Gray fields his next pokemon, Azumarill, whose reappearance causes the crowd’s anticipation to grow.

  He appears unimpressed with the mega evolved pokemon in front of him and Gray silently promises that if Azumarill dared to yawn in its face, he’d deduct some of his reward treats.

  Thankfully, Azumarill doesn’t do anything too blatant. Gray can’t do anything about the boredom that seems to ooze out of him, so he’ll just have to spin it as overconfidence on his pokemon’s part.

  Steelix begins the match with an Iron Tail, opting to take the upperhand from the very start, preventing any set ups from happening.

  Azumarill fortunately dodges, though he was blown back from the force of a massive pokemon giving it their all in one move.

  They continue their cat and mouse chase, Azumarill idly taking the aftermath of each sweep. Steelix, feeling the momentum shift against him, goes for a more creative approach — he unleashes his Iron Tail vertically, starting from the ground and ending towards the sky. Though he could probably see the intentions behind the change up, Azumarill remains passive.

  Gray feels hopeful that Azumarill seemed to have gotten the memo. Perhaps his ‘loss’ for this bout would appear more organic than Carbink’s. He generously promises to reward Azumarill a bit more.

  Once the fairy is forced midair, Steelix’s eyes gleam as he fires off a Stone Edge, trying to catch Azumarill off-guard. Unfortunately, being up in the air wasn’t new territory for the fairy type for he was able to dodge the jutting of rocks by using Aqua Tail as a counterweight. It’s a particularly mesmerising set of movements, Azumarill twisting regally in the air using nothing but his tail to force movement.

  He somersaults forward to avoid a Stone Edge from behind, using the approaching rock to place his feet on something solid. As soon as both his feet are planted firmly, he uses Bounce to shoot towards his opponent.

  Much too quick for the bulky pokemon to avoid, he smacks Steelix across the face with a Play Rough. Despite resisting the move, Steelix groans in pain. Now close to his opponent uninhibited, Azumarill is able to lay a steady beatdown of Play Rough, a flea with a mean bite jumping all around.

  Gray’s mouth twitches. Should he feel grateful that his pokemon is technically complying with the game plan because he was not using any super effective moves?

  “Dig, Steelix.” Brock commands, hoping to dislodge the fairy flitting about his starter.

  Steelix sinks into the ground, disappearing from the field, finally managing to shake off his tail. Azumarill had no choice but to get off, glaring at the ground with contempt.

  His ears kept twitching, and it wasn’t difficult for Gray to discern that Azumarill could probably still tell where Steelix was from sound alone. He kept up the act though, feigning an inability to locate his opponent.

  He hops back a bit as an Iron Tail appears right in front of him, grabbing the appendage with both hands to prevent it from stabbing into him. Fully occupied, he’s unable to do anything about Steelix’s head that reappears from behind.

  The steel pokemon smashes into Azumarill with an Iron Head, the move out of left field sends him flying and skidding on the ground.

  He collapses in a heap and doesn’t get up, regulating his breathing to pretend at being fainted.

  “Azumarill is unable to battle. Steelix is the winner!”

  The crowd erupts in cheers and shouts, proud and relieved that a major hurdle for Brock has finally been cleared.

  Brock’s younger siblings are so moved they end up crying, and Ash has to field the drops of water that end up on his neck in annoyance.

  The boy couldn’t help but be baffled by the outpour of emotion from the audience. Azumarill had beaten three of Brock’s pokemon back to back, he was already tired so it wasn’t exactly unexpected for him to lose now.

  Still, it certainly was suspicious that Azumarill went down in a single blow from Steelix. Ash vividly recalls him comfortably shrugging off the combination of pissed off Gardevoir and Hatterene. From what he remembers, the moves used by both fairies were more vicious than what Steelix just did.

  “Azumarill was caught off guard by the move and wasn't able to defend himself.”

  Rotom comments just to alleviate Ash’s confusion. Ash nods, mentally reasoning it out that this was the likely cause.

