High atop the clouds.
There sat the usual duo of Lucien and Sienna, hanging around like they normally do. Currently thinking of new ways to spice things up.
"You know... we could always try that little thing you did to Diamond Tiara by accident," Lucien spoke to Sienna.
"What? Oh, you mean that manifestation of her doubts, fears, obsessions and all that other gloomy stuff?"
"Exactly. If it's capable of creating a manifestation of that...then can you imagine what everypony's manifestation must look like?"
"So... do we do it now?"
"Now? Nah." Lucien crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Now's not the best time. Besides. I think something neat's about to happen today." Lucien took out a telescope, zooming into both Cloudsdale and Ponyville. There's always something happening around here after all.
"We keep on spying on them. How's that any fun?" Sienna pouted.
"What? Never a dull moment is there?" Lucien extended the telescope as Pidgey flew in front of it.
"Well, no. Honestly, I don't think the ponies have had a slow day ever again after they encountered Pokemon. I'm surprised that most of them can withstand all this chaos without passing out."
"Well, what did you expect? They're not other ponies from other worlds and universes. They're built differently. In...more ways than one."
"Oooh...I guess so."
"Now...let's see what's cooking today." Lucie rustled the telescope whilst the Pidgey had a rest on his head.
Over at Ponyville, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie Treecko had fallen asleep inside of Applejack's hat, dozing off and snoring.
"Aw...All tuckered out." Applejack looked at the Wood Gecko Pokemon as he fit perfectly inside the pony's hat as if it was a crib. "If I ever had a kid, I'd let em rest in here too. If they're smaller than Treecko that is."
"Treecko...Tree..."
"Aw look at how small he is." Pinkie Pie gushed at Treecko. "Oh, I wonder how you'd look if you slept in something small and cosy, Spinda."
"Spinda!" Spinda responded by jumping into Pinkie Pie's mane, fitting perfectly inside its puffy texture.
"That's what I like to see and feel!" Pinkie Pie squeed.
"Hm? Have a look at that over there." Applejack noticed something a bit unusual. Multiple young foals alongside their parents were heading here to Ponyville, each of them from different parts of Equestria. "What do you suppose all of them are here for?"
"Maybe its somepony's birthday?" Pinkie gasped once she said that. "What am I doing standing around then!?"
"I don't think it's a birthday. Look closer." Applejack grabbed Pinkie Pie's face, showing her how the foals were making their way towards White Tail Wood. Where the first Gym was located, run by Roseluck.
"Oooh. Maybe it's a special Gym gathering? Let's take a closer look." The two earth ponies being the little eavesdroppers that they were decided to follow the ponies who were all possibly here for their first Gym Battle. It is by default the first place trainers come to earn their first badge after all.
Following them, it was revealed that they all made a huge line, waiting and biding their time. This just made Applejack and Pinkie Pie even more curious than they already were.
"What's going on here?" Applejack went up to the ponies, asking them.
"These little rascals are all here for their first Gym Badge." A stallion replied to her.
"We all came from all across Equestria since they've all started their journeys." A mare gave her daughter a pat on the head.
"Oooh, so these are all upstart trainers." Pinkie nodded, realizing the situation. "But all of them at the same time?"
"Ain't it a bit crowded? Even for their first Gym." Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, it's understandable why it would be this packed. The other gyms near our area are too much for our little darlings. They'd get trounced in a second if they went in there."
"I'm gonna ace this Gym and get myself the Verd Badge! Then it's off the Equestria League for me!" A colt exclaimed.
"I'm just gonna collect badges cause they look good!" A filly squeed.
"Hm. Wonder what Roseluck thinks of all these trainers showing up?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
Her answer came in the form of a sudden explosion of energy occurring inside the gym. Perhaps, the current Gym Battle has come to an end. After a few minutes, the trainer inside had exited the gym, holding his gym badge high.
"I got my first badge! Yes!" The colt flew up with his wings, clearly full of joy as he went over to give his parents a wide loving hug.
"Oh! My turn!" A filly ran inside, prepared to gain the Verd Badge next as the line was shortening ever so slowly.
"She's gonna be pretty occupied. Oh, well. I'm sure she can handle it." Pinkie bounced away with Applejack following, leaving the trainers to handle their usual Pokemon business.
