Pokemon: Gym Leader

What should she do?

There didn't seem to be much of an option—Selene could only try to snap Kartana out of its confusion.

Normally, a confused Pokémon could just be recalled to its Poké Ball and given time to calm down. But with Mean Look still in effect, Kartana couldn't be withdrawn.

That made things tricky.

"Fire Punch."

Dylan didn't hold back. He immediately ordered Sableye to attack.

Flames ignited around Sableye's claw as it charged toward Kartana—not moving too fast, holding back a little in case something unexpected happened.

Confusion wasn't like sleep—the opponent didn't become defenseless. You never knew what they might do next.

"Kartana! Leaf Blade!"

Selene called out, unwilling to give up. She couldn't just surrender like this!

Kartana continued stumbling in dizzy circles, not even showing any signs of having heard her.

Sableye leapt high—Fire Punch slammed down hard on Kartana's tiny body.

BOOM!

Flames burst out, and Kartana let out a sharp cry as it crashed into the ground.

A Fire-type move, and Kartana was 4x weak to Fire.

Still—it wasn't enough for a one-hit KO. Sableye didn't have high Attack, and Kartana's physical Defense was top-tier.

"…It's no use. Trying to make a confused Pokémon obey commands is too difficult."

Yellow sighed.

To be fair, Kartana's current dizzy stumbling was already tame. Some confused Pokémon thrashed wildly, even hurt themselves.

Like right now.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Thudding noises came from the battlefield—Kartana was smashing its head into the ground repeatedly.

Yellow facepalmed. Yeah. Like this.

"Kartana! Wake up already!"

Selene looked miserable, practically tearing her hair out.

"Fire Punch again," Dylan said with a chuckle. He was enjoying this a little too much.

Sableye's small legs carried it forward once more, paw wreathed in flames.

"Kartana!"

As Sableye got close—maybe it was Selene's desperate yelling, maybe sheer luck—but Kartana suddenly stopped mid-head-smash.

Its previously blank eyes flashed with clarity. The blade-like arms lit up with sharp green light—Leaf Blade!

CLANG!

Sableye's Fire Punch struck the glowing blade—but Kartana's arm slashed right through the flames, dispersing them and slicing toward Sableye.

Sableye had been cautious, keeping its guard up. It instantly sprang backward, but not fast enough—Kartana's blade grazed its chest, drawing sparks and a pained grunt.

That hurt!

It didn't land fully, but if it had, the hit would've been devastating.

The power gap between them was crystal clear.

"Nice one, Kartana!!" Selene beamed.

But a second later—her expression froze.

Kartana had gone back to holding its head and groaning in confusion. Then, with a thud, it started banging its head against the ground again.

It wasn't fully snapped out of it.

"Fire Punch."

Dylan's lips curled upward. A moment of clarity in confusion didn't mean the effect was over.

Sableye dashed in once again, flames dancing on its claw.

"Kartana! Use Leaf Blade again!"

Selene pleaded with hope.

…But this time?

Nothing.

Even as Sableye closed in, even as the burning fist descended—Kartana just kept slamming its head into the dirt.

BOOM!

The flames erupted once more, and Kartana collapsed. It had taken too much damage—twice from Fire Punch, plus the self-inflicted hits. It was done.

"Kartana is unable to battle. Sableye wins."

Leaf stepped forward and announced the result.

"God, Sableye is so annoying," Selene muttered, recalling her fainted Kartana with a frustrated huff.

She shot a dark look at the alien-looking puppet.

Ugh! When I go to Hoenn, I'm totally catching one of those creepy little jerks.

But now—she only had one Pokémon left.

Selene looked down at her final Poké Ball, then glanced across at Dylan.

Without realizing it… she'd been pushed to the edge.

"Let me see your final strength, Selene."

Dylan smiled warmly, raising a hand in anticipation.

"Oh, you will!"

Selene's eyes curved into crescents—her pure, confident smile returning.

"Incineroar! Let's do this!"

She threw her last Poké Ball high. A burst of white light—and with a mighty roar, Incineroar landed on the field, arms wide and teeth bared at Sableye.

Selene's very first partner—her ace.

"Let's give it our all, buddy! We're not letting Big Bro Gym Leader look down on us!"

Selene clutched her floral sun hat tightly, burning with fighting spirit.

"ROAR!!"

Incineroar let out a deafening roar—its fierce presence filled the arena.

Intimidate activated!

A ripple of white energy spread from Sableye's body—its Attack was reduced by one stage.

"So full of spirit," Dylan said with a chuckle.