  With two his pokemon knocked out, Gray felt like he had almost completed his civil diligence in ensuring Brock wasn’t too thoroughly humiliated in this match up. It left a bad taste in his mouth, holding back against an opponent like this, but he remains steadfast in his choice.

  He ponders briefly, on Brock's underperformance. Watching him two days ago, he was definitely skilled at handling new trainers, neither too soft nor too hard on rookies. It was a good balance, making him an effective 'early badge' gym leader.

  But facing a higher caliber training and the rock specialist was near floundering.

  Whatever, Gray decided. He'd deal with it later. For now, it was time to get rid of this steel monstrosity.

  He wonders whether Steelix was technically allowed to battle at all because once Onix evolves, it loses its Rock typing, making it a Steel-Ground type. Like with earlier, he chooses to keep his thoughts to himself, deeming it not worth the trouble it could potentially unearth.

  He expands a pokeball in hand and releases his next battler.

  “Cle-fae!” Clefable appears serenely in midair before slowly floating back on the ground. The crowd murmurs at the relatively rare pokemon’s appearance.

  “Aren’t you a Fairy type trainer? Why the Clefable?”

  Gray works doubletime to stamp out the annoyance Brock’s question gives him. “It’s a common misconception. The Clefairy-line are actually Fairy type, not Normal type.”

  Gray interrupts just as Brock gears up to ask a follow up question. “All my pokemon are fairy types. Besides, do you really want to discuss typings in the middle of battle?” He gives a pointed look at Steelix, causing Brock to flush.

  In all actuality, Gray had more of a right to raise up the typing issue considering he’s challenging a Rock-type gym, making Brock, as the defending gym leader, technically more beholden to type restrictions than Gray was.

  “Iron Head, Steelix.”

  “Hmm, blast em’ away.”

  Steelix begins moving towards Clefable, his tough head glowing silver. In response, Clefable uses Fire Blast to stop him in his tracks, the flames blasting through the steel type, drenching him in a world of fire. Clefable immediately follows up with Chilling Water, barely a pause in transition.

  The quick change of type attack rapidly cools a previously hot Steelix, causing him pain and making his body ache.

  Clefable cleverly weaves his Fire Blasts & Chilling Waters into simultaneous attacks with simple waves of his fingers, the pleasant smile his species was known for plastered firmly on his face.

  Deeming his opponent sufficiently occupied, he splays all the fingers of one hand, causing a whirl of flames to appear on his palm. Extending his hand out, the burst of flame is thrown out in an intense Flamethrower. The increase in intensity causes Steelix to roar.

  “Dig, Steelix!”

  Before the steel type could escape into the ground, Clefable puts both hands together to shoot out an Ice Beam.

  The immediate change in temperature, the extremes of hot and cold, causes a rapid expansion and contraction of air. Steelix’s eyes widen in shock as the back to back move results in an explosion, his own conductive body the testing site.

  Dust settling reveals a panting Steelix on his last legs. While his species was known for their tankiness, maintaining a mega evolution and battling three powerful pokemon back to back was finally taking its toll.

  “Show them what you’re made of Clefable.”

  Before anyone could blink, Clefable was rushing at Steelix, one hand coated in the swirling, green glob of a Drain Punch and the other in the dancing red flames of a Fire Punch.

  The audience pauses in shock at the sight. As Pewter natives, they were aware of the Clefairy-Clefable line that lived in the depths of the nearby Mt. Moon. They were a relatively timid species, said to only appear when one needed help and only ever to those they deem worthy. As a result, it wasn’t a simple matter of desire that leads to one catching them.

  From what people could gather over the years, Clefairy weren’t inherently attracted to strong trainers taking on the gym challenge. The species prioritised companionship to strength, so they were not typically drawn to battlers.

  Pewter natives had respect and gratefulness for the species, regarding them as guardians of Mt. Moon who sometimes maintained safety for people. It was even said that the truly kind-hearted would not perish when traversing the mountain.

