[Deleted]

She had no idea what she was doing.

This thought refused to leave her mind as she made her way to the Lava dorm with the intent of seeking out a warden to battle. Now that she had her full team, it seemed that going for badges should be her next main focus. Wasn’t that what trainers did? Perhaps she should have done this sooner, but she wanted a full party before she worried about anything else. Even if she wouldn’t be allowed to use them all, she’d still have all her main team with her from the very beginning, and the entire team would have the memory of the journey. What could be better for bonding them all together?

At least this place was somewhat comfortable. In fact, it reminded her a little of home. Maybe that fact would help settle her nerves a bit. Besides, this place was for fire, rock, and dragon types, right? She was pretty sure she had moves and resistances to counter those. If not…then she’d have to train a bit and try again, wouldn’t she? But she’d be fine, right? The first badge was supposed to be easy compared to the others, right?

She was about to find out.

Toni had to force herself to breathe as she entered the dorm, her lungs momentarily forgetting how to do their job. She really shouldn’t be this nervous…even if she lost, what would it cost her? All that would happen was that she’d know what to expect for next time. It was going to be okay. She’d keep telling herself that until she believed it.

Now she was here. All she had to do was find a warden, right? She stepped away from the door and looked around, trying to find anyone that looked too old to be a student. Or…maybe she should just be looking for anyone? Would a student know how to find one of their wardens? She wouldn’t know if someone came to her dorm… Bah, this was hard! She hadn’t even started the battle and already she was overwhelmed…

[Levi McLaren]

A new challenger awaits.

That was the message he had received from a gentleman at the front desk. The young warden sat quietly in his chamber within the Lava Dorm contemplating the sort of challenge he would receive from this unknown visitor today. Whoever it was, and whatever the case may be, he surely wasn't going to make this easy for that hopeful battler. Battling was all he had ever found pleasure in. People have come and gone. But Levi on the other hand? He had opted to remain here after completing his studies here and conquering the gyms in his own right. There was a bit of a sentimental feeling behind his reasoning for remaining in the academy. Every battle here was a learning experience for him. And so, now he could only hope that any current students coming to challenge the Lava gym would want to gain such knowledge and learn from this experience in a similar manner.

"I'll be right there." he responded to the representative.

It seemed that Levi had been carrying much of the heavy workload since beginning his tenure as a Lava Warden. When it came to accepting gym challenges, supervising the dorm's inhabitants, or keeping tabs on the well-being of the facility itself, the weight of the workload was great enough to crush the young man and bury him so far underground that the heat from the planet's core would fry him. But alas, this was his job. The job he had chosen to enroll in himself after all. In spite of that fact, the task of conquering the Lava Gym would by no means be a simple one, or at least not with Levi taking up the challenge.

It would be rude to keep a challenger waiting, and so he'd be on his way. In attire consisting only of a plain white v-neck t-shirt revealing the dragon tattoo that wrapped around his left arm, along with slim fitted black slacks, Levi made haste to meet his challenger. There was no telling who this would-be opponent might be. One thing was certain, and it was that it couldn't possibly be any of the students residing in his own dorm. As he made his way out into the open, he spotted a peculiar violet-haired female, noting her worrisome expression. Could she be the challenger waiting in the wings? Only one way to find out.

"Welcome, young lady. Have you by chance come for a gym battle? If that is the case, then it is I, Levi McLaren, who shall answer your call."

@toni

[Deleted]

Eventually, someone showed up – a rather intimidating man with a dragon tattoo. Her throat seemed to swell on her, and she swallowed to try and force it back open. She was fine with her teachers, for the most part…why was the warden so scary? She didn’t think it could be the tattoo – that sort of thing didn’t bother her. Maybe it was just the impending battle…she knew it was going to be her toughest challenge so far, even if it was the easiest of the gym battles she’d be experiencing here. She hadn’t even had a normal battle with any of her fellow students yet, though she’d had a handful of wild battles for experience. How much different would this be?

She was about to find out.

The man welcomed her, asked if she’d come by for a gym battle, and added that he would be the one to take her challenge. She nodded to him while she thought against the ump in the throat. Stupid nerves…why couldn’t she just be the way she was at home? She hated all this fear she’d been experiencing since moving here.

