The teleportation pad in the center of the main hall began to brighten up with swirling colors, and with a flash of light, Alice appeared standing on it. She looked over to the left at the door she had first entered, and began to scan about at the others, unsure which one she’d go through next. Looking to Acerola’s door, she saw that the light above it was dimmer than the others. After glancing over to Kahili’s door and then to Molayne’s door, she opted to run to the left toward the latter.
As she continued running down the walkway and at the door, it opened up at the point that she could make her way in without having to slow herself down. Continuing her strides, she bounded up the steps by two until she reached the battle platform where Molayne stood. Like the last trainer Alice faced, Molayne was guarding a deactivated teleportation pad, one she knew that she could not step on until she defeated him in battle.
Once she came to a stop on the opposite side of the platform, Molayne waved with an open-mouthed smile. “Hey, there! Good to see you again!”
“Same,” she responded. “So, you ready for me?”
Molayne chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I don’t normally ask trainers this before they face me, but are your own Pokémon ready?”
Alice opened her mouth to speak, only for her to never remember healing her Pokémon from her last battle. With a sigh that sounded more like a throat-clearing cough, she fell into a cross-legged sit and swung her bag to sit in the space her legs created. Molayne giggled again as she began sorting out her Revives and Max Potions and began the process of healing her Pokémon.
“I could have sworn you faced your first opponent a little quicker than I expected,” he said.
“To be fair,” Alice responded, “I’ve battled him before.”
“Have you now? Then I suppose that puts you ahead of the curve. As excited as you must be to have reached this point, to have already beaten your first of the Elite Four, you should always be sure your Pokémon are healthy enough to share your excitement.”
“Uhuh.” The last of her Revives were absorbed into the center buttons of her Poké Balls, and she began to move on to her potions.
“I can only wonder how your brother is doing,” Molayne wondered aloud.
“I saw him running into Acerola’s door before I went through my first,” Alice answered. “Before I came in here, he looked to still be in there, so he’s still working on her it seems.”
“Or perhaps he’s taking the time to heal his own Pokémon before he faces his next trainer.”
“Okay, okay! Rub it in, why don’t you?”
Molayne put his hands up. “I’m merely saying, is all. It’s clear that you're both approaching this differently, but just be sure that you’re really ready before you face one of us. I’d sure hate for you to have to start all over because you only had a Pokémon or two in less than favorable help.”
Her last Max Potion was fed into her sixth Poké Ball, and with that, she grabbed all of her Poké Balls in both hands and quickly snapped them back onto her belt. After standing back up, she took in a deep, calming breath before looking Molayne in his eyes.
“Thank you, Molayne.”
Molayne smiled back and nodded. “You’re very welcome, Alice.”
With the four corner supports of the ring glowing brightly, an argent holographic wall appeared around the edge, locking Alice and Molayne in.
“And now that you are fully prepared,” he finished, “far be it from me to waste any more of your time! Go, Sandslash!”
Alice took a step back as Molayne suddenly threw his Ultra Ball out into the battlefield, and once it opened up, the energy streaming down from it formed into his ice-and-metal-laden rodent.
Alice’s lips pursed and her eyes widened. “Oooh, haven’t faced one of these before! At least, one like this…” Quickly dispelling the awkward moment, she sent a ball of her own out. “Lycanroc, you’re on!”
With the Poké Ball opening up, Alice’s wolf Pokémon leapt out from it and landed on the ground, growling at Molayne’s Sandslash with palpable fury.
“You sent a Rock-type against a Steel-type?” Molayne questioned. “Interesting strategy.”
“Why don’t you try attacking it and see what happens?” she goadingly purred.
“Hmm… if you insist. Sandlash! Icicle Crash, now!”
With Molayne and Sandslash having taken Alice’s bait, she smirked as Sandslash flipped forward to shoot the thick, long icicle attached to the base of its tail. “That’s it… Lycanroc, hit back with Counter!”
Lycanroc stood up onto its hind legs and put its paws together, ready to catch the oncoming frozen spike. Once it came, Lycanroc pushed forward and squeezed down on the tip from both sides. Lycanroc was caught completely off-guard as the icicle slipped through its grasp and continued shooting forward into its face. Lycanroc yelped as its body was flung backward and onto the ground, the icicle landing atop of it as well.
Alice gasped as her Pokémon was slow to roll to its stomach. “Lycanroc!”
Molayne nodded expectantly as Lycanroc pushed itself back onto all fours. “Dusk-Form Lycanrocs may be a rare breed, but that doesn’t mean I’m not privy to its secrets, namely its knowledge of both Accelerock and Counter!”
Alice grimaced at her opponent. “Congratulations. Let’s see you try that again!”