  So their shock was palpable when they finally witnessed a Clefable standing toe to toe with the mega evolved Steelix of a gym leader.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Clefable was skipping about, hopping here and there, pausing only to punch the metallic snake with either a Drain Punch or Fire Punch. All the while, he maintained the genial smile on his face.

  It was disconcerting that Clefable was able to manage two different moves in tandem for it was normally deemed a sign of a powerful pokemon. Furthermore, neither move was his native fairy type. Learning to manipulate type coverages required training and repetition, so how trained was Clefable to be able to wield two non-native elements simultaneously?

  Some theorised him as an outlier, but it mattered very little even if he was; there have always been cases of some pokemon being stronger than another within the same species.

  Clefable’s showing in this battle was just tangible proof that a Clefable could be strong.

  The fairy continued with his actions, deeming gravity a mere suggestion as he skipped in the air.

  “Sandstorm, Steelix!”

  Steelix summoned a sand and rock to whirl all around the arena, hoping the winds would blow his opponent away.

  Gray clicked his tongue. Three matches later, and it was only now when Steelix was reaching the end of his strength did Brock use Sandstorm. Has he not realised Steelix’s Sand Force ability? It was not particularly showy, but surely he must have noticed his Steelix’s Rock, Steel and Ground moves hitting harder in a Sandstorm.

  Clefable had to stop his barrage to deal with the Sandstorm on the field. He leapt back, covering his eyes to prevent debris from irritating them.

  Taking advantage of the lull, Brock commanded his pokemon to get away with a Magnet Rise.

  When Steelix began rising off the ground, Clefable gave a full body shudder. He vibrated in place, anticipating what his trainer was about to command him to do.

  Sighing, Gray couldn’t help but wonder again. Wasn’t Brock supposed to be a Rock specialist? Why insist on flying up instead of burrowing down? Unbeknownst to the gym leader, he had just given Clefable the opportunity to use his favorite move.

  “We’re fighting against a Rock type team, Clefable. We should help keep them grounded,”

  Clefable began waving both fingers in the air, a little jive to go with the vicious happiness he felt. His smile was calm, benevolent, but one look in his eyes would expose the masochistic glee within.

  “Gravity.”

  Suddenly, and with little warning, the world shifted. The Sandstorm Steelix summoned stopped billowing, all the grains and clumps of sand falling to the ground to create a miniature desert on the field.

  And Steelix, who was a heavy pokemon with a body made of dense metal, fell. And he fell hard.

  He smashed against the ground, disturbing the sand just collected. The gravitational force had a stronger effect on him due to his bigger mass, forcing him completely prone on the ground. He squirmed and shifted like a worm, unable to get back up.

  Clefable giggled and tittered at him, chastising him for being naughty. He snapped a finger, and the Gravity became stronger. The increased finally rendered Steelix still. He roared and roared, but was ultimately unable to move.

  The stadium gasped in shock at the demonstration.

  Indigo held a common belief that the bigger the pokemon was, the meaner and tougher they were. Seeing Clefable, a timid species battling and showcasing strength never before seen had their jaws dropping.

  It was entirely different having a ‘weak’ species dominate a ‘strong’ species into helplessness. As Steelix struggled on the ground and continued to roar, it was suddenly believable that fairy pokemon could beat dragons…

  … for Clefable just proved that he could render his opponents flightless.

  Lance Blackthorn sat in his gilded Champion’s office, shuffling papers about. One side of the room was nothing but glass, allowing for ample natural light in the otherwise tightly enclosed space.

  The Champion was alone, the sounds of a battle playing on one of his monitors.

  He had told himself that he wasn’t truly interested in watching the younger Oakson battle, but taking a few peeks at the screen as he worked was rather harmless.

  As Champion of the Indigo region, his thoughts and actions had a direct impact on citizens’ day-to-day life. He had a duty to them, to his people and to his clan to have his best foot forward at all times. Thus, he couldn’t afford to get too distracted by insecure nobodies who had nothing to show for themselves besides the silver spoon they were born with.

