Chapter 43: The Pirate and the Prince (Part 1)

  "Neat little Pokemon you got there," Sinclair declared as his Gyarados moved closer to Alpha Tyrunt. "But you're out of your league. Jump back over that wall, leave us to our business and I'll forget you came at me."

  "And let you capture these kids? I don't think so," Ian said, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as Gyarados inched closer. "You know, I thought you might be a decent guy just fucked by circumstance. But taking kids hostage? That crosses a line."

  "I don't like doing it," Sinclair interjected, rubbing his right wrist which Ian realized had a bright blue Z-Crystal on it.

  "Then let me and my girl who's probably giving your goons hell in that school go free, we'll keep the kids safe until this shit blows over," Ian offered.

  Sinclair shook his head. "This is my end of the deal with Rook. Non-negotiable." Sinclair sighed. "So you ready, punk?"

  Ian scowled. "Prepare for trouble, asshole!"

  "Wipe it out in one go Gyarados, Outrage!" Sinclair bellowed.

  "Tyrunt!" Ian shouted.

  Gyarados' whole body became enveloped in dark blue energy, and it roared as its 20 foot plus long body bulldozed at Tyrunt from the canal, smashing through the barrier protecting the canal as it did. Tyrunt tilted its head back as if winding up and Ian covered his ears. Out from Tyrunt's mouth came a terrifying roar that still stung his eardrums with its intensity.

  The charging Gyarados hit a wall of sound from the Alpha Roar, causing Gyarados' long body to crumple up like an accordion, stunned and exposing most of its body. The back of its serpent-like body flailed forward before the Alpha Roar flattened it out too.

  "Thunder Fang!" Ian screamed.

  Tyrunt took off with a frenzied glee, its mouth sparking with electricity in mere moments. Tyrunt leapt, catching the great beast with its jaws next to its mouth. Gyarados cried out in pain as sparks of electricity emanated around its body. Tyrunt held on, growling with determination as the stunned beast tried to shake Tyrunt off itself.

  Gyarados gave a mighty, bellowing roar as it lifted its head with Tyrunt still attached, then slammed the baby tyrannosaur to the ground. Gyarados raised its head once more, this time without Tyrunt's form latching on. Tyrunt instinctively rolled on its side and sprang up, withdrawing from Gyarados' range.

  Gyarados suddenly gave a pained cry and sparks emanated from Gyarados once more, making it recoil as the rest of its body stayed limp. It's paralyzed? YES!

  "Last chance for that deal!" Ian shouted. "You and Rook can fucking have this place."

  "Don't get so cocky," Sinclair warned. Ian watched as one of Gyarados' whisker-like appendages, or barbels as he remembered, reached it behind its head and pulled out a round, green berry. Is that a Lum Berry? Dammit. Gyarados' barbel flung the Lum Berry into its mouth and the sparks dissipated almost instantly and the atrocious Pokemon gave a savage roar. "Ice Fang!" Sinclair shouted.

  "Rock Slide!" Ian commanded.

  Gyarados was too fast for Tyrunt, with Ice Type Energy engulfing Gyarados' jaws as it slammed into Tyrunt. The rocks Tyrunt had begun manifesting suddenly faded into dust as Gyarados chomped down on the Alpha tyrannosaur. The atrocious sea serpent tried to force Tyrunt into the canal, but a well placed Bite finally got Gyarados to release the now battered Tyrunt.

  "Finish it, Outrage!" Sinclair ordered.

  Ian smirked. Two can play at that game. "Ready a Thunder Fang!"

  Gyarados roared its menacing roar once more and lit up with dark blue energy, charging at Tyrunt with the force of a freight train. Tyrunt jerked its head back before bracing itself, letting Gyarados smash into it viciously. Ian noticed Tyrunt's body flash with a dark blue light, matching Gyarados' Dragon Type Energy before he lost track of his tyrannosaur combatant in the chaos as they neared the water's edge.

  Once Gyarados' Outrage had seemingly worn off for the moment, Gyarados shrieked in pain as electric sparks surged throughout Gyarados' over 20 foot long body.

  "What the hell?" Sinclair demanded.