Finally, she won against her nerves enough to draw in a deep breath. Another deep breath dulled the edges of what she was pretty sure was the beginnings of panic. She needed to stop this – the man wasn’t going to hurt her! Win or lose, she’d be able to heal her Pokemon and return to her dorm, just like every night where she battled against something. It’d be okay. She’d be okay.

But she hadn’t responded vocally yet, had she? She should do that before he started thinking she was rude. She swallowed again to try and keep her airways clear. “T-that’s right. Thank you for agreeing to battle with me.” It felt like there was something else she should say, or maybe something she should ask, but she couldn’t think of what that could possibly be. Her nerves might still be a bit frayed. She hoped she’d be able to get them under control before the battle – it’d be awful if they interfered with what would otherwise have been a win.

[Levi McLaren]

What was with all the tension emanating from this girl? Could it be anxiousness settling into her core? Whatever the case may be, Levi could definitely relate to that notion. He could vaguely recall his first gym battle. He remembered the sweat drops falling from his features with each passing moment out of sheer nervousness, and ultimately, out of a fear of failure. Naturally, it was okay to lose.

Losing meant you'd get right back up on your feet and try harder the next time out. In some cases, there wouldn't even be a next time. Surely enough, there was always a next time in Levi's case. And before he knew, he had gone on to master the gym challenges in his own right. He will look to pass on a portion of the knowledge he's gained from those experiences to his challenger today.

"Very well, right this way if you please." The warden would lead the way towards the site of where the gym battle shall be held, someplace private, far enough away so that they wouldn't risk harming any of the facilities or any other students in the area during the battle. He would direct the girl down a path at the foot of the mountains. Finally, they'd end up on an open field with a mesmerizing view of the volcano in the near distance.

"Here we are. Now, is it safe to assume that this will be your first gym battle? If so, then it's actually quite simple." It was kind of funny how that sounded coming from him. Having heard a similar statement during his first challenge...oh those were the days. You could say that part of the reason he chose to reside in the Lava Dorm to begin was...well...because it reminded him of home!

"Each of us will use three base form pokemon in this battle, and neither of us shall use any held items. I do hope that you have prorperly prepared for this, Miss...?" It'd probably be wrong to start a battle without a proper introduction...

@toni

[Deleted]

The man responded to her, politely suggesting she follow him. She gave him a nod and walked after him, focusing on her breathing so she wouldn’t have to focus on her nerves, instead. He led her down a path at the base of the mountain – a place that felt oddly familiar, though she knew it wasn’t. She was used to mountains and volcanoes from back home, but this familiar-but-not area was simultaneously comforting and upsetting, with both feelings working to cancel the other out and making absolutely no headway. She was glad she wasn’t a Lava Dorm resident – this would be torture in the long-term. As it was, she was glad when they’d stopped in the field, away from certain triggers. Here, hopefully, she’d be able to focus.

When the warden correctly guessed that this was her first gym battle, she nodded. He kept talking, so she didn’t try to say anything just yet, instead focusing on his words. It seemed like he was about to tell her something important. When he started talking again, though, he just told her the rules for the battle. She knew that for the most part, though she’d missed the detail about her being restricted to base forms as well. That changed nothing – none of her Pokemon had evolved yet – but it would be a good thing to remember for the future.

He also asked her name – that was what she’d forgotten earlier – and that she’d properly prepared. “Oh, s-sorry… It’s Toni Hendrick.” Did he need or want her last name? She didn’t know – probably not. She never knew how proper was just right or too much when it came to adults. As for preparing…she was sure she had, but it felt like her words should be stronger than ‘I think’ or ‘I suppose’. She was sure she was as prepared as she could be without experiencing a gym battle first hand. So, she settled for a nod and an, “I have.”

Levi McLaren

---

((+1 Sandile hatch count {2/10}))

[Levi McLaren]

If there was nothing else to discuss, then it was about time to get this battle under way. The three-on-three contest would indeed be the first of the many trials that this girl will eventually face at some point. Although, Levi would have preferred if it was anyone competing for one of the later badges down the road.

