Badge #13, Pt 2: The Gauntlet

(No screenshots this time, sorry.)

In order to get back from past the circus, you need Fly. To get Fly, you need to beat the Flying gym. (This is the only gym-HM association that makes sense.) But... Ciel isn't in the Circus.

Your only path now is to go to the Fiore Mansion. (It's not stated anywhere, but you can deduce it from going to check on Titania/Amaria). Make sure to save before you enter the mansion, as there is a long fight coming up.

The Gauntlet

As soon as you make your way up to the mansion, you'll be intercepted by Julia and Florinia (remember these guys? from 20 hours ago?) who make a very silly fourth wall breaking joke, before a helicopter arrives at the mansion. As soon as you enter the front door, you will be subjugated to a very long cutscenee that includes three back-to-back double battles (you will be healed inbetween, thanks to them being double battles).

This is one of Reborn's two infamous gauntlets, and the easier of the two (as it's 18v18). Sadly, Florinia is your partner for the first two and she does not pull her weight (albeit she's much better with the All-Gen changes than the base game). At least Julia does.

Florinia's Team

Julia's Team

Fiore Gauntlet

You'll face off against a pair of Meteor grunts first. This is the easiest of the three battles (obviously). I don't really have any tips for this section because all of the Pokémon are so different there's no one good strategy. Try to have a well-rounded team; the only truly monotype trainer here is Blake so make sure you have fighting or fire types at your disposal.

Next, you'll have to fight Blake and Fern. (Yeah, a grass monotype leader vs an ice-themed guy). Just be wary of Blake's Eiscue, as it has a built-in physical Sturdy that activates at any percentage and can easily reverse sweep you. This is the hardest of the three battles.

Finally, you have to fight Solaris and a grunt.

After you've done all of that, Titania will blow up the mansion and flood it. Talk to her outside and she'll leave for the skies, promising Team Meteor won't get the bracelets. Now that you have Fly, it's back to the circus to beat up Ciel for the badge to let you actually use Fly.

Flying Gym

Return back to the side room of the Big Top and talk to Samson for a cutscene. You'll get the final battle pass you need, and then it's finally time to fight Ciel; talk to her to start the gym battle.

Is this battle stupid? Absolutely. Is it stupider than Samson's battle? Debatable. It's on the same evil RNG field but Ciel doesn't rely on RNG moves like he did. Nevertheless, she leads with a Serene Grace Air Slash Togekiss, so this is a pretty evil battle. Some tips:

• Do you still have that Lycanroc? If you get very lucky, Sand + Stone Edge handily dispatches her.
• Brave Bird Talonflame acts as an emergency splash of damage, as Flying doesn't resist Flying.
• A solid ghost type neuters the otherwise terrifying Boomburst Noivern. You can find a Snorunt in the Mountains of Doom and evolve it into Froslass, for one example.
• A strong Ice Shard user like Mamoswine can eke some kills out that you might miss without priority.

You'll be brought back into the side room for a brief cutscene; when you exit the room again, you'll have another cutscene with Ace. If you re-enter the previous room, then you can finally access the item on the table. Exit the Circus, open the Pokémon menu, select a Pokémon, select Fly, and select the Beryl Ward on the map. Welcome back to Neo Reborn City.