  Ian smirked as Gyarados weakly rolled into the canal and landed with a huge splash. His Tyrunt though, covered in bruises, lacerations, and welts as it were, still stood proudly, a savage grin underneath its mighty red eyes. Trickz, I owe you big time for having me give berries to my team to hold. "I've had Tyrunt storing a Haban Berry for when it got hit with a Dragon Type attack," Ian explained.

  "Not bad," Sinclair admitted as Gyarados roused itself from the canal, its upper body rather wobbly from its wounds and fatigue. Gyarados then lunged forward, engulfing itself in Outrage's cloak of energy once more. Tyrunt can't take another one of these. "Tyrunt…" Ian began, inspiration coming from his battle with Alpha Crawdaunt. "...Dragon Tail the ground!"

  Tyrunt stepped forward, its tail aglow with dark blue energy and smacked the unmaintained road with it, propelling Tyrunt into the air and over Gyarados' onslaught. Tyrunt landed ungracefully, grunting in pain as she landed, but got up quickly, charging to where Gyarados had crashed into the concrete wall Ian had just climbed over, decimating it.

  "Thunder Fang!" Ian cried out as Gyarados began rousing itself for one last Outrage.

  Gyarados engulfed itself in Dragon TE once more, roaring as it did, only for Tyrunt to charge forward, oblivious to the consequences and latched onto the side of Gyarados' mouth again before the atrocious Pokemon had gotten in motion. Gyarados gave out a deathly wail as its head sank suddenly, completely unconscious. YES!

  "Holy…" Sinclair watched on in stunned disbelief as he pulled out a blue ball and recalled Gyarados into it. "Really wishing my deal with Surge didn't ban me from having Wacan Berries," Sinclair lamented.

  Well that's revealing. Wacan Berries lessen damage from super-effective Electric Type attacks.

  "It doesn't matter, your Tyrunt's toast!" Sinclair barked as he sent out a different ball. Ian immediately recognized the new Pokemon in front of Sinclair, but couldn't say he'd expected a pirate like Sinclair to have a Whimsicott.

  The Grass-Fairy Type's body was rather small with a billowing mantle of cotton wrapped around it. It grinned mischievously as it set its golden eyes on its adversary.

  "Stun Spore!" Sinclair called out.

  "Rock Tomb!" Ian shouted.

  Before Ian finished his command, Whimsicott had seemingly teleported in front of Tyrunt as tons of golden spores emanated from its body. When Tyrunt stopped channeling Rock Tomb to lunge forward, Whimsicott had vanished back to its original place in the blink of an eye. Must be Prankster. Dammit. "Try Rock Tomb again," Ian said, remembering Tyrunt hadn't been able to pull it off before.

  Tyrunt grunted as she got up, but she stomped the ground with a bit more difficulty than usual, and rock cylinders erupted from the ground underneath Whimsicott, only Whimsicott was now ten feet in the air, taunting its foe.

  "Dammit," Ian said, reaching for Tyrunt's Ultra Ball, realizing this battle was hopeless.

  "Oh you're gonna try to switch out and let Tyrunt rest up?" Sinclair asked devilishly. "While your next Pokemon's getting its bearings, there'll be nothing else for Whimsicott to attack but you."

  Ian grimaced. "Warning appreciated," Ian said, a little surprised by Sinclair's honor in this matchup. There's gotta be something Tyrunt can do to at least damage that thing. "Tyrunt, Rock Slide!"

  Tyrunt leaned forward to channel the attack, but she suddenly froze up. Damn Stun Spore.

  "Whimsicott, Moonblast," Sinclair said coldly. In moments, a large pink beam was launched and connected with Tyrunt. Ian's Alpha tyrannosaur didn't even make a sound as it collapsed. You did well, Tyrunt. Ian eyed Whimsicott, calculating what it would take to deal with such a speedy menace. Pyroar's my first instinct since Sinclair will likely have more water Pokemon, which means I should save Sandslash for later. But Pyroar would just get stunned and toyed with. I need to stop Whimsicott from just paralyzing and toying with my entire team. Wait, there's one thing Morgrem and I tried out that could work.

  Ian sent out Morgrem, the brightly colored pink and green of its skin contrasting with black hair as it snarled menacingly.

