Boon Island, as residents of the Sevii Islands called the island better known as Two Island, had certainly lived up to its name. The second-smallest of the seven most well-known islands had, in spite of its size, grown into the home of the most lucrative businesses on the islands, its windfall fueled by so-called "tri-pass tourists". While One Island boasted more visitors overall, and more tourists stayed in the hotels erected on the gateway to the islands, those visitors turned to Two Island when it came time to lighten their wallets.
And who could blame them? Boon Island's smaller companion island offered tourists an amusement park recreating the archipelago's landmarks in steel and plastic, condensing the experience of traversing the islands from multiple days of excursions to a short afternoon and ornamenting it with rides and games. Not only did Boon Island, through its park, distill the islands' culture into purchasable trinkets and palatable bite-sized fun facts and daily shows, but the main island even offered a commercialized blend of exotic novelty and familiarity for tourists.
"Lava Cookies! Lava Cookies here! A volcanic treat, made fresh here by the sea!"
"These aren't made around here?"
"These? No, no. They're Devon-made specialties. But- And I promise you this- you won't find them anywhere else this far from Hoenn."
"This isn't just any old water. We collected this fresh from the water flowing over Cape Brink. It's fresher, cleaner, and cooler than drinking from a glacier directly."
"I don't know… It seems pricey, but, if it's really that good, then…"
"Get a load of this. Who charges that for a rock? Where's this seee-vaauult place, anyways?"
"Sorry, ma'am. We're out of stock already today. You'll have to try getting here early tomorrow. They sell out fast. Oh, but the ferry to the park starts running just after we open, so you won't be waiting around long."
Even today, Two Island's open-air market is abuzz. Ever the eavesdropper's paradise, all kinds of conversations and commentaries on the market's goods mingle with the scent of the sea hanging in the air. Customers snack on everything from corn dogs to sweets ranging from Shalour Sables to Skittles to Bush Cubes, buy up snowglobes and magnets, and weave in and out of tent-covered displays.
With the Joyful Game Corner, displaying shamelessly for all to see the garish yellow diamonds painted onto its walls and the flashing lights of its marquee, anchoring it on one end, and the road to the docks - and thus, to the ferries to the park and to One Island - anchoring it at the other, the market's steady stream of visitors never ran dry.
And, now, today, Iono finds herself at the edge of this market, weaving her way through the crowds as she makes tracks for the road to the mountain which dominates the island.
“Hmmm. Hmmm hmmm hmmm.” Here to adventure and explore, and find out more about who to confront for the second badge of the Sevii League, Iono looks around and listens. A fancy game corner… a ridiculously overstocked market… why, it all looked too good to be true! Her impulses urge her to run off and buy everything she wants, but she restrains herself. Not just because of impulse control - in fact, if this was a day off, she’d already be splurging.
But she has a group that she knows to tap into it.
“Alright, chat, it’s time for one of the Iono Zone’s favorite games! How overpriced is this exotic market, and what are you going to fund me to buy anyway?”
"bush cubes are supposed to be good"
"anything you want from us, queen"
"bottled water's a scam anywhere see my blog about it"
"$7.00 right now if youll buy a plush and name it after me"
"You're near the game corner?"
"new iono spending surge?"
"she can't name it after your screenname, dolt"
“Let’s see…” Taking this surprisingly seriously, Iono looks over the information - as well as the superchats she’s been sent. Grinning, Iono makes a small list, Rotom floating next to her to make it easier for her to doublecheck as she goes.
“Alright, chat, we’re off!”
And that’s why just a bit later, Iono walks out of the other side of the market, carrying an overstuffed sandwich, pocketing a plush, and munching on a Bush Cube - one of the local Sevii treats, apparently named after Pattern Bush. All the way out on farflung Six Island, with Iono even overhearing a couple people mentioning that they didn’t even know you COULD go to Six Island.
She had to raise an eyebrow at this. Tourists gonna tourist.
As she walks by the Game Corner, Iono decides to take a look at it - only to be nearly clobbered by the door as someone walks out, Iono yelping.
"Io-! Io… no…?" She hears a shout immediately, her accidental assailant panicking as he realizes what's happened. "I promise that wasn't on purpose!" Stunned by the whole affair, the young man - dressed in a teal shirt, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose - seemingly forgets that he can, indeed, let the door close now. Luckily, it only takes a moment for him to snap out of it, coming to his senses as he walks around the door to check on Iono, letting it close on its own.
