Fuchsia Gym Battle Pt. 1

Vali looked over each of her pokemon who would be participating in the battle and smiled at their well-rested forms the morning before their battle with Koga, "Are you guys ready for this?" Excited nods and slightly nervous trills were given, "I know we'll be able to win this. Idril," Idril looked at her, "Depending on what pokemon Koga sends out, I'll be having you battle first. I know that you'll be able to win it, Sweetheart," She bent down to Idril's level and rubbed the Sandshrew's slightly rough skin, "I know it's a bit daunting especially given how important these battles are. I'm always a bit nervous when it comes to these battles," Idril looked at her in shock, "I hide it pretty well. I know Balto and the others are nervous too. Aren't you?" Balto barked as Pikachu nodded and Arwen whinnied, "See, we all nervous, but we're not going to let it get to us. Do your best, Sweetheart. Our family is standing behind you every step of the way."

Idril nodded with a determined expression on her face. Vali smiled softly and returned everyone before joining Steven at the doors of the pokemon center. Steven looked at her curiously, "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Vali bent down to Eevee's level and he jumped onto her shoulder, "Idril needed that pep-talk," They left the pokemon center, "I'm going to be sending her out first depending on who Koga sends out,"

"Do you think she'll be able to handle it?" Steven asked with a slightly worried expression on his face.

Vali nodded with a light smile, "I know she can. She's been training so hard along with everyone else. She deserves the chance to show off her strength."

They soon reached the gym and headed inside. The gym trainer looked up from her computer, "Valkyrie Potter?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Vali said before gesturing to Steven, "Steven's watching my battle today,"

"Traveling partners?" The Gym Trainer asked as she typed something into the computer.

"Yes," Vali walked over to the desk.

"If you'll follow me, we'll head to the battlefield. Gym Leader Koga will be there," The Gym Trainer stood up and led them through the ninja school.

Steven spoke as they passed by an open door which showed some students learning how to throw shuriken, "I wasn't aware that weapons are legal in Kanto."

"Only those who go to our school and pass the required tests are allowed them," The Gym Trainer glanced back at Steven, "If a student leaves, any weapons they have are taken from them and their names are blacklisted from our suppliers. If the student returns, they have to go through the tests once more,"

"You need a special license for them," Vali added earning a raised eyebrow from Steven, "Sirius told me since he needed to get one and learn the rules about them to become a pokemon Ranger. They're only allowed to be used in extreme circumstances though and there's a lot of red tape involved,"

"Here we are," The Gym Trainer said when they reached a pair of shoji doors with the Fuchsia city symbol and the League symbol painted on the them.

The doors slid open and they found the battlefield waiting for them. Vali looked over Koga who was one of the few gym leaders that didn't often appear in public outside of certain league events. He was assessing her the moment she entered and didn't seem to dismiss her as a threat immediately showed that the man understood one of the many Slytherin phrases she'd discovered while at Hogwarts: Don't assume someone is weak or useless by appearance alone. Internally smiling a bit, she called out, "Gym Leader Koga?" The man dressed like a ninja inclined his head, "I'm Valkyrie Potter. I will be your challenger."

"Then stand in the trainers box, your companion may sit in the stands," Koga replied with a somewhat blank expression.

Vali moved to the trainers box as asked while Steven headed to the stands. A referee appeared as Koga moved to his own position, "This is a four on four battle between Gym Leader Koga of Fuchsia city and Challenger Valkyrie Potter of Pallet Town. Only the challenger may make any substitutions. Trainers, please release your first pokemon!"

Koga released a Ariados and Vali replied with Idril causing the gym leader's eyes to widen, "A shiny Sandshrew? So you are the trainer that Lt. Surge spoke of."

Vali looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Surge spoke about me?"

"Indeed," Koga's lips twitched into a faint smirk, "He spoke highly of your battling skills despite the fact you do not rely on brute strength as he does,"

Vali shrugged as the referee called out, "Begin!"

"Idril, Hide and seek," Vali ordered immediately and Idril disappeared into the ground.