“I may be older, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to con me into a mistake like that.”
“Hmph, can’t say I didn’t try.”
“However, let’s see if your Lycanroc will survive this! Sandslash, attack with Gyro Ball!”
Sandlash hopped up and rolled itself into a spiky ball, spinning rapidly before its body could hit the ground. With its spikes digging into the floor, it instantly gained traction, rolling at tremendous speeds that impressed even Lycanroc. As it zipped from the left to the right, Lycanroc tried to keep track of it, only to find one of its next turns coming straight at it.
Sandslash crashed into Lycanroc, who let out an even louder whine as the points of the rodent’s back dug into its head and chest, throwing it past Alice where it was flung into the hologram wall. Lycanroc let out another pain-addled bark before it landed back on the ground at the corner of the wall and the floor, laying on its stomach.
“No!” Alice shrieked, spinning around to see to Lycanroc’s state.
Her Pokémon stirred, but even Alice knew that it would be miraculous at best for it to find the strength to stand at this point.
“Normally,” Molayne said, “Rock against Ice is a fine matchup, but when you’re facing a Steel-type trainer, you need to pick your Pokémon more–”
Alice’s gasping stopped his talking, and as he and Sandslash looked over, they all watched as Lycanroc was already pushing up on its forepaws. With a slow, deliberate slide and push of its back paws underneath its waist, Lycanroc managed to push up and stand, and once it got its footing, it began walking toward Alice, Molayne’s Sandslash tentatively walking back to its own trainer.
“That’s it, boy,” Alice encouraged. “Alright, now hit him with Counter.”
Lycanroc bared its teeth in a sinister snarl before it broke into a sprint. Sandslash shrieked and spun around to run back toward Molayne, only for Lycanroc to leap above it and grip its paws around the tallest spike on its back, its claws managing to dig in this time. Swinging its body in, Lycanroc flipped over and around, throwing Sandslash back and over itself as Lycanroc slammed it into the ground on becoming upright again. Sandslash’s body landed headfirst and bounced limply once before it plopped into a sprawled-out position that Molayne could tell his Pokémon wouldn’t have made voluntarily.
“Yeah,” Alice breathed out contently, “that’s what I like to see.”
Lycanroc looked back and gave its trainer a toothy smile. Molayne, his pride sullied, had a bit of difficulty looking at either Alice or Lycanroc as he returned his Sandslash to his ball. Once the red beam had fully receded into the center button, Molayne looked up to his opponent, at first with a mildly embarrassed frown, which slowly curled up into a smile of respect.
“Alright then,” he sighed, “you’re perhaps a better trainer than first impressions imply.”
“And here I thought I was fighting the Elite Four, not the Elite Snore!” Alice let out an exaggerated snort, both admiring and emphasizing how lame her rhyme was.
“Okay, touché Alice, touché.” Molayne put his hand onto the next ball he prepared to use. “How’s about we agree to take the rest of this duel as seriously as possible?”
“You not getting serious is seriously going to hurt your chances of beating me!”
“We’ll have to see. Metagross, Bullet Punch!” Molayne pulled his next Ultra Ball off his belt and threw it out into the battlefield.
Molayne’s Metagross formed from the energy that shot out of its ball, already crouched down and ready to push off to get the first attack.
“Damn,” Alice hissed. “Lycanroc, Accelerock, quickly!”
Lycanroc also crouched low, and with equally-timed lunges, both Molayne and Alice’s Pokémon disappeared. Almost immediately, they appeared in front of each other in the center of the platform, Lycanroc kicking its leg out into the center of the Metagross’s face while it drove its claw forward at Lycanroc’s head.
Both attacks also managed to connect at the same time, though the Metagross was pushed back only a couple of feet. Lycanroc, however, was blasted back toward Alice, the hard, metallic arm having bested it. With several weak rolls, Lycanroc came to a stop at Alice’s feet, left as unconscious as it had left Molayne’s Sandslash.
“That’s okay, boy. You did great.” Alice detached Lycanroc’s ball and aimed it at the fainted wolf to return it back inside.
“Smart thinking on your part to get at least some damage in with Accelerock,” Molayne complimented. “Though, chances are you’ve already faced one of these guys within the last hour, so you probably know exactly who to send out.”
“You bet I do!” After she placed Lycanroc’s Poké Ball back onto her belt, she pulled another ball from it and sent it flying out toward the Metagross’s direction. “You’re on, Noivern!”
The ball came open, the energy bursting out spreading to the left and right as they formed into Alice’s dragon’s wings, the rest of its body appeared from the outside in. With a shrill roar at the Metagross, Noivern made its confidence in its impending victory known.