  Sinclair seemed slightly surprised at the decision for a moment but quickly got back into gear. "Whimsicott, Stun Spore!"

  "Taunt!" Ian shouted out. Morgrem began cartwheeling backwards as Whimsicott's Prankster ability helped it appear in front of the imp in the blink of an eye, a cloud of orange spores floating forward from its body due to the speedy Pokemon's momentum. Morgrem's cartwheel had finished, putting it just out of range of Stun Spore. Once Whimsicott re-appeared at its original location in front of Sinclair, it was Morgrem's turn to activate Prankster. It only took half a second, if that, and Morgrem was back in front of Ian, while Whimsicott cried out with rage, its golden eyes turning an angry red. Don't get cute with it, we only got a limited time.

  "I won't need any other moves for that deviant. Whimsicott, Moonblast!" Sinclair shouted.

  Ian smirked, readying a Poke Ball. "Parting Shot," he uttered.

  Whismicott had already taken flight and begun channeling another Moonblast as Morgrem put its hand behind its back, channeling Dark TE. The Moonblast slammed into Morgrem, and Ian heard a pained cry as he shielded his eyes from the blast. Luckily, Morgrem was already up in the air when he got his vision back, and the dark mass of Type Energy was already hurtling toward Whimsicott. The airborne cotton fairy jerked to the side, maneuvering effortlessly to dodge the incoming stat de-buff. Only for Parting Shot's mass to home in on Whimsicott.

  A flash of red light distracted Ian and he reflexively threw Pyroar's Poke Ball out, with Pyroar announcing its arrival into the battle with an enthusiastic roar. Whimsicott's cotton cloak had tangled it up a bit, causing it to drift to the ground. We don't have much time before Morgrem's Taunt wears off. The damn move never held for a consistent amount of time during training. "Pyroar, Flamethrower!"

  Pyroar quickly fired a stream of flaming Fire TE, with Whimsicott suddenly moving a dozen feet into the air effortlessly. That's not gonna work until it's weakened.

  "Nice little trick, but you ain't landing shit on Whimsicott," Sinclair said. "Hurricane!"

  A violent gust appeared around the battlefield as a light blue energy appeared in front of Whimsicott as it glided around. Pyroar watched intently, waiting for its prey to make the first move. Once a full on mini-cyclone had manifested in front of Ian and Pyroar, making Ian's messy hair flail wildly, Whimsicott sent the column of spinning Flying Type Energy at Pyroar.

  The column moved slower than Ian expected, with Pyroar easily leaping out of the way before the wind suddenly exerted force on the maned lion, pulling it back to the cyclone's core for a couple seconds before the spinning mass faded out.

  "Hyper Voice!" Ian called out, covering his ears as Whimsicott had already maneuvered to its upper left effortlessly. Pyroar wound up and let out a blast of sound that still bounced around his head painfully.

  Whimsicott was struck, sending the floating cotton demon crashing to the ground. "Now Flamethrower!" Ian shouted, finally finding his opening.

  Whimsicott somehow finagled its way up from the stream of flames, only its lower body taking some of the burning pain before it shot up to the sky. Its cotton cloak had caught fire though, and the windveiled Pokemon quickly expelled the flaming cotton from its body.

  Whimsicott then summoned a green ball of energy in its hands and launched it at Pyroar. Pyroar's footing hadn't been set for the agile maneuver necessary to dodge, so Energy Ball hit Pyroar directly. Even if it's not very effective, that still hurts a decent bit, Pyroar can't take too many of those. If Flamethrower's too slow, we're gonna need something a bit faster. "Pyroar, Hyper Voice!" Ian shouted as he covered his ears once more.

  Whimsicott's near impossible air maneuvering was no match for the wall of sound Hyper Voice was, smacking into Whimsicott violently and sending it crashing to the ground once more. "Now Ember!" Ian shouted. Pyroar spat the small cluster of flames right where Whimsicott was to land, connecting perfectly, setting most of Whimsicott's cotton mantle on fire. "Yes!" Ian shouted, pumping his fists involuntarily. Okay, if we can just repeat this a couple more times!