A few hours had passed. Enough for it to reach the afternoon.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack were still hanging out together in Ponyville since the others were a bit occupied at the moment, having their own situations to sort out for the day.
Once those hours had passed, Applejack and Pinkie noticed that the number of foals returning was diminishing, indicating that they had all successfully finished the Gym as every last one of them had wide smiles that filled their little faces whilst their parent's show sings of being incredibly proud of them. It was a pretty wholesome sight to see.
But there was one thing, in particular, that wasn't so wholesome. In fact, looking at it can bring the mood down on somepony.
Roseluck had returned from the gym, wielding a dismal facial expression. Alongside her was her Roserade as always, comforting her trainer with he rose it had for hands.
Pinkie Pie, being the pony that she is could tell that something was obviously wrong with the way Roseluck was emoting. She bounced over to the pony Gym Leader, startling her a bit.
"Why so glum, Roseluck?" Pinkie asked.
"AH!" Roseluck's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, it's just you Pinkie Pie."
"You don't look too happy at the moment. Something wearing you down?"
"Something wearing me down? You could say that." Roseluck sighed. "In more ways than one..."
"Well, what's actually wearing ya down?" Applejack wondered. "Must be something serious."
"Serious? Not even in the slightest...If anything, it's an issue that a kid could solve." Roseluck turned away as Roserade gave her trainer a pat on the back.
"Hm...Does it have something to do with the foals that came over to your Gym? If you want, you can tell us? I'm great with kids!" Pinkie Pie grinned.
"Alright. You see...It's about me being a Gym Leader."
"Oh, really? You don't like being one?" Applejack replied.
"No. Actually, I kind of like the position of Gym Leader. The Gym's also pretty neat to be in. And I've even added some decorations and renovations to make it feel more like home. It's pretty comfortable. Especially when the Flying-Types come by."
"So if you like being in the Gym...What's got you feeling down about it?" Pinkie Pie appeared behind Roseluck.
"How do I put this. I'm easy pickings."
"Easy pickings?" Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie said in unison.
"Yeah. I'm a breeze to get through. Foal's play. The weakest link. Basically, what I'm trying to say is...I'm always the first Gym Leader everypony beats...every single time. And it doesn't help that I'm actually registered as the first official gym that trainers are recommended to come to first."
"Ahhh.." The two of them shook their heads.
"Ain't the point of being a Gym Leader to test a trainer so that they can see if they can take on the league?" Applejack remembered the role of Gym Leader.
"Well, yeah. That's true. I mean I knew that when I signed up to be a Gym Leader."
"So, it's no big deal. You help the little guys and gals get their badge so that they can head on the next gym and onwards." Pinkie placed her hoof around Roseluck. "Plus, it makes them super happy, ya know."
"I know. And I'm glad that they're happy. Seeing a foal full of joy by getting their first badge and running to their proud parents makes me fill up with joy too. But in reality...I don't know if you know this...but I don't have a single win as a Gym Leader yet."
"Not a single one?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "How's that possible?!"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out myself. Even when I'm performing well in battle, for some reason, I always lose at the very end. Even my Roserade isn't enough to help me win."
"Roserade..." Roserade lowered her rose hands, knowing that it was the unfortunate truth. Despite how powerful she may be, she hasn't really given Roseluck her first official victory in a full-on battle. Roserade has defeated some Pokemon sure, but its mostly the first Pokemon the trainer sends out. After that, she gets defeated by the final Pokemon.
"At this point, I might as well just quit battling all together."
"Well...why don't you? Not every trainer takes part in Pokemon battling?" Pinkie questioned.
"I would but you've seen what's happened so far when both worlds crossed over. The danger levels are the most extreme Equestria's possibly ever had! You've got 500 ft monsters! Spirit stealers! Evil Egg...things! And who knows what else is just waiting to take us by surprise. I can't just sit around defenceless when I know I have something that can defend me. My partner right over here."
"Rade!"
"She's got a point Pinkie. It's like Ash said. We've got Pokemon to help protect us and fight alongside us. If anything else comes up, they'll be here to help." Applejack looked at her hat which still had Treecko sleeping inside of it.
"Yeah. Mayor Mare's Stoutland has even saved the day a couple of times too." Pinkie scratched her mane. "So she's got her own wins behind her. Well...not trainer wins anyways."