"Iono! I- I'm so sorry! I'm a huge fan, actually. I'd never do that on purpose! Wait… No, that's not important right now!" Frantically reaching into his pockets, he rummages through his belongings, keys and even some kind of card falling to the ground as he finally manages to pull out a handkerchief. "Here, use…" Only after procuring the item does it begin to dawn on him that it may not be that useful. "Uhm, you can take this if you want. I should start with… Are you okay?"
Luckily, Iono isn’t actually harmed, just thrown off. As she shakes her head, confused, she has to try and keep up with the pile of awkward nerd banter - though at least the main point is reinforced by chat, with their cries of “SIMP” and “ONE OF US, ONE OF US”. Tilting her head, the first thing that comes to mind is “Wait, people watch my streams out here?”
A second later, she quickly realizes she’s gotta steal the scene. “I mean, uh. Of course they do! I’m Iono, after all! The most famous and most wonderful streamer to ever stream, and shut up chat. Nice to meet a fan in person! This is a lucky experience for you, normally my going rate is one hundred dollars!”
Iono types her next message in chat rather than saying it. “Would it be crass to ask him anyway? …Yeah, thought so.”
“Anyhow! Your idol is fine, no harm was done. What brings you out here?”
"Oh, that's great," he says, breathing a sigh of relief. Letting his shot nerves recover, he opens by pointing right over his shoulder to the building's entrance. "I had been asked if I could come and fix up a computer in the game corner. I had an emergency call come in this morning, so I rushed over. I was hoping I could finish before you started streaming today, but things didn't work out this time," he explains, punctuating his statement with a nervous chuckle.
"My name's Celio. I actually do IT work around the islands. You probably guessed that already, seeing as how I, the game corner, the story, morning, told you, the…" He trails off as he stumbles over his words, cutting the knot with a repeated "I do IT work". "Like I said before, I'm a big fan. I've not been able to watch every one of your streams, but I watch them when I can. I even saw your battle against Léan, aha. I never would have thought someone as famous as you would be challenging gym leaders here."
“Oh, you saw that? Nice!” Iono says, caught up in the normalcy of the conversation. “One down, six to go! I’ll be the first outsider to clear the Sevii League yet! Or at least, that’s what Selphy promised me. World firsts bring in ALL the fans!
And hey, keep on nerding on. If not for nerds like you, I couldn’t have my amazing streaming career to begin with!
Anyhow, you haven’t missed the good part. I still haven’t even found where I’m supposed to go - everyone I keep trying to ask is a tourist, unlike on Knot Island. It’s a lot harder to find out if I’m supposed to sneak into the amusement park or something.”
There's a flash of recognition in Celio's eyes as Iono speaks, though it quickly gets subsumed by something else, Celio lighting up as he hears Iono call Knot Island by its actual name. "You can be sure I will. I'll keep working on the network here," he says with an unusual passion, the support of an Internet idol an effective and intoxicating energy boost. "If I can make sure everyone here - everyone in the world - can see your league challenge, I'll be satisfied. Oh, and, wait. There's another way I can help you," he realizes. "The gym challenge on Boon Island starts at the base of Cape Brink, that mountain down the road from here. The gym leader here already knows to expect you. I think. She can sometimes be…"
"Well, you'll be fine," he decides to leave it at. "After all, even Selphy had full confidence in you. She sent me a message after your battle with Léan. Hold on, let me…" A few quick taps and some scrolling on his phone later, he continues. "That's it. She told me she was impressed with your determination. I think she meant generally, but also with the gym challenge specifically. Though she also said she wasn't surprised that you could handle it, so… Yeah, I think she's confident in you," he reiterates, pocketing his phone.
“Wow. You wouldn’t know it from looking at her!” Iono says, before turning around to get an eyeful of Cape Brink. “That’s… pretty tall, huh. It’s not Mt. Ember, but you’d think it would be more than a “cape”, right? Hey chat-” Iono says, only to find chat furiously engaged in debates over geographical definitions even without her. “...Beat me to it!
Alright, I should go take my second badge! Remember, like, comment, and subscribe! And, of course, keep tuning in! I’ll be looking for your generous and large donations, Celio!” Iono says, with her classic sharktooth grin.
With that, Iono departs, Celio giving her a wave to bid farewell before he turns his attention to gathering his dropped items. The road to the cape is a short one, and surprisingly devoid of interesting sights. It's nothing more than a straight shot to the base of the cape, with a few large bushes dotting the area.