  Whismicott struggled to get up, but turned around to Sinclair. It quickly shed the flaming parts of its cloak, shrinking the ball of cotton by half and turned back around, its eyes once again golden. Shit! "Pyroar-"

  Ian didn't even hear an order before Whimsicott seemingly teleported in front of Pyroar, orange spores billowing onto the lion. Pyroar snapped at Whimsicott, but the little cotton demon had already disappeared to its prior position. Dammit…

  "Hyper Voice!" Ian shouted.

  "Leech Seed!" Sinclair exclaimed. Whimsicott launched itself into the air, although not as easily as it had before. Losing all of the cotton must've messed with its airborne capabilities. It mattered not however, as Pyroar was stuck in its position while Whismicott descended, firing off a little capsule that burst and sprouted vines, clinging all around Pyroar's torso. Shit, shit, shit.

  Whimsicott deftly retreated as Pyroar finally was able to move, only for Leech Seed's vines to tighten and a mass of green energy bubbles floated back to Whimsicott. Ian even noticed some of Whimsicott's cotton began growing back. There are nearly twice as many bubbles from this Leech Seed than Sawsbuck's, Whimsicott might have that root item that helps the holder heal more. Definitely not good.

  "Hyper Voice!" Ian called out fiercely. Pyroar wound up, firing a wall of sound, only for Whimsicott to propel itself backwards, smacking Whimsicott somewhat, but not nearly enough to ground the little cotton demon before it whisked it way forward, collecting more orbs of energy from Leech Seed. Keep this up and Whimsicott's gonna be at full health by the time this is over and nothing other than Sawsbuck is immune to Stun Spore and Leech Seed… I need to stop this thing here.

  With more cotton having regenerated, Whimsicott began dashing about the battlefield aerially, seemingly immune to the laws of physics or the concept of G-Force.

  "Kid, you fought well, I'll have Rook take it easy on you if you yield," Sinclair said.

  Ian scowled. "Hell no! Pyroar, Ember!"

  Whismicott was already on the move, but Pyroar's cluster of flames hit Whimsicott, leaving part of its cotton mantle singed once more. "Hurricane!" Sinclair ordered.

  Pyroar managed to make one leap to the side before recoiling and freezing up, paralysis taking hold once more. Whimsicott fired the cyclone of Flying TE at the stunned lion, the shock wave making Ian step back. Ian watched as Whimsicott drifted a little lower, seemingly regaining its composure

  Pyroar got up, panting and clearly in pain. Ian grimaced as the last idea popped into his mind. "Pyroar, brace yourself, you're gonna need to tank another one." Pyroar turned around to Ian, slightly alarmed. "Conserve your energy, you're gonna need it," the trainer warned lowly. Pyroar turned back around, crouching as it did.

  "Is Pyroar yielding?" Sinclair called out as more green bubbles of energy floated back to Whimsicott.

  "Come try us!" Ian fired back.

  Sinclair shook his head. "Whimsicott finish this, Hurricane!"

  "Wait for it," Ian said lowly.

  The light blue cyclone of energy hurtled toward Pyroar, and Ian watched with bated breath as the violent mini-twister crashed into his resilient lion. Pyroar's mane billowed from the winds, forcing Ian back a couple steps. He turned his attention to Whimsicott, who had begun dropping down slowly and shouted in desperation. "Overheat!"

  Pyroar's mane flared back to life and Pyroar launched itself into the air. The fire that engulfed Pyroar's mane disappeared as quickly as it came and out from its mouth came an explosive stream of flames, landing a direct hit on Whimsicott as the little cotton demon disappeared amidst the flames.

  Once Pyroar's Overheat ended, Pyroar crashed to the ground gracelessly as the paralysis took hold once more. Ian turned desperately to the other side of the battlefield, where he watched as a red beam dematerialized Whimsicott. Might've been well and truly fucked there without you winning here, Pyroar.

  "You're just a Team Skull grunt and you're putting up a fight like this?" Sinclair called out. "This would be a fun battle under different circumstances."

