[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 450

Today would be the last day in Cedar as Elizabeth was ready to press onward to Bass. The holiday season had arrived during their stay in the resort town though Liz wasn't feeling very festive this year. Back home she'd either spend the day calling her parents from a Pokemon Center via video chat and spend the rest of the day resting and celebrating with her travel pokemon or she'd make the trip back to the ranch and spend like a week at home with her family and all her pokemon. This year however being in a new region and with her father out traveling and a large portion of her pokemon still in stasis, she felt rather alone.

But she did have some good news this year. Another trio of her pokemon had been been passed through customs and she now had three more members of her extended pokemon family to spend the holiday with. Of course without the ranch she had to improvise a little. Liz spent the better part of the morning with the pokemon she had with her already plus Icarus the gluttonous butterfree one of the imported trio who happily helped himself to seconds. Loki was the only one who'd miss out this year due to his dojo training. After providing special treats for them all, she left Damara and Pavel at the Pokemon Center for now then retrieved the others fresh from transport.

Haldor the hard headed steelix, and Lavender the purple lapras. Obviously Lavender and Haldor couldn't be released inside the center, it would be much too crowded in here for the steel snake or the icy water dino. Plus they could use a bit of a workout after being cooped up in stasis. Thus she gathered everyone's pokeballs, Raya, Cecylia, Ayla, Lavender and Haldor, and headed once more to the training grounds. The girl figured that not only could they get in a workout for Haldor and Lavender, but also do a little bit of gym training for the Bass gym.

The temperature had dropped once more though the frozen ground had no snow or ice this time. Liz had opted for the parka once again and Ceyclia had once more snuggled into her hood. The ranger found a spot to train just off the water's edge so there would be room for Lavender. The girl released both the steelix and lapras onto the battlefield and greeted them warmly, sharing the same holiday treat the others had already partaken in. The icy water dino and steel serpent happily dug in then stretched out enjoying the wide open space. Lavender was especially pleased by the chill in the air and the salty shoreline.

---

Yn6Ul81|

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 999(+450=1449)

Liz let the two continue to stretch their legs a bit as she went through a few martial forms with Raya to try and help get the blood flowing and keep her limbs from getting too cold. Icarus sat perched on Ayla and was already snoozing, the butterfree having eaten quite well earlier. The butterfree would get his work out soon enough, but the bug wasn't exactly active in the cold. The ranger finished up her routine then stretched and signaled to Haldor and Lapras. First she'd do as she did before, have the pair practice their various attacks and get their energy levels up.

The training grounds provided various targets for use in training along with the natural surroundings of the area. Liz liked to use whatever was on hand as that's what one would expect in a battle situation, though the open beach didn't have much to choose from. However it looked like there were a few rock formations surrounding their battlefield. Liz grinned and nodded those would do. The girl beckoned the great steel snake to her side the motioned to the rocks. Haldor rumbled across the field to the ranger and followed her gesture with a curious eye. He looked down at the small human questioningly.

"See there? That'll be our target. We're going to try a few different things to get started." The girl clarified as she considered the steelix's attacks. She frowned then shook her head and facepalmed. "Right, Rock Slide, you can provide us rocks whenever we want." She sighed then smirked. "Well anyway, let's try out your Thunder Fang. That'll be good for surprising water types if necessary."

Water of course was the natural deterrent to a part ground type like Haldor and it was likely an opponent would try to use such a typing against the steelix. Thus having an 'ace in the hole' so to speak such as Thunder Fang was always a good strategy. The great steel snake grit his teeth and sparks crackled within his jaws. He darted forward then clamped down on one of the rocks shattering it with the Thunder Fang.

Liz nodded in satisfaction and grinned at the steel snake. "Nicely done. Let's let Lavender have her turn."  The girl suggested as she turned to the lapras. Lavender squealed excitedly as she looked to Liz for her orders. The ranger grinned and gestured to the same rock pile. "Okay girl give it a good icing." Liz instructed indicating the icy water type should use Ice Beam.

Lavender trilled and complied as she turned to face the rocks. The purple lapras sucked in a deep breath and then fired a stream of pure ice straight for the rocks. Within seconds they were all frozen over with a nice shine. Lavender squealed happily then looked back to Liz who grinned. "Very nice. Okay guys, now let's see. The Bass city gym is a water type gym, obviously that means water type pokemon."

The girl was mostly thinking to herself but of course her pokemon were privy to the majority of her thoughts, plus 'talking' things out helped her think. She mentally ran through a list of the possible water type pokemon the gym might use. She frowned then an idea popped into her head.

"I wonder..." The girl retrieved her mobile device and pulled up information on the Bass gym. It did indeed have a list of the potential pokemon the gym used. Only twelve out of the hundred plus potential water types were listed. And as expected only a few were pure water types.

