Rainbow Falls. Day.
"Finally. We're here." Rainbow Dash spoke.
The time had come for Rainbow Dash to try and earn her fifth gym badge from Soarin. A sort of rematch Gym Battle, following up from the Pokemon Festival.
She and her friends had shown up to Rainbow Falls, coming across the gym that had been built here. Like always, it was in the shape of a dome, much like all other Equestria Gyms.
And thankfully, since it had floors that don't require just pegasi to walk on them, anyone can view this Gym Battle. Those that couldn't fly like pegasi arrived outside of the gym via Flying-Type Pokemon. AKA, Dragonite, Salamence and even Togekiss, all having trainers riding on the backs of them.
Rainbow opened the doors to the Gym as she was immediately greeted with the interior. Being that this is a weather-based gym, the inside was decorated to fit the Pokemon who could utilize the weather. Despite it being dome-shaped, the upper part of the building was open along with every single window here. Moves like Rain Dance and Sunny Day had to pass through somehow after all.
Other than that, the floor was flat with no bumps. Nothing weather-related could really be benefited from the floor. It's all about the skies themselves that matter.
And waiting there was, of course, Soarin.
"Hm?" Soarin turned around, hearing the doors open as he was currently petting his Boltund. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! You made it!"
"Boltund!"
"Soarin! I'm here for my rematch! And that fifth Gym Badge!" Rainbow Dash declared.
"Made it on time too. I'm feeling great and not out of it right now." He flew over. "Check out this Gym. Pretty neat right?"
"It's..." Rarity saw the sun flare near her eyes. "Very vulnerable to the sky."
"Yeah. It was made that way for my Gym's theme. So. How's your team doing, Rainbow Dash?"
"Pretty great. We've picked up some new tricks and moves along the way. Especially this." Rainbow Dash adjusted her goggles that had the Mega Stone inside.
"Huh?" Soarin scrunched his eyes, getting a closer look at the goggles as he recognized the Mega Stone. "Wait! You have a Mega Pokemon with you now?!"
"Sure do." Rainbow Dash nodded with confidence. "I look awesome with these, don't I?"
"Yeah, pretty good-looking. Wish I had a Mega Pokemon. Everyone's got one these days..." Soarin sighed. "Oh, well. I got something just as good. Ready to get this Gym Battle started?"
"Ready when you are!"
With small talk out of the way, the Gym Battle between the two Wonderbolt Pegasi was about to commence with a unicorn referee standing between them.
"The Rainbow Falls Gym Battle between Soarin the Gym Leader and Rainbow Dash the challenger will now be underway. The battle will be a Double Battle. Each trainer will have the use of 6 Pokemon due to Rainbow Dash's own team for fairness. The battle will be over when either trainers' Pokemon are unable to continue. Furthermore, only the challenger will be allowed to substitute Pokemon. That's all."
"I'll choose my Pokemon first." Soarin took out two Poke Balls, throwing them. "Go! Torkoal! Excadrill!"
"Torkoal! Tor!"
"Excadrill!"
And once Torkoal came out, his ability Drought kicked in, intensifying the heat and power of the sun as it shined brighter than ever.
"Excadrill?!" Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting a new and different Pokemon from Soarin's team. "Guess he wouldn't keep the same Pokemon all the time. Okay!" Rainbow Dash went to choose her team next, taking out their Poke Balls. "Mienfoo! Luxray!"
"Mienfoo!"
"Luxray!"
"Battle Start!"
"Let's do this you two! Mienfoo! Force Palm on Excadrill! Luxray! Wild Charge on Torkoal!"
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Luxray were up first as they both advanced towards their opponents. Mienfoo's paws lit up while Luxray's body became surrounded in an aura of electricity, ready to bolt himself forward.
"Excadrill! Shadow Claw! And Torkoal, Iron Defense!"
"Exca!" Excadrill ran in front of his partner, surrounding his claws with a spectral aura. He as well rushed in, approaching Mienfoo while Torkoal stayed where he was, building up his already stellar defence.
"Foo!" Mienfoo's paws ended up colliding with Excadrill's claws, creating a short clash between the two of them.