"I want to protect those near me. I've got loved ones too ya know. How am I gonna protect them if I can't even win once. Plus another reason is...I know it kinda sounds selfish but...I want to know what it feels like to win as a Pokemon Trainer. I already know how it feels to lose as one. Roserade feels the same way too."
"Rose..."
"But it's not like you're a bad battler right? I mean, you did pretty good against Scootaloo for the first time." Pinkie Pie recalled how she managed to give Scootaloo a hard time when she entered the gym.
"Oh, I remember. If anything, that was the closest I had ever gotten to almost winning. When I battled Scootaloo, in that one instance, I felt a crazy rush flow through me. My adrenaline was just coming out of nowhere. And after that, it kinda just went away. That entire battle with Scootaloo was the most fun I've had being in a Pokemon Battle and as a Gym Leader."
"Bummer..." Pinkie Pie pouted.
Applejack pondered to herself for a bit. She a took while to process everything Roseluck had uttered, trying to figure out a solution to this. That's when an idea sparked up in her mind. One that mirrored the advice that Ash gave her during their small training sessions. Two pieces of advice that are extremely helpful, even to the lowest skilled trainers.
"How about this." AJ spoke. "I'll battle you."
"Hah?" Both her fellow Earth ponies snapped their heads towards Applejack after hearing that.
"Mhm. But, I'm gonna have to teach you a few things before we tussle in the gym."
"Teach me? Applejack, you're not an expert Pokemon trainer, are you? And even if you were, I can't get super good in a short amount of time."
"I thought the same thing too. But Ash taught me a little something special that can help anypony out. Doesn't matter the skill level."
"Oooh...What is it?" Pinkie leaned in on the conversation.
"I'll show you. And after that, we'll have a small battle at your gym."
"Are you sure that'll work...?" Roseluck was sceptical.
"Positive. Trust me, okay?" Applejack went up to her fellow earth pony. Roseluck could see that Applejack was 100% serious by the look in her eyes. If you were to look closely, it almost resembled that of Ash's eyes when he himself gets serious.
"Okay. I'll do it." Roseluck nodded. It was a done deal. The training session could now begin.
Applejack took Roseluck to Sweet Apple Acres in order to help her improve. It's a fairly wide area so there's plenty of room to work their magic.
"What's going on?" Apple Bloom asked as she was alongside Cold Colt, curious at the moment.
"Roseluck's feeling a bit bummed about having zero wins throughout her career as a Gym Leader. But Applejack's gonna help her find her groove." Pinkie Pie explained in the only way she knows how.
"Oh..." Both Apple Bloom and Cold nodded.
"Treecko ain't up yet. Little fella's still asleep." Applejack placed her hat, letting Treecko continue his nap. "So it's just gonna be you and Roserade."
"Got it!" Roseluck nodded.
"Well...What Ash taught me was this." Applejack closed her eyes, remembering a saying that Ash managed to engrave in her head. It hadn't left her to this day.
"You know, Applejack. There are a bunch more ways to use a Pokemon's move in battle than just hitting hard. Even the entire environment can be super useful. Like what I did with Bea's Hitmontop by having Pikachu use Electroweb on the floor. I've actually done it a lot with my other Pokemon in the past too! If you can get creative and use the area around you to your advantage, then you can really pull off some crazy stuff and throw your opponent off."
"Pikachu!"
"Like that." Applejack finished reciting what Ash told her.
"The environment to my advantage?" Roseluck looked around the area.
"Mhm. Something like that can really mess with somepony's head if they don't see it coming at all. Your gym's all grass in the inside right? You could do something weird there with the Pokemon you have."
"Oh...I suppose. I've never thought of that before...So, what's the second one?"
"The second one is something I'm pretty used to a bit. And that's because I've seen Ash do this a lot. Adaptability."
"Adaptability?" Roseluck tilted her head.
"Mhm. There's nopony who knows how to adapt in every situation better than Ash. He taught me how to not only use a Pokemon's moves an adaptability advantage...but even what a Pokemon can do with its body."
"Oooh...Go on..." Roseluck leaned forward.
"I know this from seeing Gardenia battle. You see your Roserade over there? It's got little poison whip thorns inside of its roses."
