Faces Of The Blade {ON HOLD}

Gym Badge (Part 2)

"Pidove, one final tackle!" I command, hopping anxiously from one foot to another as I watch my Pokemon charge for the opponent. A loud shriek echoes throughout the air, and as Pidove shrills happily, I laugh and stroke his head while the trainer calmly walks towards me. 

"Wow. That was a fantastic battle, I can tell that you'll be a great trainer in the future. Now, the only thing standing between you and your first gym badge is the gym leader. She's stronger than all the trainers here, so be prepared. Good luck!" The girl encourages, and I smile back as appreciation. After placing my reward money into my bag, I continue walking along the path with Pidove resting on my shoulder and Oshawott strolling beside me. 

We eventually reach a small floating platform, and I recall both my Pokemon into their own respective PokeBalls before being raised above the ground and onto a large stage/platform with a girl standing near the back. Her head swivels around at the sound of my footsteps, and she smiles sweetly at me. 

"Welcome to the Laker Gym, and congratulations for defeating all of the trainers." Her calm and soft voice is almost comforting, and I relax as she continues talking. As her eyes open, the atmosphere suddenly becomes tense.  "I am Sora, the gym leader of Laker town. You may be just a beginner, but I will not go easy on you." 

"I'm ready." I simply reply. This seems to irritate her, as she pouts before pasting on a fake smile. 

"Prepare to be amazed with the wonderful show that my Pokemon and I will display." She strikes a pose, one hand on her hip and the other near her head. "See the connection that I share with my partners." With another flash of light, she has her eyes closed and arms crossed over each other. "Feel the strength of my Pokemon." She changes pose, and she eventually has both hands stretched beside her, eyes opened and burning with determination. "Let's go!"

We both stand on one side of the battle field, hands already placed on our PokéBalls. Sora grinned a little, before kissing the tip of the red shining sphere and shouting, "Let's show them what grace truly is. Taillow, your turn to shine."

 With a flash of light, a small bird Pokémon with dark blue feathers appears on the battle field, their head held up high with pride. 

"Taillooooow!" It shrieks, going for a quick spin in the air before landing on the ground again. 

I reach for Blade's Pokeball, but as I throw the sphere onto the field, Brave appears instead. Confused, I look down at my bag to see my Oshawott still inside, shaking his head with his hands covering his eyes, as if embarrassed about my actions. 

"Oops..." I mutter, staring at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing ever. 

Sora giggles, before asking loudly, "You give up already?"

"Of course not." I grit my teeth, before glancing at my partner to see the determination raging inside of her eyes. "We can win this, can't we?" 

"Piii." She coos, before coldly glaring at the opposing Taillow. 

Sora strikes yet another pose. "You may have the first move."

"Thanks. Brave, use Quick Attack." 

"Dodge elegantly."

I watch Taillow gracefully dodge the attack. Pidove narrows her eyes and charges again, hovering above the ground and swerving between the hoops that were in the air. I bite my lip, thinking of a strategy when I noticed the rings' position on the battle field.