  Initially, he had sneered at the fairy trainer’s first pokemon. An Azumarill, of all things. Lance suspected that as a native Johtonian, he was more familiar than the Kantonian on the species. Weak and unremarkable, he had scoffed when it was recently discovered that the Marill-Azumarill line were Fairy type.

  He ignored the screen in favor of his work, sure that Brock, despite being neutralised, would have made quick work of the weakling. If anyone were to ask, he would insist it was mere coincidence that he was looking up just as Azumarill used Aqua Jet on Golem.

  Lance had held his breath with the crowd as the dust settled, only to reveal a fainted Golem.

  From that moment, he observed the match more carefully. Impossibly, the Azumarill was able to handle everything the Pewter gym leader threw at him. Were it any other trainer, he would have called the showing impressive. But knowing this was nothing but a filthy, sneaky Fairy type, Lance knew there was probably some sort of trick or caveat to it.

  Sure enough, the matches after the interim proved just how feeble fairy pokemon were. The floating fairy-rock thing had a decent showing, nothing as impressive as Azumarill, but its nature shone through when it had to be coaxed into battle by the young Oakson. If anything, its reluctance to battle was all the evidence Lance needed to prove that all fairies were spineless cowards deep down.

  The semi-decent Azumarill performed well, but it obviously lacked the stamina that came inherently with dragon types. Had it been his Dragonites battling, Lance was certain they would have completed the sweep with ease.

  The Indigo Champion fully expected a similarly cowardly showing from the Clefable, so he admits he was rather stunned to see it wield dual elements with finesse. He had never truly paid attention to the Clefairy line, so it was not surprising that he was unaware of their slight potential for being formidable.

  Clefairy-Clefable trainers were few and far between, so the potential for the species was probably just undocumented. He looked forward to Professor Oak’s next series of studies on Fairy types, for Lance was sure some attention would be paid to Clefable’s battle capability.

  Just as Lance was looking up, which he again would insist as coincidence, he saw Clefable force the Mega Steelix back to the ground. As the steel type struggled on the ground, rendered flightless by a single move on Clefable’s part, Lance’s brow couldn’t help but furrow.

  He hastily banished his mind’s eye that had replaced the Steelix with his own dragon types. Lance Blackthorn, the reigning Champion of Indigo, would not be humbled like that Steelix on screen.

  Figuring that Gray’s chances of obtaining the right to challenge him was an impossibility, he settled back on his throne with ease.

  Steelix breathed heavily, the aches he felt due to continuous battling at an all time high.

  He longed to succumb to his exhaustion, to close his eyes and content himself with his performance thus far. But he knew he couldn’t. Not like this.

  Steelix was Brock’s starter pokemon. He had been with Brock from the very beginning, accompanying a boy with big dreams who wanted nothing but the best for his family.

  Brock was a talented child, his affinity with pokemon something to behold. Unfortunately, being the son of a gym leader had its caveats. Everyone expected the world of his trainer, but how much could Brock give when he was given barely anything himself?

  His dad was over-obsessed with his wife, choosing to cave to all her desires at the expense of the rest of their family. Everything she wanted was served on a silver platter, and the rest of the family had to content themselves with the leftovers.

  As the eldest, Brock had to parent his siblings or risk them falling completely off the wayside. He became brother and father at a young age, doing what he could for his family.

  His journey was the only time he was able to free himself from the responsibility, an opportunity he and Steelix seized completely.

  Brock rose through the ranks, proving his mettle and ancestry proud with stellar performances. As his first pokemon, Steelix’s connection to his trainer was the strongest, so he stuck with Brock through the thick and thin of it all.

  When Brock was made gym leader, it was bittersweet. They had known he would take over the gym one day, but the haste and circumstance it happened in left more to be desired.

  As the family-man and sole breadwinner, Brock had to sacrifice his own desires and comfort to do his best not just for his family but for the legacy of his forefathers.

  All of sudden, Brock had to shift focus into keeping the gym running. Steelix had chosen to keep his bitterness to himself because it would not be productive to add to the weight on Brock’s shoulders.