"Roserade has thorns inside of her hands?!" Roseluck looked inside of her Pokemon's rose hands, seeing poisons thorns just sitting there, perfectly hidden too.
"Yep. About as hidden as a needle in a haystack."
"Roserade!"
"Oh..." Apple Bloom gawked. "I forgot that certain Pokemon have sneaky little things they can do naturally."
"Sneaky is right!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "I still remember how Spike's Goomy used its slime to blind that Kommo-o. Pretty smart, ya know."
"Treecko here can climb and walk on walls and ceilings with the little tiny spikes inside the soles of his feet to reach Flying-Type Pokemon. Which he's weak against. I haven't tried it with him yet, but he did do it on a tree once." Applejack looked down at Treecko who was almost close to finishing his nap. "Try using your Roserade's thorns to grab something here."
"Use her thorns, huh? Okay. Roserade. Grab some apples here."
"Rose." Roserade nodded in response, extending both her rose hands forward. Out of them came her signature poison thorns as they raced through the air like a grappling hook of some sorts.
The thorns did exactly as you would expect them to. Latching onto something with their prickly sides as they also wrapped around the apples. Since this was a natural thing for Roserade, it wasn't that difficult.
"Yes!" Roseluck exclaimed, having a smile strike her face.
Unfortunately, there's a reason why every Roserade always hides its thorns. They are poisonous at the end of the day. So in the span of a few seconds, the poison had melted the apples into nothing. Roserade's poison is described to be near-fatal after all.
"Oops..." Roseluck gulped while Roserade gasped.
"That's fine. Just natural Pokemon stuff." Applejack didn't mind at all. "Now. Try using your vines on Big Macintosh's old wagon over there." She pointed her hoof over at a nearly destroyed wagon that looked to be years old. "You can rough it up all you want."
"Oh, okay. I guess this is the environment then? In that case... Roserade, grab the wagon."
"Rose!" Roserade removed her thorns from the tree, grabbing into the handlebars of the wagon next.
"Now swing it around!"
The Bouquet Pokemon effortlessly swung the wagon about as if it was nothing. While this wagon may be old, it's still pretty heavy and durable. Something that Big Mac himself would struggle a tiny bit to pull. But that wasn't an issue for Roserade. Not in the slightest. Even if she was only 0.9m tall.
She swung the wagon about, blowing the blades of grass around with each swing. The wagon had almost hit Pinkie and the others, causing them to yelp. The weight was non-existent to Roserade. What also became non-existent was the wagon as the poison had melted its wooden texture away into nothing.
Applejack nodded, glad that they were making great progress. And at such a smooth pace. Her Treecko finally woke up, poking his head out of AJ's hat as he noticed Roseluck and Roserade present here.
"Treecko?"
"Finally up, Tree? You've got a lot to catch up on." Applejack picked up her hat as Treecko hopped out of it. She watched as Roseluck and Roserade were personally testing out what else Roserade could do with her thorns. It seems that Roseluck's discovery of her partner's hidden thorns struck some inspiration within her. Now she was really thinking like a Pokemon Trainer.
"Rose. Roserade." Roserade showed Roseluck her hands, letting her in on something extra. Besides poisonous thorns, the other thing that laid within Roserade's hands was a luscious scent that it normally uses to lure opponents in, wrapping and binding them with her thorn. The more toxic the poison, the sweeter the aroma.
Not only that, but the poison in its right arm is quick-acting while the left is slow-acting. But both are equally life-threatening.
How can something so beautiful that moves like a dancer with such grace be so deadly, Roseluck wondered. But it was perfect for her. She's learned quite a bit about her partner. Little neat traits that Roserade just had and she hadn't been utilizing any of them at all in her battles. And as a bonus, these little traits could help against any future threats that come their way.
"Applejack." Roseluck went over to her fellow nature-themed pony. "I think Roserade and I are ready. For our battle, that is."
"Roserade!"
"Really now? You sure you're ready now?" Applejack raised her eyebrow.
"Positive! Roserade and I are sure we've improved over the time we've had. Right, Roserade?"
"Rose." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded her head, having that same determination and confidence in her.
"We believe that we might be able to win this time. At least once."