When Iono arrives at the base of Cape Brink proper, she discovers that… there's nobody around, apparently! There's just a bunch of bushes, the start of the trail winding up Cape Brink, and a couple of signs. One of them is pretty clearly a sign for Cape Brink itself, bearing the name of the landmark and a request to keep it free of litter. The other though, is smaller, and harder to make out, though it does seem to have a sheet of paper pinned to it…
Iono whistles as she looks at the cape. “It looks a lot bigger up close, huh chat? Say, did you guys ever settle on that debate?”
Receiving a chorus of negative responses and continued slapfighting over the exact definition of a cape versus a mountain, Iono shrugs. That’s the internet for you. That second sign, though… curious, Iono walks over and leans in, making to read it…
"EYAAAAAAAAAH!"
The woman's shout resounds through the area, drowning out the rustling of the bush out from which she leaps! "Yah! Yah! Yah!" She lunges directly for Iono, hands outstretched as she tries to grab the streamer and throw her over her shoulder!
“WAH!” With a loud yelp, Iono drops to the ground in panic, rolling away and springing up, leaves and twigs now caught in her impressive hairdo. She quickly starts flailing her sleeves, before she manages to get them into some sort of a fighting pose arrangement, ready to go. “Come on! Put ‘em up!” Her unkempt look hinders any chance at looking intimidating, but Iono doesn’t notice that at all.
"Yahahaha," the old woman standing before Iono guffaws, sporting "accessories" not too dissimilar to Iono's own, with twigs clinging on to her own outfit. "Lightning-quick reaction time! You aren't too bad," she calls out, stretching her legs as if considering leaping again. She does no such thing, however, instead scrutinizing Iono, looking her up and down with all the intensity of a judge in a dog show. "And a fiery spirit, ready to burn away any threats," she notes approvingly as she takes in Iono's stance.
She grins, relaxing her own stance, stamping the ground with one foot as if to take command of the scene. "I thought that old coot softened up too much in his steam, but maybe he had a point about you. You're here for a gym badge, aren't you, whippersnapper?"
“...Huh.” Iono takes a second to process it. “Wait a second. You’re the gym leader? Not just some crazy old woman who lives out here?”
“Sevii League is the league of old people”
“Aaaaand record.”
“Best Iono moment yet!”
“There was an old woman who lived on a cliff”
“I want Iono to fistfight the entire Sevii League”
"Crazy old woman? You don't go around calling everyone you meet names, do you? I'm a crazy old gym leader!" Seemingly more amused by the comment than insulted, she walks up to Iono, getting up close and personal as she bends down and transparently inspects the streamer's thighs. "And you're a spry younginn." Straightening up, she wraps her fingers around Iono's arm, giving it a light squeeze before she leans in, inspecting Iono's eyes. "Spry as they come. You're up for the challenge," she idly muses before backing off.
"This crazy old gym leader is Ultima, holder of the Summit Badge," she says of herself. "If you expect a battle, you'll have to meet me at the battlefield! Aiming for the top of the cape shouldn't be a problem for a younginn like you."
"You, all of you watching," she commands without making so much as an effort to look at the camera, "you agree a hike would do her good. Go on. Tell her."
“LMAO GOTTEM”
“SHE GOT YOU IONO”
“Yeah you need it”
“Lose the streamer weight babyyyyy”
Immediately crossing her arms and pouting at her chat, Iono does her best to look nonplussed. “Meet you at the top, huh? Easy enough.”
With a grin, Iono removes both of her hairclips, activating one of their high-tech functions - the one where she can use them to ride around. She clutches them tightly, and they begin to lift off and carry Iono up the path.
To which Iono immediately feels a hand clasp around her leg, Ultima grabbing her and weighing her down. "Where do you think you're going?" For an old woman, Ultima hides a surprising strength, something Iono gets to feel firsthand as Ultima tugs her back down the path. "You've got legs that are perfectly fine! Use 'em! You have some other problem you aren't telling me about, or are you afraid you can't hike up there on your own two feet?"
“Well, I mean-” Iono gets her hairclips yanked away, Ultima holding them under her arm to keep Iono from trying that again. As chat laughs, Iono rolls her eyes. “Fine, you want me to show off? It’s a little hike, that’s all! I already hiked to Mt. Ember and punched a hole in a rock! What’s a little walk?”
