[Violet City - Action/Video] Gym Battle
"Back so soon?" Falkner inquired, looking up from where he was currently running a soft brush over Pidgeot's feathers to smooth them down. The life of a gym leader's pokemon was a hectic one...keeping them groomed and impressive-looking was just as important as keeping them healthy (and doubly so when they belonged to your dad and not you). The lanky man didn't immediately answer as his full-out run wound down to a trot and finally an exhausted stagger as he approached the middle of the Violet City gym's floor.
A few minutes ago he HAD been doing some shopping before Princess had stopped dead before the gym entrance and charged inside before he could stop her.
"Not me, HER." Gaga wheezed, catching his breath as he pointed a finger accusingly at Princess who held her stony countenance on her edge of the challenger's circle. The young man arched a brow at the purugly who glared back unwaveringly.
"When I gave you points to think on last week..." Falkner began, recalling Pidgeot to it's ball, "I believe ONE of them was that taking on a city gym with only a single pokemon is foolish unless it is indescribably powerful. A week of training, no matter how hard, will not make a noteable difference on the results. Even if your pokemon DID evolve."
Gaga flinched in embarrassment. Truthfully, he would have been just as happy never to set foot in a place he'd already been disgraced once ever again. Especially when it seemed he was setting himself up for a repeat of his previous failure from the get-go. Though at the same time, being spoken to as if he were a child by someone a fraction of his age was infuriating. When it came down to a question of pride over practicality regarding Gaga, pride ALWAYS won out.
"D-Do you honestly think I would make the same mistake twice?!" he sputtered. "Of course she won't be battling alone!" the statement earned him a growl from Princess. Don't you dare, those eyes said. This was HER score to settle. Falkner, however, smirked in approval.
"I see. Bring out your team, then. Let's begin."
----------------------------
"Shake it off, Princess, I know you're stronger than that!" Gaga cried, furiously spraying a red mist from a tiny bottle over the purugly's inert form to mend her wounds and restore her strength.
"Your pokemon seems to be out of energy." Falkner noted coolly, bringing it to the elder trainer's attention in case he hadn't seen it for himself by now as Pidgeot flew a lazy loop about the gym and came to land at his trainer's side obediently. "You shouldn't push it so hard."
"Do you have ANY idea what I'd be in for if I conceded a second defeat?!" the steward demanded to know, the fearful glint in his eyes suggesting it wasn't necessarily HIS loss he was worried about.
"Mrrrrow...!!" Princess growled, rejuvinated by the potion's effects as she leapt back to her feet, glaring daggers at the still-standing Pidgeot. It had been a long, hard battle thus far. Cube, KO'ed and needing to visit a pokemon center, had been recalled to his ball during the third round after helping her take out Honchkrow and Noctowl, and now there were only the final two standing.
"A good trainer knows when their team is beaten."
"I'm not INTERESTED in being a good trainer!" Gaga hissed. "My interest lies solely in getting home to Lady Glenda and forgetting I ever SAW this ridiculous world! And in the meantime, NOT getting my chest crushed, room destroyed, items stolen, or whatever OTHER horrors these blasted things think to inflict on me for not giving them their way! PRINCESS! Fake Out and Fury Swipes!"
Falkner, having not been given enough time to react to the fact he'd never been given THAT sort of response from a challenger before, did not have time to give counterattack orders as a blur of gray-and-white lunged at Pidgeot in a flailing of claws. The bird pokemon gave a resounding squawk as it was attacked, launching itself into the air and out of reach of the feline.
"Pidgeot, Whirlwind!"
"Dodge it and come back with Hypnosis, Princess!"
While dodging a swiftly-moving whirlwind of dust and debris may not have been an issue for a limber little glameow, it was more of a challenge for a hefty purugly. In spite of an impressive dodge to the side, a tailwind still caught hold of her, catching her in the cyclone and touseling her high into the air as she gave a distressed yowl before dropping her back to the gym's floor in an unceremonious heap. As she dragged her legs beneath herself, regaining her feet, the pidgeot dove in for what it believed to be the final shot for victory.
...just to falter and pause mid-air, as if forcibly stopped by something during it's descent. Instead of tackling into Princess full-force, it halted just short of her, finding itself captivated by the Purugly's endless gaze. The staredown seemed to last forever, both pokemon ignoring cries from their trainers until Pidgeot alighted on the gym mat, feeling too heavy to stay aloft any longer, and allowed it's head to sag forward as it dropped into an unnatural sleep. Hypnosis had taken effect.
By the time Pidgeot was soundly sleeping, Gaga had already fussed another potion out of his backpack and had stepped forward to apply this one to his pokemon as well until she noticably shook off the injuries of her fall. NOW they were getting somewhere.