However, being that he hasn't any challenges in a long while, this would have to do for the time being. At the very least, it gave him to focus on, and to turn his attention away from all of the imperfections and impurities in the world. That's not to say that there was anything he could do about them right now though.

Right now, it was time to test see if the female was truly prepared to rise to the challenge. In truth, she had nothing to lose. Then again, neither Levi.

She finally introduced herself. That confirmed it; she was definitely not someone from his respective dorm. That was a start. In any case, he will likely enjoy this experience. You could say that it was moments like this, or maybe it was something else that reminded him of home. Who knows. But enough about that, it was time to begin.

Strapped onto his belt were three pokeballs, with each of them containing the three pokemon that he had hand-picked himself (and had also trained himself at some point in time) to conduct the first-tier challenge whenever it had come to pass.

"Well then, Miss Hendrick, let's begin." he said plainly as e pulled one up and swiftly tossed it forward in a sidearm motion. And from within the first ball, out came Sonar the Noibat flapping his wings wildly as he stood, ready for action.

"Now, please select your first pokemon. You may begin whenever you're ready."

@toni

Levi has sent out Noibat!

[Hatch Count (Vulpix, Dratini, Houndour, Torkoal): 1 of 5]

[Deleted]

And now it was time for the actual fight. Toni nodded at the warden’s words and watched as he pulled a pokeball off his belt and tossed it. Was she really prepared for this? Well, if she wasn’t, it was still too late to back out now.

But then his starting Pokemon appeared, and relief smoothed down the edges of her nerves as she noted the species. That was a Noibat! She knew that species well enough, having one on her own team. That was a flying/dragon. She had the perfect Pokemon for such a type! Granted, she was only thinking of type match-ups and knew this would still be tough, but if ever she had an advantage against any of the wardens, it was now.

She pulled her own pokeball out of her bag and tossed it, releasing her Seel in front of the Noibat. The Seel blinked several times at her surroundings before spotting the Noibat and warden, and then tilted her head curiously. This wasn’t the dorm room or anywhere she could be given treats. What was she doing out of her Pokeball?

“You can do this, Quartz!” Toni gave the water-type a smile, or what she hoped passed for a smile. Seeing the Noibat had eased a lot of the tension, but this was still a battle against another trainer – and a warden, of all trainers – so the nervousness never completely died down. “Let’s start with an Aurora Beam, all right?”

If Quartz noticed her trainer’s nerves, she didn’t show it. She pointed her horn at the Noibat and fired and fired a multi-colored beam in its direction. Toni watched the attack, hoping for a good hit. She’d need every advantage she could think of.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

((Toni sends out Seel.
Seel used Aurora Beam!

Aurora Beam’s accuracy is over 9000100%.
Aurora Beam has a side-effect.  Rolling to lower Sonar’s attack (10%):
PELO3O3L1-100))

---

((+1 Sandile hatch count {5/10}
This is my first trainer battle on this site. Here’s hoping I did everything correctly...))
1-100

[Levi McLaren]

What sort of challenge would this student bring to him today? That remained in question as the young warden awaited the arrival of the girl's first pokemon to be utilized in this official gym battle. His Noibat floated about, anxiously awaiting his opponent. The duo didn't have to wait too long though, as an aquatic pokemon emerged onto the battlefield. So now this battle can officially begin. In his days of exploring the academy as a student, Levi had gotten awfully with the vast majority of the various species residing on the island, and so it came to a point in time where he didn't need his pokedex to identify them at least ninety-five percent of the time.

"A Seel, huh? Interesting choice." he commented. One thing was certain, and it was a Seel was more than capable of learning moves that could put the tiny flying dragon at a major disadvantage. Now, would it be safe for Levi to assume that this Seel would know any moves of that caliber? Probably. None the less, tactics meant everything in any battle, and that goes double for a gym battle. For the young violet-haired female's sake, Levi mentally prayed that she had done her homework before entering the gym. What could possibly feel worse than preparing for a moments like this only to fail in the end. Nothing, so it seemed.

And so the battle had commenced with the Seel unleashing a raibow-colored beam at the Noibat, knocking him back quite a bit as he cried in agony. A super-effective move would do that to you. "It would appear that you've come prepared after all. Very good. Now then..." Levi paused, waiting for the bat to recuperate from such a harshly damaging move, then gave his first command. "Sonar, use Supersonic!" The Noibat would scream, and boy what an eerie sound he made as he emulated waves of sonic energy at the sea lion pokemon.