With a “hmph”, Iono starts to walk, following the trail. Thanks to some level of spite moving her legs, Iono is actually making a pretty good pace, though she quickly slows down, realizing she doesn’t know how long the path is and that she shouldn’t burn herself out immediately. She looks back a couple times, surprised to see how effortlessly the much older woman is keeping up with her.
"You'll find a pond about halfway up," Ultima advises her, keeping a little distance - but clearly only deliberately. She might have even been able to keep in step with Iono, if she wanted. "Keep pushing yourself up until you can't. Get too weary to go on, and don't be ashamed to quit!" As she trails Iono, she keeps a close eye on the streamer, but she also takes the time to look around. The shrubs dotting the path, the view from even only a short distance up the cape, the distant sound of rushing water, watching her, it's not hard to tell that even now, having traversed this path who-knew-how-many times, Ultima still takes it all in with the voraciousness she had when she first ascended the cape.
"The view from up here's changed over the years," she comments wistfully, looking back down the path as they continue their trek.
At first, the path seems to be slow and steady. Iono begins to question it - after all, what was the difference between this and Lèan’s challenge, if they were both about endurance? Heck, she’s even got the energy to talk to Ultima, even as she subconsciously registers that it’s getting a tad steeper. “You’ve been here that long? From the way all the tourists were talking, I didn’t think anyone lived on Cape Brink.”
Iono begins to slow down, though not due to lack of energy - more realizing that as the slope steepens further, she’s gotta place her feet more carefully, aim where to step, and actually pull her legs forward. She wobbles a bit, only to catch herself.
"When I was a young girl," she replies, herself treading more carefully, still confident in her stride, but stepping more deliberately, "it was considered an honor to live at the top of the cape, I'll have you know. Or," she flashes a grin, "the elders back then said it was an honor! The ones my age thought I was insane, yahaha!"
"Not everyone appreciated what the cape represented even back then, but more of us cared about the old stories. The Sevii Islands, risen up out of the sea in only seven days, spreading out from their cradle, that island which to this day we call Birth Island, and among those islands, the highest peak and the deepest cave to connect them to the nourishing seas and sky! The navel of the world, linking the earth to its great mothers. And here, on Boon Island, Cape Brink, the third-tallest peak across the islands, our own natural viewing platform." For all the energy the climb requires, Ultima has no troubles recounting her story with gusto. "They'll tell you it was on Quest Island that they kept watch, but it was here they spotted the ships first! From the top of the cape, at the very brink of the world, you can see everything that's on the horizon!"
"And I saw it all, believe you me, younginn. I saw their flags flying over our islands, and I saw the ships sailing in less and less often. I saw the market shrink, shops close up as they packed up. I saw the fireworks when their ships sailed off, taking those flags with them. But it wasn't long before I could see it growing again. The tents spread across the island, more and more of them every month. The ferries made their trips every three hours, then every two, then every hour. Once," she sighs, "I could climb down anytime I wanted."
"And now…" As Ultima continues with her speech, Iono catches the glint off the item she pulls out of a pocket - noticing Ultima drawing a Level Ball. Without missing a beat in her story, the old gym leader calls out a Flapple, the Pokémon flying over to a particularly steep ledge in the path ahead. "...I still can, yahaha! The difference now is that they call me weird and tell me I scare off the tourists." Flapple releases what appears to be a seed, dropping it on the edge of the ledge, and from the seed sprouts vines, vines which rapidly grow down across the face of the ledge.
Ultima approaches the newly grown vines, tugging on them to test their strength. "Hyup!" She hefts herself up, using the vines as climbing ropes, pulling herself up to conquer this portion of the ascent. "Can't expect everyone who comes to challenge me to climb the cape, but when someone comes who can make it, there's no better test. If they can make the climb, they earn a battle. If they can make the climb and learn something about these islands on the way up, they earn something more valuable than that."
While chat is tuning out entirely, mostly trying to make memes out of the various stories that Ultima is telling her, Iono is for once at complete odds with them. She listens with genuine interest, not interrupting or joking around, instead just keeping up with the speech. Iono actually laughs when Ultima just declares that she’d scare off the tourists. “Thaaat doesn’t surprise me too much. I noticed that nobody else on this island even had a Rainbow Pass.
Did you know, someone said they didn’t even know you could go to Six Island?” Iono mentions, already able to tell Ultima will get a kick out of it. Her expression falls when she sees the vines, though, knowing that with how much she’s already hiked up here there’s no way Ultima would buy her being unable to climb them. And she refuses to back down.
So, grabbing the vines, Iono begins to pull herself up, gulping as she hears them rustle. Please don’t snap please don’t snap.
