Double Battle Time

As Cora continued to regard Summer with surprise, Shawn and Hayley's expressions shifted to pure irritation at the girl's sudden involvement.

"What is this, hero day, or something?" Hayley muttered. "We're not doing anything illegal here, what's the big deal?"

"You are doing something unjust!" Cora retorted, her eyes snapping back to the gym trainers. "And me and my new sidekick here won't stand for it!" She flashed Summer a grateful smile that was so pretty it made Summer not question how she'd suddenly gone from 'complete stranger' to 'sidekick' in under a minute.

"Whatever," snapped Shawn. "More girls lining up to be used is hardly something I'm gonna complain about. You got no idea what you're in for." His words were cocky, but his voice lacked the genuine confidence they'd had when it had been Cora alone standing in the way; Summer realised for the first time that the pokéballs in his and Hayley's hands were the only ones they seemed to have on their person; they had likely assumed that they'd only need one pokémon each as they would be singling out one rookie trainer as a group. Summer found herself in the odd position of having the most pokémon out of anyone in this confrontation, a fact that bolstered her confidence significantly. She shared a glance with her new ally in Cora before selecting a pokéball of her own from her belt, ready to fight.

(Research [1d6] check for if Summer knows about Mauville gym's type specialisation - rolls 6. 6 explodes, 2nd roll is 1. 6+1=7 - success).

Summer knew that her two opponents would likely be using electric-type pokémon, so she did not grab for Marill's pokéball as had become her instinct when entering a battle, instead opting to trust in the Aron given to her by Roxanne, not wanting to risk her starter to super-effective attacks. The four trainers all simultaneously threw their pokéballs out onto the makeshift battlefield in front of Verdanturf's finishing school, Shawn and Hayley sending out an Electrike and Voltorb respectively while Cora, to Summer's surprise, summoned a Ralts - she didn't know what kind of pokémon she had expected the apparent 'guardian of justice' to have, but the psychic/fairy-type hadn't been one she'd anticipated. The small crowd that had gathered to watch the initial forfeit all looked on in anticipation as the double battle begun; even the girl who had been fucked by Angelo had sat up from her fallen position, covering her bare pussy with her hands as she watched, through tear-stained eyes, the contest that would decide her fate.

(Cora's stats - Heart [1d6], Fitness [1d10], Research [1d4], Tactics [1d6], Toughness [7]. Ralts's ability - Synchronize. Ralts's moves - Confusion [1d6], Draining Kiss [1d6], Hypnosis [1d6], Growl [1d4]. Trapinch's Toughness - 4. Ralts's Mastery - 1).

Shawn & Hayley's stats - Heart [1d4], Fitness [1d6], Research [1d6], Tactics [1d8], Toughness [3]. Battle-relevant edge - Type Specialists (+1 dice step to electric moves). Electrike's ability - Lightning Rod. Electrike's moves - Bite [1d4], Thunder Wave [1d6], Thunder Fang [1d8], Howl [1d4]. Electrike's Mastery - 1. Voltorb's ability - Aftermath. Voltorb's moves - Charge Beam [1d8], Screech [1d4], Charge [1d6], Tackle [1d4]. Voltorb's Mastery - 1).

(Initiative - Summer rolls 3, Cora rolls 1, Shawn rolls 2, Hayley rolls 7. Turn order: Hayley, Summer, Shawn, Cora).

"Voltorb, use Charge!" Hayley commanded as soon as the four pokémon were ready to go, and the ball pokémon started to glow with energy as it gathered the static electricity in the air towards itself.

Summer grimaced - she knew that Charge, once completed, would boost the efficacy of Voltorb's next electric-type attack, so she needed to shut it down quickly. "I'll take care of it!" said Cora from beside her, surprising Summer slightly - of course, she had a partner to work with here. "You just keep that Electrike off my back," the blue-haired girl added, and Summer gave a nod in response, already seeing the canine pokémon charging toward Cora's Ralts, by far the more defensively **** of the pokémon on their side of the field.

"Aron, head it off with a Take Down!" Summer called, and her newest pokémon eagerly obeyed, springing forward with surprising alacrity and slamming its iron body into Electrike's side. The lightning pokémon gave a yelp as it flew backwards and landed in a heap besides Shawn's feet, struggling to move. Summer couldn't believe it - her Aron had almost taken Electrike down in one hit. (Critical success on Take Down roll! How I've (possibly foolishly) decided to handle recoil moves is that they can deal two wounds on a crit without spending a mastery, as a trade-off for dealing the user damage on each hit. With Aron's Rock Head ability, however, no damage is taken, meaning Take Down, as seen here, has very powerful potential - especially while Aron still does not possess a mastery. Electrike takes two wounds - one remaining for KO).

