Chapter 84 - Flint and Steel

                                    

                                          
Kyra headed into the next battle chamber to battle Flint. Much to her surprise, she wasn't too tired after her aura having controlled her. Maybe because she and her aura had actually been working in harmony for once she wouldn't be worn out by it. 
                          
There was something about going into this battle that Kyra was nervous about. There was two Elite Four Members left, the pressure was really beginning to rank up, and fast at that. 
                          
"So, you made it all this way. Volkner was clearly impressed by you to have given you the Beacon Badge. That doesn't matter here though, although Volkner is one of my close friends, we do not battle in the same way. If you thought Volkner was a challenge, you haven't seen anything yet," Flint praised, raring himself up for the battle ahead.
                          
Kyra was glad to hear that Flint's strategy was different to Volkner's, she just hoped it wasn't similar to Bertha's. "I wouldn't want this to be easy, that would take the fun out of the battle. How do these battles work? Four on four or five on five?"
                          
"I'd like to see how you'd fair pushed into a corner right away. Lucian tells me you want to be an Elite Four Member some day, trainers are bound to have counters for your pokémon, so I want to prepare you for that to see how you handle it. You have two Steel Types, and when I first started here, I only had two Fire Types on my team. We'll battle two on two, does that work for you?" Flint replied, wanting to really test Kyra as a trainer.
                          
Kyra was intrigued by the prospect of the battle Flint wanted to have, she knew that Flint's reasoning was sound and was happy to battle under his conditions. "Fine by me, but don't think I'll go easy on you. It battle well under pressure, this battle will prove that." 
                          
Flint was glad to hear Kyra's determination and he readied himself for the battle ahead, sending out his Rapidash as his first pokémon. 
                          
Kyra put her trust in sending out Empoleon, at least he would only take neutral damage from any Fire Type attacks. She had the slight advantage since Empoleon had battled Nate's Rapidash in the past, but then again, Flint was an Elite Four Member with a lot more battling experience.
                          
"We're not letting the first move go to waste, use Bounce," Flint called, making sure Rapidash was out of the way of anything Empoleon might use. 
                          
As Rapidash jumped up, Kyra had an idea. If Empoleon could use a combination of Aqua Jet and Drill Peck from where he was now, he could deal a ton of damage without even having to move. Empoleon followed his trainer's call and set up the combination.
                          
The two pokémon collided as Rapidash went to his Bounce. Empoleon was waiting for Rapidash to stop using Bounce until he made his proper attack, all he was doing now was stalling for time. 
                          
"Fine by us, if you won't attack, then we will. Rapidash, use Solar Beam!" Flint called, not realising what one of Empoleon's attacks was.
                          
Normally, a Grass Type attack like Solar Beam would have worried Kyra if she were battling with a Water Type. This time however, Solar Beam was the move she was looking for. Empoleon would only take neutral damage, and it gave her the perfect set up for Empoleon's favourite move.
                          
"Alright Empoleon, use Bide!" Kyra called, knowing that even a critical hit from Hyper Beam or Giga Impact wouldn't be enough to knock Empoleon out thanks to their special training in Defense and Special Defense.
                          
Empoleon stopped his Aqua Jet and Drill Peck combination so he would take as much of the Solar Beam hit as possible. He put his trust in Kyra's calculations and set up a Bide.
                          
Rapidash landed his Solar Beam on Empoleon, and pushed himself away to get out of range as Flint directed him to. What Rapidash hadn't realised however was that Empoleon had completely let his guard down, even the kick off Rapidash had used had weakened Empoleon and added more power to his attack.