{you're perfectly fine! everything is correct!}

@toni

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Noibat used Supersonic!
Roll for Accuracy (55%; 1-55 will confuse the target)
QcP0zpyF1-100

---

[Hatch Count (Vulpix, Dratini, Houndour, Torkoal): 3 of 5]1-100

[Deleted]

The warden commented on her Pokemon choice, and she gave him a nervous smile. Was that…good? Bad? She thought it had been her best choice. Maybe Seel just wasn’t a commonly used Pokemon around here? It was what she’d found, though, and she was glad of it. Quartz had the one ice-type move, a couple decent water-type moves, and a health recovery move. She’d been very lucky that day.

Toni couldn’t help but wince at the Noibat’s agonized cry. She had to remind herself that the Pokemon were built for battle, and most even enjoyed it. At least he wouldn’t be in pain for long, right? It still made her feel guilty to know that she was the cause of it, and she hoped that feeling would dull a bit as time wore on. I the meantime, the warden spoke to her again, and she managed to stutter out a “Thank you” while they waited for the Noibat to recover.

Fortunately, that didn’t seem to take very long – or maybe it was her getting lost in thought that made the time pass. The warden called out an order to the Noibat, who let a scream that sent chills through her body. She couldn’t remember hearing Fluorite make such a sound…probably because she couldn’t remember ordering such an attack from her. So far, she tended to stick to damaging moves and avoid status moves. That wasn’t the best strategy, though. Maybe she should consider implementing the status moves into her strategies… At the very least, it would be helpful to try confusing her opponents every now and again.

The scream thankfully ended, and it didn’t seem to affect Quartz. Toni let out a relieved sigh at that. This meant it was her turn again, but she felt a little bad going through with it. There was only one move she wanted to use against the Noibat. Not very exciting, but she had to press her advantage when she could.

“Sorry, Sonar…” She turned to her Pokemon. “Quartz, try Aurora Beam again.”

The Seel blinked at her trainer, head tilting slightly to the left, but then turned back to her opponent and repeated the move from before. She pointed her horn at her opponent and fired another multi-colored beam at it while Toni watched and waited.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

((Toni sends out Seel.
Seel used Aurora Beam (again)!

Aurora Beam’s accuracy is 100%.
Aurora Beam has a side-effect. Rolling to lower Sonar’s attack (10%, 1-10 lowers the target’s attack):
y5BTM7I_1-100))

---

((+1 Sandile hatch count {10/10}
Thanks. ^.^))
1-100

[Levi McLaren]

The Supersonic attack had failed. In truth, Levi was not at all surprised by that outcome. A hit-or-miss move such as that one would surely miss almost half of the time he used it. It was merely an attempt to derail the young sea lion and its trainer. Fortunately enough, it worked in her favor. As if the Noibat wasn't at much of a disadvantage already. It would seem that the challenger has managed to do some homework before stepping foot into this hot spot after all. Still, it was a bit too early to judge.

The battle must go on, no matter how agonizing it may be for the flying-dragon type pokemon to be matched up with an opponent such as this. Sonar released another pain-induced shriek upon getting bombarded by another Aurora Beam. Sure, it was a good move to use against him. But...it left Levi with the impression of that being the only move it may know.

"Shake it off, Sonar!" the Lava veteran coached the little bat. Grounded for the moment, the Noibat perked up as he took in his trainer's words of encouragement, and did exactly that. He shook his body to and fro and flapped his wings enthusiastically as he took the sky once again, in hope of brushing at least a shard of the damage done to him up to this point.

At this rate, he probably couldn't afford to take another one of those rainbow shots head-on again. If anything, he may as well go down fighting. "Good, now get in there and use Air Slash!" the warden ordered the bat. At that moment, Sonar would produce of blade of pure air and in mid-air performed a sweeping motion at the Seel.