In truth, Sableye was at a big disadvantage here.

Its Prankster-boosted status moves were useless against Dark-types—like Incineroar.

"Flatter!" Dylan still gave the command.

Even without Prankster's priority, the move could still be used.

"Fake Out!" Selene countered instantly.

It wouldn't deal damage to Sableye, but that wasn't the point—she just wanted the priority from Fake Out to get in close and avoid Flatter.

Sableye clapped its hands and cheered loudly, voice filled with exaggerated praise.

But Incineroar didn't flinch. It zipped across the field in a red blur—its Fake Out allowing it to instantly close the distance.

In a flash, Incineroar was behind Sableye.

"Taunt!"

Hands on its hips, Incineroar let out a savage roar straight into Sableye's face.

The ripple of Taunt surged forward—Sableye staggered, eyes narrowing.

"Nice!" Selene grinned. That took care of Sableye's status moves.

"Keep your distance. Use Power Gem!" Dylan decided not to brute force it.

This Incineroar was strong—his student's first Pokémon, her ace. Head-on wasn't wise.

Sableye jumped back—gemstones formed around it and launched forward in a barrage of glowing beams.

"Darkest Lariat!"

Incineroar spun into a fiery tornado—arms out, spinning like a drill.

The rock blasts from Power Gem shattered against the spinning attack.

Incineroar closed in, then—

BOOM!

The spinning blow slammed into Sableye, launching it across the field.

Dark-type: Darkest Lariat!

Being a Ghost-type, Sableye had no resistance to this hit—it landed hard.

Sableye tumbled, then rose with a low growl—its jewel-like eyes glaring at Incineroar.

"Flamethrower!"

Incineroar roared—its belt of flames ignited, spewing a stream of fire straight at Sableye.

"Dodge!"

Sableye sidestepped—but Incineroar sprinted after it, fire still spewing.

Sableye leapt into the air to avoid the flames.

"Throat Chop!"

Black energy surged around Incineroar's claws—it leapt up and struck.

Dark-type: Throat Chop!

"Dodge it!"

Sableye twisted midair—its body bent unnaturally. It managed to barely dodge.

Just barely.

"Power Gem!"

"Darkest Lariat!"

The two Pokémon clashed again—Sableye unleashed a burst of gem-light, while Incineroar spun up to intercept.

BOOM!

Both moves hit—Incineroar winced from the hit, but its spinning arms crashed into Sableye again.

Sableye hit the ground hard. Its defenses were mediocre—two direct hits from Darkest Lariat had left it reeling.

But Power Gem had landed as well—and Rock beats Fire. Even with its modest Special Attack, Sableye had dealt a decent blow.

"Finish it, Incineroar!" Selene's fist pumped skyward, her momentum peaking.

Taunt wouldn't last forever. Once it wore off, Sableye could stall with Pain Split or other tricks.

Selene wasn't giving it that chance.

"Blast Burn!"

ROAR!!

Incineroar's entire body flared with intense red energy—it slammed its fists into the ground.

Cracks spread across the arena—glowing crimson lines racing beneath Sableye.

BOOOOM!!

It was like a volcanic eruption—Blast Burn burst from the ground, engulfing Sableye in a towering inferno.

A Fire-type signature move, known only to Fire-type starters and Mew.

The entire arena was bathed in red light—fans gasped as their eyes reflected the flames.

One second… Two… Three…

The inferno slowly faded. The ground was scorched black—Sableye lay at the center, knocked out.

Not far away, Incineroar stood frozen—its body locked in place from Blast Burn's post-move recoil.

"Sableye is unable to battle. Incineroar wins."

Leaf announced the result.

"Wow! Selene's Incineroar is amazing!" Yellow exclaimed, clapping her hands to her chest, eyes sparkling.

Super strong! It totally dominated Sableye.

"Of course! That's the very first Pokémon Big Bro Gym Leader gave Selene—her absolute favorite," Asha said proudly, beaming with pride.

She couldn't help it—Selene was her bestie.

"Big Sis is really strong," Silver nodded seriously.

Watching the full battle so far, he had to admit Selene was powerful.

Taking the title of Dylan's top student… might take longer than he thought.

"…She's come a long way. Impressive."

Dylan recalled his fainted Sableye, smiling at Incineroar.

The tiger puffed its chest out proudly—glowing with satisfaction.

Dylan chuckled.

Despite its fierce, savage look, this Incineroar and his own Incineroar were actually twin sisters.

Yep—two big scary girl cats.

(End of Chapter)