"Yaha, thought they couldn't go to Fortune Island?" Iono's prediction turns out to be spot-on, the streamer earning a hearty laugh from the old woman. "That's where they're missing out! Why buy the pre-made stuff when you can go to the Pattern Bush and collect honey yourself! They don't even make the sweets down in that market right! Get your honey from quest, then go and get your berries fresh on Kin, that's the way it should be done. Make 'em while everything is fresh, then go back an' eat 'em where you made 'em!" Ultima looks back at the climbing Iono with an approving grin. "Let me let you in on this challenge's open secret. I don't want a whippersnapper who can handle the cape to use any fancy tools to climb up, but I won't snap at you if you ask your Pokémon to pitch in. It's still muscle power when it comes from them! You might need the boost as we get near the top."
"And you out there!" She calls out to Iono's chat once more. "Take a page from her book! Don't you go settlin' for the typical experience! When you get goin' somewhere in life, go see what the rest don't see. Peer at the horizon! Don't go an' turn away from it! That's advice from a crazy old woman, so don't go ignoring it!"
“ULTIMA-SENPAI NOTICED ME”
“It’s always the old people who understand us”
“I’m going right out there to meet Iono!”
“She’s right about the Pokemon!”
Iono thinks as she pulls herself up a bit further, managing to climb up on top of the ledge and groaning as she flops over. Magneton and Rotom could be a bit too against the spirit of the rules… but with a toss of a Pokeball, Iono sends out Bellibolt and climbs on the back of her frog, taking a short breather as it carries her through!
Ultima nods approvingly as Iono climbs atop Bellibolt, the older woman sticking with Flapple's assistance, the apple-clad serpentine dragon giving her more than enough aid with its Leech Seed-derived vines. While the climb up the cape isn't an easy one, proving quite a workout as, more and more, the two women have to clamber up the increasingly rocky path, it's also a straightforward task. The women make steady progress, until, finally…
"I hope you weren't expecting that I freshly cleaned," Ultima jokes as the women crest Cape Brink, arriving at Ultima's home and the small lake near the peak, its roaring waterfall feeding the larger lake halfway down the mountain. "So, you need to catch your breath? You either look at the view now, or let me know you'll be admiring it later. You've earned yourself a battle!"
“Mmmmmmm.” Iono groans. Bellibolt had started to tire out during the last sections of the climb, and Iono had to recall it to leave it fresh for battle, meaning the streamer had basically clambered up the last, nearly-vertical part of the cape’s path with her bare hands. At the mention of the battle, though, Iono manages to sit up and stretch, her legs wobbly but knowing that she’s past the part where she needs to worry about that.
With her usual sharktooth grin, Iono’s brave face returns, the streamer ready to go. “We’ll take that battle now. I’ll relax after I have two badges!”
"Yahahahaaaa! You're the liveliest younginn I've met on this side of Kin Island! Forget the speeches! Train yourself on the road of the ultimate, and show the world your strength!"
"Flapple, show her the frenzied attacks of dragons!"
Ultima hardly leaves Iono with even time to call out a Pokémon, Flapple leading off with an Acid Spray, dousing the cape with a putrid liquid to start the battle on its own terms!
Iono just smirks as she leads off with the best opener she could put out against something like this, sending out her Magneton to resist the Acid Spray. Though it doesn’t have any good moves to immediately target Flapple’s weaknesses, Iono’s strategy here is to wear it down with sheer power, using her Magneton’s defenses to endure until it’s out!
Flapple rears back as Magneton shrugs off the opening attack, seemingly taken aback as it rises higher into the sky. Not about to miss an opportunity to hit back, Magneton gives chase, spiraling towards Flapple as it ascends, giving it no room to breathe and no room to double back. Misfired Leech Seed attacks do nothing to shake Magneton, the parasitic little seeds sailing on past the living magnet as Flapple struggles to hit its mark.
Finally, coming close to leaving behind the cape and flying too far from its trainer, Flapple slows its climb, coming to an aerial stop, with Magneton rapidly closing the distance. Flying further up not an option, and trying to go to the left or to the right a surefire way to get hit by a Thunderbolt or Sonic Boom, Flapple makes a tight turn, reorienting itself for a descent as Magneton, spotting its opponent's u-turn, fires off a Flash Cannon!
The burst of light collides with the descending dragon, Magneton blasting it directly in the face at a close range, and the flash consumes Flapple entirely. Down below, Iono celebrates her Pokémon's success, confident she had make the right call with Magneton!
