It doesn’t look good for her.

The air is thick with tension as your friend and Ed prepare to start their battle. You can feel your heart beating hard, and you can’t help but feel nervous. Kayla is a skilled trainer, but this guy seemed to have beaten Daniel with little issue. And that foreign Pokémon of his is something else too. Unova Pokémon are a rarity in Kanto, and having one usually means you’ve either traded it with someone from overseas, are from overseas, or bought it at a high price. It’s intimidating, no matter how he got it.

Taking a better look at the man than you had before, he is intimidating himself honestly. 6’4” and powerfully built, with dark brown skin and eyes, a bushy black beard and wild mop of black hair. He has that aura of easy confidence and self-assuredness that denotes a powerful trainer, unlike his lackeys. It’s no wonder they follow his lead.

“I challenged you missy, so what are the terms of engagement?” The older man asks, a cocky grin splitting his black beard.

“My name is Kayla. Let’s do a 3v3.” The mousy girl replies, doing her best to keep her voice level. She has to be nervous, scared even, but she’s holding herself together nicely.

“Fine by me. Go Krokorok.” The man sends out his first Pokémon ahead of Kayla, arrogantly giving her the ability to counter-pick.

“Weepinbell, I choose you!” The grass and poison type Pokémon appears in a flash of light, the brunette’s best option against a ground type like Krokorok.

“C’mon, Kay… You got this.” Daniel murmurs beside you, staring intently at the battle that is about to unfold. A moment of silence that seems to drag on for far longer than it truly does hangs over the cavern… until it breaks.

“Vine Whip!” Kayla’s partner extends the appendage on its head, shooting it towards the crocodile.

“Dodge and us Sand Tomb!” Ed commands, and his Pokémon obeys, swiftly dodging out of the way of the attack. It then stomps its foot down hard, and loose dust and sediment starts to shake and snake towards Weepinbell. The loose earth forms a vortex around the grass and poison type, locking it in place and damaging it lightly every few seconds. “Now, run in and Crunch!” The black-haired man’s Pokémon rushes in towards its opponent at a sprint.

“The hell did he use Bite on me for if he has Crunch? Was that asshole holding back?” The Vermillion blonde grumbles, but he only seems to be half-listening to his own words.

The Krokorok is rapidly approaching Kayla’s Pokémon, and the girl stands there quietly, seemingly in a panic… until the ground and dark type reaches a very specific distance between its original position and its destination. Close enough to hit, too close to dodge. “Use Sleep Powder!” At its trainer’s command, Weepinbell spews forth a cloud of pale green spores directly into the approaching Pokémon’s face. Its momentum prevents it from dodging, so it charges headlong into the cloud and promptly collapses to the stony floor, asleep. “Now, Vine Whip it! Over and over!” Kayla orders her partner, who obliges, repeatedly whipping the sleeping crocodile. It takes four solid super-effective cracks to knock the ground type out, showing you just how powerful it really is. Still, it’s down for the count.

Ed recalls his partner with a huff. “Not bad kid. But Krokorok was a little tired after wiping the floor with your blonde boytoy. My other two are still raring to go! Show her who’s boss, Swellow!” A large bird with feathers of navy blue, dark red, and white soars out into the cave, shrieking out its call.

“From Hoenn…” You say, surprised to see another foreign Pokémon. From an entirely separate region no less. This guy’s no joke.

“Dive at that overgrown weed!” The bearded man roars, and his flying type takes off at incredible speed, rocketing towards Kayla’s Weepinbell. You can see your friend trying to time its approach again, but Ed isn’t falling for the same trick twice. Just as his Swellow enters the grass type’s range, he shouts “Double Team, then Wing Attack!” His Pokémon flickers, seeming to spread out into five different versions of itself that all enclose on the plant Pokémon.

“Sleep Powder the one on the far left!” The green-eye girl commands. Weepinbell coughs up another Sleep Powder, but all it connects with is a fading afterimage. The real Swellow - still in the middle - slices past the grass type with its wing, dealing heavy damage as its copies fade.

“One more time, same thing!” The older man commands his bird Pokémon, and it repeats the same tactic. The Hoenn Pokémon dives in towards its target, flickering into multiple images of itself as it prepares to strike.

After weighing her options, Kayla commands her partner to “Use Acid!” The grass and poison type spurts put several large globs of purple goo, spraying it all over all five Swellows. The afterimages disappear, and the real one is burned by the caustic fluid. It is undeterred however, and finishes its second Wing Attack, which causes Weepinbell to faint.

“Ha! Not a bad trick, but not good enough. Now, which of your lambs is next to the slaughter, girl?” The dark-skinned man laughs loudly, and his goons join him, as if that had been extremely clever.

Your friend recalls her fallen partner. “Good work, rest easy. Now, go Pikachu!” Kayla throws out her second Pokéball, sending her starter into the fray.

“Ah, an electric type. But it’s just a puny little rat. I hope this isn’t your ace in the hole! Swellow, Quick Attack!” Hardly giving the brunette a moment to breathe, Ed gives his flying type its next order.

As the speedy bird takes off, The Vermillion girl shouts an order of her own. “Double Team!” The bearded man’s eyes widen at her words, his own strategy being thrown back in his face. The yellow rat only manages to make two copies of itself, but that’s enough to confuse the navy-blue bird. As it passes through one of the fakes, Kayla tells her partner to “Thundershock it!” Pikachu complies, zapping its foe with thin streaks of lightning. The super-effective damage causes Ed’s partner to stagger, but not fall, even after Weepinbell’s Acid. It seems like this Pokémon is a **** to be reckoned with, just like the Krokorok.