"Luxray!" Luxray bolted from the ground, running at high speeds as he approached the still Torkoal who just stood there with a single expression. But, Torkoal had just raised his defence with a silver aura engulfing him.
"Tor."
"Ray!" Luxray smashed his head onto Torkoal's head, creating an explosion of electricity as the Coal Pokemon had been slightly knocked back by the collision. Not by much and he barely took any damage.
"K-Koal."
"Lux!" Luxray took some recoil damage from Wild Charge. Possibly more than Torkoal who barely looked phased.
"Mien!" Mienfoo and Excadrill entered close-quarters combat with the Martial Arts Pokemon trying to overwhelm the Subterrene Pokemon with her usual fast strikes. She began thrusting her palm at a faster pace now.
"Drill!" Excadrill however, was able to keep up with Mienfoo's fast strikes by swinging his claws at a rapid pace as well. However, Mienfoo would certainly surpass that due to her speed gradually increasing over time. Knowing this, Excadrill ended the clash by dodging Mienfoo's next palm strike and then swiping her, sending the Martial Arts Pokemon flying back.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo cried out from being hit by that super-effective move as she quickly recovered by sliding on the floor.
"Alright. I think I know what I can do next. Sorry, Luxray. But return for now." Rainbow Dash made an early callback by returning Luxray. She had assessed the entire situation and knew how to potentially approach this battle. But she kept Mienfoo in.
"Hm?" Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Let's try this combination! You're up Castform!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag as it was his turn to take action. Once he came out, his radioactive cells reacted to the intense sunlight caused by Torkoal's Drought as the Weather Pokemon entered his Sunny Form. "Cast!"
"Get a load of this! Focus all of your attacks on Excadrill only! Force Palm and Weather Ball!"
"Only Excadrill?" Rarity was confused by this command. "Why?"
"My guess is that it might have something to do with Torkoal, but I'm not so sure what it is." Twilight shook her head.
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo bolted forward while Castform summoned a ball of fire, conjured up by the weather itself as she shot it towards Excadrill only. All attacks were now focused on the Subterrene Pokemon.
"Just my Excadrill? Like I'd let that happen! Torkoal! Stone Edge on that Castform! Excadrill! Shadow Claw one more time!"
"Tor...Koal!" It was time for Torkoal to make a move next as he summoned multiple crystals around him, shooting them forward while Excadrill prepared to engage Mienfoo if she got close.
"Now shield Castform and hit the attack hard!" Rainbow Dash suddenly ordered.
"Mien! Mienfoo jumped up, heading straight for Weather Ball instead of Excadrill. Soarin and his Pokemon followed the direction where Mienfoo was headed, wondering what she was up to. "Foo!"
The Martial Arts Pokemon suddenly smashed Force Palm onto Weather Ball, adding her own power into it via arm strength. By adding extra force to Weather Ball and changing its direction with a swerve of her palm, Mienfoo launched it, causing the attack to actually speed up as it passed through Stone Edge. Not only that but because of Drought and the intense sun, Weather Ball's Fire properties were boosted.
But as a drawback, since she was in front of Castform, Mienfoo was the one who was hit by Stone Edge, shielding Castform from taking any damage. But thanks to her being a Fighting-Type, she could shrug it off.
"Oh!" Soarin gasped as the sped-up Weather Ball went straight for Excadrill. "Block it, Excadrill!"
"Exca!?" Excadrill put up his shadow-clad claws to try and block Weather Ball. Due to how fast it was moving, there was no way he was dodging it.
The ball of fire connected with Excadrill, causing an immediate blazing explosion of scarlet flames to occur. Unfortunately, Excadrill's block couldn't fully protect him from the powered-up Weather Ball as he went flying back, coming out of the explosion afterwards.
"Drill!"
"Ah! Excadrill!"
"Yes! Now! Reflect Type on Excadrill, go!"
"Cast!" Not wasting any time, it was soon revealed what Rainbow Dash's plan was and why she targeted just Excadrill. Castform's eyes shined blue as he locked onto the Subterrene Pokemon while he had hit the ground.
"Oh, that's her plan!" Twilight realized. "Excadrill and Torkoal are both weak to Ground. And if Castform copies Excadrill's type with his radioactive cells..."
