Miho Chan
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Chapter 35: Haunting Performance
🕑 Added 2024-08-16 00:03:19 +0000 UTCKiritsugu looked up at the mansion marked with the gym symbol, eyeing the stained glass windows thoughtfully. “I’ve seen a couple of gyms in passing, but not one like this,” he commented as they walked closer. “I really can’t tell how standardized gyms are supposed to be.”
“It varies from region to region,” Elle remarked as they approached the double doors. “When I did the Unova circuit a while back, every gym was different inside and out. But the main gyms in Galar are all done to the same design, Paldea has cookie-cutter gym buildings but has all their battles in different places in their towns… really, it’s a bit of a mess.”
“You’ve done a gym circuit? Was it part of a mission?” Shirou asked, looking over at his dad’s partner.
“No. Being an agent for interpol is really demanding and dangerous, but there are serious perks; the pay is great, and we get two months of vacation and a month of mandatory leave every year,” Elle responded with a grin. “I built up a full season’s worth of time off, and decided to test myself.” She let her smile fade. “We enjoyed the gyms, but most of my team is too aggressive or skittish for a League. Still, I earned ten Unova badges; I’ll probably go back sometime to keep my collection current.”
Kiritsugu chuckled. “I’ve got other things to spend my time off on– after Flare is dealt with. But I wouldn’t mind seeing you fight someone on your level. Speaking of which,” he said, turning to his kids, “Which one of you are going first?”
“It’s Shirou’s turn to go first,” Illya said simply.
Shirou shook his head and he pulled the door open for his family and friends. “Illya also knows the gym leaders have advance notice we were coming, and wants to have me feel out how much they’re prepared for us.”
“Really?” Kiritsugu mused. “I suppose you two are fairly memorable.”
“They are!” The group looked up to see a statuesque woman with a unique hairstyle sweeping down the grand staircase in the gym’s entry hall. The morning sun shining through the windows illuminated her descent, the room framed with blue-light candles. “Welcome, children. And you would be their father, yes?”
“I am. Gym Leader Fantina, I presume?”
“Indeed.” She offered her hand to each of the group in turn. “Gardenia and Roark had much to say about you two. A few warnings, even!” She stepped back, smiling. “Now, I do have a gym trial, but from what I’ve heard, you both prefer just to come to the battles, yes?” At their nods, she clapped her hands. “Wonderful. Time to put on a show!” She turned and walked back up the staircase. “Follow me, s’il vous plait! The audience is waiting!”
Kiritsugu shook off his intrinsic urge to retreat at the mention of an audience, following his children through the doors at the top of the flight of stairs. The chamber within was set up like an orchestra chamber; seats on one side overlooking a standard battle court. In fact… “Did this building use to be an orchestra pit?”
“Indeed. Hearthome has a wondrous, vibrant artistic community, non? But always, always competition and temperment issues. The investors who built this structure a century ago were unable to hold up against the other houses, and shuttered its doors.” She waved one arm at the small crowd of watchers filling the darkened stands. “When my predecessor came here, he found the building overrun with ghosts, and rather than just drive them out, he made it home to them and a gym for the city! Magnifique!” She led them to one of the boxes close to the stage. “Now, sit here, and I shall take my place onstage! Young man, take your place when ready.”
As she trotted down the stairs towards the stage, Shirou slung his backpack into a seat, took a deep breath to set his focus, and tapped the balls at his waist. Each Pokeball shook in anticipation of the battle to come, and not for the first time, he let himself share in their joy of battle as she began walking down the stairs, following in Fantina’s footsteps. “Right, let’s go.”
Reaching the stage, Shirou caught the smile of the woman across from him, a polite round of applause rising from the crowd now covered in rather tasteful ghostly shadows. “Well, young man, I’ve heard you have an affinity for dragons.” She tapped her jaw. (with a finger? Add a bit of clarity here Brian, I think) “I have a partner in fashion and battle who should test your mettle.” She pulled out her first ball, the premier ball marked with purple paint. “Are you ready?”
His own vast experiences with Matilda coming to mind as Fantina mentioned “dragons” and “testing his mettle” in the same sentence, Shirou pulled Yagi’s shaking pokeball off of his belt, enlarging the sphere and nodding towards his opponent with a neutral expression that couldn’t quite conceal how excited he was for this. “I am.”
“This will be a three-on-three battle at the– fifth badge level, correct?” The referee, dressed in a suit and tie asked Fantina, who nodded in response. “Challenger is allowed two switches, Gym Leader is allowed none. Leader Fantina, you have the floor.”