"Hm...Alright. If you say you're ready, then you're ready. But I gotta warn you, Roseluck. I don't plan on losing either."
"That's fine with me." Roseluck accepted the fact that Applejack would be giving it her all as well.
"Ooh! I wanna see this!" Cold Colt squeed.
"Same here!" Both Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie leaned forward, falling off the log seat they sat on. It was going to be a small audience, but that didn't matter since it's just a short little battle for Roseluck to find satisfaction in battle.
They made their way to the gym, taking their places on their respected sides. This time, Pinkie Pie would act as the Referee since the real one wasn't available at the moment. Some gyms do have schedules, actually.
"Okie Dokie! You both know the rules, right?" Pinkie had a referee outfit on along with a whistle, rubbing her hooves together.
"Clear as day!" AJ nodded.
"All knowledge here!" Roseluck bellowed.
"Great. Then bring out your Pokemon! Oh, wait...they're already out." Pinkie backed away as both Treecko and Roserade went in front of their trainers, getting themselves pumped up.
Both trainers and their Pokemon had a common goal. To get stronger. The threats that come with Pokemon are only going to get larger as time goes on, making the previous ones look like a joke in comparison. If they want to protect those that they love, they'll have to get stronger so that nopony or Pokemon gets hurt ever again.
"I'm rooting for ya sis!" Apple Bloom cheered. "But do your best too Roseluck!"
"Alright...Ready..." Pinkie Pie raised her hooves up as both trainers and their Pokemon readied themselves with Treecko getting on all fours. "Battle start!" She slammed her hoof down, initiating the battle.
"Treecko! Start off by heading in with Pound!" Applejack made the first move. Her Treecko stood up, dashing towards his fellow Grass-Type, raising his gecko hands up towards her.
"Roserade! Pin Missile!" Roserade followed suit by extending both her rose arms forward, shooting out pins that could pierce through grass itself.
"Knock em away!" Treecko had used Pound to knock some of the first few pins out of his sight. But a few actually managed to make contact with him, forcing the Wood Geck Pokemon to fall back.
"Cko!"
"Now! Roserade! Use Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose!" The Bouquet Pokemon raised her rose arms up, summoning a violent storm of pink heart-shaped petals around it. Each of these violent petals were then fired towards Treecko who looked up at the incoming storm.
"Blow them away with Dragon Breath!"
"Tree...Cko!" Treecko, with a burst of draconic energy, exhaled a light blue breath attack with dragon flames surrounding it. The breath had easily overpowered the petals, burning them into nothing. Roserade gasped as she was struck by Dragon Breath since Treecko did aim it at her as well. Not just the petals.
"Rade!" Roserade took the full-force of Dragon Breath as an explosion of smoke emerged from the devastating impact. The Bouquet Pokemon tumbled on the floor, yelping with each tumble. But she wasn't out yet. She skidded on the arena floor, hanging in there.
"Are you alright, Roserade?!"
"Roserade!" Roserade nodded, feeling a bit of the draconic energy still.
"Keep it up! Fire Dragon Breath one more time!"
"Dodge and use Pin Missile, quick!"
First, Roserade quickly ran to the side whilst Treecko unleashed yet another Dragon Breath. This time, the Wood Gecko Pokemon was manoeuvring the breath attack, hitting the walls in the process whilst trying to catch the Grass-Poison-Type.
Roserade was struggling on avoiding Dragon Breath due to how large and destructive it was. Even with her speed advantage, she couldn't get the chance to unleash Pin Missile since she was on the run from the devastating Dragon-Type move which took up most of the arena with its movements.
Apple Bloom, Pinkie Pie and Cold Colt yelped, taking cover as the walls from the gym were coming apart from Dragon Breath alone.
Roseluck had then found an opportunity to strike. The breath attack was diminishing in size since Treecko kept firing it without rest. Which meant that the gap needed to avoid it was no longer close.
"Roserade! Duck and fire!" Roseluck gave a new command, taking the opportunity.
"Rose!" Roserade gasped as she ducked the Dragon Breath, having the attack just slightly graze her grassy skin. And since she managed to avoid it finally by ducking, she quickly fired pins from her roses, bombarding the Wood Gecko Pokemon with them.
"Tree!" Treecko had dropped Dragon Breath, taking a super-effective hit from Pin Missile as it caused him to jolt back.