And Ultima?
Ultima watches calmly, gazing into the sky above where the chase had unfolded.
"#flashed"
"made into flapplesauce"
"that's our iono!"
"enter iono zone, get blasted in the face. seems right."
"you go magneton"
"hey uh whats that"
As Iono's chat observes the battle, a new light emerges in the sky, Flapple, clearly not unscathed by the attack, nevertheless continues its descent at a breakneck pace, cloaked in a powerful aura.
"dragon rush?"
"oh lawd its coming"
"nooooo! magneton poor baby!!"
"hang tough"
Taking a nosedive in a literal sense, Flapple twists like a corkscrew as it rushes down at Magneton, slamming into it with extreme force boosted by draconic power, sending the magnet hurtling towards the peak of the cape.
Magneton's rough landing throws up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring part of the battlefield as a weary Flapple pulls out of its dive and cautiously approaches the cloud. Its flight already unstable, Flapple draws itself into its apple exterior, letting itself plummet to the ground with Grav Apple to seal the job by landing directly on Magneton!
A bolt of lightning bursting forth from the dust intercepts the attack, though, Flapple forced out of its apple by a surge of electricity coursing through its body. Resisting the move didn't mean shrugging it off entirely, and the shock stunning Flapple gives Magneton, a little dinged up but still full of energy, a chance to rise back up.
"Burn through every defense! Blast them until it breaks!" Ultima, seeing Iono's strategy of sending out the sturdy Magneton prove its merit, issues her command, and Magneton prepares to weather another attack from Flapple!
Only for Ultima to recall the Pokémon, Magneton scrambling to switch gears as the old woman instead sends out Turtonator! To Magneton's credit, Iono's Pokémon quickly fires off a Thunderbolt, the electricity surging into Turtonator. Unfortunately for the streamer and her team, though, the dragon-turtle proves itself sturdy, standing firm and tanking the attack.
Even as Turtonator flares up, its snout expanding as it fires off a Flamethrower, Magneton tries to hang on, trying to use its speed advantage over the turtle to get out of harm's way. Iono, too, scrambles to change up her strategy, pulling out a Pokéball just in time for Magneton to take the full brunt of a Flamethrower attack! Ouch.
Magneton's fans in Iono's chat cry out as the magnet lands on the ground with a klunk, utterly exhausted by the attack. Iono regroups quickly, sending Bellibolt into battle to avenge Magneton now that the frog had had its chance to rest.
A quick Mud Shot marks Bellibolt's entrance to battle, dirt and mud covering Turtonator as the attack lands, but even the supereffective move only makes a slight dent in the turtle's defenses, Turtonator tanking the attack with a raised arm. On the flipside, Turtonator struggles to break through Bellibolt's defenses, Bellibolt dousing its second Flamethrower with a Water Pulse.
Iono contemplates her next move, watching the battle turn into an apparent stalemate. How to break through that defense…? As she studies her foe, she finds inspiration in a rather unexpected place - the mud clinging to Turtonator!
"Alright! Tackle it into the water!" Bellibolt turns to its trainer, catching Iono's wink - something which her chat and Ultima catch, too, causing a flurry of activity in the former and leading the latter to raise a brow.
Bellibolt lowers its head and throws itself into a tackle, prompting Turtonator, confident in its sturdy shell, to turn away from the frog, laying down a Shell Trap and waiting for Bellibolt to make contact. Chat braces for an explosion…
…and sure enough, one comes, but Bellibolt isn't the one blasted away. As Turtonator turns, Bellibolt fires off another Mud Shot, plugging up the hole in Turtonator's shell with mud and gunk and causing the Shell Trap to backfire. Launched into the air by its own explosion, Turtonator falls back to the cape collapsed and KOed, forcing Ultima to withdraw the turtle and evening up the match.
As Ultima applauds, Flapple returns to the battlefield, and, just as before, it wastes no time in launching an attack. Though the tired dragon moves more slowly than before, it still has enough of an advantage over the less mobile Bellibolt to successfully land a Leech Seed, vines ensnaring Bellibolt and sapping its strength.
With Bellibolt all wrapped up, Flapple flies high once more, trying to put distance between itself and its opponent so it can let the Leech Seed do its work and heal up without Bellibolt pestering it. Thinking itself safe, it pirouettes and cuts through the air as it performs a Dragon Dance, but soon finds a nuisance on its tail! A Zap Cannon fired off by Bellibolt pursues it through the skies, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers, but even with its speed boosted by the Dragon Dance, Flapple can't shake the Zap Cannon.
