Pokedex Entry#029 Skill Tree Part 3

Last time Trixie managed to cut a deal with Enterna's gigantic gym leader. However, with most of her arsenal down, it seems she has to use her ace up her sleeve. Let's find out what it is now!

As Gardenia and I walked to the separate parts of the stage, my mind was about to burst with malformed strategies. My years of grueling training have made me face off with dozens of opponents. But this is the toughest one I might ever have to face. Which only made my anxiety and etched together plans all the worse.

However, before I could succumb to the stress, all I had to do was take one long look at the lamenting Taylor for the burden to get a little lighter. If only because I refuse to allow her the gift of freedom. So with that, I decided to formulate only one concrete plan. My confidence in said plan quickly got tempered, though, as the entire gym started to shake at "his" footsteps.

In this new age of commercialized battling, people often fought to rise to the legendary status of trainers like Ash and Dawn, thinking that their feats are easily replicated. Some even think that the many gym leaders they faced were also nothing special. However, I knew far better than that. It isn't so much that the gym leaders were weak, more so that they held themselves back.

Normally they were under regulation to use their younger and lower-level Pokemon to be a hurdle, not a wall. Only a select few even get to face their "real" arsenal commands. A power I was about to get the full taste of as the steps started to get loud as thunder. The crowd full of fellow Grass-type Pokemon started to erupt into a rabid frenzy upon every stomp. My heartbeat almost managed to become attuned to the menacing rhythm before it stopped cold.

From there, I could see my imminent opponent in full force: Gardenia's mighty Torterra. The powerful starter was only supposed to be 3 times stronger than my entire squadron in terms of levels. But I could tell just from looking that the difference was much greater. One look on its earthy back proved that this beast had fought more battles than I ever have, which makes the challenge of landing even a single blow on this behemoth unlike any other.

"I'm excited to see what you bring to the table Trixie, It's not every day I get to pull out the big guns," Gardenia said amusingly.

By the time those words left her mouth, a grave coldness had started to wash over my body as I whispered under my breath.

"Poise, power, pride."

From there, I launched my first Pokemon at the flick of the wrist.

"Swablu, win it all!"

A trail of blue light soared into the air, quickly taking shape into my harpie from Hoenn. As per usual, it was a total prima donna, twirling in the air like it was plating before resting at an easy hover from a safe distance. Through said steady flight, a brief standoff started to occur as I run calculations. Whether I liked it or not, this was going to be a war of trial and error, a war I was going to win.

So I started the first move covering the small forest in a thick mist! Then, under the guise of a said veil, I wasted no time ordering Swablu to use the surrounding trees as platforms firing off vengeful air slashes at various trajectories! A near-invisible attack with a barely visible battlefield is a combination both deadly and poetic.

But I didn't dare celebrate my victory prematurely as my umpteenth attack was met with a speeding stone pillar the size of a flagpole. Reinforced glass, thick trees, and tough grass got shredded like paper at the might of Torterra's Stone Edge.

Swablu, in response, unleashed a last-second Aileron roll, avoiding the burn of the attack and descending into a graceful roll. Still, the attack did what it needed to; she was so badly grazed that flying wasn't an option now. Unfortunately, I had to stuff down her pleading cries as Torterra started to close in at the speed of a linebacker.

The sight alone was enough to fill Swablu and me with frozen panic, respectively. Though I quickly converted the worthless emotion, instead sticking to my objective to the bitter end. Collecting all of her remaining power in her good wing, Swablu struck with a point-blank air cutter! However, I finally managed to get a mark of surprise from Gardenia as she realized Torterra wasn't my real target; the tree was.

The sharpened wind worked as well as metal, chopping the tree behind her down in one strike! Gravity did the rest of the work as the huge evergreen descended like a guillotine over Torterra. Unfortunately, all that momentum instantly got turned against him as he could barely dodge the structure by the skin of his shell. Which is exactly what I was waiting for.

"Swablu Sing!"

That rush of adrenaline was enough to fully regain her composure as she gave the sonnet of a lifetime. Gentle melodies quickly filled the air, sweetly disarming even the rowdiest of my inhuman crowd. In fact, some of the weaker willed amongst started to lull into slumber, all except my opponent, who already activated a move I couldn't stop if I tried.

Force of nature was given an all-new meeting as Swablu's melodies fell on death's ears. Violent red energy washed over his body, amplifying his already insane strength many times over. A strength that was used to full effect while he violently gnashed apart the tree I just tipped over! All preparation was futile as shards of wood prickled and pierced Swablu's body before I could even react!

Which meant all I could do was see my soaring siren smash back into the hard earth and wretch at the thought of having to deal with potentially two more monstrous attacks. Either way, Swablu did her job right, I was hoping that singing would be enough to put him down, but now that I had a good look at his speed, I'll have to adapt accordingly. So my most optimal choice would be.

"Krilia, win it all!"

By the time emotion, pokemon made her appearance; she was already in danger. Because the now livid Torterra was already looming overhead with eyes sharing the color of blood. Fortunately for me, I made sure that my pokemon would respond without any hesitation when it came to my commands. That fact saved Kirlia's life as she disappeared in a purple void that quickly followed another rumbling shockwave that left cracks in the surroundings windows.