“Then allons-y!” Fantina tossed out her partner, Shirou echoing a similar sentiment moments later. What manifested before the blue jackal was, at first glance, a Misdreavus; but as it settled on the floor, Shirou could see the cloth the body of the creature was made up of, and the two button eyes upon its head. More importantly, he could see the shadows lurking under the creature, and the obsidian eyes peering through slits in the disguise.
“Mimikyu!” The little creature cried.
Not at all recognizing the Pokemon, Shirou took a quick moment to pull out his Pokedex, his eye on the battlefield as he barked out an order while he waited for the Pokedex to provide him with the information he was seeking from it via audio. “Yagi, Odor Sleuth.”
With a nonverbal acknowledgement, the Aura Pokemon focused his senses, sharpening them to the point where he would be able to bypass the Ghost’s immunity to Fighting and Normal attacks. As he did so, his opponent leapt forward at Fantina’s command, an aura of fairy type energy surrounding them as they did so.
Play Rough, Shirou identified with a scowl, his eyes tracking the move. Thankfully, he likely wouldn’t need to intervene with a command here, which gave him some time to think up some basic strategies and keep a sharp eye on both Fantina and Mimikyu, searching for any advantage he could possibly glean through observation.
At the same time, not about to take a hit from a super effective attack if he could avoid it, Yagi deftly front-rolled out of the way, barely managing to avoid the shockingly fast ghost through his quick reflexes. However, the moment he came out of his roll, the ghost was gone, and the Riolu spent precious time searching for them-
“Yagi, Metal Claw on your shadow!” Shirou barked.
Heeding his trusted commander's call instead of continuing his fruitless search, Yagi spun, his right paw alight with Steel, just in time to intercept a Shadow Sneak from the Mimikyu as it appeared in his shadow, only to wince as a ghostly claw slammed into his stomach and sent him tumbling back.
“Well executed!” Fantina clapped. “Most trainers pulling out their device lose track of the battlefield, but you have a firm bond with your chien.” As Mimikyu pulled itself out of the shadows, its disguise limp but the creature beneath unharmed, she grinned. “First blood is mine, however! Mimi dear, Shadow Ball!”
As a wave of ghostly orbs began to rocket their way towards Yagi he gathered energy in his palms, anticipating the order that was soon to come.
“Detonate them with Vacuum Wave.” The calm order came in just as Yagi began to launch a series of quick jabs, the earlier odor sleuth allowing the Riolu to actually meaningfully tag each mass of shadow before it could land. “Close with-”
“Down, give him a scare!” Fantina called out, and Yagi skidded to a halt as Mimikyu fell into the floor. He closed his eyes, his feelers flaring with aura, then lashed out with a quick Force Palm as Mimikyu attempted to pop up from under him, forcing the ghost to abort the attack. “Ah, aura sight. Not something I face often!” She laughed as Mimikyu recovered. “Stay at range, dear!” Mimikyu purred, forming a quartet of ghostly flames around herself before launching them at Yagi.
Deftly weaving through the flames, Yagi burst forward, his body wreathed in a familiar sheath of Normal, closing the distance that Mimikyu had opened in a matter of seconds at his trainer’s follow-up command. Slamming into the busted doll, the plucky Riolu followed up with a nasty uppercut, his paw wreathed in Steel, his opponent briefly sent reeling by the Metal Claw, leaving a moment for Yagi to set up at Shirou’s next command.
“Nasty Plot!”
Fantina gestured forward Mimikyu snapping into a shadow sneak to send the pup tumbling. The Mimikyu paused, only for Fantina to shake her head. “Five badge challenge, darling, no more Play Rough. Shadow Claw!” Nodding in response, the little ghost lashed out with a massive shadow hand as Yagi landed in a three-point stance.
On the side, Kiritsugu leaned over to Elle, his voice hushed and low. “No more Play Rough? It would be very effective…”
“Fantina is already pushing things using an out-of-region Pokemon, but I recognize that one. That’s one of her seven or eight badge pokemon, Fantina brought her out specially. But it’d be unfair to have her fight like a top-tier; Gym Pokemon have to learn to fight while sandbagging if they want to participate in more matches. Not that they’ll throw the fight, but…”
“More of a spar, not a slugfest.” The former assassin nodded. “Using it once as an untested move, or an attempted alpha strike…”
“Would be fair, but repeated uses would not be, especially when considering the general unspoken code of conduct that Gym Leaders adhere to,” Elle nodded. “Honestly, if Yagi was any less well trained, he’d have been wiped out by now, even with her handicaps.”