"He'll let out a ton of Ground and Steel energy and hit them both while also becoming a Ground-Type himself. That way, none of Torkoal or Excadrill's moves will work on him. Nice thinking, Rainbow Dash." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Form!" Castform had copied Excadrill's Type as his body emitted a pulse of Ground and Steel energy that exuded out of him. The fissure travelled through the ground as it hit both Excadrill and Torkoal at the same time.
The Steel energy didn't do much to them both since they resist Steel, but Ground definitely did something as both of Soarin's Pokemon had taken super-effective hits, receiving a fairly heavy knockback.
And even after copying his typing, Castform remained in his Sunny Form, still having access to the flames of Weather Ball. It was a good thing that he was only limited to three different weather forms.
Mienfoo took damage as well, but she was able to resist it since she's neutral to Ground and strong against Steel. But it did sting that's for sure.
"Torkoal!" Torkoal's physical defence couldn't help him since the range was long-distance. Thus, he fell on his back with his shell balancing him.
"Nice hit! Rainbow Dash cheered. "Now! Weather Ball at Excadrill one more time!"
"Castform!" Castform then fired another Weather Ball, aiming at the currently befuddled Excadrill while Torkoal was still lying on his shell.
Excadrill! Dodge it, quick!"
"Drill?!" Excadrill was just getting up after that Reflect Type pulse. Like before, there was little time to evade. Excadrill looked up, witnessing a bright ball of fire heading for him as it was too late.
With yet another collision followed by an explosion of scarlet flames, Excadrill had been struck once more. But this time, there was no recovering as he flew out of the smoke. Once out of there, the Subterrene Pokemon tumbled on the floor as he had fainted.
"Excadrill..."
"Excadrill is unable to battle! That's one Pokemon down on Soarin's side!"
"Hahaha! Worked like a charm!" Rainbow Dash cackled with her victory over one of Soarin's Pokemon and so did her Pokemon. "Now it's just Torkoal we gotta take out."
"Return, Excadrill." Soarin nodded as he returned his Excadrill. "Thanks for the help. Pretty clever Rainbow. Never thought that Reflect Type would be so dangerous."
"My Castform's one of a kind. Our Reflect Type's gonna take your Pokemon's type and turn it against you."
"Castform!"
"Then let's see how you handle this." Soarin took out his next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Eiscue!"
"Eiscue!"
"There's Eiscue." Rainbow Dash's face suddenly morphed into one of seriousness. She already knew how large of a threat Eiscue was. And it wasn't its strength. It was something far worse.
"You remember, Eiscue, right Rainbow?"
"Don't I? I haven't forgotten how dangerous that move Soak was. But I won't let it catch me off guard this time. I can work around it for sure."
"What's Soak?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It's a move that turns an opponents type into Water," Ash explained.
"Turns their typing? I heard that Rainbow Dash had a problem dealing with something like that during the Pokemon Festival. It came from that Pokemon?" Twilight pointed her hoof at Eiscue.
"C-Can it breathe with that ice on its head?" Fluttershy noticed.
"Better be careful..." Rainbow started thinking to herself. "It's not just Soak I have to watch out for. If that Ice comes off its face, then Eiscue's gonna be faster than ever. I think I've got an idea..." A plan of hers had been hatched. One that's risky and could cost her the battle. "Return, Mienfoo."
She then suddenly returned her Mienfoo, swapping the Martial Arts Pokemon for someone else. But, she kept Casform in for one vital reason. Rainbow Dash was about to play some mind games. At least, her own way of performing mind games.
"Let's go for a second run, Luxray!" Out came Luxray a second time.
"Luxray!"
"Luxray, again?" Soarin narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Eiscue! Use Soak! And Torkoal! Iron Defence once more!"
"Eis...!" Eiscue summoned a ball of water in front of it, ready to unleash a stream of water from it while Torkoal was only increasing his defence further.
"Wait for it..." But, Rainbow Dash wasn't making any orders to counter. At least, not yet. She actually let Eiscue fire the stream of water as her Pokemon stood by.
The torrent of water ended up hitting both Castform and Luxray due to how widespread it was. Both Pokemon closed their eyes with the water getting all over them as their types had been altered. They were now Water-Types as Castform's cells reacted to the change, shifting him into his Rainy Form.
