EPISODE 26: Combat*

"Charlotte, Luna, please follow me." As everyone's daily routines begin, with the three pillars glancing around, Cliff calls our name from afar. Somehow, he seems interested and curious, but why would he include a four-month member to his curiosity?

"Yes! Thanks for another chance, Mr.Cliff!" Charlotte beams with pleasure and relief.

"Eh, don't thank me, thank the boss for giving you one last chance. As for Luna, your first assessment begins with me. It is time to figure out, where you truly belong to.

Neuro, Stealth, or Combat. These are the three groups that make up one crew. One Neuro, One Stealth, and One Combat, for a total of three members per crew.

Neuro, these are members trained by no other than the Neuro Pillar, Arlo. Their skills are profound when it comes to technology and device, thus they are thought how to dismantle certain foreign devices, or even teach them how to use Team Rocket's famous equipment.

Stealth, these are members trained by the Stealth Pillar, Sierra. These are grunts which excel on sneaking in through buildings, houses, or other organizations. Aside from this, stealth agents are profound when it comes to communication, they report every factor they see to either the Neuro or Combat agent.

Combat, is of course trained under my supervision. I am the pillar leader of this category. These are agents that are profound when it comes to Pokemon Battling. They're usually the ones who fight off foreign grunts with their Pokemons.

According to Giovanni, the category you will belong to will depend on your assessment. There are some who exceed two categories, and that's when the agent decides which category to choose from. Luna, your first assessment begins with me, let's see if you have what it takes to be a Combat Agent." Cliff elucidates.

Neuro, Combat, and Stealth, surely none of them fits me. I'm not a smart woman, nor do I excel on Pokemon Battling, plus, being a spy seems awkward and broody to me.

"About you, Charlotte, do you belong in any of these three categories?" Eager to know, I question Charlotte about her results during the time she took the assessments.

"Um... not quite. I want to become a Neuro Agent but I failed countless times against Arlo's assessments, so I'm left with no other choice but to try Cliff's assessment." Charlotte's tone becomes solemn, as her desire for success continues to flare.

"Let's keep things simple, defeat my Pokemon and you win. I'll only use one, and you can get to use two to six Pokemons. Let's start with Charlotte shall we?" Cliff utters with a very certain voice, as he introduces us to the Pokemon Battle Stadium of the Rocket Academy. It looks very similar to the one in the orphanage, except that it seems much larger and more eloquent.

"M... me?!" Charlotte's voice stutters, her face turns pale.

"Of course, are there other Charlottes around here? We'll stick to the classic ground terrain, if you lose, beg the other pillars to give you one more shot." The battlefield abruptly changes. The once glossy terrain turns into a jagged one with just a press of a button.

Her legs feel numb while walking to the other end of the battlefield, while I keep my eyes peeled to see how cliff battles. I'm not a connoisseur, so evaluating Cliff's strategies would seem difficult to me.

Cliff seems confident, he probably knows what Pokemons Charlotte will be using. Just by the look of Charlotte's eyes, it's obvious to me that she has encountered Cliff's Pokemon before, but didn't manage to defeat it.

"Ok... I'm counting on you Pidgeotto, remember our training!" Charlotte glances at her Pidgeotto's Pokeball, while uttering words of encouragement. I could see the fear inside of Charlotte's eyes, she seems cautious and afraid.

"It's been four months, yet you still have two Pokemons? Ok then, you snooze you lose! Tyranitar... come out now!"

Tyranitar is a large, bipedal, dinosaurian Pokémon with a green, armor-like hide covering its body. It has two pairs of pointed teeth: one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. Several spikes of varying size protrude from the back of its head, neck, and shoulders. Both sides of its chest, the center of its back, and its knees have two triangular holes. There is a gray, diamond-shaped patch of scales covering its belly, and a smaller one on its back. It has three claws on its feet and hands. A ring of spikes surrounds the tip of its tail. Tyranitar gave me nothing but a hard time to swallow my saliva.

"I'll have the first move! Pidgeotto, use Drill Peck right now!"

"Tyranitar, use dig!"

Astounding, Tyranitar uses a Pokemon move, not just for attacking but for dodging as well. Not only that, but it also adds pressure on Charlotte's Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, keep a keen eye on the ground!" Charlotte's heart starts to beat louder, while her eyes remained firm on the ground, wondering where Tyranitar will appear.

<Tyran!>From behind, Tyranitar seeps out of the ground, grabbing Pidgeotto, and throwing it back to the terrain.

"Tyranitar, use Rock Tomb, now!"

"Quick Pidgeotto, glid through and avoid those rocks!"

<Pid! Pid! Pidgeotto!>Pidgeotto dodges the attack! Rock Tomb, a move wherein the target gets shrouded by the boulders simultaneously descending from the sky.

