The Wolf of Castelia [Pokemon - Absol Isekai] (2024)

Chapter 16 - And Make It Double

Arriving at the main arena, Hilda found a sight not dissimilar to the amusem*nt parks dotted around the city. A huge chamber lit by bright neon lights, in which platforms seemingly floated in the air, connected by a bewildering array of railway tracks atop which sat a variety of single passenger cars.

Gym trainers could be spotted on several platforms, waiting for challengers to land on their spot, whilst Elesa awaited her at the very end of the line.

"Make your way to the Gym Leader. The rail cars are available for your use," Hilda read aloud from the sign next to the entrance.

"Hold on," Koffing interrupted before she could board the first car. "Think about the sign, not just what it says but also what it doesn't."

Turning back to look at it again, Hilda's face scrunched up as she considered Koffing's advice, realization not long in coming.

"Oh! It says you can use the cars, but doesn't say you have to!"

"Exactly! The only requirement is to reach the end, but the ride is just an option. Most people will go straight for the obvious solution without pausing to think of alternatives, ones that might let them bypass the Gym trainers and arrive at Elesa with a fresh team. Now, this is a good opportunity for you to practice what you've learned. You're still some distance away from manifesting steel independently; this is always trickier for organics so don't worry too much about that now. Instead, make use of the ample steel already available on the tracks; nobody is actively commanding them right now, so they should fall easily to you. Magnetism, after all, is a concept that falls within the domain of Steel."

"Right," Hilda took a deep breath as she approached the sheer drop of the nearby ledge.

The nearest Gym trainer was watching closely now, but did not intervene beyond sending out their Emolga, who started circling above his head.

"Steel within, Steel without." Hilda recited to herself, before stepping off the side of the ledge - and sticking firmly to the sheer metal surface.

In defiance of gravity, Hilda stuck one leg then the other to the bottom of the track, transitioning into a steady walk along the underside of the roller coaster. Slowly at first but gaining speed alongside her confidence, a leisurely five minute walk brought her to the end of the line, completely invalidating the gauntlet that send more than third quarters of challengers home before ever facing Elesa.

"Well that's a new one," Elesa said by way of greeting. "Most of the ones who think of alternatives tend to Fly or Teleport over, usually with their Pokémon doing the heavily lifting. I can see why Burgh told me to keep an eye out, that's some impressive control over Steel for your age, even taking into account Koffing's guidance."

"Eh, you can understand him?"

"Of course! Any trainer of note will find a way to bridge the communication gap. Its the single biggest barrier to growth, and naturally the first thing the intelligent look to overcome. Sure, you can wait until your aura synchronizes sufficiently with your team that you can understand eachother, but that often takes years to achieve and only works on a case-by-case basis, and until then you're just wasting time. A generalized solution such as that necklace of yours is far more efficient."

Hilda jumped at that, and even Koffing raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't look so surprised," Elesa raised her hand, empty palm faced towards them. "I've been watching you all since you passed through the gates to the city, with the help of my generalized solution."

For a brief moment, a horned red head emerged from her hand, just the tip of his head visible before disappearing once more.

"Rotom can inhabit any vessel containing a measure of electricity. Why would the human brain and nervous system be an exception?"

"Rotom is your command and control," Koffing realized. "A direct mental interface linked to the central systems of Nimbasa; any camera in any electronics would be accessible unless hardened against intrusion."

"Precisely. I don't actively monitor everything of course; I'm no Metagross, no human brain can't handle that kind of strain, but I have selective access any footage of note or anything flagged up by Rotom. He's the best personal assistant, you know?"

A happy chirp played through the arena's speakers in agreement.

"Anyway, that's probably enough chat about our personal circ*mstances. You're here for your second badge, are you not?"

Seeing Hilda's determined nod, Elesa snapped her fingers, the arena coming to life around her.

"This will be a battle fought under Unova League regulations," Rotom's robotic voice declared. "The Challenger and Gym Leader shall each field two Pokémon simultaneously in a double battle. The winner shall be the sole participant with Pokémon remaining both within the arena and capable of battle. Any questions?"

As both Hilda and Elesa shook their head, the scoreboard lit up with two dots a side.

"As is customary, the Challenger shall deploy their Pokémon first."

"Joseph, Impostor, your time to shine!"

Impostor the Amoonguss emerged first, rooting himself into the floor with the ease of a lifetime of practice. Joseph landed atop his head, arms crossed as he surveyed the battlefield with barely concealed nerves. He'd fought plenty of times in training by now, but this was still his true debut on the big stage.

"The Gym Leader shall deploy their Pokémon now. The battle commences when they arrive on the field."

In response, Elesa selected a pair of Pokéballs, release two identical Emolga emerged onto the field. They evaluated Joseph and Impostor for a moment, glanced at one another then struck a pose, backs against each other and arms outstretched dramatically into the sky.

