Chapter 165
The back and forth had begun, and after thirty seconds of neither himself or Gardenia giving orders, Ethan saw the way the wind was blowing… Pachirisu was going to lose. Oddish with Growth’s boost and enough speed to outrun Pachirisu, alongside its use of Mega Drain to restore itself, wasn’t a combination his first partner was suited for. Pachirisu was flagging already, tiring out from nonstop sprinting and searching as he launched Swifts while trying to close the distance.
Ethan wanted to win, but he didn’t want to win that badly. He made a call. “Pachirisu’s done. I’m recalling him.”
The red recall beam of Pachirisu’s pokeball collided with his devastated and downtrodden squirrel. Pachirisu looked like the world had ended when Ethan spoke, but Ethan knew that Pachirisu knew that this was for the best and it wasn’t his fault. Actually, Ethan was quite proud of him for putting on a good show.
“He’s out of the battle for good now. There’s no swaps in this match.” Gardenia spoke it as a question and a statement, informing him of the rules, yet confused as to why he’d done it.
“It’s fine.” Ethan carelessly replied. While a gym battle was stressful, he was just here to try it. It wasn’t like these badges were the end all be all of his life. “I believe Smeargle can win regardless.”
With that statement, Ethan chucked Smeargle’s ball out into the field. Before he even solidified, Ethan gave an order. “Flamethrower. Burn it all down.”
Gardenia clicked her tongue—somethign he only saw through the small screen before him—then ordered. “Powder Plume.”
“Powder Plume?” Ethan barely finished his question as Smeargle’s tail flicked forward as he spun, sending spiraling and roaring orange flames outwards in all directions. The thick tall grass of the arena instantly dried and caught on fire, spreading its devastation throughout the entirety of the field. Thanks to Sunny Day, the power of the Flamethrower was even boosted. Just before the entire arena was burnt to soot, a rainbow plume of sparkling dust erupted from beside Smeargle, who was still spinning to release flames in all directions. The instant the multicolored powder touched a wisp of flame, the arena exploded.
Gray ash and a concussive blast slammed into Ethan, forcing him to take an unsteady step back as his hands shielded his eyes. When he next looked at the field, he found Gardenia’s unconscious Oddish being recalled and the crumbling blue hexagons of Smeargle’s Protect falling to the floor. Smeargle was startled, judging by his wide and surprised eyes, but untouched by the explosion.
As was foretold, Protect was the best move ever.
“You know,” Gardenia spoke to break through the silence that had descended. “Thanks to you and your memories, I learned a lot about many different types of pokemon which I'd never even heard of before. While we know that some pokemon are inherently stronger than others, we never had a metric for it. BST, is what you referred to it as?”
BST, or Base Stat Total, was the metric used by adding up the six different stats of a pokemon and assigning it as a number. For example, Meloetta's BST was six-hundred, no matter which form she was in. While Oddish’s was… well, he didn’t actually remember nowadays but it was around three-hundred. This was used to determine the overall base strength of pokemon.
“And?” Ethan asked, seeing as Gardenia was stalling, wanting to obviously talk.
“Smeargle, for all his utility, is quite weak.” She idly remarked… just as Sunny Day faded.
Ethan’s incredulous laugh echoed out onto the gray and ashen field. Smeargle turned away from Gardenia and looked at him, surprised by his outburst. Gardenia’s eyes narrowed in disappointment. “What? Did I say something funny?”
Once he calmed down, mood much lighter now that the laughs were out of him, he looked directly across the field into Gardenia’s eyes and shook his head in a pitying fashion. “You poor thing. You obviously didn’t get all my knowledge. This was something I've been suspecting for a long time from hanging around Joyce.” Ethan pointed to Smeargle, who was watching Ethan with his tail hugged against his chest. “Did you know that in my world that Smeargle was banned multiple times from competitive formats? Did you know they had to nerf a legendary pokemon because Smeargle existed? Smeargle may not be the strongest pokemon, that is true, but he is most certainly not weak at all. Smeargle has the potential to be the best pokemon in the world.”
Then, he threw out a challenge. “Throw out your next pokemon and we’ll show you what a Smeargle is capable of.”
Face devoid of emotion, Gardenia did just that. She grabbed the other pokeball she had set aside and lobbed it out onto the field… and out came a Lombre, Lotad’s evolution. It seemed that Gardenia was using pokemon that were a little too familiar with Ethan and his ranch. He wouldn’t be surprised to find a Skiddo or a Gogoat in the other balls she had set aside.
“Bubble Beam!” Gardenia shouted with authority.
“Dark Void.” Ethan said solemnly, as if ordering an execution.
Lombre stood his ground and opened its beak-like snout to send forth a barrage of supersized bubbles out at a breakneck speed. Smeargle waved his tail about like a wand, created a massive black and purple pulsing orb that unerringly and slowly barreled forward. Dark Void and Bubble Beam met head on, and to Gardenia’s surprise, Dark Void won.
Ethan knew he was cheating a bit by picking Smeargle, who had already done a few gyms with his old trainer Max—Four gyms in total. Yet, Ethan wasn’t trying to play very fair in the first place. Smeargle had experience, but never asked to battle and enter the limelight, unlike Chatot, Pachirisu, or Tinkatuff. This was one of the reasons he chose Smeargle as well, as he hadn’t actually battled with his painter-friend before in serious settings. It was also an opportunity to show off what he could do.