Seeing no other choice, it zooms towards Bellibolt, curling into its apple form once again and dropping down like a lead weight. Apple hits frog, and plasma ball slams into apple, and in the ensuing pile up…
A panting Flapple rocks back and forth erratically as it struggles to lift back off just above the defeated Bellibolt. The Leech Seed had given it just enough energy to tough out the Zap Cannon, and now it roars in defiance as Iono switches out to Rotom.
Rotom comes onto the scene zipping around the cape, the little electrical ghost putting Flapple to shame in the speed department, especially with Flapple so weakened. Unable to fly any longer, Flapple descends to the ground and withdraws into its apple, closing up as a last-ditch defense against Rotom's Shadow Ball.
The move knocks Flapple onto its side, but it's still not quite enough to KO the dragon, Flapple weakly poking its head up, hissing at Rotom. If it were going to go out, it'd go out on the offensive…
Putting all of its energy, all of its Dragon Dance-boosted attack into one last Dragon Rush, Flapple forces itself up, beating its wings like it's trying to lift a rock, and charges at Rotom. The ghost responds with a Shock Wave, and the spreading electrical ring passes through Flapple! Yet the dragon continues on, undeterred, its double resistance helping it to power through.
Flapple finishes its charge, making direct contact with Rotom, and sending the ghost hurtling backwards, but Rotom isn't the only one to suffer on account of the attack. Flapple's furious wingbeats slow, and, with one last hoarse roar, Flapple falls to the ground unconscious.
"There's strength in your offense and your defense," Ultima concedes, giddy as the battle moves into its final stage. "But now's the moment you give in! Enjoy the view now, because my sea cannon's going to blast you down the falls! Kingdra, teach all the younginns out there watching us what strength you build climbing up this cape!"
More than the usual flash of light accompanies Kingdra's entrance, the seadragon conjuring up a Twister as it materializes in the pond on top of Cape Brink, immediately diving into the water to surface and take potshots at Rotom through the new maelstrom!
Chat is on edge! The Iono Zone is very concerned, several of them asking if Iono has to take the trial again when she loses - not even asking if. Rotom is doing its best to keep far away from the Twister, occasionally trying to fire off a Thunderbolt into the midst. Though one of them gets through, judging by Kingdra’s recoil, it’s clear that Rotom is at a disadvantage.
Trying a Shadow Ball instead, Iono bites her teeth together as she looks around… and then notices a junk pile nearby. The gears start to turn. “HEY, ULTIMA! What’s with the junk?”
"Hn?" For the most part, Ultima has kept up with Iono's strategies without issue, but a hint of confusion shines through as Iono suddenly inquires about the pile of junk sitting behind her house. "You volunteering to carry it down the cape? I'll take it!" She jokes. "Hauling new appliances up is enough work! I can't always bring 'em down when they go on me!"
“Well, I might just take one of them!” Iono says with a smirk. She knew all about Rotom’s ability, and she runs over to the junk pile, trying to heave one of the items free. If she can just get it loose, allowing Rotom to freely possess it…
Ohohoho, so that's what she was up to, was it? "YAHAHAYAHAHA!" Ultima is besides herself laughing as she pieces together Iono's plan, jumping up like a schoolgirl at a concert for her favorite band. "Using the field to your advantage like that! Are you sure you weren't born here, younginn!" As impressed she is by Iono's strategy, though, she's not going to make it easy on the streamer! "Kingdra, give her a drink!"
The seadragon points its snout into the air, and the water of the pond swirls up, a vortex stirring it together right above Kingdra's snout as Kingdra pumps even more water into the growing, choppy mix. When the whirlpool swirls above Kingdra's head with enough intensity to match the winds swirling around the cape's peak, Kingdra releases the whirlpool, sending a vortex of water, spinning through the air like a top, to engulf Rotom and the pile of junk and to drag them all into the pond with it!
The second that Iono sees the whirlpool forming, she keeps kicking and pushing, finally dislodging exactly what she was hoping for - an old, busted refrigerator, now free of the pile. “OVER HERE! QUICK!” Iono waves her floppy sleeves to signal Rotom, the small electric ghost beelining for the device. Rotom seems to make it, right as the whirlpool descends, the junk pile vanishing from sight…
And the pond suddenly begins to freeze over, Iono laughing and chat celebrating. The pogfaces fly, along with the donations, as they realize Iono’s plan worked perfectly, Fridge Rotom and its new Ice type moves now able to force Kingdra out of its best habitat. Sure, it’s nothing super effective, but Kingdra can’t swim around in a block of ice, now can it?