“Fine then, you want to play this game? Double Team!” The black-haired man commands, and his Pokémon splits into five once again. The five birds soar around, encircling the electric type. “Now, Quick Attack!” The Swellows soar down at impossible speed, barely able to be seen as their movement blurs them.

As they close in, Kayla shouts out her next instruction, and it’s one that puts a smile on your face. Taking a page out of your book this time, from something you had told her about your last battle with Blue. “Take the hit, then hug that bird!”

“What?” Ed looks incredulous, but has no time to consider telling his flying type to pull back. It slams into Pikachu, knocking the wind out of the electric type. Kayla’s starter holds on though, and then holds on. To the bird.

“Thundershock!” The green-eyed girl shouts, employing the second part of the strategy she’s borrowed from you. Her starter begins sparking, then lets out a jolt of electricity, continuously shocking both its opponent and itself.

“Swellow, shake it off!” The bearded man demands, but to no avail. The flying type’s muscles have seized up from the shocking currents, and it simply twitches and shrieks in agony until it finally succumbs. And it’s not the only one. Kayla’s Pikachu slumps over, rolling off of the fainted Swellow and onto the ground, knocked out by its own lightning. A double knockout, but it still feels like a win for your friend considering how formidable each of Ed’s Pokémon has been.

As the trainers recall their fallen partners, the brown-eyed man speaks. “You’re doing better than I expected, I will admit. It ends here though. I’m looking forward to breaking that paper-thin veil of confidence you have once this is over, little one.”

“And I look forward to cracking the flimsy shield of your overconfidence, you arrogant prick.” The mousy girl shoots back, causing her opponent to laugh as he notices her slight tremble.

“Very well. Tell me… are you afraid of ghosts? Dhelmise, give her something to be afraid of!” The black-haired man sends out his third and final Pokémon of this bout. It looks like an anchor attached to an old ship’s wheel, wrapped together with seaweed, more like ocean floor debris than a Pokémon. But the ghost and grass type from Alola is a Pokémon nonetheless, and a big problem. Kayla’s only remaining choices are Sandshrew and Magikarp, which are both weak to grass. Not that she would ever choose-

“Magikarp, go!” The brunette calls out, unable to hide the wavering of her voice.

“What!?” You and Daniel exclaim in unison, unable to imagine why your friend is using the near-useless water type. Unless…

“That guy must’ve knocked out her Sandshrew. Fuck!” The golden-haired boy curses as you both come to the same conclusion. Neither of you had seen the entirety of Kayla’s first battle, so that brown-haired guy who’s name doesn’t matter must have actually managed to knock out her ground type. So now her only option is… basically a white flag.

“Hahaha… Ha… HAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you feeling alright, you stupid girl!? Or have you decided you want to just fuck me after all? We can skip the rest of this battle if you feel like it, just get right to the fun!” The large dark-skinned man guffaws as he taunts the small girl he’s about to crush, possibly in more ways than one. When she doesn’t respond, simply gritting her teeth, the man gives his Pokémon an order. “Dhelmise, go ahead and use Rapid Spin.”

The odd-looking Pokémon twirls, slamming into the red fish and dealing minimal damage. Ed isn’t even using a grass type move, he’s just toying with the brunette. “T-Tackle…” Kayla says halfheartedly, knowing what’s about to happen. Magikarp uses its only attacking move, launching itself at the ghost type… and passing right through it.

“My my, such a rookie mistake! Ghost types are immune to normal type moves, kid. You should probably have your fish try something else. Dhelmise, rapid spin again!” Ed’s gleeful tone is starkly contrasted by the dour mood that’s settled over your trio. There’s no hope.

The ghost and grass type spins again, knocking its foe into the air and causing it to land at your friends feet. “I’m sorry, Magikarp. I should have just surrendered, there’s no need for both of us to get humiliated.” Kayla grips her water type’s Pokéball, preparing to return it and forfeit both the match and her body.

“Karp!” The weak Pokémon leaps up, smacking the ball out of its trainer’s hand. “ Karp Karp! Magikarp!” It sounds emphatic as it vocalizes at her, jumping up and down.

“You can’t do anything to a ghost type! Just get in the ball! I’m sorry, this is my fault!” Tears start to fall down the lightly tanned skin of Kayla’s cheeks, and her partner starts to cry as well.

But it does not return to its ball. It flips around to face the Dhelmise, who is just sitting still while its trainer watches in amusement. The water type’s teary eyes become filled with rage, and it almost begins to vibrate with anger. Unbeknownst to you all, who can’t understand Pokéspeech, it has been taking lessons in channeling anger from a certain fighting type monkey in your group, learning to use fury to fuel itself. And those lessons are coming to fruition. Though it has always been in the background, it was watching. It was learning. It was growing. It was fish.

But it is fish no longer.

The furious Pokémon begins to glow white as it vibrates with anger, wanting nothing more than to protect its trainer in her time of need. Inspired by your Mankey and livid beyond human understanding, Magikarp’s shining body expands, lengthening into that of a massive sea serpent. One with blue scales, a yellow underbelly and spots, white crests along its back and a blue trident-like crest on its head. A wide, fanged mouth opens under a pair of glaring red eyes, and the terrifying shriek-like roar of Kayla’s Gyarados fills the cavern.