“It’s going to take a lot more than Bullet Punches to take out my Noivern anytime soon,” Alice shouted, “so you and your Pokémon better prepare yourselves! Noivern, attack his Metagross with Flamethrower!”
Noivern pulled its head back as it took a sharp, deep breath in. It then thrust it forward, hurling a wide, long-reaching stream of fire that quickly engulged the Metagross. Molayne hissed as he could hear his Pokémon cry and moan, its metallic voice ringing out through the flames.
With Noivern refusing to let up, Molayne’s expression brightened over the idea that came into his head. “Metagross, follow the flames and hit back with Meteor Mash!”
“What?!” Alice gasped.
Molayne’s Metagross crouched low again and readied itself to push off, its body charging up with a bright, shimmering aura. Noivern, realizing Molayne’s strategy, closed its mouth and flapped its wings to prepare to ascend up to the ceiling. With the flames still lingering, the Metagross sprung forward and tucked its legs over its body, soaring out through the fires and out the other side halfway between its spot and Noivern’s. Noivern was only a couple feet off the ground and still in the Metagross’s line. With the Metagross’s speeds too quick for it to avoid, Molayne’s Pokémon blasted into Noivern’s gut, sending both Pokémon flying to the back wall.
Noivern bared its teeth as it threw its wings open, parachuting it just enough to allow it to safely catch its feet on the wall and resist the Metagross’s force. Once it realized the brunt force of its attack had stopped, Molayne’s Metagross retreated back to its trainer’s side and stood in its original spot. Alice turned back and saw as Noivern managed to dig its claws into two small crevices in the wall, keeping itself against it.
“Hanging in there?” Noivern grimaced, groaned, and shook its head over the pun, Alice giggling over the adorably disappointed reaction. “Well, it looks like you’re thinking what I was thinking, and I’m thinking it’s time to take that flying saucer to Beatdown Town!” Noivern cried out again, fully ready. “Okay, Noivern, attack Metagross again with another Flamethrower!”
Noivern scrunched its legs in and pulled its claws out from the wall, pushing off and diving out at Metagross. With fires rushing past the corners of its mouth with its mounting speeds, Noivern spat them out hard enough to push out a noticeable stream.
“You’ve got this now!” Molayne shouted. “Hit her again with Meteor Mash!”
Molayne’s Metagross lowered itself to launch itself once again, its body also covering itself with its sparkling cosmic sheen. Just as Noivern’s flames reached it, the Metagross sprung forward, blasting out through the fire stream as it made its way to its target.
Alice reached out toward her Pokémon. “Noivern, watch–”
At the opportune moment, Molayne’s Metagross banked down and dipped up, ramming its full weight and speed into Noivern’s chest, knocking the wind out of its chest and sharply cutting off its Flamethrower attack. The collisions of their momentum forced each other to a sudden stop, Noivern slumped over the top of the Metagross’s body before sliding off and falling to the ground. The Metagross floated back to Molayne, its body smoking all over as the lustrous aura of its last attack faded off of it.
Alice squeaked in fright as her Pokémon crumpled to the ground and on its back, no longer conscious to fight. “Noivern, no!”
“An admirable attempt,” Molayne calmly replied, “but I’ve heard stories of what your Noivern was capable of, and I could not take any kind of chances against it.”
“Son of a bitch…” Alice thrust the Poké Ball she held at her fainted Noivern, the red beam firing out of it and bringing it inside upon connecting. “It’s okay, Noivern. You did your best.”
“It’s perfectly okay to have some fun in this, Alice, but if you’re going to let your cute puns and threats get in the way of you and your Pokémons’ desires to defeat me, then you should probably save yourselves the heartache of getting beaten down and start this whole thing over.”
“Alright, you need to shut up now!” Molayne was taken aback by her response. “I may be only 14, Molayne, but I’ve been preparing my entire life and waited far too long to take on my first Pokémon League. If I make a little joke here or there to help calm myself down, or if I just feel like making one for the hell of it, there’s nothing you or your Pokémon are going to do to stop me!” Alice threw her next ball out. “Let’s go, Gyarados!”
With her Poké Ball opening up, the energy pouring out spread out lengthwise and expanded until it took the form, color, and shape of Alice’s sparkling red serpentine fish.
“Now there’s an interesting choice,” Molayne spoke to himself.
Alice smirked as she held up her Z-Ring, the Key Stone inside of it glistening in the light. Pressing her fingers onto it, both it and the Gyaradosite around the center prong of Gyarados’s trident horn began to glow and shimmer brightly.
“Respond to my heart, Key Stone!” Alice bellowed. “Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!”
Four chains of DNA energy shot out from her Key Stone and zigzagged their way up toward Gyarados’s Mega Stone. Upon connecting with it, the energy began to spread across Gyarados’s body from its horn down, her Pokémon convulsing with the tremendous power it was granted.