"Ariados, Sticky Web," Koga ordered in reply.

Ariados began layering the battlefield with sticky silk that Vali would need to get rid of via fire-type attacks the moment she was able to. She focused on Ariados noting that it was fairly small and it's movement not quite as smooth as they should be which meant the spider had evolved not too long ago. She knew that Koga was probably using this as a test to gauge her strength. She spotted the small holes forming in the ground making her mentally smile. Out of all her pokemon, Idril fit in the best when it came to her strategy. Due to their body type and instincts, the Sandshrew-line would never be able to tank hits no matter how hard you tried simply because they weren't built for it. Instead of becoming tanks, they were perfect to become the assassin of the team.

Ariados let out a startled shriek of surprise when glowing purple needles struck the bottom of it's abdomen where the thick exoskeleton was thinner due to the spinnerets being there. It lept up and spun around to strike the pokemon that had attacked it only to find nothing. Even though poison-types couldn't be poisoned, poison-type attacks still did damage. Idril popped up to hit it with Mud-Slap before disappearing back into the ground earning a shriek of surprised pain. Vali reached up to scratch behind Eevee's ear as she whispered to him, "Idril's way of using hide and seek is diffrent from the others, don't you think?" Eevee nodded slowly, "She's a lot more effective at it because she can do a lot inside the ground. It's basically water to her and like any aquatic pokemon, she can sense the vibrations in the ground allowing her to find her opponents."

Koga spoke before she could continue her explanation, "So you're taking the natural skills of your pokemon and utilizing them rather than attempt to transform it into a tank."

"Sandshrew aren't meant to tank hits same with Pikachu and quite a few other pokemon," Vali replied as Idril kept peppering Ariados with attacks as the spider began to fling poison-type attacks back though none of them seemed to hit, "Ariados aren't meant to tank hints either,"

"True enough," Koga looked at the battlefield with a slight chuckle, "You've already noticed that my Ariados is fairly young, did you not?"

Vali eyed him as she nodded, "I noticed it's movements weren't as smooth as they should be and it is small for its species even for a female."

"She evolved a week ago," Koga confirmed her thoughts.

"You're attempting to gauge my skills and react accordingly," Vali watched Idril pop up and take a chance with using Shadow Claw causing a high pitched screech of pain to leave Ariados as a deep cut appeared on the spider's exoskeleton.

Vali felt a bit of bile rise up in her throat at the sight of Ariados' blood leaking out of the cut. It was a thick slimy greenish purple substance that made an unpleasant plopping sound when it hit the ground. She felt Eevee stiffen a bit and reached up to calm him down. Koga spoke as Idril disappeared back into the ground, "You are not used to fighting bug-types are you?"

"No, not on this level at least," Vali hadn't faced many bug-type trainers since not long before they left Celadon, "Will she be okay?"

"She will be fine," Koga replied making Eevee relax a bit, "Bug-type pokemon are rather resilient. Unless their exoskeleton is completely crushed or destroyed, they will always manage to survive for the most part," Idril used Shadow Claw once more and Ariados was showing signs of weakness as another deep cut appeared on the spider's exoskeleton, "Ariados, Bug Bite,"

Ariados managed to catch Idril before she could go back to ground and bit down harshly. Idril squealed in pain and retaliated with Scratch. Ariados held on tight as Idril used Scratch over and over again pumping poison into her Sandshrew. Ariados finally let go when Idril scored a decent hit with Shadow Claw. Idril disappeared back into the ground and resumed her old tactics until the spider passed out. Idril pulled herself from the ground as Koga returned his knocked out Ariados. Vali bent down as Idril stumbled towards her looking ill and shaky as a purple aura ran over her body. Vali took out Idril's pokeball as she reached down to gently scratch under Idril's chin, "You did a very good job, Idril. I'm going to return you now."

Idril nodded with a pleased expression and Vali returned her while mentally promising the shiny pokemon a good pampering session once Nurse Joy got done with her. Standing up fully, Vali watched as Koga released a Koffing which prompted Vali to release Arwen.