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((I had a flying Gyarados once. Nobody gave a s**t then.))

Calm down?! No! Henrietta could feel it. She was standing on the edge of a cliff. She had been for so long it felt like. One more step and she'd fall.

But now she could see it. So high up, the clouds at eye level. She was level with the sky. This was it, the end. The pinnacle, the edge. If she calmed down here, she was going to fall. Plummet to the pitiful wastelands of the bottom - a place she'd struggled so hard to climb out of already.

If she pushed, just a little more, grasped that power she could feel at the edge of her being, she could fly from this cliff.

Soar into new heights.

Her hand reached out, trying to physically grasp what she could mentally feel.

"I've always fought against these odds! I'll win, because of my effort!"

Her fingers closed. She could feel it, it wasn't just a bond between her and that power, she could feel Socant. Feel his location, a bond between them. It wasn't like understanding him on a level that N could, not to say that it was a tower of understanding with various floors.

No, it was like a different method. A sort of power. Not his. Hers. There was a bond of power between them, and Henrietta was funneling it all inward. That's where that power had come from.

The explosion of energy, the dust, the matter of trees splintered and broken obscuring the battleground, the result.

"Socant!" she called out to him. Not in desperation, but with a tone fitting a trainer. Authority - not over his being but over the strategy. She felt, through this bond, that Socant could understand this.

As the dust settled, there was no tiny bug in that silhouette.

Socant had evolved.

Her fingers had grasped it, that power.

The electricity of it, the crackling.

Incredible.

Socant stared at Solosis', or where the opponent should be. He could feel two energies within him, two different elements. It was different than the sensation of trying to feel the electricity he kept in sacs - it was like an entity on a different level. He himself in two forms. Electricity and Bug. Elements of his soul.

It felt amazing.

"Let's end this, Wayne."

Speaking of finality.

Speaking like the superior one.

Socant could feel that emotion. Where he'd saw something potentially hopeless, trusting that Henrietta's lack of order had some form and function, some reasoning. Confidence. Pride.

Alright, he'd pull from the elements. The bug energy, a quick shot, fast paced. It wasn't manipulation, it was simply easier access to something he could've done all along if he'd found it before.

Signal Beam fired.

That's what trainers were for. Henrietta was watching the battle instead of Wayne now.

Yeah, this is a good feeling.

A confident smirk was on her face. Duosion's movements could escape Socant but not Henrietta's eyes. "Up! Stringshot !"

((since it's not stated, it's just an insert line for wherever Duosion is, since Henrietta can see him.))

Socant was in the air, over the powerful Psycho Shock. The tingling of it passing over, it wasn't unlike his own electricity.

The string shot fired off toward Duosion. If it landed Socant would tug it, attempting to force Duosion toward him to bring the fight to a physical level.

It helped that, despite Duosion's statistical increase, Socant was still three times faster than him, possibly four with Duosion's speed having been lowered previously.

((Nupe.))

((Clearly said which direction he was moving rolleyes razz ))

Socant hadn't learned from last time, apparently. Attempting to ensnare Duosion with String Shot would only slow the bug down when it came to evading the psychic's counterattack.

And as already stated, String Shot would lower Duosion's rolling speed, but do little to impair his Self-Telekinesis, which ran off his psychic power. And as has been stated many times, that power is currently enormous.

So with Socant swinging over his Psyshock, (presumably he was swinging, unless he has wings, which he doesn't) he'd require a moment to orient himself to face Duosion. A moment was all Wayne needed to order "Telekinesis!" and Duosion, who was easily able to track his opponent's movements throughout all this, would fire off the telekinetic energy wave.

As before, if Socant were to trade String Shot, which Henrietta and he seem to believe is doing something, for Telekinesis, the bug pokémon would frozen in the air. If this were to happen, Wayne would immediately order a "Psyshock!" that would jolt out and obliterate the pokémon.

If Socant avoided Telekinesis, then Wayne would quickly command "Psyshock!" anyway. Unless Socant were to suddenly gain a boost of momentum (I assume that hes at the peak of his swing because that would be the point where it's easiest to aim) then the psychic blast would crack into his underside and blow him up.

((I could be a d**k and point out that the huge increase in bodily proportions would likely disorientate Socant until he gets used to his new form, but I won't.))

((Get Ready for Luka's Gym Battle Part 2! The shockwaves will appear in Part 3, because it will make more sense there.))