Molayne made another smile as he continued watching Gyarados’s metamorphosis. “Exactly what I was waiting for! Metagross, attack Gyarados with Brick Break!”
Alice gasped as she looked up to her Pokémon, and then down at the Metagross as it hopped up and flew forward to strike. “Gyarados, hurry and smack that disk up with Brutal Swing!”
Gyarados’s chest suddenly expanded as its two larger fins sprouted up from the sides of its back. With the Metagross getting closer, it reached out its claw on the side it led on, a bright copper-colored cone forming around it. Finally, with Gyarados’s transformation beneath its bright ethereal coat complete, the energy shattered off of it, Mega Gyarados wasting no time in pulling its front half back while swinging its tail upward.
The Metagross continued to chase for Mega Gyarados’s head as its tail, which began to spill out a black energy on both sides of it, blindsided it from below, slapping it hard and up toward the ceiling. Molayne gasped upon his Metagross slamming into the top of the dome, a cloud and shower of dust bursting from the impact. As the first pebbles and chunks of rock fell, so soon did his Pokémon, who freefell onto the glass floor with a hard, heavy thud, its mouth hung open and its eyes closed.
Molayne looked down to Alice, whose smirk was filled with more confidence than he had seen all day. “There, am I having enough fun now?!”
Molayne smiled warmly as he detached his Ultra Ball from his belt and aimed it at his Metagross, returning it back inside. “On the contrary, Alice. Your fun has only now begun!” He detached another ball from his belt and threw it outward. “Your turn, Mangezone!”
Molayne’s ball opened and let his metallic electric flying-saucer Pokémon emerge out from it, who trembled excitedly at the Mega Evolved Pokémon it was sent out to face.
“Good choice,” Alice complimented. “Good think I have this Mega Stone or else I'd really be up the creek without a paddle.”
“Perhaps,” Molayne replied, “but a Water-type is still weak all the same! Magnezone, use Tri-Attack!”
“We’ll just see about that! Mega Gyarados, attack with Aqua Tail!”
Diving in and then looping around, Mega Gyarados swung its tail down at the Magnezone, the base and the fins spraying water out from beneath it. The tail struck the Magnezone atop the head, throwing it into the floor and splashing water in every direction. Molayne’s Mangezone wobbled from side to side as it rose itself back up and stabilized itself, but with a waking vibration of its body, it was completely refocused. The Magnezone’s left magnet began to frost over while the right one began to turn red hot and the antennae on its head began to spark up with electricity.
Finally, the Magnezone shot out what appeared to be a weakened Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt attack at a single point in front of itself before they converged into a single, more powerful white beam that wisped with mist, fire, and sparks. The beam struck Mega Gyarados in the chest and pushed it back, Alice’s Pokémon roaring with the alien sensation of all three energies hitting it at once. Once the attack was over, a large red rash was left on its body, which began to glow as if giving off its own heat.
Alice gasped she heard her Pokémon cry out again, now noticing where her Pokémon was burned. “Mega Gyarados, no!”
“Though I would have preferred freezing,” Molayne spoke, “I’ll be glad to take my victories where I can find them.”
Alice bared her teeth. “Mega Gyarados, attack Magnezone with Dragon Rage!”
Mega Gyarados opened up its mouth as a bright blue ball of draconic power formed between both jaws. Thrusting its head forward and hissing loudly, Mega Gyarados spat the orb out from its maw and sent it out into Molayne’s Magnezone, where it burst open and ravaged the entire outside of its body in a flurry of blue flames. As they began to fade, the Magnezone stumbled and rested its bottom along the floor, its eyes half closed in exhaustion.
“Come on, Magnezone, you can still do this!” With its trainer’s encouragement, Molayne’s Magnezone sprung back up and floated above the ground once more, ready to make its next attack. “Perfect, Magnezone. Let’s try and finish her Mega Gyarados off with Thunderbolt!”
Now, both of the Magnezone’s magnets and its antennae began to turn bright yellow and sparkle. As it did with its Tri-Attack, the Magnezone converged three weaker Thunderbolt attacks at one point before hurling them out in a larger, stronger one that zapped its way over toward Mega Gyarados. The bolt of lightning struck Mega Gyarados on its burn as the electrical energy spread all about it, Alice’s Pokémon crying harder and louder.
“Mega Gyarados!” Alice shouted. “Fight it, come on!”
Mega Gyarados began to suffer a small seizure as it fought through the involuntary convulsions the electricity forced it to have. By the time Molayne’s Magnezone’s energy was spent and it stopped its attack, Mega Gyarados hung its head and panted, now just fighting to stay awake.
