

"Hawlucha!" Diantha snapped out of it with a gasp.

But Hawlucha couldn't dodge—though the paralysis was beginning to wear off, it was still sluggish and unresponsive.

It had no way to evade the incoming move.

Boom!

Dazzling Gleam hit Hawlucha dead-on, and it let out a pained cry as it slammed into the ground.

And the moment it hit the ground, pain surged again—spikes! From the Spikes laid earlier by Klefki.

In the games, Ground-based hazards like Spikes don't affect Flying-types. But this was the real world.

Just like Flying-types avoid Toxic Spikes unless they're knocked down, the same applies here. Forced to land, Hawlucha was hit.

Dazzling Gleam is super-effective against Hawlucha, and with its Special Defense harshly lowered by Metal Sound, even Klefki's modest Special Attack did significant damage.

After all, Hawlucha's Special Defense wasn't anything to write home about to begin with.

"Yikes! That's brutal!"

"Wait, is that how you're supposed to battle with Klefki? Damn! Who told me to train mine as a physical attacker?!"

"Too strong… no wonder he's the Kanto Champion."

"Come on, Miss Diantha! You got this!!"

"Don't be so rough on our precious Diantha! She can't take this!"

Spectators were stunned—the match was completely one-sided.

At some point, a girl in a black-and-red dress had arrived. Her bright eyes sparkled with curiosity as she watched Klefki, then turned her gaze to the poised and elegant Dylan.

"Once more—Dazzling Gleam." Dylan snapped his fingers with a smile.

Klefki chimed like tiny bells, and the pink light flared again.

Another beam of Fairy energy shot toward the downed Hawlucha.

"Hawlucha! Use Detect!"

Diantha shouted. If this Dazzling Gleam landed again, Hawlucha was done for.

Hawlucha painfully lifted its head—its body was wracked with pain and it hadn't recovered from the previous hit.

But the pink beam was already descending. A flash of focus shone in Hawlucha's eyes. With a sudden burst of strength, it rolled multiple times to the side—barely avoiding the Dazzling Gleam.

Detect!

A perfect dodge.

But the rolls scraped Hawlucha across the Spikes again, causing fresh pain.

Still, the pink lock from earlier—Fairy Lock—was fading away.

Its effect had ended.

"Return, Hawluc—"

"Fairy Lock."

Diantha hurried to recall her Hawlucha. It was in no shape to keep fighting.

But Klefki moved faster. Another beam of pink energy lanced out and sealed Hawlucha in again.

It couldn't escape.

The whole crowd went silent, expressions growing strange.

"Champion Dylan…"

Diantha froze mid-motion, hand on her Poké Ball. Her lips pressed into a line as she stared across the field.

Was this guy even human?

I'm just trying to recall my Pokémon! Do you really have to go this far?!

"Miss Diantha, as a former Kalos Champion, we should both give this our all, don't you think?"

Dylan offered an apologetic, yet polite nod.

"..."

Diantha wanted to object, but in the end, she held her tongue.

He… made a fair point.

"Dazzling Gleam."

Dylan kept pressing forward.

Klefki floated down a little, glowing with pink energy once more.

"High Jump Kick!"

Diantha bit her lip and went all-in.

Hawlucha, having recovered slightly, stood up and leapt high, one knee drawn in as white energy shone around it.

A powerful Fighting move—High Jump Kick!

Boom!

The two attacks collided, Dazzling Gleam striking midair—but Hawlucha powered through and kept flying at Klefki.

After one Swords Dance, Hawlucha's physical power was intense. High Jump Kick was also a very high base-power move.

"Protect." Dylan smirked and looked down.

A green barrier formed in front of Klefki just in time to block the incoming kick.

Wham!

High Jump Kick smashed into the barrier, which rippled but didn't break.

"Fire Punch!"

Diantha wasn't giving up, ready to capitalize when Protect ended.

Hawlucha hovered in front of the shield, right fist blazing with flames, ready to strike—

But then its body froze, electricity crackling across it.

Paralysis triggered!

Diantha's eyes widened. No!

"Seems like you're a little unlucky, Miss Diantha." Dylan chuckled.

Paralysis is mostly RNG. Besides the guaranteed first-turn speed drop, the actual paralysis chance is random.

But clearly… Diantha rolled poorly.