In unison, Luka and Burgh released their Pokémon. It was now Dwebble versus Squirt. Time for Round 2. This should be an easy victory, after all, Luka had a major type advantage.

"Aqua Jet!"

"Smack Down."

As Squirt charged towards the Dwebble he was thwarted mid air by the Smack Down. He crashed into the floor and send some of the floor panels into the air.

"Ancient Power"

The Dwebble was still in the air and had no hope of avoiding the huge rocks that were thrown at it. It was a sitting Ducklett, so to speak.

"Withdraw and Rock Polish."

The Dwebble crawled into its shell and its shell seemed to glint as it became more and more aerodynamic. The rocks hit it, but since it had withdrawn it didn't seem to be that bothered other than being tossed around a little.

Squirt sort of growled before launching another Aqua Jet to meet the Dwebble before it landed. He wasn't fast enough and was treated to another Smack Down. The Dwebble's speed had increased and now Squirt was at a disadvantage. A really quick and small target? It was like trying to blow up a moving needle in a haystack. Squirt simply wasn't that refined with his aim and it was only now that Luka realised this. Squirt had never really bothered about aiming, he just sort of pointed in what he thought was the right direction and hoped for the best.

"Squirt, wait for it to come closer and then Crunch."

Burgh laughed so loudly that the room seemed to shake. "Begin."

The Dwebble did something, but Luka couldn't tell what it had done. Then the Dwebble charged in to use Bug Bite on Squirt's tail. Squirt span around quick enough to catch the Dwebble red-handed and Crunched down hard on the bug Pokémon's face. It was small enough to fit in his mouth and Squirt could have eaten the Dwebble were he inclined to eat them, but, he wasn't and this was someone's friend.

The Dwebble's rock began the glow brightly. Squirt was momentarily blinded and he let go of the Dwebble. Luka's eyes widened in horror as he realised what the Dwebble had done. "SQUIRT! GET OUTTA THERE!"

Squirt couldn't see, but he hastily tried to Aqua Jet away from the Dwebble. Being blinded, he crashed into one of the honeyed walls. He was trapped. The Dwebble crawled up to him and a mad glint was in its eyes.

"Solarbeam."

Squirt didn't stand a chance. He was trapped. The move was quadruple effective against him. He fainted before the beam ended.

Luka felt a tear run down his cheek. "Squirt..."

Burgh recalled the Dwebble. "Still as naive as ever. You still rely too heavily on brute force. You need to be tactical about these things. If you don't learn, you will never improve and you will never beat me. Looks like it is one all. Are you ready for the final battle?"

"Come back buddy." Luka recalled Squirt and he held the ball close to his chest for a moment. "We'll win it, don't you worry Squirt." He looked at Burgh with a steely determination. "We're ready and we're going to take you down."

"Will you now?" Burgh walked slowly back to his painting. "I've heard a rumour at the Pokémon Centre that no trainer should ever take on my gym between two and five in the afternoon. Do you know why?"

Luka shook his head. "No, I don't."

"It's because.... She is awake."

From up on a balcony ((Which I have now just invented for the sake of a set piece)), a cloaked figure could be seen. It vaulted over the railing and slowly landed on the ground in front of Burgh. The figure tore of its cloak to reveal a Leavanny with a blank glare on her face.

Luka didn't want to try out Misa just yet, she hadn't had any training yet. That just left one Pokémon to take on the Leavanny. Tayla.

It would be Swadloon Vs. Leavanny. But who would win? It was impossible, wasn't it?

((To Be Continued... Later this evening if I can be bothered. XD))

(( eek NOOOOOOO!))



The Ranger clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. “Well, how about we clock it up to a misunderstanding? I really don’t wanna get in trouble with the boss.”

Crofton’s eyes widened as he brought a fist down onto his open palm. “Oh, I know! How about some free RANGER LESSONS! You can learn how to be a man and get your R-R-R-RAAAANGERS DEGREE!”

Crofton pumped his arm up into the air and did a Captain Morgan pose on the hood of his car. He flexed his large muscles, causing Sazu to look away and pretend she was just passing through.

****

Bronius said nothing in return. Instead, he took a deep breath.

Upon exhaling, a shockwave emanated around the far edges of the room, causing the objects and people near the walls to topple over. Gorm's Aura would suddenly disappear, as would anybody else's near Bronius's radius.

The Sage brought his arms to his side. As he did so, a metallic shimmer could briefly be seen inside of his sleeves. "This is not up to you. Your orders are inert now. There are more important things to do. Do not let your emotions get the better of you."