"Princess, use Slash!" he commanded, sparing a look at Falkner out of the corner of his eye as he rummaged into his own pockets, likely for an Awakening, to no avail. The slumbering Pidgeot rocked on it's haunches with the force of the blow, but didn't stir.
"Pidgeot, wake up!"
"Princess, Tackle!" From a normal-sized pokemon, it was perhaps the least threatening of moves. From a massive cat, though...
Getting a running start, Princess neatly tucked all four paws up beneath herself, becoming a projectile missile of bulk. Falkner's pidgeot would wake up just in time to give a startled shriek before finding itself flattened beneath an irate Purugly. Lacking any further strength to do anything about it, the bird resigned itself to it's fate with a groggy "Pigeoooo...."
The gym leader fell silent a moment, scowling at the scene before him before crossing his arms over his chest to regard Gaga.
"Well. I suppose that means a victory for you. I'll acknowledge your win, but I don't have to like it." His hand disappeared into his jacket before flicking his wrist in Gaga's direction. A small silver something sailed through the air, straight toward him, which he caught between his palms and peered down at curiously. A shiny new gym badge glinted up at him from the prison of his fingers.
"Since you're in such a rush to leave, I won't keep you any longer." he went on, recalling Pidgeot back to it's ball from beneath Princess. "But if you keep your current attitude toward your pokemon, you aren't going to get very far in your journey."
"If you're implying I did this to satisfy my own ego, you--" he was interrupted by a pair of large paws knocking the wind out of him as Princess rudely hopped up on him from the front, snatching the badge out of his hands and tucking her head to affix it to the ruff of fur on her chest. HER badge, dammit. SHE earned it.
"I'm implying that if you don't learn to work with your pokemon as equals, they'll start resenting you. That one already does."
"She's ALWAYS been that way!" Gaga replied, gesturing at the badge-wearing purugly in annoyance. "Why, from the very start, she--"
"You're her trainer." Falkner interrupted. "It's your responsibility to earn her respect and trust so that she'll WANT to cooperate with you, not hers to carry you. And anyway..." his eyes turned to the pokeball he currently held in his hand. "...it looks like I have some pokemon to heal before my dad finds out. Please leave."
The steward's mouth opened to continue arguing, and then closed again, turning away in a huff.
"Come along, Princess."
He needn't have said anything, she'd already taken the liberty of sashaying out ahead of him.
[The video feed pops on, focusing on an exasperated-looking Gaga, the retreating view of Violet City's gym in the background as he walks.]
Miss Norn, are your affairs in this city nearly settled? I think I'm ready to move on.
A few minutes ago he HAD been doing some shopping before Princess had stopped dead before the gym entrance and charged inside before he could stop her.
"Not me, HER." Gaga wheezed, catching his breath as he pointed a finger accusingly at Princess who held her stony countenance on her edge of the challenger's circle. The young man arched a brow at the purugly who glared back unwaveringly.
"When I gave you points to think on last week..." Falkner began, recalling Pidgeot to it's ball, "I believe ONE of them was that taking on a city gym with only a single pokemon is foolish unless it is indescribably powerful. A week of training, no matter how hard, will not make a noteable difference on the results. Even if your pokemon DID evolve."
Gaga flinched in embarrassment. Truthfully, he would have been just as happy never to set foot in a place he'd already been disgraced once ever again. Especially when it seemed he was setting himself up for a repeat of his previous failure from the get-go. Though at the same time, being spoken to as if he were a child by someone a fraction of his age was infuriating. When it came down to a question of pride over practicality regarding Gaga, pride ALWAYS won out.
"D-Do you honestly think I would make the same mistake twice?!" he sputtered. "Of course she won't be battling alone!" the statement earned him a growl from Princess. Don't you dare, those eyes said. This was HER score to settle. Falkner, however, smirked in approval.
"I see. Bring out your team, then. Let's begin."
----------------------------
"Shake it off, Princess, I know you're stronger than that!" Gaga cried, furiously spraying a red mist from a tiny bottle over the purugly's inert form to mend her wounds and restore her strength.
"Your pokemon seems to be out of energy." Falkner noted coolly, bringing it to the elder trainer's attention in case he hadn't seen it for himself by now as Pidgeot flew a lazy loop about the gym and came to land at his trainer's side obediently. "You shouldn't push it so hard."
"Do you have ANY idea what I'd be in for if I conceded a second defeat?!" the steward demanded to know, the fearful glint in his eyes suggesting it wasn't necessarily HIS loss he was worried about.