"Prepare for trouble, and make it double!"

Joseph and Impostor watched, baffled as the pair went through a recognizable rendition of the Team Rocket motto, complete with silly gestures.

"Don't mind the twins," Elesa laughed, "In their early days, they watched a docuseries on the rise and fall of Team Rocket, all the way from Giovanni's humble beginnings to his eventual retirement in Unova, and they both thought it was the coolest thing ever. As it happens, the motto is also quite distracting as a cover for Helping Hand."

"Dig!"

Impostor sank into the ground at Hilda's hurried command, taking Joseph with him mere moments before twin Air Slashes bisected where they'd just been.

"Stay down there until Helping Hand wears off. Go asymmetric."

Grass began to sprout, covering the field in fresh greenery as Joseph and Impostor shaped the terrain in tandem. The Emolga twins stared at the scene quizzically; one even nibbling the grass before promptly spitting it out, a disgusted expression on her face. Elesa giggled at her antics but was otherwise content to watch Hilda's team set up.

"Proxy: Giga Drain."

Two blades of grass glowed noticeably greener, the infusion of aura substituting the need for sight, allowing the duo to find their targets from underground. Each Emolga began to glow as well, their vitality under siege in a slow grind through their type resistance.

"Rain Dance." Elesa finally responded directing the twins to disgorge a torrent of water directly into the tunnel Impostor had dug.

"Keep it going, you can outlast them, all else being equal." Hilda assessed, deciding to bank on the healing effect of Giga Drain.

"Soak and Thunder."

"Never mind, get out and Protect!"

Impostor erupted from the ground, Joseph still on his head. Both were dripping wet as they combined their uses of Protect; creating a multi-layered composite shield far greater than the sum of their parts. This proved just about enough to fend off the Thunder; flickering at the edges but ultimately holding steady.

"Impressive," Elesa noted. "Most trainers focus on single combat and give no thought to group dynamics, whereas your team are clearly well-used to fighting as a unit. But will it be enough, now that you have nowhere left to hide from the storm?"

This was always going to be an uphill battle, Joseph reflected as he frantically dodged, barely keeping ahead of a steady stream of Thunderbolts. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Impostor holding strong; his sheer endurance and skill with Giga Drain allowing him to hold strong even in the face of super-effective attacks. Joseph didn't have that though; he was the youngest Pokémon on the team, and a couple weeks of intense training was no substitute for years of combat experience in the wild. Absol was the only one in a comparable situation; but he had the benefit of precognition and was not at all a good benchmark for growth.

Joseph was keeping ahead for now, but his limbs were already tiring, sooner or later he'd slip, take a point-blank hit and that's all she wrote. He'd tried to retaliate; but Emolga's mastery of wind had easily dispersed his spores before they could take effect, leaving him at a loss. All the same, he continued his desperate retreat; refusing to let his first battle end in a rout, because this wasn't just about him winning. All the hours of training invested in him, the Sun Stone procured from the best of Unova so he could evolve, it all underscored the fact that there were people counting on him now, and he would not let them down, no matter what.

With that final resolution came clarity. He wouldn't win this battle on his own, but neither would his opponent. Tapping into a well of power he'd never known he possessed, Joseph let out one final breath and turned around. The latest of many Thunderbolts flew his way; but instead of dodging, Joseph leapt straight up to meet it with a smile, and then there was light.

"I didn't realize Whimsicott could learn Destiny Bond." Elesa quipped as one Emolga face-planted on the floor, a victim of Joseph's final

gambit.

"Neither did I," Hilda admitted, turning to Koffing. "Did you teach him that?"

"No, I only ever explained the basics when we watched some old matches on TV. Still, this would hardly be the first time a Pokémon learnt a new move to get out of a tight spot, and Destiny Bond does appear regularly in Fairy types…"

Koffing trailed off in thought whilst Hilda returned her attention to the remaining combatants. Emolga was doing his best, bringing to bear far more electricity than would be expected of a Pokémon his size, but it wasn't enough. He was flagging; lacking the sheer power to knock Impostor out in a single hit, the result was a battle of attrition where only Impostor could heal; a situation which only really led to a single possible outcome.

"Rest."

Needing to offset the steady drain on his aura, Emolga was forced to try and recover his strength at the cost of leaving himself vulnerable, hoping that he could withstand enough damage for Rest to complete. Or rather, that would be the gamble had his opponent not actually paid attention to the rules of the battle.

"That's game over," Hilda sighed in relief. "Impostor, grab Emolga and throw him out of the arena."

One tossed squirrel later, Rotom called the battle as a ring-out in Hilda's favor, as Elesa recalled Emolga before he could crash land in the machinery far below.