"Now's our chance! Hit him up close with Poison Jab!"
"Roserade!" The Bouquet Pokemon moved in with her roses glowing purple.
"Dodge it quick!" But it was too late. Roserade was the much faster Pokemon as her roses struck onto Treecko, dealing yet another super-effective hit on him.
"Treecko!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon had not only taken a super-effective hit, but he had also been poisoned, only adding to the damage.
"Treecko!" Applejack exclaimed. "Jump back and use Dragon Breath one more time!"
"Tree..." Treecko, feeling a bit battered by the super-effective hits and taking poison damage, held his breath in, building up draconic energy one more but this time at a slower pace due to the punishment he received.
"Grab him with your thorns and slam him!"
"Roserade!" Finally using Roserade's natural traits, whips shot out of Roserade's hands, wrapping around Treecko's arms and legs. This sudden grip not only caused him to lose focus of Dragon Breath, but he even took some extra poison damage from the thorns.
"Cko!"
"Treecko! Use-" Before Applejack could give the command, Roserade swung the Wood Gecko Pokemon around the arena. Applejack ducked as Treecko swung by her, causing her hat to fly right off from the force of the swing. And then, with all her might, Roserade slammed Treecko down on the ground with her thorns, causing a huge cloud of smoke to emerge whilst an impactful thud could be heard.
"Yes!" Roseluck grinned.
"Treecko, no!" Applejack leaned forward after seeing her partner take such a beating like that.
The smoke cloud was clearing as Roserade's thorns moved away from the spot. She was sure that Treecko was down and out along with Roseluck.
But much to everypony's surprise. Treecko was still up.
Despite all of that damage done to it with Super-effective moves, this Grass-Type didn't even faint. Then again, Treecko is a Pokemon who is known for being cool, calm and collected. It never panics in any situation, even if a larger Pokemon stood before it.
And Applejack's Treecko was no exception. If anything, her Treecko was the most resilient one there was.
"It's still standing?!" Roseluck gasped.
"Holy moly! That Treecko's tough as steel!" Cold's jaw dropped at how Treecko was still standing.
"Tree...cko!" How could this Treecko still keep on going? It was simple. And Applejack knew why. They both know that they want to protect those close to them. And it's because of that similar motivation, they're able to press on even through challenging and overwhelming obstacles together. They may not overcome it, but they have enough willpower to hold their own.
"Treecko. I think it's best that we-" Applejack was planning on calling it quits since she didn't want her partner to take any more damage. Despite his resiliency, even he can only take so much punishment after all.
And then...the unexpected happened.
Treecko's body began to glow all of a sudden, shocking everypony.
Roserade pulled back, blocking her eyes as a sudden flash of green energy emitted from Treecko's body. As if they were rays of light scattering across the area. The ponies all gawked as they saw leaves surround Treecko's glowing body as if there was a tornado surrounding him. This could mean only one thing.
Evolution.
In a burst of Infinity Energy, Treecko had finally broken out of his shell, causing an explosion of pure power to emerge from the power exertion.
Grovyle was here.
"Grovyle!"
"Oh! It evolved!" Cold Colt leaned forward, falling off his seat.
"Woah..." Apple Bloom took out her dex for this new Pokemon.
"Grovyle. The Wood Gecko Pokemon. The leaves growing out of Grovyle’s body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This Pokémon is a master at climbing trees in jungles. In a forest, no Pokémon can ever hope to catch a fleeing Grovyle however fast they may be."
"Treecko! You finally evolved! But I guess I should call you Grovyle now."
"Gro..vyle!"
"I've never seen that happen before..." Roseluck was at a loss for words. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof had her eyes extending from her sockets, completely shocked at this sudden evolution.
"In that case...Use Pound and let's see how much harder you hit!"
"Gro!" The second-stage evolution let out a mighty roar as he raised his arms up. Instead of using Pound, he had learned a new move via his evolution. The leaves on his arms emanated a green light as the Wood Gecko Pokemon rushed forward, much faster than before.
"What move is that?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"It's Leaf Blade!" Cold got up, explaining as he could recognize it.
"Roserade! Use Poison Jab quick!"