“That’s it, Mega Gyarados!” Alice faced forward again and pointed out to Molayne’s Pokémon. “Now, attack Magnezone one last time with Dragon Rage!”
With a few moments of no response from Mega Gyarados, Molayne breathed easy as it anticipated the fish’s eventual, inevitable inability to stay standing. Just then, Mega Gyarados slowly picked its head up, just able to hold it up so as to have its mouth face the Magnezone. With its mouth filling up with blue, the rash on its chest began to flare up again, but it grunted through the pain, refusing to move its head down as much as an inch. Finally, Mega Gyarados shot its attack out straight and true, allowing itself to fall limp and rest onto the floor, its body shimmering with the same energy that transformed it.
Alice could only focus on the Dragon Rage attack as it made its way at the Magnezone, who was shocked to see Mega Gyarados manage to get its attack out at all. The blue orb collided into the Magnezone and exploded its blue fire all around it. Molayne’s Magnezone fell from the cloud of disappearing flames and fell hard on the ground, its three eyes closed as it rocked about on its round bottom. The energy covering Mega Gyarados shattered off of its body, revealing Gyarados lying there in its place as equally still and seemingly lifeless as its opponent.
“Hmph, what a draw.” Molayne detached his Magnezone’s ball first before Alice did hers, the two of them returning their Pokémon back into them at the same time. “Though, you’re only halfway down while I only have two left. What’s an old man like me to do?”
Alice chuckled a single time. “You could, pfft, I don’t know, send out the next of your Pokémon to get taken out like a man!”
Molayne couldn’t help but grimace over this particularly cruel and hurtful remark. “That wasn’t very nice, but very well. If you and your Pokémon are so prepared, then I shall send my next out.” He tossed his next Ultra Ball out, the device opening up and spilling energy out from it. “You’re up, Skarmory!”
The energy formed into Molayne’s metallic blade-winged bird, Alice and Molayne watching it as it soared freely around the arena for a couple of laps before sliding to a shrill, screeching stop with its talons on the glass floors.
“Flying-types?!” Alice enthusiastically shouted. “Oh, my favorites! You know what to do, Raichu!”
Alice sent out her Poké Ball, which opened up and let her large orange rodent soar out from it. Like Skarmory, Raichu also took the opportunity to fly around the room, its excitement matching that of its trainer’s. With a tight swing around Alice, Raichu settled on a spot in front of its trainer.
“Showoff,” Molayne breathed. “Skarmory, attack Raichu with Night Slash!”
Skarmory hopped back off the ground and flapped its wings to carry itself up to the the ceiling, Alice and Raichu watching it carefully.
“Looks like its rearing to pick up speed!” Alice announced. “Raichu, hit him with Thunderbolt when he’s in your sights!”
A volt of electricity spiraled up Raichu’s body as it charged itself with energy. Upon reaching the ceiling of the room, Skarmory leaned back and began to fall toward the floor once again, pulling itself up to fly in a straight line at Raichu. With its target appearing, Raichu threw its arms forward and shot a bolt of lightning from the ends of its paws. Skarmory smirked as Raichu’s attack neared, effortlessly barrel rolling around it and then returning upright safely below the bolt.
“What?!” Alice shouted.
With its speeds too great, Raichu could neither redirect its attack nor avoid Skarmory as the sharp feathers of its wings began to turn dark. With a loud caw, Skarmory tilted to the left and slashed its blackened right wing against Raichu’s body as it passed. Raichu cried out as it spun about backwards, several red markings left where Skarmory had struck it.
“Excellent work, Skarmory!” Molayne jubilously cheered. “Hit him with another!”
Skarmory swung around to the edge of the room to Molayne’s left, turning tighter upon getting behind its trainer and flapping its wings to maintain its quick speeds.
Raichu returned to its spot, Alice happy to see Raichu more angry than upset. “Nice work, Raichu! Don’t let him see you scared. Now, try for Wild Charge this time!”
Molayne’s eyes widened, intrigued by Alice’s new strategy. With a trail of electricity getting left behind by the back end of its tail-board, Raichu darted out at Molayne’s Skarmory, the two Pokémon ready to clash head-on in the center between their two trainers. Skarmory spread the feathers of its wings out as wide as it could, prepared to extend its range on either side. Raichu squinted as it prepared to read where Skarmory would end up.
After a slight dip to the right, Raichu turned to its left to crash into Skarmory’s face, only for the bird to take a harder turn left, its feathers already darkening to make another successful near-miss and strike. Raichu cried out as it pushed all of its weight onto its back foot, sending the back of the bottom of the tail-board out at its target. Before Skarmory could pass Raichu by once more and get in its sole attack, the bottom of the tail slammed into Skarmory’s face, the voltage charged all over it blasting all over Molayne’s Pokémon.