"Mrrrrow...!!" Princess growled, rejuvinated by the potion's effects as she leapt back to her feet, glaring daggers at the still-standing Pidgeot. It had been a long, hard battle thus far. Cube, KO'ed and needing to visit a pokemon center, had been recalled to his ball during the third round after helping her take out Honchkrow and Noctowl, and now there were only the final two standing.
"A good trainer knows when their team is beaten."
"I'm not INTERESTED in being a good trainer!" Gaga hissed. "My interest lies solely in getting home to Lady Glenda and forgetting I ever SAW this ridiculous world! And in the meantime, NOT getting my chest crushed, room destroyed, items stolen, or whatever OTHER horrors these blasted things think to inflict on me for not giving them their way! PRINCESS! Fake Out and Fury Swipes!"
Falkner, having not been given enough time to react to the fact he'd never been given THAT sort of response from a challenger before, did not have time to give counterattack orders as a blur of gray-and-white lunged at Pidgeot in a flailing of claws. The bird pokemon gave a resounding squawk as it was attacked, launching itself into the air and out of reach of the feline.
"Pidgeot, Whirlwind!"
"Dodge it and come back with Hypnosis, Princess!"
While dodging a swiftly-moving whirlwind of dust and debris may not have been an issue for a limber little glameow, it was more of a challenge for a hefty purugly. In spite of an impressive dodge to the side, a tailwind still caught hold of her, catching her in the cyclone and touseling her high into the air as she gave a distressed yowl before dropping her back to the gym's floor in an unceremonious heap. As she dragged her legs beneath herself, regaining her feet, the pidgeot dove in for what it believed to be the final shot for victory.
...just to falter and pause mid-air, as if forcibly stopped by something during it's descent. Instead of tackling into Princess full-force, it halted just short of her, finding itself captivated by the Purugly's endless gaze. The staredown seemed to last forever, both pokemon ignoring cries from their trainers until Pidgeot alighted on the gym mat, feeling too heavy to stay aloft any longer, and allowed it's head to sag forward as it dropped into an unnatural sleep. Hypnosis had taken effect.
By the time Pidgeot was soundly sleeping, Gaga had already fussed another potion out of his backpack and had stepped forward to apply this one to his pokemon as well until she noticably shook off the injuries of her fall. NOW they were getting somewhere.
"Princess, use Slash!" he commanded, sparing a look at Falkner out of the corner of his eye as he rummaged into his own pockets, likely for an Awakening, to no avail. The slumbering Pidgeot rocked on it's haunches with the force of the blow, but didn't stir.
"Pidgeot, wake up!"
"Princess, Tackle!" From a normal-sized pokemon, it was perhaps the least threatening of moves. From a massive cat, though...
Getting a running start, Princess neatly tucked all four paws up beneath herself, becoming a projectile missile of bulk. Falkner's pidgeot would wake up just in time to give a startled shriek before finding itself flattened beneath an irate Purugly. Lacking any further strength to do anything about it, the bird resigned itself to it's fate with a groggy "Pigeoooo...."
The gym leader fell silent a moment, scowling at the scene before him before crossing his arms over his chest to regard Gaga.
"Well. I suppose that means a victory for you. I'll acknowledge your win, but I don't have to like it." His hand disappeared into his jacket before flicking his wrist in Gaga's direction. A small silver something sailed through the air, straight toward him, which he caught between his palms and peered down at curiously. A shiny new gym badge glinted up at him from the prison of his fingers.
"Since you're in such a rush to leave, I won't keep you any longer." he went on, recalling Pidgeot back to it's ball from beneath Princess. "But if you keep your current attitude toward your pokemon, you aren't going to get very far in your journey."
"If you're implying I did this to satisfy my own ego, you--" he was interrupted by a pair of large paws knocking the wind out of him as Princess rudely hopped up on him from the front, snatching the badge out of his hands and tucking her head to affix it to the ruff of fur on her chest. HER badge, dammit. SHE earned it.
"I'm implying that if you don't learn to work with your pokemon as equals, they'll start resenting you. That one already does."
"She's ALWAYS been that way!" Gaga replied, gesturing at the badge-wearing purugly in annoyance. "Why, from the very start, she--"
"You're her trainer." Falkner interrupted. "It's your responsibility to earn her respect and trust so that she'll WANT to cooperate with you, not hers to carry you. And anyway..." his eyes turned to the pokeball he currently held in his hand. "...it looks like I have some pokemon to heal before my dad finds out. Please leave."
The steward's mouth opened to continue arguing, and then closed again, turning away in a huff.
"Come along, Princess."
He needn't have said anything, she'd already taken the liberty of sashaying out ahead of him.
[The video feed pops on, focusing on an exasperated-looking Gaga, the retreating view of Violet City's gym in the background as he walks.]
Miss Norn, are your affairs in this city nearly settled? I think I'm ready to move on.