Chapter 9: 9. Chapter 9: The First Badge, the Blue Badge!

Chapter 9: The First Badge, the Cascade Badge!

"Ralts, use Confusion!"

Hearing the command, Ralts was just about to use Confusion when it saw Seel dive into the water at high speed.

The thick ice made it impossible to see where Seel was. Ralts looked left and right, but from its blind spot, Seel suddenly burst through the ice and slammed its head into it with great force.

However, having spent months with Xia You and being well-versed in battle, Ralts recovered from its momentary shock and used Teleport to dodge just in time.

"Seel, use Ice Shard!"

Seel opened its mouth wide again, condensing many ice chunks and firing them at the newly reappeared Ralts.

A violent explosion, accompanied by flying ice chips and debris from the floating platform, engulfed Ralts.

However, when the dust settled, to the surprise of Ayame and the others, although Ralts had been hit by the Ice Shards, it not only withstood the attack, but judging by its condition, the Ice Shards clearly hadn't caused it much damage at all!

"Huh? That's strange!" Ayame said in surprise. "In terms of typing, a Psychic/Fairy-type Ralts shouldn't have any type advantage against a Water-type Seel, right? And Ice Shard is an Ice-type move. Why was the damage so minimal?"

"Miss Ayame," Xia You smiled, "I assume your Seel's ability must be Thick Fat?"

The Thick Fat ability means that a Pokémon with this trait only takes half the damage when hit by Ice-type or Fire-type moves.

Hearing him suddenly bring up abilities, Ayame was a bit confused but nodded nonetheless.

"That's right, but so what?"

Xia You shrugged: "My Ralts has the Trace ability, so it was able to perfectly copy Seel's Thick Fat ability. That’s why your Ice-type moves couldn't pose a threat to it."

"I see!" Ayame suddenly realized, smiling bitterly, "So, at the very beginning of the battle, it had already copied Seel's ability?"

"Yes."

Seeing Xia You admit it, Ayame said helplessly: "I have to say, that really is a rare ability. It certainly caught me off guard, but I won't give up just like that!"

"Seel, use Aqua Jet!"

Just as Ayame gave the order, Xia You spoke at the same time: "Ralts, use Magical Leaf!"

Countless leaves appeared out of thin air in front of Ralts. These leaves, emitting a faint glow, rotated and compressed before flying continuously toward Seel, colliding with the incoming water stream and causing a violent explosion.

However, when the mist cleared, it was clear that Magical Leaf had not only neutralized the Aqua Jet but had also injured the Seel within!

Struck by the attack, Seel was forced onto the ice.

Grass is super effective against Water!

This made Ayame frown.

It was just too difficult to deal with!

But sighs aside, the battle had to continue.

"Ralts, use Confusion!"

"Seel, hurry back into the water!"

Both trainers spoke at the same time. However, having learned from the previous experience, Ralts didn't let Seel have its way this time. Focusing its attention, it acted ahead of time, wrapping Seel in its psychic power before it could make a move and lifting it into the air.

Hit by the Confusion, Seel let out a pained cry. No matter how much it struggled, it was in vain; it could not break free from the psychic bind.

Once it reached a sufficient height, Ralts swung its arm downward, and Seel slammed heavily onto the frozen floating platform at high speed.

Boom!

After a loud crash, Seel didn't even have time to cry out before it followed in the footsteps of Goldeen and Krabby, losing the ability to battle!

"We lost..."

Recalling the fainted Seel into its Poké Ball, the three sisters looked at each other and then walked slowly toward Xia You.

However, before Xia You could recall Ralts, it was suddenly enveloped in a glow. A few seconds later, the original Ralts disappeared, replaced by a new form!

Kirlia!

Seeing this,菖蒲 (Ayame) couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise: "Huh? It evolved!?"

Kirlia's appearance was like that of a dancer in white, wearing a tutu. Its legs were very slender, and its hair no longer completely covered its eyes like Ralts's; instead, it had shoulder-length bangs that revealed its red eyes. Even the position of its two red horns had changed, looking like hair clips.

How to put it—it was like a young girl growing up into a beautiful maiden.

The Pokédex, which hadn't been put away yet, reacted in time: "Beep. Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon, Psychic/Fairy type. The horns on its head allow it to create illusory scenes in the surrounding space when it uses amplified psychic power. It has the ability to sensitively capture its trainer's emotions. It starts to dance when it is happy, and the trainer's cheerful emotions are the source of its psychic power."

Kirlia didn't seem very used to its new look yet, spinning around a few times before returning to Xia You's side.

"Kirlia, your new look is very beautiful."

Kirlia looked at Xia You, slightly shy, and only after Xia You patted its head did it affectionately rub its cheek against his hand.

Ayame then walked up to Xia You, holding a Cascade Badge.

The blue badge was shaped like a sky-blue water droplet, shining like a gemstone under the sunlight.

"Congratulations, trainer. This is the reward for defeating us, and it is well-deserved."

Xia You exchanged a few polite words, took the Cascade Badge, and placed it in his badge collection case.

Looking at the lonely blue badge in the case, 菖蒲 (Ayame) pouted and sighed: "What is this? We ended up being the first Gym Leaders to be defeated. It’s really frustrating!"

Xia You smiled and said nothing.

Compared to guarding the gym, these three were now more focused on water ballet and had neglected training their Pokémon. Among the many gyms, their strength was just about the weakest.

But everyone has their own aspirations. He just hoped that Misty would take over here soon.

"Well, I'll be taking my leave then."

Waving his hand, Xia You left with his Pokémon.

And just as he exited the gym and disappeared from sight, an orange-haired girl with a side ponytail walked into the battlefield.

"Sisters, I've been looking for you for ages. So you were here all along? Huh? Why do you all look so dejected?"

Hearing the girl's words, 菖蒲 (Ayame) immediately exaggerated: "Misty, we were just deeply hurt by a man!"

"Hurt!?" Misty was stunned at first, but after clarifying the situation from Ayame, she said indignantly: "You call that being hurt? It was just failing to defend the gym. I thought you had been dumped by someone!"

"Haha... that's about the same!"

Even Ayame thought about it seriously: "Now that you mention it, that person just now looked very gentle and was very strong. Maybe choosing him as a boyfriend would indeed be a good choice!"

"I really can't stand you guys." Misty pouted, indifferent, "If I had been there, there's no way he would have taken our Cascade Badge! To be cleanly defeated three-to-zero, it's really embarrassing!"

Hearing this, Botan shook her finger: "Don't talk so lightly. That man with the Kirlia was really strong. Even with your strength, it would be absolutely impossible for you to beat him."

"Don't underestimate me!" Misty bristled like a ruffled hedgehog, "Hmph, I've already decided. I'm leaving on a journey the day after tomorrow morning. I won't come back until I become a great trainer!"

(End of chapter)