  "Too bad they're not!" Ian fired back. "My offer-"

  "Unimportant!" Sinclair shouted, tossing a Poke Ball to the side where it opened at the canal's edge, revealing a Tentacruel with two large ruby red cores and one smaller one in between that drew Ian's focus. Dark tentacles with suction cups breached the surface before slipping back under the surface ominously. I wonder what item it's hiding under there…

  Pyroar's in no position to do any damage here. Might as well drop a de-buff to help out my next Pokemon, which is gonna have to be Sandslash. "Pyroar, Noble Roar!" Ian called out. Just a little bit more for me Pyroar, you've more than earned your keep. Pyroar glowed with white energy as it let out an ear-stinging roar, and Ian eyed Tentacruel, wondering why the de-buff hadn't taken effect.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  "Unfortunately for you, Tentacruel has Clear Body," Sinclair explained.

  Fuck! I forgot about that. So stat de-buffs are a no go…

  "Toxic Spikes!" Sinclair ordered. Little purple barbs blasted from Tentacruel's crown, splashing onto the battlefield before becoming invisible to Ian.

  Ian tensed as he realized what the strategic implications were. I don't have a Poison Type to clear them, and while Blastoise has Rapid Spin, I don't think he'll match up too well against Tentacruel. Plus I haven't gotten any one on one training with Blastoise so I don't know everything he's capable of.

  "Now finish things," Sinclair croaked. "Hydro Pump."

  "Pyroar…" Ian said, his voice heavy with resigned concern. Pyroar turned his head to Ian, but instead of the doomed dread Ian expected, Pyroar's eyes had narrowed with determination. The moment was ruined as a huge stream of water abruptly struck Pyroar, sending the noble lion Pokemon hurtling backwards, fainted. Ian recalled his second fallen Pokemon of the match with as much reverence as he could afford. "Thank you bud," he whispered before hurling out Alolan Sandslash's Premier Ball.

  ***

  The aching in Sophocles' limbs and burning in his lungs slowed the pudgy Team Skull member, making his jog wind down on Windward Way, just short of the upcoming canal bridge. Sophocles leaned over, putting his hands on his knees which didn't do anything to help him catch his breath at the moment. His belly moved in and out under his baggy tank top and = he looked down the canal, past the park to The Spine's bridge, only to notice a group of navy blue uniformed men standing guard. This is the only other bridge across the canal, if they take this one too I don't know how I get back to Ian and Hyde.

  A large blue form in motion drew Sophocles' attention. A bit beyond the assembled group at The Spine's bridge there now dwelled a Gyarados in the canal, sticking its upper body out of the water confidently. Sophocles shivered with fright. A Gyarados? Actually inside Po Town? Sophocles instinctively covered his eyes, praying he wouldn't be noticed by the monster hundreds of feet away. "That's what Ian and Hyde will be fighting though…" Sophocles thought aloud.

  Sophocles uncovered his eyes and forced himself into motion, his normally clumsy jogging form felt even more unsteady than usual thanks to the chill of fear running down his spine, but he crossed the canal bridge all of the same. Taking one last look at the goons at The Spine's bridge, he noticed an Incineroar had engaged them, pumping his fist lightly. Hyde's doing his job, Ian got locked up by Team Skull but is still fighting for Po Town anyways. I have to do my part! Sophocles took cover behind a fence, then peeked around the corner, only to see a couple of Sinclair's goons jogging past the apartments and heading his way. Gonna need to take the alleys then. The short young man speed-walked to the alley separating the lines of houses and made his way closer to the gate house.

  "Psssst! Slugg, what's going on here? Sinclair's peeps are all up in town," a male voice asked, and Sophocles turned to see a head just on top of the fence.

  "Rook must've made some deal with Sinclair while Guzma's away," Sophocles explained bitterly. "And Eggsy, I'm helping Ian and Hyde save the town. Any chance you can help?"

  Another head popped up on the other side of the fence. "They got Slugg helping save the town? We are so fucked."

  Sophocles scowled. "Shut up Tazz, I don't see you Dirtbags doing anything."

  "Fuck we gonna do? Run at 'em with a wooden club?" Tazz fired back.

  "You can be a distraction for me. I gotta get to the gatehouse to get Ian's Sawsbuck and raise the alarm," Sophocles explained. "Just make noise and run away, preferably in the opposite direction I'm trying to go."

  "Who we running away from?" Eggsy asked.

  "I don't know, but I can't waste anymore time. Are you with me?" Sophocles demanded.