  He had been ecstatic when his trainer announced the personal team challenge, for it was an opportunity for the team to stretch their legs. For Brock, it was also a chance to battle again without holding back, a taste of the life they had left behind.

  Unfortunately, it quickly went crumbling down. Golem, a longtime partner, fell to one move from their opponent. Kabutops and Omastar both did what they could, but it was to no avail.

  So Steelix, as the longest member and as the literal and figurative big(gest) brother had to step up.

  He had done his job, beating two opponent’s pokemon, one of which was the boulder that had caused so much trouble to his team. But to falter now, and in this manner, reduced helplessly on the ground, would crash the morale of his team. Of his family.

  So he struggled against the weight, he breathed through the pain, and forced his heavy body to move.

  Clefable kept an eye on his opponent, sensing a shift. The Steelix had been close to succumbing, but it remained relentless, doing what little it could to try and break free.

  He remained attuned to his opponent’s state, carefully keeping the state of gravity constant and steady. He could have easily increased its effect, winning him the match, but that wasn’t the goal.

  Incrementally, Steelix began to move. He first managed to raise his head, followed by his body. He shook intensely from the effort, his body had long given up, only running on fumes and determination of the mind.

  Clefable made a show of dancing his fingers around, pretending to try harder in keeping his opponent grounded. Inside, he was gleeful of how much this Steelix struggled and overcame. He knew that the aftermath of this match would see Steelix stronger.

  Brock stood by and watched his starter struggle, his fists clenched so tight he was beginning to draw blood. Outwardly he looked calm, and only through his eyes did the fiery intensity helt felt show through.

  When Steelix’s massive head was far enough off the ground, he gathered energy in his mouth for one final gambit. Concentrating on his bond with Brock and his desperation to show his might as his starter, he poured everything he could into this last act, summoning up dredges of energy from deep within.

  On his side of the field, Clefable wanted to finish this match with a bang of his own, making it as memorable as possible for everyone watching. He focused on his species’ innate connection with the moon, drawing forth the moonlight that was his constant companion.

  Behind him, an illusory moon began to form, similar to Carbink’s earlier move but completely differing in scale and detail. While Carbink created a suggestion of a Moon, Clefable made it seem like the moon actually descended to Earth. Every crater was carefully crafted and distinguishable, and even the stars in the background shone bright.

  “Hyper Beam!” came Brock’s final command.

  “Moonblast,” Gray instructed.

  Steelix’s gathered energy struck out of his mouth, a concentrated beam with everything he had left within him.

  Clefable threw the moon he had created in a sweeping arc, carefully avoiding the path of Steelix’s attack. The Moonblast had gravity of its own, pulling some of the strewn rocks in its path to Steelix.

  Two explosions occurred when both moves struck true, causing the protective barriers around the field to shake. Brock's eyes never wavered as he stared at the field in front of him.

  When everything settled, Steelix was back to his base form and fainted, completely slumped over. Clefable was in a similar boat, prone sideways with eyes closed serenely. He had one dramatically sprawled out, the perfect image of a heroic death.

  The announcer waited for one more beat before shouting: “Both Steelix and Clefable are unable to battle!”

  Gray’s lips twitched. He recalled Clefable but was unable to whisper a single word of reassurance to his pokeball.

  After this, he was definitely teaching his pokemon how to act better. Clefable went through his entire match untouched, so was it believable for him to faint in one hit from Steelix? He could do nothing but hope no one had noticed or looked too deeply into it.

  “Challenger Gray has lost three of his pokemon. We will move on to our final break. The match will resume in 15 minutes.”

  Brock steadied his breathing, careful to keep the elation he felt off his face. The score was currently 4-3 in Gray’s favor. Somehow, Steelix had managed to claw back their team’s deficit to nearly even the match.

  He could taste victory right at the tip of his tongue, the hope in his heart beginning to rise once more. Brock as a gym leader and trainer would honor the sacrifice his starter just made.

  He would win this match. For his reputation, for his family and for his team, he swore he would win.