- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 12: [Y/N] Vs. Cynthia

(AN: Its absolutely hilarious to me that literally nobody had faith in our boy that he would win this fight, the comments killed me, we all have collective trauma. Also, I'm doing another double chapter drop so watch out for later...)

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"Piplup, give them hell!" [Y/N] shouted, patting the small water type on the back. Piplup nodded with confidence, arms pumped up high and a fiery determination alight in her eyes. The water-type looked just as confident as her trainer did, ready to earn their first win. Turtwig and Chimchar sat down next to their trainer, eagerly watching the fight and waiting their turn. However, [Y/N] was certain they weren't needed, folding his arms, he chuckled to himself. He eyed Piplup, fully trusting in the abilities of his Pokémon. He thought back to the Hunter raid, and how they had fought in sync with one another. Yet, as hard as he tried to reach out for whatever synergy they had utilised he just couldn't find it. Regardless, that didn't matter now. His connection was still strong, and he trusted the small penguin.

Piplup may have been young, but there was a prideful strength that lied within. Losing wasn't something she took easily, and in a fight, even if it meant going all out, winning was always the only option. And [Y/N] understood that too. They were both committed to victory.

From out his pocket, [Y/N] pulled out his new Pokédex, flipping open the screen. He had had ample opportunity to study his own Pokémon, but Gible was still mostly unknown to him. Getting a bit of information before the fight was always a good idea. He held the red device out before him, holding it still facing the small dragon shark. He wasn't exactly sure whether he was using it correctly, but after a few minutes the screens changed to a smaller image of Gible.

"Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon." A robotic voice spoke from his Pokédex, taking him by surprise. "It attacks using its huge mouth. While its attacks are powerful, it hurts itself out of clumsiness, too." [Y/N] scanned through the brief analysis, but he had already come to a conclusion. Powerful attacks, but clumsy? That sounded like something he could exploit. Avoiding attacks was the main priority, taking as little hits as possible and letting Gible beat itself into submission.

"Alright, Piplup, you heard that?" He asked his partner. "Pip!" She cooed back. "Good, let's get this over and done with already! " Maybe this was a new role for him, formulating strategies, but he had a plan in place. Piplup was a ranged fighter, and she excelled in her water moves most importantly. However, that meant that her physical fighting ability was still lacking. If they wanted to win then keeping Gible at a distance where she couldn't get close enough to attack was the key to victory. "Piplup, don't give them a moment to breathe, Water Gun!"

Cynthia chuckled, similarly crossing her arms. "I expected you to charge in without thinking, you've already surprised me, but you won't have any more time to prepare!" She said, striking out her arm towards Piplup. As the small water-type hunkered down, building the blue mass at the bridge of her beak, Gible didn't look fazed, simply waiting for a command.

[Y/N] stared back with confusion, unsure as to why they weren't doing anything, Gible was just going to be instantly defeated at this rate...

After a few seconds of building strength, an enormous eruption of water exploded from out the small Pokémon with a violent fury, far larger than one would have expected. She was putting her all into this one attack, just as her trainer had commanded her too. And Piplup wanted to show her trainer just how useful she could be. The force was so strong that it nearly knocked her own two tiny feet off the ground, but Piplup held firm.

And yet, just as the attack was to make contact, Cynthia smirked.

"Gible, Sand Attack, and Dig!" She shouted out, and the dragon shark moved instantly, throwing itself against the ground. Considering its small limbs, [Y/N] hadn't expected it to move as fast as it had, disappearing from sight. Dirt and mud clumped together, and a cloud of dust and debris shrouded her opponent. The water beam cut straight through like a knife, splitting the dark veil in two. Even Cynthia was somewhat surprised at the sheer strength of the attack, but it didn't matter in the end....