Summer glanced over to see how Cora was handling Voltorb, and saw that her Ralts had successfully put Hayley's pokémon to sleep with Hypnosis, neutralising the threat of its Charge-boosted attack. Confidence surged through Summer's body - they were going to win this.

"Dammit!" cursed Hayley. "Shawn, a little help here!"

"Electrike, you gotta wake Voltorb up!" Shawn urged, and his pokémon weakly got to its feet to obey, throwing back its head and letting loose a Howl that not only bolstered the canine's own attack strength, but succeeded in making enough noise to rouse Voltorb from its very brief slumber.

Summer's heart sank as Hayley grinned. "Charge Beam, Voltorb, take that Aron out!" The ball pokémon focused the electricity it had already gathered and fired a beam of light towards Aron; Summer attempted to call a dodge, but was too slow, and her pokémon's body sparked with static current as it winced from the direct hit. (Aron takes one wound).

Meanwhile, Shawn's Electrike was recovering more of its strength, readying an attack. "Draw the Electrike in close to Ralts," Cora hissed to Summer. "Got an idea."

Summer wasn't sure of the wisdom of such a manoeuvre given Ralts's frail defenses, but listened to her partner nonetheless. "Aron, Rock Tomb on Electrike!" she ordered, and small boulders hurtled towards the lightning pokémon, thrown by Aron in an attempt to entrap its opponent. Shawn easily called for a dodge, but the move connecting hadn't been the point.

"Draining Kiss!" Cora commanded, and her Ralts, now close enough to Electrike to connect, pressed its lips lightly against the other pokémon's flank, glowing with a mystical power. Too weak to do anything but succumb as its energy was drained from its body, Electrike slowly closed its eyes, falling **** to the ground. (Electrike takes one wound - KO).

"Fuck!" Shawn scowled, recalling his pokémon to its ball. He turned to Hayley, both gym trainers grimacing. "All on you, babe; crush 'em."

"Aron, Take Down again!" Summer ordered, hoping Hayley would call for another Charge and she could take Voltorb out before enough energy was gathered, but the blonde woman was too smart.

"Charge Beam!" Hayley called, and a weaker, though still devastating - beam of electricity shot towards Aron as it ran towards the ball pokémon. Mercifully, Aron had enough speed to dodge out of the way, but a second Charge Beam was called, and this time it connected squarely with Aron's head. (Aron takes one wound - one remaining for KO).

Summer winced, sure her pokémon was out of the fight... but Aron gutted through, and continued its charge even while electricity crackled around its body, reaching its target and ramming Voltorb's body with a successful Take Down. (Critical success AGAIN on Take Down roll - Summer's luck is insane right now. Voltorb takes two wounds - one remaining for KO).

Cora, meanwhile, had got her Ralts into position for a follow-up attack. "Confusion!" she yelled, and the emotion pokémon grabbed at its head, channelling psionic energy that coursed into Voltorb. The ball pokémon shuddered a few times, before its eyes closed. (Voltorb takes one wound - KO - Summer & Cora win!)

"YES!" cried Summer and Cora simultaneously, a few members of the small audience actually applauding their impressive victory. Summer put her hand to high-five her battle partner; Cora completely bypassed the gesture and cannoned into Summer with a tackle-hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cora gushed, as Summer's face turned red, more from feeling the very attractive girl's breasts pressed into her own than at the shared body heat. She weakly returned the embrace, her hands touching the other girl's bare back. Fuck... it's just a hug, Summer, get a grip! Summer was bisexual as far as she knew, but had always leaned more towards other girls - crushes on guys had happened, but had always been more fleeting and short-lived, perhaps because boys who attended a trainer's school tended to be rather open about their twisted desires towards their female classmates. Towards any gender, though, Summer had never been as easily flustered and prone to sexual fantasies than she had been since Roxanne's class - it had been almost a second sexual awakening for her.