Down below, the blue jackal proved the words he couldn’t hear true as he intercepted the Shadow Claw with a Metal Claw, the clash of Ghost and Steel issuing forth an otherworldly ring; the sound of steel on steel distorted as though it was coming from somewhere beyond. For several moments, it seemed as if neither side would gain an advantage, both trainers content to use the time to plan out their next move; in Shirou’s case, or simply using it as a test of their opponent’s worthiness; in the case of Fantina. Finally, the younger broke the stalemate.
“Vacuum Wave with your other paw!” Shirou barked, hoping that Yagi would come through with something they hadn’t really ever practiced before.
Thankfully for the redhead, his Riolu was extremely adept at the more technical side of battling. With a furious bark, his left paw came thrusting forward, a wave of Fighting slamming into the Mimikyu with enough force to briefly stun her, allowing Yagi to break the clash and land a punishing blow into her side, sending her reeling before he kicked the doll away, his hind paw glowing with the embers of the Mega Kick he had just used.
As Yagi recovered from his three-hit combo, the wounded Mimikyu slipped into the shadows. Blinking away his extension, he realized what was happening quickly enough to bounce off the ground, avoiding the initial swipe from his own shadow, but not the follow up grab which ripped him out of the air, the modified Shadow Claw scraping him as he was hurled across the ground. Mimikyu launched herself from the shadows, shrieking as she prepared to barrage him with a swarm of ghostly talons. Yagi interposed his arms, taking the first hit on Steel appendages, but not the second or third, the Ghost slipping past his fading guard as he began to lose the fight to stay conscious. Sensing correctly that he had only one opportunity left to dish out any sort of meaningful damage, he lashed out, one last blow smacking Mimikyu back as he tumbled to the ground, fighting to remain in the fight for just a second longer.
The referee watched until Yagi stopped struggling, then raised his flag. “The challenger’s Pokemon–”
“And mine. Mimi dear is on her last legs; if she was at his level, she’d have been out,” Fantina called out. Mimikyu chirped mournfully, though there was no small amount of respect for her opponents present, and gathered the few scraps of her outfit which had been torn off in the final melee. Fantina returned to her teammate the moment the little ghost stopped gathering the bits, leaving the field clear.
“-very well. Both Pokemon are unable to continue, trainers, select your next Pokemon to send out on my mark!” The referee called out.
Shirou palmed his second Pokeball, waiting for the flag to fall. As it did, he threw the ball forward, Fantina’s own matching his pitch. Their typings were foregone; one released a ghost, the other a dragon. Fafnir snorted, crossing her arms, while the Drifblim across from her groaned lowly, rising into the air.
“I was rather hoping Mimi would last a little longer… but you’ve proven your elegance and skill exceeded my expectations! Drifblim, begin the rain of fire!” Fantina called out, her Pokemon beginning to spit purple flames to mist down onto the battlefield.
“Dragonbreath, clear the air. Follow it up with a Rock Tomb!” Shirou called. Grinning, Fafnir took a deep breath, before in one smooth motion she unleashed a violet gout of flame overpowering the ghostly wisps. In the same motion, she slammed her foot into the ground, sending a hail of stones careening towards the hapless Drifblim. Pushed back with a pained groan, the Drifblim rallied as their trainer called out.
“Blim, retaliate with a breath of frost, then close to recover!” Fantina ordered, her partner responding with a massive, exhaling sigh which filled the air with Icy Wind, the cold front covering the stage and quickly closing on Fafnir. The dragon responded with a blast of fire, the Flamethrower breaking the cold front with ease, but revealing the absence of her opponent. As she swept her gaze around, Drifblim popped up out of the floor, their tendrils striking Fafnir multiple times lit with green light, before rocketing back into the air.
Eyes narrowed, Shirou whipped Fafnir’s Pokeball off his belt, “Return. Ritsuka, you’re up!” He called, throwing out his third and final Pokemon.
With a trill, Ritsuka emerged, immediately taking wing as they assessed the situation. Fantina gave a single, polite clap. “Taking to the air, a good plan. Let us see who handles it better!”
Kiritsugu frowned. “Why did he do that?” He asked Elle quietly. “Fafnir didn’t seem wounded…”
“Strength Sap isn’t a normal draining move.” She responded as the two Pokemon began maneuvering in the air above the ring. “It drains offensive power, not health. It would’ve turned this into a battle of attrition, and Fafnir isn’t built for that against a flying opponent.”
Down below, Shirou studied the flight patterns before barking his first order. “Swoop, then fang it!” Ritsuka responded by diving down, bouncing off the ground, then springing behind the bulky flier and chomping down with Thunder Fang.
Fantina was only briefly stunned by the deft maneuver, giving a wide gesture. “Gyro Ball!” The bulky flying-type spun, tendrils briefly shining silver as the move rotated it to face and smashed aside Ritsuka, the smaller flier taking a glancing blow before he got far enough away. “Shift lower, and open fire with Shadow Ball!”
