The Pantheon

The Indigo Conference - Part VI

Ashley didn't rush it.

She stood for a second with her fingers curled around Neptune's Poké Ball, breathing in through her nose. Her boots scraped lightly as she stepped forward. Somewhere behind her, someone from the audience sneezed.

Gary was already out there, spinning his Poké Ball once in his palm like he was showing off for the cameras. Typical. She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile there too.

"Nidoqueen, let's go."

The Poké Ball snapped open, and the poison-type hit the ground with a grunt. She planted her feet and sized the arena up like she already knew how she wanted to wreck it.

Ashley exhaled. "Alright, Neptune. Your turn."

She tossed the Poké Ball without flair, and Neptune burst forward with a soft cry, landing near center field. He didn't make a show of it either. Just looked up calmly, fins shifting with the slight breeze, and tilted his head like he was already calculating the wind.

"Let's make a mess, yeah?" Ashley grinned and patted her hips like a general without a clipboard. "Rain Dance!"

Neptune lifted his head and sang low—barely audible under the chatter of the crowd—but it didn't need to be loud. Clouds responded anyway. They gathered in quickly, thick and heavy, until the drizzle turned into a proper downpour.

Gary didn't wait. "Nidoqueen, Bulldoze!"

The ground cracked the moment her fists slammed down, and Neptune flinched as the wave of broken earth pushed toward him. But the mud slowed it more than either of them expected, and Ashley saw her window.

"Whirlpool!"

Water coiled at Neptune's side like it had been waiting there all day. He slapped his fin down, and the spinning vortex surged toward Nidoqueen just as she tried to leap clear of the softened field. The vortex caught her back leg and yanked. She didn't fall, but it slowed her.

That was enough.

Ashley gave a two-finger point. "Surf!"

Neptune didn't hesitate. Water flooded from behind like a tidal slap—rain-fed and momentum-heavy. The vortex twisted tighter, and the surf crested right over it, swallowing Nidoqueen in the curve.

She emerged a few seconds later, soaked and pissed. Her horn sparked with energy. "Thunderbolt!" Gary shouted.

Ashley's eyes narrowed, as electricity cracked across the wet field, sparking where it touched puddles, but Neptune was already gliding back. "Double Team."

In the rain, the clones shimmered more than usual, spreading wide across the cratered field. Gary's eyes flicked side to side. Nidoqueen launched another bolt—but it struck one of the illusions, which popped like a soap bubble in the mist.

Ashley crossed her arms. "Avalanche."

It wasn't flashy. Neptune just blinked once, tilted his head, and fired toward the remaining gap in the whirlpool's current. It hit. Nidoqueen reeled back, coughing, shaking her head as the frostbite began to spread.

Gary clenched his jaw. "Body Slam. Let's go!"

Ashley winced a little as Nidoqueen surged forward, bowling through what was left of the clones. She slammed straight into Neptune, knocking him back into a shallow crater left over from her earlier Bulldoze. Rainwater sloshed up around his shell.

Ashley's grip tightened. "Get up, big guy."

He did.

It was slower than usual, but he pulled himself forward with a grunt, and shook off the water like it was nothing. His breathing was heavier now, but steady. Behind his eyes, something had settled—like he was done holding back.