{dat seel iz 2 cute 4 me! D;}
@toni

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Noibat used Air Slash! (95% accurate)
xIIf|pZA1-100
Air Slash has a 30% chance to cause flinching, if it hits.
(Pokemon that flinch are unable to attack on their next turn.)
1-100

1-100·1-100

[Deleted]

The Noibat let out another shriek. Toni winced and shuddered. Poor thing…she felt so awful! This was what she was supposed to be doing, though, wasn’t it? How did other trainers do this so often? Maybe learning to shut out the pain of the opponent Pokemon would be covered in one of her classes, someday? She really hoped so… In the meantime, she supposed she’d just have to deal…somehow.

The warden called to his Noibat to shake it off, and the Noibat took to the air. She watched, frowning. She really hoped it’d be all right…she wasn’t done causing it pain yet. Soon, she hoped. In the meantime, it was the Noibat’s turn, and she watched as it created blades of air and swept at Quartz.

Toni expected the move to hurt. What she didn’t expect was for Quartz to flop out of the way just in time to avoid the move. That was good – she was glad her Seel wasn’t hurt yet – but she’d be immensely frustrated and probably panicked if her moves kept missing while his hit. But then, this was a gym battle… Wardens were supposed to lose, weren’t they? Well…as long as it was an honest loss and not throwing the match.

“Quartz, Aurora Beam again,” she ordered, trying not to meet the warden’s gaze. What must he think of her? But this was the best strategy, and at this point she wanted to end the poor Noibat’s suffering more than she wanted to progress the gym battle. The best way to do that was to perform her most damaging move against it, right?

The Seel glanced at her – and was it her imagination, or was Quartz’s tongue sticking out more than normal with that look? – but then turned to the Noibat and repeated her move again, tilting her horn toward it and firing yet another rainbow beam.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

((Seel used Aurora Beam (yes, again)!

Aurora Beam’s accuracy is 100%.
Aurora Beam has a side-effect. Rolling to lower Sonar’s attack (10%, 1-10 lowers the target’s attack):
j_PL8XvV1-100))

1-100

[Levi McLaren]

There was no avoiding it now; the pending fall of the noisy airborne creature. It's not like Levi was deliberately trying to throw the match or anything. It wouldn't be much of a gym challenge if there was no actual, well, challenge involved here. The real challenge apparently was for the Noibat right now getting his attacks to get on target for a change. It was sad to say however, that there would be no room for improvement. Or at least not right now.

Another rainbow-colored beam was fired at the flying dragon - the third one of this match to be exact - and of course, it was a direct hit. The Noibat went down hard, face first into the ground. A dismal showing by the avian sound-based pokemon. What a way to make your trainer look a complete scrub!

Shaking his head in bitter disgust by the abysmal stylings of a pokemon specifically trained for battles just like this, Levi quickly called for the bat to return to his spherical home. "You and I are going to have a long...long...discussion about your performance today, Sonar." On the contrary, it would be more like Levi lecturing the poor creature on perfectly executing a move. And getting it to land for that matter.

Needless to say, Sonar's execution in this battle was far from perfect, and that was an issue for the warden. Everything needed to be, well, perfect. "Well done, Miss Hendrick. However, this is merely the beginning."

And so it was time to dispatch the next pokemon to use in this fight. The decision was rather simple. Levi tossed another ball forward and out came Orion the Tyrunt. The dinosaur pokemon unleashed a loud-and-proud roar upon entering the battlefield. He already knew full well what he was here for. He was here to fight, and he was ready. "Alright, Orion. It's time we made up for lost ground. Crunch!" The dino wasted no time and rushing to chomp on the sea lion, and perhaps to make a statement, that this fight wouldn't be all to easy.

@toni

---

Noibat fainted!
Levi has sent out Tyrunt!
Tyrunt used Crunch!
(Crunch is 100% accurate. Crunch has a 20% chance to lower the target's Defense by 1 stage.)
yXzzki_D1-1001-100

[Deleted]

She cringed as the Noibat fell face first to the ground. The poor thing… It had to be in so much pain! She wanted to go hug it and tell it everything would be okay, but that was for its trainer to do. Her gaze lifted to the warden, who was shaking his head, and she frowned. He didn’t look concerned. Just…disappointed? Then he spoke, telling the Noibat that they were going to have a long discussion, and she frowned. “I-I’m sure it was mostly bad luck.” He wasn’t going to make his Pokemon feel too badly, was he? Sometimes a battle just didn’t go well…

The warden did congratulate her, though. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She should be really happy, but she was still worried for the Noibat. How did trainers cope with this? She hadn’t gone too far, had she? She dipped her head to him in thanks and tried to clear her mind. She could sort out her problem later, when she was back in the dorm room. Right now, she had a battle to (hopefully) win.