But Rainbow Dash wanted this.
"Now! We'll end this in one go! Freeze Dry, Eiscue!"
"Freeze Dry?! That's super-effective against Water-Types!" Twilight gasped. "Those two are very vulnerable to it now. Unless..."
"Eiscue..." Eiscue suddenly began surrounding the two opponents with a chilling mist of ice slowly appearing, ready to strike and deal super-effective damage.
"Heh." Rainbow Dash smirked as her plan was about to be fully realized. "Castform! Reflect Type on Torkoal!"
"Form!" Once more, Castform's eyes shined blue as he copied Torkoal's Fire-Typing. And here's where things were about to shift once more.
"Again?!" Soarin pulled back. "Quick Torkoal! Look away!"
"That won't work!"
By copying Torkoal's Type, Castform not only shifted back into his Sunny Form, removing the Water-Typing from his body, but he unleashed a pulse of fire from his body that blew back the mist of Freeze Dry. The flames quickly travelled around the battlefield, immediately hitting Eiscue and Torkoal. It did little to Torkoal, but a lot to Eiscue as it was a Fire-Type. Luxray didn't feel anything due to the benefit of being changed into a Water-Type.
"Eiscue!" The Penguin Pokemon fell on its back.
"Now you're all mine! I still haven't forgotten about Torkoal's Earthquake from our last battle. Thanks to Soak, Luxray doesn't need to worry too much about that! Hook line and sinker!
"Woah...You really thought this through..." Soarin's eyes widened. "But I still won't let you win! Torkoal! Solar Beam!"
"Solar Beam?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Tor!" Even Soarin was prepared for tough situations like this. With Drought active thanks to Torkoal's ability, charging up Solar Beam, which usually takes a while to power up wouldn't be a bother at this point. Torkoal's shell started glowing as he was gathering the light of the sun itself.
"Not good! Luxray! Take them both out quick! Discharge! And Castform! Weather Ball on Eiscue!"
"Ray!"
"Form!"
"Eiscue! Protect!"
"Cue!" The Penguin Pokemon quickly put its arms out, summoning a protective barrier of energy around it while two different elements came towards it. Fire and Electric.
"Koal!" But, the attacks couldn't reach Eiscue in time because Torkoal's Solar Beam was ready. By opening his mouth, the Coal Pokemon unleashed a devastating green blast of solar energy that roared out.
The bundled beam of solar power was so strong that it engulfed the blazing Weather and Discharge, eliminating them like they were nothing but dust.
The two Pokemon gasped as their bodies had been hit by a fierce green beam, consuming them both with its intimidating size. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she witnessed her partners take the full blast of the attack. She feared for their status. Castform could be fine since he copied Torkoal's Fire-Type, but Luxray was now a Water-Type. And even then, Castform was a fragile Pokemon. A Glass Cannon to be exact.
Everyone leaned in to see the condition of the two Pokemon, hoping that they were alright. Once that smoke cleared, it was quickly revealed what had become of them both.
One of them actually withstood the attack.
Luxray was still standing. Even after being a Water-Type, he wasn't that easy to take down. Not at all. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Castform, who had been taken out.
"Castform..."
"Castform is unable to battle! Rainbow Dash has now lost one Pokemon on her side! Both trainers have 5 Pokemon remaining each."
"Lux?" Luxray looked over at his fainted partner, walking over to help him up via a pickup with his teeth. "Luxray?" He asked if he was alright."
"C-Cast..."
"Poor Castform. He didn't even get to try out his newest moves... Fluttershy shook her head, sighing. "Not that they would be effective anyway to most of them anyway."
"But, he did a good job helping Mienfoo take out Excadrill. And he wore Torkoal down too." Ash looked at the bright side.
"Pika."
"I'm surprised that Luxray withstood that Solar Beam with his type being changed. That sure felt like a super-effective move." Rarity was impressed. "If that's what Drought allows Torkoal to do...I fear for what the other weather effects have in store."
"Good job, Castform. Get some rest." Rainbow Dash removed her saddlebag as Luxray placed the Weather Pokemon inside, allowing him to rest.