Shirou shouted his own order as the Drifblim floated closer to the stage, a barrage of shadowy orbs springing towards Ritsuka as they evaded, snapping off a quick Dragon Breath every so often either to threaten Drifblim or intercept a Shadow Ball they weren’t likely to be able to evade. As the dogfight continued, Shirou searched for an opening to take advantage of with a frown, eyes narrowing as he found one. “Dragon Pulse.”
On his mark, Ritsuka snapped off the far stronger attack, the lance of Dragon slamming home dead on target, sending the balloon plummeting towards the floor as they desperately tried to recover. Fantina’s eyes narrowed as Ritsuka lunged into another attack, both their wings glowing as Fantina clenched her fist. “Double Edge.” The dragon’s attack clashed with Driftblim’s own, throwing Ritsuka back, though at a cost. With a sad trill, the balloon fell to the floor, out of the fight. “Very good, it is now two to one.” She palmed her final Pokeball. “Banette, show them the final act!”
The pure ghost type formed a few inches above the stage, a wide grin made up of metallic teeth forming on her sackbody face, a zipper dangling at one end of her mouth. Without prompting, her jaw unhinged, a burst of purple goop flying from her mouth and rocketing towards Ritsuka.
“Agility!” Shirou barked, the dragon flying above trilling as they threw themselves into a barrel roll, dodging the Gunk Shot within the barest of safe margins. “Keep the range open. Dragonbreath bombardment!”
Banette hissed as purple flames scorched her body, before gesturing to send a hail of seeking fireballs back at Ritsuka. As the dragon blasted them away with their own dragonfire, the ghost sunk into its own shadow, flickering through the dancing light and darkness cast by the bursts of flame to close in.
Ritsuka’s eyes gleamed blue, before smashing one paw down on Banette’s approach, forcing the ghost type to manifest and dodge backward. Fantina raised one eyebrow. “Do you teach all of your team how to use aura sight?” She asked, clicking her tongue.
“Ritsuka, Dragon Pulse!” Shirou commanded in lieu of answering, the Dragon chirping as they breathed deeply, the lance of Dragon once more slamming home on the ghost, sending the Banette careening back towards the earth. It responded with a deep hiss, before lashing out with a shadow ball that Ritsuka casually dodged. Blurring forward, they slammed into the Banette with a quick attack, purple energy covering their body and allowing them to connect before the ghost could make another play.
Fantina watched as Ritsuka seized her last Pokemon by the neck and began shaking it. “I believe it’s your win, young man. You’ve trained your team very well.” She signaled to the referee.
The man raised his flag as Ritsuka released the ghost. “Leader Fantina has signaled that her final Pokemon is unable to battle! The challenger wins!” Polite applause rose from the stands, along with a small amount of grumbling. Ritsuka gave a happy chirp before returning to their trainer’s side.
“It might be my instincts showing, but I was annoyed when my last move didn’t snap its neck. Is that weird?” Ritsuka asked their trainer as Shirou descended from his box to walk over to Fantina.
“I’m pretty sure that’s just your instincts as an Eevee,” Shirou answered with an amused hum. “Though I’m not sure when you started perceiving your opponents as prey instead of competition.”
“Might just have been the biting. I’ll have to think about it.” Ritsuka responded with a shrug of their wings. As they did, Shirou reached Fantina, the elegant trainer smiling down at him.
“Well done, young man. This battle was magnifique, and not too easy for you. It matched the strength of your team, but not their skill– something I will refrain from passing on to my colleagues.” She held out a small circle of purple metal. “Your Relic Badge.”
“Thank you,” Shirou accepted with a polite bow. “It was an excellent match.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Fantina reached down, a Gengar popping up from her shadow to hand her a trio of disks. “Yes, thank you dear. Now, young man, would you prefer Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, or Will-o-wisp? All multi-use, I assure you.” The gym leader asked, fanning the selection of TMs for him to examine.
“Shadow Ball, I think.” Ritsuka mused, looking towards Shirou with an assessing eye, “Both Yagi and I can use it. In addition, most of Illya’s Pokemon can use it too.”
Shriou nodded, taking the Shadow Ball disc. “Thank you for the choice.”
Fantina nodded, passing the remaining discs back to her shadow ghost. “It is no trouble. I suspect your sister will choose another, so you may share.” She looked at Illya as she descended to the court. “Ah, I have heard your sister is stronger than you. Is it true?”
“She is,” Shirou replied simply.
“Well, I shall be prepared.” Fantina’s smile widened. “Time for the second act, then!”
