Luca

"LUCA! USE AURA SPHERE!"

Diaa, an up-and-coming Pokémon Trainer in the Baoshi Region, called out to her trusted partner from the contestant's side of the Rock Type Gym.

This particular Gym, led by a middle-aged woman named Crystalia, was the seventh of the Region's eight Gyms before facing the Pokémon League. Diaa had met Luca, her Lucario and the strongest member of her team, as a Riolu in a mountain range between the second and third Gyms; they had had plenty of time to train and level up their bond together, so she trusted he would be more than able to take down this Gym Leader, especially with his Fighting Type advantage.

Luca wailed the Super Effective attack into the opposing Carkoal, nearly tipping the poor thing entirely over. A large portion of its coal chunks were sent flying off of its back, and it scrambled to scoop as much of them back up in its mouth as it could as Crystalia called out to it. "Carkoal! Quick, use Flame Charge!"

Knowing that with Luca's part Steel typing, a Fire Type move would prove problematic, Diaa quickly shouted out to him. "Luca, watch out! Dodge it using Agility and then hone in for Close Combat!" The young woman commanded with a finger quickly pointing to the opponent. Her Lucario, with his incredible reflexes from their many battles together and countless days in between spent training themselves, cast his eyes towards the Carkoal just in time to avoid the Pokémon as it barrelled towards him, engulfed in flames. That thing sure was quick for such a heavy and bulky creature! Luca, however, still proved to be quicker.

The air around his body shimmered as his only Psychic Type move kicked in, launching him out of the way and close behind the Rock and Fire Type, and within seconds, his left paw started to glow a brownish-orange as he charged up his next attack; then, without a second's hesitation, his fist pummeled into the back of the Pokémon in front of him before it even had a chance to realize he was behind it, sending it toppling face first into the ground and dumping nearly all of its coal. There, it laid motionless for a few seconds, before finally collapsing onto its side: the battle against it being won as it had been knocked out.

Crystalia nearly growled before whipping Carkoal's Pokéball back off her waistband, which resembled a miner's tool belt, and recalled the passed out creature. She then closed her eyes, drew in a slow, shaky breath before letting it out in a sigh that was more steady than the intake. Standing up straighter, as she'd been a bit hunched over from the tense battle, she smoothed her long, pewter-colored hair back and then opened her eyes again, casting a determined glare at Diaa.

"Heh... You're no trivial match, challenger. It's been a long time since I've had anyone bring me down to my last 'mon. But unfortunately for you, this is where your journey ends. Prepare yourself!"

Diaa grit her teeth at the words and could see her partner doing the same. His body was tense, muscles rippling in anticipation. This was it: the final Pokémon of the second to last Gym in this Region. They couldn't take a step back now -- they'd come so far. Her and all of her partners had.

Her mind flashed an image of her starter that she'd gotten in her home Region of Galar; a Meowscarada, back then a Sprigatito, nicknamed Spring - both as a cute name for a female Grass-Type but also in honor of the day they met: the first day of Spring. She had unfortunately been knocked out by the same Fire move Luca had just narrowly missed before he was sent out to get revenge. She then thought of the other four Pokémon she had befriended along the way and decided to keep as part of her team... and of course, Luca. They had all been through many challenges and trials together. There was no way they could fail now!

Crystalia chucked out her final Pokéball without another word. As the blinding white light took form, it was revealed to be a massive, hulking Aggron. A shimmering stone embedded in a steel band around its left wrist glinted as it moved to let out an intimidating roar. Diaa immediately knew what it was: an Aggronite Mega Stone. However, rather than growing anxious as one normally would, going up against such an already powerful Pokémon who could Mega Evolve to become even more powerful, she grinned slyly as Luca glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and they gave each other a knowing nod.

"Aggron, Mega Evolve!" Crystalia yelled almost as fiercely as her final Pokémon had just seconds prior as she whipped her left hand up to her right, next to her face, and triggerd the bracelet on her left wrist. Both the bracelet and her Pokémon began glowing in a brilliant rainbow of colors, swirling around the battlefield as the hulk before them Mega Evolved. Breaking out of the light into its finished form, it let out an ear-splitting roar, one that would have sent anyone less sure that they could survive this running straight out the Gym doors. But Diaa and Luca shared a knowing that this fight was in the bag for them.

The smug grin that Crystalia's face had put on display quickly faded as Diaa then triggered her own Mega Bracelet on her right wrist, and hers and the Lucarionite Mega Stone on a necklace around the Lucario's neck, previously hidden in the fluffy fur on his chest, began to glow. "Your turn, Luca! Mega Evolve!" she cried out. Once his transformation was complete, he flexed every muscle in his body as he growled loudly in a counter to the Aggron's roars, showing how much more powerful he'd just become.