"Luxray...!" Luxray growled as he turned around. He now wanted to get some revenge for Castform as electricity was flaring from his body and eyes.
"Calm down, Luxray. I need you to come back for now." Rainbow Dash called Luxray back. "I'll make sure you make it up to Castform, okay?"
"Whew..." Soarin sighed. "Wonderbolt training is easier than this..." He then looked up, staring at the sky and how the sun was lighting it all up. "Might have to change the weather soon."
"Alright." Rainbow Dash took out two Poke Balls., launching them. "I'll take out both of them in no time! Let's do this! Whirlipede! Mienfoo! You're up!"
"Whirlipede!"
"Mienfoo!" Mienfoo roared as she was ready for a second go at this.
"Let's not hold anything back! Whirlipede! Rollout! Mienfoo! Acrobatics!"
"Whirl!"
"Mien!"
Both Pokemon got to work as Whirlipede rolled on the spot, building up speed while Mienfoo went ahead, with her body becoming outlined in white.
"Let's change the weather up! Hail! And Torkoal! Flamethrower!"
"Eiscue!" Eiscue raised its arms, ready to shift the weather.
"Pede!" But, Whirlipede wasn't going to let that happen. After building up some speed, the Curlipede Pokemon bolted forward, rolling straight towards the Penguin Pokemon and hoping to strike it on time.
But it was too late. Hail had already been activated as grey clouds filled the skies. With the blue skies gone and a light blue mist forming, small drops of hail started falling from above.
"Koal!" As for Torkoal, he unleashed an intense blast of fire towards Whirlipede.
"Pede!" But, Whirlipede wasn't going for Torkoal. By using his circular body, the Curlipede Pokemon drifted, avoiding Flamethrower in time with only tiny bits of flames scraping him.
"Cue?!" Eiscue gasped as Whirlipede smashed into the Penguin Pokemon with full force, creating a light shockwave in the process. "Eiscue!" Eiscue went flying from this hit as Whirlipede's Speed Boost kicked in, increasing his speed.
As for Mienfoo, she was actually the one heading for Torkoal as she used Acrobatics to swiftly evade Flamethrower via a smooth and impressive frontflip. She gained some great airtime by flipping in the air multiple times.
"Tor?!"
"Foo!" Mienfoo roared as she smashed her fist onto Torkoal's shell. She couldn't get past his amazing defence sadly as Torkoal only took little damage.
Torkoal...!" Torkoal winced as Mienfoo jumped back. The Coal Pokemon was still standing after all of this.
So far, Torkoal was the biggest threat here.
However, that may change as Eiscue rolled on the ground after that devastating hit from Rollout. After being hit by a super-effective attack yet again, the Penguin Pokemon couldn't take another hit. It had fainted.
"Eiscue..."
"Eiscue is unable to battle. Soarin has lost one Pokemon and now has 4 Pokemon remaining!"
"Not my Eiscue!"
"That takes care of our Soak Problem." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Now all that's left is that bulky Torkoal over there. All we need is one good far-distance attack and you're done for."
"Woohoo!" Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves. "This is pretty tense, but Rainbow Dash totally has this under control!"
"She worked to prepare herself for Soarin when she would up against him for a rematch." Rarity nodded. "Perhaps harder than I expected."
"Hm." Ash smiled. "But it isn't over yet."
"Thanks, Eiscue. Return." Soarin returned the fainted Penguin Pokemon. And because of Eiscue's defeat, the Hail had faded away. It didn't even have the chance to utilize its effects. "Well...I still have Torkoal. But maybe not for long."
"Stay in you two. I still need to take out that Torkoal."
"Whirlipede."
"Mienfoo."
"You're up next, pal. Go, Boltund!" Soarin sent out his next Pokemon.
"Boltund!"
"Get ready, Dash. My numbers may look worse but I've got an ace in the hoe through all of this."
"Hah. We'll see. I've got two aces in the holes right here!" Rainbow Dash smirked as her Pokemon were eying down Soarin's. Although, it was hard to see Torkoal's eyes since they're always closed.
This Gym Battle is only getting started as both pegasi are determined to come out on top. Only one of them will succeed in this as the journey continues.
Chapter 410 End.