“Amazing!” Molayne gasped.
The strength of the hit was more than enough to divert and stop Skarmory’s approach, also managing to throw it backward toward Moylane, where it tumbled onto the ground with a clattering banging. As Raichu floated back to give itself some space between itself and its foe, it began to pant, already feeling rather tired from its scuffles.
“Don’t worry about it,” Alice told her Pokémon. “Now it’s not going anywhere. Finish it off with Thunderbolt!”
With its body brimming with light and sparks, Raichu concentrated all of the energy into its arms before throwing them up, sending it into the air in two small spurts of electricity. As the energy zipped and raced between the crystals embedded into the rock, dark clouds began to form overhead until they completely obscured the top of the room. As Skarmory slowly slid itself up to its claws with the tips of its feathers, a stronger, wider bolt of lightning hammered down from the clouds and onto Skarmory.
With the overly intense buzz of electricity coursing through its body, Molayne’s Pokémon threw its wings out and let out a laborious, painful screech. The clouds up above began to quickly dissolve, the Thunderbolt attack itself dwindling into nonexistence once the sight of the ceiling was completely unobscured once again. By the time the attack had ended, Skarmory’s body was left fuming with steam and smoke. With its tired legs unable to keep it standing straight, Skarmory leaned forward and fell onto its stomach, its wings limply splayed out and motionless like the rest of its body.
“Yes, Raichu!” Alice cheered with a hop and thrash of her limbs. “That’s it! Only one more to go!”
Despite its exhausted breathing, Raichu still smiled to know that victory was in such close reach. Molayne reached his Ultra Ball out to his fallen Skarmory as the red beam shot out from it and brought it back inside. After clasping it back onto his belt, Molayne put a fist to his hip and put his weight on his right foot, now having to carefully survey his situation.
“What’s up?!” Alice shouted. “You were talking all that good stuff just a few minutes ago and now you look like you’re actually thinking about giving up!”
“Yes,” Molayne sighed, “and it appears I may have to eat those words I said to you. You are indeed a talented trainer, Alice, and I humbly apologize for having doubted it. However, despite my desperate situation, I still have one Pokémon left on me, and we’re going to fight like victory is in our midsts!” He detached his last Ultra Ball and threw it out. “Let’s end this, Dugtrio!”
With the ball opening up, the energy shot down into the floor, burrowing a large hole and leaving a small mound of dirt for his three long-blonde-haired moles to pop out of, their noises bouncing on their faces as they sniffed their suddenly different surroundings.
“Chances are you’ve faced one of these rather recently,” Molayne slyly spoke.
“Yep,” Alice agreed with a nod, “sure have, and it’ll be just as easy to take out as the last!”
“With a Raichu? I would expect you having an easier time with your Lycanroc or your Gyarados, but certainly not with an Electric-type.”
“That may be true in most instances, but this Raichu has an ace up its sleeve that I’m certain will make it a huge problem for the both of you! So, Raichu, attack Dugtrio with Grass Knot–”
“Sucker Punch, now!”
Just as Raichu channeled its psychic energy to its arms to direct it at Molayne’s Pokémon, it dipped into the safety of its hole and disappeared. Before Raichu could even think about where it ended up, it heard the ground rupture and then shatter beneath it. The tallest of the Dugtrio’s heads rammed up into the bottom of its board, literally throwing it off its balance. The smaller two heads then bashed Raichu’s exposed back, throwing it high up with a small black burst exploding off at the impact.
“Raichu!” Alice watched fearfully as her Pokémon landed back onto the ground with a hard bounce, its tail falling onto the sides of its ribs to add insult to injury.
Molayne’s Dugtrio popped back out of its original hole, its three heads bobbing up and down merrily over their easily made victory.
“Not sure if you forgot about that one after facing Hapu,” Molayne chided, “or if you just got cocky. Either way, it’s a perfectly acceptable victory for us.”
“You haven’t won anything yet. I’ve still got two more Pokémon at the ready who are primed and ready to finish you and your Dugtrio off!” Alice detached her penultimate Poké Ball and sent it flying out. “You’re on, Mimikyu!”
Alice's ball came open, and springing out from the energy was Alice’s disguised spirit Pokémon, it’s head standing mostly straight as the Pokémon gently rocked from side to side, waiting for Alice’s call.
Alice grimaced despite the presence of one of her most prized Pokémon. “Not that a Sucker Punch is going to matter here; your Dugtrio’s likely faster than my Mimikyu.”
“An astute observation,” Molayne replied, “and one that will help me well! Dugtrio, attack the Mimikyu with Iron Head!”