"Aggron, let's end this!" Crystalia demanded, trying to mask the glint of worry on her face - and she was right to have that concern. "Use Rock Blast to slow them down!"

The behemoth Pokémon straightened its spine as it roared, and as if being lifted up from the vibrations of the mighty sound, the earthy floor of the Gym began to break apart into large chunks and float up around the Aggron, before being launched towards its opponent, one by one.

"Watch out, Luca! Zip past them using Agility again!"

The blue canid almost seemed to vanish as his entire body started to shimmer and vibrate at a higher frequency as his heightened Agility move revved up, propelling him out of the way as the first of the multiple massive chunks of ground and rock pelleted the spot he had just been standing in seconds prior, shattering and spraying dirt all over Diaa as it made its impact into the ground. Diaa tried to keep an eye on the battle while throwing her arms up to keep from being hit in the face by the spray of debris, but her partner Pokémon was already expertly weaving through the barrage of earthen attacks, making his way closer by the second to his target.

Nearly unable to see him as he moved so quickly, especially with the flying chunks of the Gym floor flying around all over the place now, Crystalia grunted in frustration, her teeth clenched again. "Aggron, when it gets close enough, use Focus P-..."

Her words were cut short as Luca launched another Close Combat move, slamming up into the lower jaw of the Aggron from underneath due to the height difference. As if in slow motion, the huge monster's head was reared back from the force of the move, causing it to stumble backwards a few steps as it tried to keep its balance; it was clearly a difficult task, considering the Super Effective hit it just took.

"Now Luca, finish it! Use Aura Sphere!"

"Aggron, Focus Punch!"

The Mega Aggron did its best to right itself back on balanced feet, both of its tightly balled fists beginning to glow a steely gray color, as if illuminated internally, but it was too little too late for the hulking, yet slow-moving beast. Within seconds of it starting to prepare its counter attack, a huge ball of bright blue energy blasted into the front of it before it could even react to brace itself. The Lucario's powerful Aura Sphere hit it right in the center of its chest and knocked it backwards, sending it sprawling out onto its back with such force that it not only pushed it back a few feet, but also made it strike the ground so hard that it left a trench a couple feet deep in its path.

As it came to a stop, the Aggron shimmered and seemed to shrink a bit, but it was hard to see what was going on because of a cloud of dirt that had been kicked up in its wake as it struck the ground. It hung in the air around the massive creature like a thick fog, and every person in the Gym seemed to be holding their breath after that. For what felt like an eternity, everyone's eyes were focused on the massive Rock and Steel Type Pokémon as the debris cloud slowly settled around it, eventually revealing that it had been forced out of its Mega form. The silence in the Gym was so thick that even a needle falling would have sounded like a siren blaring. And then... the Referee stepped forward, the sound of his shoe falling causing Diaa to jump a bit before turning her attention to him.

"Aggron has been knocked out! Gym Leader Crystalia has no more usable Pokémon! The winner of this Biyu City Gym battle is... CHALLENGER DIAA!"

She knew it was going to happen, but she still couldn't believe it when she heard the words. It was over. They had won their seventh Gym battle! She blinked in surprise and turned to look over to her partner Pokémon. But, as always, he was quicker: rushing to her before she even knew it, he nearly pommeled her to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her neck to embrace her in celebration. Struggling to keep her footing as he threw himself against her, she blinked a few times in even more surprise, but then smiled and laughed as she hugged him back, her arms going under his and holding him around his torso.

"We did it, Luc! We really did it!"

His words echoed softly yet jovially in her mind as he replied telepathically; <Yes! We did! Seven out of the eight done now: only one left to go!> He grinned down at her as he spoke, since he was about a foot taller than her five-foot, six inch frame - he was a rather extra large specimen of his species.

His teeth bared a little as he did, and he gave her a gentle squeeze which made her head tuck under his chin just a bit. She softly squeezed back before they let each other go, turning to watch as Crystalia recalled her final Pokémon in defeat. The Gym Leader stood there for a moment, her head hanging with her hair covering part of her face as she mulled over her loss. But she finally stood tall once more and smoothed her hair back with her left hand again, before turning to face her challengers and began walking towards them.

"I underestimated you both. You proved that you share the strength needed to overcome the obstacles you may face with ease; for that, you are deserving of my reward - the Citrine Badge needed to enter the Pokémon League." The slender yet rough-edged woman reached into a utility pouch on her belt and pulled out a metal brooch that looked like a geode with a thin, dark brown shell around the outside of a cluster of white crystals tipped with a burnt orange hue. It shined in the light from the stadium lamps overhead, really giving it the look of gemstone as she reached out to hand it to Diaa, who proudly accepted it.

*Image courtesy of and copyrighted by The Pokémon Company International. I do not claim ownership of or rights to this image; it is only posted for creative use and not intended for financial gain, and no copyright infringement is intended.*