"Now, it's time to land a hit! Pidgeotto, use Air Slash!"

"Tyranitar, don't let it come closer to you! Use Hyper Beam right now!"

A spew of energy gushes forth on Pidgeotto. The move blinds me, as dust scatters throughout the sky. The product of the attack is nothing but wind traveling like water ripples.

"Pidgeotto, nice work, please return to your Pokeball," Charlotte utters with a solemn voice while starting to lose hope on herself.

"Golbat... I'm counting on you, avenge Pidgeotto!" Golbat seeps out of its Pokeball and gushed through the sky, with hopes of intimidating Tyranitar.

"Let the match continue! Tyranitar, use Ice Punch!"

"Golbat, dodge the attack then use Wing Attack!"

One thing's for sure, Golbat is one swift Pokemon. Astounding it is, to see how it drifts across the sky, dodging all of Tyranitar's frosty punches. Hope is restored after finally landing a hit on Tyranitar.

"Tyranitar! Use Hyper Beam on Golbat!"

"This is our opportunity! Golbat, dodge the att-"

Tyranitar on the other hand, seems faster than Golbat. It even launches an attack before Charlotte finishes off her statement.

"Tyranitar needs to recharge! Golbat use Wing Attack."

All wounded and injured, Golbat still persues to defeat Tyranitar. The foe is unable to react or even move due to the loss of a grave amount of energy.

"I guess it's finally our turn! Wing Attack won't do much against my Tyranitar. Finish Golbat with Dark Pulse!" A ripple of twilight shrouds Golbat, causing its energy to drain rapidly.

"Golbat... return to your Pokeball," Charlotte utters with somnolence, as a droplet of grief turns into a cascade, seeping out of her eyes.

"I guess that's it. You failed again, your only hope now is to beg for the other pillars to accept your rematch.

If they disapprove, then that means you're out of Team Rocket. Those are the rules which all of us must abide." Without another word, Charlotte's thrilling traits are torn apart. She saunters back to the edge of the battlefield, filled with nothing but grief and despair.

"It's your turn now Luna, I'm expecting a great battle." Cliff and Tyranitar glares at me, causing my body to tremble as I walk forth to the other end of the battlefield.

How could two cute Pokemons defeat a ground beast like Tyranitar? It seems like destroying a mountain with bare fists to me. As they say, first impressions last. It's time to give Cliff and Charlotte a good show.

"I'm going to choose Lily first." My voice utters with timidity. Instead of throwing the Pokeball, like what real trainers do, I tap the button instead, nearly dropping Lily from my hand.

"Hmph! My Tyranitar does not show mercy to any Pokemons, may it be adorable or not! Let this battle finally commence."

"Um... Lily, use Razor Leaf." Not having any strategies in mind, I randomly call out Lily's moves.

I am hoping that it would do a large impact on Tyranitar, I guess I stand corrected. Not even a mere scratch was caused after that attack.

"Tyranitar, finish the onion with Hyper Beam!" Cliff instructs with a malicious smile.

"Petilil... return to your Pokeball. I guess that leaves me with Ralts left."

"Hmm, I see. Shiny or not, it's still a Psychic-type. Go ahead, Tyranitar needs to recharge anyways." Cliff giggles viciously as if he knows what's about to happen next.

"Let's see... Ralts, use confusion!" Silly me, I call out another random move without thinking of a strategy. It literally didn't do anything unto Tyranitar's skin, it didn't even confuse the foe.

"Luna! Tyranitar is a dark type too, Psychic moves won't do a thing." Charlotte reminds me of the background.

"You could've told me sooner."

"A wasted move, Tyranitar! Use Dark Pulse and finish off Ralts." A twilight ripple succumbs Ralts, while my mind couldn't barely think of any strategy. No matter how hard I hit my head, nothing couldn't pop up. After the dust settles, Ralts is found with nothing but a fainted heart, my first assessment has come to an end, bearing nothing but bad results.

"I guess battling really isn't your type. Or... maybe it is."

"Maybe it is? What do you mean by that?" I query.

"Battling may not be your talent, but it can be your skill... that's if, you train hard of course.

Don't take this defeat too harshly, you can still have a rematch against me, just like what Charlotte did. Maybe one day, you'll be an expert when it comes to Pokemon Battling, all you need to do is to strive.

Now, I want both of you to proceed to the other pillars. Charlotte, if Arlo and Sierra accepts your rematch, well... you're one lucky girl. As for Luna, I'll give a little hint on defeating the other pillars.

Defeating Arlo's assessment will be tough, you'll probably be tasked to dismantle a bomb or forge a weapon of some kind with the use of scraps.

As for Sierra, you will undergo a simulator with the use of advanced holographic imaging. The trick to winning is to analyze every scenario."