"Roserade!" Roserade knew this was no time to be in shock. She still had some leftover damage from the poison that she gave to Grovyle. She thrust her poison covered rose hands forward, clashing with Grovyle's blades.
"Gro...VYLE!" Grovyle proved to have much more physical force than her, causing Roserade to gasp. With sheer force alone, Grovyle overpowered Roserade's super-effective move, causing her rose arms to fly back. The blade from Leaf Blade made contact with the Bouquet Pokemon, striking her face on impact.
"ROSE!" Roserade was launched afar by Leaf Blade as a mini-shockwave emerged from just the force of the launch alone. It was a good thing she was Grass-Poison since that allowed her to take the Leaf Blade without receiving too much damage. But boy, even still, Grovyle was unnaturally strong.
"Roserade! Grab him with your thorns one more time!" Roserade, who was airborne, outstretched her arm as a thorn raced out.
"Grab it!" Grovyle had a much faster reaction time now. With precision, he grabbed ahold of Roserade's whip thorns, taking some more poison damage in the process. "Now! Swing and use Dragon Breath!"
"GROVYLE!" Grovyle returned the favour to Roserade by swinging her instead. He held his breath in, going for Dragon Breath once more. But it was much faster this time due to his power increase. So fast in fact, that the moment he exhaled the breath, even the speed it was fired at was faster. Almost at the speed of sound itself.
"RADE!" Roserade had been hit by Dragon Breath as it engulfed her completely. The breath attack went on, breaking through the ceiling of the gym itself as it even pierced the clouds, startling Cloudsdale and the Flying-Types. The Bouquet Pokemon had fallen with her thorns retracting back into her hands.
She hit the ground hard, tumbling on it.
"Roserade, NO!" Roseluck exclaimed, mortified to see Roserade take such a devastating hit in the form of a much more potent Dragon Breath.
However, the cycle seemed to be repeating itself with the opposing Pokemon. Similar to how Treecko didn't go down at all after taking heavy damage, neither did Roserade.
The Bouquet Pokemon slowly stood up, using her rose arms as support. She had one eye closed whilst the other was wide open, showing how beat up she truly was. But like her fellow Grass-Type, she could still put some more effort in, even if she looked like she could faint at any moment.
"Rose..."
"Unbelievable! Even Roserade's up?! Is the sun extra powerful today or what?!" Cold Colt was surprised at how both were still standing still.
"Rade...Roserade!" Roserade wasn't about to give up here. She wanted to make her trainer proud and prove that she can defend her, no matter what.
"Roserade! You're horribly injured! Let's call it qu-"
"Rose!" Roserade interrupted Roseluck's words, cutting her off. She refused to quit. Not after the admirable effort they put in earlier today. The Bouquet Pokemon turned around, staring her trainer in the eye.
Roseluck took a moment to see how both her Roserade locked eyes as her partner let out an intensive stare. Roseluck could tell by the way Roserade was looking, she would never give up, even if she was in the worst possible condition. Her determination to protect her trainer was something that even the most formidable of trainers could admire and aspire to.
"Roserade...You really want to continue?"
"Rose." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded, making up her mind instantly.
"Alright...Let's do this! Roserade! Petal Blizzard!"
"Rose..." Roserade crossed her hands together, closing her eyes. Normally, a violent storm of petals would rise up and surround her. But not this time.
Instead, her thorns had come out of her hands, falling to the ground. All of a sudden, her whip thorns glowed purple and green, gaining a stardust aura. This was clearly not Petal Blizzard.
"What now?" Apple Bloom noticed the sudden change in Roserade's move.
"That looks like Power Whip! She learned a new move too! How exciting is this?!" Cold had figured it out thanks to this extensive Pokemon knowledge.
"Power whip huh...? Then in that case...use that instead Roserade!"
"Keep your guard up, Grovyle! Use Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!"
"Roserade!" Roserade's eyes widened as a purple light flashed from them. She swung her light covered whip thorns forward, whirling them around as they seemed to be much more aggressive than Petal Blizzard.
The Wood Gecko Pokemon jumped up, blocking the whip with his blade. The two of them kept this up as Grovyle advanced forward, using his bladed leaves to continuously hit the whips away whilst Roserade kept on swinging them around like crazy, destroying the gym bit by bit.