It's an effective move! Kingdra suddenly ends up on the backfoot - or backfin, as it were - as, rather than pull Rotom - and possibly Iono - into its share of the battlefield, Rotom takes away one of its greatest advantages. But is it enough to stop Kingdra entirely? Not quite, it turns out, as Kingdra beats back the encroaching ice with Scald, preserving a portion of the pond for itself.
Still, though, it can't keep much of the pond from freezing over, and if it focuses on keeping the ice at bay, it'll be defenseless against Rotom… As Kingdra debates what to do, it whips itself around, hearing Ultima clear her throat.
"You've given me a good time, Iono! It's time I repay you, and it's time we end this battle. You fought well, but it won't be enough for you! Now, learn the strength that Pokémon can have! Learn the power of one of the ultimate moves! Kingdra, Draco Meteoooooooooor!"
Not needing the instructions twice, trapped on all sides now by the ice, threatening to force it under the water completely - or worse, out of the water - Kingdra takes aim, pointing its snout at the sky and charging up power.
A glowing orb - no, not only an orb, but a rock, shaped from draconic energy and glowing red-hot with it - shoots into the air, exploding like a firework, its chunks raining down all over the cape, bursting with energy as they land!
Ohhh boy. Even with the defense buffs that Rotom has in fridge form, Iono’s not sure how she’s gonna get through that! She managed to come up with something smart for Machamp, but what about here? What’s her best call, what’s the best way out of it… meet it head-on? No. That won’t be enough.
There’s gotta be something, and if she can use the terrain… that’s it. That’s it!
“Now! Thunderbolt - on the lake!”
With that, Rotom fires a huge pulse of electricity, right at the frozen lake! The strength of it strikes the lake like a hammerblow, cracking it and sending chunks flying up, as Rotom launches several large pieces into the air to try and mitigate the damage of the Draco Meteor!
Ice, electricity, draconic energy, it's quite a potent mixture! The chunks of ice are far from a perfect shield, larger pieces shattering into icy shrapnel as they're hit by the exploding faux-meteorites. Some of those ice pieces hit Rotom, and some hit Kingdra; not even Ultima escapes from the makeshift hailstorm, the old woman putting her arm up to block the ice pellets raining down on her.
Alas! Some meteorites still manage to get through, dotting the cape with booming bursts of energy! Rotom's strategy is not a foolproof one.
It is, however, one that works well enough. Rotom is spared a direct strike, but Kingdra is not! The same electricity which breaks apart the ice courses through the waters of the pond, reaching Kingdra and frying the trapped dragon. Were it only the icy storm or only the electricity, that might not be enough, but the combination of the two?
It's more than Kingdra can handle, the seadragon slumping in the water, the winds around the brink fading away. The storm subsides, whipping winds once again replaced by the sounds of a roaring waterfall, and, as Ultima recalls Kingdra, Iono stands victorious.
Though she's only a single woman, the applause that Ultima offers Iono is raucous, uproarious even. "It's been too long since a challenger gave me a battle like that! You're a master of ultimate technique and power!"
Coming over to Iono, Ultima gives the streamer a congratulatory slap on the back. "It hasn't always been easy watching the island I called home change, but if it means battling whippersnappers like you, Iono, I'll take the tourists! Have me on your little show sometime! But for now," she says, pulling out a badge, a stylized brown rocky spire with a similarly stylized green, serpentine dragon curling around it, "in recognition of your strength, strength that brought you up to the brink and back from it, take the Summit Badge!"
“Haaaaaa… haaaaa. Woooooo!” With that, Iono recalls Rotom, taking the fridge with her - Ultima didn’t seem to be complaining, after all. Flopping over and rolling to take a look off the view of Cape Brink, she takes the badge and pins it next to the Rubble Badge she earned from her first gym encounter. “Two down, five to go!” Iono grins.
“...I’m just gonna chill here for a while. Take advantage of that view.”
"You do that," Ultima says with a slight chuckle. "Anyone who climbs all this way and doesn't take it in, why, they'd have to be a crazy old woman! Enjoy the view, and I'll fix something to eat. Climbing and battling build up an appetite, and a younginn needs to keep eating to stay healthy!"
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