Molayne’s Dugtrio thrust itself forward and leaned all three of its heads in, their bodies and their locks of hair turning shinier and slightly reflective, leaving behind a large rut in their wake. The front two heads crashed into Mimikyu’s body while the top one mashed its head into the face of Mimikyu’s disguise, snapping it back hard enough for the disguise’s head to swing back and hang upside down off its back.
“That’s it, Mimikyu!” Alice cried. “You got a free hit now! Attack back with Shadow Claw!”
Both of Mimikyu’s spindly spectral arms shot out from beneath the frock of its disguise, each arm reaching to the opposite side and forming an X that the Dugtrio found itself on the other side of. With a shrill scream of fury, Mimikyu swung its arms out, sliding past the Dugtrio’s heads as its claws dragged across their faces, throwing it back to its trainer.
Molayne still looked on calmly as his Pokémon easily recovered and prepared itself for its next attack. “Excellent. Now that your Mimikyu’s disguise is busted, it’s finished now.”
Molayne crossed its arms in front of its face, his Z-Ring and Steelium Z inside of it bursting with light. Molayne’s Dugtrio’s smaller heads did their best to mimic their trainer’s movements as he put his arms back down and he crossed them back out. With Molayne punching his fists against each other and his Dugtrio tapping their front heads together, a metal banging sound rung out throughout the room. Finally, Molayne and his Pokémon threw their limbs forward, completing the ritual. Z-Power shot out from Molayne’s fists and arms in two concentrated beams, colliding into his Dugtrio where they burst into dozens of smaller tendrils that flew all about it before slithering into an open spot on its body, igniting its surging aura.
“Mimikyu is indeed an invaluable Pokémon for any trainer,” Molayne spoke, “but against the raw power of my Steel-types, it’s simply another obstacle to overcome. Now, Dugtro! Attack Mimikyu with Corkscrew Crash!”
The Dugtrio tilted all three of its heads down to aim the tops of them at Mimikyu. To both Alice and her Pokémon’s surprise, The three heads began to rotate around in flawless synchronicity as their bodies took on a bright, shiny gleam. As a whirlwind picked up around their form, stretching out to form a sharp-looking cone, the Dugtrio rocketed out at Alice’s Pokémon, leaving no time for it to react. The point of Dugtrio’s drill winds slammed into Mimikyu, pushing it hard enough for Alice to have to leap out of the way as they both headed for the holographic barrier wall.
Even after Mimikyu was jammed into the wall, the Dugtrio refused to let up its attack. After only a few moments, Mimikyu’s form underneath its disguise began to grow limp, the disguise itself now thrashing about loosely in the gusts created from the Dugtrio’s attack. The Dugtrio finally saw fit to stop its attack, their revolutions slowing to a stop as the whirlwind surrounding it quickly petered out. After shifting back a few feet, they were able to see Mimikyu’s half-filled disguise laying haphazardly against the corner of the floor and the wall.
After Molyane’s Dugtrio burrowed into a hole, there was now nothing between Alice and her fainted Pokémon to keep her from pulling its Poké Ball off her belt and return it back inside. “That’s alright, Mimikyu,” she cooed. “You did everything you needed to do. Now… we’ll finish this.”
Once her Pokémon and the red beam had fully receded back into the ball, she turned back around to find Molayne’s Dugtrio popping back out from its original hole to face her last Pokémon. With an outward breath through gritted teeth, Alice pulled her sixth Poké Ball from her belt and tossed it out.
“Time to be the hero again, Mudsdale!” With her ball bursting open, Alice’s massive horse Pokémon leapt out from the white energy shooting out and landed upon the ground hard enough to shake the floor that Alice and Molayne stood on.
Molayne stared at Alice’s final Pokémon ruefully. “So now she sends out her Ground-type…”
“Now things are really not looking up for you!” Alice shouted back. “I can’t even begin to think how you’re going to get out of this one!”
“Yes,” Molayne ominously whispered, “I suppose you couldn’t… but I also suppose that’s what will make this final gamble of mine all the more spectacular if it works!”
Alice blinked twice, uncertain of what Molayne could mean. “What are you…”
“Dugtrio! Finish the Mudsdale off with Fissure!”
“Fissure?!”
Molayne’s Dugtrio began to tremble as it worked to summon as much of the power of the earth as it could muster. Alice’s breath grew shaky as the hole where the Dugtrio sat in began to spill out with hot terrestrial light. As the ground began to rumble beneath Alice’s feet and Mudsdale’s hooves, Alice’s Pokémon whinned as it whipped its head toward its trainer, begging for it to come up with a solution soon.
“Okay girl, I got it!” Alice removed the Aloraichium Z from her Z-Ring’s face, frantically replacing it with the Groundium Z that was attached to its band.