  Eggsy turned to Tazz. "Fuck it."

  The two quickly hopped the fence and caught up with Sophocles as they made their way up the alley. The sounds of battle seemed to be getting fiercer as they neared the front gate. If Ruckz's squad is here, they're probably fighting for Rook, so it's just Slash's squad and whatever trainers didn't go with Guzma to the bay. No wonder we need the Pearl Clan so badly.

  The trio crept through a hole in a backyard fence, then made their way through the unkempt yard until Po Town's wall was just across the street from their current dwelling. Eggsy and Tazz were taller than Sophocles, so they peeked their heads over the fence and withdrew their heads as quickly as they'd gotten up.

  "I didn't sign up for distracting from that," Eggsy said.

  "No sir-y bob," Tazz agreed, shaking his head.

  "Guys, it can't be that bad," Sophocles pleaded. The short, chubby trainer jumped up, but couldn't see over the fence. He then noticed a sizable hole closer to his level and put his eye up to it. First he spotted the gatehouse door was closed, but after the incident at the start of the war, Sophocles knew the lock had been removed so it should still be unlocked. Sophocles then shifted the angle and noticed Ruckz standing tall with his arms folded, a proud grin on his face. In front of him was a bipedal bear with gray and white fur. The beast was even taller than Ruckz, and Sophocles felt another shiver go down his spin. "Pangoro?" He squeaked weakly.

  "Yeah good luck, Slugg," Eggsy said as he and Tazz made their way back to the alley.

  "How am I gonna get past that?" Sophocles asked aloud. "Charjabug's not strong enough, and no way Noibat can last long…" Sophocles' head sank, seemingly already defeated. Ian and Hyde need me though. Po Town needs me… In his mind, Sophocles saw Guzma standing next to him in front of Po Town's denizens, Guzma raising Sophocles' arm like the victorious heroes in the cartoons he used to watch before the Ultra Rift appeared. The crowd chanted "Slugg! Slugg! Slugg!" Then Seraphine, or Rapp as she went by would be next to him, arms folded and thanking him with a kiss-

  Sophocles pumped his fists enthusiastically. "I have to do this," he whispered energetically. Sophocles then looked through the peephole once more and his newfound bravery froze. "But how? Noibat can't just Whirlwind them away…" Sophocles rubbed his chin, reaching for Noibat's Poke Ball.

  ***

  Ian's Alolan Sandslash manifested, lowering its head as it scoped out the battlefield and setting its sight on the waterbound Tentacruel.

  "That Sandslash?" Sinclair inquired. "You must be Ian then…"

  Ian grimaced. Oh yeah, Sandslash used Snowscape on the ramp to delay him and his pirates, of course he remembers. "Yeah, so what?"

  "You ride the Sawsbuck," Sinclair stated. "Rook said you were imprisoned…"

  "Not quite!" Ian fired back, readying an order.

  "True," Sinclair said before smiling devilishly. "But I know you don't have Sawsbuck with you then."

  Ian's heart tensed. Now he knows this is a five on six unless Slugg can get Sawsbuck to me. Of course I don't have Sawsbuck for my battle against a heavy Water Type user. This just means I need to knock out two of his Pokemon with my own and we'll be back on even footing. "Sandslash, Snowscape!" Ian ordered.

  Sinclair snickered. "Tentacruel, Barrier!"

  Dammit. With a quick movement of her arms, an icy radius developed around Sandslash and upon its formation, she began speeding around the ice like a speed skater.

  The dark pink energy originating from the smaller ruby red orb on Tentacruel's crown glowed brighter than the rest of the jellyfish's body. It was when Tentacruel's own preparatory move began fading that Ian remembered Tentacruel's usually fragile physical defense stat wasn't going to be the case for most of the fight. Doesn't matter, we need a quick win here so I can use Subzero Slammer on whatever his next Pokemon is. Should give me a good lead. "Drill Run!" Ian shouted fiercely.

  Sandslash shot into action, glowing with light brown energy as it surged across the icy battlefield and continuing just over the surface of the water as its spinning form crashed into Tentacruel's crown, causing the jellyfish Pokemon to gurgle in pain. Once Sandslash's spinning momentum began to slow, the ice rodent bounced off the battered Tentacruel and landed back on land smoothly, immediately skating diagonally to avoid retaliation.