The warden sent out his next Pokemon – a…something. She’d worked to try and at least learn the names of all the Pokemon, but this one eluded her. That was..unfortunate. She didn’t even know its type, other than it had to be at least part fire, dragon, or walk. With that in mind, there should be a reasonable chance that a water type move would do well, right? As she tried to think of her next move, her opponent made his, and she couldn’t help a yelp as Orion closed his all-too-impressive jaws around Quartz. The Seel let out a pained cry of her own, her tail trashing at the pain. Toni would have to make this up to her after the battle ended.

“Hang in there, Quartz,” she tried to encourage her Pokemon. “Try an Aqua Tail!”

Water formed along the Seel’s tail and she spun to swing it, aiming for her opponent. Toni had to remind herself to breathe as she watched and prayed for a hit. So far, she was winning, but things could turn against her in an instant. She had to fight like she was losing if she wanted to win.

((Seel used Aqua Tail!

Aqua Tail’s accuracy is 90%. 1-90 means it hits:
DlA4RvWc1-100
Aqua Tail has no side-effect.]))
1-100

[Levi McLaren]

A case of bad luck, she says. "Perhaps..."

It could have been, under normal circumstances anyway. It had to be a joke of some sort. If it was, the warden did not find it humourous in the slightest. In a battle of this magnitude, there was no such thing as luck. Only skills and determination reigned supreme here in this setting. Still, he had to admit that it was an intriguing notion in its own way. And even then, he didn't plan on making his themed battles easy for anyone, in spite of this one being of the lowest tier.

Unlike the incompetent Noibat, the dynamic dinosaur was able to go through his attack, and connect on it! A yelp of pain on the part of the Seel could possibly be heard from the other side of the mountain. Poor thing, but Levi knew full well that the sympathy would have to wait - at least until after the battle has concluded. Right now, the challenger and her Seel were making preparations for their next move. A sweeping motion with the tail...that was oddly familiar. Uh oh, an Aqua Tail! "Dodge it quick!" For the first time in this match, the Seel had missed its mark. Perhaps the tide of the battle would turn...

It was Orion's turn to strike again. "Good, now use Dragon Claw!" At that moment, dark razor sharp claws formed on the tiny hands of the young Tyrunt as it began to hack away at the opposing sea lion pokemon. Can you say that Levi and his dino buddy were making up for lost ground right about now? Quite possibly so.

{i forgot to mention in the previous post that Crunch gets a power boost due to Tyrunt having the Strong Jaws ability. silly me! D; }

@toni

---

Seel's attack missed!
Tyrunt used Dragon Claw!
(Dragon Claw is 100% accurate. No additional effect.)

[Deleted]

He responded to her, but it didn’t ease her worries. She really hoped that Noibat would be okay. There were rules in place to prevent a trainer from being cruel to their Pokemon, right?

The warden called again, bringing her attention back to the battle. She watched as Quartz missed her target and then was struck by the Tyrunt’s claws, which seemed to have changed just for the attack. It was…a little unsettling how Pokemon could do that to themselves for just a moment or two. Even more unsettling was the series of yelps from her Pokemon as she was struck. How much longer could she endure?

“It’s okay, Quartz! Just hang in there.” She fought down the returning nerves to the best of her ability. The first part of the battle had been easy. This one…not so much. She hoped Quartz was okay, and had to keep reminding herself that Pokemon could handle injuries like this. “Try that Aqua Tail again – you’re sure to get it this time.”

The Seel panted a few times, but then complied, forming water along her tail again and slapping it toward her opponent.

((Seel used Aqua Tail!

Aqua Tail’s accuracy is 90%. 1-90 means it hits:
ZXpZ4EbB1-100
Aqua Tail has no side-effect.]))
((No worries. I’ll keep that in mind. ^.^))
1-100