The ground around Dugtrio began to crack as Alice slammed her newest Z-Crystal into her Z-Ring. As quickly as she could, she crossed her arms in front of her face, the Z-Ring shimmering with life and her Mudsdale’s soul linking to it. With her movements subdued as if she was underwater, Alice swung her arms back down and crossed them back out as fast and as hard as her muscles would allow. With three cries escaping the mouths of each of the Dugtrio’s heads, the floor began to break and crack as it zipped forward in random directions.
Alice, watching the growing fault come closer and closer, swung her arms in and spun around before falling into a lunge, catching herself with her right hand while her left hand reached up toward the ceiling. As Z-Power erupted from her left arm and streamed back down to meld with her Mudsdale, Alice kept her eyes on the approaching Fissure attack, watching as it shot to the left, and then straight before juking left again and then right. With Mudsdale surging with power, Alice shot back onto her feet, the rift about to reach them any moment.
“You really think a Z-Move is going to stop my attack?!” Molayne shouted.
“It’s been done before,” Alice exclaimed back, “so it’s not as much of a long shot as you’d like to think! Now, Mudsdale! Stop Dugtrio’s Fissure and then finish him off with Tectonic Rage!”
The Fissure attack then began to shoot out at Mudsdale, Molayne giggling with excitement as it prepared to go directly beneath its target. However, Mudsdale let out a booming, reverberating whinny that sent a shockwave of its Z-Power from off its hooves and across the ground. The encroaching rift then split off just short of Mudsdale’s hooves and shot off to the sides before it came to a sudden stop.
“What?!” Molayne screamed.
Mudsdale then began to gallop at Dugtrio, the magmal glow coming from out of the broken ground it ran over remaining still and dormant. Mudsdale then leapt up at Molayne’s Dugtrio and tucked its head down, crashing its full weight onto the three heads and creating a large crater whose edge came within a foot of Molayne’s feet. Molayne, at first terrified with the slim chance at victory that was snatched from him, began to quickly settle down into an amazed, reverent smile as the ground underneath his Dugtrio and Mudsdale turned bright and blistering.
“Im…” Molayne let the word trail off, settling for a more fitting one. “Incredble…”
A plume of lava exploded out from the ground, throwing Mudsdale off of the Dugtrio and leaving it to stay engulfed in the full, unbridled fury and force of the blast. Landing back on its hooves and sliding backwards a couple of feet, Mudsdale and Alice had nothing left to do but to stand and watch as Molayne’s Dugtrio was virtually annihilated by this final attack. Soon, the fires began to extinguish themselves as the last sprays molten rock fell back onto the ground. Once they saw the Dugtrio with its three heads laying about unconsciously in different directions, both trainers drew sighs, Molayne’s being out of acceptance while Alice’s was out of the joy of realization that she had just barely won.
“There are no doubts in my mind anymore.” Molayne took his Ultra Ball off his belt and aimed it at his Dugtrio, looking at it as it was returned back inside before fixing his gaze on Alice and Mudsdale. “You and your Pokémon have absolutely deserved your places here, and I’m humbled and honored to declare you the victor.”
“Yes, Mudsdale!” Alice ran at her Pokémon’s head from behind and latched her arms round her neck, Mudsdale mooing in affection as it lifted her up, elated to receive its trainer’s congratulations. “You did it again, you beast!”
As Alice and Mudsdale remained in their embrace, Molayne smiled before reaching into his jacket pocket and pressing the button of his remote inside of it. The teleportation pad behind him activated and began to swirl with color and the parts of the battlefield left damaged and torn open began to turn bright as well, pulling themselves back together and flattening out into a smooth surface once again. Alice and Mudsdale stopped their celebrations just as the lights faded from the now fixed floors, Molayne approaching them.
“I must thank you for the battle, Alice. It was truly a privilege to experience it with you firsthand.”
“Thanks again, Molayne.” Alice showed her Poké Ball to her Mudsdale, who tapped on the center button with its forehead, causing it to turn into a red energy that was sucked inside the device. “Now, if you excuse me, as your friend Kahili would probably say, it’s time to do the back nine.”
Alice ran around Molayne and made her way to the teleportation pad, surprising him. “Alice, wait! Don’t you need to heal–”
“I plan to do it before my next match!” she shouted back, setting foot onto the pad and turning to face him. “I sure can’t let my brother feel like he’s got a lead on me!”
Alice’s body began to glow brightly, and she managed to give Molayne a single wave good-bye before her body vanished. Molayne stood still and silent for a little bit, contemplating his encounter with this strange, energetic trainer. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, he walked back to his spot at the end of the platform, awaiting for his turn with Alice’s brother.