  Once resettled, Tentacruel fired a Hydro Pump back at the Sandslash with tremendous force, only for Sandslash to deftly skate and maneuver away from the powerful stream of water until Tentacruel ran out of juice. Need to soften it up before another Drill Run I reckon. "Icicle Spear!"

  Sandslash leapt in the air, somersaulting forward as it launched icicles from its back. Four icy daggers lodged themselves into Tentacruel, which gurgled a groan but the pain seemed to be the worst of it as the projectiles were quickly dislodged by Tentacruel's own skin. Ian noticed a glimmer from his Icium-Z and noticed it had lit up, ready to use Subzero Slammer. Should I use the Z-Move here or save it for later? Knocking Tentacruel out here would be nice, but I've got a favorable matchup right now. Best save it for whatever comes next.

  "Tentacruel, Haze!" Sinclair ordered.

  Ian's heart tightened in his chest. Fuck! A veil of mist crept onto the battlefield forebodingly. My whole strategy with Sandslash is to use the stat buffs it gets from Slush Rush and Snowscape… But his Barrier's down, so now's the time. "Drill Run right through it!"

  Sandslash's speed skating slowed tremendously once the mist made contact with her body. The ice rodent skated forward awkwardly before jumping and beginning its drill like spin. Ian grimaced, realizing the fault in his plan. I can't even see Tentacruel, what's that mean for Sandslash?

  "Barrier!" Sinclair ordered bluntly.

  A slight bit of dark pink drew Ian's attention, and he smirked. Thanks for that, idiot. Sandslash now fully spinning like a drill and launched itself at the pink glow amidst the haze and crashed into Tentacruel once more. The mist quickly began dissipating from Sandslash's windy wake, and Ian got a good glimpse of Sandslash drilling into Tentacruel, this time not so smoothly. I almost exclusively train Sandslash with Snowscape and its buffs active… When Sandslash began slowing down, the ice rodent leapt away from Tentacruel although Sandslash landed just short of land, instead splashing right into the water. Crap! Sandslash disappeared under the water for a moment before climbing back up, its claws having dug deeply in the side. Thank goodness!

  "Tentacruel, Bubble Beam!" Sinclair ordered. A stream of glowing bubbles of blue energy crashed into Sandslash, detonating on contact and pushing Sandslash further back.

  "Sandslash, Icicle Crash!" Ian ordered desperately.

  Sandslash pointed its claws and manifested three thick cones of ice and launched them at the opposing Tentacruel. The jellyfish dove underwater, easily dodging the large projectiles which crashed onto the other side of the canal.

  "You thought too much!" Sinclair declared, the mist shrouding parts of him from Ian's vision. Ian then noticed a blue glow on Sinclair's wrist and his heart skipped a beat. No! Sinclair brought the Z-Ring close to his mouth and whispered something before raising his right hand high, wrist aglow with bright blue Z-Energy. "Hydro Vortex!"

  The glow immediately shifted to Tentacruel and the monstrous jellyfish fired a rocket of water at Ian's still recovering Sandslash, which Ian caught but a glimpse of before it became enveloped in the now high-pressured vortex. Ian watched on, slack-jawed and in disbelief. Sandslash is toast, and there goes my chance to use a Z-Move. I might be royally fucked here.

  Once the tremendous vortex of water began flooding the battlefield, Ian sighed with regret as he saw Sandslash's fainted body laying face down on the puddle-filled ground. I got greedy. Just have Morgrem and Blastoise left now. Slugg where the hell are you? Ian recalled Sandslash mournfully, then threw Blastoise's ball towards the canal to avoid Tentacruel's Toxic Spikes, a notable damper in his demeanor.

  Blastoise manifested with a fierce gurgle before it turned into shocked whine, with purple spots appearing on Blastoise's face. Really, Toxic Spikes?

  Sinclair smirked as he shook his head. "Ain't no loopholes in Pokemon battles like these."

  Ian's scowl tightened. But Deerling couldn't use Sand Attack on a stone floor, dammit. Now Blastoise is effectively on a timer. "Blastoise, Skull Bash!" Ian shouted, realizing he had very little idea of Blastoise's new moves.