"Dazzling Gleam."

The Protect faded, and Klefki's pink energy flared again, blasting the paralyzed Hawlucha.

Hawlucha screamed as it fell like a broken kite.

Boom!

It crashed into the ground, unable to get up.

No surprise to anyone watching—Hawlucha wasn't surviving a second Dazzling Gleam after its Special Defense had been slashed. Not to mention the additional Spikes damage.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle. Klefki wins."

Leaf declared the result.

"So strong… Champion Dylan."

Diantha withdrew Hawlucha, her expression solemn. She was already beginning to realize that this might be the hardest battle she had faced in all her years as a trainer.

"I look forward to seeing what you do next, Miss Diantha. I don't think you've shown your true strength yet."

Dylan smiled gently.

"Ah… of course!"

Diantha's lovely features turned serious as she tossed her second Poké Ball.

"Goodra!"

A dragon with a gooey body appeared in front of her.

But the moment it landed, it winced in pain—Spikes!

Diantha frowned. With Hawlucha down, she had no one to clear the field properly.

But for now, priority was removing this annoying Klefki.

"Goodra, huh. So she's planning to use Fire moves to counter."

Leaf glanced at Goodra's moveset and instantly understood.

Klefki had great defense and excellent resistances. Only Ground and Fire moves really countered it.

Fairy-type immunity to Dragon didn't matter much. Dragon-types had strengths beyond their own STAB.

"But for big bro, it won't make a difference." Lillie grinned.

On the field—

"Goodra, huh…" Dylan looked over the dragon. Nicely trained.

"Light Screen."

He gave the order calmly.

He already knew what Diantha was going for, but… no offense, it wouldn't work.

"Goodra, Flamethrower!" Diantha shouted.

Klefki rang its keys as a translucent wall of light formed, then vanished into its body.

Goodra unleashed a fiery stream—Flamethrower flew toward Klefki.

But thanks to Prankster, Light Screen had already gone up.

Boom!

The flames exploded against Klefki, but a shimmer of the Light Screen softened the impact.

Klefki floated out of the fire with only mild injuries.

"Light Screen's damage reduction is too strong. Taking down Klefki with Goodra is going to be hard."

Many among the crowd were catching on.

From the ground, hitting a floating target like Klefki with ranged attacks was already tough.

And now Klefki had Light Screen up? Even harder.

"Goodra, Surf!"

Diantha's eyes flashed as she gave her next command.

Goodra roared as a wave rose and swept across the battlefield toward Klefki.

"Dazzling Gleam," Dylan replied with a tilt of his head.

Klefki sparkled again, shooting another pink beam at the top of the wave.

Goodra immediately submerged, dodging the Fairy move.

"Reflect."

Seeing this, Dylan calmly followed up.

Klefki summoned another shimmering barrier—Reflect—and it vanished into its body.

Diantha bit her lip. Both Light Screen and Reflect…

This man…

He's leaving me zero options, the bastard!

Surf crashed forward, but Klefki had already floated away, barely dodging the brunt of it.

But from the front of the wave—Goodra burst out, leaping straight at Klefki!

"Knew it." Dylan wasn't surprised. He snapped his fingers.

"Thunder Wave."

"Goodra, Thunderbolt!"

Electricity crackled from both sides—Klefki and Goodra.

But Thunder Wave was faster. Even as Thunderbolt began to charge, Thunder Wave struck.

The moment their attacks met, Thunderbolt overpowered Thunder Wave and hit Klefki.

Crackle!

Lightning surged across Klefki. The Light Screen shimmered again, dulling the damage.

And… nothing else happened. Klefki squinted a little and kept floating.

Too tanky.

But Goodra had closed the distance and grabbed Klefki's ring.

Got it!

"Thunder Wave."

"Thunderbolt!"

Diantha hadn't expected Dylan to use Thunder Wave again, but she immediately called out her counter.

This time, the two Pokémon were too close. With Prankster, Klefki's Thunder Wave easily won out.

Electric sparks leapt from Klefki to Goodra—

Paralysis!

Goodra's body stiffened and began to fall.

"..."

Diantha saw her Goodra paralyzed and nearly gagged.

Screen support. Paralysis spam.

Over and over.

Who the hell taught you to battle like this?!

This isn't Pokémon battling!!

(End of Chapter)