Cora released the embrace and went to celebrate with her pokémon, and Summer stood there for a few seconds just staring at the other girl's fit, toned body, before remembering she was a pokémon trainer as well as a complete lesbian disaster. She walked over to her Aron. "Great job, buddy," she said, bending down and stroking his head gently. "You've been great today!" Between the cave-in and now this battle, Roxanne hadn't been kidding when she had predicted the rock-type would prove 'dependable'. She retrieved Aron to its ball as Cora did the same to her Ralts, and the two turned to face their beaten opponents.

"Fuckin' killjoys," Hayley spat at the other two girls, retrieving her own Voltorb to its pokéball as Shawn pulled out his Pokédex. Cora pulled her own from the pocket of her shorts, and Summer remembered what she'd been taught about digital money transfers at the Trainer's School - she retrieved her own Pokédex and Shawn reluctantly pressed his device against the two girls', transferring a small amount of pokédollars to both of the victors. (Summer gains 2 money).

As Hayley went for her own Pokédex, however, Cora held out a hand to stop her. "Oh, no," she said. "The two of you have violated the code of justice today. One of you has to pay the appropriate price. Under the laws of this land, Hayley of Mauville City, it is you who must bear this burden."

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Hayley snapped, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "You lecture us about preying on defenceless girls or whatever and now you're gonna claim a forfeit from me?! This is a fucking joke!"

"It's no joke!" Cora declared, hitting another ridiculous pose. "It's justice!"

Summer stared at the blue-haired girl incredulously. "You're... really gonna do this?" She looked around at the small crowd of Verdanturf townsfolk, still watching on. "Right here?" She knew confidence in claiming public forfeits was a trait shared by many trainers, but she had assumed Cora to be different. To be honest, she'd assumed she was like her - Cora's speeches about justice might have seemed silly, but the basic message of protecting the weak was not dissimilar to the Pokémon Ranger's code that Summer herself aspired to live by. It was a big part of why she'd jumped in so eagerly to the battle without knowing the full story - Cora had struck her as someone with very similar principles to herself. It seemed not, however.

Cora flashed Summer an easy grin. "Oh, I'm not going to do this, cutie," she said, causing Summer's face to heat up all over again. "We are." With a sudden movement she grabbed Summer's wrist with one hand and Hayley's with the other, and dragged the two girls away with her with freakish strength, shouldering past a protesting Shawn and the assembled masses. "Don't bother following!" Cora called over her shoulder. "My sidekick wants some privacy for this act of righteous punishment, so privacy she shall have!"

She turned a corner so they were out of sight, and continued walking swiftly towards a building that Summer recognised as a Pokémon Center, albeit far smaller and more rustic than the one in Rustboro. Hayley, restricted as she was by the forfeit rules, pouted but did nothing to resist being dragged along by Cora's powerful arms. Summer was bound by no such laws, but still could do nothing but allow herself to be pulled along. What the hell had she got herself into?

(Battle roll results:

Voltorb uses Charge [1d8 & 1d10], rolls 7 & 9 - success. +2 to Voltorb's next electric move.

Aron uses Take Down [2d4] on Electrike, rolls 4 & 3. 4 explodes, 2nd roll is 4, 3rd roll is 3 - critical success. Electrike takes 2 wounds - 1 remaining for KO.

Ralts uses Hypnosis [2d6] on Voltorb, rolls 2 & 6. 6 explodes, 2nd roll is 2 - success. Voltorb falls asleep.

Electrike uses Howl [1d4 & 1d8], rolls 2 & 5 - success. +1 to Electrike's attack, Voltorb wakes up.

Voltorb uses Charge Beam [2d10+2] on Aron, rolls 6+2 & 3+2 - success. Aron takes 1 wound.

Aron uses Rock Tomb [2d4] on Electrike, rolls 2 & 3 - failure.

Ralts uses Draining Kiss [2d6] on Electrike, rolls 2 & 4 - success. Electrike takes one wound - KO.

Voltorb uses Charge Beam [2d10] on Aron, rolls 3 & 1 - spends a mastery to reroll. Rolls 9 & 1 - success - Aron takes 1 wound - 1 remaining for KO.

Aron uses Take Down [2d4], rolls 4 & 4. Both explode, 2nd roll is 4 & 2. 4 explodes, 3rd roll is 4 & 2. 4 explodes AGAIN, but I think it's safe to just say critical success lmao. Voltorb takes 2 wounds - one remaining for KO.

Ralts uses Confusion [2d6], rolls 2 & 5 - success. Voltorb takes 1 wound - KO. Summer and Cora win!)