Reborn As Barry

Chapter Six

Orange and violet collided as Jupiter and Gabe met each other's gaze. Jupiter held a single Poké Ball in her hand, tossing it up and catching it before priming it for battle. Gabe snatched Shinx's ball off his belt and enlarged the sphere, signaling that he too, was prepared. Recalling the words of his mother, he resolved to be a gentleman in this battle.

"Ladies first," he said politely.

"How kind of you," Jupiter replied, tossing the ball with a practiced hand onto the pavement. "Tangela, to battle!"

Appearing onto the chosen battlefield was a small mass of blue vines, complete with two large eyes peering out from the darkness between the vines. The creature had red, bootlike feet as well.

Huh. I... don't have much to counter that. Well, I mean... Shinx does have Ice Fang. I guess I can still go with her, Gabe thought as he cocked his hand back.

"Shinx, you're up girl!" Gabe called out, launching his new companion onto the battlefield.

The feline stretched as she immerged onto the pavement. Her bright yellow eyes focused forward as she spotted Tangela, her opposition, in front of her. Glancing up at her trainer, she could see the focus in his eyes, leading her to believe that this was indeed a battle to be invested in. Turning her attention back to Tangela, she crouched low and swished her tail to and fro in anticipation of a command.

"Tangela, let's begin with Sunny Day!" Jupiter commanded.

Tangela's vines began to glow brightly, and soon, the cloudy skies above parted and the sun pierced through the break in them.

If she's doing that, then that can only mean one of two things. Faster Solar Beams...or Chlorophyll. Maybe both? Gabe mused, knitting his brows as he contemplated strategy.

Better start off simple, Gabe thought, thrusting a hand out to issue a command.

"Shinx, Iron Tail!" Gabe shouted.

"Counter with Vine Whip!" Jupiter cried out.

Shinx tore off after Tangela, coating her tail with a thick metallic coat as she ran. Upon converging, several vines lashed out at her, forcing the cub to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck by the fast-moving vines. Shinx jinked to the right of a pair of vines as the came slamming down onto the ground with a loud crack! Leaping forward, she swung her body to the side in attempts to strike the first blow.

Her attempt, however, was thwarted by a set of vines entangling her mid-jump. Tangela whipped the vines upward and slammed them down harshly, causing Shinx to cry out in pain as she hit the pavement with a crash. Tangela then raised her up again and took aim while gathering in power.

"Energy Ball!" Jupiter commanded.

"Ice Fang!" Gabe countered hastily.

Opening her jaws, Shinx channeled icy aura into her fangs and bit down onto Tangela's vines, causing it to yelp in pain and drop Shinx to the ground while simultaneously misfiring his Energy Ball into the air.

Shinx landed softly and scrambled back to a battle ready stance, her eyes locked onto her opposition. Tangela retracted his vines and glared at Shinx.

Huh. It seems he's not a complete novice to battle. Knowing Tangela is resistant to electrical attacks and still using an Electric-type, would normally be considered idiotic. But in this day and age, type advantage means almost nothing, Jupiter mused, her eyes fixed on Shinx as she crouched in anticipation. Still, his Shinx may have gotten a good hit in, but it's still got a long way to go before it can win against me.