The force alone was enough to upset my balance, leaving my legs about as sturdy as gelatin. I could've fallen right there, but I had gone through too much ever to fall here. So instead, I fell completely back on my experience, placing my weight in just the right way to keep myself steady.

I didn't miss a single beat from there, as the moment I waited for finally appeared. Outrage may be a powerful move in its own right, but once those two to three attacks are up, the target becomes confused. The fact that I took advantage of when I saw Torterra's dazed expression.

Kirilia appeared from the shadows with a fast psybeam that would hopefully end this all with almost venomous intent. Yet, I didn't dare celebrate early as Gardenia clapped back with the most unorthodox command in my entire career.

"Torterra, use Wood Hammer on yourself!"

Without hesitation, Torterra did just that, summoning an emerald construct in the shape of a tree stump. Said construct then lengthened at an alarming speed, launching the powerful Pokemon into a nearby mass of trees, avoiding my attack by a razor hair. The force alone was enough to bury it under a mass of broken bark promptly. Any lesser Pokemon probably would've instantly gotten KO'ed by the sheer velocity.

For this monster, though? I knew that it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience as the one-way trip was just what the Nurse Joy ordered. Like a slumbering giant, Torterra woke up in an explosion of splinters, showing absolutely no signs of it slowing down from its own self-inflicted wounds. In fact, the last attack seemed to only strengthen its resolve as in its malicious maw held a trunk the size of a flagpole.

All care for the gym seemed to have gotten thrown out the window as Torterra wielded it like a club, slamming it down with a violent intent right where Kiralia was. If it weren't for another last-second teleport, she might've been sent flying all the way back to Twinleaf. The pressure alone from such a fact was enough to force me to fall back.

Which meant that the next half minute was effectively the ultimate stalemate. The new weapon in metaphorical hand meant that my range advantage had now been closed; any attack I could make was doomed to get intercepted due to our similar speed. On the bright side, each passing gave me more information though, more openings to exploit and more patterns to recognize.

Unfortunately, I forgot to keep in mind that she was doing the same for me while I was analyzing Gardenia. The opening I had decided to advance on from mid-air was really an opening she "planned" to expose. Before I could even set up another psybeam, Torterra once again opened up the very ground itself, erupting harsh pillars of stone that rushed her. Even when I was far too late, I still fought on, leading me to try out a desperate strategy I had stored up.

"Kiralia Life Dew!"

Unlike Swablu, Kirlia was able to work well under pressure, conjuring up a drop of golden water that she threw up into the air before getting struck so hard that said rock pillars exploded on contact. From there, Kiralia was sent throttling across the air like a ragdoll, seemingly staying up there for what felt like an agonizing eternity, all before falling with an almost heart-shaking thud.

That one deafening facade was more than enough to seep in the most useless of all emotions: fear. Wisps of worry started to stir within me as my carefully laid-out plan started growing blurry. My mind then started to run rampant like rain with piercing strategies as my heart started to match. Eventually, the thoughts grew so loud that they all managed to unify into one question that haunts me no matter which stage I'm on.

"Is this where my dream dies?"

That terrifying unknown has motivated every action I've taken because the heat of battle is the only thing that I can control and the only thing that makes me, me. So if I lose that, my dream, my purpose. Then what the hell is the point of it all? So before that alarming fear could turn into despair, a miracle happened.

Maybe it was the move finally taking effect, or just my emotions being responded to. At first, I thought it was just a figment of my wild imagination or Life Dew starting to take effect. But that got thrown away as more and more I saw Kirlia start to twitch more and more. From there, twitching turned to struggle and then jolting as the weary Pokemon managed to stand tall.

Astonishment enveloped the entire Gym at such a feat, but Kirlia didn't dare settle on it. Instead, she decided to turn back to me and give me the most reassuring smile I've seen in my entire life. The action alone was enough to tell a thousand words, all of which I needed to hear.

However, I couldn't dwell on it any further as before I knew it, Kirlia got violently smacked to the wayside by the almost heartless Torterra. At that point, all of my attention shifted back towards Gardenia again as her unearthly aura grew greater than ever before.

"I fought hundreds of battles within this gym, but I've never seen a Pokemon resurrect itself like that. But that might be the only miracle you get today. It's only going to get harder from here, so tell me what other tricks you have left," she said in a tempting tone.

I held off any witty remark until after I had safely secured my fallen Pokemon in her ball. Once she returned, my mind flashed back to all the memories we shared, from my nurturing of her as an egg to now.

That same feeling soon managed to wash over into all my other Pokemon as I finally deciphered the message she gave me. So with all my heart, I answered my daunting question with the experiences I've made, and in a moment, my composure once again strengthened. Then, in the ultimate show of that, I revealed my remaining four Poke balls to my mighty opponent.

"Plenty, I've never managed to stop a performance halfway, and I told you that I'm not leaving here without that badge. So sit back and enjoy the show Gardenia because we're making sure you never forget!"

With Trixie's resolve higher than ever this battle is far from over! Find out the thrilling second part next time as the journey continues ever forward.