  "Venoshock!" Sinclair ordered ruthlessly.

  Blastoise had just started lowering its head when dark purple bolts struck Blastoise, making it tense with pain, the purple spots on the visible parts of its head pulsed. Need to end this quickly. Sandslash did get a couple Drill Runs off. Blastoise then launched itself over the water aglow with white energy, crashing into Tentacruel forcefully. The action went underwater and Ian took a look behind him, hoping to see Slugg running towards him as quickly as the chubby guy's legs could carry him, only to see flashes of what he assumed was Hyde's fight against the enemies.

  Refocusing on the battle at hand, Blastoise resurfaced further back from its adversary, while the battered Tentacruel surfaced looking rather lopsided with half of its crown submerged. Just a bit more, Blastoise. Ian gasped as a thought occurred to him. "Blastoise, get out of the water and use Rapid Spin!" Ian commanded.

  "Hit it with another Venoshock!" Sinclair ordered mercilessly. Before Blastoise could move, more bolts of dark purple struck Blastoise, part of it shooting into Blastoise's shell.

  Blastoise winced as the purple blotches on its head flared up once more, but the turtle banked to its right and got to mostly dry land with a wave. "Now Rapid Spin!" Blastoise retreated into its shell and began spinning around the battlefield at a ridiculous rate, with clouds of dark purple rising in its wake.

  "Venoshock!" Sinclair ordered. Blastoise's shell tilted slightly, which launched it into the air just high enough to dodge the incoming Venoshock's bolts. Blastoise's momentum gave it just enough momentum to carry it over the water's edge and right on track for Tentacruel.

  "Bite!" Ian shouted frantically, trying to remember the only physical attacks Blastoise had that could be used this quickly. Blastoise landed on top of Tentacruel with a large splash, but quickly maneuvered both Pokemon under the water. Ian watched tensely, seeing some stray tentacles breach the surface for mere moments before going back down.

  Suddenly Blastoise arose from the water with Tentacruel's smaller red core in its mouth, the rest of the adversary's body hanging limp. "Blastoise you are so awesome," Ian said under his breath.

  "That Blastoise has got quite a bit of spunk," Sinclair commented as he recalled Tentacruel in a red beam of light. Blastoise winced painfully, the purple blotches of its poisoned status flaring up once more. Wait, Blastoise has Ice Type moves, maybe I can pull off a Z-Move with him in place of Sandslash? "But not enough!" Sinclair shouted as he tossed a Poke Ball in the air, and Ian's heart sank at the sight of the newly manifested opponent. The rodent had brown-ish orange fur with a white belly and its tail was long and thin until its end, where it expanded and the rodent stood on it almost like a board. An Alolan Raichu? Now of all times? Remembering that Sinclair largely dealt with threats at sea and having Pokemon like Whimsicott and Alolan Raichu that could essentially hover above the water's surface and deal super effective damage to water Pokemon did nothing to calm him. I got one shot at trying this Z-Move with Blastoise.

  "Ice Beam!" Ian commanded.

  "Electric Terrain!" Sinclair ordered.

  Blastoise fired a stream of Ice TE at Raichu, who quickly surfed its way into the air, sparks emitting from its surfboard-like tail as it dodged the attack with ease. "Thunderbolt!" Sinclair roared. Alolan Raichu then lit up with more electric sparks as it surfed towards Blastoise. The poisoned turtle withdrew into its shell, knowing its fate before Raichu fired off a yellow lightning strike. The lightning strike's thunderous rumble made Ian recoil as the sound bounced around his mind.

  Raichu surfed back to its position in front of Sinclair, hovering five feet off the ground or so. Blastoise emerged from its shell with a gurgling groan and dipped its head in defeat. I only have Morgrem and he's got Alolan Raichu, Alpha Barbarcle, and another Pokemon I don't know about? Ian dipped his head as he recalled Blastoise. Well Po Town, it was worth a shot.

  "I hope you're not thinking of begging for an out now," Sinclair sneered. "We're way past that."

  Slugg, whatever the fuck's going on man, I need you. I need Sawsbuck!