Lombre, seeing the pulsing black and purple sphere of unknown potential barreling its way, did the only reasonable action available to it and dodged. Ethan instantly gave another order. “Nasty Plot!”
It was time to show Gardenia what a Smeargle without a four move limitation, as much paint and time as it needed, and living at a ranch that tutors moves could do.
Smeargle gave himself a nod, signaling that he’d heard Ethan, then grabbed his chin as if he was thinking as Dark Void crashed into the ground, sending Lombre dashing away. As if he had a good idea, a metaphorical lightbulb going off in his mind, Smeargle perked up as his special attack got boosted.
“Psychic! It’s a water and grass type!” Ethan shouted again, informing Smeargle of his enemy. He’d already sat down and explained the type chart to all of his pokemon, so they would know what worked best in what scenario, and Smeargle was one of the brightest pokemon he had. He was a quick learner. It wasn’t ideal that Smeargle didn’t know any poison or bug type moves, which would have been super effective, but he did know a single flying type move.
Ethan knew that Smeargle would know what to do when the time came.
Lombre had righted itself after its dodge and wasn’t sure what to do. As Smeargle focused to grasp the pokemon within a psychic grip, Gardenia acted. “Get in close and Drain Punch!”
A fighting type move against the normal type. Smart. Ethan thought as Gardenia walked into his trap.
Lombre was encapsulated by a pinkish purple outline as he stalled in place, Smeargle’s psychic grip squeezing the poor Kappa-like pokemon with a Nasty Plot boosted attack. Lombre grunted, taking the attack, but as soon as the Psychic ended and it landed on its feet, it dashed forward with an armed tucked close to its side, swirling energies encapsulating its fist for a powerful punch.
Without any instruction, Smeargle began to glow a bright blue, his body surging with power as he set his stance. As soon as the two pokemon got into range, a dance began. Smeargle deftly dodged and weaved under Lombre’s wild Drain Punch infused strikes, using a formerly unseen agility that showed his true power. Lombre punched and punched, all hits missing—
Then it got smashed to the side by Smeargle’s disastrous unseen kick, sending the poor pokemon tumbling over the ashy surface of the field before slamming into the far wall of the gym.
Smeargle was not the strongest pokemon, but he was a four badge pokemon regardless of his stats. Smacking a Lombre with a supereffective one-hundred and ten base power Acrobatics? That was enough after taking a Nasty Plot boosted Psychic.
Lombre lay crumpled on the floor, leaned up against the wall, completely unconscious.
The single red beam recalling Lombre into its pokeball by Gardenia signaled the end of the battle. Ethan hopped over the small railing that prevented trainers from entering the field, sending up dried up leaves and ash, then walked forward to Smeargle, who had a surprised but wide smile on his face. Ethan gripped his painter's shoulder and gave it a solid squeeze. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.”
And it was true, and Smeargle felt it. The next thing he knew, he was being wrapped up in a tight hug, Smeargle’s face buried into his stomach.
They’re little moment ended, causing Smeargle to break away as Gardenia’s footsteps crunched the dried leaves beneath her feet as she approached. “Well fought.” She reached into her pocket, withdrawing a small case similar to one for a wedding ring. She opened it, revealing the Eterna City’s Forest Badge. “This is for you.” She held it outwards.
Ethan gave Smeargle a little nudge, sending him tumbling a step forward. When Smeargle turned to look at him, Ethan simply nodded with a smile toward the badge. “Go ahead.”
Smeargle smiled again, then walked forward to collect the badge that he had helped win. He brought it back to Ethan who stored it into his vest with a part of safety.
“For what it’s worth,” Ethan began, looking to Gardenia. “I don’t blame you for not liking me. I understand.” He gestured to himself. “I know what you learned wasn’t pleasant, and I’m not going to sit here and pretend that everything is all fine and dandy with me dropping that trauma bomb on you. I am truly sorry about that, but I was desperate.”
Ethan sucked in a huge breath, released it, then gave her the most sincere look he could. “You earned your spot as a gym leader. Not all of this was pre-ordained by higher powers or something. Perhaps it was all your effort that affected the media in my world? Who knows?”
Gardenia just stared at him, face completely neutral. After two seconds, she held out a different item. “Appology accepted, but I’m still going to keep my distance. We’re not destined to be friends. Here’s your reward.”
Ethan picked up the old-school compact disk and turned it over in his hands. “What is it?”
“It’s a technical machine disk for Grass Knot.” Gardenia explained professionally. “Technical machines are in every PokeMart if you need one. Now, I gotta get going. I have other matches to handle.”
Gardenia started towards the door Ethan entered through as a team of grass pokemon and what looked to be a helper for the gym entered inside. A trio Oddish and Budew, a duo of Roselia, a singular massive Torterra entered the room and scattered about the arena, using their pokemon powers to restore the field back to life. The helper just grabbed a broom and dustpan to begin sweeping up the ash.
That job was going to take awhile.
Ethan tried to look at the young teen who swept up his mess as he passed, guilty for leaving him so much work. Smeargle sank his shoulders, realizing the same and feeling his own awkward emotions. As they passed through into the hallway, Gardenia split apart to leave. “I’ll sort your win with the league like all others. Tell Joyce I said hi.”
“I will. I’d say see you later, but I think that’d be an insult to you.” Ethan said, causing Gardenia’s lips to inch upwards in a smile. “Goodbye. Thanks for the battle.”
She didn’t say anything else as she walked away, leaving it at that.
Now, Ethan just needed to get a technical machine and head on home… Nothing could go wrong from here on out, right?