"Shadow Claw."
"Where?"
"The tree closest to you."
Gem used the faint echo of his young but wise trainer's voice to locate the closest tree, directly behind him. He immediately whirled around and slashed it dead-on with glowing black claws. Three long, clearly visible claw marks were left in place of tree bark. They looked a little big, as if they didn't match Gem's claws, but those of something larger.
"Good," Klaww nodded, patting his Sableye on the head. "You haven't forgotten a thing I've taught you back in Hoenn, and now you can fight even with ice all around you."
"But Master, do you really think I'm ready for the next gym?" Gem grimaced slightly.
"I should think so. If not, there are plenty of trainers around to spar with. First, we should try the gym. If we don't win, at least we'll know what we're up against. Then, we can strategize for it."
Gem nodded, always reassured by Klaww's insight. "Sounds good. When do we go?"
"Right after we get you rested up at a Pokemon Center.
xxx
"Fire Punch." With the abnormally unexcited battle command, Gem roughly threw a flaming fist right into his opponent's thick brown fur, eliciting a deep, pained groan. The defending Piloswine was returned to its pokeball in a brilliant flash of red.
"Well I'll admit, you and your Sableye have me backed right into a corner," its owner mused.
"We do," Klaww agreed with almost no emotion. "You only have one Pokemon left."
The gym leader gave a confident huff and tossed out her last pokeball. Gem readied himself, getting into an attacking position, knees bent, claws flexing… Then froze, and not because of the cold.
The pokeball released a tough-looking Sneasel, who readied her claws in a way that was painfully familiar to him.
"Ready, Master," she sneered at him and not her trainer, featherlike ear twitching. Gem got a lump in his throat the size of a cannonball. His stance faltered too slightly for his trainer to notice.
"Brick Break," Klaww spoke easily, snapping his fingers. Gem took a tentative step forward as if to follow the command, but hesitated when the Sneasel moved to avoid the blow that was never delivered.
Klaww grit his teeth. "Gem, I said Brick Break," he repeated the command a bit more harshly. The Sableye was about to try again, but moved just a bit too slow.
"Aerial Ace!" the skilled gym leader barked. With that, her Sneasel delivered an unrestrained, sharp blow from her claws right into Gem's face. The latter withdrew a few quick steps immediately after, covering the wound with both hands.
"Gem! What are you doing out there?" For once Klaww had an edge to his voice. His partner was speechless and seemed to be in some sort of shock. Something was doing a good job of holding him back.
"Ice Shard, Sneasel." The Pokemon followed her orders with ease and haste, raising her hands and creating a glowing icy blue sphere between them, then holding it forward, using it to fire multiple shards of ice straight at the challenging ghost. Gem didn't move fast enough to dodge and was bombarded with them, only managing to flinch like a child covering their eyes in a rough snowstorm.
"GEM!" Now Klaww was furious. "Finish it off with Faint Attack!" Candice cut him off.
At this, her Sneasel shot straight at Gem, weaving back and forth while doing so. Before he could think, he was struck dead-on and knocked down into the icy-cold floor. Emerald green faded to black...