"So let's see, there's the lotad line, a water and grass type, not terribly weak against electric or grass type moves thus poison, flying or bug type attacks would be better. The mareanie line, hmm an alolan native pokemon, water and poison type thus an advantage over grass types but still weak to electricity, psychic or even ground attacks. And of course there's lapras." Liz glanced up and smiled at Lavender.

"An ice and water type, so still vulnerable to electricity and grass attacks but also rock type attacks. The binacle line, a rock and water type, so very weak to grass attacks, and still vulnerable to electricity, but also fighting and ground type attacks. Same goes for Relicanth. Alomomola, ah a pure water type so good ol' electricity and grass there. Mantine, water and flying type, very weak to electricity and fairly weak to rock type attacks though grass isn't nearly as effective." The girl paused then scrolled the list down a bit.

"The chinchou line, water and electric type, so isn't bothered by electricity but grass is still good as well as ground attacks. Ah Milotic, another pure water type, grass and electricity there. Then we've got the mudkip line, immune to electricity but very weak to grass type attacks and that's all. The piplup line, pure water until it evolves so electricity or grass for previous forms then, have to be electricity, fighting or ground for the dual water and steel type empoleon." The ranger pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side.

"And this is a Cramorant? Ah a Galar native pokemon, basic water and flying, so electricity very good, grass not so good and rock also good. Hmm that seems to be the gist of it. So obviously electricity and grass are going to be beneficial for most of them, but probably a good idea to have a few unconventional types too. Poison, flying, bug, psychic, ground, fighting and rock might all come in handy. Though unless we use a full team of six it'll be tricky to determine which ones the gym leader will utilize."

Liz stood then crossed her arms and looked over her team. "Seems to me we need some water pokemon to practice against. We've Lavender but would like at least one or maybe two more to help." She then began scanning the beach, looking for any potential training partners.

---

[Elizabeth Waters]

A wild Clamperl has appeared!

What will you do?

	Clamperl Lv38
		5 Energy
	Average	Brave
	Shell Armor
MOVES
Brine, Aqua Ring, Whirlpool, Iron Defense
NOTES
N/A

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 257(+1449=1706)

The ranger spotted a clamperl nestled along the shoreline who was watching them. The girl perked up and jogged over towards it. She waved and approached slowly.

"Hello there Clamperl. Curious about what we're doing? My team and I are getting ready to challenge the Bass water gym. I was wondering if maybe you could help us practice?" The girl inquired hopefully. Clamperl seemed to study the ranger a moment before nodding his pearl up and down. Looks like the little clam was up for the challenge.

Liz grinned. "Great! Thank you so much Clamperl. Now let's see, hey guys!" The girl turn to the others and waved them over. "Let's battle here on the water, the gym'll likely utilize a water field anyway." She surmised as the others made their way over, Lavender using ice beam on the sand to slide down to the water.

"Alright, let's try this. We'll do a double battle following the gym battle standard rules. Clamperl and Lavender will stand in as the gym pokemon and we'll use, Cecylia and Ayla okay?" She presented the plan of action to the group watching for their approval. Each nodded and Lavender and Clamperl took position in the water while Ayla and Cecilya found their spots on land.

Liz looked between the two and nodded to herself. "Okay guys, and battle begins. Challenger goes first." She raised an arm then lowered it sort of playing both ref, challenger and gym leader. Still it should help her figure out a decent battle strategy at least.

---

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 1367(+1706=3073)

Gym Practice Battle Begin!
Challenger's Pokemon Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP Spark, Play Nice, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Agility, Thunderbolt Ayla the Tropius 10 HP Leaf Storm, Gust, Growth, Dragon Dance	VS	Stand In Gym Pokemon Lavender the Lapras 10 HP Sing, Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Life Dew Wild Clamperl 10 HP Brine, Aqua Ring, Whirlpool, Iron Defense

Liz looked to Cecylia and Ayla as she informed them of her commands. "Cecylia, get ready with Agility, then Quick Attack on Lavender. Ayla, power up with Dragon Dance." It was best to start things off with a little boosting of stats. Cecylia lowered her body to the ground and focused her weight dropping and her speed greatly increasing. Ayla leaped into the sky and spun into a dance her speed also increasing as well as her attack power. And with the sudden boost in speed, Cecylia was moving fast enough she was able to deliver a second, though weak, attack. She turned and raced toward the purple lapras in a rather feeble Quick Attack.

Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP Using Agility +2 Speed Using Quick Attack (Weak, 1HP) wqkZqijHp_	Ayla the Tropius 10 HP Using Dragon Dance +0.5 Attack +1 Speed
Lavender the Lapras Quick Attack Avoidance p_	Wild Clamperl Not Attacked

Unfortunately Cecylia's attack missed and now it was their opponent's turn. Liz looked to Lavender and Clamperl thoughtfully. What might the gym leader do? Whatever they could to disable her own pokemon right? Lavender knew Ice Beam which would do massive damage to tropius if it hit. She also knew Sing would could put either of her teammates to sleep.

"Lavender, use Sing on Pikachu. Clamperl go for an Iron Defense?" Lavender readily began to sing a soft melody that was quite soothing. Clamperl did as asked and polished up his shell increasing his defense.

Lavender the Lapras 10 HP Using Sing, >75 p_

Wild Clamperl 10 HP Using Iron Defense +0.5 Defense

The sweet melody was pretty but it didn't manage to put the pikachu to sleep. Cecylia twitched her ears listening as the tune faded but ready to move at a moment's notice. Liz grinned rather glad the move had failed, this time. A simple thing like that could really change how the battle panned out.

"Alright now Cee, Agility again and go right into a Thunderbolt Clamperl. Ayla, go ahead and use Leaf Storm on Lavender." The girl instructed watching the pair as they sprang into action. 

Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP +2 Speed Using Agility +4 Speed Using Thunderbolt (Moderate, Super Effective, 4HP) p_	Ayla the Tropius 10 HP +0.5 Attack +1 Speed Using Leaf Storm (Strong, Super Effective, 6+0.5=6.5HP) p_
Lavender the Lapras Leaf Storm Avoidance p_	Wild Clamperl Thunderbolt Avoidance p_

Cecylia once more increased her speed then leaped into the air and released a powerful blast of electrical energy, which Clamperl narrowly managed to avoid. Ayla however whipped up a storm of leaves and rained them down upon the lapras. Lavender attempted to dive underwater to avoid taking damage from the powerful attack yet was slammed by the leaves and thrust back across the bay. Liz couldn't help a small smirk though was also concerned for Lavender. The ranger crossed her arms as she considered the water pokemon's next moves.

"Okay, Lavender Ice Beam on Ayla. Clamperl, Whirlpool on Cecylia." The girl stated watching to see how this turn played out. Lavender hesitated looking at Ayla but the tropius stomped a foot. Practice battle or not they were going to take this seriously. Lavender nodded then fired up the powerful Ice Beam. Clamperl too began swirling the waters around them intending on trapping the pikachu within the whirlpool.

Lavender the Lapras 4.5/10 HP Using Ice Beam (Moderate, Super Effective, 4HP) p_ Ice Beam Freeze, <10 p_	Wild Clamperl 10 HP +0.5 Defense Using Whirlpool (Weak, 1HP) p_
Ayla the Tropius Ice Beam Avoidance p_	Cecylia the Pikachu Whirlpool Avoidance p_

The speedy pikachu easily out maneuvered the watery attack. Ayla too was able to take to the skies and slip the icy blast. "Nice job guys." The ranger encouraged rather impressed. It was their turn now. She pursed her lips and glanced at the two water types. "Okay now Ayla, Growth to regain some of your strength. Cee? Go ahead and use Thunderbolt on both."

Ayla dug into the sand and pulled energy from the earth feeling her power grow once more. Cecylia raced across the sand almost moving like a bolt of lightning herself. Her ears flicked a mile a minute picking up on every little sound around her. She leaped into the air and twisted her body around to face the two water types. 

Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP +4 Speed Using Thunderbolt (Moderate, Super Effective, 4HP) p_ Using Thunderbolt (Moderate, Super Effective, 4HP) p_	Ayla the Tropius 10 HP +0.5 Attack +1 Speed -1 Sp.Attack Using Growth +1.5 Attack -0.5 Sp.Attack
Lavender the Lapras Thunderbolt Avoidance p_	Wild Clamperl Thunderbolt Avoidance p_

Cecylia released the powerful electric bolts yet both the water types submerged for cover. Ayla was ready to go but it was now the water type's turn. Liz nodded to herself as she considered her options. It was irritating when attacks missed but it was a part of battles and they'd just have to try harder next time. 

"Let's keep it up guys. Lavender, patch yourself up with Life Dew, and Clamperl, Aqua Ring." Yes healing moves, they were annoying but would be part of any gym battle. Liz knew she'd have to account for her opponent regaining health. Of course taking time to regain health instead of dealing damage could be dangerous choice. Passive healing effects, self use items such as berries or moves that healed and did damage were better options in the long run.

Lavender trilled and summoned the restorative dewdrops to herself. Clamperl though created a ring of water around himself ready to ease any incoming damage for the rest of the fight. Liz sighed a little, not really liking having to beat herself. This was sort of like playing chess with yourself.

