Margaret's Pokémon Diamond Nuzlocke

Chapter 20: Clashing Waves

I lay down on the pokemon center bed, staring at the bland, plainly-colored ceiling. Every so often a cool morning breeze would blow through from the open window, where Gloria sat unmoving.
It was funny, really. I always imagined that the day I was going to go and battle Crasher Wake, I would be more nervous than anything. But for the most part, I was... calm. I was ready to finally just get Crasher Wake over and done with. Still... That didn't mean everyone else was. Looking over at Gloria, I could tell that her face wasn't holding a smile.

"Hey... Gloria?"

"Yes?" She responded, still looking out the window.

"Are you, uh... you ready for Crasher Wake?" I asked in a much more awkward way than I intended.

I noticed her tense up for just a second before turning to me with a faint but not convincing smile, "I'm a bit nervous, but I think I'll be fine...!"

I faked a grin as well, "Alright, good!"

Once everyone else woke up, we went through our normal morning routine, took a quick stop at the pokemart to buy a few things we might need for the battle, then finally headed towards the gym I avoided and feared for so long. But now I was finally ready to conquer it.

With a determined grin on my face, I looked down at Gloria as she walked beside me. "It's time to finally show Crasher Wake what we got, right?"

She stared forward and took a deep breath in, then exhaled shakily. She wanted to say something, I could tell.

"...What's wrong?"

Gloria's eyes stayed fixated on the ground, just barely open. "I... I'm terrified...!" She whimpered into her rose petals.

"What?" I knelt down to her.

"You said it yourself, the gym leader is bound to have a Gyarados! After seeing what it can do... a-after losing Andrea..." Tears began slowly running down her face. "Maggie... I don't think I can do this!"

I gently turned her head towards mine, "Hey, don't talk like that! I've seen what you can do; I've seen your strength! Even if you don't realize it yourself, you're amazing in battle, Gloria. You got this!"

She looked up at me, tears still in her eyes. "Y-you really think so...?"

"I know so!" I said with a bright smile. "It's incredible how someone as timid as you has so much potential, and you don't even know it! Now you go out there and show 'em who's boss!"

She gave a small laugh as she wiped away a tear. "Well, thank you Margaret. I think I'm feeling a little better now...!"

"Good!" I smirked, "Now... Are you ready for this?"

She looked up at me, a sweet smile on her face as she nodded.

I smiled back before finally entering the gym. The place reeked of chlorine just as much as I remembered, maybe even more. Trying not to think about it too much, I figured out the puzzle all over again, (admittedly with a bit of help from Cedric,) walked past the now empty platform where we fought a Gyarados, and made my way to Crasher Wake.

A wide grin spread across his face, "Ah, a new challenger! Not many people make it this far you know, so it's always good to see a new face! After last weeks incident... well, I almost thought you'd given up...!"