Apple Bloom, Cold and Pinkie had just now realized that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a good idea to be in here with two powered-up Pokemon going at it. So they made a run for it, exiting the gym and instead, spectating it from the outside.
"ROSE!" Roserade, with the last of her strength, let out a final swing of Power Whip, bringing it down on Grovyle who was now up close in her face.
"GRO!" Grovyle had also used the last of his strength as the poison still damaging him. He swung his bladed arms forward with a spurt of energy behind it.
It looked like it was going to be a big one. Both Pokemon had made contact with their hardest hitting moves. The blades had connected with the whips, causing a collision so great that it not only blew them both back but even their trainers were launched back with Applejack's hat flying in the air.
Even outside, Pinkie Pie and the others were hit by the immense shockwave as Spinda flew out of Pinkie Pie's mane.
"Spinda!"
A violent flow of smoke erupted from the gym, causing the entire roof to be blown off along with the walls. Some nearby Pokemon ran off in fear from the aggressive sound that came from the gym. Even the trees themselves were almost ripped from the ground as the leaves across the woods scattered everywhere.
The aftermath had finally ended with the smoke clearing. Applejack's hat gently fell to the ground, still in one piece somehow.
And speaking of Applejack, both her and Roseluck had gotten up from the floor, rubbing their eyes with their manes being an absolute mess. They widened their eyes, looking behind them to their partners.
And the result?
A Double K.O.
They had both taken each other out.
"Gro..."
"Rose..."
Pinkie Pie ran inside, looking at the two fainted Pokemon as they slid off the half-destroyed walls.
"Yikes! Both Grovyle and Roserade are out of it! That means... it's a draw! Would ya look at that..."
"A draw?!" Both Cold and Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Applejack and Roseluck took a moment to process the outcome. Neither of them had won. Both their Pokemon managed to deal just the right amount of damage to cause the double knockout. In Grovyle's case, his Leaf Blade was all he needed whilst the poison helped Roserade deal that finishing hit with Power Whip.
Both trainers had accepted the result, heading over to their fainted partners.
"You did a mighty fine job, Grovyle." Applejack held him, giving her Pokemon a hug.
"Vyle..."
"That was amazing, Roserade. Get a good rest, okay?" Roseluck gave Roserade a pat on the back.
"Roserade." Roserade nodded as she held her head, suffering a bit of a concussion from the hit.
"Well, Roseluck. Sorry that you didn't win the battle. Hope this doesn't make-"
"You don't have to say anything, Applejack. I actually enjoyed that a lot. More than anything else recently!"
"...Really?" AJ squinted her eyes as she placed her hat back on her head.
"Mhm. Seeing how much effort Roserade really put into the last moments of that battle showed me just how much she's willing to protect me. She could've just quit right there but she didn't. I'm glad to have such an amazing Pokemon as my partner. Even if I didn't win."
"Roserade..."
"So...does that mean you're gonna keep on being a Gym Leader?" Applejack asked.
"Well...yes. I'll keep on being a Gym Leader. For the sake of getting stronger with Roserade. Plus, I still find enjoyment out of it." Roseluck squeed.
Both Pokemon had been taken to the Pokemon House in order to have Audino and Fluttershy tend to them. Audino had used Refresh on Grovyle, curing him on all of Poison damage whilst Fluttershy tended to Roserade's concussion.
"I'm so proud of you both! And I'm glad that Treecko finally evolved into Grovyle!" said Fluttershy.
"I'm surprised it happened like that. Guess evolution really does take you by surprise, huh?" Applejack replied.
"Mhm." Roseluck nodded her head.
"Wait. What about your Gym, Roseluck?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'll repair it. Besides, only a few walls ended up getting destroyed anyway. It's no big deal. But the ceiling though..."
"I'll have Big Mac help you out with repairs. And we're gonna need stronger leaves too." Applejack chuckled as she placed her hoof around Roseluck. They all had a small laugh, especially the Pokemon after the day they had just had.
What a battle and a day. With Roseluck now gaining confidence to protect those that she loves along with Treecko finally evolving into a Grovyle, furthering his growth in strength, the future is looking much more hopeful for them all. The threats that will come their way won't go easy on them at all. And they know. But with their Pokemon on their side, they'll be ready to take on whatever comes their way as the journey continues!
Chapter 211 End!