Lavender the Lapras 4.5/10 HP Using Life Dew 4.5 + 2.5 = 7HP

Wild Clamperl 10 HP +0.5 Defense Using Aqua Ring +0.5 HP per turn

Luckily Ayla took to the sky and managed to avoid the incoming ice beam taking no more damage this round. However, Aqua Ring would now continuously heal the clamperl until the clam fainted or the battle ended. Now they were on the clock. Liz nodded to herself and looked to Cecylia and Ayla. They could do this, things were going in their favor for the most part.

"Right then Cee, double Thunderbolt on both. Ayla, try a Leaf Storm on Ayla." Liz knew the Leaf Storm's perchance to lower special attack was problematic and really rendered Ayla's only other attack, Gust, useless. At some point she'd need to teach the girl some better attacks.

Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP +4 Speed Using Thunderbolt (Strong, Super Effective, 4HP) p_ Using Thunderbolt (Strong, Super Effective, 4HP) p_	Ayla the Tropius 10 HP -0.5 Sp.Attack +1.5 Attack +2 Speed Using Leaf Storm (Strong, Super Effective, 6+1.5=7.5HP) p_
Lavender the Lapras Thunderbolt Avoidance p_ Leaf Storm Avoidance p_	Wild Clamperl Thunderbolt Avoidance p_

Now things were getting interesting. Cecylia was wielding thunderbolts like some greek god though while the lapras managed to avoid the first bolt, the clamperl was unable to avoid being hit. Ayla too was in fine form dishing out another heavy Leaf Storm that Lavender just couldn't dodge. The powerful flurry of leaves beat the lapras down until she was rendered fully unconscious. Liz's eyes widened having not quite expected that so quickly. Leaf Storm was a beast of an attack especially when powered up by Dragon Dance and Growth. 

"Wow, well done Ayla. Sorry Lavender, you did great though! Have a rest okay?" The ranger recalled the fallen lapras but couldn't help a grin. The clamperl was still standing though looked a tad uncertain now that he was standing alone against the pair of them. Liz chewed her lip then looked at Ayla.

"Why don't you sit this one out Ayla? We'll let Cecylia and Clamperl battle on their own." The girl suggested not wanting Clamperl to feel too ganged up on, he was after all doing them a pretty big favor. Ayla dipped her head and stepped back to watch the battle. "You're up Clamperl. Whirlpool on Cecylia?"

Lavender the Lapras 0/10 HP KO'd!	Wild Clamperl 6.5/10 HP +0.5 Defense -Aqua Ring, 0.5 HP- Using Whirlpool (Weak, 1HP) p_
Ayla the Tropius Not Battling	Cecylia the Pikachu Whirlpool Avoidance p_

Clamperl did his best but the pikachu was simply too quick. The swirling waters of whirlpool missed their mark and now Cecylia was on the move. She knew what to do before Liz even had to ask. Twin thunderbolts flew again with only Clamperl as their target.

Cecylia the Pikachu 10 HP +4 Speed Using Thunderbolt (Strong, Super Effective, 4HP) p_ Using Thunderbolt (Strong, Super Effective, 4HP) p_

Wild Clamperl Thunderbolt Avoidance p_ Thunderbolt Dodge! No Roll

Poor Clamperl had little chance alone even against only Cecylia. He got hit hard by the first bolt but in a last ditch, desperate attempt the clam grounded himself on the shore just in time to avoid the second bolt. Clamperl panted still very weak from the attacks. Liz smiled softly and called Cecylia to her side. 

"I think that's enough. Thank you Clamperl for your help. Is there anything I can offer you as thanks?" She inquired in case Clamperl needed a visit to the pokemon center. However the clam summoned yet another Aqua Ring so she nodded assured Clamperl knew how to take care of himself. She turned to her group and gave a heavy sigh.

"Well that was intense and we got some lucky hits in. I hope we followed all the rules correctly." She stated slightly uncertain. This was to be a mock battle that imitated a real battle though she couldn't be sure if they'd executed it correctly. However what she did know is that they had a few ideas about what they'd have to deal with when it came to water types. Really if Lavender's Sing hadn't missed at the start or if Cecylia wasn't moving so quickly the battle likely could've gone in a very different direction. Now it was off to the pokemon center to get Lavender seen too and to get ready for their travels down the next route.

Thread End

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[Elayne]

Congratulations!

Your thread is complete and now locked.

Elizabeth Waters

Your thread has been locked. Because it was 3073 words, you receive 12 levels, 120 Pen, 2 Burn Heals, 1 White Apricorn, 1 Net Balls, 1 Timer Ball, 2 Great Balls, 1 Premier Ball, and 6 Rare Candies.